#but there are too many obstacles. and I genuinely don't feel the need to be in a relationship with a real person right now. hem hem.

[meezer]

me trying to pretend I don't care about romantic love and devotion and sexual intimacy irl when really I feel like it's the meaning of my life

[intuitively-her]

You've been through many trials and tribulations that have only made you stronger! I'm getting specifically that you don't look like the things you've been through. From the outside, you actually look perfect, or your lifestyle does. People would never know the sacrifices it took for you to get here though. Most people wouldn't have even made it through some of the obstacles that you've faced. I also get the vibe that you're very reserved with your energy. Kinda like you don't speak unless spoken to. Not in a bad way though. You could be an ambivert. ENTJ? INFJ? You don't have to do the most to get attention, it comes natural to you. You know how to stand alone. Never been a "follow the leader" type. Your balance and stability are surprising as well. It could be because of your age. Or maybe you used to live a reckless lifestyle but managed to pull yourself out of it. I feel like you have a tendency to go ghost for awhile, but then randomly pop out on some new sh*t. People can never keep up with you. You're an enigma. It kinda frustrates people tbh.😂 On the flip side, you are very loving to those closest to you. You always trust yourself and follow your heart to wherever it leads you. You are your top priority and will always make sure your cup is full before giving to someone else. If your love is not being reciprocated, then you will simply leave. Your love is intense.❤���‍🔥 You could be a gift-giver or you enjoy doing acts of kindness. You always know what to do/say at the right moment. Lastly, your star qualities are VERY attractive to others.🤩 You're so humble about it too. You could be an influencer or have an active presence on social media. You have a lot of copycats and people that try to emulate your energy. It never really sticks though.

Confirmations: Confident, Intellectual, 777, Sarcastic, Smart-ass, Mixed signals, Intimidating, 1010, Charming, Promiscuous, Friendly, Competitive, Creative

You always find a way to turn your pain into power! It doesn't matter how many hardships you face, you never let it keep you down. You're always onto the next best thing. Always looking towards the future. Someone here likes to take solo-trips often or you enjoy hiking/being in nature. You often come up creative ideas or new ways to make money. Always willing to learn something new. That trait of yours is highly admired by your bosses/higher-ups. You work very well with others. When people work with you, it quite literally increases their luck and money flow. So be mindful of who you share that energy with. You are such a kind and loving individual, even at your lowest. Give yourself more credit boo!❤️ You're very committed to your self-improvement and personal goals no matter what you go through. That's something to be proud of.

Confirmations: Famous, Sexy voice, 111, Friendly, Funny, Someone here has a cat that is very clingy, 444, Pretty skin, Hermoine from Harry Potter, Elusive, Life of the party, Genuine, Beautiful, Seeing 8's everywhere, Someone here owns an exotic animal or you want one

You know how to transmute any negative energy/situation that is sent your way. You are an alchemist. This is my witchy pile.🔮 You like to play fair and see both sides in situations. Very unbiased. However, you'll also put a b*tch in their place if needed. Cause I'm getting that people like to come into your energy to test/bully you for some reason. But you shut that sh*t down real quick.✅ You may be very introverted, or you have this innocent/naive vibe to you. A lot of people blindly trust you. They know you would never try to cross them. You're a big risk taker. You might do something unconventional for work. People love how you march to the beat of your drum always. You might spend a lot of time alone or you keep a close-knit group of friends. You're not afraid to stand alone whatsoever. Nobody can steal your happiness. That is what's most powerful about you.⭐

Confirmations: Genuine, 911, 818, Mysterious, Intoxicating, 717, Witch, Self-absorbed, Pretty eyes, 737, 777, Uptight, Predator, Intellectual, Elusive

You're more than what meets the eye. From the outside, you seem very shy or monotonous even. But you're a true gem baby.💎Your charisma and charm is one of a kind. You stand out without even realizing it. Your wit and sarcasm is very attractive. You have a very unbothered vibe to you. In your own lane, and outta the mix. It makes me think of "Daria". You might go ghost pretty often. You're very big on self-care and your alone time. On the go a lot. ✈️People feel like they can't get ahold of you anymore. You're very focused on self these days. Me vs. me kinda energy. You're a natural creator. Very artistic and out of the box. You might've been this way since childhood. You're often the topic of discussion to those around you. People really enjoy having you around, whether you know this or not. You're a sweetheart once you truly open up. People feel lucky that they took the time to get to know you. You're a true friend.🩷

Confirmations: Clingy, 111, Wife, Light skin tone, 222, One night stand, Player, 999, Mixed signals, Addict, Psychic, Lazy, Outgoing, Eccentric

💖Please do not copy, repost, or steal my work. Thanks!💖

I missed you guyss xx!!🩷🩷🩷

[brujamala-aka-gigi]

₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ mini pac ｡⋆｡ ﾟ

random tarot messages

150 word readings <3

these are bite sized tarot messages with no specific questions being answered, just leaving things to chance and hopefully getting you a piece of knowledge from the cards.

pngs by @florietas

dividers by @aquazero and @cafekitsune

pile one pile two pile three

pile four pile five pile six

.

‧͙˚ *༓ scroll down for the readings ⋆ִ ‧͙⁺˚

.

〰 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 〰

˚ ༘`✦ ˑ ִֶ pile number one 𓂃⊹

page of wands

It's a good moment to reevaluate the source of your opinions and ideas, as soon you will feel a streak of creative energy and it'd be good to build stronger ideas before you begin to place them in reality or to manifest them onto it. Also an amazing moment to look for connections between the mundane and the divine, not waiting for explicit answers but instead, you should expect the way in which you ask questions to allow for more profound relationships with knowledge. Ideally, you’d channel your creativity in a way that enhances your freedom and expands your possibilities instead of imposing complex dogmatic beliefs to yourself.

˚ ༘`✦ ˑ ִֶ pile number two 𓂃⊹

the empress

Allow yourself to get in touch with the things that come naturally to you instead of forcing yourself to align with actions that are too detrimental for them to bring any actual value or positive impact in your life. I wouldn't take this card into the “divine feminine” approach to things, as it seems more like a calling to nurture your inner world and your personal environments by being in tune with what is genuine to you, and to the way in which you bring value for yourself. I think you are underestimating the valuable qualities you possess and how your energy can be channeled and empowered by just paying more attention to what you deem as “low effort” but can be “high effort” to others. Don't shy away from being confident in your virtues. 

˚ ༘`✦ ˑ ִֶ pile number three 𓂃⊹

five of wands 

Avoiding conflict at all costs is not ideal, but engaging in conflictive situations guided by your ego is no good either. Sadly, you will be provided with said tense situations so it's better that you take the time to think about how you process feelings of anger, stress and insecurity. You need to be as aware of your own feelings as much as you are capable of deciphering how others might deal with them, especially if their approach to them is outwardly aggressive. There's nothing completely wrong with impulsiveness and emotional reactions, they can lead to meaningful emotional or existential developments; only if there's time, energy and will to do so. Learn how to know when to face obstacles like these and when they're not exactly obstacles, but more of an annoying temporary situation. 

˚ ༘`✦ ˑ ִֶ pile number four 𓂃⊹

the wheel of fortune

Although it is impossible to have full control over one’s perceived destiny or the chaotic nature of the universe, good fortune relies on the ability to humble our needs for control. As much as it’s healthy to navigate difficult and stressful situations without allowing our emotions to have a negative impact, it is also necessary that we don’t become overly confident and arrogant when things seem to be working in our favor. There’s plenty of our surroundings that we are unable to control and many things within ourselves that are just as difficult to deal with, therefore, it is in our best interest to develop tools and structures that can function as guidance towards a consciousness state that allows us to navigate the ups and downs of life without neglecting the feelings we deal with as a consequence.

