#i love the farmhouse arc guys can you tell

[abyssallector]

please god i need to hear you talk about farmhouse raph i love him So Mucj.

OK OK i saw this a while ago but i took the time to rewatch the farmhouse episodes to refresh my memory and i took NOTES. So here we go Let me just start this off by saying that the farmhouse arc is genuinely one of my favorite segments of the entire series, and Raph is one of the main reasons why. When you really sit down and watch what Raph does throughout these episodes, you begin to realize that he's actually a really reliable figure- he tries to cheer up Donnie when he's bummed out about April rejecting him, and he's always keeping an eye out on Leo and is constantly encouraging his recovery, and he's also a little more indulgent to Mikey's antics. And yeah yeah I know "The Croaking" exists (the episode where Mikey runs away), but that entire episode, and the fandom's perception of it, is so wack that I'll have to speak on it in a later post or something because damn it just pisses me off a little . a LITTLE bit! just a lil. I will pretend it doesn't exist until then. For some examples, let's start with Episode One, Within the Woods. Of course, Raph watched over Leo while he was recovering in the bathtub for months. The dedication. The loyalty. When April brings it up, he brushes it off as no big deal. He just cared that much to take care of him all of that time. It's so sweet. And it's even sweeter when, at the end of the episode, Leo reciprocates that sentiment by never leaving his side when he was recovering from being turned into a plant. Love them. Episode 2, A Foot too Big. One of my favorite episodes because despite all of the second-hand embarrassment I get from cringe king Donnie (and the scene at the end ugh), it's actually hilarious. So Donnie makes this music box with his picture in it, and he gives it to April, who, of course, rejects his advances by leaving in the most awkward manner one possibly can. Raph witnesses this entire thing, tells him straight up that it will never work between him and April, and then enthusiastically suggests that they go forest training to help cheer him up. This is the EXACT same thing he did with Leo when he just woke up from the bathtub. Exact Method.

Pictured: Brotherly Affection (Donnie and Raph are SUCH an underrated duo it is a SHAME they didn't get paired off more often) It's also really cute how Leo and Raph are co-leading the training in the following scene. He's still a little playfully mean but he gives actual constructive advice to Donnie and Mikey. It's also interesting to note that when the duo is running away from Bigfoot, they only turn back to fight when they find Raph in the woods again. Here's another thing I noted. There's a montage of Bigfoot generally being difficult to live with, and at some point, she takes a fucking shit in the bathtub. Raph brings her, Donnie, and Mikey outside so that bigfoot can teach them Forest Stealth while he goes to clean it up. I am 100% certain that if this was the Raph from season 1, he would not have done that. I am so serious. Raph from season 1 OR hell, SEASON 2, would have reasoned that since Donnie and Mikey wanted to bring Bigfoot home, they should be the ones to take full care of her. He doesn't even get mad- annoyed or frustrated, sure, but he doesn't yell at anyone, he doesn't place unfair blame on one person- none of that. Later on in the episode, Donnie vents to him about how Bigfoot is following him around and smothering him etc. To which Raph remarks something like, "Now you know how April feels." He's so real. There's just so much I can bring up. The fact that Raph not once ever goes too easy on Leo when they train together because he knows Leo would hate that. Raph enabling Mikey to draw on Leo's face while he sleeps. Raph somehow being the only one to bring his grappling hook when they were all (minus April and Leo) kidnapped by the Chimera Turducken thingy. Raph and Leo playing video games together. And overall, I noticed his anger-fueled outbursts aren't really that common anymore either. He's just trying his best to make sure his brothers are okay in the ways he knows how to. My sweet angel

#tmnt 2012 #tmnt #ask tag #tmnt raph #tmnt donnie #tmnt mikey #tmnt leo #tmnt 2012 raph #i love the farmhouse arc guys can you tell #also love how Mikey and Donnie join forces to become the ultimate whiny younger brother duo #lol #raph is more responsible and donnie is a lot more immature than people think #tmnt 2k12

[idiot-mushroom]

I would love the Casey lore but I also don't want spoilers, so I'm going to ask a bunch of stuff again!

What are Casey, April, Irma, and Sunita's fashion sense like? Music taste? Favorite food? Favorite type of books/shows/movies? Least favorite food texture? Any specific neirodivergency or mental illnesses? What are they most insecure about? Do they all fight along side the turtles or aid them with their adventures?

Please tell me everything you can about Keno!!!

Do any of the humans get mutated at any point? Why does Donnie create retro mutagen?

Is spike mutant or yokai? Will he eventually be an ally to the turtles? Do have a design for him? Do they acquire other allies? Do you have any character designs we can have a sneak peek too?

Is Bishop and his hole thing in this au? Are the triceraton? Will there be professor Honeycutt/Fugitoid?

Do the O'Neil's have any other foster kids? Do they have an apartment or a house? What the layout of their place like? Which half of them makes April 1/4 Kraang?

In the new lair layout there isn't Splinters room, does he not live with them anymore? Or is it a more separate room?

I swear everytime I do this I feel like a crazy reporter or paparazzi running up to you just asking frantic questions I'm so sorry. Also sorry if these are repeated questions.

Sunita:

has autism swag

kidcore fashion sense (bright colors, chunky jewelry, ect)

they’re mostly insecure abt how she seems to not be able to fit in with human kids as well as with people in the hidden city

she likes hard rock (which contrasts with her personality and everything abt her (i think it’d be funny))

she doesn’t like the texture of celery bc of the fiver strands that make it hard to eat (for her)

she likes learning abt plants :))

her favorite food is mango pudding

she only aids them later on as ‘the man in the chair’

Casey:

he has add swag

the grunge fashion is strong with this one

he likes indie rock and rap

he’s insecure abt his past with his dad and mom, and the fact he doesn’t know much abt his own heritage from his father’s side.

he likes the percy jackson books

he does aid them in adventures as back up and muscle

April:

her brain is on default setting

casual fashion for a casual girl

she likes anything under ‘sad girl starter pack’

she rlly enjoys marvel and star wars

she aids them in adventures as a second opinion and back up

she’s rlly insecure abt her parents not paying attention to her as much with so many other kids in the household

Keno:

country bumpkin 2 da max

half Italian, half Korean

likes making pizza and pasta all day

oldest out of the entire group (in his early 20’s)

has a farm (passed down from his family)

neighbors with Casey’s old house (a mile down from the old jones’s house is keno’s house/farm)

they meet keno during the farmhouse arc

he is very friendly and acts as an older brother

I don’t think that any of them get mutated in the series but j might change my mind idk

Spike (Slash) is my au is a leatherback sea turtle that gets mutated!! She doesn’t ally them, but isn’t a bad guy either, she’s more of a morally grey vigilant.

i have no new official designs rn but after this latest arc i’ll defo post Slash’s design

Bishop will be in this au (still trying to find out his character tho) and yes mr honeycutt is in this au but he’s a robot assistant to irma 👍

these are the rest of the o’neil’s foster kids!! they live in a nice, two story house in the city.

april gets her 1/4 krang from her dad’s side (ik girls going through it)

splinter does live with them in the new lair, he’s just dubs his room as ‘the meditation room’ bc he’s an extra bitch like dat

thank you for the asks btw, don’t feel bad or worry abt it, i’m happy to talk abt my au!!

