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We're all in the same boat.

Like he's grown a lot as a character and the dynamic between him and Morty is changing I feel like

He's taking Morty's thoughts and actual feelings about things into consideration instead of just doing it like he would have before. I think that from the moment Morty told Rick he saw him as his grandfather and not Rick Prime, it'd caused a shift in their relationship. Rick's really embracing the Grandpa Rick role more than before. From calling Morty junebug, to threatening mafia aliens over his grandson's safety, to thinking about stuff like this and taking Morty into consideration. To helping Morty out of situations like this and even tell him he loves him and is proud of him (like in the life of Roy game). In a way Rick's treating Morty as more like an actual partner in the adventures rather than a tag along.

Okay I'l try to calm myself a sec by listening to minecraft ost and adding a little something before getting into the first-watch review (so we all can avoid spoilers).

By re-watching Morty Daddy before the finale, my thoughts stayed the same, BUT(T), now that I'm no longer in the heat of the moment, being personally triggered, I can see the episode most probably had good intentions and some nice themes, even if there was sooo much bad stuff... But this is material for another post. *Morty Daddy looking at me like this*

...yeah, that's from Barbie.

!Here be Spoilers my dudes!

________My take (I’m part of the R&M cult, so, impartiality)_______

I cannot even put my thoughts in some kind of order, what the fuck can I say about this masterpiece? I cried, I laughed, I feared for the characters, I was sad, I was happy, I wish I was in love, a love that can outlive the universe itself, and it was all in, what, 25 minutes?💀

The episode started as Hot as Memory Rick, basically by mentioning the Omega Device, boom just like that, in your face, first 2 sec of the episode.

It's ironical how Rick could have fixed the Memory Rick thing just by talking to him, instead, he shoved him in a Windows 7 wallpaper and left, totally Rick style. But anyway...

Beth with an healthy childhood isn't a psychopath, actually, she is whole again. Even if the influence of Memory Rick messed up with her mind in the end, the way Beth grew up by having a loving father truly speaks volumes about how deeply her father bailing on her scarred her for life. With Memory Rick, Beth learns to fight even better than Space Beth, but she has a good heart that maybe not even Domestic Beth has. She values her family, like Domestic Beth does, and her childhood wasn't a bloody mess, but instead, it was nice training time spent with her dad. I don't think it's a case that she almost kills her clone in fact: even if this is a distorted version of a healthy Beth, I think that scene wasn't just for shock value, but rather a metaphor to show that a Beth with a healthy childhood didn't need a clone anymore. Another reference to this is the final song of the episode, the same playing at the end of Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri, "Don't look back" by Kotomi & Ryan Elder. Too bad that "healthy childhood" was fabricated so instead of not "needing a clone anymore", she snapped her neck 💀 Btw if you wanna cry this is the Diane version of the song 🤙 I like how Rick and Morty always stays realistic, which is a paradox: you have a world where aliens, multiverse and time travel exist, and yet you have a realistic evolution of the brain. In R&M we never see the fairy tale of "let's just talk, trauma will go away just like that" in R&M you literally rewire your brain to change and shape your attitude towards life and others. And that gives the actual weight of how complex human mind is, how real and alive these characters are... that's what almost never breaks the suspension of disbelief to me.

Fabricated memories vs real ones. As always, Rick triggered a terrible chain reaction out of pettiness: Memory Rick in fact was only having a good influence on Jerry's mind, as long as he was just spending time with the family, without trying to accomplish anything in particular. So, was this "fake" memory really dangerous? And was it really fake? Didn't Memory Rick lived those experiences with Memory Jerry after all? It's not an easy theme, and personally I think it's connected with how we experience memories when it comes to toxic people:

This is the classic confusion that u feel when you're dealing with narcissistic abuse, as always, the pulsing core of this show and the main protagonist of generational trauma: you feel like you hate that person and yet you feel guilty for hating them, because they are so good, you love them so much, right? Ur mind elaborates positive memories of the events, cutting out all the bad parts. It's a surviving mechanism, that allows us to protect ourselves, especially during childhood. It isn't a case if they say that Memory Rick gaslit Beth (even if the dynamic was different from how gaslighting usually takes place). And even if there are differences between the situation in the show and real life, we can say that the main question stays the same: are those memory real? How could we feel those deep affection and connection and now everything... changed? we opened our eyes and everything seems to be new, nothing from the past seems to match with what we feel now, with what we know now. Our reality is shattered. We feel crazy. We are scared. Rick saying "That's just being called being alive, sweetie" is sadly true: is very common to experience this during our life. But it doesn't need to be like this every time. It doesn't need to be like this for future generations. This, simply, isn't life.

