#don't get me wrong - if this is correct I'm super intrigued

[cboffshore]

my prophecy came true. the [REDACTED BC SPOILERS IYKYK] thing has already slowed down my dash with the sheer volume of people losing their shit in advance. I'm gonna ramble in the tags so be advised: nothing is NAMED but the hints are Quite Obvious

[nanaminokanojo]

Idk what ur thoughts on Kashimo but I’m falling for him and I’m in denial about that !!

Kashimo Hajime...

He's a cute little meow meow. 🐈 Cute, yes, but cranky. The kind of cat that bites/scratches people he doesn't like. 😾 With lighting bolts. 🤣

Thunder, thunder, thunder thunder cats! Well, "lightning" but you get it...

Lol sorry idk why he reminds of this very old cartoon series. 🤣😭

I was nuts about him, too, when he first appeared in the manga. Cause he kinda looked like Gojo. Wait...IS IT JUST MEEEE??? I don't know why. Maybe it was me missing Gojo during his box days or because of the first fanarts which showed Kashimo with white hair.

Anyway...

Kashimo = Pompom Baby 2.0, Choso being Pompom Baby 1.0

The "pompoms" in question:

Okay, what do you call those fluffy things on their heads? Pigtails? 🤣 I call them pompoms, but I digress. Kashimo is soooo adorable with that hair 🥺 meow meow ears 🐱 (Choso, too – wrote a whole ass drabble about his goddamn hair at one point & if you wanna read it it's here but if you don't it's okay, unless... 👀).

But I find it super hilarious that he's sporting the same damn do as a senior citizen 😭🤣

Did his supposedly turquoise/cyan/blue/whatever hair turn white or...? Just a thought 😆

But anyway, he's an intriguing character getting reincarnated just so he could fight Sukuna (that bitch, I'm so mad at him rn. No dinner for you, Mister!). I just want to know more about those reincarnated sorcerers more and quite frankly, he's the most intriguing to me.

Like, I have so many questions. The fuck did Two-Face do to you? Were you ex bffs, too? From enemy clans? Makes sense cause Sukuna used to be human, right? Was he? Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm thinking it was mentioned at one point lol. This ties up with my fascination towards Sukuna really cause Kashimo is basically one of the people who met Sukuna during the Heian period and I guess, maybe, in my head, he would complete Sukuna's background story/character arc. Or Kenjaku's?? Ew 🤢, but you knooowww?? And he's still around, too, so... Yo, Gege! Hi! 🙄

As a medium for fan fiction, I've also thought of writing about Kashimo. Reincarnated version but Heian era. Something like that but really no solid plot yet. Sorry, old man Kashimo ehehe but yeah...I haven't really gotten around actually exploring that.

Anyway thanks for the ask @pikibee. I don't really know anyone whom I can talk to about Kashimo, so thanks for giving me the opportunity! 🤩🥰 Hope you like this hehe

A/N: Media credits to their respective owners.

[cieloclercs]

lover, you should’ve come over - let's do f1 or tennis you can choose, male preference!

I'm currently a 3rd year in uni studying statistics with a triple minor holy hell, in CompSci, Business Analytics, and Mathematics. I'm in my uni's marching band and I play the tuba, I'm on staff and I adore my rookies. Literally the shortest person in the section but I love the jokes they're all good fun.

Something about my face screams to people to tell me all about their relationship woes/stories and I honestly don't mind I love getting to know them a bit more. I'm not huge on physical touch but I'll warm up to it if you're a close friend. Very fluent in sarcasm but I know when to pull back. My friends would say I'm very dependable and chill. My love languages are words of affirmation and quality time.

I love to bake when I have the supplies, huge marvel nerd movies + comics, I'm horrible at finishing tv shows I either binge it all in one night or it'll take me 5 months to finish one season, tysm!

i ship you with sebastian vettel!

— ok so i know seb isn’t technically on the grid anymore and he’s kind of old BUT if we’re talking younger red bull seb omg this is SPEAKING to me !! you seem like such a go with the flow person but at the same time super ambitious and just like you know exactly what you want ?? if that makes sense ?? correct me if i’m wrong but that’s the vibe i’m getting from this 😭 and i feel like red bull seb would ADORE that

— ok you have no idea how much i love this imaginary dynamic but i’m picturing seb being totally infatuated with you before you guys get together, and i’m talking like he’ll follow you around, flirt shamelessly and basically just do classic seb things, but (at first) you’d shoot him down every. single. time. mostly just because you find it funny watching him tie himself into knots BUT ALSO maybe because you’re a little intrigued 😏😏 i can imagine you’d keep up this pretence for a while wondering when seb will finally have had enough and move onto his next conquest, BUT WHEN HE DOESNT you begin to think that maybeee this guy is worth sticking your neck out for 😏

— of course once you guys are together, the shameless flirting still won’t stop. i mean who are we kidding it’s sebastian vettel being a flirt is part of his genetic makeup 😭 but you have this superpower where you can just not react and it’s so funny because seb will turn it into some kind of competition to see who’ll crack first (you always win 😉) honestly you guys are the funniest couple ever but in the driest kind of way. i genuinely love you both. if this was real you’d be my otp (i’m getting too invested 😔)

— mini head cannon bc i forgot to add it in before: seb is fully convinced you’re the smartest person on earth and if anyone argues otherwise he will FIGHT them. even if they’re arguing einstein is smarter he’ll still do it. the guy honestly worships you and it’s hilarious (but also v cute 🥹)

— you’re definitely kind of seb’s mental health support 😭 like he’ll tell you everything that goes on in his team, and i mean everything (even when he’s not supposed to 🤫) when he has a bad race, you’re there to listen to him and let him just vent out all his frustrations. when he has a good race, you’re always there to lift him up. i feel like the kind of mutual understanding you guys have is really rare. like, the kind of bordering on telepathy understanding where you can just tell how the other is feeling from one look 🥹 of course, seb’s a gentlemen so he always works hard to give you everything you could possibly want in a relationship. even despite his busy schedule, he always makes sure to take you out on lots of cute, thoughtful dates, and even sends you little notes throughout the day just to remind you how much he loves you 🥹 honestly he’s so cute i adore him

