#and i know episode 7 was sad in many ways but it left me honestly feeling so TRIUMPHANT because style is finally FREE!!

[secriden]

There's something so wondrously momentous about Style only saying his "I love you" now, when he realises that all the secrets he was keeping from Fadel are already laid bare.

He says this a significant time after Fadel has said his (and, in the context of the wider narrative, after Kant and Bison) and for the character we have seen as prone to glibness, exaggeration and flippancy with his words, that feels incredibly intentional.

Because this confession was the only truth Style had left to give.

Fadel is finally done playing his (poorly thought out) game, done with his (already cracking at the seams) charade, done with giving Style more opportunities to pull at his heartstrings with his earnestness lies.

Fadel is demanding the truth, and tells Style exactly what truth he wants to hear.

And the thing is, there is truth in this: Style's motivations at the start were wrapped up in a deception specifically targeting Fadel.

I know we, as a fandom, harp on about Style "doing all that for a car", but something I would like us all to revisit is what Kant actually says to Style when he first asks Style to "hit on" Fadel:

Kant: You need to help me. You know I don't usually feel this way about someone. And then shortly later, after Style refuses: Kant: Hey, hold on. (Kant grabs Style's hand.) What do I have to do to for you to help me out? Should I pay you?

(Please forgive my inability to gif and watch Style's reaction to this.) Style is visibly surprised and intrigued. Kant seems to be serious about this request, and I think Style decides to test just how important it is to Kant by asking for the one thing he knows Kant will not give up.

Just look the expressions on Style's face. We didn't have the context of knowing Style back then as well as we do now, but this is the look Style gets when he's throwing out a challenge (to Fadel), when he's trying to ferret out some new insight (from Fadel), when he wants to see how someone (Fadel) will react to whatever outlandish (provocative) thing he's said or done.

And when Kant agrees, Style even checks again if Kant is serious about going through with it -- and it's this that convinces Style of the sincerity of Kant's request.

Yes, the car was a factor, and yes Style also wanted revenge and to humble Fadel, but at the centre of Style's motivation has always been a plea for help from a friend.

In episode 1: Kant: Under one condition. You have to make him head over heels in love with you. Style: I'll do it. Not just for the car, but someone like him needs to be humbled by someone like me.

But in agreeing to help Kant, Style really was damning Fadel to play the fool because Fadel's feelings (his heart) was a commodity that Style was fully willing to play with back then.

And there are aspects of truth here too. When Kant tells Style about Fadel (and Bison) being hitmen, Style decides he's done and wants out. Kant reasons that it's more dangerous for Style to break up with Fadel now, because it would look suspicious, but crucially this isn't enough to convince Style.

So Kant, once again, makes the plea to friendship and to his need for Style specifically, and it is this that causes Style to finally cave.

But in doing so, the things that Style agrees to are:

Kant: Work with me. Help me get more information about them. Once we get that, it's done. Captain puts them in jail, and we walk free.

So while Style may not be directly working with the police, he is working with Kant who he knows is working with the police. By proxy, Style is involved with the police, but in front of the empty pool, he makes it clear to Fadel just what that involvement actually entailed:

Style: Kant asked me to take you out so you could leave him alone and he could freely investigate. Fadel: What did he get out of it? Style: I don't know! That ain't my business! All I was asked of is to take you out.

And this, too, actually is true! Since finding out, Style has literally not discovered a single thing that could be remotely useful to the police investigation:

He's found out that Fadel likes to gym at night. He's found out that Fadel uses tenderloin in his burgers. That he runs in the morning before going to the market. That he attends a grief support group.

But these were all things Kant also already knew and could have given the police if it were in any way useful for the investigation.

Even his attempts to get Fadel to confess to his "other job" (something the police also already know) were clearly in service of wanting to save Fadel and/or convince him to give up the life of crime in the hopes that Fadel wouldn't have to be sent away from Style to prison.

But the truths are tangled up in misunderstandings and Fadel's own assumptions now; and also further tainted again by Bison's own hurt over Kant's betrayal. And Fadel literally cannot see -- because his eyes are filled with tears [see: @thisautistic's gifset + my tags] (good grief, Joong, the actor you are) -- the honesty Style is bleeding from the marrow of his bones.

Because the truth is that along the way Style has also found out that Fadel is a good older brother. That Fadel is still hurting and bleeding inside because his parents were murdered. That Fadel wears his favourite bands' make up in secret because he cannot bear the thought of other's judgement. He's found out that Fadel misses Style, wants Style, and hates himself for it. That Fadel is afraid to love. That Fadel is acutely aware of his own darkness and cannot comprehend an existence that would not involve someone (Style) rejecting it. That Fadel does not believe that 100% trust is possible, but that he will get himself drunk so that he can offer Style as much vulnerability as he can physically make himself give.

Because the things that Style did find out were all the ways Fadel's heart is soft and tender and precious and worthy worthy worthy of all the love Style has to give.

And Style will stand firm on this truth because this is the only thing he has left to give Fadel.

Because Fadel knows, now, all the ways Style was unworthy of his trust, but crucially has not figured out the most important truth:

Because in a very significant and profound way, Style is wholly deserving of Fadel's trust. Because in all the ways that Fadel has ever known he should want, Style actually IS worthy of his trust. Style knows the truth Fadel is hiding, knows what this man is capable of, knows the danger of being in his arms, knows the likely nonexistent future Fadel has to offer him -- and wants him anyway. -- Quoted from my meta post on the "One day, I'll be your 100%" line.

And as I alluded to in the tags on @yinwaring's insightful post: Style fully embodies the belief he espouses; because even in the face of a gun to his head and Fadel threatening to kill him if he will not admit that this, too, is a lie, Style refuses to give Fadel anymore dishonesty.

And this is because Style knows that the truth matters; now more than ever.

Because Style has had days to grapple with his worry after Fadel's disappearance. Style has had a week's worth of checking the diner only to face the regret he feels about not handling things differently. Style has had to recognise the terror of thinking he had lost something he never even knew he wanted in the first place.

And while Fadel had his realisation back in episode 4, Style never had to face this until Fadel vanished from his life and left a gaping hole in the shape of the absence of Fadel's smile.

So if this is what it takes, if this is the penance that Fadel demands of him, then it is a price Style is most happy to pay.

Because Fadel does not realise is that Style, too, now knows what it means to lose a love worth fighting for.

And in the war Fadel now feels compelled to wage against Style (because, yes, that's definitely still going on), the one damning thing Fadel has failed to recognised is that his only true weapon was leaving Style behind.

Which is why Style has already won. Not because Fadel's walls have crumpled again or because they don't still have a ton of things to talk through and work out (they really, really do), but because Style has already been stripped bare (and I mean this literally, like we all recognise THAT was the reason why Dunk is only in boxer shorts in that scene, right?? Like, I know we were joking about it, but seriously, that was so very intentional and a visual representation of Style being both stripped and, most importantly, freed from the lies he felt compelled to tell Fadel) and this means he has nothing holding him back.

And Fadel can wield his gun and his words and his anger and his hurt, but Style will die on the hill of the truth that he knew and understood and chose to love Fadel anyway, and saved this last confession for when he knew he could tell Fadel the truth without any lingering deception; and when the time is right, when Fadel is finally ready, Style will be there to welcome him back with open arms and, without any hesitation, an open heart.

[elladorathegreat]

What I thought of TUA season 4

(Just my opinion pls no hate n if ppl wanna talk Abt it I would love to)

SPOILERS AHEAD

1. Victor FINALLY having it out on reggie

That was fucking amazing all those years of pent up exhaustion and aggression towards Reginald has finally come out and it was just beautiful to watch tbh

2. Ben and Jennifer

THIS HAD ME IM NGL I LOVED IT SO MUCH I love how through all the timelines there’s ALWAYS them, I was picking up on it throughout the season and it was just amazing, I loved that, I am a hopeless romantic so I was all there for it even tho it did destroy everything

3. Paralells

there were so many parallel’s throughout it from the previous seasons and just even the parallel of Jennifer knocking on the wall to Ben bro It just had me, I also love how the violin was still a theme throughout it through Abigail and the music during certain scenes, also having I think were alone now as the ending song was absolutely amazing although it was a different version/cover I loved that they used it in the first and last episode

4. PLOT TWISTS

BENS DEATH WAS CRAZY, had me and my best friend GASPING I’ve spent years theorising over how he died and I NEVER ONCE thought of Reginald being the case

ALSO ABIGAIL (reggies wife) ended up being on the opposite side which was insane. The way she also let lose on Reginald in the skin of gene was hilarious

5. Lila and Five

Just gonna say this first, I DIDNT LIKE IT. Even though as disgusting as it looks (due to fives body being younger) Lila and five makes sense as Lila said it was survival and they thought that they weren’t ever going to find a way back however five hiding the journal and way home from Lila just to have a relationship with her when she’s HIS BROTHERS WIFE is CRAZY I hate how they made him the bad guy in the end when it came to Lila and Diego and I did hate how they ruined Diego and Lila’s relationship for that :(

The fact they both genuinely fell in love tho is just crazy and tbh I never knew how to feel whenever it was on the screen however klaus, Allison and Luther were HILARIOUS at the confrontation scene.

