#also I don't think every aspect of a song fits each character and some of these are probably pretty obvious

[venussaidso]

Vedic Astrology Observation (based on shows/films part 6)

Rewatching "Nevertheless" and yes Song Kang's character here is definitely more Ketu than Solar. His Solar nakshatra characters are seen in "My Demon", "Love Alarm". He specifically channels his Uttara Phalguni Moon in the kdrama My Demon especially, and his love interest is also an Uttara Phalguni. But in "Nevertheless", it is a whole nother nakshatra lord influence.

The reason why I changed my mind on what energy he is channeling the most is because of Claire Nakti's Ketu Dominant Men video. He fits some of the negative descriptions.

Every time a woman interacts with a Ketu man, she's so energetically and subconsciously pulled in by him (as is everyone), that she thinks she's gaining something from the experience but she leaves realizing how much she's depleted herself into him. But she's so subconsciously pulled in that she keeps coming back every time.

Ketuvians are not necessarily known for being givers unless there's some other placement. But the emotions and excitement they evoke in others makes those people think they're receiving energy, when actually its their own energy shaking up and being extracted from them.

This character will play into his magnetism, pull people in, then they'll realize they're one of the many he subconsciously (sometimes even deliberately) pulls energy from. Since Ketu wants to absorb everywhere, it makes sense seeing him breadcrumbing and stringing the female lead along while he keeps his numbers of chasers in his pockets (this trait is exaggerated in them being cult leaders or them liking to maintain large followings to extract more energies (again, sometimes they don't do this intentionally. look at magha native michael jackson's effortless effect on others)). Another reason why I think he's channeling his Ashwini Sun the most is because of his fear of commitment. Although it's more apparent in Ashwini women, the wild horse here doesn't want to settle down ever. His overall detachment to such things, the story leaving him mysterious (despite the ending) because we never go into his depths but we rather see him be this attractive sucking void that eventually becomes sickening to other women he strung along... The difference is, though Solar men can be womanizers, women often gain status and validation in association with them. With Ketu men, nothing much is gained, which is why they eventually become frustrating to women who'll then walk away.

Another obvious thing, Ketuvians are mostly seen in spiritual spaces, learning about history or being into research, getting into interesting underground subcultures, and especially the arts. He "falls in love" (I don't believe that for one bit but sure) with a Vishakha Sun, Bharani Moon – Vishakha women dominate the arts and Bharani being a Venus nakshatra makes sense for her artistry.

Being Jupiterian, she's quite meek and relatable. I believe the actress was channeling Vishakha, as its a nakshatra about transformation, and I believe her purpose in this story is finally standing up for herself to break free from the pattern of reliving a situation. But because of polarity, Ketu and Jupiter will always be drawn to each other. The best match for Ketu men is no one, in my humble opinion, though. They usually don't care about that anyway unless there's something to gain. They're quite similar to Ketu women. I've seen them be their best version with Ketu women. I could name a few examples of Ketu dynamics in fiction which don't have this exploitative aspect that Jupiter x Ketu pairings (platonic or not) usually do. There is a quiet understanding between the Ketu characters and a natural inclination to protect one another without even getting close, because of this unspoken connection they have. Such as in "Sweet Home", where Song Kang channels his Ketu energy yet again.

He is drawn to the inwardly conflicted Magha Moon native Go Min-si. And due to his isolation, their connection isn't reliant on constant interactions, instead there is something there that's pulling them together in Season 1. In the later seasons, their protection of each other is more explored as their connection deepens through this horror story; his protection becoming a major aspect of their relationship. And because of the genres Ketuvians usually find themselves in, its rarely seen that these intense connections turn into some romantic endgame.(Ketuvians are the least likely planetary influence to be found in Romance, rather it's the Jupiterians, Saturnians and sometimes Solar natives. Instead, Ketu natives tend to be typecasted in the Thriller/Horror/Dark Fantasy genres).

In the same drama, there's another Ketu pairing between a mysterious contract killer and former detective (Ketu characters commonly being detectives) and a healer (also related to Ketu/the Ashwini Kumaras). He immediately grows protective of her and even dies protecting her. Their connection was almost instant and just as short-lived before death did them part (there always seems to be a theme of separation in these nodal/Ketu pairings). But she remains unforgettable as he becomes haunted by her even after death. (Ghosts = Ketu).

In the kdrama "Save Me", there's another Ketu-Ketu connection in them playing protectors of each other. The Ketu male characters find themselves tied back to a Ketu girl. They are all tied by some kind of destiny that pulls them back to when they met. Despite the gap between them, this undeniable connection has them teaming up to save her from a cult.

And, interesting enough, the cult leader who cruelly exploits the Ketu woman, and everyone else in his cult, is played by a Ketu native.

This powerful, subconscious connection between Ketuvians (in these fictional depictions) is so interesting as the characters usually keep at a distance from each other initially, never having to get close to feel each other — the connection is just naturally present. I specifically caught this when I rewatched the film "Through My Window", starring two Ketuvians.

The Ashwini native here has an odd fixation on the Mula native. She stalks him and observes him from afar without ever getting close enough to meet him. But then when he catches her, a scene in the graveyard, he makes her aware that he knows. He would know that she's been engrossed in him (note, he also has Punarvasu Sun; Ketu x Jupiter strikes again, but his approach to her and their interactions are primarily Ketu x Ketu as he invades into her life (persistently stealing her WiFi connection, sneaking into her room whenever he wants), he strings her along and just like Ashwini native Song Kang in Nevertheless, we see him stringing along other female characters etc.). As Ketuvians are so in tune with the energies within themselves, they'd notice if someone were extracting energy from them on a subconscious level. His intuition (which led him into her life essentially), and her Ketu tendencies of absorbing him from afar, already tell us how Ketu would interact amongst itself. I could think of another stalking dynamic between two Ketuvians, from "Marvel's Jessica Jones".

The Ashwini here is yet again obsessed with the Mula native. He used his superpowers to force her to be in a relationship with him and even after she escapes from his clutches, he means to regain his control over her to prove that she can love him willingly; yet again trying to drain her (very important to note that she also has Purva Bhadrapada ASC (Ketu yet again draining Jupiter)).

In the film "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" starring two Ashwini natives, we see these characters form an unconventional bond – both having deep intrigue for each other, before developing this strong urge to look out for one another. It's not romantic, lacking that Venusian quality of connection we usually see. Instead it's very rare, complex, and created in darker or unconventional circumstances (literally all these Ketuvians bond amidst chaos or some unusual circumstance).

It always seems as if almost every Ketu character drawn to each other can't just have a long-lasting "relationship". Even trying to reduce their indescribable connection to a mundane romantic relationship doesn't do them justice. Ashwini natives aren't typically relationship-orientated, anyway.

Usually a romance between Ketuvians in fiction can be depicted as ethereal, intense and just as short-lived, such as in the film "Meet Joe Black". A love that is shown to transcend time and reality, and so temporary and fleeting.

The film needs an analysis of its own as it stars three Mula natives as its leads. But Ketu here reminds us how fleeting existence is. The Mula Sun native playing Death himself, in parallel to how Ketu can drain and take important things or people away. Death is drawn to a double Ketuvian woman, who happens to be the daughter of the man he is taking away to the afterlife.

The Ketu woman is specifically drawn to his mystery and his innocence, sensing something off about him yet being pulled in by his innocent mysticism. A very bittersweet relationship develops between them that has this looming reality that he is not human and something inevitably heartbreaking is soon to take place. Very much getting into 8H themes, unsurprising as Ketu co-rules the 8H.

Here's the most Ketu "non-romantic" pairing edit with such 8H themes.

God I love them sm.

Also, going back to "Sweet Home", I just realized a prominent Ketu aspect. Claire Nakti's Mula/Ketu explorations mainly revolved around Ketuvians being unafraid of beasts and being the main planetary influence that is often seen in roles where they tame monsters, being the only human to see which creatures (no matter how hideous and ugly on the outside) are actually innocent.

The beauty-&-beast dynamic between Casey and Kevin, played by two Ashwini natives, in Glass, reminds me of the dynamic between Hyun soo (Ashwini) and Eun yoo (Magha).

The Ashwini pair, much like the Ashwini pair in "Sweet Home" (the detective and the healer/doctor), inevitably separate from 8H circumstances.

These characters below, in Sweet Home Season 2 & 3, are the main ones to embody this Mula archetype – even though they're trine nakshatras. This further validates Go Min-si being Magha Moon, as she's the only one who sees the humanity in Ashwini Sun Song Kang's monstrous character (the 2 edits i linked of them literally explore this beauty-&-the-beast trope of Ketu fantastically).

On the left is the soldier played by Ashwini Moon Oh-seong Yu who, despite his tough exterior, has a soft spot for these monsters which makes him a threatening outlier in the team. Damn only if Claire Nakti added kdramas to her explorations too, she'd find more nakshatra archetypes! But honestly I appreciate her work so much because I'm able to spot influences she touched on in my favourite medias.

[chrimsss]

Cater Diamond -

“Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles.” -Thomas Browne

This is a character "study" based on my favourite character in TWST. All I've written here are pure speculations and theories (and deep thoughts) about Cater as his character and as a person.

◇ “Split Card”, a Broken Answer for Loneliness

Ironic and Surprisingly enough, I believe, and I'm sure, Cater is one of the most powerful but still misunderstood characters in NRC and I'll die with this ideal. He constantly uses his Unique Magic, everyday, almost every hour for helping with prep in unbirthday parties for instance. He is able to do it as freely as possible and we don't know the limit of how many Clones he can summon, the furthest we know is that he prefers to summon 4, for safety.

Another factor is that every and each one of his Clones can, and was seen, using magic freely by their own hands. Was that magic coming from Cater's magical pool? Or their own Pool? And even so, how much energy does Cater spends in a daily basis to be able to create clones and that said clones can use magic themselves?

Also, each one of those clones are completely sentient and not dependent on Cater at all, they receive his orders, of course, but outside of that, they all act by themselves, which is insane.

Split Card is an unique and powerful Spell, that I think it wouldn't fit anyone else but Cater, because, it might not seen, but Cater is, unwillingly willingly one of the most lonely students.

He purposefully avoids talking about himself, unless he sees fitting and even that, he is always downplaying his own words and emotions at the moment.

He was a lonely kid, he wanted to be closer to people but due to always moving, because of his father, he was never able to make a meaningful friendship in his life, one idea to which he just gave up. He couldn't even count with his own sisters because they forced their ideas and plans onto him, forcing him to do stuff he didn't want to, simply for entertainment. Which I ask, where were his parents? I mean, sure, the things they forced on him weren't "that" severe, but forcing someone to eat, even after being completely full is terrible? He could get stomach problems, health issues, etc.

Cater was always alone, even around his family, he didn't have anyone he could count with, so what better company then Himself? Who could better understand him, then himself? The only person who he could count with. Which is the reason his UM is simply perfect for him.

