#...I forgot how to draw all of my characters. TAT

[inu-jiru]

Jazz's "Apology Tour" ramble

Episode was trash, let's go.

First off, the whole "Fuck Blitzo" party is so stupid to me, like you're telling me this 30-something year old man had intimate relationships with ALL these demons and HE was the sole thing that ruined ALL of them?

And how did Verosika even find out about Stolas? Like I know Ozzie's happened, but how'd she hear about their "breakup" (they weren't together but whatever, show)?

Why the FUCK does Verosika care about Stolas being an uwu sad victim of mean old Blitzo aside from everyone being written to want to huff Stolas' sad boi farts?

Why is no one trying to kill Stolas like in Loo Loo Land, like suddenly we're just cool with the oppressive racist now (who am I kidding, the rank system doesn't exist anymore unless the "meanie supremacist" characters bring it up I guess)?

Don't think I'm trying to be "Blitzo's#1Bitch69" or anything, but Season 2 is just so gross in how they've written him. Either he's the big bully meanie for hating his abuser, or they've had him commit the most out of pocket atrocities (like possibly SAing Stolas since he was technically drunk or the circus incident or the shit he pulled with Verosika because what the fuck kinda trauma makes you steal someone credit card for horse riding lessons???) that they just gloss over because fuck having Blitzo actually progress normally or Stolas taking actual responsibility for his own actions, let's just speed through everything so it's back to Stolitz City, don't think about the implications. I just can't stand itttt, I still like and pity Blitz to an extent but his writing is killing meeee

Stolas, stop whimpering about being wanted YOU HAVE A KID WHO HAS STILL NOT APPEARED SINCE SEEING STARS WHERE IS SHE?

Am I really hearing that people are hating the dude flirting with Stolas like come on yall STOLITZ IS NOT OFFICIAL YET CHILL

I've honestly started skipping through episodes, like I can't fucking listen to "WAHHHHH BLITZO I WANT YOU TO WANT ME" for the millionth time, I wish this episode could've just been Blitzo and Verosika facing their issues or something I just don't wanna see this owl loser act like a victim anymoreeee

Man really said "when have I ever been condescending?" SEASON ONE???? How about every time you grab his face and call him out of his name and watch him be shot at while demanding he come over one a month? Oh, but when Blitz starts doing it back it's "Oh I'm uncomfortable ooOoOoo stop it Blitz hnnghhh I don't like it :C :C :C", like whatever man.

The Striker comment was dumb and wrong but that's because Stolas is dumb and wrong

Honestly I feel like I'm repeating the same points I and others have made in the past so all imma say is, I hope Octavia and Stella are enjoying their off-screen and better written adventures together. I'm gonna draw some AU stuff now to give my eyes something better to look at.

OH I forgot to talk about Verosika, uh, she was there? I honestly think she should just get over herself at this point, idk when she and Blitz broke up but what the fuck is it about this clown that she was so enamored over where she's this hurt? I can get being mad about her credit card and Blitz being a lazy partner but if that's the case, I fail to see how they got to a point where she got his name tatted on her arm. Idk it's weird

The Mayweather shit or whatever her name is was pointless and made no sense, like "I want you to kill this woman who made me attempt to kill her and myself but now we're dating" like? Hey Vivzie if yall can callback to that why can't yall call back to Stolas being a creep huh?

EDIT: They really made that fuckass "it's hell" excuse canon, huh? Like, it doesn't even make sense in the context of Blitz saying that, like people say "it's hell" because Biblically speaking, it's where those who truly oppose God in order to live a life of wickedness go as just punishment. Blitz the equivalent of a regular guy in Hell unlike the Hazbin characters, he shouldn't understand that there's a better alternative to Hell because he's not human and never had any opportunity to learn about Heaven or God (unless it's just in their DNA or something idk who knows with this show)

[suketchilt]

@nopantsfriday

FRAGRANCE

Lindrel: He probably smells like his armor. Mostly leather with a touch of nature, like dirt and plants, since he camps outside of Skyhold instead of staying inside it. He bathes regularly, but he doesn’t get all frilly with it, so he wouldn’t have any strong smells right after washing himself.

Finn: He’s gross and doesn’t bathe as much as he should, and he spends most of his time in his armor, so he’d smell like sweat, leather, and metal. Finn’s a tempest and makes his own elixirs, so he’d smell like chemicals, too. He takes more baths after Trespasser, ‘cause he follows Dorian to Tevinter and isn’t camping with the Inquisition soldiers anymore.

Suri: HMMM… I think Suri cleans himself the most. GOTTA LOOK PRETTY. He’d probably smell clean, and might have a slight fragrance from soap, but he wouldn’t go putting on a lot of cologne. You can’t be sneaky and rogue-like if people smell you from across the room. I’d say overall, he’d just have a mild, pleasant smell that you wouldn’t notice unless you were within a foot of him.

Miel: Difficult. >8I;; UM, I don’t think Miel has a particularly noticeable smell, other than her tempest elixirs. She doesn’t wear a lot of clothing that might have a particular scent to it, and she bathes, but she doesn’t use things with strong perfumes. A clean, average smell, with a touch of tempest elixirs, probably.

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my mind while watching this episode:

--I think this was the episode that converted a lot of people who were on the fence about Uzui, that scene with Hinatsuru is just so tender that people cannot help but feel for him. The way they animate his fingers moving as Hinatsuru talks because their resting on her chin is such a nice detail. And then we get him pumped back up by the good news that he's found one of his wives alive, and we get that skid and change in direction the roof. So good!! So cool!!

--On that note, I'm just going to jump to the end of the episode because this episode was a very flashy Uzui sandwich. I think that given that we see Makio & Suma more often interacting with each other and Hinatsuru steals the spotlight for drama gives people the impression that she's the favorite or something like that, which makes me a bit sad because I read him as loving and cherishing all of them in different but egalitarian ways. All three are his most important treasures, and unfortunately we see Makio & Suma's immature sides come out most around him, and he seems to baby them in a way different from how he treats Hinatsuru like more of an equal (even though we see in this opening scene that she still speaks like someone subservient to him--that ninja training runs deep). Makio, though, I like that we get her flashback, as it brings out a very different, contemplative, sometimes anxious side of her character which keeps her from just being the hot-blooded one or something like tat. It's not a side she can show to just anyone, but someone as mature as Hinatsuru can draw it out. Suma, though? Let her be a simple bimbo. I love her. She's my favorite. She's adorable and I never get tired of seeing her crying as she tears a kunai through the obi.

--Right! That end of the episode! Uzui's grand entrance and twirling the swords around just to show off (he and Shinobu may relate to each other more than they think), and the perfect placement of a catchphrase. Fine!! Yes!!! I like the catchphrase now!!! I hated it more than anything at the Pillar Meeting, but yes, YES, GIVE ME UZUI TENGEN-SAMA!!!!

--Back to Tanjiro!! I forgot how long this one-on-one fight with Daki took and accidentally queued up my Nezuko reblogs too early. Nezuko is still just hanging out in her box as Tanjiro turns off the Water Breath and turns on the Hinokami Kagura and flashbacks enough to the last four months to show us that he's been working at using it better--and that he's realized his limits to Water Breath. In general, I find these flashbacks to totally unbeforeseen content in the mist of battle distracted and generally not good writing advice for how it cuts into the flow of a scene, but I have also totally come to accept this as a signature piece of KnY's storytelling style. And we aren't even done yet with Tanjiro's flashbacks for this solo battle against Daki! With all these reflections, though, it's really nice to get that foreshadowing for more Haganezuka content, especially Daki's accusation that Haganezuka isn't much of a swordsmith (and he faces criticism too), and Tanjiro's insistence that it's him abusing the sword. He has always fully believed that everything that happened to his swords is his own fault for using them roughly. (And gosh, that context and comparison against someone who uses Water Breath damn near perfectly makes it all the more startleing how Akaza will later very easily break Giyuu's sword in two.) Speaking of swords, BOYS WITH SWORDS!!! BOYS PLAYING WITH SWORDS!!! Zenitsu handling his sword in a context other than the brief moments he's using Thunderclap and Flash, placing it on the ground the way you're supposed to, so unlike Inosuke who doesn't care for proper sword use whatsoever. Thank you, Ufotable!! Thank you for this filler!!

