#it doesn't help me that in most of the future routes I picture for her

[perfectarmony]

Unless Nadia is going to be TCL's big bad in S3, I've seen enough of her this season. She's taking up too much screen time. What do you think? Tx.

Hey Anon, and sorry for the delay!

I also have been wondering about Nadia's future in s3 for a while now 👀 and the truth is - I haven't come up with a definitive answer.

Despite knowing that Eva was working on a new project since a little before TCL stopped filming, my heart dropped when I saw Deadline's tweet announcing that she had a new role. I immediately gasped, and freaked myself out before even reading the headline properly - long story short, it's a movie that has no impact on TCL, and I don't think they would kill Nadia just now.

Anyway, I like her as a character on her own - so I wouldn't mind watching her thrive with La Habana and Fast Lane.

What I would want to see in that case though is her - not her relationship to Kamdar or Arman - but really her as Nadia. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I guess the love triangle might be why you're getting tired of her?

If they go down that route - kill Kamdar and let her take over his empire - they would still have to keep her story tied to Arman and Thony's business in some way. So unless they work with/for her and becomes their ''bank'', or she is indeed pregnant (do not freak out, it most likely won't happen but since it's still a possibly, I have to put it here), the big bad theory could also make sense!

She surely would make an interesting villain, but what I can't wrap my head around is : how do we get there? I can't picture her putting Arman or Thony in danger on purpose, so what could change?

Too much power?

Will she realize that Arman just used her to get rid of Kamdar, and that's her last straw? She's now willing to help, but still doesn't know that the FBI is involved, that Arman only charmed her to get the key card, and I'm not sure she'll take it well when she realizes that he more or less used her...

Or she loses everything after all when Kamdar dies and feels betrayed because Arman didn't mention Garrett? I mean how is the FBI supposed to just close their eyes when she takes over?

And of course, what would then make Arman turn on her?

Honestly anon, I don't know how the season is going to end for Nadia - but I'm pretty sure she'll agree with Thony's plan, and will work with her in the 2 hour finale. I can't see her going to prison either because someone else already has that privilege 🤧 so right now, I guess I'll just let the show surprise me 😏

[tenebriiis-archived]

blue-eyes-barbarian replied to your post “{ ⟡ } — In the soft darkness that calls for dawn;...” Is the curse of the black rose, blooming bright for 3 days and wither in the wind...

{ 🙗 } // Is this really a vision of a possible route/future? Emilia is actually capable of accomplishing her goals solely to wither at the 3er day in any way that can be placed

"The Black Rose blooms once more; yet a price must be paid for it to do so May the florae flourish & grow, Branches & roots reclaiming dried lands Yet only at expense of her own life May the Night Garden find the right path..."

[butwhatifidothis]

This actually got me looking into it some. Exactly why is Ignatz willing to fight for the Empire? Why is he okay with invading these countries? How is he acting during the explore sections of CF vs how he acts in CF as an enemy unit?

Never thought I'd be delving into Ignatz's character lmao but now I'm actually curious. The results aren't exactly shocking when I say it's a night and day difference when actually looking at it back to back.

This is what Ignatz says as an enemy unit, first if Byleth gets into combat with him:

Very clear, very straight forward, "I do not trust Edelgard with the future of Fodlan, if you are fighting for Edelgard you are my enemy."

We see how deeply he feels about this when he fights Raphael, his closest friend since childhood:

Ignatz does not hesitate for a moment. He expresses sadness at having to fight Raphael, but feels he has to fight Raphael. Not fighting him is not an option, explicitly because he is fighting for the Empire. Raphael is helping Edelgard try to get a hold of Fodlan, Ignatz does not want Edelgard to have a hold on Fodlan, and now Ignatz and Raphael are enemies that must fight. Again, extremely clear, extremely straight forward, there is literally no room for doubt.

Who is Ignatz fighting for then, if anyone? Well, this is what he says against a miscellaneous unit:

Claude is who Ignatz is fighting for, is trying to help build a future for Fodlan. Ignatz, again, is so fucking blunt about this he might as well be slamming your head in with a sledgehammer. He no trust Edelgard. He trust Claude. Oonga boonga.

How is he as a recruited unit then? Is he consistent?

Well. Fucking no he's fighting for Edelgard. He's already fucked up. Like, hilariously. But what does he act like?

