#7) not to reiterate points but SHOW DON'T TELL

[thevalleyisjolly]

I recognize that I have extremely picky reading tastes, but if I pick up a book and the author’s idea of introducing the characters is to have them deliver a carrd monologue about themselves, I’m gonna hurl first the book and then myself into the sun.

[triptychgrip]

Yuuri’s love of Viktor’s extraness

Something that I've seen a lot of in Yuri!!! on Ice post-canon fanfic is a tendency to write Yuuri exhibiting a certain amount of chagrin around Viktor's extra-ness.

Perhaps I've misinterpreted intent and simplified instances that in actuality were meant to convey something completely different, but at times, I've noted this implicit (or explicit) weariness attributed to Yuuri when it comes to his reactions to Viktor's behavior.

Specifically, his excitability and charisma.

To reiterate: I'm talking about post-canon content, meaning that Yuuri and Viktor have already bridged that initial gap between them and are in a committed relationship. I say this b/c a certain amound of overwhelm/wariness in response to larger-than-life Viktor is very understandable in the beginning, when Yuuri is not only struggling to understand why the hell his idol has come to Hasetsu, but is also realizing that the public persona that Viktor exudes doesn't match up with the flesh-and-blood being that is the real him.

This "God, why in the hell am I engaged to an excitable child?!" characterization of Yuuri confuses me, because one of the most endearing parts of the show is the fact that Yuuri is capable of 1) being just as extra as Viktor (but in different ways) and/or 2) matching Viktor's extra-ness in the way of the whole "meeting him where he is" theme.

I think there are plenty of examples of #1 (that quad flip at the Cup of China!!), and the Chihoko incident is a perfect encapsulation of number 2. With the latter, note that Yuuri doesn't minimize Viktor's insecurities by being all "you're being ridiculous, Viktor, why is THIS your way of trying to get my attention?"; instead, he tells Viktor that he could search the entire world and still find no one better. Oh, and then at Viktor's request, he strips down and joins him on the top of Hasetsu Castle.

Writing him as only being tolerant of Viktor's extra-ness (rather than celebrating it) also confuses me because as they get to know one another, I would imagine that Yuuri is able to see more clearly than most how Viktor was at a breaking point before coming to Hasetsu. You don't get to be a 5-time World Champion without being somewhat of a workaholic with extreme discipline, and there is more than enough evidence to support the idea that prior to coming to Hasetsu, Viktor hadn't really allowed himself to let loose, have fun, and do something entirely for just himself in a very long time (aside from that Sochi banquet night, of course).

So then, after coming to understand just how much Viktor might have been suppressing his true nature prior to their coming into each other' lives, why would Yuuri make Viktor feel bad about this intrinsic part of his personality? I've always gotten the impression that Yuuri would adore Viktor's innature curiosity and excitability, especially when he comes to realize that Viktor is keeping true to his episode 4 request to just be himself.

I might make a part 2 to this post, because there are honestly a lot of Viktor headcanons floating around in my head, particularly with respect to the fact that he seems like a man who has been told his entire life that he is "too much". Thus, to perceive this same attitude from the love of his life (again, maybe not explicitly, but implicitly) would probably tear him up inside.

I actually explicitly addressed this in Chapter 7 of my post-canon Olympic Games series, by way of a BuzzFeed "Couples' Quiz" appearance that the Katsuki-Nikiforovs make. Their last question to one another asks them to list the things they think their partner loves about them the most, and frankly, it was healing for me to be able to write Viktor answering that he thinks his husband loves his charisma/excitability 😭🥹

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

Okay, my one and only major complaint about Bad Batch is that I don't think they handled Tech's death properly (I still don't think they should have killed him off at all, but here we are; and even if they intend(ed) to leave things open-ended to maybe bring him back later, the titular characters in the show wouldn't have known that); and with all the reasons I've seen floating out there as to WHY Tech's death was handled the way it was and why the characters reacted the way they did (or didn't), I just want to explain why none of the "reasons" cut it for me. If you're satisfied with how Tech was handled in season 3, I am genuinely happy for you (and lowkey jealous, ngl 😉). I've just been thinking about this a lot and need to spell it out!

Reason #1: "Why do we need to see more of the characters mourning? What we got was enough. We don't need a 2 hour episode that's all about the characters grieving." (Yes, someone actually used "2 hours" in their argument.)

Let's recap what we got: 1) A scene where Echo looks sadly at the Marauder's pilot seat, Wrecker actually sheds some tears (bless him), Omega's in denial, and Hunter tells Omega they're going to retire on Pabu because Tech is gone... followed up almost immediately by the villain dropping off broken goggles as the only proof that Tech was ever on Eriadu; 2) a scene where the audience is shown Tech's goggles but Hunter doesn't interact with them- instead, he looks at Lula, proving that his driving motivation is recovering Omega (which is fine when taken from the perspective that he can't do anything about Tech, whereas he can do something for Omega; but that perspective is ultimately just headcanon because the show never reiterates or follows up on this); 3) Wrecker alluding to Tech (not by name) to try to convince Hunter to be more cautious; 4) Omega name-dropping Tech (wait, does Crosshair even know what happened?... yay for context clues, I guess); 5) Echo name-dropping Tech in relation to data decryption with the team looking down sadly for 5 seconds (I timed it) before Crosshair changes the subject; 6) Phee name-dropping Tech in relation to her not knowing what m-count is; 7) Crosshair referring to Tech's information on Ventress; 8) Omega leaving Tech's goggles in the Archeum with none of her brothers around (hot take: it kinda bothers me that the goggles are given the same treatment as Lula, I totally understand the context/deeper meaning of Omega leaving her childhood behind by leaving Lula, but we're talking about the one relic they have of their fallen and irreplaceable brother being given the same emotional weight as a doll); 9) Phee referring to Tech having a discussion with her about Crosshair while Tech's goggles are in the background (and, noticeably, Crosshair doesn't react at all and just changes the subject back to needing a ship); 10) Crosshair says the squad died with Tech, Wrecker says Tech understood the risks, and that's that.

So, what we got was enough to establish that the characters were sad in the immediate aftermath of Tech's death, that some of them may have stayed sad about it all through season 3, and that the show didn't completely forget that Tech had been a main character at one point.

What we DON'T get is any real reference to what Tech meant to the family as an individual and a brother, any real indication of how the loss of Tech (distinct from the mission to save Omega) influences his family's actions or the story's overall narrative, any actual acknowledgement in the show of Tech's sacrifice having any meaning or the family moving past grief to express any form of gratitude for Tech's presence and influence on their lives, any reference to Tech having a true impact on 4 of his 5 siblings (Omega is the closest we get to witnessing Tech's continued influence on any of his siblings and even seeing that involves squinting/head tilts at times)... in other words, we get a few minutes of sadness, but never any catharsis. We see they miss him, but never does this truly inform the narrative or their decisions in season 3, AND it's left frustratingly vague where the characters are in the grieving process (more on that later).

Besides, no one (that I have come across, at least) was ever asking for a 2 hour episode. At most, Kanan got a 22-minute "eulogy" episode, and most of us aren't even asking for that. I'd have been at least minimally satisfied with a "Mayday moment" for Tech - and that scene lasted a grand total of 20 seconds. What would have been more satisfying would have been the show taking all those superficial name drops and converting at least a few of them into meaningful mentions indicating what Tech means to his brothers and/or how he continues to have an influence on his family and/or how his sacrifice is a motivating factor for them.

Reason #2: "There was no time."

Leaving aside the fact that there was apparently plenty of time and opportunity to make Tech (among others) a red herring...

Let's assume that the showrunners were not only told they only had 1 season left to wrap everything up, but were given highly specific time allotments for each episode to where they weren't allowed to add any scenes (I highly doubt this is what happened, but we're rolling with the "no time" thing here). You know what you do in that scenario when you're talking about something like following up on a main character's death that clearly has left your entire fanbase in an uproar? You MAKE time: you trim down the action scenes, you make the characters walk a little bit faster, you decide whether an extended scene of Echo giving Omega a crossbow that is never going to show up again is actually worth saving (I actually like the scene, by the way; just giving an example), you cut out a few of the extremely vague lines of dialogue Fennec and Asajj indulge in. What you DON'T do is kill off a beloved main character and then rely on convenient time lapses/time skips to just brush over all the fallout apart from a few name drops that do nothing to establish just how important said character was to the other characters in the show.

What's more, they could have EASILY included some true closure with ANY of the Tech name-drops/scenes that were already in the show. Have Hunter look at Tech's goggles before looking beyond them at Lula in 3.02. Have the brothers be present with Omega when she decides to leave Tech's goggles in the Archeum in 3.11. Have any of the brothers say one meaningful line about Tech while they're otherwise silently basking in the sunshine in the end scene on Pabu in 3.15!

Reason #3: "They're soldiers."

Of all the reasons given for why Tech's death was mishandled, I dislike this one the most. What does CF99 being soldiers have to do with the aftermath of Tech's death being reduced to perfunctory allusions? (If you want to get into the argument that soldiers in general have to figure out a way to "move on" and The Clone Wars didn't really spend any time on the clones processing losses after battles, let me just say I don't care for how this topic is covered in The Clone Wars either, and Bad Batch was a golden opportunity for the Star Wars franchise to move past this unfortunate trope.) Fallen soldiers in real life get memorials/funerals too, even if it's months after the battle. Fallen soldiers are honored and remembered by their families and those closest to them. If the show is trying to push the stereotype that soldiers move on from tragic deaths of comrades by being "stoic" and holding it all in and never talking about it, I strongly disagree with the perpetuation of this stereotype; and if the characters as soldiers actually DID grieve Tech in a healthy way, why didn't the show depict it?

Reason #4: "Star Wars writers don't know how to write meaningful scenes/payoff regarding death and characters dealing with death/loss."

The Bad Batch writers proved time and again how brilliant they are at writing emotional storylines with maximum payoff. Case in point: Mayday. Enough said (I'm writing too much on this general topic as it is).

Reason #5: "They got over it."

Maybe I'm reading things wrong, but a rather drastic change in behavior for one character (going from cautious and weighing all risks, to reckless and jumping headfirst into situations without proper backup), and another character including Tech's death as just one reason why he "deserves" to go on a suicide mission, does not read to me as the characters "getting over it." It reads to me as "avoidance behavior" and "continued internal conflict." (Granted, Hunter's more reckless behavior in season 3 likely had as much to do with the Omega situation as it did Tech's death, but the point still stands. And if the point DOESN'T still stand, then I've got even MORE issues with how this plotline was handled, so we'll just keep assuming it does.)

Furthermore, if the characters had truly "gotten over it," there shouldn't have been any hesitation or issue with them discussing and honoring Tech in meaningful ways.

Reason #6: "They DIDN'T get over it."

Right, and we ended the show that way, with no clear resolution to them actually coming to terms with Tech's death and honoring his memory. Great.

Reason #7: "Whatever. It's good Tech stayed dead. Tech's sacrifice meant something."

... Did it? Did it really? I mean, I know I say quite frequently that Tech's sacrifice is what made the happy ending possible for the others (because that's the only thought that got me through a rewatch of season 3). But the show, the narrative itself, certainly doesn't act like it really meant anything. Hunter says in the season 2 finale that they "weren't going to waste Tech's sacrifice" because they were going to retire on Pabu... and that discussion promptly gets forgotten and never brought up again, not even when the squad is trying to stay off the Empire's radar in season 3 after Omega returns. Never is there any discussion that "not wasting Tech's sacrifice" by hiding on Pabu to make sure no one else dies (a very understandable reaction, of course) also goes against the very mission Tech pushed for in the first place: rescuing Crosshair. Never do we hear Omega tell Crosshair, "Tech didn't give up on you, I'm not giving up on you, that's why you ARE going to escape with me." Never is there any talk about "Tech wanted us to live and stay together, so that is what we are going to do." Never is there any acknowledgement at the end of the show that they are all going to live in peace on Pabu because Tech made sure they could live.

The last half of season 4 of Rebels is full of references to Kanan's sacrifice actually meaning something and having direct tangible consequences not only for the family but for Lothal and the Rebellion. For one thing, the show itself literally spells out that the mission to shut down the Imperial factories on Lothal was actually a success because all the fuel reserves were destroyed - Kanan had died, but the mission had succeeded and directly led to the success of the bigger mission to completely free Lothal, and while this is very poor consolation for the loss of Kanan, at least the show openly acknowledged it. Kanan and his influence is also openly credited for Ezra foiling Palpatine's plans with the Jedi Temple and the WBW, Ezra learning to let go and again disrupting Palpatine's plans in the finale, and doing what was needed to ensure Lothal was fully freed.

Imagine how different Rebels would be if Kanan's death had been treated like Tech's: no mention that his role on the mission had any impact whatsoever. No reference to Ezra or any other member of the Ghost crew living up to what Kanan had taught them all - or, at best, there's a perfunctory reference in the epilogue that Ezra decided to keep using the Force the way Kanan had taught him to. No depiction of Ezra or Hera or Sabine or Zeb accepting Kanan's death and letting go of the pain while holding on to the memories. Nothing to show that any of the Ghost crew members act in memory of Kanan or that he is a motivating influence on them. No indication that Kanan's sacrifice drives Ezra to decide to follow up on their initial success with the factories and ultimately completely drive the Empire from Lothal.

Rebels just wouldn't be nearly as fulfilling.

Now, imagine if Tech's death had been treated like Kanan's, and maybe it will become more clear why I have a REALLY hard time agreeing with the argument that the show itself actually depicted Tech's death as "meaning something."

[youkaiyume]

Hello, it's been a while since I did a rant. But WARNING for gross medical things:

SO it turns out my old nemesis the ovarian cysts have plagued me again. I found out about three weeks ago when a weird pain wouldn't leave my pelvis and went to urgent care and they suggested a CT scan. ONLY! for my insurance to deny me cuz they think I needed more probable cause for one so my doctor just recommended I go to the ER (which ironically is way more expensive for insurance to pay for than a simple CT scan but they did it to themselves lol).

