#React Element

[sysig]

Divided minds of the same thought (Patreon)

[amplexadversary]

Murderbot saying "my humans" whenever it's describing people it's actively protecting is something I find so endearing.

there's a vibe to it that's something but not entirely like a herding dog and its animals and something like a bodyguard and client and something like a brooding hen and something like a possessive and something like a bond or camaraderie and a bunch of other things at once.

there's an element of the dynamic there too, where it will refer to its "clients" while speaking aloud, but mentally defaults to a term that sounds less like a relationship and more of a possessive. it strikes me as a wry turning of Murderbot's reality of being treated like a thing that's possessed onto the collective entity that treatment comes from.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Something something about the alien hand call in 7x05 and Buck being the one being strangled.

Something something about Buck grappling with this new part of himself and coming out to people. Something something about the ‘fear’ of being judged or treated differently having him in a stranglehold because it’s still new to him and he doesn’t have it figured out himself yet.

Something something about being in 2 minds about telling people, about revealing himself - because the alien hand syndrome in this call occurs when the brains two lobes are separated - the connection severed - the brain is split in two

[mensahbots]

i like that we see hints of a sort of intuitive rapport in this scene between mensah and pin-lee! that little forearm touch especially made me go 👀👀

[chocobosdungeon2]

this is hands down the worst thing ive ever made but their similarities (and differences) have been rattling around in my head

[clumsypuppy]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[tumblweeds-omegaverse]

random omegaverse thought:

There must be people who experience specific instinct things with indifference or boredom.

Procreative cycle coming up? "Crap, I've got plans this weekend...stupid skip weeks."

Caught an intriguing scent while walking? "But I need to get to work! Shut up brain."

Had a snap response to a distressed sound? "Who was it?! ...right, it's my day off, I can go back to sleep."

Somebody growled at them? "Kid, I'm not a rival, that's my sibling."

Super cozy cuddle session happening nearby? "I'm gonna pass tonight guys, no social battery left, maybe next time."

Group of friends heading out to flirt and check out other singles? "I'm coming with you but only to make sure you all get home safe."

Setting where fated mates or soul bonds or permanent marks are a thing? "Meh. I don't really want one or care if I ever get one."

People in the actual omegaverse would get as bored of their stuff, as we do of ours, you know? It could be interesting to see that kind of vibe in fics. Biological demands faced with all the excitement of paying bills or doing laundry or tying your shoes.

Even if that kind of energy might not drive a plot, it could be interesting to have as a contrast to the people who do have big feelings about them - good or bad.

There's the friends who can't wait til they have a pack of their own, and the one friend who isn't against it but couldn't care less. There's the group in the office who are all about scent compatibility tests and figuring out one's best match and what sprays most highlight it, and the coworker who has no intentions on putting that much effort in. There are parents who hover and protect their offspring by scenting them multiple times a day, and others who don't see what the fuss is as long as it's done in the morning.

...also: packs with introverts who show care by giving each other space. So often, closeness is depicted through physical touch and tactile affection, but comfortable silence is meaningful too. Knowing people are near, but not having to interact until you're ready. Sitting in the same room doing different things, knowing that all it takes is a "hey, look at this" to share what you're up to. People understanding and accepting each other's differing or fluctuating needs for how and when to recharge. Seeing somebody reaching out or sharing space, beyond what's their norm, as a signal of the fact that they care.

[pipefoxart]

I've been having kind of a hard time in Natlan

[normalbrothers]

TOMMY: All right, we'll do it.

