#I am realizing this the day after posting: I made Leif say I and not we

[hana-bobo-finch]

Early impressions of these fellas (AND I’LL SAY IT ONCE AGAIN, PLS NO SPOILERS IN TAGS I REALLY WANNA GO THROUGH THIS SPOILER FREE!!!)

+ non shaded version bc I think I went a bit too far with the rendering!

[secret-bug-pain-blog]

Febuwhump, Day 1 - Touch Starved

This is late, and turned out to be mostly a bunch of idiots fighting with each other. Oh well, it's still done. Doesn't matter if it's good or not - it's out. Unbeta'd, might post on AO3 later if it's worth cleaning up.

Snakemouth Den was dark, dank, and absolutely full of mushrooms.

Kabbu could have come up with a better description for it, really, but considering the amount of mythology surrounding it, the number of adventurers rumored to have died in its depths, the treasure rumored to lie within, and the century-and-a-half of people who had vanished into it never to return, he likely could have come up for a better description for it a week ago, when he was still taken in by the splendor of its myth and the many stories about it.

A lot of mythologized places lost their glamor, once you’d been wandering through them for a week and seen nothing but mushrooms and crystals. It certainly didn’t help that most of the cave was too clogged with spores to smell a foot in front of you. The place’s gory reputation certainly didn’t help – he’d been smelling hemolymph on and off for at least the past few hours, and he didn’t want to know if it was multiple corpses or if one of the undead ants that had attacked them earlier had followed them.

At least he had company.

Vi was quite the fierce fighter, doing away with foes far faster than Kabbu could on his own, and finding Leif was a stroke of good fortune all on its own. The moth had a sharp sense of direction, which was a boon and a half when every tunnel in the place looked the same, and had likely saved them from running in circles more than once. With his aid clearing their path-

“Vi.”

Kabbu’s train of thought abruptly derailed as the moth’s voice cut through the silence. He slowed, seeing Vi do the same out of the corner of his eye, her wings flicking open with an annoyed buzz.

“What?” Vi asked. “D’you need something?

“You’re injured.”

That made Kabbu stop in his tracks. Injured? When had-

“Your thorax. Under your secondary claws.”

“I- no, I’m not! I’m fine! I’m not- I didn’t get hit with shit!“ Vi hissed. She fluffed her fur up, glancing to Kabbu for rapport- but now that he was looking for it, the hemolymph plastering her fur to her body was unmistakable.

“You’re not very convincing when you smell like a crime scene.”

Now that he got a closer look at her… yes, she did kind of smell like a crime scene. He wouldn’t phrase it like that himself, admittedly, but it explained where the hemolymph smell was coming from. Kabbu wracked his brain, thinking of when she could have picked up an injury without her noticing. It couldn’t be the spider, or the fall, or the-

“Those… reanimated ants. They must have-“

“Those fuckers didn’t do shit to me! I’m fine!” Vi swung her weapon for emphasis- only to aggravate the wound, making her bite back a sharp hiss.

“Vi-“ Kabbu tried to say, but she just snarled at him.

“Shut it. I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding all over the ground,” Leif pointed out. Vi growled at him.

“Team, stop fighting,” Kabbu tried to intervene, stepping between them. “We just need to bandage it, and she’ll be-“

“You don’t need to bandage it,” Vi interrupted. “I’m fine.”

“If that gash was half an inch longer, you’d be spilling guts out your sides,” Leif said.

“I’m not spilling guts out my sides now, am I?”

That… was not a particularly compelling point.

“If something gets in a lucky shot, you will be,” Kabbu said. “Just- let me take a look at it, and-“

“And what?! Do you think I’m just gonna lie down and let treat me like one injury’ll take me out of the running just because we’re teammates? I’ve only known you for a week, and-“

“Vi, I-“

"That's enough of that." Leif deftly weaved around him and plucked Vi off of the ground, and she went stiff, freezing like a weevil that had only just realized they'd wandered into the path of a northern moth. Kabbu poised himself to intervene – even he knew she disliked touch, after a week with her – but Leif just tucked her stunned body into his ruff, securing her into place under his wings with a secondary limb like she was a plush toy, and kept walking.

Kabbu just stood there, feeling as stunned as Vi looked, as Leif simply wandered off into the cave.

Finally, his brain kicked back into gear and he burst forward. “Leif, you can’t just-“

He was cut off by a purr. A very loud purr, the sort he’d only really seen from extremely contented bugs, and yet-

Kabbu looked into Leif’s arms, only to see Vi… melted into them. It was as though she’d lost any pretense of shape, simply dissolving into Leif’s claws like a slug or a snail. It was…

Leif shrugged. “If she won’t take care normally, then we’ll have to resort to manhandling. Usually bugs don’t take to it that well, admittedly.”

