#i was really hoping this episode would not end with them putting his spirit to rest

[r3d-d34th]

TORAME NO WHY TOEI WTF NOT MY SON 😭😭😭😭😭

[sepublic]

Post-Hoot with Dana Terrace!

            Dana’s put over 200 hours into games she’s missed since the finale; Octopath Traveler, Little Nightmares, etc. Sarah Nicole-Robles cried harder than she ever did when she said I learned a language I’ll never forget, a whole chapter of my life is over, during the King-ceanera. She said the line once and was suddenly sobbing because of how meta it was. 

         Rebecca has a ‘sona during the bit with Barcus in the epilogue sequence. Cissy also cried when watching with her family, her kids asked her about it; Sarah was really excited as she watched the finale.

         No sequel happening, but we can always hope; Dana would like to do more, but Disney owns the IP and needs to give them permission. Dana knew the prequel line in the finale was ham-fisted as hell but still went with it because she was pissed (she said Fuck to express her rage). Rebecca went back to the Anger phase of grief after watching the finale after realizing what they missed, but Sarah was also in Acceptance because it was hard to regret something that ended so well.

         Dana doesn’t cry that much, but TJ’s remix in the soundtrack made her cry. Dana brought back everyone for BBBYYYEEEEEEE, noting this was every character’s last line, and wished Hooty had more lines. Alex improvised a cut line after the Bye with Hooty expressing appreciation for the finale and readiness for his spin-off.

         Dana won’t say much in hopes she’ll get to do more for TOH in the future; A Youtube reviewer (shoutout to all, Zachary Ax, Man of a Thousand Thoughts, Rebecca herself), the Third Bill got it right on Hooty, and Dana won’t be more specific about that.

         They found out about the shortening during S2; They had an ending in mind that Dana had in mind since development, but it needed too much setup and so they couldn’t pull it off. All of Season 2A was written before knowing the cancellation; Follies at the Coven Day Parade was the first episode fully written knowing the show was shortened, hence the tonal change. The Galdorstones was an arc Dana planned more on, as well as the Coven Heads; Bat Queen; It was a hard situation choosing what to leave out.

         There weren’t whole episodes written that had to be trashed; Just one-sentence ideas on a whiteboard never fully outlined or scripted. But Dana is still happy with what came out, because it was pretty damn cool.

         Rebecca Rose once saw someone with a King sweatshirt like hers at Disneyland and said hi, but they just side-eyed her and didn’t respond; Despite this, Rebecca hopes they had a happy day and believes they were just having a bad time. Sarah joked about not being so forgiving.

         String Bean’s inspiration: Owlbert is in the title of the show, String Bean indeed was there the whole time! The S wasn’t completely intentional at first, but Dana flipped the logo around and figured it out. When making the first episode, the logo wasn’t finalized. They always liked the idea of Luz being connected to snakes, it’s what she brought to school and they liked her reclaiming something she terrorized her classmates with. The Snake-Shifter idea specifically; Zach Marcus just said “Snake-Shifter” as they brainstormed ideas and Dana, being a sucker for lame puns, was sold.

         That was indeed Dana being represented as a student in the epilogue! She was Beastkeeping and Oracle; Dana can see the future of the show, and really likes animals. Raine’s palisman was indeed hidden within the violin’s design; Hunter and Dell worked to fix the palismen after Raine broke it trying to stop Belos. The violin is more akin to the staff, anyhow. Dana considered responding to a question about general Caleb, Evelyn, and Flapjack lore, but Sarah insisted she stay silent in case they get to answer it as an actual story later.

         Dana liked to think while writing Thanks to Them; No, Evelyn’s spirit isn’t in Flapjack. But to Philip, he saw Flapjack as the culmination of the corruption in his brother Caleb; He saw Flapjack, if it weren’t for YOU. You can see a hint of it in Masha’s story, Evelyn entices Caleb with Flapjack, who was Caleb’s introduction to magic. Evelyn was probably disguised as a human, and trusted Caleb for seeming reasonable and less violent. Perhaps like Dog owners passing each other by and suddenly becoming friends over this.

         Evelyn and Caleb’s relationship was sweet, from platonic curiosity to romantic. Eda doesn’t know she’s descended from them, nor does Hunter; And Dana has more to say, but will keep it hidden. Luz will stay the majority of her stay in the isles as she goes to college. Camila bought the shack leading to the human world, which allowed Luz to visit during holidays, weekends, etc.

         They never got to explore it, but it could’ve originally been the home of Philip and Caleb, long abandoned; Eda emerges after discovering the portal. In the next thirty years, she fixes up the shack as she builds the Owl House. Dana also advised fans to google Death of the Author, since she’s technically no longer working on the show, and thus gives permission for fans to write their own answers.

         Eda became the Owl Lady before Owlbert, due to the curse; They planned to do an episode where Eda learned palismen carving with Dell, and how Eda reclaimed the Owl identity to carve Owlbert. Dana stills has the outline of that episode in her head…

         According to Rebecca, Caleb and Philip’s graves were in the basement of the shack, based on this church in New Haven Dana passed by every day on her way to school (Gravesfield is based on some places in Connecticut). However, Dana realized the graves didn’t fit into the story. They also had an ‘original’ Belos design for him taking over animals. Marina Gardner did some amazing Belos designs, and Thanks to Them alluded to it.

         The Portal’s eye comes from the Titan’s missing eye!!! Hunter is bisexual, Willow is pansexual, this is how Dana always wrote and imagined them in her mind, but it’s not explicitly stated so technically it’s more headcanon. Dana noted how some people just picked it up. Dana likes to think Amity and Lilith rekindled their student-mentor relationship. Having worked in the library, Amity was interested in Lilith’s knowledge of history. Dana suggested to Zarya(?) from the design team to add notes to Lilith’s museum blueprints. A helicopter passed over and they joked it was Disney trying to stop spoilers.

         Cissy only got her lines and didn’t know any other details about the finale, to Dana’s surprise; Dana explained that people not getting a full script is due to the pandemic. Before quarantine, actors would get the full script. They have to rely on Eden Riegel and Dana for context a lot. Bosook Coburn spoiled Luz’s death to Rebecca Rose during the celebration party. They came up with a lot of designs for dying Luz, trying to figure out how they can hollow out her head how much. Dana mentions it’s up to the showrunner to show how much they want to the actors.

         Thanks to Sarah, they kept in Luz saying her own SFX during her fight with Eda in O Titan, Where Art Thou; She heard someone do it as part of the mock script and wanted it. When Dana voiced Eda and Luz at the end, Dana was crying. There’s a recording of Season 2B and Season 3 of Dana doing a voice-over of the script to get approved by executives.

         Dana clarified everyone would’ve had more of a chance to talk with each other, such as Hunter and Amity; Hunter would’ve talked to Vee, as well as more human realm kids, literally everyone would’ve had a little more time with each other. Dana loves Luz and Hunter’s sibling dynamic. Dana was sorry they couldn’t have Luz and Raine hang out, but they had the Hexsquad storyline. Luz finished high school in the human world, with the renewed motivation that she’ll go back to the isles. Knowing she has a safe space outside of high school made it more bearable, as was the case for Dana growing up.

         Cissy brought up Gus’ hair in the epilogue, which she loved; Emmy Cicierga did the design for Gus and Raine. Harpy Lilith was by Emmy; Dana did Emira, Eberwolf, and Skara’s timeskip designs. The name of the Titan is unpronounceable for humans.

         Dana can’t say much about the Archivists; The Collector never had a flash-forward design, as they age much more slowly than everyone else. Maybe the Collector got just a tiny bit taller. The idea of the Collector came from creepy dolls, as well as a nightmare; John Bailey Owen had a google folder filled with cool references of creepy dolls with a starry aesthetic, liminal minimalist nightmare-scape. They knew who the Collector was gonna be, what role they’d play, but the vibe still needed to be decided.

         Dana confirmed the Collector was always a part of the show before the shortening, and they solidified their placement after the announcement. The Collector has indeed stayed connected with the others, visits occasionally. Dana has seen fan comics on this and teared up.

         Hooty doesn’t have to be vacated from the Owl House if he doesn’t want to; When the door isn’t active, Hooty could be present. The new portal can probably fold up, and Hooty is busy as a curator for Hooty’s new museum.

         Dana said Raine and Eda’s business is their business; Not all love stories end in marriage. It’s their thing and it doesn’t diminish any love, but they do live in the Owl House together (Raine moved in).

         Mattholomule getting a palisman is something Zach Marcus can answer, since he made the character and Dana respects the lore he made. It’s hard to say for Dana if Vee and Masha are dating, since Masha didn’t show up in the finale, but Vee definitely has a crush on them. Again, Dana encourages the Death of the Author approach, if the headcanon makes you happy.

         Alador and Odalia got officially divorced after the finale, and the kids happily lived away from her. They might visit her if they have the energy, but also recognize she’s a toxic influence they can cut off at any point. Dana gave a shoutout to Rachel McFarlane’s voice acting, praising her performance for Odalia.

         In regards to the tower King was born in, Dana has an answer; It was related to a character we all know, who now may have amnesia.

         There was a plan to explore Gus and Willow’s glowing eyes, and do it for other characters; Amity wasn’t going to have that, strong emotions are indeed connected to magic. It was mostly a worldbuilding magic rule they could’ve expanded on, that Dana wishes she did early in the story.

         In the boards, Dawn Han(?) did Clouds on the Horizon, and did the scene of Amity and the twins hiding in the factory as their parents talk about the Abomatons, Alador is worried since it seems like a tad much. Alador had T-rex arms in the storyboard, and it reminded Dana of Remy from Ratatouille, so when they got to the scene of them looking into Alador’s lab, Ratador was drawn in his place as a joke. Dana laughed so hard she decided to keep it in, with Dana handwaving it as Alador’s palisman.

         According to Dana, a show should be appreciated for as it is; But the other way to enjoy it, under the context it was made, is also important to her; Both ways are valid. It was easier for Sarah to voice depressed Luz since she was also depressed. The writers preferred to put their feelings into the show, VS a more happy-go-lucky approach as others did; It was kind of dark for a bit, especially during quarantine. Sarah felt her own experience validated with Luz’s depression, but she and Dana appreciated the balance of having a happy ending too.

         What made the crew hopeful was knowing the characters would always have a happy ending; Luz could continue her studies in full-force, a new family. They KNEW it would end happy. Dana acknowledged how the fandom misinterpreted “I hate the term happy endings,” and Sarah knew about the quincenera when asked during previous Post-Hoots, but couldn’t answer.

