#to be totally honest this post is kind of just me justifying the hour or so i spent watching my old favorite animatics to put it together

[mbslost]

I am glad that you continue your activities on the Internet. I respect you for your courage. It's terrible that people think it's acceptable to wish someone dead for words on the Internet that don't harm anyone. people who do this behave like children. Please take care of yourself

On my own, I would also like to note that it is strange for me to see Gato's accusations of racism due to the fact that she gave feedback to artists who depicted characters with lighter skin color than they should be. I'm white, so I can't say if the representatives of the POC consider this to be racism, but personally it looks strange and enough from my side… Exaggerated. this is not something that should cause people to be negative, it's just a feedback. it just looks like another "argument" and an attempt to justify hatred towards a person. Yes, it can be frustrating, but that doesn't make Gato a racist, as it seems to me. it is strange that the claims in this case are made to Gato, but not to the artists. you can correct me, because, again, I may be wrong. it seems to me that the situation could be different if people just talked to each other with words through their mouths, and did not accumulate resentment and did not dump it all on public display. this is sad, considering that the situation itself is an absurdity, brought to disgusting proportions by misunderstanding between people. I am horrified by the culture of cancellation over nothing. to be honest, because of this, I'm afraid to post something online, because I can't predict what kind of harmless actions I think I might be dubbed a racist, Nazi or something like that and cancel, although I despise harming anyone and try to express myself as much as possible correct as far as possible. I am glad that apologies have been made and accepted, but all the lost content cannot be restored. I hope that at least Gato is OK, this is the most important thing

sorry if some of the words sound strange or meaningless, I don't know English well and use a translator

dont apologise for broken english, i aint putting to much effort in it either😭

as for what you said yeah i totally agree since.. like in the last hours i just couldnt stop about this yk. why only gato is being so hated but not the people around her that did the messed up shit. (one of them even apologizing so yea). or people going around and saying that her diversity its almost nonexistent (thing i tried to prove wrong with my post about the poc characters in her work)

just like another user said, she could've chosen to not give them and ethnicity because people would acuse her of portraying that group as bad or whatever.

but oh well.. gotta hope everything will end on a positive note "3

also please, remember that there will always be people that will disagree with your opinion/points of view. if they start getting aggressive, block them and take a moment to relax. people could be such gross living being so yeah.. remember to take care of yourself :3

stay safe and drink plenty of water🫶

[mylawcitrus]

The problem is shadow banning

I've said this a few times only.

The AI tools track what you say and sort out relevance, take out points when you say swear words, take out points when your video is too long, identify if your pictures are original or copyrighted, maps hashtags, and all of that influences on how you're going to be shown.

On Instagram, I have long videos, images from Pexels, a few swear words very occasionally and hashtags that might confuse to dissipate the categories which should be associated to my page.

It doesn't justify one of the best pedagogical materials in Brazil being hidden from public sight. They probably have a chain ranking, where my personal posts (or, to be frank, long posts) on LinkedIn might rank down, because apparently I'm against the rise of AI in educational practice while Microsoft is paying tens of billions for that kind of technology.

On Twitter, they banned my educational page because they found "the phone number was associated to a banned account", and that's where I told Jack Dorsey to f- off and got an immediate suspension.

So instead of focusing on how I wanna be able to talk to random people and insist that this is everything I'm asking for, I'll start talking about the technical aspects of everything they've done to shun down my outstanding social media presence and expose them. Maybe that will help.

Just so you understand: the course I offer has a price set to 50 real a one-hour class, once a week. That's a total of 6 months, with 24 classes and 12 themes we approach, throughout 300 pages of pedagogical material that I wrote myself and a lot of debate. One student will make me earn 200 bucks, in Brazilian real. Two, 400. Three, 600. It's enough to think I can manage 3. But it's also not impossible to think 10 people would be interested. 10 times 200 is 2000 real in my pocket, for 6 months. I would work 10 hours a week with something I enjoy thoroughly, that I produced carefully and in a very engaged manner. I would have to split classes, and serve 2 students a day, from Monday through Friday. If I wanted to "work for real", I'd work 8 hours (I've done more than that). With a 40 hour working week, I'd have 8000 real, but I don't think that's doable. It would make me change my life, but 40 people interested in a digital product with a schedule to be arranged is not realistic for me. For Facebook, it totally is. If I worked with groups, it totally would be. But that's how much I think I could handle: half of that, so I could have free time, with 4 people in a day, 5 days a week. 4000 real a month, for six months. I'd gather 24k, more than enough for a trip to the United States, my dream.

Facebook, X, Google, LinkedIn... these companies and their paying advertising customers are actively stopping that from happening. But the tech companies also implement rules that make my content less discoverable.

At least, if I worked with my own project, you know that I'd be making 200 bucks working 4 hours a month, with something I like, and without depending on shitty company policy and honestly, shitty people.

The link for my course description is in Portuguese and English. Here it goes (I even offer a 20% discount if you refer it to friends, and to be honest, I think the price of this course is equivalent to half a year's college tuition (the Kentucky Western University, where someone close studies, asks for over 12k a year, that's 1k a month, IN DOLLAR.)

When I did the math, shortly after they started talking aboout inflation. This isn't inflation. This is about hierarchy in education.

Yes, if I compared myself to an American university, I could earn 5 thousand real with one student who would have materials for the whole month. I've produced enough to ask students to just catch up. You may think this isn't a valid analogy, but if I told you about the person I know at KWU, you'd know it really is valid.

https://english101br.wordpress.com/course/

[duodusk]

A-Z DSMP (related) Animatic Recs !!

needed an excuse to go back through my animatics playlist, sooo here's a list of some of my favorites limited by alphabetical order so i don't go on forever lol

make sure to check individual warnings on these!

A - All The Lonely People by ch00ks

B - BRUTAL by Dessa

C - Congratulations, You Beat The Maze! by jo_bilee

D - DICTATOR by GomiiDd

E - Epic III by tamato jam

F - The Fox by artlandom

G - GOOD IN ME by masyanajoy

H - Hayloft II Sam Animatic by LocalWheel

I - Innocence by Late-August

J - Just like you! by MelodyAnimation

K - Kwakiteeeee by Dice Shimi

L - Legacy by Ash

M - Memento by ToKtopus

N - new person, same old mistakes by qtiq

O - One Day [Lovejoy] by Poolbranch

P - Problems by SpiritBottle

Q - Quackity's spider ring by Cyburger

R - rat by Iridescent_Petrichor

S - SO BELOW. by RADIOCATIVE

T - Tubbo snaps at Quackity by ReddsMess

U - Under the Surface by Casserole :D

V - Villains by cobblecatt

W - what's a soulmate? by Kazuallyy

X - 6 x 3 by Kazuallyy [that's almost like starting with an X, right? bare with me]

Y - Your (Obedient) Servant by Linktoo

Z - Zephyrus by Jackie_Mae

(& honorable mention to L'manberg / Pogtopia | The Valley by Riley Ellis which has been unlisted so i will not be linking to it here)

[demonfamilytherapist]

⭐ for MC is a ghost after Lesson 16, or Pact Mark Headcanons

The ghost headcanons were a sequel to MC's permadeath headcanons, so I went back and read through those ones and included a basic sort of continuation of where the brothers were at the end of that fic. I'll go brother by brother, and the ending part to finish off:

Mammon: I think this isn't too controversial, but post-lesson 16 I think Mammon would be one of the worst affected. At least in terms of simple, uncomplicated grief, Mammon would likely get hit with the worst. In that scene in lesson 16, every other character was able to communicate to the others, or even comment on what was going on. Mammon was in a full panic. I think he would want to cling onto any memory of MC, and so would be one to dismiss his sightings of MC has hallucinations at first because of that. But he would also be grateful to have any part of them left and finally have an opportunity to be honest with his feelings. So I tried to portray him as feeling lost and empty and latching onto the possibility of MC still being around.

Levi: In the original fic, I gave Levi a bit of competency. Levi is one of the older bros and that does shine through sometimes, and I think if Mammon wasn't able to step up, he would. Levi is doing his best in the ghost fic to support his family, but that doesn't change that he's heavily introverted and anxious. All his efforts have left him extremely tired and self-conscious, especially since many of his brothers are likely too caught up in their own grief to acknowledge his efforts. Levi sees MC as the same source of reassurance as they were in life, but also as a source of motivation. MC's influence on him has encouraged him to interact more with his family even if it's hard. I wanted to show that positive impact - and how grief doesn't always change family dynamics for the worst, even if it's painful.

Beel: Trauma, trauma, trauma. Beel not only has residual guilt from Lilith, he now has new guilt over MC, and all of that is tied to Belphie. His twin, the one person he should be closest to and understand, stole someone he loves from him. The trauma has kind of overlapped for him and Beel can't reach out for Belphie for it, but he also can't just abandon his twin. Seeing MC again, Beel wants to correct his mistake and take care of whatever form they're in. It's not necessarily the healthiest coping mechanism, but it makes him feel more in control.

Asmo: Asmo is an interesting character for me to write. He's either super difficult or I have a really clear idea of him. For MC's ghost, I wanted to show Solomon's influence on him as well as why MC is important to him. He's using a very human coping mechanism (talking to MC without expecting an answer) both to feel more connected to them and because he felt they listened to him. It's only after he sees MC that it starts to have a more unhealthy bend, but well, I guess it's justified given MC really is there? I think as a character, Asmo has a lot to share in his areas of interest (fashion, trends, parties) but due to their apparent 'shallowness' few people listen to him. So I think MC taking the time to understand what he's talking about would be valuable for him.

Satan: Okay, here's where it gets interesting. I was not planning on necromancy coming into things at first. But I literally couldn't think about what to write for Satan. Satan is not a character who would just sit around and mope, he's someone who would want to try and take action even if it seemed totally helpless. Satan also made his pact literal hours (or even less) before MC's death, so I think the rawness of that bond and the grief over 'what could've been' in particular would've driven him to act. I also wanted him to go to Lucifer when it became clear he needed help to show MC's influence again.

Belphie: He was actually the toughest one to write. I firmly believe Belphie began to develop feelings for MC (not necessarily romantic) while still in the attic. However, he held his trauma, grief, and misplaced rage higher than those feelings which led to his actions. When the justification for his rage was removed, Belphie is left to realise that he killed an innocent person (which, demon, he probably could've recovered from that) and a person that his family dearly, dearly loved, and whose loss completely broke them apart again. That guilt informs his actions for every part of the story, and leaving his shared room with Beel at the end of his section sort of foreshadows what would happen at the end.

Lucifer: Lucifer doesn't have the same close relationship with MC as his brothers do, so while he does grieve their loss and his role in it, his primary concern is his brothers (which just happens to distract him from his grief too!). Lucifer's lack of close relationship with MC is also shown in his poor understanding of them (seen in his insistence that they would be hostile). However, Lucifer has faith in Satan which changes his opinion. I have a lot to say on Lucifer and Satan's relationship, but I think that Lucifer is a lot prouder of Satan than he always shows and has a lot of respect for his learning and ability. So when Satan approaches him with the truth about MC, Lucifer is able to accept it. It also helps that the whole situation has served him quite a bit of humble pie, too.

Ending: once again, necromancy was not my original plan for this fic, but it honestly made sense. Lucifer has already broken the rules of life and death for a loved one once. They're seven of the most powerful beings not only in the Devildom, but across all three realms. And MC is one of them now. Lucifer offering his pact is his way of making it up to his family and MC for hiding the truth. Belphie's offer to leave was written shortly before I played the s3 finale, and let me say I felt so vindicated on that point. Belphie hates being alone, he's scared of being alone, but he offers to isolate himself willingly because he wants his family to heal.

It was a very fun fic to write!

[diavolosthots]

I get so happy every time I see your requests are open again... Anyway, could you write a scenario in which Satan fell in love with the reader, only to realise, after the whole attic situation, that they were falling in love with Belphegor, instead? Like, he just caught them in a lovey dovey moment by accident. Not really NSFW, just angst. Thank you in advance, I love your writing and am always looking forward to it every day ❤️

I posted this on ao3 first but here it is

Warning: angst

Broken Hearts Club (SATAN X GN!READER)

It was truly hard not to fall for you. You are everything he’s ever read about, everything he’s ever dreamt about. At night, when he’s still awake with only a candle to keep him company, and his nose is buried deep within his stacks of books, his mind still finds a way to drift to you. At first he found it annoying; how could anyone occupy his mind this much? But it was so obvious to him what exactly it was. It was obvious to him because he’s seen it so many times in stories and even occasionally down here in the Devildom. As demons, he used to think each and every single one of them was doomed for misery and bad luck, but he’s seen it work out, even for the darkest of beings. It brings him hope that maybe, just maybe, it will work out for him too. Up until you came along, though, no one really interested him. They were all dull and boring, and… dumb. They looked at the surface level of things and they didn’t stimulate his mind as much as they did his body, which made him turn away in disgust and start from scratch. Pretty faces only go so far, you know?

