#it's honestly the most effective scene we've had so far

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Kilmeny will not marry Eric because she is mute, so Eric starts thinking about if there is a way to cure her muteness. He asks Janet Gordon if they have ever taken Kilmeny to a doctor. She says no, Margaret wouldn't hear of it. Thomas wanted to, when Kilmeny was young, but it was forbidden and everyone bowed to Margaret's every whim.

Margaret Gordon sounds like she terrorized the entire household, to be honest. Janet said a couple chapters ago that she did her best to shield her from sorrow, but I think perhaps the result was that Margaret was simultaneously smothered and spoiled and made it everyone's problem. No wonder Kilmeny is so good at reading shifting moods.

We then learn that there is more to the story of Margaret Gordon than Mrs. Williamson (hey, remember her? Been a hot minute since we heard about her, now that Janet has taken on the role of kindly elderly female dispenser of plot and wisdom. Her name is Elizabeth, by the way.) Anyway, there is more to the story than Mrs. Williamson knew. When Margaret came home after her marriage fell apart, her father was terribly angry. He hadn't wanted her to marry Ronald Fraser, but she did anyway. And her father "called her a hard name".

There's been some discussion about what that name was -- I saw suggestions of whore, harlot, and jezabel, all of which seem plausible. And Margaret refused to say a word in response to this, even after he realized he had been cruel and apologized and asked her forgiveness. And Margaret refused to speak another word to anyone from that moment until after Kilmeny was born. She also spent all her time sitting in her room staring at the wall.

So, you know, doing well!

When her father is dying, he begs her to come to him one last time. She refuses, and so he has Thomas and Janet bring him to her. He says he cannot go meet his dead wife (her mother) until their daughter has forgiven him for calling her such a dreadful name. He begs and pleads and prays and she refuses to speak a single word to him. Her stubbornness has become a curse, forcing her to stay silent even when -- as she tells Janet later -- she wanted to speak. But she did not. And he died, unforgiven.

Kilmeny was born soon after, and the love and magic of motherhood melted the curse and Margaret spoke again. But it was too late, she could never forgive her father now, and when she realized Kilmeny wasn't going to talk she went half mad thinking this divine retribution for her sin of silence. As Janet puts it, "Kilmeny can't speak because Margaret wouldn't."

So there's a lot to unpack here. Most obviously, this is the culmination of the whole 'Kilmeny has only ever existed as an extension of her mother' theme we've been working. It's also another example of the way that women are only ever supporting characters to the men in their lives -- Margaret's sin was specifically that she wouldn't forgive her father. That stubbornness then cursed her daughter.

But we move on swiftly from that to Eric's favorite activity: not taking no for an answer. He says they will send for David Baker anyway, and will have him examine Kilmeny and also tell him an edited version of the story so that he has all the facts. Janet agrees -- again, we aren't asking Kilmeny's permission here -- presumably because she's realized that arguing with Eric will only lead to more tedious arguing with Eric and that he, unlike you, has nothing better to do with his day than argue this point.

Eric does, at least, tell Kilmeny of his plan, and we end the chapter with the following exchange:

But a rosy glow of hope flashed over Kilmeny’s face when Eric told her what he meant to do.

“Oh, do you think he can make me speak?” she wrote eagerly.

“I don’t know, Kilmeny. I hope that he can, and I know he will do all that mortal skill can do. If he can remove your defect will you promise to marry me, dearest?”

She nodded. The grave little motion had the solemnity of a sacred promise.

“Yes,” she wrote, “when I can speak like other women I will marry you.”

Four chapters left. Let's see how much more ridiculousness we can cram into four chapters before our inevitable ending point!

[definitelynotshouting]

I want to know more about the hiding the cat thing, how’s you manage that?

okay so in december of 2018 me and my cousin, who had moved in with me earlier that year, heard a knock on our door about two minutes after a house guest had left. On the other side is said house guest, who eagerly informs us that there is a VERY sweet and friendly kitten roaming around out in the parking lot

To quickly set the scene here: it is 45°F out and the sun is going down. We are in pajamas. Neither of us are even wearing shoes

Both of us, avid cat lovers, charge down the stairs to pet this cat, who is indeed very friendly and INCREDIBLY sweet, trotting right up to us and purring up a storm. My cousin looks at me. I look at him. "Absolutely not," I tell him, because our apartment has a strict $300 pet deposit policy and neither of us have that kind of pocket money lying around.

"But TJ," my cousin says, in a voice i have come to recognize as a precursor to the world's most obvious yet effective attempts at emotional manipulation, "it's cold outside. And the highway is right there. Wouldn't you feel so terrible if you woke up tomorrow and–"

"OH MY GODS," I say, very loudly, "GO. JUST TAKE HIM INSIDE, GO GO GO."

My cousin scoops the kitten up (who doesnt protest even a little), runs up all three flights of stairs so fast he fucking blurs, and now we have a cat. in our apartment. and no pet deposit.

Ofc we did make the obligatory attempt at finding his original owner. He was far too sweet and friendly to be a proper stray, and while he was very thin he still had soft fur and wasnt super scruffy. We very quietly asked around, put up some carefully worded signs in the neighborhood, checked in with the local shelters-- nada. Nothing. Not a single peep about this cat. And after a full week of bonding, both of us were 100% set on keeping him.

Honestly, hiding him from our apartment wasnt anything spectacular. We're indoor-only owners, and our friends pitched in to help us get him neutered, get his shots, and essential supplies. We had two inspections during the 3 month period we saved up for a pet deposit, and both times we just hid his stuff in our cabinets, put him in his cat carrier, and took him to someone else's house for the day. Once we had the money we needed and could actually spare it, we went to our leasing office and informed them we wanted to adopt a cat.

"Oh thank god," I distinctly remember hearing the woman who handed me the appropriate paperwork say. "We're so grateful you went through the proper channels for this. Nobody ever does that, and it's such a hassle for us. What's your new cat's name?"

"Oh, of course," I replied, with what i think was frankly admirable composure. "I'm always happy to be helpful. And we've decided to name him Anarchy."

[andbrokenmemories]

So it's weird how like. The Kennet girls are good at everything, aren't they? [pale spoilers ahead]

Like that's obvious, it's textual -- it's very textual, other characters being in something like awe over it over and over and over across the story. The girls are very good at this, and they have a deep well of power. This comes up continuously.

what's weird is thaaat a lot of the fanbase seem to like, enjoy that. Enjoy having protagonists who can play around with magic in a way Blake never ever could have. I kind of get that, I won't like shit-talk it too hard. (I do like Verona, y'know?)

But it's an interesting fact. Because Wildbow's the underdog protagonist guy! At least in action scenes, that's his whole thing! Taylor and Blake have to eat shit and die to claw their way to victory, and often those scenes work for me. And it's one of the things I think WB gets the most praise for? Like, from his established base. It's a conscious choice to not do that for Pale. He like, introduced the idea that this kind of wild practitioner would be especially powerful. He made that up for this book.

I wonder what that decision looks like -- after Ward, and Ward's issues, especially, since that seemed to be the first break from this. Underdog protagonists seem to be the default, for him; the thing he has most experience with. I've seen posts from him describing his process -- put characters against the wall without having a pre-planned out for them, so WB himself has to puzzle out exactly what they can use to make it out alive -- and he seemed to derive like... An actual enjoyment, out of it?

Yeah, there are fights in Pale where they're up against the wall... even one where, with Dire Consequences for us all, Wildbow had them lose because he couldn't see a way for them to win!

But it's not the same. I'd honestly say they usually lose because of their like, lack of full maturity -- their child soldier-y emotional rawness and uncertainty -- their lack of cohesion, as the book usually plays it. Lucy cannot stop John from joining the Contest because she can't hold her nerve against him. The girls cannot stop the murder plot from coming to fruition because they lack unity, aren't working together as a team. Emotional stuff. The girls have more tools in their box than any Wildbow protagonist before them, by far, but they can't always use them properly to get the W, for emotional reasons, for character reasons.

In theory, that's an interesting direction (maybe, possibly), and I should be relieved that Wildbow is trying something fresh. In practice... I've said I don't like Pale's fight scenes. I think Wildbow is plainly worse at this than the content of his previous works.

Part of this is seen in the Contest. Or, at least, how Wildbow Posts about it. If you can't tell, a specific WoG lives in my brain: Wildbow said once that he kept the story going past Break because he genuinely did not believe the trio could beat Maricica. I can imagine him doing his typical calculus for this, and what led him to that conclusion, maybe. For example, we've heard a lot about the ability of the Fae to manipulate stuff, aaaand to have the girls come along and undo all of that with minimal information to begin with wouuld sort of. Damage our belief in Faerie significance. Still, though -- cards on the table, here -- I think this was a Dumb and Bad choice. (It's a sidenote to this post, but I think it's very strange that, in-story the straw that breaks the camel's back is shown to be the Alabaster allowing shit to go on rather than throwing in with John, effectively a betrayer revealed moment -- a thing that, even if sorta his intention from the start, he could simply say 'aw beans i never really planned this out far enough' and just drop. for the sake of wrapping up a better story. and naturally i believe this would have been better also because it means we never would have fucking gotten White Woman Animus!! i digress. i digress.)

Maricica had weaknesses the story gave us to nibble on, and those weaknesses... are just kind of dangling threads, now? As of where I hopped off? like, guess she can't be that inexperienced with people if she became a goddess and started a cult and helped with all that red heron shit lol

So it's that thing I said, about fight scenes being more character driven. But then also, he's clearly thinking about this the same way as ever! As shown by his weird logic with framing the story going past Break as a thing he Had To Do, for Logical Reasons, or at least that weighing on the decision. a thing that is silly and i disagree with on it's face. right?

And then this shows in the sheer quantity of fight scenes -- if the girl's main limiter is internal emotional context and stuff........... uh... why are there so many fights? Why wouldnt the story naturally curve towards. having fewer fight scenes when theres no other way to square things away. that progress character arcs. whyyy do i care about fight scene 129 when i know how strong these girls are. whyyy are we fighting so many random others, and dedicating genuinely long segments of story to them, rather than montaging that shit? Getting it over with? If it has to be there at all? (for reference -- I just tried to think of a Random Pale Fight i fully don't think mattered. i selected the random like. angel summoner guy? with the fortnite constructor angel. that's a part of the musser invasion or whatever. this is a character with literally no substance, just a musser-side goon. From him entering the ongoing! fight to Lucy getting out of dodge is 4.6k words. Plague 12.7, the Mannequin fight, up to Mannequin leaving -- that's almost the entire chapter -- is 6.9k words. on the worm wiki, i saw there's a brief 'major events' summary of that chapter. i couldnt tell you the major events of the Pale chapter, of which that section of fight is like a third, maybe. lucy gets a bit more upset. lucy gets in a few quips against musser-side characters that actually matter but actually dont matter much to how that broader conflict is resolved. i guess.)

