#kinda weirdly optimistic

[treety-of-the-ents]

The last line feels very hopeful. “Graves grow no green that you can use. Remember, green’s your color. You are spring.” I don’t believe in any afterlife, so I won’t opt out of this one unless there is no possibility of it getting better.

graves grow no green that you can use.

gwendolyn brooks

[iamumbra195]

Why are we infantalizing Telemachus so much? This isn't really an issue but just something I noticed in Epic fandom. The way he's often drawn and written in fanworks is more of what I would imagine a 13-15yo Telemachus to look and act like. He's 20. I understand he's a prince and he's obviously kinda sheltered and spoiled because of it but the fandom treats him like he's a child and I find it mildly frustating.

It's like this in every fandom where the bright and hopeful character is treated like a child despite not being one. I understand that in modern society most people tend to be disillusioned and cynical by their late teens to early twenties but being optimistic and hopeful doesn't mean the character is a child. Telemachus grew up in a complete different time period and while he's a bit naive due to his upbringing, he's not uncapable of critical thought.

In the Odyssey he's praised for his similarity to his father and capacity to lead by Athena and a bunch of Odysseus' old war buddies despite the fact that his low self-esteem held him back from rising to his full potential. I know Epic isn't the same as the Odyssey but I thought I should point this out.

Telemachus isn't a child. He's an optimistic young adult who's a bit naive and I find that infinitely more interesting than the weirdly child-like traits the fandom has assigned to him.

[hotheadedhero]

Daft Pretty Boys

AN: I was going to try and get something Halloween-like out but it's been busy lately. Have some fluffy angst with Raph, instead :D

Raphael x Reader

Warning: kinda angsty, soft-hearted Raph ahead :)

When you blessed the turtles with your bright presence and inevitably befriended them, Raphael didn’t realise just how much of an emotional rollercoaster it would be. As a person, you are amazing. You always make a point to engage with him and his brothers, even for the small things. Other than April, they’ve never felt more welcomed by human company before. The thing is, if he were to put one fault on you, it’s your taste in men. 

You fall fast and hard, and it’s not because of their looks. It’s the ones who have this idea that they know they look good: the confidence they exude, sharp-witted flattery on the end of a hook that you can’t help biting into. You get caught, pulled in, they have their fun, and then you’re chucked back into sea awaiting the next juicy-looking cast of bait. One would think you’d be smart enough to not fall for the same routine tricks over and over again but here we are.

Each time you say, “He’s really sweet,” followed by a “This one is different,” but he never is. You’re always taking that chance, betting on the next guy being Mr Right, only for it to end in heartbreak, and every time Raph’s at your aid when you come crying to him. That isn’t said with any malice for you. He will always be there to pick up the pieces. Maybe broken pieces of these stupid shmucks if he just had five minutes alone with them.

You grasp so desperately to hope. Raph would commend you for your optimistic persistence if it didn’t break him to see you in tears. There’s only so much one heart can take. He doesn’t want you to become some calloused husk of your sweet self, too afraid to take another chance. He doesn’t want you to end up like him. Raphael knows he’s unloveable. Regardless of his appearance, he has a temper - one that he keeps as far away from you as he possibly can. His feelings for you never seem to pass despite how much he tries but he isn’t meant for love. That isn’t how this world works. You, on the other hand, should be cherished and he’ll beat the next sorry sucker who does any less than that.

How? How can someone be so foolish to drop you like these men have? He doesn’t get it. Were it him, he’d spend every waking moment appreciating you, letting it be known just how precious you are and how lucky he is to be the one to call you his. But he isn’t. The same daydream can play as many times as it likes, it’s never going to go in that direction. He needs to keep reminding himself of that.

You just deserve so much more than the cards you keep getting dealt. You’ve probably got to be the sweetest person he’s ever had the luxury of meeting. A little bubble-brained at times but that’s in part what makes you so cute. It’s also why you end up in and out of these short-lived relationships, he reckons. Much like now, for instance. It’s almost routine, weirdly systematic in a way, how you waddle into the lair glassy-eyed and red-faced wearing that grey sweater - the one he calls your breakup sweater - that’s two sizes too big for you. So much for the macho man with the green eyes. Making it to one month is a record, so there’s that at least.

Raphael doesn’t say anything, just holds a hand out whilst the other cradles the back of his neck. By now, he’s learnt that there’s nothing he can say. It’s better to wait on you until you manage to find your words. You slowly trudge towards him and smack your forehead into his chest. All he can do is stand there and stare at the top of your head whilst he battles the urge to pick you up and take you away from all this frivolous bullshit. His arm falls to his side as he watches you, and you just about say what he would expect you to.

“I really thought this one would be different,” you whimper quietly and the hiccup in your throat makes his chest burn. “He seemed so genuine.”

Raphael’s heart clenches. He wants to scream that he’s the one who’s genuine, that he’s the one who’s been here through every heartbreak, every tear. But instead, he swallows his words, feeling the weight of his own unspoken feelings pressing down on his chest.

