#i didn't expect it to be the very last scene tho. somehow

[insecateur]

just watched all of nge for the first time and now i understand why everyone was telling me that even if i did i still wouldn't understand what is happening in the congratulations scene

[quodekash]

guys jokezo just made out and now they have to share a bed together. just chew on that for a bit.

NO, DON'T GIVE ME THEM SITTING ON A BUS

GIVE ME WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY HAD TO SLEEP IN THE SAME FREAKING BED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEY MADE OUT

👀

(they made out last night btw)

(just in case anyone forgot)

(and then they had to share a bed)

ass x7

also zo is fully just not doing anything lmao

everyone's pushing with all their might and zo is just 🧍‍♂️

FUIWEBSDGIOUVEWJBOGD

oh the desperate thigh grab

yeah, im with him on this, they need to talk about it. especially about how they had to slEEP IN THE SAME FREAKING BED AFTER THAT

welp. I guess joke's day was just ruined in a slap to the face disguised as a few words

AND THE WAY HE TAKES HIS HAND OFF ZO'S THIGH AFTER THAT????? OUCHHHH

I must say tho, this is really giving episode-6-of-bad-buddy

its very patpran-post-rooftop-kiss-core

the vibes be gay and yearning and very very sad

OKAY, THE MOTHER, FINALLY

a few things to say about her

1. she's gorgeous

2. DAMN she is SHORT

3. I was rewatching the first four episodes yesterday and today because I could, and I noticed in the first episode, zo asked his friends to not tag him in photos they took at the bar, because "I don't want my mum to see"

but my question is... why? he's just out drinking with friends, he's an adult, he's not being irresponsible or anything, so why doesn't he want her to see the photos?

is it something to do with what his mum thinks of him? is she overbearing? does she have high expectations of him? does she kinda suck?

she's probably lovely though, and ill end up adding her to my list-of-fictional-parents-to-get-adopted-by (it's a very long list)

I guess we shall find out today as the episode progresses

oh, honey, you're so queer

the amount of times ive done exactly this

she's so short its hilarious omg

also: ive decided I love his mum

she's so sweet

and neither of them know how to use a stove and I think that's so hilarious and endearing

HSDHSHFSHDHHS

(also: this scene is making me think of akkayan at aye's house having a meal with his mum and rhbgdhjgb)

he's putting two and two together

the few braincells he has that aren't dedicated to debating are whirring in his mind

I can practically hear his thoughts

"he kissed me back... he wants to talk about the kiss... we went on two dates together at his suggestion... he showed up at my house and charmed my mother... he says I have secret admirers..." cmon sweetie youre so close

"WAIT, DOES HE LIKE ME?" omg honeybun you did it!

or maybe he didn't do it

maybe he was still shuffling the pieces in his brain but hadn't put them together and then his mum said something and distracted him

either way: that was hilarious and I want to high five dunk for his acting there

HIGH EXPECTATIONS, I KNEW IT

still love her tho

high expectations suck but she seems wonderful so far (obviously my opinion will change if the circumstances do (like if it turns out she completely sucks) but for now she's made it to the adoption list)

brb, gonna go cry real quick

well now their thumbs are making out

you see, I understand the things he's saying. and I honestly agree with him. if I were ever somehow put in his position, id probably say the same things.

HOWEVER, I just want my bl boys to kiss again and be happy and together and I appreciate the realism over the usual fantasy kinda situation we go for in bls, but I just want them to kissssss

this is very good advice

I hope that jokezo kiss again this episode

also AAAGBRDHFKBG JENGPOK CRUMBS

YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHO'S LOSING THEIR MIND OVER JENGPOK AGAIN

BERIUFDJKGBEORPVFD

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

SHUT UP

SHUT UP SHUT UP

IM NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

FHEWSDGFVESDV

THIS IS TOO FUNNY

im gonna start crying soon

its so funny

help me

girl is worried

I know this is what jeng told you to do but is during debate club really the right moment

im so certain that she ships it

awwhhhhh

HE SAID IT

HE SAID THE THING

AAAAAAAAA

hell yeah

GOUERJLHDGOBIERVLDNF

AAAAAAAAAAA

IM SCREAMING

THATS IT??

THAT'S THE END OF THE EPISODE??

THEY DIDNT EVEN KISS

OR ADDRESS THE FACT THAT - and I can't stress this enough - THEY SLEPT IN THE SAME FREAKING BED AFTER FULL-ASS MAKING OUT

omg next episode is gonna be amazing

I can't wait

gekjrdsbfd I love them so much

im like 70% certain they're gonna kiss next episode so fingers crossed

ALSO NITA DEFINITELY SHIPS IT

anyway. that was good. I should go to sleep now

[silvandar]

BG3 Durge run: casualty list, sunmary etc. Durge spoilers.

I absolutely loved this run. Durge is like playing a completely different game! The plot is fantastic, and the dialogues are hilarious and very clever.

My Durge looks almost exactly like this! Love this tattoo design.

Party: Durge fighter, Astarion, Shart, random hireling sorcerer. Picking Duergar was a Choice, their movement is dogshit and they keep getting stuck on jumps 😭

Act 1

Gale: maimed, presumed dead. Unless Mystra took pity on him.

The Grove: bloodbath. Stole everything that wasn't nailed down.

Wyll: dead

Goblin leaders: dead. Minthara tried to shiv me when i picked Astarion over her, should have rerolled just to see her romance scene but it was late and I was tired.

Karlach: dead. Attacked me on sight yelling about the Grove massacre, which was weird but cool. How did she knowwwwww.

Laezel: dead, because she tried to shiv me when i was sick. Otherwise we were besties 😭

Act 2

Oliver: squished

He Who Was: openly likes me, headcanon dating.

Last Light Inn: bloodbath

Jahira: dead

Isobel: dead

Yurgir: freed from contract because i couldn’t trick him into yeeting himself

Nightsong: dead

Shart: Dark Justiciar mode.

Durge plot: think I'm figuring it out. Orin is getting slapped later.

Daddy Thorm: dead. Surprisingly easy to kill when everyone has misty step and range.

Githyanki plot: pretty much ignored.

Romances: dating Astarion, flirting with Shart.

Durge has slayer form which everyone else in the camp thinks is gross, but Durge absolutely loves it.

Act 3

Picking and choosing quests is fun! I'm already level 8 so can easily ignore stuff that feels too "good" to be of interest.

Somehow my general terribleness has made me Chronically Single. So I had to bang drow beef without the offer of a foursome. Sigh. Choosing the "kinky" options was hilarious.

Kissed and made up with Gortash. He's a good guy really, very swauve. Looking forward to killing him later.

Ascended Astarion. Went at level 10, fight was surprisingly easy now I know the mechanics of the power boosts. Also having Turn Undead is big and clever. Watching Cazador scuttle like a cockroach was very cathartic.

Murder tribunal: Met Saravok, he was fun! Chatted about the old days, killed an elephant, bathed in some blood. Good times.

Nightsong redux: Robbed Lorroakan while he sulked about the Nightsong being dead. Astarion can now summon Ghouls. (Genuinely, just hopped on downstairs and cleaned out the vault. Not a single combat reaction from anyone. Bugged? Or just wizarding hubris? Didn't try to take anything from the main tower tho as I didn't need the robes or staff.)

House of Grief: Shart turned about 1/4 of the adds to our side, so it was a surprisingly easy fight. Shart is now God's Extra Special Princess.

Orin: died in 3 turns, just went Slayer on her and ripped her apart. Fun! Astarion has a new sword.

Saravok redux: Durge has a nice new sword and hat. Although he did one-shot me at one point. Don't know why I expected anything other than a fight, honestly.

Gortash: roasted by the Netherbrain. Saves me killing him I guess. Bit annoyed that I couldn't loot him.

Ignored Raphael and Orpheus completely. Gave the Emperor the Netherstones. Pretty much zero Githyanki plot on this run, as it seemed pointless with Laezel dead.

Netherbrain: much harder with only 2 sets of allies! Blinding the dragon helped, and for some reason the mage got stuck and glitched, so I consider the fight Cheesed By Accident.

Ending: murdered the Emperor, dominated the Netherbrain, turned my party into thralls, ruled the world as Bhaal's Chosen. Epic end scene, absolutely brilliant. IN BHAAL'S NAME!

[kendrixtermina]

Giving Doctor Who a New Chance, Part 3: The Giggle

It's nice that they're bringing back some classic villain, but I really wish they had the Toymaker butcher some other language. The gag is just not funny at all when you actually speak German

Ok, that's an illustrative montage of a mightyfine chaos

IDK what I think of this - set it up in a way that it can be reset again.

oooh, Mel is back! As a 6th Doctor fan, I appreciate this. Did not expect that. She still got that perky way of talking.

Having seen the eps he was in, slipping over a bottle of Vodka is exactly like Sabalon Glitz would die, but hey, at least he lived to a ripe old age.

Donna just landed herself a new job. I guess there's that duality in human's fluctuating confidence levels again cause she glibly asks for double but looks ecstatic that it worked

so, Donna doesn't remember in detail, but she got a rough glimpse

the guy playing the Toymaker IS pulling off the creepy clown act pretty well tho

I really liked that scene between Donna & the Doctor in the infinite cabinet with the Doctor re-evaluating his life choices.