Memory Rick has more in common with Morty than Rick (apparently that explains why they're both hotter than the climate change). Mechanical skills, mechanical skills everywhere. The fact that Rick was so crafty in his youth (BP remembers how good he was at crafting), gives me the feeling that Rick grew more and more tired of inventions as years passed. He had this passion to fix, to create, MacGyvering his way out of adversities, than he leveled up so much than he started to lose interest into creating and got more passionate about destroying. Does your skills matter if nothing you craft can help you with the only purpose of your life, getting your revenge? Does the thrill of conquering a new solution can even make you happy when nothing matters to you anymore? That healthy and positive force that Morty and Memory Rick have, that unshakable hope, is what Rick lost decades ago, overwhelmed by helplessness and silent hatred. As if Matrix Morty wasn't enough, now Memory Morty is my new obsession, great 👍

Rick's radical acceptance and grief. It's sad that Rick didn't tell the family about Memory Rick and Diane. But I feel like sooner or later he will tell them: it's just a though one for Rick. He realizes that the best part of himself, a part that was possible only in BP mind in fact, had Rick Prime under his nose, and let him go without hesitation, because all he ever wanted was Diane...was to be a present parent, a cool grandpa. The best, impossible part of himself, in the end, got Diane back. While, instead, Rick was so obsessed with his own revenge, with his frail ego, to force Prime's hand to the point of no return, to erase Diane forever. This episode was the moment where Rick accepted he fucked up. He accepted that because of that, his Diane was gone forever. He closed that chapter of his life for good. It wasn't a moment of simple acceptance of a loss, it was the radical acceptance of that whole chapter of his life, ugly truths included. He was mature enough to allow the happy ending that Memory Rick and Diane deserved. Rick is grieving, but this is not only grieving the death of his family, is the grief that comes from the loss of an entire narrative, this is coming to terms with your life choices. And deeply understanding you cannot change the consequences. To Rick, that's the end of a cycle. And he needs time before sharing this with his family. So, I get it.

This. Fucking. Scene.

I hated him so much aaaaa how he simply doesn't care at all, she's even talking to him, like, the cutest kid in the world is confused and scared and you are actually gonna leave her, and u just don't care aargh I hate this guy, but I also loved how much on point this portrait of some type of narc. parent was. He simply doesn't care. He knows what's he's doing is wrong and evil, and he just tries to avoid the situation, to leave asap only bcs this is making him unconformable... Beth's well being is not even in his radar 💀 I swear I though about this scene happening so many times in my mind, thinking "was Beth awake when he left? Did she saw him leave her or just found an empty house?" I always thought this was the most probable option. Interesting to think that this wasn't actually Rick Prime, but a Rick Prime, because this is not Beth Prime.

Rick's relationships Our baby boy needs to find some decent person (cough cough Unity ehm ehm Unity! cough cough), bcs more often than not his partners uses him or has 0 regards for his feelings and safety. Nimbus was just a click bait 😭😭 but this only means it happened in the past, and we already knew he was Rick's ex so... I'm not 100% sad

How sweet was Jerry?

In conclusion. This is the best finale I've ever seen in Rick and Morty: not only because is a well deserved happy ending for one of my fav characters, but also because this finale gives a real closure, a peaceful closure to many chaotic seasons. Rick completed his change with acceptance of himself. I need more Rick and Morty of course, but my heart isn't heavy: I'm satisfied with what we got, and happy to wait for more. Like spending a lovely holiday with a dear friend, knowing that next Summer you'll do it again. Needless to say that after this episode my idea of love is now split between - hot rogue with golden heart hacking the world to eternally fuck in space - hot space rebel pirate asking you to jump through the Infinite with them after they literally nuked capitalism There's no in between. Thank u Dan Harmon &Co for raising my relationship bar to unrealistic standards, life was already so easy 👍👍

______________Ep. Main themes in a nutshell_________________

Go make some memories that aren't fabricated. this is definitely a recurring theme this season: we are discovering more about what mind parasites are (I don't think the reference to poopy butthole in the end was a coincidence), how impactful these memories can be (Matrix episode) and how different characters feel abt them: Rick doesn't accept them, Morty and Summer give them importance. In the end, even Arcade Morty's implanted memories brought him and Homesteader Rick together, sharing a bond that never existed, if not in memories and in that very first adventure together. I still do not understand what the final take about memories will be, I guess we will see more in future seasons.

