#also. might.. be the victim of a love triangle. maybe

[kxsagi]

helloo ! im the anonymous from before who requested bllk boys reaction to reader opening her new bikini nd it's js a piece of string 😭😭 can i req it again^^ ?

thank youuu !! also any character is fine but pls pls add sae 🙏🙏🙏

“𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 (𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲)”

a/n: thank you for requesting again!!! i was sad that i couldn’t do it because my requests were closed at the time, but you waited patiently and requested this funny idea when my inbox reopened! i appreciate the commitment lovey 🫶🏻

suggestive content inside! 

ft. isagi yoichi, itoshi rin, kaiser michael, shidou ryusei, mikage reo, nagi seishiro, itoshi sae, aiku oliver, karasu tabito, ness alexis, niko ikki

isagi yoichi

you’re sitting on his bed, all excited, waving a tiny shopping bag in your hand like it’s your latest victory. 

“yoichi, look! my new bikini came in!” 

he perks up immediately, abandoning whatever training video was on his laptop because his sweet girlfriend in a bikini? that’s his roman empire. 

but then… you pull it out. 

silence. 

he blinks. once. twice. 

“… where’s the rest of it?” he finally asks, voice cracking like a teenage boy who just hit puberty again. 

you hold up the two triangles and the criminally thin string that could barely qualify as shoelace material. “this is the rest.” 

isagi actually stares at it like it’s a bomb about to go off. 

he scoots back on the bed like it might attack him. “that’s not a bikini, that’s a… a dental floss cosplay.” 

isagi.exe has stopped working. 

“yoichi,” you grin, “you don’t like it?” 

he looks personally victimized. “i love you, but if you wear that to the beach, i’m legally required to throw myself into the ocean.” 

the poor guy starts googling full-body swimsuits with UV protection and built-in armor. 

itoshi rin

you excitedly say, “look what i bought!” 

and rin – stoic, cold, emotionally repressed rin – glances up from his phone expecting to see maybe a cute summer dress. 

no. it’s a string. a single, sentient-looking string that threatens his blood pressure. 

he stares. hard. 

his soul momentarily leaves his body. “what the hell is that.” 

you blink innocently. “a bikini?” 

“a war crime,” he corrects. 

he actually gets up and walks around the room like he’s processing grief. “i can’t do this. you’re not wearing that in public. you’re not even wearing that in a mirror.” 

you tease, “what if i wear it just for you?” 

he stops walking. the flush creeps up his neck like a thermometer in hell. “don’t say things like that, ever again.” 

you swear you see him whisper a prayer. 

man’s out here suffering and it hasn’t even touched his skin yet. 

kaiser michael

“liebe, what’s in the bag?” 

“my new bikini!” 

he smirks, smug and cocky, already imagining you in something glamorous and gold. 

then you pull it out. a thread. a thread masquerading as a swimsuit. 

his grin falters for a half second. just one. 

“… that’s your bikini?” he repeats, voice slightly higher than usual. 

you nod proudly. “isn’t it cute?” 

he chuckles, slightly unhinged. “sure, if you’re planning on getting arrested.” 

kaiser crouches down next to you, holding the bikini like it’s some rare artifact. “you’re going to cause a riot in this.” 

he gives it a little tug. “do i tie this? or just whisper my sins into it?” 

but the second you say “i’m wearing it to the beach,” he turns into a clingy, jealous guard dog. 

“okay, well, guess i’m canceling practice. and becoming your personal umbrella. and maybe handing out blindfolds.” 

suddenly he’s emailing ubers, “hi, can we change venues to antarctica where no one will see my girlfriend’s ass? thanks.” 

shidou ryusei

you pull out the bikini, and he is already doing backflips. 

“hell YES,” he roars, snatching it from your hands like you just gave him front-row tickets to chaos. 

he holds it up like he’s just won the world cup. “this isn’t a bikini. this is ART.” 

he’s biting his lip, already imagining the crimes he will commit just thinking about you in it. 

“wear it now. now now now now now–” 

you say, “it’s for the beach, dumbass,” and he gasps. 

“in public? oh, babe. we’re gonna get kicked out. i’m gonna get kicked out. i’m gonna kick myself out.” 

if someone stares? he’s already shirtless, barking, “you like eyeballs, punk? wanna lose one?” 

later at the beach, he’s sitting next to you like a guard dog with rabies, grinning as people trip over themselves staring. 

“yeah, she’s hot. yeah, she’s mine. yeah, i’ll fight you.” 

he’s loving it. and also ready to commit 47 misdemeanors in your name. 

mikage reo

he’s so excited when you mention a bikini. he’s got visions of you lounging in a luxury cabana, sipping coconut water, wearing something pink and cute. 

you open the bag. pull out a suspiciously small bundle. 

reo leans forward. then leans back. then stares at the material in your hand like it just insulted his ancestors. 

“… babe. are you punking me.” 

you hold it up proudly. 

he whispers, “that’s not clothing. that’s a dare.” 

he begins calculating how many islands he can buy to create a private ocean for you. 

offers to take you to a resort where the only other guests are penguins. he’s sweating and smiling at the same time. 

“you look amazing,” he says, voice strained. “but also… jail. i’m going to jail just thinking about this.” 

you wink. “worth it?” 

he slaps a hand over his heart. “debatable.” 

nagi seishiro

he’s lying face-down on the couch when you drop the bikini next to his head. 

“what’s that?” 

“my new swimsuit.” 

he rolls over slowly, squinting at it like it personally offended him. “… you’re gonna wear that? in public?” 

you nod, grinning. “yep. thoughts?” 

he stares longer. “i’ll have to stand up and fight people,” he says flatly. “that sounds annoying. you know i hate cardio.” 

but when you try to joke about not wearing it, he immediately whines: “wait, no, i didn’t say don’t wear it. i just– ugh. i’ll bring a stick or something. smack anyone who looks too long.” 

he pulls a blanket over his head. “wake me up when the swimsuit’s illegal.” 

itoshi sae

you pull out the bikini. 

sae looks up. and then… back down. and then back up again. slower this time. 

his mouth opens. no words come out. 

finally: “absolutely not.” 

you raise an eyebrow. “you don’t like it?” 

he doesn’t blink. “no, i love it. and that’s the problem.” 

he stares like he’s calculating every man who will be breathing in your radius. 

“what do you expect me to do, sit there like a monk while you parade around in dental floss?” 

you grin. “so i shouldn’t wear it?” 

sae sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “… wear it. whatever. just make sure your will is updated.” 

he’s grumbling the whole drive to the beach. “can’t believe i have to punch people for this. i have delicate hands.” 

aiku oliver

he hears the words “new bikini” and immediately beams like a new trailer for GTA 6 just dropped. 

“babe, let me see. i bet it’s sexy–” 

you hold it up. he pauses. he squints. then squints harder. then physically recoils like you just showed him a haunted doll. 

“... what the hell is that?” 

you smile innocently. “it’s a micro bikini! it’s trendy.” 

oliver stares at the thin straps like they owe him child support. “that’s not a bikini. that’s suggestive yarn.” 

he laughs, but it’s the nervous laugh of a man who knows he’s about to enter the gates of hell. 

“okay, yeah, real hot. super cute. very illegal. you gonna wear that in public? where other men have eyes?” 

you: “yeah!” 

oliver, five seconds from calling the coast guard: “cool cool cool. guess i’ll just stand behind you with a megaphone yelling ‘DON’T LOOK’ every five seconds.” 

he pulls out his wallet mid-sentence. “you want a cute cover-up? a towel? a parka? my entire body as a shield?” 

man’s about to go full defender just to body block ogling strangers. 

karasu tabito

you show him your new bikini while he’s mid-sip of his energy drink. he chokes. 

“is that a swimsuit or a shoelace?” 

you hold it up proudly. “this string is going to change lives.” 

he coughs harder. 

“change my blood pressure is what it’s gonna do.” 

karasu stares at the bikini like he’s trying to disarm a bomb. “i don’t even know how to tie that. is it origami? a puzzle? a lawsuit in fabric form?” 

he keeps trying to joke, but it’s masking how panicked he is. 

“are you planning on wearing that in front of people? like, real people? with eyes? and hormones? and no self-control?” 

you nod, smiling. 

he immediately starts pacing like a sitcom dad. “i’m gonna have to fight someone. i’ve never fought anyone at a beach before, but i guess i’m gonna find out how fast sand slows down a punch.” 

you: “you’ll be fine.” 

him: “oh, i won’t. they won’t. you might. i won’t.” 

karasu’s just dramatic enough to fake faint to get you to change. 

ness alexis

you call him over with a little grin. "nessie bear, look at my new bikini!" 

he turns to you, already smiling like a golden retriever with a crush, until you hold it up. 

his smile falters. “… is that the… full set?” 

“yeah! isn’t it cute?” 

ness stares. not blinking. his polite smile twitching like it's buffering. he looks at the two strings and one triangle you’re calling a "bikini" like it personally threatened his family name. 

