#i really hope there's some sort of continuation. whether that's a season 2 or a separate show

[the-goopy-gaymer]

If Bullfrog has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Bullfrog has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Bullfrog has only one fan then that is me. If Bullfrog has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against Bullfrog, then I am against the world.

[genericpuff]

The Extended Mishandling of LO's S3 Midseason Finale Premiere

Alright, so I had mentioned leading up to the release of the newest LO episode that my feelings regarding LO returning were pretty "meh". Not hyped, but not completely back of mind either. Just sort of a weird calm before the storm type feeling that could go either way.

I'm glad I got to have that moment of calmness because good god, this episode was an absolute shitshow. And honestly, I'm not surprised, for several reasons:

Rachel has never been good at maintaining a buffer, even back at the start of the series she only ever had 2-3 episodes ready ahead of her schedule which is NOT an ideal buffer for an originals series.

Rachel has never been good at writing, she's very "draw first write later" and has stated as such in interviews that when she gets 'stuck' on what she's writing, she'll just start drawing and fit the pieces in later.

Four months is NOT enough time to both rest, attend massive conventions, and work on improving a project while also getting buffer episodes ready.

Because of the FP episodes remaining locked over the hiatus, technically Rachel only needed to have ONE episode ready upon return for the newest FP release, not multiple like she'd usually need like in the past during the S2 midseason hiatus or the season finale episodes which would unlock those FP releases like normal - so for all we know, she could have drawn this episode literally last week, especially when the promo material was so last minute. Frankly I think it was REALLY stupid for whoever it was who decided to keep these FP episodes locked (whether it was her or WT, it was more likely WT) but you can read all I have to say about that in my review of the midseason finale episodes.

All that's to say, no, there was never any guarantee Rachel was going to somehow "turn around" the ride we're currently on. I know that many of the critics were hoping for that to happen, but with the circumstances of the hiatus mixed with Rachel's bad habits of putting her best efforts into the procrastination projects that aren't her actual comic (ex. the few original pieces and LO sketches she put out during the hiatus) it just wasn't in the cards. This is where the comic is at and this is where it will remain until it's over.

I want to also point something out about this episode that was... really glaring to me.

As with all of these hiatus returns, LO got priority advertising in the first two banner slots and push notifications AND a popup ad within the app. This is unsurprising, Webtoons is still trying to milk this thing for what it's worth.

I know a lot of people are gonna focus on the art, or the fact that WT is continuing to shill LO, but I wanna point out the part that WT implemented specifically - "NEW SEASON".

This is literally just false. At best I'd like to think some intern just messed up and thought this was a new season, but it's literally not, the episode designation still says "S3". Note that the creators only design the banner art, the actual labels on top are put there by Webtoons.

But at worst, this feels like blatant lying to continue to hide the fact that LO is ending. Mind you, Rachel and Webtoons have still not put out official posts stating that this is the final arc. There is NOTHING from either of them to communicate to the audience that the comic is ending next year. It feels like they're trying to avoid the topic altogether out of fear of losing the fanbase they still have, rather than hyping up the comic's end for those who have stuck around to see how it all wraps up. And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case, considering they're now trying to funnel the fanbase into Penguin/Inklore with new marketing deals and the whole Rachel Smythe Presents thing. They're trying to make this seem like the beginning of something "new" when it's really just a quiet shifting of management (Penguin House).

But all that aside, let's actually get into the episode. It's one episode after 4 months, which is not standard for LO's hiatuses, typically FP episodes release on schedule (meaning free readers start hiatuses 3 weeks after FP readers do), the only time this has been an exception has been with the 2 week breaks because the whole point of those was to build a buffer (which you can't do if you're going ahead and releasing the FP episodes anyways). For extended hiatuses like these, usually free readers still get their FP episodes, but that wasn't the case here. That means Rachel technically only needed one episode ready for the comic's return, and it shows. It really fucking shows.

FROM HERE ON OUT THERE WILL BE FASTPASS SPOILERS REGARDING EPISODE 254. DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED !!!

As per tradition, we get a title that means nothing at all. It just says what we already know.

Our collective husband Zeus is dying, no thanks to the poison cupcake fed to him by Apollo. For those who don't remember, Apollo had tricked Zeus into eating the cupcake by making him believe it was from Hebe. We are fully aware that it was Apollo who poisoned him. Remember that for later in this review.

Right off the bat we're off to a hilarious start, both with a cryptid appearance from Apollo in the background (lmao) who is, for some reason, ALREADY returning to the scene of the crime he just committed because... who knows at this point. Apollo and Psyche know it was Apollo at this point, I might add, but I have no clue why Apollo is actually returning to the scene of the crime when he has no idea Eros and Psyche know.

Moving on from that, can we talk about this hilarious dialogue?

"We have to call a doctor! Let's call Asclepius!"

"No, we can't trust him! Gosh darn it, why are we only bothering to think of ONE doctor in this universe where we've seen more than one doctor?? Guess Zeus is just gonna die! What a horribly contrived situation this is!"

And that's literally how I can best describe most of this episode. Contrived. There is a LOT of manufactured drama in this that makes ZERO sense even on a surface level.

And what do you mean exactly, Eros? "What a terrible system!" Is this supposed to be a joke? Lampshading? We've seen Persephone go to the gynecologist. There are non-god doctors who tend to gods all the time here.

Eros just doesn't seem to be that pressed over this, he sounds like Ned Flanders and that's NOT a good way to open up a scene like this... let alone an episode people have been waiting four months for.

Anyways, after a few pointless reaction panels (again remember I have to cut a lot of what I show here for Tumblr image limitations but I promise you, I'm keeping as much important stuff as I can in this, there's just THAT MUCH filler at this point), Eros and Psyche confront Apollo and he is... good god.

There is... so much to unpack here.

First of all, remember those theories about how Rachel was clearly trying to write Apollo as this "secret twist villain" the whole time but it doesn't work because Apollo is simultaneously written as both a 'conniving villain' and a massive dumbass at the same time?

Well, I finally have a more appropriate term for him. He's your average red pill redditor - someone who thinks he's smarter than everyone else when really all he does is sit on reddit all day using big words incorrectly in arguments he gets himself into with a bunch of equally-air-headed dumbasses.

"You can't possibly understand the nuances of the Olympian political system," Apollo said proudly, a man who had, ironically and obliviously, run for president in a monarchy. The union of kettle and pot is eternal.

He's the Slappable Jerk but instead of it being a painfully hilarious impression, it's just painful and hilarious for all the wrong reasons.

this is so stupid because it's 1.) Eros pointing out how obvious Apollo's plan was, despite Apollo acting smart two seconds ago with a goddess who, mind you, has been a goddess for ten years, and 2.) patricide isn't even intrinsically linked to politics, there's nothing 'political' about a guy trying to kill his dad except in, idk, a monarchy, which again, Apollo has spent ten years trying to rise to power in as a president which is a completely different form of government.

If I wanted to be really granular with this, I'd like to think Apollo is making some kind of point about the critics who call out LO's whack as fuck political system (especially in the trial arc) - as if he's saying "well you're just a stupid reader and this is fantasy where you don't understand exactly what political system we're using, so shut the fuck up you stupid twig" - but I don't think it's meant to be that deep. I think it's just Rachel trying to write a smart character and then failing at it because she, herself, is not a smart writer. And I'm really inclined to believe that more than the theory about this being some kind of meta-narrative about the critics because this entire plotline is contrived and stupid down to its core.

I did not cut anything out here, that's the pacing. Leto literally just appears out of nowhere and uh oh spaghettio's, she has Kassandra! Remember Leto? The character we were led to believe was truly "pulling the strings" until she disappeared from the story completely after she realized that Apollo and Persephone weren't a thing, even going so far as to call out her own son for being a fucking dumbass? Well, she's back and once again she's being involved as some kind of "double agent" in this whole thing, even though we literally haven't seen her since halfway through S2.

"Mm yes, you're so stupid, falling into my trap! Even though you had no reason to remember Kassandra anyways because she's literally a mortal woman you just met and you yourself have committed acts of violence against mortals without a shred of care! I'm so smart! My plan is all coming together!"

We've never seen Apollo do anything except cry and poop his pants, the closest he got to being "powerful" was his attempts to murder Daphne (who he seems to have forgotten about in this "master plan" of his) but ultimately he's literally just a piss ant baby and there's no reason to believe that he could somehow outmatch the God of Love who can literally manipulate people's emotions and states of mind with his arrows. But yeah sure go off, you're so powerful and smart.

The worst part is, I can't even buy this as the narrative trying to be like "see how manipulative and conniving he is?" because it's just silly. We've SEEN this man cry with his victim complex, we've seen him say and do the DUMBEST things that don't lend to any amount of "intelligence" he may have, it comes across less as him being "smart the whole time" and more as him trying to sound smart but ultimately sounding incredibly stupid. And I can't even immerse myself into it and buy that maybe that's the point, because it doesn't feel like the point, it just feels like inconsistent writing, he doesn't feel like a 'threat', he's just monologuing.

Bad art and Apollo literally just repeating what Leto already implied so this is a waste of the audience's time.

This is the funniest panel in the whole episode because I can't tell if Apollo is supposed to be in the background (for some reason, despite him literally being in front of Eros and Psyche two seconds ago) or if he's in the foreground and just REALLY small for some reason. This is so off-putting. And of course, it's just Apollo explaining what we're ALREADY SEEING ONSCREEN.

You see, in addition to this episode being contrived, it also talks down to its audience a LOT by explaining exactly what we're seeing onscreen. It's like Rachel saw the criticisms about her not including enough to depict what's actually going on in her head and so she thought the solution was to spoon feed information over pictures that are already doing the job of explaining what's going on. Rachel really doesn't know how to write and even when she tries to implement changes that reflect criticisms that have been made of her writing, she somehow makes things worse because she completely misses the point of what those criticisms are trying to get across.

Anyways, without even trying to resist (for some reason) Eros and Psyche get sentenced to horny jail.

They're now trapped in a basement that Leto somehow has in her home. How do we know that?

HAHAHA FUNNY LAMPSHADING SO FUNNNYYYYYYY

Leto claims that they shouldn't try to escape because the dungeon is "enchanted", but she doesn't even bother to explain what that means. So they literally don't bother trying. They don't try to call her bluff, they don't try to teleport out of there, they literally just go "well shoot", shrug their shoulders, and accept their fate. Just like with the whole "we can't trust the only doctor we bothered to think of" situation, Eros and Psyche are turning out to be some of the stupidest, lowest-effort characters in this comic who literally can't be bothered to try because that would require too much brain power.

Notice how much time we've spent on this and we haven't gotten back to where the cliffhanger of the last episode left off? Well buckle up because there's still more to cover.