6. TUA growing up!

Content of the kids FINALLY

IVE WAITING SO LONG FOR THERE TO BE MORE SCENES OF TUA AS KIDS ANS WE FINALLY GOT IT! I loved seeing them interact with each other and also showing that viktor wasn’t CONPLETELY alone growing up as he and Ben had a friendship, it also shows how klaus and Alison’s friendship has been deep rooted since they were young

7. Allison EATING

Allison was HORRIFIC in season 3 as we all know due to her crisis(?) but this season she was such a boss bitch and I actually lived for it icl the way she put reggie in his place and also helped klaus so much it was beautiful

8. The last episode!

The last episode was very Rick and Morty esq. but I loved it, it was so sad but so good and although it felt a bit rushed and I WISH they had more seasons coming they ended it off so well and with the 8 marigold flowers growing at the END END it was just beautiful and also kinda made me think like what if there is more? (Even tho there’s not :() also having all of the characters at the end such as the triplets from season 2, the commission workers, hazel and Agnes, the handler, grace, it was just all amazing and left me speechless

I actually can’t believe it over tho, they did so well with all of it and I love it so much.

Ofc this is all my opinion and I can’t wait to hear what other ppl think cuz honestly there’s so much to debrief and talk Abt it was also rly funny but honestly I loved it.

[robbyrobinson]

Two Beautiful Scenes (SPOILERS)

Like damn, didn't think that I'd almost be brought to tears this week. Thought that I had dried up much of them from episode 7 of Dandadan, but I almost nearly cried watching Wicked (2024). Both of those were just so beautiful I almost bawled like a baby.

"To a Kinder World" is probably one of the greatest episodes in 2024 anime thus far with everything working to its pleasure. Momo wanting to resuscitate Aira even after she had her jumped and tried to "exorcise" her. And then there is the aura transferal.

I was honestly surprised to see that there were a select few who thought that the scene of Acrobatic Silky with her daughter did not work or did not understand the context behind it. For instance, when she first wakes up and you hear running water, it is pretty apparent that she is an escort with the one in the shower being one of her clients. This was someone who was a single mother who worked hard to provide for her daughter because she loved her that much. Even if it meant selling herself and doing unsavory things.

This is a classic case of show don't tell where the story gives several hints and implications without making the audience feel that they need to be spoon-fed information. The OST... good god, the music was so good. And that dance she did before she gave into despair. It accentuated the tragedy of the episode and, honestly, even after I watched the episode, I still think back to everything that Acrobatic Silky did for her daughter and just how unfair her plight was.

And then the fact that, after sacrificing herself for Aira, there would be nothing left of her as if she never existed? Like, screw you Turbo Granny for being so condescending. Granted I know it was because she and Okarun didn't see Acrobatic Silky's memories, but it still hurt to think Acrobatic Silky was still being mistreated even when she was barely holding onto her form.

But really, Acrobatic Silky and Arai were alike in many ways and you could say they ultimately needed each other. It is just so tragic to see a mother who had their daughter stolen from her, and a girl who not only lost her mother but didn't understand that her mother wasn't coming back. Of course, Arai ensures that Acrobatic Silky's heart was at peace.

But, yes, with Wicked, I can't give you the exact date I first found out about the musical, but I just loved the songs in particular "Defying Gravity" which I was wondering how it would be done justice in the movie. Both Cynthia and Ariana Grande do a phenomenal job with their chemistry and how they can hold a harmony. I was legitimately crying over how good it sounded. Like, what's break it down.

I just loved how they had the song feel "natural" like they have moments where they allow the song to breathe with pauses. Elphaba's "Something has... changed within me" really sounds like she was trying to choose the best words to describe what she was feeling in that moment. I just had chills hearing the raw sadness in Elphaba and Glinda's voices where you could tell they did not want this to get to that point, and that, had Oz not have been such a big threat, I could see Glinda joining Elphaba.

The orchestra, the action... and the big moment of Elphaba causing that black out was so cinematic as hell. That war cry... I was just so, so moved by it all.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

3 and 12 especially if 12 does not correspond to the list from 3

3. Rank the shows you are currently watching from least favorite to favorite.

Ok. So I just answered this one. So I guess this time I'll give some reasons for each one.

8.My Love Mix-Up! This one just started so there isn't a lot to say about it and what I got to say I kinda did when it aired. I'll be waiting to see if it improves because I like the actors. 7.Love Sea I literally just finished watching the first episode an hour ago. I'm not sold and the reason it surpasses MLMU is the ocean. I love anything a little bit more if I can watch the ocean at the same time. 6.We Are It's not breaking any new ground. But I'm enjoying the friendship moments a lot. The group is really fun and they are all very natural together. Tan/Fang are my favourites atm and I wish I had more than crumbs Chain/Pun, because I find Pun really fun to watch. 5.Knock Knock, Boys! It's really fun. I'm actually laughing in certain moments which doesn't happen all that often. I really like the house dynamics, it feels very real to me. Seng is great of course, but I like all of them. The food montage was a high moment for me. I was drooling. 4.Only Boo! They are so freakin adorable. I am in pain. That train break up was so sad. Well done but sad. I understand the reason, and it makes sense from what we know of Kang, but it was painful. And that title card '1 year later'... I hate it so much. We don't really know how much happened in that year so I don't want to preemptively criticize it, but I hope that something else changed and not only the calendar. Cause if you're gonna move past so many things, at least give me growth. 3.With You I Bloom This one is a jdrama and thanks to an amazing fansubber I can watch as it airs which is not always the case with jdramas. This is not a bl, but I don't think anyone has told the show yet. I started watching this one because there are a lot of jbl actors in it so I was curious. And I'm having so much fun. It's basically a bunch of dudes learning to fight with swords in very nice clothes. There are a bunch of couples pairs, with very different dynamics, several sad backstories, and the final theme song makes cackle every time because it's always a massive tonal shift, because it's so happy and honestly, so so gay. 2.Wandee Goodday It's a whole new level of idiots in love and I love it. Like there's idiot in love, and then there's Dee. He's going for first place and no one can even touch him. I think if Taem clearly and without reservations rejects Yak, he can accept his feelings for Dee properly. But Dee is all over the place and at this point I don't think the show is doing a good job at telling me why. He keeps going back and forth too quickly for me. I truly hope that final flashback he had when they were running was him accepting his feelings. Also I NEED to know about Cher and Oyei. I need that backstory. TODAY. 1.At 25:00 in Akasaka I love Hayama a normal amount. This last episode was a rollercoaster for me. That ending left me screaming. And then I went through a whole thing when @lurkingshan threw my glasses on the floor and I was able to see everything in a whole new way. Anyway I love this show. What they are doing with the two shows is so interesting, and the editing is so smart. And I love them both. Hayama has my whole heart though.

2. Which show do you think will have the best ending?

Honestly, I have no idea. Endings are hard. It's hard to tie all the loose ends and make everybody happy. Jbl's lately have not done a great job at them. I still trust them more than Thai bl endings and I feel like we are collectively dreading WG end because of that. So honestly. If I'm going by what I've seen so far, I'm gonna say Only Boo. Maybe because the stakes are not as high as for some of the other shows, I expect a solid ending that will leave me with a big smile and a full heart. And that's honestly more than I've been getting so I'll be happy.