Turns out I have cysts on BOTH of my ovaries FUN. But the left one is very concerningly big and probably needs to be removed but I can only do so by getting an approval of an OBGYN. So after finding one and waiting for my blood tests to come back so she can determine if she can surgically remove it--

YESTERDAY I had a SUDDEN AND SEVERE pain that hit me. I was at a solid 10 on that pain scale and vomiting and sweating so I drove myself to the ER again for the second time in two weeks. Frustratingly, the MALE doctor came back and was just like "well it looks like while we were doing your ultrasound you weren't consistently experiencing pain" which I was ready to bite his head off because let me tell you. While I was laying stretched out letting them do the ultrasound I was in the worst pain the ENTIRE time. And it was not a short ultrasound. It lasted over 20 mins and even after they asked me if I could survive sitting through the vaginal ultrasound after which would be another 25 mins. And those are painful just for the stick poking around in your yoohoo alone. I begged for pain relievers and when I described it they were like "oh that's labor level pains"

SO Mr. I don't have a Uterus doctor, DON'T TELL ME that your machine says I wasn't in pain. He even hit me with a "well I don't know what your pain tolerance is" as if to minimize or make me feel like I was overblowing what I was feeling. Like, fuck that guy. But because technically the imaging showed that the cysts haven't ruptured or caused my ovaries to twist it was considered "non emergent" and so the just gave me painkillers and then sent me home and reiterated that the only way I could get it removed at this point was to beg my OBGYN and convince her it was an emergency. In the meantime it was "oh you'll have to live with LABOR LIKE PAINS 24/7 until they let you have surgery." In the meantime they said I should only return to the ER after I've took all my pain meds and my pain doesn't improve OR if something worse happens. like a rupture.

WHICH btw are the exact same symptoms I have today so I was like how will I know cuz I can't imagine a worse pain than this one to which they were like "shrug"

I was in tears. Oh but it gets EVEN BETTER. Called my OBGYN this morning and she said my blood tests came back and that unfortunately they detected higher than usual levels of cancer markers in the cyst so that means she can't surgically remove them for me, she has to foist me to an Oncologist so THEY can remove it. She tries to say it doesn't necessarily MEAN cancer but hnnnnnggg that does not help with my anxiety at the moment.

Now calling the Oncologist to make an appointment today was a whole ordeal itself cuz their system kept going to voicemail so I had to call all the departments until they finally let me through but I had to run back to the hospital to try to get my Ultrasound discs for them. But even then they were like "your appointment isn't until next Wednesday" because THATS when the doctor meanders into work. So I'm like OH so like, in the meantime what if something happens??? And they're like well you gotta call back your OBGYN to see if you have other options. Which turns out she is also out. Until Tuesday. So I'm like. Guess I'll die then!

I don't even want kids!!! These ovaries have caused me nothing but trouble!!! Please rip them from my body!!

[austinsastrology8991]

> Mer{Cure}Y <

I gots some drugs for yall fiends > plug back <

1 > No one wants to talk to each other Hi how are you? good thanks :) Nice day isnt it. It for sure is! Hey wyd. not much wbu. Im chilling. Same lol. what are you doing? Im watching something on youtube. Oh nice. Wbu? im watching anime. Oh cool. No wonder we are all fiends for some entertainment, because we are incapable of entertaining each other. 2 > The insecurity of not sounding smart makes everyone conform into a retarded form of one another. We all have the same views. The same topics are constantly being brought up. And when someone speaks about something new, everyone loses interest because no one can handle the reality that maybe they don't know something. Oh and the only reason you listen to each other is to get something from that person whether that be attention, or clout or whatever the fuck you define as your ends. Since most of us, are in a state of fear, we aren't able to talk about something we don't know about. 3 > Mercury is about confidence. And most of yall bite your tongues but love to act tough. Every person who has told me they are hard, is incapable of pushing the envelope. I think you are more caught up with your own image, and are afraid of not appearing tuff. But guess what true courage is about revolting against whats normal, or the courage to be wrong. Show dont tell true?. ANd im done hearing about whoever the fuck you think you are. Show me something interesting dont tell me what you think you are. Don't tell me what you want me to hear. 4 > Conversations are being ruined by people who are constantly telling others they are wrong. Excuse me fucker. But are you capable of arguing against me? No beyond that. Can you stick to the conversation at hand, or are you going to source the same sources every SJW ever has cited. Your not even a real person, your just mimicrying beliefs you believe in. Pathetic tbh. Hey whatever more people will agree with you because we are all jsut looking for a place to belong. so good for you. You chose the easy way out bravo. I thought conversations were a place to discuss and learn. But your so focused on being correct. to me you look wrong, but you do 'sound' right because well .. to reiterate we all want to be right so we band together with whats acceptable. 5 > School fucked you. You were told to sit down and stfu. and if you were invested in to the conversation in the class room. You were memed on by all ur class mates. School breeds insecurity, and teaches people to sit down. Thats why some of yall are so forceful in standing up for yourself. Trying to break the chains of the past. And before you point the finger at me. Don't shoot the messenger. we were all brainwashed, I dont blame anyone trying to change the foundations of your past, considering how fucked it all really is 6 > "Im not that smart" This is just an excuse. Learning everyone can do. You just need to concentrate and put effort in. "oh I canT beCauSe I HaVe ADHD" well my bad just take more of that meth shit that way you can turn into mini hitler and become smart I guess. Also if your so insecure go cry to your psychologists like ffs. Eveyrone can be smart. YOu just need to develop your confidence > Rule 3 <

7 > You learn from what you see. monkey see monkey do. if your surrounded by a bunch of dumb cunts. YOur a dumb cunt now. If your being put down by people in your clique you are surrounded by negativity. If your being constantly praised for nothing you are surrounded by yes man. Find diversity. use discrepency. Its perfectly okay to judge people. stop suppressing that urge to appear 'normal' Many people are not normal but we are so caught up in trying to act normal when we are all pretty fucky 8 > The past was different and so will be the future. Would you shut the fuck up with the pessmism. Things will change. You need to be open to receiving it. You've had happy times as much as youve had bad times. ANd if your trapped in a big pit hole of death. well you better get climbing because no one can be bothered to help anyone anymore because we are probably the most selfish we've ever been ever (social mediaaaaasaa) and the adults are still trying to adjust to the internet because the world been flipped (itll flip again) 9 > No one cares about your opinion more than you Thats why your so uncomfortable speaking your truth. Because everyone is more into their own truths. So we practise the art of self affirmation by denying other peoples truths. When everything exists for a reason. WE are so caught up in making our own manifestations true by denying others 'truths.' Selfish cunts.... But hey wtf am I saying Im just an anonymous pluto I don't know shit ;')

My next post is my last post. Don't cry. I have my reasons. My next post however is going to my >master piece< ;')

[skylinesnsunshines]

riccardo calafiori reading: as a boyfriend + ideal type

dividers | personal readings | tips | guidelines

DISCLAIMER: this is all speculative and for entertainment purposes only, so take it with a grain of salt :)

(italicised is the card on the bottom of the tarot deck which is meant to represent the subconscious/blind spot of the situation + rx means reversed)

AS A BOYFRIEND

knight of wands rx, ace of cups, 7 of swords, the emperor rx | dilettante | lion | cardinal: instigation, bravery & a pioneering spirit

i cant even lie, when his spread came out i couldn't stop giggling. there's a lighthearted energy within his spirit and although some people see love as a deep feeling between two souls, riccardo navigates love through a softer lens. i feel like he is SO hard to pin down as a boyfriend, and this lack of commitment doesn't come from a place of avoidance but rather a priority. he's only 22 and still at the very beginning of his career, so it doesn't surprise me that love isn't number one on his list of achievements. with the knight of wands rx as his first card, his energy as a boyfriend might be scattered. in the sense that he isn't entirely consistent with how he pursues someone or shows up in the relationship, maybe one week he likes being extra clingy and doing everything together but the next week he wants to do everything himself and have solitude. the ace of cups does tell me he has an inner romantic and does love being in love. he could be the type of person to enjoy lighthearted romance and finds it natural to express affection for that special someone. he's full of love and isn't afraid to show it to his person, and he radiates joy and appreciation. so 7 of swords usually describes someone who is deceptive but in his case, i'm feeling that this is talking about him not liking to be entirely vulnerable. he likes approaching love with a lighthearted lens and doesn't entirely enjoy the true struggles of a relationship. i'm sensing he could be more avoidant when it comes to instances where hardships are encountered. logically speaking, i don't think anyone enjoys going through hardships in a relationship but in his case i feel that if an argument were to break out or feelings of upset, he will maybe be avoidant and not be the type to solve the issue head on. i did a reading on his personality earlier and i talked about how stubborn he is, with the emperor rx it just further emphasises that point. emperor rx tells me that he could be a dominant or possessive partner, while this isn't an entirely bad thing and in his case i feel that he doesn't do it maliciously, there could be unconscious insecurities or experiences that have caused him to become dominant or possessive. he could be quite rigid in his thinking and finds it difficult to compromise. again, i don't think it's a bad thing though it'll just take him time to mature and expand his perspective.

i'm not gonna lie i had to google what dilettante meant as i've never read someone with this energy before. it basically means pursuing something without real commitment or knowledge, and in this case i feel like it just reiterates the fact that he's still really young. in this context, it can be inferred that his reasoning for pursuing someone can be for superficial reasons. i don't think this is a bad thing though, cause over time this can change his understanding of his wants and needs in a relationship. i feel the lion card perfectly embodies his personality tbh (makes sense cause he is a leo moon after all). he can sometimes be viewed as aloof or distant, but this is due to him not wanting to waste his energy on anything meaningless. he's calculated, observant and precise with his words and actions, which can intimidate many people. he seems to be the type of guy to not wear his heart on his sleeve, as he is only intimately known by few. he values personal and spiritual growth, so it would make sense why his demeanour seems commanding or assertive. the cardinal card expands on this notion, as cardinal signs are known to be the signs that have the most initiative. i feel that he is likely to be a sagittarius rising which would put his gemini venus and mars in his 7th house (which is a cardinal house as it's usually ruled by libra). this tells me that he prides himself in how he can grow and be challenged, and he would probably be an incredibly active boyfriend as it's likely that he would constantly find things to do with his significant other. he said that he likes to be depended on, which is such a cardinal thing to say LMFAO. in addition, this card tells me that he won't be afraid to pursue his person and finds it fulfilling if he is the pursuer. i can sense that he's a protective person as well, so he wouldn't be afraid to speak up or defend if there is mistreatment towards his person.

IDEAL TYPE

3 of wands, 9 of cups, 2 of swords, justice | seeker | starfish | cancer: nurture, comfort, protection

i heard the word dreamy when i was shuffling his cards so he might be after someone who looks "dreamy" or animated-like. i noticed that 3 of these cards depict a person sitting, which tells me that he prefers people who are more submissive in relationships and let him be the pursuer. with the 3 of wands, he could be interested in people with a different cultural background than him or is just interested in people who love travelling and exploring. he could also find it attractive if someone speaks multiple languages like himself, if i'm not mistaken he's able to speak in Italian, English and Spanish so he could want someone to be able to speak those languages with him or even other languages. 3 of wands are also often looked to as leaders, as they are unafraid to be bold and can foresee opportunities in the future. this is the energy of the go-getter and they don't let fear hold them back. i honestly think his ideal type is someone quite similar to himself personality-wise LMAO, cause the 9 of cups explains that this person is positive, optimistic, content and fulfilled. someone who always looks to the bright side of life and loves sharing their successes with others, especially if it has something to do with the luxury. 2 of swords and justice together reminds me of someone who is incredibly diplomatic and resourceful. he values fairness and appreciates if his person can have a rational mind when it comes to navigating life. this doesn't mean that he doesn't like emotional types, but it just means that he could prefer someone who can be more cerebral when it comes to their exchanges. justice also tells me he could really like symmetry, so someone with symmetrical features or someone who he deems is on the same level as him. he doesn't seem to be the type to enjoy having an imbalance (whether that'd be financially or something like that). he likes if his partner is similar to him whether that'd be logically, emotionally or physically.

just like the 3 of wands, the seeker describes someone who thirsts for wisdom and truth wherever they are. he could enjoy pursuing or building something with his partner which is why he has this cardinal energy. again, his person could come from a different background. starfish describes someone beautiful, so riccardo could place importance on how attractive his partner is. i feel that he values how his partner presents themselves to the world and how he would like to be seen with them. the negative side of this is the lack of depth that comes with the vanity, just as i said i feel like he's still figuring himself out so it makes sense why this energy has come up. again, cancer is a cardinal sign and links back to the card in the previous section. i feel that he seeks someone who can nurture him but also offer protection for him and his vulnerable self. cancer is also known as the matriarch or the nurturer, so he could want someone who embodies that maternal energy and helps him overcome his fears.

that is all! if you have any feedback, comments, queries or requests please don’t hesitate to reach out to me my ask box is always open. sending you all love, light, positivity and abundance <3 much love

[theheightofdishonor]

I love reading your kagehina posts!! Sometimes I see stuff like they aren't even friends 😭 and probably drifted apart and partner in sports is different from actual friendship lmao

Thank you!

dfghhjkl yeah i've seen those claims and I firmly believe that anyone who's saying any of that needs to take reading comprehension 101. I've talked about this claim a little bit here but to reiterate, kageyama and hinata's bond- their unique connection, the meaningfulness of it, the way that they support and teach and learn from each other- is one of the core aspects of the series. Like, there were so many instances of people commenting about how special their relationship was that I made a list. This post here I think are also relevant to addressing this. (if you couldn't tell, i talk about this a lot lol. But I don't mind talking about it some more)

Point is, they mean a lot to each other. And yes, haikyuu does make a point of showing how volleyball isn't always a 1 v 1 comparison to irl and how volleyball doesn't have to mean everything to be meaningful but at the same time, that's inapplicable to hinata and kageyama because the other side of that coin is that sometimes, volleyball is everything. It could not possibly be more in your face that Kageyama and Hinata formed an instantaneous connection and became a duo to be feared like overnight because they recognized that the other person is exactly like them- someone who will give everything for volleyball, who will never give up, a person who complements them. and understands them. Kageyama's little backstory moment that changed everything (and fucked me up permanently) is that he's been waiting for (someone like) Hinata his entire life. So what if they're not be hanging out 24/7 outside of volleyball? (which they do hang out outside of matches btw later on in life, kageyama asked hinata to play beach vb with kunimi and kindaichi) They already have a mutual understanding about the importance of volleyball in their lives. Also like, even in the last chapter/panel of haikyuu literally just reiterates that for the two of them, volleyball and each other and intrinsically intertwined elements and that they intend on revolving around each other as partner/rivals for the rest of their lives.

If we're looking only at the anime, that list i linked above is entirely taken from season. Like, the the sheer weight of kageyama "i can spike, toss, etc by myself" tobio saying the words "as long as you're with me, you're invincible" like 1-2 episodes later?? This bullshit where kageyama extracts a promise from hinata to follow him to the top of the world still happens in the anime too. That bit in the first Seijoh match where Kageyama says that Oikawa's going to set to Iwaizumi, not because it's the most logical move but because he trusts him so innately that it's the most natural move to make and then going on to make the exact same set to Hinata in the same match?? The extra animated linger on Kageyama and Hinata's fingers touching as they stop the Miya's quick? Oikawa and Atsumu both saying that Kageyama's "wrapped around Hinata's finger"?

Like come on now, does this look like two people who are going to drift apart? Be for real. They're too obsessed with each other to do that.

[lady-of-the-puddle]

Welcome Back

Today I will be rating Beck's

Potential Partners?

