#its SUCH a good opening for Light’s character because it has all of the seeds of his ideology

[alatariel-galadriel]

yeah this is still SO true the man had more talent in his toenails than i could ever dream of. I originally wrote this when I got jumpscared by Where Is The Justice on a random playlist and that song still lives in my brain and in rent free

hi yes jeremy jordan’s voice makes me ascend to a higher level

[kylobith]

Little Town Tails

Chapter 6: Something Fishy

Summary: A curious visitor comes to Emerald Grove.

Ship/Pairing: Halsin x Fem!Tav

Trope: Modern AU, Meet-cute, Little countryside town, Cosy

Word count: 4,831

Read it on Ao3 here

Listen to the dedicated playlist on Spotify here

‘Ah, Halsin, there you are!’

‘Good morning, Jaheira,’ he greets the florist back with a bright grin. He wipes his muddy shoes on the rubber mat outside until they are presentable enough to go in. Behind him, Scratch sits at the door, unleashed, waiting for Halsin to be done with his visit before heading home.

Jaheira grins at the white dog and whistles, calling him inside. The dog eyes his owner hesitantly, but when the latter gives him an approving nod, Scratch trots up behind the counter to be petted by his host. She grabs the banana she was snacking on and takes off a piece she offers him.

Halsin approaches the counter and smiles at the sight, always happy to see that his dog is accepted somewhere. While petting Scratch behind the ears, Jaheira looks at his visitor and smirks.

‘Walked around the forest this morning again?’

‘Indeed. The weather was perfect, but last night’s rain made the ground a bit soft, as you could tell from my boots.’

‘It’s always like that. At least they say that this spring will bring more sunny days than usual,’ she adds, chuckling as the dog lies down at her feet. ‘Anyway, did you happen to see Minsc at all? I’ve been trying to call him for two days because he ordered a fresh bouquet, but now the flowers are waning.’

He leans on his elbows and fidgets with one of her business cards on the counter.

‘I did, he was patrolling the area by the other bridge. Had I known, I would have reminded him.’

‘Oh, don’t bother. It’s always like that with him. He tends to forget what he orders on a whim. He’s always ready to support my shop since I opened but he never picks up his orders. He did, once, but that was a flower for Boo’s birthday and he ordered flax seeds. That was it.’

They share a laugh. Minsc certainly is quite the character, anyone meeting him can tell. Quite eccentric compared to the rest of Heawick, but he adds to the charm of the community. Whenever somebody needs help, whether when the flower shop was merely an idea sprouting into Jaheira’s mind or with Beaky’s incident with the bear trap, he never hesitates to lend a hand, even though it tends to distract him from his daily tasks and chores. Yet, there is no better forest warden.

Jaheira flips through the pages of her logbook and finds Halsin’s recent order.

‘So, the spider plant, was it?’ she says absent-mindedly. ‘Found a gorgeous one for you. Fluffy, in good health. Perfect for your counter.’

‘Eager to see it!’

She chuckles and heads to the back to fetch the plant. She returns with precisely what she promised him, setting it down on her counter for him to examine. He touches the long leaves between his fingers, sensing the freshness of their greenish white stripes and admiring the way that they curve elegantly around the gold-painted bucket serving as its display pot.

‘What a beauty!’ he coos, his eyes sparkling in awe. ‘How much do I owe you?’

‘Eighteen gold coins.’

‘Perfect, thank you.’

He takes out and begins to rummage through his coin purse, which takes Jaheira by surprise and causes her to smile. Shaped like the head of a teddy bear, its fur is made from light brown fleece, and the eyes and nose are embroidered in black and pink thread. He bought it at a flea market a few years ago on one of the rare holidays he allowed himself to take. Many raised an eyebrow to see a grown man buy it for himself, but even though he is far from materialistic, it is one of the few objects that he has grown particularly fond of.

He places the eighteen gold coins in the palm of Jaheira’s hand and slips two more into her tip jar.

‘Thank you,’ she says with a brief bow of her head. ‘Don’t forget to repot it from time to time, the roots tend to grow fast. And water it once to twice a week. It’s usually alright if you skip a week, as long as you don’t do it for a month straight.’

The veterinarian laughs and watches the florist remove the plant from the yellow pot. He purses his lips and tilts his head.

‘How much for that pot? It suits the plant quite well.’

Jaheira stops and eyes the bucket.

‘Oh, this? Ah, just take it. On the house.’

‘Certainly not,’ Halsin protests, unzipping his coin purse again and counting the coins in it. ‘Name your price.’

‘I insist, take it. I bought it years ago but it doesn’t suit my home, I use it for visualisation most of the time… Or as a pencil pot.’

She nudges it towards him with a wink. With a sigh and a heavy blush, Halsin slips ten gold coins into the tip jar and winks back. Once the plant is back in the bucket, he calls out for Scratch, who seeks one last pet from Jaheira, then rushes to his owner’s feet. The veterinarian and the florist exchange cheerful goodbyes, and the former exits the shop with his dog in tow and the spider plant tucked in the crook of his elbow.

Halsin whistles a tune as he crosses Heawick with his free hand buried in his pocket. He nods politely at everybody he sees with a smile and continues his walk back to Emerald Grove. The town is still awaking from its slumber and some of the shops are only just opening. Sometimes it still surprises him that Jaheira decides to open hers this early, but as she once said to him, she prefers to tackle her daily routine in the early hours, then close one or two hours before most shops so she can enjoy the town herself and have a longer evening to relax or meet up with her friends at the old pub on Westway Street.

Come to think of it, it is not such a bad idea. Shop owners and employees seldom have the opportunity to shop for themselves, unless they work half shifts or rely on partners who have the time to buy everything they need. More often, their only occasion to do so is on Saturdays, but the busy aisles deter quite a few. Since Heawick has a wider variety of establishments of all the nearing towns — not counting the city, of course —, its streets bustle with visitors on that particular day.

As he turns onto his street, he switches hands to hold the plant and fumbles through his pocket to find his keys. When he pulls them out and looks up to make sure that he does not walk too far, he notices the figure of a man peering through the windows of the practice. Dressed in black from head to toe, matching with his silky and spiky raven hair, the man does not seem to have come with a pet and does not seem particularly eager to enter.

‘Good morning,’ Halsin greets him with an eyebrow raised. ‘May I help you? Do you have or need an appointment?’

The man is startled despite the veterinarian’s soft tone. He straightens up and looks over at Halsin, seemingly analysing him in detail. The stranger rubs his index and thumb together and scowls at Scratch, who does not dare approach him at all. His demeanour already betrays the fact that he comes from the richer quarters of the city and is not used to visiting the area at all. There is a haughty air to him in the way that he carries himself, as if the word ‘peasant’ is about to slip off his tongue at any moment to describe Halsin and his shockingly unleashed pet.

‘No,’ he replies in a honeyed tone still tinted with firmness. ‘But I will come back later.’

Without uttering another word, the man spins around on his heel and walks away, leaving Halsin utterly confused with his key in hand. What a strange character.

The veterinarian shrugs it off and enters the dark practice, ushering Scratch inside before closing the door again behind him. He walks over to Karlach’s counter and finds a suitable spot for the plant, making sure to stand on both sides of the desk to ensure that the view is not obstructed for neither his assistant or a patient’s owner. But in the end, he finds that it does not quite fit there with the cards and flyers and tip jar, so he carries it over to the small coffee table in the centre of the waiting room. At least, if the anxious pets munch on the leaves, they will not be sick from it.

After a brief shower and a change into scrubs, he lets Scratch rest upstairs and heads back to the practice to follow the daily opening routine. As he takes a minute to make himself a cup of fruity tea — a bold decision considering how often he drinks his signature mint and honey infusion —, his mobile phone pings. Karlach’s name appears on the screen.

‘Morning doc, sorry but I’ll be late today, Vixen just won’t start! I’ll be there ASAP, promise promise!’

Halsin grins and immediately types back as he flicks the light switches on and shuffles towards the front door without paying much attention to his surroundings.

‘It should be quiet for the first hour, hopefully you will have found a way by then. Good luck finding an alternative! Perhaps you can ask Gale? Halsin. PS: I hope that Vixen will be alright. Too bad that she is not the type of vixen that I would treat at the practice :-).’

His wrist flicks to unlock the door while he re-reads the message to correct any typos he might have made. Eager to let some fresh air in, he opens the door wide.

‘Morning, doctor!’

Halsin nearly drops his phone when he jolts in surprise, not having expected that somebody might have already arrived. After all, he does not have any appointment planned before an hour. Outside, wiping her feet on the mat, Tav smiles at him with twinkling eyes and a light flush from noticing that her sudden greeting startled him.

His heart instantly leaps inside his chest and his lips mirror her grin.

‘Oh, good morning Miss Ashguard! I apologise for my reaction, I did not expect such an early visit. Is everything alright?’

Tav quickly combs her fingers through her freshly-cut curtain fringe. It suits her incredibly well, he catches himself thinking. The way that it sweeps across her eyebrows, its colour only highlighting the deep blue of her irises… It nearly steals the breath from his lungs.

‘Yes, yes, everything’s fine!’

He steps aside and invites her inside. As she passes him by with a light step, he closes his eyes for a second, savouring the aroma of her flowery perfume. As he realises what he is doing, he clears his throat and follows her to the reception.

‘Do you need anything more for the case against Mr Bongle? Perhaps I have forgotten to include some information in the report?’

She leans her elbows on the counter and does not seem able to eff the smile across her rosy cheeks. The sight, however sweet and pleasant, does stir something within him and he curses himself internally for reacting the way that he does.

‘No, not at all. The lawyer said it was quite complete, actually. She’s revising the case and I just have to wait now,’ she chimes with a shrug. ‘I’ve come here because there’s a stray cat in my street that’s been going around for a while but lately he’s been looking quite thinner. The old lady who used to feed it everyday died a few weeks ago, and I’m not sure anyone feeds him anymore.’

Her gaze wanders over to the rows of kibble bags on the display shelves.

‘I’d like to buy some food for him just to be on the safe side, and since I don’t want to risk giving him the wrong stuff, I thought I’d buy it here.’

‘I see,’ he responds with a nod. His eyes brighten up at the thought that she cares for an animal that is not hers. Most people he has seen refuse to approach stray animals out of fear that they might catch diseases or fleas, and while some caution is always advised, too many of them end up suffering all sorts of infections that go untreated and only cause them agony. Knowing that there is someone like Tav out there caring enough to notice the change in the cat’s weight gives him hope.

Halsin steps back to peruse the selection he has got, heading straight to the cat section.

‘Do you know how old the cat is, approximately?’ he asks.

‘Mmh, he doesn’t look too old. Hears and sees properly from what I know, his fur isn’t too patchy. Some neighbour said the old lady fed him for about three years.’

‘Then let us take one for adult cats to be on the safe side. I suppose that you do not happen to know what type of kibble she gave him?’

‘Not at all. Sorry.’

He nods and asks her a few more questions about what behaviours she has noticed from the cat in general. Once he is able to define a clearer profile of the animal, he picks a bag and sets it down on the counter, pointing at the information written on it with his pen.

‘This is food that is perfect for a cat used to the outdoors, aged five years or more. If it turns out that he is slightly younger, that should not cause any trouble. Since you said that he is on the lighter side, I would recommend thirty grammes of kibble per day. See how much he manages to eat and add a little more if he starts gaining a bit of weight again. But do not give him more than forty-five grammes, since it is likely that he hunts mice or birds on the side.’

‘Noted!’

Reaching into a cabinet behind the reception, he takes out a measuring cup and places it next to the bag.

‘This should help you measure the food without a kitchen scale.’

‘Practical. Alright, let’s take it!’

Halsin smiles and circles the recommended doses on the bag so she does not forget the amount he has told her to give the stray cat. He signs in to his software and enters the right reference to log the sale.

‘Would you like me to add it to your patient account in case you need to buy some new kibble later on?’

‘Gladly,’ she responds cheerfully, leaning her cheek into the palm of her hand while watching him typing on the keyboard.

‘Done! That will be twenty-two gold coins, please. The measuring cup is free.’

Tav takes out her credit card and pays for the bag. Once her wallet is stored away into her small cross-body bag, she carries the dry food under her arm and holds the measuring cup between her fingers.

‘Thank you very much, doctor.’

‘You are most welcome. If anything, I should thank you for caring for the cat.’

She returns his smile and tucks her hair behind her pointy ear, whose tip is reddening. Before he starts staring at it, Halsin drums his fingers on the counter.

‘Oh, before I forget, I beg you not to leave out milk for the cat, because—’

‘— because cats are naturally lactose intolerant,’ she completes his sentence with a smug expression that can be likened to this of a pupil who is proud to show that they have learnt their lessons by heart.

‘Indeed,’ he chuckles. ‘Well, it seems that the cat is in most capable hands, I can sleep soundly at night.’

Tav laughs and readjusts her grip on the bag.

‘When I’m released into society, I’m the type to always bring up that fact and everyone gets annoyed,’ she laughs.

‘At least you are spreading the good word out there. I did not know that you were doing public service on top of jingle compositions.’

‘I’m full of surprises, doctor.’

They share a playful grin, which lingers perhaps a bit longer than it should. His heart stirs when he notices the twinkle in her eye and the subtle reddening of her cheekbones. When her fingers unconsciously loosen around the measuring cup and it slips out of her grasp, he skilfully catches it before it bounces on the floor and hands it back to her.

‘Oh, thanks,’ she mumbles bashfully, tucking it under her free arm. ‘If anything goes wrong with the cat, can I try and bring him here?’

‘Of course. I will be happy to help.’

‘You’re the best! Thanks again. Have a lovely day, doctor.’

‘You too, Miss Ashguard. If you have any doubts, you can always contact me.’

‘I will!’

She waves at him and walks out of the practice. His eyes follow her as he sighs dreamily. However, his distraction is quickly cut short when he finds himself face to face with Astarion stepping inside with a cup of blood from the butcher.

‘Morning.’

‘Ah, good morning, my friend! Could I ask you a favour?’

The vampire grunts and slides his sunglasses up, letting them rest on top of his head. His ruby irises scowl at the veterinarian. Favours are never good in the younger man’s book. Or rarely.

‘I suppose I don’t have a choice,’ he mumbles. ‘What do you want?’

Halsin crosses his arms. No matter how much he tries to connect with him, even if just on a superficial level, Astarion always keeps his guard up and his distance. Honeyed words sometimes ornate his speech, but they never feel genuine, merely a façade that shelters him from others. He does not need to befriend him, of course, but he wishes that they could get along as well as he and Karlach do. But again, everything is easier with her. Sometimes, she might be too social and kind in a world that does not always value such qualities.

‘Karlach’s motorcycle broke down this morning, so she will be late. Do you mind working the reception until she arrives?’