Thank you so much for dropping by with questions. 💜

Currently Airing Shows Ask Game

[dysfunctional-doodle]

YIPPEE YIPPEE YIPPEE YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I DO THISSSS (well minus the evil clone stuff)!!!!! one time i got distracted by myself in the mirror and talked for about half an hour about stuff that didn’t make sense and then i stopped and realised. oh hold on. i’m supposed to be taking a shower right now. but at that point i had been talking so long i found it hard to stop lmao

for a second i thought you meant they were making motorcycle sounds with their mouths 😭😭

sad recorder noises 😔😔😔😔😔

(this donnie is written so sassily and dissapointed i love him here more than i do in the series (his voice kinda makes him more annoying to me… how does this guy voiced by one of the best vas in history have the worst voice in this show???? (although i guess that’s just my opinion (don was right rambling is great (adhd be damned this girl can go on very long and unnecessary tangents)))))

will always love how he just like. narrates his emotions or… sound effects???? idk what to call them. i think it’s thanks to him (and also lucy loud) that i say “sigh” instead of actually sighing (i also say shit like ‘smiling face emoticon’ or ‘sad face’ or ‘sobs’ out loud sometimes (wow i sure do love lore drops))

honestly yes that was a big oversight. i think there are like massive human hamster balls and i NEED to experience that please please please

HE’S LETTING THE CARDBOARD CUTOUTS BABYSIT THEM????????????????????????????????? AND IT ACTUALLY WORKS?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

leo honey. that is a cardboard cutout.

knowing this fic, this was definetly the right call

he’s figured out a way to get them to listen…

also THEMMMMMMMMMMM ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH <3333333333333333

this fic has me by the neck i swear to god.

also since i have one more image left i can send and no more screenshots to comment on i’m going to give you she/they mikey because even though i’ve posted her pretty much everywhere i can i. can’t remember how i was going to finish that sentence

anyways uhhhhh goodbye :3

(damn i had a lot more to say here today huh…. the urge to drop a random bit of information about yourself 24/7)

Firstly, love the drawing. All Mikey content is cherished here 🧡

Glad you liked the chapter! And I’m relieved you like the way I’ve written 2012 Donnie - I have only watched about four episodes of the 2012 show, and so I base a lot of his character on the Speed Demon episode. I do not like what they do with his character and the whole love triangle thing, a Donatello deserves much better than what he got. But I’ve been told from other ao3 users and anons here that they actually like 2012 Donnie’s character in my fic a lot, so I hope I’m doing something right lol. Idk. If anyone who has actually watched the show has any pointers feel free to guide me about how I write those boys :)

(I haven’t actually posted about this one being out yet, so those who are a little lost I’ve done a new chapter of my tmnt chat fic, Too Many Turtles)

[no-nightingales-iwanttodie]

PERCY JACKSON EPISODE 7 SPOILERS!!! (and also for the book if you haven't read it!!)

So, as always, FANTASTIC episode.... But..

There were soo many things that I waited the week to see, that they either changed, or completely left out.

A lot of the changes they did in the series are not changes that bother me or they're changes I really liked, but this time they did me dirty.

The struggle in crusty's??? The waiting room filled with dead people??? The whole oh no cerberus is after us what are we gonna do omg wait cerberus is just a big puppy that wants to have some fun???

I know they did still technically have that last one but it was very different from the book.

Now see, I don't mind that it's different from the books, this is Rick's chance to rewrite the book but with the knowledge he has of what happens in the whole book series.. But some things I think affected the episode a bit on the negative side.

Another thing that does annoys me at times, but truly isn't the end of the world, is that too often the characters just. Know. They meet a new monster and they immediately know who it is and what they do. Where as in the book they find out the hard way. Knowing that they've reached medusas lair before they see the statues to prove it, knowing how to defeat crusty before even walking into his shop (otherwise Annabeth wouldn't already be wearing her cap, fight me) etc. I think the overall show would be slightly improved, had they just added maybe 10 minutes to every episode, and used those extra minutes to show our heroes actually in trouble. Percy doesn't know how to properly fight yet, show him learning. They do that, but I think they could do it more.

I don't mind the telling, not showing, because the entire first book is just a huge infodump. The people that are mad at that, needs to read the book (again)

Also, that is EXACTLY how I envisioned hades to be. Not so somber, not the hadestown version of hades (tho I really do love hadestown hades) but the dorky, clever little bastard that was in episode 7. Thank you! I immensely enjoyed every second of those few minutes of screen time he had. But I do think some scenes were too short. Don't come for me, I know a lot of the "fights" from TLT are way shorter than some people might remember, but they did almost die in crusty's shop and I wanted persassy talking to charon and sailing the Styx.

I did like that they kept the shoes dragging grover to tartarus, that gives a lot of info to non readers about who the traitor is.. One thing about tartarus though... I clearly remember it as a cave with a huge bottomless pit? I could be wrong, and honestly, it being in a cave or the middle of a desert is not something that is too important to me, I just thought the cave set the whole mood. Ykno, with Artemis being trapped in there in TTC and all that. But again, not That important to me.

The only thing that has legitimately bothered me about this show, has been the lighting. As someone who is incredibly passionate about lighting, and wants to become a professional in the field, watching (or struggling to) some of the scenes, were so annoying. They could do better than giving Pjo the DC treatment. I watch the show on my computer, in a dark room, with the screen light on max, and still couldn't see certain scenes in the show (like the amusement park, the minotaur, fields of asphodel etc)

There's many ways to show the audience that it's so dark the characters might have trouble seeing, without the audience feeling the same way.

I'm so sorry about the length of this, I had stuff to say. But no one will ever get me to dislike this show. I love it, so so soo much, sometimes there are just things I'm insanely excited to see, as a book reader, that doesn't happen and I'm a bit sad about that, no matter how good bad or neutral the changes are.

[melonteee]

I enjoyed OPLA and really did like some of the changes they made but now that it's marinated in my brain a bit. It's hard out here being a Sanji enjoyer fr

I feel like it didn't really show his sensitivity and vulnerability. You said something about Baratie arc feeling like a checklist and GOD yeah it really felt like that :'D I always forget the Mihawk fight happened there honestly and am disappointed that parts of the episodes were dedicated to tension between Nami, Luffy and Zoro about the duel rather than... you know... blorbo from my shows

He really did feel like a side character to his own story cause some of the most memorable things about him were completely missed or skimmed over. I h8 that he just talks about the All Blue and it's not that goofy smile from the animanga. Also that he doesn't watch the fight or have this moment of "wait, my dream is worth fighting for". It's kinda said to our face that "he doesn't leave cause he owes Zeff" but I don't feel it the same way I do in the animanga. I have so many weird feelings cause I love some aspects to OPLA. But as a Sanji fan, I'm sad that he's kinda barely in it? And that what they left in were just surface level observations about him: "he's a chef who fights and flirts" um, where's that self-loathing and self-destructive kindness huh??

At least he calls Zoro mosshead once though and I got the joy of replaying that scene in different languages and now know what "mosshead" is in a plethora of languages.

...also have you seen the YOUTOOZ figures for OPLA cause I'm haunted

I just...everyone was stripped of character but Sanji and Usopp were especially so ruined I really do not understand it. Like I'm sorry, using Sanji's pain and trauma as a lesson for Luffy IS a despicable way to frame it, even worse with Luffy not even ACKNOWLEDGING IT??

One's pain in One Piece does not exist to teach any other characters a lesson, Sanji starving on a rock for 2 months does not exist so he can just tell Luffy how hard it is to be a captain. Which doesn't even make SENSE because Zeff wasn't even SANJI'S CAPTAIN AT THE DAMN TIME. NOR HAS HE EVER BEEN?

I feel crazy because everyone seems very lukewarm on it, and maybe I am just insanely attached to Sanji and feel greatly touched by his story, but is using a character's original written trauma as a plot device for ANOTHER character not insulting? Is there ANY respect for Sanji's 2 months of hell there? There's a damn good reason Sanji's story existed to be his OWN and not a motivational speech for LUFFY??

Imagine if Zoro was like "My best friend died, changing the course of my life and putting me through a grief so heavy I now carry her dream with me. Sometimes death of a loved one is an inevitable factor" and Luffy's like "L+ratio+I would kill MY best friend for Sanji" LIKE...WHA....

This is pure insanity I feel like I'm being shot left and right with everything I hear, like I'm glad people are enjoying bits and pieces, truly, but the flaws and disrespect of original character are just so apparent they're doing my head in - especially with how tons of people are choosing to just ignore it.