The question mark is because some of them were definitely his partners, others will not admit it, and some came to...circumstances preventing a declaration of their love...anyway.

1. Bodhi

Literally on screen for 30 seconds max

We all clocked that shit instantly

Never brought him up again (thx to retroactive backstory oops)

Beck was actually visibly sad about him tho to the point his boss/dad had to ask if he was ok

Absolute cute couple though

8/10 I knew him for five seconds and now I have to kill everyone in this room and then myself

2. Paige

Y'all already know. Everyone knows. The whole grid knows.

The sexual tension is palpable

Which brings me to some difficult questions about the nature of programs and what physical functions they may or may not have.

Ugh I'm a sucker for the rivals to lovers thing tho

12/10 top ten hottest bi power couple if they don't kill each other first

3. Tron

I went over this in my tron's exes list but I must reiterate cause reasons

Can you imagine meeting your hero, your icon, your savior and he's....a bit of a bitch??

But you learn and get to know him and he opens up to you and comes to trust you with his life UGH my heart

9/10 I rated this 7/10 before but I'm not scared anymore they're GOOD

4. Cyrus

Look, he gets in with his bffs and the first thing they say to Beck is "you didn't tell us you had a new bf!" (Totally NOT paraphrasing that).

The fucked up stalker/victim pairing is SUCH good tea

And then he tries to kill him later? Delicious.

7/10 this one's for the toxicity 😏

5. Lux (I had to look up her name)

okay this one loses points because they WANTED me to ship this when we already knew Paige existed

I don't like to be told what to do

I mean, it's ok Beck has two hands(more like eight at this point) I can work with it

loved her jaded perspective turning into hope before she was fridged for male pai- I mean derezzed for reasons relevant to the plot 👀 that was definitely neat

Consider: she is pretty though

4/10 they're both a ten but I'm a bitter bitch so sue me

6. Mara

tbh she's such a cutie and deserves way better than whatever incel shit Zed has going on

no wonder she's in love with Tron/the Renegade (I mean, same) I would beg a superhero to save me from him too

she and Beck have such a good dynamic

would be such a cute friends to lovers pair

can you imagine if she found out her bestie was the renegade she's been visibly/audibly thirsting after? Queen shit.

8/10 This one is actually the least toxic here

7. The rebellion leader whose name escapes me (it's Bartik)

so this guy appears in legacy as the rebel leader at Castor's before getting derezzed five minutes later (shocker there)

this one just kinda leaped into my brain when I binged the show directly after watching Legacy

can you imagine inspiring someone to change sides completely and then become the leader of the very fire you sparked long after you're probably gone? Endlessly romantic.

6/10 I have yet to have a really bad ship tbh

8. Pavel

I hate it, you hate it, we all hate it

But it's still pretty hot

8/10 bitch on bitch violence

9. Zed

Ahaha I hate it

he's way too comfortable with the evil bad guy shit happening around him.

honestly I have no idea why Beck is even friends with him

HOWEVER

jock/loser pairing

Beck CAN AND WILL fix him

3/10 I don't think we can save this one boys

BONUS ROUND:

10. Tesler

LMAO I just thought of this

Why do I love it tho

Something about the Darkseid omega beam hands that make me think weird thoughts

Now I wish I had put this on my tron list

1/10 or 9/10 depending on the day

I really do love that Beck is just the most specialest boy, he's the grid's next top model, he's batman, he's everything. Istg this is a harem anime in disguise and I ship him with everyone.

I can think of at least two programs off the top of my head that I didn't include because I forgot until now, so tell me about your rare pairs, etc. I was thinking about rating Clu's crushes that he handles in a completely normal way next but that might be too much. This is what happens when we have no new content for 10 years.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: "Rude, Red, and Royal"

Hello, everyone! Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this <3.

Time’s ‘a wastin’, so let’s dive right in. We open on the girls being escorted by the royal guards up to the palace which, as I said in my last recap, is in no way dependent on Ruby giving up Penny’s sword. They could have simply been ‘captured’ for the crime of denying His Highness a new birthday present and then, as Ruby does in a few minutes, weasel out a game by asking to cheer him up in recompense. The sword is superfluous to the plot, it doesn’t track that it exists in the Ever After, is only shakily compelling in its emotional impact on Ruby and, very soon, will literally be discarded. Though we had some genuinely good emotion last episode, what this could have been - should have been - is still far out of reach.

So they’re marching along and we get a shot of the palace as well as the... pieces? Monuments? Decorations? Embedded in the earth around them. I like the subtle nod towards a potential battle having taken place and the red stains against the white look - whether intentionally or not - like blood. It begs the question of what exactly occurred when Alyx visited. 

Yang: “Are we sure we should do this?”

Ruby: “Well, the Red King helped Alyx”

Weiss: “We’re not Alyx”

Real talk: I'm sick of team conversations consisting of the girls vaguely disagreeing with Ruby and then immediately bowing to her whim. This is, structurally, the same exchange we got in Volume 7 when Ruby decided to lie to Ironwood. Yang and Oscar go, ‘I'm not really happy with this :/’ Ruby reiterates her position, and then that’s it, everyone drops the subject. Why? Because Ruby is their leader? That doesn’t hold water anymore since Volume 8 gave us a Yang who’s upset with Ruby’s decisions and actively challenges her role as leader... at least until she’s suddenly, randomly worried about Blake instead. Now, we’re back to where we were in Volume 7 with Yang (and the others) only making token disagreements for Ruby to ignore. Why is everyone moving backwards in this show?

Never-mind that I actually agree with Ruby here. The girls have been shown plenty of evidence that they’re broadly repeating Alyx’s story, the fairy tale next depicts a King helping human girls lost in this world, and Weiss already tried - and failed - to just bypass all that and walk her way to the tree. Plus, it’s not like any of these guards pose a threat to the girls. You’re telling me they can beat the Ace Ops immediately after a major grimm battle, but we’re simultaneously supposed to believe that a bunch of foolish goons made of wood could take them out? So I legitimately don’t understand what Weiss and Yang’s hesitation is when all signs point to needing to do this, those signs imply a good outcome, they’ve failed to do anything else, and they are not - for them - in any real danger.

It honestly feels like RT is continually tossing in ‘disagreements’ so that they can claim the team still has diverse and rich relationships, but that only works if you ignore the realities of the situation and the fact that nothing ever comes of this division.

As they make their way the camera shows a bright blue butterfly following them. Given that this isn’t the last time we’ll see them, I can’t help but assume that the butterfly is another character (Alyx? Lewis?), or else is foreshadowing for someone with an association with butterflies. You know, like how we saw a crow a bunch of times when Qrow first showed up to fight Winter. Originally, I thought the butterfly was our Cat, but then the Cat just chases butterflies and tends to disappear rather than transform... so idk. We’ll see.

They arrive at the entrance to the palace and the guards start a big ta-do for His Majesty’s arrival. I'm not sure why the girls are freaking out? They’re supposedly oh so knowledgeable about fairy tales, this one in particular, they're going to see the King, but they don't realize that this is how the King is introduced? I can only assume this is an excuse to give us more absurd Weiss animations.

His Majesty arrives and, to the girls’ shock, he’s definitely not a King. He’s the Red Prince and the best thing I can say about him is that I really like the sound design. As a puppet, he clinks with every step and that consistency helps sell that this isn’t a human child. Other than that though? 

Oh my god he’s annoying. Like, he’s obviously supposed to be, but he’s annoying to the point where he’s not enjoyable to watch. I saw someone else compare him to Cordovin - an antagonist whose position and beliefs are immediately undermined because the narrative doesn't treat them seriously - but at least Cordovin was capable of holding a conversation without shrieking. Also, note that once again the girls’ conflict boils down to a joke. Why present them with a legitimately intimidating Prince they have to outwit when you can just give them a temper-tantruming child for the audience to laugh at, complete with snot bubbles?

The Prince doesn’t take kindly to them thinking he’s the King. “Well, I never! Coming to someone’s castle without even know who they are - and on my birthday!”

Eh, he’s kinda got a point lol.

As the Prince goes through his repertoire of screaming and jumping around, one of the guards angrily points out that “if it hadn’t been for your kind the King would still be here!” and everyone quickly shushes him.

Okay wait, so the girls are clearly recognizable as human then, right? I ask because that’s going to come as a huge shock to the Prince later in the episode, but here it’s treated as an obvious fact. How dare you be questioning the King’s disappearance when “your kind” are the ones who did away with him in the first place. So what are we supposed to take away from this? That this one guard is the only one to realize what the girls are and none of his buddies pick up on what he’s implied because they’re too busy keeping talk of the King quiet? That all these very obedient, desperate-to-please guards realize the girls are human and didn’t bother mentioning that to their Prince? 

That RT forgot this was supposed to be a Big Secret until the end of the episode and gave us a minor plot hole?

Regardless, Ruby curtseys to introduce herself and it’s cute enough to distract me. That's a nice shot.

The Prince continues to be annoying, to the point where I want to fast-forward through this scene, and Weiss whispers to Blake: “Ew. Did I use to be this unbearably pompous?” Weiss, I wish you were still unbearably pompous instead of unbearably ridiculous. Give me the Ice Queen over this goofy idiot any day. Still, I’m glad that she’s at least acknowledging her bad attitude from years ago, especially to Blake. It’s something... but not much. Again, this is primarily functioning as a moment of humor for the audience. We’re supposed to laugh at the Prince’s antics and Weiss’ unfounded worry - she was never that bad! Plus, the story doesn’t provide the time for an actual conversation. Like, say, Blake responding that no, you weren’t this annoying... you were just horrifically racist, which is worse.

I want everyone to remember that Weiss lost her inheritance and then deliberately escaped her abusive father. She returned to her Kingdom and was active in its destruction, leaving her without a home, without a title, and (to my ever-lasting frustration), no idea what happened to her own former ‘King,’ Jacques. She’s a princess without a throne, without a Kingdom, having spent years struggling with whether she’ll try to lead from that position of power and if so, how. What does it mean to rehabilitate the Schnee name? How does being a huntress and rejecting the 'crown' offered by her father (AKA being head of the company) accomplish that? Now she comes face-to-face with another entitled, bratty ruler who, on some level reminds her of her younger self...

... and we get a single, joke-y line about it.

If this Volume is meant to develop the characters, then actually let them develop. Next episode the girls will go through a literal seconds-long 'journey' that makes me go, "What was the point?" Each of these areas should have something that clearly ties into one of the girls' lifelong goals, acting as a sub-plot to Ruby's Volume-long depression. Visiting a palace with an annoying, abusive Prince is the PERFECT opportunity to let Weiss reflect on her own choices. Yet RWBY, as expected, has squandered it for more humor.

The guards take credit for finding Penny’s sword, despite Weiss’ protest, and present it to the eager, greedy Prince. However, he immediately kicks it away into the hedges because it’s green, not red. 

Okay, two things. One, as mentioned at the start of the recap I think this is a terrible way to (presumably) end Ruby’s journey with the sword - with the reminder that her 'journey' happened at the tail end of last episode and into the first five minutes of this one. To reiterate: what was the point of any of that? To show us that Ruby is sad about Penny? Yeah, we know that already. It’s bad enough that the story is trying to give her a grieving arc that should have happened at the end of Volume 3, but the best the story can do is tossing in a sword that shouldn't exist anymore, have Ruby immediately give it up to her enemies, and then leave it behind in the hedges somewhere, forever lost? I’m not saying the sword won’t show back up - I obviously have no idea what will occur throughout the rest of this Volume - but for now that’s a real bummer of an ending. Ruby runs to try and grab the sword and the guards block her way, so all she does is whisper, “How could you?” I don’t know, Ruby, maybe he did that because he’s a bratty, literal toy who has no idea why that hunk of aura is emotionally significant to you? The audience knows though, so how about you use that semblance of yours to fly around the guards and grab the sword? Or stay behind to snag it? Or endanger everyone by refusing to leave the palace grounds until you’ve found it because fuck everything that's a part of your friend!! Give us something to show that this last piece of Penny means something to you and that you’re willing to fight for it.

I mean, if I had lost a dear friend - twice! - and their weapon was the last reminder I had of them, and the only tether I currently had to my home, and the only means by which I had to defend myself with my scythe missing, I’d try a little harder to hold onto it. RIP to Ruby but I’m built different.

I actually really like that the Prince kicked the sword away because yeah, why would he want something green? And as established, he's a brat. But Ruby failed to do anything with that action and that remains oh so disappointing.

Also, second, why isn’t Ruby’s presence helping their cause? After all, Ruby is Little RED Riding Hood. The Prince might be mad that the sword is green, but shouldn’t he be pleased that one of the girls delivering it is dressed all in red? Take a look at this shot and how perfectly Ruby fits into the aesthetic of his Kingdom:

I kept expecting Ruby’s polite attitude and her overall look to be their key into securing a game. Or, more interestingly, for the Prince to decide that she will be his present instead: the sweet, young, ruby red girl who can play games with him forever and ever (maybe even with a Ruby who'd be tempted to stay because yes, that would be so much simpler...). Yet her coloring - a staple of RWBY's advertising, an in-world symbol of peace - has no influence whatsoever. It’s moments like that really undermine the arguments that such-and-such had to happen because this is the character’s inspiration. It clearly doesn’t have an impact the other 99% of the time, so why is that suddenly relevant? These girls are in a fairy tale, yet their own fairy tales have no bearing on how they navigate it.

For the crime of trying to present him with a green present, the two guards are taken out into the hedges and beheaded by their fellow soldiers. Now, at this point in the story it's unclear whether they've been killed (because they're clearly sentient beings), or if they're just, uh... disabled? (Because they're wooden toys that can probably lose their heads without actually dying.) Though now that I've written it like that, Option #2 doesn't sound much better, especially in a story that's supposedly exploring disability through one of our main characters. Regardless, the point is that even though the second half of our episode will clarify the guards' fate a bit - more on that later - for now the girls have a reaction like they've been killed. Or at least, they recognize that something truly awful has occurred.

So my question is this: why aren't they doing anything about it? Look, I realize that's a loaded question in the fandom given how often people want to run to the girls' defense - they're too tired, it's too dangerous, you can't possibly expect them to fix the whole world, etc. - but the fact remains that we are watching a story about heroes. So how can they just stand by and watch that happen? Or at least, given that they may not have been able to stop it, why aren't they trying to do something after the fact? Try to make a change? Ruby is grappling with the death of a friend and her own feelings of inadequacy. Weiss is, supposedly, worried about her own position as the heir to an abusive hierarchy. Yet neither of them is interested in doing something about the Prince, only playing nice so that he will help get them home. Is that the standard now? Our heroes will ignore the injustices they come across provided that this ignorance benefits them? That sounds a whole lot like Ironwood overlooking Mantle for his own greater good, something the girls went, 'We condemn wholeheartedly!' about. Toss in the fact that both Weiss and Yang just admitted that they didn't want to ask the Prince for help and you've got a recipe for them working to leave the Ever After in a better place than they arrived, rather than just playing by the harmful rules of Alyx's story in order to get what they want/need. 

