#I’m only on episode 74

[the-french-belphegor]

Finished! Oh man, this took me... two months? Three? So long. But the idea wouldn’t let go, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As I mentioned before I watched bits and pieces of the 1st campaign of Critical Role before going back to the beginning and watching/listening to seriously (I’m now starting episode 74!), but one thing that struck me was the character growth for all these characters?? So good. And these two... oh, these two. I started thinking I wanted them together any way, romantic or platonic (about... 6% of my ships are romantic?), but as time goes by I just love this ship, where it started and where it ends up in the epilogue. Plus... y’now, a couple of slightly bruised souls finding solace in each other 💜

I remember a fic that covers part of Scanlan’s year and a half away in which he gets... self-conscious? (understatement) about his death scars, if only because, well. They have to take up a lot of space on his body, considering what happens to him in “The Deceiver’s Stand”. (I have this headcanon that the scars from wounds that cause death don’t really fade like other scars do. So what these two have gone through left a hell of a mark. Physically, too. Pike knows a lot about scars, the forms they can take, and the weight they can have. And I wanted to explore her side of things from her own passing through death and resurrection.)

Another headcanon I have is that, once the dust has settled and they have to consider mundane things like immediate lodgings and stuff, Scanlan is the only one who doesn’t have anywhere to go back to: Vex and Percy have Whitestone, Keyleth has Zephrah, Pike and Grog have Wilhand’s house in Westruun... which has an attic that could double as a guest room with many a few repairs. It probably looks way too cosy and tidy for what I thought I’d do, but chalk it up to my inability to really clutter a room (unlike irl) 😅 The little frame behind Scanlan isn’t a random castle, by the way, it’s supposed to be Greyskull Keep. Wonder what happened to the place after the end...

Anyway. It’s 11:30PM and I should be in bed, so I’m posting this and hope you like!

[thatfeelinwhenyou]

KINDRED — 31

It’s your final year of highschool, and your only goal is to graduate top of your cohort, as usual. Except as student council president, your advisor can’t seem to leave you alone. What happens when you take Decelis Academy’s top student, their star athlete and put them in front of a camera?

smau + written (2.0k words)

❥･• episode 31 — the name above me

tw! y/n’s mom

The two-week break flies by rather quickly, and you find yourself back in your school uniform on a Monday morning, realising that nothing has really changed. You had already half-convinced yourself that post-midterm would be different for you, you had hoped for clarity regarding your plans after high school. Alas, uncertainty clings to you like an unwelcome companion.

Walking onto campus, you encounter a throng of students gathered in front of the ranking boards. Right, your results are released today.

Oddly, though, the weight of your grades hasn't been preoccupying your thoughts these past two weeks like it would in the past, marking the first time in your life that you haven't been consumed by overthinking your grades or endlessly reviewing test questions, as if every time you did it you didn’t get the same exact answer.

No, you actually enjoyed your break. You allowed yourself to breathe, to embrace the carefree spirit of a high school teenager.

You went café hopping with Bora and Jungwon again, only this time you ensured a mango juice mishap did not befall you. The girls, including yourself, enjoyed a truly relaxing girls' day where everyone dressed up just for the joy of it. Then there was that unforgettable excursion to the amusement park; you rode the Ferris wheel for the first time as it had been a long-standing prohibition from your mother. Though fairly insignificant, you record as it as a ‘win’ in your books.

Before you knew it, your final term at Decelis Academy had already begun. The documentary is in its concluding stages, with tasks remaining on the itinerary, including capturing your and Jungwon's reactions to your grades, the student council's senior farewell party, Jungwon's upcoming competition, and then the final confessional.

Arriving on campus, you initially worry about being way too early but lucky for you, the camera crew had arrived hours in advance and established their vantage point on the left side of the ranking boards—the higher-scoring side. Despite their meticulous preparation, you inadvertently squeeze yourself into a group of students gathered in the middle, unintentionally defying their plans for the perfect front-row view of your reaction from every angle.

Your eyes scan the list.

74 ***

75 ***

76 ***

77 Yang Jungwon

Found it.

You let your fingers glide over the paper, seeking out his Mathematics scores. 105 out of 150. Relief floods through you, a broad smile gracing your face at his passing grade. Not just barely but with a decent score, just enough to pull him up to a C, securing his spot in the competition just 15 days from now. You’re smiling so wide, the joy evident without even knowing how you did for your own papers.

And as if you were sharing the same brain cell, you find Jungwon standing at the front of the board, his expression tense as he gazes at a name at the top. Concern brushes your thoughts, but you manage to conceal it from the cameras as you cheerfully call out, "Wonnie! You passed your Math paper, you’re going to compete in the Asian Championships!"

"I-I’m so sorry, Y/N," he stammers, a heavy silence lingering between you. Reluctantly, you follow his gaze, and there it is.

1 Lee Haerin

2 Park Y/N.

Your name, usually perched at the top, now finding itself below another.

You know Lee Haerin, she’s a familiar face from the book club, and you know this having seen her in the library more times than you could count. And you were there almost every day. You also recognise her name as someone who was consistently ranking below you, but how the tables have turned.

You don’t loathe her; surely, it isn’t her fault that your English Literature scores fell short, causing you to drop in overall rankings. Besides, it's only mid-terms, and you still have your preliminary exams to pull your grades up before the CSAT… Right?

You sense someone settling down beside you on the ledge you've chosen to occupy on the roof. You had chosen to forgo lunch, knowing you can barely keep anything down your throat at the moment. Shifting your gaze from the clusters of shops just outside the school gates, where the popular takoyaki stand beckons memories of post-school visits with your friends, you turn your attention to the person you had already half-expected to be Jungwon.

“You should eat something, even if just a little.” Jungwon places a piece of custard bread, banana milk, and a packet of your favourite gummies on your lap, almost pleading with you to eat.

“You didn’t have to.”

“Not when you look like as if the world is ending tomorrow.” Jungwon jokes, only to cough awkwardly when he realises you didn’t respond to his jokes, even with an eye-roll like you usually would.

“It might as well be. I just know my mother is going to KILL me.” You make sure to emphasise the word ‘kill.’ Because you aren’t wrong; if the world isn’t going to kill you tomorrow, your birth-giver will.

Unbeknownst to you, tears well up in your eyes, threatening to spill over. Witnessing you in such a vulnerable state tugs at Jungwon's heart; the girl he likes is breaking down in front of him and he doesn’t even know what to do. As he battles his inner thoughts, contemplating the best way to console you, he senses you clutching onto the sleeves of his uniform blazer. Pouting and fighting back tears, you say, “I’m going to be okay, right?”

“Yes, crybaby, everything is going to be okay.” You feel him begin to gently stroke your hair down to your neck, rubbing circles into the back of your ears as he makes another crybaby joke in an attempt to cheer you up.

“I’m not a crybaby,” you manage to say between hiccups and sobs, prompting Jungwon to emit a small snicker. The irony strikes you—a few weeks ago, you were in Jay’s garden comforting Jungwon as he held back tears, and now he's here comforting you in your most vulnerable state. The situation doesn’t go unnoticed by Jungwon, as he also recognises the irony of it, judging by the bittersweet way he smiles.

“Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything.” Jungwon holds your cheek and tilts your head to face him, his thumbs swiping away fresh tears staining your cheeks.

“I don’t know… the one thing I’m good at, and I just flunked it-“

“Shh! Believe in yourself because if you don't, then who will? Life’s beautiful, and there's so much more to it than numbers on a piece of paper, Y/N. I hope you see that.”

In that moment, you realise you never really did look at your scores for the papers. Then you realise it wasn’t the scores that had you feeling worthless. Thinking back, you had already forgone looking at your scores a long time ago, as long as you stayed in that number one spot, as long as you didn’t disappoint your mother. You wanted to satisfy her, try to get her to praise you, but as your heartless mother has once said: “Why would I praise something that is supposed to be a given?”

You've spent your entire life routinely studying, evolving yourself into the machine your mother probably wished she had instead of a breathing human child—you.

In the echo of your academic routine, the fear of losing her approval looms larger than the tangible rankings you've held. The relentless pursuit of excellence, though driven by an inner desire for acknowledgment, is entangled in the web of your mother's expectations. So, what scares you isn’t the fact you no longer retained the number one spot; what scares you is disappointing the one person you craved validation from. What were you expecting? Because when the given is taken away from you, will she praise you then?

No. She’ll criticise you, blame your father, blame the documentary, and undoubtedly, she’ll gun after Jungwon. Because nothing is ever really her fault, and you knew sometime along the way that nothing will ever satisfy her, but you still try anyway. You try because you don’t know what else to do other than sticking to the status quo. Until, at least, the documentary featuring Jungwon happened.

What was initially supposed to be a pawn in your masterful plan to build your portfolio for University becomes the very documentary that breaks you out of your shell, as the looming prospect of your mother’s disapproval, like an oppressive cloud, pushes you to strive for success, even when you know it may never be enough for her.

“Eat.” You come back to your senses to find Jungwon has opened the packet of bread and shoved it into your mouth. He then watches you bite into it before he lets go to open the bottle of banana milk, handing them to you between bites of the bread.

Again, Jungwon with his overly friendly gestures that graze the delicate line between friends and something more than that. Jungwon, who once again, manages to empty your mind by babying you and treating you like a princess who needs rescuing.

“You’re confusing me.” The words fly out of your mouth before you even get the chance to rethink

“Doesn’t mean I’m feeding you like a baby that you are actually one.” He teases, and you watch him as he takes a sip out of the banana milk, from the same straw you used. Pushing away the thought that you’ve just indirectly kissed him, you're just glad he didn’t catch onto the intention behind your statement.

