#i like that this season was mostly about family conflict

[markedbyindecision]

THAT WAS SO GOOD

[srslylini]

season 2 has a structure problem and that makes act 1 flow naturally enough and it sets up the next acts perfectly well, but they wanted to do so much more than what they were

1. setting up

2. capable of doing in 9 episodes

had they just cut a few plot lines everything would've moved far easier. For example

1. cut the Smeech thing entirely. Sevika and Jinx don't need this to find themselves together and start a found family. That scene In Silcos office was so moving and everything I always loved about Arcane, stuff like this is what's needed. In fact move the prison break to act 1 and have them handle that together, Jinx can still make Sevika her arm, and everything could've still moved the same. It would've fit so much better and there also would've been so much more time to develop anything else with the magic system and act 2 wouldn't feel like it was overflowing with anything and everything. Isha is a character that as of in the show can be cut so easily and that's so sad because she'd be so interesting. Everything about her would've worked and SHOULD HAVE worked but she also just felt like Plot and a thing to make Jinx sad over again. Either don't do that or make Isha not a character like this???? I liked her scenes with Jinx so much and the scene with Jinx freaking out after finding out that Isha was taken to prison was genuinely so good, I'm still holding on to the hope that they didn't actually kill her

2. either cut that shit with the tree because let's be so honest that basically only happened so that Heimerdinger, Ekko and Jayce could meet, since we do NOT even really talk about the tree in act 2? that was so weird. Like either actually make it a thing or find different ways to let characters meet naturally. I dont know, the show was so good with that in season 1. And if they truly wanted the tree scene at least make it make sense and don't randomly drop it Idk.

3. I LOVE Mel she is like my favorite character but the plot with the black rose takes so much necessary time away from what we actually need to focus on. I heard they want to make different shows so they are setting this up but it just doesn't work. Mel could've so easily been integrated into the main plot line and it would've also made so much more sense at that. Though I'll just wait on act 3 before I judge too hard. (if they actually DARE to make her pregnant Istg)

4. Making Jinx that hero character for only like, what, a few seconds was so strange. I hope act 3 gets that better but that, first of all, happened mostly out of no where and a few touches to her shoulder after the prison scene was also not??? helping??? either set that up from the very start or don't do it at all. She isn't a hero, she is a tragedy and someone who needs help and room to breathe. The scenes where they tried to make that funny, in my opinion didn't land at all. She doesn't need a hero complex she needs calmness and stable relationships. Let Isha live I swear to GOD.

in fact that leads me into the next point

5. Have Vi realize she doesn't want to be an enforcerer sooner? I actually do like how rushed that part felt don't get me wrong, but if they wanted a reunion between Jinx and Vi don't randomly put it into act 2 with barely any build up. Let Jinx and Vi realize it during the fight, they kinda did do that but??? just didn't move that anywhere. it's so strange. If they had cut the Smeech stuff they could've easily used the third episode to make Jinx and Vi slowly reconcile. Which also means I think Vi would've been such a better "symbol" than Jinx. Vi and Jinx, for me, show what Zaun is made of, and Jinx is quite literally the valid pain, distrust and anger of Zaun, and she as well as Zaun desperately need healing. Like that would've been SO COOL. that's just my opinion though, so there is that.

6. If they had made Vi the symbol the conflict between Caitlyn and Vi would've felt a lot more natural as well. Like??? Also Caitlyn should've had so much more time if they wanted that switch up in the end to work. Cut the black rose stuff and that would've worked perfectly fine.

7. Now do NOT get me wrong, Ambessa's character is so interesting and I feel like exploring her is so cool but she and her plot just doesn't fit into the Piltover/Zaun thing. It makes it too big for what the show is. In fact I (and now this is just my opinion, anyone can have their own just saying lmao) would've either cut out Ambessa's character/plotline or subtly continued Ambessas drama with Mel, which would give Mel, who didn't get taken by the black rose in my version, a lot more to do and way more interesting stuff too. Again this is very much my opinion and doesn't mean anyone needs to share it, but I feel like they could've easily made Heimerdinger be the one who gets Caitlyn to where she was/is with Ambessa. It would've expanded Heimerdingers character and it would've stayed in the setting they already perfectly build up, Piltover and Zaun. Also, Heimerdinger wouldn't just feel like a random joke character anymore.

8. The Pit fight stuff could have been SO interesting and I feel had we not stayed with Viktor Christ so much which was also so weird at times, we could've gotten so much necessary insight on Vi. If we follow my idea it could've been Vi forced to be a symbol because of the person she is. The embodiment of Zauns loyalty, strength and resilience. And then the fights that will come out of that forcing Vi to face so much stuff she shouldn't etc etc (I haven't fleshed that one out yet don't come for me) and that could've ended in her pit fighting era, which should've taken at LEAST an episode and not a random montage that just gets forgotten??? for no reason at all. Really hope act 3 talks about that cause??? I feel with Vi as the leader the healing of Zaun would make so much sense, because Jinx realistically can't do that. The idea of Jinx being in that position IS interesting I just feel it wasn't established/developed enough.

9. I really really liked how from the very beginning Viktor's safe haven did not in fact feel safe. There was always a very uneasy feeling and that's what I love about the show. I was always waiting for the shoe to drop and it happened, that was amazing. Though I would've either established a lot of this way earlier on in the show or made it not so, and now walk with me here Ik its magic, unrealistic. That does sound strange but having Viktor suddenly float in space with white silver flowing hair and his dead assistent next to him was... very very out of no where. It was like a lazy show trying to get away with "yeah well it's magic so of course this works" and I hate that because even magic needs explanation and build up. So yeah. Either cut that shit out or have it established sooner. And while seeing the one person who helped Jayce as a kid did kind of help, it still wasn't enough for THIS, though again MY OPINION. Also we spent way too much time there, it was getting ridiculous. So much time could've easily been lent to stuff that actually needed it. I actually laughed out loud when Viktor started the healing process with Vander because come ON now, and I do not think they wanted me to laugh.

10. The stuff with Vander, Silco and Felicia (while cute) was unnecessary and weird. What I liked the most about Vander taking in Vi and Powder was the feeling that he didn't do it because he necessarily knew them very well but because he knew their mom was dead (that did show he and their mother did kind of know each other but so do like all the people in the lanes that is kind of established) and wanted to PROTECT. This new context sadly makes it feel like "well of course he stopped everything and took them with them and cared for them he knew them since birth, duh" when I always wanted to feel "well Vander is in his heart a good man who saw what terrible stuff this war and fighting did and then took in orphaned children because of course he would do that" if that makes sense? I feel this new thing took away so much from Vander, but again that's maybe just me.

11. So many jokes and scenes didn't land with me. The scene with Jinx trying to show Sevika her middle finger was SO GOOD and so Arcane that seeing the scene were they try to make it funny with Jinx's trousers and that enforcerer felt so out of place? Like what. That scene could have EASILY been cut and nothing would have changed at all. And that's what is the worst because there isn't one scene in season 1 that I feel could've been cut and there are so many of them in season 2.

12. Introducing Maddie in act 1 made me believe she'd be a bigger, even more of a threat to Zaun, character than she was and that's so sad. What I loved about season 1 is that every single character mattered. Even those we saw maybe once. This time around I hardly cared at all for any new character because they didn't feel like a Person anymore, they just felt like Plot. In season 1 episode 1 there is this scene, the first scene Vander gets to speak in. The only reason Huck meets the woman and the man to trait was basically so we get to know how the undercity works and establish Vander as basically its leader and protecter; The one people are loyal to etc. But it doesn't feel that way. It's something that naturally happens and every character in that scene, even the man and the woman we never see again, mattered and felt real.

yeah so those were really just my thoughts. I could very much go on but I also don't want to.

[eponymous-rose]

A little thing I'm also really appreciating in this rewatch of TNG is something that seems to have all but disappeared in the age of tightly plotted, entirely serialized eight-episode miniseries TV: little slice-of-life moments that don't serve any driving plot purpose except to flesh out the world a little bit.