Panic fills Astarion’s eyes right away. He furrows his brow and tries to act nonchalant, but his hesitation clearly stands out.

‘Wh— I don’t even know how any of this works!’

‘Do not worry, I am not saying that you must do all her tasks. If you could keep an eye on the appointments list and welcome the patients, that will help tremendously already. If the phone rings, answer it and write down the names and numbers, I will call them back between consultations. If it is urgent, do not hang up; call for me instead.’

‘Mh. That sounds doable. Alright.’

Astarion walks to the kitchen to drop his jacket and sunglasses, then comes back to the reception. He sits behind the desk and Halsin shows him everything he needs to know. Then, the veterinarian walks into his office and logs in to the general inbox and answers some emails himself.

Soon enough, the first appointment of the day arrives and Astarion directs them to the waiting room, where Halsin eventually comes to call them in. The consultation goes smoothly despite the very reticent puppy howling dramatically at the prospect of receiving one of her first shots. When he is done, Halsin guides the owner and the pet to the reception and registers the payment himself, before offering a treat to the brave puppy.

When they walk out, Halsin’s phone pings again.

‘Found a way, Dammon is bringing me. Be there in ten. Btw, doc, did you just make a joke?? And use a smiley??! Who are you and what did you do to Doc Halsin???’

Halsin laughs and updates Astarion on Karlach’s estimated time of arrival. Before the second consultation, a grumpy customer enters and asks for an anti-flea treatment suitable for a corgi. Once he has explained how to apply the solution efficiently, the veterinarian slithers back behind the desk and Astarion rolls a few inches away with his chair to give him enough space to deal with it all. 

‘Do you already have an account?’ Halsin asks the amber-eyed tiefling, whose tail is whipping around behind him in annoyance.

‘This little shit is not my dog, thank the Gods!’ the customer answers with a scoff and a roll of his eyes. ‘He’s my sister’s.’

‘I see. Does she have an account?’

‘Listen, can I just buy the treatment and go? I feel like I’m being devoured by fleas myself as we speak!’

‘Of course.’

Without protesting, he processes the sale and gives the little pipettes to the young man, who turns around with another scoff and leaves as fast as he can, scratching his head harder than he probably should.

Eyeing the man with concern, Halsin leans towards Astarion.

‘Do you think the dog is at risk with him?’

Much to his surprise, the vampire laughs while filing his nails and admiring the result.

‘Most likely. I know him. Well, know is perhaps a strong word, but I’ve spoken to him a few times. As you can clearly tell, he’s from the city. He’s one of the most arrogant pricks I’ve talked to, and it takes one to know one. He owns a bookshop specialised in academic publications of all sorts, and my husband happens to love the place.’

Could it be? Is he actually opening up by accepting to gossip with him? Not that Halsin particularly likes hearsay and talking negatively about people in their backs, but this exchange already brightens up his day.

The vampire carefully taps his glass nail file on the edge of the bin under the desk to rid it of dust, then tucks it away in its little sleeve.

‘But don’t worry, Rolan’s all bark and no bite, he won’t hurt that pup,’ he continues while shoving the file inside his shirt pocket. ‘You know, he’s clever and all, but Gale took him down a notch a couple of times. You know what? I think my husband’s at his hottest when he gives arrogant people a reality check.’

‘That is good to know, I suppose.’

‘Trust me, doc, I think your next appointment’s here.’

Indeed, the next patient comes in and Halsin welcomes him warmly. Halfway through the consultation, he hears the faint sounds of the sewing machine upstairs, and he concludes that Karlach must have arrived in the meantime and relieved Astarion of his temporary duty.

Halsin does not see her until he finishes the next examination and logs everything into the computer. His assistant pokes her head in when the patient leaves and speaks in a hushed voice.

‘Morning, doc! Uh… There’s an odd chum lurking around in the lobby, doesn’t have a pet or anything and he keeps ignoring me when I ask him if I can help him.’

The veterinarian turns around with an eyebrow raised and instantly rises from his high stool.

‘Go back to the reception, I will talk to him.’

Karlach nods and does as he instructed her, sitting back on her chair and anxiously browsing playlists for something that will calm her nerves while being acceptable to play from the practice’s speakers. Situations like this one is among those she has been dreading most about working at Emerald Grove. Owners losing their pets and leaving without their furry or feathery friends remains the worst of all, but weird and creepy people are close.

In previous jobs, she had her fair share of lurking visitors and customers who made her feel uncomfortable, but the employee handbooks always stated that she could not shoo them away outright. Either a manager or security had to do it. Sadly, it often left her feeling incapable of fending for herself and infantilised.

Soon enough and much to her relief, help is on the way and Halsin arrives, clicking a pen. Without making himself look menacing either, he puffs up his chest slightly. If anybody seeks trouble, he is hoping that his size and his brawn will dissuade whoever stands before him. But as he catches a glimpse of the man in question, his stomach tightens. Intent on not showing his discomfort to Karlach, he smiles and speaks as naturally as possible.

‘Good afternoon, sir. I believe we have met this morning, you were looking inside the practice before opening time?’

The man turns around with a smug smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes so dark that one cannot quite pinpoint their colour. Now that Halsin is closer, he can discern the man’s outfit more clearly. Tucked into high-waisted trousers, his tailored black silk shirt with the top five buttons left undone allows his black chest hair to peek out. His overcoat adorned with golden embroideries has its collar upturned, completely covering the back of his neck. If anything, it gives him a menacing look, as though he is the villain of a fairytale come to life, but dressed as a model.

‘You are the veterinarian who owns the practice, aren’t you?’ the man answers at last with a brief squint of his eyes.

‘Indeed, I am. May I be of any help?’

‘Oh, I am merely looking around.’

As he says so, the stranger buries his hands into his pockets and paces around, inspecting the walls and the layout of the reception and the waiting room. Karlach sneaks a glance towards her boss, wondering how he is going to handle this most peculiar situation. Without blinking, Halsin steps forward, tucking his pen into the breast pocket of his scrubs.

‘May I know what you are looking for, sir?’

‘This is a beautiful working space you’ve got here. Most impressive.’

Before he can press him on, the stranger faces Halsin with a smirk, rubbing his fingers together in the same unsettling way that he did earlier this morning.

‘Tell me, have you ever considered selling this practice?’

Halsin crosses his arms. This time, he has no intention to behave in the same friendly manner. While he knows that escalating such a ridiculous situation would be useless, he knows now that he does not want this man lurking around anymore.

‘No, sir. We have only just opened, thank you very much. Now, if you do not wish to make an appointment or buy anything for a pet, I kindly ask you to leave. I must soon tend to another patient.’

‘Oh, that’s a bloody shame. Well. I’ll see what I can do.’

The man reaches into his inside pocket and takes out a business card, which he hands the veterinarian by tucking it between two well-groomed fingers.

‘In case you change your mind, I would be very happy to discuss it with you. Here’s my contact information. The name’s Enver Gortash.’

Without as much as a goodbye, Gortash walks out of the practice, leaving a dumbfounded pair at the reception. Karlach stands up from her chair, her gaze shifting between the door and Halsin.

‘What in the hells just happened, doc? What the fuck was that about?’

Her boss examines the business card he is holding with a deep frown.

‘I have no clue, Karlach. I am quite at a loss, to be honest with you.’

‘What did he say his name was?’

Halsin hands her the business card. Before she even gives it a look, she sits back on her chair and drags her keyboard towards herself, instantly typing the name in her browser. His curiosity piqued by the results, he joins her behind the desk and leans in to read what comes up on the screen. Karlach clicks on a biographical article from a business-centred media website and begins to skim it.

‘Fuck me, Gortash’s quite the big guy,’ she mumbles pensively. ‘Owns a big company that owns lots of brands itself. Apparently, he’s known for gentrifying the shit out of many neighbourhoods in several cities already. He’s kicked out independent shops to establish a coffee chain and turning flats into offices.’

His eyes scan the same words and the more they read, the tighter the lump in his throat feels. Karlach hands him the mouse so he can peruse the article himself and open others. He checks several sources, and much to his dismay, the information they read in the first article seem to be confirmed through others.

‘I do not like how that sounds,’ he whispers.

‘Me neither, doc. But now that you told him off, he’ll lose interest, right?’

‘Mh. I doubt it. But now I wonder if he has shown interest in other places in Heawick. There is only one way to know.’

The assistant looks up quizzically as he sighs heavily and crosses his arms.

‘If anybody in Heawick knows anything, it is Melly.’

Taglist: @emmanuellececchi @reignydeys @cakenpiewhyohmy @beardedladyqueen

[agentravensong]

hello, fellow hatchetfield fans! here are my stray nerdy prudes must die thoughts, which i'm going to try to keep brief (she said, before spending an hour writing this)

the production level of the show as a whole really blew me away. the lighting; demon!max's costume and makeup; even the way it was shot and edited felt even more electric than past shows

this is the only one of the full-length hatchetfield musicals to have one consistent antagonist throughout (black friday has linda but half the leads don't know about her at all until the climax, plus there's wilbur and wiggly). and i gotta say, max's actor really killed it. hilarious, terrifying, and even with moments of nuance. he repeatedly stole the show.

some of the songs are already stuck in my head. off the top of my head i can't think of any that stood out in a bad/unmemorable way (though i could just be forgetting them, lol). ruth's song in particular i think is gonna really stick with me once i listen to it a few more times.

and i love the way the "i'm not a loser" motif gets used throughout the show. the closest any of the songs got me to having the visceral reaction i have to "did you know that i wanted to live with you" in "not your seed" and the bridge + ending of "let it out" ("i've never been happy...") was when richie sings that line right before... well.

speaking of richie: as a paul stan, what this show proved to me more than anything is that when jon matteson plays a sympathetic lead (or side character - hi daniel/stopwatch), he will always break my heart. he's just. really good.

thinking about how in the last of the originally planned 3 hatchetfield shows, initially conceptualized as the first, jon's character is the first one to sing, whereas in the first of those shows, conceptualized as the last, the whole crux of the musical is him refusing to sing, the audience essentially waiting for the moment he breaks and does it. thinking about how the opening of npmd tells us richie is going to die, already dying, already dead, while the opening number of tgwdlm tells us paul is the target, the Doomed Hero, the "star of the show" "destined to go viral" [read: get infected], whose story is going to be told, already written.

thinking about how singing dooms paul, and how richie singing "i'm not a loser", reigniting max's ire, is the final nail in his coffin.

...i'm normal.

there's a lot of meta jokes and nods of that sort throughout the show. maybe a few too many? like, at a certain point, as a fan, i do feel like i'm being pandered to a bit.

i liked the lords in black's scene, it was a lot of fun! it's always great to see jon get to let loose with crazy characters, and the others were great too. but i do wonder how it plays for people who haven't been following nightmare time stuff. like, i get that in one world this was our introduction to these characters, but even in that world, i wonder if including all five of them with their specific names and allusions to their individual deals is a bit too much for what the plot of this show needs. there's something to be said for not showing all your cards right away.

on the other hand, i feel like the paulkins coffee scene actually fully earned its inclusion: because when pete comes in asking for his hot chocolate, it reads differently when we're coming at it from having followed his perspective up to this point versus having been following paul in tgwdlm, in a way that strengthens both scenes. it's a nice reminder that emma and paul can be... rude, i guess. assholes, even (she really didn't need to spit in it). that idea of perspectives affecting how we categorize people arguably even plays into the themes of this show! how about that.

ah, yes, Themes. there are Themes to be drawn out of this show about the experience of high school, especially in an intertextual comparison to how tom and becky talk about their time in high school in black friday. something about how the two of them see it as this idealistic time they want to go back to, whereas the teens (the nerds/outcasts) in npmd sing that they'll "still despise it when [they're] gone". something about how in ruth's solo number, the fantasy future she imagines for herself (even in the context of it being a performance for an audience of no one) is of a standard, arguably dreary, middle-aged existence. there's definitely stuff there to be dissected.

and also there's arguably a theme of continuing cycles of cruelty, brought into focus by the ending, but also implied with the way the adults failed the kids (see max referencing his dad belittling him).

...but also, i feel like they could have done more with that.

that's my one big thing with this show, and it could very easily just be that the genre of this show isn't as much my jam, but i'll say it anyway: i wanted more from the characters, and more emotional weight in regards to certain things.

like, between this and tgwdlm, i think tgwdlm is still the better written show. there's just, a subtly to the characters there, a grounded human-ness, that i didn't quite get from all of the teens here.

as much as i clearly have a soft spot for richie, that's mostly on jon; as written, there really isn't much there, beyond "anime nerd" and "generally nice kid who wants to be liked". the scene right before he dies is comedic in how obvious it's setting things up, but its obvious-ness also makes it feel kind of cheap in terms of pulling on the heartstrings. similarly, ruth is initially just a gimmick (though hers at least ties into a deeper insecurity) and only gets her real moment of depth right before she dies. neither of them feel like they have much affect / haunting presence on the surviving teens once they're dead, past the initial shock of the reveals of their deaths.

and steph and pete are good, but... idk. i wanted a bit more from each of them. if they got to have a talk like paul and emma before "join us and die" - not even for the sake of the romance, but just for the sake of giving us more on each of them outside of their basic stereotypes and the romance - that would've helped, i think.

grace was great, though, no qualms. initially there was a part of me that was disappointed that the stereotype max was pushing on her about her being secretly repressed and horny was in fact true, but the way it gets used makes up for it, and in between max's death and when that specific thing comes up again in the climax, she gets to do a lot with the two conflicting sides of her personality, wanting to be good but having a capacity and arguable instinct for scheming and ruthlessness.

(also, as i mentioned earlier, max has a surprising amount going on, especially once you get into the Implications)

it could just be that i see those depths in the tgwdlm cast because i've had more time to chew on that cast, and that in time i'll see these teens in the same light. but i don't think it's just that.

i think part of it is how there are so many jokes about the teens being nerdy prudes (really, mostly just nerds). and like, that's part of the point, obviously, that they were being forced into those boxes and that they were still people with the potential to be more. but... i don't know if the show does enough to really make that point. again, richie doesn't really get to be more (and it's not for lack of time - there's a good amount of show before max comes back as the demon and kills for the first time).

in tgwdlm, the mains are all arguably based on stock characters, but they have more depth through their relationships. look at ted, the stock asshole sleazeball, who's shown to feel genuine remorse when he loses people he loves, in a way that contextualizes his bitterness. and there's a lot less highlighting of the stockness of them in their show than there is of the teens in npmd.

and the thing is, i think the cast of npmd at their foundations are more likable than the cast of tgwdlm (see the earlier point about emma and paul being assholes at times). they had a lot of potential. but i don't think enough of it is realized for the majority of them. the edges the tgwdlm cast has are part of what makes them compelling, and it's something the teens (minus grace) are largely missing.

the thing is, i know the fandom is going to see that potential and run with it. i know that they're gonna develop the teens' characterizations and relationships. i know they'll get into the trauma and the implications from everything that happened to them in the show. i know they'll get into... pete's survivor's guilt, and steph losing her dad(!!!), and what richie and ruth could have been, and all that. i know that they'll fill in the gaps. because that's what fans do. i guess i just wish there weren't so many gaps to fill. or, that the gaps wouldn't take so much effort from them to fill.

again, i acknowledge, maybe i'm expecting too much from the genre of show this is. it doesn't need to have A Point, i guess, it can just be fun, a comedic horror slasher in musical form. and it is fun, a lot of fun! ...but, tgwdlm was also a lot of fun. not as bombastic, for sure, but i'd say just as humorous. and it was also incredibly tightly written, and satisfying, with strong character arcs for multiple leads. it had commentary on musicals, on what makes a protagonist and what it means to be one, on conformity and institutions of authority, on romance even (you could do a very interesting aromantic reading of this show, trust me). and with a show that's titled nerdy prudes must die, that is About high school, there's, similarly, a lot you can do. and there's a fair amount of seeds planted there. but i don't think it all quite coheres. and it could've, if they really wanted it to.