“i-i love that you're confident. really. i do. but–” he gestures vaguely at the offending garment like it just insulted him in fluent french. “this is barely a swimsuit. this is... minimalist hazard tape." 

you laugh. “come on, it’s fashion!” 

he nods, still looking at it. “no, yeah. it’s nice. great. just enough coverage to keep from getting arrested.” 

his eye twitches as he imagines anyone else seeing you in it. 

then he gets very still. “… you’re not wearing that in public, are you?” 

you: “i was gonna wear it to the beach.” 

ness, smiling but clenching his jaw so hard it’s an olympic sport: “wonderful. i’ll just bring my shovel in case i have to dig a few graves.” 

you giggle. “ness.” 

he leans in real close, voice sweet, barely above a whisper: “i’ll support you wearing whatever you want, angel. but if a single guy even glances in your direction like he’s thinking sinful things, i will kindly ask him to meet me behind the snack shack and throw hands with a smile.” 

then he kisses your cheek and goes back to scrolling through his phone like he didn’t just make a passive-aggressive murder threat. 

he’s your #1 fan. but that bikini? public enemy #1. 

niko ikki

you pull out the bikini and niko immediately short-circuits. 

he stares at it for a full ten seconds like it’s a new species. “... that’s… that’s your bikini?” 

“yup!” 

“… where?” 

you hold it up again. niko’s entire soul flatlines. 

“no no no. you can’t wear that. what if it unravels? what if the wind blows? what if physics stops working?!” 

he starts to go down a rabbithole. “you’re going to the beach like that? where there’s sand? and men?? and sunlight??!” 

he’s panicking. visibly. “you could get sunburned! or worse… catcalled.” 

he’s now googling ‘how to stop time’ and ‘can i cancel summer.’ 

you laugh. “so you don’t like it?” 

he turns red. “i do! i just… don’t want to die of jealousy. or rage. or both.” 

poor baby’s trying to be supportive while having a heart attack at the same time. 

© 𝐤𝐱𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my head while watching this episode (in 2025!)

--The Wind & Snake Hashira are such meanies, even they do it out of concern for their fellow Corp members who nonetheless have worked very hard to become very capable swordsmen. They’ve seen too many other hardworking swordsmen be just barely not capable enough.

--But these boys did their best and deserve some credit! Look at those moments when they save each other!

--I still wonder why the demon bothered tying up his victim. Also, I hope her rescuers did not forget to get her down from the roof later.

--THIS WHOLE CHANBARA SCENE MY GOSH. And like, putting it in a castle. THEY SO FREAKING KNOW THEIR AUDIENCE. The way Sanemi just cha-chas real smooth as he follows the demon and tells him off, and then that head grab before the slice, and the totally unnecessary rain of blood later. The dramatic zoom up from below into Iguro’s eyes. The way we get a brief Snake Breath effect right as Iguro jumps up and catches the victim.

--And then when Sanemi is befuddled by the whole Infinity Fortress things his reaction is just: sit.

--Love and am puzzled by the stone sign leading the way to the Butterfly Mansion. Is that sign, followed by all those Jizo statues to pray for the safety of children and travelers, intended only for Corp members? Or, like, do they normal people stop by? Milkman just passing by the Butterfly Mansion on his normal rounds or something, nothin’ special to see here.

--At last Ufotable has made it good and clear: Shinobu has three goldfish. Are they all named Fugu? Maybe one is Saba? Maybe one is… Buri???

--Still love the added touch of Nezuko enjoying the sun but being distressed when SHINOBU SAYS THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN

--To be so thoroughly entrusted with the safety of that which Muzan wants most, KANAO IS SO FREAKING STRONG and Shinobu good and well knows it.

--The swordsmith village was carting out naginatas and I love this fact. They might just be for the villagers to use, but… maaaaaybe there are Corp swordsmen using them? Give the short people naginata!!

--I have always loved the awkward squeaky fiddle BGM.

--Gotou has the best delivery of all the short lines.

--Tanjiro is really so chill with his place in the Corp that he totally almost assumed his connection with Tamayo is No Big Deal

--No, Tanjiro, she is still scared stiff at the thought of being brought before the Corp who has always held every intention of killing her for what she is and what she deserves

--The Hashira are all so sad not to see Daddy Kagaya

--I love how the birds are so obvious about who gave Amane a report about The Mark

--Everything about Mitsuri in this scene is lovable, but three things to mention here” the way her hands move when he tries to think of how to describe the Mark, her little triangle mouth when listening to Mui-kun, and her “GRYRARAA” when startled by Himejima clapping his hand. That sound lives in my head rent-free.

--Okay but speaking of Himejima, when Amane is telling everybody about the mark and they are shocked that such a thing could exist, she very, very quickly makes a slight mention of "some may already know of it through hearsay" right before Sanemi is like, "I haven't heard of it, why haven't we been told about this?" and Amane explaining why, there was a bright cut to Himejima on "some already know of it." Himejima-san, have you heard something of the mark, even if not all the details???? I wonder even if Kagaya (or one of his very small children) made reference at some point of, "wow, Himejima, you are so strong, you might even attain this feat that has not been actualized since the Sengoku period? Oh wait, nevermind, you didn't hear that, I didn't say anything."

--I love love love that Amane and the children could look so dumbfounded

--Also love and find it curious that at least Mui-kun (and probably Mitsuri too) got treated at the Butterfly Mansion instead of, say, anywhere remotely a little more convenient.

--I snorted laughing at Giyuu backhandedly call Sanemi “simple”

--“We must warn you before you start trying to attain the Mark that you will die early if you attain it.” “Hey, let’s train EVERYONE.” I mean, not that Himejima expects anyone besides the Hashira to get it, but a lower-ranked member like Tanjiro did get it first.

--Love the movement of the beads when Himejima jari-jaris them and that they fly off his hands when he claps

--Zenitsu has come so far in his confidence as a Corp member as well as how accepted he is by other people. He does believe they about him, which is something he always wanted, even if he inflates it a bit to suit his own wishes. But really, good for him!! He is secure feeling loved and appreciated now! I see the beginnings of “Legend of Zenitsu” already forming in his head, but good for him, really and truly!!

--Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho are so diplomatic. Also, eyecatch of the chapter cover with Sumi force-feeding Genya, yaaaaay!

--Sure, Aoi wouldn’t exactly say she’s lonely when Zenitsu isn’t there, BUT WHAT ABOUT INOSUKE?????

--This is still the funniest first thing Nezuko ever could have said to Zenitsu

--I sometimes say “Imofuke” because it’s so fun

--HAGANEZUKA-SAAAAAAN you’ve worked so, so, so, so, so, so hard COMPLETELY REDOING a sword polishing process that puts your life on the line even when you AREN’T horrifically injured and TANJIRO DOES NOT SEEM TO APPRECIATE THIS since he even thought it’d be just fine to go interrupt

--TANJIRO DOES NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW DANGEROUS IT WAS TO THE SWORD TO USE IT IN THAT EARLY STATE OF POLISHINGGGGGG

--I still love the whole “Metsu” thing

--BUT I’M JUST AS ANGRY AS HAGANEZUKA IS

--Yay broken window dance! Yay “no idea” pose! Inosuke, you are such a king. And I still melt because we got Shinobu scolding him in the Taisho Secrets. She’s basically saying the same things Tanjiro said to him from day one; you can’t just let yourself get injured like it’s nothing, you have to think of the future and take care of yourself. And it gets through to him now. <3 HOWA HOWAAAAAA

--How are Zenitsu’s teeth not broken? How is Matsuemon’s beak not broken?

--I hope Himejima saved those face-down Corp members. Or he just cried. Somebody saved them, right??

--Would love to deep dive into Amane more. The fact that she cries when Kagaya thanks her in this scene, is it because it shows the end is near? Or has she gone all these years never having been thanked? Possibly, both.

--Still love the baritone crow

--Still love “Mugen” even if I do find the beginning of it kind of cheesy and unintentionally funny with everybody smashing behind the logo. I have that screenshot (as well as the others like it) on a mat with a compilation of Hashira art, and this image got cropped a bit, so it really is just Giyuu's head sticking in there. Trying so hard to be included. That's what you get for waiting until the last second to include yourself, Giyuu-san.

--But also, all the swords falling behind Muzan? A GREAT TOUCHHHH

--And then in the extended ending theme for this episode, first all of all, SWORDS

--SWORDS SWORDS SWORDS SWORDS SWORDS

--But also, hey, that’s Shinobu’s theme! And Uzui’s! And Giyuu’s! And a nod to the Swordsmith Village theme! Love the whole mashup.

[lume-ish]

Spoilers for ep11 AvA

something something AvA TCO and AvA Victim look identical something something-

Imagine escaping from your creator and finding a home, a community, people who care about you and you care about; and while it doesnt change what happened, you begin to heal, you don't flinch at every triangle shaped object anymore, and of course you have your bad days but you know that your best friend/partner will be there for you. You create a whole cool company from your talents and smarts, you find a home and its safe and everything is looking so hunky dory right?

And then in flashes of green everyone you love gets painfully ripped away from you. and who is the source of this? Who caused all this pain? Who else could it be? Who else has this kind of power? Did he come back for you? to finish what he started?

You don't find out and are stuck wondering for hours, maybe days, maybe more. But you're stuck in a too big building with too empty halls with nothing to fill it with besides your own thoughts.

