#take everything i say with a grain of salt because my perceptions will ALSO be biased no matter how hard i try being neutral!!!

[natsmagi]

I think part of the issue is a lack of...Switch just being Switch. Which makes sense from a narrative perspective/how important they are in others' stories. So it ends up with all of us filling the gaps and we bring a lot of different headcanons into that. Hopefully we get a good climax story and everyone is happy (lol it'll never make everyone happy, but still).

YEA.... again like it makes SENSE for people to develop these headcanons and biases, and then in turn have those perceptions manifest in how they view the character and their dynamics. im just very shocked at how negative and bitter its been ?? like there seems to be a lack of understanding in Why theyre current being written the way they are. is some of it bad writing? YEA! but this is still the path theyve chosen to take for switch. you can be disappointed in it all you want, i think alot of their !!-stories are forgettable tbh, but its not like this is some switch exclusive issue either. so i dont get why its being treated as such? or why everyones jumping to conclusions about the progress in store for switch when theyve misunderstood their conflicts at hand

we, at the time, cant GET much "switch being switch" content unfortunately because the conflicts theyre facing are: natsume and tsumugi being too busy with work and dont have as much time to spend with the unit and sora wanting to grow independent and to rely less on his seniors. theres also things such as natsume and tsumugi now trusting and being comfortable with each other which has manifested in them having long in-depth conversations about topics sora doesnt understand, so he feels excluded. aswell as the point most people have brought up of natsume being far more doting with sora than he is tsumugi, and tsumugi and sora just dont quite have that strong of a bond in comparison to their relationships with natsume. i Do think though people have been viewing the doting part in a very surface level way....... or tbh, most of their conflicts have been viewed very surface level-y i feel, and thats whats lead to so many people being painfully negative because they havent stopped to think about Why's and How's. But i dont know. it could always be me not understanding so 🤷‍♀️ how complicated......

[fandomsnrambles]

The spinjitzu family has recently become my roman empire for some reason, you’re all going to see so much of them 😭

Anyway, i’ve been thinking about his relationships with his sons recently. And I know he doesn’t have a good relationship with any of them.

I know people argue ‘Wu was his favourite’ but i think if we actually look at how he acts, you realise he didn’t really have a favourite. I also feel personally inclined to respectfully mention that just because Garmadon said it, doesn’t make it true. Characters have biases that mess with their worldviews after all. It’s like saying Wu’s to blame for the devourer’s bite because he said he was. Even though he was like seven, maybe nine and had no idea that snake even existed.

Thats why you should take everything they say with a grain of salt and then consider their actions.

Wu’s relationship with his father is complicated. In the spinjitzu books he mentions how he wants his father’s approval, but doesn’t know how to start with getting it. We also get hints of the FSM’s (flawed) parenting methods in the show. I’ve noticed he’s emotionally distant even if he’s physically there. I mean, Wu says his father talked to them (Garmadon and Wu) less after the Aspheera incident. Makes me think that the FSM was definitely not there emotionally.

Due to this, Wu’s emotional needs as a child weren’t really met. His fathers distance hurt him and the FSM (maybe accidentally) neglected him. I say accidentally because i’m pretty sure the FSM is a traumatised child soldier who doesn’t know how to properly cope with everything so they just shut down/dissociate.

Wu was also raised with high expectations (alongside Garmadon.) This probably put him under a lot of stress to keep up. I’m thinking gifted child who got burnt out and more depressed as he aged.

I also think the FSM has trust and paranoia issues. You can look at Nineko and the way they went about dying for this. This guy really hands their son a script of where he died without telling him he gave it to him and mentions the bare minimum details. (I wonder if mentioning too much details got the FSM hurt. Maybe thats why he’s so distant.) Of course, trauma doesn’t really excuse being a flawed parent.

I also feel the need to mention that Wu unintentionally copies his father’s trauma responses. Heck, we could even talk about how Garmadon does the same, and later Lloyd. They all bottle their emotions and issues and hope nothing bad ever happens with that ever. Too bad for them though, we know how this ends

(Oof this is ✨generational trauma✨ at work)

Moving on to Garmadon, we know that after he got bitten by the devourer, the FSM helped him through his episodes and tries his best to find a cure. From this i can honestly say that the FSM did love and care for his sons. But this doesn’t mean they knew how to properly show that they did (especially because he doesn’t have a proper basis for what parent-child relationships should even look like.)

We see this when we get to know of Garmadon’s insecurities as a child. He doesn’t think there was anything wrong with him and seems to hate how the FSM tries to find a cure for him. Maybe because he doesn’t like the implication that he needs ‘fixing’ more than anything else. Garmadon’s also different than Wu in the sense that he grows more resentful of his father as he grows older whilst Wu clings to his father’s attention to get approval/praise.

I also want to mention how this resentment built up also affects how his perception of Wu’s relationship with their dad. He thinks Wu is favoured probably because Wu doesn’t have the venom and is the good one (because the venom apparently makes Garmadon the ‘bad’ one) and he sees his younger brother as the golden child. This probably built to jealousy and then guilt for the jealousy because Garmadon does love his brother a lot.

The high expectations also come’s into play here. It probably puts a lot of weight on Garmadon’s shoulders. Which doesn’t make his growing feelings of resentment better nor does it make his insecurities about his venom any better.

What makes this whole situation worse is that NO ONE in this family knows how to communicate. Wu doesn’t tell his dad or his brother how he feels, Garmadon doesn’t as well and FSM wouldn’t be caught breathing a word of his feelings to be honest.

This whole family would rather die than communicate ffs.

In conclusion:

[seventeenlovesthree]

What the 2nd audio drama of Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning tells us (potentially) in text and subtext

I've been anticipating the 2nd drama "An SOS to Our Brothers! Takeru and Hikari’s Secret Mission?!" for various reasons and in the end - it was not exactly what I had expected, but I can't say it hasn't caught me off guard. Also in various ways.

So take my little self-indulgent analysis with a (big) grain of salt.

Spoilers under the cut:

First things first: These are not the breadcrumbs I was hoping for, but they are breadcrumbs nevertheless! I will try to analyze the drama from the perspective of what it tells us about Takeru, Hikari, Ken - and the perception of the older children from their point of view AND from a production standpoint, aka "what the creators probably wanted to include in the movie, but couldn't and now tried to portray it in a more lighthearted way".

What the drama tells us about Takeru:

In context of the drama: Let's get the most important aspect out of the way: Let's hope the writing stress won't get to him in the way of turning him into a slight alcoholic. No, all jokes aside, just like in Kizuna, we are told that they're actual adults now by showing them drink alcohol and that will never not baffle me. What absolutely DOESN'T baffle me is that he continues to be an absolute troll that vibes with (and gets enabled by) Hikari 100% - and that he feels comfortable enough to troll and be open with Ken is also very nice development for him. Also, let's not overlook the fact that he basically made (diplomat and spy in training) Taichi the main character of his Totally Spies/Evangelion fanfiction here. Sure, Yamato ("he got my brother, the astronaut-in-training, on his side") and Koushirou ("[he] wasted no time in analyzing it and developing a shield that would nullify its attacks") played important roles in there too, but they were basically just the supporting cast Hikari had to remind him of, so he wouldn't just write an entire novel about Taichi's adventures to prevent World War III. Of course there were still lots of plot holes (which were rightfully pointed out by Ken), but you gotta love Takeru still idealizing Taichi like that, while sprinkling in references to Kizuna's events (and including Imura while doing so, whom he may actually have had some talks with after he regained consciousness again, so that was a nice touch).

In context of the production: I actually adore that they are going all out on portraying Takeru as obsessed with writing and I think it feels very organic in terms of foreshadowing his career AND his role as narrator of Digimon Adventure as a whole. I also maintain that this means to take EVERYTHING we hear about the Adventure canon with a grain of salt, because it may or may not be fabricated by his own ideas and perspectives - and that is EXACTLY what this drama did. It definitely worked for me - because by the end of the drama, I actually went "You litte sh*t really got me good, I actually believed you!" It's also funny that they're contextualizing their obsession with Evangelion references through Takeru - at this point, we can just assume that he is a big Evangelion fanboy himself and that is where all these hints and nudges are coming from.

What the drama tells us about Hikari:

In context of the drama: She actually appears less prone to being a habitual drinker than Takeru and only drinks sweet stuff (Pina Colada) because she's got a sweet tooth - as opposed to Tailmon going all out with the Tequila, holy... That aside, her main role is to enable Takeru and help him write fanfiction. I'd like to believe that she would actually have liked to contact the others for real (hence why she was so keen to talk in detail about Yamato's and Koushirou's involvement and Sora's and Jyou's reactions), but the movie itself already showed us that Taichi and Koushirou were not available and the former actively shouted at her to leave him alone - hence why the frustration over that may have led to them coming up with a little story like that in the first place. And I think it's very telling that they feel comfortable enough to tell their little headcanons to Ken in particular. Even if it was a trolling attempt, it shows that they are supposedly close with each other and that is pretty neat.

In context of the production: The main take-aways for me here are: a.) The fact that Hikari and Takeru are basically glued to one another by the hip, troll partners in crime - and Toei and the writers absolutely have no intention of changing that whatsoever while STILL managing to portray them as strictly platonic. b.) You can tell Hikari is a skilled story-teller by the way she was sprinkling in little details about the "characters" to flesh out Takeru's narration, or else it may have been even less convincing. And that was also a nice touch to showcase she would be great at telling stories to children as a future kindergartener too!

What the drama tells us about Taichi:

In context of the drama: There he is, our busy diplomat in training, working for the "Digital World-related department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Despite all the outlandish and exciting things Takeru likes to imagine about his career, as Ken points out, Taichi is still "too young" to make that big of an impact yet, being able to pull strings and having important connections like that - but at least the movie showed us he WAS working behind the scenes together with Koushirou.