[snatcher-no-snatching]

booting up ahit for the first time in what feels like forever and RAAAAHHHHH I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wackywatchdotcom]

i will say im not super invested in the idea of the show giving us too much information on c&a. like itll be super cool if we find out about it! and im sure itll be relevant information if we do but i think the information we get is going to be not super indepth, because im not sure itd match the tone of the show? its less about mystery and like The Lore and more about the characters and examining how different characters respond and have been responding to the environment set up by the show

(it WOULD be fun to learn more details about c&a and i AM curious i just dont think itd actually enhance much abt the show itself, and as such, i dont think its super important writing wise for the audience to learn about it either)

that SAID i do ascribe to the idea that ALL of the cast members worked for c&a before the ended up in the circus, no exceptions. i dont really know how say gangle or zooble wouldve ended up there, but i feel like they all ended up there one way or another. and i think most of the cast doesnt talk about their life in the real world bc its gone and theres no reason to dredge it up (or theyve forgotten it or most aspects of it), but it does make it fascinating that not even pomni, who has the least reason to avoid these topics at least early on, broached the subject of what in the WORLD is c&a UP to. it literally is never brought up ever as of ep 4. which makes me think the company was probably always super shady in some way to the pt that its employees were kinda desensitized to the idea that its c&as fault that horrible things happen

[review-anon]

//Alright time to talk about Project Eden's Garden Chapter 1 Class Trial. Spoilers as always are under the cut.

//I really hope flamethrower isn't the new poison in this game.

//Anyway so mystery wise I say this chapter was quite well done, since while I was able to figure out a lot of what happened, the whole pully system that was used with the car battery and extension cord completely took me off guard. And yeah Lithium is no joke, it causes massive explosions when mixed with water I've seen videos on Youtube the explosions get quite intense.

//Grace is totally like Miu in which while she doesn't say much and its often wrong, she is often on the money who the culprit is. Of course her reasons for suspecting Damon and Eva was because she didn't like them, to the point you cannot do her FTEs but maybe she will soften up by Chapter 2? Who knows.

//Everyone also contributes quite a bit to the Class Trial, as even Cassidy who I argue is one of the more stupider character, can have some insight due to hosting the Not-Melee Tournament and having good enough memory to recall past conversations.

//When it comes to Pathos statements I got worried I wouldn't know when to use them but the game makes it quite clear when you need to use either logic or emotions as you only need to use empathy bullets once and its very obvious when that happens.

//As for the new minigames, as I predicted we have 2 new minigames and they are oldies. The first is rebuttal showdown which is as typical as they come. And since Weoena was the first to object that means she is the Chapter 2 Victim/j

//Ulysee's Rebuttal quote cracks me up because when he butts in he says "Um AcTuAlLy" like he's in some internet argument or something. Then again seeing how he requoted the repeating history quote to be that if you don't repeat history, you look stupid online, means while Ulysee loves his books and all, he seems to be engaging in quite a few online discourse debates.

//And then there is this game's version of Argument Altercation which...yeah...we will get to that later.

//Of course now we get into the meat of the trial and let's go with the first shocking twist; the fact Diana was there when Wolfgang died and he attacked her. And that pretty much everything I theorised was right there.

//My man over here acting like he inhaled a bunch of Void Juice.

//So as a bit of context; Diana was given a letter to what she thought was from Wolfgang but in reality was by the culprit and came down to the Boiler Room since she thought Wolfgang had her blackmail, as he did a David and requested everyone to talk with the people they have the blackmail on. But when she saw Wolfgang he was behaving..odd...and eventually pulled out a knife to attack her, and was completely oblivious to what Diana was saying.

//It's later revealed that Wolfgang was injected with a hallogenic and he attacked Diana because he didn't actually see her but rather someone or something else that causes such a reaction. So who was it that Wolfgang saw instead of Diana? My best bet is that Wolfgang was seeing his father.

//Damon got Wolfgang's blackmail which at first seemed like he was married but aside from the different eye colour the date was in 2001, which while we don't know what year Project's Eden Garden is set in, appernetely 2001 was before Wolfgang was even born, so this must be a picture of his parents getting married. We also get a cryptic hint saying "Like Father, Like Son. Behind a Sheepish body lurks a Wolfish Mind." Which translated means that Wolfgang takes a lot after his dad, where he might appear kind and gentle on the surface but in reality he's much more brutish and aggressive. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing if you will.