Acceptance. Rick has finally accepted his past and is ready to move on, to be more emotionally opened. I think we saw the same theme with Morty Jr. accepting himself and his family, even if in that case it was poorly written (from my point of view). Idk about Beth: this season was really intense for her, but I think there is a lot more that she needs to accept before changing. She didn't get over her childhood trauma yet, even if she's accepting more and more abt it. Her bond with Space Beth is also improving.

Be simple Rick. There is one huge message here and is: people matter, love matters. Live a simple life, eat a hot dog, fight the world to save your wife, spend time with your psycho children, protect your family from Hollywood, and the list goes on 💛

________________Sus stuff/interesting details_________________

Meta energy again! That's apparently the same core of Summer: do the hero and things will eventually work out, somehow. I don't thing it's a coincidence that her outfit is magenta.

Young Beth having a similar haircut to Matrix Summer is so sweet 💛

Deaths are a choice. I know this is a little bit obvious, but I think this episode showed us that permadeaths are a choice. If any character dies, we know that is a precise choice, not just shock value or "given this situation it was impossible for Tony Stark to bhla blah blah", there is always the possibility to res someone unless is vital for the character to cease to exist.

This line just an episode ago... and know we know, Rick wasn't there for any Morty's birth.

That child in Rick's hands wasn't Morty Prime, nor any other Morty born from any Beth. Personally, by the way he holds the baby in his hands, showing him to BP like a trophy, it always gave me the idea that Rick created or retrieved that Morty baby, like a clone or something. Very in character for Rick to go like: "u know what, every other Rick has a Morty, I want one but I'm going to do it myself!" and that would explain why so many time in the tv show Rick is labeled, even by his own admission, as a terrible father: like, he wasn't a terrible father to Beth, his Beth literally exploded, and with this other Beths he tried his best. And I'm not telling Evil Morty was Rick's first Morty (I'm telling it, season 9, season 9 listen to me), anyway enough this is another post's stuff. Yes my dudes, I'll keep posting until season 9 of course 💛

The Omega Device Explained. Finally we get the official explanation abt the omega device, why Diane looks so insignificant in Beth's and Rick's memories. She is a vague and almost shallow version of Diane, her personality is just hinted and almost faded because of the Omega Device.

For me, "Morty Daddy" was a frustrating watch. Morty reuniting with Morty Jr. had a lot of potential, and I was looking forward to Rick and Summer's adventure, but the pieces just didn't quite fall into place.

The episode started off strong with a scene that demonstrated how the Smiths are both changing and staying the same. When Morty tells the family that Morty Jr. called him from the hospital, Jerry tears into Morty Jr. for criticizing his son, then admits that he's mostly angry because the book made him and Beth look like bad parents.

Beth tells Morty that it's OK to hate your kids, which is apparently her fucked-up way of trying to help, and even Rick gives Morty his condolences before advising him to let his son die alone. Ultimately, they care about Morty, but they still put themselves first.

After this, Rick announces that he and Summer are off to dinner. Rick acts like he doesn't want to go, but he eagerly joins Summer in shoving their plates off the dinner table. This seems like the perfect set-up for some Rick and Summer bonding time.

And yet, the episode just didn't quite make it. The third act in particular felt like a draft that needed a few more rewrites.

Rick's cranky as ever when they get to the restaurant, but when he enjoys his meal and starts warming up to the place, I thought we might be getting somewhere. I also enjoyed learning more about his dietary preferences (this is the second lava cake mention after "Valkyrick"), especially since food is a big part of the show.

Of course, we need conflict to keep the plot moving, so Summer demands to speak to the chefs when she gets a disappointing meal. I loved getting another acknowledgment that Rick respects Summer more than her brother ("You're not Morty! I can't just grab you!") Unfortunately, the character development ended there.