And truly, at first he didn’t even believe you could be anything to him. You were pretty, yes, no doubt about that, and he definitely felt a physical attraction, but it took a while for him to realize that you could keep him satisfied mentally as well. You are… complex, and he liked that. It’s like a tornado, if he’s being honest. You could change your mood at any moment, you could blow up or calm down, speak your mind or pretend to keep the peace. You are smart and kind, mostly patient although he totally understands when you’re not. Believe him, he does. You were… a garden. His garden. Filled with so many flowers and animals, bushes and trees, and different types of dirt depending on where you looked. You didn’t give yourself to just the roses or just the beetles on the ground. You had daisies and magnolias, and earthworms and bees, happily flying around and bringing a small blessing to everything it touches. You grew and you died, but you always came back. Some of you stuck around all year, other parts of you only showed up during certain times… and that’s okay. It’s intriguing. It makes him excited and desperate and… greedy. Needy? 

“Are you free right now? I was thinking of going to the cafe.” He hoped, silently prayed, that you’d say yes, and you even smiled back at him before you gave him that teasing smirk, “hm… you feeling generous, Satan? Plan to pay for my coffee?” A joke, obviously, although he’d never have any issue in paying for you because it’s you and he wants you to be happy, even if that means spending a couple of grimm on coffee. “Sure, but tea is superior, so you owe me for choosing the wrong thing.” a smirk back. Was that smooth? Even if it wasn’t, you’re laughing now and it feels so innocent so he can’t help but feel like it was. “Fine, but not right now. I have things to do. Maybe in an hour? Does that still work for you?” He nodded, but what you didn’t know is that he’d drop any and everything he was doing at whatever moment to do things with you, even if you still have terrible taste in drinks. “Mhm. I’ll meet you up front in an hour.” and then you were off, and he was just watching you walk away. What he didn’t know, though, is that you’d do that quite literally an hour from now. 

A part of him was nervous because all of him wanted this to go right. The other part of him is confident that things will go right. Maybe you could take a walk in the park afterward, or just around town. Maybe you’d catch the Devildom sky at just the right time with him and he could finally fess up about how he feels. He texted you one more time, 15 minutes before. Just a simple “I’ll be downstairs at the door.” so you know where to find him. It never got answered but he just assumed you read it and moved on with your life. No biggie, he does the same. Excitement rushed through him and he was twiddling with his thumbs a bit. This could be his chance at one of those fairy tale romances, no matter how silly he used to think they were. He craved that. The love, the adventure, the vulnerability… the life he could share with someone, you know? He needed that, in all honesty. He’s been waiting at that door since 15 minutes ago and he’s being pretty lenient. “Probably brushing their hair….” you know, simple things. Maybe you’re looking at the menu of the cafe so you’re not holding up the line when you get there? He should do the same. 

But he’s been looking at the menu for another fifteen minutes now. Had you forgotten? No. He texted you about it, afterall, and he’s checking now that the message really went through, which it did. It angered him. He’s talked to you less than two hours ago there’s no way you could’ve already forgotten. You’re not Mammon. “Maybe…” he’s giving himself excuses and he knows it. Anything to justify anything you could be doing right now, but then he heard your laughter coming from upstairs and he knew you were at least in the house. He raised an eyebrow “facetiming a friend…?” Right? You still had friends up in the human world, afterall. He walked back up the stairs, looking left and right until he heard your laughter again, coming from the attic this time. “Belphegor…” That’s the only person that ever goes up there unless Lucifer decides to punish someone again. A soft growl escaped him and he swiftly made his way up there, not bothering to knock on the door because all of a sudden, all common courtesy left his body “(Y/N)---!”

A pause. Wide eyes and an open mouth. You were still grinning from the previous laugh that escaped your pretty little mouth, but it quickly dropped when you saw him. “Satan..? Has it already been an hour?” Innocent. You were playing innocent as if you weren’t cuddled up underneath Belphegor with his face buried in your chest. He looked bored now, although Satan is sure he saw him laugh too, which is a miracle within itself but that’s also another story. “Yes. It’s been an hour.” He didn’t mean to sound so harsh but every ounce of happiness, of hope, dropped from his features and he looked anywhere from disgusted to disappointed to hurt. He’s pretty sure he just ran through a few hundred emotions in less than thirty seconds, and how could he not? You guys were so close. His hands were…. Where his hands should never have been and you let him. As a matter of fact, you were holding onto him just as tightly. “Let me get ready. I’ll be there in a second.” Still innocent. You were smiling now, as if nothing was even wrong. And then you leaned down to kiss Belphie’s head as he whined that you’re pushing him off of you and all Satan could do was watch and clench his fists.

“Save it. Have fun.” It sounded more than a little passive aggressive and honestly, he didn’t care. There was so much going on inside of him right now and he made it a point to turn on his heel, “Satan!” no matter how loud you screamed his name. He ran back down the stairs, passing Lucifer on the way and snarling at him, but he didn’t care. He’d deal with the lecture and consequences later. Right now he was just trying not to cry because that would mean you had some sort of control over him, some type of upper emotional hand, and he can’t have that. He can’t let that happen. “I should’ve known.” He slams the door to his room, breathing heavily now as he tries to fight back the tears. Weak. He felt weak. Used. Betrayed. Somewhere, his rational mind tried to justify it for him. Somewhere he knows that he should’ve told you sooner if he wanted that with you, but at the same time… didn’t he make it obvious?

All the late night talks, the gentle caresses, the soft smiles and awkward pickup lines… was all of that not obvious to you? Did it not signal to you that somehow, somewhere, he held deep feelings? Should he have tried harder to court you…? He could feel the tears streaming and he quickly wiped them with the back of his hand. Anger surged through him, but he’s trying to keep himself together, pacing the room instead. He should’ve tried harder, although he did try… You shouldn’t have been so blind to his advances. Did you just lead him on? Did you just like the attention that he gave you? Did you just drag him along because you thought it was funny that he would let his guard down momentarily. Did you mock his vulnerability? Sadness and betrayal turned into anger and hatred toward you the more he thought about it, but not just you; the idea of love in general. 

“People just use you, anyway.” 

[c-aureus]

How I think Hyrule would respond to Zelda's return, after the end of BotW.

Wall of text incoming.

TL;DR: I think they'd be very cruel.

Please remember that these are all only my interpretations and opinions, and should be treated as such.

A while ago, I made a post saying that I do not believe that Zelda or Link should be in any way 'happy' after the end of BotW. Imo, they've both lost too much for that, and I worry that the sequel will not give this grief or loss the focus it deserves.

Now, I plan to expand on that, by explaining my interpretation for how i believe Hyrule would respond to her after her return, which would only further compound their misery.

Now, I'd like to preface this by saying that I actually like BotW Zelda as a character a lot, and that I'm very sympathetic to her.

However... well.

The consequences of her failure are simply too big to ignore imo.

Firstly, as a general overview: Zelda was the ONLY person capable of stopping Ganon. Without her Divine sealing power, there was simply no way for Hyrule to survive Ganon's assault, no matter the preparations, or skill of the warriors. The best example of this is the Champions and Divine Beasts. They were all the best of the absolute best, and yet none of them were able to survive Ganon's assault, simply because they were not Divinely favoured to succeed, the way that Link and Zelda were. Even despite their incredible skill, prowess and dedication. There are other examples too, notably the fall of Hyrule's military outposts, and the annihilation of central Hyrule's civilisation and infrastructure.

To put it simply, with Zelda's power, they won. Without it, all of the preparations were for naught, and everyone would die. Zelda herself even says as much in a cutscene in AoC.

(Also, as a side note, in all of those levels in AoC where you relieve the Akkala Fortress, Great Plateau, and Hateno fort, remember that in BotW, they all fell, and the soldiers would have been slaughtered.)

So, in light of that...

The fact that Zelda only unlocked her power after it was already too late means that I don't believe that the shattered remnants of Hyrule's civilisation would be kind or sympathetic to her.

Link and Zelda were literally born by divine influence to protect Hyrule from Ganon. And, well...

Again, my point comes down to the fact that Zelda only unlocked her power after it was too late for the Champions, Link, and thousands of other Hyruleans who had either already been killed, or who would later die in the aftermath.

Now, again, I'm HIGHLY sympathetic to Zelda here. Indeed, she had lived her entire life with this Sword of Damocles hanging over her.

However. The sword fell.

And, crucially, Zelda avoided it, whilst it went on to kill literally thousands of others. They all died for Zelda's failure, whilst she herself survived.

Furthermore, those 'lucky' ones who did survive had to live in BotW Hyrule, which, if I'm being honest, is an absolute wasteland. So, so much was lost in the Calamity, the land was overrun by monsters, and even the tiny remaining pockets of civilisation suffer. I could go on for hours about how infrastructure, agriculture and trade were all annihilated, but I'll try to refrain for brevity's sake.

The long and short of it is that Hyrule is fucked.

I think my worry about this comes from BotW's post credit scene where Zelda tells Link that she thinks that if everyone works together, they can rebuild, and make Hyrule better than it was before.

And, this line really annoyed me. Because, quite simply, Hyrule has simply lost too much to rebuild. Infrastructure, agriculture, trade, population... Hyrule would be reeling for generations after Link and Zelda's death. To expect any kind of quick recovery is just... foolish beyond words.

(Another side note: I'm extremely grateful to AoC showing just how developed Hyrule is pre-Calamity. It helps give scale and scope to the devastation in BotW even more.)

So, Zelda's naive optimism here annoyed me. However, far more than that, there is another issue that this overlooks:

Namely, I cannot fathom why anyone in Hyrule would want to follow her, or would accept her as their sovereign.

Now, this is going to get extremely cruel to Zelda, and that saddens me, because I like her. This is just what I think the realistic response would be to her, given the circumstances, because people are cruel and like easy targets of blame. There are many examples of this kind of blaming behaviour in history, if anyone wants to look, lol. So apologies in advance:

BotW tells us through the memories that Zelda's reputation is AWFUL Pre-Calamity. Rhoam says that the people call her 'Heir to a Kingdom of Nothing' etc.

Now, perhaps poor parenting aside, this gives more context. Do you really believe that the 'lucky' few survivors of Central Hyrule would be kind, given that Zelda fulfilled their terrible expectations in the WORST possible manner?

No. I believe that that generation, which already disliked her, would spend the rest of their lives cursing her failure, and the death and destruction that came as a consequence. And, they would pass that down to their children and grandchildren.

This comes to another point: Zelda is (for the most part) out of living memory. The only thing Hyrule knows of her is her failure to prevent the land from being devastated. Furthermore, the 4 tribes of Hyrule might even have a decent cause to blame her for the deaths of the Champions.

(Cause and effect are tricky, but well... people are irrational. Maybe if Zelda had unlocked her power straight away, the Champions still would have died. However, perhaps they could have held on long enough for Link and Zelda to force Ganon to recall his Blights to protect himself, as he does in BotW if you attack him without liberating the Divine Beasts. Who is to say? The point is, people get hung up on these kind of 'what ifs', as I am doing right now, lol.)

I'd like to make a special mention of the Zora here, who not only have Zelda (and all of her failures and inadequacies) in living memory, but are also xenophobic towards Hylians.

We see how they blame Link in BotW, after all. I think that they would feel similarly to Zelda, who is 'technically' more deserving of blame.

From a Zora-centric perspective, Zelda may as well have stolen Mipha from them, to make her take the fall for Zelda's failures. She literally set Mipha up to die, she sacrificed Mipha on the altar of her own survival, etc.

To elaborate: Princess Zelda personally requested Mipha, the beloved Crown Princess of the Zora, to become Champion. Despite Dorephan's hesitance, he allows it. Then, Zelda fails her, and Mipha dies in the Calamity that Zelda failed to prevent, but also that Zelda manages to survive.

Like... as harsh, cruel, and unfair as this is to poor Zelda... do you think that the Domain, which is STILL mourning Mipha a century later, would just... wave that away?

Now... how much Zelda is truly to blame for the Calamity is another matter, one that I will explore in a post hopefully shorter than this one. Suffice to say, I have many opinions, and some of the conclusions are perhaps unkind to her, which only further justifies my interpretations of Hyrule's blame, and Zelda's guilt and grief.

The point is that... Hyrule would see an easy target to dump their grief on. And I I don't believe they would just let it go.

Furthermore, Zelda has no political influence anymore. She can't force anyone to listen to her, or obey her commands, since all of that was destroyed in the Calamity. Moreover, with Zelda's reputation being that of colossal failure, I doubt that anyone in Hyrule would wish to submit to her, to give her the chance to fuck everything up again.

God. I feel really horrible typing all of this out, lol. And yet, I genuinely believe that this would be the reaction to her. So, if in the sequel, everything is being rebuilt and everyone is totally happy with Zelda, well...

I'm gonna be very upset. Because, in my opinion, if all of Hyrule just forgave Zelda's failures, and ignored their disastrous consequences, that would be extremely unrealistic.

As much as this headcanon hurts, and would hurt me to see, I'd be very vindicated by it, lol.

If anyone has any opinions, feel free to let me know.

Just please keep everything civil lol. This is only a random person on the internet's opinion.