So it turns out Hebe was still inside with her dad, in FULL VIEW of what was going on through glass which is somehow COMPLETELY soundproof, and when Apollo steps inside, she just has no idea what happened. She never bothered to even look outside to see what was going on with Eros and Psyche, she's just been sitting on the floor staring at Zeus' dead face for what was likely several minutes, unless Rachel is seriously trying to convince us that conversation and hostage negotiation from earlier only took 2 seconds. The timeline is such a mess at this point that characters basically freeze in place as soon as they're not the focus of the scene.

Apollo rushes inside, acting shocked over the situation, and when Hebe asks where Eros and Psyche are (again, she could have just looked out the window at any time), he's just like "dur idk they just left lol" which Hebe just... buys, I guess.

That's just Persephone but yellow. She's even missing her beauty mark.

See how Apollo put his hand on Zeus' chest/shoulder by the way?

Apparently, despite Mr. Smarter Than Everyone Else trying to pretend it wasn't him, he's able to discern that Zeus is dying from a toxic and rare poison just from touching him. He doesn't even really seem to use his powers, he just touches him and goes "welp he's dead i guess lol don't bother asking me how I know that".

But oh nooo remember that note from before? Well gasp Apollo's gonna use it to frame Hebe! In front of no one else at all!

Hebe of course says she didn't write it, but Apollo continues to try and frame her anyways, even though, again, there's no one else present here, and so it effectively just becomes the most absurd form of gaslighting I've ever seen.

Again, THERE IS NO ONE ELSE HERE IN THE SCENE. He's just trying to claim she did it to absolutely no one at all, in the hopes of... what exactly? That she'll just take the fall for something she knows she didn't do? That she'll somehow be convinced? It's not like Hebe has the same thing going on as Persephone where she has a 'wrathful dark side' he could pin it on, this is just a criminal who just robbed a building pointing at the first person they see and yelling "YOU DID IT!"

All I'm saying is that Apollo would be really bad at Among Us. He'd be the type of player to kill someone, hit the report button, then claim yellow did it which, even if he DID convince the rest of the team, would still get kicked anyways as soon as yellow was proven through the eject to not be the imp and everyone would go "okay cool so yellow wasn't the imp, that means obviously it's purple self-reporting." It's a trick that doesn't even work anymore because of how old it is. Hebe isn't a child here, she's an 18 year old woman who should be fully capable of raising an eyebrow and wondering why Apollo is this quick to accuse her - almost like he's trying to hide the fact that he did it.

But Hebe can't catch onto this, just like Eros and Psyche, she has to act stupid for the sake of the plot.

At first I thought maybe Rachel was trying to do some "whodunit" scenario, but that doesn't work here because we already know who did it. And while there are stories that exist like that that pull it off (ex. Knives Out) the problem with trying to do this the way Rachel did is that the person being framed has to have this thing called motive. The reason why Knives Out and Glass Onion work so well is because the person who was murdered (or conspired against) is someone who is being targeted by multiple people who could all be the murderer. It's quite literally called out in Glass Onion as a form of smart lampshading. "It's like putting a loaded gun on the table, and turning off the lights."

But it doesn't work here because Hebe does not have motive. If you're going to attempt to frame a murder on someone, it has to be someone who would have reasonable motive to commit that murder, even if they didn't actually commit it.

And who among Zeus' children has motive?

What about the war-mongering bloodthirsty god of war who has been regularly sentenced to time in the Mortal Realm to fight in wars in which he's been regularly injured?

What about the chaos-seeking wrathful goddess who would do it to get revenge on the parental figure who cast her aside, or even just for the fun of saying she did it?

Why try and pin it on Hebe, the doting daughter of Zeus who's only had a collective of maybe 20 panels in the entire comic?

But then I realized... it's not Knives Out, it's the fucking Lion King.

Which is just as contrived - if not more - than the assumption this was gonna be some attempt to frame Hebe. It's not. He's literally just trying to keep her from assuming it was him. He could have just as easily played dumb without calling attention to the note but he intentionally went out of his way to try and be Scar from The Lion King , while completely missing the point of why that scene worked in the original movie.

Scar wasn't trying to 'frame' Simba for Mufasa's murder. He was trying to hide the murder, while also attempting to get the only heir to the throne out of the picture, so he passed the guilt of the death onto Simba - a child who, unlike Hebe, wouldn't have the ability to rationalize or realize his uncle his a scumbag - who then ran away from home because he was too terrified to face his family for what happened, assuming that it was all his fault when it wasn't.

That's not how this is panning out here. Hebe is the now 18 year old daughter of Zeus, and not one of his only children. She doesn't even fit into the whole "sons overthrowing their fathers" prophecy like Aries would. Apollo is literally just being a big idiot here by saying "well I'm gonna give you a headstart to run away, because if you stay, I might hurt you" (which btw, should be MORE of a smoking gun that Apollo did it??)

And again, it's all so contrived so that the plot can move forward. "Well I'm going to frame you for this murder, but y'know, you should just leave, I'm not gonna try and press it further lmao"

Again, Apollo is a fucking idiot here, because he just attempted to frame someone who has NO MOTIVE to harm Zeus, to absolutely NO ONE at all who would side with him, only to let her go which would leave her to question why Apollo would try to accuse and harm her in the first place before considering other options. And through ALL this he claims he's the smart one, which I can't even be bothered to "love to hate" because it's written so poorly.

And really it all comes down to how everyone else behaves in relation to Apollo that makes it so stupid and unbelievable. Apollo, you're not smart just because all the characters around you are intentionally being written to be as stupid and non-confrontation as possible. If you can only write a smart villain by making everyone else stupid, you haven't written a smart villain, you've written a dumbass whose victory only happens due to contrived plot convenience. It's not even done well like in Glass Onion, it's just bad writing, full stop.

And who does he call to report this emergency? The satyr police? His son the doctor?

No.

The media. Literally just "hello, the media?? I need your best journalist here stat!"

I need you to understand, even if he were calling a tabloid magazine like The Weekly Nark, you don't just... call a journalist to report a murder. These are not the actions of someone who's trying to absolve himself of guilt, these are the actions of a complete dumbass trying to get news coverage of his trophy kill who would be better off just playing dumb instead of trying to play smart. Even Walter White wasn't this fucking stupid despite all the times he fell on his own sword, Apollo is literally just instigating suspicion towards himself for no reason at all. He's self-reporting so hard and worst of all, you can't even take any of this seriously because of how corny it is. There's no dramatic tension, no stakes, it's just a bunch of characters performing in a really bad stage play and reducing every conflict to "well I guess Zeus is just dead now because no one's bothering to make an effort to stop Apollo or ask questions lmao"

It's truly the epitome of "this plot wouldn't exist if characters would just talk to each other."

But finally, FINALLY we mention the thing this episode is named after, the transition point to Persephone.

Just like with the midseason finale episode, there's a lot to cover here, so I'm gonna get more into it in a part two post.

That said, you can see already this is the messiest, most contrived bullshit to ever wind up in LO. It's trying so hard to be smart and it just comes across as a bunch of toddlers in the world's worst stage play rendition of Clue. None of what was done here was in any way dramatic or tense, it's just a bunch of characters infodumping shit we already know, trying to set up new plot threads that don't make any sense, and allowing one another to get away with what they're doing because they don't bother to even try.

It's completely manufactured, contrived nonsense. It's not "smart", it's not "so dumb it's brilliant", it's just dumb.

[storiesofaot]

Hello! I was hoping to have a closure for Hange in season 4 because I just feel that there are so much that she had to go through and there doesnt seem to be a lot of support for her (her shorty, unfortunately, is stuck with the monkey in the forest).

Wondering if I can send in a request for a short fic. My thoughts are below:-

1) I like to think of Hange as the Survey Corp princess who dare to challenge things. And all the big brothers in SC will just allow her to do any "nonsense" - Levi, Miche and Erwin, while still being protective over her like the little sister.

2) With this in mind, I have this thought of an oyster or mussel which either she found/ or was gifted. And there is a moment of reflection, whether is her own introspection or a dialogue with Levi, after she became commander.

3) The dialogue came to to a discovery of a pearl. And then she reflected how she was a pearl, being protected and smoothed by all the people around her (who had since dead). May include how she reflected about her own shortcomings and annoyance etc but I leave it to you.

4) This pearl/ oyster thing became a comfort for her after Eren grabbed her collar and when she had that moment of self-doubt in Season 4.

5) Bonus: if somehow Levi felt something at that moment while he is in the forest??

Thanks so much. Hope it is not a lot. I just wanted Hange in season 4 to have some comfort and support.

Thank you so much for your request, @eueuphoriaz ! An oyster as a metaphor for Hange’s development was such a beautiful and also fitting idea - I hope I did justice to it! 🥺

Rating: G ; Word Count: 1851

Title: The Pearl Within

Hange’s mind was overflowing with countless thoughts as her gaze swept over the horizon, where only a faint stripe of purple remained visible above the water’s surface. Had the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers really come with the intention of joining forces, or was this merely a setup by Marley to weaken them from within before launching their attack?

It all sounded very convincing, of course it did. Yet now it was up to her to determine if they were telling the truth or if they were trying to lead them into a trap. It might seem like a minor decision at the moment, but it could impact the entire future of Paradis Island and determine whether they would end up in a war or not.

Suddenly, she could hear some footsteps from behind, and when she turned around, she saw Levi approach her at a leisurely pace. “What are you doing here all alone?” he asked when he came to a stop next to her, eyeing her with a mix of curiosity and concern.

Hange sighed and let her gaze drift over the sea again. “Nothin. Just … thinking.” For a little while, the two of them remained standing next to each other in comfortable silence, him not pushing her to talk while she tried to sort through her thoughts.

“I am not sure if we can trust them,” Hange finally said, looking back at Levi. “What they say does make sense … but with Zeke involved, I fear they might have plans they’re not letting us in on. I mean, they practically admitted that they won’t tell us their full plan until we officially agree to work with them.”

Levi snorted with disdain, his expression growing darker. “I wouldn’t trust anything that stupid monkey says. He’s definitely the one pulling the strings, and I’m sure he wouldn’t hesitate to betray us, even if the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers claim to be our allies. I believe -“

He broke off when he noticed a group of Marleyans nearby, being escorted into another tent by two Scouts, their curious gazes lingering on them. “Let’s talk somewhere else,” he murmured, nodding towards the rocky beach. 

Hange agreed, and together they climbed down the stony incline until they stood on smaller pebbles not far from the water, where they were safe from curious ears. “But I wonder,” she continued, “if they might be our only chance to reach the same level of technological advancement as the rest of the world. We’re significantly behind in that regard, and I’m not sure we’d find anyone else willing to help us with that.”

Levi tilted his head, seeming to ponder her words. Eventually, he broke the silence. Eventually, he broke the silence. “Advancements are great, but let’s not kid ourselves into thinking they solve everything. Even if we know how to use their stuff, they might still use it against us. I doubt they are willing to share all their information with us.”

