#this was only less than halfway through season 1

[this-is-a-love-story-isnt-it]

I was just thinking about how in the episode The Flax, Aeryn revived John so she didn’t have to die alone…

[tobylix-blog]

Southern winds - Legolas x f!Reader

Content & Warnings: slight angst, memory loss Word count: 3.5k Summary: Legolas joins king Elessar during his travel through recently reclaimed lands of Harondor. He is met with the views of the vast steppe, poverty and some old Harad magic. A/n: This turned out quite differently from how I initially envisioned, so I am pretty much desperate for feedback in comments, asks or dms. P.S. Requests are open

Even though Hísimë [1] is considered to be the fading season, usually accompanied by first significantly colder days throughout the Middle-earth, South from Poros river it seems to be yet another month of autumn when days and nights differ in lighting less than in weather. The Harad road goes south taking smooth turns around rocky hills, never showing one's eyes more than necessary. But a traveler equipped with a fine cloak and a good flask of water feels welcomed by the vast steppe slowly turning to desert.

Riders left Minas Tirith over a fortnight ago. Their cloaks were black, making them similar to some crisp-edged shadows casted by a weird flock of birds. Elessar had made it clear that he wished to remain in the front of the whole group, leading the way rather than following the fame of his name. And all the more so he wished since he had learned that Legolas wanted to join him for this mission.

«These lands are pleased to witness new people,» Legolas mentioned gesturing at some small rodent that had been running along the road with them for a minute.

Aragorn smirked in response. «Your eyes are only getting sharper over the years.»

He reached into one of the bags and pulled out a hardtack. Riding closer to the edge of the road he crumbled it and scattered along the path. He slowed down the horse to watch as the animal reached the breadcrumbs and began feasting upon them.

«These lands need a helping hand. It has always been difficult for people here, but living under the constant threat from both Corsairs of Umbar and Haradrim is beyond hard,» Aragorn sighed, catching up with Legolas.

«The chance will present itself soon. Before long we will reach Forambar. I can hear the voices in the distance,» the elf replied.

«Shall we take a turn here then? Merchants were not so clear about the path.»

«Not yet, we might need to ride some more.»

Aragorn trusted Legolas' hearing more than any advice or guidance and it paid off grandly. The elf led the riders through an almost invisible path twisting between the stony hills. As they reached the highest point they could see Forambar before them. Just a village like many other in Harondor. A bunch of rickety huts and tents scattered across a narrow valley. The only notable thing about Forambar was that it was the closest settlement to Ithilien, and thus Gondor.

As the king and his entourage approached the settlement, many of its inhabitants came out to see. Some were wary of people in fine armor with the White tree on their chests. Others seemed rather curious about the unexpected guests. No matter the expressions of tanned faces, their eyes glimmered with one and the same question 'What do you bring here?'

Aragorn halted the horse halfway through the village and waited. The sparse crowd filled with whispers, swayed like a wave, and a man emerged from within it. He wasn't particularly tall or strong, but his clothes appeared finer than those of others and suggested his higher status.

«What brings us the honor to welcome guests from Gondor?» the man inquired cautiously.

«It is my will to pay visit to all settlements South from Poros and bring whatever help people of Harondor might need for I am the King, Elessar Telcontar, and these lands are once more part of my kingdom according to peace treaty with Haradrim,» Aragorn spoke, his voice clear and loud above the quiet valley. In the golden rays of the sunset behind his back he seemed a regal monument of himself.

For a moment everyone remained silent and motionless. Then the man in front, chief of Forambar, who couldn't tear his eyes away from Aragorn, got down on one knee bowing his head lowly to the king. The crowd behind him swayed once more and followed the example. Elders bowed with respect, young ones knelt.

Legolas observed the scene of recognition with mild curiosity and understanding. He knew well enough what kind of a king his friend was, that Aragorn deserved every bit of this esteem. Among all gathered people the elf noticed only one figure that remained unbent. A young woman standing in a narrow passage between tents – you. Your dark skin glowed like antique bronze in sunlight. Your hair cut unusually short was mostly covered by a scarf, its long ends hanging over your shoulder. But what caught his eyes more than a faint hint of a bow that you portrayed were your ears with undoubtedly pointy ends.

______________________________________________________________

Though Forambar had little to no resources to provide for the king and his entourage, two tents were momentarily set up on height above the village. There was something positively romantic in the way one could leave the comforting warmth of a tent and be so completely enveloped in cool night air and bright glow of stars above.

Before the dusk gave in to the darkness completely, Damon, chief of Forambar, visited Aragorn. He asked you to come along as well. When you entered the tent together he bowed deeply to the king once more, however you only bowed your head respectfully. Damon spoke quietly and verbosely, doubts and uncertainty clear in his tone as he asked for what service he could accomplish for the Great King.

You stopped him at once, as you put your hand on the chief's shoulder. «My king, let this man go back to his family. His heart is pained at the thought of not fulfilling your wish, but he can hardly do any more than he has already done,» you suggested.

Aragorn nodded in agreement. «Which is enough. Go home, friend, and let your heart be at peace.»

The chief bowed respectfully and departed hastily, leaving you behind in a company of the king and-

«Legolas of the Woodland realm,» you nodded to the elf who stood further from the entrance, almost completely covered by the shadows. «Our lands cannot remember the times when elves set their feet upon it. Truly has the new age come.»

Legolas spared you a long observant glance. He took in your gestures, unhurried and firm, your clothes, hanging loosely around your body, your piercing gaze and yet again those pointy ears. «If it were not for your words, I would have sworn you were one of Edhil. Who are you?»

«My name here is Morentir. I am the watchman in the north,» you replied and noticed a silent question arising. «North of Harad, that is. My ancestors came from beyond Harnen and brought their knowledge long ago. We have stayed in these lands ever since, grateful to them and to people, who accepted us.»

«There are more watchmen? What exactly is it that you keep your eyes on?» Aragorn inquired, stepping to the side.

«Harondor. From the shores to the mountains, we see everything. Every merchant taking the road, every nomad crossing the steppe, every shadow forming under the sun. We search for dangers and fortunes. We guide people away from ones and towards the others. A dozen and a half watchmen by the number of settlements across the land. That is who we are,» you said. «And that is why I have to be here tonight. If you wish to visit all of the villages in Harondor, you will need our guidance, my king.»

As you spoke to Aragorn, elaborating on the ways of the steppe, Legolas observed you silently. He watched how you unwrapped your scarf and laid it out on the floor showcasing the map embroidered on delicate fabric. He listened intently to your voice, savoring a thick layer of accent and arrhythmic pace, as you explained their further travel. He found something calming in the way candlelight casted shadows across your hands as they were gliding over the surface of the map.

When you got up and left the tent a good hour later, it was as if he woke up from a dream. Warmth and serenity of comfortable silence suddenly felt suffocating to Legolas. He followed the gust of fresh wind from the entrance and found himself under a vast carpet of stars. Piercing cold wind greeted him outside and a piercing gaze of your eyes. «Was there something amiss?»

Legolas considered your words for a long second before letting a faint smile touch his lips. Your question landed a precise strike to the feeling that bothered him. «Like a moon from the sky on a cloudy night.»

«I didn't know whom I had made this for, until tonight. But it seems you have come in time to relieve me of the doubts,» you murmured, passing him a folded garb from your bosom. Under close inspection it turned out to be a thin chemise, soft to the touch and intricately embroidered. Legolas' fingers followed the pattern on the front making out unfamiliar ornaments. «Wear it when your heart feels right.»

______________________________________________________________

Southern spring turned out to be even worse than the winter. By the end of Súlìmë [2] nights remained almost as cold, but during the day sun shone relentlessly, heating up Gondorians in their dark cloaks and armor like stones on the road. Many riders chose to take off their helmets and some piled their armor in the wagons following them. Since the time when they entered Harondor during late autumn the lands proved to be relatively clear of dangers that needed to be met with steel. Following the routes shown by watchmen, they wouldn't have met any of those, had Aragorn not chosen to teach a lesson to some runaway Haradrim bandits.

At the thought of that encounter Legolas involuntarily raised a hand to his chest. One of the throwing knives had come right below his hand as he was drawing the bow. That would make one unsightly scar if it wasn't for the shirt. He thought it was but a chance at first. Though the longer he spent observing the embroidery the more convinced he became that there was more to this thing than just beautiful craft.

«It is a woven shield. Harad magic,» Luintir, watchman from Urgon, confirmed when Legolas showed her the garb. «Well-worn one would cost one a good flock of sheep South from Harnen.»

The elf didn't care for sheep or gold, but knowing just how valuable the gift was took him by surprise. You who hadn't known him before gave him a thing of such power and worth. The knowledge only made his thoughts circle back to you more often.

In the beginning it was only natural to occasionally reflect on a sudden encounter and a gift. But since the middle of winter Legolas could barely name a few nights when his mind wouldn't be filled with thoughts of a woman that he only met once. It only got worse since they left Urgon and turned back North on Yestarë [3]. Weather changes didn't do enough to get his mind off you as the elf didn't suffer nearly as much as other riders.

And now as they finally were approaching Forambar Legolas felt a stinging wish to rush forward, get you away from the prying eyes and ask dozens of questions swarming in his head.

______________________________________________________________

Damon greeted the king and his men ceremoniously. Clearly the first wagons with goods from central Gondor had already reached the village in winter and the people were grateful for the help.

The stay wasn't supposed to be long this time either, so Legolas took the chance to roam along the path to the North of the village, where your hut stood just a little distanced from the rest. Small and sturdy it seemed in the dry last year's grass. He heard you before you showed from behind the building. Your steps rustled against the ground like water whispers against river banks.

«What brings you here, noble guest?» you asked him. The question rang clear through the cool air, but remained unanswered. Legolas appeared completely taken aback, his eyes wide, eyebrows drawn together, lips parted. There were changes in you, such that should not occur nor within a year, neither after a longer time. He clenched the shirt he held on his hands. You noticed it and reached out. «Was it your wish to ask about it?»

Legolas looked down at your hand, then back up at your face. «Your eyes are black.»

«As they should be. It would be a waste to be called Morentir and bear eyes of a different shade,» you replied amused by his direct statement. He only shook his head. That couldn't be true. In the name of Valar it couldn't be, he remembered clearly that your eyes were not black when you looked at him standing just outside of the king's tent.

«You Sindar are truly a mystery,» you noted, turning to the side. You could sense that this elf meant no harm, but his actions were rather strange. The turmoil in his heart was obvious to your eyes yet the reasons remained unclear. When you felt his fingers tracing the edge of your ear, you recoiled unconsciously. «By what custom would you do that?!»

Legolas' expression filled with painful confusion. «My eyes betray me... I could swear... I mistook you for one of our kind when I've seen your ears. Shaped as beech leaves were they.»

«People don't tend to have such ears,» you objected, slightly annoyed. For some reason the graceful creature before your eyes irritated you like an insect.

«I remember it clearly as day. This chemise reminded me with every touch, I wouldn't forget even if I wished to... So different you were that night. Same voice, same woman, yet so much changed.» The more he looked at you the more distinctions he could see, some subtle, others obvious. «How could that be?»