˚ ༘`✦ ˑ ִֶ pile number five 𓂃⊹

the moon

You need to allow yourself to distrust and question others. Although it's “common sense” to have good intentions, to be kind, to be respectful and so on, at this point in time we cannot truly have faith that everyone shows a tendency towards having a bare minimum of empathy or at least good intentions. It is easy to follow your intuition or your gut feelings when danger is easily perceived, but trusting your intuition is harder when there are deceptions or illusions that make it so we are almost gaslighting ourselves about how awful we are for not trusting in something or someone because there isn't anything negative in sight. Key word: IN SIGHT. If something doesn’t make enough sense to your peace of mind, it's most likely not worth making it fit into your life. 

˚ ༘`✦ ˑ ִֶ pile number six 𓂃⊹

page of swords

This card serves as a reminder to keep nurturing your curiosity, specifically by putting an emphasis on the knowledge you can acquire by being more open to hearing about others' experiences. I don’t think you are particularly interested in finding a sense of belonging by allowing people to impose their beliefs onto you, but I do see that maybe you are in need of company to further develop and deepen your relationship with knowledge. You don’t need to hurry up and become desperate to know everything about anything, you also don’t need to limit yourself and your possibilities to traditional ways of learning. At this moment, embracing the unconventional and unexpected teachings, everyday life observations and your own personal thoughts and opinions, will give you the motivation to strengthen your relationship with the more intellectual parts of yourself.

if you enjoyed this post, feel free to check the rest of my account <3 ppssst keep an eye on this blog, there's going to be some ask games and im giving away some free readings soon ;)

masterpost ✶ pac readings ✶ ko-fi page ✶

⋆bookings for personal readings are open ཐིཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

[citr0us]

Tarot Reading

How is going to be your next month?

These readings are general, they have various energies which means they may not resonate with you and your situation, if this happens feel free to change your pile and remember read and stick with what resonates with you and leave what doesn't.

notes: Hii guys, so i been kind of distance from posting here, because I am having a lot of other projects. But when I found some time, I am going to post here more. And give feedbacks about the reading and ideas. Byeeeee.

I did it for pure fun and curiosity, I'm not a professional, just a tarot student.

My native language is not English, so if there are any spelling mistakes, please don't mind

I am accepting genuine feedbacks and this reading is timeless

pile 1 ———————> Pile 2

pile 1: the cards flew off the table very quickly in this reading, The first thing I heard was ‘’surprises’’ maybe next month will bring surprises for you. The first 4 cards were:

7 of Cups: May indicate that you will have several opportunities or choices to make, but some of them may not be as real or promising as they seem

10 of Pentacles: It may indicate that you are in a good financial or family moment, with a solid foundation.

The Tower: It represents unexpected changes, which can shake the structures you have built. Despite being a difficult card, it also brings the opportunity to rebuild in a more solid way.

2 of Swords: need to make a difficult decision. There may be a situation where you feel divided or unable to move forward

General interpretation for the next month: The next month may bring many options and opportunities, but not all of them will be what they appear to be. It is important to anchor yourself in the things that bring security and stability. However, you may face a significant change or an unexpected event that shakes your certainties. This can lead to a situation where you will need to make a difficult decision, balancing reason and emotion to move forward. Being prepared for change and staying focused on what's really important to you will be essential to navigating this period.

two more cards to finish:

To finish, the Sun card and Seven of Wands fell. I think you might be celebrating something at the end of the month, something you fought hard and fought to achieve. In my mind it seems like you had difficulties, people or even you yourself doubted your ability, but in the end you succeed. I see a family celebrating and jumping (very cute)

At the bottom of the cards there is the Hermit So I think you will now be looking for new opportunities, and new paths will be shown. In my thing here there is an older guy with a lamp trying to get through the dark without knowing what is coming, I think that is what you will get through.

Random things: family, Fire sign (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius), ‘’apple’’ charli xcx (lol)

Pile 2

MY GOD, the cards jumped too, but I felt like it was going to be one of your best months. I heard success for definition of the month.

The first 4 cards were

The Chariot: It can indicate that you will be on a journey, whether literal or figurative, where willpower and confidence are necessary to overcome challenges.

Ace of Pentacles: new beginnings in relation to material or financial aspects, such as job opportunities, financial gains or new prosperous projects.

Ace of Wands: It is associated with inspiring beginnings, enthusiasm, creative energy and new ideas. It can indicate the beginning of a new venture or the arrival of a new passion or project that fills you with vigor.

Nine of Wands: Suggests that, even when faced with obstacles, you must continue to fight and protect yourself, remaining firm in your convictions.

General Interpretation for the Next Month: The next month seems to bring with it significant movement in your life, with new opportunities emerging in both the material and creative fields. There will be a need to stay focused and determined, seizing these new opportunities with vigor and energy. However, you will also need to be resilient and prepared to face challenges, but the message is clear: you have the strength to overcome any obstacle that comes your way. may arise.

the last 2 cards: bro, I hope you guys are ready. I feel like you're going to live a teenage dream aaaaaahhh.

girl, I can only hear celebrations, and joy.

1 of cups and 3 of Pentacles you will be in your era of abundance, prosperity and love. I think for some of you, you may meet someone romantically, and you will also meet new people, and even more new opportunities in the area of ​​work or school.

I really wish pile 2 the best of luck. Your next month is going to be wonderful.

random things: couple fight, teenage dream ''katy perry'', yellow, feeling: dizzy, itchy throat, left ear getting hot

[nogenderbee]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ @kataba request: Hi there, Bee! Could I request Tsukasa, Akito, and Toya with an s/o who has a large number of older siblings (they're the youngest child)?

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Hi kataba!! ^^ Yeah absolutely! I might've written it quite badly since I'm the oldest sibling but... I tried!!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff

✧ Akito definitely knows a bit about being the younger sibling... and trust me, he doesn't have too many nice stories to tell. Or... maybe he's hiding them?

✧ either way, when he discovers you're the youngest sibling, he immidietly sees room to have mutual obstacles

"Oh! I'm youngest sibling too!"

"Seriously? Well that's a similiarity... how's your oldest sibling?"

"Which one?"

"Which o- uh... How many of siblings do you have-?"

"Around 8..."

"EIGHT?! AND WHAT DO YOU MEANT AROUND?!!"

✧ he's under big impression how you manage to deal with this much older siblings when he hardly deals with one!

✧ but from your stories, he also starts to think that Ena just must be hard to deal with in general

✧ when he hears this many stories, he actually kinda wants to meet them! Maybe not the... energetic and problematic ones... but the calm, kind and mature ones sound pretty cool and obviously he wants to have good relationship with your family

✧ I feel like your siblings would have 50/50 about him... some would love him, some would have mixed feelings for him, but none of them would hate him! After all, he shows his good side for a reason~

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@bleachtheidiot @akitosheart @yulikesminori @toyaswif3y @miya-akane @hayillaaaaaaa @stellas-starry-stove13 @nenes-numberonefan - come get your pancake lover!

✧ Toya doesn't have any siblings, so when you mention you're the youngest from many siblings, he's immidietly intrigued

✧ he only heard few stories from Akito, but he already got to know he tends to... exaggerate his stories a bit...

"Oh? This many siblings? How was life with them?"

"Well~ When I was aging up, I..."

✧ he's genuinely interested in your stories and how aging up looked from you view

✧ he doesn't have any siblings so of course he's interested how it feels to have so many and be the youngest of them all!

✧ you don't even need to ask him if he want's to meet your siblings, the moment you start telling your stories, his face says it all

✧ he's so nervous for nothing! All of your siblings definitely would love him, he's just so sweet and mature, maybe comes off as a bit shy and nervous but they don't mind! They all aproved of him <3

✧ and let me tell you, if you let him on a little secret, that all of your siblings liked him, you'll see the cutest smile ever!!