They continued their discussion for a while, but all they ended up with were numerous arguments for and against an alliance. Once again, Hange felt fear and frustration tightening around her chest, and as night fell, she sensed that a shadow had also fallen over the hope she had once held.

“I’m not sure if Erwin chose the right person to be commander,” she said bitterly. “What if I make the wrong decision, and instead of making things better I put us in an even more dangerous position?”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself; even Erwin would have struggled with the decision,” Levi said, his voice unusually soft. “You’ve learned a lot from him and from the past, and he trusted you for a reason. You’ve got the grit and the brains to make the right call; he wouldn’t have made you commander if he didn’t believe you were capable of it.”

Hange bit her lip, reflecting on what Levi had just said. He was right in a way - Erwin had significantly influenced her approach to problems and her thinking in general. They had first met as cadets, and their camaraderie had continued when he became Section Commander. It had evolved into a friendship when she had followed him, and persisted when he was promoted to Commander. Throughout all these stages, Erwin had always supported and encouraged her. Of course, he had had his doubts and concerns about her sometimes unconventional ideas, but if she could convince him that something felt right, he would relent and let her take the lead. No, she knew she wouldn’t have come this far without his guidance, nor without the support of her other fellow comrades who, simply with their presence, had allowed her to develop and grow into the woman she was today.

A sudden warmth flushed through her as she remembered all the people who had been by her side throughout her life, and she hoped that wherever they were now, they could feel her gratitude for having met them.

She had been silent for quite a while, but when Levi suddenly moved beside her, it was as if she was abruptly pulled from a dream back into reality. Levi pulled something from his jacket pocket that Hange couldn’t immediately identify. It was oval-shaped, with a muted greyish tone and a slight sheen, but it wasn’t until he held it out to her that she realised what it was: an oyster shell.

Almost instinctively, she reached for it and gently weighed it in her hand, intrigued by the small object. She had never actually held one before and only had seen pictures of them. “Where did you find this?”

“At this beach,” Levi replied. “This morning, while I was on watch and doing my rounds, I found it lying among the stones. I suppose it must have been washed ashore.”

“You know it’s extremely rare for oysters to be found onshore? Normally, you’d have to go out to sea to catch them - you must’ve been very, very lucky!” Hange tried to return the oyster, but he shook his head.

“No, I didn’t know that. But that’s why I’m not supposed to keep things like this - I’d never appreciate them properly,” Levi replied with a shrug.

“Oh … thank you!” Hange smiled, feeling a soft flutter in her chest at his kind gesture. But once again, Levi just made a dismissive gesture, as if it were no big deal. 

“Don’t stay out here for too long; it’s getting pretty chilly,” he finally said after a brief pause, turning to leave. Hange grinned to herself; that was the Levi she knew. Always retreating when things got a bit too cosy for his liking.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before frostbite kicks in,” she teased, very pleased to see him roll his eyes - one of her favourite reactions from him. “Oh, and by the way, could you send some of that luck my way? I think I could really use it in the near future.”

“Sure, I'll pack it into a little package, with a ribbon and everything, and leave it on your desk.” To anyone else, his voice might have sounded as serious as always, but Hange could detect the faintest hint of playful irony in it, and it delighted her. Giving her one final nod, Levi turned around completely and disappeared.

She remained standing at the beach for a while, absentmindedly playing with the oyster. It was slightly cracked open, and when she tried to peek inside, she glimpsed a hint of the nacre, shimmering white with pale blue highlights. Curiously, she ran her finger over the opening and then tapped lightly on its shell - and to her surprise, she could hear a faint sound, as if something was moving inside. A surprised gasp escaped her lips. Could it be that there was actually a pearl inside? The chances were slim, yet she couldn’t resist the urge to find out.

Carefully, she attempted to pry the two halves of the shell apart, her fingers working gently to create a small, widening gap without breaking it. Once the gap was large enough, she turned the shell around and, to her astonishment, she felt something small fall into the palm of her hand. With delight, she gazed at the smooth, creamy-beige pearl, holding it between two fingers before letting it fall back into her palm again.

What wonders Mother Nature worked. A foreign object entered the oyster’s shell, triggering the production of nacre as the oyster protected itself. Over months or years, it built up layer after layer around the irritant until a pearl was fully formed.

For some reason, Hange felt a connection with this process: her journey had begun with her own internal struggles and challenges. She had always had a clear vision of what she wanted, but often people didn’t take her seriously and sometimes even laughed at her. However, over time, the influence and support from her comrades - especially Erwin and Levi - their wisdom, experience, and guidance, had enveloped her, smoothing her rough edges and shaping her into the person and leader she was now. Of course, her insecurities remained; deep down, she was still the same. But she had acquired the means to handle them and tackle difficult situations, and it was only then that she realised how much those she had left behind continued to live within her.

“I’ll do my best, Erwin,” she whispered, her gaze fixed on the pearl. “I don’t know if I’ll succeed, but I’ll at least try.”

◇

Over the next few years, she always kept the oyster with the pearl in her jacket pocket, as a kind of good luck charm, but also as a comforting reminder of all the people she had to leave behind, who had such a profound impact on her life.

When her heart ached from having to arrest Floch and his followers, dealing with their radical ideologies, and she felt like everything around her was starting to crumble amidst the growing division and dissatisfaction, she reached into her pocket and began to fumble with the oyster shell, thinking about Levi and the fortunate day he had found it and hoping that some of his luck would rub off on her.

And when she broke down in front of the cellar door after her confrontation with Eren, feeling a growing sense of desperation because, although his methods were undeniably wrong, she could understand the source of his strong feelings, she reached into her pocket and clenched the pearl in her fist, hiding it within her closed fingers, its pressure against her palm a reminder that, amidst the chaos she was enduring, there were traces of Erwin within her that she just needed to find.

Little did she know that, some distance away in the forest, Levi was thinking about her, as if he sensed her struggle and wished he could do more than just silently support her. Although she was unaware of it, she felt a small spark of comfort igniting within her at that moment. And it was enough to keep her going.

[ofdinosanddais1]

Heartbreak High Season 2 Spoilers

So... lots of shit happened in the finale.

1): I like that they're setting up a redemption for Sasha and Spider. Both have done such horrible things on complete opposite ends of the spectrum but it's nice to see they could have a path to growth.

2): For Spider, I'm hoping to see more of his home life. I am thinking his father abused both him and his mom and his mom had a traumatic response which made her fear men including her own son. I think she pushed him away when she should've helped him because that's her kid and he reacted in his own way. And that does not absolve him of his wrongdoings, it means he has to sort through this shit in order to grow and prevent further harm to others. I would love to see more discussion on that in the third season. I would love for Spider to have a retribution and closure arc not for his own wellbeing (although it's a factor) but because there are boys watching this show who might have experienced things like him who might want to know it's okay to feel emotions and to see the damage that his actions did to show that it's not a healthy thing to do and it hurts a lot of people. I said redemption arc because that's probably what the show is setting up for but I think "redemption" should be left ambiguously like he's trying to be better but his actions have lasting consequences on the people he's hurt and he will always be making up for that. Changing for other people is not about being seen as the good guy but doing your best to prevent further harm. It's a complicated thing to deal with but I think showing that complexity like they have before is so important for kids watching this show.

3): I would fucking adore to see a Sasha redemption arc mostly for my own experience with other people who behaved like her who never learned from their mistakes for treating me differently because I'm autistic. Some of y'all might not want a redemption arc for her but like, I would fucking love to see her apologize and acknowledge what she did wrong and show change. Even if it's hard to do at first because no one will be perfect on the first try. After the lack of a genuine apology from Sia and her actions to the autistic community and how she continues to victimize herself, I just really want an allistic person to apologize and do better and I think the set-up for that in season 3 is PERFECT. Hopefully, there's a way for Quinni to still be school captain with Sasha as her co-captain because I think a message of uplifting people in communities you are not a part of is an EXCELLENT message. Sasha could step back with being the leading voice in this and allow Quinni to be a voice in her life as being autistic. Then this could expand to Sasha stepping back and uplifting other people's voices and learn that activism is about bringing people together and allowing space to share ideas and not trying to call out every single action she thinks is wrong. Overall though, I don't want them back in a relationship. I think the captain/vice-captain friendship could be fucking GREAT.

4): My heart fucking hurts for Cash. During that whole episode where he was on that boat with Chook, I was so fucking scared it was gonna be a jumping out situation but I fucking hope Chook doesn't mess with Cash or Harper anymore. He fucking had a deal and I don't want any redemption for Chook whatsoever. Crime and recidivism reduction is a special interest of mine and I fucking hated that Cash was in that situation to begin with and it's a perfect example of how vulnerable people join gangs. I am so fucking elated that this show is doing a great job of representing crime, recidivism, and police brutality. I'll have to research the prison system in Australia because I wanna see the similarities between Australia and the US's prison system. But YES. NAIL ON HEAD. A lot of teenagers and children join gangs because they are vulnerable whether that be an abusive home life such as Cash being in a group home then in Chook's gang before his grandma brought him to her home. How your family, your friends, your loved ones are all in danger when you are trying to leave a gang. I'm so fucking relieved that hopefully Cash can be free. I don't trust Chook's word though and that stuff always haunts people who often have no choice. I just want him to be safe and loved and cared for. He deserves so much better.

5): Kinda disappointed that Harper and Amerie didn't have a conversation on how Harper treated her but I think I still like their arc. I don't think that they're in anyway on the best terms they could be but I think it's because that Amerie views relationships transactionally in the way that she thinks she has to give every cent of her self to make other people accept her and I wanna see more of Amerie's story. For one, we know she has a sorta strict mom. For two, I've never seen anything about her dad. I'm wondering if there was an incident in her peer group in the earlier days or a situation in her home life where she feels like she constantly has to give 200% just to feel like she deserves even 5% of something. I really want the showrunners to tackle that kind of stuff in the third season. I want Harper and Amerie to have some kind of realization that their friendship is more complicated and I want Amerie to just have a god damn break for once. Have like a filler episode or gods just a fucking nap. I want Amerie to get like a cold where Harper or Darren or someone just helps her out while a bunch of crazy shit happens at school. Give my girl a break.

6): I fucking hate Rowan. He's manipulative but also traumatized. BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT SAM RECHNER DID PORTRAYING HIM??? It's like he woke up one day as Rowan like his acting was fucking PHENOMENAL. If Rowan is in the third season, I'm not going to be mad because I fucking love Sam Rechner's portrayal of a teenager that is aggressive and touchy and just... how tf do I put this... a sort of trauma-touched angry that is not the typical portrayal of "I'm angry because I'm traumatized" but just representative of people who are like him if that makes any fucking sense??? Idk how to describe his attitude and mannerisms because there us definitely trauma laced with his actions but you can also tell through his backstory that this shit didn't start with his trauma or at least not the one we saw in the beginning. It's kinda like the signs of a serial killer but (hopefully) those signs are recognized and he is placed in a treatment that can focus on protecting himself and others. I don't think his behaviors will go away and I would not be surprised if he's not in the second season because he was institutionalized because that seems like a natural progression.