--Speaking of foreshadowing, if Tanjiro's already been maintaining fever over days at a time this whole time, this gives us lots of juicy stuff to analyze about his mark. Perhaps can interpret the damage done to the human body (and the reason all those Sengoku demon hunters died by the age of 25) as being due to the sudden increase in temperature and heart rate, but with Hinokami Kagura techniques, Tanjiro's been able to find a more sustainable way of doing it so his body is more prepared to draw on that power. I wonder, then, did he subconsciously start to do this during the Final Selection, and that's why the scar changed? Also, I believe that Tanjuro's general weakness is do to long-term sustained damage of performing Hinokami Kagura imperfectly, in a way that put stress on his body before he mastered the proper Breathing technique. Which is all to say, it makes me ponder that Tanjiro may have more years than he's assumed to, but he probably will decline in a similar way as his father.

--BUT HEY ALSO, there's imperfect knowledge and hearsay passed down from the Sengoku era about how, like, "swordsmen with black swords can't advance (because they got kicked out)" so maybe that "dead by 25" thing was a matter of looking at patterns and also counting all the guys who happened to get killed in battle? And sure, maybe enough of them dropped dead to lead to conclusions??? I'm looking for whatever hope we can for Giyuu and Sanemi, let me dig with a tiny spoon as I like.

--Anyway! We also get this beautiful, "moyase… moyase… kokoro o moyase!!!" line from Tanjiro. Yes, please.

--And all this reflection from Tanjiro about how he won't allow anyone else to go through the pain that he and other members of the Demon Slayer Corps have with losing people to the violence of demons. That's great, Tanjiro, but you're about to witness a huge failure to do so.

--Ok… so… Inosuke's scene going Homer Simpson through that tunnel is… not one of my favorites. I appreciate that he and the obi found each other mutually gross. Go ahead, keep calling her the Worm Woman, Inosuke. You're the worm, though.

--THAT MOMENT INOSUKE KICKS HIS SWORDS TO HAVE THEM BOOMERANG BACK INTO HIS HANDS, IT'S SO FLASHY, I CANNOT

--This scene down in the food cellar reminds me of the Chinese idiom, "The Eight Immortals Cross The Sea," meaning everyone shows up their individual talents and strengths. Here we've got Inosuke doing it, Makio & Suma doing it, Zenitsu doing it, and then The God of Festivities himself. So much flamboyant fun! That Zenitsu's upside-down twirl, my gosh, he's totally writing that into the Legend of Zenitsu.

--I love it when Inosuke realizes he's in over his head in battle, though. Recognizing he's in a tight spot because he can't fight the obi while also protecting the humans, and that if this isn't the actual body, then there will be no end to fighting there. It makes it so gratifying when Makio & Suma step in to help.

--Okay, but also to sandwich this post… Uzui is totally back in his proper flamboyant mode after being so happy to see Makio & Suma are alive and kicking--especially kicking butt. Relief seems to be a big part of it, but his wives truly are a source of strength and joy for him. Having reunited with all three of them, everything is once again right in his world and it's time to do the butt-kicking in his own flashy way!!

[shimmershae]

Just watched the episode and I’m going to have a lot of thoughts for you, most of them probably bordering on incoherence (LOL) so this is your last chance to nope on out of this post because I’m going to go ahead and put everything else behind a cut to save the eyes that do not want to see any  spoilers at all.  Unlike mine, that very much wanted to see but in a lot of cases?  Could not see shit, but I digress.

Shae’s stream of consciousness coming at you in 3-2-1.  

First of all, can I saw how good it is to have my show back again?  Like, no.  I don’t quite have Season 5 levels of excitement about the new/last season, but it is definitely nice to have all these characters back.  

So all these thoughts of mine.  Okay.  Bear with me because there be a whole lot of them, lol.  

My immediate impression as the episode opened was WHOA.  Such a cool shot of Daryl with one light wing, one dark wing (representing the two sides to Daryl maybe--the man of honor versus the man he was raised to be, hmm?) looking out over some dark vista of something.  Seriously.  It’s dark.  My room is also dark at the moment and still I was squinting to see.  To make out what I’m “looking” at.  I really, really hope the rest of this season isn’t this hard to make out.  

Is that a tank?  Kinda sorta a callback to Rick’s first episode?  If so, cool.  If not, well.  Us fans have always put way more thought into things.  For real.  Change my mind.  

Holy intense eye contact, Batman!  Daryl Dixon has literally never looked at anyone--not BethusConLeah--in quite the same smoldering way as he looks at Carol.  It’s next level.  I don’t know why people be fooling themselves into thinking different.  

Let’s see.  I can make out--besides Daryl, Maggie, and that face mask dude I already forgot the name of--Kelly, Magna, Jerry (who’s that with him?), and Carol.  Sorry.  My world, like Daryl’s, inevitably narrows to Carol.  She’s loking fierce and fine AF per usual.  

Was that Rosita I noticed rewinding to relive Daryl eye-fucking Carol?  

I’m guessing this is the army base they talked about in 10C.  

That Walker perking up like “I smell food--pancakes and bacon and oohhhh” has me giggling inappropriately right off the bat.  WTF.  

Look at all my fabulous ladies tiptoeing through that Walker minefield.  And Carol spotting that gun that might be useful right away.  Listen, if you don’t think her mind ain’t always ten steps ahead of everybody else’s, you’d be wrong.  

So.  Are these Walkers just so old and feeble not even the call of fresh meat attracts them?  Because just tiptoeing through their midst without the knockoff Lady Gaga meatsuits or skin masks has never really worked before that I can remember.  

I just want to see most of this season.  Is that really too much to ask?  Don’t X-Files and Game of Thrones us, Angela.  Please and thank you very fucking much.  

Okay.  Is the one drop of blood thing making anybody else have 28 Days Later vibes?  Kinda?  Sorta?  No?  Just me?  Okay then.  Carry on.  

Wait a minute, though.  How they be explaining how Daryl keeeps acquiring all these new tats all the time?  Hmm?  It’s like they just quit giving a shit about continuity in these latter seasons.  

I mean.  Do Walkers sleep now?  LMAO.  What is this?  I guess they’re constantly evolving?  

There’s my baby Lydia.  Love my smol bean.  

Alright though.  I love to see the ladies of TWD kick some ass.  It’s very gratifying.  Gimps would never.  Thank you, Angela.  

Clever, resourceful, calm and collected, quick thinking Carol to the rescue!  Seriously.  Her haters must be withering away inside with absolute envy.  

Hey, ya’ll.  Remember when Carol was still mastering her sharpshooting skills at the Prison yard and shot at Rick’s feet?  Her little “sorry, sorry”?  LOL.  If Rick could only see her now.  Wait.  He already knew what so many of his stans refuse to acknowledge--Carol=ultimate survivor and true savior to the group many times over.  

Maggie’s got herself a gun, too.  Go my badass girls.  

Of course, Carol’s got everybody’s back.  Of fucking course, Daryl’s got hers even when everybody else seem frozen in some kind of awe or stupification or something.  Microcosm of the whole damn show right there.  

Carol’s like “here’s your knives, love of my life.”   

Eh.  Maybe that’s just me.  

Nah.  She’s totally thinking it, too.  

YAS!  YAS!  Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride with the top billing.  How very far my babies have come.  

Listen.  I miss all the characters we’ve lost.  Absolutely.  But I love the ones that are still with us, that have been with us for so very long so hard.  Whether I love their stories or decisions or not.  

Is that THE Alexandria sign?  That sign’s been through some shit.  

DOG!  Daryl kneeling to embrace our Grimes babies has me all up in my feels.  And how cute is Dog getting all excited and making sure he’s the first one there to welcome back, Daddy?  

Hershel is literally just as puppy dog cute as Glenn ever was.  Really some Grade A casting.  

What did Maggie call Mr. T?  Ducky?  Dougie?  Sometimes with Maggie?  I really cannot tell.  Anyway.  He’s Mr. T. for me until I find out differently, probably through rewatching with close captioning, lol.  

Maggie’s got more people.  So.  Some new redshirts to sacrifice for plot purposes.  I don’t know if I should bother learning their names or not. 

I seem to remember Meridian being mentioned in one of the episode synopses.  

Sophia’s hair tie around Carol’s neck will never fail to be an emotional throat punch.  My heart.  

“They come at night and by the time you see them, you’re already dead.”  Welp.  Guess that means we ain’t seeing shit for at least this first third of the season, lol.  Very horror-eque though.  

“You’re leaving to fight ghosts.”  Aaron, to Maggie.  So I see Aaron’s the type to get the hell outta Dodge when the Boogeyman comes calling, hahaha.  Least he was.  In the old world.  