We see why he joins in CF and uhhhh

Well. Hubert does say that students are only joining because of Byleth. Maybe Ignatz will mention... like.. anything at all about Edelgard’s goals and how he stands by them, like he does with Claude, later on?

Um. Well. No. He doesn’t after five years. Mind you, this is not universal like the other thing was. Marianne expresses a want to see Edelgard’s dream come true, Lysithea talks of focusing on the bigger picture, but here is Ignatz still saying that he is only following Byleth’s path. Not Edelgard’s dream, not her bigger picture. Maybe he does later? What’s the next explore dialogue have him say?

Hmmm. Still saying that he’s only fighting alongside Byleth. To the extent that he’s willing to fight his friends in the Alliance (but hey, not his childhood friend, seeing how Raphael doesn’t appear as an enemy in CF if he’s unrecruited. How convenient for Igantz).

That’s... pretty big, to say that he’s not fighting because he believes in Edelgard’s dream of the future and doesn’t believe that Claude is bad for Fodlan’s future like he is if he’s unrecruited - strong motivators to have someone be willing to fight against those they consider friends - but because hey, his high school teacher seems to know what they’re doing so he’ll just go along with them, friends be damned.

But, honestly, if we want a big look into the discrepancy between CF!Ignatz and VW!Ignatz (his base route), we just need to look into CF!Igantz’s reaction to the Alliance’s collapse and VW!Ignatz’s reaction to the destroyed monastery:

CF!Igantz:

He’s ecstatic. Like I screamed about in the tags of another post, he’s literally making the :D face as he talks about the ruination of a centuries old nation. The ruination, mind you, that can potentially kill Claude and Hilda, two of his friends, along with unavoidably causing the deaths of countless others. But he thinks this is a good thing. A thing to remember. Something of triumph, that ought to prosper. He wants to look at the remains and paint them as a positive thing to look back on. If you pick the writing option, he says he'll fuckin' tell any children he has of what happened in a good light instead.

Compare that to VW!Ignatz’s reaction to the monastery:

He’s sorrowful. He looks on the ruined piece of history that is Garreg Mach with sadness. He talks about rebuilding it - him specifically, he says I will rebuild this, it means something to him - and he wants to preserve the beauty of Garreg Mach. He doesn’t want the destruction of it passed down in history, he wants its beauty to, its reputation as a symbol of Fodlan to be passed down.

Hell, look at this VW!Ignatz dialogue before the assault on Enbarr:

He wants the war to be over and done with. He wants to see Fodlan without it being riddled with destruction. AT no point in VW!Ignatz's explore dialogues does he express any want to preserve the destruction of anything in his paintings - paintings which, might I remind, he only ever picked up doing so that he can see the smiles on people's faces, which guess what painting the scattered remains of a centuries old nation wouldn't do.

There's like. So much more shit to show off how much CF royally fucks over Ignatz's character, but I have apparently hit the image cap for posts (even though I'm fairly sure I've posted over ten before, but whatever) and I think the point's been made. Move over CF!Faerghus Friends, Ignatz is comin' in as a mighty fuckin' strong contender for "Most Fucked Over By CF."

He fights for the Empire he doesn't trust, for Edelgard whom he believes to be untrustworthy in regards to handling the future of Fodlan, he fights against Claude whose dream would allow him to live the life he's always wanted perfectly, he's willing to kill his friends for this Empire we know he doesn't trust and for this woman we know he doesn't believe in, all because fucking Plank-sensei patted him on the head and said it was okay. He wants to preserve the horrors of war - not to document the tragedy of it, but to have their victory be known to history - and he speaks of nothing of painting the beauties of the monastery, the Great Bridge, anything. He's giddy at the idea of taking down Fhirdiad and becoming a part of history, as if people aren't being killed.

I just. Wow. Fuck CF!Ignatz.

[ae0nx]

FRUITS BASKET S3 EPISODE 8 RECAP AKA THE KYORU CHRONICLES PART 2 (plus a quick recap of eps 3-7)

aaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! I gotta get it out of me otherwise I won't be able to concentrate on work and I will be scrolling through the tag till the day I die. Everything from episode 3 of Season 3 literally hit me like an avalanche - literally cos I marathoned 3-7 over the weekend which I wouldn't advise unless you want an accelerated heartbeat - and I'm starting to realise... maybe I just wasn't ready for season 3. Despite asking for it, haha. Not gonna put as many screencaps for this one cos tumblr editing bay be trippin and I just don't have time nor emotional energy to be fighting with the picture uploads, sorry lol

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Episodes 3 - 7

I spoke before about how (despite my feelings about the characters) the English dub VAs for Akito and Shigure pair up really well audibly. And I think I feel the same way about both Yuki and Machi's English VAs! They both have the same soft spoken yet scratchy element to their voices almost like they are holding slightly back. Although, I'd argue that Yuki has been losing the element of slightly holding back as the anime has gone on which I wonder if the same would be included for Machi's performance?

