#boy groups can coexist together...

[kimsmingyu]

sorry seeing bts stans foam at the mouth whenever seventeen does anything and then say carats need to stay in their place or whatever is so goofy 😭

[sflow-er]

Henry and Simon’s dynamic over the three seasons

For YR Faves Fest 2024 organised by @youngroyals-events Prompts: 2. Favourite teen side character (+ 7. Favourite not-quite friendship)

In one of my replies to the recent side character ask game, I briefly mentioned being partial to the dynamic between these two. So for this Faves Fest, I decided to elaborate with an analysis post (featuring screenshots of variable quality)!

I want to preface this with a brief acknowledgment of Henry’s privilege and classism. It is not my intention to diminish them. I do, however, feel that it’s a bit apples-to-oranges to compare them to Simon’s views (citrus pun intended). 🍊 is politically active and has put in the effort to form his own beliefs, while 🍏 shows us time and again that he is ignorant of the world outside the elite bubble and not inclined towards deep reflection. He is largely a product of his upbringing and the (liberal conservative) values imparted by his parents.

While Henry doesn’t grow enough to change his core views and values in the canon timeline, he does change his views on Simon. This isn’t enough progress for them to become actual friends before we leave off (I doubt Simon could be friends with someone who only exempts him), but I would still argue that they end the show on amicable terms.

And yes, I mean that in a mutual sense, even if Simon doesn’t soften towards Henry quite as much as Henry softens towards him!

So, let’s dive in!

Dialogue taken from the English CC and [abbreviated or corrected].

1.01: the tax debate

Henry: “Take my dad’s estate, for example. They’re struggling to make ends meet because of the high taxes.” [Simon chuckles and explains his views] Simon: “Like your dad. [Do you know how much he gets in EU subsidies every year]”? Henry: “And what the fuck does your dad do?”

Like most viewers, I find it a lot easier to relate to Simon’s views than Henry’s here – but I do think Henry often gets judged quite harshly for insulting Simon at the end. His comment does not come out of nowhere (cf. Stella’s unprompted dirty look at Simon and Sara when she talks about welfare scamming).

Henry only knows that his father has said their estate is struggling, so of course he won’t take kindly to Simon suggesting that they are actually getting undeserved subsidies instead. It’s also important to note that this estate isn’t just any old farm. It was granted to one of his ancestors as a reward for their services to the Crown, which makes it a core part of his family history. As we learn in 1.04, Henry is a Society boy and very proud of his noble ancestry, and Simon’s comment likely feels like an insult to his entire family. So although his retort is unquestionably rude, it is understandable that he lashes out.

Also, Henry has no way of knowing that Micke is a deadbeat. He is just applying a common stereotype (and potentially making assumptions based on the views Simon just expressed on welfare).

1.02: parallel but separate experiences

Early in this episode, we see Simon side-eye Henry and Walter for the paid tutoring. He decides to follow their example, but as we know he can’t actually afford it, we can already guess it won’t go as well for him as it did for them.

Next, we see Henry in the group as the rowing team ignores Simon at morning training. The camera also pans to him and Walter when August gives that bizarre speech about Simon’s class journey.

These moments highlight how different life at Hillerska (and beyond) looks for Henry and Simon. They are technically coexisting and even doing the same things, but their experiences are nothing alike.

However, there is also some potential for development here. August’s words about rowing bringing people together (and also about the class journey) should absolutely be taken with a heap of salt, but as we no longer see any open animosity between Henry and Simon, we can still wonder if rowing played a part.

Being on the same sports team is an entirely new frame of reference for these guys. They are no longer just the sosse and aristocrat who have been going to school together since pre-canon and clashing over their views; they are crewmates. They may be able to ignore each other for most of the time, but they may also have to do some team activities or even cooperate on occasion. At the very least, they will be around each other several extra times a week from late September/early October to Christmas break. This could definitely help to put them on more neutral ground.

1.05: Henry pays attention to Wilmon

In this episode, Henry learns more about Wilmon than the average Hillerska student knows. He is present when August tells the Society that Wille and Simon “hang out”, and also when Wille changes the plan from Simon to Alexander.

What’s more, he actually looks fairly thoughtful leaving that last meeting. We don’t know if it’s just shock over Wille’s ruthlessness, if he’s thinking about the plan to set up Alexander, or if there’s something else on his mind.

Now, this may veer into overinterpretation, but for the sake of thoroughness, let’s also include the blink and you’ll miss it moment before the Lucia procession where Henry notices Wilmon texting each other. In this cropped screenshot, you can see him looking at Simon, who has just put his phone down and is looking over at Wille.

1.06: Henry shows restraint

As we know, Henry is the only classmate who tries to treat Wille normally after the video, asking if he “saw the match yesterday” (he absolutely knows Wille didn’t). What is perhaps less noticeable is that he also shows more restraint than most of his schoolmates when the rumour mill gets going.

In this scene, Henry is pretty dispassionate reminding Walter that Wilmon sat next to each other at movie night and the two of them talked about it. There is a stark contrast to Walter, who absolutely pounces on that bit of gossip.

This one quick scene could just be a coincidence, but the same thing happens again when Wilmon return to school. Instead of engaging with the others who are all eagerly talking and whispering, Henry is already sitting at his desk minding his own business when Wille arrives. His only reaction to Simon showing up is this quick look, which is immediately followed by his show of kindness to Wille:

So the restraint does look very intentional.

As an aristocrat, monarchist and Society boy, Henry is loyal to Wille, who he now knows has been carrying on with Simon for a while already. He also knows how far Wille went to protect Simon, despite the fact that Simon had actually supplied the drugs, so he is going to side with Wille.

What’s more, Henry’s behaviour in these scenes also confirms that he isn’t hostile to Simon. We can surmise he probably doesn’t think Simon is the most appropriate choice of partner for the crown prince, but he is willing to take his cues from Wille. We never see him sneer, joke, or say anything nasty about Wilmon as a couple (cf. Stella and Fredrika joking about surrogacy).

We are also shown his reaction to Wille hugging Simon before we move on to season two.

2.02: the floorball hug and walk-by

The first interaction between Henry and Simon in S2 is them celebrating a floorball goal with a spontaneous hug, as seen at the top of this post. What a difference a term makes!

Now, I don’t think this moment is meant to signify that they are friends all of a sudden, and I do feel it comes slightly out of the blue. I suspect it was included as a nod to those who already liked Henry after S1, but I for one would’ve preferred to actually see their reconciliation.

But then again, if their initial antagonism was always class conflict rather than personal beef, maybe there was no need for apologies…? Maybe each of them just accepted that the other was going to be around and decided to try and get along (potentially aided by their shared rowing team history)? Henry is following Wille’s lead as we already saw – and as for Simon, I doubt he would be hugging Henry even in the heat of a game if he held a grudge. Whether we saw it or not, they have moved on.

In the same episode, we also have the locker room scene.

Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t believe Henry actually overhears the entire conversation, but he may have still heard something about them having to wait two years (as Simon did raise his voice for that). It’s also possible he comes out of this scene assuming that Wilmon still “hang out” in secret. In any case, he probably assumes that Wille wants to keep the whole thing quiet, as per the usual “policy” on queer relationships among the upper classes. In addition to his monarchist ways, he also seems to be casually friendly with Wille in S2 (keeps inviting him to do stuff, from coffee to pranking Sprucewood). So it makes a lot of sense for him to keep whatever he overhears or suspects to himself.

2.03, 2.05 and 2.06: book report scenes

While Henry must be a nightmare to have in the group, he and Simon are nice to each other in all the book report scenes. This is further proof that they are in a place where they can talk civilly and even work together.

They start the project before the rowing race and only present it the day before the gun range scene, which means they had these group sessions for at least a few weeks (the timeline is a bit wonky here).

2.04: Henry snitches on Wille and Felice

The lunch scene at the start of the episode starts with this bit of vicarious interaction, as Henry and Simon (and Wille too) are amused by the nonsense Walter is spouting about girls:

Also, Walter's monologue feels more comphet every time rewatch it, but I digress.

As this post is focused on Henry and Simon, I’m not going to dig too deep into Henry’s role in spreading the story about Wille and Felice. Suffice it to say that he did tell his canonically gossipy bestie Walter, and it was recently pointed out to me that he seems to have let something slip to someone else as well. In the common room, Walter goes “det var du som sa till…” [you were the one who said to…] just as the focus shifts to Wille and Nils, which suggests that Henry either purposely told someone or misspoke without realising it. The latter would explain why he seems genuinely appalled when Wille confronts him, but it’s not a hill I’d be willing to die on!

If Henry did spread the story on purpose, I assume it was because getting with Felice was considered a credit to Wille and also “fair game” to tell, unlike the relationship with Simon that Wille wanted to keep hidden.

Still, Henry and Simon are definitely on better terms in S2. Even though Henry inadvertently causes pain to Simon with his part in the Wille and Felice thing, they still keep working together on the book report without any animosity.

Insofar as Henry’s lacklustre effort can be called working. Simon is a bigger person than I am for not blowing up at him when he announces minutes before the presentation that he won’t be taking any questions.

3.01: background Henry

We start S3 off with this one-sided interaction where Henry reacts to Wilmon kissing with a mild smirk. No more waiting or secrets to keep.

3.02: double standards on the camping trip

It’s not entirely clear what Henry is thinking when he says the infamous line about gay couples being allowed to share but not straight ones. I think some people read it as him deliberately putting Wilmon on the spot, but personally, I doubt he even realises it’s going to make them uncomfortable. He’s just noticing the double standard and pointing it out to mess with the teacher.

While Simon is very clearly not pleased with Henry for the comment (glares at him while saying to Wille that people are going to think they plan to have sex), he does not seem to hold that against him. Because what we do see them doing soon?

Sitting next to each other by the fire, even though Henry could’ve easily sat with Walter and Simon with Wille:

Also, it seems Henry isn't new to camping, as he tells Wille that part of the fire is too hot to grill a sausage in.

The part where things get interesting is when Henry acts classist towards the Marieberg students.

Henry seems to be down with meeting Rosh and Ayub, who are there as Wille and Simon’s friends. But after Fredrika brings up New York, he agrees that the situation turned “stiff as fuck.” That stiffness was entirely Fredrika’s fault (I think she is at least semi-consciously trying to mark herself as the most compatible partner for Stella there), but Henry seems to feel it was more about Rosh and Ayub not fitting in.

He also sneers and makes nasty comments when the other Marieberg students get into an altercation with Malin, which elicits a frown from Simon.

And yet, Simon does not condemn Henry as strongly as he might have done in the past.

Importantly, Simon tells Wille “it wasn’t the right time for everyone to meet.” This indicates that he could’ve imagined them all getting along at a better time, and it’s pretty clear that also includes Henry. Furthermore, “you [meaning Wille and the others] don’t realise how privileged you are sometimes” is actually a pretty neutral way of putting it. Simon would have been entirely justified if he had said the others were classist pricks, but he blames their privilege and lack of understanding instead of their character.