“Shut it,” Vi grumbled. Her voice was hard to hear through the purrs still swelling in her throat, rattling through her tiny frame like she was in the middle of the world’s smallest earthquake. She fluffed herself up, which only really served to make her look more ridiculous – Leif’s fur was far thicker than hers, and the fur on her side was still plastered to her shell with hemolymph.

“We’re just saying, most bugs don’t react like they’re being cuddled by a swarmmate when you give them a tiny bit of handling, especially not while they’re-“

“I said shut it, okay? How I’m doing is none of your business, and-“

“It might not be our business, but it is your teammate’s business, unless you were planning on never telling your teammates about anything.”

“My business is mine, and you’re not even part of the team-“

“And you were planning to bleed to death in a cave over asking your teammate to slow down so you can bandage your wounds.”

Vi’s mouth shut with a click, and she looked away from him. Leif tilted his head at her, waiting for a response.

A long moment passed.

Finally, Leif huffed, handing her over to Kabbu. “Fine, be that way, then.”

Kabbu silently plucked her out of Leif’s arms, feeling her melt into his carapace without another word. Her fur was surprisingly soft, even with the blood trickling down his claws as she shifted her weight. She didn’t say anything as he reached for their bag, pulling their medical kit out of the bottom.

He patched the wound in silence, Vi seemingly trying her best to ignore him as he tied the sturdy leaves over her shell. It was… gory, rough-edged and ragged, and every poke seemed to make it drip blood again. He had no clue how she’d managed to hide it for so long, let alone walk with it. She leaned into his touches, half the time, pressing the rough edges of the wound right into his claws and making her chitin grind against itself in a way that made him wince.

He had hardly taken three round of it before he broke.

"Vi, can you stop-"

"Stop doing what?"

"Stop leaning into my claws. It-"

"I'm not doing anything, okay? Just- keep going, and maybe you'll be done soon."

He gave an affirmative hum, and got back at it.

She kept leaning into his hands. He didn't know if she was even conscious of doing it- she'd lean, then pull back, on and on in a cycle as if she only just realized she was doing it after the fact.

He was just finishing the knot when she finally spoke, sounding like she was dragging the words out of her throat with a prybar.

“…Sorry,” she grumbled. “Just- I’ve had worse, okay? It’s not worth making a fuss over.”

“You’re soaking your fur with hemolymph,” Leif pointed out. “You weigh- what? Four ounces? You don’t have enough blood to spare for injuries like that.”

“I have plenty of blood, and I’ve had a lot worse, and you don’t have to go into this trouble over- over this.”

Leif looked like he was about to say something, but Kabbu darted in before he could escalate it further. “I know we don’t have to, but- we’re partners, Vi. We’re supposed to take care of each other. Don’t you…”

Kabbu trailed off, tying off her bandages. Vi turned her head away from him. “I can handle it. I don’t need you fussing over me every time I get a scratch in the field.”

Her side was a lot more than “a scratch”, but Kabbu kept that thought to himself. He brushed a claw over her back, testing the strength of the bindings, and Vi shivered. Kabbu stopped, holding still.

“Vi, are you-“

“Shut up, it’s fine, I’m- look, it’s embarrassing, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore, and-“

“Didn’t get held enough as a grub, did you?” Leif asked. Vi’s hackles rose, and Kabbu quickly pushed her down just in time to keep her from jumping at him.

“Shut up! You’re a moth, you don’t know shit about things-“

“We’ll take it that’s a yes, then.”

Vi growled under her breath, fluffing her fur. She was about to say something else, but Kabbu pressed her into the ground before she had the chance. “Now isn’t the time for a fight! Venus, you two, at least try to get along! We have a mission, remember?“

Leif stood still for a long moment, fur fluffed, hackles raised, and for a moment Kabbu thought he might have to mediate between them, or tear them apart from an attempt at a duel. Thankfully, Leif’s shoulders relaxed, tension bleeding from his form. “…fine,” Leif muttered. “We’ll try to get along for now. Don’t expect us to drop it, though.”

“Fuck you,” Vi hissed weakly from under Kabbu’s claws. Leif didn’t respond to her, simply wandering back to the other side of the cavern.

She had gone mostly limp, thankfully, all the fight drained out of her. Kabbu carefully released his claw, checking her bandages to make sure he hadn’t worsened her injuries.

He… needed to redo the bindings.

She seemed fine, thankfully. No worse than she was when he bandaged her, at least, though that was a low bar. He gave her a quick pet on the back after carefully plastering the bandages back into place, and she arched into it, grumbling.

Thank Venus that hadn’t escalated any further.

“I think we should make camp for tonight and have some rest before going deeper, all right, team?” Kabbu raised his voice so Leif could hear it, and saw the moth raise his head from the opposite end of the campsite.

“Sounds fine to us. We… could use some rest, before anything else happens.”

Vi grumbled, but didn’t protest. Kabbu went about the motions of preparing a campsite – scooping out nests for everyone, setting out the bedrolls, packing up the medical supplies for later. Vi settled down to watch, after a while, uncharacteristically silent.

