#which. valid and fair and understandable

[ajastu]

and then they went back to the lighthouse n slept for like 2 days. in an actual bed <3

But yeah, i think Rook will have the Crash Of The Century after it's all over

[kairithemang0]

The fact there's already shipping debates on Tadmore is insane guys CALM DOWNNNN

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

I think I've gotten to the point where I'm just gonna not interact with or even block blogs that post v/3 fan art while aggressively and needlessly harping on it in the caption

[holdmymetaphor]

i dont typically post ~discourse for a number of reasons but as a non-binary person i have never liked the "i hate it when people only ask me, the trans person, for my pronouns, just tell me i look like a freak, or ask every single person in the room"

bc its like whoa, some of us want to look like freaks sorry. as someone who uses they only, i appreciate the effort. and actually, a good portion of the time, i get they'd without asking. i also think that "they" is getting used more and more often when talking about people colloquially (and people dont even realize).

for instance, i was watching a jerma compilation and he said "your mother comes in the room and they're like." like jerma, isn't some out and proud queer icon but he is using they in a way that seems subconscious and protective against assumption. like. i think thats really cool, as a future they mother.

ive also been is real life scenarios where we are in a room together (like a class room) and people reference other people (who don't look classically androgenous) using they pronouns.

the culture is changing, and has been changing, at least in the places i notice. do people use "they/them" as a noun to mean a non-binary person, because they dont know how else to call it? sure. but they use it and they mean it. we exist and people are saying it.

[bendover-productions]

Yes hehe, I do have a follow-up, because I AGREE it's so good!!! I just rewatched it for the first time since it first came out (I think?) and I was so charmed by it all over again! I kind of think episode 5 of that season is objectively one of their best episodes ever… I looove the way the teams splitting up allows for interesting interactions between all four of them, and I like the strategizing over the phone parts, I find it really charming. But yes I remember the comments on reddit and youtube being kinda harsh on that season when it came out, ESPECIALLY about Sam and Scotty. And I think youtube and reddit are just generally harsher on Sam, more so than on tumblr, but I just think they're misreading him soooo unfairly in this specific context!!! People were mad at how "smug" they were when their tactic was getting in Ben and Adam's way instead of capturing flags, but I found it very funny and think most of those people would have too, if it was happening in the opposite direction… Also that season just has incredible Sam vibes imo. He literally seems thrilled just to be travelling Japan and to be getting some jogging done. He's having so much fun!!! And the Sam and Adam 5D train chess moment that leads to them hanging out in a picturesque little town… Obviously incredible. And then them watching Ben and Scotty's trackers next to each other on the train later. And also, importantly, Sam's bucket hat… Literally what's not to love??? And as far as I remember they all describe the season as having been a lot of fun to film as well… One criticism that I maybe do get is that it's very much a high intensity game with fewer chill moments for both them and the audience, especially in the first round, so I can understand that not being to everyone's taste….. But yes, I think that season is sooooo underrated and I'd love to see them bring the format back! And I had that take rattling around my head for many days, so I thought I'd free myself of it by giving it to you :) I'm glad you also liked it <3

me + u....

as i’ve been powering through seasons i have been a little worried like. what am i gonna do when i get to the end and have to WAIT but hearing this is good because i feel like it confirms there's so much re-watch potential!! don't threaten me with a good time (rewatching jet lag).

i also love the phone strategizing!! charming is the right word for it. can’t remember any quotes precisely because my brain is a sieve but i just remember them yapping for a majority of the episode and i liked being able to see them collaborating even though they were doing different things if that makes sense? they got to be their own decision-makers within the unit which is interesting To Me in terms of strategy. which! i have not been on reddit or the youtube comments but :/ don’t malign my boy sam!! he might’ve done all that (been very happy to have thwarted adam and ben) but he doesn’t deserve it…*

i think it is very common for all of them to do that and it’s not malicious? it is maybe a little smug but one of the unique things about this season was how much they got to SEE each other after making moves. usually they’re facetiming across countr(ies) for five minutes and even then they do gloat a little bit about particularly good or thwarting moves. we just get to see in person the joy of coming up with a strategy that was successful [and perhaps ties back into scotty. scotty just wants SO badly to do well and not let sam down that to me!! it’s really important that they celebrate this (not)victory!! let scotty have success even if it’s not conventional!!] the other team didn’t think of because they all fundamentally think different ways. ben and adam are always more high risk high reward and especially in this game sam and scotty played a lot more defense so it feels natural to me to extend that strategy to the fact that after obtaining a lead he wouldn’t risk it, he’d defend it (thwarted ben and adam). if you’re already winning you don’t need to pull the goalie!!

but yes sam has a GREAT time this season and every time he gets on a super fast train he’s so excited 🥺 AND THE 5D CHESS!! the sam/adam scenic getaway means sooo much to me i watched it heart in my throat and also pen in hand ✍️ ✍️ ✍️

let it be said i don't think this season was the one that stressed me out so bad that i HAD to keep watching it? for sure this one was very tense but i think i exist at such a high state of stress at all times watching jet lag that this didn't even register as more stressful than normal. or i simply repressed all the stress i felt idk. it was simultaneously not a chill season (them getting lost and on the wrong trains right off the bat) but also very chill because there’s a lot of downtime on the trains? and we got choo choo chew!!! which is so beloved to me!!! there’s a lot to love about this season i think.

[free-luigi-mangione]

Your empathy is such a stark contrast to twitter lol, all people that I seen do over there is make jokes about this situation and his reactions. Idk I never found any of his circumstances in PA especially remotely humourous, because half of them are blatant violation of constitutional rights and police brutality, the other other half is legal way of instilling fear in people.

i didn't and still haven't found anything of his behaviour in PA to be funny, at all. like i could point out exactly what, where, how he'd reacted and why and all of those answers are perfectly reasonable and understandable responses from anybody in that situation. i still haven't found anything about his situation to be funny, except for the only times he jokes in his letters and since he's coping with humour there, and he's just funny too, i also find it funny. otherwise nah.

[orcelito]

Got my score back for my presentation, & it was About what I was expecting. I knew the weak point of the presentation was how dense it was + how much I had to cover, and as a result I did end up largely reading off of the slides. Tried to insert some extra information about the stuff, but didn't have much in the way of discussion built into my slides. So like... I can accept that criticism lol (even if it does sting a lil 😭)

Overall tho I got an average score of 8.6, professor score of 8... I'm not sure actually what will count for my grade. Is he including his score in the average at the top??? Also 8.6 is also not right. When I calculated my score from the tallied numbers, I got 8.31 for class average, 8.29 if I include the professor's rating in there as just one. For some reason, what he wrote is higher than either?? I certainly won't complain about a higher score, though I'm confused lol

But yeah people in general praised my research and preparation. Also video choice. Yay!

I will now try to focus on the good points and not worry so much about the bad. Regardless of any of it, 8.6 or 8 (out of max 9) is generally Pretty Good. Might as my professor for clarification on the grades when I next see him.

[malsmind]

ALL MINE

matt sturniolo x reader

"you told me your new man don't make you nut, that's a damn shame."

summary: your new boyfriend's an asshole so matt wants to show you how much better you could do.

warnings: cheating! (oops) smut, p in v, unprotected sex, dirty talk, matt being a little cocky, worshipping (kinda?), creampie, pet names (baby, sweetheart)

author's note: dont cheat!

wc: 1.6k

english is not my first language!

you and your boyfriend started dating a few months ago. a mutual friend introduced you and you both got along really well. to be honest, it felt very rushed. you liked him, of course, and you loved the time you two spent together, but after about two months of dating, he had already started to show how bad a of a boyfriend he really was. he would constantly flirt with other people and play it off as 'just being nice'. after you'd talked to him about it, told him how uncomfortable it made you, things went well for a few weeks before it started up again. that was not the only thing though. he was manipulative, made you believe that his overreacting, yelling and verbal abuse were perfectly valid.

rightfully, you were disappointed. he seemed like an amazing person before and when you started dating, so it really hurt and made you pissed about the fact that you opened yourself up to a relationship only to be disappointed by a guy who is just out for any and every female validation he could get.

right now, you were supposed to be out on a date with him. but you were at matt's because your boyfriend cancelled on you last minute, no explanation, but you had a suspicion, and it was confirmed after one of your friends saw your boyfriend with a girl, not just any girl, the girl you asked for your boyfriend to tell her off because she was always flirting with him, fully aware of you being his girlfriend.

you wern't sad, just angry with yourself for not seeing the signs earlier on, for not listening to the warning bells ringing in your head. "you there?" matt waved a hand infront of your face, pulling you out of your train of thoughts. "yeah, sorry."

matt sighs, trying to read your thoughts by your expression. you were unusually quiet, which given the situation you were in was fair enough. "i'm not tryna be a dick, but i did tell you he seems like an asshole..." matt shrugged, a poor attempt of 'comforting' you. he wasn't wrong, and he was not the only one with a strong opinion on your boyfriend either. you sighed, leaning back against the couch. "i just don't know why i didn't break things off when i saw how he acts with some shit." you scoffed, running your hand over your face.