◇ A Coping System, His Magicam Persona

He doesn't have to deal with his sisters' being annoying, or with solitude because he always had someone with him, even if that someone was just him.

For starters, Cater is not emotionally well. He bottle every single emotion he has (this can be interpreted by his platinum jacket's groovy), always being seen as the "chill big bro". We can say in a way, he never understood himself, or his own emotions, causing him to adapt towards other people's interest.

That's his Coping System; He never truly understood what his emotions were, adapting himself to his sisters' interest, for example.

Another thing is that, he wants attention, probably because he only got negative attention as a get, or never got attention from other kids. He seeks that attention, and what's better than social media?

◇ "Bitter Choco Decoration”

Cater is always up to date with trends because he knows it gives him views, it gives him attention, he doesn't cares if it's negative or positive, he is getting atrention. He creates his persona based on others interest because he knows, that's what it will attract people towards him.

This one is just for fun.

Surprisingly enough, some lyrics of that song and it's meaning can match to Cater in some aspects.

[Translation used from Wikia page]

"I try not to have too much faith in people,/Not to love people too much, not to expect too much from people[...]"

The first part of the song, could be used to Cater's lack of interesting in meaningful friendships. He has interest in having friends but no interest in maintaining said friends, not having faith that they would stay with him for too long, just like everyone in his past (Mostly due to his constant changing and moving).

"I try not to forget to add in a few light-hearted jokes and a touch of lip service/I try to smile and show off my charisma whenever I can."

The third part of the Song has a more in-depth connection to Cater's carismatic persona, how he always makes sure to be smiling around the people he knows as either a way to "trick" them. No one truly knows what is going on with him, what he is truly thinking or feeling because that's exactly how he wants to be seen.

For the Chorus, its possible to connect the song title to Cater himself, "Bitter Choco Decoration" and how "picky" he is with his food, always avoiding eating sweets (which indirectly includes Chocolate) due to a traumatic and annoying experience in his past. One to which he searches to escape.

The whole song can be used to define Cater in a way or another, even loose lyrics such as:

"I try not to pointlessly expose myself,/Not to talk about myself, not to understand myself/But I try not to be a bit too silent,[...]"

"A life sentence of group participation,/Sucking up to others yet again, saying things like/[...]/And so on, despite never meaning a word of it,/[...]"

"Yearning for the ideals that everybody wants,/[...]

I burned my individuality and feelings to the ground,[...]"

[lilbittymonster]

Ship OC Asks: Do you have specific music that makes you think about your OCs relationship?

I have a whole playlist for them, yes.

Some highlights being;

Home Again (UNSECRET) - This one is Aymeric's specifically, since it's about someone waiting at home and keeping the porch light on for them and being just so eager to see them again after being apart. I don't think Aymeric is miserable in Ishgard and that's a portrayal of him that really bothers me. He's in the position to make actual change for his nation and it's something he has had to work so hard for, so to finish HW and then turn around and go 'actually I hate it here fuck this job' would be so out of character. But him staying in the Holy See for the most part does mean that he and Kitali are often separated for long stretches of time and he misses her, and she misses him, and so he's always ready to see her when she has time to be home. And before there was Kitali, there was Estinien, and there was also the aspect of the two of them being on assignment at opposing schedules, so Aymeric would wait with fingers crossed every time Estinien would be out of Ishgard that he would make it back to his front (well, side garden) door again.

Hold Each Other (A Great Big World) - You have no fucking idea how thrilled I was to get this in a spotify mix because it is so. exceedingly. rare. to find songs that are about multiple people that don't involve cheating. I was maybe halfway through the song and I had added it to the mix, even if the vibes didn't match up completely (they still do though) because it was SO perfect to find a song that fit against all three of them.

Dancekiller (Fury Weekend) - I'm just gonna be honest, this is purely about the dragoon heat sex. They're all horny on main for each other. They fuck a lot. And I really like synthwave! Nothing too deep with this one lmao.

Thanks for the ask @ornerykarakul

OC Relationship Building Asks

[shit-talk-turner]

We talk a lot about Louise being a cosplayer, and for good reason, but I feel like we could apply this label to Alex as well. If we think about it, every era of his has always been about trying to emulate or being heavily inspired by someone else//

Alex does cosplay to a degree but I think it's more rooted in creativity and 'artistry' whereas Louise cosplays in real life as a human. I'll explain.

Alex has discussed in interviews before about creating 'personas' and being aware that he is doing so, he has mentioned he does this as it gives him something to hide behind so he doesn't feel exposed. It's well documented that Alex is a more shy, introverted personality so it makes sense he'd feel more comfortable in the work he does if he's got a 'character' to hide behind which fits in with the vibe of the each new era/album release. In saying this, I don't think Alex becomes a completely different person each time it's just certain aspects of his personality may be more exaggerated (which you also highlighted). I think his personas are more of an aesthetic thing than they are him actually changing 'who he is'. Many artists do this not just with musicians but you see it with actors also. This might be an unpopular opinion but I think as time goes on he is becoming more himself, at least aesthetically.

One of the things I find attractive about Alex is his personal style you could see since the first TLSP record he has an old fashioned charm and flair. I think he's always been growing into his current look, taking inspiration and growing in confidence along the way. I would disagree that Alex and Louise are the same on this front because Alex actually has some originality to him and uses his 'cosplaying' as a tool for his artistry.

Alex is a prolific and successful artist, Louise not so much. If you got a qualification as a Surgeon and worked within that field for 6 months to a year then changed your qualification and became an Engineer and have worked in that field for 10 years on going, would you still call yourself a Surgeon?! Louise has one album release in the span of her whole career, I think she calls herself a Musician still? Correct me if I'm wrong at any point but as far I know she hasn't achieved popularity as a musician nor have any of her songs, nor her album. A curious mind would wonder how she makes a living from this especially over the last 6 years or so as she seems to live a luxurious lifestyle, it's obvious from what we know that it's her boyfriend that affords her luxury and not her 'career'. It still remains to be seen if 'Lou the Musician' will have a resurgence. The point I'm getting towards is that there is no 'need' for Louise to be cosplaying the way Alex does, she's not an active, working artist (as far as we know anyway) and she doesn't seem to be an influencer either.

Also the way Alex 'cosplays' and the way Louise does is very different. Alex takes inspiration from others and creates something new with it, Louise COPIES from others and presents an imitation of it. Just go look at all the photo references of her copying Alexa's style and poses on Instagram of Alex's ex girlfriends including Taylor. The realest we might've ever seen Louise is more in the present day with the at times 'head scratching' outfits. I'd argue Louise lacks originality hence the recycling of others ideas as opposed to coming up with her own and as the anon mentioned her desire for validation and her insecurity is plain to see. I think Alex may have a more established sense of self than Lou but I could be very wrong!

Good points, thanks all the anons who have been submitting these thoughtful asks!

[curtsies-from-princess-ashlyn]

Who says we have to let it go? (a season 4 reflection)

As promised, I finished rewatching the show in full one more time, so now I will finally put my S4 thoughts to paper (or screen). Coincidentally, this is also the day that the series finale would've dropped if S4 was released weekly, so it feels fitting to write this today, anyway.

Even after the initial Rina fog has lifted and excitement has died down, season 4 still remains my favorite season. While it has plenty of issues with plotting (certainly more than s3 or s1), it absolutely nails it thematically. The season explores the importance and consequences of vulnerability, and the power of seeing others as they truly are (as I mentioned in an older post, it's all about vulnerability and authenticity), and every main character's storyline so beautifully contributes to those themes in unique ways. There's also a really interesting dynamic between looking to the future and holding onto the present being explored this season, and I think the glamor of HSM4 (a hollywood movie) and the humility of HSM3 (a high school play) are symbolic of each respective idea. There's actually a lot I want to discuss about each character's relationship with both HSM4 and HSM3, and how it succinctly shows their internal feelings about their futures, but maybe that's for another time. Anyway, Tim has said his intention for the show's thesis is to find people who see and accept you for who you are, but this last season goes so much deeper with that concept, emphasizing the necessity of letting yourself be seen and known, too. This can be through letting your walls down, letting your flaws and struggles be seen, choosing to forgive those you love and take a second chance, or boldly speaking what's in your heart. Nearly every original song this season touched on this theme in some way, which really emphasizes the thematic cohesion of this season.

This leads me to the music, which is the best it's ever been in the show. Every single one of the originals is so good, and I love that there was also (finally) a showtune in a traditional musical theater style ("Over Again")! However, the score is what really stuck out to me this season (HUGE shoutout to Gabriel Mann, the scorer of the show). I do think the scoring of S3 really started to assist with telling the story by including more recurring leitmotifs (I think the return of the Rina cue helped), but the score of S4 really leans into this aspect of storytelling, especially in the final 2 episodes. There's leitmotifs to represent Shallow Lake, a magical motif from "Dreams Don't Die" to represent the magical and fleeting nature of high school theater, countless variations of the Rina cue, and I'm pretty sure there's even a recurring leitmotif established for Kourtney (I have to go back and listen for if it's used beyond her scenes).

Another thing that really stuck out to me was how well each episode was written. I think overall, there are leaps between some episodes that don't feel natural, but the story of each episode is well constructed and executed. There's genuinely not a single episode this season that I would say is boring or pointless... certainly some plotlines throughout the season turn out to be, but the episodes themselves are solid. Unfortunately, some of the plotlines this season feel like they end really abruptly, which did feel jarring on a first (and second) watch. I do believe Bart Johnson when he said some stuff for HSM4 was cut, because I was surprised at how little the OGs were in this season. Same can be said for Dani's storyline, which really felt superfluous in the end result. I hope that there's a showrunner's/extended cut released of this show someday, because that would probably fix those issues.

Overall, with this being the last season, it had the most important job of closing the show out in a truly complete way. I really believe it competently did that job, and I think how it finished the growth of the lead characters is what makes it conclusion so poignant. Everyone will have their opinions on how the show handled certain characters, but how Ricky and Gina (and even EJ, to a lesser extent) were handled in this last season absolutely tells me these writers knew what they were doing with these characters. The last series finale I watched that concluded character arcs so resolutely, with such tremendous humanity and truth, was Lost (Jack Shephard's arc is one of the most complete and profound I've ever seen). Gina Porter has always been a character I related to deeply, and that final season really made my connection with her even more personal and heartfelt. I actually have experienced healing of some wounds of my younger self witnessing her story, and I see how much more growing and healing I still have left.

So, what's the sum of my thoughts on season 4? I wouldn't change a thing! Ok, that's not necessarily true, but I still love it as it is. It was the funniest season (seriously, every single joke was hilarious), it was the most heartfelt, it was thematically rich, and it helped me say goodbye to the wildcats, while still holding onto hope for a bit more.