— and a final bonus headcannon !! i feel like seb himself can be a bit of a nerd when it comes to certain things (we’ve all seen him in grill the grid, the guy just absorbs knowledge) even though he may not be a marvel fan originally, when he finds out you are, he works sooo hard to get caught up with all the movies and the comic lore so he can talk to you about it 🥹 then of course come the marvel movie nights (instigated by him) where you literally stay up for hours bingeing as many of them as possible (seb definitely gets so invested and cries at infinity war and endgame 😭) he just wants to spend as much time with you doing things you love as possible !! 🥹🤍

[edwinspaynes]

I just finished reading your essay on Alastair and Matthew, which is perfect (I'll probably use it as a ref when re-reading tlh). While reading the part about Alastair and Elias, and how his alcoholism ruined his son's childhood, I started questioning why he never really tried to stop, at least for the sake of his family. I mean, in canon, before tlh, Elias is said to be a great shadowhunter, who defeated a greater demon, and accomplished great things. And I was wondering, if maybe the trauma of the murder of Jonah was a catalyst for his alcoholism? We know he married late (by shadowhunter standard), and was even ready to get rid of Cortana. That's why I'm questioning if, maybe he became depressed after the event of 1872.

Of course I am not condoning his actions, but I'm really intrigued by why he never really tried to get better, for the sake of his wife and children. According to Cordelia -who was extremely sheltered by her mother and brother- Elias was the best father, who was sometimes sick. Which makes me think that, without the alcohol, he would have been a good father (to a certain level). Was the trauma (if that is the reason) so difficult to bear?

Sorry, if it's too long, but I'm really trying to understand Elias, and his motives. How come a great shadowhunter (that everyone calls a hero) and up being the worst?

Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed the essay!

I personally find Elias to have been a little odd and skeevy even before having kids. It's possible, however, that I'm reading too much into it. But he seemed intent on talking about Jem as dead when he tried to give Will Cortana, and it came across as callous to me even before TLH was released. His coming to the Institute to try to take Jem away was also odd considering that Jonah had died many moons before he deigned to appear. Jem already had a parabatai. So I don't think Elias really was ever going to be a "good" father.

I'm an only child, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Cordelia and Alastair have a very common dynamic for children in an abusive household. Cordelia's the golden child that the abuser dotes on (though, as we see in ChoI, he's abusive to her as well in a more covert way). Alastair is the black sheep that Elias parentifies and is overtly cruel to. This seems to be a pretty common thread in many abusive families including a couple of people I know in my own life.

The timeframe also is odd here. It seems that Elias, while probably being a drunk for years before that, did not become super abusive until Alastair was 10. So there must have been a secondary catalyst somewhere in there to spur his abusive behaviors. I do think it's very possible that he was very traumatized by Jonah's death, but the murky timeframe makes me think that the drinking didn't begin as a result of it (though it is very possible - grief works in odd ways).

I don't know where Elias became an asshole. But I think it was earlier than we think. And it's also a good idea to keep in mind that assholes can do heroic things sometimes, and it doesn't make them good people.

Thanks for the ask! I'm definitely down to talk about this more.

[strangertheories]

I'm scared byler is going to be endgame because of the interview where Finn said he's going to confess his love to El in season 4. Do you know why he would say that, unless mileven is endgame 😢 

Thanks for the ask anon (:

Ok first of all, I'm going to assume you meant you're scared Byler isn't going to be end game, considering the rest of your ask. I think it's important to remember that this is just a cast interview and their relationship is an ongoing plot point from s3 so it makes sense that they'd talk about it. It was also never mentioned that the confession was romantic, just that there'd be a scene about it. Also, this is a marketing event, so of course they're going to throw some ambiguous hints about one of, if not the, biggest ship in the fandom. Plus, and you can correct me if I'm wrong on this, but he never explicitly said it was a love confession, just that it was a confession that was going to be tackled. Finn has obviously been answering questions about Eleven and his relationship in S4 for a while as well and he's been a lot more pessimistic in other interviews and there's still more to come as well. He could very easily just be saying a pre-planned answer that's vague enough to intrigue people.

However, please don't get sad or scared about this ship. I'm glad you're passionate about the characters, but it's not worth getting upset over. This isn't hugely about your ask, but I feel as though there is a general vibe of unhappiness and stress in the Byler parts of this fandom and I just want to let everyone know that whilst Byler would be nice, don't let a ship spoil your enjoyment of the show. I made a post about this before (which is what inspired me to answer this ask), but basically the show is a lot more than just ships. I'm really tired of getting asks about if I will stop watching if Byler isn't canon or if I think the show will be ruined if Byler isn't canon. Ships should make you feel excited for the show, not ruin it. Whenever there is a vague clue that Mike is staying with Eleven this season, everyone gets super upset and pessimistic (I get the asks even if I don't reply to them all). I THINK IT SHOULD BE CANON SO PLEASE STAY HOPEFUL but on the other hand, I don't want people to get upset whenever there is a setback.

I mentioned in the last paragraph that I do get asks about this sort of thing, but I tend to avoid answering them. I'm not the most optimistic of people in general, so I always worry that I'm going to bring down the vibes or upset people. Also, sometimes I just can't be bothered to respond as there's lots of creators who will have already answered the question in a much more eloquent and optimistic way than I would've, like @hawkinsschoolcounselor, @demadogs, @kaypeace21 and many others.