I did think it was funny that the cogs easily manipulated Rick by promising him food and a good time. I was a little worried Rick would end up having sex with them despite the dubious consent (yes, Rick's an asshole who does shitty things, but the show doesn't need to go in THAT direction), but he's happy to just hang out in the pool and enjoy a giant eclair.

When Summer admits that she just wanted to hang out with Rick, and Rick coldly dismisses her, I was expecting some kind of resolution at the end. Something like Rick realizing that his granddaughter just wants his affection and he doesn't appreciate her enough.

The whole mess turns into a rapid-fire car chase, we get a reveal that the cogs orchestrated the whole thing just to open their own food truck, and...that's it. No resolution. The entire message of the Rick and Summer plot turns out to be "Summer's a complex person who stands up for herself and Rick's a petty asshole who responds well to shallow ego-stroking." Didn't we already know that?

Just ONE line acknowledging the way Rick treated Summer would've made this episode a lot more satisfying. Instead, he turns to the cogs for closure, then gets mad and throws them in Garbtopia. I guess they must've seen that coming, so maybe that was the real plan all along.

Morty's adventure with Morty Jr. had more depth, but it really needed a stronger backdrop. The "garbage planet/dimension" setting has been done a million times, and Charlie Day gave it his all, but his villain wasn't that funny or interesting.

The writers managed to explore different facets of Morty and Morty Jr.'s relationship--pride, resentment, affection, distance--but overall, this episode just...didn't have much of a reason to exist?

"Air Force Wong" is another episode that brought back an old character, but Rick's interactions with Unity gave us a lot of insight into how much therapy has changed him. "Morty Daddy" doesn't reveal much about Morty or his son. Their relationship is complicated yet distant, and Morty ends up bailing on him--which, admittedly, leads to a pretty funny conclusion.

Morty Jr. wanting to pay his respects to his mother surprised me, but other than that, I think we could've inferred everything this episode reveals without seeing it on screen. We don't see how much Morty has changed since season two (admittedly, his character development tends to be inconsistent) or how it influences the way he treats Morty Jr. In the end, he's still a 14-year-old kid who has no business raising a child.

When Morty Jr. brought up his mother, I thought we were headed for another trip to his home planet. I'm not sure if that would've made this episode better or worse. The setting would've been more intriguing than a generic wasteland, but it's also infamously misogynist. I think the writers could've successfully updated Gazorpazorp with one or two jokes about how the planet "used to be." Still, maybe it's better to leave that disastrous plot line in the past.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA HOW COOL WAS THAT?? In case you missed this masterpiece from 2002, Minority Report is a super cool sci-fi, dystopian thriller, all about 3 precogs who could predict crimes, just watch it, watch it right now if u didn't I'm gonna re watch it bcs is soooo cool!

wdym Rick Sanchez is jumping on the fucking vertical cars??

Ehm-hm: let's review the episode:

_________My take (I'm part of the R&M cult, so, impartiality)________

A bittersweet moral. Okay, heavy part first, fluff part second, even if tbh there is very little fluff part here, I'm disheartened my dudes. Let's start with saying that I liked parts of the episode, and I was literally clapping my hand at the Minority Report reference, but I think the tv show lost a fat chance here to be a breath of fresh air, the usual breath of fresh air that Rick and Morty is when taking innovative, nonconformist and very empathetic stances, for examples, on animal rights (Lawnmower Dog), motherhood (ABC of Beth) and so much more. This time instead, they slipped into the good old boomery moral of "aren't we all pieces of crap?? aren't we all a little bit autistic/adhd/*insert whatever concept that boomers do not grasp and decide to stay ignorant about*? (being pieces of crap isn't related to the other stuff I listed of course, don't get me wrong) Which is more or less what Harmon once said in a interview, like, "how can u say who's narcissistic in the end?" like... dude, wat? Are research and evidence just bananas to u?

But(t) it was years ago, who knows if something changed. I talked about what dynamic the preview portrays in this post and as I was half-expecting, instead of taking an accurate stance about a precise dynamic that irl has very clear and defined roles, they've just depicted "something they saw without actually understanding what they saw", making a simplistic, cheese mess of: "yeah your son is shitty, you are shitty, everybody is shitty and that's so funny, let's rate women!"