He pats the top of your head, almost awkwardly, and sighs, “I know.”

A pained laugh muffles against his chest. “I’m the problem, aren’t I?” you ask rhetorically, playing it off as some joke at your own expense but it only angers him further.

“It’s not you,” Raph replies, a hint of a growl edging into his tone. “They’re the ones who don’t know what they’re missin’.”

“But there’s a common denominator here. It feels like it’s me.” You pull back slightly, just enough to meet his gaze. “Like, maybe if I was just different-”

“Stop right there,” he interjects, his brow furrowing. “You are not the problem. They are. Trust me on that.”

You always say the wrong things about yourself: the things he thinks about himself on a daily; if he was different. You are such an honest person and yet you lie so frequently when you talk about yourself. A nasty bi-product of those worthless scumbags treating you the way they do. You want to believe him on his word but you also can’t ignore the facts. It’s always the same song and dance. You stupidly cling to hope, searching for the silver lining that never seems to come, and end up in this sad mess of a person.

Raphael watches as you pull away, the warmth of his body replaced by the chill of reality. It’s painful to see you so vulnerable, so exposed. He wishes he could shake you out of this cycle, snap his fingers and make you see what’s right in front of you. But he can’t. All he can do is stand there, the silent sentinel, while you cry into the fabric of your sweater. The moment lingers, heavy and full of unsaid words. He wants to tell you that you deserve better, that you should never settle for the likes of those clowns who don’t recognize your worth. Yet, the words stick in his throat, tangled with his own fear of inadequacy.

He clears his throat, trying to break the tension. “Tell you what, let’s grab a couple sodas and a slice. Sit up top for a bit, yeah?”

You pull back slightly, wiping your eyes. “I don’t know if I can eat right now, Raph.”

“Doesn’t matter. You need to get outta this gloom. Plus, I’m starving,” he responds with a half-hearted attempt at humor, but the grin doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

Finally, you yield. Begrudgingly, he might add, but food and the fresh night air is what you need right now, especially seeing as you’ve been cooped up in your apartment all day crying. He takes whatever pizza he had leftover - it’s only lasted because Mikey has luckily been out - along with a couple cans and leads you through the sewers. Whilst he’s essentially forcing you outside, he goes at your pace, never pushing you beyond that. Sure, it takes longer than it should but you get to a nice rooftop eventually, and before you know it, he’s already got you venting with a slice in your hand.

“And then he pulls out the classic ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ shtick,” you say and Raph follows with a quiet “Of course, he does,” before you continue, “and I swear, I could’ve just slapped him.”

“You should have.”

You hum shortly against a bite of pizza and shrug. “Ah, the moment’s long gone, anyway.”

The two of you glance at each other with a small laugh before returning to the view ahead. This feels better. Much better. Once again, your knight in shell-y armour has helped you bounce back from your foreboding. If you had it your way earlier, you would have loved nothing more than to curl up on the couch and watch some bad reality TV to cheer you up. Not where Raph is concerned. He’s soft-natured when you need that shoulder to cry on but knows when to crack out a bit of that tough love, too. You’re always thankful for that - him - and you hope he knows just how much of a difference he makes.

"Hey.” He nudges you with his elbow and you look up, noting the light smirk on his face, though the seriousness behind his eyes isn’t something to be ignored. “Next asshole that breaks your heart, you just point me in the right direction.”

"And be an active participant in murder? Not a chance," you laugh and playfully swat him, earning a low chortle. You think you know what he’s getting at and it’s sweet in weird kind of way. With a perma-smile now glued to your face, you rest your head on his arm and speak more gently, "Thanks, though."

He glances down at you and tempts the idea of stroking a hand over your head. His fingers clasp into a fist and he looks ahead again, taking a gentle breath before responding quietly, "Yeah... don't mention it."

[lucyandherlunacy]

before i start episode 5 of minecraft story mode i thought i'd put my serious first impressions of the "wither storm arc" here