[tamamatango]

Let’s talk about Kururu, again

Apparently the fandom is growing all of a sudden so I feel like talking about Kururu again cuz that’s all I know how to do and it’s been a while

First off disclaimer that fandom is fandom and anybody can interpret any character any way they want and if you like to portray a character a certain way for whatever reason go for it, more power to you (unless you put them in pedo/incest relationships that are displayed as good in which case fuck you). But in my personal Kirbpinion(TM) the Funimation dub was a fucking mistake because so many fan content creators write a way different Kururu than what he is in canon cuz the dub never got to his best episodes and also upped the sadism to ridiculous levels. Listen I know it’s funny to joke that he’s the kind of guy that has 3 medieval torture chambers but hear me out. Kururu is by no means a perfect person, he’s genuinely pretty rude/blunt (though sometimes his straightforwardness is justified :P), has an ego, sometimes acts pretty gross around others and likes extreme and elaborate pranks way way way too much BUT.

Assuming you’ve watched far enough into the series (like 100+ eps) I do not really understand the interpretation that he doesn’t care about anyone and that friendship and love are things he is totally incapable of. He says that yes but if you pay enough attention to his dialogue it becomes pretty apparent that he displays this attitude for multiple reasons. One is that he does genuinely have a hard time expressing the emotions he feels and often has awkward/guarded ways of doing so. But also he says many times over the course of the series that he has a “reputation” to keep up and wants people to call him a jerk; he wants to look cool and rebellious all the time and he thinks a nasty apathetic attitude is what earns him that status (not claiming that’s a healthy mindset, mind you). He wants to have full control over the way people see him and he gets super frustrated and humiliated when he can’t. This is probably why he gets so upset when people talk about how unpopular he is, because he’s spent so much time honing his image to a T and is like why the fuck isn’t this working?! In other words even though sometimes he is just an actual pain in the neck a lot of his asshole antics are part of a carefully manufactured persona, and he will do anything down to labeling his own memories to prevent other people from seeing through his facade and discovering the parts of him that are vulnerable.

And God forbid anyone does figure out that he does care quite a bit for the people around him, or at least if he didn’t at first he does now. Early on in the series he was commonly referred to as “depressing” and while the meta reason is probably just the anime writers just didn’t know how to adapt the character yet (he started out a little differently in the manga), in canon I believe he was just even more inclined to push everybody away from him, and as he began to get used to working in a group he gradually opened up. He commentates on how “soft” he’s gotten since he came to Earth a couple times, and the fact that he’s surprisingly one of the most loyal to Keroro out of the whole team (in many episodes where everyone abandons Keroro for being dumb he leaves last) and goes out of his way to help when he thinks it’s warranted (he asks for money when things aren’t dire yeah but hey labor deserves compensation :V) shows that he is dedicated to his team. There’s even episodes where he doles out some kind of moral lesson to the squad in his own Kururu-y way, especially to Keroro and Tamama. Even the Hinatas he’ll pitch in to protect when he has to, and we all know he’ll pretty much drop everything if Saburo needs him.

Speaking of which. I think the unspoken reason why he’s best friends with Saburo (besides the surface-level stuff like they’re smart and nerdy and seen as enigmas by everybody else) is because Saburo is the only other person in the cast who understands Kururu’s particular struggle of putting on airs as a means of self-defense all the time. He basically has a carefully managed celebrity life (that he has to constantly work to hide in anime canon), a somewhat formal/reserved public life, and the more quirky enthusiastic side of himself he only shows when alone and to the few people he’s close to and god damn that just sounds like the most exhausting juggling act ever. He has an outlet to free himself through his art but he still has to live with nobody quite knowing what he goes through on a daily basis, which is probably why we see him off on his own for most of the series (until he gets to warm up to everybody better...wonder who that sounds like) and occasionally have his bouts of frustration and insecurity like in 229 where he says “fuck it I’m gonna fight the apocalypse alone because I need something to do,” 354(? I think that’s the number) where he talks about just dropping everything and starting over, and I think one of the Christmas eps where Giroro has to like beg him to go to the Hinatas’ party cuz he says he’s “busy” even though he’s just sitting around pretty much (UPDATE: it’s 294 the implication is probably that he has his show or something but cmon that’s only like an hour lol). I am going off on a tangent now but anyway the point is he and Kururu are the most complicated communicators of the cast and they share feelings only they understand which is why they can more or less read each other’s minds and know exactly what to do when the other is in trouble.

Back to Kururu. Keroro, from what I can tell, is the closest to him out of the Platoon; Keroro gets freaked out by Kururu’s pranks sometimes yeah but they have a lot of common interests as the fun-lovers of the group and Kururu’s also kinda been interested in Keroro enough time follow him around for almost his entire life up to this point so there’s that. He also gets along with the other people he‘s around; we know he and Aki get along from the beginning because of how dynamic their personalities are but later on he gets close to Fuyuki to the point where they just hang out for the heck of it sometimes, and even though Natsumi is very justified in generally disliking him (many of Kururu’s more Eugh moments tend to involve her) even she seems to rely on him often, and in the cursed puppy episode she knows all his favorite foods by heart so she must care in some fashion lol. Dororo and he aren’t evidently super close but I think they get each other on some level as the (in-universe) least popular of the platoon and Dororo at least respects his abilities, and has clearly come to figure out his subtleties based on 229. Giroro and Mois...things get complicated. Just putting on record that I’m not a fan of either ship between Kururu and them. I’ve said this before but I think Giroro and Kururu are in a turbulent sibling-adjacent relationship in that they have completely opposing attitudes but they have a begrudging sense of respect for each other and, ultimately, they’re teammates, so they’ll defend each other when someone they don’t know tries to mess with them. I really don’t think the flirty stuff on Kururu’s end goes beyond teasing and I got kinda sick of that running gag if I’m being honest. (You can probably tell which frog I ship Kururu with by now :P) Mois went from something of a rival to Kururu to his lab partner, which is probably why he goes easier on her than he used to and even strikes up something of a friendship because the only other person he knows that might be capable of handling his technology is an Earthling who’s still against the invasion despite his lax attitude so. She helps :V

Now the question is why Kururu acts like he does if his relationships really aren’t all that bad and I think there’s two components to this. I’ve made it clear by now I think he’s autistic but your mileage may vary there. I think personally his childhood did something to the way he processes things as well. In Secret of the Kero Ball, he’s got a bandage on his head which may imply he got hurt somewhere and then he almost drowned which canonically definitely did something to him lol, was mostly seen alone so who knows if he has a family he still talks to, and then he got drafted into the army and placed into a high-ranking position of great responsibility at a very young age; it’s kind of a no-brainer why he rebeled and got demoted eventually. I’ve got plenty of headcanons about what his early days in the Military did to him but that’s for another day because good God this post went on too long.

In short: Kururu is possibly the most complicated character in the show and the F in Flanderization stands for “Funimation.” That’s it I’m never writing another essay about pee-color frog again I will make real content again at some point I promise

[coffeebeannate]

thoughts on the old guard characters? (a long one I know lol)

HO BOY.

I LOVE long asks when I have the braincells! *He says, as if he ever has braincells*

ANYWAY.

I’m going to go with just the movie for now, since I’ve only read the first volume of the comics yet and there’s definitely some changes.

This post is long, so I put all my brain rambles beneath the cut.

I also cheated and only did the Guard themselves for some brevity, if you want extensions with Copley, etc. I’ll do a part two :)

Andy/ Andromache the Scythian

ANDY. ANDY. ANDY ANDYYYYYYYYYYY.

I love her. I love her SO MUCH. I regret that I never really explore her as much as I want to. Because there is just SO MUCH THERE. There is so much to work with, to explore to understand and to see. I adore her. She’s jaded, but she’s also clearly somewhat passionate in her own way. Something has kept her going this long. She loves her family. She is at her most open and honest and vulnerable with her family! 

The world gets a facade, her calm, collective glance of ‘I don’t give a fuck but I actually do give a fuck but letting you know I give a fuck makes things complicated’. But when she’s with Nicky and Joe, (and Booker), she’s laughing, she’s enjoying their company. She looks so happy and instantly relaxes and I JUST!!

I love that she’s not some 19 year old (possible ageism). I love that they let a 45 year old actress play a character who is clearly over 30 and very much badass. The whole ‘only young women or very old women in movies’ trope is so old, so overdone. (And I’m still salty about this person who said it’s bullshit to see ‘grandma Charlize beating up men twice her size’, as if Liam Nesson doesn’t do just that in his seventies BUT ANYWAY).

Andy is SO multilayered. She’s clearly struggling, and she’s angry and cynical and OH so fucking tired, but she’s still VERY LOVING. She cares about Nile, she cares about her family, she CARES. She’s allowed to be upset! She’s allowed to be ugly emotionally (as they might say it in Hollywood, ffs), she’s allowed to be angry and happy and sweet and she has agency and vulnerability and I JUST LOVE THAT.\

She can also step on me I mean what.

ANYWAY.

Nile Freeman

NILE. NILE MADAM. 

Nile is just a MARVEL. She’s sweet. She’s caring. She has ALL the heart and takes NONE of the shit!! There’s so much to her. She’s devoted (I really love that she’s religious, and that the movie doesn’t take this away from her, regardless of things that happen). I love how utterly devoted she is. I love that she’s able to retain so much of her own personal autonomy, AND that she’s both scared and confused, but also SECURE. 

Nile doesn’t know WTF is happening. First kill in the Marines, very sudden death, you have a brand new family? Oh, you also can’t see your family again? Your mother and brother? Oh and this lady with the bizarre name has effectively kidnapped you so you can’t be shipped to a lab in Germany? THE FUCK.

Kiki does such a MAGNIFICENT job too! Like the amount of emotions she conveys!! All of Nile’s confusion, anger, upset. Hurt. How throughout all this, she’s shown as street smart! Clever! ADPATABLE.

Nile  becomes something ‘new’ but retains her original personality entirely. And I LOVE that. She is young, but she isn’t babied. She’s allowed to be guided without being considered infantile. She’s allowed to be here whole self and it’s SO GOOD.

Also, you wake up in a Humvee in the desert and your first instinct is to kick the back end out and roll away? And then stab your kidnapper?? AMAZING.

I love that she’s an art nerd. I love her enthusiasm, I love her heart. I love her cleverness. I love how she can be a bit “wtf’ but also flat out doesn’t take ANYONE’S bullshit EVER.

“We’re not going to Paris” HELL MA’AM GUESS WE ARE NOT. 

Sebastien Le Livre/ Booker

(Rucka once again I ask you, was that name only for the punning? Because I love puns to but cmon)

So..Booker.

I’m..I’m not neutral, but I tend to not think about him much beyond what is necessary. I think I’d feel that my thoughts on him are ‘complicated’ so I’ll keep his section short. I WILL say that his character is VERY well written. Booker cannot be called a flat character. And maybe I’m naive, but my first time watching the movie? Yeah, totally goddamned BLINDSIDED. And I give the movie a LOT of credit for that. 

Maybe smarter people saw it coming, but I sure didn’t. So hey, kudos.

I understand him. I understand his motivations. And for a person suffering from that kind of depression, the toxic sabotaging kind, yeah. It’s well done. His motives are..his motives. I’ll probably not ever know what it feels like to outlive your children. But lots of my family members did. I get how it destroys you.

However, Booker needs help. And it’s on Booker, IMO, to get that help, outside of his family. Because he hurt them. He hurt them badly. It’s not the kind of thing you just come back from.

Consider my attitude..curious.

Joe/Yusuf Al-Kaysani

I can’t make this too long I can’t make this too long I can’t-

JOE. Is a MARVELOUS MAN. He’s soft. He’s artistic. He’s strong and sweet and his entire face lights up like the actual honest to god sun that he IS. I love how much he loves. I love how compassionate he is. I love his passion. His soft voice. His kind caring attitude.

BUT AS A FLIP SIDE.

I love how badass he is. I go slightly feral from the bullet spitting ‘very pissed off’. DARLING, NO KIDDING. I love how he’s just got this kinda hidden swag element. He is so clearly the life source of every room he enters. Show stealer. He’s the one that makes people feel comfortable immediately. With charm and boastfulness. With just such great WARMTH. Joe feels like a fireplace. You just want to curl up with him.

He cares so much about the world. His husband. His family.

THE SPEECH??

Imagine someone LOOKING AT YOU THAT WAY. No wonder Nicky is downright wavering on us. I’D FAINT.

Joe seems to love the world around him so much. And yeah, okay, he holds out with  justified anger. (I SUPPORT THIS ANGER), but he’s also clearly affectionate. He’s open with his love. Joe literally wears his heart on his sleeve. You KNOW how Joe is feeling at all times. Because Joe can’t hide it. And if you have his love and friendship, you have it forever.

Joe could do audiobooks. Joe could paint museums full of paintings. 

And those curls? Best. Incredible.

Marwan made Joe into such an incredible character I LOVE HIM YOUR HONOUR SIR I LOVE HIM.

Nicky/ Nicolò di Genova

Ahhh Joe’s other half. Man of few words, but when those words come out they cut and say so DAMNED MUCH. And what isn’t said vocally is always said with a look, a smile. MICRO EXPRESSIONS THAT SPEAK THE WORLD.

Nicky seems like such an aware character. Nicky is the type that makes very conscious decisions every single day. Be kind. Daily. This is not the type of man who does anything lightly. I feel like Nicky is a calculated sort, but with EVERYTHING. Because he KNOWS that your presence in this world makes an impact. He knows how important being self-aware is. He feels so lucky and grateful to be with Joe and his family at all times.