...i did not keep that brief. ah well. i might disagree with half of this by the time i wake up tomorrow, i just needed to get it out of me. tl;dr, in my opinion, this show is stronger than black friday, but tgwdlm is still my favorite. all the cast and crew put a lot of love into this production and it really shows. i had a great time! :D but i'm always going to overanalyze things i care about as much as i care about the hatchetfield universe, and hence, here we are.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

I am so excited about the finale and what it could mean for Buddie. Eddie wanting someone to be there after a tough call.. But we know both Marisol and Natalia will be in the finale. Couldn’t it be that both Buck and Eddie will “sit” with them after the tough call? I mean, I know the couch is about the Buckley Diaz family. I just think it’ll be in season 7 when we get the conclusion of the couch theory. I don’t know, just knowing that they are there, makes me very careful about what I hope for in this finale.

I'm going to answer all of these together because I do not have the energy to rinse and repeat answer the same thing over and over!!

I am excited - very excited about tonights episode - so many things set up and so many things going on from what we've seen already.

first things first - I'm going to deal with Natalia. I genuinely don't think she's going to be about for more than this episode - I'm very much expecting some form of resolution with her - she is now tied into the sperm donor story as well as Bucks death story arc and from my position that is intentional - the contrast between life and death - Bucks choice is clear in this - he'll choose life because he is realising he has so much to live for and all Natalia has ever seen in Buck - really is his death. So I have no worries about her appearance - I'm simply intrigued to she how it plays out and how Buck goes about choosing himself and choosing life!

As for Marisol - I'm putting it under a cut because this got a bit long!

Firstly - where have you found confirmation of a stunt double listed for Edy/Marisol?? I've never heard of her having one listed anywhere and no one else has either - if she had one listed anywhere then 911bts would know about it and would've let us all know. You bringing it up is literally the first I'm hearing about it. So I think its safe to rule her out from actually being at the big disaster - there is already enough going on there, and with far more important characters in relation to the firefam for her to fit in those scenes. feel free to come back to me if I'm wrong, but personally I can't see it.

We don't have any context for her appearance, and that includes if there is going to be anything romantic set up with her and Eddie. for all we know they're setting her up to be a friend to Eddie (because Eddie really does see all women as friend shaped) My feeling is that the show won't go that far with them and will at most leave it ambiguous - its a season finale and the showrunners didn't know if this was going to be the final season of the show so the likelihood of them going big on starting something of a romantic nature is fairly unlikely - its far more likely that they'll leave it open and in more of an ambiguous place that is satisfying to viewers but leaves them enough wiggle room to play on it in season 7if they got the green light for said season 7.

911 has always been about leaving its characters in good and hopeful places at the end of all its seasons and that uncertainty around renewal would've been something they were aware of going into the writing of this script. That means they would've chosen to write a season end that was fitting as a series end as well - something that left enough threads in play that they could pick them back up again if renewal came, but at the same time wrapped things up nicely for everyone if not. this is something the show has been very good at doing as a whole - if you rewatch any finale episode from any season as view it as a last ever episode you will find all arcs have been wrapped up in a way that is both satisfactory if there were no further episodes, but also open enough that lots of seeds for future storytelling have been planted.

there are other things to consider here as well. This season hasn't really been about romantic love - its been about family, the changing dynamics of family, building and strengthening the family you have, actually understanding the family you have/have been building. that is what we have seen for all the characters all season long - Bathena figuring out the next stage for them as empty nesters and having grown up children. Bobby admitting he views buck as a son, his struggles with Wendell's death - his AA family. Athena dealing with her parents - when the child becomes the carer, and solving something that had haunted her family most of her life. Hen and Karen dealing with Hen taking on too much and neglecting her family as a result, having to deal with adding another parent into the mix as well as the exploration of how their family came to be in the first place. Madney - growing back together again, choosing to take the risk and be a family in everything, not just in parenting Jee, actually building a house of their own together - not one that was either of theirs from before, but one that is both of theirs from the beginning and one that allows them to take any next steps they want. the engagement whilst romantic etc is also about choosing family - something Maddie wasn't able to do with Doug because it wasn't safe, and something Chim never had with his own father - their engagement was as much about overcoming family trauma, learning from and healing from it as it was about romantic love.

Then we have Buddie - the family on paper (thanks to the will) even if they haven't figured themselves out yet or even talked about it. They sit in parallel to all of the other couples on the show in so many ways and that is very deliberate. For Eddie this season has been about his changing dynamic with Christopher as he grows up and seeks independence and who Eddie is if he doesn't have father and firefighter to hide behind - if he just gets to be Eddie. Its also been about him putting the ghost of Shannon to rest and being in a place where he can move on and create something new (even if he sucks at dating and has never actually questioned what it is he wants). While for Buck it has been about reckoning with ghosts and understanding that DNA doesn't make a family. Its been about Buck recognising which family is more important to him - the DNA family or the found family and choosing things for himself (which is why his new couch has to go) its been about him figuring out his place and where he's at peace (you know the place he can fall asleep as soon as he sits down - like Eddies couch maybe). The entire season has been spent building up Buddifer as a family dynamic and showing how much they all mean to each other and how much of a co-parent Buck is with Eddie. We've even had his relationship with Chris very loudly contrasted with the one Chim has with Denny just to make it extra obvious.

All this to say that the show hasn't been doing all this for nothing and I'm pretty convinced that they will send us into hiatus with all the pieces set up ready to build on in season 7.

Back to how Marisol fits into all of this - its pretty simple - the show is great at giving us lots of subtext - we just have to choose to read it. I've already answered an ask about how the name Marisol means our lady of solitude - the thing Eddie is feeling right now because he is focused on the concept of everyone dying alone and isn't quite in a place to look more deeply at the Buck of it all - he's getting there, but he isn't quite ready yet.

Then we have the construction aspect of the Eddie/Marisol dynamic - everything around them has been in relation to construction - but always about constructing something for someone else - Eddie goes to her house to help with repairs (with Buck and other fire fighters) - not something for himself. They meet again at a DIY store when both of them are looking for something for someone else - her for her brother, him for his son. The focus of their interaction was very much about other people and helping other people so there is something to be said about the idea of construction on sunset (a metaphor for Eddie thats been in play for a long time) and her helping him to figure out and fix whatever that construction is so that the road ahead is clear for his happily ever after (the sunset) - she isn't the sunset, she's just the construction worker - to help Eddie with the final piece of the puzzle.

The other thing to keep in mind is costuming for both Marisol and Eddie. We are pretty sure that one of Marisol's costumes tonight is an olive green and blue tie dye sweatshirt - literally the Buddie colours of the season, because we have a bts photo of Edy in what looks very much like a costume (her hair and makeup have also been done as Marisol).

Eddie is green and Buck is blue (Eddie has worn green 11 and blue 4 times this season and Buck has worn blue 22 times and green 7 times - far far more than any other colours they've worn except black for Eddie which he has rarely worn around Buck - except when in his widows weeds) , from the clothes they wear and the cases they have on their phones, the blue and green has been a very deliberate choice - Eddie is growing and Buck is water trying to find its level. Putting Marisol in a top that is a literal mash up of their two colours is telling me that whatever her scenes are, her role will be one that in some way brings Buddie together, not one that creates a wedge between them because up to now the costume department has been careful to steer clear of any Buck or Eddie related colours on either Natalia or Marisol.

That isn't to say that I don't think Marisol will feature in some way - I do and I think we will see her carry over into season 7, but there is literally nothing the writers (and all the other departments) have done that makes me think she is anything but someone who is meant to help Eddie get to a place where he is ready to see what he has already built - what is already in front of him - that Buck is the person who will always sit with him in the mess and make it his mess too.

Literally all the things the show is doing is pointing to Buddie and to expect it to happen and for them to go canon tonight is just foolish - neither Buck nor Eddie are ready for that, both have some more healing and growing to do before we get to that point and they need to have a conversation - a big massive conversation which tonights episode doesn't have room for because its a conversation that an entire episode will be built around. There is already some amazing Buddie related stuff that we've had in the sneak peeks and we will likely get more, all of which builds on all the things we've already spent this season discussing. Everything has been set up for Buddie canon in season 7 and it seems Marisol is part of helping us get there so if i were you (that means any of you) I would sit back and enjoy the storytelling because it all has a point and has been done with the intention of giving us Buddie - we made it through an entire season of Taylor Kelly and she gave us plenty of Buck growth in the middle of a slow and torturous spiral, so we can deal with a few episodes of Marisol who is going to help Eddie figure out that he isn't actually lonely because he already has what he's looking for!

If you choose to not learn how to read what a show is doing, and also come into peoples inboxes (who are actually doing a huge amount to help you read that information that the show is giving you by interpreting and discussing it) and behave negatively then I and others cannot help you because you've already chosen negativity and doom and gloom. I fully expect to have my inbox flooded with negativity, poor takes and dissatisfaction (and probably a fair amount of nastiness as well) after the episode tonight simply because the show had the audacity to have Eddie interact with someone who isn't Buck and is female - they will all be blocked and deleted - I'm over trying to explain to people who clearly don't actually read and think about all the things myself and so many others put out and I don't have the time to deal with it - I just want to enjoy my weewoo show and have fun with people on tumblr as we actually look at what we've been given in canon for all our firefam. So if you want to keep seeing what I post and my costume metas my advice is think before you type and press send on a message coming towards my inbox. I'm all for open discussion and I have lots of conversations with people who see things differently to me - but we are able to do it in a grown up and mature way, I don't pop into their inboxes and spew nastiness and hateful rhetoric.

This wasn't specifically aimed at you 5 nonnies I'm just using the opportunity to make people aware of how they will be treated if they try anything!

This got so very long 😳😳😳 soI'm ending here and I hope it all makes sense!

[nikibogwater]

Aight, y’all know the deal by now. I’m someone who takes stories way more seriously than I’m probably supposed to. I revel in a good emotional shake-down brought on by an epic tale. Time to put on my Sentimental Goggles and really dig into this latest Zelda game, and see if I can explain why I feel it has the darkest and hardest-hitting story of any in the series so far. TotK Spoilers begin below the cut. 

To start, we must acknowledge the precedent set by Breath of the Wild. BotW, despite being set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness teetering on the brink of destruction, is very much a story about hope. Zelda even says as much during the game’s opening: “You are the light--our light--that must shine upon Hyrule once again.” In the midst of a devastating catastrophe, one little seed of hope survived--Link. BotW follows this little seed as it at last blossoms into a force that is powerful enough to defeat the Calamity and put Hyrule back to rights. It’s a pretty straightforward and feel-good plot, even if it does have its fair share of bittersweet elements.

The thing that makes Tears of the Kingdom so effectively dark is that it begins by mercilessly ripping away that sense of hope that was a constant in its predecessor. Everything Link and Zelda fought for is undone in an instant. Hyrule is in even greater peril than before. This is no longer a tale of a budding seed of hope, it’s a frantic, desperate scramble to preserve what little remains of their world. 

Throughout much of this story, Link’s biggest motivation is reuniting with Zelda. While he serves as a light for Hyrule as a whole, Zelda has always been a light for him, and for us as the players. I don’t think it’s too much of a controversial statement to say that BotW’s iteration of Princess Zelda is the most well-developed in the series to date. Zelda has always been the heart and soul of the series, but this is especially true for BotW because she is no longer just Link’s partner in destiny or childhood friend. She is a fully-realized protagonist with a character arc that endears her to us as the players. She isn’t just important to Link, or to Hyrule at large. She’s important to us. Which is why I felt a legitimate sense of grief and despair when Link discovered that she couldn’t be rescued this time. No joke, there were a few minutes where I actually wanted to stop playing after seeing the final Dragon’s Tear memory. 

Breath of the Wild’s story is a statement of hope. By contrast, Tears of the Kingdom’s story is a question, one that most of us don’t want to even consider: What do you do when hope dies? What do you do when your light is taken away from you? The answer is perhaps as merciless as the question: you just keep going. Even if there is no Zelda waiting for you at the end of the fight (at least as far as Link knows), you still have a job to do. You still have to face the dark depths and the nightmares that dwell within. You still have to fight, even when it seems like there is no chance of winning. 

In this way, both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom feel like more than just games to me. They’re the kind of story that I carry with me into the real world. The kind that I look back on when I need to feel hopeful, or push through my own dark depths. Sure, it’s not a masterpiece of literature or anything, but it was a story that resonated with me all the same, thanks in no small part to TotK’s commitment to embracing the dark and the hopeless. There are times when it is enough to be reminded that I am strong, that I am capable of overcoming any challenge set before me. But when that challenge is no longer a puzzle or a personal flaw--when it’s say, grieving the loss of a loved one or longing to return to a happier time, it is just as comforting to be told, with brutal honesty, that yes, this feels hopeless. This feels like it could never possibly turn out alright in the end. But you must keep going. You must fight until you find your hope again, even if it can’t be the same as it was before. After all, that is what it means to be the light--their light--that must shine upon the world once again. 

[ronaldanthony4]

I’ve created another digital art piece, and this time, it’s a bit different from what I usually do. Unlike my typical human characters, I’ve decided to revisit a figure from my childhood—Barney, the lovable purple dinosaur from "Barney & Friends". While I’m more accustomed to drawing people, returning to Barney felt like reconnecting with a special part of myself. The design I chose for Barney is a fan art mix between the classic version I grew up with and the new CGI design from "Barney’s World". I was curious to see how blending the two styles would turn out, and after hours of work, I found that the final result leans 70% towards the classical design and 30% towards the new one. It makes sense since the classic version is the one I hold dear.

