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canonicallyobserving911 · 3 months

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Buck & Eddie: 5 unresolved items from season 6

There were several things in season 6 that were left unresolved including some that happened between Buck and Eddie. These are items they never discussed and IMO, it’s possible they might resurface in season 7 and present the small amount of angst that’s been mentioned by OS and RG during their recent interviews.

Full Disclosure: When season 6 ended, I like many other viewers, absolutely LOATHED the way Buck’s and Eddie’s endings were handled since they were both shoehorned into relationships with one-dimensional love interests the same way they had been at the end of season 4. The constant delays of Buddie going CANON was just 🙄 and at the time, I took a step back because it felt like all the metaphors, callbacks, foreshadowing and hindsight that happened during the first 13 episodes were replaced with a forced narrative. Characters were retconned too so they could fit into some “metaphorical FOX procedural drama box” and it frustrated me. After 6x18 aired, I took a couple of weeks to formulate my overall thoughts on the season and I completed 15 Constructive Criticisms posts to move past my frustrations. Additionally, I started writing a massive multi-chapter fanfic to unravel the mess that was season 6 and I must admit, doing so helped because I was able to put some of the messy pieces to that unfinished puzzle of a season together.

Now... back to the regularly scheduled programming…

This post highlights the 5 things IMO that are still in play that didn’t get resolved last season and I’ve included details about them below. Since season 7 is shortened and only has 10 episodes, it’s possible none of the things listed will be revisited but it’s also possible they will.

Before I get started, here’s a quick reminder, Buck and Eddie didn’t discuss any of the things listed in CANON.

1. The Donation

Other than 6x7 when Eddie heard about Buck’s sperm donation for the first time at the firehouse, in 6x9 when they were on the four-way call when he responded to Chimney and said, “I don’t know… it kind of feels weird to congratulate him” and in 6x10 when he replied to Buck and said, “Sounds like your family had your back on the whole donation thing. That’s definitely progress” (notice he NEVER said he had Buck’s back on it and also his facial expressions in 6x9 after Buck’s announcement showed he wasn’t too thrilled about it) Buck and Eddie never discussed it. Therefore, it is possible there could be some angst coming from it when the Buckley family’s other “deep dark family secret” (related post linked here) is revealed during or after Madney’s wedding.

Furthermore, Maddie’s NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT BUCK’S SPERM DONATION in CANON and every time it was mentioned in 6x10, it happened right after she left the room to check on Jee-Yun. It’s obvious she knows about it since Chimney spoke up and said something to rebut Sang’s comment regarding a man raising another man’s child. Another point to make about the whole “Meet the Parents” saga in 6x10 is the audience never saw Maddie converse with Sang and based on BTS information for season 7, it appears Sang, Albert nor Albert’s mom will be in attendance at the wedding. 👀

[FTR, I still don’t believe Connor and Kameron’s baby is biologically Buck's and I will stand on this hill, even if I have to stand alone, until there’s a blood test proving he is related to the baby (post linked here).]

2. The Onesie

At the end of 6x9, Buck was asleep and he left the LAFD onesie he purchased sitting on top of his nightstand and it was right after the “Santa Ana Winds” ended. However, there are two important things that should be remembered.

First, it has an LAFD logo on it which means it’s important to Buck because as he told Maddie in 2x18, "Being a firefighter is MY LIFE! It’s the only thing I’ve ever done that was important and that mattered, ok?"

Why is this important?

It’s important because BUCK IDENTIFIES HIMSELF AS A FIREFIGHTER and after all these years he still hasn’t figured out firefighting is what he does. Eddie knows Buck’s more than a firefighter especially since he knows and loves him to his CORE! Also, if Buck believed the biological relation wasn't important, then he could have just bought a regular onesie from Target or Wal-Mart, right? Yes!

Second, in 6x17, Kameron stayed with Buck for several days which means if he wanted to, he could have given it to her as a gift but he didn’t. Therefore, it’s possible it might come back into play after 7x5 when Connor and Kameron are supposed to show up again (OS mentioned Buck being a sperm donor for his friends won’t resurface until after the first five episodes). Additionally, after 6A, the narrative could have changed since the onesie wasn’t seen again and that could be due to all the audience backlash that happened after it was over.

Viewers didn’t like the jokes about Buck’s "swimmers" or the lack of his "alone time" and all the other ways the storyline was fumbled. By the start of 6B, the show tried to make the audience believe Buck understood he was the "donor not the dad" 👀.

If the actual onesie doesn’t make a reappearance, then I believe the ramifications associated with the way Buck identifies himself will and it could be a point of contention between him and Eddie since Eddie was the one who told him in 4x14, “You act like you’re expendable... but you’re wrong”.

3. Buck’s Death

At the end of 6x18, it appeared as if Buck still hadn’t dealt with the fact that he DIED and it’s possible nobody else has either, especially Eddie, Maddie, Bobby and their found family. Reminder, Maddie and Bobby both said, “Buck, you died!” and when they said it, Buck became frustrated.

However, when Eddie said, “You died Buck!”, he stopped and listened but the way Eddie said it was different for A LOT OF REASONS (post linked here). After Eddie asked if he was allowed to ask how he was, Buck replied, “Honestly Eddie… I don’t know” but they have yet to have a full CANON conversation about the effects of it the same way they haven’t discussed any of their other shared traumas.

Additionally, during that conversation, they briefly discussed the shooting but they didn't fully talk about it other than Buck asking Eddie what he remembered. It’s another important and shared traumatic event that’s happened between them but like the well, the hostage situation and Eddie's breakdown, they still have yet to discuss it. Buck seemed to be a little upset by the fact that Eddie “said” he didn’t remember anything other than the searing pain he felt in his shoulder (I believe he remembers more than he said he does).

Buck's response was, “Is that it?” as if to say, “You don’t remember me crawling underneath a firetruck, pulling you out, picking you up and putting you inside of the truck? You don't remember me holding a gauze to your wound and asking you to stay with me? You don't remember asking me if I was hurt? Because I WAS!” Also, it was kind of like Buck’s heart broke because Eddie “said” he doesn’t "really" remember it while Buck can’t forget the way his heart fell out of his chest that day when he saw the love of his life bleeding out in the middle of the street.

Also, Eddie’s still waiting for Buck to talk about the fact that he died. Reminder, Eddie's heart fell out of his chest too and he yelled at the hospital staff and told them to "Do More!" Even though they briefly discussed it while they were in the cemetery in 6x15, BUCK STILL HASN’T DEALT WITH IT YET! If he would have gone to therapy instead of whatever he was doing with the DeAtH dOuLa, then maybe he would have dealt with it by now.

4. Buck’s Couch

Full Disclosure: Like so many viewers, I was pissed at the end of the season when Buck asked N to help him pick out a new couch because it didn’t make any sense and the truth is IT STILL DOESN’T but hindsight is 20/20 and I do believe the couch was still there for a reason. IMO, it has everything to do with what could happen between Buck and Eddie in season 7.

Please note, these are my observations and interpretations about what I believe the destruction of Buck’s couch represented.

After Margaret bought Buck a new couch at the end of 6x11, beginning in 6x12, the show spent a lot of time showing how uncomfortable it was for Buck whenever he tried to rest on it. Also, they AVOIDED showing it in a lot of other scenes even though Buck’s previous couch (the black leather one), when he still had it, could always be seen in the frame (post linked here). However, the orange couch wasn’t fully seen until 6x18 before Kameron gave birth on it.

IMO, her giving birth on the couch Buck's mother purchased represented a lot of things including Buck’s idea of the life he always believed he was supposed to have. Reminder, he gave his sperm (I don’t think the baby is his but let’s roll with this idea for a moment) to Connor (a former roommate) so him and his wife could have a baby even though Connor and Buck hadn’t seen each other in years.

He met him while they were in Peru and the only reason Buck ended up in L.A. was because Connor suggested he move with him and his friends because they were “kind of like a family”. Also, he said Buck has a good heart and that was the reason why he wanted him to be their donor but reminder, the reasons why he said he chose him aren’t hereditary.

It appears the way Connor presented himself in 6x4, with a wife and in search of that "missing" piece (a baby) is exactly what Buck’s always wanted and that’s what his couch represented. Let's be real, Connor manipulated Buck and they aren’t friends because if they were, wouldn’t he have invited Buck to the wedding or kept in contact with him over those three years? It kind of seemed like he wanted to rub his nose in the fact that he finally settled down while Buck was still living the bachelor life (not really because he already has his own family with Eddie and Chris, he just hasn't realized it yet).

The issue with Buck’s couches was he’s wanted his own family for years but the way his life has been presented, it appears he believes no one wants to build a life or a family with him and that's why he gave away a piece of himself. In doing so, he was trying to fix the issues he may have seen in Connor's and Kameron's marriage since it was barely hanging on by a thread. Reminder, Connor let his pregnant wife leave and he didn’t try to reconcile with her. Also, Buck never said why he didn’t want to turn them down when he was talking to Hen even though he should have.

I believe the destruction of Buck’s couch with the birth of the baby on it was about more than the couch itself. It was destroyed and unsalvageable because THE DREAM OR IDEA Buck’s always believed he was supposed to have got destroyed when he gave his sperm away. Also, the couch was his MOTHER’S idea of the life she wants him to have instead of the life he wants to have for himself, hence the reason why he told her he would get a couch when he was ready but she ignored him and bought him one anyway.