I LOVE HIS SNIPING. I love his outfits! I love how intense and sweet and compassionate he is. I feel like he has some little shit energy. Doing something slightly devious? Probably. Having ideas just because? Damned right! I can only imagine how much dry teasing Joe has endured over the centuries. Because Nicky is just so raw and clever. You can never be entirely sure what he’s thinking, perhaps. Joe can read him like a book, but I think anyone else might be finding themselves looking a touch harder. Just in case.

I love Luca’s accent! I love how competent Nicky is! He loves Joe just as openly too, and I adore it??

“The love of my life was the people I’ve been taught to hate” THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE! AND THAT TINY SMILE! THE SMILE OF A THOUSAND WORDS.

Quynh

Boss. I want more immediately. I NEED MORE.

Lykon

RIP we barely knew ya.

Final Thoughts:

I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS SO MUCH.

I love that we got ALL THIS.

In TWO DAMNED HOURS.

I love the thoughts the actors put forth. I love how dedicated everyone was to this movie. I love how there’s so much from what could have gone so wrong.

I LOVE THEM!!

[macgyvertape]

50 or so hours into Cyberpunk 2077

This should be roughly the correct amount of time, ive been leaving the game running as I get up to get food or do stretches. Quests are roughly in order I did them

non spoilers above cut:

 i haven't found a single hat/helmet i like, and since you can't hide them I just am not wearing any. It matters that much.

I posted the other day about bugs, every few hours I play I find new bugs. some require me to go back and reload a save others I honestly can’t tell if it’s a bug or just really poor development

there are several perks that don’t quite do what the description says, like the Anamesis perk. Based on reddit and trying it out it seems to just not do anything.

sometimes in car chase segments the passenger will say “look out” as cars spawn in my path and hit me. Can’t tell if that was deliberate or a pop in issue

Yeah I’ve just totally given up on doing pacifist things unless required by a mission. Given up on doing stealth too unless a mission objective, except for sneaking around to set up a fight.

:readmore:

the delemain car quest is fun. From the shock of the one going "beep beep motherfucker" and doing a hit and run to start it off, to the GLADOS car i see a lot of people talking about. It was fun to explore the city when i might have missed places like the landfill apparently there is follow up on T-bug's death if you go back to the quick hack shop in Kabuki. It's not much but better than nothing I made the pass with Panam of "what if the room just had one bed". I know she won't do a wlw romance, which is fine since I wouldn’t have chosen her.  I enjoy her as a character, don’t get me wrong, my V considers her as a friend, but it seems like theres always drama going on which would be tiring. I would have gone for a fling, i like her leotard-pants combo with all the straps

but also her questline was buggy as hell. Multiple cases of having to reload due to clipping into objects, including her in a driving section, or just insta-dying when collision physics with some rocks broke "your neural network can no longer function independantly of the chip" me slapping my desk: s y m b i o te!!! come on lets have some s y m b i o s i s

in the scene with hellman i really liked how Johnny moved around the room. It made him feel like he was really there. it was hard to follow the convo as I left the room, i would not have understood it without subtitles. But i guess Takemura fucking waterboarded hellman. :|

lol I hope the dialogue is different b/c i refuse to smoke for Johnny

i am level 18 and still can't beat the first opponents in the fist fighting quest. ffs

I looked up the romances options so I went to do the I fought the law quest as soon as i got it. ACAB, but like I literally just met River Ward 2 minutes ago, and I really like him. His earring and cyborg eye, his big fluffy coat. I'm definitely gonna sleep with him Ok i like how when River Ward is dealing with the tiger claws if you interject it leads to a fight. It goes better if you follow his instructions and let him deal with it. Seriously I enjoy that sometimes its good to not pick a dialogue choice.

during the red queen club part, there was no dialogue over the phone. So i reloaded a save and got myself spotted and attacked. Then River showed up to help me <3 and it was more enjoyable having him there. I honestly am not sure if him not going to the club level is bug or not.

then uuuuuugh the worst of irl police "cops are my family" from Detective Han. Again ACAB "FRATERNITY OF CITY COPS RESEMBLES A [Nomad] CLAN NOT AT ALL" ok a few minutes ago i was complaining about bugs, but the character modeling in this game is good (when they're there). You can see body posture, characters jiggle their legs when they are nervous. Like I though character A was just throwing a cigarette on the ground, but then character B flinches back; I realize Char A threw it at B as a fuck you

I'm honestly curious if "I fought the Law" quest will have any impact later on. My choices were that I thought there was more going on than Holt being the only person behind this (based on how complicated the main questline heist is, and keeping an eye on some of the in game news), and told him not to take it to internal affairs, and I loved his response of how he doesn't give a shit what we think, he's doing it anyway.

In the elevator to report in, Johnny said "this muck is deeper than you think, tell them nothing", so i just said that the case was complicated. anyway i love how much of a sarcastic asshole V is

I thought i was being nonlethal with the monk quest, but it seems i accidently killed someone. RIP, but thats kind of the problem with this game. Like when i do the non lethal cyberpychosis quests I equip my non lethal modded gun and hope for the est. I like how a go here kill things quest led to Charles the ripperdoc. He's getting all his parts from scav gang members so I felt obligated to take him out. I got a police bounty for it but w/e.

I merged the Delemain fragments with the whole. Guess he's the meta now. (Side note: some of my favorite rvb fanfic plots are Ai consiousness/memory merging with the humans, so I’m having fun with this game and look foward to introspective fanfic)

Honestly Jonny made some good points, the fragments didn't deserve to die; but also destroying the core and freeing the fragments, they couldn't really function alone.

I was able to rescue Saul fine with stealth. Using cameras and the synapse overload really made it easy.  Can't use the sniper rifle reward b/c I don't have the stats for it, and while it has a silencer the fact that it's a ricochette weapon and not a shoot through walls weapons, makes it not as good imo; and theres a legendary one that is stats free for only 100k.

Lol made a pass again at Panam, and she immediately shut me down. I then did Mitch's quest and I love every time someone tells V they area  good person.

I hacked the operation carpe noctem shard, and wow the corporations are using ai to make people have cyberpsychosis, or something like that. What a shocker /s, I've played Deus Ex HR before

lol driving through the unifinished interstate, past the fight from Panam's first quest I found a "batcave" with a very nice car, and a manifesto written by "muckman'. But here's my complaint about the loot, there is a legendary top, but it had 16 armor. My current top has 84 armor, like why would i switch?? then later i found a bunker with soviet spies in it. Wild

Doing River's second quest, love the timing of as soon as you ask, why are we breaking in, someone shows up to tell you he got kicked off the force. It's funny how Johnny comments how maybe River's into you, and V just doubts Johnny's words. Love how the first kid asks River if I'm his girlfriend. also wow like oof both the second parts of Judy and River's quest are SUPER fucked UP!! oof like i stopped doing first person mode on the braindances for those quests as soon as i could, just made me too uncomfortable seeing that in first person.

DRIVING IN THE GAME IS BAD! nowhere is it more apparent than the sinnerman quest, which took me 3 times to get the driving section done, as cars spawned out of nowhere to hit me. Then when you restart, there is a bunch of dialogue it doesn't let you fast forward through. The rest of the Sinnerman questline is interesting. My V took every option to tell the dude that he was messed up, and what he was doing was wrong. idk, I was surprised how much dialogue there was that let you buy into his whole "forgiveness thing" and how there wasn't any real dialogue to call him the fuck out, that in seeking forgiveness he continues to do harm both emotional to the mother of the man he killed, but also that he got the husband killed via cop. The later follow up quest, I told him that what he is doing is crazy, studio is just going to profit off this vid. Then I refused to join him prayer, and told him fuck no i wasn't going to hammer him to the cross, or even watch. Yes, the man is scared of dying, and the corporation is exploiting him, but he keeps creating burdens for others.  I think the discussion on this quest will be interesting to read, it's definitely my own personal experience with religion coloring my view. Anyway back to a main quest, yeah i don't trust Placide, especially in that scene where he grabs my hand, then jacks in. I ran off to do most of the sidequests here and got some criticism from him. I do love how in the cinema the western movie switches to a mission brief as the netwatch agent talks. its a fun enviromental detail.  I took the netwatch offer, i don't think he's being fully honest with me, but he didn't put a virus in my head. As I told Placide later, I didn't pick a side. I like how you can then talk with the agent, who is a fan of Western movies, b/c they show "a simpler time where all good guys carry badges" :eyeroll:, and then V recommends Unforgiven, which from the wiki summary goes against that theme.

Looks like the Voodoo boys all got killed by Netwatch, but I as revenge for them trying to set me up I'm fine with it. Honestly after speaking with ai!Alt I don’t believe their plan of trying to be on good relations with AI would work. 

doing the johnny flashback 2, and wow Johnny really is an asshole. Like I had gotten so used to him in side missions I forgot how self centered and unlikable he was.You constantly get prompts to drink or do drugs, which I ignored. But i do love the goth/punk love Rogue and others have.

lol i called it, when Hellman said that the engram would seek to override the host, put V on the engram. I really like how as the relic malfunctions, you wind up in the chair with a cigarette, which you can either smoke and say you are turning into Johnny or throw away. My dialogue "your problem is the ends justify the means", which is true!!! He and Rogue detonated a nuke downtown, does anyone know that, and like ask Rogue about it????

(Funny you can ask Rouge about Johnny silverhand, over the phone, then the game bugs out and spawns her npc where you are. She doens't say much about the nuke, but she does say no one trusts you for jobs). The line of no one trusting you for jobs is pretty funny at level 46 street cred where im at “respected” status. really loving the family atmosphere at River's 3rd quest. Also his big strong arms, and the fact he is no longer a cop. I totally let the kids win, and wow the family dinner where they GRILL YOU over the relationship and try to set the two of you up, then the water tower scene!!!!! I don't love the first person sex cutscenes but they do have personality. I'm glad afterwards you got to tell River about the biochip and that you might die. Because he's so far removed from your personal plot. So I took that option to back out of a relationship.

I do love that you wake up with "river's tanktop" that says "fuck the police" It actually has extremely good armor stats, so thats what I'll wear now.

panam 3rd quest, when shes like why did you help me, I'm like "because it's important to you". Basically the closest you can get to "when a friend asks for help you help them", which as an ex-nomad backstory I really choose the nomad options when ever i can Paralezes quest part 2! I love the piano song but I always think of it as ocean's 11 music. It's also fun to see the computer and see Judy recommended you for the first quest. The emails talk about "forgetting" to hire a staffer, on the balocony a strange antennia was scannable, the color of the roses was remembered wrong...  lol guess i was right with those giant wall screens. Its fun environmental details that spell things out before you can notice, and it ties into some other quests where people's behavior is being altered. Actually, this quest "Dream On" I love it! For a while I've been like "wheres the illuminati conspiracy! Here it IS! I chose to follow Elisabeth's wishes and not tell her husband he was being brainwashed. In best case they program him to forget again, in worst case he ends up dead. The gaslighting Elisabeth described is CHILLING, her husband describes a vacation she can't remember and she doesn't know whose memories have been messed with. On your way to the plaza you get a call from someone/something that says the know exactly WHAT you are, any you black out!!! It's such a great feeling of helplessness that you're just one person in a world so big that you can't fight every power. As Johnny said, could be a corporation, could be a rogue ai, either way Jefferson is fucked (and so are you).

[twisted-nox-sidus]

I was in the mood for fluff.

Headcanon AU prompt: Child!Strix suddenly warps to TW! As the dorm leaders argue who would be the first to take her in for the time being, she selects the dorm leader on a whim and grows attached. Saddled as babysitters by Crowley, how do the dorms take care of her? 

Note: I had made a post of Child!Strix before. Keep in mind that she’s mute at this age and relies on actions than words to communicate.

Heartslabyul

Baby Strix fled to the safety of Riddle’s long cape and curled up inside despite his protests. She was in a cocoon by then.

The card boys almost dread the worst when Riddle came back cradling a sleepy little girl wrapped snugly in his cape like a blanket. The sight was so tender, they were nearly convinced it was someone pranking them.

Riddle was confident to show Strix a wonderful time at Heartslabyul. On the same day he had Trey bake his delicious cakes and treat her to his favorite strawberry tarts soon after.

The boys take turns carrying her. They almost die of diabetes whenever Strix gives nuzzles on their cheeks and hugs around their necks. So precious! She’s an angel! Deuce actually cried (manly tears mind you) once. Ace was never gonna let it up.

The Heartslabyul gang are just one big family. Trey and Cater are the parents, the first-year trio are their chaotic kids, and Riddle is the exasperated eldest son who tries to keep the whole family in line.

Strix plays dress-up with Cater and he does her hairstyles. It’s clear he totally dotes on her the most as he has an older sister. Having a little sister like Strix is delightful!

“Can we adopt her? Please?” “Cater, the headmaster already signed the custody papers.” “Really?!”

Ace and Deuce alternate carrying Strix as she paints roses red. They also make up quicker when Strix is around so they don’t make her sad.