first the positives: surprisingly, i find it really entertaining how everyone talks. the little pg curse words forced into every conversation, like 'crap' and 'hell' etc.? absolute time capsule. it works for me because i can 100% believe that these are people who live in a minecraft server in the 2010s. the wither storm was an excellent threat for the first 4 episodes. genuinely one of the best monster-villains i've seen in a video game. the conflict surrounding its creation and how it spiralled out of hand mean that it can motivate meaningful character tension despite being a monster, and the way it works is honestly really cool. a regenerating, nigh-unkillable mass of destruction that drags everything around it to its death and only multiplies once it's seemingly dead for good? plus the wither sickness and amnesia it spreads and the fate of the people who get absorbed into it? love it. genuinely threatening and spooky the arc had me invested to the point that i wasn't willing to really make any kind of 'evil/mean for the hell of it' decisions in my playthrough. it felt really nice playing jesse as someone who is just earnestly a nice and caring person who tries her best and keeps her gang together. it helps that the voice actress playing femjesse sounds absolutely heavenly she killed it in this role honestly i liked jesse's character a lot more than i expected too! their inexperienced and kinda bumbling yet optimistic outlook compared to say, the kind of stoic hardened adventurer you see in petra was really fun. combined with me missing a qte or two on occasion i definitely bought into jesse as this unlikely hero that came from nothing soren, ivor, lukas and olivia were the standout characters to me in that order. idk what else to really say they're great. i liked the rest of the cast well enough even if i thought some of them were slightly underdeveloped or just didn't appeal to me personally, the former of which i'll get into in the next section. reuben the pig i can't really speak on since i have a personal bad experience with his name that made me wince every time it was said. he was cute i guess ----------------------------------------------------------------- a few criticisms: i did redstonia, and idk if this an issue unique to that area but i found it to be too short. i just kept thinking there would be more to this society or at least more buildup to meeting ellegaard. most of what you see is just people's attempts to win her favor. i especially would've liked to see more of it since it ends up getting destroyed there was only really one time that the character drama felt forced to me, and that was the start of episode 3 where lukas tries to pull the amulet off you and petra scolds you for not saving axel and reuben. it was all uphill from there but that was the only moment i really was like "yeah this is shoehorned lol" mobs are handled kind of weirdly in this game. it's a nitpick at best and not something super serious but i guess it's weird to see zombies and skeletons just kind of being treated as a given in a populous world of various humans. i dunno, i just felt that not taking advantage of the fact that half the generic monsters are the undead or even really mentioning it was a weird move i kind of wish we just had one more episode in this arc. certain moments like ellegaard's death didn't hit as hard as they should have just because i hadn't spent enough time with her to get attached. and generally i think characters like axel and petra could've done with just a little more time in the spotlight for their characters to grow. i think they needed the kind of treatment olivia got in her moment with jesse in the farlands. even having done redstonia over axel's path it really wasn't long enough to add to her character the way that moment did for me ------------------------------------------------------------------ regardless, i genuinely really liked my experience with this game despite all the silly moments. if anything they enhance the experience for me and i can't wait to play more :)

[lyretheinstrument]

Finished batch one of tfe season 2 and honestlyyyyyyyhhh..,.

(first batch review and opinions)

(cut to avoid spoilers)

it's rough compared to the first season. I genuinely believe it's not the creators fault and they probably got mega rushed and a ton of budget cuts.

This season was definitely more Terran focused and I don't minddd that?? because it is their show. but I do wish legacy characters got a bit of spotlight. I know prowls coming in batch two so I hope he gets a fair share of screentime. again, I know it’s supposed to focus on the Terrans but I feel that if your gonna include the cybertronians can you try to use them a little more ? otherwise don’t have them at all yk /lighthearted

but personal grievances aside for a moment the writing was ROUGH. I know it's a kids show but almost all the episodes felt weirdly paced, awkward, and babyish?? and the animation downgrade doesn't make it any better.

honestly a lot of it was just really distracting and I couldn't really focus on the story. Also the story itself felt kinda, unfocused? idk maybe that's a personal thing as well. I found it kinda hard to get invested. The Terrans I only really like are twitch thrash and nightshade. jawbreaker is fucking insufferable. I’m sorry.

I noticed a lot of the issues in the episodes could have been easily solved. That is NOTT something u want an audience to feel.. a simple communication or action could have easily prevented an issue in an episode. :/

personal grievances back infront IM SO MAD BEE GOT LIKE ZERO SCREENTIME

Optimus episode was cute tho I like it when characters shit on jawbreaker

I don't mind the cons being villains but if you’re gonna have them as villains can you give them more personality and screentime. also a lot of the decepticons felt bland or out of character.

A fun and interesting plot line we could have had (at least in my opinion) is decepticon infighting. It felt bizarre to me that soundwave and shockwave just fell in line when starscream assumed leadership. IDK!! I feel like the three would be arguing over who would be leader?? Correct me if I’m wrong on this I might he looking at this all wrong. </3

honestly I had like zero interest in spitfire and aftermath but at LEAST aftermath had a new design (GLARES AT SHAMELESS TWITCH RECOLOR).

like I’m not even upset that twitch and spitfire have the same/similar alt modes because it works w them being literal parallels of eachother. I’m just mad it’s just a straight up (lowk ugly) recolor. it just doesn’t work for me personally. Especially bc a good redesign could immediately fix a lot of my issues with it. like make her sharper or give her different patterns and adjust the color placement SOMETHING BRO.

that concludes my disorganized ramble for now. I’m excited to see everyone’s thoughts on the first batch of season two and I remain optimistic for the second half :3

side note:

I LOVE YOU BUMBLEBEE I LOVE U SO MUCH AND ALSO IM SOOO HAPPY RAVAGE GOT CONFIRMED AS FEMALE ILY GIRL CAT RAVAGE

[corviids]