"They really did? Well I couldn't be more glad~ I was nervous I might've been too... quiet..."

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@bleachtheidiot @akitosheart @yulikesminori @toyaswif3y @miya-akane @toyaslove @bl4cktourmaline @r4wrclwz @stellas-starry-stove13 - come get your cookie lover!

✧ Tsukasa immidietly gives you the "I knew it!" text for some reason... is it the big brother magic that he could tell? You'll never know...

"Yeah, I'm the youngest sibling of like... 8?"

"Hah! I knew you were the youngest! It's written all around you, my star!"

"How-"

✧ he just laughs it off... you'll definitely never discover why, because Saki has no idea how he could know either-

✧ either way, he's still eager to know how it looks from youngest siblings so he'll listen your stories and in exchange tell you his own!

✧ you also odn't need to ask him if he wants to meet your family, the moment you start telling him stories about your siblings, he literally exclaims he wants to meet them

"Huh, so that's how they are... Well they seem great! I can't wait for the day of our meeting in that case! I'll make sure to prepare my best entrance for this special occasion!!"

"Oh cool, where are you free?"

"Any time! I could even go like right now! Oh but wait... I'd have so little time to prepare... Well then maybe tomorrow!"

✧ I feel like your siblings would have a little bit of 50/50 with him too... most like him but for some he's just a bit too... loud and energetic and all... but they still approve since he seems to be a nice guy?

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@bleachtheidiot @akitosheart @bad-the-an-enjoyer @yulikesminori @alicewinterway18 @nenes-numberonefan - come get your future star~

[layerberitamoderna]

bisexual cuddy rocks but i honestly think there's a strong case for lesbian cuddy that i don't really see people talking about. cuddy like wilson wants normal things: a good career, children, and heterosexual relationship. and to her credit she genuinely lives for 2/3 of those things! but there's some weird stuff going on with that last one! so let's walk through some of the paces

from early in the show we see that Cuddy wants kids but wants to forego a father for a sperm donor. sure she's a busy woman, but she wants to make the time for a child but not a co-parent? I think that's notable

she struggles to find men she's attracted to and turns to online dating, a move that is odd for a woman of her status in that time period. and even then she struggles to have a spark with the men she has passable dates with. and gets called out on it! oh well, that could mean nothing

she engages in a years long will-they-wont-they with house. and while there are Many obstacles to a potential relationship other than her sexuality, I think it's really interesting that in the conference episode they make it clear that Cuddy is more interested in house when she thinks he's unavailable.

while in house POV episodes Cuddy and Lucas seem to be going strong, 9 to 5 shows us a Cuddy who is unimpressed and dissatisfied with him. this is her average day, and in it she feels a disconnect from him, definitely thinks that he's inconsiderate and clueless, and sees sex with him as little more than another task on her long, long checklist

in her relationship with house, no matter how hard he tries he can't meet her needs. he can never BE what she needs. all the logical reasons that prevented their romance for 6 seasons? really hadn't changed. she got together with him to escape another relationship that was going too successfully.

and actually funny that Lucas couldn't be what she needs either. the thing that started their romance was him stepping up to look after Rachel and you're telling me he's done a complete 360 and is now a short sighted jerk? I'm not a Lucas fan but I think her POV was unforgiving because she would find any man in her house to be a nuisance

the fact that she never got together with wilson? because on the surface they should be a perfect pair. she needs someone dependable but wants someone who pulls wild shit to keep her guessing. she knows wilson is capable of both. she's not quite needy enough for wilson but that guy stumbles into relationships with his eyes closed so there's really no excuse. I think deep down they both know it couldn't end well and don't want to ruin what they Really have – a friendship.

^ the face of a woman who is very glad her drunk boyfriend didnt break up with her

[roo-bastmoon]

With 17 versions to buy and 8 versions combined for 160 streams per Spotify account, plus Melon and FLO streams now counting, of course Jungkook’s Seven is charting high and sweeping awards. Firstly because it’s Jungkook of course, and secondly because it’s been given every possible advantage.

My (perhaps controversial) opinions about that are below the cut.

Honestly? I really can’t feel good about any “first” or “most” or “fastest” records achieved by this single—catchy as it is—which wasn’t written or conceived by Jungkook and has nothing much personal or deeply meaningful about it. It’s a fun feel-good summer pop song, for sure, but no more groundbreaking than, say, Bad Decisions (in my opinion… I have no musical expertise.)

But I can’t feel super great about all the records and awards because this many versions immediately restocked and shipped and auto play and promoted to radio and ads and leadership hyping only this while Jungkook says he wants to be the one and only artist to conquer kpop and pop for the next thousand years… it all just doesn’t really sit right with me.

When compared to the 10 months Jimin forewent sleep, food, and showers to have a hand in every aspect of his first (and deeply personal and symbolic) album, which was never sent to radio or restocked, got split tracks and delayed playlisting and shady articles, plus not one kudos or congratulations from leadership even after he made history for South Korea and stocks soared…

Forgive me, but it all leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It is ruining the song for me.

Some things like culled streams and sales are out of the company’s control. But the things I mentioned above were all possible for Jimin’s Hot 100 #1. Even if every Tannie has total say in their projects' sales and marketing, and everyone was on board with only Jungkook getting the Hybe America "red carpet" treatment, I can’t lie and say the stark difference feels fine. It doesn't, and I confess I leave the headphones in every time Seven comes up in the playlists now.

I’m not jealous. If anything, I have a warped sense of pride that Jimin has done so fantastically well despite so many, many obstacles stacked against him. I love to champion an underdog and I’m glad I never need to doubt his success was organic. I actually feel extra admiration for how humble and hardworking he continues to be—no resting on any laurels for the It Boy. I'm so glad he is my ult-bias.

*sigh*

Listen to me.

I know Jungkook and Jimin are both genuinely good people. I know they are sincerely talented and hard working. I know they truly love each other. I know all members are legitimately happy for each others' success.

I know what’s important to me may not be important to them, nor what they want for their careers. And even if I feel their company’s making shitty decisions, I know my place as a fan.

So I trust them. And I simply hang in. I hope lessons were learned for smoother, fairer future releases. Because neglecting assets makes zero business sense, and perceived favoritism can erode the group’s bonds and tear ARMY apart. It is, frankly, just plain stupid.

So I may dislike things about their solo era rollouts and I can't bring myself to sugar-coat it; but I mostly try to keep my negative thoughts to myself and find things I CAN celebrate with other fans on an open timeline.

I never want another Tannie to feel anguished and misunderstood the way Hobi did about JitB’s physicals.

Watching Jungkook’s face here on his London live when he talks about people hating him just haunts me. It guts me. I can't stand it. That kid was going through it and I don't believe he has a malicious bone in his body, so it just really upsets me seeing him like that.

There’s so, so much about this company, this industry, this culture that I just don’t understand. But I trust Park Jimin completely. As long as Park Jimin loves and supports his members, God knows, I will too.

So!! On that note...

We have Jungkook’s birthday to celebrate next week and Taehyung’s album to support the week after that. I’m going to do my best to rest up and gather some good energy for these things!

And of course, we must congratulate our Jimin, who made history again today, and no matter what, will always set the standard. I just know he's cooking up something else for us with all these weeks of silence, and I cannot wait to go BERSERK for it whenever it drops.

I’m not really sure I had a point to this post. It’s just that I have been mulling all this over for a long time, and finally felt well enough to sit up long enough to come online and type up my thoughts.

I guess what I mostly wanted to share with my friends here is that it’s okay to feel really disappointed and even enraged at the way some things play out over the (hopefully life-long) careers of BTS members. Don't let folks gaslight you. Call it like you see it. (Maybe keep sensitive things behind a cut or in the DMs--and of course, please change your mind if you get better insight. In the end, only the Tannies really know what's going on with the Tannies.)