#sorry this took so long i kept putting it off lol #my au my rules #my au #my tmnt iteration #my tmnt au #teenage turtle ninja mutants #tmnt iteration #ask reply

[whoreadsnowadays]

BRO— OKAY. the shatter hcs got me thinking. and at this point it's pretty obvious i live on angst. so yeah, here goes.

so i'm mostly thinking of what if lil bro does survive. because yknow, getting fucking stabbed through the chest is not something you can just walk away from, let alone without some serious physical and mental consequences. and things like that take a long time to go away, if they ever do.

So the little guy will definetely be dealing with some messed up stuff as he recovers. phantom pain, nightmares, the whole package. this wasn't any less traumatizing for him than it was for his family.

he probably keeps to himself about a lot of it because, while he knows he can and should rely on his family, he can see how much this fucked them up and doesn't want to worry them more than they already are.

(also he can probably tell after what happened they wouldn't want him to go back topside, but he doesn't want to be left behind. which could lead to a scenario where he pretends he's fine enough to go, turns out obviously he wasn't ready yet either physically or emotionally and cue the hurt/comfort but that's another deal for another day)

When it gets to the farmhouse arc, he's obviously devastated about Leo.

Everyone's worried about him, and with good reason, but they end up sort of forgetting that Lil bro is still dealing with his own aftermath, even Lil bro himself. He's still dealing with everything, and the added trauma from Leo's recent window adventures definetely doesn't help, but if he was keeping this to himself before it's ten times worse now.

He has to be okay, the others need him to be okay, in Lil bro's mind he's convinced himself he has to be strong for his big brother.

and besides, it's been so long since what happened to him, he should be fine by now.

At some point it becomes too much, and the lil guy falls with a fever from the stress, or maybe Leo finds him when he's in the middle of one of his pain flare-ups, or even a good ol' emotional breakdown.

Then, this might just be me being petty, but to hell with whoever decided to have Splinter tell his son that his pain wasn't real was a good idea, we're gonna wrap this up in a nice little bow when Leo, while still stuck in his own frustration, sees Lil bro struggling with that same mentality, and realizing that he would never be as harsh with his brother as he's being with himself (and can't stand the thought of his baby brother being as harsh with himself either), finally learns that it's okay for him to take the time he needs to heal, that recovery is hard but as long as he leans on the people that care about him he'll be okay.

Leo then goes to Lil bro and gives him that exact same Big Brother Wisdom speech as if he himself didn't just figure it out like ten minutes ago, it still works just as well because at the end of the day, Lil bro still trusts his big bro Leo more than anyone and if he says they'll be okay, then he believes him. and, well, maybe sharing their struggles and understanding each other will make both their recoveries just that little bit easier on their shoulders.

—

WOW alright that was longer than I meant it to be but they make me FEEL things okay-- -G

I love waking up to this shit <3<3

BUT YEAH YEA YEA YEA YEA THIS THIS THIS!!!!! THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABT. Lil bro pushing aside his pain and trauma bc he doesn't want to bring it up and make his family relive what happened, and Leo doing the same thing and getting over it when he sees Lil bro doing it too and it breaks his heart enough that he's like "that's not how he should be dealing with this. That's not how I should be dealing with this.." AND THEN THEY HAVE A HEARTFELT TALK WHERE LEO IS LIKE "listen.. I need you to know you can talk to me about stuff okay? And the others too. What you went through was messed up, and you shouldn't have to go through this alone. And before you say it, I am taking my own advice from now on" AND THEY WORK ON OPENING UP TOGETHER..... gimme a minute I have to explode

#Romeo Speaks #💥

[durotoswrites]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Give me all the director's commentary rambling about Shy Newcomer!

Oh, wow... I don’t know if you realize the depth of what you said, haha.  My ramblings on The Shy Newcomer are probably longer than the fic itself.  I’ll stick with an overview of the basic premise/early stage drafting without any major spoilers.  If you have any questions about specific characters/chapters/arcs, lemme know.

So...

A long, long time ago... 2008, really...  (OMG TSN is going to be a teenager this year! T^T) I started writing a fic with the basic premise that the dating mechanics in the HM games make absolutely no sense.  Following someone around, giving gifts every day, and breaking into their room to talk to them every single day is really creepy in real life.

Also, I wanted to play around with the idea of, “What if that method of wooing was a huge turnoff for the target?”

The fic was only around three tropey, cliche chapters long for several years as I gave up writing for a really long time.  The basic premise was for Claire to be Gray’s stalker, who had no interest in her.  She’d spend a lot of time at the inn in the evenings, and Cliff was there as well, so she’d start to talk to him out of politeness.  

With time, her conversations with Cliff would be more genuine and she’d enjoy spending time with both of them, oblivious to Gray’s annoyance at her unrelenting visits.  Long story short, she’d end up attracting Cliff while she was trying to go for Gray.  So then, there’d be the drama of a jealous Cliff trying to get Gray to be honest with Claire and make a choice.  

Earlier drafts of the story included a direct confrontation with the two guys in their room.  Cliff was totally passive aggressive in this scene, mentioning something along the lines of “it must be nice to have a girl for each arm” or something like that.  Gray asked him what he meant by that, and Cliff went silent.  Gray then called Cliff a coward for not admitting he was jealous.

There was another scene in the draft with Cliff visiting Claire for dinner at her house and sitting outside by the river, dipping their feet in the water and watching the stars.  There was the awful cliche discussion of Claire leaning in real close and asking Cliff if he had ever been in love.  Cue awkward nodding and blushing, only for his heart to be crushed as she rambled on about how amazing she thought Gray was in this fantasy she had created of him.

Another drafted scene was Cliff coming to visit Claire, seeing the farm in disarray and Koro pacing the farm and pawing on the door of the farmhouse.  Cliff enters the house to find a heartbroken Claire, who is an absolute mess.  (Insert Cliff to the rescue scene here).

I’m so glad that I went back and overhauled the thing.  Some things are still similar, (the general love triangle), but I never really knew what my plans were beyond that at first.  This story has turned into so much more than I could’ve imagined.  Over a hundred chapters in, and I still have so much to tell.

Despite the overhaul, I know the story is still riddled with grammatical errors as I got back into writing, and there are tons of cringey moments, cliches, and places that could be improved upon.  I had set upon revamping everything, but the story’s grown so long at the point that the task is beyond daunting.  Maybe someday?  I dunno.  In a way, I kinda like seeing how much it has changed and evolved.  You can see parts where I became obsessed with semicolons, you can find the cringey stage where I wore out epithets to no end.

I honestly don’t feel like I really hit my stride until maybe the fall season in the story (around chapter 80).  It’s really hard to go back and read specific chapters out of embarrassment.  But that’s a sign of change, right?

Thanks so much for the ask, and thank you for all of your support for TSN!  Honestly, I could ramble on this fic forever.  If you have any specific questions, send me another ask! <3

Any burning questions about my writing, and want a director’s commentary?  Send me an ask! <3

#ask games #send me an ask #please let me ramble some more #let's talk about writing

[sometimesrosy]

there are 16 episodes left and one of them will be about spin off, how are 15 episodes enough for bellarke story to be resolved? b/cho is still on and i'm afraid an off screen break up is off the table too. i do believe bellarke is in love but i don't see how the most important dynamic and will they won't they ship can get a satisfying resolution in 15 episodes :/

You think they can’t tell a story in a whole season.

Because they haven’t been able to tell stories in any of the other seasons?

You think you know how they will and/or can’t do it.