Since you’re one of the most prolific content creators for Lucemond, and you always answer your asks so eloquently, I was wondering if you could share some insight. When Aemond and Lucerys were first introduced and people latched onto them as a ship, it was easy to see why this pair seemed fated. Mirror images, Shakespearean tragedy vibes, second son syndrome, etc. it’s always been easy to see in both canon universe and the fandom why Aemond is so tied to Luke. He’s obsessed with him for obvious reasons (eye!) and jealous of Luke’s status so it’s easy for fans to make the jump from hatred to obsession to lust to love (be it toxic or wholesome in their headcanons). But the more I think on it, what do you think would draw Luke to feel the same in any regard to Aemond? Aemond is both pretty pathetic in the book and in the show. Authors and artists have their own takes on the two falling for each other mutually because the nature of fanfic and headcanons allow for it. But lowkey I can’t really see Lucerys actually becoming interested in Aemond while vice versa it’s SO easy to see Aemond falling for Luke. Could you give your own insight on why you think either show Luke or book Luke would become interested in Aemond in any sexual/romantic capacity? Asking as someone who is trying to find the logic in this pairing because they trying to take a stab at writing for them. It’s so easy for me to conceptualize reasons why Aemond is obsessed/in love with Luke, but I’m struggling with canon reasons why Luke would be interested in Aemond. Luke has everything Aemond does not making him a giant fixture in Aemond’s desire for glory—while on the other hand Aemond is just some dude who Luke stole as eye from and then never talked to for a decade (at best he’s a rival?). I know this is also difficult to answer because the characterization of book Luke and show luke are so different so seeing the necessary requirements of him falling for Aemond are vastly different too. Thoughts? Basically me asking you to explain to me how/why Lucemond works so well despite my own difficulty in seeing Luke’s interest in Aemond. Thank you!

hmmm i’m trying the best way to articulate this cuz you ask a good question and i wanna give an answer that isn’t just “targaryens horny for each other”

i don’t think luke would be attracted/want aemond for anything he could “give him”. like you said, aemond doesn’t have much to offer beyond his literal self. i think lucemond works specifically because of their unique dynamic which cannot be applied to their other ships. luke, as a person/character, is mostly characterized by his innocent bravery, vulnerability, and insecurity — which aemond is directly linked to a lot of those feelings in luke. personally, lucemond (in writings) only works when there is proper build up to it (so no real insta-love).

to me, luke’s attraction to aemond is an evolution of his fear and dislike of him. given luke’s upbringing and the relationships he’s had as an example, i envision him as being weirdly receptive to,,, non-traditional courtship and behavior. i don’t think he’d go out of his way to initially seek aemond out (i’m a proponent of aemond is down bad to an atrocious degree, as evidenced by his canon obsessive tendencies) but when it’s initiated, he kinda likes it. luke is much more emotionally driven. i don’t think his attraction to aemond would be for rational or even reasons that can be entirely understood and i think that’s the beauty of the ship.

but again it comes down to how you write to that point! this is just a bit of my own thought process when it comes to writing luke. my tldr is that i think luke’s interest in aemond would stem as a response to a mixture of familiarity, fear/caution, as well as thrill. (there’s also the fact that i think luke has “i can fix him” energy. not necessarily optimistic but something that stems from a feeling of never being good enough and needing to prove he can be)

[mysticwolfshadows]

So, after the live action series, I've been binge reading basically all my AO3 bookmarks for ATLA/Zutara. (Can you blame me? The TENSION in that scarf scene. Damn.)

Anyway, I got really in the mood for a time travel fic, but I only had one and it was an 'into the future' fic. (I Choose Us: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27492745) So I go to look, and I can't find anything that peeked my interest, and I realize that I wanted to watch the world burn and came up with one instead.

Basic set up is that everything is the same, all the way up until Zuko and Katara arrive at Azula's coronation. Instead of challenging him to an Agni Kai, Azula is wild and fights them both. And when Azula is starting to lose, she goes after Katara like normal. Only, Zuko isn't in a spot where he can save here, and, well... Yeah.

So, in my racing midnight mind, I immediately started to think about firebending and angst, and how insanely cool it would be for Zuko to unlock this fort of feral firebending form. Just going absolutely savage, his inner fire not coming out in controlled bursts or movements, but to literally start bursting from his skin all over his body. Have it burn everything as he loses control, until there's literally nothing left.

But then Zuko wakes up back in Ba Sing Se, after he had been sick. And he remembers.

And suddenly, we have a set up for Zuko having this uncontrolled power that flares with his emotions, and a SECOND layer of trauma centered around Katara. He couldn't save her before, and if he doesn't get a handle on this power, he'll have to see her die all over again! And, of course, he can't dare attack her in the catacombs, so he joins the gaang.

Katara vouches for him, even though he won't meet her eyes. Toph confirms, saying he's telling the truth about being on their side. Aang is optimistic, but Sokka is kinda dubious. Until, of course, Zuko starts talking about what the Fire Nation plans to do on the Day of Black Sun and helping with revising battle plans.

