#Getting there I really am. Exciting though because that means it's GROWTH time

[scribblemakes]

I’ve done a million studies of his face shape at this point and I STILL feel like I’m not getting him correctly. You should see my WIPs folder it’s full of things like this (but less clean). It’s the price of liking a character too much I suppose,

[ID: Two black and white sketches of Kim Kitsuragi and one trace over deconstruction of his official portrait. In the first sketch he’s looking slightly up and to the right. In the second sketch he’s holding one glove in his teeth while massaging his ungloved hand. /End ID]

[cosmiccardistry]

Pick An Emoji: What Is Coming Toward You In Love?

(Minors DNI + DNF!) Hello again everyone, it's Cosmic! I know this post is very off-schedule, but I'm wishing you a Happy belated Valentine's Day with this tarot reading anyway! Below, I have four emojis for you to choose from. When choosing a pile, look at the hearts before you. Truly take them in. After that, shut your eyes. Breathe in and out until you feel calm - almost empty. Once you are calm, allow the heart that corresponds to the pile you're meant to engage with to appear within your mind. 1)💝 2)💗 3)💖 4)💞 DISCLAIMER: I do tarot for fun and as a means of entertaining other people. This is not something that I intend for people to take one hundred percent seriously! Also, this is a collective tarot reading. I am not reading your specific energy alone, so not everything here will likely apply to you. Be discerning and use your own intuition! ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

💝 - "Let It Be"

Shufflemancy/Channeled Song(s) - You're Beautiful - James Blunt, Let It Be - The Beatles, Your Face - Wisp, Paper Bag - Fiona Apple, Get Gone - Fiona Apple, Yellow - Coldplay Keyword(s) - Beautiful, balloon, water-balloon, laughter, 2/222, 3/333, paper bag, plastic bag, get gone, tanktop, funny, sacral chakra, solar plexus, crown chakra, throat chakra, ocean, ocean breeze, banana, 'baba', pacifier, 'devil in the details', fluctuating Base - The Moon, Ten of Swords (Reversed), Seven of Cups (Reversed), Ace of Cups (Bottom of Deck #1), Nine of Cups (Bottom of Deck #2) Clarifying - The Chariot + Six of Pentacles (Reversed) - Ten of Cups (Reversed), Ace of Swords, Judgement - Four of Cups, Seven of Swords, Ace of Pentacles The first thing I noted while doing this pile was the Ten of Swords (Reversed) and the Ten of Cups (Reversed) clarifying each other. I feel you will gain an understanding of something in your love life that didn’t work out before. It’s necessary that you really focus on your healing, though. Your reading keeps returning to the healing they really want you to be doing. You may be prolonging your sadness and healing unnecessarily because you refuse to leave the past behind. This could be subconscious. You are existing within illusion and/or confusion, because of something that happened way back when. Maybe someone refused to reciprocate in an equal give and take with you? Whatever happened in the past, you find yourself unable to give and receive in the present because of it. I empathize with you. The universe wants to give you more opportunities! In love, or otherwise. However, you may overlook them. In fact, you may currently be overlooking opportunities for growth and excitement because you are suffering. Keep your eyes peeled! That being said, though, I don’t think overlooking opportunities is always necessarily negative. The universe is abundant - always willing to provide. If you need more time before receiving something from the universe, that is totally acceptable! What is meant for you will always be. Just remember that you need to fight. Shoot forward and manifest, so the universe can provide based on the powerful energy it receives from you! Even if you brush your teeth, and then sleep for the rest of the day afterward, you are manifesting. You are fighting. You are healing, and engaging in self-care. An effort - no matter how small or slow - is always important! Use your judgment and your intuition to get through this period of negativity and sadness. Take note of those who you might be taking more from than necessary - give back on occasion, if possible. Send love energetically to the people around you, even through all the confusion, illusion, and fear. For Advice Portion - King of Pentacles (Reversed), The Hermit (Reversed), The Lovers, The Hanged Man + Ten of Swords (Bottom of Deck #2) Clarifying - The Devil + Ace of Cups (Reversed) - Temperance (Reversed), Eight of Wands (Reversed), Five of Wands (Reversed) - Ace of Wands (Reversed), Queen of Pentacles (Reversed) Advice - Truly give into self-work via journaling and shadow-work prompts. Observe your negative patterns and write them down, if necessary. Be cautious when giving to energies/patterns/situations that have caused you to spiral into negative habits before. Stop fighting the healing work that you must do and focus less on romance, for now. You will absolutely find your romantic match. Your healing will take you directly to them. Learn to be happy single, for now, and have a fresh beginning with yourself and yourself alone! You will find true, genuine, healthy love in divine timing. You are not being forced into this time alone. See this experience of singularity as a blessing and know that you are already one with your ideal partner. Be kind to yourself. Love yourself as you love them. Also, stop reading and/or watching as much romance-related tarot? That could be a negative habit you currently have. ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

💗 - "Change"

Shufflemancy/Channeled Song(s) - Listen To Your Heart - Roxette, Heart To Heart - Mac Demarco, Blue Lips - Regina Spektor, Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake, Cry Me A River (Different Song, Same Name) - Julie London, Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer Keyword(s) - Kept trying to say 'green words' instead of 'keywords', heart chakra, from the heart, baseball, Modern Baseball, Halloween, veteran, veterinarian, throat chakra, poet, seeds, teacup, bag, angel, bagel, ocean, lips, mouth, kiss Base - Ace of Swords, The Star (Reversed), Five of Swords, Justice, The Lovers (Reversed) (Bottom of Deck #1) Clarifying - Five of Swords (Reversed) & Four of Pentacles (Reversed), Nine of Cups (Reversed), The Moon, The Hermit, Temperance (Reversed) (Bottom of Deck #2)

An end is coming toward you. The ending of a relationship. If this relationship doesn’t end entirely, then the perspective you have on the relationship will change. You are quickly gaining control over conflict in this situation, retaining a leadership position. In doing that, you are allowing yourself to find stability, happiness, and pleasure. A tower will fall and cause hopelessness, helplessness, and dissatisfaction to dissipate - allowing any future work on your part to actually create something stable. In the past, any work put into this relationship might have only resulted in suffering, pain, and confusion. You really know your situation better than I do, and I know I stated that the relationship doesn’t - necessarily - have to end, but many of you will cut somebody off in favor of keeping your effort and energy to yourself. If you haven’t done this already, that is. The Justice card is out here, later clarified by the Devil in reverse. This relationship could be karmic, or that's what I felt when seeing these two cards come out together. Saw the Emperor and the Empress (Reversed), too. It's like this relationship was almost a match. They were a person you saw everything in...- If only they had fallen upright, or... allowed themselves to. After ending this relationship, being alone as a means of allowing yourself to retrospect could be best. There is no need to rush or place unnecessary pressure on yourself. In doing so, you could trick yourself into believing that there will be no victory out of exhaustion, or you could simply delay progress altogether. Also, know that everyone will receive what they deserve and trust the Universe to dole out karma - positive and negative - wherever necessary. Whoever you might leave in the past will have trouble freeing themselves of their stuck manner. Finding themselves heartbroken, while they miss your stability and commitment-minded mentality. Do not remain stuck with them and take their karma for yourself. Holding onto this relationship - or the way that the relationship was - will not assist you in any way! Don't be afraid to look at this relationship differently as a means of healing! For Advice Portion - Two of Wands (Reversed), Ace of Pentacles, Five of Swords (Reversed), The Emperor & Ten of Cups, The Star (Reversed) (Bottom of Deck #1) Clarifying - Ace of Wands, Five of Swords (Reversed) & The Emperor (Reversed), Ten of Pentacles, Justice (Reversed) Advice - This is a new beginning. Don’t allow a fear of change to deter you. Don’t be afraid to chase after your goals and passions - head toward what excites you most…! Be decisive at this time. And you can - absolutely - be decisive right now, even if you feel uncertain. You likely aren’t as confused as you think you are. You have been gifted with an opportunity to thrive peacefully without a conflict that has bothered you for a very long time. Allow yourself to be grateful. However, do not do anything in excess. Make sure that any passion you follow is healthy and doesn’t only serve you. Do not allow your suffering to turn you into someone selfish and controlling. You are the Emperor. No matter what. You don’t need force, manipulation, or control. You are a natural leader at heart. People will follow you simply as a result of you maintaining a healthy, balanced, exemplary disposition. You will find healthy love in due time, even after the conflict that you have suffered through- This love might be happening for you right now, even! A relationship healed after an internal conflict…- Just maintain emotional balance and all will work out for you. And, finally… do not - under any circumstances - allow your worries about justice and karma to stagnate you, or kick you out of emotional balance! Don’t worry about karma! Karma is not your problem, nor is it something you can control. Keep that in mind.  ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

💖 - "Shine Brightly"

Shufflemancy/Channeled Song(s) - You're The Greatest (Reprise) - Wander Over Yonder, Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield, Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles, Haven't You Noticed (I'm A Star) - Steven Universe Keyword(s) - Zipper, zoomies, phone, telephone, call me, heart, heart chakra, 2/222, 1111, plaid, earring, infection, star, cartoons, Piplup, Pokemon, trash, laundry day, yellow, solar plexus Base - Two of Wands, Four of Swords, The Hierophant, Ace of Swords, The High Priestess (Bottom of Deck #1) Clarifying - The Emperor, The Sun, Seven of Swords (Reversed), Five of Wands, King of Wands (Reversed) (Bottom of Deck #2)

Before I start, I want to state that being in your energy made me happy...! You are a great person, Pile Three, and you're fun to be around! You're reading is a complete loop, starting with the Two of Wands and then ending with the Two of Wands. You have thoroughly planned your next steps regarding your romantic world, and now you are taking action. Maybe you are considering putting yourself back out there again? Either by getting on a dating website, trying new recreation, or starting a new project? Whatever you want to do, I feel that you have the knowledge necessary to achieve your goals and succeed - to meet someone new. To create new connections, even those that aren't - necessarily - romantic. If that isn't the case right now, it definitely could be soon, if that is what you yearn for. I believe that you are very in touch with the spiritual world, whether you know that about yourself or not. Follow your intuition - your internal compass - and things will go well for you. You have already taken the time to rest, recuperate, and place your focus inward. You have a deep understanding of what might have been causing illusion in your romantic world. You have also taken your energy and effort away from a situation that might have broken your heart, and/or the hearts of others...! If this is not what you've done, it seems that this is what you are planning on doing - quickly taking control of the reigns and heading away from heartbreak, pain, and disappointment to find a relationship that will bring stability, love, and hope into your world. If you feel that none of this applies to you - that you have not moved away from a negative situation, spent time alone, and gone inward - that is exactly what you need to do. A good pause in love might be exactly what you need right now. Rest and recovery after situations like these are important! Don't feel negatively if you cannot force any sort of passionate energy to build within you. You will meet a romantic match who is just as intuitive as you in due time. So, don't rush - plan, examine what you know, look toward the future rather than the past, and take care of yourself. If you haven't healed from this negative romantic situation already, you will; and if you are still in the process of cutting a cycle out of your life, you will be successful in doing that, too...! Also, I saw the Two of Cups multiple times, there is definitely hope, Pile Three!