         Rebecca commissioned 3D-printed Funko Pops of S2A Lilith and S1 Luz, and gave them to the others as gifts; Rebecca didn’t know about Avi’s appearance until two days before the Post-Hoot, otherwise she would’ve had a Funko of Raine made. Dana’s stand for Luz had to be made with painter’s tape (she appreciated it) due to Rebecca running out of the other kind, and planned to place it beside her Peabody award. Elizabeth Grullon, Camila’s VA, had to call her mom in the middle of a session to translate her line about maduros into English.

        Cissy clarified this wasn’t intended to be the final Post-Hoot! And the video was ended with a BBBBYYYEEEEE!!!!!

[weewookinard]

Hey, i hope your visit will be ok. And maybe this little idea (headcanon) will lift your spirit.💞 And if you feel like writing it I'll be so thrilled

Buck feels like 2024 has grudges against 118 and him personally. It was very hard to stand and watch his loft in flames and not being able to do anything about it. Yeah, they're putting the fire out but he knows all his belongings are being destroyed right now.

Living in his car in 33 is harder than in 25. Buck had only one night of that and he already felt sorry about not agreeing to his team's invitations, but he didn't want to intrude. Maddie and Chim have Jee and Mara so there's no place for him. Hen and Karen have Danny and the second room is for Mara. Bobby and Athena rent some little apartment and look for a new house. And Eddie just got Chris back from Texas and Buck doesn't want to mess with their reconciliation.

Buck has 3 missed calls and messages from Tommy. He should have heard about the loft from Chimney. They've been dating for 2 months and Buck didn't want him to worry.

Tommy doesn't listen his explanation, he just gives him his jeans, shirt and tells him to stay in his house and take anything he wants including clothes.

And the fire was an awful thing that happened to him especially during the Gerrard's terror. But living with Tommy, wearing his clothes, smelling Tommy on himself all the time, it was worth it.

So, yeah i wanted to write just the outline of the idea but i got carried away, sorry. I hope you like it💓

Rina I wrote a huge ass response when I was on the train and i closed the app and I lost it all because m STOUPID

Do you remember the period before the Halloween episode when we all thought the loft was gonna be destroyed by a fire??? It was such a good time then, us imagining Tommy and Evan living together and in love............. 🥲

Anyway I love the idea of a stubborn Evan who doesn't want to bother anyone and ends up sleeping in his car. Except that this man is LONG and his car is not. Of course it was going to be a nightmare. Plus the noises around the car, and it's freezing outside and he's pretty sure there is someone watching him but he won't ask. It's not because he is too proud to do it though, but really his fear of being a weight for somebody.

I don't really know if he would be sad to have lost his stuff. I mean, kitchen utensils and furniture can be replaced with the money from the insurance. He lost pictures of Jee-Yun, of his friends, and this picture of Tommy wearing some silly apron with a picture of oily muscles, but Tommy knows a guy who can print them again from his phone.

But Tommy's blue sweater was at his place and it's bugging him a lot. He loved this sweater, it smelled like his boyfriend and the image of Tommy wearing it when they met again for a coffee was one of happy memory. But otherwise it's only things he can buy again.

Tommy doesn't have to insist a lot for Evan to come living at his place while searching for a new apartment and new furniture. But he has to insist again and again for him to understand he CAN make himself at home. He can snoop around, he can use Tommy's aftershave, he can raid the fridge if he's hungry. It takes time but finally Evan feels at home. He feels like he can be fully himself here.

Plus, he gets to fall asleep with Tommy in his arms and this? This is the best thing ever, and maybe he likes it so much he takes more time than necessary to find a new place, and when he finds something Tommy has a lot of remarks about it because the ceiling is too low and the bedroom is too small and the kitchen is not facing east how can he cooks like this?????

After six months Chimney asks why he's still there and Evan just smiles and shows him his engagement ring ❤️

[tookishcombeferre]

So, I'm a little sad today because my audition did not end up going the way I'd hoped. But, I'm going to do what I do best and info dump instead. So, @shychick-52 and I were discussing the magic system in Sofia the First yesterday. We were discussing how the magic from the Mystic Isles themselves seems to be a relatively neutral force. However, the sorcerers/sorceress themselves seem to have hearts that are tuned to particular spells or styles of magic. One of the things I noticed about Greylock in the "Baileywhoops" episode is that he seems to *genuinely* love fun. Like, he conjures things to entertain the kids well because that's what his heart is tuned to. He loves to play jokes. His magic and mind is literally in line with the spirit of fun. As what Cedric says seems to imply, Greylock has always been like this. He's always been silly. He has the soul of a child in the best way. This is really nicely contrasted with Cedric who is like super practical. He thinks much more concretely which makes them really funny when their riffing off each other in the episode. But, it would also explain why Cedric has a much harder time dealing with spell work that seems, in the end, kind of frivolous. Cedric does best with things that seem to be meaningful or have a concrete purpose. While I think any sorcerer/sorceress could cast anything, I do think there's an ease or lack of concentration that comes with casting the things that come naturally to a person. Thus, because Cedric is kind of an anxious mess, 90% of his concentration is already going to keeping his composure in a given situation so he can't really put any more into casting things that his heart isn't naturally tuned to. I might have additional and more coherent thoughts on this eventually, but right now I'm also giggling at my spouse's reactions to episodes with Bean. For example, Spouse Unit 1's live reaction to the "Baileywhoops" episode: "I love that Baileywick is back, but maybe we should be toasting the two people who saved you all from drowning?! Cedric and Greylock should be the subject of the toast! Also, apparently Cedric only gets praise when he saves one of the kid's lives." - He gets it.

[wanderingwomanwondering]

615 & 805 Cemetery Scenes

Fandom has already pointed out the fact that the scenes are parallel but I wanted to share my thoughts on exactly what that looked like and what it could mean moving forward.

In 615 Eddie mentioned Marie's line "We're all gonna die alone" from earlier in the ep. Buck then offered Eddie a little perspective and comfort saying that Marie was surrounded by friends and family. They got really real after Buck confessed that he feels different after the lightning strike. Eddie empathized and acknowledged that it made total sense that Buck felt different. He told Buck that he doesn't have to be any particular thing for anyone else and that "we're all different from one minute to the next". At the end of their talk, Buck pointedly noted that everyday since the lightning strike is "a gift".

The core themes were alienation and loneliness, and the healing power of connection and being seen by loved ones.

In 805, at the same cemetery but with Tommy this time, Buck talked to Billy Boils about the curse he put on him. He mentioned his arm injury and of course the boils. Buck made special mention of Tommy not wanting to kiss him. Tommy denied this but it seems safe to assume that Buck wouldn't have said it if Tommy had touched him at all up to that point. Anyway, the meat of Buck's eulogy for Billy was recognizing the "curse" as actually being "a cry for help". He realized that Billy was lonely because he was abandoned by his posse. Buck waxed on about how "our people" make for a life worth living - full of memories, help when we fall down, keeping us on the right path, and generally just being there. This scene's crescendo was when Buck said plainly "I can't imagine anything more painful than going through life alone". He then told Billy "I'm your posse now". Buck felt that by joining him, Billy could rest and that he'd lift the curse. On their way out of the cemetery, Tommy quietly echoed Buck's request that Billy lift the curse.

As convoluted as the Billy Boils metaphor was, the 805 cemetery scene with Buck and Tommy still had similar core themes to the 615 cemetery scene with Buck and Eddie. Loneliness, and the healing that comes with connection and being seen by others. Buck saw Billy in the end and that was what he felt could and would lift the curse.

Between the two scenes I'm especially fixated on a few key details:

Buck (805) and Eddie (615) were and still are wrestling with loneliness.

Buck was in a questionable relationship in 615 with Natalia and he's in one in 805 with Tommy.

Buck being distant from who he used to be in 615, distant from Tommy in 805, and Eddie looking isolated in the 805 montage

The loneliness common denominator in both scenes is actually Eddie. In 615 he's actually the one who brings up loneliness and in 805 his absence is actually louder than Tommy's mere distance.

The twist in the 805 Billy Boils subplot was the fact that Billy was actively **betrayed** by his posse. That element wasn't technically present in the 615 scene but I would argue that **betrayal** was implied because if Eddie's facial expressions were meant to be any indication in that episode, he felt some type of way about Buck feeling seen by Natalia when Eddie himself had been by Buck's side the whole time.

We saw Eddie taking the same trusted bestie role in 805 by going to the hospital with Buck and actively translating for him with Tommy when he came to visit. I think Eddie feels some type of way about Tommy too but he's Buck's bestie first and foremost so he just watches them when they aren't looking and interjects when necessary because he knows that Buck wants his relationship with Tommy to work. Yet, Eddie is mourning the fact that Chris is still gone and very upset with him pretty much all by himself since the start of season 8. Buck is with Eddie in spirit because how could he not be, still they haven't actually had any screen time where they've discussed it.

I'm hoping the anticipated 806 scene between them addresses Eddie's loneliness in the context of that grief and that Buck actively joins him. The other aspect of it that seems relevant is that Buck is actually pretty distant from Tommy. Pretty much all of Buck's bids for connection with Tommy get brushed off. If Buck does have a scene where he connects with Eddie over their shared Chris grief and Tommy knows about it, it could reveal the wedge between Buck and Tommy. They've already laid the groundwork for Tommy as an outsider/visitor looking in on the 118. A deep moment with Eddie and Buck that isn't played for jokes could force a BuckTommy conversation about the divide between them. Bonus points if all the crap from Tommy's past is also in the mix.

I've been having a hard time enjoying this season but this episode actually did deliver at least a few morsels to savor so I'm grateful for that.

[dozing-marshmallow]

Would it be alright of I request some headcannons for Chris x co-host reader? Where the reader enjoys the show/challenges the show puts the contestants through just as much as he does? Thx!! 💕

P.S. I really enjoy your writing!

Hi there! Absolutely! And thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy my writing! 😊 Enjoy!

CHRIS MCLEAN X CO-HOST READER HEADCANONS

Regardless of how high your reputation was, this was still Chris’ show; you were lucky to be on it. 

If he thought you were hogging the spotlight for too long, he wouldn’t hesitate to interrupt you mid sentence.

Alike the man in question, you had your humble introduction, and screen time explaining the concept of Total Drama to the audience alongside him.

You quickly became famous for interjecting Chris towards the end of his explanation of orders to the campers, with filthy suggestions that poured more weight on their behalf.

Wouldn’t help when you covered your lips in pretend apology.

Unlike Chris and Chef, who chose to eat in the separate tent away from the contestants, you went out of your way to eat in the mess hall, same time as them to rub it in their faces the better quality of food you got in comparison to theirs.