That's another thing that's been missing, that fucking Chibnall didn't get - that the point of him, at the end of the day, is that he's just some guy. Somewhat wiser & tougher than a human, maybe, but still fundamentally just dude with wits & confidence. A trickster, a flawed person trying to do the right thing that through trickery ended up with this fearsome reputation. I used to think of RTD not getting it as much as Moffat did cause he did like overly savior-archetype-like plots sometimes whereas moffat emphasized the 'just a madman with a box' angle, but RTD gets it in this scene where we see the Doctor cringing at his past self for things he couldn't have foreseen & now he doesn't know what to do in a world that doesn't follow predictable rules

Because that's what they don't tell you about getting smarter, wiser or even just older - the price you pay for knowing better today is cringing at the awareness you used to lack. thats very real. you end up thinking you should somehow have known or done better even if you couldnt have.

there's certainly some thematic rhyming with the 'narrowmindedness-plague' afflicting the earth

Donna's dad is actually right. Good for him to be wary of the Hot Hand fallacy and its ilk. Missed a chance for an epic nerd reference

I dunno what to think about the concept of 'shift to fantasy', i wouldnt have done that & really turned more to harder & concept fanfiction, but i suppose it keeps thinks fresh without being repetitive (they cant keep destroying and un-destroying gallifrey all the time...) & the show has always been the very softest of sci-fi anyway - at leasts its set up in a way that it can be reset again or let future writers pick whatever they want. though i suppose it depends on how its done like, if possible without wholly throwing out humanist values. You can absolutely be a trickster in a fantasy story or fight crazy things with logic; Infinity train did it to great effect. I mean, the classics had far wonkier stuff like actual Vampires & whatnot.

i appreciate Donna rhyming while defeating the puppet

"jingsaw out of your history" thing imply that the timeless child thing was an in-universe retcon of sorts? Oh please. I mean I could kinda sorta accept 13 is she literally wasn't really the same character.

between this & the last episode it's pretty close anyway to the "every single backstory is true because of timey wimey ball" thing from the expanded universe fixed, on-screen canon. That I could live with. It's potentially deeply interesting that by virtue of getting tangled up in all the timelines the Doctor has in some ways been to many possible futures & possible versions of reality.

Former companions werent affected by the giggle thing cause it was a retroactive change made by the toymaker upon getting free

It's kinda sad that we'll never get to see the battle between the Master and the Toymaker because that must really have been something. Like two Jokers or Phantoms of the Opera fighting.

this is like when Q showed up on the bridge of the enterprise. Only much deadlier. I appreciate that the scene never stops feeling actually menacing.

I like how Mel also comes in to hold his hand, too, she's for realsies. (I guess this is how she makes up for making him drink all that carrot juice)

The "Alons-y" is a niftly little contrast/ bookend with 10s exit

My headcanon is that bi-generation absolutely WAS a myth, but that this is an extension of the whole breach in the logic/edge of reality storyarc being set up here, or really just the Toymaker thinking it would be fun to double them infinitely

I like how the Doctor mocks the Toymaker's fake accent with 'the ball' thing

The advantage with the ball game is, of course, that Fifteen has already seen it. He's fabulous alright.

I appreciate how they climb on each other at some point

I don't envy Kate, watching this absurd thing... humanity already got somewhat good at taking Sci-Fi threats on their own, but this they don't have context for. Maybe UNIT is gonna need a vault of magical artifacts now. I suppose you can play with that for a few seasons. Like how a contrast of fantasy & sci-fi elements worked in Madoka.

I like how Donna is casually putting her arm around 15

I guess 15 has reached that point where rather than cringe at your younger self you're able to have compassion. That's a good arc, actually.

aaand of course there's the obligatory sequel hook for the Master's return, to the surprise of no one

I like how the years with the lost memory weren't completely lost but Donna still learned something from them that allows her to send this message now

Soo Fifteen is basically taking advantage of the cartoon logic still being in effect until the end of the episode to duplicate the TARDIS. I bet it only worked because he picked the silliest possible hammer.

I appreciate how 15 makes sure to get one last Donna hug.

I do like that it kinda came down to self-love, self-compassion & knowing when to take a restorative break & all that. That's an important message these days.

So, the Nobles just deadass adopted the Doctor & Mel. Makes all the sense.

I always thought of Mel & the Doctor's dynamic as sibling-like (as opposed to Peri & the Doctor having a 'tsundere couple' energy & Ace who of course had a teacher/student thing), so I feel vindicated.

Also I appreciate how an older woman who didn't have kids but spent her life traveling & adventuring & doing what she wanted, & then ended up feeling a bit lonely because of it here simply ends up not lonely by finding friends / found family. Cause that's the fucking annoying gotcha they always hurl at you "Oh if you don't have kids & live the life you want you'll be lonely!" As if you can't have friends. Also, plenty of ppl who do have kids wind up lonely because the kids end up hating them.

I'm all for the Doctor catching a break. Very touching, honestly. & he's like actually a point where he wouldn't just run off & get side-tracked or brood on the inevitability of its end. (like he would have when spent those years with River)

Also sets an interesting background for 15 of course, as he'll be coming out of it 'fully rested', in a sense.

So, yeah, I do think I'm looking forward to what 15 will get up to. It was sort of a great way to introduce him in such a way that ppl will instantly like him for how he comforts his past self here.

It's also probably the ideal ending for Donna, cause, much like Rose & Clara she wanted to stay forever, & maybe now that she has a daughter & other responsibilities she won't want the big danger all the time, but the Unit Job & living with the Doctor in a house? That's prolly what she would have wanted.

(I wonder if they'll end up running into Martha & Mickey at her job, since Donna & Martha were buds that time they met. )

[esta-elavaris]

Tagged by @wanderdreamer thank you 💜💜

Favorite Color: if we're just going by the ones I wear the most, black, green, red, and gold. Big fan of the red nails and red lipstick combo. This is just a tricky one, though, because I'm a fan of every colour in the right context. But I'm a big ol' goth so that influences things lolol.

Last Song: Passion's Killing Floor - HIM (god, Ville Valo's lyrics tho)

Last Movie: Last Night in Soho -- this is a weird one for me because uhhh like the protagonist I absolutely did not Do Well when I went to uni in London from a personal standpoint, so watching it always brings that back, but it's such a good movie.

Currently Watching: I've been slowly picking my way through Snowpiercer with a one episode per night at most pace. I watched the first ~season and a half a little over a year ago so it's been fun to come back to! I'm so bad for "watching" things by putting them on as background noise while I write, and then I have no idea what's actually going on, so it's been a nice change of pace to actually just sit and properly watch something for an hour each evening.

Other Stuff I Watched This Year: The Great, which I really enjoyed once I got used to the tone of it. I also keep meaning to catch up with Peaky Blinders, but it's one of those that you really have to properly watch and like I said I'm bad at that. I also want to rewatch Outlander from the beginning before I get into the new and final season, so that could be a good background noise shout! Also slowly getting into The White Lotus. And I finally completed the Sopranos this month, after swearing I would for years and somehow (?!?!) managing to avoid spoilers for the ending.

Oooo also the Serpent Queen! Didn't expect to enjoy that one as much as I did!

Shows I Dropped This Year: There've been quite a few but I could not name them because I tend to get 30 mins in, realise every character could die in the next scene and I would not care, and that's that. The Last of Us fell victim to that. I got to a point where I was so bored and only watching it for the hype, which is no reason to do anything you don't enjoy.

Currently Reading: God, getting a Switch lite decimated my previously very good reading habit this month, but I'm getting back into it. Currently rereading The Two Towers (just finished the Helm's Deep chapter), and reading David Goggins' second book for the first time. I like having a non-fiction one on the go because I always find it inspiring, whereas fiction is just pure escapism for me 💜

Thank you for the tag! I enjoyed it!

Tagging @ass-deep-in-demons, @neverisle, @scyllas-revenge, @quillofspirit and @trenko-heart

[hildegardladyofbones]

favorite movies / shows ? (:

sorry for the late response, but i took this too seriously and started going through notes and diaries to find lists

Movies:

Idioot (2011) by Rainer Sarnet. It's an adaptation of dostoyevsky's "the idiot" and it's one of the few movies i can actually call underground, because i've yet to met anyone besides my mom whose actually seen it. I don't like it because of that though, i like it because all of it is shot in a church (even the outdoor scenes) and the ending has gay undertones. it's arthouse, what else do you expect?

Amelie (2001) is one of the few romance movies i like because it's super sweet and has very interesting visuals. and also i saw it before i knew i was aroace so i didn't care about whether or not i like romance.

Knives out (2019) has super cool visuals and also very cool foreshadowing. definitely a movie i watched an explanation of later. not THAT deep though, like you get the message before even finishing it.

Tank Girl (1995) is a fucking comedy and apocalypse masterpiece and no one will convince me otherwise. I do not care about if it's accurate to the comics at all. it's just pure, unfiltered, 90s action. with implied lesbians.

In tandem with the last movie comes Bad Girls (1994), even though this one is a bit less goofy (it does not have kangaroo-man hybrids)

Kill your darlings (2013). i don't even care about the gayness, they went ham with the poetry references. like they explain a technique in poetry and then do that same thing in the movie? fucking beautiful. the soundtrack is also so unique. i could go on about this movie forever.

Birds of Prey, or the fantabulous emancipation of Harley Quinn (2020) is like all of those other superhero action movies, but this time it's For Girls (tm) and i LOVE it because of that. idec about action movies in general, that one just Gets It. Margot Robbie OWNS Harley Quinn for me

speaking of feminist action movies, Mad Max Fury Road (2015) is amazing. it has one of the most unique colour palettes i've seen, because of how much contrast there is. Surprisingly condensed, the action is not spread out at all, gets straight to the point. Also it has like no romance at all.

Shows:

Hannibal (2013-2015) is my number 1, no competition. It's a rom com, it's a thriller, it's horror, it's whatever you want it to be. not gonna say too much, becuase i want you to experience its glory first hand.

pushing daisies (2007-2009) is whimsical, light hearted, fairy-tale like, fluffy, etc. basically the opposite of hannibal, even though both of them are made by Brian Fuller. fun fact: it has the only straight romance i actively root for. they're also asexual because i said so.

I am not okay with this (2020) is another one of those movies you only see in those lists of shows that netflix ended too soon, because it did. it's like netflix said "wait it has LESBIANS? we can't have THAT" which is a shame, because it's a masterfully crafted allegory for grief and depression. and as if THAT wasn't enough, it parodies while ´imitating an 80s high school movie, which gives it this cool aesthetic of the modern day mixed with the 80s.

