#tis not story telling for me. At least not any more at this stage in my life.

[imminent-danger-came]

continue being a little mean to toh fans please it is really irritating how some act like its got the best writing of any modern cartoon

Daawwwww I don't have it in me. TOH fans love it for a reason, and there are legitimately good moments! It's just not the most complex or well-written show out there—which it doesn't need to be—but I also totally get your exhaustion. It gets tiring seeing people praise it so highly over and over again when it's just like...fine. It didn't do nothing but it also didn't do something, you know? It's main couple is cute and queer, but that's pretty much all there is to them. It has a fun cast of characters, but they all tend to fall into archetypes. Luz is a sweet main character, but she doesn't have any real flaws and kinda takes a back seat to Hunter and Eda (the white people lol). Her foil with Philip was interesting...but then they kinda backed off and went the "you and Belos are nothing alike" direction.

((I'm also going to answer this anon with another: ))

And It's not that an unsympathetic villian is bad, or that Belos would even be sympathetic with added backstory, it's just that...there were a lot of interesting things to explore with his character that were left hanging.

Like, while he's definitely not at all a good person, it's intriguing that he would bother to recreate his brother over and over again knowing that each time the grimwalker was going to betray him. It's intriguing that he was even willing to kill his brother to begin with (though Caleb was super underutilized in general). Like, you can give a villain depth without justifying or victimizing them (hi Finnegran from tdp, I'll also add Spider Queen & LBD here). So it just feels like a missed opportunity all across the board. It's still surprising to me that we got a confirmation on the Wittebane backstory through an unrelated background character, rather than Philip himself (who had literally possessed a main character, and mindscapes had already been well-established....the pieces were all there me thinks).

And obviously it's like, people can love something despite it's flaws, and they can cherish it for the good it has, but they still don't need to praise it as an ultimate form of media, you know? We don't need to pretend toh was this dark and complex story—it was just a story a lot of people liked and resonated with. Which I'm glad it's there for those people, and I'm glad there are options when it comes to queer pieces of media!

That said the show with the best writing of any modern cartoon is The Dragon Prince (streaming on Netflix).

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Lenore Vandernatch: the rogue, the gothic heroine and the courtly knight. A review of archetypes

Okay, after going over my notes, here we are again. In case you don't know what this is all about, here is the first of these posts where I'm doing a review of some of the archetypes that Annabel and Lenore seem to be taking notes on.

Just so this doesn't end up being another 3000 word post, let's get started.

The Rogue

In 1554, the first written version of "El Lazarillo de Tormes" was published, the foundational work of what would become known in Spain as the "picaresque novel": stories centered on the rogue, a poor rascal who uses trickery to ensure his survival.

At this stage of the game, we have rogues in a variety of flavors and colors. It would be difficult to make a comprehensive list, so let's talk about these characters in general.

The first thing to note is that rogues are, by definition, outsiders. In the traditional picaresque, the rogue is simply someone from the lower classes, but as this archetype has grown, it has become less about class and more about criminality.

Yes. Rogues are criminals: thieves like Robin Hood, swindlers like the Lazarillo...

Fraud, arson. You name it.

Getting back to the issue of the rogue as an outsider, they may have been one from the start, or they may have become one after attaining their criminal status. Regardless of the reason, these people operate outside of the law, the authorities generally give a shit, and, depending on your rogue flavor, may even actively fight against it.

One thing to note here: this goes a bit beyond Lenore's rebellious attitude. Like a good rogue, she derives enormous personal satisfaction from the thought of getting her way. The world has turned its back on the rogue, so the rogue will not hesitate to turn her back on the world.

In Lenore's case, this attitude of throwing all authority to the wind and actively ignoring any rules imposed on her is a mixture of personality and trauma. In the flashbacks, we see that Lenore has always had a certain disdain for protocol and formalities, but of course, after being locked up for at least a year because the rules of the society she lives in have decided to make her an outcast for her brother 's death, she no longer finds any reason to listen to what they have to say to her. The rules will never go beyond the feeling that she has agency over her life.

From this follows the methods of the rogues: opportunism is one of their hallmarks. Ingenuity, cunning, and creativity are common traits among these characters, something that is usually tied to their status as outsiders and criminals; they don't care about rules, so they think outside the box, either because they are highly intelligent or because they lack common sense.

Maybe both.

So, yes, when Annabel tells her dashing rogue, she's not wrong in the least. But there are more interesting things to look at here

The Gothic Heroine

When some theorists say that Gothic heroines are bland and uninteresting characters, it's...true. But there's a reason for that, so let me get that out of the way for a moment: the image of the maiden in this period is used as a symbol of purity, chastity, goodness, and her corruption, death, or disease works on both a literal and metaphorical level. It is like when you see grotesque religious images in horror movies, there is a powerful and disturbing charge in the idea of seeing something "pure" destroyed.

So the thing about gothic heroines is that, at worst, they are not characters who contribute to the story they are in, but tokens, quasi-sacred representations who are there to die, get sick, or fall victim to a villain who might sexually harass them. Yes, unpleasant.

But good gothic heroines (besides possibly having tuberculosis) are characters with arcs related to corruption, especially mental corruption. And this is where it gets interesting.

But we go from less to more. In her flashbacks, Lenore's physical appearance is almost exactly that of a gothic novel protagonist: pale, almost cadaverous, slender, languid in her movements (because, in this case, she's drugged a significant percentage of the time), and long hair.

Her background in this part of the story, like that of the best gothic heroines, is one of mental corruption: she is here, imprisoned, withering and losing her mind, giving in to despair. There are those who point out a rather strong resemblance between the scene where Lenore tears the flowered wallpaper from her room and the short story The Yellow Wallpaper by the writer Charlotte Perkins. And although this story is not gothic, it definitely retains the most important trope of the genre.

Another element in which we can find Lenore is in the Gothic ballad of the same name, written by Gottfried Bürger in 1773. This poem tells the story of Lenore, a girl condemned by narrative for blaspheming against heaven after the death of her beloved, who is later visited by the Grim Reaper himself to take her to him.

A heartbroken woman committing blasphemy in the name of a lost love? I wonder if that sounds familiar.

And if I had to point out one particular gothic heroine with whom Lenore shares important similarities, it would be Laura from Carmilla.

With the first, she shares two very important things: isolation and a penchant for women who can murder her, a complicated relationship with a gothic vampire.

Laura lives in complete isolation from the world, with the only company of maids and her father; within the first few chapters, we know that she can barely remember the last time she had the company of a woman her own age. Like Lenore in the flashbacks, Laura is something of a secret, hidden from the world (though for less horrific reasons).

And that isolation is broken by the arrival of an elegant, almost supernaturally beautiful upper-class lady who almost kicks in her door with a "Hi, I want to be friends. You'll like me."

Both Laura and Lenore are not afraid of the vampire, though they are not unaware of her strange behavior and will raise a puzzled eyebrow at her promises of affection, as well as her obvious tendency to insist on a fucked-up secret that they are in the middle of and can't share. Another important detail is that both characters have a certain difficulty in describing their feelings as romantic: both are very obviously obsessed with this mysterious lady who has come to interrupt their loneliness, but Laura never fails to refer to Carmilla as her "friend" (a behavior that the modern reader may interpret, with more than fair reason, as comphet), and Lenore is little more than that, at least until the mansion arch where the shingle falls on her.

Last but not least, just as Lenore is treated as "crazy," there are several events in Laura's life (such as her first encounter with Carmilla when she was a child) or that occur throughout the novel that are dismissed by those around her as her being a little touched in the head.

The courtly knight

Here it is necessary to make a distinction: knights are a far-reaching figure, but before and during the Middle Ages they mainly starred in two types of stories: the canta de gesta (which was intended to tell great deeds of inspiration for certain peoples, such as the Song of Mio Cid in Spain or the Song of the Nibelungs in Germany. This last one is the best Canto de gesta in history, I do not accept arguments) and the Novel of chivalry or courtly (focused on the individual story of the knight and introduces elements of the court).

What is the main difference between the knight of the canto de gesta and the knight of the court? Well... the latter is much more horny. And we are talking about Lenore, so you have until the end of this paragraph to imagine which of these knights we are talking about.

The first thing to keep in mind is that the Courtly Knight has a pretty strong moral compass: nobility, mercy, loyalty, and honor are values they firmly believe in; these characters are heroes, and that means that while they are not perfect, they represent ideals that are considered important in this time. And we're talking about vassalage, so you get it.

This is the first thing Lenore has in common with the knights of the court: her strong sense of morality. Yes, she's not afraid to play dirty like a rogue, but she's pretty clear about what things are important to her in that regard, and she's willing to uphold those ideals even in the context of Nevermore, which actively encourages its students to kill and betray each other.

However, the personal agendas of these knights have one important thing in common: the conflict between their own desires and their duty.

What are those desires? Well...

Good courtly knights usually have to choose between their love/sexual interests and where their personal loyalties lie, which, due to the era in which these stories take place, are usually their feudal lords or even kings.

We already established that Lenore doesn't give a shit about authority, but her personal loyalty is to her friends. And this is where it gets tricky for her: So far in the comic, Lenore has kept her relationship with Annabel a secret from her friends, and she has kept the fact that she wants to save her friends a secret from Annabel. A conflict that may eventually blow up in her face, and on the face of it, really befits a courtly knight (though if she were a real one, the Misfits might ask her to kill the Deans or something in exchange for accepting her relationship with Annabel).

To continue with this, we need to stop for a moment and talk about another little thing: courtly love. There are many definitions of it, but my favorite is the one that defines it as an attempt to reconcile mystical love with eroticism. Fun fact: these stories were written in the Provençal language, something that would associate romantic tropes with "vulgar language".

In any case, courtly love usually speaks of the beloved maiden as an idealized object, a figure who inspires an almost religious devotion. And the most recurrent theme within courtly love is what is called "love from afar": it focuses more on the journey in search of the beloved than on the couple's relationship as such (this journey can be literal or metaphorical), the knight has symbols associated with the pilgrim, there is a certain hatred of the image, the maiden is seen as an almost religious figure, and...

Yes, the color associated with the so-called "love from afar", specifically with the beloved maiden, is damn blue.

Now that we've got all that out of the way, it's time to break down why Lenore fulfills some of these things and why she doesn't.

Going with the tropes that are fulfilled, we can say that Lenore is on a more or less metaphorical journey. A journey to recover her memories and her identity. One at the end of which her lover waits for her "until the abyss claims them both".

Like a knight, Lenore is willing to make great personal sacrifices in pursuit of the things she cares about: she is willing to die for the people she cares about (the misfits) and for her lover (Annabel). The Living Long Thing is something the Knight don't know about, and since Lenore is in Nevermore, apparently neither does she.

With all that said, it's worth noting the biggest difference: courtly love features relationships based on vassalage and a huge power differential. Something that does not happen here. No, Lenore calling Annabel "my liege" doesn't count.

To explain this further -and to summarize, because it's a subject that bloody books have been written about-t he relationships in courtly love have two different levels of power: the knight must perform feats to be worthy of affection, and the maiden is little more than a prize to be won.

This unbalanced power dynamic is something that simply does not exist in the White Raven: an important part of their relationship is that both are equal in charisma, intelligence, and resourcefulness. The unstoppable force and the immovable object. Annabel is as willing to die for Lenore as she is for herself, and Lenore would probably go into berserker mode if anyone dared to treat Annabel as a prize.

Yes, you could argue that the balance of power is a bit weighted toward Lenore because Annabel is willing to make sacrifices for her that Lenore wouldn't make because she has some, you know, morals. But I think that has more to do with Annabel's character than her relationship with Lenore (that's another analysis I have a pin for when the season is over).

Conclusions

If the archetypes that Annabel seems to take note of are all quite related, Lenore, on the contrary, is much more like a mosaic: these characters have little in common and some (like the Rogue and the Knight) directly contradict each other. This woman is chaotic in her conception: opportunistic and rebellious as a rogue, pious and with strong values as a knight, and condemned by the narrative as a gothic heroine.

Another thing that stands out is that two of these three archetypes are traditionally male characters. Personally, I don't think Lenore is "like a man": her entire background and personal history is meant to work in terms of her status as a woman in the time period she lives in. She can do all the shit these male heroes do and better (though the hc that Lenore is somewhere on the non-binary spectrum is not a reading that conflicts with that).

And I use the word "hero" because another detail stands out here as well: yes, many of these characters are not only often the protagonists of the stories they are in, they are heroes within their historical periods and literary movements.

I'm going to do a third part of this comparing Lenore's archetypes to Annabel's because, believe me, there's some really crazy stuff to unpack there.

[silentglassbreak]

Fragmented

Noah Sebastian x OFC

Last chapter is next my loves. I appreciate you all for being on this journey with me!