Making camp was meditative, almost. The same set of steps nearly every time, it was easy to get lost in it until it was ready to sleep in. Leif settled down quickly enough, Vi staying balled-up into a lump of resentful bee, and Kabbu could almost forget the argument if he just… laid down and tried to sleep.

Hopefully, tomorrow would be less… stressful.

It had scarcely been fifteen minutes before Kabbu felt something tapping on his shell.

Kabbu pulled himself out of the space between sleep and wakefulness, head still full of fog. He looked up at the source of the tapping to see Vi, fur fluffed and hackles raised like she was about to face down a horrid beast.

Vi took a deep breath, and Kabbu’s half-asleep brain could hardly keep up with her before she spoke.

“…look, I’m sorry about- that, but I’m not weak, okay?”

Kabbu was sure his startled look must have shown on his face, because Vi plowed forward. “I mean it, I’m not- I don’t need help, I’m fine on my own, I don’t need a team to prop me up, because I-“

“No one is saying that you’re weak, Vi. Are you sure you’re-“

“I’m fine, and you don’t have to worry about me, and- look, you don’t have to treat me like a cripple, okay? I’ve worked with worse, and I don’t need your pity, because it’ll heal over anyways-“

“I’m not trying to treat you like an- an invalid, Vi! You’re injured, I thought-“

“I can handle it! I don’t need you to- to kiss it better, or whatever. I’m fine!”

Leif stirred in his nest, and Vi quieted down abruptly, shrinking in on herself. She abruptly looked much, much smaller than she had before.

“…Sorry.”

She didn’t meet his eyes, staring off to the side. “I’m- look, it’s just… frustrating. Okay? I don’t…”

Vi trailed off, shuffling her paws. Kabbu shifted to the side of his nest, easing his elytra open just enough to shield it.

“…It’s okay, Vi. I believe you.”

She grimaced, avoiding his gaze. Kabbu shuffled a bit further to the side, eying the bandages over her side. She looked…

“…do you want to sleep with me tonight?”

Vi startled back into motion, fur fluffing up as far as it would go. “What?-“ she started. before wincing as her voice echoed off the walls. She shook herself out, whisper-shouting at him. “Why would I want to-“

“I’m sorry if I’m overstepping, you just- you look like you need it.”

Vi looked like she was trying to decide if she wanted to be insulted or simply surprised at the offer.

“I understand if you don’t want to, I-“ Kabbu hastily added, but she cut him off.

“It’s fine, I just- if you want to, I guess.”

“If you don’t-“

“Just move over before I change my mind.”

Kabbu shifted to the side, opening his elytra to allow her passage. She nestled into his side, curling close enough that he swore he could feel her shape imprinted into his underbelly, worming her way into the space between his belly and the nest.

…there was more space for her than just there, but Kabbu felt like bringing it up would be- poor.

Slowly, he resettled on top of her, feeling her shift under him. She was startlingly warm, especially compared to Leif, a miniature heat pack against his shell. It was a welcomed addition against the cold of Snakemouth Den, and he found himself quickly drifting off to sleep.

Yes, tomorrow would be better.

[ceruleanrequiem]

ANE - Look how they massacred my boys

Let's go for the massacre! Most of the male characters follow the current trend of emasculation: they are either comic relief, or extremely dumb, or angry authoritarians, you name it. But all these categories have something in common: villains in ANE are ALL men.

I have other posts planned, just need to finish translations, but you might notice that most of my points made in these two posts were plot-based. So, again, no need to call me names (and even if you do, I won't change my mind anyway)

First, the emasculated ones:

LEIFTAN: I'm over the fact that Leiftan, who previously talked about leaving, out of nowhere was blackmailed offscreen by the script and stayed, otherwise there would be no way to have interactions with him. But for me, I'd rather he hadn't come back in ANE if he was to become another HH lapdog. And they ended up using as a device in the Earth plot, making the Leifstans lose TWO episodes with him because of it, in a season that had nothing of romance compared to before. Fine, Leiftan wants to "be someone better" and stop being a daemon, but as someone who has been frustrated by not being able to be NEITHER a villain nor a daemon in TO, that was disappointing.

MATHIEU: And yes, I know the idea was to bring in a himbo and have him mature as the game progresses, but gosh… the script didn't help one bit. Eel is so dumb that the only conclusion we come to is that Charles (after all he is sooo evil) considered the faerys so inferior that he didn't even bother to send someone skilled to go look for his daughter, in his mind they would be too dumb to be suspicious of any clue Mat left: like not making an effort to learn alchemy and not getting along with HC, then a big coincidence happens and he's the most likely cause of it, but NO ONE realizes. I thought he pretended to be an idiot and to this day I am sure that was the strategy, but nothing was said about it, I don't think the company even thought about it. HC was the only one who in an indirect way saw that something was wrong, but by force of the script she was forced to keep quiet until she almost died on Earth because of him. Being a simp of Koori and Lance and making me spend maana with useless conversations in the beginning did not help me to keep my interest and I ended up not only changing LI, but agreeing with HC in everything regarding him. I can't believe they took Ezarel out to put this loser in ANE. What is the excuse for this? Renewing the plot because they were afraid to address the adoption issue or something since Ezarel practically adopted the infanticide? Or because it would be too difficult/controversial and they decided to change it? If that's the case, they were rather incoherent, considering how brave they are in terms of non-hetero couples's destinies. Well, it was no use, because Mathieu was just another wasted plot/character. As the saying goes, there's no point in casting pearls before swine.