Over the garden wall (2016). Wirt is a very accurately written teen who i want to be friends with SO BAD, and Greg is somehow even more accurately written because my sister is roughly the same age as him and they are basically the same people. It goes pretty hard with the historical influences, the soundtrack fits it so well and the story is very sweet. i recommend it 👍

Hope i didn't burden you with my ramblings too much, i don't even have an excuse. thanks for the ask tho, i had fun

[wordswhisperinthedark]

Random TB2 Cour 2 Reactions

'Cause why not? Spoilers under the cut!

Wow they're just handing us the hero ship names, huh

Didn't expect Bunny to be joining my collection of knee-injury sports kids but here we are

Saroja literally disappeared after they got into that evac camp???

Mattia you pulled through!! I'm so glad he didn't end up a traitor — Bunny needs more friends. He might even work with Saito now?

WE GOT THE REVERSE PRINCESS CARRY

Nathan and Keith first place in being in an established relationship yess

Aurora legit did nothing (ㅠ_ㅠ)

I like Audun but how come he gets only one min recovery time for his Hundred Power? And seems to not have had a power decline? The last one might be due to being in prison and not using it but still. Not fair

*watching Ko rampage*: NOOO! Though Since it's Ko's turn to not be in control of his mind, clearly Bunny has to snap him out of it — some sort of confession/kiss(👀👀😂)?? *sees other heroes*: Maybe through the power of friendship instead? But they're occupied *they say they're occupied* back to you Bunny *Ko not crushing Bunny*:😯🥳 *learning why*:😃😃😃😥😥😥

[the parallels though between TaiBani's fight scenes here and season 1 tho]

Bunny wearing the Wild Tiger suit was so cool and he actually looked really good in it but it...fixed...itself?? If that was a feature, they should've done that ages ago.

Also, my mother said that Ko giving Bunny his suit was basically a ring exchange and you know what? That's how imma see it

THEY DROPPED THE SERIES NAME

Yuri

I thought maybe Bunny would retire too, but actually I like that he'll keep going. Clearly Kotetsu's going to help somehow so they can def still be a team.

(also, ever since the KagaKuro "fist bump" in KnB: Last Game, I've been very carefully monitoring other fist bumps and I'm glad TaiBani delivered w/ the contact)

Them being in the museum was so bittersweet — but WHY are they facing away and walking into the light?? Like, symbolism, but also they couldn't have 2 pictures or something?

I really liked this cour, but I definitely feel like there'll be something after this. There's still lots of loose threads (biggest being Ouroborous) so I hope we get more<3

[birbfeeder2artisticboogaloo]

Birb!!!! Once again, I'm so sorry BUT YOUR LASTS GoT POSTS GAVE ME A BLAST!!!!

don't be sorry!! it's ok!!! i am so glad i can make u laugh!! MY SILLY JOKES HAVE FINALLY FOUND A PURPOSE ;A; sooo who do we have here....??? >:3c

1 - OH!! the lil girl!! mcdaughterburner's daughter!! u'll NEVER guess what happens to HER ;A; i referred to her as 'NOOO BABY NO!! ;A;' bc that's what i was saying in every scene she was in ;A; I KNEW THEY WOULD TAKE HER FROM ME ;A; didn't expect the fire tho, that was hard to listen to ;A;

2- ZOMBIE JOE'S BROTHER!!! aka uncle failson!!! he lost a fight with a fire poker or something, it was very sad 😔 i can't actually remember what happened to him tho?? i just,,,,lost track of him at some point?? so im going to assume he ended up at ned stark's castle where the remaining cast re-enacted the film 'dead snow' (2009 norwegian film about nazi zombies). if he WAS there he should have volunteered his services as a ladder for lydia mormon, the child warrior who somehow managed to be better and braver than any adult (except for BFF of course!! who could surpass SHE?? ;A;)

3- IT'S NOT-SAMWISE!!! he is almost a samwise gamgee!! but not quite!!! it's ok tho, nobody could ever REALLY compare to THE samwise gamgee. this lesser samwise is good enough!!! i liked how willing samwise was to adopt a random baby whose mother he met exactly ONCE, that was quite sweet of him. hope everything works out for him and jill or whatever and junior. good lot them 😌 (note: during the earlier seasons, i wanted him and redux jesus (then simply called ned stark's bastard) to MAYBE run away from snow gaol and kiss each other. but in the end samwise met jill and they seem very happy together!! pity about egret. maybe redux jesus should kiss that viking man instead. tormod ruadh or whatever. idk that's a viking name, right?? :P)

4- OH THIS GUY. ok i know. I KNOW WHO HE IS. i saw him in a film JUST THE OTHER DAY. it was a john wick film!! my mam LOVES the john wick films, she's in love with keanu reeves. uhhhh. his name is. it's. ok i don't actually KNOW his name but. BUT IN GOT, he played the role of MCDICK-IN-A-BOX!!! i called him mcdick-in-a-box bc, well, uh, u know 😳 am very glad captain ginger was able to rescue him from that snivelling lil shit, wannabe dexter. that clown was. extremely unpleasant. more unpleasant than any other character. not a fan of wannabe dexter. he took himself too seriously!! we get it, ur a serial murderer, cool story bro!! just MURDER then. don't be such a bitch about it. ur mad bc no one will kiss u (willingly), every day is a bad hair day, ur doggos won't talk to u if u don't feed them human flesh,,,, WE GET IT. he's what my father would call a 'langer' 🙄

poor mcdick-in-a-box. even when he's the photo u sent, i spend more time talking about somebody else. sadly typical for poor mcdick-in-a-box, smh 😔

hee hee, thank u for indulging my silliness 😄 i always appreciate the chance to make my dumb jokes 😊 hope i gave u a laugh or two! hope ur day or night goes well 💚💚💚

[kellykadesperate]

yoo the last 911 episode of s6 truly was rushed, especially at the end! that call and the after effects should have been at least two episodes, just to make things feel less abrupt at least imo :( the whump was nice, and i liked seeing the team being in danger but still badass, but i would have liked to see more of the recovery part as well... granted, the show often skips those scenes and decreases my enjoyment with it, so i'm used to it and not surprised at all. it was very obvious that they thought this might be the show's finale tho, with how everybody was given a happy end like that.

overall, i think many enjoyed s6b? it got some really lovely stuff. but a lot of things were not addressed later on – buck's struggle after his death, for example. it felt so ominous at first but then amounted to nothing much tbh. i assume they'll try to smooth things out in s7 to make up for all the balls they have dropped in their rush to wrap up the characters' stories somehow. the only people i saw who had a bad time or were truly angry at the end were buddie shippers, but most of that frustration stems from their own too-high expectations and too-wild theories and not the show imo.

what do you look forward to in season 7? :)

hey!

i agree with pretty much all that you said here, looking back it does feel like a nice wrapping up a bow and things that they were looking for but so many things were left unsaid/felt unfulfilled. i've put a lot of my thoughts under a cut because i've got loads!

big mentions:

Buck's character arc or lack of: I was super impressed by the amount of reflection/scenes that they showed of Buck just figuring out who he is and you're right, 6b was way better for him especially. His whole relationship with his parents improving was so beautiful and felt like we as an audience earned it. His relationship with Taylor was honestly painful at times so it was like the writers finally realised that and had him made stupid decisions up until it was over because ... Buck's Stupid dada! I feel like the writers swing from: hey he's the young fun dumb one let's have him randomly cheat and not have a sofa and be silly to ok maybe it's time for buck to grow up! But it comes across quite clumsily. After the lightning strike I was expecting some sort of change in him but nothing actually ... happened? And I think that speaks to a lot of the characters. Big life changing things happen and you think oh this will be a turning point and then ... nothing at all changes. I really thought Buck's level of authority and leadership during 6x18 was gearing up for Bobby to say well done kid you are a leader ... you know ... to show some growth? But that didn't happen. His relationship with Natalia is what I'm assuming is meant to be a Serious Relationship because it seems that way but honestly who knows! Season 7 could easily start off with Buck like meh it didn't work out.

The bridge collapse: So so exciting, it felt really high stakes and I liked how you could kind of tick off who was safe and who was not as you went through. But then ... nothing happened? Nothing at all. Bobby was literally trapped under heavy rock and he was cool, Chimney was impaled (not one joke made about the first famous impalement!) and he was fine, Eddie's back was literally crushed under a fridge and he was fine! Hen was like hmm I need a CT scan and then was fine. Literally right up until the credits were rolling I was sure something was going to be wrong with at least one of them! But again, you're right about them wanting to give them a nice ending. It was just odd to see the Disney-fest ending twenty minutes after everyone in mortal danger.

Athena's dad episode: ABSOLUTE stand out of the whole season. It felt like something out of a movie, it was amazing and I really really enjoyed it all. You could tell thought had been put into the episode and I loved how it fed into Athena's life. It was dark, devasting but so gripping to watch.

Character driven stories: I feel like strong character driven stories are 911s strength and also its drawback in so many ways. This season felt so slow at times. The two episodes leading up to the finale were ... very very slow. Hardly anything actually happened. One of the reasons why was because it just showed the same group of characters talking about the same situation/thing: Chimney proposing. Yes it was great to see normal/real life conversations happening about it all but I found myself thinking: omg just do it or don't let's move on. And that's about my favourite little family on the show. Sometimes the writing stretches the characters and their motives/decisions so far that it leaves you exhausted/drained completely. Like considering every single angle of a situation and then ultimately reaching a decision just left me like: thank God that's over rather than oh that's nice that it's now resolved. A similar thing happened with Buck having loads of different scenes talking about nearly dying. It was so great to see a young man discussing his feelings so openly but there were times where I was like: is this driving any plots forward? Is Buck going to change his life in any way? No probs not. Therefore this is pointless. Speaking of pointless ...

Hen not becoming a doctor: I ... yeah. I have no idea why they decided to completely drop something Hen as a character and therefore we as an audience have been waiting for/journeying alongside for so long. I actually laughed out loud when she told Karen she was OK with being a firefighter. The montages we saw were endless! I think I said it already in an ask but they could have made something really interesting with Hen being a doctor, showing the crew hand over a patient and then having Hen treat them. We could see the other side of it all. The extension to the first responders. But instead they had Hen do a 180 which I'm assuming was mainly because of the adoption/fostering idea ending which was not even discussed! It deserved to have more than one conversation so the audience didn't have whiplash. It just left me thinking: this is all very very pointless!

