#and we're like yeah that seemed like foreshadowing

[winepresswrath]

genuinely though show louis not killing lestat is completely unforgivable. book louis just, you know, doesn't particularly want to kill lestat and so he doesn't. deliberately deluded himself into believing it would never come to this. nevertheless participates in swamp motion, and also arson. show louis knows that lestat cuts him slack that is not afforded to claudia, agrees with claudia that lestat needs to die if they're going to be free, commits to the plan, and then goes "nah" at the last second?? they are immortal. the reprieve louis offers lestat is a probable death sentence for claudia. that is your daughter-sister louis!!! unfortunately i am in the business of forgiving the unforgivable and he seems very sad. however when the armandening comes i'm going to be furious.

[e-therealife]

Either way, We're not Alone

warnings: a bit of touching, so slightly nsfw, mention of guns (not actually any guns), mention of slut-shaming to nat word count: 1,957 pairing: natalie scatorccio x reader [romantic] description: before nationals, you take a moment to hold onto what you have with your girlfriend. tags: fluff, bittersweet, coming of age, pre-crash, foreshadowing the crash and wilderness

Hidden behind some trees that border the trailer park, you and Nat are lying on a blanket, trying to see stars through the light pollution. Nat's lips are messily dyed purple, a mixture made from a red, white, and blue popsicle bought from the ice cream truck she tracked down.

After a final suck to clean the stick off, she holds it out and reads the joke printed on it. "What can you steal and not get in trouble?"

You furrow your brows in thought. "Um… I don't know. What?"

Nat grins. "Second base."

"What? Can't you steal the other bases, too?"

She laughs, placing the stick into the takeout bag filled with wrappers of food you'd gotten earlier. “I don't think this is just about baseball.”

You roll your eyes, but still smile. "These are for kids, though."

"We bought 'em."

"Yeah. We did." Your tone falls, Nat's words making everything feel more real. You weren't kids anymore. You never would be again.

Nat's playful grin falls, her expression becoming understanding. Mournful.

She presses a kiss to the top of your head, then slips her hand into yours, interlacing your fingers. Nat gives your hand a squeeze, which you return. She relaxes her hand slightly after a moment, but still keeps a firm grip. It's comforting, the way she's so focused on you.

You look back up to the sky and squint at the darkness. There's some distant conversation you can hear, which you assume is being held around the bonfire you're smelling, and the warm air is filled with the chirps and hums of bugs around you.

"There." You outstretch your arm, index finger pointing to a small, flickering white light.

Nat squints at the glimmer, catching it slightly moving. "Plane," she corrects.

You drop your arm and click your tongue in disappointment. "We'd have an easier time seeing lights from New York than stars here."

Nat sighs. "Yeah, we would." She sounds upset. Nat wasn't necessarily one for nature. She was certainly caring toward it—you've seen her stumble drunkenly to help some baby birds whose nest had fallen, and she'd stop to pick up litter. But she wasn't the type to go for a hike or eat organically. Late nights of cigarettes and gas station snacks were much more her thing.

What wasn't her thing was the incoming unknown for you both. Despite the way she constantly cursed how shitty Wiskayok was, on the verge of everything changing, she'd developed some weird appreciation and begun to wish for more of the same. Nat had never really gotten to be a kid, but now, she's feeling like she's about to lose her chance. So, tonight, she's trying to enjoy this moment, looking up at a sky that never really seemed to watch over her and attempting to appreciate it.

Next week, you'll play your last game before Nationals. Soon after, you'll both graduate. Maybe you should be excited, but it just feels bittersweet. You can't help but think there's some impending doom awaiting you, and the upcoming weeks are a last hurrah.

The burden of more responsibilities and leaving this period of your life behind was weighing on you before it even became a reality. Bills, work... less time for this.

You know Nat feels the same. She's spent her life thinking she would never make it this far. Despite all she's gotten through, it's hard for her to believe she'll be able to handle what's coming, whatever that may be.

After a moment, Nat continues, "We should go somewhere with a better view sometime."

A trip would mean more moments like this, where you both can forget about meaningless responsibilities and just focus on one another, on actually living.

You turn your head to her to agree, but before you can, a loud sound cracking through the air interrupts you. You jump in surprise, ending up pressed against Nat's arm.

She smiles fondly, releasing your hand to pull you into her. Nat wraps her arms around you, then rubs a hand up and down your back soothingly. "It's okay. Just a firework," she tells you. Nat never liked to see you scared or hurt, but she did like knowing you were comfortable showing some vulnerability to her. She liked feeling like this—needed, or at least wanted.

You knew it wasn't a gun—you heard people fucking around with both guns and fireworks by Nat's trailer enough to know the difference easily. Didn't mean you weren't surprised by the sound. Didn't mean you were making any move to leave Nat's side, either.

Given Nat wasn't pulling you up to get away, like last Summer when someone had almost started a wildfire from a firework here, you trusted you were far enough away to relax.

You look back up to the sky, seeing the remnants of some bright red and orange fireworks. They look like flickers of flame. Then, you hear a fizzing sound, those champagne-colored fireworks that spin in the sky bursting and raining down.

"I wish things could stay like this forever," Nat murmurs. It's so quiet and low in her chest you barely hear it. Her words seem ironic, especially in this moment. You're lying on the bumpy ground, lathered in bug spray and sunblock you forced Nat to put on earlier. The bug spray made you both smell of bitter chemicals while the sunblock still felt a bit oily on your skin. A few hours ago, you both had to swat flies away from your food, and someone had yelled "slut" out their car to Nat when you were walking back to the trailer park.

Things were far from what Nat would usually consider perfect, both in this moment and in Wiskayok, and Nat seemed like the type of person who'd love nothing more than to get the hell out of here.

But she doesn't need anything else. Whatever she has to deal with is worth it, because she could never get bored of moments like this, with you. You felt the same way about her.

So, you agree. "Me too."

"We'll stay together," Nat says. You can tell her words are meant to be confident and sure, but you hear the weakness in her voice, that part of her that's afraid of being abandoned. "Then, it'll be the same. We can always feel like this."

Being around Nat always made life feel like each moment held you in some snow globe or film reel. Somehow, with her around, it was as if things were more just. Like you were truly important. Maybe the world didn't actually treat you better in those moments, but being around Nat made life feel much more worth living.

You still couldn't help but worry in the back of your mind, would things feel the same in a few months, years, decades?

With Nat, it had to.

So, you respond, "We will. Always."

Nat turns her head to press a kiss to your forehead. How could any moment around her—having her—ever not be perfect?

She lets her lips linger for a moment, then just leans her head onto yours. Something about this makes you want to cry, and you think Nat's feeling the same way.

After a while, she pulls you closer, your face now lightly resting on her neck. You lay your arm over her stomach and press yourself into her side. Although you're the one being held, it feels a lot more like she's seeking out comfort from you.

You can still hear fireworks going off, and now, someone's dog is barking. But the sounds seem to be drowned out by her body against yours.

"You cold?" she asks.

She did this a lot, asked how you were. 'You hungry?' 'Tired?' Sometimes, it was, 'You mad at me?' You knew she wasn't asking these things just to win you over. Nat wasn't like that. She cared.

"'M fine." It was true. It was a warm night out, and you could handle the occasional breeze.

Still, Nat gently lifts you off her and slips off her zip-up. Then, she pulls you close again and wraps you in it.

"I don't want you to be cold," you protest.

"You're warming me up just fine. Actually, I might be warmer if you got a little closer…"

You laugh. It wasn't possible for you to be much closer unless you laid on top of her. Still, you tangle your legs with hers.