CHROME: WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO MY LITTLE KING????? Despite being nothing more than a Karenn simp in TO, Chrome had his qualities at the time. Smart, focused, studious, an excellent alchemist, a friend, he was the one who reaches out for Leiftan asking help to avenge his parents. Guys, do you realize he was sharp enough to see through Leif's goodboi facade? Then in ANE Koori has the nerve to say that "he was not fit for the meticulous work that is required of an alchemist," I had no reaction. I must remind you that it was not Chrome who blew up the Alchemy lab in ANE's first episodes the first time we see him, hein :) (and even so she's still described as "EXCELLENT ALCHEMIST". Oh c'mon!). In ANE he has become another himbo, he has no abilities other than to turn into a wolf, thumbs up, not even can he foresee enemy attack and save dumb friends from dangerous creatures in the forest. Because, y'know to exalt Karenn they need to diminish Chrome, whatever means possible. It's never the opposite.

Now Characters who were EXTREMELY DUMBED.

NEVRA: I haven't liked Nevra since TO, his personality didn't appeal to me. In ANE he would be totally indifferent to me… IF NOT for the way he treated Leiftan, demanding that in less than a year he would be 100% recovered and available to the Guard to be treated like a mere hound by everyone. I doubt he did the same thing with Lance… oops, wait, by force of script Lance was in jail for a year and already came out with his mind reformed! And if we draw a parallel, he complains about Erika's behavior who somewhat disapproves him for Nevra not being the way he used to be, almost demanding him to treat her the way he used to, even if you are not on his route.

Erika does to Nevra what Nevra does to Leiftan, but then it's impossible, right? The others MUST give in to his orders, but HE can't give in because "he has changed", "lost friends and/or girlfriend". And if the writing addressed the situation in this direction it could have been really nice, but obviously no, we had none of that. I understand the situation, however it "explains but doesn't justify" it.

But I like the fact that Nevra by the position he occupies, his austere expression doesn't match the "Captains Marvel" of the Guard, since he doesn't need to force any demonstration of power or draw attention to himself by whatever means necessary, he already naturally exudes that aura and so it's much harder to subdue him than Mathieu and Leiftan. Nevra can even oPprESs royalty, who feels so intimidated (that's the feeling I got from the character sprite at the time) in his presence that the character resorts to bad jokes instead of talking to him normally. And if she musters the courage to speak out, it is only because of panic attacks caused by a trip where she was forced to go because company demanded it.

Ah, but let's not forget his authority breakdowns and that's where the character is destroyed. First of all: Ewelein tells Erika that they're short of resources to make healing potions, I assume as Guard leader Nevra must be informed of that as well? Was he informed? I guess not, plot conveniently says nothing about it. If they're short of resources, they won't have more than one potion to protect his skin on Earth, correct? Which means THEY CAN'T take their sweet time on Earth, they need to hurry. But what happens? Nevra decides to assert his authority and force them to eat. NEVER would Nevra expose the Guard members that way. Any justification related to "better eat because the mission is risky, long, dangerous, you will need strength" goes downhill. In the Genkaku mission nobody ate anything before or during the mission, and it must have been at least a day of travel + a whole day investigating that building. In a mission on Earth of course they had to eat before, but NO ONE remembered?! Eating on Earth would cause them to lose time and still take unnecessary risks as it conveniently ended up happening. And from Erika's descriptions, she was so anxious that she wasn't hungry, weren't the other HQ members also anxious at least a little? In other words, Leiftan was kidnapped solelly thanks to Nevra's dumb decision, it's all on him, it's his fault. (it's actually the fault of whoever thought up and developed that plot, but that's okay). Even so, I HIGHLY doubt that Nevra and Lance couldn't stand some hours without food.

Now the Toxic ones :D

TENJIN: Of course, right? lol I won't take too long, but this is probably the second cruelest villain in the game according to the crimes he committed, losing only to Charles. You already know what I think, more and more I am understanding what the "show, don't tell" means, thanks to hive that gives great examples this season. Koori's main characteristic is that she is always joking and we never know when she is telling the truth or not. We only heard her version of the story, and what we heard from his version was very little, so as much as the game forces Erika and her to be best friends, I don't trust her.

