#awww them all hanging out and being close is so heartwarming

[drdt-headcanons]

İn a non Killing Game/Normal Hope’s Peak AU where everything is normal and shit, I'm pretty sure everyone had a normal relationship. They had movie nights in each others' homes, everyone at least dated and broke up with 2 people in their class for funsies, they gossiped, they helped each other cheat in exams, had snow fights and regular fights. Both Ace and Arturo chastised for their odd - ass behavior and mellowed down, David and Veronika are still a mess, Teruko is more trustfull, Nico and other LGBT members came out without an issue and everyone's alive and well but not really.

Whit is often go to go boy to decorate and plan parties - birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's, New Years, Halloween and what have you. Veronika hosted at least 3 horror movie maratons with the entire class. Min helped everyone with their school work and exams. Xander and Arturo often gather others around to talk about the insane shit they witnessed/heard while doing their Ultimates before they enrolled in. Nico and Rose kinda became everyone's therapist. David gets bonked on the head constantly for his bs yapping - he is still a reliable motivator though, whether if he likes it or not.

I'm pretty sure they had tickle fights or random tickle attacks at lunch breaks and after school ended too, just to let loose and laugh a little, or hear someone else laugh - Ace, David and Nico are unfortunately the most common victims when someone or few people decides to become a tickle monster.

Nobody can trust each other when it's wintertime, especially under trees, balconies and windows, because someone will either dump ice water all over them from above, pelt them with snow balls or or push the piled up snow to whoever is the unluckiest person. Everyone knows each other's home lay out because everyone went to each other at least once, both in groups and in private.

The entire class, as well as the hallway their class is on, is wet as shit at summertime because nobody can keep their damn hand away from water balloons or buckets for one second - Min stopped reading books or taking tests at summer because of them.

Everything calms down and gets more serious during springtime and autumn. They take walks around the parks, chit chat about their Ultimates, families and futures; share the latest gossip from other classes, see if they can climb that one random tree in their school's backyard in 2 minutes, buy each other gifts just because and be a bro/bestie in general. Than summer or winter comes and they become energetic beasts again.

Idc if any of this sounds stupid. They already suffered enough, let them have fun and get silly, and support and love each other 😭🩷🤝

:)

[reynie-muldoons]

'Depends on the Wagon' liveblog!

I saw someone do timestamps in their liveblog and it was absolutely lovely, so I think I'll try that too

1:55 why does Curtain sound like an mlm ceo LMAO

2:07 WOW ASSHOLE 😂😂 waving off your own teacher when he was complimenting you is not the vibe

2:17 so Dr. Curtian is only available through chain emails. Got it.

2:27 he seems like the kind of asshole to say that people on welfare are lazy and exploitave but then like, not pay his taxes

2:42 I DON'T LIKE HOW HE SAID THAT, THAT WAS CREEPY

2:47 oooooh Constance, always asking the right questions

3:05 Kate, why are you yelling, it's literally past curfew 😂

3:35 oh hai Jackson.. gtfo

4:22 oh yeah, the best way out is through the hallway that Jackson just entered. Good plane, babe.

4:25 soooo Kate Depending On Friends arc :)

4:59 AYYY HI RHONDA!!

5:13 why do I kinda fucking love then all deciphering the Morse code together

5:20 so the kids use the gemini riddle? Not the adults???

5:36 his face when he figures it out 😭😭😭

5:46 Nathaniel? Guess that's Dr. Curtain's name now. Less ridiculous than Ledroptha, but you dont get the badass Let Drop the Curtain reference

6:53 okay so no one knew he had a brother? But he did???

7:21 his faaaace ��

7:29 AWWW HE COULDNT BRING HIMSELF TO SHARE 😭😭😭 okay I'm kinda on board with the change if they can make it work in the long-haul

7:42 hi Milligan, good timing 😂

7:56 "not the time.........I'll take a dozen" Number Two my LOVE

8:23 interesting. I dont think Mr. Benedict was adopted in the books? He certainly didn't let Violet's family, the Hopefields, because he knew their financial troubles would be even worse. So who?

8:54 ohhhh dear, stages of grief at work. Maybe don't do that

9:05 I talked about this in the MBS discord server, but I think the show is really nailing Mr. Benedict's feelings. He's always been an emotional person, but he has to be so careful. Bottling up your feelings only leads to bigger feelings later. It makes so much sense for Mr. Benedict to be a whirlpool of strong, repressed emotions.

9:11 MILLIGAN'S FACE JAHAHS

9:34 RHONDA'S FACE HAGSKDGDJ

9:40 Mr. Benedict, sweetheart 🥺❤

10:01 "brothers stick together" why does it sound like he's talking about Reynie here 😭😭😭😭

10:12 that is a good ass point, Mr. Benedict already lied to them once

10:21 it makes sense for Sticky to be the one questioning the most because of his anxiety, but damn

10:46 AWWWWWW

10:56 KATE MAKING A BED FORT KATE MAKING A BED FORT KATE MAKING A BED FORT

11:00 I dont like how aggressive Kate is but it makes sense considering she's been in the circus for years, taking care of herself for far longer than she hasn't. She's not good at depending on people, and she's not good with difficult people.

11:10 Yeahh, Constance gets it!