You hear Nat sigh quietly in satisfaction, and you lift your head to peek at her. The corners of her lips are slightly upturned, twitching as she holds back a smile. She knows you're watching her, catching your gaze with blushing cheeks and a laugh. "Stop staring," she tells you, voice a little higher from being flustered.

"Why? You nervous?"

"Shut up."

Relenting, you cuddle back into her. You lay like that for a while, appreciating every area of contact between you two, before telling her, “I love you.” You only had said it to each other a few times before, usually when things were shitty. Now, it's like you're preparing for things to go wrong. It's not a goodbye or an end, though. Somehow, you know Nat is sticking with you. Despite how hard life made it to believe, you felt like you were bound to her. 

You make sure your words come out clear and strong so she knows exactly what you said. So she knows you're sticking with her, too.

"I love you," she replies. She squeezes you a bit, then adds, "More than anything, y'know." It's somewhat of a question, her making sure she was doing "enough" again.

“I know. I feel the same way about you.” You press a light kiss to her neck, and you notice the way she shivers slightly from the contact.

Then, Nat's shifting, moving out from under you gently before leaning over you. Right after she's close enough, she quickly looks over your face, licking her lips before kissing you. It's hurried, but not rough, fully loving in her neediness. You can slightly taste the sugary popsicle she'd eaten earlier.

She runs her hands up your stomach, then to your chest, mapping out your body. Her touch feels familiar; Nat always paid attention to your reactions, figuring out exactly what you liked. Clearly, with how easy this is, the way you both seem to melt into one another, it's paid off.

Tonight, Nat's both trying to memorize you and assure herself that she has you. She doesn't have to do this. She's touched you like this many times before, and you've never done anything to make it seem like you'd leave. But she's still anxious about what's to come. It's not necessarily about how you might change—she'd always love you—but how she might. Would you still love her?

You hold her by her hips for a moment before moving your hands to the back of her body. Nat's wearing some loose shorts, so you're able to push up the ends of them and run your hands over her ass.

She smiles, pulling away. You see the way the dye on her lips has smeared further, and it's a bit less pigmented. You're guessing there's a little on your lips now, too.

"You trying to steal third base?" she teases.

You roll your eyes, laughing. "I mean, I want to. You want me to?"

She moves her lips to your neck, sucking on the skin. You tilt your head to give her more room, and she runs her tongue along your neck before peppering a few soft kisses, her lips wet. She pulls back to say, “Keep going. I want you to."

author's note: hi guys! hope you like this. it took me forever to edit for some reason. also, joke inspired by a real popsicle stick. thanks for reading!

[lu-is-not-ok]

So it's been a while huh

Yeah, I'm back. I think it's time to do some catching up.

April Fool's Event

Since so much time has passed since this one, I'll summarize my thoughts as such.

I think this was both full of foreshadowing and full of the VAs showing off their ranges. The subtle battle sprite changes are fucking awesome. Transmasc Rodya. Transfem Hong Lu.

As for more specific Hong Lu thoughts (since that's what you come here for):

I don't think it's a coincidence we're seeing Hong Lu using a lower voice alongside being genuinely angry, even if through Ryoshu being in his body.

The fact that Hong Lu's eye glows when he's angry here seems pretty significant, and I believe matches my theory that his eye is tied to how he views his reality - the more detached, the dimmer, while the more "worldly", the brighter.

Ryoshu, in Hong Lu's body, instinctively covers his jade eye while staggered. This parallels her clutching her chest as if out of breath in her regular sprites, showing she's aware of it being some form of weak spot. She also doesn't do the twirly bullshit he does.

Hong Lu in Ryoshu's body meanwhile continues to be more performative and show-offy. He even holds up his hand in the same manner when staggered.

The comment about Hong Lu "still getting used to this body" as if it's something he's done before... yeah.

Also, it's interesting how Hong Lu is slowly usurping Faust as Dante's translator. How he's Dante's first choice after her. Just something to point out.

Middle Sinclair

I don't have much to say here other than express confusion over how people thought this wasn't a fitting Identity for Sinclair.

His vengeful tendencies we see on display in his own Canto aside, he's a kid with a dead family that he felt detached from before they died. Of course he'd be the type to get caught up with the kinds of people promising to give him a new, more "normal" family.

Indicant's Trial Rodion

A reflection of Rodya's vigilante approach to justice, with her corrosion representing the end result of such acts - care more for the performance of violence than for who is actually getting punished.

R Corp Hong Lu

First of all. Let's make this clear: this is a Daiyu ID. Or rather, this is a Hong Lu/Baoyu being put in Daiyu's shoes ID.

Crippling chronic condition? Check. Stark unwillingness to die despite how easy it would be to just give up? Check. Kurokumo HL similarity through sprites that aren't performing and are actually focused on the Combat? Check. Even the Post-Uptie art makes it a first where Hong Lu's jade eye isn't shown, instead his regular is focused on.

Second of all. We're seeing what Hong Lu is like when the mask of naivete is cracked. A frustrated, tired man who simply wants his suffering to end. I think this is exactly what we'll see more of in his Canto proper.

Third - just like the other IDs that released on the cusp of the new season, I think this is foreshadowing something more specific. Just as Oufi Heathcliff and Zwei West Ishmael foreshadowed the involvement of those factions (or a faked one in the former case), I think R Corp Hong Lu could likewise foreshadow a faction. If not R Corp's direct involvement, then perhaps more focus on the Heishou. There is a point to be made about their "same roots" after all.

[lemotmo]

I think we should all be reminded of this more often:

What are the Upfronts?

***

Source: wikipedia

Source: 6ABC.com

We have never, in the history of 911, seen advertising for Buddie on such a grand scale. We were bombarded with it. Just when we thought it was over, something new dropped. It was insane and absolutely glorious.

Unfortunately these Upfronts were held in the same week of the season finale. A season finale that came after a couple of episodes that were not well received, because of Bobby's death and the way all of the characters' personal storylines were sidelined in the wake of his death.

If these Upfronts had been held only one week later? Things would have looked decidedly different. Fandom would have been excited for Buddie in season 9.

The timing was just bad and we were all so swept away by Ryan and Oliver's chemistry that we forgot what these Upfronts were really about: Season 9.

So taking all of that into consideration? Coupled with the fact that Ryan and Oliver would NEVER consciously shipbait in any way? They were just there to promote the next season.

I am looking forward to season 9. I have been on this ship since 2019. I'm not leaving until I see those two idiots und up together. I am still 100% confident we'll get there.

But as I've stated before, I have no idea of the timeline. The only thing I know is that, after the major clues in season 8 and the Upfronts? Season 9 seems very promising right now.

Let's not forget that all of that Buddie build up from season 8 is still right there. It didn't just vanish. Non fandom people picked up on it and have clued in that something is brewing between Buck and Eddie. Even more so, a lot of them are anticipating for something to happen between them in season 9.

Buddie firmly stepped out of the strictly fandom spaces, into the limelight of the general audience. That is huge and so much more than what we ever got from FOX.

Further more, the members of the GA who dislike the idea of Buddie can now switch over to '911: Nashville'. It seems like that show will be right up their alley. Good riddance.

In conclusion:

Was the last part of season 8 one giant mess? Yes.

Did Bobby's sudden death throw a wrench into everyone's personal storylines? Yes.

Was there a lot of weird bts stuff going on with Peter/Bobby's goodbye? Yes. Something happened behind the scenes, that much is clear. I don't think we'll ever find out the full truth about that though.