“I feel bad that you’re here comforting me, when you should be celebrating having passed a certain Math paper after all that hard work.”

“It was your hard work as much as it was mine, Y/N.” Jungwon takes his thumb, wiping at the corner of your lips where custard from the bread had oozed out and stayed. He then brings it up to his own lips, eating it off his finger. You just indirectly kissed him, again.

Your heartbeat quickens, a symphony of excitement drowning out any lingering worries about exams or your mother. Your mind is a canvas painted with thoughts of Jungwon and his unexpected gestures that got you contemplating the possibility of him being interested in you. Surely, Yang Jungwon isn’t known for being a romantic guy, but once again, you're proven wrong; he is that guy.

This certainty solidifies as he opens the packet of gummies, deliberately picking out the red-coloured ones first, knowing that you ate them in the colour of the rainbow; a subtle detail that shows he pays attention to your preferences.

At first, they were really subtle gestures that made you realise how horribly you have misjudged him. Then came the heartfelt actions, revealing a caring side that made you question if he had always been this way. The tipping point was realising these gestures were exclusively reserved for you, unveiling sides of Jungwon that remained hidden from everyone else. While others perceived him as mundane, cold, and mysterious, you alone saw a different Yang Jungwon.

And when you see the scoreboard, someone else’s name above yours for the very first time, it shocks you to the core that you, in fact, did not care. That the first thing you sought was Jungwon’s rankings on the board, eager to know if your efforts in tutoring him paid off, if he can participate in the competition that has become crucial to him and, by extension, vital to you.

For the first time, someone else's grades mattered more than your own. This epiphany stretches beyond academic priorities, signifying that Jungwon holds a place in your life beyond the confines of friendship; that he is more than just a friend that you make him out to be.

You like him, more than you let yourself on.

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♡。·˚˚· ·˚˚·。♡

authors note: i kept my promise yall 😁😁🤟 and yes yn mom needs a whole ass tw. i’d say we are a good 10 chapters away from the finale and i’m currently considering next projects but we’ll see 👀 also do expect more written chapters, i rlly tried to reduce them as much as possible but it’s so hard to write without going into detail… BUT i’ll defo make it up with super fluffy and sweet chapters 🤭

perm taglist. @hajimelvr @s00buwu @urmomssneakylink @grayscorner @bubblytaetae @mrchweeee @artstaeh @sleeping-demons @yuviqik @junsflow

taglist open! @uuzhanggggggg @jayhoonvroom @missingemobeomgyu @jiawji @ocyeanicc @s7noo @asterizee @nwjws @noascats @yunwonie @saturnmooonxx @enhaz1 @jiaant11 @clairecottenheart @i2lain @miumiuoi @zhounauts @hoey2k @neocockthotology @nanuer @yenqa @ahnneyong @chanhee-hee @yanqiiuver @yujmelon @beomsbeanie @sloobydooburmomjungwon @keiisu @jaeyunniesimp @jiamini @jihanniee @lilriswife4life

[russolover]

can i request 7 + 8 + 6 frm prompt 2 fluff/ other (6) list or 120+74+34+42 from prompt 1 please if thats okay please

Apocalypse

I’ll post your other request in a separate story :) Btw - all the titles for my fics are songs I got inspired by while writing them

Apocalypse - Cigarettes after Sex

6. “I don’t care what they think, to me, you are perfect.” 7. “You’re not going to lose me.” 8.“Hear my heartbeat? Just focus on that.”

Social Media was many things. A platform for people to connect and spread happiness or to update friends and family on your life. But sadly it was also a place where lots of hatred was spread.

You and Alessia have been together for 2 years but only decided to come out to the public a few weeks ago. There were many positive messages and a lot of ship names thrown your way but there was also a certain amount of people who decided being spiteful was their way to go. Especially to the Italian.

You didn’t care about the comments since you didn’t use social media that much but if you came across one you didn’t hold back since you saw what kind of an effect it had on Alessia.

It was one of those lazy Sundays, laying on the sofa, binge-watching some episodes of friends while your girlfriend was sound asleep on top of you. You mindlessly ran your fingers through her silky hair while an occasional sigh was coming from the blonde.

The silence was interrupted by your phone ringing. On the screen you could see it was no other than tooney.

“what’s going on tooney”

You stated rather quietly not to wake your girl up.

“Why is less not picking up”

She asked abruptly.

“She’s asleep but Thank you for asking tooney, I’m fine as well”

You chuckled but quickly stopped when you heard the serious tone of her voice.

“Y/n have you been on Twitter recently”

“what no.. why?”

You started panicking slightly.

“Remember Alex?-

“Alessias ex?”

You interrupted her.

“Yeah, they released some old pictures of when they were together an-

“What the hell?!”

You screamed into the phone, startling the Italian on top of you.

“I’m sorry baby”

You squeezed her thigh as she sat up. Poor thing had no clue what was going on.

“Why are you shouting and who’s on the phone?”

She mumbled as she rubbed her eyes trying to get rid of the tiredness.

You pulled the blonde closer before putting tooney on speaker, knowing what was about to happen. Alessias Ex was a tough subject for you and for alessia. Mainly because they were trying to profit out of your girlfriends name.

Everyone wants to know why the relationship ended- how it began- how fame was changing their relationship- Questions that should never be discussed by the public or random journalists.

Once tooney explained what was going on, you and alessia took a look at Twitter to find the most spiteful and nasty comments you’ve probably experienced until now.

They started calling the Italian a cheater, since her ex didn’t state when those pictures were taken.

“Y/n should’ve never gotten with her”

“Not Russo cheating on the Football God”

“Y/N can do so much better”

You could hear alessias breathing picking up.

“Less?”

Her frown started getting bigger and the tears started rolling down her cheek. You immediately pulled her closer to you, wrapping the blonde up in a big hug.

You were furious at the people calling the most wonderful, loyal and kind hearted girl you’ve ever known those malicious things.

The crying didn’t stop, less was full on sobbing into your chest trying to form sentences.

“Baby I need you to breathe”

You whispered softly into her ear trying to calm her down while still holding her as close as possible. She only shook her head.

“Less.. c‘mon my love”

“Hear my heartbeat? Just focus on that.”

This eventually guided her into slowing her breathing down and stop sobbing. The tears were still flowing though.

“I swear I didn’t chea-

She tried to say but was interrupted by you immediately.

“hey I kno-”

"I don't want to loose you"

She whispered while her breathing started picking up again.

"“You’re not going to lose me.”

You said while cradling her face in your hand trying to rub all of the tears away with your thumbs.

"Less listen to me, you're the most important person in my life and no one is going to ruin that, not those haters and especially not Alex"

"But everyone thinks-

"“I don’t care what they think, to me, you are perfect."

She didn't say anything but the tears slowly stopped and the frown was still prominent on her face. She looked down at the promise ring you gave her for your one year anniversary and started fidgeting with it.

"Come here"

You whispered, pulling her onto your lap.

"You, Alessia Mia Teresa Russo, probably have the biggest heart on this entire planet and for people to take advantage of that is not right. Those people saying mean stuff have no idea what's really going on and they try to make up fucking stories only to spread misinformation. But that's what it is, they're just random people who would never dare to say something to your face, and if they did I would have a talk with them."

A little smile appeared on her face after you finished your last sentence and repeatedly left kisses on her cheeks.

"I love you so much Y/n"

She turned around to face you and planted a sweet kiss on your lips.

"I love you mi vida"

Your heart broke at her tear stained face but you were glad that she was feeling a little bit better.

"How about ordering something from your favourite sushi place and watching Dirty dancing?"

Her blue eyes lit up by the mention of her favourite food and she gave you a proper smile which you immediately returned.

"I thought you hated dirty dancing?"

She raised her eyebrow at you while pulling you closer by your necklace, which only made your need to kiss her grow larger.

"Yeah but I love you, so I have to deal with it"

You chuckled and pressed your lips on hers, instantly relaxing into the comforting taste of her strawberry flavoured chapstick.

[berrypass-de-murdler]

2 - 74 Bordering on Madness and Murder

I'm working on my group pic it's so bad

I hate hate hate when people make gross comments on my drawings that make me look like a perv i don't even wanna draw if people are like this 😭

^ My prediction of MOTLE from a while ago as opposed to what it actually is

DON'T READ THE EPISODES WITHOUT READING THE BOOKS!!

President White leads Irratino to the border in the outlands, where the war resides. To signify the mood, the clouds cover up the sun and a fog lowers down. Irratino’s heart races, and menacing silhouettes linger. The sight of a human shoved head first into a cannon is… so stupid that it kind of kills the mood.

Drakonian natives Sergeant Gunmetal and Governor Lead (in the flesh!) creep forward to corner the G.O.A.T, as well as veterans Admiral Navy and General Coffee. They’ve settled down so much nowadays, it’s hard to believe they were ever in battle.

GUNMETAL: It’s time to die, isn’t it? Trespasser. IRRATINO: No… no! President White led me here… I’m here for Logico! ADMIRAL: Oh… Logico… he’s so cold and alone… COFFEE: That’s quite true, but you see there is also a bit of a problem we must deal with first.  GUNMETAL: If there’s no one to shoot, I have no reason to be here. 

He returns to his guard post. Slowly. 

Irratino approaches a giant damaged wall, used to block enemies (...obviously). 

COFFEE: I wouldn’t go near that wall if I were you! It’s extremely poorly built. It could fall on your head at any second.

Regardless, Navy is trying to jump over it (failing miserably) and smacking it with his sword.

IRRATINO: You really are an admiral? NAVY: Yes… I commanded battleships. I was the only one of my troop who survived… IRRATINO: …OH.