They tried to give Luffy this weird Water 7 moment, where he had to learn how to be a captain, but this script failed to consider Luffy had to learn that HIMSELF of his OWN circumstances and decisions with Usopp. Yes he was helped by Zoro in Water 7, but Zoro didn't suddenly just trauma dump about how awful a past he had for Luffy to go "Cool. ANYWAYS!" LIKE I JUST...REALLY? Am I crazy or overly biased or what because god damn I'm just jaw dropped at all of this fhgkd

The Baratie is meant to be Luffy witnessing SANJI'S character, and learning of SANJI'S personality and morals - with Sanji then being inspired from Luffy. Where was that? Where was any of that? Why was Sanji's kindness, stubbornness and self-sacrifice side-lined for a character we've been with LONGER at that point to get a bigger spotlight? It's so weird I don't GET IIIIT DFGHJKD

HOWEVER, yes I have seen the merchandise and it scared me KHDFGJKD sorry for that I...truly had a lot of thoughts hhh

[incesthemes]

final thoughts: supernatural season 13

weird how i have a headache once again. it's like a ritual now. finish a season gain a headache. anyway let's see. a much better season than both 11 and 12 i think. but goddamn that fucking apocalypse world. i can already tell most of this post is going to be me complaining about the apocalypse world. sorry in advance.

so i'm pleasantly surprised that i only hated a sparse few episodes, actually. most of the worse episodes were either mediocre or cringe, and honestly i can accept that. there was some decent stuff here, and i'll give credit where it's due.

i think the season was at its best when lucifer and the apocalypse world weren't in any way involved. unfortunately there were very few episodes entirely absent of both (sad!), but at least there were plenty of scenes that avoided both subjects. i'm clinging to those with gusto.

lucifer... well it's the same issues i've had with him since season 7. i don't like the total rewrite of his character, and i especially don't enjoy his flimsy, superficial motivations, if he ever has motivations to begin with. i'm extremely bored of villains who want evil for evil's sake, power for power's sake. it's tired, it's hackneyed, it's entirely uninteresting. kripke's lucifer was an interesting take on the devil, with his understated and quiet arrogance: you almost wanted to believe him and sympathize with his position. he was compelling and new. but once kripke left the scene, lucifer just feels... like mark pellegrino is trying to recreate crowley from good omens, basically.

the petulant, bratty attitude lacks synergy with his earlier portrayal, and he loses a true purpose in the show. he goes from trying to fulfill one half of a destiny that parallels the relationship between sam and dean to... i don't even know, honestly. first he's a whacky and silly hallucination, then he wants daddy to apologize to him (and throws a temper tantrum to get it), then he wants... to destroy the world? i guess? and then he wants to rule the world, or something, because why not. there's barely anything reminiscent of his original purpose in the show, and hardly anything left of his original personality and character. it's really disappointing to see him disintegrate from something truly compelling to a flat, one-dimensional cardboard cutout of Evil Cartoon Villain. he's just not interesting anymore, i guess unless you really like crowley good omens and have always wanted to see him in supernatural instead. no offense intended to crowley good omens, for the record. he's just lovely in his original series, playing the role he was created for.

anyway what the fuck happened with lucifer in heaven anyway? like i keep feeling i straight-up missed a scene, or an episode. anael walked away from lucifer and then....? and then lucifer is just gone, i guess? like seriously did miss something? what happened between bring 'em back alive and funeralia???? how did they get lucifer out of heaven???? is that EVER explained????

anyway (x2) i guess i'll complain about the apocalypse world again because i still hate it. if there are 10000 apocalypse world haters i'm one of them. if there are 100 apocalypse world haters i'm one of them. if there's 1 apocalypse world hater that's me. if there's 0 apocalypse world haters i'm dead. and so on and so forth. i'm not above being petty.

i've mostly hashed out my thoughts on this world before so i won't bore anyone with the details, but i really really hate how they continued down this path in season 13. there are too many obvious narrative ploys to excuse the actions that sam, dean, and mary have taken. it's like a redemption arc for them without them ever having to do anything to "earn" that redemption. its entire existence screams "well without them doing these horrible things, everything would have been much worse! so actually it's okay!" and i can't stand that level of flippant, tone-deaf handwaving. it's like they can't bear the thought of their protagonists being anything less than morally good, and that gets under my skin and pisses me off like nothing else.

and i think this is particularly bad for mary. the thing season 12 did really well was making her a deeply flawed individual, someone who makes mistakes and is selfish and lost and just trying to make the best decisions with a shit hand and who suffers great losses because the game was rigged against her. she hurts her kids because of her choices, both in the past and in the present, and the show doesn't make an attempt to excuse her but rather encourages the audience to sympathize with her unique situation and understand that this is not and never was a black-and-white problem. there are no "good people" because everyone makes choices that harm others. this is an important theme rooted in the foundation of the show, and it's important to me.

which is why it infuriates me that the branching-off point in the apocalypse world is that mary didn't make the deal with azazel. because all that does is excuse the harm he inflicted on her kids. "the alternative was worse!" to such an extreme that the only thing the audience can do is justify mary's actions and absolve her of her sins. that's not fair to her, and it portrays her in exactly the opposite light that season 12 did, by forcing her into a pure and morally righteous role as the woman who made the Right Choice, who saved the world because of her small sacrifice. it's not fair! they took a complex female character and flattened her so badly into a Good Person simply by transforming her most destructive, selfish decision into the morally good one. it just feels like the writers couldn't handle the agony of writing a female character who wasn't either 100% good or 100% evil, and god it pisses me off. i'm seriously so disappointed in this direction, and the echoes of that direction soured the entirety of season 13 for me. because not only was mary rewritten into the morally upstanding mother, she was also reduced and limited in her narrative role. she took a major backseat this season, and what she was allowed to do was wholly motherly and nurturing. she took care of jack, she... took care of jack, she insisted that the rest of the resistance camp return to the real world with them, she... well damn, she took really good care of jack! none of the reckless, short-sighted characterization of season 12 remains, all her ruthlessness was drained, all of her power and competence ignored, and she was left to a disappointing support role as jack's moral compass, a nurturing mother to help jack develop. i'm SO angry about this, if you can't tell. SO angry about it.

i really, really, really am not someone to say that a character "deserved better" because for one that's a stupid and pointless argument to get into and i find most commentary in that vein to be both entitled and advocating for wildly OOC behavior in pursuit of content that destroys narrative integrity and eliminates drama, plot, and conflict. but mary... god i'm just so disappointed with how they used her this season. they did such great work with her last season. and this season they flattened her into Mother. and i'm so unhappy with it. If You Can't Tell.

let's see. more positive comments: i like how rowena is developing. she still falls firmly into the camp of side characters who are weirdly shallow for the roles they occupy because this show is chronically incapable of crafting good side characters, BUT now that she's getting some on-screen developments there's more meat on her bones, and i like what she's doing. that said, i really disagree with the complete about-face she made from season 12 to 13. seriously what's with the difference in characterizations between 12 and 13...? i'm so so confused here. i don't understand why rowena would ever be so broken up about crowley dying considering she tried to kill him so many times—maybe whoever decided that was the same person who decided mary had to be Mother and nothing else. mother characters have to be Mother and Mother trumps all other facets of their personality, maybe? whatever it is, i'm so annoyed by it and i hope to god this gets better in season 14. please lord i can't keep doing this. i need my women problematic, fucked up, and irredeemable. please.

jack, i'll talk about jack briefly because i'm getting sleepy and holy shit i want to go to bed lmao. i really love his character, i think he's appropriately nuanced and it's very refreshing. i suppose it's because he's a main character, and supernatural handles its main characters far better than the side characters (my issues with cas and his narrative development notwithstanding). he creates so much natural conflict, and i love how he plays off of sam and dean in really organic and interesting ways. i love how he helps to continue dean's arc from season 6 regarding his ability to be a father, and i love how both sam and dean project themselves so heavily onto him and respond to him in drastically different ways according to that perception. it's really complex and layered, which results in fantastic interactions and well-written drama that i greatly appreciate. even jack's interactions with lucifer, as much as i dislike lucifer's character, managed to be engaging and compelling. i love how much everyone is fumbling through all of this (this being parenthood) throughout the season, and how none of them really take to it naturally and those bonds have to form out of mistakes and forgiveness. it feels really satisfying and i'm so, so happy with how it's panned out.