The evil paramedic: I thought this was really great, it was a twist and interesting but I was bummed that it was wrapped up so quickly. Hen had a feeling at the end of an episode and by the next it was over. The pacing of that should have been longer and I don't think the show needed Maddie in the same situation with someone from the call centre basically also being dodgy, it felt repetitive.

Hopes for S7:

Maddie and Hen's wedding! One of the highlights of the season was seeing them back together and seeing their families together. It felt really special to have the message of: you can be broken and then heal and deserve to be loved. So more of them

Sorting out what they want from Buck as a character and Eddie as a character respectively. I love Buck's youngest child energy in the crew but seeing him mature and take more responsibility would be cool

Less in-depth I now know everything about a character I've just met from this emergency because they've shown me their life in a series of flashbacks. I just ... don't care! In one episode it literally took up a solid 10mins and I was just thinking: I'm never seeing you again, this is taking time away from characters I actually enjoy

Some big shift in dynamics. I'm not sure what but I feel like the whole crew are pretty ... set and stuck in their roles and I'd like to see something shake it up somwhow.

More Bobby Athena and May and hopefully Harry.

If you made it here, thanks for reading my rambles!

[seawherethesunsets]

Helloo

Yeah, I like that they offer perspective to each other. There are lots of conversations (between the leads, and also with others) that make me go "I like this drama".

I'm not the brightest one so that plot twist (of Suho bringing an usb to hack the computer) surprised me.

Cameos are pretty fine in this drama. They carry the story well without being too obvious as a guest actor/actress.

Everyone is sus to me. I was expecting Jay to be the president from the get-go... but now idk, we'll see.

Lol at this point we're living in the world of Jeokmeok. Everyone is somehow related to it. (I was very uncomfortable with the possibility of Jae In working for the Jeokmeok but I'm glad she is not. I mean, at least not on purpose.)

I want the president to be an impressive villain. I hope it doesn't turn out to be a pathetic/boring character.

For my thoughts...

"feel like they accomplished something only to ruin it all over again" I like this about this drama. They all got plan, they put it on the action and then they fail. The drama has many failures, it brings an interesting spark. (Not the first attempt tho... I was like "girl, haven't you thought that they would torture you by using your weakest point, too?") It might look like it all goes in ruin (and it does) but I don't feel like my time is being robbed.

Do you have any fav characters?? I like the psychiatrist and the lawyer friend! Last episode has a ✨sincere✨ conversation scene of Moo Young and him. I was so happy that there is one, but I didn't understand some points because the subs were kind of hard to follow/comprehend?? Anyways. I like them. And Yo Han's annoying presence is so fun to watch, he really carries the comedy part on his shoulder.

I still have no idea what this drama can bring to me, so I have no thoughts or expectations other than the anticipation of enjoying upcoming episodes. I am enjoying the acting, dialogues, ~frauds~.

FRIENDDDDDD

YOUR GUESSS ISSSSS RIGHTTTT. The latest 2 eps were very wow for me like it's nearly the end but the revelations *chef's kiss* I love it!

I feel you, I like how there's constant mishaps, nothing is ever perfect and it relates back to how these jeokmok kids are somehow always trapped in the cycle of their past. As much as they want to escape and get out of the jeokmok ways, old habits die hard.

I really like DaJung and Ringo, I just want to protect them<3333.. Despite the harsh treatment they experienced, they are just really nice kids. But Yohan's annoying ass lmao I love that for him. I like yohan's and jaein's interaction. and yes the one at the dinner table about the fork and how he nonchalantly revealed he was abused(?).

Mooyoung and Yohan are soooo, i love when he annoys the hell out of mooyoung. they are bross. I need to rewatch that scene I missed the convo maybe.

I know Jay was sus but the revealllll. He is creepy, he groomed her since so young omgg and so soo obsessive of her. My heart breaks for roum, she really had to take in all the shocking truths in a day and deal with everything with a "sane" mind. When suho said something about worrying roum will never recover, I have the same worry. she was slowly going back to how she was originally, a softie and caring person and with all of these getting thrown at her, but I know she's strong willed so I hope she'll finally be free from all the burdens soon.

the last part of ep 14 tho, she is finally genuinely trusting and depending on him. Drives me a little crazy yeah now how to wait 4more days.

[tentacle-stylograph]

some Puss in Boots: The Last Wish spoiler points / things i didn't enjoy, mainly very surface level things, 'cause i'm so confused at myself. really, i'm trying to puzzle out why i don't enjoy the movie, even tho i'll quickly recommend it to others simply based on the overwhelming positive reaction people have toward it

(i'd adore if fans responded to this post. i want to like this movie. or i'd even adore it if people who weren't fond of it responded. i'd be interested in what didn't hit the mark for other people)

the "losing track of who you are / waiting your life out after giving up" trope is tired to me. i watched i think an official clip of that scene before seeing the movie, and it left an impression on me as "this is a clip from a TV show," not a movie. my stomach dropped when i realized, nope, that clip that made me grimace IS in this movie, and it's a whole big thing

maybe even something just as superficial as the "starry pupils" when people use the map got me to not like it???? unless it's for positive emotion or something, eye-shape-changing and pupil-changing also often get me to internally grimace (other examples i don't like usually have to do with cartoony hypnosis). but i can't imagine that'd be something that'd turn me away from the whole movie. i like plenty of content that has things that make me grimace

what was a spoiler thing i didn't want to mention in the last post? ...i think it was mainly the "Puss at the cat haven" thing, which i mentioned in the first point. but i just remembered the opening scene of the movie. the way the movie opened... i'd need to watch the movie again to say something more specific, but i had an "okay, and?" feeling from it. i didn't get any attachment to Puss and -- again, i need to watch the movie again -- maybe i didn't believe everyone's obsession with him? the opening just seriously didn't do it for me.

hm, maybe because it opened so high energy i had a feeling of "okay, where else can this movie go if it's STARTING like this?" or something along those lines. the opening bored me, somehow, which perplexed me even at the time because it SEEMED like it should be hitting all the things i tend to like: high energy, colorful, lots of action, and so on.

...hm. yep, i REALLY want to rewatch the movie now, because i had the thought, how accurately do the characters follow physics? i know it's a cartoon, but semi-accurate movements, speeds, and interactions often get me hyped real good. in the opening, Puss riding on the firework is most in my mind as an example of "why am i so bored??" and i'm expecting someone to say something like "it's an animation. it's a cartoon. why are you expecting such realism?" and my answer is: i'm too lazy to type the whole explanation, 'eeeeyyy. but a partial explanation is "it's only a working theory, but i maybe it's 'cause i like seeing characters and things in animation go whoosh-whoosh, ESPECIALLY in action scenes, and when the things that should be going whoosh-whoosh don't whoosh-whoosh fast enough, i get sad and disappointed."

mainly around Puss getting sent flying in the comedic circular wheel-like limbs-out pose multiple times, i couldn't tell how serious or funny something was supposed to be or how purposeful that pose was on Puss's end. like, did he END UP in that pose because of the force of being sent flying (i.e. it's intended to be funny), or was he in that pose on purpose to help himself land better? or something like that. but him getting sent flying like that perplexed me almost every time

i actually wanted to make this post because i just SO MUCH didn't care about Death, except for a few moments, like when he chased Puss out of the Cave of Lost Souls and a few moments in his last battle with Puss.

ANYWAY, connected to "i just so much didn't care about Death" and "i actually wanted to make this post because": tonight, a week+ after watching the movie and still pondering all my disinterest about the movie, i laughed and mainly i just wanted to ramble about this movie to record: i realized my impression of Death almost the whole movie was an incredulous, "who's this bitch?"

(bolded the above point only for myself because it was the WHOLE reason i did these rambles. i actually liked a lot of his final moments before he left Puss at the end of the last fight. but all his fights were still boring for me, with the exception of some brief moments)

it just... felt generic to me. (for the most part. the map changing for each person was awesome, lots of things with Goldie were handled real cool and i def teared up, and, after someone broke it down for me, i can really respect the anxiety attack scene. lots and lots of other neat things scattered throughout, too, but:) if i hadn't seen the hype beforehand, i would have wondered how the movie even got made / i would have figured it was a franchise-based cash grab

dah, and why not. i'll copy-paste some things about Death from the previous post i just made. this is just my master "The Last Wish bored me" post now.

watched a collection of clips of El Lobo [changed his name from Death to avoid spoilers] last night to see if i'd think he's any better than i did in the theater and, yeah, i just don't find him as cool as other people do. i was resting my chin in my head watching the clips. i don't find his action moments exciting

for when he first meets Puss in the bar, currently all i have to work with is "maybe i would have thought he's cooler if

"a) he didn't talk as much, or

"b) he didn't 'interact' with Puss as much?"

like, when Puss attacks him, he turns to face Puss. maybe it'd be cooler if he continued facing in the same direction as if he were that unbothered. and maybe if he didn't change his mood when he tells Puss "Pick it up," i'd like that moment more too (even tho i actually did like that moment more than the rest of the scene), like it'd be better if he continued seeming entertained instead of irritated. (for his character i can understand the latter, but i'm just rambling)

unrelated to Death, i was also confused about the Softpaws character development or whatever was going on there because she seemed to be portrayed as a can't-do-wrong character even tho she admitted to not even going to the church either. (there's more explanation, i know, but this is a long entry already) that definitely wasn't part of what stopped me from liking the movie, tho. i'm used to hypocrisy around female characters or of my not understanding things until i discuss them with others.

probably a big part was the movie getting overhyped too. i still haven't watched them, but YouTube recommended to me several videos with thumbnails along the lines of "THE LAST WISH: SO GOOD!" and "THE COOLEST BAD GUY" with a picture of Death.

i'm bummed 'cause i almost never let myself get hyped for things, especially stories (books, movies, shows, the works), but this one seemed like a sure shot, especially after i've gotten so taken in on fairly superficial aspects by Netflix's Scrooge. i was thinking, "hey, if i can enjoy a-maybe-middling film THAT much, i'll love this film." so i did let myself really look forward to seeing it. bummer

edit like an hour later: oh hECK. RIGHT. i went to YouTube and--anyway, ramble short, saw another video for The Last Wish, with the thumbnail/title combo of something along the lines of TLW being a great horror movie. i literally saw a horror movie RIGHT BEFORE watching TLW. and it was a pretty good one. so--UGH. yeah, i was looking forward to Death because of the videos that were recommended to me hyping him up, but UGH i was literally in a horror movie mindset. it would really be something if a kid's movie could stand up to those kinds of thrills. UUUUGH.