In context of the production: I cannot help but wonder whether they actually would have liked to make a little OVA about Taichi going on an undercover mission, backed up by Yamato and Koushirou (and Mimi????), to prevent his own employer from causing World War III/Third Impact. Granted, Takeru's descriptions there were WILD and I'm still not over the "my brother and Taichi-san boarded an F-16 and rushed into the sky over Tokyo" comment, but overall... Cutting away some of the over-the-top narration, Kizuna already showed us that they absolutely WOULD go on spy missions and that this could have been a great OVA theme to show that the older kids are, indeed, still relevant. ESPECIALLY our main character of main characters, Taichi Yagami. Even if we still don't know the state of Agumon, at least we do know he is making progress.

What the drama tells us about Yamato:

In context of the drama: What we can assume is that Yamato actually already is an "astronaut-in-training", since Ken didn't really disagree with that point. There were a few "details" that may or may not be taken with a grain of salt as well, such as (Kizuna's) Imura being portrayed as "a friend of my brother in the FBI" (could be true!) or the idea that Yamato might already be capable to board a "F-16 and rushed into the sky over Tokyo", but... Hey, since Tri, we have at least seen Yamato giving persuasive speeches, but whether or not he would be as involved in everything remains to be questioned. We actually don't know how or if he was involved at all in this.

In context of the production: I still find it funny that, even in Takeru's own world-building, his big brother is "just" the secondary main character - but that is at least mainly in line with how he is overall portrayed.

What the drama tells us about Koushirou:

In context of the drama: There actually isn't a lot of content mentioned in THIS drama that could be used canonically, since everything mentioned here is just Takeru projecting his Evangelion fanboyism onto Koushirou - but drama 1 and the movie itself already contextualized his role rather nicely, as you will see below.

In context of the production: Interestingly enough, through the course of both the movie and the dramas - aside from Taichi -, he was the character who was mentioned and referred to the most. There shouldn't be any question about his role as tertiary (or even occasional secondary) main character, since, even as a background character, he oozes supporting cast energy - no matter whether he is being referred to as "expert in all things Digimon" (movie), mentioned by Tailmon and Patamon to be a potential sugar daddy sponsor as rich "company president" (drama 1) or is being described by Takeru to pull strings in the back by creating AT fields to support Taichi and Yamato. You can tell that they simply CANNOT tell a story without him and it's nice that, through Takeru's (and Hikari's) narration skills, we are being told that he is vital and influential to everything that is happening. He really deserves the appreciation. (I do wonder if Takeru watched the Rebuild Series and thought "Wow, Maya is so annoyed and fed up with everything, I can use that for Koushirou-san in my fanfiction!!!")

What the drama tells us about Mimi:

In context of the drama: Crazy Mimi being crazy spy Mimi was actually what broke the immersion for Ken. And that in itself is amazing. We actually have no idea what she is doing right now, but apparently, "Mimi, who happened to be passing by, to make an anonymous phone call" is not realistic enough for Ken to accept Takeru's fanfiction as canon. To be fair, it was Patamon who included Mimi - since neither Takeru nor Hikari knew how to include her in there...

In context of the production: ... And Toei probably didn't know either. Which is a shame, since I think we can all agree that we all would have loved to see crazy spy Mimi in action. But at least we know she wasn't the only victim here...

What the drama tells us about Sora:

In context of the drama: I want to believe that Hikari actually IS in (semi regular) touch with Sora. I want to believe that she is currently on her way to "follow the path [she] believed in". Because if she isn't, my reaction to Takeru and Hikari not knowing how to include her either that would be the same as Ken's: "Wow..." At least it being "hard for her to join the fight after all" could be explained by her and Piyomon not being reunited yet, but... All we can do is guess here.

In context of the production: Once again, Sora, just like Mimi and Jyou, gets the shortest end of the stick and we are still led to believe that she is not really in touch with the group and still on her way to self-discovery. Which is still a shame. And maybe they really just (still) don't know what to do with her.

What the drama tells us about Jyou:

In context of the drama: Writing Jyou is easy. Because I actually BELIEVED the course of the story outlined by Takeru here: Them not wanting to contact him, because he is "always busy" and him getting "really pissed at us after the fact, saying that he actually managed to have some free time for once, and we hadn’t let him know", so they "had a hard time calming him down". THAT WAS REALISTIC - and also implies that Gomamon would have been there and ready to take on the fight, but... Yeah, unfortunately, all of that wasn't real.

In context of the production: They love to play with the running gag of Jyou always being busy - but I like that they, through Hikari, acknowledged not only the fact that they should ALL FEEL GUILTY FOR NOT CONTACTING HIM (and everyone in general), but that he is indeed Mr. Reliable if he is given the chance. Even if reading that bit got me mad for a moment, it at least granted him a little dignity.

What the drama tells us about Ken:

In context of the drama: I think the most important take-aways here are that Ken Ichijouji not only is a person of common sense and sensibility in general - but also that he can be assumed to be comparably rather close with Takeru and Hikari, which is a very nice touch. We don't really get to hear a lot about him personally, but the fact that Hikari and Takeru went out with him alone for food and drinks is pretty telling in my opinion.

In context of the production: Ken has the honour of being a stand-in for several parties at once: First of all, he is a stand-in for us, the readers/listeners, to witness the craziness that is Takeru Takaishi's (and Hikari Yagami's + their Digimon's) imagination in real time, reacting sceptically to whether or not the stuff is realistic/believable in the first place. Secondly, by the end of it, he is a stand-in for the writers who (I am sure now) absolutely would have LOVED to go bonkers with the older kids, telling a crazy Totally Spies/Evangelion AU through them (or at least the ones they knew how to include, such as Taichi, Yamato and Koushirou - they OBVIOUSLY would have loved to put Mimi in there too, even going so far as to make Ken TRY to come up with a scenario for her... But then, they didn't even try with Sora and Jyou).

[wisteria-tarot]

Some traits of f1 drivers future wives: (Current Grid)

Disclaimer: This reading is only for entertainment. Take it with a grain of salt. These are my personal interpretations of the cards with a sprinkle of intuition.

Verstappen:

4 of wands (rx), the chariot (rx), queen of wands (rx), 7of pentacles (rx), 5 of wands (rx):

She'll be a bit on the jealous side, harsh, and very demanding. Not to ruin the mood but I don't really see him having the happiest married life, tbh might even do him good to not get married at all.

Stroll:

7 of swords, king of wands (rx), 4 of swords (rx), 10 of pentacles, knight of wands:

She'll be smart, sharp, and witty, she will let him lead and won't try to take over or be the "man" so to speak in the marriage. She might be prone to stressing out easily or may deal with anxiety, will help him build his legacy and the family legacy in general. She is also very flirty, sexy, energetic, and in general very fiery.

Norris:

7 of wands (rx), 10 of wands, 4 of cups (rx), 6 of pentacles:

She'll be shy maybe timid, she takes care of everything and everyone might be taken advantage of because of this, but she knows her limits/boundaries or will grow to know her limits/boundaries. This won't make her stop helping people though she naturally has a very generous heart.

Piastri:

queen of wands (rx), 5 of swords (rx), the sun (rx), 7 of swords:

She has a very strong personality, very combative and pushy which she always ends up regretting, she is quick to make amends and resolve the issues. She might be at times melancholic. She is someone that you want to have in your corner because she will always fight for you and defend you.

Albon:

5 of cups (rx), 2 of wands, page of pentacles, 10 of cups, 7 of pentacle (rx):

She is very practical and very empowered. She is all about growth, maturing, and stability sometimes to a fault she may have perfectionist tendencies which makes her feel unfulfilled no matter what she does or accomplishes, I see her being an entrepreneur. It will be a very stable, structured, and happy family life.

Sargeant:

6 of pentacles, 5 of wands, king of wands, ace of swords:

She is very respectful treats everyone equally, is very charitable, competitive loves a challenge. A leader, very self-confident, all about communication and finding the truth, intelligent, a visionary.

Zhou:

7 of wands (rx), queen of wands, the sun (rx), 7 of pentacles, the high priestess:

She is very energetic, lively, and strong but I would say that it may be what she wants to present to the world it may not be who she really is. I see some issues with confidence and there may be some slight pessimism, but she works through it and she's always trying to be better despite how she may feel. There is a lot of duality within her character she's a very introspective person, might even be very intuitive or have some psychic abilities.

Hamilton:

Queen of wands (rx), 6 of pentacles, 8 of cups (rx), king of pentacles (rx):

She's very stubborn and doesn't like being told what to do it's giving brat lowkey. But despite outside perceptions, she is very generous knows how lucky she is, and is very grateful for what she has, in general, has a very good heart. Has a very avoidant personality and is afraid of relying too much on someone and having them stab her in her back so she puts all her focus on her work.

Russel:

4 of cups (rx), 7 of cups, the chariot (rx), 9 of cups (rx), strength (rx):

She seems to be fickle-minded, slow to move not the most ambitious. But has the biggest ego, very demanding and prideful.

Leclerc:

10 of cups, 9 of swords (rx), 2 of cups (rx), 8 of wands, the moon:

She may have some traumas when it comes to family or relationships in general that she has had to learn to overcome, she may be a foreigner.

Sainz:

8 of swords (rx), the devil, the sun (rx), 7 of wands, the star (rx), 3 of wands (rx):

She may suffer from ill health that can be either mental or physical, it's leaning more toward mental. Can have a very unhealthy attachment to things and people.

Gasly:

8 of wands, 10 of cups, 9 of swords (rx), death (rx):

She might be a foreigner, she is very stuck in her ways may mot like change. She keeps a lot of things bottled up and may not know how to release them.

Ocon:

9 of cups (rx), 7 of wands, 3 of swords (rx), 9 of wands:

She is confident and assertive maybe to a fault. She is tough and can deal with a lot emotionally and even physically, very persistent and individualistic.