matt leaned back against the couch with you, his head turned to the side so he was looking at you. "not your fault, you liked him"

you sighed, turning your head to the side to meet matt's eyes, "such a waste of time, dude.."

the room went quiet and you turned your head to look up at the ceiling, thoughts circling again. your boyfriend really was an asshole, but you tried to convince others and yourself otherwise. but deep down you knew. your last straw should've been when he let go of your hips, turning his full attention to his phone and some girls messages on it while you were on top of him with his dick inside you. he tried to tell you it was an emergency, that whoever it was that texted him was going trough some rough times, telling you to stop being so dramatic and not make a big deal out of it.

matt knew about this whole thing, and you could've sworn that when you told him about it, he was even more pissed off at your boyfriend than you were. matt's voice was just a small mumble that seemed far away from wherever you were at right now, lost in your thoughts but again, it managed to pull you out of it. "don't understand how one can even do that when their girl's on top of them" he scoffed, shaking his head, still in disbelief to what happened. his words registered in your head and your eyes widened slightly when you realized what he was talking about. you turned you head to look at him again, his eyes meeting yours.

in that moment, you didn't know what had gotten into you, because matt leaned closer, his eyes searching yours for any sings that you might pull away and ask him what the fuck he was doing, but you didn't. matt's lips landed on yours, pressing a soft kiss to them, testing the waters. you kissed him back, and matt saw his opportunity. his hand was quick to find your hip, pushing you down gently until your body laid flat on his couch, his own hovering over it.

you melted into his touch, your legs subconsciously wrapping around his waist as his lips traveled down from your lips, to your jaw until they were on your neck, sucking marks into the skin. it wasn't hard to tell where this was going, his already hard dick pressing down onto your own clothed arousal. with the way his lips worked on your neck made you grow needy, your hands developing their own mind as your fingers toyed with the waistband of his sweats.

you could feel a smirk tugging on his lips, reminding you of how wrong this was since you were still in a relationship with someone, even though you were defiently going to break that up anyway. one of matt's hands left your hip, helping you tug down his pants, his boxers coming off with them. his dick grazed your hand and you grabbed it, giving it a few stokes, earing a moan against your neck from matt. your hand on his dick turned things around, making him needy now.

his lips left your neck as he leaned back up slightly, his fingers hooking in the waistband of your pants. he looked up at you, searching your eyes. seeing the desire and need for him in them made him forget about how shitty this made him and you look. "you okay with this?" he asked, his voice low. you know you shouldn't. you know cheating was a disgusting thing and you'd never want to do that to someone, but you didn't care. your boyfriend is an asshole and it was only a matter of time before he would do the same, that's if he didn't do it already.

"yes." you breathed out, your eyes watching his hands intently as he pulled down your pants and underwear, throwing them aside and placing himself back between your spread legs. he cursed under his breath, his teeth sinking into his lower lip at the sight of your wetness. he took his dick into his hand, rubbing his tip up and down your folds, coating himself in your juices. matt's eyes snapped up to yours when he pushed his hips forwad, slowly sinking into your wet hole. your lips parted, your own eyes never leaving his.

his hands found your hips when he bottomed out, squeezing them to ground himself at the feeling of your walls squeezing him so tightly. he buried his face in your neck, placing soft kisses to it as he started to thrust in and out of you at a steady pace. your legs tightened around matt's waist, small, breathy moans escaping your lips when his hips picked up their pace. "you're so hot, baby. fuckin' love your body." matt moaned into your neck, his hips snapping into yours. his hands are all over you. "all mine..." he mumbled, squeezing your tits lightly, exploring every single inch of your body with his fingertips before holding onto your hips again, like he was trying to hold on to the moment.

"you deserve so much better... fuck.." he murmured, his lips starting to pplace kisses all over your neck again, fucking into you harder, faster, making you feel good, making it his only purpose. "so fuckin' beautiful. feel so good, sweetheart". matt's words and actions made you feel things you've never felt with anyone else. you felt amazing, about yourself, about the moment, everything felt so good when thos words left his lips, the feeling of your orgasm approaching taking over your body.

matt smirked, very aware of what he made you feel. his lips kissed up your neck until they landed on your lips again, swallowing your moans. "i want you to look at me when you cum on my cock, can you do that f'me? hm?" he whispered against your lips. you could only moan in response, his dick moving in and out of you, one hand coming down between your bodies to rub your clit. matt moved his head to look down at your face and you opened your eyes, staring right back into his. his dick moved in and out of you, one of his hands let go of your hip to reach between your bodies, rubbing your clit, driving you over the edge.

your walls tightening around him along with the loud moans leaving your lips, all together with the intense eye contact you were struggling to hold made it difficult for him to hold back his own orgasm. "where do you want me?" he breathed out between gasps, slowing his hips down the slightest so he wouldn't nut right then and there. "inside.. fuck.." you managed to moan out, and he didn't need to be told twice.

his hips snapped into yours, making your moans grow louder again due to the oversensetivity you were still feeling from your orgasm. he gave you a few hard and deep thrusts before his head dropped down, burying his face in your neck again as his cum filled you up, low, almost whiny moans leaving his lips, vibrating against the sensetive skin of your neck...

no matter what happened tonight, no matter how bad you should feel, you never felt better.

© 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝

dividers by @bernardsbendystraws !!

this has been approved by the wife too 😌 @rcklessheavn

@middlepartmatt @emely9274 @impossiblecollectorcat @staargazr @sllutty-sturniolo @shadowthesim237 @sturns-mermaid @courta13 @grace-sturnz @sofia-is-a-sturniolo-triplet-fan @ncm9696 @sophand4n4 @amyiasturnl @ivysturnss @matts-247 @sammi-leighdestiny

[true-bean]

It’s crazy when people are like “a fic has never made me cry” cause one time a fic made me sob so violently that my dad checked up on me to see if I was okay

[iamaweirdbeing]

changes in the pjo show that are better than their book counterparts (from a chronic over analyzer who has been obsessed with this series since age 12)

sally working morality lessons and her own opinions into explaining the greek myths to percy (sally is amazing any details included that allow more of her character to be shown are fine with me i love learning more about her thought process. i also think its a really interesting and more subtle way to show that the mortal parents of demigods are also impacted negatively/are victims of the gods actions.)

stating outright that luke sees annabeth as his sister (bc luke seeing annabeth as anything other than his sister defeats the point of the series in a lot of ways. it makes him irredeemable and is disgusting which overshadows all of his valid arguments and the way percy mirrors him. it's like when an author makes a morally gray character commits some vile act that is out of character but is so bad readers can't ignore it in order to turn that character into a "true villain".)

BRINGING UP THALIA (thalia is one of my favorite characters in the whole series so of course i'm ok with any mention of her, but it sets up future events so well. we understand characters motives sooner, its probably a way that luke can gauge whether a demigod will join the titan army based on their reactions to the story, WE SEE HOW DIFFERENTLY IT EFFECTED LUKE AND ANNABETH)

the medusa and annabeth parallel (that change shows the truth of the gods in one parallel. it sets up annabeth's change in mind set that we get to by the last olympian. i can't explain how much i love this parellel.)

annabeth being the one to watch luke's string be cut (he is her family, it will be her dagger, it is only fair she be the one to see it. that is all i have to say about it.)

GROVER MANIPULATING A GOD (i love this so much bc i think it shows his desperation in a way. he knows how much is riding on this and after finding his uncle and percy falling from the arch he is willing to do anything to succeed. no more thalias.)

there's probably more but that all i can think of atm

[pearlprincess02]

moon signs and your mommy issues

aries moon

as an aries moon, your mom likely sees you as a fiercely independent and bold individual, someone who thrives on challenges and isn't afraid to stand up for yourself. she might admire your strength but also feel frustrated by your impulsive nature and desire for autonomy, sometimes leading to clashes. this dynamic can create a push-pull effect, where you crave her approval yet resist her control, sparking deep-seated mommy issues. you might struggle with feeling misunderstood or unsupported emotionally, leading to a strong desire to prove yourself.

taurus moon

with a taurus moon, your mom likely views you as a stable, reliable presence who brings comfort and security to her life. she probably appreciates your grounded nature and the way you create a sense of peace and routine in your relationship. however, this steadfastness might sometimes lead to her perceiving you as resistant to change or overly focused on material stability, causing friction. you may struggle with feeling that your emotional needs aren't fully recognized or that you're expected to always be the rock, leading to unresolved mommy issues surrounding your self-worth and independence.

gemini moon

as a gemini moon, your mom likely sees you as intellectually curious and highly communicative, with a knack for keeping things lively and engaging. she probably values your quick wit and adaptability but might struggle with your tendency to be changeable or emotionally detached. this can lead to her perceiving you as unreliable or inconsistent, which could create tension in your relationship. your mommy issues may revolve around feeling misunderstood or neglected emotionally, as you might have a hard time balancing your need for emotional depth with your natural inclination toward mental stimulation and variety.