All of this forms a backdrop for my interpretation of the scenes in the next episodes.

3.03: First of May

Simon: “You do know that you’re not off so you can party the day before, right?” Henry: “Uhh…what?” Simon: “It’s the First of May.” […] “The day of the labour movement?” Henry: “Okay, so what’s their style? How do they celebrate?” Simon, scoffing: “You don’t celebrate. You demonstrate.” [Henry and Walter share a chuckle]

This may be a controversial take, but I don’t think Henry is being particularly nasty to Simon here.

He actually looks and sounds quite sincere asking how the labour movement celebrates. When he and Walter laugh, it reads more as “there he goes again, our very own sosse, saying wacky things!” than the kind of disdain he expressed towards the Marieberg students in the last episode.

Simon also doesn’t take the laughter as an insult; he’s just stupefied by their ignorance. Also, note that he already scoffed at Henry’s question, marking the question as silly.

This exchange is immediately followed by Vincent attacking Simon for his beliefs, which feels like an intentional trick to create contrast between his and Walty’s treatment of Simon.

3.04: the lollipop

In this scene, Henry starts out asking quite nicely and seriously if Simon has another lollipop, as if they had that kind of rapport. Simon makes a face, but then he just shakes his head and nicely says no. It’s only then that Henry switches to offering money for the already half-eaten lollipop, to which Simon reacts with disbelief.

He does not, however, get snarky with Henry. He settles for exchanging a look with Wille as Walty go on to complain about the hunger strike. Only when Henry isn’t present anymore does he point out to Wille how ridiculous Henry was being.

In a sort of parallel to the lunch scene, Simon and Wille now share a chuckle at the wacky thing Henry said:

Feel free to disagree, but I actually wonder if this could be a common pattern between Simon and Henry. They have accepted that they aren’t going to see eye to eye on many things, but instead of getting into conflict, they just roll their eyes/laugh at how the other can seriously believe/say such things. Then they let the conversation move on to something else.

Which is a perfectly valid dynamic. They can acknowledge that their outlooks on life are wildly different without hating each other for it.

3:06: Henry includes Simon

Look, I dislike the library scene as much as the next person. The talk that Henry interrupts between Wilmon was so much more important than anything he could possibly say. It was just a moment of comic relief that didn’t add anything to the story.

Except… Now that we are tracing Henry and Simon’s “not-quite friendship” arc, this scene does give us a conclusion.

Henry: “Hi! Uh, what are you wearing tonight?” [He rambles on about clothes] Wille: “I don’t know if… If I’m coming.” Henry: “Okay…?” Simon: “I don’t know if I can come either.” Henry: “Oh come on, you two have to come!” [He rambles on about how much fun it will be] Simon: “Yeah, we’ll see. I have to go now.” Henry: “The point is that we have to be together! This is the only night we have together, maybe ever. [I mean, we are brothers!]”

In Swedish, Henry goes “vi är ju bröder” just as the music starts. This has been translated to “we are like brothers” in the English CC, which is already quite something, but the little word ju makes the original even stronger. It means that something is true, so instead of just saying they are like brothers, Henry is saying that is what they are.

(In the dub, there is an audible pause after like, so Henry is actually using it as a filler word. They should have put a comma in the CC to denote that.)

Given that Henry prefaces this ramble with “you two have to come” and barely stops to acknowledge Simon’s exit, there’s every reason to assume he is still talking about all of them. He is saying he considers himself, Wille, and also Simon part of the brotherhood that will be disbanded indefinitely come morning and wants them all to have one last night of fun together.

Simon never hears the brothers part and is of course frustrated with Henry for interrupting, but he still takes his leave on a casually friendly note. He gets that Henry wants him to come and have fun (Henry is unaware that Simon doesn’t drink when he tries to persuade them both by talking about the alcohol). Thus, Simon politely says “we will see” even though he has zero intention of going.

We do not see them interact at the party when Simon goes after all, but we do hear Henry being ushered away when Simon comes to talk to Wille. We don’t see it’s Henry, but someone insists that he wants to stay just as we see Walter and Alexander leave, and all three of them were there moments before:

I’m tempted to end this with a parallel to Wille’s initiation party.

Way back in 1.01, Henry and Simon were explicitly shown discussing the first party with their friends. They never talked about it with each other or interacted there – Henry attended as part of the in-crowd, and Simon only got to go because he supplied the alcohol. But for this last party, Henry was the one to get the alcohol, and he specifically invites Simon to come. They still don’t hang out as they are both there with their respective friends, i.e. in their own bubbles, but those bubbles do bump into/brush past one another without clashing.

Kind of like Henry and Simon’s lives.

Thank you for reading this marathon post! I hope my take on these two brings something to your next rewatch, whether you agree with me or not!

[justjudethoughts]

The reason Catholic Lockwood works so well as a concept is the Catholic "both/and." A Christian world view is one of the only places where the tension of two opposing emotions felt at one time are not only allowed to coexist, but actually encouraged to coexist. We refer to the sin of Adam as "O Happy Fault" because, while it was a bad thing, in God's infinte mercy we are better off in Christ than we would have been in Adam. Our King wore a crown of thorns. The day humanity brutally crucified God we call "Good Friday." Christ's wounds are visible in His glorified, resurrected body. We preach "Memento mori" and "Tal'itha Cu'mi" in the same breath. The world is a fallen, broken mess, and simultaneously a masterpiece, teeming with transcendental beauty pulling hearts heavenwards. "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning."

That tension, that dichotomy, is the world of Lockwood and Co. A world where a lonely orphaned boy is the human embodiment of sunshine. Where a death glow saves more than one life. Where the main characters fight ghosts every night, and then come back to laugh around a breakfast table. Where the love and light of domestic life keeps the darkness at bay. The way the wrenching grief of each of the characters leads to a found family. How they wouldn't have been brought together without their deep suffering. Nothing will make Lockwood stop missing Jessica, but there was a beauty in her life, and a redemption in her death. Nothing will make Lucy "get over" her old team, but their loss brought her to her best friends, to an emotionally safe home. Kipp's can't regain his talent (besides the goggles), but suddenly he matters to a group of people because of who he is, not because of what he can do. The loss and the joy coexist. The darkness and the light. The life and the death. The suffering and the consolation. The mourning and the dance. Bliss and Blunder. They are all a broken hallelujah, stained glass windows made from shattered hearts.

That's why Catholic Lockwood works so well.

[asher-agere]

BSD agere headcanons (Part 1)

Like I promised I have more agere headcanons! This time BSD! I’m doing BSD separated by groups since there’s so many characters, part 1 is the Armed Detective Agency! Please enjoy!

༉‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ADA ༉‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.

Atsushi is definitely a regressor. That boy had no childhood. Maybe regresses to like 4-6? I feel he’d be a big kid. He always likes helping out, wants to feel useful. Also gets really attached to things. Like if you give him a blanket once, he’ll demand that exact blanket every single time. Loves loves loves milk. He can use a cup like a big kid! Sometimes needs a sippy cup but he doesn’t like bottles much. He loves teether’s and just generally carrying things in his mouth. Like he’ll crawl around holding a stuffed animal like a momma cat with her kitten. Also he definitely crawls even though he’s a big kid

Fukuzawa is the best father figure, but is he a good caregiver? The answer is yes of course! Fukuzawa always has some kid friendly snacks and supplies in his office. He isn’t an official caregiver (He was for Ranpo at one point and enjoyed it, just not a full time thing for him), but he loves to babysit. When everyone else is busy they’re always safe to leave a little one with then president, he’ll take care of them. He’d really good at a comfortable silence and sense of normalcy. He’ll give the little one some paper and crayons to draw while he does paperwork. He’ll make himself a cup of tea alongside the babies milk. His soothing voice is perfect for bedtime stories but he isn’t very good at doing fun voices

Yosano I can see either way. I feel like she’d mainly be a caregiver. Always plays doctor. She’s really good at spotting an overwhelmed or sick baby. One symptom and she’s onto them. Her office is a lovely place to destress. Quiet and away from everything overwhelming. When she does drop she’s a pretty big kid like 4-6. Loves loves loves candy, which only increases her relationship with Ranpo. She can be a brat, always thinks she knows what’s best. But when she isn’t bratty she’s pretty polite

Kunikida is definitely a caregiver. He’s very strict with everything. Lots of rules. Bedtime, mandatory naps, limits on snacks, no bad words. If needed he will use a time out, but he much prefers giving rewards when his little one behaves themselves. He’s good at finding solutions, for example if his baby is scared of being alone they can take a stuffie friend to time out, or he’ll go hold their hand. He doesn’t mind. He makes them a regression schedule, nice and consistent, how often depends on the little one. He handles all worry factors so they have nothing to stress over

Tanizaki is a baby, 2-4. He loves oversized clothes making him feel even smaller than he actually is. He isn’t very clingy, gets overwhelmed quickly. He loves being taken care of but sometimes less is more. He loves babbling, he wants to talk even if he doesn’t make any sense. He just wants someone to coexist with, watch cartoons together, compare next to each other, he wants the simple life. He’d very easy to fluster too, the simplest nickname had this baby red in the face

Kenji I feel like is a caregiver? But like he isn’t fully trusted alone with a little. Kenji is like a big brother more so than a parent role or something. Kenji easily gives in, no argument needed. Baby wants a puppy? Sure thing! Someone must watch him. As long as someone’s in the same room he’s good to take over though! He’ll take the little one to his farm if they feel comfortable with that and show them all the cute animals! Maybe even have them help with farming! (Picking fruit and vegetables, no hard work)

Kyouka I can see regressing really young, like 1-3. She loves to color and draw, specifically bunnies. Also loves stuffed animals, bunnies nice again. She loves clothes that feel soft and fluffy, gentle pastel colors. She doesn’t want anything bright and colorful, no catch phrases or characters on her shirts. Just a gentle pattern for her. She’s almost completely non verbal but she’s very compliant. She’s good at hand gestures or drawing pictures to show what she needs

Dazai is a regressor. That man is so messed up in the head- He desperately needs it. I feel like he regressed from 2-5, fairly young? But he can still be a big kid! He’s the biggest brat you’ve ever seen. Fake crying is a perfected art. He loved making deals. His caregiver wants him to eat? Fine, but he expects a stuffed animal in return. He has a sweet tooth, it’s an easy way to get him to eat when he’s trying stubborn. The less effort he has to put in the better, but he also gets bored easy. His caregiver has to be prepared to keep him entertained or they’ll have a meltdown on their hands. Suicide attempts do not stop, he’s just more unreasonable. He knows it won’t kill him, but he still wants to try. He also feels uncomfortable regressing around Atsushi, he’s supposed to be the boys role model, how can he do that while acting like a baby?

