#i actually think it would work somewhat better if it didn't happen until season 4

[potterandpromises]

One criticism I have of season 4 is that they retcon aspects of Sazz' character and her relationship with Charles. Like in the podcast they talk about the scene with Rex/Marshall when Sazz is confronting him about the script and Jane Lynch is saying how Sazz would never betray someone. But Sazz very much did steal Charles' girlfriend Cookie. That's not the same thing as what Marshall did, but she did do that and they were together for 20 years. That was very much a thing that happened.

[httyddragonfox]

The Horror of Callum's possession: Season 6 ed.

This has a different tone than season 4, and I'm more talking about the one he doesn't know about. Let's go back to the beginning:

Callum is super worried about Aaravos using him again, so he's gung ho on getting that pearl destroyed so Aaravos will no longer be a threat. Of course, no one is taking precedence on this like he is; Thinking it's better just to keep it safe in the secret dungeon. Callum cannot sleep, thinking about Aaravos controlling him again, seeing as they're technically in the same building now. Of course, Aaravos decides to confirm Callum's worries and controls him. He gets him to access the pearl, and gives him a vision of him being inside the prison while Aaravos smashes it. That's a blatant cue to Callum that Aaravos is going to use him to get out. Callum wakes up and sees that he's holding the pearl, which he knew he didn't go to sleep holding.

I'm surprised he didn't freak out all the way to Rayla's room. Rayla of course doesn't think it's anything serious, while Callum is scared now. He quickly hatches a plan to get Aaravos away from the people he cares about. He has Barius make some candy that looks like the pearl to act as a decoy while the real pearl is taken far away to the icy north, (hopefully to be destroyed), whilst covered with an anti-magic blanket so that Aaravos can't try anything.

[I.E. that must've been some plan of Callum's if Aaravos didn't want it enacted]

They make their way to the star-scraper, after telling the king the plan, assuring him he has nothing to worry about; the pearl will be far away from the kingdom.

Once at the Star-scraper, they discuss on how to destroy Aaravos/the pearl safely. They are told Aaravos cannot be killed. Rayla reacts with a simple, "Oh, that's why they imprisoned him." Meanwhile, Callum is devastated. He really wanted to be rid of this potential threat that would use him and hurt his loved ones. Now he knows he will always somewhat be around. This means that Callum will never be safe. Later on they get a prophecy saying "all I see for you is darkness."

Earlier on, Callum had a fight with Rayla. He admitted he did dark magic again, he knows how vulnerable he is to Aaravos' manipulations and he hates that fact. Now after that prophecy, he can't help but think about how Aaravos told him he'll be his one day. According to Callum, he can't sleep because he's too anxious. As Callum said, "he's ruined;" Callum thinks he's doomed to be Aaravos' puppet, knowing that there's no way to kill him, and he has darkness inside of him. Callum knows he's a threat to his friends and family.

Rayla tries to assure him that maybe they can just leave the pearl there, as at least it would be out of the way. They ask the celestial elves to help them, and this is where the horror part comes into play.

In the alternate future, Kosmo tells them that the pearl is actually fake. When Callum hears this, he realizes many things.

No one at Katollis knows the real prison is there, so they're no on guard in case someone comes for it.

Even if they had found a way to kill Aaravos, he wouldn't have been there to deal with. He escaped.

They went all this way to keep him far away from everyone, and that didn't work.

Thanks to Rayla (but I think he already knew), Aaravos controlled him again! Not only that...but he didn't even notice!

That's like being hacked but not even noticing until your friends start getting weird messages you never sent. Callum would feel he'd have no control, not even being sure when he does have control. Seeing as he can't notice when it's happening anymore.

They try to tell him about a ritual to cleanse the darkness from him so he won't be controlled anymore, but Callum would feel so violated and helpless that nothing could save him from being Aaravos' pawn. I'd feel like I'd mess that up too (maybe Aaravos would control me in the middle of it to keep me as his pawn or worse kill me).

Whelp...Kosmo decides not to tell Callum, because the better course of action would be to cleanse him to avoid Aaravos controlling him again.

Still it's terrifying knowing Aaravos could control him at any moment and Callum wouldn't even be aware of it.

If you want to read about how one might feel about the rest of the episode Link here

[jessjad]

Unexpected

Chapter 1

Summary: After a Halloweenparty Y/N actually didn't want to got to, her life seems to be turned around. The reason is a very stubborn Supe that seems to have her in his visier. Is it just a coincidance or more?

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x Reader

Word Count: 2041

Warnings: None really, some language

A/N: Hello! 😊 Finally, we're here. I'm still working on and changing the plot of the story, 'cause I have so many ideas in my head. ^^ I put my twist on the story and make my own out of it. Since we still haven't gotten a season 4. So, I hope you like it. We start out slow, but it will pick up pace. All mistakes are mine. Let me know what you think.

My Masterlist Series Masterlist

The cold november wind was blowing through the streets of New York while Y/N was on her way to her favorite café. She needed a good caffeine fix and a delicious croissant to calm her nerves. Since this stupid halloweenparty she felt somehow on edge. Almost as if somebody was following her, but she could not be sure about that.

It did also not help that her best friend Caroline was on the phone with her, trying to get as much information out of her as she could. They hadn't seen each other since the party. Luckily for Y/N she had two weeks off of work and used the first couple of days to hide in her apartment, still not believing herself for what she had done. Or better said, what she had let happen to her.

"Oh c'mon, girl! Spill the details! You can't hide forever." the other woman said with a laugh in her voice and Y/N had to smile.

"There is not much to tell." she tried, but her friend knew her to well.

"Of course there is! That guy was sooo hot! If I would have not been so busy with my man I would've take a chance with him too."

That Y/N believed right away. But not like her, Caroline was a little more blind about the supes, Vaught and everything that was related with it, than other people. She never really cared about those things. Maybe because she never lost someone to one of those cruel, reckless bastards.

"So? Did he ring your bell?"

"Oh god, Care! You wont give up, right." now Y/N had to laugh.

"No, I won't! That's why it's probably best for you to start at the beginning."

Y/N stepped through the door of the café and got in line.

"Let me get my order first and then I'll talk." she negotiated which Care agreed on.

It took almost ten minutes until Y/N took a set at an empty table in the back of the café where she was somewhat undisturbed. After the first sip of the rich coffee and a bite from the delicious croissant she was ready to tell her friend about the evening.

"If I wouldn't have drank that much nothing would've probably happend, but... somehow he got... under my skin."

Which was not a lie. She detested Soldier Boy and all of his kind. You were nowhere safe from them and if you did nothing but just look the wrong way at one of them, you surely would pay with your live. They never gave a fuck about normal people like she was.

"He seemed like a man who knows what to say and how to handle himself." said Care more serious now that she got the tea from her friend about her hot night.

"Yeah..." with that she was right. "We talked and talked and all of sudden we were looking for a place more quiet. I... I didn't want that at first but the alcohol got to me and the next thing I knew, we were in a bedroom, making out."

"Uuuhhh, now comes the good part." Caroline giggled.

"I'm not going into detail, but he knew what he was doing. Oh yeah... he definitely knew..."

And she didn't know why she was so surprised that Soldier Boy actually wanted her to have fun too. Even now when she thought about it how he made her cum three times, her core still started to quiver. Like he was in no rush to get it over with. It was something Y/N never had in her mind, not after the woman learned the hard truth about the supes and how they really were. But that night the "all american hero" seemed to have all the time in the world. Which was probably pretty true.