Yes, you can make that 'greater good' claim given that they're trying to get back to fight Salem (and I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't weigh that given my own understanding of Ironwood's actions), but then at the very least give us a conversation where the girls debate the merits of risking a later/nonexistent return to help this world vs. ignoring injustice to help theirs. As it stands, I'm continually underwhelmed - if not outright appalled - by how the girls are depicted. What have they done since Volume 5 to actually help people? The most we've gotten is them trying to clean up messes they'd already made. Toss in the fact that there's no sense of urgency for them to get home - they're just meandering along, taking it slow, dodging the question of what they'll do about Salem when they get there, having cute romance moments on the side - and I simply can't buy that they're ignoring helping others out of a greater good necessity.

'Huntresses are heroes who help people who can't help themselves!' Blake will declare next episode and I'm like, okay, agreed... but when was the last time you helped someone? Was it when you ignored the Prince's horrible domain? Sat drinking tea while Atlas was besieged by grimm? Started a fight until you drew a Leviathan to an unsuspecting city? You've gotta put your actions behind those words, Blake.

And yeah, I get it. This is a small moment. It, like the vast majority of this Volume so far, is not meant to 100% be taken seriously. There's implied humor in the way the guards dig their nails into the path and beg for the Prince to reconsider. But at the end of the day, the story has given us a group of girls who, for the most part, already hate this Prince, watch him 'kill' two subjects due to a subpar birthday present, have a teammate who wants to be better than the caricature in front of her, and then... they do nothing with this. 

Hey, if Yang is going to be angry all the time, how about she be angry about this? Where's the fire they had back during the Mountain Glenn arc to fix the broken pieces of the world and help those who were most vulnerable? Where's the realization that this is a job and what they want - or even need - will always have to come second to the people they exist to protect?

Given some of the nice beats last episode, I was really hoping that I'd have more to praise in this one.

So Ruby watches this guy kick Penny's precious sword away and 'kill' two subjects. How does she react to that? By politely asking if they can cheer him up, of course. As said, I think Ruby is right that following in Alyx's footsteps is the best chance they've got of getting out of here (according to the information they currently have), but the writing really should have bypassed Yang and Weiss disagreeing if they wanted readers to ignore the moral implications of this. I mean, the Prince outright responds that "Beheading people does cheer me up" and Ruby's got this expression going as she suggests they play a game: 

We once again see the blue butterfly as it travels down through a tall tower of horns, straight into the chamber where the Prince's game is held. Oh, and we saw it before when the guard is distracted by it flying by and forgets to wish the Prince a happy birthday.

The Prince asks what Ruby will demand of him if she manages to win his game. "There's always a catch," he says. Actually, that's not true. Later the Prince will say, "If you win I will help you with what you ask," but initially his question is, "What exactly do you desire from me in exchange for playing my game?" As someone who loves fairy tales and constantly hopes RWBY is going to be more smartly written than it actually is, I jumped on that with an, "Ah ha! Rookie move, Prince! It doesn't matter now if you cheat to win the game, your original offer was to gift the girls something simply for playing, regardless of who comes out on top." Of course, RT didn't realize they'd written that loophole, this isn't even a cool world where loopholes matter, so absolutely nothing comes of this.

Still playing at the polite little subject, Ruby curtsey's again and tries a compliment: "Your Majesty, you are as wise as you are..." and then she stumbles, unsure of how to praise someone who's such an asshole. Little comes to the rescue - sort of - by whispering in Ruby's ear. She blurts "small" before she can think better of it.

To everyone's shock it goes over well with the Prince. I'm unsure if this is meant to imply that Little actually knew what the Prince would like to hear, or if they just chose a descriptor they were familiar with and ran with it. The latter seems a lot more likely to me, given the ongoing joke that Little is far less useful than they continually claim they are and the fact that, by their own admission, they’re an incredibly young mouse who has never traveled past their own acre. How in the world would they know about royal customs? 

Now in a better mood, the Prince agrees to take the girls to the tree if they win the game (not merely play with him). Ruby settles in and asks how they play, which sets off over-the-top laughter from the Prince and guards alike. I suppose this is just supposed to be off-putting or something? There’s no comment along the lines of, “You don’t know how to play [insert fantasy game here]? Everyone knows it! I play it with every subject who passes my way!” The Prince just starts explaining the rules, easy as you please. I can only chalk this moment up to the writers trying to get a, “They’re so weird and vaguely scary” reaction from the audience.

The actual rules are, frankly, unimportant. To the story, I mean. They have absolutely no bearing on who wins. Not just because the Prince is cheating from the get-go, but because the function of the game is to send all your pieces forward during the same turn and whichever piece wins their battle against the opposing side get to stay there. You could finish the game in two turns, tops--which is precisely what happens. Fool that I was, I had hoped that RT would put more thought into the game-battle that takes up the majority of the episode. You know, maybe hampering the girls’ combat abilities through a set of difficult rules they’re forced to follow, necessitating that Ruby step up as the team’s strategist for the first time in years and find a way to win through means other than brute force, even if the end result is still a technical loss due to cheating. I thought this might amount to something other than throwing 3/4ths of the team onto a battlefield with weak goons and letting them go to town, the trappings of rules and a game board and a puppet(tier) existing as more than just a distracting backdrop. Functionally, this is no different from the Prince angrily sending all his guards against Team RWBY, hoping to behead them for the crime of bringing him a green birthday present. We could have gotten this exact battle outside of the game, which makes the game itself superfluous. Which, you know, sucks when the girls are traversing a Wonderland-esque world where their ignorance should be their biggest weakness. But it turns out they’ve always been familiar with this fairy tale, Blake’s worry that they’re repeating Alxy’s mistakes is dismissed, and the girls don’t actually have to play the games they’re forced into. They can just punch things! 

Am I glad that we actually got some combat in the combat show this week? Absolutely. However, this has been one of the problems with Ever After from the start: designing a world governed by fairy tale logic, knowledge of stories, nonsense rules, contradictions... and then dropping a group of protagonists there who, as Yang herself says, would prefer to just solve everything with a punch. Suddenly, a core expectation of the series - that the girls will fight stuff - undermines the expectations of this specific Volume, made worse by the post-Volume 3 message that the war they fight isn’t winnable by brute force, yet, six years in, that’s all the girls have tried. As I believe I mentioned elsewhere, I think there’s a simple solution here in divvying up those expectations: force the girls to solve Ever After problems with Ever After tools, let them fight the Jabberwalker and Neo, and let them finally start the conversation about what they can do with Salem other than fight her head on... but unfortunately, none of this has occurred. Blake will later shut down Ruby’s Salem thoughts before they can begin, there’s no adherence to what Ever After is asking of them, and the girls won’t encounter the Jabberwalker again for another two episodes.

So we’re left with... this. Yang, Blake, and Weiss getting shrunk down when, narratively, that’s entirely unnecessary and the journey to get them unshrunk will take a fifth of the Volume’s entire runtime. I know we’ve already acknowledged that this Volume is filler, but given how much important stuff actually resides within that filler - discussing what happened in Volume 8, figuring out Salem, helping Ruby recover, mourning Penny, finding Crescent Rose, finding Jaune, dealing with Neo, etc. - it seems like a waste to be taking these detours when they’re so thematically unsatisfactory. Obviously in a story it’s about the journey, not the destination... but if the journey is badly written, how about we at least stop wandering from the main path so often?

Alright, enough of all that. I will say that I’m was quite pleased when the Prince revealed his ability to shrink the girls, displaying some pretty formidable magic. My first thought during the beheading scene was why the guards were obeying the Prince when, to all appearances at the time, he was just a bratty child with no way of enforcing his authority. I was afraid that this was just a case of, “They’re loyal because they’re guards and that’s just the way things are!” or that RT really hadn’t given this any thought; why hundreds of men-like beings with weapons were obeying a vulnerable child when, clearly, that wasn’t working out so well for them. Here though we see that the Prince is not vulnerable, he’s quite powerful, and that really helps to sell the fear we see permeating his Kingdom. 

Ruby is obviously concerned when her teammates are shrunk down to Little’s size, but honestly I can’t take her, “No one’s going to get hurt... right?” very seriously. Ruby is WAY past this kind of naive innocence. Girl, your friends are positioned alongside a bunch of beat-up warriors, facing a Prince who just beheaded two of his subjects. What do you think is going to happen here? More importantly, why are you worried? I’ve seen a couple of fans praise this moment because it highlights Ruby’s perspective post-Penny’s death: none of her friends are safe, anyone could die at any moment, etc. But Penny was facing off against a freaking Maiden, not a bunch of itty-bitty chess pieces with toothpick swords. (Here I point out their relative size because even if they’re now equal to WBY, Ruby is still large and could just flatten them all with one good stomp.) The point is that I’m continually unconvinced by this “So horror, much danger” characterization of the Ever After when we’ve spent the last three Volumes emphasizing how powerful, brilliant, strategic, and all-around perfect the girls supposedly are. We’re really supposed to believe that these literal pawns are worrisome to Ruby after they’ve faced down the likes of the Hound, the Ace Ops, Ironwood, Neo, Cinder, and their like? Imagine if Ruby saw a couple of Beowulfs 2/3rds of her team was about to fight, which to her were the size of mice, and she was all, “You won’t get hurt, right?” Ruby, those are literal MONSTERS out to EAT them, but that doesn’t matter because you’ve been taking out this kind of monster fodder since you were TWELVE. The show continually has it backwards, making the characters smug against legitimately powerful enemies and biting their nails over stuff they could squash in their sleep.

Which, you know, is precisely what happens. The girls have absolutely no difficulty taking out the chess pieces, further undermining Ruby’s worry.

Before that though she asks - very politely - for one of the pawns to move ahead a space, facing down the bigger, badder, meaner looking piece across from him. At first it looks like they’re pretty well-matched, but with a pointed look from the Prince, Ruby’s piece pretends to succumb to his wounds, collapsing until a magical stretcher appears to carry him away. He kicks back with a yawn, happy to be off the battlefield and, presumably, off His Majesty’s shit list.

Three other pieces meet the same end until Ruby gets to Weiss.

Ruby: “Weiss, do you think you could take that space?”

Weiss: “Have some faith!”

Again, I feel like the Volume is going for a total decimation of Ruby’s confidence, to the point where she’s entirely disengaged from reality (AKA, obviously Weiss can take out these talent-less pieces). Ruby can no longer summon up enough hope to fill a jar, she’s oh so worried that her elite team will fall to these grunts... but she’s also constantly telling people that yeah, they can handle this, and of course they’ll get back, and look now she’s acting like she always does with smiles and jokes - a part of the endless gags. There’s also no relief when Weiss does win her fight. I think Ruby’s smile is super cute there

but it doesn’t piggyback off of that worry at all. There’s no sigh and maybe a comment whispered to bring herself back to reality, “Come on, Ruby, of course Weiss was gonna win” - something to alert the viewer that Ruby is actually struggling with this kind of irrational anxiety and attempting to fight against it. As it stands, we keep seeing Ruby’s depression introduced and then it slips away again, unacknowledged until it randomly pops back up. “Have some faith!” Weiss says, which is clearly a callback to Ruby’s lack of it last episode, but nothing that happens either confirms or denies Ruby’s struggle. That shot of her smiling, while adorable, could have been taken from any moment where Weiss is being a badass. It’s entirely disconnected from the extreme of, “Omg can a full-fledged Huntress take out a toy in a fight what if another one of my teammates DIE?” Ruby has two completely separate personalities going this Volume and they don’t mesh at all.

The pawns are also super impressed with Weiss’ victory, same with Yang’s, and that feels... wrong to me? I mean, I’ve got nothing against a team that’s been beaten for who knows how long re-discovering faith (like Ruby) and rising to the occasion. (C'mon. I’m a Ted Lasso fan. I eat that shit up.) However, that’s not the conflict here. The conflict the white pieces are facing is not that they think they can’t win, it’s that they’re being told they can’t win. By the Prince. That was the entire point of the Look™ the white piece bowed to: Either you pretend to fall and deliberately lose this game, or I’ll ensure you suffer something so much worse.

Why then would the pieces suddenly rise to the occasion and try to help Team RWBY win? What have the girls done that convinces them to go against the Prince, risking who knows what - beheading, probably - in the process? Now, if I were writing Volume 9 I’d have had the girls trying and failing to save the guards, or at least arguing forcefully about whether they can risk losing a route to the tree in order to help others. Then, during the game, let Ruby realize not only that her pieces are deliberately losing, but that they’re doing so out of fear. Weiss and Yang’s success can be used as a rallying cry and a promise of safety. You help us win this game, securing our necessary prize, and we’ll use our incredible power to protect you from the Prince. The game dissolves into an actual battle, Team RWBY wins, the Cat arrives with an escape route, Ruby gathers up all the pieces using her semblance, and she sets them free once they escape the castle. Maybe they return at the end of the Volume to help in some final battle.

The point of this is not to do an actual re-write in 30 seconds, but rather to acknowledge that there’s no development here. We know the pieces’ initial motivation, but not what makes them change their minds. Really, this micro plot is representative of the entire show, with characters just suddenly doing things that make the audience go, “Wait, what? Where did that come from?” 

“Hey, hey, what about us?” The white chess pieces cry, suddenly eager to try and beat the Prince. “What do you want us to do?” This question shouldn’t even be on the table because you all are clearly terrified of what will happen if you fight for real and Team RWBY has done nothing to persuade you to their side. Indeed, once it’s revealed that the girls are human the red and white pieces start attacking them, the entire board eager to defend their Prince. This feels like a round robin Volume where every episode - every scene - has different characterizations.

As said though, Weiss, Blake, and Yang all take out their pieces easy-peasy and that produces some super cute interactions between the girls. My fluff-obsessed ass if kicking my feet and twirling my hair at those screenshots. At the time of this writing, I’m a couple episodes behind in Recaps (RIP I tried), which means that I’ve already experienced the less than stellar support Ruby receives in "The Parfait Predicament.” So I was pleased to return here and see strong moments of companionship - and romance. Yang works the crowd while Blake politely claps for her. In return, Yang cheers exuberantly while Blake blushes beet red. Putting aside that this is our bumblebee moment for the episode, I legitimately love that they’re supporting each other in this way, even during - perhaps especially during - such a comparatively easy fight. Combined with Weiss’ bow, it feels like they’re actually friends in this moment, playfully showing off for one another and providing unconditional support. This feels like old school RWBY, back when Ruby would cheer for Weiss during class, or Yang would bask in the Vacuo crowd. It was nice to see this dynamic again.