[purplerose244]

Watched the eighth episode of LEGO DreamZzz: Loved it!

EVERY NEW EPISODE IS MY FAVOURITE EPISODE! I feel very attached for all five of them, I want Mateo to keep working on his confidence, I wanted Cooper to keep walking his own way, I want Izzie to save her friends, I want Logan to better himself, I was Zoey to have more friends I... I... 😭😭😭

Also side note, the how to draw videos are super cute, Mateo is super good and also...

Mateo: I'll make a tutorial on how to draw all of these wonderous creatures, quite fascinating right? Anyway TODAY I'M GONNA DRAW MY VERY COOL FRIEND ZOEY

Yeah I'm pretty sure this guy has a crush 😂 And he thinks her eyelashes are pretty 💕💕

I'm super curious! ONTO THE EPISODE

(Yes I watched the whole first season already, and I was wondering if anyone knew where the second season is? I know someone on Youtube post it, but how? Where did it come out?)

THE BIGGER PICTURE

THE THUMBNAIL IS SHOWING MATEO AND ZOEY! ARE THEY FINALLY INTERACTING?!? I feel like we got lots of time to define Zoey's character, so I wonder if we'll see Teo showing more of his crush

DUDE THESE COMICS ARE SO COOL LOOK AT MY BABY GO 😍😍😍

Lol Mat dedicated two whole pages to Zoey and Zian, sweetie you're no subtle, it saves you only your shyness 🥰🥰

AWW HE WANTS TO TALK TO HER 💕

I know that he got a crush and obviously that's a major reason, but I really like how it's so simple. Mateo thinks she is really cool, she wants to talk to her. He really reminds me of me a lot 😅

Ah, the whole important milestone for every artist in school: having the courage to show his art to someone else

So not even Coop saw these comics? Only Izzie did? Interesting...

Logan is up to stuff apparently?

LOL we're finally seeing other professors aside from prof Oz and that one jerk coach! Interesting change from sensei Wu from Ninjago and sir Brickland from Nexo Knights, she seems nice

LOGAN IS BACK IN OUR TEAM?!?! 😍

Awww, he did have a bit of a change of heart! Did he realize Mateo is actually kinda great at leading and wants in? Or just really likes the team? Whatever the reason, welcome back mah dude! 💪💪

Gotta say that Izzie got great instinct, whenever something is wrong she feels it right away, so I'd trust her about this Insomniac Club

... or maybe it's a bunch of people playing Spyro or Ratchet and Clank, who knows 😂

Noooo stealing is a bad idea

NOOOO STEALING IS A BAD IDEA

Vincent's characters are quite different from each other, but they do have a common pattern: they make some pretty amazingly bad decisions 😂😂

TEO NO DON'T AGREE 😱

My baby got confidence only in the Dream World while not in the real world COME ON SWEETIE YOU CAN DO IT

Oh so we are using that locator thingie! It seemed very useful when they found it in the Night Bureau, even though the discarded it so easily

Is that thing not enough to find the Sandman? I guess not?

LOOK AT THE SCHOOL 😂

ZOEY IS THERE 👏👏👏👏👏

"Hey broseph, que pasa?" I just love these little spanish snippets, love to see some rep, especially in a LEGO show!

DUDE WHAT IS THIS COACH DREAMING

Interesting this aspect of this world, I thought that dreams were just the people landing on these realms and exploring, but I wonder if these worlds change according to the influence of the person dreaming

Julia seems like a very sweet lady... unfortunately she teaches math, therefore making her the evil incarnate 😡

I hate math sorry miss school memories

LOOK AT Z BLOB PUSHING MATEO I LOVE HIM SO MUUUUUUCH 💚💚💚💚

Zoey playing the guitar 😍 Well she has always showed she was a musical person, between the song and recognizing music notes in the seashell message, I didn't realize to which extent! It fits her

Is the Rad Radioactive some sort of narrative about drinking junk stuff before going to sleep? 😂😂

I... did not expect the Nightmare King to straight up say "dude-bro" 🤣

Awww, is Logan becoming self-conscious over causing so many troubles? I realize I've been very against him in the past but in retrospect, that must have been tough

Hey Nightmare Kin- I mean, Lance

Dude you're seriously using his insecurities against him? HE IS A KID DANG IT

I LOVE MATEO SO MUCH I CAN'T EVEN I SWEAR 😭😭😭😭😭 We got so many wonderful protagonists in the past but all with ego, with confidence, with inner strength, which is great. Then there's this kid who struggles so much into the real world, he's self-conscious about his art, he can't even talk to the girl he's into and he feels so little about himself

THIS KID WILL LEARN THAT ONE STEP AT THE TIME YOU CAN GET EXACTLY WHERE YOU WANT TO BE AND I'M ALL HERE FOR IT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Also can I just say, love me a guy who thinks his girl is the coolest person ever 👌👌

Fun fact, in the English dub Mateo says "T-That was amazing! Your song, I mean...", while in the Italian dub he says "Beautiful, amazing... your song!". It makes his feelings even clearer 💕

WELL HELLO MORE ANGST FOR ZOEY? Gotta be honest I did think that the song debacle was a big weak, but I didn't think there was a whole thing about losing everything, included a best friend! My poor super cool girl 😢😢😢

... is... is Zian the best friend? Did the Night Hunter hit the best friend, making it a night terror, but managed to break free and now he looks like this?

HEADCANON MOMENT DON'T MIND ME JUST HAVING A BLAST 😍

Now I get why Zoey was adamant over Izzie not calling her her friend... but I think this group is making her change her mind 💕

Logan, sweetie, why did you think rapping was a good idea? 😅

Okay, new theory... what if Ms. Castillo is Lunia? Maybe when defeated, Lunia retreated into the Waking World and stayed there. She seems to be always there to help, I kinda think it could be true

PLAN TIME WITH MATEO- Logan no stop what are you doing- DROP THE MATTIE NICKNAME DANG IT HE DOESN'T LIKE IT

I know you're trying but come on

I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING BUT STOP

YEEEEEE ZOEYYYYYYYY 😍😍

"That's what friends are for, right?" I'm super happy for her but also I love that Mateo is not smiling, he looks genuinely shocked like "DID I MANAGE NOT TO MESS IT UP?!" 😂😂

THERE'S A FROG TAXIE 😵‍💫

Julia seems like another stressed character, she just wants to play her music and relax for once in her life... yeah, she teaches math, that's understandable

Okay, see, Castillo is the first one to clap! I feel like she knows more than what she lets on and after my experience throught Ninjago and master "there's something I should've told you" Wu, I don't trust old LEGO people not to know stuff

They got the answers... still bad idea 😅

LOOK AT THAT EXCHANGE OF LOOKS THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO TALK ZOEY KNOWS NOW THAT HE WANTS TO BE HER FRIEND AND STRUGGLES WITH TALKING AND OMG LOOK AT HOW SHE LOOKS AT HIM WHILE HE WALKS TO HIS DESK SHE LOOKS HAPPY AND I BELIEVE GRATEFUL AAAAAAA- 🥰😍🥰🥰😍🥰🥰

Yes I might be shipping them, we'll see what happens but so far I like what I see 🥰🥰

Ah, so the answers were useless I see

And Teo knows they screwed up, alright that's nice that he didn't loose his integrity over something like this 👌👌

Okay but did all the other people hyped up the Destroyers the entire episode to troll them or because they actually fear them? Just how mean are these middle school students, seriously 😅

Yeah Teo needs to train, my son sucks at sports just like moi 😅😅

Nice to see Cooper is not letting Logan off the hook on this one! And still Teo is kind enough to apologize for being hard on him... even though he had rights for it 😅😅

Noooo Logan don't do something stupid

Logan??

LOGAN????

ONLY TWO EPISODES LEFT AND OMG I'M LIKING THEM MORE AND MORE 😍😍😍

[nyctophiliq]

Congrats on 500 Moss!!

Can I do a matchup for a valorant character?

Preferably Female! For describing myself im 18, around 5'6, female, pretty chill tbh, alot of my friends describe me as the "baby" or the "sunshine" of the friend group because i genuinely cant be mean and im a pretty soft person. Im really into music, cooking, baking, and makeup. Ive got black hair that goes down to like my mid back, ive got brown eyes and im black. also have a few tats lols. INFP and a leo <3

your match-up and star messenger is . . .

FADE / HAZAL EYLETMEZ (istp) !

you are the golden retriever and black cat couple

you might think that your bright, sunshine-like personality could lose some color and that your baby-like personality might be jeopardized by hazal's darker one. you two might not be the most naturally fitting for a relationship but it is rewarding if both of you are mindful of how you approach each other.

your soft, gooey, and emotional approach might seem like it bothers hazal, it does a little, but don't worry, she is there to help you out with being more rational. especially when someone is coming onto you, trying to insult you, she has got your back, standing up for both of you.

such things as music, cooking, and baking seem to be helping hazal with her nightmares. a string of wholesome events followed by cradling you when you successfully sneak into her room seems to be the perfect solution for her sleepless nights.

fade tries her hardest to keep her prowler away from you since they are nothing but trouble to be around. if it would ever get to you she would never forgive herself because the dark creature is mostly the cause of her nightmares and abilities, she wishes no one to see what she deals with every day. she already thinks just being close to you will dim your lights and cause your intact mental state to decline.

some aspects of your relationship would be:

doing each other's makeup! while fade wears only a little makeup, she is pretty good at it and isn't afraid to go to town if you'd ask

lot of late-night dates !!! be it as special as going out to a fancy restaurant or so little like grocery shopping, it is achieving the same thing- the two of you together

when hazal has a particularly bad night where nothing works to help her to be cradle to sleep, she traces your tattoos with her eyes or fingers, depending on how easily you wake up

she might look and act all tough and strong, but hazal needs her cuddles and hugs on a daily basis, she needs all the comfort she can get

MEETING EACH OTHER !

version 1

after detaining hazal you were the one interrogating her, taking her statement about why she blackmailed the agents and accusing them of taking away a "him" from her. for both sage's and viper's luck, you could get some information out of her, some more you bargained for but at those times either sage or someone else would cut in, scolding her for getting off of point and trying to scare you.

"you and I... if i scared you, please, have my apologies."

version 2

you were wandering around whatever shop, picking up some makeup that you had run out of the previous day and just this morning. a headphone on your head, humming the music quietly under your breath, completely unaware of how loud it really was until she appeared. you looked confused as she waved at you, pointing at her head then yours before you finally connected the dots, and with a small chuckle, you pulled your headphones down.

"like the music, mind if i ask what is it? i'm hazal by the way, or fade, take your pick."

YOUR SONG IS . . .

cigarettes out the window by tv girl !

[llycaons]

finished the LA!!!