Some of the nicer contestants like Owen and Beth begged endearingly for a share, whilst some of the daring contestants such as Duncan and Leshawna spat curses on you.

Needless to mention, you never let them have that slice of heaven.

There was an episode where Chris let you have complete control over the challenge and whether or not it was a reward one.

“In spirit of the summer camp, I’ve decided on a gardening challenge.” You explain to him,“Each contestant will pick a seed to plant, and they will be given no instruction to what their seed will need in order to grow, so if they’re really stumped, they may be allowed to get a look at their respective seed guides or swap out their seed...in exchange of answering ten questions correctly. These questions can be about anything ranging from humanities to math. For that process, we’ll have them locked in a glass chamber with an easily accessible separate compartment above them filled with all attainable enemies of gardening. Fruit flies, mosquitos, lacewings etc.” 

You pause to look at Chris, seeing how he’s catching on where it’s going by his restless face expression,“For every question they answer wrong, the hatch will open automatically, slowly. First team that’s able to have all members grow something will win.”

“Wow! Okay, that’s a really good challenge idea. I’m surprised I didn’t come up with that!” Chris commended you, before he broke out into laughter,“It’ll boost the ratings for sure!” He notices your ready tray of seeds and begins reading out the labels,“Talipot palm... Raspberries... Potatoes... Tomatoes... Hey (Y/N)...” he finds you already beaming at him,“This is a guess...but don’t a lot of these seeds need at least a month to grow?”

“Exactly.”

Also known as the episode of which they do not speak of.

You never understood how in spite of that, you were still the more favourable host to the contestants.

Maybe because you weren’t as self centred as Chris?

Either way, you used every figment of hope to remind them that you aren’t there to make anything easier.

And you remained that way, up to where the show was supposed to be over, had it not been for Owen deciding to gamble his luck and kicking off a new game.

“Owen’s definitely lost his win now.” You comment wearily.

“Tell me about it.” Chris yawns,“I’m so bored. Wanna get back to the lodge?”

“Say no more.”

Long story short, you basically called it- not only did Owen lose his money, but thirteen other contestants got tied with him.

Given the situation, Chris declares a new immediate season, where you would be cued to open an empty briefcase for the producers to have someone edit wads of cash in.

However, you accidentally open up the wrong briefcase, this briefcase storing a pack of water snakes that slithered out onto the planks and into the lake, causing the contestants of the future season(apart from Izzy) to scream and frantically swim their way onto land.

It was a ridiculous scene, but what can be done? You and Chris laugh as the final episode of the season comes to a close.

You’re already looking forward to what happens next! And you have a good sensation the contestants feel the same.

[imagionationstation]

For the Dona AU, does anything change with the China Town episode with the spirit guy or the episode during the farmhouse arc with the demon car?

Also I know you’ve talked about how Karai and Leo feel about Donnie getting almost (from what I remember anyway) blown up but how does Splinter feel? Seeing his youngest daughter in such a critical state caused by his eldest daughter? Does bro get flashbacks to Tang Shen and the night of the fire? Or even flashbacks to his past relationship with his Shedder since they were brothers?

Also does Donnie ever feel like she has to live up to this ‘expectation’ that is/was Miwa before they find out about Karai? Does Donnie feel the need to be a good daughter or does she feel like a replacement or replaceable because of that or not? Idk I just thought about that.

I also keep thinking about how would Casey and Donnie end up together if they did and how the others would react? Like how would that play out if it does? What would be their dynamic?

I have been loving this btw and hope you are taking care of yourself

I hope you know that you are the reason that I lie awake at night and stare at the roof wondering what angst I inadvertently created.

I saw this ask and had to distance myself from the world to stare at it and contemplate just what I’m putting these people through in an AU that’s SUPPOSED to make things better.

Thank you for your contribution. I have no regrets.

This is PART 1 of this Ask because PART 2 is really long so I decided to split them up so I can focus wholly on one of the two topics.

"Also I know you’ve talked about how Karai and Leo feel about Donnie getting almost (from what I remember anyway) blown up but how does Splinter feel? Seeing his youngest daughter in such a critical state caused by his eldest daughter? Does bro get flashbacks to Tang Shen and the night of the fire? Or even flashbacks to his past relationship with his Shedder since they were brothers?"

“Sensei!”

All of his sons cries overlap, panicked and high as their feet slap against the ground. He immediately notes the missing voice from their call, looking toward them as they slow to step down into the pit.

“My children,” He breathes as he turns to them, eyes widening as he watches them lower their sister to the ground. Raphael pants as he breaks away from her, looking towards him with a harsh panic, explanation coming in a chopped words, “Factory! Explosion!”

Splinter lets this sink in, scanning Michelangelo’s worried eyes as he supports her. Leonardo’s hand rests against her chest to track every breath and his eyes do not leave his sister.

There are burns along her head and arms. Agony painted along every ridge muscle and shallow breath. She is in pain, scrapped and bruised from debris, little bits of metal in her skin. His brain twists the sight before him, sprinkling little reminders that it had been wood that had fallen, metal that had caused the worst damage, blood that had soaked through the three scars forever embedded in his mind.

April shifts beside him and he recalls where he is. Nobody in his arms, a fire left long behind, and his daughter suffering before him.

He feels the urge to go her, pull her in his arms, demand to know what happened- but that did not help Tang Shen. It will not help her. “Take her to the dojo. I will prepare the healing mantras.”

Two of his sons obey. Leonardo does not move, calling after him. He’s a distraction, but something in his voice halts him anyway.

“It’s my fault.”

Splinter inhales, sharp. He now sees the guilt that he'd mistaken as sorrow, reprimand plastered to his tongue.

He will not release it. Not yet.

He waits for an explanation.

“Karai and I- we were taking down Shredder’s operations. I thought we could end this! I’m-” He looks to the side, eyes squeezed shut, before they drop to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

“Yoshi, Saki, please! You are brothers!”

“Go, Shen.”

Splinter exhales softly and turns away. He goes to the dojo and trusts that Leonardo will follow. It’s not until he nears the scrolls that he finds the right words. “I have always warned you of vengeance. What it could cause. What it can take from you. Your honor. Your sense.”

“Saki! This whole place is coming down!”

“Then we shall both perish here!”

“I am disappointed in you, Leonardo.” He pauses, looking at the scroll in his hand, before he lowers it. “But I am proud you had the courage to admit your wrongdoing. For many… It is not so simple.”

“You only dishonor yourself! Always jealous, always scheming, always filled with hate!”

“If I had told the others what I was up to, they never would have gone into that building.” Leonardo scans his expression as he stands, waiting for the verdict, too focused on the past.

Splinter redirects him. “It is right that you should feel pain for your mistakes. But it is one thing to regret bad decisions after they are made. A leader must foresee how bad decisions lead to bad results.”

“PLEASE! STOP!”

His son follows his gaze to his sister and then bows his head.

“I’m sorry, Sensei.”

“I am not the one who needs an apology.”

He steps away to let him think his words over and to focus on his sister, so that Leonardo will be able to give one. So that he will have the opportunity for forgiveness that Splinter never got to know.

The lair is too quiet. April volunteers to check up on his sons, eyes lingering on her friend before she resolutely turns to leave.

Splinter is grateful that she does, for not long after, Donatello stirs.

“My daughter,” he breaths, light flickering from his hands. He goes immediately to cup her face, searching glazed eyes for the light that may have been stolen by the fire. “You are safe. I am here.”

She blinks, rapid and confused, as tears track down to Splinter’s hand. She whimpers, hand clamping over his wrist. “Pap-aaaah!”

“Breathe,” He soothes as she cries out. She squeezes, hard, moisture falling to his fur. “I-It hurts! What- why- why doh-”

“You are injured.” He brushes her face. “Burned. But you are healing.”

She only stares through him, disoriented and scared, even while leaning into his hand. Another whimper shrivels in her throat.

His eyes water, without his want or consent. He has no reason to be upset. She is alive. She needs him to be strong. “Rest, my daughter. You will not know this same pain when you awaken.”

She tries to move, lifting her leg and dropping it, gasping in air when it touches the ground. Her cry is drowned by a whine and he wishes there was a way to take her pain and make it his own.

“Silly ninja. It is not a father’s job to take the pain, my Yoshi. Only to soothe it. Here, let me.”

“Sleep, precious one.” He whispers in the same way that he had years ago when days were long and little turtle hands refused to still. “Papa will not let the world move far without you.”

Her fear lulls, tempered by the gentle safety of the past, a tiny chirp sliding from her tongue. He gives her that moment of calm and then touches the pressure point to knock her out. He gently lays her back down on the mat, resuming the mantra with steady hands.

April comes in to stand on Donatello’s other side.

“They’re not in the lair.”

Splinter gives no response. She kneels down.

They stay by Donatello’s side.

"I thought I could make this about taking down Shredder's organization. But it's too much of a risk going after petty targets just to spite him. I promise, I will no longer go after Shredder's possessions. I'll go after Shredder himself."

The hope that had begun to flicker in his chest dies as Miwa removes her blade from its sheath. She does not look back, leaving them all in the wake of her promise, and Splinter finds his hand outstretched.

He does not know what to do. He does not know what to say.

She saw the price of revenge, and she's still choosing to move forward. How can he stop this? How can he make her see sense?

He doesn't get to decide. A blur of motion charges past.

"NO!"

He sees the impact when Leonardo collides with her. He grabs at the blade as she whirls in surprise, catching her wrist to avoid getting it caught between them. They fall backward, with her taking the blunt of their weight and Leonardo's fury holding them down.

"Leo!" All of his children cry out as Splinter moves to their side, pausing when he spots the fury in his glare. Not one of confusion or anger, but of fear and hurt and understanding, with a protective bite that promises no mercy while caught in sharp teeth.

"Are. You. INSANE?"

This cannot end well.

Splinter should intervene, but for once, he does not.

He motions for the others to stand down as well, watching his daughter's face flick between skin and scales, and lets Leonardo have his say. "We've done this before, Karai! YOU'VE done that before! You ran off to go face him and you got LOCKED UP! It took us MONTHS to get you out! Countless nights of risking our lives for YOU! And now you want to- what, do it all again?"

"I will not be alone this time!" She manages to shove him off, getting to her feet and stumbling away. Miwa looks back, towards Splinter, and he keeps his gaze cool, offering no protection. "I have the clan!"

"Shredder has faced down many armies and fought many battles." Splinter says. "But you would know that, my daughter."

She glares, "I'm doing what has to be done!"