It's weird to talk about Rowan because there are signs that his trauma has influence on his behavior but is not the sole cause of his behavior. I don't want to put some kind of diagnostic label on him and I encourage everyone else to also not put a diagnostic label on him because I think most people watching (including myself) have the psychological knowledge to put a label on him without demonizing other mental illnesses because I see a lot of behaviors that can be attributed to some psychological problems but I'm not educated enough to talk about that without demonizing people with those mental illnesses who act so far from his other behaviors. So, I don't recommend other people putting a label on him because, even with good intentions, there are people who would want to use Rowan as a reason to demonize real life mentally ill people. But, I do not fucking like him as a person. I love the characterization. But fuck him to the sun, man. He was manipulative of Amerie and he was trying to forget Amerie but his thoughts did result in harmful actions and I think the best retribution would be deep psychiatric help but knowing the mental health industry, the kind of help he needs does not currently exist and that fucking sucks. If he is in the next season, I'm not going to complain because holy fuck I loved the character in the realm of his writing like the writer room for Heartbreak High deserves a fucking award.

Overall, my thoughts on the season were that I love how complicated everyone is. The characters feel like actual people that exist in real life. They feel loved and cared for and I hope netflix greenlights a third season. I've seen a LOT of people recently who hadn't watched the first season come out but got a netflix account specifically to watch Heartbreak High and that kind of thing is what netflix WANTS so I'm a little more hopeful that a third season might get greenlit. I'm excited to see what the showrunners do next.

Again, gonna say that, whatever behaviors that Rowan has that can be attributed to certain mental health disorders, let's just consider what fuel we're adding to the fire.

And because some people did this, remember that the actors are not the characters. A lot of people bullied Gemma for Sasha's actions but Gemma is the actor playing Sasha, she is not actually Sasha. She did a fantastic job so it might be confusing but she is not Sasha and does not deserve the hate she gets for her wonderful portrayal. This goes for EVERY actor.

[tellmegoodbye]

Tag Game: Endings

Thank you @lonestar-s5countdown as always for the questions. I've had fun doing these!

Most of these got pretty rambly, so sorry about that! I just have a lot of feelings about this show.

---

(1) Which 911 Lone Star season finale is your favorite?

It's gotta be 4x18! I loved how the journeys these characters were going through all accumulate in the overarching theme of choosing love even when you're in pain.

TK and Carlos chose to have their wedding in spite of the grief and the pain of unanswered questions. Judd chose to take care of Wyatt and refused to give up hope, but he also listened to his needs after he pushed him too hard. Tommy and Trevor chose to love each other in spite of the gossipers, and during the wedding Tommy reveals that she isnt opposed to getting married again. She's choosing to let herself feel that happiness again when she finds that Trevor is someone she would want to have that with. Robert chose to give his family some peace instead of letting them watch as he continued to get sicker. He's giving his family the gift of life by ending his own, and Owen chose to be there for him even though he would have to watch his brother die for a second time. He chose to make sure he wouldnt be alone even though there could be consequences and even though his family would probably feel hurt and betrayed if they found out.

These are all situations in which they have to make tough decisions and come to an understanding about all of the complex feelings that they have. There's happiness, and there's sadness. There's pain, and there's joy. And at the end of the day, that's what life is. I think the season 4 finale was both a beautiful insight into the headspace of each character in regards to their pain, but overall it is a reminder of what it means to live.

(2) What was your favorite moment from the season 4 finale?

The wedding! That's probably the obvious answer, so I'm going to get more specific and say that I loved the final scene with the montage overlayed with Tommy singing Being Alive. A perfect song choice in regards to the theme I discussed in the last question.

This scene gives us a brief look into all of the different stages of grief, pain, and healing each character is in. We see joy from Tarlos on their honeymoon. We see hope from Grace, Judd and Wyatt as he begins to make some progress with his mobility. We see a sort of acceptance from Owen and Robert, as well as the begginings of grief for Owen when they prepare for Robert to end his own life. I particularly loved how the scene ended with the song coming to a close and we watch as Owen struggles to process the fact that Robert is dead, until he eventually finds the strength to call 911. That was a really memorable and haunting moment for me.

They're all struggling with unique problems and dealing with their pain in their own ways, but that's proof that they are still living.

(3) Are there any storylines that you would like to see brought back for a more satisfying conclusion?

Not necessarily a specific storyline, but I would love to see how Nancy handles a leadership role now and how she's grown since the DNI incident. I would also like to explore her backstory more and her relationship with Mateo.

(4) Pick one character and tell us where you hope to see them at the end of season 5.

For Owen, I would really like to see him coming back to his roots. In season 4 he was lost. He expressed feelings of loneliness in the wake of TK getting married and "not needing" him. I want to see him rediscover his worth. Whether it be helping his family in TK and Carlos, or helping everyone else. From all of the intense distasters and emergencies they will face, to the dilemmas Owen will have to resolve when it comes to losing Judd and Tommy temporarily, and having to make a decision between Paul and Marjan. Owen will fall back into that leadership role and find that he still has a lot to give to people and a lot of people who still care about him and rely on him. I also want to see him come to a place of forgiveness in himself in regards to Robert. He's made a lot of progress with the guilt he feels towards everything else that has happened in his life, but Owen truly feels most at peace when he's helping people and he's going to have to learn how to find peace in not being able to fix everything, even if he did the best he could.

(5) What is one thing you really want to see before the show ends?

A Carlos dedicated episode! He's definitely due for one and I can feel it in my bones that s5 will give that to us in some fashion.

@strandnreyes @lemonlyman-dotcom @heartstringsduet @bonheur-cafe @herefortarlos

@literateowl @carlos-tk @paperstorm @guardian-angle22 @lightningboltreader

@ironheartwriter @emsprovisions @sapphic--kiwi @welcomehometk @corsage

@nancys-braids @captain-gillian @alrightbuckaroo @theghostofashton @thisbuildinghasfeelings

@carlos-in-glasses @freneticfloetry @reyesstrand @butchreyes @firstprince-history-huh

+ open tag

[raisinushigher]

hi im just gonna put my thoughts on every clone high ship i can think of here

jfgogh - i think its cute. i can definitely see jfk like uplifting gogh and him falling in love over like the most basic display of kindness and jfk just being like “haha woah there guy i didnt mean it like that” but then he realises he Does

gogh x gandhi - LOTS of mixed feelings on this one but it is pretty interesting truth be told. like, the way gogh didnt just sit back and take what gandhi did to him and instead retaliated, i like that, i like the thought of two tiny guys having the most unnecessarily intense rivalry ever, but i know that isn’t really the way the ship is portrayed often rather than wholesome stuff . you interpret ships however you want though

gfk i think is the name for it - im so sorry as a gandhabe connoisseur i know how annoying it is when people say this about a ship that absolutely entraps you but i think jfk and gandhi are more accurate together as just silly friends who see eachother like once a month. jfk casually brings up a girl hes dating (or rather just having sex with frequently) and gandhi is like wait what happened to the other one? like hes very out of the loop but he listens and they both hype eachother up a lot

ceasgogh, gogh x christo, ceaser x christo, whether it’s any of those seperately or polyamory - i love this one so very much for literally no reason. maybe its like a nostalgia thing cuz i remember people talking about them sometimes in 2020 and being like Aw that’s cute but idk something about them feels so like. objectively correct. like yep that’s the little background trio standing together in an episode as they should be

abefk i think - i like it!! even though it’s barely known apart from jokingly i really like the classic 2000s rivalry between a nice boy and an asshole jock thing that was going on between them before ponce’s death, i admit i miss their interactions. i miss how theyd refer to eachother with their last names. also the part in season 2 episode 6 where they both were recalling memories of the grassy knoll and abe went “i used to get food thrown at me” and jfk continued “i used to be the one throwing that food”. i like them

joanabe - i know this one is like barely a ship but i still need to talk about them badly. their friendship is so important to me. the way its always been them whether it’s joan crushing on abe or the other way around, they’re just so special to eachother in any and every way, and both struggle with the choice of helping the other or doing things that hurt the other but ultimately raise their chances of getting together. tbh im so interested in whats gonna happen with them in the finale, and in the next seasons bc i doubt their back and forth crush thing is gonna last the ENTIRE show like itll be getting a new sort of premise or main character focus which im excited for

joanfk - some of the fanart is absolutely adorable COUGH COUGH ORT SMORT COUG but its just not for me man. biggest two factors as to why i dislike it being how it overtook the fandom, and how to me they just never had any substance. they have a fun dynamic and the season 1 finale was sweet but idk it just never affected me that much. also bc i always knew it was gonna crash and burn. like that is not a stable couple as cute as it is sometimes. like at all. and im happy episode 7 finally addressed it

abe x cleo - again, not really a fondly talked about ship, but they are pretty dear to me. it’s the way cleo was clearly playing with abe at the start but actually saw the charm in him and was actually upset when he finally digested his feelings for joan… i really hope they’re gonna be good friends in the future bc episode 7 seemed to be sort of a start for that friendship and them learning to be ok around eachother after the finale…

joan x cleo - ive always been scared to talk about this one bc some people see them as sisters, which i Really dont. they never acted in a sisterly way at all, and the living together thing lasted for like what. one episode. so i doubt it had any affect on how they view their relationship. but again absolutely fair if it makes you uncomfortable for this reason! but yeah i do like them. very very good trope and there can be some really cute stuff done with them dynamic wise

gandhabe my heart and soul my romeo and juliet my sun and moon my red and blue - AUGHGGGGG MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE. EVER. IN THE WHOLE SHOW FOR EVER they just have such sweet interactions and everything they do they do with the other in mind and i want them to have an emotional reunion in the season 3 finale sO SHRGFRHRVRRRRR RR RBR R R R. RR R. sorry this is mostly incoherent screaming rather than actual words I just DUCIGJGN LVOE GANDHABEEEEE EEYEHEEE THEYRE END GAME!! THEY ARE END GAME WHETHER ITS AS FRIENDS OR ROMANTICALLY RHEY ARE THE ONES

ok now onto the ones involving the new gen clones

harriucius - i like them its the second het ship in the show ive ever actually liked!! they just both go so well in so many ways, they both have almost the exact same struggles and cope in similar ways, but harriet has more of a hands on attitude with her problems, while confucius tends to avoid things. im VERY interested in how their relationship will go and i dont really think anything’s gonna happen to them bc i cant picture the show pairing either of them up with anyone else (mostly confucius tbh 😭)

joanharriet - i WISH this one was more acknowledged by the fandom like i think its the least popular one at least involving the newbies.. can you tell im a sucker for ships that are literally just two close friends who love eachother more than anything. lol. when i think of them i think of episode 5 which makes me extremely happy. like look me in the eyes and tell me that was not an absolutely beautiful wonderfully wrapped episode

johnfucius - gonna be honest i dont like this one. i know this is a really rich thing to say while talking about clone high season 2 but it just felt rushed, and especially with how they barely did anything after sleepover. like they were literally crying both of them being like OMG I FINALLY HAVE A FRIEND!! and then they proceed to have the most stale interactions with the most notable one being in the next episode and it’s literally just confucius encouraging jfk to avoid his problems like he does. not really good. but again if you enjoy them all the power to you, im happy you found something you like that hasn’t been ruined and seems pretty docile and chill compared to all the other ones :o) it’s very much a mostly fandom based ship

kahlopatra - BEAUTIFUL. BEAUTIFUL. I HAVE NO WORDS JUST BEAUTIFUL. there definitely was a lack of suspense like based off the intro and the slight buildup throughout the series BUT that literally doesn’t matter. out of every canon couple they are the absolute cutest im obsessed with the effect they have on eachother. especially on cleos side of things like ahhh!!!! she found someone she actually connects to genuinely!!!! i am so happy for her!!!!!!