I originally wasn't going to respond to this ask, but I'm taking it as an opportunity to remind everyone to stay happy and hopeful and also just to explain to any of my followers who sent me an ask why I didn't respond. Sorry this response wasn't very helpful <3 I hope you have a great day and to all my fellow Bylers out there, try not to get upset (:

[dexpairs-blog]

The obey me cast meeting Bayonetta

Based on a convo with @hey-its-spades

Ok first things first, let's assume that she ended up in the devildom for some reason, nobody knows how but whatever hdksgdks-

Lucifer

Who is this sassy woman??

Doesn't trust her.

Oh, Bayonetta insulted his fashion sense.

He's offended (and in his demon form)

Bayonetta takes it as a challenge and absolutely destroys Lucifer, now he's humiliated.

He dislikes how sassy she is but he'd be lying he he didn't admit that he's oddly attracted by her boldness.

Btw no, he ain't cheeting cause he loves MC.

Would like her better if she didn't give him such a hard time.

Is very interested in learning about Umbra witches.

Mammon

A w-witch!?

He's shaking in his boots.

Bayonetta takes notice of this and starts teasing him.

He thinks he's gonna die but then she just flicks his forehead and leaves him dumbfounded.

Very flustered when she does,, her poses.

He actually likes her?? She's not mean to him (and he's not in debt with her, poor Enzo-)

Bayonetta LOVES teasing him, she thinks it's so cute seeing him blush.

Doesn't spend much time around her, sure she's nice to him but she's still a witch and he's scared.

Jealous when Bayonetta whisks MC away from him.

Leviathan

He's intimidated but attracted to her at the same time.

Thinks she's really cool!!

Stops functioning when Bayonetta takes advantage of his shyness to tease him, mCPLEASESAVEHIMHEDOESNTKNOWWHATTODOOHFUCKGWKDG

He's too shy to talk to her so he keeps his distance.

He's jealous of how confident she is.

"it's not fair!!"™

Super flustered by her boldness.

Despises her when she takes MC with her to visit the Devildom.

Satan

A witch? Ok cool, will she bother his reading time? Yeah? He's pissed.

He's grumpy because she interrupted him while he was reading.

Likes Bayonetta's boldness but it also pisses him off.

OH GOD SHE'S ROASTING HIS FASHION SENSE- YALL H I D E

After the hol is destroyed...

He dislikes her.

Asmodeus

Oh my~! Who is this gorgeus lady?

He loves how bold she is.

Have you seen how ahe beat the crap outta Lucifer???

MAAM STEP ON HIM PLEASE.

He found a new shopping buddy.

Lives for her fashion sense.

The two of them are always playfully flirting with eachother.

"YES QUEEN"

SELF CARE NIGHTS SELF CARE NIGHTS SELF CARE NIGHTS SELF CARE NIGHTS SELF CARE NIGHTS SELF CARE NIGHTS SELF CARE NIGHTS SELF CA-

MC and Solomon are joining as well.

Beelzebub

Oh? A witch? Is she nice? Yeah? Cool 😊

Is slightly uncomfortable when Bayonetta flirts with him, luckily she gets the hint right away and stops.

She's still gonna call him "big boy" tho.

They don't really interact much??

He's gonna ask her what foods they have in her world.

They get along well tbh.

Belphegor

Doesn't care.

Oh, the witch snatched MC away from him.

He's FUMING.

Like fr, he's pissed.

Mans walks up to her snatches MC right back and walks back to his room.

Finds her extremely annoying.

This brat will purposely ignore her, Bayonetta ignores him back lol.

Diavolo

He's thrilled to meet her!

Saw Lucifer's ass wooping and he was laughing.

Doesn't really care when she flirts with him and politely turns down her advances.

Invites her for tea at the castle so she can learn more about the Devildom.

VERY intrigued by her powers, ESPECIALLY the demon limbs!!

Wants to meet Madama Butterfly. (I think that's her name, correct me if i'm wrong)

Barbatos

Oh gosh w h y.

Doesn't really have an opinion on her except the fact that he doesn't trust her at all.

Went on protective dad (and husband 😡) when he heard that she slays angels.

She's not allowed to take a step in purgatory hall.

Don't even try to lay a hand on his son and his husband you witch.

Dislikes her now.

Bayonetta gets the message and the two have a silent mutual agreement to not bother the other.

Simeon

Haha:)

"you lay a FINGER on my son, and you'll face the wrath of the whole celestial realm :)"

Fr he hates her but he keeps the nice angel facade.

Simeon you just threatened her tf

They don't really interact, 1 bc Barbs doesn't want to 2 bc Simeon doesn't want to.

He doesn't want to take this risk.

Luke is under strict surveyllance at all times now.

He's scared ok??

Luke

He's scared by her.

He TRIES to be nice to her but he's shaking in his boots.

Runs to MC and stays by their side.

Simeon covers his eyes when she transforms lol

Bayonetta thinks he's very cute tho lol.

She may or may not have given him a headpat before leaving ❤️

Bayonetta actually likes kids (you can't) change my mind.

Solomon

"Cereza! Long time no see!"

Yes he knows her.

They get along well lol.

Also playfully flirting 24/7 but more subtle lol.

They LOVE to tease MC.

Chaotic besties??

Idk what to say gajsgsksv.

[bookwyrminspiration]

is it still council-hating hours? even if not, this is something that's been bothering me for....so long. and i am going to explode if i don't say it right now. (In fact i actually have a doc titled "council incompetence rant" that is. getting a little long.)

One of the things that annoys me the most in Keeper is how utterly incompetent the Council is. They are shit at their jobs! They don't make sense! And that would be fine if that was something that was explored and talked about in the story, but it's not?