cancer moon

with a cancer moon, your mom likely sees you as deeply nurturing and emotionally sensitive, someone who provides a comforting and caring presence. she probably appreciates your intuitive understanding and ability to create a sense of home. however, your intense emotional needs and occasional mood swings might challenge her, leading to misunderstandings or feelings of being overwhelmed. this dynamic can result in mommy issues related to feeling either overly protected or inadequately supported, as you navigate the balance between your vulnerability and your desire for emotional security.

leo moon

as a leo moon, your mom likely sees you as a vibrant, confident individual who brings warmth and joy into her life. she probably admires your strong sense of self and creative flair, celebrating your ability to shine and seek attention. however, she might struggle with your need for validation and occasional dramatic tendencies, leading to occasional clashes. this dynamic can result in mommy issues related to feeling either overly praised or inadequately acknowledged, as you grapple with balancing your need for recognition with your desire for genuine emotional connection.

virgo moon

with a virgo moon, your mom likely views you as meticulous and reliable, someone who excels in problem-solving and offers practical support. she probably appreciates your attention to detail and your ability to maintain order, valuing your helpful and service-oriented nature. however, she might also feel that your critical eye or perfectionist tendencies create distance, leading to misunderstandings. this dynamic can spark mommy issues around feeling either overly scrutinized or undervalued, as you navigate the balance between your desire for approval and your need for emotional reassurance.

libra moon

as a libra moon, your mom likely sees you as a harmonious and charming individual who values balance and fairness in relationships. she probably admires your diplomatic nature and your ability to bring people together. however, she might struggle with your tendency to avoid conflict or make decisions based on others' expectations, leading to moments of frustration. this dynamic can result in mommy issues related to feeling either excessively pressured to maintain harmony or disconnected from your own needs, as you try to navigate your desire for peace and acceptance.

scorpio moon

with a scorpio moon, your mom likely sees you as intensely passionate and deeply intuitive, someone who isn't afraid to explore the depths of emotions. she probably respects your strength and resilience but may also find your emotional intensity and need for privacy challenging to navigate. this can lead to her feeling uncertain about how to connect with you or support you fully. your mommy issues might revolve around feeling misunderstood or overly controlled, as you struggle to balance your profound emotional depth with a desire for independence and acceptance.

sagittarius moon

as a sagittarius moon, your mom likely sees you as adventurous and optimistic, always eager to explore new ideas and experiences. she probably admires your enthusiasm and your ability to bring a sense of freedom and excitement into her life. however, she might find your restlessness and tendency to avoid routine challenging, leading to occasional frustration. this dynamic can create mommy issues related to feeling either misunderstood or unsupported, as you navigate the balance between your need for independence and your desire for emotional stability and understanding.

capricorn moon

with a capricorn moon, your mom likely views you as disciplined and responsible, someone who approaches life with a serious and practical mindset. she probably admires your ability to handle challenges with determination and to set high standards for yourself. however, she might find your emotional reserve and tendency to prioritize work over personal connection challenging, leading to occasional feelings of distance. this dynamic can result in mommy issues related to feeling either overly pressured to meet expectations or emotionally unsupported, as you strive to balance your need for achievement with your desire for genuine emotional closeness.

aquarius moon

as an aquarius moon, your mom likely sees you as innovative and unconventional, someone who brings a unique perspective and a strong sense of individuality to her life. she probably appreciates your open-mindedness and your ability to think outside the box. however, she might struggle with your emotional detachment or tendency to prioritize intellectual pursuits over personal connections, leading to occasional misunderstandings. this dynamic can create mommy issues related to feeling either disconnected or inadequately understood, as you balance your need for independence with your desire for emotional intimacy.

pisces moon

with a pisces moon, your mom likely views you as deeply empathetic and imaginative, someone who brings a sense of compassion and dreaminess to her life. she probably admires your ability to intuitively connect with others and your creative spirit. however, she might find your emotional sensitivity and tendency to escape into fantasy challenging, leading to moments of confusion or frustration. this dynamic can create mommy issues related to feeling either overwhelmed by emotional demands or misunderstood, as you navigate the balance between your need for emotional depth and your desire for personal space and clarity.

in houses

moon in 1st house: emotional sensitivity, attachment style, nurturing vs. overprotective, identity formation, self-image conflict, dependency issues, maternal influence, emotional outbursts, rebellion, unmet needs, boundary struggles, validation seeking, trauma response, independence vs. clinginess, healing wounds, emotional intensity, identity crisis, parental expectations, self-discovery journey, emotional healing

moon in 2nd house: self-worth issues, security needs, material comfort, emotional value, dependency on stability, financial anxiety, nurturing needs, self-esteem struggles, attachment to possessions, parental influence on values, validation through achievement, emotional resourcefulness, boundaries & control, trauma bonding, self-sufficiency vs. dependency, emotional insecurity, comfort seeking, trust issues, parental expectations on success, healing from financial stress

moon in 3rd house: communication struggles, emotional expression, sibling dynamics, parental communication styles, intellectual nurturing, mental health challenges, dependency on approval, emotional sharing, verbal disputes, learning from trauma, emotional conflicts, social anxiety, childhood conversations, cognitive dissonance, emotional intellect, family narratives, overthinking issues, memory & trauma, influence of siblings, validation through words

moon in 4th house: home life dynamics, emotional foundations, parental influence, childhood memories, family secrets, dependency on family, nurturing vs. neglect, security needs, emotional root issues, domestic conflicts, trauma in the home, parental expectations, unresolved family issues, emotional legacy, sense of belonging, domestic stability, ancestral patterns, attachment to home, emotional vulnerability, healing family trauma

moon in 5th house: creative expression, emotional validation, parental approval, self-esteem through creativity, nurturing through play, childhood joy vs. trauma, validation through performance, emotional drama, need for attention, unfulfilled desires, emotional risk-taking, parent-child bonding, playfulness vs. seriousness, self-worth through achievement, trauma & self-expression, emotional need for fun, artistic healing, parental expectations of success, romanticized childhood, emotional ups and downs

moon in 6th house: daily routine struggles, emotional workaholism, nurturing through service, parental influence on work ethic, health anxiety, perfectionism, self-care challenges, emotional responsibility, dependency on routine, workplace conflicts, trauma & health issues, emotional self-criticism, parental expectations of productivity, overwork & burnout, healing through work, emotional patterns in daily life, service as a coping mechanism, routine vs. emotional needs, emotional resilience, trauma impact on daily functioning

moon in 7th house: relationship dynamics, emotional dependency, partner validation, nurturing through relationships, conflict in partnerships, trauma bonding, seeking emotional security, marriage & emotional needs, projection onto partners, intimacy issues, partnership expectations, healing through relationships, relationship patterns, fear of abandonment, emotional compromise, idealizing partners, codependency, emotional balance in relationships, trauma & partnership conflicts, influence of parental relationship models

moon in 8th house: emotional intensity, deep-seated trauma, dependency on transformation, parental influence on power dynamics, fear of vulnerability, control issues, unresolved emotional wounds, intimacy & boundaries, psychological depth, emotional secrets, healing through crisis, power struggles, transformative relationships, dependency on emotional security, fear of abandonment, financial & emotional ties, inherited trauma, emotional rebirth, shadow work, trauma & control

moon in 9th house: emotional beliefs, search for meaning, dependency on ideals, parental influence on worldview, long-distance emotional connections, idealization of knowledge, trauma & belief systems, need for emotional freedom, struggles with expansion, educational trauma, emotional exploration, influence of culture, spiritual nurturing, unmet aspirations, emotional journeys, freedom vs. security, parental expectations on success, emotional disconnect from beliefs, trauma & philosophical views, healing through Exploration

moon in 10th house: public image, parental expectations, emotional career ambitions, authority figures, professional validation, parental influence on success, emotional responsibility, need for recognition, career-related trauma, authority struggles, emotional control issues, public vs. private self, ambition & emotional needs, professional identity conflicts, pressure to achieve, emotional legacy, work-life balance, healing through achievement, parental approval & success, emotional fulfillment in career

moon in 11th house: social connections, emotional needs in friendships, group dynamics, parental influence on social life, idealization of groups, dependency on social validation, trauma in social settings, emotional freedom through friendships, community support, emotional rejection, influence of peers, healing through social networks, expectations of social roles, loneliness vs. belonging, emotional impact of group activities, unfulfilled social aspirations, social security needs, trauma & group dynamics, friendships as emotional refuge, parental influence on social values

moon in 12th house: emotional isolation, unconscious patterns, hidden trauma, parental influence on subconscious, emotional retreat, self-sabotage, healing through solitude, dependency on solitude, repressed emotions, isolation vs. connection, spiritual nurturing, parental secrets, trauma & spiritual growth, emotional boundaries, unresolved past wounds, emotional escape, inner conflict, influence of dreams, emotional vulnerability in seclusion, healing through reflection

all observations are done by me !!! @pearlprincess02

[nightingale-prompts]

Demoted-DCxDP prompt

Another day another hero coming into Danny's space. Danny's R&R pocket dimension has been host to heroes coming and going as they please and at this point he has surrendered to it. The only real issue he has is them asking for help or advice. Sure he's on the level of a multidimensional God but that doesn't mean he actually wants to interfere with the world. He sees the bigger picture and the movements of the universes and knows the full extent of his powers effects on it. Simply put. He helps them in a wrong way and it will mean the aftershocks will ripple across all reality.