You sighed, feeling his words weighing heavily on your mind. «Go back, guest.»

Your voice struck him as a slap across the face. «Does your gift have no meaning? I learned of its value, I thought of it daily, but it holds no importance to you?»

«I do not recognize you and neither do I care,» you retorted and repeated firmly. «Go back.»

Legolas stood frozen as if a blade and not your words pierced through him. You watched something crumble inside him so loudly that it was visible in his striking blue eyes. It was so clear that you had to turn away for it to not consume you as well. For the first time in many years you cursed your role as a watchman when sensations of elf's struggle washed over you. Being able to see and hear all that happened many miles away from Forambar had never been as painful. «Go back,» you repeated once more before hiding away from him behind the door.

______________________________________________________________

By the middle of Víressë [4] Legolas crossed the Old Forest Road and entered the gentle shade of the Great Greenwood. Before long he took notice of a squirrel following in the same direction as him and fished out a few nuts for it from a bag. As his fingers grazed the inner side of the bag he noticed a different sort of texture. Upon further inspection that turned out to be sheets of paper folded multiple times.

Legolas pulled out the whole pile and looked at the outermost page first. It was filled with messy writing, black ink letters scattered across the surface. It took him a few whole moments before he managed to make sense of the words.

«Skies be good your mind will find peace by the time this reaches you for I must confess,» then followed a blot size of a fat bug and more erratic writing, «the truth. Let it be just the truth.»

«I am Morentir, one of the watchmen in the north. That means more than standing on guard somewhere high as people do in other lands. We watch over the entire Harondor with three dozen eyes. That is more than a living man can do. But when our ancestors came from the South, they brought knowledge with them. Spells that allow us to see and hear more than the best hunters can. Magic that makes us see whatever the others witness as clearly as if their eyes belong to us.»

There was a wide gap before the next paragraph just like a heavy sigh.

«This power has... a price. A cost that must be paid. Our hair is short, but even shorter is our memory. We live to guard and guide our people, but we don't live the lives of people. We forget easily and willingly, each day starting anew. We remember the lands and names, spells and runes, but none of us can say for sure what they look like. Sometimes we wake up with a different face, but we're unable to notice the difference.

That must have been what scared you then. Forgive me for that.

And truly did I not recognize you, Legolas. For that I do not seek your forgiveness. I only ask you to read the other page if your soul stirs from the memory or burn it if your heart is at peace.»

Legolas switched his attention to the other sheet without giving it a second thought. His eyes got used to the handwriting already and he easily picked out the words this time. The page seemed to be torn from a journal.

«The day was calm. The north wind brought good omens and guests. The king, Elessar of house Telcontar, who claimed our lands back from Harad and Umbar. He came with only a few of his men. And brought along a friend from afar. An elf. Long has it been, since we heard of elves, even longer since any of us had seen one of them. Legolas is his name. Son of the high king from the Woodland realm. He found the path to Forambar that our people use, that is worthy of respect. And the land liked him more than even some of our children. Truly do elves have their way with nature.

He stands tall and proud, he walks weightlessly and swiftly, he speaks eloquently but rarely. Everything in him is hardly a creation of the ground, but rather that of night air or flourishing forests. I take it that others notice but a half of what my eyes catch though. Therefore I should say more...

Long is his hair and light like the rising sun. The wind plays with it like with the most expensive of silks. His skin is fair, so unlike our people here. But he doesn't seem pale, rather the opposite – life and will is strong in him, so much is evident. His eyes are so blue that the sky seemed embarrassed for the rest of the evening, blushing with sunset... And I blushed with it when his eyes left mine.

The woven shield is asking to be gifted. I can feel the stirring of its power beneath the fabrics. Out of all possible outcomes that one is hardly predictable. But the omens are good. The elf deserves the Gift, and my soul would be free to roam the land further this way.»

There was another gap, wide like a whole paragraph. Next line began with a blot, then a few words were crossed out, another blot and finally something decipherable.

«Good be the skies. What did they send him here for? The Gift is his. I gave it away, the one I made. So easily like it was but the first of many promises.» Something crossed out again. «The omens were good. So said all of us. But it pains me to think that the path may not take him back to Forambar. He took the Gift, nothing more. He doesn't know of our customs, he doesn't seek for our ways, he doesn't belong despite the way grass catches on his boots.» More crossed out. «I will read the spell before the new moon comes. I can hardly find peace of mind if his shadow overtakes mine so easily. He may take the Gift, but not me. My watch is not over yet.»

The words by the edge were crossed out poorly, and Legolas could read them through the thin strokes of ink. «Why would his eyes be so blue? Good be the winds I forget them soon.»

______________________________________________________________ 1 – quenyan equivalent to November. Here and further I refer to months from the King's Reckoning 2 – March 3 – first day of the year, approximately spring equinox 4 – April

[kelcemenow]

Touchdown - Chapter 2.

Pairing Travis Kelce x Reader

Words 825

Warnings Slightly less of a slow burn for this chapter, but we're still only getting started.

CHAPTER 1.

CHAPTER 2. 

Taking a long and deep breath, you held the phone in your left hand whilst your pen was poised over the blank page of the notepad in front of you. The relaxing hold music had been playing for what seemed like forever. Terry had said he would contact Travis personally and then transfer the call over so you could speak to him. You had run through a few simple questions to ask him, hoping that the call wouldn’t last too long.  

“Y/N?” Terry’s voice rang out.  

You suddenly sat bolt upright in your seat, “Y-yes, I’m still here.”  

“I’m putting Travis through now for you.” Terry had a hint of an American accent, but you could tell that he had travelled a lot. He sounded older, friendly but straight to the point when it came to the job.  

“Thank you, Terry.”  

There was a quiet click before a short period of silence. You glanced over at the phone to make sure you was still connected when a deep, slightly gruff voice rang into your ear. 

“Hey, Y/N? Travis Kelce here.”  

“Hi Travis, um, thank you for taking my call.” You said brightly, trying to sound as professional as you could.  

“Don’t sweat it.”  

You awkwardly cleared your throat, your eyes scanning the computer screen in front of you, “So, I just wanted to hear from you regarding your recent success. The fastest Tight End to reach 10,000 yards is pretty impressive. Tell me how you’re feeling after last night’s game.”  

“I feel awesome, obviously. But I couldn’t have done it without everyone. Pat, Andy and rest of the guys have led me to that win. I just want to play football and everything else is just a bonus.”  

“Sure, of course. Um…can you tell me…um…”  

“Y/N?”  

A nervous feeling washed over you. “Yes?”  

“Relax. We’re just talking.”  

You laughed under your breath as you furiously scribbled what he had said onto the paper, “Sorry, I’m new to this. I erm…”  

“Hey. I’ll make this easy. Football is more than my career, it’s my life.” You could hear a smile in his voice, “Achievements like this make it all worthwhile to make my family proud for all of those years taking me to football practice and buying my sneakers and jerseys year after year. How was that?”  

“Um, great, actually. Thank you so much Mr Kelce.”  

He laughed loudly, “Ah man, come on. It’s Travis! You don’t have to be so serious with me ma’am.”  

You laughed back, “You can’t call me ma’am then! It makes me sound so old.”  

“I’m sorry, my Momma brought me up right, especially when I’m talking to a lady.”  

You giggled and glanced up, a few colleagues were looking over at you. You cleared your throat and settled into your seat, resting your chin on the heel of your hand, “So, what is next for Travis Kelce?”

“More football, more victories and more good times. Anyway, we’re talking an awful lot about me here, tell me about you.”

You were taken aback, “Um…well…wait-what?”

“I mean, I’m sure interviewing football stars has been your life’s dream and all, but what’s your deal?”

You supressed a small smirk, “Why don’t you just let me ask the questions, Mr Kelce?”

“Ah ah ah, Travis.”

“We should probably keep this professional, Mr Kelce.”

There was a pause before he breathed a laugh, “Of course, do go on.”

“So, we’re about halfway through the season now and-“

“Are you single?”

You sighed, “Are you always this difficult?”

There was another laugh, “Only when I’m being interviewed by someone with an irresistible British accent.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.”

You paused again whilst you tried to think of another question. He had you nervous, fumbling your words and distracted heavily from your work. You shook your head at yourself, failing at the first big job that had been assigned to you.

He broke the silence first, “Do you have any more questions?”

“Um, I think I’m done. Thank you for your statement and good luck for the rest of the season.”  

“That’s quite alright. I hope to speak to you again in the future.”

You paused, unsure of what to say. “You too. I…um, I mean…I-“  

He laughed again, “You’re cute. Peace.”  

“Yeah…bye. Goodbye.” You put the phone down before lowering your head to the desk. The cool wood against your forehead just highlighted how much heat was coming from your skin. You could feel your face turning red from embarrassment.   

“Not good?” Your head snapped up to see Hannah standing in front of you with her arms crossed.  

“I was an absolute idiot.” You smiled, “Please don’t say I have to do that anymore?” 

Hannah smirked, “I don’t know, maybe? Although if it was as bad as you think, you might not be asked to do it again.”  

Your head returned to the desk, letting out a small groan on its way. 

______________________________________________________________

I have so much planned for this! I am on holiday next week but the next chapter will be out soon! If you would like to be added to my taglist so that you never miss a chapter, just give me a shout!

Taglist @rd14 @dandelionwrites8 @keiva1000

[mahitosmalnourishedmanhood]

Something Domestic Pt.2 18+

Summary: Her entire life, Kimiko had been convinced she was crazy. By her parents, her sister, doctors, everybody. So, she’s thankful to meet someone who assures her, her hallucinations aren’t just her mind messing with her. Too bad the messenger is a curse.

Tw: smut smut smut it got dirty quick (since this was meant to be the first chapter but i figured giving some of kimiko’s backstory first would be better) Mahito is his own warning, author is only halfway into season 1 so any conflicting details will be edited at a later date, mc can see curses and doesnt know wtf they are, idle transfiguration on Mahito during sex, stitches licking, neck biting, fear play (fantasy), dubcon I think? (kimiko is intoxicated and mahito has no idea what sex is), hair pulling, maybe ooc, creampie

Word Count: 1.7k

Part One Part Three

The two had introduced themselves, and talked for a bit before Kimiko began leading Mahito to her apartment. She isn’t entirely sure how exactly she managed to convince a stranger to come home with her, but she knows better than to question a good thing. She is fairly anxious, and his gaze doesn’t make things any better, and he knows as much, almost as though he’s trying to frighten her. She glances at Mahito occasionally as she fidgets with her nails. He can sense her fear, and it makes him feel delighted, especially considering how she’s ignoring it and her instincts for the sake of getting him home. He still isn’t exactly sure what she has planned for when they get there, though he doesn’t mind, either way he’ll learn a bit more about humans and then use idle transfiguration on her. Simple.

“You are quite nervous. Any particular reason?” He asks, stepping a bit closer and putting an arm around her waist, a slight shiver creeping up her spine at the touch. He is a bit tempted to use his idle transfiguration on her now, but she is interesting, if a little weird, enough to wait a little bit more before trying to do so.