The scene with Picard's hairdresser earnestly telling him how he should better have handled diplomatic relations with the Romulans doesn't serve a deep narrative purpose in the sense of echoing the themes of the episode or foreshadowing some important moment with that hairdresser. It's there to share a little picture of the world - yes, there are still hairdressers in the future, yes, there's still awkward small-talk with said hairdressers. There's also the nice little reminder in all these domestic scenes that normal life is happening aboard the Enterprise, families and all, which adds to the sense of danger when the ship's in peril and paints the moments of war and conflict as uncomfortable juxtapositions. It's not there to serve the plot, it's there to build the world. And the characters! Picard's mostly-polite demurs, the reveal that Riker has been 100% humoring this guy like "oh man, we should've thought of that, you're so right". There's no reason to include it beyond reveling in the world.

I really miss that about a lot of modern TV - we get these needle-sharp hard dives through a world, coherent and concise and often quite lovely, but trying to take in the scope of the world around that plot is like watching out the window of a fast-moving train: you're getting nothing more than vague impressions at a remove. It's the difference between a guided tour of a museum and a self-guided tour: sometimes, at some museums, you just want to meander around a bit at your own pace and let it wash over you.

Given the choice, I'll almost always fall deeper in love with a show that's criticized for "filler" or "monster of the week" because I know it'll give its characters and its universe time to grow. That's what drew me to TV in the first place - I adore movies, but there's only so much you can do with character and world in 2-3 hours. Lately a lot of TV seems to be seen as a rather long movie with the odd break where you get up to make popcorn midway through. I think there's something unique about the format of television that's being lost in this attempt to emulate the structure of a movie, in the same way that some novels feel like they might as well just have been novellas or short stories. It's not just a longer version of the same thing. It has the potential to be something entirely different.

Give me the bloated 20-odd-episode seasons of the 90s and 00s, where characters grew and changed slowly, by inches, and we had the time to change along with them. I love the new stuff, don't get me wrong, but I sure miss that specific brand of mess.

[canidbld]

Dear Wolf Therians...

(Aka, a domestic dog rambles about packs)

Content warnings: none

Word count: 2k

— Day 3 of Sol's Writing Challange

I want to start off this post by saying that I'm pretty confident I'm not a wolf therian. During my awakening, I automatically assumed a potential wolf theriotype (which seems to not be an uncommon experience) I actually tried to think and picture myself as a wolf, just to try out the identity but there was something that didn't feel right and it was sort of difficult to understand why. Maybe it was the large size of a wolf not matching with how I felt my canineness should look like, or maybe it was more of a personality/mental thing.

Either way, I kept trying to work it out in my brain and read the works and experiences of wolf therians. When wolf therians spoke about being a wolf, there was a lot of mention of feeling wild and untamed with an instinctual yearning to be free. They spoke commonly about how disconnected they felt from humans and that they were actually pretty wary of them and felt uncomfortable in humam focused environments, and that's when it clicked and why I was not a full wolf because I felt pretty comfortable with humans and I didn't feel this inner call for the wilds. I was actually pretty chill hanging out and around man-made settlements and cities (which were a wolf therians' worst nightmare, according to a few essays). Basically, I felt pretty domestic.

So then I just assumed I might have been a wolfdog. I went from thinking I could have been a high content wolfdog to a mid content to a low content, but even then, that didn't feel right. I read an article that discussed the differences in wolves and stray dogs that actually really illuminated my perspective on canines as a whole. Wolves were monogamous, primarily carnivorous, and apex predators and functioned under a family hierarchy. The stray dogs in the article were scavengers, eating what they could find on the outskirts of human settlements and didn't have to abide by strict seasons to have pups nor did they feel the need to form packs unless they thought it was necessary. All in all, dogs had a lot more variety in expression and were more loose on the "rules" of being a canine compared to wolves.

Eventually I just realized and came to terms that I was just a domestic German Shepherd (and a proud one at that!) with an emotional and aesthetic attachment to wolves that had no impact on my identity and how I identified no matter how cool I thought wolves and wolf therians were.

So, yeah, I'm pretty confident that I'm not a wolf therian.

But I loved reading about the experiences of wolf therians and what being a wolf meant to them and how they expressed that but I was mostly invested in how their wolfness interacted within themselves and other aspects of themselves. What was the culture of wolf therians? How did they describe wolfhood? What facets of themselves did they relate with other wolf therians?

The writings of wolf therians helped me create a foundation of how I understood caninehood so I could build up my own understanding using their experiences as a framework.

But one of the things I really was interested in is how a wolf therian felt about packs.

A wolf therian I follow (@words-of-wolf) wrote a piece about their experience with wolfhood (and how they felt it was different to the way other wolf therians talked about their wolfness), and it actually inspired this whole tangent about packs in general. One of my favorite quotes from the post was:

"But I will say that all of my deepest, most vivid, and most impactful memories... they're not of the hunt. They're not about territory or conflict or hunger. What I remember most richly is the love I felt for my pack. It's a feeling I can't quite find it in me to explain; sometimes I wonder if the reason I identify as loveless in this life, is simply because no love I've ever felt as a human could compare to what I felt as a wolf."

The feeling I got reading this was profund and sobering. I didn't relate to it on a deep level, but I was enamored by how they described what being in a pack really felt like and how the pack is what defined their wolfness and not so much being perceived or perceiving specific behaviors as violent.

I watched a documentary about a therian pack just recently actually and it carried a similar level of awe within me when I watched how close these therians were with others. They cuddled and played together, exhibited both dominant and submissive behaviors in a playful manner and had sleepovers and bonded with each other over a bonfire and it was nice to watch the way they loved being a pack together.

Wolves in the wild need packs. It's something that is so important to their survival and evolution and identity as a whole. They are social animals. The bond between wolves in a wolf pack is so solid and intertwinied with being a wolf that its pretty much what defines a wolf in pop media (for the most part) The wolf pack structure and culture also has been studied intensely for years. It's been observed and analyzed, hypothesized, and debunked.

What was thought to be the truth of how a wolf pack worked was actually revealed to be an inaccurate representation by the same man who created the now debunked alpha/beta/omega theory since the old study was done on captive wolves. Said man, named David Mech, corrected himself and said that wolf packs in the wild functioned very much as family units, with the father and mother at the head of the pack and then their first litter as their subordinates and their latest litter as the bottom of the pack. Makes sense. That's how families work mostly in human society.

But then what does this study say about wolf therians (and therians in general) and the way they feel about packs?

When reading about their experiences, some share this sentiment of feeling utterly alone. This loneliness was, for the most part, super intense, almost depressing sometimes when I read certain posts. Especially when the wolf therians I was reading about didn't seem to know any other therian in general, let alone a wolf one plus they had an almost instinctual aversion to humans. It was something I sympathized with. These were essays that read like lonely howls calling for non-existent pack mates in my head.

But those were specifically wolf therians who didn't have a pack, I did also read posts and essays of wolf therians who were and have been in packs (in their current lives) before, relaying their experiences that ranged from enjoyment and curiosity to horror and abuse mostly, from what I've read, due to these packs adopting the alpha/beta/omega model and trying to mimic this with other therians. Now there has been tons of discussion on how the alpha/omega model in packs leads often to power abuse and there has been valid criticism against the use of it in therian packs but there's also been equal amounts of therians who actually like the alpha system implemented in their own packs due to the euphoria it gives them as a wolf.

Keep in mind, the study that first introduced the alpha theory about wolf packs, while inaccurate to wolves in the wild, was still something captive wolves (essentially strangers) exhibited and I think that's important to note. I remember reading (or maybe watched a video) that mentioned how human society naturally has a hierarchical structure bringing up examples like work environments (bosses, managers, employers) and even schools (teachers, principals, students) and so packs that use the alpha model weren't necessarily a bad thing and actually made sense under these contexts.

I think the problem was because some of these therian packs were created haphazardly and were open to therians who were mostly strangers to each other and the alpha model didn't really give the neccesery room for these packs to bond with each other that much, something that had also been pointed out by other therians. Their solution was to be more picky on who you make a pack with. They said that packs should ideally be created with close friends and loved ones or even family.

It was interesting to read the different pack experiences, especially from a domestic dog point of view. Just as a canine, I also do sympathize with pack culture in general and while some domestic dogs don't really have a connection to the pack concept as much as wolves (save for specific breeds like the husky), I still think a lot about packs and how I'd function in one when I realized that I have been apart of packs, that I am currently in two packs; one with my boyfriend and one with my blood family.

And I do actually see them as my packmates, especially my boyfriend. I feel a loyalty to him and my family, I feel the need to defend them, protect them, and support them, not from a human perspective but entirely as a canine. My family pack can be dysfunctional sometimes, but my dogged loyalty means I'll always be there to support them despite the dominance problems. And it's funny to think about how I was "technically" born into a family unit and then when I grew older, I dispersed and found a mate to make my own pack with just like wolves do in the wild.