And when you do find out? It's you. That's you on the screen, you before you changed, you back when you were just a victim. It has to be a message. they have your face, they even look younger somehow, their lines cleaner, and they're strong so strong. Stronger than you ever were and could wish to be. Did Alan do this? Cleary. Who else could've made them. They look just like them. In a way no one else here in this tech-world(??) does.

why? To mock him? to show how strong he could've been, to tell him that no matter how far he gets, no matter how hard he works to move on to be happy. He will always be one step behind, ready to drag them back the second they so much as slip.

And maybe that adds a certain hint of envy to Vic's anger and grief, cause as much as Vic hates TCO, they're also a reminder of why they were created. But not just that, that they could've been TCO, they could've been strong too, and Vic is strong, Vic's smarts probably outrank all of the hollowheads. But what part of that is their natural genius and what came from a desperation to survive no matter what?

Maybe if they were stronger, or smarter, they couldve saved Mitsi. If they had been created stronger . Or they couldve defeated Alan instead of running away. And then none of this would've happened.

Anyyyway just funny little thoughts I've had about what Vic might be thinking/feeling since watching Episode 11. Like the work Alan and the whole team put into AvA and AvM is just mind blowing, like broo the emotion and story theyre able to tell with these stickmen is incredible.

[warningsine]

How different are the Wicked novels? Are they worth reading?

Yes!

Please, if you have the time, read them. You won't regret it.

As for your first question, they are completely different universes.

The musical itself doesn't cover a lot of ground. (Minus some delightful surprises, the film stays faithful to the musical.)

In fact, as much as I love it for its catchy tunes (they were a big part of my childhood) and charming perfomances, I have to admit that it's a very watered down family friendly (and thus straight) adaptation of Maguire's books.

Said books are far more preoccupied with the Animals' marginalization, because Maguire utilized them to comment on antisemitism: Hitler's Jewish victims being treated as animals/subhumans.

Various adult themes: cultural inequality, politics and education ethics to name a few.

There are violence, sex and substance abuse.

Regarding Elphaba, she is not a misunderstood outcast, who craves acceptance because everyone hates her.

She's darker; a cynical intellectual and later a leading figure in a revolutionary terrorist movement.

She defies trad gender roles (there's talk about her being intersex as well), is not religious and embraces her skin color.

She has a child, Liir.

There's no stupid Glinda/Fiyero/Elphaba love triangle either.

Glinda never has a thing with Fiyero and doesn't want to. She has romantic tension with Elphaba (which Maguire confirmed) and seems to be in love with her (although that's open to interpretation).

When they part ways, Elphaba kisses her and tells her to "hold out, my sweet." And Glinda does, for decades.

Fiyero is not a Disney-esque himbo player. He is a tribal king with blue diamonds on his face, in a loveless marriage with Sarima. He has an affair with Elphaba, which alters her life for the worse.

She lives some years in a monastery, then with Fiyero's family. When they get captured, Elphaba ends up ruling the West.

Also, Fiyero is not the Scarecrow. Elphaba has hallucinations (she exhibits some serious mental health issues) about him coming back to her as a last attempt to get the forgiveness that she desires (because he got murdered by the Oz guards).

Then there's Nessa, who becomes a powerful tyrant that can stand on her own, but she doesn't do it to force a man to stay with her.

Back to Glinda.

She's more or less a background character.

She marries a guy that solidifies her position in the upper echelons of society and allows her to retreat into a conventional life. Her marriage is devoid of passion; she does not love him in a romantic sense. There are even rumors that she uses her husband as a cover to hide her "true interests," because Oz is rather conservative and proper.

Glinda helps Liir and his child, Rain.

The Midwife confides in the younger characters that Elphaba and Glinda seemed more than friends.

There are hints that Elphaba's death might have been fake or that she might have used a spell which would allow her to get resurrected.

In "Out of Oz" (last book in the series), Glinda gets incarcerated for committing treason against the forces of Oz.

Of course, it's clear that she'll be freed at some point, because the public won't stand for it.

However, Glinda doesn't worry about that. She is confident that "[Elphaba]'ll free me."

Because of this, Rain and other characters worry that Glinda lost it due to her age.

Yet, in her final scene, a mysterious person comes to free her. Glinda says, "You wicked thing. You've taken your own sweet time, of course."

That's what Glinda used to call Elphaba at school, but it's ambiguous.

Did Glinda die and hallucinate Elphaba in her last moments? Did she die and reunite with Elphaba in the afterlife?

Or maybe Elphie did come to free Glinda and the two left Oz together.

[james5-doe]

Spotlight: Katarina

Kat and Cal. Art by Neldorwen.

The youngest member of Mongo's royal clan has become a glittering superstar this month.

But let's go back a little. When Katarina was introduced around a year ago, I think that some people, myself included, questioned whether she was something of a Castra rehash. Look at the details. Same family. Same youthful charm. Same rebellious motivations.

It turns out that Kat has unique qualities, though. She's not just any rebel. She's super determined to save Mongo from Ming because she met Ming's victims as a child -- a highly jarring experience that revealed the truth about her father. It also appears that the rebellion only succeeded because of her highly valuable ability to see the future. In short, she 'betrayed' her family and changed the world.

Then there are the more personal matters. She's a sensitive girl who's trying to build a bridge between herself and her twin Krotan, who resents the fact that their mother helped her flee when they were kids, leaving him to be raised by Ming. She's also competing with her other siblings for the title of ruler, while attempting to reestablish her bonds with them. And she's in a budding love triangle with the bold Captain Cal, and her adoring advisor Lar. Maybe it's a love quadrangle, actually, when you throw her friendly servant Lyn in the mix.

One wonders how she might react to other happenings on Mongo, and in the rest of the DoE galaxy, such as her brother's attempts to marry Jedda.

I want to thank those who offered nice words on the recent fanfic. However, I'll note that it wasn't necessarily an introduction; it can be used as a continuation too -- perhaps with some adjustments.

Anyway, it was fun working with the character.

Scene 2 by Plustina.

[eyesanddragons]

Rambling incoming. People often remember the book 10 vase scene & the epilogue as poorly written (and they are), but I'd argue that what happens after the vase scene is just as badly written, if not worse.

Being told that Darkstalker not only brainwashed one of her friends, but also attempted to kill off his entire tribe with a plague, should have been the final straw for Moon. She had already experienced a SEVERE breach in trust with Darkstalker before he even emerged from the mountain, so much so that it put her into tears (end of book 8). She should have immediately realized that trying to redeem Darkstalker would necessarily put the lives of her friends, Winter's tribe, and the world at risk, as long as he still had his powers. She should have immediately started focusing on how to neutralize DS as soon as possible. Maybe neutralize him in a way where she can safely try to redeem him without gambling the world on it, but not if it requires the sacrifice of her friend's safety. She should have redirected her empathy towards the friends she KNOWS she can trust. This does not happen. Instead, she throws herself a pity-party, like she is the real victim in all of this. She stubbornly insists that he can still be redeemed much to the dismay of Winter and the questioning of Qibli, and then puts the entire world at risk by betting on him willingly eating the strawberry to find redemption. It is ONLY through the serendipitous hubris of Darkstalker that he is defeated. Yet the books do not hold Moon to task on ANY of this completely blind and genuinely selfish crusade of hers. No, it's everyone else's fault for not believing in her.

A few short pages after the vase scene, Moon outright channels suburban mom energy out of nowhere, infantilizes Winter as if he is a toddler throwing a temper tantrum over spilt milk, and basically tells him to go to his room. All because he was upset that, after being told that DS nearly wiped out the IceWings and brainwashed one of her closest friends, she wanted to go talk to the culprit. She refuses to explain why and doesn't even try to understand why Winter is so upset. Yet she calmly explains her reasons to Qibli on the very next page. This scene alone made me almost quit WoF entirely because it straight-up invalidates Winter's trauma while, somehow, framing him as the unreasonable one.

After their conversation with Darkstalker, they realize they have to tell Winter that Queen Glacier, his aunt whom he genuinely cared about and valued so much that he made it a cornerstone of his identity early in the arc, has been killed by Darkstalker's plague. So, since they are such good friends they would feel genuine empathy and sorrow for him, right? Dreading the task of telling him because it will be a genuinely difficult thing to do, to tell a close friend that a loved one of theirs died? Lmao nope. Instead, all Qibli and Moon are worried about is that he might yell at them. Moon's only response to Qibli's worry is "I've heard worse in his head." Not "he's allowed to mourn," or "he's been through a lot recently, cut him some slack." Imagine if your friends, behind your back, learned of your loved ones passing and went "Oh god, alright let's draw straws on who has to tell this guy."

The 2nd half of book 10 is, to this day, probably some of the worst, most mean-spirited writing I've ever seen in... anything really. It systematically destroyed the found family to resolve a love triangle that nobody wanted, because letting Moon and Qilbi just choose each other was apparently *not* an option.

The Vase scene and how the character's react and treat Winter in the 2nd half of Book 10 is one of the reasons why it's my least favorite WoF book. It really is unnecessarily mean spirited. Though I do wanna touch a bit on what you say here. Specifically about Moon since I think her actions her could of actually been handled in an interesting and impactful way.