For Advice Portion - Six of Cups, Page of Pentacles, The Sun, Three of Swords (Reversed), The Wheel of Fortune (Bottom of Deck #1) Clarifying - The Devil (Reversed), King of Cups, Three of Wands, Two of Cups Advice - If you're attempting to get into new hobbies, try and do stuff that you're inner child would want to do. Remind yourself of the dreams and wishes you had when you were a little kid, and bolt toward those. Doing so will end in a nice experience for you. Might even heal negative habits you currently have. There is no need to fear walking away from past negativity. It is recommended that you move away from old, negative tendencies and relationships - even those that stem from childhood. Maybe you work yourself too hard? Don't be scared of taking a proper break. Put your heart into your work. Don't be afraid to allow other people to see you, and your work - your efforts and goals. Ask for assistance from other people, if necessary. The future is bright, there is no more suffering in your future - as far as I can tell. Let the brightness of the Sun bring you into your bright, loving future. Point your love inward - show yourself self-love! Pamper yourself, even despite past conflict! Let the pain end. Allow cycles to finish. Don't fight the ending that will come with releasing this past pain. You deserve to live as happily as possible! Holding onto pain will not allow you to do that! ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

💞 - "Yes/No"

Shufflemancy/Channeled Song(s) - Excuses - Shakey Graves, Harness Your Hopes - Pavement, Don't Let's Start - They Might Be Giants, A Pearl - Mitski Keyword(s) - Accidents, whiplash, 'rushing or dragging?', drumming, orange, sacral chakra, red, root chakra, go, stop sign, pillow, pie, cake, 'what a bitter disappointment', sign, hello, goodbye, opposites Base - King of Swords (Reversed), Page of Cups, The Tower, Page of Swords (Reversed), The Hanged Man (Reversed) (Bottom of Deck #1) Clarifying - The Devil (Reversed), The Magician + Two of Cups, Nine of Cups (Reversed), The Emperor (Reversed), Ace of Wands (Bottom of Deck #2)

You might have also wanted to pick Pile Three? Perhaps? Two cards from that pile kept showing themselves to me while I was shuffling, so...! If you cannot forgive someone for something, allow them to go find their happiness elsewhere. That's what I heard. You are detaching from something or someone. A romantic relationship. A negative thinking pattern. You could even be detached from whatever this is already. Single. You might be putting yourself out there, attempting to manifest a balanced, emotional relationship with another person. Do you have someone specific in mind? Do you even want a relationship...? You feel somewhat back and forth like you aren't even sure what you want romantically at the moment...- There is no rush! I want to talk about the tower we have here. Towers are not negative! We see them as negative because we're human, but they are a necessity. Some people will simply not learn without emotional pain. If you need to learn the hard way, then you need to learn the hard way. This tower that exists within your reading is not avoidable- I asked, 'Why..?' They gave me Four of Wands, Ten of Pentacles, and Six of Wands. If you want this healthy, amazing relationship you've dreamed about, you have to learn more lessons...! Specifically, you have to learn how to exhibit gratitude, patience, and balance. You also have to lessen your grip on control, and completely surrender to healing your emotional imbalances. Do not be afraid to look at this situation differently - from a less negative angle. It sucks, I know, but you can get through any healing that you need to!

For Advice Portion - Six of Wands, Ace of Wands, Eight of Cups (Reversed), Knight of Pentacles, The Hierophant (Reversed) (Bottom of Deck #1) Clarifying - The Devil (Reversed), King of Pentacles (Reversed), Eight of Cups (Reversed), Seven of Swords (Reversed), Five of Cups (Reversed) (Bottom of Deck #2) Advice - There is a victory to be had here with some work. In healing and defeating the truly detrimental negative tendencies you might have, you will gain a new beginning in romance where you are completely on top...! Again, there is just work that needs to be done and stuff that needs to be distanced from. Specifically, a relationship or circumstance that is holding you back. This situation is only causing more trauma for you. Move forward and away from whoever, or whatever this is...! If you have done so physically, then you must release any disappointment you might still be holding onto as that might still be connecting you to this energetically. If you are going to try out dating again (or just meeting new people in general), I would suggest using a new method that you haven't tried before. A new website, a new hobby - something that hasn't resulted in a negative experience already. Also, it doesn't matter how 'slowly' you are healing. It only matters that you are trying and moving at a steady, consistent pace...! Doing so will bring you directly to emotional fulfillment. ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

I wanted to say thank you very much for the kindness my first post was shown! I really appreciate it...! Any advice is always appreciated! I hope you enjoyed this post and that some stuff resonated for you! Until next time! :-)

[violetasteracademic]

I mean, I love Lucien so much but it’s obvious that he’s not that excited about the mating bond. It feels like it was something that was imposed on him, not something that makes him happy (as it was the case for Rhys and Cassian). He even used the world “shackled”. What can be worse than that? After a while, he didn’t even care about living someplace else and not seeing her often. He knows they’re a bad match and it’s possibly questioning the Cauldron.

I love both of them and they deserve better. Sometimes I wonder if the people that believe that Elain has to be with Lucien because he’s her mate, also believe that women should stay in unhappy, miserable marriages because they see divorce as a “sin”

Hello lovely anon!

Looooong post ahead, we are gonna get into it! I agree with you completely on this. I am a pro L/cien Elriel, and always have been. My first Tumblr post was a dissertation about Vassien for goodness sake, and my excitement for their story is genuinely second to Elriel! The secret Spell-Cleaver's son and the cursed queen, the bird of flame and lord of fire, there is so much I love about them. I did an entire breakdown on the possibilities of Vassien's story using Sarah's usual book structures and all of the information we have on them, because there is so much driving them plot wise and thematically it's actually crazy.

I think that sometimes it can be really easy to miss theme while reading these books, but it is something SJM puts a lot of work into and threads throughout her stories.

I spend a LOT of time talking about my girl Elain, and even though I love the boys they are just kinda there for me as cute little accessories for our ladies. So I appreciate this opportunity to talk more about who is right for whom from the mens perspective based on the themes woven throughout the books with a focus on L/ucien and Azriel, and whether or not Elain fits into those themes. In my opinion, these are the strongest indicators of what ultimately is being subliminally pushed by authors on the road to happiness for our characters.

I'm gonna nerd out about writing for a sec, but good writing has clean character arcs. Good romance shows the blind spots or flaws of the lead characters, and how their romantic interest will balance or push the character to growth. If there are multiple love interests, one of the love interests will undoubtedly leave the main character stagnant, or perhaps fulfill some external ideals rather than following their own heart.

Here are some examples of themes when it comes to Elain and Azriel, and I'm pushing myself to focus on Azriel here and not my girlie 🌸

Here we are being introduced to the areas where Azriel has blind spots to his own personal happiness. It is nearly impossible to get Azriel to take any time for himself that doesn't't involve work or training. He rips himself to shreds for mistakes, his perfectionism bordering on sadistic.

The time he spends with Elain is a direct foil to Azriel's inability to do anything other than work or train without being pushed to the extreme by his loved ones. He chooses to sit with Elain in the garden. He chooses to stay up until three am listening to her design plans. He chooses to rest in the sunlight with her. This is a direct tie of the author stating what this character needs, and then blatantly showing who is giving it to him.

G/wyn also trains hard and is competitive and perfectionistic. It makes total sense to me that people think this is cute, however, theme wise, it is a representation of a stagnant arc. The idea that training is a foundational element to an Az and G's potential relationship actually directly parallels Azriel's greatest obstacle to happiness- which is that he cannot allow himself to rest and *not* train.

Feyre and Rhys had to teach each other to share burdens, though it was extremely difficult. Cassian had to teach Nesta how to forgive herself and believe she was worthy of love. What Azriel needs is someone to help him believe he is worthy of rest and mistakes. These themes are tied to Elain.

There is also the issue of his hands and physical touch, and his feelings of worthiness.

Again, we discover that even if Morrigan, the woman he has supposedly been madly in love with for 500 years, stripped naked in front of Azriel, he still wouldn't touch her. We've also seen Morrigan cringe away from his hands. Meanwhile, Elain called his scarred hands beautiful. Elain initiated every act of touch in the bonus chapter. Elain moved so that his hand was covering her neck, and she wanted it.

Azriel fought against his feelings of disgust over his hands. He experienced intrusive thoughts about how he shouldn't be touching her with the things he has done. And yet, his feelings for her, and the feeling of touching her, was powerful enough to override the loop of self hate that tells him he is unworthy of being wanted.

So if Azriel's two themes that need to be challenged in his romantic relationship is lack of rest and lack of touch, Elain has already been pushing growth in those areas over multiple books. With G/wyn, whom he has not touched because of the strict line of professionalism with the priestesses and the only time they spent together training (which is also the thing Azriel uses to distract himself and push himself to the brink of exhaustion) thematically, for Azriel's specific needs in romantic growth, we are stagnant.

Moving on to L/cien, because there is a lot here for him as well and I believe we are being shown how Elain is also thematically the opposite of what L/cien needs.

Unlike Azriel, L/cien has experienced true, authentic, deep, consensual love. And the first thing he does when he meets Elain is compare her to the woman he loves, and frankly, he's not really understanding how someone like Elain could be his mate because she is so different from Jesminda.