I really like the presentation of Machi's trauma through her family's expectations to be perfect and how physical it is? How Yuki kind of encourages her to let it out in a healthy way? (Btw the whole chalk breaking scene in the meeting was SO FUCKING SMOOTH. YUKI IS A NERD BUT HE IS SO EFFORTLESSLY COOL A LOT OF THE TIME)

The age gap between Isuzu and Haru for sure isn't the worst age gap in this anime/manga but it's still a bit... hmm...

Episode 4:

In all seriousness, I know Akito deserves some sympathy but it doesn't change the fact that I still see her as a villain. Hurt people hurt people but it doesn't mean they should get away with it, I was honestly pleased Haru got that big confrontation with Akito to tell her WHAT'S WHAT but it was also somewhat... merciful?

Hiro's growth has been so beautiful to see, him realising there are bigger things than him from the event with Rin to his relationship with Kisa to then the birth of his little sister.

Kureno choosing to get his hands a little dirtier and paying the ultimate price for it (as far as we know so far in the anime lol) was great, he is the moon side of Tohru's sunshine.

Shigure... I still don't really get him and Akito's relationship. It's clear he's waiting for Akito to grow the fuck up but at the same time he's not creating an environment for her to grow and develop. He's decided to go with the 'tough love' route which I'm still deciding whether I like it or not tbh. Sometimes it feels necessary, at other times it feels shitty. I respect that he knows he's a scumbag and I don't deny that there are people out there who take revelry in the fact that they are awful but at the same time, him remaining unchanging despite everything feels... unrealistic. But considering throughout this story he doesn't seem affected by trauma, it's understandable, I guess?

Also... that scene where Shigure ponders about whether he should've been with Tohru is THE creepiest creeper shit he's EVER done in this series. No. 🙅🏾‍♀️

Momiji is best bunny boi regardless of how tall and 'manly' he becomes. 🐰His scene with Akito was so authentically him and he really did that shit. We love him. <3

I love the way that the curse breaking should (on surface) be a happy event considering all the trauma the zodiac went through because of it but it's presented mostly as loss as well as happiness. It's the realness of getting out of a bad relationship

Shigure basically laying it out to Tohru how Kyo means nothing in a very taunting way was an excellently painful scene and I choose violence. It was heartbreaking seeing how worthless they all saw Kyo compared to how Tohru saw him but... by this point I was just living in the pain so 🤷🏾‍♀️

The story visually showing how Isuzu is more willing to be soft after her whole ordeal through her fashion choices (e.g. the pastels, the cardigans) was really nice. And Haru being happy about Isuzu making friends with Tohru was cute!

It was nice we saw that Kazuma was still wary about whether Tohru loved Kyo for the right reasons, you'd assume after everything Kazuma would love Tohru as a match for Kyo but he's so emotionally intelligent and also just a protective Dad! Yay, good parenting!

Tohru's confession to loving Kyo was amazing however I still adore Kyo's confession a little bit more. Just a bit. Lol. However, if you add the moment later in episode 8 it trumps it completely. Ethereal goddess.

Kyo and Tohru's grandfather having a scene together was great and nice

Now that I think about it, I wish there was more a visual link in the story between Tohru adapting her speech to imitate her Dad and Momiji adopting his Mum's German accent. Albeit for slightly different reasons, it just adds to the unique connection Tohru and Momiji have. In short, I'm seeing this ship with my third eye now. I get it lol

I don't wanna screencap the scene where Kyo is haunted by both his deceased mother and deceased Kyoko and potentially deceased Tohru because it's the stuff of nightmares. But, it was a wonderfully done scene. You definitely understand fully and clearly why Kyo buried all of that trauma under his hatred for Yuki (I CAN'T WAIT FOR EPISODE 9, YOU GUISE!)