tophucius - not much about this one its just pretty fun and silly . i feel bad for the people who thought something big was gonna be going on w them but the small details peppered in about them in sleepover were nice. i always liked how when confucius saw that topher typed your instead of you’re, he went “i thought so” like to me that confirms they do this all the time and they know it’s them. also really funny to imagine them being sworn enemies online but when they actually see eachother in school theyre Like oh shit hey man what’s up! hope youre well! like not even through gritted teeth or anything they’re just so chill irl for no reason

abetoph - Sigh i sure did save this one for last. while im a lot less comfortable with it now i still love thinking of them pre episode 8 and i do think their relationship is just ever so slightly more interesting now with the added double crossing n shit added to it. but im also sad they’ll never be the way they were may 24th to june 14th again . that specific time period of them is so comforting to me for no reason, all the memes and running jokes in the fandom involving them, all the wholesome fan work of them sleeping in tophers bed, watching stuff on tophers computer together, abe being tophers voice of the reason and the one person he actually likes, it’s just so … man. We Could Have Had It All. i love them for ever.

thank you so much for listening

[thegeminisage]

okay WHEW it's star trek update time. last night* we watched tng's "interface" and ds9's "the siege." *i'm typing this at fuck o clock and scheduling it to go up tomorrow when i'm not here <3

interface (tng):

i don't want to talk about it

actually wait no yes i do but mostly i just want to complain. i wish there was perhaps some sort of skip/watch list with the dead parent episodes labeled. for star trek. i mean i know i'm making one but not that one i can't use that until it's too late. i can't crowdsource EVERY dead parent episode of star trek through my tumblr followers. though i will say whoever warned me about 4.02 of ds9 (i forgot which person it was, i'm so sorry 🙏) has my deepest gratitude. ok. complaint lodged.

what else...um, geordi and data. emptiness. Yeah

yeah. that's all. sorry. my spidey senses started tingling about halfway through the episode and i googled whether or not his mom really was dead and upon receiving my answer we stopped the episode to go directly to ds9.

the siege (ds9)

LOVED this one. where do i even begin

well i will begin at the obvious: women! kira and dax in the shuttle. mwah

what i loved most about kira and dax in the shuttle wasn't even the homoeroticism, though i did - of course - deeply enjoy the homoeroticism. what i loved MOST was that they seemed to have invented a personality for dax at last! i have no idea what was going on in this episode or who this dax was or where she was during s1 but i REALLY liked her. it's shocking bc i almost gave her LAST PLACE in the character rankings, but she was so fun here?? and also kind of like...airheaded and weird. "i might keep the nose." seems like they really DIDN'T know what to do with her in s1, but better late than never. i will continue to try and forgive her really terrible hair even though it makes her head look soooo weird and offputting

big spider bad. actually it was too stupid looking to be scary but i still didn't like it

quark and odo's gay little goodbye <3

julian FUCKING bashir pretending he was hot shit when he held those guys up. KING.

actually all of the action sequences in this episode were great. all three of season 2's episodes have been really funny even as they're also very serious at the same time, i fucking love it

love also the little nod to o'brien's service record on the cardassian front in the way of wartime rations. not only is it funny but it is, again, a great reminder of his cardassian trauma, and why he might feel obligated to stay behind

SPEAKING OF. everyone in ops, down to the last person, agreeing to stay at ds9, even though some of them have families like o'brien does. i'm SO glad they didn't forget his family, that they actually showed him and keiko arguing about it, but he STILL felt morally that he had to stay - that it was more important than his own life, and the risk of his family having to continue on without him.

PLUS the fact that not a single person wanted to leave, even after sisko assured them that they SHOULD think of their families...girl he is literally the best captain or commander or whatever. that's stone cold loyalty. they all trust him or love him or both.

i was a little ambivalent on li nalas as a concept but he actually was used finally...i think "off the hook" was a great way to take care of that arc neatly, because making him live the lie would have felt cruel, but him just ghosting would have made him look like an asshole, no matter how justified. i hope there's a bajoran afterlife he can chill out in

did we get set up for season-long villains with winn and jaro? that would be fun. the concept of "storylines" feels so foreign in a star trek show but there it is........

TONIGHT: tng's "gambit part i" and ds9's "invasive procedures," which with any luck will hopefully be about subjects besides dead parents 🤞

[akajustmerry]

curious what you think the finale might hold for Roman after this week's episode. Love your Roman thoughts <3

thanks ❤️ I truly reckon roman might be headed for some sort of hospitalisation? he's definitely filled the spot of kendall this season since kendall has taken on the roll of logan. I think (hope!!) these shots are of roman getting the help he needs somewhere.

like all the roys, I think he will get what he deserves but not what he wants, and what roman has always wanted is for his family to be together. but that's not going to happen when kendall ousts him and shiv one way or another.

something I've always felt very strongly about with roman is that he absolutely hates the ceo work and waystar. he likes winning at it, he likes it when he's good at it, occasionally he even likes the people, but the work itself he absolutely hates. but he's never got to really do anything else, partly because Logan probably never really let him and partly because roman loves his family and the family is the business. gilded cage shit, etc.

so with all that in mind, what I think will happen is that, however it's sliced between the board and kendall, roman will be outed from waystar. even if he isn't directly, the betrayal and division kendall is expecting roman to do to shiv is not something he's ever been capable of. but regardless of whether roman goes through with betraying shiv, Kendall will throw roman under the bus if it means getting the crown. either way, roman loses both his siblings which is the ultimate loss for him because they are his life. BUT what he wins is freedom from waystar, freedom from the cage he's been in his whole life.

now in the darkest version of this theory, I think it's possible roman tries to kill himself at the end. I've always said he has nothing without the world his father built and he's not exactly a person with a strong sense of self. maybe the last we see of Roman is him considering suicide or attempting it. I don't like this theory much honestly I think it's me projecting if I'm honest, but I can't fully rule it out given Roman's history of self-sabotage and what we saw him like last week.

in the lighter version of my projected ending, he just leaves waystar behind and we don't get to know who roman is after that. this kinda makes more sense to me because 1) kieran said he was really shocked to learn it was the last season which tells me he expected roman to continue beyond the episode so ie he's not dead and 2) the show is called succession and we've never been privvy to any of these people's lives outside of that central question. so it certainly won't start to show us at the end. he will leave, gain that freedom, but it will cost the togetherness he always wanted and then we cut to black. that's the ending I ultimately expect. the only other expectation I have is that I will miss him very much 🥺

tldr: Roman will win, but lose as all the sibs will. He will be freed from Waystar (the cage), made to walk away, but that freedom will cost roman his siblings, and the hope he's always held they could be together.

[queenofthearchipelago]

I read your post about the 1941 flashback, which is the only one, that is a continuation of a s1 flashback. So, you do think we’ll get another 1941 flashback in s3? I hope so!

You know, when I wrote that little ficlet, I wasn't actually 100% sold on the idea that we Absolutely Would get another 1941 flashback in season 3. I was thinking it would be a coin toss, maybe we would get it maybe we wouldn't. But this ask made me really Think about it. And, I've changed my mind.

I do think we're getting another 1941 flashback scene.

(Edit from future me who just finished writing this, prepare for a meta and my theory for what the next flashback scene might be like)

See, originally, in my mind, I was only certain that we would get some sort of continuation. I didn't know if that would be in 1941 or maybe present day season 3. Because there are indeed a lot of loose ends with that story. The gun in the bookshop and the zombies still being out there, just two examples.

But the more I think of it, the less my "present day season 3" theory makes sense. Those zombies were created SPECIFICALLY to find out whether Aziraphale and Crowley were fraternizing. And now they're free to roam the Earth, killing at least one person per day so that they can survive. I can't imagine either Aziraphale nor Crowley being okay with the idea of that, especially not for 80 years. And especially with season 3 being about the Second Coming, I doubt there's gonna be time to deal with Nazi Zombies (though Neil can do what he wants, he always does lol)

I think it makes much more sense if something were to happen soon after that romantic dinner in 1941. Come walk with me now because I have an idea...

What if that first flashback in season 1 was just the prologue? And now this bit in season 2 was part 1 of a two part story? (That was a lot of ones and twos in one sentence... and I'm doing it again)

Here's what we know:

In season 3 we will be dealing with the Second Coming, and though we don't know how that will play out, we can assume that Crowley and Aziraphale will have to trust each other. Much like the bullet catch.

There's a gun in the bookshop.

Demons aren't allowed to kill humans (or potentially zombies with a contract with Hell that allows them to be immortal) (Reference: Crowley tells Shax this in episode 5, and it's one of the only things he says to her that he clearly isn't making up because she nods like she knows and then she has her line about how humans can be casualties when fighting angels)

What if, in that next flashback scene in 1941, Aziraphale and Crowley come face to face with the Nazi Zombies again. Only this time, angel and demon have decided that they really have to get rid of the Nazis for good this time. This would make it the first time in their existence they decided to kill someone.

And the situation unfolds into... another bullet catch?

Aziraphale has the gun, he aims it for a zombie, and Crowley is in the way. He can't use a miracle to kill someone, he just can't. He has to do this the human way or not at all. He aims, he fires, he... aims true.

He's killed someone. Nazi zombies who were planning on killing innocents and hurting himself and Crowley. But he killed them, his actions did that.

He tells Heaven that he was thwarting Hell's plans, so he gets away with it. He was just returning Hell's souls back where they came from so they'd stop doing harm.

And all this could still lead into my little ficlet here.

And the implications of that moving forward, that Crowley trusts Aziraphale with his life in the exact same way the angel trusted him. That Aziraphale IS capable of killing (and maybe this is why Crowley suggested Aziraphale kill the anti-christ, because he knows the angel won't like it, but he can). The implications to that could parallel whatever is going on present day with the Second Coming in season 3.