11:40 Yeahhh, Constance gets it

12:55 that teacher seemed pretty nice last episode, nice to see that they're not what they seem just the same as Dr. Curtain lol

13:28 CONSTANCE I LOVE YOU 😂😂

14:00 "check again" okay so Krista from the tests and Martina give off the same vibe.. perfect 😂

14:16 "yeah......hang in there :D"

15:05 all of the apologies to the general class.. he's such an anxious sweetheart. He's really reading as autistic to me.

My sister just called me 😑 it's like 8 am, I answered her like "did you ever consider that you might be waking me up?" She did not consider that 😂

15:22 Martina's face just growing more and more annoyed and disgruntled HAHA

15:29 that was CORRECT?? WHAAAA

15:51 throwback to when I compared Dr. Curtain to an mlm ceo.. definitely like a cult

16:44 ohhhh Martina

17:30 CONSTANCE HEARING VOICES HELLOOOOO

18:22 ayyyyyy helper man

18:40 he seems too cheery to be a helper .-. The helpers all being super sad made [redacted]'s story make a whole lot more sense

19:35 aaaand now we get to it. You know, it really does seem a lot more cultish on screen than in the book

19:53 WAIT CONSTANCE GOOD JOB PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER 😂😂😂😂

19:53 that cut to Milligan making that exact face was INCREDIBLE

20:05 was he tryna leave? Yeah, good fuckin luck bucko

20:10 "critical papers at home" my ass, they packed everything up

20:24 the stages of grief back at it. 🥺

20:38 their relationship >>>>

21:00 "located in the..?" *description of envelope* "located in the....?" *more description* "located in the????" 😂😂😂😂

21:34 ohhhhh Thursday must be the student ranking day

21:56 Martina seems like the kind to throw out "pick a god and pray" as a crit quote 😂

22:07 I don't see any of the Society'a names on the list. Maybe they havent been there long enough

22:17 OH SHIT JK THERE THEY ARE

22:25 ohh Kate and Constance

22:55 the combination of the ferry horn and the bell makes it weirdly grim

23:55 them bringing Kate up and reminding her that she's needed 😌✨

24:29 hi Milligan bb ilyyyy

24:35 real good lookout guys, y'all are so well hidden

24:52 AYY HE'S DOING IT KATE STYLE

26:31 "visionary" is a word for it

26:31 I really kinda love that Number Two and Rhonda are going to such depths to try and help Mr. Benedict figure this out for sure

26:56 Mr. Benedict fully walking away while they talk about his brothers accomplishments 😂 I'm laughing, but poor guy

27:08 his FACE 🥺

27:28 HERE'S THAT TANTRUM FROM THE TRAILER

27:28 take your guesses how many times will he fall asleep

27:50 "he just has to work through some things" you dont fuckin say

27:55 you mean to tell me he had a full blown meltdown and they didn't show him falling asleep once??

28:35 like father like daughter 😌✨

29:10 ayyyy secret desk compartment

29:19 honestly I'm surprised there were actually papers he needed and it wasnt an excuse to go confront Dr. Curtain

29:32 oh shit, how'd they manage to get that far inside? No one was there to guard it, but the maze itself is a security measure

29:42 KATE STYLE STRIKES AGAIN

29:47 ooooh I like Dr. Curtain's office

30:01 WAS THAT SQ AND DID HE JUST CALL DR. CURTAIN HIS DAD

30:41 birds have careers. Got it 😂

30:50 JOURNAAAL

31:02 the fox?? Reynard the fox???

31:27 ohhh here we go, Dr. Curtain sees himself in Reynie only to resent it later

31:37 Mr. Benedict called Reynie a leader once too.. the parallels have ✨begun✨

32:12 is this the "keep your enemies close" conversation??

32:15 I'm honestly surprised he called him Sticky and not George

32:42 IT IS SQ IT IS SQ IT IS SQ

32:59 sooo that starts by not letting his caution down with you

33:11 Dr. Curtain congratulating himself mid-conversation on saying something deep is so in character

33:20 "I was betrayed by someone very close to me" so that was Mr. Benedict. Who the fuck else would it be

33:23 WHAT DID I SAAAAY

33:31 oh noooo Reynie starts doubting Mr. Benedict here? Is that the move?

33:43 that transition was so pretty stoppp

33:53 again how hasn't he fallen asleep

34:55 ayyyy journal snooping

35:05 Constance, my love, you are cut throat

35:11 Milligan is in the DRYWALL? ohh buddy be careful

35:21 omfg are they talking about water polo 😂 I love that that's the sport of choice

35:51 ayyyy they put the Milligan dots together too. Shame the guy's not with them rn

36:36 so Mr. Benedict brings up cheating first? I really like how we get to see the adults riddling out what to send back, we didn't get that at all in the books

37:46 I LOVE THAT THEY KEPT "don't get caught"

38:51 Kate riddling out the island schematics engineer style is so like her

39:07 they're just walking out the door?? Huh???

39:29 babe... turn off your flashlight

39:33 AND THAT'S WHY

39:58 is that the precursor to chuckroot?

40:38 the papers were from his orphanage 🥺🥺🥺

41:14 why does that break my heart

41:19 Dr. Curtain and SQ doing shit together it just.. so heartwarming

42:00 HAHA

42:16 okay, so show!Curtain is a kissass 😂

42:35 wait wait wait so Dr. Curtain is actively trying to contain his brother? That would explain why the Recruiters were looking for him and weirdly not the kids

43:25 "power wants to be free" sounds more like a personal mantra than a conversation between engineers

43:41 YES A LETTER TO MISS PERUMAL

44:02 more voices. Poor Connie girl 🥺

44:36 he loves her so much 😭😭😭

44:45 SHE TRIED TO SEND HIM A CARE PACKAGE

45:13 WORRIED MOM TIMEEE

[violet-bookmark]

Princess of Dorsa, by Elizabeth Andrews, Ch. 3 & 4

Tasia could have had him put to death with a few words if she'd wanted to, and surely he knew it. He had to be wondering if she still would. But she didn't plan on doing that. Just as she'd learned that it was useful to have some allies at the Sunfall Gate, she might eventually find a use for a city guardsman who owed her a favour, too.