Did he really "take power" and nobody said anything? Did he manage to convince everyone? Like, everyone?! We see from the map that Genkaku is continental, he would need to go all over the kingdom trying to convince them and from what we saw of Tenjin, he is so paranoid and tyrannical that he would never leave his castle. Or are you saying that thanks to the magic of the script he controls everyone's mind just like the magnanimous HH does? Because that one, by force of script, controls the minds of everyone there!

Or do you mean that he has spontaneous popular support? If this support is spontaneous it is because the reign of Koori's family was not good then, and hers wouldn't be either. Ok, we saw that he seems to have immeasurable charisma to fool her parents, and even the Councilors to the point of changing the legislation and removing her from power, BUT as far as I remember, coups don't happen by themselves. Again: didn't anyone from the three sectors of kitsune society support her? Because Tenjin tells us that the faerys of Genkaku thought she had been KIDNAPPED by Eel, and he said his soldiers weren't that happy for that. It's been five years (I guess she arrives at the same year as Mathieu, two years after the sacrifice) and you'll tell me that Tenjin haven't sent somebody to retrieve her? If he were that bad he wouldn't respect Eel's sovereignty, they're on bad terms already what difference would make to attack the HQ to take his wife back? None! But we hear nothing about Tenjin attacking Eel, which means he's prudent enough to avoid sending his people to fight a lost war (after all HQ has an ice dragon), therefore avoiding getting his reputation tainted. As an usurper, he would need support to keep his position, otherwise he would have been deposed the first day he declared himself king, a VERY powerful support for that matter huh? Either from the peasants, the military, or the nobility.

And from the looks of it, Koori didn't have the loyalty of any of those three, for we hear NOTHING about resistance in the north, no one respects her enough to fight for her because ur durr Tenjin was too powerful. C'mon guys, are Tenjin and Koori the only seven-tailed kitsune in Genkaku now or what? And even if players blame Tenjin for "mindcontrolling" his people in order to justify Koori's isolation, we hear nothing about Tenjin erasing the kitsunes memories of her in order to manipulate them, we only know that he bruteforced his way into the kingship by killing her parents.

But I'm pretty sure that Canon Tenjin's support didn't come from the military: all the sprites of kitsunes we saw next to Tenjin had only three tails, so it seems that the army in canon doesn't seem to be that strong. And I don't think a powerful but paranoid leader like Tenjin would allow his escort to be composed of such weak kitsunes. Not to mention that we don't hear anything about him exterminating other kitsunes whose number of tails is higher, the script doesn't explain ANY of that to us.

Since in ANE women are saint and perfect, we can only conclude that his support is spontaneous because the script wanted it that way. After all Koori's parents are powerful and smart to rule a kingdom, but at the same time they were so dumb to be fooled by Tenjin. Well, like parents, like daughter huh? Anyway, I said more than I should have, but Genkaku is one of the biggest holes in terms of plot, not bad for a villain who was written only to be a macho regicide, huh?

CHARLES - The cruelest, most cartoonish villain I've ever seen in this game, and he gave me extreme shame. His existence alone is a major plot hole, because in TO when Erika looks at Leiftan she feels something familiar, comforting, a feeling that she described as being a feeling she had for her mother, at the time I thought that her mother was aengel, not the father. Not to mention that she lost contact with her grandmother from her mother side iirc, meaning it confirms that the faery blood came through her mother. And again, TO shows us how fondly she remembered her father, as much as he was stern (as every big company owner is) he had a good heart and one example was that he was very fond of cats. And Erika realizes in ANE that her room was rebuilt, he remembered every detail of her room, no matter how much some minor details were left out. The mother even divorced Charles because he's kept talking about Erika all those years. But then the company wasted this very high potential villain with the cheapest plot that time and the superiors allowed: "we are experimenting on faerys, and I am the head of the organization MUAHUHAUAH". Was he useful for the plot? Yes, but at the very cost of the plot anyway. First case of Literary cannibalism I've ever seen.

COMIC RELIEF:

ORGELZ - He's just like Tenjin, the difference is that Orgelz is a coward, which makes him a satire on villains. They probably wrote Orgelz like this because the fandom was dying to see how handsome Nevra's father was, and after they saw that we were simping for villains, they changed tactics and created an ugly Orgelz, as well as writing that he was not the father, but another usurper who killed Nevra's father and took over. I don't understand this company: they're not afraid of killing and splitting non-hetero couples apart, but apparently they are afraid of how quickly the audience falls in love with the villains they create, no matter if the villains are toxic or a murderer. In terms of plot he doesn't add anything either, as much as people say it served to make Nevra think and talk to Erika (in an attempt at moral ambiguity that didn't make a difference in the end), Tenjin essentially said the same thing as Orgelz, WITH WAY LESS WASTE OF MAANAS, and back then Nevra didn't even bother to think about it, when he could have. It was convenient, just as it was convenient to go to Yaqut because the company owed us a Nevra arc.