//But what Wolfgang was muttering, makes me reconsider that. As the fact he seems want to kill his "father" means that Wolfgang must have a terrible realtionship with him, and resent him for something. We also know he's a bit of a momma's boy and there he's his attiude towards women. Wolfgang always tried to act like a gentlemen to the ladies in the Killing Game, encoruging Eloise to come out of her shell, being supportive of both Grace and Diana, and appernetely Grace enjoyed his company so much that when the bunk buddy system was suggested, it was Wolfgang and Ulysee who switched their parnters with Weonoa and Grace.

//Its obvious why Weonoa and Grace wanted to swap roommates as both of them cannot stand each other and it was like a house on fire with them, but Wolfgang and Ulysee's reasons are unknown, as the latter refuses to elaborate. Maybe Wolfgang isn't very friendly with men, and Ulysee had to witness that and wanted out. Its not Yuri levels of hate as Wolfgang can be civilised around other men, but I do believe he is biased towards women. The only woman he doesn't like is Eva and that's because she spoke out against him by saying he's too naive.

//During the Prologue Class Trial Wolfgang got very heated during it and claimed that the worst thing a man can do is murder a woman, and he says this with a huge degree of intensity. So Wolfie has a gender bias, not the first for this franchise, but then what does he mean by the fact he could never be like his father?

//Its here that I decide to pull out a Review Anon classic dark theory and claim that Wolfgang's father murdered his mother and Wolfgang saw this happen.

//Yeah that's a bit of a yikes but there is quite a bit of evidence backing this up. It would explain why Wolfgang became so focused on law, because he wanted his father to pay. Maybe Wolfgang's dad was also a ace attorney, and thought Wolfgang was following in his footsteps. But while Wolfgang's father was a terrible person who was probably very abusive to women, Wolfgang by contrast probably tried to act like a shitty person around him, but in reality he didn't have the heart to do it.

//But then there's the fact Wolfgang is considered to have a Wolfish mind. This means you isolate and dominate over others to remain on top. We see traces of this with how Wolfgang treated Damon and Eva when they opposed him. Not only did he not like the way they spoke to him, but he encouraged the others not assiocate with them, this had various degrees but I don't think Wolfgang possessed actual malice towards Damon and Eva, he was more annoyed by them opposing his viewpoints.

//We also know Wolfgang took a knife to the meeting because while he's an optimist he's also not a moron and knows meeting someone in the boiler room sounds like a good way to kill someone. He'll give someone the benefit of the doubt, but it pays to be prepared.

//I do wonder what would have happened if Wolfgang and Damon did meet up due to Damon having Wolfgang's blackmail. Given how horrid his family situation seems to be, I imagine Wolfgang wouldn't react well to it, ESPECIALLY in front of someone he flat-out doesn't like.

//Overall, I do think Wolfgang isn't as sainty as he likes to paint himself as, but he's also not as bad as the likes of Tsurugi, Nikei, David and Ryohei have swooped. If anything, Wolfgang is more morally grey, which makes him more human. And let's face if his assault on Diana didn't result in him dying via Gender Balancing electrocition, and he regained his senses, he would be deeply horrified and apologetic to Diana for how he treated her.

//Speaking of Diana man do I feel bad for this poor girl. I always liked Diana as she's such a sunshine of optismism, which is why I REALLY hope she's not secretly the Mastermind, and while everyone and their mother didn't want to assiocate with Damon and Eva, she tried to reach out to them, as while Wolfgang might not like it, she believes everyone deserves a second chance. She acted nice to Damon and said she be a shoulder for him to cry on, and even offered to be Eva's roommate because she felt she needed a friend and was so lonely. Unfortunately for Diana, she was a farmer and both Damon and Eva were snakes as Eva used her for her murder scheme to be the first fall person and when after the Class Trial Diana vows she will take up the mantle Wolfgang left behind and try to help everyone, not only did her rousing speech fall on deaf ears as everyone was too apathetic to hear her...but Damon just got pissed off hearing her.

//No sugercoating it, Diana is gonna be the rival character in this game but for a different reason as our protagonist is a very cynical character whilst Diana is a very optismitic person. I would be very interested how Bubbles reacts to this since this is like Teruko's and Eden's dynamic but on a much more hostile setting. Plus she has a reptile motif like Damon as she's a chameleon while he's a snake. We don't get many female rival characters, if any so this is a very refreshing change of pace as if Damon is gonna be a Villian Protagonist, then Diana is the Hero Antagonist. At least this means she'll live until Chapter 5.

