#i think throughout act 1 her roots grow out and in act 2 she just cuts it all off

[technicolorxsn]

will probably draw up more full designs of her school uniform, casual clothing on Luna, and her otherside design later but for now here's some quick doodles of Sofia :]

[thebenjiblackwoodexpress]

Jump then fall prt.2

Playlist;

Strong- One Direction

Fearless- Taylor Swift

If I Could Tell Her- Ben Platt, Laura Dreyfuss

Disclaimer: Victoria here with some more content for the handsome Bracken because Elizabeth loves him and there aren't enough oneshots.

Description: Aeron resolves to woo his lady with a newfound confidence, but his plans are thrown into disarray by an unwanted betrothal.

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Warnings: female reader. Insecurities over stereotypical gender norms. Mention of events that happen in Fire and Blood (writing in italics is a direct passage and belongs to George R.R. Martin). Misguided Rhaenyra slander. I don't think there's anything else.

Several weeks had passed since Aeron and Y/N had rekindled their friendship, resuming the old pastimes of their childhood. A chill in the air, gently rusting the golden leaves of the Brackentree,  signalled the end of the summer months and the oncoming of Autumn. The days grew shorter, but as the sun began to wane into the soft glow of a sunset a young knight and lady could still be found enclosed within the roots of the tree, the lady leaning over the shoulder of the young knight to get a closer look at the tome he was reading from.

'The accomplishments of king Jahaerys I Targaryen are almost too many to enumerate. Chief among them, in the view of most students of history, are the long period of peace and prosperity that marked his time upon the Iron Throne.'

'It is a poor king who wages battle against his own Lords and leaves his own kingdom burned, bloody, and strewn with corpses.'

'Why did you stop reading?

Aeron had tried to persevere through the passage on the reign of King Jahaerys and Queen Alysanne, aware that it was a favourite of Y/N's as a young girl. He knew that she loved the romance of their union, of their undying devotion to one another, to choosing one another as partner and consort despite the opposition from their parents and advisors. But theirs was also a reign of unprecedented peace and prosperity, one which set an example to future rulers that had never been more pertinent than now as fractious tensions had turned to full out warfare between The Black's and The Greens. News of the young Prince Jacaerys's murder had spread like wildfire throughout the Riverlands, serving to ignite the long held tensions between the Blackwoods and Brackens as sides were chosen and battle lines were drawn.

Aeron had been appalled at the infanticide, and could not understand how anyone could side with a queen so depraved that she would resort to such an act of violence against an innocent, against her own blood. The act had stirred in him a fury he had never before felt and he was gladdened to hear of his Lord uncle's decision to swear fealty to the true king Aegon Targaryen. And yet he feared the consequences of this declaration, felt the palpable repercussions of the violence that would surely follow, not just in the Riverlands but with a reach that would surely see the whole realm thrown into a war between competing factions and dragons as the House of The Dragon determined to tear itself apart.

Despite all of these thoughts swirling in his mind as he read from the Maestors' histories, it was the gentle graze of Y/Ns hair tickling his face and neck as she leant over his shoulder, a hand lightly placed atop his back to steady herself, that had caused him to stop abruptly with a sharp intake of breath. For Y/N it appeared to have been easy to fall back into their old past times and resume their friendship, for him it had not been so simple, not when he desired not just her friendship but her love. Y/N seemed to have no problem at all with their close proximity, but it set Aeron's skin on fire.

"The sky grows dark. We have tarried too long and the night shall soon be upon us. I would not have you so close to the border with those Blackwood broads about when darkness falls. Let us set aside Jahaerys and Alysanne for today" he reasoned, though did at once realise the truth of his observation, as the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting a shadow over the page he had been reading.

With a small huff, which Aeron found adorable, Y/N removed herself from Aeron's shoulder and rose from the root on which she perched, fixing her skirts as she did so before offering her hand to Aeron to help him up. Not entirely trusting her balance to support his weight, he nevertheless accepted her proferred hand as he pushed himself up. Content at the way in which her smaller hand seemed to fit perfectly in his, he held her gaze and hand longer than was strictly necessary, though Y/N either did not seem to notice or mind.

"May I walk you home?"

"My father should still be with Lord Bracken, they have had much to discuss of late with war looming." Y/N's brows furrowed into an uncharacteristic frown that Aeron immediately wanted to smooth.

"Then we should return to Bracken Hall together" Aeron replied, offering his arm out to her. No sooner had Y/N entwined her arm with his than they both felt heavy rain drops splatter atop their heads through the gaps in the branches of the Brackentree.

"We must make haste" Y/N shouted to Aeron over the cacophony of the now pouring rain, dropping his arm to grab his hand and forcibly drag him away from the tree and towards his ancestral seat. They both broke into a run as the rain grew heavier and the wind rose up in gales, Y/N breaking into laughter and playfully grinning at Aeron. Bracken Hall was half a mile's journey and by the time they burst through the front doors they were both soaked to the bone. Aeron found that he hardly cared, blessed with the sound of Y/N's laughter and the comforting weight of her hand still in his as they both tried to catch their breath.

"You cannot face your Lord Uncle in such a manner good knight, you shall be Lord Bracken one day too" Y/N joked, reaching up on tiptoe to brush locks of Aeron's hair that had stuck to his face in the downpour out of his eyes, tenderly tucking a rueful piece behind his ear. Aeron's heart seemed to stop for a moment before continuing to beat with resounding thuds he feared she could hear beating out of his chest due to her closeness, feeling her breath fan across his face. Aeron's mother had loved to brush his long hair in his childhood, always stroking his head tenderly before bed and calling him her sweet boy, a moment of affection he sorely missed after her untimely death, followed shortly by that of his father's when he was but 10 years of age. He had kept it long ever since, knowing it had been her preference and Y/N had similarly expressed her love of his hair even as a girl, always threatening to thrash him if he should ever cut it and begging him to let her braid it. He sometimes even acquiesced to her request. He gazed down at her in awe, unknowingly lowering his head slightly for her to reach as she continued to brush it into place.

A cough echoed throughout the entrance hall as a Bracken bannerman called to them "Ser Aeron, Lord Bracken requests your presence immediately in the great Hall." Y/N quickly dropped her hands, stepping away from him then as if embarassed. Aeron bemoaned the loss of contact but shifted to address the knight "Thank you, I will be there forthwith." Turning back towards Y/N to give her a small bow, he took her hand to bestow a gentle kiss atop before meeting her eyes. Noticing a light dusting of pink upon her cheeks, the corner of Aeron's mouth tipped up in a smile of renewed confidence. "I must attend to my duties tomorrow and expect to spend the day in the training yard. May I request your presence? I am certain your support would bring me good luck."

Smiling up at him through her lashes she upturned his hand, dropping a thin strip of lavender ribbon embellished with lace and closing his palm over their entwined hands. "I will gladly come to cheer you on my good knight and will also offer you my favour in anticipation of your victories." Y/N's eyes shone with mirth but Aeron could not but feel his heart soar at her actions. He had never had to prove himself to her, in her eyes he had always been her good knight. "I shall wear it with pride then" he replied,  briefly squeezing both of her hands and pocketing her favour before striding down, wont to keep his uncle waiting for long.

Aeron hacked at a training dummy, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead, strands of hair falling into his eyes from where he had tied it earlier that morning. With every blow he imagined the face of his uncle, fully aware of how petulant his thoughts would seem to others but entirely unable to suppress his anger. He should have sensed something was amiss when he was summoned immediately upon his return to Bracken Hall, should have guessed at it when, upon entering the Great Hall where his uncle took council meetings, all heads turned sharply in his direction, his uncle fixing him with a stare so resolute and focused it alarmed him. Aside from appointing Aeron a knight, his uncle had always seemed to look straight through him.

Aeron did not stay long, storming out of the room shortly afterwards, but what his uncle had said rang in his mind even now, that he was to marry one of Lord Tully's daughters, sleep having granted him no relief from his inner turmoil. He could understand the political soundness of the match. Both House Blackwood and House Bracken wore sworn vassals to Lord Tully but their Lord paid no heed to their constant skirmishes, lending support to neither side in their frequent land disputes. With war looming across the realm as the Blacks and Greens summoned their bannermen to arms, it was critical now more than ever that their liege Lord Tully grant the Brackens his support. A marriage pact would ensure this, binding their houses together in blood.

This did not mean that Aeron accepted the match. At one time he would have been pleased to do his duty and, gods willing, wipe the perpetually smug smirk off Benjicot Blackwood's face, loyal as he was to his house. But he was also sure that he could not marry the Tully girl when his heart belonged to another. It was not a fate either of them deserved. He immediately resolved to perform his duty another way, pleading with his uncle to reconsider. He would gladly fight for his house and swear his sword to Aegon's cause, but he would not pledge his heart to any other but Y/N, the lady he loved.

"What did that dummy ever do to you?"

Aeron was jolted out of his thoughts and incessant attacks on the now unrecognisable straw dummy in front of him by the voice of his friend Samwell. Bristling at Aeron's lack of response, Samwell scoffed "I'm surprised you can even get that thing up."

Aeron grinned "Well enough for killing Blackwoods."

"Good, then turn your focus to a more worthy opponent" Samwell shot back, sword quickly withdrawn as the two knights began to circle one another. As the two crossed blades Aeron spotted the unmistakable figure of Y/N entering the training yard, watching her progress as she pushed herself up to perch on a fence overlooking the yard. Dazed by her sweetness in keeping her promise to come and support him, Samwell took advantage of his moment of distraction. He levelled a blow to Aeron's abdomen that had him doubling over and gasping for breath. Embarassed that Y/N had most assuredly borne witness to his fumble, Aeron swung his sword with renewed vigour, choosing to stay on the offensive rather than defensive this time.

Pushing Samwell further back with each parry of his sword until he was stumbling over his own feet in his haste to block his blows, Aeron brought his sword in a downwards motion over his opponent's before swiftly bringing it back up in a circular motion to wrench it from Samwell's grip. With a harsh clang as his sword hit the ground, Samwell was disarmed to the cheers of their fellow knights who had gathered to watch the two spar. Aeron quickly sheathed his sword, stalking over to Y/N whilst ignoring his friends' teasing jeers at his lovesick proclivities and hoping beyond all hope that Y/N would ignore the fiends too.

Stopping directly in front of Y/N's perch, her knees almost brushing his tunic as he looked up at her, Aeron attempted to fix her with a charming grin.

"What did you think?"

Y/N smiled down at him and Aeron felt sure she must hang the stars in the sky each night.

"You don't have to prove yourself to me Aeron, you never have. But for what it's worth, I think you every bit the knight I know you aspire to be. Your skills with the sword are admirable indeed."

Aeron did not say anything immediately but stared at Y/N in wonder, rejoicing to hear that she thought him a worthy knight when he himself had often doubted it. Y/N broke the silence first, clearing her throat and pointing at the lilac ribbon tied to his sword belt...her lilac ribbon.

"Although, perhaps it is my favour which granted you victory today and I am owed some credit."

Aeron laughed heartily at her teasing, though she could not guess at the veracity of her claim. He had no doubt that it was the image and thought of her, the strength of his desire to impress her, that had spurred him forward to best Samwell.

"I am sure your favour was instrumental to my success on the field my lady. I needn't confess to you that the sword has never been my strong suit and my aversion to the life of a warrior has long vexed my uncle. The Riverlands are no place for the soft of heart he has always assured me."

Aeron could not help the tinge of insecurity that laced his voice as Y/N's eyebrows furrowed.

"Reluctance to spill blood is not a fault" she protested.

"That may be so, but alas it is yet perceived as a sign of great cowardice among my order.'

Y/N's expression turned suddenly very serious, her hair falling gracefully around her shoulders to form a curtain around the both of them as she bent her face closer to his and he tilted his upwards to meet hers, their noses close to touching.

"You cannot be brave if you have not first felt fear. What is courage but the willingness to tackle your fears face on? You have double the bravery of any knight driven by unadulterated bloodlust with no regard for human life. I do not wish you to think of yourself so harshly." Y/N lightly swatted Aeron's shoulder as if scolding him for daring to think less of himself than she did, but her tone was earnest. Catching her hand in his before she could retract it entirely, Aeron placed a chaste kiss upon it, devotedly grazing his lips over her knuckles.

"Thank you Y/N." He spoke softly, gazing into her eyes, trying to express with his eyes what he had always found difficult with words, to show her how much her words had meant to him.

Y/N briefly brushed her fingers over his cheekbone in an affectionate gesture that pierced his soul before shifting to lower herself from her perch. Aeron quickly wrapped his hands around her waist and lowered her to the ground, maintaining a light hold on her to request that they meet again on the morrow.