The Prince gets more and more frustrated as his pieces fall while simultaneously becoming suspicious of Ruby. Wanting to get to the tree is weird enough - especially to creatures who, as far as we’ve seen, never leave the safety of their own acres. Little who does not yet possess a purpose is the exception - so when Ruby reveals that they know someone who also used the tree to leave this world, the Prince really starts to lose it. He leaves the game table and... well...

Opinions about his character aside, are non-RWDE folks starting to see why we labeled Volume 8 Ironwood a “cartoon villain”? No, he doesn’t strike such an overblown pose like the Prince, but that kind of spotlight is (usually) used to showcase a drama worthy of ridicule - as we’re seeing here. RT obviously recognizes this, so the fact that Ironwood is given a similar spotlight to reveal his totally rational plan of bombing civilians heavily implies that the writers wanted him to look ridiculous; exaggerated to the point of dismissive humor. By the end of Volume 8 Ironwood was not a complex, fallen hero whose journey showcases RT’s writing chops, he was very close to another Prince: nonsensical, over-the-top, unworthy of respect not because of his actions, but because the environment is going out of its way to say, “Look how ridiculous this guy is.”

So in the grand scheme of RWBY the spotlight is a #choice. Within just this scene it’s fine, simply another way to show us how spoiled the Prince is and, potentially, that this world doesn’t follow the rules of Remnant (though it is harder to argue that the spotlight is real-real in a Volume making use of markers like sweatdrops, angry speech bubbles, etc.) The Prince finally asks the right question: “What type of creatures did you say you are again?”

Now, I get why some fans are upset with Ruby differentiating among humans, mice, and faunus. The line leaves a sour taste in my mouth too, if only because it severely undermines the allegory Blake represents in a Volume where she will (so far) compare herself to a literal cat three times. The point of giving the faunus animal traits and having others discriminate against them on the basis of that is to mirror the Civil Rights movement and, to a lesser extent, other minorities with visible differences. They’re all “human” in the sense of being bipedal primates with intelligence - emotional and logical - equal to others around them... they just happen to have an extra set of ears, or a tail, or the ability to change colors. It’s obvious why RT meant to equate that with the real life social issue of, “They’re human, they just happen to have dark skin,” or were born without a leg (disability), or can curl their tongue (a biological “talent” that not everyone shares). The point is that the faunus have been going, “We are your equals! We’re not a different, lesser species just because we have minor, biological and cultural differences!” the same way social justice movements have said the same about skin color. There’s such a variety within the definition of “humanity” as to make separate categories not just horrifically dangerous, but ultimately meaningless too.

However... RT doesn’t know how to write a racial allegory, which means that the faunus have been treated as a separate species from the get-go, in direct opposition to what their story is meant to represent. They’ve always been separated verbally like Ruby is doing now - “Humans and faunus” - and if you’ve engaged with RWBY’s supplemental content at all you’ll know that the faunus have a separate origin story, though one that does include humanity as a common ancestor.

It’s a mess of contradictions, but that means that Ruby canonically does have the wiggle room to make such statements. According to the rules of her world - generously helped along by being sci-fi fantasy - she is not in the wrong to describe Blake as a separate “creature” from the rest of her team... but that doesn’t erase the discomfort for the viewer as we go, ‘Wait? What happened to Blake being treated as an equal, not a literal animal and all that represents within her allegory?’

Of course, all this culminates in Ruby ignorantly admitting that the rest of them are human. I LOVE the first shot of the Cat’s eyes. They’re just like, ‘Oh, girl... you didn’t smh.’

Legit, there are so many fantastic shots this episode. The animators are working so hard, god bless.

As I mentioned earlier though, it’s weird to me that this moment is treated as a huge revelation for the Prince, especially since his entire guard seems to realize that they’re human from the get-go. Given what we learn later about Ascension, it makes sense that the Prince wouldn’t remember what humans look like, but none of his super loyal subjects were going to bring him up to date? Especially after what happened when Alyx visited?

So much of RWBY just feels unnecessarily contrived. Characters don’t react to the information they have, or work under their motivations, or remain consistent in their personalities. Things just #happen to move the plot along, regardless of how that sits within the story as a whole. At least it's all pretty this season.

But that’s hardly news to anyone reading this. Regardless, the revelation shocks the Prince and in his fury his face literally cracks down the middle. Frankly, I would have liked if this moment heralded a turn in the Prince’s attitude, moving from bratty and mostly harmless to terrifyingly cold... but that’s just me. I like characters that appear embarrassingly incompetent on the surface, only to reveal how dangerous they truly are when push comes to shove.

Weiss remembers that she can use her glyphs to steady herself - yay! - and a jazz-y soundtrack starts up that I really dig. All in all, I think this fight is solid. Nothing to write home about, but not a failure by any means, either. Though I fully expect the combat to get backloaded to the end of the Volume, it is notable that this is our only true battle so far. There’s a brief skirmish against the Jabberwalker in “The Parfait Predicament,” but to my mind it’s so short and easily won as to not really “count” - not in a combat-focused show, anyway. So this is the highlight battle of the first half of this Volume and though, as said, it’s by no means bad... it’s not exactly carrying the weight of those expectations either.

First, I stand by what I said earlier that it’s downright weird how Team RWBY treats these toys as a legitimate threat, especially after they just demonstrated how easily they are to beat. And again, Ruby could say screw the rules and help out by flattening them with her comparatively giant size. Blake gets thrown into the side of the game board and Ruby acts like she’s been stabbed--“You’re going to hurt them!” Ruby... honey... they have aura. You literally slammed your friends against a wall for FUNSIES during a food fight. The show (and the fandom) has always been weirdly unclear about which attacks are emotionally significant and which are not. These little nobodies shoving Blake is cause for great concern, but everyone should shrug off Qrow punching Oscar because duh, any huntsmen can take a hit. (Never mind that he wasn’t a huntsmen.) Yang losing her arm is a multi-Volume tragedy, but Weiss nearly dying from a stab wound isn’t worth a second mention. I feel like every scene I’m trying to find my bearings again - is this supposed to be a moment when the girls are legitimately scared? Confidently smug in their skills? Why is there not an obvious difference between when we get one over the other?

I’m not buying into the stakes here, is my point, which means that Ruby’s moment of doubt really fails to land. Yeah, I get that she lacks hope right now and is likely working under a very warped perception of their strength post-Fall of Atlas, but why not have her briefly crumble against something that truly tests her, either in skills or via trauma: the Prince’s magic, the Jabberwalker, Neo? A mere three episodes into the Volume, against a collection of low level grunts, does not feel like the time to put Ruby in this state:

Plus, it doesn’t last. Volume 9 continually proves to be very good at introducing Ruby’s hopelessness, but not doing anything with it. What’s the point if, literal seconds after she’s given up, she rediscovers her faith - WITHOUT EXTERNAL HELP! - and yells that they’re going to “Kick their wooden butts!!” Ruby doesn’t lack the hope to fill a jar, her hope supply is just fluctuating radically, depending on when the show is sick of her being a downer. This doesn’t feel like Ruby on an arc, it feels like Ruby continually edging into one and them immediately getting yanked backwards.

That aside, there are definitely some high points to the fight. It has a good flow to it, especially in the second half. It makes complete sense that the whole board would turn against the girls once they learn that they’re human, red teaming up with white, and I suppose that helps sell the danger a little more. I enjoyed how happy Yang was at the start, using Blake’s ribbon to plough through the crowd like one of the old-school team fights, even if she’s unexpectedly angry just a second later.

I’ve come across a lot of criticism of Weiss’ wing shot and... yeah, I can see where that’s coming from. It’s in pretty bad taste to keep giving the racist billionaire’s daughter angel imagery, especially during a Volume when she’s supposedly grappling with the guilt of destroying a Kingdom. RWBY has never been any good at picking up on the implications of its “cool” style. That being said, it is an awesome shot and I love the Yang was able to make use of the Knight’s sword. I mean, it would have been even cooler if we had scenes devoted to the girls’ training/character development and they’d discovered that this was even possible before enacting it with full confidence during a fight... but again, still cool. It’s another nice not provided you don’t think about it too much.

Also, I had to laugh at that epic image transitioning to Ruby, showing us just how tiny Yang actually is...

Yeah, that undermines the awesomeness a bit lol.

We’re given the shot from our trailer as the Prince looses his temper and does what I wanted Ruby to do the moment she was supposedly frantic over the safety of her team: upset the game board. Blake, Weiss, and Yang are thrown across the room and Ruby activates her semblance, catching them right before they go over the ledge.

...

.......

OH, SO YOU CAN INSTANTLY KICK-START THAT ABILITY AND SNAG SOMEONE MOMENTS BEFORE THEY PLUNGE TO THEIR DEATH. FUNNY, THAT.

Okay, obviously there are differences between Yang’s fall and this one, including that a) Little helps Ruby out and b) on the bridge Ruby would have been trying to snag a fully grown woman. But I’m not here to debate the details. I’m not here to quibble over whether Ruby would have been able to save Yang. I only care that she (and the others) didn’t try. The fandom has bent over backwards to explain that moment, how all these fighters with various forms of flight and well-honed instincts just stood there, leaving only Blake to make the attempt. Fans are so desperate to praise RWBY that they’re consistently overlooking the simple explanation of bad writing: RT made the characters stupid so that Yang could “die” and there could be a bees moment as a result. That’s it. Now that there’s nothing attached to the outcome, Ruby is free to remember that she has super-speed and grabs her friends like she always should have.

Man, what a detail to include just a few episodes later...

The Curious Cat finally reveals themselves, distracting the Prince with some ambiguously authentic sympathy. It’s just so sad that he’s failing to do “the one thing you were put on this acre to do.” AKA, win games. They warn the Prince that beheading Team RWBY would be a far more permanent consequence than taking the heads of his soldiers - implying that the guards are “fine” but, again, Team RWBY couldn’t have known that when they were being “killed” - and they slip a little bit of themselves into the Prince’s chest, helping him to calm down.

The Prince dissolves into crying instead of screaming and... weeps jeweled tears? I don’t understand how that fits his aesthetic - what does that have to do with being a wooden toy? - but far more importantly, Yukina did it better:

Ruby takes the Cat’s advice and high-tails it out of there, getting chased by the guards all the while. The castle is a bit labyrinth-like, so she has no choice but to trust the Cat’s directions - which turn out to be sound. That’s potentially an important thing to keep in mind as the Volume continues and we learn more about the Cat’s personality and motivations.

“I don’t know how that went so wrong,” Ruby says when they finally have a moment to breathe. Really? You met a temper-tanruming toy that beheaded his guards and threw Penny’s sword away without a second thought, but you’re surprised that he wasn’t eager to help you after you beat him at this own game? I get that they’re going for a ‘Ruby is vulnerable and tentative in her depression’ vibe, but these moments read so strangely after her hubris of Volumes 6-8, to say nothing of her experience in the wider, morally gray world. Ruby doesn’t trust established allies, but is surprised when an asshole who owes her nothing doesn’t come through? Consistency, consistency, my kingdom for some consistency.

I do like that Ruby thanks the Cat for their assistance though. This episode is the most polite we’ve seen Ruby in years, even if part of it is a manipulation tactic to get on the Prince’s good side, and honestly I’m digging it. This feels like a kindhearted huntress who understands the importance of unifying to succeed. Not, you know, the Ruby we saw with Cordovin, Qrow, Ozpin, Ironwood, and the Ace Ops.

As a minor point, I’d like to note that throughout this whole escape Little has been completely quiet about the Cat’s appearance. They were awake to help catch the girls and the Cat showed up just seconds later. They then flee through the castle and have a conversation in the hallways, yet not once does Little react to a Cat getting up in their face.

This is notable only because at the very end of the episode we’re going to get another, “Cat? What cat??” joke, because heaven forbid we let Ruby sit with their failure for a moment without interrupting it with a bit of humor that doesn’t even track.

Finally outside, the girls realize that getting a Prince instead of a King and his lack of help means that they’re not really following Alyx’s story. Weiss complains that they’re in the “stupid sequel” instead. Despite this revelation, the next thing Blake notes is that Alyx met the Curious Cat... so they should get their help!

So which is it? Are you following the story or not? I’ve got nothing against the girls still heading for the tree because that’s the only lead they’ve got, but we just established that an assumed ally is actually quite dangerous, so why would the Cat be any different? Again, not saying they shouldn't ask for their help given that the only other option is wandering aimlessly towards the tree (and that's if the world let's them go any farther), but maybe at least acknowledge the problem here?

I'd chalk it up to a "Wonderland-esque worlds are inherently contradictory" vibe if I actually thought RT was deliberately going for that.

We end this episode with the return of the Jabberwalker. It runs across an ~evil~ looking acre--kinda similar to Salem's continent, actually. Will we establish a historical tether between Remnant and Ever After?--and it leaves a trail of blood on a group of razor-sharp leaves, which is a cool detail. It comes across Neo, presumably having just arrived, cycling through various illusions in her fury. As the Jabberwalker closes in Neo's semblance...

*Sigh*

It evolves.

Look, outside of RWBY's larger context having Neo power up post-Fall of Atlas is a good choice. She's certainly at her lowest here, not just lost in a new world, but having just been betrayed by Cinder (again). Plus, it raises the stakes for when our heroes next meet her. No, my issue is that RWBY's semblance upgrades as a whole are fairly random and we've long lost the ability to distinguish a true evolution from incremental change due to growth. Harriet simply announced in Volume 7 that Ruby's semblance has hidden depths, but is splitting into three red blurs the upgrade? Is Nora handling that level of charge meant to be indicative of a change, or did she simply push herself to an already known limit? On the surface it seems obvious that an evolution is when the actual function of the semblance changes - Ren can now mask emotions and track them - but we've still got wrinkles like Weiss' semblance where, apparently, learning to summon instead of just producing glyphs isn't a distinct, evolved ability, it's just the standard end-goal. (And don't get me started on how she remains the only one with an inherited semblance, but no one seems interested in that.) Are we supposed to understand that Qrow's semblance changed on the airship when the bomb didn't drop? How do we measure Blake's abilities when she's stopped using them? I can't help but continually compare RWBY to other shows with power ups, ones where the characters have to work hard to unlock them, train anew to control them, deal with significant downsides that come with this power, or go through horrific emotional arcs in order to unlock them. RWBY- with the small exception of Neo for the last one- has none of this. Evolution simply happens, unprompted, the character can immediately use this new skill perfectly, and unfortunately it's rarely a strong reflection of their growth.

Ren can magically track his friend smack dab in the arc where he's supposedly being the worst friend ever? Right.

So Neo's semblance evolves, make of that what you will. Rather than simply changing herself or something she's touched with illusions, she can now create a large number of copies with (as we'll see later) their own morphing abilities. Wow, wow, wow, that's super op!!! I can't wait to see Neo fall to some generic Team RWBY attack.

