#I just had to go back and add in some foreshadowing for something :3

[seraphinitegames]

The Wayhaven Chronicles—Update 12/July/2024

Was a mixture of tasks this week!

First up was finishing up social media days, and what a difference having stable internet makes to that, lol! :D

Managed to get all the asks answered and scheduled for the month ahead—first month that’s happened in a while! There were some really juicy ones this time around too, so hope you enjoy those, hehe! ;D

Then it was onto the fun of doing the Patreon content! And I’m already excited to see what gets chosen for next month’s Summer Scenario Specials! The second poll for that (looking like vacation-themed…) will be up later too.

After that, I moved onto the edits, which I thought would take me the rest of the week. Instead, I managed to get them all done mid-week and get in another round of checks before sending it off to the final set of readers!

And with that done, I got stuck right back into Chapter Three! I ended up adding in an extra little section, which I was really glad I did because it gave me the perfect chance to give some real foreshadowing of something major coming up later, which I didn’t know how I was going to do!

I’m continuing on with Chapter Three now and will be pushing on through that next week, adding in edits and adjustments to Chapter Two as the readers get back to me over the next while, prepping it ready to add into the demo! Also a couple of things I need to edit for the Steam wishlist for Hosted Games before it can go up, but hopefully will be able to get that done super quick.

Chapter Two had SO much going on, I forgot how much was coming up in Chapter Three as well! There’s a major moment of the MC actually experiencing the training of becoming an Agent rather than just the game telling you it’s been happening off-screen, lol! But I don’t want it to just feel too much of a slog, so want lots of character interactions in there to help break it up all tailored to which Unit you end up doing that training with!

Hope you all have the most fabulous weekend! We’ll be offline as usual, so I’ll update you all again next week! <3

[emmitaaa4]

“Elriel is too predictable! It’s boring & lazy writing!”

… 🧍‍♂️

My brother in Christ. You call SJM the fated mates author. Through 15+ books and 3 series she hasn’t diverged from that trope. Elain has a “mate”.

If an Elriel outcome is predictable, it’s because the author willed it so and therefore ✨wrote scenes✨ to ✨develop their relationship✨.

and by that i mean…

(long post ahead…. bear with me)

SJM wrote Mr. “I don’t need to resort to poetry” going all Azriel Allan Poe, flustered as he tells Elain “we are born hearing the song of the wind”. She wrote him uncharacteristically open & talkative, while when he 1st met Feyre he deferred all her questions to others.

SJM wrote that despite how different they may look, Elain does not balk from Az. She never has: from their 1st meeting she finds comfort in him, and he in turn notices her—she’s never been afraid of him, he has always seen her.

SJM wrote the 1st coherent thing to come out of Elain’s mouth in WaR to be “beautiful” as she beholds Azriel’s scarred hands. In turn, she wrote our gardener not minding imperfections on hers, for despite her lady-like conditioning, she prefers to get her hands dirty.

SJM wrote Az spending time with her in the sunshine: no forced conversation, no one hEaLinG anyone, just them both doing their own thing as a relaxed Az suns his wings. Just two pals comfortable with one another… which SJM foreshadowed in MaF through Feyre’s “Elain would likely cling to Az for some peace and quiet”.

SJM wrote Az and Cass both stilling at the sight of El & Nes, she wrote Az cutting in to set Elain up in her garden even as Feyre was about to do it, she wrote the mention that Elain was safe after the twin raven’s attack bc Az had stayed with her at the townhouse.

SJM wrote Azriel’s eyes churning as he looks at Elain and her too-thin body, before abruptly winnowing away, and we’re left with Mor looking at the spot where he left. Wonder what that was about (it certainly did not remind me of Rhys in TaR).

You know, Elriels are not just making stuff up and theorizing about the E/ucien bond cause we’re desperately pulling at straws…

SJM had Madja say “a mate would know if something is amiss”, then wrote a scene juxtaposing both Lucien’s and Azriel’s reactions/assessments of what was going on with Elain… and she had Azriel be the one to know nothing was “wrong” with her—no, she just had rare powers and needed to be heard, to be taken seriously. He didn't let her be misunderstood, for he was the ONLY one that listened to her, that took her visions/ramblings seriously right from the get go. And so he gave Elain the understanding she needed to free herself from the dream-like murky realm she was trapped in. Through it all, SJM emphasizes that Azriel also understands what it is like to struggle with rare, strange, prized powers in silence; what it’s like to be othered by them. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: she sees everything and he hears everything.

SJM wrote that “Elain had hoped that love would trump even a mating bond” and had her characters question the Cauldron in relation to Elucien *twice* (years apart!).

…

SJM wrote Az being the only one—in a room full of Made beings speaking of being Made—to notice that Elain was missing. A reassuring but empty statement by Cass that they’d get her back….but then it was Azriel that stated, eyes glowing golden, that HE would be getting her back, despite the girl’s own sister discouraging him & telling him he’d die. Hell, Feyre had this whole deliberation on whether she’d join him only after he’d say he’d go. His initiative.

The Hybern scene is too long to add, but this post and this theory break it all down brilliantly.

Yes, Az has sacrificial tendencies. Yes, he’d risk his life for loved ones in general. But we have never seen him this affected, and it is because SJM purposely used language to emphasize Elain and Azriel’s meaningful reactions to the other… despite it being wholly “unnecessary”

It is all intentional… lazy’s antonym.

SJM wrote the Truthteller scene. She emphasized the exchange, which left Cassian gasping and Rhys flabbergasted; it also left Feyre with a significant painting in her mind. It lead to Elain, aka “my God has answered me,” stepping out of a shadow to save her sister. Azriel, aka “God is my help”, indeed helped armed Elain so she could answer her sisters prayers.

SJM ended WaR with Elain’s smile literally lighting up Az’s shadows.

SJM had Elain’s thoughtful gift to him make his eyes the brightest we’ve seen—and by doing so gave us the most beautiful description of his earthy eyes, “the hues of green amid the brown and gray like veins of emerald.” We have never seen Az so joyful & carefree throughout the entire series.

SJM wrote that Azriel beat Feyre to Elain’s side as she was looking out into the night. She wrote Elain stilling at the sight of a dashing Azriel—her throat bobbing—while Az “just moved towards her”.

SJM wrote the potato scene—“sit i’ll take care of it”—Azriel again being the one to respect Elain’s presence & contribution as he makes a room full of his “superiors” wait until Elain finishes tidying herself up (cause girlie wanted to look put together for a certain shadowsinger). Mor gapes, Amren smirks, Rhys talks of Az’s mom… all because of that surprising, singular behaviour from him.

SJM wrote Az making a joke at Amren’s expense upon noticing Elain’s discomfort; our girl’s shoulders indeed relax in relief. THE LIGHT RETURNS IN HER EYES.

SJM has Azriel staying up past 3am with Elain, listening to her speak of something she is passionate of.

SJM wrote Azriel spending an entire convo with his brothers looking out into the garden from the window (SJM mentioned it 4 times yet some still missed it).

SJM wrote Rhys goading Az for a reaction as he quizzes him on Lucien and Grayson; wrote Rhys realizing that Azriel did not want to know what Elain did with Lucien (in the case she did anything). She wrote Azriel nervously stuttering as he asks risks if they need to get the sisters a present… I wonder why.

And Rosehall… SJM wrote ROSEhall: cracktheory this cracktheory that, to the gwonriels I’d say we both know you wouldn’t say it’s irrelevant had SJM chosen to call his estate Tealhall.

~~~~

Keep in mind: SJM could have written those significant scenes and ultimately kept it PG: she could have chosen language that built up a profound platonic relationship.

Yet… in MaF she has Feyre comment that they would be good together—as in make a good *couple*. WaR roles in and they’re both dealing with the very public rejections they went through—but SJM had them build a quiet companionship in the background, while giving them a wealth of scenes of great significance for both their characters, and while using language like “she DEVOURED the sight of him” “he CRADLED her to his chest”. In FaS they are slowly but surely getting over their last loves, and SJM continues developing their connection.

And in ACOSF, in the book that supposedly “ended” Elriel…

SJM wrote Az following the sound of her laugh (😭). “ It’s just lust” PLEASE BFFR.

SJM chose to remind us—THREE times—of the Hybern rescue scene... then had Az tell Cass that he’d know, in his chest, if something happened to Nesta.

SJM had Az longingly stare at the gift Elain gave him every night for a YEAR—mind plagued by thoughts of her—made him so affected by her that he had reactions to every mention of her name in SF, so affected that it took Nes one look at them to notice his feelings, to reach out in comfort upon noticing the pain that keeping himself apart from to her caused him. As SJM said she would, Nes saw through his secret in ACOSF, still it is “his secret to tell, never hers”. After Solstice we are met with a grumpy Azriel, who lost the snowball fight for the 1st time in centuries (i wonder why…).

SJM chose to link his every secret back to his feelings for Elain, as per the bonus . Why does he stay up so late and wake up so early? He longs for Elain so much he can’t sleep. Why is he staying in the HoW? It is too hard to be close to Elain given their circumstances; he must physically distance himself from her. Why has he moved on from Mor after centuries? Elain. Why is he grumpy post Solstice? The argument with Rhys concerning Elain.

~~~~

Ultimately, SJM wrote for Elriel:

- Complementary imagery (flowers and death? light and dark blending together to form something new… DUSK, anyone?)

- AND plot altering scenes

- AND chose to liken them to one another multiple times

- AND genuine moments of companionship that slowly bloomed into something more…

… Is it so insane to believe that maybe SJM spent so much page time and effort building connections & common ground between them because she intends for elain & az to find peace and quiet within one another?

Or idk, maybe it was all for shits and giggles… and if it was i salute her commitment to the shits and the giggles🫡

Either way, it is the opposite of lazy writing…

It’s SJM’s world & words, and we are just reading them.

P.S: This was all just typed on my cell phone from the top of my head… yes remembering all this is probs concerning, yes I am obsessed. Please correct me if I got anything wrong.

[ofswordsandpens]

Finale Thoughts

The show stuck the ending far better than I thought it would and when compared to the preceding episodes it knocks it out of the park. That being said, I think because the bar was so low going in, that it makes this episode feel spectacular when really every episode should have done this well, at minimum.

Solo Lessons and Ares Battle

I'm so happy they included the one-on-one training sessions with Luke since its so essential to foreshadowing. I also liked the setting in the woods but why was it like autumn/fall in the flashback lol? However, I think that did unintentionally add a dreamlike quality to the scene which I did really like so whatever I'm here for it.

That being said I do wish these scenes were in episode 2/3 alongside the other chb stuff instead of being a flashback in the finale because it makes it just so on the nose that Luke's the traitor. However, the shot panning from Luke's extended sword to Percy's on the beach ate I can't lie.

Honestly it may have been interesting if they had established some of the solo lessons early on in episode 3 and then done periodic flashbacks to expand on them throughout the series. That way, its not so obvious that Luke's the traitor in the final hour and we also get cool transition shots and establishing that Percy is thinking about what he's learned from his lessons with Luke.

#Relieved that the Ares and Percy fight was not a single sword strike and then cut to black. Glad we had some action. Still think we should've pushed the limits much harder tho.

Oh but Percy's wave did go hard. They actually made the wave much bigger than what happened in the book and now I'm just sitting here wondering why we couldn't see some more of this instead of 10,000 cut to black scenes every time Percy uses his powers.

I wish we had gotten this Ares's reaction from the book when he lost: "The roar that followed made Hades’s earthquake look like a minor event. The very sea was blasted back from Ares, leaving a wet circle of sand fifty feet wide." Show Ares's reaction seemed so anticlimactic in comparison.

And no curse???? huh??

I know Ares was like "we're enemies 4 life now" but the curse and dialogue from the book goes so unbelievably hard: “You have made an enemy, godling. You have sealed your fate. Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware.”

Why couldn't show Ares say that??

Olympus, Zeus, & Poseidon

[Insert aw, she's ugly John Mulaney Meme]

sorry Olympus could've should've been prettier.

Like Olympus in the book felt a lot more wondrous and lush and colorful. But in the show it seemed so dull. Idk if its cause the "war's happening" or whatever it was just bland. a wash of dull-looking cgi and then an instant cut to the Big Palace.

Lance Reddick's Zeus was amazing tho. He had that godly presence I've been waiting for.

And Toby Stephens's Poseidon? oh I loved it.

I especially loved their conversation in greek.

I still wish however they would have done effects on the gods' eyes. Like glowing with energy or something when they get emotional. I felt like I was waiting to see electricity burst from Zeus when he was yelling at Percy.

And so it turns out that the reason why they changed it to Percy missing the deadline in the show was to create a situation in which Poseidon surrenders a war for his son.