Wildbow writes any random fight the girls get into as being worth as many words as his fights in the past! the scrappy, pay-offy ones. bleh. My point in all this: you cannot simply set your protags up in the way I'm positing, here, and then continue to use the same vocabulary of every other serial anyway. it straight up doesn't work. it's exhausting. The Future is An Eternal Slaughterhouse 9000 Arc. Look, thats a criticism that boils down to 'web serials are too long'. And I'm not sure I care too much about web serials being too long! I have read longer web serials with longer fight scenes! I have written fiction with a longer average word count per chapter than Wildbow, at least during Worm! its a real criticism, but its not one im amazingly interested in personally. But the Kennet three could've had weaknesses to play around -- or at least, more weaknesses. We are in a Post-Pact world, and in this Post-Pact world, the magic in Pale really barely feels like it, uh, relies on discourse and presentation. like at all. And that seems like an option to give these characters obstacles! An option Wildbow gestures at during the Musser meta-arc!

but what struck me getting that word count comparison earlier, skimming that fight? The girls just aren't operating in that world. There's never a thought for presentation -- maybe sometimes, for a slight edge. But it never really matters, certainly not after the blue heron. They're using glamour as a workhorse tool, covering goblins in it for brief misdirects to get an edge in a fight; they're calling on the same shrine spirits over and over. They don't build up tools over a portion of story then cash them out for a satisfying win, they're just... strong. They have more items in their bags than Wildbow probably knows what to do with. Strong enough for just Lucy to dunk on any random set of practitioners, but not strong enough for the story to just skip that part, and not strong enough to just solve the plot until it's time to go fuck up Charles and end the story.

I know you could argue that I'm making this up, or that it's what some people prefer to what Pact was doing. But I just think it's not even what wildbow is good at! (and i always theorize that when wildbow is writing kind of bad, it's probably because he's not actually engaged or happy with what he's putting himself through. did he read a specific thing that made him personally excited to make the girls so versatile? I don't really know, but I don't get that vibe.)

And I have a couple of specific things I want to point out to try and prove this is like. a thing at all, to wrap up on: First, Glamour is used as this very, uh, soft magic thing, this very basic narrative tool. A pure mechanic of, like, mental states. If you're shaken, if you're uncertain, your glamour gives out on you -- if you shake your opponents, make them skittish, your glamour is better at misdirecting them. This is fiiine? But too vague for what Glamour is. Wildbow simply failed to properly present tradeoffs to one of his character's main action verbs, one that literally had those tradeoffs in Pact. And one last example to try and prove this: they dont even wear the hats and cloaks anymore duuude. Like, in my eyes: there was a very simple to read gambit being made, with the hats and masks and cloaks? You are awakening early, you will always have awoken early: You accepted an early shield against what that meant. A constructed image in place of the image of a fully-fledged adult, masking that youth; Whimsical and inherently magical, inherently wild. It's a very basic tradeoff, and one the story promises you it knows: even if they really would rather not have to go through the whole song and dance of suiting up, if it's tactically suboptimal or else they mature out of it and realise it's not for them, they will never be able to escape it -- not without giving up power. A mark accepted that cannot be given up. A mechanical restriction on their powersets to make up for some of their advantages, that also has some character relevancy. The Good Stuff.

except yeah it can. be taken off. it doesn't super matter. not really. they do plenty of magic without all the stuff on or even any of the stuff on -- it's rarely presented as an obstacle. it doesnt really matter. Because then, you see, they couldnt mature out of it and do cool stuff! it'd be. annoying. frustrating. they'd have to like. deal with changing past the natures they made for themselves. they'd have to. be characters. with character issues. that present themselves in fight scenes. you know?? what are we doing.

[kienava]

Question about Bumbleby for you (ignore the earlier ask pls)

In one of my favorite analyses of the ship, you wrote:

“yang and blake admitting, finally, all of the things they see in each other, all of the things the other does to make them feel loved. you do what you say. you know what matters to you.”

How does Yang saying “You never gave up on people even when they hurt you. You never give up. You know what matters to you.” Relate to how Blake makes Yang feel loved? Not a dig at the ship, I just don’t get it, to me it seems just like things she sees in Blake.

hey, glad you liked my analysis! <3

to me, those lines ultimately come down to an acknowledgement of deep mutual trust. longer, more elaborate response incoming lmao

as far as "you never gave up on people, even when they hurt you. you never give up" is concerned, i think that's a reflection of how yang respects blake's ideological commitment to making the world better one person at a time. we've seen her give chances to people who have hurt her before, notably weiss and ilia. this actually goes for yang too, since blake chose to trust yang after the tournament fight where she broke mercury's leg and swore she didn't mean to. blake was triggered by that event because it reminded her of adam and how he would have violent outbursts (she says as much in different words), and so blake choosing to trust yang in that moment meant a lot. we literally see tears in yang's eyes over the fear that she might have lost blake's trust. she cares a whole about what blake thinks of her.

there's also the fact that blake came back after the fall of beacon - another iteration of "you never give up." blake left out of fear, but the most important thing to yang is that blake came back. they faced adam together. they protected each other even though they were scared. blake stood by yang's side and didn't give up. that sounds a whole like love to me.

i think "you know what matters to you" is an important inclusion for two big reasons, the first being related to the conflict between blake and yang in v7-8. it's about mutual respect. during the atlas arc, they figured out how to navigate the fact that they had different priorities, what with yang focusing on direct, concrete action by helping people in mantle and blake staying in atlas to help with the more abstract, ideological side of the situation. ultimately, they're able to reconcile their differences in viewpoints and come to an effective compromise in how to handle the situation. this is best exhibited in their conversation in the van before they go talk to robyn, which i frankly think is a massively underrated bumbleby scene.

essentially, their v7-8 conflict is a microcosmic counterpoint to the broader overarching political upheaval and eventual war in mantle and atlas. because yang and blake have that mutual respect for one another, they're able to express their different priorities - and acknowledge that one isn't necessarily more important than the other - and come to a consensus. yang knows she can trust her partner not to judge her unfairly if they have a difference of opinion.

i think there's also an angle here regarding blake's past with adam. she wasn't necessarily allowed to express her own beliefs for fear of retaliation. we've seen how he acts when anyone, especially blake, disagrees with him. when yang says "you know what matters to you" to blake, she's also acknowledging the fact that blake trusts her enough to express her beliefs confidently and honestly. the fact that blake sees yang as a safe person to talk to is a big deal for yang - she outright says she likes that blake has never been intimidated by her.

so, in conclusion, i think the lines you mentioned are an essential part of why yang trusts, loves, and feels so comfortable with blake. she's not just saying "i think it's cool that you have opinions," she's saying "thank you for telling me what you believe. i respect what you believe, and i know you respect what i believe. while we often agree on important things, i trust that we can navigate any differences that arise because we already have. and i know you'll be here to do that."

[niniane17]

My Amazon subscription is expiring soon, so now I'm frantically rewatching the scenes I'm interested in. Among which the very first scene of the season.

First of all, I want to mildly defend Sauron as a as a corporate executive in the first episode. I understand where the criticism is coming from, I myself was kinda snarky the first time I saw it ("LOL Sauron I guess they can't see your business vision!!!").

And yet, I do think it was effective as a metaphor of what evil Sauron represents, that is, ruthless tyranny under the guise of progress and pursuit of peace. How many of us has sat down in some meeting listening to the manager talking about some grand project they had in mind and that, of course, we had to prioritize over our own life? My guess is a lot. This is a situation most of us can relate to, and the desire to murder may and may not be included.

Both the movies and to a lesser extent the books have toyed with the idea that Sauron and his servants represented industrialization and its evils,* so the show took this idea and ran with it. We've always known how this "vision" looked like from the outside, now we've been shown how it looked like from the inside -and to the surprise of no one, it's stiffed, weird, and even sort of boring.

For a confirmation to what I am saying, check Saruman's speech to Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring:

But we must have power, power to order all things as we will, for that good which only the Wise can see [...]. As the Power grows, its proved friends will also grow; and the Wise, such as you and I, may with patience come at last to direct its courses, to control it. We can bide our time [...] but approving the high and ultimate purpose: Knowledge, Rule, Order; all the things that we have so far striven in vain to accomplish, hindered rather than helped by our weak or idle friends. There need not be, there would not be, any real change in our designs, only in our means."

Even Gandalf points out how stereotypical it is as a "bad guy speech":

"I have heard speeches of this kind before, but only in the mouths of emissaries sent from Mordor to deceive the ignorant. I cannot think that you brought me so far only to weary my ears."

Sauron's speech is the Rings of Power is not the same thing as the books by any means, but in my opinion it gives us a pretty good idea of what it truly was, when adapted to modern tastes. If it had been up to me, I would have pushed it even more and had him talk in full corporate speech, it would have been hilarious.

However, I can see why people wouldn't be into it. I liked it, but it's not a hill I'm willing to die on. Anyway, I don't think it's an accident that both Sauron and Saruman fare better as deceivers when they have to conceal their goals, or present them in a way that appeals to their listeners.

But, as he Sauron points out in the final episode of the season, not all of what he says is a lie. In fact, this is what he says to the Orcs (emphasis mine):

Doubt me at your peril. You have nowhere else to turn. The Valar will never forgive you. Elves will never accept you*. Men will never look upon you with anything but horror and disgust. A corrupted and ignoble race, worthy only to be hunted and slaughtered. I am your only future, and my path is your only path.

Honestly, is any of this a lie? As we can see throurghout the years, it's not, as far as Sauron and the Elves are concerned. If anyting, Sauron is downplaying things. People may say that what happened to the Orcs was not the Elves' responsibility, but then whose was it? Everyone seems to agree that the creation of the orcs was an abomination, but no one seems to know what to do about it. They certainly aren't trying to fix it, unless you count "kill it, possibly with fire" as a solution.

I think this is what both Sauron and Morgoth were counting on: if the Uruk proved to have free will, which they clearly did have, it didn't really matter, since Middle Earth people would always had an innate disgust towards the Uruk.

Now you may say "OK but why did they keep waging war towards Elves and Men when Sauron was gone if they wanted to have a home?", which I can answer in two ways:

Out of universe, the writers decided the Orcs' search for a new home needed to take place at the same time as Sauron is regaining power for dramatic reasons. It's a bit weird, but hey, I never said the show was perfect. And it's not like LOTR doesn't have these problems sometimes.

In-Universe, I guess it's because this is all new for them, and they are a bit like teens/young adults trying to find their place in the world after leaving home, or, in their case, leaving an abusive parent. I think Adar had a shitload of work to do to get them together before even thinking of getting them to future Mordor. And even he was more laser-focused on getting revenge on Sauron until he put on the ring (do Glûg and the other orcs even know how bad it was under Sauron? My guess is no. Well, they're about to find out).