"That's what you said about the warehouses." Leo stalks up to her. "That's what you said about the money. That's what you told me before you went to blow up some stupid factory as if your last mission didn't get your sister BLOWN UP."

"I didn't tell her to go in there-!"

"YOU PLANTED THE BOMBS!" Leonardo's scream cracks at the last word, fists shaking with the pain of almost losing a loved one, eyes clear with the knowledge of how such loss can impact a soul. He takes a heavy breath and the room holds it with him.

He looks at Splinter, and their father nods his encouragement.

"We are leaders." He declares, strong and pronounced. "We are born leaders of our clan, but also of a family. We were selfish and our siblings paid for it. Our ONLY little sister paid for it."

Their gazes travel to her. She is not watching the conversation, hands pressed over the sides of her head, entrapped in a steady hold by the youngest. Her eyes are not visible, squeezed shut in pain, and Splinter's heart aches to see it.

"I..." All attention travels to Miwa. "I never wanted her to be hurt."

"But she was." Leonardo holds his head high. "And instead of learning from it, you are repeating old mistakes. I thought better of you. I thought you'd be better than that Karai."

He turns away from her, steps as silent as the dojo as he travels back to his sister's side. He kneels next to Michelangelo, takes her hand, and wraps his other hand safely around it as she squeezes his fingers.

"I will not risk my family for you again." He says coolly, holding tight. The sound crosses the space with even volume. "If you choose to go alone, you will truly be alone. Do not count on me to bail you out."

"Leo..." She tries, but Splinter does not let her continue. "He is right."

She looks to him, defeat painting eyes that have seen more horrors than any child should know. "I have warned my children against walking into Saki's hands too many times. But I cannot stop them from making their own choices, anymore than I can stop you."

He takes a breath. "You act as if you have no choice. You act as if you are on your own. You are not. You are not alone anymore, Miwa. You are not bound by Saki's vices. You have a family that has fought long and hard for you to come home, and yet you would choose his anger over their love."

"Father." Her fists tighten. Her voice cracks. "He ruined my life."

"He ruined much on that faithful day," Splinter admits as he approaches her, gently cupping her face. He tries not to see Shen in her teary eyes. "But our lives are not yet over. He cannot take anything else from us if we do not let him. Leave his influence behind. Your mother... She would not want this for you."

"I don't-" She pulls her arms to her chest, closing her eyes to bow her head. "I don't know how."

"What do you think we're here for?" Raphael demands with a dismissive bat of his hand at the open air. "Decoration?"

"Let us help you." Splinter translates. "Let us teach you."

"C'mon sis." Michelangelo says, smile weak but genuine. "We deal with April and Dona every day. You'll be a piece of cake."

"Hey," A baffled April says at the same moment that Donatello weakly hits his plastron. Michelangelo laughs, Raphael snickers, and Leonardo shakes his head to hide his smile.

She pulls away, and Splinter lets her.

"Okay." Miwa announces with a smirk, though her confidence does not reach her eyes. "I'll try."

Splinter puts his hands on his cane and nods, "It is all we ask."

Also does Donnie ever feel like she has to live up to this ‘expectation’ that is/was Miwa before they find out about Karai? Does Donnie feel the need to be a good daughter or does she feel like a replacement or replaceable because of that or not? Idk I just thought about that.

Definitely during her younger years. It’s one thing to be the adopted sons who don't comprehend depression and death knowing that he spends a decent amount of time mourning his daughter and wife.

It’s another to be an adopted daughter who doesn’t comprehend depression and death who’s watching him distance himself sometimes to mourn a different daughter that she’s never met when she’s standing right there.

Thankfully (from a Donnie-development POV), Miwa ‘never’ got the chance to grow up. So there isn’t actually any notes to take to fill her shoes and meet expectations. Whenever she actively tries to be like Tang Shen (as she understands her mom from his stories), it only seems to depress Splinter more.

On the day that Splinter gives them their weapons, she entirely expects to be given the one that was meant for Miwa. Then he hands her the bo staff and tells her that it’s perfect for her, and she doesn’t know what to think. It’s the first time that she’s completely confident that he sees Donatello instead of Miwa when he looks at her.

Whenever she needs a reminder of that, she looks to her staff.

By the time that she goes up to the surface, she’s grown to be comfortable in that part of her place in the family.

…And then they meet Karai.

Now, if this does revamp her worries about her place in the family, it’s never directly mentioned in any episodes. Donnie’s main issue with Karai is that she’s always let her imagination run away with her big sister’s image, drafting what Miwa would be like if she survived.

And Karai. Is not the person who Donnie imagined her to be.

"I have been loving this btw and hope you are taking care of yourself"

Right back at you!! Thanks for the Ask!!!

[oneatlatime]

Let's look back at my season 2 predictions!

When I got to the halfway point of season 2, I made a post detailing my predictions for where the rest of the season was going. They were delightfully subjective and conformed more to my hopes than to any legitimate foreshadowing.

I made 9 predictions (one per main character), and then I predicted three ways that the finale could go. I went into some detail in some of my predictions, so I'd recommend checking out the linked post. Keep in mind that I made these predictions before the Ba Sing Se arc started, and it shows.

For Azula, I predicted that she would be the finale's big bad, that she would be defeated, and that the Fire Lord would be introduced as next season's big bad. I'm giving myself one third of a point for this one. Azula was indeed the big bad.

For Toph, I predicted that she would get a subplot that revolved around either something she excelled at being challenged by an external force like those wrestling idiots, or something that she needed to work on that tied into her noble background. Once again giving myself a third of a point, because those wrestling idiots were involved and she did meet an obstacle that she beat by inventing metalbending. I correctly predicted the pieces involved but I got them in completely the wrong configuration.

For Appa, I predicted that he would come back after having many adventures and running into other sky bison. (What's the plural of sky bison? Devastated to say that I've never had to use it) I was right that Appa came back; I was wrong that he ran into remnants of sky bison(s?), but he did end up running into remnants of the Air Nomads, and dreaming about other sky bison(s?), so I'm giving myself three quarters of a point.

For Zuko, I predicted that he would be coaxed/dragged into being decent via a swordbending girlfriend, and that he would be redeemed by the end of Season 2. Hilariously, my prediction smashed Jin and Jet together, which breaks my brain a little. Also, he did the polar opposite of being redeemed by the end of the season. I'm going to give myself a quarter point, for getting the sword bit and the girl bit.

I predicted that Sokka would split from the rest of the Gaang and go on a multi-episode Appa hunting arc that focused heavily on his ties to his family. I was 100% wrong with this one. No point for me. Which is too bad, because I really liked the idea I came up with.

I predicted that Momo would do aerial reconnaissance for the Appa hunt with Sokka. I'm giving myself a full point for this one, because what was he doing in the Tale of Momo? Flying around looking for Appa. Admittedly Sokka wasn't there, but whatever, I need this point.

For Katara, I predicted some sort of moral crisis. Something to add some nuance to her world view. A good yet unapologetically patriotic firebender, or a downright evil waterbender. I was completely wrong on this one too, unless you count being talked into listening to Jet. No points for me.

I predicted that Aang would have to do some type of Avataring that involved delegating tasks to his friends, or putting his status as avatar first, probably due to unrest in the spirit world. This was by far my most broad prediction ("hey maybe the avatar will have to avatar it up" is a very safe statement), so no points for that. I was wrong about spirit world involvement, although I was right that his Avatar duties would conflict with his personal convictions. I'll give myself one quarter point.

For Iroh, I predicted that he would call on old resources to get himself and Zuko into a better situation. I got this one almost completely right, except two bits: I thought he would use blackmail or intimidation, when he actually used something more like the power of friendship, and I also thought that particular plot point would last longer than a single B-plot in a single episode. But what the hell, I'm giving myself the point.

All three of my predictions for how the finale was going to go were incorrect. There was no strike against the Fire Nation, there was no immediate dismissal of the eclipse as a possible time of attack, and there was no relegation of the eclipse to a single episode plot point. No point for me.

So, out of a grand total of 12 predictions, I scored:

3.91!

Ouch.

I'm going to be generous and round it up to 4, which is a third correct. Still ouch. I am less reliable than a coin toss.

But! I actually had a lot of fun both coming up with predictions and reviewing them. So I'm still counting this exercise as a win.

[sommerflue-22]

Childhood Crush | Muichiro Tokito

Yuichiro version

Featuring: Muichiro Tokito, Yuichiro Tokito, aged up!Muichiro

Content Warning: gn!reader, modern setting, fluff, annoying grade schooler behavior ew, but happy ending (sort of), not beta read

Word Count: 1.3k

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A/n: I just finished my thesis but I'm still waiting for feedbacks from my professor. This is a warm up piece before I get back to my other writings. Still, I hope you enjoy~

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On your fourth grade, the teacher assigned you to sit next to Yuichiro. Being Yuichiro's seatmate was alright, but sometimes he could get a little snappy. Especially when something happened to him during recess (probably couldn't make another kid the "it" while playing tag). So you let him be most of the time.

You didn't know Yuichiro had a twin brother until one day he didn't come to school because of the flu. You didn't pay him any mind but you were shocked when you saw "him" going to the restroom. You weren't exactly his close friend, so you just waited outside until "he" finished.

Afraid and in shock, you paced back and forth in front of the restroom. What if something bad happened to Yuichiro and his spirit had come to haunt you? You were so ready to run to your homeroom class if "Yuichiro" didn't come out in five minutes.

Bless your poor innocent soul because "Yuichiro" did come out. Nothing prepared him for being trapped in a kabedon position by you.

"Teacher said you're sick! Why are you here?!"

"What do you mean I'm sick--"

"I didn't see you the whole day!"

"Huh?"

"You're not a ghost, right?"

He tilted his head, "Oh, I think you're mistaken. I'm Mui. Yui's at home. He is sick."

And that was how you met Muichiro.

You learned that Muichiro was Yuichiro's younger twin brother. He's from another class, but after knowing you he often visited your class to chat with you and Yuichiro.

Unlike Yuichiro, Muichiro was friendlier. He let you braid his hair, lent you his blueberry-scented eraser, and even taught you how to draw Pikachu. Muichiro also let you call him Mui. He told you only his family and closest friends called him that, so it made you feel special.

Mui was a soft boy. You sat with him during recess and talked about random things. Cartoon, what you wanted to be when you grow up, doctor appointment, tooth fairy...

You didn't really know when did it happen the first time, but one day you looked at him and thought "Wow, Mui's really pretty."

You started braiding his long, black hair more often, told him more jokes to make him laugh, drew him a lot (and by a lot, I mean a lot) of his favorite cartoon characters. They were bad, you couldn't really tell which character you drew, but Muichiro always thanked you.