Pros

I do find yyh's early mini-arcs to be pretty slow, so I don't mind skipping them. and for a shortened series, combining several arcs and ramping up the pacing made for a faster viewing experience and definitely streamlined hiei joining the group

making them 17 was a good change

the production value was high enough that a lot of the aspects genuinely fucking ruled

GREAT music. fantastic battle scenes. incredibly smooth cgi resulting in effective body horror and thrilling monster fights. final fight scene with the sparks looked incredible

the spirit gun, spirit sword, rose whip, and dragon of darkness flame all looked SO good. it was really cool to see them in a live-action format

I didn't dislike the wigs! I thought they were charming and stylistically perfect

I have a lot more to say about the plot below, but I will offer this praise: it could have tried to do a lot of things and it didn't. it may not have been completely faithful, but it avoided being a bad adaptation in other ways

I really liked the hiei and kuwabara. kuwabara initially disappointed me, but his earnestness and passion grew on me and I ended up really enjoying him. and hiei's actor just nailed him in every way - mannerisms, line delivery, body language, attitude

kurama was fine! there was a lot there they could have delved into but didn't. important thing is, he was a mama's boy who fights with plants.

yukina and keiko being immediate besties was really sweet! I wish they'd adapted more yukina moments but there wasn't a lot to work with anyway

keiko being more fighty was a really fun change

elder toguro RULED. younger toguro was really good too (in looks voice and body language) and so was sakyo but elder toguro stole the show. sakyo is a very stylish character who I always associate with smoking, but despite the changes I liked the LA version. but elder toguro. FREAK OF THE WEEK!!!!

some moments of genuine emotional resonance: kuwabara manifesting his spirit sword after days of hitting rocks with sticks. keiko inspiring yukina to escape by telling her she should try for the person who saved her last time. and hiei and yukina's last conversation where hiei looked like he was about to cry

it was SO well acted. and yukina looked so happy!! I think she knows. I also liked yukina and kuwabara's first encounter and kuwabara's convo with her after she heals him. it was very genuine. depsite not being into yukina/kuwabara or love at first sight, it was a sweet and well-crafted moment

the kuwameshi scraps...I heard yusuke say he wanted to eat ramen with kuwabara and then tell keiko 'it's not like that' and went 👀

ummmm what else. atsuko's first appearance was fine. in general everything in eps 1 and 2 were things I disliked and plenty in 3-5 were fun

the car crash was INTENSE

I was happy to hear smile bomb

the ending credits are cool and I like the music choices. the songs fit the vibe of the show, but the actual character writing doesn't

Cons

there was a time in my life (a few days ago) where I simply would have put 'everything else' but I'm in a different place now

but not TOO different. this show cannot stand on its own! it cut out MANY many iconic lines and character traits and jokes, even when it would have been easy to include. it's got the trappings of SOME things related to yyh, but lacks the actual soul

iconic character moments such as yusuke realizing how much people care about him and genkai falling to toguro's attack simply fail to impact the viewer in the same way because while they're incredible in concept, the execution is utterly rushed, nothing has ANY time to sink in. I don't even know what the themes of this show are, besides....protect your friends, I guess?

trying to crush everything up to three kings arc into 5 hours was ambitious, but not necessarily doomed. but they fucked it. they fucked the pacing and they fucked the characters and it feels gutless and boring and lazy. everyone seems like they've known each other for like, a day. at most. that genkai episode?!

it was cool that hiei's true motivations were secret for a little while. until the casual sibling reveal

a deeply beloved part of yyh is the core four dynamic. but these people BARELY know each other! kuwabara and yusuke are friends I guess, but they met kurama like twice and they don't even know hiei. genkai was killed TWENTY MINUTES after her introduction. who signed off on this?!

no botan oar, no jorge, koenma is a TEENAGER with a PACIFIER

and wtf was going on with yusuke!!!! his actor managed to convery anger, disgust, and boredom, and that was about it. he smiled maybe once? he almost cried in ep5 and that was HUGE to see. ugh he was robbed of his dynamism and life and passion and sense of humor as a character. I miss anime/manga yusuke so much. he was a goofy boy!!! he made that little kid smile!!! he jokes around and laughs really big and loves his friends!!!

they also failed to adapt botan. her actor was either poorly directed as I assume yusuke's was, or she's just an awkward performer. she's just a timid blue-haired cheerleader for yusuke who cows when he's mad I guess, not the fun, competent, confident, ball-busting older girl we all love. and her STYLE!!! let her dress up!!! it's 1991!!!

well, they have smartphones so I guess not 😔

I thought a lot of eps 1 and 2 were really boring...the fight scenes were way too long and not very good and I had no emotional stake

so this adaptation was too scared to really do its own thing but it also failed at recreating the true magic of yyh - the characters and their love for each other. the scene at the end was nice, but it didn't capture half of their chemistry by the DT arc

I really missed the tournament....and the character moments. atsuko screaming at yusuke and throwing things at his body!!! drunk and sobbing!!! a WRECK!!! I wanted THAT Atsuko. she was so collected and comforting to keiko, too. since when has atsuko been a responsible parent or adult?

whyyyy was his revival so easy!!! NO PUU!!!!!???? no proving himself, no emotional journey??!!

especially grieved to lose yukina crying because of her friends the birds being killed and not bc of being physically hurt. and I really wanted keiko to be more of a hero and save yusuke's body!! while giving keiko more of a character, the writing still let them down; they were relegated to Girls Needing Saving again at the end

it wasn't funny which is a crying shame given how hysterical the manga and anime dub both are (often for different reasons)

character arcs just got aborted. there was no way to explore hiei's past or his complicated feelings about his family. no way for kurama to reconcile the ancient demon and the 15 yr old boy he simultaneously is. no way for yusuke to truly overcome his anger and mature into a young man who's happy to be alive and is okay just chilling with a ramen shop. and um. well kuwabara got a spirit sword and that was pretty sick

also yoko kurama looked very silly and I didn't get his 'ancient powerful yokai' vibes ALSO it wasn't a surprise borne from kurama being poisoned to regress to himself of 20 years ago so that was a shame

I liked hiei's actor a lot but he SHOULD be 4'9!!!!

why did they spend more time on bullied kid than on the ACTUAL characters if they were so strapped for screentime?

ep1 was so bad. it was so bad guys. it was boring and not fun and I'm including the fight scene

no sensui or itsuki 😔 no shizuru, no puu, no jorge

overall the show tried to change both too much and not enough. if it only had 5 episodes, there are much more efficient ways of making the plot move forward and bonding the characters, and it doesn't requite sacrificing beloved character details. or hell, this is a new show! put IN some content, don't just take stuff away and mash other things together!

as another person on here said....it's a bit gutless

Final verdict: lots of style over substance with some good scenes and performances but ultimately a hollow shell of what it aspires to be. 6/10 will not rewatch but do not regret it

[pastorfutureletthembe]

People don't normally do this. And by this, I meant people don't take THIS AMOUNT OF TIME to recognize patterns and such. Of course, it is a cognitive phenomena depending on our personal experience as well, as in our personal knowledge and habits as internet and culture consumers. We recognize the signs haha.

What this post is about is something else, deeper. It is meant as a joke and I personally have this experience with each of my fandoms.

The vast amount of time and the addiction are key terms here.

When I get into a fandom, I need to know everything. And I do mean everything. I think about it all day, all night, I make 10hours playlists, I wanna see all the fanarts, read all the theories, and even when I read the novels, watched the animated adaptations and know the movies line by line, it is still not enough. I have a craving for more. I read fanfictions to quench my thirst and when that's not good enough anymore, I write stories myself only so I can feel this twisted feeling on demand and the way I like. When I work I literally feel like my time could be better spent in creative stuff and I suffer from not having enough TIME.

Why Link Click more than others?

Because what got me was not the plot or the doomed gay. Shocking, I know. It was the Post-Modernism approach. It was the interactive part. The fact the merch, the songs, the promotional artworks, the official twitter itself sometimes were all showing a story not told in the narrative itself yet. It all fits together. It's a treasure hunt. It's like a game.

Some media just get us engaged more because they are built this way as well.

The parasocial aspect we have with our characters is more developed than before because we, as generations who grew so connected to the world and information through the internet, are more involved in our day to day life. For example, we are all raging about the Yingdu Chapter so the official social media is publishing about it, like, "we see you, we know, we can't give you what you want but we are actively working on it".

Link Click will push you to bleed money for newer and cuter and sexier merch every few weeks. That's also addictive, this collectible aspect.

And finally, I'd just say that there are so many new cognitive phenomena that we don't know yet because we're just creating them everyday through our personal relationship with media, internet, people, that it's hard to keep track and generalize the effect of something specific.

Just read a thread on X regarding the fact I'm a Link Clicker, and therefore, I am the victim of the Tetris Effect.

Don't mind me while I use this "mental illness" of mine to provide you with a very important information.

Do you see it, now?

No?

Tetris, you say? My dear friend, I'm a master at this game, don't try me.

(this post truly unlocked a new wave of obsessive interest for LC in me, im gonna kms)

[mttcrwfrds-blog]

𝕦𝕟𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪⁠— a playlist inspired by the characters of @halstonshq

disclaimer: these songs were chosen based on my interpretation of the characters and are not based on the admins’, applicants or members’ characterization. 

warning for strong language and mentions of drug/alcohol use.

listen on youtube 

[heartofspells]

I’m still obsessed with 5SOS5, so I want to focus on Bad Omens for the Marauders’ era. It can even apply to platonic relationships, like Lily and Snape because we canonically know that Snape was hurling slurs at other Muggleborns and Lily was justifying her friendship with him to towers (“It’s too late. I’ve made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends—you see, you don’t even deny it! You don’t even deny that’s what you’re all aiming to be! You can’t wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?”), so Lily ignored the signs of what her best friend had become until she no longer could (“Can't help the way I keep ignoring every omen / Every omen / Heaven knows I should let go / It's nothing that I don't already know”), that song is ridiculously fitting for the backdrop of the war and how it’s tearing apart every relationship (romantic relationships [like Jegulus if that’s your ship, Wolfstar where Remus and Sirius canonically distrusted each other, but probably tried to ignore the signs until they had to acknowledge “there’s a spy, and I think it’s the man sleeping beside me right now”], platonic relationships [Peter and the Marauders where none of them realized his betrayal until far too later, Lily and Snape], familial relationships [Sirius with his family depending on how one views his relationship with them in the years before he left.]) People who tried to keep their relationships, hoping that eventually they’d go back to the way things were if they just ignored the warning signs, but eventually they were no longer able to pretend and had to acknowledge that this was irreparable.

Also, unrequited love (“I cried in your dark brown eyes for the thousandth time / 'Cause you love somebody / I died when you left that night for the thousandth time / 'Cause you love somebody else”) fits great, so Snape/Lily from Snape’s perspective in Seventh year, where he utterly destroyed his friendship with her but still is in love with her, and then watched her fall in love with James. Unrequited relationship set during the first war are honestly perfect for this song, because it’s got the distrust element and the “watching the person you love be in love with someone else” aspect; 5SOS decided the First Wizarding War was the theme of their 5th album (note, this is a joke, they have not made any comments regarding Harry Potter, the album just has great vibes for it)

It's fine, I'm not hyperventilating or anything.

