#i think if as a whole the season had been drastically different

[robbyykeene]

Something something the warring emotions of wanting to love the wish fulfillment of seeing Daniel Larusso beat the shit out of his childhood abuser (even if it was corny and dumb because the karate kid has always been corny and dumb) vs absolutely loathing the way this season shit all over the themes of the original movies and went all in on the idea all conflict should, actually, be resolved through violence.

[mountymase]

you don't get to tell me about sad

file two - lewis hamilton

a/n: i’m so unserious i cannot even- 🥲 i didn’t plan to post this today but i was on a mission. it’s my first lh44 fanfic and i’m actually proud of it. hope you like it! although it ends open to a part two, i truly don’t plan on writing, just so you know! 🤍

tw: angst, cheating, sort of toxic love/relationship, divorced parents, mentions of anxiety, twin pregnancy. a bit of “illicit affairs” inspiration.

1.449k words

Everything pointed towards one direction: you getting heartbroken in the end. Heavily heartbroken, to a point, it’d become hard to breathe and face the world as if he’d never been part of your life - how would you be able to forget him and the way the corners of his eyes wrinkled when he laughed, the way his hands instantly searched for your face to kiss you whenever you said something that’d make him laugh?

Lewis was drawn to you and your energetic personality the moment you met, at an FIA gala years ago, and everything about your relationship moved on so fast you were swept off your feet. Like a hurricane, Lewis Hamiton turned your life upside down in a way you’d never be able to explain - and that’s how it went for the next four years. You built a house, a life, a family.

When the twins were born, you thought life couldn’t be more complete, but then Lewis won his 7th World Championship the same year and you made a surprise appearance the moment he stood on the highest spot of the podium, where he belonged. You still remembered the way his eyes widened and jaw dropped, but his facial expression quickly switched to the happiest you’d ever seen him - the sparkle in his teary eyes and the way he never stopped looking at you. As soon as the champagne ceremony was over, Lewis rushed to find you, without even caring how all the cameras had their focus on the two of you as you kissed passionately.

“Where are they?” he breathed against your lips, asking for the twins. You motioned to the garage with your head, where your parents stood with each baby in their arms. Lewis sighed in relief, two weeks were too much time away from Daisy and Jude - the chubby tiny humans wiggled their feet seeing their papa coming closer and that’s how you were living the life that was meant for you.

Things got wonderfully overwhelming when, much to your and Lewis’ surprise, the two lines on five different pregnancy tests were as clear as the Spanish sun outside, as you enjoyed your summer vacation. The twins were just eight months and still needed all of your attention - with Lewis away most of the time and nowhere near thinking of retiring from F1, you had to count on with yours and his parents, so your constant absence during the new season was deeply missed by everyone.

You genuinely thought this new baby would add more joy to what was already a happy life - Lewis could barely contain his excitement and made sure the whole world knew about the family’s new and unexpected addiction, but by the time you were about to give birth again things had drastically changed.

He wasn’t your Lewis anymore, but you wouldn’t be the annoying wife, you wouldn’t pressure him so you’ve watched the love of your life slowly distancing himself from you as a husband. Lewis didn’t touch you anymore and the passionate kisses were no longer there. You knew very well how much it affected him seeing Red Bull’s and Max’s dominance on the sport that he, not long ago, was the absolute favourite - but something you two promised the day before you tied the knot, was to always seek each other whenever trouble approached and you felt like it could have an impact on your marriage.

Now, sitting on the expensive sofa of your Monaco luxurious penthouse, with your three children still asleep, you waited for the sun to rise as your eyes couldn’t move from the sparkling diamonds on your ring finger. The engagement ring, the wedding band, and the eternity ring Lewis gifted you when the twins were born. Each ring represented the most perfect memory and the life you had built with the man you loved.

When you hear your bedroom door open and slow, almost silent steps towards you, you can also feel anxiety bubbling up your stomach and making your head spin. It had to be now, or you wouldn’t have the guts to do it anymore.

“Good morning, Lew.” He stopped when he heard your voice, eyebrows scrunching in confusion. You never woke up this early whenever you were in Monaco. “Can you sit here with me?”

It wasn’t a surprise when Lewis sat on the opposite side, facing you as the first rays of sunshine found their way through the still closed curtains. His face was perfectly illuminated by the sun, and that’s when a wave of painful realisation hit you - there was no trace of love nor admiration he usually had in his eyes whenever he was looking at you. So this would have to go down the hard way.

“Why are you up so early?” The lack of emotion in his voice made you gulp. You desperately wanted to shake and punch him until he was back to normal.

“I don’t want to fight, especially under the same roof as the kids.” Lewis moved uncomfortably on the armchair, waiting for you to continue. “But I need you to know that I know.”

“K-know what?”

“That you’ve been cheating.”

Those four words put an end to your marriage and Lewis used the most pathetic excuse to justify his poor actions, saying how sad he was with how the season was going and that he didn’t feel good enough anymore - and on top of that, he also added to his lame speech how busy you’ve been with the kids. “You don’t get to tell me about sad,” was the only thing you could send back to him, so full of agonising anger that the thought of his hands touching another woman’s body while you were the dedicated wife and mother made you want to throw up.

Betrayed and shattered, you forced yourself to take one step closer to moving on each day the sun invaded your new bedroom - one recently acquired with years of hard work and not with divorce money. As you navigated through the painful aftermath of being exposed to the media, Lewis faced the consequence of his actions with most of the public turning his back on him once the cheating went public and you knew damn well how. The thick tan line on your ring finger and your children playing at the beach under the afternoon sun were the only things now that represented Lewis in your life.

You were never open to the possibility of reconciliation, and as you moved on the best you could, you had to deal with an insisting Lewis bringing you flowers each time he showed up to his father duties - one he performed incredibly well.

On a night out with Susie Wolff, you confessed how much you missed him in your life but also how you only thought about him touching another woman. Would you ever be able to let go, to allow yourself to be loved again and live a happy life? Lewis couldn’t be the only option.

“Toto cheated once,” Susie admitted, her cheeks blushing as your eyes widened. “I know you are already divorced, but it’s up to you to discover if you want to embark on a journey of healing and forgiveness. To confront your vulnerabilities, and insecurities, and acknowledge what caused the cracks in your marriage that led to the affair.”

Susie made it all sound so simple, but it was deeper than that.

You concluded that, despite having to see him in your children’s faces every day, it’d be easier to deal with it for a while as if Lewis Hamilton was gone forever - dead, even, as awful as it sounded to you. To be happy and healthy for your babies, you have to feel it for yourself first. So, that’s when you decided that you’d have to avoid him for as long as you could and that’s what you did. Your mother was responsible for meeting him now whenever he showed up to pick up the kids, and from a respectful distance, Lewis watched you moving on.

First, on your own.

Then, with someone new. Someone who was to you what he couldn’t be for eternity, as he promised the day he proposed.

He watched you look as gorgeous as the day you met at that gala, he watched his children accept the new man in your life, he watched you engaged again and your fiancé become the newest Formula 1 champion.

Lewis watched you living the life you deserved and openly hoped he’d have the chance to give you again, no matter what it’d cost, because for you he’d ruin himself a million little times.

And secretly, so would you.

[theghostbunnie]

I've been telling anyone who will listen to me for years how I never believed Fiona's universe was just a genderbent version of Finn's bc the personality changes would be too drastic sometimes and I know adventure time is partly written as it goes along but let me have this !

Fiona isn't even a Finn multiverse variant, she's BASED off of Finn. Where as the rest of the multiverse is made by wishes, so I see it kinda like making a clone of a clone, Fiona's universe is "hand made" so to speak. Something I find interesting is, everyone in it, instead of having the deep lore and backstories as the OG universe (the one they were based off of) they seem to get the simplified "what a viewer would assume/all they'd get to know in the first few seasons of watching adventure time."

Fiona and Cake aren't referred to as sisters, even when their universe had magic. When it went without, cake turned into her pet cat. Similar to how as a little kid watching the first season, you just thought Jake was Finn's talking dog.

Fiona didn't get the last name Mertins because in her original magical universe I'm betting the human Island, bio parents' backstory, deep lore about the mushroom war and the vampires just don't exist there. Similar to how when you were watching the first seasons of adventure you don't really question how Finn got there, or all of ooo. It's just boy in magical land.

Also I am willing to die on this hill Gumball/Gary and Princess bubblegum have next to nothing in common. Even in his first appearances in the main series, Gumball was acting snooty and prissy, what young veiwers thought princess bubblegum to be in the earliest seasons. Gumball/Gary in the new series has very few of Princess bubblegum's traits, especially a lack of being a scientist or abrasive bluntness, or a whole list of things. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying he's shallowly written compared to her! Just different, easily embarrassed and a writer instead, infact! All his lil candy ocs.

The character with the biggest differences though?? Cake and Jake. These are two COMPLETELY separate personalities to me.

So to tie this back to my earlier point of this universe being "hand made" and the more intriqure details being more naturally unique and simple than a carbon genderbent copy, I think Prismo put the least amount of work into Cake. (So her as a living creature developed a personality naturally, not that she doesn't have one bc Prismo didn't give her one manually)

Prismo and Jake were friends, I'm sure he's mourned him and misses him. So why would he torture himself/Disrespect someone he knew personally by making a new one? That wouldn't be fun, and that's arguably the whole reason he made Fiona's world. To have fun making something. That's why I think it doesn't have that depth and darkness Finn's world has, it's just "girl in magical land."

[valyrfia]

the best possible outcome for this is charles delaying the contract negotiations till next season summer break to see if ferrari is loyal to him or at least listening to him

Yes, completely agree. As I outlined here, I think Charles is and has been stalling negotiations. I'm not entirely sure whether he's been stalling them for a while (ie. since the summer) or whether this is a recent development with the way this season has gone after the summer break, (considering when there were rumours of a 35 million € per year 5 year contract floating around in August Charles said he wish they were true). Either way, it seems these articles today about Ferrari trying to pursue a contract extension with Charles are a deliberate leak by Ferrari to try and force Charles to the negotiating table, and put the spotlight on Charles and his contract. Although, if that's the case, I reckon it's backfired a little bit as the overwhelming public response to those articles has been that Charles should go nowhere near a new contract with those clowns.

This is absolutely dire for Ferrari. As my colleagues and I have pointed out on #Lestappen Gate 2023, that second Red Bull seat is being nicely lined up for Charles. I think it's pretty obvious at this point that he's Red Bull's first choice to fill that seat in 2025 . Ever since Monza, when no contract extension materialised (which was the first sign that something was off between Charles and Ferrari), Red Bull have: said they intend to sign two number one drivers (drastically changing their narrative from earlier in the year) with Max specifically saying he thinks him and Charles could be teammates (also changing his narrative from earlier in the year), had Charles's onboards up at at least two races alongside their actual signed drivers (Mexico and Brazil GPs). This doesn't even begin to cover the whole PR net that they've managed to weave, from the increase in Max and Charles content (driven largely by the RBR social medias! F1 and Ferrari social media have contributed, but this is largely reactionary), to Christian greeting Charles in front of the press and Netflix in Brazil. This past month has been a pitch by Red Bull to try and convince both Charles and the general public that Charles should fill that seat in 2025. And it's largely worked on the general public! It hasn't quite filtered through to commentators yet, but the idea of Charles in a Red Bull is all over social media and in Ferrari replies, I can confidently say that there's a zero chance that Charles's hasn't seen it. The last great question is whether the pitch has worked on him or not.

In a way, we're in a very different situation to a month ago, when everyone was full of bravado and pretending like they didn't really care/everything was fine. The parties involved are beginning to show their hands now–Ferrari is falling apart at the seams and can barely be called a race team anymore and yet is desperate to not lose Charles, Charles is refusing to enter proper contract negotiations and is threatening to leave unless Ferrari gets its shit together in an extremely short timeframe, and Red Bull is eagerly lurking and hitting Charles with constant reminders in their press and race reports that he is a champion and deserves better. The game is a lot more transparent now, but as a consequence just got a whole lot messier.

As a footnote as well, we haven't really touched on the Carlos situation much and that really requires a whole separate analysis, but it makes things even messier for Ferrari. It's quite obvious that they won't re-sign both Carlos and Charles and are not entering negotiations with Carlos until Charles is sorted (as semi-confirmed by the Sainz family's shady twitter activities). With Charles stalling negotiations like this, Ferrari could end up in a situation where they lose both Charles and Carlos.

So my main take away from this is that I definitely do not want to be Fred Vasseur at this instance.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

01/23/2024 Daily Recap

Hey all! It's been another long day, but we've got lots of new resources on how to help and things have been very busy!

=Renew As A Crew Updates=

Sources: Tumblr / Twitter / Instagram

So it sounds like some of the silence going on is related to RaaC adhering to the Global Strike with Social Media going on for Palestine this week. Please visit the sources above for more information, they also go over how to interact with each platform we're trying to woo (I didn't include that here because it's already in the Daily Renewal List)

=Cast & Crew Sightings=

As every day has been lately, the star of today was chaos dad himself, David Jenkins with that article that was mentioned last night from popverse.