i've seen posts floating around that dean wasn't jack's father, at least not to the extent sam and cas were, but i wholeheartedly disagree and i think dean plays a really vital role in this parenting dynamic, and he's willing to step up in ways both sam and cas hesitate to. for better and for worse, of course. and i just adore that jack so earnestly seeks dean's approval, and that makes dean giving that approval that much sweeter and cathartic. dean was able to give jack what he never got from john, in a big way. or at least dean didn't get it until john was literally on his death bed. it's a lot of character development for dean, and i loved seeing that. and i love that it continued through the season, and dean was able to heal himself through jack and find the father inside of him that can break the cycle of abuse that he inevitably perpetuated through ben. like seriously, incredible character arc. i'm obsessed with it.

i've barely talked about sam's parenting jack because i really don't have much to say. like he did so well, even when he messed up, in reaching out to jack and trying so hard to be the father he never had. he's open and honest about his intentions, his goals, his love, and his care. even though he's not great at communicating, he tries, and that eventually conveys in a way jack understands and appreciates. it's a totally new side to sam that i was anticipating because of tumblr, but that i wouldn't have expected going in blind. he's not exactly cut out for domesticity—really he sucks at it. so seeing him forge himself through dogged effort into a father was really rewarding, and i think his earnest devotion to that cause was what carried him to success there. he's strong-willed and he proved that here, and it's just really heart-warming to see him interact with jack and take care of him the best he knows how to, all the while actively striving to learn better. it's awesome.

i know dean is possessed by an archangel at the moment but i really am hoping for some nice domestic co-parenting wincest moments next season. i need it to live, i think <3

i think this is probably long enough, and also my headache is getting worse because it wants me to sleep 💔 so i'll end this here and start my season 13 detox :) i can't believe i only have 40 episodes left of this show. it feels so unreal, and it actually makes me want to skip the detox and keep going, but i know i'll regret that decision so i'll be diligent and read my wincest porn to cope with bad writing.

[aceofnace]

I was honestly expecting the most romantic season of tv I'm not kidding bc what do you mean soulmates who are separated by a love curse that's such an incredibly good plot, the stuff of dreams ships never get. But let's be real they kinda botched it, no matter how it turns out, we had half a season where they barely interacted and we're never going to see their big moments together and them being madly in love and solving crimes together and protecting each other and moving in together and getting engaged( I had this wish that it would be Nancy who proposes bc it would be such a big thing coming from her and for ace to see someone actually want that with him, it would mean so much growth for both of them). Now all we can hope for is they don't slap us with Tristan and Nancy as soulmates, give us as many moments of them together and give us a flashforward of their happily ever after ..

I was expecting that too, especially after the first 3 swoonworthy episodes of the season. I thought, this is THEIR season. But boy, did it go downhill fast. Episode 4 had NO Nace interactions, and then 5-7 just had painful ones (how many times did they break up again?). Episode 8 seemed promising...but then 9 and 10 ruined it again with no interactions. Now we're heading into episode 11 with both Nancy and Ace seemingly falling for their new supernatural love interests and it's like WHAT? With only 3 episodes left to go? Make it make sense!

Obviously, they were hoping for a season 5, and they wrote the season with that in mind. But that tells me if we had gotten a season 5, this still would've been dragged out well into next season. So the only solace I can take with all this is that it's a good thing they found out the show was canceled before they finished writing the final episode. Because if it had been canceled after, then the series would've ended with Nace not together. And even if it had been renewed for a season 5, with the writers/actors on strike for who knows how much longer, there's a chance next season would've eventually gotten cancelled anyway, or it would have at least extended a Nace endgame for another year or more. This way, although it's going to be rushed af, we're still going to end the series with the knowledge that Nancy and Ace are together and in love.

I am hopeful we'll get a little flash-forward epilogue that might show Nancy and Ace married, or at least engaged. Bonus points if they show us one of them proposing. I'm just not sure how they would fit that into the finale, but it's really all I want at this point. I'm so sad that so many opportunities were wasted this season (that should have been NACE slow dancing!). This was supposed to be their season to shine. And it started out so promising! I have no idea how or why they lost sight of the plot so heavily, but they did. And I know some people will say, "You know, this show isn't just about Nace" and while that's true, once you make your titular character and another main character star-crossed lovers and add in something like a curse keeping them apart, you're kinda making them the main focus—especially when you drag it out until the very end. So, it's understandable that a lot of us are solely focusing on Nace and how disappointed we are. We expected more. We deserved more. But that's just my opinion.

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 30th May

And just as I was thinking that I was in a country kind of mood, along comes a country song. Spooky. It's like the charts know - or like country's just a perennial favourite that comes around quite a bit in the 1950s. It's funny, you don't think of it as a mainstay of the UK charts, but you do see a fair bit of it at this point - I wonder when that stops being a thing that happens?

I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen - Slim Whitman (peaked at Number 7)

Well, we don't half start slow and mawdlin, here. Slim comes in at a very leisurely pace, over the top of a gently strummy guitar, with a vocal line that meanders around the place like a happy drunk. It's very high at points, and Slim's voice is thin and insubstantial in a way that suits the song just fine. He's also known for his yodelling, and there are a few moments of it here, especially for some reason on the word "greee-eee-eeen", but it's generally pretty minimal and tastefully done, so I don't mind too much. Also, we have a short whistling break, which I always enjoy!

The song itself is a ballad, all about how I'll take you home again, Kathleen. Except this isn't about just going home from a trip or night out, we learn in the second line. No, Slim's proposing to bring his Kathleen home Across the ocean, wild and wide / To where your heart has ever been / Since first you were my bonnie bride. So we're looking at homesickness, here, I guess? Whatever it is, Kathleen's in a bad way with it - we learn quickly that the roses all have left your cheek and then that Your voice is sad when you speak / And tears bedim your lovin' eyes. And so Slim's promising to take his homesick lover back. Simple enough.

I kind of assume that it's Ireland that the lover is from, or somewhere Celtic. Just going off the name Kathleen, and the use of "bonnie", and the description of green fields and trees. And apparently this led a lot of people to suppose that it's a bona fide Irish ballad, but it's not! Originally written by a German-American as an answer to another American song, "Barney, Take Me Home Again", and semi-based off a tune by Mendelssohn, it's as German-American as they come. And it was also partly inspired by his wife Jane's homesickness for her home state of New York, after a move to Indiana. So yeah, no "real" Irish cred, but I'm not entirely sure that matters - it's got the right vibes, either way.

Enough so that the very Irish Kevin Riley sings it in Star Trek, in the episode The Naked Time. Which is funny, because I did vaguely think the song sounded familiar - the character in question is about to crash the Enterprise into an alien planet, and sings it through the intercom in drunken fashion, it's a memorable if slightly daft moment (as are all the best Star Trek moments). So yeah, at least in the 1960s, almost 10 years after this version of the song came out, it was apparently still in the cultural consciousness as an Irish song that somebody might know and sing when drunk.

Honestly, the more I listen, the fonder I'm becoming of this song. It does sound a little bit drunk, and the high notes are alarmingly high, but there's a gentleness to it and a delicacy to the steel guitar lines that's really quite charming. It's got that softness that I've come to expect from Slim, and it's interesting to have a song that's about homesickness - there aren't that many of them out there, unless I'm overlooking anything obvious. Country Roads, perhaps, but I'm not coming up with much more off the top of my head. But always happy to be corrected if you think there are a bunch...

Yeah, I like this song. I didn't love it at first, but once you get used to the yodell-ish bits, it's really rather lovely. Gentle and soft.

Favourite song of the homesick bunch: I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen

[shoggoth-the-bitch]

Scavengers

I have 10 episodes left, have wasted my whole day, and have work in 7 hours. Let's do this.

Who is this? What's happin-

Oh? "Private contemplation" you say? You suddenly have my full attention. Hold on, I have to check something on Ao3...

I'm disappointed in this fandom. Oh well, let me just...

Alright, where was I?

"The tunnels do have a tendency to echo." Oh my god! How many times did it come up do you wonder?!

Wait! They said they have a cult or something? Is this them?

"First name basis with the profits..." I'm sorry, they're profits?! That's hilarious, actually! Also, Jon being a smartass here is actually really funny to me.