"See? I knew it was a good idea to drag you out of your apartment and go to this party. And I'm pretty sure the costume did help with that a lot. I told you you looked hot in it!" a very triumphed tone in Carolines voice was heard over the phone.

"Or maybe it was just luck... if you can call it like that."

The croissant was already devoured and she was in the last sipps of her coffee. At first she did not see it as luck that Soldier Boy had appeared, and even more less as he tried to get her attention. Y/N didn't understand why he wanted her, of all people there, and not one of the women that fitted more to the beautystandards these days. However, with every new drink her defense falterd and she gave in. It didn't help that he was so fucking attractive and the smile he had on his plush, sexy lips seemed to promise so much more. Or... she was just to drunk to say no in the end.

"When did you come home? I was kinda worried when I didn't hear from you and you did not pick up my calls."

"I know, Care. I'm still sorry for that. But when I wrote you back in the morning I just went through my door. Like I said, I totally forgot it that night."

And she had felt really bad about it. Y/N had promised to call her later that day but all the alcohol in her system had knocked her out all day and then it was Caroline who was busy with work. Hence, they had this conversation now, three days later.

Thinking about it, Y/N actually didn't want to stay with the supe in the bedroom all night, but he really tired her out and she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow while their heartbeats came down. When she woke up some hours later it was still dark outside and, to her surprise, Soldier Boy was still there, sleeping and with his arm rapped around her middle. It almost felt kinda possessively to her when she thought about it now. Gladly she didn't wake him up when she left.

"When will you see him again?" Care wanted to know, but Y/N just huffed.

"Never, I hope." and Y/N really meant it.

The night was really good, but she wouldn't want to risk another encounter with the supe that potentially could cost her her life. Not that he caused her much pain, but her body was covered in bruises and hickeys and on her right hip she had a blue and green mark that almost looked like a handprint from him.

"Oh, now that is pretty fucking hurtful to hear." rumbled a deep voice behind her suddenly.

In an old, dark and empty basement somewhere outside of New York, almost cut off from the world, gathered a group of men infront of multiple monitors and sifted through the footage from the surveillance cameras that were scattered throughout the city. On a table in the middle of the room were plans laid out and places marked. It looked like they slowly narrowed down an area around the Vought Tower.

"Still nothing?" said one of the men to another who was sitting infront of the monitors.

"No. It hasn't been long since they got him out of the tank or whatever they had him trapped in. It's not unusual that he hasn't been out in the public that often until now."

"But it won't be long until they will bring out the news of him being back in the buisness and when that happens, we won't have much time."

"I know, but what else are we supposed to do when..."

A loud bang rang through the room and all the heads turned to the source of the sound. Another man stood by the table and had slammed his hand down on it. Silence filled the room and some of the men changed some tense looks with eachother.

"Shut up talking and consentrate on the task here!"

"YES, SIR!" responded all the other men in the room and got immediately back to work.

"It doesn't matter if they tell the world that Soldier Boy is back or not. Once we have him in our hands... nobody will care for him anymore."

"Caroline? I... have to call you back."

Y/N hung up on her friend before she even could respond to that. The shock was written all over her face when she finally looked up and into the face of one green eyed supe that grinned cockily down on her. He was in normal clothes, the cowl of his hoodie was pulled over his head and he tried not to look around to much. Y/N knew why. He didn't want to be recognized by the other participants in the café. And she obviously took to long to answer him, 'cause he sat down on the other side of her table, the open space of the café in his back.

"What... what are you doing here?" now Y/N started to look around, but she didn't see anyone else from Vought. "Did you follow me?"

"Well, that doesn't sound quiet right, does it? As if I would've fucking stalked you. A real man doesn't do that."

Y/N just looked at him with wide eyes, still not really believing that she was sitting here with Soldier Boy. Again.

"I was just checking in on you. Seeing if you would walk around telling everyone that you had the best night of your live with the one and only Soldier Boy. But apperantly walking is now problem for you. Should've fucked you a little harder." Now Y/N knew it was definitely real that she was sitting here with the Supe. "Especially after you just left in the middle of the night and we didn't have time to discuss things."

"What is there to talk about? It was just a night, nothing else." an eerie feeling creeped up in her stomach, not knowing what the man infront of her actually wanted.

"Yeah, well... that might be true, but..." Soldier Boy leand a little forward. "... you know who I am. And that is the key here."

"I... I don't understand why this is a problem. It was halloween! I don't think that anyone recognized you. And I really have no intention whatsoever to keep contact to you. I mean, why even would I?"

Y/N saw in his eyes how a little anger flared up, but he kept himself in check. "You have a big fucking mouth for an ordinary girl that I could kill within seconds without even standing up."

Soldier Boy didn't raise his voice, but the threat was undoubtedly noticeable in his voice. During the halloweenparty Y/N had felt more comfortable to defy him, but now fear was starting to rise within her. It would not be a good idea to upset him here in a public place. A blast from his chest would not just kill her.

"Look..." she tried way more calmer. "... I don't think that we need to make a big thing out of this. I'm not gonna tell anybody. I really don't have the need to do so. And you can just go back to the way you lived before all that. Okay?"

She did not wait for his answer, grabbed her bag and got up. There was a bigger group of people that looked or a free table and Y/N was more than willingly to give her seat up. She smiled to them and pointed at her table. One of the men thanked her and made his way over. So, Soldier Boy had to get up too and while he was still trying to get away without being recognized, Y/N was already out of the café and looking for a taxi. She almost made it, but a big hand closed around her underarm and kept her from getting away.

Grumbling under her breath she turned around. "What else?"

"This is not over. You're can't just fucking leave like this." he growled.

"Oh, I think we're done here. I really don't want to see you again." answered Y/N and freed her arm out of his grip.

"Unfortunately that is not for you to decide." a female voice came from behind her.

Let the games begin. 🤭 See you next time!

@lyarr24 @leigh70

[a-iya]

hiii omg sorry things got super hectic towards the end of the work week and then i spent the weekend recouping and now it's literally been almost a week since you wrote this 😭

i'm surprised you weren't a movie person until you got into anime! i've always loved going to the theaters and it sucks how expensive tickets have gotten in recent years... especially with "special types" of showings like anime! even though i live in a place where anime is actually quite popular. it's so funny, i actually got super into anime because i took a chance on watching an anime movie in theaters (demon slayer mugen train back in 2021). i was hanging out with a friend; there was a movie she wanted to watch that i already watched and vice versa, so we decided to watch demon slayer since neither of us had seen it but we'd both heard good things about it (were not anime fans at the time). i ended up getting so emotionally attached to rengoku that i went back and PAID to watch it in theaters another 3 times after. movies are such an experience and they're so fun to go to! i guess it also depends on what genres you enjoy but i would definitely go more often if i had more free time (and it also wasn't so expensive nowadays ugh)

so you and your sister also have an age gap! my sister and i are 5 years apart so i think i understand the struggle, especially if you don't see your sister around that much because you've always been in different phases in your lives. it's great that you discovered interests on your own though. now that i'm thinking about it, i've come to realize that i've only ever developed interests in things that other people have introduced me to first; i don't really go out of my way to find out about new things. character flaw i suppose 😭 thank you i'm actually going to write this down, this could be a topic of interest once i decide to start going to therapy again lmao