In my artwork, Barney stands in front of his colourful house, with the front door from the "Come On Over to Barney’s House" episode framing the scene. This background is not just any random choice; it represents a place that, in my childhood imagination, was magical—a house where all the fun happened. As a child, I would often dream of being part of that world, playing and singing along with Barney, Baby Bop, BJ and Riff. It feels fitting to have captured this scene because it mirrors the essence of Barney, a character that springs to life through imagination. In my art, I tried to capture that spirit—Barney’s ability to open children’s eyes to the joys of learning and make-believe, to foster their curiosity and unconditional love.

Barney was often dubbed the "Elvis Presley for Toddlers" in his early days, and for good reason. His silly, optimistic attitude and catchy songs were unforgettable, not just for kids but also for their parents, who couldn’t escape hearing them either. I was one of those kids who couldn’t get enough of Barney. The show shaped so much of my childhood that even now, years later, I find myself humming the tunes. I’ve collected quite a few of those classic songs in my music playlists. There’s something about the simplicity and positivity of them that makes them timeless, even if they were designed for a much younger audience.

It’s been over a decade since I last attempted to draw Barney, which feels surreal as I think about it. The last time I did, it wasn’t for a tribute or fan art but for a parody requested by a classmate. Anti-Barney humour was popular back then, and I got roped into drawing a satirical version of him. Although it wasn’t hateful, just a light-hearted parody, I remember feeling conflicted about it. This was Barney, the character who’d been a source of comfort and fun for me growing up. My introduction to anti-Barney humour came from my uncle, who would sing an altered version of the show's signature song, I Love You, with lyrics that joked about killing Barney. It was a common joke back then, and I even found myself singing it occasionally. But as time passed, I began to regret it. I realised that no amount of anti-Barney humour could change the fact that I was, and still am, a Barney fan.

Barney played an irreplaceable role in my childhood, and even though I strayed for a while—succumbing to the peer pressure of making fun of him—the affection I held for the character never really faded. His impact on me goes beyond just nostalgia. The colourful and vibrant world of "Barney & Friends" influenced my artistry in ways I hadn’t realised until recently. The bright, cheerful settings, the simplicity of the designs, and the warmth in the characters’ interactions all planted seeds that grew into my creative vision. Even today, I find myself going back and watching episodes of "Barney & Friends". I know it might seem odd for someone my age to still enjoy the show, but there’s something about its innocence that feels like a safe, comforting space in a world that can often feel too complicated.

Over the years, I’ve seen how Barney has evolved. The newest iteration of Barney in "Barney’s World" has sparked quite a debate, especially with the changes in his design. Many fans of the classic series hated the new CGI look, and I admit, I wasn’t either when I first saw it. It’s always difficult to accept when something so close to your heart changes. For a while, I couldn’t wrap my head around the redesign. Barney’s new voice sounded more like Patrick Star than the iconic comforting voice I remembered, and BJ, one of Barney’s closest friends, had his name changed to Billy. The show also reduced the number of songs per episode, featuring only one or two instead of the lively, music-filled episodes I grew up with.

But then, something changed my perspective. I happened to watch a video of a livestream with Bob West, the original voice of Barney. In it, he talked about how each generation grows up with something different and how culture changes with time. He explained that the new Barney isn’t meant for people like me, who grew up with the classic series. It’s for a new generation, one that’s being shaped by a world very different from the one I knew as a child. As soon as I heard that, I realised that my feelings were more rooted in nostalgia than anything else. Mattel, the company that now owns the rights to Barney, had to make some changes to keep the character relevant for today’s kids. Times change, and so do the things we love.

With that in mind, I decided to give the new series a chance. It was hard at first—I couldn’t shake the feeling that this may not be my Barney. But the more I watched, the more I began to appreciate it for what it is, not what it used to be. Sure, the episodes are shorter, and the songs aren’t as plentiful, but the heart of the show remains the same. Barney is still teaching kids important lessons, and that’s what matters most. I might never love this version as much as the one I grew up with, but I can respect it for what it is.

Drawing Barney after so many years, especially in this hybrid style, felt like a tribute to both the character and the evolution he’s gone through. My Barney is mostly the classic design, with just a hint of the new CGI version. I think that’s symbolic of how I feel about the character now. The majority of what I love about Barney comes from my memories, but I’ve left room for the new generation’s Barney to exist as well. It's a reminder that things change and evolve, and that's okay. The nostalgia I feel for the original Barney will always be there, but I can appreciate the new version for what it brings to today's kids.

Barney has always been a symbol of imagination, and in my artwork, I tried to capture that essence. He’s more than just a purple dinosaur to me; he’s a reminder of the joy and wonder that childhood brings, the kind that often gets lost as we grow older. In a way, this artwork is my way of holding onto that joy and passing it on. Maybe someone who sees it will remember their own Barney days, or maybe a new generation will find something to love about the character I cherished so much.

Looking at the finished piece now, I can’t help but feel proud. It’s not just a drawing of a purple dinosaur—it’s a snapshot of my past, a tribute to my childhood, and a bridge to the future. While the world around Barney has changed, the core of who he is remains the same. And in that sense, maybe Barney hasn’t changed as much as I thought. He’s still the dinosaur who, through imagination, teaches us to love, to laugh, and to learn. He continues to embody the values of kindness and friendship that have resonated with generations of children. As I reflect on my drawing, I realize that Barney's message is timeless and will continue to inspire future audiences for years to come.

So, even if it’s been a while since I last drew Barney, I know this won’t be the last time. Who knows? Maybe sometime later, I’ll draw him again. But one thing is for sure—Barney will always hold a special place in my heart, and through my art, I hope to keep his legacy alive for others to enjoy. Barney's impact on my childhood and the positive influence he had on me will always be a driving force behind my art. I am grateful for the opportunity to bring joy to others through my drawings of this beloved character.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #167 (Part 3)

Okay!!! So!!! I will talk about the s'mores part now!!!

Like I said in part 2, after we got back and got situated, I started gathering up tinder and kindling to make a fire! Here's what I gathered up:

...I also found a wild strawberry!! I seem to recall telling you that wild strawberries taste better than the strawberries you get at the grocery store, but they're also much, much smaller. I'll show you how small:

This one is ripe and ready to eat, but I left it there; these seeds need an opportunity to spread from the droppings of a small creature.

Anyway, here's the s'mores supplies that I got from Shaw's:

...Sephiroth, have you ever had a s'more? Basically, you put a square of chocolate on half of a graham cracker, and then you squish a hot toasted marshmallow onto the chocolate with the other half of the graham cracker. The hot marshmallow is supposed to melt the chocolate. The result is a gooey, delicious, crunchy, sweet treat! But this time I added BACON!!!!

We used matches to light up the tinder and kindling I gathered. It was very dry, so getting the wood to catch was very easy this time:

...And then we cooked the bacon until it was nice and crunchy!!!!

Hey, Sephiroth? Do you like bacon? It gets used in pasta carbonara, and I know you like pasta, so maybe you like bacon, too? Hmm...

Well. After this, it was time to toast marshmallows. Normally, you stick them over the fire until they turn a golden brown. J does it the normal way - behold:

...I... have a... sliiiightly different approach....

...Yes, that marshmallow is on fire. I like a charred, crunchy outside and a melted inside. I normally let the flame go until it stops on its own.

And then you put it all together!!!

...The chocolate didn't melt very much for some reason, but I don't care!!! They were VERY GOOD!!!

...If you've not had any opportunity to try a bacon s'more, or even a regular s'more, I highly recommend it. It's one of the best culinary creations known to my culture. It's very simple, yet VERY effective, especially if you spent all day outside in the hot sun on a bike - yowza!!!!

I managed to snag a picture of the sunset that evening, too:

...My body is not used to the exertion of a bike anymore because the rib injury makes exercising very difficult. So by this point, the Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness was already starting to set in. I was very much looking forward to going to bed... or so I thought.

Someone was rummaging around our campsite. I know it because as J and I were trying to fall asleep in the dead of night, something, presumably with opposable thumbs, opened up the cargo door of the plane. The cargo door has a latch on it, so it's not as though it can come undone by itself, and it's not as though it can come undone by something bumping into it.

But we heard it come undone, because it is an old plane and opening things on it is noisy. J was scared, and I was a combination of alarmed and angry, so I quietly got dressed, grabbed up a flashlight and my boot with the brace in it, and ventured outside of the tent.

For reference, my left boot has a brace in it because my left leg is injured; I damaged the nerve running down the front of my shin because I struck it on the sharp edge of a concrete wall, and now both plantarflexion and dorsiflexion of my foot on that leg is... not impossible, but rather difficult. The brace stops my toes from dragging on the ground when I walk. My hiking boots have steel toes:

I was prepared to clock someone over the head if I had to. Dunno how successful I would have been, but I was prepared.

When I ventured out of the tent and looked around, I saw the opened cargo door, but no one was around, and nothing seemed to have been taken out of it. Perhaps whoever opened it didn't expect it to make such a loud noise, and so they ran off. I don't know. But either way, if they're willing to rummage around in stuff that doesn't belong to them, we can only guess as to why; my upbringing and life experiences have left me with a plethora of very unpleasant possibilities to select from.

Not willing to wait around and see whether they'd come back and make demands at knifepoint or gunpoint, and having a little bit of experience in dealing with intruder-esque situations before, I very calmly told J to get dressed and gather up a few of his things along with the other flashlight. We can replace things; we can't replace people if some unhinged person is very angry about the fact that we do not have valuables. So we walked back to the airport office; it has a door with a keypad. J faced forward and I faced behind the whole way there. Nothing happened.

J slept on the couch in the airport office. I stayed up to keep watch. Given that we had to go back in the morning, and given that one needs to be well-rested in order to fly a plane, it wasn't logical to sleep in shifts. J is the one who can fly the plane, so J is the one who must sleep. I tinkered around on my phone and kept an eye on the windows and doors. I know the odds were very low that anything would happen, but "low" is not zero, and I remember the man that my mother had to chase away from our trailer with an axe a while back, when I was still a girl. I wasn't willing to risk being caught unawares.

But the night came and went and nothing happened, thank goodness. J got to sleep after his nerves calmed down, and he was properly alert by morning. I managed to snag a picture of the sunrise for you:

By the time morning came, I was exhausted and in a lot of pain from the bike ride. But nonetheless, we went back to the campsite, inspected everything, and found nothing unusual or stolen, which figures since we brought only very simple items. We packed everything away and then went home. I took maybe a couple more pictures on the way, but then I pretty much passed out without even realizing:

I remember getting in the car this morning, but I don't remember much of the ride home. I remember getting out of the car, and then passing out in M's bed for a few hours.

My body is still very sore, but ibuprofen has done well to take the edge off of that, and so I can move around, if a bit stiffly. It feels amazing to ride a bike, but I have to remember to reacclimate myself to that kind of activity again first. Suppose I'll have to make it a point to take a walk tomorrow so that the Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness doesn't get any worse. But for now... I think I'm going to play Elden Ring. Maybe I'll even stream it here:

...And that's all I've got for today. All in all, it was a great camping trip, but between the weird flags and the campsite intruder, I think I don't ever want to go back there. I think I'm going to sleep very well tonight.

I love you. And I'll write again tomorrow, okay? So please stay safe in the meantime.

Your friend, Lumine

[psalmonesermons]

Lessons from Galatians Part 5b

Chapter 5:16-26 The fruit of the Spirit is love

Galatians 5;22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

As we study the fruit of the Spirit you will begin to see that we are really studying is the character of God. We must become Christ-like and therefore it is essential that we know what he is like, so we know what we are aiming at in our lives.

Jesus says ‘by their fruit shall ye know them’ referring to the character of the false prophets. We need to know what good fruit is like to be able to spot the false prophet. This is important in these last days of increasing deception. Or how about a marriage, business, or ministry partner or even a leader in the church. It is all about character.

The fruit of the Spirit in your life will draw those who are open to salvation to you and will cause those who hate God to hate you. Fruit in the natural sense contains seeds for reproduction. When an unbeliever tastes or sees the fruit in your life, a seed of love is sown in their hearts which God can bring to life; love reproducing love.

Galatians 5:16-18 the battle between the spirit and the flesh is dealt with in a separate teaching at https://www.psalmonesermons.com/post/the-fruit-of-the-spirit-part-2

Galatians 5:19-21 These verses describe the life that we lived as unbelievers. Paul reminds the Church that those who habitually practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22-23 The Greek word for fruit is karpos (also see John 15 1-8) is singular and therefore it is incorrect to refer to the fruits of the spirit. The idea conveyed by the expression ‘fruit’ is that of a blended whole and not nine separate items.

The blended whole is love… which expresses itself in numerous ways:

Love is Joy

Love is Peace

Love is Longsuffering

Love is Gentleness

Love is Goodness

Love is Faith and Faithfulness

Love is Meekness

Love is Temperance (self-control).

When white light shines through a raindrop (which acts as a prism) it is separated into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The colours in the rainbow merge so that it has hard to tell where one ends and another begins, so with the fruit of the spirit.

The love (akin to the white light) is shed abroad in our hearts (prism) by the Holy Spirit, and as it passes through us the love is split into its component parts such as joy, peace etc. The fruit produced over time is appropriate to the upcoming circumstances e.g. temperance or self-control under a season of temptation etc.

The fruit of the spirit is produced as the Holy spirit sheds the Love of Christ into our hearts (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit is reproducing the life of Christ in us. This process involves obedience both to the written word and to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

The Word and the Spirit work together.

God is love……and if this is true then God is joy, peace etc. these must must be part of his being.

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Jesus is the vine; the Father is the gardener, and we are the branches. The Holy Spirit is the sap (liquid love that is pumped into hearts and through us) that causes leaves, flowers, and fruit to appear in our lives.

We can hinder this process by disobeying the word of God i.e. sins such as, selfishness, unforgiveness etc. which sins are like ligatures that stop the flow of love out to ourselves and others. Abiding in the vine (walking close to the Lord in obedience) allows a steady flow of the liquid love that produces the fruit of the spirit. Spiritual fruit as with natural fruit takes time to develop.

Some other thoughts about Love

We are born with the need to love and to be loved. That is why love is such a big seller of songs, books, and movies etc. There are distinct types of love as can be illustrated by the four Greek words for love [1].

1. phileo; the love of a friend or a brother.

2. storge; mother love (for her child).

3. eros; sexual love.

4. agape; the love of God.

The first three are types of human love and at best, are only pale reflections of agape love, the selfless love of God. When the believer is filled and moved by the love of God, then they can surpass the human loves [2].

[1] C S Lewis The four loves

[2] An example might be, if a young man or woman with Christian parents, is called to the mission field, the storge love of the parents might tempt them to dissuade their child. However, the agape love would overcome this and send them out with a blessing.