Warnings: SSSMMMUUUTTTTT. Kinky smut. @n@l 😉

+It goes without saying. This is a work of fiction. My words are mine. Plagiarism is a crime.

Taglist: @flowery-mess @lma1986 @myownthoughts12 @poisongirl616 @missduffsblog @reidsblessing @malerieee @jilliemiw86 @thisbicc @xx-like-a-villian-xx @diabolicdiatonics

Part 11 - The Death of Peace of Mind

I sat in the chair of the restaurant, my chest shaking with laughter at Jolly’s retelling of one of our first stage performances. This was before Matt joined us, and we were an absolute mess of a band. Our first album had just released, and Sumerian was throwing us into shows we were absolutely not ready for.

I had stood in front of the massive crowd at the festival, my throat sticking together in fear. Vince was already playing the opening rift to Exit Wounds, and I completely spaced the words.

I stood, still as a block of cement, staring out at the faces. After about three repeats of the opening to the song, Nick finally hollered into the microphone.

“Noah, get it together!”

Something about that snapped me out of my trance, and I began singing, still terrified.

It took half of the song for me to find a rhythm. And then, I went absolutely berserk.

I jumped around, head banged for my life, and sang the vocals. While I was thrashing on stage, screaming loudly into the mic, I somehow managed to get a little too close to my stand, swinging my face straight into the bracket that held the mic.

Cutting my face just above my left eyebrow, I was oblivious, still head banging, and spraying blood all over myself, Jolly, and some members of the crowd.

It was horrific. Vince had described the scene as ‘a bloodbath with a little metal thrown in’. I didn’t realize I was bleeding until I felt the hot liquid running into my eye. I wondered why the entire crowd was staring at me like I was insane.

“Oh my God! Did you stop the set?!” Laura asked.

Nick shook his head. “Fuck no, dude! He tied a bandana around his forehead and played the entire thing! It was the most hardcore thing we had ever seen!”

Mileena was staring at me from where she sat in the chair next to me, inspecting my face. “I don’t even see a scar!”

Chuckling, I rubbed my forehead. “I had to get ten stitches after. The guy at the ER was cool, managed to put them in my eyebrow so you couldn’t see the scar.”

She reached up, running the pad of her thumb over my eyebrow, and smirked. “Glad you survived.”

Her words were sarcastic, but she giggled after.

It had been three days since Mileena’s deposition, and since that time, we had been slowly getting back to a normal amount of communication.

I could tell she was hesitant, but I insisted that we needed to at least try and get along, for not only Addison’s sake, but ours as well.

Whether we wanted to admit it at any given time or not, we needed each other. And after what she said to Rachel at the law office? All of my anger toward her had faded, and I was, once again, finding myself seeking her out more and more.

She was soft with me, allowing me to call at least once a day, and would converse with me in texts. We were trying, but progress is slow.

We sat at the large table, big enough for Leena and I, Laura and Nick, Jolly, and Folio. Nick had asked us to join them for dinner, but wouldn’t tell us why.

We had ordered and eaten, now half of the group were enjoying drinks, with the exception of Leena, Laura, and myself. They continued listening to Jolly tell his stories, which was certainly his strength in conversation, when I felt a hand on my knee.

I looked down, noticing Leena’s hand casually placed on my leg, her eyes still looking across the table at the guys, enthralled in the tale he was telling. It was comfortable, a familiar form of affection.

I let my hand fall over the top of hers, squeezing gently, watching as her lips quirked subtly at the gesture.

“Okay, as much as I want to hear another embarrassing story of myself…” I said as I lifted my free hand in the air. “Nick, are you going to tell us why we’re all here?”

Stealing a glance across the table at Laura, his eyes sparkled, something excited.

“You ready?”

Laura was resting her chin on her hands, a warm smile on her face. “Whenever you are, babe.”

Nick reached down beside his chair, a black gift box appearing on the table, bright red paper ribbon wrapping the top.

“Should we let Mileena do the honors?” Nick raised an eyebrow at Laura, who just nodded in response.

Leena’s hand left my leg to reach for the box, smiling wide. “Me?” She held the flat box, running her fingers over the ribbon. “What is it?”

Laura bumped Leena’s elbow from where she sat next to her. “Open it and find out, dork.”

Carefully, Mileena pulled the ribbon with her fingertips, until the bow on top fell loose. She shimmied the top of the box off, all eyes curiously trying to see the contents.

Red paper covered whatever was inside, and Leena unfolded it, revealing some kind of fabric underneath.

Her hands covered her mouth, and she gasped sharp.

“Oh my God…”

I leaned over to see. “What is it?”

Inside the box, under the paper, was a red and black tie dyed shirt, that was obviously very, very small, with the words ‘Baby Omens’ written over the top.

No, it wasn’t a shirt. It was a onesie.

When my brain finally clicked together, my eyes snapped to Nick.

“Dude!”

“What?! Someone fucking show us!” Folio and Jolly were bouncing on either side of Nick.

“Leena, hold it up.” I pushed the box toward her. She carefully grabbed the fabric, eyes welled up with tears, and held it on display. I watched Jolly and Folio’s mouths fall open, eyes bulging.

“You’re having a baby?!” Folio hollered, and Jolly wrapped an arm around Nick’s shoulders.

“Hell yeah, dude! Congratulations!”

Mileena had set the onesie back down, noticing the piece of film paper in the bottom of the box.

She lifted it, eyes scanning the sonogram photos, and tears began spilling.

“Lo! I’m so fucking excited!” She squealed, wrapping her arms around her best friend, “You’re going to be a Mom! I’m so fucking proud!”

Laura squeezed Leena tight. All of the guys stood, wrapping up Nick in a huge group hug.

“Bro, you’re a Dad now! I’m not alone anymore!” I told him, hands on his shoulders.

He smiled at me, something like excitement and fear mixed on his face. “You better be ready to show me the ropes, dude.”

I laughed. “What fucking ropes?!”

This made everyone break out in wild laughter.

“How far along are you?” Folio asked as Laura sat back down in her chair, and we all followed.

“Fourteen weeks.” She said proudly.

“How long have you known?!” Leena sounded absolutely hysterical.

“Relax. Only a few weeks. It didn’t even occur to me that I was late until Nick mentioned something.”

He nodded to her statement. “Girl went like two months without a period. See, she thinks I don’t pay attention.” He held his hands up.

She scoffed. “You pay attention to my cycle, but not to where you left your favorite socks?”

“Ya got me there.” He smirked. Reaching a hand across the table, he held hers tight, giving her the most genuine, lovesick look I’ve ever seen.

For a second, just a passing breath, I was jealous.

But my love for them, and my genuine excitement at being an Uncle, and my brother finally being a Dad, overshadowed any ill feelings I had. This was great news, and a hell of a way to cheer us up out of the darkness we had all been swimming in.

We stayed at the table, talking and celebrating for a while longer, before finally making our way out of the restaurant.

I stood, the palm of my hand pressed to the small of Leena’s back, guiding us toward the side of the restaurant with the group.

“Leena, I know you didn’t drive here. Are you getting a ride with us?” Laura looked at her, but I caught her glancing up at me.

“Uh,” She chewed on her lip, deciding her next words, or waiting for me to.

“I can give her a ride.” I spoke solidly.

Nick raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to drive out of your way to take her home, when we’re already going there?”

Clearing my throat, I wrapped a hand around Leena’s hip, building some confidence.

“I’m going to take her home.”

Laura gave us a knowing look. “Home…as in…?”

Leena just giggled, and turned, her hand pulling my arm along with. “Goodnight everyone.”

The drive back to the house was filled with Leena gushing over Laura and Nick’s news.

“I can’t believe she didn’t tell me! I mean, I can. I know she had concerns before about fertility, but still! We live together! I didn’t notice!”

I laughed. “Maybe you were distracted?”

She shrugged back into the seat, looking out the window. “How self-centered is that? I’ve been so wrapped up in my own bullshit that I didn’t know my best friend was pregnant?”

Reaching a hand over the console, I brushed my fingers over her arm, grabbing her attention.

“It’s been a rough year, Mileena. It’s only fair that you had a lot on your mind.”

“I guess. I just feel bad.”

“You know now. You can be there for her every step of the way. She’s still early in. You’ve got plenty of fun ahead.”

She laughed at that, me joining her. “Oh, yeah. If she’s anything like me, she’s going to be pretty moody.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “If she’s anything like you, Nick will be hiding at our place at least twice a week.”

She stared at me, mouth hanging open. “What?!” Her hand reached over to swat at me. “That’s why you were always ‘going to the studio’?!”

I couldn’t stop the bursting laughter coming out of me. “Babe, I have a studio in the house. How did you not know?!”

“You fucker!” She was cackling, but also pawing at me. I caught her wrist in my hand, reaching up and licking a long stripe along her forearm in retaliation.

“Ew!” She snapped her arm back, rubbing it on her jacket, cringing. “I hate being licked!”

Lowering my eyes at her for a second, I smirked. “That’s not true.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “In-sufferable.”

After only about ten more minutes, we were pulling into my driveway beside Andrea’s car. I let us in the house, and we both stopped, amused at the scene in front of us. The living room was in a haphazard state of disarray, toys sprawled all over the floor, a few stray Cheez-its scattered on the coffee table. The TV was still playing the tail end of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone, and Angel, like the true marvel he is, was laying starfish style across the entire couch, snoozing.

In the recliner, Andrea was leaned back, hair askew, and eyes closed with sleep. Addison was laid on top of her, face pressed against her stomach, already in pajamas and hair braided tightly on the back of her head.

I stole at glance at Leena, who was trying not to laugh at the scene.

She looked up at me. “You put Addie in bed and I’ll wake Andrea?”

I just nodded, slipping my shoes off and dropping my coat on the back of the couch. Leena walked over to Andrea, carefully peeling the baby off of her and handing her to me. She stirred for only a moment, eyes cracking open, before she dropped her head down on my shoulder, right back into her dreams.

I heard Leena rousing Andrea as I made my way up the stairs and into Addie’s room, Angel right behind. I laid her down on her toddler bed, tucking the blankets in around her, and cracking the door.

By the time I was headed back down, Leena was hugging Andrea goodbye.

“Sorry she was such a handful.”

Andrea waved her off, smiling. “It’s fine. She’s just so rambunctious these days.”

“Well, she’s almost two, so it’s getting harder to keep a handle on her.” Leena shook her head.

“Oh absolutely. Let me know what you all do for her birthday. I already got her a gift.”

I stepped up behind Leena, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Party will be here. We just haven’t settled on a day yet. It’s in two weeks, so we’ll let you know soon.”

Andrea nodded, smiling before she left, leaving Mileena to lock the deadbolt behind her.

She turned and looked at me, her eyes big and brown, tearing through my soul.

I had her, something in me told me I did, but I was still so unsure.

“So.” I sighed, putting my hands in my pockets.

She grinned. “So.”

Daring to press my boundaries, I took a step toward her, causing her to back up, back flat against the door. I kept myself impossibly close, without making actual physical contact with her body. Her eyes looked up at me, a serious look on her face.

“What now?” I asked.

“I really don’t know.”

My teeth pulled at my lip, waiting a beat before I finally decided on what to say.

“Would you hate me if I kissed you?”

Her eyes widened subtly, her face recognizing the memory I was drawing from.

Towering over her, and pressing forward to box her in against the door, I leaned my head down so my lips were level with her ear.

“Would you tell me to stop?”

Pulling back just enough to meet her eyes, I watched as her tongue grazed over her lip, stare locked on me.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and her lips parted just enough to invite me in. I leaned in close, and brushed our lips together so gently that it was barely considered contact.

I felt her fingers very slowly press into my chest, and wrap around the fabric of my shirt, tugging me in closer.

That was all it took.

Locking my hand around the back of her neck, I pulled her in, pressing her lips to mine hard, fingers tangling in the long hair at the base of her skull. Her mouth moved with mine, her tongue fighting past my lips, tasting my own with fervor.

A soft, sweet moan erupted from her throat, which threw me over the edge. My hands grabbed her waist, lifting her off the ground. This pulled a sharp squeak out of her before she wrapped her legs around my waist, replacing her mouth on mine.

Her body was locked in place against the door while my hands gripped her thighs, nails leaving marks where they dug in.

I let myself have this moment, body pressed against her, lips locked with hers, electricity zapping between us all at once. It was so satisfying it almost brought tears to my eyes.

It felt fresh. It felt honest. It felt like something was finally the way it was supposed to be. It didn’t feel desperate or sad. No pain. All love. All acceptance.

This was what was supposed to happen. This is where we picked it back up.

I used my hands to secure her to me before pulling away from the door, turning us, and walking us over to the couch. I sat down, her legs straddled over my lap as she kissed me, her lips trailing down to my jaw and neck. I let my head fall back as her tongue left soft kitten licks over my adam’s apple, a chill running up my spine.