Also for that matter, he's excited about being close to 80K

Dad wasn't the only one trolling max today, the Crew got deep into it to the point that caseybloys blocked quite a few of them and then they got the hashtag "#OhBloysHeMad" trending. Here are some highlights because I feel like all the tumblr folk need to know how hard twitter went today.

=== How to Help ===

As usual, please refer to the Renewal Task List for daily updates, but great news, we now have a Renewal Task List for our friends outside the US as well. Apparently there are different effort in different countries, so we split them up. Please let me know if there's anything additional / more countries you'd like to see!

Renewal Daily Task List - US

Renewal Daily Task List - Outside US

The Crew also got super creative and put up some awesome new resources for folks to use. I've added quite a few to the Renewal Daily Checklists, but if I missed any please let me know! Here's some examples:

UK Our Flag Means Death Updates

News from the UK Thank you to @lamentus1 and @libbyroseitm for the updates!

Here’s our report from the UK News from the UK As you probably know the second season of OFMD is yet to air in the UK. Today we had an email saying that an announcement about when it will be on TV and iPlayer here will happen “Incredibly soon”. We love the use of the word incredibly! In response to how helpful our contact has been with replies we sent a single email with lots of names on it thanking them. Our best predictions for when OFMD2 might air in the UK is late February or early March. Once Season 2 starts to air in the UK we think we will see a significant increase in interest in Our Flag Means Death. We are currently looking into ways to harness this energy! (Obviously we hope that we’ll be adopted before season 2 aires here, but if not…) One idea is to hold another watch party to coincide with the arrival of season 2 here. Another idea is to hold a flash mob. Possibly at the Cutty Sark in London. TBC. We’re working on ideas and would love to hear people’s thoughts! Please reach out to @lamentus1 with ideas!

= Pirate Omens Watch =

Pirate Omens Watch happened today on Twitter and will continue tomorrow through friday. For more details please reference below - I caught the second half and was a lot of fun! Lot's of parallels and great opportunities to tweet at @pricevideo about them!

== Articles ==

Max Delivered the Final Blow to the Horny, Quirky Comedy

Hungarian News: Ritkán látott összefogás egy elkaszált sorozatért

== COOL ANALYTICS ==

So something else that I found super cool was this post on twitter by @havethisonelife

Anyway, I just love that kinda thing, and seeing that come from articles about OFMD is just super cool.

===================================

Okay I think that's everything. As usual, if I missed anything drastic please let me know! There wasn't a whole lot going on on IG today, seemed like twitter was the show horse.

===================================

Evening Message of LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE

You thought you were rid of me sending love-- but you were wrong!

Did you know you're fucking phenomenal? Like seriously. I read through all these tumblr threads, twitter, instagram, and all I fucking see is amazing people being fucking awesome to each other (and politely shitty to max which is also amazing).

People are posting in various places and saying they had a rough day, or they're sick (that was me!) and you kind buggers are reaching out and giving support and love and I'm so damn proud to be a part of this amazing crew. You are legit the best people I've ever met! (IRL or Internet).

Everyday you continue to impress me and every one of us with your creativity, kindness, ambition, and wonder. You make me laugh, I've cried a bit from some of the posts too (not a bad thing!) and in general just fucking make the world a better place. I can't wait to see all of you continue to shine, which reminds me of this quote:

"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within" - Maya Angelou

==================================

Alright, enough of the mushy stuff-- onto the Rhys and Taika eye-porn. (Is Rhys getting some head from Taika? Badummmshhhh, ok I'll leave now). Gnight!

[everythingne]

KINTSUGI - AKIN TO A PRIDE VERSE - MV1

When brought to panic by ruthless reporters, Reina snaps and hits a reporter out of instinct. In desperation, Hana flies Max to London help her daughter out of a depressive episode caused by Reina thinking that she's more like her father than she ever wants to be. And Max realizes some things about who you call family.

warnings: reporters grabbing reina, mentioned rumors of domestic abuse, mentions of child abuse and past/current broken metacarpal (hand) bones (wow look at me being sciency?), many assumptions about max's childhood, reina has a whole break down, reminder this isn’t a romance series, also btw I changed reina's age to make her 20 (legit go back and look LOL) and that totally isn't something for silly foreshadowing purposes no no, my comeback after going to college LMAO

I'M FUCKING SCREWED. I'm so fucking screwed. I can feel the anxiety coursing through my arms as I stand there, my teammates off to my side as we try and fight through the media pen. We weren't even supposed to be here but Ollie Bearman had decided he was bored and dragged me and Kimi Antonelli along to see some other drivers by wandering along the pit lane. We were all pretty civil with one another, save for one or two weird rivalries here or there, so we were quick to amass a group that eventually Trident broke up when they needed Richard back.

And then media had shown up, and we'd gotten quickly swarmed with no real way out.

Luckily, Kimi had called someone from the paddock to come get us and help us out so as we slowly pushed through the crowd as politely as possible, someone was actively coming to us.

And then I had gotten split off.

"Ollie!" I shouted, trying to grab his attention, but my voice is lost among those of the reporters who chase after him. How theres so many reporters here, I have no idea. It's not normal. And then again, nothing about this season really was normal because of the whole siblings thing.

"Miss Matsumoto!" someone shouts and a camera is shoved in my face, I try to keep a calm composure, nodding sharply in greeting as I try to continue through the crowd, "How are you feeling about your race tonight?"

"I think I'll be alright," I nod, pulling the rim of my hat down a bit further, "My team has grown a bit with Max's personal trainer giving us some tips for my physical training and it's been really interesting seeing how just changing my diet and training has made drive different."

"How is your relationship with Max?" Someone else shouts and a smile happily crosses my face, okay, I can do this. Just keep talking and just keep pushing forward. Do what Max taught you.

"He's been incredible, a lot kinder than people give him credit for." I make sure to point that out as I walk. A few more questions about Max are tossed my way, what exactly he's been teaching me (how to train for Formula One specifically, different ways to keep my brain sharp, physical training adjustments, how to cope with the drastic difference between F2 and F1, which both Logan and Oscar had already told me about), if I've met Kelly and Penelope (I have, Penelope adores me for some reason), who I've met in Red Bull (Daniel, Max, Christian, Geri, a few engineers, some other drivers who now raced for other teams, and such.)

And then someone asks something that makes my stomach crawl, "Can you tell us why we haven't seen your father in the paddock this season even though his racing company is one of your main sponsors?"

"It's only the third race. I'm sure we'll see him in Sakura." I smile, trying to keep my voice level, but the reporters have found something to latch onto. I took too long to respond.

"How is your relationship with him been impacted since moving in with your mother?"

"The timezones make it hard to speak, but he is still my father, so," I shrug, trying now a bit more desperately to shove through the crowd. They're not letting me go. I can hear Kimi telling someone to move, his voice is sharp and annoyed, but the reporter doesn't listen.

"Is it true your father abused you?"

"What?" I gape, but reporters flash cameras and shove over each other to get to me. My reaction fuels them.

"Is Project Matsumoto a real thing, or just a mimic of Project Verstappen?"

I can't even recover from the last question as I gasp out, "I'm sorry?" I don't even know what they're referencing.

"Did Red Bull pick you to be Max's sibling due to your similar childhoods?"

I can't get words out now, the berating is on, and all I can do is try and back away. I can see Ollie waving a hand, trying to beckon me through the crowd, and now FIA officials are coming to move the reporters away. It's a mess of shoving and screaming, people in my face as they repeat themselves until their voices pitch to shouts and screams. I can't move through because any step I take is immediately countered by a shift in the tide of cameras and voices, blocking my path.

"Was your fathers attitude is Sakhir last year reflective of your childhood with him?" "How did your parents divorce effect your racing career?" "Is it hard to be living away from your Japanese roots?" "Why did your mother accuse your father of emotional and physical domestic abuse when they divorced?"

A reporter steps forward and grabs me and I rip back from him. Ollie's shoving a reporter to the side, trying to grab me before he's closed off by the ocean of people around me.

"Is the rumor of your fathers mistreatment of you true?" The man asks again, trying to grab me and I stumble back in a panic. My hat is pulled off by him instead, and I just let it go as I bring my arms to my stomach and wrap around myself.

"Please! Everyone, wait--!" I cry out, the obvious panic in my tone making my skin flame with embarrassment.

"Answer the question!" The same man shouts, shoving a reporter aside as raising his hand with his microphone. All I see is the raising of a fist in the shadow of my father, and my brain reacts before I can really think about what I'm about to do.

Crack!

I gasp as soon as I make the connection. It's hard. Max's training paying off well. Ollie's infront of me, grabbing my wrists and gently pulling me to the side until he can get me out of the crowd. Prema's around me in seconds, closing me off as I stare at my hands and feel the blood seeping across my knuckles.

I'm so screwed.

They get me into the paddock, voices over my head and slipping through my ears. I'm sat in my drivers room, Ollie and Kimi being peeled from my sides to go off and get ready for the race. I can't hear, can't think, a constant ringing ruining any conscious thought. My knuckle is split. My ring finger. I stare as one of the medics begins to clean up the wound.

Not even the sting can pull me from the thoughts racing through my head.

I hit someone. Struck a man out of fear. He had grabbed me, knocked my hat off, I had every reason to hit him. Yet, I had hit someone. I could hear my father's voice ringing in the back of my head, warnings of inheritance and passing down genetics I had shaken off to make myself feel better.

I was not my father. Never would be my father. I was so sure of that. Until today.

When the medic lets go of my hand and sets it on my lap, I feel fear strike my bones. And when René comes to get me, my silence is terrifying to everyone. I stand silent, straight faced, not even cracking a smile. The cameras watch me twice as much, I react a thousand times less.

Max is sitting on his bed, Penelope happily napping on his chest as he watches the pre-race bullshit for Reina. He had off today, oddly enough, and Kelly had gone out to do some sort of PR management event which left him to watch little Penelope. No problem at all.

The pre-race is what he's expecting, he can see Ollie dragging Reina and Kimi around and amassing a small group of F2 drivers outside of Trident. He laughs when Kimi hoists Reina into his arms, loudly announcing her by her nickname of Little Lion and making the rest of the boys cheer. What he isn't expecting is when they break up from the rest of the drivers to return to their paddock. Ollie's leading Kimi and Reina back when they get cut off by a mass of reporters. F2 hadn't been prepared for their usual amount of media to almost multiply by ten, and apparently it had been causing all sorts of issues.

Like this.

The questions are easy enough. He feels a weird swell of pride when he notices how easily Reina answers the reporters compared to before he'd started teaching her some media techniques.

And then the questions shift.

He can see Reina's panic after the first question, actually he sees it as soon as the word 'father' is brought up. He sits up a bit, gently readjusting Penelope as he turns the TV a bit louder. The camera swings away for a moment to show Ollie and Kimi pause when they realize Reina's not there, and their quick turn around before the camera swaps to show Reina.

She looks horrified. Max feels a burn in his chest as he sits up and leans forward, almost willing Ollie through the crowd. He can see multiple Prema people attempting to shove through, but every attempt is in vain. Nothing is working. It's a Sisyphean task.

Then the reporter tries to grab Reina and Max has to hold himself back from getting up and shouting at the TV. Not that it's gonna change anything. Reina steps back, and her eyes are darting around, trying to find a weak spot to escape. She can't, Max realizes, as the reporters close in.

The next thing he sees is her arm jut forward, a loud crack sounding over the speakers. His jaw drops, the sight of Reina hitting someone so foreign to him. Silence falls over the crowd as Ollie grabs her and pulls her away, someone else shouting for her to come on as Prema swarms her in a protective bubble. The feed cuts there and leaves Max on a cliff hanger for thirty minutes until they are just about to start the race. The anthem is playing. But, the Reina he sees on the screen is not his Reina.

She's silent, stone faced, frozen still and almost robotic. She moves soft as a dancer, but her gaze is sharper than an ice skaters blades. She wins, sure, but he can't get her haunted look out of his brain. She carries it even through her podium, not even able to smile when she hoists the trophy above her head.

The call from Hana the next day is expected. The invite to their flat in London is not.

"She just needs someone who understands what she's going through." Hana had pleaded on the phone, "I know it's wrong of me to say it, but you were treated a very similar way when you first got into F1 and especially when you started winning. You had a similar past, you both have similar struggles. She needs your help, Max.”

Max had wanted to suggest a therapist, a psychiatrist even, but he knew Reina would rather throw herself in front of a Le Mans car, probably the Porsche 936, than talk about her problems. Which left the question of if she would even talk to him.

But he tells Christian and Geri what's happening for a second opinion, and he is told he should go.