(By the way, I have some formless thoughts about the supposed innate cruelty of the Orcs in battle but those will have to wait until I get these ones out of my system. Maybe)

Also, was the lone assassin trying to kill Corporate!Sauron acting on his own, or was it a premeditated distraction orchestrated by Adar and the others? If the latter, then RIP brave warrior and also nice foreshadowing for Sauron getting easily distracted by the immediate threat in front of him while ignoring everything else.

Finally, it may be predictable, but I love the symbolism of the group being able to accomplish what the single individual cannot. Fans have joked forever about how Orcs should unionize against Sauron, and this show said "Ok, what if this but treated seriously?". Love them for that.

*I know Tolkien disliked allegories, but both the Treebeard and the Scouring of the Shire chapters exist, and frankly they make no sense if you don't think that cutting trees left and right is bad. It's not a binary between "full allegory" and "nothing means anything".

**There was a close up to Adar at this part. Honestly I love it. Once again, it's the proof that straightforwardness isn't always bad.

[kessielrg]

Beside Me, Naked

Summary: In which Michel and Forsynthia share a shower. Rated T for nudity, but nothing really sexy or graphic happens; mostly practice for myself on more intimate scenes and flirtations. Started in 2019 as a fanfic that ended up getting names changed for the sake of giving the characters a new life.

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,928 words

-

It didn't quite dawn on Michel what he and Forsynthia were about to do until after he shut the bathroom door.

“A-are you sure about this?” he asked her, despite the young woman already in the process of taking off her bolero jacket.

She turned to look at him with an inquisitive eyebrow raise. “We've already seen each other naked.” she pointed out as if it wasn't a big deal. “Are you sure about this?”

Michel swallowed back dry saliva as he honestly considered backpedaling. Forsynthia hadn't been wrong, they have seen each other unclothed on several, very mundane reasons since she moved in with him. But for the first time in their relationship, they were going to share a shower. It was going to be (tight? close?) far more intimate than what the two have done so far. Sex didn't particularly appeal to either of them, and their kisses were always light gestures that lasted only a moment.

While Michel weighed his options, Forsynthia only stared at him with her brilliant blue eyes. They held no judgment (she knew full well how he was raised) but to him they seemed to sheer themselves into the back of his head. That was the thing about Forsynthia- she trusted him enough to have followed him to the bathroom, and she loved him enough that if he didn't want to share a shower, she would let him walk back out. It was in her gaze that Michel started to undo his jeans and slide them down his hips.

“Is it because of Winthel?” Forsynthia asked as she started to take off her tank top. For a moment, Michel had to flinch. Of course his overbearing mother would be brought up when both he and his girlfriend were half naked, about to wash each other's bodies in incredibly close quarters.

“No.” he said, more to remind himself than to answer her. “I'm just afraid of… of…?”

What was he afraid of again? He loved her, and trusted her. So why was he so afraid?

“You don't even have genitals.” the young woman brazenly pointed out- she had been in the process of taking off her skirt and was now staring right at his crotch. She came back up with a teasing smirk. “I think we're good on that front.”

A deep red flush shown through Michel's fur as he turned his body from her- as if it would prevent her from seeing the body parts that clearly were not there. He then stuck her tongue out at her to show that her comment had no effect on him. Forsynthia laughed as she made her way to the shower's faucet handle.

“How hot do you want the water to be?”

“What ever you want it to be.” he replied, unbuttoning his shirt, “My fur can handle most extremes- I usually have it on cold so I don't run up the heating bill.”

“Gotcha.” came the agreeing nod.

By the time Forsynthia had gotten the shower up and running, Michel had fully been unclothed. She turned back to him and moved a bit closer before requesting, “Can you help me take my bra off?”

For a moment, everything in Michel's body froze. “S-sure.” he agreed. With shaking hands, the goat monster removed the bra from the clasps and gently removed the bra off of Forsynthia. Free from the garment, Forsynthia turned around to face him once again. She almost laughed at him.

“You look like your mother caught you in her sock drawer!” the young woman teased. So he did, with his face red hot, his eyes staring at her in a milky daze, and her bra straps laced in between his finger tips. But he hadn't quite registered her for a moment- he was too in awe of her tiny form. Forsynthia stood a whole head and some shorter than he was- some days it felt like she was a little fairy compared to a massive giant. Most of the time he was afraid of hurting her because of how small she seemed. Maybe that was what he was most afraid of; hurting her.

Michel unceremoniously dropped the bra on the ground and took Forsynthia by the face, kissing her lips with impulsive lust. A moment of shock passed through the both of them, but Forsynthia did not pull away from the embrace. When she did pull away, it was only to tell him, “The water's getting cold Shell.” And for a moment, he could have cared less.

Forsynthia gave a small laughter as she left his arms. She stepped into the shower and immediately started to get her hair wet.

“Can you hand me the shampoo?” she asked him, despite the bottle being only four steps away from her. It was his cue to either get out or join her. Michel looked at her for a moment, drinking in her shameless display while she made sure her hair was completely wet. Holding in his breath, Michel picked up the shampoo bottle and entered the shower with Forsynthia.

There was a bit more room in the shower than what Michel had anticipated, but it was still close. If neither of them were careful, it would have been easy to brush against the other's leg. Or worse.

“Turn around.” he told her, the request sounding more like a nervous squeak. “I'll wash your hair for you.”

Giving a little shrug (how was she so calm about this? He was practically shaking!), Forsynthia turned around. Michel almost dropped the shampoo bottle as he tried to squirt a bit of the shampoo in his hand. After gently setting the bottle down, Michel started to massage the shampoo onto the top of her scalp. Forsynthia let out a small hum of approval as he worked. Michel’s claws did well to get the shampoo to her roots without scratching Forsynthia’s head.

“Done,” he said after a minute or so.

“Great.” Forsynthia nodded. She stepped under the stream of water and let the soap wash away. Michel didn’t know what to do other than watch.

When she was done, Forsynthia turned around to reach for the shower head. She pulled the detachable head off and, with the water still pouring out, tried to present it to Michel.

“Now it’s your turn.” she grinned at him.

Anxiety came back at full force.

“O-okay.” he nervously agreed. “Start… Just do where you can reach. Okay?”

Forsynthia let out a small giggle. “Okay.”

She got down to her knees to have a better view of his furry legs. Using the detachable shower head, she worked to wet his legs down like an expert dog groomer. When it was time for soap, she didn’t bother to place any in her hands. Instead Forsynthia squirted a single line against the outside of his leg. From there she rigorously scrubbed with all the force her thin arms could muster.

It reminded Michel of how ticklish he was underneath all that fur.

Still, he did his best to stay still as she worked. He didn’t expect her small hands to start working upwards toward his crotch. The motions she made became a bit more gentle then. With it came the increasing awareness of just where her hands were. Sure, he might not have had genitals like humans did, but there was still a sense of sensitivity regardless.

Time passed far too slowly before Forsynthia stood up again.

“There.” she proclaimed, rather proudly. “Now for the top half of you.”

Michel found himself nodding a bit too quickly.

This part hadn’t been as bad as the others, considering Forsynthia’s small stature. She could just barely get to his armpits. That didn’t mean that she didn’t try to keep scrubbing with fervor. It was incredibly ticklish. By the time Michel was completely clean, the hot water had completely run out.

“It's so cold.” Forsynthia shivered.

“We should get out.” Michel suggested as he reached over to turn the water off.

His girlfriend nodded. “Good idea.”

Michel let Forsynthia out first. He patiently waited as she took a towel from the rack and started to dry herself off. Each movement was so careful- as if even she was afraid of hurting herself by being so thin and small. Michel tilted his head. Forsynthia caressed her body as she got every part of her dry.

When she turned to give him a sneaky grin, Michel felt his heart race. If he wasn't a wet dog right now, he would probably take her by the face again for another kiss.

The tricky, confusing woman left him in the bathroom when she had dried herself off enough. Michel had to use a blow dryer to get himself dry. He went over every inch of his body- going in between his toes and fingers, even to his armpits because when THOSE stayed wet, he'd have to take another shower in an hour. Even with his careful drying, parts of him were still damp when he decided that it was time to call it quits.

As Michel entered the bedroom he and Forsynthia shared, he found in startling revelation that his girlfriend was still nude. Michel opened his mouth to say... something, but his thoughts were put off when she tossed his phone over.

“Your mom sent a text while we were bathing.” she said, quite simply.

Michel had to hold back a curse as he picked up his phone. Had Forsynthia seen whatever his mom had sent? The poor old woman didn't take kindly to when other girls were in his vicinity, let alone living in the same room. One of these days he was going to slip up and reveal the truth. But for now? Ignorance was bliss.

'How is my flower doing? I'm hoping that you'll be able to join us for our festival next week!'

Michel let out a sigh of relief. So it was just a normal check-in. He could handle that.

'Just got out of the shower. Been a bit too hot to handle out here recently.'

Michel looked up to see Forsynthia. She was finding clothes to get dressed in now, humming to herself. Michel wondered if his mother would ever scare her- assuming she even did already. He wondered if his mom would ever accept her as his partner. This world wasn't always kind when the partners didn't match. Especially if one of you was a monster.

'I don't think I'll be able to make it to the festival.' he added to his text. 'Work is holding me back. You know how it goes.'

Without thinking twice, he hit send. He looked up to find Forsynthia carefully deciding on her nightgown choices; a cotton T-shirt dress, or a little number that Michel knew would show more skin than what she was normally comfortable with. The idea she was even entertaining that particular nightgown made him laugh.

Forsynthia gave two blinks before turning to him.

“What's wrong?” she asked. Her face was blank, but her tone indicated some confusion.

“Nothing.” Michel assured her. “You're perfect.”

Forsynthia stared at him, not quite understanding his meaning for a moment. When it hit, she blushed.

“You're... really fluffy.” she sheepishly said back. Michel laughed as Forsynthia's face got even more red. It was such a welcome glow against her pale features.

Michel's phone chose that time to beep at him. Apparently his mom had texted back, but he could have cared less. This moment belonged to him and Forsynthia- as did many others. His mom could wait.

For now.

[blink-blank-bliss]

Hey Blissy your turn. I hear you are: "Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns owned voice actress and pleasure puppet"

Some odd questions for you:

Would you desrcibe yourself as being in a bdsm relationship that uses hypnosis as a tool like a Dom-sub relationship + hypno, Or a Hypno-Domination H-D/s relationship? Just curious how you'd define it - because you seem happy and you guys are still going strong, or is it a Hypno relationship +D/s?

Could you say please what the most important part of the hypnotic relationship is - like the thing that makes the hypnosis most effective for you?

Could you also please say what submission means to you, what are the core components for submission to be happening?

Thank you in advance x x x

Hi Doll! It's always a pleasure to hear from you and I'd be happy to answer your questions, I apologize to any reader who actually plows through this whole thing for what may be a little too much of a glimpse behind the curtain at Actual Me and not the public face of Bliss, but oh well, I don't really get a lot of serious questions and I am delighted that you've asked me, so buckle up here we go.