Like, sure, it's brushed on a little, but Keeper never goes in-depth in order to explain just how flawed and corrupt the system is! We have no idea how far the rot goes because we haven't been given a chance to see how far it goes, and despite the earlier books being really great setup for all kinds of plots and discussions surrounding the Council, it feels like Messenger is completely dropping that in favor of..."Neverseen Bad, Council + Black Swan Good". Which I call fucking bullshit on, by the way, because this series has gone to pretty decent lengths before to show that it's not the case! So WHY are we getting to that now?

Well, I think all of this is the symptom of a bigger problem.

Note: I don't want to be mean, and please tell me if I'm being too critical here, but this series has some serious problems actually delivering on what it's saying.

Like, it's trying to tell us that Sophie shouldn't be doing all this because she's a kid, but then it treats her very own existence as a project as background information when that should absolutely be at the forefront (like it was in earlier books)!

It's trying to tell us that discrimination against the Talentless is bad, but then every single member of it's cast has an ability, has a strong ability, and regularly uses their ability! Even Dex, who could have easily been talentless and good with tech, gets to be a Super Good Gadget Person thanks to his ability as opposed to his own creativity and ingenuity.

It's trying to tell us that maybe banishing children is bad, but also tells us that Exillium is now """fixed""" because Oralie gave them...better tents? Food? And never touches on the fact that children are still. getting. banished. It doesn't explore Tam's anger in detail, Linh is only there to be the token asian girl, it does nothing to fully dispel any thought of the Council being alright.

And it's trying to tell us that the Council fucks up, it's showing us that Councillors have no problem being incredibly selfish and violent and so many other terrible things, but that never changes. Nothing in Keeper is changing. It is only maintaining the status quo!

I'm confused as to what Messenger is trying to tell her readers! Are the Council good or bad? Is working with the Council good or bad? Are the Black Swan and Neverseen actually morally grey? Should I be angry at what's happening in these books? Am I meant to look at all the rot and shrug because "that's just how it is"?

And like...I wouldn't be mad if Keeper was just...bad! I mean, I would, but I wouldn't be as distraught! What really grinds my gears is that Keeper has the chance to be good. It has the chance to do great things - and at times it absolutely does! - but it keeps reinforcing belief in a deeply flawed and broken system that is regularly hurting people. And those examples were just off the top of my head!

And again, if this was explored within the series, that would be amazing, but the problem is that it's...not. And that's just...a real fuckin' shame, honestly.

- pyro

(sorry if this was like...too angry? i started and then kinda just...couldn't stop. i should probably get a hobby that's not tearing a middle grade series apart. oops.)

it may have been over a week since you sent this (thank you for being patient with me!!), but fuck yes it is still council hating hours. it is always council hating hours in this household that is not actually a house. (also that incompetence rant sounds intriguing)

yes! you are right! they are so bad at what they're supposed to be doing it's like they're just figures for people to look to and say "yea they'll take care of it" to keep everyone else from acting out! but it's really interesting to see a government so awful and incompetent be such an integral and influential part of the story...without acknowledging that they're actually really bad? I know in Unlocked there's a line where Shannon says something like "Sophie had to figure out who the bad guys were: the black swan? the council? someone else entirely?" but then it's never touched on again that I can remember. Thinking through the series, I honestly can't think of a situation that the council, of their own volition, saw was an issue and corrected in a way that was beneficial to those who needed it. Like yea, Oralie gave money to Exillium, but that was after Sophie chewed her out about it. I think i've said it before but in case not: it feels like they've taken the "for the good of the many over the good of the few" ideology too far in a society that doesn't work for. If someone threatens the majority (and often that's just in appearance only) they get rid of them to preserve the image of the rest. It doesn't care about their people, it cares about the majority of people feeling undisturbed.

considering Sophie is part of a huge organization created literally because their society, led by that system, isn't working for a lot of people, they (the Black Swan) sure do go along with the council a whole lot. I think one of the linked posts in one of my masterposts is specifically about how making the Black Swan work so closely with the council screwed them over and completely undermined everything they were working towards. I'm going to make a very vague comparison here, but the Black Swan feel like "we need to fix the system" while the Neverseen are "the system is broken lets start over" (except the Neverseen added a lot more violence into the mix). It's absolutely infuriating to have them working side by side: one, because the Black Swan aren't accomplishing any of their goals and should cut their losses and go back to being mysterious underground groups with more freedom to move (in my opinion), but two, because it makes the council seem like it's trying to fix things when really it feels like a publicity thing to make the public think they're addressing the rebel issue while they're really just showing up in places and causing problems. And!! that's another thing! it feels like their collaboration with the Black Swan is to address the problem of having rebels, not the problems these rebels have identified and are trying to fix. Unfortunately, it seems the council is getting their way more than the Black Swan, getting them to act more legally and work closer with less room for working outside the system. if that makes sense.

considering it's literally stated in unlocked that there is no "good" and "bad," there does seem to be a lot of focus on associating the Black Swan with being Right, and the Neverseen with being Wrong. I can hope that it's the outward reactions to the Black Swan realizing they've done some fucked up stuff (Sophie) and are now overcompensating and trying to make sure their every move is the correct one. But I do think it will be interesting to see if Sophie makes the connection in canon (as she's already started to) that there isn't always a right option, there's just the best you can do with a situation and the Black Swan's insistence that she was "in the wrong" (a summary) helps her realize her own values and think through their decisions with her own perspective instead of just trusting them

response to your note: you're fine! you bring up a good point that this book sounds like it wanted to be a unique perspective (by having the "good guys" also be questionable and give the "bad guys" reasonable motives) but the execution misses the mark for a lot of us. so you're qualms and observations are entirely valid and I don't think you're being mean at all! I think you're expressing a frustration you have with something, which I support and encourage.

at times it feels like Shannon bit off more than she could chew in terms of all the complicated things she could get into when it comes to this series. not saying she's doing a bad job or a horrible author or anything, just that there are some things she introduced that kind of get left behind or unexplored because there's so much else going on. I think we can see that in the whole being experiment part of Sophie life. we saw sophie was uncomfortable with it in the first few books and would sometimes bring it up, but I personally would've been more satisfied if she'd either taken the time to process it (opposed to her think about that later strategy) or come to the realization that no, she isn't okay with it and she deserves to have her thoughts on the matter heard. she was literally created to serve someone elses purpose, and brought into the fight too early at that. and yet it's treated like an "oopsie, guess we just gotta go with it" thing, like this minor part of her story when I bet her thinking about it for more than a minute at a time would absolutely wreck her. but I'm getting caught up in this, so moving on!