There is a lovely revealing use of the two different words used in scripture for love i.e. agapeo and phileo in John 21:15-17. Jesus asks Peter if he loves (using agapeo-selfless love) him twice, but Peter answers with phileo (friendly or brotherly love). Jesus then uses Peter’s phileo when he asks a third time. The message is that agape is willing to lay down its very life for God.

Agape (love) became the characteristic word of Christianity. The Holy Spirit brought new meaning to this word. Agape love is selfless and seeks to do good to all me but especially to our fellow believers. This agape love flows from God to us and through us, to our fellow man.

Amen

Your Prayer

[unikittybigbrightworldau]

OC “Wiki Pages”: Mabel

Nicknames (aka): May

Affiliations: Central Unikingdom High School Marching Band and Color Guard

Family: Carmine (father), Meryl (mother), Millie (older sister), Douglas (younger brother), Scarlet (younger sister), Max (youngest brother)

Friends: Rosa, Unikitty, Puppycorn

Color: Red, orange, beige, brown, light brown, dark brown

Special Features: Sparkles on her face, red leaves, musical skills, wooden body

Character Influences: @ra1nb0w-ph0en1x, Timber Spruce (My Little Pony Equestria Girls), Whittles (Mario franchise)

Likes: Music, marching bands, playing her clarinet or piccolo, band class, hugs, sparkles

Dislikes: Ants, hot dogs, feeling left out

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/her

Birthday: December 5

Quote: “Afternoon! How are ya?”

——

Debut: TBA

Headcanon Voice: Mabel from Minecraft: Story Mode

——

Mabel Maples is a character in the Unikitty: Big Bright World series. She is a citizen of the Unikingdom who makes friends with Unikitty. Her voice is similar to Mabel's voice in Minecraft: Story Mode.

----

Physical Appearance: Mabel is a maple tree being (or a Stumplet, as she calls herself) who is Unikitty's age. Her head appears to be a sideways stump, which her face is carved into. She has light brown eyes with carved "eyelashes" and a small circular nose. She often dabs sparkles onto her face. She has small red maple leaves for hair, and her "space buns" are trimmed to look like larger maple leaves. Her torso resembles a tree trunk with the bark poking out near its bottom. Her arms resemble branches, as they have little maple leaves growing on their sides. Her legs resemble smaller trunks, and her feet resemble roots.

----

Personality: Mabel is a very open-minded girl. She listens to other people when they need to talk to her. She's good-natured and imaginative, and she always puts her best foot forward. She's quite a hugger as well, and she's known by her friends as giving some firm and strong hugs. Mabel likes to listen to music and learn about it. She plays the clarinet and the piccolo. Mabel‘s super interested in marching bands and what they do, and she is a part of the band at her school. She hopes to become a drum major. 

Mabel is optimistic, walking through life with a smile on her face. She loves to entertain others and find and spread joy. She never shies away from going all out. For this reason, she does whatever she can to make sure people stay entertained, at her band concerts and other occasions. She’s determined to leave a seed of herself in others’ memories, if you know what I mean. Before her life is over, she’ll make her mark on the world, and she swears by it.

Mabel does things with lots of energy, but it’s hard for her to recognize when she’s going too full-throttle. Sometimes, she has to remind herself to slow down.

----

Trivia

Mabel looks a bit similar to Spinel from Steven Universe and Circus Baby from Five Nights at Freddy's, but this is all coincidental.

Her interests came from Jezabat's idea to create a character who is in band, inspired by her best friend @ra1nb0w-ph0en1x.

One of Mabel's instruments is the piccolo because most professional piccolos are made out of wood.

Her design takes inspiration from the Whittles from Super Mario Galaxy 2 and the Mario Party series.

Mabel is sensitive to heat.

If a bug bites her, she'll begin to feel weak and woozy.

Mabel is a lesbian.

Mabel and her family moved to the Unikingdom from Botania when she was about five.

Mabel also appears in Jezabat's Cuckoo Land Pals AU, in which she is an attendee at Camp Action and Artsy Unikitty's love interest.

Jezabat pictures her and Unikitty having a romantic interest in each other in Big Bright World as well.

----

In Other Languages

Arabic: مابل / "Mabl" 

Spanish: Mabel

German: Mabel Blatt

Swedish: Mabel Blad

Italian: Mabel

Swahili: Nyekundu

Portuguese: Mabel

Korean: 메이블 / "Meibeul”

Japanese: メイベル / "Meiberu"

Chinese: 枫叶 / "Fēngyè" (Maple Leaf)

Polish: Mabel Liść

Greek: Μέιμπελ Φύλλο / “Méimpel Fýllo” (Mabel Leaf)

French: Maybelle

Russian: Красная Мэйбл / "Krasnaya Meybl" (Red Mabel)

Hindi: लाल मेपल / "Laal Mepal" (Red Maple)

Thai: ใบไม้แดง / "Bımị̂ dæng" (Red Leaf)

Turkish: Mabel

[burning-bubble-tea]

I like writing and reading fanfiction cause frankly sometimes media is lightning in a bottle good when it’s long running.

Like idw transformers, I still need to start reading the current comics but I doubt if anything can really capture how much my brain latched onto it. Like even if the writing is objectively better in the current iteration, I do wonder if it’ll peak my interest the way idw transformers did.

Like with large media franchises, it really is me picking and choosing what I really like.

With dc comics I love all the cartoons. Some of the animated movies, none of the live action movies and none of the tv shows. But I still like the characters. So like fanfics can sorta capture what I’m looking for in a certain iteration of a character.

But also it kinda has to have this sense of imperfection or desire for more to make me actually search for fan works. Cause like I love you idw transformers but the ending was rushed/also the ending was open ended with one of the cut panels saying “over to you” instead of “the end” to signify that the fans could do what they wanted now with the lost light in the new universe. And like ever after high, I love it but it’s like objectively a bunch of interesting half baked ideas that just got cancelled out of nowhere.

Something tight and clean and satisfying like gravity falls for me does not make me desire to read fanfics. Like maybe a short fancomic n what not but I feel the story had a satisfying beginning middle n end so I feel like I can move on fully satisfied.

So there is something so nice about satisfying media. I think Hilda is also super satisfying, it got a bunch of seasons, a movie and got a finale that didn’t feel rushed. But also, there’s something so fun about being ravenous for more, for being not satisfied and looking for places to become satisfied.

First Aid will never be the main character for more than a chapter or episode. But hey, there were like almost one hundred fics I read where he was the main character. And plenty more if I wanted to read smut but I do not so almost one hundred first aid fics for me.

Like the reason why I’ve been so into Damian Wayne and Jonathan Kent stories is that the movie that featured both of them was good but also too short and doesn’t have a sequel. It planted the seeds that its short run time didn’t allow to fully grow.

Or similarly, I’ve heard that dc comics kinda aged up Jonathan to move him into a different comic series away from the super sons series but Damian is still a kid to keep with Batman continuity and it sounds convoluted and confusing and it sounds like the relationship of Damian and Jon was kinda thrown away to have Jon be an adult now because of space shenanigans. So people have been writing under the tag of “naturally aged Jon Kent” to have Damian and Jon grow up together.

But yeah side rant off of this side rant, even though I’ve never read the comics, a part of me definitely wonders if there is room for multiple different continuities to exist at the same time. But also I think crisis on infinite earth’s literally existed to merge all the ips into one universe and it’s cool and all but it does sorta create those odd situations where a character is thought to be better in a different series so they figure out a way for the character to leave the storyline of the current comic series they are a part of so they can go to a different one. Which is from my understanding what Superboy did by going from super sons to like legion of superheroes or something ?? I don’t know. I don’t read the comics.

Anyways so while I do really love shared universes, I do kinda like it when they have little to no impact on each other so they can stay in their lanes. Cause sometimes it really does feel like a crossover more than an integrated universe. And I don’t really like crossovers all that much. Thought I appreciate the creativity. I do filter out crossovers in ao3 HAHAHAH but that’s mainly cause in crossovers I usually have only interacted with one of the medias.

Like one time I wanted to find any fix it fics or extended fics on that movie Epic that came out in the 2010’s and like I found maybe three that fit my very strict filters hahahahahahha. A lot of the fics that used epic was crossover as I think it was lumped into Brave, how to train your dragon, and Frozen, rise of the guardians crossover stuff. Which I’m not a big fan of.

Anyways this post has ran wildly out of control.

The best kind of post.

But yeah love it when things hit the sweet spot of either, “so good that I desperately need more” (Baulder’s Gate 3, IDW transformers), and/or “I love this media with all my heart but I don’t think they did enough with it/it got cancelled/felt like it had a rushed conclusion” (IDW transformers, Damian Wayne and Jon Kent, Ever After High).

[savetooru]

apostasy

when i was younger i told myself i’d either rack up a body count of five hundred novels before treacherous twenty or i’d give up paper cuts and bleeding ink and find more suitable ways to pluck trembling teeth. it wasn’t going to make me a genius. i knew that. but it was going to scare my father, how i could become anybody i wanted. i assumed most parents fear that their children might one day grow to be cannibals, so i was determined to gobble shit up, right. i’m sure everyone is nodding their heads in assent. yes. back to cannibalism. at an age before all i did was avoid the dentist, the only thing it meant was that you consumed whatever made you tick the most. such as the setting sun. such as dusk, your mother's singing and puff, the magic dragon. such as fa mulan in the 1998 animated musical adventure film, mulan. such as the monster in your closet with your prying eyes and your sunken heart and your dislocated pinky. such as the endless howling of a man responsible for a third of your birth. at some point, the medium ceased to matter. i swallowed hundreds with a belly full of cold flame fury. i was going to eat every word ever spoken or put to pen. i was going to defy death at a great distance. turn my gut into a fireplace where all blasphemy goes to burn. out of barren soil and cracks in the concrete i was going to take all the terrible, timely, taboo and spit it at his feet. i was, also, coincidentally— sixteen. we grow up, theoretically, as the years lay behind us in ratty, dogged sleeping bags, but in no greater instance than the act of consumption. i grew out of a diet better made for wolves in the space of a single character. i learned to let go the way all sixteen year olds learn to let go: i fell in love with a boy trembling, warped in his ire. for all he denied it, the spitting image of his father. (they say a flower cannot choose the field where it blooms, but what of the seed from which its body emerges? everybody has always said we've looked alike. once upon a time, that i was just like you. you, who yelled for the lights i hadn't left on, who swore if i so much as shook in my sleep. was it wrong to wonder if you ever realized how small i used to be, and how big your voice seemed? was it so terrible to resent you for all i'd been made to eat?) about mine: he was old at thirty-five, all tremor-wrought and stout enough to fill in his trousers. he didn’t have to try to scare me then. now young again at fifty-eight he frightens me most in the quiet. in the fleeting half-lucid moments he’ll look down at the only pair of loafers he owns and tell me i’m free to do whatever i want with my life, no matter how much he grinds his soles in contempt. no matter how much he’s dug his heels in my ticking. i know he’s only saying this because he’s scared his heart will stop beating. i’m horrified to find i’m scared his heart will stop beating. every so often i feel sick with acrid attachment and bitter respect. on days he isn't hungry, or cannot stomach our slightly-overcooked rice grains— he is less my father and more an old man. this has run on for much longer than i expected, but in hindsight, opening your mouth is what cannibalism trains one to do. i guess all i'm trying to say is that you didn't ruin me. dad, i'm the biggest, baddest, good thing in the room: after all, i've become the kind of person who forgives you.

[ancientgoddessofegypt]

hi im back again cause im way too curious haha & thank you in advance!!

venus in virgo in the 5th / sun in scorpio in the 5th

so first off, the way others see your beauty is very regal. its full of light and has a sensuality to it thats pure, innocent and untamed.

with that scorpio, it shows theirs a lot of hidden layers to you, this is how your attracts others. your talents will be what people find attractive about you. not only that, you have a romantic personality that you normally dont bring out, its for the right one.

with that venus virgo, paired with the scorpio sun.. you not giving it out to just anybody. dont get me started with the libra mars because youre constantly on guard with this placement but its with good reason (good judge of character)

how you can extend on this energy is by allowing your artistic expression to evolve. virgo is all about growing in something and planting the seed. be more open to showing us any gifts or talents you may have, virgos are normally shy when having to do this.

that scorpio sun, you need to give us your ALL in everything that you do. your power attracts others to you like no other.

your mystique, your vulnerability, and your raw truth is where others will find you attractive, and just fall in love with you.

gemini rising/ intercepted cancer

your sweet bubbly energy (gemini) paired with that nurturing, compassionate spirit makes others heart sing. you have a joy in just connecting to nature, animals, and children that others cant seem to grasp. but this is what makes you special.

you have a knack for communicating to other people their needs, and have a tendency to be a bit of a therapist. this is natural to you. expanding on this for the RIGHT people brings out your beautiful qualities!

[hectormcfilm]

ATTACK ON TITAN RANKINGS

Despite only recently writing a 5000 word analysis of all 4 seasons of this exceptional TV show I’m not done talking about it. Since I have fully reviewed the show and given my opinions on its highs and lows I now want to take some time to deeper analyse the openings and the music.

I mentioned the music briefly in my main review, claiming I didn’t think season 4’s music was as good as the first 3 seasons mainly because Sawano’s soundtrack is just unrivalled in the anime industry. Attack on Titan easily has the best music in anime history, having in my opinion the third greatest soundtrack in Television, only just behind Game of Thrones and Succession. Attack on Titan’s music manages to combine tracks of pure unbridled excitement and hype, songs made for intense and action and thrills with unbelievably emotional and well written lyricism spanning three different languages. The best pieces of music throughout the show for me are: YouSeeBigGirl T:T, Apple Seed, Before lights out, Ashes on the Fire, Barricades, Cost of Freedom, Vogel im Kafig, Beast Titan, Zero Eclipse and so many more. I listen to this soundtrack non-stop.

7. Jiyuu no Tsubasa

The second of opening of the show is the only opening I dislike, everything else even if it is low down on my rankings is of a high standard and has a lot of great qualities. This opening I just find very dull and repetitive, it doesn’t capture the same excitement of the first opening but also doesn’t reach the beauty of some of the later ones. The lyrics are all pretty standard, the chorus is triumphant but doesn’t compare to any of the others for the levels of hype. Visually this one has the repetitive style of an image fading over another, most the images not really meaning anything, it also uses a lot of CGI which I’m really not a fan of. This opening just isn’t as vibrant or exciting as the others and is overall forgettable, reflecting how this section of the story is also the most forgettable.

6. The Rumbling

This opening has become very popular in the fandom but I don’t completely understand the hype, I think it is a pretty good opening but I have some problems. To start with I simply prefer the WIT art style and think it works better for openings, secondly I am not a big fan of heavy metal music so this song is very much no my style, I also don’t think the part of the song used is the best part. Despite saying that I enjoy the visuals a lot, especially the shots of each Titan shifter very desaturated, cutting between them and their titan. I also love the shot of Ymir floating and flashing as the tree flickers in the background. Overall it fits with the tone of the ending arc very well.