So he's on a flight to London three hours later, about a weeks worth of clothing packed haphazardly. He thinks he forgot a toothbrush and aftershave, but he doesn't care to check. After careful conversation, Hana had agreed to let him get a hotel close by, so he could give Reina space. Hana had been so certain Reina needed him, but Max wasn't even sure if Hana had tried to reach out to her daughter herself. Apparently Reina wasn't eating, doing her training, or even the sim. She had been in bed except for when she was forced out, and luckily there was a bit longer break than usual, it gave Max time.

He gets to the flat around eleven in the morning, twirling the keys of his rental car in his hand. He tells Hana he's coming inside and she gives him the code to the lobby and to the flat. The second one isn't needed, the woman is waiting for him in the hall.

“Thank you so much for coming out here.” Hana sighs when she sees Max and he’s shocked to see the usually classy woman in such a disheveled state, he gives her a hug in greeting but allows her to ramble through it.

“I’m sorry that I’m such a mess, I just—Reina hasn’t done this in so long it’s genuinely frightening to see it again.” Hana wipes her face, sniffling as she shakes her hands to sort of shake it off, “I’ve been trying to get her to do anything and she just won’t, she’s usually twice as active after a race, not sedimentary! I don’t know what to do—“

Max cuts off her rambling with a soft, “Hey, relax. You’ve done all you can. You go and take care of yourself, I’ll talk to Reina.”

It must be what Hana needs to hear (it’s something he’d been told by his mom when comforting Victoria growing up) because Hana barrels into his chest in a hug, thanking him probably thirty times in a row before stepping back and letting him in.

The apartment is gorgeous, Max can’t lie. It’s got big windows and tons of natural lighting, bright bold colors in decorations he’s sure Reina picked out. Which, he guesses, makes sense, because it will become her apartment soon. Hana points him in the direction of Reina’s room, but seems so genuinely distraught she can’t go near.

And this is where he’s stepping off the dock.

He hesitates to knock, but does eventually. It’s soft enough he’s sure Reina won’t hear it, but then he hears the most broken, teary and bitter, “what?” from the other side of the door.

“It’s Max.” He presses his hand to the handle, eyes staring through the wood as he leans in to the door itself, almost as if trying to see Reina through it, “can I come in?”

There’s a long enough pause he thinks she’ll say no. But theres a soft, "okay."

He pushes the door open to the darkness of Reina's room. One Himalayan salt lamp is on in the corner, providing a slightly warm glow to the room. The blinds are drawn tight, blackout curtains hastily thrown over them, and Reina's head is the only part of her body that's visible under her mass of blankets. Her room isn't quite messy, just cluttered with partially empty water bottles and a plate of cold breakfast. He remembers this. The shutting yourself off part of this all, of being raised like they had. Or, the lack thereof.

"Mornin'." He says simply, walking over to sit on the edge of her bed. Reina blinks a few times, like she can't even believe Max is there, and slowly sits up.

"Why are you here?" Her voice is groggy but not in the sense of just waking up, it sounds more like shes been sobbing for hours. A claim backed up by the redness of her swollen eyes and sniffly nose.

"Your mom called." He doesn't sugarcoat, never has, "I saw the punch. What did the FIA give you for that?"

“Five second penalty. Kimi was behind by six. Didn’t matter.” She grumbled, looking over at him from where she’s bundled up. She looks miserable, and though Max knows he’s started to crack through to get her to talk, he needs to keep trying.

“Did they fix your brakes?” Max asks and Reina nods, then sits up and sighs.

“I know you didn't fly all the way from Monaco to London for small talk. What’s wrong?” She asks, scrubbing at her red cheeks as she crosses her legs and grabs a large plush Hello Kitty and buries her face in it.

“Your mom said you’re not handling it well,” Max hums, leaning back on his hand and looking over at Reina as she curls a little bit tighter around her plushie.

“I hit someone.” She whines, “I hit him.”

“He grabbed you.” Max says, looking over at Reina and letting out a tiny non-committal hum, “the reason the FIA gave you such a little punishment is because it’s self defense.”

“But Max, I hit him.” Reina emphasized and Max blinked. What the fuck was she getting at here? His confusion must be all over his face because she shifts slightly closer and he can see where she'd split one of her knuckles open. Hana hold told him the finger was technically broken, but Reina refused to wear her brace on it. Something about having already worn one in the past. Not that Max would know. But when Reina goes to ball her hand into a fist, he notes her pinkie and ring finger don't close. Daniel's injury rings in his mind for a second, but he shoves the thought away as Reina continues to repeat herself, more broken, more panicked.

“Reina," Max attempts to soothe her, scooting a a bit closer to place a hand on hers, hiding the injury from her sight, "what are you getting at here?"

"I..." She stammers, eyes darting around his face, and then she huffs out a question he's not expecting, "Are you afraid of being like your father?"

Max blinks. The silence encompassing the room for a long while before he sighs out a soft, "Yeah, terrified."

"Me too." Reina nods, flexing her hand again. Max watches the way her eyes dart down to her injury and he realizes she's trying to cue him in. It's like a puzzle, and he has to put together the pieces to get the picture. She doesn't say anything next, leaving Max to figure it out himself, so he just watches Reina.

She's fidgety, fingers tapping along her injured hand, but he notes she keeps poking her pinkie. She'd injured her right ring finger, not the pinkie, so he's not sure what she's trying to do. She's not concerned over her current injury, but the past one. His eyes trail along her clothing, her mothers old NASCAR jersey, the rest of her hidden under mass amounts of fuzzy blankets. Her hair is braided back, greasy, and knotted, her skin is dull but still clear save for one or two pimples in her hairline. She wasn't taking care of herself, he could see that, it was a classic depressive episode.

Max meets her eyes and sees shes trying to pick him apart too.

But why? What did she need to know? Max was pretty open with her, he'd told her more than he told most people. Geri had encouraged it, hell she'd even asked if she could tell Hana some stuff from when he first got to Red Bull. The first time he'd snapped at Christian, expecting to be shouted back at, but was shocked at his calm tone. The first Christmas, when he had no one to go to, and Christian invited him to their home and though Max was slightly out of place he'd stolen the attention of the kids in a heartbeat. That was the day he'd become almost like a fifth kid to the Horners. Geri had asked if he was comfortable talking about his childhood with Hana, and he had, though it was a difficult conversation. She'd asked wonderful questions about healing and growing up and moving on, asked how much moving to Monaco and being on his own at eighteen had helped. Being on his own was freeing, he'd said that much, and though he kept some parts out he knew Hana could piece it together.

Hold on.

Max had snapped because he thought Christian would be like Jos when he'd failed to overtake on a turn.

Max hadn't had anywhere to go that Christmas because it was the first time he was celebrating without any family in the same home.

Max became an unofficial Horner because his own familial issues.

Max had moved to Monaco to get away from his father.

Reina was afraid to be like her father.

Reina was always looking to Max for validation, even with how short they had known each other.

Reina's injury, from what little Max knew, was caused after she had crashed out of a race--in heer drivers room. The last time she'd seen her dad after she'd left their house in Fukushima.

Shit.

"Reina." Max starts, not sure if he even knows how to approach this. He'd been the messy one, the one to snap, the one to shout, the one to lash out. It was evident of an 'avoidant attachment style' from his childhood or whatever the hell that meant, therapists always confused him with technicalities. Max wasn't gentle, he wasn't soft like this, he was hard edges and half-broken promises. How does one avoid their own sharp edges when trying to handle something so soft? How can Max be sure he won't break Reina?

"What happened to your pinkie?" He asks, gently prodding the knuckle with his own. Reina meets his eyes. He can't find her in her own gaze.

"Boxer's fracture." She murmurs, "Like Daniel's."

"I know that, but how did it happen?" He pushes and when Reina freezes up, he whispers, "Listen, it's just us right now. I'm gonna keep you safe, yeah? Like a real brother would."

Max had enough experience protecting Victoria.

"My dad." Reina starts, then swallows and closes her eyes. She leans forward, seeking out Max, and he moves so she can rest her head on his shoulder, staring down at her hands covered by his, "Last year, when I crashed out towards the end of the season. I was living with my mom by then, so I never really saw him. I didn't even know he was at the race. I got to my drivers room and we got in an argument. My mom tried to split us up and he slapped her so hard she fell over. I pushed him to get him to leave her alone and..."

Reina struggles to find the words and whatever she had gone through is a thousand times worse than Max could've ever expected.

"He grabbed me by the wrist, I grabbed a door to get away and he slammed it on my hand. Broke my metacarpal in two places, I needed surgery, so I never finished the season. Finished thirteenth."

Max is still. So still he's not even sure he's still breathing. Reina sniffles, and Max feels her tears hit the back of his hand.

"You don't wanna wear the brace because it takes you back." He says and Reina just lets out a soft hum. He doesn't know what to do. So, he does what Geri had done the few times she'd had to comfort him. One arm around her shoulders, the other on her head, and he pulls her taught to his chest to cradle her there.

The sob she lets out shatters his heart and he tries to pull her impossibly closer. They're flush to one another, theres no more space to close, but he still tries as Reina breaks and shatters in his hands like fine china. He attempts to piece her back together but there's not enough of him intact to repair her. Max, for his benefit, has dealt with Penelope's tired melt downs and so he gives Reina a waterbottle and wipes her tears, lays her down admist her blankets and tucks her in tightly. He sits on the floor by her face, running his fingers through her hair as best he can, gently running his thumb along her shoulder.

He can tell shes not just crying because she'd hit someone, but theres more to it. And an hour or so later, when the tears subside, she finally opens her heart to him.

"I hate my dad." She whispers after maybe five minutes of silence, no longer broken by her sniffles.

"I do too." Hate his dad? Hate hers? He's not sure. But he stands up to open her curtains and blinds, hands itching to do something rather than just sit silent. The noon sun warms the room almost instantly, and Reina lifts her head to shift into the sun. He turns and speaks as he bends down to pick up a stray bottle, "Why do you hate him?"

"Just... everything he put me and my mom through." Reina sighs, "There's a lot he did I can never forgive him for."

"What did he do?" Max sits down again and Reina reaches out to his hand, which he obliges, and she pokes at his fingers.

"When I was growing up, I started karting in Japan with my father. He wanted me to race rally cars since I was born, even with his obvious disappointment I wasn’t a son. I competed for the first time on my fifth birthday, and won. I got scouted that day and my dad completely changed. It went from a little hobby I could have to a future career, especially when my mother learned she was infertile after my birth." Reina speaks monotonously, eyes distant as she recalls, and though Max has read up on her past he knows he's getting a new raw look at her life.

"My dad finally got me in rally when I was ten, a year before the divorce. I did it for three years. The worst three years of my life." Reina shifts so she's laying on her back, looking up at the ceiling and avoiding Max's eyes, "everything that my father had just simply said became physical. Every single time I made a mistake, I was hit. Every time I talked back, ignored him, walked away, did anything he deemed to be incorrect, I was hit. Sometimes just a whack to the back of my head in annoyance, most of the time closed fists. The only thing I was allowed to do was race, extracurriculars, and school. And that includes sleeping, eating, showering, and such."

"On my thirteenth birthday, my mom came to visit us in Japan for a race I had in Fukushima. I finished second because of some dirty play and my dad was so angry at the company for not catching that, he took it out on me completely. My mom and her boyfriend at the time saw the entire thing, a huge fight broke out, the cops got called, it was a whole thing.

"My mom sued my dad for only my custody, no payment, nothing. And he dug his own hole, the court found out he was spending all the money my mom sent for me on himself, I had saved years of evidence... my mom ended up getting full custody without a challenge, and a payment that amounted to all her payments of child support and then two years worth of payments of my fathers child support in advance. That all happened around the time I switched to Formula racing. The entire time I've been racing Formula I've been living with my mom and my dad has been sending child support."

"When he got... aggressive with you, was it always physical?" Max hums and Reina shakes her head. Max slowly starts to undo one of the braids to redo it, trying to ignore the greasy feeling on his hands, and she leans into his touch so much he has to pause as he feels her face rest against his arm.

"No, it was just shouting until I got into rally and then every once and a while he’d hit me. And the most he did before I got into rally was slap me once when I was like, six? But it was mostly just him ignoring me or screaming at me, or making me race to exhaustion." Reina sighs as she then rolls to curl up against his side and Max adjusts so that he's half laying down with Reina curled up on his chest. It's similar to the way he'd gotten the youngest Horner kids to sleep when he'd visit or babysit over the years.

"My father is one of the worst people on the planet," Reina stares out the window. Max hums non-committedly, moving a little bit closer as Reina speaks in the most dead tone he's ever heard as she says, "and I have always been his favorite punching bag."

"I was my father's favorite too." Max admits and Reina nods.

"What was he like?"