(but still baffled about my being bored by the Death clips i've watched tonight and last night. but almost definitely that timing of literally walking out of a horror movie in a movie theater to impromptu get tickets for The Last Wish didn't help)

[wolfcrunch]

Wrote a massive ask about something, change the subject like two times, and now im starting over cuz NOW I know what I wanna talk about.

I've figured out a few reasons why so many people don't like deku. Of course there is the usual, he doesn't fit really any of the cookie cutters that make most shonen characters (however, characters like Todoroki and Bakugo do, and despite their flaws, everyone fucking drools over them constantly).

My next point: deku doesn't talk about his trauma. His entire life is fucked up, but hes pretended forever that its fine and normal, which has influenced us viewers horribly so that we don't see how messed up he is. We forget what has happened to him and all we see is this pathetic scared teenager who cries at everything because that's basically how he acted in the first like 4 episodes. Bakugo himself has even said deku doesn't really look at or think about himself at all (also demonstrated in like literally everything he says and does) and so we have seen hardly any of his pain. The doctor scene and the scene where his mom apologizes and cries is JUST the beginning. The events of the first episode were a sample of his everyday life (minus meeting all might or running into a villain ofc). We forget the entire fucking decade between these moments. A DECADE OF EPISODE ONE. Think about that.

Now I'll compare him to Bakugo and Todoroki, two beloved characters who get much less backlash, if any. Bakugo has talked about how he knows he's messed up, we have seen him change, and I guess he's more relatable somehow. Todoroki has talked openly about his trauma, we have seen chunks of it, we have seen the absolute worst of it (his mom and the boiling water probably) and we have seen him grow as a person (his entire character arc and also how he treats his dad after the tournament arc). We know him, we've seen him struggle and we see him moving past his animosity towards endeavor. He has asked for help and advice from him too.

Do I see anyone calling Todo an abuse apologist? No. Do I see people forgiving endeavor as easily has they did Bakugo? Absolutely not, which is not a bad thing, but the amount of people I've seen basically idolizing bakugo despite his past mistakes is almost astonishing to me. Of course many people can and should forgive baku, but no one loves deku like they do todoroki. Todo isn't in 2nd or 1st just cuz he doesnt get anywhere near as much screentime as deku and baku, and also prolly cuz he is not as relatable as bakugo, just like deku. Deku gets so so much shit and for what? You didn't like how he acted in the beginning of season one?

In conclusion, I am mad about how much hate deku gets, I wrote too much about bakugo and endeavor parallels when they shouldn't really be compared but its not my fault cuz all might himself has also pointed out similarities, and you probably know exactly who is writing this even tho I decided to go incognito and I cant remember why. Sorry I wrote you an essay<3

this has been in my inbox for a fair while and im sorry for the delayed response but you hit the nail on the head!

i feel like people go into a shonen, not expecting to be hit with a main character who despite being emotional, still hides a lot of stuff about him and his past. from both the cast, his friends and teachers, and us as the readers/audience. deku is a rather real-feeling character, who has gone through trauma and hasn’t had the chance to speak out. he’s instead decided to bury it within, trying to push it to stay in the past as he feels his current life is now better and free of all those troubles.

he bottles a lot of things up. it leaves an ever-lasting effect on him, even after he receives one for all and gets into ua. and for viewers who understand, they come to greatly love and appreciate his character and the growth he goes through, while noting how he has yet to face his past. people who don’t understand however, do just see how you worded it. a pathetic scared teenager who cries at the drop of a hat. him crying is such a noticeable trait within the first season, especially as a lot of his development past that has been a lot more subtle in comparison to todoroki and bakugou.

deku dives in and is reckless, and his flaws bubble at the surface a lot whenever he’s in focus (not that flaws are bad - good characters will have flaws), and people will often tend to heavily criticize him if he acts too differently from the deku they’re used to. crybaby deku. despite the fact those very same people want a more confident character. they want more fights. they want a character like bakugou or todoroki. yet whenever deku doesn’t act like the deku they know, it serves as another ‘reason’ to hate him, because they claim his character isn’t consistent, or that because he is reckless, he deserves consequence.

a lot of people who hate on him fail to see just how interesting of a character deku is however, for the role he’s taken and especially with the current setup horikoshi has given him to finally confront past deku, and to hopefully stop being so reckless. he’s yet to have a big character shift that turns readers heads.

but its coming, and i wholeheartedly believe in horikoshi to deliver.

[nothing-but-dreamy]

ON THE EDGE ~ Pt. 1

Summary: YN is a Detective and the partner of Gavin Reed, number one douchebag of the Detroit City Police Department. After a forced break, she comes back. She’s looking forward to working with her partner again and to getting back into her ‘normal’ life between case files and criminals. But, of course, it doesn’t stay boring for too long: Gavin seemed to be more on the edge than usual, a Red Ice dealer might be a good lead to something bigger and then, there is Connor, the friendly, handsome android and Hank’s new partner.

Added to the fact that yn has to deal with the criminal world again, she also discovers feelings she hasn’t noticed before triggered by a person she hasn’t expected.

Her life always resembled a ride on a rollercoaster.

But now, it’s a whole damn circus parade.

Characters: Gavin Reed, YN (FEMALE!Reader), Hank Anderson, Connor

Words: 2.472

Warnings: signs of PTSD (flashbacks in italics), cursing (a lot), mention of blood

"He's totally crazy. He shoots at everything that moves. It's impossible to get close to him.", yn stated. "But we have to stop him somehow."

"Stay here. I have an idea. Over there, the left spot is free. He will barely notice me.", Gavin said and pointed in the direction.

"Gavin, no!", Yn cursed as he slipped through her grip, "Gavin!", she tried again to call him back but her partner was already too far away, "Fuck!"

Gavin ran to the left side like mentioned. Yn stayed behind the hide and watched the scene concerned. She was trying to cover Gavin whenever needed. What Gavin couldn't notice was that the crazy guy had seen him.

Even if she tried everything to get the guy's attention, Yn watched in horror how the suspect aimed at Gavin who sneaked through the room completely unaware that he was the target in the line of fire.

The suspect aimed his gun into Gavin's direction and waited til he would appear on the other side of the pillar where Gavin tried to hide.

There was no way that yn would be able to stop the guy. He was too far away and behind a half broken wall. But she was convinced that she could help Gavin. That was what she did without thinking twice: she ran towards Gavin. As she reached him to push him out of the way, the suspect fired his gun two times.

Of course Gavin was cursing as he hit the ground unexpectedly, not knowing what had pushed him. He hurried to get back on his feet and as he saw that the suspect's gun had been running out of bullets, Gavin shot to stop him.

Gavin made sure that the suspect was no threat anymore. Officers were running into the room to arrest the shooter. And only then, Gavin noticed yn lying on the ground and all the blood pouring from her body...

Gasping for air, Gavin started up from his sleep and sat straight in his bed, "Fuck...", he cursed breathlessly. He was dripping with sweat, his hair clutching to his face. Three o'clock in the morning. Just two hours of sleep but still more than the night before...or all the other nights during the past weeks.

Gavin pushed his blanket away, sat on the edge of his bed and rested his face in his hands to calm down himself. His fingers were digging into his hair violently as he desperately tried to get the memories out of his head. He squeezed his eyes shut until stars were dancing in front of his inner eyes.

A shudder was shaking him. Goosebumps were spreading over his naked chest. To sit around like this, covered in sweat, wouldn't do anything good. And because he was already awake, Gavin stood up, took his boxing gloves and started to train until the pictures in his head would disappear.

He knew this would never happen.

He should have been better.

He had failed yn.

**

To stay in front of this certain building after all these long weeks felt like coming home. At least, for yn. She was nervous but in a good way that shot adrenaline through her body. It was like the first day at school after the summer break. She didn't have to fear anything. Everyone would be happy to see her again. And yet, she extended the moment to go in. It was not an official visit. She just wanted to come back because...she feared to miss too many things.

Yn had heard the rumors of Hank's new partner. An android. Then, there were the happenings that got called 'War of Detroit', the successful android revolution. So many things had changed and yet, yn knew that there was still this one, certain absolute term. Her own rock in this ocean of craziness she could always depend on: Gavin Reed, her partner.

Yn was looking forward to seeing all the familiar faces again and without waiting any longer, she entered the DPD finally.

*

Gavin stood in the kitchen of the DPD at one of the tables, his back facing the office so he hadn't to see anyone. The last thing he wanted was to talk with someone. A cup of coffee stood in front of him. He watched the foam floating around on the dark liquid. It was his third cup. And it wouldn't be the last.

"Good morning, Detective Reed."

Gavin nodded without looking up. Even if Gavin had made his peace with Connor, the nice android from the neighborhood, he was still getting on his nerves from time to time. This morning was such a 'time'. His thoughts always drifted back to his recurring dreams of yn…

"Reed.", Hank greeted Gavin, who nodded quickly. Without asking, Hank and Connor joined Gavin at the table. An own cup of coffee in front of Hank. He sugared it and stirred the liquid that would start his day.

Connor was about to say something, maybe to light up the mood of these two grumpy guys, but Hank stopped him, "Shit! Look who's there.", he said and looked at someone behind Gavin's back.

Gavin looked up and saw Hank and Connor staring at the same spot so, he turned around, "No fucking way!", Gavin called out surprised and approached yn quickly who stood in the passage of the kitchen. A smirk was spreading on his lips as he saw her in the familiar environment.