I'm kidding. Actually I'm not, but I do hope I'm wrong 🤦‍♀️

For now though there's only the Jabberwalker in her way. Neo's clones close in as the Jabberwalker screams "No!" in true fear. Kudos to the voice acting there. This creature remains one of the few things I'm legitimately interested in this Volume.

And thus ends episode three! In lieu of flowers, please send prayers that I can eventually catch up on this project :3

[freelanceexorcist]

OK, now that I can act like a functioning member of society again...

Rebirth trailer spoilers ahoy!

-So what's the deal with the destruction in Zack's timeline? If he had lived, he'd have made it to Midgar long before the Sector 7 plate dropped. And everybody knows the world is ending? *Spock eyebrow raise* Fascinating.

-And there ARE alternate timelines in play. I feel seen.

-Rufus Shinra really is supposed to be a hot version of Kim Jong Un, isn't he?

-So how many more times must we endure Sephiroth's utter anguish in HD as the Lord intended? At least once more, Miss Swann.

-Did they get an actual Scottish person to voice Cait Sith this time around?

-Cloud on a damn Segway? In MY FFVII?

-So the black cloaked men are actually SOLDIERs suffering from degradation this time around and not Sephiroth clones. Hm. Or at least that's what the doctor-type guy theorizes. So how is it that Sephiroth can manifest using their physical bodies? Only G-type SOLDIERs are susceptible to degradation, right? Anyway, if this is the only evidence we get that Genesis existed at one point, it's all good.

-Sephiroth trying to get Cloud to bury the hatchet and Cloud always launching into the personification of "fuck this guy in particular." Time to try another approach, babe.

-MIDGAR ZOLOM. MID. GAR. ZOLOM.

-Please tell me that scene with Sephiroth and Cloud teaming up isn't just a bit of the Kalm flashback. Lie to me if you must.

-THIS:

...Because you're worth it.

-Andrea Rhodea won America's Got Talent and has a show in Vegas now!

-Just Dio things

My mans looking like a cross between Josh Brolin and a member of the Lollipop Guild

-Zack yeeting Cloud at Kyrie like "here take care of my comatose friend for a minute, totally not shifty looking stranger”

-Rufus Shinra kinda looks like Benedict Cumberbatch in this shot, doesn't he?

-Who dis? Please say it's not Glenn. Again, lie to me if you must. The only thing worse than this being Glenn is this being Genesis. The only thing worse than that is them being besties and joined at the hip. Then again, don't Mary Sues cancel each other out when they share a scene, or do they suck the life out of the story twice as fast?

-I reiterate, HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOL--

-Going hard on the "definitely not a vampire" vibe, too. I like it. Who's the VA? Doesn't sound like Steve Blum.

-"The reunion, when worlds merge..." OK, so was I right a while back about the timelines needing to be reunited? Sephiroth is saying this, so I wonder if this is Ore Sephiroth, because reuniting the timelines would run counter to Watashi's goal because he's always defeated. Don't mind me, I'm punchy today.

All in all, we ate pretty damn good today.

[arcanareads]

Introduction

Hello! I am arcanareads, and I do tarot readings for various fandoms.

What Does that Mean?

Basically, I use my tarot cards to answer any questions you may have about a fandom you're in. Want to know what to expect from the next season of Bridgerton? I can tell you. Maybe you're curious about the future of a couple you ship. I can answer that, too.

Any fandom from books, movies, shows, anime, or music. The possibilities are really endless. If there's a fan base with questions, the cards and I are there!

What Should I Ask?

That's really up to you. However, if you would like some examples, you could try asking things like:

1. What can we expect to see from this character?

2. What does this relationship or potential relationship look like?

3. What can you tell us about this book/show/character/ship?

4. What cards define this book/show/character/ship?

5. Who is this character's endgame and/or best match?

These are just some ideas. There are plenty of other ways to ask the cards things. Be creative with it!

Can I Ask Yes or No Questions?

Can you? Yes.

Will I answer? Also, yes.

However, yes or no questions with tarot is much more mutable. I may draw a card that means yes, but it might not be a definite answer.

What is a yes today might not be a yes tomorrow. Things can always change, especially based on our actions. So, please be aware of that if you decide to send me a yes or no question.

If you have a yes or no question and you're not sure how to change it into a more open-ended question, feel free to message me and I'll see about helping you reword things.

Can I Ask About a Celebrity?

You can, but only to a certain point.

Doing readings about fictional characters or about when a book might be released is very different from a reading about a real-life person and I will not do a personal reading about someone, famous or otherwise, without their permission as I feel it is not only rude and invasive, but also leads to inaccurate answers due to them being closed off to the cards.

However, asking about a celebrity's upcoming project? I consider that fair game.

So, just to reiterate, asking me if your favorite celebrity is single? That's a big no.

Asking me what your favorite celebrity's newest movie or album will be like? That's fine.

Card Positions

The way the tarot cards fall during a reading is a major part of the answers. Of course, there's upright and reversed, but in my interpretation of the cards, there are also sideways and tilted.

The way I interpret sideways is that either both the upright and reversed are the answer, or only one is, and there are just too many possibilities/variables to get a clear response.

Tilted cards, I interpret the same as sideways cards. However, the favored direction is the most likely outcome.

Should I pull sideways or tilted cards during a reading, I will specify just as I do with upright and reversed.

Fandoms

As I've said, I will do readings for any fandom, but some that I myself am a part of, have an interest in doing readings for and/or have been asked about, include:

1. The Owl House

2. Hazbin Hotel

3. Helluva Boss

4. Fruits Basket

6. Red, White and Royal Blue

7. Over the Garden Wall

8. A Discovery of Witches

9. Studio Ghibli

10. The Hunger Games

11. Bridgerton

12. Disney

13. Good Omens

14. Percy Jackson

15. Midnight at the Pera Palace

16. ACOTAR

17. My Lady Jane

18. The Book of Life/Maya and the Three

When you ask about a character or ship, please include what fandom they are from in case I'm not familiar with them/it. Also, if multiple adaptations of one thing exist, please specify which version you are refering to.

For example, if you were to ask me, "What cards define Claudia from IwtV?" You need to tell me which Claudia you're talking about. BookClaudia, 1994Claudia and ShowClaudia are all different interpretations and will therefore all have different answers.

Interpretation

With each reading, I have my own interpretation of what the cards are saying, but I don't share it because I highly encourage you to develop your own interpretation. The reading, after all, is for you. So, trust your instincts.

If you send and ask and do want to know my own interpretation of the reading. Please say so, and I will share it at the bottom of the post.

Find Your Birth Cards!

Just as everyone is born under a ruling zodiac sign, we are all also born under ruling tarot cards.

To find out yours, break your birthday down into 4 digits and add them together. Break that total up and add it together. That will be the number of your first card. Then break down and add that total together again to find your second card.

Ex. 03/16/1996 - 03+16+19+96 = 134

13+4 = 17 - The Star

1+7 = 8 - Strength

And if you don't feel like doing the math, totally valid, you can always find lots of different birth card calculators online.

https://www.tarot.com/tarot/tarot-birth-card-calculator

https://www.tarotschool.com/Calculator.html

https://labyrinthos.co/pages/calculate-your-tarot-birth-card?srsltid=AfmBOooJ4bI2cqIV0nFukYbKHDQpzVX1wnDEMDhzXanRN8ldlgAUii6l

[openintervue-blog2024]

10 Hidden Interview Tips Employers Won't Tell You

Landing your dream job takes more than just a stellar resume. Acing the interview is crucial, and navigating this stage can feel daunting.

But fear not, job seekers! Here are 10 interview secrets to equip you with the confidence and know-how to impress your potential employer.

1. Research the Company

Before stepping into the interview, take the time to understand the company’s mission, values, culture, and recent achievements. This shows your genuine interest in the organization and allows you to tailor your responses to align with their goals.

2. Prepare STAR Stories

Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers to behavioral questions. This helps you provide clear and concise examples of how you’ve handled situations in the past, demonstrating your skills and accomplishments.

3. Practice Common Interview Questions

While you can’t predict every question, practicing common interview questions can help you articulate your thoughts more clearly. Practice responses to questions like “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” and “Why do you want to work here?”

4. Speak with Confidence

Project confidence in your body language and communication style.Make eye contact, smile genuinely, and use a clear, steady voice.

5. Keep Your Answers Concise

When answering questions, get to the point quickly. Concise answers are more impactful and easier for the interviewer to remember. Avoid rambling and stick to the main points to keep the interview focused and professional.

6. Ask Thoughtful Questions

Prepare a list of thoughtful questions to ask the interviewer. This not only shows your interest in the role but also helps you assess if the company is the right fit for you. Ask about the company’s growth plans, team structure, or opportunities for professional development.

7. Be Enthusiastic (But Genuine)

Express your genuine enthusiasm for the company and the position. However, avoid being overly dramatic or inauthentic.

8. Highlight Your Achievements

Don't just list duties. Use quantifiable examples to showcase your accomplishments and the impact you've made in previous roles.

9. Be Prepared for Behavioral Questions

Many interviews will delve into specific situations from your past. Be prepared to describe challenges you faced, actions you took, and the positive outcomes you achieved.

10. Follow Up with Gratitude

After the interview, send a thank-you email within 24 hours to express your appreciation for the opportunity. Mention specific points from the interview and reiterate your enthusiasm for the role. This keeps you fresh in the interviewer’s mind and shows your professionalism.

Bonus Tip: Embrace Open Communication

An interview is a two-way street. Be open to discussing your career goals and salary expectations to ensure a mutually beneficial fit.

Conclusion

Mastering the art of the interview is crucial for securing your dream job. By following these ten secrets, you’ll be better prepared, more confident, and more likely to impress potential employers. Remember, each interview is a learning experience, so keep refining your approach and soon you’ll land that coveted position.

Follow OpenIntervue for such valuable insights.

[saintsir4n]

7. Once upon a time in the upper west

WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH, SELF-HARMING, GROOMING AND MATURE CONTENT

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(@gossipgirl tweeted)

GOOD morning, followers. In New York, Thanksgiving is more than a day to plan seating charts, triple-check that New York Times recipe, and brace for family arguments. Thanksgiving is also the favourite holiday of yours truly. It's a time to be grateful for what matters. And this year, I'm most grateful for you. For your secrets, your lies, and all the tips you've given me. So try to enjoy the tryptophan and relax. But don't relax too much. Because no matter where you might be celebrating, I'll always have a seat at the table.

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"There's something you're not telling me," Monet exclaimed, standing behind Winnie, helping her put on her infamous spider necklace.

The Dubois heiress cast her an odd look through the floor-length mirror they stood in front of, "What do you mean? All week we've acting like we're in some little fuller house special. I have nothing to hide."

Monet snorted, "I liked to think of it as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, minus the heteros, but we all know secrets are part of you. So spill."

"There's nothing to spill," Winnie shrugged her off as she put up her hair into a tight ponytail.

Every brush she did she winced, scalp seething with pain but she pushed through.

Monet's eyes softened and helped Winnie, pushing her closer to her bed.

The De Haan teen was close to taking out her twists, she loved them but they were growing and showing her natural strands and she couldn't abide it.

Winnie sent her a small smile, "It's Thanksgiving, Margaux and Luc will dont do Thanksgiving, and neither do I."

"Celebrating the slaughtering of the innocence I thought that was your forte," Monet breathed out.

Winnie eyed her, finding her terminology quite odd.

Monet added rather anxiously, "What I mean is, it's cutthroat, don't the Dubois like a good feast?"

"It's an American holiday and as much as they adapt to the American culture because they were born here as well as several generations of my family, we all cling to our French roots like white on rice," Winnie ranted, sending her an appreciative look after seeing not one strand was out of place.

She caught a few of Monet's dogs calmly strolling around in her room.

"No bullshit, why did you get called into the headmistress's office?" Monet pressed, coming to stand between her legs.

Winnie's eyes grew heated as she let her gaze drag up and down, "Family shit."

"You missed all the drama with the ratty groomer, he's locked away, no bail, some of the parents of the seniors he was scissoring must of had a say."

"Max's parents right?" Winnie received a nod, "Yeah he's been hitting me up."

"And you've been avoiding him, why?" Monet folded her eyes, wanting the gossip since she'd been on the outs.

"Thinking of the right way to shame him."

"Winnie!"

"Not for being groomed, I'm not that bad." Winnie held up her hands defensively and rolled her eyes at the sigh of relief she heard. "Queer Kurt Cobain ditched Ginny for his Ménage à trois, truthfully I get the appeal, two heads are better than one, but it's the manner in which he cast her aside. She's been his ugh and I hate saying it... his rock and he took her shoulder he pathetically cried on for granted. It's treason."

"Wouldn't call it that, Ginevra isn't the queen," Monet stated, settling her hands on Winnie's shoulders, breathily sighing when she felt hands at the back of her thighs.

"We're each heir to our family's fortunes, so yes we are, therefore it's the highest treason."

So it's off with his head, she thought, thoroughly amused.

"I'm an heir," Monet pointed out, breath hitching when Winnine's hands roamed.

"Which makes you a Queen."

"Just anyone's?"

Winnie argued, "New York's, so you have some competition with me."

"Let me repeat the question, am I just anyone's Queen?" Monet reiterated, cupping her face.

"You're mine Mon, is that what you want to hear?" Winnie rasped, tilting her head back as nails delicately trailed her neck.

"I want you to scream that in bed," Monet whispered as their lips trailed against the other.

Winnie huffed and pulled Monet forward, gripping her waist as she straddled her legs.

"That I'm yours and you're mine? What are we exclusive now?"

"Do you want to be?" Monet squeaked when her skirt inched up.

"Well, I don't want anyone else to have you," Winnie stared up at her, with gentle eyes.

More gentle than anyone knew they were capable of being.

"Cute, but I'll need you to say it, so it can be held up in court," Monet teased, basking in the warmth she felt.

It was always warmth, their touches were like fire and kisses like a blaze of euphoria over her skin.

Winnie appeared smug, "Courthouse's and professions of my undying desire for you, are we getting married?"

"This state permits our potential union," Monet smirked at the eye roll she obtained.

"Aww, now Manhatten won't get dragged," Winnie teased, tugging her closer.

"Winnie..."

Winnie quite liked it when she moaned her name so she conceded, "Fine, I want to be exclusive."

"Good," Monet's eyes glistened with joy, "because I too, want to be exclusive."

Winnie paused her elation, "Still in secret though?"

"Until the time is right," Monet muttered, slightly cautious.

"Who knew Monet Makeda De Haan was a pussy."

"I am what I eat, so now let's seal this milestone with a kiss," Monet basked in the laughter she received from her quip and leaned in.

Just as their lips were about to meet, a voice interrupted them.

"Monet! You'll be late. Winifred, your mute guard is here, hurry, appearance and attendance are everything!" they heard Camile scream from the ground floor.

Winnie dropped back in annoyance.

Monet groaned, "Coming!"