Like, the moral of the story here seems to be: people sharing their stories through books about their abuse are trash and leeches, exploiting their poor families who are "just humans"...? Excuse me? Am I still watching Rick and Morty or is this some resentful parent blaming their kids for going no contact with them...? Just like that they felt like they needed to add a pinch of victim shaming just bcs. Oh and don't forget that Jr. mom is "garbage", just 'cause she just was a sex doll, you know... with "her mouth was always open"... idk who the fuck wrote this episode, I don't wanna know honestly, I want to be above this 💀 I'm not gonna be angry about this, I swear, I'm breathing and focusing on Minority Report and cool Rick and Sumsum.

With tv shows/books etc I'm always like "are you just normalizing it or are you gonna say something abt it sooner or later...yes?...no? maybe? Jaybe?"

Like, remember when at the end of Game of thrones(spoiler?), Samwell Tarly goes like "yo ppl what you think abt democracy as an option?" and "the good (white of course) guys" all laugh in his face together? and they kick out the dothraki immigrants? and u where thinking: "okay, now something is gonna happen, like, in the last 2 minutes someone will kick their asses, right?... right?" and instead, nope, that was the finale the big corps chose, and it was really quite indicative of the kind of scenario that would have emerged for the US in a couple of years, just like the old Hollywood movies where meant to be the States' propaganda back in the days. Beyond corps interests, tv shows are the product of our society, and in our society... well many people still thinks that narcissism is not a big deal, that is actually about having a good self esteem, that narcissistic abuse isn't a thing at all, and opening a discussion about these themes is still taboo, bcs of ignorance, bcs of interest or bcs of both. Ppl speaking out about narcissism awareness still faces a lot of blame and opposition, and I think it will take decades for this to change, for new generations to have a proper emotional education, even in school for example. So, I cannot say if we will ever see a clear "this is not okay" statement on this tv show, from the position of someone who actually knows the dynamics and they did their homework, or if it will always be a mid "you know, everyone is a little bit narcissistic heh heh!" ('cause no, that's really not the case and it's as much irritating as ppl saying to u "everyone is a little bit autistic lol" while you are literally feeling your own fucking bones and living is a fucking issue to u) It's easy to talk about love, family and communication, while putting the nasty, bitter parts aside.

So: am I disappointed that they missed the chance to take a modern and powerful stance on mental health? yes. Does this mean that there won't be other chances? no. It's important to spark the conversation about these topic, because when a popular tv shows will be on point about it, we'll know we are evolving as a society.

It's Hot Springs Episode my dudes, they gave us the Hot Springs Episode 💀💀💀

The brave little goblin. I liked the way Morty developed some kind of connection with his son, and admitted he was an irresponsible father, but after that, he was once again irresponsible and immature, just like his son with his umpteenth wife, so honestly idk what they learned this time 💀 I'm pretty surprised about how "well adjusted" Jr. was, like, yes he's a piece of sh1t, but a Gazorpazorp writing a series about a little goblin that finds his way, giving hope to kids... it's beautiful, and usually this is what survivors do, they give hope to the oppressed by sharing their misery, they don't do that for money or clout 👍(I'm not angry, I swear, I'm just saying)

The Sauron reference: Nice Sauron reference, I like how they highlighted how fantasy stories pushes us to fight tyranny for a better future, a tyranny that is basically fueled by irresponsible people in position of power: Salva-tron just doesn't want to get in trouble, and it destroys anything that could be a threat to his safety. Rick just scolded him once, but this was enough for him to enslave the entire garbage world to ensure his position and privilege. It's interesting bcs our society is full of Salva-trons. Okay no, I'll skip the main themes and sus stuff of the episode bcs I think I would get mad again and I already said everything I needed to say, so I'll cut it short 💀

The moral seems to be: our parents are garbage, we are garbage and that's totally okay. Except, that's not okay(my take ofc). You could restrain yourself from exploiting you father and having countless horrible marriages. You could do the work and go to therapy, (I thought we did get to this point with all the previous seasons?) it doesn't mean that we need to be perfect, that would be stupid and unrealistic, but we can be better than our worst 💀

This episode was like seeing a R&M cammeo inside another tv show, where the characters are the classical static characters, they don't evolve, they just do "their thing" as always. They also didn't show any continuity with the last episodes' character development.