Look, I've actually listened to this album (at least the songs i like from it) a lot since it was brought to my attention after its release. And as I've said before, I've never been a follower of 5SOS. I think before someone actively began passing me their songs, I'd listened to one by choice and knew it was them, and that was only because I came across it on the radio one day.

But it's like they really did craft the perfect album here for the First War years within HP, and I love that so much. I could rant on and on about several of these songs in relation to headcanons for that era/ships/characters, but Bad Omens is a BIG ONE. It's actually become one of my favorites, right up there with Caramel. And then I was guided to the music video, which was admittedly a trip, but it was also so very perfect.

I think in my initial review, I compared it to Wolfstar (also Jegulus), but I think I remember saying it gave me strong First War vibes in general, and it definitely does that. It can honestly apply to every relationship during that time period, whether platonic or romantic, no matter what side of the war someone fell on.

I love your comparison to Lily's and Snape's friendship and how it fell apart. I have...some issues with Snape that I try not to vocalize to often in a serious way, mostly sticking to joking headcanons that don't amount to much, the him watching Lily slip away from him and fall in with James, fall in love with him as he stood back and was forced to watch must have hurt so badly. I think Snape was too obsessive to a degree that any relationship between him and Lily couldn't have been sustained for long, regardless of his meddling with the Dark Arts and who Lily considered to be bad people, but the song fits so well because of that and everything else.

The whole Peter betrayal thing as well. None of them saw it, not a one. Peter was that good. He blended into his surroundings that well and was so easily overlooked that no one had the slightest idea of what he was truly doing. But you can't tell me that somewhere in him there wasn't guilt. There are numerous substantial reasons to dislike JKR, but the fact that she never once even tried to explain why Peter did what he did will forever be one of mine. Those were his best friends all through school and beyond. No, we don't know what happened, how they treated him, and maybe it's a fandom thing (though i don't think it completely is) but I've always thought James cared a lot about Pete. I think he kept Peter close because he liked him. They must have liked him, otherwise why stay his friend? Why trust him enough to give him the responsibility of keeping your family safe?

Say what you will, but they loved Peter, and he must have loved them at some point. It makes no sense why Peter would have betrayed James of all people. Sirius, maybe. That actually lines up because I think Sirius was cruel to Peter when he wanted to be, had little patience for him overall, so him framing Sirius is sort of like his just desserts. He didn't do anything to Remus that we know of, and I think that's because Peter likely always idolized Remus just as much as he did James and Sirius, but Remus was always far kinder to him in the grand scope of things. So something must have happened at some point to make Peter think that betraying James and essentially being the cause of his death was warranted. Was it because he drifted away, focused on the war and his family more than his friends? I don't know, but I'd like to, because there are gaps there.

(sorry. that was a tangent i didn't initially intend. oops)

Back on the main point, Peter must have had some sort of guilt for what he was doing and what he did. You can't be that cruel after spending half your life with people you claim to like/love and then blow everything up with one action and decision. So relating this song back to him and the way everyone circled around him and never focused in on his true nature is so very fitting.

I could write an entire ten page essay on this song in relation to Wolfstar. I've been thinking about it a lot and trying desperately not to do so, because I know the more I do, I'll want to write a fic about it. And that's the very definition of been there, done that repeatedly, not just myself, but the Wolfstar fandom as a whole. The entire Remus/Sirius distrust, slipping away from one another but still clinging on out of desperation has been done so many times and I'm trying incredibly hard not to add more to it unless it just won't leave me alone.

What I really want to talk about with this song is Jegulus. And I'm no expert. I'm only just pushing my toes into the water with it, trying to acclimate myself with the whole thing because I actually really like it in a way I thought I wouldn't we I jumped back into fandom and found it to be this large, growing thing that I'd never even seen mention of back in the day when I was writing before. It was a bit baffling, but...I dunno. I'm coming around to it more and more. But my point is don't judge anything I say to harshly because I'm only going off of the small amount of things I've seen/read.

But just think about their relationship in relation to how we know canon goes. James gets tired of chasing after Lily, falls in with Regulus somehow at some point, possibly before he gives up the ghost. Maybe it's Reg that makes him see reason and that James is being a knob, I don't know. They gravitate to one another, fall in love, but it's never the most stable of relationships because it can't be. Regulus is still a Black, James is exactly who he is in every way, that golden boy, head in the sun, pure to his core no matter what you want to say about him bullying (which has two completely different sides, but that's not the topic at hand here). Regulus is a Slytherin, James a Gryffindor. Tensions are mounting higher because of the growing war. They're constantly being tugged apart, in different directions, but they try so hard.

They ignore the signs when they can, they focus on one another as much as possible, but it's never enough to avoid the outside world circling around them like vultures. Regulus takes the mark and James can't sit by and watch his life go up in flames because of his decision, so he finally says enough and pulls back. He dives into his Head Boy duties headfirst, sways Lily to him in the process, but maybe him and Regulus continue to drift to one another because they can't help themselves and James still holds onto the hope that he can convince Regulus to turn his back on his choices. It doesn't work. James finally says enough, sets off into a life with Lily instead, fully committed, and Regulus can't tell him why he has to stay where he is, why it's so important, but he goes after the locket for James, to try and make it easier to put an end to the war. And we all know how that ended.

[bookwyrminspiration]

dude idk if this actually canonically makes sense because i haven't read canon in................. a long time but even though her being really calm and aloof etc. is seen as a really annoying stereotype for asian girls (the china doll stereotype? which i've for sure been subjected to in my life) i feel like that personality really also balances out the group? like, see: keefe, fitz and sophie, who are in general not very chill people, biana and dex who are steady but not exactly chill, stina and maruca and marella who are kind of new to the team and finding their places for sure but also not exactly calming--i think as a friend group they all trust each other but also, linh's being calm in general i feel like makes her just. the peacemaker or the confidant of the group? her dynamic in the group just feels like that

I also haven't read canon in a while; I'd say like 97% of my posts are made completely from memory, so i should probably reread sometime soon (I mean I somehow didn't know there were dragons in kotlc despite reading the series more than 6 times)

but this is an excellent point nonsie, thanks for bringing this up! Linh (and the Song family as a whole) fits a lot of uncomfortably common and harmful stereotypes, including the china doll stereotype (I believe Sun (@brilliantblindinglights) actually posted something just earlier today about how Linh is written, and while I haven't had the chance to read it yet I know there will be a lot of valuable insight and critique to be found there)

there is this other aspect of writing stereotypical representation that's like...as long as its there lets at least use it well? If that makes sense. Like yes Linh is a harmful stereotype of Asian girls and their qualities, but if Linh is going to be written with those qualities lets take advantage of them and incorporate them well in the story and give her a purpose. That's a least how I feel about hispanic characters. If we're giving them these stereotypical traits at least do it well. And I think we can see some evidence of that in keeper.

because you're right. She does balance out the rest of the group. I think I've mentioned this before but her response to trauma really stands out. Everyone else gets angry (Fitz) and defiant (Tam) and lighthearted (Keefe), or they draw back (Marella) and apprehensive (Sophie). Obviously, each of these characters has more to them and share several of these qualities and responses, but the purpose of that was to give a general idea and overview.

Linh, on the other hand, became kinder. She became resilient. Have you seen that one post saying "I am soft because I choose to be," because I think it embodies her well. She became open and willing to get hurt but not willing to suffer. She sees people and she is alive every day and she experiences every moment and savors it. I think a lot of the others look to the future, more of a "I'll fight until it's over" and "there'll be a day where everything is okay." Linh contains pieces of that mindset, but there's also an appreciation for the now.

her role as "the peacemaker or the confidant of the group," as you put it, really interests me. there's an attentiveness to her we don't see with a lot of the others. She's hyper-aware of the people around her, which may stem from her trauma of reading her parents body language to try and protect herself growing up. I mentioned something like a false aura earlier, her having this calm and steady mindset that gets her through the day (this is related just hold on). Imagine counting your breaths and making it rhythmic all day to keep yourself from being anxious (different people have different patterns. some do 4 4 4, others like 4 7 8, etc). I think she does something like that and is in a constant state of calming herself down and never in a state of calm.

and it's detectable. you can tell when around her that things are quieting and trust Linh. People sense that ease and open themselves up to her and can seek her out for some peace.

while it's disappointing/infuriating to see another stereotypical character, at the very least she isn't just one of many like her. in this group, at least, she's unique and balances them out. Would it be a lot better for her not to be stereotypical? Yep! Will we get that? probably not. But I still hold a fondness for her and there's a lot to talk about when it comes to her character

[weirwoodking]

who do you think will be on the throne at the end? is there a chance it will be a woman? do you agree with the theory that bran will be king in the north bc he symbolizes winterfell? idk if i see dany on the throne bc i don't feel like she belongs in westeros, i think she would be better off with a throne on the other side of the narrow sea but i really don't know what i'm saying

It’s very hard to make predictions for ADOS, because we don’t have TWOW yet. So much can change about the story and the characters in one book, thematically and narratively. Think of how much the plot was influenced by just that final Bran chapter in ADWD. 

But, here I go anyway.

My short answer is: no one. (And no, I don’t mean Arya)

Let’s get into it.

Part 1: How the Show Tainted Everyone’s Brains

Obviously, a lot of people care about the Iron Throne plot. Sometimes too much. I do believe that this is mostly because of how much the HBO show changed everything about the story to make the Iron Throne seem like it was more important than anything else. Like promotional posters of all the actors each sitting on the throne, the name of the series itself being changed to “Game of Thrones”, actors getting asked in every interview “who do you think should get the Iron Throne?” as if it’s the last cupcake at a birthday party that everyone’s fighting over, the final episode was titled “The Iron Throne”. The marketing for everything was “it’s the fight for the Throne!” up through the eighth season. It made the object itself become a huge pop culture symbol.

It almost felt like the show was trying to make it seem like the goal of the Night King (a character not in the books) was to sit on the Iron Throne! The show portrayed it as if the Others were just a little distraction that needed to be dealt with so the characters could get back to arguing over the Porcupine Chair. However, in ASOIAF, it’s the exact opposite. The Porcupine Chair is what’s distracting the characters from the real conflict, the Others.

It’s almost comical how that has somewhat transferred over into the fandom, the “game of thrones” is what’s keeping everyone from focusing on what really matters, the “song of ice and fire”.

Part 2: GRRM’s Quote

It wasn't easy for me. I didn't want to give away my books. Every character has a different end. I told them who would be on the Iron Throne, and I told them some big twists like Hodor and "hold the door", and Stannis' decision to burn his daughter. We didn't get to everybody by any means.