His "destroyed couch" illustrated the image Buck’s had in his mind of the life and the family he thought he was supposed to want for years, (i.e., a wife and a child) is no longer applicable because his family will include a husband, EDDIE and their son, CHRIS.

Reminder, there was a lot of talk about the types of family in 6B and they all related to Buck's idea of a family. In 6x10, Buck told Bobby and Eddie, “It kind of felt like we were an actual family” but then Eddie replied, “You are an actual family”. Also, in 6x13 when they went to play poker, Eddie responded to Buck while they were walking through the kitchen and said, “It’s a different kind of family” and later in the same episode, Chimney said to Maddie, Athena and Bobby, “Every family is different” but they were talking about Buck because Maddie said she would be furious with Buck if he did what Rhonda Fitzsimmons did when she used her nephew to gain access to Maddie's and Chimney's home.

5. Eddie’s Couch

Eddie’s blue couch has always been Buck’s couch too and if it wasn’t going to be Buck's anymore, then something would have happened to it or Eddie would have bought a new one like he did at the end of season 2. But Eddie didn’t and only Buck’s couch got DESTROYED at the end of season 6👀.

Reminder, in 6x9 Eddie was shown sleeping on it, in 6x12 Buck was shown sleeping on it and Chris was shown sleeping on it in 6x15.

Eddie didn’t get the blue couch until season 3 and the couch he had in season 2 was gray (post linked here). It’s evident Buck still hasn’t figured out Eddie’s couch is also his even though he does know he’s not a guest there.

Therefore, Eddie’s couch and everything it represents for Buck, i.e., a romantic relationship, family and fatherhood will be in play until Buck realizes it or until Eddie explains it to him.

Will the small amount of angst Buck and Eddie experience in season 7 revolve around these 5 unresolved items or others? Only the showrunner, writers and producers know the answer to that question.

#buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #christopher diaz #the buckley diaz family #buckley diaz family #911 abc #911 meta #911 on abc #911 season 7 #911 season 7 speculation #911 speculation #ryan guzman #oliver stark #anti connor and kameron #anti marisol #anti natalia dollenmeyer #anti eddiemarisol #anti bucktalia

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tenebrous-academic · 7 days

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Things I’m pondering for next season in no particular order

What is the work environment going to be like for Hen and Chimney when they’re back under Gerrard? (I’m legitimately so worried about them but I can’t see them taking his shit this time around - which likely means disciplinary meetings and write-ups for insubordination)

Will Buck face discrimination and hostility for being a queer man? (The exact same discrimination that made Tommy hide who he was for years)

Will Tommy try and break up with Buck in a misguided attempt to protect him from Gerrard? (If so, I don’t see that lasting more than 1-2 episodes before someone knocks some sense into him)

Will Bobby realize there are real-world consequences for putting in your two weeks notice and that it’s not as simple as “just kidding I’m back now”? (I have so many thoughts about this but honestly the main what is what did he expect would happen???)

Will Michael come back and help rebuild Bobby and Athena’s house in a callback to when he fixed their fireplace?

Will Buck’s place in Christopher’s life be acknowledged openly now that things like custody are being discussed?

Literally WHAT is happening with Gerrard and the Councilwoman??? Tim posted that picture of them and I can’t stop thinking about what it means.

Will Eddie finally go back to Frank and cash in the frankly absurd amount of therapy he needs?

Will TK ever receive vindication that he called Buck being queer in Season 2? (Please bring back the crossover episodes I’m begging you Tim)

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mysteriouslybluepirate · 7 months

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Can't send asks from my sideblog, but this is @chewing-the-drywall

I feel like much of s2 fell into Frenchie's "we put it in the box and then lock it and don't open it again" in the sense that it set up A LOT that I was intrigued about how they would address it, but it either never was mentioned again or was handled poorly.

Examples range from light, like how I wish we saw more of the crew interacting with each other in ways that built on their characters from S1, where in S2 they didn't feel any more developed, or even regressed. (Example, Fang used the word Fingies 2-3 times through S2, and it felt like they were using it almost as a shorthand for his character, rather than making him feel more real and multidimensional as a character.)

100% @chewing-the-drywall. When I first heard that line I had I was so excited for the story to prove Frenchie wrong. Or show how important it can be to put aside problems to stay alive in the moment. But in the end, this one line summarized how the season handled everyone, besides Stede and Ed. Below, is an in depth discussion on where this season decided to spend it's limited amount of time. Instead of focusing on the characters and plotlines they'd already established.

This season had so MANY ideas it wanted to touch on.

Izzy trying to deal with his unrequited love and opening up to a new way of living. The traumatized 'Revenge' crew trying to adapt to a softer way of life again. The abandoned crew learning how to help their traumatized friends. Introducing new characters like Zheng, Auntie, and Archie into our main group. Setting up a conflict to resolve in season three. Along the way, referencing Pirates of history like Ned Low, Mary Reed, and Anne Bonny.

Notice, I've said all this and we're not even at our romantic leads.

Which is fine. Stories are fluid things. As long as the story knows how to flow from our leads to our side characters. Which leads us to how I feel this show took a lot of time away from establishing our central crew-

[Warning- this will be a controversial opinion- I want to know what y'all think about this] Zheng/Oluwande. This seasons habit of retreading old plotlines and referencing scenes from S1.

What S1 did so well was paralleling the side stories with what was going on with Ed/Stede. Usually, highlighting how well Stede/Ed worked by showing how much Ed/Izzy DIDN'T work. Or general hijinks that tied into the plot (Oluwande and Frenchie on the French ship).

Season 2 chose to parallel our main story with what was going on between Zheng/Oluwande as a budding romance and Izzy's slow recovery. The reason Zheng/Oluwande scenes felt like a waste for me in that the story was JUST a retelling the story we watched from S1.

A frustrated first mate(Auntie), and a legendary captain(Zheng) fighting over the captain falling in love with an idiot(Olu). In season 2, much like every callback for me, it felt like it slowed down the plot by pulling us out of the story. Like...yeah, you did the thing again, do you want me to applaud you for it?

I LIKE Zheng and Oluwande as a couple! I like that Oluwande was debating leaving Stede and taking Jim and Archie with him. But at the same time, I didn't care about Zheng until episode 7 when she beat up Stede, showing that yes. She's not just some all powerful woman taken down by a mix of love(the crew in ep3) and thinking that she was above it all (ep 7). She's fast on her feet, smart, and willing to stab someone who gets in her way. She's her own person. But.

Every other scene that established her was about her romance, felt like we could have put Rhys and Taika in there. It didn't feel...unique. It's as if the show only knows 1 way to write a romance between a badass and a bumbling idiot. Again. Oluwande in season 1 wasn't dumb in the same way everyone else was. He was protective of Jim, a bit nervous overall, but he was the person the crew chose to lead them. The season just dumbed everyone down a bit and called it a day.

This comes to the larger issue. When we only have eight episodes I don't want to rewatch the exact same plot beats with different characters. Time spent here ends up taking away from other stories we could have told about trauma and growing as a family and other forms of growing as a family. We didn't need another romance plot line. Imagine taking this time instead to show Lucius reaching out to Pete AND the crew for help. Or Frenchie finally feeling safe enough to play his lute. Or Roach helping Fang get over his thing with cakes-you get my point.

The fact we took all the found family stuff from season one, and pushed it onto only Izzy in S2 means when he dies, all the found family shit falls away. His death makes us realize we've been ignoring the central family we were supposed to care about. Because in so many words, their trauma was ignored.

[I even theorize if Izzy was alive and sailed away with them. Showing how he was taken in and loved by his crew, the ending wouldn't feel so hollow. This crew doesn't feel like a caring family. The person who protected them for months died, wasn't mourned, and then they threw a wedding the same day. Not even a full day to mourn. The 'New Revenge' feels like a heartless crew of characters we barely recognize because they aren't a family like they were at the end of S1. More like coworkers who sometimes fall in love with eachother.]

Trauma, Timelines, and Tonal issues when jumping from Episodes 1-3 to Episodes 4-5.

When the crews meet up, the story chooses to focus on the fun plot. Ed and Stede recovering their relationship, only dipping back into that serious tone when Izzy or Lucius come on screen to 'make things sad' again. I don't think the transition from 'serious' to 'comedy' was handled well.

I don't have an official timeline of the events of season two. But from what I remember, everything happens within 2 weeks.

In episode 4, Stede ignored the vote of his crew- to let the man who was torturing half his 'FAMILY' for at least 80 days- back aboard. This rubbed me the wrong way, as it showed Stede being a selfish prick in a way that could seriously harm his crew. That's when I started to see how not adding a *single* time-skip mid-season would hurt S2.

Imagine if we had a one-week off-screen time skip between episodes 4 and 5.

Maybe it's implied that they stay in that town for a bit. Izzy would a bit more time to learn to move on his new leg and start to open up to those he already trusts. Include a scene of Izzy WITH the crew, maybe laughing about something with the old traumatized crew, even if it's just a 30-second opener. Imply that the traumatized crew would have more time to settle in with the family they miss. Show that yeah, the traumatized crew needs more time to heal. Imply at the start of the 'Ed apology' that Ed and Stede have had more time to talk their issues out.