Since when being sexually assaulted by someone means that they owe you a favour? That would imply that the sexual assault itself was a "favour", a good thing. It is not as if she gave him some bread from her basket, he commited a crime against her. The fact that she equates that to "owing her a favour" is disgusting and makes light of the whole situation. He acted like somebody that had done it before, and I have no problem imagining a character like him doing it again, seeing as he got away with doing it to the princess herself.

That "Servant of the Empire before servant of my desire" thing surely lasted long. Where is your duty to the female population of the Empire, Tasia? For being a "servant of the Empire" you surely don't think about your people's safety at all.

They reach the Emperor's office and we get a description of the Emperor. He does not ressemble Tasia at all and it makes me call their blood line into question. Tasia looks like her incredibly beautiful, conveniently dead mother and nothing like her father, who is of course tall, fierce-looking and intimidating. I have the feeling I have read this exact lines a thousand times before. "My mum was the beauty and my father was the beast, and I look like my mum" is really, really trite. The father could be handsome as well (and to have a charismatic personality, or some personality that wasn't of the "cold-hearted ogre" variety), the mother could be the fierce and intimidating one or maybe they both could be normal looking. But god forbid that we have a princess that is anything but gorgeous and hot in a dainty way, and whose mother is alive.

In this scene Cole of Easthook gets introduced. He's a guard and one of her father's advisors, and will probably be important. He is always described as sneaky and cat-like so I guess he is up to no good.

The wannabe rapist guard and Tasia explain the situation to the Emperor. Tasia omits the fact that she was visiting a man at night, which her father says out loud for her instead. Real classy. I am sure that mocking her for this in front of several guards, one of them a city guard, won't damage her reputation at all, especially in this medieval (?) and mysoginistic society. It also makes his character look like a petty asshole, but I digress.

"I don't need your false promises," said the Emperor. "But tonight is the end of your foolishness, even if I have to lock you in your quarters each night and hang any guard who lets you out."

Dude, I am pretty sure you used the word "again" when you talked about how Tasia was visiting Markas. The book mentions at various points that everyone who lives in the palace and their mother know that Tasia has several male lovers that she visits frequently and has been doing so for months, if not years. Hell, several characters mention it explicitly on their dialogue. You have known for a long time and you haven't done jack, so excuse me if I think this is bullshit. You have not even bothered enough to change the guard's shifts, which would be a way better solution that killing capable men at your service.

After they arrange for a questioning of the assassin, every guard except Cole leaves and the Emperor starts to berate Tasia again for not being a proper princess and almost leaving him without a blood heir. Tasia reminds him that he has another daughter, to which the Emperor replies:

"Adela is a twelve year old who prefers ponies and pageantries to politics."

1) She is a child, you leave her alone. 2) pageantries ARE related to politics, unless you're thinking about beauty pageants, which it is what the author seems to be referring to. I am not an english native, but 5 minutes of research have shown me that pageantries used to mean ceremonies, some of which had political meaning (inauguration ceremonies and the like). Also, ponies and pageantries seem like very... Modern definitions of a little girl's "feminine" interests. This author seems to have taken Disney films as an accurate portrayal of medieval femininity, as the protagonist's mother was always singing with birds in the morning while they followed her across the garden. It is very cheesy.

Her father proceeds to throw verbal abuse at Tasia and to call her stupid with very long sentences. After that he proceeds to call his dead 13 year-old dead son "weak" and incapable, which makes me agree with Tasia: he doesn't care about his children at all.

"You think you know so much," the Emperor said. "But your actions reveal that you are hardly more than a child. A foolish child, at that, who nearly got herself killed tonight. For nothing."

Well, that's true.

"If two city guardsmen know that the Princess was found leaving the Ambassador's Quarter before dawn, it won't be long before word spreads and people begin to talk. I cannot wait any longer, Tasia. It's time you accept a husband."

You sure helped, saying out loud that your daughter was visiting a man at night in front of several guards. Also, this is a moot point, since we know that she won't have to be forced to take a husband for plot reasons. It creates no tension whatsoever and it doesn't tell us anything about the characters that we didn't know. The Emperor and Cole talk about getting a bodyguard for Tasia, which they should have a long time ago. Tasia says that it would be improper for a man to be with her at every hour (just give her a woman guard). After some back and forth, there is a scene between Tasia and her father that is supposed to be heartwarming, and it kind of is but I'm not entirely convinced, mostly because there are limits to how big of an asshole you can be to someone while still caring for them. Her father tells her that he felt the same at her age, that he didn't like to be the heir, but Tasia reminds him that their situations are different since she will never be able to rule in her own right; she will always have to depend on her husband's approval, and the Emperor reminds her that some women have been named Empresses in the past. That bit was pretty nice until:

Tasia scoffed. "One Empress who was named her father's heir. in the thousand-year history of the house of Dorsa."