//Now time to talk about the culprit of this case, Eva Tsunaka. And remember how I said she was gonna do shit in this chapter since I never in a million years trust characters you first meet and befriend? Well Eva was vindication on the absolute extreme as not only was she the culprit of this case but while this isn't the first time our first "friend" turned out to kill someone, Eva is a FARCRY from Kaede who killed for sympthatic reasons and was doing the Class Trial to try and expose the Mastermind. Meanwhile Eva is actually a very selfish person who only cared about herself and has a very low opinion on the others.

//She also self-sabotaged her own group standing as its one thing to lie about your talent if its a dangerous one but Mathetic is a very harmless talent so claiming she's the Ultimate Liar just made her look worse. Yes some people mocked her talent, but they are the jerks. A lot of Eva's woes in the Killing Game was self-inflicted and she has only herself to blame for it. Its also something I noticed but Eva sounds a lot like Eve who is the first woman to commit sin, so there is a biblical reference to her being the first culprit. And man when Eva starts breaking down she gets UGLY.

//She throws Damon under the bus, which while I was expecting her to do that, its still brutal the way she does it, but fortunately nobody is buying it since Eva's relations are down the toilet. And this breakdown of hers as she's unravelled as the culprit is brutal as like most Chapter 1 culprits, Eva doesn't back down easily, and this leads to *sigh* the one minigame I was dreading to talk about. Argument Altercation.

//Its tradition for this minigame to be a thing when breaking the culprits down and normally its a rhythm heaven type game where you have to time your hits as you break down the culprit's healh before telling them why they are wrong. Super Danganronpa Another 2 also does this though my computer decided to act up, but Project Eden's Garden...goes a completely different direction and I will say this;

//I

//FUCKING

//HATE

//THIS

//MINIGAME

//This is the single WORST minigame within any of the Danganronpa titles I ever had the misfortune of playing. This makes Goodbye Despair's Improved Hangman's Gambit look like Scrum Debate by comparison.

//So what is so bad about this minigame? Well for starters its a Bullet Hell where you not only have to dodge Eva's attacks but also shoot her. Sounds simple right? Well unforunately, Eva seems to be a avid Touhou player since she BEHAVES like a Touhou boss, with swarms of bullets that guarantee that if you AREN'T a bullet hell expert you will die a lot, and you have SO few oppertunties to attack.

//The screen flips during the second phase and while it doesn't last long, its enough to get you hit a bunch and its also when Eva pulls out her Touhou style attacks where swarms of bullets fire your way.

//But if you thought things couldn't get worse...oh boy there's the third phase which doesn't always happen but if you get THIS screen.

//Then you are FUCKED as Eva will send crow shaped homing attacks at you which are borderline IMPOSSIBLE to dodge and if you haven't got a lot of health left you WILL die, even WITH the slowdown speed.

//And when you get to the finishing blow, there's barely any time to do the word sorting which gets you back to the final phase where you will 100% die and go back to the beginning.

//This no joke took me TWO FUCKING HOURS to do, now granted some of it was the fact I couldn't use the slowdown speed. But what worries me is that this is CHAPTER 1.

//The other culprits are gonna be like this and they are gonna be even harder so what is Chapte 5's culprit gonna be like this?

//But once I'm done I was so emotionally bent that I wanted Eva to die slowly and painfully. I don't know how much people hate this game and if its hated enough the difficulty might get toned down as a result.

//When Eva explained why she was the way she was...one on hand its the same old "Ultimate system sucks arse" we all heard but at the same time, people like Diana and Damon DID try to reach out to her and her lying about her talent was a self-inflicted wounded, so while sympthatic in the end most of what Eva did was things she brought upon herself.

//And then comes the execution and as per Danganronpa fashion its a brutal one which makes Eva really suffer for what she's been through before she literally burns in hell. I mean given how biblical this game is, I wouldn't be surprised by that.