"Just a lot more manipulative and way less physical. A lot of it was just him ignoring me, leaving me places, shouting at me, pressuring me. A lot of manipulation when I'd call him out on it." Max hums, finding the braid he'd half undone to fully pull it out. Reina grabs a brush off her nightstand and hands it to him so he can start to brush out her hair. It's weirdly remnant of Victoria and Penelope. Reina hums and as Max brushes out her hair, he feels the way her body relaxes.

“So did you pick me or did Red Bull?” Reina asks maybe five minutes later and Max hums, fingers finding loops of her hair to slowly braid it again. Practically hearing Geri’s voice instructing him on how to braid because it was ‘something good to know for Penelope.’ He was glad he had listened to her. It was a good thing to know.

“They told me I was gonna train you, then told me I was gonna train Ollie.” Max hums, “Ollie’s great but… I dunno. I just knew I should mentor you. Call it divine intervention but I knew.”

“Im glad you chose me.” Reina murmurs against the fabric of his hoodie and he realizes how odd this moment is. He’d packed up in thirty minutes, gotten on a two hour flight, and spent an hour coaxing his mentees trauma out so he can help her. He could’ve just said he was busy, and yet he’d already given so much of his heart to Hana and Reina he knew he couldn’t just abandon them. Reina needed him just as much as he needed her.

"I'm glad I did too. And... listen, Rei, you hitting this guy because he scared you doesn't make you an abuser." Max watches as Reina picks her head up, resting her chin on his sternum to watch him, "and Reina, you being afraid of being like your father tells me you will never be."

"But I just... I hit someone like he hit me and it was just an echo. He always told me I would grow up to be like him." Reina closes her eyes and Max takes a hand to cup her face, running his thumb along her wet undereyes.

"But you hit out of fear, not out of anger or with the intention of abusing someone, thats the thing that will never make you like him."

Reina nods, and Max knows it'll probably take him the whole week to convince her of that. But, as Reina lays her head back down with a soft thank you, he feels like he's done enough. Only twenty four hours ago he had Penelope sleeping on his chest. Now Reina’s in the same spot, her hand reaching out to cup the setting sun with her injured hand.

“Kintsugi.” She says softly, then sits up. Max watches her, head tilting as she moves to her closet and swings the door open. Grabbing a stool, she clambers up to the top shelf and starts rustling around. From his vantage point on the bed, Max can see deep scars running the inside of her leg and wonders briefly where they’re from before Reina settled back in front of him on the couch. She sees him looking and swallows, digging something out of a box from her closet.

“Also from my dad.” She says, eyes flickering up, “same day my mom was in Fukushima.”

“Ah.” Max nods, and lets Reina continue to rustle. He wants to ask questions, but he’s curious as to what she’s doing. She sets down her brace and a thing of gold paint and hands a brush to him.

“What is this?”

“Okay. It’s kinda stupid because this is no where close to what you’re supposed to do, but hear me out,” Reina raises her hands in defense. Max let’s her have the floor, he’s not gonna judge her.

“Kintsugi, it’s a Japanese art of repairing broken pottery or dishes or whatever with urushi lacquer mixed with powered gold or whatever and I don’t have lacquer and this isn’t technically broken but!” Reina pauses her rambling, chews her lip, and looks away from Max and to the window, “When I had my first hand brace, my Jiji—my grandmother, she painted it with this beautiful gold design. She told me it was my kintsugi. That I was broken, and that she was mending me. And… she’s always been my biggest support. Besides my mom, Jiji sacrificed so much for me, almost all her salary went to helping me get into F4 because my dad stopped helping me pay for racing until he started sponsoring me last year. And… Kintsugi is our thing. If she breaks anything she waits for me to fix it.”

There’s something hanging here, something so vulnerable, so Max asks with plenty of pause to show his trepidation, “Why did you give me the brush, then? Where’s Jiji?”

“In Washington.” Reina hums, “And… you… you’re a really big supporter to me. And you mean a lot to me, Max. I’ve only known you for half a year now but… you’ve helped me with a lot. And you sacrifice a lot for me. You flew all the way here to help me because my Mom asked. And don’t think Christian didn’t tell me about you trying to anonymously sponsor me.”

Max laughs softly, “Guilty as charged.”

“I want you to paint something on it. Anything. I have a—“ Reina starts to dig again, “a gold marker too. I do this all the time with things I break—like my phone cases or my hair ties. This is a whole bin of knockoff Kintsugi.”

She hands Max the marker and then rolls off to the side to curl back into her blankets, but rests her head on his thigh. Max sits and stares at the brace in his hand, rolling it around in his grasp as he thinks of what to write. There’s about a thousand things that ring through his head, and none he can settle on.

And then he gets an idea.

While Reina watches him focus, the golden light of the sun haloing him, she wonders briefly if she’s found her own form of Kintsugi in him. Sure they weren’t perfect, and both deeply troubled in their own right, traumas rooted deep within them, but they had each other and that was what they needed.

And Max knew he found Kintsugi in Reina.

Reina sits up when Max hands her the brace back, making an odd face when she sees its written in Dutch.

“laat u niet definiëren door uw naam. Do not be defined by your name.” Max says simply, and Reina looks up at him and tears prick in her eyes immediately. When Max helps her put it on, he adds a bit more gold flare to the boring black brace and smiles.

“Now you can wear it, yeah?” he says, and Reina leans up to wrap her arms taught around him. He laughs softly and hugs her back, letting her bury her face in the side of his neck.

If she sobs, he doesn’t comment, just lets her lay there until she’s run dry.

A week later, Max is unpacking in Monaco when he notices something new in his bag. He finds a small little keychain, a little blue ribbon tied to a clasp he knows he can snag on his keys. It’s in Japanese, but the note attached makes him smile a little watery smile.

‘Max,

Thank you. That’s all I can say. For everything you were supposed to help me with, and everything you chose to do on your own. I hope I can return the favor.

Reina.

ps. it says ‘do not be defined by your name.’ just like my brace,’

The keychain hangs off the zipper of his work jacket instead. And if anyone asks—and Yuki is the first to ask the meaning since he knows what it actually says, he simply smiles and says it’s a gift. No other explanation needed.

Except for when Geri asks, and he tells her the whole story, and then Christian ‘yells’ at him for making Geri cry.

reinamatsumoto made a new post!

liked by gerihorner, logansargeant, maxverstappen, and 458k others...

reinamatsumoto: [come back soon, big brother]!!

viewing translation from japanese

tagged: maxverstappen

misshanatanaka: [so sweet! glad having him by helped sweetheart!!]

user1: CAPTOIN HAS ME IN FUCKING TEARS

user2: MAX IS HER BROTHER !!!!!!

logansargeant: did our sushi date meaning NOTHING.

⤷ reinamatsumoto: GOD YOU WANT A POST FOR FUCKING SUSHI??

⤷ logansargeant: YES?

⤷ oscarpiastri: please rei he's pouting.

⤷ reinamatsumoto: fine. anything for my favorite white boys.

⤷ user6: my favorite prema survivors <3

user3: CRYING OVER HER CALLING MAX HER BROTHER. OH. IM SO NOT WELL.

user4: so are we gonna talk ab her punching a reporter? bc shes hot for that.

oscarpiastri: PERONI??? FOUL.

gerihorner: so so so cute!!!!!

⤷ reinamatsumoto: thanks mom!!!

⤷ maxverstappen: thanks mom

user5: logan crying in the comments is so real

yukitsunoda: [max is a big softie!]

⤷ reinamatsumoto: [I KNOW !!!]

taglist (thank you for your support!!)

@vellicora @justsomejess @struggling-with-delia

[inbarfink]

Some shows have a Problem of ending an episode with what seems like a Big Huge Shift to the Status Quo... which doesn’t actually pan out meaningfully in later episodes. Like, an episode would end on a note of 'oh shit, Everything is Different Now!' but in retrospect... no, nothing has really changed.

‘Adventure Time’... kinda had the tendency to do the opposite. Episodes that seem to end up with a snapback to the Status Quo, but when you look at them in retrospect, you can see how they did end up seriously changing the trajectories of characters and their worlds.

Like, ‘Too Young’ seemed like just a way to pull the reset button on the whole 'Little Bubblegum' thing and bring us back to the pre S2 Finale Status Quo - but it also introduced one of the show’s most important supporting characters and a bunch of lore that ended up being very important later, and in retrospect, it was a huge turning point in the Finn-Peebles dynamic. Same with ‘Jake the Dad’. Jake might be back at the treehouse, but seeing the Pups leaving the nest so quickly had subtly shifted Jake’s character for the remainder of the show, and they remained an important component of the extended cast and… like, actually defined the fate of the world 1000 years into the future.

“When Wedding Bells Thaw” literally ends with Finn going “and now everything’s back to normal!” but that’s also the episode that started the shift on Ice King from ‘Villain Who’s Kinda Pathetic’ to ‘Awkward Friend That Occasionally Does Something Really Fucked Up”.

And speaking of Ice King, there’s also ‘The Party's Over, Isla de Señorita’.

Because after going through this whole journey of friendship with Island Lady, and getting to be legit heroic for a change, Ice King decides to ‘break up’ with Princess Bubblegum

Only for the ending to kinda casually implicitly ‘walk it back’. Haha, it's just a little ending joke, nothing's really changed!

Or did it?

Because Ice King’s tendency to kidnap Princesses has been actually decreasing drastically since, well, pretty much since Season 3 started. Like, okay, so I took the list of 'Major Appearances' by Ice King/Simon from the AT Wiki and marked here every episode that features Ice King kidnapping a Princess

Ever since Ice King truly started seeing Finn and Jake as his friends and clinging to them as a Source of Companionship, he’s been less and less obsessed with princesses and the kidnapping therefore. But ‘The Party’s Over’ still feels like a tipping point, the Official Stopped Kidnapping Princesses Point.

The only exceptions after that are ‘Betty’

Which I think might have been a momentary relapse due to, you know, Simon literally just reuniting with Betty and supposedly losing her all over again and these feelings lingering within Ice King. Plus, unlike his previous kidnapping, this one doesn't actually seems to be actively romantically motivated (considering he spends all that time talking about ‘the woman of his dreams’) - I think he just wanted someone to talk to.

And ‘Elemental’, where he was only doing it for Patience St. Pim.

And the episode even emphasizes that he hasn’t done something like this for a very long time, even if his casual attitude kinda implies that he himself doesn’t fully realize why.

‘Friends Forever’ even has a gag about Ice King keeping that Animated “Fionna and Cake” book from ‘Mystery Dungeon’, and the book’s room is the old Princess Kidnapping Cage. Further emphasizing the idea that he’s not using it to keep Princesses anymore.

So, even though ‘the Party’s Over’ kinda played it off as a joke that’s not going to change anything… It seems like the adventure with Island Lady DID have a really significant impact on Ice King, even if he himself doesn't totally realize it.

[tommykinard6]

I don't mean to pile onto your bad day but I've been seeing a lot of creators on tiktok complain/compare the bucktommy and henren tags/fic count on ao3 because there's almost more bucktommy fics then there are henren fics. The number one claim is always that bucktommy writers are racist because we don't write for henren. But like, that's not correct at all? People can write fanfiction for whatever they want to. If they want to see more henren stuff then they can write it on their own.

We can coexist without fighting each other. I'm just tired of people screaming about how bucktommy is anti this or anti that, when we're just vibing by ourselves and don't want the drama but the drama finds us anyway because Sucky People are loud and get heard the most.

You’re good, anon. It actually gave me something to think about during work.

As a quick disclaimer, before we begin, I’m not a POC. I am not speaking for anyone in the Black community and am not attempting to speak over them. My following thoughts are as a queer woman-ish who is also a writer.

I think it must be noted that Hen and Karen have been overlooked since day one. The fact that Buck coming out made it the “gay firefighter show” when we’ve had a beautiful canonical lesbian couple since the very beginning? Is only proof. Is this proof of racism in the fandom? Maybe. Quite possibly. I would argue that it comes from a misogynistic point as well.

If you look in any fandom, regardless of the color of their skin, any wlw ship is horribly overlooked. I’ve done some tag searching on ao3. Straight and mlm ships battle for dominance while there are canonical and fanonical wlw ships that have a drastic difference in numbers. This isn’t a good thing. But it’s an experience that spans fandoms.

I find it sad that BuckTommy has almost more fics, with only two episodes under their belt, than Henren with 7 seasons. However, this isn’t a reason to hate on BuckTommy. The ship didn’t do anything wrong. Comparison is the thief of joy and it’s also rage bait. I think that some creators simply are using anything they can to hate on BuckTommy. Which that makes it sadder, that they aren’t concerned about Henren other than pushing their own agenda.

This isn’t to say all creators who are speaking about this are doing this, but I guarantee some are.

Now, let me speak as a writer.

As someone with 62 published fics on ao3, I write almost exclusively mlm ships. This isn’t because I hate women. And as a queer woman-ish, don’t even start about homophobia. But for some reason, I find it so much easier to write men than I do to write women. This is true for straight and wlw ships and also just in general. I love Henren, but I don’t have the faintest idea about how to write them.