“Oh— I just haven’t brought anybody home for a hookup before, much less a complete stranger.” Kimiko explains, her face bright pink and her muscles slightly tense under his touch, though she didn’t mind enough to move his hand. 

Mahito does look confused at the term hookup, but knows he’ll find out what it is once they got to where she was leading him. He keeps his eyes on her, and can tell she knows something is wrong, but she doesn’t try to move away or get him to leave, so he assumes she doesn’t know what he is exactly.

Soon, they reach her apartment and she steps in front of her door and unlocks it, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as Mahito stands directly behind her, close enough that he’s breathing down her neck. She steps inside with him, and once he is inside he’s caught a little off guard by her suddenly tossing her arms over his shoulders and pressing her lips to his. He knows only a little about these kinds of behaviors, only enough to know she isn’t trying to attack him in any way. He’s unsure what to do with his hands at first, but soon he just puts them on her waist as she presses her chest to his and carefully walks him backwards until he hits the couch. 

He lets out a little grunt as she pushes him down onto the cushions and climbs into his lap, straddling his hips. She then pulls back from the kiss, her pupils blown wide, nearly consuming the blue of her eyes. “I’m sorry— I probably um- should’ve asked first.” He looks at her a little funny before he puts his hands on the sides of her jaw. 

He feels the urge to change the shape of her soul again, but is distracted by a new feeling pooling in his stomach and between his legs. This he has never experienced before, though he welcomes the feeling with open arms. He pulls her forward by the jaw and presses his lips to hers again in an almost desperate manner. She runs a hand through his hair and lightly nips his bottom lip, hearing him make a small noise of surprise in response. 

Her tongue slips into his mouth, and she uses her free hand to sneak under his shirt and feel over his chest. He slightly arches his back, leaning into the feeling of her warm hand touching his icy skin. She feels his tongue push past her lips, further into her mouth to an abnormal point, his tongue flicking against the back of her throat and making her gag for a moment. He realizes that might alert her to the fact he’s not a human, but surprisingly she doesn’t seem to notice it. If she does notice, she doesn’t care enough to dwell on it. He’s unsure if he’s thankful about that or not. He wonders if she’d still be the one leading if she knew he was a curse. He imagines her squirming and shivering under him with the knowledge he could kill her with a couple of words, and it makes him that much more aroused and needy.

Mahito puts his hands on her waist and squeezes as she pulls back from the kiss enough so she can properly start to undress him, slightly panting as she strips him of his top. She stops for a moment, and stares at the stitches across his neck before leaning down and trailing her tongue over them. She’s a little clumsy, but Mahito thankfully has no way of knowing as he tilts his head back instinctively and uses a hand to push her face further against his neck. She mouths over the stitches for a moment longer before leaving bites across his neck and starting to undo his pants. He mirrors her motions from a moment prior, removing her shirt and tossing it aside, staring blankly at her chest for a moment. She had something else under her shirt? Tedious. 

He moves to get her skirt off, deciding to let her deal with the rest. She soon stands up and removes her undergarments before tugging his pants down to below his knees. She looks down at him for a moment, seeming to be thinking about something or other before she settles in his lap again, his dick pressing firm against her thigh. It feels warmer than the rest of him, but still fairly cold. Mahito is nearly convinced he’s going to melt as their skin meets. He presses further against her until he’s pressing the side of his face against her chest.

He feels one of her arms snake around his head, likely to support herself and stay balanced while her other hand wraps around his shaft. Only a moment passes before she’s slowly sinking down on him and he’s suddenly overwhelmed with her warmth, though it still feels like it’s not nearly enough, nothing compared to what he believes lies ahead. He lets out a small sigh into her skin, his hands resting on her hips as she moves them slowly. It feels like agony, and he only gives her a second before he’s experimentally moving her hips for her, his large fingers digging into her hips hard enough for bruises to show the next morning. 

Kimiko runs a hair through Mahito’s hair, and curiously tugs on one of his ponytails, forcing his head back until he has no choice but to stare up at her. She gives him a little grin, and the sight makes him throb inside of her. She leans her head down and rests her forehead against his, shutting her eyes as she rocks her hips in the fast pace he’s chosen for them. She adds a bit more force into it, and lets out low moans, close enough that Mahito can feel her breath fanning across his face with every sound she makes for him. He keeps staring at her, and again mirrors her actions, moving his hips up into hers, and he feels excitement rush through his body at the bolt of pleasure the action brings. One hand slides up Kimiko’s back, pressing on her spine just hard enough to get her to arch it for him, seeming to get him even deeper than before.

“Oh, this has to be the best night of my life.” She tells him softly, almost quiet enough that he doesn’t catch it at first. Almost. Mahito can hear a buzzing suddenly, but he pays no mind to it, simply just continuing to thrust up into the pretty little human on his lap. He sprouts another arm, his third hand forcing her hand from his hair and making its way into her own. He tugs her hair like she had done to him, only now it’s to force her head down, rather than up.

“Yeah? Mind telling me why that is, hm?” Mahito grins as he thrusts into what seems to be a particularly sensitive spot for her, as both of her hands reach for his shoulders and she lets out a noise louder than before. He hits that spot again, and again, wanting to continue to draw those pretty sounds from her, even if it means she likely won’t answer his question. He’d rather listen to this anyway. She still does her best to answer, but ultimately crumbles, holding onto his shoulder as her thighs tense and tremble. 

Mahito is suddenly all too aware of the growing heat in the pit of his stomach, and he leans back against the couch, fucking up into her with far more force now as the tension in his stomach feels like it’s about to snap. “Oh, I feel like I’m going to burst.” He practically whimpers to her as he leans in to kiss her again, and she merely nods in agreement, her own orgasm only seconds away. He can’t focus on anything aside from how impossibly warm he feels and the bliss coursing through his veins as the pressure in him finally bursts. He stills, and Kimiko rocks her hips into him desperately, the feeling of him filling her up sending her straight over the edge. She grows nearly impossibly tight around him before she leans into his chest, staying still while they both take a moment to come down from their highs. 

After a few moments, Kimiko gets up, not wanting to get that intimate with her new friend by snuggling with him during a mere one night stand. She tugs on her underwear and her shirt, looking at Mahito in her half dressed state. “My bathroom is the first door on the left in the hallway, if you want to shower. I am going to go lay down though, my legs feel like jelly.” Kimiko sighs with a small giggle. “My bedroom is straight down the hallway if you want to stay the night, or you can sleep out here, either works.” And with that, she leaves Mahito to himself as she goes to lay down for the night. 

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but I wouldn't be holding my breath for a season 5 teaser anytime soon.

They're only halfway through filming, let alone post production. We're not looking at a release until sometime in late 2025. It's just way too early to start official promotion.

The only way I could see them releasing anything is if there's a Tudum coming up that they're contractually obligated to prepare something for.

If I had to guess, I'd say they're going to want to go all out for season 5's promotion.

Assuming they don't break it up into volumes, they'll probably get cute with the release date. So, I'll go ahead and say either 11/6/2025 or 11/11/2025.

Now, we can't really base too much on season 4's promotion because of the COVID shutdown. I think this extended hiatus is also why they put out some smaller teasers. However, for season 3, promotional material started no sooner than 8 months in advance, and that was, I think, just the episode title teaser, with the release date teaser coming a few weeks later. We'd be looking at March for similar timeframes. Season 4's title teaser came out in November, 2021, which was only 6 months before the release of volume 1. There was a Sneak Peak that came out in August, to be fair, but that's still less than a year in advance.

I'd say the earliest we're going to get any kind of teaser, whether it's titles, a sneak peak, or whatever, is going to be Stranger Things Day 2024. They kind of need to go all out for that considering it may well be the last Stranger Things Day before the release of the final season if my prediction is accurate.

I'd like to be wrong about this, but the amount of time still left in filming, let alone post-production, has me less than optimistic for a sooner release.

[pterodactylterrace]

*less than two months ago*

Beloved? You sure about that Condal? Just… forgot about the mass murder at the coronation? Never happened? Not one of those small folk remembered when she killed hundreds of them for absolutely no reason other than to stare at Aegon and then fly off?

If you were going for a more realistic reaction, they would have been cheering that the dragon and dragon rider that slaughtered so many of them answered for their crimes.

So, according to Condal, hanging a dozen rat catchers (I believe?) to ensure no other assassination attempts befell the royal family would turn all the small folk against Aegon, but the dragon that killed HUNDREDS of them was “beloved”? Did Aegon not meet the quota for small folk slaughter to be beloved or something? Is that it? You have to kill at least 200 before they go from hating you to loving you?

Someone get Condal’s dumbass out of the writing room. Let like 3 hardcore fans take his place. One TB, one TG, one Team Smallfolk. They will make a MUCH better and balanced show. And maybe something interesting will happen. I mean, do we really need five episodes of Rhaenyra’s council not listening? And huge chunks of those episodes just being a bunch of old men squabbling about “women can’t!” While Rhaenyra continues doing fuck all but getting upset about it?

Jesus, show us Aemond decimating the blockade with Vhagar now that Meleys’ patrolling isn’t an issue. Show us Sunfyre’s wounds and the men left to guard him! FFS, stop just standing around talking about what they should do and actually DO something already! Fuck, after Jaehaerys assassination why didn’t they all jump on their dragons and just burn down Dragonstone in the middle of the night? Riders without their dragons are just people. Dragon fire can cook them through the stone walls (see Harrenhal) but nooooooo. Just have a bunch of scenes of people blaming each other and doing nothing about it. Super compelling TV.

Season 1 I rewatched several times because there was usually something going on. Season 2, I was able to catch husband up on the entire season in under two minutes. “Aegon wants to be a good king, his son gets killed by assassins, Rhaenyra grieves the loss of her son, Daemon left for Harrenhal after Rhaenyra found out he sent the assassins. Cole leads an army through the crown lands, sets a trap at Rook’s Rest, Aegon drunkenly interferes and ends up getting roasted by Vhagar. Aemond is now regent.” Tada, five episodes summed up. Hit all the major plot points. Most of which weren’t even impactful.

The only two major events have been B&C and RR. We are over halfway through the season, and we have had less action and interesting things happening than the last three episodes of season 1.

We were promised all out war. Is the all out war in the room with us?

[crimium]

My thoughts on the new Hifuu Album

Well, Taboo Japan Disentanglement just came out! after reading the story and listening to the tracks, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the album!

The tracks

I'm going to go through the album tracks in order and give my individual thoughts on them.

1 - Morning Comes on Tanabata Hill (Original)

This is surprisingly emotional for an opening track. The new drum set here is wonderful, and the piano is soothing and atmospheric. I do think the melody is kind of all over the place though, and it's a bit hard to follow. All in all, a really nice calming song.

2 - Tinkerbell of Inequality (Original)

I've been excited to listen to this one ever since the album got announced because of the interesting title, and HOLY SHIT THIS SONG IS AMAZING. The instrumentation is so weird but oh so good. The track is ominous but jazzy. The melody is catchy. It reminds me of GFC and CoSD, with it's apocalyptic futuristic vibe. This is easily the best track in the album. Solid.