//So my overall veridict is Project Eden's Garden is a good game which is worth checking out but I do NOT like Argument Alteraction.

//Now comes the golden question. Since I played Chapter 1, and sprites for Project Eden's Garden characters are available, plus Creeper was able to use Eloise in Survivor, will Project Eden's Garden Characters be on the Voidship?

//Well with Chapter 1 sprites not available yet, I want to wait until they are. But when they do become available I won't add the characters straight away, I did so for Despair Time once Timeline Anon gave me the greenlight since it was a option I was considering.

//But I feel Project Eden's Garden characters would not only clog up the Christmas Arc a bit, but also since I know certain people haven't played the game yet, I don't want to go into spoilers. For example Wolfgang and Diana would react quite badly to the news of Void Juice given their past experiences with drugs that cause you to face inner demons.

//However I'm not ruling them out since I have plans, you just need to wait.

//And that's all, don't know when Chapter 2 will come out but probably talk about it next when Bubbles and TA stream it.

[toasteaa]

I'm so sorry this is such a silly thought... I saw you reblogging the 'quiet protectiveness' post and.. Neuvillette hovering behind Eclair while just.. leering. But that's not the worst part, everyone knows the Iudex just looks a little scary every now and then! But consider this.. His horns glowing (like they do when his elemental burst is ready) because he's entered the ultimate Silent Protector Mode ><

NOT SILLY!!! TICKLES MY BRAIN REAL NICE!!!!!

It's me trying to figure out exactly what would have caused *that* reaction that's getting me. Cause like...I don't know if there are any humans that would makes him react like that so publicly but I want to see him get extremely protective in that quiet way!!!

Sigh...intimidatingly quiet, the feeling of something ancient and unknown crackling in the air, whoever his glare is directed towards practically cowering and being unable to meet his eye because his presence seems so much more dangerous - and so much larger - than how he appears right now...I um...I have to go think about this for a little while...

[ninicaise]

i don't know if it's some sort of spiteful instinct within me that i developed against fanon but the idea of damen straight out calling laurent an idiot is hilarious. to me

[hychlorions]

me when i set the mod to make apollo blush when elliott's happy

[danwhobrowses]

nothing to see here just a crazy shipper guy going crazy over Callowmoore under the bit, if that's not for you then go about your business

So fellow Callowmoores how we feelin' this morning/evening? Because it's evening right now and I'm still bouncing off the walls in my mind

The one post could not keep me contained! No seriously the amount of tags I put in hit a limit and doesn't show them all

I mean yes we didn't get a kiss (yet) but goddamn we got so much, it has possessed me, deranged me, it's leaking outta my brain I gotta talk about it, so either jump out or buckle up because this overflow is gonna be long

First off I just gotta talk about how so many things almost lined up how I imagined them because it just makes it feel like they looked into my head and thought 'hey that's kinda good'. Like, I wanted Fearne to take the shard at Mori's, it was a safer space for her than the Ziggurat which is tainted by bad memories (this and other campaigns), I just didn't expect it so soon, thought they'd at least have a full rest first. In fact I had a whole scene in my mind where in a desperate gambit Delilah took over Laudna while she slept and just knocked on Ashton's door in a form of dread going 'where's the shard Ashton?'. It's key to this I promise not only because I enjoyed the idea of Ashton not taking any of Delilah's shit (plus for you Imodnas out there the mental scene involves Ashton whispering 'Imogen's in danger' to wake her, they also ask where Paté is because they still have that 'Paté is Delilah' theory) but it also expanded on the possible helplessness Ashton would have being unable to assist Fearne with taking the shard

'You're a child, Ashton. A blunt instrument that charges blindly into harm, would you really risk Fearne's life to earn her forgiveness? You know what it can do, what happens when you can't protect her from it?'