Rosita’s pissed off expression at Gabe’s decision to volunteer for the so-called suicide mission gives me life.  

My baby Carol is tired AF of suicide missions.  You can tell.  Also?  Methinks she has something to prove to Daryl here.  Or at least feels like she does.  

Dog with his little tactical vest.  I love it.  

I guess I get why they had Carol and Rosita stay behind.  They had to more evenly split up the badassery to make things more fair and balanced, lol.  

Okay.  So Negan’s definitely earned everybody’s disdain.  But they’re being woefully short-sighted by not at least hearing the dude out.  Isn’t he at least native to the area?  

“That is God telling us to turn around.”  I’m actually on Negan’s side with this one, but Gabe answering him with “I’m pretty sure he would have run that past me first” has me howling with laughter.  Father Gabe has gone straight up savage in these last couple of seasons.  Rosita’s influence, perhaps?  

I see what Angela is doing.  Trying to make Negan the voice of reason.  In this particular case?  It’s kind of working.  I’m still ultimately on Maggie’s side with this though BECAUSE GLENN.  

Imagine showing up to work and unironically dressing like a storm trooper every day.  Excuse me while I LOL.  

Even in the ZA, there’s bullshit paperwork.  

“Pumpkin colored spacesuit.”  Good one, Ezekiel.  

LOL forever.  I love Princess.  

“Michonne.  Our Michonne shut people out of Alexandria for years.”  Timely reminder that choices aren’t always perfect.  Neither are people.  

WTF is reprocessing?  Sounds ominous.  LMAO at Eugene’s “Okay.  We gotta go.”  

What in the actual hell with all those bagged, squirming undead?  Creepy AF in that subway tunnel.  

Should I just go ahead and call that the Easter bunny?  We’ve had some version of it pop up since Season 1.  

Is it stubborn pride with Maggie or what?  Why go through with something when all signs point toward the wisdom of stopping?  You can argue that she’s acting similarly to Carol last season, but there’s a huge difference here folks.  Carol did her damndest to Lone Wolf that shit and minimize the danger to those she loved.  Maggie’s straight up enlisting those she “cares about” to carry out her mission of revenge or vengeance, what have you. Let’s see if she gets near the amount of hate for it.  Personally, I don’t blame her for her feelings one bit.  They are valid.  But her knowingly drawing the others into the game?  That’s my sticking point.  That’s how she and Carol differ, even if some people refuse to see or accept it.  Anyway.  Hopping right on off my soapbox.  

“Why don’t you get up on your little tippy toes and try?”  Omigosh, I’d dying.  When I tell you I about passed out with laughter, I do not exaggerate.  I should hate Negan forever and I do.  Really.  But I adore JDM and he frequently makes me LOL.  He’s made Negan entertaining if not completely redeemable since Angela took over and more layered so I say kudos.  

He has a point about Maggie playing dictator.  Damn you, show, for slanting the writing just that smidgen that makes Negan make sense over his victim.  I guess, though, it’s better this way.  Gives both characters more shades of gray.  

“He’s a dick but he makes sense.”  I feel like this is Angela calling us all out when we dare to harbor any lasting resentment toward Negan for what he did to Glenn.  

Speaking of--Negan.  You deserved Daryl’s punch to the mouth.  You just went a bridge too damn far.  

“Keep pushing me, Negan.  Please.”  Warning shots fired, Asshole.  You better watch yourself around the Widow Rhee.  

Have I mentioned how much I love Princess?  Her shipping the Commonwealth guards is killing me, lol.  I can’t wait ‘til she meets Carol and Daryl.  She’s going to have their number in two seconds flat.  

I like Ezekiel and Princess as a duo.  I’m not saying romantically necessarily.  I just like them in scenes together because they’re fun.  There’s sort of a protective indulgence Ezekiel seems to telegraph whenever they’re in scenes together.  Like he’s like don’t hurt this one.  I don’t know.  For all these words I’ve written, I can’t quite find the ones to adequately describe what I mean.  

The wall of the lost gives me such Battlestar Galactica feels.  What sad thoughts it inspires.  

Eugene in that Commonwealth gear.  Omigosh, lol.  So did they just sneak up and take Princess’s little Commonwealth ship’s gear when they were sneaking off on their own to have a quickie?  

Princess finding that note for Yumiko on the wall actually gave me chills.  Yeah.  I’m easy.  Just the suggestion of someone getting reunited with lost family gets me all up in my feels.  Yumiko saying “I have to stay”?  I felt that.  

Oh no.  Dog ran off!  Somebody protect my favorite fictional puppy.  Of course, Daryl goes after him.  He’s always been the sweet one.  Merle said it.  

Eh.  Negan taking Maggie’s hand at the end there would have smacked too much of Negan Sue and Maggie’s biggest plot of the season would have been prematurely dealt with so I get why they did what they did.  But c’mon.  It’s not really that big of a cliffhanger, is it?  

Okay, so Angela calls those sleeping beauty Walkers “Lurkers” and I get it.  Apparently they’re a bigger deal in the comics, but I really don’t remember seeing them all that much on the actual show.  Somebody jog my memory.  

Of fucking course, you can actually see what’s happening in the inside the episode clips.  I wish we could choose to view the episode with that lighting because some of us be blind.  And this time I mean in the more literal sense.  Not the figurative one.  

Anyway.  I’m going to stop trying to write a novel for ya’ll and move on to better things.  Like maybe a nap.  Maybe some early dinner.  I don’t know.  I’m tired AF and need a little recharge.    

Before I go, though?  Overall impression of the episode?  I liked it.  There were parts that I loved (all the ladies being badass, every second of Carol, Daryl reuniting with the Grimes babies and Dog, all things Princess, some of Negan’s one-liners about had me busting a gut, Rosita serving looks, Kelly and Lydia getting to be badass too) and parts I didn’t love (not being able to see a damn thing, Angela trying to tip the scales in Negan’s favor, not enough Carol or Aaron or Rosita, no reunion between Aunt Carol and the Grimes babies even though that picture floating around suggests it was at least shot, not being able to see a damn thing, all the Alexandria people playing follow the leader for Maggie when she’s been gone 6 years and Daryl’s right there--hell, even Father G deserves the honor over her because it’s obvious they’re not exactly on the same wavelength anymore).  

I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m just glad to have our show back.    

Later, lovelies.  

[arlingtonpark]

SNK 127 Review

0/10 This chapter sucks. Continuity is dead.

In my last post I said if we got flashbacks, it’d be damage control for the last chapter. I was right.

The first couple of scenes in this chapter are clear attempts to clean up the last one’s mess. We never saw Jean and Mikasa make contact with Hange, and here, we do.

Honestly, I think this could’ve been handled better.

Jean had something of an arc in chapter 126, where it seemed like he genuinely had chosen to follow Floch, only it turns out he was working with Hange all along. So I get why these scenes are presented out of order. It’s an attempt at dramatic tension.

It fails, though, because not enough time was devoted to showing Jean working with Floch. Jean stood next to Floch in some scenes. That’s it.  

Let this be a lesson to aspiring writers everywhere. If you want to do a story arc, or even just a mini-arc, make sure you have the time for it. If you can’t spare the time to do it justice, it’s better to just cut it completely.

Hange’s character is much better served this chapter. I forgot to mention this last time, but Hange’s character was screwed over pretty hard last time.

Her arc has been about growing into her new role as commander. She failed to constrain Eren, and Floch, and everything’s gone to shit in general, and she doubts her own leadership.  

Then, after escaping the Yeagerists with Levi, Hange considers just walking away and living out in the woods.

They chose not to.

This is a major turning point for her character. She’s beaten down and has a chance to walk away, but she gets back up.

This major plot beat has maybe a few panels devoted to it. At most.

We don’t see the choice get made. In fact, it’s kind of implied that Hange didn’t consciously make that choice at all. Hange is building a cart to lug Levi around, and he notes that Hange’s doing that because they can’t stay on the sidelines.

Was Hange building the cart because they’d already decided they weren’t quitting?

Or were they going to use that cart to carry Levi to the eventual site of their woodland hut?

Was Levi just pointing out that Hange is doing what they’ve always done?

Or did what he say convince them in some way?

Who knows, because chapter 126 is still a rushed mess on every level.

Whatever Hange’s motivations or line of thinking, it should have been shown during the scene in the woods, when it happened, not in this flashback to a completely different scene.

Character development happens when characters make revealing choices. Showing the character’s motivation separately from the resultant action dilutes the poignancy of that character development.