Yn smiled and waved but as she saw Gavin's predatory glance and the smirk, she stepped back and raised her hands to stop him, "Gavin, no. Stop! Gavin!" The impact of her partner knocked all the air out of her lungs.

He snaked his arms around her waist and scooped her up, "I have missed you, shorty!", he cheered.

Yn chuckled until she got put back down on her feet a moment later, "I have missed you, too, idiot!", she said. Together, Gavin and yn went back to the table to Hank and Connor, "I'm- what? Away for six weeks and everything went south? Detroit fights a civil war against androids who started a revolution? Everything's a warzone, suddenly and I'm not a part of that? Boys, I thought you could handle it better without me.", she said smirking and crossed her arms.

"We did what we could but there were just too many of these things.", Gavin said serious.

As yn looked at Gavin with an amused expression, her eyes fell on the fourth person at the table, "Oh, and who are you?"

"My name is Connor.", the android answered.

"My new partner.", Hank added.

"Your new- bloody hell! I already heard the rumors but- Nice to meet you. I'm yn. Whenever you need help with the old man, come to me.", yn said with a wink.

"Very funny!" Hank grunted but yn saw the grin on his face.

As Gavin saw the glances between Connor and yn, he stepped between them. Gavin wasn't fond of the way the android looked at her.

"So, you're 'back' back?", Gavin asked hopefully.

"I'm still not fully recovered. I have to attend a few dates with the psycho-doc AND I have to pass the shooting test. Then I will be back. I guess one more week. I just have missed all this so much, I had to come over.", yn said grinning.

"I guess, there will be no problem for you to pass everything, kiddo.", Hank said encouragingly.

"Thanks Hank-"

"Of course, she will pass all this bullshit! And then, she will be back. The precinct was way too boring without you!", Gavin said excitedly.

Yn saw his eyes sparkling and the familiar grin. She considered saying something nice but she always loved to tease this douchebag. It was their thing, "No new recruits to torture, huh?"

Gavin's smile faltered and he squinted his eyes as he saw her smirking, "I never-"

Yn nodded understandingly, "Ohh...I see... No women to hunt either? You poor thing!", she patted his cheek to act playfully caring.

Gavin couldn't do anything else than just to laugh before he brought her into a bear hug, completely enveloping her, "Oh, how much I have missed you!", Gavin stepped back, ruffled her hair, and laid his arm around her shoulders before they walked to his desk.

Connor watched after them. Overwhelmed by her entrance, the way she was handling Gavin and how different the Detective was around her, "Where was she?", he asked Hank finally.

Confused, Hank looked at his partner, "What?"

"Where was yn? She said she was gone for several weeks. Where had she been? Vacation?"

"Oh .. uhmm, no. She... During their last case, she got injured. She had to recover. It's good that she will be back soon, tho.", Hank explained, smiling about the fact yn was coming home.

"Detective Reed seems different around her.", Connor stated, still confused about all the smiles and laughter coming from Reed.

"I guess it's her magical power. She's able to handle him where anyone else failed a long time ago."

Connor looked at her once again. Yn stood with Gavin, Chris and some other cops at the desk, talking and laughing. She was truly magical. Nice, funny, cheeky, beautiful. He was looking forward to working with her. Then, she came back to them.

"Hey, I got appetite for the best burger in town. Wanna join?", she called over to Hank who nodded with a grin. Gavin rolled his eyes but she just nudged him in his side. Connor got dragged out of his thoughts and followed his three colleagues. Yn already waited for him to join. Much to Gavin's dismay she linked her arm with the android's one but he swallowed down his annoyance for the greater good.

*

They drove to the Chicken Feed truck. The best burger in town, how Hank had titled them. While the three made their orders, Connor organized a table. All three went to the table with burgers and drinks. Simultaneously, they bit into their burgers.

"You know, this meal contains 1.4 times the recommended daily intake of calories. You shouldn't eat-"

"Shut up!", Gavin and Hank yelled at the same time. Connor silenced instantly.

Yn looked alternating at Hank and Gavin before she stopped at Connor, "Connor, honey, very important rule: don't fuck the boys up when it comes to their food. It's not a good idea."

"But it's unhealthy.", Connor argued innocently.

Yn nodded slowly, knowing what he meant before she looked at her burger closely, "Well, I’m spotting salad, tomato and even pickles on our burgers. These are three different types of vegetables. It's more healthier than everything else we're used to consuming. Don't forget that we usually got fueled by coffee and donuts. Only."

Connor nodded and let them eat. He had learnt that humans knew how to live the best way but some of them didn't just want to do it right. Maybe it wasn’t for him to change their behaviour.

"Hey, sweety. Want some bread?”, Yn asked and threw a small piece of bread on the ground.

Hank followed the way of her attention and rolled annoyed with his eyes, "Oh, these disgusting creatures!", Hank muttered. Yn looked questioningly up to Connor.

"Lieutenant Anderson doesn't like pigeons.", Connor explained.

"That sounds like a story. I wanna know it!", yn said amused with a big grin, waiting for Hank to speak up.

Hank grinned but shook his head, "Someday, I will tell you what I had to endure with this guy but not now.", Hank said and he and Connor said goodbye. Hank hugged yn before they left her and Gavin alone.

Gavin and yn started to walk around a bit, enjoying the sunny winter day, "You look tired. Have you been very busy the last few weeks?", yn asked.

"No, it was okay. Nothing much. The typical stuff, you know.", Gavin said, his hands buried in the pockets of his jacket, playing with some coins.

"Oh, yeah... So, you just didn't want to see me then?", she asked, looking at him from the corner of her eyes, watching his reaction.

Gavin avoided her eyes, looking at the ground, "Yn…", he sighed, "I…", but he stopped. Unsure what he should say.

Yn nudged him with her shoulder, a soft smile on her lips as she saw his pained expression, "It's okay. I'm not mad. I was just… it was boring, you know. If you would have visited more often, maybe it would have been more fun to recover.", she said jokingly but it wasn't working, the painful expression stayed in his face.

"I really doubt that.", Gavin said low, still not able to look at her.

"What?", Yn asked surprised and stopped.

Gavin stopped as well, facing her with his back, "I- I… forget it.", Gavin said and was about to go but yn stopped him with her hand holding his arm and turning him around.

"Gavin, what is it?"

Gavin needed a moment before he looked at yn, as he did, it was with a serious expression, "It's my fault that you got injured in the first place."

Slightly taken aback that it was this topic that still bothered him, yn frowned and looked at him with big eyes and shaking her head, "No. It was the fault of this fucker-"

"No! You wouldn't have been shot if I hadn't been so stupid! I have failed you as a partner and as a friend!", Gavin called out angrily, torturing himself.

Yn intervened right away, "Stop that, Gavin! It's not your fault, okay? Your idea was good. This guy was simply just too crazy."

Gavin dropped his gaze, not able to look into her eyes any longer. For him it didn’t feel right to get forgiveness from her, "I should have been in your place instead. Two more scars on my body wouldn't make any difference to all the others I already have."

Yn stepped forward to search his glance, "You feel guilty, I get that. But ... you don't have to, okay? And beside, I know you and your luck. You would have been killed instead of just being injured.", a smirk playing on her lips.

Finally, Gavin looked at her again. He chuckled low by the face she made: a too overexcited grin to cheer him up. No matter how down he felt, yn was able to let him feel better. Always. Even just for a moment. He stepped forward and brought her into a bone crushing embrace, "It's so good to have you back.", he said softly into her hair.

Yn was surprised about the sudden outburst of emotions but she hugged him back, enjoying this moment to the fullest, "Yeah. And you know what? I can't wait to kick some asses with you again."

[br-disaster]

nie mingjue’s outfits appreciation post

This is way longer than I expected oh gods, please forgive me for it. 

 It’s a well known fact that Jiang Cheng has the best wardrobe of all CQL characters, I’m not here to argue with that, but I think it’s time for us to stop sleeping on Nie Mingjue’s absolutely fantastic fashion sense.

I mean have you seen him?? The man is out there serving looks even with the Nie sect limited color palette. Please let’s ignore the context here and just look at his robes

I wasn't sure if I should rank them, so I’ll just ramble about them in order of appearance:

1. The gray “I’m the boss” one

That’s the first time we ever see him and what can I say? He does leave an impression. We see him using these robes two times, in episodes 10-11 and on the beggining of Fatal Journey, as the first picture shows, which makes me wonder: Is this his stay-at-home set of robes? ‘Cause damn

I don’t know how I should comment on the particular details of his robes but I really appreciate how wide this extra fabric layer makes his shoulders look.

Really imposing and powerful look.

2. The Sunshot incredibly beautiful "this is how you win a war" one

Look, this one might be my favorite, it has EVERYTHING

Shoulder game is strong here, and this bronze-like color goes really well with his belt. Now let's talk about his outer robe for a moment, just THE COLOR I mean it's the prettiest shade of gray I've ever seen.

Also Long Sleeves

And a CAPE. A f**king CAPE. I'll never get over this look and I'm really glad the costume department let this king wear a cape again in Fatal Journey, he was made for it.

Next comes the inner layer that's not really a robe, as you can see when he's standing, but the silver pattern is what really does it for me, guys. It's probably the first thing you see once you look down from his face, 'cause I know we all get lost on that beautiful mustache, and it's perfect.

You can’t lead a war campaign if you don’t look good, I see.

3. The "I didn't really want to be here but I’m looking good anyway" one

It's so dark, it probably reflects how he was feeling during pretty much all the scenes he's in while wearing it.

Once again he accentuates his shoulders with an extra fabric except this time his sleeves are not long at all. I personally think he looks even more handsome like this, it makes his arms look bigger. What is it called? I don't know, but it matches his belt as well.

( Is it really a belt, guys? I don't wanna disrespect but I don't even know where to start looking for names nor I know other english names for belts)

The subtle golden/bronze details on the outer robe and on the inner robe's collar contrasts really well with the black and dark gray

Sad thing he looked really miserable wearing it :c

4. The "big event he seemed ok with attending" one

Dark again. But he didn't look as depressed as in the previous one, he actually had fun that day, which is good. Enough of tears and betrayal for now.