I don't think I would use any of those terms to describe my relationship with Neural. We are primarily romantic partners and best friends, and we work together to create weird kinky artsy audio porn stuff. He's the creator, but I do a lot behind the scenes to help keep the content coming and I take my job as Cunt Muse seriously. Yes, we have kinky sex and it's fucking great, but it's just a small part of a relationship between equals. He has, however, spent a lot of time inside my mind, as I have in his. It's given our relationship something that I guess I would call ...mental intimacy? haha that sounds gross idfk. But I've never really had this before and can't imagine having it with someone else. The content is a part of it, I love acting and he just writes me the most fun roles to play. haha in the one we are working on now I play the most sadistic nun ever, it's so cathartic, I swear I'm healing generational trauma doing it haha. Getting to explore all of that together is really sexual and really hot but it's not like ... hypnosis. I love having wild kinky trancey scenes with him and he is a wonderful dom, knows how to push my buttons just the right way to take me apart and always makes sure to put me back together after, but it's not as important to me as it is that he has made me laugh every day for over 5 years without fail or that he can write me a part to play in a script that will both highlight my talent and turn me on.

I think the most important part of the hypnotic relationship is trust. I trust him and he trusts me. I know he is committed to being good to me and good for me, as I am for him. He's proven it to me through haha some honestly insane shit storms of life and I know I have proven it to him. And we've been at it long enough that we've seen the proof, both of us are better stronger people than we were before we met. This is what makes us equals, but it's also what makes it possible for him to slide inside my mind like he's coming home and make me into nothing but his. For a time at least.

ok so this is a two-parter. Part 1. What does submission mean to me? So ok I am old. I came out as queer and kinky in a world where to be kinky you had to put on a latex dress and go in person to what they called an "S & M Club". It was terrifying but thrilling. But as far as kink goes, I'm a little jaded at this point. I feel like I've literally seen it all. I've been to at least 50 kink conventions of all varieties. I've taught classes, hosted infamous dungeon parties, demo dollied, bootblacked, partied with all manner of kinky people. but like.... I'm fucking old and I did it already. Now yes, I am still submissive, I am still a masochist, but I just don't have anything left to prove to myself or anyone else about it. Submission has been a part of who I am for more than half my life now, but at this point, it's pretty much just a sex thing for me. I mean yeah I call Neural Owner or Daddy when we play, and yeah it was hot as hell when I asked him to choose my new hair color, but it's for fun and a sex thing. Part 2 is pretty cut and dried. I'm jumping over the safety speech part here and just say that I'm only talking about power exchange that I would consider RACK. But for submission to occur there has to be some kind of agreement that you are going to give up your power to another for a period of time in some agreed upon way. That's what we mean when we talk about consent really. it's what makes healthy power exchange possible, without that it's all various degrees of abuse and codependency and people making each other into less than they are. Gross. I'm also going to answer a question that you didn't ask, but my advice to any submissive but especially those getting into it: -sit down with yourself and really decide what your values are, what your limits are, what your needs are, physically emotionally mentally before you go giving your precious self away to a dom. - Sub frenzy is a thing, it's crazy, I've been there, but it is Not Real and it will fade, take your time in establishing relationships and making commitments no matter how hot the scenes are. -No matter how much you worship them, your doms will remain human. Humans have limits on their time and their energy. Humans are not all-knowing. Humans get sick. Humans make mistakes. Don't put divinity level expectations on your human partner. It's a set up, no one can live up to it.

[fatalism-and-villainy]

1899 spoilers -

Hmm, yeah, this show was a bit disappointing. Engaging enough in its mystery box twists and turns that I wanted to keep watching, but a bit lacking in concept and follow through.

I really like a good simulated reality plot! I'm a big fan of a Philip K. Dick style plot. But in this case.... I honestly think it was one of the least interesting possible explanations for what was happening? I was initially leaning towards purgatory, given the way most of these people had a troubled past in which they killed someone or did something otherwise morally questionable, or else something like an alternate dimension, given the triangle imagery and the way it recalled the Bermuda triangle. Simulation - and especially the reveal that they're on a spaceship called the Prometheus - just felt kind of rote as far as sci fi twists go.

And the thing that Odar and Friese did really well with Dark was put a fresh twist on a familiar sci fi concept - in that case, time travel. In that show, the stable time loop, and the notion of making something happen via trying to prevent it from happening, perpetuating the loop while trying to break it, were imagined as a cycle of trauma that the character were trapped in. It dug into the emotional ramifications of that scenario, and gestured at philosophically engaging questions, like the nature of free will, as well as entirely mundane themes, like growing up to be the worst iteration of yourself, despite all attempts to do otherwise.

But here, the philosophical inquiry that they mined from the simulation scenario was.... kind of the definition of fake-deep, like with Daniel's overly sentimental and content-less line about how reality isn't about what's inside our minds, but what's outside of us. Otherwise, I felt like Odar and Friese were retreading a lot of the same territory they covered in Dark, and in a way that didn't fit as well with the premise of this show. Once again, we had characters stuck in a perpetuating loop - this is why the purgatory theory would have worked so well! - but the emotional effects of that don't come through for the viewer on a storytelling level, because we only get the barest hints of the repetitive nature of the events. In Dark, having multiple perspectives from different versions of each character really made me feel the oppressive weight of the time loop cycles, but here that aspect was underutilized. I think part of what makes a simulated reality scenario effective is actually showing the multiple loops, leaning into the uncanny effect of seeing the same scenes starting to happen again, feeling the pain of one of the characters not remembering the emotional development they've gone through before. Devoting an entire season to just one loop was a waste, in my opinion, especially since the early episodes were so slow - restarting things partway through would have been more effective, I think.

Like Dark, this show also gestured towards people's emotional tendencies keeping them trapped in the same loops over and over, but I think that sentiment in Dark - that we can't escape our fate because we can't escape our desires - landed much better and felt more earned. Here, it's unclear exactly what the constraints for the simulation scenario, and the desired outcome, were supposed to be, so it's hard to understand exactly how this concept comes to play. Again, this is why showing multiple loops would have worked better.

(It's possible that they're going to expand more on the emotional stakes in this way in later seasons, as certainly worldbuilding and character motivations will be revealed more, and the finale implies there's a lot we still don't know. But.... as a season in and of itself, I'm a bit under-satisfied with a finale that effectively undoes the characterization and emotional context we've had built up for us all season.)

Also, to be honest, I just found the protagonist kind of dull. And the reveal that the emotional centre of her motivations was her child.... yeah, kind of a cliché.

[starlight-phantom]

Thoughts on Sonic Prime, the Netflix series? ^^

I binged it yesterday bc I got curious from seeing from the gifsets you were reblogging (oh, messed up alternate timelines my beloveds) and I really enjoyed it! :D

So, any notes? Anything in particular that caught your eye or that you'd like to see in future episodes? 👀

Well, I mean, I haven't really thought about it too much since we've only got eight episodes so far so I'm gonna wait till we've got the whole thing before I judge the series. But from what we've got so far:

I really like it.

It's not my favourite Sonic series, that's still Sonic X but nostalgia and the fact that it has a lot more episodes probably plays a big part in that so I'm not gonna hold that against Prime.

This personality for Sonic is a little bit different than what I'm used to but I still think it works really well and he manages to carry the show with his little comments.

I adore the alternate universe versions of the characters and how they take one aspect of them and change it, i.e Tails is a genius but if he never met Sonic and learned to have confidence in what makes him different so he becomes Nine, Amy is extremely kind and empathetic but if she couldn't talk about her feelings they go out of control and she becomes Thorn, etc. It's a simple concept but it works so well and they do it in a way where you don't need prior knowledge about the characters but if you do, you get some more enjoyment from it.

The worlds are all really interesting, my personal favourite so far is the pirate one, probably because there's no "We can't trust you!" Kinda thing going on like the other worlds 'cause that kinda conflict just irritates me after a while. And also just... Pirates are fun and the voices they have in that world are fun.

Speaking of voices, the voice acting is really, really good. I was a little nervous when they said the cast was gonna be different from the games because like... The voices have changed so many times... And it always starts arguments... But I really like this cast, especially Devan Mack as Sonic. Like he's not copying anyone, it's his own version of the character and he's got the cockiness, the cheekiness, the awkwardness, everything works perfectly. Not to mention, he nails the more serious scenes too like when Nine shows him the Grim and he has to turn him down. Apparently a lot of the cast were in MLP but I never saw that series, it wasn't on any channels I had growing up so I can't really comment, but they sound great in this series!

Another thing I love is the animation. I love the sheer amount of squash and stretch they use, it really gives Sonic's speed this zippy quality and just gives off this really fun vibe. And the fight coordination is really good, like that fight between Sonic and Shadow in Green Hill was great to watch. Not to mention, the effects they use for the prism powers look great. And my absolute favourite thing: They animate Sonic's ears to convey emotion. Instantly won me over with that.

Although, the thing I'm most looking forward to seeing more of has to be Shadow. Ngl it's been quite a while since he was written this well. I like the IDW comic version but even that has its problems sometimes. But I like how he is working towards what's best, he just sucks at communication and butts heads with Sonic because they both think they're doing the right thing. And while I don't like the characterisation of Shadow fighting Sonic on sight every time he sees him that most modern Sonic stuff does, I will say in Prime it's completely justified. I still find it funny that the first thing Shadow does when Sonic joins him in the void is punch him in the face.

Honestly, the only thing I'm not enjoying about Prime at the moment is the Chaos Council. I just don't find them funny or threatening. It's literally "oh here's five weird versions of Eggman with their own gimmick" like... Cool. Can we have just plain Eggman back please? The only thing I like about the Chaos Council is Rusty Rose. They might get better in the new episodes but I'm not holding my breath. They just really don't appeal to me.

But honestly on the whole, I'm really enjoying the series so far and I love all the small details they put into it like the aforementioned ear movements, how Rouge sleeps upside down, how Tails' tails are a lot thicker than Nine's tails because he actually uses them, the fact that the story ties back to the original Sonic game's themes of anti-industrialism in different ways, etc. Not to mention the little easter eggs like Tails' passcode being 1992, the year he debuted in Sonic 2, and Big's New Yoke identification code being 1998, the year he debuted in Sonic Adventure. I hope we get to see more things like that because they put a smile on my face.

Honestly, I hope the new episodes put more focus on Shadow now that he's finally got Sonic to come pick him up but I think he really has a lot of potential. And I'm really, really curious to see what Rouge's world is gonna be like. A lot of people are saying they'd like to see a Western style place which I agree would be pretty cool. And I hope more of the alternate universe characters interact with each other like how Rusty Rose and Black Rose did because that could lead to some interesting dialogue.

I didn't mean for this to become an entire goddamn essay but apparently I had some Opinions. Also none of my mutuals are really into Sonic so I don't get to talk it often so I guess it all just kinda exploded here.