THE "WHATEVER" CASES:

KARUTO AND ZIFU - I put the two together because they serve the same role, fatherly support, but nothing beyond that. But for a change, hive doesn't seem to know how to write non-hetero stories without someone ending up dead, betrayed, or becoming an extremist.

JAMON - I have no opinion of Jamon, I think he fits more into comic relief, maybe. He's pretty much "whatever" in my concept. In terms of usefulness in the plot he adds nothing.

LANCE - Lance is another case that I don't think has that much plot relevance if you don't play his route. The only usefulness is that he keeps Erika from having more moments with the routes, because in the rescue moments he is always the one who saves her. And this was being forced more and more because Erika is unable to decide whether she is strong or weak, in the end he was just a plot device to facilitate the scriptwriters' work who would not need to write different scenes with the other three, SACRIFICING THE ALREADY SCARCE TIME we wanted with the routes. To this day I can't come to terms with the first 'opportunity for romance interaction' we could have had: the one on the ship when Erika falls into the sea and the LI could have gone after her. No, instead, I had to endure him and more other moments that I, as a non-Lancer, was not in the least bit interested.

They even tried to imitate Marvel and make Lance the new Thor, put him in as comic relief because he couldn't speak the word electricity. And ok, he appeared at the end to stop Erika from killing Charles. Seihai in her place would have already said something like "fratricides have no moral right to lecture me" and killed Charles anyway, precisely because Seihai is sure that somehow Charles would escape and kill faerys again if he had the chance.

For someone who was so furious before because he was in Eel as boss, Erika should have spoken up sooner. But coincidentally the plot demands that Erika forget and they take so long to talk about Valkyon that his words in ep 18 are worthless at this point, Erika's path, be it aengel or daemon, is already mapped out, so for me his speech was kind of useless.

[dantevhell]

what are your top 5 insane amphibia episodes :o

Oooh thats a though question bc I never thought abt it. But well let's go!

Warning: this will be a big ass answer sor- SIKE I HAVE NO REGRETS!!

5 - BATTLE OF THE BANDS - ok it was a simple somewhat fluff somewhat angsty amphibia ep a really calm b4 the storm kinda of thing but made it was well made! Observing sasha's more profund mentality of "I need control, they won't want me if I am not in control, they won't need me if I am not in control" towards her girls and realizing that deep down all that she wants is for her girls to be happy, for them to succeed, God that was heartwarming. Toadie was the perfect and most unexpected character to teach her that but hey it was welcome!

This two pictures here made me insane.

JUST LOOK HOW LOVEY DOVEY SASHA IS LOOKING AT MARCANNE I WILL COMBUST AND-

4 - BARREL'S WARHAMMER - I remember being genuinely SICK genuinely CRAZY genuinely DEPRESSED after this ep bc I never related to sasha so hard b4 and my kin on her only intensified on this ep! Seeing and confirming that sasha was insecure abt being left out of marcanne's life and feeling like she needs to have control for them to want her oh boy that was delicious and what a ep to make the fandom crazy with metas!! Seeing sasha beggining to realize that her actions were what was leading for the others to abandon her and she's the only to blame for her decisions.... only for her to fall into that trap of self destructive behavior MAN that sure was something that changed my brain chemicals HELL YEAH!!

3 - THE THIRD TEMPLE - I was really excited for that ep bc we would not only get the girls SOOO waited reunion in amphibia after 2 YEARS but also we would gain a flashback when their first meet so i remember I spend the entire week only thinking about it! I really wanted to see how their dynamic would work as a trio and I was really excited to see if my predictions were correct (they were!). The tension of sasha and anne unresolved conflict and their long waited 2nd reunion, marcy finally encountering sasha after months without seeing each other, sasha and anne being unaware of marcy's plans with the king, MAN, THE TENSION WAS PALPABLE!

Also seeing sasha showing regret over her past actions with anne but unable to stop her already on motion plans was sure a good angst hoooho boy!

2 - ALL IN - it was way more that I expected it to be! Anne's speech about her how she didnt loved herself, her fight with andrias and sasha's fight with darcy, andrias reading leif's letter, andrias and marcy flashback, marcy escaping her dreamscape!!! WOOF THAT WAS A ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS REAAAALLY WELL ELABORATED!

I think if the story ended there and we didn't had that stupid "suddenly the moon is the enemy bc the prophecy is too literal" plot and we just skipped to them saying goodbye and having the timeskip I would have been happier but that's content for aaaaanother post.....

1 - TRUE COLORS - hands down the amphibia ep that made me the most INSANE AND MENTALLY ILL. Nothing will top true colors for me bc I spent months making theories with my friends only for it to be almost all throw away and the plot twists blow my mind! I genuinely didn't see marcy's reveal coming or her agreement with the king being going to other worlds so jesus! What a time! Marcy's speech was really impactful, andrias revealing his "true colors" was satisfactory in a way that was really anger inducing, sasha fight with anne and the begging of her redemption arc was soooo cool to watch and the animation in Anne's calamity form !! Wooooo I genuinely didn't know how to react after this ep I was feeling anesthetized a good few days!