And listen, if this scene existed in a vacuum I'd be so here for it. I guess a part of me can't fathom the solstice being anything other than a hard deadline. I enjoy the scene without context, within context I have mixed feelings about it.

But the "do you dream?" convo between Percy and Poseidon. Oh my god no notes. I loved it.

Some more book dialogue that I wish made it: “You did well, Perseus. Do not misunderstand me. Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God.”

Luke's Betrayal

Okay here's where we get some high highs and low lows.

Some things I sincerely liked:

The setting. Fireworks going off in the background. The lantern illuminating the side of Luke's face with the scar. So visually nice.

Luke actively trying to recruit Percy! I've always joked that if Luke was just a little smarter he would have tried to persuade Percy to join his side rather than immediately kill him. And I do like that the show went this direction.

While I do mourn the loss of the scorpion them battling via swords is a great subversion of the sword mentor/mentee dynamic they share. It makes the scene tense and fast pace.

And its all of the above that makes me wonder why we didn't have more of this throughout the show: talking while battling, visually appealing and dynamic settings, unique visuals, etc.

I love how triggered Luke was at Percy's mention of meeting Hermes. I still hate how much Hermes introduction bogged down the show but damn if it didn't lead to one singular funny moment.

Percy getting a hit in on Luke and then immediately apologizing

"I didn't think you'd give the shoes to Grover." Oh that was cold.

Walker and Charlie deserve their flowers and more they were fantastic and carried.

Now things I DIDN'T like:

I don't like how Percy pieced it together with the information he did have... which honestly isn't a lot in the show? If he was going to figure out that Luke was the traitor I would've have had Luke show more of his bitterness like he did in the book. Like the fact the show never even mentioned Luke's failed his quest loses the entire element of Percy succeeding an "impossible" quest and being celebrated while Luke only got a scar and a chip on his shoulder from his failed one.

Luke's scar shoulda been worse idc.

Percy should have been mortally wounded. That's where we run into an issue with there being no scorpion because yeah, a fatal sword injury probably would've been a bit much to depict. I also 10000% think that Luke is enough of a baby to get his daddy issues triggered and then try to off Percy for it even if his original intention was to recruit him.

Also the fact that you see Luke raise his sword for a damning blow and then the very next day you have Percy like "I don't think Luke was trying to kill me." and Chiron agreeing? asdlkfjsdlkf WRONG.

Also, sorry, I don't like that Annabeth was there.

But if you're gonna have Annabeth there, her reaction to Luke betraying her and trying to hurt Percy should've been way more severe than a solemn "I heard everything."

She shoulda been crying, questioning, yelling even if she had suspected him. It's one thing to suspect it, it's another to see the person you consider your family to actually prove it true.

(And this isn't on Leah! It's 100% on the directors cause what was the thought process here? Her brother figure betrays her and she's like :/)

And sure, in the book Annabeth isn't actually all that surprised by Luke's betrayal when Percy tells her about it... but we also never got to see her initial reaction to it. Percy was out for 2 days.

Just, if book Annabeth had been there, she would've been so emotional and that's okay!! let Leah show off her chops!

Sally

I mourn book Sally. I mourn her arc. I mourn the power of Sally unapologetically petrifying Gabe with Medusa's head.

One of the most iconic storylines from the book and it was sanitized in the show to the point that it lost all sense and meaning.

Honestly one of the biggest disappointments of the show for me.

Other

I love the fact that a flower is the searcher's license for satyrs its just so silly and sweet.

I love Annabeth sincerely hugging Percy but also using it for strategizing purposes it feels very on point for her.

Also her braids at the end!! so sweet!

I am very very bitter that Percy didn't see the fates. This + the changes made to Sally's characterization and arc... the show truly doesn't get it.

[momentofmemory]

If you were going to add an episode to Teen Wolf, what would it be about?

Oh i so got u bestie; i have so many thoughts about a bonus episode in between Codominance and Sword and the Spirit (5x13 to 5x14)!! The overarching theme of the episode would be trust—how it's been broken, how it's been healed, who you choose to put your faith into (and why), etc.

A-Plot

Scott seeks out, finds, and confronts Deucalion, in response to discovering Theo is looking for him at the end of Codominance. I think you could still keep the tension of whether or not Deucalion is double crossing Scott or triple crossing Theo, and then that final showdown will feel less out of nowhere

The main people involved here would be Scott, Kira, and Stiles, as Kira processes what all happened with the skinwalkers, particularly re: her test, and gets some closure between her & Scott re: her fox

In order for it to make sense that she goes back to the skinwalkers after Codominance highlighted how much she doesn't want to be with them, this episode would have to do some groundwork of her realizing she wasn't in control when she killed the oni and "beat" the test. We see her break her sword in the next episode, so i think maybe she should try to use it again in this one—and fail. This provides some really interesting stakes for Eichen & Scott's faith in her

Also i think scira deserve a talk about scott lying to her, and feel like this could be related to the crater in his chest he also won't talk about. I think his trust in Eichen could really elevated if Scira had a scene where Scott tells her the truth about just how big her fox is, and he trusts her not only with that information, but that she can still do it

Also also Scott and Stiles actually talk about Scott dying for heaven's sake!!! We needed it so bad and I think this would be a good time for it, especially as Kira finds out about it for the first time. Then we get a sciles hug bc i said so

How their varied fears of the nogitsune vs kira's kitsune plays in very heavily here, too

Ahem so anyway this resolves with a tense scene between Scott & Deucalion where you're really not sure if you can trust him at all, and afterwards Scott is worried he's making a bad call—and Stiles says it's okay, because he doesn't trust Deucalion, he trusts Scott, and Kira follows him up by saying that either way, this time, the pack will be there to back him up.

B-Plot

I hate Eichen so bad but I think it would've helped if Lydia had had scenes with Valack when she's more cogent/given more agency—maybe something that clarifies what he was doing with Peter at the end of s4 and how that led to her?

I feel like this would have to be in a mindscape, same as she has with Meredith, so Lydia is able to respond coherently/isn't just a prop to talk at

This could also clarify some of Valack's goals/motivations more concretely and foreshadow Lydia's victory over him in Lie Ability

C-Plot

Instead of Theo telling Malia he'll help her at the end of Codominance, their arc would be drawn out over the episode. This would heighten the tension of her having to depend on him, while allowing her to wrestle more explicitly with whether or not she's looking so she can kill the Desert Wolf, or to save Deaton

At the same time Scott is reckoning with his death, Theo is reckoning with Scott's resurrection—prompted, perhaps, by Corey having realized Scott was scared of Theo in the tunnels, the same way Corey was scared of Scott

Misc

I'd love a scene with Liam & his Dad—a werewolf reveal, preferably, +Liam processing his choices re: Scott & Hayden with someone that loves him, but is removed enough from the situation to comment on Liam's responsibility

I could get a Deaton & Corinne scene, as a Treat<3

[batsycline69]

I'm trying to figure out how to formulate my thoughts on this but Jane Austin is great, I'm sure as you said Jason would like her works but he was originally a Shakespeare kid and I do think it follows him as a character thematically. The comic where he holds his helmet the same way hamlet holds Yorick's skull has always stuck with me. (1/?)

continued:

And as much as I love Jane Austin's works and romances its never struck me as how I personally perceived Jason's way of expression (everyone is entitled to their interpretations however). I think the type of tension, devotion and tragic undertones of Shakespeare fit Jason very well. But back to what you were actually saying, I think you nailed it with Jane Austen and Bruce. (2/3)

As you said I the repression specifically suits him So well. Its one of Bruce's core characteristics to me. And again the traits you pointed out just suit him so well. I think part of it that works so well for me is that I think on a level it hurts Bruce to love like that (after such loss) and I think that is something that Austen writes very well. If any of this makes sense I'm not great at being articulate dshbjdsk. (3/3)

ALRIGHT GANG BUCKLE UP HERE WE GO

So okay. Original post was all about how Bruce is kind of fits the build of an Austonian character; there's a lot of reservation and control. There are themes of the roles one is expected to play. Themes of society and influence and all of that.

Jason is defined by his passion and how incredibly thought out his plans are. And that's not to say that Bruce isn't passionate, nor is it to say Jason doesn't have control or hasn't played into certain roles or expectations, because that's the thing. Bruce and Jason are so similar in some ways, yet incredibly different in the ways that the other one values the most.

I LOVE that you brought up the panel from The Lost Days because GOD what a panel. I had to dig in my Jason tag because I HAD to add it in (spoiler alert: it took a long time; turns out I post about that guy a lot).

And yeah, let's talk about Hamlet. Because god. GOD. All events in Hamlet take place because his father's ghost asks him to AVENGE HIM. Hamlet DIES because he wants to avenge the king, his father!!!

You referenced the Lost Days panel (and GOD WHAT A PANEL. I've got it just down a little bit for anyone who hasn't seen it), so we've gotta go over the Yorick speech:

...a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times--and now how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rises at    it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? Quite chop-fallen?

(for anyone who has not spent several hours a week in Shakespeare lectures, the gist of this is 'aw man, he used to be so funny and now I'm disgusted by him')

LIKE.

Yorick was THE KING'S CLOWN. In this context, looking exclusively at the speech, this can so easily be about Jaybin! He was a kid and full of life and loved learning and laughing. And now anything that reminds him of that time makes him feel disgusted with himself. And that manifests as his resentment towards Bruce.

EXCEPT. When you look at the panel that's so clearly referencing the scene with Hamlet and Yorick's skull, Jason has assigned himself as the role of the clown; he is going to always be a tragedy of his own making. It's foreshadowing for Jason's continuing need for Bruce's approval, for him wanting something that Bruce is incapable of giving him in the way he wants.

And like. When I first made the addition, I was thinking really in terms of tone. The context most of us have for Shakespeare (sitting in a classroom reading out loud) is NOT how the plays were meant to be enjoyed. Even in the tragedies, there are dirty jokes; there's very clever wordplay, and a lot of that is lost when you just toss a book onto a high school kid's desk and tell them to read out loud (but that's an entirely different post).

Point being, literacy was very low around 1602 when Hamlet was published. A play was going to be the most accessible form of entertainment. By design, uneducated people were meant to enjoy these plays. And then we think of Austen being published works, and how there's an inherent barrier between the two. In order to enjoy Austen, someone would have to be literate. You see what I'm getting at here? I'm not saying Jason's own personal training adventures are something just anyone could have done (shout out to Talia), but coming into his Robin-hood (pun intended) was. Jason was literally taken off the streets to become Robin, whereas Bruce used his financial resources to build himself up to being Batman.

So I guess back to the thesis of Jason fitting Shakespearean themes vs. Bruce fitting Austonian themes. There's so much blood in Shakespeare. There's ruthless plotting. Shakespeare's characters are willing to do what they have to to achieve their goal. And it's sort of comparing apples and oranges in terms of Red Hood vs. Batman. And that's kind of the point, right? Batman isn't going to kill Claudius; he's going to very quietly make sure Mr. Wickham doesn't yet again abandon a young woman. Like, no, Batman isn't going to kill anyone because that's just not the role he plays. That doesn't fit into his story.

And that is not Jason. The whole ordeal of putting on a play to get the new King to confess to the murder of the old king? That's absolutely the sort of psychological bullshit Jason would do. That is a statement. He is quite literally putting on a show, and is that not what all of Under the Red Hood is? Jason making statements, blowing things up, just to get Bruce's attention?

anyway thank you very much for this ask i am vibrating with excitement over this. i broke out my shakespeare anthology and everything

[andromeda4004]

Thoughts about Season 3 (and why Season 2 exists at all)

That makes it sound like i didn't enjoy S2 - I did, even the ending, once I'd recovered. But I had some thoughts which might be interesting for people who haven't read the original GO book, or who read it after seeing S1, because I think some of the differences might be easier to miss like that. [Spoilers below, obviously]

Neil said when he started talking about S2 that it would exist to bridge the gap between where GO the book ended and the sequel would have begun, had they ever written it. And this is interesting, because why would the TV series need to tell 6 episodes worth of bridging story when the books didn't? Certainly there are story details that can be told better or more efficiently in narrative or on screen, because they're very different media, but I don't think that accounts for a whole series.

The thing is, the book and S1 end in very different places. In S1, we get the dramatic trials, the triumphant reunion, the confidence that our boys are on their own side now. In the book, our boys never quit their jobs. The whole exchange from the book (which Neil replaced with the trials for dramatic effect) reads like this:

Crowley gave him a sideways look.

‘Your people been in touch?’ he said.

‘No. Yours?’

‘No.’

‘I think they’re pretending it didn’t happen.’

‘Mine too, I suppose. That’s bureaucracy for you.’