When Gunmetal reaches his post, he sees that he has to traverse stairs, and groans in defeat.

IRRATINO: Uh… need help?

The soldier squeaks and tries to hide behind a cup of coffee!

IRRATINO: …?? GUNMETAL: I… get any closer and I’ll shoot! [waves his arms]

Irratino is endeared by the guy, and sits down in front of him.

GUNMETAL: What do you want! What do you want! IRRATINO: There’s gotta be a way for you to get up those stairs.

He has an idea, but he has to do something dangerous. Luckily, that’s never an issue for Irratino.

So he approaches Governor Lead in his cave. The man is a HUGE bear-like beast, with beefy arms and giant claws, gnawing on bones. Is he a person, or a monster??

But seeing Irratino, he stares. 

LEAD: What… do you want. IRRATINO: I just… need your help. LEAD: I never help people. IRRATINO: …Please? LEAD: Why do you think saying ‘please’ will make me change my mind. IRRATINO: Can you help dig up a lot of dirt? LEAD: …No.

Irratino sighs. There goes that plan. It hurts him, but he has to accept that he can’t help everyone. The person he can help is Logico. He ignites 74 occult candles, filling the air with smoke and making it near-impossible to breathe. And when he slaps the ground, he concludes that the murderer was General Coffee.

COFFEE: We needed to open up a new front in the war, and this man was standing idly nearby. I did what I had to do, but, I’m not going to gloat about it. In fact, here - you can have some official documentation assuring you it was a mistake of the war! Though one, of course, I will not take any kind of responsibility for restituting. After all, you can’t undo a murder!

Irratino just remembered that Coffee was just at that conspiracy convention, and wonders why he’s here on war duty all of a sudden. Maybe it’s just a cover-up.

WHITE: IRRATINO! THIS way.

Irratino stumbles and follows again.

The end!

This episode only happened because tino went the wrong way help

slowly but surely, he is overcoming his issues with distraction and focusing on his real goal!

SEASON FINALE TOMORROW

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[im-out-of-it]

part 5 I think of season 2, episode 8 continued “love is a devil” LEAVE MAGNUS AND ALEC ALONE

66. I think I left off here. I’m pretty sure I did. but here are some of the extra stuff from that scene:

HURT ALEC? THE ONLY ONE CAUSING ALEC PAIN AND ALMOST DEATH IS YOU JACE (Magnus is so pretty here) MAGNUS IS NOT THE ONE SO WATCH THYSELF JACE

67. this was from earlier with Alec:

68. this stuff irritates me but this doesn’t:

69. THIS IS WHAT MAGNUS SHOULD HAVE SAID (not my edit obviously but this is literally how I view this whole scene)

70. HES JUST SO PRETTY

71. I can’t believe Magnus didn’t go off once but mags is too kind and we all know that

72. yes Alec is happier and it has nothing to do with you jace. you’ve never made Alec happy, only caused issues for him

73. well I guess clary and Simon are here

74. I like how Maia is almost the only person not putting up with jace’s shit

75. MAIA IS MOOD

76. I mean, he did kidnap gretel and there was never any amends for that

will start the next part shortly

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 74 Review - A Crazy Family Tree

This episode feels like a major turning point for the story now that so many things have been revealed in terms of Lucius and the Explorers. I don’t know where to start because I enjoyed everything that transpired.

Let’s start at the beginning. I’m glad that Diana has returned! She’s such a fun character, so to have her back is a real treat! I like that she has vital information about Lucius and what not, but decided to have a battle with Liko in order to give it out. I like how she’s behaving like an in-game Pokemon character. In-game NPCs always have important information but at the cost of a battle. The battle between grandmother and granddaughter was great though. Liko really showed off why the third arc was vital in her growth as she managed to defeat an opponent she lost to before. A major factor of Liko’s losses has always been due to type disadvantages. However, she finally defeated an opponent who had the type advantage to her. Though, Diana wasn’t a pushover. Her Arcanine even had Justified as its Ability, which is normally a Hidden Ability for the Growlithe line.

Now for the aftermath of the battle, Diana reveals two important things: the first being that she used to be friends with Hamber years ago and even had a picture of their younger days. They had separated a long time ago, but a year prior to the story, Hamber reached out to her in hopes of funding her adventures, but it was a ploy to get the pendant in her possession. This is when she learned that he’s a part of the Explorers. First off, I wonder how old their Pokemon are because Diana had Arcanine for a very long time as well as Hamber with his Dusknoir, who had been a Dusclops back then. Second, I do wonder about the identity of Hamber. He’s been around for a long time. I do wonder how he came across Gibeon and worked for him. Is he a relative of Amethio’s or is he Lucca’s father, given that Lucca’s hair is a darker shade of black compared to Diana?

The second most important thing revealed in this episode: Lucius was the founder of the Explorers. Back then, there were three people, Lucius, Gibeon and the elusive Rystal who was mentioned in the previous episode. Lucius is a familiar name to all of them. Rystal is a name they just heard of recently. However, Gibeon is still an unfamiliar name to them, except for Liko, who got Friede’s bad habit of not telling important information rubbed onto her. She tells them that Gibeon is Amethio’s grandfather. Diana then tells the group that Exceed has a board chair, the highest position in a company, named Gibeon. This surprises Friede because he never knew there was a board chair; he was only familiar with the director, but knew there was a higher up.

Gibeon and Amethio’s family tree is actually a topic of debate between a friend and me. The reason being that Amethio calls Gibeon ‘Grandfather’, but given how old Gibeon is, I told her that Gibeon could be a great grandfather or a great-great grandfather, but still calls him grandfather. I meant it in a way that Gibeon is still a grandfather no matter how further back in the generation he is. Meanwhile, my friend thinks that he’s just a grandfather and that he just had kids late due to his possible immortality. What do you think about this? Can a grandfather from further back in the generation still be a grandfather? Now that Gibeon’s relation to Exceed is revealed, I do wonder about Director Crave, Friede’s former boss. Is he Amethio’s father? Is he Gibeon’s son? Is he Hamber’s son? What do you think about his possible identity?

Now for Rystal, this is where the group decide to go to the Crystal Pool to try out the legend of meeting the deceased. Did you know that before Rystal’s reveal, people had assumed the woman in the fog, a scene that had been revealed during the reveal of the fourth arc a few months back, was Liko from the future? Crazy, right? I’m glad that theory has been debunked because it was ridiculous. Rystal was Lucius’s wife and Terapagos’s former Trainer; she named it Pagogo. She doesn’t reveal much about herself because she’s confused about meeting these people from the future. However, once she lets her guard down, she does reveal one more important thing: her daughter’s name is Leila, which happens to be the name of Diana’s mother. This means that Rystal is Liko’s great-great grandmother and that Lucius is Liko’s great-great grandfather, an obvious reveal.

From what I’ve seen of Rystal so far, she seems like a kind but fun person but has a bit of a temper, but is also accepting of what is going on around her. Given how she spoke about Lucius and being relieved to see his Pokemon, it’s sort of tells that Rystal had to raise Leila alone. Terapagos wasn’t with her as well. She must have been really lonely without her husband and friends, despite having a daughter. I honestly can’t wait to learn more about her next episode.

It’s pretty crazy to learn so much about Liko’s family history in one episode. I can’t wait for next week’s episode. I am really curious to see the Explorers’ story and how their outcome came to be the way it is in the present. What are your thoughts on everything that was revealed in this episode?

[alichiraku]

When did Iruka become a teacher?

I was making an Iruka timeline and realized we don’t have a clear answer, but rather multiple conflicting ones. So I tried to compile the informations somewhere! Here are some different indications as to when Iruka may have become a teacher at the Academy.

The first basic fact we have is this: Iruka would very probably not have become a teacher before he became a Chūnin, which happened when he was 16 years old (birthday May 26th).

IN THE ANIME/MOVIES :

The Childhood episodes show Iruka teaching Naruto’s generation while they are at a very young age, possibly 5 to 7 (see the “Naruto” and “Shikamaru” episodes). This would make Iruka 15 to 17.

In the movie The Last, Iruka is already a teacher in the Academy flashback. The children in this scene are all 7, making Iruka 17.

In the Rookie Instructor Iruka filler arc, a flashback shows Iruka asking to become an instructor. Kakashi is present in this scene and is already back in the field and in jōnin uniform, meaning this is after he left ANBU, which happened when he was 22-23 years old. Kakashi and Iruka have a 4 years age difference, making Iruka at least 18-19. This is already conflicting with the previous anime appearances.

IN THE MANGA :

There are even less indications in the manga than there are in the anime. At the very least, Iruka was not Sasuke’s first teacher (Sasuke entered the Academy at age 6), although nothing indicates whether he was already a teacher or not.

To me, the only reliable clue is in the flashback of Naruto and Sasuke’s fight at the Academy, supervised by Iruka (which spans over multiple chapters, beginning with Chapter 538 and ending with Chapter 697). The flashback is set post-Uchiha massacre, making the Naruto’s generation at least 7 and Iruka at least 17. I’d say that Naruto’s generation looks around 9-10? (compared to their Naruto Part I selves)

(There is also the fact that in Chapter 1, Iruka seems to have been around for Naruto’s two previous attempts at passing the Genin test, which would suggest he’s been teaching Naruto for at least 2 years. But since that’s already an entire problem in itself -Naruto would be 2 years older than his comrades, unless the exam happens multiple times a year like the Chūnin exam-, I’m not gonna use it.)