[lilac-milk-moon]

Fitness and the Family Business — Sitting Poolside with Mike Monfredi from MikedUp Blog

The Sitting Poolside interview series

When people think of retirement, scenes of beachfront homes, rounds of golf, or reading by the pool come to mind. Sitting Poolside is a series of interviews that challenges that notion and other financial misperceptions. The series name pokes fun at the stereotypes, but it’s also an opportunity to discuss people’s real stories and unique insights. So grab a piña colada and pull up your lounge chair!

Mike from MikedUp Blog

I’m Mike – current 30-ish CEO and Blogger. I write Financial insights for Family & Business, and Fitness tips for all! We’re growing our family-owned business while I’m focusing on staying fit and being a solid family man… and writing about all the highs and lows on MikedUp Blog!

Wealth 

Mr. SR (MSR): What was your concept of wealth when you were growing up?

Mike Monfredi (MM): For whatever reason, my concept of ‘wealthy’ at a young age was earning $100,000/year. But I hadn’t quite grasped much of anything financially at a young age. I came from an upper-middle-class family, didn’t want for much, and although I worked from the age of 15, I still was afforded the privilege to pursue sports, different fields of work, and other passions.

I knew that I needed to save money but I didn’t quite know where, or how. I knew of the few employment options available in my hometown but honestly felt helpless at the prospect of only those few options, none of which seemed to boast much potential.

So I focused entirely on annual salary, ignorantly ignoring the multitude of ways I could put some savings to work for me (i.e. real estate, investing in the market, etc.). I felt that if I could earn 6-figures that all would be swell in the money department.

But I ended up finding out later in life that more money doesn’t solve your financial woes — it just gives you new ones.

The family business

MSR: What is your current career status? How do you like to spend your time when you’re not working?

MM: I am currently the CEO of our family’s small business, a 9-employee dental office in Columbus, Ohio. But up until January 2019 — I worked this job in addition to a regular 9-5 with a large state agency in Ohio as a Forensic Scientist.

I did the two full-time jobs while blogging, having 2 young children (well, technically watching my wife have them), and tackling all the other tasks that come with regular life. About mid-2017 my stress level was unbearable and with the counsel of my wife, we decided that one day she and I would work together in our business.

I’m stoked to report that today is now that day.

When I’m not working, I’m spending time with my girls, working out, playing beach volleyball, meal prepping, watching some live sporting event, or enjoying a glass of red with my wife on the 1 out of 30 nights both girls are asleep before 9:00. Love those days…

MSR: I’m curious to hear more about your experience in the medical field and with the business that you and your wife run together.

As doctors yourselves (and spending time with other medical personnel during your career), has that background affected your worldview or your priorities, compared to other people you know who have different career paths?

MM: Just for a bit of background — my wife is the dentist and I run the company (no clinical expertise). Although we have the same undergraduate degrees, our grad degrees are where we diverged academically.

With that being said, I do have many interactions with other medical professionals in addition to my wife and business partner — and I’d say that background does put a unique perspective on the decisions we make.

For example, we are 100% in business to make money, however the ethical component of doing what’s best for the patient cannot be ignored. Sure, we can try and sell the most expensive treatment for our patients, but if that’s not what they need, or if a less-expensive option would be best for their specific situation — that is what we suggest.

Many patients who visit our office do not have a great deal of clinical knowledge of dentistry. It is our job to educate our customers, explain what treatment they need — if any — and why, and at that point we’re able to start making money.

Aside from those points — we notice smiles while we’re out and about. Much like a car salesman may notice cars, sometimes we’ll exchange a, “Wow – nice teeth there!” under our breath.

Value of physical fitness

MSR: You share that fitness is a big part of your journey and one of your hobbies now.

Have you found that your health and fitness interests have correlated with your personal finance interests? Are there principles or motivations that fuel you in both areas?

MM: 100% — yes.

If you want to be successful in achieving a higher level of fitness, you need specific and achievable goals. You need a plan to reach those marks and you need some ways to measure and track your progress. From there, you need the discipline to see it through.

Does that sound at all like budgeting or tracking your net worth to reach FI, for example? It does to me.

The main concepts carry over to all aspects of your life, whether they’re fitness, finance, family, business, or otherwise.

Strategic goals, a well-researched plan, and the discipline to see it through while adjusting course along the way is the recipe used to make significant positive progress in life.

The trick for me lately, is realizing that I’m only truly capable of focusing on 2-3 major life goals at one time. So I’ll prioritize the most vital in the present moment, check them off, and move on to the next.

Financial journey

MSR: Describe your financial journey. 

MM: If you’re looking at a scatter plot with the X-axis representing time and the Y-axis representing net worth, my financial journey creeps up over a small hill in my early 20’s, drops off a cliff around 25, and gradually climbs a slow, steady, and arduous mountain at about 29.