That's it; the boys suffer no consequences for their actions (possibly because their actions were a bit less effective in the book, they show up to try to avert the apocalypse and put together one distracting conversation, but Adam and the humans do the actual work). More importantly, they haven't quit and they haven't been fired; there's no reason to think they won't continue to receive assignments once Heaven and Hell get to grips with the continued existence of the world. There is no "our side". So if S3 is to follow what the book's sequel was going to cover, S2 had to get us back to where the book left off, with our boys on opposite sides, so that Aziraphale can be tasked with organising the Second Coming (and hopefully screw it up as badly as Crowley did the baby swap).

So my view is that, in giving us the trials as a very satisfying ending to a stand-alone series, Neil actually painted himself into an awkward corner when it came to the sequel, and had to use S2 to get the characters back where they needed to be.

All that said, here are some things I'm hoping for in S3. Some of these might be mutually exclusive but that's fine, any assortment is good:

Crowley reads some Jane Austen, and learns how humans work through arguments (i.e. through meaningful apology and personal growth, not by sleeping for 80 years).

Aziraphale has a series of increasingly disappointing experiences in Heaven, which lead him to finally resolve his persistent difficulty with the concept of "good" not lining up with his personal morality of what is "right". Perhaps he has a chat with Jesus about it, I'm guessing he would have an interesting perspective on this.

Metatron had to get Aziraphale back on side because he is the angel Israfil, who in Islamic tradition is the one who sounds the final trumpet (there's a fantastic meta post about this somewhere on here and I would love that to be true).

Crowley goes back to Hell. I know this one's controversial, but we've never seen Crowley actually lean into his demonic nature, and there's a vacancy Below too, right? And it would really add some weight to the inevitable love confession if Aziraphale has to admit that he loves Crowley warts and scales and horns and all, not because he's clinging to the memory of an angel who doesn't exist.

One of the residents of Soho is revealed as having been an undercover demon watching the bookshop. There's just too many slightly odd moments in S2 that feel like they're foreshadowing something.

Anyway, there's my assorted thoughts; I'd love to hear yours.

[inquisitor-apologist]

7, 8 and/or 27 :)

7: Who is one character you feel isn't appreciate enough by the fandom?

Ketsu! It is very telling how people will create a ton of content for characters that Sabine talked to like twice and then just ignore her Black Mandalorian butch best friend who had huge impact on her.

She’s also a very interesting character in her own right; we get the shape of her backstory and her relationship with Sabine, but everything else is subtext and up to interpretation.

She deserves so much more love than she gets.

8: If you could've added an episode/story arc to the show, what would it be about?

This one’s difficult! I’m tempted to go with something for the Inquisitors (beloveds), but I think that would have to be more of a rewrite than this question’s asking for, so I’ll fall back to what I’ve been saying for years: Sabine should’ve kept the Darksaber.

After her duel with Saxon, she says that she’s not the leader Mandalore needs, and she’ll find the person who is. To me, it really seems like she’s being set up for an arc where she comes to terms with her past and why she feels like she’s unworthy of wielding the Darksaber and leading the Resistance (ie:the Duchess). And they half get there, but then they drop it. So I’d add an episode or two onto the Season 4 Mandalore arc to have her come to that realization and keep the Darksaber.

(And then, after her time on Lothal and before the search for Ezra, she has something to do! She could have an arc where realizes that she could be that leader she was looking for; she’s always stood up for Mandalore before, and she’s got a lot of experience with leading parts of her clan in season 3 and with the Rebellion generally. She could lead the Mandalorian Resistance in the Galactic Civil War—) Getting off track lol

27: Which plot point do you wish the show had expanded on?

World Between Worlds 100%. I think we needed a little more setup (something between ‘there’s a secret reason the Emperor chose Lothal’ and ‘Loth-wolves can do a weird Force-walk through space’ and ‘there is a hidden portal in the Temple that leads to a plane of reality beyond time and space where you can see into and change the past if it’s ambiguous enough’).

To be fair, I might have forgotten some foreshadowing because it has been years since I’ve seen the back half of the series (crawling there at a snail’s pace with my rewatch lol) but I would’ve loved to see/hear more about the WBW. Maybe an old Lothal legend about a door in the mountains that leads to the past, or a mention of how the Temple has a uniquely strange relationship with time, or anything that could’ve given us just a little bit more.

Thanks!

[borathae]

Chapter 16

OH MY GOD WE ARE NOT DEAD YAY HOBI

WHERES KOOK???? HIS BACK????

okay this was like the calmest reaction to me being a vampire I have ever seen. hobari, my love, tae already told her thats why she is chill

I once had a girl literally run away from me screeching prayers.” xd HAHA imagine someone pulling out the cross at him and saying THE POWER CHRIST COMPELS YOU and him just blinking

hobi baby, ik your are excited, but its quite the wrong time and person to test your new skills

“No, I’m not like Jungkook. I don’t go crazy at the smell or taste of blood. Especially not when yours tastes like literal ass right now, wow thanks ig

holy shit no baby kook, im gonna fucking cry DONT PUNISH YOURSELF YOU SAVED US BOTH FUCK IM ALL TEARY EYES

I’m just waiting for the day when vampire hunters break through the front door and shoot you guys.” im imagining them coming in fbi style FBI OPEN UP WE KNOW ITS SANGUIS hobi's cute dumbass - how did u know seokjin- you just proved it

this is why she isnt scared of you both 😭😭😭 reminds me of that tiktok asking whose house will you rob and everyone straight up said hobi in the comments 💀

imagine someone seeing their bodies in front of the house also was it tae or yoongi or someone else??

ok hobi was 26 in 1982, so born in 1956 and is 68 so its 2024 hmm SO KOOK IS 94 WTF they are not even dilf, they are gilf 😭😭😭 wait in that case whats tae 😭 hold on jimin mentioned yoongi being older, is that in older than 800 years or turned at an older age?

I was turned in 1875 by some random prostitute”, bitch pls 😭😭😭 he doesnt have a sob story nor a heroic one

wait something doesnt add up jin is 217, so if its 2024, he should be born in 1807, but he was 27 in 1875

“Good that you ask because listen this is such a story”, ..“Oh god here we go again stop being a jealous bean just cuz u got turned by a hoe 😭😭

“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. With that massive schlong that I carry around” you say sarcastically. you sure about that? was that foreshadow to the oneshot lol

“She bit my neck!” “And she bit my dick!” one got their throat ripped out and other ones dick. great just great. i just know, no vampire has a story like this, i mean sure neck being bitten but from a prostitute?? and dick being bitten hobi im sorry but thats a tragic comedy

A bang then a clash. bro this scared me so bad only to see its “Stupid raccoon don’t run away, come on let me spank your rubbish stealing buttocks!”

whats calling her?? where is she going?? who is down there calling? 2seokook wont have something suspicious down there right?

daisies and fresh sheets? is that jungkook? why is he down there? wtf HOW DID THE DARK CORRIDOR TURN BRIGHT???

damn how hard did he hurt himself this is so heartbreaking let me get my blanket 😭

As long as I’m paralysed I’m no danger to you NO STOP whos cutting onions

OMG SHE KISSED HIS CHEEK IM BLUSHING LIKE IM THE ONE WHO GOT KISSED AAAH

WHERES KOOK???? HIS BACK????

buckle in, that's where the angst begins 😭

okay this was like the calmest reaction to me being a vampire I have ever seen. hobari, my love, tae already told her thats why she is chill

Hobari gosh :( I miss them all together </3

I once had a girl literally run away from me screeching prayers.” xd HAHA imagine someone pulling out the cross at him and saying THE POWER CHRIST COMPELS YOU and him just blinking

JJADSFJ tbfh it's so valid though JFADJSJF

hobi baby, ik your are excited, but its quite the wrong time and person to test your new skills

FADSHJFJ HE IS SO CHAOTIC BAHAHHAH

“No, I’m not like Jungkook. I don’t go crazy at the smell or taste of blood. Especially not when yours tastes like literal ass right now, wow thanks ig

hhiihih he is so good in flirting hhiihih

holy shit no baby kook, im gonna fucking cry DONT PUNISH YOURSELF YOU SAVED US BOTH FUCK IM ALL TEARY EYES

I'M CRYING IN THE CLUB

imagine someone seeing their bodies in front of the house also was it tae or yoongi or someone else??

WHOOO KNOWWSSS not me (i know)

ok hobi was 26 in 1982, so born in 1956 and is 68 so its 2024 hmm SO KOOK IS 94 WTF they are not even dilf, they are gilf 😭😭😭 wait in that case whats tae 😭 hold on jimin mentioned yoongi being older, is that in older than 800 years or turned at an older age?

OKAY BEAR IN MIND!!!! I wrote this story in 2020 so it takes place in 2020. You have to subtract 4 years of their age during Sanguis Alpha. Also as far as your Yoongi question is concerned, we do not know yet what exactly he meant 👀

I was turned in 1875 by some random prostitute”, bitch pls 😭😭😭 he doesnt have a sob story nor a heroic one

fjajdfadjs he is so pathetic jfdajsf

wait something doesnt add up jin is 217, so if its 2024, he should be born in 1807, but he was 27 in 1875

Nooo it takes place in 2020 queen <3 no wait. WAIT my bisexual ass did the maths wrong HELP!!!! thanks for pointing it out I need to change the dates jfdjsjf

“Good that you ask because listen this is such a story”, ..“Oh god here we go again stop being a jealous bean just cuz u got turned by a hoe 😭😭

oh sweet summer child if only you knew jfdjsf

“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. With that massive schlong that I carry around” you say sarcastically. you sure about that? was that foreshadow to the oneshot lol

BESTIE THE DOTS ARE CONNECTING FJDSJF

“She bit my neck!” “And she bit my dick!” one got their throat ripped out and other ones dick. great just great. i just know, no vampire has a story like this, i mean sure neck being bitten but from a prostitute?? and dick being bitten hobi im sorry but thats a tragic comedy

aahhaha they're so chaotic I love them fjadjf

whats calling her?? where is she going?? who is down there calling? 2seokook wont have something suspicious down there right?

the suspicionn

daisies and fresh sheets? is that jungkook? why is he down there? wtf HOW DID THE DARK CORRIDOR TURN BRIGHT???

THE SUSPICION

damn how hard did he hurt himself this is so heartbreaking let me get my blanket 😭

i'm crying so hard 😭

As long as I’m paralysed I’m no danger to you NO STOP whos cutting onions

LIKE PLEASE 😭😭😭

OMG SHE KISSED HIS CHEEK IM BLUSHING LIKE IM THE ONE WHO GOT KISSED AAAH

THEY'RE SO CUTUUTUTEEEE

[aspoonofsugar]

Yang's Goldilocks is Beautiful

Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen spark's unseen beauty is greater than its would be judgement.

The Yellow Trailer - like all trailers - foreshadows Yang's arc on multiple levels and it gives some hints on how our Sunny Little Dragon's allusion is used in her story.

To be more specific, Yang's trailer can be read in 2 ways:

The Yellow Trailer is Goldilocks and the Three Bears in a nutshell: Yang enters the Bears' turf (their house), asks about Raven and then trashes the place. She fights 3 opponents: the Malachite twins (red and blue, so too hot and too cold) and Junior (The Baby Bear). After all the ruckus, Yang simply jumps from a window and disappears, like her literary counterpart.

The Yellow Trailer also contains a super condensed version of Snowhite and Red Rose: The Malachite Twins play Snowhite and Red Rose, a pair of sisters that befriend a Bear. The Malachites use discarded designs of Weiss and Ruby and fight side by side with Junior, whose name means Black Bear. Their fairy tale should end with the Bear becoming a Prince with a Golden Armor. However, here comes Yang to take central stage. She plays the part of the Golden Prince herself and defeats the bear-curse (Junior). In other words, she enters the Malachites' story and makes it hers.

These 2 readings are complementary and offer 2 interpretative keys to Yang's allusion. The first is rooted in Goldilocks' plot and gives us the recurring motifs of Yang's arc. It helps us understand where we currently are in Yang's fairy tale and how much we still have to cover. The second instead adds a meta-element that gives Yang's Goldilocks an even deeper meaning.

Here comes the 2 reading clues:

Yang's Goldilocks motifs are the too hot/too cold (the Malachites Twins) and the Baby Bear/Just Right (Junior). To be clear: to reach her just right Yang has to go through her hot/cold sides and face her inner beast (the Baby Bear), so that she can emerge as a Golden Prince.

Goldilocks enters a strangers' house and tries to fit in. Well, Yang does the same, but with others' fairy tales instead. This is why her trailer is the only one with 2 fairy tales instead than 1.

You aren't convinced by this last point, are you? And yet, it is a very easy point to prove. Let's consider, for example, Yang's flashback in Burning the Candle:

Yang: I waited for Dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out. I must’ve walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted, but I wasn’t gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn’t care; I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes…

This memory is clearly key to Yang's character to the point it can be considered the beginning of her story. So, it is no surprise it has some similarities with her fairy tale. A rebellious little girl wanders in the woods and finds a mysterious wooden house. The child hopes she will find a place for her there, but she discovers soon it is home to 3 scary beasts.