In conclusion, this episode won't be one of my fav at all, tbh. The ideas were great, but the execution was messy, with some pitch of sexism and victim shaming that no one needed, and quite shallow, especially if compared to what we usually see on screen. Maybe it was meant to be provocative, but provocative towards who? victims? sexualized women? idk honestly. It left me with the same bad, weird feeling I felt the first time I saw Elon Sucks having a quite funny part in the show, like... I don't get it, why are we partying with the nasty guy now? is that a joke I'm missing, is it for money...? idk I feel :\

it was like a regression to those episodes from the first seasons, but not in a good sense, if you get me... I would really like to know if you liked it and if you found some "moral of the story" that isn't trash (except for Rick being cool and Summer being wild) , bcs maybe it's just me not seeing it 🤷

Morty's response being "That's family I guess" ouch dude that sucks

Rick and Summer hanging out it's so cute theyre so cute

Mr grump he's so cute I need to kiss him

RICK EATING HEA RHE CUTEST IM HYPERVENTILATING

Morty just keeps getting his gut punched "how do I know Rick didn't throw his grandson away" OUCH

Rick loves his lava cake

"Sum sum" cutie pies

Rick rolling up his sleeves yes yes yummy

Why does he keep giving his inventions sentience Also why does the pizza box sound familiar

Morty and Rick

Summers swimsuit is so cute

Rick looks so cute in his swim trunks I'm gonna chew on him like a dog toy LOOK AT HIS TORSO

Rick she might just wanna hang out with you

ew ew and even ewer

MORTY JR WTF

It was gross very gross Morty get your shit together

Ok well now he's rlly dying

THE CHASE SCENE

RICK LOOKS SO GOOD

Wait they used her to get to Rick to get to what? Her? I'm confused

Morty us so cute "damn what a noise" I hate him but I love my son

"I'm 14 I'm the target audience" is so cute

Morty being badass yay

AW NO PPL NEED TO STOP ABANDONING RICK GOOD FUCKING GOD FIRST THE ALIEN LADY NOW THESE ASSHOLES OMG Rick you need to start having better taste in people, like me 🤭 no but seriously wth im gonna cry good god

MORTY'S HAIR AW HIS FACE OMG

This might be my favorite episode of the season, depending on what the finale is like. The last three episodes have been pretty good for various reasons compared to the rest of the season, which has been really rocky. I thought Nomortland was technically the most well-written episode, but although the premise felt meaningful for Jerry's character, I didn't have as much fun with it. All Jerrys can only go so far perhaps.

This one doesn't have a caveat like that. It's just a good episode, about as good as an average episode in the first three seasons. Both plots were funny and high energy, and a little bit witty too. The pre-cog plot was suitably unpredictable, the car chase with crazy moves that only work because the pre-cogs predicted they would work was cool, and the conclusion was pretty good. Although I'm not sure how the Robot Devil Devil's Advocate CAN get a massive coronary. Maybe "Steve" hit their head and their predictions are a bit off.

Morty Jr. is a pleasant guy! Despite all the child support he's dodging, and the fact that he was so quick to accept a life in trash world. And taking advantage of Morty to write another hit piece on him, I suppose, but Morty seemed happy for him at the end.

That random trash robot character that wanted Morty to open the trash portal so he could get out could have been cut, or expanded on. He just sort of appears and gets killed in what, maybe two minutes? He's just a plot device to get the Scavenger robot back on their tails again.

I'd also like to know why Morty Jr. was in the hospital at all. It could be something unrelated to dying, but for them to bring up that he was lying by omission but not tell us why he was there at all was...well, I wanted to know that detail at least, even if it's not remotely important.

When Morty Jr. got shot, I was actually afraid they were killing him off. I don't put it past the show. Only, I thought they were going to pull a "two hearts" situation where he can live without one of them.

This is a nice, fully competent episode for a nostalgic return that made Morty Jr. a cool character. Which is great, because the original episode from Season 1 was, well, fun, but pretty sexist. There's a civilization of straw feminists whose worst crime they can imagine is cutting your bangs wrong. And they can't explain their death penalty to Rick without crying because Rick is, admittedly, an asshole. Luckily, Rick proves that "humanity still has a chance" by farting, because that's what guys do. And then Justin Roiland goes from being a jock to crying for help with a scene where Marmanduke's author says he's plagued with thoughts of r*pe and mur*er every day, so instead he's become a creative.

Things that become MUCH less funny in hindsight.