As he came to meet her at their habitual spot the next day, he was momentarily dumbstruck as he spotted Y/N, bedecked in an ochre gown the shade of his house colours. Mind racing, it was with concerted effort that he managed to stay rooted to the ground rather than rush to offer himself to her in marriage. How could he tell her that he loved her now? When he was still tied to the Tully girl. No, he resolved to wait until he had resolved the matter of his betrothal for he was determined, now more than ever, that he would win Y/N's love and that she should become his lady wife to bear the sigil of his house along with his house colours as Lady Bracken.

@lady-callisto @twistytimesandthoughts @abookloverlawyerfan-blog @mymoonempress @lovebabe18 @poppyflower-22 @ithilwen-blackwood @spinachtz

[iloveannaliese]

Film Review: Challengers (2024) (⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

An electrifying, passionate and heart-racing film, Challengers is the ultimate winner -takes- all story.

The story follows Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), who is a former tennis star, help coach her husband Art (Mike Faist), who is equally a good tennis player, for the ATP challenger tour. However, things get heated when Art has to play against Patrick (Josh O'Connor), his former best- friend and Tashi's Ex-lover.

The characters in the film are so individual, yet work so well together. Take Tashi Duncan, the ringleader. She knows how to win, and from being a former tennis prodigy, she knows how to manipulate situations to her advantage. From early on, she understands how obsessed Art and Patrick are with her. She plays both of them off, just like a game of tennis. Tashi being the ball and going from one guy to the other.

Art is the ultimate needy guy, but that doesn't make him unlikeable, in fact it's the complete opposite. As you're watching him on screen, you grow almost protective over him and are secretly rooting for him throughout. He loves Tashi and states this in the movie. He would do anything to keep her happy, but is also completely in awe of her just like when he was a teenager. He needs Tashi's approval, or at least he feels it.

Patrick is the complete polar opposite of Art. He's competitive, headstrong and confrontational. He wastes no time in letting Tashi know what he wants from her and is the only character in this film that doesn't appear to be scared of her. He even tells Tashi that he views her as a peer, not a member of her fan club. Safe to say that when Patrick is on the screen, it's never boring.

Now the relationship between Art and Patrick is complex. With Patrick being the most cocky out of the two, he finds any way to humiliate Art, which over time, chips away at Art's confidence. However, when you watch the film, it's evident that both characters need each other. After all, they both have a passionate love for tennis (they play together in tournaments). They both understand each other, all while being incredibly competitive. Competitiveness is what fuels these characters in all aspects of the movie.

Visually, the film is a warm saturation heaven. The set is bright and so is the costuming. The use of strong colours in this film, reflect the strong characters. And on screen, it's captivating. In my opinion, the styling of the movie has a very Italian look.

What really makes the film though, is the phenomenal soundtrack. The addictive club bangers keep your eyes glued to the screen. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross created the best movie score of 2024. It's punchy, seductive and spellbinding, that even once you leave the cinema you have the tunes stuck in your head. That coupled with the fast camera shots during the tennis scenes, it's cinema at it's finest.

The acting is superior. Zendaya's facial expressions keep you hooked. Especially in scenes with Josh O'Connor. She displays deep emotion on her face, fluidly, never stiffly. Or even at the beginning at the film when the camera makes a direct bee-line for her from the sidelines. Chills literal chills. Zendaya's acting is unique and mesmerising.

Overall, I'm left with a rush after watching. This film even manages to spark my competitive wild side. I think the dynamic of the love triangle is refreshing and interesting. To watch two guys fawn over the same girl hasn't really been done to this level before in Hollywood but it just works. Challengers is everything I would want a good film to be. And I'm going to say it now... Cinema is back!

Challengers is out now only in theatres.

Written by iloveannaliese ©

[winxwannabe]

why do you hate the netflix show? i'm genuinely curious, as my wife adores it and was also a huge fan of the animated series growing up.

I mean the TL:DR of it is I just think it's a bad show. I found the pacing strange, I didn't like half the characters so it was hard to root for them, Season 1's plot was so awkwardly paced it was boring, but in Season 2 there were like 3 different plot points per episode and I found them hard to get invested in. The LONG answer: my 3 biggest problems with the show were (!):

The blatant racism/whitewashing

This is pretty self-explanatory and I've gone over it before , so I'll keep it brief; the show's whitewashing was the biggest turnoff for me. Musa and the fake out Flora (because Eliot Sal WAS originally Flora, hope whoever made that change got a bonus) were awful, and then the treatment of Dane and Aisha's characters sucked (being taken advantage of by Riven and turning into a huge asshole, and Aisha being turned into Bloom's life coach). We got a little more diversity in Season 2, but by then it read more as a response to backlash than anything else. Same with Dane and Aisha; Aisha gives a little speech in Season 2's first episode where she says she's done being Bloom's life coach, and then proceeds to get a boyfriend who's secretly evil and lies to her all season. And Dane acts like an asshole for 2 scenes before he's shoved to the side as a supporting character.

2. Homophobia

Again, recap from my last rant; Season 1 was very straight. The Bloom/Sky/Stella love triangle took center stage, the only non-straight character was Dane, who I'm 90% sure was bisexual but we'll never know because not once in Fate: The Winx Saga does anyone say the word 'bisexual.' The closest we get is Dane saying he finds both Riven and Stormy Beatrix hot. But Dane, Riven, and Beatrix turn into this awful polyamory thing that goes on for like an episode and a half before it breaks up, and it's never spoken of again. Season 2 gives up an openly lesbian character, Terra, but her love interest (a female specialist whose name I don't remember) is in her own on-again-off-again relationship. Terra and the girl do get together, but last the audience knew the relationship was on! So Terra gets a girlfriend, but said girlfriend is a cheater. Gay rights? oh, and #JusticeforFrancesa

Those are the serious reasons, and with those out of the way I would argue the other really big reason I didn't like Fate was

3. THERE IS NO FRIENDSHIP

At the end of the day you can take away magic, the Specialists, and a lot of supporting characters from the show because the core of it - the reason Winx Club works so well - is because these six girls are best friends. The show is about them going through school and breakups and universe-saving together, and kicking ass at it because they have each others back. It is the show's central theme, it's where the best writing is, and where some of its best moments come from (for me at least).

Fate...does not do that. They started the series out making Sky the one to show Bloom around Alfea and introduce her to things instead of Stella, sidelining one of the strongest friendships in the series for the sake of a love triangle. And it only goes downhill from there! I get the whole 'take an episode or two to figure out where we stand as friends' but by the end of the 1st season these bitches are still fighting over the dumbest shit! We start out Season 2 with Stella using invisibility spells again so she's not seen with the other girls - I don't even think Stella likes any of them by the end of the series! Sure everyone goes to classes and plans dangerous missions to save the world together, but outside of that it doesn't seem like they even like each other. There are moments sprinkled throughout where they're supposed to be genuine friends, and they're easily some of fate's best stuff (the car scene in 2x01 is an example). But they're also awkward, because 20 minutes ago they were sulking in their rooms and yelling at each other about their lack of communication. They aren't deserved is the point I'm trying to get at here, and the only way they do feel deserved is if you a) already know their friendship dynamic because you watched the animated series, or b) you follow the actors on social media, where they actually talk and hang out like best friends.

The strongest friendship in this entire series isn't any of the girls - it's fucking Sky and Riven. Because they were pre-established best friends, had arguments throughout season 1, but by the end of season 2 had come back together because the world was in danger, and they both knew despite everything, that they would have each other's backs. Do you know how badly you have to fuck up, where one half of your best friendship is the queerphobic, predatory asshole character, and the other half is a slice of untoasted Wonder Bread?

Do you know how mad Riven would have been if Sky went to not-Omega with Bloom in the season 2 finale? He would have been fucking pissed and ordering everyone to a classroom to give his 30-slide power point on how to get them back within 3 days. Meanwhile Bloom doesn't actually say goodbye to the Winx girls, she just writes them letters and says goodbye to Sky in person (because it is well established that Bloom and Sky's romance is more important than the girl's friendship, let's be honest). And then girls are all hugging and Stella's crying that Bloom's gone and I just thought 'you spent more time with Beatrix than Bloom this season Stella, why the fuck are you sad.'

This is all a longwinded way to say the central theme of friendship was pushed aside for CW-style romance, which made the core cast of girls unable to connect, which made the show bad.

Fate had the same overall runtime as a single season of Winx Club. Later seasons are bad, don't get me wrong, but those original 2004-2007 seasons had twice the character moments, more concise plots, and felt way more fun than anything I saw Brian Young put out these last few years. I would watch an original season (and even season 4! sue me!) any day over Fate the W inx Saga.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, and probably don't show your wife this.

[little-engineer-who-cant]

3 and 5 for alla stone shield!

Thank you so much for the ask and I am sorry for the delay, life got a little busy! This does get long and has mild spoilers for the ongoing Damnation Saga, so I've put part of it under a cut.

3.What are their religious affiliations, and how does their worship (or lack thereof) affect their day-to-day life?

Alla didn't to think much on religion at the beginning of her story. Growing up in Windhelm, she worshiped the Nine but modeled herself after her parents in their more casual devotion. Tossing a quick aside up to Talos, offering prayers at the temple when needed for holidays and harvests, but her personal religious beliefs did not play a central role in her upbringing. To her, the Nine are real and very important forces, but they don't do much for her daily life.

However, she was VERY aware of how religion affected other people and politics. Her close proximity to Ulfric's ideology (fueled by religion) lent her a unique view into the systemic use of religious beliefs to further the ambitions of a political entity. Windhelm is a place where everyone is listening to everyone else for a lick of dissent, a climate that grew more extreme the longer Ulfric's war dragged on. While she herself is not very religious, she is conscientious of all the ways one can speak that displays their religious, as thus likely political, affiliations.

All this changes after she awakens her Dragonborn soul. She now has a new place in the cosmos, amongst and in opposition to the aedra and daedra. To others, depending on how the Dragonborn legend is viewed by their culture, she is a god made flesh. She's now directly in divine crosshairs and this leads to an ongoing religious crisis that is steadily building throughout Acts 1 and 2 of look into the eyes of damnation and bare your teeth right now and will continue as her destiny unfolds. Prayer becomes more important throughout her journey, especially as the influence of the likes of Akatosh, Hermeaus Mora and Molag Bal (and others but that's big spoilers) become more overt.

5. Would they be able to live off the land if they were lost in the wilds of Skyrim? How skilled are they at foraging and hunting?

She is kind of able to survive the wilderness on her own. She's decent enough at foraging with a very workable knowledge of basic alchemy ingredients and edible roots/berries that one can find on the trails of Skyrim, but she's really shit at hunting and trapping. She'll get lucky every now and again, but that's not sustainable. Unless she found a way to build a shelter and have a makeshift homestead, surviving on her own long term is out of the question. This is why Kaidan is so valuable to her and Lucien early in the story, before they get to know him. He has wilderness survival skills in spades. Once they can no longer safely use roads, he becomes even more important. Though he does try to teach Alla how to hunt, it does not go very well. She's just not patient enough to find prey when a perfectly good berry bush is right there you know? (Best not to say anything about his single attempt with Lucien.)

Once prey is caught though, she's in her zone. As a farmer, she's had to butcher livestock and prepare them either for selling the meat or for prolonged storage and personal meals. Pelts and leather are also right in her wheelhouse so if she manages to snag something sizable, she's set for a bit.

[blazehedgehog]

What do you think of the Parappa series? I went through the whole series, and the 2nd Parappa in particular became one of my top 5 favorite games of all time. The games 2player battle mode is really fun, I'm surprised more rhythm games haven't tried to copy it.

Parappa the Rapper 1 is one of my favorite games of all time. It was one of those games like NiGHTS: Into Dreams where I'd come home from school every day and play the entire game from start to finish just because I wanted to and it took less than an hour.

I like the other games but I don't love them. Parappa 1 is a very simple story about a boy coming of age and following his true love. He gets his first job, buys his first car, learns how to cook for himself, learns how to defend himself, and it's all tied to his self-confidence: as long as he believes in himself, he can do anything. This pays off in the last level, where he uses that confidence to steal the show at a local concert.

Lammy and especially Parappa 2 are way less personable stories that fill out their flimsy narratives by beating you over the head with "We're so WACKY!!!"

Like, the first Parappa was a wacky game, sure, but if you really boil it down to its essential parts, it's got an honesty to it. It's telling a real story about Parappa becoming an adult. All the wacky parts are window dressing: the character designs, the fantasies Parappa constructs for himself, and so on. But the core, the heart of the game, is rooted in something relatable.