However, something feels odd. For starters, the 3 Grimms Yang meets are not Ursai, as one would expect, but Beowolves. Secondly, Yang does not run away, like in Goldilocks, but is saved by her Uncle Qrow, a model Huntsman. So, Yang disobeys Tai and goes alone into the woods, she is almost eaten by Beowolves and is saved by a Huntsman. This isn't Goldilocks and The Three Bears. This is Little Red Riding Hood.

Wait, what? What does this all mean? Let's start from the very beginning...

ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD...

Once upon a time, there was Summer Rose's daughter. She lived happily with her little sister and was protected from evil beasts, be them wolves or bears alike. Then, something bad happened:

Yang: Her name was Summer Rose, and she was, like… Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then… one day she left for a mission and never came back.

Summer disappears and is revealed not to be Yang's biological mother. This is a double-layered trauma. On the one hand Summer not coming home triggers Yang's abandonement issues. On the other hand the discovery of Raven's existence just make them worse. Not 1, but 2 moms left Yang. Then, it must be Yang's fault. By the time of her expedition into the woods, Yang is clearly facing these very complex and painful emotions, that get metaphorically explored through a short version of Little Red Riding Hood. Let's analyze it, by considering these 3 elements:

The Mother Yang is looking for

Ruby - the real LRRH - being with Yang

The Big Bad Wolves Yang meets

1 - Who is Yang really looking for? She is searching for Raven, but unconsciously she wants to know why Summer left. This is why the scenario resembles LRRH more than Goldilocks. Yang is a child that has just lost her mother twice - both physically and psychologically.

In her mind, this double loss materializes in the form of 2 distinctive mothers: Summer who is missing and Raven who is tormenting Yang's mind. Yang's reaction is to go hunting for both.

2 - Yang puts a sleeping Ruby on a wagon and starts her journey. The scene describes how Summer's grief was handled in Yang's family:

Yang: Ruby was really torn up, but… I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? And my dad just kind of… shut down.

Tai is absent because he shut down, Ruby is unconscious because too little to understand what's happening (or so Yang thinks) and Yang starts her lonely pursue while trying to take care of her sister.

3 - Yang meets 3 Bewolves with burning red eyes. Here is where Little Red Riding Hood starts blending with Goldilocks and The Three Bears. Hood meets only 1 wolf (2 at most in some versions), while Yang meets 3 at the same time. 3 like the bears of her fairy tale.

At the same time, the motif of the eyes is very dear to LRRH:

"Oh, grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

However, the idea of 3 beasts seizing you up as different and unwelcomed is really Goldilocks-like. In the original story, the 3 bears find Goldilocks in their house and immediately condemn her behavior and attack her. She is a stranger, an outsider. She shouldn't be there. She brings chaos in their symmetrical world:

Scathing eyes (scathing eyes) That see things from only one side

So, the wolves' scary eyes become the bears' judgemental ones and Little Red Riding Hood is degraded into Goldilocks.

Wait, why degraded? I have nothing against Goldilocks, but it is often considered an imperfect fairy tale with no beginning nor conclusion. Where does Goldilocks come from and where does she go after the 3 Bears? There is no answer.

Goldilocks lacks an objective and a drive:

Yang: At least you two have something that drives you. I've just kinda of always, gone with the flow, y'know? And that's fine, I mean, that's who I am. I wanna be a Huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that.

She is not like Little Red Riding Hood:

Yang: I'm not like Ruby, she's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she'd dreamt about being the heroes in the books. Helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today.

Yang's transformation into Goldilocks, then perfectly describes our girl's interiority and self-perception. She feels wrong, incomplete and asymmetrical. She isn't Summer's daughter, but Raven's. She isn't Little Red Riding Hood, but Goldilocks. The flashback in Burning the Candle simply gives an origin and an explanation to this unconscious feeling of inadequacy:

Yang: There we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter.

Yang is almost responsible for Ruby's death. This is why the red eyes imagery appears and sticks with Yang from here on out. After all, nobody thinks of Yang as unfitting or different, but Yang herself:

She is at the same time Goldilocks and the Bears judging her.

HERE COMES GOLDILOCKS!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears makes up the meat of Yang's story. Once again, the Yellow Trailer tells us how to interpret this fairy tale. There Yang is looking for Raven, but finds 3 downgraded versions of her teammates. The Malachites are Ruby and Weiss (Red Rose and Snowhite), while Junior is a Black Beast, just like Blake. This brings 2 considerations:

Whenever Yang fails to find Raven, she discovers one of her teammates instead. In the Yellow Trailer, Yang finds Ruby. At the Branwen Camp, she meets Weiss. When Raven runs away at the end of the Haven Battle, there is Blake waiting for Yang.

Ruby, Weiss and Blake are respectively the too hot (red), too cold (blue) and just right (red + blue = purple) of Yang's fairy tale.

Let's explore these patterns up until now, with a special focus on the Mistral Arc.

YANG AND RAVEN: TOO COLD, TOO HOT AND NEVER RIGHT

So far, Yang has tried to find Raven 3 times, which can be seen as a set of too cold, too hot and just right.

Too cold - As a child, Yang goes alone into the woods, but she is too weak to fight the Grimms waiting for her. She can only stare back frozen in fear.

Too hot - In the Yellow Trailer, Yang has grown strong enough. A douchebag flirts with her? She catches fire and punches him in the face. However, she still lacks knowledge of Raven's whereabouts.

Strength and Knowledge are the 2 ideas Raven has built her whole persona around:

Cinder: You know, I've heard so many stories about you, Raven. They say you're a cunning leader, that you're strong, that you're clever.

This is why Yang too has to prove she is strong and clever enough to find her mom. Third time is the charm and, as the gas station called Just Rite lets us know, things are finally just right for Yang and Raven to meet.

Just right:

Shay: Seriously. Not too bulky. Not too lean. You're… Yang: Just right. Yup. Like I said, I'm good.

Everything looks perfect, doesn't it? After being told twice she is too young:

Junior: Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Blondie?

Just Rite Bartender: Aren't you a little young to be drinking?

Yang is welcomed by her mom, who is ready to tell her all the truths adults have been hiding:

Raven: But I must admit that you've proven yourself. So any questions you have I'll be happy to answer.

After the Strawberry Sunrise of the trailer (too fancy) and the water bottle of the gas station (too plain), Raven offers her tea (just right), adding she likes it hot (just like Yang herself). And yet:

Yang refuses Raven's cup and chooses to leave her mom just after finding her.

Why is that so?

There are 2 thematic reasons. The 1st is about Yang and Raven's foiling, while the 2nd ties with Goldilocks and the Three Bears in general.

1 - Yang is too selfless, while Raven is too selfish

Let's compare these 2 scenes:

Raven: I'm giving you a choice. Stay here, with me, and I'll answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start. Or…you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others.

Yang: Because you're afraid of Salem!!! And if you thought having Maiden powers put a target on your back, imagine what she'll do when she finds out you have a Relic. She'll come after you with everything she has. Or she can come after me.

Yang and Raven are offered a choice. Yang must choose between Raven and Ruby. Raven between herself and Yang. Yang chooses her little sister and puts Ruby's safety before her own wishes. Raven instead chooses to survive even if it means Yang may die.

The end result is apparently the same. Both Yang and Raven leave through a window (a portal), like Goldilocks. However, their choices reveal 2 very different takes on the character. To be more specific, Raven plays the Little Old Woman to Yang's Goldilocks.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is, in fact, a recent rewriting of an old fable, where a Little Old Woman enters the Bears's house to steal their food. In this version, the intruder isn't painted as a charming beautiful child, but as a greedy burglar only interested in stealing from the Bears. This fits Raven, a bandit who attacks towns and leaves them an easy prey for Grimms.

At the same time, Goldilocks' fairy tale may be the evolution of the Little Old Woman's fable, but it is not the same story. Similarly, Yang is Raven's daughter, but she isn't like her mother:

Yang: I'm not like you. I won't run.

Yang decides to write a brand new version of the story, which doesn't follow Raven's narrative. She chooses to become a Goldilocks that doesn't run. Not a Goldilocks who steals out of selfishness, but one who steps in out of selflessness.

2- Goldilocks and the Three Bears has no fairy-tale ending:

Yang: All of this endless death, because something bad happened to you once upon a time?! Nobody gets a fairy-tale ending!

Goldilocks runs away in the woods and doesn't have to face consequences for her behaviour. Similarly, the Bears do not really have to solve the mystery of this strange intruder. Who is the child? Where does she come from? They don't know and they don't care.

Goldilocks is ultimately a story of characters that run away from difficult things. In this way, though, they do not evolve and there is no proper closure. The central problem of Goldilocks's identity and of where she fits is left unsolved. Ironically, the famous "just right" is never found:

This time it was neither too hot nor too cold. It was just right and so delicious that she ate it all up. But she was too heavy for the little chair and it broke in pieces under her weight.

Even when the porridge tastes good, the chair breaks and Goldilocks falls.

The same goes for Yang and Raven in volume 5. Yang initially struggles to see Raven in her complexity (like the Bears), while Raven eventually runs away (like Goldilocks).

Most importantly, though, they both get a chance to choose the other, but don't. So, even if both heartbroken, they never find their "just right".

TEAM RWBY: HOT, COLD, JUST RIGHT

Ruby, Weiss and Blake are Yang's hot, cold and just right. This doesn't mean Ruby and Weiss are "wrong" for Yang, though. In reality, all 3 girls are necessary for Yang's arc, starting with her recovery after the Fall of Beacon.

Ruby is too hot: in volume 4 Yang is defeated and depressed. Her inner fire is out, which is why her hair (her flames) is in a pony-tail, restricted. For better or worse, Ruby is the reason why Yang pulls herself back together. The determination to find and protect her little sister is enough to fire Yang up and to start her recovery. This is also why the song Ignite focuses specifically on Yang jumping in the fray to protect Ruby (her family):

Usually I devastate This time, might annihilate Any minute now You're gonna rue our meeting Messing with my family Means that soon you're history The moments of your life are fleeting

Weiss is too cold: in volume 5 Yang deals with a lot of inner turmoil and is very easy to trigger. Be it Raven or Blake, her eyes are quick to turn red with anger. The one who manages to cool Yang down is Weiss. She is at Yang's side at the camp and checks on her well being several times. Later on, she is the one that helps Yang see things from a different perspective when it comes to Blake:

Weiss: You're right though. I don't know loneliness like you do. I have my own version. And, I'll bet Blake has her own version too.

Blake is the just right: Yang's journey in Mistral leads her to Blake. She has to face her demons, overcome Raven and reach her inner "just right" (balance) to find Blake once again. At the same time, Blake herself spells out what the "just right" is in volume 6.

Not too hot:

Blake: Hey, I'm not leaving. And if we ever see him again, I promise I'll be there. And I'll protect you. Yang: What? Blake: What? Yang: Forget it. Let's just head back.

Not too cold:

Adam: Heh, do you really believe that? Or are you just trying to scare me away so you won't have to die trying to protect her?

Just right:

Blake: She's not protecting me, Adam. And I'm not protecting her. We're protecting each other.

Ruby gives Yang love, warmth and inspiration, even after Summer's disappearance. Weiss cools Yang off and teaches her empathy better than Raven. Blake is ready to accept Yang in all her vulnerability and strength. Her teammates are the place Yang belongs to. Three people that have welcomed Yang. Three kind bears.

IS THE MISTRAL ARC'S "JUST RIGHT"... JUST RIGHT?

Yang's arc up until now has been the search for the "just right" both inside and outside.

Inside: Yang has learnt not to rely on her Semblance too much. After all, Burn is nothing, but a metaphorical representation of the "too hot" of her fairy tale. This is why Yang has had to reduce its use in order to find her just right. On a deeper level, she has had to face her anger towards Raven and Blake to see her 2 loved ones clearly, in all their contradictions. She has had to tone her emotions down, so that she could let go of her interiorized "scathing eyes".

Outside: she has restored her bonds with her teammates that right now are stronger than ever. In particular, her relationship with Blake has been progressing and, after Adam, they have grown even closer.

So, is everything done? Can Yang reach her happy ending provided that Salem doesn't destroy the world? Obviously, the answer is "not yet".

On the one hand it is clear Raven is bound to come back into the story, so that she and Yang can have some kind of closure. On the other hand Blake's resolution to stand beside Yang no matter what is beautiful, but has not really been tested, so far.