Therian packs, I feel like, have been a staple in the therian community probably since the first howl (not fact checked) due to how much the community traditionally has had such a heavy canine/wolf lean and focus (which is something modern therianthropy is improving on by being more inclusive to a variety of species) but I wish there were more resources that talk about packs and pack safety and what others thought of them, what their dream pack is and if they would abide by a heirachy or if they'd go off vibes or if they wanted a big pack that was friendly or something smaller thats a little more exclusive. What type of beings would they want in the pack? What type of behaviors would they exhibit in a pack? What name would your pack have? Would you consider your family or friends as a pack even if they're not therians themselves?

I wish even more for resources and essays about packs that aren't just canine centered like herds and flocks. How would therians run one? Would they be a leader or something more passive?

I know that this sort of veers on the edges of roleplay just a little but it geniuenly is a fun mental exercise for me. I like thinking about these questions because it does make me feel like a canine.

For me, I'm already pretty much living with my ideal pack with my boyfriend, even if it's just the two of us (plus our cats), which is what I prefer. I like how small and exclusive it is, and there's not really problems with dominance, considering we feel both pretty equal in terms of power in our pack. There's no name yet. It's just pure vibes right now, but that's okay, i feel loved and protected in this pack, and I love and protect my pack back. I have so much time to consider what a pack means to me as a dog.

And while I may not feel this deep connection to pack culture the way a wolf therian would, I still hold a similar essence of loyalty and love towards those who I cherish as a canine.

My fascination with pack society and culture is probably something I got from my German Shepherd theriotype. The concept of loyalty, protection, love, and family definitely appeals to it. Regardless, I just love reading and learning about it from academic studies to introspective essays, really, just all kinds of records that talk about packs. It truly feels like I'm searching for a meaning here and even writing this entire post barely scrapes the surface of what I truly want to say about packs, mostly due to me getting tired and my lack of vocabulary and ability to explain things better.

Just think packs are cool and see wolf therians as cool older siblings.

Kind regards,

Sol, a German Shepherd.

@/words-of-wolfs post about wolfhood

The study of the differences between wolves and dogs

[spxdyr]

okay look. ill never say 9-1-1 has perfect writing. hell, i might not even say they have particularly good writing. but the one thing the show is, is intentional.

i saw a post talking about all the plot holes in season 8 so far, and to be honest none of them were really holes.

1. where did the bees go? this feels like a silly question mostly because the show literally explained that they were moving with the wind or smth. like the plane emergency was only barely triggered by the bees.

2. what happened to the madney/henren conflict over mara? i saw what they were seeing but hen & chim are grown ass adults who realized the goal was to get mara home. the conflict never needed to happen because madney is having a second baby.

3. why is eddies years & years of repression solved with one conversation? it wasnt. he's still repressed the only thing that changed about eddie in 8x06 was him trying to stop punishing himself for the mistake he made with chris. nothing else has changed. idk what they were seeing with that one.

4. why has denny dying had no longlasting impact on henren? two things with that one. one, this was a buck & eddie focused episode. we got no furthering for storyline for anyone else, that's just how network tv works. two, when has 9-1-1 really ever given us longlasting impact. the closest we got was buck's leg crushing (which technically, at this point, has seen no further repercussions-not even a limp) and the shooting, which was more the emotional repercussions than any physical. lets not jump to conclusions based on an episode that didn't focus on henren at all.

5. and the most important, the bucktommy breakup. if i have to keep beating this goddamned horse about this fuckin breakup im gonna lose it. the breakup was written in the script from the beginning. from the: leaving buck on the side of the road, the dismissiveness around buck and his lil curse. and its not even the dismissiveness, because eddie was also in disbelief about the curse. its about the "your five minutes of screen time is up evan" and the comments about having a team that acts as family when tommy never had that. it was even the distance between at the funeral scene. because if we look back at the other funeral in season 7, eddie was right there next to buck because it wasn't just a buck moment. buck needs that support.

that's it for now

[dragonfly0808]

Musa and Tecna’s First Conversation

the next little drabble! After I finish the next one (will put up a poll for it soon) I’ll start putting these on AO3

This is set in the middle season 1 chapter 5

Musa followed Tecna into their dorm, happy to not have been dragged into helping Stella with her unpacking.

She’d heard about the famous spell Alfea used to have every dorm suit their residents perfectly. She’d been excited to see what form her half of the dorm took.

It was obvious at a glance which side was meant to be hers, the walls painted a burgundy red with a few black circles at the corners. The bed covered in different sized pillows and a dark red comforter.

Her closet doors were open and the space seemed to be divided in two. Half the space meant for her clothes, the other she assumed was to hold her instruments.

An oak desk rested against the wall, already holding a few music sheets and a jar for pens. Her nightstands were of a dark cherry color.

Tecna’s walls were painted a lilac color, with a metallic desk and metal shelves painted an electric green, a vibrant green comforter and plush pillows on her bed.

Tecna heaved her metal suitcase on to the bed, the suitcase seeming to expand somehow, splitting into a few different compartments.

Musa carefully took down her guitar from her shoulder, placing it in the closet. There were a few boxes around both their beds, the belongings that had been transported there from their home planets.

She wanted to get unpacking out of the way, it seemed Tecna had the same idea as she threw her half-translucent closet doors open and started sorting out her clothes.

As Musa went to open the first of her boxes, a slight conflict stirred at the pit of her stomach as she took out her carefully wrapped cello and arc.

Should she put on the headphones hanging around her neck and put on some music? Try and talk to her new roommate?

Musa wasn’t the most talkative person, but somehow Tecna looked even less talkative than her. She had an air about her, seeming almost tense as she cast one or two glances her way.

Right as she was about to pull on her headphones-

“You like music?” Came Tecna’s voice, tense and awkward as she cast another glance her way.

Musa snorted, opening another box and pulling out her flute and her bass, “What gave you that impression?”

Tecna ducked her head down, blushing as she slightly shrunk into herself.

oh, no.

“I-I mean… yeah. I really love music.” She quickly rectified, realizing she might’ve been a little too dry in her delivery, “But don’t worry, I’ll try to keep it down.”

“I don’t think I’ll mind it. I mean, I come from a pretty loud house. Music will be a nice change of pace.” Tecna offered as she turned her back, quickly filling her closet, shoulders still a bit raised.

“Loud house? You got siblings?” Musa asked, still feeling the other girl uneasy.

“A big sister and a little brother… you?”

“Nah. It’s just uh… it’s just me and my dad.”

“Mmm.” Musa was glad she didn’t go to ask about her mom, “And you’re from…”

“Melody. You?”

“Zenith. The rural side. My family uh- we have a lightning farm.”

“Sounds cool.” 

AAAAAGGGHHHHHHH 

This was awkward.

Was this what Musa was going to have to deal with for the whole year?

No. This was just their first meeting.

And it was embarrassingly evident that neither of them were really sure how to continue the conversation.

Musa wracked her brain for something to say, anything.

But there was nothing, so after another minute of silence, she put on her headphones and focused on unpacking.

She mostly forgot about her roommate as she worked quickly, after about an hour, sitting at her desk and starring down her sheets of music when the clinking of metal caught her ear even through the guitar chords coming from her headphones and she turned to see Tecna overturning one last box on her bed to dump a bunch of pieces on the bed, frowning for a moment before climbing on the bed and starting to separate the metal pieces into small piles Musa was sure had some kind of categorization even if she had no clue what it might be.

She hesitated before allowing her headphones to fall on her collarbone.

“Ummm… what’s that?”

Tecna looked up, clearly surprised at Musa speaking to her again, a hand holding a screwdriver.

“Oh… a computer. Well- the pieces of it.”

“…and why is it in pieces?”

“Well…” Tecna hesitated, eyes darting around, “I have an… okay computer back home. But I’ve been collecting pieces from a few of the companies from the technological side to build a better computer. My mom offered to just go buy one but I took it as a summer project to find all the pieces. And I made a few blueprints now I just have to… build it.”

“…that… is actually like really cool. Respect girlie.” Musa snorted as Tecna chuckled through her nerves.

“I’d tell you I’m not usually this weird but… I’m pretty sure that’d be lying.”