Even if Iroh is there, Toph obviously would tell that the 'uh, I was the prince?' explanation isn't quite right.

They go through the Fire Nation, Zuko helping them navigate the best he can. He tries to not let them get distracted, but it never works. Toph eventually questions him, and thinks he's either insane or had some sort of spirit vision.

And of course, they get into shenanigans. The dance party, Zuko pointedly staying out of the way, being a look out. Cleaning the river, busting out the Blue Spirit disguise. Taking Sokka to Piando, and having a really interesting conversation. Then we get to Hama. And Zuko knows basically nothing about this, other than Katara's crazy display while investigating the Southern Raiders.

At some point, Zuko and Katara have to have a conversation. He's weirdly protective of her. Just her. And Zuko sort of kinda tries to side step it. He's a terrible liar, of course, so he says something along the lines of he had a spirit vision and he saw her dead. He doesn't want to talk about it, so Katara doesn't really get details.

Do they win on the Day of Black Sun? Does Aang succeed in taking out Ozai? Or do they have to retreat again, to face off on the day of the comet?

[zu-reblogs]

i feel we need to talk way more about our boys bc i cant get enough of brarg while this insane obsession gets the best of me so what do u think tincho would do seeing luciano all sad and angry and hopeless after losing to his cousin last night :( *sensitive topic ikr srry

HELLO yes talk to me about the boys!! I'm glad you're feeling insane about them cause it's always insane brarg hours over here

(so big disclaimer, I'm not super knowledgeable about football. I'm just vibing and having vague opinions over here)

Anyway hmmmmmmm weirdly enough I see argentineans believing in our team way more than i see brazilians believing in our team lol. They're usually like "oh this is a rough patch but Brazil NT is still a respectable team with tradition and good players". I didn't check opinions since yesterday's match cause I'm sulking, but I have seen that before, yk

I feel like our spirit was broken after the 7-1 (btw the 10-year anniversary of that is literally tomorrow, so Lulu is in a Great Mood in general), football-wise at least, and we haven't really bounced back since then. The general public's feelings for our NT are pretty negative from what I can see online. Pre-2014 we were way more optimistic

So what I think is that Tincho would think Lu is being way too defeatist, and be honestly kinda offended about it because Luciano is his rival and he would not have a weakling for a rival so how about you get over yourself little man. He'd choose the annoying banter route to shake Lulu out of his depressed funk, and it would work cause if there's one thing Martín can easily evoke in Lu (besides a need to kiss him) is deep irritation <3 and that's better than depression

[tuliptic]

Wonderland: On My My Way

To put it simply, pick an Ateez logo and let's see which phase of life you're in right now, are you on your way to where you wanna be. The entire motif behind is me wanting to use Ateez’s song titles as inspiration for my readings, as how they’ve inspired me to be better. So yeah, here’s something (again).

Close your eyes, meditate on this topic and ask yourself the question: “Where am I? Am I on my way to where I wanna be?” Breathe in and out, make sure your mind and heart is calm. Then, open your eyes to see which pile talks to you the most/draws you in the most. Once you’ve found your pile, scroll down to the respective parts to see what are the messages for you.

Piles go from left to right

Disclaimer: This is solely for my entertainment purposes. Take only whatever that you feel like it. If it doesn’t resonate, it’s okay to just drop it. That aside, I do not consent to my work or here to be used by third parties on this platform or other websites.

Decks used: Luna Cat Tarot Deck (Major Arcana), Linestrider Tarot Deck, Sweet Dreams Oracle Deck, Starcodes Astro Oracle Deck, self made lyrics deck.

Pile 1

Overall theme of querent: The Sun

First thing I’m picking up on is that you like bright things? Things that shine, glimmer, bright colours? Maybe not so bright colours but something that’s pretty striking? It’s like you like to stand out? Weirdly I’m picking up on fire (Leo) energy as well. Like, you’re known to be the light of the party, someone who’s always making the office lively, making other people laugh (not in the class clown way). If you aren’t, then it is someone that you’ve wanted to be. It’s just an adorably optimistic energy I’m picking up and making me smile here.

1. Where am I now? Queen of Cups

You're getting more and more in tune with yourself, allowing yourself to take time to meditate and heal yourself from your past traumas. Some of you may be on different stages, but you all know about the importance of healing and have taken action towards it. You’re slowly nurturing yourself. I’m also seeing some that may be healing through artistic means? Drawing? Colouring? You open yourself to inspiration and watch creativity flow through you. It’s a very warm, welcoming and flowy energy here, allowing yourself to adapt to whatever situations life throws at you.

2. Where do I wanna go? Queen of Pentacles

You want to be someone practical yet has a nurturing energy. Not so much of a femme fatale kinda energy, more like a teacher? Or a career counsellor kinda vibe? Where you use whatever you’ve learnt to help the future generation or anyone under you who wants to learn. You also want to achieve financial independence, so that you can help others the way others have helped you. I’m seeing you’ve received help before and hence, there’s this nurturing energy that’s heavy where you return the favour.