THEN have Ed apologize. You can even keep the bullshit corporate to show that Ed still has to work for this.

Healing takes time. Setting a series over the span of two weeks after half your cast was tortured by your lead love interest? After five of your main crew thought they would sail off into a storm and die after months of stress and life threatening battles? Why did that shit get shoved to the side so quickly?

Framing episode 5 as the START of Ed making amends with the crew, only to drop the plot by episode 7? Not a smart move. Because let's be honest, 'poison into positivity' in episode 6, referring to the fact that they sold all of Ed's loot to pay for the party, ignores the sacrifices the crew made to live that long. (The death of Ivan, and intense trauma they all need to work through). In a way, Ed throwing this party was him asking the crew to start putting everything away in that imaginary box.

It's Ed retroactively letting himself say 'hey, that time I spent torturing my captives was worth it because we got something good out of it' while still ignoring his own guilt. Ed needed to take accountability for his actions. No more 'I took 'a' mans leg' bullshit. The reason his arc feels so unsatisfying is that the plot easily forgives him. Fuck. I hate what they did for Ed's arc, but that's not the point.

Overall.

My issue with this season is not that it chose to do these topics, it's that it didn't think about the implications of what they were bringing up. It didn't dare to think 'maybe it's fucked if we quickly brush off a trauma like this'. Again. I know we have to blame MAX for cutting off two episodes. But I don't think 2 additional episodes would fix a tone problem seen going from episodes 3-4.

Fucking hell. Each member of the revenge had the potential for their own arc, so it's baffling to see them all reduced to 'well meaning idiot' when they all felt so fleshed out in S1.

When izzy gives his speech about belonging, there's a reason the only image in the show of the crew all together was from S1.

At the end of the day, Season 2 didn't let our surviving side characters grow. This is a mean spirited bit on how I feel the writers see the their own characters.

Stede and Ed are our leads. They won't die, not in this genera. Their shitty actions will be forgiven because it's a comedy, and as long as it's joked about, it holds no weight. They won't die. They won't get fatally hurt. Their trauma will be taken seriously, but it's a 50/50 on if they'll talk about it before breaking up again. They will eventually get a happy ending, their trauma looked at head on, because duh.

Jim, Olu, Lucius, Pete? Characters who used to have defined personalities in S1, but haven't been defined much beyond their relationships with their partners? Whose trauma might be mentioned, but will quickly be 'resolved' in one scene? Shame. Seems like they're only useful as set dressing, But we might make you useful as interchangeable side characters to riff against. Oh, and you're in love! Isn't that cool!

Izzy? I'll just quote Jenkins here. "To have him become a father figure to Blackbeard, and on some level to the rest of the crew, and to see him become the heart of why we’re giving pirates the chance to stand for being able to live how you choose. In reality, they’re thieves and criminals, but what our pirates stand for is a life of belonging to something larger than they are in the face of a crushing, slightly fascist normalcy." So...Is Izzy a pirate and accepted into the Revenge family? Or is he still an outsider? Jenkins gave us a romcom but still defines Izzy's character as that of one stuck in a drama/tragedy. Point and laugh, because tonally these two things clash HARD and will make an audience lose trust in it's writers unless well established. Leading us to the entire issue we've pointed out of not letting your characters actions hold in dramatic weight in your story.

Frenchie, Wee John, Roach, and Fang- Ah. No love interests again...shit. Well. Background actors it is... for now. We'll see. But we need 2 more scenes of the couple breaking up, so MAYBE you'll get some backstory hinted at in dialogue. You all have 1 thing your good at, so that's easy enough to put you where you belong.

Buttons and Swede? Well. They're still alive!! Don't be sad, fans :) The actors just couldn't show up anymore. We don't want our silly happy queer pirate rom com to not end on a happy ending! (Closes the lid of the trash can where they're keep Con O'Neill a bit tighter, thanking God Con was silenced by a strike this entire season from social media)

Do you agree, or disagree? Leave any lingering thoughts down below!

I'd love to chat down below.

#I am absolutely screwing myself over spelling-wise by adding a poll but fuck it. That's what we do #Overall: Just because you can fit something into your story doesn't mean it needs to be shown on screen.#I wanted to add a section of all the scenes I'd cut/tighten to make my added scenes work but I don't think we're there yet as a fandom #I theorize that the reason they couldn't change the script and had to hack it up was due to them already having 10 episodes fully written #also I SWEAR I LIKE ZHENG- but the part of me that sees her as a hollow Ed 'narrative mirror' finds her a bit boring until episode 7 #I LOVED her ship and how she hated Stede. But that's just because I generally don't enjoy Stede when he's unquestioned #Stede on her ship was a pacified lamb slowly getting fattened for the slaughter. She would have turned on him SO EASILY. She almost did too #I semi-tolerated Ed/Stede's love story of not communicating and puppy love. Seeing it again but sped up didn't make me like it more #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd critical #?#yeah I'll tag that just to be safe #izzy hands #edward teach #ofmd s2 finale #ofmd season 2 spoilers #ofmd s2 meta #ofmd s2 analysis #trauma

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elliesgaymachete · 10 months

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how would you suggest someone get into critical role if they don't know where to start

There’s a lot of things to take into consideration when starting CR because it’s A LOT of content so I’ll give you a few options, friend!

Option One: Start with Campaign 1. Vox Machina is the most plot driven and has the most classic fantasy hero archetypes. Pros- it’s complete, less episodes than campaign 2, sets the foundation for the world/story so you understand references in the later campaigns. Cons- the quality is kinda shit for most of the campaign, and the first 25 or so episodes are a little rough because there is another cast member that eventually leaves the group. Very little ashley johnson 😔 EDIT: Also it starts in the middle of things because it was an already ongoing dnd campaign that Geek and Sundry wanted to start streaming, so characters and relationships are already established versus c2 and c3 we start at the beginning of the story

Option two: Start with campign 2. The Mighty Nein’s story is more character driven, and they’re more of a ragtag group of misfits that kind of stumble into being heroes. Pros: it’s complete, much better quality the whole time, and no weird hiccups, the story itself stands alone from c1 so it’s easy to start with. Cons- you might miss some references to c1, and it’s more episodes than c1 so it’ll take longer to get through. Little ashley johnson but her character stays more relevant in her absences and eventually she’s back full time.

Option Three: say fuck it we ball and start with campaign 3. C3 is pretty plot driven like c1 but the characters are kind of ragtag misfits like c2, and it’s currently in progress. Pros- the least amount of episodes so you could catch up the most easily, episodes are the highest quality so far. The most Ashley Johnson, she’s here full time babey. Cons- a lot of backstory and plot is relevant to c1 and a liiittle bit to c2, and also some things from Exandria Unlimited (a short like 8 episode miniseries they did) so you might feel like you’re missing out on some things.

Alternatively: If you want the best way to catch up on Campaign 3 because it’s still airing, I would recommend watching The Legend of Vox Machina animated series. I think the 2 seasons that are out is more than enough to understand the most important callbacks. Then if you really care about having full context watch at least one episode of EXU, at least to know the characters. And then jumping into Campaign 3 should be no problem! You could also watch TLOVM and then jump into campaign 2, or watch TLOVM and then jump into campaign 1 where it leaves off (though things are a bit different and more fast paced in the show)

Other general tips/resources: Watch at 1.25 or 1.5 speed so you can get through the episodes faster. Critical Role Animated Recap exists for all of campaign 2 but it’s VERY vague. Like bare bones basic plot points. Written recaps are also available on the CR website if you want to read. Also marisharaygun on youtube does highlight videos but i’m not sure exactly what campaigns/episodes they exist for

That was A LOT of information and I totally understand if it’s overwhelming because they do have a LOT of content. But hopefully this helped a little bit, and if you have any other questions totally feel free to let me know!