Sure it's enough to make a believer to reject all gods when they realize that he has to power to do whatever but chooses not to. But listen Danny is not a god. It's their job to manage their creations. Not his. He didn't make any sentient being.

Still, they come asking for help, and Danny does what little he can/wants to do(which is little). He makes artifacts. Small and useful things to help like a magical gadget to assist them.

He expects payment of course but that another thing.

Right now he was being badgered for advice by...um what's his face? Umm, green guy? The one with the uh...ring. Yeah him not the other green one with the stupid beard. Danny thought he was cool dude. Not like the other one from that other dimension, ugh. He was an edgy asshole, no wonder no one cared when he died. Danny didn't went want him so he booted him into a new dimension and life almost instantly.

Always the green guy was asking for advice about something.

"The red lanterns have their own reason to exist but is that right? To live in hate? Of course, they are evil but if their leader was vanquished could they turn to better purpose?" Hal asked the floating teen who was half listening as he observed the universe from inside his observatory.

Danny sighed as he adjusted his telescope. The view instantly focused on Atrocitus.

"The question is if anger could be put to good use. Atrocitus wants revenge but you seek him and his lanterns to avenge. One is done in vindictiveness and the other in righteous justice. Righteous, anger, justice, resentment, malice, and desire. These are all just words to me created to describe abstract excuses you make for yourselves. Right or wrong it doesn't matter." Danny sighed.

"Right and wrong does matter." Hal frowned.

"Oh, so you are telling me? The way I see it, it a petty concern because rage will always exist. Who are you to say it's wrong Green." Danny laughed at him like he was talking to a child.

"There is a wrong way to express anger. When you hurt innocent people to get your revenge. And there is a fair way to get retribution so that other people do not get hurt. You should only hold those who have done wrong accountable but punishment should be fair. It should be done to prevent more pain. Even if no one is happy with the results you shouldn't torture someone because you are hurt. There is a right way and anger isn't always the answer....but it is a part of healing. I won't condemn them for being angry because I understand where it comes from. But their way as it is now is not the answer."

Danny rolled his eyes.

"Great, so you have your answer. Didn't need me to help you did you?" Danny said shifting the viewfinder again back to his previous task "Seriously, if you need validation on whether you are doing the right thing get a sidekick."

Hal got a weird look in his eyes.

"No way. I'd have to demote myself back to a solid corporeal form." Danny crossed his arms.

"But you are still a kid. A teenager at that. I'll take good care of you and everything. What's wrong with going back to being a human.'

"Half-human." Danny corrected "and stop talking before the other ancients overhear and agree."

"Actually, I agree. You need to stay connected to sentient life while you're still young. And you have been rude lately. I think the lanterns will suit you."

****

Hal:So this is my new sidekick the Grey Lantern.

Danny:*crewing off his fingers to get rid of the fused black and white Lantern ring he has been fused with*

Bruce: Isn't he the god we have been using as a contact?

Diana: Ancient actually.

Barry: I think he's trying to kill himself.

Hal: Don't worry, he can't. His rings unique oath is about forming a cycle of life and death. He can't die or be revived. He's just stressed, like how a parrot plucks it's feathers.

[fujosh1dreamer]

Alright Apology Tour... I don't even know where to start for this episode.

So I'll start with this statement:

I want them to make it work.

Surprise, surprise but I think that when stolas and blitz aren't forcing it, they are actually cute together.

This is my favorite scene from the episode because stolas just falls into blitz's arms and blitz just holds him.

He cares, it's obvious that blitz cares but I think he's still unaware of how much. I also think that stolas know that blitz cares.

In the conversation at the beginning of the episode there are two scenes that kinda prove this.

In the first scene blitz is talking about how relationships are boring and not worth it, and stolas leans on the table and basically asks him if he thinks that then what are they doing now.

Which is a valid question, because blitz is clearly fighting for them right now. He's doing a terrible job and saying all the wrong things but he is there. Stolas understandably gets annoyed and walks off when blitz side steps the question.

The next scene where we see that stolas is aware at least a little of how blitz feels is when he's fake apologizing. He pretty much says 'oh I'm supposed to apologize for thinking so badly of myself I push people who actually care about me away? And stolas just says yes.

There are moments of clarity that tell me blitz is completely aware of his faults but other moments that make me think differently. When stolas says he sounds like striker he denied it. Only to continue to mock stoas for being a prince and completely disrespecting him.

I feel like if blitz had approached the conversation in the garden like he had the one at the party things would have gone better.

Speaking of the party. The stolas song was amazing, and it was basically about how stolas still has feeling for blitz but he just doesn't think blitz cares. Which is a fair feeling since blitz left the garden basically telling stolas he'd apologize to everyone but him. Which was a petty thing to say.

Stolas hating the party despite the song is also really funny, up until the end of the episode that is. Stolas complained to himself the entire time how ridiculous and petty it is to host a party like this every year, he even continues that thought process while drunk.

Also while drunk stolas explained to blitz how he's looking for a romantic love. He wants to be loved and wanted by someone special a conversation that of course makes blitz feel bad but stolas can't see that.

This is the moment that cemented my belief of wanting them together. They're both so casual in this scene stolas because he's drunk and blitz because he's feeling vulnerable and guilty.

They still have a natural chemistry and quick witty dialog that flows naturally. They fit well together even when fighting, but only when they're not forcing the relationship. Only when stolas doesn't have blitz on a pedestal, and when blitz isn't blaming stolas for all of his problems. As equals they work.

I wanna see them make up.

[mariacallous]

The first thing to say about the hate and scorn currently directed at the mainstream US media is that they worked hard to earn it. They’ve done so by failing, repeatedly, determinedly, spectacularly to do their job, which is to maintain their independence, inform the electorate, and speak truth to power. While the left has long had reasons to dismiss centrist media, and the right has loathed it most when it did do its job well, the moderates who are furious at it now seem to be something new – and a host of former editors, media experts and independent journalists have been going after them hard this summer.

Longtime journalist James Fallows declares that three institutions – the Republican party, the supreme court, and the mainstream political press – “have catastrophically failed to ‘meet the moment’ under pressure of [the] Trump era”. Centrist political reformer and columnist Norm Ornstein states that these news institutions “have had no reflection, no willingness to think through how irresponsible and reckless so much of our mainstream press and so many of our journalists have been and continue to be”.

Most voters, he says, “have no clue what a second Trump term would actually be like. Instead, we get the same insipid focus on the horse race and the polls, while normalizing abnormal behavior and treating this like a typical presidential election, not one that is an existential threat to democracy.”

Lamenting the state of the media recently on X, Jeff Jarvis, another former editor and newspaper columnist, said: “What ‘press’? The broken and vindictive Times? The newly Murdochian Post? Hedge-fund newspaper husks? Rudderless CNN or NPR? Murdoch’s fascist media?”

These critics are responding to how the behemoths of the industry seem intent on bending the facts to fit their frameworks and agendas. In pursuit of clickbait content centered on conflicts and personalities, they follow each other into informational stampedes and confirmation bubbles.

They pursue the appearance of fairness and balance by treating the true and the false, the normal and the outrageous, as equally valid and by normalizing Republicans, especially Donald Trump, whose gibberish gets translated into English and whose past crimes and present-day lies and threats get glossed over. They neglect, again and again, important stories with real consequences. This is not entirely new – in a scathing analysis of 2016 election coverage, the Columbia Journalism Review noted that “in just six days, The New York Times ran as many cover stories about Hillary Clinton’s emails as they did about all policy issues combined in the 69 days leading up to the election” – but it’s gotten worse, and a lot of insiders have gotten sick of it.

In July, ordinary people on social media decided to share information about the rightwing Project 2025 and did a superb job of raising public awareness about it, while the press obsessed about Joe Biden’s age and health. NBC did report on this grassroots education effort, but did so using the “both sides are equally valid” framework often deployed by mainstream media, saying the agenda is “championed by some creators as a guide to less government oversight and slammed by others as a road map to an authoritarian takeover of America”. There is no valid case it brings less government oversight.

In an even more outrageous case, the New York Times ran a story comparing the Democratic and Republican plans to increase the housing supply – which treated Trump’s plans for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants as just another housing-supply strategy that might work or might not. (That it would create massive human rights violations and likely lead to huge civil disturbances was one overlooked factor, though the fact that some of these immigrants are key to the building trades was mentioned.)

