#I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM!!!

[raayllum]

Let them go

[aerodaltonimperial]

FRIENDS, ARE YOU READY? let's talk about.... julia and skye!

there is a TON of lore we've gotten with the house of black/mist in the past few months, and now we've seen what marks a fairly pivotal turn in all of this, but it all makes sense if you trace back what's been laid out so far. and while i will always moan about how much of the women's stories ends up shuffled into short backstage segments and social media updates, we're still getting it, and it's still here, and I JUST WANT TO SCREAM ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT'S SO GOOD? and it actually doesn't even start here: to trace this back, we've got to wind the year back to when julia misted anna jay, because that was our first piece of the puzzle. READY?

we don't have, really, a ton of hard data on the mist and what it does, aside from the very obvious thing of what it did to julia, but what we do have is the fact that julia is the primary person using it, which, for me, is a spectacularly fun nugget considering that her entire trajectory was so violently changed by it. (also i just love her holding the reins within the hob) so earlier in 2023, julia mists anna jay. it seemed, at the time, like an act of aggression, but if you look back at it now... it isn't.

julia and anna went back as friends. their promos (which were fucking fire) all drew on the fact that they used to be friends and now they hate what the other person became, and that's essentially what the feud boiled down to. we saw bits and pieces of the mist sticking to anna: the dark tear streaks, and her yelling in her promos about how it was "all julia's fault." but it didn't stick, and the feud ended where it did, with their match.

then you get to october, where julia mists both willow and skye. this one drew on the same dark streaky tear bits that the earlier attempt had, but we finally got to see how the mist reacted differently based on who the target was AND we finally got some solid descriptions about it. in one promo, willow specifically references the mist and talks about how she hates the feeling of it inside her, and this is telling on a lot of levels. first, willow was ALWAYS fighting it: she only ever had the one eye with the streaks, and her instinctive response was pretty much "i don't want this." but skye? skye's was different.

skye's went to both eyes. skye got meaner and edgier, but she was always very clear that she was there for willow. she was, essentially, fighting it for willow. but at the same time, her demeanor very quickly changed into something else, while willow's bounced back pretty fast. and skye was also clear about how she didn't intend to join up with julia at all. (blue mist in julia's face!)

then julia gave the promo where she said that willow and skye had rejected her "gift." and this is where it all starts to make sense. not because of the oh julia is so evil she thinks this is a gift, thing. julia isn't looking to be on the offensive with the mist: that's never been the way she's used it. julia has been looking for a partner.

this was why she started with anna! they were friends from before, and the target made sense. julia tried it, and it didn't work: anna wouldn't accept her, and in rejecting the mist, she rejected julia. so julia went wider with it. she hit willow, she hit skye, and she tried to hit kris during their first TBS title match. she's looking for the person who won't reject the mist - i.e. won't reject her. and for awhile, it looked like she was still going to come out empty.

until willow and kris became fairly solid, fairly consistent tag partners. and the dark streaks that skye had been sporting under her eyes for months - the sign that she was still fighting the mist - disappeared. she had them in the TBS three-way match; she has not had them in the past week and a half. now! this can go one of two ways: either she gave in and stopped fighting because the person she was trying to stay for (willow) found another tag partner, or she's faking that she stopped fighting in order to get close to julia and get a shot at the TBS title.

skye has done some fucking KILLER work with this, and so has julia. julia tweeted on her HONEYMOON the "she's in the clouds, heavy and dark" with a little picture that looked a lot like skye. skye took some AMAZING photos with julia's photographer friend where she's covered in black goo that are, quite frankly, fantastic. it seemed like skye was going to completely reject the mist - and julia - until she went after abadon and the team-up happened.

tonight? they went full THRALL with this thing. skye was wearing LEATHER. she looked up at julia like julia HUNG THE MOON. this is such a stark reversal of what we had seen up to this point, that coincidentally comes on the heels of willow and kris having a big tag match together. but i can't tell you which way the actual story is going to go, and honestly, i love that. did skye finally give in and embrace the mist... and julia? or is she faking this to get closer to julia, figure her out, and try to take her belt? THIS IS SOME FUCKING SOLID-ASS STORY WORK THAT'S ONE OF THE MEATIEST STORIES THE WOMEN'S DIVISION HAS SEEN FOR MONTHS.

i watch both skye and julia's social media pretty closely to see what they post, and i'm keeping a weather eye out after this. i expect skye will be ringside for julia's PPV match against abadon, though i suppose i could be wrong. but julia went right after skye after that loss tonight and pulled her up to drag her up the ramp with her, and that's huge! she went to skye before the belt. for julia, this is finally having the partner that she's been searching for. for skye? i'm not sure yet.

but they've put a lot of work and a lot of time into this story, and i hope they drag this out for awhile longer because i'm really invested in it. they were pretty much the only thing i watched tonight's episode for. just my girls!! i love the lore we're getting. i love how much they've obviously put their efforts into this, into making this a really solid, long-arching story line. julia, on her own, consistently does some of the best character work and has a real eye for the long game - and taking risks.

anyway!! i wanted to scream about them a little bit. i talk about my boys a lot, but my girls are doing such a fucking KILLER job with this, and i'm just so jazzed that it's come to such an already satisfying peak!!! and also, they are so sexy. it is so difficult for me. i am a weak-willed woman. i cannot be expected to behave normally with this. we need more fic immediately.

[pvffinsdaisies]

A moment of appreciation for Yelim Kim’s dresses bc they slay ✨

[inkedberries]

after patrolling, unwinding in a diner somewhere ...

throw the man a bone batman geez

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

License to Kitty.

[so-many-ocs]

[on the verge of having a complete breakdown] i need to make some kind of list or perhaps sort things into categories

[k-mraz]

shhh dont disturb them they're sharing mana after a tough day

[linktoo]

This whole page.... implies that the fanny pack marcille wears is the one she bought from chilchuck who haggled it for her 😭😭😭

THEYRE MATCHING 😭😭😭😭

[helluvadyke]

they're goofin

[crabussy]

challenged myself to make simpler redesigns that match the show constraints because I often create very complex designs and I wanted to see if I could make something I liked without going too over the top!! pretty happy with these [:

if you have any questions about my design choices ask away!!

part 2 with ten gazillion background characters including sunburst, luna, and twilight's canterlot friends!

[brucespringsteendotcom]

i hate this popular sentiment that's like "nobody cares about your baby" "nobody cares what you had for dinner" "nobody cares about your spotify wrapped" like ok why are you on social media following people whose lives you don't care about. there's an easy fix for that

[a-study-in-bullshit]

"I love you , I'm glad we're friends"

[stingrayextraordinaire]

Another year, another group of my delightful ninth graders trying to spell the word "tragedy" for their Romeo and Juliet assignment.

Last year's collection

[not-a-bad-dragon]

Shoutout to Baldurs Gate 3 for having a magical girl transformation sequence but instead of a teenager in a short skirt it's a lesbian aasimar paladin in full plate about to open 13 cans of fucking whoop ass

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The math just adds up!

[bookwyrminspiration]

if you all could see all the fanart i imagine in my head and never draw it’d blow your tits clean off