3 - Does the Forbidden Door Lead to This World, or the World Beyond? (HSiFS arrangement)

Now we get to the arrangements. The song is sporting a new drum set and piano, and I can safely say that the instrumentation is a huge improvement to the original. To be frank, I'm not too much of a fan of HSiFS's instrumentation, now don't get me wrong, the songs are great, but they suffer a bit because the instruments ZUN uses are a bit lackluster. Here, that is not the case, this a great arrange. Something I do want to note, is that the BPM of the arranges seems to be lowered a bit from their original counterparts. Not a bad thing, but it's interesting to keep in mind as you keep listening.

4 - Smoking Dragon (UM arrangement)

HOOOOOOLYYYYYY SHIIIIIIIT. The key change. the new drumset. the new, climactic/triumphant atmosphere. The new section added in??? It's all so perfect, this does the original song justice. I love this so much. One of my favorite arranges in the whole album.

5 - Mugen Noh ~ Taboo Marionette (Original)

This song is calming, but sinister sounding as well. It hits a nice balance of calming and uneasy. The instrumentation, once again, is really good here. I do feel that the electric guitar a bit later in feels a bit out of place, but in general, the song creates a really good atmosphere, and it's definitely a standout track.

6 - Crazy Backup Dancers (HSiFS arrangement)

I don't really have much to say about this one, other than that it's a fairy good arrangement of the original song. ZUN added a new synth(?) into the mix, which gives it a distinct sound from the original. It's fun!

7 - Yorimashi Between Dreams and Reality ~ Necro-Fantasia (AoCF arrange)

ZUN. you can't keep getting away with this. This is peak. The song has a newly added intro of the Necrofantasia main theme before the song kicks in, and WOW does it create an atmosphere. The instrumentation is once again great and the key change (that just dissapears half-way through lmao) is also really cool. This is a great track.

8 - The Lonesome Path in Hitachi (Original)

A surprisingly upbeat track given the title. It's composed in swing rhythm, and because of that, it kinda reminds me of Let's Live in a Lovely Cemetery and Like the Brilliance of Fairies. Not that that's a bad thing, but it does make it sand out a bit less for me. Still a good track, though! Also ZUN chill out with those reverbs

9 - The Lamentations Known Only by Jizo (WBaWC arrange)

I like the new choir here, it makes it sound more dramatic. I am a bit disappointment that the flute kind of overshadows the Spooky Lead from the original, but it's not a bad arrangement at all. And man this drum set is really doing wonders rn

10 - The Concealed Four Seasons (HSiFS arrange)

WOW. TALK ABOUT A GREAT FINALE. This arrangement tweaks just enough without completely changing the vibe of the original song, and it's fantastic. About halfway through, there's a key change that makes it sort of feel like a phase 2 to the song, and it really completes the whole package. Fantastic.

11 - Apparitions Abound Even Outside of Night (Original)

Oh cool, what a nice, calming, uplifting trac- ZUN WHAT ARE YOU DOING. So the song starts off very calming and atmospheric, and then turns into digi-rock like a minute in. It's kind of jarring but I think it works, the song is still fantastic, and does a good job wrapping things up for the album, and the story. Speaking of which...

The story (spoiler warning)

Without going into too much detail, because I highly recommend you read the story on your own, the predictions of Merry and Renko being separated where not exactly wrong, although I think the story was a lot less heartbreaking than everyone thought it would've been. It serves as a nice drama and really shows how these characters relate to each other. Seeing Renko drop everything just to save Merry shows that even if they get on the wrong foot, they're still the Hifuu club, through and through.

In conclusion, this album is absolutely stellar. ZUN's instrumentation this time around is incredibly diverse, and I can tell he was having fun experimenting. The story is also well written, showcasing these two characters and their conflicting yet similar ideals. Please, go give this album a listen! It may have been 8 years since the last hifuu album, but it was definitely worth the wait.

[longbobmckenzie]

THTH2 Episodes 1-3 Thoughts!

Eeeek it's THTH2 (Too Hot to Handle the game) time!! Last season fizzled out halfway through but based on the first few episodes of season 2, I've got hopes that this one will be better!

First of all, it's 15 episodes as opposed to 10 - there's room for development (and more bombshells/dumpings!)

There's more customization! I feel like it's improved, although others have said they had a harder time with it. I'm not a huge fan of the hairstyles and outfits we've been given so far, but we'll get more

In the initial episodes, there are 5 friends and only 4 LIs - that might be a little disappointing at first (especially since the friends are all hot - URGH I want Santiago!!), but this actually fixes some of the problems with the first season

More non-romanceable characters is a good thing because it means there will be more storylines besides MC/LI and Jada/Justin/Carter

A lot of us started to hate Jada after a while because she kept popping up and we were forced to be friends with her. Having more friends is a good thing because we'll be able to talk to more people instead of just one person. I'm hoping there will be some branching involved where some scenes are dependent on who your highest relationship is with, but we'll see!

Less LIs is fine for the reasons above - sure there's less choice up front, but with next to no branching in S1, every route was the same, and there were only 3 couples at the end. It didn't make sense. Plus...

We're already getting at least one bombshell next week! It's highly likely they'll be LI(s), and no doubt there will be more people incoming

In Season 1, all the LIs had hard-ons for MC even when MC didn't show them any interest - so far that doesn't seem to be the case, and I love that. It was weird that 9 people were obsessed with us, honestly. This time, our choices matter more

They're already setting up a love triangle! It makes so much more sense to have a LT early on when everyone's new rather than force it with a bombshell we don't even like midway through the season

The characters so far seem to have more personality traits than just whatever their jobs/interests are. Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon, and there is definitely still some of that, but I feel like I've already had deeper chats with them. And they ask about us too, and we can define a bit more of a personality for ourselves

More under the cut...

I picked Antoine so far (love a Canadian hockey player!!). He's basically an upgraded (yes, I said it) version of Theo (the art style is slightly improved - the smiles aren't as creepy this time!). I wasn't a Theo girlie but so far I'm vibing with Antoine

I was a Liam girlie, but Liam 2.0 (Wesley) doesn't have quite the same appeal. He's still hot, but Idk, he's not my Liam

There's a fun Antoine glitch (not sure if any of the other characters have it) where he's fully naked. It's pretty funny

I've already broken a bunch of rules, mwahaha!

The list of achievements this season is interesting 👀 There's an achievement for getting eliminated, which I will definitely be trying to do. And stuff about the others trusting us (probably a way to earn back money)

They still have the "beach hut" confessionals, but I feel like those episodes are shorter, which is great because they could be a drag on replays before, or when you just want to get to the next episode

Santiago is my boy, I'm loving the representation with him. I'm curious if we'll ever get a chance to get our hands on him even without romance, because we do have a flirty vibe and I would absolutely jump at that chance!

Overall, I'm excited to see how this goes! It does seem like they've taken our feedback so far, the initial episodes felt a lot like last season but that's not at all a bad thing - last season started off great, and this one has too. I do think this season has better potential overall and my fingers are crossed that it delivers

[secondstar-acorn]

season 2 means the world to me and now that it's over it's time for me to Elaborate (while I SOB how dare you anthony)

it being a more complex and less easily fixable storyline fits because they're teens! it really resonates with my early-20s-ass!!! i love season one it's incredible but their goals being more clearly set out also makes sense! all they really want is to get their kids home. the teens have to save the world and kill willy and reconcile with their parents and and and---

also idk why but in season 1 i really only had one dad that i Latched Onto and that was henry. i love darryl and glenn and ron obviously but henry just hit different for some reason and we're not gonna examine that because then i'll have to schedule a therapy appointment. but this season i have latched on to every single one of the teens. they're all extremely, WILDLY important to me and i'm gonna talk about it (scotty mute your dash)

let's talk about taylor first because i ADORE him. i am so freaking proud of him, y'all. he started off the season asking cassandra who his dad was and he ended the season by realizing that all he needs is his mom! that's a fantastic moment of character development. he cares so much about his friends! he knows who he is and he puts on a confident attitude, but he's still just a scared kid a lot of the time. he's so supportive 24/7 (HELL YEAH MY MAN) and if norm is the glue, taylor is the emotional support glitter on the craft project that is team stunt teens. he brings up the mood! he adds pizzazz! he's not. afraid to shine but he's also kinda fragile! that's my fucking guy!!!

ok moving on to my absolute beloved scary marlowe. i was one of those people who started off not really liking scary and not understanding her Deal but i finally GOT her in halt and catch fireball and from then on i've been obsessed with her. she falls into my favourite category of fictional character which is morally grey woman with insane amounts of power who just desperately wants to be accepted by people (i.e. jean grey, morgana pendragon, etc.) she stares willy in the eye as he dies!!! she tells her bio dad to fuck off and she accepts terry as her dad and remembers her mom is her best friend and GODDD SCARY MARLOWE. she's one of the most performative of the teens but she's also one of the most genuine. she is quick to defend each of her friends and once she's back in, she's BACK IN. she backs up every single one of them whenever they need her support, and her friendship with normal especially is extremely special to me. they're siblings your honour. the thesis of scary marlowe's character (imo) is "what if my friends love me more than i hate me" and that is a POWERFUL ASS choice that beth made. that's every teenager i know!!! that's me in high school!!! she's fucked up and she's imperfect but she is trying and she's learning to forgive herself for caring and i could write more but i'm not gonna because this is already getting so long and we're only halfway through.

okay this one is. god. normal oak. you put an oak in front of me and i start crying immediately. normal is no exception. hermie may be the theatre kid but normal has the theatre kid energy of trying so SO hard for attention and love but never getting the appreciation he wants. every single relationship he has is FUCKED. he lives off of validation and he's never learned to love himself as is. (please fucking god get this kid to samantha stampler he needs to hear that he's enough just as he is). he hasn't been loved by his parents the way he should, he's fighting to meet impossible expectations, he's been inadvertently pitted against his sister since birth, and he starts the season filled with the naive sort of joy that comes from doing No self reflection whatsoever and ends it deeply self-reflective and clearly still dealing with his trauma. but now he has friends who accept and love him no matter what. friends who will pull him onto the dance floor! he's the cheerleader! he's constantly giving out the validation he's wanted his whole life. he is so generous and so kind and so fucking sad and he breaks my heart. i need a campaign exclusively about normal going to college and learning how to live without his parents constantly in his business and learning who he really is and wants to be. he is. god. normal oak swallows garcia has been living with two conflicting philosophies his entire life, from sparrow "love wolf" oak garcia to lark "bring this glock to school" oak garcia. it's no wonder his mom is a centrist because who ELSE could love both of those men. (rebecca and morgan should meet up. side note.) and he chooses love every time!!! WE HAVE TO HELP IT. i love normal. i hope he's gone to therapy in the past twenty years and i hope he sees that he's had the people who care about him and love him all along in the form of his friends. i was normal normal was me and i am so proud of him. because even though everything has sucked shit he keeps pushing through. he's resilient and i love him for that.