Were we disappointed by how all of this was handled? Yes. As we should be.

But we're past that now.

The Upfronts clearly showed us that Buddie is, now even more than ever, very popular. With audience, fans and the press alike.

Narratively speaking there is only one way this can go. This show has written itself into a corner when it comes to Buddie. The foreshadowing is very clear.

No other love interest will ever compare or be good enough anymore. There is no beating the natural chemistry between Ryan and Oliver. We saw it on full display last week.

So yeah...

You don't have to agree with me or anything like that. I'm not here to proclaim that my opinion is the only opinion that is right.

Everyone is free to draw their own conclusions and make their own decisions. Whatever you decide to do is completely valid and true.

I just wanted to offer some perspective. That's all.

That being said, you can probably tell that I'm still all aboard the Buddie train. There's no getting rid of me. 😄😋

[lynxgriffin]

Yeah, the fact that Noelle can equip some swords is fairly ominous! And It's definitely interesting that the shard is one of those few objects that doesn't seem to change between worlds. Just really wonder what is going on with the Knight that they can look like that even jumping between worlds!

Yeah, it's honestly something I really appreciate about the fandom. It's also just a cool time capsule to see what people thought might happen between chapters, and what people prioritized, and then how those priorities and ideas shift with new information. If Undertale was in part a warning to players that overusing a game will detach you from its characters and world, I really feel like Deltarune is an encouragement to engage in fandom in order to take characters beyond what's already been set out for them.

Mmm no, I believe that part of chapter 2 did happen...it showed Queen's car in that scene, and the little bit you do drive her car she literally just has you barrel through everything in the way. That said, it really does feel to me like Susie is the lynchpin to change how the prophecy goes, just based on what Gerson tells her throughout chapter four. What that ending is, though, still don't know.

The images we see describing the heroes are frustratingly vague. Even the silhouette of "the girl" I feel has a duck-or-bunny situation where it could read as Susie facing left with her hair behind her, or Noelle with her hood up and wearing the tattered wings. Hell, I'd even say Ralsei is not 100% certain...during the sermon, Catty describes one of the heroes as being fluffy with horns, and sounding cute. Is that Ralsei or Asriel? Who even knows right now!!

It's hard to focus on because I feel like that could apply to any one of the main characters, or to none at all and something else entirely. All options would be bad!

Heck, right now I'm already afraid of the fact that there is a scary amount of foreshadowing that Kris will lose a hand before we're done!

Geez I have no clue how to choose. Hard to go wrong with Black Knife in chapter four, of course...but I think a lot of my favorite tunes are weighted towards chapter four. From Now On, Hammer of Justice, Gya Ha Ha! are all bangers... Right now I've got Second Sanctuary on repeat. Heck, even 12AM might be my new melancholy "Quiet Water"-esque favorite.

It really does seem to be there's some bigger conspiracy at work with people working with each other in different capacities...Kris and the Knight are involved, Kris and Carol are involved, Carol and the Knight are involved, Asgore is in that mix somewhere as well, and possibly also Alvin?? Honestly I'm going to need a Pepe Silvia corkboard or something to try and work it all out in my mind.

Dragon Blazers is such an interesting aspect of the game, because Dragon Blazers is the in-text media that Deltarune uses to talk about itself. (Cat Petterz almost seems like the inverse of this, the off-the-beaten-path game in comparison to Dragon Blazers' more straightforward adaptation.)

And yeah, that very well could indeed be a reference to something happening to Dess...I think that was a thought some folks had even before the new chapters. The "stay in the party" part could just be about reinterpretation telephone, yeah. It'd be really nice if we had a copy of Lord of the Hammer and knowledge of what happens in Dragon Blazers to compare, but I don't think that'll ever happen.

The prophecy is so vague on both the terms and symbology used that it could refer to Susie and Kris or the Vessel and Noelle. I don't know if we can say for sure that it's not one or the other. I lean towards the latter because I do like the idea that Susie is the wrench in the prophecy, but there's just as much evidence towards the fact that it IS supposed to be about Susie and Kris.

But man, after Susie's whole development where she's so excited about finally being picked for something, about actually being a hero...getting that rug pulled out from under her is going to really hurt if it happens.

[jazeswhbhaven]

A Successful Hunt in Heaven | React | Spoilers | Prologue

LETS GO YA'LL

First, let me say that this is completely different than Levi's Torture story and when I get a chance to read the rest of this???? I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a 10...

Cause let's jump in???

We start with the fact that MC is standing in front of a throne, everything is in white and angels are calling them Gabriel.

I was like???? AYO ARE WE GABRIEL???

It seems, that we are indeed Gabriel....

it's so good to see our angry bae again, even if he's cussin' us out

not that he can help it, we are literally Gabriel right now. but why the fuck are we????

SO it's flashback time and we're in Gehenna after a big battle. Three kings Mammon/Levi/Beel came to help out and the results were victorious.

Mammon is so that guy because if I were watching him lifting buildings with ease all day, I would. Lemonade in hand like those ladies watching the lifeguard at the pool.

So the kings are talking amongst themselves about Satan reacting to Mammon's saying of "how Gehenna is his so ofc he's gonna help" and Beel saying that Satan would headbutt him with his horns if he heard him and it's surprising that he didn't (foreshadowing??)

Mammon just loves to call his boyfriend small huh? Lol

We know Beel, you like to spy on us. Next you're gonna be randomly showing up when we're showering or something and be like HEY JUST CHECKING UP ON YOUUUUU.

My stinka boo. <3

Anyways....

Leviathan, give me one reason why I shouldn't box with you right now. One good reason other than the fact that I can't fight demons 💀

I ain't payin' you nary a cent back.

But yeah everyone starts to depart though, since the job is done and it's time for the devils of Gehenna to relax and chill!

I'm crying because I like how Levi and Beel's dynamic here is still "Ugh my dumbass best friend that annoys me sometimes" because He was getting onto Beel for being careless and making Bael work too much and Beel was like "Awh but you're closer to me :(((((" and Levi is like "Nah you got 6 other kings" skskskkskskksks And then he drags him away here? I love them your honor, their dynamic makes me crack up each time.

BUT now that this is over and done with we're at the PUB GETTIN' DRUNK LETS GET IT

Even Ppyong comments that he hasn't had a drink in a while and Sitri is over here yappin' about tea and how long it takes to brew compared to just pouring alcohol and throwing it in your mouth. Then a funny thing with Leraye happens...

I can hear him in my head and it's hilarious. Because Leraye why you sayin' it like this? lmaoooo

After being chided that he was being too damn loud in his ear and some other interactions from the other nobles, it's then realized that Satan actually hasn't been around in a while. No one has seen him in a couple days and I'm just like....wait ya'll just been doing whatever and not concerned that your King is literally not around for over 48 hours? o k

We then get Belial/Jjyu busting in the pub and saying there's an emergency meeting to talk about Satan's disappearance. Turns out Zagan and Belial noticed that Satan has been gone for a quite a while, Zagan being the first to notice and so he called the meeting. During this time when everyone is thinking of what's happening and what's going on, with MC thinking more about the "how this happened" rather than the "how can we fix this"??? There's a solution right outside the door.....

BUT FIRST

Paimon is so real because if a bead can shut up Jjyu it really does give us a reality check on how small he is lmao

ALSO POINTING WEAPONS AT THE DOOR? ITS ON SIGHT?

Oh.

oh.

That's my cat daddy right there.