Lammy isn't like that. In the context of the game, Lammy has already "made it." Milkcan (her band) is already famous enough that they're going on tour. Lammy's issues with anxiety don't ring as true because her main worry throughout the game is being late for the gig. Her cry of "Leave it to Lammy!" doesn't feel as empowering as Parappa's "I gotta believe!", in particular because the full phrase is "The guitar is in my mind! Leave it to Lammy!"

It means the solution to every problem she faces is to pretend she's doing anything but the task required of her. Not exactly a confident rally.

And a lot of the music... I mean it's grown on me over the years, but it's not as immediately catchy as Parappa 1. Like I will listen to every stage theme from Parappa 1, in order, and enjoy all of them. There's only really, like, two songs in Lammy I like to listen to outside of the game (Fire Fire & Fright Flight) and some of them are genuinely painful to listen to (Taste of Teriyaki).

And just like... a lot of the scenarios just don't vibe with me at all. "I ate too much pizza so people think I'm pregnant" is really dumb, getting chainsaw lessons to carve a replacement guitar while being chased by a bear, going to hell... again, it's a little too wacky for me. It feels forced.

It all gets worse in Parappa 2. There's this flimsy thing where Parappa is worried people think he's still acting like a baby, but again, it's just not as strong as that first game. The main plot involves some kind of weirdo super villain who is turning all the world's food in to ramen noodles and a lot of the stages feel random and tangential to what Parappa actually needs to do to succeed. Like, in Parappa 1, its implied their family is super poor, but Parappa 2 reveals his dad is some kind of genius inventor now? It's a flimsy reason to have a stage about using a shrink ray to "grow big."

And as a result I connected with the music even less than I did with Lammy. I straight up don't like most of Parappa 2's soundtrack, but I also think that's mainly due to the fact I've only played the game, like, twice ever -- I never got a chance to get familiar with them. Every now and then I'll hear part of Big or Sistah Moosesha and think "eh, maybe that song is alright after all." But for the most part the only song I really like is Toasty Buns.

(And not even for its own merits, either)

I'd love to have a new Parappa game that captures the simple, down-to-earth spirit of that first game instead of feeling like they have to make it too wacky.

Like, I dunno, make a game where Parappa is this famous rapper who fell on hard times and he has to build back up and prove to Sunny that he's not a loser after she leaves him. We could have raps about breaking bad habits, cleaning up and organizing his living space, mending bridges he burned with friends, etc. The over-arching theme would be Parappa learning to respect himself enough to make sure his life doesn't fall apart again.

But, you know, told in a Parappa way. Weird and funny on the surface, but with a heart beating at the center of it.

Also, this post is long enough, but I do not recommend playing Parappa for the PSP/PS4. It's a bad remake where they arbitrarily changed all the button timings and it makes the game WAY harder and WAY worse. I wrote an outline for a video I want to do about it some day, since a lot of people blame modern TV latency and that's not the problem whatsoever.

[midnightsslut]

okay finding a swiftie and scandal/olitz blog just made me super happy and now i need your season rankings and scandal hot takes

omgggggggg I am very excited to answer this. I am obsessed with this show rn. disclaimer: I am a huge fitz stan and will defend him in almost every situation but I try to be rational I promise. that man is crack for me. I feel like shonda studied my brain before writing him.

rankings first:

season 3 > season 2 > season 1 > season 5 > season 4 (would’ve been top three without the fuckass kidnapping plot > season 7 > ninth circle of hell > season 6

now my hot takes. I typed this up after I finished the show for the first time about a month ago (I’m rewatching rn). I’ll put a cut bc I don’t wanna bother y’all

- this goes without saying but I love fitz. I enjoyed his character thoroughly throughout the show and he never really did anything to annoy me. he gets a LOT of shit but does the least egregious things out of all the characters except mellie. I will defend every single one of his actions and he gets a lot more interesting when he grows a backbone instead of acting like a human ping pong ball that his wife, mistress, and chief of staff use (so after his son dies and his mistress leaves him to go be on an island because idk. reasons). he needs to get up though. post-rewatch update: he’s not a ping pong ball at all. he is manipulative as hell and idk how I couldn’t see it during first watch. however, he’s also a great president and generally i do believe that he’s a sincere, warm romantic who gets gradually corrupted by his time in office especially during his second term. he is super warm and supportive towards the end though. the scene in season 7 where he tells olivia that he sees the old her again even though she doesn’t made me cry.

- this brings me to mellie. I adore her until she’s president. she is one of the best developed characters in the series (even though I think the rape plot could’ve been done better bc it was clearly not planned/later shoehorned in). her presidency was built up for six seasons only for her to whine about girl power, deserving a presidency she was never elected for, and wanting to get laid. at least fitz was actually in love with olivia. meanwhile Mellie is now a doormat bc ??? this is really Shonda’s fault bc you can tell trump being elected threw a wrench in her plans. also the feminist speeches are so bad. ‘shattering glass ceilings’ okay cut your hair into a hillary clinton bob while you’re at it. the modern day political commentary is a bit much during the latter half of the show as a whole but I digress.

- this brings me to olivia. I always root for her even when she annoys the shit out of me. Kerry Washington is an incredible actress with boatloads of charisma (same as Tony). sometimes she’s entirely irrational but everyone worships the ground she walks on anyway until season 7, where she does one bad thing and gets crucified for it. unpopular opinion but I enjoyed the dark olivia arc and her ultimate redemption. she’s kinda horrible a lot post-kidnapping but no one gives a shit because everyone loves her which can be frustrating until they all do too much to ice her out in s7 (except fitz bc he’s fitz).

- everyone on this show has daddy issues. every single person. olivia’s daddy issues are interesting but they’re never resolved

- papa pope is incredibly inconsistent. sometimes he will send a man to his daughter’s bed. other times he will kill her boyfriend’s son because he took his child from her (????). really he ruins her psychologically for multiple seasons but gets away with it because she kills one innocent person and he crawls to fitz to save her (??????)

- jake was my third favorite character until season 7. they butchered him at that point. shonda makes it exceedingly clear that Olivia will never choose him but it’s a bit much sometimes. his ending is also horrible and undeserved

- the ending in general is ????? we deserved a little more than a damn hi. why did David die. why did Cyrus get away with everything. also ik that portrait scene is supposed to be powerful but it doesn’t make a ton of sense. also papa pope gets away with everything because the senators are worried about the optics of being controlled by a black man. also the whole ‘papa pope was the mastermind behind everyone and everything because he could manipulate people’ thing was very tired

- Shonda does not understand her own characters because wdym Cyrus Beene isn’t a villain? Maybe in the first few seasons when he’s loyal to fitz but after? he’s the worst person in season 7

- I love Quinn and Charlie. I mostly enjoy huck but we needed closure about his damn family. I love abby too but her ending was also meh.

- overall I very much enjoyed the show even when it annoyed me and made no sense

- the scandal subreddit watches an entirely different show based on the conclusions they draw. one thing we agree on is that the ending sucks.

[r3linx]

⇄ ◁◁ 𝚰𝚰 ▷▷ ↻ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⁰⁰'²⁵ ━━●━━───── ⁰²'⁰⁸

╰┈➤ characters...•`K. HAJIME, H. RAN, H. RINDOU, K. IZANA´•.

ᴘᴀʀᴛ. 2; ᴘᴀʀᴛ. 1

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡ SYNOPSIS...no one's perfect, neither them, so here's their issues in your loving relationship. ˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡ WORDCOUNT...1,6k ˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡ WARNINGS... tw! disturbing content, gender neutral reader, obsession, manipulation, emotional dependence, overprotection, toxic relationship ˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡ OTHER...reblogs, likes and requests are appreciated!

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ ​🇭​​🇦​​🇯​​🇮​​🇲​​🇪​. 𓆩❤︎𓆪

' ｗｏｒｓｈｉｐ '

‘they treat their love interest like a god, not caring how they are treated in return. they act like someone who, and actually might, owe their love interest their life. they don’t care if their love interest loves them back or not. these yanderes will kill for their love interest and hurt those who think badly of their love interest.’

with furrowed eyebrows, you watch the scene unfold in front of you. the realization hits you, eyes now wide with horror. you feel your heart drop, legs frozen in place as someone takes action.

“you little!..” she hissed, slowly touching the edge of her mouth with her fingertips, feeling the hot fluid. the girl still on the floor, slightly trembling from fear, stood in front of her him. frustrated expression sitting on his face, hajime gets hold down by another pair of arms, forcing his bloody fists behind his back.

“fucking bitch..” the always calming and charming voice of his, now filled with venom, eyes full of bitterness. “we’re not done with this, if i ever hear… her name from your filthy mouth..”

“okay.. that’s enough, kokonoi..” the classmate shushed him, hajime with the rest of his strength, pulled his arms out of the person's grasp. lips still in frown, glancing towards you and starts taking steps in your direction.

by now your legs have taken root, his whole standing in front of you, blood still dripping on his palms, he embraces you in a tight hug, which only just grows stronger and stronger, face leaned over in the safety of your neck, his black locks tickling it. hajime exhaled a shaky breath, pressing a sloppy kiss to your warm skin. you still stood in one place, arms let loose next to you, not returning his embrace but he couldn’t care less. he had to defend you, no one else stood up, someone had to stop those people who dare to trash his one. everyone but you deserve this kind of treatment, the thread has already snapped when your name rolled down from someone’s tongue in the company of a few nasty insinuations. in hajime’s world you were the light, it was his job to protect you from everyone else. there would be no line he would be afraid to cross when it comes to you. it creeped you out. the way he changes his mood by just mentioning you or seeing you pass on hallways made all of your hair on your back stand up. don’t get me wrong, you had nothing against it, his kindness towards you melted your heart. but this kindness only towards you, was the reason you tried avoid conversations with him or just purely being in his company. unfortunately for you, he was just like glue. so yeah… good luck in the future!

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ ​🇷​​🇦​​🇳​. 𓆩❤︎𓆪

'ｒｅｓｔｒａｉｎｔｓ'

‘they will directly lock up the love interest, tie up or even kidnap and drug their love interest to keep them around and compliant. restraints type yandere characters don’t tie up their love interest for reasons of domination/submission. rather, they want their love interest to never wander from their side. many will even tie their love interest to themselves.’

you fluttered your eyes open with agonizing pain spreading throughout your body, resting on the cold floor, forced in a sitting position. lights flickering in the place, your vision still fuzzy, a pair of black boots stepped into your sight. head banging while you felt something warm run down on your forehead, you tried to open your eyes more to at least get a glimpse of what’s happening.

you woke up fully when you realized that you’re struggling against those restrains tied around your wrists out of reflex. then you finally got to identify the person in front of you.

“you up, princess?” the smoothness of his voice sent goosebumps all over your body, almost in a bad way. you gulped deeply, mouth opened to form some kind of sentence but only shaky breaths could be heard. ran tilted his head in a questioning manner, grinning by now. “what? cat got your tongue?” a malicious snort fell from his lips. “okay.. since it’s that hard to guess… i might just give ya a little hint…”

the older haitani crouched down to your eyes level, his tone remained the same but something got added to his gaze with which he examined all your actions with full attention. “i was kind.. i was so.. kind… i tried not to resort to this, but you simply gave me no choice.” the taller male’s thumb grazed your features, you felt something smudge on your head, then he brought his digits back close to himself, smile faded when he saw your dark red and dried blood dirtying his hands. in the company of a scoff, he wiped it down on your ragged shirt, all this as he glared his eyes strongly on you.

your legs was the only limb he agreed free, instincts kicking in ready to raise to attack —unfortunately for you, he saw through your little thinking and your ankles got hold together by his grip— “you truly upset me, girl…” he raised up from his position, ran pushed his hips slightly forward, carefully placing his hands on his sides, watching over you with despise. “hope this lesson sticks in your head…”

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ ​🇷​​🇮​​🇳​​🇩​​🇴​​🇺​. 𓆩❤︎𓆪

'’ｒｅｖｅｒｓｅ’ ｌｏｎｅｌｉｎｅｓｓ ｉｎｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ '

‘they can also provoke the love interest to be the one people don’t want to approach, rather than the other way around. they will be the ones responsible of the people around the love interest starting to fear or be disgusted by the love interest, spreading rumors or false evidence that make the love interest look horrible so no one else will want to be around them, not even family and friends, leaving the yandere to be the only person the love interest can rely on and feel accepted and loved by. by doing this, the people close to the love interest will eventually disappear from their lives by their own volition, and the only one around to show their “understanding” and “compassion” to the love interest will be the yandere, without anyone else getting in the way.’

“she’s here..”

“is that her?..” they’re loud.

“she’s the girl who—..” they’re too loud. you finally cover your ears up with your shaky hands, legs now in hurry towards the entrance. eyes fixated on the ground, sweat rushing down on your forehead.