you've watched so much anime! not me thinking i've watched a lot when i literally could not hold a candle to your list (i have 22, 1 of which i'm still trying to find the will to keep watching) 🤡 it's so cute that you have your list in a notebook too. you have no idea how many attempts i've made at being a journal/planner girl. try as i may, i'm just not built like that 😔 i'm also a lame anime-only type because i don't have the attention span/patience and i cannot be bothered to read words or manga 🥲 i somehow always run into spoilers online though (and/or look them up myself cause it makes me anxious to not know what happens 💀) so i've given up on trying to be spoiler-free as an anime only lmao

also i know the main point of your anime list was obviously which anime you've watched but i couldn't help but notice on your profile that your birthday is actually before mine! i thought we might've been birthday neighbors kinda (since i was somewhat stalking your blog to see if i really did miss it or if you just didn't make it a whole big thing lol), but it's right after my fav character, cinnamoroll's <3

anyway, now i'm wondering if the anime list site is better than my personal spreadsheet and if i should make a profile of my own. on one hand, it's nice to see everything neatly compiled into different categories and view all your stats and fav characters and VAs in one place. but on the other hand, i'm really strict about what i consider to be "watched" and what i don't, and i care a lot about logging things correctly (e.g. i don't want something to be marked as completed on jun 10, 2024 when i finished it in may of 2022 💀). but i don't really care for rating animes and i also don't like if they separate different parts of one show because of their release type (e.g. the haikyuu is part of the haikyuu show, it's not a separate thing just because it came out as a movie 😭)

yikes okay clearly i am very anal and particular so i will just stop here but back to haikyuu: i am hoping i have the opportunity to sloth this week and binge watch the 4 seasons + movies + other but honestly i'm not sure if i'll be able to before the theaters stop showing the movie ;-; i've been trying to start but my timing up till now hasn't been right. i guess we will see! i'll definitely be in your inbox once i start to get familiar with the show! <3

Hiii ＼(ﾟ∀ﾟ)／

Sooo what do you think about the Haikyuu! Movie without knowing anime? 😀

(I'm sending this ask to discuss our impressions in the comments (and recommend this series a bit haha)

Have a nice day ♡

hiiii!! i didn't realize this was going to become a full-on essay so 💀 apologies in advance for the long-windedness. i don't blame you if you don't feel like reading all the way through lmao (there is a tl;dr at the end if that's the case)

my sister actually got into haikyuu after S1 (pretty much a decade ago at this point 😭) so i've at least known about it and understood the gist of it for a while now. i myself didn't get into anime until a few years ago though! so i've been slowly building up my watch catalog. normally i like funny animes so haikyuu definitely fits the criteria, but due to the fact that 1) it's a sports anime 2) i have very little interest in sports and 3) there would be a LOT of episodes to catch up on, it's just been sitting in my to-watch list for years lmaooo

as i started to follow more people on tumblr, i also started to see more haikyuu content, so i recognized some characters just by their appearance (hinata [obviously], but also kenma, kageyama, and atsumu miya [the guy with the undercut, who i don't remember seeing in the movie]). but anyway, my sister had been saying she wanted to watch the movie once it came out. and over the weekend, i happened to see a lot of people posting about going to watch the movie so i told her we should go! and so we did!

the movie was so hilarious and i thoroughly enjoyed watching!! the rivalry between the 2 teams was sooo funny. i knew i was going to like the movie, but it did end up being a little bit fast-paced for me cause i basically dived in with like. 0.4 background,,,, like ya girl was strUGgLinG trying to keep up. but that's no one's fault but my own 😔 i was kind of hoping it'd be like the demon slayer mugen train movie (which is actually what got me into anime! but that's besides the point). where the premise would be simple enough that you wouldn't need that much context before watching. i knew the movie would basically be just one really long volleyball game so i figured it would be fine. alas, i was wrong 😭 i don't know the rules of the game or any of the characters/their positions so it was all i could do to just watch and try to understand everything as it was happening ;-;

another thing i wanna mention is that now that i've long since graduated from my "beginner weeb" phase and become a full-on weeb, i'm familiar with a lot of voices and voice actors so it's difficult for me to see new characters and their voice actors (that i already know from somewhere else) as one entity 🤔 i'm not sure if that makes a lot of sense ><

for example: the whole time we were watching the movie, i felt like kenma sounded a lot like yuki kaji (who voices shoto [mha] and eren [aot])?? but also didn't at the same time. it was bothering me the whole 2 hours but i looked it up after it was over and i was right 😩

i also immediately recognized kuro as gojo [jjk]/hawks [mha]/greed [fma]; so kuro wasn't even kuro to me, he was just a volleyball au gojo with a completely different look 😭 i feel like that kind of gets in the way of my viewing experience personally, because i couldn't pause and think about where i know this voice from (like i usually do when i start a new anime). but it bOThERs mE because it's like on the tip of my tongue and my mind caNnOT rEST until i confirm my suspicions 😩

anyway, going in, the only people i knew about were like. hinata and kageyama... and it was surface-level knowledge at best. but i've seen kenma around enough where i recognized his character design so i thought i might like him. and he ended up being super cute!! i loved him, but i also really loved kuro (he is very handsome 🥰) and the tall glasses guy from karasuno. he was funny as fuck. but i'm definitely interested in watching the show to see what other lovable goofs the story has to offer. i'm always on the hunt for more blorbos

tl;dr basically i loved the movie, i thought it was really funny; now i have to actually watch the show so i can really enjoy the experience the movie had to offer. the production was honestly great. my sister wants me to get caught up so we can watch it again while it's still in theaters lmao. we'll have to see about that... the first 2 seasons are 25 eps each and then there are at least a few more seasons (even if they are less eps) after that 💀 when i got into mha last year, i was able to blast through 6 seasons within a week,,, but that costed me 3 full days worth of binge-watching and several work nights to catch up 😩 idk if i can do that again

thank you for the ask and interacting with me 🥺🫶 i know your day just started so i hope it goes well!! have a nice rest of the week also <3

[chicoriii]

Season 4, Episode 4 - Mr Pigeon 72

I have no idea where to start. This episode has some good things and some extremely stupid.

Marinette isn't still completely fine, but I prefer when she deals with it through being hyperactive than being a whining crybaby.

I know people don't agree with me, but personally I don't buy the whole revealing identity to Alya. It's not a problem with Alya herself, I would say the same about every single character who is not named Alix Kubdel at this point of the story. I haven't written anything in my post about Gang of Secrets, because I thought it would be undone in some way at the start of the next episode. The creators did nothing to explain why revealing identity of Ladybug to anyone was super dangerous and would result in a catastrophe in seasons 1-3 and the first two episodes of S4, but it's magically fine in episode 3. Only Alix made sense to me, as she will be the rabbit Miraculous holder, so she is destined to discover identities of everyone sooner or later and Marinette is aware of that. While it's not necessary to learn identity of anyone to other temporary Miraculous wielders, including Alya. Also that reveal hasn't been foreshadowed in season 3, while the show usually does it, especially if it's about something as important as that! More, in late S3, it's been shown that Alya still can't resist to not talking about Marinette's love life with Nino, despite she asked her to not do it. Now the girl, who is overly excited about superhero stuff, has no problems with even accidental revealing anything to Nino or someone else. She's even "stealing" Bunnix line that she's great at keeping secrets (sorry but you, the creators, haven't shown us that she's indeed is before!). This is why I think that reveal hasn't been planned before they started writing season 4.