The hedgehogs and flamingos are quite attached to Strix. They were practically surrounding her. Cater had abused the camera roll by then. He can’t bring himself to delete a single pic! But his memory storage is near reduced to tears...

Bonus: Che’nya randomly popped in during their tea party sweeping Strix off her chair and adoring this cutie patootie. Strix’s shock subsides when she noticed the pierced pointy cat ears and pets them while Che’nya carried her on his shoulders. He even only made his head visible so he’d give the others a spook when he came back while Strix is too focused on his kitty ears to realize it. It was so surreal, let me tell you.

Savanaclaw

Strix approached Leona and looked up with sparkling blue eyes. Fluffy kitty ears are nice! Not scary!

Leona groaned. He himself doesn’t want to take in a kid -especially a girl- back to Savanaclaw. She makes easy prey the moment she steps in. He has a weak spot for children, too.

To Leona’s bewilderment, the girl climbs on him like a tree until she sat on his shoulders and touched his cat ears. She nuzzled her face in his mess of hair and smiled, pleased.

And so, Leona returned to the dorm with a baby owl perched on his head. When she was asleep he dumped the job onto Ruggie. He should get paid for this, damn it. He didn’t sign up for babysitting!

Strix’s attention would wander to Leona’s flicking tail. She would try to catch it and run around Leona’s legs to try to get a feel, or pounce on the bed if he’s sleeping, however it would slip out of her tiny reach. She seems to have fun, though. She behaves like a cub sometimes, it’s really adorable.

Strix would do her best to help Ruggie clean Leona’s room. If only the dorm leader would follow her example...

Baby Strix growling stomach is like a mouse squeaking. Ruggie didn’t think a child’s stomach could make such cute noise.

Jack is saddled with a kid while Ruggie and Leona take care of their own duties. Where is the instruction manual for this?

Strix would fall asleep on Jack’s tail that substitutes for a pillow. Or his fluffy head, one way or the other. It’s easy to watch over a kid when they’re asleep almost 24/7. When she is awake, she would climb on him like he’s a jungle gym.

One time when he gave her an awkward pat on the head, she firmly held his hand in place and she. Freaking. Nuzzled into his palm. Nuzzled her nose to it with a cute smile and blush.

Jack only had Strix for five minutes, but if anyone harms her he will kill everyone in the area and then himself. It’s that meme :D

Every time they go out, the boys would firmly place their hands over her ears to block any foul language Savanaclaw has to offer. They also make it clear to other fellow students to keep their paws off her. Her innocence must be protected.

Octavinelle

Similar to Riddle, Strix went to hide under Azul’s draped coat. Azul then eagerly agreed to take her in. There’s profit to having an adorable guppie at Mostro Lounge, is what everyone called him out on. Azul doesn’t deny it.

Floyd definitely carries Strix by the shoulders. At first it was all fun and games, with how tall being on him was... Until he sporadically pretended to almost drop Strix that she clung to Jade’s secure arms while trembling like a leaf. For once, Jade had a justified reason to smack his brother on the arm without rousing sibling hostility. Floyd got depressed by the flick of a switch.

Strix’s eyes always wanders to the view of the underwater scenery. Her face was glued to the window in Mostro Lounge for how beautiful and breathtaking the sights were. Once, she lied on the floor in the glass corridor admiring the fishies that swim by. She never got tired of it for hours.

Floyd took the opportunity to join her on the floor in hopes of making up to her. Child Strix is a gentle soul to have forgiven him, and the two spent time just relaxing together until Jade and Azul came to pick them up (of course it was weird for two people to be on the floor). Strix was asleep by then.

Strix got curious about the grand piano. Azul played a few tunes before inviting her to join him. She pressed a few random keys that were out of tune, of course, but Strix was excited regardless. The glint of intent interest to explore the practice made him chuckle.

He teaches her the basics. He also encouraged her that her hands are perfect for the piano, which is no lie, and that she would become a wonderful pianist if she continued practicing, much to her delight.

Baby Strix would doze to sleep as Azul played relaxing music, all curled up while her head was atop his lap. What a pure soul this one is.

Scarabia

“Kalim put Strix down!!”

Jamil has another -literal- child to babysit. At least Strix is well-behaved unlike Kalim. Why can’t he take a page from her book?

Kalim has plenty of siblings. His brotherly love rubbed off Strix and made her open up to him more quickly than others.

Kalim bought every kind of ribbon that looks good on Strix. Too bad practically everything is adorable on her.

Jamil really doesn’t mind feeding another mouth. He’s whipped up feasts that feed hundreds of guests for Kalim’s banquets and parties, especially at the last minute. What’s two people to sweat about?* Magic carpet rides are exhilarating for Strix. They were like the baby roller coasters she rode on, but this must be the grownup’s version.

Pomefiore

Strix admires Vil’s dorm outfit between her fingers. The interior red design has fancy apple designs.* Vil boasts how even a toddler recognizes his beauty to compare to other students who fail to see it through their thick skulls.

Like Cater, Vil dresses her in outfits deemed complimentary to Strix and her stunning blue eyes. Strix didn’t mind since Vil was having fun.

Strix is amazed by Epel’s apple craftsmanship. It’d be a shame to eat them, she feels. After being reassured he’ll make more again, she never leaves a crafted apple to rot.

Strix finds Rook’s mannerisms and French confusing, but that’s okay. She’s a child that doesn’t know better. Though she has a feeling she’d still find him elusive even as a grownup.

Ignihyde

Like a kitten, Strix is all-too curious about Idia’s long blue flaming hair and paws at the tips. He had to bunch his hair into a ponytail during her stay.

Idia has his little brother Ortho. Surely he can handle Strix. “Those are two separate things!” He’d exclaim. Too bad that doesn’t prevent him from being a babysitter right off the bat.

Ortho is excited. Now he’s in the shoes of a big brother. He hopes Strix will be an incentive for Idia to come out of his room.

Strix liked how warm and comfy Idia’s jacket (his “school uniform”) looks. She slipped inside while Idia was taking a shut-eye from the monitor and zipped up the zipper before snuggling closer to his warm body heat. It’s like hugging a heater.

Idia woke up to a fright. What if he crushed her under his weight?! That’d be dangerous!

He looks down to see the content smile on her lips. With a sheepish huff he plopped his head back on the pillow. Another five minutes wouldn’t hurt.

Diasomnia

To every dorm leader’s surprise and fear, including Diasomnia’s himself, baby Strix fled to Malleus’ side. His intimidating aura should have warded her away, yet when Strix looks up from the folds of his cape with pure and honest blue eyes, there was no fear. Even as a toddler she knows no fear of one of the most powerful magicians in the world.

Strix dislikes thunder, and thus is scared of Sebek and his lightning bolt for hair. She would flee behind Silver’s leg and stay away from Sebek as much as possible.

Sebek had to befriend her through an owl marshmallow pillow (after listening to Lilia’s advice). Watching her squeeze the pillow made many shed tears from the sweetness. You could practically see flowers and soft light surround the two.

Sometimes they would walk in the lounge to see Strix dozing in the sleeping Silver’s protective arms wrapped around her securely. Like two peas in a pod.

Lilia is amused whenever he looks behind to see Strix lifting his oversized Diasomnia uniform as much as possible from the floor. She follows him like a duckling because of that.

Once, Malleus got depressed for not being invited to an event. Strix tugged on his pant leg and he picks her up. Then she pats his head before giving him a hug in consolation. How sweet, though he realized how the roles have switched; he’s the child, and Strix is much mature for her age.

The day after that Strix would pull him over to where everyone sat before a pretend tea party set. If Malleus had the shame to cry he would have done so. Ugly sobbing, amirite?

Malleus may not admit it out loud, but he’s happy. At least someone knows to remember to invite him. The fact it’s a human child says a lot.

[cheesybadgers]

Narcos ramblings

Ok so I finished season 3 of Narcos the other night and oh god, I can’t stop thinking about it all and that’s why this post exists, because I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. No one else I know has watched it, so I have all these feelings but nowhere for them to go.

I got into Pedro off the back of The Mandalorian, but I had heard good things about Narcos a couple of years ago, although never got round to watching it. Having said that, I was NOT prepared for just how into it I was going to get. It’s hard to explain, but I feel like it’s got into my head and under my skin in a way very few series do (well, I mean The Mandalorian did exactly the same thing immediately prior to watching Narcos, so maybe it’s a Pedro thing lol, but I feel like that does both series a disservice because my reasons for loving both shows go way beyond Pedro, as lovely as he is obvs).

I wasn’t prepared to fall so in love with Javi or Steve and their wonderfully dysfunctional friendship/partnership. Both loveable idiots who frankly, I can’t believe didn’t end up shot and thrown in a ditch with the reckless way they both behaved at times. They were like a tag team of bad life choices and fucked up coping mechanisms. Every episode I found myself disappointedly shouting “Oh Javi/Steve honey, no” right before they did something dangerous and/or stupid. But I still loved them anyway.

I wasn’t prepared for Wagner Moura’s performance. HOLY SHIT, he absolutely blew me away. How he brought so much nuance and towards the end, vulnerability, to such an abhorrent, terrifying character, I’ve no idea. I feel I must stress I am clearly praising Wagner’s performance and not romanticising any of the things Escobar did in real life (I’d hope that goes without saying, but a disclaimer never hurt). But because I found Wagner SO utterly compelling to watch, I kind of missed him in season 3?! Honestly, I felt so confused about that for some reason, even though it’s completely reasonable to enjoy an actor’s performance and separate that from the real-life person they portrayed. I rushed straight to Wiki to see if he won any awards for the role and was kind of baffled to see that he didn’t (although nice that he and the show got several nominations at least). He was robbed!!

Going back to Javi and Steve, I also wasn’t prepared to feel this weird sort of angsty sadness about the way they were forced apart by the narrative at the end of season 2 and it somehow feels unresolved, because obviously Steve wasn’t around in season 3. I don’t even necessarily mean in a shippy sense (although I totally get why anyone would ship them…I’m certainly not opposed to the idea myself and could definitely be persuaded with the right fic), it just felt like they at least deserved another face-to-face scene once Escobar was taken down. It’s bad enough that poor Javi couldn’t be there in person to see Pablo’s demise, but to only get a phone call with Steve afterwards…*cries* The injustice is real. To be honest, I hadn’t looked up the cast for season 3 ahead of watching it, so wasn’t aware that Boyd wasn’t to be in it. So at the beginning of season 3, I just felt this really weird mix of happy that we’d be getting more Pedro, he was top billing in the cast list and that he had taken over narration duties (all very YAY worthy obviously), but then I also felt pangs of sadness that we’d be getting no more of Javi’s and Steve’s friendship. It took me a few episodes to adjust, even though ALL THE JAVI was good in its own right (the absolute HOTNESS of Javi doesn’t really need stating by this point, does it? It’s a given and we’re all horny for him…let’s just leave it at that 😉).

And that leads me to season 3 Javi…oh my god, SOMEONE HUG HIM. IMMEDIATELY. AND REPEATEDLY. Talk about carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. He looked so burdened and lonely for the vast majority of season 3, it hurt my heart to watch. That scene at the beginning of the series where he’s alone working in the office after hours and he goes to talk to someone only to find everyone has gone. MY HEART. I think that’s why the lack of Steve really got to me, because oh my god Javi needed him. He needed someone to shoulder the burden of the job, someone to bounce off, someone to talk him out of/back him up on his latest mad and dangerous plans or just someone to brood with over a whiskey after a reaaalllly bad fucking day. He needed his partner and his friend back, damnit!

The only way I can make myself feel better about it all is to head canon that despite Javi telling his dad at the end that he was done with it all, whilst he WAS done with Colombia, he wasn’t done with taking down Narcos and after a bit of a break and some soul-searching, I’ve decided he either moved to Miami and re-partnered with Steve there (I can’t imagine Connie being up for another relocation, poor woman has the patience of a saint); or they both re-located to Mexico to assist there. It’s literally the only way I can stop myself from wanting to sit and cry in a corner. 

I am conflicted about the ending we got for Javi…on one hand, absolutely yes give the poor man a break, he’s done more than enough and it’s about time he found happiness and Colombia had turned him into someone he didn’t much like or want to be. But on the other hand, in the long run, would he a) have been happy in Texas? He didn’t look like he belonged at the wedding we see at the beginning of season and b) be able to stand by and do nothing knowing that a large portion of the drugs trade was right on his doorstep? Colombia changed him (and Steve) and not necessarily for the better, but I don’t think you just give up and walk away that easily. So, I choose to view it as more of an open-ended finale, especially as when they shot it, they didn’t seem to know for certain who the cast of the next season was going to be and then it became a spin-off at a later date. If Pedro had stayed on, they could easily have justified Javi remaining in the DEA.

Something else I wasn’t prepared for…I kind of shipped Gaviria and Eduardo? They behaved increasingly like a married couple and then, suddenly, Eduardo sacrifices his job and reputation to save Gaviria and is gone never to be seen from or heard of again. And BAM, I was crippled by more unexpected angsty feelings…that I’m pretty sure can’t possibly have been intended by the writers and it’s probably just me and my tendency to over-invest in these things, but still. THE ANGST WAS REAL, OK? Eduardo was such a cute cinnamon roll…and man, there really was a drought of cinnamon rolls in this show lolol. I was way more upset than I probably should have been when he left.