I think we can see it in the talentless too, as it's treated like a "that doesn't affect me" thing for Sophie. because she doesn't have any friends that are talentless right now--the closest she's got is Marella, who I think is still legally considered talentless with her pyrokinesis. it's been acknowledged that she doesn't think the way talentless are treated is right, but it doesn't impact her right now so she's not really doing anything about it. maybe if this was brought back later with someone like Jensi, then that would be a satisfying conclusion to this issue (not a conclusion, but it wouldn't be left hanging, if that makes sense). And I can understand the benefit of leaving things open to go back and explore later from a writers perspective, but at a certain point it becomes more of a hindrance to the story than anything else.

and exillium! I have so many thoughts on Exillium that I actually started talking about it earlier in this post. They're not doing anything unless prompted and what they do is the bare minimum. With the tents and the food, they aren't fixing Exillium, they're making it into what it should've been at the very least were they going to actually go down that route. So I can't praise them for it when it's just basic decency to provide literal children with food and shelter when you force them to be somewhere they don't want to. But all this doesn't fix Exillium, because the problem is that it exists in the first place. The problem is that the council saw children who were struggling, and decided the best thing to do with them was to just get them out of the way for everyone else. Three coaches total for leadership? yeah, there's no way that place was ever supposed to be "alternate learning" or however Oralie phrased it, that was just so you could say you hadn't completely abandoned them in the middle of nowhere.

you're so right about the council fucks up bit--I think the most obvious example of this is with Sophie's ability restrictor. Yea, she's not wearing it anymore, but that's not because the council changed their minds. It's because she broke the law and the didn't punish her for it. this is a great example of how things keep trying to move forward, but the council isn't doing anything to stay up with it. "they are selfish and violent[...] but that never changes." yes!! this!! you put it so well! the council is still the same old council that we saw in book one, concerned with their own interests and their own views, just trying to mitigate the damage Sophie and her friends are capable of doing to their system. Note: the fact that a handful of teenagers who haven't even graduated can do this much damage might be telling of the structural integrity of their system. Bronte and Terik did a little flip, and Alina replaced the Now Crispy Kenric, but aside from that nothing has changed.

I will say, I personally don't want it to be clear who the good guys and bad guys are. (not saying that's what you're asking for! just piggybacking off your comment on the confusion). I'm glad that the characters make me think and I'm grateful there isn't just the "we're good and they're bad" element you see in other stories. not that that's bad, i just think realistically they'd be more complex and their simplicity grows repetitive after a while. But like I said, at times it feels like there's too much going on for there to be a clear message, which in and of itself could be the message. i could be seeing something where there's nothing, though. I think part of it might be Shannon trying to take on all these complex narratives and perspectives with a limited perspective (as in she only has Sophie to tell the story through), while also needing to make it enjoyable and palletable to a young audience.

and I agree with you! I think it's a lot of the potential we see not being used that makes us so infuriated (or me at least). Because there are some stories yo uread where you're like "ah. it's just one of those stories. cool." and you move past it. Because you know it's going to have a set perspective and you know it's going to accomplish what it wants, but Keeper seems to have so many possibilities and Shannon's getting stuck in this rut of good and bad after so long. maybe we'll get out of it in the next book with sophie thinking the Black Swan was in the wrong, but I also wouldn't be surprised if that Didn't Happen.

it's just like what i was saying about Ro! There's all these opportunities for these characters and this world to be really explored and fleshed out and complex, but we've gotten stuck in this romance drama and loosing fights again and again with little progress. All their actions are undoing the Neverseen's actions and counting it a victory because no one is dead. I just think there could be so much more that we're not getting because the story tried to go too broad when it wasn't ready for it.

this response got very long but in essence: I agree with your assessment of the story. is frustrating to see so many of the details and paths we'd like to see explored that often aren't in fiction just pass us by.

there is a special place for keeper in my heart and I will always appreciate it for that, but I also mourn what it could've been.

(also: you are not too angry! you have genuine thoughts about this series and they deserve to be heard! we are allowed to have complaints, even about the things we like. we don't have to appreciate every single aspect and we're allowed to be mad at the things we don't like.)

[myth-carver]

Brief thoughts on c3e1 and the new folks........

Overall: Eh, it was okay. CR has a winning formula with their style of actual play, they're almost always a joy to watch onscreen and that was no different last night, but I came away feeling more like I was watching a oneshot or another ep of ExU rather than the new Critical Role campaign proper. Not super into the new cast and very disappointed that literally half the table is reused people we've seen before -- I enjoyed ExU's cast but that was sold as a separate thing and seeing them here is jarring, especially absent the rest of the Crown Keepers. Between reused characters, all the new permanent changes to the format, not even being 100% certain who in this cast is going to stay or later go at this point... It just kinda feels weird :/ But I'm excited for the Marquet setting and it took me a really long time to warm up to the c2 cast too, and it's early days yet. So I'm willing to have my mind changed, and fortunately for me, I'm more a fan of the cast themselves than any particular characters they've played anyhow. Taking a wait and see approach overall.

Imogen: She seems sweet, I love her character design, I'm very partial to purple hair lmao. Other than that I don't find her that interesting so far but Laura is a good RPer so she'll probably be fun to watch. Maybe she'll be able to join Orym in stewarding the group's brain cell lol.