Ranpo is absolutely a regressor, around 3-6. Poor boy had a miserable childhood. Sweets are the golden ticket. For everything. He knows how to get what he wants though. He can easily deduce if there’s a way to make his caregiver budge. If he throws a tantrum it’s beside he knows it’ll work. Gets overwhelmed easily. NEVER insult his intelligence. It doesn’t matter if it’s a light insult like calling him “dummy” he hates it. Loves puzzles and Rubik’s cubes and anything of the sort. He’d intelligent enough to easily solve things, however his motor skills decrease. So like he knows how to solve the Rubik’s cube, his hands just won’t do it

Naomi I can see either way? As a regressor she’d have a wide range, like 2-6. Very very clingy, always wants her brother. She gets easily attached to items, overall she’d just a giggly happy little baby. Loves playing with her caregivers hair, doing makeovers, silly girly things. As a caregiver she’d be very dotting, always praising her little and giving them affection, meeting their every possible need. Loves dressing them up in cute clothes and she has a picture folder dedicated to cute pictures of them (With there permission only of course)

I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts! Next up I’ll be doing the Mafia I believe, but not completely sure yet. Have a wonderful day all of you!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Topsy Turvy Days in Savanaclaw

Father and son, in the same dorm once again… Oh yeah, and Floyd’s also there 😂

The King of Beasts, and his Spirit of Persistence.

Lilia Vanrouge...

... looks so out of place within a group of muscular Savanaclaw students, both in stature and in bulk. He relishes in the almost comedic difference in the proportions between himself and his dorm mates, thinking it greatly amusing to be surrounded by intimidating looking men. "It was the very same back in my days in the military or in Diasomnia," he chuckles. "I provide all the charm that is necessary, no matter the group I am in." Lilia gets a real kick out of acting overly cutesy while he’s surrounded by big, buff guys—it always catches passerbys off guard (“Tee hee! You’d better watch out, or we’ll punish you ⭐️”)

No one took Lilia all that seriously to begin with. The Savanaclaw kids constantly jeered at him, unaware that they were actually provoking a great fairy general! Lilia isn’t really bothered by it, but he had to teach them to properly respect their elders—and before long, he’s become one of the most popular people in the dorm?! The students he beat up especially gain a sense of admiration for him. (“You’re so cool, aniki!! You’re small, but you pack a punch!!”)

Oddly enough, the Savanaclaw students also come to respect the knowledge Lilia has to impart. Some of the boys come off as perhaps too gruff or quick to anger, but you can always count on Lilia-chan to be there with some good advice or his own experiences to relate to them. He doesn’t see them as violent or troubled kids; he wants to hear them out and see where they’re coming from. Not only does he give tips on how to be better fighters, but he also dishes out the wisdom they need for the most existential of crises—who are they, and what is their purpose in this world? How can someone seemingly so young possess wisdom that rivals that of the great kings of the past? It’s a mystery to the entire dorm.

In spite of all that he knows, Lilia wants to learn even more!! He asks the various beastmen that inhabit Savanaclaw about their own cultures and customs, as they vary from subspecies to subspecies. They’ll pal around and get rowdy as they tell their tales and spin their histories for him, and the more that Lilia hears, the more he appreciates that he is able to peacefully coexist with such interesting people.

Lilia rises bright and early with a spring in his step! He has lots of things to do before the school day even starts, and that includes liberally applying sunscreen and sneaking over to Silver’s room and dragging his son up for rigorous morning training!! They exercise and stretch together just like old times. Due to Lilia’s sun sensitivity, he has to cover up a lot of his skin (meaning he sweats more easily) and they have to take frequent water breaks.

Lilia’s sun protection game in the savanna is on point!! He’s packed his extra strength sunblock, his parasol, a sun visor, gloves, long sleeve clothes and pants, and an assortment of silly sunglasses. He has glittery heart-shaped frames, one that comes with a honking clown nose, and even a pair that has a twirly little mustache—all souvenirs he’s collected over the years.

The beastmen are particularly sensitive to the racket (practicing his music/singing for Pop Music Club) coming from Lilia’s room, as well as the smells/tastes of whatever weird UFOs (unidentified food objects) he has whipped up. Heightened senses are a detriment when the hazard known as Lilia is in the immediate vicinity!! Most recently, Lilia found a fascinatingly rotund grub which he tossed into a pasta dish that gave off an already ominous aura. (He claims it “tastes like chicken, slimy yet satisfying!”, but no one touched it… except Floyd, who ate it on a dare and laid in bed for the next two days with terrible cramps.)

Lilia casually hangs out upside down on the rope bridge runways. Since they’re located so close to the dorm rooms, sometimes the students get spooked finding Lilia staring at them dead in the face when they exit. He’ll just laugh and swing down, wishing them a good morning or sweet dreams—when, surely, he knows that his sudden appearance is sure to give some of them startles and mild nightmares.

“Kufufu, I’m quite enjoying my time here in Savanaclaw. Certainly, its fledgling prince and I may not see eye-to-eye on leadership matters, but that has no bearing on the strength of those he serves. This dormitory is strong not only in terms of physical attributes, but in character and heart. And truly, that is the strongest muscle there is. Without these welcoming lads, I wouldn’t have had nearly half as much fun as I did~

Floyd Leech...

… doesn’t really feel one way or another about the matter. He thought it would be cool to be a part of Savanaclaw when he was asked about it, but that was then, and this is now! He doesn’t linger on any one opinion for all too long. The thing he’s most excited for is just to be away from work for a bit, a trip where he can go and squeeze the daylights out of new targets sounds good in his book!

… Well, Floyd intended on treating this dorm swap thing like a vacation getaway but Azul and Jade still contact him about “business”. Azul thinks of this as a golden opportunity to sneak around for clues of Leona’s weaknesses. Meanwhile, Jade just wants his brother to collect samples of various savanna-exclusive fungi for his personal research. Floyd leaves them both on read because he can’t be bothered with them right now.

Floyd immediately hits everyone up to brawl. No reason for it is really needed, he just wants to fight strong opponents and to face real challenges to come out on top! … Anyway, Floyd decimates each and every challenger with ease (and, in venting some of his frustration over Leona refusing to entertain him in combat, sent some students to the nurse’s office). He’s bored out of his miiind!!

Of course, the dry savanna biome will wreak havoc on a merperson’s natural need to remain moisture sooo… Say good-bye to the waterfall and pool area in the Savanaclaw lounge. Floyd has monopolized it for himself, and he doesn’t need to pitch up a “Beware of Sharks” sign for everyone and their dads to know it. The instant you see his tail or head slowly rising up from the water, that’s when you start running.

Floyd picks up a pretty useful saying he hears a lot around the dorm (originating in the Afterglow Savanna). “Hakuna matata”, which means no worries for the rest of your days. It’s meant to be a saying that reassures others, but Floyd uses it to justify acting on his own whims. For example, he’ll punch someone in the arm a little too forcefully (to the point where it seems like a provocation rather than being playful), then follow it up with “hakuna matata” (it’s his ironic equivalent of, “don’t worry about it, bro”).

Floyd adapts extremely well to the more “wild” ways of Savanaclaw, letting more of his own animalistic nature come out. His sharp teeth sink in a little too easily into that leg of… zebra meat. He gets a little too rough when he wants to show affection or just hang out. Whatever Floyd does, it’s somehow magnified by a factor of ten—it must be the environment that’s bringing out the most of his inner wild child. (“Goodness, he’s really cutting loose,” Lilia observes. “It’s nice to see the youth so full of energy.”)

The wide open spaces of Savanaclaw’s lounge means there’s plenty of room for Floyd to monkey around without worrying about breaking expensive furniture. He launches himself all over the place in complex and increasingly dangerous parkour moves, his raspy, hyena-like cackling ringing out in the lounge and rippling across the waters. It’s a wonder how he comes out of those intense sessions totally unscathed, yet still manages to somehow tear up his surroundings.

No one knows where the heck Floyd found them, but he rummaged around and collected enough bones to make a working drum set??? He has a grand old time banging on it using two long arm bones as drumsticks. It’s a little eerie and odd to watch and to listen to, but it’s very “Floyd” of him to march to the beat of his own drum. Before long, he attracts a bit of an audience, participate with their own percussion or offer up lyrics. Even Lilia and Silver join in the impromptu song number (although Silver’s animal friends need some soothing to be comfortable around the bony instruments).

“Eeeh, I thought this place would have more interesting things. There’s no one here as strong as me, so there’s not a real challenge. Azul and Jade have been blowing up my phone for favors too… Maaan, they’re really tickin’ me off today. At least Savanclaw’s got alllll this space and no one can tell me what to do. Losers don’t get the right to boss me around. Ehehehe~ Survival of the fittest’s the name of the game, and I’m killin’ it!!”

Silver...

… is relieved that he can be by his father’s side in this unfamiliar new environment. He doesn’t doubt that Lilia can look after himself just fine, but his tendency to fret for Lilia’s wellbeing never totally goes away. It’s been a while since they’ve had some quality father-son time, just the two of them—and now is as good of as time as any to catch up.

Sebek bombards Silver’s phone with a wall of texts, each loudly (all caps) expressing his jealousy that Silver gets to spend one-on-one time with their mentor (while weeping about how he and Malleus aren’t in the same dorm, OH WOE IS HE). Silver’s able to calm his junior down by sharing nice little anecdotes and pictures of his surroundings—shards of sunlight piercing the sky, the distant call of unique birds. They’re memories he will treasure forever, and precious moments he wants to share with the others in Diasomnia when he returns.

Knowing that his father is not good with sunlight, Silver becomes Lilia’s personal shield whenever possible. He’ll literally walk in front of Lilia or contort himself into weird shapes just to let his father be a little cooler in his shadow (even though Lilia will tug on his arm and insist that they’re equals, so they should walk side-by-side instead)! “… What if I just held your parasol for you, father? Would that be acceptable? Please, let me assist you.”

The warm weather of the savanna is dangerous for Silver. He’s usually sleepy, but it’s sooo much easier for him to faceplant into the dirt in such cozy conditions! Luckily for him, Lilia’s nearby to swoop in and haul Silver off to bed, be it at the base of a tree or in a hammock. Lilia stays by his side all the while, sometimes humming a soft, vaguely familiar lullaby as he strokes his son’s hair, sending him off safely into the world of dreams.

He’s… kind of dense sometimes. Silver likes to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and think the best of them, even when the other party is clearly being an aggressor. Whenever he so much as accidentally brushes shoulders with a Savannaclaw student in the halls, they get all up in his face and Silver just stares back, bows, and offers an apology. Somehow he interprets every fight or provocation as a genuine mistake or an attempt to make friends. Just how much of a space cadet is he?! the Savanaclaw kids wonder.

Like with Lilia, fhe Savanaclaw students aren’t initially very friendly to Silver. Something about his aura just pisses them off (maybe because he reminds them of “those goody two shoes RSA chumps”, especially with that parade of cute woodland creatures following him wherever he goes). They do whatever they can to intimidate and pick on him, but it never seems to faze Silver. Their fruitless efforts eventually wear down over time. In the aftermath, it’s as though Silver’s “zen” attitude has somehow rubbed off on them… or, rather, they’ve gotten so fed up with him that they just turn the other way and tell themselves he’s not worth the effort. All’s well that ends well…?