Regardless of if I'm right or not, I do think something has to come up again with those zombies and the gun. They might not even end up serving the same plot line, but in the meantime, it's certainly fun to think about.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Odd Squad UK -- "Club 37" Episode Followup, Part 2

...I'm doing this for all of you reading these followups, and I hope you realize that.

Let's go below the break as I pray that this episode gets better.

Okay, I'll have to assume that this girl is "Oh-Oh", even though Ozzie pronounces her name as "Uh-Oh".

Either way, she's way too chipper for someone going completely against the grind.

"We solve oddness. We don't cause it."

"But some people want their cases unsolved."

THAT IS THE SAME EXACT FUCKING THING. BY UNSOLVING YOU ARE, IN ESSENCE, CAUSING ODDNESS. THIS IS NOT STEPHEN HAWKING LOGIC WE ARE RUNNING ON FOR FUCK'S SAKE.

AND THEN THEY TRY TO FUCKING JUSTIFY IT BY MAKING THE VICTIMS WANT THEIR ODDITIES REAPPLIED?????? ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE.

Y'know...at least when people wanted odd stuff to happen to them, it was funny. It wasn't a common thing. It was a joke, a one-off gag. And I was fine with that, because those people were outliers, whether they were clients or villains.

The existence of Oh-Oh implies that this happens on a regular fucking basis and we're just supposed to take this as part of the franchise lore.

I don't know about you guys, but I am not, in fact, taking this as part of the franchise lore.

I don't know if I can give a bigger "fuck you" than the "fuck you" I'm giving right now. Not at work, not while driving, not at this goddamn franchise.

I would probably like this girl more if she wasn't in this episode and wasn't in the business of undoing the hard work of the other employees of the organization she works for.

And I would probably like this math lesson more if it wasn't in this VERY STUPID-ASS MOTHERFUCKING EPISODE.

*sigh so hard it cracked a rib bone*

The songs are bangers, though. But they are not this episode's saving grace by a fucking long shot.

...No, actually, I lied. I listened to the lyrics. This version is not a banger, and fuck you.

Good. Good on Orwell and his superb Security access system. Good for him. Proud of him. Proud of him for having sense and reason.

Too bad he's at the whim of Omar and these two will get in there anyway.

So...so cases are sorted by indivi- I can't. No. I fucking can't. There are four minutes left of this episode and I have never been more ready to shove it into a cannon, shoost it to the moon, and put it out of its fucking misery.

When Season 3 had lore, at least a lot of it was consistent. And they could bend the rules because they were visiting different precincts that had different rules and regulations depending on where they were. Things were fine, and aside from the writing and...well, several other non-lore criticisms, I was generally happy.

This episode? Gives a "fuck you" to the lore of the last 10 years and just laughs and says "forget about all that, here's some new nonsensical lore". And you can't do that to a decade-old franchise! There are rules! There are laws! There are established things! We already struggle with continuity and the timeline, stop making it worse!

God...it's really a shame I'm writing this at night, because otherwise I would go and take a walk and scream in the park and then walk back and regret my life decisions again.

Ozzie is such a hardcore brony that he's willing to skydive with a unicorn that may or may not have self-levitating abilities.

And a pair of wings.

"I need Phillip the unicorn!"

"No, no. What you need are some My Little Ponies."

"I...what?"

"Toy brand? Been around since at least the 80s."

"...Oh my God..."

"I'm taking you to the toy store later."

Recognition doth not this episode's infernal sinfulness undo, OMAR.

"Ozzie...karma...is...a bitch. A...stupid...bitch."

YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES. HELP THE DAMN MAN. HE TAKES PRIORITY OVER SEEING SOME GODDAMN NON-MLP UNICORN WHAT IN GOD'S BUTT'S NAME ARE YOU D O I N G .

And once again, OMAR...RECOGNITION DOTH NOT AN INFERNAL SINFUL EPISODE UNDO.

YESSSSSSSSSSSS MY GIRL ORLI GOT SOME PRIORITIES MHM. BLESS HER FOR DEVELOPING A BRAIN IN THE FINAL FEW MINUTES.

Ozzie, you bitch-ass bastard, any sane brony would have zapped the portal already. You have AN ENTIRE FRANCHISE THAT REDEFINED MAGICAL HORSES in Britain. Go watch some of that ancillary media.

OH WELL NOW YOU DEVELOP A BRAIN TOO HUH. JESUS F U C K.

*snaps fingers* KARMA'S A BITCH ISN'T IT. A SMART-ASS BITCH.

But of course. They're the main characters. We got half a season yet. Wouldn't be right if the focus shifted to all the side characters when these two got fired.

(Though honestly? I might like that better.)

"But I think we need to find a different way to reward the agents."

Mm...hmm...well, I dunno, this might be a dumb idea, but...a pizza party for every X amount of cases solved? Or maybe just the first 100?

Already sounds more sane to me, and it was executed better two seasons ago!

*deep sigh*

It was going so well...it was such a beautiful hope spot...

And then Opie decided to rip out that hope spot, stomp on it, run it over with an industrial steamroller, and feed it to the people at Alcatraz.

I mean okay, maybe this precinct doesn't have an Agent of the Month award. Fine. I can live with that. But this seems to be implying that this is an entirely new idea, when it was already brought up and used in the first two seasons twice over.

Yeah, there's a Captain's Club. But it's for Management agents only.

And that, folks, is where you can slip in a line reference to Ozzie's past to. Riiiight in there.

"There's a unicorn!"

But it's a My Little Pony unicorn. That is the difference.

And like an angel, in the wind, with a weird sea euphemism...she's gone.

Can't sea her anymore.

*sips Pepsi* Oldie but a goodie.

"Now, how can we make this unicorn so distinct, such a bootleg, even, that Hasbro can't sue us?"

"Put big eyes on it. Cartoonishly big. Like one you'd find in a 3D cartoon."

"...Perfect! I love it! Send it to editing!"

(Also, hi, bootleg Rainbow Dash unicorn. Nice to see you too. And nice to see my joke from forever and a half ago still holds up.)

Congratulations to Rainbow Dash for her successful gender transition and her eye surgery, done in the same scene. Best of luck!

Is that...is that a fucking cutie mark on its flank?

Is that a FUCKING CUTIE MARK or am I trippin'?

...I'm looking it up, that's Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark from Generation 1. She's got white in her mane...but there was no Rainbow Dash in G1; she came in G3 and had a rainbow mane. (Her counterpart from G1 is Firefly, who shares some colors but looks nothing like this unicorn.)

Because they're too scared to make an actual reference, the fucking bastards.

So essentially, it's bootleg Rainbow Dash with the white from G1 Twilight's mane (or perhaps the coat of Rarity from G4) and her cutie mark from that generation. A mix-and-match, if you will. (Or, likewise, the very-fanon Super Rainbow Dash, where her fur is, in fact, white.)

You didn't have to include the cutie mark. You chose to add that. And then you half-assed the rest of it. Could have made the unicorn have G1 Twilight's colors and that's it, but God forbid, Hasbro's gonna hunt them down for money, oooooooh scawy.

0/10. See me after class.

And your credits for this episode. My guess is that Ashleigh Ball refused to be credited as the voice of "Phillip". And I completely understand.

---------------------------------------

So overall, that was...huh. It was...well, first off, it was an awful episode. I think my rage pretty much speaks for itself. The Rainbow Dash/Twilight mashup bootleg unicorn, nor the songs, were not saving graces for this episode at all -- if anything, they were the cherries on top of an already-existing shitstorm. Awful pretty much across the entire board. If I want something leagues better, I'll go watch something like "Rookie Night", with a similar exclusivity premise, or "The Jackies", with a similar "solve X amount of cases" premise. Both are equally good episodes.

I need to...destress, lol. So next on the chopping block will be "Odd Way Round", which is Orli-centric and will probably feature lots of new stupid lore for me to nitpick at like an old-fart sod.

Seren out!

[orionsangel86]

I'm not in the Good Omens fandom, so maybe I've got this wrong, but I suspect why everyone on my dash seems to be clamoring for an immediate fix-it besides obvious fandom impatience. I think a lot of people are convinced that basically nothing is coming back from the strikes. Tbh I kind of am myself. I've just accepted that we're never going to see Sandman s2 or GO s3 because Amazon and Netflix are shit. At least with Sandman we have the books?

I admit its a tough situation to be in. I guess for me, I am trying to have hope that the streamers will eventually see sense, because otherwise their business models are gonna fail and they are going to lose revenue anyway. Eventually some sort of deal will be made and the work will start again, I just hope beyond hope that the deal is everything the WGA and SAGAFTRA want.

I have more hope for a GOS3 than I do for a Sandman tbh. Simply because making films and TV isn't Amazon's main source of income so they can be a bit more flexible with their choices. They have renewed far less popular shows for far longer. It seems almost like the entertainment division is more a hobby or pet project for Amazon than its main focal point so IDK, I'm just not all that worried about Amazon Prime. I genuinely think Amazon is very proud of GO and they won't let go of it anytime soon. It's also one of their most popular shows so I'd be really surprised if they cancel it (though, then again, with the strikes anything can happen). We also still have the BBC backing it up I believe? Though I doubt they'd ever have the budget to take over fully if Amazon decided not to continue with it, but perhaps its possible the BBC could look for a new partner in that unlikely scenario? I dunno I'm not a media expert here by any means.

Sandman though is a different story. Extremely expensive, and on a streaming service notorious for cancelling shows mid season. With the strikes, I can see them changing their minds and cancelling Season 2 even though it started filming in some bitter attempt to get back at strikers and claim tax breaks where they can. I don't trust them at all. I loathe the Netflix execs because they have been cancelling, making excuses, and screwing over creatives for years now. They are the ones that started it all, and the other streamers simply took their ideas and ran with them. I wish Sandman had been on a different streamer. I feel like it would have been safer on Amazon Prime. Even if we do manage to get through to season 2 of Sandman, I have absolutely zero faith that we'll make it through to the end of the story on Netflix.

Though at least with Sandman, I believe (though correct me if I'm wrong) that Neil still holds all the rights, and if Netflix cancels it, he can put the option out to other networks/streamers to pick it up again? So even if Netflix does what Netflix always does, there is every possibility that it'll just jump to a different network to finish the story.

I hope that is the case, because in all honesty if I had to put money down on a bet on whether or not Netflix will follow through with Sandman right through to the Wake, I'll be betting against them. I just don't see it happening. Netflix are too flakey and well, evil, to care about stories to do it justice.