Musa smiled, “Believe me, I don’t mind a little weird. It’s what makes people fun.”

Tecna rolled her eyes, but she was still smirking so she obviously didn’t mind, “And what are you doing?”

Musa sighed dramatically, “Trying to figure out a chord progression for a song I’ve been working on.”

“You’re an artist?”

“Aspiring.”

“Mmm.”

They both held each other’s gaze for a moment before returning to their project.

Musa adjusted her guitar in her lap as inspiration suddenly struck.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so awkward between the two.

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

Hello! I really like your writing! It’s very good! :) I hope you’re having a wonderful day!

I have a question for your Poppy AU. How does everyone feel about Halloween? I was thinking about how the toys would react to seeing costumes of themselves on kids. Because with how big Playtime Co. was, there’s no way there wasn’t Halloween costumes made of their popular characters/toys.(at least, that’s what I think)

Thank you so much! I hope you're having a wonderful day as well!

This is super fun to me, because when Angel finally leaves the factory after the events of the game, Halloween has already passed by. I don't know if it passes while Angel is there, or if they receive the letter about their coworkers in November, but regardless, the toys have no idea about Halloween until an almost entire year since they left PlayCo. has passed by.

Now, the toys actually hear from Angel about kids dressing up as them for Halloween right after the rescue, when they go grocery shopping together for the first time and Bunzo notices a cheap costume, and asks Angel about it. They explain it, and the toys that are there (most of the minis + the Long Legs + Catnap + Poppy + Bunzo + the huggies) are a bit amused, but they all only really realize what this means when next Halloween season arrives.

Poppy is amused, to say the least. She doesn't expect any kid to ever dress up as her, so imagine her surprise when she sees a pair of two sisters just doing that! One is a very small kid, while the other is an older teen. She feels honored, really, but the idea of kids dressing up as the other toys makes her feel strange;

Marie Long Legs is not only amused, but is bragging about it to the others. She, of course, also tells anyone dressing up as her that they look adorable. She has lots of fun! No opinion on kids dressing up as other characters, but she does get a bit emotional when seeing Daddy and Baby Long Legs costumes;

Ollie/Baby Long Legs finds it a bit disturbing, esp since their rescue. Hates it, rolls his eyes at everyone doing that;

Huggy is just "THAT'S ME!!!" and "THAT'S YOU!!!" at the costumes. It's really cute, he thinks it's fun;

Kissy has a similar reaction, but it's obvious she has a soft spot for kids dressing up as either her or Huggy;

Bunzo Bunny loves it, mostly because he can point out to the costumes and call one of the family members to say "I found your clone over there". When it's him, he says it doesn't look as good as the original, but it looks amazing nonetheless. He likes when kids dress up as Mommy Long Legs though;

Boxy Boo is amused, but that's mostly it. Loves spotting mini Hoppy costumes around and pointing them out to her, though;

Miss Delight is a tiiiiny bit emotional, because it reminds her of her sisters. Avoids approaching kids dressed up as her because of that, and finds it amusing when she sees costumes of the others;

Dogday is curious and confused at first. "Why would they do that?", he asks, not really expecting an answer. "Don't their parents realize how... Weird that is...?", and he just sighs. Only really starts feeling less conflicted when he notices a group of teens dressed up as the Smiling Critters, all acting like a friend group, and he feels a bit warm inside. Kids dressed up as Catnap make him a tiny more conflicted than he would like to admit, but he finds them all very cute;

Catnap would feel awful if he sees a kid dressed up as him, he's just like "they have no idea what I have done... They'll never know...", and he prays to God (literally) that these kids don't do bad mistakes like he did. May be a bit protective over the kids dressed up as any critter, though. Thinks they're cute! No strong opinions on the others, except when it's a Delight costume, because he then feels Awful as well;

Bobby thinks it's cute, just LOVES going to kids dressed up as critters and go "I know you!!!", their reactions are always cute and she loves them;

Bubba is just. Stares. Asks himself what sort of parent would ever think this was a good idea. Sighs, treats the kids the same but he's bothered by it. Doesn't show any signs that he's more upset than usual;

Hoppy thinks it's amusing, but a little disturbing giving the context. No strong opinions on it, though she finds it ADORABLE when she spots a little boy dressed up as Boxy Boo;

Kickin is just "uh, that's weird, but these kids look pretty cool" (it's a kid dressed up as him). Annoys Bubba whenever he spots someone dressed up as him, though;

Crafty is there like "oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh". She hides her face on her hooves because she's too shy. Just! Someone dressed up as HER????? Really?! She isn't dreaming?! She expected her friends to become costumes, but HER????? She's crying from joy;

Piggy feels a bit bad for any kid dressed up as her, because to her they'll never know what a true monster she is, and she would ruin their fun if they ever knew the truth. Thinks kids dressed up as the others is cute, though.

[scratchtovoid]

“Make it a son for a son”

There’s a new season two promo where we hear Matt saying Daemon’s infamous line for the first time. And it has me wanting to bring up something I see with the team black fandom.

(BOOK SPOILERS)

There’s an impulse within team black to distance the characters of team black but particularly Rhaenyra from B&C by presenting it as a rogue act committed by Daemon on his own.

Now, first the book does not tell us that. The book gives us little to go on beyond Daemon’s involvement and the obvious implication that Mysaria was his KL contact to set everything in motion.

The rest of the details are mostly speculation.

Rhaenyra’s involvement is limited to a letter from her husband promising that Luke would be avenged. We have no further details on what she knew or how she reacted. Which also gives the show lots of room to present Rhaenyra’s feelings about this revenge plot however they like.

But what I see often in this attempt to isolate B&C to a Daemon-plan not a team black plan, is a misunderstanding of Daemon as a character.

In a bid to defend Rhaenyra’s innocence in the act, Daemon can not just be the lone perpetrator, he is also the monster.

Except this is an intensely human act.

A personal attack.

He could have killed all of Aegon’s heirs in that moment. As well as TG’s two queens. That would be the political move. Taking out the other side purely for political gain regardless of the innocence of the children he attacked.

And this is where those arguments from even within team black fall flat to me.

Because this is not political. This is personal. This is a grieving parent and husband who has no control and could not prevent the initial attacks on his family.

It’s not only rage and revenge, it’s grief and guilt.

So when team black talks about this event and may even lean into the interpretation of Daemon being a monster. It actually takes away from the greater story of team black, part of what makes them unique in contrast to the greens.

The greens, and this looks to continue based on the promo which seems to suggest Otto wanting to use Jaehaerys’s funeral as a propaganda tool, are very politically driven.

Think about it, they’re acting on tradition, purposely wishing to limit the power of women. They use rumors at court as a weapon, look for deals to be made, deck their king out in symbols of legitimacy. They always have a political angle to the moves they make.

This does not mean they do not feel emotional! I’m not saying that. But team green always has this internal conflict of making the political move at the cost of the emotional gain.

And team black (but particularly Daemon) are the opposite. They will make politically bad moves to satisfy the emotional urge.

Look at Rhaenyra marrying Daemon in secret, yes there is a political angle, but ultimately that marriage was one for love. Or Rhaenyra imprisoning Coryls after turning on the dragonseeds.

And with B&C there is no political advantage! They gain nothing in terms of good will with the public or lords of the realm. They have no eliminated any threats. They actively let threats live!

So what am I getting at here?

I’m not justifying Daemon’s actions. But this is fiction. And sometimes I think it’s good to look at a story for more than just “right” and “wrong” or moral lessons.

I think GRRM asks such interesting character questions in the Dance.

What does it mean to do something in an act of pain that is clearly going to be detrimental to the other side?

What does it say about a person to do that?

I think team black specifically should be asking questions like that.

[lurkingshan]

Japanese QL Corner

We are heading into a bit of a quieter period for QL corner, with two shows ending now and another next week. At least we still have a true banger airing to sustain us through the drought. Smells Like Green Spirit is also now airing in Japan but has not yet been picked up for international distribution (pray for it to get to us soon). These shows are available for weekly streaming on Gaga unless otherwise noted.