Because...you... are following the story we’ve been getting and how far along it is and how they’ve developed various storylines to head into multiple closures as they have given closure to past storylines?

I don’t think you are following the stories or you’d see that they’re already developing the b/e break up and have been for two seasons, or basically since they introduced them.

I don’t think you understand me when I talk about storylines or arcs or narrative development or story structure. Are these terms you don’t understand? Do you think I’m making them up because I’m delusional or kissing JR’s ass or something, both things I have been accused of, a lot, and which make no sense, because basic literary interpretation is not a delusion, it’s a discipline of understanding stories. And it’s, like, way old. And you study it in school. EVERYONE studies it in school. And I’m not kissing JR’s ass. I don’t know him. I have no contact with him. I don’t tweet him. He doesn’t know me. I just happen to like the show because the story makes sense to me and it hits my buttons and I think he tells it well. And I try to explain what I see that he’s doing instead of saying he’s out to get me and doesn’t know how to write. I don’t think he’s out to get bellarke fans (I actually think he’s a bellarke fan) and I think he DOES know how to write a good tv show.

But if you can’t follow that the narrative is telling this story, actively, in the process of it, and it is doing it ON PURPOSE, and all these parallels and call backs are a sign that they are telling an INTEGRATED story that goes all the way back to the beginning and will wrap up with the series finale, then I don’t know what to tell you.

Because it is all currently happening in the story that we already have. This isn’t something that’s going to start in 7.01 and finish in 7.16. 

This is something that has ALREADY STARTED and depending upon the storyline you’re talking about, it’s been working for anywhere from 6 seasons to 1 season already.

I really don’t care about your (or fandom in general’s) fears anymore. Because as far as I can tell, your fears are existing only in your head and in the fandom hot takes and are not seen in the canon. The canon is telling the story. It’s RIGHT there. Already. I don’t know why you don’t see it. It glaringly obvious.

How do YOU know the backdoor pilot is not going to move the bellarke story forward? Who told you that? Do you think they can’t tell backstory or a new story without telling OUR story? They did in Thirteen when we learned about Becca and the end of the world. In fact, it neatly wrapped up a lot of confusion and moved us forward into the next 4 seasons. Y’all have decided bellarke won’t be in that episode because of the spinoff, and to me, I interpreted it as HOT DAMN THEY’RE GONNA TIME TRAVEL. SO I’m not sure they won’t be there. We’ve got them filming at a yellow farmhouse, nonster. For more than one episode. If I were to guess, I’d say it’s Diyoza’s father’s house. Where she went to hide and got caught. 

Why do you guys focus so much on doom and gloom and how you’re afraid you won’t get what you want?  

Why don’t you ever pay attention to the possibilities that you might enjoy the show??? That this Bellarke story might be wrapped up in an epic, romantic, beautiful way that will kill us all dead because it’s so great?

Why do you have to be such a downer?

And why do you have to send your negativity to me, when I LIKE the show. I LIKE the way it’s going. I think JR is a GOOD writer. I am pretty pumped about the direction of Bellarke. And I have no desire to be “arrogant” or “condescending” because I think my interpretation is right and yours is wrong. I really dont’ care about your interpretation, tbh. That’s why I don’t have conversatiosn wth people on their blogs about them. I also don’t want to take on your anxieties. I don’t agree with you and I’m not entertaining theories that I see no base for. 

Come on now. 

If you like the show, let yourself enjoy it. If you don’t like the show, ditch it. If you’re afraid you won’t get what you want, then grow up, because you’re not a toddler and the world isn’t designed to please you. It’s a tv show, not your life. And I’m not your mom who’s gonna make it okay and give you a gold star. 

[thestarsintheknight]

Fixable Moments in Endgame [Endgame Spoilers, duh]

WHY I PERSONALLY THINK SOME CHARACTER ARCS WERE DONE DIRTY, PUT UNDER THE CUT AND IF THAT DOESN’T WORK I PUT TWO OF MY DOG PICTURES SO YOU CAN SCROLL REALLY FAST.

Just so you know, and this is at the end of the post as well. I still really enjoyed Endgame for what it was and for what we got. I just have a few problems I’m pretty vocal about too. But I’m trying to not let that effect me as much.

LAST WARNING, ENDGAME SPOILERS AHEAD

Okay so hopefully those pictures of my dogs will allow you to calm and relax. If you’ve seen my last post, I was really upset with just how Tony died. 

I first came out of Endgame like, okay that was pretty okay closure, sure. Steve’s happy and Tony can finally rest and everyone’s alive and Natasha could be at peace with herself because of well, her ledger.

Then I kept thinking. No. They didn’t deserve this end.

Nat’s death was the only death done well. The only one. But I have more about the soul stone later on. 

Steve didn’t really die, and I knew he was gonna not be Captain America but I was curious as to how. I also really wanted Sam to wield that shield because even if Shuri cleaned Bucky of his whole Hydra-ness in his brain, I really do think Sam deserved that shield. So good on you Russos. Because in TWS, it’s said that Sam’s just like Steve, just slower. Steve is the embodiment of Captain America, if that’s the case then that means so is Sam. 

But why in the world did Steve decide to go back in time and be with Peggy? It was pretty closely put there in the show, Agent Carter, and in general that Peggy ended up with Daniel Sousa. Or just someone who wasn’t Steve. Why did Steve have a thing with Sharon in CW then? What was the point of her character? Sharon was badass, but like come on Russos!!! Steve is not one to see something going south and look the other way. That was very well established in CW, directed by the Russos. Yet he goes back in time, sticks with Peggy knows the things he knows about everything (like the Cold War, BUCKY) and you’re telling me he decided to have a domestic life? No!!! IF he even decided to stay back there, he would not sit still. He would have done something. Plus, you can’t say that when Sharon was born and Steve became her uncle that’s a little fucking weird. What the hell was Steve’s ending Russos? Steve’s arc was throughout his trilogy and later Avengers movies was finding his place in the modern world and finding Bucky. He did so much to get Bucky back only to leave him?! Come on, he knows how it feels to be alone in a different time why would he do that to Bucky? Someone who he fought for and said “Till the end of the line” but he broke that promise. Steve’s at the end of his line already by the end of Endgame. So what’s left of that promise? Nothing, it was dusted. 

So yeah, I’m upset about Steve’s ending. An entirely better way could have just been that maybe he’s the one that dies (I would have been upset probably, but it would be very him) instead of Tony. Because Steve has always been the one to sacrifice himself. That would be his arc, seeing the situation going so fucking south that he’s like “Whatever it takes!!” And he gets that gauntlet and snaps. Or maybe he loses his super soldier serum and that’s how he survives but gives the shield to Sam instead. I haven’t really thought of this one so you can add on.

Tony, god Tony’s ending fucking hurt. Tony’s death, his funeral, all of it. It was unfair. All he wanted was a domestic life but the Russos gave that to Steve even though Steve’s character would not want that domestic life? Tony could have been rested not by death but with his little girl, his wife, Peter who he finally got back, knowing that his friendship with Steve is better now. And could grow better if the two were still alive. That was Tony’s deserved arc, fighting the fight to end the fight so he could GO HOME and be with his FAMILY. That’s what should have happened. That’s what he deserved. Go ahead and tell me otherwise. I know it’s shorter of an explanation than Steve’s but that’s mostly because people know Tony better and I think people can agree with me on this more. Pepper didn’t deserve to see Tony die, Peter too, and his best fucking friend Rhodey. They knew he fought this fight to end it so he could spend some time and just retire to be with his family. 