I'm so happy we get to have Ronove content ya'll. And so randomly too. I wonder if we will get other Abaddon devils as a cameo in the other cards??? Hopefully? MAYBE?

So the nobles are wondering who called him there, and it turns out Zagan did.

And he was trying to say that from the beginning but since Ppyong wasn't looking at him, he couldn't translate. To which Astaroth is like "Just speak tho." LMAO

Anyways,

It seems the Abaddon devils love the thrill of danger. Dantalian also seems to love that to where he will literally put himself in harms way. But I mean I guess the devils there are just built different as they keep saying anyways.

So in order to save Satan though, someone has to go undercover as an angel. Problem with that is devils are unable to lie so if they were caught they would immediately just give up and admit they were sneaking in. But MC....

LOL this dialogue had me like??? OMG p l s. First...this is actually for once something I'd say, more in a joking sense even though this is clearly a serious moment.

I also love how Sitri was like "okay but the only thing you know how to do is lie, MC" and I was like...thanks Sitri thank you so much for your support you have no idea how much it means to me /s

But he's right, MC doesn't know how to do anything else which at this point damn we still don't know how to fight with magic or something??? Anything??

Thank you for letting us know this information Ronove. You are a treasure.

So, we end up seeing Ronove's power in action btw. How it works is that he says the words, and they work as long as he doesn't swallow.

R o n o v e

I do not need to know how you were eating food with your butt. Thank you sir. (why did I go there? Because it's a joke that's been done already in another media lmao so if you know you know) Honestly though if not his butt then probably made another hole somewhere or he ate through his dick who the fuck knows this is Hell and he's from Abaddon, anything could go.

He's so hot I'm crying. Like...I'm trying to imagine what a wet voice is and it's making me shiver in a bad/good way.

So his power is in action, he says "you will be an angel" and he pretty much spits in in MC's mouth and mixes it up and tells you to swallow. (reference my thirst post with him saying to swallow it)

So, there's no specifics to his powers. It works, but not the in way anyone would expect. This type of theme in most stories always ends up bad in some shape or form when the words are vague or broad. So yeah MC was an angel alright.....

So we were back in Heaven, and now we understand that MC is possessing Gabriel's body. I wonder if he's aware that's happening and he's internally screaming or if he's just kinda unable to do anything about it and is unconscious the entire time?

It's believable surface wise because everyone is falling for it, even Satan who was cursing and spitting on MC/Gabriel to point where they had to gag him.

Ngl, I'd have a hard time being into this "roleplay" too because he legit doesn't know it's MC so he hates them. It's kind of like a revenge mirror thing from Gabe's christmas card (i still have to do a react on that btw)

THIS????? FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gabriel needs to make those faces more.

But the entire time MC was pretending to be Gabriel I was like "GURL FOCUS" because they kept getting distracted by Satan looking fine as fuck in those restraints and that gag in his mouth. Which I mean??? EYAH but we're here to do mission rescue. But now we about to do some

Mission I'm going to fuck Satan as the angel he hates. And I'm so anticipating that Satan is going to react and sort of like it....SO YEAH YEAH YEAH INDIRECT WAY OF CXC

I did not originally ship any of the angels with any of the Kings or Nobles butttttt after I get my hands on the rest of this card story I'll be a believer.

Funny thing though is that I did in fact get the artifact for that discounted 250 pull they give us each time and it clearly is a reference to the key from Hellraiser which is one of my favorite Horror films~

we have such sights to show you

Okay but crossover of Kings as each of the different Cenobites when? Cause I need it.

[darkcircles4lyfe]

it's a story about hands (reprise)

Yeah, okay, today's the day.

I gave my blog that title for a reason, you know, and it has loomed over me for years because the hand motif is absolutely everywhere and you could go on about it forever.

Maybe that's something I'll never actually attempt to do, but this chapter, we reached a breaking point.

Before I continue, I need to give a big, big disclaimer: I do not have a physical disability, so I'm not able to speak about that from the standpoint of representation as a first-hand perspective. I have at least listened to enough disabled people to know that fictional characters who become amputees only to miraculously gain their limbs back is, um, a trope. Disabled people in general being "healed" is a conception we would really prefer to avoid here. Not to call people out, but I don't think we're giving enough space to acknowledge that.

I don’t feel comfortable making the judgement call about what should happen. I’m leaving that open. I also don't want to downplay people's emotional reactions. Honestly, I don't know if I can accurately define the line between acknowledging real pain vs. ableist pity. But I’d like to talk about the possibilities of what could happen. Other characters have definitely gotten permanent disabilities as a result of their hero work, or even just the side effects of their quirk. But, for better or worse, I don't think this case is really about representation. Not that Horikoshi won't do that justice. He might. What I'm saying is that's not his purpose for having Izuku lose his arms. It's meant to be symbolic, so we can explore what it means. The other thing I’m keeping in mind here is that Horikoshi is notorious for playing with our expectations, like, alllllll the time. I mean, just take a few chapters ago for a classic example. Eri appeared at the end, and we all assumed she was about to take some sort of action to save someone with her quirk. Then, immediately following, we were given an explanation for why that wouldn’t be happening. And now it’s clear he wanted to do that “fake out” not just as a silly cliffhanger prank, but specifically so we would know not to suspect that Eri could be the miraculous solution to Izuku’s loss of his arms. Rest assured, there is no easy way out of this.

The expectation at play in this particular instance is an old one. It’s very understated, but its subtext has burned so brightly, you’d be a fool not to notice it. It sits with anticipation like one half of a call and response. Man, I was so certain. Lots of people still are. I was really looking forward to printing the panel where it happened onto a t shirt and wearing it proudly. All the hand motifs in this story radiate thematically from a single moment, the one that started it all for Izuku.

It raises all kinds of questions about the act of saving, who needs saving, why, what does it mean, what are the dynamics of power, politics, honesty, exploitation, compassion, pity, disdain, sacrifice. Katsuki has dealt with many of these since he first rejected Izuku’s hand. While Izuku was the one who was convinced Katsuki would keep on rejecting him…

…Katsuki was the one who kept that moment in his mind all these years and eventually came to regret it.

Katsuki is the one yearning for that hand-hold, the one who has imbued it with so much more weight than it ever originally had. Izuku, in contrast, does not allow himself to dwell on what he wants. To illustrate this difference, we need to look at another piece of foreshadowing:

Ugh, do y'all remember when lots of folks were complaining about how there never seemed to be actual consequences for Izuku's destructive treatment of his own body? I don't blame them, I was concerned and confused about it too. There were several "fixes" along the way. Recovery Girl healed him, but left a physical reminder. Then he started training to fight with his legs… sometimes. Then he got support items. All of these were unsatisfying non-conclusions because they didn't present Izuku with a lasting enough impression to change in a meaningful way. They didn't address his core, his origin.

Of course, that all changed this chapter. Now it looks like our frustration was inflicted intentionally. With the current context in mind, all of these moments look more sinister, like this day was always gonna come because they kept putting bandaids on a deep emotional and psychological wound. The problem is pretty much spelled out for us here:

As Katsuki put it, he just doesn’t take himself into account, ya know? He doesn’t care what happens to him. And he lies about it, to keep others from worrying, to keep them safe. To keep them from returning the favor and putting themselves in harm’s way for his sake. His motivations are noble,

…but what about the little boy inside Izuku? Who saves him?