If Akito is a villain, Ren is the final boss. Although, with her type of villainy... I feel like I can kind of enjoy a bit more. She reminds me of a Greek God in the ways she master manipulates people and her desperation for control and power (I just read 'Mythos' by Stephen Fry, it's a great read lol)

It lowkey feels like every female character who's comfortable in expressing their sexuality in this story is punished in some way for it... this is an incomplete thought

Shigure as a child feeling like they should all be pitied is so... mature... I feel like I need more of an explanation for why Shigure is the way he is

Akito's ego death with Kureno? Amazing. I loved that she was at least aware enough to realise how Kureno had been coddling her all this time but again... doesn't excuse her crimes

But anyways...

EPISODE 8

Honestly? I really don't have much to say about this episode besides 3-5 points I wanna get out of my head. It's not a bad thing at all, it's just that there's still a lot left to play out from this 'arc' and this season in general that I wanna complete my thoughts on.

But I'll start with this:

Lol, isn't it funny?! Isn't it heart-wrenchingly funny how the relationship between Kyo and Tohru has kinda reverted back to how they were at the start of the series? The coldness of Kyo at the beginning of this episode (and throughout) was a bit of a gut punch considering all the light and fluffy moments that we've gotten between the two since the True Form arc.

Talking about the True Form arc, I feel like this episode is somewhat a repeat of the same emotions, same trials of the True Form arc. Kyo still 'runs away like he always has' but this time we get him being the most honest and confrontational with his own emotions and trauma than he ever has been during the course of this whole story. While trusting someone (Tohru specifically) for the first time with the whole truth of his story! He always seems to move one step forward and then three steps backwards and while it's a tad bit frustrating, it feels very... real. I'll probably complete my feelings how this arc reflects the True Form arc when we finish this section of the story in future episode(s).

Considering the fact that 80% of this episode is Jerry Jewell monologuing as Kyo and I never got bored really just sells his performance. Kyo was being incredibly cold this episode and yet the range of emotions through his performance made it feel understandable enough for you to empathise with it.

BrattyKid!Kyo to lighten the mood 😹I still wish he and Hiro had more of a relationship, I feel like they could have taught each other a lot. Well... mostly Kyo teaching Hiro tbh

Kyo rejecting Kyoka for her honesty and kindness and then later rejecting Tohru? Oh... kid...

Wow, I felt so good about that whole episode of Kid!Yuki helping Kid!Tohru get home and then it's slightly soured knowing KID!KYO was running about the streets alllll night into the morning?!?! I really did feel Kyo's frustration at not getting that win to actually do something right. And the irony of that being linked to him being unable to save Kyoka from the oncoming car?

Honestly, I don't know what my feelings are on Kyo being unable to save Kyoka. I don't even know what my feelings are on Tohru pretty much pushing that aside in favour of her feelings for Kyo. It's... complicated and I've been mulling it over in my head for the last 10+ years hahah However, if I was in Tohru's position I think I'd eventually come to a point where it feels like it's too late to really do anything about how bad I'd feel about it. Kyo's intentions weren't horrid, if anything he was just being a scared kid and he's allowed to be that. I just wish Tohru had a bit more time to evaluate it but considering she knew her mother well and assumes that wouldn't have been the full scope of what she had said, I don't have much of a problem with it in general

Lol, I love when Tohru gets a 'FUCK YOU, I LOVE YOU' moment with Kyo. 😂Another reflected scene from the True Form arc... only thing is that this time... it doesn't quite work. 😕

(Again, I love how all of these reflections are resolved in later occurences in response to the duality but I'll get to it next week when it shows hopefully)

Laura Bailey only had a few sentences in this episode but she killed it as always. Comparing her performance in 2001 to now is just... growth!

Ok, so Yuki automatically gets Best Boi in this episode for meddling and chasing after KYO of all people. Showing how he's personally done with hating Kyo. Realising Kyo is pretty much the only person who'll make his mother happy. I think he also lowkey wants to understand Kyo? But, we'll get to that next week.

....Oh yeah, Akito is there.

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In total, I liked this episode even though it has me anxious for the next one. We finally get the full picture of why Kyo is the way he is! Ahhhh - a weight off all our chests, I'm sure. I kinda don't like that they put the ending theme at the end of these episodes - the joyfulness doesn't really match up with the intense theme? But, that's just a minor gripe. And hey, maybe they just want the audience to know... it's all gonna be okay :)

See you next week!!!