L/cien is attracted to wildness, mischief and laughter. Someone who loved him not because of his status or stature, but choosing him for who he was. This is never going to be possible with Elain. L/cien's status as a High Lord's son plays a huge role in Rhys not wanting Azriel to interfere with their relationship. At this point, even if Azriel never pursues Elain again, that is the reason why. The Blood Duel, and L/ucien's status as a High Lord's son. If L/ucien were not these things, Rhys never would have interrupted their kiss. So even if Elain *chooses* L/cien in the end, it will never have been without question. It will never be untangled with this status as a High Lord's son, and it will never be because they weren't mates first before falling in love. In Lucien's monologue about Jesminda, we learn that the mating bond is not the ideal way for L/cien to fall in love either. With all his trauma and abuse and lack of choice in his own life, he both wants and deserves to be loved without question. This will absolutely never be true with Elain, no matter how their story develops.

Lucien desires to be chosen away from High Fae culture and societal expectations. We also see how he is drawn to things wild and free, who says to hell with all of it. I'm choosing who I love and how I show up in this world.

And then we meet the human queen Vassa.

A foul mouthed, foul tempered queen who Lucien warns Feyre of right away that she will corner her to ask for help breaking her curse (which she absolutely does 🤣)

In the same book where Lucien can't help but compare Elain to the fiery love of his life, and feel Elain was thrown at him, he winds up on an adventure with a literal firebird queen with the attitude and energy to match. Perhaps someone who could taunt and tease Lucien within an inch of his life?

Thematically, Lucien has also struggled with the concept of home. He has bounced from court to court, facing different forms of abuse and control. He has never been truly free or comfortable anywhere he has lived. And he doesn't feel truly free or comfortable in Velaris. In fact, he can't stand it.

This is similar to what happened with Jesminda and the Autumn court. Her people no longer welcome Lucien because they believe he is responsible for what happened to her. Lucien doesn't want to return to Tamlin, but Spring was his home, and now he can't return there either because those outside of the high lords manor hate him for believing him being complicit.

Lucien and Vassa are also tied thematically through themes of manipulation and two faced people selling them out.

Which again, brings us full circle to L/ucien's theme of passivity. He believes he did not protect Jesminda. That her death was a betrayal of trust. This is a deep wound that needs healing.

Meanwhile, when it comes to Elain, he has maintained a passive stance. He is always telling others to get her back, or take her here, or do this. But if something were to happen to her, he never would have been the one to step in and stop it. He is repeating his passive behavior with Elain, beyond simply staying away from her. The theme is rooted much more deeply than that. It is tied to his past traumas and failures.

Meanwhile, when it comes to Vassa, he stares out to sea and sets a target on Koschei.

Elain is not going to be the one to shake L/ucien out of passivity and into action. Vassa is. And my understanding is that even E/ucien's believe this is true, they just assume Elain will be required for some reason. But what the E/ucien version of saving Vassa lacks is thematic resolution. Character arc and growth. L/cien's love interest being the foil to his passivity. Forcing Elain into the saving Vassa storyline makes it less of an emotional growth arc for all characters involved.

So no, I don't think Elain is right for L/cien, and I don't think L/cien thinks she is either. He is going to have to step up and fight for his woman. He has to face ghosts haunting him, and the fact that he didn't protect the woman he loves in the past. He is showing no protective, proactive behavior towards Elain. He *is* showing protective, proactive behavior with Vassa.

Azriel is not showing the ability to find peace and rest and breaks from work and training with G/wyn. He *is* showing the ability to find peace and rest and breaks from training with Elain. He is not showing an ability to let his hands touch someone's skin and work through the traumatic feelings that can bring up with G/wyn. He *is* experiencing that with Elain.

Obviously Elain's choice is theme, and we all know where that is headed. But it IS worthwhile to (occasionally 😝) pay attention to the men and their deeper traumas, threads and themes, and look at where the work of storytelling is already healing those things as opposed to putting the emotional labor on the women of the story to magically fix their men in their future books.

Phew, this wound up being a lot longer than I intended for it to be! I also agree that there are a lot of women projecting an incredible amount of internalized misogyny and frankly the least woman first takes I have ever seen in this fandom. It's disheartening and bizarre, especially when there is so much fantasy written by men where women solely exist to get r/aped or fill the needs of men. We should be celebrating stories written by women and for women, and appreciate authors who push against the societal norms of the roles women play in fantasy books and in real life.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 (the more emojis the faster we get out of the covid season right? RIGHT? /lh) 🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼 i continue to be so invested in this i need to see buck/shannon besties growth their dynamic is fascinating 💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐 i love lesbians 🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮 cranberry my beloved (also see above about getting through the pandemic times) ➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰ TIME LOOP YES fantastic i'll take 14 of them

Hellllooo!

We are out of covid season now for switcheroo!

30 for 🚨:

---

Eddie knows he made the right call staying home from Texas, based on how much Christopher misses Buck. It’s not exactly surprising. He and Buck are obviously really close, and Buck has been involved in one way or another since Eddie and Chris even met. They were all separated for a long time during lockdown, and Chris is just getting used to them all being back together. So, again, it makes sense that Buck leaving for special deployment to fight wildfires upsets him. Eddie just didn’t realize how profoundly he would miss him. 

“When is he coming home?” 

“How much longer?”

“Can I call him?”

The questions are frequent. Whiny. Insistent. Eddie tries to be as patient and understanding as he can with all of them. 

“Buddy, you know he’s working really hard right now. He’ll call you as soon as he can.”

Buck does call, as much as he can. He can’t speak for long when he does, and most of that time is spent speaking to Christopher. Eddie tries not to be frustrated with the monopolization of his boyfriend, with the understanding that Chris is clearly going through some anxiety about him being gone. 

Eddie figures out why one day while he’s off work, and overhears Chris speaking during online class. It’s been a bit of a rocky start to the school year. Christopher’s one teacher left to take a principal position at another school at the last minute, meaning they needed a new teacher a few weeks into the term. The new teacher is, apparently, making them all go around and introduce themselves with a brief explanation about them. When Eddie realizes this, he can’t help but pause outside his son’s door, curious to listen to what he will say. 

“Okay, Christopher,” he hears the teacher prompt. “You’re next.” 

“Okay,” Christopher says, happy to be speaking. Eddie would be nervous to talk in front of the class at that age. He’d be worried about saying something stupid. He loves that Chris is bold. “I’m Chris."

---

27 for 🔼:

Thank you! I am really excited to write them a dynamic from scratch pretty much!

---

“And the fact that I haven’t talked about any of this at all really. So, sorry you had to be first.”

Buck is quiet for a moment. 

“Uh, you don’t have anyone to talk to about all this?” He asks after a moment. 

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. What is happening to her internal filter? The last thing she wants is Eddie angry with her because she’s complaining about her choices and their personal business to his friends. 

“Not really,” she answers. “But, hey. Forget I said anything, okay? I’m really not trying to dump on you.”

Buck shakes his head. “Seriously, Shannon, it’s fine.”

Before she can embarrass herself any further, the receptionist calls Buck for his appointment. Or, not Buck. Evan Buckley. His full name, she supposes. Maybe she spent long enough in Texas that she just assumed Buck was the whole deal. 

“Talk to you next time,” Buck smiles at her, kindly. He’s far too kind. 

“Yeah,” she nods. “Good luck in there.”

“You, too.”

She’s never been so relieved to watch someone walk away.

---

27 for 💐:

---

Mainly, though, she is caught off guard by the small bouquet of flowers in April’s hand. A delicate, sweet collection of daisies and other precious little blossoms. May’s heart stutters a little. 

“Did you bring me flowers?” May asks, breathless. 

“Yeah, of course,” April smiles. “What’s the saying?”

“What saying?” May raises an eyebrow.

“April showers bring May flowers,” April recites.

May laughs. “You are so corny.”

April shrugs, smirking. 

“Are you a rainstorm?” May asks. 

“Mm, I’m a Cancer sun,” April offers. “So, close enough?”

May laughs brightly.

“Do you like them?” April asks.

May reaches forward to take the flowers. “They’re beautiful. Thank you. Do we have a vase?”

April’s expression falls. “I didn’t even consider that.”

“Let’s look at our options,” May chuckles.

---

27 for 🦮:

---

“How soon?” Buck asks. “How soon can you come home?”

“Well, that’s the thing… Twenty seconds?” 

“What?” Buck gasps.

“I was kind of hoping to be here when Chris wakes up?” Eddie says. “I’m in the driveway.” 

“I’m in the backyard,” Buck tells him. “With Cran.”

Buck hears the sounds of Eddie getting out of the truck, shutting the door behind him. He hears it over the phone, and in the distance. Oh, shit. It’s real. He’s really here. 

“Be right there,” Eddie says.

Buck walks towards the back gate, Cranberry trotting alongside him. He sees the lock on the gate click open. His heart rate begins to soar. The gate pushes open and in steps Eddie. Eddie, dressed in jeans and an LAFD tee shirt, looking just as gorgeous as always. Except, maybe even more, because of the brilliant smile on his face. 

“Hey,” Buck exhales. 

“Hey,” Eddie replies, eyes fucking glittering.

Buck steps towards Eddie, hands shaking, unsure what he gets to do now that he can actually reach out and touch him.

---

42 for ➰:

---

“Mm, but it doesn’t really match,” Buck responds. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I think you might be too worried about a clock, Buck.”

“I’m not worried about it. It just doesn’t make sense.”

He likes things to make sense, even if only in his own logic. 

“Okay, well, we can figure out the clock or we can enjoy our day,” Eddie says. “Starting with a big breakfast?”

Buck smirks. “You sure know how to get through to me.”

➰

Half an hour later, they’re sitting on a big patio eating a complimentary hotel breakfast. Chris looks mildly zombified, like he can’t believe he’s awake this early. Nevermind the fact he wakes up way earlier than this for school. Eddie is indulging in a very big breakfast - more than he’d normally go for, Buck thinks. He’s practically dumping sugar in his coffee. 

“You’re not going to sleep tonight,” Buck warns him. Eddie is usually a black coffee type guy, or very minimal sugar. He always complains too much of it gives him insomnia. 

“It’ll be fine,” Eddie shrugs. 

Buck eats waffles contentedly. The hotel has an insanely gorgeous view of the ocean. The early morning light only makes it all the more fantastic. Buck could stare at it forever. It’s beyond what they have in L.A.

“We should come back here again,” Buck says. “Some other time. A long weekend wasn’t enough.”

Eddie smiles warmly at him. 