IN THE DATABOOKS :

Now okay, this is where I’m gonna sound a little crazy, but I’ve tried to calculate a likely age for Iruka to have become a teacher based on his number of Databook missions. Having become a Chūnin at 16, Iruka couldn’t have done A-rank and B-rank missions before this moment (or only on accident, I guess). Given that he doesn’t take missions during his teacher years (at least up to the Konoha Crush), Iruka’s 74 B-rank and 12 A-rank missions must have mostly been completed in the timeframe between his becoming a Chūnin and his taking up a teaching job. Shikamaru, who we see becoming a Chūnin, completes 9 B-rank and 19 A-rank missions in around 2 and a half years. If we assume A-rank missions take longer to complete (which isn’t at all a given but I’m desperate for clues), this gives Iruka around 3 to 3 and a half years to complete his own total, making him 19-20 when he becomes a teacher. 

CONCLUSIONS :

My personal preference would be for Iruka to have been 19 when he became a teacher at the Academy. The first two anime indications can be easily discarded: the Childhood episodes are simply cute filler episodes to end the anime, and the Last movie has more than one inconsistency. Iruka being 19 allows for the Rookie Instructor arc to be partly canon, as well as the manga indications: the Naruto vs Sasuke flashback would happen only 2 years or less after the Uchiha massacre, and Iruka would have been Naruto’s teacher for a total of 3/3 and half years (enough to have an initially strained relationship, then a more understanding one, and for Naruto’s memories from the Academy to be mainly associated with Iruka). This gives Iruka around 3 years on active duty as a Chūnin before retiring, and thus enough time for his ‘empathy’ for the enemy to become a worrying trend, if we take the Rookie Instructor arc as canon. 

(Also given that Naruto is 18-19 in The Last when he teaches at the Academy, this seems to be not too weird of an age for someone to start teaching.)

So there you have it! Obviously there is still some weird stuff anime-wise ; Iruka progressively becomes more of a Teacher Archetype throughout Naruto’s story, which explains why he’s often put in anime episodes despite being a literal teenager (yeah Konoha is fucked up about age anyway but even them probably don’t want a 15yo with anger issues to teach their knife-yielding middle schoolers).

[cutieghost-artsie]

…..what

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT EPISODE??!!!!!

DAFUQ MY GUY, MY GOOD SIR,

COUNT YOUR DAYS!!!!!

It’s midnight and I’m crying

Skibidi toilet episode 74 spoilers

This episode thrown me in for a damn loop de loop holy shit!!

The new tv character? Elite? Is really cool but kinda cold but that’s to be expected, he’s probably seen a lot and had to do a lot to be that way

Still no speakerwoman, dafuq pleasseee just a glimpse, that’s all I’m asking for

Brownie/simp is still alivveeeee ;-;

So many new charactersssss ooooo new cameraman??? : o!!!!

I love all the different colors of the speakermen, they’re all so cute!!

Awee the one who drove the toilet in the previous episode came backkk

Damn there’s still some humans but holy shit they’re infected???!!

Fnaf jumpscare sound Istfg lol

Oooo gman is up to something!!!!!???!!!

Pfftttt XD Dom reference, ur not slick lol, I see u lol

Ooooo tv base got something to hiddeeeee?????!!! : O

Dayum TTV WAS MADDDDDD

I love the moments between all of the titans in that short time frame

All of the speakermen and T-speak dancing aweeeee, what could possibly go wrongggg

HOLY SHIT THATS DIRTY A COMPLETE AMBUSH

MY BOY, T-CAM MY BOYYY, DAFUQ PLEASE I WAS JOKING WHEN I SAID HE’S MORE LIKELY TO DIE, PLEASE DONT KILL HIM OFF

T-SPEAK SCREAMING NO! AS HE REACHED OUT TO T-CAM SHATTERED MY HEART INTO A MILLION PIECESSSSS

“I CAN’T LOSE YOU BOTH” BRUHHHH THAT MADE ME CRY LIKE STRAIGHT UP WATERWORKS

I CAN IMAGINE HE’S FEELING GUILTY AND UPSET ABOUT T-CAM TOO AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Self sacrificing, heroic mfer I swear, this would most definitely be a way on how he would go out but please let t-cam still be aliveeee tho pleasseeee

I love these titans way too much!

No eep. Only cry!!!!!

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 11/01/2025 (Doechii, Mufasa: The Lion King, Lil Baby/Young Thug/Future)

For a seventh week, Gracie Abrams’ surprisingly consistent “That’s So True” lands at the top of the UK Singles Chart. The mind boggles, but otherwise it’s an average winter week so welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, discussion of sex and therapy

Rundown

Of course, as we’re back to normal on the charts, we actually do start our episode with the notable dropouts, those being songs that exit the UK Top 75 – which is what I cover, check the FAQ – after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid adieu to some heavy-hitters like “Guess” by Charli xcx featuring Billie Eilish on the remix, “BACKBONE” by Chase & Status and Stormzy, “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift, but also “365” by Charli xcx, “Indestructible” by Andy C and Becky Hill, and obviously the very small selection of Christmas songs that held on – you know the ones.

As for what takes their place, we have a few re-entries, firstly a residual gain for Morgan Wallen – more on his new track later – as “Love Somebody” returns to #74, then “Slow it Down” by Benson Boone bumbling back onto the billboards at #72, “squabble up” by Kendrick Lamar at #71, “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan peculiarly propelling as high as #22, then thanks to some TikTok virality, the classic story of an older song gaining memetic status and coming back to the charts, a trend 2024 continued that won’t be leaving us anytime soon. This week, it happens to be a former #1, “La La La” by Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith at #33. A fine song to my ears but nothing too remarkable, it debuted at the top and stayed there for only a week in 2013, but spent many a week on the chart that year and the next anyway, and now it’s back but hopefully not for too long.

In terms of our notable gains, we see plenty of boosts for SZA with “30 for 30” with Kendrick Lamar at #68 and “BMF” at #20 off of the debuts (more on her later as well), as well as Tyler, the Creator with “Sticky” featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne at #57 and “Like Him” featuring Lola Young at #30. Additionally jumping up the charts are “Favourite” by Fontaines D.C. at #65, “Headlock” by Imogen Heap at #44, “Indigo” by Sam Barber featuring Avery Anna at #41, and finally, “PUSH 2 START” by Tyla at #24. This is the week where we really get to see what’s shaping up to be big hits during the winter, and I’m not sure if there’s much to complain about here at all, honestly.

This week’s top five consists of “Who” by Jimin up big to #5, “Sailor Song” by Gigi Perez at #4, “Messy” by Lola Young at #3, “APT.” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars at #2 and of course, Ms. Abrams at the very top. Now, we get to see what our first normal week on the UK chart for 2025 has in store for us.

New Entries

#75 – “Scorsese Baby Daddy” – SZA

Produced by Michael Uzowuru, Tyler Johnson,

Well, naturally, a third song from SZA’s disappointing sequel-turned-reissue LANA has debuted, and I won’t reiterate my more in-depth opinions of the project as a whole from last week, with this being a pretty run-of-the-mill leftover like most of it. The link to acclaimed film director and Shark Tale star Martin Scorsese is not too deep, it’s little more than simply a word used here to describe the drama of her relationship – I’m not too familiar with his films, so there could be subtle parallels I miss but this is a SZA B-side, she’s never been that cryptic as a writer either. The bedroom pop guitars feel oddly dry on this one considering that this is one of those tracks I was talking about when I said that SZA sounds underwater; the vocal mix is legitimately horrendous. I’m not an expert but, come on, she’s really unclear and difficult to make out when she’s not doing incredibly obvious punch-ins that sound like distorted phone recordings. Despite this watery sound, she’s still breathy and loud, overwhelming a very stock indie pop instrumental that should not have taken this many producers. It’s inoffensive, especially in the content and the vaguely pleasant “vibe”, though much of that is disturbed by the uninteresting and shoddy vocal take being so amplified and unavoidable, it’s really frustrating.

#69 – “No One Noticed” – The Marías

Produced by Josh Conway and Gianiuca Buccellati

This is technically one of those cases where I can say that I was “a fan before they were cool”, except not really. Years before California indie pop group The Marías had their breakout with this sleeper hit and its connected album, Submarine, I took the time to check out the group’s 2021 album and thought very little about it. There were a few tracks I liked from this debut and I could tell their Latin- and jazz-influenced brand of indie pop was something smoother and different compared to what was coming out at the time, but I had no idea or suspicion that they would be as big as they currently are, the success they’re enjoying coming as a surprise to me as I’d forgotten about that album entirely, just one of the many non-mainstream records I listened to that year and wouldn’t expect to start a considerable chart run anytime soon.

With that said, “No One Noticed” has been doing well globally since last year, especially in North America, and it's finally found itself in the top 75 in the UK this week. Undoubtedly, much of the appeal of this song is in atmosphere and “vibes”, with this song’s light guitars and weightless drums, as well as an airy vocal from lead singer Maria Zardoya, curating an aquatic track not far from the album’s cover art, it really fits. Lyrically, there is actually little to the song, quite literally in terms of how repetitive it can feel, particularly with that mantra of a bridge, but the spiralling loneliness that this exacerbates just hit pretty effectively when the song functions as much as a drone as that feeling can. There are even moments of swell in the post-chorus that go nowhere once the verse comes back in, with glimmers of hope reverting into a disappointing normality. The allusions to a long-distance relationship also help this song situate itself in between denial and acceptance, with the overlapping vocal takes panning across in that wonderful build-up, leaving “without a trace” as the lyrics entail, then barely cropping back up as a murmur amidst a completer mix, being a subtly suffocating structural idea, it’s really brilliant. The song at just below four minutes is full in itself, but unlike most pop songs with “extended versions” that seem like cheap excuses to release chopped-up TikTok bait as the original or add a pointless intro, this has a nearly five-minute version in both English and Zardoya’s native Spanish that add to the circling progression of the track, with the additional outro verse being filtered amidst the song’s closing trail of ambiance. It could seem unnecessary or tedious, but that’s what her devotion to this relationship has turned into, and it stings. It’s definitely not the kind of song I’d typically hope to get big, but it seems like a running theme of this year may be that I adore slow ballads popping up from lesser-known artists more and more… or at least I hope it’s a running theme, these are great songs.