By this, I mean that Bumbleby's focus in the Mistral Arc has mostly seen Yang be there for Blake and help her complete her arc through defeating Adam. Sure, this has been an important development for Yang as well, but Blake has been interestingly absent from Yang's personal subplots, that have instead seen a major involvement by Ruby and Weiss. I wouldn't be surprised if this tendency were to be changed towards the end.

Let's briefly consider the 2 instances where Yang's Goldilocks has been alluded to directly: the Yellow Trailer and the Just Rite scene. The 2 situations are clear paralles. Yang is looking for Raven and she wants something to drink. However, there is a difference:

Yang: Strawberry Sunrise. No ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas.

Yang: A water. It's hot out.

The meaning is clear. In both situations Yang wants to find Raven, but the first one is the "too hot" (no ice) and it ends with Yang meeting Ruby, while the second is the "too cold" (water to cool down) and it ends with Yang meeting Weiss.

So, there might still be a "just right" scene in the future that involves Raven and Blake. If this is the case, it may offer proper closure to Yang and Raven's mother-daughter's relationship.

Blake may play a part in this by assisting Yang. Alternatively, she might support Yang when she faces the true issue at the root of her struggle: Summer Rose, LRRH's mother.

After all, Yang's story starts with Summer's disappearance, so it only makes sense that it ends with her return. She left as LRRH's mother and is probably going to come back as the Big Bad Wolf in some form, at least in Ruby's story. What about Yang, though? She isn't Little Red Riding Hood, so which form is Summer gonna take in her story? Well, she may very well be the Cursed Rose that brings out Yang's inner Beast.

... AND THEN THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Blake and Yang are each others' Beauty and the Beast. Blake's name can mean both black and white, so she is both shadow (beast) and light (beauty). She is the Beast that looks for redemption and the Beauty that temporary leaves the Beast.

What about Yang?

She too is Beauty and Beast, with her duality easily found in her fairy tale. She is a beauty that burns (Goldilocks) and a wounded beast (the Baby Bear). In this way, RWBY solves the mystery behind the character of Goldilocks. Who is Goldilocks? Just another story's Baby Bear, a child whose place in the world has been threatened. A child who has been looking where to fit since then.

Luckily for Yang, Blake is ready to take her in. When her inner beast, which is nothing, but her vulnerability, comes out, Blake will accept it and welcome her in their shared "happy ending". After all, Blake's fairy tale is the opposite of Yang's. Goldilocks has no resolution, while Beauty & Beast has a "happily ever after" that needs 2 people to be meaningful. This is why meta-narratively, Yang looks for a fairy-tale that can fit her, while Blake wants someone that can complete her story. This is why they are perfect for each other. Together, they make a tale as old as time. As old as the very beginning of our story:

Black the beast descends from shadows. Yellow beauty burns gold.

YELLOW BEAUTY BURNS GOLD

Yang's presentation line in Red Like Roses foreshadows her happy ending with Blake. Still, there is another deeper meaning to it, which is probably going to be the main theme of Yang's arc.

First of all, Yang is built on the idea of "hot". Our pun-loving girl is herself a pun on "hotness":

You're standing too close to a flame that's burning Hotter than the sun in the middle of July

She is introduced as an eye-candy hot girl. Then she is revealed as a ruthless and hot-blooded fighter. This is the dualism Ember Celica is built on: they appear as a pair of bracelets that transform into explosive gauntlets. Is that the root of Yang's character? There is more, which becomes clear the moment Yang loses an arm and becomes "asymmetrical".

What does Yang's "asymmetry" stands for? Once you think at her fairy tale and semblance, it becomes clear: Yang is "too hot". This is why she loses her arm, as well. She explodes in flames when she should have stayed cool, and loses a part of herself as a result. This is why her development is essentially... "her cooling down".

This process is shown also through her Semblance. When Yang uses Burn, her hair catches fire and her eyes go from purple to red. The symbolism is clear: she is usually the "just right" (purple), but her semblance makes her "too hot" (red). Her own semblance is a metaphor for Yang's inner asymmetry and unbalance. This is why she is the only one among her friends that has had to reduce the use of her semblance, instead of developing it.

Still, Semblances represent who people are, for better or worse. This is why a development that ends with a character simply repressing their Semblance is not gonna work. Burn will most likely evolve and affirm itself again in all its "hotness", in all its beauty:

Neon Katt: Ooh! Flashy eyes! Y'know, you're actually kinda pretty when you're angry.

When Yang uses her semblance she is beautiful. That is not just a physical attribute, but a thematic statement. There is beauty in Yang taking in the trauma and using it to grow stronger and protect her loved ones. There is beauty in her showing her emotions instead of keeping them hidden. Sure, she must pay attention not to "burn out" nor to let anger blind her. Still, there is value in her asymmetrical "too hot".

And here comes the final twist on Yang's fairy tale. Goldilocks and The Three Bears is a story that celebrates the "just right", but never finds it. Yang's story has her discover the "just right" does not really exist and that in itself is good. Because there are not "just right" people and then the rest. Everyone is asymmetrical and complex. Weiss seems cold, but has a lot of warmth inside. Ruby is Yang's little sister, but also her competent leader. Blake runs away, but she is also braver than anyone else. Raven and Tai's relationship may be hot/cold, but it still generated Yang, who is the "just right" (her purple eyes mix Raven's red and Tai's blue).

As a child (Goldilocks), Yang feels she doesn't fit, but as an adult (Blake's Burning Beauty) she realizes it is okay not to fit. After all, she is beautiful (hot) precisely because she burns gold:

Crash and burn (crash and burn) Some lessons are just hard to learn Scathing eyes (scathing eyes) That see things from only one side Yet every misshapen spark Suffers the judgment and pain But just as light conquers dark There's a beauty that's greater Than pure symmetry can contain So let's start the game!

Yang is the "too hot" of her fairy-tale and that in itself is "just right".

[emsee22]

I am a huge fan of romance movies and I know that I already had a big post about all the reasons Beth and Daryl were written as a romantic pair, but I would like to talk about 4 big scenes with tropes commonly seen in romance movies that involve Beth and Daryl. My goal here is to show it is not really the audience viewing it as romantic, but the writers and directors making it that way. Keep in mind, acting, directing, writing, and costumes are all intentional.

1. The very first hug in 30 Days Without An Accident. This scene would not have been romantic if all it was was the hug. There is added sexual tension because of what happens when Beth pulls away from the hug and they're standing inches from each other - her sleeve has fallen off her shoulder. She gives him elevator eyes, and Daryl actually leans his head closer to hers. She then pulls the sleeve back on her shoulder and the scene ends. The first movie that comes to mind with this trope isn't a romance at all, but it comes to mind because the shoulder was heavily emphasized and that is The Secret Window with Johnny Depp. There is a scene that implies the ex wife is still attracted to him while they're at some lawyer's office, and the camera focuses on the ex wife's shoulder as her sleeve falls off and then Johnny's character stares at it. This whole trope adds tension where there otherwise wouldn't be. It emphasizes an erogenous zone. At this point in TWD, Daryl and Beth never really interacted prior. If they weren't going anywhere with those two, they wouldn't have had the "It's a damn romance novel" line foreshadowing their arc, nor would they have had Daryl break the news about Zach's death to Beth - Glenn would have told her instead.

2. The next romantic cliche is in Alone, when Beth and Daryl find the walker bodies that have been embalmed to look human again. Daryl cracks a joke and says "Looks like someone ran out of dolls to dress up" and Beth says "It's beautiful." Initially Daryl makes a face and looks at the walkers and kind of looks grossed out and confused. But as Beth continues talking, his face softens and he leans back on the door frame and gazes at her She says "they remembered these things were people before all this. They didn't let it change them in the end. Don't you think that's beautiful?" Then he and Beth just watch each other for 5 seconds and he begins to patch up her foot. Daryl is staring at the floor until Beth asks if it's beautiful, when he starts looking at her, silently. Soft music is playing in the background. It is a common cliche in romance movies where the female character asks if something is beautiful to the male lead, or says something is beautiful and he agrees while staring at her. The stare always implies that what the male lead is finding beautiful is the female lead. The silence and eye acting speaks louder than anything. With these two, I find the most romance is in the things left unsaid.

3. We all know the bridal carry trope, but I want to talk about this a bit further. Yes, Daryl bridal carries Beth following her death, and bridal carries Judith following her injury. Both those bridal carries were callbacks to Beth. Beth's death bridal carry alludes to the happier first one, and Judith's injury carry alludes to Daryl carrying Beth out of Grady. But the first bridal carry is different, because Daryl truly had no other reason to do it beyond pure excitement. Yes, Beth was injured in the beginning of Alone when she stepped into the bear trap, but he doesn't carry her into the dining room because she is injured, he carries her because he is just so excited to show her the redneck lunch he set up for her. We know this because the scene starts from inside the empty dining room, and Daryl and Beth are heard from outside the door. Beth is heard saying "I'm going as fast as I can," implying Daryl is rushing her, and Daryl replies "Forget that" and he picks her up and bursts into the door.

4. The last trope is the self realizing love confession. Beth asked Daryl what changed his mind as to good people still existing, and he is too nervous to say she did. The eyes say it all, and Beth's "oh" as she realizes for herself the meaning behind Daryl's reluctance to speak and her smile fades while staring at him, and him her. We know it is not as simple as Daryl thinking Beth is a good person - I really don't see why that being it would surprise her so much, considering she told him that he is a good person for wanting to leave most of the food stash for whoever lives there. Everything in the scene, that is deliberate, from the acting to the soft music to the romantic lighting all implies deeper meaning to Daryl's feelings at a minimum. The confession also follows the interrupted love confession trope, considering we don't get Beth's response as she is kidnapped before anything can happen.

Bonus:

1) Flirty teasing. This is not specific to one scene, nor is it romantic in itself. Daryl and Beth have some teasing around them from the "It's a damn romance novel" line, to Daryl digging into the pig's feet to gross Beth out, to the "Well there ain't no jukebox" line, to the Beth mocking Daryl's mumbles at the love confession scene. I think this teasing is romantic when you sum the parts.

2) Daryl's guard is down. When the dog first comes to the funeral home, the camera emphasizes Daryl checking outside before opening the door. Following the dinner and the silent confession, Daryl's guard is so down that he opens the door without checking first.

I have never seen past Carl's death, so I do not know how Daryl interacts with Connie, or if there is anything similar between the two of them behind teasing that could be interpreted as flirtatious. I do know that Daryl and Carol are canonically best friends, considering Daryl blatantly tells her she is his best friend and they joke about friendship bracelets. I used to ship Daryl and Carol until the beginning of season 4 when they first interacted and I could just tell that friendship was not going the romantic route. Those are things I've wanted to talk about. With Beth and Daryl, all I want is closure for what those feelings were, considering he never talks about it after her death, nor before.

[waylibee-analysis-firm]

mustang theory (ch09)

guys im being so serious rn. im so scared to post this. but bee is being wonderfully supportive (as usual <3) and i am going to be. so very Brave. this may not be coherent, but...i hope it makes some sort of sense ok. anyways here is the theory for ch09:

mike and will leave the camp dance early bc of Bad Memories and/or they would rather just be making out (which is. fair) 

(fearless lore is referenced throughout but also will be theorized/posted about separately) 

this would be proven by the references to wish you were sober by conan gray (yes ik it’s not in relation to ch09 but. this part Could Happen at the end of ch08…just saying). 

this specific theory is fueled by the weird eureka moment i had regarding this post. is this a reach? yes. do i fucking care? no.

they take mike’s car, despite will’s grumblings abt his stupid fucking mustang.

ch01 im staring. Directly at you. shut up. shut up. i hear what you’re saying and i just can’t listen right now okay. ch01 we’ll get back to you i prommy

“Also, God forbid I have to leave the grounds in Mike Wheeler’s stupid fucking Mustang more than once this summer," he adds, nearly spitting. (ch01)

need i say more.

also this would totally be building more on their trust....plus probably some references from follow the sparks that i don't know off the top of my head

also could have been foreshadowed by ch02…when will refused to get into mike’s stupid. fucking. mustang. just saying….

ch02 is also biggest fearless lore references we have that i can think of but that is for another time

“Don’t tell me you’re driving that thing,” Will scoffs, eyeing Mike’s car in trepidation, eyes sweeping along the length of the racing stripes. (ch02)

...forcing Will to declare a lesser of two evils: throwing dignity to the wind and accepting a ride in the Mustang — the undeserving bane of Will’s existence...(ch02)

CAR EMOJI !!!!

this chapter is “thea’s baby”. well thea is also the resident car expert.

im literally so funny for this sorry not sorry im cracking myself up ->

either something happens between them and they end up pulled over OR something happens to the stupid fucking mustang