It’s actually worse than that because not only was Hange’s thought process shown after the fact for no reason, the moment the choice itself was made is not shown at all.

The moment where Hange is surrounded by the ghosts of her fallen comrades would’ve been sooooo much better if it had been in the forest with Levi. It should have been in the forest with Levi.

Hange already chose what they were going to do, so there is no gravitas to this moment. It’s just exposition. This could have been a powerful moment. Instead, it’s just Hange monologuing about their motivation.

When the same happened with Erwin, we saw his struggle as it was happening. We were in the moment, so we felt the weight of Erwin’s struggle. He was bearing out his feelings, agonizing over having to throw his life away unfulfilled.

In 127, Hange is sitting in a chair, explaining her thinking, agonizing over nothing because she’s already decided to throw her life away, and is apparently already at peace with it.

This is what damage control looks like. Isayama fucked up and he’s trying to make up for it.

And even then, we still don’t have the explanations we badly need.

Why did Annie choose to help? She’s not doing this because it’s the right thing to do, she just wants to see her father again.

How did they convince her that they could deliver on that?

It’s the same with Pieck and Magath. They didn’t want to just do nothing, but what convinced them that this was better than doing nothing?

Mikasa asked Hange what the plan was, and their response was basically, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

So in other words, they have no plan!

Jean raises a good point about stopping Eren: it’s a death sentence for them. Hange’s only retort is that it’s the right thing to do, so they have to do it. This is great.

Genocide is inherently wrong, thus the answer to genocide is not more genocide. With this many lives involved, tit-for-tat is not acceptable.

In some cases, there may have to be retaliation, but there are always limits. These moral limits have a general applicability to them. Of course there are exceptions, but they apply in almost all cases.

I love how Hange explicitly rejects Eren’s dumbass egoist worldview.

“‘Just bringing freedom to this island is enough for me’ Do you think a single one of them would be so narrow-minded as to say that?”

Eren doesn’t just care about Paradis. He doesn’t care about the outside world.

He seemed torn about whether to rumble the world. And he did cry over having to potentially rumble the refuge camp.

Gather around, children, because I have some very mean things to say about Eren here: let me tell you something about crocodile tears.

Crocodile tears are when you feel sad for something, except it’s fake, because deep down, you don’t care. The expression comes from an ancient legend that crocodiles cry for their prey while eating them.

Eren agonized a lot in the lead up to making his decision.

-rolls eyes-

What a drama queen!

Rumble the world, or not? If you have to take time to decide which is right, you’ve already failed.

Eren never truly cared about the outside world. He’s just doing this to bring freedom to Paradis; the lives of everyone else is a nonfactor.

It’s great to see Eren finally getting the dragging he deserves. He is, in fact, a narrow-minded ass.

Jean’s point still stands, though. And even though Eren is obviously indefensible, people still keep making excuses for him.

Hange says their “cowardly idealism” is what pushed Eren to do this. Note that this is the second time they’ve said this.

Uh, what?

Was making reasonable overtures of peace to the outside world cowardly?

Obviously not.

Establishing relations with other countries? That sounds reasonable.

Making contact with pro-Eldian advocacy groups? That sounds reasonable.

What about this is cowardly?

And what’s so idealistic about hoping for peace when there are possible paths to it?

Hange did nothing wrong. Eren is the one who did everything wrong.

Eren’s friends were actually working on a solution. They were trying to make a lasting peace between the Eldians and the world.

Meanwhile Eren was just bumming around not doing anything!

Could there have been a peaceful solution?

Beats me, but I’m not going to spend any thought on coming up with one.

By now, I think it’s clear that the point is that there is no peaceful solution. We saw Paradis try and fail repeatedly. The story in general has not even entertained a possible, peaceful solution.

Creating a Wall Titan “nuclear umbrella” over Paradis won’t work. Eren will be dead in a few years, and they don’t want to continue the Reiss’s gruesome traditions.

Armin’s idea of a targeted rumbling won’t work either because it’ll only increase the world’s resentment towards Paradis.

The point is that sometimes peace isn’t possible, but also that excessive violence isn’t justified. I don’t know how the story will end, but I don’t think it’ll be a happy one.

It’s always uncomfortable whenever the series talks about history and playing the victim. It’s such an obvious commentary on Japanese politics, I cringe every time.

Past Japanese war crimes are a very big factor in Japan’s relations with its neighbors. China and the Koreas are still indignant over the crimes Japan committed, and they feel the Japanese haven’t been apologetic enough.

Paradis is obviously a mirror of Japan.

Island nation with a sordid past that leads to rocky international relations even today. That’s Paradis and Japan.

The series’ stance is that these past events should not be such an issue anymore.

That’s not wrong…but I have a reservation.

The biggest flaw with the Paradis-Japan connection is that the Eldian Empire ended thousands of years ago.

The Japanese Empire ended 75 years ago. That’s not much.

China does overplay the war crimes issue, but there are still real issues with how the Japanese have responded. Many Japanese people are still taught a cleaned up version of what happened.

If anything, China should be called out on abusing the issue of war crimes for political reasons. Their government uses it as propaganda to rally popular support and distract from domestic issues.

In Attack on Titan, the Marleyans are not called out for that. They’re called out for playing victim over something that happened 2000 years ago.

The Marleyans, used by the story as a clear parallel to Japan’s neighbors, are portrayed as in the wrong because “it was a long time ago.”

Let me tell ya, that’s not a good look. What we see in the story is just close enough to reality to draw comparisons, but just different enough to be arguably offensive.

I will say it’s nice to know what Isayama thinks on a given issue. Annie calls out Mikasa and Armin on not being prepared to kill Eren if they have to. She aks how they know he’ll even listen to them.

Armin: we won’t know until we try.

Brilliant.

You can tell who’s side Isayama is on whenever the characters argue because the side he’s against will be the one with the dumb platitudes.

Mikasa: How are you going to stop Eren?

Hange: We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Annie: How do you know talking will work?

Armin: We won’t know until we try.

Then…stuff happens.

Annie claims Mikasa will fight her if Annie tries to kill Eren, even if Annie’s just trying to defend her homeland.

Then Mikasa draws her swords for no reason, and Annie looks like she’s about to titan shift for no reason, then…Annie backs off for no reason.

There were definitely some plot beats missing here. Annie instantly goes from getting ready to shift to backing off. What happened?

And why did she back off? Her point still stands. She said Mikasa would fight her if she tried to kill Eren and Mikasa did not deny it.

The only plans of attack discussed have been (1) talking Eren down, and (2) killing him. It looks like they’re going with plan (1) now, but Mikasa is clearly not going to let Annie go through with plan (2) if (1) fails.

That’s a pretty important issue. And Annie raised it herself, only to just drop it for no reason.

Why does Annie think her time is better spent here than on a boat heading to the mainland?

Getting to her father in time to die with him sounds a lot likelier than stopping Eren, especially when killing him isn’t an option.

And then we come to Yelena.

You know, actually, this chapter has a lot of the same problems the last one did. Lots and lots of rushed plot beats that should have been fleshed out more.

One of the dumbest tropes in fiction is when a character looks into another character’s past off screen, learns sordid things about them, then exposition dumps about it.

Oh, look, this chapter exists.

This is lazy, lazy writing. Instead of a flashback montage with narration, we get some word balloons.

Why is this happening? Anything would have been better than this. There could have been a few more pages devoted to this. He at least could have come up with a better way to deliver this information.

Is Isayama just that dead set on finishing this manga before 2021?

Then Yelena delivers a monologue of her own. I can only assume that it is stupid on purpose.

Speeches like this have been given before in Attack on Titan. Annie gave one in her arc.

“You think you’re better than me?! Well you’re not! You’re a shithead just like me!”

-Annie, basically.

Kenny gave a similar one too. He said that everyone is a slave to something, even mother’s to their children. Then he asked Levi if he really thinks he’s so virtuous and then he died.

I mean, I don’t know what you’d call someone who, all else being equal, fought for the sake of their children if not a “hero”.

Yelena’s speech is dumb and that’s the point. It’s drivel that sounds smart, but is really just edgelord crap.

“You give yourselves to the sublime excitement that is the idea of saving hundreds of millions of lives.”

Christ, not this again!

Claiming good deeds aren’t really good because people do them to feel better about themselves is very common on the internet. You see it all the time on Reddit.

In fact, Yelena even says it like she’s trying to sound smart.

“The sublime excitement.”