“Anytime you want,” he says. 

Buck feels a pang of giddiness ripple through him. Eddie has been so much more hopeful and open lately. Buck knows it’s not all about their relationship. Therapy and mending things with Christopher are also a huge part of that. But it’s impossible to deny that being together has made each of them a bit… Lighter? Freer? Buck certainly feels a lot more settled. 

“I guess we’re never going back to work, then,” Buck winks. 

Eddie chuckles. 

“Can you guys stop while I’m eating?” Chris begs. 

“We didn’t do anything!” Buck protests.

[justanancientfangirl]

Oof.

Helluva Boss's 2x8 had some ups and downs for sure.

Cletus' voice makes me want to tear my ears off . Not relevant to anything, just...maybe let the goat girl have more lines next time.

Why does IMP think Blitzø is gonna mess it up? I mean they all know he's a mess, but it's been going just fine for a while. Not super important really, just thought it was a bit deus ex machina that they were there, even if the fight was lit.

As far as Blitzø and Stolas...both have valid points. In this particular case though, though I feel bad for Stolas, Blitzø I think has a bit more of a leg to stand on?

Probably an unpopular opinion, but hear me out.

Stolas has been planning this for a while. He's been all in his feelings, parsing through what he wants and what he feels and why. He's been doing a TON of soul searching. Which is excellent! It's growth! We love to see it.

Before that though, everything we see him say to Blitzø is a little condescending, or in the context of their deal. He only really seemed to start wanting to get to know Blitzø at all in the Ozzie episode, but we don't really see them talk much except in Seeing Stars, when he is more worried about getting Octavia back than anything. And when they do talk, Stolas is kind of snippy, except when he is being overtly sexual

The point being: though we know Stolas has been thinking about this deal for sometime, and know he has come to some conclusions about the whole thing, he hasn't really seemed to change much in how he outwardly treats Blitzø.

He has been telling Blitzø he doesn't have to come since he got hurt (I am guessing) but suddenly asks him to come back? It seems like Blitzø hasn't been getting any since he stopped sleeping with Stolas. Or at least, nothing that he's as excited for, even if he talks a bit game about it being for work.

He is worried that he isn't good enough in general, and spends the whole episode getting things he thinks Stolas will like. He knows he doesn't like beads, knows he will like a giant dildo, he likes the fancy stretchy harness and the rhinestone blindfolds...like, he is actively trying to make sure that Stolas has a good time. So he keeps him around. And we, the audience, know it's not just to keep the grimmoire.

So Stolas gives Blitzø a panic attack by first requesting the book back permanently, saying that their deal is off. Anything after that, Blitzø was never going to hear right away, because not only will it feel like Stolas is throwing him away, he's also taking away everything Blitzø has built for himself.

Stolas does give him the crystal and explain what it is and what it does, but Blitzø is still processing 'give me the book back permanently ' and probably re-living every time Stolas has reminded him of their differences in station, called him a 'plaything' or a 'little imp'.

He and Stolas have never really talked. Every time they got close, Stolas backtracked. So suddenly Stolas is being really serious and emotional, and is all dressed in his finest clothing and telling Blitzø that the arrangement is over ... Yikes.

The thing is, Blitzø is totally right to need a minute to process. Stolas drops a bombshell, gets upset when Blitzø treats it like part of the game they've BEEN playing, because there's no reason for Blitzø to assume that they are doing emotions now.

Then, when Blitzø realizes that Stolas was serious he calls Stolas out for just dismissing him when he didn't react the way Stolas wanted. Stolas has had time to process his emotions, Blitzø hasn't. It's not fair to just sweep away and say 'well, good luck, see you never, guess you don't feel for me' like...way to put words in his mouth, Stolas.

And then when Blitzø demands to talk about it, when he lashes out and accuses Stolas of treating him like he is nothing just like all the other royals, Stolas portals him out of the house.

Like... Stolas didn't want to take advantage of the power imbalance anymore, right? The point was supposed to be to give Blitzø a choice. And then, as soon as he gives Blitzø the crystal, and Blitzø doesn't react in the exact way Stolas wants, he makes yet ANOTHER unilateral decision.

He didn't even give them a chance to talk about it like adults. Not that Blitzø was going to talk about it like an adult, he was probably going to yell some more, and insult Stolas more too, but at least at first, after he realized that Stolas was serious, he DID seem like he would have been amenable to a conversation.

He didn't start yelling till Stolas swept out of the room and didn't look back.

And then, Stolas just makes the decision for him AGAIN, and portals him away. Stolas is devastated, and hurt that it seems like Blitzø thinks really lowly of him, but...he's also very much doing exactly the same thing that he has always done.

He hasn't lessened the power imbalance at all. He's just reminded Blitzø of how deep that gulf really is. He didn't even ask him to leave, just forced it on him, which is kind of shady.

Also, it's not like Stolas has ever been particularly kind to any of the other imps-not his employees (IMPloyees, lol) not Moxie and Millie...he is still kind of an asshole to other imps Blitzø knows, and being someone's exception is...not really a great feeling.

This post got away from me.

Basically though, it distills to Stolas said he wanted to give Blitzø a choice and have them be equals, but as soon as things didn't go the way he wanted, he shut Blitzø down immediately and made a unilateral decision for the both of them. That's not something partners do. If he had talked with Blitzø on LITERALLY any other day, had offered the crystal first, had allowed them to make a decision together...THEN I would be a little more on his side here. He is allowed to be devastated and hurt by Blitzø's words. He's allowed to feel rejected. But he is not without fault in this. They've been shit at communicating from Day 1. If this is gonna be endgame, they HAVE to do better. And Stolas can't escape from painful conversations by magically transporting Blitzø away when Blitzø can never hope to reciprocate that kind of treatment.

[hyenafu]

Chu, you ever have those moments where you're looking back at your comic and you see a little mistake? I get that all the time with my comic and I beat myself up for it like an idiot even though there's not really much of an issue at all.

Yes, I do. For the entire time I’ve been doing Slightly Damned, I tried my best to keep everything as consistent as possible. However, just like everyone else, I am an imperfect being. There’s a lot of clumsy wording, bad jokes, and dumb art mistakes that inhabit the archives of Slightly Damned.

But that’s okay. They’re not huge inconsistencies that make gaping plot holes (yet? 💦). They’re signs of growth. If I didn’t make those mistakes in the past, I don’t think I would have learned as much as I have. 20 years later, maybe my art isn’t superstar material to the comics world, but… well, I think my teenage self would think I’m pretty cool.

I just try to make every page reflect my best work. It doesn’t mean every page is better than the one that preceded it. There are ones that feel like they didn’t work out, or panels where I was just like “Aw hell, I don’t know!! at least the reader will know what’s happening! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”.

Looking back at this massive, 1100+ page archive, it feels WILD to think that I could have made everything consistent. My drawing and writing styles have changed several times. I’m not even the same person I was when I started. My perception of the world and people around me is so different now. And they will probably keep changing as I get older.

If you’re feeling super stressed out because of your mistakes, try thinking of it less like “I have to make everything correct” and more like “I’m going to do my best to lay out a fantastic groundwork for the adaptation”.

That makes it sound like your comic being adapted is the goal, but I really don’t like that way of thinking. Comics are uniquely beautiful. What I mean is more like, even people reading your work will interpret it through their imagination. In this case, “the adaptation” would be what people think and feel from seeing your comic. Of course it’s fine to try to be consistent in order to avoid being confusing. But little bumps aren’t going to deter people from really enjoying what they like about your work.

I promise that your most favorite thing in the world is probably loaded with mistakes. They just don’t matter much to you because the part you like is way more important. I know it’s tough, but if we can forgive our favorite works for their shortcomings, then it makes sense that we should forgive ourselves, too. We’re all just doing the best we can.

Sometimes people like your work not just because of what you’ve done, but because they’re excited about what you’re going to do next.

[its-shugo-chara-time]

Shugo Chara Jewel Joker Ch. 1 Review

I thought I'd go over my thoughts about the first chapter of the sequel.

So, can we first start off with how gorgeous this chapter cover is? Like I absolutely love how the same art style is still there but it seems more refined and...mature (I don't know how but it just does).

I'll be completely honest that I'm not super thrilled about them adding on another love interest to the sequel. It makes sense, but, not super excited about it. The fact that he already appears to just be a younger version of Ikuto feels a bit lazy on Peach-Pit's end. Sorry if that's offensive but those were just my initial thoughts.

I also really like that it's a sequel directly after the events of Shugo Chara Encore. I think exploring Amu's growth through middle school is such a great concept. The ~ cool and spicy ~ line still makes me smile every time.

It's so good to see Rima, Yaya, and Kairi!! AAAH THEY ARE ALL SO PRECIOUS, especially Rima. I always have adored her.

Also, Kairi and Yaya's dynamic is so cute. I think they balance each other out really well. I know some thought their "pairing", if you can even call it that, in Shugo Chara Encore random, but I think it actually works well. I'd love to see some of the chapters show how Kairi and Yaya are doing taking over the Seiyo Academy Elementary guardians, maybe even see who the new King, Queen, and Joker end up being.

And then there's the adorable prince. I spent so much of middle and high school years going back and forth between him and Ikuto as my favorite. I started off liking Ikuto then went to Tadase then back to Ikuto haha. Now that I am 26 years old, I can acknowledge that the age gap between Amu and Ikuto is definitely valid in people considering it problematic, which I would have adamantly disagreed with at 16. Now that I am a therapist and have seen a lot (to say the least), my opinion has changed. I can't deny the appeal of that relationship in a fictional setting but also can't deny that the age gap is not something that can be overlooked. It would never fly in real life. I'll just leave it at that.

I'm not going to lie, I was pretty disappointed when I first read this about her going to a new school. I was like NOOO I WANT TO SEE AMU WITH THE SAME CHARACTERS AND JUST SEE ALL THE RELATIONSHIPS DEVELOP MORE. Alas, though, I also can agree that the new school and new characters can be great for Amu's growth and journey. Plus, I mean, there's got to be an actual plot lol. So there's that.

I also love how Tsukasa is downplaying all of this. Like it'll actually only take a week or two. Or a semester haha. Also weird how he's just shipping them off with little regard for their actual education or wants. Did Amu's parents actually say yes to this? Haha. It's those little things that I think about that I wonder if anyone else does.