#critical role

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marsbotz · 11 months

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hello I keep seeing u talk ab loving skybound but I'm curious as to why u love it, and would LOVE to read a super in-depth explanation bc im kinda a skybound notliker and ik uve changed my mind on certain thigns ab this show b4, and I was hoping u cld do it again !!! :DDD /gen

YEAH. OKAY !!! sorry this is super long and rambly i already had to rewrite it once cus tumblr ate it lol... and also sorry its all basically abt jay (running away embarrassed)

first of all let me say i do think skybound is a BAD season. having the characters suddenly all be sexist out of nowhere to drive plot is stupidddd and so is having a retcon ending that makes it all redundant except for Jaya Canon Now. i think thats mostly what makes the fandom not like it. BUT. i think its sooo interesting for like so many reasons also

i think s8 is considered the darkest season which is fair. but skybound also has a crazyyy amount of dark and DEEPLY interesting things it touches on. the ninja disappearing one by one. jays birth father being his favourite actor. jay torture. jaya actually being interesting!! lets talk abt these.

having the ninja slowly be cut out of the season is GREAT for not only building tension but also being able to more deeply build upon jay and nyas characters (and their relationship). the 22 min format means that some characters (like wu and kai) are gone for AGES. which is sad for kai fans but greatttt for the season. it rlly makes u feel their absence, and some of their disappearances are scary!! zane trying to outsmart nadakhan but realising too late hes been tricked... AHH!!!

if you compare this to how they did it in s12 its a lot more impactful as theres more time for the characters to... be gone. and the videogame nature rlly does take away a lot of the tension IMO. if jays mothers had been in prime empire like planned.... it would have been a GREAT parallel i think but as it is its just kind of odd. thats another convo tho lol (altho there issss the mention of jay being adopted at the end. very interesting [it goes nowhere])

i literally think abt jay adoption arc every god damn day of my life. ill try to explain this without getting too deep into my personal sicko hcs lol. first you get a rlly nice callback to s1 w jay being ashamed of his parents and living in a junkyard only to realise how litte he cares once theyre threatened. thennn you have the whole situation at cliffs house. jay finds out the man who abandoned him at birth (possibly? we dont know details) is the actor for fritz donnegan. the same character who jay imitated and aspired to be like. and then he realises his father felt the same admiration towards jay!! and they both never knew!!!

i think this twist is what makes a lot of jays behaviour in s6.... not excusable... but understandable. jay is shown to be insecure and have weird fucking ways of coping with this (lying. lying lying all the time) and so it kinda feels natural that his way of coping with this information would be to 1. hide the fact he made wishes 2. try to imitate his father through his book and 3. Never Speak Of This Again.

speaking of that lets talk about jay being tortured. can we talk about that?? they FUCKED him up. but the most important part out of allll of it is a character trait i rarely see ppl attribute to jay even though its like... pretty consistent for him. is his willpower!! hes able to endure days of torture to the point where he can barely walk and talk at the end of it just to stop nadakhan from gaining more power

nadakhan also directly points out jays insecurities and how they make him lie to his friends... and jays able to show some of his smarts thru trying to get flintlocke to stage a mutiny! honestly the whole episode is so damn interesting it makes me SEETHE its not more talked abt LOL

i wont get into my insanely complex jaya opinions rn but i will say s6 has one of the most interesting depictions of the ship to me. nya being reluctant to date jay due to being seen simply as his girlfriend is soooo interesting and fits well w her arc of not wanting to give up her own deal w sam x to become a ninja. its just a shame they had to retroactively make everyone misogynistic to do so lolol... and the ending w jays wish Potentially forcing them together is soooo odd and kinda goes what the rest of the season was setting up for them. THIS IS MAINLY why i think ppl hate this season. cus it sets up SOOO much cool stuff and then drops it all last second

i think the things that could have saved skybound from being so hated would be

1. do the same plotpoints w nya but dont drag the ninja AND DARETH into it ..... make them supportive of her!

2. makes jays final wish have some FUCKING consequence! you could do a LOT with how he worded it to twist it badly (im a nadakhan return truther for life)

3. not dropping every single intersting character trait ever. and also not dropping the GOD DAMN ADOPTION ARCCCCCC and also not revealing jay to be so crushingly insecure he physically cannot stop himself from lying to ppl and putting on a happy mask and then turn him into a one note comic relief character. [becoming a soulless husk]

LOL i realise this sounds now like i hate skybound I DONT i just think its very flawed. BUT thats whyyyy i love it... because its so interesting! its flawed in a way like "there is soooo much i cld do w this" and not like "i dont care about any of this its so bad". w ninjago my fav parts have always been the weird icky edgy parts that are almost too much for what it is... which is a childrens lego show. ik they cld never have done most of the interesting stuff i imagine coming out of skybound and thats ok! bc i get to think abt it evilly.

heres some assorted things i love and think are fun in skybound

kai and zane banter at the repo yard

ronin capturing the ninja!! specifically him shutting down zane from the inside is super scary and cool

NINJA IN PRISON!!!!! i almost threw up when they went to jail in crystallised its so fuckign fun. SKYBOUND 2!!!

zane playing chess against nadakahn. another scary zane moment

jay trusting only cole w the truth abt his wishes (HELL YES BROTHER)

clanceeeeee <3 him being like one sided friends w jay and standing up to nadakhan at the end of it all... wahhh

NINJA REPLACEMENTS. so fucking funny i love jay and his assortment of old guys And Skylor

everytime i watch it i cant stop thinking of this ytp and it makes me cry. its not even that funny i just have watched it like 50 times

its dungeon media. this is smth i made up and only i know abt . dont worry abt it but its true

ok my brain is mush HOPE THIS MAKES. some sort of sense . bascially trying to condense 6 years of Thoughts into coherent analysis is impossible for me LOL

#this post twisteed into smth dark and evil halfway thru sorry. i balcked out im not proofreading this shit #ninjago #asks #now someone ask me about s7.#ITS SO HARD DOING THESE cus i literally have a billion thoughts from over 6 yrs of stewing in my brain but its fun i love talking abt ninja #some day i will be able to make actual ninjago meta posts. but not today

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allyriadayne · 5 months

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....i guess i should have frazed the question better. i'm not asking this in bad faith i'm genuinely asking for your take because i like your analysis and i respect your opinion. if you would have asked me last year if i think alicent is a well written character i would have said yes. but because of all of the fandom discourse skewing how i view things i'm honestly not sure at this point.

it's okay, thanks for clearing it up!

to me, TO ME (because at the end of the day this is more of a nitpicking issue that this fandom likes to indulge in after more than a year of hiatus), alicent is generally well written. if she wasn't, i don't think that many people would've fixated on her for good or bad, she's a well realized character with a clear personality, made to be sympathetic and it succeeds. the alicent from eps 1 until the first half of 8 is SO compelling and tight. is in moments where the writers put her relationship with rhaenyra over her writing that her character falters, like regarding her motives: does she want rhaenyra to be queen? or does she believe in what otto tells her? i go back and forth on this issue because it'd fit with alicent's nervous and anxious personality, wanting to please everyone but failing, i think she'd want to take the "easiest" route and believe in rhaenyra like she does in ep 8, but it's also pretty easy to believe it's just the writers squeezing another emotional moment from the two of them over the development of the alicent from eps 6 & 7 where she's rightfully afraid of what would happen to her and her children if rhaenyra ascends. i have this same beef with the motivations on ep 10 when otto brings the page to rhaenyra, it's not that it's a rhaenicent moment or whatever because out of context it's pretty good and such a good callback to when they were girls together but these women are past that!! 20 years too late!!!

but i wouldn't say at all that she's badly written, or that is /just/ her. i think there's a larger problem with some characters where the writers dropped the ball that could've been fixed with one line of dialogue or something. it's more prevalent in the second half and i think people have pointed at alicent for two reasons in good or bad faith: 1) she's one of the protagonists and 2) she's garnered incredibly amounts of attention. so most of her problems would have more traction inside the fandom. i could give you the example of larys, a minor character with zero traction in fandom in comparison: he terrorizes alicent by showing her his power over him, it's fine, this could be shown in SO many different ways, instead the writers decided to give him a foot fetish. the character with the clubfoot. why? WHY? dropping the ball completely for the laughs. in the fandom this got reviled only for what it did for alicent (valid) and only the larysheads saw that it was completely against his character but it stopped there bc no one cares about larys.

my point with this is that the fandom will speak about alicent in every which way from here to eternity, it's a given and with season 2 it's going to be worse. you are not asking me and i'm sorry if i sound patronizing but what i recommend is rewatching at your own pace and just closing the tab when there's discourse that doesn't contribute or critic in any meaningful way.

#ask #Anonymous #alicent hightower #the worse thing in this fandom is the going in circles about the same issues. it's fun when it's someone obsessing in good faith about idk #the costumes; but then there are people who go round and round about how bad they are the fabric the style etc just shut up!!#it's valid to criticize but these negative spirals are not fun to anyone #it's the fandom recycling the same discourse every month. stop!!!#anyway. too much time to think about is bad for fandom #hope this helps.

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gameboy-berry · 1 year

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On another note, it would be interesting to see drama as Treasure Chest attempts to get revenge on the Brackets. With his mental state declining from the lengths he's taken to do so.

Imagining a finale with Chainsaw and Treasure Chest. It's super obvious but it makes a lot of sense as well. Especially for both of their characters and stories up to this point.

There's some slight parallels to them I think. Hear me out

From the start, it's pretty clear that Chainsaw doesn't want to lose. He knows full well if he does, he'll more than likely get out. Everyone knows this as well. Heck, Gold Ingot used this to get Chainsaw to do the shit he doesn't like(PPT2 4 and 9).

Even then, he still uses dirty tactics to win. Just only after leaving Team 47 since now he has nobody to keep him in check.

Only getting caught when Gold Ingot's property is involved.

Chainsaw has not only an immense amount of strength to win, but also 2 allies assist him in any way.

Treasure Chest on the other hand is not familiar at all with the circumstances of a competition. He actively strives to do what's right, keep the team in check and claim victory. But he also would do anything to try to secure that position

This ends up putting him at odds with everyone. And even his own teammates. He's shown to have decent strategy skills, but has the allies to help him stripped away from him one by one.

He should have been gone a few episodes ago after all!

I imagine that with the new environment, Treasure Chest would have to resort to various methods to try to not let Chainsaw get the upper hand. Even if it means making less than ideal sacrifices. If it means doing things that were against his views.