I feel I also must say, all of my opinions and feelings are based on the fictional portrayals of the characters. I’ve read a bit about how much actually happened in real life, but I’m obviously only talking about the versions of the characters portrayed in Narcos in this post.  

So yeah…I’m sorry for this mad ramble, but I needed to get it out there and off my chest, because my husband and people on Twitter just don’t understand wtf I’m talking about and well, even if no one here does, I don’t feel like I’m being judged on this site at least 😉

[fandomluver-101]

Sweet Elite Chapter 8

So I have finally finished playing the last chapter! You would think I’d hate playing a game where I’m in school when IRL college is kicking my ass, but to each their own, LOL.

Anyways, I finished playing it and though I found it enjoyable, I’m not all that sure I truly enjoyed it. I normally don’t make my own reviews of the game and just leave comments on ones posted by others, but I decided to post it because why not! 

If you’re interested in a spoiler filled review, just click that “keep reading” below  ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

First off, I like to write my little fanfics for my enjoyment (I’ve never posted any of them, but I have them in existence via USB lol). I’m probably gonna reference what I’ve written for Tadashi’s arc for comparison, so don’t try looking for them!

When I play Sweet Elite, I also like to record my screen so I can keep track of my choices (and compare what happens to what I wrote). A single playthrough for the first time and this is the longest I’ve spent on a chapter, a whole 2 hours and a half! Not a bad thing of course considering it was a major arc and expected to be on the longer side. But I feel like for the length, I didn’t get much Love Interest interactions because you’re forced to spend fairly equal amount of time with everyone (I played on my Tadashi account first since I had the most AP on that one).

I shall start with things I liked about the chapter, which wasn’t much to be honest?

1 - Tadashi not knowing what the Grammy’s was is hilarious to me (and also kinda sad because that kinda shows how much of a childhood he lacked since the average person would at least know the name!). That whole interaction was nice to see since it showed TadAxel having a non-arguing conversation, but the “Granny’s” was a major highlight.

2 - Neha hinting once again that she might be a scholarship student (because mentioning that scholarship students don’t have to advertise that they’re one is a major thing to introduce and not expect me to run with). And I interpreted how she responded to Karolina supporting Tadashi despite the scandal more of her being a bit jealous because I can only imagine how she’d react if Neha actually is a scholarship student (though Tadashi becoming one himself might soften Karolina up into accepting that your parents’ money doesn’t make you almighty).

3 - Ellie just being Ellie. Lordy she’s adorably terrifying and those are the best short friends to have because they keep you on your toes (and are totally down to hunting for the obscure or raiding Area 451).

4 - Tyler basically being how I felt playing as Scholar because the whole “I’m not doing shit while everyone else is offering something major in their super-awesome ways” was easy to recognize with.

So my first complaint is the convoluted plan to get Tadashi proven innocent/uninvolved in Hiroshi’s yakuza crap. I get the whole lie to the dad to make him think he’s on his side thing since it would get him half of his money back. But what I envisioned in my head and wrote down centered around my Scholar recording the conversation between Tadashi and his dad (which Tadashi did himself, which still makes it a viable plot-point) and them using the script/email from the lawyer and the bank statements of his dad taking all of his money to show him as a victim?

The video idea wasn’t bad and was also something I wrote for my BCP Scholar fanfiction (she’s marketing and PR with her own little company managing social media accounts, so the idea and image control was her main addition to help out). So I don’t know if I’m just being my biased ass self and preferring my solution (release the proof of blackmail, show Tadashi is a victim, have Tegan hack Nakano Corp.’s CCTV/security footage to get timestamps of Tadashi not being present for mafia meetings, have him testify against his father).

None of what was shown in the video could have really proven any sort of innocence to be honest. Tadashi could’ve easily pulled whatever texts and emails he wanted, so unless he showed the one from the lawyer essentially extorting him to testify in his father’s favor, I don’t see how that on its own would have helped with anything. 

Adding the recording to the beginning of the video during editing would have been something to warrant all the positive response to the video. I know the recording is used to try and force Nakahoe Senior into giving Tadashi the rest of his money, but it was also the only logical way to prove Tadashi was without a doubt a victim too (and Tegan could easily get the money back himself or there could have been something about the mom, which I’m gonna talk about later in this post).

IRL, people would point out that Tadashi could easily be lying through his teeth about not being involved. So that’s kind of a plot-hole since getting the public to see Tadashi in a positive light is important to getting the school board to let him stay (which was incredibly dumb to me because are you really gonna tell me there aren’t students at the school with openly corrupt/mafia/mob/gangster parents using dirty money to keep their children in attendance???) (yes, Jack, I’m talking about your ass).

I could understand forcing him to step down as student body president since Arlington has the position kinda Anime styled where the president is the face of the school and has an absurd amount of responsibility and power (as proven by Ellie’s story of the previous president and the fact that Tadashi can veto someone getting academic amnesty). Them removing him from office was something I expected (though my fanfic had him helping pick a replacement for the rest of the year since that’s how it was done at my old private school). But not wanting him to attend school even though his family could easily pay for his tuition was very out there to me. I suppose having someone with a negative reputation could reflect badly on a top school, but I��m pretty sure private schools need justifications to expel someone and expelling them based on their parents actions seems very illegal to me.

But anyways, the super computer plot to hack Nakahoe Senior’s information was also very weird to me. I justified it by telling myself Scholar is in a school of super rich, super intelligent teenagers, so maybe the most simple approach doesn’t come to mind (I know first hand that smart people have a tendency to overlook the simple solutions without meaning to). It makes sense to make their own computer to not be traced overall, but the purpose it was needed for didn’t make much sense in the grand scheme of things (because they didn’t really use the information they found, so what was the point of finding it other than being a hundred percent sure on Hiroshi being corrupt?).

And then while I was playing and listening to my commentary, I again was reminded about how confused I was that calling Hiroshi in jail and keeping him on the line long enough to trace the transaction was necessary? Because I don’t think that’s how that works? If it was to track his location, then maybe, but I don’t think Tegan would need Tadashi to keep Hiroshi on the line to trace a bank transaction or get into Hiroshi’s accounts (but that’s me being nitpicky I think).

Then what they found, IE the gibberish in the calendar descrambling to “Yakuza” was a major asspull while I was playing. I wondered why Nakahoe Senior, AKA the Inglorious Bastard and Chessmaster of the arc, would make it so obvious? Let alone actually put that in his planer... If there was a meeting every Friday evening, I figured introducing this would at least lead to something where Tegan finds a way to prove Tadashi wasn’t present or active even phone call wise because he could get the call logs too. Yeah, the emails are important, but wouldn’t footage or flights be better at proving he wasn’t there?

Then Tadashi’s mother, who was never truly introduced, but teased really. It was set up in a way that my fanfic had Nakahoe Senior threatening to setup Tadashi for the fall if she didn’t convince him to testify in Hiroshi’s favor because Alistair mentions how protective she normally is of Tadashi and even Tadashi says that his mom was frantic over the phone. So I don’t know, I was hoping for something with her since she was brought up.

But my major complaint about the story was that Scholar has little influence on what goes on. At first, I thought there would be options based on your Department and maybe your choices during the Department Competition (you pick your concentration during the presentation). Essentially, I was expecting to be asked to pick a task I would do best in (in this playthrough’s case, I expected to be able to help with PR because for the competition, I picked Sociology which is essential in marketing research).

I also expected something similar for others. Business would get to come up with a marketing and PR scheme, utilizing Axel, Karolina, and Neha. Performing Arts or Fine Arts would get to help edit and fine tune the video or make a smear campagne against Nakahoe Senior with Tyler and Raquel. Pure and Applied would get to code with Tegan or build with Ellie. Health Sciences (or any department because you’re Arlington’s Sweetheart) would get to work with Alistair (who knows Tadashi best) and Claire to make Tadashi’s script and showcase him to the world as a victim (which he really is in this situation).

But that didn’t happen. The only things Scholar really does is buy computer parts and talk to Claire and ask her to help Tadashi (and suggest Tadashi ask Neha for help too). Which was a major asspull because during that section before where the group is talking about who should help him write something from the heart, I was expecting (and super hyped for) Scholar to finally have the chance to be useful. They weren’t, not even for Tadashi’s campaigning since all that they did was talk to a few students (which I know is good for campaigning, but not really helpful in the grand scheme of things) (especially because by default, Scholar isn’t good at these things even if you’re in a department that’s necessary). I got really happy thinking Scholar would do anything that justifies them being involved as “human resources.”

Then being thanked for not really do anything but being the spectator and emotional support friend kinda bothered me. I’m all for that and sometimes you just need that one friend that’s good at being a support unit (AKA the mom). But even though Tadashi says that Scholar was his main inspiration to defy his parents, that’s not really helping him do that? 

How was Scholar instrumental to anything going on? “Waste a couple hours finding pieces for a super computer, something anyone could search for because you can’t code or build things even if you’re in Pure and Applied,” “Go ask Claire to help Tadashi write his speech only for Tadashi to appear and ask her to himself because she would, by default, help anyways and you’re not good at writing a heartfelt speech (which Scholar technically isn’t, but should be if there were more options or at least acknowledged in this situation because why bring up the whole Arlington Sweetheart thing?),” “Get some rest, you deserve it even though you did absolutely nothing beside deliver the computer parts and suggest asking Neha to help.”

To be honest, Scholar may not be as static/pre-determined as most otome games, but Scholar doesn’t have much variety that actually impacts the story. What you’re good and bad at is already determined (like the essay and presentation; you’re automatically not good at it even if you’re Performing Arts or BCP and interested in things that, you know, require being able to give a good presentation).

I would prefer waiting longer to have more meaningful options than getting something quicker and not really being able to do much. Like during the competition where we eavesdrop on people and see the story unfold, that’s what this chapter pretty much was for me.

[sprinkledonion-blog]

Another real long “I don’t like Bumbleby” post (Part 1)

So this one was a long time coming. I kept postponing it, polishing it, making it look the nicest I could, but it’s finally here. And it’s quite long. Let’s just, uh, start.

The first thing I wanna say is, I watched RWBY without interacting with the FNDM, just at the start of this year. I didn’t know what Bumbleby was, nor its impact in the overall FNDM. I was blissfully unaware of what was going on, so I dived in with a clean, open mind.

First impressions and development (or the lack thereof)

I didn’t think about Bumbleby. For those who know me, I ship characters VERY easily and I don’t really care if it’s a gay, het, lesbian ship, I can and I WILL ship them. I shipped Ruby and Penny like crazy. Ruby and Emerald made my heart jump. Jaune and Ren looked insanely cute together, and Sun and Weiss had very nice potential. And in V2, in the Burning the Candle episode, when Yang had a heartfelt conversation with Blake, and hugged her, I was like “oh?”. It was the first time I had seen Yang this vulnerable, and while I really ignored her through the first volume, this scene made me realize she was more than it meets the eye. And she chose to be vulnerable… with Blake. Oh?

Then Blacksun happened. Oh.

I didn’t like Blacksun. I still don’t like it. It’s predictable and boring for my tastes. But it has a privilege Bumbleby doesn’t: development. 

I will never understand this choice. Barb said it was planned from the beginning. The question is, then: why didn’t y’all spend time developing Bumbleby? Bees will tell me it was developed, but I’ll suggest y’all to take off your rose-colored glasses and revise those interactions. I totally understand the warm, fuzzy feeling when your ship talk, even look at each other (my ships are 99% rareships so I take what I can get), but deep down you know reality isn’t like that. I’ve seen the 40-minute essay about Bumbleby; yes, you can attribute to every interaction a romantic feeling, but I can do the exact same with Jaune and Ren, and fans will roll their eyes at me and tell me it isn’t like that. The only remotely romantic interaction was the whole Burning the Candle episode. It was a nice episode. 

“But Onion”, y’all will say, “are you going to ignore V3 onwards? The plot completely ties Blake and Yang together”. Same as Blake and Sun. Yes, Yang lost an arm for Blake, and yes, she feels betrayed and everything, but… why should I think it’s romantic? Blacksun is being developed at the same time, following common romance tropes that apply to the rest of canon ships, so why should I think it’s any different? Yang could have lost an arm for Weiss and I have no doubt she’d have felt the same. (I also think Weiss would have called her and checked on her every day, until Yang even heard her in dreams.) 

That brings me to my second point. Let’s trust Barb, it was planned from the beginning. Then what was Blacksun supposed to be? “It makes the point that romantic relationships don’t always work and sometimes it’s better to stay as friends.” Valid point, but… Blake? Sun? Why did you keep at it? Blake, why did you kiss him on the cheek? That’s misleading, for the audience I mean (Sun already knows the script). When I friendzoned guys, and when the girls I know friendzoned guys, absolutely none of them kissed the dude on the cheek. The most they did was give a pat on the back or shoulder. Let me know if it’s an American thing to kiss guys you friendzone, because maybe it’s the cultural barrier that keeps me from understanding “yes, they’re friends and nothing more!”. 