and now. the teen who came out of nowhere and stole all the space in my brain. the true surprise of the season for me. LINCOLN LI FUCKING WILSON. god what to say about lincoln. so so much. i am so overcome by emotion whenever i think of lincoln that it is nearly impossible to put it into words. i understand this kid on a spiritual level. he has one goal and one passion his entire life. he loves his dads so much and he defines himself by what he loves and what he's interested in. he's never been confronted with the real world before. and then he is. and suddenly his world is no longer soccer and dads and his small house and fifa. now he is realizing that oh, the world is a little fucked up actually, and oh, the man i idolized for 14-15(???) years is kind of the one who fucked it up. he means the best for me but by sheltering me too much i am woefully unprepared for the world i'm living in and now all of my false hopes and aspirations are crashing down around me and the only way i can deal with that is to not care anymore. he has to shut it all out or he'll actually have to Think about how awful it is. his dad has killed people. he was found on the titanic?? scary, the person he immediately latched onto once he started doubting his dad, betrays him, and then he's floating again. and scary comes back!! and they eventually get married!!! and future lincoln has learned to forgive and understand that maybe, if he can forgive scary and love her and know her for who she really is and accept her even though she killed that guy that one time, maybe he can learn how to do the same for his dad. i'll say it. lincoln is the luke skywalker of this season. he is throwing away that lightsaber. he is saving grant from his self-hatred by choosing to love him at the end of the season. he tries to change himself as a way to get space. he hates hermie but he tries to be there for normal. he's best friends (...)with taylor and he finds his first REAL friend that isn't one of his dads through taylor!!! taylor inspires him to finally rebel and steal that laffy taffy!! high school lets him start to figure out who he is. he's able to forgive his dads. his sense of morality is maybe a little fucked up but he's probably working on it now!! he's absolutely the bitchiest out of all the teens and i love him for that!! he does his dads' taxes??????? he's been forced to handle WAY too much responsibility on literally all fronts and he shuts down to try and cope. he is canonically autistic to ME. the way he thinks about everything is Insane. he's besties with a bunch of dolphins. soccer is his safe place. when he loves something he holds on TIGHT. this is an incredibly long-winded way of saying i love lincoln and i will spend the rest of my life losing my mind over this character.

my point here is i love season 2. it's weird! it's freaky! it's eldritch! it's brightly coloured and also dark as shit!! i love season 2!!!!!!!

and don't get me started on dood because then we'll be here for hours.

[astrarobotica]

Hibike! Euphonium is still by far my favorite anime, and I think the final season was good, but man the pacing is all over the place.

They seemed to imply for a while that Season 3 world be the last, so going into it I assumed that would be the case. But the first half of the season has a pretty slow pace focusing on character relationships, mostly the new first year students. I liked that it felt like it was taking its time, but halfway through the season I started to wonder how they were going to wrap things up in six or seven episodes.

Then Episode 10 came out and they had only just reached the Kansai Competition, and I seriously started to doubt that they were going to try to wrap everything up in four more episodes, because I didn't see how they possibly could. I thought maybe they would be doing one more season, or finish it with a film or OVA. And then they didn't do any of that.

I'm just a bit conflicted. The entire final season was really emotional. I liked all of the plotlines. I liked that they were willing to not give Kumiko the soli, even though it would have felt better, it wouldn't have had the same impact on the final part of her character development. But. The pacing of the second half of the season led to so much being crammed into the final episode that I was on the verge of tears throughout most of it while also thinking welp, I guess that's it.

So it's just a bit frustrating, because I think this series is so close to perfection (for me) if it weren't for the obvious issue of Kumiko and Reina having this very intentional romantic tension only to be sabotaged so Kumiko can canonically end up with the guy who barely has any presence in the final season, and the pacing of the final season. The relationship thing happened all throughout the first two seasons so I definitely wasn't getting my hopes up for anything going into this. But I had the benefit of discovering the show just as Season 2 was finishing airing, so I got to watch the story of their first year all at once without having to wait a whole year for the second half. Part of what I liked about the show so much was how it took time to tell all of these character subplots while they were working toward trying to win at Nationals. There was such a good balance of character arcs while also progressing the main plot at a decent pace.

Then the second year stuff ended up just being two feature films and an OVA. And I think they're all great, but I just wished there was a bit more. I don't think there really needed to be since they didn't advance to Nationals, but I would have liked it.

And finally the third year is told in just thirteen episodes. Less than half of the first year. And this being the final year, their last chance to win at Nationals, the end of high school, the end of the series... I just wish they had taken their time with it. Season 1 ended with the Kansai Competition, as well as a bonus episode. Season 2 didn't even end with Nationals, because there was an entire episode after the competition to wrap things up. But in Season 3, Kansai is Episode 10, Nationals is Episode 13, that's it, end of series. What's more, the final episode at least took the time to include an entire performance, which has really been lacking in the final season, but half of the episode was just a montage of clips from the series during their performance, and a final credits sequence of still images. There was virtually no dialogue between characters after the their performance. No goodbyes. No real sense of closure. This is the point where the main cast of characters is finishing high school! When they all go off on their own to start a new chapter in life! And yet no time is taken to put any emphasis on the emotional weight of all of this, of winning gold at Nationals... We get credits with still images, and then a time skip of adult Kumiko struttin' down the hallway to introduce herself as the assistant advisor to the concert band. The End.

I know animation studios have constraints and commitments, and I'm sure there were numerous factors when they decided how they were going to make this final season. It just feels like compromises were made; maybe they didn't want to do a whole fourth season, maybe they didn't have enough content for it, maybe they had already committed to doing other projects after Season 3 and wouldn't want to wait multiple years to do another season or film and just decided to wrap everything up here an now. I just think it deserved more time. It's still my favorite series. I can't say I'm disappointed really, it was still a very good season. I think it says a lot about the quality of the series that I can feel so conflicted about the pacing while also not letting it spoil how much I enjoyed it. A couple years ago I didn't know if there was going to be a third season at all. I can't really say I'm sad that it's over, but I just wish it was given more time.

[evansbby]

Okay I’m halfway through season 3 of vanderpump rules and here are my thoughts: (again, pls pls pls don’t spoil anything for me!!!)

— Tom S and Kristen’s storyline is like prime time television for me. Like I’m eating this shit UP. And honestly? I think Tom S and Kristen make a way better couple than him with Ariana. Only bc both Sandoval and Kristen are BATSHIT CRAZY and they match each other’s unhinged energy. Like I’m sorry I hated Kristen in the beginning but I can’t even hate her anymore bc she’s so unhinged and delusional that it’s funny. And I think Ariana is too laid back for someone like Tom. I think Tom thrives on Kristen’s craziness, I truly honestly think a part of him LOVES how Kristen is still obsessing over him, no matter how much he pretends not to. Also there’s something so eerie about the way Sandoval burst into tears when having that conversation with Kristen outside in Miami. And the way he held her hand??? He knew EXACTLY what he was doing lmfao. And the way you could just see the wheels in Kristen’s head start turning and how ALL she took from that convo was “Tom still has feelings for me” LMFAOO. I know Tom and Kristen aren’t gonna get back together but it would be sooo unhinged if they’d just done it for the plot 😂😂 I really don’t see any chemistry between Ariana and Tom, like I truly think Kristen and Tom are made for each other with how insane and toxic they are together 😂 I do like how Ariana handles herself though, like this girl could not give less of a fuck about Crazy Kristen plotting against her 😂😂

— apart from that, everything else is kinda boring 😭 I hate that Stassi no longer works at Sur and she’s just distanced herself from everyone like I hate that!!! I want the OG group back although I totally understand why she distanced herself.

— Scheana is such a LOSER pick me. “I don’t give an f about girl code, I’m a guy’s girl!1!1!1” like… okay, Scheana but the thing is those guys literally don’t give an f about you and they’d drop you in a second. Scheana needs to be studied fr, like she’s so insecure and it shows in everything she does and says. Even the way she talks sounds so fake and contrived and you can just tell she’s so intimidated by Stassi. And she also still always has the most boring storylines.

— Tom Schwartz is such a loser and idk why he’s so up Jax’s ass and would rather gain the approval of his boys than stick up for his girlfriend. Like say what you want about Sandoval but at least he’ll call a man out when he needs to.

[stardustizuku]

Part 4: The New Team

The first moment I said “This is bad” at Miraculous Ladybug...the first moment I realized this was going downhill – was when they introduced …Sighs, Rena Rouge.

(To be fair, it started with Lila and her weird necklace but that could have just been fixed easily)

I knew the moment Rena came that this was gonna get bad. I felt it in my bones that THIS was the sign of something insidious and awful boiling in the back of the show. This character marks the beginning of everything downhill in the show - it’s a glaring reminder of how awful the writing in this show is.

Don’t get me wrong I love Alya. I love the character design of Rena and I don’t think that - in a vacuum - her existing is bad. But her appearance signified that something far worse happened behind the scenes.

They were trying to add more heroes.

As I’ve stated in Part 2, where we talk about the Love Square, there is a very delicate balance between Chat and Ladybug’s dynamic. And throughout Season 1, which is meant to be the introduction to the series, we are given no indication that it will focus on anything else. There was more than enough drama with just those two superheroes to last you a very solid arc. But that arc never got developed neither as forefront, nor backstage, as far as seasons 1-3 is concerned.

Again, because the writers are idiots, who believe that developing the story might lead the Love Square to be concluded, which means having the creativity to develop it beyond what the 1 minute trailer told them to do.

So? What do we do? How do we develop this story further, without bringing in the complexities of its own premise?

Easy, you add useless heroes and McGuffins to sell more toys. They add nothing in terms of narrative cohesion, character development, or character relationships.

Like, Season 2 was 25 episodes long. And in those 25 episodes, it introduced a grand total of 3 potential superheroes. Of what are now

11 SUPERHEROES.

By the end of Season 2, a little less than halfway through the currently aired episodes in the USA, we had…3/11 of the entire team.

A team, by the way, that slowly took the emphasis away from what we were even watching this show, to begin with: The Love Square. Ladybug and Chat.

They were the core of the story. And the blatant addition of a new team, proved to me nothing more than a desperate attempt to distance themselves from it. For what reason? Either a lack of confidence in developing their main characters, or plain incompetence to detect what your show even is about.

As I stated in Part 3, in regard of theme, there’s nothing of the sorts connecting ANY of these superheroes together.

The new heroes have different powers – with absurd power balances.

The most powerful superheroes are supposed to be Cht and Laadybug, but I would argue that time travel is a biiiiit more powerful. Like, Garbiel could very easily time travel to save Emily or steal the miraculous before they're given to Chat and Ladybug. But sure. Whatever.

In regards of theme.

Chat and Ladybug have good and bad luck symbols as their animal counterparts. Then there’s Rena, the Fox; Carapace, the turtle; Hawkmoth, the moth; Queen Bee the bee…?? I’m not following that decision at all. If someone does, please do enlighten me.

And then there’s the newest superheroes, introduced in Season 4, and still being currently introduced…

The theme is the Chinese zodiac, but that’s only (checks notes) Excuse me, Paris? Uhm, yeah, Paris. So in Paris they have the Chinese zodiac, but in the USA and Beijin they have completely different powers not tied to the miraculous. And, I get it, you want new merch. Fine, all magical girls are thinly veiled ads for kid’s toys (I will buy the sailor moon blush one day, or so help me god) But, should you at least – try to make it make sense-

New superheroes or new powers should all connect to your theme.