The Sisiphyisian climb from 29 to present-day represents a multitude of hard work, incredible risk, and some ole’ fashioned good luck.

If you’re looking for professional experience and a bit about who I am in general, here’s an excerpt from my ‘Start Here’ page that gives you an idea:

I played football in college, got injured, gained too much weight, then lost ~65 pounds. I have an intense drive to keep that weight off. My degrees are in molecular biology and ecology. I’ve been fortunate to have worked, a lot – in a bunch of different fields (as a landscaper, men’s fragrance salesman, coach, server, quality supervisor, forensic scientist, blogger, and now CEO…) and in varying places (Ohio, Maui, Costa Rica, the Gulf of Mexico,…).

Monica and I took out some sizeable loans for her to go to dental school and for us to buy our business (MFD), and we are working to pay off that debt and grow the business (many posts about each of these in the archives and to come). We believe in credit cards that don’t carry a balance from one month to the next (love the points, hate the interest). We put family first and love vacations. Our world centers around our girls (Clara and Stella).

From here, we’re betting on ourselves and our business to be the drivers of economic gain and wealth generation, and we’re really stoked to be working together on a project we both love.

Family

MSR: You share that your marriage and your daughters are a top priority for you.

How do you balance your career and personal finance focus with finding time to spend with your family? Do you have any routines or advice for other people struggling to find a sense of balance in those areas?

What’s been working for me lately is to have specifically coded times throughout the day. Early morning is for workouts/family/getting ready for the day. Work hours are for work. Come 5:00pm — the kids bedtime, it’s family time. Then after the kids are asleep, I do my best to balance quality time with my wife, gym work, me time, and time for blogging or additional work on our business.

For the first 2 years we were in business, I had another full-time job thrown into that mix, but I’ve actually had a night or two to relax lately — which is a much welcome feeling.

As long as I’m not slacking on my discipline, and keeping the lines crystal clear — not allowing my coded times to bleed together — I’m able to find the balance my life needs.

Advice

MSR: What do you consider to be your biggest failure or regret?

MM: You know, I honestly don’t have many hugely regrettable situations in life. I’ve made a ton of mistakes, sure, but many of those have been tremendous learning experiences — and I’m better for them.

Honestly, I probably partied a bit too hard from 19-23. And with some of the opportunities I had in that window, I would’ve rather capitalized on making the most of those rather than worrying about ‘having such a good time’.

MSR: What is your concept of wealth or financial success now? What were the major influences that changed your view?

MM: Net worth. Period, full stop. I learned quickly that a 6-figure income doesn’t bring with it rainbows and unicorns. And if you’re not saving money, building wealth, paying off debt, etc. it really doesn’t matter how much money you make.

So, I’d say that ‘wealth’ to me means a healthy and growing net worth, while financial success is the ability to do the things you want to do in combination with growing your net worth, not in spite of it.

I saw individuals who earned what was a huge paycheck in my eyes who also didn’t have much in the way of assets. Conversely, I’ve seen folks who earn modest paychecks, but who’ve been good stewards of their money be able to retire comfortably and do the things they choose to.

MSR: What’s the most helpful book you’ve read recently? 

MM: Regular readers of MikedUp Blog know where I’m going here…

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

For some perspective on my feelings regarding this book: I have given it as a gift to friends, relatives, and employees alike. In fact, it is the literature we use at our business to read, describe, and discuss the culture we have implemented. All of our team members have been provided with a copy and I’ve read through and discussed each chapter with all of them.

There are so many great leadership teachings in this book and the way that each chapter is constructed – with a real-life battlefield story that leads to a principle, which is then defined and finally applied to the business setting – helps to amplify and reinforce each chapter’s principle.

It also makes chapter discussions easy to facilitate. But maybe the most valuable lesson I have learned after reading through this book nearly 20 times is that by putting the Team before self, not only does the team win but by definition so do your individual ambitions and goals.

This book has helped me to be a better husband, boss, employee, and person. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

MSR: What advice would you give someone who is on the path to semi-retirement or early retirement? 

Develop a well-researched and results-oriented plan to build wealth. Ask ‘wealthy’ friends or acquaintances how they’ve generated wealth, read books, blogs, and listen to podcasts, and incorporate the points that work for you into your plan.

Understand the risks associated, where your plan can go wrong, and what to do when that happens. Use all of this information to come up with a plan that suits both your desired goals and the lifestyle you hope to live in pursuit of those goals.

Because life’s not about the finish line — that’s a misconception. It’s about the journey toward the line. And you have the ability to design that journey and all it’s twists and turns based on the decisions you make early on.

And once you decide where your life will lead you — put your head down and get to work.

MSR: Mike, thank you for sharing your family’s story with us. I appreciate your time and I’m excited to see how your blog and your business both continue to grow!

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