(side note: I know season 1 doesn't get brought up beyond callbacks and Mr Hand, but I want to bring up the unintentional parallel of Chainsaw and Treasure Chest both using tokens to eliminate another member only for it to bite them in the back. Again it's not intentional but. It's there.)

But yeah. Both have fought extremely hard to make it in the game. Resorting to various tactics to do so. Even if it means stooping low. A finale with Chainsaw and Treasure Chest. I can't word it right but Narrative wise it would show how Treasure Chest's Failures as a captain followed him to the very end. And we know he's definitely not willing to let Chainsaw get the last laugh. And Chainsaw is definitely not backing down either.

Of course the merge just started and only now have the new conflicts been established. But I want to share my cents on the whole thing.

#rhythmposts #paper puppets take 2 #object shows #chainsaw ppt2 #treasure chest ppt2 #revenge is such a fascinating thing isnt it #.txt #just observations

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sodiumlamp · 5 months

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Picard

I hate this show so much.

It's not that bad, I guess. I've said before, the actors are talented, and the production values are generally pretty impressive. You can tell a lot of work went into this. It's not like they just put a hand puppet on the screen and had him go "Herpy-derp I am the Picard! Watch me make poopie!" We're a long way from rock bottom.

But it's still really unsatisfying to watch this thing. I find myself thinking of all the "bad" Trek episodes I've seen in the past, and pretty much all of them would be more fun to watch than this. Quark impersonating his mother? Better than Picard. Dr. Crusher fucks a candle ghost? Better than Picard. Warp 10 Humanders? Not even a question, that episode kicked ass. I mean, it was really stupid, but the real worst episode of Voyager was "Retrospect". Still, both of those were better than Picard.

Let's branch out a little. Dragon Ball GT? Better than Picard. The Proposal? Yeesh, that's a close one. No, Betty White was in that. Still better than Picard. Hocus Pocus? I mean, it's shorter than Picard. I'm trying to think of something objectively worse than watching this show, and I think I'm having to dip into just bad life experiences, like getting dumped or being unemployed.

Let me try to get to this particular episode. It's S2E5, "Watcher". They call it that because the Borg Queen advised Picard to locate a "watcher" who was a potential ally in the mission to fix time. Picard found her last episode, but she's actually a "supervisor" like Gary Seven from the TOS episode. See, we're doing callbacks to Gary fucking Seven here, but this show still can't figure out why Picard and Guinan don't remember meeting in 1893.

I don't think they ever named this "supervisor" character. They should call her "Gary Eight" because fuck it. Anyway, her job is to shepherd the career of astronaut Renee Picard, who's due to go on a spaceflight, but she's got the same anxiety/depression that everyone in 2024 has. Also everyone in 2401 has it too, so time is a flat circle.

Renee's therapist, Q, is trying to talk her out of going on the mission, so Picard's like "Aha! That's just the sort of trick that asshole likes to play." Except no it isn't, he's the one who showed Picard the altered timeline and gave him the opportunity to go back and try to fix it. Why would he be the one trying to fuck things up?

Apparently Q's powers don't work right now, so he does a side plan where he contacts Noonien Soong's ancestor and cures his daughter's comic book mutation to save her life. In exchange he wants Soong's help to do... something. I don't even feel like speculating. This show just drains all the enthusiasm right out of me.

There's a lot of doubles in this show. The Watcher/Supervisor/Gary Eight looks like Laris, but without the Romulan ears. This is never explained. When Raffi and Seven save Rios from ICE, there's an Elnor lookalike on the bus with Rios. This is never explained. The Soong ancestors look exactly like Alton Soong and Soji from Season 1. This... kind of makes sense, but there was no reason to have them be the Soongs. If Brent Spiner wanted to be in the show so damn badly he shouldn't keep asking the writers to kill him off.

None of this crap matters. They could have jumped straight from Episode 2 to Episode 6 and it would have been fine. Picard goes straight to the Watcher to find out about Renee, and they can just skip the bit with Jurati merging with the Borg Queen, since I'm pretty sure that won't amount to anything anyway.

#mike watches picard #sheer fucking hubris

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theepsizet · 2 years

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Sanders Sides Season 2 Finale Predictions

Or rather predictions for Pt 1/4 of the Season 2 finale, b/c I honestly have no idea what the plot is going to be AT ALL.

So, the Season 2 Finale is coming very soon, according to Thomas. Naturally, there’s still a lot of speculation into what will be shown. This entire post will be the obvious predictions (again for Pt 1/4), as well as a couple ideas that might seem far-fetched but can possibly make sense considering what the series.

And yes, this has been done before, but I might as well review the important points.

Prediction #1: Wrap Up Loose Ends

POF ended with a bittersweet end-card, but with tension still being in the air. Roman is pissed that Janus is accepted — his black-and-white mentality makes him believe/convinced that “Dark Sides” = evil, and it certainty didn’t help that both snapped at each other; aka that scene — and he’s even more upset that Patton is giving “the snake” a seat at the table.

Thomas said in one of his instagram Q&As that the Season 2 finale will have 4 parts, and with this in mind it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to believe that the Season 2 Finale will tie into POF and, subsequently the “Wedding vs Callback” trilogy — SvS, DWIT, and POF.

The trilogy was an emotional roller-coaster. It was a simple turned thought experiment where the final decision had dangerous consequences. This included Thomas worsening his relationship with intrusive thoughts — despite the beneficial outcome that Remus can now show up, he’s still not fully accepted by Thomas; his existence as “Dark Creativity” is just acknowledged — and revealing that Patton’s moral code was so extreme he believed/wanted Thomas to purse martyrdom and literally die for others for the cost of being a good person.

It’s wasn’t pleasant. And it certainly isn’t over.

Virgil and Janus have always had tension between each other every time the latter showed up. And since Virgil does know him personally, it makes the grudge much worse than Roman’s. It’s heavily implied — and even a common theory at this point — that the two had a fallout, of sorts, otherwise Virgil wouldn’t have any qualms for Janus being around.

And for a side who is 100% against anything that Janus brings to the discussion board, Virgil would naturally be absolutely pissed that Janus is accepted by Thomas.

There’s actually a very subtle hint in FWSA, where Virgil & Roman at the beginning of the episode both admonished Thomas for simply using “little white lies” that are otherwise harmful/not really impact compared to using deceit as a solution for trust issues.

(Side-note: Deep down, Virgil does understand Janus’ importance, but their past implied fallout would only diminish this idea. Virgil would only agree with Janus reluctantly, and even then he wouldn’t like to admit that the latter has some good points.

This could also tie into Virgil’s biggest of being seen as the “bad guy” again. He tried so hard to be accepted, and when he finally opened up about him being a Dark Side, Thomas was shocked... what would happen next? Will Thomas reject him once again? The answer is no, of course not. Thomas accepts him for who he is, but Virgil is still anxiety, and these questions can’t easily go away. Not only that, but no amount of deception/denial will help diminish this; hence why Virgil might even lash out if Janus even tries to remotely assure/comfort him.)

Speaking of Janus, Patton is also going to be someone that Virgil & Roman are both pissed at. For Roman, the reasons are explained above, but for Virgil... well...

It started after DWIT. Virgil was disappointed in himself that he couldn’t protect Thomas from, and since he is the embodiment of anxiety, he naturally thinks of the worst possibilities. And since Patton was pretty accepting of Remus existing — while he’s still uncomfortable, Patton understands that intrusive thoughts are natural and chastising Thomas certainly doesn’t help — Virgil is naturally going to think that if Patton accepts the others, then what bad thing could they do to Thomas?

In the Asides, Virgil made two sarcastic quips towards Patton that were pretty insensative on his part. It would make sense he would make this when Patton accepted that Remus and Janus should be allowed be more prominent:

When Patton suggested they should try to relax: “You [Patton] do realize who you’re talking too?” (ATHD?)

“Oh that’s great, you’re giving Thomas permission.” (WTIT)

Even the 5th anniversary made it clear that Virgil wasn’t too thrilled with Janus being included, and found the best way to actually make him into a flustered mess (“Ask Janus about our song ‘Lies’”).

So, with that out of the way, what does this mean for the Season 2 finale?

There is going to be tension between the 4 sides that will possibly result in a pissed-off argument: Janus & Patton — who simply want what’s best for Thomas — vs Roman & Virgil — who also want what’s best for Thomas, but are too arrogant to understand the problems of listening to only SPECIFIC sides, rather than all 7.

And that’s what Thomas CANNOT do.

If he listened to Virgil & Roman only, he would not only diminish the importance of the other sides, and a black-and-white mentality + his anxiety would only highlight this need to diminish the others to a concerning degree.

Except Virgil & Roman’s job has nothing to do with Thomas’ morality. Not really:

Janus is Thomas’ self-preservation. He’s there to stop Thomas from going over the edge by reminding him to take care of himself.

Patton is Thomas’ morality. He’s there to as Thomas’ personal guide to what’s right and wrong.

(Another side-note:

That isn’t to say that Roman and Virgil’s concerns aren’t valid. Both Janus and Patton need to stop the other for going too far, but POF expressed the idea that it can ONLY be Patton and Janus. Not any other side because it isn’t their job.