Of course, Ashton would never give Delilah the shard, which would frustrate Delilah since she can't manipulate them, but the comment weighs on Ashton a little. Which is when the whole waking Laudna happens and she leaves, but Fearne is in his room (the Vox Machina bathtub scene being inspiration), having asked to sleep there for comfort and asks them if it worries them. Which is where I often got to use this quote

'I don't believe in fate, but I believe in you'

And it sticks with me because it's super romantic, but also on-brand for Ashton, there were variations like the longer 'things only affect our path if we choose to believe they do; fate is complicated, the gods don't give a fuck, and I don't wanna even think about legacy anymore, I don't believe in them, but I believe in you' but then the next morning comes and Ashton gives her the ring, since I forgot about attunement there were instances where it was a sneaky sleight of hand thing, and Fearne completes the process. Of course, with weeks to go on there were a lot more scenarios like Fearne pickpocketing the Ashton doll to practice talking to and putting it back, Ashton seeking Mori for advice, herbal tea visions where Ashton entered their own mind and encounters the empress while on the outside Delilah possesses Laudna to try and drain the power from them, one where the shard having been reshaped through Ashton is less intense on Fearne for the first 4 rounds (since they blew up on the fifth) because Ashton's essence is containing and dissipating the hostile energy, and one where the group secretly vote against Ashton being there for Fearne taking the shard (Imogen, Laudna, and Chetney 3 to 2 against Orym and FCG) but Fearne as the decider pulls them over because she needs them there, stuff like that I'm sure fanfic writers could consume to their heart's content (and are free to, go nuts). But these scenes stood out because it had elements of stuff that are linked to or actually happened in the episode; Fearne does take the shard, Ashton endorses that Fearne is the only one who can take it, Ashton gives her the ring and Shattered Vigor is apparently a thing where Ashton is practically taking Fearne's pain to protect her, that alone is enough to go insane over.

And can we talk about the ring for a moment, because like THE RING. I'm not talking about generically either I mean that this ring has been significant to the shard saga ever since Ashton claimed it. It was found on the corpse of someone infused into stone, into the earth, right between the whole eidolons stuff where Ashton connected with an Earth elemental and then the Grau Dashari stuff with the crystals they merged with their hammer and then the Bor'dor incident, that could've easily been a titan-based punishment. Also, Ring of Volcanic Flesh, like Ashton's stone arm? And if that wasn't enough, what was the first thing Fearne stole from Ashton when they reunited? The ring, the act that broke down Ashton's walls as they let out a most heartfelt 'I missed you, so much' the ring that Fearne stole right off of Ashton's fingers only for them to willingly put in her hand to protect her, because just as they said at the clock tower, everything they have belongs to her. And while legacy and hubris had a part in the shard incident, part of it was also for Fearne. I don't believe there's any situation where if Fearne said she wanted the shard at the clock tower Ashton would've said no; Ashton knows that Fearne was key to the shard dislodging in the lava, they sensed it was in a way key to both of them, but there was no reality where Ashton was gonna force Fearne to take the shard if she didn't want it. And yes it blew up in their face, much like Fearne they saw an image of themselves they didn't want to be, their soul broke with the realisation that they hurt the one person they never wanted to hurt, but thanks to Percy they also realised that they had to change. It wasn't enough to see everyone else having someone at the reunion and internalizing 'if someone has to not come back it's gotta be me' they had to make steps towards being the person the Hells needs them to be, someone who can come back with them.