This and other dialogue imply that the Empire has been standing for those thousand years. This is possible, but makes me curious about how did they resist for so long when they seem to have been in the verge of destruction for a while.

Father and daughter say goodnight to each other and we go to chapter 4.

I wish we got more descriptions of the scenery, because the author gives us no clue about how everything looks. The descriptions are scarce and bland; they don't leave any particular impression on me.

Mylla is introduced; she's a noble of a minor house and Tasia's handmaid. She's younger than her and quite loyal, as she waits for her and has been worrying about her wellbeing all night. They are lovers, and even though Tasia knows that she should not tell her certain things, she can't have secrets with her. They make out and have some sweet moments, like this one:

Tasia closed her eyes, letting the darkness become complete, disappearing for a sweet moment into a world where there was no Empire, no Markas, no assassin, no Cole, no Father, no Mack or Dawkin or Grizzle. Disappearing into the world which contained only her - her and Mylla.

The world where she wanted to live forever.

Awww. I still don't like Tasia but this was cute.

Mylla also berates Tasia; she doesn't like that she chose to stay the night with Markas instead of with her and asks her why she did it, and then we get this:

Because you would choose Markas over me, if given the chance, Tasia thought bitterly.

Well, I'm not shipping this. It does make Tasia more interesting, however. So far I took everything she did at face value, and didn't think that she could have hidden intentions when she was sleeping with Markas, apart from being obviously attracted to him. The fact that she slept with him to keep him focused on her and not Mylla gives her actions more nuance and show us that she can be good at manipulating situations (even when it is sad to have to manipulate a situation like that).

Tasia worries that maybe, the only reason that Mylla sleeps with her is because she's the princess, instead of because she is attracted to her. Tasia seems to be in love with Mylla, but to be honest, I don't get the feeling that the other girl is that special from the way she talks about her. With Markas, you understood how she felt without Tasia having to state it directly: she found him boring but still slept with him because she liked his abs, and that was all there was to it. Mylla just feels like an extra who the princess happens to be in love with. I don't like to be told about things, I want the characters to make me feel things. I want to feel how Tasia is pinning after this woman, how her heart beats when she hears her laugh, how she has to bottle up her bitterness every time they talk about their male lovers. While her infatuation with Mylla is a useful tool to explore her bisexuality and attraction to women, Mylla herself is just another minor character at the moment, and gets treated as such. She does not even feel like a character as much as she feels like a set of stereotypes - the vapid, gossipy handmaid who only worries about her love life.

Mylla has a present for the princess: a leather strap-on. She puts it on the princess and they have sex. If it sounds abrupt, it is because it is. The sex scene is very quick and not particularly well or badly written. It's okay. Kind of glorified the strap-on a lot, which was unrelatable to me, but at least the author didn't try to make some weird point about their sex being "more real" that way, or about some weird penis envy. Some "lesbian" books (especially the ones written by non-lesbians) do this and it is weird. Mylla teases Tasia because she had good strap game, and suggest that it is thanks to all the “practice” she’s had on the receiving end.

"Tasia laid on her back, said nothing. Like her, Mylla had already enjoyed her share of male lovers. If anything, Mylla's promiscuity was exactly why Tasia had so many men herself. It seemed so easy for Mylla to be callous, casual about what transpired between them alone in Tasia's bedchamber. It seemed so easy for Mylla to make Tasia one of many. So Tasia would be callous, too. She would make Mylla one of many, too. If it was only a game to the handmaid, then it would be nothing more than a game to the Princess."

This is a very toxic and sad mentality, and I feel bad for Tasia. I hope she moves past this and finds a healthier romance in this book. Then she starts to think about how Mylla will leave her one day, once she finds a wealthy suitor, and how it will be the end of their romance (if Mylla ever loved her to begin with). She has an angsty moment of remembering how horrible her night has been before she and Mylla had sex, but it is so quick and written in such a distant way that fails to make the reader feel anything. I suppose that the author wanted us to feel bad for Tasia, but I don’t know because her descriptions of the night sound very emotionless. She is like “x and y happened, and I feel bad because of it” but again, if she didn’t tell me that she feels bad about it, I would have no idea.

"Whatever you wish, my Princess," she said.

What I wish... Tasia thought. I wish for an Empire in which I could make you my wife, in which our daughters could be our heirs, in which belonging to a royal house wasn't their prison sentence. What I wish is..."

Weird how you’re so forward thinking and yet you don’t mind the fact that wannabe rapist is still part of the guard, that same guard that supposedly has to protect your people.

[alphonseelriic]

Hi Sofia, hope you're not overworking yourself despite being busy! 🤧

Ooh what is Christmas like there besides being hot? I always wondered why they don't have more popular shows portraying a summer Christmas cus I've never seen that! Like do people do bbqs or something too instead of feasts indoors? 😆 Haha to be fair, where I live it doesn't get snow either and the weather is hit or miss about how cold it is during Christmas season but generally much warmer than most areas' winter 😅. I too admire the white Christmas tho.