You'd like to think that maybe Muichiro did like you too. He would hold your hand when you both were running down the hallway, playing tag with the other kid. He would also give you random things he found like flowers, marbles, stickers from kids magazines.

You didn't remember every little things that happened between the two of you, but you did remember that Muichiro brightened your days and made your school years more memorable.

By the time you started the 6th grade, though, everything went downhill. A few kids noticed your little crush for Muichiro. However, as we all know, grade schoolers can be a little mean. They started to tease you. You were afraid that Muichiro would find out and stopped being your friends.

The thing was, those little rascals couldn't tell the difference between Muichiro and Yuichiro. Since the fifth grade, the twins had been put in the same homeroom class. Differentiating them became more difficult for kids who weren't their friends.

You were visiting their class one morning, looking for Muichiro. You met Yuichiro instead. You could tell it was him, because he didn't immediately talk about the latest episode of that one cartoon you liked.

"Hi, Yuichiro. Where's Mui?"

"He forgot his lunchbox so he's waiting for our mom--"

"Ew, Tokito! Stop flirting with them! It's not even the first period yet!"

You froze in your place as Yuichiro turned to the kid who jeered at you both. "What did you say?"

"Eh? Aren't you two dating?"

"(Y/N) likes you, Tokito!"

You couldn't meet Yuichiro's eyes as he stared down at you, "You like me?"

"N-no... I... It's not..."

"(Y/N)?" A hand was placed on your shoulder, "Are you okay? Yui, why are you staring at (Y/N) like that?"

You lifted your gaze and sure, Mui was back with a lunchbox on his hand. "M-Mui, I..."

"Oh, shit!" "Oi, language!" "Oh my, I think we got the wrong Tokito twin!" "Does it matter? They look the same!" "Which one do you actually like, (Y/N)?" "Yeah, which one is more handsome?" "You can tell them apart? Cool!" "Pick one, (Y/N)" "Yeah, pick one!" "Pick one! Pick one! Pick one!"

As the kids chanted, you frantically look around trying to find an escape. You were panicking, afraid, annoyed, so you couldn't think straight. You looked at Yuichiro and he looked back at you in (what you thought was) disgust. You turned to Muichiro who was just staring at you, wide eyes, lips parted like he was about to say something.

You couldn't hold it any longer so you just cried, which made a few of the kids laugh.

"(Y/N)..." Muichiro placed his hand back to your shoulder, trying to calm you down.

"Stay away, Mui!"

"But (Y/N)..."

"I said stay away!" You shoved past him and pushed the other kids out of your way as you ran out of the classroom.

Ever since that day, you stopped seeing both Muichiro and Yuichiro. Other kids still teased you but they gradually stopped because they found another target to bug. You didn't even say anything to them during the graduation ceremony, even though you could feel Muichiro's eyes on your back.

Things got better when you started middle school because you moved to another town. A start fresh, exactly what you needed. You thought you would find someone new there, but to no avail, your mind kept wandering back to a familiar pair of mint green eyes and gleeful laugh.

You gave up trying to find a lover, and sailed through high school and first two years of uni without sparing a thought for teenage romance.

That was until you found him, tracing his fingers on the spines of the library books. His hair was still as long as you could remember, the only thing different was the mint green ombre. The library was off-limit for outsiders, so he must be a student. How could you not see him before around the campus?

You realized you've stared at him for too long because the next thing you knew, he was staring back at you.

"(Y/N)?" His eyes widened.

"Uhh... hi...?" You let out a nervous laugh. "Long time no see... uh..."

His eyes softened and his lips quirked up. "It's Mui."

"Yeah... should've known it's you. Yuichiro hates me, so he wouldn't greet me like that."

"What makes you think so?"

"You know... when that happened..."

"Ah, yeah. The fuckening."

Muichiro cursing was something you did not expect, which made you snort. "The fuckening, indeed."

"Don't worry, he doesn't hate you. We were wondering, though..."

"Eh?"

"...which one of us did you fancy?"

You wanted the floor to swallow you whole right then and there. Even though it had been eight years, you couldn't help but blush. Muichiro waited patiently, holding back a giggle as he watched you struggle.

"W-well, wasn't it o-obvious..."

Muichiro tilted his head. He walked towards you and ruffled your hair. God, you didn't even notice how tall he had grown.

"If you're still up for it now... and if you're free... we can grab a coffee. My treat. I'm sure drawing each other deformed Pikachu and Princess Peach doesn't count as a date now."

You sighed, trying to control your heartbeat. Mui chuckled again and waited for your answer.

"Y-yeah, I'd love to."

"Okay." He put his arm around your shoulder and led your hyperventilating ass out of the library.

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Read the sequel to this post here

A/n: Thank you for reading until the end! This is actually longer than what I was planning, so yay :D I've been thinking about aged up!Muichiro, so cool and pretty and tall and aaaaaaa >.< Anyway lemme know if you want me to write more aged up!Mui because I love him sm T^T

[bumblingbabooshka]

I really wish Tuvok & Harry's relationship had been explored more. (The moments they have together are funny, they're both people who have more personality than others might think) Even if the writers would have rather choked on their own tongues than have two non-white characters on screen developing a relationship that didn't have to do with a white character - I can accommodate that to some extent. Their relationships to Janeway are interesting to think about! Harry is a Gold Standard Ensign who Janeway is shown to favor a lot. She outright states that she cares about him more deeply than she does the rest of the crew and views him almost symbolically as a ray of light and hope. A shining example of a bright-eyed (ever obedient) Starfleet officer who can do no wrong.

Thinking about this compared to her reaction to Tuvok going against her orders in 'Prime Factors'. She is again extremely surprised and uniquely hurt by this betrayal. She's upset with B'Elanna as well but then dismisses her and talks to Tuvok alone.

Again, she positions Tuvok as different from the rest of the crew and almost as a symbolic presence or a tool more than a person. That isn't to say I think she doesn't think of Harry or Tuvok as people but more about how having a working relationship as well as a personal one within the system they're in is difficult and blurs some strange lines. To Janeway, Harry & Tuvok are her friends and people she cares about/cares for but their obedience and usefulness to her is part of what makes them so valuable. She needs them to listen to her orders and put their own personal feelings aside if she's going to command as captain which is more difficult to do the closer you feel to somebody. (As captain you might feel less inclined to put them in danger or more inclined to give leeway. As an officer you might feel more inclined to speak up, be insubordinate, or less likely to challenge the captain when it is expected you do so.) I imagine that for Tuvok it's easier to deal with these boundaries and hard lines which might be difficult to walk for others. He's Vulcan for one, for another he's been in Starfleet and known Janeway for several decades and lastly, he just has a personality which seems to do well with rules and hard lines. He also seems to have a unique devotion to Janeway herself which we can see in episodes like 'Prime Factors' and 'Equinox' which goes further than the typical obligation to a captain. Also, in certain episodes you can see that Tuvok is used to being listened to by Janeway in a way that puts him above other crewmen. When Chakotay chooses not to listen to him in 'Twisted' he goes so far as to argue with him about it. It's interesting to compare Harry's Not Listening to Orders here to him doing something similar in 'Resolutions'. In 'Resolutions' it's against Tuvok and for the captain - though he's going against her explicit orders. For these reasons, his near mutiny is not treated as flagrant insubordination and instead more heartwarming by both the narrative and, most notably, Janeway herself. She doesn't have a harsh word to say against Tuvok or Harry in the end. I like that Harry's a passionate person. I like that he has trouble sitting still and accepting things if he thinks there's another less devastating road to take. I would say that besides Janeway herself he's the one most dogged about his attempts to get everyone home and he, like her, means everyone. Perhaps even more idealistically than she herself.

It can be argued that they're following two different philosophies, both centered on the captain. Tuvok is following Janeway's order that they not contact the Vidiians while Harry is following her determination to do everything possible to get every member of their crew back home. To Tuvok, Harry is grossly insubordinate and disobeying Janeway's order and to Harry, Tuvok's cruel obstinance goes against her spirit. Going back to their relationship, I think it would be interesting to explore how they both deal with feeling so close and so special to someone that they will always (as long as they're working together) be at a distance from. In some ways, their dynamic with Janeway will never be truly equal. How do you deal with a relationship that's stated by the captain herself to be special and which you view as important, different, but still necessitates you pushing your own individuality aside whenever it goes against her? In addition to all this it's notable that both Harry & Tuvok have the strongest connection to Family Back Home. Even Janeway doesn't bring up Mark as a driving force as often as Harry does his parents or the expansive concept of the crews' families back home. It's an interesting similarity between them, they're both so firmly tethered to the alpha quadrant. They're the ones who have people waiting eagerly for them - in the end even Janeway doesn't have Mark anymore but Harry's parents and Tuvok's family will always be waiting for them to return. Also, I just think that Harry and Tuvok have the potential to be so funny together and so unintentionally destructive. They could get away with so much shit that no one else could in a million years and they don't even have troublemaking intentions. So yeah, I wish their relationship had been explored more. Harry is who I perceive to be Tuvok's first friend on Voyager. Tom declares himself a friend of Tuvok's but there's no indication Tuvok reciprocates that, He and Neelix are more frenemies, He and Kes are more mentor-mentee, He and Janeway were friends before all this and with the others he's mostly shown to have a somewhat to outright tense professional dynamic. Harry's the first and only person I can remember at this moment who he seems to have a non-adversarial and fully reciprocal friendship with, though it's not focused on. Harry is the first person who's able to slip past Tuvok's barriers and form a friendship with him (-points to a sign labeled 'Janeway parallels, Harry for captain'-). They both have people in the alpha quadrant they miss terribly and who're missing them. They both doubtlessly feel that drive to return to them (unique on Voyager, to have people rather than just the general familiarity of home to return to). They both have special relationship with Janeway and they both have more to them than being obedient and good. They're funny, they have bite and pride and hidden passions. They've both had trouble with love. Scene where Harry and Tuvok are working on something late at night. There's a radio present, conspicuously, but it's off. Harry begins to complain about how he's missing sleep and subtly making digs about how he hasn't been promoted despite how much he does and Tuvok reprimands him. Harry is apologetic. Silence. Tuvok brings up however the captain's decision making can be difficult to parse at times... and then makes a subtle dig about how Chakotay as the first officer instead of him is an interesting choice. Harry grins and makes a comment about how Chakotay would have let him play music while they worked. Tuvok makes an exasperated face like 'this again?' and says it's exactly that sort of thing which makes Chakotay- and then Chakotay comes in and Harry has to struggle not to laugh as Tuvok Vulcanspeaks his way perfectly through not answering his 'What were you talking about?' question.