But okay, I can deal with it, even if I don't buy it, but things these happened in Mr. Pigeon 72 are even more inconsistent with previous seasons. I have been worried about it, so it doesn't surprised me. For some reason Guardian related-things that have been kept in a secret before from everyone minus current Guardian and the future Guardian, are now fine being done in front of Kwamis (remember, they haven't been allowed to learn about making potions before!) and a civilian who is just a temporal Miraculous holder, not someone who is supposed to be trained to be a new Guardian. You can say - new Guardian, new rules, but why? Marinette has been portrayed as someone who respect authorities, she has never questioned any Fu's rules. It wasn't even said in the episode that she's going to change the rules. I hate that the writers don't even bother to explain us what's going on. Probably they don't bother about consistency, they think the audience is going to be too excited about Alya knowing Ladybug's identity and helping Marinette to question anything about it? How Alya could be allowed to learn the Guardian secrets? She is just best friend of the protagonist, she is not one of the main characters to get that special treatment. I makes zero sense to me. Especially since Su-Han will be introduced in episode 6 and he should help Marinette with understanding the Grimoire, Alya isn't necessary here for any other reason than fanservice.

In my opinion the way how they discovering how to make charms that protects from akumasitation was the most stupid thing that happened this season and one of the most in the whole show. Marinette who is the new Guardiand and portrayed as someone extreme intelligent and creative couldn't find the solution for days, but Alya with zero training magically discovered it in a few hours at worst. And when she told her the solution in not even very clear way, Ladybug did it immediately with no effort. That was so anticlimactic. At least the animation was fine, but other aspects of it was just a big disappointment, and I was looking forward for it. Thank goodness it's just the beginning of the season, I hope later important events of the season will be better written and portrayed.

Also I find it absurd that Rena Rough is walking with a page from the Grimoire like it's just an ordinary book and she's talking about it in front of a random civilian, like things that are written there are nothing special. She or Ladybug are not careful about Miraculous lore anymore. Not to mention that they are giving hints that Rena is very close to Ladybug in public, suspiciously close. And now with them being too careless, that's not hard to suspect that Rena Rouge is someone very close to Ladybug, maybe even as a civilian. Shadow Moth knows Rena Rouge's identity, and it's easy to him to learn who is Alya Cesaire's best friend if he doesn't know it yet, after all his son is in the class with her. Marinette has always been super careful and serious about her duties before, why that sudden change with zero explanation? It's just very out of character to her in my opinion.

I didn't like the akuma battle either, it's now the worst fight of the season in my opinion. It was so short and felt very lazy. I only liked that Plagg got some action and interaction with Ladybug (though it should be suspicious for her that he managed to reach to her that fast). He should be aware now that Alya knows Ladybug's identity but he acts like nothing happened. Not a word about it being unfair towards his kid or something, weird.

Thankfully the rest of the episode is generally more or less fun to me. It was nice to see Marinette and Kagami interacting again. I loved Kagami in the episode, although it was a bit weird to me that she isn't seemed to be affected by her breaking up with Adrien. Like her crush was very shallow, so she managed to recover herself from it very quickly. While it's been shown that Luka is hurt, despite Lukanette always seemed to be much more shallow than Adrigami in my opinion. But maybe it's because she's so down to earth, so being less emotional makes sense for her character. I liked how her attitude was opposite to Marinette's hyperactive: "No, I don't want to be in a relationship with Adrien again, he disappointed me, just let me live!!!". And she's another character who said that Marinette and Adrien are made for each other. I'm not surprised that Kagami sees it now when she tried to be with him and that didn't work. She's observant, sees more than many other characters. It seems she's an Adrienette shipper now. It's also good that her issue with Adrien wasn't resolved that easily and too fast. They need more time, but I'm sure they will be friends again.

So, we've gotten shirtless Adrien. I remember seeing a tweet of Thomas in which he answered to a question if there will be a beach episode and he said we will get something similar. I wonder if he meant this episode. Oh, they just remembered that Adrien is supposed to be allergic to feathers. It seems Adrien has allergic reactions only when it's somewhat related to the plot. When it's not, he's completely fine.

The reference to the famous Umbrella Scene™ out of nowhere in a random episode? It probably means something. I can see "reverse crush" supporters interpreting it as a proof to their theory, especially since this time Adrien did something clumsy and Marinette is laughing because of it (actually both of them). Or maybe because it's the first episode of season 4 with Marinette and Adrien interactions, they decided to be that much gracious for Adrienette fans, to compensate lack of it in the first three episodes. Oh wow, Marinette managed to propose spending more time together to Adrien without stuttering. Probably because she has done it spontaneously. Marinette is the most nervous when she's planning and thinking what could go wrong too much. This time she had no time to it, so it went more smoothly. It's like they building development of their relationship, but it didn't seem in Guiltrip (that's episode 11 chronologically) that something changed.

Seeing screenshot above, you can easily imagine how great friends they could be, being very comfortable around each other and laughing together, if not Marinette's anxiety. We need Adrienette development so much to get more moments like this.

Oh and I just realized that it's also one of the veeeeery few episodes with no real Ladynoir at all (the only other one I remember is Style Queen). So if there was no Adrienette it would be an episode without interactions of two main characters at all (although we almost got Ladrien). It could be another reason why this episode is that nice for Adrien and Marinette ship.

After seeing overly excited Marinette dancing in the rain, I can't believe she can manage completely give up on Adrien. It doesn't look like this at all.

Also we've seen three photos of Adrien wearing THAT scarf. It could not mean nothing different that foreshadowing that he's going to discover the truth about it somewhere this season. But I have no idea what Ladybug's mask with shining eyes could mean.

I don't know what to think about the episode. Despite absurd Guardian-related things, I still liked it much more than Gang of Secrets, but I have no idea if I generally enjoyed it more than other episodes of this season or not. At least it's an episode without stupid drama, which is amazing.

---------

I'm currently less active on social media, because my internet connection is very unstable, it often works very slowly to the point I'm not patient enough to visit Tumblr. Also I block spoiler tags again, because I don't want to see spoilers from the episodes those are going to be released very soon, as I feel that they reveal too much to me once more. We're currently in a marathon of the new episodes and since watching them is the more more enjoyable, the less I know about them, I decided to try avoid spoilers as much as I can. The only bad thing is that I can't be read discussions about the new episodes, reblog them and adding something from me until Optigami will be aired.

[eagles-translated]

Answering Eagles questions before the season 3 finale (Part 2/2)

I've received a bunch of questions since 3x08 and 3x09 dropped, so I compiled all the questions into two posts. I had to split them up because Tumblr only allows 10 images per post. Anyway, keep reading to see my answers and enjoy! 👇

There might be some kind of collaboration between Amie and Ludde like last season—we have only heard snippets of Ludde's song submission to the music school and it wouldn't surprise me if we saw Amie perform the song in its entirety in the last episode. I touched on this a little in part 1 of answering these questions.

It seems like Amie singing at the end of the season has become kind of a recurring theme. She performed “Follow” in 1x08 and “Second Sight” in 2x10 (on the radio, but my point still stands). I wouldn’t be surprised if they followed this trend by having Amie perform a new song in the season 3 finale.

I'm not sure if she'll recommend Ludde to the record label, though. I honestly still feel like Amie's whole storyline with sending in a rather basic demo written by two teenagers with little to no experience and then getting praised on it with comments such as "it's going to be a real summer hit" felt so unrealistic to me. Maybe they only said that so Amie would accept their offer or something, but that's still very strange because she would have still said yes without a doubt.

I can understand that they thought Amie was marketable as a person and there was this bonus with her having gone viral before on Felicia's Instagram, but that demo did not seem good enough for me to be immediately released as a single and then have them decide on the spot that Amie would be given a contract.