Keep in mind that Patton and Janus are not only mature sides with a grey mentality and understand/accept the mistakes they make, but both are assertive sides. Janus fights back to whoever harms him (as showcased when Roman), and Patton reminds the group if an idea is bad/reminds them not to be arrogant:

SVS: “What is this wacky talk? I- You don't mean any of this. I'm your morality, I wouldn't be here if you did!”

LNTAO:

Logan:

Patton:

Moving On, pt 1:

Thomas: I'm sorry I got excited. I know that Virgil's room is where I have to go in order to heighten my anxiety. I gotta think that your room is literally sunshine and rainbows.

Patton: Wha... -laughs nervously- I— -laughs- It's- It's not quite like that, uh...

Thomas: Still, you're at the core of a lot of my happy feelings.

Patton: I'm at the core of a lot of your feelings.

In-conclusion: It’s going to be a mess. A fight where the 4 sides are so pissed off at each other that nothing will be accomplished.

Prediction #2: Patton will snap

So just before Halloween last year, Thomas posted this picture on his twitter:

This tweet was theorized to be a reference to 2 things:

Logan’s Line in AA pt 1 “Flames. On the side of my face. See-Seething... Seething fire”)

Or what occured in WTIT; specifically that infamous scene with the orange eyes:

Interestingly enough, the Spyro Youtooz was later put on Patton’s box. And this can be seen in the background of 2 videos that occured after this tweet. These videos are the 5th anniversary, and, more recently, the video where Thomas plays FNAF for the first time:

Sanders Sides is a series where the devil is in the details, and the fact that Patton’s box has the Spyro Youtbooz led to many theories regarding one specific side.

Yes, I’m talking about Orange.

If the Orange Side embodies rage/wrath, it would make sense that he would have an effect on the other sides. And if the Season 2 finale has 4 of Thomas’ sides pissed at each other, it wouldn’t be to far-fetched to say that Patton will probably snap out of rage at the other sides — again, probably Roman and/or Virgil, for reasons explained above (aka he’s Thomas’ morality, it’s HIS job to know what is right/wrong for Thomas, not theirs).

(Side-note: This isn’t my theory, btw. Many people have already pointed this out; I just thought to bring this point up again to table.)

There’s actually another point to keep in mind, but if the discussion does turn into an argument where the 4 sides are at each other’s throats, then it makes sense that Orange will have subtle influence. He will definitely play a very important part, just like how Virgil & Remus played a subtle yet important part in POF (<cough, cough> the Trolley Problem).

Another thing to keep in mind: In an anger-driven argument, its easier to tune the other person out that actually listen to them. This is just how all arguments become fights. Because of course you’re right. What do they know? The other person is wrong... right?

Tuning the other person out and attacking them out of anger is what naturally occurs in most fights. And these fights tend to be pointless. Nothing gets accomplished, and in the end, both parties simply feel like it was a waste of time.

Prediction #3: Speaking of Orange’s influence

It’s possible he might make a debut. Not a full debut, but possibly a cameo. Maybe. This is going quite beyond simplicity, but it makes sense considering one simple fact.

Season 2 focuses on Thomas realizing he’s not perfect, and that there is no such thing as labeling “good” or “bad” to individual aspects of his personality. Especially to sides he was completely unaware of.

Still, it will only be a cameo. Not a full debut. I still affirm my point that the Season 2 finale will focus on Janus, Patton, Virgil, & Roman, and not have anything to do with Orange. If he does show up, it will be in a penultimate scene or endcard of Pt 3 or 4, showcasing that he does have influence on the other sides.

And his influence could actually prove that Orange possess a hidden role that Thomas should have and needs: catharsis.

Anger isn’t an emotion you can simply repress; it's practically designed to be let out. Holding it in actually makes the anger a lot more volatile, and just like Remus will actually have consequences the more it isn’t released. If Orange is catharsis, the 4 sides fighting each other will help prevent further fights from occurring in the future. It would further prove the duality of a Side: Orange can be harmful, even violent but be needed to blow off some steam before it gets worse.

Final words:

Ooh boy, this post was a lot. I apologize if it’s a mess, but there is just a lot to talk about. I kind of needed to get it out of my system. Feel free to ask me for clarification if you need any.

(Also, more of a personal note, @beauty-and-passion thoughts?)

#sanders sides #sanders sides season finale #janus sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #orange side

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ladybessyboo · 1 year

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Brendan Hunt’s Post-Finale Reddit AMA (Part 2)

(If you missed Part 1, check it out here.)

On Sam & Colin.

Feels convenient to put Colin's public coming out at the end of your finale so you don't have to deal with the fallout, and not even follow up on it in the news clippings we see after. (I do get it, but. But.)

On Doctor Sharon.

On the possibility of using Trent narrating his book in the finale.

Some Beard Headcanons/Tidbits.

That last one is probably my favorite of his answers from the whole AMA, honestly.

On a possible Community crossover.

For those not in the know, Brendan Hunt had a cameo in an episode of Community.

On rewrites, fan theories, and fan reactions.

So, 1) dispense with your "Apple corporate meddling!!" theories about why this season was so messy, 2) you... thought the blatant ship-baiting opening in the FINALE was an "affectionate nod"? Dude, that's just... out of touch, honestly. I'm not really surprised that this is how they viewed it, but.

As for that last one... fuckin YIKES, dude, even if this was where 100% of the criticism for the final was coming from—it isn't, as far as I've seen; I've seen HUGELY mixed reactions, both here and on Reddit, much of which is not related to specific unfulfilled expectations, shipping or otherwise—that's still just an absolute ice cold take on criticism. Sorry that people get invested in the media you make???

(Tedbeccas, y'all really did get clowned on over here, I am so sorry.)

Why was the finale posted late?

and finally...

Will there be more???

Some notable questions he skipped/did not answer:

as in that last question, he pointedly didn't answer multiple highly-upvoted questions about the choice to have so many big S3 moments happen off-screen

it only had like 25 upvotes but someone did ask in a reply about his thoughts on Ted/Trent which was left unreplied

there was a thoughtful question about callbacks & references with almost 400 upvotes that seemed pretty innocuous but he never answered

someone asked what he would write Ted & Beard's future story as after Ted's return to Kansas and he just said "I’m not falling for this!"

someone wrote a whole thing about an Autistic Beard headcanon that had no replies but over 100 upvotes which he didn't touch

there was also a question with a moderate amount of upvotes about Trent's daughter with zero replies

#ted lasso #brendan hunt #reddit ama

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mlchaelwheeler · 2 years

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crazy hours but will and mike's friendship is literally the foundation of both their characters, the evidence is in seasons 1 and 2. if you create a conflict with their friendship and don't successfully resolve it in your narrative you've clearly misunderstood the defining aspects of your characters.

nothing about s4 made it feel like they've reached a resolution in their friendship, there is no emotional payoff. i don't accept the "it felt like i lost you" as a resolution for mike's behaviour especially when they later wrote will's feelings for mike as if they're mike's feelings for el. that is a conflict in their friendship. will is still hiding who he is from mike, there is still a deep chasm in their relationship. mike couldn't even tell his girlfriend of two years he loves her without will's cheerleading from the side.

if they can't have mike in a happy relationship with el and a happy friendship with will at the same time, without either suffering, they've failed their characters. conflict for conflicts sake is poor writing, to make your character seem more interesting with no substance.

the duffer brothers really just took mike's devotion to will in seasons 1-2 and said "it means nothing" and wrote something truly awful. how can you screw up what defines your own characters so badly lmao. idc about byler anymore because i'm very doubtful but for gods sake at least write something where both mike and will are genuine and truthful to each other so their bond can properly be repaired and viewers can feel content with the end of their chapter together.

Real talk!! Mike and Will's characters literally revolve around each other and their deep relationship throughout S1-2. Even if you don't ship byler, it's blatently obvious that Mike and Will have a deeper and more special friendship/connection than they do with the rest of the party. This relationship should've been the core moving forward into S3, but instead it was fractured by the overwhelming amount of time Mike spent with El. This obviously made Will sad and angry (well deserved too, since his best friend since kindergarten suddenly decided to ditch him), but it's also interesting that Mike has only been shown to have trouble interacting normally with Will.

In S4, Mike has no problem having a normal friendship with Lucas, Max, and Dustin. He can hug them normally and nothing is tense or weird. Yet the second he sees Will, he's unable to properly hug him, then ignores him all day only to later reveal he's been paying close attention to Will's behavior/mood the whole time! Once El leaves, Mike and Will's relationship seems to be back to how it used to be: they're being vulnerable with each other and telling each other the truth (mostly) about their feelings. Yet once El gets back, Mike is back to treating Will like trash. It's so obvious that Mike has no idea how to balance himself between Will and El. It's like he can only focus on one of them at a time, and is only his real self when he's around Will. When he's with El, Mike is rude, fake, and stuff/unemotional. He lies constantly and makes excuses to cover for his behavior. Yet when he's with Will, he's honest about what he's thinking and is always paying extra-close attention to him.

It's clear that Mike and Will still have a strong friendship, it's just that El is getting in the way. Unfortunately, because Will believes Mike will never like him back, he resorts to using their friendship bond to help fix Mike. He does this by disguising his feelings and the painting to be about El, when they're actually about him. Will is always trying to make Mike feel better, even when it's at his own expense. If Mike really was a good friend, he'd notice this and check up on Will too. I'm really hoping that's where they're headed in S5, because the final scene seemed like a callback to S2, when Mike was glued to Will's side the whole time.