Happy of the End

CWs: Blood and gore, child abandonment, child molestation, childhood sexual slavery, death, family rejection, heavy scarring, human trafficking, rape, sexual coercion and exploitation, suicidal ideation, suicide mention

This week was relatively lighter compared to last week's very rough episodes, but still so laced with sadness even in its happy moments. Haoren mourned his mother, and finally admitted to himself, and to Chihiro, that she was never protecting him. The show dug deeper into how this bond between them is giving them both a reason to shake off their apathy about survival, though that is definitely touch and go for both of them. The way Haoren experienced a few moments of happiness and immediately jumped to the conclusion that he would like to die now because he'll never top this feeling was telling, as was Chihiro casually laying down in the street and not moving until Haoren dragged him away. They don't have any real hope for a better life, but they each seem more invested in the other's survival than their own, and that is giving them something to cling to. It was nice to see them have some moments of trust and connection between them, and for Haoren to finally feel safe enough to strip himself bare, physically and emotionally. I'm bracing for a rough final week, with Haoren's former enslaver coming after Chihiro in a bid to destroy the source of Haoren's new happiness. I don't really know what to hope for in terms of an ending for these characters; I just hope the show can leave us with the sense that their relationship mattered and gave them something they can each hold onto.

Love is Like a Poison

This episode had me screaming with laughter and delight. Haruto can read his Ryo-kun like a book, and Shiba can't seem to figure out which way is up. I don't even want to describe all the hilarious gags and sexy tension and extremely unsubtle metaphors in this episode; I don't want to ruin it for anyone. Go watch!

Chaser Game W 2

Of all the great JQL we've gotten in the last year, why this one got picked up for a second season I could not tell you. I was less than impressed with season 1, and I don't have high hopes this next go round will be any better. Especially after watching the first ep of this new season, in which they unceremoniously undid the ending of the last in a laughably silly way only to introduce a new, more annoying conflict. They could have made something of a story about Fuyu trying to work out a way to manage her family life to be with Itsuki, but they'd rather hand wave that away via gay penguins in favor of a new love triangle. Whatever, show. Here we go again, I guess! I’ll be watching this one mostly to support the ratings.

Tagging @bengiyo to do our last anime update for the next little while, as Twilight Out of Focus has officially ended its run and there is no new animated ql on the horizon.

[nortism]

What the Ghosts have been watching on TV

Everyone

Channel 4 Home renovation shows: They're free with ads and there's an infinite amount of them so Alison puts them on for the whole gang when she and Mike have work to do in same way people put on YouTube videos for their dogs. This has backfired slightly as all the ghosts now have very strong and conflicting opinions on how Button House should be renovated.

The Great British Bake-off: A whole family event, they all get very invested. Kitty thinks Alison Hammond is the funniest person in the world. The Captain feels normal about Noel Fielding. As well as a watching it live, I'm sure they've also watched the whole back catalogue together.

Mama Mia: This where the Captain learnt his ABBA songs from. Pat and Julian enjoy the nostalgic music and I think the others are just bewitched by the story and music

Robin

Anything David Attenborough: For obvious reasons. I think he'd get a kick out of trying to do his voice. The others sometimes join in.

Cunk on Earth/ Britain: I think they've got a similar attitude towards history and I think he'd find serious historians trying to answer silly questions incredibly funny

Horrible Histories: He watches this with Kitty, they both find poop jokes funny.

Humphrey

Antiques Roadshow: I'm not sure why. I honestly think he's just glad to watch anything.

Mary

Gardener's World: I think she misses being able to look after plants and I think she'd be endlessly fascinated by how hosepipes work.

Mio Mao: She loves them fucking plasticine cats. She will not stop singing the theme song

Honestly think she'll watch anything with anyone and would get invested, she seems like the ideal person to watch telly with.

Kitty

Ru Paul's Drag Race: I think they all watch this every so often but Kitty is invested. There's bright colours, fun outfits and drama, it's definitely Alison's go to when she needs Kitty distracted.

90s and 2000s romcoms: I believe that every couple of weeks Alison and Kitty have a "girl's night" where they watch all the romcoms that Alison used to watch with her mum, mostly because I love watching romcoms with my mum and Kitty deserves that. Kitty is particularly fond of Twilight.

Thomas:

Any Jane Austen adaptations: He watches them with Fanny as they were both big fans when they were alive (its the only thing they agree on). Kitty also joins sometimes. His favourite is the 1995 Pride and Prejudice tv show.

Fanny:

Grey's Anatomy: I haven't seen it but my mum's a big fan and there's millions of seasons, I think she'd pretend she's not that into it but she definitely is.

Call the Midwife: Same as above.

The Captain:

M*A*S*H: I've seen about half an episode of this but it seems to be about fit young men in a war so it sounds like his thing. Probably Pat's recommendation.

Our Flag Means Death: I think Alison has been trying to sneakily show Cap gay media under the pretence of saying "it's just a fun show about pirates". I think the whole gang watched it together. The Captain definitely didn't cry at the end of season 1 why would think that?

Pat

Taskmaster: I think this is one they all watch together but it's definitely one of Pat's favourites. He probably attempted to set up his own version of the show with the ghost which ended horribly.

Doctor Who: I think he watched the original run when he was alive and was absolutely ecstatic to find out they made more. Julian makes fun of him for it.

Julian

Have I Got News For You: Has been airing since 1990 so he definitely watched it while he was alive. I think he likes to keep up with current politics but not in a very serious way so this is his middle ground.

Succession: I haven't seen this show but it seems to be about horrible men in suits being horrible to each other which seems right up his alley.

The Thick of It: Speaking of horrible men in suits being horrible. I think he watches this with Robin who has absolutely no idea what's going on but just laughs when Julian does and they have the best time. Julian is constantly pausing to add his own anecdotes

What We Do In The Shadows: Alison put this on as a 'let's show the Captain it's ok to be gay' show and the Captain was immediately horrified so Julian adopted it. He identifies with Lazlo.

[aloeverified]

sometimes i wish gravity falls had a season three just because i want more silly episodes of the pines family with ford before the finale.

i can't stop thinking about an episode where there's a conflict between the kids and the grunkles, and dipper & mabel say that it sucks being young because no one will take you seriously, and stan & ford say that being old is the worst because you're stuck with all this responsibility.

maybe an argument breaks out that causes someone (probably stan) to accidentally knock over one of ford's vials that releases a gas into the air. when the fog clears up, it's revealed that both dipper and mabel appear to be young adults (or you could make them old people), and stan and ford are back to being around twelve-years-old again.

stan and ford immediately want to find a solution, but dipper and mabel are happy to prove that they were right and take advantage of the situation by bossing the "kids" around.

it's mostly a fun silly episode, but there is a underlying plot about how dipper and mabel are afraid of growing apart like stan and ford did, and how they're worried it's destined to happen as they began fighting a lot more in their older forms.

stan and ford enjoy not having joint problems and being able to eat sugar again, but they also can't help but wish they could stay this way and have a second chance to grow up together — at least, stan wishes for it, but ford says it's too late; they've already grown up.

[spacealligator]

Uzushiokagure Headcanons

I did a similar post about Kiri and a anon ask got me thinking about making one for Uzushio too! Here are some world building headcannons for Uzushiogakure:

Geography

Uzushio is located in a place with high temperatures and high humidity

likely to be hit with tropical storms, hurricanes, monsons

constant singing of the cicadas as if it's always summer

scorching sun coupled with heavy rain that doesn’t appease the heat

there are no defined seasons, it’s always hot, sunny and rainy

the seas around Uzushio are very hard do navigate, it makes it hard to get to them

the island is located close to the forests of Fire Country coast, so they also have lush green vegetation in Uzushio

Architecture

houses have to be built to withstand recurring natural disasters

subterranean shelters for the tornados, though those also get flooded during the storms sometimes

heavy building materials like stone and concrete instead of wood for example, to withstand the storms

stone also helps with cooling the temperature inside the houses

streets are not paved in anyway to help with drainage, so it's nostly grass and dirt

circular and rounded buildings as a reference to the whirpool also help them withstand the strong winds

People (the Uzumaki Clan)

big chakra reserves, great lifeforce, a lot of energy, long lifespans

they are like that because they are so close in lineage to the Sage of Six Paths

during the warring states era the Uzumaki were known as the people close to the heavens and blessed by the gods

Uzumakis are mostly extroverts and fiery, like Naruto, Kushina and Karin, but Uzumakis like Mito and Nagato, that don’t follow most stereotypes still have that fire burning inside them, they won’t settle, they know what they want, are strongwilled, strongheaded, a bit stubborn and passionate, so really, it’s not because they aren’t loud mouths that they aren’t Uzumakis where it matters

big sense of community and family

even after the massacre of Uzushio, Uzumakis tried to flee together and stick together, building their communities and helping each other wherever they went