Tsunoda:

8 of swords (rx), ace of pentacles (rx), 2 of swords (rx), 9 of wands, the moon:

She is very open-minded and easy to talk to, but may not be very business-minded or good with money. She is very protective of the things she considers important to her, might be very secretive probably won't see too much of her in the public eye.

Ricciardo:

king of cups, 4 of wands (rx), knight of swords (rx), the empress (rx):

I'm not getting anything that has to do with specific traits, but I am getting that this most likely won't be a very good marriage and might even end in divorce. This one was very strange.

[kfanopinions]

Felix Ideal Type (Astrology Based)

i will be looking into his moon and venus signs to determine this. also there is no birth time confirmed so take this with a grain of salt ^^

Aries Moon

passenger side of the car felix likes to the be leader to be the person in charge "the man" in the relationship. so someone who doesn't mind going along for the ride and not leading will be good for him

like seriously this man wants to be the one in charge. may even try to regain control somehow

yo-yo effect someone who doesn't mind this severe up and down in his personality. one day he might promise them the world the next he could be ripping the world from under their feet

let him fly having a partner that holds him down somehow will be the quickest way for him to fly far away from them. so allowing him to spread his wings will help to keep him around for longer

perception is not on his side if there is something wrong. if his partner is unhappy they need to just say it. he can't read their minds and he won't pick up on clues unless they are smacking him in the face

"set me free" as felix wants to be able to fly and achieve his own dreams and doesn't want to be held back at all, he wants the same for his person. so someone who chases after their own dreams will be a good person for him

dominant in your own right a person who is strong-willed, knows what they want, doesn't let anything stand in there way will absolutely be the kind of person who gains his attention

cat and mouse and mouse and cat with this dominant aries moon, felix like stated wants to be the one in charge, but at the same time having a partner that just rolls over isn't challenging enough for him. he doesn't want a pushover, so while he's playing cat and mouse his partner should also play "mouse and cat" where they are the mouse trying to outsmart the cat

a type of relationship that is a challenge but at the end of the day rewarding for both parties

signs are in fact signs someone with a fire or air sign in their sun/moon will be able to work with his "explosive" aries tendencies so a person who is:

fire: aries, sagittarius, leo air: gemini, libra, aquarius

in their sun/moon will be able to at least deal with these "tantrums" (they are short lived but the wrath behind them is real) if not his partner may want to hide under the bed from fear

mental stimulation a partner that not only challenges him to keep his attention but even with conversation and yes...this includes "arguments"

Libra Venus

"mirror mirror on the wall am i the fairest one of all?" answer: *avoids eye contact* sure...yeah...absolutely...

a pretty person, partner or not will have felix looking. beauty attracts him in all forms

a feminine charm that people have without trying. someone probably (if he's attracted to women) audrey hepburn is the one that pops up into my mind when it comes to feminine charms

ideal types someone who is pretty much perfect, delicate, sweet, with a controllable temper (perfect because of his aries moon lol), intelligent, refined like a good wine. someone with good taste in clothing (probably sexy in a not revealing way. a classy type of sexy where they can probably turn the heads of every man with how sexy, classy, and beautiful they are). also, independent (again just like his aries moon), and highly competitive. also, someone who has a lightness around them.

no joke he may not want his partner to swear either

*idk where this came from but as a libra venus woman i swear a lot but...i do not swear in front of people (just in my head, writings, texts, and of course online ^^). don't ask why it's just a weird thing. idc if people swear it doesn't bother me so it may not bother him either*

so take this with a grain of salt

compliments are far and few between? *i've read lots of guys who say their last compliment from a woman was months to even years ago...that's so sad T.T*

someone who will compliment him and make him feel awesome because he is! look at that face!!

tell me everything someone who is open and honest with him. his libra venus wants to know everything about his partner and what they are thinking. any advice, opinions, ANYTHING matters to him

balance is the key to life someone who is calm cool and collected no matter what the situation. a person with a level head

contradictions this contradicts his aries moon which talks about short-lived relationships so i do wonder what the aspects are for this but...

libra venus' can have a tendency to want to be in a relationship BADLY because they feel "complete" in one, but they are picky and looking for that perfect person. felix is probably going to look for someone who he sees as someone he can spend a long time with (again take this part with a grain of salt)

nonconfrontational he isn't looking to fight with his partner (again a contradiction to his aries moon). so someone who isn't hot-headed. a person that is..."balanced"

*i really wish we had more information because i have the same signs and planets as felix does for moon and venus, but i can assure that without the house and aspects it's hard to even begin to pinpoint which things are more accurate or not. i would also love to see the aspects *though i'm not as well versed in them because there is some contradictory stuff here lmao*

[astroyongie]

Aespa March Reading Edition

Note: Please remember to take my words with a grain of salt and enjoy the reading ! 

Karina

Love: This is a telenovela honestly. So as you guys know, Karina was dating someone (non idol), and there’s a lot of things happening here. Because she cares and loves her partner, however by being older, her partner also wants to settle in a way where he might joke by saying “let’s have a kid in a few years”, “let’s marry in secret”. All these words made her panic in a way. And recently it seems like Karina has attended a party, where she cheated on her partner and she defining regrets that

Career: No surprise, like for Exo’s reading, I see a lot of conflicts, of arguments with higher ups and staff happening. Karina feels stuck in a way, she wants to do something else, to show herself, show new colors and yet isn’t able to do so. However she is still being payed and one of her managers is close and protective of her  

Health:

Physical: She is okay, but she needs to eat more healthily and be careful of her headaches

Emotional: A lot of instability in her life, doubts and extremely tired

Giselle

Love: I feel that Giselle is still single but she flirts with someone and has actually accepted the confession of someone. This person offered her flowers, and they chat a lot and she kinda fell for it. They are still learning to know each other and Giselle made clear that she wants her freedom so for now there isn’t anything serious

Career:  despite her projects going as planned and her actually getting payed and having a very stable life financially, he is also not happy with how things turned out and how the company is managing the group at the moment.

Health:

Physical: She is sick however I didn’t got any precisions of what exactly

Emotional: Her mental health isn’t the best, she blames herself a lot. Also the comments on social media and the hating online is affecting her a lot

Winter

Love: I think that her and her partner are going through shaky moment, because it doesn’t feel like Winter still has feelings for them and she is trying to find a way to break up from that relationship without being too harsh or mean with them

Career:  Despite everything she actually doesn’t complain a lot about everything that is happening. Because even though she knows her and the girls are kinda stuck in this now, she tries to take profit and see the good side of the whole thing. Her perception will actually help her taking advantage and get things done

Health:

Physical: Winter needs to drink more water, because I sense she type of mid kidney failure or at least urinary troubles

Emotional: her mental health also isn’t the best, however she tries her best to look good and to work on herself

Ningning

Love: She still hasn’t forgotten her ex, and still thinks about him a lot despite knowing it’s not the best thing to do. Ningning feels betrayed and feels like she has so much love to give. She knows this person isn’t the right one and that she just needs to move on but she is still having a hard time doing so

Career:  The way she is fighting so much to have equal rights and make her voice being heard in the mid of confusion is amazing. Ningning is fighting hard for her career, she knows she wants to be an idol and she has the talent for it so she play with that to get what she wants from the company

Health:

Physical: she is okay

Emotional: energy is a little off

[posletsvet]

hi arina!! i don’t know if you’ve talked about this before, but i was just curious; what’s your favorite jjk chapter? either one that you just generally enjoyed and/or really liked the writing in

Hi Eli!! <3

Oh, that's a tough one! Not to be predictable in my preferences, but when it comes to arcs, my two all-time favourites would be Hidden Inventory/Premature Death and Shibuya Incident arcs. I think what really seals the deal for me with the Hidden Inventory Arc is that Gege had to convey so much in the span of what is really just a handful of chapters, and what comes out of it as a result is a condensed, powerful message wired through and through with intense emotion. The architecture of characters' psychology is beautifully written, too. The same goes for the Shibuya Incident Arc, though in this case I'm looking more into the fights' choreography, and this arc contains fights that still have a lingering impression on me. And since this series is choke-full of characters fighting, that has to count for something!

But I'm getting carried away while not really answering your question, aren't I? That's probably because it'd be almost impossible for me to pick an individual chapter to call my favourite. And even if I could, it would depend on what chunk of the story I currently have spinning around in my brain at all hours of the day.

That being said, I do have a list of chapters that at least as of now stand out to me the most (I couldn't for the love of me choose just one, sorry):

Chapter 136: This chapter follows the resolution of one of my favourite battles in the entire manga, and, to tell the truth, I was torn between listing it or the 132 one here. But as the former is rather lore-heavy and introduces some fascinating points about the jujutsu world structure and how it functions, I ultimately decided to go with that one as I'm a sucker for thoughtful world-building. We also get one of the earliest insights into Kenjaku's character in this chapter, both their goals and motivations, and I'm forever fascinated with their manner to indulge in excessive monologues, I love this! Moreover, Yuki makes an appearance, so do I really need to say more?

Chapter 214: Sukuna taking over Megumi's body was a tragedy in the making from the very beginning, one that both characters and the audience could see approaching like dark clouds gathering over the horizon. It was tangible, it was recognized, it could be prevented. Still nothing substantial was done to avert it. It wasn't meant to be, but it still could not happen in any other way -- a prophecy in reverse. Excrutiatingly painful as it is, I find something alluring in this sort of fatalism. Sukuna's words in this chapter is also something that keeps haunting my mind as they bring up a very, very interesting discussion of the human condition. Does our ability to feel pain and still endure define us as human beings, or is suffering something we need to transcend in order to be one? Also, I love the tidbits of information hinting at some things yet to be revealed about Yuuji scattered across this chapter!