First appearance of the new mysterious cat boy. I wonder if they're making him (at least appearance wise) identical to Ikuto because Peach-Pit realized that Ikuto being with Amu is deemed problematic more so now or if it's just another distraction until Amu ends up with Ikuto ..or Tadase? I honestly have no clue what they'll end up doing. I also just wanted to say that if you all do ship Amuto or Amu with Ikuto, there is no judgment from me. I must acknowledge that it is inappropriate but at the same time, I also know the nostalgia and very cute story they have too. Their relationship is very sweet, but the age gap can't be overlooked. But anyway, still not thrilled about this new guy, sorry.

Oh my gosh look how cute they are!!! Amu's uniform suits her so well, I 100% support her wearing that the rest of the series. Tadase also looks super cute too with that coat. He looks more grown up, aw.

I don't know how all these children get to go to these academies that look more beautiful than some cathedrals. Also can't wait to see how this new cute villain guy contributes to this story. I wonder how he'll differ from the other villains like Nikaidou and Kairi's sister (why can't I remember her name?) or the Easter director guy. I think Nikaidou has been my favorite "villain" so far. I think he was the most developed one.

I like the concept of the X not disappearing and having this cultish academy where everyone already has guardian characters. Where did the X egg go though? Did it just disappear? Am I stupid because I seriously don't know why it's not mentioned after this haha like where did it go? And whose was it? Can't wait to see why all the students are desensitized to this haha.

Possible villain number 2. I like her character design. I kind of like how she's more passive aggressive toward Amu instead of how it was with Rima and Utau where it was full on aggression at the beginning. I don't think we've really seen Amu handle that dynamic and I'm curious how their relationship will develop. It's funny how Amu knows there's something off about her immediately. Amu definitely isn't naive like she can read that the girl doesn't have good intentions pretty quickly.

Okay, this conversation that Amu has with Rima is so cute though. Whether I can fully ship Amuto or not, I have to say Rima giving Amu relationship advice (albeit, not good advice haha) is hilarious and we need to see more of this please.

Gosh I love Amu's different faces. And that's she's a scaredy cat.

Can we just remember -

And many, many more amazing Amu reactions from the anime.

I'll close with, I still don't like new boy but I guess I can't say I permanently think that until he actually gets formally introduced. I hope he's distinctly different from Ikuto or else it just feels kind of pointless having him there.

Welp, that's my commentary! Sorry that was EXTREMELY long. It's also almost midnight where I live, like wow I sure can blab about this manga for a long time. Please comment or like if you at least somewhat enjoyed this little review. Or if you didn't like it. I'm open to suggestions haha, or light-hearted, respectful debates. I'm very new to being back on tumblr so if my formatting is horrendous I'm down for some advice. I also will be posting about the second chapter in the upcoming days so be looking out for that too! Excited to be back on here and see what you all think about the sequel :)

[kozykricket]

thinkin about the time last month me and youknowwhoyouare :) binged pokemon horizons together. we started like, july 10th? and we got all the way caught up to episode 58.. and, god. it was so great. i took notes during tons of episodes because... i just, i really wanted to be able to have something to look back at and further cherish the wonderful memories. like honestly apparently for a lot of people, it took them until the (well, spoilers for general plot structure after the read more, but ill still be vague)

apparently it took a lot of people until they got into the training arc in paldea to really really be interested? but honestly.. i mean okay, maybe this was boosted from being able to binge it and excitedly get more questions and answers from the next episodes but like i REALLY loved the middle area so far of the episodes. the ones that revolved around lucius, the rising volt-tacklers' backstories and overcoming troubles in their lives... and like the stuff involving terapagos ofc. i love that silly goober. like, god i am REALLY invested in liko, roy, and dot. and friede!! is so cool!! too!! and!! terapagos god! and the villains!! the explorers are awesome. i really like amethio as a character i think dot is one of my fav characters, but ive gotta say friede is just. so cool. and i loved mollys episode...

but just like, thinking back overall? i loved all of the episodes. out of all 59 we watched, i'd say maybe only like. 3? were kinda "mid" ? but like god i personally care a lot more for seeing non-direct-training character growth, and mystery solving... more than training arcs. when it came about, my reaction was "ah, right. they've gotta get to doing this eventually, lol"

ive enjoyed how they've baked in the life lessons and character growth into the challenges, especially with dot. and they've still sprinkled in some good mystery stuff relating to terapagos and the villains... and like, i also really loved the arts n crafts part around that roy vs brassius episode! but some of my fav episodes were just, the random slice of life ones with sudden mysteries! anyways, i love all of the arcs, really. i have a lot of appreciation for mysteries that we havent even seen explored in the games at all, though, heh. it is indeed exciting to be in paldea. something interesting has gotta happen involving terapagos soon... im wondering what the pacing of the remaining of the six heroes is gonna be like, though

[queenofthelanternfish]

Hi! I wanted to ask you a few questions about Odessa... :3

1- Is she innocent? If so, she is very

2- How did they discover her autism?

3- Does she do any kind of martial arts?

4- Does she draw well?

5- Does she go to school? If so, what is she like at school?

6- Is she gifted?

7-What are the signs that she is angry?

8- What is her reaction when she gets something she really wants?

9- How tall are you? And your weight..?

10- Is she hiding something from Entrapta and Hordak?

11- As a hybrid, how was your puberty?

12- Is your adult life difficult?

13- Does she have a boyfriend or girlfriend?

14- Does she speak another language?

15- How does Entrapta treat Odessa and how does Hordak treat her?

hi! sorry for taking a bit, I finally have the time to answer these so here I am!

1) honestly, she's not! she's legally banned on several planets and has a tendency to take her research to unethical degrees in the name of progress. while her methods can be questionable, the results of her research speak for themselves, and there's a good reason she eventually creates her own medical empire.

2) honestly, it's never formally diagnosed because it was never regarded as an issue for her or her family. it was likely suspected when she was a toddler though since she was nonverbal for the first 3 years of her life, and only spoke in sign language.

3) yes, she was trained young to fight and knows multiple forms of martial arts.

4) nope! she can't draw, she could if she wanted to but has no interest lol

5) she graduated college at 16, and has multiple degrees. she is a star student, if not to an almost annoying degree because she can easily surpass her teachers despite being so young. her peers range from respecting her and following her around to being resentful and skeptical that someone so young- a half breed no less- can be so knowledgeable and advanced.

6) extremely gifted. see above.

7) the first sign is she'll go completely silent, giving a very severe death stare. if you look closely at her, you can even see her whole body shake with rage.

8) probably would happy stim, little hand claps and the like, a little squeal too if she's feeling particularly excited!

9) are you... talking about me or odessa? if you mean odessa, she starts off as 5'7" in her later teen years and about 150 pounds. as she gets older, she continues to grow until she reaches 7'3" and about 220 pounds. if you mean me, I'm not disclosing that.

10) yes

11) she technically went through two puberties. her first was like that of any human, growth spurts, voice change, maturing figure, all of this happens around 12-13 years old. when she hits her 30s, she goes through another growth spurt, stronger bone density, stronger immune system, increased durability, etc..

12) is my adult life difficult?? I mean, yes and no, I suppose? if you mean odessa's adult life, it starts off pretty nice but as her long lifespan becomes more of a detriment than a gift, it becomes increasingly difficult and numbing. she loses a lot of people she loves throughout her life, and her only constant is her work.

13) she has a boyfriend and a girlfriend throughout her story.

14) she knows multiple alien languages in order to upkeep with her rapidly growing empire of planets.

15) entrapta treats odessa very lovingly! she gives odessa a lot of independence, but isn't afraid to give her baby lots of hugs and kisses when she can. entrapta also has hallways upon hallways of portraits of odessa throughout her life. while her daughter is a little embarrassed about all the portraits, she loves her mother very much and will defend her at all costs. odessa is entrapta's favorite science project! for hordak, he is more subdued with his affections towards her, but the small gestures say a lot and she is incredibly close with her father and respects him a lot. he also gives her a lot of independence, but also wishes her to be safe, teaching her how to fight, and not wanting her to be discriminated for being a half clone hybrid. he is extremely protective of her well-being, and simply wants his little girl to flourish despite the obstacles ahead of her.

[crowsandturtlesandbatsohmy]

Haikyu Season 1 Finale

(I’m talking like episodes 20-25 because they’re all the finale to me)

My thoughts will be under the cut both for length and to avoid spoilers for anybody who, like me, is only just now getting into this AMAZING anime. (Tagging @banana-pancake5 because you wanted my thoughts on the finale :] it’s honestly all character focused but hey XD I am who I am, and who I am is character-oriented)

Okay, I’m not gonna structure this by episode or anything. I’m just gonna talk. Starting with…

Kageyama

HE’S GROWN UP SO MUCH SINCE THE BEGINNING!!! I’M SO PROUD OF HIM!!!! I love that he used his time on the bench to learn from Suga (I’ll circle back around to him in a while, don’t worry) instead of just getting more into his own head!! He fought so well and he’s really becoming such a team player! THAT ONE HANDED SET THOUGH!!!!!! WHAT!? I love that for the last hit of the match he set it to Hinata. I mean like, yeah, protagonist stuff and all, but if we just ignore that, it shows how much he trusts Hinata. It was do or die, and he placed full trust in Hinata to do. He trusted Hinata, the decoy, to do something that typically falls to the ace. Additional things I loved: Kageyama trying to smile, checking with people about sets, getting Tsuki to help him out with blocking, AND HIS ADORABLE FACE WHEN HE WAS PREPARING TO SERVE AFTER JUST GETTING BACK ON THE COURT!!!!

Hinata

Admittedly I don’t have much to say about Hinata’s growth right now because it’s been so steady. He’s doing such a good job as a decoy!!! I love the point where Asahi talked about doing his best as the ace and Hinata promised to be the best decoy he could be! AND KAGEYAMA TALKING ABOUT HOW HE NEARLY GOT TRICKED BY THE DECOY HIMSELF!!! Hinata realizing “when I’m upset Tanaka always says something” and then working himself up to say something to Tanaka was so good!! (Even if he didn’t actually get to say anything) I love that as Kageyama gets more and more stuck in his head Hinata just keeps bickering with him and bringing him back out :) Also just a moment of appreciation for Hinata getting the ball and then falling, like when he face-planted after saving the ball when it hit Tanaka, and when he only managed to brush the ball with his fingers during his spike and then landed really hard. And both times got right back up and kept going!! Hinata did great and I’m excited to see how he does next season! I’m also interested to see how he’s going to handle this loss, if he’s going to be able to brush it off or if it’s going to haunt him a bit.