I mean, come on. It never felt earned because we never really saw Amie struggling with her songwriting journey to achieve this dream. Sending in one demo to one record label and having them immediately want to make a whole album with you just doesn't happen in real life unless the song is extremely good or you have a very unique voice. Amie is really talented but there are hundreds of people just like her, if not thousands. I was never convinced by her getting signed so quickly in season 2.

I understand that they wanted to establish her as a successful artist, but that felt so rushed. I was so sure that the record label would screw her over and steal the song rights to record it with another artist who was already established, and that we'd have to see Amie work even harder to achieve her dreams. But we didn't get that at all. Where was the struggle?

Anyway, I'm getting a little off-topic here. To be honest I have a lot of problems with the writing sometimes, even if I still love the show and its characters. Of course I wanted to see Amie achieve success (and I was happy when she did), but the journey there was so bizarrely easy.

She didn't start to seriously work on making her music career become a reality until season 2. Amie had dabbled in music prior to that, like when she auditioned for the school band and did that performance of Follow, but she didn't truly start to work towards it until season 2 when she decided to have her work sent to professionals in the business. And then, just five episodes later, she gets contacted by the record label in Stockholm.

To put this into context—season 2 took place somewhere around March, and episode 5 around three weeks into April. So when Ludde first started helping Amie it took less than two months for her to get signed. You could argue that the song was just that good or that Amie is just that talented, but it never felt like a realistic storyline to me.

So, back to your question! I need to stop getting so sidetracked while answering these haha. I don't think it would be realistic for the record label to hire a teenager with no professional songwriting experience, likely a very small portfolio of his own work in both size and variety, having a criminal record, and on top of that being infamous in the press for abusing his ex-girlfriend. If Amie offered the ultimatum to her label that she'll only return with Ludde, who has an incredibly bad reputation right now, it feels like she would be running the risk of losing the contract entirely.

There's only so much her label can put up with. We've seen Amie ignore their calls with no intention of reassuring them that she's coming back soon. Honestly, with the way things are looking right now it makes the most sense for the contract to be dropped. By Amie or by the label, I don't know.

The episode description for the season finale says that Ludde will get some sort of justice and it could be about his music (or something related to whatever Andreas is doing).

I believe Amie will be doing a live performance of Ludde's song at a New Year's Eve party in episode 10 but I doubt that Ludde will be picked up as a producer. If he actually does I would find that to be a very unrealistic plot point, to be completely honest with you.

This is an issue I had with 3x08 and 3x09 as well. I had a hard time actually enjoying the moment between Felicia, Klara, and Amie knowing that her family was getting increasingly worried for her and even thought for a short moment that Felicia was lying dead at the bottom of the ocean. All that could've been avoided.

To add, it didn't make a lot of sense to me that when Klara finally decided to call someone she called Amie instead of Elias. An ex-friend of Felicia's instead of her brother who could've helped a lot more. What was Amie supposed to do when she showed up at the hotel, exactly?

I know there was the thing with Klara only knowing Amie's number off the top of her head, but there is no reason why she couldn't have gone down to the reception while Felicia was sleeping and asked to use a computer just to get a quick message to Elias. Like, "hey, Felicia attempted something bad but she's safe with me, we're at this hotel in this room but she didn't want me to call anybody, I don't know what to do". That would've been so much better than keeping quiet about the situation for nearly 24 hours.

I know that Klara probably has trauma from leaving her dad at the hospital after his suicide attempt and that she probably didn't want to go against Felicia's wishes. I understand the first part 100%. But Felicia was in a very bad place emotionally and was thinking that her whole family hated her when that wasn't the case. I feel like in a situation like that you kind of have to be the bad guy just to ensure the family that Felicia was safe. Even if everything turned out alright in the end, it could've gone so much worse if Felicia had wanted to be kept hidden for longer.

The ending of 3x08 was super tough to watch and I can't imagine the feeling of thinking your only daughter/sister drowned herself after you just yelled at her and showed no support. Klara couldn't have known any of this, but I feel like she should've at least contacted Elias if she wasn't taking Felicia to a hospital.

Elias calling Amie would've been an easy solution to this whole debacle but we would've lost the drama. It's still somewhat of a plot hole though, like you said.

Thank you for reading that whole post @detectivejulesohara!

The clip you're referring to was posted on Yandeh Sallah's Instagram account, so not in a trailer for this season.

I think that was either just fanservice or it will appear in season 4 since it was posted in May of this year, and I believe the filming of season 3 had already wrapped by then.

It might indicate that Elias and Amie will be a couple by season 4 (this actually seems very likely regardless if this is actually part of a scene or not).

I think Elias is getting increasingly frustrated with hockey and the fact that he doesn't really have any other ambitions to strive for. He was raised with nothing but hockey surrounding him and it's in his blood. Elias got drafted to the US at around the same age as Mats, but Elias left after a year because he just wasn't progressing.

That must feel like a huge step back, and on top of that Mats was probably thriving in his successful career around the age that Elias is now. It's a tough difference in success to have weighing on your shoulders when you're in a team that's second to last in the rankings.

There's even the accusation in the press that Mats paid for Elias to advance in the rankings, and I'm sure that's going to affect his career negatively.

I think Elias overworking himself could also be the result of him feeling like he has to prove that returning to Eagles—a small club that is probably having their worst season ever—was in fact the right choice and not the death of his elite hockey career. That choice was very questionable from the very start and his agent advised against it. Even Mats found it strange. Elias said that he didn't really have a choice most likely because of the clause in his contract, but then he also claims to Mats that things just turned out that way.

Ludde: You don’t regret coming back [to Eagles]? Elias: I didn’t really have a choice.

The idea that he didn't have a choice in the matter doesn't seem accurate. His agent told him there were other alternatives like Jokerit (a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland) and that they could find something better than Eagles. Elias seemed kind of defeated already and the decision to return to Eagles didn't feel thought-through at all. It's almost like he just didn't care.

Agent: [...] Jokerit has called and I’ve had a great conversation with them, so they’re on. Elias: You know what? Let’s skip all the trouble. Let’s go with Eagles, it’ll be great. Agent: What? Elias: I’m so tired of moving all the time anyway, plus I’ll be close to my family. Agent: Wait, I thought that you— Eagles has big economical problems, and… Sorry, but their season started awfully. We can get a better team. You understand, right? Elias: Yeah, but we can’t get a team that needs me as much. Plus— If they say they want to see development, I’ll give them that. Agent: Wait— They’re under the line. We’re talking about qualifying down directly. You can’t in earnest believe you’ll change that on your own. Elias: It’s perfect. I’ll only go up, as you like to say.

It also seems like he's maybe realizing that hockey isn't everything and that there are other things he might want to explore and pursue in his life. I think Elias is feeling kind of stuck right now. He's been training his whole life for one purpose which is a professional career in hockey, and maybe he feels like Mats wouldn't allow him to quit. That option doesn't exist to him.

Like you said, Mats had that comment where he labeled Ludde a "quitter" and Elias stressed the fact that there shouldn't be anything wrong with losing interest and deciding to pursue something else.

Mats: Can you imagine that he’s just quitting? I mean, I’m completely— He really didn’t strike me as a quitter. So fucking close. [...] Elias: [...] Ludde, he’s… He’s not a quitter, he’s just didn’t want it anymore. That should be fair.