Awww your beach days sound positively relaxing!! <3 Hope you'll get there soon!! I miss the beach now too 😩 

No way! Eng/lit sounds difficult haha!! Huge props to you, I imagine there's a lot of papers involved? What do you want to do with your degree? *sending you all the de-stress comfort things during these times*

Thank you for the rec too!! I'll keep that in mind! Unfortunately I read so slow, so I always go for the mindless watching. 😅 

Is shounen your favorite genre? I too love characters who are more than face value. And omg I lovee Haikyuu and almost everyone in there, so I can see that!! Yamaguchi's development was so heartwarming in the beginning.😭

And don't worry I've seen all of FMAB, it's one of my favorite animes so feel free to talk about anything there. I've only watched the anime for Ao no Exorcist but I remember liking it a lot and Rin too. ☺️ So you have good taste!! Thank you for all the insight into your favs, very interesting about Gon too (I'm anime only again lol) ❤️. And please don't stop on my account, I enjoy hearing all your thoughts so be as long as you want haha. 

Question of the week, do you have any favorite colors or palette and why? 

Take care!

- Animanga 🎅

Hello Secret Santa!! I'm sorry for the late reply, today I had a really important and difficult final and I studied all week hahah but it all went well! I got a good grade and I'm in a really good humor rn ;) it's nice seeing the results of your hard work. Hope you're doing well too!!!

Yeah I feel summer Christmas is a really missed opportunity for sure. In the case of my country (and, for what I know, most of south america) most people have reunions with either their nuclear or extended families (in my case it's the latter bc my family is pretty big and close) and eat dinner together, we open the presents at 12 and then stay hanging out till 2 o 3am. My grandma has a big front yard so we put a pair of long tables and seats over the grass. Lately we've been going to my aunt's instead, who has a pool ;)

In general it's a really family oriented and relaxed holiday, but I think it's a cultural thing rather than a southern hemisphere thing. I really don't know how they celebrate in Australia and New Zealand for example :p now I'm curious...

Oww I feel the struggle, living in a place that doesn't have snow can be a bummer sometimes. Winter here feels very gray without it :( but it is what it is....

Yuppp I've written a looooot of papers throughout the career and I still have to keep writing them 😅 they never end, but I was the one that signed up for this so I can't complain much. Hmm to be honest I kinda jumped into this career bc I love reading and I was a dumb 17yo who didn't think much ahead (bad. bad thing to to) but now I would love to work as a text corrector for publishing companies!! But also any kind of job involving libraries is good for me for the time being, I'm not a very ambitious person really. I know the most common path for lit people is teaching but I don't think that's a good match for me, at least not for now. Maybe someday.....

Hahahahah don't worry about it! Despite me loving to read I'm also really slow at reading manga. And I usually only do it when I really liked the anime adaptation to begin with. I think the only one where I started reading the manga first was Spy x family (and now it got an anime and blew up)

I honestly haven't thought about shounen being my favorite genre but I think it's true 🤔 I honestly didn't realize the grand majority of anime I mentioned was shounen LMAO but yeah I tend to like it a lot, specially the less formulaic ones. Aww I'm glad you also love FMAB and Haikyuu :') Yamaguchi's journey was lovely to watch and what cemented him as my fav was how easy it was for me to connect with him! I was also shy and a big pushover in school and I had to learn how to get out of my shell and stand up for myself, just like him. Thanks for the compliment also, Uno reverse card at that 💕

Usually my favorite color palettes are ones with cold colors! Purple is my favorite color in all its shades (but mostly lighter ones) and I love how it goes with blues and greens! I def prefer the more pastel shades in general. Lately I've also been more attracted to warmer colors like yellows and soft oranges, but lilacs and lavenders will always be my favorites ��

Thanks for the ask and happy weekend!!

[jazy3]

Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy Episode: 14X24 Season Finale

Here we go! Wow this episode was big and a lot of fun. As a finale I really liked it. We haven’t had, or maybe we've never had, a happy finale episode. I loved how cheerful this episode! I forgave Grey’s for a lot in this episode. Particularly in the Zola and Sofia department. Fashion Report! Everyone looked gorgeous! I loved Maggie’s orange dress! All the flower prints on Arizona and April were stunning. Meredith looked fierce as always in that sky blue colour that she always rocks! I loved Jo’s glitter heels!

I was glad to see April doing better. When Zola appeared on screen I was SO SO happy! I was thinking Yes we’re going to FINALLY get a Zola and Sofia scene!!! And then it was revealed that Zola was going to be a flower girl at Uncle Alex and Aunt Jo’s Wedding! Awwwwww! I loved Zola and Meredith’s conversation and Zola’s speech about how love is not like candy. Especially since Zola is the only one of their kids who truly remembers him. I love how much Mer’s kids care about her and how much she cares about them. Zola misses Derek, but she wants her Mommy to be happy like Alex and Jo. I love how they’re continuing the Meredith opening herself up to life after Derek storyline. Now all we need is for Nick to come back!!!

When Mer and Alex arrived at the wedding and we FINALLY got a Zola and Sofia scene I cried! YEAH ZOLA AND SOFIA!!! They are still best friends! The way Sofia runs up and grabs her hand and they run off together to cause trouble and have fun! My heart! The way Sofia screams Hi! And Zola screams it back! They’re wearing matching outfits! They’re joint flower girls! Awww! I loved how Meredith let Zola run off without a second thought or glance. They’ve known each other so long she knows she doesn’t have to worry about her. I also loved that Zola and Sofia found another play date! I loved that Zola wound up being Alex and Jo’s flower girl and Sofia would up being April and Matthew’s.