5. Red Swan

This is where I think all the opening become amazing, this one is easily the most emotional opening. I really like the song and appreciate it uniqueness to the others, being more slow and profound compared to the usual hype. Visually I like seeing the characters reflecting on their younger years and especially adore the shot of young Eren bashing into his older self. However, I simply don’t think this opening has as much to offer as the ones above it since it doesn’t create the same instantly recognisability and passion.

4. Shinzo Wo Sasageyo

This is easily the opening which creates the most mystery, showing the Titan’s face within the wall and having the sequence of the best Titan running with multiple animals and a dinosaur, completely confusing  the audience as it its origin. Similarly, it gives lots of subtle hints towards certain twists like Reiner and Bertolt not being part of the triumphant team line up. This opening also has the most impressive piece of action, having the scouts charging Titans on horses, then seeing Mikasa and Eren lunge in the air, Mikasa grabbing Eren spinning him and throwing him as he transforms, its unbelievably impressive and gorgeously animated.

3. Shoukei to shikabane no michi

This is definitely the most underrated and underappreciated opening, I have lots of bias towards it as it takes place during the Return to Shiganshina, my favourite arc but even without bias think its exceptional. The use of colour in this opening is striking, the sky and borders have an intense green and blue colour palette, with some rainbow effects as well making the opening feel like a painting. This also has lots of hints towards the reveals later in the season and I love the reverse technique used in the end, taking the audience back to the basement. This is also my most listened to song out of any Attack on Titan opening, I love the raw excitement it creates.

2. My War

When this opening first released I wasn’t a big fan, I didn’t like how different and almost unrelated it seemed however over the past two years my appreciation for this opening has grown exponentially and this and no.1 are very interchangeable for me I adore them both. This opening is easily the most atmospheric and mysterious, giving the least away and not even showing any characters faces. The completely white background and lack of details add a disorientating and confusing effect reflecting the horror and confusion of war. The contrast between the vibrant multi-coloured explosions almost appearing like fireworks to the blank backgrounds is visually striking. The music is also so haunting, sounding like a children’s nursery rhyme at first but combined with some electronic elements, screaming and rock, creating an idea of destroyed innocence, it is brilliant. Finally the ending shot of Eren’s titan looking like a beautiful sculpture is just perfect. Similarly, the way every human and living creature is a lifeless statue who’s animation style contrast the background creates an effectively disturbing atmosphere.

1. Guren no yimiya

Despite this being the first opening it stays the best, there is definitely some nostalgia and bias in this decision but the first opening is just undeniably amazing, turning into one of the most iconic and beloved openings of all time. The music is perfectly exciting, the visuals introducing every aspect of the worldbuilding, illustrating how terrifying and imposing the titans are as well as how impressive the ODM gear is. This also has the best climax of any opening building up the Eren killing a titan, creating a mini narrative within an opening which is very impressive. I just love this opening pure and simple.

[blueflipflops]

I love how you usre modern phrases here and there. Gives a new light to dialogues. 'His legs grew wings' love that.

Oh the first scene reminds me of our prev talk about Helen and Aphrodite with how Odysseus blames the gods for 'lulling him to sleep' but if one took the time and think about it, it is HIGHLY likely that him falling asleep back then was not, in fact, divine intervention but actual literal exhaustion and stress. I was once again carried away by Homer's storytelling to see beyond the mythicism when I should've given that the main character is a mere mortal in a time and culture that uses gods as part of their everyday expressions.

Oh the immortal cattles really freaked me out reading. Like, the flayed meat still moo'ed. I understand the desperate hunger, they've been there for days because if the storm but god the chills i got. man. Love that Odysseus couldn't even blame them brcause he's also so hungry too and the cattles are just right there. Ohohoho there it is. The delicious guilt. Oh the downward spiral. Oh he's going in deep. The starvation and exhaustion likely doesnt help either cause god everything is crashing down on him and he can't move.

I could almost see him losing fight midway, the emptiness in his eyes as almost contemplates giving up, scaring whats left of his men when he suddenly snapped out of it and tried to do whatever damage control he can. Oh shit Eurylochus is not dropping this. Amazing way to show how the journey changed not just Odyssues but also those around him. Making then not just side or background characters to make the mc look good but people who develops along the story and make it more full or complete. I love how you put it all that in one derisive line and our clever boy quickly catches on even with exhaustion and starvation.

Oh now they're pointing fingers. Its all about the blame, isn't it? I don't think Odysseus is even mentally present enough to be part of that convo. Time and time again Odysseus has kept vital info from his men. Starting with the bag from Aiolus which was at the time was logical enough for past!Odysseus and was not urgent nor dangerous enough info to could possibly go wrong but it still did. Go wrong. And from then on, trust between both sides became strained. It came until they arrive with Scylla but also kinda logically makes sense he didn't say anything because weren't they using like some kind rowing ship with a sail? Pair that with them skirting just away from Charybdis' range of destruction, the sacrificial 6 men would have to be nervous and too tense that when Scylla comes to collect her toll, the men on Scylla's side of the ship would panic and might row them too close to the pull of Charybdis and would kill them all in the end. That's not even taking in the fact of whether or not these 6 men would LET themselves be sacrificed because then they would not coorperate so then would not help row which then make it VERY hard to voyage with a ship with only few men rowing when theres only a handful left of them too. Its was a objectively a dick move, sure, but it was the best and most logical solution Odysseus could find when pinned between two hard situations. Should he have had talked it out with someone at least? Maybe. He could but like I've said, it started with Aiolus' bag, Eurylochus was supposed to be his right hand man, his most trusted person and he was one of the people who opened the bag. He already lost his trust or at least planted seeds of doubt in Odysseus' mind so why should he trust him with this info now? God i could only imagine how rancid vibes they are having right now adding up to the fact that it must have been so hot out there. I just gone out in the summer sun for a while and I'm already irritable. Odysseus and his men are stronger than me tbh. I would've already gone mad at their stead. The series of musfortunes has relentlessly beating them down that outside of the adrenaline causing situations, they've gone past fear and can only rage now because what else do they possibly have left? Even Polites can't help but blame Odysseus even as he tries to rationalize the sacrifices he made after polyphemus. The tension is is so thick that no one in that ship is in the right mind to make major decisions.

Holy fuck the panic and fear overtaking Odysseus got me on chokehold and brought me with him. I could feel my heart sinking as I, too, realized. Lulled by the chatter of conversation between Eurylochus and the others, i let down my guard only now remembering what is going to happen. The sudden switch flip between clear skies to storm caused by divine hand. Oh god i LOVE the imagery here. I could almost HEAR the crashing waves and thunder. 'Like a cape of a dethroned king' Oh i LOVE that comparison. That is very delicious, thank you. Oh this is familiar, isn't it? The feeling of uselessness in the face of doom. It was there when he watched his men get eaten by thr cyclops, it was there when he slowly lost sight of his birth land when they were just so close, it was there when the Laestrygonians speared his men like fishes on a pond, it is here as he watch his remaining men die one by one a gruesome death in punishment for the insult against Helios. Useless to change the scene in front of him time and time again.

As Odysseus watches his people get washed away, I was reminded of Polyphemus' curse, "... may he never reach his home in Ithaca. But if he is destined to reach his native land, to come once more to his own house and see his friends again, let him come late, in evil plight, with all his comrades dead, in someone else's ship, and find troubles in his household."

'But if it was Fated that he is to return...' because he sure is destined to return, it is only to dead comrades and on a foreign ship. I'm sure those words echoed within Odysseus' mind as well. 'Why them and not me?' He asks as he holds on for dear life too stubborn to die, will to survive too strong, but it was really only he who was destined to return not his men. The feeling uselessness once again hooked its claws in his soul as heavy guilt eats beside it. Washed away like nothing. Like they weren't something to someone, a son, a father, a husband, a brother, a friend. Consumed by the dark sea like a singular beat buried under the melody.

Oh! Wasn't it framed that the war with the Trojans was supposed to be a short one like, 6 months tops that streched out to 10 years because of the wall? Not sure abt that but i think i read it somewhere. So the anger, the frustrations would be so well marinated in over the years more that Odysseus promised to take them back home safely.

Even in desperation, he calls out to gods. Or maybe it was because of desperation. But in the end it was he who saved himself. No divine hand to help. Only him and his uncanny luck and cleverness.

'Made to endure' indeed. But to what cost? To what end? A bough can only bend so far before it snaps and Odysseus has long time felt bounded past his limits

I'm surprised he didn't die out of hypothermia there but then again this is an epic and Odysseus is our hero.

Even then, his granfather was right he was made to endure, even against his wishes he endures, against the sweet whispers of death he endures, for the 600 men he failed to return home he endures. He endures until he reaches an end to suffering in the form of sandy beaches, the shore of paradise.

This was great it was amazing i am once again in love with odysseus he is decidingly human yet very obviously different and seperate from other mortals as he is strung around by fate. I love stories that makes me fall in love with same character all over again.

Survivor's Guilt and Survivor's Duty (P1)

Odysseus was hungry. That much he knew. Gods were really cruel with them the days that went through. He had returned from yet another hunt without any success. Not even a single rabbit was visible to Helios’s island. He was already feeling weary and light-headed with hunger; which was why he thought he was hallucinating when he smelt the finest smell of roasting meat he ever met in his life. However it took him no more than two brain cells of his infamous mind to connect the dots and realize what had happened.

“No! Gods no, let it be not what I think it is! Please gods no!”

His legs grew wings as he began sprinting towards the direction of the smell.

“Why did you lull me to that pointless sleep?! Why! It was all to ruin me? To ruin them?!”

He ran with all the strength of his feet to the field only to find what he hoped in all gods he believed in to be a hallucination. He saw what remained of his men from that eventful 3 year journey having lit a fire and roasting a fine cow to the pike, happy and well-fed. In the past days his men just broke. They could withstand hunger no longer and understandably they had only one source of nutrition on that island; those fat, well-kept cows that seemed to be mocking them. Of course his men would do that! Odysseus could not blame them and yet he pulled his long hair in desperation seeing the scene.

“ARE YOU ALL MENTAL? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MINDS?!” he yelled desperately drawing their attention, “I told you not to do that! These sacred animals will be our doom!”

Eurylochus, his trusted commander came forward. His eyes were full of snare and gathered anger.

“Captain,” he started, “did you expect us to starve to death? Not even one little bird was flying around and all the grass in this place turned poisonous for us! We would die anyways! This time we were doomed either way!”

The loud voice of the furious man was cut off from the sound of flesh striking against flesh and then Eurylochus’s head turned to the side. Odysseus was huffing and puffing; nostrils flattering aflame as he gathered his strong hand back.

“You fools!” he growled tears burning his onyx eyes, “you damned fools! This was a test! A test for our faith and we failed! We failed miserably! Haven’t you learnt anything? Insulting the gods is never a good idea! We should rather die of starvation than this! The gods will show no mercy on us now! We are doomed!”

“You would know of that!” Eurylochus suddenly bellowed beyond himself, “You doomed us all, Odysseus! If you haven’t done that we would be in our country by now! These three years happened because of you!”

This time it was a punch that stroke his cheek, not a slap. Eurylochus fell on the sand but he had no time to breathe for Odysseus grabbed him by the shirt lifting him up to his feet again. The comrades rushed there to grab him (oh they remembered his rage the other time nearly cost Eurylochus his life!) however Odysseus was almost as unmovable as a statue at that point. His face was red with fury.

“I tried to save us all!” he yelled, “Ungrateful bastard, I tried to save us all! I faced the beast that could have eaten us all! After everything I did for you! I-…”

He stopped. He shivered from top to bottom. Eurylochus was right. All had happened because of him. He had insulted Poseidon by blinding his son; he was arrogant enough to brag about it…no, even further back; Troy fell because of him. So many men died because of him. Ten years they fought a brutal war; they had endured the weather, the living conditions, the battles… More than 600 men started and finished the war with barely any loss…and now…less than 3 years out in the sea and… They started 12 ships and now they were one…less than 40 men left in one final ship…and all was initiated because of him…he could not deny it. He found no words to defend himself. Gradually he let go of Eurylochus, who wiped the blood off his lip with his fist. He noticed his men had gathered around to separate them from each other but it didn’t seem necessary anymore. The comrades had let him go, noticing he was almost limb in their arms. His onyx eyes were bottomless. No, it shouldn’t end like that! He had committed hubris to save his men and he doomed them, he had forced himself to bed a woman for one year after gods requested to rectify it and yet here they were again. None of the sacrifices seemed to be enough to wash that sin away. No, he couldn’t let them die like that! He had to try! He had promised he would repent! He had to save them before that happened!

“Gather up your stuff, men!” he ordered, eyes still shadowed by his hair, “We must go as soon as possible!”

“Go?” Polites asked, “Go where?”

“At ANY land!” Odysseus whispered, “Anywhere but here! We must offer a sacrifice of some kind! We must wash away this hubris!”

As he turned his back at them –oh he couldn’t face them now!- Eurylochus stood up and looked at him with eyes resembling knives.

“Should we take the rest of the meat too…Captain?” that word was almost spat like an insult, “Or shall we hope Poseidon will grace us with a meal?”

Odysseus winced. Eurylochus; his brave and loyal friend; the type of person that sure, didn’t tell him always nice things but he was always honest with him and always told him some things that needed to be said; now he seemed gone; All their adventures and torments had hardened him, killing his old comrade and giving him  in his place a bitter, hateful man who could understand no longer the difference between insolence, disrespect and honesty or couldn’t care less to tell them apart. Odysseus couldn’t blame him but at that moment he found his transformation disturbing and concerning. He glared daggers at him. The mention of the meat of the slain animals made even his mouth water. He was hungry too. They wouldn’t survive without food and yes, Poseidon sure wouldn’t allow them to fill their bellies with his fish given the situation and the sea birds even if they graced them with their presence, which he doubted, were inedible and poisonous. Gods forgive me, he thought, but I am just a man!

“Damn you!” he cursed under his husky breath, “Take what you wish! If we survive this, pray to all gods that I will forget this because by all gods one day I’m gonna kill you!”

He could hardly remember the process but he knew they were on their way again; so fast and so hastily inside their last black ship in the openness of the Mediterranean Sea. If it was in his hand, Odysseus would have stayed close to the shore but of course gods were cruel for yet another time as Helios’s magnificent isle lay in the middle of open sea. He had no choice but to head for the sea and hope for the best. He knew there were lands close by; if they could reach them… For six days the trip was uneventful and his comrades had as provisions the meat from the slain animals to feast upon. Even Odysseus had to admit he had tasted the magnificent flesh of the animals, for he could withstand hunger no more. However six days of such a trip and he was always expecting the worst, which never seemed to be coming. His nerves just broke. It was the seventh day of their journey; still no sight of any land and still he hadn’t spoken a word. He was staring at the endless blue of the wine-dark sea and he didn’t speak a word. He could sense his comrades’ tension in the air; he could almost cut it with a knife! And yet, Odysseus could not focus on that. Polites looked up from the deck towards him and then towards Eurylochus who still had his cheek swollen.