This is all about Izuku giving himself up to the point that he literally has no more to give. The thing is, I bet he saw this coming. He knew his limits and decided to keep going anyway, because his personal safety and wellbeing are not important. Now that way of thinking has come back to bite him because the fight isn’t over yet, and he’s already made his sacrifice. So now we know who will be more distraught over this. Not Izuku—Katsuki.

It’s not about Izuku becoming disabled, it’s about how Katsuki wanted to use the intertwining of their fingers to communicate that he would never let go. Never stop valuing him most. Never let himself make the mistake of rejecting him again. Never let Izuku be so reckless with his life. To say: “we are in this together.”…if only Katsuki believed he deserved to be able to say such things. To reach out his hand would have been the ultimate way to simply imply them and let Izuku be the one to decide. Then, to feel their hands clasped together would be more than either of them dared hope for, but so beautiful, so right. A moment they’ve waited their whole lives for.

Yeah. That’s what we were expecting. We’ve been so comfortable. Horikoshi gave us all the signs. He tempted and teased us over and over. BUT. You know he does this thing were he gives us a desirable, completely plausible and simple thing to look forward to, and then he snatches it away. And THEN he replaces it with something much better, something we were not expecting at all because it seemed too good to be true. That’s exactly what happened when Himiko snatched Izuku away, and we were robbed of the chance to see him and Katsuki fight together. In hindsight, though, I’m glad things went a different way because now there’s so much more depth and angst on display. Likewise, in the present moment, we may consider how, as one door closes, another opens.

As wonderfully meaningful as the hand-hold would have been, perhaps it is still too simple a resolution for Izuku, for his and Katsuki’s relationship. Tbh, it could have been done like 100 chapter ago. At this point, there’s so much more potential. There are a couple of ways it could go. If Izuku stays armless, Katsuki will be forced to use other methods to get his point across. He’ll have to do something else, or say what he means, or both. Yes, I’m talking about what you think I’m talking about. If I say it, I just might jinx it (lol), but I mean it. I’m being serious. Either way, if Izuku did get his arms back in the end, I’m sure that it wouldn’t be an easy fix. It would be hard-won against Izuku’s self-destructive mindset, and/or by Katsuki’s conviction. Again, I say this knowing it is not meant so much as a representation of disability, but as a representation of Izuku’s greatest character flaw taken to the extreme. I know this might sound harsh, like, hasn’t he been through enough? I get that, but… I’ve said it before and I say it again: Izuku is stubborn as hell.

I wish I had a resounding final note to end this on, but I kinda don’t. I’m not sure what’s best. Now we just have to wait and see what Horikoshi has in mind.

[eldritchkraken]

time for some more hot takes on mouthwashing.

so it's obvious that each character is color coded in the dialogue, yeah? the colors for swansea (yellow) and daisuke (pink) seem like obvious because it's the main colors of their clothing. (i've also touched on daisuke's color symbolism in a different post.) but what about the other three?

jimmy (green), curly (white), and anya (blue) all have outfits that are mostly the same color since they wear the same boiler suit uniform. it's certainly nothing to do with their eye color - anya and jimmy have brown eyes, curly has blue eyes. but what else is there?

anya is in a constant struggle with her mental health for the entire duration of the game, even before the crash. blue is often used as symbolism for sadness, so that would fit with the depressed state she falls into especially after the crash. the color could also be foreshadowing her death - her model's skin color looks pretty off after she succumbs to the poisoning.

jimmy has no visual indicators for the color green. however it's written all over his personality. jimmy's driving motivator is envy - he desires the status and admiration curly has, and spends the whole game trying to prove that he can do it too. so yes, i think picking the color green as an indicator for jimmy's envy is a dead ringer.

finally, curly. white could possibly be representative of his post-crash bandages but i would like to think there's a possibility it was chosen for misdirection or foreshadowing. white is the default dialogue color when someone's not talking, so it could subconsciously make you assume we're playing as curly in the beginning. following the other, theory, though, white is a symbolic color for innocence - and thus foreshadowing that curly did not cause the ship to crash.

[akailycoris]

About Chapter 215

Well, doesn't this feel like the start of a wild ride!

We finally have a name for this mysteryous newcomer, but does anyone else feel like their name could possibly be... fake? Or is that just me? I don't know what it is, but something about it just doesn't sit right with me, like a piece of a puzzle that won't properly slide in:

MODRI VLADIS

Like, anyone familiar with the Harry Potter movies, remember in the 2nd movie when Tom Riddle shows that anagram of "I am Lord Voldemort" from his name?

Why am I getting similar vibes?!?!

And then this whole thing:

GOD, WHAT. A. MESS!

Literally and figuratively.

(-Also, like Master, like servant, just look at their faces, I'm bursting!!!-)

(-The hotel staff is very impressive too!-)

I think there are already a whole bunch of theories sprouting forward, like this being one of Sebastian's former contractors or someone is mistaking Sebastian for Vincent (which would be absolutely WILD!!!) or this is Joker, trying to remind Sebastian he cut his arm (which at least seems to track, in the sense that it does seem to be the same left arm that's being hurt).

In any case, I'm real pissed about how they're wasting blood they most surely got from other people, whom may not even be alive anymore.

That really angers me.

...

I'm still thinking of Beast though, mind you all. Maybe it's the whole deal with multiple Cinematic Records in a single body? From multiple people? But then why the fake name??

...

According to Google "The surname "Modri" most likely originates from the Slavic word "modrý," meaning "blue," potentially indicating a person with blue eyes or a connection to the color blue. It may also be related to the word "modri," which in some Slavic languages means "grocer" or "grain merchant". The name could also be associated with a traditional blue shirt or garment, or be a nickname stemming from physical traits."

As for Vladis, "The name Vladis is a Slavic name, often used as a diminutive or variant of longer names like Vladimir or Vladislav. It is derived from the Slavic words "vlad" (meaning "power" or "rule") and "mir" (meaning "peace" or "world"), thus translating to "ruler of peace", "ruler of the world", or "glorious rule". It's a strong and potentially confident name, often associated with leadership qualities"

That's a rather grand name. And a bit on the nose too, I feel, though I can't quite explain why, at this point. But I have a feeling it will prove to be so.

Either way, when I think of the colour blue in connection with Kuroshitsuji, I either think of Ciel and his blue eye, blue hair, blue clothes, blue ring that is a family heirloom or the Blue Cult arc.

Maybe I think about other things too, down the line, but these are the first to pop in my head.

Moving on, is this a confirmation thay this guy too, is a Bizarre Doll?

Also, you tellin' Ciel about whiskey and cigars???

Ciel-honey-in-my-milk-asthmatic-lungs-still-the-Queen's-Guard-Dog-Phantomhive...

Yeah, I'm not impressed either and this guy is just itching for a beating, isn't he?

Also, for another point that I & Ciel agree upon: SEBASTIAN IS A MESS. And THE LOWEST OF THE LOW.

At least he's feeling properly ashamed for bringing this whole mess about a potential past contract, into his current contract with Ciel, which, mind you, doesn't happen a whole lot.

...

Lastly, though, for what may later turn out to be one of, if not the, most important foreshadowing in the story, don't think we didn't notice that

YOU DIDN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION, SEBASTIAN.

WE'RE ON TO THAT, AREN'T WE?

[iphyslitterator]

https://www.tumblr.com/iphyslitterator/781529944758091776/fascinating-phenomenon-that-the-buddie-fandom-is?source=share

My theory: the buddie fandom members are more inclined to reject (and even to rebel) against something that they don't agree with (or causes them pain) and are willing to believe in any sign that may indicate that what they want is in fact happening, even if it's against all logic; while the BT fandom members seem more grounded in reality, recognizing what's happening and being able to accept it (which doesn't mean they can't manifest their disagreement), despite the pain said reality may cause.

is this an age thing (buddies skewing younger and BTs skewing older)? a cultural thing (religious background / education / literacy levels)?