[hurlingsupport]

If you write for Rob Staedler, can you do romantic headcanons where gn!reader is like the token "yes-man" of the Illuminati?

Sure thing! I'm definitely late on doing requests, so sorry about the wait—but here it is!! A bit angsty ngl, but I hope you enjoy this either way!

"Run Away" (Ron Staedtler x Yes-Man! Gender Neutral Reader Headcanons)

To start off, I think Ron would make a bad first impression with the reader, regardless of them being a Yes-man sort of person.

As stated in the Rontagion episode, Ron commonly makes bad first impressions. You can see this in his character introduction, as well as when Reagan introduces him to Brett and the others.

So, with that in mind, a Yes-man! reader would probably act nice towards Ron while still holding dislike towards him.

Despite this, I feel like a situation would come up where their dislike is mentioned, and while the reader hurriedly tries to cover it up, they're surprised by Ron's acceptance of it.

Of course, you're offput by his acceptance of it. Perhaps the reader has a need for everybody to like them similar to how Brett does, which makes them admire Ron for his nonchalantness.

Because of this, you might make friends with Ron right then and there, putting the bad first impression behind you.

If that does happen, I think Ron would find some sort of solace with you in the Illuminati. And when the two of you get closer, he would express his regrets of joining and how his job torments him.

In this case, I think the reader would encourage him to leave; even if it meant never seeing him again.

Following the storyline of Ron meeting Reagan, I think the plot would be generally the same. Only Ron doesn't hook up with Reagan at the end of the night.

It just doesn't feel right, and he can't understand why. At least until he sees you again at work the next day.

Still having not left the Illuminati despite your endeavors, he would hang around you more often. He feels... happier around you.

Just being around you brings his spirit up, and the fact that you're encouraging him to leave for his own good goes straight to his heart.

At some point, I think he might confess on a particularly bad night. Maybe his subject's memories really got to him, and he just couldn't handle it.

He'd beg you to run away with him, to leave the Illuminati behind and make new lives for each other.

But with his tearful eyes and his frantic breathing, the reader is well aware that he's not thinking straight. And while a Yes-man! reader would vigorously encourage Ron to leave, I think they would have trouble leaving themselves.

So, without denying his pleads, they'd simply hold him close. Listening as he whispers how much he appreciates them and how he couldn't stand to lose them to this hellish company.

"I love you. So, so much."

It'll come out quietly, and the only indication that he said it is the feeling of his breath against your ear. Shivering slightly, you'll only hold him tighter.

And perhaps when he's thinking more clearly, he'll realize it's hopeless to try and leave such a life behind. But until then, you'll hold him as he confesses every little worry he has. And you'll happily allow him to believe there will ever be a future for the two of you.

[noegrets]

Staircase Spirit in 2024

Hi, Denise here to look back on all the articles Rosy and I shared on Staircase Spirit during 2024 and to look ahead a bit at 2025!

Detective Conan Anime Reviews:

We did two big articles about Detective Conan this year - the first one covered the second movie, The Fourteenth Target, which is definitely at or near the top of the short-list of our favorite Detective Conan movies. It was fun to gush about what we love about this movie, and also fun to think about how we would have handled dubbing the Japanese-language number-pun-name clues if we were the ones in charge of an English localization.

We also reviewed a big chunk of episodes for our Detective Conan Anime Review Part 8, covering Episode 98 through 123 and bringing us through to the end of the episodes that were dubbed by Funimation.

To give the Funimation dub episodes a proper send-off, we made a reel of our favorite moments, which is included as a video within the article itself (with soft-subs), and also shared stand-alone on Tumblr here (with hard-subs). I am maybe putting too much emphasis on the subtitles, but transcribing and timing them took about as long as assembling the video clips themselves, so let me indulge. XD

Looking ahead to 2025, we are almost done with the next chunk of episodes for Part 9, which includes the introduction of Haibara. We're really excited for that, so hold on to your baseball caps that will absolutely conceal your identity during televised soccer matches hats!

We also are considering spinning off our Detective Conan reviews from Staircase Spirit and giving them their own site, and perhaps restructuring the way they are released. We want to sometimes be able to share one episode at a time if we want, but also have chunks when it's appropriate, and maybe interweave some other discussion, and have a flow of reading, but also let it be more modularized, and have a lot more complicated tagging system and -- yeah, it's incubating. I'm going to be doing some behind the scenes stuff to make sure our Stairwell system can handle everything we would want, and Rosy is going to explore what the layout will be, but right now we fear our biggest barrier might be... deciding on the title of the site! HELP!

In the meanwhile, we'll keep putting our reviews together the same way we have been, no holding back!

Pokemon Movie Reviews:

After whatever fluke happened in 2023, this year we did indeed write stuff about Pokemon. First off, we released what I hope will be the first part of a series on Copy Cat where we review Mewtwo Strikes Back scene by scene. And we already had so much to say about the first two minutes of the movie!

The next piece in this series is another one that is almost done. Look out for it, it will get us another... thirty seconds further into the movie... XD

Setting our endless discussion of Mewtwo Strikes Back aside, we also continued reviewing the Pokemon movies that are after the first one. We're up to Number 13, the so-called Zoroark movie, even though the real spotlight is on Zorua, co-starring Celebi, and also the shiny Legendary Beast are there too, and actually, what this really all about is a man who uses vision powers to make money at the stock market. We liked this movie a lot.

Next up will be movie number 14, the double-dipping Victini movie, and I am really excited for what we have in the works for that one.

And last but not least, Oblivion:

We were actually in the process of writing a bit about the Assassin's Guild questline, when we realized, there sure are a lot of inns in Cyrodiil. And even though there's not really an in-game push to visit most of them, they are all fully-fleshed locations, with different furnishings and amenities and rates... So we set out to review them! We'll help you plan your next trip around Cyrodiil, and you'll see which inn is the absolute best!

So, yeah, we hope you enjoyed our articles from 2024 and look forward to what we do in 2025!

[beevean]

Four episodes of Nocturne Season 2, and I can feel already the brain leaking because of the Peak.

It is really hard to put in order the thoughts during this first half of the season. Then again, the whole thing feels disjointed, so I guess that's appropriate.

The season follows a bunch of microplots, much like the OG S3, but unlike that, they all melt together in the general "heroes vs. villains" macroplot. We have:

Alucard and his sidekicks finding a way to stop Sun Thundercat

Richter and Annette's love arc

Maria's revenge/corruption arc

Tera's struggles in her new vampiric form

Juste becoming less cynical

Olrox and Bara Agent Stone's relationship drama

Drolta's backstory getting revealed episode by episode

Emmanuel's regrets

the French Revolution. yes it's still a thing.

It seems a lot, and yes it is. But thankfully some of these plots get barely any screentime (the gays) and some end fairly quickly (Emmanuel).

It is, however, very hard for me to get invested in anything here. The first season failed to make me care about anyone, and this one feels like a course correction in certain aspects (I suppose the writers took feedback to heart), but it still carries issues from that first season. Namely the dialogue. It is so fake-deep I can predict lines as they come. Everyone speaks about evil, darkness, the power of love, if it's right to execute good kings, and they all sound the damn same. The characters are plot devices moved around by the story - literally, most of these four episodes are characters fortituously meeting each other and talking about something.

Sometimes they're written a bit better. Annette is by far the biggest improvement here. She has stopped being a piece of shit to Richter and the two have now the best interactions in the whole series, OG show included. At last, at long last, one (1) healthy couple developing on screen, joy! Of course, the thing is soured for me because everytime I watch them being cute together, I'm here remembering Annette calling Richter "useless as fuck" and not really finding a reason to change her mind. I don't know why they like each other, but at least now I have proof that they do, and I accept these baby steps.

Problem is, now that Annette has lost her previous odious personality, I'm not sure what they're doing with her. She spends most of these episodes being haunted by spirits in broad daylight, not knowing why. I'll wait until the end to gauge the kind of arc this is meant to be, but as of now it feels rather funny that Annette is literally only defined by her past and her religion.

Richter is there. He hasn't done shit yet except being yelled at by Maria and being looked down on by Alucard for being stupid and revealing their destination to what I assume is a reference to Wallman. I fervently hope he gets to do something in the next episodes because so far you can cut him and nothing would change. This story is so obviously not about him, no matter how many times they're like "ohhhh he is done running, character arc!"

Alucard is a cunt. And the sun rises on the east. But even worse than that, he's a useless cunt. Again, still four episodes in, but i'm shocked at how, when you remove all the flashy fights where he gets to show off how OP he is (the fact that he has the balls to call Richter a show off makes me want to slap him: you still fight one handed to flaunt your skills, jackass!), he's not really... doing much? Well, he recruited the gang, of course. But most of his efforts are off screen. According to what he says, dude lived the best life in these 300 years, travelling around Europe (and even meeting Leonardo Da Vinci huehuehuehue i bet he even told galileo galilei about the earth theory, the show off), witnessing so many revolutions that he doesn't really care about the French one, and working his ass off to find a way to stop Sun Thundercat. On screen, though, he's just there, actively refusing to help people until Richter physically rows the boat towards them, sneering at the Revolution because he has seen it all and doesn't care about anything happening, randomly stumbling upon that McGuffin he has apparently been looking for for three years, and letting Drolta snatch it from his hands despite him being always shown to have superspeed. Oh, and by the way! Technically he made everything worse when he killed Drolta, his one shining moment in S1, because now Drolta is even more OP than him. nice jorb. but sure, keep insulting richter for being stupid and irritating :) even worse as he said that he hasn't had any contact with the belmonts until uhhhh Juste if I understood correctly (I'd love to know why but I don't think I'll ever get an answer), so he's literally only projecting his disdain for Trevor over him.

Oh, and by the way! He talks about Dracula to Maria! More or less equating his grief about him to Maria's turmoiled feelings about her parents. And listen, in a well written show, I could buy that Alucard would convince himself that Dad Was Not So Bad After All because The Power of Love Redeems, and I could buy that Maria is so assmad that she thinks that her Forgemaster father is worse than the monster who planned to exterminate mankind. But I have no trust in this show, not with how Dracula got babyboyed in the previous one, and not with how Emmanuel is barely afforded any grace compared to him. This is the sort of thing that makes hard for me to separate a character's thoughts from the story's thoughts.

Oh, and Alucard is all wistful about having had to kill his Dad, but he apparently never met his parents again! You know, those parents who were brought back to life? Lisa died without ever reconciling with her son? Dracula is still chilling in Hawaii, not accounted for despite this alleged apocalypse coming? What the fuck is wrong with all of you!!!!!! I get that your son is a cunt, but y'all are no better!!!!!!!!!!!!