I loved how Mommy Chief Dr. Arizona Robbins is all over Alex like glue to make his day perfect. Alex is sad she’s leaving of course. Aw Alex trying to say thank you. My heart! Jo got into Mass Gen! I’m super happy for her, but super sad for Mer. What is it with Meredith’s luck and Boston? Back to Owen, Amelia, Leo, and Betty and the super unrealistic storyline. Betty’s 30 days clean! Good for her! I really like the actor who plays her. Owen is such a Dad with that fist bump! DAMN!!! Bailey’s got MONEY!!!! Get it gurrrrl! YAAAAAS QUEEN!!! Bailey make that green! Make that greeeeen! You deserve it Queen! YES!

Haha April’s got jokes! Sofia looked so beautiful! My first thought was, “So that’s what the church was for!” But then I thought wait Jo said she didn’t want a church wedding? What is going on? And then a thought this place seems a bit religious for Alex and Jo. A cross? And then I went um who the heck are these people? And then I realized at the same time as the characters ohhhhhh! They’re at the wrong wedding! LOL!!! Haha I couldn’t stop laughing. Laughter really is the best medicine! And Of Course there’s a medical emergency at the church wedding! They’re lucky the Grey Sloan team was there.

And we find out that April quit to more fully do God’s work after her near death experience and Jackson is struggling with his promise to a God he doesn’t believe in. This episode seems to take place about a month after the previous one. I liked that they wrapped up April’s storyline by having her work to give free medical care to Seattle’s homeless. A very worthy cause. It fits her well. I liked Matthew proposing and them getting married. I was hoping/thinking she ended up with Koracick, but this is nice too. I like that she ends up with someone who shares her faith who she’s not fighting with all the time.

I’m still confused as to how Qadri got an invite to the wedding. She isn’t particularly close to any of the attendings or residents. Same with Parker. I HATED the wedding coordinator. She was awful and stupid. They explained why Glasses was there as Helm’s plus one in the previous episode which I understood. Helm being there made sense. Although Glasses was straight up annoying this whole episode. Also why were DeLuca and Carina invited? DeLuca even mentions this when he gets there. He isn’t their friend, he’s an ass. In real life you would NOT invite this jerk to your wedding. And he was a complete ass as usual. Also Carina and Arizona broke up. I get her being invited while they were together, but April knew they broke up so why was she kept on the guest list? And why did she go?

One of my favourite lines of the episode was, “She’s pretty sunny never mind.” Another favourite, “Why did we have to hire the hardest working musicians in the planet?” Also, “I think that shop has sailed.” I was disappointed that Jenny wasn’t there and that Stephanie wasn’t mentioned. Cristina and Callie were mentioned, but not Amber which disappointed me as well. I hated Arizona for most of this episode. After admitting that she’s been lying to everyone about, including herself, about the way in which her and Callie’s marriage broke down and Callie’s move to New York, she goes right back to lying again while drinking and no one calls her on it. This I will not miss.

I hate that Arizona keeps forgetting that SHE started the custody battle. Callie wanted to work it out she didn’t. She wouldn’t even talk to her about it. Same with their marriage after the plane crash and the cheating. That was ALL Arizona. Callie fought to make things work and she didn’t. Callie deserves better than this nonsense. I loved the scene with Jo and Alex! I like Alex reminding her that he’s not Paul. That she doesn’t have to live that way anymore. That’s not what their marriage is going to be about. And then Alex hotly kicking down that door! The two of them going to an abandoned shed to have sex and then getting locked in and finding a dead guy was both hilarious and heartwarming. When the wedding party turned into a search party! Haha. I love how Jo sees the silver lining in everything after all she’s been through.

And then Meredith came to the rescue as always. If they put her and DeLuca together next season I’m done. Can they write him out as well? I thought the medical emergency with the wedding coordinator was interesting, but unrealistic. She helped coordinate an entire wedding with somehow not knowing that they were all doctors. Also why didn’t she have an epi pen on her? Seems dangerous in her line of work. Also how do you accidently eat shrimp? Usually it is made obvious for that very reason. I loved that Bokhe was there with a straw! For April’s last episode this is epic! A finish in style!

Oh! And then there was the latter half of Teddy’s multi-episode arc! With a surprise twist! I didn’t see it coming. Teddy being pregnant with her and Owen’s baby and her moving back to Seattle to reconnect and let him know. I also really hated Owen in this episode. When questioned by Betty he called Amelia’s near fatal brain tumour a health scare. It wasn’t a health scare Owen. Her brain had a giant tumour that had been hanging out impairing her thinking for over 10 years. That’s not a scare that’s a reality. God he is such an ass. Can they write him off the show please?

I’d like to see some follow up with the dead guy in the shed next season. There are a lot of unanswered questions there. What if he’s related to the church family? I loved Bailey’s, “I want to take a sabbatical from stress!” speech. Bailey! Sing it! This speech from Bailey is everything. I loved the Ferry Boat Wedding for Alex and Jo! I’ve really liked the progression of Meredith and Jo’s friendship this season. I loved the boat scene with Alex and Meredith. Here’s to healthy relationships! I love Meredith’s speech about ferry boats and Derek and love and letting go. “I Super Do!” Awwwwwww. I love how Meredith has been Best Woman at both Alex’s weddings and his Officiant! Best Friends and Persons! The church couple got to be married and the bride’s mom got to see it through tablet! Love all around!

At the end of the episode my immediate thought was I want Season 15 to magically appear immediately! Or at the very least the Season 15 Premiere Promo! Ahhhhh!

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 75: Steven’s Birthday

“Looks like you stagnated there a little bit, buddy.”

My brother is nearly two years older than me, but due to his summer birthday we were only a grade apart in school. My sister is exactly two years and eight days younger than me. One of the many things you get as a middle child, particularly when the ages are so close together, is a sense of innate value in being slightly older.