Sailor Moon has planets, so introducing new Sailor Scouts it’s as easy as getting new moons, or suns in the galaxy. Something I find really cute is that Sailor Chibimoon has subordinates CereCere, VesVes, PallaPalla and JunJun. These were the asteroids once thought to be new planets in the Solar System before we knew of the AsteroidBelt and realized they were little rocks.

Mermaid Melody introduced new mermaids through the seven seas. There were only a finite amount of them. But even so, the only way to introduce Seira was through the death of Sara.

And Tokyo Mew Mew’s endangered animals allowed us to have Mew Ringo and (we don’t talk about brunononono, we don’t talk about brunooooo) Mew Berry.

Even Kamichama Karin WHICH I HATE so it goes to show how badly MLB messed it up – has a theme (sort of). It fumbles it extremely badly. Insulting to a degree how bad it does it…BUT IT DOES IT.

It’s greek gods. That’s it. You may have a new power, a new transformation or a new characters but you bet your ass it’ll be a Greek god. It may have no connection to the character’s personality or relationship to each other, but hey. At least it stays consistent on its terrible use of Greek Gods as nothing more than aesthetic.

So, your characters have no narrative weight behind it to justify why they’re here. You have no actual theme to tie all 19 of your superheroes (HOLY FUCK THAT’S A LOT OF THEM) aside from…animals? I guess.

(I swear to god PreCure puts more thought into their themes than this)

But at least, you would guess, your new heroes show interesting dynamics with each other that allow you to understand better either Chat, Ladybug, or each other?

No.

The team is bad.

They ditched the “Magical Girl” formula and decided to go for a bit of a “Super Seitan” feeling. I mean, Power Rangers type of show. More gender neutral, more focused on the villain of the week, and an emphasis on a big team.

Just. A bit of a problem.

But they did this, so into the show that we ALREADY had a sense of their character as a side character, so bringing them to the spotlight was uncomfortable.

Like suddenly making Molly a sailor scout or giving Tomoyo clow cards in the middle of the second season.

That’s not their purpose in the story.

And they’re introduced so haphazardly that there’s hardly any time for them to hang out with each other.

Rena first appears in episode 37, Carapace in episode 44, and Queen Bee in episode 49.

AND NONE OF THESE CHARACTERS INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER.

Not until Mayura. Which is episode 52, which just akumatizes them or gets them out of the way one way or another. Meaning, they do absolutely nothing for the plot, bring nothing to the table, and makes you wonder why even waste air time bringing on-screen characters that do not matter.  

In any other show, yes. The characters slowly leaving the protagonist alone because they get trapped, killed or maimed is a good way to up the stakes of the finale.

Here’s the thing, though. I care about them. And they care for each other. They know they’re not losing just a teammate, they’re losing a friend.

I cried like a baby when Makoto died and Usagi only recognized her rose earring – because I love Makoto to death. I cried when Rei sacrificed herself to save Usagi, because I knew how much they bickered. I was upset when Mint and Zakuro fought, because I knew how much Mint idolized Zakuro.

Their failure meant something to the each other. Aside simply, “we lost manpower”. Because these people were, before superheroes, before their later egos – they were friends.

HOWEVER. This does not happen in MLB. Since they don’t GET to keep the kwamis, they don’t get to participate in every episode. We never get episodes focused on how they interact with one another. Which means there’s no sense of a “team”. Which makes you wonder why they’re even considered a “team”.

This is such a horrible decision it genuinely makes me wonder if these people KNOW how to create ANY story !!!

I feel like I keep comparing MLB to many decent and genuinely good magical girls animes. Which feels unfair, EVEN THO IT ISNT, because these are iconic anime’s that have left a print in media

So fine, let’s get this show to a level you all can understand how bad it is

DC superhero girls. And it’s GOOD, check it out if you can. It’s something to turn on and enjoy, with little overarching plot.

But get this, the entire focus is to watch the team girls Interact. A lot of the comedy comes from watching these girls having fun and watching them come to terms with their own superpowers. Watching them get in trouble as they hide their identity, and how they bounce from one another. Who helps who, who are besties, who kinda hate each other, who brings them together and who keeps them strong.

I especially love Barbara and Harley's dynamic, as well as Kitana and Wonderwoman's friendship. The episodes that focus on either of them make me really happy. And even if there's little overarching plot, because I know their situation, I wanna see them happy and have fun.

But because they all have to hide in MLB, you don’t see something like this. Which, btw, THIS is the foundation of both Magical girl GROUPS and Seitan. And I would argue you would get more leeway abt secret identities to one another in MagicalGirls that in Seitan. Seitan’s bread and butter IS team dynamics. The fact that we don’t know how two superheroes that ladybug and chat aren’t would behave around each other is an INSULT to the genre.

And to be fair, they could still keep their identities secret. Just. Have them interact every single episodes, without the need of Ladybug or Chat doing a 10 minute break to give them their Kwamis. It would have been fun to see Queen Bee chat with Ladybug, maybe hate Chat and fight with him to get Ladybug’s attention. Maybe, have Viper and Carapace make music references and vibing in the background. Have Ryuko and Queen Bee bicker. Have Rena and Chat make jokes at Queen Bee’s expense.

You could have amazing drama out of the team trying to find each other’s identities, but having Ladybug threaten them to take away their miraculous (MAYBE she’s paranoid about it since the events of Chat Blanc let her traumatized and will take away miraculous from them). Hell, maybe she took away Chloe’s miraculous not because “she’s unfit” but because she spilled the beans. And Chloe’s resentment is not just from losing her great title, but losing the first true friends she had.

And it would make the fact that Marinette is allowed to CHOOSE her teammate…a bit more bearable. Because honestly, THAT’S  a terrible concept.

Most teams DONT get to chose who their partners are, and that’s what makes it amazing.

Because it’s a bunch of people who are forced to be together, slowly learning to open up and depend on one another. Which creates amazing and profound bonds that one originally wasn’t expecting.

Take for example Usagi. She didn’t CHOOSE her team. Instead, she found it. They found her. While Ami and Makoto are kind to her, she’s always butting heads with Rei, and playfully competing with Minako. They don’t all coddle her, or think she’s amazing. They see her as a friend. A crybaby, clumsy but kind-hearted friend who will help them out.

Tokyo Mew Mew has the same. Ichigo isn’t in perfect terms with Mint and they butt heads. Zakuro is a loner that isn’t integrated fully even in later episodes. But they’re a team. They work together.

The fact that Marinette gets to pick, creates issues like…Queen Bee.

Which.

Leads me.

To Chloe.

A God, Chloe.

PREV << MASTERLIST >> NEXT

[artist-issues]

Fair enough, you did request this continue in the asks.

1) you talk about the Jewish God, then use orthodox Jewish beliefs as an example, and then excoriate Sugar - who is not orthodox - for not meeting those standards. And then go back to saying Jewish. You talk about Jews but every time you try to prove something, you specify orthodox. Which makes it sound like you think the only authentic way to be Jewish is to be orthodox. Which is both wrong and woefully incomplete, given how wide ranging orthodox approaches are.

2) you could probably have avoided a lot of grief if you prefaced that “the Christian perspective (or specific to a denomination) is that…”.

Because while you have the same right to claim what your religion says as any of us, it is equally correct for me to make those claims about mine. Christianity thinks that Jews and Christians worship the same God. Jews think that the invention of the trinity and the idea of a divine messiah is deep fundamental heresy and that the god you worship is as far away from our God as Zeus. It is disingenuous to talk about what Christians believe is true about Jews without noting that Jews disagree.

Which gets me to my next point—the things you say Jews believe is incorrect.

- We don’t believe that Tanakh contains all that can be known about God. The entire rabbinic project has been about engaging with the Torah as the starting point for a deep and ongoing conversation with God and that halakha - Jewish law - is God’s invitation for us to build a world with God. And the capacity of halakha to shift and move and remain both rooted in tradition and open to the world is a sign of what some Jewish theologians calls cumulative revelation. As new ideas become widespread in Judaism, their acceptance is a mark of God’s will. God speaks to us through us.

- what I mean by “you’re telling the Christian story” is that no Jewish person ever would describe what we did as ignoring God. We would describe ourselves as being in ongoing relationship with the TV show’s creator while Christianity decided the plot was too hard to follow halfway through season 2 and went off to create an unlicensed spin-off with none of the original creative team.

Again, it’s abundantly clear to me that that’s not how you conceptualize your own religion. But when you’re describing why Jews and Christians are similar, you’re characterizing Judaism in ways that are not internally true. It’s like saying “we’re best friends” when what you mean is “I think you’re my best friend, but you think we are passing acquaintances.” Or, to put it another way, saying “they’re the same god” is no less true than calling Christianity an idolatrous offshoot insofar as one reflects the Christian worldview and the other the Jewish. We each have the right to affirm our own theologies, but it’s important to note that they are internal theologies and Jews don’t agree with your characterization. We think you left our God and made up your own when Jesus become understood as divine.

- this is also not internal to Jewish theology. There’s a whole debate about what is called טעמי מצוות - the reasons for commandments - and the debate includes but ranges far beyond the particularity of the Israelite nation and right worship. This also gets back to the point that rabbinic Judaism takes the Torah as a gift from God and the starting point for the formulation of halakha. Not the end point. We’re expected to come back and negotiate and ask for clarification. Rabbinic literature is RIFE with the stories of how we negotiate with God, including the famous story of the Oven of Akhnai where (were in around 120 CE at this point) a heavenly voice emerges telling the rabbis who is correct and the rabbis disagree anyway and God in heaven laughs with delight and says “my sons have defeated me”. An integral part of Jewish theology is the idea that we too have authority when it comes to the meaning of the Torah and the ability to interpret and make meaning. So any time you claim that something is explicit in Tanakh and supports the Christian perspective, the odds are very good that it’s an interpretive move made by Christians and not Jews. (There is no such thing as a plain meaning of the text, all meaning is interpretation.)

Also point 2 is outside of Jewish theology. There’s no idea in Judaism that we NEED to fix our relationship with God from the get go. It is possible for an individual to sin and need to repent, but the idea is always that human beings have in themselves the capacity to do that. And some rabbis even say that baalei teshuva - those who have erred and repented - stand higher than the completely righteous. There’s also a saying in the Talmud: רצה הקדוש ברוך הוא לזכות את ישראל, לפיכך הרבה להם תורה ומצות - The holy blessed one wished to bestow merit upon the Jewish people and therefore made for them much Torah and many mitzvot. It’s an opportunity.

3) I assume others have mentioned the No True Scotsman fallacy and…it’s just not true that Christians who do terrible things in Christ’s name are not Christians any more than Jews who do terrible things stop being Jews. The relationship between Judaism and Christianity is possibly irreparably harmed because of how often people calling themselves Christians murdered Jews. And it is still Christianity’s failure as a religion that it creates people who so horribly violate its tenets in its name. It is the responsibility of a religion and those who adhere to it to do something about those who claim to follow it and go on to commit atrocities. Even if they are no longer Christians in your view, they are Christianity’s problem and Christianity’s responsibility.