Other stories of pressing concern are either picked up and dropped or just neglected overall, as with Trump’s threats to dismantle a huge portion of the climate legislation that is both the Biden administration’s signal achievement and crucial for the fate of the planet. The Washington Post editorial board did offer this risibly feeble critique on 17 August: “It would no doubt be better for the climate if the US president acknowledged the reality of global warming – rather than calling it a scam, as Mr Trump has.”

While the press blamed Biden for failing to communicate his achievements, which is part of his job, it’s their whole job to do so. The Climate Jobs National Resource Center reports that the Inflation Reduction Act has created “a combined potential of over $2tn in investment, 1,091,966 megawatts of clean power, and approximately 3,947,670 jobs”, but few Americans have any sense of what the bill has achieved or even that the economy is by many measures strong.

Last winter, the New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who has a Nobel prize in economics, told Greg Sargent on the latter’s Daily Blast podcast that when he writes positive pieces about the Biden economy, his editor asks “don’t you want to qualify” it; “aren’t people upset by X, Y and Z and shouldn’t you be acknowledging that?”

Meanwhile in an accusatory piece about Kamala Harris headlined When your opponent calls you ‘communist,’ maybe don’t propose price controls?, a Washington Post columnist declares in another case of bothsiderism: “Voters want to blame someone for high grocery bills, and the presidential candidates have apparently decided the choices are either the Biden administration or corporate greed. Harris has chosen the latter.” The evidence that corporations have jacked up prices and are reaping huge profits is easy to find, but facts don’t matter much in this kind of opining.

It’s hard to gloat over the decline of these dinosaurs of American media, when a free press and a well-informed electorate are both crucial to democracy. The alternatives to the major news outlets simply don’t reach enough readers and listeners, though the non-profit investigative outfit ProPublica and progressive magazines such as the New Republic and Mother Jones, are doing a lot of the best reporting and commentary.

Earlier this year, when Alabama senator Katie Britt gave her loopy rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union address, it was an independent journalist, Jonathan Katz, who broke the story on TikTok that her claims about a victim of sex trafficking contained significant falsehoods. The big news outlets picked up the scoop from him, making me wonder what their staffs of hundreds were doing that night.

A host of brilliant journalists young and old, have started independent newsletters, covering tech, the state of the media, politics, climate, reproductive rights and virtually everything else, but their reach is too modest to make them a replacement for the big newspapers and networks. The great exception might be historian Heather Cox Richardson, whose newsletter and Facebook followers give her a readership not much smaller than that of the Washington Post. The tremendous success of her sober, historically grounded (and footnoted!) news summaries and reflections bespeaks a hunger for real news.

[bunnwich]

Why Leona Gave Himself The Bad Ending

Leona Kingscholar Analysis

Usual disclaimer to say that these are just my thoughts and you don’t have to feel pressured to agree. This was my thought process as I played through the parts of Chapter 7 Parts 212-226, featuring Leona’s dream triggered by Malleus’s magic.

--

I wanna start off by saying that I believe all the dreams are a mixture of Malleus’s magic and the dreamers themselves. 

Idia theorized that Malleus is sort of “setting up the parameters” in a way, then each of the dreamers' personalities and imaginations affect the dream in different ways. The emphasis of this has been brought by Idia several times that it’s the strength of imagination that determines how complex dreams are. Which is maybe why in the first years dreams seem so basic? They’re young, their magical abilities are still new, and their magic is no match for Malleus’s magic. That and, to be fair, most of the first years don’t have the same amount of angst and turmoil as some of the other second years and third years have.

With that being said, I believe that because of his high intelligence, magical prowess, and his hyper-vigilance, that is the main reason Leona’s dream was so…different than the others.

But let's get into it!

There are a lot of Lion King references in this dream, and it’s very clear the writers wanted to play around and show this off. I feel like they did a good job of integrating the themes of the movie into Leona's dream. It does give me a little validation as I feel Leona’s struggles and personality are closely linked to his great Seven Counterpart, Scar. More so than any of the other overblotters. When I analyze Leona I sometimes I do use Scar as a starting point to understand his intentions.

This is how I came to the conclusion long ago that being king would never make Leona happy because it's not what he truly wants.

We start with the dream back in the Sunset Savanna. It’s VERY interesting to see that there is hyena prejudice right off the bat as a woman flees from Ruggie while he attempts to buy food. 

Right off, everyone can tell something is…off about the city. Especially coming fresh from Ruggie’s dream where everything was idyllic and happy for hyenas BECAUSE of Leona.

Grim hits us with the: “I laugh in the face of danger!” line. We even get the three hyenas referenced and the “love for you to stick around for dinner” line. The once proud lioness-dominated palace guard has been taken over by hyena “ruffians” (interesting choice to portray a disenfranchised group being given jobs as the new guard as a negative thing, but moving on.)

The first interesting thing we get is that the palace is somewhat rundown and empty? The group makes comments of how dark and dreary it is, and how few people are around. Is there an implication that the servants fled at some point after Leona became King or did he replace them? This further shows me that Leona for whatever reason has chosen to isolate himself. To me, it's most likely that he already feels isolated by his country and those in the palace.

From the looks of it “Malleus’s magic” has given Leona the one thing he has always wanted, but has he? Leona seems less than thrilled and genuinely upset by the fact his whole family is...gone. As I mentioned in my Leona relationships post, I think that he holds a complex relationship with his family, and while he resents them, in no way can I see him wanting them to be dead. 

It’s now I started to think that Leona’s magic was overriding the simple “let them eat cake” logic of all of the happier dreams. This dream feels TOO real, dark, dreary, and…sad. Could it be Leona’s intelligence or cynicism, ruining what’s supposed to be an idyllic scenario?

Why is even in his WILDEST dreams Leona is still miserable?

Hmm.

A lot of people have talked about Kifaji and their thoughts on his presence. It’s strange to see people praise him as “a loving parental figure” as if he’s really there trying to help Leona. But, Kifaji is not there. This Kifaji is a manifestation of Leona’s mind and I’ll get to why that’s interesting and what I think he represents. Remember, that often in other dreams we’ve seen of loved ones or rivals and they can act normal, out of character, or even cruel. Vil and Neigie come to mind and Neige turned out to be the blot keeping Vil asleep.

Kifaji is a bit different. He actively tries to help the group wake Leona as opposed to encouraging the twisted dream logic. For this reason, to me, Kifaji represents Leona’s conscious and the Dream!Leona we see represents his shadow self, like the dark side of the moon. AKA, the Leona we meet in Chapter 2. In fact, this whole dream feels like a rehash of Chapter 2.

We get the outdated Leona that dumbs himself down and settles for less, cloaking himself in his pride and believing that everyone is below him. An idle king while he lets others do his dirty work. (Scar basically.)

Leona asks Kifaji to sing (another Lion King reference) and it plays out how you would think. Leona tells Kifaji that he is the only competent person in the kingdom. And he argues that the kingdom is in shambles, not because of his choices as King, but because everyone else sucks basically.

Hmm. 

Kifaji reminds Leona that while he is clever and his plans are grand, that he can not treat people like human chess pieces. (Can I just say I love when chess is brought up to us because I find that when people analyze Leona or his thoughts they often forget how much he uses chess to process his thoughts. We saw that plenty in the Tamashina Mina event!) I think it helps him sort his thoughts and emotions which he can have a hard time doing.

I think Kifaji represents Leona’s mindset post Chapter 2 and because Kifaji in his real life is one of the only people who probably stands up to Leona, he has placed him in this antagonist role in his mind. (but not really) Plus, it’s not far off from Kifaji’s actual treatment of Leona in the Tamashina Mina event.

So yeah, Leona acts more like he does in Chapter 2—he's the player or the king even and everyone else around is just lowly pieces.

Just like the scene from The Lion King, Scar and Leona are not happy. Even though they are supposedly getting their deepest desire, they remain bitter and…alone. 

When I first began to read into Leona it was quite obvious to me that the whole “I’ll never be king" thing was just a front for something else. What I think Leona truly craves is approval and acceptance.

Being king, especially of a broken kingdom that despises him, will never make him happy. But, why do the people not love him? This is supposed to be a fantasy right?

There is this interesting layer of how he became king too. Instead of Cheka or Falena simply not existing, like I thought it might be, they are dead. That is…so much more tragic than it needed to be. As if deep down Leona believes the only way he can become king (his dreams to come true) is if tragedy happens. This reminds me of his bitter view/the symbolism of his unique magic. That he can only bring misery wherever he goes—everything he touches turns to sand. 

I also think that Leona is afraid of failing and much of this dream is his anxieties and insecurities that linger from all his past failures.

Though interestingly enough, I sense that in the dream, as implied later by Idia, Leona has implemented an “over-exaggeration” of his policies and plans for the kingdom. It was almost like he purposely ran his resources dry and gave up trying to compromise with anyone for the sake of “progress.”

Why, though?

It’s very masochistic in a way. It’s almost like he wanted to prove himself right. Everything he touches will turn to sand eventually and his grand plans will fail even if he claims they are “perfect.”