I'm intrigued by this.

Yeah, I've been thinking along these lines, i.e. that it's about the dominant modes of reading in each fandom.

The most prominent Buddie shippers believe Buddie's going canon, and that involves a lot of reading between the lines: the show is sending you subtle messages, the signs are obvious to the skilled ("media literate") interpreter, of course they wouldn't spoil things in interviews. The gifset of alleged season 8 foreshadowing for Bobby's return fits right into that - attention and close reading are supposed to reveal the hidden truth.

I love the point about the tendency to reject/rebel against canon, which is linked to an investment in canon: this thing that you want isn't happening onscreen, and that's unacceptable, so therefore it will, it has to (and it's so important for it to happen, there may be no way to convince you that it won't).

Whereas the Bucktommy fandom did the exact opposite in the wake of the breakup: we both accepted canon and distanced ourselves from it. Even as more people got more hopeful for a reconciliation, our main project in the hiatus was to solidify into a fandom that could survive without the show. At the same time - and it wasn't immediately clear this would happen - we started heavily incorporating 8x06 material into our readings. The prevailing characterization of Tommy shifted significantly. We dive deep into their communication issues. We hated the episode, but we decided to take a lot of it at face value and turn it into a "better" story.

To avoid the "grounded in reality" value judgment for a minute, I'd say the Bucktommy fandom leans more pessimistic. Believing in the Buddie long game requires optimism, faith that the show is intentional and patient. Bucktommy fans are more likely to express cynicism about Tim Minear and distrust in the show; taking the text at face value/arguing that the show "isn't subtle," even if accurate, is related to the general post-breakup wariness. (It's also related to having a canon ship - we never had to excavate it, it was happening onscreen.)

Of course the Bucktommy fandom has also already coped with the sudden loss of a beloved character; a lot of us were processing a lot of grief in November, and I think even the people who were clowning early reconciled themselves to the possibility he wouldn't come back. The irony is that we were wrong, and Tommy did return! But the experience still primed a lot of us to start grieving Bobby and coming to terms with his death quickly. (It's also ironic that we're taking the press at face value, but the Peter farewell tour is so much more extensive than the Lou "exit interviews" that believing it seems like the smart/realistic/pessimistic thing to do.)

I'm unwilling to generalize about demographics without hard data, and I think we overinterpret the age thing. There are plenty of younger Bucktommy fans, and plenty of older fans with the reactions or behavior people sneer at as juvenile. I'd tentatively say the fact that many of our most prominent writers are late 30s or older has shaped the fic landscape, and the unusually high percentage of queer men has influenced the culture. But whether this has any bearing on the Bobby alive vs. dead debate, I couldn't say.

[cocogum]

The Great Wave - Chapter 12 Review

‼️SPOILERS FOR THE CHAPTER‼️

Oh my god Grougalorasalar was just spitting facts in this entire chapter....

Daddy's right, yugo's fucked.

Sorry people I actually do agree with most of what Grougalorasalar said. That is, most. Not entirely. And I'll explain that later on.

Besides Grougalorasalar's facts, let me just say that I really loved how this chapter really showed us some deaths that occurred during the war since season 4 never showed these before.

(Like what happened to the bodies after the war? Did they get buried or got disintegrated??)

Not only does this show that there were more casualties than expected when the war was happening, but it's also telling us that there will be more chapters depicting death and loss Iike these with no visual restraints.

Now back to Grougalorasalar.

This fine ass man dude listed so many things that the eliatropes have done whether those actions were intentional or not.

Like how he listed the Eliacube, Nox, Qilby, Ogrest, Oropo, and the Eliasphere...

Oh! Speaking of Qilby, what he said about him may be a foreshadowing.

"I'm not even sure he's the wackiest member of your family..."

Doesn't that sound like a major foreshadowing about how Yugo will end up being far worse than Qilby?? ���😭😭

Like come on, we got that wave coming up soon so Yugo might as well end up copying big brother right? 💀💀

But anyway, during Grougalorasalar's explanation, he actually clears out one problem that people have been trying to figure out:

How could he say all these things while knowing he had assisted Ogrest with the other primordial dragons?

Well we finally know the reason why now.

It surprisingly makes a lot of sense if we think about it.

Ogrest possessed all the primordial Dofus at that time, so it wouldn’t be surprising that he could control six dragons. Their behavior during the ovas, while they were fighting Dally and Yugo, seemed almost primal, despite the fact that we knew they could talk. They surrounded Ogrest as if he was their master, and their eyes were completely devoid of any emotion.

It makes so much more sense now because back when the great wave's first volume dropped, people kept wondering why Grougalorasalar had the nerve to speak to Yugo like that in his dream when he had clearly played a role in one of his mistakes.

And it also made sense why Aguabrial had been acting feral towards Dally and Yugo, especially since he had previously interacted with them in the manga that occurs between season 2 and the OVAs.

....Yeah, that was on Oropo, but I see why he'd blame Yugo too.

But besides me saying how much I believe most of what Grougalorasalar says, it's time I talk about the parts that I don't agree with.

The first is by saying that Armand's death was indirectly caused by Yugo because he brought the Eliasphere into this.

When that wasn't technically true.

When Yugo returned to the Sadida Kingdom, he presented the Eliasphere and specifically warned everyone not to use its power excessively, as doing so could lead to death. Armand was present during this explanation and understood the risks involved. He ultimately made the difficult decision to sacrifice himself for his people by harnessing the magic of the artifact.

It was Armand's own choice to have gone out like that. Yugo had nothing to do with it.

And the second is by saying that all of the artifacts that Grougalorasalar listed don't belong to the eliatropes.

I do agree that the Eliacube and the Eliasphere do not belong to them and should have never been touched in the first place.

But the eliatrope dofus?? Seriously????

Grougalorasalar, come on, are you being for real?

These dofus are literally the spawning eggs for the primordial eliatropes. That's literally their checkpoint savings, so the eggs obviously belong to them!

I think my guy was way into his monologue that he forgot that key detail.

These two do NOT look okay and I'm loving it.

BUT WAIT GUYS WE'RE BACK TO THE REAL WORLD!!!

LOOK AT AMALIA RUNNING TO YUGO OMG SHE'S SUCH A GIRLBOSS SOMEONE PLEASE I WANT THEM ‼️‼️‼️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Look at how tightly her arms are wrapped around him...🥺🥺🥺 She's crying omg plz no babygirl it's okay your husband's alive and took it well omg- 😣😣

The way she completely loses it when she sees him in pain means the world to me. She would do anything for him 😭😭💗💗 How many times has she gone on the attack when Yugo has been injured??!!!? ❤️❤️❤️❤️ SHE EVEN HAD THAT HABIT BACK IN SEASONS 1-2 😫😫❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

As soon as Grougalorasalar takes them back, that damn belladone poison is now apparently subsiding and fading away on its own. Usually, the poison just immediately kills the person who swallows it but in Yugo and Adamai's case, it just fades away when their bodies are just being injured by it and nothing more. ✨️ Demigod stuff ✨️

Alright, here is where we finally arrive at the scene that sparked a major discussion in the chapter comments.

And that was regarding the fact that Grougalorasalar was also seen carrying his own primordial dofus.

Many people have criticized that he shouldn't have been wearing the dofus while blaming Yugo for all the casualties that he caused while using the eliatrope dofus.