THIS could be that one post thea made…which could have been totally innocent OR it could have been COMPLETELY SINISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OUT TO GET US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! putting on my tinfoil hat

smth happens between them...backseat driver will (mentioned in ch02) as well as the stupid. FUCKING how to drive manual that's been driving me INSANE the past couple of days (found here.)

side note: thea i love you but you are driving me Bonkers (mwah <3)

alternative to the above point is that mike pulls over to 1) make out with will (again. which is again. fair.) 2) chat with will about what they Are

option 2) would require some sort of shift in their relationship/situationship beforehand…im thinking this could mean you know that i caught it could take place BEFORE or DURING ch9… this could be the They Know motif coming to a head (meaning everybody. they Know for real this time. and now mike’s confused about it. “what are we?” talk from ch05 but times a million)

“save me ‘till the party’s over/kiss me in the seat of your rover”

^^ regarding this. i wrote all of this before i rediscovered that wish u were sober has nothing to do with ch09 (supposedly). im just too lazy to change it bear with me please.

will gets mad at mike for some reason?

if the original point made (something happens to the stupid fucking mustang) ends up happening, this could be will’s breaking point bc he’s overwhelmed and panicked and stuff is happening too fast for him

ch09 is a will pov chapter.

also frustrated crier (some ask about ch04 that i need to find to link before this gets posted)…just saying.

will gets mad at mike continued and reverts back to his I Need to Hurt You phase bc it’s safe and he doesn’t know how to handle the UNDOUBTEDLY romantic feelings n thoughts he’s having about mike…

he’s scared of getting hurt again like he was with derek and he’s scared of the unfamiliar territory that comes with being nice to mike/having mike be nice in return

This type of gentleness is certainly a facet of Will that Mike has known, having seen it more than a handful of times over the years, but it’s not quite one he’s accustomed to. (ch06)

this ^^ goes both ways i assume...there's gotta be evidence abt it in a will pov chapter but i am. exhausted.

he lashes out at mike that they aren’t anything, they’re just a casual fwb situationship, etc. 

wow would you look at that…this is paralleling the fearless lore theory…

cue "straight up" by paula abdul for mike pov (i've been a fool before/wouldn't like to get my love caught in the slammin' door/how about some information, please? // straight up now tell me/do you really want to love me forever oh, oh, oh/or am I caught in a hit-and-run?/straight up now tell me/is it gonna be you and me together oh, oh, oh/or are you just having fun?)

“Hit-and-run” CAR IMAGERY ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

"straight up" by paula abdul is on mike's driving playlist and i've been going insane about it since i saw it. btw. i love this song.

mike's unsure abt what they Are/what will is thinking so he reverts to the childish fighting thing too...pushing will's buttons is second nature for him by this point...evidence for this in a mike pov i will find later prommy

this is also wish you were sober coded “trip down the road, walking you home/you kiss me at your door/pullin’ me close, beg me ‘stay over’/but im over this roller coaster/imma crawl out of the window now/gotten good at saying ‘gotta bounce’/honestly you always let me down/and i know we’re not just hanging out”

first half here. could be about how mike is begging will for a relationship. but will is “over the rollercoaster” and the push and pull of their friendship to rivalry to fwb situation. 

second half here. will’s metaphorically leaving mike (crawling out the window). he’s “gotten good at saying ‘gotta bounce’” bc he’s done this to mike Before when they kissed when they were thirteen…i Think (fearless lore theory). “honestly you always let me down” could be a reference to. will being angry with mike for not just being happy with their fwb, even though he wants more too? “i know we’re not just hanging out” come ON this is will saying he KNOWS THEY CANT JUST BE CASUAL. HE LITERALLY SAYS THIS IN CH05 I BELIEVE. OR MIKE DOES IN CH06. THEY CAN’T BE ANYTHING BUT EACH OTHERS EVERYTHING. 

^^ literally kill me now i can't believe none of this is related. curling up into a little ball and sobbing.

this would be the beginning of the Angst that’s a 3-4 on a scale of 10 bc we know they're both idiots just miscommunicating But. hey.

so that's uh. that's the outline of the Theory we currently have...it's our most fleshed out one rn fs but there are a few Others that were referenced here that we need some more information on...

anyways. thanks for being insane with us. <3

[sophiesbookishthings]

June Reads 🌈

Hi! I've got a little preface before this month's list. Every June I like to try to exclusively read books with LGBTQ+ rep. I do tend to kind of do that throughout the year anyway since I'm queer (biromantic asexual and nonbinary) and that's just the type of books I naturally seek out. But in June I make a point of it and try to read books where they are specifically the main character. It's also preferable if the author is also LGBTQ+ in some way. I believe representation in the media is extremely important and I like to support that whenever I can. Anyway, buckle up, this one is gonna be long.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

This book has 3(!) asian bisexual polyamorous main characters by an asian nonbinary queer author. This book was like if ancient China met Pacific Rim, then make it queer and feminist. I was not in love with the first part of this book. The main character was (understandably) out for revenge but didn't seem to really think through her plans well. She was also really mean. It did make sense for the character at the time, though and it made sense, since she really didn't think she would live long enough to have further plans or for it to matter that she was mean. It was just a bit frustrating to read. She did have character development throughout the book and did ultimately turn her anger specifically back toward the oppressive government. I loved watching each dynamic of the romance develop throughout the book. I think it was really well done, and the three characters fit really well together. It was also a great contrast to the harrowing dark nature of the rest of the plot. Then the ending! The ending was such a great payoff from the rest of the book. The twist was foreshadowed so well, and I did pick up on it a bit. I knew something was up with the "aliens." The second book is supposed to be out later this year, I believe, and I can't wait to read it.

4.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Leather and Lark by Brynn Weaver

Okay, this one isn't lgbt. Oops. I had it preordered and had to read it immediately. I do think I liked the first book in the series a bit more, but this one was still fun. It was kinda enemies to lovers and had a marriage of convenience. The fmc basically did arts and crafts with her victims (who were typically child abusers/molesters), and the mmc was a professional crime coverer. I really liked how hard the mmc worked throughout the book to be forgiven for things that happened when the 2 mcs first met and the gradual reveal of why it was so bad for the fmc in the first place. I'm excited to read the next book because I feel like the two main characters are going to be super interesting.

4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson

.....Okay, I did another non-lgbt one. But it's Sanderson, and it's a novella okay. I don't really have much to say about this one except that Wyndle deserves financial compensation or something. That poor spren is going through it. I'm really intrigued to see how Lift is going to deal with being a Radiant and interacting with the others in Oathbringer after this book, though. I think she's gonna add a lot more chaos, and it's gonna be fun. Oh, and I still love Szeth, and someone needs to help him. I know he's a notorious assassin, but he is the saddest, wettest, most pathetic guy, and he's having a whole existential crisis.

4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

This one was really good. I've had it on my shelf for a while. I get why everyone was talking about it a few years ago (when I should've read it lol oops). The main character is a gay transgender Latino (same as the author) boy whose family can summon spirits and heal. Powers which are unfortunately traditionally gender based. Through the book, he tries to prove to his family that he belongs with the men of the family while also helping a spirit he kinda accidentally raised. I really loved Julian, and the eventual relationship between him and Yadriel was really sweet. I listened to this one on audio, and I have to mention that I loved Avi Roque as the narrator. They did a great job. Then there were two twists at the end, one I saw coming, and one I didn't. The one I didn't see coming was really neat and made a lot of sense considering there is supposed to be a sequel.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loveless by Alice Oseman

I tried to read this book at least twice before I finally got through the whole thing. I had to get it in audiobook cause that is my trick to getting through books that are hard for me to get through for whatever reason. And it absolutely wasn't because I didn't like it. It was the exact opposite. Alice Oseman never fails to make me cry when she writes aro/ace characters. She herself is aro/ace, I believe, and the way she writes her aro/ace characters is the closest I think I've ever read/seen in media to my own experience. This book felt too much like looking into a mirror, and that made me have A Lot of Feelings. Even trying to read it this time was tough, and it took me a while. Georgia's experience navigating through the transition between college and high school felt a lot like mine. Though, her college experience ultimately went significantly better. Her desire for connections felt a lot like mine. Though she did achieve that in a way, I very much did not. I loved the various representation in this book. Sunil was a particular favorite of mine. And i loved that they were Shakespeare theatre kids. Very much like me lol. Ultimately, I really loved the conclusion that friendships can be just as important and fulfilling as romantic or sexual relationships.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I liked this book a lot. I love a good morally gray woman who won't apologize for her questionable choices. I also love a good queer period piece. And this book is mostly set in old Hollywood which fascinates me because of the contrast of how glamorous it looks versus how much of a nightmare it actually was for anyone who wasn't a straight cis white male in a position of power. There was also a really sweet found family element in this book, and I'm always a sucker for that. It also had an interesting narrative structure, which I enjoyed, because it was framed as an interview. So this book really checked a lot of boxes for me.

4.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

I really liked the premise of this book. Two men meet in ancient China, fall in love, and meet over and over again throughout various lifetimes. The endless palace concept intrigued me as well. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me. I wanted this to be a love story, and I think it was supposed to be, but it felt like more of a lust story. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it felt weird to me when it was framed as a love story and then barely delivered. It didn't feel like the two protagonists actually got time to get to know each other and fall in love before they were declaring that they were in love, especially in the lives they live after the first. And this declaration happened later in the book as well. There was very little romantic development. It would have been more interesting to me if they had to make the effort to fall in love in each life, but it never seemed like they did. Even in the first lifetime, it seemed like their love was orchestrated. It also never explained why they were reincarnating. I think the jade thing was supposed to be the reason, but it wasn't explained well at all. And, considering the title, I thought the endless palace would come into play a bit more. It didn't. It was mentioned briefly that the palace was seemingly endless, and that was about it. Ultimately, the ending failed to pull the whole story together like I hoped it would. I basically got 0 emotional effect from this. I felt like basically nothing happened and that there were so many loose ends that were just left unexplained. And if you do choose to read this tw for sexual assault/coercion.

The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson

2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️✨️

When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neill

This book was weird. But I kinda loved it, I think. The two girls the story centers on, Marie Antoine and Sadie Arnett, are based on Marie Antoinette and the Marquis de Sade (which is directly referenced in the book and it made me laugh). It follows them through years of both their friendship and rivalry and how Maire's privilege and Sadie's libertinism impact their relationship (both platonic and romantic). It has very heavy themes of 19th-century feminism which can seem very harsh at times when read through a lense of modern feminism, but I do think it was ultimately executed well. It also had themes of classism and the privileges that come with being in the highest upper class and how that can affect ones beliefs. It's also very queer. I was a little worried about the way it was queer at first because it seemed pretty heavy on hating men but i think that was very much due to the time period and the extreme amount of priveledge men had in the lives these women were living in. This book also had a few twists that, even though I picked up on a little early, still made me gasp when it was revealed. And every character in this book is flawed and kinda awful in some way, which was part of what made it such a fascinating book to me. Like I said, I love morally questionable women.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I kept seeing and almost picking this book up at the bookstore until I finally just got it on audio from the library. This book had found family and a magic circus. But it also had a pretty prevalent theme of the effects of an abusive relationship that kinda caught me off guard because that wasn't necessarily stated in the description of this book. It was actually one of the strongest elements of this book, I thought, so it seems odd to me that it wasn't one of the main points of the description. Then there is a plot point in which they try to stop WWII. I think this book could have been just as good or even better if that had been excluded because it didn't really seem to go anywhere. But also upon reflection, I believe the point of it was to show that even though terrible things may happen in the future you can't necessarily change them and have to live in and make the most of the present. And I kind of love that as a concept. I really liked the relationship between the ringmaster and her wife. They were really sweet and another one of the strongest parts of the book as well as the friendship between them and their other friend who helps them run the circus. I think I still have more thoughts about this book, but this is already long, and I'm not coherent enough to articulate them lol

3.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

[pensbridge]

Just For Fun: My outline of episode 1 (Polin edition), but I'm not sure if I wanna post more (or finish) -

I started this awhile back and got motivated to add more after the update w/the date announcement. (it might not be completely in line after the new interview)

Season 3, Episode 1: Out of the Shadows ☆

Colin/Penelope return. We see Colin arriving home. The Featherington household is going through revisions as Portia is instructing for downsizing/majority of their stuff to be sold due to the recent financial crisis. As Colin pulls up to the family, we see 'welcome backs' & teasing exchanged. He looks on to the Featherington estate. Portia is on a quest with a new scheme/seems suspicious-ABC brothers look on in bewilderment/curiosity; C looks up and sees Pen from the window, who steps back and ignores when he waves.