“they’re at it again?” a voice questioned, mockery evident in their tone. you shot up you’re head, accidentally staring right into his piercing orbs. he didn’t break the eye contact, stood his ground. a half smile rolling up to his face.

you swallow deeply, failing to give answer and with slower steps this time, carrying-on the mourning on your way. his hand snaked up to your left shoulder, squeezing it firmly.

“you… why are you always here for me?.. " his mouth parted, eyes widened a little, clearing his throat before answering the question. “how come the gossips not scared you off?..” your tone fading down word by word.

“let’s not bother talking about that.. focus on me. me, the only one left for you..”

he didn’t have the control over you? oh he must have it over other people. since, who would want to hang out with someone like you? someone, who steals, who always spread bad things about other, who is allegedly two-faced? no one. no one but him. haitani rindou. yes, he is the only person remained in your orbit. the desperate clinging to others only scared them off even more. why bother trying?

there was no room for guilt and remorse, just focusing on the goal. they left. they finally left. and he succeeded, even with muddy hands in the end. you were the goal.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ ​🇮​​🇿​​🇦​​🇳​​🇦​ 𓆩❤︎𓆪

' ｄｅｌｕｓｉｏｎ '

‘the shock trope delusion yandere will create a false happy life with their loved one in their mind despite the real absence of the love interest in it or bad conditions around them. they will imagine and truly believe that they are in a close relationship with their love interest, sometimes even in their ideal home and a family life of their own. the yandere would be the only character to believe in this fictional reality without knowing the real sad truth.’

“and what do you know about her?” a taller male questioned, while walking forward with slow steps.

“so much more than anyone else…” he answers, peeking out under his white locks.

“you say that she’s head over heels for you, does she even know y—”

“yes.” a simple grumble falls from his lips, fearing if he looks to the person next to him, his hand would not stop ‘till guy’s beat to pulp.

“you’re crazy..” a whisper hit izana’s ear, he rewarded it by picking up his pace, leaving his company behind, shocked. they didn’t know you. izana was the one, the only one who knew who you were deep down. -obviously, when he was your boyfriend. in fast steps, izana passed by you, shoulder lightly brushing against yours. he had to hold himself back from outright attack you with his embrace, instead, he sent a small smile in your direction.

‘you saw him again, who was he? he must know me..’ these thoughts filled your head once again, it’s been like this… for a while now. out from pure curiosity, your head snapped around, fingers snaking around his biceps, stopping izana in his steps.

his orchid eyes burned a hole into your arm, as he watched intensely your hold on his arm. then those cold eyes traveled up to your face, seeing your eyebrows furrow, the edge of his mouth twitched into a smirk.

“who… are you?”

“darling…” the words were muttered, his head slightly angled downwards even though his eyes stared into yours, without an ounce of hesitation to turn away. “your boyfriend… don’t you recognize me?…”

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ 𓈈 ᵈᵒ ⁿᵒᵗ ᶜᵒᵖʸ, ᵐᵒᵈⁱᶠʸ ᵒʳ ᵘᵖˡᵒᵃᵈ ᵐʸ ʷᵒʳᵏ ᵃˢ ʸᵒᵘʳˢ!

[girlqueens]

Week 9

1. What are your thoughts on the evolution of depictions of Supernatural Powers in young women? 

I think it is inspiring and quite refreshing to see so many depictions of supernatural powers positively bestowed upon young women in the media today. I think it is very reflective of the times and the generational shift that begun in the 90s. It is quite clear that prior to the 90s that the thought of women with powers was a scary though, specifically for men. Women with powers were depicted negatively or as a joke. I think this has to do with power and religion in American during these times. Prior to the 90s, most families throughout America were regular church goers and a large percentage of them were Christians of some sort. It is no secret that religion has been used as a way for men and higher up officials to hold power over people, specifically women, since colonists stole the land here. If you think back to the Salem Witch Trials the women executed were not witches, they were given this title so people would fear them and so that women were easier to control, if you acted in a way that was not proper in the eyes of the church you were automatically a witch.

2. How is magical power related to adolescence?

I think magical power relates heavily to the notion that a child can be whatever they want to be when they grow up some day. Magic makes everything seem possible and that is exactly what a kid needs to learn in adolescence. Children need to be reminded that it is okay to think outside the box and that it is okay to be different. The concept of magical power promotes individuality and the idea that the world is what you decide to make it. So often kids are told from a young age what they can can't do and who they should and shouldn't be, the depictions of magical powers in media address that and show that it is okay to break free from those confinements.

3. What impact does the depiction of magic and the sense of agency it represents have on real girls and young women in this era of emerging teenage girl leadership?

For the first time in a long time girls and young women are being depicted as all powerful beings. There is nothing more inspiring than rooting for a fellow girl on a show and following her journey as she unlocks all the powers within herself. It shows young girls that they are capable of doing anything they set their minds to and shows first hand all the amazing things that can happen when women are leaders. The girls of this generation are being shown that they are in control of their destiny and are more powerful than any man. We just need to support each other and look deep within ourselves. Women are a sisterhood, and when we all work together that is where the true magic begins.

4. Are you aware of additional girl icons with magical powers? Please share in your post with images.

I grew up watching Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel starring Selena Gomez. As a young girl, I looked at Selena's character Alex as a role model. In the show, she is the only girl sibling out of her two brothers. The series chronicles their journey on who will become the family wizard and take their other siblings power for themselves. In the beginning of the series, Alex is constantly putting herself down and repeatedly states that she will never win and become the family wizard. As the show progresses, we see her journey of self love and self confidence grow until the series finale when we she finally wins and becomes the all powerful wizard. Selena Gomez is also fierce advocator for mental health awareness, is an LGBTQ alley, and has spoken of women's reproductive rights in real life. She has detailed many of her own mental health struggles within her music.

5. Do you see a correlation between the career opportunities of these young women performers, the roles they have played,  and their evolution as feminists?

People are chosen for parts because in some form or another they embody that role in a way that is successful. All of these women, share traits with the characters they have played, and i'm sure have brought a bit of themselves into the characters to make them more believable. Their evolutions into becoming feminists are not coincidental, these women spent years playing powerful women because they are powerful women. They had the platform to speak on issues that not many other women have and did which is inspiring and took courage. It's also important to note many female celebrities often face hardships, scrutiny, and injustice because they are women in the film/television industries, these injustices make even more crucial for them to speak up on matters that are important.

[theladyragnell]

This is a request for All your Tortall … and Jon thoughts 👀

I mean, if I shared ALL my thoughts, I wouldn't get anything else done tonight, and while I do love having tumblr conversations, I do have other things to do with my life. But I will share a collection!

1. Re: Jon, since this has become a Jon Conte Confessional over the past day somehow: in a lot of ways, I am fond of Jon! I have always rooted for George in the love triangle, but I was fond of Jon, and I think that as Privileged Boys Who Don't Get Made Fun Of Enough To Teach Them Humility In Fiction go, there are many worse case scenarios. But these days, I do get annoyed with his smug sense that everything will always go his way when he's younger and also the way he is with Alanna in In the Hand of the Goddess, where he acts like a dick a LOT and only moves to finally seduce her when she's performing femininity. Like, that's sure a thing. And that's before we get to the Kel books, which I won't get into tonight, because we're only two books into the Great Tortall Reread and I've got to pace myself.

2. You can definitely see Pierce feeling out her worldbuilding in the Alanna quartet! I remember things being a lot more settled and standard by the time we hit the Daine books, and there are so many things from the Alanna books that got dropped! The way that magic is perceived and how it's used really change throughout the quartet and after the quartet, for instance. And the first Alanna book especially made me very fascinated with the anthropological history of Tortall. Who are these Old Ones, dipping everything in not!plastic to maintain it? I'm guessing if she had the books to write over again, Pierce would cut that out, maybe make Lightning a divine gift, maybe have the Nameless Ones be stranded immortals, Stormwings or something, a hint of the Immortals quartet to come, but what is there is very interesting to me.

3. George is the Best Fictional Man and I love him, and also it is deeply hilarious that he is 17 at the start of the Alanna books. He's a BABY.

4. An incomplete list of people who deserve better for one reason or another, where "better" can mean "just more narrative depth" or "a wholly different arc, thanks": Thom of Trebond, Delia of Eldorne, Alex of Tirragen.

5. I know Woman Who Rides Like a Man has its problems, but I'm excited for Alanna to mentor and befriend some ladies (and then the arrival of Thayet and Buri in Lioness Rampant, thank goodness!). These early books sure have some Not Like Other Girls syndrome. (Which I know is something Pierce has addressed over the years! I'm not blaming who she is now for them, just commenting on my experience of reading.)

6. My only overarching thought: I'm so sad that since Alianne, Pierce has only written Tortall prequels. I am, as a rule, anti-prequel, and there are post-Aly stories I'd really love to see more than the Beka Cooper books or the Numair prequel. I want to keep seeing Tortall grow and change! Where's my Maura of Dunlath book? Where's one about Dove as she grows up and takes on queenship? Where's my first lady Rogue? I haven't read 3/4 of the prequel books I'm complaining about, but regardless of how good they may be, I'd still rather watch Tortall (and the rest of its world) grow into a happier future.

[fireemblems24]

Post Grondor Field AM Analysis

I'm prefacing this by saying that I'm still not sure I can write a good analysis of this scene for two reasons:

1. I don't know what comes after, and

2. I'm very emotionally involved in what happened.

But I tried my best. One thing is for sure though, what happened in Grondor in AM was an incredibly significant turning point for AM and Dimitri and my thoughts and analysis on it will definitely expand as I keep writing about and playing the game.

Part of me is just so happy I got to see Dimitri's supports, have the inevitable turn around, and get to do things like tea and dinner time again that it's hard to be objective about this scene.

And by "this scene," I don't mean that actual fight at Grondor, but everything from Fleche's attack to Byleth's words in the rain later.

It wasn't all about Byleth . . .

Given how poignant Dimitri's character arc has been so far, I had a deep rooted fear player-pandering would ruin it. Byleth, as a concept, isn't bad, but too often the heaps of praise feel underserved and other things (like Claude's intelligence, Edelgard's relationships with everyone else) get ignored to make more room for player-pandering.

Thankfully this did not happen. Byleth, throughout the early chapters of AM's part 2, failed to reach Dimitri. And, honestly, seeing Byleth actually struggle for once has done wonders for how I view her character. Still, I worried that player-pandering-power, rather than something that felt earned, would cause the inevitable eye-opener for Dimitri.

But it wasn't just Byleth. Fleche's vengeance kicked everything off, what veered Dimitri away from his fate in other routes. He accepted his death at her hands, not bothering to defend himself. Rodrigue stepping in the way and his parting words forced Dimitri to confront things he'd ignored. Throughout AM so far, people have posed questions to Dimitri who refused to answer them because he didn't want to face what they asked. But Rodrigue dying for him, spending his final words telling Dimitri to live for himself - combined with Fleche's attack - forced Dimitri to confront things he avoided. It wasn't until after all of that when Byleth steps in.

And Byleth didn't "fix" him either. Dimitri's supports show a young man who's still very much struggling with his mental health, poor self-image, his previous actions, and wondering if he deserves not only to live for himself - but if he even deserves to live. Byleth didn't hand-wave Dimitri's problems away.

Everything about the scene is stronger because it didn't fall back on player-pandering, but more earned, realistic, and dramatic actions and consequences - including Byleth's involvement which felt far more earned than usual because of prior failure.

But I wish Dimitri's friends played a bigger role.

Not everything was perfect though. I wish we got a little more than we did from Dimitri's house mates - especially his childhood friends Sylvain, Ingrid, and extra special mention to Felix and especially, especially Dedue.

Throughout all of AM, none of the above mentioned characters feel utilized to their full potential. This isn't a problem exclusive to AM, and by all means it's far from the biggest offender, but given how close all the ties are in AM, it's felt when it's not there.

I still don't know what exactly I would've done with them. Maybe I'd need to make the game an actual novel to do it, and you can't forget how perma-death has historically held back games at times, limiting major moments to a select few "retreat" candidates.

Still, though, getting a bit more from Ingrid, Sylvain, Felix, and Dedue would've made the scene even more powerful.

I actually really liked the scene in the rain.

I haven't made it a secret that I dislike Byleth. Or maybe disliked is more accurate. Lately I've been rethinking my stance on Byleth, in part because I've heard from people who like her or found ways to make her work and from my own thinking about the game while planning future write ups.

I don't think it's Byleth I really dislike, but the player-pandering. Separating the two isn't easy, but it's easier since I've starting coming around to seeing Byleth as her own character.

There's been a few moments that made me care for Byleth, and this scene in the rain was one of them. Because she didn't just fix everything. She tried and failed for months to reason with Dimitri, and despite everything she never gave up on him or failed to keep offering her hand.