[italeteller]

Ok, so you've told us what you think the best anime were last year. What are the anime you've been most disappointed by the last few years then, if you don't mind me asking?

Oooh a spicy ask, and a chance to complain about anime? Don't mind if I do!

This got long so I'm gonna put it under a readmore

First of all, gotta kill my darlings and go for Undead Unluck. Because like. The animation, the voice acting, the soundtrack, the sound effects, the little anime original things they add to filler some episodes, they're all amazing, and as someone who deeply loves the manga I am genuinely So Glad we've gotten an adaptation, even if it hasn't boosted the manga sales

But!

THAT. FUCKING. PACING! IS DRIVING ME NUTS!

WE HAVE COVERED 28 AND A HALF MANGA CHAPTERS IN 14 ANIME EPISODES! THAT'S 2 MANGA CHAPTERS PER EPISODE! THAT'S "ANIME'S CURRENTLY RELEASING AND WE NEED TO FILLER THIS BITCH UP TO BURST LEST WE CATCH UP" PACING, NOT "WE HAVE LITERALLY MORE THAN 150 CHAPTERS LEFT TO COVER" PACING!

THERE'S SO MANY FLASHBACKS! WHY'S THERE SO MANY FLASHBACKS!? SHIT'S WAY TOO SLOW, WHICH MEANS SEASON 1'S LIKELY GONNA END ON CHAPTER 53 WHICH MEANS CHAPTER 132 IS LIKELY NOT GONNA COME UNTIL SEASON 3 WHICH MEANS THE MOMENT WHERE UU GOES FROM GOOD TO TOP 3 CURRENTLY AIRING SHONEN IS LIKELY TWO WHOLE ASS SEASONS AWAY!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!

I have a theory about why they're doing the pacing so slow, but honestly at this point I wish the season had been 20 episodes like To Your Eternity instead of 24, because this pacing's unbearable

Anyways, enough complaining on a full stomach, time to shit on My Hero Academia. The manga's gone to shit, and the anime's following the story which means it's also gone to shit, but additionally the anime feels less quality than it used to be. While there are some impressive battle scenes and high-speed movement scenes every now and then, there's also some noticeable lower quality moments, characters speaking facing away from the camera so they don't have to animate their mouths, repetitive scenes with moving camerawork to disguise the lack of animation... maybe it's because BONES has been doing the mha movies at the same time as the series, but you compare stuff from seasons 2 and 3 with stuff from seasons 5 and 6 and it's a really bad difference. I used to be really hype about this series, and it breaks my heart to see how far it's fallen

Kimetsu no Yaiba's secret village arc was also pretty meh. It might be the only time the manga's better than the anime, which felt unnecessarily padded and killed a lot of the tension of the fight scenes

The second season of My Next Life as the Villainess was pretty mediocre, flanderizing characters and bouncing aimlessly around with the plot. Here's hoping the movie raises the quality back up

Beastars season 2 was. Not as good as season 1. I don't remember exactly what ticked me off, but I remember I didn't like how Haru got sidelines, and I found Legosi very annoying this time around

The second season of Reincarnated as a Slime was also pretty mediocre. The first half was full of filler which killed the pacing, and when the main character's village was raided and some important characters killed, he conveniently met an elven princess who knew the secret to unlock resurrection magic, which meant that from there on out there are no stakes. Honestly a shame, I loved the first season, tho I gotta admit it peaked at the Orc Disaster arc

Sakugan began with incredible promise and a super straightforward plot premise, and then meandered away on meaningless, boring sidequests from episode 3 onwards, wasting a perfectly good plot, setting and characters

A very similar thing happened with Giant Beasts of Ars, which looked like a great fantasy series and then just... did nothing with anything

And the same with Synduality: Noir, a really high value tie in anime to an upcoming game with a postapocalyptic setting and the most insufferably boring main duo I've ever seen in anime. I gave it like 8 episodes and it's like that shit was allergic to moving the plot or the characters forward. It dedicated a whole episode to the obligatory tsundere character working up the courage to confess, and then she didn't

Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko could've been great if it had been 24 episodes, instead of hypercondensing the whole ass series into 13. I had to stop watching because I was getting mad with all the stuff they were skipping

Cells at Work Black was a pretty good drama until literally the last moment where the main cells, whose host body has finally started improving his health, thus giving them a better work and life environment, are sucked into a blood transfussion and taken to a body that's in an even worse state. So like, fuck you and abandon all hopes of things getting better I guess

And speaking of saying "fuck you!" to your audience, we can't forget about Science Fell in Love, the romcom that decided to end it's season 2 with an attempted gang rape of one of the main girls, intercut with the main guy putting on a powerpoint presentation on why she didn't deserve it. I would like to know what the fuck the mangaka was thinking

And if we're speaking about disasters, we can't not talk about the absolute trash fire clusterfuck that was Wonder Egg Priority

WEP, for those who don't know, was a delightfully dark original series about four girls who lost someone to suicide, entering their dreams to fight monsters to save the souls of girls who killed themselves, with the promise that one day they'd find those they'd lost and bring them to life. Lots of action, lots of kickass animation, very interesting character drama and mystery both human and magical

In the last three episodes (this was a 13 episode series btw), the series added the concepts of the multiverse, multiversal travel, syntetic humans, none of which it could do justice. And then the final episode breaks off the main group. All their goals are revived, but they're girls from other universes which means they had no bonds with the main characters. One of the girls dissappears into another dimension, another gets traumatized and leaves, another is implied to be looking for excuses to kill herself, and the MC spirals into depression before ending the series with a hopeful scene of her going back into the dreamworld, which would never happen because the series ended there and then, and there were never any plans to continue. A dissappointment on all fronts the likes you had to see to believe

Another series that shat the bed during the last three episodes was Takt Op Destiny. It wasn't as dramatic because the series wasn't as good as WEP, but still. Absolute disaster of an ending

Annnnd yeah, I think that's it for the last five years. Sure have been a lot of disappointments huh

[airbender-dacyon]

Agreed. Yaz is always going to suffer from PTSD and struggle with it, but she's doing a lot better and has learned to cope pretty effectively.

I can't help but wonder however, and I fully acknowledge this is my personal experience and bias with PTSD, if things might get overwhelming just enough to see her freeze up or break down again seriously one more time - and then see her push through it. And I would honestly love to see a moment like that.

I know we got that in CC and a bit of that in CT during the attack on the sanctuary island (when she gets into Ben's van), but I just want to see Yaz start to really spiral out of control, so to speak. It doesn't have to be long, just a few seconds even, and then she catches herself and works through it.

I admit I don't know what the catalyst would be. We've seen dinosaurs attack her home and then threaten her friends, and especially her girlfriend, so I'm not sure what the trigger would be that she hasn't already encountered so far.

Again, this is my personal bias speaking simply because I've had these moments. You think you've got everything together. You think you're doing fine. Heck, you know you're doing fine because you've been going to therapy, you're on medication, and nothing has happened in months or years to trigger anything.

And then something, some trigger, likely one you weren't even aware of, sends you spiraling. The last big relapse for me was almost a year ago now. It happened so fast and so unexpectedly that I had no time to really process what was happening. But the sounds, sensations, etc. of that event a year ago were so similar to the original incident that even over a decade after the original trauma, it took several moments to piece myself together.

Yaz has always been the character I've related most to and her journey with PTSD added to that even more. I don't want to see her experience any more pain and trauma - I don't want to see any of the N6 have to deal with more of it - but I know that's what the group is up against, what they'll be dealing with until CT is over. And since they're going to, I don't know, I'm curious if there will be (and kind of want to have) another scene that shows that yes, Yaz still might have a bad moment or a bad day, but she is doing better and she is strong enough that when she falters, she will persevere.

Again, I know this is kind of retreading plot points that have already happened and I know there is only so much time for certain things, but managing PTSD can be messy, even when you're doing better.

Gang gather around, Do we think Yaz is still struggling with ptsd and is just lying about being better. Or is she actually doing better and its just the memories and everything coming back to her??

[izzythehutt]

hey, i was wondering how you were hoping kreese’s arc goes in s6 in regards to his relationships with johnny and tory. i love reading your cobra kai metas and would love to hear your thoughts on this!

There's like........what I want, what Martin Kove, insane John Kreese actor/apologist wants, and what we can reasonably expect the Big Three to actually give us, given what they've alluded to in interviews about where we left the characters at the end of S5. These are all kind of different things, though.

I think we've officially left that character in the darkest place he's ever been, because he's un-tethered from any pretense of following rules (he's a fugitive) and he "hates everyone" (per Josh Heald.) Up until now Kreese has always operated within a system, part of his whole game is hiding his ruthless, Darwinian nature under a veneer of respectability—playing up the retired Vietnam vet who just wants to help kids shtick. No more! He's faked his own death and assaulted people to escape from jail. This is full-on, willing to kill Captain Turner to survive Kreese. I fully expect their to be some guerilla warfare motif in S6 with how he operates from the shadows.

Season 5 kind of played with him realizing his mistakes and the ways he's hurt people but also dismissed the notion of him changing his ways and reaffirmed him as the Big Bad of this universe (even worse than Terry, because he can do what he does without the benefit of money or power.)

So, I see him starting S6 as the most menacing version of himself. I fully expect him to go full-on Hannibal Lecter, weird creepy phone calls to Johnny, showing up at Terry's place like a slasher film villain, etc. I really hope that Thomas Ian Griffith decides to come back for S6 because I feel like the Kreese and Terry relationship is one of the major unresolved plot threads of the show (and the fact that they had no scenes together in S5 felt like they were saving that confrontation for S6.) I would like Kreese to get a giant "I told you so" speech to Silver. He earned that. And then idk, they fight to the death over a snake pit.

As far as Johnny goes...well, I think in Martin Kove's perfect world Kreese would straight up kidnap him until he agreed to come back to Cobra Kai, lol. TB3 basically said that Kreese feels rejected by Johnny, someone he's always held out hope of reconciling with, so I expect some lashing out....though I do wonder if it will be directly or if he'll redirect his anger at someone like, say, Daniel—because it would be easy to blame Larusso since Kreese hates him anyway and blames him for their relationship going south in the first place.

I honestly believe that Kreese's ideal endgame would be dying at Johnny's hand, tbh. I think doesn't want to hurt Johnny, but he wants Johnny to be "tough" and to affirm the rightness of the CK ideology and carry it on. So while I've never really thought that him "attacking" Johnny directly would be an in-character thing for him to do, I could see some provocation (particularly if S6 is the last.)

We're definitely not going to see a "reconciliation" between them, but I do think Johnny has been in denial about the effect of the relationship on his life and the degree to which he's still deeply wounded by it. I think Kreese is kind of his last "monster" he has to slay—that is, coming to terms with that relationship and eventually forgiving him. And idk, maybe Kreese gets a Vader death. I would be down for him going out like a champ, like body slamming Terry into a snake pit because he's about to kill Johnny or something cray cray like that.