#sorry this is all over the place. but yah 🤪#the core of byler is friendship! that shouldn't be disregarded in any sense. especially not to push mi|even #will byers #mike wheeler #byler #ask sarah #anon tag

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variousqueerthings · 2 years

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I’ve watched “as time goes by”

which leaves “goodbye, farewell, and amen”

which I will be watching tomorrow

and then I will be a mess the following week at least

but before that, maybe it’s time for a quick review of the last episode + overall the show for me at this point

1. as time goes by

I really enjoyed this episode, and add it to the list of ones that fit well into this final season. We heard three names: Radar, Blake, Frank Burns, and there’s something interesting about the nature of leaving something of Radar’s and Henry’s in the time capsule, but not for Frank

on the one hand, of course it was because none of them liked Frank and didn’t want to give him the respect, but on the other he’s the only one that got to leave without some symbolic loss (I say that, he fully lost Margaret, but she’s more than a symbol and will not be buried in the ground for 100 years!)

Radar’s innocence and Henry’s life, left in Korea. Interesting that they didn’t leave anything of Trapper’s or mention his name. It would have been Hawkeye’s job to do so, and sure, I’ll read too much into it

youknow, I was almost kinda saddened that Charles was just messing with Rizzo, for a moment I genuinely believed him -- not that I don’t think he’s a far superior gremlin to BJ, but youknow... imagines if he’d genuinely had that instinct

Hawkeye ending up genuinely helping Margaret was good for me personally -- I do think, now I’m near the end of the story -- that they definitively have my favourite friendship on the show and I was missing seeing it much after s8. They get each other better than anyone else + bring out better, more thoughtful people, when they want to

I knew Rosalind Chao would arrive at some point! and here she is! I assume she’ll be sticking around for the finale too, which is interesting. My guess is she’s going to end up with Klinger, but who knows with this show, it doesn’t tend to take the romantic happiness route. But if anybody has that sort of character, it’s Klinger!

funnily enough, she’s one of the only things that’s making me a little more relaxed about the finale, because she’s a brand new character, which means for her the finale is more like the main gist of the narrative

I’m pleased that this is the second-to-last episode -- not so intense overall (although with Soon-Lee for a bit there), gives a lot of callbacks to the story and the characters, Margaret is giving me that “I need to get an A+ in being remembered in 100 years, something that is normal to want and possible to achieve” vibe that makes me love her, and Hawkeye is both ribbing her, but ultimately there to support

and Radar’s teddy-bear stays in Korea

2. s11

Overall s11 happened very much like I expected it to -- it relatively continued to be one-off episodes with the odd wrapping up of little things here and there (the time capsule, Hawkeye vs that general which is gonna be stuck in my head forever, potter’s mortgage being paid off) and both Kellye and Rizzo got to spend a little more time at the forefront, which was nice to see

it was hard for me to engage with the episodes that didn’t have some kind of thematic or character furthering device I could latch onto, because I was so fixated on how near the end this is, but alas, that’s syndication and you’re meant to just be able to watch them, I get it. Maybe on my second go-through it’ll be easier for me to focus on s10+11 without the countdown of episodes left in my head running (but also... maybe not... I always react strongly to endings -- I watch lotr every year and cry the same amount every time)

3. all of it

may end up just making a whole other post about all of it, and probably not until me head’s on a little straighter and I’m not still stuck in the middle of feelings, but what a strange experience to watch something that’s been around for quite awhile and isn’t exactly an under-appreciated show, but at the same time was never really on my radar until this year -- I feel like I’ve been let in on the world’s worst kept secret

I’m also currently rewatching it and am near the end of s4, so I need to get on with the single-season rundowns of s2+3, which I haven’t gotten around to yet. what can I say, my process is to write out how I feel, so many more words will happen

there’s also something interesting about watching this right now in the landscape of tv, in which the ability to make anything -- never mind something that’s 11 seasons -- is severely curtailed and monopolized. I’ve watched a fair few things pre-2000s (mainly star trek), but really getting to spend time with a theme, watching it get poked and prodded and dealt with in so many ways throughout the story (and thinking that there are things I wish I had seen more of, like more perspectives from Korean characters, more episodes about Margaret’s increasingly complex relationship to the army, any episode that gives us a new Charles detail, idk... couple more with Sid, RIP we’ll never get that deep-dive into wtf is wrong with BJ) is something you don’t really get the opportunity to do these days.

I have been somewhat exhausted by every time a new show is the Biggest Best Most Exhilarating Thing lately, so I think I’ll stick around the 60s-80s for a bit (I haven’t watched Columbo since I was a kid and I’ve never seen Magnum P.I.)

what an odd time this has been. think it was the exact right moment for me to watch this.

#im watching MASH #MASH season 11 #hawkeye pierce #max klinger #radar o'reilly #soon-lee #charles winchester #margaret houlihan #sherman potter #henry blake #bj hunnicutt #frank burns #(lol ok i was writing out *soon-lee* and it autosuggested soon-lee klinger --- I THINK im on the right track with my above guess)#(spoiled by the tag autosuggestion)#MASH

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andrewuttaro · 1 year

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The Trinity: a bridge

The first Sunday after Pentecost on the liturgical calendar is Trinity Sunday. After the end of the Easter season, standing at the beginning of the vast summer stretch of Ordinary time, this feast may seems irrelevant. Perhaps it feels as irrelevant as many theological debates us religious nuts allow ourselves to have in public places against better judgement. How practical can theologizing about the nature of God be?

The Trinity is the bridge between the practical and theological as I discovered.

Pentecost recalls the coming down of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles as fiery tongues. It is a typological callback to the Tower of Babel and the birthday of the Church. The doors then swing open and, as my own Parish’s Vicar preached, the Church goes public if you will. We may forget that the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity. It may be the person we think the least about, but it is indeed the person that moves every grace and motivates every prayer.

Pentecost is a practical solemnity, pointing us to a mission to evangelize the world, and Trinity Sunday might be considered the solemnity marking the divine reflection of that calling. The Holy Trinity, in its much theologized nature, is a meditation on what the calling is. God is, in his very being, a relationship of three persons.

Perhaps you can see it in my writing: I am treading lightly because on the theology side there are few topics more finely defined in what they are not: what we cannot say about them. Rightfully so, we are talking about God after all, but if you saw the image here below and turned and ran the other way you would be forgiven for thinking we’re descending into the irretrievably wonkish depths of theology.

Do not fear, we shall only wade into the shallows there. We’re building a bridge in this article. There are a dizzying amount of metaphors meant to explain the Trinity to some degree because it is inarguably a fundamental tenet of Christian faith. Missionaries ponder it. Ascetics devote themselves to it. Perhaps only the most contentious debates on Christology are as beguiling as the Trinity.

In religious studies Trinitarian belief is sometimes used to delineate if newer denominations have strayed from the most treasured beliefs of the faith explicit in the Nicene Creed. But the theologians, normally so precise in what they accept the homilists say about such nuanced matters, even they give us the most open ended proclamations most of us will ever hear from theologians:

If you think you understand the Trinity, the theologian tells the homilist, you don’t. Or, more sharply, if you think you understand the Trinity you must be misconceiving it.

Indeed the Trinity is a beautiful, unsolvable mystery for which faith is needed in. Even as I try to lay out the basics here now you would not be alone to see all these propositions as saying the same thing in different ways: how exhausting!

1. The Trinity is not belief in three Gods.

2. This one God exists in three persons.

3. The three persons are not different parts of God, but rather fully and equally God.

4. God is not one person with three roles.

5. None of this is a contradiction because of the distinction between a person and essence.

I will pass on trying to describe the distinction between persons and essence. I am not quite educated enough to be so concise. However I do want to draw your attention to the rare thing these truths about the Trinity force us to do. We must define negatives not positives in these assertions: theologians prefer quite the opposite. They like to give detailed descriptions, not these pondering contemplations. Perhaps we might even say the average human being prefers to describe things as what they are and not what they are not.

And that, right there, is precisely it. That is where this discussion gets so very practical. We now cross the apex of the bridge: mystery. God is a mystery. While simultaneously being love, order, and truth, God is a mystery. Indeed, despite sin, we too as beings made in God’s image are complicated, even mysterious… even mysterious to ourselves. Why did I do that? Why do I want this? The way we exist in ourselves and in relation to others: these are not narrowly definable things. We are mysteries that cannot ever be fully solved. We are mysteries that need not to be solved because the unknowing is part of the spiritual majesty of the thing. Spiritual beings exist in a state of relational mystery.

As Pope Francis himself repeats “Reality is more important that ideas” (Pope Francis, Evangeii Gaudium, para. 231).

To be clear, we believe God acts: God reaches out to us in numerous ways both via institution and personal intuition. But always the spiritual mystery of ourselves, God, and our relationship with him must exist in this realm of active unknowing: faith if you will. As the great Thomas Merton once wrote: No man is an island. We need one another. But we do not capture one another. As much as my wife may love the creepy Netflix original “You”, she would also readily admit that Joe Goldberg is not a model for anything healthy, particularly love. Love does not capture: it exists in a state of mystery.