Tanaka

I’M SO PROUD OF HIM!!! He didn’t let being blocked get in his head and he pushed through it AND SCORED!!! HE DID SUCH A GOOD JOB!!! I loved the coach talking about how Tanaka had the qualities of an ace. Knowing that the third years will be leaving after the spring tournament, and knowing Hinata isn’t ready for the role of ace yet, I think Tanaka would be a really good choice. He keeps himself and his teammates hyped, he works well with Nishinoya, he can spike hard enough to get through blocks, and he’s able to pull himself out of his own head! Also can we just appreciate Tanaka messing with his teammates during the match despite everything else going on? Goof. I love when Kageyama gets back on the court and Tanaka goes for a high-five XD Kageyama being oblivious, Tanaka doing nothing to explain himself, and Tanaka’s voice during that part (I watched the sub) had me dying laughing!

Yamaguchi

HE GOT TO USE HIS SERVE!!!! (and yeah it failed BUT HE GOT TO BE ON THE COURT!! HE GOT TO TRY!!!!) I was so so happy they let him try!! Also he picked himself up after the loss and continued learning his serve AND showed up at not-practice with a smile on his face!! And on top of that he’s been doing such a good job cheering his teammates on from the sidelines!! I felt so bad for him though when he was swapping out with Hinata and shaking like a leaf. But I’m glad he got to try :) I think that experience will be really good for him! I’M SO PROUD OF HIM!! HE DID HIS BEST!! He deserves a super big hug!

Nishinoya

I love that when Oikawa targeted him in order to try and break the team’s morale, Noya went “nah” and received the ball and ruined Oikawa’s plan. That’s my boy!!! ALSO THE FACT THAT IT WAS NOYA HE WENT AFTER TO BREAK THE MORALE!!! Like I get it probably had everything to do with Noya being the libero, BUT Noya’s role is more than that. He’s also their on-court hype man. (Tanaka does this some too and I’m glad that’s acknowledged in the show). He’s their safety net. He’s the one that pulls them all out of their heads and reminds them “hey, guys, don’t freak out. I’ve got your backs so just go for it!” If Noya had gotten stuck in his own head from Oikawa’s serve the team wouldn’t have lasted as long as they did. He’s so incredibly important despite being unable to score any points, and I’m glad that was recognized. WHAT WAS THAT SAVE!? HE CAUGHT IT WITH HIS FOOT!!!!! AAAHH!!!!!!!! And finally let’s just appreciate a couple things: - Noya yelling Hinata’s name and high-fiving him after Hinata’s barely-touching-the-ball hit scored! - Noya rubbing people’s heads (Tsuki, Kageyama, and Hinata) after they score! - Noya sticking his tongue out while waiting for the serve Oikawa directed at him - And finally, Noya doing handstands on people while celebrating! (I think he likes to be tall)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Before I finish this up, I wanted to bring up a few other characters who I don’t have near as much to say about, but who still deserve recognition.

• Tsuki - Hey! I think we’re getting somewhere!! I’m looking forward to seeing how he starts fitting into the team better next season :)

• Daichi - Major respect, he tried his hardest to keep everything held together and he spent the majority of his time in the back with Noya, unable to spike for himself. That has to take a lot of trust in your teammates!

• Asahi - I appreciate his confidence and his promise to do his best as the ace! He got some good spikes in!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Sugawara

Me, the instant Kageyama starts getting stuck in his head: *muttering* c’mon c’mon c’mon switch out switch out switch out! Let Suga play! Them: *switches out* Me: YES!!!! *Spends the next 24 minutes in awe of Suga and SO EXCITED HE’S PLAYING* EEEEE!!!! HE GOT GAME TIME!!!!!!! :D I WAS SO WORRIED HE WASN’T GOING TO GET TO PLAY!!! Oikawa is right to call him Mr. Refreshing. THE ATTITUDE SHIFT THE INSTANT SUGA SET FOOT ON THAT COURT!?!? Everything changed!!! Can we just appreciate Suga roughing up all his teammates (except for Noya, who gets an adorable high-five!) and then having the audacity to turn around and give us such an innocent “I can do no wrong” smile I LOVE HOW HE CHECKS IN WITH EVERYBODY!! And the fact that every time you turn around he’s talking to his teammates about different strategy things AND IT ALL WORKS!!! He is just so supportive and so sweet and every time we see him I love him more. Finding out he didn’t get to be a starter last year either and he STILL doesn’t begrudge Kageyama for being the setter despite the fact that it’s his third and final year is just…. AGH! AND NOT ONLY DOES HE NOT BEGRUDGE HIM, HE ACTIVELY TEACHES KAGEYAMA TO MAKE HIM AN EVEN BETTER SETTER!! Really quickly I just want to touch on his dynamic with Hinata. The fact that he got Hinata to slow down and think!? Hinata being so adorably excited about Suga’s compliments?? LEARNING THAT SUGA CAME UP WITH THE SIGNS FOR HINATA AND KAGEYAMA’S QUICKS!!? The last thing I want to talk about is just how crucial Suga is to the team, regardless of whether or not he’s on the court. He can read people so well and he uses it not to figure out what the opponent is doing and thinking, but to figure out what his teammates are thinking and need. He’s there to cheer them all on throughout all of it, and even once he’s on the court and playing himself he doesn’t stop. He keeps tabs on them all and is aware of where they’re at mentally AND he figures out strategies at the same time! He offers advice from the side of the court when he isn’t playing, and despite having so little game time he has a really good dynamic with all of his teammates! I don’t know if this was their intent or not (I’m thinking so because to me it just feels so obvious??) but Suga really comes across as being the heart of the team. He keeps them all connected to each other because he’s so in tune with all of them! (You can also argue that it’s the combination of Suga, Noya, and Tanaka that make up the heart of the team. They’re the ones who are keeping everybody else fired up and going and out of their heads and willing to fight. I look at it both ways :] Noya and Tanaka are essential to the job as well, but Suga is special because of how he reads people.)

That loss was hard. It hurt. But they can come back from it! I can’t wait to see how the Spring Tournament plays out!!! AND ALL OF OUR THIRD YEARS ARE COMING BACK!!!! EEEEEE!!!!!

Oh man, I’m so excited for the next season!!

[yukipri]

The Bad Batch Ep S2 Ep 11 - Thoughts & Spoilers

Spoilers,

Spoilers,

Spoilers,

So everything's beneath the cut!

I know with the Mando S3 premiere, this episode may have gotten even less attention than the rest of the show. BUT this episode had some incredible things, so here are *some* of my thoughts.

FIRST:

HIM!!!!! and he was NAMED and had LINES!!!!

This is super exciting, because while we glimpsed Scorch in Season 1 while they were rescuing Gregor, I don't think he was mentioned anywhere by name, meaning it could have just been a random other RC with similar paint.

Delta Squad (from Legends) was technically canonized when they cameo'd in the Clone Wars, but it's so nice to see them again! It makes me pray that the other 3 members have escaped and are with Rex, because Scorch is *definitely* still super chipped....

Next, the MAIN thing I was super excited about:

So many things in this episode made me absolutely SCREAM, but the main one was probably FINALLY some movement on the connection between Nala Se and Omega. That's something I've been dying for more elaboration on since S1.

Omega is clearly a kid created for a specific reason, raised under specific circumstances, who has a unique bond with Nala Se, the primary creator of all clones. I was sure this would be part of the central storyline of TBB so I'm SO GLAD we're finally getting to it.

The thing is, Omega clearly has very complex feelings towards Nala Se, and Nala Se also considers Omega "special." SUPER curious to see where they go with this, especially since Nala Se seems to be reluctant to help the Empire. Understandable, given the destruction of Tipoca City, but she also never struck me as the sentimental type. I'm personally very wary of the "care" Nala Se seems to be showing Omega, and based on what we currently know, doubt that she means it sincerely—Omega (or her DNA) is likely valuable in some way.

Not sure how I'll react if they paint Nala Se as a sympathetic character, because I doubt I'll ever forgive her for what she did to Fives. Her treatment of Fives, which is also indicative of her treatment of all other clones. Her being kind(?) to Omega doesn't erase that.

I am absolutely confident that this lab and Nala Se/Omega is part of a plot that will connect to the experiments done to Grogu, which in turn will connect to Snoke + the return of Sidious in the ST. That's the running thread, to provide explanation/justification for that "twist."

While I think TBB is fun, THIS is what I personally was waiting for—Omega's true identity and why she's of value to Nala Se, how she therefore fits into the greater plan Nala Se had, and how that in turn affects not just Fett clones, but all the cloning that runs throughout SW.

I also LOVED that Omega showed her skills here—yes, she DOES know her way around Kaminoan tech!! The only time we've really seen it before is when Cad Bane kidnapped her + the S1 finale. She was Nala Se's personal MEDICAL ASSISTANT. She is older than the Batch! She KNOWS things!!

I was genuinely expecting (hoping) to learn more about Omega throughout the entire show, and we do see her being skilled + confident around various tools, but that's around it. I hope her past that she doesn't want to talk about is dragged out into the open in these last few eps.

I have a LOT of theories about Omega's past and her connection to the Batch and their origins (pst it's all in my fic), some of which will likely no longer be canon compliant, but ah well!

Other things that really made me happy:

-The Batch showing some growth due to the last episode, and growing a spine to stand up against Cid. Both pointing out that she didn't help them like they've helped her, and demanding a higher cut, though she did get the final say in the end. It was still a massive improvement!

-The ZILLO BEAST. First of all, it was definitely one of the coolest creatures in TCW, so it was super exciting to see it brought back! Its physiology is fascinating, and I loved how we got to see it visibly grow due to it feeding on electricity. This is actually the second creature we've encountered in TBB that seems to like electricity as an energy source, the first being in S1. It's neat to see this pattern, perhaps they're distantly related species?

I also LOVED that it tied into more experiments. I need to rewatch the eps, but i think it was implied in TCW that Palps was interested in the Zillo beast's armor, so I loved seeing that actually followed up on!