The man who calls his grandson a dumb ass is also the same man who makes stamps with said grandson's face on them. Is the same man who tells him goodbye before making a tough decision, the same man who, even when grumbling and cursing, still follows behind Morty and his other family members. Rick's entire truths on how he actually views his family is all told through his actions. In the little miniscule details that are easily overlooked in the heat of the moment. Rick thinks about his family in the little ways, from doing things for them to watching out for them to protecting them. Even when everything he's experienced has told him to do the exact opposite.

These are especially shown when he's interacting with Morty.

Season one being a good example when the world went to hell. Rick has stated basically that people are replaceable because of the vastness of multiple realities and universes, yet he doesn't hesitate to grab Morty and take him with him to another reality. It's like there's no other option for Rick, because it doesn't even occur to him to leave Morty to his original world to die. Or in the episode with Mr. Jellybean, Rick was gentle with his grandson for the rest of the episode and even killed the guy who tried to hurt him. Or in the episode where Morty goes to try and save the cloud being, despite Rick's protests and him wanting to bail, he still comes back to help Morty. Even if begrudgingly. Or in the recent episode in season three when one of the Vindicators said something nasty to Morty and Rick immediately sent daggers at the guy. Or in the episodes where Rick puts his trust in Morty to come through for him and believing in him enough to know that Morty will get the job done, such as the Citadel where he gave Morty the gun to shoot him so he could save Summer. (Even though said boy was furious and didn't read the note but you get the picture-)

At first it was a super one-sided relationship, where Rick was the genius, totally in control, dragging his grandson into messed up situations without caring much about what happened to him (except for those rare moments when he actually did care), Morty on the other hand, was the "dumb" sidekick who didn't know anything an was constantly humiliated, not just in adventures but in his everyday life (I’ll never forget that memory where Rick pushes him down the stairs just to embarrass him in front of some girls).

What's interesting is that since then Morty started develop this deep resentment toward Rick, and unlike his mother and sister, he did not idealize him, he saw Rick for who he really is.

“I wanted you to have a normal life, that’s something you can’t have when Rick shows up.

Everything real turns fake. Everything right is wrong.

All you know is that you know nothing and he knows everything.

He’s not a villain, Summer, but he shouldn’t be your hero. He’s more like a demon, or a super fucked up god.”

Whe the purge episode came out, I thought that if things kept going this way, Morty might actually end up killing Rick someday. Not in the sense that he would become Evil Morty, it's just... He was clearly full of repressed rage.

"Fuck you Rick! I'll purge you too, you old rickety piece of crap. This has been a long time coming! I'm gonna rip your fucking guts out and smear them all over you face!"

Then the third season premiered and in the very first episode, Morty shot Rick with the intention of killing him! Scenes like these made me so invested in their dynamic, but especially in Morty's development. Sooo here's a little analysis about it!

Top 10 fics completed in 2023 that garnered the most kudos on AO3. Excluded: chaptered "fics" that are actually collections of standalone ficlets and crossovers that are mostly about the other fandom. Fics that began posting earlier (in some cases, years earlier) obviously have the advantage of more time to rack up kudos. Kudo counts as of 2 Jan 2024.

1. 1,720 kudos: The Case of the Man Who Was Wanted by MyDearLadyDisdain (232K, M, Sherlock/Harry Potter) After an inexplicable case in Surrey, Sherlock is after the strangest criminal he's ever encountered: a mass murderer, that has eluded the authorities for almost 14 years. Unfortunately, Sherlock Holmes is the only one that can see right away that this Harry Potter character is completely innocent. And hang on, is that tea set floating?

2. 1,682 kudos: Shift by stopthat (48K, E, Johnlock) Sherlock is tired. John senses a shift.

3. 1,102 kudos: Ride On by Silvergirl (38K, E, Johnlock) After the disastrous reveal at the Landmark, John tells Sherlock there can be no excuse for what he’s done, and no forgiveness. Sherlock leaves London and starts a new life, and not even the British Government knows where. It’s up to John to track him down and make things right, with a trip around the world and a clue only John would recognize.

4. 851 kudos: Till Death Do Us Part (Not Yet, Not Yet) by Civilized_muppets (8K, T, Johnlock) In which Sherlock and John have been married for years, not that any member of the yard has ever heard of John, much less that Sherlock was married at all, until John is kidnapped from Afghanistan.