To your first point, I can understand the fear and do sympathise with fans being hurt and upset that GOS2 ended on such a grim cliffhanger, I just don't think the hate and denial and screams of "out of character!" are the way to handle that fear. But diving straight into fanfiction is a totally acceptable and encouraged way to manage the feelings anyone may have over the ending! That's totally fine! Keep the fix-its to fanfiction, but please stop clamouring for reasons why the ending was wrong and bad and stupid and worth sending Neil Gaiman inbox hate over. You're all better than that.

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

hey cap! just wanted to say: last week was CRAZY so i only just got around to rereading panthera (500 pages in babyy), however i have a couple of notes! and a photo.

these are now pantheras gloves to me sozzles.

onto the notes from the top of my head!

absolutely love how fucking stupid rose was about being in love with juleka. like she really just. didn't notice for so damn long.

i like how you foreshadow events! like i know they are coming because yknow. read this damn thing about 5 times now. but i notice new things each time damnit!

you would not believe how vivid that scene from guitar villain of panthera going so hard is for me, like that is genuinely one of the images that comes up for me when i think about this fic

once again. foreshadowing. i actually didn't notice the first few times that Lilas mum says "the city of love" and then teases her about a romantic relationship, and the way Lila reacts?? excellent. love noticing new details

i actually fucking love anarka so much frfr, you got her character down so nicely, like she's not 'important' but she is and it comes through (also i will always always lose it over you using scottish slang, sometimes you use it in such a strange way and i love it)

onto the questions!

ok so people joke about it in the asks but will we be seeing Rose with a miraculous? i think the dynamic between juleka and Rose as she is transformed would be absolutely hysterical, but also seeing Julekas thoughts on Rose being in danger would be fascinating. (along with knowign which miraculous she would be getting)

is Marinette ever going to figure out who Panthera is? and to extend that question; what are tikkis motivations for identities being kept so secret whereas plagg doesn't care as much? or is it simply to stay true to some of the show?

I've noticed that Juleka sometimes has bouts of confidence (eg. horrificator) and acts more 'like panthera' but i have been curious on whether she would start to be more talkative in general, not that she has / should be but i've just been curious about that since i first started reading if i'm honest with you. (i find that panthera is similar to masking and how i view that so Juleka would probably be increibdly socially exhausted if she did so) i also ask because it would be really funny to see her casually flirt with friends really smoothly without the cat ears

will we be seeing more of Rose noticing Juleka and Marinette havign some sort of bond? before she realised her feelings it was explicitly stated (i think in numerical? replacement for reflecta.) that she felt jelous over their interactions and i am interested to see if that would continue (though i may be forgetting details! i am only 500 pages into a 1700 roundabout document)

On a bit of a time crunch rn and may appear again so thats all for now!

notes on the two 'new' chapters coming soon!

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Great to read your notes again! As for your questions...

We will eventually! In Season 4! She'll still be Pigella, because I love Pigella, but I'll be doing my best to keep it refreshing!

2. Eventually. I'll hold my tongue on saying whether she'll learn post canon or in the fic, I can't wait to show you all how my plans play out. As for Tikki- I'd like to imagine many of her ladybugs died because they let their identities leak. She's a bit traumatized.

3. 'Panthera' as an identity is very much Juleka's way of masking! I'm glad you picked up on that. At first i wrote it as a funny instinct but as I kept going the idea of Juleka literally taking that identity to mask well, yeah! It got depressing in Prince Shining but now that Juleka is more in tune with herself- I hope to play more around with the running gag of her being 'Panthera' when she's supposed to be 'Juleka.'

4. I apologize that it was a little plot thread that never got as explored as I had originally intended to so many years ago but!! Rose's thoughts on Marinette and Juleka's relationship will eventually make a return!

Happy reading!! Stay tuned for more!!

[carefulfears]

MM Anon again ^.^

Yes, first time watching through! Though I have been seeing the gifs and pair on my dash for years now...sort of bummed I am so late to the party because this ship is everything, I can see why it is the One-Who-Started-Fandom-Shipping😆

I also just watched Never Again and am loving the back-and-forth dialoging on your dash today on it! Three things that stood out to me from the posts:

1) I really wanted her to keep the tat!

2) Did she actually sleep with Ed? Because he was on the couch in the morning so that confused me (also my romantic brain plays into the idea that they are just so married™ but my brain is weird).

3) And they had so much gold they could have continued to mine which I hope they do in the next few seasons! Get.Her.A.Desk. Or, alternative headcanon, she comes in the next day to his pathetic attempt to make amends by putting a piece of masking tape under the name on his office door and writing "Special Agent Dana Scully" on it xD

Sorry, I just have to gush to anyone who will put up with it!

AHH i'm so excited for you!! i love never again, it's such an insightful exploration of scully's character and so many deeper issues that the show rarely goes into. i know it's off of me to say that an episode written by two men feels very indicative of women's struggles but it's glenmorganjameswong so i'm allowed. they just get these characters, and they get scully, even the parts you only see when no one is around. gillian too, who had asked for a darker scully-centric.

it's like my favorite post on it says, it's about failed liberation, about the failure of feminism in a man's world; whether they intended it that way or not, it's intensely resonant to me.

1/ in my mind she still has the tattoo, there was no reason to have it removed since the traces of ergot weren't high enough to be damaging. i know we don't see it again but continuity on this show is fluid, we can think whatever we want lol.

2/ she did sleep with ed, chris carter removed the scene. some believe this was for the best, some believe it's dismissive and harmful to erase her choices and autonomy. i'm of the latter opinion, i think it's important that there was something physical and bodily and sexual about her "liberation," and the ways in which she was punished for it.

3/ GET HER A DESK! i love your headcanon, anon. there is so much underlying and bubbling up and present in never again. personally, that's what makes the ending hit so hard. that it ends in silence, a trailed off half-sentence, sitting in between the light and the dark. they're both being confronted with so much, and they are about to be confronted with more, and they can't betray how they feel out loud.

gush to me anytime, you gotta keep me updated on your journey!! always good to hear from you.

[animehouse-moe]

The Ancient Magus' Bride S2 Episode 2: Birds Of A Feather Flock Together II

A newer studio taking on an established product is a fickle thing. The slightest changes create ripples as you go. Whether those turn into waves or die out before they can reach land I couldn't say, but I think so far this second season under Kafka has been subject to turbulence through these early episodes.

I think the largest culprits are ability and direction. The second episode was far weaker than today's in terms of direction, but today's isn't without its shortcomings. There's a large presence of CGI today, but the direction can really help with it given how its used. That said, I still stand by my earlier statement on a prior episode - Kafka is overzealous with their limited production capabilities, and the CGI is the easiest way to see that.

The cafeteria scene is an odd but good example of it. CGI pervades almost the entirety of it through the background students. In most scenes (like this one) you won't really notice it. The trick they use is that the first layer of the background is 2D students, but past that you get into 3D. Take a look at the brown haired student on the right edge of the screen, they're 2D. Then, look at the student just slightly to their left in the background with the blonde hair, they're CGI. In moments like this it's not bad at all, but the issue lies in its introduction.

Ambition outweighs experience and they aim for an excessive cut of showing the life of the cafeteria, where you get a good look at the fact that everybody is CGI. It leaves a somewhat bitter taste in your mouth since it wasn't something that was required, and their 3D work is not up to par.

Moving on from complaints, there's also a lot of good direction this episode, most of which centers around perspective and Terasawa's penchant for odd angles. I really like how they approach it because it changes rather static conversation and interaction into very strong perspective pieces that focus on scale.

And then there's pieces like this that take perspective as a literal sentiment. There's quite a few of them throughout the episode and it's quite enjoyable that they express the emotions and thoughts of characters like Chise and Elias without showing their faces. In a way, it reminds me of how Visual Novels approach their layouts, making sure the user feels immersed and engaged in the content, though in this case it's putting us in Chise's position.

Now, one thing I really wish they stuck longer with was this camera angle. I'm a sucker for wide and full shots, so I was really hoping to see the table engage in dinner and interaction through a single cut. I also think it would have worked really well in concert with Chise's experience with it. Plenty going on, almost too much to follow as you find out what everyone's like. But, I do understand the limitations that are in place with Kafka, so I don't really mind that much.

Moving on once more, Kafka's work and interest in intense lighting through highlights and shadows is really great, it adds a lot of drama and emotion to scenes like this. Plus, the character posing and work is really great to create a sort of disturbing feel to the scene despite the character featured being the one afraid of Chise and Elias (saying that they're "not human", even though their character design features snake eyes).

I guess to put a bow on the technical side of things, there's a lot more creativity with this episode than the prior (though there's also more potential for it). Regardless of that though, Kafka and Terasawa are reaching for concepts beyond their means, which is a commendable thing as they attempt to push their creative ability, but I don't think the place to do so is on the continuation of a series. And just before I move on, I just want to share some of the great shots and symbolism that stipple the episode.

They use birds rather frequently in an outdoor sequence to represent Chise and Elias and I think it's pretty cute/well done.

And this cut of Narcisse reaching out to touch Chise on her shoulder is really well done. The best animated work on this episode is absolutely the character expression. In that sense, I'd love to see Kafka go for a slice of life as a follow up to their work on Maho Yome.

Alright, with that out of the way it's time for the story. I really like this episode for what it establishes with both sides of Chise. I think one of my favorite pieces is the obsession with her eyes. The episode frequently makes use of that and separates Chise into herself and Joseph. Really great work in that regard that produces scenes like this.

Of course, the whole episode isn't just Chise, Elias is there as well. And what I really like about this is that they examine the relationship between the world's two rarest mages by giving us the stories of other pairings within the world. We've been getting stuff about Alice and Renfred, but today we get the beginnings of Rian and Tory's relationship. It makes it far easier to understand the workings of our main pairing by cross-examining them through others, like we get to do in this scene where Alice and Chise visit (or rather, find) Renfred and Elias.

It's really great to see them explore Chise and Elias' relationship in this fashion because it helps give a frame of reference. Mages and magic make for a mysterious world, so giving viewers more detail really puts into perspective the idiosyncrasies you might not otherwise pick up on, and that the characters themselves are most certainly unable to express.

Saying that, I really enjoy listening to the ways that Elias comes up with expressing emotions. Always odd but definitely understandable in their own fashion.

Getting going again, just a little piece that I left out, but I really enjoy how Chise views the world, and within the context of this season, school. She's always looking for out for people that she can relate to, and you can tell from the story that she feels empathetic for Lucy and Philomela. It's a nice piece to keep in so that we don't get too absorbed in the more uppity and passive nature that Chise expressed this episode. Sure, she can make friends and be happy and things can go smoothly, but that doesn't erase her personality and desire to reach out a hand to those in need.

Also, forgive me if it's already been stated, but are Lucy and Philomela sisters? The resemblance is very strong I feel.

And I guess that brings me to the end of my train of thought. I vastly preferred this to the prior episode, but it's clear to see why with how much more digestible content there is within. There's more for viewers to take in, and there's more for the staff to be creative with. I think if this is the level of quality that MahoYome rests around for the rest of the season I'll be pretty happy, but I'd be somewhat concerned if we begin to sink into the not-so-great work on episode 2.