3. What should I prepare for this journey? Temperance

You need to learn the importance of balance. To achieve where you want to go, you need to balance your efforts and energy. Rest when you need to rest, move when you need to move. A journey is long, and you need time to let your car and yourself rest, add gas to your car before you embark on a long journey. Gain back the balance that you’ve once lost, or you’ve thought you’ve never needed. Cuz you’ll be needing that balance back.

I’m mainly seeing the balance of what you want and what you can. For example, you want to achieve level 5, but your current best is level 3. You can’t just burn yourself out to achieve level 5 with what you have. You can only accept whatever that’s happening, take your time to build yourself up to level 5 and get that. The balance between your physical wants and your mental wants, the balance between rest and work. You need some form of work-life balance back into your life. Clarify whatever you need to, make a list, see which aspect of life you’re lacking on and work on that.

4. How should I go on my way? Page of Cups

There will be creative opportunities coming your way. Let your curiosity lead you around and about. The Universe is dropping messages, opportunities, and help along your way. It’s up to you to catch them and to work towards it. Your curiosity will become your greatest asset. Use it wisely, make sure to let them guide you. If you have no dreams right now, time to write them down and work towards them. Once you’ve set your mind to do something, the Universe will help you out on your way. Think of yourself as the Universe’s beloved, let things fall in place for you. Things may be difficult right now, but there’s always a tomorrow that brings hope for you. You will not feel you’re alone, and you’ll not let anyone feel like they’re alone.

Overall energy: The Moon, The Fool rx

There’s The Sun earlier, and we have The Moon here. There’s a lot of unknown and uncertainty here. You’ve been charging ahead without thinking much earlier. You’ve realised what you’ve been doing was reckless, and now you gotta realign yourself. Know that you’ll need a lot of structure back in your life, and let your dreams give you inspiration and guidance. This pile may have prominent Saturn or is Saturn dominant (the nurturing yet practical energy).

.

..

...

Pile 2

Overall theme of querent: Chariot rx

I have a feeling that life is speeding way too fast for you that you’re now having a hard time to juggle and to gain back the control. And what happens when you lose control? You crash, you get lost. So this is your current state, where you’re trying to pick yourself up and trying to find your way back on your track of life.

1. Where am I now? Knight of Wands

You're somewhere, and you’re on the way. “Where’re we going, no one knows it, we're just going, right? For glory, for victory, we can fight all night.” speaks about you right now. Yes I quoted Ateez again but it makes sense okay, since Knight of Wands talks about action, and you’re in the middle of a journey. I feel that you’re in the middle of a search, and once you’ve found your direction, you’ll charge towards it with strength and faith. You’re working with your dreams and spirit’s energy to reach your highest good, and the journey of searching for it seems fun.

2. Where do I wanna go? Page of Swords rx

You probably have some stubborn personalities in you, where you wanna walk on the road of self expression. I don’t think you have a fixed path, but you do have short goals in life. It’s like… You don’t set a goal like “I wanna be a CEO” kinda goal, but something more like “In five years I wanna reach managerial position, and then in ten years I wanna have my own house.” kinda thing. It’s more visualised, something that can be seen and measurable. You’re also someone who’s driven by your visions. So to have something like a short term goal would be helpful for you to reach where you wanted to go. 

3. What should I prepare for this journey? Two of Swords

I’m getting the feeling that knowledge is needed. Not the book kinda knowledge, but knowledge you learn from being an adult, something that will not be taught in schools. It’s like… Learning how to recognise the needs of other people and answering to them, learning how to catch up on other people’s boundaries, learning how to read facial expressions. These will be the one of the two swords you’ll be wielding.

The other sword you’ll be wielding is the interpersonal relationships you’ve built on the way. The people you can trust, the people you can rely on, the people you can confide in. The reason is cuz there will be times that your eyes will be covered by the various promises life can give, but it all may be an illusion, and you’ll be needing these two swords to cut through the mist and to proceed in life. These are the abundance you’ll be bringing with you for this journey.

4. How should I go on my way? Three of Wands rx

First and foremost, you must remember you’re not alone on your journey. You need to stop playing small, start planning out your journey, plan for unexpected delays and what else can you do along the way. There may be side quests around you for you to complete, so do them. You might find some unexpected items that can help you level up or to help you out in your journey. Be aware of whatever that’s happening around you. Do remember to move forward, but don’t forget to enjoy the companionship and sceneries of the journey. Be at peace with yourself, create the peace you’ve wanted. You want something, then reach out to it and get them with your hands. Make your journey a pleasant one, follow your bliss and accept limitless joy.