(Sidenote—I can't wait for Kreese to find out about the Lawrence Baby and be super weird about it.)

As for Tory...that's a big question I'm on the fence about. A lot of people think she's "done" with CK/Kreese after her awful experiences in S5, which would make sense, but also seems unlikely because at this point her character is his character's only major link to the younger cast. I could see her attempting to be the voice of reason with him if he gives her some of his weird fugitive Hannibal calls (maybe suggesting he turn himself in?) Obviously Robby won't want her to have anything to do with him, but Tory, for all she felt disillusioned with him "giving up" on their plan in S5, is a very loyal kid, and I would like to see her having some mixed feelings about him or a conflict around that relationship. Kreese kind of let her go at the end of S5, so maybe he'll try to stay away. If he gets CK back he's going to want her back as a student, though.

I think the set-up for Kreese and Sensei Kim reconnecting and forming the latest iteration of CK was a pretty obvious foreshadow, so I assume they'll do something with that. It could be interesting to see him work with a woman. If the Sekai Takai is at the end of S6 then I expect it to be in some country without extradition laws to the US so Kreese can emerge from the shadows again to menace our heroes.

[swordofsun]

Writing a post about how great the Wheel of Time adaptation is so I can continue my pledge to not make any ~☆☆but~in~the~books☆☆☆~~ posts until after the first season finishes up.

So back when we knew the adaptation was 100% happening and everyone was slightly concerned about it Rafe made a post about how they would be focusing the adaption on the story as a whole instead of a 1 season=1 book sort of deal. This confused many and most people seem to have taken it as having 2-3 books per season. Which, based on what we've seen, isn't right either. Because what they're doing is so much more interesting than that and is why the TV show is working.

When he said they were adapting it as the complete story that's what he meant. Everyone working on the show and in the writers room is a fan of the series. They have someone whose job is to track book canon and how it's effected by the TV show. They love this story and, more importantly, they understand it. They really seem to get a lot of the deeper themes of the books. They're looking at what the core of the story is and figuring out how to write that. While at the same time updating it for a modern audience.

(I'm of the opinion that RJ tried to be progressive, but was held back. Both by his own hangups (dude had trauma from Vietnam) and by the times. We went from no mention of queerness to oblique side notes of "pillow friends" to just saying that that guy likes guys not girls. The world has changed so much when it comes to accepting and celebrating queerness over the last 30 years I'm not even sure how to describe it. I think he'd be happy with the changes in this regard and apparently Harriet is okay with them, so.)

The show's writing room clearly went back to highschool English and sat down to figure out the key themes and character arcs. They also seem to have torn apart the storylines and figured out which pieces were essential to which characters and plots. This is a joyful reimagining of all of this. It's taking the pieces and rearranging them into a new picture.

Weaving a new tapestry with the same threads.

What they've created as a result is so much fun so far. Even scenes lifted almost wholesale from the books are given a new spin and some fresh thread. For the most part if you did a beat-for-beat/scene-for-scene recounting there is very little that is the same between books and show. But the heart and the essence of the characters and story is still there. Beating strongly.

You can sit and complain that various scenes are missing or that the show is just making shit up. But that misses the point. I never feel like what I'm watching isn't the Wheel of Time. The parts that have had me coming back to the story for 20 years are still there. Some are even getting a brighter spotlight shown on them. The story is the rereadable part, not the individual scenes. I can watch these characters and know that I'm seeing Rand and Nyneave and Moiraine. Egwene is the same Egg I've had a very tumultuous relationship with over the years. They may not be walking the exact same path, but they are the same characters.

Which is just so lovely. I was one of the people who was hesitant to belive it was even possible to adapt the series. I'm so glad Rafe and Co are proving me wrong. They've taken the core of the story, like any good AU writer, and found a new way to share it. They love the story as much as I do. It's pretty great.

Honestly this is an approach I hope more adaptations take in the future. Understand the story being told and adapt that to the medium rather then trying for the 1:1 transfer. Find what people love and what makes it tick and build from there.

(Also it's fun to have knowledge of the world and still not know exactly what's going to happen. I could lay out what I think each character's major plot points will be and how they'll happen, but I don't know. It's so much fun.)

As Rafe said once: This is a new turning of the Wheel. A new Third Age to explore and see the story of. It's pretty neat.

[abybweisse]

I'd be interested in your thoughts on something that isn't adding up for me wrt BDs: Despite being low on blood & "hungry" for a while, Layla was able to infiltrate Athena, fight w Lau, and run full tilt through the woods after being shot through the heart. Polaris fought Agni easily, yet became weak after freaking out & slashing a few drapes, all while having no shortage of blood. Meanwhile R!C collapses into a veiny heap nightly, even as early as Ch115. Do these inconsistencies mean anything?

Inconsistent depiction of these latest bizarre dolls?

I'm not sure there's any real inconsistency here, honestly, it's just that we are only seeing snippets of their activities. Let's look at each of the most advanced bizarre dolls we've witnessed.

1. Layla says she came to the sanatorium to find out why they weren't making their quota. While she's been there, she's quite possibly been secretly getting transfusions; kind of depends on who Al is and whether he has the know-how to help her with the equipment. Maybe she even knows how to load the machine with blood and hook herself up to it. If she's Canopus, her specific blood type supply is indeed low (assuming she doesn't know she can also use Vega blood). If she's (part of) Vega, the blood supply shouldn't be nearly so low (but still affected by ruined blood collection facilities elsewhere), but if Vega really is two people, that effectively cuts the supply in half for each of them. Also, she could have a large "appetite" and never feels satisfied. It's particularly weird that she keeps trying to ingest the blood, despite knowing it can't be used that way. She seems like an advanced bizarre doll at the very verge of resorting back to the mindless version that bites anything that's alive (with a soul). Any moment, she could act like Agares near the end of the Midnight Tea Party scene. Still, despite feeling "hungry", she's got enough blood in her to fight with speed, agility, etc. I'm not sure how physically strong she is, but she might not need to rely on physical strength. Of course, she's bleeding freely now, and I expect that energy to run out as she travels back from Wiltshire to wherever Lord Ciel is currently stationed (might still be Phantomhive Manor, on the outskirts or just outside of Greater London). If she even makes it back to Lord Ciel, then she might barely have the energy left by then to make a full report.

2. Polaris probably had a transfusion right before being transported to the Phantomhive townhouse in London, so he would have been at or near full energy levels when he fought Agni. By the time we see Polaris making his report about the Yorkshire facility, he's been to Yorkshire, seen the state of the operations there, done who knows what else, and then used whatever transportation to get back to Lord Ciel (apparently at Phantomhive Manor, far away from Yorkshire) to make his report. Then, like you say, during his report he goes into a tantrum of sorts, slashing the curtains and stabbing the floor. That might have just about used up his dwindling reserves of energy, and yet even then, he's not passing out, like Lord Ciel was earlier. He's on the floor, but it's not necessarily because he's out of energy. And he's not the one complaining of too little blood supply, feeling "hungry", or even feeling weak, for that matter. It's Lord Ciel who says Polaris probably needs a transfusion and rest. I mean, Polaris is visibly weakened and panting at this point but not complaining about weakness or hunger.

3. Lord Ciel, formerly going by Lord Sirius, technically has the largest blood supply. But--! Either he doesn't realize he can accept any whole blood for transfusion, or he knows but doesn't want anything accept his own specific blood type. He's either uninformed or an elitist. Either way, Sirius is the rarest blood type, and he's not getting nearly enough blood to keep him going as well or as long as someone like Polaris. However, like Polaris, Lord Ciel was probably given a transfusion just before their trip to encounter Soma and Agni. Take note that Lord Ciel/Sirius backs away (probably back to the carriage) soon after shooting Agni, as Polaris says he will finish up the work. This is probably an early indication that Lord Sirius doesn't have nearly as much energy or stamina as Lord Polaris.

To me, the biggest inconsistency (or just something we don't understand... yet) is how these highly advanced bizarre dolls run out of energy when their blood runs out/gets old/whatever while the bizarre dolls that never received a drop of blood seem to go on and on like the freaking Energizer bunny. Perhaps that's not true, and the event on the Campania just didn't last long enough for those bizarre dolls to wear out and collapse. 🤔

[babacontainsmultitudes]

Digging this one up because the second half of this (which I've copied below the line- don't bother reading the first half lol) is quite relevant again, and still more or less reflective of my general thoughts/theories on the Hero-centric stuff going on (granted of course this was written in a post episode 30 context so that does impact the focus here a bit). Which I suppose (other than taking a bit of a break from tumblr as I mentioned the other day) is why I haven't really felt much of a need to relay my own thoughts on the whole Oak family situation after ep. 35?

The new specifics regarding Hero's situation of course are quite heartbreaking, particularly considering the extent to which it still affects her today (and how it affected her relationship with Norm over all those years!). Of course, such a notion still coexists with the fact that, as others have pointed out, her situation is seemingly quite different now, and both twins have changed- perhaps quite immensely- as people and as parents. In Sparrow's case in particular, I have to admit it's a bit wild to me that *still after all this time* he seems to be the one taking the brunt of the blame, in spite of the fact that Lark was just as if not more responsible for Hero's abuse, Rebecca as we've now more or less had confirmed was also at least partially responsible (more on that in a sec), and Sparrow *from the very first scene of season 2* has consistently shown to be the most adamant on keeping not only his kids *but everyone else's kids* as far away from violence, and prophecies, and Willy (no I will never forget that Sparrow is the only person to have made a non-passive attempt to draw Scary away from Willy's influence), as he possibly can. Not as a negation of his part in Hero's abusive upbringing! But I think it's important to look at the full picture here.

I suppose now furthering some of the thoughts I expressed on Rebecca in some of the snippets copied below, the most recent (dance dance) revelations from what Hero had to say do seem to suggest/confirm (as other's have mentioned) that Rebecca did know about the prophecy. To be honest with you this is the scenario I was hoping for, since as initially suggested (below) I think the chosen one thing makes a lot of sense out of why Lark would have slept with Rebecca in the first place, but honestly I'm only comfortable with that scenario if Rebecca was complicit in the matter, and I think the notion just makes much more sense that way anyways. It's particularly believable now, given how easily persuaded she's proven to be in recent episodes!

As I initially stated, however, I am still of the opinion that all the spouses have undergone memory loss, rather than this being Rebecca "playing dumb" or something to that effect. Just seems to make more sense to me tbh, especially given what we know about code purple and the mass memory loss effects issued there. The fucked up fact of the matter is, Rebecca might not even remember that she cheated on Sparrow in the first place. Something something Sparrow screaming "because you're not gonna remember!" lives rent free in my brain oh gosh oh geez. In Rebecca's case as well, however, I don't think we can jump the gun on the degree of her involvement either. Yes, even if she slept with Lark for prophecy reasons, that says nothing of whether or not she actually understood what that meant for Hero, nor of whether or not she was actually all that aware of Hero's training, or if Lark and Sparrow hid that from her the way they did Norm.