Laudna: Marisha's doing an accent??????? She sounds amazing and I love the performance. Laudna certainly has a lot of intriguing stuff going on, I enjoy a character with mysteries to dig into. She doesn't inspire me fannishly but I'll look forward to finding out what her deal is. I'm ngl I'm super disappointed that all three of our girls this time are really femme though.

Ashton: Kintsugi earth genasi is an absolutely inspired concept that I hope Taliesin patted himself on the back for a lot because he Earned It. That said, aggressive punk with anger/authority issues is a trope I find super super annoying and he's already rubbing me the wrong way constantly :/ I hate that I'm just not into the only human-adjacent nonbinary character on the main cast, it really sucks. It's also driving me crazy how much the colors of his costume intensely do not match his green and purple and gold body even slightly lmao, it's really unpleasant to look at.

FCG: This is now an FCG hate blog, lol not really but holy shit I hate this character so much, Mr. Riegel I'm literally already tired of your joke character after less than 1 episode idk how I'm going to endure a whole campaign of them. Liam why would you do this to us 😩 a lot of people seem to love them a lot so lmao I'm anticipating for me this is going to be a Caduceus situation where my resentment of the character increases due to never being able to get away from posts about him. I don't want any more robots on my fantasy show, if I wanted robots I'd go watch an actual play of a sci-fi tabletop game instead...

Orym: Best boy from ExU returns, which is cool since I super wanted to know more about him in ExU, but wow does it suck they decided to actively make ExU a worse show by not going into half the cast's backgrounds and leaving it literally an incomplete story to accommodate bringing these cast members into c3. If that was the whole purpose of ExU why not just announce that instead of being coy like this??? The way ExU ended left a really bad taste in my mouth and honestly dampened my interest in seeing more of these characters. That said though, my love for Orym at least somewhat remains and Liam is usually the cast member whose character taste matches my own the most, I look forward to seeing where he takes Orym in the future. Also, if our speculation about his OOC origins during ExU turn out correct, cool to have the first gay male character on the main cast.

Dorian: Other best boy from ExU and a surprise appearance by Robbie! All three of the ExU folks I thought meshed with the CR style amazingly and it's fun to get to see him again. Very curious what dirt FCG apparently seems to have on him. And I wonder when we finally get to learn his real name... 👀

Fearne: I overall don't like Ashley's RP, which I know is ironic because I love Yasha so much lmao. But I feel like Fearne is, of everyone Ashley's played on stream, the character that seems to most match with her personal style and comes most naturally to her, it's fun to see her RP with such confidence. She's really good at invoking the fey vibe, both the sweetness and comedy and the undertone of menace. That said, Fearne's general behavior hammers my secondhand embarrassment squick absolutely like crazy lmao and it's going to be rough to have to watch that for an extended period, I find her frequently almost painful to watch tbh. I'm excited that a fey in the main cast means we'll be seeing Feywild stuff though!!! Maybe even my eladrin warlock's old patron Lady Elmenore 👀

Bertrand: Sorry man I didn't care about you in the oneshots and I still don't lmao, too obnoxious for me. It heavily seems like he's here as a guest though -- I just hope this doesn't herald something weird like Travis finishing his appearance and then bowing out of the cast, please bring a second character when you're done being an NPC Travis don't go away :(

[lucidpantone]

Same as your last anon I think there's not really much to talk about from wtFOCK and I think that's because they haven't even use well their resources, they fuck it up with Kato season and they haven't aknowledge that so there's only bad things you can discuss on that angle and it becomes frustrating, then they have Sobbe and Zoenne but they haven't really made anything on them and I get that next season is about Yasmina but they could use them as a way to recover fans (not the best option on my opinion) but they totally could do better than candles, plants, fairy lights or red post's, now there's Yasmina is her season and if we are correct we have a month to go so why no use her? There's plenty of stuff they could do to make the fandom intrigued and exited about next season but honestly they don't seem to care is like they really think everything is/was ok, I totally respect and support if they trying to keep info/spoilers from being out because there's fans and extras that sometimes cross the line but one thing is that and a whole other thing is ignore the consequences of what they created for themselves and how that hurt fans plus literally doing nothing for the fans that still here trying to get exited about next season like even the ones we hated s4, we criticized the season and somehow get hurted by Kato and what her season represents, we still want they succeed on their next season we aren't asking for a skam Italia situation just an a ok work but they don't really seem to care at all so I came to the conclusion that in the end we are the problem, that it is my/our own fault for expect too much, I'm/we are probably giving them too much importance and we took this as so much more than what it really is, just another show.

I mean [I] think what their doing is what's expected sorta of. I have to compare them to the skamverse as a whole what did druck do for Nora’s season? It was a FaceTime from kiki and a couple of text and the trailer which wtfock does not do and has never done aside from the introduction to the series trailer they dont do trailers. But thats literally all druck did to lead into s5. Skamfrance s7 was once again the ridiculous trailer and then I think we had two text from anais. Thats it. Also they are posting in the last three days they posted Britt, Noor, Luca, Amber, Aaron and Moyo posted a pose selfie. Thats 6 character updates. I just feel like you some you guys just need to keep it 100% when you say they arent posting you mean they arent posting the characters you want to see which is Sobbe and Zoenne. I personally dont care about Zoenne give me Moyo updates over Zoenne updates any day of the week I literally could care less about Zoe and Senne(so am just over them at this point, like am happy their happy but IDC). Robbe posted 4 days ago as well. The actual person that I am 100% more concerned about posting is Yasmina. Sobbe I am like whatever about them they will post when they want am not like that worried about it. I am not a diehard Sobbe stan so I may be the wrong person to complain to anon. 