But while I’m still side-eyeing the company so hard right now, I’ve decided to love and support the boys as people and artists. I'm trying to believe the best in everyone. I’m still an OT7 Jikooker.

You don’t have to agree with me, and if you need to unfollow, I understand. But I figured I should just tell you guys (especially the new followers) where I am at with all this.

Love, Roo

[the-lark-ascending69]

Scoops Ahoy Ronance AU?

Ooh I like this 👀

First off I want to say that one of the things that attracted me to ronance when I first watched s4 was the fact that Nancy seemed to be so annoyed with her, lmao. Idk what is it about it but I love it when they can't stand each other at first. That's why I feel like a good ronance story begins with Nancy wanting Robin to stfu.

Now, unlike Steve, who was mildly annoyed but didn't pay her much attention at Scoops Ahoy, I think Nancy would be fuming whenever Robin tried to pull any snarky shit with her. I don't think she'd outright make a board to count how much Nancy sucks like she did Steve, firstly because Nancy doesn't have the same cringe material that Steve does, and secondly, I don't think Robin would act like that with a girl. I just think she's nicer to girls. Still, she's still in her S3 mode, porcupine energy, pretends to not care and be above it all while still pretty much not liking her coworker.

I think she'd find it bitterly funny and really unfair that Nancy doesn't seem to know they even went to the same school. Excuse her, she was Barb's friend first, Wheeler. Show some respect. But she doesn't see the point in telling her because she doesn't care about it, anyway. She just has this aloof, standoffish attitude with Nancy all the time. Rather than making fun of her, she's ignoring her, or telling her to stop bothering her, she's trying to read.

The truth is that Nancy is insufferable here. She feels it's undignified for her to be working at Scoops Fucking Ahoy for the summer, but she still tries to make everything the way it's supposed to because she's already going through the shame of working at Scoops, she's not going to humilliate herself by doing it poorly, too. Plus, she genuinely wants to be nice to clients, until they stop being nice to her. Still she keeps a tight smile whenever they come make her life a living hell, something her coworker can't seem to pull herself to do. It's as if Robin didn't care that people could tell she was tired or annoyed, and she's seen her fight with Erica more times than she deems appropriate. She doesn't appreciate Robin hissing like a cat at a 10 year old girl.

Nancy is just... confused as to how she even got to this point and who did she anger to get paired up with Robin Fucking Buckley. Yes, she's trying to make some money, but truly, how could this have been the only place that called her?

So she's always giving Robin a hard time, scolding her for not smiling enough and condecendingly showing her how it's done (which only earns her the most dead of stares from Robin), or telling her to just go to the back of the store to keep playing with her language tapes if she's not going to do things correctly. Robin just rolls her eyes at that.

She doesn't mock her as much as she does Steve, but when she does, it's her way of challenging her in her flaws, it's constructive even if neither of them realize. Nancy will ramble about how Robin clearly doesn't care about their job and she's sorry if she doesn't need it as much as Nancy does, but she won't let her become an obstacle, to which Robin responds by raising her eyebrows, throwing her head back and saying "wow, Wheeler, that was so inspiring. I mean, I knew the Wheelers were dirt poor but I didn't think it was that bad. Hey, look, we have that in common!" Nancy doesn't like being undignified, but Robin isn't afraid of shaking her a little - mostly making sarcastic comments whenever Nancy does something she wouldn't expect Nancy Wheeler to do, in a way that is unfair because it shows how little she knows her and how many ugly things she assumes about her. That's another thing that drives Nancy mad too, because she's still so full of pain and fear and anger, and now this weirdo is poking fun at the fact she owns guns (plural) as if it were some kind of punchline and not another piece in her trauma puzzle.

I think they surprise each other by how well they work together while cracking the code once Nancy stops scolding Robin for running through the mall and standing on a table, spinning around while talking to herself. She's shocked by the fact she speaks four languages, and even more shocked when she cracked the code when Nancy couldn't. That's when she stops seeing Robin as an apathetic weirdo who's made it her life mission to annoy her, and starts seeing her as an incredibly intelligent young woman whose brain works in mysterious ways. Nancy almost wants to take her brain out of her head and study it, because it's as if she were hanging upside down, looking at things backwards and reading secret patterns no one else can see. It actually inspires Nancy to try to solve problems the way Robin does. It surprises Robin to no end when Nancy is suddenly taking her seriously and asking for her opinion. She's so shocked she doesn't even make sarcastic comments about it.

I think Robin starts seeing Nancy differently as she starts to open up, slowly. She tells her the essential only at first - different dimensions, girl with powers, monster hunting, demonic possesions, now apparently russian spies as well. Whenever Robin asks how she even got involved in all of this, Nancy gives an obviosuly incomplete explanation about helping a friend find his brother (Robin sees through it immediately - why go so far for someone she didn't even know? It'd make a little bit more sense if she did it to help her own brother, but that's not what she said, so she's obviosly hiding something). Robin is still shocked that Nancy Wheeler owns guns. She's even more shocked when she gives one to her, as if she knew what to do with it, and even more when they get intercepted and Nancy fucking shoots and kills one of those guys. Robin did not expect her summer to go like this. It must be some weird kind of dream.

It happens slowly. Robin shows more of her charming nature without quite opening up. She manages to trick an agent by speaking a little bit of russian, she manipulates one of their torturers so they won't hurt Nancy, she bravely talks back despite Nancy begging her to keep her mouth shut and somehow it works. Somehow these people are convinced, somehow, that it's more convenient for them to keep them alive and with all their bones intact. It's like Nancy has been thrown into a whole new reality, in which making yourself small and try to politely convince people to listen to you isn't compulsory, in which you can be defiant and cunning and determined and win. Make them listen to you. Even if the victory is small, it's still a victory. Thanks to Robin, she gets to keep all her nails. Maybe talking so much wasn't a flaw after all.

She opens up slowly - about Barb, and her guns, and the violence she's seen and all the pain inside her heart, and Robin feels so stupid for thinking she was a priss. Nancy is profoundly touched by grief and loneliness. She lost a part of her heart at 15 she's never getting back.

But Robin doesn't open up back. She apologizes for being mean and reassures her that they'll both see Barb soon, and she won't be alone when that happens. All she says about herself is that she feels, you know, like she ruins everything. Nancy doesn't understand, but what Robin means to say is that she has only thought about Tammy Thompson once since this all started, and it was to say to herself, I don't even care if I never see her again, if I get to die next to Nancy Wheeler. And she feels like that is even more forbidden, somehow.

They're drugged. They talk. They're rescued and they get sick and they vomit most if the drugs. Most of it. And they ask each other things. Nancy asks why so many languages, and Robin tells her about Operation Croissant, thinking Nancy will make fun of her, but it seems she just finds it cute. She asks Nancy about Jonathan. She tells her she doesn't think their relationship has any salvation, after she made them lose their previous job. That's stupid, says Robin. Weren't you right after all? Your boss is a piece of shit, by the way.

I dragged him with me. He shouldn't have lost his job because of me.

Fuck that. I'd say it's on your boss. Didn't that guy send you to solve the mystery of the missing mustard?

My boss? Yeah, something like that.

Nancy asks her then if she's ever had any boyfriend. She can't imagine anyone being unable to fall utterly in love with Robin once they get to know her. She expresses this sentiment to her, and Robin gets somber all of a sudden. You don't actually know me, Wheeler, she says.

I like to think I know enough to mean what I say, Nancy replies.

Well, you're wrong. People just... don't know me. No one does. I don't know if you've realized, but I don't have any friends. I'm not the kind of person who's known by other people. Or has friends.

It breaks Nancy's heart a little to hear that.