They can sleep here. That would make me so happy.

Wait? Okay, I've seen some stuff for TMAGP (spoilers) and I know Celia apparently comes back in that series and she's the girl who talked to Martin in episode 100. The one with the bad ghost story and who he gave money for coffee. I'm sure it will come up later in the episode but honestly an A+ choice on the writer's part.

Oh, maybe you shouldn't tell them this part?!

Oh? They know each other? From therapy? Can't imagine she has the best mental image of Jon then?

Yeah, was wondering when the- Oh god the tape recorders refuse to be told no today... Stop acting like this is Jon's fault!

I was gonna make a quip of "Only seven people, you didn't even get one from each fear?" but apparently they lost a bunch of people and that is very sad actually.

The implication that the tape recorders seem to like Martin is interesting. It reminds me of Jon saying that the Eye is fond of him a few episodes back. I can't help but wonder if that's because the Eye finds him particularly interesting or capable or if it more because Jon loves him and thus the Eye kind of loves him too?

I'm not sure why but the concept of something eldritch and vastly beyond human comprehension being fascinated and possibly in love with a human is actually kind of scary to me in a way. Like, I made a post forever ago about fan translation of Uzumaki, where the characters said something to the effect of "It's like the Spiral is in love with you." and that had fundamentally changed the story and it perspective for me at the time. Because something that thrives on fear and chaos simply can not express love in a way that's human or even really safe to interact with. Case in point, Jon is one of the Eye's favorite humans and look at everything it's put him through so far.

This is all to say, if that is the direction that the story is going and the Eye is actually in love with Martin to come extent then all I can really think is "Oh god no."

Anyway, unpause.

Yes, thank you! Stop being blaming Jon for this shit!

A convenient fear that's a never ending supermarket? What fear would that even be? Like, I've worked in customer service so I guess that would be a constant and unending nightmare for me to have to go back to but interesting that it might have been enough of an issue for it to have it's own place at the end of the world.

Wait, yeah, where is the Admiral! He's just hanging out in a Hunt domain, I thought those were just memes! I'm actually really sad about that!

More of the tape recorders following Martin then... Okay, Melanie, you don't gotta be mean... Melanie, you were always this way...

Your therapist thinks your the chosen one. Weird...

Ah, that's cute...

"One of the profits chosen to walk the end time unscathed," and "the anti-christ's plus one." Aren't you two just a pair?

Yes, fantastic question! How?!

A Spiral maze? Of course a therapist would fear madness.

Gosh, that's awful! So they just explained the fears to these people and they took it in a religious way. Oh, I hate the thought of that actually! Like, what happens if you start to worship after the fact? Can you become a chosen of the fears after they've already won, I wonder?

Melanie, you lied to them, I'm guessing? Damn, okay. I'm guessing it gave them at least a little hope? That's good I guess? Yeah, this doesn't seem great.

Oh, Melanie, you are tragically sweet. Martin, you are also tragically sweet. I wish you both the best.

Okay, this is a hard conversion... Daisy, I miss you still. Basira too!

"Careful of Helen." She says. You don't say hon? Yeah, don't worry about that actually.

Yeah, I liked her too... Okay, Martin you can't just drop "Jon killed her" like that on someone and give literally no warning. Pace yourself bud!

I would argue that- I am very curious who Aaron is?

Uh? This person sounded a lot like Helen for a second and I almost went "Oh god no!"

Fair enough...

Hello Aaron? I don't know if I like you but okay... Sorry, hon, no gods of hope.

"What do you know about poetry?" Well he is dating a poet... "Nightmare Strider." That's a fun title-

"I do not want a poem." Damn Jon. Why is everyone in this hellscape either tragic or just mean?

Jesus Jon, you're becoming way more of a dick?

There was a lot to take in from that episode. Like, wow. Melanie and Georgie are profits, Jon is a prickly disaster, me wondering if the Eye is overly obsessed with Martin or if I'm just interpreting the series wrong, I have another new fic to read, just wow...

[donanimee]

WARNING, IF YOU DONT READ THE MANGA THEN DO NOT READ THIS POST SINCE IT MAY HAVE SPOILERS

Hello My Hero Academia fans!👋

With episodes of season six of the anime coming out and i also found out that the seventh and final season of this series( which im sad about since i wanted to see more especially how they heal and bond after the war and maybe a look of them in the future after graduation) may come April 2024 and that provived mangaka Horikoshi will end his series by December 2023. So yeah it might or might be waaaaayyy looong before we see the end of the final war, and mostly Bakugo being revived ( which its killing me! WHEN and WILL Dynamight wake up when??!!), since new chapters come out after a week passed by. And season 6 will have 25 eps in total likely running til the end of March and will adapt entirely of the PLW arc and might end on chapter 327 on the escapees arc. But the may quicken the pace of the middle cjapters and adapt them to include the star and stripe arc amd rearrange a few scenes from chapter 335 and the end the season with the revelation of the traitor.

So the season 7 will mostly be from the traitor arc to the final war battle arc. And it wouldnt be surprisimg if the season 7 starts while the manga isnt finished yet due to Studio Bones reputation with deadlines.

Also, before everything, for those who dont know the next issue comes out January 23.

And honestly, i kinda feel bat that this might be the final season since i wanted to at least have a season 8 set after the war and how life for both the characters and their world goes on and becomes and how it had affected them amd how they heal and bond after what happened. Especially Yuga Aoyama since guilt its not something that goes away and especially with his parents arrested, what will become of Endevour and Hawks after that and will they still be top heroes, and what about the ones who retired because of pressure and critisism, will they come back? And how will the Todorokis and Present Mic amd Aizawa deal and heal with the possible future of lossing their loved ones ( Touya/Dabi and Kurogiri/Oboro) once again? I really hope we get to see even of its just a bit of those in the manga and final season if possible. Maybe even a scene of Yuga sharing lunch with his classmates instead of eating alone during lunchtime

And there are still questions that may i still habe, some of the final fight: Will Bakugo wake up and when?, Is "Kurogiri" Kurogiri, Oboro, or a mix of both and which side will he choose at the end? Will he die or live? What will happed at the kid inside Tomura/AFO? Will they susceed in merguing completely or will their instability get worse? What will become of hero society in Japan after this with so much distrust, escaped criminals and big lack of heroes because of either death or retirement?

And there are a bit more questions I have and that I really want to see soon in either the manga and anime, like how much time(months or weeks) passed since Izuku left UA in April to when he came back to the final war.

But a question that really caught my eye and many had for a very long time and we hope we get to see at the end of the war: Will Shinsou join Class A or Class B? And what will his hero mame be? I especially want to hear his name since i never seen anticipation to hear an official hero name since Bakugo, oh exuse me: Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, poor him since he got a different and not so good reaction that was definetly not fear or amazement to this name from both heroes and villians, except Mirio of course.

Its hard to say with the way he interacted well with both on th A vs B battle and there are many pros and cons on each side, here is a link to a list of those

Amd even of many want him to join class A, since Aizawa its his mentor, deserves more spotlight and the way he interacted and reacted to their friendliness and cheerfulness on chapter 334 (which reminded me of Aizawa with his old gang, Hizashi and Oboro and coincidentally he was called Mini Aizawa by Present Mic ), he being in class b could also be a possibility, with the effectiveness and strenght and level he is still on and because they may not want to be guided by favoritism.

And especially with the chance that someone will have to leave either class for him to join. And two of the main candidates, both by fans and in fanfic, for him to replace are either Momoma for his insanity and Mineta for being a pervert. But this recent arc also give the possibility for other that those two to leave, maybe minor characters from b or from a like Koda or Sato, and honestly i like many others dont want none of neither class, to the exception of Mineta, to leave. And the chance is high because of the space left because of Izuku leaving on April amd Bakugo's death, if he doesnt wake up, and chance of either of those two becoming quirkless because of injuries or a future sacrifice, even if its possible that Midoriya will re enroll at UA. It even be Yuga,i mean if he gets forgiven by both the school and police law and doesnt give up on his dream because of his past. And Aizawa told him during the interrogation that when the war its over he may not have a home at U.A. anymore, a friend even had the theory that he might transfer to another hero school like Shiketsu, hope that none doesnt happen, and that no one has to out for Shinso to be in.