#52 – “Smile” – Morgan Wallen

Produced by Charlie Handsome

Morgan Wallen releases yet another loose single that will end up featuring on the next 30-song album he puts out, it’s a familiar tale, and I’m somewhat impressed by how he and his fanbase have mastered an exceedingly lengthy rollout in the streaming era. The songs I tend to be much less impressed with, however, though as long as he sticks to his familiar country and doesn’t do another embarrassing crossover like his last single “Love Somebody”, it should be inoffensive enough. Given Mr. Handsome is on production, that does not seem probable, though in this case, it’s not awful – those harmonies in the main vocal loop, especially when they end up pitch-shifted later on, remind me of Bon Iver and Justin Vernon’s frailer, minimal touches, and Morgan Wallen actually commits to the subtlety here… as much as he can, at least! The lack of drums and the reverbed, echoing mix with twangy guitars, Wallen’s softer falsetto in the chorus, it all captures the idea of  “pretty little moments” that he finds with his partner amidst a struggling period in their relationship, and discovering genuine solace in the fact that at least he saw her smile, regardless of why she did so, whether it was real, it just makes him happy. He knows the relationship has gotten to a stale numbness that he doesn’t excite her, but seeing her have fun at the bar doesn’t jolt energy into Mr. Wallen here, it just means he can smile back. For once in his career, it appears that Morgan Wallen of all people has chosen mature acceptance of a relationship’s imperfections as the way to go. It’s an empty, temporal song that took quite a bit of a risk in its production by stripping so many elements but once again, the slow ballad wins me over. It’s the little things in life, and one of them is being pleasantly surprised by a Morgan Wallen and Charlie Handsome song. Hey, it’s a sweet track, leave me alone.

#48 – “Constellations” – Jade LeMac

Produced by Jason “JVP” Van Poederooyen

A debut single from an artist relatively unknown prior debuting at #48 would be more of a shock if this weren’t originally released back in 2021. This is the official debut of Vancouver singer-songwriter Jade LeMac, part of the crop of young, TikTok-famous songwriters in the wake of Olivia Rodrigo that will have a viral breakout hit, it just happens that this came over four years late, at least onto the mainstream charts. LeMac provided vocals on Monstercat dance tracks when she was only 14, so she has been active in the industry for longer than you might expect, though that does not necessarily mean her debut single will chalk up to much, especially in 2025, now that she’s two full-length albums in, and none of those records have made much noise – it’d irritate me if I was an artist actively promoting new music. This should especially bother Ms. LeMac over here, whose 2021 single charting in 2025 sounds like snap-beat, murky alt-pop from 2017, with a typical vocal you’d expect from that era, perhaps with better enunciation but much less character, it’s not even got the smoky rasp texture of, say, a Lorde, which is a big issue for me because this is a sex song, a drunk sex song at that. There should be more intimacy, but if we want to go for one of those drearier, miserable alt-R&B sex songs, there should be either more in the lyrics to aim for that or less of a Eurovision sheen to the production. The lyrics emphasise alcohol and constant physical touch, so why does this sound so cold and packaged? If she’s going to sing about the smell of her partner’s body after they left, I would expect the song to at least try and sound that gross and sweaty, but no, it sounds like Daya. Do you remember Daya? We don’t need to remember Daya. Skip this.

#46 – “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber” – Lil Baby, Young Thug and Future

Produced by Wheezy and Juke Wong

You don’t say. Well, Young Thug’s returned from his stint in jail thanks to a heavily negotiated deal that brings more asterisks than a censored transcription of his lyrics to the technically true statement “Young Thug is free”. Similarly, Lil Baby has returned from his hiatus, and by hiatus, I mean that he’s been consistently dropping mediocre singles that have not moved the needle in any regard and a full album release with big name features – Travis Scott and GloRilla are also on this record, to name a few – has successfully made people pay a bit more attention, even if the “comeback” has served similarly middling results to everything he’s shovelled out since My Turn. In fact, this newest record – WHAM – has landed at #12 on the albums chart despite being his most questionable release yet. Hell, I’ll go as far as to say that this is slop he could have pushed out with little effort or time, and the framing of a comeback is carrying its performance heavily, alongside star power and some Gunna sneak diss on the bonus tracks. There’s nothing in WHAM you can’t get anywhere else in trap and usually a lot better, with these cheap, thrown-together beats and some of the thinnest, stilted vocals in mainstream rap, he’s really lost whatever flow or grit he had for the vast majority of the runtime. Thankfully, this song is sort of an exception.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not close to being good – sure, there’s an anthemic beat that could be made out of those crushed, sirening synths and crowd-igniting intensity in the loops, but given it’s a Wheezy beat, the bass and percussion drowns out a lot and becomes a tad monotonous of a loop. Similarly, Young Thug comes with some first-days-out energy but the flow is very simple and so constant throughout all the rappers – I get going for the theme, but it is exhausting when all three went for the same inflection, and you can actually track in real-time the flow improving as we get “dum, dumb and dumber” – allegedly, because in reality, the progression from Lil Baby’s sloppy mumbling to Young Thug showing more restraint than you’d expect to Future running away with the track because this production sounds made for him and his MIXTAPE PLUTO project… I think we may actually be getting smarter and more confident as it goes on, which does help this not become as mind-numbing as, say, “Type Shit” with Future, Playboi Carti and Travis Scott, though the lyrical content is about as substanceless. Also, Lil Baby is supposed to be saying the name of his album, but it does just sound like he is going “wah”, like an actual little baby. Don’t call it a comeback, he’s been trash for years.

#42 – “I Always Wanted a Brother” – Braelyn Rankins, Theo Somolu, Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Produced by Mark Mancina and Lin-Manuel Miranda

I was completely out of the loop on this release, but Disney has been – with surprising success at being completely avoidable – shovelling out even more charmless live-action or photorealistic CGI versions of their animated classics, that have been increasingly a non-presence since they started in the 2010s. This is actually from a successor to their 2019 version of The Lion King that I heard, well, nothing but bitching about, and in the case of 2024’s Mustafa: The Lion King, I missed even the mudslinging, what Wikipedia and Metacritic will call “mixed reviews”. It’s commercially successful enough regardless, and we have a new song from the cast, interestingly none of the big names starring like Beyoncé or Donald Glover on this one, debuting on the charts. I’ve said many a time on this blog that I’m personally not the biggest Disney fan outside of the Muppets, but The Lion King in its original 1994 animated version is pretty undeniable, already full of catchy and culturally-ingrained musical numbers like “Hakuna Matata” and “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”. This is not that. It is written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, which means it’s dead on arrival, and at least does commit to some of the conceits of the original soundtrack, the group vocals remind me of those classic songs, but I’m sorry, I’m completely not on board with the basic writing that fall into predictable clichés, the child actors’ cloying deliveries and the display through the instrumental still being slightly Latin-flavoured that Mr. Miranda is quite limited in these types of introductory songs. I can’t even say that I’m missing narrative context here because if I were to watch the film, the meaning of this one is drilled so much into the ground that I’d be lamenting the lack of a “skip entire scene” feature like DVDs used to have. If the clips of this film’s generic-looking lions are reflective of the overall quality, then this song may be the least soulless thing about it – you can tell the actors are sometimes trying and having at least some degree of fun with it – but also, it prompts me to imagine this coming out of those photorealistic lion mouths and that’s frankly hilarious. It’s fruitless asking Disney to try harder so I’ll conclude by saying that this won’t become a thing outside of brief virality and I’m thankful it won’t. If Mufasa ends up a massive cultural phenomenon, then I’m Nostradamus and also, I quit this show.

#39 – “DENIAL IS A RIVER” – Doechii

Produced by IanJames, Joey Hamhock and Banser

Speaking of being out of the loop, I still have not caught up to Doechii and her big mixtape last year, Alligator Bites Never Heal, which has crept up on the public over the months since its release thanks to several performances going viral on social media like the NFR Tiny Desk set and now a music video parodying old sitcoms with several special guest stars from her label TDE and outside of it – ScHoolboy Q, Teezo Touchdown, even rapper-comedian and all-time Tweeter Zack Fox, all make appearances. That may have been the last boost this song needed to rocket all the way up to the top 40 and finally force me to pay more attention past the pop single “What it Is (Block Boy)” a while back and some features I thought were energetic yet never fully convinced me to dive into her body of work. It may not go that far but it does intrigue me because for a second top 40 hit, this is surprisingly dense.