And making claims about what Jews believe without even having the grace to note that you are speaking of the Christian conception and that Jews would not agree with this view is…not reassuring me that Christianity as such has gotten better about seeing the real, distinct humanity of the Jewish people beyond their usefulness in making Christianity look older.

I think I actually have no fundamental disagreement with you on points 1 and 2, with the exception that I don’t believe it was necessary for me to clarify “Christians believe this” more than I already did. I presented it as objective truth because that’s what it is; I didn’t want to focus on “my belief,” and the cultural preference for couching everything in terms of “my truth but maybe not your truth;” I wanted to focus on the truth, and so I presented it as such.

My point was that Christians believe that God did and said what He did and said as recorded in the Old Testament, and as I understand it, so do Jews. I have met with those who do, so that is who I am talking about. Those Jews who do not believe that the Old Testament all literally occurred in history as written, or that God is not who He presents Himself to be in the Old Testament, are not who I’m talking about.

In that sense, (my point) we believe in the same God, and then when we disagree about the person and deity of Jesus Christ, sure, we no longer do. Because how could we believe in the same Being if one “version” of that Being did something the other “version” did not do? That was sort of my whole point. That’s common sense. Obviously if you tell me your life story, and I agree with you that that happened, and then you move away and continue living your life, but I make up stories about what you’re continuing to do thousands of miles away, we’re no longer talking about the same “abotl.” Again, that’s common sense. I didn’t communicate that clearly enough, evidently. So I’m glad you pursued sending this ask.

Another exception to my general agreement with you would be that, if you check the comments where Sugar’s being a Jew was originally brought up, I made the point that I did not know what branch of Judaism she was claiming to adhere to, but if her show did not communicate values in line with Judaism, it had no bearing on the commentary on God I was observing. Because she can’t be the kind of person who says “I believe in God’s authority” but also “I don’t believe God has any authority.” If she says both those things, she’s lying about one or both; they contradict one another.

Obviously, in addition, I think it’s sort of fruitless to talk about different interpretations of the Torah because we’re coming at it from two completely different bases. I think the most foundational difference is that you believe that “there is no such thing as a plain meaning of a text, all meaning is interpretation.” That’s not true. You’re arguing with words I wrote down concerning Jewish theology; that would be totally pointless if you didn’t assume I had a intended meaning as the author, and pursue the points I made as if you had discovered what that intended meaning was. Now, you might be wrong about my intended meaning (which would be incorrect interpretation.) But even to be “wrong,” that necessitates that there is a “right.” Your statement also implies that any practical, useful, applicable or important information (“meaning”) that can be found in Scripture is assigned by the humans reading it, which re,elates Scrioture to the same level as any man-made text (albeit remarkably well-preserved and ancient.) Unless my interpretation of your words is incorrect.

So I can’t reasonably discuss the meaning of something with someone who doesn’t believe in plain meaning regardless of interpretation.

As for point 3…

The relationship is not “irreparably harmed.” I can’t fix it, but Christ can. It’s a bold claim to make that any human relationship can be “beyond repair” when there’s a sovereign God.

I have answered this repetitively, and I’ll do it one more time, but then I have to be done because it’s falling on deaf ears: the word “Christian” means “little Christ.” Therefore if you do not act like Christ, especially in major lifestyle choices, you are not being, in that moment or as long as you defend and embrace those choices, a little Christ. Even if you still claim the title. Even if you go to church. Even if you and your actions are associated with the name. Because the only qualifier for the word “Christian” is “lives in Christ.” And like I said: the murder of Jews, or anybody, or the torture of , racism toward, and cruelty toward anybody, is in no way what Jesus taught, or would do. Again; if a vegetarian eats meat, they’re not a vegetarian. It sounds like you’re confusing people calling themselves something with them actually being that thing. The “No True Scots” fallacy requires that I change the definition of “Christianity” to make exceptions when counterexamples to my original definition are brought up; nowhere have I changed the definition of “Christian” from my original explanation to do that. Therefore, it’s not a “No True Scots” fallacy, just like a professed-Christian who isn’t in Christ is not a Christian.

“And it is still Christianity’s failure as a religion that it creates people who so horribly violate its tenets in its name. It is the responsibility of a religion and those who adhere to it to do something about those who claim to follow it and go on to commit atrocities. Even if they are no longer Christians in your view, they are Christianity’s problem and Christianity’s responsibility.”

That’s very untrue. First off: suggesting that Christianity “failed” as a religion because “it created” the people who do the opposite of what Christ teaches is impossible, because it would be like saying “a mom taught her son to never eat meat and because of that he ate meat.” Okay, well, you could come up with a connection between the two, like, “the son felt so desperate to eat something other than fruits and vegetables that he decided to try meat.” But the mom and her teachings are in no way responsible for that connection. If the son followed her teachings and, what’s more, believed in them, he wouldn’t have eaten meat. That’s what necessarily follows from genuine adherence to a belief faithfully taught. Instead, it is because of something in the son, disliking or disagreeing with the teaching, not something in the teaching, that he deviated from it. His reaction to the teaching is not prescribed by the teaching. He can blame his reaction, or his actions independent of the teaching, on the teaching. He can say it was too restrictive, but ultimately, his choices are his. And the teaching told him to do the opposite of what he’s doing.

It’d be the same if you asked me to walk your dog, with those words exactly, and I went out and killed your dog in the middle of the street, then grabbed your neighbors dogs and started adding them to the murder scene—and did it all screaming at the top of my lungs, “this is what abotl told me to do! I do this in the name of abotl!” And later, when I’m accused and denounced, I say, “abotl said to walk their dog. Walk means kill, and kill progressively, like taking one step in front of the other. I’m a follower of abotl, so I did what they said to do.” All I did was take the opposite of what you told me to do and claim that that opposite was the correct interpretation of your words.

But are you responsible for that? Are any of your actual followers who do safely walk and care for your dog responsible for my actions? Of course not.

You could contrive some responsibility. You could say, “well in that scenario, abotl should’ve known enough about artist-issues to see that their interpretation of words was seriously flawed and they just wanted to kill dogs; abotl never should have entrusted their dog to someone like artist-issues, or should’ve explained more clearly, just like Christians should have seen the danger of murderers in their midst and taught them not to murder more clearly.” But that’s still only responsibility up to a point.

Christians aren’t omnipresent, omnipotent, or omniscient. They can’t be expected to know every thought and intention of the members of their congregation. They can’t explain any more clearly than God Himself does, and they can’t change man’s hearts. All they can do is be faithful to replace lies with the truth of what Christ said and fight injustice when and where they have the opportunity, the way God tells them to fight in Scripture.

That said, we do do something when people commit atrocities; both in the misuse of the name of Christianity, and not.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Christian pastor, is a prime example. (I know that it’s popular to call him “antisemetic,” but if all that term means is “believes the Christian doctrine that Jews should become Christians,” well, that’s not discriminatory toward Jews, because we believe that about everybody, including ourselves before we became Christians. It’s not a special desire to wipe out any one culture or people and swallow them into our religion; it’s a doctrine of general “humanity is broken, but in Christ can be made whole, and should be.”) And the point here is that he, flawed though he was, knew that Hitler’s German Christianity regime was anti-Biblical, and anti-teachings-of-Christ, just like the vegetarians that eat meat. He not only gave up his life, his career, his safety, and his good name to protect Jews from the Holocaust, but he also actively spoke out against Hitler, Hitler’s German Christianity institution, any professing Protestant who welcomed the Nazi regime or teaching, and eventually was hung for trying to assassinate Hitler. And he’s just a big name representative of many Christians who protected the oppressed or died trying, against people who were doing the oppressing in Christ’s name.

In America, the slave trade was long defended by people who claimed Christ. They even had Scripture, incorrectly interpreted and improperly applied, to back up their oppression and cruelty. But people like William Wilberforce, John Newton, and Harriet Beecher Stowe (who quoted or alluded to Scripture almost 100 times in the abolitionist book Uncle Tom’s Cabin) pointed out how definitively anti-Christian the slave trade and the oppression of people were with their whole lives; they correctly interpreted Scripture and properly applied Jesus' teaching to do this.

Christians are fallen human beings saved by the grace of Christ who are not perfect, nor do they fight for truth and the protection of the innocent perfectly. In fact, they get it woefully wrong a lot of the time. But Jesus said we would. And that His grace is sufficient for our weakness. So our failures don’t mean we stop trying, and it certainly doesn’t mean that any time we fail, we discredit the teachings of Christ.

If you want to imply “well some Christians oppress savagely, and some Christians protect the innocent, so who’s to say which one is “real Christianity?” All Christians, the whole religion, is corrupt!” The Christian would answer, “well, yeah. We’re human. We never said we were following Christ’s teachings perfectly. We’re just trying to do it increasingly, by grace, through faith. We’re not perfect. Christ’s teachings are perfect.”

You can call it a cop-out if you want. But honestly, the responsibility for sin is on the sinner alone, unless they give their life to Christ, then He takes the punishment and enables them to live the rest of their lives as imperfect but increasingly sanctified followers of His teachings. Ultimate judgement belongs to God alone, even if there are consequences to wrongdoing on earth. And that’s been a tenet of the Christian faith since the Christian faith existed. So nobody’s moving the goalposts or re-defining the original definition.

Finally, we acknowledge Jewish people’s real, distinct humanity. Just because we also acknowledge the connection between the history of the Jewish people and faith and our faith does not mean that we’re minimizing you, your experience, or your humanity. But the truth of the matter is, either Jesus was the Son of God or He wasn’t. We can each believe we’re right, but one or both of us have to be wrong. We can’t both be right. And there’s no “ignoring of humanity” that comes with a Christian saying, “I am right about this.” Any more than there would be any “ignoring of Christians’ humanity” that comes along with a Jew saying, “No, I am right about this.” That’s what it boils down to. Also, who’s doing that? Who’s trying to say that Jews are only valuable because they make Christianity look older? I’d like to talk to that person. If it’s me, you’ve wildly misunderstood and mischaracterized me.

Thanks for wording this so thoroughly and pursuing a conversation with me.

(NOTE: Anyone who wants to dogpile on here, find their own offenses with what I’ve said or what abotl’s said, and decry one of us as racist or bigoted or stupid or whatever, I’m not talking to you here. Don’t expect any replies. I’m all done with the trolling. On this particular post, I’m talking to abotl. If you’ve got something to add respectfully, or to defend because you genuinely believe it, you can do it in my Inbox. It’s open to anybody who can reason because they’ve thought through what they believe and want to defend it beyond name-calling and reading what they want into other people’s words.)

[hamsteriffic]

Miraculous Fandom Stats

Miraculous Paris Special

I was wondering if the Miraculous Paris Special has generated more excitement than the other specials or is it just me connecting with my past punky girl?

I also wondered if this was measurable - and possibly translate to more fanfics on Ao3.