Chapter 236: If I'm being honest, it's hard to navigate through my discordant thoughts and conflicting impressions of this chapter, but perhaps that is the point as my mind just keeps coming back to it over and over again. Not to mention that I cried my eyes out over it. Aside from all the emotion that's colouring my perception, this chapter presented me with a fascinating conflict and really put the cogs inside of my brain into work. While we do get a profound insight into Gojo's character, the conversation he holds with his dead friends alone allows for so many different takes and interpretations that he still remains an enigma. I also adore Gege's use of the 'unreliable narrator' trope as this chapter drives home the point that everything characters say should be taken with a grain of salt. It somewhat made me re-evaluate my experience as a reader as one's reading of a certain character or event really says more about that person than it does about the story.

Honorable mention: Chapter 125: Nobara's backstory has a very, very special place in my heart and I can't quite place my finger on the reason why (I mean, aside from the obvious one).

I guess that would be it, thank you so much for the ask!!

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

Hi, maybe a tw for ableism or harmful comments towards mental health. And it got a bit long, sorry.

I don't work because of my mental illnesses and most people in my life know that. Except my partners mom, who is very... anti therapy-ish? Just suck it up-ish. We all experienced trauma-ish. Young people can't be that disabled and so on. I was never good enough for her (which is funny because my partner started therapy too, once he moved away from her) and when I dropped that I have social anxiety (I told her to test the water) she made clear what she thinks of it and how it changed her perception of me.

My partner earns the most money for us, but we are fine. But in her eyes I am just unemployed and she doesn't understand why. She also looked up jobs for me in the past, which is hilarious because she, who only knew I have social anxiety, chose the jobs with the most customer contact. "Work in a grocery store over christmas" or I just drop dead.

But it is very important to her, also because she likes me (again) and fears that I will never get a job and already wasted my life forever, and I am soo old and should take whatever I get offered (I am 22).

But she is also very scary, she was abusive towards my partner and she has been towards me. But even when she is not, she reminds me of my abusive mom, being around her is triggering. Which makes her angry again, when I avoid her.

She's living a bit away from our home, so my partner only sees her twice or three times a year, and he plans to visiting her again in August (maybe please answer this before August). And I wanted to join him. My mental health gets worse when he is not around and I like being with him and the rest of his family. And I don't want his mom to think bad of me. The only contra is, that I don't know what I will tell his mom about my "job situation".

We have a long drive way and usually arrive in the evening, but every time the first thing is, that we sit on the table for 3 hours and talk about everything. And always the question about my job pops up. I always delayed it to summer, because in summer most jobs start here, and said "I am applying, we'll see in summer". By my lies she must believe I wrote 3 digit applications. That no one chose me seems unbelievable. And then she'll always ask "what jobs? What did they say??" And, you know, I have like a dozen big lies running with my own mom, for my own safety, I have no spoons for more big lies for another persons mom. My lies to her are usually weak, not very thought through and rely on distracting from the topic. I am surprised not to get in big trouble, everytime we visit.

And I don't know what I am supposed to tell her this time. She already "kicked me out" in the past, and my partner did always go with me, but I don't want to ruin his time with his family and not them to think bad about me. I don't want anything but harmony. Plus his grandma, who raised him, is getting sicker and he wants to spend as much time with her as possible. And I actually want to go with him.

What can I tell his mom, but the truth? I don't know and that really makes me anxious.

Hi anon,

I'm so sorry to hear about what you've been going through. It can be complicated to have abusive relatives that don't understand mental health and how that can impact the ability to work.

It might be best to just be honest, and if she reacts poorly that's her problem. It's not your fault that your partner's mom seems to be the one who ruins time with family. I can understand not wanting them to think bad about you but if they're not understanding of the reasons why you can't work on top of being abusive themselves, then their perception of you is worth taking with a huge grain of salt. It sounds like you've been doing what you can to mitigate the situation and it would not be reasonable for them to think bad of you, based on what you've shared.

It may be helpful to set some boundaries with your partner's mom. When your partner's mom asks about you getting a job, you can say something blunt like "I don't work due to my mental illnesses, please don't ask me this again." If you don't want to explain, you could say “This is not a topic I’m willing to discuss right now.” If your patience is wearing thin, you could say "If we cannot change the subject I will have to leave." It's important to reaffirm these boundaries if needed. If things escalate, this article has some tips on ways to respond.

If anyone has any other comments or suggestions, feel free to add on. Otherwise, I hope I could help, and please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[delusionaid]

Headcanon: Diluc Edition #32b - Praise

I have my own extensive headcanons when it comes to Crepus Ragnvindr that I'll gladly tell to everyone who never asked - and until someone stops me they will tie into my portrayal of Diluc.

CW: questionable parenting style | You'll rarely find a bigger Crepus fan than me and yet this is not a positive post about him. We love our DILFs with flaws okay. Eventually I'll post either my fanfic or meta posts about Crepus which will explain - though not excuse - his treatment of Diluc.

A big theme is the whole topic of praise. When you weed through the (scarce) material we have on Crepus there are a number of discrepancies on various things, which I don't actually primarily blame on any kind of retconning or lack of oversight in a big writer team but rather on unreliable narrators:

the Knights asked Diluc to keep the circumstances of his father's death a secret. Now from what I recall it said that Enoch claimed he didn't want the Ordo's reputation to suffer, however I believe the fact that Crepus used a delusion is part of that too. Also, there's an unspoken history between Crepus and the knights (FOR WHICH I HAVE A HEADCANON HELLO *waves*) that entails the reason for why he was not able to join them in his youth and the ominous underground intelligence network that Diluc later joins and who may have had dealings with Crepus before already. So I'll take anything the Knights have to say about Crepus with a grain of salt - even if Enoch is gone now and I'd trust Varka to tell the truth (because I also hc him a friend of Crepus).

Kaeya is a picture book unreliable narrator and we love him for it. I take everything he says with several grains of salt.

Diluc himself. And this I blame on the way he was raised by Crepus, part of which is the actual content of this meta post.

Tl;dr: there are bits of info that make us believe that Crepus was a warm wonderful caring dad and then there are bits that make him sound quite harsh and distant.

He held regret (or resentment) against the fact that he was not able to join the knights in his time so he pushed Diluc as hard as he could to join the Ordo and rise in their ranks. Diluc is thorough and hard-working and doesn't leave a lot of time for fun times - this is something I hc him to have had in his youth already and never really lost (if anything it got "worse"). It led to Diluc honing his skills and becoming the youngest Cavalry Captain in the history of the Knights - which I place very much in the responsibility of Crepus and his high expectations for Diluc. However Diluc displays few typical signs of youthful arrogance which a young man of his skill might develop naturally when comparing himself to peers and always coming out on top.

--Which is why I think Crepus held him down by denying him the approval Diluc very much craved, despite his remarkable achievements. It would make him work harder to fulfill his father's expectations yet he'd never gain that level of confidence and the sense of achievement (and security) one gets from the praise of a proud parent. Crepus' praise would mean more to him than the positive consequences of his achievements themselves yet he rarely ever - if at all - received it. The resulting desire for praise and approval is something I headcanon Diluc to have to this day, however the one person he craves the approval of is no longer around and no one else can function as a satisfying substitute. This leads to these feelings being repressed and hardly recognizable in Diluc's behavior - unless one is close to him and very perceptive (and perhaps knowledgeable about his history with his father, like e.g. Kaeya would be).

I particularly remember that random drink event in this context because it gave us a rare glimpse into Crepus as a father:

To my understanding, Diluc was quite young in this scenario - but regardless of age it shows that Crepus did not patiently guide Diluc to learning something, he rather pushed him into the cold water a bit and made him figure it out for himself. Like Diluc says - maybe he tested his creativity, but maybe there's a lot more behind this as well. He is testing Diluc's ability to assess what Crepus might want, to assess whether he wants anything specific of him at all, to create something good and valuable without being an expert, to be creative, to muster the courage to try (and fail? Although failure is not REALLY an option, is it?), etc.

Crepus said nothing. Nothing at all. He was "surprised" in a way that even young Diluc could tell - yet he didn't tell him how he felt about it. Whether it was good or bad or what. There is plenty to learn from that behavior if you go at it from a psychological point of view - but it's a rough lesson for a young child. It can create a quite debilitating insecurity about whether one's actions were good and wanted or not and in someone like Diluc it would instill the need to try harder yet next time in the hopes of getting a positive response then.

The bit about "I've never thought about it, I suppose" can be read in various ways; it could ofc go against my thoughts on wanting Crepus' approval, but it could also indicate that Diluc was not consciously aware of the weight he placed on his father's actions and reactions at the time, despite it being very much in focus on a subconscious level.

At this point I also have the headcanon that Diluc would (and still does) excuse his father's behavior in this aspect. Crepus could have been as hard on him or made him feel insecure and not good enough day in day out - Diluc would always accept and excuse it. Acknowledging that the way Crepus raised him led to many of the negative feelings and developments Diluc has as an adult is something he is (still) far away from and really doesn't want to hear. I think he knows, on some level, but knowing and really understanding are two different things.

And finally - and this is not really based in anything other than my angst brain: I imagine that Crepus had a much easier time to praise Kaeya, also in front of Diluc. This did not lead to Diluc resenting Kaeya, however, nor did it lead him to resent his father. Of course he felt jealously on some level but he loved Kaeya and idolized his father so much that he internalized the negative emotions he felt and turned them against himself rather than either one of them. It became yet more fuel to push himself to be better.

Tl;dr: Diluc has the issues.