It’s hard enough to write as it is and I’m already writing on ships that are easy for me. I try to write women and it just hasn’t come out right. I want to challenge myself, branch out, and maybe I’ll write for Henren to do that. But I say all this to point out that for some people like me, writing some ships and demographics of ships are just a little more difficult.

That leads me into something else.

I, as a white person, worry about accidentally writing non-white characters wrong. And this was reinforced not too long ago when we had that whole thing on ao3 with deliberate racism in 9-1-1 fics. If anyone has resources or advice for writing non-white characters, I would love to hear that! The last thing I want to do is cause any harm.

I feel like I’ve spoken a lot about me, but that’s because I can’t really speak for anyone else. I can only speak from my experience.

We already have a ship war between BuckTommy and Buddie. We don’t need to pit more people against each other. I think we can love BuckTommy while agreeing that Henren needs to be seen and appreciated and treated equally.

End note to say: I tried to speak as delicately and as sensitively as I could, but if anything came out wrong, please feel free to point it out (kindly). Again, I speak for no one but my very little section of the world. I’m interested to hear what people of other backgrounds have to add!

[shadowy-suitcase-herring-neck]

(Accidentally deleted my whole ask.... it was so long too.) Have any of the Cubed skeletons met each other inside? How do they feel about seeing their enemies meeting the same fate? Is the Cube too vast to do so, at least, to do so now? What do they feel in regards to everyone's mutations and their own? What are Ink, Blue, and Horror's mutations? How do any of them cope with their new biology? I imagine a skeleton getting a hair or something similar in their eye to be a baffling new experience. They too must suffer with us fleshy ones. (I live with a few cats can you tell.) How did Error manage to wrangle an entire colony of Spider Beasts? How does he cope as someone who is otherwise entirely alone, unlike the others, if he copes at all? As a glitch would the Cube even affect him the same as the rest, if so what is his mutation? Especially considering he already had an untrustworthy body to begin with (all the crashes... the glitching... does he even suffer from glitches anymore?). -(An Error Enjoyer) What is the Cube's ecosystems like? The flora and fauna, the seasons! Are the former restricted to a square or would flora and fauna be able to cross over? Do the seasons affect every square at once? What is it like when the Cube twists and turns? Can you fall off the Cube? Can the initial scientists see within the Cube? Who is Jane? Are there any other notable scientists? Does time pass differently? Do any of the scientists regret their decisions? Knowing they're now responsible for fundamentally changing and- intentionally or not- killing so many? Do they understand how revolting that is? To have so much blood on their hands? (Just that. Blood, not even dust. Lifeless corpses, how many monsters feel violated at just that within itself?) ...Do they even know? How many are even aware of the Cube's true nature? Are there any fighting back? Which of those are rebelling against the metaphorical chopping block over their heads? How many hide away in fear? Are there balances with the Cube Multiverse? How many things have hit the fan in the Gods and Guardians's absence if that is the case? Would they ever be able to get out? (Assuming a long time has since passed.) Would they even want to? To go back to a multiverse that shunned even their protectors, a multiverse that goes to such lengths as to use the Cube in the first place? If they left would they go back to normal? Would they want to? Would they survive a second transformation, or a lack of? That got really long- oh well. I think I got all my previous questions down... Thank you for sharing! Hope you get all the rest you need!

ohhhhohoho :)))))) *turns around slowly on a spinny chair like a supervillian* buckle up this is gonna be a long one :]

There have been meetings. The gang have been on the Cube for years. (or will be on the cube for years. i am unsure the time frame tbh) so it was inevitable to meet other prisoners. The gang would feel somewhat grim satisfaction but also confusion and a mix of other emotions when they meet the stars. They obviously don't belong there. but also it's a grim satisfaction that never really feels all that satisfying. (The cube is quite large. definitely not as big as a planet but it is large. ) Blue gets a beak. he also figures out he is very good at imitation. Blue also has some scales under his eye sockets and his phalanges. Ink tbh i haven't 100% worked out his exact mutation. it is being more difficult than expected. but he will likely have a sort of chameleon ability (color shifting) Horror just gets some very fluffy hands with some massive claws. (what looks like fur is actually feathers)

It is certainly an experience getting used to the mutations. of course no one likes the fact their bodies where so drastically changed without warning. The eyeballs where certainly a new experience to be sure. needless to say they prefer eye lights. Killer is especially irritated by it.

Error was able to be trapped in the Cube much by his own fault surprisingly… He had thought it was another au to destroy but once he entered all his magic was stripped and he got trapped. The rest of the multiverse wasn’t going to free him so… yeah he’s trapped and very angry that he is unable to watch undernovela, or eat chocolate, even his crochet and knitting is harder… but still doable. 

Error’s transformation was one of the more painful. His eyes felt like they were burning for DAYS. The glitches were no longer there but his bones would chip off and regrow rapidly sometimes. He speaks with a stutter but the strange mechanical accents are gone.. He mostly prefers to not talk now. Not that any of the spiders know what he's talking about. He has small holes under his eye sockets and in his wrists that can produce a slightly bioluminescent string (silk?) It can’t really move like it could before, it acts as any other string without the magic that allowed Error to make it move. Also he has four arms. 

The large spider beasts had taken an immediate fascination with Error. The queen of the hive watched him when under the effects of the changes brought by the Cube. It was likely they thought Error was a very strange young spider beast. A very very strange one. 

Out of everyone, Error has probably survived the easiest. It helps when you have a massive colony of spider beasts that seem intent on protecting you. 

a drawing of him with a spider beast named Matrix ^ each square of the cube has it's own separate ecosystem, weather, flora and fauna. they are confined to the square they originate from unless a prisoner takes it out. there isn't any reason to the types of environments next to each other. The squares shift every day at midnight after all. You could step right out of an icy wasteland right into a tropical jungle. seasons don't exist on the cube. Each square exists in the season it was designed for. the only thing that exists across several areas that aren't prisoners are the Corpse eaters. large thinly built wyvern looking things with long hooked beaks and butterfly patterned wings. they also have large white eyes. they act basically like large vultures. cleaning up any dead thing they find. Corpse eaters aren't particularly hostile but it is advised to stay away. when the cube shifts there is a shaking but not too violent. it's only really dangerous if your near the edge of a square because of lose debris and the large gap that appears between the sections. You can't fall of as it seems each section has it's own center of gravity it seems. ( think that's what you call it) it makes going between sections a rather strange feeling. and also you could jump off the edge of the cube and just fall on the side square like it was the ground. which it is now. the environments can be really really crazy. there are also a lot more sections that on your average 3 by 3 rubrics cube type shape. a lot more.

The scientists can view what happens in the cube. it would be foolish not to have some sort of surveillance system. Jane was one of the head scientists who worked on making the cube. She had some personal beef with Nightmare because of one of his attacks on her au. Jane is also one of the scientists who somewhat regrets what she did. Not to the gang yet though (yet). She hates that the stars and other people where being sent though. That wasn't what she wanted. But like her those scientists that showed regret and tried to put and end to it where seen as criminals. they knew too much. and so they where trapped as well if not just dealt with in other ways. the stripping of the magic is devastating for many. Monsters are made of magic. it is a fundamental part of them. taking that is just wrong. Most don't know exactly what the cube is. There are many many theories but most don't know what exactly it is other than a deadly prison of sorts. The uncertainty can make it all the more terrifying. most who fight against it are those in danger themselves. many monsters and humans just try to not draw attention to themselves. they believe if they just aren't a danger, if they just keep to themselves, they will be safe. Some say anyone who ends up there deserves it. they are all criminals after all... right. (the stars being sent was something kept hidden from nearly everyone. though several people have put the pieces together.) Because both sides of the balances have all lost their abilities the balances seem to have just frozen. this isn't exactly good. at least things aren't self destructing but it isn't supposed to be stagnant.

For now the prisoners only hope is for escape. you could never have a comfortable fulfilling life in the cube. The drive to escape in many cases is what keeps them going. even though many have no clue where to even start. They focus on simply surviving. don't think too hard about the future or you might start thinking about how impossible escape sounds or what comes after. Just keep telling yourself you'll get out one day, it will happen if you just keep trying. when they do get out. They would feel lost. they lost their magic. where would they go...

the only person that might not care about escape might be Error. if he does he would probably be taking a massive spider army with him.

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

why season 4 is actually one of debbie’s best seasons, not her worst.

i feel like when people talk about debbie gallagher, specifically when people who dislike debbie gallagher talk about her, they talk about the change from season 3 to season 4. how she changed from being a sweet innocent kid to a bratty obnoxious teenager. these comments are always so interesting to me because i feel like people’s weird perspectives kind of diminish the purpose of debbie in season 4 which is unfortunate because it really is such a good season for her.

“the change” in question wasn’t really a drastic change at all, her behavior has been basically the same for all eleven seasons. people say her personality changed when in reality, emma kenney changed. season 3 and 4 are supposed to happen very close together, which isn’t realistic considering when they started filming. by season 4, emma and ethan both look much older than they did in the previous season. for ethan, this doesn effect how people like his character because he is both a male and comedic relief, but for emma, this will effect her.

in season 2, debbie acts pretty similarly to how she does in season 4. in both seasons, debbie is obsessed with holly, making boys like her, and looking older than she is. but in season 2, emma kenney’s face is younger, her voice is higher, the clothes she wears don’t fit and the makeup she applies is applied sloppily because she’s so young; she acts cuter. people don’t take debbie trying to act promiscuous in this season seriously because of how little she looks, and two seasons later, the standards don’t seem to apply anymore even though emma kenney is still so young. even if she’s still young, her voice is less squeaky, her body is developing, the clothes fit better, and the makeup is still sloppy but for some reason, it doesn’t make her look as childish. anyone with half a mind can tell she’s a kid trying to look like an adult, yet for some reason, when she does it in this season as a thirteen year old, it’s completely different than when she did it as an eleven year old.

she stops being as cute, and so her personality doesn’t really work. debbie has always been intelligent, extra, sassy, loyal, and desperate for attention. she’s always had a debilitating fear of abandonment and issues with attachment. when you’re babyfaced and a kid, these traits are funny, then she starts to age and these traits aren’t cute, they’re annoying. when debbie kidnaps a baby in season 1 and fiona is asked why, she says, “it’s debbie”, and although debbie has just done something really bad, it being debbie is an explanation and somehow makes the situation better. later on, when she’s still a kid just a little older, if she does something like this, “it’s debbie” is a bad thing.

i think that if people want to go down the path of saying that she majorly changed or had a downfall, they should consider how her trauma actually did effect her around this time because yes, there were a few minor changes in her that are undeniable.

in season 3, she loses the trust of both of her parents. that’s something. she waits for a whole year for frank, setting up some sort of altar for him and praying. when he returns, she tries desperately to get his love and attention like she has been for the whole show, and it ends in him destroying her room and her school project, insulting her while she’s at it. and so, she goes batshit and starts hitting him as hard as she can. ever since season 1, debbie has been dependent on frank’s attention. she knows he’s bad and she knows what’s wrong with him but she doesn’t care as long as she can still find ways to squeeze a bit of love out of him. this is where that stops. this is where she changes some of her morals, because she realizes that her father won’t change and yeah, it does destroy her. then, he calls dcfs on the siblings and gets them separated, and debbie is put all alone in an abusive home. this is obviously going to destroy a girl with severe abandonment issues, not to mention a girl who has never been alone like this before. so when she gets out of that house, obviously she’s gonna be more traumatized. then, when they go to family court, she discovers that monica and fiona saw each other, and she doesn’t want to be their mother anymore. this breaks debbie even more, and she hears frank’s bullshit about how he loves his kids and even though she’s trying to make herself hate him, she still listens to it and testifies with carl. later on, when she’s talking to sheila and taking care of her, it’s revealed that debbie blames herself for monica leaving, and if monica were to return and stay she would forgive her and welcome her with open arms.