That’s why this dream is probably the most masochistic and self-deprecating we have seen. I think what initially began to draw me to Leona’s character is because of the hidden pain he holds. He is by far one of the most easygoing, and lackadaisical acting of the cast, but…he cares, he cares so, so much about how he is perceived and his haunted by his hopelessness about his future and the failures of his past.

I think the pain of never feeling good enough, causes his mind to be unable to “play nice” with Malleus’s dream magic to even manifest any sort of positive future. One where he holds a position he wants AND is loved and respected. it’s just impossible that he could ever have that, even in his wildest dreams. 

He’s too much of a “realist.”

Side tangent, but a frustrating take is to see was the: “Oh yeah, see? He would have sucked as king.” tinged comments after this came out.

 I think it’s more complicated than that. 

This isn’t me trying to defend him necessarily, but to be fair, all dreams tend to be over exaggerations by the dreamer. Plus, I think the fact that Ruggie HATES Leona in this dream and is suddenly in favor of Falena, is a sign right there we can not trust Leona’s interpretation of the people he knows in his dream. He is sort of an unreliable narrator that way. 

Besides, like in The Lion King, why would all the water dry up, just because the hyenas over-hunted? 

A big theme in Lion King and even The Lion Guard TV show is "the balance of nature." The blight upon the Pridelands when Scar takes over feels more like symbolism of the “unbalance of nature” caused by the tragedy of Mufasa’s death. Which makes me again, connect that Leona feels the only way he can succeed is by inflicting misery on others. Like his magic, perhaps a part of him believes he is a curse. 

I theorized in my Tamashina Mina review, that maybe Leona feels like an outcast himself, and the separation he feels from his country is showcased in how he blames the citizens for the decline of the kingdom, rather than his plans. He feels isolated from them.

By this point, I was having flashbacks to Chapter 2, where he got a whiff of his plan failing and he still pushed through even though he knew it would fail. At first, he may have started doing okay as king, but maybe when he came upon too many obstacles or pushback, He just gave up. Because he was not instantly loved by the people, who probably already feared him, he’d rather not even try. Suddenly, they are “not worth his time”, and he can’t help them because they suck.

Leona’s problem has always been his pride. I think he has to put it aside to genuinely help people reach their potential and learn to collaborate with others more. Part of how this dream plays out, is him realizing that maybe some criticisms Kifaji had about his pride all along may be true. Leona refuses to play nice with others. 

That’s why I think Kifaji represents a more sensible and lucid Leona. He is in a sense, talking to his past self, and trying to shake himself from the dream and his outdated ideals.

Ortho even points out that Ruggie is not really the Ruggie we know but rather a part of Leona’s imagination. Again, which puts emphasis on how the characters in his dream are more indicative of his mindset as opposed to being “in character”. Maybe Ruggie hating him in his dream is his inner anxieties about him and Ruggie post Chapter 2 fallout. He feels like Ruggie could never forgive him for what he did. He let him down. And Leona being bad with people and feelings, doesn’t know the proper way to apologize.

Kifaji (woke Leona) says that the state of the kingdom is a result of him “pursuing efficiency over all things and disregarding other people's feelings.” It really feels like he is calling himself out here. Does he REALLY wanna help people? Or is it just Leona’s selfish pride who wants attention for just being smart?

Dream!Leona complains about the protesters interrupting his nap which is another sign for me of the exaggeration of the scenario of Leona being the king. Like...did he not criticize Falena for having the same carefree and laid-back attitude? And yet here he is...complacent in the same behavior he once criticized Falena of. 

Interesting.

Ortho mentions that Leona’s dream is clearly a more complex situation than the other dreams.

I think there is a key implication we are missing here too, that I haven’t seen many mention. There is a throwaway line that Jack mentions that Leona has not attended school and is king instead. And he doesn't seem to know Dream!Ruggie either. Nor Ruggie him.

There is no doubt his time at NRC has shaped him to be the Leona we know now. Someone who has at least somewhat benefited with the connections he made at school. It does seem like this Dream!Leona is regressed. And because he never attended school, he is a much colder person who has no regard for others' feelings at all. He is even more socially inept.

I feel like this is a common theme to show us that despite the independent nature of most of the students at NRC, that it can still be “the friends we made along the way.” trope.  These connections do matter and especially to Leona. He mentions this in his post-overblot monologue in the light novel. He found his pack at NRC.  This time with his dorm members affected his personality for the better. It's kinda sweet when you think about it!

Ortho mentions Dream!Leona appears DEEPLY absorbed in the delusions of his dream. This means that even though he has the lucid failsafe of Kifaji, Leona’s self-deprecation, despair, and pain are still overtaking his logic. That's what's crafted this nightmare. (And he later references it as such.) 

Everyone acknowledges that he can’t possibly be happy and looks EVEN MORE miserable than at school. It can't be a silly happy fantasy, but a grim dark reality of what he thinks of himself. 

That's why he gave himself the bad ending.

I love the double entendre of Idia saying Leona is building his dream like a “sandbox” game. Lots of Minecraft references. (Leona Minecrafter confirmed? Or hear me out…Leona playing King Crusaders or Civilization V FGHJ)

Anyways, Idia or Ortho, (I forget) suggests that perhaps he has run out of ”simulations” for his dream playthrough. And being an intelligent person his mind tends to overthink naturally and this caused his dream to have a more realistic tone. Plus, I theorize that because Leona is powerful and his intelligent, his magic and imagination was almost able to overwrite Malleus's, a standard happy dream formula.

Ortho suggests Leona chose a more “realistic mode “on purpose.” Perhaps like I theorized earlier, it is almost a masochistic test to see if he could have everything he wanted? Leona is a very analytical person who enjoys games. It makes sense, the way he often plays chess alone to practice “strategies.” But as I mentioned before, I think he just genuinely believes it's not possible. Ortho mentions he thinks Leona’s the type to understand that an “aggressive urban development” would come with risks.

Jack asks “If Leona knew this was a bad plan then why would he make the citizens suffer and be hated?”  (Sheesh, now we know Leona really is the type to play pretend and get a lil too real with it.)

Ruggie adds that Leona may be “doing something he knows he shouldn't be on purpose.” Like maybe he did it to be dastardly and maybe he just wanted to “feel the rush” of being a ruthless and hated king.

When Azul asks Ruggie if he thinks Leona takes pleasure in immoral things he says that he can't say for sure, only that he is a prince that no doubt can take pleasure in “bad things”.

To me, however, it feels like a masochistic move to prove to himself his happiness is unattainable. 

Then Sebek chimes in: “How could he go so far to kill his family only to abandon his responsibilities as a king and become a horrible one?"

No one seems to know for sure. Everyone in the group has their theories but the consensus in the group is that - nobody fuckin’ knows why this guy intricately carved himself such a miserable fantasy for himself. Very masochistic for a guy who appears to be so proud huh?

Idia continues to mention that Leona’s imagination is so vast compared to everyone else's. It fills out a whole “world” completely and the mechanics of this world must make sense. He's playing on hard mode. In Leona’s brain this seemed to manifest as if he is to “get what he wants” it can't be serendipitous or through triumph, IT MUST be through tragedy.

Can we lighten up a little?

Again, he may have started to do “good work” but quickly realized that keeping up with all to create a perfect kingdom was waaaay over his head. Maybe he was afraid to give it his all, because he knew everyone would still hate him anyway.

Another reason I think Leona thrives better as a “big fish in a small pond” so to speak. Like his dorm leader role where he can interact directly with his cute (this man used this word a lot for some reason) froshes, make tangible make things better for a small group or community. 

But as we saw, even with his dorm Leona began to feel overwhelmed with the pretty promises he made to his underclassmen in Chapter 2 about the Spelldrive tournament. He like…wants to be wanted but he’s terrified of people actually relying on him, because trying your best and then failing anyways is the most painful thing to him. His instinct when he gets too frustrated with something is to act like he never cared about it in the first place or anyone. AKA “I did everything right and it's THE REST OF YOU who are incompetent.”

That’s why I personally think that in the future Leona working within a small community might be a better fit for him, using his skills to see potential in others as a way to connect with them and teach them how to thrive. 

So yeah, needless to say the group is stumped on analyzing Leona’s intentions and Azul hilariously notes that Leona is just…a complicated person. 

What an understatement.

The group hatches a silly plan to have Ruggie puppet a Cheka hologram and yeah obviously it didn’t work.

This is where it started to get interesting again.

Dream!Kifaji said he’s been “waiting for the day Leona would wake up from his bad dream” and joins the fight against him to wake him. It’s like Leona telling himself that it's time to let his original dream go.

Ortho is surprised Kifaji is on their side, that he should be the darkness pulling Leona back in, but like I mentioned I think Kifaji is actually a “fail safe” Leona created to stay lucid or...maybe the little bit of hope he has fostered now that he has grown from Chapters 2’s events.