Religion & Spirituality

since they have so much chakra and are so close to the gods and the Sage of Six Paths, they're deeply religious people

tons of temples and shrines and little altars spread around the city for a variety of gods

there are small altars inside people's homes too

a lot of rituals bring the Uzushio people together, there are seasonal festivals, parties in honor of the gods, start of harvest season banquets, offerings, weekly meetings on the temple, there are several recurring events linked to temples and gods that make up for most of their social lives

because of that the city is always decorated for some sort of festivities, it’s always very bright and colorful, and even if someone doesn't worship that particular divinity or is not involved in that event, they will still go to the event and celebrate together

Economy

since they're so isolated from a geographical standpoint, trade is not big on the region

no merchant marine or trade routes established with other countries

very closed economy, meaning they had to become self sustained

a lot of farmers between them, since the climate and soil favors tropical vegetation

even if it’s an island, their economy doesn’t revolve around fishing only, because the Uzumakis like their meat, so they also have a lot of cattle, mainly pigs, goats and chicken

they are hired by different villages and people at a very expensive price because their shinobi are very skilled, and an Uzumaki shinobi is never on low demand

shinobi activity is what drives the city's economy

in second comes money from services linked to the temples such as talismans, exorcisms, blessings, burials and others

the money from shinobi missions are reverted to the civillians too, but in general there are no conflict between what civillians want and what shinobis want

Politics

the Uzukage is always chosen by combat, they must be the strongest shinobi in the village at any given time

democratic system of sorts, since at any time anyone can challenge the Uzukage, because they should be able to hold his own, otherwise, they weren't fit to rule the village any way

the challenge is always public, always in form of a battle and always needs to be accepted or you lose by default

there are no main families or branch members like the Hyugas have, the Uzumaki stand in equal footing with each other

but of course there are different groups and parties, with people trying to connect themselves with a poweful shinobi, hoping for them to achieve the position of Uzukage and do their wish

for example, when Uzushio alligned themselves with Konoha there were people in favor and against it, at the time Mito was the second strongest shinobi in Uzushio, so she chose to help strengthen the bond by marrying Hashirama

local politics are not based on blood or lineage, only in power and political opinions

regarding international affairs, Uzushio spent a lot of time defending themselves from attackers

it's mostly an easy thing for them, since Uzumakis are strong and the way to Uzushio is long and hard but there are always constant ruckus on the borders

Culture

wear a lot of traditional clothing due to their religious traditions

people refer to others by their first name, since most of the population comes from the Uzumaki clan, and also because everybody is close and not very shy

they have great handwriting from practicing writing seals and talismans so much

very wary of spirits and respectful of the desires of the land and its creatures

not afraid of ghosts, or the dark, or haunted houses, they are very serious about leading a life in harmony with all the forces at play, including spiritual ones

big on oral tradition and not so much on the written records because: first everybody knows stuff, knowledge sharing is common and encouraged, and second, the elders and professors would live very long, so they can teach the youth themselves, instead of writing it for posterity, and that’s why after Uzushio was attacked, a lot of knowledge was lost

a lot of nursery rhymes, lullabies, supersticions, old wives' tales and popular sayings are passed down to the new generations

they also read cards, stones, tea leaves, stars, palm lines, whatever there is to draw their luck on

big eaters, all that chakra and boundless energy means they need a lot of food to fuel themselves

their cuisine is all about abundance, a lot of protein and fat, always a big volume of food, a lot of seasoning, spices, condiments, and such, loud flavors

they don't focus on veggies, fruits and baking as much as i meat, warm dishes, broth, and of course lamen

they put a lot of meaning and importance in getting together for a meal, it's a core moment for the familiar and comunal lives

the city closes during lunch so everybody can go back home to have lunch with their families and/or friends and be together in quality time

festivals often have banquets or traditional dishes linked to them, along with competitions for the biggest eater, and Uzumaki are very competitive

they're also big in games: card games, mahjong, shogi, go, dominos, bocce, drinking games and so on

there are also games that are linked with specific festivals and times of the year

they're great drinkers because of their big chakra reserves

Shinobi World

shamanism and shinobi activities blur, priests and priestesses make for great shinobi and vice versa

most of the shinobi are sensors, even some civillians are sensors

specialized in sealing

focused on research knowledge about minor gods and yokais, that's why they have things like the reaper death seal and can summon shinigamis and spiritual beings

they hunt for yokais like goddamn pokemon, and the tailed beasts were just an extention of that

when Hashirama sealed Kurama in Mito, the sealing of tailed beasts were already under research by the Uzumakis and she was the one who volunteered for it, they just needed someone like Hashirama, the god of shinobi to activate the seal

[moralofallthestories]

CK s6 part1 spoilers‼️

This is going to be mostly my rant on ep5 and some plots from the previous episodes

- My heart BREAKS for Tory, it’s like the writers just decided to add more on top of the misery from her story last season. S5 the girl broke up with someone she loves and cares about for Kreese’s plan, ended up hurting herself badly and had no one by her side the entire season, and now they just decided to kill off her mom just when her life is starting to get better. What did she do to deserve this??

- Look how quickly Daniel and Johnny moved on to Hawk for their selections literally after they all learned about Tory’s mother’s death, like if you both are such good senseis, wouldn’t it be nice to actually give a shit about Tory and her grief?? Instead of making if about yourself, how about we actually go console her and making sure she’s okay or at least be there? Both of them are such bad mentors for the kids, first is how they handled Kenny’s situation after he got humiliated with the accident, Johnny only spoke up when he’s fighting for Devon and Daniel rlly favors his kids than his other students. If any of these two even showed the same attention and support to Kenny and Tory, I’m sure neither of them would actually quit Miyagi-Do so quickly on the spot. Some sensei they really are huh.

- Robby my man, I get that going to the Sekai Taikai is important for you but are you really gonna do nothing after your girlfriend’s meltdown about her mother’s death? At this point this show’s writing is so bad I don’t wanna hear about any “they probably did this off-screen” kinda bullshit no more. I swear if part 2 has any point of showing him standing on the moral high ground accusing Tory of switching sides like what he did to her in s5 imma riot, cancel my Netflix subscription along with my family plan :))

- Based on s5 and what we’ve seen so far, my headcanon for Robby & Tory is that he’s the one that usually texts her first and he texts more but she’s not good with it, she’s not good with expressing her emotions either so sooner or later they’re gonna face this communication problem in the relationship (of which the problem was clearly shown before in s5 when they “broke up”)

- While the privileged kids talking about their top colleges and applications, what Robby and Tory had was the Sekai Taikai - underdogs in the top 4

- Devon, my girl…not a good decision…why you choose to go on that path

- I can never like Anthony he really gets on my nerves

- Bad writing with all those conflicts overall, hated how they handled Kenny’s character especially trying to embarrassing him for the flag fight. I was hoping to see him and his brother in more action but you can never expect too much from Cobra Kai writers I guess

- The baby storyline continues…the most boring and unnecessary storyline that ruins Johnny’s character as a father and a sensei

- CK really has this type of half assed writing throughout all seasons why am I surprised lmao

The good part:

- Sam & Tory’s reconciliation and their apologies to each other, the sleepover pillow fight was so cute and I love seeing both of them are so done with Johnny’s instigating

- Robby and Tory’s promise of standing together

- How Robby found himself & his confidence again after seeing Tory showed up, this is what partners influence each other

- Robby & Tory’s little nod to each other whenever one of them is fighting someone else, no words but it means so much more

- Johnny & Mike’s fight - it has to be purely a fan service kinda fight but I’ll take it

- Hawk & Demitri’s fight, unnecessary but it surely was entertaining

- Kyler’s redemption, I’m actually happy they didn’t give him a glamorous redemption and try to change him completely to let him join Miyagi-Do, it’s nice to see that his frat boy personality is still there

- Kwon’s fighting skills are some real deal

[raayllum]

graphic novel focus breakdown

because it's a tradition for like 5 pages to get 1k of meta at this point, Dreamer's Nightmare edition.

First, what can we glean from the pages themselves?