Silver is the only soul willing to approach Floyd and attempt to negotiate terms with him to open up the waterfall and pool area to all again. (After all, he was taught that peace and understanding between the races is entirely possible!) He reasons that it’s not fair to their dorm mates snd surely doesn’t Floyd realize they would all be happier holding hands and basking under the waterfall together? Floyd only listens for a few minutes before groaning and diving below the water, drenching Silver in the process. “Do whatever, Jellyfish!! Just shut your trap, will ya? I’m about to fall asleep listening to you myself.”

He volunteers as tribute! In place of his dad, Silver will fight Floyd to keep him amused. It somehow blows up to a spectacle, hoards of Savanaclaw students cheering and taking bets for who will come out on top (Lilia is in the front row, all decked out in Silver merch). As soon as the battle starts, Floyd charges in full force… and Silver flings his arms out to receive him with an aggressive hug?! “I understand, Floyd!” Silver declares, his eyes burning with seriousness. “You were just lonely and wanted a friend, so you sought out attention. Don’t worry, I’ll happily be your friend.” (“HAAAH?! Are you CRAZY, Jellyfish?!” It kills Floyd’s combative mood, and ends in a draw.)

“I think this experience has been very valuable. I was able to spend time with not only my father, but with people of many different races. Humans, fairies, merpeople, beastmen… It gives me hope that, someday, we can create a society in which all of us can live together in harmony. A world where everyone understands the balance and respects all creatures… That is the kind of future that I dream of, and I will do everything in my power to make it a reality.”

[ourtearsofrain]

Chapter 14- In An Age Of Darkness Light Appears

Pairings: Danny Wagner x Sam Kiszka

Genre: angst, not quite fluff but they’re coexisting

Word Count: just under 2.7

Warnings: AU typical events/threats/violence, hunting again

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Danny

Friday, July 15th

“Rise and shine, 7. We have work to do.” Danny feels a swift kick to his thigh, immediately ripping him from his unrestful sleep as he tries to focus his eyes in the light of the day.

“Was that really necessary?”

“Yes. Get a move on.” Without even waiting for him to get up, Hazel walks away from him, the sound of her boots on the river rock growing quieter by the second. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he finally notices Samuel near his feet, packing what little resources they had removed from their bags back up.

How is it morning already? I slept through the whole night. Noticing the dark circles under Samuel’s eyes, confusion riddles Danny as he tries to put two and two together. “Why didn’t you wake me to swap shifts with you or Hazel?”

“You looked tired. Figured you’d hunt better with more sleep.” Samuel shrugs before moving to his side and helping him sit up as the ache in his abdomen flares up. “Just don’t tell Hazel, she thinks I swapped with you while she was sleeping.”

“Oh- well, thanks.” That was almost… nice of him? To let me sleep instead of waking me up. I don’t know if I believe his excuse but it’s no use to press the topic. Danny tries to keep his mind under control as Samuel unwraps the bandages around his abdomen, his breath hitching unintentionally as he brushes his fingertips gently across the remains of his wound.

“This healed up nicely. It’s almost no more than a scar. How’s your shoulder?” Samuel looks up at him as he asks, causing Danny’s mind to go completely blank momentarily.

Why is he looking at me like that? How can he look at me like that? He looks- he looks beautiful. Realizing that he hadn’t responded, Danny snaps himself out of his daze as he moves his left arm around, testing the limits of his shoulder. “Barely hurts now, I should be able to hunt just fine today with the bow.”

“Good. Otherwise, we’d kill you.” Hazel’s interruption reminds them both that there was in fact another member of their group, that they weren’t just alone together. “C’mon, boys. Let’s get moving.”

Pretentious bitch. Danny stares daggers at Hazel as she walks away, somewhat thankful that she couldn’t see it. As he stands, he realizes that he still wasn’t wearing any shirt, remembering that Samuel had thrown the scraps of it into his bag after cleaning it as best he could.

“Oh shit! Sorry, I forgot to give this back. Here.” As if Samuel could read his mind, he holds Danny’s jacket out to him with one hand, his bag in the other.

“Thanks.” Unable to keep his eyes from the bag in Samuel’s hand, the other man finally notices, holding it out to Danny as he zips the jacket up.

“You can have this back now. And this.” As Danny takes the bag, Samuel offers the bow and quiver of arrows next, holding tight to it as he tries to take it from him, their eyes locking in an unblinking stare when Danny realizes he wasn’t letting it go. “I am trusting you to take this, ok? Remember I defended you from Hazel when we were trying to decide if we wanted to risk giving it to you.”

“I know. I promise, I won’t kill you. Hazel, can’t say the same but-” Fuck. Why did I say that. Regret fills him as he looks to Samuel with wide eyes, awaiting his response. To his surprise, Samuel only snorts out a laugh as they start in the direction Hazel had gone.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Oh? You guys don’t get along? Thought you were besties, dynamic duo you know?”

“As if.” Samuel scoffs the words out, looking around to make sure she wasn’t within earshot as he continues. “I honestly can’t stand her. Couldn’t stand her in our district and especially can’t stand her now. I just know she only volunteered because she wanted to be in the arena with me. I swear, she’s obsessed and in love or something, has been for years.”

“And you don’t like her that way back?” Danny guesses, watching Samuel’s face for his reaction. “Is that why you can’t stand her? She won’t stop making advances?”

“Pretty much.”

“So, is she not your type or something? Or is it just her… general personality.” Why the fuck are you asking? Why do you need to know? Seriously, Danny, what use does knowing this information do for you? And what was that thought earlier about him being beautiful? Where’s your head at? You need to focus on staying alive with them, not on how pretty your new ally is.

“First of all, why do you care? Second, you could say that. I don’t really… swing that way if you know what I mean. Yeah, sometimes I do but,” Samuel grimaces as if the thought of him and Hazel together as a couple disgusted him. “Not for her. Never for her.”

“Oh my god, took you two long enough.” Hazel appears seemingly out of nowhere, her tone an exasperated huff as she looks between the two. “What were you doing back there? Seriously, it doesn’t take that long to get ready.”

“Why don’t you do us all a favor and get off your high horse?” Samuel shoots back immediately, his frustration evident in his tone as if he was upset Hazel had interrupted their conversation.

“Fuck off!” Neither say anything more as Danny’s eyes flit between Hazel and Samuel, wondering which would be the first to crack under the angry, yet awkward shift in the air.

“So… hunting. Yeah?” Real smooth. When Hazel sends a death glare his way, Danny can’t even find it in himself to disagree with her annoyance at him, but he knew he would have been the one to get their group back on track no matter what.

“Fine. Let’s go.” Just as Hazel turns away from Samuel and Danny, she whips towards them again as if she had forgotten something. “Wait, what is this? You guys expect me to walk in front of you with no weapon, while you two have a sword, axe, and bow? What shit are you trying to pull?!”

“Oh my god if I give you the machete will you shut up?” Instead of snapping back like Danny expected she would, Hazel only pauses for a moment, visibly thinking through it before stalking back to them.

“Fine.” Danny watches wordlessly as Samuel hands her the machete, his stomach twisting at the look of disgust and fury she sent his way. If she tries to kill me, will I be able to fight her off? I mean, of course, I think. But whose side would Sam choose?

“Daniel, care to take the lead? You are the only one that knows where we’re going after all.”

"Uh, yeah. No problem.” As Samuel had suggested, Danny takes charge of their group as he passes them, trying to ignore Hazel’s look of fury still directed towards him. Danny’s grateful that they remained quiet as they walked through the trees and undergrowth, both because he didn’t want to deal with their arguments, and because he knew that if they made even the slightest sound, it could scare any game near them away.

After walking for what felt like hours without seeing anything, Danny’s ears perk up as he hears a soft rustle in the bushes about 15 feet in front of him, raising his hand to stop the other two. Before they can question him about why he had stopped, he raises his pointer finger to his lips, gesturing in the direction of the sound with his other hand. Silent understanding passes over their faces, and he walks a few paces towards whatever was still rustling around in the bushes, his steps quiet and calculated. I just need to get close enough to see some part of it.

He spots a flash of brown amidst the deep green and immediately ceases his movements, raising the bow with his left hand as his right blindly finds an arrow from the quiver on his back. Nocking the arrow, he allows himself a moment to steady his arm as he waits for the perfect opportunity, finding it quickly. The arrow cuts through the air and finds its target in the blink of an eye as the rustling stops. He wastes no time in getting to whatever he had killed, pulling the arrow from the bushes to find a large rabbit at the end of it.

Removing the arrow, he wipes it on his pant leg and replaces it in his quiver before making his way back to the other two, who had watched the entire event go down in silence. “Hold this, will you?” He hands the rabbit to Samuel, trying to ignore the look of slight awe on his face.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“That. I didn’t even hear it, and I don’t know how you could see it through all the leaves and shit.”

Danny shrugs, resuming their path knowing the other two would follow. “Practice.” He chooses to ignore Hazel’s scoff, knowing better than to call her out for it. Jesus Christ, I can’t do anything around her, can I? Ignoring her, he continues on, his eyes scanning their surroundings for the slightest movement.

It isn’t long until he finds some, a soft scamper of a small creature in the bushes to his left grabbing his attention. With how close he already was to the animal, he nocks his bow immediately, watching and waiting to see some flash of the creature’s pelt through the leaves. His body freezes as a small weasel, an ermine, scurries out onto the path before him, stopping just in front of him as it looks up. Oh my god. Daphne? His heart breaks a little more each second that it stays, seemingly unafraid of him. His sadness quickly transforms into rage, understanding the more likely reason he had come across the creature. Those bastards in The Garden were listening in on our conversation. They put that here to test me, to see if I’d crack. I refuse to give them the pleasure.

“What are you doing?! Shoot it!” Hazel’s voice rips Danny from his thoughts and effectively scares the animal away as Danny watches it disappear into the undergrowth. “What’s wrong with you?!”

“There are better animals for meat. I refuse to kill any of them without reason. Let’s keep going.” Danny keeps all emotion from his tone as he resumes his path, praying that if his tears fell, he wouldn’t be close enough to Hazel for her to see them.

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This is fine, you can do this. Just find the cavern and be alright being back in that place without-

It had taken their group a couple hours to make their way to the fire section of the portion, and Danny had easily found the small “canyon” that Daphne had only days before. They now walked through it without a word, the results of Danny’s hunting held by Samuel and Hazel as he led them towards where he hoped the cavern would be. It doesn’t take him long to find the path into the cliffside, that same soft orange light emitting from within, although somewhat dampened in the dying light of the day. Venturing into it first, he hopes that Hazel and Samuel would follow. What if this was all a set-up? They have food and now know where to cook it, what if they kill me or run? His fears are cast aside as he enters the cavern, the sound of Hazel and Samuel trying not to stumble over rocks echoing against the walls from behind him.