WELP THIS ENDED UP BEING WAY LONGER THAN I MEANT IT TO BE OOPS OOPS OOPS but that's the bulk of my current thoughts lol (couple with the older stuff from the original post down below!). 💜

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[...]

Hero being the chosen one, not Normal, gives Normal an opportunity to learn (or at least start to learn) that his perceived prerequisites for love (of himself) are false. Normal doesn't have to be the hero of the story. He doesn't have to be a hero. He doesn't have to be Hero, it's enough to just be Normal.

Sooooo... I think it's pretty ironic that... Upon learning that Hero is the chosen one.... So many people have jumped the gun and assumed that this means... Sparrow doesn't love Normal.

HAHA THAT'S RIGHT THIS WAS ABOUT SPARROW ALL ALONG YOU THOUGHT I WAS DONE TALKING ABOUT THIS MAN NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER

But seriously, wow, it pains me sometimes how little faith people have in Sparrow. Hero is "the chosen one"... So every single time Sparrow has relayed how much he loves Norm goes down the drain?? At a most basic level folks, your child can be unplanned and still be loved, actually. Some might even say that that's... normal.

But do you get what I'm trying to say here? The assumptions much of the fandom has made about Sparrow and his love exactly reflect the toxic trains of thought that will probably be plaguing Normal's mind and feeding into his insecurities as the whole Hero thing develops?? And these insecurities (and again false prerequisites for love) are exactly what Normal needs help working through???

But let's move away from the Norm side of things a little bit, cause the assumptions being made about Sparrow currently are much more vast than this.

Let's make something clear. We don't know Sparrow's side of the story. We don't know Lark's side of the story. And of course, we don't know Rebecca's side either. We don't know if Rebecca did or didn't know about the prophecy. It seems that at this point in time, the spouses have had their memories erased. *Not necessarily* the case, but I genuinely can't fathom a scenario in which Cassandra somehow doesn't notice that the father of her child is always kind of a little bit on fire- and conspiracy theorist Rebecca to me also might hint at the fact that at some earlier point in time she would have known more about what's going on? But that's purely speculation, obviously.

So why are we suddenly so sure of Sparrow's intentions, feelings, and *role* in bringing Hero into the world?

I... Well I've been reluctant to bring this up even though the notion has been an itch in my mind since yesterday, but eventually you see enough upsetting Sparrow posts that someone needs to step up and offer something new I guess.

So... Allow me to suggest that, Sparrow being against the idea of having a child purely to fulfill a prophecy, and refusing to partake, actually makes *more* sense.

Most especially, if Sparrow was adamantly against going through with such a plan, we now have the most sound and in-character reason so far to explain... Why Lark slept with Rebecca.

(*gasp*)

As I see it anyways! Because, yeah, it's always felt like a weird elephant in the room, and I don't really feel satisfied with the existing theories at all! Someone with as strong as a resolve as Lark sleeps with the wife of the person who means more to him than anyone cause... He was horny? Or maybe as part of some strange convoluted ploy to push Sparrow away? I'm not saying these aren't still valid possibilities, and I'm not saying that this theory I'm proposing is what happened, really it's an assumption based on an assumption, but nevertheless I think it would make a lot of sense honestly.

(More specifically, what I'm suggesting is Sparrow not wanting to go through with the plan, Lark seeing it as a necessary evil to deal with the Doodler- and we know how hellbent Lark is on dealing with the Doodler, and accordingly "doing what needed to be done", as he is one to do, of course at Sparrow and at least in theory Hero's expense.)

This would also make sense of a lot of Sparrow's more extreme behaviors towards Normal, particularly the question of his name. Through this lens, it was perhaps an affront towards Lark (and possibly Rebecca??), an assertion to the effect of "no, you will not do this again, this child will not be doomed to be a hero". This, or something less aggressive but in a similar vein.

Of course this puts Normal and Sparrow at fundamental odds with one another! Er, despite being so very very similar which isn't what this post is about but still... Anyhoo, yes, there is an important conflict at play here, wherein Normal, as we discussed earlier, sees being the hero (the chosen one, what have you) as the only way to solve love, to be loved- and Sparrow who, more than anything else, doesn't want anymore heroes in the family, because he loves his family, and what happened with Henry... Can't happen again.

Normal, Sparrow, and something about heroes

Y'all it's so difficult to write ANYTHING lol fuck... But yeah yeah definitely got some post ep. 30 thoughts. Do need to start with some explanations/clarifications on my general stance regarding Normal which is mostly for the mutuals LOL and they know that so if things appear to lack a bit of context on that front well that's why.

There are some things regarding Norm where I lowkey almost don't want to say anything because I'm sooooo wishy washy myself ahahaha and I feel like I'm definitely gonna end up writing some stuff here and be like "ehhhhhh" later on but what can you do what can you do.

I guess I can at least start by saying that when I say that like, Norm can be self-centered, or prideful, or something to that effect, I am *definitely* not trying to say like "this negates Norm's compassion" or that like, Norm needs to be made to feel bad about that? I hope I'll be able to explain what I mean properly here but, a lot of my feelings regarding Norm's more negative traits do genuinely come from a place of concern for him??

Yes I think Norm can be self-centered, yes I think it comes from a place of loneliness and insecurity, yes I think it bleeds into his actions in a way that can negatively impact both himself and those around him, and yes I think that all of these things make him very very VERY similar to Scary... Is my general stance atm but let me, let me *try* to explain what all that means for me LOL.

I think Norm is a good person. I don't think he's *the most* empathetic or selfless or kind character we've seen in the show, but I also don't think he needs to be, or ever will need to be. He has a good heart (all the teens do, yes that includes Scary, fight me), he *does* care about other people very much, and like the other teens his frustrations are valid and generally pretty justified!

But I think Norm is someone who, perhaps pretty fundamentally, requires a pretty high level of external validation and social acceptance to feel loved, has generally gone most of his life not having that need met outside of his immediate family, and is pretty all-or-nothing and rejection-sensitive when it comes to this validation. I don't think Norm is a bad person for any of these traits (at all), even if it can impact his interactions with others negatively at times. No, above all else, these traits lead me to feel quite concerned and altogether just kinda sad for Norm.

And that's where things get a bit messy. On the one hand, Norm *is* a kind person, with good intentions, and even when I feel most frustrated with his actions, I don't take them as coming from a place of malice or ill-intent. But Norm wants to feel loved so bad, and his conditions for feeling loved (as aforementioned) are very difficult to meet, so, yes, (I do personally feel that) Norm often does, largely without knowing, prioritize this endless search for validation over other things, and having this at the forefront of his mind so frequently does inhibit his ability to truly connect with the people around him and (in many cases) actually *empathize* with them.

The difference- the difference for me between Normal and Linc with regards to Scary isn't whether or not they *care* about Scary. Even if it's a bit old now, I didn't write a whole thing on Normal/Scary and Sparrow/Lark parallels because I don't think Norm cares about Scary. Normal has *absolutely* put a tremendous amount of effort into trying to keep Scary around, to disappointing results that are justifiably frustrating for him. Normal and Linc both care about Scary, the difference for me, and what I just find so spectacular about Linc compared to all the other teens here, is that Linc goes *beyond* himself when he breaks the pic. He's not the first person to care about or try to help Scary, he's just the first person to do so in the way that she actually needs- because his general selflessness allows him to be the first person to actually *understand* Scary. He's not the first person to feel *for* her, he's the first person to feel *with* her. That is... Well I guess that is also to say that when I use the word "empathy" I mean it fairly precisely.

Which also isn't... I'm not trying to knock Normal (or Taylor) in saying this btw. The teens ALL have their strengths and weaknesses, and this was simply a moment that brought out one for Linc and another for Norm (vice versa can has and will be true at other points in time). Normal not being able to do what Linc did here is not something I'm trying to hold against him. With regards to their argument, I genuinely think that they both have plenty of reason to be upset, and ultimately it's all just one big misunderstanding. Still, I do personally think that much of why Norm is so upset with Linc in this scene has not so much to do with Scary nor with the Doodler- but is in fact at least in part Norm feeling rejected by Linc (invalidated, unloved, etc.), and acting out accordingly. Additionally, I think these feelings get in the way of Norm actually being able to understand and appreciate why Linc did what he did. They were both hurt, they both lashed out. I'm not trying to gloss over Linc's part in this either, I'm not saying one of them was right and the other was wrong or that one was mean and the other wasn't, but from what I've seen at least it seems people are almost unanimously siding with Norm on this one without much consideration for the points Linc actually makes here, choosing instead to focus solely on what *Linc's* hurt caused him to say (without acknowledging of course that in Linc's case too it comes from a place of hurt), and that much is a bit frustrating for me admittedly.

I wouldn't have expected or wanted Norm to behave any differently in this scene than he did. I think everything about Norm's behavior makes perfect sense for where he's at, and "where he's at", for me, isn't "selfish kid who doesn't care about other people" it's "scared kid who feels rejected and alone". That said, I think if Norm wants to get any better he, like all the teens, needs to start introspecting a bit more and work on himself.

And when I say that, I'm not saying "Norm is prideful and needs to be more humble" I'm saying, Norm needs to get to a place where he can feel loved, and allow himself to be loved, without it being so all or nothing.

Enter Hero!!! The chosen one! I kinda don't get why some people are just seeing this as Anthony trying to bully Norm rather than a very important opportunity for growth!!!

This feels like a point that could be easily misconstrued, so I'll try to be careful? When I say that Hero being the chosen one is an opportunity for Norm to grow as a person, I am NOT saying in becoming more humble or something like that?? Normal's pride isn't his fatal flaw, it's an afterthought of it, a manifestation of it, a defense mechanism vis a vis his fundamental insecurities, if you will.

Normal, as I see him, is convinced that he will only ever be loved, that he will only ever have "solved" love, when he is validated in absolutes. When he is the most popular boy in school who is friends with everybody. When he's the hero of the story. When he's the chosen one. If part of him sees himself as being without flaw (or the best part of teen high or whatever), it's not because he's some arrogant little brat, it's because he can't imagine himself as being lovable unless he is perfect. He isn't selfish for feeling this way, but from an outside view I think it's fairly easy to say that if Normal continues down that path, he's never going to get where he needs to go.

Hero being the chosen one, not Normal, gives Normal an opportunity to learn (or at least start to learn) that his perceived prerequisites for love (of himself) are false. Normal doesn't have to be the hero of the story. He doesn't have to be a hero. He doesn't have to be Hero, it's enough to just be Normal.

Sooooo... I think it's pretty ironic that... Upon learning that Hero is the chosen one.... So many people have jumped the gun and assumed that this means... Sparrow doesn't love Normal.