In general, I'm just a huge fan when world building plot points connect or are followed up on to build continuity and a greater view of the SW universe, and this episode definitely connected a bunch of points, so that was awesome!

Anyway, only 5 eps left of S2, excited to see where it goes!

[violetasteracademic]

Why do you think elain is a better fit for azriel than gwyn?

Hi anon!

I've said this before, and don't mind saying it again and again million times; I ship story and theme, not characters. I'm not particularly quiet or shy about the fact that I absolutely love Gwyn and Lucien, and I've been met kindly and with respect from my mutuals who absolutely despise those characters or at best find them boring and don't care about them. So- I hope this doesn't come off as sarcastic, because I truly don't mean for it to be, but I don't think I even have the words to express how little I sit here comparing Gwyn and Elain as women and why one of them might be more "right" for Azriel than the other. I don't consider Gwyn as she pertains to Azriel, because I don't believe that she does pertain to Azriel. The story and themes I imagine for her are beyond Prythian, and it literally thrills me to think about what might be in store for her.

I am a huge Twilight of the Gods believer, and I think Gwyn and the Valkyrie are going to play a huge role in it. I actually ship Gwyn with Fenrys, in a borderline this is not a crack ship I really seriously believe it kind of way, and Fenrys is my second fave ToG man to Dorian. Whenever my bestie wants to make me cry randomly (in a good way), she'll send me blinks throughout the day. Iykyk.

And I love shipping Gwynrys (just made that up, open to work shopping for better ship names 😂) because they thematically and story wise make sense to me and excite and deeply move me.

They both are twins who had to witness the other half of their soul be murdered in front of them, then were horrifically SA'd afterwards. They both responded to that trauma with absolute silence- Fenrys remaining in his wolf form because he could not bring himself to speak, and Gwyn remaining silent for five months after returning to the library. If they ever met and discovered they share the same tragic past and they both overcame it to be strong, loyal, and beloved friends- omg. I just got chills typing this. They could stand to connect on that deep level that Feysand shares, that Rowaelin shares, that I obviously think Elriel shares. They could see that depth and pain within in each other in a way no one else could understand, then would be the first to volunteer to stand at the front lines in a war against the gods.

I process SJM's couples as being deeply and thematically connected, and I see that with Gwyn and Fenrys and truly believe side characters who haven't gotten their HEA's will do so in the new series. They had complete arcs that became very cherished by the fandom, and though their emotional and character growth in service of the main characters were complete, their story simply didn't feel quite finished.

Anywho. Now I'm turning this into a Let Me Tell You Why I Ship Gwyn and Fenrys seminar 😂 but honestly, I couldn't say that I don't think Gwyn and Az aren't right or good for each other. They could be if these were real people and we were trying to matchmake character traits. I just don't know what they would be together in the story as it stands now.

Whatever their story would be- it would have to be dripping with more sexual tension and angst and longing than Azriel and Elain have. It would have to be more powerful and more interesting than the Cauldron being wrong, going up against fate, and discovering that the Cauldron has in fact been corrupted. Their partnership would have to do more for the women of the world (as both Nesta and Feyre did in their stories with restoring female High Ladies in Prythian and warriors in Illyria) than what Az and Elain stand to do- get to the bottom of the corruption done by the Asteri, which is likely why unhappy and poorly matched mating bonds exist in Prythian, and fix it. Thus freeing not only themselves, but every woman who stood to be a pawn or an object and forced into a lifetime of misery with a man she didn't love lest she risk violence or spend the rest of her life wondering why she didn't love her mate and if she made a mistake.

I don't personally vibe with or agree with the (admittedly few, I stay out of the G/wynriel space not because I hate the idea of the ship but to protect myself from the conversation surrounding women's birthing abilities making them viable love interests) ideas I've heard about Gwyn and Az. That she will save Illyria- absolutely not. That belongs to Emerie. That she will be a sidekick in a new Nesta POV book. That sounds terrible to me. SJM has spoken on how freaky and hot Azriel's spice is going to be, and I'm supposed to just not want the woman's half of the POV because she's a side character in Nesta and Azriel's story? No thank you. No one has presented a story that I would want to read more than Azriel and Elain's, or a story that I believe makes any sense and is worth erasing all the work put into Az and Elain as far as this year 2024 in HoFaS with confirming the problems with the Cauldron.

Look, I'm still pretty new. I joined this online fandom, my first time ever doing so, this spring after HoFaS left me spiralling with thoughts and ideas of the future of SJM's books. Then I started writing fanfic. Then I started analyzing the text to comfort people who had the same experience as me- being someone who couldn't wait for Az and Elain's book and came online to a shocking, Elain hating bloodbath.

I do think that this shipwar is a very strange phenomenon born of an extreme dislike for Elain, whether people want to admit it or not. Elain and Azriel have all the same elements Feysand and Nessian had to set up their romance, but suddenly narratives that have never happened in the history of SJM have been created to explain it away. The "just lust" narrative literally does not exist in the SJM codex. It's not a thing. But it's a thing now for people who don't like Azriel and Elain together to try to erase Elain's existence and convince the world how it is completely impossible for her book to be next or for her to be with Azriel simply because they don't want those things to be true.

I do not care about whether or not ships are even canon. I could go on and on about all my favorite non canon ships, and times I thought the canon story was dead ass wrong 😂 It just so happens that when it comes to Az and Elain, I ride SO HARD for the canon text. People who ship G/wynriel will likely continue to ship them, and that is what fandom is for. I don't mind that they exist. I do wish everyone, on all sides, was kinder.

To me, the only love triangle exists between Azriel, Elain, and Lucien, which is why most of my theory or analysis posts center around them. I think Gwyn was an incredibly successful (maybe too successful) red herring. My opinion is that the bonus chapter was meant to re-touch on and shine light to her powers, and also create little question mark so it wasn't too obvious Elain and Azriel are endgame when she still hasn't formally rejected her mate since she hasn't had her book yet. Instead, it lit a wildfire for a group of people who were already primed and ready to erase Elain and replace her.

Maybe Gwyn and Azriel as characters removed from this story and put in a different one would be great together. In fact, I'm certain they would. They are great characters and I'm sure they could be written beautifully. I prefer what Az and Elain have got going on, but that's personal preference. I think Gwyn already had a complete arc, and I loved it, and now I'm crawling out of my skin with excitement for Elain's story.

I hope that sort of answers your question. I'm just not really interested in pitting Gwyn and Elain against each other for Azriel's attention, and I don't believe the books actually created or intended that.

Pleaaaase let me know if there are any fellow multiverse shippers out there 🙏 cause we are thinking too small focusing only on ACOTAR!

[professional-sephiroth-scrungler]

I finally finished rebirth! Here is my unsolicited review cause i don’t want to melt my brother’s ear drums with my rambling

First off, Rebirth is a wonderful game. It’s not perfect by any means but it’s still great. The graphics are stunning, the soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and all the issues i had with story flow and confusion in the OG are basically fixed.

Story: I’ve got so much to say but thats mostly theories so i’ll keep it brief. I love where they are taking things. They’ve done a wonderful job of blending the OG story with the new stuff and the new directions its going. We arent really gonna full know whats happening until its all wrapped up but I am here for it!

Gameplay: its a good improvement on what they did for the first part. I however, have slow reflexes with the bumper and trigger buttons so they milliseconds they give you to block for immunity is not great for me. Dodging around is really fun though

Side quests/world intel: the side quests and world intel are hit or miss for me. Most of the stuff that doesn’t enhance the story, give lore, or deepen character relationships feels like a chore sometimes. Getting all the lifesprings, phenomenons, summon alters, and intel fights is repetitive and annoying sometimes but its easy to fall into the groove of if you have something playing in the background for the dull bits and running around the world to get to another story/side story beat.

Characters: Wonderful, amazing, exceptionally characterized. The nuances of the cast have been fleshed out a lot and it’s great. Even with their limited screen time, Vincent and Cid have so much substance and i am extremely excited to see where the story takes them. No, i am not ignoring one character in particular, what do you mean? None of the characters have made me seethe and mald at all and make me want to stop playing because of how annoying they are! And im definitely not afraid of the wrath my opinion of the character will bring if i say who! … Fuck it.

Yuffie: Yuffie definitely has more character than in OG and has sure been fleshed out since Intergrade… In the sense they took the happy go lucky, hyper, materia obsessed kid and multiplied it by 1000. It doesn’t help that she is also inserted into situations she 100% does not belong in. What could have been bonding moments for Aerith, Tifa, Barret, or Nanaki, what would’ve fit well in those situations, have Yuffie instead. And it seems her story is not until part 3 so why is she here so much? During tense or sad moments, she says stuff that ruins the vibe or is just irritating. Many time, she would say something during the story, and right after i would think that the moment would’ve been 10 times better if she was not inserting herself into it. Sometimes it feels like the writers are partially writing her as the main character when in the OG, she was an optional side character. Its not to say its all bad, she can have some funny moments. Except those where near when she just joins the party and the more those “silly moments” happen, the more grating they become. I hope that whenever her story arc happens in part 3 or a dlc (god i hope not a dlc the game is already $70), she has some growth and mellows back at least a bit. But who knows, maybe this is just a personal thing and she is actually a fine character. If you like her, thats fine. In the end, her character just isn’t for me and i just dont understand. These were just things that annoyed me personally and if you are fine or like how much more Yuffie there is in the remake trilogy, thats perfectly ok. Anyways

Expectations vs Reality: my only real gripe with the advertising is around Sephiroth and him being called a “protagonist” and supposedly us learning more about him in some english translations ive seen of interviews. I don’t quite understand where the protagonist thing came from. He is still very much the penultimate antagonist. But i expected to at least be able to read some in the manor about his childhood and play as him in combat a bit more. Maybe some TFS promo material got mixed up in my brain. If not, the best i can come up with from where the protagonist thing came from is that Sephiroth believes he is the protagonist, that he is doing the right thing, that he is the hero saving the planet and all other worlds through his twisted vision. And i guess through that, we have learned a lot about his motivations now and how he currently sees things. Not the backstory stuff i was hoping fore, but still really cool to see and analyze.

Over all, i would say Rebirth is an 8.5/10 for me. Some stuff dragged, was fluffed out a bit much in parts and such but over all a great game!