-George R.R. Martin

So, he “told them who would be on the Iron Throne”. Something important about this quote is that he doesn’t say who. And, of course, the Iron Throne gets destroyed at the end of the show anyway. Show!Bran doesn’t really “end up on the Iron Throne”. Show!Dany does. George never said that who “ends up” on it in the books is who ends up on it in the show. He’s said that the Shireen thing and the Hodor thing will “happen very differently” in the books anyway. And, of course, another major part of that quote is “every character has a different end”.

I don’t think that who sits the Iron Throne last is necessarily going to be the ruler of Westeros at the end. For example, Cersei (or Aegon) may be the last person to sit the Iron Throne. Or even Euron (however, even though his goal is to rule post-apocalyptic Westeros as a god from the Iron Throne, I don’t think he’ll actually get there). If wildfire is hot enough to melt iron, I could see the throne being destroyed during whatever fiery shenanigans go down with Cersei and JonCon in TWOW. I think it would be fitting for the fight over the throne to end in the next book. ‘Cause the winds of winter are coming, baby, and it’s gonna be time to start dreaming of spring.

Part 3: The Weirwood King

The idea/theory of Bran becoming King has been around for a long time, long before the HBO show even started airing. This is because of the Celtic myth of King Brân the Blessed, whose name means “Blessed Crow” or “Blessed Raven” in Welsh. Other than the obvious connection with the name, Brân the Blessed’s story involves a magic cauldron that can bring the dead back to life. 

In the myth, Brân’s head is cut off and continues talking (think of how Bran’s most powerful aspect is the magical powers of his mind), because in Celtic mythology the head is believed to be where the soul is.

Celts had a reputation as head hunters. According to Paul Jacobsthal, "Amongst the Celts the human head was venerated above all else, since the head was to the Celt the soul, centre of the emotions as well as of life itself, a symbol of divinity and of the powers of the otherworld." (source)

Catch that? “Otherworld”. There is another myth (Irish, specifically) called the Voyage of Bran, in which the title character goes on a quest to the Otherworld. The Otherworld is a supernatural realm in Celtic mythology. It is also where the sidhe (a.k.a. aos sí) live. Remember, the sidhe are what George has said the Others are inspired by. In Irish mythology, the Otherworld is called Tír na nÓg, Mag Mell and Emain Ablach, in Welsh mythology it’s called Annwn, and in Arthurian legend it’s called Avalon. Fun fact, “Avalon” was the title of the novel George was writing when he had suddenly had the idea of a scene in which a young boy and his brothers see a beheading and then find a litter of direwolf pups in the snow. And so ASOIAF happened.

I’ll leave that there, and try not to go down the great big rabbit-hole of Celtic (and other cultures) mythology connections in ASOIAF. The takeaway is: ASOIAF has been influenced by these myths.

I do believe that Bran is going to be King. Not just because of his ties to this mythology, but also because of symbolism in his own story. The most notable one being…

Under the hill, the broken boy sat upon a weirwood throne, listening to whispers in the dark as ravens walked up and down his arms.

[...]

The singers made Bran a throne of his own, like the one Lord Brynden sat, white weirwood flecked with red, dead branches woven through living roots. 

[...]

His father and the black pool and the godswood faded and were gone and he was back in the cavern, the pale thick roots of his weirwood throne cradling his limbs as a mother does a child. 

- Bran III, A Dance with Dragons

Bran is also the only one of the Stark kids who still thinks of himself as royalty:

What was he now? Only Bran the broken boy, Brandon of House Stark, prince of a lost kingdom, lord of a burned castle, heir to ruins.

- Bran III, A Dance with Dragons

Bran is the heir to Winterfell. It doesn’t matter if Robb named Jon his heir in his will, the will was written under the pretense that Bran and Rickon were dead.

However, Bran doesn’t have any connection to the Iron Throne. It’s far more likely that he would sit on a weirwood throne, because of, y’know, everything about his story. So, if Bran was King of the Seven Kingdoms, I don’t think it would be on the Pincushion Stool.

If Bran is king of the realm, I do think there would still be a separate Lord/Lady of Winterfell, but I do think that there’s a possibility of a Pevensie siblings ending, where all the Stark kids would rule together as the Lords and Ladies and Winterfell.

Something that I’ve never really seen talked about regarding the idea of Bran becoming King of the Seven Kingdoms is the religious differences between the North and the southern regions of Westeros. Of course, the show didn’t deal with this at all. For fuck’s sake, they had Cersei blow up the Westerosi verison of the Vatican and face no backlash. It was so laughably absurd how Show!Cersei’s destructive reign was shown to have like… zero impact on the Seven Kingdoms. 

In short, I’m not too sure that the Kingdom who is majority Faith of the Seven worshippers would react too well to a weirwood-tree-Old-Gods-warg-wizard-king. I mean, when Janos Slynt finds out Jon is a warg he calls him a “thing”, a ���creature”, and a “beastling that is not fit to live”, and wanted to execute him not just for being a turncloak but for being a warg as well. And Jojen warns Bran of these things, saying that his own folk may want to kill him if they know what he is.

But… all of that anti-magic attitude might not matter after night falls. 

Part 4: Winter is Coming

I believe that the Long Night is going to be very devastating for the Seven Kingdoms.

Martin is a big believer in making things have meaningful, permanent consequences in his stories. I don’t think that an apocalyptic event like the Long Night is something that’s just gonna get dealt with in a quick snap and have no lasting effect.

A lot of people are going to die. I don’t mean main characters, I mean people that would not survive a normal winter and sure as hell won’t be prepared for this one. Westeros’s food stores have been severely depleted by the War of the Five Kings, and we’ve been told multiple times in the text (particularly AFFC and ADWD) that feeding people during this winter is going to be extremely hard.

Besides that… the whole, uh, invasion of the eldritch ice beings thing might have a bit of an impact on the realm. 

I won’t go into depth about how the Seven Kingdoms will be affected by the Long Night, ‘cause we really have no idea. But, however it all goes down, I do think it will have lasting changes for the people of Westeros. The impact that it leaves may make the concept of Bran being a wizard-king more acceptable. “Oh, well we’ve just seen zombies and winter elves, so what’s too surprising about a magical greenseer warg king?” I think that Westerosi culture becoming more aware and accepting of the existence of magic is the only way that Bran could become the king of the whole realm. The Westeros at the end of the series is not going to be the place that it was at the beginning.

Part 5: Dany: A Home, Not a Throne

To sum up my thoughts on our dragon girl, I don’t think Dany will end up on the Spiky Toilet. I don’t want Dany to be on the Spiky Toilet.

Now, my personal speculation (which a lot of people disagree with, which is fine) is that Dany will never see King’s Landing before the Long Night. I personally don’t think that Dany will ever meet Aegon or Cersei. I don’t see there being enough time in the story for that. Yes, GRRM said that there will be a second Dance of the Dragons, but he also said that the second Dance does not have to involve Dany. He may have originally planned for it to be Aegon and Dany, but probably not once the Meereenese Knot happened.

The Meereenese Knot is what Dany’s ADWD plot is referred to as. GRRM did not intend for Dany to stay in Meereen as long as she has, but because of his “gardener” style of writing, that’s where the story led him. GRRM has said that one of the hardest parts of writing the Meereen plotline (which involves Dany, Barristan, Quentyn, Tyrion, and Victarion) is trying to find a way to cut the plot knot he accidentally got himself stuck in. He has said that Tyrion and Dany will meet towards the end of TWOW, which means that Dany will most likely be spending a large portion of her story with the Dothraki. That part is a completely blank page, but I believe that Dany will meet Tyrion possibly ¾ of the way into the book, and sail for Westeros at the end.

I won’t write a full meta about this here (because that’s not what this post is about), but to summarize my prediction: Aegon VS Cersei is going to be the battle in King’s Landing, a battle which will destroy the city. Dany (who has already rejected sailing for the Throne multiple times) will still be stuck in Essos, dealing with everything she’s still got going on, and will sail for Westeros at the end. Not for the Throne, but to go North for the real fight (remember that Marwyn is also on his way to Meereen to tell Dany that they need her).

Because Dany's purpose is not to fight for the Iron Throne, it’s to fight the Others. Dany (fire, light, and life) VS the Others (ice, darkness, and death) is the main thing the title refers to:

“Well of course the two outlying ones, the things that are going on north of the Wall and Daenerys Targaryen on the other continent with her dragons are of course the Ice and Fire of the title, the Song of Ice and Fire.” 

- George R.R. Martin, 2016

One of the most important excerpts that shows us where Dany’s story is headed is this:

That night she dreamt that she was Rhaegar, riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper's rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent. Some small part of her knew that she was dreaming, but another part exulted. This is how it was meant to be. The other was a nightmare, and I have only now awakened.

- Daenerys III, A Storm a Swords

Dany has a short prophetic “this is what I was meant to do” dream. Dany could possibly have more dreams about the Others in TWOW, visions that will make what Marwyn has to tell her more believable. It’s not like that dream was the only one Dany has had that alludes to the winter threat, Dany has had visions about this since book one:

The red door was so far ahead of her, and she could feel the icy breath behind, sweeping up on her. If it caught her she would die a death that was more than death, howling forever alone in the darkness. She began to run.

- Dany IX, A Game of Thrones

Anyway, there’s just a lot more foreshadowing in the plot that this is what Dany is meant to do. I think adding in another conflict into her story once she leaves Meereen would make the story feel bloated and would severely fuck up the pacing.

I don’t think Dany will ever see the Iron Throne. The themes of her story have never been about her wanting the Iron Throne for what it is, but for what it represents to her. It represents the possibility of a home and of feeling safe for the first time in her life, what Dany truly wants. I think that it’s absolutely fine if Dany never sees the Throne or sits on it, and that it makes more sense for her narrative arc if she discovers that she can find a home somewhere else, not necessarily where she thought it would be. 

Part 6: Final Thoughts

So, in conclusion, I don’t really give a shit who ends up placing their ass on the Forbidden Laz-E-Boy, I care about the War for the Dawn. I care about seeing the characters I’ve followed for the past five books coming together to fight the real conflict of A Song of Ice and Fire. Also, even if we do get a Scouring of the Shire-type post-climax for ASOIAF, it doesn’t matter. People don’t see the Scouring of the Shire as the climax of Lord of the Rings, they see the climax as Aragorn leading the forces of good against the forces of evil and Frodo and Sam throwing the One Ring into Mount Doom. Whatever ending resolution comes after the climax of ASOIAF, it doesn’t change what the climax is.

"Do you think your brother's war is more important than ours?" the old man barked.

Jon chewed his lip. The raven flapped its wings at him. "War, war, war, war," it sang.

"It's not," Mormont told him. "Gods save us, boy, you're not blind and you're not stupid. When dead men come hunting in the night, do you think it matters who sits the Iron Throne?"