Ways to fix this: Not kill Tony. Have someone else wield the gauntlet. Steve perhaps? Or maybe even Thor. 

Edit [4/29/19]: I am now a little more accepting of Tony’s death but I’m just tired that it has to be through death to have the future Avengers come in. I’m tired that there always has to be angst and whatnot(which I talk about towards the end of this meta) to make things realistic. Realistic =/= sadness and negativity and all of that shit. Happy endings can be realistic. But I’ll always be sad. Here’s a good meta that explains something very well regarding his death: (link) by @van-dyne. 

I would have actually been fine if Tony died if he didn’t have his little girl. (Find Tinymintywolf’s side twitter, not her art twitter, for an explanation on this). But then they introduced Morgan and whoop there it is, he has a family what he’s been wanting for so long. 

Thor is an Asgardian and we’re all aware of how much his mental health was hit. Yet he was reduced to a fucking joke. Like wow hahahaha so funny—not. I feel like, Thor wouldn’t need a redemption arc. But I know in his mind, he’d feel like he should because he blames himself, right? If he were to wield the gauntlet instead, it would make himself feel better about himself, better about being the king his people needed while still being an Avenger. Thor also shouldn’t have left his people. So let’s say he does wield the gauntlet. He goes back to his people and he finally feels worthy to lead. So that’s what he does, he finally gets back to being the king that his character arc had developed for him in his own trilogy, and being an Avenger. That should have happened.

It just makes sense because each movie was mostly about him building his way up to become the king he was supposed to be. Those few lines he exchanged with Valkyrie along the lines of “maybe I shouldn’t be the person I’m supposed to be but rather the person I [need/want] to be” ??? I can’t remember. I just thought that was lowkey like, wot. But for further emphasis, the first movie was about how he wasn’t worthy to hold the hammer or even be king. The second one was figuring out how to be a good man and a king. The third was trying to figure if he was the one to actually be king, and at the end of Ragnarok, he is. 

If Thor weren’t to wield it, then maybe Hulk. What if Bruce just lost Hulk. Then it’s just Bruce and he could be himself. Like the whole Professor Hulk thing was pretty interesting and I didn’t have a problem with it. This is just a little thought that I didn’t really think much on so you can add on to this too.

Now we get to Nat. Nat and Clint’s little fight with each other was very much in character. I don’t really like MCU Clint, I think the whole farmhouse scene could have still been done with one minor change, Laura’s not his wife, it’s his sister or his sister-in-law because he has a brother, Barry!!! Then all those kids are like his nieces/nephews. Anyways, that was the only death that was done that I feel sad but I feel so much closure on, Tony’s, Steve’s, and even Thor’s endings gave “closure” not the right one for each character, as explained before. I’m just upset that there wasn’t a funeral scene for her, or more grieving. Or just, something. 

Then here’s a little idea, not sure if it could work but if Steve was going to go return the soul stone at Vormir, the way the rules work at that mountain is “A soul for a soul” right? Then by giving up the soul stone, can’t he bring back Nat? And if that’s the case then Clint should be the one returning the soul stone. So maybe the reason why when Bruce said (and I got this from a different tumblr post, I forgot who so let me know so I can give credit) he couldn’t bring Nat back was because they already gave the soul stone back (because time travel is whack) and Nat is already back. 

There’s so much more that I’m probably forgetting, I may update or just reblog more. If you guys want to talk or vent, please feel free! I don’t bite! And I’m open to other ideas and just how you think it should have ended. 

Here’s a disclaimer as well: This is not something against the actors and actresses, they all did so well. I think it’s in part a bit of Russos and the writers and anyone else who develops this story. I’m also not saying this because I’m sad Tony’s dead and Steve is no longer Captain America. I would have been fine with Steve not being Captain America anymore if done right.

Also, why does everything always have to be so dark? So edgy? Angsty? It’s fictional so can’t we just... Have that sort of happiness? I’ve watched the MCU for hope, happiness, and you know a good ending. It’s not what I got though. I love the characters, all of them. I like little pellets of angst here and there. But just, why? I’m not sure if I can keep watching the MCU. I still might but I might also just disregard bits and pieces of Endgame.

I just think that the moment you bring in time travel it screws things up. Because essentially it brings in the whole multiverse and if we’re trying the make the MCU one singular timeline, then, uh, hello? Also the entire thing with five years passed but everyone comes back from the moment they disappeared, WOT. Okay, I’m done.

[Minor edit in this Paragraph, 4/29]Overall, I still enjoyed Endgame. A lot. There were so many good moments and a lot of moments where the characters were just them. I loved it a lot and I’m trying to overlook a few things here and there because what I’ve said shouldn’t ruin the movie. I still really enjoyed it a lot. It was good because this was the movie we’ve been waiting for. A nod to the fans, the actors, everyone who created this universe. It was just something that was amazing. @suitofhumour had a really strong point in their post (link) that I’m alluding to here and I don’t want to take credit for it so please, give it a read. Some things don’t sit right with me and I’m so fucking heartbroken over Tony okay, and I’m mad about Steve and Thor. But, yeah. 

[Edit 5/5/19] I GOT ANOTHER THING. If what the former Sorcerer Supreme had said that if one stone got removed from their timeline, there’s nothing that can keep the flow of time, reality, whatever, in check and would ultimately destroy their timeline. Which is why Steve had to go back in time to give it all back seconds after removing it. By that logic, can’t you say that if you were to destroy the stones, then wouldn’t it mean there are no more stones to keep all of the flow of whatever in check? So since the OG timeline no longer has the stones because their Thanos destroyed it, then what? 

Here’s another picture of my dog to calm you down. If needed.

#avengers endgame #endgame #tony stark #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #bruce banner #thor odinson #peggy carter #clint barton #meta #endgame meta #marvel meta #valkyrie #iron man #peter parker #pepper potts #captain america #asgard #my post #my meta

[aces-to-apples]

DVD commentary meme! Whatever part of Family Before Honor you'd like to talk about, please!!

Alrighty, since there isn’t much of it posted and chapter two isn’t very long to start with, I’ll just do that then. Author’s commentary on chapter two of “Family Before Honor” beneath the cut:

Two Months

Domestic: 1) of or relating to the home, the household, household affairs, or the family. 2) no longer wild; tame.

I suppose the first thing to note is the pattern of the chapters and summaries—each chapter, and there’s only going to be three, is titled based on how long it’s been in the fic since Cut’s death and each summary is the theme on which the chapter is built. “Two Months” is more meant to bridge the gap between “Two Hours” and “Two Years” and is based around Rex making the transition from military life to civilian life. Settling into a rhythm with Suu and the kids that works for everyone.

Rebuilding the La’Cuane farm is an undertaking both larger and smaller than Rex had first estimated.

Ah, yes, “La’Cuane”. Because fuck Dave Filoni. Before I watched The Deserter, I was under the impression that Lawquane was most likely pronounced more like “lah-kayn” but, as is my custom, when I learned the “official” version I said “nah, fuck that” and came up with my own. So, “Lawquane” is a mistranslation as so many Basic Twi’lek names are. Because fuck you, Dave.

The first few days are an unending game of hurry-up-and-wait: for Republic forces to finish routing the Seps, for Jesse and the boys to come back to retrieve him when he didn’t answer their comms, for Suu to sniffle and stutter her way through the story they’d cooked up to explain his ‘death.’