I'm not going to lie. I got all the bubbly, heartwarming, heartbreaking feels the writers wanted me to in this scene. Seeing Byleth reach for something and fail, and then finally, finally get through was rewarding in a way many of Byleth's prior accomplishments aren't because this one felt earned. And by God did she earn it.

Some people will likely disagree with that last point, but I disagree with them. She asked Dimitri hard-hitting questions, forcing him to come to unpleasant conclusions rather than trying to force him into anything. She kept Dimitri from veering to far off course, even at expense to herself when she killed Randolph. She saved Dimitri from Fleche when he refused to save himself. She quietly supported him, coaxing out the good she knew was still there and refused to give up on.

I'd never in a million years say someone in real life should put up with Dimitri's toxic behavior and verbal abuse, even considering his extreme trauma and aggravated mental illness. But seeing someone fuck up so badly still get forgiven, still get supported, still struggle but honestly change for the good, still get loved, start to accept and forgive himself through the power of love and forgiveness from others is very powerful, especially since media so often downplays those "softer" things as weakness in comparison to the "badassery" of ambition and stoicism. Using Byleth, who previously had little experience with feelings, who was encouraged to experience them in healthy ways by Dimitri, return the favor isn't really the worst choice.

It's cliche, but cliches aren't always bad.

The mentor dies. Redemption in the rain. Revenge against the protagonist's actions opens their eyes. Etc . . . This scene was chuck full of cliches, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Tropes serve an important narrative purpose because a writer can rely on them to convey a message to the audience that either saves time or sets them up for something unexpected or even expected. Fire Emblem has always and will always be incredibly cliche and full of tropes. It loves tropes so much there's in-universe ones that make some unit or character discussions sound like a foreign language to people outside of or new to the fandom, talking about "Ests" and calling someone a "Camus."

What matters is if a story pulled something off well, not if it's terribly unique. A mentor dying is powerful because it forces the student to grow. Redemption in the rain is high symbolic of water washing things away + the somber atmosphere rain creates. Someone trying to get revenge against a character provides an eye-opening experience about the ripple effect of their actions. We see these things in fiction all the time because they work.

All the tropes worked like expected in this scene. Using images instead of cut scenes did make less of an impact, but more on that later.

Tl;dr: There's nothing unexpected or terribly unique about what happened. It was honestly painfully predictable, but that doesn't make it bad and is in a series that does this all of the time.

The voice acting carried because those images can't.

A major downside to this scene is that it used vague images instead of a cut scene. I get that budget and time were likely concerns, but many cut scenes from earlier in the game seem rather trivial. Did we really need that dance one? Really? I don't think so.

This was a hugely important, action heavy moment. Using one or two still images to convey everything that's happening and all those emotions, really makes it less than it could've been.

That said, the voice acting saves it. I've raved about how amazing Chris Hackeny is as Dimitri, so nothing new here. Rodrigue's and Fleche's VAs also did a fantastic job. No one oversold or undersold the emotions. Even without the cut scene, you felt what happened thanks to the skill of the actors. This scene would've been so much harder to engage with without them, if this was an older FE game where all you got was text. This is 100% one of the moments highly elevated by the decision to have a fully voiced game and choosing high caliber talent (let's not talk about Radiant Dawn's voice acting).

Questionable support timing.

One issue I had came right after the scene when I viewed Dimitri's supports. The nature of some - like his with Raphael and Alois - didn't quite line up with the character I saw in dialogue right after. I wish they staggered them a bit more or got picker about what you could get in part 1 or 2.

This isn't limited to Dimitri either. In the same support batch, I also got a Marianne B support where she still had no confidence or self-worth. And then like 10 minutes later I talk to her in the monastery and she mentions about how seeing all the death in Grondor made her value her life even more.

In the past, I've also received entirely valid opinions that Dorothea in part 2 is hard to understand because she's cherry and flirty in her supports, and morose and hates the war in her monastery stuff, making her seem inconsistent.

It's a bit jarring. It's not really an issue for characters who don't change much like Edelgard or Raphael, but even for characters with more subtle differences than Dimitri, Marianne, and Dorothea - like, say, Lorenz - you get a lot of weird stuff because of supports. I just think Dimitri's stands out because he's a main character with a really prominent, important turning point for his growth.

[sometimes-petty]

I’ve been thinking...

There's so much to extrapolate from the conceptualization of the Maralto and the Process. When I first watched 3%, I've noticed that the system was further explained and explored every season, each time showing a different layer.

First of all, it starts as being cartoonishly and sickly unjust.

However, for the entirety of Season 1, we only see the Process itself, and only a fraction of the actual life on the Inland. Although unjust, the whole trial feels functional to the plot. The Inland is shown as a grey and awful place where to live, so of course, we only root for the characters to pass all of the tests, or at least not to die trying.

It reminds me of certain criticisms aimed at stereotypical YA dystopian novels/movies, where the worldbuilding displays the society in it as generically unjust, but the characters are never shown truly struggling under the system.

Like in The Hunger Games, during the first season of 3%, the emphasis is less on fighting the system and more on getting out alive from the Process. It's a necessary step, being that it's the first season.

Secondly, in Season 2 the system starts becoming unfair.

It's slightly different than in the previous season, however, it's the first crack in the façade of the Maralto and starts showing how deeply human the system truly is.

Like I said in another post, Marcela considered giving Marco a second chance in passing the Process, because he's her son and she loves him, despite changing her mind in the end and prioritizing the Maralto's laws over him - after he failed another task. The OG Rafael tried to participate in the Process the same way his brother did one year earlier. André outright murdered his own mentor rather than losing the privilege he received in passing the Process. Not to mention the Founding Couple, who overthrew the entire society, causing countless people to die, to prevent their work from being stolen.

To sum up, in season 1 the Maralto can be reached only by one's own abilities and skills; in season 2, we're shown the collateral effects caused by this rule. The only point is not passing the Process, as much as getting to the Maralto, with any possible shortcut. Season 2 is all about the core of the selfishness that comes with the existence of the Maralto.

Thirdly, during season 3 the Maralto is shown in all of its ineffectiveness.

It all revolves around the Concha, of course, and all of the changes that it brings.

We know from season 2 that the Maralto guarantees regular vaccinations to anyone under 20 years old, as usual because they're the only ones who still matter. Nothing is done, nevertheless, to truly help them out of the horrible circumstances they grow up in. The most we see is in season 1 when Ezequiel goes (mostly) out of his way to take care of Augusto (Julia's son; she said that she chose that name for him as soon as he was born), though until it puts at risk his place at the Maralto and as the head of the Process.

Otherwise, kids on the Inland grow up poor, abused, and helpless, with the only actual support coming from the Church, that indoctrinates into worshipping the Maralto. As long as everyone lives like this, they'll all want nothing more than passing the Process and leaving that hellhole. We see it with Joana in season 1 and with Glòria throughout all the series. Thinking about it, the vaccinations are probably only there to make sure no highly contagious illness arrives on the Maralto through the Process' candidates. Elìsa herself never cared that much about the Maralto, on the contrary she didn't see the point in such a stark division, but she too was given the choice to either live in misery or well enough.

Then Michele and Fernando found the Concha. As it's shown at the front door and in practice, everyone is welcome there, and people start having a second chance. Of course it threatens the Maralto's position at the top of society.

It reminds me of the workers' struggles in various countries. I don't remember where I read it, but it was someone joking that, in the 60s, once people started having a TV at home and eating meat more than once a week, the Communist Party started having fewer militants. This is what happens when people's demands and needs are actually met. The point was never the revolution itself; it's only a necessary step after the government refuses for so long to act to improve people's living conditions.

Similarly, on 3%, once people weren't starving or getting murdered and finally had the chance to live a fulfilling life, they wouldn't turn anymore towards the Process for it. Even the Causa disappeared, since the reason for its existence became less relevant.

Finally, in the last season, the Maralto has long been stripped of any greatness it could represent for viewers, and all that's left to see is an illusion.

Once again, Joana face-plants into this new trial when she meets Veronica, and all her resolution starts faltering. Rafael and Cassia find a common ground in the way either the Causa or the Maralto's military gave them both a purpose when passing the Process wasn't an option anymore. André believes himself as the right heir of the Founding Couple and kills himself rather than living without this idea, even when the Maralto itself is gone forever. The same happens to Marco, Leonardo, and Naìr when it's time to flee. Even Natalia, the most determined militant of the Cause, ready to give her life for it, momentarily opposes destroying the Maralto when she sees how much knowledge is stored in their archives.

All in all, everyone is offered their greatest desire when coming to the Maralto - a mother, a purpose, happiness, culture - and only finds lies when they get closer.

The Maralto never worked. Laìs and Vitòr themselves had miserable lives when they'd rather choose the system they created over their only daughter.

The point is, the system was human-made, with all of the faults that come with it, and just as readily could be unmade.

To conclude:

"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine rights of the kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings." - Ursula K. Le Guin

[stonerz4sokka]

i rlly like your analysis and interpretation of the characters!! what do you think is the correlation between katara's trauma with being put on the mother role and her relationship with sokka? because it's obvious none of them are the sole parental figure to each other, but for some reasom people seem to think sokka is always irresponsible while katara had to keep him from doing stupid stuff and being his ‘mom’ or whatever. do you think sokka only being able to picture his mom as through katara has to do more with how katara is the girl and what sokka imagines his mother would be in theory, more than the actual dynamic they have in practice?

thank you for the compliment! 

short answer; yea you’re pretty much right. here’s the long answer though:

katara had her childhood stripped from her at such a young age and shouldered the domestic and emotional labor both in her home & within the gaang. she performs tasks like washing clothes, sewing sokka’s pants, even in s1ep1 she’s doing the chores while sokka is ‘playing warrior.’ it makes sense for her to do water related chores since... y’know... she’s a waterbender. she can wash clothes way faster than a nonbender like sokka would. but it’s clear that both sokka and katara throughout the show hold gender essentialist values. like when katara tells toph she’s not being ladylike or when she made fun of sokka for carrying a purse and wearing a ponytail. or even when sokka tells aang to not respond to ‘twinkle toes’ because it’s not manly. both sokka and katara grew up in the same environment, so they’ve both internalized these misogynistic beliefs, but since their respective genders are different, how it manifests in their actions differs as well. 

it’s safe to say that mothers are more often than not the bearers of emotional and domestic labor, so sokka envisioning katara when trying to remember his mom is actually a reflection on how skewed his understanding of motherhood is, because he genuinely cannot remember his mom like katara does. mothers are more than the domestic and emotional labor they provide, but if you are a young boy who doesn’t remember his mom and holds the belief that women are the natural caretakers, if your sister does those tasks that your mom isn’t there to complete then it makes sense why she’s filled that void. but katara remembers kya, which is why she was so offended when toph said she acted like a mom. she knows the hole her mother’s death left is one she cannot and does not want to fill. katara doesn’t want to shoulder these responsibilities, but she never had a choice. it’s clear from the beginning when she and aang went penguin sledding that she’s just a young girl who wants to have fun. 

just like katara was forced to take on more responsibility, so was sokka. going back to TBITIB, look at the precision in his warrior makeup application, how he kneeled at the edge of the village ready to fight knowing he would lose. he’s had a very real understanding of his own and his people’s mortality from a young age. not that katara doesn’t share any of this awareness, but she’s sokka’s little sister, which is a crucial aspect of their dynamic. sokka plays the role of the ‘wet blanket’ so katara can retain at least some of her innocence. even though he’s a boy who insists on fact and logic, he always follows katara down her impulsive paths because she’s his number one priority, period. he doesn’t care how irrational or selfish she’s being, he will always be there to protect her. 

your point about people misinterpreting katara’s empathetic and bossy nature as motherhood boils down to three things: 1) a lack of understanding of what motherhood entails, 2) racism & misogyny and 3) lack of experience with youngest sisters OR are the youngest themselves and lack self-awareness. i am not a mother, so i cannot paint an accurate picture of what motherhood is. what i can say, as someone who loves my mom very much, is that if she acted like a 14 year old katara i would’ve died years ago. katara’s trauma forced her to assume certain responsibilities that the target audience of atla couldn’t understand, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a child.  if you’ve ever spoken to a fourteen year old you know that one minute they could say something thoughtful & intriguing and the next say something incredibly stupid. she’s still growing as a person and she still deserves to be treated as a child even if her obligations aren’t of one. 

it’s also rooted in racialized misogyny because of the notion that traumatized dark-skinned girls are inherently more mature than their light-skinned peers. it strips brown girls of their innocence and acts as if their experiences are ‘justified’ or ‘less harmful’ because naturally, of course, they can handle more. again, katara is still very much a child and is no one’s mother, please stop viewing the brown women in your life as emotional dumpsters. and finally, katara is the youngest sister. i am the youngest sister, and although my relationship with my sibling is one that’s not similar to sokka and katara’s & is too complex and personal to unpack on tumblr.edu, it is a universal fact that we are insufferable. we’re bossy & can be really mean and snarky. it’s in our nature to make our eldest sibling(s)’ life as hard as possible. the “himboification” of my brown king sokka is also rooted in racism & fandom’s general affliction towards critical thinking. y’all literally cannot handle when a brown man is intelligent and the terrible takes around his character shows how y’all don’t actually engage with the text but just view these characters as barbie dolls to dress up with whatever imaginary traits and ‘headcannons’ you pull out your ass. 

basically, while sokka leans on katara’s emotional and domestic labor, she also leans on him as the ‘plan guy’ and as her older brother who’ll be there for her no matter what. they both feel strong duties to uphold the sacrifices of their same-gender parent but through their arcs, they subverted their respective gender roles and redefined what being ‘the last waterbender’ and a ‘warrior’ meant. they are both deeply traumatized children who raised one another and are nowhere near capable of raising kids. 