Like dont take me wrong I love sobbe I think they are super great and sweet but I am not like mourning not seeing them ya know(I miss them but i am not like in conflicted over it or anything)......Also i know they captured a ton of content last week so i am not worried about if we get any of it its there they are just holding back. The only person i really care about is Yasmina and I know these fuckers be playing me right now because we have got almost nothing on her now and this am about to throw hands over. Like they better make baby girl’s bday super important which i already sorta of know a little about the social content that day so we will see. Once again it depends what materializes. Also I am kinda of in the mindset if you need sobbe/zoenne content to engaged with yasmina’s season maybe this season isnt for you because the priority is a muslim woman of color not her white counterparts and if thats whats motivating you to engage with the season maybe this isnt your party. Thats my two cents. This season is about yasmina everyone else is just here to support her and be an addition to her season not take her shine. NOW GIVE ME A YASMINA POST!!!! (of her face btw)

[enhas-bestie]

HIIII!!! How r uuuu!?!

I could just now read the latest chapter and omfg I am just so intrigued as to how this will all pan out,,,

my brain decided to stop working so I can’t even make good theories so instead of saying something & maybe getting it wrong I will say nothing but I rlly rlly liked this chapter bff!!!

I hope u r doing well & taking care of urself!! Have a nice day/night <333

🍓anon

Hi hi!!

omg I promise I wasn't ignoring you I just wasn't sure if you wanted me to reply back to you bc you forgot to turn on anon!! So I was hoping you'd see this ⬇️ but I don't think you did😭

And I'm so glad you liked the previous chapter!! As always, thank you sm for reading🤍 Don't worry, I feel like things are getting a bit predictable so ur theory is probably correct anyway🤣😭

Updates are super slow rn bc it's last week of the term so assignment are just piling up one after the other💔I think I may be able to try an get an update out soon tho🤩

Thank you for dropping by💞 And also!! I hope you're doing really well too and taking care of yourself😇

[lady-snavely]

Sands of Time: Part Two

Year in Review

Pairing: Kuroo Tetsuro x Fem!OC

Warnings: mentions of death, swearing, mutual pining, all the fluff

A/N: reblogs are super appreciated

Time ticked by at an agonizing pace for Jade after that. The world changed, in some ways for the better, in others for the worse. She traveled because she had to. Faerie rule dictated she had to. She kept her heritage a secret because she had to.

After they became civil again, Nyra tried setting Jade up with a number of different Fae men. Jade, though she didn't have an interest in seeing anyone, humored her sister and at the very least would meet the men Nyra raved about. But her heart still yearned for Tetsuro.

Jade's latest story was that she was a part time college student, working full time at the local library. She still loved reading even after all this time. She'd only been working for a handful of weeks before the first term started. Online courses allowed her to easily complete classes for a degree she didn't need. It was more to pass time anyway. Jade insisted on taking the closing shifts, they weren't exactly the greatest shifts as they were typically slower, but she didn't mind.

The start of term brought on an increase in activity. Students of all walks came in to study, both on their own and in groups. It was on one slower day, in the middle of the week that a rather large group had come in, ten in total. They were all first years, not that it bothered Jade any, she was considered a first year in the eyes of the university as well.

They were a curious bunch with a number of subgroups making up the larger group. It was obvious rather quickly that some of the members had known each other for a long time, while others had only recently been acquainted. Regardless of the differing dynamics they all got along well and, outside of general questions, stayed out of Jade's hair.

They quickly became regulars over the term. They met three times a week, sometimes it was just two or three of them, but usually there were at least five of them who came. It was rare that all ten showed up on the same night.

By the time midterms rolled around she'd learned all of their names and how they knew each other. She caught on to some of their quirks as well. Like how Oikawa Tohru would whine to his boyfriend until he got his way which sounds annoying, and usually was, but Iwaizumi Hajime adored his boyfriend to no end even if he could be a bit harsh at times. Sawamura Daichi could be scary when he got mad but those moods were few and far between.

Kozume Kenma, a quiet boy who often had his phone or some handheld video game in his hand, had warned Jade to not mention Yaku Morisuke's height. Not that she would've without the warning seeing as he was just as tall as her when she was in Fae form.

Then there was Bokuto Kotaro, possibly one of the most energetic Humans Jade had ever come across. It wasn't uncommon for Jade to hear his voice bursting with energy when he came into the library. Akaashi Keiji had a preternatural ability to calm him however and after a couple of weeks Jade quit rushing towards the noise entirely.

The quietest of the bunch was Shimizu Kiyoko, she was also the only female in the group. She and Sugawara Koshi were exceedingly observant for Humans. Lastly, there was Kuroo Tetsuro. He didn't boast about it, but he was incredibly smart and had a knack for reading people.

Jade didn't care how it came to be that they had all come together. All she knew was that somehow, she and Kuroo were brought together again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was between her first and second term that Jade had to go home to her people. Her father was finally receiving a place on the Faery Council. It was something he'd been striving for for some time now. She stood with her siblings and mother, proud in the navy blue and sea foam green that were her family's colors. Around her were the families of other Council members, painting the floor in a splattering of colors.

The ceremony itself was routine and quick, Jade's father was given his pendant, he swore to uphold the rules of the Fae and drank from the ceremonial chalice with his fellow Council members.

Afterwards there was a banquet as well as music and dancing. Jade had humored her brother, the only son and youngest of the four siblings, and danced with him for a while before finally returning to her chair with a sheen of sweat on her brow and her heart racing in her chest. The table was vacant, not that it bothered her any, as she settled into her seat.

As much as the Human world intrigued Jade even after all of this time, it was freeing being home and surrounded by her own people again. Here where she didn't have to maintain her Humanoid form; here where she could be her true self. Even still her mind wandered to the Human boy who was probably hard at work on his summer assignments, if they weren't already completed that is.

With her mind elsewhere Jade didn't initially see her sister when she sat beside her until she cleared her throat. "Fawna, I apologize." Jade shook her head quickly to hide her embarrassment. Normally she would've seen her sister coming.