I think we are uniquely disposed to contemplating this truth in our day and age. So many of my peers keep religion at arms-length not because of any hurt or the many hurts religion has inflicted on people: no many of us in this materialist age just don’t want to be fools. We don’t want to get it wrong and there seems to be a lot more space for wrong in believing in a divine being than correctness. Yet these same friends readily acknowledge an intangible, more spiritual reality we may call vibes.

For my parent’s generation this is the old Donatist paradox. In a Church with such widespread abuse how can one trust a priest and, by extension, participate in the Church. The heresy of Donatism dealt precisely with this question and was answered in that the Holy Spirit, God the advocate, works through unholy people because the holiness of the Church is in its sacred contents, not the ministers who govern it. In both my generation and my parent’s generation the deeper concern is relationship: a relationship untainted by foolishness on the one hand and ignorance of abuse on the other.

The Trinity is our answer on both accounts. God himself is relationship. In that reality we may find the peace of a faithful humility and a discipleship that holds the Church accountable. If we know God is a relationship, then what relationship of peoples is not redeemable, not a potential site of healing grace?

Toward the beginning of this article I mentioned my Parish Vicar’s homily on Pentecost. To come full circle on this I want to share what my Parish Pastor’s homily on Trinity Sunday had to say. My pastor started by saying a parishioner challenged him on his usage of “she” and other feminine pronouns in describing the Holy Spirit. This detractor told him to go to the Catechism for his definitions of God as if they were a disappointed instructor from his seminary. My Pastor responded by reading those Catechism paragraphs and directing us to the mystery of God therein.

In his first weekend homily of Pride Month, my pastor bravely pointed out the mystery of God’s triune nature as a point of humbly remembering we cannot capture God or one another. We cannot tell each other to simply acquiesce to our earnest theologizing or rigid plans for a life well lived. The unknowing is the grace… that and the fact that the unknowing is a relationship too. A healthy relationship can figure a thing out without demanding a severe program from the other beings within it. There is grace here in the Trinity: there is a bridge of faith that ultimately enriches us by patient love.

The Trinity is a grace: a mysterious relationship. The trinity is a divine relationship. God is a relationship! Then we ought to recall the humbling truth this imparts when all theologizing ends and all that remains is God and us in some imperfect state of unknowing: we are all together if we have faith. We are all together because even God himself is a relationship. So too must we be in relationship with every other person made in God’s image. Division, the scattering of peoples even for justified reasons, does not accomplish the divine justice the trinity may bring to our lives.

There is a deeper relationship to explore here. Hopefully I can help you discover it. My book, “How to catch feelings for Jesus”, is available online through Wipf & Stock, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere books are sold online. Stay tuned to this blog for more content from the author... me. And I also encourage talking to me about what I write whether in the comment section, through a private message, or if you see me in person. Some things, especially God, are better understood with the help of others.

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lonely-space-ace · 2 years

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Ok time for some (mostly) coherent thoughts

Spoilers for the new episode below

First off things I didn’t like:

1. 13 regenerating into David Tennant. I have mixed feelings about this.

2. no nyssa/ tegan :( This one I’m not so mad about as i didn’t really expect them to mention it I was just really hoping. Plus on the bright side they didn’t make it Not canon :)

Now onto the things I liked:

1. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaa

2. I was so worried that with Everything happening in this episode it wouldn’t come together but Chibnall pulled it off. I felt like they managed to get the plot together while also having time for some character moments. (which is impressive with the amount of Things theatwere Happening)

3. Dan :( I love you and I’m sad to see you go but good on you for pulling out

4. ACE

5. ACE

6. ACE

7. I really loved seeing Ace if you can’t tell.

8. The moment where seven talked to Ace and called her his child... I can’t

9. Also five and tegan. It was just so good.

10. ALL. THE. DOCTORS. that was such a cool moment and it was especially amazing to see Paul Mcgann

11. Graham! And Ace! not a team up I expected to see but it was fun to watch

12. Ra Ra Rasputin playing with the Daleks and the Cybermen in the backgroud ended me. Peak Doctor Who.

13. Sacha Dhawn in general was amazing and I’ll be sad to see him go

14. Yaz. Yaz my beloved. It was so cool to see her continuing to step into the role of the Doctor

15. Tegan, Ace, and Kate. I love them.

16. I loved all the little moments that were put in to call back to classic who. Adric being mentioned. Tegan and Ace interacting with the master. Ace calling the master out on being part cat. nitro nine. THE BASEBALL BAT. Brave heart tegan. calling the doctor professor. just little things that fit in so well.

17. speaking of classic who THE COMPANIONS. love that the companion support group is now a canon thing and it was so cool to get to see them all onscreen. seeing Ian in particular was amazing

18. I also loved the callbacks to things in new who. The master dancing to music. Kate almost being converted like her father was. All the companions piloting the Tardis like in season 4

19. On that note this episode really did feel like a celebration of the show as a whole, while also giving enough attention to 13 and Yaz. I am a little disappointed that there was no kiss, but I like the way they ended things.

20. The regeneration scene. Aside from the very end, I loved it. Jodie did a great job.

Basically, I loved it. I was laughing, crying, and screaming in excitement the whole way through. Jodie Whittaker has been an incredible doctor, and this episode did a great job of thematically tying off her run, acknowledging the history of the show, and getting us excited for whatever is to come. I always felt that the Thirteenth Doctor’s run was about hope, and I feel like this episode captured that really well.

Now onto writing the twelve fanfic ideas that this episode gave me

#doctor who #doctor who spoilers #thirteenth doctor #yasmin khan #the master #classic who

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romeave · 2 years

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Hey could I request you do a fit rating of Lucinda, I think there’s a good amount of variety there. Much thank

MYS FIT REVIEW - LUCINDA

MYSTREET SEASON ONE - CASUAL

Absolutely iconic. Very faithful modern update from her MCD fit. Black and white with the orange is very halloweeny, and the black bow is a cute alternative to a witch hat. The pattern is kind of underwhelming, especially since half the cast wore it all winter.

9/10

MYSTREET SEASON ONE - FORMAL

Unpopular opinion but I prefer this one to her casual! It’s a superior callback to the MCD desgin, taking everything that works about it and improving it for the modern day. The sleeve pattern was unique to Lucinda during season one, and the lilac is just sparingly enough to stand out. The large bow is purple and is easier to see than the black one, and her hair part for this fit was unique to and cute. Also the skin shading actually looks nice here

10/10

PHOENIX DROP HIGH - UNIFORM

Again, the uniform itself if kind of ugly. But I’m fairly certain Lucinda is the only character who wears white stockings instead of white socks so good on her for being unique. Lucinda’s PDH hairstyle doesn’t radiate Lucinda energy but she’s like 15 let her grow into her own

5/10

PHOENIX DROP HIGH - GYM

Still a rancid school gym uniform, but the indigo is a nice color on Lucinda

3/10

PHOENIX DROP HIGH - PAJAMAS

This is the first instance of Lucinda in lilac and honestly, not a fan. It’s very similar in rone to her hair/skin and makes her look washed out. The design of the nightgown and socks is nice and simple. And the coordination is cute.

4/10

MYSTREET SEASON TWO - CASUAL

This is probably the worst of the liliac Luci fits. She’s washed out, only has white as a compliment, and I have no idea what that bathing suit is supposed to be. The asymmetrical bottom wrap drapes harshly, the white tube top matches nothing, and there’s a lilac stripe just…across the top of her shoulders. Its not even attatched to anything. It is so horribly awful Bin changed Luci’s entire fit for the faster car music video

1/10

MYSTREET SEASON THREE/FOUR - CASUAL

I don’t know why Jesson decided to keep Lucinda in this shade of purple for this long, but this fit is better than the last two. The sweater design is cute even though the colors have the same value, the bottom is nice, and the pink neck thing is a nice accent.

The big issue with this fit is it’s not a Lucinda fit. If the yellow spots were a different color, I could easily see this ensamble on Aphmau. In order for a fit to be Lucinda’s general brand of casual, it must include a head piece large enough to be visible from most angles and visible skin. This aint it cheif

2/10

MYSTREET SEASON FIVE - CASUAL

Solid bathing suit. Orange and blue are complimentary, the design makes tenchinal sense, and Lucinda is not washed out! Making the bracelet magenta was an odd choice, and would have looked better if it was red

7/10

MYSTREET SEASON SIX - CASUAL

Finally back to her iconic Lucinda brand with good enough functionality for her whole on the run from the government thing. The cool tones of her outfit contrast nicely with her hair, and the deep maroon shirt compliments her eyes without standing out. Her hairpiece is a dark bandana, which is both practical for the situation and a nice homage to her gigantic bow. The crop top just makes the skin quota without while managing to still be plain enough for a hiding fit. Good job

9/10

MYSTREET SEASON 6 - FORMAL

The cut? Ugly. The colors? Drab. The mask? Awful. I know they’re on the run but how did Jesson manage a worse lookj for Luci than Lilac Luci? Disgusting

0/10

OVERALL SCORE - 5/10

#aphmau #aphmau mystreet #aphmau lucinda #mystreet #fit review

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