Robin, do you think we could be... friends? She asks. She normally wouldn't say something like that so directly, but she's still under the influence of drugs, and she really wanted to be Robin's friend.

But Robin feels like becoming friends with Nancy while knowing of these newly developed feelings is a crime. It is if Nancy doesn't know the truth.

There's something you need to know before we're friends.

What is it?

You're not gonna like it, and you're not going to want to be my friend after you hear it.

Robin, you can tell me.

Do you remember Tammy Thompson?

And so she tells her. She tells her almost everything: that she's always felt out of place, always a stranger, always an outsider, always unable to keep friendships and always feeling something she shouldn't. Worrying about what people were gonna say, what they were gonna think, if they were going to hate her, if she was simply too much and had something fundamentally wrong in her that made her unloveable. She dumps all of this on Nancy, expecting her to be annoyed or disgusted, or to simply realize she didn't actually like Robin all that much, in the end.

But Nancy just takes her hand says, Robin, listen to me. That is not true. Any girl would be lucky to have you.

And in that moment, it feels like she's breathing in for the first time in her life. Like there's a small puzzle piece being sloted into a hole in her heart that she'd forgotten was there. She feels her nose itch, and her eyes water a little bit.

Can we be friends, then? Nancy shyly asks, like a kid at the playground. Robin laughs weatly and nods.

Uh... yeah. Yes. I'd love to be friends, actually.

Nancy smiles, and to her surprise, she raises on her knees and hugs her. It's been a long time Robin has received a hug from anyone other than her parents, and she's never felt this happy.

[stellar-constellations]

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I binged your Star Patient series in one go and I love how you write! I was so immersed I actually got so disappointed when I realized I hit the end of the uploaded chapters haha. I'm really loving Reader's character in terms of how she deals with the verrrrry questionable obstacles coming her way, girlie needs a break to just cuddle it out with Andrew or something. Anyway yeah I just wanted to drop by and let you know I'm absolutely eating your writing :D

Thank you so much! It means so much to know people enjoy the personality I chose for reader! I honestly love writing her.

I didn't want a Mary Sue type of reader, or a reader who just seems like a replacement of Ashley (I'm getting real tired of seeing these rip-offs of Ashley, she has her own charm nobody can compete with).

I wanted a reader with her own psychological issues and problems, this series is for Andrew, who is from the psychological game genre! It only made sense having a unique character to go with him! I wanted to match the game's elements and have the reader just like it; battling with her morals and if what she's doing is right, just in a different type of context and setting.

Reader's obstacles and drama in her life is just crazy, but we embrace the crazy. It'll be boring just reading the same thing you've already seen inside of the TCOAAL game, so I wanted to flesh out my own plot and characters. Reader might not be everyone's cup of tea, but she's mine and I love her.

Honestly, I'm still trying to understand Andrew's personality because of how complex it is (I simp for this man so hard, we need more fics of him). Andrew is such a pain in the ass to write sometimes, but I really love him for it, so please bear with me if he seems out of character, because he is! He's my own version of Andrew I wrote for this story, so he's not going to be canon, just like how the timeline and characters aren't canon either.

She really does need to sit back and take a breather with Andrew, but her trust issues refuse to and we'll see why in later chapters~

I've been hinting the introduction of a new character, and chapter 6 will have plenty hints of that, so I'm really excited for their eventual release since it'll really spice up the story and characters. It's a yandere story, after all.

Slight spoiler for chapter 6 down below, if you didn’t already piece this out:

I don't know if anyone has pieced this out yet, but our reader is bipolar (hence part of the psychological aspects of her), and it's something we'll see more of in chapter 6 and onwards. I'm going to do my absolute best to not make her a stereotype of the typical bipolar stereotype (0-100 real fast, sudden mood shifts, etc). I don't want it to feel like anybody is being targeted or portrayed inaccurately, nor to do I want it to feel as the disorder is glamorized/romantized. I want reader to feel like a real person, just like how disorders (especially mental) are real too.

I'm definitely going to have to update my warnings because I'll be honest, the plot is being written as I write along and I don't want to trigger anyone or have unsuspecting readers read something they weren't expecting, so make sure to reread my warnings when chapter 6 is out!

I genuinely didn't believe many people would care much about this series, and I wrote it for fun, but it's such a wonderful surprise seeing people engage in my stories and ideas, you're apart of this journey just as much as I am.

Chapter 6 is currently at 6,000+ words and still has a lot more to go through, so it'll be a long chapter! Thank you my stars, for your support, patience, and giving me motivation!

The Andrew "Andy" Graves complete masterlist

Inbox is currently OPEN for questions about the story and new plotlines/ideas, temporarily closed for requests!

[kingwuko]

*opens the door menacingly and stands there in the dark* Give me Wuko kids.

AAAHH you scared me!!

But yesss Wuko kids lets see....

First of all I firmly believe Mako and Wu adopt, and that they adopt when they are late-30s early 40s. I feel really strongly about this for Mako's sake, because he was parentified at the age of EIGHT and spent his childhood and adolescence taking care of Bolin. Mako lost his parents, grew up too fast, and raised Bolin (And listen here. Mako did a GREAT job. seriously. Bolin turned out great all things considered!) But he neglected himself for too long because of it.

SO Mako should get to spend his twenties and thirties being selfish. Figuring out who he is outside of a caregiver role. Very important that he does that before raising kids. Otherwise he's going to fall back into that same pattern of self-neglect and ignore his own needs. Nope I don't want that for Mako and neither does Wu.

So @creampuffqueen converted me to the Wuko GirlDads agenda, and I'm pretty much all in with that. and I'm not gonna lie, I have been thinking about those girls, who they are, their personalities, etc. Thing is I don't have anything fully fleshed out in my brain. But here's where my idle brainstorming is so far.

There are four girls, ranging in age from 13 to 5.

I cannot tell if this idea is weird or not, but I was thinking it could be pretty interesting if the each of the girls were benders from each element. I was trying to figure out the best way to do this. As far as I know there's no hard rules about how bending is inherited in mixed heritage families, and I don't know enough about genetics to make up rules that make sense. So I guess either they come from a very mixed heritage of Fire, Earth and Water nations, or maybe one or more of them are half sisters having a different parent. I kind of like the idea that the oldest had a different father than her younger sisters, and that he died when she was very young, and her mother met someone else of different heritage and had the other three.

I also kind of think it would be interesting if they were from another city in the United Nations, like Yu Dao maybe. Perhaps at this time Repubic City has a better program for child protective services, but Yu Dao lags behinds?

So I like the idea that the oldest is an earthbender, and the next two sisters are water and firebenders. And their parents died when the youngest was about one or two. So the girls have been on their own for three or four years. And it was kind of working okay, they were managing, looking out for each other and especially the youngest.

UNTIL. The youngest starts airbending.

So the girls have no idea what to do, but decide maybe they should take their chances, leave Yu Dao, and go to republic city to air temple island because they genuinely don't know how to help their sister learn her bending.

So they cobble together enough money for train tickets and make the journey, I'm sure they encounter many obstacles along the way, but eventually they make it to air temple island. And Mako and Wu (whom I have no idea if they are both earth kings or if Wu has managed to abdicate or what. I haven't thought this out enough lol) are visiting air temple island and these four scrawny orphans show up with a teeny five year old who keeps unexpectedly making tornadoes and both Mako and Wu are just immediately invested.

then idk they adopt and they are awesome dads and it's obviously a huge adjustment for everyone but they all live happily ever after the end.

Maybe the girls get into recreational probending and Wuko are sports dads.