Her fingers were already pulling my shirt up from where it was tucked into the waistband of my pants. Hands popping open the front of my slacks, she unzipped them easily, never letting her mouth disconnect from my skin.

“Noah?” Her voice was so small, muffled against my ear.

“Mileena?”

“I’ve got a lot to make up for, so I think you should get comfortable.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. I felt the air leave my lungs all at once, my hands falling to the sides of us, completely helpless.

Did I die? Was this heaven? If God is real, is this what everyone talks about? Nirvana, if you will.

She slipped off of me carefully, her long skirt sitting just below her belly button, showing off the black jeweled ring tucked into it. Her black, tight crop top hugged her perfect, round breasts. She had obviously opted to go braless this evening, as her nipples were pointed hard through the fabric of her shirt.

Punch-drunk on the sight, I just watched as she smiled devilishly at me, her hair falling partially over her one eye, and kneeled down in front of the couch.

Her hands trailed up my legs, tugging on my slacks so they slipped down my waist to my thighs, exposing my black boxers, bulging in the crotch.

Slowly, meticulously, she ran a hand up my leg and over my cock, massaging through the fabric. A hiss fell from my lips as I watched, mesmerized by her every move. After more than a few painfully long moments, she hooked her fingers into the hand of my underwear and pulled them down, releasing my cock.

Any sense of calm and collect she had prior to that moment was gone, as she sat up straight in an instant, and leaned forward to run a long stripe down the underside of my shaft. My legs twitched, and I couldn’t help but moan loudly. It was such an insanity-inducing feeling.

She let her tongue circle the head a few times, gathering all of the precome she could, before wrapping her lips around me and letting my cock slide all the way down the back of her throat, and gagging harshly as a result.

My hips bucked involuntarily, and my hand gripped the back of her head, fingers digging into her scalp.

“Holy fuck.” Was all I could manage as she pulled back, tears in her eyes, her eyeliner smudging just enough that she looked fucking edible.

I assumed she would need a moment, but she swallowed back down once again, gagging herself on my dick, gripping the base with her hand.

The sight was ungodly, and I was going to fucking lose it. I wouldn’t last long with her behaving this way. This was what men only dreamed about.

“God damn, girl. You must’ve really missed me, huh?” My fingers tightened in her hair, pulling it at the roots.

She could only manage a garbled ‘mhm’ with her mouth so fucking full.

She choked again, but continued on like an absolute warrior.

“Wow, what a good fucking girl. Choking on my cock like that?” Pressing her down harder, I felt her throat spasm around the head. “You’re so fucking starved for it, I can tell.”

She pulled against me, her head popping up sharp to catch her breath. I let go for a moment to allow it, tears now falling freely.

For a second, I almost thought it was too much, until she just licked her lips and went back at it, barely skipping a beat.

My head fell back on the cushion, eyes rolling to the back of my skull. It was too good, and I wouldn’t last.

“I’m going to come if you don’t slow down, Princess.”

Her eyes flashed up at me, a sweet, innocent look from under her lashes. I felt my entire body convulse.

“Jesus!” My pelvis jerked, pushing myself further down her throat, eliciting a wet gagging sound.

With a few thrusts, I was spilling down the back of her throat, my cock twitching in her mouth while she swallowed.

My hand fell back onto the couch, releasing my grip on her. She pulled off of me with a pop of her lips, smiling up at me, leaning her cheek on my thigh.

“Good?”

I was still attempting to catch my breath when I looked down at her.

“Something like that.” My words came between gasps of air.

She chuckled, standing, and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

She turned, moving to walk back toward the other side of the room, but I was too quick, lunging and pulling her to topple on top of me.

I connected our lips, eagerly tasting the salt and saliva on her tongue. My brain was racing, dying for a taste.

Disconnecting us for a second, I smiled at her. “Where you going?”

Tucking her hair behind her ear, she grinned. “To fix my face. I’m sure my makeup is all over.”

I pressed my lips to her cheek, humming against her skin. “You look stunning.”

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Sure, I do.”

“You do.” I pulled her on top of me, and I fell back on the couch, laying flat. “Good enough to eat.”

My hands grabbed her hips, forcing her onto my chest. She steadied herself with a hand on the back of the couch.

“What are you doing?”

I pulled at her skirt, tugging at the waistband.

“Take it off.”

Carefully, and with an inquisitive look, she lifted herself enough to slide the long skirt off, leaving her navy blue panties beneath.

“Those too.”

She obeyed, sitting back down on me and staring, a primal hunger in her eyes.

Making my point as clear as I could, I pointed to myself and demanded. “Sit.”

Her eyes blew wide.

“Noah…”

“I’m not asking.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Bullshit.” I tugged at her hips, dragging her forward against her physical protests. “I’m not fucking asking.”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the depression has put more than a few pounds on me.”

I scoffed. “And?”

“And, I will fucking crush you!”

There wasn’t anything about what she said that made sense. Was she as thin as she once was, when we first met? No. Did I give even a half of a fuck? Not a chance.

I laughed, reaching up to nip my teeth at the inside of her knee.

“You will not crush me. Suffocate? Maybe. I’m good with it. Will gladly pass away between your thighs, Princess.”

“Noah! I can’t! I’m fat!”

My laughter stopped abruptly, and my hands stilled. I narrowed my eyes at her, reaching a hand up and gripping her hip hard. She griped at the force.

“Listen to me.” She tried to avert her eyes, but I reached up and caught her chin, forcing her to look back at me. “Don’t ever say that about yourself again. You are a fucking goddess, you understand me?”

She pouted, clearly not hearing what I was saying.

“Don’t believe me?”

She snorted. “You’re being dramatic.”

“Oh?” I quirked an eyebrow and released her, pulling my arms back behind my head. “Okay, Princess. Exactly what parts of you are fat?”

Covering her face with her hand, she groaned. “Everything! My waist. My hips. My thighs. My ass. I have stretch marks. My breasts aren’t as perky anymore. My neck is chubby. I’m a mess, Noah.”

She looked to be on the verge of tears, so I leveled with her.

“Alright, let’s take this one at a time.” I propped myself up on the couch pillow, massaging my hands into her legs.

“Your neck?” My hand trailed up, gripping the skin around her throat, and I smirked. “Perfect fucking size. Fits perfectly in my hand.”

A tinge of pink crept up to her cheeks. So far so good.

“Your breasts?” I let my hand fall onto her right breast over her shirt, my other hand gripping the opposing. “Perfect. Now not only a sight to behold, but also knowing you used them to feed my baby? To give her the nutrients and immunity she needed to be healthy? There’s something instinctive about that. I love them more now than I did before.”

She raised an eyebrow at me.

“Your ass…” I reached back behind her, gripping my fingers into the skin on either side, and she rocked back into them. “Fucking delicious. Would bite through it if you’d let me. After everything, it’s only gotten easier to grip, which is so fucking great. Would live here if I could.”

She smirked at me, leaning back against my hands. I could feel a familiar moisture beginning to pool against my chest.

“What else was there?” I perused, then smiled. “Oh right, your thighs and hips?”

My hands grabbed her thighs, pulling them apart, taking in the sight of her lips glistening. It was working.

“These are honestly my favorite part. They’re so fucking thick, strong. Wrapped around me? Fucking Christ.” I licked my lips. “Could die like that, baby, I swear it.”

“I get it Noah.” She giggled.

“No, no. Let me finish.” I finally ran my fingers gently over the skin of her abdomen, tracing the few stretch marks she typically hid. “These,” I smiled, this time a warm smile. “are the proof that you’ve endured the hardest task a woman can do. You gave me my baby girl. I thank whatever God is out there for every last one of these stretch marks.”

I could see her eyes getting misty.

“You, and your body, are perfect. Everything about it is amazing, and all I want to do is bury myself inside of it…if you’ll let me.”

Her mouth hung open, clearly disbelieving everything I had said.

“Now that we settled all of that,” I waved my hand between us, and grabbed her hips again. “would you please sit on my face?!”

A hard, strained laugh fell out of her, but this was truly no laughing matter. I needed her.

So instead of asking, I pulled her, using the strength of my arms to bring her to me, her pussy centimeters from my face.

“Fucking finally.” I groaned before diving in, and latching to her core. My mouth was lapping at her, making her squirm and wiggle.

I felt her knees trying to pull away, trying to get further off of me. She was hovering, trying not to put weight on me, so I grabbed her thighs, and pulled her down, pressing her against my face.

My eyes shot up, giving her a warning glare, before I went back to my work.

I licked her clit softly, teasing her. The sounds coming out of her were unholy, making me work harder to draw them out.

Her arm was gripping the back of the couch, and I could see her stomach muscles tightening. I hummed into her, my lips finding her favorite spot and attaching mercilessly.

“Oh my God, Noah.” Her head fell back, and her body began writhing, riding my face, making me smile.

I felt her let go, her pussy bucking into me, my voice making soft vibrations while I tormented her.

“I’m going to come if you keep doing that.” She warned.

Naturally, I’m not one to heed a warning, and continued my ministrations on her sweet spot, making sharp screams burst out of her.

“Oh God, Noah. Fuck, don’t stop. I’m going to come. Oh my God.”

My eyes were closed, focused. I felt my dick twitching between my legs, already back at full attention.

Her orgasm ripped out of her in the form of a guttural scream, riding herself through it in my lips, and I took my time lapping up every last drop.

Eventually, unable to hold herself up any longer, she fell backwards on the couch, her chest heaving hard.

I sat up, pulling her back to me, and lined myself up to her with precision, surprising her as I pressed in all the way to the hilt.

Her eyes popped open, mouth falling open.

I sighed, so fucking stimulated, so fucking alive.

My hips thrust hard into her as I bent down to kiss her lips.

She was feral, a wild animal, grabbing my hair and pulling my face to hers, tongue licking my lips in a sloppy fashion, tasting herself on my skin.

There wasn’t much rhythm to my movements, desperate to feel every inch of her around me.

“Leena,” I breathed, catching her eyes. “you’re so fucking beautiful.”

She couldn’t respond, so fucked out and spent already.

“I can’t believe I ever let you leave me.” I snapped my hips harder, the sound of skin on skin filling the walls of the house around us.

“Can’t believe I ever let anyone else touch you.” My rage was pouring out through my words. “No one gets to touch you.”

She still didn’t respond, just gripping my shirt with her fingers, nails attempting to rip at the skin underneath.

I stopped, pulling her up and grabbing her hips, flipping her onto her stomach.

“Ass up, Princess.”

She eagerly followed command, getting up on all fours.

I pressed back in, leaning down onto her back so I could speak directly in her ear.

“You’re mine, you understand?”

She didn’t acknowledge me, so I wrapped a hand around her throat, pulling her up so her back was nearly flat against mine.

“Understand?”

She nodded frantically, and I let go. “God, Noah, it’s so fucking good.”

Her head was hanging between her shoulders, body nearly limp.

“Yeah? How good?” I let a hand fall hard on her ass, causing a loud slapping sound.

She screamed in surprise. “Fuck! So fucking good!”

Another slap.

“You miss me, baby?”

“Yes.”

Slap.

“Yes! Yes I missed you!”

“What did you miss, Princess?”

“This.”

Slap.

“Your cock.” Slap. “Fuck, Noah! I’m fucking close.”

“Oh? Going to come again?” Slap. “You fucking love being punished, don’t you?”

No response.

Slap.

“Yes, Noah! Fucking love it.”

“Good, good girl, Leena.”

Do I dare? We never got a chance to. But she was so fucking hot, so fucking relaxed. She only ever let me spank her and talk to her this way when she was at her most comfortable.

Deciding to try, I let my hand fall on her cheek one more time, but then let my fingers massage into the hot, red skin. With each swipe of my hand, I got closer to her hole, eventually letting my thumb swipe over it gently.

Her head snapped up in shock, her head looking back at me.

“Think you want to be a really good girl tonight, Princess?”

I slowed my thrusts, letting her think on this. My finger was pressed firmly to her now, massaging with light pressure.

“I haven’t, ever…”

Her voice was nervous, so I pulled my hand back, running it gently over her back.

“Hey,” She glanced back at me. “we definitely don’t have to. If it’s too much, just tell me.”

She bit her lip, and her hips pressed back into me, lifting her backside to where my hand was.

Oh, today is the best day ever.

Gently, and so carefully, after making sure my fingers were fully saturated with spit, I ran a hand over her ass, slipping my index finger inside, past an impossibly tight ring of muscle, and she gasped.

Not daring to move, I just let her adjust to the intrusion, and waited until I felt her begin to move again.

This went on for so long. Just adding slow and steady pressure, eventually slipping another finger in, while simultaneously thrusting into her.