“DENIAL IS A RIVER” eschews a chorus in exchange for skits wherein Doechii talks to a therapist and tracks her life to catch them – and the listener – up with her life, expressing her theatrical sense of humour in the process and acting as a pretty great introduction = or reintroduction – to Doechii as a result thanks to the song explicitly being about self-exploration, some verses acting as a bit of a confessional and trauma dump towards the end where she discusses her drug addiction. Even then, the escalation of the content is relatively lighthearted, with the goofy therapist voice, perky East Coast boom bap beat, and how the first verse is a mundane verse about her ex being gay. Honestly, the song is much more conceptually than it works in practice, as Doechii I find is actually lacking in wordplay that’s lasting or effective, with what should be wham lines coming off as deflated, especially considering the lack of development in that instrumental. It’s a shame because there is a lot to this that I appreciate, but the actual execution of those ideas lacks in selling them – sure, she picks up the aggression in her voice towards the end of the final verse to show her feeling “loopy” but it’s still straightforward and honest lyrically with unimpressive punchlines, and the beat refuses to reflect that spiral by changing at all. The outro where her breathing exercise sounds like a Slick Rick beatbox solo is an incredible idea, and I wish the song gave more time and effort to genuinely adventurous and experimental ideas like that. It may lose some authenticity in doing so but theatricality is already so prominent in this song that it wouldn’t make for much of a difference tonally. It is still surprisingly dense and inaccessible for her second hit in comparison to the pop songs surrounding it, yet it’s not enough to interest me when I can think of ways in which this can be expanded on to great effect, with a guy like Tyler, the Creator who she’s worked with, or even SZA at her most unhinged too, being examples of where to look for that in popular rap and R&B. Basically, she’s already committed to the bit so hard, let’s go even further next time.

Conclusion

Best of the Week nearly went to Morgan Wallen, what has come over me? Seriously, he gets the Honourable Mention for “Smile” but The Marías pretty handedly take the best with “No One Noticed”, both slower reflections in a week full of, frankly, disposable shit excluding those and Doechii. That means Worst of the Week goes to Simba the lion or whoever the fuck, with a Dishonourable Mention to “Constellations” by Jade LeMac. The SZA and Lil Baby songs mostly get away with just being lazy, not outright bad. Let’s hope for better weeks for the rest of 2025, but for now, thank you for reading, hakuna matata, and I’ll see you next time!

[williamsockner]

Urban Fantasy Bingo

1. Main character dates a serial killer but the show thinks he’s just a complicated bad boy 2. Codependent siblings 3. Rampant unintended homosexual tension 4. Incest 5. Creepy dolls 6. Exploitative shots of dead teenage girl’s corpse 7. Narrative unsympathetic when bitchy teenage girls gets murdered 8. Parent or significant other in law enforcement 9. Shady big pharma 10. Ugly and/or disabled girl with no personality flaws 11. Amnesia 12. Black best friend (bonus points if gay) 13. Love interest with no personality besides fucking and sports 14. Love interest with no personality besides being embroiled in supernatural bullshit 15. Someone dies during sex 16. Main character commits rape but narrative refuses to acknowledge it as anything but angsty manpain behavior 17. Randomly excellent episode in an otherwise lackluster show 18. Writer’s room fetishist on display 19. Bodyswap/bodysnatch/shapeshift/possession 20. Everyone cares about the blood feud 21. Hundred-year-old urban legends or local history shockingly relevant to small town youths 22. Narrative clumsily attempts to make serial killer sympathetic 23. “the ugly one” played by a hollywood ten 24. Mortal threat to a character’s life during a sports game 25. Murder at prom 26. Super special chosen one and/or ancient prophecy 27. Writers convinced that remorse is the same as redemption 28. Love triangle 29. Snarky put-downs towards clear sources of inspiration 30. Love interests swap because the bad boy character was too interesting to the audience 31. Musical episode 32. Fictional classic monster actually existed in-universe 33. Character witnesses an alternate timeline where they didn’t exist and/or died 34. Character comes back as a ghost but gets no speaking lines so the show could save on the acting fee 35. Evil twin 36. Reincarnated true love 37. Super sexy high femme who’s actually 200 years old 38. Manic monster dream girl 39. Weird hybrids 40. Masquerade ball 41. Characters in class receive a lecture on a topic relevant to the episode 42. Flashback episode 43. Villain has a weird kink 44. Illegitimate lovechild 45. Abusive parent has a favorite child 46. Someone cuts their palm for a blood sacrifice 47. Someone sacrifices a pet for an evil ritual 48. Black witches have more power 49. Scene at the morgue 50. Teenage alcoholism 51. Regular alcoholism 52. Visible manifestations of someone’s guilt and/or plot exposition in the form of dead loved ones 53. Dead perfect significant other 54. Characters get caught doing something and give transparently fake names of celebrities or pop culture references 55. Musical sequence that exists only to show that an actor can dance, sing or play an instrument 56. CPR brings someone back to life and doesn’t break any ribs 57. Character discovers secret power at last second before they almost die 58. Secret society has a ritual to decide who is the head honcho monster 59. Incongruous musical choice 60. Someone has a dark side/evil blood/a prophecy that they’ll go evil 61. Someone turns into a violent sociopath because they lose their soul and/or humanity 62. Somebody bleeds out the eyes or mouth, or has a nosebleed that someone else has to call attention to 63. Significant other hunts what you are 64. Halloween episode 65. “You tried to kill me and that takes grit, I’m proud of you” 66. “There’s nothing on the other side when you die” especially if we know ghosts exist 67. Inconsistent ghost rules 68. The enemy of my bigger enemy 69. Head in a box 70. Cold opening of teenagers getting eaten because of a dare, bonus points for haunted house 71. Racist one-off criminal encounter 72. “Cool costume, bro” to an actual monster 73. Halloween costumes significant to role character plays in the story 74. Wise mentor figure with colorful past and parental affection towards protagonist 75. The one normal guy who keeps getting pulled into bullshit 76. Everybody in the cast dates each other as the writer’s room tries to figure out what the fans want 77. Immortal character put in a box 78. Non-human has to pass as human…badly 79. Ancient character has to adjust to modern day 80. Random regular human with an axe to grind 81. Bait and switch big bad at the end of the story, turns out to actually be a main cast member having a meltdown after taking out villain 82. Head of the secret council actually an evil puppet master 83. Police scanner 84. Debilititis 85. People randomly discovering superpowers around puberty 86. Character that main character hates for no good reason turns out to be evil all along 87. Plot-relevant celestial event 88. Someone telekinetically forces people to turn their guns on each other or themselves 89. Badly-pronounced French 90. The apocalypse originates in this small podunk-ass town 91. Unreasonable hometown pride 92. Latin as the mother tongue of magic 93. Local police covering up for high monster murder rate 94. Single parent is overworked medical practitioner 95. Guardian is not yet ready for this level of responsibility 96. Someone turned out to have a child they didn’t know about 97. Weird pregnancy (bonus if no sex actually happened) 98. Someone’s kid gets aged up to skip working with a child actor 99. Somebody sends their child “away” to keep them from getting embroiled in the bullshit and then they get embroiled in the bullshit anyway 100. Descendants of an immortal 101. Resurrection with no consequences 102. Resurrection or healing with consequences will haunt the protagonist 103. Protagonist has at least one dead parent 104. A friend of the main cast dies in the pilot 105. Candlelight vigil for a high school student 106. Fucked up mother-son dynamics 107. Daddy issues 108. “Fear makes the meat taste better” and/or “I like to watch them scream” 109. Souls get sold and/or girls get married to Satan 110. Deal with the devil turns you into a ticking time bomb 111. “you worded your wish wrong” 112. Alternate reality without magic 113. Real-world religions or spiritual practices treated as monsters of the week 114. All myths contain a grain of truth 115. Someone attacks a wedding 116. Mundane who really wants to be a monster 117. Redhead 118. Feral child raised by wolves 119. Bitchy cheerleader 120. Characters go undercover at a school 121. Mental institution episode 122. Protagonist framed for murder 123. Cold open of dog-walker getting eaten while dog runs away 124. Show starts off with missing or murdered girl 125. Animal motif or animal companion 126. Non-human but non-animal sidekick 127. “The council sent me to give you exposition” 128. Secret society of hunters 129. The Corporation 130. Death by bees 131. Jumpscare 132. Douchebro thinks he’s getting seduced but is actually about to get eaten 133. Siblings have pronounced disagreements over how to feel about their absentee parent 134. Deep South 135. Magic can solve everything except cancer 136. Beautiful sprawling mansion 137. Musical sequence intercutting one couple having sex and someone else dying or doing something else dramatic 138. Safehouse and/or bunker 139. “s/he was just trying to protect you” used as a justification for abjectly abusive parenting 140. Family with oodles of generational wealth 141. Groundhog Day Episode 142. Random skull in dark place 143. Someone punches a mirror 144. Black blood 145. Weird eye color signifies supernatural status 146. Wicker Man episode 147. Pagan gods 148. Faith healer 149. Couple going on a date gets eaten 150. Someone gets murdered in a church 151. Villain boasts that “maybe that works on wimpy monsters, but not me” 152. Chasing the murderer through a house of mirrors 153. Diner 154. Episode titles named after songs or famous books 155. Supernatural war 156. Getting out of a Faustian bargain 157. Someone wakes up tied to a chair at an insane dinner party full of corpses

[mattievictoria]

I’ve been working on improving my design skills and I am so honored to have been commissioned by Ghost Furnace Podcast to design a logo for a sticker! Thank you so much burndar for this opportunity, it was not only fun but helped me improve my design skills!

-

A little bit about Ghost Furnace and some episode recommendations: The Ghost Furnace Podcast is a paranormal podcast based in Pennsylvania (hence the Keystone in the logo! I’m a Californian who’s never been to PA, so I also learned a bit while working on this!) A few episodes that I recommend are Ep. 35 - Mile 127, Ep. 45 - The Black Cross, and Eps. 55 and 74 with PA author and folklorist Thomas White!

[blue-dream-rhapsody]

Spoilers for the end of the TYBW manga! If you’re only watching the anime, this will be in like the last two episodes of the whole show, so look away!

This is gonna sound like me being biased again (and I definitely am, don’t get me wrong) but I think I have a universally true argument here.

Renji was a weird choice to have go with Ichigo to the last clash with Yhwach.