I just don’t like “Seppies”, okay? I just don’t. “Covies” I’ll accept from Halo, because Marines, but “Seppies”, “tinnies”, and “shinies”? Mmm, how ‘bout the fuck not?

Then waiting for various scans of the remains to come up positive for Fett’s genetic material, for ‘his’ chip to come up too damaged to ping as more than simply present, for Kenobi—well, it turns out that Kenobi had a softer heart than Rex had ever thought. From what Rex spies, he looks damn near devastated for a few heartbeats after Suu tells him the news.

Departing from @norcumii’s version, “Dead Men Tell No Tales”, I decided that it’s too early in the war for Rex and Obi-Wan to have actually started a romantic relationship and kept it as more of a “what if” kind of thing for them to regret. More pining, that way ;)

Then the children march up to him and Jesse, carrying Rex’s armor in their undersized little arms, and Jek loudly proclaims that they want to keep Rex’s bucket. “He was like a, a superhero,” Jek says earnestly, and next to him Shaeeah nods vigorously. “He was so brave and he saved us from the monsters and we’ll take really good care of it.”

Listen, the La’Cuane kids are just insanely cute, okay? And according to Legends (I think?) they were aware enough that they had several million uncles out there in the universe that Shaeeah wrote a book about it, so they absolutely grew up with stars in their eyes about their extended family.

Suu makes a little scene of chastising them, calling it disrespectful, saying that his brothers should have his helmet, it was only right. Rex is dazed by the layers of manipulation they all go to just for him to keep his face; he’s even more dazed by how well it works.

Kenobi clearly melts at the display but looks to Jesse, Kix, and Hardcase for the final decision. Rex can read the silent conversation between them as clear as day. When Jesse crouches down to gaze intently into the visor of Rex’s helmet, he knows the children have won.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Jesse says decisively, and it’s settled. Quieter, he adds, “I think he’d like that…”

If Rex wasn’t so traumatized right now, he’d be absolutely indignant that Jess just blatantly lied like that. How dare you slander the good name of Captain Rex, good Lieutenant, by implying this small child whom he only knew for a few hours and “died” to protect should keep his face when Kenobi is standing over there trying not to cry. Come say that to his helmet, coward!

Rex doesn’t think about where Cut’s bucket had ended up.

I like throwing out lines that if you think about them for longer than it takes to read them then they might become incredibly depressing. What did happen to his helmet? What happened to his armor?

Jek clutches the helmet to his chest in victory and Shaeeah smiles sweetly and Suu has this fond, exasperated look on her face that Rex assumes comes standard with being eyn buir. The children magnanimously offer the rest of his armor to the men, stacked as neatly as they could manage. Rex stares as Kenobi helps pack it away with the supplies for safekeeping, subtly pocketing his left vambrace as he does.

I’m gonna be honest, at this point canon and fanon have merged so much for me that I don’t even know what’s true and what’s not. Just go with it.

Rex doesn’t think about maybes and what-ifs.

Then Kenobi turns back to Suu and his gaze goes past her to the ruined farmhouse and Rex gets the feeling that Kenobi’s about to do one of those terribly un-Jedi-like things he had never, ever admitted to sometimes doing. He pulls out a credit chip and Rex knows.

He has to turn away from the scene and take careful breaths. Kenobi wasn’t perfect—Cody has spent hours venting to Rex and Wolffe and whoever else managed to meet up at once about his hypocritical, sanctimonious Jedi—but just like Skywalker, just like Tano, just like Windu and Yoda and Secura and every other Jedi, he had his moments of breath-stealing goodness.

Listen, I love some Jedi characters to death, but I have—had, now that Tumblr filters out posts with words like “fuck” and “wank” in the tags when you search for them and pretends they don’t exist—a #fuck the jedi order tag for a reason. The narrative tends to frame both the Jedi Order and most Jedi characters as Righteous and Good, while also having them commit pretty heinous acts and tossing the audience horrific implications/pieces of information at the same time. I’ve said it somewhere before, but The Clone Wars wants to have its “deep, edgy, grimdark exploration of war” and eat its “fun, wacky space adventures” too and while we’ve all noticed the tonal whiplash that the show gives us, it plays hell with the narrative itself. Unspeakably bad shit happens in one arc, and nobody ever mentions it again. The Jedi control a slave army, and that’s Bad, but we’re told that they care about their troops and want to help them Later, which cancels out the Bad and keeps them Good Guys. In universe, it absolutely doesn’t work. We all know the Jedi pull some fuckshit every two weeks, so you bet your ass the clones know it too and routinely get sauced and rant about it to each other where no one can hear them. But they also can be extremely helpful and empathetic between three to five every other Thursday. Sorry, just mentioning #fuck the jedi order sends me off into a rant and I actually deleted a lot of other stuff from this part because Not Important.

Rex should’ve known his last act as a captain, and his first act as a free man, would be finally witnessing one of those moments.

And then Kenobi is gone, his brothers are gone, and the work begins.

- - -

It’s slow-going, and at times back-breaking, and it quickly becomes apparent that the nerve-damage Kix had warned about has set in good and proper. After the children have gone to bed, Rex and Suu go outside to have a rousing argument about what to do—the first of many on the horizon.

I know, I know, it’s common wisdom that disagreeing with your partner are normal but knockdown drag-out arguments Are Not and while I absolutely understand that, I come from a family with an absurdly large number of siblings that subscribe to the Taika Waititi School of Siblings and therefore it’s perfectly reasonable to shout yourself hoarse about some nonsense or other and get mad and stomp off and then two hours later throw a pillow at the other person’s head and say “hey dickhead come look at this funny post what’s for dinner later”. And as such that’s how every sibling relationship I ever write will function because I genuinely don’t understand siblings who don’t drag each other at every opportunity and then pop up around a corner like an awful gremlin to scare them at 2:30 in the morning just to fuck with them.

Suu demands they use part of Kenobi’s credits to pay for surgery to remove and replace the dead arm; Rex counters that he can function with only one arm, but none of them can function without a roof over their heads and walls to shield them from the elements. Suu says that they will contact a doctor she knows on the other side of the planet tomorrow and that’s final; Rex blinks, says understood, sir, and stands down.

The next morning, between frying eggs and waking the little ones, Suu apologizes for 'pulling rank’ on him. Rex can tell the words sit strangely in her civilian mouth. He accepts her apology and says nothing about how he hadn’t even noticed his own automatic reaction to her tone the night before, but. That was exactly how he’d reacted, wasn’t it?

When next they argue, about him ‘overdoing it’ and ‘exerting himself too much’, he’s ready for the gut-punching Commanding Officer Voice and shouts back when it’s his turn to talk. It works for them.

Listen, I don’t know about you, but when I hear certain tones of voice I automatically respond in certain ways. Like the vocal version of being full-named.

- - -

“White is death,” Rex explains once the final layer of base paint has settled on the plastoid. He runs his hand firmly down the prosthesis in its finalized form, from the ball of the synthetic shoulder to the tips of each finger. It’s as much to test that the molecules of paint bind properly as it is to get himself used to the difference. “White is the bones of those long gone. White is the snow that covers the fields in winter. It… stifles, and kills, but it’s also. Possibility, I suppose. White armor is shiny and new, but that just means it has yet to prove itself. You never know what you’re gonna get when you scratch beneath the surface.”