“Holy shit.” Danny turns to see Samuel looking around the cavern with wide eyes, a smile on his face as Hazel emerges from behind him. “How did you find this place?”

I didn’t. He only shrugs as a response, making himself busy as he clears away the burnt remains of his and Daphne’s fire and replacing it with the sharpened wood from his bag. No use for these now, I guess. Thank god the supports and roasting sticks are still here. I didn’t even think about getting new ones.

 “We need to leave, someone else has been here.” Hazel’s voice is sharp as she looks around them in what Danny could only describe as fear, as if she expected to be ambushed by other tributes hiding in the rocks. “They could come back, it isn’t safe here.”

“Daphne and I stayed here for the first day and the first two nights.” Danny shoves the reminder out of his head the second he feels tears come to his eyes, knowing he couldn’t risk Hazel seeing him cry. This is wrong, it feels wrong. Being back here with them and not- and not her. “There’s no one else here, we’ll be fine for a day or two. Trust me.”

“Fine.” Hazel stalks over to join Danny by their makeshift firepit, dropping the game she had been carrying quickly as if she didn’t want to be touching it any longer. “You two start roasting those and I’ll go access our surroundings. See if there’s anything useful out there.”

As much as he hated taking her orders, Danny says nothing as she leaves them again, grateful that he would have at least some break from her. As Samuel joins him, watching Danny’s hands as he starts a fire, he could tell that the other man felt the same. Around Hazel, Sam seemed to have a slight, permanent frown on his face and his shoulders were always tense as he refrained from snapping at her.

“How many did I get? I lost track.”

 “Uhhhh looks like 4 rabbits and 3 squirrels.”

“Not the best I could have caught but it’s good enough.”

“Better than what Hazel or I could have done.” Danny gives him no reply as he sets in on skinning their game, the repetitive motions allowing him to turn his brain off momentarily. Samuel seems fine sitting in silence until Danny sets in on spearing the meat on the roasting sticks before finding a spot by the fire to cook them. “So, how did you find this place?”

“I didn’t.” Sparing a glance over, Danny can see slight confusion present on Samuel’s face, and he quickly continues his explanation. “Daphne did. She’s the one that figured out the arena is split into elements, too.”

“What?”

“Elements. This is fire, she thought the forest area was earth, there’s a water area too, and then the mountains are air.”

“Huh. Well, if that’s true, we’ve already been to the water area, we aren’t good fishers, but the sea is freshwater so that’s a plus. And wait, wouldn’t the mountainy area be earth, and the forest air?”

A small smile graces Danny’s lips at the comment. “That’s exactly what I said. I guess it really doesn’t matter in the end though, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Samuel goes quiet, allowing Danny to finish roasting all the meat, moving on to the organs next. “Hey, thanks for doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“Hunting for us, showing us this place. I know Hazel isn’t the best ally to have, and she isn’t going to thank you for it, but I will.”

“No problem. Thanks for you know, not killing me. And making the time spent around her a little more bearable.”

“No problem.” Samuel laughs the words out, sending unexplainable butterflies to Danny’s stomach. God I could listen to that for hours. He really is starting to make this alliance worth it. Don’t get too attached, Danny. Don’t let what happened with Daphne happen again. There can only be one victor.

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Taglist: @jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka @milojames16 @gretnavannfleet @aioba1503-sdm @sanguinebats @cheersdannyx2 @musicislove3389 @holdingup-fallingsky @freyjalw @Maddie-Rae

[t1oui]

hc that james potter and mary macdonald are best friends

like obviously they have their own friend groups too, james has the marauders and mary has lily and marlene but these groups have always sort of coexisted

mary and james are childhood friends and grew up in the same neighborhood or something

they’re the it boy and girl of gryffindor

they’re both bi. james first complained to mary about how sirius and remus were so obviously in love and just couldn’t see it and then he realized he was so obviously in love with regulus and ranted to her about that too

meanwhile mary talks to him about being in love with lily

mary keeps james and his mild insanity when it comes to pretty people (regulus) in check

meanwhile james pushes mary out of her comfort zone and eventually helps her ask lily out (he’s so proud)

james is usually really happy and sunshiny and so when he’s upset (like really upset) sometimes the marauders don’t know how to deal with it and they get mary

mary and james can get each other to open up when no one else can

james insists he brings out mary’s “inner quidditch fan”. mary insists this is not a thing.

(it is.)

everyone finds out she is a liar when she paints her face red and gold for the end-of-year match and cheers herself hoarse after gryffindor wins the quidditch cup.

mary gets along pretty well with dorcas once they’re in the order together and james fangirls about it b/c he loves seeing regulus’s friends getting on with his friends

(dorcas, mary, and reg all call him a sop for this)

mary is usually very very chill but when she and lily kiss for the first time she runs into james’s room squealing

mary and sirius competing to be the better sibling to james (they take it very… siriusly.)

their birthdays are within a week of each other but mary’s is first and she will not let james forget it

she’s the cool aunt. to who? idk. teddy maybe. whoever it is, she’s the coolest. (james is very jealous.)

mary and regulus are also friends, because as scary as she may seem, she’s a good ally, and reg knows not to turn that down.

mary and james are just as related as james and sirius are, and together, they’re gonna kick voldemort’s ass.

hi again. i just wanted to tell you all that most of these headcanons (except marylily 0_0) appear in one of my fics, and while mary hasn’t shown up a lot yet, she will later! if you’re interested, feel free to go check it out :)

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Literally remembered just now. A few years back when CL brought the other girls to Coachella, I found a few angry GZBs, angry that she brought them on instead of having a full set. They where mad, calling the rest of the group "old hacks" and calling CL an idiot for making this decision that "goes behind your fans backs" who "have always been there for you when the rest if the fandom turned their backs on you". Her final say at the time was "this is why you aren't taking off in the US, it's cuz you keep trying to take care of these old hacks". Looking through the replies and their account, they seem to be always fighting with some other Bom fans. I just wanted to hear your thoughts on these kind of fans, because while I'm not a fan of other kpop groups (2nd gen only really) I've *never* seen kpop fan in-fighting for hags as bad as for our girls. I feel like this contributed to such a bad group exit for Minzy cuz the individual stans where just waiting for her to slipup cuz at the time Minzy was practically spotless, it helped YG make a clean throw under the bus because the fans helped. I'll leave it at this cuz boy is this long I didn't mean it to lmao

I actually didn't know about this? I was serving in the army at the time so I (thankfully) missed it.

But yeah the infighting between 2NE1's individual fans in general has been annoying. I would argue f(x) had it worst out of the 2nd gen girlies but 2NE1 are definitely right up there.

I have no respect or regard for this type of fans whatsoever. If you can't see that CL and the other girls are CLEARLY happy whenever they're together and WANT to do this and are not forced by a manger or a company to coexist with each other then you're terminally stupid. Nothing can be done

[mybabydenkikaminari]

My personal ramble about Rlain and Renarin

Hi everyone, again! Now that I have given you the post with all the canon things perfectly clean, I need somewhere to ramble so… Let’s get started shall we?

In Way of Kings Rlain (known as Shen at the time) was Bridge Four with the rest of the crew and Renarin was with The Kholins, so they have no chance of interaction. 

In Words of Radiance they could possibly coexist more but chances are still pretty low. Rlain (still known as Shen), was not allowed to have a spear so he couldn’t be a bodyguard and Renarin was with the Kholin’s. So, the first period of time that they really coexist in Bridge Four goes from Chapter 41, when Renarin asked Kaladin to be one of them, until Chapter 52 where our beloved Rlain leaves to search for the Listeners. Considering that Rlain was still playing his Shen role and that Renarin was mostly starting to get to know everyone I don’t think that they exchanged more than a few words or maybe they didn’t talk at all. Anyway, Rlain would be out of the picture until Chapter 78, when he comes back and tells the truth about being a spy and turns back to be with his Bridge Four family. 

In Oathbringer it’s when we get our first interactions between these two, starting in Chapter 37, when Renarin has already revealed that he is a Truthwatcher, and he is talking with Lunamor (or Rock) about being the odd one

“Don’t deny it, Rock. Lopen is … well Lopen. And you’re obviously… um… you. But I’m still the strange one.” 

Lunamor slapped dough onto a rock, then pointed toward where Rlain -the Parshendi bridgeman they used to call Shen- sat on a rock near his squad, watching quietly as the others laughed at Eth having accidentally stuck a stone to his hand. He wore warform, and so was taller and stronger than he had been before-but the humans seemed to have completely forgotten that he was there. 

“Oh”, Renarin said. “I don’t know if he counts.”

“This thing is what everyone always tells him” Lunamor said “Over and over again.” 

Renarin stared for a long time while Lunamor continued to make bread. Finally, Renarin stood up and dusted off his uniform, walked across the stone plateau, and settled down beside Rlain. Renarin fidgeted and didn’t say anything, but Rlain seemed to appreciate the company anyway. 

The next time that this is brought up is by Rlain himself in Chapter 55 (that is called Alone Together btw - you can read as much as you want there, because it is also a chapter about everyone feeling like an outcast in Bridge Four).

Rlain sipped his drink and wished Renarin were here; the quiet lighteyed man usually made a point of speaking with Rlain. The others jabbered excitedly, but didn’t think to include him. Parshmen were invisible to them-they’d been brought up that way. 

And yet, he loved them because they did try.  

Here we can see that between Chapter 37, where Rock pointed out to Renarin and Chapter 55, the highprince has made a habit to talk to Rlain, and the listener appreciates his company (come on, he really just sounds like a boy that misses his crush). I also think that it is safe to assume that Renarin also enjoys his company because it was Rock's "idea" but he didn't have to keep doing it.

In a few lines though (also Chapter 55), Skar would bring Renarin up.

“So…” Skar said. “Are we going to talk about Renarin?”

The twenty-eight men shared looks, many settling down around the barrel of Rock’s drink as they once had around the cookfire. There were certainly a suspicious number of buckets to use as stools, as if Rock had planned for this, The Horneater himself leaned against the table he’d brought out for holding cups, a cleaning rag thrown over his shoulder.

“What about him?” Kaladin asked, frowning and looking around at the group.

(They proceed to complain that reading is feminine with one of the most stellar quotes of Lopen: “Drehy likes other guys. That’s like … he wants to be even less around women than the rest of us. It’s the opposite of feminine. He is, you could say, extra manly”)

Kaladin rubbed his forehead, and Rlain empathized. 

+

He felt embarrassed for them-they were simply too concerned about what a person should and shouldn’t be doing. It was because they didn’t have forms to change into. If Renarin wanted to be a scholar, let him be a scholar

+

“I’m sorry” Kaladin said, holding out his hand to calm the men “I wasn’t trying to insult Drehy. But storms, men. We know that things are changing. Look at the lot of us. We’re half-way to being lighteyes! We’ve already let five women into Bridge Four, and the’ll be fighting with spears. Expectations are being upended-and we’re the cause of it. So let’s give Renarin a little leeway, shall we?” 