This isn't to defend the Vase scene or anything...it's really bad and honestly I think it's worse with this context. I just wanna mention this since I think Moon is a really under-utilized character.

Moon's in a horrifically toxic friendship with Darkstalker, he repeatedly makes Moon feel responsible for his actions, he isolates her from her friends, he constantly pleads with her to stay with him because it'll make him better or make him stop acting horrible. It's notable that Moon is the only one Darkstalker didn't enchant because her Behavior is like someone who was enchanted. Darkstalker doesn't need to enchant Moon, he's already got his grubby in her 13 or so year old mind. Moonwatcher also has a surprisingly black-and-white worldview. Moonwatcher sorts thoughts into bad and good and judges people by them. Darkstalker exploited this by showing Moon all the good things he wants and all the good things he thinks.

If we get rid of all the magic from Darkstalker for a second what we have is a horror story where a much older teenager is manipulating a much younger one to Stay With Them so that They don't Kill Anyone. This is Deeply Horrifying and I'm not even going to touch on how he compares her to Clearsight because it becomes even creepier and I don't want to talk about stuff like that at the moment.

This is why I hate the vase scene even more! Because if we divorce it from the rest of book 10 for a bit it's actually a deeply fucking terrifying scene where Moonwatcher's sense of self is so reliant on Fixing Darkstalker that the idea of him doing something so horrible is something she can't accept because if she Does that means she's at fault.

Plus part of the worry in the vase scene is coming from how Moonwatcher trusts Darkstalker still, and how Darkstalker can read her mind. Winter is putting Moon at risk by telling her this. Could you imagine if Darkstalker Did decide to do something to Moon because of what Winter did? Moon is being put in danger by that information.

Of course we live in a world where book 10 sucks and Moonwatcher is barely a character outside of the love triangle so we don't get that. Moonwatcher's personality changes depending on what the love triangle needs to continue. The clearest example of this is Moon Wanting to Abandon waiting for Winter in Escaping Peril when SHE'S the one who wanted to wait for him in the first place!

I think one of my major problems with Book 10 is that, due to the romance plot, a lot of characters feel like there being given a script by Tui herself for the plot to go like this. So, as you mentioned, instead of acting like concerned friends who just learned that there friend's aunt was practically murdered, Qibli and Moon act really dismissive and even cruel. Complaining about being yelled at rather than the fact that Winter's Aunt is Dead. However this scene is supposed to push the romance further, to show how Winter is less attractive to Moon compared to Qibli.

Now, again, really fucked up to use his aunt's death as the backdrop here, but it is the purpose of the scene. This book is so meanspirited and horrible I Hate it god I hate Book 10-

[bardinthezone]

Watching Making myself sit through Moffat's Who, trying to give it a decent chance and I can't stand it already. Y'know why?

The stupid fucking love triangle.

Because not only is it just generally annoying as a trope, but it is so poorly written here. It takes over the show in a really obnoxious way and completely flanderizes characters who, in the first episode, were decent people.

Rory is portrayed as a fool for being... concerned that his fiance is cheating on him with the not-actually-imaginary friend she's been obsessed with since childhood, who she ran off with and kissed (A normal thing to be concerned about!!). And just generally, he's portrayed as a bumbling idiot. As the one who just gets confused and makes one-liners about being insecure. And both Amy and the Doctor just brush him off, leave him behind! Mocked by the woman who's supposed to be there for him and abandoned by the Doctor who's meant to keep him safe. He's being reduced to basically just comic relief here, and it sucks.

The Doctor is so.. aloof. More so than 10 and DEFINTELY moreso than 9. He's a silly, childish man who often fails to recognize the emotional consequences of his actions. He has his emotional moments, yes, but a lot of his writing falls victim to what I call "Sherlock Syndrome." When Moffat just writes an aloof super genius and expects the audience to fawn over him because he has good outfits and witty one-liners. Matt Smith is a fantastic actor and he carries a lot of his run, but putting glitter on a turd doesn't stop it being a turd.

Amy is yet another victim of the "every woman falls madly in love with the Doctor" pitfall. Worked with Rose, got old with Martha and after that almost every one-off woman who flirted with him just made me roll my eyes. Her obsession and anger with the Doctor didn't have to be romantic, but Moffat just couldn't resist writing a "strong female protagonist" who's sexy and she knows it, who loves having all the boys fawn over her and flirts without a care in the world. Who's a brash girlboss in charge of her boys, but who also turns into a sobbing damsel in distress at the slightest sign of danger.

All three of these characters are so blatantly characatures of themselves right now that it takes me out of it. They're all just quippy one-liners of their smartness or their brashness or their insecure foolishness. Can these types of people exist in real life? Yeah. But the way they're written about here is just obnoxious. I'm willing to accept that later Moffat seasons might be better than this (at least on the interpersonal conflict side of things), but it's season 1 and he's already dropping the ball so hard.

We could've gotten something truly marvelous, with a PLATONIC conflict based on the Raggedy Man from her childhood finally coming back and offering her freedom from a boring adult life. She's enamored with him, but doesn't entirely trust him because hey, he massively fucked up once already. Maybe Rory is concerned about his place in Amy's life, and Amy tries to be comforting. Maybe she messes up, maybe she says the wrong thing. Maybe she says the wrong thing right before losing Rory to the crack in space and time. But she has to try, because why should I care about a relationship where one person doesn't care about the other's happiness, at least a little? And right now it just feels like she doesn't.

I'm not saying shows shouldn't have interpersonal conflicts and flawed protagonists. They should! But to pull that off well, you have to make us want to see these characters grow. You have to give us a reason to enjoy watching these characters interact, even at their low points. And revisting Moffat's run as an adult, I don't feel enjoyment. I just feel annoyed.

[thesnarkerramblings]

Reminder Of Reality

It was both long ago and recently when the curtains of destiny fell on me near dusk. Much conventional wisdom would say that a year or two is a lot, but I’ve also heard at least one anecdote of that same amount not seeming very long. No matter, though.

There’s this one scene in A Midsummer Night’s Dream where the story’s four main love triangle participants wake up from a brawl thinking that it was all a dream. In reality, they were merely drugged with a potion to believe so by the very same person who led to said fight. That’s what I feel from time to time. [1]

Sometimes, a part of me wonders whether that cold weather hell was real or not. I mean, cognitively I know it was. My memory might be fuzzy regarding some events during those few days, but it isn’t completely blocked out. Objectively, whatever I remember did happen even if I can’t recall all of it - right?

Yet…it also feels strangely unreal that any of whatever happened, happened. The five seconds of skirmishing notability. The wild rollercoaster of emotions and thrill through shallows and depths. All the lies that were told, secrets kept and unkept, and truths that hid in various places.

I’m going to be blunt, it’s not like I expected everything back then to be smooth sailing from the start. But the unbridled chaos that ensued was as far from my expectations as it could get. 

In many ways, I was hardly a textbook victim - let alone participant. I spent several of my days around other crowds, be it for fun or trying to build connections. I didn’t really have many friends in the fair-weather area that I enjoyed before things became the objects of solemn nightmares there. My fated ending was in limbo as well - not quite final, but with little hope on the horizon.

It’s not like I didn’t try to test for proof, though. I gathered evidence from old belongings and screamed from the rooftops contemplating that maybe, I’d somehow wake up from all of it. 

Obviously…I did not. I was no further in or out of the in-between realm I got stuck in much earlier, but I sure as hell was reminded of the fact that my strange trove of offbeat memories did come from someplace real. My organs were still intact. My breathing was still there. More importantly, though, time did flow steadily - if uncomfortably - from one moment to the next. 

It wasn’t long before I realized that as much as I wish my stacks of demons were the creations of a mere dream, they weren’t. Even though I don’t remember all of it, even though I haven’t seen everything, the main events of those odd happenings did occur. Like it or not, I just have to accept them.

Perhaps, one day, I’ll go through something else peculiar. Maybe I’ll end up blocking out enough seemingly minor details that when the centerpieces finish, I will start to wonder whether I dreamed it all up again. Of course, it won’t take long before I snap back into reality once more.

But hopefully, that doesn’t happen. Hopefully I will be able to live life without constantly being on the verge of questioning whether something did or didn’t take place just because it seems like the product of madness. 

Dreams, whether fantastical or realistic, are often nice, and I certainly don’t want them completely gone. However, I’d love to keep my place in the real world as well - flawed as it is.

Any other thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments!

Sourcing

1: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/a-midsummer-nights-dream/read/3/2/

Other Socials

Twitter/X: https://x.com/snarkylisa

Main Tumblr: https://snarkylisa.tumblr.com/

Medium version: https://medium.com/@SnarkyLisa/reminder-of-reality-383f55f4e1d8

[hardworkandguts]

Macross 7

マクロス7

(Anime + ova + film)

Mecha romance musical by Shoji Kawamori

Era: 1990s

Rating: S

Plot: Around 30 years after the developments of SDF Macross, humanity and their new allies, the Zentradi, are expanding their reach to outer space in the Macross 7. There, they meet the a new enemy - aliens who seem to feast on the life force of their victims, first on the pilots defending the spaceship convoy, and then on the city onboard the 7 itself. As this happens, Basara Nekki, vocalist of rock band Fire Bomber, with Ray Lovelock and Veffidas Feaze and new bass player and female vocalist Mylene Flare Jenius, daughter of Max and Milia. He also mysteriously has a custom VF-19.