“Oh God.” She moaned.

I stopped still. “Okay? Do I need to stop?”

She just shook her head. “It’s good.” Her eyes were squeezed shut, teeth grit together. “Real fucking good.”

I smiled, and pulled my fingers out of her. She whined, but I bent down again, my lips brushing at the crest of her ear. “Think I can try?”

She didn’t look at me or speak, only nodded in response.

Leaning back, I pulled out and nudged her gently. Like I had dreamt it, she pressed back into me, while I applied pressure, letting the head slip in, stars nearly exploding behind my eyes.

A hiss came out of her throat, so I stayed still, waiting. After a moment, she took a hard breath and nodded. “Go ahead.”

I pressed in further, trying to wrap my head around how fucking tight she was. Where her pussy was warm, soft, tight, and welcoming, this was…different. It was raw, rigid, animalistic, and fucking beautiful. Something inside of me nearly died when I felt the friction when I started to thrust.

The sounds coming from her were absolutely unbelievable. Nothing like it could ever compare.

“Fuck, Noah, oh my God.”

I picked up the pace, an instinct telling me we couldn’t stay like this too long. I was so fucking close.

“Touch yourself, Mileena.”

She didn’t even question, her hand reaching down to circle her clit, her body relaxing as she did.

It wasn’t but a fraction of a minute before I was nearly screaming, begging her to come. My release came as a free fall - no air, no gravity, just white hot fucking fire raging.

Her body began to spasm around me, pulling every last ounce of my orgasm out, before we both collapsed.

I pulled out of her gently, her body jerking at the sensation.

I laid next to her on the couch, staring into her eyes. Looking for any sign of discomfort or uneasiness.

All I saw was her love, her adoration. Every last fiber of her being pulsating.

I leaned over to her, my lips breathing her in before I lazily kissed her. She molded into me, tangling us together in a web of heat and sweat.

When we finally let ourselves breathe again, she nuzzled her nose against my neck.

“That was incredible.” Her voice was soft.

“There aren’t words.”

She chuckled. “So what does this mean?”

Shrugging, I tucked her in close to me. “I don’t even care anymore.”

“No?”

“Nah. It doesn’t need to be that deep.”

She stood up, then, and I stared at her, fearful I had said the wrong thing.

Seeing my concern, she smiled. “I’ve got to clean up.”

Smirking, I sat up. “Shower?”

[kerizaret]

Hello everyone and welcome once again to my brain! Today I want to ramble a bit about

✨️ Tsukasa and Rakunosuke (Emu's grandpa) parallels ✨️

Because I feel like we don't talk about them much. Or at all actually

Now, I'm not pulling this out of nowhere. It's quite literally stated at least once, outright, in the game, that Tsukasa is really similar to Emu's grandpa (or even twice – but the other time I'm unsure 100% whether its about Tsukasa specifically, which I'll get to later). That's not to mention the other little things throughout the stories that I think similar between the two

So here's just some thoughts I've had on the topic after rewatching some events, more or less cohesive

1) Tsukasa's PXL auditon & WMS speech

Starting at the very beginning, we've known ever since the wxs main story that there's something in Tsukasa that has drawn Emu in to him already the first time she's ever saw him, at his audition for PXL, which made her hire him herself. She says "found you" at that moment, as if she's been searching for someone exactly like him. Out of all the possible candidates who applied who she might've seen, why Tsukasa specifically?

It could be just about him boasting about making fantastic shows, which of course is a part of it. But I feel like this isn't all, that there was something else that she noticed, that maybe she didn't fully realise at that moment

Then later, in Wonder Magical Showtime, after Tsukasa's motivational speech, Emu specifically thinks back to that audition and how she felt something special there. And, most importantly, she thinks it as if she's talking to her grandpa – like he's somehow tied to it, to her realisation that Tsukasa is the one

Putting aside the fact they were fighting for Rakunosuke's park, which obviously makes Emu think back to him, there's something more. Emu doesn't think anything of the sort about Rui, even though he was the one who came up with the night show, or about Nene. Nor did she mention any kind of this strong feeling/conviction about having them on the Wonder Stage in the main story

She's focused on Tsukasa, because he's the one that brought all these people together and gave them the last push they needed to fight for PXL. He's the one they listen to, he who understands what this park was all about and why they need to save it. He's standing on the stage her grandpa built, looking at all those people working here, and he's leading them, telling them this dream CAN be made a reality and it's more important than anything else

And I feel like she could have looked at that and been reminded of her grandpa a bit, with how much he loved the park he built and brought people together with the same ideals and love and made dreams come true

2) Miles

Speaking of WMS, I'm sure we all remember Miles, the sorcerer Tsukasa played in the night show in WMS, and how he was a character very clearly based on Rakunosuke. It's not very surprising it's Tsks who got this role, but it's still interesting to me. It feels like no-one else would've been able to get this character right and neither would Emu as Shao with someone else playing Miles

I won't get into what "Miles" Tsukasa says in the play, because that's just the script and not a representation of Tsukasa himself, but I do want to draw attention to the specific scene where Emu's father is watching the night show and looks at Tsukasa, then says this:

This is the first time that – i suspect – Tsukasa is outright "stated" to be like Rakunosuke. Here I say "suspected" since I'm not 100% sure of it for two reasons. One of them being that as we know, the ensekai translation is sometimes often bad. For that I looked up the original text as well as an old translation of the event on YT to check for differences

The line ends up being similar in meaning, more or less, but a bit more vague. That also ties to my second doubt though, which is that Emu's father might be referring not to Tsukasa himself, per se, but rather to the character of Miles he's playing

I feel like both can make sense, in their own way (and the event is a Tsukasa focus for a reason, too), but for here I'm throwing it more as a hint than any kind of outright proof. Food for thought

3) Tsukasa and Rakunosuke's deams

Then, as we reach Popping in my Heart! and learn more of Rakunosuke from Riley's pov, there's another interesting thing that pops up. That is, the fact that Tsukasa and Rakunosuke share the same dream

And then, that's when Emu confirms what I've talked about before – that this whole time, she's felt something about Tsukasa being so reminding of her Grandpa

So Tsukasa has all this time "carried the same spirit" as Rakunosuke – which is possibly the reason why Emu has been feeling strangely drawn to him from the beginning

4) The Wonderland SEKAI

Hey. Hey. Remember this line?

(tl by tsukasa's #3 fan on YT)

Yeah, this one. The same reason why wxs even has "Wonderlands" in their troupe name

You know what else has Wonderland in its name?

That's right! Tsukasa's SEKAI!

Tsukasa's SEKAI. A different world that's created from his feelings, that's a place born from his desire to make everyone smile with his shows. A world that just recently expanded to include plushies representing all those different shows – different worlds – wxs created as a troupe. It's a world that Tsukasa, in a way, made by himself (albeit unconsciously)

Oh did I mention the Wonderland SEKAI is also, primarily, pre-wl, a theme park? With a big ass ferris wheel and several stages and a castle and a train and a merry-go-round, a rollercoaster and more? You know, kind of just like Phoenix Wonderland? Which was built by Emu's grandpa?

Do you ever think about that? That both Tsukasa and Rakunosuke "made" their own "Wonderlands"? That the SEKAI is so similar to PXL? Because I do

Anyway. Those were the main similarities or references I noticed, but I still have some few other miscellaneous thoughts i had aside from that that I'll sum up a bit quicker

Tsukasa and Emu's grandpa both care more about the shows (& pxl) themselves and the effect they have on people to make them smile than any kind of fame or recognition

A reminder, too, that despite the movie's popularity, nobody really knew that Rakunosuke worked on "Smiley" (or that it was even a Riley Entertainment movie at all)

There's also the fact that both tsks and rknsk get stuck more on the excitement they want their audiences to feel rather than on the technical sides or worries about how it would be possible – as seen with Rakunosuke convincing Riley to include all his dreams and ideas in "Smiley" without focusing as much on the budget and all to install that wonder in the viewers, and Tsukasa doing anything to perfect his acting, and also agreeing to most of Rui's stunts and experiments and production ideas as long as it gets the audience to become more immersed

I noticed as well that they're both people who wear their hearts on their sleeves, who easily get emotional and enthusiastic, who empathise a lot with the others' emotions and struggles, becoming happy when something good happens to them

^ he cried here. And later at the fan festa seeing nene sing confidently and happily he teared up again

And also just *gestures vaguely at pandemonium event and Rui's "tsukasa's friends' happiness is his own happiness" line*. Yeah

Most importantly, Tsks and Rknsk both care so, so much about shows ending with smiles and not tears

And overall about everyone smiling and being happy. Like Tsukasa telling Emu in the main story, on the ferris wheel, that when her grandpa meant making EVERYONE smile, it included Emu, too, and he wanted to make sure she's happy as well

There's also everything with Emu, too. The way she's very clingy with Tsukasa, always throwing herself at him (not that she isn't with everyone, but she does seem to jump at him the most often)

She's also implied to open up a bit more around him – in Smile of a Dreamer, when wxs expressed their worries about emu hiding her problems, KAITO implies that its unusual she "hasn't told EVEN Tsukasa"

And it's Tsukasa who first understood that, despite how it may seem that "she always is so optimistic and says whatever's on her mind", in the end "the bigger the problem, the less likely she is to talk" (paraphrased quotes from smile of a dreamer). And also underdstood what's the most important to her and how to give her a push to voice her worries to them

It's Tsukasa who Emu first got so scared of leaving their troupe and her behind

I simply feel like Emu is aware of the similarities her grandpa and Tsukasa share and, subconsciously, trusts him a lot and gets attached to him easily

Anyway. This is just a bunch of thoughts that came to mind that I wanted to share and hear your thoughts on maybe too. I love emukasa so much they have such a great dynamic, and I feel the implied similarities between Rakunosuke and Tsukasa add a lot to that too. I'm really curious if it'll be something they'll explore more in future events. Because I feel these parallels are there for some reason

[lady-yfrit]

HSR 2.1 SPOILERS BELOW CUT - UNSOLICITED THOUGHTS

Okay ramble time bc binged the whole story just earlier

Aventurine is such a fucking wet cat of a character and I can't believe it took me until now to realise this

This update really was the "Acheron & Aventurine Adventure, also featuring the Trailblazer" and while I didn't expect that I can't say they did a bad job at all

He's still a bit of a dick fuck and definitely a weasel but I'd be lying if I didn't say I didn't have trouble maintaining my composure at the closure of his story section, at him entering the stage (and again in the void at the end), just really well done

Also loved how fucking catty Ratio is with him and they're so "dated in college but broke up" coded lmao omg

Acheron powerful and cool idk what you want me to say

AND FIREFLY

THE REVEAL?? 😭

I genuinely hope it's what it seems with her and Sam being one and the same (or at least mostly, maybe the armour affects her a bit but not separate entities at least) because it's just it changes everything

I was thinking it was one of the explanations for her mystery and I had been spoiler about Sam actually being an armor / being tied to Firefly a while ago but it still hit me like a truck

Like, if she's actually basically Sam or more accurately Sam is how she presents herself then how does that reframe everything you do with her in 2.0??? Because it means she deliberately sought you out rather than you happening upon her because she's a SH and obviously knows you and has the explicit task of guiding you along

But then she puts in all the effort to get you to the edge of the dreamscape because she wants to honestly be vulnerable with you and kind of tell you about her (which I still believe was sincere and personal to her) and like ??? if she's a SH then she already knows who you are and must've specifically wanted to do that and I love that??

And also there's Sam talking about being bad with people and not really having a thing he's good at, just indiscriminate violence, and that carries so much extra meaning if it's actually her, the sweet girl who opened up to you about struggling with her weakness

It has so many implications and I really really hope it's exactly as it seems there, genuinely afraid it's gonna turn out to be a "Sam the exosuit is sentient and they're just bound together" type of situation

I know he's probably got links all the way back to the swarm disaster and I imagine he predates her but I'm hoping it's a case of she's a mechanic, or she somehow got it idk ramble

BUT ON THAT NOTE

IS THAT SAM SHE'S HOLDING THERE?? And it looks like a firefly / winged insect of sorts??? I adore her sm y'all you have no idea

Purely personal thoughts obv I totally understand if anyone's upset about the prospect of Sam maybe not being a killer robot of his own, I'm just really latching on to the way things have unfolded here

ALSO THE BIRD

I HAD THE THOUGHT THAT IT KIND OF LOOKED LIKE THE MEME COLOR SCHEME HALFWAY THROUGH

RIP Sunday

(he'll probably be okay tho if his sister is any indication)

[ineffably-human]

it's how definitive it is for me. it's how we've actually ficced and debated this for years and they wrote it so crudely and unimportant, in a way that they can't really revisit later. no chance of more thoughtful or better storytelling next year, about one of your show's central goddamn questions.

this is our arguable main character, he is our entry point into everything else. and as that entry point, Guillermo's story is about dedicating his entire life to something, finding meaning in it since he was young, finding and latching onto it when he's not even supposed to know it exists. clawing his way forward for a place at the table where he's decided he wants to sit. risking his life at least a half dozen times I can think of.