And yes, I know Sun told Neptune it was never about that. What was it about then, Sun? Were you trying to get Weiss’ attention by making her jealous? Were you trying to get Blake to paid for the food? I don’t buy that Sun explicitly flirted with her just to be friends. Else I’m an alien and it’s my second day on Earth, or Sun tried to convince himself to feel less pain. Or who knows? Maybe he really was flirting with her to be friends. Maybe he flirted with Neptune too. Writers, give us proper answers. And no, FNDM, filling in the story holes with “show don’t tell, there’s a logical explanation for it” is still fanon and doesn’t count as canon. Show don’t tell is a rule, not an excuse.

Anyways, after the whole coming and going, Sun finally leaves the scene for Bumbleby to thrive on sudden romantic interactions, which are a little late at most. It’s confusing. Yang never felt jealous when Blake showed attraction to Sun. They didn’t choose to clearly spend time together, at least with the “we’re partners” excuse. I’ll delve into this point later, but for now: we had Blacksun, suddenly we have Bumbleby, and we’re supposed to have been cheering for them the whole time. Uhm, was this supposed to be a plot twist? 

Okay, I may be biased on this one, but listen to me. I don’t like this kind of plot twist. Oh, we have a heterosexual couple… OR SO YOU THOUGHT! THE TRUTH IS THAT THE LESBIANS ARE CANON! WE’VE TRICKED YOU, WHAT MADMEN WE ARE!

Get it? My problem isn’t that Blacksun isn’t canon. My problem is that the writers are using a wlw relationship as a tool, a surprise, manipulating and tricking the audience. It doesn’t feel genuine--it feels like they just wanted to cause controversy--or sell. At the end of the day, Bumbleby is way more popular than Blacksun, and a big part of the FNDM came for the bees. Don’t y’all ever wonder why voice actors don’t talk as much about other characters, or Ruby herself? The main main character? 

Let’s bee honest: at this point in time, the biggest thing keeping RWBY afloat is Bumbleby.

“And what’s the problem with all that?”, bees may ask. “What’s wrong with feeding us some good bees?” Ship whatever you want, y’all. But I don’t like getting ships shoved down my throat and treated as peak LGBT+ representation when it didn’t get the time and treatment it deserved. Not all that glitters is gold, guys. (Especially Yang.)

Racism

Oh boy.

Racism is quite the great deal in Remnant… at least that’s what the show tells us. It doesn’t show it. No, Velvet doesn’t need to get stones thrown at her to show us discrimination. But, you know… if there was discrimination, I don’t think she would be in Beacon in the first place. Or that Leonardo would be the headmaster of Haven… Adam Taurus, pack your things and go home; there’s no faunus discrimination worth the fight. (Wait! Don’t go yet, you still have work to do.)

What does racism has to do with Bumbleby?, you may ask. Well, it’s Blake’s main plot. I think it has a lot to do with Bumbleby… but uh, it seems I was wrong. Yang isn’t interested in it, so I guess it’s just Blake’s problem. Until uh, Adam makes a scene, but that doesn’t have much to do with the fact he’s a faunus. It’s still pretty distasteful of a human to kill a faunus, but I’ll tackle that point a bit later.

Blake’s faunity? is very important to her. If she’s an important person to Yang, why doesn’t Yang show interest in it? She didn’t even defend Velvet, even though she could have punched Cardin in the face. She sits around sighing “It must be hard to be a faunus” and annoys Blake with a lighter. This only shows me Yang doesn’t care about Blake’s identity, and not in a good way. 

I know, I know, I take the faunus issue to heart. It must be because I’m a person of color. I could talk hours and hours about the horrendous execution of faunus racism (reinforcing stereotypes, horrible analogies and really unfortunate implications), but I’ll limit myself to Blake for now.

Yang doesn’t care. She’s not one bit interested in reading faunus’ history, in asking Blake about her experiences, in thinking how she could help as a human. She’s like those people who say “I’m blind to race” as if it were a good thing. Yeah, you don’t discriminate, but you dismiss other people’s culture and background. It’s part of who we are. Some of us will take it better, some of us worse, but acknowledging Blake’s identity in this case could do wonders. That way Yang could show interest in her as a person, her motives to fight, her struggle. 

But she didn’t. In fact, she did quite the contrary.

Bonus: I’ve recently seen a… hysterical headcanon. As it turns out, some bees were excited at the idea of Blake getting branded and Yang going berserk, later saving all the faunus in the mine. It was supposedly justified by “faunus needed a reason to respect her” and of course, Bumbleby angst. Do I need to point out the White Savior trope and how blatantly racist and harmful it is? Do I really need to? Considering faunus are supposed to represent the civil rights movement? Especially knowing Adam’s previous treatment? If faunus were explicitly Black, this would be… well, this is a disaster, but it gets swept under the rug. As a woman of color, this headcanon just makes me want to cry.

I think I’ll have to divide it into two parts so it doesn’t get too heavy. Part 2 is here. 

[littlemisssquiggles]

Pinehead Headcanons: Oscar Gets A Scroll

So quite a few things were teased during the first episode of V7 including the prospect of Oscar training privately with a certain individual while his friends are off on their own training missions. That being said, if this is indeed going to be the case and Oscar is carded to have his own separate development outside of JNR_RWBY for the first half of V7, this squiggle meister has only one request to tie this predicament together perfectly.

Oscar MUST receive his very own Scroll which he then uses to remain in close contact with JNR_RWBY, mainly Ruby who acts as his key liaison.

[Spoilers Ahead]

I’m praying that Oscar being trained by Ironwood doesn’t fall into the same outdated habit of the Writers omitting him from opportunities to gain a genuine connection with the group. No offense to the CRWBY Writers (particularly Miles and Kerry who were responsible for V5 and V6) but if I’m being completely honest here, at times I have a hard time grasping the believability that Oscar is meant to be part of the heroes.

Don’t get me wrong. I want more than anything for Oscar to be a part of the group. But at the same time I also want him to feel as if he has become a part of team of his own merits and as an audience member, I don’t think the Writers have done a good job of handling his integration into the hero team in previous seasons. 

For most of V5, Oscar was treated as a shadow to Ozpin who took up most of his screen time including one scene I was really, really hoping the Writers would’ve included Oscar in. It’s the dinner scene from V5 C7 where RNJR are catching up with Weiss and Yang.

It still bothers me that we didn’t get to see Oscar officially meet Yang and Weiss and actually play a part in all the reminiscing of the good ole days of Beacon plus shenanigans. I understand that Oscar was the new kid so it would’ve been weird to have him be there while JNR and RWY walk down memory land. But at the same times, that’s exactly why I wanted him to be there. It would’ve been cool to see how Oscar would’ve reacted to hearing all the stories of JNR_RWY’s past adventures in Vale.

I understand that Oscar also needed to converse with Qrow, cause of Ozpin. However it would’ve cool if that bit was shortened so he could’ve later joined the others and have Ruby and JNR properly introduce him to Weiss and Yang.

Seriously, it really bothered me how we got this nice dinner scene with everyone eating and Oscar is just off elsewhere inside his own head cause I’m sure Oz would’ve taken over to talk to Qrow about his findings in Mistral.

Just imagining Oscar playing silent audience to Ozpin and Qrow; not even getting to taste some of the delicious food that RNJR prepared while all the ‘cool kids’ were off laughing over a hearty meal while he’s stuck listening in on the adults. And what sucks even more is that he can’t even tell anyone else what he heard or knew from what Qrow and Oz discussed. Not like he tried, 

That’s kind of maddening when I think about it. And don’t even get me started on the completely botched way the Writers dared to shoehorn in the group coming to see Oscar as part of the team in V6 by having Jaune come to realize that Oscar is important to the team…by having him come to this realization without even sharing a heart to heart with Oscar. 

Other things were focused on for that episode. Other things the Writers claimed to be more important than concluding the discourse they sparked between two of our main characters in the last episode…by NOT actually having them talk to each other but somehow still reach the same conclusion. Oof...that plot development still stings for me. 

I think one of these fine days I’m going to have to write a more in-depth post to justify my eternal disdain towards the ninth episode of V6. You guys have heard me voice my opinions of it now and again; most of them negative. But I really had a lot of problems with that episode. Issues that I still very much have even after all this time and have actively contributed to my concern for Oscar’s writing going forward in V7. Or rather the treatment of his writing and character overall.

I guess part of the reason why I’m hoping Oscar getting a Scroll is a canonical thing is because it’s the one way I can see him remaining close to JNR_RWBY as they all go their separate ways temporarily. It’s also the one sure sign that will highlight to me that Oscar’s growing friendship with the group will be maintained and continue to grow even in distance.

Since if JNR_RWBY will be off out in the field on training missions around Solitas with the Ace Ops, I’m assuming Oscar will remain up in Atlas main kingdom with General Ironwood who will personally be overseeing to his own training.

 If that is the case and Oscar is to be separated from the group a little bit, I hope him remaining in contact constantly with everyone is a sure thing that’s actually shown in the show. I really hope it’s not another V5 bit where the rest of the heroes are one place doing their thing and acting like there isn’t a newest young member whose been added to their ranks while Oscar in turn is off doing his own thing while not bothering to maintain the friendship and team comradery he (supposedly) built up with everyone in V6.

I know it’s only been 48 or 49 days total since Oscar joined the heroes and while he still has much more growing to do, he’s still a part of the team. Allegedly. That’s how the Writers want me to feel. I just don’t want Oscar’s relationship with Ironwood to become like how things were when Ozpin was around. Oz was off being elusive with adults while poor Oscar played tag along…in his own freaking body.

I just hope the Writers don’t neglect the small development they made with Oscar being on the team without Oz in V6. Oscar is a part of the team now. Let him maintain that, please. Don’t have him ghost JNR_RWBY while they in turn act like he doesn’t exist either.

I guess the point I’m mainly getting at here is that I just want to see Oscar and JNR_RWBY keep each other updated on their respective progress as they move forward with their own individual training moments, if you know what I’m saying. I don’t know the extent to which JNR_RWBY will remain apart from Oscar.

I’d imagine they’d be staying wherever the Ace Ops are staying since they’re supposed to be working with them. Oscar on the other hand mind stay with Ironwood wherever he lives which could be...interesting. Hence why I like the thought of Oscar finally having his own Scroll.

Since Ruby is currently the closest person to Oscar as a friend amongst the heroes, I’m picturing Ruby exchanging contact info with Oscar the instant he gets his own Scroll. From there, Ruby and Oscar keep in constant communication with one another.

Ruby updates Oscar on how everyone is progressing out with the Ace Ops while Oscar in turn updates Ruby on how he’s going with Ironwood (and maybe Qrow).

I just really, really like the idea of a potential scene where Ruby calls Oscar after she and the others have finished a mission and the two spend hours on a video-call with Ruby giving Oscar an epic recap of all that went down on the mission, in meticulous detail and with jubilant exaggeration, much to Oscar’s entertainment on the other end.

As the younglings of the group, I figured the Rosebuds would at least keep in constant communication as much as they could afford; whether it’s via text or instant messaging or video calls when they’re available at the same time.

I even have this cute idea where Ruby and Oscar often exchange ‘selfies’ with each other---y’know Ruby takes captioned snapshots from their missions to send over to Oscar while he in turn sends the occasional snapchat too;; although not as good as Ruby.

I’m in favour of Oscar being technologically inept, coming from a farm bred background. Either that or Oscar is just sort of like a lost little lamb when it comes to operating a standard Scroll leading to comical moments where Ruby has to play his guiding shepherd to help the precious freckled farm boy understand the techno-stuff he’s not used to.

I just hope that if my assumption is true and JNR_RWBY and Oscar are indeed divided for a while due to their different training regiments that the show at least indicates a sign that the Rosebuds frequently keep each other abreast of their respective affairs.

I would gladly take a small moment where Ruby is about to join everyone on embarking on their very first training mission with the Ace Ops, only to receive a video call from Oscar wishing her and everyone good luck just before they jump out of the airships.

Later we can then have a follow-up parallel where Oscar is on break from one of his training sessions with Ironwood only to soon answer a call from Ruby. That’s all I need. Just two scenes to establish that these two kiddos still remain close and communicate a lot during their training. As a matter of fact, it’d be ten times more adorable if they did do that

Also if Oscar gets a Scroll, I’m praying that his official Scroll handle is ‘Cute Boy Oz’. I couldn’t help but noticed that Ruby’s Scroll handle for Jaune was ‘Vomit Boy’ in V6 as a callback to his nickname dubbed by Yang (I think) from way back in Volume 1.

Since Oscar keeping the “Cute Boy Oz” has been established twice between V5 and V6, as dubbed by Nora, I hope it’s a nickname that sticks with him and that’s the handle Ruby uses for Oscar on her Scroll.

Like picture another moment where someone---probably one of the Ops members Ruby befriended---indicates to her that her Scroll was ringing, remarking confusedly that someone called ‘Cute Boy Oz’ was trying to get her, only for Ruby to jubilantly announce that was Oscar before hastily taking the call with her favourite farm boy.

I mean ‘Farm Boy’ can also work as a decent Scroll handle for Oscar too but it doesn’t have the extra pizazz as ‘Cute Boy Oz’. Besides, I really want that pet name for Oscar to stick with him forever to the point that it becomes an inside joke between him and his teammates/friends that’s as immortal as he is.