[hazujosh]

the way that hazuki is literally such a perfect match for joshua is sooo so sickening. they're peers? smth that joshua's been lacking for? forever? joshua who has not allowed himself to connect w the humanity he's always felt connected to inside of him paired with a guy who will absolutely just initiate conversation and whatever if he feels the need to is so. mwah chefs kiss. i dont care that they have exactly (1) interaction its everything. of course it makes sense for joshua to be bitter about the events that hazuki caused but it's also. does he hate hazuki? i dont think so. despite the bitterness he feels it's more complicated than that because after all joshua almost did basically the same thing it's just. he changed his perception before it happened. In what hanekoma didn't trust in (rightfully so), hazuki did. (granted we dont really know the exact reasoning for shinjuku's cleanse but...im setting that aside for now because this isnt about ntwewy's blanks in background info) .... Joshua's growth is what makes him bitter about it but it's also what makes him receptive towards seeing the changes that hazuki could make....the ways he could connect with humanity....... and then joshua asking hazuki about his conversation with rindou? in twewy's secret ending we see how he just turns away and disengages when hanekoma tries to engage with joshua after noticing he seems down, so it feels so interesting when he starts to open up about his own feelings after hazuki expresses his confusion to him. even though joshua doesn't. really need to know about that? he doesn't even need to tell hazuki about himself either... and also in the jp text rather than saying "you need to watch where you're going" after hazuki says he was just following after joshua he says smth like "really? im still inexperienced" (take the TL w a grain of salt bc my jp is not great but the text is 本当？まだまだ未熟だね). and it's like yea i mean joshua has lied and he's been kind of strange when he talks abt emotional stuff from wht we see in twewy (it's either testing neku in his feelings and beliefs or avoiding them entirely) but im inclined to think he's genuine there? because yes it would make sense that he would agree now that his idea to erase shibuya was a bad one? that he was inexperienced then and he might still feel inexperienced even after three years because he'd probably be dealing with navigating being more of a Person post-twewy with what he learned and then you know. having to trap your best friend who proved that you shouldn't give up on yourself and give up on humanity to protect him while also having to deal with whatever the fuck is going on in shibuya right after you decided to save that shit because you let yourself love it again. AND IT'S LITERALLY RIGHT AFTER JOSHUA SAYS (in the jp text, again loose tl) that hazuki has always been sloppy in regards to the lower plane....omg. like...its not like he has to extend kindness to hazuki but. he does. probably because he understands how hazuki came to do what he did. Again theyre just. exactly what they need for each other. joshua needs a push to get on with accepting the faucets of his emotions and humanity that he's repressed by being put into such a difficult position for (presumably) a teenager and hazuki needs someone who's willing to teach him about all of that.....we could even slot them under Male Yuri. theyve fascinated me in the like 2 minutes they have together. they fulfil the same needs of water and air and foo

[dewsdoit]

we're not really strangers

wonu x y/n | soft romance with a bit of angst ❗️no professional proofreading. may contain grammatical errors.

this is purely fictional so please take it with a grain of salt! this fic is mostly soft and maybe a bit cheesy... I will be updating this post from time to time regarding the chapters as well. hope you'll enjoy it! treat people with kindness, everyone!

———————————————

We started this about three months ago but we make sure we get to walk on this familiar street and keep going in circles until we sit on the swings at the playground. 

“Last card?” you ask as if you weren’t sure if this is the 150th card inside the box. Nonetheless, I nodded in agreement but not once did I look up to even glance at you. 

We talk about how we both see the world ending and we get too factual about it. I wanted to come up with silly stories and let you build up the plot so we could keep this going, but we ended up backing each other up with scientific facts about global warming and possible alien invasions that may wipe out our existence. “Can you lighten up?” I couldn’t help but make that request, it’s too deafening to deal with the silence after every hum of agreement. 

“You lighten up,” you respond as you playfully kick my ankle, making it hit the other one. I look at you with tired and annoyed eyes, in hopes that you’ll send me home rather than deal with whatever this is. We sit in silence for a while, I think and talk to myself if you’re real at this point. 

“Can I still see you?” you ask. “Hmm?” I couldn’t quite understand, I was somewhere else. “I don’t want this to end,” you press on that sentence with your sober eyes as you look at me. “Come see me again. Let me see you again.” 

First: Perception

I thoughtlessly chose this class because I ran out of electives. You’re not hard to miss because you’re the only one with thick glasses and fluffy hair, making you stereotypically attractive for losers who need someone who will partially change their life forever. But if everyone was going for the last slice of decadent cake, I think I’d rather reserve myself for a flavor no one even bothered to touch. I always thought it was easy to divert myself from the girls who whisper and giggle in your presence. 

The rest of the school year passed by too quickly as I easily came and went to every class, but the day I got partnered up with you slowed everything down. I had to deal with telling people to not sit in my seat that was next to yours, which wasn’t a bother if they decided to leave. I just wanted to discuss our film and get things done but the inconveniences your friends and admirers bring slightly get on my nerves. 

I’ve never met a man who speaks concisely as much as you do. Maybe it’s because we’re at a coffee shop near our school and we don’t want to disturb anyone but you spoke low and soft. I’m just glad we’re getting somewhere and we see eye to eye, mostly because I’m easy to please. 

“By the way, we can make this our meeting place. I’ll give you my schedule so we can align our free time. I also wrote my number so you can contact me to meet up.” 

“Oh, thanks. Looks like you got everything planned out.” You took me by surprise. I mean, I was planning but you were a step ahead of me already. 

“I like to plan things out so we don’t miss our deadline. Besides, I think we have similar breaks. Which is why I insisted we partner up in the first place.” 

“Huh?” I ask. I’m so sure that this coffee shop wasn’t loud enough for me to mishear what you just said but I have to make sure. 

“I got the highest grade from our last exam. The prof gave me the advantage of choosing a partner I want to work with and obviously, I went for the person who has a similar schedule with mine so we don’t have to sweat about this project so much.” You say as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” I respond, cutting the conversation short. It was freezing in the shop and I just wanted to start walking to get home. “Anyway, I think we discussed the plot well so maybe I can work on the script tonight. I’ll share the document with you and let you know. I’ll get go—“

“Do you want some coffee?” you ask. 

I was packing my things when you asked, “Oh, no thanks. I already had one today so…” 

“You sure? It’s my treat.” you insist. I kinda wanna bite your offer but I just want to get home and rest. I had math before meeting you, so having coffee wouldn’t be the best solution. 

“Seriously, I’m good. Thanks though. I’m just gonna head home. I’ll message you whenever.” 

I was rushing on my way to our class. I woke up late, haven’t brushed my hair, and I need caffeine to beat my throbbing headache. The door was still locked, so it seemed like I was one of the first few students to arrive even though I was 30 mins late. 

I sit down next to the door to catch my breath. Running four flights of stairs is definitely not a joke. I see someone coming up the stairs and you seem relaxed for someone who’s about 5 mins later than me. 

“Is it just you and me?” you ask. “I guess so? I thought I was gonna get reprimanded already,” I respond.  “Well, maybe we can take this time to work on our revisions,” you suggest, and I couldn’t even respond because my head started throbbing more so I had to close my eyes and wait for the pain to settle down. 

“Are you okay?” you ask as I embarrassingly try to open one eye to reassure you that I am. “I’ll be fine, just let me catch my breath.”  You hand me your water flask filled with cold water. I didn’t even hesitate to take it because I needed it. I still had to process the cold water trying to help fight the headache, but I could still feel you looking at me. You patiently waited for me to open my eyes before asking again if I was okay, and I nodded in response to assure you. “Shut up and don’t do this to me,”  I thought to myself.  I think I’m already pathetic enough to think that this whole group work was a test between me and my easily-impressed heart. My intentions are set: We film what we need to film, meet the deadline and pass this class, graduate, and I’ll only remember you whenever I feel like opening our future yearbook. I moved back a little to physically assert the distance I wanted, which was perfect timing since one of our blockmates came to our room to tell us that the prof wasn’t coming. I thought I could use this free cut to get more sleep, but who am I to reject your offer to go to our meeting place? Our…lol 

“You should sit down, I’ll order for the both of us. Just tell me what you want.” “Alright, I’ll just have a latte. How much is it?” “It’s on me, just take a seat,” you say firmly. I know damn well I’m not letting you pay but I did find us a seat and I try to settle down. This cafe is kind of growing on me, it’s so cozy even though it’s freezing in here. It wasn’t too long ‘till you settled down while we wait for our orders to come. It’d be nice if you stopped staring at me from time to time just because there’s nothing to talk about (except maybe, start discussing our film). “Let’s play a game,’ you say out of the blue. “Hmm?” “I bought this online, apparently it’s really popular these days.” You pulled out a box full of cards. We’re Not Really Strangers. Huh, that’s interesting. “This seems...fun. Okay, I’m down,” I say as I fidget the box. Who knows, we might get something out of this game. “You should go first,” you say. I pick out a card from the first level. I suddenly feel tense, why am I so tense?? “What about me is most strange or unfamiliar?” I read the card out loud. “Probably the way you keep shifting your eyes when you’re talking to someone,” you say without hesitation. That took me aback, to be honest. You could’ve let that thought marinate for a while. And it sounds like someone’s been really observant when talking to people. “I beg to differ, I don’t think I do that.” “You do that with me. You’re not even looking at me right now.” And why on earth would I want to do that? “Why do you sound like you’d kill someone for eye contact?” I hope that wasn’t too cold of a response. “I’m just not used to someone who doesn’t make eye contact with me when I’m having a conversation with them. That can come off as rude to other people, you know,” you say with such a soft voice. I kind of stare at your face for a while. You have soft and sharp features. Everything about you is so soft and sharp. Your deep and low voice, but you speak so gently as if we’re sharing secrets all the time. Your bread-shaped cheeks with your sharp nose that might send me into an eternal rest if I touch it. I hope I wasn’t staring for too long because now I find myself unable to find the right words to say something…or anything. Before I could even respond, the server came and gave us our drinks. You ordered pastries too. “You should eat something. I don’t think your body will take the caffeine lightly if you don’t eat something.” You gave me my share of the pastry and I could feel my cheeks starting to warm up. I need to get a hold of myself. 