(fun fact: I praised the first season for attempting to have a message about colonization, right? well, i'll take that praise away. because the plot of the second season is literally the heroes wanting to commit graverobbing and desecration of an ancient relic, like this story is set in 1925 and not in 1792. the absolute peak. now i have no idea about the themes of this story)

Maria... *sigh* I get the idea. I do. The grief is corrupting her, making her lose her innocence. She is snappy, she insults Richter because "you didn't care about my mom like I did!", she has the biggest hate boner for her own father, to the point that even her powers become darker and harder to control. But this arc doesn't work with her. Maria has been angry, surly and aggressive since day 1! "We thought killing vampires was fun" since when?????? your only personality so far has been "revolution good, church bad!" Don't you go and pretend you're having a Sypha arc now! You did not start as a plucky little girl who needs to understand the evils of the world! Maria's naiveté has always been about her black and white vision of the world - you know, like when she said that no wonder a man of the Church would become an ally of vampires, they're all evil! - and in that she is now worse. In short, I don't feel a thing when she gets all angery against her dad: that's all she has been doing since her inception. Plus, why should I care that she has become a jerkass due to grief, when everyone is a jerkass for no reason? This is more of an issue with the writing in both shows, that people are simply meanspirited and often targeting one guy, the Belmonts in particular, so Maria really doesn't feel affected by pain when she downplays Richter's trauma and rudely talks back to Juste for daring to help her, she's just another asshole in a cast of assholes.

(also, while Emmanuel's death is rather effective in its chillingness, Maria yelling with blackened eyes that everything bad in the world is because of Stupid Old Men made me laugh like a dumbass)

(oh yeah, he dies at the hands of Maria's giant evil dragon. after slowly realizing that he fucked himself over and there's no heaven for him. do you care? I don't. he was a caricature of a character, a failed attempt at bringing a new perspective over CHURCH BAD that still ended up emphasizing that CHURCH BAD.)

However, that being said, Tera's arc promises to be interesting. I complained time and time again that the shows don't do nearly enough with the horrors of vampirism, turning people, the hunger for blood, losing one's soul. Tera is surprisingly lucid in her vampirism, clearly regretting her condition, and wanting nothing more than to return to her daughter. I like how dead she looks, uncannily standing in the shadows (although, of course, this season is still politely selective as to when sunlight hurts vampires - special shout out to Tera somehow protecting herself by using AN ICE UMBRELLA, HOW.), encouraging Maria to use her darker animals... culminating, in E4, with her smiling upon seeing the charred corpse of Emmanuel, throwing some mystery in her true motivations. The first episode gives us the question "can vampires love?", which... well, we know that they do. Alucard himself thinks that his father's love made him not so bad, despite the fact that that same love was grounds for genocide. Lenore, Striga and Morana were all framed as being morally sounder than Carmilla because they were in love with someone and that love made them abandon their evil plan. But watching vampirism corrupt in real life a character we have come to know is interesting. (although here we see more of the season's course correction: they're trying so hard to forge a bond between Tera and Maria, when the former was a non-entity in S1. too late, guys)

I don't even know what's going on with Juste, I just know that I'm very annoyed that he only visits Lydie's grave (we never see her in a flashback, btw), and so far he hasn't even mentioned Maxim. I'm also very annoyed that they turned his friendship bracelet, the symbol of his bond with his friend, into a wedding ring. Yeah, sure, Lydie was done dirty in HoD, but the inverse isn't better. At least he hasn't compared Maria to Lydie like I feared he would, it's left to my imagination for once.

And Olrox and Mizrak are there, having their gay drama. They want to fuck so badly, but Mizrak is all "you vampires are animals >:(" and having this sort of crisis between his faith and his boner. As for Olrox, it's getting tiring that all he's doing so far is spying everyone from the shadows: at least getting forcibly branded was a change. As for Mizrak, ngl when Juste is all "I don't really get the point of chastity vows" and Mizrak looks like a kid getting caught stealing cookies made me, for once, genuinely laugh out loud because that was funny as hell.

the french revolution is still going on. The most that happened so far is that the captain was turned into a Frozenshade. You know, because this show is still called Castlevania, in case you forgot. I certainly did. But speaking of the Revolution, I am still not over how the gang literally falls ass first on the EXECUTION OF KING LOUIS XVI. just like that! they just so happened to witness one of the most important executions in France! and they don't give a shit!!!!! they talk over it!!!!!!!!!!!! things just happen in this show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually, no, nevermind, it's rich of the show to start pondering about the grey morality of the Revolution (Edouard and the Captain still talk about the revolutionaries like they're heroes, but Richter starts to question if it's right to kill a "good king" while Annette is obviously all "he still benefits from oppression"), when we know from the trailers that the revolutionaries will accept to be lead by a Romanian vampire noble :)

I was deadass about to end the post without talking about the villains! Which says a lot. Drolta is back, sexier and more OP than ever, and I am positive, without doubt, that this was only because of fan reception: Drolta was a joke in S1, only propped up by her horny design, but that was enough to enthrall the fans and so she appears front and center now! It gets really boring to see her slaughtering people while being completely invincible, you fuckasses can't tell me Night Creatures are impervious to cannon balls now. And I don't really understand if this confirms that vampires have souls, because Sun Thundercat scoffs at the notion but we know that in the OG show Dracula went to hell but the worldbuilding has gone to whores anyway, but it also gets tiring to see everyone gawk at this retcon miracle.

(ngl though, it was highly enjoyable watching her kicking Alucard's sparkly ass. yes, make the cunt bleed for once 🥰)

She does get a backstory though! She was a priest devoted to Sekhmet because... because, who one day drank the blood of a random ass vampire who randomly killed her sisters (..............) and then spent the next centuries trying to find a right vessel for her goddess. She travels all the way to Hungary to meet up Human Sun Thundercat, whom Drolta calls "the most evil woman in the world" and therefore perfect for being the vessel of the goddess of war. I am not exaggerating, this is not a joke or hyperbole. Erzsebet Bathory is called, by the story, the most evil woman in the world. The villain was chosen to become the villain because she's a one-dimensional evil person. They call Sekhmet the goddess of both healing and war, and that apparently makes her an evil goddess. the piss that i'm releasing

(I am a bit annoyed that this lore doesn't really flesh out Drolta as a character. We still don't know why she's so devoted to Sekhmet in particular, and what lead her to seek a vessel to the point of causing the death of so many women. We know that she's ultra determined... and that's it. I got the feeling that the writing's idea of giving depth to a character is to make them cry. people sure cry a lot in this season, it's highly noticeable)

And yeah, Sun Thundercat really has no reaction over a vampire entering the tower she's imprisoned in and asking her "hey sis you wanna become a god?". at first she's like "oh just kill me if that's why you're here", then she proposes godhood and she's immediately "oh sign me up 👀", no confusion, no suspicion, nothing. even motherfucking Carmilla had to take her time in convincing Hector to betray Dracula. come your entire fuck on people.

That being said, they are doing something more interesting with their relationship. It was funny to see Sun Thundercat crying all over Drolta's corpse, and not just because it looked like this

but because beforehand, the two barely interacted together and I didn't get the feeling that Sun Thundercat cared much about her simp. But now, not only it's very clear that she does, all the lore hints at Drolta being the one with all the power. She may simp for Sun Thundercat, but she gave her power. Very unique. Drolta lacks charisma for me (I still can't help but see her as a more shallow Isaac), but I can see what they're trying to do. I suppose I'd rather them flesh out at least one of the villains, even if now the hype for Sun Thundercat is even less warranted.

and finally edouard's singing is dreadful and i hate every second of it, why is he still here

anyway i am not going to survive the finale.

[purlpeiris]

Rose's Day of Asks - the sequel

Hope you are recovering well from what we all just had to endure. And in the spirit of happier things. What have been your favourite qls this year? (it's my first time in your inbox so excuse the more bland question, I promise I'll do better next time)

Rose💛

Ah thank you Rose. I’m happy to join in with this.

Fave QLs from this year so far…

I feel like I’ve loved many many series this year. Some I’ve been a bit disappointed by something in them but not enough to stop me liking them a lot.

If you’d asked me half way through ep 11 of Last Twilight it would have made it into my favourites list. But I hated the end of that episode and i disliked the overall end of the show so it got kicked off the list.

But getting to the actual list,

Time of Fever - I adored it. Even though it made me sob to the point I had to pause for a break because I couldn’t see the subtitles. And even though I didn’t get the post ULS scenes I desperately wanted, I loved it so much. The chemistry was great, I liked the pacing, I liked the scenery and the lighting and pretty much everything about it. I’ve said this approximately one million times by now but I just want a sequel set after ULS, a whole series or even a one off episode will do. I need them to get a concrete happy ending. But even without a sequel if I take it as a standalone series that ends back at the sea the ending was hopeful enough that I’d happily rewatch.

Love for Love’s Sake - I don’t think I found a single fault. I loved that it was different. I found the leads interesting, the story made me want to watch as soon as new eps were released, the ending made me smile so much. Overall just brilliant.

Blue Boys - I just really enjoyed the chemistry and the kisses and how it wasn’t too thinky and it didn’t make me sad. Sometimes I just need something short, light and easy to watch and Blue Boys was that.

At 25:00 in Akasaka - I’ve not done a full rewatch yet, because every time I log into Gaga to start I end up just watching the last episode. I’ve lost count now how many times I’ve seen it. I can’t quite put my finger on why I’m so drawn to it either. It just makes me happy.

Perfect Propose - I found it perfect, well almost. It would have been slightly improved by one more episode but I always think that when I love something and don’t want it to end, even when the story is completed. I liked both mains. I liked how Hiro changed his life and didn’t just accept that he’d be stuck in a miserable work/life balance situation that he hated for the rest of his life. I also loved the playful ending from the cramp to the tomatoes to Kai teasing about the texting. It left me happy.

Happy of the End - It was hard to watch and I didn’t “enjoy” it but it compelled me to keep watching in the hope that these broken men would find love together. I’m glad the ending was the way it was. I see the arguments that the series could have ended without them meeting again and I think that would have worked, but I don’t tend to enjoy completely non happy endings especially in QL stories because real life can be shit enough and I find a fictional life with a little hope is more satisfying.

Dead Friend Forever - I’ve just realised that I’m adding a series with a non happy ending to my favourites list despite what I just said about endings. I clearly can’t be trusted with my opinions! It’s still there though. Mainly because it was a break from the norm, I was intrigued the whole way through and I liked that everyone was at least a little bit messed up. I don’t even know what would have constituted a happy ending for any of them.