Guillermo's story is about damaging his relationship with the entire rest of the world, throwing himself in with people who take years to admit they even like him. rejecting his family and his innate nature and lineage. tying his most important relationship up in it: this is the person who'll give him the thing he wants most in the world. one day Nandor will look him in the eye as an equal, as someone Like Him, who can stand next to him forever. his relationship with Nandor, at every stage, has always been a combination of 'do I want you or do I want to be you? does claiming me as one of yours mean I am yours? am I allowed to have forever with you?'

Guillermo's story, this season, is reacting to every single stage and marker of finally getting what he wants with joy, with the exceptions of 1) stepping away from a family that never seemed to understand or fulfill him in the first place, 2) having it happen in a less than ideal place and way, hurting Nandor in the process. the central problem of his turning isn't his feelings, which are extremely clear, it's how this impacts his relationship with Nandor. (answer: exactly the way you think it will. he's upset and then he gets over it. nothing else changes.)

and then suddenly we're told: Guillermo can't be trusted about what he's consistently said he wants. he hasn't given thought to a regular, inextricable piece of what it means - even though he's been next to, and engaged in, violence that's way more direct and bloody and sometimes even more senseless. the guy whose vampire entry point was Anne Rice never thought about The Horrors for some reason, because he's an idiot now. some people can Handle It and some people Can't, and he Can't because by the way when the vampires said he couldn't get what he wanted because he was lacking in some way, they were right.

suddenly, in the eleventh hour, it's off the table now. and even though every single other part of him has been tied up in it for his entire adult life, that's somehow a simple decision to make.

and more importantly, the show is going to take maybe five minutes at best to tell us that, and to make it clear it's not something that's a 'maybe' or a 'someday'. character development can't smooth it out. he can't try to fix it. it's just how it is.

yeah, of course in life you prepare for things that then swerve unexpectedly and take you in different directions. there are things you dream of that aren't how you imagine in reality, and you change gears, and you adapt.

and those are huge moments. they matter.

Guillermo doesn't get to mourn it. he doesn't get to reflect on where it places him with his loved ones. he doesn't even really get space to decide it on his own before declaring it in front of everyone he's ever met.

he has no anchor for his entire place in the world anymore, and if the amount of attention and care paid (read: very little) means anything, we're not supposed to feel very much about that at all. and we're not meant to have any indication of where he's going next. and I fucking hate it.

it's a lazy, thoughtless, botched-ass job, and I expected better.

[modern-day-bard]

Worth The Feeling

Note: this is a completed project but I’ve had major problems posting on tumblr from my laptop! I’m not sure why. If anyone who sees this is interested, I also posted the fic on Archive Of Our Own 🫶🏻

Content Warning: 18+

This story includes explicit smut, intimidation, and an age gap relationship (MC is 26, Pedro is in his 40s). Minors, do not interact.

Chapter 2:

Now, I've made some blunders before. Mostly calling talent by the wrong name, which is a big mistake when dealing with big personalities. But I've tripped a few times, spilled a few things, and I even broke a glass in the middle of a take.

Yet somehow, none of those things compare to this.

Treating the lead as if he was a PA? Telling him he needs to get a walkie ?

The thought makes me sprint even harder toward the sound stage. Once inside, I scan the area as quickly as I can. There's at least a hundred people in here now and the more I push past, the more I realize they are turning to look at me disapprovingly. I really should find a new shirt first, but it can wait.

"Lana!" I shout when I catch a glimpse of one of her classic colorful scarves. I can see the bright fabric tied in a bow on top of her curly head of hair, but she doesn't turn around.

"LANA!" This time several people, Lana included, turn around.

"Hey!" She runs up to me and sweeps me in a hug, before pulling back with an uncharacteristically miserable expression. "Why are you all wet? Ava, I can see your bra." She pokes my visible white strap.

I swat her away. "Just wait. That is the least of my worries."

I explain the situation, visibly cringing as I await her reaction.

In typical Lana fashion, she bursts into musical hysterics. She covers her mouth when she notices how pained my expression is.

"Lana, I am this close to panicking. You don't think he'll complain, do you?"

"No, no he won't complain. You said he was relatively cool about it, right?"

"Yeah, I mean, he didn't even correct me."

"Exactly. You know if it was one of the Marvel guys from our last picture, you might be in trouble. But from the sounds of it, he probably won't even remember it by tomorrow."

"Yeah..." Why did that idea not make me feel any better?

Lana is snickering again. "You know I sent you the cast list like a month ago, right? How do you of all people not recognize Javi Gutierrez?"

I lower my voice. "You know I'm not an indie movie fanatic."

"I know. It's your fatal friendship flaw. But he was on a bunch of shows, too!"

"I haven't had time for TV with school! Movies are less commitment. Don't scold me in my time of need." I wack her arm.

"Fine, fine," She holds her hands up in defeat. "But seriously Ava, unless you want to continue to give us all a free show you should really get another shirt. I have to get these mics up and running, but go to wardrobe and find Barb."

She's right. The first scene is at 8:00am, and as a sound assistant, Lana has to be ready to mic up the actors as soon as they're out of hair and makeup. I still have to print out scripts for the first few scenes, and I'm really starting to hate the sticky feeling on my stomach.

"Okay, thank you!"

Lana winks at me as I turn and head for the wardrobe trailer on the far side of the lot. Barbra has been on Norwick Productions sets since movies were invented. That is actually the answer she will give a person if they ask how long she's been working. She's the grumpy, tough-love mom I never had. And since Lana is pretty much the only person I hung out with during hiatus, I missed Barb dearly.

Barb's expression pales as soon as she sees me.

"Ava, it's only day one for god's sake."

"Don't worry Barb, Lana already scolded me for you."

"I do like that girl. And I'm guessing you came by to catch up after break, and not simply because you need my help?" She raises a knowing brow.

"Obviously." I flash her a very over-dramatic smile.

"I should give you one of the ratty uniforms from the end of this film for that."

"But you won't, because you love me." I batted my lashes.

"Uh-huh." Barb sighs, disappearing into the depths of the trailer before coming back out with a clean white t-shirt. No fuss, no fake blood.

"You are my guardian angel." I say after swapping the shirts.

"Bring me real coffee tomorrow instead of this crafty crap and we can call it even." She says in a flat tone, and I know she's not kidding.

I give her a quick hug. "It's good to see you Barb."

That makes her chuckle slightly. "You too, kiddo."

I check my watch again. 7:30am. Barely enough time to print out the scripts. I bid Barb a quick goodbye and head to the closest copier.

After kicking it a few times, and uttering several curse words, I got the copier up and running and several copies of today's script printed. I try to skim today's scenes while walking back to the soundstage. I'm beginning to grow curious as to watch is actually happening in this movie. Since we usually shoot scenes out of order, these few pages aren't helping very much.

Back on the soundstage, I spot Lloyd, our director, and walk over to hand him today's pages.

"Ava, welcome back." Lloyd says in his usual artistic drawl. He takes one of the copies from me, flipping through as though looking for something specific, though I know he is barely even skimming the pages.

Part of me is holding my breath, wondering if Javi would have complained to Lloyd or a production manager at this point. I'm not sure when he would have time for that between hair and makeup, but in a world where my mishap today costs me my job, he would find the time.

But, Lloyd is deep in conversation with a cameraman and doesn't spare me another glance. I take that as a good sign, and slowly slink toward the far corner of the room. This way I can still have a good view of the stage without calling too much attention to myself. I can see Lana across the room micing up one of the actors in the scene. Some older gentleman who I heard was popular on a cowboy show that I've never seen. I recognize his face more than I did Javi's, which embarrasses me further, even though the fact is only known to me.

Then, as though the gods of shame were looking down and laughing at me, Javi walks into the large room. I quickly open the first scene's pages to see if I can figure out whom he is playing. That, and so I can take my mind off of how he looks even more attractive in costume. I steal a glance up from the pages and see Lana micing him up now. He's smiling warmly at her, and she chuckles at something he said. Lana tends to laugh at most things, but I can't help but wonder what words were being passed between them.

The two men step onto the CIA set together, both dressed in impeccably tailored suits, making light conversation. Now is my que to bring them their copy of the pages for a final once-over before we roll the cameras. I inhale deeply and set my shoulders back.

Don't be intimidated, Ava. You can't embarrass yourself any worse than you already have.

Well, I know that last part isn't true. But I repeat it to myself all the same.

I walk up to the men, handing them each a copy with a smile.

The older gentleman gives me a friendly nod as he takes the script. Javi gives me the same smile he gave Lana a few minutes prior. I'm turning to leave, and I'm surprised when he says, "Thank you, Ava."

I pause, half out of surprise that he remembered my name, and half over the hesitation of wondering if I should apologize for earlier. But his attention is already on the pages, and there are so many people around to hear me admit my mistakes. I decide against it.

- - -

After we shoot the first few takes, I think I'm starting to piece together what the film is about. In the way that it is not unlike most other spy films I've seen. Older Cowboy, whose real name is still evading me, has a small role as the experienced head of the CIA who brings on Javi's character, a real loose cannon, despite his reservations. There is something about a kidnapping of Javi's lover that makes him "too close to the case," but he lies about his involvement with the woman to make sure he can be the one to save her. I'm assuming that is when we will be in Italy. Spy movies love a good ol' car chase in Europe.

I'm not blown away by the originality of the script or anything, but I'm still engaged in the scene even on their tenth take. I realize that Javi is actually quite talented. I'm only ever engaged in a scene if the actors are talented. That, or if Lloyd is having a breakdown.

I spend the rest of the scene trying not to notice just how well tailored that suit is on Javi. I never leer at the talent, but I always appreciate a good-looking man in a suit. Plus, there is something different about him. He has a kindness to him that I haven't seen with other actors. We've been working with a lot of big names recently, so maybe I've just become disillusioned. Even still, I know some lesser actors who would've complained about my assumption early, even if they painted it as a joke. They would never want me to fully live it down. But not Javi. At least, not so far.

When they call for a break, I decided it would be best to fulfill some of my other duties on another part of the lot.

The rest of the day goes by in a blur. I try to stay away from the soundstage, knowing that they will be working with Javi for the next few hours. I check my watch for the umpteenth today, and I crack a smile when I realize we only have about an hour left. My last stop is Emma Madden's trailer, our leading lady. And then I finally get to drive home and sleep.

I hadn't met Emma before, but similar to Javi, she isn't in the same celebrity category as our last film, so she seems much friendlier. I got a call on my walkie letting me know there was an issue with her food, and with not much else to go off of, I figured I might be in for a celebrity meltdown. However, when I got here, she let me know that she is severely allergic to mustard, and was afraid to touch the sandwich that had been dropped off to her. Sure, maybe it was a little 'Hollywood' for her to have me come and throw it in the garbage for her, but she was pretty apologetic about it.

"Thank you so much, Anna." She says with her knees brought up to her chest, as if she was shielding her center from the turkey sandwich springing back up out of the trash. Her expression is worried and her tone is so sincere that I don't correct her. Not that I would have otherwise.

"Not a problem Ms. Madden." I dust off sesame seeds from my palms.

"Oh please, call me Emma." She smiled at me now, and I couldn't help but like her a little.

"I know a mustard allergy is like, totally random, but it's actually pretty bad. I have an epipen and everything." I know she must be at least thirty years old, but her inflection reminds me of a teenager.

"I'll let crafty know. They should have sent you a food preference and allergy sheet to fill out months ago, that's the studio's fault."

"Oh, they did! I completely forgot about that. I figured it was just if you were a picky eater."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Well, no worries. I'll let them know now." I reach for the doorknob of the trailer.

"Thank you again!" Emma called out as I closed the door behind me.

As I'm finally able to drop off my walkie for the day, I run through all the ways that Emma's Mustard Mayhem could have cost the studio hundreds of thousands of dollars. How did they start production without having her sign a waiver? Why did no one double check that all the talent had sent in their allergy lists? If she were a higher profile celebrity, this could have been a huge issue. But as usual, these are the scenarios I keep to myself. And as I drive home, I try to run through only mustard scenarios, and ignore any that pop up with another actor in mind.

Series Masterlist

[irisopranta]

The Girl From Gridania - Part 5

Part 5 of Iris’s origin story, where shegot an offer she couldn't refuse Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Word Count: 2570

The day came, the Greenbliss. The day in which the Seedseers reestablishing their ties to the Elementals to keep Gridania safe. Iris was shocked when the Elder Seedseer asked her to take part of the ceremony. The mask from Beatin fits just right. She watched the amphitheater fill up while waiting for the ceremony to start.