But I don't really think there needs to be a discussion.

I really love Yugo but Grougalorasalar was completely in the right for wearing them.

He knew that Yugo was the type to strike when something doesn't go his way and when he feels like he's being challenged. So did you really think that Grougalorasalar wasn't going to arm himself in case something went bad during his explanation? Or even when he would admit that he tried poisoning Yugo and his wife?

Like the reason why he was even armed with the dofus to begin with was because he knew there was a good chance Yugo could have attacked him with his own ones.

And it turned out that his hunch was right.

Yugo almost did but got stopped by Adamai (just in time too). So Grougalorasalar's decision was completely justifiable.

But despite that, I'll have to disagree on another one of Grougalorasalar's decisions: demanding to take away the eliatrope dofus AND the Eliasphere.

Like I said before, Yugo and Adamai cannot give him the eliatrope dofus because those are where they rest after death and leave to get reborn. Those literally belong to them. The goddess eliatrope created them with these dofus.

While I agree that he was right to tell Yugo and Adamai that the Eliasphere does not belong to them, it's important to note that the artifact cannot leave their possession, even if they wanted it to. Rotalström, the dragon that Armand defeated, is still technically alive but currently dormant. The Eliasphere is the only artifact capable of keeping it subdued. So, if there ever comes a time when the necromantic dragon awakens, the Eliasphere would be the first artifact used against it.

...So is Julith naked under that cloak or...? Did she get clothes before coming here with Grougalorasalar? Cuz when she woke up, he only gave her a cloak....

(Also I love how he still considers her his guardian after all these centuries that she's been dead. She hasn't been seen talking once until now. Is pookie bear feeling okay? What is she thinking about...)

Well now we know that these three goobers hid the Eliasphere somewhere and didn't kept it where we last saw it in season 4's last episode...Good.

They only have one month before Julith comes back omg this makes me wonder if they're even gonna go along with the deal. If not, then that probably means we'll either have Yugo or Amalia fight Julith. Or maybe they'll fight her together lol

This is unrelated, but I do hope that we get to see Adamai's full dragon form in the second volume or in the future ones. Because if the manga that comes between season 2 and the ovas had him use his full form on some occasions, then they should be able to do the same thing here.

[ghouly-boiiiii]

The potential for Ghoulcy to be canon may be more likely than y'all think...

Honestly, if it were any other IP I would say there's no way, but this is Fallout we're talking about. A franchise which prides itself on indulging in the ridiculous and absurd scenarios it can come up with.

They've already done it in the games. Hancock is a romance candidate for your character in Fallout 4 and he's a ghoul, so like, the idea of pairing a human with a ghoul is not a new idea in the franchise.

Plus, I feel like there has been some potential actual foreshadowing for it in the show. Not just Norms husband talk in the beginning, but the fact that Lucy is a very frisky lady and not squeamish in the slightest both lend itself to the possibility. Now, that could all just be for the funny, but they do seem like very oddly specific choices on the writers part.

As for Max, I think the line the doctor says, "Will you still want the same things when you've become a whole other animal all together?" is gonna be pretty relevant here. Lucy thought she was gonna find her dad, then go back to her vault and live happily ever after with her LITERAL knight in shining armor. But now that she knows the truth... that probably doesn't seem as appealing as it used to be anymore.

So yeah... probably still unlikely BUT I don't think it's at all out of the realm of possibility. I can definitely see the creators going in that direction just to be funny and shock people, but maybe even more so if they find out there are fans who are actually into it... 😅 I mean who knows? I can dream...

But yes, I know. Maybe this is just all wishful thinking, but I don't care. I'm gonna ride this train til it crashes and burns!! Ghoulcy forever, baby!!

EDIT: I just wanted to quickly add that Walton Goggins also talked about how he and the creators deliberately set out to try and make the Ghoul "kind of hot" (which they obviously succeeded at, because here we are lol). And while, sure, that may have just been for freaky fans like us, there could be another reason if their intention from the beginning was to have a romantic arc with The Ghoul. Gonna give us that whole Beauty and the Beast trope, Fallout edition y'all haha 😃

[ven0moir]

BYCHANCE ... foreshadowed since S1EP1?

Let's assume, just ✨ for fun✨ , that the answer to that question is 'yes'. And that I'm SOMEWHAT within the ballpark with my Bychance speculative timeline.

S1EP1

We know the scene between Hopper and Joyce, when she goes to report Will missing, is one of the most ✨ iconic ✨ ones in the show. Bylers noticed ages ago ( wish I could find their names fr but it was so long ago ugh so if anyone knows who first brought this up, please I need them ) that it also seems to include some type of FORESHADOWING for Vecna. Added to this, during ST day in I think it was 2023, this episode was played on a loop for, what? An entire day? I noticed the phrase "I told you a million times" was used at least twice throughout the episode ( By Dustin + Bully and Joyce + Jonathan ).

Call me crazy but I think the Duffers/Netflix wanted us to notice that. So let's review the scene in question, and then I'll give you my conclusions.

Jonathan: "Will's probably at the Byers" -- wrong Hopper: "Will's probably playing hookie" -- wrong Dustin: "He's probably just early for school" -- wrong

Everything that seems 'probable' to the characters ends up being WRONG in this episode.

"Probably" = probabilities. Odds ... Synonym for odds? Chances.

"Chances are Will is playing hookie." <- S1 Hopper is ✨ correct ✨, bc this is true ... but for S5 Will, not S1 Will.

I think this way bc this is also the scene where we're told Will is queer. He's also talking about screwing Chrissy Carpenter in the back of his oldsmobile aka CAR. Which reminded me of what Steve said to Nancy earlier, in the same episode.

We know based off of what happened in Nancy's room that Steve wanted to ✨ get cozy with Nancy ✨and do anything but study.

This is also the scene where our attention is brought to Will's clothes. @offsidetracked made a BRILLIANT post about that, definitely recommend giving that a read before continuing this one.

I will also add this:

Will's S5 hair looks ... messier than previous seasons. He really is in his ✨ messy, Bychance era ✨ hm? @nymphus-fan-account also made the great observation that Chance's hairstyle looks like Steve's. And with all of the attention brought to Steve ... plus Chance's association to cars which @cypherheartnokey has talked about before ...

I'm not saying 'oh yeah, this is Bychance proof', I'm just asking ... do you think it could be?

[dualogical]

Unpopular opinion: Hero should have had more of a role in Apotheosis.

"We'll do what we should've done from the beginning. We'll take this blade, and we'll sink it into her heart!"

"Yeah. Do it. Show her." [End this]

Hero has to take on the mantle of a "bonus Voice" in Tower because Broken only hurts you, he has to gain more and more agency as the Chapter goes on.

it would make sense if Hero had a more active role in Apo! AND IT WOULD FORESHADOW/PARALLEL HIS INTERFERENCE IN THE SHIFTY FIGHT!

HE KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT BATTLING GODS!

if Voice of the Hero is a shonen protagonist, then there are three things they're best known for: slaying monsters, saving princesses, and fighting god(s) slaying monsters and saving princesses are both par for the course throughout the game, that's the subversive trope we're working in the framework of. but we only really see Hero do Option 3 with Shifty and, to an extent, Tower. it's odd to see Hero go from piloting the arms and acting as our personal agency in Tower... to him then taking the backseat in Apotheosis again, like nothing happened.

the Echo, at the End of Everything, says that a mortal cannot be trusted with the Shifting Mound's true nature, because a single intrusive thought would end everything. pre-Pristine Cut, VoT Paranoid claimed to be VoT Broken's foil, here only to deal with him and the "prying fingers in our head." that leaves the role of godkiller up for grabs.

and, truly? i think Voice of the Paranoid is a little too useful in Pristine Cut's Apotheosis. is this man not Voice of the Paranoid? sure, he's laughing maniacally and talking about how "not okay" he is, but he's not acting very paranoid at all. he's not uncertain. he's hardly even scared. as much as i love him, that seems off.