May be the wider sleeves he ever wore, perfect for clapping his hands like a happy toddler. There's also a lovely flowery pattern on the darker robe that you can easily miss if you don't pay enough attention.

For the first time his shoulders are not accentuated by fabric or shoulder pads and it's really nice to see him like this. We all love a buff Mingjue, but CQL Mingjue is not that buff and I love him just as much.

Really elegant, not as imposing and he has every right to want to look civil for once. It may be the series' way of telling us that he's not dressed for real combat or war, who knows.

5. The "all this just for a flashback?" one

Listen, this one right here is just AMAZING

I don't understand why they dressed him so beautifully for what? 10 minutes of a flashback. I wanted to see it for more than a couple os scenes!!

Everything here is different, so this will take time.

First: His inner robe, the first one, is not the usual black, it's light gray, it's lighter than his robes actually, and we don't see him wearing it like ever again since chronologically in the series this is the first robe he wears. Does it secretly mean that all went wrong from the moment he met MY? who knows

Second: The outer robe is fancy. There’s so many details to it and it may be the lighting of the scene, but it seems to be a warmer shade of gray, doesn’t it? The golden\bronze thin strip around the silver larger strip is perfect. It kinda has the opposite effect of his shoulder pads, since it makes his shoulders look a bit smaller but it’s so very elegant.

Third: The upper part of the inner robe. I mean who gave him the right to look that good ??? It’s dark but it has golden little shapes in it!! And it kinda looks like there’s a zipper in there because of that mid section. And oh to be a single jewel resting over Sect Leader Nie’s chest...

Fourth: The bottom part of the robe is also something new. We see pleats on Huaisang’s main robes, but never on Mingjue’s until now, that’s why I took the last screenshot, nothing to do with the bloody Baxia at all. I wish we could have seen them in pretty pleated robes together.

It probably contradicts what I said about his shoulder things being a code for battle, since the first thing we see him doing with this outfit is killing some guy/puppet; but for the rest of the time he wears it is peaceful

Honestly, imagine how Meng Yao felt. It was some fairy tale thing, wasn’t it? You’re a nobody eating bread and drinking water and then this king pops up out of nowhere and defends you from bullying and offers you a job and takes you home with him?? 

6.The “kick your local murderer down the stairs” one

I don’t really know what to say about this one. The context kind of ruined it for me, but let’s try.

 It resembles the fourth outfit since it’s a really dark inner robe and a lighter and patterned outer robe. Except this one has this nice and shiny thin strips around the sleeves and the waist.

It’s pretty but not especially pretty in my opinion. If I were to rank the outfits, this one would rank last.

7. The “fighting qi deviation and needing emotional support” one

Fatal Journey, baby.

I know what I said about the second one, but this might be my favorite.  It’s practical, no long sleeves or heavy outer robes. It’s also appropriate for horse riding, wich is great. The simple, sleeveless light gray outer robe is really nice.

There’s a cape again!! And I have to say the cape looks even better now that his sleeves are tighter, the way it falls gracefully on his back is perfect. I love the way it seems to be attached to the shoulder pad too. 

The robes are simple but the thing is: The accessories are not. 

His belt is now silver and if we ignore that the production team just painted it, we can assume he has two sets of identical waist belts, one is bronze and the other is silver. Now the final touch: The shoulder pads. This is what makes this outfit the most extra of them all. It’s silver and just so, so pretty I wanna cry everytime I look at them. I mean, the layers, the dragon\beast entire head makes him look so fierce and ready for the fight.

 I wonder how comfortable they are tho.

10/10 would rank first place.

bonus: Baby Mingjue

We love a consistent king after all! Has he been wearing dark robes since he was a baby? We will never know. I love this dark yet translucent outer robe tho.

1000/10 the cutest and best dressed child out there.

Conclusion: Nie Mingjue is a fashion icon! 

* Do not take this too seriously, I did zero research and english is not my first language. If there’s any terrible grammar mistakes, point them to me and i’ll edit it. If I’m somehow disrespecting Chinese culture, please also point it to me and I’ll apologize, edit or even delete the post.

[omegaversetheory]

hehe since you ask about the fic rec hehehe... here ya go! https://archiveofourown.org/works/37960858

I wanna know your thoughts after reading this :3 (It's not mine tho'😅)

oh gosh, I love reviewing fics but be warned I've read a lot, I'm picky about what I like, and I'm cut-throat.

But first, before anything, my knowledge of BTS is incredibly limited, so I can't comment on Jimin x Junkook because I simply have no idea!

But here we go, this might be long .

the author associates white, purity, cleanliness, and omegas a lot, which is a common a/b/o trope.

I do like that the author acknowledges the existence of many cultures/practices within their au. we all know I'm always advocating for it.

It's noncon to the point that its almost animalistic. A lot of writers write omegaverse this way and for the life of me I can't understand why, but if it makes them happy who am I to say, as long as it's not hurting anyone irl.

the lack of dialogue makes all of the characters seem less human/real

horseback riding is somehow always a way to make main characters feel aroused lol.

too much description of how different jimin and jungkook's skin is, and too frequently.

not enough thought is given to the physical positions and space that the characters are in, some of these actions that they perform don't make sense given how they are sitting, standing, laying, etc..

the smut is very repetitive and not very original, it's nearly an amalgamation of every other smut scene I've read, with every other F**ish crammed in. just for fun. I'd encourage the author to slow down, and really sit in those intimate moments with the characters, and also not try to fit every single f**ish in one fic.

the characters don't really have any personality besides the traits that the author assigns to their dynamics, I wish there was more time spent developing each of them into actually working characters rather than just s*x puppets.

the traditions that the author uses to exploit the characters into breeding, being naked, etc. etc.. should be explained. Why are all of the omegas naked when it's warm? humans wear clothes for more reasons than just not to be naked, bugs! sunburn! style!

I'm honestly surprised that the birth took place so quickly, aka in one sentence.

are the pups actual dogs/wolf babies or are they humans? what do they look like? they seem to be biting all of the time, but human babies can't just bite things like that, pinching, rubbing, gnawing on, yes maybe when they're older. Also how can he be nursing three children at once when he's on his side! Authors, please research how babies work before writing them into your stories.

"The neck was the most sensitive part of his body and he knew while the alpha loved to hold him there, why he loved to hold him down while he f****d him." this is the second to last line in the whole work, and it's horrifying! if you write non-con, you need to research how consentual non-con and bdsm works, because you have to be very careful and safe while you're doing it. Holding someone by the neck would not count.

----

TLDR:

Overall I give this work a 3/10. There was no plot and the smut wasn't well written. I can handle non-con although it's not my preference, but this wasn't written in a way that's safe or gives readers "semi" realistic expectations of relationships or intimacy, even in bdsm spaces. The characters need a lot of development, even as just a one shot. It honestly didn't even matter that I don't know BTS because the names were just filler from all I could tell. The lack of dialogue was also not great.

I'd imagine that the author is most likely a teenager, who has spent a lot of time reading omegaverse fics, and wrote this one sort of all at once in a fury! They've got some potiential in there though for sure.

---

what about you anon? did you like this fic? Many of the commenters on the work were blown away.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 5

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be lots of Viren deets, Best Boy Soren deets, some writing/continuity stuff, worldbuilding appreciation and half of a theory, Detective Rayla, Moon Temple geeking, Claudium and dark magic, and more!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

(I know for darn sure that I wrote up a post for chapter 4, but I can't find it anywhere so I guess Tumblr ate it and I'll have to redo it at some point, but today is not that day)

Viren, my evil dude, my bad guy, coming in clutch with the worldbuilding and backstory again! If you want to know decades of information, you gotta talk to Viren. Or read his scenes, at least. Here, he seems to not sleep much when he has a big problem to analyze his way through. Solutions trump pretty much everything else in this guy's life, and he's had a really hard week with a lot of new and complicated problems. Of course he's getting sleep-deprived trying to find his way through them all.

Harrow put so much trust in Viren when he made him High Mage! He just threw himself extra hard at that Lady Justice blindfold, didn't he? Didn't really want to see what Viren was doing in his magic study, so he left Viren to his devices. And Viren has a lot of devices.

Also, this is fascinating: Viren made the secret passage to his "less official study" in Katolis Castle! And he was inspired to do so by the way his own mentor kept the Puzzle House. What else could a Puzzle House be, except a place with secret passages? Yay! secret headcanon that "the Puzzle House" is just "Katolis Castle" from Kid Viren's perspective tho

So either Viren built all of those passageways, or at least the ones to his dungeon. Which means he has to have, or know where to get, a stash of those glowing blue Moonshadow crystals. Hmmm.

I can't wait to learn more about Kpp'Ar and young Viren, btw. From this description of Viren and all his literal secret ways, it feels like another parallel between Viren and Runaan, with the whole "secretive paths, members only, insider knowledge" type stuff. Only the really cool members of this cult club get to know the secrets, and guess what, kid, you're cool now but you can never tell anyone, okay? Our secret.

Yeahhh, that'll never backfire in any way for either of them.

Kpp'Ar calling puzzles and secrets "man-made magic," though. Yes sir, knowledge is indeed power.

This chapter mentions Runaan by name, from Viren's perspective. Generally that would imply that Viren knows his name, even though assassins do not share their names, and Runaan didn't seem to give his to Viren in the first book. However, there was a scene in book one where the last paragraph switched perspective from Viren to Runaan - a technique that's very common in visual media like movies and shows and gives you that "ohoho they left the room and didn't notice this, but you do!" vibe. Using Runaan's name there in book one, where Viren couldn't see it but readers could, helps them keep track of the assassin's story arc while maintaining Viren's racism.