"Not necessary," Fawna grinned. "It must have been nice, whatever it was you were thinking of. You had a pleasant looking smile on your face. What were you thinking about? Or should I say: who?"

Jade gave Fawna a soft smile that was filled with guilt. "You caught me."

Fawna returned Jade's smile with one of her own. She was about a century older than Jade and did her best to understand the fixation with the Human boy. Fawna had been there to console Jade when Nyra had berated her for choosing to marry outside of their people so many years ago. "He's come into your life again, hasn't he?" The blush that colored Jade's cheeks was enough of an answer though Jade herself said nothing. Fawna held her hands out, palms up, and nodded her understanding. "What's he like this time?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jade's brother kept her company during her week-long stay. He did his best to keep her busy enough that she didn't have time to let her thoughts wonder but that didn't stop it from happening now and again. Sitting up late with her one night he was finally pulling together enough courage to say something when she spoke first.

"You probably think I'm weird too, don't you, Lark?" She asked as she turned her glass in her hands absentmindedly. "For having feelings for someone who is only here for what amounts to seconds of a Fae's life."

"Mother says you've always been intrigued by Humans." Lark shrugged after a moment. "I can't pretend to know what it is that draws you to them or what it is that keeps bringing the two of you together. Whatever it is, I know it's real, what you feel for him. I see it in the way your eyes shine when you talk about him; the way you always blush at the mention of him. You seem whole when he's around you again. But, no, I don't think you're weird, Jade."

Jade smiled across the table at her brother but said nothing. She stared at the glass in her hand, thinking. She and Lark, as the two youngest siblings, had always been the other's confidant. They told each other everything, so when she decided to integrate herself further into the Human's ways of living it had hurt both of them. She wasn't able to get away as often as she'd like since she had to keep up the life she created for herself. Lark had only visited her once since she started working at the library in the city and this was the first time she'd been home in years.

"You should come back with me," she said suddenly.

Lark gave her a dumbfounded look. "Excuse me?"

"I want you to see the city, Lark," Jade sighed, a content smile lighting her features. "Humans outdo themselves and they don't even realize it. Please, even if it's just a day or two."

He pondered the idea for a few silent moments. He had gotten lost twice the one time he'd visited her before, having gotten off at the wrong bus stop when he was looking for her apartment and then taking the wrong bus entirely when he was leaving. Despite those instances he'd enjoyed what he'd seen of the city even if it was just in panicked passing. Lark finally nodded. "After things settle down here," he decided.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kuroo Tetsuro was a wanderer when he needed a break from his studies. Jade would often see him looping the aisles of books, stopping on occasion to look at something that had caught his attention before he continued. She did her best to stay out of his way when he was doing this but there were times when the restocking had other plans and she would have to weasel past him with her cart.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone, though it wouldn't surprise him if Kenma or even Sugawara were already aware, but sometimes he ventured into an aisle for no reason other than that Jade was already in it. More than once he'd heard her humming a tune he recalled his mother used to sing him when he was younger.

The first time he'd heard it, the familiarity of it alone had drawn him into the aisle. Jade had smiled politely when she spotted him coming towards her. "Looking for something?" She wondered.

"Just taking a break, Miss Meadows," he replied with a shake of his head.

To his delight, Jade had laughed, shaking her own head as she slid a book into place on the shelf in front of her before she corrected him. "It's Jade. How was your vacation?"

"Relaxing." Kuroo glanced at the books on her cart and picked one up just to keep his hands busy. "I imagine it was pretty nice not having the study group here."

Jade's nose scrunched in a grimace as she shook her head. "I like having you guys around," she defended. "It gives me something to look forward to. But I actually took a week off to go home and see my family," she explained. "Nothing fancy but it was nice to see everyone again."

"Been a while had it?"

Jade had remained quiet for a moment as she pushed her cart a few paces to continue her work before she answered. "Yeah, a few years. It's my own fault," she added with a shrug when Kuroo's eyes widened in shock. "I like the city life and they don't."

Kuroo leaned against the shelving behind him with a small sigh. "That's too bad," he decided to say.

"Everyone has their preferences." Jade shrugged again. It was something she did a lot when talking about her family. "Well, don't let me be too much of a distraction. You're here for a reason, remember?"

"Yes ma'am." Kuroo grinned when she smacked his arm with a book. He was only a few steps away when he stopped. "Actually, that tune you were humming not too long ago, what was it exactly?"

"Just something my mom used to sing us when we were little," Jade answered without turning from the shelves in front of her.

Though she hadn't seen it, Kuroo had nodded before finally retreating back to his friends.

"Took you long enough," Yaku teased when Kuroo sat beside him. "Where'd you go this time?"

"Around," Kuroo answered simply. His mind was elsewhere, the tune from his childhood replaying over and over in his head. Sometimes it was his mother's soft singing that graced his memory and others it was Jade's quiet humming.

Iwaizumi was the first to say something when he heard Kuroo humming the tune. His ears perked at the familiar piece of music before his mind played catch up and his head snapped up suddenly. "What is it?" Oikawa wondered with a frown.

Ignoring his boyfriend Iwaizumi stared hard at Kuroo. "Why are you humming that lullaby, Kuroo?"

"Hmm? What?" Kuroo turned his gaze up from the book he was taking notes from.

"The lullaby mother's sing to their kids to get them to fall asleep. Why are you suddenly humming it?"

Kuroo frowned then. "I didn't realize I was."

"I see I wasn't the only one who noticed then," Sugawara noted with a faint smile. "It is kind of odd though Kuroo."

"Did going home over break remind you of it?" Yaku pressed.

"No, I heard Jade humming it when I was walking around."

The group shared looks of confusion. It was Oikawa who spoke first, his voice a hushed whisper that only they could hear. "Why on Earth would she know that song?"

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