I had a lot more of @izzyovercoffee’s Mandalorian color theory stuff that I ended up cutting just because it didn’t really fit, but you should check them out because they’re suuuuuuper interesting. I love cultural worldbuiding shit like that.

Hanging on his every word, Jek and Shaeeah nod breathlessly. They watch as he picks up a foam brush and dips it into a small pot of 501st blue. He sets it to the very top of the arm and brings it down in a smooth, careful, practiced motion.

“Blue is reliability,” he continues. The unbroken line he draws down to the wrist is thinner than it was on his armor, but copying his armor isn’t the point; the point is to create something new out of its loss. “It’s faithfulness, and consistency. It’s the sky—the very air—and you can always in trust that.”

Listen, if you want subtlety, go read deadcat’s stuff. If you want to get bashed over the head with this shit, you’ve come to the right place.

Lastly, he picks up a fine detail brush and dips it into a second pot.

“This one is different,” he says eventually, gauging his little cadets’ avid expressions. “You use red to honor a parent and the word for ‘red’ in Mando’a is ge’tal—literally, ‘almost blood.’ It’s a complicated word, because to Mando’ade, your family isn’t always going to have the same blood as you. It might not be red at all—it might be green, or blue, or something else entirely. But with family, you’re always ready to spill others’ or your own in order to protect them; it’s about honor… and love.”

“Mom,” Shaeeah deduces, her voice quiet as a mouse as they all gaze at the sharp, cutting magenta that coats the brush.

Rex nods.

“Just so.” He twirls the brush around and offers it to them. “Now, what should we do with it?”

Listen, it’s very important to me that we cut that toxic masculinity shit out of Star Wars, stop linking pink to femininity, more important stop linking femininity to weakness, and ultimately I want to see more clones wearing pink. Pink flowers and curlicues mixed in with 501st blue on Rex’s sick robot arm? Sign me the fuck up.

—

Aaaaand that’s the Author’s Commentary on Chapter Two of Family Before Dishonor, hope you enjoyed!

#ask meme #dvd commentary meme #answered asks #by apples #norcumii #family before honor #star wars #the clone wars #captain rex #suu lawquane #sw fic

[weirdandpissedoff]

Rian Reads: X-Man #2

Writer: Jeph Loeb Artist: Steve Skroce Inker: Mike Sellers, Bud Larosa & Kevin Conrad & Scott Hanna Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft Colorist: Mike Thomas & Digital Chameleon

Cover Date: April 1995

As X-Man #2 opens we catch up with Domino, who was tasked by Apocalypse with tracking down the source of great telekinetic energy that he’s been sensing (psst! It’s X-Man). Along with Caliban and some big, red guy named Grizzly, she tries beating information concerning their prey out of a big Russian mutant named Rossovich who seems like a combination of Omega Red and Dr. Octopus. A quick trek down Google Avenue informs me that Grizzly is a member of Wild Pack/Six Pack in the 616 Marvel Universe while Rossovich is, indeed, the Age Of Apocalypse incarnation of Omega Red. So, there you go.

Inevitably, Domino kills Rossovich without gleaning any useful info from him and we move on to see Nathan Summers (aka X-Man) training with Forge. After Nate has a temper tantrum he wanders off in a bad mood because he feels that Forge still treats him like a child, which is the perfect frame of mind for him to be in so that a less-than-ethical guy like new member of the group Essex can take advantage of him. Despite Forge’s orders for Nate to keep his power usage to a minimum so as to avoid detection, Essex is like, “Hey boi, can u fly, tho?” Then Nate’s all like, “Dunno, son. Let’s give ‘er a go, eh?” X-Man then does a few aerial laps around the forest clearing they’re in, after which he and Essex decide to keep this little experiment to themselves.

Later on the group is discussing what their next plan of action should be when Essex pipes up and tells everyone that he just so happens to know about a lab that is integral to Apocalypse’s plans that they could go and try to sabotage. The group hesitantly agrees to at least go check this place out and where they end up is the facility where beast performs all of his twisted mutation experiments and creates Apocalypse’s army of homegrown goons. When the group spots some members of the Madri (who, to recap, are one of the many groups of particularly dangerous mutants in Apocalypse’s employ, all of whom I find it hard to keep straight from series to series and issue to issue), the consensus is that they should peace out, but X-Man has other plans. And those plans consist of diving into a fight head first to destroy some of Beast’s equipment.

Following the obligatory fight scene of the issue during which X-Man substantiates Forge’s concerns about him not being ready for a real fight, the team retreats to an abandoned farmhouse to get some rest. Desiring answers, Nate sneaks away and, with new girl Theresa (who now goes by the codename Sonique because of her sonic scream powers, and also because Jeph Loeb can’t help himself when he has the opportunity to give characters unnecessarily weirdly spelled names) in tow, takes a little trip through the astral plane to the would-be X-Mansion in Westchester, New York just as he did in the previous issue. There he once more observes Magneto, who can’t see or hear him and Theresa in their astral forms. As it turns out though, Magneto’s young son Charles CAN see them and, freaked out by all this, Theresa somehow breaks their “psi-link,” sending them back to the farm.

Finally, Brute, the biggest, strongest and dumbest member of Forge’s little band of merry men, has an epiphany about where he recognizes Essex from and confronts him in a barn. Just as Brute calls Essex out as actually being Mr. Sinister (which, I mean…we all knew that’s who he was, but they hadn’t come right out and said it until now), Domino and her gang show up and pose menacingly for some of Jeph Loeb’s overbearing “Hey, it’s a cliffhanger!” narration.

I enjoyed this issue of X-Man much more than I did the first one, which is due in no small part to the fact that there’s nary a mention of Shakespeare nor traveling theater troupes this time around. Steve Skroce’s art, while, as I mentioned before, would get much better in subsequent years during his Marvel tenure, is still a welcome addition to the line-up of AoA artists. Conversely, if you couldn’t tell from the amount of jabs that I took at Jeph Loeb’s writing in the preceding review, his dialogue and narration hasn’t grown on me at all. 

This issue marks the official halfway point of my journey through the Age Of Apocalypse. Part of the reason why I began reading Uncanny X-Men starting at #300 all those months ago was that I wanted to experience an era of X-stories that I’ve always felt I’d missed out on. Another part of the reason for starting this little project of mine was that, while I love the X-Men, I haven’t been able to get into any of their recent runs or stories. So many mainstream superhero comics these days seem to have a “every story arc has to be 5-8 issues long so that it neatly fits into a trade paperback for the aftermarket even if the pacing and storytelling suffer as a result” vibe to them. Those earlier days of superhero comics rarely worked out into neat little story arcs and flowed more naturally as episodic, ongoing stories, which is a style of superhero comic storytelling that I sorely miss these days. 

While I’m glad that I’m finally taking the opportunity to scratch the Age Of Apocalypse off of my bucket list of comics that I’ve been meaning to get around to reading for years, I have to admit that, even though I’m largely enjoying it, AoA does have a bit of that larger storyline stink to it that I was hoping to avoid. The experience has been largely positive though, and while I’m excited to move past the Age Of Apocalypse and tackle some more of the random issues and stories beyond it, I am very curious to see how this whole crossover event is going to wrap up. 

Onwards and upwards, true believers!

- R.

#Rian Reads #Rian Reads X-Man #X-Man #X-Men #Age Of Apocalypse #Forge #Grizzly #Caliban #Domino #Sonique #Brute #Soaron

[thewalkingdead-obsessed]

Season 2 Rewatch

This is pretty hefty so if you actually read it... bless you!! Lots of spoilers and thoughts ahead!!