“Don’t worry everything will be fine.” A voice called out from behind her. She turned to see the Elder Seedseer. “Shall we start then?” Kan-e-Senna asked. Iris could only nod. The two proceeded to the stage. The chatter in the crowd died down as they walked down the aisle.

As they stood on the stage Kan-e started her speech. As she did, Iris started to feel another migraine come on. She was a bit dizzy. She then started to see another vision like the other day. Fire raining down the sky. She realized that she was above a canyon. Down on the land she spies a pair of armies fighting amongst themselves

“May she find favor with the elementals!” She snapped out of the vision just as the Seedseer finished her speech. The crowd cheered from the ending of the ceremony. She turned to Kan-e-Senna. The Seedseer gave her a quick smile before a glint of light by Iris’ hip took her eye. “This radiance… Could this be a crystal of light.”

Iris pulled out the crystal out of her pocket. “You know of this?” She questioned.

Kan-e-Senna nodded “Tell me true—has the Mothercrystal revealed Herself to you? Did you bask in Her Light? Have you perchance experienced sensations akin to aether sickness of late?”

“The Mothercrystal? I…. I doubt that I’m that important to make her presence known to me.” She thought for a moment. “However, I have been dealing with the symptoms, yes. At least for 5 years now.”

The Elder Seedseer hummed a bit more in her thoughts “That Hydaelyn would speak directly to this woman.” She keep her words to a whisper as to think aloud. Unable to hear what she said, Iris was about to speak up. However, She felt her head spinning and a splitting pain. Darkness surrounded her vision.

In the her dreamlike state, she returned to that vision she had once more. The armies were clashing about. She looked onward to see several figures on a cliff, one of which was the Elder Seedseer that she was just speaking to. Two other figures looked just as important as her. The war below their feet looked as hectic as any war could be. It continue onward until the red moon fell and dispersed. Chaos ensued. Both armies started to retreat. The moon shredded it’s outer layer to reveal its prisoner. Bahamut, the elder primal. The primal laid waste to canyon below.

She woke from the dream. She found herself in her bed, confused to why she was there instead of the ceremony.

“You’re finally awake.” A gruff but kind voice called out to her. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright.” She stared up to the gentleman that was talking to her. “What happened, dad?”

“You passed out. I’m guessing it’s from whatever condition you’ve been dealing with for the past five years.” He sat down the cup of tea that he had in his hand on the end table. Iris know her father, knew he was give her the tea to feel slightly better about the situation.

Aucheux Opranta, the patriarch of the Opranta Family, was kind sire. However, not many would believe it based on his stern looking face and his cold speech. His face was quite creased with wrinkles, mostly from his worries for those around him. His hair didn’t fair better. The once black hair now silver either from stress or age. He wasn’t a frail man despite his age, in fact he was quite strong. He did take good care of his health, after all if he didn’t, he doubt that any of the patients he took care of wouldn’t heed his words.

Aucheux only let out a sigh. Iris knew of the that sigh. It was a sigh that he let out of frustration. One that pointing at her condition. One that even he couldn’t figure out what caused her to suffer for the past few years.

“Of all the times for this to happen, it had to be at the Greenbliss.” Aucheux shook his head. He preferred that events such as these go smoothly, even though he, himself, wasn’t Gridanian. “At least you are feeling well now. For now, I want you to rest. You did take a great fall when you passed out and I would like to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself.”

“I’m certain I’m quite fine father.” Iris swung her legs to the edge of her bed. Fully alert she tried standing up, before Aucheux set her back down on her bed.

“Oh no, you are staying in this bed missy.” He then proceeded to tuck her in tightly that she couldn’t move under the blankets. “You are staying here until I’m sure you’re fine. I’ll fetch you your books so you’re not bored healing up.” He walked up to her bookshelf and grab a couple at random before placing them on her night stand. She could gaze upon them as her father left her room.

She sat back up after wiggling out of her covers. She picked up the books just to see what he randomly picked out.

“Villian of Vice, The Nobility Negotiation, A Match Most Beloved, Warrior of Passion” Iris sighed . “I can’t blame him for trying.” She picked up The Nobility Negotiation to start reading it again.

Hours had passed. Iris was started to get annoyed that neither her father nor mother came to check on her. She started to lose focus of the words in the book, unable retain the plot in her mind. She bookmarked the page for now and figured the best thing to do is to look for her parents to figure out what was going on. She slipped on her slippers and headed down the stairs. As she approached the den, she heard both of them talking to another person. Instead of intruding the conversation, She felt that eavesdropping would be okay to satiated her curiosity. She hid by the door frame without entering the room.

“Even if she agrees to this idea, what would the Seedseers do to make sure she’s safe?” Her father’s gruff and cold voice called out.

“I assure you, this isn’t some mission where she would go out to fight some horrible beast. She would just be going to the other city states to deliver the message from myself.” A calm, feminine voice responded. It sounded a lot like the Elder Seedseer. “She wouldn’t have to leave any of the cities, so she’ll be within the guard’s watch.”

“I think we should have Iris choose for herself dear.” A stern but gentle voice directed to her father.

“But Shonnine, she’s sick and we have no idea what ails her.” He sighs.

“And is that any reason why we should deny her anything she might want to do?”

Aucheux could only grumble at his wife’s words, knowing she is right in that he shouldn’t hold his beloved daughter behind. He already feels guilty that she wasn’t wedded yet let alone courting anyone. However, he couldn’t allow another man or woman like Gritrot take advantage of his daughter. A man who could callous use her to their ambition.

Iris realized there isn’t much left to the conversation. She decided that she would make her presence known. She walked through the door way to see the three sitting at the table. They all take a glance at Iris as she entered the room.

“Ah, Iris, we were just talking about you.” Her mother chimed up at her presence.

“I overheard.” Iris plainly stated. “So what’s this all about?” Asked the Elder Seedseer.

Kan-e-Senna spoke out “I’ve been looking for you. I want to serve as an envoy for me.”

She was quite shocked in the matter. “Why me?”

“Why you? Well I believe that you have the makings of someone important.” Kan-e-Senna then looked at Aucheux. “I do believe I might know what might be affecting your daughter.”

“Wait, Hold on.” Aucheux could not believe what he was hearing. He is very much skeptical to what Kan-e was saying. “Do YOU know what is going on with my beloved Iris?”

“I may…” Kan-e was able to uttered before being interupted by an somewhat annoyed Aucheux.

“You May?” His words scathing as he spoked.

“Father.” Iris rebuked. “Didn’t the Elder Seedseerer came to speak to me?” She glared at him knowing he was starting his usual defensives in protecting her. “I think I would like to talk to her in private.”

“But Honey.”

“No Honey me, out of here so I can talk with her in private?”

Shonnine sighed at her husband. “Come on dear, Iris is right and we should let her make her decision.” She got up and escorted her husband out of the room with her, closing the door behind them.

“I apologize for them. They tend to be over protective. At least my father is.” Iris sighed.

“I can understand that may want to make sure their loved one is safe.” Kan-e-Senna calmly said.

Iris nodded. “So you have a mission for me?”

“Yes, I have a two missives that I need to send to my compatriots in the other city states. It is almost the calamity’s anniversary and I think we should hold a day of remembrance for those we lost that day.”

“I see.” Iris thought for a moment “But why me? Couldn’t you send any old twin adder recruit to send that to them?”

Kan-e shook her head. “While that may be true, I think having you do it would help you figure out what may be going on with you.”

Iris could only stare onto the Seedseer, recalling her words before she passed out at the Greenbliss. “You know what is going on with me, don’t you?”

“Mayhaps. I can’t say definitely but I do have a rough idea what it might be. Though I feel you would do better to find your answers away from Gridania.”

Iris hummed a bit before speaking again. “So you want to give me an excuse to leave to find it. But what would I even be looking for.”

Kan-e-senna was sipping on her tea “That’s simple, You may be affected by the Echo. The mothercrystal has plans for you it seems.”

“That can’t be right, what could she need a humble seamstress for?”

“That I do not know, but I feel you might find the answer out there if you go out there.”

Iris closed her eyes before letting out a large exhale. What is she suppose to do here. She does want her answers but is it worth it to leave her home. Kan-e-Senna set down her cup on the table before speaking in her calm wisdom “I know it might be a tough choice to make. However, I think you should. I can tell that you it is tearing you apart from the inside.” Iris could only stare onto the Seedseer. She spoke the truth. Iris could only look inward to realize where her heart was at.

“I think I will take you up on your offer. There isn’t much more I can do here is there.”

Kan-e-senna shook her head. “I feel that you won’t regret.” She got up from her seat and started to head to the front door. “I’ll give you the missives in a few days, hopefully you’ll be all packed up by then. Oh and thank your parents for the tea they gave me.”

Iris nodded “Of course I will.” The Seedseer gave her leave. Iris, not sure what she agreed too, stood there in the now empty den. A moment later, she hears a gruff cough from behind her, waking her from her thoughts.

“So what did you say to her?” Her father spoke up.

“Oh… I just… I guess I agreed to the Seedseer’s request.” She sheepishly responding, knowing full well what was to come. Aucheux’s expression soured a bit. Shocked to hear that his daughter would even entertained the idea.

“You can’t be serious?” He interrogated.

She pouted before crossing her arms. “Yes and I don’t regret it. The Seedseer brought up a good point. I need to go out there and figure out what’s going on with me.” Aucheux grimaced a bit more before turning heel in silence from his defeat.

Shonnine could only sigh. “I’ll go talk some sense into that stubborn goat. In the mean time, get yourself ready.” She walked away to find her husband. Iris with nothing left to do in the den decided to head back to her room and start figuring out all that she should take with her.

The days passed. Iris was waiting outside of the tavern, ready to head out to the other city states. The sun beaming down it’s warmth among the leaves and her skin. She has her knapsack with her for her small trip carrying clothes, enough reading, and a small knitting project to spend any down time while staying at any inn in some comfort. She awaited for the Elder Seedseer to come by with her messages to her fellow leaders.

“I hope you weren’t waiting for too long.” The Seedseer was approaching the Carline Canopy. She looked over to see a group of Gridanians. Her brother, several members of the gods quiver, miscellaneous Gridanians that she got to know over the years. even her father was there despite his feeling on her leaving. Pleased

“I have not.” Iris responded shocked to see them all there. The Seedseer handed over the messages. She placed it in her knapsack. “Thank you. I guess I should be heading off.” She plainly stated with her signature smile.

“Is that all dear? Not even a good bye?” A voice called out to her before she could turn heel and head off to her task. The voice that had the tone of warmth that she was more than familiar with.

“Mother? I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that you would be among this group.” She glanced over them once more. She could only give a smile to them all. “Thank you all for seeing me out. I’ll be sure to be able to give everyone souvenirs on my trip.” The crowded cheered her on as she stepped away. Her mother, brother, father, and the Elder Seedseer followed her to the air dock.

“So this is it?” her father stated. It may have been the first thing he said to her since their quick fight over her leaving.

Iris could only stared on to him. She let out a small sigh. “So it would seems. Look I promise to be back as soon as possible, dad.” He gave her a hug before breaking down in tears.

“Please, dear, stay safe.” He whimpered out. He let go from the hug. Iris nodded at him determined to return safely in a few days. She walked away from her family to board the airship. It started to lift off. Looking off the port of the ship she waved off to her family one last time.

[manderleyfire]

hey, ali! i feel your pain about the tbosas adaptation! i cried so much during the movie but not because i felt emotional, seeing MY book comes alive on screen but because we were robbbbbbbbbbed and shot 😞😞😞😞😞😞 anyways, what's your opinion on the music tho? fav/least fav song? (my is the oldtherebefore and least fav the 0livia r0drigo's one)

hey, lollis!