“Can I see the bill? I’ll pay you right now.” I start rummaging through my bag, looking for my wallet. “You don’t have to pay for anything right now, it’s better that I treat you now than treat your hospital bill if you pass out on me.” I laughed at your remark and you smiled back at me. This is better than I thought, maybe everything will just be nice and lax between us. And this project, of course, is the only reason why we get to see each other this often.

“No but seriously though, I don’t remember taking any class other than this one with you in it,” I express my confusion because you kept pressing that I should remember your face well. 3 level one cards down and we already spent hours talking about our first impressions of each other. I can’t believe this game actually works. “We went to the same elementary school and we were classmates in 1st grade. I was the kid who always cried when my mom dropped me off.” I really couldn’t remember your face. I’m sure I would’ve remembered you because believe it or not, I liked talking to everyone when I was kid. “Did you have glasses back then?” I ask. “No, I didn’t,” you seemed nervous when you responded to me, I guess you do know me well… I reached for your glasses and asked, “Sorry, can I? I just need to see something.” You nodded with a hint of hesitation, but I proceeded to take your glasses off. Who would’ve thought that an accessory would make you unrecognizable? Maybe Clark Kent had a point after all. I remember how innocent you looked when you were a kid but seeing you now, with your grown face without these glasses? My god. I immediately put it back on your face. “You look better with your glasses on,” I teasingly say. You chuckled a bit, but you glared a little bit at my teasing. We stayed until the cafe closed and discussed what we needed to do thoroughly. You gently placed your hand on my head before you said goodbye and take care. It was swift and gentle, I tried to fight every single heartstring from beating so fast but that’s exactly how I knew I was fucked. There’s no use in fighting it. I really need a moment with God or the universe because I feel like the misfortunes in my life are getting out of hand. I heard from our mutual friend that they’ve seen you go to school and home with Jen from your block. I wasn’t even surprised to hear that. I mean of course you’d go on dates with someone else, I guess I’m more disappointed in myself for falling for kind gestures. Nevertheless, my feelings found comfort in staying stagnant. As long as I don’t revisit it, I don’t think it’ll budge. Not even an inch. 

“…Anyway, this shot looks fine to me. How about you? Is this okay?” I was spacing out when you asked me for my input. “Yeah, that looks fine.” “Okay, we can do more test shots tonight if you’re free.” “Yeah, sure. I’ll be there.” “Good. If we get home late, I can give you a ride home.” “Hmm? There’s no need to do that. I’ll just book a cab to go home.” If I wanted to die inside, I would’ve just eaten a poisoned apple or something. “Are you sure? It might be hard to book later since it’s Friday. I can just drop you off at the nearest station if you can’t stand my presence.” I close my eyes so you don’t see me roll them in annoyance. “Okay, I’ll think about it.” The rest of the day went by pretty fast. I met up with you at the lobby of the mall near the cafe and we drove to a city close by. There are tall buildings and views where you can see the skyline. I’d love to go back here alone, it looks peaceful. We shot more clips for b-rolls, some test shots here and there while we were each other’s test subjects. We’d laugh about how stupid we both look when we’re the ones being filmed. Most of our shots will be indoors, the outdoor shots are for the last few scenes of the film. “You have a good eye for filming. These shots look really good!” It feels nice to have that compliment come from you. Well, you ARE the film major between the two of us. “Thanks, I just do photography on the side but I’ve never tried film. So that compliment means a lot.” “You should do this more often,” you say. “Really? I don’t know, I mean it’s still a growing hobby for me. I can be good now but I might disappoint myself later and lose interest.” “Just do it without thinking about what happens afterward. Take the opportunity and just...do it. Besides, I can help you whenever you want to film something. I’m just one message away,” you say with a soft smile on your face. I gave myself a second to think about it. “You're right, I should just give it a try." I didn't notice that I was smiling a lot today. I'd be lying if I told myself that I was happy to be here and I'm just enjoying the views, taking photos, and filming.

Somehow your bright energy seeps through me and I allow it. Now I raise the question, how can someone be so familiar yet so distant all this time? I'm sure I'll know the answer when a few months pass by. But for now, I'll have to brave through these moments I have with you and see where the wind takes me.

Hopefully, it's not too far from you, again. part 2

[cosmictulips]

Miss Tulips, I'm here to rant. But I'll keep it short. I have no friends lol. Okay that's not true. I have disorganised attachment style and I knew I was avoidant but I didn't find specific details until recently. I'm fearful avoidant. It's just so freaking hard to be vulnerable, to ask for help etc. But I try. I didn't do that before but now I atleast try. But the way I'm trying goes unnoticed even by those who are aware of who I am. It's so frustrating. Especially because I spent hours talking to my friends and listening to them, trying to be there as much as I can emotionally even when I'm clueless most of the time. But for me, there's no such person. There's no one I can approach. Everybody is busy. Or even if I say or attempt to say something, I end up feeling worse after I get ignored. And people don't even realise this. I might straight away say that I'm having a shitty week and I can't deal with my head, I still don't get the care I'm reaching out for. But again, even if that makes me super frustrated and I feel emotionally weak to deal with myself, I think I would still feel awkward if I did get the care. But at this point I'm also like, someone please hug me. Avoiding doesn't happen a lot cuz there's no one to avoid. Everyone is already away. I started looking up support groups online. I lose interest immediately after I find anything related to it tho. It's like I'm just too tired to explain myself. And there's no one in my life that is concerned enough to understand me.

Hello Star Cadet!

I can't keep this private and i really want to respond so if you message me about deleting it, don't feel bad, I just want to share with you my thoughts. maybe they'll help, maybe they won't. I know when I rant, sometimes I just need to hear the echo chamber lmao. so take everything I say with a grain of salt!

While I'm applauding you for finding out your attachment style,and while I also think this plays a part, I don't think it's the full story.

I think -and I'm choosing my words carefully here because I don't want to lead you astray and I don't fully understand the whole situation -

I think a couple of things need to happen.

You need to address this attachment style. it's hard, but I think through therapy and learning healthy coping mechanisms, you'll be better able to handle yourself. and that's what is most important here because

You need to find better people to surround yourself with.

Two can't really be done until you address the number one. You have needs that need to be met and no one is meeting them. make sure you know what those needs are number one. number two, perhaps try to change the way you speak of those needs. perhaps being more straight forward will work, perhaps simply figuring them out so that way others can follow suit.

Like if you need to vent to someone, and you don't like venting to this one person because they always try to fix things for you, perhaps that's just a boundary that needs to be set. say , hey, I appreciate you trying to fix my problems, but I just need someone to throw stuff at and help me release things. I don't need answers.

You know what I'm saying?

And then lets say you have made those changes in number one. this is where you'll have to start addressing that attachment style and bring new people in. from what I've learned recently, people will always hold their perception of you that will give them the biggest source of power over you. especially if they've known you for a long time. it's why it's hard to assert boundaries in a relationship that you've had for awhile. change doesn't come easy to ... humans. period. anyway---

You may have to change the company you keep. and that's easier said than done. you'll want to go back to them, find comfort in them. but you're saying it yourself, they don't really care about you. and as you try to grow and deal with things, you're only going to get further away from them.

so, once you address number one. try finding new people. in fact, if you're anything like me, new people will just come to you. a friend of mine said recently that she notices that I make a new friend every couple of months lmao. and it's funny because I've been trying to make more of these changes within me as well. asserting boundaries and figuring out what I need in relationships.

Meet people the way they are meeting you. if they say they are busy but expect you to be there 24/7, well don't. but if you both can open those lines of communication, grow that connection.

I can go on and on but this answer is long enough and like I mentioned earlier, I don't know the full context. I hope this helps in some way and if you want me to delete it, feel free to reach out!

[piviani]

Oh nooo. How can we know if certain tarot blogs are questionable? As much as I try to take everything with a grain of salt, reading too many of such accusatory tarot readings, even with disclaimers, really have an effect on my perception of certain idols :(

i dont know how to explain as i am not great at expressing words anon sorry, and people might misunderstood but to put in into words.. simply wanting to know everything with idols lives, such as who they are in a relationship with, or even their how their rs is with their partner, its not revealed for a reason! (private things and etc. (i cant really explain it well) just when they go overboard with certain things.. its sort of obvious when they just simply hate the idol too. people tend to exaggerate as well. and if its possible, ask them which card they pulled.. because there’s fake tarot readers nowadays but if the readers are not uncomfortable with it then dont push them! its okay too.. but you know .. 🤓🤷‍♀️. and just simply trust your gut! i dont know what else to say tbh 😭 if theres anons whos more acknowledgeable simply drop it in my ask box so i can share it to everyone!

and also this goes to people who want to know as well by the way, youre not that any different with tarot readers who do the readings when u ask the question yourself.

remember that you cant simply know everything with tarot too. always gotta remember that tarot is a tool for guidance. cards do not necessarily reveal but instead allows a person to gain an understanding.

[forestlingincorporated]

I wanna talk about Janet Drake

I’m not against exaggeratedly evil versions of Tim’s parents, tbh. It’s fanfiction, if we can depict an Exaggeratedly Good version of Bruce (which we can, and I do, and I love) then we can depict the Drakes as Exaggeratedly Bad. As someone who personally identifies with Tim, and his brand of complicated parental abuse in particular, I find it cathartic to uncomplicate that abuse and rescue him from the Obviously Evil Bad People. 

That said, since much of comics lore is passed down word of mouth, the oral tradition surrounding Tim has developed this idea of Janet as The Worse Parent between her and Jack that was never really present in the comics. We see much LESS of Janet, and we have 20 years worth of comics depicting Jack as a neglectful hotheaded idiot who ultimate does love his son. More importantly, Jack isn’t very much LIKE Tim, so there is a habit to attribute Tim’s traits to his mother... and, as someone who really really identifies with Tim, Tim has... some negative traits. Tim can be a bitch sometimes. He’s fiercely intelligent and sweet and kind, with a strong sense of justice, but he can be cold and judgmental and unthinking - he fights those traits, but he does have them. 