Length: 49 episodes, 2 OVA and a 2 films

Thoughts: Ah, if Plus was a bit "what if we made Macross but made it unlike Macross", this is probably the quintessential Macross experience. Does it have variable fighters? Yes. Is there an aspiring music star in a love triangle? Yes... kinda. Is their music connected to protoculture? Buddy, not only that, it becomes the main weapon. Does it have tension between the civilian side and military side (who can't be trusted) of the Macross? You're not going to believe it, but there's even two aspects to it. So let's start by that. Because they likely learned a few lessons over having the civilian and military together, the 7 has a combat module similar to the original Macross that can detach itself from the civilian module which can turtle itself during combat, and in charge of both are respectively Max and Milia, now estranged after maybe too many tossed babies. Our boy Basara is a pacifist firm in his conviction his songs, not fighting, can move a mountain and change the universe. He butts in anytime there's a fight between the forces defending the 7 and the attackers by dodging every attack and firing speaker pods at their enemies, to the annoyance of Gamlin, the ace pilot on board. What he (and even Basara himself) doesn't know is that it all is part of a secret program Ray and Max cooked up, trying to develop an attack that mimics Minmei's years prior, this being the main driver of the first half of the story. While at first he seems more an annoyance, we get the first hints of success and why they're being attacked by the "vampires", who need Spiritia (or life force or whatever you want to call it) and their leader dreams of regenerating Spiritia, allowing them to stop hunting other species, and while attacking a musician, they see the effect Mylene and Basara singing has on the recovery of her levels, and later kickstart the recovery of a captured pilot, and even make Sivil, one of the Protodevlin behind the attack... uuh... feel things and make faces that were probably not seen before outside something you could only buy from a mail-order catalog that only advertised on magazines sold behind the counter, and later the full weaponisation of Fire Bomber as Sound Force, setting the stage for the later half of the season, focused on the fight between the Macross 7 and the Protodevlin. The love triangle is never exactly resolved, which is a good thing because, you know, jail, but it's questionable if there really was one to begin with as Basara is interested in one thing only, and it is to make people listen to his song.

This idea that music can change the universe is baked into the franchise, and the way it is taken literally here is Macross taken to the most Macross it can be, and putting it in writing makes me understand it can be very ridiculous and why some might not like it. The characters are also very fun, but quite one note throughout the story, beyond Gamlin taking the broom out if his ass, and it feels some of them, like Rex and her gang or the bridge bunnies could have had a bit more time for them. Visually it's very much a solid mid 90s show, although it's not the pure spectacle of Plus and recycles *a lot* of animation, the music sequences are on a level probably not seen outside magical girl transformations.

So, 49 episodes are enough to tell the whole point of the show: finally allowing the long-suffering Flower Girl to give Basara a bouquet, but given its success there's more to it - first was The Galaxy Is Calling Me, a 30 minute movie taking place in the later third of the show, where Basara crashes into a struggling mining planet due to a Fold disturbance while chasing a powerful voice picked up by their monitoring systems who turns out to be a familiar face to some of the characters (B), same with the Encore OVA, with three stories taking place around midway where we get to see a TV documentary on the lives of Ray and Basara before forming Fire Bomber, very inaccurate re-enactment included, a very sick Milia tries to marry Mylene to Basara, and an old acquaintance of her comes across the 7 with her fleet of still rogue Meltrandi. All three fall more on the side of light and funny and they all have pretty good moments, be it Mylene singing Minmei's songs, the Meltrandi meeting deculture, or Milia going on what she thought was her final trip (A), followed by the Dynamite OVA, adding 4 30 minute episodes after the end of the show where Basara decides to wander around to the edges of the galaxy for a bit, and saves the (space) whales. I like the setting and new characters but... I kinda feel they could have done more with Fire Bomber struggling with Basara buggering off trying to find something to sing for, and what they did was, you know, that. It gets some nice colorful visuals and space battles and obviously new music, in general, neat, but a bit underwhelming (C). There is also 7 Plus, a collection of very short omake material added to the end of some episodes in the home releases, things like a videoclip for an acoustic version of Love Heart, other for a couple of unused songs, and for a live version of Planet Dance by the real Fire Bomber in 1995, Gamlin's time at the academy, how the bridge bunnies are all infatuated with Max or the first contact with the Protodevlin. Fun, but nothing special (C), and many years later, FB7: Ore No Uta Wo Kike, a full-length movie recap set in the timeline of Frontier, which I'll get to in due time.

Recommended to: People who want to hear his song

Plus:

Well, it's not, but it's peak Macrossing.

Fire Bomber has some bangers in there.

Predicted playing Ace Combat with a GH controller.

Minus:

Action feels a bit flat compared to the rest of the franchise, particularly after Plus, and it recycles a lot of animation.

Decision to mostly have Fire Bomber for music makes this incidental music fan a bit sad

[m1ckeyb3rry]

FOUL PLAY omg it must be the govt again….trying to get more trainers SMH

The calculus jumpscare I can’t LMAOO bro not Barou watching out for us from heaven I’m imagining your Barou doodle plus that one so sorry I died audio SHSHSHSS

Ok I changed my mind I’m merging them all back together oops

Omg bro the itoshi sae effect is crazy I need to know what ppl see in him (or don’t see LMAOO) whatever suits their fancy ig im very shocked there was no Nagi though considering he’s also pretty big

LMAOOO I remember searching up the lore for it once and being like wtf wait the fact that there’s fire grass but no rock normal is kinda baffling like huh there’s none????

SHSHSSH NOEL NOA BEFORE NAGI they got the wrong light haired striker imagine the Noel one hits 50k LMAOO

SHEHSH Rin nation really cut it close it’s funny how they actually did manage to get one in though

Ok wait yk that theory of like Prof oak getting with Delia (ash’s mom) while ash is away (this is a WILD theory but) imagine aiku tries to rizz up nikos mom while he’s journeying LAMAOOOOOO anyways

HAHA notion coming in clutch fr I used to just scroll through your blog occasionally or rely on my memory (bad move) but now I’ve just given up and saved if separately LMAO

Mmmm yes pokemon and their trainers developing hand in hand we love to see it

LMAO YES joltik alpha wolf moment that’s also why the next time Karasu has to go against it he throws out his garchomp LMAOO the Gordon Ramsay meme has me gone consider this too Karasu channels his inner step bro Barou moment x Gordon Ramsay chemical reaction and goes “otoya you fucking donkey”

Charles Shidou and hoopa is a recipe for disaster they’re about the change the tilt of the planets axis there goes the peaceful wedding reception

The word count inflation is actually insane I’m not sure I’ll ever look at a wc under 1k the same way (jk some are still fire but ykwim)

KARASU TIME ok serious more angsty right make him drown this time.

/hj LMAOOO I mean if you’re so inclined itd be interesting Karasu truly very versatile though so many avenues for suffering!

- Karasu anon

LMAOO okay lowkey if we want to throw some team x drama in there maybe his house was victim of a larger scale team x raid?? hehehe we will see…either way it’s rough for the poor guy

I’M SORRY I LOVE CALC 😭 i always get funny looks for it but i must speak my truth i think it’s so fun (specifically integration i LOVE integration) but HAHAHAHA that’s exactly what i was picturing like that one fuck ass sketch of him like 😢 with that audio LMAO

honestly i feel like sae is the kind of character i would usually like?? i tend to like prodigy/genius characters that are super good at what they do (so like yuta and megumi in jjk for example) which fits sae super well but for some reason i just never got into him like that (also his early manga appearances are so cursed omg i better never see a sae fan slandering 8bit they saved his entire career) anyways ig that description also fits my actual top 3 (nagi obviously, karasu as no3, and barou again is kinda clear) plus those three are much more my typical type…karasu and barou with the spiky black hair and nagi with the soft white hair 🤩 NAH FR I KNEW NAGI WAS ON TJE OUTS W THE FANDOM LATELY BUT ZERO REQS FOR HIM?? truly insane work…tbh i actually don’t mind because i’m so particular with how i write nagi that adhering to someone else’s vision might stress me out so it’s not a huge deal that he didn’t get requested i just think the composition is hilarious there’s so much much sae and karasu (karasu fr pulling through if nothing else ik i’ll always get a req or two of him…the kuni love triangle with him is abt to go crazy)

YEAH I WAS LOWKEY SURPRISED ASF TOO but apparently rock is also the only type that’s never been paired with ghost?? i think that’s really interesting kinda random but huh the more you know

THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYINGGG WDYM WE GOT NOEL NOA BEFORE NAGI 🧐⁉️ but they requested a crime au and said they’re not super married to how it goes but they just want a happy ending you know i’m abt to go full murder mystery in this bitch 🔥 jkjk ofc but i think it’ll be really fun considering i’ve never written noa OR anything crime related before!! tbh i wasn’t expecting anyone to pick it but it should be fun 😈 ngl i’m surprised forbidden love, supernatural au (as in vampires and werewolves and shit not the actual show which i haven’t watched), historical au, and arranged marriage didn’t have ANY takers but oh well all of the tropes i do have lined up look like they’ll be super cool so i am excited 🤩

i was sitting there like “hm i wonder who the last req will be for…lowkey can’t believe we haven’t gotten any rin” and then BAM there the notif was i was like holy shit i just closed the app 😭 rip nagi yukimiya otoya you’ll get em next time (at least i get to try writing reo for the first time hehehe i loveeee reo 🥹) wait if you think abt it we got the entire opp squad on the masterlist…kaiser sae isagi AND rin those four truly are inescapable 😩 WAIT YKW WOULD’VE SLAYED AN AIKU REQ pls i didn’t even care abt aiku pre oaeu but now he’s like a silly fav LMAOAOA like i don’t even find him that attractive as you know i just think he’s hilarious and so fun to write (ig the aikulations will have to be reserved for the oaeu fr)

ok wait now that i’m thinking abt it once bllk s2 comes out and the fandom hopefully grows i lowkey might hit another milestone kinda quickly so everyone who didn’t get a req this time around can hopefully be redeemed then 🤩 especially since more people will remember/know/care about tabieitaken and nagi right after third selection and u20 (although sae will def be big too atp i should just change to a sae theme /j)

HELPP AIKU TRYING TO RIZZ UP NIKO’S MOM the craziest part is technically they’d be in the same age group considering aiku’s older than reader and co (he’s in the barou age bracket so it’s only a few years but still) and niko’s the same age as nagiy/n’s daughter here so he actually could become niko’s step father…or dare i say the father who stepped up 🤔

karasu bringing out garchomp against joltik is so funny bro is NOT playing…joltik (or ig galvantula because it def evolves before karasu’s gible gets all of the way to garchomp status) puts up a good fight but in the end it’s overwhelmed 😩 so then reader busts out the big guns and tosses in hydreigon or gyarados and karasu’s cooked 😭

PLS karasu and gordon ramsay is such an iconic chemical reaction it’s too good and omg i almost used the gordon ramsay you fucking donkey quote but then i was like “nah this is too barou” he def would say that though and reader would like start crying because it reminds her of barou meanwhile karasu’s like damn i didn’t know you took the anti bullying campaign that seriously 😟

HAHA charles and shidou are bad enough on their own adding hoopa into the mix is CRAZY hoopa’s a psychic/ghost type so it’s 4x weak to ghost and dark types i bet houndoom and aegislash get put on legendary babysitting duty (hydreigon would also be involved but it’s too busy networking w yveltal…bro is fr in his mira era trying to get those linkedin connections and whatnot)

proud to be a word count inflator nah fr though whenever i see someone post a 3k word one shot and be like “i got carried away this is so long” it instantly recalibrates me because to me 3k is mega short and tiny…like carried away with a one shot means 10k+ (depending on the idea…like i wouldn’t say i got carried away w barou’s oaeu even though it’s abt 10k words meanwhile freaky friday at 8-9k ish definitely got carried away…not to mention both bfbs which are drastically different in length but both long given the time frames of the plots and what they’re trying to achieve???)

LMAOOO I DON’T MEAN CHARACTER DEATH ANGST more so smth along the lines of the instrument (specifically the first part) and wicked game (kiyora fic) idk if you know what i’m saying…not angsty depressed vibes or anything but like i want there to be a tinge of melancholy and maturity to it instead of the typical karasu goofiness (bfb isn’t quite crack but because they’re kids for so much of it there’s not that same punch yk) idk if i’ll actually get around to doing it for a sec though…much to be written not enough time to be writing it all i fear

[bisluthq]

I know the it ends with us drama is old news but I saw someone say that they’ve experienced DV and they liked the way Blake was promoting the movie and that kind of changed my opinion on that whole thing a bit. I think the movie needs a BIG trigger warning that isn’t there and I understand how maybe promoting it the way she did wasn’t the best idea. But I don’t think asking people to wear florals and doing interviews while she does a flower arrangement are necessarily bad things. I also get her point about Lily being more than just a DV victim and how that’s only part of her story and who she is. I haven’t seen the movie or read the book so I can’t comment on how much it focuses on her life vs abuse, but if it’s more about her life and her relationships and the abuse is only a part of one of those relationships, I don’t necessarily have a huge problem with the promo? It could’ve been done better but I don’t think it needed to be about DV awareness tbh

I don’t think anyone has ever said Lily should be reduced to the abuse storyline or that she is in the movie but that is the central storyline (from what I understand - I also haven’t read the book or watched the movie but I’ve read a lot about it). The title refers to Lily and her daughter breaking the cycle of abuse that’s plagued their family for multiple generation. Lily’s mom got abused and then Lily gets abused and she decides she needs to break the cycle so she says to her daughter “it ends with us” and they leave. Her other relationship - because there’s like a love triangle thing - also ties into the abuse storyline because it’s an old friend of hers and her husband/abuser gets insanely parrie and jealous of that guy and that guy essentially “saves” Lily or at least tries to but she does figure out I think that she must save herself or whatever.

Again, back to the Judith Krantz discussion lmao (and Sidney Sheldon and all those 70s/80s batshit crazy books) there’s a lot of abuse in all of them but they’re not books ABOUT the abuse. They’re books about women and often those women’s careers (usually very successful careers like unrealistically so lol) and those women face various challenges including abuse. TEWU is literally about DV. That’s what the title refers to, that’s the central storyline and through line in her romantic relationship with the other guy, it is like… the point of the book. So yes. Obviously she isn’t “just” a victim but this specific story is about her experiencing abuse and deciding to leave. There’s a sequel called It Starts With Us and that focuses more on Lily and this promo would be more fitting for that sequel imo if it gets made - like Lily’s life didn’t end up being defined by DV and she moved on etc etc and ran her flower shop and got together with another guy and shit. But the first book/story *is* about DV.

I’m not gonna erase what that specific person you saw said about the promo but it’s a minority opinion seemingly and fwiw I don’t really like finding a dissenting voice for a sensitive issue and being like “well, see????” It feels a bit tokenizey when that happens. Different people like different things and someone might well have experienced DV and enjoyed Blake’s promo and the movie and the books idk. Obviously that’s not an irrelevant opinion but it feels a bit like finding minorities who are into conservative parties (be it Republicans in the US or Tories in the UK) and being like “well, see?” And in the case of the UK Tories like you had Rishi and Suella in key positions - arguably THE key positions - both having very strong anti immigration policies for example despite being the children of immigrants but I don’t think their stances were super popular with second generation immigrants in general (they were and are with some though!) That’s where identity politics/personal experience kinda needs to be seen as just that. Personal experience/identity. You can have had an experience and be fine with or into something and that’s your right but that doesn’t mean you necessarily authoritatively speak on behalf of everyone in that group idk.

[hanako-san]

Hiya!!!! How are you doing doing????? Is it bad that I’m kinda pissed at some of the characters? I know you’ve talked about some of this already but-😤

Everybody has their own opinions and that’s ok here’s just some of my own thoughts

Teru:he still is very rude to Hanako for no reason despite Hanako proving time and time again he’s different from stereotypical Hanako evil apparitions using his appearance as a excuse for his actions

Yashiro:she’s supposed to be the hopeless romantic, the damsel in distress, the teenage girl who dreams of someone taking her off her feet in a fantasy, but the thing is there’s a difference between being boy crazy and her actions she goes for the worst people as well teru who hates Hanako and tries to kill him over even had some vendetta against her but still enamored with him, swooning after every guy hit complaining none will like her when Hanako is right there? He clearly cares about her but she’s gets mad at him constantly, thinking she does nothing wrong, and might be swooning for his brother who he has trauma with!

I don’t want her to lose her hand or die but I just-I really want her to learn a lesson

I just Hanako is one of the best characters in my opinion and I like many simp for him, he deserves so much better poor little amane 🥺

Kou and Mitsuba are also great characters

It’s just the love triangle of Tsukasa,Hanako and Yashiro

And just Yashiro and teru in general-

I don’t hate Yashiro completely

(I do like Tsukasa but I need to see more of his personality,motives and maybe more? Maybe I’m just a simp or somebody who wants to analyze characters-)

I just-I really hope some of the characters learn from their mistakes and grow and maybe just maybe hopefully they can be redeemed or maybe it’s too late but hey! At least we have Hanako right? ❤️

Heeey!!!!! I'm fine! And you? Thanks for asking! It's kind of you 😊 Yes, I said some, but not all. I'm waiting for the right moment to say more about most of the characters, but I will say a little about certain characters in this question.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. I really appreciate it.

To older minamoto and daikon i agree.

More about teru from Me: Ano I remeber how teru said to Amane " I can't stand the sight of you" and that he endured it for his younger brother. I feel exactly the same way about him. It's also hard for me to look at his ugly face, but I have to for the sake of the plot. I try not to look at him, but focus on his texts. The level of hatred for the elder Minamoto is high, but he is deserved.

Teru doesn't care, he likes to bully supernatural people and ghosts. He doesn't care. He is a pure sadist with a psychopathic murderer and the justification that 'supernatural things are evil', but in fact he loves to kill. He has a special hatred for Amane, so I repay him in kind. But I know there is a hidden secret in his pathetic hatred. I could be wrong, but my gut tells me there's something behind it.