To be clear, I’m very fond of Renji. I also think the conversation he and Ichigo have on their way there was a fantastic moment in their friendship, and want to keep it intact as much as possible. It’s just that, when I think of the magnitude of this particular moment, the literal last battle at the end of the series, it just feels odd for Renji of all his friends to have this pretty prominent spot.

Who is Ichigo teaming up with here? Aizen, the major antagonist for basically half the series. Uryu, the enemy-turned-friendly rival-turned-fake enemy-turned-genuine ally just acting as an infiltrator all along because he’s got roots in this battle. And… Renji. The Guy.

Like seriously, I’m trying to pinpoint exactly what narrative function Renji’s presence here serves, and for every one I can find, there’s just someone who does a better job? Like, okay, say he’s serving as the presence of a Soul Reaper. Except Rukia would also do that, down to the rank they have, and given her meeting Ichigo is how the series began, it would additionally be a natural bookend for her to be fighting alongside him at the end. (And obviously I am deliberately ignoring bullshit like power levels or whatever, because of the four in this alliance Ichigo’s ridealong contributes little more than a distraction while Aizen tanks the damage, Uryu fires the arrow, and Ichigo makes the cut.)

Rukia is also the member of his friend group Ichigo probably interacts with the least in this whole arc who isn’t Uryu Away For Plot Reasons Ishida (or maybe Chad, who I’ll talk about in a moment too), whereas he and Renji go through a chunk of the Royal Palace stuff together. So it seems like that final battle would be the chance to actually give her a meaningful interaction with him as, again, a mirror to the start of the series.

(Disclaimer: I don’t mean this in a shipping sense in any way, shape, or form, though you can certainly take it as you like. That’s not the only way their bond can be relevant, though. My point is simply that Rukia has more narrative importance to Bleach itself than Renji does, compared to how little time she spends interacting with the series’ protagonist in the final arc compared to him.)

So as far as all of that stuff is concerned, Rukia carries more weight, but let’s say Renji was chosen as Ichigo’s closest guy friend or something along those lines. Um. Chad??? My beloved Yasutora Sado??? Like of course Kubo seems allergic to giving Chad anything significant to do at any point past his introduction, but come on! He’s supposed to be Ichigo’s best friend! Again, I’m ignoring power levels. Maybe the combination of Aizen and Yhwach’s presence would’ve been too much for him to withstand given Fullbringer scale, but I still think he’d make more narrative sense than Renji, and that should be what matters more.

Friendly rival? Well that’s Uryu who is already there, and has a way larger stake in this than anyone in Ichigo’s friend group regardless. Less that he doesn’t meet the criteria if we can’t count Uryu, choosing Renji for this reason would just be doubling down on the same thing.

You could also argue Orihime should’ve been the one, as the one Ichigo eventually ends up with (although she at least was with him at the fight just before this, so it being someone else this time doesn’t bother me). And Renji is just, not that!

Renji goes with Ichigo because it’s in character for him, and I don’t disagree with that by any means. But this is the conclusion of the entire 74-volume narrative and I’m struggling to explain why he specifically is the one chosen by Kubo to be a part of this battle if anyone had to be at all. It’s like he went out of his way to choose the least impactful character possible to fulfill this role.

So okay, Kubo, I can play hardball. You want somebody who isn’t Rukia, Chad, or Orihime? I can do that. I’ll even give you someone who’s already right there so you don’t have to make them come running up at the last moment!

You know who should’ve gone with Ichigo to that very last confrontation? Kugo Ginjo, obviously!

Don’t leave, hold on, let me explain myself.

First is the kind of obvious thing, which is that while it was on a smaller scale than they were, Ginjo was an arc villain just as much as Aizen and Yhwach were. He’s the mastermind and the climactic battle of The Lost Agent. So wouldn’t it be fun if Ichigo had the help of the first two arc villains in defeating the third?

The quartet of Ichigo, Kugo, Aizen, and Yhwach is also interesting because they all have connections to the Reio in some form, being either candidates for the role inherently, or having attempted to become or usurp him. There’s really no one else who approaches this (barring Urahara, for the hogyoku).

But wait, you may be saying, why would Ginjo fight on the side of Shinigami if his whole thing is that he hates them? To which I say—he wouldn’t! But I think he would be willing to fight to help Ichigo. Maybe not for everything ever, but maybe for the time where if Ichigo loses, everything will very clearly fall apart, including for the people he obviously still cares about in Xcution. (Also, does he know about Soul King stuff at this point, including that the both of them are candidates to replace it? Preventing that being necessary for both their sakes might be good.)

Not to mention, this would be the first time Ichigo and Kugo can fight together consciously as Deputies. It would give us a more concrete picture of how they feel about one another now that the Lost Agent conflict is over, seeing as this gets very little resolution on either side—and give Ichigo back what it was that Kugo had almost given him during that arc, a “big brother” figure he can rely on in a desperate situation, instead of having to be that figure himself.

Plus… fixing Ichigo’s sword was really kind of just Tsukishima’s repayment, wasn’t it? Ginjo shows up and says four lines, (and probably a fifth on the way there that was “Tsukishima do the thing”) and that’s what exactly? Is that supposed to make up for the extremely personal betrayal? Is that a sufficient expression of gratitude for the respect of taking his body back from the Court Guards’ grasp? He still had to say something about paying Ichigo back because debt’s about all the obligation Tsukishima would ever respond to, but what’s his contribution other than holding that “leash”?

Also for the three of them being revealed alive like a hundred chapters ago, that sure is a whole lot of no payoff. Like for Tsukishima it’s great payoff, but for Ginjo? What was the point of the training they all did with Ganju? Was it really about Ganju getting stronger? And we never got an answer why Kukaku took them in in the first place, could that really have just been chance?

If I want to put on my conspiracy cap—I half suspect Ginjo was meant to go from the time of their reappearance, and more of his backstory was supposed to come to light/he was supposed to get some additional development. But as Kubo’s health deteriorated and he got toward the home stretch, just like it would’ve been difficult to give Rukia the proper due if she’d gone, it became too much for him to do Ginjo justice, or maybe to set up for his role in CFYOW, so he decided to not do it altogether, rather than half-ass it. (This is what I tell myself, anyway). He already has a completely justifiable reason to show up at the last minute with the need for Tsukishima’s ability. He’s been training, supposedly. He owes Ichigo something and acknowledges it. He’s thematically fitting, he’s been absent for so much time after being teased, we know he was doing something because he went looking for Ukitake, it really just makes too much sense.

I doubt Kubo is planning any out-and-out rewrites of anything significant as the anime proceeds, but if he were to tweak the ending at all, I certainly think this would be reasonable.

Anyway, we’ll see what part 2 brings. CFYOW content is getting teased for sure, so who knows what’s in store!

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

“ the amount of times 39/40 year old john spent going Im Just An Old Calm Guy Now :) Who Would Ever Want To Be Twenty Again? This Is Good :) I’m Having A Good Time” Have you not heard fake it til you make it? 🥲 On a serious note I know people usually tend to fall on extremes ends of the spectrum with John’s state of being in 1980 (not you just in general); we either hear how he was absolutely miserable or had finally come out the other side happy and hopeful. Of course people aren’t linear so obviously it was never just one thing but if anything I think John’s Bermuda trip was a very hopeful indicator that John was capable of taking the plunge and of eventually moving on to a new chapter of his life where he exercised more self agency. He was so optimistic about his 40’s that I want to believe it indeed would have gotten better. Honestly I don’t think he and Yoko would have ever gotten divorced but I think their marriage would have only continued to evolve into something quite different than what it was in the beginning. I’m thinking of those marriages that are all but ‘officially’ open where they take intermittent breaks with other partners before they come back together again and so on. It already kind of seemed they were on that road by 1980 anyway and while May Pang’s account of John being anguished that a marriage could be “incomplete” aka monogamous, that was in 74 and despite Double Fantasy pushing that image of a reconciled marriage, that’s only a work of art and real life is something else. I love rpf btw lmao so if John ‘had love in his voice when he was angry’ but is now giving his ‘window smile’ this reminds me of an emotionally checked out John kind of reminiscent of how Cynthia described John being pleasant to her face but distant near the very end, and John being kind in Get Back but vacillating between engaging and sitting back.

just to be clear, when I said John reiterating he was happy and looking forward to the future was illegal, I was not calling him out for overcompensating (which he might have been) but pointing out that the amount of tragically ironic things he said just before he was killed is a bit unbearable to me lmao.