I really hope this gets cleared and revealed soon, ans not to play favorites but i think he would be bettee in Class A becausw of their history, support and cheerfulness and would make another great rival for Izuku.

[e-the-village-cryptid]

yeah, it’s such a strange choice on the part of the writers that I kinda wonder if they’re gonna explain more in season 2 and contradict some of dedra’s claims about being told everything and about dr. gorst interrogations being “extremely reliable.” because while it does feel like the narrative itself agrees with dedra right now, we’ve also only seen this all from the isb’s perspective, so idk, maybe my theory is more canon than I think it is. the show delves so deep into the nuances of the inner workings of fascist states like the empire that this would be a very weird oversight to make.

as for theories. I have a kinda sad one to explain how they got the “cassian was clean-shaven” info, which they only could have gotten from bix because she was the only one to see him. ok so you know how when bix sees cassian, the first thing she says is "I dreamt you came back. you climbed over a wall." now here's the thing. there are no walls where bix is being held captive for cassian to climb over— she's clearly talking about him climbing over the wall into her scrapyard, as he's done many times. as he did right after aldhani. the incident dedra was talking about. so what if. what if. what if bix thought that cassian showing up in the middle of the night, leaving money, and then vanishing again was just a dream, and that's the dream she's referring to? 

they'd messed with her head a lot by that point, having trouble discerning a dream from an honestly pretty dream-like reality isn't too far-fetched. not to mention that bix was still concussed when cassian showed up that night, it was only 6-7 days after she'd had her head slammed into a wall so hard she was visibly having trouble focusing her eyes or staying steady on her feet. combine that with the torture messing with her head and you've got her remembering cassian's visit as just a dream— something she might deliriously ramble about during interrogation to try to stall for time because a dream isn't info you need to protect. dedra, however, would realize by cross-referencing with nurchi saying cassian had left money to pay off his debts that the dream actually happened and would use that info.

(I know that this is way too much happening behind the scenes for this to be canon that the writers intended but just didn't bother explaining but. it is canon to me. it's canon-compliant and it makes way more sense than bix just immediately cracking and giving up everything except... anything to do with luthen? also bix is strong bix is protective of her people beyond all else the writers did her so dirty in those last episodes justice for bix)

now that you've seen all of andor I can show you my pet theory that dedra was lying about bix telling her everything, because she wanted to look good in front of the isb and wanted an excuse to keep holding bix: https://e-the-village-cryptid.tumblr.com/post/721429262047084544/e-the-village-cryptid-i-just-realized-that-bix#notes

yes! i like your theory, it makes sense and it fits bix a lot better than what dedra wants us to believe. the only other explanation i could come up with is that bix has given her a description that she doesn't trust and asking about kreegyr is a trap to reveal the lie once bix isn't conscious enough to keep that lie up any more. i don't think someone like dedra would let any description pass without some kind of investigation though, no matter how little she trusts it and since she clearly doesn't know about luthen, i don't think that happened either. plus they said that repeated use of that torture device does a lot more damage and given the state bix was in at the end and how frustrated dedra looked, that's likely what happened here. and repeated use of the torture device means they probably didn't get what they were looking for. for the nurchi bit, i don't think it's particularly difficult to find out cassian owes a bunch of people a lot of money and dedra definitely had the time, motivation and resources for thorough investigation. or at least an attempt at that. and when those people are suddenly paid and willing to turn cassian in? well, there you go.

[thememerman]

Can we just,.,.accept that both Crosshair and Hunter had their reasons for doing what they did?? And honestly neither of them really did anything wrong??

Hunter left Crosshair because he tried to kill them. He didn’t understand anything about the chip, he really thought Crosshair had just lost his mind. And as soon as he learned about it and how to fix it, we immediately jumped to episode 8 where Crosshair tried to incinerate them with a jet engine. He tried to communicate that the chip was affecting him, and Crosshair didn’t care. Hunter couldn’t even get himself or Omega out of that situation unharmed. He had no way to snag Crosshair from his squadron of stormtroopers out for murder. After Bracca, Hunter was focused on getting Omega back because she’s just a kid; she isn’t with the empire, she hasn’t been chasing them down and almost killing them. From Hunter’s POV, the possibility of getting Crosshair to come with them willingly or even at all is looking bleak and even though he knows it’s not Crosshair’s fault, he’s been so overwhelmed with trying to keep the people relying on him safe and right now he doesn’t think Crosshair is relying on him. And honestly, how were they even supposed to know where Crosshair was half the time? He wasn’t on Kamino 24/7 and the Batch isn’t exactly swimming in imperial informants. But that aside, of course he was thinking about Crosshair; Hunter is loyal to a fault and you can just see the emotional pain that flashes across his face whenever Crosshair is mentioned because that’s his little brother and he couldn’t save him and he feels like he failed. Hunter never was and I don’t think ever can be indifferent when it comes to the people he loves. Whether you like it or not, Hunter was trying his best to keep everyone safe and stop running suicide missions because the galaxy was changing and he was trying to change too. He did nothing wrong.

Now Crosshair.

To all of you calling him a Nazi and saying that the animators and writers intentionally lightened his skin just to make a racist show of dominance, stop it. He was referring to their genetic enhancements being superior. That’s it. He’s always hated regs because let’s be fair the regs were never exactly good to him either (AFTERMATH). Now let’s just take a look at how the chip works shall we!! We know from Rex and Wrecker that clones know what they’re doing while under control of the chip and they’re powerless to stop themselves. So we know in Aftermath that the chip was strengthened to an insane degree, and Crosshair could still see himself taking head shots on his brothers and trying to murder them and he couldn’t stop no matter how badly he wanted to. He was powerless. And then the Batch left; at this point he probably understands that his brothers had to go. They’d regroup. They’d know this wasn’t his fault and they’d come back.

Months pass. Crosshair doesn’t know about the solemn looks the Batch exchange when he’s mentioned. Crosshair doesn’t know that they can barely get food for themselves. Crosshair doesn’t know that Wrecker has flat out said he misses him. Crosshair doesn’t know how Tech said “it doesn’t appear he’ll be needing it” with a twinge of sadness in his voice while giving Omega his comm. Crosshair doesn’t know how much Hunter hates himself for leaving and that Hunter was always planning on going back to him someday because someday he’d have the perfect plan and he could save everyone this time. How could Crosshair know?

More time passes. Crosshair probably still has his chip on but he’s still in there, watching himself become more and more important to the Empire. No rescue attempts. Not one. How awful does he have to feel?? They went to get Echo out of Skako with no backup and they didn’t even know Echo and they can’t go back for him? And here’s the Empire, giving him power and some semblance of control. Things are changing fast and now he has nobody but himself to adjust with, and besides, he’s always had an egotistical side so maybe being a commander and putting the regs in their place isn’t so bad to him after all. He’s alone. He adapts or he dies, that’s the job and that’s all he has now.

Onto Bracca!! If Crosshair is telling the truth about getting his chip out, I firmly believe it had to have been after the events of Reunion. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise; “if I wanted you dead, you would be” sweetheart giving the order to have them incinerated and starting to walk away really seems like you wanted them dead and then going from ordering Omega to be executed to telling Hunter that if he cares about her he should let her go and be safe away from them??? You can’t tell me that Bracca!Crosshair wouldn’t have dragged Omega back into the training room and killed her right there just to keep them from choosing her over him. So let’s just assume for now that Crosshair wasn’t lied to and his chip is out (I’m still holding onto a scrap of hope to the contrary because A. there’s no scar B. HE’S STILL HOLDING HIS HEAD and C. my boy isn’t making any SENSE he just killed off a bunch of Imperial stormtroopers to convince the Batch to join his Empire that he cares so much about??) it had to have happened after Bracca I said what I said idc. If the chip is out, I’m sure his head is still an absolute foggy mess because lord only knows what cranking those chips up to full strength several times will do to you, but suddenly he’s realizing that he’s still angry with them. He’s still hurt. He’s still very much alone. Maybe they never cared about him at all.