5. 797 kudos: The story of the Forgotten Wallet. by Headphones_on_the_Skull (25K, E, Johnlock) Just some dirty Alpha/Omega Johnlock porn.

6. 788 kudos: Nothing to Celebrate by DiscordantWords (30K, M, Johnlock) Sherlock Holmes is back from the dead. Things only get worse from there.

7. 726 kudos: A Tale of Two Soldiers by batslikepastel (14K, T, Johnlock, Jolto, Mystrade) It's Christmas, and Sherlock and John are finally flatmates again after the tumultuous events of the previous year. But a sudden revelation about John's sexuality and James Sholto's unexpected presence throw a wrench into Sherlock's plans, and his jealousy threatens to overwhelm him even as John remains blithely oblivious. Their relationship has reached a turning point, and the ball is in John's court now.

8. 671 kudos: Nightjet by khorazir (22K, M, Johnlock) Officially deceased for eighteen months and still looking for the last remainders of Moriarty’s criminal empire, an exhausted Sherlock boards a night train in Germany to bring him to his next hunting ground. Due to a mishap with the sleeper cars, he is forced to share a compartment with a stranger – who turns out to be not quite as strange as Sherlock thought. The universe isn’t lazy, after all …

9. 646 kudos: Our Love Keeps the Things It Finds by her_ladyships_soap (25K, T, Mystrade) Everyone has a soulmate. Everyone. It's simple human biology. Over the course of every person's life, they develop tattoos of the things their soulmate loves most. Though he has always disliked the concept, Mycroft Holmes is painted from head to toe with dozens of brightly-coloured tattoos. Greg Lestrade, once-firm believer and hopeless romantic, has just nine. They are all quietly sophisticated, sketched in smooth shades of black and grey and easy to hide. Neither of them has gained a tattoo in years. But when they both suddenly find new markings, things finally fall into place.

“My beloved is a brave, noble, and gracious special someone”

“我的心上人，是个勇敢的金枝玉叶的贵人“

This is Hua Cheng’s words to Xie Lian towards the end of the novel. I haven’t gotten that far into the story yet, but this line is so famous among Chinese fans that even I couldn’t help but know it lol. The original Chinese of this line is more nuanced and thus worth explaining, so let’s break down this sentence for a bit.

The word “beloved” in the original Chinese is “心上人”, which literally means “the person on my heart.” So “beloved” refers to someone that you cherish in your heart (and who’s always on your mind).

The Chinese phrase for “noble” is “金枝玉叶”, which literally means “gold branches and jade leaves.” The phrase was originally used to describe beautiful plants, but is later mostly used to descibe those of noble birth. High-born people are analogized to “gold branches and jade leaves” because in a class society, nobilities are simply deemed to have more worth than the common people.

So actually the word “noble” here doesn’t have the connotation of “having fine personal qualities and high moral principles,” it just refers to Xie Lian’s noble birth. But it also shows the high regard Hua Cheng holds Xie Lian in, because after so many years of being the dirt-poor God of Rubbish, after so many years of enduring the ignominy of being a failure and laughing stock, Xie Lian is still “gold branches and jade leaves” in Hua Cheng’s heart. Xie Lian’s image remains unmarred and unstained for Hua Cheng.

The phrase for “gracious, special someone” in Chinese is “贵人”. “贵人” could simply mean “aristocrat,” “nobility,” but it does also have the meaning of “special someone.” And a person is usually referred to as “special” (“贵人”) because they have given you pivotal help and support in a critical time of your life. So when you say “he’s the special somone in my life” (他是我命中的贵人), people would understand it as that this person has helped you immensely at some point. And this “special someone” who has given Hua Cheng immesurable help in his hardest times is Xie Lian.

Who put these kids here?

He’s an absolute bitch, but in like a sassy gay cunt-serving way that I just can’t imagine a cishet man embodying. He’s a drama queen and knows it. He shows such disrespect towards the establishment and “polite society,” particularly the law, but shows endless kindness and respect towards all of the outcasts of society. To me, all of this paints a very clear picture of a queer person living in a deeply homophobic society.

But I can see how all of this might go completely over a cishet person’s head. They just see a quirky guy who’s sarcastic and rude and likes to befriend outcasts because they’re frequently useful to him, and because he never makes the mistake of underestimating someone just because of their position in society. But him being queer not only explains so much about him, it literally completes the picture of his character. It makes everything about him slot into place.