HAHA THAT'S RIGHT THIS WAS ABOUT SPARROW ALL ALONG YOU THOUGHT I WAS DONE TALKING ABOUT THIS MAN NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER

But seriously, wow, it pains me sometimes how little faith people have in Sparrow. Hero is "the chosen one"... So every single time Sparrow has relayed how much he loves Norm goes down the drain?? At a most basic level folks, your child can be unplanned and still be loved, actually. Some might even say that that's... normal.

But do you get what I'm trying to say here? The assumptions much of the fandom has made about Sparrow and his love exactly reflect the toxic trains of thought that will probably be plaguing Normal's mind and feeding into his insecurities as the whole Hero thing develops?? And these insecurities (and again false prerequisites for love) are exactly what Normal needs help working through???

But let's move away from the Norm side of things a little bit, cause the assumptions being made about Sparrow currently are much more vast than this.

Let's make something clear. We don't know Sparrow's side of the story. We don't know Lark's side of the story. And of course, we don't know Rebecca's side either. We don't know if Rebecca did or didn't know about the prophecy. It seems that at this point in time, the spouses have had their memories erased. *Not necessarily* the case, but I genuinely can't fathom a scenario in which Cassandra somehow doesn't notice that the father of her child is always kind of a little bit on fire- and conspiracy theorist Rebecca to me also might hint at the fact that at some earlier point in time she would have known more about what's going on? But that's purely speculation, obviously.

So why are we suddenly so sure of Sparrow's intentions, feelings, and *role* in bringing Hero into the world?

I... Well I've been reluctant to bring this up even though the notion has been an itch in my mind since yesterday, but eventually you see enough upsetting Sparrow posts that someone needs to step up and offer something new I guess.

So... Allow me to suggest that, Sparrow being against the idea of having a child purely to fulfill a prophecy, and refusing to partake, actually makes *more* sense.

Most especially, if Sparrow was adamantly against going through with such a plan, we now have the most sound and in-character reason so far to explain... Why Lark slept with Rebecca.

(*gasp*)

As I see it anyways! Because, yeah, it's always felt like a weird elephant in the room, and I don't really feel satisfied with the existing theories at all! Someone with as strong as a resolve as Lark sleeps with the wife of the person who means more to him than anyone cause... He was horny? Or maybe as part of some strange convoluted ploy to push Sparrow away? I'm not saying these aren't still valid possibilities, and I'm not saying that this theory I'm proposing is what happened, really it's an assumption based on an assumption, but nevertheless I think it would make a lot of sense honestly.

(More specifically, what I'm suggesting is Sparrow not wanting to go through with the plan, Lark seeing it as a necessary evil to deal with the Doodler- and we know how hellbent Lark is on dealing with the Doodler, and accordingly "doing what needed to be done", as he is one to do, of course at Sparrow and at least in theory Hero's expense.)

This would also make sense of a lot of Sparrow's more extreme behaviors towards Normal, particularly the question of his name. Through this lens, it was perhaps an affront towards Lark (and possibly Rebecca??), an assertion to the effect of "no, you will not do this again, this child will not be doomed to be a hero". This, or something less aggressive but in a similar vein.

Of course this puts Normal and Sparrow at fundamental odds with one another! Er, despite being so very very similar which isn't what this post is about but still... Anyhoo, yes, there is an important conflict at play here, wherein Normal, as we discussed earlier, sees being the hero (the chosen one, what have you) as the only way to solve love, to be loved- and Sparrow who, more than anything else, doesn't want anymore heroes in the family, because he loves his family, and what happened with Henry... Can't happen again.

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Legend of Vox Machina: Spark of Rebellion (1x06)

Archibald... I'm a little bit in love...

Cons:

This episode was the strongest we've had since episode three, which is no surprise since it's got all that creepy angsty goodness with Percy and the Briarwoods and all that. But I have basically the same "cons" as the other two episodes carrying through, which I'll highlight briefly:

Unfortunately the Pike stuff is where the weakness comes for me. I don't want it to be true, but it is. We see her wandering around trying to connect to the Everlight, and then when she remarks that it's not working because of Delilah, the priestess says: "No curse, no spell could sever her connection to your light..." and something like "whatever is keeping you apart, it's inside of you." And then Pike says: "You're saying... it's not a curse, it's... me?" Just... what an awful line. No offense but yikes. It's just a blunt, repetitive restating of what the priestess just said, and once again everything with the Pike subplot feels like it's treading water. I'm not sure why they've structured it this way at all. I really wish Pike had gone with them on the road to Whitestone, and maybe further character beats could have shown that she's losing her connection gradually, tying directly in with her choices and behavior... then she could peel off for her own subplot for an episode or two. But as it stands, I just don't feel like her absence from the group was earned or justified, and despite what they're telling me, the sequence of events is still: Pike's magic worked fine, then a bad guy broke her necklace, now her magic is on the fritz. That's not an interesting development. I need to understand where Pike's doubt is coming from in order to connect with why we're spending time on this.

A few script awkwardnesses, like I've brought up before. One is in the really funny door scene with Vax, Percy, and Scanlan. Everything about the scene was great, except at one point Scanlan says out lout "ugh... fucking doors!" That's the kind of small detail I'm talking about. That line could have been cut, it's implied by everything around it. I also really liked Keeper Yennen, but the line "oh, but you're not the same. Little Percival, what have you become?" was such an in-your-face statement, as was Percy's response: "I am what they made me." This is the kind of thing you can imply with a lot more subtlety and make the moment hit harder, instead of just coming out and directly saying the thing.

Honestly, though, this episode truly did kick ass, and I'd like to talk directly about that!

Pros:

I haven't paused to talk too much about the animation because I've been focusing on story and character, the area I feel more comfortable speaking to, but I'll just say that I love all the atmospheric detail in Whitestone. The dreary atmosphere, the oppressive muted tones, the giants stomping around, but how you see glimpses of them and don't ever zoom out to get the full effect... obviously the shot of the Sun Tree there at the beginning, setting an immediately bleak tone... I just think it's working so well to show how far we are into the depths, and it should feel really rewarding when they manage to eke victories out of this dreary place.

We get a number of new characters here, the most important being:

Stonefell. I like that he's something of a one-note villain, because we already know the Briarwoods are our Big Bads of the season, and we have various minions that they will need to fight their way through first. This one is a huge beefy dude who loves torture and killing, and as Percy says, "you were the one I was least looking forward to" so we know this guy isn't going to be the most groundbreaking.

And then Archibald Desnay! What a great change from the stream. It's been a while, but I recall Archie was an old man who had been a mentor/advisor to the de Rolos... and here we have him changed to a childhood friend of Percy... god, I can't help myself from shipping Percy/Archie a little bit? Probably thanks to Taliesin Jaffe's and Dominic Monaghan's amazing voice talent, I was immediately swept up in how much these two clearly care for each other. Percy's return home, so many people recognizing him, and having this connection, this affinity for someone... god, what great moments with Percy slamming against the cell and yelling for Vax to free him, and Percy supporting Archie on their escape attempt, Archie going back to cause a distraction... Archie wondering if he's dead when he sees Percy, because of course he'd think his friend was dead all this time... I loved all of it.

We also get a sense of the arc of the Whitestone story more completely, as Vox Machina somewhat unexpectedly connects with a rebellion group and realizes that one way forward from the current travesties of the Briarwoods is to stage a revolt and help the town to rise up. Percy is not there to be a leader, but maybe he might learn to be one along the way... great stuff with Keeper Yennen, played beautifully by the incomparable Gina Torres. And I liked the rebels, we got little moments to flesh them out slightly as characters, before watching most of them get cut down by Stonefell and his crew. Effective way of making things feel personal for the rest of our crew, while of course everything is already very, very personal for Percy.

I also felt like this might have been the strongest episode for comedy beats that we've gotten so far... in past episodes, so many of the jokes failed to land for me, even if they weren't awful, they just didn't grab my attention or actually make me laugh. But here, I can find several examples of funny moments that got a chuckle from me! I liked Keyleth, Scanlan, and Grog each having a different break-in plan, the silly animation showing them on the map, and then Vax deadpanning: "those are all bad plans and you should feel bad." Scanlan gets his beret, Grog's utter devastation at the empty kegs of ale, and then his reluctant sacrifice of the ale at the end as Vex does a Fluffernutter on it to kill the guards. Great stuff. Of course, the comedic highlight is the doors sequence. I loved Vax struggling, they got in the part of Scanlan hurting himself, and then Percy climbing up to the window and then falling on the other two, his delivery of "I fell out the window"... all so funny. And then of course later Vax picks the lock on Archie's cell in two seconds flat, proving that the back door thing was a fluke.

Lots of great smaller character beats to discuss. I love that Keyleth has the instinct to cut down the bodies from the Sun Tree, which is compassionate but also impractical, as Percy says when he points out that the area is clearly being watched. A great setup of the dichotomy between these two. We also have Grog and Scanlan sniping about the giants, we have Vex taking charge on planning their rescue mission and Scanlan pushing back against her but ultimately following her lead. We have Keyleth wanting to rescue the prisoners, and Vex agreeing even though she knows it makes things harder on them. It's hard for me to separate how well I already know these characters from the stream, but I do feel for the most part like they're managing to get in enough moments to establish what their individual personalities and priorities are.

Let's talk about my boy Percy, though... he gets another creepy mask moment, with another one of those epic Taliesin improv lines directly adapted, as he takes off the mask so Stonefell can see who has come to avenge the de Rolos, and then insults him by saying he's the one he was looking forward to the least. Percy gets great one-liners with his other big adversaries this season too, and I love that each one of them has been lovingly adapted for the screen, complete with freaky Percy mask and smoke and then the full on monstrous look on his face when he takes the mask off... shooting again and again when the man is clearly already dead...

And then swinging the gun on Vax when he rounds the corner, and Vax getting pissed off at him, and Percy saying "no one will stand in my way"... this kind of thing is one of my favorite aspects of the show thus far, that they're really taking the time to emphasize all sorts of different relationship dynamics. They could have swapped Vax with Vex for this scene for the inherent drama, since we know Vex/Percy's relationship is a big focus. But they left it with Vax and Percy, developing their particular friendship and the tension there, which, if they adapt certain things about the story moving forward, is going to be a pretty big aspect of these two men.

And then there's the Cassandra reveal! Hell to the yes! Percy's "I have a sister" moment was so touching, and then we immediately swing in on Cassandra and see that she is possibly working with Delilah... I love that Cassandra doesn't speak here, that the full extend of her allegiance isn't made clear to the audience. Does Sylas have her under his thrall? Is she playing double agent? Who knows! (I mean... I know, and everyone who watched Campaign One knows, but that doesn't count).

This episode made me especially curious as to how it would come across to a new viewer. I had a lot of fun with it, I felt like the things that happened at this point on the stream were represented in a new and fresh way, pushing the story forward narratively, but I wonder how it's all landing for someone who isn't eagerly awaiting certain iconic moments and lines! In any case, I'm greatly enjoying myself and can't believe I have to wait a whole week for the next part of the adventure...

9/10