‘robbed and shot’, exactly. i couldn’t have said it better myself because unfortunately, that’s spot on 🥲

I LOVED THE MUSIC! a dystopian reflection of our reality through intentional use of folk/bluegrass music is something that resonates strongly with me. i mean, they knew how to strike the right chord in the hearts of book readers for sure! *the only other thing i wish was different about the music it's the variety of tempo and rhythm because as much as i LOVED the unified sound of LG's songs, i would prefer each song to have its own individual tune and ~aura)

my absolute favourite adaptation that they did was 'nothing you can take from me' (boot-stompin’ version); i am utterly in awe of the powerful passionate energy that they gave to this song?? also i loveeed the similarity of rhythm and tone between 'nothing you can take from me' and a traditional american folk song 'man of constant sorrow', i kinda feel it was a deliberate parallel which worked just great. (also i’m glad they added maude ivory’s 'keep on the sunny side'!)

my least favourite is perhaps 'the ballad of lucy gray baird'?.. and though i did enjoy rachel’s rendition (she copies a young dolly parton in such a warm-hearted respectful manner!), and the respect for traditional appalachian music, she sang it in a cheerful 'to hell with you!' manner which is less intense and intimate that i remember it from the book to be? to quote tbosas here: 'the haunting melody set the tone, and her words did the rest as she began to sing in a voice husky from smoke and sadness' – the movie version really failed to capture both the haunting tune (their version doesn't really tell the story musically because of a major key) and the lucy gray's vulnerability here for me. in the book she did what carrie fisher told us all to do: 'take your broken heart and turn it into art' while in the movie she isn't even angry at billy taupe?? like his betrayal (and her place in the games) is not a big deal? she's openly rebellious and sassy with out of place 'i need no man' attitude and that simply didn't work for me personally.

it took some time for 'pure as the driven snow' to grow on me (i expected it to be more of a waltz-like, similar to maiah wynne's cover), but i'm coming around to it. yet… i wish it was STAGED differently??? they had to combine certain scenes and songs in the film but it was such a SURREAL idea to meld PATDS with 'sell you for a song' setting? and it took away so much from that moment of love and connection and unconditional acceptance, where lucy gray is finally ready to be emotionally unshielded in front of her lover (maybe for the first time ever)?? it was a PIVOTAL snowbaird moment but they needed to blend two songs together because obviously PATDS can't be love confession in form of a song because it should be taken as an ominous warning instead (duh!). 'bitch you better not turn out to be a bad guy even tho i knew you were a villain all along' :??? and it could've worked in its own angst-y way, if there had been any development in snowbaird love story?? but since movie!they are full on survival the whole time (there's no canonical teetering on the edge of an actual fondness/love and survival instinct), PATDS makes no sense at all. so… i extremely frustrated by the use of PATDS on screen but at the same time i love the sound of the full version on the soundtrack album.

annnd i'm actually IN PAIN because they had the audacity to leave so many songs out?? especially given their ties to the original trilogy?? 'deep in the meadow' aka rue's song???? 'the valley song' aka the one peeta mentioned seeing katniss sing at school when they were children????  the festive 'crawling to you' ('that thing i love with') likely performed at finnick’s wedding?? idk maybe it's a musical nerd who is speaking in me but i wish they could have included more of the book songs at least on the album, if not in the actual movie (even tho i'm still sure, it would've been possible to present the whole complexity of this book AND its poetic side too, if they decided to split the film in two).

[the score album wasn't much to talk about but 'snow lands on top' piece tho… vivid, striking, remarkable]

[woodchipp]

I find this particular response I received the other day very interesting because

"what is his point of living? why SHOULD he not die?"

is a question I genuinely found myself asking by the time me and my friends finished playing the game. After thinking about it a bit more, though, I realized that the question I was really asking was not "Why should he not die?" but "Why should I care about whether he lives or dies?"

And I think the answer ties into one of OMORI's (many) problems - Sunny isn't really a character. He has no personality to speak of. At best, he's a crude checklist of #relatable traits (shy, depression, low self-esteem) you're expected to form an emotional connection with purely on the basis of him having said traits (i.e. "he's just like me fr fr") even though we're never shown or told how he became that way in the first place and these traits alone don't constitute a character's personality - they inform it. At worst, he's a meat puppet present in the game only because the player needs a viewpoint character.

Techinically, the biggest amount of "charactrerization" Sunny gets is Omori's big LTG speech in the final boss fight. And even then, I can't call it characterization in good faith because most of the information revealed about Sunny via the speech didn't factor into the story much right until it suddenly became relevant as a weapon his self-loathing uses against him.

For example, one of Omori's points is that Sunny keeps falling back on his friends to take care of him since he's the baby of the group, which implies that Sunny is insecure about being babied around by his friends

But Sunny doesn't undergo any development to address this problem over the course of the game. The story never puts him into situations that'd force him to assume responsibility and allow him to change the perception of himself as the group's "baby". Even on the Sunny route, where he's supposedly meant to be working on his issues, he's almost entirely passive (e.g. Kel has to tell him to jump into the lake to rescue Basil even though Sunny instantly diving in himself without any input from Kel or the player would've shown him as more altruistic) and the plot gets driven forward by pretty much every other character except Sunny himself. Additionally, when put into a situation when he could at least try to comfort a close friend and thus show that he cares (i.e. Basil's breakdown on Three Days Left), the game forces you to walk away instead. What does that say about Sunny?

This brings me to another point I consider to be relevant to what I'm trying to say - Omori, Sunny's depression and irrational self-hatred who spends the entire final battle convincing him to kill himself, isn't even wrong in his criticisms of the latter. Believe it or not, the story itself actually lends credence to a couple of his points

"You've never done anything for anyone else."

Sunny's aforementioned passivity aside, most of his interactions with his friends before and during the events of the game - and mind you, they're meant to establish the group's supposedly Strong friendship - consist of his friends and his sister doing everything they can for him. Mari allows him to sleep in her own bed when he has nightmares and takes the fall for him after he breaks one of their mother's vases. Basil gets the idea to gift Sunny a violin for Christmas and the entire group pitches in to make sure the violin they buy is a good one. Basil stages Mari's death as a suicide, keeps mum about Sunny's desecration of the photo album and takes the brunt of Aubrey's abuse for four years purely for Sunny's sake. Hero takes care of all the chores around the house Sunny had to do on One Day Left.

Indeed, Sunny is never shown doing anything of the sort for them.

"Your friends are wrong about you. The person they love isn't you at all."

"You let them believe in a lie to protect yourself."

This is self-explanatory - Sunny went along with Basil's cover-up and thus lied to his friends by omission - but what interests me the most about it is the "Cherish" action, exclusive to this fight. By recalling the supportive and inspirational quotes he heard from his friends and his sister over the course of One Day Left, Sunny replenishes his HP and stamina in full, along with calming himself down emotion-wise.

There's just a problem with this, though - Sunny's friends offered him their support without the knowledge of how Mari actually died. They were convinced that Sunny is struggling with Mari's suicide, not that he's wrestling with well-earned guilt over committing manslaughter. We don't know whether they would've supported him all the same if they knew the truth, and the game doesn't provide an answer either since the group's reactions to Sunny's confession are left ambiguous.

Simply put, Sunny is twisting his friends' words, taking them out of context to make himself feel better. The support Sunny received is built on a lie.

The exact same lie Omori points out.

"Cherish" is also the only way to survive in this fight. Omori points out that the support Sunny's using is based on him lying to his friends by omission, and the only rebuttal Sunny has to Omori's solid point is to keep using said support. peak writing

And just as the cherry on top, the game's "True" ending - and the best outcome for Sunny - indicates that he dropped the bombshell on his friends shortly before moving town, consequently leaving Basil alone to deal with whatever consequences the fallout would entail... which is exactly what he did after he ruined Basil's photo album. (granted, he couldn't have known that Aubrey would see the scribbled-over photos, but still, ruining your best friend's most precious belonging like that and then essentially ghosting them is a shitty thing to do either way.)

Oh, and the method you use to obtain the additional secret cutscene is worth mentioning too - you have to water Basil's plants in Sunny's fake dream world. Sunny doesn't help Basil in the real world when he actually has the chance to and Basil clearly needs it, but seems to be content with thinking about doing something good for his dream self while the real one is suffering.

Not only is Sunny an empty husk of a character, close examination of the game's story paints a picture of him being a shitty person as well. I can't say he has a character arc - he does shitty things to the people we're meant to consider his friends and the game invents convenient ways for him to avoid taking responsibility every time despite the story revolving around his need to accept his responsibility for Mari's death.

So, really, why should I care about whether he lives or dies? Because he's a cute boy? Because he's mentally ill? The game never gives you a legitimate reason to root for Sunny and care about his welfare, yet is predicated on that.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP, I've been waiting to see if you would talk about the weverse article but since no one has asked I'm going to. Wth is Hybe doing? 1st Jhope "leads contemporary" and then Namjoon, THEE Namjoon who created the whole idea of Spring Day isn't mentioned at all. Please tell me your thoughts. Sure lets say Hybe hates Jimin but now they hate Namjoon too? It makes no sense for something like this to come from Hybe writers.

***

For anyone who hasn't read the article yet, here's the English version and I suggest you skim it at least so you know what's actually written.

Anon, yours is actually the first ask I've gotten on it today, and your gut feeling that it's not usually staff writers at Weverse pushing out these articles is correct - I've written about how the magazine works before and it's usually Korean critics who are contracted to write pieces. But this time, the article is actually written by a staff writer, the Editor in Chief of Weverse Magazine to be exact, Kang Myeongseok - the same guy who authored the BTS book.

I understand why you're left scratching your head after reading it, and I've pointed out the magazine's shoddy writing before, but I think this latest issue is partly an instance of context lost in translation.

iMO, the point of the article is three things:

To use the upcoming anniversary of Spring Day to remind people who haven't yet purchased the BTS book, to get it.

To remind people that BTS are in fact still the top group and it's songs like Spring Day that gained them acclaim.

To tie Spring Day into the album narrative of BTS.

The point of the article isn't to give an accounting of how Spring Day was made or who led it, and you can glean this from how RM making the song is given only a sentence in the article -

"RM이 ‘BEYOND THE STORY : 10-YEAR RECORD OF BTS’에서 “한국 사람들 사이에서 오래 가고 싶은 노래”를 만들고 싶었다고 말했던 소망은 현실이 되었다."

- all that says is that RM's dream of making a touching song happened with Spring Day.

Two members are used as touchpoints: Yoongi and Hoseok. Yoongi because his personal story ties literally to the lyrics, and Hoseok because his interpretive dance piece incorporating b-boying and contemporary elements, is the piece which introduces the Wings/You Never Walk Alone album on which Spring Day is on. It's also Hoseok who starts the dance in the choreography alongside Jimin - the language in the article implies the author is talking about Hoseok literally starting the song in the stage performance with Jimin. It's also a continuation of how Hoseok's dance piece is what starts the album. The mention of contemporary dancing with Jimin should've been highlighted more prominently, but the following mentions of contemporary dancing in the article (eg Black Swan) is referring to the group as a whole. Not Hoseok and not Jimin.

*

Like I said, the point of the article doesn't appear to be a detailed account of how BTS made Spring Day or the contemporary dancing strength of the group. The two key members for both things - Namjoon and Jimin - are given only a cursory mention at best. I don't think anybody reading the article in Korean, or even English, will come away thinking that's the point. The article honestly just reads like an elaborate ad for the BTS book using the 7th year anniversary of Spring Day as the catalyst.

Is this worth any of the hysteria I've been seeing on Twitter? No. In my opinion. But I also won't really fault anyone feeling some type of way about the article. Weverse in general does a shitty job with their feature pieces. They deserve all the criticism. The only thing they seem to do decently enough is their interviews.

[byersfanclub]

ships aren’t the only things people care about in shows but I think that ppl lately highly underestimate just how important romance is in a story whether you personally care for a romance plot line or not. people like romance whether they realize it or not. it can be as simple as waiting for a character to finally pop the question to another character (proposing) that’s been hinted at, it can be the “ugh, finally” when two characters kiss in a season finale and a whole other array of examples I could use. people may not be into shipping culture the way we are, but ppl are rooting for romances subtly, without even realizing it. people like romance. it keeps you on edge, you want to see the outcome.

which is exactly why I think people have a hard time liking M1lev3n. It’s pretty much “established” from the beginning. There’s no build up to their relationship, there’s nothing really special about them, their romance story is as cliche as it can get and also a play on a super sexist trope within sci-fi “born sexy yesterday” but much more PG since they’re kids. you can’t deny it. mike and el are forced together, mike is a loser nerd that no girls like and (quote by Lucas Sinclair) el is the first girl who isn’t grossed out by him. she doesn’t know anything about the world, she grew up in a lab her entire life up until that point. she barely speaks, she doesn’t know what “friend” means, she doesn’t understand privacy and all the sudden a boy is being sprung in front of her and she doesn’t even UNDERSTAND what romance is and that she could even like/love another person— and he kisses her.

suddenly she vanishes and is yet to be seen for months and they’re suddenly reunited.

there’s no development between them. el only knows what she knows from reruns of old tv shows she watches which are highly dramatizied. again. this is all el can gather about romantic relationship. her and mike do not show any development or maturity in their relationship. all they do is kiss in s3 and suddenly they're broken up for most of the season and for months after the events of s3 end before the byers move away and suddenly she wants to tell mike she loves him back???

at this point, in my opinion, el is hyper fixating on mike since hopper “died”. she needs someone to fall back on, someone that took care of her and she feels (at least somewhat) comfort and safe with. but as we see in s4, mike doesn’t seem to be able to even give her that. I don’t think el loves mike and I don't think mike loves el romantically. they never have. they don’t know what the fuck they're doing. el wants to be a normal teenage girl and mike wants to be a normal teenage boy.

but that isn’t what stranger things is about.