More about daikon from me: Anon… it's not that if I hate daikon I have to wish the worst for her. It's not like that! I sincerely wish her life and I don't want her to die. I want her to live and live the life she wants.

My feelings for Yahsiro are complicated because I hate her and I love her. The hate is greater because she has a personality that is hard for me to stand. Her actions and the way she treats Amane don't help. I'm especially angry with her and I hate her for the way she treats Amane, for the way she disregards him and treats him so badly, for how empty her words are, and for the way she can't admit when she's wrong because she doesn't see it. there is nothing to blame, she is always the victim, and Amane is the worst and the guilty person thinks she has nothing to blame except him. yashiro He treats Amane very badly, so I will also trample on her and her feelings. It makes it a lot easier for me because she makes me hate her with her behavior and actions. But that love is still there, small, but sometimes it makes itself felt.

Amane is my number one, my love and the one I care about, not her. So her feelings are unimportant to me, I don't care, even if I have some love for her. It doesn't change anything.

I think I have feelings for her yet because I hope she will improve and learn lessons, but Anon.. aren't we both too naive? What needs to happen for her to understand? She doesn't even see any guilt in her friend's sacrifice - she didn't apologize to Aoi for being sacrificed because of her, because she thinks it's Amane's fault, not hers, she doesn't see her guilt in any of her actions at all, even the most recent ones from chapter 104, so I have no idea what must have happened so that she understands what she is doing is wrong and sincerely regrets it and apologizes . Although there is a 1% chance that maybe something will come to her and she honestly understands how bad of a person she is and how terrible her actions are. Is it naivety or hope? Maybe it will undergo character development, or maybe she will stay that way. If she stays like this, I will hate her. Easy. But the manga hasn't been finished so maybe she will change and that one 1% chance will be left for her, but honestly Anon… I know I'm naive.

Anon….exactly…there's a difference between being a hopeless romantic and being crazy about boys! Did she think about Amane's feelings and how he feels throughout chapter 106? No. Her problem was that Tsukasa kissed her and she thought he loved her romantically. As if that was the most important thing to her at that moment. She fantasized about them fighting for her. Am I supposed to believe that she loves him when she doesn't care about his feelings? And she didn't even think for a moment, "hey, maybe Hanako-Kun is hurt." She only want to be where Amane is because he is the person with whom he feels safe and knows he will protect her.

Everything I thought about her since p.p.arc is confirmed by her behavior, which she shows more and more, also in words. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this.

In my opinion Amane is the best character ever!!!🥰💖 He is the best Amane!! I'm glad we agree on most of it. It's good to know that there are people who think similarly about certain things and characters ☺

I won't say anything about kou and mitsuba Anon because it's not the time for me to say anything- The time will come and you will know my opinion^^

But Anon teru and daikon go well together. They are worth the same to each other. My 'beautiful' couple.

The love triangle doesn't surprise me. This is AidaIro style. It's disgusting! They're brothers!! I won't support this! I'm glad I don't care about romance or these ships at all. However, what AidaIro is doing is disgusting.

So Anon.. can you say that Yashiro and I also completely hate her?

About Tsukasa from me:To be honest, Tsukasa pissed me off in chapter 105 and I really won't forgive him for that! I won't forgive him, but I can't hate him! Simply! I don't hate him. My hatred turned into love, but I won't forgive him for what he did and I will be really harsh with him, but despite everything… I managed to love him. Of course it's on a lower level, but still. The only thing I want is for Amane and Tsukasa to reconcile with each other, for brother and brother not to be enemies of each other. I think his motives are related to Amane. Despite everything, I know they both love each other.

My advice Anon. You just need more time to understand Tsukasa and sort out your feelings for him. It's like me with daikon. Let's both just wait and see what the characters do. Will Tsuaksa finally make you like him or not? The same in my case and daikon. We both need character time. There's nothing wrong with that. I'd love to hear your final opinion on him when your feelings are finally stable.Will you share with me your opinion? 🥺

I will do the same with daikon, but of course it does not change the fact that I will treat it as I have been treating it so far :) But one day I will give my final opinion about daikon.

I also like to analyze characters, and Amane is my passion for analysis. I love analyzing Amane!! 🥰

Anon… I can copy your last sentence. I think exactly the same as you. Even if the characters don't change like you say and don't redeem themselves, Amane is here! Yes!! We have Amane!! Our perfect and charming, beautiful Hanako-san ❤️ Ours beautiful Hanako-san ❤️

Hope you like my answer ✨

[lunar-years]

everyone has different interpretations of scenes, but for real that scene with jamie and roy was just plain sexist. roy seriously said "i don't know if we're getting back together because she's a woman and you never know". like what the absolute fuck was that line? they showed up to her house condescending, completely unapologetic about their behaviour, and treated her like a trophy prize. she deserved to beat them up. jamie and roy have always been troubled characters, but they were never (not even in season one) sexist assholes. the show went out of its way multiple times to establish that even when they made mistakes it was due to personal insecurity and not misogyny.

and whenever it was something misogynistic, it was heavily criticised as such, which, in this episode, it was not. a lot of people did seriously not catch the blatant sexism of it at all and went "that's how these men act" (again, what the fuck?). jamie spent season three being respectful of roy and keeley's breakup and not making a move on her, out of consideration of roy's feelings. roy, who knows how abusive jamie's father is, probably better than any other male character on the show, physically assaulted him. despite the fact that throughout the season roy has been approaching jamie with affection, realizing that's what he needs to feel secure (complete disrespect to 2x08 too, one of the best episodes of the series). and while we're on the topic of violence, roy and jamie were never this violent with each other, even when they hated each other's guts. jamie, who gave keeley a truly heartfelt apology about the leaked video, making a point to not victim-blame or engage in literally ANY other sexist behaviour, just brings it up to upset roy in a dick-measuring contest. and one episode ago, one fucking episode ago, they were all getting along, keeley and roy were obviously trying to get back together, and jamie wasn't one bit bothered by it. they were holding hands on his bed and he saw them and smiled! regardless of whether you think the roykeeley arc was rushed (i do), jamie might have been heartbroken or sad, but he wasn't, not once, established as jealous of them. and this entire season was devoted to roy and jamie becoming friends by slowly growing comfortable around each other and actually trusting each other. every single one of those things was thrown into the trash. and yeah, sure, progress isn't linear and perfection isn't possible for people, but that WAS NOT regression. roy and jamie were never sexist dicks. those were two completely different characters.

ALSO, this scene normalizes the idea that it's perfectly forgivable to revert back to sexism whenever emotionally distressed, even if you are generally not like that in your life. it's not. in reality, you're either sexist or you're not, and doing this in one scenario will absolutely mean that you will be sexist in different scenarios too. nobody in real life will be sexist in some areas of their life and feminist in others. implying that this isn't the case shows a very poor understanding of feminist theory and ted lasso has more or less done a good job at not being sexist. i feel like this really excuses unacceptable behaviour that the show itself tells us, with rupert particularly, has very real consequences that perpetuate violence against women. to me, the light-hearted resolution of that whole scene was terrible and poorly written at best. people in the writers' room typed that scene, read through it, and did not find it weird at all. though it's not the first time in the third season, see: forgiving jamie's dad and far-right bigots (???).

and lastly, when people were asking for a love triangle resolution, they meant something fitting for the year of our lord 2023. healthy communication and conversations, mutual respect and love between the charactets, maybe even polyamory (3x11 had a great ot3 set up, too). nobody meant we wanted something from the fucking 1950s. literally the only worse way this could have played out would have been if keeley ended up with the one that caused the other more damage. legit disgraceful ending for roy and jamie as characters, and for the show as well. considering everything it has stood for so far.

(i'm sorry if this reads like i'm calling people out, i'm not, really, i'm just very mad. and also really sad, because i did not go into the ted lasso finale expecting unaddressed sexism. like that was Really Very Bad. for this show especially).

woahhh there's a lot going on here, anon. For anyone wondering, I'm assuming this is a response to this post of mine. While I don't mind discussion or being called out... this does feel like something that could've very well been your own post or an open response to mine instead of an anon note. Because if you've read my meta, you'll probably already know I'm not going to agree with you on this.

Just gonna drop a few short thoughts because I don't have energy to write a think piece when my broader thoughts are already contained in my original post:

I'm not sure where you think I was trying to excuse their words or pretending they weren't being sexist or like they weren't treating Keeley as a weapon in their own games or a prize to be won. I think there's a difference between excusing someone's actions versus trying to understand where they were coming from for the characters and where they are at now.

"while we're on the topic of violence, roy and jamie were never this violent with each other, even when they hated each other's guts" Roy & Jamie were literally beating each other up in the locker room and brawling right out there on the pitch in season 1, anon.