[ushidoux]

Look at Me, Senpai - Hinata x Reader x Daichi (Pt. 5)

Summary: Reader starts to see Hinata in a different light once he returns from Brazil. It turns out Hinata’s inability to give up isn’t just something restricted to the court. (~2.3k words)

Warnings: fem!reader, nsfw, infidelity, a touch of the yandere

A/N: Thank you for reading thus far! Hopefully this is a satisfying ending and if not, idk what to tell you lmfao. Get some tissues? Idk. This is the end ; n;

Part 1|| Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4

---

Daichi never told you to leave. In fact, he didn’t tell you anything. He had no words left for you, it seemed. 

You ended up staying despite feeling like an unwanted guest in your own home, the home you had made together, entering the bathroom only to brush your teeth and rummaging through your closet to pick out a spare blanket and pillow to sleep on the couch.

Daichi would have never let you sleep on the couch, not even for a second before tonight, but when you cozied up against a spare pillow, your face tight with dried tears, he didn’t afford you a second glance before closing the door and locking it tight.

You found yourself staring at that door almost the entire night.

You weren’t exactly sure that it was even right for you to stay under the same roof after how you had hurt him, you were something foul, something tainting this once loving, safe environment. But where else would you go? What would leaving mean to Daichi after all that had just transpired?

Walking out the door would mean you’d just committed to your decision to leave him. Whether it was for Hinata or for yourself, it was all the same to Daichi. You had to stay, if only because you were responsible for fixing your mistake. You had to account, somehow, for years of your life given solely to him.

Never mind that it was clear that you were thinking more about duty than about your love for him. Never mind that as you tossed and turned throughout the night, the thought of whether or not Hinata had safely made it home and/or if he would ever forgive you continued to wreak havoc on your psyche.

You didn’t sleep a wink that night, keeping your phone just close enough to you that you would be able to answer if he called, and just far enough that you wouldn’t be tempted to call him.

How awful were you.

…

The next morning, you roused to the sound of the bedroom door unlocking. Disoriented and sore from the discomfort of a sofa not exactly meant for overnight company, you untangled yourself from covers, meeting Daichi’s hesitant gaze. He looked almost as wrecked as you imagined that you appeared, and from the dark circles underlining his puffy eyes, you could tell he’d probably slept just as little as you.

“Daichi…,” his name faded in your throat as he broke eye contact to the sound of your voice, and walked away from where he stood to walk to the kitchen.

Suddenly the short distance between the living room to the kitchen seemed insurmountable. You stayed in place as you heard him rummage a little too loudly and make himself a bowl of cereal. You waited for what seemed like forever, trying to come up with something to say, somehow, to explain the fact that you’d reduced him to nothing when all he’d done was build you up. 

He ate quietly while you tried to develop the strength to walk towards him, and time passed imperceptibly. You heard the water running as he rinsed his plate once he finished.

When he re-emerged from the kitchen, he stood again, locking eyes with you, his eyes no longer sad but stern with a slight furrow of his eyebrow. His jaw clenched and he made a couple steps towards you, stopping a safe distance away from you. One that was safe for him.

In a voice that started off small, and restarted to be clear and assertive, he made certain that whatever you had was unsalvageable. 

“You may keep the ring, ___-san, but I think it’s best if we don’t see each other anymore.”

---

Hinata took a long look at himself in the mirror, probably long-needed. The spot where Daichi had struck him had swelled overnight, but he was overall unscathed, at least physically.

He couldn’t say he hadn’t expected this to happen; if there was anything he had grown out of was ignoring consequences to actions. He just hadn’t cared enough to fear them. He knew it would be a long shot for you to choose him from the very beginning, and the truth was, from the very moment, he saw you walk in, hand in hand with Daichi, he had been shook to his very core. 

You were still as beautiful and as warm as he remembered you. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and this was absolutely true, in every sense of the word when it came to you.

He’d expected his crush to fade after you’d rejected him with a laugh and a pat on the head years ago, especially once you had graduated, but somehow the opposite had happened, his affections for you taking root in the very essence of his being and growing as time went on.

It’s not that he thought about you all the time, but you popped up ever so often while he was in Brazil, and he’d considered trying to find you once he returned. He would stand tall at the time he met you again, expecting you would be impressed by his progress, the fact that he had maybe grown at least a little in body and spirit, and you would at least, even for a moment, entertain being with him.

Only to find out that you were getting married. That hadn’t been part of the plan.

Again, he was naive.

He took a deep breath and let it out, and suddenly he couldn’t keep the tears from falling.

Again, he was a child. A nuisance. Confident without a basis. What had he been thinking? Why him? It could never be him, just an energetic kohai who had bitten off more than he could chew and now was alone crying in front of a mirror.

He couldn’t act like he wasn’t the problem. He’d ruined his friend’s impending marriage, thinking only about himself, and for what? You still didn’t love him, despite his best efforts.

He rubbed the side of his face gingerly, wincing at the sharp pain.

No matter how much he hurt now, Daichi still hurt more.

---

You left in the middle of the day while Daichi was still at work.

It was a smoother process than you expected to pack up your clothes and art supplies, leaving everything else to him. It made you realize how little of yourself existed apart from him when you gathered up so few belongings in a couple of suitcases.

When you called your sister to take you home, she was merciful enough not to ask questions. You drove a little while with only silence between you before she shot you a meaningful glance for just a moment,

“Did you decide he wasn’t the one?”

You looked away from her and out the window. “Something like that.”

---

Returning the wedding dress was one struggle and calling off the wedding was another, but as time passed it became easier to evade prying questions on why and why not, and how and how not.

A part of you was unreasonable enough to wonder why Daichi hadn’t fought a little harder for you, knowing that if he had just said the words, you probably would have stayed and tried your best to be better for him. You hadn’t even left a note when you left because what more excuses did you have to provide? 

But to him, you became a ghost. Not one question, not one comment - he let you fade out of his existence without a single remark.

You wondered if he had iced out Hinata the same way. Hinata wasn’t speaking to you either ever since you’d made your choice, if any.

Months continued to pass and your father’s rude jokes about you managing to scare off a man who loved you more than himself faded, and your mother’s urges to force you to reconcile with Daichi finally followed suit, to your relief. You dove headfirst in your art, considering applying to a professional program to pursue your passion. Or the next one… whatever you wanted.

The better part of a year had passed since you’d swiftly exited out of Daichi’s life without a single verbal exchange between you two, until you received a call while you sat before a canvas in the middle of a painting. 

Despite the fact that the number was no longer saved in your phone, you could recognize the number anywhere. You hesitated for a split second but still you lunged for the phone because you weren’t sure if you wanted reconciliation or forgiveness or maybe just a chance to hear his voice again.

“... Have you been well?”

The low tone of his voice still held a bit of tension to it, but you accepted that he would possibly never speak softly to you again. But he wasn’t exactly angry… just reluctant. Like he was being forced to speak to you. You tensed. He didn’t have to ask that question.

What if you said you had been well? Would he regret this call? 

What if you said every so often you were wracked with guilt and suddenly you felt like you couldn’t breathe, that you didn’t deserve to breathe?

“Mm. Have you?”

“I have.”

There was a too-long and too-thick silence in the air between you two as both of you hesitated.

“I-I’ve moved on,” he finally said, and your heart broke freshly. 

Yet in a voice that was too high and too cheerful, you blurted out, “... That’s great!”, to hide the pain of the knife twisting in your belly. 

As though emboldened by the strangle in your voice, he continued and you weren’t exactly sure if he relished in your pain or if it was embarrassment that made him chuckle nervously, but he continued.

“I know I told you you could keep the ring but… I was wondering actually if I could have it back.”

Straight to the point, straight to the heart, and you were proud of yourself for not falling apart on the end of your line as you agreed to return it to him. 

...

Don’t call him. Don’t call him. Don’t call him. Don’t call him. Don’t call him.

Your mantra played in your head over and over and over again as you stared at your phone, as your heart raced, as your head pounded, as you paced the room, as tears pricked your eyes.

You had to be happy for Daichi. He’d gotten over you quickly, enough to consider giving your ring to someone else. So what if it had barely been a year? So what if you started to question if you were really just a placeholder for someone else? 

You’d hurt him. You deserved this pain.

Don’t call.

You picked up your phone and dropped it.

What were you going to say?

Please forgive me? Please try again? Please don’t move on? Please fight for me?

Don’t call, you idiot.

You wanted to scream. What was your problem exactly? Your life had settled into an order. You were starting to make friends. You knew what you wanted to do with your life. You stood on your own two feet.

But why had Daichi let all you built together be replaced so easily?

Don’t you dare fucking call him!

Did he ever love you?

Your throat felt dry and your head swam and you sat down at your canvas and tried to paint but your hands shook too much to hold your brush and your tears clouded your vision.

You heard your phone buzz once yet again, and you considered picking up your phone and tossing it against the nearest wall in a huff because you were so close to making a fool out of yourself, but the message across it gave you pause.

A message from Hinata Shoyo.

I know I might be the last person you want to hear from, but I just wanted to check in.

There was a pause while you stared at the message, a million thoughts now running in your head. 

First, why hadn’t you deleted his number?

Second, why now?

As you pondered, nose still running and heart still wrenching, another message popped up.

Despite everything, I miss you.

---

Despite your initial reservations, despite the fact that it felt wrong and bad and evil after all you had done, you still found your way back to Hinata.

Some moments, you wonder if it’s a convoluted red string of fate that joins you together even if it’s been dragged through the mud so that it barely looks the brilliant scarlet it’s meant to be. Other times, you wonder if it’s written in the stars that you’d end up like this, no matter how many detours you made. 

Of course, it’s not to say Daichi was a mere detour in the story of your love life. You loved Daichi with your whole heart, but it wasn’t a forever type of love, no matter how hard you had wanted it to be. 

Simply put, you were a coward, while Hinata was not. Hinata had known from the day he met you that you would be his and he would be yours, and the love you had with him was different. 

A terrifying, bold and audacious kind of love.

You no longer hide a ring when you’re with him, and you don’t worry if you’ll ever get a ring when you’re with him, because his love on its own makes you feel hugged and seen in a way you never were before.

You sit courtside and watch your Hinata as he runs from one end to another, his trademark brilliant smile on his face, the same smile he flashes at you when you wake up every day and wholeheartedly choose him, and you know it’s a smile that says ‘Watch me! Don’t look away!’

Even if you will now forever be branded a cheater, you know that this time, you will only look at him, the same way Hinata’s only looked at you.

[addictedtomanga]

Shoujo manga recommendations - love triangle

1.     Ao Haru Ride

While most girls desire popularity among boys, Futaba Yoshioka wants the exact opposite. After attracting many admirers back in middle school which resulted in her being shunned by her female classmates, she decided that high school will be her chance to revamp her image. Therefore, she starts acting unfeminine and indifferent to boys, allowing her to make some “friends” along the way.

Little does Futaba know, her life will take another drastic turn when her first love, Kou Mabuchi, returns after his sudden disappearance years ago in middle school. Despite his extended absence, the fond memories they shared together still linger in her mind, and she wishes to return to those days. But she realizes that the sweet, gentle boy of the past has completely vanished, and in his place stands someone cold and pessimistic. While he admits that her feelings for him back then were mutual, he warns that they can never go back to the past, as everything, including him, has changed.

2.     Beauty Pop

Although a truly gifted hairstylist, Kiri Koshiba has no interest in using her talent to pursue fame and fortune, unlike the three popular boys in the "Scissors Project" at school. Determined to become the best makeover team in Japan, they give showy makeovers to handpicked girls. As much as Kiri tries to shy away from the Scissors Project spotlight, she finds herself responding to beauty's call...

3.      Blue Sky Playground

On a cold day, Mirita finds discovers a hidden room with a kotatsu (a table that keeps one warm) inside. The kotatsu belongs to two of the most popular and handsome twin brothers in school. Both immediately kick Mirita out. However, Mirita becomes even more determined to get back into that room. What love triangle will commence?

4.    Boku kara Kimi ga Kienai  

Hotaru managed to get in the same high school where Haruna-sensei teaches to see him again! However, on her first day there, she meets a very unpleasant guy who looks just like her beloved sensei...?

5.      Dear!

Rei, Kazuma and Banri are close childhood friends. Rei, who's better than any guy, the cool and smart Kazuma and Banri who's mischievous and bright have the perfect balance. It's normal for the three of them to be together all the time and without thinking of themselves as men and woman they're just together. But something happens after which Rei starts to think of Banri as a "man", so the relation of the three changes...?!

6.       Faster than a Kiss

After losing their parents, Fumino and her brother hop from one relative to another. Getting tired of all those moves, she finally decides to quit school and work to support her brother on her own. As they sat on a park bench, her teacher appears in front of her and agrees to her demands of marrying and supporting both her and her brother!! Is he serious or just playing around...?!

7.      Haru Matsu Bokura

The timid and reserved Mitsuki Haruno seeks her dream sociable life at high school. But despite her best efforts, her ineptitude to speak her mind impedes her from befriending anyone. Nonetheless, while working at a cafe one day, she has a fateful encounter with her school's four idolized basketball players—Towa Asakura, Rui Miyamotoi, Ryuuji Tada, and Kyousuke Wakamiya. At first glance, these four heartthrobs come off as arrogant individuals, responsible for invading her cafe's safe haven. Soon after though, as they uphold their promise of keeping her workplace a secret, Mitsuki starts to see them in a new light.

Hence begins an improbable friendship between Mitsuki and the boys, as her days of solitude finally comes to an end. However, things aren't always so simple—with her heart waning toward Asakura and the female students green with envy, is there a chance this friendship could blossom into something more?

8.      Hirunaka no Ryuusei 

Suzume Yosano has spent the entire 15 years of her life in the countryside, so when her parents decide to move overseas for work and leave her with her uncle in Tokyo, she finds herself in a whole new environment. On the way to her uncle's house, however, she gets lost and faints.

Waking up safely at her uncle's house, she learns that a strange man had carried her there and that he happens to be an acquaintance of her uncle. Moreover, when Suzume goes to her new school for the first time, she discovers that the weird man in question, named Satsuki Shishio, is actually her homeroom teacher! Now, Suzume must adapt to her new school and make friends, since her blossoming high school life in the city has just begun!

9.    Hoshi to Kuzu - Don't Worry, Be Happy   

Anzu is poor but very ambitious and aims for a bright future. Her first step is to be student council president but that chance is destroyed by the equally ambitious and egocentric Yamabuki. She just has to settle for being the vice-president.

10.  Iya da Nante Iwasenai 

Anzu currently works part-time at a beach house however when it comes to serving male customers, she can't help but be cold and shy. When she accidentally spills a drink on one of them, a male co-worker saves her who ends up being her childhood friend Rei. Anzu is happy to reconnect with Rei, however, Rei might be after a bit more...?

11.   Kaichou wa Maid-sama

Seika High School was an all-boys school, but it has since turned co-ed. Misaki Ayuzawa is the first female student council president of the school, eventually earning the nickname of the "Demon President" due to her mastery of Aikido and imposed iron rule.

However, Misaki harbors an embarrassing secret—she has to work at a maid café to support her family. If anybody from her school was to find out, her reputation would be utterly destroyed. And after Takumi Usui—the most popular boy at school—discovers her secret, that might just happen.

12.  Kaoru-kun to Hana no Mori 

Kaoru is as kind as a prince towards girls. She would love to met men stronger than her! And then, two men appeared in front of her...

13.  Katakoi no Tsuki

Kurumi likes Souta-kun, but what happens when Kurumi witnesses Souta-Kun hugging one of her friends? Could Souta-kun already have someone he likes or is Kurumi misunderstanding? What can she do if that girl is her friend, too!?

14.  Katakoi Triangle

Sekiya-san of the cultural library has an unrequited love for Yuuki-kun. The one who cares about Sekiya-san is the popular Kasai-kun, who is also Yuuki-kun's friend! And, what's this? Yuuki-kun is rooting for Kasai-kun?! It seems that everyone's feelings are one-sided...or are they?

15.  Kimi to Koi no Tochuu 

Just when I thought it'd start with you, you disappeared; I would've never thought this... Yuna has lost trust in love after her first boyfriend Takumi broke up with her. Shiina-kun from her class has already confessed to her twice and now finally she approached onto love another time. But Takumi appears in front of her!! What will the swaying Yuna do!?

16.   Kyoudai Gokko

Growing up, Takara Rio has always wanted siblings. So when her parents decide to move overseas without her and tells her she will be living with two people around her age, she's cautiously optimistic. But they turn out to be brothers who fight like cats and dogs. Is this what having siblings is like?

17.  Last Game 

Nothing is beyond Naoto Yanagi, heir to the Yanagi business conglomerate. Idolized for his athletic and intellectual competence, looks and wealth, Naoto lived like a king during his elementary school days—then entered Mikoto Kujou, a plain, gloomy-looking transfer student.

Due to her low financial status, Naoto was initially apathetic towards Mikoto. But despite having just arrived at his school, she completely eclipsed him in everything by consistently scoring top marks in exams and placing first in athletic events. After a brief confrontation with her that left him shocked, Naoto vowed to outdo her no matter the cost.

Ten years later, they are now students attending the same college. Having failed to defeat Mikoto throughout middle and high school, Naoto decides they will have one last game: if he can make Mikoto fall in love with him and then break her heart, it will be his victory. However, he finds himself falling in love with her instead...

18.  Last Notes 

Haru and Aki are the masters of the branch store - an old-looking and very unusual shop. It sells only one thing: a special kind of incense that, when burned, allows the user to see and speak with the spirit of the dead person that appears in the smoke. Every customer has a different reason for calling up the dead, and how they use this unusual opportunity is up to them...

19.  Love Berrish 

15 year-old Yuya Fukushima has always wanted to live on her own, in an inn next to her school. This new dorm of hers, the Strawberry Tree Dorm, turns out to be a place with weird people -- a girl that touches her chest out of the blue, a guy with one of the shortest tempers ever. BUT the good thing is, there's a really handsome and nice guy that she fell in love with instantly! Also, not to mention a crazy cat who adores him (looks can be deceiving...). Yuya's life has just became much more interesting...

20.   Mata Ashita

Towa's always been shy around guys, despite being a total tomboy. This has crushed her chances of ever having a boyfriend, but a perhaps fateful encounter on the first day of high school might lead to love? But will it be with the surprisingly kind "angelic" delinquent, or the popular yet secretly "devilish" prince?!

21.  Momo Raba 

Chieri (Cherry) was living an ordinary life, until her sister Ichigo (Strawberry) suddenly left her child Momo (Peach) on Chieri's doorstep. Momo is an infant; how is Chieri supposed to take care of a baby while still in high school!? To make matters even more frustrating, two guys are fighting for Chieri's love...!

22.   Monokuro Shounen Shoujo

Kureha Mimachi, a 15-year-old girl, has just transferred into Shiritsu Kenhono High School. However, there is something weird about this school, it is actually a school where the Princes and Princesses of the beast-kind go to! Even though Kureha is human, she is there as a way to help the students lead their lives peacefully with humans and has the role as the "rabbit". Will she be able survive without being eaten by the students? Only time and her hidden bodyguards will be able to answer that...

23.   Ouran High School Host Club

At Ouran High School, an academy where only the children of the rich and powerful attend, there exists a club consisting of the most elite of the student body: the legendary Host Club. Within the club's room, six beautiful, bored boys spend their time entertaining equally beautiful and bored girls.

Haruhi Fujioka, a poor scholarship student, has no interest in the Host Club—until she breaks a valuable vase in their clubroom. After being mistaken for a boy, Haruhi is forced by Kyouya Ootori to work for the Host Club to repay her debt. Tamaki Suou, the princely leader of the club, eagerly takes her under his wing to teach her the ways of the host. Things, however, are never quite so simple with the Host Club around. Even the most mundane events can turn into huge spectacles with the likes of prankster twins Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, stoic Takashi Morinozuka, and sweet Mitsukuni "Hunny" Haninozuka. The crazy adventures of the Host Club are just beginning, and Haruhi must learn how to survive in the glitzy world of the hosts.

24.  Parfait Tic

Fuuko is a happy and cheerful girl. One day, two cousins, Daiya and Ichi, move into the apartment upstairs. Cold Ichi and mischievous Daiya gave a very bad first impression. All three are going to the same school as well. How will Fuuko's high school life turn out?

25.  Renren Zakari 

The day of her graduation, while she was lost and end up on the infirmary, a girl met by coincidence a good looking boy. But she was so panicked that the young man started to make fun of her...?

26.  Rockin Heaven 

Sawa applies to Heaven's Wing Academy, thinking she would look cute in the uniform. But she never expected the academy to be a previously all-boys' school! And the head honcho of the school, the class president himself doesn't seem to like her one bit and takes no pains to hide it. At first, adjusting to life at the academy is tough. Sawa is bullied and teased, and the boys in the class even throw her new shoes in the water. While attempting to retrieve her shoes, she falls into the water and is unexpectedly saved by Ran, who up until this point has made her life hell. The newfound gentleness in Ran intrigues her, and she finds herself falling for him. What will her days be like for the rest of her school life?

27. Saiouji Kyoudai ni Komarasareru no mo Warukunai  

Satou Fuuka is an orphan. Her aunt, who was her guardian, absconded in the night, leaving her with no money. Her parents wanted her to go to school, so she was looking for a job to cover her school expenses and rent (plus living expenses, though she didn't mention it). She goes to be interviewed for a part-time house helper job but is rejected before she can say anything, because the guy offering the job is the eldest for 4 brothers and it's an all-male household. She pours out her story, so he takes pity on her (even though he'd pointed out that she can't really take a part-time job if she doesn't have a guardian) and offers the job as a live-in position. However, he has one condition: she's supposed to disguise herself so his brothers don't take an interest in her. Her disguise: lots of towels around her body, so she looks fat; makeup so she looks old (39); plus her hair is all loose and she's wearing glasses.

28.   Sekirara ni Kiss

Chitose has always done well wearing her face like a mask: always smiling, always cute. She feels complete whenever she put it on because it's built to hide her unrefined self: no one hates her, and no one makes fun of her. But after meeting a cute boy who is instinctively more annoyed by her mask than her real self, can Chitose change and make people accept her for who she really is?

29.  Shiawase Kissa Sanchoume 

Uru is a very short girl and is constantly mistaken for an elementary school kid, but despite that, she is ridiculously strong and decides to live by herself after her mother gets remarried. She ends up working at a small cafe with two rather unique co-workers, Shindou, who acts gruff and intimidating, but who is really a nice guy who loves to make cakes and pies and the like, and Ichirou, who is really good-looking but who instantly falls asleep when he gets hungry and doesn't wake up again until he's force-fed something? What will the future bring to them?

30.  Stardust Wink 

I’m Anna. I’m 14 years old and I’ve just entered the ninth grade. Sou and Hinata, who live in the same apartment complex as me, are my childhood friends and we’re all the same age. I thought that from now on we’d become even closer friends, but then Sou suddenly did that to me…!!

31.  Strobe Edge 

Having no experience in romance, the vibrant Ninako curiously explores the meaning of what "love" really is, and is surprised to feel a colorful range of emotions as she grows closer to the school heartthrob, the quiet yet gentle Ren, who also happens to be involved in a longtime relationship. With every intention of keeping her head held high, Ninako prepares to face the mental pain of this one-sided love that she had allowed to take root, facing a series of trials that would either contribute to her growth as a headstrong woman, or break her as it did with other girls.

32.  Suki desu Suzuki-kun

Suzuki Hikaru, Hoshino Sayaka, Itou Chihiro and Suzuki Shinobu are all new students who have just entered the same middle school. Sayaka is a shy girl who secretly loves acting. Hikaru is an energetic boy who loves basketball. Incidentally, he shares the same last name with Shinobu, a popular rich boy who would be perfect if not for his rotten personality. Chihiro is Hikaru's childhood friend and has long had a crush on him. On the day of the opening ceremony, Hikaru happens to witness Sayaka acting out the lines of a drama on the rooftop and is instantly captivated. Upon seeing Hikaru getting along with Sayaka, Chihiro's chest begins to ache. When Shinobu sees this, he is overcome by a strange emotion and his heart starts beating faster... Unbeknownst to the four, this is the beginning of their magnificent love story; one that would last years to come.