“He’s so lost in thought…” Polites commented

“He should be!” Eurylochus replied bitterly, “He might be our king but sometimes he has a lot of nerve to talk to us that way! It was HIS hubris that brought us to this position!”

“Now that is both unfair and blasphemous to our king!” Polites replied

“He is no god for me to perform blasphemy!” Eurylochus replied as a matter of fact

Polites sighed.

“We have our own share of responsibility, you know! If we hadn’t opened that damned sack we might have reached home as well!”

Eurylochus winced at the reminder of Aiolus sack. Yes, that truly was their mistake. They got overcome by greed and distrust.

“And, besides, what Odysseus said is true. You and I were never there. We didn’t experience the week of seclusion in that hole. Perhaps we would have done the same…”

Eurylochus sighed defeated.

“Yeah…perhaps you’re right. And he DID spend a year entertaining Circe till our comrades healed… However…” his face darkened a bit, “I still cannot shake it off, Polites! It is majorly his fault we ended up like this! And he DID keep secrets from us. Or have you forgotten how he kept his mouth shut about Skylla? Six of our comrades dead…and we didn’t even know what was coming…”

“He wanted to spare us…”

“Yeah I am sure he suffered, alright, but we still had the right to know! Perhaps we could have come up with a plan together. Perhaps we could have fought back!”

“Fight back an immortal six-headed dragon? I am not sure how that would have worked but…even if you are right and he should have told us, that doesn’t change the fact that he is here with us now. If he wanted he could have stayed with the witch, Circe and sent us off and we would have no directions and no warnings.”

“He didn’t do that for us, Polites”

“Not entirely, I agree, but wouldn’t be fair to say that he did it for us as well?”

Eurylochus sighed.

“Fine, but seriously it was such a long trip and even longer way… I just want to go home!”

“We all do…” Polites whispered concerned.

Yes, ten years of war plus three years of wandering and danger…more than five hundred good men dead… Everyone could understand the feeling.

“I agree with Eurylochus, though…” said another man, “It was all a big mess that initiated when Odysseus insulted Lord Poseidon. I had warned him that day! I said, stop provoking him! He didn’t listen… We are all paying the price now…”

Polites sighed. Yes, he couldn’t deny that but still it seemed rather unfair to say it was just Odysseus’s fault. If anything, Odysseus was sacrificing many things along the way to protect and save them. He shivered in disgust remembering that he was told he had turned into a swine because he entered Circe’s palace. He felt grateful to Odysseus for rescuing him from such a fate. And yet… He still couldn’t shake that ominous feeling that something would happen and Odysseus’s silence wouldn’t help. Not bearing it any longer he slowly approached Odysseus. He didn’t acknowledge his presence. The silence was deafening. Only the cricking of the ship and the sound of the waves could be heard. There was no land at sight anywhere. It was quiet…WAY too quiet…

“Odysseus…” Polites started, “we…”

“Sh!” Odysseus harshly shushed him

“Please, I have to say it…” Polites insisted, “We were starving we made a mistake but-…”

“Quiet!” came yet another whisper

Polites gulped soundly, opening and closing his fist nervously.

“Odysseus…” he started, “Have we ruined everything…?”

Odysseus looked at him and he seemed ready to reply but then he raised his head sharply towards the sail and then to the ripples of the waves. All color left his face.

“Odysseus…? What is it…?”

“That is Eastern Wind…” Odysseus whispered almost in a panic, “That is Zephyr that is blowing at us! That’s not normal! Not at this time of year!”

He almost jumped from his standing point, suddenly seen afraid maybe for the first time in a long time if not ever in his life before.

“MEN! PREPARE YOURSELVES! STORM MIGHT BE COMING!”

His comrades didn’t have enough time to question if he lost it or not (given the clear skies around them) because in a few minutes the weather changed so drastically and rapidly that people could only suspect a god was causing it. Black clouds filled the sky in a matter of a few minutes and then suddenly the distant sound of a thunder was heard.

“No…” Odysseus whispered, “No…please, lord Zeus no! Forgive us…please!”

Strong winds raised as a matter of seconds and suddenly the deep blue sea turned into a full-fledged storm. The waves rose in angry white foam and the skies were black like coal with flashes of lightning and thunder. Rain followed that was cold and whipping their faces like needles. The men cried out in fear.

“EURYLOCHUS!” Odysseus bellowed on top of his lungs, “SECURE THE SAIL!”

“SECURE THE SAILS!” Eurylochus transferred the order, “ALL HANDS ON DECK!”

The panic galore was not allowing the orders to properly pass however the soul of the sailor cannot be abided by panic! All hands on deck began to work frantically; they commenced running up and down grabbing the chords and the lines, some of them already climbing to the mast to secure the sail. However it seemed the rage of gods was stronger than the determination of men and their burning wish for survival. A strong current of wind torn the sail to peaces sending quite a few falling on the deck.

“LEAVE IT!” Odysseus yelled as a strong wave splashed over him, “BEFORE THE WIND! HOLD ON TIGHTLY MEN!”

As the ship was played around on the waves like a toy, the terrified warriors and tired sailors would be desperately trying to use the rows to turn the ship; do something, ANYTHING to prevent themselves from crushing on the waves. The sail was now torn to shreds; like the cape of a dethroned king, aimlessly whipping against the mast at the strong wind.

“BEFORE THE WIND!” Odysseus kept screaming over the wind, grabbing the line of the sail in a desperate attempt to keep the material from hitting anyone on deck, “ROW MEN! ROW!”

The ship was being pushed mercilessly upon the waves; creaking and moaning against the wind. Three pairs of rows snapped like twigs leaving the ship spinning aimlessly to the winds. The black ship began to tear apart as cracks and gushes appeared to the sides. The deck started taking water both from below and above from the waves.

“SHE’S TAKING WATER!” one of the sailors cried

“REPAIR THE DAMAGES!” Odysseus cried out in desperation running as he was already ankle-deep in water, “WE MUST KEEP HER AFLOAT!”

It was a pointless order and he knew it. No matter how many times they stuffed torn pieces of the sail in the holes it would be pointless. They were already soaked to the bone, they had no way of lighting fire or softening the wax to fix anything. They were just trying to delay the inevitable and they were failing miserably.

“Lord Zeus…father of all mankind and gods please forgive us!” Odysseus prayed again, “Please, we shall repent! Give us a chance! Poseidon! Oh, Poseidon, please give me a chance!”

The disturbing creaking of wood being slowly broken didn’t need much for Odysseus to understand.

“WATCH OUT!” he cried out

Both the fore-stays of the mast snapped like twigs. The mast began to fall in a disturbing creak and collapsed to the stern. The pilot did not have time but to look up at his upcoming doom as the mast crushed him. Even above the tempest the men heard the disturbing sound of bones breaking as his head was crushed and blood splattered upon the stern. The body fell into the black sea, lifeless and soulless. At the sight of that death there was panic galore. No one heard the orders Odysseus was screaming; no one had any mind but to run up and down aimlessly like ants that were seeing their colony collapse. All they could do was scream their upcoming doom. In a foolish hope or rather a crazy need to survive, Odysseus rushed to the half-broken stern, grabbing the remains of the steer; his hands being died with the blood of the pilot.

“No! No! NO!”

He used all the strength of his mighty hands to do something…ANYTHING to steer the ship away the storm. His hands began bleeding out of the effort upon the splints of the destroyed wood.

“Gods no! Not again! No! No!”

The waves were raising the ship to the heaven and dropping it back down like a walnut shell as people were holding for dear life at the remains of their already tearing apart ship. The steer snapped in the hands of Odysseus and fell into the black sea never to be seen again.

“PREPARE FOR IMPACT!” Odysseus cried out, “HOLD ON!”

Therewith the worst came; a thunderbolt stroke the ship and the sudden flash and tremendous sound left them all blind and deaf. Odysseus screamed in pain shielding his ears. The ship cracked from side to side down in the middle; splintering in the winds like it was a pile of leaves. Ears buzzing and his nose filled with smoke from the fiery fire that lit upon the sad remains of the deck, Odysseus staggered to his feet, struggling to get two steps straight, trying to see through the sulphurous smoke (the only thing he could see was his comrades or what was left of them staggering on the ruins of their ship like drunk) when the last tidal wave came to finish the job. The wave must have been as tall as the remains of the ship as it flooded with tremendous force on the deck sweeping everything…and everyone! Odysseus got violently banged against the hull but he watched in terror through his cloudy from water eyes his comrades falling into the water screaming aimlessly for it was the only thing they could do.

“NOOOOOO!” Odysseus could only cry out as he ran to the rim

He watched the bodies of his men almost like small white dots to the absolute blackness; already almost a mile away, sometimes disappearing under the waves at the force of the tempest. Odysseus nearly lost the remains of his wits as he ran about the ship trying to find literally ANYTHING he could use. Another surge torn apart parts of the keel and the mast snapped from it. Odysseus reacted almost automatically as he rushed to the broken ropes and parts of the keel and mast. His hands and thick fingers began working frantically, almost completely unconsciously as water was hurting his eyes and rain was feeling as if piercing his flesh. All his Being was screaming for him to save himself; to survive! However that tiny part of his brain was tingling to him; maybe there are some men who are still alive! Maybe there is time!

“Please Athena! Please Athena…let me save them! It can’t be too late!” he was mumbling as he was securing the ropes so that the two pieces of wood would tie together, “Please, Pallas please! Let me save just one! Please! Let me return home just one! Please! Please! It can’t be too late! I can’t lose them all!”

Yet another thunder from the skies made him jump and then the remains of his favorite ship were torn apart! Odysseus grabbed upon his last raft of salvation. He jumped into the merciless ocean, rowing frantically with his hand towards the direction he saw his men disappear.

“EURYLOCHUS!” he cried out over the waves, “POLITES! ANYONE! ANSWER ME!”

The only answer he got was thunder and wind. The waves were tall like mountains!

“POLITES!” he called out again

Tears filled his eyes as his voice broke.

“SOMEONE!...P-Please! Anyone! Anyone…!”

There was nothing on site…just waves and storm.

“No…” Odysseus cried, “NOOOOOOOO!!!”

Realization was crueler than what he would expect…there was no one…just himself! He cried…he cried loudly as he never cried before.

“NOOO! WHY! WHY! WHY!” he yelled over the waves, “IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN-…”

His mind and wits nearly escaped him. He remembered that day before their sail for Troy…there were more than six hundred men…waiting for their dangerous trip…

*

Odysseus was standing before his men; the future fleet that was ready for this uncertain trip. Odysseus, dressed in his fine clothes, his long hair neatly brushed and beard trimmed, was looking at them seriously.

“We are heading for a dangerous trip, my men…” he said, “The road is long and we have no idea how long it will take for us to finish with the holy castle of Troy… If we result in war…there is no guarantee it will end soon…”

His onyx eyes stared deeply within countless others of pairs.

“I cannot lie to you, men…I cannot promise you that we shall all return home safely”

He drew a deep breath.

“However I promise you this; I shall do ANYTHING within my power so we can return home safely! I won’t disappoint you!”

*

Back to the present Odysseus cried. He weakly hit his fist upon the mast.

“No…” he sobbed, “I won’t disappoint you…!”

Six hundred men…they were all gone…disappeared… He began hyperventilating. No, it couldn’t be true!

“No…No, Athena! No Athena!” he cried trying to fist the water beneath him as if it were sand, “No, Pallas…! No… No, my men…! NOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!”

He yelled till his throat was sore…till his voice was gone…he sobbed and cried tears almost as plenty as the waves of the sea. The storm was roaming around him… There was no one there to hear his lament… His voice was carried around by the wind…his tears were washed away by sea and rain…His body was borne by the direful winds…

Six hundred men had started that fateful journey…

Now there was only one…

Now he was alone.

*

The tempest began slowly to subside and the eastern wind gave his place to a breeze from the south. Odysseus was hanging helplessly upon his supposed raft. The nightly fight with the waves had exhausted him and his tears had long now dried out like the salt in his curly hair. His head was already dropping in fatigue when something made him look up. His eyes widened in terror.

“No…” he whispered

He recognized the location. In his pure terror he recognized the narrow path of Skylla and Charybdis; the passage he had struggled so much to get his men out of; the passage that cost the life of six of his comrades. What was worse…he heard an unworldly moan from deep down the sea. His feet felt the low frequency vibration…and then there was a whirlpool. Charybdis had awakened!

“No!” Odysseus cried out, “No, gods, no!”

The merciless current and the frightening groaning from deep down the sea started drawing him. Odysseus at the edge of his wit began frantically rowing with his hand; desperate in his fear to get away from the deathly current that would suck anything to its path! At that moment he remembered Circe’s warnings;

“You must not be there when she sucks it down; for no one could save you from the ruin not even the Earthshaker himself…”

“I HAVE TO TRY, CIRCE!” Odysseus yelled towards the sky in his panic, “I have to try or else my men’s deaths were for nothing!”

The merciless current though wouldn’t bulge as Odysseus realized in terror his pitiful attempts could never save him from this hellish force. The two pieces of wood that were forming his only salvation were being dragged in the ruthless elix. The water was already foaming when he reached the grotto. In panic he scanned the perimeter. Only then his eyes remembered what his brain had erased in fear; the fig tree! Circe had said there was that fig tree shadowing Charybdis! The massive roots and branches were hanging over him; it was his only hope! With strength only panic and adrenaline could give him, Odysseus pushed himself on top of the last remains of his ship and kicked as hard as he could. He had only one chance. His wounded and red hands grasped for dear life onto the rough branches and thank goodness his fingers closed around them!

“ARGH!” Odysseus cried in pain feeling as though his arms would be uprooted out of his own weight, “GODS!”

His legs helplessly hanging over the abyss were desperately moving trying to find a footing but there was none! His arms didn’t have the strength to pull him up at the tree either so he could only hang and hold for dear life. Odysseus dared to look down and saw in terror the gaping hole sucking in the sea and with it his only safety raft. His wet hands would slip and fall if it weren’t for the sheer determination that held him! He prayed to all gods that he knew and didn’t know that this time, just this time, he would find salvation; that his small raft would be vomited out of that whirlpool otherwise he would be lost… The growling rumble from beneath the watery abyss signaled the begin of the outside movement to what it seemed like an eternity later.