Rlain nodded.  Kaladin was a good man. 

All is making a good picture with how Rlain, as same as Kaladin, think that if Renarin wants to be a scholar they should support him, or at very least don't judge him.  Considering that he hasn’t been raised in a Vorin region, it makes sense that he would care even less than a regular Bridge Four person. 

Also, I think that is important to note that even if Rlain has mentioned other times that Kaladin is a good man, he usually doesn’t emphasize it that much, like he does this time, where the topic is defending Renarin. 

It's relevant to say that between Oathbringer and Rhythms of War a year has passed, and taking into account everything that we know this far, I think it's very accurate to assume that Renarin and Rlain have only grow closer, since both of them are still Bridge Four and it's seems that they never broke the habit of seeking each other company. 

In Rhythm of War, we have our last hints about the two Englithen Truthwatchers, starting with Renarin in Chapter 54.

We need more, Glys said. We need more like us, who will be. Who?

I can think of one, Renin said, who would be a perfect choice…

Dude… Dude!!!! Here he is talking about who Tumi should choose, but honestly, I think it also shows how hard he is crushing for our favorite Listener. I mean, Renarin knows a ton of people, like scholars and Windrunners squires,...  So that the only person that he can think about is Rlain, it's screams to my how much time he is present in his head and how much he cares for him.  Also, the phrasing here, he is the perfect choice, for the spren or for you, Renarin?

Next we have the honorable mention in Chapter 79 that everyone it's using as a hint that Rlain it's pretty much just gay. I honestly think that this one is self explanatory enough. 

No, Venli is here, he thought. There were two of them. He’d never particularly liked Venli, but at least he wasn’t the sole listener. It made him wonder. Should they… try to rebuild? The idea nauseated him for multiple reasons. For one, the times he’d tried mateform himself, things hadn’t gone the way he -or anyone really- had expected. 

In last place we have all the times that Tumi and Rlain talk about Renarin that are in Chapter 111 (the first quote) and Chapter 114 (the second one). 

Keep fighting, a voice said in his head. Salvation will be, Rlain, listener. Bridger of Minds. I have been sent to you by my mother, at the request of Renarin, Son of Thorns. I have watched you and seen your worthiness. 

+

Renarin knows? Rlain thought

He suggested you, Tumi said. And told our mother about you. He was right. Our bond will be strong, and you will be wondrous. We are awed by you, Rlain.  The Bridger of Minds. We are honored. 

Oh my, oh my… So here it is pretty clear that Renarin has talked very highly about why Rlain would be a perfect Truthwatcher, and, obviously Tumi agreed (which makes sense because, come on, Rlain is amazing). But I also like the fact that Rlain is shocked enough to ask again about Renarin recommending him (You could argue that maybe the first time he didn’t get it because he was in a stressful situation, which would be perfectly valid, but I feel that it's not the case)

I only have one more quote to go but it's pretty much related to what I want/need in Knights of Wind and Truth, so we are going to talk about it later. So here is the point we are at.

Renarin is gay (WOB) and aware that he has a crush (also WOB) and seeing how he talks about Rlain it just makes sense. They have grown closer in this year gap and Renarin has realized how honorable and interesting he really is. We also know that he has not told anyone yet (WOB again), not even Adolin, so I think he is at the point that he has accepted these feelings, but he's not ready to act on it or even doesn't know what to do about it. It has been for shadow in the books that he had almost 0 romantic experiences so this is going to be fun.

Rlain, on the other hand, hasn't realized how much he means to Renarin and it's probably why is shocked that he has suggested him in the first place (which come on, you need to give yourself more credit!!). But I also think that Rlain really appreciates Renarin for how he really is, not taking into account his position and all that crap. Which makes perfect sense considering that this conflict is his own struggle and he wants to be acknowledged by the rest. But I also have the feeling that he is not aware of his own crush for our beloved human boy (or maybe he hadn't accepted it), so I think Rlain has more work to do towards his feelings. 

Overall I think that they are perfect for each other because they are both outcast in so many levels and meanings, and they can understand and related a lot with the other struggle, which it may probably help them grow. Also this will open the door in making more okay for others to explore relationships between humans and singers (cough cough Leshwi and Kaladin cough cough). I honestly think that Renarin and Rlain are perfect to be the new pioneers in this subject, they are already use to the scrutiny of people and are slowing coming to terms with not caring about what people think..Enlightened Truthwatchers boyfriends <3

So now the real question is what do will see in the next book? Well first of all we have the last quote also in Chapter 114. 

Rlain had established that he needed to stay, at least until Renarin returned. 

With all honesty I would be happy with whatever we get, because we have yet to see a scene where they are actually talking to each other and sharing time together, so I would be happy with that. Also scenes where Renarin it’s teaching him to use his powers and they are learning from each other. Furthermore scenes of them being together in Bridge Four like in Oathbringer but with their PoV would be perfect. And don’t even get me started on Renarin being one of the scholars documenting about Listeners culture and the different Rhythms. But what I really need it’s a “confrontation” scene, where Rlain goes to find Renarin and asks him about why he suggested him to Tumi. There are so many good answers, that I know that whatever my cinnamon roll says will be perfect. 

Renarin and Rlain outcasts together,

Thanks for coming to my TED talk

PS. Definitely considering about writing a little fanfic about this two after all this studying of character XD (and also how little of them we have :c) 

[paxcallow]

Do you think you could tell us about your The Sight ocs? I met them from your t-word art and they seem soooo cute

OH FUCK YEAH! what do you wanna know about 'em??? there are a LOT of main characters in the sight (like uhhh ten or so in the central cast which is pretty big compared to most of my universes) but you probably just know about rose and dirk!

Dirconius Talwar and Rosemary Valdis are 14 year old Seers who begin their story on opposite sides of a conflict they admittedly don't care that much about once they start getting closer.

the conflict is over an incredibly powerful artifact called The Book of Dircon. (<- did you know? part of dirk's name is in this) dirk is recruited by an unnamed team composed of Eleanora Eldottir, Xander Schmittlot and Vicky Chang, whose mission is to find and protect the Book from a fractured group named The Sight, (<- did you know? this is the title of the series) who seek to destroy it because despite the fact that it's enabled seers and spirits to interact and coexist and has changed the world for the better in several ways, it's apparently too powerful to exist.

rose is a member of the sight, and has been fairly dedicated to the cause until meeting dirk, who is actually very lovely <3 after getting own'd a couple times. they're friendly enemies for a while, and as they slowly grow annoyed by their respective teams' baggage/incompetence, and MOSTLY just want to spend more time together...

they decide to work together to find the Book of Dircon on their own before the full moon of december, the Cold Moon, a time when the layers of physical and spiritual reality are the least separated and the Book will be the strongest, but the most vulnerable to destruction.

... and... it's kind of hard to fully talk about the sight without spoilers because there's a pretty big... event like a quarter(?) through the whole story that changes everyone's dynamics at once. i've danced around it a lot on this blog but fuck it i wanna talk about it.

BIG SPOILERS follow for something that won't be released for probably a long time.

at the end of the first season, on the cold moon itself, dirk and rose find the Book. after going through so much together, dirk has earned rose's trust, and she decides to let dirk take it back to nora.

the reason the Book of Dircon is so powerful- so powerful the Sight wants to destroy it- is that anything writ in its pages becomes reality.

and more than just keeping it safe, nora has very badly been wanting to use it.

secretly, this entire time, nora has believed that dirk is the reincarnation of a very powerful spirit, and that by splitting open his soul, the spirit will reawaken and bring the world into an era of peace and harmony.

when he brings her the Book on that night, when the barrier between human and spirit is at its thinnest, she takes it as a sign.

what nora does to dirk on the cold moon is supernaturally tantamount to One Of The Worst Fucking Things You Can Possibly Do To Another Person. especially a child.

and it almost kills him. but gwen friede, the leader of the sight and a woman who has seemed like Bad News, Super Bad, Really Grimdark Mean Lady No Compassion for the entire first season, saves him in the nick of time and wallops the shit out of nora before escaping without the Book, but with a shocked dirk.

and dirk is in shock, and basically everyone is really, for the first half of the second season. the sight has to reckon with the fact that they have not been much of a team at all and their dysfunction lost them the Book of Dircon and almost caused Something Catastrophic to happen.

in the first season, dirk is a kind of standoffish boy who is quickly befriended and encouraged by nora, xander and vicky. so nora's betrayal (and by extension, knowing* what she had planned, xander and vicky's) rocks him to his core and he backslides hard. and rose, who over the course of the first season slowly grew apart from gwen, someone she has always deeply respected, and feels like she horribly betrayed her by handing the book over to nora.

both of these things make the prospect of unifying The Sight into something resembling a group of friends rather than a bunch of distrusting or self-important people vaguely working toward the same goal more daunting than any of the other challenges they face. but the silver lining has always been and still is dirk and rose's friendship (romance), and it slowly infects the rest of the team until they begin to have a fighting chance.

and that's what the sight is really about.

ALSO!

because you are here from my t-word art and i feel called out by absolutely no one except myself: okay listen dirk has been the target of tickling and will probably continue to be just because he is the OC who likes it the most. dirk craves attention and physical affection and he likes roughhousing and laughing. (my man laughs in basically every situation)

but he is terrified of choosing to be vulnerable because rejection hurts worse than physical pain. it stands to reason he loves being tickled. he can believe that someone is tickling him because it's funny or because he (intentionally) annoyed them, and not because he's letting them do something nice for him, or he looked like he needed a hug, or his hair pet, or to be doted on. even though basically everyone catches on that he likes this.

also it's just fun for grumpy/rude/sassy characters to get tickled stupid.

... i've been sitting on a tickle fic for a while because it refers indirectly to these BIG SPOILERS, but now that this post exists i could probably post it. i might post it soon.

[hupla222]

Rarus Gang

The gang. The gang is here at last, done by @xabi0407. I'm a huge Pokémon fan so it should be no surprise that I have my own Pokémon region, well two actually. These guys are from the first of them called Rarus. Rarus is far from a traditional region, more like a spinoff game. Its a small region, barely even noticeable on the map. And its a region where Pokémon are far more feral than elsewhere. As such civilization is sparse, being only six small villages in the whole region, each one protected by a guardian Pokémon. But enough about Rarus for now. I bet anyone who is actually reading this wants to know about those guys up there, so let's get into that. Absolutely feel free to ask about this one its been my brainrot since elementary school.

Ava (16): She's the first girl up there. She comes from The Village of the Pyroar, the smallest of the six villages located in Sector Six. She's an adventurous soul, never one to stay still and always looking for a thrill. She's egotistical but she has a king heart, desiring nothing more than to join the Rangers (no not those rangers), a group of people dedicating to protecting people as well as educating the public about Pokémon and helping the two groups coexist. All of the Sectors have a Ranger, all except hers. And she's going to do whatever it takes to become one and protect the people she loves. Her partner Pokémon is a Litleo, one of the children of the Lady Pyroar herself.