There have been several moments in my post-high school life when, for various reasons, I’ve assumed that certain peers were older than me. Whenever I learn that these age impostors are actually younger, it rocks me to my core. I just have this semi-conscious deference to people who are a little bit older, and I swear my internal reaction to learning that I’m the older one is always “Well then why the hell was I respecting you so much?” 

I acknowledge that this is absurd, especially because I don’t expect that kind of deference from my younger peers (this could be due to my sister’s low tolerance for my BS, I dunno). In practice, I’m not even consciously nicer to people I think are older; as far as I’m aware, it’s all in my head. But there’s still a tiny sense of rank that comes with age order that I'm not sure I’ll ever shake.

This is all to say that I've never related more deeply with Connie Maheswaran than I do in Steven’s Birthday.

I mentioned in my post on Nightmare Hospital how much I appreciate the specifics we get on this show, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we first learn Steven and Connie’s exact ages (as well as Greg’s age at the time of Story for Steven) in another Connie-centric episode. The Gems don’t care about specifics, because they live so long that everything just kind of goes together. But humans—especially the kids in the audience—care a lot about detail, and this is ultimately an episode about Steven’s humanity.

And yeah, it’s weird that Steven is 14. Or rather, that he was 12 and 13 for as long as we’ve known him; considering Steven’s Birthday is after the second Beach-a-Palooza we’ve seen on this show, I assume he had another birthday that we didn’t get to see. If this kid was going to school, this show would be taking place from seventh through ninth grade. Yikes!

But this reaction is the point. We’re meant to be shocked. 14-year-olds tend not to act like Steven, for better (they tend to be savvier) and for worse (they tend to be terrified of earnestness and hide their insecurities with attitude sassier). Despite the character development we’ve seen from Steven, he’s still firmly in kid mode. Part of that is the realities of a show with set character designs (cue the fandom complaints about inconsistent sizes*); note that he still doesn’t physically grow until the time jump. But in-universe, it also has to do with a continued mindset that he’s pursuing equal footing with the Crystal Gems. If his life is defined by pursuit, he’ll never actually reach the goal.

*In regard to character sizes: I see characters like I see language. If you say a word that’s slang or dialectal, and someone fluent in that slang or dialect immediately understands you, then that’s a word, regardless of what a dictionary says. If I look at a character I’m familiar with and immediately recognize that character, then that’s the character. Moreover, there are characters in Steven Universe who care as much about size as the fandom, and spoiler alert, they’re the villains. 

As I’ve maintained since all the way back in Bubble Buddies, Connie is an agent of change. She’s Steven’s prompt to start growing up for real, and Steven’s Birthday has nice little nods to many of the ways they’ve developed together so far. They toast with durian juiceboxes, the same gross fruit drink that caused An Indirect Kiss. Greg offers Connie a ride home in the van, which is the bulk of Winter Forecast, and in that same ride Connie talks about the training with Pearl that began in Sworn to the Sword. There’s a big dancing scene a la Alone Together. Connie even broaches the possibility of skirting movie theater law, and despite retracting the suggestion, she was all about sneaking food in Lion 2: The Movie (her vision of Dogcopter in the stars is icing on that cookie cake). 

After Nightmare Hospital’s friendship episode, we jump right back to romantic subtext here. I don’t know too many platonic friends who slow dance until one does a vintage foot pop, or who assume they’ll be married when one of them is president, or who just blush this much in general. It makes a ton of sense to go for this angle in an episode about getting older, but more importantly, awww.

This is the first time subtle relationship angst has been introduced to their dynamic: unlike Connie freaking out about Steven’s family in Fusion Cuisine or Steven trying to ice Connie out in Full Disclosure, the tension between these two spends the whole episode simmering but never surfaces in a big way. It just manifests in awkward discomfort, which does manage to convince me that Steven is 14 now. While they don’t dwell on it too much, Connie is clearly more attracted to Tall Steven than Regular Steven, and I think he knows it. If you’re not a young teen already, imagine being a young teen again and knowing you could make your crush like you, but it caused physical pain. Yeah, not too surprising Steven goes for it.

(If you’re younger than a young teen, get off Tumblr right this instant and read a book. Love, a children’s librarian.)

On top of looking taller, Zach Callison drops closer to his regular speaking voice to complete the illusion of Steven’s growth; like companion episode Too Many Birthdays, he gets to show off a vocal range that Steven usually doesn’t have. While Too Many Birthdays does show that Steven has some control over his age, and didn’t actually have to stretch it out here, I like the implication that despite wanting to look older for Connie, he still doesn’t feel older quite yet. And he gets a nifty (if unsubtle) lesson about being himself at the end when his mature decision to stop altering himself is rewarded with his first puny facial hair. (As someone whose father could grow a full beard in high school but who himself had nothing but peach fuzz until after college, I feel you, Steven.)

Lamar Abrams and Katie Mitroff thread the needle on Connie, who has to balance the role of being a good friend against being the root of Steven’s body issues. She easily could’ve delved into Fusion Cuisine levels of unsympathetic, but it’s clear that her feelings about Steven’s appearance stem more from concern than anything else. Yes, she does like his taller form, but she never intentionally pressures him to maintain it, and accepts his regular form without question. She even wants to hang out with his baby form! I wouldn’t have even minded if her worry manifested in getting a little upset with him, as this would be a natural reaction to Steven’s condition and Connie isn’t perfect, but she cares more about who Steven is than what he looks like, which is just the kind of friend/crush he needs. 