Overall energy: Judgement, Queen of Swords rx

Overall speaking, I feel that you’ve been pretty harsh with yourself and have been judging yourself from your lack of success. See, you have not failed, you have not fallen. But you see lack of success as failure, which will mess your head up a bit cuz you’ll feel like you’re a disappointment when you’re not. You’re called to nurture yourself first, only then focus on the authoritative side of you and of your career. I’m seeing some of you may have 10H stellium as well, or heavy earth energy. This ended up very career-ish so Cap energy as well.

.

..

...

Pile 3

Overall theme of querent: The Hierophant

First thing I’m seeing here is that you’re someone who fights for tradition. Not just uphold, but fight. You have a hard time accepting new things and rather do things in an old fashioned way, in the safest way possible. You rarely take risks unless the success rate is over 95%. Don’t ask me how I came up with that number.

1. Where am I now? Ten of Wands rx

You’re in a stage where you’ve been holding a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders. I’m seeing that you’ve gotten them on you because of a lack of trust? Like you have a problem trusting people to do things your required way, so you took everything up on you and take that extra burden on you. Know that you are capable, but you’re also capable of trusting others, to release and let you team members do the other work. Create your own peace by letting go of what needs to let go.

2. Where do I wanna go? Page of Pentacles

I’m seeing that you want to get better and better with whatever you’re doing, to attain skill development. This may be because you wanna catch whatever financial opportunities that come your way. There’s some sort of ambitious energy I’m also feeling here, where you may have focused too much of your energy in taking up tasks to make yourself better. You’ll want to work with your dreams and your spirit’s energy to reach your highest good, and you want to enjoy your journey in attaining financial independence as well as its opportunities.

3. What should I prepare for this journey? Knight of Pentacles

Hard work and practicality came to me first. You’ll need to put in the effort to improve in the various skills you’ve wanted to develop. But you’ll need to remain practical as well. You can develop the skills you want, but you also need to develop the skills you need. Be practical and balanced. Put yourself through the routine of learning, of practising. Get to know people, talk to them, learn about them. This may sound difficult for some of you as you may not be used to talking to people, listening to them even. But you’re called to do so as you need to learn how to create strong emotional connections with the people in your life, especially the important people.

I’m also seeing that you’ll need to prepare for a loooong journey. It’s gonna be a battle of stamina. You’ll be needing to build yourself up before you can head out, be prepared with your wisdom, with your faith, with whatever connections that you’ve made. Weirdly, the words “to gain something, you’ll need to lose something first” came into my mind. You need to lose the feeling of shame when you change from what you’ve done to something else. Sometimes, you know that being stubborn doesn’t help. But you fear the looks of other people, fear how they’ll sneer at you. Thing is, you won’t get things done if you fear that much. So yeah, lose that sense of shame and gain the success of the things you’re doing. I hope I’m making sense here.

4. How should I go on my way? Eight of Swords

Stop playing the victim, let go of those negative thoughts, let go of those self-imposed restrictions. There’s this ego that you’re holding and you need to open up your eyes to see them before everybody leaves you. You’re called to do some critical thinking and to do some introspection and act on them accordingly. 

The energy here is very sharp. Usually people around will help to lead the blind, but people won’t want to help people who are trapping themselves, who don’t wanna leave the prison of swords they’ve built. There’s only so much others can help. It may seem like a painful journey but one day, when you look back, you’ll see how far you’ve journeyed. 

Overall energy: Judgement, Ten of Swords

You’re going through some sort of judgement? I’m seeing this comes from outside and there’s some fear in you. As much as you wanna emphasise on loving yourself, that you’re on the right path, you still feel the stabbing pain from the swords that are on you. There’s this painful journey that you’re going through right now, but know that it’s to tell you that the end is here and there will be a new cycle where you can start things anew. Something may be amiss this time, and you can learn about it and to not repeat the same mistakes in the new cycle. 

[xxstarl1ghtxx]

earthspark liveblog for episode 1 of season 2 under cut. spoilers obvi

-animation looks off but idk what it is. good still! just different. something in the lighting maybe? weirdly apparent on the (human) malto's faces especially???

-OH SHIT. hope you all get what im saying oh shit to

-aftermath's design reminds me of one of my old tf ocs. i think its just the purple and the spikes. still, fun coincidences

-kinda nervous with the chaos terrans but i trust this show to do nuance and not 'these guys are inherently evil' since that is something season 1 purposefully avoided with the cons

-THE BUTTERFLY WILHELM SCREAMED??? its quiet but go back and listen if you missed it its there

dad of the year award goes to literally anyone but breakdown. not that aftermath makes it easy but he WAS literally born yesterday dude

-physically squealed when that MUSIC kicked in as the seekers showed up??

-ok breakdown re-earned a couple dad points there at the end of that

I WAS SAYING THE BREAKDOWN DAD THING AS A JOKE?? what was that lol. took me out hhhh

-yeah something is weird with the animation i cant be imagining this

overall optimistic about this!! hyped to see where it goes from here :D

[myechoecho]

Moon in The Day, Ep 12

This episode was the first time that lines became fully blurred between Do Ha and Yeong Hwa. Do Ha asks her why she did it and Yeong Hwa explains her reason, in the first person. It's a theme that repeats throughout the entire episode. Yeong Hwa is not Ri Ta, but she also IS Ri Ta, if that makes sense.