“Please gods…please…please…” he was thinking like a mantra

And then he spotted it! The small brownish outline of his mast and keel. He would have a chance! Fear was biting his stomach as he looked down at the whirlpool vomiting out seawater. He knew he had to act quickly or he would have no hope to swim to his raft in that condition. Charybdis below him seemed ready to swallow him even if she was vomiting out the water. What if she really swallowed him if he let go? What if he would be destroyed by some wave? Odysseus looked and looked and the seconds seemed like eons to his tormented heart that was flattering within his chest. He shut his eyes closed; to not see; to not fear and he made his decision

He let go of the branch.

Gravity claimed his body as he fell to the empty space and within the foaming water. The water was hot; hotter than human body temperature and to the tormented king of Ithaca who was freezing from water that seemed like a boiling cauldron. His ears were filled with the sound of bubbles and the hellish growling of Charybdis. He didn’t dare to look; only he paddled like his life depended on it (and it did!) . The suction force that was pushing him upwards this time was with him. Odysseus felt his lungs burning for air and he nearly breathed in the sea water as he hadn’t got a proper breath before diving in the sea. And he was pushed up and up till he was vomited out of the water and drew a soundly breath. He swam frantically till his raft and grabbed onto it with his wounded hands for dear life coughing salted water; nose and eyes aflame from the salt. He rowed and rowed with his hand almost immediately after he caught some breaths. He turned around towards the OTHER dreadful site.

“If Skylla comes out…I’m lost!” he thought

However the dreadful cave that hosted the monster that claimed the lives of six of his crew remained dark and silent. Nothing came out. Odysseus wasted no time and rowed and paddled like crazy to get as far away as possible from that dreadful area. He didn’t know how far Charybdis or Skylla’s ranges were but he certainly didn’t want to know! That was knowledge that even Odysseus of Ithaca, the Man of many Ways could pass on! After what seemed like a full eternity and when the sun was setting for good at the horizon, Odysseus had covered enough distance to see the grotto from afar. He collapsed onto his mast, drawing raspy breaths till his chest began to hurt. He seemed he had no more strength to move. His hands were full of wounds from the ship and the tree branches and hurt from salted water, his lips were torn from the sea and salt had crusted onto his face and hair. Then Odysseus broke down. He cried silently alone in the middle of the sea; he cried for his men he lost, he cried for his dreams that seemed to becoming fainter and fainter; the dreams to embrace his wife and son and he cried for himself. He had barely any hope to survive. He had no men; sea had claimed them. He had no vessel; the storm had claimed it. He had no food or water; those were gone long time ago. He barely had any clothes on for even those were soaked and already tearing apart from the wind and sea. What was the point to keep going, he thought? What would be the point to struggle? He had slim to no possibilities to escape. He was alone in the open sea without protection in Poseidon’s territory. Any kind of sea creature from the usual sharks till the dangerous creatures he faced so far, could potentially kill him.

“I should have died there!” he thought, “Alas this fate is worse than the death in the ship! This agony! Oh, gods I can’t bear it anymore!”

“You are made to endure, Odysseus…”

That was what his grandfather had told him when he visited him in Parnassus what seemed like an eternity prior; almost in another life. However even the tormented Odysseus had his limits. And now these seemed surpassed. Maybe he should let go; allow the sea to take him and end his torment. Maybe he could meet his family in a few decades in the underworld… Why struggle for the inevitable? And yet a small voice to the back of his head made him think that he could not give up just yet; that he had to keep trying and if the sea would claim him then so let it be written, so let it be done. However he had to try and fulfill the prophecy of Tiresias. He felt like he owned this to the 600 lives that were lost under his command. He looked up at the stars that seemed to have started to form. Yes, he would follow the directions that the night dress of Nyx was pointing at. Finding strength anew, the Man Tormented paddled slowly and steadily away from the dreadful spot…

*

Odysseus traveled once more; this time alone and grabbing upon the last remains of his beloved black ship… The night came cold and he was shivering. By the morning another storm caught up with him and his mast was once more drifted by the huge waves that resembled white top mountains, tearing apart his clothes and his flesh. And yet his hands endured… It was as if his heart and hands combined turned into oak or stones. The Man of many Torments endured. Next day the sun was merciless over his head, sending him almost to the brief of hallucinations and heat as sweat was running down his already wounded body. The night the gods felt pity on him and sent a drizzle rain. Odysseus raised his head to the heavens trying to grab as much of the fresh god-sent water as if that would be enough to quench his insatiable thirst and the burning of the salt. Once a passing seaweed came close to him to which Odysseus made some sort of imitation of a meal for himself. How many times he nearly slipped off his life-raft he lost count…how many times he probably actually fainted on it he could no longer remember. And yet, the King of Ithaca endured…in strength that he had no idea he had. It was as if both his body and spirit had decided he had a duty to survive. He survived the agony and pain as well as the anxiety and fear every time something touched his foot beneath the waves or a passing fish would bite his legs. He had long stopped feeling much.

By night before the tenth day of his painful journey he had collapsed. He didn’t feel the sand beneath his body as his raft finally beached at a sandy beach. He didn’t move as some crab or beach beetle walked over his sea-beaten body. By dawn some hints of his consciousness returned. It was only for a brief second that the rays of sun touched his salt-crusted cheek but Odysseus saw or at least he thought he saw a tall slender figure picking something up from the beach many meters away from him (maybe a seashell). The figure turned towards him and walked there.

And then everything turned black…

~~~~~

Ooookay guys this the first part from my Odyssey story! Poor Odysseus loses everything and gets beached in Ogygia.

Rhapsody 12 must be the most intense or one of the most intense of all the Odyssey and honest the way that Homer describes how Odysseus survived had to be kept as it was from my part!

Poor Odysseus must have passed from all the stages of grief at once!

Now I get extremely inspired by music and soundtracks for my stories. For example the Charybdis description was heavily inspired by the amazing Disney soundtrack for the movie "Dinosaur" with the title "The End of Our Island"

For his eventful journey I was partially inspired by Mozart's "Kyrie" from the Great Mass in C Minor and also the scene from the film "Les Triplettes de Belville" for the battle with the elements especially the storm and all.

For the sinking itself I was inspired by various soundtracks and pieces of music.

For my story I kinda take the hypothesis that Ogygia was in fact the small island of Gozo in Malta

As the other time I shall tag some of my amazing commentors/rebloggers and friends! (again forgive me if I forget anyone)

@loco-bird @aaronofithaca05 @tunguszka20 @doob-or-something @jarondont @prompted-wordsmith @simugeuge @fangirlofallthefanthings @ilov3b00kss0much

[theuntitledblog]

WWE Royal Rumble (2023) - REVIEW

I absolutely love this PPV for WWE as it gives so many of its stars the opportunity to shine but it also makes for some interesting pairings at times and this years event was no different especially with a lot of great talent all vying to be the next big thing. The build-up for me was very strong with a number of interesting threads that were gonna collide in single's matches or the two Rumble's themselves. Considering you had the excellent Bloodline/Sami Zayn story dominating things, Damage Control/Becky Lynch leading the women's division plus Bobby Lashley/Brock Lesnar and Bianca Belair/Alexa Bliss feud. All in all however, I think this Rumble delivered even if it didn't produce any major shocks.

Match 1 - 30 MAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH

For me the opening match turned out to be the match of the night. This was such an excellent Rumble for me and one of the best in recent years. OK sure were there many surprises ... no but that's not what makes a good Rumble match. Everyone involved in this gave a good showing of themselves, it was competitive, the action was consistently engaging with a lot of talent on display. It did well also to add fuel to the fire with the Edge/Judgment Day story, Bobby Lashley had a moment to put out Brock Lesnar and they set the seed for what seems to be a clash between Seth Rollins and Logan Paul at WrestleMania. Cody Rhode's return was pre-announced but it was still a moment worth staying up for and his ultimate triumph, while predictable, felt right and sets up a tantalizing main event with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.

But where this Rumble really stands out for me is that of Gunther. I am a huge fan of his since his Walter days; his gradual establishment over on Smackdown has been perfectly handled, his dominance believable and his standing here rightly shows that there is alot of faith in him. I can't wait to see what happens next with him.

WINNER: Cody Rhodes

Match 2 - Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight in a PITCH BLACK MATCH

Let's be honest ... this was never going to be a technical wrestling match nor was it ever going to be match of the night material and I found it interesting that the full format for this Pitch Black Match was not revealed before hand. Visually it was certainly striking and not as bad as the red light of the Fiend years it but it was nothing less than you would expect for a Bray Wyatt encounter. Was it worth the wait to see Wyatt back in the ring? Not quite for me but the storytelling leading up to it was interesting enough and both deserve credit for it. Thankfully not too long but why Wyatt and Knight couldn't have gone out and just had a good match I don't know especially as the 'Mountain Dew' sponsorship tarnishes it a little for me. Some visual work for one WWE's most unique talents despite Uncle Howdy missing on the dive.

WINNER - Bray Wyatt

MATCH 3 - Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss (RAW WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH)

An interesting clash between two contrasting superstars; one who is excellent in the ring but lacks character while the other excels at character but is less gifted in the ring. The focus for me leading into this was on Alexa Bliss because frankly there was a lot more going on for her than Biance Belair. Bliss' ringwork has noticeable improved for me during the run against Damage Control and her gradual succumbing to Bray Wyatt once again has become as compelling as it was last time. Bianca Belair on the other hand didn't really stand a chance; she and Bliss don't have much in-ring chemistry anyway plus she seemed to get caught up as a bystander in the Bliss/Wyat storyline at a time when it seems to me that her title run has run out of steam. The match here was solid but it's a shame the crowd were somewhat dead throughout. The thing is that I never thought that they would actually drop the title here this close to WrestleMania with both stars on clear paths to Mania.

WINNER - Bianca Belair (still Champion)

Match 4 - 30 WOMEN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH

I love the Women's Royal Rumble match partly because it's still a rather new event and it gives WWE's women some much needed visibility compared to their male counterparts and for me these matches have often topped the mens match. However this one, despite sitting higher on the card, doesn't hit the same heights of the first Rumble match. Both Rumble matches showcased the potential for future potential Rumble winners but if I'm being honest, this year's match felt that there really wasn't much choice of a realistix winner. The result generally never felt in question and while Rhea Ripley is a big star and deserved the win, the rest of the match didn't seem to possess as much star quality to ever make you doubt just for a moment how it was gonna go. If I had to shout out some competitors then I would have to shout out Damage Control, Asuka, Raquel Gonzales and especially Liv Morgan. For me I wonder whether going for Liv Morgan would've been the better option as she has come a long way since her title run ended. This could've set up Morgan vs. Charlotte on the Smackdown side while leaving Ripley for Belair on the Raw side at Mania. But it was a fair result in an ok Rumble match.

WINNER - Rhea Ripley

MATCH 5 - Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens (UNDISPUTED UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH)

Easily the best storyline going into the Rumble with The Bloodline and Sami Zayn plus an exciting encounter between Reigns and Kevin Owens for good measure. The storytelling is excellent; The Bloodline is a faction that has endured and remained popular far longer than I think anyone could have anticipated and you still don't know just much more it will last. It's been that good. With that said, this match wasn't as good as their previous encounters back in 2020, the biggest take away and most memorable aspect is the storytelling ones that come after the match. A brutal and uncomfortable watch as Owens is ruthlessly beaten by the Bloodline but Zayn's turn and Jey Usuo's walk from the ring have made WWE's best piece of long term storytelling even more exciting, That's quite an accomplishment.

WINNER - Roman Reigns (still Champion)

Overall then ... the first Royal Rumble of the post-McMahon era provided us with one of the best Rumble matches in years and another excellent twist in WWE's biggest and longest running story. This is a show that gives a lot of the talent opportunities to make a mark and many did ... in that respect it didn't disappoint. However what I would've liked is a bit more build-up of stars who you might think could win the Rumble and where WWE could make you doubt just for a moment that they're going down a different route. But this doesn't take away from a fun show to get 2023 WWE off to a great start.

[honeykaes]

Hello Chai! I’m awake at an ungodly hour by sheer accident, and I had been thinking over the ship question you asked the other day, and I think I have an answer I’m satisfied with now

I can only speak for myself really, but I think I boiled it down to a couple parts. First, I think its simply a matter of there being more material to work off of with Chaiya and Zhai. They’re the ones discussed the most, plus there’s galair’s art (always fantastic btw, hope to commission one day based on what you’ve posted here alone). It follows that those would be the ones people would gravitate towards the most, and for good reason! The way you write about them in particular is compelling, making them solid ships for you.

Secondly, I think its less a matter of appeasement and more…politeness might be the word? There’s a very subtle difference in my head, mainly having to do with intent. Its the fact that shipping involving two fictional characters, and shipping involving a real person are going to be slightly different. When it comes to two fictional characters, you can always fill in the extra info you need with headcanons, and with that more justifications for different pairings. That’s less possible when there’s a real person on the other side of the screen. From the point of view of an internet acquaintance, there’s always going to be things I don’t know about the other person, and so I have a less clear idea of different boundaries, or just simply likes and dislikes when it comes to romantic things. I try and keep a running document in my head, so to speak, to inform my answers for these kinds of things, but I only have a handful of months to work with or so? So with all of this, Chaiya and Zhai are safe boundaries to stay in because they have the clearest green light.

Additional personal notes that also might affect these two things, I confess that I actually don’t have much of an imagination when it comes to romance. My relationship with it as a concept has always been complicated, and that was even before any irl experience that didn’t exactly make things any better, since the way I think of things is apparently somewhat strange. Until I started trying to change it recently, romance just made me…sad I guess? So I can read and enjoy things other people write, but when it comes to trying to think of original things, romance ends up getting buried in several layers of something else, wether that’s body horror or one very specific concept from an Eastern Philosophy 101 class (fun fact Zhongli nearly made me quit the game for sounding exactly like my professor in the archon quest, but regardless became a leaping off point for a logistically complicated fic idea). Trying to excavate those layers is a lengthy process, but one I’m attempting to undertake, and being here is part of that (so thank you for making it a nice place to be).

That was probably more of an answer than you may have wanted, but I hope it made sense! If you’d like I can attempt to branch out shipping things in the future, just point me in the direction of things you might like in a person and I can go from there! (Plus, I do remember that you said once you have yourself unlabeled, so I wanted to ask if you would want ship responses to branch into Genshin women or not? Its something I want to be 100% sure on before going in that direction, since I haven’t been able to pick up a clear answer before)

—☁️ Anon

Haha no worries! This was really interesting to read and think about.

I think I worry just about people being nice vs honest with me when I prefer honesty a lot of times—which plants a seed in my head that it’s out of appeasement than politeness (not to say that I don’t respect it because I’ll take any crumbs of my selfship lmaoo)

When it comes to boundaries I completely understand but I’m more open because this concept really intrigues me!

But thank you for taking the time out to write all of this!