Connie also gets a nice amount of bonding time with Greg, with an explicit reference to their roles as the most important human beings in Steven’s life that we got from We Need to Talk. I love how Greg’s doting fatherhood is something that Steven is probably still super into, but is only embarrassed by because Connie is around; he’s right at the cusp, but he’s still a kid. But through Greg’s interactions with Connie, we see that his Dad Mode isn’t restricted to goofy shows of affection, and he’s willing to get serious when a kid that isn’t even his is upset. Just as we could’ve had an episode where Connie was more of a jerk, Steven’s quiet abandonment of his cape and crown could’ve made for some painful interactions with Greg. I’m so glad that Abrams and Mitroff are content with how uncomfortable the core premise of the episode is and don’t feel the need to shove in additional drama.

Also, while it’s clear from the extended theme song and implied in other Greg episodes, this is the first in-show confirmation that Greg raised Steven on his own for a significant portion of his life. It comes with yet another callback, this time to Laser Light Cannon as we crank up Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart, and it’s heartwarming to think about those early days of Greg and Baby Steven in an episode that’s so focused on the question of Steven’s humanity. Three Gems and a Baby will show the sorts of challenges Greg actually faced, but it also reinforces what we learn here: that for all their cosmic wisdom, Steven needed a human to raise him first. Not even Garnet pulling faces can do what Greg does.

The method by which Steven adjusts his form turns Steven’s Birthday into something of an Amethyst Episode (I love how this show is willing to pick certain Gems to focus on even when all three are still background characters). Garnet and Pearl don’t have the body issues that Amethyst now shares with Steven, especially concerning the use of shapeshifting to combat a feeling that they’re too small. Amethyst introduces the concept while stretching to hang up a banner with a pointed caveat that she can’t stay stretched forever, and when she confronts him after catching his secret (aided by him helpfully stating aloud what his secret is), you get a sense that she knows all too well how much it hurts to try to permanently hold a bigger form. In a true Amethyst Episode, this might lead to a reveal that she once attempted what Steven’s doing now (which we do see a bit of in Reformed but not in the “stretching of a base form” sense), but here, it’s left to the imagination.

Amethyst also gets that great reveal as a car seat, which I can’t unsee now but was surprised by in my first viewing due to the focus on Connie and Greg. It’s not only a fun little joke, but it gives Greg a reason to have a baby seat handy. Considering he’s a hoarder and the barn is full of old junk, we could’ve seen a regular seat without comment, but the crew doesn’t waste the opportunity for a sight gag.

There is one missing thing from Steven’s Birthday that surprised me a little. Considering our last episode (which takes place mere hours before this one) was a story about, among other things, how Garnet met Rose, it’s interesting that nobody points out the other anniversary this day represents. Steven’s birth directly correlates with Rose’s death, but neither Greg nor the Gems (not even Pearl!) seem to care. This isn’t a criticism of the episode at all: Abrams and Mitroff wanted to tell a completely different story, and there’s no way to do justice to “Gems think about Rose’s death on Steven’s special day” without making that the focus of the episode. I just think it’s an intriguing indicator of the show’s priorities. Rose is important, but in the moment the Gems see Steven as more important, and that’s pretty neat.

Anyway, it’ll be a couple more seasons until Steven and Connie get another big dose of teen-specific angst with the devastating Breakup Arc, and I doubt it’s a coincidence that their reconciliation in Kevin Party comes with Steven’s pink button-down. Still, in retrospect, the awkwardness we see here primes us for a different relationship: Lapis and Peridot’s. The latter is awkwardness incarnate, and when we finally get to know the former outside of crisis mode, it turns out she’s a surly teen. Together, they sate the show’s new appetite for adolescent drama between Steven’s Birthday and Dewey Wins, culminating in Lapis dumping Peridot (because as I literally just said, the Breakup Arc is devastating).

Shifting the teen relationship to another duo is such a smart path for the show to take, because it lets us retain focus on Steven’s identity as a growing child without abandoning the new storytelling possibilities that Steven’s Birthday suggests. It’s not as if Steven doesn’t gain any maturity until Dewey Wins—Amethyst’s arc is all about how he’s more or less caught up with her, and she’s a bit of a surly teen herself—but there’s enough Gem drama at the moment that Steven and Connie’s relationship still works best without tremendous complications.

Future Vision!

Maybe Pearl doesn’t want to hold Baby Steven because of that time she almost killed him in Three Gems and a Baby?

Steven’s facial hair might not have many new appearances, but Jungle Moon teaches us that Stevonnie gets full stubble when they’re fused long enough. And we do see it briefly in Reunited, complete with the shaving kit that explains why it’s rarely on his face. Gotta keep that chin smooth!

If Steven’s entire look after the time jump counts, then this is pretty good foreshadowing.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Steven’s discomfort expands to the viewing experience as well, and while it’s good to portray awkwardness well in situations like these, I’m not huge on rewatching it. Also, I hit my major growth spurt between fifth and sixth grade (and by major I mean I was six feet tall in sixth grade and just stuck with that height), and you don’t grow that fast without some serious back aches, so this one doesn’t just bring an intentional cringe factor, but memories of acute physical pain.

But I mean sure besides that it’s pretty good.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

No Thanks!

     5. Horror Club      4. Fusion Cuisine      3. House Guest      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure