#I accidentally spent like several hours on this. OTL

[zylphiacrowley]

I may or may not have stole the idea to do this from @sae-mian Original template by @7thastralera

I've been wanting to explain X'vahl's relationship to each of the scions for a while now, and this template is such a good way to do so at-a-glance. Buuuuuut because I fail to keep even the shortest story short, of course I've provided details under the cut

Tataru Taru [close friends]: Tataru was the first among the scions who made X'vahl feel welcome as a friend and more importantly, as a person rather than a solution to their problems. They remain close friends and she is incredibly good at reading him when he tries to hide his true feelings about things... She's also good at spurring him to action when he needs it.

Y'shtola Rhul [close friends/sibling-like]: X'vahl and Y'shtola might act like they would like nothing more than to see the other trip and fall on their face, but anyone who knows them knows that they would also be among the first people to square up against anyone who would threaten the other.

Erenville [romantic/wants to be closer]: X'vahl did not mean to fall in love with Erenville. I mean... no, he's not in love. It would be foolish of him to give his heart away to someone only to have it inevitably shattered once again... He definitely doesn't feel at peace whenever Erenville is around him... He doesn't feel his stomach do flips whenever he hears his voice, or his heart beat ever so slightly faster whenever they touch... No, he's not in love... That would be reckless... but X'vahl has been known to act recklessly from time to time... and maybe... maybe he could give his heart to someone again... maybe this time... maybe this time things could be different...

Yda er... Lyse Hext [friends]: Oddly enough X'vahl felt closer to her when she was pretending to be Yda. It didn't help that heartbreaking news from his past suddenly resurfaced shortly after she revealed herself to be Lyse therefor intrinsically linking Lyse to that sinking feeling of loss and guilt. Logically, he knows she has nothing to do with it and therefor it's not her fault but he cannot help the feelings. For those reasons alone he has trouble becoming closer friends with her, but for the same reasons he also still considers her to be a friend. Besides, she is still one of the people that he feels the most comfortable reminiscing about Papalymo with.

Estinien Varlineau [distant/wants to be closer]: Estinien's recent induction to the Scions has meant that he and X'vahl have gotten a chance to get to know each other better as friends after that whole business with Nidhogg left them with a rather strained relationship previously. He still wouldn't consider Estinien to be more than a colleague, but he's open to a friendship with him. Estinien is also one of the people who is able to make him laugh so hard he cries... even if he doesn't mean to.

Thancred Waters [friends]: X'vahl was closer to Thancred before meeting up with him again on The First. They weren't best friends before by any means, but they shared a drink or two and friendly banter from time to time. However, seeing him acting so callously towards Ryne soured their relationship considerably. They have started repairing their friendship, but not before X'vahl lashed out at him about it first which may or may not have ended in an out-and-out fistfight.

Ryne Waters [familial]: Ryne is one of several people that immediately sets X'vahl to "dad mode". He feels especially protective of her after seeing how Thancred treated her when he first met up with them on The First. He saw a lot of himself when he first met the scions in how he thought she was being treated and he tried to pay extra care to make sure he wouldn't make her feel like she was only being used like he did before.

Minfilia Warde [distant/wanted to be closer]: Unfortunately, with her being the de facto leader of the Scions when he knew her, she also bore the brunt of X'vahl's resentment over being treated like a weapon to be thrown at any manner of problem that Eorzea faced at the time. Looking back at it, he realized that she was in a position not unlike his own. He wishes he could've gotten to know her better so he would've had someone to talk to about the echo, but more so because he knows now that she would never have asked more of him than she would've done herself if she could.

G'raha Tia [close friends/familial]: G'raha is the one among the scions that X'vahl trusts implicitly, but not before they sat down and had a serious conversation about never repeating the secret keeping and self-sacrificing stuff ever again. Truth be told, they would still both die for each other, or kill for each other if it came to it. Along with Tataru, G'raha is the only other person who can easily read X'vahl, though G'raha is much gentler about coaxing X'vahl to express his feelings. He is also the only one among the scions that X'vahl has had a legitimate breakdown in front of after he confided in him almost everything about his past.

Alphinaud Leveilleur [familial/close friends]: X'vahl has all but signed the adoption papers to legally adopt both the twins (had both their real parents actually disowned them, he would've). He and Alphinaud have been through so much together that it would be difficult for them not to be close. The whole business with the Crystal Braves did put some strain on their relationship but that have more than repaired that bridge now and, at least in his heart, X'vahl considers him to be his own son.

Alisiae Leveilleur [familial/close friends]: X'vahl considering Alisaie to be his own daughter in his heart is not helped by the fact that his own biological children also happen to be twins and he can't help but think about them whenever he's around the Leveilleur twins. Alisaie has been known to call him "dad" from time to time, whether or not it's on purpose or on accident is something only she knows. X'vahl admires Alisaie's unrelenting dedication to protecting her family. It's a trait he wishes he shared. He thinks that if he did, maybe he would've been able to be there to see his own kids grow up...

Urianger Augurelt [close friends]: Despite all Urianger's eccentricities and proclivity to keeping secrets, X'vahl trusts now that he has his best interests at heart. Even if Urianger isn't willing to divulge everything to him, X'vahl knows that there's nobody who can brew a better cup of tea, or spend a more stress-free and enlightening afternoon with.

Krile Baldesion [distant/wants to be closer]: For as long as they've now known each other, Krile and X'vahl still haven't gotten to spend much time actually getting to know one another. He admires her kindness and knows that she and G'raha are close, and since he trusts G'raha's judement so thoroughly, he's almost certain that he and Krile could be close friends if ever they got the chance to be. Maybe a trip to Tural will provide them that chance?

[multimetaverse]

Andi Mack 3x16 Review

One Girl’s Trash really showcased why Andi Mack is such an important show though I wish they would have spent more time on the stereotypes plot. Let’s dig in!

Positives: 

When Andi Mack is at its best there’s really nothing like it anywhere on TV and it’s going to leave such a void when it ends and I hope something fills that void sooner rather than later. 

A really strong A plot by Elena Song, it makes such a difference that the diversity we see on the show is mirrored in the writers room. I was so happy that they actually had Andi used the word Asian when talking about the stereotypes she was facing; it was a big improvement from the more coded way they had to talk about the racism Buffy faced back in S1 in regards to her hair. Words truly do matter and being able to openly and accurately describe these kind of things is so important.

Lilan and Peyton posted on how much this ep means to them and I hope we’ll be seeing more plots like this on kids TV. 

Honestly my only real complaint about the A plot is that it felt too short and I wish Celia had been in this ep and that Bex could have been brought in to, seeing three generations of Asian woman supporting each other would have been great. 

I also liked that Andi said that Mrs. Frankel turning the stereotyping into a teachable moment wasn’t fun which of course would be true in reality. I also appreciate that the show continues to put black women in positions of authority.

It was great to see Andi so into art again and it makes for a good way to bring her story to a climax.

Andi’s art project looked like something a 14 year old might come up with and I liked that she was inspired but didn’t immediately know what she was going to do for her project. 

Hangry and resting happy face were very funny jokes. 

A rare Andi and Cyrus scene. Liked the callback to the rainbow wig and the protest and the experiment; definitely a show reaching to its past as it prepares for the end.  And we get two callbacks to the party tonight to set up the finale. It did feel a bit tacked on but that’s likely because the writers wanted to get in some solo time for this duo before they run out of time. 

Stellar acting from Trent and Lilan this ep. Bowie talking about wanting to one day see Andi get married in Bex’s dress and how it wouldn’t happen now was so sad. That was some good Bexie angst. and it actually felt earned.  I’m glad it’s all out in the open now. Bex’s biggest flaw is that she runs from her problems and she was being willfully blind to the fact that obviously Bowie wanted to get married. Now she has to face reality and make her choice. 

Jonah was hilarious tonight. Asher was killing it with the comedy. His groan when he said he’d have to breakup with Amber again? Emmy worthy. There’s really not much to Jonah other than Frisbee and dimples and I like when they just use him as comic relief; it usually lands better than when they shove Cyrus in that role. 

Jonah is definitely true to life for the average 14 year old boy but in fairness at least he recognized that he didn’t reciprocate Amber’s feelings and that he had to eventually be honest with her. 

Nice little callback to 3x07 with Jonah wearing the same blue sweater he wore when he was with Libby at the school. And a nice realistic touch since he would be re wearing clothes. 

It was good of him to actually take her on a real date and I liked the detail of him winning tickets on the radio. 

Andi really is being a good friend to both Amber and Jonah and is giving good advice, though how long that lasts remains to be seen. 

Amber was the most likeable she’s ever been. Really strong performance from Emily tonight. Disney PR posted that she actually was driving the go kart which is cool. Must have been really fun to shoot. 

I liked that we opened on community service, too often this show just ignores the events of the previous ep. 20 hours of service for trespassing and theft versus 100 hours for playing with a gun is interesting

More set up for Buffy’s injury. 

Negatives: 

Jamber is a huge mess and really not a wise use of precious screen time. Amber is clearly looking for the affection she’s not getting at home and Jonah is probably the worst possible character on the show to seek that from. I really don’t know what exactly Amber’s version of a happy ending will be; there’s really nothing the show can do to solve her parents problems or her financial problems. 

Amber has always been an oddly written character. She’s never gotten the full redemption arc TJ had and the writers never seemed to truly settle on an arc for her. I get why she was in so many eps this season: unlike Garren they had Emily available from the start and didn’t have to work around her schedule and unlike Luke she’s not playing a gay character who’s story needs to be delayed until the very end but I really don’t think we needed Amber in 11 of the original 21 eps this season.

Jonah is another character who has been woefully under developed. I don’t think the writers ever decided what exactly was the deal with his not liking labels or commitments yet also being a chronic relationship hopper. He’s right that what he and Amber have can just be fun instead of love but then why is he dating her? Just stay friends! Part of the problem is that Jonah is first and foremost a love interest and they don’t tend to get much development but because Cyrus’ story has so many constraints the writers were forced to focus more on Jonah than they would have if Cyrus had been straight without really having much in the way planned for him. 

Cyrus’ shirt at school was ugly. A really bad misfire by the wardrobe department. 

Looking Ahead:

So the original casting notice released by our friends at Yun Casting was correct and Rachel is still Marty’s current girlfriend and the official Disney synopsis describing her as Marty’s ex is incorrect. I don’t think it’s ever happened before where the synopsis got a detail like that wrong. Obviously they break up at the bowling alley so maybe that’s why Disney wrote it that way? The casting notice describes Rachel as a co-star so she won’t get much screen time. 

It’s going to be very messy making Buffy a homewrecker. Her saying ‘’oh you’re real’’ to Rachel is quite a power move but then again Driscoll doesn’t draw.  Likely we see her twirling her hair at Marty since Cyrus is there and is the only one who knows about that tell. 

Good on Rachel for seeing what’s right in front of her. She was obviously just a rebound for Marty and he’s clearly been spending a lot of time with Buffy once she reached out to him. Not a good look to have him be emotionally cheating on Rachel for the last several weeks but I’m sure that will be swept under the rug in order to get that Muffy endgame. 

Buffy seems to be hobbling a bit so clearly her foot is getting worse. Does it get injured at the bowling alley or later on since she seems to be injured before the game itself in 3x18. 

Still no hint when the new Muffy pro player plot happens. It was meant to replace their scenes at the original wedding and it really does seem like the original wedding happened pretty quickly after 3x17 so I don’t know if they can delay those Muffy scenes all that long. 

It does look like the timeline is fairly smooth, it’s only been a few weeks since costume day and the rest of the series probably only spans another few weeks or a month in universe. 

Andi goes to SAVA. Does she stay there or transfer to a school elsewhere? Is it her moving in the finale or is Jonah moving far away? 

3x17 had Ham so we’re going to see some sort of cuts or re-shoots. The texts released before this ep had a convo between Bex and Bowie and Andi about a movie night do-over that was pretty clear foreshadowing for an ‘’I Do-over’’ convo in 3x17 even if that’s now cut. Bex talked about having a movie night do-over and Bowie questioned if it was a do-over if it never happened in the first place and Bex replied that she would give Bowie the movie night her deserved. Swap in wedding for movie night and you have a rough outline of the kind of convo we likely would have seen in 3x17 before the re-shoots. 

Ham obviously had an important role to play in getting the wedding back on track but what exactly we don’t know. And how Bex goes from not wanting to get married to agreeing to get married and agreeing to Celia’s lavish wedding plan in otl is an open question. The show has always struggled with pacing and they really should have had Bex call of the wedding earlier in the season rather than rushing it like this. It will be interesting if nothing else to see what kind of Mack family scenes we’re getting next week; there’s a range of possibilities from most of them being cut to a brief Mack family only wedding happening.

Therapist Cyrus is usually pretty boring and I wonder if his advice actually helps. His meddling often backfires like when he accidentally convinced Jonah to get back together with Amber in S1. 

I really don’t know if they can keep Andi completely romance free for the rest of the season. I did wonder if her asking Jonah to share a milkshake was going to lead to something.  She’s been very supportive of both Amber and Jonah but it seems like the kind of situation where the writers would make things messier for the drama, even if they didn’t fully think it through. 

This could very well be the last time we ever see the GHC inside Andi Shack. And come to think of it we’ve never seen Jonah inside of it and maybe we never will.

These last 4 eps are going to be wild. Until next week folks.