^ so with all of that considered, she’s gonna be fucked up. and that’s only part of the reason she acts the way she does. we have her parents absence, but also her older siblings. with her parents out of the way, she becomes more dependent on fiona, but fiona is now constantly at work, leaving them with sheila, and then… well, we all know what happens with fiona in season 4. as for lip, he’s off at college. that’s that. then, ian has run away and all they have is a couple of texts. she’s desperate to get him back but fiona assures her he’s fine, and she doesn’t believe it. so when she and lip go find ian, he’s different. he’s gone. frank and monica were the people she depended on, then they were gone, and now her older siblings, her three constants and role modes, seem to be gone, too.

debbie becomes colder because she is more alone. no parents, no parental figures, she becomes even more independent than she previously was. she decides she doesn’t need anyone. holly and ellie teach her about a new way to get attention, which is using her sexuality, something she never really tried to use for attention because she’s thirteen. she starts sexualizing herself, and holly tells her she likes matty, so she decides she does. and remember how debbie decided she didn’t need anyone to depend on? yeah, bullshit. matty is a new adult in her life and with frank dying, she needs someone for male validation. matty tells her she’s sexy and a great dancer, and he gives her food, lets her sleep in his bed, and gives her the attention she thinks that she needs. she doesn’t realize she’s being groomed, she thinks it’s love. he even promises to have sex with her when she’s 16 and he’s 23 because his main concern is if it’s illegal or not.

in season 4, debbie is left, used, bullied, humiliated, and ruined. she’s a thirteen year old girl, and being thirteen as a girl is rough. her mind is changing, along with her body, her family, her life, everything. debbie historically does horrible with change, it shouldn’t at all be surprising that she acts how she does. what people view as a bitch or a brat is so obviously a hurt, traumatized child and it’s almost disturbing that people don’t seem to see that. i’ve seen debbie mocked for matty, and while in season 5 the situation got worse, she didn’t do anything wrong in season 4. all that she did was have more attitude, but it was clearly a trauma response. debbie was ignored and hurt in season 4, she was a victim. and she was realistic. the change was expected and necessary for her character. case closed.

[owmylasagna-blog]

Headcanon: I guess post-BPS, Eddy would be really depressed and in a indetity crisis for at very least two weeks (it's too much of a drastic change to him), Edd would do his best to be a sensitive, empathetic friend and help him out while struggling with his own flaws and his bitchy side (I figure they would stop bickering SO THAT MUCH after BPS, at least for a while). tbh I guess Ed would be too happy making friends with the kids or rebulting a sibling relationship with Sarah to notice for some while (He always had been somewhat oblivious to the others' problems, and I figure him being the most popular, beloved, accepted one post-BPS).

What do you think?

Oh yes let’s talk about it! I could see quite a lot of what you’ve mentioned happening for sure. I’m just gonna go into more detail because I can’t help myself and you asked so…

BPS obviously is meant to be THE groundbreaking moment for Eddy’s character. So let’s get into it.

Eddy is a survivor of abuse. And a fighter. He’s got a little of that Childhood Trauma™️ and it does in fact “build [his] character”. See what I did there? Anyway, the point is that just because Eddy has this major turning point, his trauma isn’t going anywhere overnight.

Rachel Connor, one of the writers of the movie who worked specifically on the scenes with Bro, wrote a post where she described Eddy as the Great Pretender which… BIG OOF! As the show progresses Eddy loses sight of who he is more and more as he digs himself deeper into the Bro hole: emulating him more, wanting to impress him more, lying about him more (or perpetuating lies. Who knows!). The whole Great Pretender act isn’t exactly fulfilling. It’s putting more stress on his actual friendships with his pals. His depression in the 5th season (@book-o-scams has written about this) feels like a result of all this.

So when Eddy’s scam goes so horribly wrong that he and his friends are run out of PC, he almost loses Edd’s friendship, only to get publicly abused by his big bro, Eddy is faced with the reality of the person he could become. And that’s when he knows it has to end. This epiphany should be liberating for him in some ways but also sets off a whole self discovery journey. Of course he’d feel a little lost at the start, trying out lots of different versions of himself, before ultimately embracing his multifaceted self into adulthood. Aren’t we all a little lost in our teen years?

After all he’s been through with his brother, the guy has major trust issues. It's clear that Eddy is anxious to belong and be popular, but attempting to fleece the other kids for quarters at every turn isn’t exactly the best way of making friends (except that it’s a bonding activity with the other Eds). And that feels intentional whether he’s conscious of it or not, that what he’s really after is status instead of acceptance. Because if he doesn’t get too close with others he can’t get hurt. Trust issues are really hard to shake. That’s always going to impact his relationships and specifically his interactions with the other kids immediately following the events of BPS. It’s going to take him years to work through that. And I think he will, with time, get better at trusting and getting close to others.

My interpretation is that Eddy would be pretty bummed and depressed for a while despite all the new acceptance from his other peers, just because he’s having to analyze his own behavior more, question his relationship with his bro, with his family at large, with his best friends, with everyone else around him. I often add a layer of him struggling with the realization he might be gay during the year or two following the events of BPS, and that's not the easiest pill for him to swallow either. I think he’d still put up walls to protect himself and try to find ways to be liked and accepted, to be entertaining or prove himself. I don’t see him immediately being as outgoing with the other cul-se-sac kids as he is within the Eds, but I think at his core he is actually a cool and interesting guy and that comes through. On the flip side, I think he’d mostly work on being more honest and vulnerable with Edd and Ed in the months and years following which just strengthens their bonds more and together they learn to be better people to each other! Woohoo!

We’re moving on: Edd. BPS is a trial of his friendship with Eddy and they came out the other side much more sympathetic to one another. The tension that grows between them during the series run is as much a result of Eddy’s desperation as it is a result of Edd’s anxiety getting way worse. So yes, where I do see Edd helping Eddy through some of his depression following BPS, I also see Eddy helping ground Edd with some of his own issues that are percolating to the surface more. Just two little emo outcasts being there for eachother. Couldn’t be a recipe for a little gay awakening. No chance. (I’m being sarcastic, y’all. You know my schtick). I still think they’d bicker, though. Like a lot. It’s just core to their personalities. Fights just wouldn’t come to blows in the same way. It’s a lot harder to stay mad when you can see the clearly labeled buttons you’re pushing, you know?

Outside of his relationship to Eddy, Edd also seems to be shifting away from being blindly obedient towards authority like in the series. Nothing like seeing a man-child beat on an actual child to really wreck your world view. Up until that point, Edd is a textbook rule follower. I think there is an interesting perspective shift, seeing the world as Eddy has, that will shake his idealism and optimism ever so slightly. Thus starting a tiny little rebellious streak. Again, can’t reiterate enough that turning 13 is such a bitch. The mental toil.

Ed. Oh, Ed. Ed kinda has his whole thing figured out already. I sometimes describe Ed’s heroic act in BPS as him getting his brain back a bit after the school season episodes. I think the kid just dissociates especially hard when he is at school which makes him seem extra random in these episodes. We all gotta cope somehow. Anyway, I do also weirdly think Ed would get on with the other cul-de-sac kids pretty well on his own: he already has decent rapport with the likes of Jonny and Rolf so it would be interesting to see these relationships explored more. In the show he already seems the floater type. Maybe Ed becomes Jonny’s only friend when he becomes the new “outcast” of the cul-de-sac.

I think his consistency is really going to help Edd and Eddy through whatever ups and downs they go through. He’s the type to lighten the mood or give a sympathetic ear or listen to a rant without judgment. He has and always will accept them just as they are, and himself just as he is, and that does wonders for the group’s morale. Also, with Eddy dialing back on the Bro act I can see Ed also being kinder (he’s often feeding off the bad examples) and really embracing the surrogate big brother role for Eddy. I’d love for that relationship to be strengthened more too, and Ed to come to his defense and protection more readily in the way he does with Sarah. At first it would probably annoy Eddy to no end but he’d reluctantly get over it because deep down it feels good to be cared for. Soft like mashed potatoes indeed.

More than Ed rebuilding the relationship with Sarah is Sarah sticking up for her brother to her parents. I think she’d definitely come around to recognizing she’s abused her privileges as the favorite child and also grateful that her brother didn’t turn out That Bad considering. While she’s mending things with Ed I think she’d still take out her younger sibling rage on Eddy (I like to think she sees him as a bonus brother she never asked for). I don’t think they necessarily hate each other or anything, they just have that energy of two scrappy alley cats who have to hiss and swat before parting ways.

[zorbs]

《XƎTЯOVerthink》 Kaleidoscope Analysis

Remember those funky little toys called kaleidoscopes you used to play with as a kid? The ones you'd twist and look into it to see shifting reflections with pretty colors? Yeah, yeah these guys.

Well I noticed the new Link Click MV heavily incorporates a kaleidoscope as a visual motif. Throughout the MV there’s imagery involving mirrors and rainbows and repeated patterns and rays of light, all qualities of a kaleidoscope.

The most direct references are this frame which illustrates the mirror physics of a kaleidoscope:

And this frame illustrating the repeating patterns displayed within a kaleidoscope:

Seeing all this imagery got me thinking as to why it’s all there. The clock and camera imagery within the show make more obvious sense to their meanings, but kaleidoscopes don’t have anything to do with anything we’ve explicitly seen in the show before. However, after some thinking, I believe the kaleidoscope motif is a lot more relevant than it may seem.

The word “kaleidoscope” itself comes from Greek roots, which translate into “observation of beautiful forms”. To me, this MV seems to be painting Red Eyes as the current observer in control of the kaleidoscope.

The aspect of a kaleidoscope being a toy causes me to think about the line from Vortex, “But Imma win this silly game / until then I will never leave”. During those lyrics is when we see Red Eyes appear.

From what we've seen of the two different Red Eyes (likely siblings/twins), they appear to be children. With that info, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Red Eyes we’ve seen take control of Qiao Ling and Liu Min still views this whole thing as a game (toy), especially after being lured into the “game” set up by CXS and LG. Red Eyes is just playing with power to entertain themself, the same way a child would play with a kaleidoscope for entertainment. 

Additionally, CXS, along with other characters throughout this MV, appears to be trapped in the kaleidoscope with the way the reflected colored light and fractals or glass are displayed around them. It even seems like Qian Jin is trapped, possibly implying he’s a mere pawn in this game as well.

What I find most intriguing though is the fact that the tiniest rotation of a kaleidoscope creates drastic changes regarding what is seen inside the toy. There’s a seemingly infinite display of patterns. This idea parallels the visuals that show multiple (infinite?) versions of CXS. Some of which are dead, others distraught or gravely injured.

I think the kaleidoscope motif is yet another metaphor for time. Those that have the power to control it with slight changes, the unthinkable number of possible outcomes…thinking of it in this way all starts to make sense. The ones trapped in the kaleidoscope are all at the mercy of time and the ones who control it. Thus, this narrative must rely on “the ones aren’t in control”.

Many have already been speculating this, but I’m also getting the sense that there have been multiple timelines that have been manipulated way before the events of Season 1 began. And those events all involved a sort of engineering of CXS’s fate.

Which leads me to…what the heck is Lu Guang hiding??

One of the first visuals we see is LG falling during the line “When I’ve sunken so low”.

This lyrical imagery can be paired with the line “Knowing it all, am I destined to fall / Like once you did for me”. I feel like these are implying LG has had transgressions of his past. He’s undergone mistakes that have caused him to fall. Again, multiple people have raised this point, but there must be a reason LG is so strict about the time travel rules. Is it because he’s learned them first-hand the hard way before? 

What if LG previously manipulated the timelines in order to save CXS over and over again?

Immediately following the “like once you did for me” lyric is a montage of the way LG came into CXS’s life.

This visual and the coupled lyrics add to the idea that LG saved CXS and his past actions led to the moment in time we’re currently watching as an audience.

I also want to point out the line of “Where do we end up when we save the world?”. What if LG already disrupted the timeline enough by saving CXS and has now sworn off any further timeline changes in order to protect the current present, leaving Red Eyes with complete authority over its manipulation. He’s already completed his past objective but is now left dealing with the adverse effects.

Anyways, this is just a theory, a LINK CLICK THEORY.

[sweetcloverheart]

Clover Rants Miraculously - Divisive Derision

Derision finally dropped, so now I can go ahead and complain (spoiler warning for those who haven’t watched the episode)

So, for a long time, the reveal of the Chloe induced “Date Trauma event” for Marinette in “Derision” that apparently is what causes her tongue tying around Adrien bothered me for a while - and not in the "Ugh, more ‘Please hate Chloe’ nonsense” sort of way, but in a “This is upsetting me a similar way the Marinette-Chloe-Audrey scene in “Style Queen” (not the “telling a child to keep pleasing their abusive parent” stuff, but the other part) did, but I can’t pinpoint why.” sort of way that sort of stuck in my head for a good while as I struggled to figure it out

And then I realized the issue - it was creating the same problem of involving a character in an issue that didn’t need them there.