33.  Taiyou no Ie 

After her mother abandoned her and her father remarried, high schooler Mao Motomiya is left feeling like she doesn't have a place where she belongs. One night, her childhood friend Hiro Nakamura finds her in a shrine eating cheap convenience store food and offers to take her to a restaurant. Their subsequent heart to heart leads to Hiro suggesting that Mao move in with him. To Hiro who has lived apart from his younger siblings all these years after their parents passed away, bringing his family back together in the once-lively Nakamura home begins with the first step of giving Mao a loving place to belong. When Mao reluctantly accepts his invitation, she is surprised at how easy it is to settle in with her longtime friend. Now she must deal not only with mending her relationship with her father and helping the oldest Nakamura brother attain his goal, but also her growing feelings for Hiro.

34.   The Maid at My House

Runako is studying hard to someday succeed as owner of her family's maid dispatching service company. One day, a request comes in from an entertainment production company and shockingly, it's for their super-popular star, Seirei Moroboshi! But could it be that the image he projects on the TV is far different than his true secret face...?!

35.  Tonari no Koigataki 

Hiro-kun and Icchan are both very important childhood friends to Akane. She thought they would always and forever be good friends, but...

36.  Tsubasa to Hotaru 

Tsubasa to Hotaru follows 15-year-old Tsubasa Sonokawa, a young student—and a renowned stalker? After one very romantic gesture by a popular upperclassman, she falls head over heels for who she believes to be her one true love. Unfortunately, love can be deceiving, as her feelings are soon proven to be one-sided; the upperclassman directly tells her that she's annoying and that she needs to stop bothering him. How's that for some tough love? Shortly after this horrific heartbreak, her good friend Yuri suffers from a sprained wrist, making it impossible for her to continue her position as the basketball team's manager. After some coaxing on Yuri's part, Tsubasa decides to take on the role in her place. This may be the perfect opportunity for Tsubasa to move on and forget about her unrequited love. On Tsubasa's first day as a manager, the team's shooting guard Aki Hidaka saves her from being hit by a ball. Is this another fateful encounter? Or just a random, meaningless event? One thing is for certain: Tsubasa's days will never be the same again.

37.   Uwasa no Midori-kun

Midori Yamate is a 15 year-old girl and is very much a tomboy. When she was young, Midori meets a boy called Tsukasa Hino, who came to the island she lives on for a holiday. He teaches her to play soccer and she falls in love with the sport. Midori is inspired by Tsukasa and continues to play soccer in hopes that they would meet again someday. When they do meet again Tsukasa does something unforgivable. Determined to defeat Tsukasa on the soccer field Midori enrolls in an all boy high school.

38.  Yagami-kun wa, Kyou mo Ijiwaru

 Just by talking to the famous Yagami-kun, Shizuku's high school life has become hard even from the start—!?

39.  Yumemiru Taiyou

While loitering in the park, Shimana Kameko, who intended to run away from home and skip school, meets a suspicious man in a kimono. This man, who had been locked out of his house, offers Shimana a place to stay. However, he requests she fulfill three conditions in exchange for her tenancy!?

[roguestarsailor]

You know what since we’re still in quarantine and i have nothing else better to do, i need to obsess over ACOTAR. I don't like a court of frost and starlight. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why I didn't like it. I aggressively read the book in maybe a day and I closed it feeling frustrated and annoyed. My version had A Court of Silver Flames preview so that definitely contributed to my annoyance greatly.

It's because it felt too perfect. Everything that had happened -- after the entire war was fought and won, they just go back to their normal lives? Yes there were hiccups and yes there were still aspects that made every IC character feel like their problems aren’t solved yet...but it didnt feel right. yes i enjoyed the snowball fight between the bat boys, feyre + rhys sexy time, and those little comfort moments too, the slice of life type things and seeing feyre accomplishing her goals and how hopeful the future seems BUT its too fast. the good parts of the book did not offset the bad parts of it.

Feyre literally accomplished pretty much every single goal she made back in ACOMAF just like that?? within a span of what a few months? a year?? She really came back from an entire war -- probably the first war of many since she's immortal and just like that, after her 21st birthday: she gets a whole entire estate, wants to start poppin babies, opens her art studio and starts teaching kids and then acting like she can rule an entire court?? the timeline is sooo short esp since its been brought up over and over again how everyone is literally 500 years old and have a super “messy” history and their changes seems to come super dupe slowly. but feyre, who has only lived 0.000000002% of her fae life, is out here thriving just fine???

the war devastated thousands of illyrian soldiers where its changing the politics of the illyrains and the faes, all of whom feyre has responsibilities over too as high lady. the mortal queens are still at large who left the humans on prythian to die which is why feyre was willing to go to war in the first place! what about the rest of hybern and their land and residents?? they wanted to enslave humans for social and economical reasons! then what about integrating humans w deep hatred and fear with deeply prejudice fae??? there’s also spring and summer court who are literally in ruins. thats literally so much. so idk how feyre is just chillin???? she gonna let rhys do all the hard work???

like feyre sit down. u should not be having a baby. esp since it took u literally a 700 pages to heal from those 3 months UTM. ur telling me shes gonna whole heartedly bring in a newborn in a war devastated world, with civil unrest (illyrains, other courts), with the messiness of human and fae integration, with trauma u and rhys will have to continue to overcome esp after THIS war??? even helping ur sisters w their traumas??

this is a personal opinion on this subject (and maybe my thoughts will change on this later on; opened to other thoughts) but when i read the part about how that weaver/seamstress artist who made that dark quilt that feyre loved talked about how her mate of 300 years didn’t come back from the war and her biggest regret was that she didnt have a kid to remember him by i just thought ur kid isn’t some sort of memorabilia. don’t have a kid to keep the memory of ur mate alive; have a kid cuz u want a kid purely for the sake of having a kid. ur memories and photos and shit will keep their memory alive but its not having a kid. some primitive need to keep the genes alive maybe?? but the way it was phrased and then in turn how feyre was like oh i need  a baby pronto cuz rhys might die in the next war and regret not having a kid with him didn’t sit right with me. also the other couple were together for +300 years and have a rich life together, while shes been with rhys for literally two years THATS NOTHING IN FAE YEARS. thats still the honeymoon phase and also ur problems arent even close to being over!!!

everyone was shitty to nesta. in ACOMAF, we saw how much the IC went through and still did all they could to help feyre. what made them not think nesta deserve the same welcome? nesta is mean as a defense but did no one try to figure out what would help (amren got close but shes so under developed)??? feyre knows nesta feels too much and yet she continued to be shitty. continued to flaunt her wealth, her status, her familiarity/borderline know-it-all attitude about fae/night court, her ~estate~. forcing nest to the solstice party when nesta was literally like i dont belong, im looking at everyone through a window type of thing; the fire cracking triggering her, etc. what kind of power play was that when she made nesta come to her estate, where nesta could SEE how ~homey~ and how suscessful feyre is and fully see all the lovely paintings of everyone feyre loves that explicitly exclude her to tell her to fuck off to a war camp?? bro???? cas was a dick too and elaine was rude. i think a lot of his actions were meant to make her angry since anger keeps u fighting (as was the method of rhys for feyre in ACOMAF) but what he said was stupidly shitty and i demand that he apologize properly. elaine could have done more to help her sister but whatever. mor was definitely an ass too (and im upset for how little her character growth is). 

Lucein. that man can’t catch a break tbh. im happy that hes w the band of exiles cuz he is whole heartedly accepted there. feyre was definitely an asshole to him even tho he helped as much as he could throughout the books. he tries so hard w elaine as well and it did hit my heart a bit when she was like gloves to work in my garden?? no ?? i use my bare hands see oNly aZiReL sEeS mE fOr WhO i Am. and at the same feyre is like flaunting her mate status to lucein which is mean as shit. its like this man can’t find love in prythain. then tamlin sending him his box of his things??? thats for sure brutral. tam was literally his partner through it all; savior of sorts even. no love from IC, no love from elaine, no love from feyre, no love from tamlin, no love from autumn court rejected everywhere! also HIS TRUE FATHER?? HEllo??? 

then on tamlin. i pity the guy! was i suppose to feel that way??? it felt like he is allowed to get a redemption arc and maybe i’ll even root for a redemption arc??? i was absolutely excited for freysand in ACOMAF but after ACOFAS, im like tamlin is....not completely bad??? his relationship w feyre was bad and the controlling parts were very much a no-no. i dont truly understand the dynamics of an abusive relationship but i can understand that it can be insidious and its the little things that hurt the victim. and i felt  feyre through ACOMAF and rooted for her to escape her abuser! but then it felt like i dont think he was doing any of those things out of malice. ill say tamlin is a bad leader and doesn’t know how to run a court outside of what he sees his father do. his understanding on everything is based on the traditions of the past which i think fueled most of the things he did i.e. not telling feyre she was in danger since maybe his mom didn’t do those war planning things. ACOTAR showed how he truly cared/loved and took good care of feyre and her family. he even talked about how he didn’t believe in the enslavement of humans! i think that tam wanted to preserve what he thought was the good (aka feyre + her love of painting) and get back a sense of control that he and his entire court lost while chained to amarantha. but at the same time, i think he truly thought feyre wasn’t safe. he knows rhys can crush minds and knows feyre can’t read/write so when he got that letter telling him shes safe of course hes gonna flip shit and made a deal w the devil (although those temper outbursts were DEFINITIVELY not ok!!!). he also didn’t listen and has sense of he knows best when feyre was not the type of person. but feyre destroyed his entire court. he lost all his sentries who literally went out to die for him during amarantha’s reign. he lost lucien too; his trusted right hand man. his people were cursed for 50 years and then continued to suffer UTM and was in the process of rebuilding too!  but just seeing spring court, WHO BORDERS THE HUMANS, be in ruins where his subjects left him, his people left him and hes all alone in the manson?? that was sooo sad. so im like why does what feyre did not feel satisfactory????? im mad that it didn’t feel right??? maybe there wasn’t a point where feyre talked to tamlin -- like really talked to him esp w her new found voice and power, etc. anyways, i dont hate tamlin and was like oh shit i think feyre fucked up a bit there.

rhys is a dick to nesta. which made me think, if feyre wasn’t his mate would he extend the same love and care to her???  i loved how he tried so hard to make sure feyre was ok. made sure she wasn’t breaking! all of it! but for nesta, he had the audacity to use his high lord voice and be an ass overall. even tho he can see how cas is fucken in love??? even just how he talks to cass feels off too. 

i’ll even go as far as to say because of how terrible ACOFAS was, it created this intense divide within the fandom. i remember reading the first three books and was absolutely 1) rooting for freysand  2) curious about the sister relationship and how it will be mended 3) i definitely didn’t hate nesta nor did i hate elaine either -- but i was adament about them talking it out with feyre for those tough times 4) saw a more realistic and charming healing arc 5) was rooting for feyre to be a stronger voice and grow into herself 6) love the dynamic of the inner circle + feyre

but after ACOFAS, I have this intense need to defend nesta and was super mad at how she was treated after the war and in turn a deep dislike for elaine for both her lack of agency, lack of grit that made all the other characters interesting, and lack of care for her sisters (who showed how much they would risk for her). i dont hate rhys but i was extremely not happy with him and his attitude and behavior. feyre became more arrogant and was acting like how asshole rhysand would act. like her life is perfect now and i was not rooting for her anymore. freysand didn’t feel like they have complimenting qualities that made them interesting in the first place but rather they are merging to become the same person but in a bad way. that mind reading thing was cute in the beginning but it became insufferable since all thoughts were shared so seamlessly it made reading feel weird. 

anyways those are my thoughts on ACOFAS. it was a 1/5 stars for me and im mad those events transpired. reading the other books made me excited to know what was gonna happen and i was truly ready to accept the characters as flawed and nuanced as they are. im not mad about character not liking each other but i am mad that everything felt off. ACOFAS just felt regressive in some parts and forced in other parts. i know not everything ends in a nice tied up bow but this book single handily ruined what i thought about these characters in the worse way possible. this book wasn’t suppose to wrap up all the problems that exists in the other books but it didn’t feel hopeful like i thought it would. it didn’t feel wrapped up and didn’t feel like i should be excited about the next books. theres so many missing pieces i feel that i think need explaining and at the same time, i think it introduced too many problems at once which made it feel like its jumping around everywhere. although im still excited for ACOSF because i love nesta, and nesta deserves so much better and i want to have hope that this bad ending will either make sense later on or it was just a blimp.