Winnie chuckled, erotic images came to mind, "A phrase you said many times last night."

"And this morning, can't forget the dirty details, Dubois," Monet winked as she got off of her.

"I doubt I ever could."

—

"You made it exclusive, but didn't seal it with a kiss? Have I taught you nothing?" Ginny questioned quietly as they strolled through the school.

"Drop the dramatics, I know you're hurting, direct your energy onto that," Winnie retorted, shooting her a glance.

They both appeared more... tired, not as vicious as usual, not just them but the school overall was off, ever since the public arrest of Mr Caparros.

"You're deflecting," the blonde addressed. "And you haven't gone home since the riots."

Winnie groaned, "Ouch, you know why I haven't. Besides I'm going today, I have to or the dementors will send a swat team to drag me to the Ostroff Centre," she lowered her voice towards the end, "I swear I never saw the similarities between Margaux and Joan Crawford until now. Tonight I might freeze at the sight of wired hangers."

A brief smile made its way onto Ginny's face, "Well, your mom does have a certain old Hollywood vibe to her."

"Old yes," Winnie murmured, glaring at Miss Keller who swiftly passed with her band of anxious teachers.

"All the teachers are acting more insane than usual," Ginny gagged when they almost bumped into her.

"I'd rather them insane than predatory," Winnie said a little louder, freaking out the students around, before her eyes narrowed onto someone she wanted to see, "Speaking of that, I spotted the big bad Wolfe, give me a second."

"Winnie not now," the girl broke out of Ginny's grasp before she had a say, "and she's off."

Winnie materialised in front of Max like a vampire making him jump, then sigh when she smacked his books out of his hand, alerting a few onlookers to the scene, luckily Ginny who stood afar warned them not to take out their phones with a single look.

"Seriously? What is this, CW bullying?" Max felt too exhausted to pick up his books.

"With that receding hairline Max... they would probably cast you so yes, but that isn't the only thing I have a problem with," she scoffed, shaking her head, "I see you've settled for Ginny's clone. And here I thought it was the drugs that made you all twisted or was it the manipulation of a grown man?"

"A little early for all this questioning Pooh Bear. couldn't you wait? I tried calling but you were ignoring me," Max frustratedly restored, furrowing his brows.

"For a reason," Winnie gritted her teeth, "and for what it's worth, I thought you were decent as a peer. I even played a part in making your obsessive crush on that poorer-than-poor Predator disappear. And this is how you repay me? Ginny? But calling quits?"

Max continued trying not to flinch at the mention of the jailed teacher. The moment he discovered the other students that Rafa was pursuing he laid off, and tried sabotaging his career, hoping that gossipgirl would aid him but that wasn't the case and the whole plan backfired. But that's when the regrets multiplied, time sought Rafa out, indulged in flirting, followed him around, desired to feel something, hands on his body, lips on his...he felt sick. Disgusted with himself and knew he had to distance himself from the very girl who helped him, forced open his eyes to see that he wasn't okay, unhealthy and unhappy.

Scared that if he could be burned, scolded by the anonymous app, he didn't want Ginny to be scathed, so he made sure she could get out while she still could, leaving him to the comfort and extra sensual hands of his dear friends. He thought it was easier that way, even if it was a secret, it soothed him.

Max huffed quietly, "I didn't ask you to do that, nor did I think this thing between me and Gin would progress, I thought she was using me as a pawn in your game."

"So you treated her like Dr Phil, now that's insulting," Winnie sneered.

"I liked Ginny, no I like her but it won't work and she knew that. I was too –"

"High? Drugged up? God Max we know," the boy looked hallowed out in her opinion, "but that doesn't mean you had to use her."

Max deadpaned, "Pot. Kettle, Black."

Winnie reeled back, "One, that's Racist, and two, to think I was your black saviour," she took a step back, irritated by the lack of thanks, "Colour me wrong."

Hearing the commotion they were swarmed by their friends, Audrey and Aki stood behind Max, Ginny pulled Winnie back as Monet cautiously strolled over and stood between them.

Max sent the Wellington blonde an apologetic look, which she chose to ignore, "Drop it Win, like you said, he's degraded. From the original to the average Doppelgänger," that earned her glares from the couple, "Good luck Maximus, you'll need it."

They strutted off before they couldn't even respond.

Monet's eyes lingered on Winnie's behind.

"Seems like money doesn't buy class," she heard Audrey say.

Which made Monet scoff, "You'd know."

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(@gossipgirl tweeted)

Spotted: Tensions are high, and bonds are bound to break, like the wishbones on your turkeys. Gobble Gobble fellow followers, I know secrets will spill, so be careful not to slip on the truths... and would you look at that it's barely noon.

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"Oh, what do you want?" Winnie groaned, bumping into Zoya in the library named after her family.

She was only here spending her free period learning Excel from a private tutor instead of Mr Glassberg whom she couldn't stand.

The curly-haired girl had been moping around all fourth period, "I came here to ask why you sent me a cryptic message about riots and love."

"Oh yeah, your sister and boyfriend," Winnie managed to make sexual gestures whilst holding her Macbook, making the freshman freeze, "rekindled during his poorly organised protest attacked my family's property, stained the windows whilst he stained Calloway's walls no doubt."

Zoya instantly shut her down, "What? You're lying."

"Believe what you want Zoya, I didn't have to tell you this, I could've just forwarded you the CCTV footage of them kissing but I thought honesty was the best policy."

"No – this is just some trick. I know you stoop low but this is fucked up Winnie," Zoya snapped, uncaring of the zero-talking policy.

Her body recoiled at the thought of her sister betraying her with her own boyfriend, her first boyfriend, the boy who she loved. She would never believe something like that even after all the hardships she and Julian faced.

"You're telling me, I'm glad I don't have siblings," Winnie went on, raising a brow when Zoya clenched her fists and scowled.

"You're wrong, ever since I moved you've been trying to get me on your side, to get back at my sister and it didn't work the first time so your last resort is to spread cruel lies," the heiress amusement began to falter as she heard Zoya angry discourse, "I knew you were fucked in the head but I didn't think you'd do this, no wait, actually this doesn't surprise me."

And that clearly struck a nerve, Winnie's eyes twitched as she leaned down and maliciously whispered, "Believe it or not but that doesn't stop them from fucking." she grinned at the tears in Zoya's eyes, "Happy turkey day."

—

Winnie sat opposite the woman he was now her... therapist. The Ostroff Centre sent her nerves into a frenzy, even when she walked into the building she was searched like a criminal and asked questions like she was being interviewed by a detective. She wanted to sprint out of there, but until she met her hourly requirement of spilling her secrets she wouldn't be allowed out, no matter how much she tried and bribe Caesar and the additional bodyguard her parents sent.

She was forced here, not allowed to be in at her tennis practice which messed up her whole day, the structure was ruined, and it prevented her from setting up a meeting with a Calvin Klein campaign manager.

20 minutes had passed and Winnie shifted again in the seat she ensured was wiped down. The room was on the 3rd floor and had sufficient sunlight but it was also dull, books clung to the bookshelves, and awards and accomplishments decorated the walls. Dr A. Anchor was the woman's name. A few shades lighter than Winnie, had thick kinky locs trimmed to her bust, dense reading glasses placed on her nose above a pleasant smile kissing her lips. A small rock attached to a wedding band was the first thing that caught Winnie's attention before she realised it was only 3 karats.

The therapist decided to softly clear her throat, "Can I ask Winifred –"

"Winnie," the teen corrected, now locking eyes with her.

Dr Anchor noticed how her callous eyes darted across the room the moment she strutted in with all of the confidence of the world, a common trait she saw with patients of a certain economic background. A pretty girl with a foul mouth, her assistant informed her.

Dr Anchor's smile hadn't faded, "Winnie, why do you think you're here?"

"Because this is clearly my parent's way of punishing me."

Winnie rolled her eyes at the woman taking a few notes.

"Therapy is a punishment to you, not a means of improving one's mental state or aiding it somehow?"

Winnie laughed in disbelief, "No, I'm here because they want to teach me a lesson before I have the chance to return the favour."

Judging from how she spoke about her parents, the doctor wanted to adjust her questions.

"Your parents, what's your relationship with them?"

"They hate me," Winnie answered with indifference and yet part of her tone screamed out to Dr Anchor.

Pain. The therapist wrote down.

"You believe they hate you?" she went on to ask.

"Well, they clearly don't love me," Winnie gestured around the room she happened to be in as if it was such an obvious take.

"And why do you think your parents don't love you?"

"What's there to love?" Winnie snapped, earning a slight frown from the woman.

"You think you're unlovable? Why?"

Winnie instantly leaned forward, "Don't put words in my mouth. I never said that."

"Then can I ask what did you mean by your previous comment?" Dr Anchor continued to write.

The jotting from the pen was doing the teenager's head in.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Winnie wanted out, but of course, all the windows were restricted, put on a safe latch so no one could jump, the exact thing she wanted at this moment.

"Let me ask you a different question. Why do you believe that they don't love you, your parents?"

"I don't know," Winnie gritted out, glancing at the clock since they took her phone away to see only 2 minutes had gone by.

"Do they spend time with you? Go on trips, invest in your life, other than financially," the doctor was relentless.

"No." other than dinner time,  the summers in Switzerland and other small trips, but even then they weren't present which meant she didn't have to be.

Spending more time on screens was the best thing for her to do, the very thing she felt comfortable doing. Her parents were as comforting as a bag of coal. They weren't there to raise her, but to watch her since that's what they thought parenting was; waiting and watching until she messed up and they made sure to penalise her whenever she did.

It was Dr Anchor's turn to lean forward, and put aside her notebook, "Would you like them to?"

An uncharacteristic frown made its way onto Winnie's face due to the question. Would I like them to? God no she wouldn't but it would be nice if they were there, not saying anything negative or bossy or mean. Her mother made sure she was put onto this earth as a pawn of the company, the fortune she was born into. She was supposed to be appreciative of the fact but she wasn't, how could she? She was a weapon of the future, not a daughter so why would she want to spend time with the exact people who reminded her of that?

The doctor reaching for her pen broke the teen from her thoughts, which drove her to stand up, "I think we're done today."

"I seem to have upset you."

Dr Anchor's eyes softened when she saw the tears streaming through the teenager's face.

Winnie didn't realise she was crying. Crying in front of a stranger, crying in fucking public, so she wiped her tears and stormed over to the woman.

"I'm not upset this whole thing is useless. Asking me about my life and love as if I would be able to answer the questions. It's a trap, you're here to trap me. I don't want to talk, I don't want to be here. You've taken my parent's money, so be glad to spend it on a new hairdresser because your unruly hair is causing me more distress than your questions or maybe even spending it on a partner that will leave you the moment you don't do what they say. But don't sit here and act as if you care, you're not interested in what I think, I'm nothing to you but a paycheck, a cash cow, an object for your financial gain, not a person but an entity you squeeze information out of until there is nothing left but a submissive cunt that listens to you and only you!" And after that, Winnie went to the door but just as she shakily went to grip the handle, the doctor called out to her.

"Like you said, I see you as nothing but a paycheck so indulge me, a studious girl like you wouldn't miss the chance to do so," Winnie didn't turn around but she did listen as Dr Anchor questioned, "Do you like yourself? Not love. Do you, Winifred Dubois like yourself?"

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(@gossipgirl tweeted and tagged @slitherWin)

Rumour has it that the Dubois heiress has a couple of screws loose. I'm all for therapy, but it was only a matter of time before her Hyde took out her Jekyll. Are Mommy and Daddy dearest certain this is who they want to take over their company? ... just like oil and water, it appears Winifred Dubois and sanity don't mix.

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Caesar had to force the heiress out of the car before she had the chance to slam her head into the window again, no bruise was visible but the dazed look on her face was evident. The gossip girl blasted exposed her and to make matters worse it made her look weak, defenceless and on a day that was about celebrating genocide.

No fucking thanks!

Winnie felt humiliated, even when she heard the news that Calvin Klein still wanted her as an ambassador but not for being real, instead they wanted her to celebrate mental health and if it wasn't for Ginny she would've let the whole campaign go.

Monet was blowing up her phone and other people too.

She had to shut it off.

When she arrived home, Caesar and the other bodyguard informed her father about the ride home.

"Where's mom?" Winnie asked as her dad insisted they sit in the living room.

She was expecting a reprimand from Margaux but didn't get one.

She could feel her father grimacing at her forehead, to see any damage but there wasn't one.

He looked concerned. "Cancun, she set out this morning."

Winnie made a face, mind racing with images of why her mom had returned to the scene of the crime.

A moment passed and her father was awaiting a reply so she blurted, "And I wasn't informed? She didn't say anything to me."

"Your memory must be selective Winnie, you weren't here this morning, or yesterday, or the entire weekend. You were with the De Haans."

"My lesbian lover, you can say it, Dad," she taunted.

"Grayson informed me what you were doing with his daughter. Sweet girl," Luc tried.

"Yes, she is," Winnie's double entendre was obvious. "So, dissimilar to mom, who because of some petty discrepancy didn't alert her child she was leaving the country."

"Why do you care so much? You dislike her."

"I liked to be informed."

"We know you do," Luc paused as maids set down a makeshift table for their own feast of the evening. They could only dine in the living room when Margaux was absent. Luc hated Thanksgiving so instead they were having French cuisine for dinner, "How was therapy?"

Winnie scowled, picking up the TV remote, "I'm not going back."

"You will," her father wasn't leaving room for argument.

She craned her neck to the side, "And why is that?"

"The therapist said we should continue your sessions based on today."

Winnie froze at the memory of the questions that were thrown at her today. Do you like yourself? She never answered it and instead ignored the rest of the things Dr Anchor said for the remaining 37 minutes.

"Isn't she breaking doctor-patient confidentiality for telling you? She could lose her license if that ever got out," she murmured, turning away and trying to search for a movie to watch.

Luc sighs at her answer. "They inform parents about the details of sessions if there is a possibility the patient is a danger to themselves or others."

"I am not a danger to myself! And I am not idiotic to endanger someone else."

Luc frowned, knowing that wasn't the case and the display in one of their cars was evidence of that, and when he discovered it, he shuddered. His daughter was only ever physically aggressive when she played tennis, so perhaps seeing Dr Anchor was a bigger priority.

And so he said, "We're continuing your sessions."

She dropped the remote, "Then I'll discharge myself."

"You're a child, you cannot discharge yourself," Luc sighed.

"Oh please, I've never been a child."

Luc averted his gaze, rendered pained by the thought of her being right, "We're continuing your sessions until we see an improvement."

"Then you can eat alone," she forcefully shoved the makeshift tb#able away, spilling some of the delicacies onto the floor, leaving the staff to fuss over the mess whilst her dad waved them off.

Luc called out her name, but all he received with loud stomps as she ascended the stairs.