"No." Jon had not thought of it that way.

- Jon IX, A Game of Thrones

TL;DR:

My prediction: Cersei will be the last person to sit the Iron Throne, which will be destroyed in the Wildfire of King’s Landing. After the Long Night devastates the Seven Kingdoms, Bran will become the King of this new Westeros that has been majorly affected by the return of magic. Also, it would be real nice if Dany found her red door.

God I hope my rambling made sense

[nexyra]

RWBY Analysis - Ozpin & Ruby, on the concept of leadership

In her song "Burned out", Dodie sings of her fans, how they look up to her and how uneasy that realization made her. For everyone is at the end of the day just as human as their neighbour; and having the hopes and expectations of others put upon you when you're just as lost as them can be a frightening thing. And this... made me think of Ruby & Ozpin.

On the subject of leadership, Ozpin tells Ruby the following : “Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?”

While I love this quote, I also have to analyze the drawbacks of this mentality and how they align with both Ozpin and Ruby. At the time, Ruby is a newly appointed leader and unsure of this reality. Ozpin's counsel give her the confidence needed to step up as a leader and take her duties more seriously, which in return appeases Weiss' and make their team all the more balanced. It is, in that context, good advice. A good leader should strive to lead by example and work hard to be worthy of the respect others give them, both in and outside of battle.

However there is one aspect that I find much more complex and that is... what does it mean to "always perform at your absolute best" and to have others follow you ? Note the use of follow, people letting you lead alone as opposed to "standing by your side" or a similar expression. It showcases in my opinion one of the biggest problem of Ozpin's leadership, but one that I feel has been inadvertently repeated by Ruby's.

- - - - - - - -

To cultivate hope and lies

When it comes to Ozpin's lies, I am of the firm belief that he had good intentions. Soo if you think he's the scorn of this earth, this might be a good time to tap out :D Now, this said I have a lot to say on the subject but I'll keep this short to stay on track (& make another unrelated post to develop my thoughts.)

In my opinion, at the core of his lies stand different beliefs. And on the subject of leadership, I think one stands out in particular and aligns with the advice he gave Ruby : the need to perform at your best to give others a reason to follow you.

Ozpin is the reincarnation of a centuries-old wizard and the headmaster of a school : what is one aspect almost every character agrees on upon meeting him ? "Oh, he's wise. He's knowledgeable. He has the answers. He has his shit together. He can tell us what to do."

Inherently, Ozpin's existence inspires respect and reassure. Just like to a child, a parent is all-knowing and unbreakable, Ozpin's status automatically give others the assumption that he knows what he's doing. And this, in my opinion, is one of the core problems of his leadership.

May it be with his inner circle, with RWBY, with ANYONE really; as soon as Ozpin reveals himself there are unspoken expectations that will chain him. He has the knowledge, he was here when it all began, he's the one calling the shots so he HAS to know exactly what to do. In that situation, breaking down and revealing to everyone how lost Ozpin is, how out of his depth... is unconceivable. And this is where Ozpin's conception of leadership becomes a problem as well. If you always perform "at your best" then you keep your doubts to yourself, you hide your sorrows and you put on a brave face. There are expectations in place that Ozpin wants (needs even) to meet. And thus the hopes of others and Ozpin's desire to fulfill them feed one another, as a perfect recipe for disaster. Because the more time Ozpin spends acting as if everything is under control, the more the expectations pile up... And coming clean about his humanity, the fact that he's just as powerless as the rest of them, becomes impossible.

And in that sense, breaking down the pedestal Ozpin had been put on was probably one of the best thing to do for his own mental health (though the method lacked a bit of compassion in my opinion xD)

The other part that somehow causes problem is how RELIANT on him his inner circle is. Despite their apparent friendship, Ozpin is the clear leader and as soon as he's out of comission, everything falls apart. Ironwood is the only one to call out Oz but in the end still wishes for the wizard to tell him what to do in period of stress. Qrow plays spy and takes order but doesn't seem really interested in stading at Ozpin's side as an equal. Glynda is stern but still defers to him etc...

All of them FOLLOW Ozpin but are just a few steps off from standing at his side. And this is something I see reflected in Ruby.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Following optimism up until it fails you

In Vol6, as secrets and lies are brought to the light, the loss of Hope that Ozpin feared so deeply happens. Is it worth it ? What are we even going to do with an immortal foe ? Maybe we should just go home. In that situation, Ruby is the simple soul who manages to keep her optimism, stand tall and say "No. We are taking the lamp to Atlas." And from then on her position as a leader and a bacon of light is reaffirmed. As Jaune put it in V4 "You gave us the courage to follow you."

Now is that, in itself, a problem ? Of course not. In fact I loved seeing Ruby come into herself and take the lead in Vol6. The problem in truth comes after, from the ramifications. From Vol6 onward, Ozpin has essentially been rid of his leader position and Ruby inherited it. And on a surface level sure, they are pretty different. Ruby is certainly closer to her partners : they're a family and they care about each other.

However, she is still clearly put at the lead. The others relied on Ruby's optimism and resilience to get to Atlas, and continue to do so. Setting foot in Ironwood's office, Blake tells Ruby "We'll follow your lead". They trust her, and whatever Ruby does... goes. They lie to Ironwood and Yang expresses some hesitations but eventually rally to Ruby's decision. And I emphasize this again : it is Ruby's decision. They did not pre-emptively discuss this as a group and then let Ruby be the spoke-person. Yang herself in Vol8 criticizes not their actions but Ruby's choices. Ruby calls the shots, Ruby is responsible for what happens, Ruby is their beacon of hope... Ruby is the new Ozpin.

Ruby has to be optimistic, and make the decisions and take risks because she's the leader. When Ruby leaves the room to break down, conversation & strategy stalls : the others don't take the lead. When things go south, it's Ruby's choices that led them here. Ever since Ruby has left Beacon, the only person who consistently encouraged Ruby to express the BAD, to share the negative has been Oscar. Even her silver eyes ask her to focus on only the happy memories to go off without a hitch ! The others comfort, they smile, they trust, they love even. But they don't want depressed Ruby finally grieving, they don't want honest "I don't know what to do" : they try to bring back confident and optimistic "we're gonna try" Ruby Rose. They want their earnest and happy but ultimately perfect leader that gives them reason to follow. In the end, even if they deeply care for her and have no shortage of warm coated reassurances for the teen, they still chain her down with their expectations. Ruby is NOT built for this. And I don't even say that in the "why is a kid calling the shots" sense, but "why is a kid put in a position where she's RESPONSIBLE for calling the shots ?"

Ruby is the youngest of the group apart from Oscar. The others should not rely on her this much to function. Blake telling Ruby that she looks up to her and that they'll follow her lead is admittedly sweet, but still builds up the pressure weighing her down. Blake calling out for Ruby's help when the teen has just been crashed to the ground by the Hound isn't even sweet anymore. They're all supposed to be equals. Blake is just as capable as Ruby. Calling out to your mind-controlled friend to bring them back from the edge is good. Calling out to your 17-old sister who's been beaten up because you need her to fight isn't.

They need to recognize that Ruby should not hold up the place alone. Because yes, they love her. But at the end of the day, Ruby is still the one bearing the weight of their decisions... Alone, even surrounded.

✦ ✦ BURNED OUT - DODIE ✦ ✦

He was certain; So was I There was comfort in her sighs

Dreams and ideas should not be the same thing You waited, smiling for this?

Oh, she'd want it, if she knew She could take it, I thought too Be careful, be cautious but you just wished harder You waited, smiling for this?

"But they love you!" Over and over, "they love you!" Thousands and thousands of eyes just like mine Aching to find who they are

"Oh, they love you!" Oh, you can feel how they love you ! Coated and warm but that's all they can do Words only get through if they're sharp

Oh, how fitting For one so fake Make me a fairy Whatever it takes

And just like a tale my dream was a scam You waited, smiling for this?

I am burnt out I smell of smoke It seeps through her cracks and so I start to choke Sentences sit in her mouth that are templated You waited, smiling for this?

Oh, maybe I'll talk about it... (maybe I'll talk about it) I can just talk about it... (I can just talk about it) I'll never talk about it... (I'll never talk about it) No, I cannot talk about it...

Don't build hope on something broken I am not cartoon. Cry for help, I am not joking I might just leave soon

[scuttleboat]

Parenthood as a Major Theme in The Witcher

aka a defense of Yennefer's fertility arc

In some commentary on The Witcher season 1, I've read about disappointment that mid-season Yennefer spends her story time dedicated to hunting a fertility cure. The primary critique of this 2-episode arc for her is that it appears to conform too readily to a trope that "all women eventually want babies", and also seems counter to her previous disregard and cynicism for the idea of motherhood.

I think there's two cases that can be made that demonstrate why this element of the series deserves more than to be judged as "lazy or reductive writing". The first is Yennefer's personal journey--which after two viewings I believe holds up strongly. The second, even bigger case is what the theme of parenthood means to the show, and why Yennefer is only one of several aspects of it. That's what I am going to talk about in this post. Expect full spoilers for season 1.

Birth, Babies, and Legacy in Season 1

To put it bluntly, the topic of reproduction is all over The Witcher. The show is kind of obsessed with it. Let's go through the ways that parenthood and/or reproduction feature significantly in every episode:

1 - The conflict in Blaviken is a result of Stregobor's murderous obsession with killing babies born under a supposed curse. Those  infants and girls represented power that he wanted to terminate. In Cintra, Ciri becomes an orphan.

2 - Yennefer's mixed elven parentage is the source of her power and her physical deformity. Trauma is inherited generationally, seen again in Fillavandrel's outcast society, stripped of heritage and legacy. Jaskier's first song references abortion.

3 - A striga is made when a pregnant woman is cursed and her undead fetus becomes a ravenous monster. Foltest wants her to be rescued to live as his child and heir. Her monster body still has its umbilical cord--a gnarly cosmetic flourish that drives the point home. In Aretuza's scary gyno chair, Yen is sterilized in exchange for ultra-performative femininity. Although she consents, it is a corrupt bargain designed to exploit her.

4 - The Queen of Aederin and her newborn are assassinated for being unable to birth a male baby. Yennefer almost dies trying to prevent it, then gives a monologue about how the patriarchy only sees women as vessels.  Queen Calanthe tries to protect her daughter from the Law of Surprise, only to see it initiated again on her grandchild.

5 - After some 50 years as a mage Yen goes hunting for a fertility cure, using alchemy and then a djinn. She tells Tassaia that although she knew what she was giving up in Aretuza, "I didn't know what it would mean to me." Also, wow a lot of sex is had.

6 - Geralt and Yen talk about parenthood and their respective lost opportunities. The episode mcguffin is a dragon egg, whom they both fight to defend. Borch Three Jackdaws states the theme of parenthood outright. On the surface he is proclaiming his own motivation, but in the context of Geralt and Yennefer's prior discussions we know that he is speaking for both them and the show as a whole:

"This is my final 'first'. A child. This treasure, this legacy, must endure. There is no other reason to go on."