And don’t get me started on any “if he did any of this willingly he is irredeemable” garbage. How many times did Kallus almost kill the Ghost crew?? I’m sorry, was it not Kallus who ordered the Lasat genocide?? Don’t take this the wrong way, I adore Kallus and his redemption arc was one of the most beautiful things about Rebels but the point is if he can do all of those horrible things for the Empire for years and is still allowed a redemption stemming from realizing everything he thought he was fighting for was a fiction, THEN SO IS CROSSHAIR. With that side note out of the way let’s think about how alone and betrayed Crosshair feels by the Batch and let’s realize that after they left Ryloth, after they left him again, what does he want?? He wants them. He doesn’t want to kill them, he doesn’t want them imprisoned and he doesn’t want to make them pay. He wants to fight side by side with them again, he wants his brothers back. And even though he’s so beyond hope that they still care about him, heck he literally said “don’t make the same mistake twice; don’t make me your enemy” he thinks they were enemies and he still cares about them so freaking much that he went through an entire elaborate scheme to get the whole Batch on Kamino and set up the stormtroopers’ deaths to prove his loyalty that they could have if they just gave him some of their loyalty too. “Loyalty means everything to the clones” is starting to get a really bitter taste innit??

The point of this longwinded rant my friends is to beg y’all to stop being so black and white about these two. They’re both human, they both have made mistakes and have regrets, they’re both trying their best to survive in a galaxy flipped upside down. Things played out how they had to and they’re both victims of the real villain of Star Wars, who has always been Palpatine. The fact that there is so much to unpack with these two characters shows how flipping amazing the writers are!! They’re so layered and complex it’s literally like they’re real!! So please. Stop hating on them so freaking loudly. They’re my boys and they both deserve a warm hug and a nap after the season they’ve had

[moghedien]

What are your assumptions on Jo's link to the Peaches after winning the championship with their help?

Do you think she's going to be as involved in Greta's life as before?

What about her love life? Will she find a gf? New friends?

Jo's storyline makes me sad in many ways, I just want her to be happy ;-;

I hadn't seen anyone really talking about this and I'd like to know your thoughts because you give such detailed and coherent reflections about the show and the characters.

Thank you so much for your writing and content overall :D

thank you for your compliments, I will ignore them because I have a lot of thoughts about Jo. I need more reason to talk about Jo tbh

So I think that her relationship with Greta is probably gonna be good in the long run, but there needs to be change, ya know? Like she and Greta both need to figure themselves out, and Jo needs her chance to be like in the limelight and get attention, which I think she can only really do (at the moment) away from Greta. I have no idea what Jo is gonna be doing after the season ends but tbh Greta is the only one we DO know what she'll be up to (I have theories about Carson tho). I'm not sure I can see Jo going back to New York though, at least not other than like maybe to visit Greta for a bit. Like they all gotta figure themselves out right now, but I think once they do get on their on paths, they can like come together and figure out how to pick up their relationships from there.

As for the rest of the Peaches, idk. Even after being outed, she didn't really seem to be on bad terms with any of them (expect maybe Shirley initially but that would've changed too) so I don't see why there'd be any out right badness there. I could see her keeping in touch with like Maybelle since they seemed close, but we honestly don't know who else she might have been close enough to to like, maintain a relationship with. Idk she might like pop in on them at some point but I just don't know if she'd be able to honestly, given the circumstances in how she left.

As for a girlfriend, we don't know what happened with Flo and I honestly would love to have them somehow be able to become a thing. HOWEVER. We do know for a fact that the Blue Sox pitcher...the really girly one...is gay in a major way. Like so gay that Lupe and Jess both seemed impressed with her gayness. I would be fine with Jo getting a super gay pitcher girlfriend on the same team as her, is what I'm saying.

REGARDLESS. based on her conversation with Greta in episode 7, I think she's like, on her way to figuring out what she wants and being happy.

tho I do have this overwhelming fear that her injury at the end of the game will result in her not being able to play baseball next season....

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. Are death gods like a class lower than Olympian gods? Minthe says that Hades can buy all the suits in the world and still stink of death and Apollo refers to Thanatos as Poor Man’s Heremes and also reeks of death. Do they smell bad, or do people just hate them for existing? You’d think they’d be a little more fear controlling death/underworld

2. for the person saying "come on, persephone being a self insert isn't bad" completely misses the point.  As a young writer I used to have self inserts until I realized that my favoritism overshadowed the narrative and didn't allow for my characters to experience consequences or be in the wrong.  This is how creator's pets get made, and no one likes those because they ruin the story and take away attention from other (more interesting) characters!  (1/2) 

We are clearly seeing this in LO.  Persephone is essentially a perfect little goddess who keeps getting powers, is probably going to be revealed as one of the strongest goddesses, and her issues (sans the two giant ones we know what it is) almost never personally affect her.  No one gets angry at her in a meaningful way unless the narrative wants us to demonize them, and when they suddenly "see the light" and go to her side, they're rewarded!  THAT'S why persephone as a S.I is bad

3. Ok. I think Daphene and Thanatos are the best ship. I would read this story...also,Thanatos is the grim reaper...how metal would be if he take down LO Apollo and LO Hades? Yes, I'm aware this would be impossible in the.original myths but HEY why not? RS is not caring for the source material

4. RS’s writing is such a mess of contradictions between actuality and intent it’s hilarious: 1) Hades is supposed to be seen as a good guy yet is portrayed as a tyrant who somehow still manages to be a Gary Stu. 2) Persephone is simultaneously overpowered (fertility goddess powers) and powerless (is just a college kid) to the point where she’s viewed as a spoiled rich brat living consequence-free and destitute young woman left with no options but to marry to get out of trouble 

3) Artemis is supposed to represent a separatist feminist yet is depicted as foolish, British and out of the loop for humorous effect by the poss poor excuse of a comic which calls itself ‘a feminist feeling’. 4) The lack of time skips coupled with RS’s need to give HxP as many ‘cute’ moments as possible makes the comic’s progress feel slow for the reader when it’s actually progressing at breakneck speed if you go by the character’s timeframe. 

5) Wants to treat SA with nuance and sensitivity (RS almost manages to do it at first) but then uses Persephone’s rape as trauma porn, a means for pushing her closer to Hades while reminding the reader of his differences from Apollo and a means of furthering the side plots (Artemis’s descent into depressed confusion, Eros and Psyche’s romance, Hera’s quest to get the mains together).

5. i genuinely do not want to see whatever reason rachel thinks up to have zeus and demeter not like each other because it's either going to be a "shock" incest twist (unlikely) or it's going to be something akin to how she made apollo to persephone and maybe zeus stole her "fertility" and thats why she couldnt have persephone naturally and why demeter isnt a fertility goddess but persephone is. like no writing choice is good in this so i guess brace for the worst from her in this regard.

6. i honestly get sad looking at old LO art because not only is all the charm gone, but the colors also got way worse. hades used to be this subdued, rich dark blue with icy blue hair while persephone was a nice shade of pastel pink with magenta hair, but now theyre all one shade of neon. there used to be choices put into the art but now its just lazy. like hades looks like a blue highlighter, and persephone like her personality is only one nauseatingly bright shade and thats it 😞

7. i feel like if at least the writing in LO was good the art would excusable, you know what i mean? and the same can be said in reverse, but both are just so bad (or was never good to begin with) that it just seems inexcusable? like at least put effort into one, not half assing at best for both.

8. i mean for all we know bc thats how how psyche normally looks the braids are just a nymph disguise that basically pops away once shes human looking again. regardless the whole thing is nasty once you think about it and idk what we expected from a white woman to begin with. she thinks persephone revolving her whole world and being dependent on hades is feminist and making a canon bi god a r//pist is groundbreaking too like ....

9. lets add to the psyche is black-coded discourse: anyone want to mention how nasty it is she was literally sold off to a WHITE MAN for eros to save her from (ignoring the fact he proceeded to lie to her while having a sexual relationship), made her loving parents into abusive assholes, and psyche just happens to be the only character who is illiterate despite being a princess? the whole thing reeks of internalized racism on rachel's part, and her now giving her braids kinda makes it worse, tbh. 

-----FP Spoilers-----

10. Is it me? Or in the fast past episode were they showed one of the muses Polymnia (or Polyhymnia)  they mixed her with Clio??? Because Zeus calls her "the goddess/muse of history" but Polymnia is acutally the muse of hymns, CLIO is the muse of history, how did they get that wrong? Her name literally means "a lot of hymns"! And why is there a muse in this??? Even she says that she shouldn't be there because she doesn't work in anything similar to law, did Zeus really asked her to make a POEM in a TRAIAL??? For what exactly? Make Persephone look bad?