Francesca debuts. (Colin questioning most of the ep). We see them back at the house; family plays catch up w/lots of set up for sibling dynamics (inc El-Colin exchanges re: her current status w/Pen & him trying to relate it to Pen's dismissal of him & a mention of the letters). also some talk about Colin's travels & an exterior look at what could be deeper to his internal change (he'll boast a lot & seemingly have found his purpose/worth). We'll get references and hints to his new 'hobby' and we'll get a shot or 2 of some things he brought back including a book (journal), while he maybe struggles with some of the intricacies of family living together after being alone on his travels.

We get Pen avoiding him at all costs [the ball is where things get awkward-Pen attempts flirting (more on that later) // she probably has some solo attempts in random moments we don't expect, where she is not actively in the position to be seeking, but tries to strike up a convo with random men].. We get the 1st confrontation in some private area after she walks off from one of her solo attempts, where Colin pops up- (Colin will be very confused, and in the dark of Pen's quest/frustration; Pen very standoffish/comes off rude to him).

Pen goes through makeover. Earlier in the episode we get Madame Delacroix interaction & foreshadowing to her physical change + LW updates & we'll see a tonal change of Pen's mission regarding it (aka girl=enraged).

Later, at the ball, we get things like small notices of Penelope's new look, Pen-Lady D. interaction, and an awkward El-Pen encounter [as well, we'll probably get onlooking disapproval from Eloise when she notices her exterior change]. Francesca probably meets John. Again, Penelope will try to flirt (this time with a man with great prestige) and somehow in her nervousness (or unknowingness, at the time to his status), she will go on to stumble through her interaction or unintentionally offend him in some way, feeling embarrassed at the witness of a group of surrounding people. So she runs off.

Meanwhile, Colin will notice a change, but be more confused than anything at her new shift/demeanor and, seemingly, personality; he spends the ball trying to speak with her again/worried if something had happened and of the correlation of her not responding to letters. (They have 1 more little encounter involving him trying to talk with her in the commotion of the ballroom, but it is interrupted by Cressida when she attempts to throw a dig at Pen, taking notice of her new wardrobe).

When he notices her run off, he follows..

They get into a tense & heightened exchange, where she admits her desire to find a husband. He is shocked and thrown off by her words, but offers to help her in his quick-thinking, desperate attempt, just hoping to get back on her good side. She instantly refuses at first, but he persists about it. She may not even accept at his first proposal due to her determination to forget him and/or the general timing at the ball with all the things going on close by them. The episode ends with a Lady Whistledown paper, setting the tone for a much darker figure with some foreshadowing of what's to come later.

[box-dwelling]

So I was going put this on my dual destinies post but it got long so. I enjoyed the mason system but I think the gimmick let's it down a lot. 4-4 is a great trial and I loved it a ton but it's messy as fuck in places because of the non chronologically story telling and it fucks up putting us in Apollo's head because it gives us information he's not privy to and doesn't explain what he actually does know. It gives us the dumb sibling loose end that just shouldn't be there. I think Apollo and Trucy being siblings is a cool idea and a good twist but there is absolutely no reason to leave them in the dark about this. So here is what I would do.

We start in the lobby just before the second trial day with Phoenix there. He says something like "ok Apollo. I've asked you to come here early to show you what I've been working on. I think it's finally time you learn. I've been waiting for you to discover most of it on your own but now it's time to show my hand. Are you ready to know the whole truth?" Then we flash back to playing Phoenix like we did to playing Mia in 3-4. It can either be its own case and act as foreshadowing for the final case or honestly preferably it can be a flashback within the case same place it is currently. And it goes chronically. All we've lost is the gimmick of bring the present information into the past which was confusing as fuck for actually tracking how this happened in universe because phoenix wright isn't a time traveler. Phoenix had enough information to interegate people in the past so he can do it the way he actually did. Then we flash back to the present. We get to see Apollo's reaction to this information and tie up his arc with losing faith in phoenix on screen instead of through implied dialogue. The Thalassa reveal needs some altering but you could just have her be around because she's a juror and then have Apollo notice something when he looks at her picture.

But now the jurist system is without a mechanic which sucks so instead I propose a bar at the top of the screen instead of the health bar where you try and sway the opinion of the jury. It could look like the judical scales with a procecutors badge on the right and a defense attorney badge on the left. You present the wrong stuff and it goes towards guilty because you look incompetent. When it gets to the end of one side you get either guilty or not guilty. All the other switches are scripted for when Klavier or Apollo present convincing evidence, but there's like 3 points buffer on Klavier's side that show your lives. If Klavier gets a big turnabout while you're on less than 3 lives you're in trouble. It's 3 now not 5 because I think there should be the ability to gain them back at certain points where Apollo is doing a really good job. Like a mini check point. Kristophs breakdown does so much to tip towards Apollo that it eliminates the previous penalties and you win. This will have the added benefit of making the way you play the case as Apollo actively feel different to the way you play other ones instead of just being told it's different now. Have it move a ton on Klavier's side when he plays air guitar, it'll be cute. Main issue with this is that if you lose all you lives after a recharge point but before Klavier gets a turnabout it will mean you have to play a ton while you already know you're dead so maybe add something in where the judge says you don't know what you're doing after the 3rd life and his comment move the scale solidly into Klavier's side.

My only worry would be space but this is a very easy thing to code (we're talking like one extra variable that needs adjusting and some very basic visual assets) but given we're now losing the graphical effects for mason and also the Thalassa reveal cut scene which all look pretty data intensive I honestly think we're saving more space than we lose.

AA doesn't need gimmicks. They can be fun but the are not what makes the games good. That's the narrative. And as much as I like the mason section it does fuck that up quite a bit to the extent that people are still debating what actually happened.

This is Apollo's game, it doesn't make sense for there to be information we have that he doesn't.

And honestly as I said in my last post I think the fact that AA4 is a genuinely great game with a confusing ass narrative at points has actively hurt the series going forward. People don't want to blame this game for Apollo's confusing ass plotlines because it's a lot more charming and likeable and compelling than it sounds like that later games are but it really is where I think a lot of the complaints originate. Why are his loose ends not tied up? Because AA4 was vauge as fuck about which ones were and weren't cleared up and there isn't really a good reason for them to come up again.

Look at the trilogy. All the lose ends are tied up nicely at the end of each and then the next game builds on the foundation of what was there before. AA4 is a great game. I love it. But it's a bad foundation because of the ambiguity of the Mason section because building on it requires very very specific reference to the past cases which is difficult to do in a sequel.

Like honestly sit and think about how much reference you need to do to tie up the sibling reveal in a completely new case where you have no guarantee the player has played AA4. You need to establish some basics that you would have to already. Apollo and Trucy have perceive, the bracelet is how Apollo senses it, Trucy is Phoenix's adopted daughter. That's a given. If this isn't the first case they should know this already. But then you also need to establish who the Gramaryes are, who Lamoiror is, what perceive actually is, that Thalassa used to have the bracelet, that's she got shot and lost her memory, that Apollo's an orphan, probably some stuff about Zak and Trucy, what Phoenix used to be like during his disbarment, that he got disbarred in the first place, that will bring up questions you'll need to answer about why he did and how he got reinstated, and that he is aware of they're siblings and Apollo and Trucy aren't and that him and Thalassa are waiting for the right time to tell them. That is a shit ton to ask. Aa4 only just covered it in its entirety and it took like 2 cases. And be aware this is stuff you have to recap without boring people who have played AA4 and already know. Its a really really big ask for one loose end.

Compare it to the recaps in the trilogy and it's even more clear. There you basically just need to explain DL6 and it can be done by saying "Edgeworth thought he shot his dad in an elevator but didn't. It was actually his mentor a ruthless procecutor called Von karma. Misty fey lost her credibility as a result," that covers like 90% of the references to past games.

Not only that but with the art style change you have to make completely new assets for it instead of just reusing the ones from the old games the way the trilogy does. like I get why they just decided to not touch it and invent some new stuff for him.

Hire me capcom. I'll fix this for the AJ trilogy release

[1lizard-onemonkey]

My review of A Quiet Place: Day One

Early in the movie, there is a shot of New York in the background with a giant cemetery in the foreground

Good shot, very foreshadowing, much deep

Some shots from the trailers aren't in the movie or are adapted from a scene or two, but you can find out at what point in the movie those trailer bits happen

The piano and emotional music hit at the right spots

It almost got me

(I have never cried over a movie, i cried during

Wreck-It Ralph came close when it made me teary eyed, so it tentatively holds first place

Hachi: A Dog's Tale and Home don't count because something else was making me sad and the music wasnt helping

Moving on)

The scene where Sam first starts on her pizza journey, there's music that grows in intensity

I think that scene should've been silent

Just the wind and smoldering car sounds to really hit home the disaster and horror of the setting

Lastly, like everyone else, my Dad agreed that they (movie makers) missed something

How did people find out to stay quiet?

It's day one and the trailers make the promise of finding out how our world went silent

We know it's cause of aliens

But that moment of realization was what people were expecting

They (movie makers) definately had the time

The movie started at 2:15 and that's including previews, I checked the clock again at 4:20 after we got back in the car

They don't even have to change much

I think after Sam gets knocked out, we cut to Eric

So 1. we get introduced to him earlier

2. We find out along with the characters that they need to stay quiet

And 3. We find out how he got into the first flooded subway which I think would've added a bit more reasoning in him getting a panic attack in the second subway

He didnt want to be underwater again, and while introducing him gasping for breathe after surfacing from a flooded tunnel (and terminal I should add, he probably almost drowned at that part), it's a very short, simple explanation of his fear and then subsequent haze state

The trailers do show he survives, but another cut to black with him struggling underwater to go back to Sam waking up, I think it would've added to the tension and the movie overall

It doesnt even need to be long, start during the initial panic, we're already there, people think to go underground, monsters follow, people find out to stay quiet, subway floods, you think Eric's gonna drown, cut to Sam

Well, the movie never outright tells us that Sam, already dying, wants to get pizza because she already faces death everyday and nothing else matters (she gets better though) (in one aspect)

So we don't need a lot about Eric, he's not the main character either

But again, it would've added more, it could've hit a couple more points harder, I don't think it would've slowed the movie down at all, there certainly wouldn't be criticism about not seeing when people find out to stay quiet

That is all

[paxesoterica]

Some Thoughts on Episode 13 (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury)

(spoilers & long)

*Most of the new footage included in the Season 2 trailer seems to have been taken from this episode, so you could think of the trailer as effectively a preview.

*There’s a few ways in which this episode hearkens back to Ep. 01, the first being an establishing shot of Asticassia from a descending elevator; Elan Ceres (aka No. 5) then starts narrating about Suletta fighting a serial duel, due to the special arrangements Shaddiq had previously made to delay challengers to Suletta’s title while Aerial was being repaired.

*Due to Guel's disappearance, Lauda's promotion to CEO, and Shaddiq's father forbidding him from being involved with dueling, there's a new Dueling Committee roster:

“Elan Ceres” (Enhanced Person No.5) - Peil House

Sabina Fardin - Grassley House

Renee Costa - Grassley House

Felsi Rollo - Jeturk House

Secelia Dote - Burion House

Rouji Chante - Burion House

*For those not familiar with Revolutionary Girl Utena, there was a similar shakeup of the Student Council from the first arc, with a couple members absent, and a new member declaring herself the next president, so this was a development I was anticipating and am pretty happy with since it looks like it will highlight some of the supporting cast.

*I am curious if Renee and Felsi are estranged half-siblings or cousins, or if they just happen to be two people with similar appearances and mannerisms who despise each other as a running gag; either way, between them and No. 5′s jaunty manner, the new Committee is shaping up to be a lively bunch.

*We learn from Rouji’s Haro that there is a rule that ”the Holder must accept a duel once every two weeks”, which is probably something that should have been mentioned earlier but does add a bit of nuance to two past events.

There was a brief exchange between Lauda and Guel in Ep. 01, when Lauda questioned why Guel accepted Suletta’s challenge, since he could have ignored her for 2 weeks at that point. However, given the Holder rule and Guel’s impulsive nature, it makes sense that he would rather deal with an annoyance now than be challenged again later (coupled with the loss of face in front of his flunkies and the fact that Suletta likely seemed to be a new ally for Miorine to use against him).

There was also the convoluted way that No. 4 challenged Suletta, which likely means that Ep. 5 took place less than 2 weeks after Ep. 3, or else No. 4 could have simply challenged her directly, and she wouldn’t have been allowed to refuse.

*Another thing that hearkens back to Ep. 01 is that Suletta absolutely thrashes her 5 consecutive opponents without breaking a sweat; at least two of them seemed to be girls, which means we have another low-key queer moment, which I always appreciate.