-SIGH-

The problem with this reasoning is that it’s moving the goalposts. Yelena is redefining altruism and selfishness to get the result she wants.

You could think of many examples of people doing things that are obviously selfless.

Take a soldier. Let’s say their platoon is on patrol, and then the enemy tosses a grenade at them. The soldier dives on top of the grenade and shields his platoon from the explosion. But obviously, he dies.

That was selfless.

-puts on crazy, blonde, mop-top-

HOWEVER!

WHAT IF SHE SACRIFICED HERSELF BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO BE REMEMBERED AS A HERO?

DID YOU EVER THINK OF THAT!?

Shut up I know this actually did happen in this manga that’s not the point.

Yelena has redefined selfishness to cover everything people do, and at that point, the word becomes useless. She’s wrong because when you think about it, “selfish” is a meaningless word in her worldview.

Yelena then proceeds to list off all the bad things everyone’s done, as if they’re all to blame for it.

Annie did awful things, I won’t argue against that. And she doesn’t seem very apologetic about it, so Yelena actually has a point there.

She also has a good point with Armin. Destroying the port was excessive, especially since it never ended up helping in the end. The port was destroyed to delay a Marleyan attack. Too bad the Marleyans just attacked via airship instead.

Reiner broke the wall, but despite what the man himself says, he was still just a brainwashed kid at the time. I don’t think it’s entirely right to blame him. He’s very apologetic about it, either way.

The Battle of Liberio never should have happened, but the Survey Corps was forced into it by Eren and they did what they could to limit civilian casualties.

It’s the same with Jean and Falco. Jean almost killed Falco, but only because Falco got in the way. That’s on him. Not. Jean.

Gabi killed Sasha, but it was a battle! Wars are ultimately fought to the death. If you go into the military and don’t expect to die, you’re clueless. There was no foul play with how Gabi killed Sasha. She boarded their airship, and shot her. That’s war.

She wants to believe that these people are just as bad as she is. Because if everyone is a piece of shit, then she isn’t so bad in comparison. It’s a common tactic people use to rationalize their own shitty behavior.

But she’s wrong, and they all prove her wrong. Jean can’t forgive Reiner, but he doesn’t let that get in the way of stopping Eren.

And no matter what Yelena says, it’s selfless what the 104th and Hange are doing. Long term, stopping Eren is a death sentence for them. They don’t care.

Leave it to Reiner to give the most Reiner response to Jean possible.

“I felt really bad about it afterwards.”

“Don’t forgive me. I don’t deserve it.”

“I’m sorry.”

That was the cringiest thing in the whole chapter. Good on you, Jean, for beating him for it.

(Not really)

This chapter was about everyone coming to terms with working together, but I feel it was half-baked.

Magath and Jean’s fight wasn’t really resolved, just dropped.

Annie and Mikasa’s fight was also just dropped.

None of the bad things Yelena brought up was commented on or dealt with. They weren’t dropped; they weren’t even taken up!

Reiner and Jean’s fight was properly dealt with, but that was it.

Now we’re heading into a fight with Floch and……I guess the emotional processing is over?

You know, I take it back, this chapter was better than the last one, but it still had a lot of the same blatant issues.

Rushed plot beats, unwieldy dialogue, and undercooked plot developments.

So.

On to the next chapter?

[tkwolf45]

I am rereading YMASSB for the first time in months and ndffsdjhfdjh I'M SCREAMINGHGHDHDHF- I forgot how much I loved that fic?? Uuuuaaaa I love stinky bastard Tat... Speaking of, what does he look like as of chapter 25? Still in those dark clothes he got from the store? What about Edit - it was mentioned he changed clothes at one point, so I presume they're different from Error's. What about Zest and Zeal? Sorry that I'm always asking for detailed descriptions of your characters XD

Yo, no apologies necessary!! Generally, if your views of what my characters wear differ from how I imagine them, but you still want to draw them, I’ll be interested to see it! I’ll include a quick description of what they look like too, for reference XD 

Currently, I’m seeing: 

Tat 

Ex-Ink, tattoos still on his body, though the bones are more stained with a purple-ish tint from the negativity apples. Eyelights are a blue-yellow bullseye, similar to Edit’s eyes. 

Maroon turtleneck, dark grey hooded jacket with built-in black vest, black-purple jeans, black shoes/socks. Has a few smaller paintbrushes since Broomy was destroyed. 

Edit 

Ex-Error, still dark boned, though where the bone was red, it’s now blue, and where it was yellow, it’s now gold. His one eyelight changed to be blue-yellow bullseye, like his other eyelight, which matches Tat’s eyes. 

Clothes consist of an Error-blue shirt, black shorts with blue stripes on the sides, black shoes and his Error-jacket, with golden stitching. He didn’t want to change his outfit too much, having been comfortable in his old clothes. 

Zest

Successful experiment of an AU Grillby, Gaster and Sans to see what their magic would do together: he’s basically a tall flaming skeleton with an interest in science 

He tends towards a more casual look, with a lab coat over his shoulders. His clothes are fire-resistant, something Grillby was insistent upon

Zeal

The teenaged child of Zest, they are genderfluid, and they are also a flaming skeleton with an interest in science. As of chapter 25, they are 14, almost 15 years old, and they’re almost a professor in a university 

Clothes have enough flexibility for them to shift their gender however they want using their fire, though they tend towards ambiguity: pants, a large shirt, a baggier jacket and boots, all of which are also fire retardant

Hope this helped, and I’m glad you’re enjoying the story! Thank you! 

[kaerran]

i sure have had a lot of dnd posts (especially about the movie) come across my dash and man my experiences are nothing like the typical

my Actual DnD campaigns (as opposed to any other system) were:

1) a... probably 2nd ed campaign with a very established party (like they were on their second high levelled characters and their first ones were gods or something) and they let me play a half-dragon (NOT dragonborn, which i’m not sure existed yet?? wiki says they only were created in 2006 in a 3.5 supplement and i’m sure this campaign happened before 2006) because i’d be so behind anyway, and i remember nothing else besides having a great deal of fun. i didn’t get to keep that sheet and i’m still sad

2) a 1st ed campaign run by my dad, which featured me (a cleric/ranger), my mom (newly buddhist and therefore playing a mostly pacifist [refused to kill people, refused to ambush anyone] monk), my sister (thief), and 3 friends (i honestly don’t remember what my sister’s friend played but my friend played a wizard and his friend played a paladin), which featured such things as: I was the only one who rolled decent enough stats to play and therefore I was the only one without an 18 (because after that debacle dad gave everyone a premade set to distribute), we also all had psionics (dad kept claiming he rolled them legitimately and only one person DIDN’T get them but later admitted that in actuality i was the only one who DID roll ‘em) which over-supplemented our actual characters (i could heal and speak to animals psionically, so i literally never healed with my cleric spells, the thief and monk both could go invisible but mom refused to use it to actually sneak attack), and he was giving us all REALLY DIFFERENT exp via passed notes (he was giving me nearly double exp partially because i was actually rping lawful good and also to ensure that i wasn’t falling behind, and he was massively penalizing the paladin for playing the world’s worst paladin)

3) a 4th ed campaign where i was playing a warforged... something...... and i spent the entire time just so uncertain of what was going on i learned nothing. it’s a bit of a shame because mayan robotstatue was kinda fun (ok not really mayan, but i took the name from my then-recent mesoamerican classes for funsies)

4) i am brand newly in a 5th ed campaign where i’m playing a dragonborn thief, which sure is a funny pairing but i saw dragonborn and went “soooo can i?” and tat said sure! have fun! my parents are playing a human ranger/sorcerer and a half-elf bard (and both of them are struggling with spell and cantrip choices), and then there’s also a dwarf warrior and i THOUGHT nadia was playing a gnome wizard but she is actually playing a tiefling druid? this is fine. we may or may not have another person joining we’ll see. his character is not in the google docs folder yet. we’ve had one session and it’s gone okay, but i’m having to Adjust from my other group’s mostly narrative style to actual dnd’s actually-pay-attention-to-the-dm style (and actual initiative! it’s so weird i’m used to our made-up-on-the-spot-because-the-system-forgot-to-specify-how-to-determine-initiative card draws)

the point is: uhhhh i don’t actually know what spells exist (which is a thing i’ve seen several times re: the movie, that you can identify the spells and i’m like lol no i can’t) or how most groups play or even how most games flow

[bokunoimaginesacedamia]

Tagged!

So uh... I got tagged for this about 100 years ago but um, I forgot about it in my drafts. Sorry ^^;;; I appreciate being tagged I promise!!