M1lev3n being endgame directly goes against stranger things message. it’s forced conformity.

which brings me back to my point.

this is why the general audience of stranger things doesn’t care about m1lev3n the way m1lev3ns do. they aren’t hardcore shippers, they’re casual, and mike and el give off nothing to be excited about, because el’s storyline was never about romance, it’s about found family.

but who’s storyline was directly tied to romance in s3? Will. “I’m not gonna fall in love.” immediately set Will up to have a romance storyline. The beginning of s4 “I think there is someone he likes” set will up to have a crush. The painting scene directly set will up to HAVE to eventually confess his feelings for mike because mike is inevitably going to find out the truth (if he doesnt already know). will at some point is going to confronted about his love for mike whether you like it or not which is why so many ppl became attracted to byler as a ship after watching s4. with will being confirmed gay and in love with mike, it sets the stage for a newly blooming romance and so much context, subtext in earlier seasons to go back and watch with a new lens. the duffers know what they’re doing, and byler being endgame in s5 means byler has been intentional since the beginning. they have been writing the show, the dialogue, setting the scenes and lighting and set design to directly link back to byler falling in love with each other.

I'll end this off with byler being almost at 400k followers on Tumblr, being the most viewed ship in st on TikTok, the third most popular ship on ao3 and constantly trending on twt.

M1lev3n can barely beat out bower x luigi.

fin.

[jahiera]

6,9 (from general) 11, 17 (from the story ones) AND 1, 2, 11 (from romance) for emrys!! >:3

tav companion asks! Thank yoouuuu so much! <33 this got so LONG waghhrrr

6. Do they have any secrets that can be revealed? What are the prerequisites for this secret coming to light?

not exactly secrets. emrys is intense and a little cagey by nature. you can start prodding at her ideas almost right off the bat, but depending on how you go about it you find out more about her past and how she's come to these conclusions or she'll shutter up and double down on what she thinks she knows best on.

9. Does your Tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like Lae’zel and Shadowheart’s knife-fight?

oh I imagine she can have an escalating conflict with about. um. half the cast, depending on how it pans out -- not anything like an off the bat rivalry though. her conflicts are the bone-deep, betrayal sort, and how she's influenced by the player impacts her reactions too. but baseline: ascended astarion? escalated conflict. sharran shadowheart? escalating conflict. minthara? escalating conflict AND it's homosexual. the player too low on approval? she'll probably try and fight them at least once (defended in fair combat and chosen to spare her, she'd be taken aback and have to grapple with all of that--potential for a rivalryromance in there).

11. What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown?

(my friend Emrys here is a bundle of laughs) "If y' think it's so fuckin' funny, you go on up there, yeah?" -> (up you go, emrys.) "Tyr preserve me..."

17. If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2?

she would take the dark urge warnings seriously, right off the bat. after the dark urge is tied up and such, from there, there would be an option with the saving throw to ask her to strike you down right then and there, and she would level her knife at the dark urge for a moment, hesitating, before her face crumbles and she pulls away, reaffirming that when morning comes, there will be time for that yet, in a soft sort of sad tone. reserved, resilient, visibly pained but stalwart, swearing on her life to see them through etc etc. -- there's a lot of fun dichotomies in there.

Is your Tav a romanceable character? Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

answered here!

2. Does your Tav need to be flirted with to start the romance, or will they approach the PC themselves if approval is high enough?

Ideally, you wouldn't really need to flirt either -- for a while her scenes and romance progression would be the kind where the platonic&romantic blur together fairly seamlessly. she's a slowburn, and so long as the other is getting closer (or chafing against her in a particular way that makes her doubt & question her beliefs, which is another way of getting close). she wouldn't approach about a romance, but there would eventually be a point where a sort of. insight check Oh You Can Tell She Has Feelings moment would happen, OR she would have a Character Moment in late act 2 that would trigger her finally confessing her long-held feelings. either way, lots of buildup, lots of almost-touches and glimpses of warmth. would NOT really jive with casual fucking around although I could potentially see her being a "we're all hot-blooded after the goblin camp and I'm not immune" depending, and by depending she actually WOULD NOT agree if her approval was too high, too much feeling involved, but -- then its back to platonic glancing either way.

11. What are Tav’s plans for the future? Do they propose to the PC, or is marriage not something they’re interested in?

not necessarily interested in marriage at present, but she would probably have a. I swear to be by your side if you'll have me. type moment, one that is very vow-like. ideally, she'd want to do something where she's still useful, on another adventure or staying to rebuild baldur's gate, but would ultimately be content so long as she's by their side etc etc. BIG fucking sap underneath the 185k word slowburn longing glances and stoicism.

[four-of-cups]

Thinking about the way Jensen Ackles continues to characterise Cas as Dean’s ‘brother-in-arms’ and how it ties deeply into both the homoeroticism and the misogyny of spn. 

I love season 8 and I’m rewatching it right now and it just seems like such A Choice to not have introduced any female characters in purgatory. And then to characterise it as a ‘pure’ place.

They really just made purgatory into a homosocial space where violent contests of strength and will determine survival. This is...textbook hegemonic masculinity?

In this context, of course Benny is the companion they come up with. (No shade - I adore Benny.) He's an exemplary brother-in-arms. The wartime allegory isn't exactly subtle and it's clear that the writers and actors are very interested in exploring this space.

But in doing so they end up queering the narrative again because hey - their audience is savvy enough to understand that these cis-male-only hyper-masculine mythologies are closer to propaganda than vehicles for good story-telling.

And we know that excluding other genders from a narrative doesn't inherently diminish a male character’s capacity for love or tenderness or desire.

And so we end up with a driving narrative that feels deeply romantic: the single most important person in this world to Dean is Cas. It could not be more overt in the text that Dean's primary motivation is not getting back to the world or Sam - it's finding and saving his angel.

We’ve seen Cas as the object of Dean’s motivation before and we’ll see it again. But it does feel singleminded in purgatory in a way that I think the show only ever permits in this hyper-masculine space.

Marylin Frye puts it best: "To say that straight men are heterosexual is only to say that they engage in sex exclusively with women. All or almost all of that which pertains to love, most straight men reserve exclusively for other men [...] Heterosexual male culture is homoerotic; it is man-loving."

Purgatory is the stage on which Dean's performance of masculine heterosexuality is most visibly entwined with the show's misogyny and the result is deeply homoerotic.

And it explains, to me at least, why Jensen’s characterisation of Cas as a brother-in-arms feels both romantic and dismissive: it’s true even while it refuses to look at deeper truths. 

It describes a love so deeply overshadowed by a fear of femininity that the shadows of violence and death and sacrifice end up being its only ‘pure’ place of expression. And even there, it remains unnamed. 

[nightglider124]

Just finished new episode of Titans…

Oooooo things be getting interesting 👀

This episode seemed to pick things up a little bit more than last week. Last week defo felt very filler-ish.

Some points:

Omg the whole zombie bit was fucking hilarious 😂 Jinx’s commentary about it was funny and then Gar and Tim being all like yay when Connor decapitated Deathstroke and then being like naaaay when he got back up?? 😂😂 that whole scene was funny af.

I do not enjoy the foreshadowing of Kory having a role in all this. Like im bypassing the fact its central to Rachel and Sebastian too cos like Kory is my girl. The fairytale book and the fact her powers were not working in the zombie bit. Also, the fact MM or Gina was like ‘I don’t think the tamaranean will like her part’ like excuse the fuck me pls do not touch her thanks. I know they said like Kory gets hurt but like i am v much not looking forward to that at all. Like, how hurt we talking? Coma? I also really don’t wanna be Kory-less for half an episode of smth when she gets hurt unless the whole time Dick is gonna be foaming at the mouth in rage, ya feel me?

I do not understand Jinx’s powers at all like since when can she morph into other people?? I genuinely don’t know her abilities- i only ever knew of her character from the 2003 cartoon which was purely ‘bad luck’. But in Titans, I am assuming she’s just witch all round…

Interesting that they did flashbacks, showing us the story of Sebastian and MM and how she became the villain like she was clearly cracked anyway since she was straight into that cult w/o a second thought. It was a good choice, I think. She was a character who I didn’t mind finding out the backstory unlike the needless eps in previous seasons where we really didn’t need them.

Connor, whatcha doin there buddy?? You good?! I think i’d be a bit freaked if i puked up blood and a snake but something tells me he be getting controlled. Again interesting since in the comics, Dick is the one who ends up getting brainwashed by CoB so I am curious if they are swapping Dick for Connor in the show or if Dick will be brainwashed at some later stage or something.

Again, y’all I am v scared for Kory… like I know she doesn’t die but I also do not want her hurt like I will feel as feral as the team.

I know they gave Jinx the past romance etc but she really does scream snarky annoying lil sister vibes? 😂

I like that they’ve come full circle from s1 or at least I like the fact they have made them link. It feels less like they were making it up as they went along, even if they were.

I am extremely rolling my eyes at Dick for brushing off Kory’s visions like bitch your misses defo has a point here?? I get Dick doesn’t believe in visions and destinies etc whereas Kory wholeheartedly does but that makes it worse for when Kory gets hurt and we BEST get a scene of Dick being like fuck i shoulda listened to her about that.

I am greedy I know but I really want more romance realisation for Dick and Kory like the waiting is putting me on edge. I have a feeling Kory will get hurt in the latter part of the season. I was on insta looking back at when they were filming and when they were filming the vision of Mar’i, there was word of it being the second to last episode and we are all assuming she has the vision of them when she is hurt? I’m like I swear to God, we best not be getting dickkory in literally the last two eps (i am aware of the date scene so yay) cos at this rate, they won’t actually have any romance til s5 which is looking unlikely to be renewed for…

However, I did like the fact that Dick still spent majority of the time with Kory. She is literally always beside him as well as whenever they split or team up, Dick seems to always have Kory with him. Tis cute. I also liked when they were barricading themselves, Dick was like yeah me and kory will take the doors and its like bro was that just cos she is sick in hand to hand combat cos like you saw her powers doing fuck all so whats the thought process behind that??

I think that’s all my thoughts on the episode this week. It was good; better story wise than last week, imo. I’m excited/scared for next weeks ep since they were like yeah dickkory fans are gonna be screaming… good screaming like they get it on at a motel since we defo saw bts of a motel? Or bad screaming like Kory is gonna get messed up by CoB? WHICH IS IT??

I defo don’t think its next weeks ep that we will be seeing Kory’s vision of Mar’i and Dick tho 🤔

[beevean]

I hate to nag/vent on Frontiers' plot some more, but I sincerely, cannot for the life of me...be interested by any lore it delivers on. At first I thought the Ancients and the Emeralds being from space was just dumb, but it goes past that when I realized it took away what made Chaos unique in the first place (so the Master Emerald, that WASN'T from space mind you, just randomly reverted a Chao back to it's 'primeval' form? ok sure...) And even then, the Ancients themselves aren't that interesting as characters to ever be invested in their story or tragedy of their extinction. It was like I was watching Season 3 of X all over again with the Seedrians and the females running from the Metarex. Ironically, they're about as flat as Sage's cardboard of a personality/arc, which I didn't think was possible.

Who honestly is going to remember or care about any of this when the narrative and characters are sooo boring to listen to?

Tell me about it. I tried to follow conversations about the Ancients and the Egg Memos, but I genuinely struggle to keep my attention, even ignoring the dull voice acting. They are just... a mess. The game dedicates so much time to this civilization, and I just can't remember a thing aside from the sudden lore point "the CE are from space".

Which is just. Meh? I far, far prefer the idea that the CEs are an anomaly of space and time, tied to an everchanging alternate dimension that we accede to through the Special Stages.

Frontiers' story is basically 1) a huge lore dump for something that didn't need to be answered, and 2) heavily character driven, but this also falls flat on its face (and it's my main complaint about the plot) because the interactions are either not interesting, or downright infuriating. Except for Knuckles, he's cool, aside from the weird "oh I'm tired to be tied to Angel Island" which is 25 years too late.

You know what? Generations is another game where nothing happens by the end. And yes, it was a waste because they could have added so many call backs (justified in this case due to Gens being an anniversary game all about celebrating Sonic's story). But at least Gens didn't pretend to be anything more than it was: a game where beloved levels got reimagined and honored. Frontiers just gives me this sense of self-importance, like it wants to be a pivotal part of canon and it wants to fix all the characters involved - sorry guys, but fixing a character doesn't mean forcing him to say that his past portrayal was wildly inconsistent while by the end his role is not too different from what it has been for the past 10 years :\