Winnie didn't come down that night, she ordered food from her favourite Mexican restaurant, stuffing it into her gullet as she rated the dry Thanksgiving meals all over her feed. Some of her fans who were now offering her support about seeing a therapist sent her sweet messages, she lost several thousand followers because she visited the Ostroff Centre and just as she was about to dash her phone across her newly made-up room, it vibrated, alerting her to another missed call from Monet.

She ignored in fear of judgment and ignored the messages from Ginny about Monet potentially jumping ship.

They were exclusive, right? So why would she do that?

Getting fed up by the notifications, she tossed her phone, turning to Abaddon who whined at the foot of her bed, she was just about to let him up when she realised she had to discard her takeout before it stuck up the room and was too stubborn to let the maids in so she picked up the trash and walked out.

Winnie muttered to herself as she descended the stairs, irritated by the entire day, thanksgiving was a curse overall, so why would she think any different?

Her muttering came to a cease when she got to the first floor and overheard her father's muffled voice as he argued with someone over the phone.

She stayed to the side, cautious of his bodyguard standing outside the room.

"Davis Calloway is finished, Roger Menzies informed me of the transgressions that took place, William. I know one of the victims, paid her enough to keep her mouth shut until I say, she said she couldn't be brought but everyone has a price," he paused, listening to his response, "Yes I know, outing a predator will help with my future campaign, and having a victim on my side will help with the democrats, not just the republicans." she heard her father laugh, which drove a shiver down her spine. "Now I have to donate to a few foundations and that'll be the next step in this race."

Winnie struggled not to drop the bags of trash when she heard everything.

Julian's dad was a predator and yet she was more terrified of her father.

"Fuck my life," she whispered.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

a/n:

sanaa lathan as 𝗱𝗿 𝗮. 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿

mmm whatcha say?

monifred are exclusive but with no kiss to seal the deal? yikes, but writing monet into episodes she was cut out is so odd to me, because if they adjusted the plot she would've fit but she was an afterthought to the producers and the writers.

quick shoutout to NekodaDotR for the manip

winnie was doing zoya a favour by telling her that she was cheated on abut she also wanted to cause drama, but when zoya claimed she was fucked in the head... and it struck a nerve and then wanted to go for the jugular. similar to winnie and max, they have never been close but she didn't mind him, but as soon as he fucked over ginny she gagged him.

why was margaux in mexico? and what do you think of another luc and winnie moment? i think this is the most dialogue I've ever written for him. i do think he cares more about his daughter's mental health, and margaux cares more for her public image. which has been made worse for the family because of gossip exposing her therapy which goes against her own brand, so winnie is just going to continue to sprial, i just hope the therapist can do some damage control before she gets worse.

i liked writing the dr anchor, even just to find out winnie's thoughts without her just blurting them out to just anyone.

[fiddleyoumust]

Wandee is an unreliable narrator. So, if you're looking for sense in all of Wandee's actions, you won't find it. He was in love with Ter for 8 years but pretended to be a version of himself that isn't authentic to get Ter to like him. That blew up in his face, and he's deeply affected by it despite telling everyone around him that he's over it and he's not hurt by it.

Everything he's done up to this point is a reaction to that rejection. The scholarship,the fake relationship, and his inability to accept that maybe his feelings aren't fake after all.

He spent 8 years doing nothing directly about his feelings for Ter, but was convinced Ter liked him back until Ter verbally told him he didn't. He's been sleeping with Yak for less than 2 months, and even though all of Yak's actions indicate mutual feelings, his words are all for Taem. He likes Taem. He's told Dee he likes Taem. He hasn't told Dee he likes Dee, and Dee's been burnt by his inability to decipher actions once before.

He went with Ter because Ter is a manipulator, and he knows how to manipulate Wandee best of all. He's been doing it for 8 years. It's his specialty. No amount of Dee's awareness of this makes him immune to it because his feelings for Ter were real, and there's a part of him that will never be able to accept that Ter's never were. He wants Ter to like him because it validates the time and energy he put in to liking Ter. If Ter really never liked him, Wandee was stupid, manipulated, and used, and he thinks he's too smart for that. So, it can't be true.

Based on Yak ripping the kiss poster in the elevator after he leaves Wandee's apartment, and Wandee reiterating, "I told you no, " twice this episode when Yak tries to kiss him, and the flashback during the kiss to Yak asking for it as reward if he wins, I'm assuming Dee denied that request, but I do agree, it would be nice if the show actually shows us that.

Dee denying the request means he still has romantic ideation around his first kiss. I don't know if he intended to kiss Yak until he was there in front of him, but I do know that he understands his own feelings about Yak fully now.

He was heartbroken when blowing the candles out. He still hoped Yak would come see him off despite their fight and breakup. He thought of him the whole trip and got on a 7 hour plane ride to go comfort him because he knew how upset Yak would be about losing.

I think, faced with his own feelings and finally accepting them, he knows he won't regret kissing Yak, even if Yak doesn't return his feelings. Because Wandee loves Yak, and he was saving his kiss for someone he loves. I do agree that the show could be better about making things clear, but part of the whole point of the show is that Wandee is an emotionally unstable mess and he's been hiding that part of himself to try and find love. But love is about the ugly parts of us too, and he can be his authentic self with Yak, who is going to, who does love him for who he really is.

I’m glad the show is aware that Dee’s behavior does not make sense and keeps pointing that out, but I would like them to do the work to actually make sense of it?? Why was he still refusing to kiss Yak despite being close to him in every other way? Why is he still tempted by Dr. Devil and what is his confusion actually about? Why would he ever leave wearing his sex costume and ditch Yak to eat and drink with Ter in his apartment? Why would he take Ter’s side in a fight and randomly accuse Yak of being “all about violence”? Why would he get drunk with Ter in a shared hotel room the night before their big presentation? And why is he suddenly ready to kiss Yak now without working through any of that??

Listen, it’s not that I can’t do some mental gymnastics to fanwank this and try to make most of it make sense (but not all, I will never be convinced he would have gone to Ter’s apartment in that way) but the show needs to make its main character and his emotional arc legible. I couldn’t even enjoy the kiss properly because this episode was such a mess.

[stop-or-ill-tell]

I have so many thoughts on today's episode holy shit

1. Birds of a feather flock together (Minwoo and Attorney Jang). Fr though I was cringing so much. I have really bad second hand embarrassment even for people I don't like and watching Attorney Jang fumble through that case was truly painful

2. I always feel conflicted about Choi Suyeon cuz on the one hand she's got a very frustrating mindset about autism and Youngwoo but on the other hand she can't stand seeing her suffer even when she's not around to hear the things being said etc. It feels like she either pities Youngwoo or thinks Youngwoo can't handle herself or she doesn't and is just a genuinely decent person who rationalizes her actions in an ableist way cuz she doesn't have the language to explain why she actually likes Youngwoo when others don't (and ik she shouldn't have to defend her friendship to assholes but she has now been asked to do so by assholes on multiple occasions). Some of her actions lead me to think it's the latter but I just can't believe that's true because she likes enemy #1 Kwon Minwoo which only can be explained by the former. I'm not sure if they didn't know what they were doing with her or if she's going to have more explanation. Ig we'll find out tomorrow. Because let's be honest, it's way to late to redeem Minwoo and Suyeon won't be the one to educate him (see their conversation about how they can't act like Youngwoo 🙄)

3. I didn't say anything about last Thursday's episode cuz I didn't have time. But I'm not worried at all about Junho and Youngwoo. Everything points to them getting back together. Especially after the chat they had this episode. My guess is Junho is now just taking his time to fully absorb her reason for breaking up with him and considering his options. But I think they'll be fine

(Also, complete side note, but the way everyone is comparing this to 2521 is so funny and so sad to me cuz 2521 is my favorite kdrama and I actually liked the end. Ik I'm in the minority but I really appreciated it, I made a post about that when it came out tho so I won't reiterate it here. And I don't think this is the kind of show where we have to worry about anything like that here. Especially because we knew it was coming in 2521, the seeds have not been planted here. Even if Youngwoo and Junho don't end up together, I think they'll have a satisfying ending)

Junho can tell how much she misses him. From the beginning of the episode he noticed her waiting to see him and he knows she just has to see him and that's it. But also that scene in court after the plaintiff took cyanide he wanted to help her so bad. Also also I think both his and my heart cracked when Youngwoo said she was afraid of making him feel lonely because she likes him so much 😭😭😭😭

4. THAT TRAILER!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHES GONNA MEET HER BROTHER!!!!!

5. Attorney Jang pissed me off but I genuinely laughed when he pushed the rookies to the reporters and then hid sneaking into the car... although driving away without everyone felt very out of character for Junho

6. HARY'S PLACE HAS BECOME THEIR HANGOUT I LOVE THEM THEY ARE SO DRAR TO ME

7. SPEAKING OF DEAR TO ME! ONCE AGAIN THE WAY YOUNGWOOS FRIENDS IMMEDIATELY BONDED WITH JUNG MYEONGSOEK!!!!!!!! I hope they're friends forever. The fact that a) they visited him in the hospital and b) that he made foOD FOR HIS MOTHER - save it. I wanted Hairy and Suyeon endgame before but I take it back. If we don't see a hot and heavy Attorney Jung/Hairy make out scene in the finale I'm staging a protest

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello Steph! Hope you’re having a lovely day :)

This is a bit random but I was wondering if you had any advice or insight about what you would’ve done different at my age - I’m 19 and a first-year in university.

I’ve been struggling with my path in life and what I truly want out of life. Since you’re a little bit older than me I was just curious if you had any insight on this <3

Thanks!!

Hey Nonny *HUGS*

Oof, I'm so sorry you're having a rough go... that transition into adulthood is always a tough time, especially if you're unsure if you took the right path or not.

First off, I need to reiterate that I am not a professional, just someone who has lived for 40 years and has a few anecdotes that I hope will help other people.

That said, I think the best way I can do this with gathering my thoughts is to do it in point form.

Taking a 2 year gap between high school and college. I was super stressed and we were pressured to apply to colleges and universities, and in the end I got denied from every place I applied, and it made me feel like a failure, because my portfolios were not my best work because I was so stressed and being forced to apply to stuff I wasn't ready to do. I don't know if it's the same in other countries/provinces, but in Ontario, if you apply to college and you're over 19, you're considered a "mature student", and it's REALLY easy to get in provided you have a good portfolio and application letter. It was ALSO easier because I had TIME to REALLY look into what I wanted to do with my career for REAL, and to work on my portfolio without the pressure of your teachers demanding you get that shit done AND your school work done. I got accepted to all 5 colleges I applied to, and the only stress I had was deciding which one I wanted to go to.

Going away for school forced me to be independent. I was 21 when I left home to start college, so I was a late bloomer in that regard, but my parents were very good about letting us live at home as long as we needed. 

Get a financial advisor, even if you don’t have a lot of money. Not sure if it’s the same at all banks, but my bank offers the service for free, all you have to do is make an appointment at the help desk. I didn’t get one until my mid 30s, but HONEST TO GOD, do it as soon as you are making some money. Looking back I wish I did when I started working. They will help you sort out your finances, and show you the best ways to invest your money: I have not just an RSP set up, but also an emergency fund, a SECOND emergency fund, a “spending money” fund, and 1 investment account with my locked mutual funds. It’s all automatic and my advisor helped me with that.

And on the topic of that: GET A LINE OF CREDIT WITH YOUR BANK, and use that to pay off your credit cards each month. Your banks line-of-credit usually has a lower interest rate than a credit card. It builds a credit history, but you’re also not penalized 45% a month if you don’t pay off the full card. My bank’s is... 8% I believe. I use my credit card for every thing to collect points (also, research credit cards and find one that gives you benefits. Mine gives me movie points. I haven’t paid to see a movie in literally 7 years), then I pay it all off at the end of each month with my line of credit and then pay my line of credit off in smaller installments. Paying off a minimum payment with your bank won’t skyrocket how much you owe in the long run. PLUS you consolidate ALL of your debt into ONE place, and it’s easier to keep track of. 

Another financial tip: Keep your credit limit low on your cards (like under 5K), and if they try to raise it, call them and tell them you need it lowered and to NOT raise it unless you tell them. Always keep it at a rate you know you could pay off immediately if something happened. My line of credit, on the other hand, is high, so that I CAN pay off a large debt if I had to.

Take time out for YOU, and know your worth. I wish I spent a lot less of my youth being career-driven. In the end, I place WAY too much of my self-worth on my job: it’s the ONE THING I know that I am GOOD at, and I struggle to think of any other positives about myself. 

I wish I got mental health help when I was younger. I grew up as a older-cusp millennial, and “mental health” just wasn’t “a thing” when I was younger. Looking back, I know I really needed help. Now I have undiagnosed everything-under-the-sun, and because of my upbringing, I’m just... stupid anxious about finding out what’s wrong with me. It’s okay to need help.

I wish I knew what asexuality was when I was younger. Again, this affected my self-esteem and me believing something was wrong with me. Always be open to learning new things about yourself.

If you are able, get a skill / career path you love doing. I chose graphic design as a career path because, no matter what job I have, I’m always doing something creative. 

Don’t EVER think you’re “too old” for fun things, like toys and fandoms. Best part about being an adult is being able to afford to buy the stuff I couldn’t when I was younger. 

It’s okay to be lazy.

It’s okay to eat food and enjoy it. I have a long history with body dysmorphia and disordered eating because I’ve always been a plus-sized woman, minus a couple years where I literally starved myself to be under 125lbs. It wasn’t healthy. 

Even in my darkest days, I’ve understood that life is worth living. It’s very hard to see sometimes, and it’s very lonely sometimes, but my good days far outweigh the bad ones. I know that it’s a VERY hard thing to see when everything feels like it’s falling apart, but try to keep on going. And if it gets to be too much, get a therapist to help you.

Things may not turn out exactly as planned, and that’s okay. I’m also a perfectionist, and things not going the way I want them to often sends me into a stress-frenzy, but every time... it’s been alright, looking back. 

You WILL have a favourite pan / cup / spoon / dish. Seriously, the perfect pan makes ALL the difference in your meals / tea / etc. It’s so silly to say, but I PROMISE you, it will happen.

I’m not really sure what else I can say Nonny, other than you’re still young, and I think you’ll be okay, truly. Not related, but if you’re finding your chosen uni-path isn’t working for you, IT’S OKAY to drop out and try something else. I have two cousins who did that exact thing (one did it 3 times, actually) and they’re much happier for it.

I’m sorry if none of this helps you... I really want to see you happy, and I think SOME of it will be fruitful? I don’t know.

Please take care of yourself, Nonny. It’ll all work out. You can’t force things to happen a certain way... it just all falls into place when it can.

Now if I could take my own advice, LOL, that would be great hahah <3

Love you Nonny, and good luck.

(and if anyone has other things they want to add, please do. I have SO much more I could add, just this is all I could think of off the top of my head)