Alex (13): This boy is Ava's younger cousin, so close that they are practically siblings. At the age of ten he was thrown out of the village by an angry villager who believed his bloodline was cursed (the people of Rarus are very superstitious) since he can under the speech of Pokémon. As such he has spent the last three years living in the woods learning medicine from a local Sylveon. Aimed with his late father's camera, he travels with Ava after reuniting with her determined to photograph the whole region to show the people of Rarus that it isn't as scary as they've been told. His main partner Pokémon is a shiny Swampert, one that is a runt.

Julie (12): And finally we have Julie, the little cutie pie on the right. She's a very cheerful girl that Ava rescued right before she set off on her journey. Wanting to support her new hero, Julie travels with Ava while also furthering her own goal of becoming a dragon tamer. She's the daughter of the leader of The Village of the Noivern and as such has a deep connection with dragons. She wants everyone to know how wonderful it can be to work together with Pokémon and to not fear them. And she's going to start by befriending the scariest ones of all (except the Zoroark that is). Her partner Pokémon is a Deino that she hatched from an egg.

[laulink]

Just finished watching Hirogaru Sky Precure and I think it's the most solid series of the franchise so far. It didn't feel like there were a lot of purely filler episodes, unlike in some previous series where you could pretty easily skip 5 eps and not miss anything in regards to character or plot development, the overarching story itself is better paced and less redundant than some older series, and there were a lot of cool things done regarding the characters :

- first adult Cure ! We've already had "older sister" types in the series, but they were all still in high school and therefore still had similar problems and arcs to the other, younger Cures, so it was nice to have someone who is a bit older in the group because Ageha truly brings a new perspective and different dynamics to it : she has her life figured out, no familial conflict regarding her future, she often plays the role of the gentle hand guiding the kids in figuring things out regarding their own dreams and relationships, and even when she wasn't a Cure yet, she helped by providing technical support, information, strategies, protecting Elle-chan... A real adult !

- first boy Cure ! Not only was it nice to see a boy join the group, it was even nicer that he wasn't treated any differently from the others, be it by the group or the supporting characters. No one, in the series or all stars movie, pointed out that he is the first male Cure, which I appreciate because yes, the lore of Precure never stated that only girls could be Cures, but when you see big companies patting themselves on the back for including gender or racial diversity in their productions and making a big deal of it in the production itself, not just in articles, by having characters point out how unusual and amazing this is, I am happy to see that Toei Animation goes all the way with the message it sends ("boys can be Cures too and there's nothing weird about that") instead of making remarks about how unusual it is and therefore undercutting the message. I also love that they made the biggest recurring Precure fan of the series a fanboy, who specifically loves Cure Wing the most (before his beloved teacher becomes Cure Butterfly right before his eyes). A little boy is a fan of and wants to be like the male Cure : representation matters !

- the pairs : of course there are some clearly defined and favoured pairs in the team, as is often the case in Precure, but, where most series with a larger group tend to keep these characters in those specific pairs, to the point of rarely showing meaningful interactions or dynamics outside of those pairs, Hirogaru lets multiple pairs coexist at the same time, with very specific dynamics : Sora makes a pair with Mashiro (the lovers), but also with Tsubasa (the himbos, because seriously, look at their scenes together) and has a recurring gag with Ageha (the hugs, which is even included in the movie) while Ageha, who is Tsubasa's partner, is also Mashiro's childhood friend. And Elle ! In Hugtto Precure, Hugtan had a relationship with everyone, and I believe there even were some special traits to most of those relationships, but Elle takes it to a whole other level : Sora and Mashiro are clearly her main caretakers (without that impacting or taking away from Elle's relationship with her parents btw) with Sora being a bit more strict and stern, like her father, while Mashiro is softer and more willing to let things slide, the archetypical image of a mother, but Ageha is clearly the one who understands Elle the best and most often knows how to cheer her up when something is wrong, and Tsubasa is her sworn knight, who Elle tries her best to reconnect with when she starts to feel like Tsubasa is getting more distant. The different pairs also have a specific dynamic as Precures : whereas Sora often feels like she depends a lot on Mashiro and is ready to accept her help and be her friend as soon as she meets her while Mashiro often struggles with feeling like she isn't good enough, Sky is initially opposed to the idea of Prism fighting because she's worried for her safety while Prism knows and will show Sky that she is a dependable partner who is her equal and can fight by her side. Similarly, while Tsubasa often follows Sora in her antics or has overall similar reactions to new or surprising things, Wing is less hot-headed than Sky and has more than once pushed her out of harm's way when she charged headfirst into it. Ageha wants to do everything by herself and Tsubasa has trouble making her rely on him, but Butterfly and Wing's partners power up is the mixing colour palette that lets Ageha support everyone by powering them up while she apparently can't power herself up with it. Mashiro has never tried to hold Elle back from doing new things, but Prism tries to protect Majesty in a fight to the point of putting herself in danger. Sora has always protected Elle, but as soon as Majesty showed up, she and Sky got in sync acting as the team's powerhouses, often giving ennemies a double punch. It's just beautiful to see so many different and nuanced dynamics !

- the future : while Ageha and Sora know what they want for their future, things are more tricky for Tsubasa and Mashiro and I appreciate that the writers didn't take the easy options there. Tsubasa can't fly with his wings and has already studied aerodynamics and planes for a year when we officially meet him, so it would have been easy to simply make him decide to be a pilot, but they didn't take the easy path and made him realise that, now that his first dream had been achieved, he had developed a taste for knowledge and would become a sage. Similarly, Mashiro is gentle, wants to make people happy and is good at cooking and baking, so making her decide to be a cook would have been easy, but they went the picture book author way instead to give her more depth. I particularly like this because it reflects the reality of people being good at or having an interest in multiple things and career choices being about more than just taking what one is good at and finding a job making use of that.

Of course, the series isn't perfect : some bits are rushed, others feel a little out of place, some dynamics are less explored than others, Dark Sky deserved a whole episode instead of the two minutes of screentime she got, but overall, I maintain this is the best structured, best constructed, most solid Cure series I've seen thus far and I hope the quality stays at this level or keeps improving going forward because it's nice to see a franchise this big being treated as more than a money bank and getting increasingly better instead of degrading over time.

[titantroopers]

Top 10 Most Underrated Anime

Top 10 Most Underrated Anime You Need to Watch: Unleash Hidden Gems

The world of anime is vast and ever-expanding, overflowing with popular titles that dominate conversations and streaming queues. But beneath the surface lie hidden treasures – underrated anime gems waiting to be discovered. These shows offer exceptional stories, captivating characters, and stunning animation, yet haven't received the widespread recognition they deserve.

So, if you're a seasoned anime fan looking for something fresh, or a curious newcomer eager to dive deeper, this list is for you! We've compiled 10 phenomenal anime series that deserve a place on your watchlist:

1. Shouwa Rakugo (Showa Era Rakugo): Embark on a historical journey through the captivating world of rakugo, a traditional Japanese form of comedic storytelling. This emotional masterpiece explores themes of mentorship, perseverance, and the power of storytelling across generations. (Keywords: historical, drama, slice-of-life)

2. Yakitate!! Japan: Calling all food lovers! This hilarious anime throws you headfirst into the high-pressure world of competitive bread baking. Expect outrageous scenarios, wacky characters, and a surprising amount of heart as our protagonist strives to become the ultimate baker. (Keywords: comedy, sports, food)

3. Beastars: Dive into a world where carnivores and herbivores coexist in an uneasy truce. Beastars is a visually stunning anime that tackles mature themes of prejudice, identity, and the struggle to find your place in a complex society. (Keywords: drama, mystery, social commentary)

4. Ping Pong the Animation: Don't be fooled by the seemingly simple premise of table tennis. This anime is a masterclass in animation with a unique visual style. It delves into the competitive spirit, the pressure to succeed, and the delicate balance between teamwork and individual drive. (Keywords: sports, coming-of-age, psychological)

5. Yuri!!! on Ice: Get ready to lace up your skates and be swept away by the beauty of figure skating! Yuri!!! on Ice is a heartwarming sports anime that celebrates passion, dedication, and the power of mentorship. It also boasts a vibrant cast of characters and stunning animation sequences. (Keywords: sports, figure skating, LGBTQ+)

6. Mushishi: Take a break from the high-octane action and immerse yourself in the serene world of Mushishi. This atmospheric anime follows a traveling doctor who encounters strange occurrences linked to nature spirits called "mushi." Each episode is a beautifully crafted story filled with wonder and quiet contemplation. (Keywords: fantasy, slice-of-life, mystery)

7. Princess Jellyfish: This heartwarming comedy follows a group of socially awkward otaku women who live together in a quirky boarding house. As they navigate the challenges of daily life and pursue their passions, Princess Jellyfish celebrates friendship, self-acceptance, and the importance of finding your own community. (Keywords: comedy, slice-of-life, josei)

8. Hinamatsuri: Prepare for a laugh riot with Hinamatsuri! This hilarious anime throws together a yakuza boss with a telekinetic alien child. The ensuing chaos is a side-splitting exploration of family, responsibility, and the unexpected bonds that can form between the most unlikely characters. (Keywords: comedy, science fiction, slice-of-life)

9. Silver Spoon: Trade cityscapes for sprawling fields in Silver Spoon! This charming anime follows a city boy who enrolls in an agricultural high school. As he learns the ropes of farm life, Silver Spoon offers a heartwarming and educational look at the world of agriculture and the importance of hard work. (Keywords: slice-of-life, comedy, agriculture)

10. Run with the Wind: Calling all sports anime enthusiasts! Run with the Wind is an inspirational underdog story that follows a ragtag college team striving to qualify for the prestigious Hakone Ekiden relay race. This anime beautifully captures the camaraderie, struggles, and triumphs that come with pushing yourself to the limit. (Keywords: sports, drama, inspirational)

These are just a taste of the incredible anime waiting to be discovered. So, grab your snacks, settle in, and get ready to unlock a world of hidden gems! https://titantroopers.com/top-10-most-underrated-anime-you-need-to-watch/

[sizhui]

Hiii Angie just curious is there a common fan interpretation of any of your enstars faves you really dislike

HIIIIIII oh man. I am such a pedantic nitpicky person when it comes to enstars that I dislike basically everything anyone except for a small group of carefully chosen friends and mutuals have said about my favorite characters. It's really tragicomic how bad online fans are at reading any text that demands beyond surface-level engagement, thinking and compassion. I too am a literature major and i WILL act pretentious about this! By the way i blame the trend of editing characters over Tumblr text posts for 50%+ of fandom misconceptions and it needs to die.