* We have a new opening, set to “Slash” by Yama. There’s a lot of shots of major characters, peppered with symbolism and foreshadowing that I’m going to wait on analyzing until a few more episodes are out, with two exceptions:

1) There’s an opening shot with Suletta and Miorine staring at the sky, at a distance from each other; there are ruins on Suletta’s side and trees on Miorine’s side. Towards the end, Suletta runs toward Miorine, who smiles at her (Suletta continues to be the source of 90% of Miorine’s smiles), and the two stand together looking toward the sky. This seems likely to be foreshadowing that Suletta will abandon the dark path her mother is trying to set her on, and instead rejoin Miorine (hopefully sooner rather than later).

2) Aside from Miorine and a group picture of the Earth House kids, nobody else (except Sophie Pulone) is smiling in the opening, which is understandable for Guel in particular, but is odd for Shaddiq and No. 5, since, presumably their plans are going well, so this is likely foreshadowing future troubles for them.

*Despite the smiles above, Earth House has been having a rough time since Plant Quetta, with several visibly flinching while watching Suletta’s duels. The Benerit Group has issued a cover-up, declaring what happened at the Plant to be an accident and threatening expulsion to any student who says otherwise, which effectively means none of them can talk about their experience with professional therapists (assuming any are even available). Chuchu is pissed off, especially with the terrorists (which greatly undermines any theories that she’d ever consider joining Dawn of Fold), Nika is quietly withdrawn due to guilt, and Ojelo and Lilique are huddled on the ground, seeming to be the most visibly distressed. I sigh once again at my inability to offer fictional characters hot cocoa, headpats, and therapist recommendations. Suletta, at least, seems in oddly high spirits (which is remarked upon by others) and tries to be encouraging.

*Fortunately, there’s an upcoming open campus event which might help distract Earth House, which also technically makes this a school festival episode (but with giant robots and, as we’ll see, attempted murder, since this is Gundam).

*There’s a short scene with Miorine, who is absent from school and at the Benerit Front, looking after her father during his recovery. She’s wearing a dark business dress and apparently hasn’t been sleeping properly, poor girl.

*Meanwhile the Benerit Group is investigating the Plant Quetta incident, with Sarius and Shaddiq seemingly in charge, because of course they are. They’re avoiding outright war (for now), and instead sending a small fleet to Earth to punish any terrorists (real or otherwise) they can find. Of course, anybody familiar with the real world history of the U.S.’s so-called War on Terror is likely horrified right now at the potential atrocities that are likely to occur, made worse by the fact that Benerit’s media blackout will ensure most Earthians don’t even know *why* they’re being punished. 

*”I wouldn’t lie to you, Father,” lies Shaddiq.

*Shaddiq seems intent on continuing to cause chaos for the Benerit Group, summoning Sophie & Norea to infiltrate Asticassia as students.

*Suletta wonders if she did the right thing at Plant Quetta and her mom reassures her that she was right. Prospera continues to be a very effective manipulator, since she cleaves to technicalities; she’s *technically* correct that Miorine and Delling could have been killed, and realistically, killing the terrorist was probably the best way to protect them, but acting like killing at all is unambiguously good, instead of a necessary evil, and the fact that Prospera coerced her daughter into that position in the first place, instead of using her own piloting skills to help people, undermines any claims Prospera makes to being morally justified.

*Curiously, Prospera seems to be investigating the source of something that’s not explicitly stated; the only current possibility that comes to mind is that Prospera doesn’t know where Lfrith Thorn and Ur came from, and since there was previously speculation that Prospera herself was the source, if true, it raises some interesting questions.

*Suletta to Nika: “You’re a precious friend to me”, aww. While Suletta and Miorine are unquestionably my favorite characters, I also enjoy seeing their friendships with the other characters; Nika in particular, is the second person Suletta met at Asticassia, and since then has helped Suletta join Earth House, and led the mechaincs who have repaired Aerial several times. Recent events have prevented them from interacting much, so it’s great to see them have a friendship moment.

*Suletta describes her mother as “a gentle magician”, which is accurate, but I kind of hate it.

*Sophie and Norea arrive, and join Earth House.

*Sophie and Norea are *tiny* compared to Suletta, on par with Miorine.

*Big Sister Suletta!

*There’s was zero need for me to include the picture above, I just think Suletta’s facial expression is hilarious and adorable (also it somehow matched my expression with the return of this show).

*To anyone who, somehow, thinks Suletta’s bond with Miorine is ‘sisterly’, this episode is an excellent example of how Suletta interacts with someone she explicitly regards as a sister; it is notably not even slightly the same.

*Nika is less than pleased at the latest additions to Earth House, since she knows too well who they really are. She questions Norea in private, who threatens Nika with a knife (yup, just like the trailer) and tells her not to expose them. We also learn that Nika has long wanted to act as bridge between Earthians and Spacians, which is probably why she put her father in contact with Shaddiq, only to find out later that this was a terrible idea, and has been regretting it since; if Nika survives everything, hopefully she can pursue her original dream with the help of Suletta and Miorine.

*There’s a montage of Sophie and Suletta having fun at the open campus festival, with Sophie acting like a little gremlin all the while. Despite being on an undercover mission, Sophie genuinely seems to enjoy spending time with Suletta, though how much of that is genuine affection and how much is excitement with someone new and shiny (until she gets bored), is currently anybody’s guess.

*Hey, No. 5? Stop trying to take advantage of Suletta’s inexperience with sexual harrassment (due to her isolated upbringing) and pressuring her into dating you, go jump out the nearest airlock instead, kthnxdie.

*Fortunately Sophie rescues Suletta, and instead Elan encounters Norea, who has some bleak drawings, says vaguely sinister things, and steals No. 5′s datapad. No. 5 seems intrigued by her, and on the one hand, an alliance between the two would be a match made in hell and probably terrible for anyone around them, but on the other hand, it might get him to stop creeping on Suletta, so, possibly worth it.

*In another nod to the earlier episodes, Felsi & Petra get a scene! They bluster and threaten to take Suletta down during the Rumble Ring, a mobile suit mock-battle royale held at the end of the open campus event, which the Holder is required to participate in. So it looks like we’ll finally see Felsi get to pilot a suit, and might see the return of some or all of the Grassley girls as pilots, and hopefully Chuchu as well. Poor Suletta, girl does not get a break (and yes, despite her recent confidence boost, Suletta still hides behind other people sometimes).

*This is such a small, but sweet, character moment. Ojelo usually gets comedy bits, which is fine I guess, and here he’s seemingly back to his normal self, talking about money, but then makes it clear he’s doing his best to act normal to try cheer up Lilique, whom you’ll recall was displaying distress similar to Ojelo at the start of the episode, and I just...I did not expect to get attached to Earth House kids like I have, but they’re such a good-hearted bunch, who, despite the occasional disagreement, try their best to care for each other, even now after one of the scariest situations they’ve been involved in, and this is yet another example of that. I truly hope they all manage to survive the series, but I also worry.

*Speaking of worry, I legitimately thought that Nika was going to die when she confronted Norea & Sophie while they were trying to steal the Pharact. It’d be shocking for a character death like hers so soon, but the endings of Ep. 06 & 12 made it very clear that it’s a possibility, and it’s actually something I really like from a craft of writing perspective, even though it makes me squirm, about Witch from Mercury’s precise, surgical use of violence in its narrative thus far; having many, relatively light-hearted moments occasionally and unexpectedly punctuated by violence creates tension and dread at the first sign of possible conflict that constant and continual depictions of violence could never achieve.

*But Suletta arrives to save the day, speeding on a scooter, and then using its momentum to kick off into a powerslide, grabbing Nika just before the Pharact stepped on her, and then princess-carrying her to safety.

*Suletta Mercury is a character with a lot of nuance: she’s an anxious mess, an adorkable goofball, and a terrifying killer. But beside all that, one should never forget (despite the fact that it hasn’t been directly mentioned in the show, unfortunately) that she is someone who trained since her pre-teens as a rescue pilot in one of the most hostile environments in the entire solar system; to many, despite everything, she is a hero, and I 100% agree with this post that refers to her as ‘strong and gallant’.

*Before Norea guns her down, Suletta quietly apologizes to Miorine in absentia, and challenges Norea & Sophie to a duel; Sophie accepts, disagrees with Suletta’s belief that GUND technology’s purpose is to save lives, and promises to prove to Suletta that Gundams are nothing more than killing machines.

*I’ve seen some folks concerned over Suletta losing this next duel, and while possible, I don’t think it will be in a way that would cause her to lose Holder status. Consider the following:

The nature of duels in The Witch from Mercury are largely inspired by the duels from Utena, in which they were actual fights, yes, but also character studies of the participants, something that Witch has continued, using them to flesh out Guel, Elan, Shaddiq, and now Norea & Sophie as well. In this sense, the threat of loss is mostly unnecessary, with the protagonist of Utena losing only 2 of the 23 duels she fought during the TV series and movie combined. In other words, it’s not the threat of failure that makes the duels interesting, it’s what we learn about Suletta and her opponents.

...

There’s also the matter of the technical stakes versus the actual stakes of the upcoming duel. If Suletta loses the duel conventionally, then Nika would likely be killed, which I doubt will happen next episode since if she was going to die soon, it would have been this episode, and either Sophie or Norea (or both?) would end up as the new Holder and Miorine’s groom(s), which would make for a funny omake but doesn’t really feel like it would mesh with the story’s current direction. Aside from that, it also ignores the actual stakes: the clashing ideologies of Gundams as life-saving vs. Gundams as killing machines, and Norea & Sophie don’t need to technically win to achieve the victory they desire; all they need to do is put Suletta in a position where she is either forced to kill someone or let them kill someone. This is complicated by the fact that, despite Suletta’s stated beliefs, she has killed, and I suspect this duel may act as a catalyst that forces her to actually think about her actions at Plant Quetta, and just how far she’s willing to go to protect people she cares about, which may lead to the first step for Suletta in a painful but necessary journey to reconsider her mother’s role in her life, and that’s a far more interesting outcome than her losing Holder status.

*I also appreciate the parallel between Suletta squishing a man to death with her Gundam last episode, and now being on the opposite end and saving Nika from a similar fate; it’s another reason why I expect her duel with Norea & Sophie to have an impact on her character development. The Earth Witches are also shaping up to be interesting foils to Suletta, and I kinda hope they survive the conflict to see where that goes.

*There’s a new outro, featuring the song “Red:birthmark” by Aina the End, and I am currently obsessed with it.

*UTENA!

*Ahem. Witch from Mercury continues to show off its Revolutionary Girl Utena influences, while putting its own spin on them, and it’s great, and I love it. The scene above is a visual reference to one of the characters magically pulling a sword out of another’s chest for the latter to use, and given the imagery that follows, it seems to be an allegory for Aerial pulling Suletta free of Prospera’s influence and allowing her to transform into her own person.

*You should honestly just watch the video, but Suletta looks very stylish with her hair down, both as a witch in a black dress dancing with her GUND-bits, and as a dancing partner for Miorine.

*Miorine looks a bit uncertain about Suletta, but ultimately follows her lead, and it makes sense that she’s nervous since it’s a perspective of Suletta she’s never seen before (although, I personally think there’s also a tiny bit of Miorine feeling really, really gay while looking at Suletta).

*Speaking of Miorine, there’s an after-credits scene featuring her and Prospera.

*While it seems Miorine hasn’t been answering Suletta’s e-mails, she’s definitely been contemplating that dorky keychain Suletta got her.

*Miorine’s already figured out that Prospera manipulated Suletta, and Prospera responds with her typical gaslight/gatekeep/girlboss routine, pointing out that Suletta did it to save Miorine, admitting that Suletta went too far (which is very much *not* what Prospera said to Suletta), and then correctly guessing that Miorine wasn’t planning on abandoning Suletta despite this (while Prospera phrases it as ‘remaining friends’, I’ve heard this was an inaccuracy of the sub, similar to another one back in Ep. 10 that incorrectly inserted the word ‘friends’, so I’m going to trust that Prospera wasn’t being homophobic here and that the dub will be more accurate).

*Prospera then mentions to Miorine that, with Delling inactive, she wants Miorine to help her with the Quiet Zero project, which will supposedly create a world without war.

*And so the battle of wits between Miorine and Prospera begins; Miorine knows Prospera can’t be trusted, and in normal circumstances, I’m sure she would turn her down. But Miorine also knows that Prospera has some sort of influence on Suletta, and is clearly plotting something, and unfortunately the best way to find out and save her groom will involve walking straight into the spider’s parlor and accepting the offer. Miorine has repeatedly demonstrated she’s one of the smartest characters in the show, but so has Prospera, and despite being suspicious of Prospera, Miorine is also vulnerable due to her recent trauma, and her worries over both her groom and her father. If she loses, Prospera will likely either kill her or worse, but Miorine has little choice if she wants to be with Suletta (and the show makes it pretty clear that she does).

*Whew! What a way to come back from hiatus; thanks for reading, and I hope you’re enjoying the show as much as I am.