being critical once again
ed and stede is cute but it doesn't feel equal. ed's kraken era worked well, but the bullshit apology and stede immediately forgiving him felt wrong. everyone else being shut down by stede when they were upset(which made the crew trust him less) really made the whole thing turn a bit sour.. it made me feel as if ed could get away with anything and nobody was allowed be upset by it
let the crew be angry and have some resentment(for longer than half an ep)! let them slowly come back and start to trust him again, and let stede be angry and pissed! i feel like everything went back to normal far too quick. if stede were angrier and actually held ed accountable and fought for his crew(the crew that ed tried to murder in case you forgot) their relationship would've been much more balanced
also them retiring felt wrong. what about their found family(aka the largest theme in the show!!!). they really just left everything they've ever fought for behind, for each other. its a trope that sounds cute in theory but in practice is just another one of their whims(disguised as destiny) i fear.
i love stede and i love ed, but given their track record: the dynamic, forgiveness arc and ending makes me feel like stede did all of that for ed because ed wanted to leave piracy. stede feels like the kraken era and everything was his fault(he is not responsible for eds actions, even if he was the one that made him upset), and because of that he left the family he spent so long creating behind. idk its a bit weird to me
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trollhunters s3 spoilers below
it's my 5th time rewatching it now, with friends this time. and just... the entire ending of s3 enamors me so heavily. it's just this ultimate culmination of the death of innocence.
and it's not bad AT ALL.
the moment Merlin tells Jim "you get the choice to become stronger and be the foe that your villain fears, or you can take your chances as you are. if you stay like this, it's entirely like you'll be killed. and if you change... a part of you is going to die forever."
you just. you immediately know the stakes. i understand that it's quite literally Jim losing his humanity, he becomes a troll, yes. but i equate it so heavily to the loss of his innocence, of his literal human-nature to love and care. because he becomes so animalistic afterwards, it's like watching someone spiral. it's a walking tragedy, especially after you watch the whole show and you can't help but UNDERSTAND WHY he's spiraled so hard.
not to mention, just... the mastercraft of the bathtub scene. it's a sensory overload of every single reason Jim wants to stay human, but at the same time, it's the EXACT reason needs to turn in order to protect all of those he holds dear.
and not just that, the fucking... the deliberate framing. he's alone, locked himself in a room. there's a phone ringing on the counter, but he can't hear it and he refuses to look. he's just sitting there, quietly, going back and forth constantly to decide what to do. his whole family and friends are beating on the door, trying to get to him, but he just won't listen.
the fact that they bleed Anton Yelchin's lines into Emile Hirsch's at times, as if it's a moment of saying goodbye to the previous voice actor. like a passing of the torch. it's almost symbolic of everything he's going to do going forward: letting his humanity, his entire self, die.
i swear, barely any shows i know these days can evoke emotions like that. where the visual metaphor of someone committing suicide is so powerful that you have to just reach out constantly and beg and hope and pray that he will turn around and open the door instead.
it's hopeless incarnate. it's the death of innocence. it's watching the quiet death of someone who just wants to better for the people around him.
it's so fucking painful, but it's god-tier story-telling and animation. i can't even imagine how they managed to write that all down.
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Hi Beans, I’m finally here. Diluting the sad with fun and very OOC.
I don’t really have a lot of ideas about what to write, but I remembered that I shared my idea of Es with the chivalrous Argenti's personality.
So. AU in a vacuum (maybe an actors AU, maybe not), where Es thought that it would be funny to surprise the prisoners with the behavior of a knight(maybe Jackalope came up with that idea, maybe just strange sense of humor). What about the prisoners' reactions? (gallantry and compliments to plants attached)
I think Mahiru would have joined the drive even if she didn’t really understand what happened. Fuuta would probably say "ugh, cringe" and that would make him a great target for the rest of the day.