My tags/questions under the cut

I was tagged by @haku2naomi420​  Rules: post the rules, answer the 11 questions, make up 11 new questions, and tag 11 people.

1.       What is your goal?

That’s a pretty borad question ummmmmm. Maybe to get back to the volunteer stuff I used to do, and graduate college.

2.       Who is your favorite singer?

Sia probably, but I like a lot of artists c:

3.       Who is your favorite character? (Manga, Anime, TV series, books, Movies…. It’s up to you)

I have so many how could you make me choose like this TAT I think maybe Owain from fe13 or Ryuji from Persona 5 though. They really stick out to me.

4.       What is your hobby?

Writing! A predictable answer as always, haha! Otherwise I like gaming and sometimes drawing.

5.       If you were given a chance to meet your Tumblr friend, who is it?

Hmmm... there are a few people I’d like to meet! I’m... too nervous to tag anyone though o///o

6.       Do you have an allergy?

I have seasonal allergies but nothing really serious!

7.       What helps you focus?

Listening to ASMR videos really helps me focus. Now everyone’s gonna think I’m weird they’re rELAXING OK

8.       Which county do you want to visit?

I want to travel to lots of places! I think Italy’s at the top of my list though.

9.       What is your favorite dog breed?

A Great Pyrenees! I do love Saint Bernards too though. Giant floofs are the best.

10.   If a genie grants you three wishes, what would you wish for?

Where’s that ‘ah my will to live i havent seen that in ages meme when you need it’ hmm... I’m not sure. Probably like a trillion dollars, health for the people I care about and not to be so tired all the time maybe

11.   If you could learn one language instantly, what would it be?

That’s really hard. I think I’ll say French because I find it interesting and it’s practical for where I live. Otherwise Japanese bc I’m a weeb.

My questions:

1. What’s your favourite colour (I ask everyone this I always wanna know)

2. Is there a certain character from any fandom that you really relate to? Like you just feel them on a spiritual level? Which character would you say you relate to most?

3. Who is your favourite: pro hero, villain, and student?

4. What has been your favourite arc so far?

5. Other than BNHA what is your favourite anime/manga

6. If you could have any quirk in the series, which one would you want?

7. What role do you think you’d have if you were in the series? (villain, hero, student of what section, support developer, management, ect)

8. Alternatively, what role would you want to have?

9. Do you have any self-ships? From any series!

10. Favourite headcanon (popular or something you just feel really hard)?

11. What’s something you’d love to see happen in the series?

Tagging: (this is completely optional you do NOT have to do this if you don’t want to) @kiminoheroacademia @escapismislife @hitoshihoe @bunn-4-all @technicallyflamey @xnymami @hero-no-baka

[beelko]

Tamersona Week: Share the Love

Oh man, first of all I gotta start out by thanking @elecmon/ @tamersonas for starting this whole thing. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for ages and you made it happen!! Thank you so much! The prompts, everything, has been so much fun.

For as long as Digimon has been a part of my life, being a Tamer and having Digimon has been my way of relating to people. (Ask any of my irl friends, I’ve probably made them a fakemon lol)

So this week has been like...really special to me and it’s been so much fun seeing everyone’s adventures and Digimon and no I’m not crying you’re crying.

I really wanted to draw everybody’s ‘sona and partner but I’m on crunch time for making convention merch atm so I won’t be able to do it this week, but here’s some quick mentions!

I really tried to get everyone, so if I forgot anyone I’m really sorry! Please let me know and I’ll add you!

@lighdramons It was really awesome to read your stories about you and Newt and irl stuff. I also rly love her evo route??

@elecmon in addition to being awesome and starting this all, I loved reading about you and Candlemon! I’m gonna have to start packing oven mitts with me--never know when you’ll meet a sentient ball of fire! also your art is so cute?? You did a rly good job replicating the digimon art style!

@1ggyness Ruzumon is so cute! I love your art and your digivice!

@pasteltamago I loved your fanmon like seriously!! Your art style is so cute and I loved how chill your posts were, like the beach one. That’s such a nice relaxing view on the Digital World, v refreshing. 

@metalphantomon I LOVE your evo line. Soulmon and MetalPhantomon are not Digimon you see used very often. Thank you for giving them love.  @thenotsomagnificent Dextrousmon is really cool! I like his tats 

@punkrockpan FAE DIGIMON ARE THE BEST HIGH FIVE

@icewolf741 you and your agu are so cute I love your art!

@knifeoframens I love Toramon so much?? And your Digivice is so cool. 

 @ladykiradevimon I love the ‘dark’ Tailmon evo line, but I love even more that you used Mervamon as her mega! Also thank you for the image of fighting Daemon in juicy yoga pants. I didn’t know I needed this until I read that xD

 @mametyramon Going up to a giant powerful evil mega-level digimon and bein like “ur mine now” is honestly the best thing I’ve ever seen. You can take over the digital world! I believe in you!! 

@nekoharuko You and your Terriermon were great! I love that your tamersona had elements based off of Sakura--and also that Terriermon evolved into Dianamon! Moon bunny!!

 @tangy-sweetlove I loved seeing your illustrations in the tag! Your tamersona is so well thought out, as is Vic! Your writings showed a lot of character! 

 @thepastyman I loved reading about Allie and Gryphmon! The descriptions of your Digimon were so vivid--Beast Angemon sounds amazing!

@zenchoi Your Tamersona is so cute! Also your DemiDevimon has a kickass evolution line ;0

@pineal-blinks Guilmon X was a really good choice for partner! 

@frostedpawprints​ I love your art!! Dracomon is an A+ Digimon and it had a really fantastic evolution line! (babydmon is the best sea horse)

@chikascribble​ Pendulum Progress is A++ choice for a Digivice!

@lualdara THANK YOU FOR USING FALCOMON like when I first saw your first pic with the original version I got so excited! It’s a little known Digi and I’m so happy to see someone give it love <3 @tinyghostheir Your picture with pabumon was cute! @cptncassianjandor I was so happy to see a Renamon! I was so happy to see a Renamon that evolved into Youkomon and eventually Kuzuhamon! 

@i-gennai  I loved reading about Jules and Buns! And the mystery with Bao too--I want to learn more!! 

@partiallyaquatic I’m so happy someone gave love to DoKunemon! Green Bean is possibly the cutest name ever. Your first encounter as so sweet!

@freezy-rat I love your art and that you used the ‘dark’ agumon line!  @mera-opinions Your art is cute! I loved your pic of your tamersona and Poromon! @beelzebumon EYYY FELLOW DEMON LORD BUDDY. It’s so cool to see another Beelzemon and his tamer and how different yall are from Mukade and I (and yet so similar? Bumblebee’s loyalty to Violet I FEEL it they are so cute and good and wonderful. Violet is so cool. Beelzemon snuggles are the best. Fight me?<3) @digimonstrosity Tsukaimon > Sabredramon is such a good evolution path tBH also I love that your digivice is a v-pet. 

@gaomon I absolutely DIED at your ‘first encounter’! You drew that disembodied cat head fantastically xD @the-cherubim-monster You have such a cool partner!! Bug Digimon in general tend to get ignored so I was really happy to see and read about your bugs!

@tortamon (just watch it won’t actually tag you this time lmfao) BUT ANYWAY LIKE, Bakumon is so awesome! I really dig & relate to parallels of Digimon as guardian angels and I really love that he evolved into D’Arcmon! (Now there’s an awesome, underutilized digi) 

[aviationfiction]

Definitey wrote too much for an ask so I’m submitting my partial review, I hope you don’t mind! Anyway, my slow ass finally read through the first four chapters last night and I’ve got a lot to say. Like…a lot. First of all, your attention to detail is insane - I picked up so many traits about both Autumn and Dante right off the bat and it made me invested in them both right away.

Thank you so much. With them, I wanted to take some time and really draw out all that I can about these two characters and not only their personalities but their transitions throughout their adult lives. When it’s all said and done, I’d like for people to be able to understand them, identify with them, and to have embraced who they are and who they have became. I’m glad that you were able to invest into them so early on.

I’m interested in finding out just what caused Autumn to become a divorcee, because it’s obvious that the loss of her husband has consumed her just as much as the love did in the beginning. That’s a special yet dangerous type of love, because once it’s gone it can really leave someone feeling like a shell of themselves. She seems so detached and she’s going through the motions while simultaneously trying to fight to claw out of her own hole. She was dependent on Shane, it seems like, and that has served to become an issue for her progression through her issues. I also took note of her going through some speech exercises – is that just her trying to sharpen her mind or did she go through some kind of accident? My first thought for some reason was something similar to a stroke, but I could be wrong.