And it is perfectly fine to depict Janet that way. I’ve enjoyed depictions of Cold Calculating Janet Drake, but it’s not the ONLY option, and I want to challenge fans to consider different avenues. Tim could pick up these traits from anywhere: a nanny, Mrs. Mc Ilvaine (”Mrs. Mac”), a teacher, tv, Sherlock Holmes novels, Bruce Wayne himself. Tim is capable of not being like EITHER parent. 

So, what do we KNOW about Janet? (I’ll also touch on Jack, but only in scenes he appears with Janet.) 

When Janet was first introduced she was depicted as a gentle but “modern” woman. This was written in 1989, told by a 13 year old Tim, so this theoretically was meant to take place in 1979. I’m not here to give a lecture on the history of sex discrimination in the united states, but much of the legislation protecting women in the workforce or surrounding women’s bodily autonomy would have been very very new in this initial depiction. 

Here, Janet is shown to be encouraging, emotional, maternal, and projects her own feelings onto Tim. Jack is shown to be slightly sexist, possibly discouraging, but not overbearing. And the artist is shown not to know how to draw children. 

To insert some speculation, I think it’s important to note all the Drakes witnessed a terrible murder/accident that day. I point this out, because this is the last time Jack and Janet are depicted this way. It’s possible they changed as a result of this event specifically. 

However, this is also a story being told by Tim. It’s also possible these events aren’t really “real” at all, and Tim is misremembering what his parents were like as a three-year-old, possibly projecting a more palatable version of his parents into the narrative. This is entirely up to personal interpretation. 

In fact, the Drakes are shown in Legend of the Dark Knight attending Haly’s Circus, and the artist knows what a toddler looks like and they’re depicted as already having a slightly strained relationship. Jack is clearly on the defensive, and Janet seems to be passive-aggressive, though she could just be attempting to explain the situation to her toddler honestly. The intended tone isn’t especially clear. 

I do want to point out, in this depiction, Tim isn’t being carried like he was in the previous one. He’s walking ahead of his parents, which isn’t a terrible horrible crime, but could be dangerous in a crowded place like the circus. Might be a subtle hint to his parents overall neglect. 

Back to A Lonely Place of Dying, in Tim’s memories of the night he discovered Robin and Dick Grayson were the same person at nine-years-old, his parents are home, and watching TV together while Tim played... trucks, idk, in the living room with them. (This is semi-interesting, because you could say “oh, Tim liked vehicle toys as a kid” or you could extrapolate that this is another subtle indication of Jack’s sexism, providing Tim with appropriately “boy toys.” Either interpretation is valid. If Tim was assigned female at birth, would they have been given “girl toys,” or allowed to play with whatever they wanted?) 

This is, to my knowledge, the only panel of the Drakes when Tim is between ages 3 and 13. They’re all together, which might indicate that the Drakes were home more often when Tim was 9, only later going on business trips when Tim was “old enough” but... 

This is Tim’s boarding school when he’s 13. While most boarding schools in the US are for grades 9-12, Tim is clearly not a freshman at age 13; look how much younger the other kids in this panel are. In the US, the youngest you can attend most boarding schools is 7. 

That means Tim could have begun going to boarding school anytime between 7 and 13. He most likely spent all of middle school in boarding school, at least. There are an almost infinite number of possible ways the Drakes handled having a business that required lots of international travel, an archeology hobby, AND a very young child. Janet staying home until Tim was 7, 11, 13, is equally possible as the Drakes having a nanny until 7, 11, 13. Tim just doesn’t talk about that period of his life very much.

(”What about Mrs. Mac?” - it is unclear when Mrs. Mac begins working for the Drakes. We only see her when Jack comes out of his coma. She could either be a long standing staff member, or a recent hire.) 

Note: I’ve seen it said that it’s canon that “According to Tim, when his parents were home, they made a point to try and include him in their activities, bringing him along to events that were normally adults only.” I have never seen this panel, or I don’t remember it, so I cannot confirm, but I also cannot debunk this because... comics. 

By the time Tim is 13, Jack and Janet are away on business trips a lot, with limited communication, and no firm return date. If I’m feeling generous, I’d say it was harder to communicate internationally in 1990 than it is today. If I’m not feeling generous, I’d say the Drakes are extremely wealthy, and international communication was easier than ever before in the 80s and 90s. They’re not even going home to see Tim in a week or two, they’re going home and calling Tim at boarding school in a week or two. 

Even Bruce thinks its weird, though he doesn’t say so to Tim’s face. It’s written almost as if Tim’s parents’ neglect was meant to be a plot point that just got forgotten about. 

Tim’s parents are fighting at this point (their poor assistant), but Janet still goes with Jack on these business trips. And she’s clearly involved in the business, somehow, but the comics never SAY what Janet’s JOB is. We’re told Jack is the exec, but Janet is ONLY ever referred to as Jack’s wife, though they’re later described as the “heads” of the company, plural. 

Just to be clear, this is Jack’s business. There’s a perception that Jack is a bad business man because he and Janet fight over company decisions, and Jack looses the business after Janet dies, but Jack looses the company YEARS after Janet dies, and maintains it for about a year after No Man’s Land at that. We’re not told how Jack looses the business, but he’s got to be doing something right. Janet isn’t necessarily the “real brains” of Drake Industries. 

And I’m not... gonna... touch the... exploitation and racism because... I’m not qualified to do that. But, here’s the panel. The Drakes sure seem exploitative and racist in their business decisions. Someone else can... analyze that with more nuance. 

Regardless how how long they’ve been fighting, when their lives are in danger, the Drakes fall back into a loving husband and wife. Their marriage may be falling apart, but they do care about each other. 

I want to show these panels because it shows that Tim and Jack do have things in common. They’re both level headed in a crisis and can be somewhat cold in their practicality. Janet meanwhile and silent. Jack is later willing rant and rave at their captors, but Janet remains silent. 

That is, until they’re alone, and she finally lets herself fall apart. 

God, Jack can be obnoxious. Janet just looks miserable and resigned. I actually think Tim takes after his parents in this respect in equal measure. Tim can have a temper, but he can also be fairly melancholy and defeatist. 

Jack keeps reminding Janet to be strong and in control, which could be period typical sexism? But Jack seems so practiced and ready with the words of encouragement, and with Tim’s history with depression, I wonder if Janet has an inclination towards it as well. 

As the end approaches, when Jack brings up Tim, Janet seems to have a lot of regret. She talks about “wasting” the good things, and I don’t think it’s too big of a stretch to assume she’s talking about time spent with her only child. 

From this point on, Janet is at times spoken of, but not seen. Like here, when Jack says Janet wouldn’t approve of him and Tim being so “far apart.” He says this after he tells him he takes back his threat to send him back to boarding school, which might imply Janet was against the idea of boarding school? Though she obviously lost that argument when she was alive. 

Jack will of course renege on this later, but that’s Jack Drake for you. 

Or here in Tim’s illness induced dream, where he gets everything he wants. Though, since this is a fantasy of Tim’s, where his father and girlfriend are both more accepting and understanding than they are in real life, I would take this depiction of Janet with a grain of salt. 

After loosing Drake Industries, Jack thinks about Janet (though, they call her Catherine/Cathy for some fucking reason) during his depressive episode. And... uh... 

Hallucinates a Valkyrie???? Is this symbolic of suicidal thoughts, or is she... real? Or is he seriously hallucinating? 

Anyway, we’re not here to discuss Jack’s mental state, the fact that he forgot Tim’s birthday, or that concerning “I was going to knock some sense into you but you’re still bigger than me” statement from Tim, we’re here to talk about Janet. And even though this entire arc is about Jack mourning his first wife, they don’t SAY anything about Janet herself at all. I mean, they don’t even get her name right, so I guess what was I expecting. 

Then there’s Origins and Omens, which also doesn’t say anything about Janet, except that Tim’s memory of her is faulty - Janet was poisoned, her assistant Jeremy’s throat was slit on television, but Tim seems to have conflated the death he did see with the death he didn’t. 

The only piece of canon to suggest that Janet might be cold, is Tim compares her to Thalia. And even then, he’s really just saying Janet was protective of him. It’s kind of a scary look to make at your kid, but Bruce does the same thing, so. 

I do want to say... it’s not 100% clear if Tim is even talking about Janet. He could be talking about Dana. Dana was observably protective of Tim, though I don’t think he’s ever called her mom. He PROBABLY means Janet. 

And finally we have Tim visiting his mother’s grave (in a duel Christian/Jewish cemetery, make of that what you will), where Tim says she was “a little religious.”

And that’s it! That is all we know about Janet Drake in New Earth. Hardly the Mom From Hell, but she isn’t perfect. I’d be interested in seeing some alternate depictions of her within the fandom. 

I’m still gonna eat up Terrible Parents From Hell like a starving puppy dog, though. Just some food for creative thought. 