[skyfallscotland]

Onyx Storm, by Rebecca Yarros ⚡️

She was the first to choose me, to elevate me above all others, the first to see every ugly side of me and accept it all, and every single person in this fucking canyon will die before they remove a single one of her scales.

Oh boy, here we go. This is probably going to be the longest review I've done (as it should be, I suppose) and I think I'm going to have to separate my likes and dislikes into separate posts and link them, just to at least try and be more concise.

To be completely honest, I didn't really enjoy the book all that much. When I finished it I just felt confused, empty, and completely overwhelmed. I cried.

It might sound a little stupid to other people, but I think if you've lived with depression, you know how much stock you can end up placing in the little things like this, and your hobbies and obsessions, and what you pour your time and energy into.

So it's hard when you don't enjoy things as much as you expect to. I didn't have lofty expectations for the book at all, in fact I had no clear idea of what exactly I was expecting plot-wise, but I did expect to really like it. A lot of small things piled up to make this unenjoyable for me at times as an experience and I'm having a bit of a hard time with that.

It's not even the book itself, so much as the fact that I kind of feel like I'm the only one who didn't love it, on the outside looking in at a fandom I’ve given a lot for, and worse, that it's killed my drive to write anything for the universe at all.

Overall, and this is my biggest problem, I feel stupid. So many things did not make sense to me. I finished this book feeling like I no longer understand the world building, the foreshadowing, the characters—nothing.

It didn't feel like a cohesive story, there was a lot of info-dumping and more than a handful of threads picked up and pulled on, and never looked at again. I don't have the answers to questions I've had for years, I only have new questions, and a lot of things that happened well...they don't actually matter at all. You could pick a bunch of things and pull them out of the story and the end result will be the same.

Someone on Goodreads said "Onyx Storm felt like a kid lost in a supermarket trying to find their mother." And wow, yeah. Yeah, it did. We went down all the aisles, every single one, and in the end we left without the groceries.

I feel almost like I need to apologise to Iron Flame, because really, her issues feel negligible to me now, in my personal experience. At least then I understood what the hell was going on.

Is this a chicken and egg scenario? Am I the idiot? Even if I am the idiot, should it be written in a way that idiots understand? Because I do not understand, Rebecca. I'm lost.

There just wasn't consistency.

There was no 'kill your darlings' in this book. It felt like there was a lot of fan service, and honestly it really felt like someone had gone onto the subreddit, grabbed a bucket of every theory ever mentioned and then went 'oops' and dropped it all in.

I feel like we shouldn't be learning about how magic works in the second half of book three. You're over 400k words in and you're going to choose now to tell me the dragons actually don't have their own magic? You told me in book one and two that they did. And now they're just four-legged venin?

None of this would be as big of an issue if it was news to Vi, but it's not. We're constantly just having things she apparently knew this whole time dropped on us with zero explanation over and over and over again. If you want to keep things from the reader, write in third person.

I spent half the book going back and re-reading things because I just didn't understand what was going on. Maybe it’s the OCD, maybe I'm an over-thinker, maybe I'm just dumb, but that kind of thing doesn't do it for me, it seems unbalanced and illustrates a lack of continuity from book to book.

In terms of characterisation, I wanted a more badass Vi and I got her, but it feels like there's a massive character development gap missing between 'I don't want to even know the truth in case you hurt me again' and 'I'm going to poison someone, blackmail them, and threaten their children.' Did they deserve it? Sure, but it felt out of place to me.

I've made another post here with the things that frustrated me and the questions I still have, and one here with all the things I did love. Because there were things. There were times I smiled, and laughed, and cried, and quotes I adore.

Ultimately though, my rating for this (on my personal scale) is it’s a good book, it just didn’t do it for me.

And personally? I really really wish it had 🥺❤️‍🩹

[lynxgriffin]

I highly doubt that Woody could be the secret boss of chapter 5, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if there was a cowboy character in chapter 5. If there was, the cowboy stuff in chapter 3 would be cool foreshadowing. And the Friend Inside Me reference in the Mike room can't really be counted against it, since the Mike room also references Friend, which we are clearly still meant to take seriously. I definitely wouldn't bet money on Woody Theory, but I also wouldn't completely discount it either.

Though, it's hard to say since of course we have no idea what chapter 5 will look like. It's going to be the day of the festival, so I would assume there would be a good length light world segment. We also know that we're going to meet with Noelle again, and the Weird Route will be in between chapters 2 and 4 in terms of affecting the chapter. I also wouldn't be surprised if there were more dark fountain shenanigans, given everything that happened in chapter 4 (and there were 2 fountains in chapter 3 as well).

It also feels to me like the game is setting up chapter 5 to be the last somewhat normal chapter, before everything goes to insanity. Seam tells us that we only need 5 shadow crystals before our reward, Gerson doesn't say what happens in chapter 6, it will be the start of next week (the time frame when the police sacrifice will apparently happen), and obviously we'll only have 2 more chapters left. I'm thinking chapter 6 is either bunker dark world, or maybe even the Roaring.

The possibilities really are endless. And, something tells me that the town at large is gonna have to find out about the dark world sooner rather later. I also have to imagine Ralsei is going to explain what exactly the angel is soon (I've been a believer of player angel since the very beginning), and I imagine Susie is going to have some thoughts on that. It's also inevitably going to come to light that Kris is working with the Knight, but that seems like it might come a little bit later, I don't know. I also imagine fighting titans (or at least titan spawn) is going to become a more regular occurrence later on, given how the game tracks if you slay or purify the spawn and there's titan spawn in the First Sanctuary.

What was I talking about again? Oh right, Woody Theory. It's ok I suppose, but it's hard to make predictions that precise right now.

Like I said previously, I'm just not betting much on it because without the meme/joke aspect to give it fandom momentum, I don't find the idea that compelling. We've already covered a lot of what supposedly would be the point of such a boss...the idea of being puppeted/controlled by something else inside you? Already did that with Spamton, and we're getting plenty of it directly with Kris. The idea of being abandoned/left behind in the past and trying to bring things back to the way they were? That was pretty much Tenna's entire character arc. Heck, it pretty much hinges on "well, there's a TV in Asgore's place! We already did a whole TV chapter but we'll just have another TV section again!" I dunno man, I think we've got plenty of other big ideas to explore right now.

As you said, we're already pretty jam-packed on stuff that has the potential to happen in chapter five! We've got the whole festival, which yeah I imagine is going to take up a HUGE chunk of chapter five as a light world segment, with tons of characters we can talk to. There's weird route variations, Suselle potential and other crazy pairing jokes, Asriel may be coming home next chapter, etc. We've got this potential set up with the Cattenheimer family and Catti (or Catty!) potentially getting involved in a new Dark World, and Asgore's flower shop has huge potential for Dark World exploration without also having to also rehash the TV in there. And yeah, this feels like this will be the last relatively "normal" chapter before things really start going down. We don't know what it will look like, but I get the feeling it's going to be a pretty big one, and we'll have a lot of stuff to cover.