Absolutely. This is one of the biggest losses of Autumn’s life. She invested everything into Andreas, mentally and emotionally. She completely immersed herself into being a wife and only catering to everything that the title entails. She lost herself in the midst of it which is why she’s so lost, confused, and pained. It is a dangerous type of love because she forgot to preserve herself as an individual. She simply became another piece of him; another piece that was ultimately disposable. A happy and successful marriage isn’t promised to anyone despite what the vows may say. She thought that he’d be her forever and this awakening is beyond rude; it feels like a death. She’s trying to figure it out and find herself but she’s grieving the loss of him and she still very much so wants the man despite what’s happened between the two of them. She wanted to repair her marriage. Divorce was never in her mind.

Shane was more than just her brother; he was her confidant and best friend. Without Shane, this is even harder on her. She’s not sure who to lean on and where to go with this.

Yeah, she has some other issues going on. As you read along, you’ll figure out what’s going on.

I’m glad that her mother is helping her out, but I can just tell that her father is going to be a problem; anybody wbo is a hypocrite in the church lifestyle spells out nothing short of bad news. And don’t even START me up on Issac. He’s a dick. A fine dick. I hate it, lol. I feel like he knows if Autumn could help to be happier and more functional, she would. With that in mind, I wished he’d be slightly more sensitive to her issue. There’s nothing wrong with tough love but he crosses into disrespect so easily and without care. Aside from it being rude and hurtful, it’s foolish and counterproductive to Autumn’s overall health.

Silas is alright. He doesn’t pester Autumn the way her brother does. Issac is a handsome asshole. He’s slick at the mouth, crass, and says whatever he wants to say to her because he’s disappointed in the decisions that she’s made. His tough love approach is definitely disrespectful nor is it helpful to her growth, but he still does it anyway not only because of the disappointment but for reasons that stems from their childhood. He loves his sister though. I don’t want anyone to mistake that. He still wants the best for her and wants to see her be happy despite the pettiness. He just goes about letting her know in the wrong manner. He’d rather scold her than positively uplift her and in return, she does the same to him out of retaliation.

Also, I relate a bit to the way she acts in therapy. It’s so hard to talk about your issues without feeling like you’re absolutely crazy and feeling like everyone else is thinking you are too. I hope Autumn could find it in her to open up a bit more to Dr. Hill, though. It might help wonders, or even if she can find someone trustworthy to speak to she’d feel more comfortable with that route, maybe.

Therapy is NEVER easy. First you have to cope with being there, then you have to understand why you’re actually there and that takes time to accept, and then you have to eventually open yourself up and your inner issues to a complete stranger. Sitting in Dr. Jill’s office makes her feel like she’s screwed up in the head and there’s no getting out of it. She feels like if she’s sitting in therapy, her life is spiraled out of control beyond what she can do about it and the people around her are looking at her sideways. What she has to understand is that they’re just trying to help her and if she won’t open up to them, then she needs to open up to SOMEONE. At least with a therapist, it stays within the walls of her office. Dr. Jill cannot just randomly pop out of no where and confront her about it or throw it all back in her face during some random moment of anger.

I love her friendship with Glen as well - drivers really get all of the information about their passengers whether they want it or not, but he seems to be so gracious about it and is a friendly and genuine soul that Autumn needs around her. Right now, she’s surrounded by so much dead grass that’s spray painted green, so she needs some realness in her life and Glen seems to be that sliver of it for her.

Drives do get ALL of the tea! I always say that when you want to know A LOT about public figures, talk to either their drives or their security guards because they know EVERYTHING. It’s hilarious when you think about it. Glen is a nice older figure in her life. Though he’s just her driver, he’s picked up on a lot when it comes to her personality and how she operates. He doesn’t know her whole entire story but he does understand that she’s going through a lot and he does his best to give her some solace while she’s sitting the backseat of that SUV.

Whew, okay! Now, onto Dante - the scene between he and his father was so infuriatingly attractive. I know I’m not supposed to like Richard, that much is clear, but everything about his business mind and savvy to the ways of the world is sexy, for lack of a better word. The way that Dante can see right through him and how he can go tit-for-tat with him without losing his cool was just great to see as well. I can tell Dante is about his shit in general which is a good thing - he has to be when he has so much to do as far as the companies his family has their hands in and the responsibilities that he’s been given. But I feel his pressure - everything seems to get placed upon his shoulders because Matt seems to be too busy trying to be a comedian. A mess, his brother is.

You think Richard is sexy? Haaaaaaa! You must like your men blunt and straight to the point, because that’s exactly who he is. He doesn’t bite his tongue, cut any corners, or mask who he is as a person. What you see and experience is what you get. Richard Lowe St. James is absolutely assured in who he is, what he wants, why he’s going to get it, and how it’s going to be done and you either get in line or be disposed of. Though they are a father and son, they absolutely deal with one another in a cut throat manner. Dante is accustom to it and at this point, he has no desire or wishes for his father to change into some kind soccer dad. He handles his work and he goes about his business. When he interacts with his father, he’s about his business and once it all said and done, he goes on his way to deal with the personal.

There is a lot of pressure and a lot to live up to. Dante picks up the pieces and handles wherever his brother has slacked off, though he doesn’t get enough credit for it. He’s the bread and butter of that company, though Richard refuses to say it.

Also - Fredrick, please just claim that girlfriend of yours. She’s buying your damn food! But I feel like he got scarred from his first love so that may be what his hesitation is. Either way, go home and make a grilled cheese and stay out of Dante’s fridge, lol. But I do like their friendship; it feels genuine and Fred does look out for Dante and it’s clear he wants the man to be happy. Now, I also want to know how he knows of Autumn or where he saw her from. Then again, he does do buildings and such, maybe he did something for her father or maybe they met somewhere in the distant past through Shane.

Fredrick is having a hard time coming to terms with his playboy lifestyle coming to an end. The transition happened so effortlessly and the man is trying to figure out how Erica has developed such a hold on him that he’s fallen in love and actually wants to be monogamous. It doesn’t help that his friends tease him about it every chance they get.

Their friendship is amazing though. All three of them bring different aspects of themselves to the table and they all mutually benefit from it. They have a brotherhood and a genuine family bond that has been established for years.

Now how he knows Autumn? Well, you’ll just have to see. lol

Lastly, I want to talk about how much my heart broke at the scene at Dante’s parents’ house. Liz…bless her heart. I feel like she’s carrying a lot of weight too courtesy of Richard. Or maybe she has skeletons of her own. Either way, it seems that Dante is suffering because of it - it seems like he sees through the facade: the pretty smiles and old soul msuic that usually holds old couples together. I want to know what these skeletons consist of, because it’s eating at the man. He’s gonna lose it soon, it seems.

Hmmm. You think Elizabeth is carrying weight because of Richard? Well….we’ll just have to see about that. There’s a major disconnect between Dante and his mother, and their commutation levels are in the dumps. Something happened for him to kind of resent her and be emotionally drained because of it. He’s not fazed by his family or any of the acts that they’re putting on. He’s the black sheep. That’s how he feels about them. So we’re just going to have to find out why

But his relationship with Marv is also nice. Cordial enough, but not too invasive. And he must like the man to send his daughter through college.

Marv has become somewhat like an uncle to him. You know how you have that neighborhood guy that you’ve known for so long that he’s sort of become like a family friend and a good older figure in your life? That’s what Marv is to Dante. He plays a voice of reason for him.

There’s so much aligning between these two people - their lives seem oddly similar at first glance, and I can’t wait to see how they react to one another when they finally cross paths and meet.

I can’t wait for you to see it too! It should be interesting! Thank you for your submission and for reading the story. I appreciate it so much.

[pendulumprince]

Episode 112! *throws self backwards into a field of flowers on a warm summer say*

After the opening!

Damn, this just serves to remind me that Noru is basically Jean Michel Jr with his underhanded tactics

He still acts like a character after my own problematic fave heart, though, getting into that childish spat with the Tyler Sisters

BUT JUST AS THE OBELISK DUDES GO IN FOR THE ATTACK

Edo stops them?!