Since Kifaji is the one to normally call him out, maybe he's Leona’s way of processing his relationship with him. And that maybe…sometimes as annoying as Kifaji is, he has a point. Kifaji is the one who is implied to have raised him after all, so it's no surprise Leona sees him in a father-like role more than his own father.

“No one understands me, it's not my fault.”  Leona laments running away, running away from himself.

Reminds me a lot of Chapter 2 Leona where he began to feel sorry for himself instead of actually trying to fix things. It's clear that no matter how smart and mature Leona is…is that he still has a lot of growing to do. And that his relationship with his family and country are complex. There is not a black and white or good and bad with this situation and I feel like this is important when talking about him and his relationships with his family.

He was very much ostracized and probably neglected to some extent by his real parents but at a certain point, Leona decided to give up on improving himself just because he didn't achieve the results he wanted to. It's one of his biggest flaw.

His complacency is what drags him further into the darkness. Not Kifaji.

Sitting and stewing in his despair and how unfair his life has been instead of reaching out. Rehashing all thise chess strategies alone on his chess board until his brain hurts. Making grandiose plans instead of actually working hard toward a realistic goal. 

The idle king. A king with naught. (Nothing.)

I am now realizing that in a way (because Ruggie and Leona are so similar) Jack is Leona’s foil; he is the determined and earnest one who admires Leona at his best. He still holds the innocence and the idealism of working hard.

The group jumped through the darkness with Leona and we are replaying the events of Chapter 2 once again.

Ruggie and Jack watch it go down in dismay. Ruggie addresses that he once did think Leona’s way of thinking/plan was good and it’s cool to see he clearly regrets it now too.

They watch the drama play out as if Leona’s plan in Chapter 2 actually succeeded and see that he craves more. More ways for Savanaclaw to get ahead by unsavory means.

Jack says even if Leona becomes king there will be no end to his dissatisfaction. BOOM, there it is.

That is why Chapter 2 is so mind boggling.  Leona’s whole speech was about being king and second. But it’s clear now, it's not what he truly wants. I think Leona is afraid to admit what he really wants. Because that takes vulnerability and then comes the possibility of being rejected.

Jack also notes that, despite Leona getting “everything he wanted” he seems more grumpier and dissatisfied than usual.

“Leona is not your King, hes’ our Dorm Leader,” Jack growls. They fight and we get a nice callback to Lion King here. “Remember who you are.”

As Leona wakes up from his dreams he straight up says, yeah the scheme from Chapter 2 was…stupid. (Nice.)

Oh and we finally get some acknowledgement that Ruggie feels like Leona abandoned him in Chapter 2 which SHEEEEEEEESH. This is a deep cut for me, considering Ruggie’s real dad abandoned him. And it really confirms the fact he sees Leona as a father/big brother figure.

But, Leona doesn't, he sacrifices himself for Ruggie as the whole group tries to escape the crumbling dream. And while Ruggie cries out for Leona, Leona goes down smirking not knowing what will happen to him.

It’s time for him to face himself, his blot monster.

Blot!Leona wants them dead, all of them. Cheka, Falena, everyone. The real Leona finds it kind of pathetic. Because, in reality, I don't think Leona hates Cheka or Falena and he doesn't want to be alone anymore.

Leona admits to his blot that yeah, no he can’t do the job. He can’t be king. And instead of it being a negative it’s more a relief? Maybe he is incompetent too. He is addressing himself and his previous grandiose illusions. He hasn’t done anything worthy of being king.

However, he will not give up. He’s finally living up to Savanaclaw’s motto of perseverance (which he sorta laughed off in Chapter 2?)

This next part is what struck me the most because. He just lays it out so simply, finally saying it out loud.

Self awareness!! Like he finally said it!! (And I felt very vindicated in this moment, NGL) 

What he desires most is the approval of others.

Ah, and Blot!Leona responds with the fact he can't earnestly try, it's too painful to think of failing. Props for Leona acknowledging his flaws! Just like with the other overblotters. But I'm especially floored here because of how PRIDEFUL he is all the time.

In order to have better relationships with people, he has to leave that whole “they all hated me” shit behind. Because in reality, there are people who care for him despite his flaws. There are those who look up to him and admire him, for him.

But, the idea of that I think is so…crazy to him that he tends to deny its very existence. Then when he is genuinely complimented on his leadership or whatever skills he brushes it off.

He calls himself disgusting which feels kinda sad but it’s proof he has moved on from his previous way of things. What did I say earlier? Leona is afraid of failure. 

Giving being a king a earnest optimistic go is too painful for him because ultimately he is afraid of failing. Like he was happier to play the role of tyrannical king than to bother to build relations with the citizens of his kingdom.

As his blot self withers away it’s almost…sad compared to the previous blot monster showdowns we’ve seen. It mentions something about “his friends” (A reference to Scar’s final words.) like he’s reaching out for Leona so it's not alone anymore. And Leona almost embraces his monster? It’s clear he feels pity for this thing…him. His pain, his depression, his loneliness. Maybe a step in the way of self-love? He acknowledges (almost as to soothe it) that it will always be with him, clawing from inside. Except now, he won’t give up.

He vows that he will get what he wants one day, for both of them. He’ll have his “own throne and pride” instead of wanting for someone else’s. He’ll find his place to belong through his own merit.

It reminds me of that expression “find your own tribe” which is an expression that those who are not close to heirt families understand all too well.  He wants to find satisfaction outside his desire to rule and maybe because we know he prefers NRC to home, this confirms his fondness for his dorm life. (Savanaclaw found a family dorm.)

When he returns to his original dream of being king Kifaji is there as they look on at Pride Rock. The fact that it is raining is telling that hope has returned. (Just like at the end of Lion King) and that by accepting that “being king” is not what he really wants now “all things are balanced again”.

They have a nice moment here. Leona acknowledging that he has been given the tools to do good things by Kifaji’s training is a big mature moment for him. (Especially how they acted toward one another in the Tamashina Mina event)  And Kifaji praising him, since this a dream, could be a testament to what he wishes would happen between them.

AKA Leona finally feels more, “at peace” with himself.

As Leona destroys this false kingdom with his sand he seems reserved, it’s almost bittersweet as it all settles over him, his new found aspirations, letting the old ones go. He's letting the past go. A big theme in Lion King. (I really feel the writers must be fans of the movies.) 

Kifaji says: “Go to the place you really belong.”

This line kinda got me. Because the implication is that Night Raven College and his dorm is where he really belongs. Leona is confirming that his experiences at NRC have shaped who he is SO MUCH. 

For years he accepted his life as it was, a cage, and now he is acknowledging that he has the power to break that cage and do whatever he wants. It’s a great callback to the advice he gave Jamil in Chapter 6.

This is quite refreshing as he mentioned before that it was too “late for him”. Now, he realizes it isn’t.

Back with the gang, Ruggie admits his fear that Leona will abandon him again. Leona denies it, and says somewhat casually that he is in fact a true friend of his. This feels like a clever inversion of the line that Scar says to the hyenas about being his “friends.” 

But, we know now that Leona does mean it now. And this shows Leona’s desire to finally stray from the “path”  of his Great Seven counterpart and actually like…have friends?

The reunion of the Savanaclaw trio is actually really sweet. For a dorm full of cocky jocks with strong personalities they seem to be so genuinely happy to be reunited.

Jack bursting out into tears and crying got me tearing up. Like Ruggie and Leona clearly are bit more reserved in their emotions but we see Savanaclaw really are close, despite their disagreements. They care for one another as a dysfunctional little family. 

As a dorm that doesn't get much mainstream attention compared to others it was so nice to have this little moment. It's hard to tell, but I’m 99% sure there was a group hug based on how the sprites moved and the sound effects. At least a nice back pat from Leona. (Thanks, dad.) 

All in all, I really...enjoyed his dream section. As someone who is pretty hyper-critical, for the most part, it satisfied most of the things I wanted to feel. I even got emotional at a few points! Yes, it would have been nicer to spend more time with “king” Leona and dive into it more. Or get more lore about his family. But, he admitted it FINALLY, everything I have clocked about him all those years ago. It’s very satisfying to see his growth in a tangible straightforward way, instead of just me reading between the lines.

I hope we will continue to see even more growth with his character (Like we did in the Halloween event)  and I’m excited to see the role he will play in the rest of Chapter 7, even if it’s just him being a cranky old man. (What do you expect he was raised by one?)

I'd like to end this with some positivity. As someone who deep dives into character stuff a lot I know it's really comforting to see part of yourself reflected back in your favorite characters.

To anyone reading who feels they have things in common with Leona or his despair, the truth is that you should keep going, even if it's just to spite the world itself.

Your vision and presence in this world are valid all on their own and that failing is not indicative of your value as a person. It never will be.

Keep fighting to find your place, your pack and never forget who you are.💚

--

Thanks for reading!! This one took quite a bit to edit and think through so if you like my Leona analyses, I’d appreciate a reblog or even just if you wanna share it with your friends! Shoutout to the youtuber ガスマスクゲーマー whose video I pulled these screenshots from. Thank you!