2x1 What Lies Ahead

-We see the kids really being kids in this episode. Between Carl and Sophia asking to go to the Grand Canyon, Sophia being scared and going with her gut to run (twice) even when it wasn’t the best thing to do, Carl thinking he’s old enough for responsibilities, and what have you. Even though this world doesn’t seem to be “meant” for kids, I love seeing their youth coming forward regardless.

-Speaking of Sophia, her going missing was one of the saddest parts of the season, maybe even the entire show. Her going missing and everyone putting all their energy toward looking for her develops so many different plots and characters arcs, as well at shoved the show in an entirely different direction. First off, there is Carol, who would not be the Carol we know today without this unfortunate event. We see a change in Daryl as well, who begins to show more emotions, and start working with Rick and the others as a team. This also brings up some moral issues, between Dale not wanting anyone to argue over anyone giving up on Sophia (via convo with T-Dog), and Shane wondering those exact same things but on the opposite side. Sophia going missing also brings us to Otis, who then brings us to the farm.

-I really hate the dynamics between Andrea and Dale. I think this is where they really screwed up her character. They turned her into a black sheep, relating more to Shane, when deep down I feel like her character would have been better less angsty and more powerful from the get go. She wants to leave with Shane, after he has a conversation with Lori that she overheard, and I think they should have either made them both leave and we catch up with the later, or never have that happen/have them connect.

-The scene where Rick begs for a sign, and then gets it in the form of a deer with his son, is so beautifully done. Carl was just being a child, appreciating nature, and then getting shot, is so heart wrenching. But it brings is back to the beginning of the episode. It started by examining youth, and ends with the two kids on the show getting hurt/going missing.

 2x2 Bloodletting

-The flashback to Lori talking to her friend right before Shane told her about Rick getting shot really solidifies, to me at least, that Rick and Lori’s marriage was over before any of this began. Shane and her seem to have an immediate connection after he tells her, and she seems emotionless when she tells Carl.

-When Rick gets Carl to the Greene farm, we see this expression from Rick that we don’t get often in the show. Only when it comes to the lives of his family, does Rick break down and practically beg people to help him.

-I love the introduction to the Greene family, everyone is moving so fast and incredibly willing to help.

-Seeing Shane really stabilize Rick in this situation is something that is confusing, in a good way to the audience. It’s hard to tell whether Shane is a good or a bad guy because his actions are so back and forth. Sometime the antagonist isn’t always a horrible person.

-The parallels between Rick and Carl getting shot is really interesting. I think the main difference is the reaction from Lori.

-I have such a hard time watching any of the Shane and Otis high school scenes, they’re so hectic and leave you on the edge of your seat (esp if you’re already expecting what is happening).

-One thing that confuses me in this episode is the conversation between T-Dog and Dale, where T-Dog is suffering from an infection and is out of his. He refers to the both as weak, and live bait. They touch on it again a few episodes later, but even then it still leaves me confused. I don’t really understand the point of the conversation I guess.

-I’m glad Carol stood her ground and decided not to leave the highway, and I’m especially glad other people backed her up.

-We see our first glimpse of what Hershel thinks of the walkers and the “disease” they have is.

 2x3 Save the Last One

-I get so mad everytime I watch the scene with Otis and Shane, but honestly… could you blame him? We’re so quick to judge, but if it was Rick in that situation, I’m not sure what would have happened. I’m not sure that Rick would have done the same thing, BUT I think Carl may not have lived if that was the case.

-While everyone seems to be losing hope that Sophia is alive, oddly enough Daryl is the only one who’s really holding out for her and Carol. I think Carol realizes he’s the only one who still really believes. The foreshadowing of him saying something like for all we know she could be held up in a farmhouse somewhere is wild.

-Carl waking up and talking about the deer was so sweet. I think that was everything that Rick needed to keep going, even when Lori was wondering if she wanted to Carl to make it and live in a world like this.

-When Shane comes back right in time, you can tell he’s messed up from what happened between him and Otis. I believe this was the final point where there was no going back for Shane.

 2x4 Cherokee Rose

-I think it’s important to note that we still saw a funeral for Otis, even without his body. Burials/funerals are a key part of the show. I think they represent the difference between life and death. Even in death they choose to give life to these characters. Burials are important because in a show that is surrounded by death, there is a distinct different made when someone is of important to the group when they die.

-The scene where Hershel and Rick talk with a beautiful view on screen reminds me a lot of the Maggie and Sasha conversations later on.

-Seeing Maggie’s reaction to the well walker’s death was something that was interesting because it shows that there are some people who are numb to gore and death at this point, and some that aren’t.

-Shout out to Maggie for initiating doing it with Glenn ;) Love me a strong woman.

-I like when Rick gives Carl his hat and says it’s like a club for those who got shot and survived. It was about time Rick put his uniform away, but the hat is a nice reminder of his roots.

 2x5 Chupacabra

-I love the use of flashbacks, and the one in the beginning of this episode is especially one of my favorites. Seeing Carol, Carol, and Sophia together, the bombing of the city, and how close Shane and Lori were puts a lot of thing into perspective.

-Shane wanted to call of the search for Sophia, and thought Rick was being too nice by still looking, but Rick still has his humanity left. Shane is only worried about survival, Carl, and Lori at this point.

-Daryl’s scenes alone in the woods are of the most confusing to me. I really like his hallucinations of Merle because we really get to see Daryl’s strength, and insecurities, but I wonder the use of this. Was it to get Daryl to really assimilate with the group, to tell us more about him and his relationship with his brother, all of the above, or more? I feel like the dialogue between him and Merle is super specific (especially homophobic) and I think it’s something worth analyzing deeper.

-I LOVE the scene where Carol brings Daryl food. Daryl is still very much an outsider, but I know that Carol wants to validate him and let him know he’s just as worthy as anyone else. Daryl want’s to think he can do it all on his own, but this is the beginning of him warming up to having a family for the first time in his life.

 2x6 Secrets

-The relationship between Dale and Glenn warms my heart, and it’s way better than Andrea and Dale’s. I understand why they didn’t make them an item (like the comics), but a nice wholesome relationship would have been good, rather than turning Andrea into one of the most annoying characters (when she could have been the most badass).

-The two main secrets: Lori’s pregnant and there are walkers in the barn, really set up much of the rest of the season. With the walkers, it gives us a chance to realize the people are the priority, not the dead. It’s about getting the Greene family and the Atlanta group on the same page, even if it doesn’t happen in the most civil way. With Lori being pregnant and coming clean about Shane to Rick, it brings a huge separation between Lori and Rick, as well as Shane and Rick. I don’t think Rick is the same after this.

 2x7 Pretty Much Dead Already

-When Glenn tells the group about the walkers in the barn, it reminds us that Glenn will always choose family over anything else (Maggie not quite being family yet).

-I found it really interesting that Carl said he’s not going to leave until they find Sophia, which I think sways Rick (and Carl’s opinion is always swaying Rick, think season three when Carl says Michonne is one of them).

-Once Shane figures out Lori is pregnant, I think he becomes more determined than ever to win her over again.