However, quitting is seen as failure to Mats. Mats dropped everything when he got drafted. He left his relationship with Petra seemingly without a second thought, because hockey comes before everything for Mats. Felicia even mentioned back in season 1 how her father was just a voice in a telephone for most of her childhood. He barely had any presence in her life because he was busy with hockey.

When Klara tells Elias that he's always putting hockey first, he gets angry but he doesn't outright deny it. In fact, he kind of changes the subject to shift attention away from Klara's claim.

Klara: This— You haven’t changed at all. You’re always putting yourself first. Elias: Excuse me? Klara: Yes, it’s either you or hockey. Elias: Stop! What the— Klara: I can’t take this. Elias: Are you leaving now? I wasn’t the only one you dumped. You’ve been acting like shit to Felicia. Yeah, and Amie and Ludde too, for that matter. You haven’t thought about that? So don’t come here and say I’m the egoist.

This is kind of an interesting thought—that maybe Elias subconsciously knew that was Klara is saying is true to some degree and that he has been putting hockey first. He decided to get on the train to the draft combine in Seattle instead of staying with Klara, and a year later he realizes that things didn't turn out the way that he'd planned and he returns to Eagles.

Maybe Elias is trying so hard to be someone who he just isn't, and it's affecting so many aspects of his life negatively. He lost Klara, he had to repeat almost his whole last year in high school because of moving to the US, and now he seems to be stuck in Oskarshamn. He's previously expressed to Amie that this isn't necessarily where he wanted to end up.

Elias: [...] Hey, is it just me or is there something about this town that… It sort of feels like no matter how much you try to get away, it… It pulls you back somehow.

It's kind of strange that he doesn't want to be in Oskarshamn, and yet he was the one who chose to return. Maybe he somehow feels like he has some purpose there because it keeps pulling him back. He just doesn't know what that purpose is.

Elias tried coming back to Eagles to turn things around for them, and they did win a game against the Capitals but that victory was later tarnished by the fight that broke out between the two teams (and to add to this, the loss of Ludde who used to be one of the star players and Klara as a sponsor). That kind of overshadowed their whole victory. Elias was very determined to do something to help and it very much feels like he needs Eagles to succeed—he needs to sort of "redeem" himself.

Elias: [...] Can I do anything? Can I go talk to— I could go talk to the sponsor. Mats: Let’s deal with it later. I’ll solve this. You have to go to school now. Elias: But we can finish talking— Mats: You can— No. Try to think of something else. Alright?

I think that Elias's desperation for Eagles to do well could absolutely lead to him eventually deciding to be a coach. He doesn't really seem to want the life that Mats had after seeing how success turned out for him—a broken family that he barely cares about because hockey occupies his mind more than caring for his children or repairing the relationship with Leila.

I think Elias being a hockey coach could suit him, but I would also love to see him exploring things outside of hockey—maybe even his interests outside of sport entirely.

I kind of agree with you on this. Klara has apologized to Felicia and been forgiven, but we've never seen her properly apologize to Amie for filming that video of her and posting it on social media. Amie and Ludde were in the wrong, yes, but that video being posted was humiliating for both of them. They had to deal with the ramifications of that for months after with the whole school judging them in silence.

To be fair, the video was posted a long time ago in the show's time frame (nearly two years ago if I'm right?) and they all kind of moved on from it. To add to this, maybe she felt it would've been kind of awkward to apologize with Felicia in the room.

Felicia was so hurt by that video being posted and I think it would feel very weird for her that Klara would apologize for posting the video when it's the sole reason Felicia found out what had been done to her. Without that video, she would've probably gone a few more months without being told what happened at the Halloween party.

I'm waiting for a Klara and Amie reconciliation in this season finale. I feel like this is something that should be discussed between just the two of them, and maybe they'll sneak in some blessing from Klara with the whole budding Elias and Amie relationship? I'd be happy with just a reconciliation, though, but I'm unsure if we'll get one. I have a feeling they'll start the season finale with a time jump and I don't know if Klara is even going to be in Oskarshamn by that time.

If we don't see them reconnecting in the season finale I will be pretty disappointed, to be honest.

Thank you! I really appreciate you too @lunawedlers (your gifsets are absolutely magical)!

This question was sent in a while ago but as season 3 had just started airing I was very excited to see the development of Elias and Amie, mostly because the director had been hinting on Twitter that something would happen between them this season. I've been really interested in them ever since 1x03 and so far the wait has been worth it.

I think all episodes have great visuals, but if I had to pick one I would probably say 3x06. All those shots of Elias and Amie on the walk through the park, the drone shots, and then the view from that bench spot were so gorgeous visually. That answer is more of a scene rather than a whole episode haha, but I think they really made the beauty of Oskarshamn stand out in those shots.

I think Amie will have some sort of performance in the final episode of a new song and that Elias will be watching her! After reading the episode description for the final episode and seeing that there will probably be some New Year's Eve party going on, I have a feeling that Amie will be performing. She's always had a performance of a new song in every season finale and this one should be no exception.

They tricked us a little in the season 3 trailer with us thinking that Elias would be at one of Amie's concerts in Stockholm, but now I'm sure that this scene fits in at the New Year's Eve party.

I think we should keep our expectations low for a kiss between Elias and Amie. They just started developing their relationship, and I like the slow pace they're going in. They're not rushing anything. I also have this feeling that their development has deliberately been so slow because they're sort of "saving the best for last".

Elias and Amie are fan favorites and their relationship has been very talked-about from the beginning. I can see the writers maybe having decided to push their relationship more towards the end of the show, which is why we haven't really gotten any Elias and Amie content until now. That's frustrating if you're impatient and I've seen some people thinking that maybe Elias and Amie won't happen at all, but I don't think we need to worry at all. The fact that Elias and Amie's development has been so slow should indicate that they're much more likely to be endgame.

A kiss in episode 10 could definitely happen, but I don't know. Maybe they'll drag it out further. As I've said before, if they don't get one in season 3 they will absolutely be getting one in season 4. I've noticed that it's always best to keep your expectations low when it comes to this couple.

The episode description for the season finale said this about Elias, which some have interpreted to be about Amie.

New Year’s Eve is here. [...] But is Elias brave enough to say what everyone else already knows?

This could mean anything, really. I'm actually leaning more towards this being about an individual thing rather than Amie being involved. It could be about Elias admitting that he's been overworking himself and not eating properly, or coming clean about the fact that maybe he doesn't want a career in hockey. This is something that everyone else already knows, so I think it might be about hockey.

Felicia has observed the overworking, Mats has told him to stop with it, and Ludde might've had some inkling about it while he was still on the team. Even Amie has probably also noticed that he's been spending a lot of time at the gym lately.

I could absolutely be wrong about this though.

Thank you for the question @lunawedlers!

This is a hard one because season 3 has had so many strong episodes already, and usually my favorite episode ends up being the season finale because it's basically the culmination of the whole season. I really loved 2x10 for this very reason since the ending montage was so well done.

If I had to pick between 3x01 - 3x09 though I would probably have to say it's a tie between 3x04 — Date night and 3x05 — Wounds! These two episodes showcased what Eagles should be all about so well, which is relationships plus the struggles you go through as a teenager in a small town, and then of course hockey. The hockey game episodes are really good, even if I don't think 3x05 topped 2x05 (the game where Ludde got tackled and knocked out).

I loved the contrast in Date night of the budding relationship between Elias and Amie and then that fight between Felicia and Ludde on the cliff. That whole scene between Felicia and Ludde on the cliff was actually really beautiful, especially when the sun had gone down.