So in book two, in which Runaan has no onscreen scenes (alas), using his name in a scene that calls back to the events in book one helps us remember what happened in that dungeon cell. It would be a bit muddier to recall the specifics if Viren kept thinking about Runaan as "Elf." So I'm cool with the perspective nudge because it serves a narrative purpose: clarity. But I'm also enjoying the angst of considering that, somehow, Viren learned Runaan's name either during or after the coining spell. Mwa ha ha haaa. (Obligatory "Keep my pretty name outta your mouth" goes here)

Okay, back to Viren's scheming! He took the mirror because it was human-sized in a dragon lair. He knew it didn't really fit there, and that made it interesting, so he stole it. But he realized it was really powerful when Runaan wouldn't tell him squat about it - the assassin's instinct to protect Xadian secrets from human hands meant that Viren was holding a very powerful Xadian secret. And that just made him want it all the more. Ah, Runaan, if only your relationship with lying was, like, the exact opposite of what it is. Nyx could've spun Viren a believable tale in 2 minutes flat.

Also of interest: Viren considers his cursed coins to be a final fate. He expects Runaan to remain in his coin forever. With the Chekhov's coins still extant in the storyline, we can assume that they'll come up again eventually, but Viren has no current plans to do anything with his elf money except carry it around.

It's worth noting that Viren admits that he got impatient when he trapped Runaan in the coin. Runaan's first fate in Katolis was supposed to be death at Soren's hands, but Claudia "saved" him from that. His next fate was to become spell components, but Viren's frustration with his stubbornness "saved" him from that fate, too. So now he's in a coin, where no one can chop him up at all. Yay? No, boo!

We get one last line about Runaan before Viren shifts gears: he makes a point of noting for us that Runaan's shackles are still locked shut. However much of Runaan made it into that coin - body, soul, hair care products - he was magicked there, pulled right out of his restraints.

The creepy black liquid that Viren pours right into his eyes is the last of a powerful potion he got from Kpp'Ar, and its recipe is ancient! Humans used it back in the age of Elarion to see through the illusions of the world. And we get a delightfully creepy bit of description about the preparation of this serum, which makes it abundantly clear that it's a Moon magic-based concoction, harvested from eyeless vipers on a moonless night, with the threat of irrevocable madness ("madness" by whose definition, though) if it's done wrong-

Hang on. Hold up. This is a Plato's Cave reference. OH MY GOD.

No no I'm fine, this is brilliant. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't figure why there was so much description for a potion prep that Viren didn't even have to perform himself. But now I get it. I see the light. HA. I should make a separate post for this, it's amazing.

Anyway, for reference, the humans who used this serum were called the Oracles of Ophidia, and Ophidia is a taxonomy group that includes all modern snakes. Can you say "creepy ancient snake rites"? I can! Woo!

Viren activates the serum with a spell, but apparently he's never done it before. He's not sure if it's supposed to be hot and bubbly, and he worries that it's been tainted by moonlight.

Oh, I do hope so.

The magic potion hurts, a lot. Viren will do just about anything, to himself or anyone, to do what he believes is necessary. He just risked madness and blindness to find out what this mirror does! Viren. Can you just. Take a nap or something. Have a Snickers.

This chapter gives us a fun clue that I don't remember from the show: when Viren's vision clears and he can see, his reflection has white pupils and the room reflected in the mirror has inverted colors. You know where else has inverted colors?

You know who else got white pupils for a hot second?

Okay, now it makes sense! Viren and Lujanne were both seeing into the realm beyond life and death. Him with his moon magic potion, and her with her moon powers on a full moon night at the Moon Nexus. Which is Very Interesting! Is it a direct hint about Aaravos's location, or just a separate cool detail? Orrr, does it look like a direct hint because Aaravos is actually trapped in the world beyond life and death, but it's actually separate and we'll see something about white pupils again later on?

Viren really does have self-esteem issues, we all picked up on it with his rant at his reflection. He throws a fit when he catches himself wondering if he's actually worthless. In the book version of his tantrum, he shoves the mirror and hurls a candelabra instead of flipping a table. He didn't need to shove the mirror to set the fire, but it's in here. Foreshadowing that perhaps, if push comes to shove, Viren will choose himself over Aaravos? Giving Aaravos time to peek through and see that the coast is clear?

Soren, my boyyyyy. He has a rough night at the Moon Nexus because two sides of him are fighting with each other. He struggles to understand Callum's friendship with Rayla, and he also fantasizes about chopping off Rayla's head. One of these is a pretty ordinary thing to do. The other is Soren's internalization of what he needs to do to gain his father's approval. If he brought his dad a chopped off elf head every week, he'd probably feel a lot more confident because Viren would praise him a lot more.

Okay, okay, omg, is it just me, or does the "Moonshadow Madness" story, as it's told in the book, seem like Soren just doesn't know what a monsterfucker is? He thinks an elf bite puts humans under a spell. But vampires are sexy, and some people want them to do more to them than just bite them. A passionate kiss under the moonlight could look very bitey, especially if one of the participants has horns and you're already culturally trained to hate them. No yeah, I'm already headcanoning an actual human-elf kiss that got misunderstood by an observer long ago.

it's Lujanne isn't it, we all know, because what is a love spell but a sweet soft illusion, I mean how else does she get supplies for her Caldera, I ask you, and also Corvus was totally sent to investigate once and he told Soren at camp what he saw

And then back to magefam angst: Soren pretending that his sister's nose-tapping is stupid, even though he actually thinks it's cool, just because their dad thinks it's stupid. Viren, istg. Let your kids like harmless things. It's so cute that Soren taps his nose back at her, though! Like they have their own sibling code. I hope we get to see the nose tap again, especially now that they've chosen different sides. It could mean so much, that they're not too far apart yet.

Rayla knows what buttery pancakes smell like. I love this. Do Moonshadow elves have butter and pancakes, does Rayla eat a stack of eight giant pancakes in the morning? Orrrr it is just illusion food? I don't care, let Rayla have pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes. Pancakes will save the world. this message brought to you by the fact that I can't eat pancakes rn, send help

I love that Rayla is both sus of the pancakes and hungry, and that combines into a very motivated "I will get to the bottom of this" attitude. She kind of goes into Poirot Mode when she inserts herself into Soren and Ellis's conversation about Ava, explaining about the wolf's illusion leg and segueing into her claim that the pancakes taste sus. Claudia confirms she used dark magic, and Rayla is furious. It's different than the show's version in that it puts Rayla in detective mode, as the only Moonshadow elf in the scene, and boy does she take that role seriously. Also, she doesn't actually swallow the dark magic pancake bite. It ends up on the ground just like Lujanne's grubs from that earlier meal. These poor kids are so nutrient-starved. You guys gotta eat!!

Rayla's determination and prejudices and the fact that she super knows Harrow is dead all dovetail to make her try repeatedly to persuade Callum that Soren and Claudia are Not To Be Trusted. It's nice that the book keeps taking the time to point out that Rayla is Well Intentioned But Flawed, just like Callum and pretty much every other character in the show. No one is Right All The Time, no one Knows More Than Everyone Else.

Callum loving the sound of Claudia's unique voice is so wholesome. When you like someone, it only makes sense that you like all the things about them that they can't change - like the sound of Claudia's voice. Her choices with dark magic, not so much!

Claudia seems to have the same concerns Soren does about Callum's relationship with Rayla, but she comes out and asks him. The inherent possession implied in "your elf" is interesting, though. Elves are not people to Claudia. They're enemies who can be disassembled for the magic inside them. So maybe more like robots than living beings, if she knew what a robot was. Maybe she heard Soren's "Moonshadow Madness" story and realized he totally missed the kissing implications - but she didn't, and now she's genuinely worried that Rayla could kiss Callum under a full moon and enchant him to do her will. Good thing it's only a half moon, then!

Okay, Callum nervously making a puppet hand and then not knowing what to do with his hands and freaking out about itching and moving and pointy elbows is such a ND mood. The sudden stress of knowing that someone else is noticing your existence and maybe you're Not Existing Right, amirite? Ugh, poor Callum.

The Moon Temple! Omg it's so pretty in the description! Made to be beautiful and useful, full of knowledge but also allowing light and life inside (butterflies and vines). Lujanne, when can I move in, please? Also, it's all the more angsty because Lujanne is the only one who gets to see this beautiful place, but it has lots of chairs and shelves and tables, and it was meant to be used by lots of people. :(((

Claudia knows some of the runes on the walls. She isn't in a hurry to copy the rest of them down or anything, either. Her spellwriting is very precise, and she's a skilled mage. Her father would have made sure she was aware of the dangers of drawing sloppy runes, as much as he made her aware of the dangers of doing dark magic wrong. And the whole point of dark magic is that it's easier to learn than primal magic. Claudia supports her dad and their shared knowledge and life path. She's not gonna go nuts over an elf library she can't translate.

Side note: Between Claudia knowing some Moon runes and Viren building a secret passageway and a dungeon and lighting it with the same blue crystals that Lujanne and Ethari use for light--and Claudia exclaiming that she loves ruins--I wonder once more if there are really Moonshadow ruins somewhere in Katolis, which Viren has found and looted. Father-daughter relic hunting trip, maybe while Soren is away at camp? Omgsh that would be so wild!

Callum out here having a Viren moment with his "I feel powerless unless I've got magic that lets me help" vibes. God. I love their complicated mirroring. One of the hard differences between them is that Callum is very sure dark magic is bad because you have to kill stuff and take its power to cast spells, and he doesn't want to be a person who kills and takes like that. The line he walks to be nice to Claudia on their tour of the Cursed Caldera because he likes her, while telling her that he doesn't want to do her magic, like, ever, is so fine that it might as well be a shifting shadow on the ground. It's a very fitting conversation to be having during the half moon, with its tricks and little white lies.

Callum being out of the castle and his comfort zone, having to deal with the fact that the Claudia he loves is not quite the Claudia who's chasing him down across the kingdom, but of the two of them, he's the only one with a problem with this.

They say that if you really want to get to know someone, you should spend time with them outside their comfort zone - in heavy traffic, with a small baby, taking care of a new pet, trying a new skill, following unfamiliar directions, etc. While the castle is familiar territory for them both, Callum's never really found his comfort zone yet, while Claudia is pretty comfortable with her growing skill set. The creepy part starts to kick in when Callum begins to realize that Claudia's comfort zone encompasses a whole bunch of stuff that seems like it should make her uncomfortable... but it doesn't. But that'll be for a future chapter!