Yeah, Chloe would 100% have done that prank (and be completely unapologetic about it too), but it didn’t need to happen because this should be about Marinette and her issues only. Why is an episode that’s supposed to be about why Marinette seems to have trouble telling her boyfriend she loves him involving her bully (who has been such a huge non-factor since the start of the new season and hasn’t even been involved in any attempts to wreck the relationship so far) when there are so many other currently involved and active recent events and parties (like Gabemoth) that could be used to trigger and facilitate the plot. There were 9999 different ways you could have lead up to and explained Marinette’s “dating trauma” without Chloe being the centerpiece of it - like say she’s constantly panicking about confessing to Adrien because Marinette’s overly shy and hasn’t gotten over that, or because Marinette hasn’t gotten over her celebrity worship of Adrien, or that Marinette’s still upset over Chat’s rejection, or because the last time she had a boyfriend and tried to say she loved him he got Akumatized, or because the infinite amount of failed schemes by her and the girl squad have made her develop a Pavlovian response to clam up in front of Adrien when she tries to tell him how she feels and “move on to the next level”, or because Gabriel threatened her in an attempt to end the relationship with the bonus of getting her akumatized (“Chat Blanc” parallels? More likely than you think!). And if it has to be a cut-and-pasted event, then maybe make it where Marinette once liked a guy but he rejected her in front of the class and she was super embarrassed over it, or someone (Who isn’t Chloe - like seriously, she can’t be the only awful kid in Francois Dupont, especially with how the teachers handle disputes? Come on Thomas, let the other bullies have their chance to shine!) tricked her into thinking a guy liked her when he didn’t and embarrassed her in front of everyone, or that a guy she liked led her on as a joke and it hurt her a lot, or maybe even that Marinette being bullied made a guy reject her because he didn’t want to be bullied too and that making her hesitant to actually pursue someone she like. Literally, you have so many options that are 100% Chloe-free so that we can focus on Marinette, her character, and the Adrienette relationship growth and not retread old ground with another “Chloe makes Marinette miserable because she’s evil and sucks” scene. The whole “Box of spiders and paint on the chair” thing just making what should be a simple story of why Marinette cannot spit it out more drastically complicated (and frankly, a bit overdramatic) than it should be.

“But Clover!” I hear you say “If Chloe isn’t involved, how will she and Adrien end their friendship? The whole point of the prank and what it did to Marinette is to make Adrien realize Chloe is evil and bad!”

Same solution - have Adrien end it for an active recent event as opposed to something that happened a year before (And you know, not make him look like such an awful dude that it took a prank that happened way before his transfer (that happens to be keeping him from smooching Marinette) to break from Chloe instead of *gestures vaguely to seasons 1 and 3-4*). Make him end things because Chloe tried to ruin a date between him and Marinette, or because Gabriel bribes/requests her to try and break them up and he finds out, or because he learns about her and Lila becoming friends and her helping out with the other girl’s lies, or because he’s finally taking notice of her bullying and how it’s hurting everyone else, or because he finds out what she tried to do in “Gabriel Agreste” and after she does something else mean/cruel realizes the girl who used to play with him and helped him finally attend school has long since died.

Or just not do it/put it off for a later date and have her not involved in the episode at all. Adrien already ignored the crappy stuff she does, so it wouldn’t be that different from usual - heck, you can use this time to build up to the friendship dissolution by having Adrien actually take note of Chloe’s behavior and how she treats Marinette

“...Okay, but what about Kim? How does he get Akumatized and allow us to salt on him if the prank doesn’t exist?”

Even easier - used the prank plot on him and Ondine. Kim tries to play a funny joke on her, she freaks out unexpectedly, Kim feels like a jerk and bad boyfriend - and then BOOM, Akuma time! Then afterwards she can explain that a person who used to bully her did a similar prank and that’s why she freaked out. The two of them kiss and make up, Adrien’s left to wonder about how Ondine’s old bully and Chloe seem really similar, Marinette swears to keep working on overcoming her fears to be a better girlfriend to Adrien. Roll credits! (Or again, if we have to use the OG scenario, use a different character for the flashback as Chloe’s assistant pranker! MLB’s no stranger to pilling on with new cast members - actually, weren’t there, like, two kids shown in one of the old class photos from “Refleckta” who aren’t part of the current one anyone? why not bring them back as Chloe’s old lackies or something)

[crystallizedday]

So I’ve been hyperfixating on both Demongo & Fusionfall as of late, & I wanted to put that energy to good use somehow.

But since I currently do not have the energy to draw anything as of late, I decided to do something

A little different.

Since Demongo is only ever canonically shown as an enemy/obstacle in Samurai Jack, Fusionfall had to make a few creative decisions to better flesh out his character so he could interact with players in an organic way.

This means that Fusionfall added QUITE a lot to his character, something that I have been keeping track of for quite some time now. While it is very unlikely that any additions to Demongo’s character line up with Genndy’s vision for the character…

I mean

Genndy doesn’t do shit with the character anyway. Y’all remember what happened in season 5?

Heartbreaking shit for any Demongo fans out there…

SO

To show some appreciation for my boy

& also to talk about what exactly Fusionfall added to his character

I want to cover every single significant detail regarding Demongo’s character.

I will split this up into 3 sections: his NPC voice lines, his Nano voice lines, & his text box dialogue.

Let’s start with his

NPC VOICE LINES

Because not only are the lines coming from the original Demongo, but they’re voiced by his og voice actor as well, so if any of these sections were to be considered the most “canon” depiction of him, it’s this one.

I have actually found & recorded all 15 different voice lines from him & packaged em all into a zip file… but I’m stupid & I don’t know how to insert that shit into Tumblr, or if that’s even a good idea considering zip files tend to be sus as fuck.

So uh

For now

Y’all just gotta take my word.

After thoroughly reviewing all the voice lines, there is ONE key addition to his character here that stands out right off the back.

This version of Demongo is the SASSIEST he’s ever been.

He literally will either greet you by sarcastically asking if you’re looking for a mission to do like an absolute smartass, or he’ll just talk down to you & refer to you as “another human child”.

Hell, referring to you as a child is something he commonly does in these lines.

Most of the time, he will speak to you in a way that emphasizes his own importance, especially when he talks to you via the nanocomm.

He definitely displays that classic huge ego his original character had, but he sometimes has a bit of a cheeky tone about it, like the sorta vibes you’d get from a rich & spoiled kid who thinks they’re the greatest thing to be put on this planet.

One of my favorite examples of this is when you accept a mission from him, & he’ll sometimes tell you “Do you think YOU can save the world?”

However, as much as he downplays your abilities, he also will sometimes find interest in your endeavors & even be impressed when you complete a mission.

One of his victory lines also has him actually openly celebrating your accomplishment, which is a cute detail that’ll come back later when we talk about his Nano lines.

While this isn’t exactly something that says a lot about his personality, I also wanted to point out how one of his victory lines has him remarking “Your soul BURNS with a warriors fire!” This remark actually attempts to connect Demongo’s fire theme in his design to his whole soul-collecting shtick, suggesting that to HIM, stronger & more determined souls will have a fiery aura to them… which is unsurprising considering that ONE Japanese legend about blue fire & souls &- I’m getting ahead of myself WKWWKSMSODMOM

No matter what Demongo says to the player, he always speaks in a manner where his tone of voice drastically shifts from word to word.

You know that whole bit where the fandom likes to call this guy a theater kid?

Well

With how he says shit in such a dramatic, expressive, & ever-changing tone…

He kinda IS.

He SOUNDS like someone up on a stage, putting their heart into EVERY SINGLE line they say.

It’s honestly kinda adorable.

One last thing I found significant about his lines his how he fully admits that he often schemes in his downtime. However, while this may be interpreted as him scheming against the good guys, I don’t think this is the case, especially since we’ve never had a mission from him that either relates to Aku or gives him something powerful that HE could use against the heroes. I will talk more about this once we get to the text box section.

But before we do that, we need to move onto the

NANO VOICE LINES

There are… a LOT of voice lines for his nano counterpart.

Thankfully, all of these lines are publicly available here!

So y’all can have a listen to them whenever you please!

I am unsure just HOW much of the original Demongo carries over in his Nano counterpart’s personality, so what I’ve done is cross-reference Nano Demongo’s lines with Nano Aku’s lines. After all, Aku is a rather interesting character since he’s both a terrifying threat while also being a lil bit of a fucking dork in the original show, & while HE isn’t present in Fusionfall, his nano IS.

So anything goofy Nano Demongo displays that Nano Aku doesn’t suggests that these lil quirks ARE things that originate from the original Demongo (the Fusionfall version, of course).

Imma list each of my individual findings numerically so they’re a bit more organized & easier to read.

Ahem…

1) Demongo enjoys dancing

Considering even Aku enjoys boogying a bit (at least in season 5), it isn't all that surprising that this trait carries over to Demongo.

However, comparing Nano Demongo's lines with Nano Aku's, Aku acts more so like he is forcing YOU to dance, & sounds like he does not enjoy having to dance himself.

This makes sense considering the very specific circumstances season 5 Aku was in, so I’m certain Aku wouldn’t typically be in the mood for that sort of nonsense.

On the other hand, Nano Demongo LOVES to dance. He ADORES it, & even though one of his lines is rather demanding, it isn't in a "you will dance or I will disintegrate you" kind of way like how Nano Aku’s lines would be like. Nano Demongo wants you to dance WITH him, not FOR him.

His lil “Go go DemONGO!!” as one of his lines is so fucking cute that it actually makes me a lil mad KWMWKWMWKDMEODMON

HE IS SO PROUD OF HIS DANCE MOVES, I CAN’T

FUCK

… ahem

Uh

Him loving to dance actually lines up pretty well with the theater kid energy he already has, so this trait actually fits for him.

I think he’d be pretty damn good at ballet KAMWKWMWKSMSODMDOM

2) Demongo can experience love

Look

I know this sounds fanfictiony

But

Like

When one of his lines is basically just “Demons need love too!” & like ACTUALLY DOING THE FUCKIN DREAMY SIGH THING in another line

Like

Come on

How are you gonna disprove that?

& this isn’t something exclusive to the nano counterparts.

Nano Aku will just say shit like "love is for losers" & pushes the love narrative onto someone else, claiming THEY are infatuated with HIM.

So while Aku doesn’t give two shits about the subject (aromantic icon /j /j /j), Demongo's out here acting absolutely SMITTEN, one of his lines being him promising not to eat a person's soul purely out of infatuation.

Like

Damn

Like Aku's canonically tried impressing literal children before so they adore & look up to him before, but Demongo really do be shaping up to be the bigger dork of the two KWMWKWMWOSMWO

Like

It’s probably HARD to imagine even Fusionfall Demongo having the capacity to love, but since even Nano Aku is disinterested in that sort of shit, it’s hard to just excuse it as a nano-exclusive thing.

Plus

I think it’s cute. KAKWWKISDMOSXKOMK

Makes me wonder if FF Demongo has exes, cause that would be kinda funny to explore KAWNWODMWOMDOWDM

3) Demongo cries. Hard

Not only does Nano Demongo have TWO SEPARATE lines where he's just bawling his fuckin eyes out, like straight up whimpering & wailing, but Aku's lines in comparison are just "this is so sad" with the most fake fuckin crying I have ever heard KWNWKWMWKSNWOXKONWC

& when I say “fake crying”

I mean like

“Oh booo hoooo, lemme play a sad song for you on the world’s smallest violin…” kind of fake crying. There’s like NO effort behind it KWMWKWMWODKEON

Like

Aku out here never expresses sadness to such a dramatic degree (& only ever gets like… emotionally depressed in season 5 where he just doesn’t feel like doing anything)

Meanwhile Demongo is bawling like SpongeBob during the dark ages of the show KWMWKWMWOSMSODMON

Im almost convinced FF Demongo has the ability to cry on command, just so other people will pity him so much that they’ll do shit for him.

It’s a good substitute for threatening them when uh

He can’t exactly live up to his threats

Since his powers got yoinked…

So what better way to get other people to do what you say than to make them feel like a piece of shit for NOT helping you?? OWMWKWMWODMWODM

4) Demongo can get overwhelmingly terrified

Like

Yeah

Duh

He’s helpless without his powers

So it makes sense that without them, he’d feel like anything could kill him at any minute.

But he straight up sounds like a cornered mouse in one of his lines. It sounds like he’s balled up in a corner, panicked for his well-being.

It’s actually kinda sad…

For all his talk of being the best there is, I can imagine that if he finds himself powerless, he just goes into panic-mode if he feels like he’s in danger.

& the fact that this is one of the more canon-accurate additions to his character breaks me wee lil heart…

… oh also

Nano Aku’s scared lines are like

Uh

Mm

Let’s just say they DON’T sound like he’s scared…

So that again isn’t a nano-exclusive part of Nano Demongo’s personality.

But this isn’t really a big claim, so :p KWMWKSMWODKS

5) Demongo laughs like a god damn dork when he genuinely finds something funny

Like we know he's got that gremlin laugh in the show & it's wacky as fuck, but according to his audio files, when bro is fuckin AMUSED, he displays some of the DORKIEST laughs l've ever heard out of a cartoon demon.

I’m not being biased.

Listen to the files yourself.

He like

Does the nerdiest lil “HEH!!” in one of them. It’s so fuckin GOOFY WOEMDODMDOSKDODK

Meanwhile, Nano Aku sounds like what you'd expect Aku to sound like when laughing.

Just evil laughs all around.

Not Demongo though, no no NO.

Bro laughs like how me or my own buds laugh.

Like a fucking nerd.

This is another cute addition to his character.