It was interesting to see how this sweet gesture from Felicia turned into a fight between the two of them. I thought that was very realistic, because no matter how big of a gesture Felicia made to apologize there were still underlying problems that they needed to talk about.

I also loved the "non-date" between Elias and Amie in this episode. It was cute to see them goofing off before the movie started and then talking about it on the way home. I liked how Elias could connect to her on how they had both returned to Oskarshamn.

The recent episodes that dropped last week (3x08 and 3x09) were very strong and discussed some important subject matters, but I had a few problems with them that I discussed in a question above. They were dark, but not necessarily bad because they needed to happen.

However, I have to say that I prefer Eagles when it's about hockey and teenage relationships. 3x04 and 3x05 made me kind of nostalgic for season 1 and I liked the vibe they both had.

I agree, but I think we could maybe get a combination of both! Relationships can have all these romantic and sweet traits like you described, but also be more passionate and show public displays of affection.

I think Elias and Amie fit the more laid-back and sweet characteristics, but we have yet to really see what Amie is like in a relationship. We've seen her with a crush on Ludde and we got a glimpse of that thing she had with Robin (which was apparently a relationship but I did not pick up on that at all), but we don't really know what Amie is like in a relationship. Maybe she's never really had a "real" one, either.

Nevertheless, I'm excited to see what's in store for Elias and Amie. I'm very positive that they will eventually become a couple in season 4.

[ultimatetrashgoblin]

Blaire Reviews: Ezra Season 4

Disclaimer: This is all my opinion, you are allowed to disagree with me. I encourage you to read this route and form your own opinions. (It’s no secret that EAA is my favorite series, so this will probably be extremely biased)

First Impressions

The stakes are very high going into this season. Red is on the loose, and with the spell on the Ice Queen's heart broken, it's only a matter of time before she's there as well. Probably doesn't help that Ezra broke the fucking front door down because either could easily walk into the house and kill everyone.

The conflict becomes immediately apparent when Ezra and FMC go to the university and find that all of the students and faculty are in some sort of trance, lifelessly moving around the school, while barely reacting to anything going on around them (If only Bosco was in this route, he'd fit right in).

They go to the library to find Darla, only to discover that she and Omar are also under this mysterious spell, and have lost their memories of magic. We also got this glorious moment (and you're lying if you said you picked any other option).

Ezra, Mouse, and Edward go off to find Red (and restore the power of three after Ezra broke it last season by running away like the dramatic bitch he is for like the fifth time in his route) leaving FMC with Nora and Arin, who get her to confess that the spell around the Ice Queen's heart has been broken. Fortunately, FMC is also given confirmation that she was not responsible for what was happening to the student body.

Unfortunately, we find out that Red is the one responsible for this, having stolen Omar's lamp and using them essentially as an army to literally "paint the town red".

In order to find Red's book, Ezra and FMC realize they need to go to the magic world to find it. Nora goes with them in order to collect ingredients she needs to reverse Dr. Tutorea's curse. But Arin warns them that The Ice Queen would know if Ezra was in the world, so they had to be quick.

The group (minus MMC and Lucas for some reason) performs a spell that will allow the door between worlds to be slightly open. I thought that this heart scene was incredibly well done, and was 100% worth the hearts.

Once in the magic world, we're immediately introduced to Galahad. Now I know plenty of people want his route, which I can understand, (the amount of male LIs who are genuinely sweet off the bat is very low) but I found him to be boring. Granted, he wasn't introduced until halfway through Ezra's last season, and his character was barely used. If we were given more time to see his character, maybe I'd understand the hype around him more.

Ezra finds Red's book and reads it, realizing that Red was the one who killed the wolves (like with Grandma, I'd suspected it, but the reveal was still shocking nonetheless). The Ice Queen shows up (though we don't actually see her), and with Red's book, the potion for Dr. Tutorea, and our new friend who Ezra totally isn't jealous of, the group goes back through the door.

I loved the final battle (even if it was paywalled) and being able to see everyone working together to take Red down. AND MOUSE FINALLY GOT TO SLAP HER!

Good for you baby, I'm proud of you.

For someone who has been getting hyped for this entire route, the Ice Queen made an appearance for a whooping one episode. In her defense, she did make the most of her short appearance. Her turning on Red and calling her out for betraying the hunters and Grandma was an amazing moment. Also:

Yeah, it's a little on the nose, especially since we already know she's getting a route in June. Still, I thought it was a fun addition. See you then Lavinia!

The finale was similar to Nora's. The MCs get their memories back, and FMC, Ezra, Nora, Lucas, and Dr. Tutorea go to the magic world. But what I wasn't expecting was that last heart scene. In all honesty, it probably was just a cute moment between Ezra and FMC, and I'm probably overthinking things. But it seemed a lot like they were exchanging vows- So I'm allowing myself to have this headcanon that they eloped.

Then and Now

Since this was Ezra's final season, I'm going to compare the character and relationship dynamics in his first and last seasons.

When we first meet Ezra, he's clearly the mean, snarky LI that we have never seen before, especially in wlm routes. We did get a few glimpses of a softer, more gentle side of Ezra as the season progressed, and he showed himself to be very protective over FMC (especially when Edward was introduced). One thing I loved about the relationship dynamic between FMC and Ezra was the banter. Both of them have very strong personalities, and there were moments where they would clash with each other. But rather than being malicious remarks towards each other, these arguments were more playful jabs, which was refreshing.

In this season, Ezra was much more open with FMC. There was still some witty banter between the two of them, but we also got more sweet moments. There was also better communication, and there was clearly a great amount of trust there. Ezra didn't run off as much and would tell FMC his plans beforehand to make her feel more comfortable.

In my opinion, Ezra is an example of the rude LI trope done right. He admires FMC's ambition and bravery, mentioning how most people don't have the guts to stand up to him (which is the origin of the nickname "Little Star"). I've seen other LIs of this type belittling the MC, and sometimes downright insulting them Chance Valentine, but Ezra clearly respects her.

Final Thoughts

It's always sad to see such a beloved route end. This story had so much potential, and it's sad to see the potential wasted by ending a route early, especially with such a beloved LI. As someone who isn't attracted to men, it's rare for me to find a wlm route that I can avidly enjoy and look forward to seeing updates for.

Despite the ending feeling somewhat rushed, this season was incredibly well done and allowed us time to see our favorite characters one last time. Red was an amazing and ruthless villain, the dynamic between the group was wonderful. I don't think we could have asked for a better ending (just maybe a few seasons later).

Overall Rating: 8/10

Favorite CG

I was stuck between this CG and the last one, but if there's anything that I'm weak for, it's beautiful lighting and attractive women.

[dodgergilmore]

1: Also I would VERY MUCH love to hear more of your thoughts on season 3. It always annoys me to NO END how people who hate them think that fans love them for their season 3 relationship despite the fact that other fans have mentioned numerous times that it's not because they thought their relationship was perfect, but that they didn't get a real chance where both of them were at a better place in their life.