[horizon-verizon]

I'll spend the next month and a half fearing that they will take away the overwhelming number of houses that supported her from Rhaenyra and give them to Aegon the same way they made the entire smellfolk of Kl will support him in that play and during the coronation 🫤

I feel deeply exhausted every time I think about it because instead of seeming like they want to emphasize that Rhaenyra has an uphill struggle as if viewers are stupid They seem to genuinely mean that Rhaenyra had 0 hope of ever ruling and she and anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional.

We get multiple instances of Rhaenyra being helpless and needing a man to save her, of Rhaenyra being overlooked, of Rhaenyra being disowned, and of Rhaenyra being humiliated.Where are the scenes of Rhaenyra being supported? Of Rhaenyra taking control? She is supported only when she is passive (Rhaenys) and when she takes control and acts according to her privilege she is branded a girl-boss and spoiled entitled brat.

Rhaenyra was loved and had institutional and popular support but they have been unable to show it. But of course we had time for Aegon, magnanimous king of the people 🙃☠️

I know it's misogyny and I know I shouldn't expect anything from this show, but I still fear that they will make it worse

I think that it doesn't help that we see her not having her female friendships or female supporters/Rhaenys coming in hot only until the last second, her relationship w/Harwin unexplored, and that we don't get to see her actually rule the island and people around Dragonstone, too. With Aegon, no one in that scene of the 1st episode really liked him or even understood him...bc he's been in the castle all his life doing fuck shit else but philandering and drinking. They don't know him as a ruler, we were seeing a first impression meeting--Aegon trying to familiarize and establish some sort of relationship with the general common folk.

It's also partly bc HotD writers/many people in society believe that in order for any victim to be truly supported they have to be sympathized with and they have to be sympathized with by them being in really dire straight. The "extreme" must become the "normal" before one recognizes that the victim is the victim or has some conditions set against them, long term or short term phenonmena that build into the "last" obstacles against them as the greens/Hightowers built under Viserys' political careless neglect.

People need to realize that even if Rhaenyra is shown to be happy most of her adult life time--happier and more in control or practicing her authority at Dragonstone--she would still be a victim of smaller sexist or abusive behaviors from her stepmother, some from Daemon, selfish neglect from her father, usurpation on account of her gender (discrimination), the mobilized patriarchal violence afterwards, then femicide. These all do happen....AND IN SPITE OF (not "because of" or "totally free of") all that. Then there is the fact that she was called "Realm's Delight" since young childhood and only under the context of fear, hunger, displacement, and exacerbated poverty during a war the greens started (yes, I do also place a tiny bit of blame on her for listening to Celtigar without exploring other options but not much AND maybe its bc I'm just stupid or GRRM made it way too easy for her to fail but I genuinely don't know what we'd/I'd do in that situation?) that the smallfolk truly started to turn against her.

These are the elements that define the tragedy of the death of not only her but the chance of female-rule precedent/female rule/matrilocality-esque [a married couple resides with or near the wife's parents]/matrifocality [mothers head families and fathers play a less important role in the home and in bringing up children]/rise of the value of matrilineal legitimacy.

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x7

Spoilers for all the aired episodes, it will also have book spoilers through book 6: lord of chaos.

I was able to talk a lot about this episode without needing book spoilers, so this post is much shorter than my earlier one! Like incredibly short.

Thinking about this first scene in the context of Gitara and Tigraine is fascinating. Is Gitara still the person who told Tigraine to go out to the Waste in the first place, in the show's version of events? Because Gitara really is the secret mastermind of a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff.

Gitara essentially engineers the succession crisis in Andor that leads to Elayne being the Daughter-Heir, and Elayne is a very strong player for the Light in the Last Battle. Gitara engineers Rand's birth. And then she sets the threads in motion for Moiraine and Siuan's search for Rand.

The prophetic thread from Gitara (who seems to have been very reliable at figuring out the important bits of her Foretellings) to Elaida (literally The Worst at figuring out her Foretellings) is fascinating to think about. It's not the Talent that makes the woman, but the woman that makes the Talent.

And to pick up from the thread of duty that I was talking about in my earlier post --

Liandrin gave up everything for her son.

Anvaere gave up her son in order to do what is right.

Tigraine does both. She gives up her son (Galad) so that she can follow Gitara's Foretellings, abandoning her old life to save the world. But she also gives up everything for her son (Rand), fighting to the last to give birth, no matter what obstacles face her.

I do think that Tigraine (a former Daughter-Heir of Andor) definitely realized that her son would be the Dragon Reborn, once she was, you know, pregnant and about to give birth on Dragonmount. I feel like she probably figured it out (potentially much earlier than that, though it's hard to say when, exactly).

2. I am... I am genuinely wondering if we're going to skip straight to Moiraine and Rand actually being able to trust each other, and getting to be a team in the Aiel Waste. Because they have bonded so hard this season and Moiraine has made her loyalties painfully clear, especially in this episode and in 2x2 -- I choose Rand. I will protect him, I will guide him. I will trust him even when that trust is an act of faith instead of being based on reason. And that's really a point that she only openly reaches in the books during TFoH. And Rand has SEEN that she was willing to go against Tower on his behalf.

So, yeah. I am very very curious about what our s3 dynamic is going to be with these two. Will 2x8 do something to shift this dynamic or will we take it with us into s3?

3. I'm also... big ouch re: Alanna being one of three Aes Sedai in the entire world that Rand currently feels like he can maybe trust. Salt in the wound, there!

4. Could Siuan be under Compulsion, as I've seen some people speculate? I mean, I wouldn't put it past Liandrin, but we don't really see any opportunity for Liandrin and Siuan to be alone together. And I think all her choices and arguments in this episode feel pretty firmly grounded in what we know of her as a character from the show. So... you know, maybe? I wouldn't feel like the show was cheating if it told me that Compulsion was used to encourage Siuan to stick by Tower policy but I would not be surprised if this is just... Siuan making a different choice than the one that Moiraine makes.

The other possibility I've seen floated is that this was a deliberate ruse by either Siuan alone (to push Rand into trusting Moiraine) or by the two of them together but I feel like Siuan telling Leane "That boy must not leave the city" makes that theory much less likely. We have seen them performing a grand ruse before, of course, back in 1x6 but... I don't feel like the evidence is on the side of this one being a ruse. I feel like they say too many things that would need to be actual lies for this one to work, which is not possible given the Oaths.

Anyway, like I said, this book spoilers post is a short one!

my non-book spoilers post is much longer

[mbti-notes]

Hi! INFJ here. Would you be able to elaborate on the dynamics that lead to Level 3 INFJ's being 'overdependent on people who share similar interests'? This seems completely accurate to me. I've always highly prioritized working with the right mentor and collaborators, and don't feel confident in my ability to do my work completely on my own. But I'm not sure how to move beyond this state: I guess Ti development is the key?

There are a lot of factors that can contribute to overdependence. Since you haven't provided many clues as to why you lack confidence, all I can say is that, in INFJs generally, it is often related to issues like perfectionism or fear of failure. For example:

Ni: Do you have realistic expectations of yourself? If your expectations are too high, narrow, or strict, "falling short" will always feel like a threat to you.

Fe: Are you sensitive to disapproval? If so, incurring negative feedback and criticism will always feel like a threat to you.

Ni+Fe: Do you easily suffer from excess guilt or shame? If so, making mistakes will always feel like a threat to you.

If any of the above apply to you, it means further Ni and Fe development is needed, in which case, Ti development isn't on the docket yet. It's important to develop functions in the correct order. In the above mindset, the prime motivator is fear. It means purposely keeping oneself small as a defense against those ego threats, and overdependence is one possible manifestation of that smallness. I don't have a magic wand that can convince people to immediately drop their ego fears. The best way to overcome them is to confront them.

Being independent isn't as simple as just going it alone. Humans are social creatures, so relationships are vital to their well-being. Independence is partly about faith and trust, which gives rise to self-confidence. It means having faith in yourself and having trust in your capabilities. Unfortunately, people often believe that being "capable" means being able to do things well all the time. Not the case.