-The barn and walker scene is definitely one of the saddest in the entire show. When Sophia comes out and Rich has to kill her, you can tell no one is the same after this. Up until this point, everyone’s main focus (besides Shane) was to find Sophia. I don’t think anyone dealt with the reality of how they might find her. Especially after an incredibly brutal and emotional experience for the Greene family, who saw the walkers as human, seeing Sophia walk out slowly was a horrific moment. Daryl holding back Carol is something that gives me goosebumps, because he was still holding out hope, maybe even more than her. This wasn’t easy for anyone, and I think it shook the entire group.

 2x8 Nebraska

-When Shane calls Rick out for being delusional, I think it hits him hard. He realizes that he did put everyone in danger, as a leader, making them look for a child that was most likely dead. All of Rick’s guilt comes out, I think even from when he was in a coma and couldn’t save his family. He is happy Shane did, but I also believe he carries a lot of pain for not being there for his family when they needed him. I’m sure he felt replaced, even though they all thought he was dead. Rick has taken the role of the leader and that’s a huge burden that we’re finally seeing him struggle with. He’s a good person with morals, and I think that’s what makes things so hard for him, since many people are beginning to let go of the rules and moral codes they had before the apocalypse.

-What happens in the bar is really telling of these emotions because Rick kills the living for the first time, perhaps and overcompensation for not being as “tough” as he thought he should have been this whole time.

-Everything revolving around Daryl in the episode is very sad because he’s starting to retreat a little and close off after opening up. He’s taking this hard. All the talk of Sophia is depressing because a lot of people think it has no meaning (but it does in character development!!).

 2x9 Triggerfinger

-Glenn’s struggle with being in love is something I find so interesting because him and Maggie are the first “new” relationship introduced in the show (all the other one’s are pre-existing). He’s never been in love before this which adds on to the emotions because of the nature of the world they’re in. He wants to live for her, which he thinks is bad at this point.

-The confrontation between Daryl and Carol is so strange. Their whole relationship is. I think because they both dealt with a similar kind of loss (losing someone and not knowing if they’re alive) and then both being abused (carol by Ed and Daryl by Merle and his father), they are working things out emotionally, through each other.

-Beth being in shock and suicidal is the first real development of her character, and I like that they take the time to focus on people being so incredibly upset about death. It’s so normalized, but the fact that she focuses on it is important.

-Rick proved again that he is a good guy, by saving Randall (this isn’t my favorite plot in the show, but the focus on human life is interesting and reminds me a lot of the future Morgan story).

-The conversation between Rick and Lori bugs me a lot because he basically tell Rick he’s going to need to kill Shane, because Shane is dangerous and wants the baby, Carl, and her to himself (BUT THEN SHE GOES AND PULLS SOME BULLSHIT LATER ON).

 2x10 18 Miles Out

-Something interesting to note about where Rick and Shane bring Randall is the vehicles in the lot. There is a fire truck and school bus. These same kinds of vehicles become important in the story later. In seasons 3 and 4, school buses can be seen multiple times. Michonne uses one as cover, TF brings the Woodbury people back in a school bus, and I believe they’re used again to attempt to escape the Governor’s second attack. In season 5, Abraham’s group has a fire truck that is highlighted (and then lost, but not without hints to it in other spots in the show).

-The two dead cops in the area they were going to leave Randall reminded me a lot of pre-apocalypse Rick and Shane.

-The Rick and Shane fight is some nice action after a slow-ish season action wise.

-Beth wanting to die is very sad, but I think Andrea was sort of right when she said that Beth made her choice after she attempted, she didn’t want to die when it came down to it. This changed Beth, for the better.

-The field walker is one of my favorite scenes in the entire show. It’s just walking, through a field. But it’s so beautiful and well done.

 2x11 Judge, Jury, Executioner

-Daryl beating Randall seems more so a release of aggression over anything. And after Randall tells what his group did to those girls, I think it just motivated Daryl’s anger more. We’re finally hearing about groups that aren’t a tight knit family, sometimes awful people band together.

-This episode also made me think “where the hell is T-Dog?”. He’s such an underutilized character and should be more than just a pawn to help and save people.

-I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the same episode that Hershel gives Glenn his watch, is the same episode that Dale dies (thinking back to Dale’s time speech in season 1).

-When the whole group gets together to talk about what they’re going to do about Randall, you really see the weight the world has put on these people. In season 1, many of them probably wouldn’t even have thought about killing someone living. A season later, everyone is torn and broken. The rules are starting to change, but Dale is still fighting for them. I, personally, don’t think either side is wrong in this situation. I see the case for people wanting him dead, and I see the case for people wanting him to live. Dale has always been a metaphor for morality, and even today I think he lives on in the group.

-You can see Carl changing as a young boy, growing up in a world like his is now. He thinks Randall should die, and that terrifies Rick.

-Dale’s death is so sad. Rick wants to put him out of his suffering, but it’s so hard for him especially after the confrontation earlier. He feels guilty. He feels guilty if he’s bad, but he also feels guilty if he’s good. There is not easy choice. Daryl ends up having to put Dale down, which is definitely the first step in Rick and Daryl’s brother-like relationship.

 2x12 Better Angels

-During Dale’s funeral, Rick’s speech is huge in his growth. He wants to do things the best he can, and he realizes the important Dale had on the group. He doesn’t want to be “broken” so he wants to prove him wrong, and lead better.

-Poor Carl, he’s learning (much different than he would have in a weird without walkers) that every action has a consequence.

-Love the budding friendship between Daryl and Rick, I feel like this episode really starts it.

-Here Lori goes, all conflicted fucking things up again. When she talks to Shane in this episode, I think this pushes him over the edge. She looks at him lovingly, and thanks him for all he did. She says it must be hard for him not knowing who’s baby it is. This gives Shane the last bit of hope he needs to take over. I truly believe Lori was in love with Shane, more than she ever wanted to admit.

-Shane’s elaborate plan was sort of brilliant, but Rick knows him well, and knew pretty quickly what was happening. At any point he could have killed Shane, but he pushed it off as long as possible because he did love his friend. When he killed Shane, it also solidified what Jenner had told him about everyone being infected.

 2x13 Beside the Dying Fire

-It was so cool to see how a herd is formed. The herd travelled far together, and as we see later in the show, herds really control where people can go.

-I’m glad we got to see the RV save Rick and Carl, it went out in glory.

-The farm/herd scene is so badass, I love seeing everyone fighting. We can see improvements in characters taking on walkers, very dramatically, in this episode, which is nice because this season wasn’t incredibly walker heavy.

-Everyone getting separated, but getting back together where they lost Sophia was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. The highway was what brought them to the farm in the first place, and now they’re back.

-Poor Andrea. Although she was left behind, we really got to see how badass her character could be on her own. And then she meets Michonne (a twist I looooooooooved).

-I feel so bad for Rick as he talks to the group after everything happened. Not only does he have to admit he killed his best friend, he has to take charge in a way he never thought he would have to. He also tells them about what Jenner told him, he had to bear that incredibly grim news to his family after keeping it on for so long. I don’t blame him for becoming cold in season 3.

-I hate how Lori reacted to Rick telling her he killed Shane. Days before, she was the one who told him Shane was a threat and needed to go. Now that she realized she was really in love with him, she resented Rick for it. I believe that Rick and Lori loved each other, but by default at that point. After Lori’s reaction, you could tell Rick was done with her.

 Overall, season 2 was filled with massive amounts of character development and taught us a lot about morality and the characters views on the world. They were left at an incredibly vulnerable state, realizing that nowhere is really safe. On to season 3!!

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