Continued: It's very obvious in the season that their relationship actually DOES work in the sense that they get along when there's no outside pressures in the form of Lorelai/Dean, that they actually like spending time with each other and do dates, but the issue is that we never got enough of that, only the big arguments were placed in the forefront which imo is unfair because it further gives people 'proof' that Dean saying that Jess treats her 'like trash' is true, when in fact it's very much not (also it's just obvious shipper bias how many people, particularly r*gans love focusing on the negative aspects of Lit but just sweep aside all the issues Logan has in seasons 5/6, hell even in season 7 with how he proposed to Rory and then immediately ended their long term relationship when she couldn't say yes to him). It's also more than justified for fans to be intrigued of the possibility of older Lit when both Jess and Rory have their own lives that are more separate from the influence of Stars Hollow/Jess's turbulent past, because not only is Jess more mature, more open and just more stable and sure of himself, Rory now has to make decisions for herself and not based off of what Lorelai or anyone else says for her to do. And, although I'm in the minority with this opinion, even though Rory's writing in AYITL was awful in terms of fleshing out how and just why she is at this state, without allowing people to be more sympathetic, I'm not gonna suddenly go against her being with Jess simply because people think he 'pined' for her all these years when it's clear that he's not holding his life back for her, but merely in his own way, will always love her. And what I mentioned about her and Jess finally having a relationship that isn't influenced by anyone outside of it still stands for this, especially when Rory's gotta put her life back together now and Jess would imo offer support, the same way she tried to do it when he was younger and unsure of his capabilities. But yeah even discrediting AYITL, an adult relationship between them would truly be a positive thing

Okay I’ve had my morning coffee so I am ready + this is definitely going to warrant a read more!

Exactly!! I have never seen anyone claim their season 3 relationship was great. We don’t get to see them just be happy and hanging out together – even though we’re explicitly told they’re together often – unless it’s to set up conflict and I think a big part of that comes from the fact that Milo was already being written out of the show before the characters even got together.

They’ve always liked just spending time together and I love how that ends up being a constant thread throughout their relationship, be it in a romantic context or not, with season 4 being an obvious exception but at that point they were still confronting the completely unresolved ending to their relationship. But anyway, getting back to season 3...

Let me just repeat myself here: Dean cast a looming shadow over the entirety of the Rory and Jess relationship in season 3. That’s not to say that they would have been together forever if Dean hadn’t been there because I think it was inevitable for their paths to diverge (and eventually come back together!) – of course it would have been nice for them to grow together but in terms of canon, I actually like that they got to experience life independent of each other. However, Dean’s presence definitely exacerbated the issues in the Rory and Jess relationship. (I don’t mean to frame this in a way that everything wrong with Rory and Jess’ relationship has to do with Dean, I’m just examining the ways in which his role in the narrative had an influence on their relationship)

The Dean/Rory/Jess love triangle had been building up for almost a year by the time we get to 3x07 so we as viewers are ready for it to culminate in a big, dramatic, exciting way and it certainly delivers in that regard because it made for good television but it’s a shaky starting point for Rory and Jess. Before Rory even has time to cry to her mother, or even just tell her mother about the breakup with Dean, she’s already swept up in a new relationship. For that reason, an interesting “what-if” to consider is what if Dean had ended the relationship once he realised she liked Jess in 2x18? But that doesn’t happen, so from this point on Rory slowly becomes aware of her growing feelings for Jess while still being in a relationship with Dean and she feels guilty, obviously! Once she’s with Jess, she feels like she has to make things right with Dean. On top of that, Rory was always being told by the town and her mother about how Dean was the perfect boyfriend and, oh, she was so lucky to have him as her first boyfriend! Regardless of how false that whole narrative rings to me as a viewer, this puts Rory in a position where she is always comparing Jess to Dean; by Rory’s own admission in 3x09 she says she feels like the town is watching them and she’s right, they are watching! There is this pressure put on her to have her life perfectly together, which is an impossible and even damaging standard to be placing onto any teenager. At this point, Lorelai is still heavily involved in Rory’s romantic life but because Lorelai plays friend more often than mother, she has always made her stance on Jess very clear and consequently, Rory doesn’t feel she can talk openly to her mother when she has issues with Jess and this is unfamiliar territory for Rory. In the first episode with Rory and Jess together, Lorelai is already saying things like, “But I never expected you to be with Dean forever, just like I don’t expect you to be with Jess forever.” As much as she says she’s supportive, Rory never actually feels her support. For these reasons, we don’t get to see much of Rory addressing or confronting her relationship with Jess throughout season 4 – we see her play it cool or “stoic” with Lorelai and the townies but we see it’s an act to some extent when talking with Lane in 4x22 or with Jess – “I have actually thought about this moment. A lot.” that whole speech she gives feels like it’s been something she’s been holding onto for a while and never been able to vocalise. Back to season 3: Rory feels she has to hide things from Jess like she did with Dean because she was always trying to avoid a fight with him (which is.....☹️), failing to realise that Jess is not Dean, and thus begins the miscommunication problems throughout their relationship. All of this to say... Rory has no other point of reference for relationships, so I understand where she is coming from during season 3!

Now for Jess we go back to the 3x07 for a moment: obviously this is all open to interpretation but he looks very surprised and also somewhat guilty during the very public Dean and Rory breakup, which I take to mean... he never wanted it to happen, nor expected it to happen, like this. Jess is very aware of how the town and everyone in it views him in comparison to Dean; there’s an insecurity there for Jess “She picked you.” / “God knows why.” because she never actually did choose him and he doesn’t particularly like himself very much at this point. Which brings me to the point that Jess was simply not in a place to be in a relationship – his communication issues were there before he ever got into a relationship with Rory because it’s easier to not deal with things and allow people to have a low opinion of you so that you don’t disappoint them. He really thought the dinner with Emily would be a one and done thing, which highlights both his inexperience with relationships but also his misconception that this relationship could be just him and Rory, see also: “I don't wanna talk to anybody else. I don't like anybody else.” As much as he may love Rory and Luke, they can’t be Jess’ sole support system and he has a lot of personal growing to do. If we are to assume Jimmy was always going to show up in late season 3, I think that’s something that Jess was always going to want to see through. He definitely makes efforts to do better, particularly after 3x15 (there is no way he or Luke didn’t hear that voicemail...) is when we actually see them at their most chill as they’re having movie nights, they’re talking about Rory’s future at Yale, Lane is supportive, Jess is ready to go to prom without complaints, etc. He went after Rory once she leaves the bedroom in 3x19 but the moment he sees Dean, he gives up and we’re back to the looming shadow that is Dean. Without that shadow, I think they could have at least ended things on better terms.

Rory saying, “I don’t want to deal with this.” after seeing Jess in his car in 4x12 really is a good summation of their romantic relationship lmao 🙃

That proposal really was so.........yikes!!

Yeah, I have never gotten the impression that Jess has been pining after Rory all these years. I remember coming onto the internet after watching AYITL and being so confused by how heated people were with regard to that parting look in Fall. From everything we saw – which was very little, admittedly – Jess seems very content with his life and in a place of stability, continuing to mature and better himself since the last time we saw him. For what it’s worth, my interpretation of The Window Look(tm) is that Jess meant it when he told Luke that he was over Rory, and it’s not something he had been consciously thinking about until he went to the window and was like, “Hm..........” and the fact that they hadn’t seen each other in so many years before Summer is actually kind of... reassuring to me? I guess in my mind, once they become consistent figures in each other’s lives then it becomes more difficult to understand why they aren’t together because it would progress into more. “What’s it been, four years?” / “Maybe more?” does not have to set their futures in stone, leaving no room for development.

I’ve probably said it before but the whole story of first, it was Rory offering Jess support when he was sorting himself out and lacking the stability for a relationship; then it’s Jess offering Rory support when she is sorting out her life and lacking stability is just a very compelling story for me! The parallels! The star-crossed aspect of it all! I would like to see it dot gif