Like just imagine, years down the line after Salem is defeated, when Oscar is a grown ass man and his closest peeps, particularly Nora and Ruby (who’d possibly be his wife at this point) still call him ‘Cute Boy Oz’.  But it’s mostly Nora. Kinda like how Toph Beifong still called Aang by her ‘Twinkletoes’ nickname for him in the Legend of Korra despite both being adults in their 40s.

I can just see that being a thing too for Nora and Oscar as part of their long-standing friendship. Like imagine  a dialogue exchange between a 44-year-old Nora Valkyrie and a 40 year-old Oscar Pine be like:

Nora: C’mon. Let’s go check in on the old gang Cute Boy Oz.

Oscar: *pouting* Nora, I’m 40 years old. Don’t you think I’m a bit too old now for the Cute Boy nickname?

Nora: *grinning cheekily* Afraid not.

That’d be cute. Anyways, that’s my headcanon. I hope you guys like it. 

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[malyen0retsev]

A massive text of ‘Thank you’ amongst all of this MESS

I’ve spent the last six years on Tumblr, in this fandom, and I’m as heartbroken as everyone else that this is the way we all have to say goodbye to it. I never in my wildest nightmares thought that this would be the ending, or that we would all be in mourning/despair in this way. And sure, a part of me regrets getting so invested because of how it’s all gone down - but the much larger part of me doesn’t.

I am grateful, every damn day, to the people on here who’ve become my friends over the last few years. Who’ve been wonderful to be around when we’re all celebrating together, and have been such a massive support the last couple of weeks when everything feels like it’s crashing down. I can’t regret the last six years, because I will never ever regret befriending you guys. And so, without further ado, this is a post to say ‘thank you’ to all of you who’ve made this worth it, and who I love and am always grateful for:

@geekychemist - My first proper friend on here, who I’ve communicated with via shitposts for about four years. For always being one of the first people I message, for being someone I’ve had numerous stupid FaceTimes with, for sending me a fat ass book from the US because I couldn’t get hold of it in the UK. For making me go from hating Petyr Baelish to respecting him, and for being a Gendrya stan with me from day one. I love you girl.

@gendrywatersseaworth - MY G! I LOVE YOU! My ultimate Gendry/Gendrya defence squad RIDE OR DIE (who sends Christmas cards with the SWEETEST messages). For being someone I Skype for ‘10 minutes’ which turns into 2 and a half fucking hours. For giving TMI on the daily, and we take the piss out of it also on the daily. For being the person I run to yelling about every positive, negative, or downright stupid thing I encounter online, and we then destroy with a fuck ton of ‘OH MY FUCKING JESUS WEPT’

@aethelfled - The first person on here to go from ‘online friend’ to IRL friend; who would’ve guessed chatting about Arya and Gendry on here would turn into hanging out irl in Melbourne? Those four days in Melbourne with you were four of the best days of my year down in the Southern Hemisphere, and idk if you fully know how grateful I was for them. You’re one of the most passionate and strongest people I know, and your love for Arya is the ONE.

@villan3lle - One of the sweetest people on here, someone who’s always down to shout about OUR SQUID SON, and also sends adorable Christmas cards. Every time I see frogs I think of you, and that’s a damn good trait to have tbh! You’re such a supportive, wonderful, kind human, and your salty takes are always ones I bloody love reading. No matter how many times I turn up on Twitter or Tumblr essentially screaming at you, you’re always like ‘YEP GO OFF’ and I love you for it.

@gendrie - AKA probably THE MOST CYNICAL PERSON I KNOW I’m here for it and I love it. Always think of how we became friends back before S7 aired and we were piecing together all the screencaps and interviews like ‘WAIT IS THAT GENDRY IS HE COMING BACK’. Your love for Arya is bloody fab, and you’re one of the most talented people I know with your fics.

@insomniarama - Honest to god, idk anyone else who makes so ON POINT meme reaction posts; I’m thinking specifically of the bloody catspaw dagger with the Mickey Mouse screencap of ‘These are useful tools which will help us later’ SCREAMING. Always down for hearing your takes bc you reblog and post SUCH GOOD TAKES amongst the chaotic memes. Also, you listen to my general screaming, which is always a plus tbh.

@ariannenymerosmartell - Your slamming down of anons being ridiculous amuses the hell out of me, and also I have never come across anyone who so unfailingly defends and loves Petyr Baelish, and manages it in such a way that convinces ME it’s great. And your loathing of D&D is hilarious, your raging at them for the Dorne plotline specifically, your salty takes are always the bloody one.

@imjustasmith - Yelling about Joe and Gendry, does that summarise it basically?? We’re cynical but also cynical clowns, and we go into this void together. I love how much you love Gendry, and although he was ma boy already, you’ve definitely grown that love, bc you don’t realise how much you love a character till you scream about it with other people tbh.

@mhysaofdragons - The way you love and defend Dany is inspiring, and you’ve always done it from a totally rational standpoint, not just with stan goggles on. Also you’re a teacher with green hair, so I obvs have to respect that. Even amongst the mess that’s gone down, you’ve unfailingly spread love around for this character, and you’re one of the main people on here who changed me from going to ‘I like Dany’ to ‘I love Dany’ and I thank you so much for that.

@jonerys - Honestly, the same as above to an extent - you’ve been so important to me with making me love Dany so much, and I’m also grateful for the mass-screaming we’ve had via messenger about the show. Your love for Dany is extraordinary, and I love that you’re not ashamed of how fiercely you love this character and how much she’s impacted you as a person.

@elizabthturner - Mate I had the BEST TIME trawling through Reddit with you, and hell, we came up with an episode summary THAT REALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THAN THE WAY THAT SHITSHOW TURNED OUT. I love shouting about Jaime with you, and the last week of us just crashing ours heads against the wall trying to make sense out of this disaster - and I also love how though we stan different ships and different characters, we’ve never once let that become a toxic thing IN A FANDOM WHICH OFTEN VERY MUCH LETS IT BECOME A TOXIC THING.

HONOURABLE SHOUTOUTS TO @josephdempsie @freedvictors @madaboutasoiaf @jrrtolkiens @lizstargaryen @rabbitbaratheon @bethgreenesgf @gendryastarkers @fosterjane @fvrestlass @game-of-clowns @aryaofhousesnark @thorodinsvn - You are all people I’ve spoken to, not in depth, but enough times over these few years to deserve to be mentioned; because frankly, my dash and my experience on here would not be the same without you all on it. So thank you. Thank you for talking with me, for adding light and positivity from many different fandoms to my dash, and just being all round stars who I love seeing updates from, and I’m always glad to know you’re doing OK.

YEP THIS IS A LONG ASS POST. I DON’T APOLOGISE FOR IT. This fandom is hurting a lot right now, justifiably so, and many of us are questioning if we would be happier if we’d never got involved in it. But I don’t regret it, because my life would be a hell of a lot emptier without you all in it. So thank you. Thank you for being the reasons I’ve stuck around on here for so long, the reasons we’ve got through the last couple of weeks, and the reasons why at the end of the day, all of this mess has been worth it. <3

[maddiemaynot]

Episode 3.1: Hard Times (just the cold open)

I wrote so much I'm splitting this into two

I am not prepared for this first half an hour tbh

Aziraphale here just straight up lying to God.

Noah's ark and Crowley's hair is a sight to behold

He's so happy to see Aziraphale

Aziraphale can't even justify this and he's trying so hard. He totally is done with the whole Great Plan so early on, he just tries so hard to hold on

The unicorn bit is priceless

Jesus' crucifixion honestly makes me so sad, they portrayed it so well, with a lot of tenderness.

Crowley responsible for the last temptations of Christ and he genuinely thinks he did a kind thing, and to be honest, he DID.

"Be kind to one another." This SHOW

Crowley's mood is drastically different when we see him in Rome. He's had enough of the good and evil thing already and it's only 41AD

OYSTERS

The shrug Crowley does in the suit of armour is honestly my favourite thing, it's such a stupid gesture to make in a suit of armour and it's so FUNNY

"You have sought the black knight, foolish one" CAN I JUST POINT OUT THAT AZIRAPHALE'S HELMET IS ALREADY OPEN AT THIS POINT. Crowley can SEE it's Aziraphale. He's literally just messing around in a costume again I swear. And Aziraphale is like "is that you, Crawley?" And Crowley is annoyed cos a) Aziraphale got his name wrong and b) he's ruined the illusion. I bet internally he's going "come on dude we can have a bunch of fun messing about in suits of armour right now and you just RUINED IT and you got my name wrong ugh honestly."

"But that would be lying" you literally lied to GOD, Aziraphale. To GOD.

Which actually is probably why he is so against lying this time, cos he probably still feels a bit guilty for that

Crowley's beard thing in the Globe is ridiculous I love it

Aziraphale panicking about someone implying they're friends is honestly so funny, you need to CHILL my dude. Although I guess it's cos at this point they've started playing Spy and he's sticking with his character 😂

Crowley already knows that Aziraphale has to go to Edinburgh. He is keeping tabs on his angel and I love it.

Aziraphale is so worried about whether hell will destroy Crowley, he doesn't even mention what heaven might do to him 😭

Crowley makes Hamlet famous cos Aziraphale pouts and that is such a running theme in this show 😂

Okay I have some STUFF to say about Aziraphale's bad French: my initial thoughts were that he had just not bothered to learn French.

Because he has perfect Japanese in the sushi restaurant and we can infer his German is good or near-good from when he inhabits Madame Tracy's body (like, he asks if they speak German. He probably speaks relatively decent German to be happy to converse with the people he's just met in it).

But his French. Is appalling. Like he never bothered to learn. And I just love the thought of Aziraphale going "yup I'll learn Japanese, yup I'll learn German. French? Nah why bother."

Then I realised something else: Aziraphale is very fond of his food and I'm suddenly wondering if he's only conversational in these languages in a restaurant setting.

So maybe his French is perfect... in the crepe place where he eats. Maybe his Japanese is abominable outside of the sushi restaurant.

Like either he just didn't bother with French or he's learnt a multitude of languages to the point where he's fluent only when he's in his favourite little restaurants.

And then I ran into a post on here that said something along the lines of "perhaps his Japanese is so good because he had such a scare in France that he took the time to then learn the languages of his favourite foods in case he wanted something to eat during a revolution again" (i.e. he's conversational in every language that relates to his favourite foodstuffs now because he got such a scare)

And I honestly don't know what theory I prefer out of the three.

Okay I'm over the language thing now I'll never be over the language thing

AZIRAPHALE'S FACE WHEN HE HEARS CROWLEY'S VOICE HE IS SO FREAKING HAPPY

Crowley taking the manacles off because Aziraphale pouts.

I want to know more about what "frivolous miracles" Aziraphale has been performing

You say you're here to see what the Reign of Terror is all about but we all know you're keeping tabs on Aziraphale and swooping in to save him Crowley, don't even lie.

PLAYING SPIES BY THE DUCK POND AGAIN

"Sauntered vaguely downward"

DUCKS have ears. Do ducks have ears? Must do. That's how they hear other ducks.

Aziraphale is so worried that Crowley might hurt himself with the holy water and that is so sad

"Fraternising" sure that's what you've been doing stop with your LIES Aziraphale

Now they're in this argument clearly and Aziraphale loves playing Spy so much he tries on his own. And it goes wrong. And Crowley has to swoop in and save him. I love this scene 😭

Crowley is so not okay with the idea of Nazis

Also I wanna know why and how Crowley is famous in 1941

Anthony Janthony Crowley

"That was very kind of you" CROWLEYS FACE SAYS IT ALL. He knows what he did. He knows he was being kind. He knows he's been keeping tabs on his angel and rescuing him whenever he's in trouble. He KNOWS.

Crowley saves the books and Aziraphale admits his feelings about Crowley to himself 😭 (and my heart breaks)

Is it wrong to find young Shadwell attractive?

Aziraphale miracles himself into Crowley's car. He has that ability. If he miracled himself to wherever heaven is sending him to do things, that would probably be okay with heaven. So every moment that he's driving around with Crowley, that is 100% just an excuse to hang out with Crowley. 100%. He just wants to spend time with him. You PINING MOTHERFUCKERS

I'm analysing that bit a lot so I don't have to push play and have my heart broken with "You go too fast for me Crowley" once again

My poor tattered soul can't take it

Tartan flask 💙

IM SORRY BUT AZIRAPHALE STRAIGHT UP ASKS CROWLEY ON A DATE THERE

"We could go for a picnic. Dine at the Ritz." That's not just "I owe you lunch for rescuing me from the Bastille", that's straight up "no lift right now cos I've just bared my soul by getting you holy water, so let's leave it for now but another day we can totally go out and do something cute together like a picnic" (I'm sorry but picnics are romantic af. Unless it's a massive group of us, I've never been on a picnic with just one person because at least for me and people I know, that is a DATE.) (Side note, my dog totally ruined someone's romantic picnic the other day and it was really quite the funniest thing I've ever seen, two people being chased off their food by a labradoodle. Obvs I caught her in and scolded her but. It was really funny. I'm putting off That Line again, aren't I.)

Okay. He said it and I'm crying. Are you all happy?