Which is where last episode started setting it up, and I didn't speak much about it at the time because other than the pretty plain 'I would've rather died than hurt Fearne' insinuation (which in turn was confessed to save Fearne from falling) there was only crumbs that could be interpreted other ways; for instance Birdie's tale with Athion and Olly being somewhat of a parallel to Tevan and Ashton, the formers wooing Birdie and Fearne with temptations of indulgence while the latters drawing their attention by being subjects of intrigue, defiance and kindness, plus they saved the latters (Birdie literally via escaping the prisons and Fearne emotionally and literally), or before the Orym conversation when Ashton takes 'one last look' Taliesin looks towards Ashley last. But I knew there was poetic significance to Ashton failing the communication trial, Marisha sensed the vibe too, but even though Fearne was nervous about guiding Ashton, the fault fell to poor dice rolls (and Liam not keeping shtum and summoning thunderwasps) and once again Ashton in an attempt to prove themselves falls flat on their ass in front of the person they most want to prove it to. And that did break my heart a little I must admit because as poetic as it was who hasn't been there? Ashton's journey of proving themselves has been laden with failure too; being unable to protect anyone from Otohan led to them almost being TPK'd, being unable to keep the group together at the Malleus Key led to the group being scattered, and then Team Trauma's stuff - Orym was despondent and Laudna's a wreck, got a random 'shepherd's boy', a powerful Cobalt Soul teen prodding about the solstice and all of Deni$e here added as mainly combat support, loners but no leaders, Dawnfather angel thinks them insignificant, dark spirits trying to consume their only leads about the Hishari - and the moment Ashton started to trust Bor'dor after the pipe vision what happens? Betrayal, Hunger of the Shadow and Delilah is let back in, Ashton couldn't even keep Laudna safe from herself, they reunite, try to sort out their shit with their past, discover that they might have a destiny to fulfill and end up being too willing to die in place of others, and unable to protect their new family from themselves, because of these recent failures it was important that Ashton proved themselves in the trust trial.

And thankfully they did, there was no way to prove that anyone was a Doppelganger and yet, Ashton still trusted Fearne; twice saving her from the flora even when told to leave her behind. And they were close to another failure when the branch was snatched - after their attempts to keep it safe by throwing it in the pool alone - but they trusted Chet and Orym (father/son duo) to cover more ground while they helped Fearne. And even when FCG told Ashton 'I think it's Fearne', and when Imogen was untrusting of Fearne, Ashton abandoned their held action to save FCG from the brambles because they knew Fearne could be trusted. They trusted Imogen to connect to Ruidus and as mentioned endorsed Fearne to take the shard.

And sure, in my mental scenarios Ashton gives her the shard, doing the same she did for them, but I did say almost like how I imagined. And Ashton still did everything they could, plus Imogen comforted their visible worry, but once it's complete they're just in awe, and then their own spark awakens through her touch, a touch they were unafraid of even at the threat of newfound fire, and now for the first time ever they feel whole. She saved them, and now they finally feel complete, and now this time Fearne is agape, Fearne is in awe, and everything she had hoped Ashton would gain from taking the shard before has come to fruition through her, and it's just, joy, pure incorruptible joy, a kindred connection that belongs to just them. Plus a big piece of paper for all the new powers they are excited to learn about from each other, with each other, and while Matt can talk about there being risks to them because you gotta balance the combat the narrative significance is still there.

But dammit they need to kiss, I've yelled it enough times in my head; like the lava, the clock tower, before and after Fearne took the shard, the only times they did kiss was before the solstice (the forehead kiss) and the ziggurat and both preceded bad times, they deserve a proper one, not one at risk of being a goodbye, something precious, irreplaceable and theirs to have, to share. And I don't know if they should use the patented 'can I kiss you?' or take a tip from BeauYasha and use 'I wanna kiss you so bad right now' or find something else to make their own but I desire it so much, had it happened this ep I probably would've melted out of my seat. They're awkward and nervous but they gotta take the leap, Ashton needs to realise they're loved and maybe even be told that they deserve it even when they feel they don't, and Fearne has to take a risk too, the shard put doubt to her decisions but that doesn't mean she can run from her strong emotions. It doesn't fix everything of course, but sometimes people heal better together than apart. As a currently vorbed half-elf once said 'drink the courage first'.

Curiosity continues to send me after the ep, and while some people are attempting to blemish or rain on the parade (I mean, I try not to speak ill of other ships in general, but if you're gonna be negative about it you can at least do it in your lane, your tags not ours) I am still just riding the high of the possibilities. True, the unknown can make me nervous, and I will admit the group has to give Ashton and Fearne space (they're just excited, and with the bloody bridge hinting to be a final moon-based battle there is that sense of urgency) Imodna had nudges sure but they have been a bit heavy-handed and kinda chaperoned around them, Fearne and Ashton seldom get time alone, one can hope they can get that time with each other next episode.