"Keeley and Roy were obviously trying to get back together, and Jamie wasn't one bit bothered by it." this is just not true. Roy was trying to get back together with Keeley. Keeley wasn't shown to be reciprocal (beyond sleeping with him, which is a repeated pattern of behavior for her on the show, and something she in fact did with Jamie in season one), and Roy misinterprets it, as Jamie misinterpreted it. In fact, I'd argue Roy deciding it was a good idea to try and make him and Keeley happen right there in Jamie's bedroom with Jamie crying to his mum one room over, shows he wasn't thinking about Jamie, not when it comes to Keeley. Roy wants what Roy wants and he assumed he was going to get it. And Jamie went through a whole journey of expressions when he opened that bedroom door, so I don't think it's fair to say he "wasn't one bit bothered." I think we've established at this point Roy and Jamie both love Keeley and have always been weird and jealous about it with the other.

"this scene normalizes the idea that it's perfectly forgivable to revert back to sexism whenever emotionally distressed" this scene didn't normalize anything, because the show immediately acknowledged that Jamie and Roy were both in the wrong and had Keeley rightfully kick them to the curb for it. The narrative was not that this is okay or acceptable behavior. I definitely didn't see the scene as light-hearted

"nobody in real life will be sexist in some areas of their life and feminist in others." i am a woman who considers herself very much a feminist. That doesn't mean I've never had moments of internalized misogyny or made harmful comments that buy into a patriarchal narrative, despite myself. Well-intentioned people make mistakes. We are all works in prog-mess trying to get through life as the best people we can be. Jamie and Roy, in my opinion, are fictional iterations of the same principle. I don't think this comes even close to destroying their entire characters in the way you are implying.

All the best x

[first-of-her-nxme]

What if Gendry r*pes Arya? I was talking with someone about theories and they were telling me practically a whole book , they said something about Arya having a child but leaving it with Gendry and go away in the sea!! For some reason it brought me back a theory i read on your Quora about a r*pe that could potentially tie in Arya‘s arc or attempt.. My thoughts were maybe The Mountain now Robert Strong or Jaime (revenge on Ladystonehart or something) and maybe Gendry 🤔

Hi Anon!

It's not going to be Gendry. Gendry had already made a move that looked like rape but, luckily for Arya, it was only a stupid play. Do you remember that they were wrestling in the smithy? Gendry invited Arya to a secluded place and then he pushed her to the ground. They wrestled and Arya looked like a rape victim afterwards. Her pretty dress was ruined and all. It looked like a rape attempt: luring a girl to a secluded place, pushing her to the ground, tearing her dress. I really hope it was only stupidity on Gendry's part, not a real threat to Arya.

That scene had its function. Because it made Arya look like a victim of sexual abuse. Moreover, when the two of them returned from the smithy, Martin let us hear My Featherbed, a song about a Targaryen prince in love with a girl from the North.

This chain of events reflects what happened between Robert, Lyanna and Rhaegar. Lyanna and Rhaegar fell in love in Harrenhal and it made Robert furious. When Rhaegar left, Robert "demanded his rights". Lyanna pushed him away, ran off and married Rhaegar.

Gendry, Arya and Jaqen are involved in a love triangle, similar to that of Robert, Lyanna and Rhaegar.

GRRM said that Gendry and Arya have no future together. There won't be any baby. If Arya is going to be a mother someday, Jaqen will father her child/children.

But back to the rape threat. There are at least three scenes in the books that point to a Lannister threatening Arya.

First one is the prologue to A Feast for Crows where Rosey is a foil for Arya, Pate is a foil for Jaqen and Lazy Leo is a foil for Jaime. Leo tells Pate that he wants to rape Rosey and Pate warns him that he might kill him if he does.

Then, in A Dance with Dragons, we get a foreshadowing of Jaqen fighting Jaime. It's in Jon X chapter where Alys Karstark marries Sigorn. Here, Patchface is a foil for Jaqen and Owen the Oaf is a foil for Jaime. The two are dancing together during the wedding feast which makes everyone laugh. It is a metaphor for the fight between Jaqen and Jaime. I suppose the latter won't be a laughing thing.

We also get a foreshadowing of a Lannister raping Arya in the Mercy chapter from The Winds of Winter. Here, Arya is playing a rape victim in the play about the Stranger's revenge. In the play the rapist is Tyrion. It's a reminder of the love triangle that GRRM had originally planned for Tyrion, Arya and Jon. In the current version that would be Jaime, Arya and Jaqen.

The showrunners of Game of Thrones gave a nod to that part of the books when they showed Arya and Jaime at the Twins in the finale of season 7. Arya wore the disguise of a wench and was eye-flirting with Jaime. Nothing much happened between them because Jaqen, and the whole storyline that came with him, had been written off.

Thank you for dropping by, Anon. And I apologize for the delay.

[timetobeaghost]

Mike confessed his love for El as a direct REACTION to Will's love confession, that he claimed to rely from El. It's, like @always-a-weirdo wrote, Cyrano de Bergerac (or the movie Roxanne, or the gender swapped retelling Big Fat Liar with Robin's mom Uma Thurman etc.). It was Will's words that made him fall all over in love with El. He could not have known these weren't Eleven's words and thoughts because Will lied to him.

Of course he was also pushed into his love confession further by Will, really with quite some pressure. It was literally a question of life and death that he convinced El he loved her, Will conveyed, but the actual feelings for the confession he took from how Will's painting and confession made him feel mixed up with his past relationship with El.

So that was a Byler scene.

Oh, the moral failing in this story is always with the liar. They lie out of lack of confidence and Will might be even more sympathetic, because his issue of being gay (and being sure Mike isn't and unsure Mike would not be appalled) is a bigger deal than just believing one is too ugly for ones crush, but he is lying and manipulating. And the character at the center of the triangle is very much an innocent victim of that.

Obviously the liar always gets their crush anyway after learning their lesson and quitting the lies and self-sabotage.

There is no question that El's ignorance of the painting will come up, and Mike will likely be hurt and maybe get a clue at the same time.

[nurcan-24]

Ok so after the ending of coi, everyone was talking about how cordelia and matthew were going to be together, or at least have a romantic scene. And i knew that this wasnt going to be true and had an entire theory with proof ready but never posted it. So here it is,

When we first heard about the last hours series, Cassie had told us that the love triangle in this series wasnt going to be the normal 2 guys one girl trope, but rather one guy and two girls. Which is James with Grace and Cordelia. Which told us that this is going to be the main love story the book focuses on.

Now, at the end of coi, and the spoilers we got for cot, i knew that many ppl thought that there was gonna be a love triangle with james cordelia and matthew, which falls into the cliche love triangle trope of 2 guys one girl. BUT Cassie told us that it wasnt going to be like that. So knowing this EVERYONE shouldve known that cordelia and matthew are NOT going to be canon.

Cassandra told us herself that it wasnt going to be the one girl two guy love triangle. After the end of coi, we knew that the love triangle was over and that cot was going to focus on building james and cordelia's relationship.

For those who thought matthew and cordelia were going to be together, shame on you. We are talking about the ENTIRE FUTURE of the Harondale bloodline if cordelia chooses matthew over james.

Now that i have gotten that out of the way, im going to rant about some things that happen in cot, so for those who dont have their copy yet and havent read it, thanks for reading my post, love y'all.

Now for my rant,

In EVERY SINGLE SITUATION where james and cordelia are together, james tries SO HARD to make her believe he loves her. And what does she do when they have a moment ? LEAVES HIM. LIKE GIRL HE IS HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH YOU. AND YOURE LEAVING HIM AFTER IT ? NOT EVEN A SMOOCH ? Ok ik he broke her heart but hear me out, HE REVEALS WHATS INSIDE THE NECKLACE (which im not saying what it is, those who know, know) AND YOU JUST LEAVE TO FIND MATTHEW ? GIRL, can you please just think over this ? Ik matthew is in a hard place rn but if u continue to do things that make him thing you love him then he AINT GONNA LEAVE YOU WITH YOUR MAN JAMES, WHO PROBABLY CARES MORE FOR YOU THAN MATTHEW.

Also this is NOT hate towards matthew, he is one of my favorite characters, i just hate that this is what is happening in the story and he just falls as a victim of fault. I love u matthew, hope you are happy, wherever your little heart takes you.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SAY WHY MATTHEW HURTS HIMSELF SO MUCH. LIKE BRO, YOU KEEP GOING FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE LOVERS, YOU KNOW CORDELIA HAS HAD IT FOR JAMES SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN KIDS. OK IK THAT JAMES MIGHT LOOK LIKE HE LIKES GRACE BUT NO. HARONDALES LOVE BUT ONCE AND THATS WHAT HAPPENED TO JAMES. HE JUST HAS A STUPIT BRACELET THAT TELLS HIM OTHERWISE.

Also, on the topic of the gracelet, HOW THE HELL DID ANNAS NECKLACE NOT FIND THE DEMON ENERGY COMING FROM THE GRACELET LIKE WHAT ? Ok maybe its just rlly good demon enchantments but like bro, not even a tiny blink at the gracelet? ALSO NO ONE SAID ANYTHING TO JAMES WHEN HE SUDDENLY WAS WEARING THAT BRACELET WHICH OMINOUSLY SAYS " Loyalty binds me" ON IT. LIKE THAT IS SO CREEPY, AND NO ONE THOUGHT TWICE ABOUT A 12 YEAR OLD KID WEARING IT ???????

Sorry for all my ranting, and thank you for reading it. I welcome any comments and disagreements to my theories and opinions about the various subjects i have covered.

Thank you and happy reading.