I dunno. I just like the idea of Demongo being such a sassy dork, but often puts up a tough & menacing front so people will take him seriously.

It’s that kind of characterization that inspired me to make the Duo of Doom AU, actually.

Speaking of the funni fella being a fuckin dork

6) Demongo is adorably ECSTATIC when victorious

Like

Nano Aku's out here with his classic bellowing evil laugh & shit

It’s what you’d expect from Aku

& then there's Demongo

Who sounds like a god damn excited cheerleader when you & him win a fight (it’s in the “Battle Outcome” folder, if you’re following along with the audio files).

& then you have bro's cute lil "let us REJOICE!!"

Like that’s the kind of shit you’d hear an optimistic or comic relief character say at the end of an episode or animated movie where they’re like “Let’s PARTY!!” or something.

You don’t get that shit from Nano Aku, & especially his og counterpart.

I like to think that if FF Demongo did end up pulling off something cool or successfully accomplished something, he’d get so fuckin excited over it, maybe even doing a short celebratory dance cause he just feels like he NEEDS to with how excited he is KWMWKWMKWMWOSKOM

& then promptly panic when he realizes he’s not the only one in the area & fears that someone just saw him dancing like a fuckin dork OWMWKWMWOEKEODMSOXKSOCKOM

There’s so much you can do with his character in FusionFall that it pisses me off how no one in the FF fandom’s taken advantage of this shit…

Y’all keep writing him as this super serious character, & I’m just sitting here like

Naw, man

You don’t know him like I do /j /j /j KQMQKWMWKWMWKWMWOEMEOEM

Okay.

Now we have ONE more section to cover before y’all can understand this character just as much as I do.

We now need to look at his

TEXT BOX DIALOGUE

You can find all his dialogue on various wiki pages covering the missions he gives & missions that he just so happens to be a part of for one reason or another.

I recommend using the breezewiki Fusionfall pages since they actually showcase Demongo’s lil “emails” he gives you as you progress through the missions he gives you.

However, if that website doesn’t work for you for whatever reason (like how it is on my end), the fandom wiki will do just fine.

I’ll also provide SOME screenshots of my findings so I actually have some photo evidence for what I’m about to claim.

Before we do that, however…

Yes

Demongo DOES often speak in third person in the written dialogue.

I dunno why, since he doesn’t talk that way in his debut episode…

So I just like to ignore that trait of his

Or just say that he started talking like that cause Aku tends to refer to himself in the third person sometimes, so maybe he got it from the big guy himself…

Speaking of Aku

Hot take:

I don’t think Demongo’s working for Aku.

I know this doesn’t say much about FF Demongo’s personality, but it’s just something that I want to address cause I feel like I’m one of the few people that believe bro isn’t snitching on everyone to Aku.

There is a mission where you need to retrieve something for Demongo before a timer runs out. If it does, Demongo says this to you.

Notice how Demongo refers to Aku here.

Isn’t it a little odd that he refers to Aku as his “lord” & not his “master”?

It COULD be an oversight

OR

It could be that he currently sees Aku as his lord, much like a civilian to a king, rather than his master, someone he directly works under.

Additionally

Isn’t it also odd that the only time he mentions Aku to you directly is when you fail him?

Sounds like SOMEBODY remembers that time he first failed Aku & got fucking crushed…

But considering Demongo gives you a second chance to fetch the thingie for him…

Mmm

Seems kinda generous of him, don’t you think?

I like to see this as Demongo, having experienced that position before, not wanting to do the same thing to you (especially since… well, he can’t do shit to you while he’s weak like this).

He doesn’t wanna be the Aku in THAT situation…

& the only other time he mentions Aku is this line here, when you ask him about his allegiance on behalf of Jack.

Yes. It IS shady that he doesn’t outright say that he’s working for Aku.

But like

If Aku is watching

Then why the fuck would he say that he ISN’T working for him?

He doesn’t wanna be offed for potential treason after all.

& if he was REALLY working for Aku, then he wouldn’t be in the position he’s in right now.

He’s powerless. He has to rely on others at the campsite to ensure his safety.

If he was working for Aku, then bro would be FINE. He wouldn’t be HERE, at the campsite.

If Aku is watching, then he doesn’t need a spy to keep an eye on Jack & the others for him.

THAT’s why I believe Demongo isn’t just fooling everyone to get info for Aku.

Hell, a friend of mine suggests that Demongo may not even KNOW if Aku still wants the fiery lil guy working for him, like he just pissed off his boss but never got that notice that he got fired. Maybe Demongo genuinely doesn’t even know.

Also, all of his missions are either about the master weapon or about himself & ensuring his reputation isn’t tarnished by his weakened state.

He doesn’t ask for anything suspicious.

Hell, when you DO get all the master weapons, he doesn’t get all giddy about having such powerful items at his disposal. No.

Because he too expects the player to use them to help win the fight against Fuse. He KNOWS their chances of winning are greatly enhanced by having the weapons in more capable & experienced hands…

& then Jack asks you to destroy them, but that’s a whole other story KWNWKWMWOSMWO

Demongo just never acts like he’s doing anything FOR Aku, & is just focusing on himself, probably because that’s the only thing he CAN focus on without his old master being there as a safety net.

Overall. I find this interpretation to be a FASCINATING way to better humanize his character a bit…

Speaking of humanizing him

The entire “Infernal Racket” set of missions talk about how hard it is for Demongo to concentrate when a bunch of floating rock head guys across the campsite keep smashing into each other like football players, & he remarks how he’s losing sleep over the noise.

Meaning he actually sleeps.

& considering he resides at a campsite

I can only imagine that one of those tents is his.

I just find that fact cute KWMWKWMWODMW

This also makes me think that Demongo has trouble concentrating if the environment isn’t quiet enough.

As someone with ADHD…

I can relate KWNWKWMWODMWODMOEFK

It is ALSO this line of missions that reveals something adorable about him

He has a favorite color.

& he doesn’t DEMAND blue ear muffs either.

He says it like he just asked you to get him a slushie, & he’s just like “I mean, I would LIKE a blue raspberry, but if they’re out, it’s fine. It’s whatever. I mean, I’s be a lil bummed out about it, but it’s no big deal, I guess.”

… which is also something I can relate to KWNWKWMWOWMWODKK

It’s like

One of the few times he acts so casual with you as the player.

It makes me think that he honestly WOULD act a lil more casually if he were to drop the whole “I’m super powerful” front & actually

Ya know

BE emotionally vulnerable for once.

& I think that’s a really sweet idea…

… Ah!!

I almost forgot!

Remember that “scheming” line from his NPC’s dialogue?

THIS is what I believe he is referring to when he says that.

He seems to actually STUDY the master weapons you collect.

Even Jack admits that he had immense knowledge regarding this kind of magical weaponry, which appears to be quite useful.

Additionally, Demongo is also the one to initiate one of the final & direct attacks in Fuse’s territory, having planned to use Eduardo’s imaginary energy against Fuse’s forces.

I’m almost certain HE planned out this attack.

Him being a good strategizer (if that’s even a legit word) honestly fits with his whole “making souls fight for him” shtick.

Sure, he probably isn’t a genius (ESPECIALLY in comparison to Dexter or Mojo), but he KNOWS how to plan attacks, & thus probably spends a lot of his time doing THAT as well.

That’s probably what he means by “scheming”.

It’s honestly a shock that he doesn’t boast about this clear skill of his like he does with his “powers”.

JACK is the one to point out how knowledgeable he is about magic & strategy.

To me, it kinda feels like Demongo takes his knowledge on these subjects GENUINELY seriously. Maybe it’s cause these are things that take him time to flesh out & perfect & shit, & he’s just so focused on learning & executing what he can that he doesn’t even think of it being necessary to brag about this shit.

I dunno. I just found that lil detail interesting KWMWKSMWOSSMOD

… speaking of having to interpret shit

This shit

Confused me

For the longest time

Until I eventually realized something:

They help him keep up a semi-menacing appearance.

Like

I can imagine he uses them as discount fog machines, helping to make the atmosphere around him more mysterious & intimidating…

Which is SO fuckin dorky & also plays into his whole “theater kid” personality…

… which can ALSO be seen HERE.

Like

Guys

Guys

For the love of god

All we need now is confirmation that bro sings in his free time KWWMOWMWOSMSEODMEKN

Actually

Since we’re on the topic of Demongo’s goofy attributes

There is ONE more thing I wanted to share before I wrap up this post.

The world is fucking ENDING in this universe

& Demongo is FAR TOO PETTY & butt-hurt to even talk to Jack directly.

It is HILARIOUS KAMWKWSMWOSM

He’s such a brat sometimes, but that’s what makes him such a fun character in my eyes KWMWOWMWOSM

AAAAAANYWAY

That’s all I have for now.

If there’s anything I showcased here that you have a different interpretation for, POP OFF!!

I LOVE hearing people’s different takes on this kind of stuff!!

I love seeing how creative people can get OAMWKWMWKWMWOWMWOEOM

Uhhh anyway

I hope this post has opened some of your eyes about how much potential Demongo has as a character, inside & even outside of Fusionfall.

…

& ALSO makes you wish that Genndy treated him with just as much love & respect as the Fusionfall team did KWMWKWMWKDMEOFM

[mediacinemtographyartetc]

Blue Exorcist: Rant

Okay I was literally in secondary [Highschool to americans] with Season 1 in 2011 and then Season 2 in 2017 THEN season 3 in 2024? Do I have to wait ANOTHER decade for season 4 after? Like what I'm gonna be 84 by the time BE ends????? But overall even though it's been years and my obsession with BE is kinda flagged and the manga also put me off some stuff...I still like Blue Exorcist. So not many people talked about this so I was wondering- what story has been covered and how many more do we have to wait for? And also- why not just make Blue Exoricist a movie like Sailor Moon or evangelion? Make a trilogy/more instead of seasons at least that way if it takes forever it's understandable?

But then a quick google search and uh...

So season one [2011] season 2 [2017] we waited six years for that then another seven for season 3 so thats a thirteen year wait-

And then suddenly TWO seasons in ONE year??????

And what chapters have been covered? So Season one is Manga 1-4 Then Season two is Manga 5-9 And then season 3 the illumanti series will cover manga 10-15

Blue exorcist Season one had ended with a tied bow BUT season 2 starts off with a cut off episode, if you stop at this episode then start season 2 it creates a linear story. Like an alternate ending.

In Season one Yukio became a demon possesed by Satan. BUT this ending and storyline may be similair to the manga or has been reworked to tie in, there is a drastic difference to later manga updates.

The manga is currently on number 29 and still seems to be going. So thats 14 more books to cover and since season 1 and 2 had four manga done figured it would take FOREVER to get there. So others speculated if Season 3 is also a reboot and if thats the case then what's the point?

But because of the tied up ending in s1 it doesn't make sense to do it again if anything the continued seasons is to be more faithful to the manga. personally I usually watched BE season 1 and cut off at the episode then read the manga on HOW it could've ended. But because it's been so long, I can't even remember season 2. And looking at the updates of s3 and thinking wow some parts seem so fast paced I wonder if they condensed some stuff-

Even so...

I don't want to say bald but...some of the faces don't quite...look right, the hair is too short- it's giving Boruto naruto compared to Shippuden- Look how they massacred my son! Not only has it been years not only does the animation look jank, theres also the story line-

Truthfully the manga has been losing me lately, just some of the girl characters who used to be badass who were then given moments to...level up and gain strength later in the manga some moments felt as if they just kinda...got shafted. lets just say I hated Manga 17 with Shura it after lmost made me stop reading it but thats just my personal opinion. Overall tho -

The whole fight between Yukio and RIn and when Yukio just straight up became a bastard was straight up painful to watch, only given that I've already SEEN that in supernatural where two siblings end up fighting and one's being an idiot just for angst but continuing on made it worth it my issue-

is that if the anime cuts of AGAIN and then fans have to WAIT for it to be concluded is just straight up going to kill me.

[nrilliree]

https://www.tumblr.com/nrilliree/743761709537329152/where-across-the-whole-season-did-aemond-have-the?source=share It's like what was Aemond's original plan then? To intimidate him and leave?? He's chasing him on a bigger dragon, in rain, demanding an eye & we're supposed to think he DIDN'T expect Luke to die in the process?? The moment he chased after him, the was no other option but death.

I think they should've played it out as Aemond just wanting to tease/intimidate them until Arrax/Luke uses fire at them. Then Aemond wants him dead since it was the second time Luke has "attacked" him. Why can't we just have Alicent & Aemond lust for power & revenge without making it seem like a big misunderstanding?

It's hard for me to say exactly what the creators have in mind. These changes are exactly the same as if Robb had died because a guard accidentally fired a crossbow, or if Ned had not been beheaded at all, but Sir Payne had dropped his sword, even though Joffrey wanted to send Ned to the Wall… The end result is similar, but still everything is drastically different in perception.