If you truly believe in your capabilities, it means you believe you can do things well AND it also means you believe you can handle it when you DON'T do things well. You trust that you'll survive, adapt, learn, and evolve. Perhaps the point you're missing is that you have to face challenges, problems, obstacles, mistakes, failures and all the messiness and nastiness in life in order to grow. As long as you live in fear of these things, you'll give up every opportunity to grow. Can you feel genuinely fulfilled knowing that you've never been brave enough to really stand up and stand out as the truest version of yourself?

[terriblewomanyuri]

When I started Hoshikuzu Telepath, I expected a mediocre CGDCT and slight yuri undertones that started and ended at the forehead-elepathy.

DAMN was I wrong.

Warning: MAJOR spoilers. This is pretty much a summary occasionally mixed in with my thoughts.

In short, if you haven't read Hoshikuzu Telepath, you should read it. It's really fucking good.

In long:

First off, Umika is a believable anxious character. She doesn't just get sad or withdrawn, she'll cry if she gets too overwhelmed or worried. That isn't to say there aren't anxious people who just shut down, but it is nice to see a character who cries and is still presented as emotionally strong.

Because Umika is! So many stories present protagonists that supposedly get up after being knocked down, but there's never the impressions that they're knocked down, just pushed back. They don't cry, get frustrated, or react poorly, they just have an obstacle they need to get around and, while the progress they make feels satisfying, it never feels like they overcome the internal strife they supposedly have.

With Hoshikuzu Telepath, things actually get worse before they get better. There's almost always something stressing out one of the members of the main cast, because they're all girls with some level of trauma, but it doesn't become oppressive at any point.

To start, Matataki joining was pretty lighthearted. There were some rough spots, but it kind of felt inevitable she'd join. The subsequent competition, Umika's panic attack during her speech, and the listless air of defeat after the competition was not where I expected the story to go, but it was what got me hooked.

The heartfelt conversation between Umika and Yuu in the lighthouse... that was YURI! It also sets up the core of Umika and Yuu's relationship and it's connection to light. And, of course, the fact that while Umika thinks she's an absolute failure, other people at school think its awesome that she makes model rockets is great! Because, yeah, that's what all people in a field of expertise experience at some point, or at least what they deserve. You have experience and think you're terrible, but someone without experience thinks its cool.

To be honest, I think Matataki is my favorite character. I'm a sucker for mechanics, I'm a sucker for characters with a gay little fang, and I relate to a lot of her character. Her relationship with Haruno is great, especially when she realizes she can't blow the material down the rocket tube because that would mean an indirect kiss. And of course, Haruno coming in when she's brooding, yelling about how she's gonna beat her in a competition and make her lose, then taking her goggles... excellent.

Side note: I would not object if this managed to become poly yuri. The relationships between our four main characters are all well established and they aren't relegated to only having deep and intimate character moments with their narrative foil.

Matataki facing off against Haruno, Umika, and Yuu was great, and her losing on purpose so she could go back to being alone was an amazing character moment. And then Haruno calling that she used an engine too small? AGHHH! Matataki getting pissed off and trying to push everyone away again is great! She's not just someone who says some kinda mean things and doesn't ever mean them, she genuinely says this to hurt, not because she hates anyone, but because she distrusts them. And earlier, she made Umika cry with her words, which just makes Umika coming back and making a speech about wanting to make a place where all of them can pursue their dreams and be comfortable... it feels so genuine because we've SEEN her pursue this goal!

Umika getting sick from all this exertion is a bit contrived, but it leads to some good yuri, so I have no complaints. Also Umika's mom works at the aquarium. I wonder if we'll get the state-mandated aquarium yuri date? Umika's gay little dream about Yuu is cute, and her asking Yuu to not do forehead-elepathy with anyone else is not just adorable, but a portent of the drama to come, as Yuu immediately does whatever Umika wants due to her desperation for someone who cares for her. While it just looks like a cute, two-sided yuri crush at this point, we can tell it's sowing the seeds for something that could be seriously codependent looking back. Also, while forehead-elepathy is obviously a (debatably) platonic stand-in for kissing, it feels way gayer. This is also where Yuu starts becoming aware of her feelings for Umika.

And here is where I start going feral over the chapter taglines. "I must be the only one who noticed that our hands are touching," shows Yuu's love for Umika so clearly. Umika is thrilled to have a companion like Yuu, and while she's pretty gay about it, she does not realize the extent of her influence on Yuu. Yuu thinks that Umika is the only one who truly and wholly accepts her and thus is desperate to be exactly what Umika wants her to be. Yet she also doesn't think that Umika could reciprocate those feelings, and thus worries about how their relationship would progress. Thus, she thinks that she's the only one who notices their hands touching.

The lighthouse meeting here demonstrates this perfectly. Yuu is following a request Umika gave her while delirious from fever with immense discipline. Then, Yuu is thrilled when Umika gets better at talking to other people. Then she's terrified. Terrified of Umika drifting away from her, terrified that if Umika doesn't need her anymore, she won't want her.

Umika gets better at talking to people and gives her presentation at the club leader meeting pretty well and tells Yuu about it. Yuu tries to voice her worries, but ultimately is afraid that Umika will push her away and plays it off and tells Umika that she's not doing forehead-elepathy with anyone else because Umika asked her too. And Umika doesn't remember, she apologizes, and Yuu calls herself stupid for it.

And the ending tagline here is GRAHHH. "An arm's length is so frustratingly short." Yuu wants to keep herself away, because she's becoming worried. She wants Umika to get better, and if Yuu gets too obsessed with Umika, she might try to stop that.

Yuu thinks that it's fine if Umika doesn't get better at talking to other people, because Yuu will always be able to understand her. And she feels terrible, because she wants Umika to get better at talking to other people, so the only person she can blame is herself.

She gets worse, but lets take a diversion to look at Haruno and Matataki and their gay ol' times together. Haruno arriving to Matataki, ready to ride on her motorcycle in a skirt, only for Matataki to put her in jeans and a biker jacket is great, but the fact that they talk about it being to Matataki's "taste," is... GRAHHHHH!!!

Haruno pouring out her worries about herself, talking about how she's grown, and thanking Matataki for helping improve is adorable. Haruno leaning over the railing, losing her balance, and falling back into Matataki's arms is adorable. And then Haruno says "I love it when... you're so strong and kind, Matataki-chan!" She was about to confess, I guarantee you.

Then Matataki gives her a new choker??? And Haruno grins like an idiot when she gets it and asks if she fits Matataki's tastes more now??? And then when Haruno asks her for help finding out what her grandfather's dreams were, she says "I love you!" when Matataki agrees????? They're so girlfriends.

Anyways, they've got a radio to the aliens now that only works intermittently and Yuu is FUCKED UP. She is panicking, torn between elation at possibly meeting her people and fear at leaving Umika. When they go to the coordinates, in the woods, where they think the UFO is going to land eventually, it doesn't come immediately. Then night passes and Matataki and Haruno leave Umika and Yuu to it.

Umika is positive, as usual, but then Yuu starts getting worried about her possessiveness. And then it gets fuckin' wild. The 4koma template that's only been broken for big moments is broken again as Yuu pins Umika to the ground and covers her mouth and starts talking about how "Only you could tug at my heart like that..." Then she starts caressing Umika's hand and face and talking about how Umika doesn't need other people, about how Yuu can understand her just fine, about how they should "stay together... forever." Then Yuu is overwhelmed with guilt and says that she doesn't really want to do any of that and runs off terrified.

I was NOT FUCKING EXPECTING THIS. I did not anticipate the series would delve into an actual toxic lesbian relationship, but here we are!