[dr-spectre]

The autism representation in Splatoon needs to be studied and celebrated because oh my god it's actually really damn good and some of the best in media, especially compared to how its usually portrayed in popular media....

As someone who is on the spectrum and has been diagnosed, it's really comforting to know that one of my favorite game series has such positive depictions of autism and isn't just stereotypical depictions we commonly see in media.

Autism in most media is either portrayed as white nerdy dudes who are cold robots that have super intelligence, can understand alien languages and see the world like they are a fucking Lego master builder or some shit and see blueprints in the sky like in The Good Doctor or The Big Bang Theory with Sheldon. Or it's portrayed as people who are incredibly disabled, cannot communicate and have constant tantrums as seen with the dogshit movie Music (2021). Literally the depiction of autism in that movie is actually fucking dangerous as it shows a person pushing an autistic person who is having a meltdown onto the ground and RESTRICTING THEM! WHICH IS VERY VERY VERY BAD! DO NOT DO THIS!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!! AUTISTIC PEOPLE HAVE DIED BECAUSE OF THIS!!!!!!!!

Now I'm not saying that these types of autistic people don't exist, remember, it's a spectrum so there's a ton of variety in people who have autism, some people have really high intelligence, some have low social skills and need help, some can talk for hours and hours to anyone, some need serious help to function day to day living and thats perfectly fine. however the type i listed of the super cold robotic genuis is just the really popular stereotype which impacts the perception of autistic people just trying to live and enjoy life like everyone else. Some autistic people are just in the middle and aren't on any of the extremes. There are tons of people who fall into the "low needs" and "high needs" sides of autism of course, however there isn't exactly a ton of representation for people in the middle and sometimes those popular representations of autism can damage the entire perception of the spectrum. And there still isn't a lot of fair representation of "high needs" autistic people in media and that needs to change as well.

Thankfully Splatoon doesn't go for any damaging stereotypes but instead goes for something a little more positive. I think the best examples of this are Marina, Marie and Harmony. While they haven't been canonically confirmed as being on the autism spectrum, they are heavily hinted that they are and show some evidence that supports it.

Harmony for instance is just.... a regular autistic girl, she isn't some incredibly smart girl, no, she's just a regular girl who speaks in a blunt and neutral way but that's about it. As someone who is autistic i can relate somewhat to how she speaks, in real life i tend to just say a few words when talking to someone and i don't really sound energetic or loud about it. i just go "Hey. Hi. Alright. Okay. Oh ok. Uh. I'm good." Some autistic people normally do not speak like they are the nerd emoji and sound hyper smart like Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, and they are not able to speak entirely. That's not what ALL autistic people sound like. There's a decent chunk of them that just speak regularly or speak a little quietly and thats okay. Harmony captures the speech of what a fair portion of autistic people talk like, but not every single autistic person of course. There is a large chunk of autistic people who need support when it comes to communication, and that's perfectly okay. They are just valid as human beings as the ones who can speak.

She also has an interest in music as she is the singer of Chirpy Chips and is seen stimming and fidgeting with an Ultra Hand. Autistic people usually fidget and stim to calm themselves down and keep their emotions in check, maybe Harmony plays with the Ultra Hand because it helps her stay calm when running Hotlantis.

Now it's time to talk about the most popular example of autistic representation in Splatoon. Marina.

She is quite shy when you zoom in on her in Splatoon 2 when you play as an Inkling, but is known to ramble about machinery and excavators to Pearl and Acht for hours at a time. Technology and machinery seem to be a special interest for her as shown with her creating the Shifty Stations for Splatfests, having hacking abilities and building the Memverse. She gets so much energy and excitement from working on the Memverse as shown by her dialogue in the Dev Diaries. However she is not a flawless super genius like in most depictions of autistic characters, she is known to have uncontrollable emotional outbursts, when Pearl even suggests the idea of Off the Hook breaking up she becomes extremely devastated and thinks of the worst case scenario in her dialogue from the Chaos vs Order Splatfest. She sometimes can't control her anger and snaps at Pearl after losing multiple times in a row in Splatfests.

She also has issues with proper work life balance as she overworks herself with working on the Memverse alongside going on a world tour with Pearl, she vents abouts this in her 10th Dev Diary in Side Order. And speaking of order, she chose team order because she wanted to maintain the balance in her life that she has found. A lot of autistic people have strict routines and any changes to that routine will cause them to get really distressed. If someone comes into my space and says "hey we're going out in 10 minutes." I'm gonna get pissed off and be in a terrible mood as my routine has been disrupted and i wanna do something else. Routines give autistic people a lot of comfort and predictability.

Marina's deepest flaw she kept hidden was the desire of a perfect world of order where nothing can change because she's so scared of her new life being destroyed, but she learns to overcome this fear of change with the help of Pearl by the end of Side Order which may inspire autistic people to learn to be more okay with change, even if its very hard.

Marina is also seen wearing her headphones quite often and rarely takes them off which may indicate she might have sensory issues. Some autistic people may suffer with sensory issues and need to wear headphones or certain pieces of clothing to stay calm and keep their emotions from becoming too much. I tend to wear headphones often because i hate my ears being exposed and I'm very sensitive to certain noises.

She also may have another special interest which may be the Squid Sisters as she litters her laptop and keytar with Squid Sister stickers. Marina also talks in a very excited tone when you get Marie's and Callie's palettes in Side Order. She also acts very giddy and excited during live performances with them and starts stimming which is shown by her moving around in place and clamping her hands together.

Another character who you might not think is autistic right away but shows signs of it is Marie. And to be honest i find her to be very relatable.

Marie is known to be more quiet than her cousin and she acted like this since she was a child. Marie also seems to struggle with social situations and struggles to talk with Agent 4 and Neo Agent 3 and wishes they can just leave her alone when you keep talking to her. However she seems to be a lot more comfortable talking with people she trusts and loves like her cousin Callie. She also makes quite snarky and sometimes rude comments but that doesn't mean she's a rude person, she just likes being cheeky and truly cares about the people around her. She even self loathes and worries about her cousin to an unhealthy degree.

A lot of people tend to say that autistic people have low empathy when in reality some autistic people are far from the case. Some autistic people might be TOO empathetic but they cannot show it because it's just so much for them that they can't properly express it. Marie may appear as rude and non caring but she's genuinely a very caring and emotional person but she doesn't know how to show it due to not having developed communication skills compared to neurotypical people. A fair amount of autistic people are not shy people that don't care about you, they just have a different way of speech and communication. 2 autistic people can talk vastly different from each other. It is a spectrum after all. There are some who may have low empathy, but they are not psychopaths who don't care about human life. It's really, really weird to think that and kind of damaging to see autistic people in that kind of light.

Marie is also known to be a picky eater and despises vegetables, refuses to eat the ends of bread loafs, hates tomatoes and pineapple on pizza. (she's literally me holy shit...) some autistic people can have sensory issues when it comes to certain textures and smells and vegetables usually have a weird texture compared to meats and other food groups. They can be seen as "picky eaters" that don't wanna try anything but, some autistic people genuinely cannot eat certain foods and may get sick in the stomach if they see that food and would rather eat anything else. You cannot get me to eat carrots, like I'm sorry but that's not happening buddy. I don't care if they are baked or boiled, i refuse to put that shit in my mouth.

She was also on team order like Marina as she likes to keep things nice and tidy like with most autistic people. Not all but most.

A little tidbit i wanna add as well is that since Splatoon 2, Marie has been seen holding an parasol and for seemingly no reason. Some may say she holds it to seem more professional, however i think she has it around because she likes to hold it in her hands and use it to fidget with, much like Harmony with the Ultra Hand. You can see her spin it around when you stay around her for a little bit in Splatoon 3's story mode. Although I might be looking too deeply into this but i think it might be a cute little detail.

I find it really fantastic that Splatoon not only has good representations of autism, but it's also pretty diverse and shows different elements of the spectrum. Not every single aspect of the spectrum as there isn't an example of a high needs autistic character in Splatoon that I can think of unfortunately, but if you can think of a character who may be in the high needs category of the spectrum then let me know, however we got a pale skinny sea anemone who runs a general store and uses an Ultra Hand to fidget with, a tall black woman who's extremely passionate about machinery and technology, and a Japanese squid woman who would rather eat a Splattershot than a tomato. (Callie and Marie are based off of Japanese culture, look at their clothing and styles of music. If they were humans they would not be white women, sorry to break it to you bud.)

Before this ends i wanna say, if you disagree with me then that's fine. I get it. They aren't canonically confirmed to be on the autism spectrum and a lot of this is just speculation and observation. However don't be a fucking dick about it okay? Don't say that i don't know anything about autism and that I'm crazy and dumb. Don't do that shit. Seriously. I am allowed to look deeper into these characters and find relatability and comfort in them. Don't try to make me feel like a freak for this.

Anyways if i did get something wrong about autism let me know in a fair and polite way. I am human and I'm gonna make mistakes, but don't be a dickhead about it, k? Good. Have a goodnight or good day wherever you live.