YESS ahahaha, this is such a fun idea! I wrote a little scene with a few characters, but honestly it's hysterical picturing any of them trying to figure out how to react to this new and sparkling Es... I went for a version where not even Jackalope was prepared, but I can certainly see him suggesting something crazy like that to shake things up omg. Thank you so much for the request! The original meme was made by Mug, and I couldn't help but do a doodle myself ✨🌹
Amane was the first to witness it. She fled as soon as possible, finding sanctuary in the common room. The others were surprised as she stumbled in, face pale and eyes wide. Very little could frighten the girl; it was not a good sign.
Yuno moved to comfort her. “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes went distant with the harrowing memory. “It’s Es,” was all she said.
“Did they do something cruel?”
“No. Worse.” Amane shivered. “They were… nice.”
“They were what?”
Amane opened her mouth, but paused at the sound of heels clicking down the hallway.
She stiffened. “If you need me you can find me in my cell.” She disappeared as quickly as she came. The others, who had been listening in on the odd conversation, gaped after her. They tried to piece together what had been so unsettling. Still, Es’ boots approached.
All eyes landed on the doorway.
And Es appeared. They looked very normal. Jackalope hopped up behind them. All shoulders sagged in relief. Es surveyed the room, slightly surprised to find everyone staring.
Then, they smiled.
It was a genuine, bright smile. The blue-gray of their eyes sparkled with a new light. Their lips parted to release a lighthearted laugh, unlike anything the prisoners had heard from them before.
They glided through the room, heels clicking lightly behind them until they came to Muu. The others stood frozen in place.
Es swept their cape aside with a grand flourish of their arm. They held both her hand and her gaze with warmth.
“Why, hello, Muu! You’re looking as positively lovely as always. Has this fine morning treated you well?”
“Um…” She looked to everyone, her face pleading for a little guidance. They were too busy looking eagerly to her in astonishment. “Uh… yes?”
“I’m pleased to hear it.” They reached behind themself. The room let out a soft gasp as they produced a pale pink flower from underneath their cape.
“For you, my dear.”
They didn’t wait for her to finish stuttering a confused ‘thank you’ before they turned to whoever was standing closest. Mahiru’s own face lit up as Es turned their glimmering gaze her way. Fuuta scoffed, muttering something about this being the lamest, cringiest thing he’d witnessed. Es pretended not to hear.
“Shiina Mahiru… a smile like yours is rare to find in a place like this. I thank you for it.” They pinched their chin and angled their head, thinking. “The meaning of your name has to do with light, correct?”
She nodded, unable to keep the giddiness from her face. The others watched as Es moved their glove behind once more. Surely there was no room for any more flowers hidden there…
Surely they were all mistaken – Es flicked their wrist to present a small gathering of yellow blooms.
“Something radiant for someone as bright as you.”
She fell over herself with gratitude and giggles. She tried to tuck it into her hair, and Mikoto stepped over to help her. The pair raised their eyebrows at each other in disbelief.
This time, Es retrieved their gift before turning to their next victim. A classic red rose. They caught a prisoner’s gaze.
“Oh, no. Nope. No way.” Fuuta held up his hands, as if it could ward them off. “I don’t want your stupid-ass flowers.”
“Now, now, I see you’re playing hard to get, as usual.” They brushed their thumb along the thorny stem. “You know, the rose has a very similar approach.”
Fuuta’s face now matched the flower’s color. “Wha–” He stumbled backward, then took off running to the door. “I don’t know what weird mind games you’re trying to pull, but I’m staying out of it!”
Es only clicked their tongue gently when he disappeared. “Always making things difficult, that one. All part of his charm, I suppose.”
They followed to the entrance. Turning briefly, they flashed their smile once more.“It was wonderful to see you all! I will await our next meeting eagerly.”
With a fluttery wave, they vanished.
Everyone’s attention shot to Jackalope, who had paused in the doorway. No one could understand his voice, but his little rabbit face seemed to say, Hey, don't look at me. I have no fucking idea.
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