City of Stars - it was sweet, I liked everyone in it. It’s on my favourite list as an easy enjoyable watch with decent chemistry and a not annoying ending, which seemed to be rare this year.

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama - I’ve checked and MDL said it ended Jan 1st so technically it’s on the favourites of 2024 list. It was a very fun, silly, cute way to spend a few hours. I adored it so much that I got my partner to rewatch it with me about a month ago and I was really pleased she also liked it.

The On1y One - I’m adding this one because I loved it. I thought the actors were really good. It was slow, but I think airing two eps a week helped it not feel quite as slow because instead of lasting three months we’ve seen it all in six weeks. I might be disappointed and change my mind if we never get a series two, and I would have liked it to end on a happier note but as I just discussed with @ellsieee the ending could have been sadder and overall it’s not stopped me liking the series as a whole. I do feel like I’m going to have to read the novel because my patience is not strong enough for the wait.

This last one wasn’t out this year, and it’s not a series, but I’ve got no GLs on the list and as a queer woman I feel like this is letting myself down, so I’m cheating and adding this to my favourites list because I (re)watched it this year:

Summerland (2020) - A film about a reclusive queer unmarried writer who takes in an evacuee boy during the Second World War. It was so good. The ending was a little contrived and I saw it coming a little while before it happened but it was still feel good and happy and hopeful and comforting. I loved it.

Ok, that got long so I’m not thinking about any more series that I loved from this year.

[catcherwrites]

TDP S7E6 Rewatch (feat. my commentary)

It’s interesting to see Aaravos confront his manipulation, but I am more curious to see how it changes him in the future

I wish we’d gotten more moments of Claudia (and Soren) reflecting on Viren this season. Their father’s death was a monumental part of S6, and it rubs me the wrong way that he’s only referenced a handful of time in the entire season? And most of it was in passing. I just think it would’ve made this moment where Claudia admits she knew Viren wasn’t in the In Between more impactful

I was under the impression that the ‘Cosmic Order’ was only determined by the Startouch Elves, so it’s interesting Aaravos clumps all dragons and elves together in his idea of punishment

“We ate it” Astrid you’re kicking a man while he’s down asdhkgjfk

I loved that Rayla and Callum are repeating their conversation from Kosmo’s original vision

Strong scene! Character acting from both Callum and Rayla!

And again from Claudia, Soren, and Terry! Everyone’s animation is so dynamic and lifelike I love it!

Hi Dark Callum! Looked forward to seeing you again buddy

The moment I saw ‘Lissa’ the first time I watched this episode I knew it was Lujanne (I paused the show just to rant about how this plan was 100% backfiring)

It’s scenes like these where I’m hit with how grown-up Callum looks and sounds. The difference between Callum and Dark Callum’s voice was so different in S2, but now? It’s a lot more similar

I have to wonder what Terry and Soren’s plan was if Illusion-Lissa worked? What was step two once Claudia put down the staff and she finds out they lied? What would they have done to tackle Aaravos?

As a self-proclaimed messy bitch, I was over the moon when Lujanne got stabbed. I was sooo ready for S7 to pivot to tragedy and kill off a major archmage and staple of the show since S1 (I’ll come back to this at the end)

Where did Dark Callum hear “however dangerous however vile”? Or is that just a saying every dark mage knows?

I was taken aback by the crow removing the top layer of the caldera the first time I saw this episode. I still am now, it’s a WILD visual

Hi Ziard! Ngl I thought you’d have a bigger role to play this season!

Damn Aanya has absolutely no time for buffoonery, not in S2, not in S3, and certainly not two years later

Ezran and Zym look angryyy

I’d been really hoping that Aaravos would put up more of a fight, but on this rewatch I guess it makes sense he’d feign weakness to make Ezran overconfident and easier to manipulate?

Hi Sparklepuff! Ngl I also thought you’d have a bigger role to play this season!

Overall thoughts:

This episode was definitely a step up in terms of drama compared to the previous episodes. If you couldn’t tell, I love when shows put effort into making characters more life-like in their movements/mannerisms/dialogue – all of which I saw in this episode across multiple scenes! I wish that Ziard and Sparklepuff had more of a role to play in S7. I was so pumped to see both of them in this episode, but iirc they do almost nothing after this (Ziard summons Avizandum’s spirit and Sparklepuff lands on Aaravos’ face)? Ultimately, the episode was solid for a lot of reasons, even if I’m still left with a lot of questions.

Regarding Lujanne, I get why they pulled the punch and let her live. I don’t necessarily agree with the end choice, but I get it. All I have to say is, if Lujanne returns in Arc 3, I kinda hope her injuries left a lasting effect. Maybe chronic pain, fatigue, or weakness in her limbs? Maybe she needs a mobility aid? That was a serious dark magic wound Claudia left after all!

[utilitycaster]

The wildest part about people being mad on Imogen's behalf is Imogen herself understood Keyleth's position in spite of her own wishful thinking, helps acquire the blue flowers for her, was the first to acknowledge the Changebringer's help, and the first to say "I'm sorry" to Orym losing more of his people. I'm really baffled to read these "Orym is manipulative" takes and that it was dangerous of Keyleth to validate his anger. Do you think it goes back to the god stuff, or is it just Imodna?

I think a little of column A, little of column B, little of several other things. Since I've been on the "hey could we consider that Imogen and Laudna are adult women who are responsible for their own actions" train for over a year, the specific "Imogen can be mean-spirited as well as unintentionally insensitive" train since at least this past February, and the "Orym is correct and Bor'Dor signed his own death warrant by casting Vitriolic Sphere at a group of people who were not violent towards him" train for a month, let's break it down.

There are a small handful of people in the fandom who just really hate Liam. Per a very salty rant I put into my drafts shortly after 3x63 to describe this type of person, it is a small, scattered, bizarre group of people who for no apparent reason have decided to be foaming-at-the-mouth levels of furious because, as far as I can tell, a nerdy Gen X-er dad who went to Tisch is kind of corny sometimes. Anyway nothing he does will ever sit well with them so we can ignore them forever. Moving on.

Some is Imodna; I thought the whole issue of Imogen and Laudna as agency-less infants against a cruel world would have been ameliorated by them entering a canon relationship (one currently compatible with the 2013 Pinterest board vibes of fanon no less) but it appears to have not been the case. For more on this, see this still relevant post and, while I personally haven't ever written something up, there's just, again, a complete black hole of empathy from a segment of the fandom when it comes to any of the other characters; my post from this morning about Imogen as compared to Caleb touches upon it. You know the Far Side cartoon where a guy is talking to his dog and the dog only recognizes a small handful of words? I feel this is similar, like, they see that Imogen wanted one thing and Orym and Keyleth wanted another thing that wasn't even, as you point out, terribly incompatible, and then the "well if not thing Imogen wants and not 100% deferential to her then BAD BAD BAD" attitude kicked in.

But I do think, in the end, a lot of it does come back to if not the gods exactly, the idea that the Vanguard is, unmistakably, the enemy. They are not the revolution here to usher in a new era of rule by the people. Keyleth is not here to raze Vasselheim to the ground but to have a diplomatic discussion; neither is she here to grant any leniency to the woman who attacked Vax regardless of her connection to Imogen. And she finds the idea of a world without the gods, regardless of her own personal feelings, to be one to be avoided. [sidebar: I hope we get Matt on 4SD; I am wondering, after the one-two-three punch of Hevestro, the Raven Queen, and Keyleth all placing a heavy thumb on the scale opposing the Vanguard if he did not expect the party to be as conflicted about the role of the gods and is trying to wind up an argument that I think as of last episode reached the end of its useful life.] When you couple that with Orym's positive attitude towards the gods, that explains the animosity towards him.

The undermining of Orym's position over the past few episodes has always been one of emotion. First he was not objective - as if anyone else was objective! As if any moral decision is ever 100% objective! We all have biases! What kind of early 2000s atheist forum shit are you on to claim perfect rationality that conveniently matches the ideas that apparently came to you in a godless vision? It's insane. Then it was his grief; grief makes you irrational (unless you're Imogen grieving Laudna, in which case you are objectively right at all times, even as you shout down every other suggestion, beseech Laudna's first murderer, not a month later consider the potential validity of the her second, and try to to undo her immutable past) and remember, moral decisions must be made by the rational. Then it was his impatience (nevermind that Imogen has absolutely no patience). And now it's his anger, and he's apparently been manipulating the party the whole time by...having suggestions for the group which he mentions, and openly stating what he was feeling and what he wanted, and not intuiting that Laudna reawoke Delilah with his approximately no magical ability and then encouraging her to finish a job she had started herself. Because god Rational Objective Conceptual Being forbid women do anything; it is the role of the man to protect their fragile souls from all consequences.

Even more generally I think a lot of people- not just in this fandom, though certainly within this fandom - are terrified of anger. Like, they think they like it - they say they love barbarians (though rage is its own beast and I think very different from the anger Orym and Keyleth exhibit) but most of the discussion of them tends to veer more into angst, and most players of barbarians are often exploring emotions like grief, self-pity (as Ashton says), or frustration just as much if not more so than anger. I think a lot of people perceive anger as this awful thing inside them to be controlled and denied, or alternately to only be let out for whatever they think is a sufficiently righteous cause, and instead sit in an increasingly toxic stew of simmering resentment and conflict avoidance until they begin to think this is not just normal but aspirational - anything but that awful beast they call anger. It's not new in discussions of Keyleth, and it's not limited to her and Orym; I can point to nearly every single character who has had even the slightest of outbursts - even something as mild and controlled as Orym's whispered profanity or less - and I promise you there's been pearl-clutching for every single one of them.

Anyway, you make great points! One of the things that struck me about this episode and prompted my frustration and my post earlier today is that Imogen has changed. I think she's been mulling over Liliana since her appeals to her during the Key's activation were unsuccessful; she hesitantly told Chetney when he asked in Uthodurn that yes, if Liliana's death is necessary, she understands; and I think seeing the utter devastation and pain that was inflicted on Keyleth brought it into focus. She was much more open to FCG and the coin as well. And, you know, if one had embraced Imogen's moral ambiguity in the leadup to the solstice, and the possibility that she could betray the party, instead of shouting that down? Then one could see this as a beautiful moment of growth for Imogen. One could, in fact, if one was so inclined, attribute it to her new sense of ease thanks to her circlet, or even to her nascent romantic relationship. If one, of course, had wholeheartedly embraced Imogen's past moral ambiguity and the possibility of her betrayal.