I’ve definitely seen a lot of art and have also gone on an art binge myself @hamsterdraws (but I don’t know how to quantitate posts on Tumblr). So here is my attempt to quantitate my obsession with these emo kids!

Reblog don’t repost!

📈 The data presented here is a snapshot of the Ao3 database as of December 17, 2023.

🖤 Fics Posted to Ao3

It’s only been since October 15, 2023 [1], but the preview was shown straight after the Season 5 finale in July. So overall there has been almost 6 months of speculation and hype surrounding the TV Special.

Fig 1. Total number of fics posted that has been tagged with the Miraculous Paris Special (sample size of 80) [2].

🖤 How does it compare against the other specials?

From my own opinion, I was way more excited about seeing the evil counterparts of my blorbos than seeing them do the same Lovesquare dance again. So is is just me?

Fig 2. Total number of fanfics for each Miraculous special or movie.

I think the numbers reflect the positive uptake of the Paris Special. In the first two months alone there are twice as many fics as Miraculous Shanghai.

Fig 3. Time-adjusted number of fics posted to Ao3 per month since aired. The lighter shaded bar takes into account the public release date and not the trailer date.

For a better comparison, I included the movie because it was released at roughly the same time the teaser trailer. Even though the characters were roughly the same in the movie as the TV show, they had slightly different personality traits.

Fig 4. Number of fics written about them per month in the first six months following their release dates.

The arrow indicates when the Paris Special was televised and the preceding months were based on the teaser trailer. At the time of posting, we are only halfway through December and more fics may be posted by the end of the year.

🖤 What did I learn?

On all appearances, Miraculous World: New York - United HeroeZ had more fanfics, but keep in mind that this was released in September 26, 2020 [3].

There appears to be an initial flurry of fanfics posted on Ao3 using tags for the Miraculous Special: New York, however this excitement has petered out gradually. While the Miraculous Paris Special has yet to reach that initial number, only two months has elapsed since it was publicly aired.

The Miraculous Movie on the other hand was released a few months before the Miraculous Special aired and it had generated much less fanfiction - or at least were not tagged [4-5].

In conclusion, it appears that the Miraculous Paris Special has been received well by the fans. I would be interested to see if this trend continues or if like the New York special, the fics will fizzle out.

🖤 Total Number of Fics Tagged

Miraculous Paris Special (80 Fics)

Miraculous Shanghai (33 fics)

Miraculous New York (177 fics)

Miraculous Movie (40 fics)

Miraculous Christmas Special (9 fics)

Miraculous Origins (31 fics)

Miraculous s05e28 Action (0 fics)

More numbers for the other Miraculous World specials and references below the cut.

🖤 Number of fics tagged with New Characters

Miraculous World: Paris

Shadybug | Toxinelle (32 fics)

Claw Noir | Griffe Noire (42 fics)

Betterfly | Hesperia (20 fics)

Miraculous World: New York

Number of fics tagged for:

Jessica Keynes | Sparrow | Eagle (103)

Aeon | Uncanny Valley (108)

Olympia Hill | Majestia (11)

Barbara Keynes | Knightowl (32)

Dean Gate | Doorman (4)

Mike Rochip | Technopirate (4)

Hot Dog Dan (8)

Miraculous World: Shanghai

Number of fics tagged for:

Fei Wu | Ladydragon (132)

Cash | King Cash (5)

References

[1] Miraculous Paris Special (Club-Canal+ Preview Screening pre-release date: Oct 15, 2023) ( https://miraculousladybug.fandom.com/wiki/Miraculous_Paris)

[2] Looked up terms such as Miraculous Paris Special on the Tag Search tool in Ao3 and found disambiguation and collated the freeform tags that were not found under the main Ao3 tag.

[3] Miraculous World: New York - United HeroeZ (https://miraculousladybug.fandom.com/wiki/Miraculous_New_York)

[4] Miraculous World: Shanghai, The Legend of Ladydragon (French release: April 4, 2021) (https://miraculousladybug.fandom.com/wiki/Miraculous_Shanghai)

[5] Ladybug & Chat Noir: The Movie (French Release Date: July 05, 2023) (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt10364034/)

[dirtbra1n]

curious as to what you think about asogi & ryuunosuke then, if you’ve played dgs and if not then what about lang & shih-na

hey anon can we make a pact to pretend the reason I haven’t gotten to your ask until now, four months later, is because the investigations collection announcement from last month came to me in a dream a full calendar season ago. could we do that for me. I’d really really appreciate it Okay thank you

what I’m going to do is come back to asoryuu at an even later date because there’s a history there for me personally that I want to maybe polish some more. and to a more relevant point That investigations collection announcement from last month sent me into an ace attorney fugue the likes of which I haven’t had the opportunity to really revel in since I was probably 12 years old. so we’re covering lang and shih-na since my feelings are still fresh from my rush playthrough of aai1 uhhh three days ago.

should go without saying that there are spoilers here. this is my formal request of anyone who has not yet played through or watched a playthrough of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth to do so before continuing to read. because it’s good. these are good games I would not lie to you about this

without going back to review the way I was initially playing by the ask game (loosely) I’ll say plainly I both understand lang and shih-na and buy into it. SOOO much. so much I’m so sick with it. I love tragedy! I love crying into my hands! like Jesus christ

so honesty hour. besides watching a playthrough of investigations 1 probably about halfway through a few years ago I hadn’t gone into investigations besides my usual autistic osmosis. the calisto yew—shih-na reveal was news to me, miraculously. after this many years Like eight years. delivered through a comic I need to hunt down EDIT: I FOUND IT. going into investigations hot on the tail of this understanding meant I got to experience the plot twist retroactively, at its best.

that shit hurts bad!!!!!!!! so fucking bad So so fucking b

like I know you get it this is why you asked me about it. but jeeesus christ What if you were introduced to the worlds most likable man who hates your guts Presently and his girl best friend-slash-subordinate-slash-partner in crime. prevention. and what if in the span of some of miles edgeworth’s most exhausting days on record you learned that this man views all of his subordinates as family, all like 99 #1s of them, and their extended families as family. and what if in that context shih-na, as his own personal private #1, who goes everywhere with him and assists him in everything and points and removes her sunglasses in perfect tandem with him, What if she was accused of a murder.

he’d defend her, right? obviously. he’d believe in her innocence and grin in your face as he proclaims this, because he’s not kidding and not lying, not anything less than fully dead serious. she’s his number one. he strives to be hers in turn.

what if you caught her in a lie, an inaccuracy. what if she started slipping, sweat beading. what if she cracked into a person he’s never met before. what if you were right and he was wrong, and she was guilty of murder*, and she pulled a gun on an innocent girl—whom she had earlier tried to pin the crime on—and was now holding her hostage.

let’s put the hypotheticals from the outside-in aside:

you are shi-long lang. a detective you look up to, worked under for a time, is pointing a gun at shih-na’s back. you know now the full weight of the things she has done.

this is the only option.

you place yourself between the gun and her back. you wrestle the gun pointed at that girl’s head elsewhere.

a bullet shoots into your thigh.

like taking a step outward again shi-long lang is going to carry a physical scar in his leg, for all intents and purposes from her, for the rest of his life, and it was put there because he put himself in the line of fire FOR HER. it is not going away. despite all her betrayal and deceit and the gun to kay’s head she was still his subordinate, and his family, and someone he loved, so he would take a bullet for her and he took a bullet from her.

I'm sorry, Detective Badd, but no matter what sort of past she may have had... ...or even if she is a spy, it doesn't change the fact that she is my subordinate. And as long as she is, I can't allow any harm to come to her, not even from you!

it is not going to go away.

so if you see me throwing up everywhere. that’s why.

tldr

[wht-am-i-doin]

With both Stroll and Gasly’s announcements (which let’s be real, really didn’t surprise anybody) there are two less seats open for current and new drivers so let’s do a quick recap!

Drivers who have been talked about for seats:

1. Carlos Sainz

2. Esteban Ocon

3. kevin Magnussen

4. Valtteri Bottas

5. Zhou Guanyu

6. Logan Sargeant

7. Daniel Ricciardo

8. Kimi Antonelli

9. Ollie Bearman

10. Liam Lawson

11. Jack Doohan

Now I know i might be missing some drivers who are up and coming but these are the people that i see the most discourse about.

First up, the Redbull family only has one seat that hasn’t been claimed yet which they are probably going to keep within the family and that means either Daniel or Liam, personally I would love to see Liam in the seat and give way to the younger generation, and liam perfectly fits what Yuki wants as a teammate as he did get experience in last year. If liam does get the seat that I believe is going to mean that Daniel won’t get a seat for next year as he just isn’t performing consistently enough with all the new and upcoming talent

Second, the coveted Mercedes Seat, honestly i’m at a loss as to who they are going to put there and i really do hope that they don’t immediately put Kimi into the mercedes seat as it does take time for rookies to get used to the f1 cars which could mean that we won’t see his true capabilities. Beyond that, they’ve come out and said they aren’t looking at Carlos Sainz, and Ollie Bearman is another Rookie so he couldn’t be in that seat either. I don’t see Bottas going back to Mercedes but who knows they seem like they are kind of floundering.

The Williams seat seems to be really vying for Carlos so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up there, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they put Kimi in that seat. I will say, unlike previous years where williams has been a common team for rookies to start with, they seem to be looking up and in order to do that they may want experienced drivers there so they don’t deal with as many rookie mistakes. In that instance I could also see Bottas there, but I don’t have a lot of faith in that one. Furthermore on Bottas’ account he seems to be doing a lot more bicycle races so I don’t know if he will continue honestly

The second Kick seat is interesting neg cause it will become audi with the new regulations but that does mean signing for a team which could go anywhere, there is literally not a single hint as to how this team will perform so whichever driver signs with them will be taking a risk. Hülkenberg is one of the drivers taking that risk but who is going to be the second? Carlos? Zhou? could it be either Ollie or Kimi? This is going to be an interesting one to follow i think

Alpine is a team that I think could very easily bring in a rookie next year, with the announcement of Esteban leaving and Pierre staying, along with Pierre’s previous experience in having a rookie teammate going well. That could be a very good decision for them. Jack Doohan I feel should be a shoe in for that seat if Alpine wants to keep looking forward

Now Haas is currently the only team with both spots available for 2025, with one of their current drivers signed to Kick for next year and the second already on an insane amount of penalty points before getting even halfway through the season, they may be looking at a blank slate. Haas has done that before, albeit under different management, but it is not completely off the board. With Ollie’s fantastic run in the ferrari earlier this year he seems like he’d be a good choice in a driver for the team. There is also Carlos, as well as Kevin who both still need seats. This will be another interesting team to keep an eye on as they also seem to be consistently doing better with race pace than in previous years.

Overall, with the recent fandomization of formula 1 (which i’m not ragging, i do very much participate) I think it’s a good reminder to everybody (teams as well) that bringing in more new talent versus shuffling the current grid would be a good idea in keeping the sport fresh as well as to not miss any others that might not have been able to get the spotlight on them quite yet.

If you read all this, thank you for listening to my rambling you have my whole heart 🧡 and I would love to hear opinions on who you think is going to fill all the empty seats for next year 🧡🧡