HE’S SPREADING THE GOOD WORD OF EGAO TO THEM LIKE A STREET PREACHER

THE TYLER SISTERS SEEM TO AGREE

NORU DOES NOT

HE TELLS EDO TO RECONSIDER HIS ACTIONS

BUT ONCE EDO’S MADE UP HIS MIND, IT DOESN’T GET CHANGED

AT LEAST NOT WITHOUT AN ANGSTY YEAR LONG JOURNEY THROUGH A WAR TORN CITY

GRACE LOOKS LIKE SHE WANTS TO JOIN EDO IN HIS GLORIOUS TREASON

GLORA HAS SOME RESERVATIONS

BUT GRACE CHARMS HER INTO SUBMISSION, AND THE GIRLS DEFECT!

I am so. Happy.

LOOKS LIKE HE’S TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE WHOLE YUTO SITUATION TO THE THREE OF THEM

I GET THE FEELING EDO IGNORED THE WHOLE POSSESSED-THING AND IS FOCUSING ON THE EGAO’S FOR NOW.

But wait

NORU IS STILL HERE, COMPLAINING AND THREATENING THEM ALL WITH EXECUTION

DAMNIT NORU, YOU NEED TO GET IN ON THIS EGAO LIFE

Oh

But wait

You forgot about Kaito, didn’t you Noru bby

YOU DID

BECAUSE IF YOU DIDN’T, YOU WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED TO FIND HIM STANDING A FEW FEET AWAY FROM YOU

READY TO TEAR YOUR MOTHERFUCKING HEAD OFF

AND LOOK, HE’S ALSO BROUGHT THE REMNANTS OF THE RESISTANCE

HELL YEAH

HEEEEEELL YEAH

KAITO CHALLENGES NORU TO A DUEL

HE TRIES TO WORM HIS WAY OUT OF IT

KAITO ISN’T BUYING IT; NORU COLLAPSES TO THE FLOOR

EDO GIVES A GRAND MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH TO ALL OF HIS UNDERLINGS

ENCOURGING THEM TO LAY DOWN THEIR ARMS

TO COMMIT TREASONOUS ACTS WITH HIM IN THE NAME OF EGAO

AND IT’S WORKING…!

Back in some remote place

NORU IS FIDDLING WITH HIS STOPWATCH??

HE…

HE’S JOINED THE RESISTANCE??

THEY’RE ALL IN A REFUGEE CAMP

HE’S RANTING TO TWO SMALL XYZ CHILDREN ABOUT HOW EVERYONE IS LATE AND EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE

But the girls roll up, carryng what i presume is soup or some other edible liquid

Gloria still doesn’t understand what the hell she’s doing there, but Grace convinces her that she’s done the right thing

AND IT LOOKS LIKE THEY’RE NOT THE ONLY ONES

PLEANTY OF OBELISK STUDENTS ARE ALSO HELPING OUT

MY HEART FEELZ FUZZY AND WARM

The Lancers discuss things amongst themselves

Even Kaito seems to have changed, that old son of a gun c:

AHHH EDO IS HELPING OUT TOO

WAIT NOW YUTOS SPEAKING TO EVERYONE THROUGH YUYA

THIS… IS UNCOMFORTABLE

So they’re all having a heartfelt talk

Yuya eventually comes back

Edo enters the room and drops what’s presumably a BOMBSHELL

A good, not lethal bombshell!

So after more talks

Everybody moves on to some room

Shun is in some kind of incubator?

IS HE, LIKE, IN A COMA?!

DAMN BUDDY ALL THAT HAPPENED WAS A BUILDING FELL ON YOU

I’VE SEEN YOU GO THROUGH WAY WORSE

IT’S LIKE THAT GUY WHO DIED VIA CHEEK SLAP

Oh wait but Edo’s giving his torn half of Smile World to Yuya, to return to Yusho

But Yuya tells him to hang onto it

Allen runs in and gives Yuya some clothing and a pair of shoes?? Okay dude hope it’s the right size

Sakuya gives Kaito her fairy card

Wait oh snap they’re goING SOMEHWERE AREN’T THEY

I WONDER WHERE

YUYA, GON CHAN, KAITO, AND SHINGO

OFF TO THE FUSION D!

… speaking of which

We’re back at Fusion!YSDS

Asuka appears to be explaining to Yusho what happened with Yuri

She’s flanked by Yuzu and Yugo

Oddly enough, Yusho doesn’t seem at all fazed by Yugo?!

DOES NOTHING EVER GET TO YOU, OLD MAN?!

He at least says something that causes an uproar among his students

He explains himself further

WAIT

DOES YUSHO PLAN TO RIDE WITH HIS STUDENTS INTO BATTLE

Oh shit

OH SHIT

IT’S DENNIS

THAT FUCKING CUNT

I WAS SO HAPPY, NOT HAVING TO SEE HIS DUMBASS FACE

UGH I AM SO ANNOYED

YUSHO TOO, APPERENTLY

SOMEONE PLEASE SHOOT THIS MAN

PUT HIM OUT OF HIS MISERY

OH FUCK ME, DENNIS JUST CALLED YUSHO “SENSEI”

HOT DAMN

AHHHH AND DENNIS BROUGHT OSIRIS AND RA FRIENDS WITH HIM

DENNIS, THAT IS A MIGHTY EVIL LOOK YOU HAVE IN YOUR EYES

YUSHO GETS UP AND VERBALLY BEATS DENNIS WITH HIS CANE

HE’S GONNA FIGHT DENNIS IN THE DESERT

UP IN THE MOUNTAINS

UNDERGROUND AND AROUND TOWN

“COME TO FUSION!YSDS IN 20 MINUTES IF U WANT AN ASSKICKING”

I’M SO GLAD DENNIS ANSWERED YUSHO’S AD

THEY START!

YUSHO TAKES FIRST TURN

HE SETS A FACE DOWN, ENDS HIS TURN

Wait, that’s it, old man?

So Dennis takes his turn

Draws a pendulum card!

Sets the scales 3 to 6

Pendulum summons two 1000 ATK entermages

He overlays them!

Right in front of your comrades, dude?

Don’t they have that whole hangup against XYZ users?

ANYWAY

DENNIS SUMMONS TRAPEZE MAGICIAN AT 2500 ATK

HE USES AN OVERLAY UNIT

I DARE YOU TO ATTACK YUSHO, DENNIS

I FUCKING DARE YOU

DENNIS HAS HIS MONSTER GO IN FOR THE ATTACK

AND YUSHO, OF COURSE, ACTIVATES A TRAP THAT LITERALLY HIDES HIM UNDER A GIANT TOPHAT

THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHERS, AS WELL

HOW MUCH YOU WANNA BET THAT DENNIS HAS TO CHOOSE WHICH ONE TO ATTACK, AND THAT HE’LL CHOOSE WRONG?

DENNIS HAS HIS MONSTER TAKE OUT THE RIGHT HAT, WHICH HAD A MAGIC CARD HIDING IN IT

DENNIS THEN ATTACKS THE SECOND HAT?! WHICH!

HAD ANOTHER MAGIC CARD UNDERNEATH

AND—!

HOT DAMN

WHILE DENNIS WAS DISTRACTED, EVERYONE ESCAPED

GOOD SHIT, YUSHO

GOOD. SHIT.

DON’T YOU GIVE THIS FASHION DISASTER AN INCH

DENNIS AND HIS FRIENDS HEAD OUTSIDE, EVEN THOUGH YUSHO AND ASUKA WENT UNDERGROUND!

YUGO AND YUZU, MEANWHILE, ARE RIDING THOUGH THE STREETS, CLOSELY PURSUED BY ACADEMIA

THEY STOP

YUZU GETS OFF?!

YUZU IS GONNA TAKE ON AN ARMY AND I, FOR ONE, AM PREPARED FOR THE BLOODSHED.

BUT YUGO DISAPPEARS?!

(Please don’t be Yuri please don’t be Yuri please—)

NO WAIT

ITS YUUUUUUYA

AND THE CREW!

*CRIES DEEPLY* ARE THEY REUNITD AT LAST?!

Dennis looks so grossly happy omg

He looks off to the side and—

WAIT

NO

IT’S NOT HIM

THAT ISN’T ISAO

THAT IS NOT. ISAO.

YOOOOOOOOO—

Preview time!

Before Yuya and Yuzu can truly reunite, Yuya is tackled to the ground by Isao

Because how else would this whole thing play out

OH SHIT BUT ISAO IS COVERED IN GLOWING TATS?!

WHAT IN THE FRESH HELL IS THIS

YOU OKAY THERE, ISAO?

DO YOU NEED SOME COUGH MEDICINE? PERHAPS SOME SOOTHING CREME?!