[kfanopinions]

Choi Wooshik as a boyfriend (astrology based)

okay so i couldn’t find a birth time for him at all so I used the standard 12PM for his birth time. please know that some of this information may not be as accurate as it could have been. as per usual this is for entertainment purposes only so take everything with a grain of salt. thank you and enjoy 💕

pisces moon || aquarius venus || aquarius mars

before getting into this i want to preface that his moon and his venus kind of contradict each other in the aspect that one side is sorta the romantic/sympathetic/perceptive (pisces moon) and the other side (aquarius venus) is like WAAAAAHHHHTTTT???? O.o so please keep this in mind while you read. it's probably a mixture of everything all in one ^^ geez men are already complicated why do they have to be even more complicated -_-

hi, it’s me, i’m the problem it’s me he will most likely not feel very emotionally reassured in his relationships with his pisces moon. he just worries about everything and anything

i got you babe his pisces moon makes him aware (intuitvely) of his partners needs. it's almost scary how he can predict what his partner wants/needs/feels before they even verbally express it. that being said he may not act on it

feet firmly planted on the ground he's a very down to earth kind of guy and can relate to people's pain/sorrow very well

"i like angela, pamela, sandra and rita..." so he may end up cheating if he's 1.) around crappy/lousy people (he can be easily influenced by the people he's around) 2.) if his parents don't have the healthiest relationship he may fall prey to what happened with them aka divorce/cheating 3.) if he's a sociable person (his aquarius venus likes to be social too so he may have lots of friends) but the majority may be women and if he seeks solace and comfort from these women... yeah he may cheat on his partner. AND 4.) if his partner doesn't give him the love and support he needs

i do want to note that points #2 and #3 are both with his venus sign as well

"soooo romantic~~~~" his love and feelings run deep and he displays this by being on the slight romatic side (i say slight because of that aquarius venus)

helpful hand he's the type to want to help out the people he loves and help people in general

simple and kind-hearted

a little fight never hurt anyone so he might be a little bit of a pushover for the person that he likes. his pisces moon will put his feelings to the side and do everything and anything that he can to make sure that his partner is happy and enjoying themselves. so yeah... while this sounds nice his feelings matter too

if you ask i will tell along with being perceptive he's also a deep thinker but won't voice out his opinion/thoughts/views unless he's asked to do so and boy will his partner be blown away

loves witty conversations and would love to discuss this and just have fun talking with his partner

eccentric tastes his aquarius venus may have interesting hobbies or he may end up liking very unorthodox things

did i say romantic? yeah his aquarius venus isn't mushy gushy oh baby i love you so much. his idea of loving someone right is probably with an intellectual debate XP

detached with his aquarius venus and his aquarius mars he can have a detached/disinterested vibe about him so this is something to keep in mind

competitive like my mom always says 'just let the guy win. even if you know you can take him to the cleaners...let him win... it might hurt his ego if you beat his a** to badly' yeah he might be a pouty sore loser XP

below the cut (18+)

if you are not over the age of 18, do not interact this section is not meant for you. thank you

promiscuous man... perhaps... may not be as sexually promiscuous as one would think. his aquarius mars doesn't really "need" it as much as other signs and he's also pretty detached anyway

no strings attached this is could be something he prefers as opposed to an actual relationship. possible friends with benefits type of relationshp

open relationships anyone? again this is from the mere aspect of not wanting to be tied down to someone and needing to be there "emotionally"

talk talk talk that's all they want no but seriously he may actually need to have his mind busy while doing the deed so a conversation could happen

spontaneous and "interesting" k*nks

ankle massage... giving the ole calves a massage too... i'm just saying *wink wink*

s*xting/phone s*x

[randomsnakesimp]

Okay. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna take the leap and say: Phobos is the victim (sorta).

Quick disclaimer: I am going to abuse plot holes and cartoon logic for my cause in a very nitpicky way. If you dislike that, I can completely understand, and I hope this warning will save you a lot of reading.

Also, this won't go into just headcanon territory, I'll put those in a separate post. Everything here I'll try to keep based on actual information from the comics and what I made of them.

That said...

Let's take a look at this scene:

(for a quick translation of the important part, the mother says: "No, Phobos, Meridian is meant for your sister. That's the law. The crown is hers.)

What we can see here are a few very important things:

1. Phobos is at most 5 years older than Elyon.

2. The name "Phobos" is not an edgy nickname he gave himself. Five-year-olds don't go around calling themselves Phobos. So his parents, for some reason, gave him that name.

3. His mother is very adamant about him not even touching the crown and reminding him of his sisters' birthright.

So, after establishing what I would call more or less facts, what else can, relatively savely, be deduced here?

- Since Elyon never noticed anything weird about herself, she can't have aged slower than earth children. So neither can Phobos. This would mean that, as she was kidnapped after her mothers death as a baby, he would have been five. So, he either tried his best to rule at age five, or the council we see as Elyon rules stepped in for him for a while

- this would then mean two things: we need an explanation as to why Miriadel, Alborn and Galgheita fled explicitly from Phobos (I'll give my explanation a bit further down) and second, Phobos' reign of terror wasn't even thirteen years, and a lot of that time he was a child/teen and could not even have been mature enough to rule.

- This also means that Kandrakar pulled up the veil when Phobos was at most five, likely younger, and that the so called "Seal of Phobos" also existed at that time, as both the veil and the seal are seen in the flashback depicting Elyons abduction. For Kandrakar, this, too, I will try to explain soon, but as for the seal, I find it most plausible that the theory @ror-witch used in their fanfiction, of the seal being a royal heirloom and named after each ruler, is true.

- His and his mother's relationship was neither as bad as some assumptions go, but neither was it that good, probably, or at least it wasn't in his perception. See how his memory is of her cradling the baby the entire time and talking more about his sisters birthright than about what he has/can do? Yes, it's only a short memory, but I think it's clear that it's a summary of what he remembers of his mother.

- Phobos desire to rule Meridian does not stem from something deeply sinister, but rather from a childish spite. Five year old Phobos probably just wanted the crown cause it looked nice and shiny, and he was fabulous even back then, but after his mothers words, he sulked and decided to show her. That's his motivation.

So, now let's go a bit further and look at some other things we can deduce from the rest of the comics:

- Phobos has a huge dungeon, a wall of roses that turn people into more roses if they touch it and his plan for the annihilation of Meridian is "Well, Cedric and I hide in the castle and...we'll see". He hates the people of Meridian, but he doesn't seem to have it in him to directly attack anyone until Elyon is there and even here, when he has her knocked out in their duel or locked up as Endarno, he isn't unnecessarily cruel. He's not evil in nature, he's more of a very dangerous child throwing tantrums. ( Cedric is kinda similar, and they both start losing it toward the coronation, but I sincerely believe that before that, there would have been a chance for them to come around )

- The only person he ever tortures or even hurts directly is Cedric. Because one, he likes Cedric and so gets more extreme emotions around him, and two, Cedric never says anything, and just plays it of afterwards, so I don't know if he even fully realizes what he's doing, like a child hitting someone. If Cedric ever just said "Stop it, you're hurting me", Phobos would probably need an entire week to process that input.

- Phobos is VERY reclusive, and he doesn't want anyone to have even pictures of him, and while that could be a God complex, I get some highly insecure vibes out of it, in a vulnerable narcissist kinda way, in that he is massively overcompensating. I gotta admit, though, that I cannot put my finger on why, so maybe take this with a grain of salt and decide for yourself if you agree.

- Kandrakar never orders the guardians to help Meridian in any way, just to make sure nothing oozes out. They likely pulled up the veil for their own protection, so Phobos wouldn't be able to spread far enough to become a real danger, rather than to protect innocent people, as clearly the Meridian people mean shit to them

- while the guards are widely feared in Meridian, Cedric seems to be viewed as... not very frightening or important, as some random merchant feels comfortable clinging to his cape (and rightfully so, apparently, as Cedric just tells him to piss off and doesn't care any further). This further leads me to believe that Cedric is rather unhealthy devoted to Phobos and his tantrums while their shitty ass reign leaves a lot of free space for unsuited people to become guards and tyranize the people.

- the King and Queen seem to have died in rapid succession, and shortly after the scene shown above, yet she looks perfectly healthy in that scene.

Now, what do I make of all this?

I believe the line of events to be as follows:

I don't think Phobos traveling back in time is a viable theory for mainly two reasons: I think his mother would be less chill around him if she saw/heard about his reign herself, and I believe that it would have been mentioned somewhere along the way if that were the case. Instead, what I believe happened is that the oracle had a vague vision of Phobos nearly taking over Kandrakar. Deciding in their random mood swings that today was a day of action, they had the people of Meridian informed that the next male born to a queen would become a dangerous tyrant, pulled up a veil and set their guardians to make sure nothing oozed out.

The veil, of course, made the people of Meridian feel trapped and a horror of the unborn prince who would ruin their lives spread.

So, when Weira gave birth to that prince, a full blown panic spread, so much so that she, in a fit of hysterical emotion, named him after that boust of panic. Of course, people tried to kill the prince basically from the moment he was born, and he was met with barely concealed resentment.

Soon after, Weira and her husband died - whether they were killed, or fell ill, or died in an accident, I have no idea, but I wouldn't completely rule out an assassination either aimed at Phobos and accidentally hitting them or the strain making at least one of them fall terminally ill.

Either the people rioted and Phobos' magic panic reaction or the leftover loyal guard was enough to fight them back, or the people succumbed to their fate at this point, slumping into the state of despair seen throughout the comics. But in the end, five year old Phobos had to be handed the throne. I assume the council still had some say at this point, but he did manage to get all pictures of him destroyed - this order was likely due to the fact that they were mostly caricatures.

So he grew up with the very volatile combination of a shitton of power and no one able to tell him if he was being stupid on one hand, and feeling unloved and unwanted on the other. He withdrew, likely also due to countless assassination attempts or things he perceived as such, and went into a negative feedback loop of being unable to mature and take responsibility, therefore being a shit ruler, therefore being hated, therefore having no one to help him, therefore being unable to face and grow from his mistakes, rinse and repeat.

So, Meridian was plunged into chaos, yet he seemed fine more or less just sitting in the new playroom he made for himself in the gardens, sporadically giving out an order or two and having generally no idea about anything that didn't directly concern him.

Enter Elyon. Now, she send him of the rails, as she was a danger to his lifestyle AND a reminder of all the sentiments he'd be drowning in alcohol if he wasn't too much of a recluse and education denier to know of that option. He doesn't even try. He just lets Cedric, the one person he trusts, handle her, like everything else, and somewhat plays along sometimes, when he feels like it. This is where he passes the point of no return and starts actually trying to kill people, culminating in him creating an army to wipe out Meridian. I still believe that even at this point, in his head, what he's doing is just throwing a nice toy out the window just so his sister won't have it.