Episode 6 also shows how Geralt and Yen have grown since episode  4. She is forced to accept that natural birth is impossible, and Geralt is forced to reflect out loud that it's only fear of parental failure that has prevented him from claiming his own child. 

7 -  On getting news of the Nilfgaard invasion, Geralt decides to claim Ciri. Calanthe and Eist go to extremes to keep their child in their family.

8 - Everyone wants to be Ciri's new family, including this nice woman who doesn't have any daughters. In the end, Geralt finally becomes a father. 

Destiny = Family 

I firmly believe that the show is leading us to a point where Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri form an eventual family. The desire for family is verbalized multiple times for Ciri, notably in Brokilon Forest when she calls Dara her family, and then when Dara leaves her and tells her find another family. Twice in the show women try to adopt Ciri, promising safety and care. Yet she's driven by a strong directive to find Geralt as "he is your destiny".  She is his Child Surprise, essentially this universe's fucked up version of a godchild. And the Law of Surprise is not just tradition, but a cosmic binding with tangible consequences. Geralt initially denies this, but Duny, Eist, Mousesack, Yennefer, and Borch all vocalize it, and season 1 events bear it out.

If Ciri is steered by a bond of destiny, so is Geralt. When he rejects the Child Surprise at Pavetta's wedding, Mousesack warns that doing so will bring ill fortune. Episode 5 and 6 subtly but persistently imply that this prophecy is true, as the witcher's next several years are filled with sleeplessness and an undefined longing. Magically binding himself to Yennefer alleviates some of that (essentially by making him happy), but I don't think it's only because of love, but also because his destiny being intertwined with Yennefer is a step towards his destiny being intertwined with Ciri. Because even after getting some peaceful nights with intermittent Yennaffairs (get it? hah!), something still seems off with Geralt.

"You feel it just the same as me that hole inside you. That itch inside your brain keeps you awake at night. Come with me, I'll show you what you're missing." - Borch Three Jackdaws

This is a cute screenplay trick because we assume that he's talking about nostalgic adventure, but on review he's actually talking about parenthood. Later when Geralt gripes that the thing he was missing is Yennefer as she walks away again, Borch replies, "What you're missing is still out there. Your legacy, your destiny. I know it." (hello Ciri!) We never get a clear idea of why Mr. Three Cool Names knows all this stuff, but I didn't care because a dragon being cryptically omniscient is exactly the sort of thing I want from my fantasy shows.

Conclusion 

So it's family, family, family. Yennefer is just one corner of this thematic tapestry; the other three are Geralt, Ciri, and #destiny. Their journey to find each other, to accept these bonds, is what the show is about. I expect the theme to cement even more in future seasons.

Consequently, to reduce Yennefer's storyline to cliché alone is to miss the way everyone on this show is obsessed with parenthood in some form. It also misses how much fatherhood will be central Geralt's journey.  Even if he came to the same decision 2 episodes (and 13 years) later than Yen did, Geralt actively decides that he want to claim his role as a parent figure. That isn't the easy gripe target of "women want babies", but the point is that Yen and Geralt are both on the same path, with Ciri as the destination. A character can have something that resembles part of a cliché without being negatively defined by it. In The Witcher, the greater context is relevant to this critique.

So I urge you to look at the full season and see how her fertility arc fits into the big picture. If you still wish that Yen had continued to be proudly child-free, then I respect your desire to see that story told. However, it would be worth it to recognize now that this probably isn't going to be the story you want. Parenthood is a big part of it. This story is going to be about two magical adults and one magical child becoming a family.

A family of total badasses, adopted through destiny and love.

[omoi-no-hoka]

ah, I'mtrans (he/him pronouns), and was wondering which words I should use for stuff like "I, me, my"? like, boku is my right? I don't know any ohers though.

Hi! Thank you for your ask. First person pronouns (I, me, mine) can get pretty complex in Japanese, but that gives you much more freedom of expression than English. Let me give you a thorough description of each so you can make an informed decision on which one is right for you. :)

First Person Pronouns in Japanese

Who do you want to be?

In English, we only have one pronoun to express ourselves. “I.” It really doesn’t get any more boring than that. 

Maybe that’s why personal pronouns are one of the most interesting aspects of Japanese in my opinion. I actually did a research paper on the history of second-person pronouns (you) in Japanese back in uni. 

Why does Japanese have so many ways to say “I?” As I’m sure most of you know, social class and politeness is a fundamental aspect of Japanese culture and language. Different personal pronouns for oneself and others clarify the social standing of each person in the conversation. 

I’ll introduce the commonly used ones in order of politeness (most polite to least polite), and then cover the rare ones.

私 Watakushi

Gender: neutral

Plural Form: Watakushi-tachi

This is the most formal personal pronoun, and is used in very formal situations, like when you’re speaking to the president of a company or someone very important. In writing, because it has the same kanji as “watashi,” it is commonly written in hiragana.

私 Watashi

Gender: neutral (kind of)

Plural Form: Watashi-tachi, watashira

This is the most common personal pronoun.

Like the above watakushi, it conveys a sense of politeness. When used by men, it carries a note of humility and politeness.

However, it is the standard pronoun for women. Because we’re all supposed to be humble at all times? haha

So this is gender neutral and you can use it when you want to be polite.

あたし Atashi

Gender: Female

Plural form: Atashi-tachi, atashira

This is a bastardization of watashi.

It is casual and used exclusively by women. It sounds very feminine. In Japanese tv shows and anime, most male characters cross-dressing as women use “atashi” and it sounds very hyper-feminine. Like, if drag is hyper-feminine dress, “atashi” is the hyper-feminine way of speaking that would go with it. 

うち Uchi

Gender: Female

Plural: Uchira

This comes from the word 家 uchi. The kanji literally means “house,” but it can be used to mean “my family” or “us” in certain contexts. For example:

Japanese: 田中さんは自宅でどんな醤油を使っていますか？うちはやっぱりキッコーマンです。

Romaji: Tanaka-san ha jitaku de donna shouyu wo tsukatte imasu ka? Uchi ha yappari Kikkoman desu.

English: Tanaka-san, what kind of soy sauce do you use at home? We use Kikkoman.

From that use of uchi we get the personal pronoun uchi. This is generally used by young girls, college age and younger. It definitely has a very Valley Girl feel to it and isn’t professional.

僕 Boku

Gender: Mostly male, but female in certain contexts

Plural: Boku-tachi, bokura

If you want to rely on tropes to understand what sort of person would use “boku,” think of those harem anime. The nicest, sweetest guy almost always uses “boku” for himself. Contrasted with “ore,” it sounds softer, humbler, and kinder. 

It can also sound very slightly childish. Well, not childish. It sounds young. My boss’s boss, who is in his 60′s, uses boku instead of ore and it always strikes me as peculiar because he’s kinda too old to use boku. It makes him sound very humble and kind and the most approachable person ever. 

Boku is a good pronoun to use if you want to give off a soft, friendly, safe aura. While it isn’t as polite as watashi, you can still use it in formal settings. 

Occasionally, this pronoun is used by women. Specifically, it is used by female singers. It doesn’t matter the band, it doesn’t matter the song–every single female singer uses “boku” in their songs to refer to themselves. 

“Why?” you may ask. This is because singers want to connect to their listeners, and “watashi” is too formal and creates a bit of a barrier. “Atashi” and “uchi” are too feminine/childish, and “ore” is way too harsh. So “boku” became the choice for female singers. 

俺 Ore

Gender: Male

Plural: Orera, ore-tachi

Going back to anime tropes, “ore” is used by the “bad boy” or the “I don’t give a shit what you think” boy. Inuyasha, Kurosaki Ichigo (Bleach), and Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan) all use “ore.” This is in contrast to “nicer” characters in the shows that use “boku,” like Miroku (Inuyasha), Ishida Uryuu (Bleach), and Armin Arlert (Attack on Titan). 

Ore is considered “rough and tough” because it is very informal. It is used when the people you are talking to are within your inner circle or are beneath you. So you would never use it when talking to, say, your boss’s boss. (You might be able to use it with your boss if you are close with him and you have a friendship though.) 

That said, the vast majority of Japanese men I know use ore more than boku. So it wouldn’t be strange if you used ore. Just be aware that it isn’t as polite as you may want to be. 

And now for the rare pronouns…

Disclaimer: DON’T USE THESE. Japanese people will think you’re super weird and not in a good way. But you are likely to hear them in anime, dramas, or conversations.

👆 Me outside your door if you use “sessha” to refer to yourself unironically

拙者 Sessha

Literally “Unskilled one,” this is a very humble way to refer to yourself. It was commonly used by samurai, and probably the most famous anime character that uses it is Kenshin from Ruroni Kenshin. DO. NOT. USE. IT. unless you are jokingly pretending to be a samurai for like one sentence. 

吾輩 Wagahai

Though no longer in common usage, there isn’t a Japanese person that isn’t aware of this pronoun because of Natsume Soseki’s famous book Wagahai ha Neko de Aru (I Am a Cat). Written in 1905, it’s about a cat who observes its owners and the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions and the aping of Western customs.

“Wagahai” is the pronoun a nobleman or someone of very high rank would use to refer to himself, so the fact that a common house cat is using it to refer it self shows that, even a hundred years ago, everyone thought that cats were self-important. 

我 Ware

Plural: 我々 Wareware, 我ら Warera

To be honest, I don’t know a lot about this one. You hear it quite a bit in anime, and it’s always said by some stuffy important old guy. So…it’s probably for stuffy, old, important men to use? Just don’t use it. 

己 Ora

Used exclusively by men, the only somewhat main character I’ve seen use this pronoun is King from Seven Deadly Sins. In manga, it is usually written in hiragana or katakana. It has a very “country bumpkin” feel to it. A simple country person who doesn’t know the ways of the world (but not in a bad way). 

俺様 Oresama

DO NOT USE THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. It is the rudest personal pronoun “ore” with the honorific “sama” attached to it.There is nothing ruder, nothing more “you are the dirt I walk upon” than this. If you use this and you’re not joking, the Japanese people around you will instantly dislike you. 

儂 Washi

Usually written in hiragana or katakana, “washi” is the way that old people refer to themselves. It’s gender-neutral. Like…idk, 60 and upwards? So don’t use this unless you fall into that age range. 

某 Soregashi

I think I’ve only seen this once, used by a character in Rurouni Kenshin who was quickly killed. It was used by samurai. So unless YOU are a samurai from 150 years ago, don’t use it. It’s so low frequency that if you used it as a joke I doubt Japanese people would understand. But hey. You learned a cool new word. 

The End!

I hope that this post helps you choose the pronoun that fits you best. ♡