Actually, no. Sephiroth didn’t fast ball a materia at us in the basement. Maybe that will happen in Part 3. But that loss makes it a 0/10. RIP baseballiroth

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 40 Review - Sprigatito's Origins

Wow, Sprigatito’s origins are revealed! It’s interesting how Sprigatito knew where she came from and even came back to visit. It’s also nice to learn how these starters come to be and how they get sent off to schools and labs for beginning trainers. In Sprigatito’s case, she came from a breeder who specializes in breeding feline Pokemon. This is also the episode where I learn that the Sneasel line are felines. I don’t know how to feel about this considering I’ve thought of them as weasels until now.

The title is definitely bait, as Sprigatito doesn’t actually leave Liko but just wants some time away from her because of her actions. She loves Liko a lot, but she worries about her strength. It turns out that Liko’s Sprigatito is a bit different from the rest. She’s a lot stronger than her siblings, and when she was trying to protect them from a Spidops that tried to attack her siblings, her Leafage had hurt them in the process, causing them to avoid her. It turns out that while she was a bit wary of Liko, she saw her in the interview screen at Indigo Academy by chance and felt as if they were destined to be partners; imagine a story where Liko didn’t get Sprigatito as a partner…

I do like the growth that Liko shows here. If this was Liko in the beginning, she’d be wallowing with self-doubt and wonder if she would fit as Sprigatito’s partner. However, Liko has changed. Instead of wallowing in the past, she tries to understand her partner’s feeling by trying to communicate with her. I like that! She even said to Sprigatito that she didn’t mind if she scratches her because she did that when they first met. I also like Sprigatito’s growth too! She learned Magical Leaf, meaning no more Leafage spam, hopefully.

Speaking of growth, Hatenna seems to be growing too! Liko told her to look after Terapagos and she got all excited like a big sister finally getting responsibilities from her mother! If Liko’s party were a family, Liko would be the mom, Sprigatito would be the eldest, Hatenna would be the middle child and Terapagos would be the baby (despite it being the oldest). She even chased after Terapagos when it ran off, showing that she’s not afraid to leave the ship to search for it! Such a big change for a timid Pokemon!

The breeder who raised Sprigatito, Manya, is a very nice lady. She feels like she is what Liko could be if she was older as she’s someone who read Liko and Sprigatito’s feelings very well. I do like how she’s the one explaining Sprigatito’s backstory and how she was there when Liko was being interviewed by Indigo Academy. I think it’s so cool to see the person who brought Sprigatito into the world; I don’t think we had an instance where a partner Pokemon knew who brought them to this world. Please correct me if I am wrong. My only gripe is that I’d like to learn a bit more about Manya, but it makes sense to not learn too much about her as Sprigatito is the star. Manya is voiced by Mie Sonozaki, who voices Cynthia in Masters and voiced Lusamine in Pokemon Evolutions. I feel like Horizons really like bringing in voice actors who have done roles in different media or in past works relating to Pokemon.

I like how Roy is such a nice boy. When Liko sprained her wrist, he immediately helped her up and took her to see Mollie and even waited at the clinic with her. He’s a good friend. Though, it does seem like Fuecoco hasn’t forgotten Ember. Now that Liko has beaten Roy in a battle, it should be time for him stop spamming Ember.

Right now, my only concern for Sprigatito is her future. The Sprigatito line primarily focuses on Speed and Attack stats. She rarely uses her physical moves and prefers to use Leafage and now Magical Leaf, which are special moves. Either Sprigatito needs more development in order to bring out her true potential or she’s going to be a very weak Meowscarada if she focuses only on Special moves. But those are just my thoughts. What are your thoughts on this episode?

[canonically47]

I need a full review of this episode please? SO much shit went down

based on popular demand and people coming in my asks with thoughts similar to mine, here is a full review of DCAS episode 2!

also, i love you guys for knowing how many thoughts i would have about this episode

right away, i had many thoughts about the magenta team’s dynamic, some more negative than others. jake and ashley became friends fast and i liked that! and james, my love! but then hunter and ally’s drama came in... hunter, i agree that you can’t memorize ALL games, but it was something she was talking about ON THE WAY HERE. i hate this guy and i feel like he’s kind of dumbed down compared to his original season, which he somehow winged until getting 4th place. (beta nick moment.)

i think fiore was more truthful and vulnerable this episode than we’re used to seeing her. and i am so happy alec stood up for her. i really think these two are going to get to merge and then make up and dominate the game.

tom is avoiding jake... i really wonder why. i was hoping he would have contacted him between seasons but nada. it’s sad to see tom, jake and miriam’s trio all split apart, and imo also somewhat of a bad choice. i think miriam should’ve been on tom’s team to talk some sense into him and get his side of the story, but maybe they’re going for something else.

it was very exciting to see the cyan team in action. tom and aiden bounce off each other so well, i love tess, gabby and ellie with all my heart and my sweet lake is doing so well <3

let me preface my thoughts about yul by saying i don’t like him because he’s a homophobic & racist asshole. that being said, i like that he and grett actually care about each other. i was worried he might be toxic - and there still is time for him to be, so i’m keeping an eye on him - and so did many people in my asks so i’m glad that’s not the case. still grett deserves better than him.

i strongly strongly STRONGLY DISLIKE how dumb jake & tom/hunter & ally are when it comes to their relationship issues. THEY ARE ADULTS. i think tom is 29 now, TWENTY-NINE, people! it’s laughable how much they act like teenagers in their first relationship and not like adults with life experience. i mean, sure, we all mature differently, but you would think they know how to communicate. apparently that is too much to ask. (and hunter is a little bitch.)

i agree with the jake anons. i didn’t think jake’s insecurities would be a big plot point until much later, to be totally honest. or rather i was hoping so. the fact that he got james out just for being a little bitch is insane. i knew fiore couldn’t go because, writing 101, she is very important to the story as an antagonist and we still need to see her growth and possibly make up with alec, even though logically she should’ve been the first to go; so i was very much hoping jake would be out. that way, both miriam and tom could see who they were on the show without having to worry about him. sadly we couldn’t get that.

i am however excited to see what aiden will do without james. they weren’t on the same team, but i’m curious how his performance will be affected by his boyfriend getting out.

side-note, i love how confident and trustful is james. he is so sure of aiden and knows he would never cheat on him, unlike jake who is a little bitch. my god i miss james so much already. he, fiore and ashley carried the team, now they’re down to only fiore and ashley.

alec has big plans and i like him for it. i just 1) don’t know what they are yet and 2) was hoping this was a good opportunity for jake to shine and stop doubting those he loves and instead those he hates. but no of course he still trusts his enemies. what an absolute dumbass. as i said in a discord server, human brains seek patterns and all of jake’s enemies telling him tom is cheating on him somehow is a pattern... so jake probably doesn’t even have a brain at this point.

i hate connor and riya’s romance subplot so much. riya is so annoying and hateful, and connor is old enough to be her dad. i dunno, age gaps just aren’t for me, even if it’s two consenting adults it’s just weird to me sorry.

cyan team carried. yellow team is somewhat of a mess but i can deal with them. magenta team is just mental and hard to watch. i really hope cyan team is the new team amazon, win challenge after challenge, and they all make merge. they deserve it. (maybe except tom. i’m still debating on whether i like him or not. he’s on thin ice.)

summary: fuck jake, fuck (???) tom, magenta team is a mess, yellow team is fine but connor and riya are hard to watch, cyan team carried, ALEC AND FIORE PLEASE MAKE UP I MISS YOU, yul is an okay boyfriend, a shit person and a fun character and i have mixed feelings on him and oh my god i cannot stress this enough: FUCK!!! JAKE!!!

[bookofmirth]

The one thing about the mask though is that the Night Court also doesn't have a right to make the decision either (and arguably shouldn't be the only ones in possession of such weapons). I see so many people saying that Nesta was being disrespectful of the IC by not consulting with them, but even if she did and they came to the conclusion to give it away, then the NC would still be in the wrong.

It opens such a big can of worms. You'd have to literally bring everyone in to make a decision including other HLs, Hybern, the leaders of the continent, etc in order to make that call even justifiable bc the NC wouldn't be the only one screwed over if things went wrong. And we all know how politics go... it'd take like a full century for things to be decided lol.

I'm also not arguing this therefore makes Nesta right to just give it up. But the matter is soo much more complex than Nesta should have talked to Rhys and Feyre first.

Oh I totally agree, that's why I never mentioned the IC specifically as being the people that Nesta should have consulted. This is a much, much bigger issue than just the Night Court's ego. It would make sense for her to consult them, considering they are the High Fae that she knows best in the world and they have a lot of world/political/magical experience, but it's not like they ever trusted her. There was also a sense of urgency when Bryce came through. But - like you said, and the reason I said it being an astronomical mistake is not a metaphor - the repercussions are much, much bigger.

I do think that including the other courts in this decision isn't likely because they are all very territorial and possessive. They all have a "my court comes first" attitude. Which... I get. They can't even get their crap together right now to face Koschei. I can't imagine the other courts learning info about other worlds and being able to come to a consensus about Made objects and how to handle Bryce wanting the mask, in a timeframe that wouldn't fuck Midgard over completely.

That's kinda beside the point of Nesta's role, but tl;dr I agree with you! I think that centering the IC and their feelings in what she did is... an odd choice, considering it's not all about them.

The whole thing feels very shoulda, coulda, woulda - but Nesta was faced with a choice, Bryce was in a hurry, and Nesta did what she did. None of the rest of them were faced with that same choice, so it's quite easy to judge Nesta after the fact.

And just to make some things clear, I have actually never been a huge Nesta fan. She's a really interesting character, but she has made me angry so many times. That fight she and Elain have in acosf, where Nesta throws Greyson in Elain's face and insinuates that Elain is to blame for their father's death? Fuck Nesta specifically in that situation.

However - Nesta has changed a lot from the beginning to acosf, through everything that happens in hofas. A lot. If I knew Nesta irl, I would not be her friend. I would honestly react the way that Mor does - I'd try to be nice, Nesta would be mean to me, and then I'd shrug and say okay fuck you too. But Nesta as a character has experienced a lot of growth and change, and while I do think that not reading hofas means acotar fans might not see that right away, I am excited for everyone to see it in the future.

With this fandom it's either the ship war or it's the IC versus Valkyries war or it's pitting the sisters against each other. Just let us have nuanced fucking takes, ffs. (not you anon, I am just ranting)