[kukuandkookie]

Tag someone you want to know better

Omg I’m so sorry if there’s one thing people discover about me after getting to know me it’s that I’m terrible at checking my notifications!

It started as a social anxiety thing but then unfortunately became a habit. I’m really excited that you wanted to get to know me better though (I assume it’s because I reblog and ramble so much in your tags KSBFKAHSJA 🙈)!

Favourite color: I used to say rainbow, but I fully admit now my favourite is turquoise! Alternate favourite is pink, and I suppose third place is blue. 😆

Last song: Xiao Gui (小鬼) aka Li’l Ghost: “Valentine Killer”

You caught me on a very Xiao Gui day; I realized recently it’s been a while since I listened to him and I needed something to really spur me on while I tried not to cry write my thesis, so I’ve been looping his songs all day! 😆

Last movie:

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) at a Halloween party with friends!

Bonuses include Nope (2022) for work, and 30,000 Miles from Chang’an (Chang’an san wan li, 2023) being the last film I watched in theatres!

Currently watching:

Rewatching Hidden Love on Youku

Rewatching You Yao on iQIYI

The Young Brewmaster’s Adventure on Youku

《万能恋爱杂货店》 on iQIYI (just started it since it just came out, actually!)

And a few other donghua on various platforms, but especially Bilibili—besides Tian Guan Ci Fu season 2 which everyone is freaking out over, the newest season of Shaonian Ge Xing and Spirits in Chinese Brushes also came out! Always hoping to start more (plus some cdramas like When I Fly Towards You)~

Other stuff I've watched this year:

A bunch of movies for work/class, such as Belladonna of Sadness or works by Chris Marker or Flee (2021) or Lipsett Diaries etc!

Beryl and Sapphire season 2 (still need to start season 3…)

You Shou Yan

All Saints Street

Dalisi Rizhi season 2

Link Click season 2

Yao—Chinese Folktales

Watt’s Up, Girl

Some episodes of Throne of Seal

Some episodes of The Land of Miracles

Wolfwalkers

Rewatched Dahufa and forced my classmates to watch it too for a presentation I did 😆

And tons more donghua; as many as I can get my grubby little hands on (and find time for 🥲)

Shows I dropped this year/didn't finish:

Mao Zhi Ming (not because I didn’t want to; the second season ended while I was out travelling and Bilibili paywalled them… I need to consider whether I want to renew a subscription with them or iQIYI first for You Yao GKSNKFSJJS)

Not sure if this counts, but I considered watching Frieren but a recent spoiler from a friend makes me less interested in it… Which is kind of fine since when it comes to anime, I probably would’ve prioritized The Apothecary Diaries anyway ahaha.

And I’m not sure when I’ll find the time for some stuff (I may just continue absorbing it through fandom osmosis) like Boruto and Precure…

I also fully admit sometimes I just stop watching things part-way through not because I don’t love the thing, but because I either don’t have time or I didn’t want it to end. 🙈

I may have “dropped” this one—but only temporarily! I do want to pick it back up! It’s also currently airing its spin-off, Quan Zhi Ming… qwq

Currently reading:

I just finished Pink Globalization for my thesis and now I’m starting some articles on kpop studies…

If stuff for academia doesn’t count, then I’m also rereading SVSSS and Erha (the new official English releases)

I started Yuwu as a promise to a friend (and I’m terrified of the incoming knives 😂)

Don’t Pick Up Boyfriends from the Trashbin

Also chipping away (terribly slowly) at some western Chinese-inspired fantasy such as The Poppy War and Daughter of the Moon Goddess (it has been…some months since I last touched them otl)

If it counts, I’m also reading like…a million manhua at once SLFJSKSJ. It’s basically become my source of comfort media for whenever I’m stressed, especially since I don’t have a lot of time to consume seasonal shows right now! Sort of like how the latest seasons of Xi Yang Yang became my comfort show while I was working on my undergrad thesis haha (which I also need to catch up on 😭). If anyone wants recs, I have donghua/manhua ones here, and more bl/gl manhua recs here!

Is it terrible etiquette to always share my brain rots and this list? Apologies SOFJSKSJ

Currently working on:

Besides that thesis I should really be working on (and a conference paper for a different class) plus some other school/work stuff…

I’m still writing a few SVSSS fics, including a new chapter for the Bing-ge dreams one I feel really bad for leaving people on a cliff-hanger for so long (it’s been what, a year or two? 😭)

And some Erha fics! Including the final two chapters for the Chu Wanning birthday fic. 💪

I also hope to start some doodles/drabbles for Bingqiu week

And maybe a few more OC drawings/(re)designs? I did a lot right before the OC-tober event, but it’s been long enough I’ve gone without drawing I can feel my fingers itchiiiiing

Current Obsession:

Oh definitely some manhua, like See You My King, My Lovely Troublemaker, Don’t Say You Love Me, Kiss the Abyss, Hidden Love, You Are My Desire, I Ship My Rival x Me, Blemishing the Contaminated, and so on! I have a tendency to bounce around a lot of obsessions and brain rots at once, so my brain becomes a carousel just cycling through them. 😅

Beryl and Sapphire

Link Click

You Yao

SVSSS and Erha always!

I realize my answers got stupidly long as I went on and I hope that wasn’t too obnoxious of me! I do a terrible job of shutting up sometimes aldjfksjsks.

Tagging: (don’t feel pressured to do it but if you do I would love to get to know you better! 🥰)

Also oops now that I’m writing this out I’m realizing I probably should’ve made my own post… I’m sorry I’m so sleep-deprived lately and I’m on mobile right now x’D

@crimsonrainseekingflower @scarletlich @nagaikei-ajin @lizzieonka @softdekus (and anyone else who may want to do this! ♥️)

Tag someone you want to know better

tagged by @extraordinarilyextreme ! Thank you as always! I didn't do the fic one because my answers were all embarrassingly old fics from years ago that i didn't want to link LOL!

Favourite color: black (stock answer) (haven't really reconsidered this question since elementary school)

Last song: No Sabes Como Duele - Marc Anthony

Last movie: Dangerous Minds (1995)

Currently watching:

Second rewatch of Fringe (2008)

Third rewatch of Oz (1997) where I skip season 4b and see how that affects things

Other stuff I've watched this year:

150 movies this year

TV shows: 狂飙, Good Omens 2 ....???? Can't remember any other shows there may have been LOL

Shows I dropped this year/didn't finish:

I started a second rewatch of Criminal Minds (intending to just go up to s8) before realising I still remembered too much of everything that happens LOL

Currently reading: Just started rereading Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. I remember reading it when I was in 8th grade I think (maybe it was high school) and wishing I could keep the book because it made such an impression. But it was a school library book so I couldn't keep it and book stealing is bad

Currently working on: Fanfic 😑👍🏼

Current obsession: Finishing this damn fanfic.....

Tagging (apologies if the tag seems random, I'm trying to mix it up): @saberchild @calystarose @qinzai @oceans-bluem @misotofu @transboydororo @tofufei @timmie-p @romanceyourdemons @kukuandkookie

...and anyone else who wants to do this! Feel free to say I tagged you :)

[mybikeasmypride]

So, just gonna say right off the bat and get it out of the way, I ship Stolitz. Yes, it's problematic. But I like these characters, their interactions are fun/entertaining for me, and this is a work of fiction for adults who I'm sure are capable of telling the difference between reality and fiction.

Cool, now that we are at an understanding, feel free to continue on with this post, or don't. Spoilers ahead for the latest Helluvaboss episode, Season 2 Episode 1. Also, my thoughts will be written as they come so expect little organization.

I really enjoyed this episode, though, for as many questions as it answers, it does open a few more. The episode is broken down two three time periods: when Stolas and Blitz were kids, their first meeting as adults (or the affair), and then the present day following the events of the season 1 finale.

This latest episode did an excellent job (I feel) of re-contextualizing everything we knew about Stolas and Blitz's relationship without actually retconning anything. I myself had always wondered why Blitz was THE ONE person Stolas seemed to have an attraction for, now we know. I know some people were confused about the whole divorce issue between Stolas and Stella and I have some theories:

Following the affair, when Stella first finds out, Stolas is riding the high of being genuinely happy for the first time in many years of his life. He had a taste of true freedom. But we all know what follows that, don't we? In episode 2 of season 1, Stella is furious, throwing things and screaming so loudly it wakes up Octavia all the way across the house. The high of being with Blitz has worn off, and Stolas, having been a victim of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse reverts back to old habits and fears, cowing to his wife in order to keep up some semblance of the status quo. He spends a day with his daughter and realizes the divorce might hurt her, not to mention he still has societal expectations from his peers and family, so the divorce gets put off for Octavia's sake. It's not until Stolas feels he's lost everything, his daughter, and the love of his life, that he finally snaps and fights back against his wife and the expectations society has put on him. Damn the consequences, he finally decided to finalize the divorce.

On Octavia's end, it's vague as to whether or not she was 'aware' of her father being abused. I say that for a few reasons: One, she grew up in this household, if her mom has been doing this crap her whole life, it might just seem like a normal thing to her and her views on it may be skewed, and two, we never see Octavia at these parties her mom is always throwing, so perhaps she doesn't witness a majority of what goes on between her parents. All she knows is that her dad did something to rock the boat to where her mother has gone from her usual bitchiness to EXTREME. But even in that episode, we don't see Octavia having any sort of attachment to her mom, she's more worried about her dad leaving.

I feel this season started off great and I'm hoping for episode 2 we'll get an episode from Blitz's POV from his childhood, his fall out with his family and Fiz, and what pushed him to steal the book from Stolas.

While we have been given plenty of reason to sympathize with Stolas, I don't think it's fair to trash on Blitz. He is an imp. The lowest of the low in Hell's hierarchy. Imagine being looked down on every single day of your existence. Imagine being pawned off by your own parent (even if it is only for a day) to some rando rich family. Imagine that your best friend is more valued by your parental figure than you are. Imagine that your life has essentially been one failed venture after another and you just want to make SOMETHING of yourself. That is what we know of Blitz. He HAS to be conniving, and scheming, and stoop to some extreme lows because that's the only way he feels someone of his station has the slightest chance to get anywhere. And it's not unrealistic to have doubts about the sincerity of Stolas' feelings for him when his own dad didn't give two shits and his best friend from childhood became a “sell-out jester”. Stolas has neglect issues, Blitz has abandonment issues.

I'm okay with Stella being portrayed as a mega-bitch, this isn't HER story and some characters only need to be one thing to help service the story. She still has great character design and I am actually curious to see just how far she's planning to take things now that Stolas has thrown her out of the house. I mean, obviously, her brother is getting involved somehow, but we'll see.

Feel free to add or comment! Just try to be civil, please. :)