The town of Noct (meaning "night") has had a recent change of leadership. The previous mayor, a friend of Sarai's, has recently passed and his son, Otti, is now taking over. The royal family — consisting of Harrow, Amaya + Gren, and Callum and Ezran — have come, unawares that the town is likewise plagued by well, nightmares of a sort. We also know that while the comic will heavily feature both brothers, it will ultimately be Ezran centric.

First I'm going to talk about predictions for the comic itself, and then how it may relate to upcoming seasons.

The Comic: timeline wise

Timeline wise, Ezran seems to be about 4-6, putting Callum at 9-11 (maybe even 12) due to their varying age gap of 4-5 years. We see the boys stumbling out of the bushes, wet, from a recent misadventure featuring waterfalls and raccoons.

This is, of course, a reference to the story Callum (angrily) shares in 1x09 about Ezran's animal talking abilities, as he states, "And a few years ago" (from the present age of 9-10) "I realized I could understand them." This reaffirms the age timeline.

However, we do have a small contradiction here between 1x09's take and the comic's. Callum explains that:

However, the comic insinuates that this sort of thing has happened before at least a few times (although this is the first time Harrow has heard about it):

C: Seriously, every time I listen to you, I end up soaking wet! [...] What, Ezran? What is it this time? Bait told you? A horse? A burrow bug? [...] The raccoons again. It's always the raccoons. I've already told you, Ez! Animals can't talk. Can't believe I fell for it again.

Now, this could be due to few things: 1) while Callum's memory is extraordinarily good for visual things, he regularly forgets spell names (written down in his spellbook for consultation across s4 and s5), and also what he or other people have said to him like anyone else; 2) the incident with the waterfall was the one that stuck out in his mind the most and was the biggest incident, so Callum enhances it as the first real time this sort of thing happened; 3) while Callum says "every time" there haven't been that many, and other negative encounters because of raccoons (as noted) have happened before, so this isn't actually what's being referred to in 1x09.

(The realistic one is that things get shifted slightly, like Ezran's age, from materials, and that Callum being as much of a jerk here as he is is a lot more sympathetic if he's frustrated because of multiple incidents rather than one). Moving on:

The comic, conflict wise: interpersonal

While Puzzle House was mostly centred on Claudia's internal conflict with Soren as a tag-along, it seems that the brothers' will equally have internal and an external conflict to solve (more similar to Rayla's adjustments in BH or her and Callum in TTM). Although Runaan and Ethari had to adjust to their new daughter in BH, as adults they were equipped more so with skills and go on less of an arc than Rayla does.

Here, it seems (according to the summary) that "both princes have something to prove" as well as issues to resolve with each other, as Harrow reveals that, "[The boys] haven't been getting along. I thought a trip might be good for brotherly bonding".

For Callum, I'd imagine his 'something to prove' will be about his place of belonging among his family unit / possibly even adjacent to his bio dad (more on that later). For Ezran, he seems to be struggling to speak a bit, even with his brother and Harrow (who responds kindly and gives him plenty of time to gather his words, indicating this isn't a new or rare occurrence). Ezran has always read as Autistic to many people (myself included as an Autistic person) and delayed speech or speech impediments often effect people, particularly when they're younger, so maybe that's part of him learning to communicate better verbally? (Since we know Callum can't, of course, be convinced that Ez is telling the truth about animals, otherwise that throws 1x09 really out of sync.)

It also seems the brothers will have to reconcile and depend on each other. This could also pull in conversations or callbacks to Amaya (whose surely fought with but also lost her sister) and Harrow ("I know your brother can be frustrating, but let him be a kid as long as he can; one day he'll be king. Don't forget that" / "I know your brother's tempter can get the better of him sometimes, but Callum is loyal and true; he loves you more than anything"). The likeliest way this'll be resolved is Callum reaffirming his protectiveness and patience with Ezran, and Ezran perhaps acknowledging that he needs to be more careful about what he is talked into / talks other people into.

Either way, the brothers are gonna hug and I'm gonna cry, tbh.

The comic conflict: external

So the problem with Noct is that something strange is making adults fall asleep, while children catch only glimpses of what seems like a nightmare. My first thought was that maybe if you're young enough sleeping spells don't work on you (hence why Claudia's didn't work on Zym in 4x08) but it remains to be seen. If this is the case, Ezran would likely be spared and Callum might be on the cusp (dreams also have nightmares, after all) as he's a little older.

@kradogsrats noticed that the circular eye-thingy the town's statue lifts up looks like the moon-eye on the graphic novel's cover, so it seems that whatever is going on is intrinsic to this town. The previous mayor just passed, so there could be something with lingering spirits, but I'm currently more inclined to think there's a magical (moon?) related creature here that's had their routine disrupted and is subsequently lashing out. This would also provide Ezran an opportunity to speak with it and use his abilities for good.

We do know that the issue is recent given that the mayor, Otti, only sent a notice for the royal party not to come maybe a week ago, so it probably hasn't been going on for than 1-2 months at absolute most. Otti himself is also a point of interest, as people have pointed out his resemblance to Callum in his hair and eye colour, scarf, and general appearance. I'd place bets on him being an uncle or cousin of Sarai's if the resemblance was intentional. This might help push Callum's feeling of discontent and belonging; is he really Harrow, Sarai's, and his bio dad's son when he feels so disconnected from all of them?

However, what I find most interesting is his scarf and more than that, his staff.

Thus far every character we've seen with a staff in any way has been a mage. I've headcanoned Callum's bio dad as being a (dark) mage in the past, so if there is a mage on his father's side, I'll be exceedingly pleased. If the mayor is a mage, we'll have to see whether he uses primal (primal stone other than Sky we haven't seen before? Or he gives the royal party the sky primal stone as a thank you after everything?) or dark magic, or both.

Another reason I lean towards him being a mage other than the staff is his scarf. Since it looks rather while Callum's scarf (although to be fair, the old Katolis' king scarf from the 4x04 flashbacks also had a resemblance to Callum's) this could infamously be where he gets it from. It having a connection to either Sarai or his bio dad would be very sweet.

If it has a connection to him showing his first interest or affinity for magic, though... Maybe Otti will mention something to Harrow about it, and that'll be what gets Harrow thinking "Hm, maybe there's something I could give him someday" and we know he's thinking about the rune cube / Key of Aaravos.

That's all I have for actual comic predictions, so now onto the juicier stuff: how and why does this comic possibly tie into S6 and S7.

Why now?

Even for the prequel graphic novels, in choosing what gets rolled out when, the crew has typically leaned towards publishing graphic novels that are most in-line with ideas they want to explore in future seasons.

For example, Puzzle House was originally scheduled pre-S5, which makes sense given it 1) features Kpp'Ar heavily in name and mention and 2) also alludes to Soren's sickness, two things that are introduced within the show's canon in S5.

Bloodmoon Huntress was released pre-S4, but highlighted the cycles of loss and leaving that Rayla perpetuated in being gone in S4, how Runaan and Ethari's relationship mirrored Rayla and Callum's ("I've known since we met that nothing this is Runaan's calling, and nothing will deter him from his duty" -> "I have to go after him" "I know"), and that Rayla was getting her parents' coins back. Other elements also showed up prominently in S5, most notably Kim'Dael (though in-show canon her connection to the Moon fam hasn't been brought back) and "We are stronger together"'s callback.

So it seems Dreamer's Nightmare will probably have to do with stuff moving forward into S6 and S7. What can we glean so far? (Spoilers for 6x01 thanks to con info, stop reading here if you don't want to know anything.)

Star magic's dream associations have largely been a guess up until now — dreams have mostly been connected to dark magic, though Janai's nightmare seems to somewhat combine the two. We know, though, that Callum has been having nightmares about Aaravos in 6x01, so that having such a prominent display here in the graphic novel may tip stuff off for the future. This is what I'd hoped for when we got the title and synopsis as well.

If the book does set up what will become Callum's mage arc — the scarf from another mage, maybe cube allusions the way Puzzle House helped show how Claudia managed to track down the unicorn — then that of course will come full circle in S6 as he has to reconcile with what being a mage truly means. All of it, good and bad.

It's been confirmed in either s6 or s7 (I believe s6) that we'll learn a bit about Callum's bio dad. I don't think there's much to learn — I expect he was a nice person, maybe artistically inclined, probably got sick — but if we do see him in a flashback or vision that Callum has while at the Starscraper, introducing some of his family here could be possible.