To me, John's state by 1980 is a bit of a mystery. My feeling is similar to yours: I think he was sincerely feeling good about the future – the fact he was creating music again, being productive after years of very little output, is indicator enough for me. I particularly agree with you that the Bermuda trip specifically seems to have been a turning point or would have been :(. What's much more opaque is how exactly he was doing between '75 and summer '80. I tend to feel he was relieved to have achieved relative normality – his life was clearly still Wild™, but he emphasized that he was able to just walk around outside undisturbed, which must've been a huge weight off his shoulders – and also still struggling massively with depressive episodes and addiction. It definitely seems like Yoko took on an extremely controlling role in his life, which I don't entirely blame her for because I think John was uniquely difficult to deal with in any other way (as Cynthia's approach to him kind of shows). I don't really think JohnandYoko were a healthy couple, but I do think their decade-long proximity alone was enough to make them both incredibly fond of each other, even after their initial honeymoon phase crashed and burned. Whether they would have ended up separating or, as you suggest, become extremely "pragmatic" about the boundaries of their marriage, is hard for me to say. John and Yoko were together not much longer than John was with Cyn (and if you subtract the Lost Weekend it becomes nearly identical) so I'm not sure you could for sure say they had passed some threshold where it would be "too much effort" for them to divorce – that being said, John was definitely more likely to make brash decisions at 27 than at 40+ and there were more sunk costs involved in his relationship with Yoko that would make admitting to his marriage to her being a mistake more difficult for him. (and, I do think John would find it very difficult to separate from anyone without initially deciding that it was all bad – that seems to be how his brain worked. But perhaps he had matured past that attitude)

Double Fantasy is so odd to me – the marketing and reception of it is so incongruent with a lot of the actual content. As you say, art isn't real life, but after listening to it a few times, I find it hard not to think John and Yoko didn't at least have a close-call, where they were on the verge of divorce. Or, if they didn't, it's wild to me they placed I'm Losing You and I'm Moving On on their tracklist in that way, because that's what those two songs together sound like. (though I guess, perhaps it was actually representing the Lost Weekend to them? though I'd count that period as a close-call lol)

Either way, the main reason I'm perhaps more optimistic about John in 1980 than some is he... Just seems by then to have become pretty self-aware. He hadn't resolved his mental issues but he understood them reasonably well, could describe them. And I think a lot of his issues – mostly extreme emotions – are things that tend to naturally settle down as you reach middle age, even when you don't get help. The depression was probably still a major issue, but the fact he was keeping busy when he died is definitely a promising start for dealing with that.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Monday, June 10

JONATHAN: (incredulous) You're checking for implants? ANDREW: (defensive) Lex Luthor had a false epidermis escape kit in "Superman Versus the Amazing Spider-Man" Treasury edition- JONATHAN: Okay, first of all, those were sonic disrupters. And second of all ... you are sadness personified. Waiting for Warren? Yeah, maybe he'll come bust us out of here on Santa's magic sleigh. ANDREW: (stands up angrily) I'm telling him you said that. JONATHAN: Why wait? I'll tell him right now. Jonathan grabs Andrew's elbow and holds it up to his own face. JONATHAN: Hey, Warren, do you read me, your girlfriend's pathetic, over.

~~Two to Go~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Escape From Mosaic (gen, not rated) by eevol76vamp

Girls Night Out (gen, not rated) by eevol76vamp

Lindsey's Last Song (gen, not rated) by eevol76vamp

Old Enough (Buffy/Spike, G) by sandy_s

Finding a Sense of Direction (Drusilla/Faith, not rated) by rhodrymavelyne

Night Swimming (Buffy/Spike, R) by Geliot99

[Chaptered Fiction]

Incarnate Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Sigyn

Rebehold the Stars (Love from the Other Side of the Apocalypse) Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Asokatanos

East of Nevada Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Blissymbolics

Morning Stretches Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by CheekyKitten

The Boyfriend Swap Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Maxine Eden

The Devil's Trill Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Murray

The Witch's Gift Chapter 36 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by RavenLove12

Blood and Fame Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Desicat

Bruises Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, adult only) by hulettwyo

Love Lives Here Chapter 74 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Passion4Spike

[Images, Audio & Video]

Podcast:Pride, Prejudice and Buffy (Buffy and the Art of Story Podcast) by lisalilly

Podcast:Episode 31 - Fly Kids and Eye Stalks (Killed by Death) by thesunnydalediaries

Art:Who’s this billy idol looking loser by bugaboooooooooo

[Reviews]

war and peaches' buffyverse compendium by war and peaches

[Fandom Discussions]

Spike wasn’t a Good Vampire by virtue of just being that way by buffy-targaryen

One of the funniest jokes in the Buffy episode “Once More With Feeling” by jq37

Why Spike picked Sunnydale by nicnacsnonsense

Angel's most heroic act by The Whirlwind

Rewatch thoughts and questions continued by multiple posters

Is Riley more misogynistic than other characters? continued by multiple posters

What If: Buffy lived with Hank instead? by nightshade

Were the slayers a good idea? by TheXandyman

In what stances was a character screwed by the narrative? by brwitch

On your first time watching The Zeppo did you think they would do something with Xander and Faith? by LightBlueSky55

Thoughts on Willow's character during her recovery from abusing magics in the mid half of season six by jdpm1991

Which Scooby gang member had the best levels in "Chaos Bleeds"? by jdpm1991

Spike and Andrew were both integrated into the Scooby Gang the same way by rednax2009

the ascension by brian5mbv

Watching Angel for the first time, this scene made me shocked by brwitch

I think killing Angel influenced Buffy's decision to sacrifice herself in "The Gift" by Whedonite144

The Mayor and his bs by Pookienini

"Come in here, take everything that I have... You did it before. Did you tell them that?" by jogaforacont

Am I wrong for thinking Angel hooking up with Darla was hot in 2x15? by rites0fpassage

What are some moments that you were incredibly frustrated or disappointed with Cordelia? by PristineSituation498

Which if any characters grew on you the most when you revisited the series? by Whedonite144

What is everyone’s funniest episode? by queenrosybee

Unexplainable vibes? by mymacaronibirthmark

Although Faith was always jealous she did seem to like Buffy a lot in season 3 by IntelligentPumpkin74

Is BTVS Angel a little overhated? by debujandobirds

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

[berrypass-de-murdler]

74. UFO, What'd You Know?

Mecore

DON'T READ THE EPISODES UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED THE FIRST BOOK!!

They were FINALLY going to the ruins, but now Logico found another body that he has to take care of at the UFO place! UGH!!!

LOGICO: Go to the ruins and STAY THERE THIS TIME!!! SHADOW: All right, fine, you little boss monster.

‘Boss monster’? Anyway, Celadon, Onyx, and Seashell light the way, along with a fourth passenger.

UMBER: My name is Sociologist Umba. I am learning to read lots of books.

She’s waaaaay too precious for Logi to be scared of her anymore. Inves Time.

ONYX: I’m… part of a new cult. I’m sorry…  LOGICO: Who isn’t at this point, seriously. Oh my god Umber what are you doing. UMBER: I am learning a new thing called witchcraft! The pot looks pretty when I put gross things into it. Or when I sing a song! Zub dre wil bur god tay zee nurr- LOGICO: OKAY, okay, all right. SEASHELL: I wonder what this does? [smaccs the body with a magic wand] LOGICO: So you did it. SEASHELL: Well, my theories show that aliens can be contacted by these selenite wands, but only if the wands are properly charged. And how are they charged? By murder! Or, at least, that could be the case. Now, we wait. That’s why it’s an experiment. LOGICO: Aren’t you a dentist?

Seashell pauses, then runs into the cave. Logico glances, sees that Shadow isn’t by the ruins, and follows the dumb fish.

The end!

SORRY IT'S SO SHORT I'M IN A RUSH rip

adjnfkljasdf

ignore me 😭

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[im-out-of-it]

part 7 of season 2, episode 11, “mea maxima culpa” continued

72. Simon: I can go outside now

73. I also forgot this: (it’s not a actual post if I didn’t forget something)

74. Maia is right though. so many downworlders would love a chance to be normal. I hate the whole heavenly fire storyline. because once again, why does clary’s life matter more than a downworlders? there are some downworlders who aren’t okay with being a downworlder. (personally I’d love to be a warlock) and they should have the option of not being one. and not being forced to have their rights taken away like aldertree did. I don’t think Simon understands how good he has it

75. I want to talk about Simon for a second because he’s never had to face any of this alone except before he fully transformed as a vampire. he’s always had people at his side, and by some chance, he can be a daylighter and do whatever he wants without the enemy that was the sun. and maybe not everything since people will be jealous he has more freedom but he can at least go outside in the daytime. I don’t think he truly gets how well off he is. he’s got Magnus Bane the ultimate caring, kind, powerful, mentor in a way. Raphael has tried to help him at times. two people who had to go at it alone for a while. he’s got clary at times, he’s got Luke, Alec has helped him when he’s kidnapped, izzy has saved his life before, jace saved his life, like Simon has so much fucking support. and this isn’t the norm for most downworlders who are alone and dealing with the new changes

76. some maia moments I forgot and the remainder of the scene

77. I’m just saying that Simon has it so well. and coming from someone who is a black woman who is constantly getting oppression from most shadowhunters and had to deal with her transformation alone until she met Luke and then had Luke traumatize her again- she would love a chance at freedom and a chance of a normal life

78. obviously Simon shouldn’t flaunt it. downworlders everywhere will want what he has. I’m just saying that Simon has it so good!!!!!!!!

79. MALEC SCENE THANK FUCK

80. LOOK AT ALEC SMILE (he looks so stressed and then he sees Magnus and his worries go away for a second)

81. BLACK AND WHITE SLOW MO BECAUSE YES

82. THE WAY ALEC LOOKS AT MAGS

Alec: by the angel, I love this man so fucking much. I could marry him right now

83. I wish they would show more of Alec and Magnus just being together without Alec needing something. because I feel like most of the time when they see each other, it’s when Alec needs something. PLEASE DONT COME AT ME YALL KNOW IM A HARDCORE MALEC FAN. like when they had that first date, that was one of the first times we saw Malec get to be Malec without something to solve. and I love Magnus helping Alec but I can’t help but point out that most of the time they spend together is some shadowhunter problem to solve

84. Alec: I need your help babe. you’re the only warlock I love

85. but I love when Malec investigate and MAGNUS AND ALEC LOOK PERFECT (together, separate)

86. MAGNUS IS JUST PERFECT

87. Alec: he’s just talking and I’m in love

stopping at 88 for now and will try to do more tomorrow. (I may end up doing another one tonight but I feel so weak and tired so I may change my mind) but we are halfway so probably estimating with the azazel scene and Izzy + sebastian scene, probably three to four more parts 🥹