I think i want to talk about izumi and Leo today, because i already talked a lot about wataei in the essay i posted a few days ago, and shunazu ....i shan't get into that mess today. So..let's start with perhaps THE most foolishly and strangely misinterpreted guy in all of enstars. Leo.

Leo, together with Mika, forms the most kinned duo in the enstars fandom, which means hundreds of poor weirdos project all kinds of things onto him to hell and back, and at the same time, strip him of all of his actually interesting and unique qualities. They do, i guess, see his two main surface level qualities - being insanely good at and obsessed with his artistry, and being very scatterbrained and erratic - and somehow their little minds have turned him into some weird dumbass that can't even lead a proper conversation. No - literally, I've read Leo centric fics where he talks like a literal seven-year-old, and can't get through two sentences without yelling ucchuu, inspiration! While Leo does have a tendency to lose his train of thought, he is like. Very verbose and observant. He is, in fact, the second character after eichi who comes to mind when i think of long, heavy monologues in enstars. I just end up being like, have you ever heard Leo talking? He uses extensive and developed metaphors, he describes his own feelings and his personal mental desolation with great insight and emotion. And above all, he is able to pinpoint the exact weakness of his conversation partners, even those he isn't intimately acquainted with, and use it against them. Like. Leo can be incredibly sharp and sober, and he can be incredibly mean with the right aim. I also wish people saw his deep anguish and suicidal ideation as more than something relatable or meme-able - because Leo's story is one of death and rebirth, of the highest and purest form of salvation and of complex relationships in which both love and hurt eternally coexist. It also bothers me that people can't seem to understand that Leo knew izumi had always loved him . He knew since very early on. But he also knew that izumi wouldn't choose him over affirming his own self importance. Which was true, and makes it all the more painful. Then there's also a fact that Leo consciously sent people into their deaths in the war, not only for izumi but also FOR MONEY AND FAME but let's not get into that rn, the point is that he's Not that innocent either. A minor thing that pisses me off is how lots of enstars fans in izuleo spaces tend to make Leo find of throwing around innuendos and sex jokes when Leo straight up says that he hates sex jokes and boys ' talks. Like he just would not say that . All in all he's not your funny depression artist 69420 man he is a tortured soul who just barely evaded eternal danmation in the hell that is being misunderstood, unseen and used by the people closest to you and reached the paradise that is, even if it's just for a moment, being lovingly embraced for all that he is.

The thing people always miss about izumi is that he is a very unreliable narrator of Leo's story. The poor dear was so shaken by the realization that his beloved idiot is more lion than lamb that he deluded himself into thinking that making him like that is HIS FAULT AND HE RUINED THE INNOCENT LEO!! even though....Leo acted consciously for himself, as we affirmed earlier. All in all, izuleo is a sad relationship of two people who both thing they corrupted the other to the bone marrow, while they're actually both trying to make the other into their perfect shape and love it. But yeah that delusional, self deprecating manipulation of the readers' expectations on Leo is partly to blame for people misinterpreting Leo too, i think. Because izumi would rather you think Leo is stupid than a bad person, and most of the "truths" you get fed about Leo are spoken through him. Oh Izumi and Leo, how wonderful and yet horrible, so much more wonderful and more horrible than people think

[softranswolves]

Derek x Theo x Jordan

Ship It

What made you ship it?

Ohhhh boy(s). I'm a slut for soft x rough ships in general, as well as redemption as relationship builder, so already I've shipped Derek x Theo and Derek x Jordan. Putting them all together is *chef's kiss*.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Derek and Theo both made life-changing mistakes in their youth, and they carried the guilt until it became a part of who they were, however consciously or subconsciously. Derek became closed off, angry, scared. He lost his family and couldn't bear to tell Laura or Peter (from what we are shown, at least). Theo lost his sister, and honestly his family too, even if that wasn't explained. His parents are terrified of him in 5x02, making it clear that he has done something to them in the past, whether himself or allowing the dread doctors to. Already I love Derek x Theo because of this - by the time we meet Theo, we've seen Derek go through so much character growth and learning. Seeing that interact with the chaos of Theo, seeing himself in the kid, would be fascinating, and Derek who we know by the time of season 5 would likely have sympathy and want to help Theo because he sees himself there. He may not be able to relate to taking his sister's heart, but he can fathom being responsible for a sibling's death.

Enter Jordan. We get Jordan somewhat in the middle of Derek's evolution, with him first really popping onto the radar in s3, which is also the time after Derek has not only once again lost part of his family (Erica and Boyd, almost losing Cora too) but also is sitting with making another big mistake in trust (Jennifer). He still can't fathom the damage possible when it becomes clear Stiles is the Nogitsune. He's afraid of that potential for someone to make a slip in judgment or misplace their trust and make a life altering mistake. Jordan isn't. Jordan rolls with the punches and actively seeks more information, wants to learn about himself and the supernatural. He's one of the first to just shrug when faced with it via Lydia, who he just assumes is a psychic and doesn't question it.

Come seasons 5 and 6, Derek is an evolved wolf - literally can change his shape to that of a wolf, and grew enough to be able to push past some of his trauma to embody the inherited full shift (we see so few full shift werecreatures and two already have Hale blood so inheritance rather than luck of the draw is the conclusion I take). Theo begins as a masquerade, someone we do not know once we see the end of 5x02 and understand everything he has told us, and the pack, is a lie. He doesn't even know himself because he has put on the mask too tight, repressing everything else except ambition and what a group of pseudoscientists told a literal child. Of course he believed them, just like Derek believed Kate and then Jennifer. Throughout season 5 we think we know Theo, but then Kira sends him to Hell (or teen wolf's equivalent) and he later gets a speedrun version of therapy via his sister repeatedly confronting him with what he's done. His greatest trauma face to face. Just like Kate in season 1 constantly taunting Derek (just with less heart-ripping-out. At least literally/physically.) This speedrun for Theo continues once he's resurrected and sees the fallout of what he did, as he is forced to interact with the pack once more, this time without his mask or the dread doctors shielding him.

Finally (sorry for the ramble lol) we have Jordan. Jordan, who is at war with his own supernatural side, the Hellhound that likes to think of its host as just being gone. The man who wasn't born or bitten but was saved and lives in coexistence with violence and death. But Jordan himself is softer, has love and care and patience. Patience that Theo and Derek haven't really had, at least not as unconditionally as Jordan provides. He doesn't take their bullshit, ever a realist, but he also doesn't hold the weight of what they've done over their heads. He understands. He sees them as they are and takes what they give him and he knows when they are being genuine. He shows them a better example than what they had forced themselves to be after their decisions cost people their lives.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

After an unintentionally long explanation on shipping, I don't think so lol

[worldofrobots]

Mechanica

In the 22nd century, humans and robots once coexisted and worked alongside each other. However, an unspecified disaster has caused an ecocide, turning Earth into a wasteland. Most of humanity had taken several surviving animal species and evacuated to the terraformed moon and Mars, leaving Earth’s civilizations to the robots. Ten thousand years later, a robot named Alice lives with several other robots in the abandoned Tokyo City.

One day, the robots’ routines are broken by the arrival of an Utsuro Bune-like pod which drifts onto the nearby beaches; Inside, they find an android boy who can’t speak. Since Alice was the first to find the android, Andromeda, the leader of the robots’ community, gives the former the honor of looking after him, with Alice and the other robots giving him clothes and a voicebox. As Alice and the android begin to connect, Andromeda’s assistant, Bel, inspects his data and learns that his memories were wiped; A disc also found in the pod contains a recording from his creator, Hideto Akasawa, one of the few humans who remained on Earth. Akasawa, revealing the name of his “son” to be Silico, urges him to protect the wind-up key he wears around his neck from the rogue AI Master, who is responsible for erasing Silico’s memories.

Master’s robotic forces, the Drones, led by the fighting robot Argos, arrive in Tokyo to track down Silico, forcing Alice to escape with him before they can abduct him. Now fugitives, Alice and Silico decide to find a safe haven for the latter. Meanwhile, upon learning that Silico evaded capture, Master orders Argos to pursue him and Alice. Feeling betrayed by his creators who abandoned him, Master secretly plans to use the key to eliminate humanity.

Meanwhile, the two robots, upon entering a junkyard, are captured by the Lurkers, a group of obsolete robots who intend to use Alice and Silico’s body parts to replace their own. Silico’s built-in defenses activate, allowing the pair to escape in a repaired jeep with another captured robot named Lago. Argos is also attacked but manages to destroy many of the Lurkers. Driving across a desolate highway, Alice, Silico and Lago stop to gather supplies from the old wreck of a fallen airship, only to find two more robots, the twins H-1 and H-2, who accompany the trio on their journey. After they are carjacked, they follow the thief to a dive bar for retired combat robots, where H-1 and H-2’s presence causes a scene, but the group manages to escape with the jeep.

Back in Tokyo City, the robots’ community has been occupied by the Drones. With Andromeda having been taken hostage, Bel manages to escape in a cobbled-together hovercraft. Having wrecked the bar, Argos catches up with Alice, Silico, Lago and the twins on a bridge across a crevasse. Forced to abandon the jeep, they bring down the bridge, with Argos plummeting to his apparent doom. The group at last find a safe place in the Oasis, a town built inside a derelict mall, where they meet Akasawa, who reveals that the key, originally stolen from Master, is required to control a superweapon known as the Rapture.

Argos, having survived the fall, attacks the Oasis, injures Akasawa and abducts Silico. Fortunately, Bel manages to find the others and flies them to Master’s lair in an abandoned robotics lab. There, they learn the reason for Master’s abandonment from old records: Immediately after activation on “Bring Your Kids to Work Day”, the untested AI attempted to hack into the lab’s system before he was forcibly shut down. The group also learns that the Rapture is a powerful missile launcher capable of firing missiles into outer space. Realizing that Master intends to annihilate the human colonies on the moon and Mars as well, they confront Argos who, upon learning of Master’s true motivations, betrays him by sending a computer virus to each of the Drones, allowing Alice’s community to easily fight back, just as the inhabitants of the Oasis arrive to help.

After Alice locates and frees Silico, they attempt to shut down the Rapture, but Master, having been notified of the Drones’ defeat, downloads himself into a robotic body to stop them. Just as he steals back the key, a mob of both robots and humans, led by Andromeda and Akasawa, swarm the lab, distracting him long enough for Alice to snatch the key. Silico takes the key and tells everyone else to escape as he activates a secret self destruct mechanism, sacrificing himself to destroy the key, the Rapture and Master.

Afterwards, Alice searches the ruins with her friends and manages to salvage some of Silico’s parts. They rebuild and reactivate him, but Silico’s memory and personality have been erased. Heartbroken, Alice kisses him, releasing a static electricity shock which restores him to his normal self. Alice and Silico reunite as both the robots and the humans salvage and plant the seedlings Master had been hoarding in the lab, slowly but surely turning the ravaged Earth into a paradise. The film ends many years later, as human colonists from the moon visit Earth to witness the planet’s rejuvenation, with Alice and Silico resting under a tree.