Sometime in S6 and S7 Ezran is going to have to confront Runaan's survival and revival. We know thanks to "Deep Below" that he's probably not going to take it well, especially not at first. Having a graphic novel highlight more of Ezran and Harrow's bond would only make Ezran's loss and subsequent anger feel all the more earned/valid than it already is.

This is the one that makes me the most excited, but I've been gunning for a broyals conflict since s3 and veering into S6 and S7, it seems like it's finally here. Showing how and why the brothers may fight, and also how they can come back together again, would be a perfect parallel for the upcoming seasons. They'll fight and won't always see eye to eye, but they'll always love each other and put one another first when it matters / come around.

And that's about it for now!

(Onto the trailer next, I guess!!)

[mdhwrites]

i wanted to ask you about some legend of Korra stuff but I know you've said your not a worldbuilding guy so here's my toh ask instead: what is the appeal of camillip (Camilla and Philip)? I'm not asking as a belos hater (I mean I do hate him but more cause I find him un-intimidating- he's not exactly competent) but it's such a crackship. I'm not against it I support most ships so long as pedophilia/incest isn't involved but it's a very odd ship. Same goes for goldric but I actually didn't see as much of that ship like other people in the fandom at the time did. So why do you think people are so drawn to this ship? I know the villain x hero, enemies to lovers dynamic is popular and how there is that corruption vs innocence and bigot in love trope but most people remove Philip's villainy/bigotry? So why do you think people are so drawn to this ship?

So first: I can criticize worldbuilding, I will criticize TOH's after all, but it's just not my strongest suit, especially when it comes to my own fiction. The bigger issue with asking me about Korra stuff is just that I've only seen the first season when it was coming out, and like two episodes of the second, and went "Well, I like the slice of life stuff, didn't like the actual plot stuff and WOW this is bad now. Peace." It's also so long ago I can't actually give any real opinions of my own for something I found mostly forgettable.

Second: I would bet Philip and Camila as a ship actually has nothing to do with Philip being a villain. So a potentially awkward take I have about Belos is that part of why he may appeal to certain parts of the fandom is that, well... He's the only dude with confidence. He's the only one who might ever put his foot down. Everyone else is either too nice or submissive to have a proper backbone and there are going to be fans who strictly don't want that out of the male characters they play with. Belos gives that to someone for TOH and Camila can play against that in many ways. Either you lean into how subservient she is to her daughter's whims and have her second to him, or you have him and her push against each other as peers or you lean into the fact that both theoretically want to temper Luz into being a better human being but have very different ways to go about it, leading to its own push and pull. There's a lot of good, dynamic stuff there just by base personalities.

You also admittedly have another side of him: The Hunter side. Hunter is your edgelord, punk kid with a tragic backstory and as someone who has spent time with Belos enjoyers, one of the REALLY compelling parts about him to them is that he is arguably wronged in many of the same ways that Hunter is. Someone who was raised a certain way and was told by his family to believe in those ideals until suddenly he was betrayed out of nowhere and found himself alone. However, unlike Hunter, the cultural brainwashing actually, you know, was cultural brainwashing and he took the words to heart and committed terrible things because of it. Things he has now doubled down on for centuries as they are all he has to cling to.

That sort of backstory is RIPE for an "I can fix him" mentality and Camila is the perfect sort of character to do that. She is kind, has the patience of a saint, a firm moral code but also a perseverance which means she won't give up. Who better then to pull out the better man in him, the leader and visionary who made the Isles into frankly a damn near utopia besides his one law, than Camila? Mix that with the history he has with Luz, or general conflicts he could have with Luz, and this adds a lot of angst and stakes to anything to do with their relationship.

Camila is also admittedly the only non-squicky option for all of this with him really. I mean... As far as women who are legal go, you either need to age up characters, all of whom should hate his guts pretty vigorously, or you have Camila, Eda, Lilith, Evalyn, Terra, Dora the Explorer or whatever her name was, and Odalia. That's a lot of names... Not a lot of characters. Half of those people are people most of the fandom overlook or just don't really have a character. Odalia loses ALL of the points I talked about here because PURE EVIL according to the fandom and then Lilith and Eda both have big reasons to despise him with every fiber of their being AND they also don't really have the right attitudes to lead to a redeemed Belos, not as a main draw. Camila is the only one with the right storm of traits to tell more sympathetic sides of Belos with.

And that's okay. There's compelling stories to be had there and that's what fanfiction is all about. It is fun to dissect what romance tropes and the like are at play in a given ship though like this, so thank you for that and see you next tale.

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Funny enough: I don't think I've personally seen almost ANYTHING of this ship so all my analysis is just off the theoreticals I can see by my knowledge and instincts. Admittedly, I don't see a lot of TOH content in general nowadays.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[rise-my-angel]

those targ stans comparing Rhaenyra's strong boys to Jon are the absolute worst

Like, on one hand, I do see why people defend them. It wasn't their fault they were born to such unfavourable circumstances. Its not easy to grow up being conflicted about who you really are, and as much as Rhaenyra loves them, its clear she does not prioritize them over herself.

But theres more problems then that. The biggest point against them is the incident with Aemond. First of all, I don't condone the actions of Aemond when grown up since he is certainly unhinged, but here he was what? 10? 12? Somewhere around that age, and he felt he needed to claim Vhagar, the biggest dragon, after her riders death because that was the only way he felt he had to prove his worth in this family. For kids who are not sure if they were bastards, the Strong boys have never indicated once that they felt that desperate to prove something for their place in a family. Aemond telling his mother that him losing an eye is alright because he "gained a dragon" is heartbreaking. He thought losing his eye to claim a dragon was the only way to prove himself. When have the Strong boys ever indicated they felt that desperate?

Secondly is the attack itself. Aemond was alone and ganged up on. He was attacked by multiple people at once whom clearly brought items to attack him with, and him calling them bastards should not have illicted that violent of a responce. It is NOT normal to wound someone so bad they lose an eye during a fight between young boys.

Without knowing Myachs face yet, Robert phrased it best when the worst that happened was Joffery got bit in the arm by a wolf the size of a dog. "Damn it, children fight. It's over." But Cersei escalates this by propgating Jofferys lies and publically paints Arya out to be a wild animal. And we all knew then that Joffery was in the wrong in a much less serious situation (unless your Myach).

But here, the wounded child, was the one the other kids attacked themselves, and then allowed their mother to take charge and demand he be tortured. She accuses Aemond of starting a fight they know they instigated, and then allowed their mother to demand torture for a boy saying something that was already a rumour.

We all look at the adults in that situation but the Strong Boys mutilated Aemond and then allowed their mother to lie about what happened and demand torture for something he merely said in anger.

Now part of the issue is that Jace and Luke especially have essentially, no real individual character. Much like Baela and Rhaena's lack of character development, they are mostly a duo who dont stand on their own. Season 2 will change that for Jace obviously, but all we have seen of the boys in the most prominent scenes with them is a willingness to use aggression and allow their mother to violently lie for them to cover up their own wrongdoings.

Other then being bastards, the Strong Boys have literally no comparison to Jon Snow. They were called and raised as highborns. Those boys were literally involved in inheritance debates. They have massive privileges every other highborn does.

Jon grew up a known bastard and that literally dictated his entire life as lesser then the siblings he grew up with. He is nothing like them because he fought for everything he has and it's still nothing compared to what those boys were given for absolutely nothing.

Also, Jon never cut another boys eye out in a fight when they called him a bastard. Literally the first time we see him get that violent is trying to stab Ser Alliser, and that was for insulting his fathers honour after said father was arrested for a treason Jon knows is likely untrue.

Jace hopefully will have better development this season, but as it stands, he and Luke both were the kinds of people who wouldve spat down on the likes of Jon Snow.

And those bad traits come from where else but Rhaenyra herself. I don't support shitting on them because theyre bastards but most people who don't like Team Black get painted as bastardphobic regardless. Its a weak argument to disavow giving by looking at real critiques, and just going "oh youre just supporting treating bastards badly why should i listen to you"

As if people like me literally aren't massive Jon Snow defenders, who support Jon staying a Snow and being proud of who he is rather then him feeling like he needs a truename to be of value.

I mean people get angry just seeing them being called the Strong boys. Like use your eyes, people. They look just fucking like Harwin theres not a single drop of Laenor anywhere near those kids apperances.

I'm not trying to just diss the Strong boys, unlike what some fans will paint any criticisms as. Its all just really messy. You just cannot discuss them without Team Black throwing a tantrum.