And, of course, Umika doesn't give up. Her digging through the grounds with her bare hands because she thinks that what the coordinates marked was actually a piece of meteorite that could restore the function of the radio... she really does love Yuu.

I'm getting a bit tired, so I won't go into their reconciliation, but it's nice seeing Umika realize her feelings for Yuu. And the fact that they both realize and say, in front of Haruno and Matataki, that they feel jealousy over each other in a way different than from friendship... c'monnnnn canon lesbians lets go, canon lesbians.

Also Matataki is getting interested in the Cosmic language (which is Esperanto! Pretty nice.) and I'm betting she's going to confess to Haruno in it so she can admit to herself that she's in love and then pass it off as an insult when Haruno asks what she said. Of course, this is going to be followed by Haruno saying it to Umika or Yuu, who will tell her what it actually means. Investing in this now.

The series does seem to be getting lighter now, what with Matataki in a maid outfit for the culture festival. I do like the scene where the middle schooler looks at the display from the Rocket Research Association and Umika shows her what everything does. It's nice seeing someone passing on their knowledge to someone and getting them interested in the field while sharing their passion. Even if they're only 15 (Umika, probably) and 14 (the middle schooler, probably) years old.

Also the yuri is getting cranked up after that mutual confession of jealousy, with Yuu and Umika pretty much flirting in public.

Also, can't remember when it happened, but Matataki really did say "Fuck them kids." Poor teacher gets constantly ignored, too.

This ended up being more of a summary than an analysis. Ah well.

The TVTropes page is also desperate to emphasize that these girls AREN'T EXPLICITLY ATTRACTED TO EACHOTHER GUYS ALRIGHT THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT CANONICALLY YURI!

TVTropes is wrong btw. They're gay. Gay as fuck.

[beevean]

Want a really unpopular opinion?

Circle of the Moon is grossly overrated, it feels extremely amateurish in terms of design and the fact that many consider it the perfect blend of the series' classic and SOTN styles confuses me more than most things in life

I once saw someone say that the game's penchant for grinding shouldn't be criticized because Aria of Sorrow also has it, forgetting that Aria is easy enough that you can absolutely get by without souls anyway, since they're more like a cool extra to spice up combat encounters and help a bit against the occasional tricky boss, unlike Circle where you pretty much need Cards and good combinations of them so you have little choice but to spend a truck load of time grinding just to have a decent time in this hard as fuck game that doesn't even have a shop for healing items thus forcing you to grind for those as well :).

Agreed.

Most of the time, when people love a game I don't, I can at the very least understand what they like about it. I don't care about Sonic Adventure 2, but that doesn't mean it's a bad game: it simply does things, like streamlining the level design, changing the gameplay style in the middle of a story instead of having six storylines, incentivizing replay value through the ranking system, that appeal to others but not to me. It's fine.

But I genuinely can't understand the appeal of CoTM. Nothing it does seems to me remotely likeable.

Yes, it's hard, for the joy of Classic fans. But why is it hard? Because it cheats.

The movement is ass. You either walk at the speed of snail or you double tap to run. This was annoying in Richter Mode in SoTN, but even more so when it's the default state of the game. Guys, it's one thing to move slowly in a Classic game, because all you have to do is to follow a set path and dodge the obstacles, but in a Metroidvania, where you need to backtrack, I'd like more agility. What literally is the point of giving you the run powerup in the fourth room of the game? Why can't I start with it?

There is no shop, forcing you to grind for something as basic as healing potions, necessary for this kind of genre. This is mean.

There is no healing orb at the end of a boss, literally the only game in the whole series that does this, which forces you to run to the nearest save room to heal - fine most of the time, but after the grueling fight against Hugh, you need to dodge the strong and aggressive Dark Armors before you can get to safety. Oh, you died and have to fight that bastard again? Oh no, sorry, guess you can just go fuck yourself :) this is even meaner.

The castle is not well designed, aside from the excessive platforming. The rooms are copypasted without any significant landmark, and there are too many obstacles of the same kind, meaning that once you get a new powerup, you're going to fumble for a while before you stop finding Heart Max Ups and actually find your way through. Say what you want about HoD, but the sections are so visually distinct that you are going to at the very least orient yourself better.

As you said, the main gimmick of the game, the DSS cards, have an abysmal drop rate, meaning that you pretty much have to glitch in order to use the spells. I was very lucky during my playthrough that the first Ice Armor dropped the card necessary to become immune to ice: without it, the Underground Waterway would have been an awful experience. (with it, it was only extremely annoying due to the constant 5-second stop every time you hit a switch)

and that is not even mentioning the problem most gba games had, especially the earliest ones: screen crunch.

tl;dr: order of ecclesia is not my kind of game either, but i recognize that it's fairly hard, at least.

[moonleet]

lae'zel & halsin cg hcs? :3

oh yes i can absolutely do that for ya !!

lae'zel headcanons

initially, she has a lot of trouble warming up to the idea of regression. she's not... any ruder than usual, she just doesn't get it. in a strangely validating turn of events, after like. one or two prodding questions she just accepts it as one of the many strange things about faerun's inhabitants

this differs slightly if the little one is another gith'yanki. they'd have to explain it to her in detail - acting out their more ideal childhood, and all that. lae'zel would come to an understanding, then, i think

the minute "the little one" becomes "her little one", it's because she's feeling particularly protective. maybe the little one takes a tumble and stares up at her, sniffly and upset, and she just. helps them up and brushes them off and tells them they're strong and brave - before promptly hacking the branch that tripped them up into little pieces so her hatchling doesn't have to worry anymore

very, very intense about pretend play. you tell her that you need to go hunt down a scary monster together? she's taking her role 100% seriously, helping her little one stalk around and correcting their sword stance because they need to be prepared for anything!!

too permissive - or, really, too confident in her little hatchling's abilities - regarding weaponry. lae'zel sees nothing wrong with it - she could hold a greatsword just fine at that age! she's also corrective enough about proper technique, though, that her little one won't get hurt.

will raze the earth if anyone hurts her little one. she is fiercely protective: one wrong look at she's scooping them up with one arm and brandishing her sword with the other.

lae'zel carries her little one around a lot!!! for one, it means she can keep them safe easier. two, she genuinely enjoys cuddles even if she won't say it ever

does really well with a little one who doesn't mind roughhousing. she can keep up for hours with even the most active kiddos!

has an... interesting approach to the whole affirmations thing 😭 "you are strong and brave, and i will help you destroy any obstacle in your path."

halsin headcanons

oh he's so papa-shaped it's not even funny. he's experienced in caring for little ones, i think - you don't hit his age and his history with people without running into the concept of regression at least once.

completely accepting of any quirks to his little one's regression - why wouldn't he be? there's nothing in the world he can't handle.

while he enjoys play-fighting with more active little ones a lot - especially if his little one has a wildshape, too - he also does well with quieter little guys. he's more than content taking a nap with them in the sun, or reading to them softly, or quiet playing with stuffed animals

so, so good at creating a sense of safety, especially for little ones who are more anxious or reserved. he's very warm and open without being overbearing (ha. bear) and meets his little one where they're at with ease

the absolute best at soothing tears and nightmares!!! his very presence just radiates you'll-be-okay... and he makes sure to validate and comfort for whatever's going on, whether it's a small ouchie or existential horrors

loves loves loves when his little one asks him for help (or, if they're too small to even think about doing it by themselves): he's sooooo gentle and patient with them, and helps to the absolute best of his ability!

he cannot say no to sneaking a sweet treat for his little one. especially when they ask so nicely with their big puppy dog eyes... provided that they're sharing a sweet snack hehe

takes major dad-naps. his snoring can sometimes be a little much, tbh 😭 it's actually slightly better in his bear form, so for little ones who don't do well with the snores he'll wildshape into a big, cuddly, fluffy bear!