Yeong Hwa finally answers Do Ha's question that he's been waiting 1500 years for. The reason she killed him is to free them from the hell they were in, by her own hands. It was out of her love for him that she did this. Do Ha doesn't quite understand this, and I think it has to do with the lack of love he received and the torture his father put him through. For Do Ha, he can endure any hell as long as she is with him. For Ri Ta, who I presumed had love growing up, letting the one you love live in perpetual hell is not love. It tears her up that he's been living (existing?) in pain for 1500 years.

Yeong Hwa wants to push him away and says that their love was forbidden. But Do Ha is firm - he understands what he really needed to know is that her love for him was real. His love for her has never changed.

Do Ha's dad gets another proxy to try to kill Yeong Hwa and Na Yeon gets hurt instead, which makes Yeong Hwa feel guilty. There's also some random funeral, which was kinda out of place? But Yeong Hwa goes to her father's tree and remembers that there was second lotus bracelet buried with her father.

Do Ha finally puts it together that the third person in this curse is his father. Meanwhile, his father meets Yeong Hwa and reveals that HE is the one who has killed her over and over again, but now he gets to do it in person. But she has the talisman and he cannot. Which I am sure he would love personally killing her.

Since he can't kill her he goes for his fallback - manipulation. He tells her that falling for Do Ha caused the curse, which is simply not true since he is the one being the vengeful asshole. But he does bring up people around her have been hurt or died and mentions that her parents did not just pass away by accident.

Since Do Ha's dad also loves to torture Do Ha, he sends him some of the poisonous berries he gave him 1500 ago and a way to find him.

I loved Yeong Hwa and Do Ha's conversation. Yeong Hwa's explains that she afraid innocent people will continue to be hurt. Just as in the past, Yeong Hwa is a fatalist about their relationship (forbidden, doomed) while Do Ha is the optimist. Though this time, it feels like it Do Ha is a bit more healthy about it. He's waited 1500 years for her, loved her all this time and could never ever hurt her. I adore how he later asks her to give him a chance. He will protect her, and all those around her, which is very different from the past when he was perfectly fine killing a child if it meant protecting her.

Do Ha's confrontation with his father was great. He gets to ask his father why his he treated him the way he did and he lies and says he doesn't remember. His father clearly knows the reason, but Do Ha is not surprised by his answer. Weirdly, his father says there are plenty of people who will hill her for him even if he did not get involved but the only reason they would have to kill her is if he did get involved somehow. But his dad says he's pushed her to commit suicide and that they are both running out of time.

The final scene of the episode was everything. Yeong Hwa, like Ri Ta, is doing what she things is best to save them. Do Ha says that meeting her was the most fortunate thing to happen to him and I fully believe that he is talking about Ri Ta AND Yeong Hwa. Then he asks her to make the same bet that Ri Ta asked him and then he back hugs her and I nearly die. She's terrified that they will end up like last time, but just like Ri Ta she is in love with him. She may regret it, like Ri Ta, but she wants to live with him as Yeong Hwa. This time she is the one who turns around.

Next week looks so cute but there is still the pesky problem of Do Ha being a ghost in a borrowed body.

[play-on-skinners-box]

SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER FIVE OF RAINCODE(And a LARGE amount of text)

I wanted to do more Raincode furries cause they're honestly so fun and are really good practice because I'm kinda rusty in general. I only did Yuma and Makoto this time just cause it's a more manageable workload and they are some of the last ones I'm especially passionate about.

OKAY, BUCKLE UP BABY, THESE CHOICES HAVE LAYERS TO THEM. L A Y E R S

OKAY SO, at some point scrolling on tumblr I saw this post by Nadox showcasing a piece of Yuma's concept art, and in the art he was depicted with long hair. They theorized that this was what Number One originally looked like and he sheared his hair into that wimpy fresh almost bowl cut so he could pass as a trainee, AND I L O V E THAT. I herby declare it as correct on the grounds of I said so.

Going along with this idea, Yuma is a young wolf that has a lame haircut so everyone THINKS he's just a dog. I know a wolf in real life would be a lot harder to reasonably pass as a dog, so this requires a bit of anime logic tomfuckery, but I'm fine with that because Raincode already deals in its fair share of logic jank. I am simply being true to game in that regard! The way I drew him already isn't super wolf-like cause I made him all squishy looking like human Yuma, and made the veerrryyyy tips of the ears flop over because the pointy ones just didn't feel quite right. I know real wolf ears are only ever depicted as pointy but it was for the VIBE. Yeaahhh in hindsight I might have taken a few too many liberties. I suppose to make it a little more sensible you could say he's a wolfdog and not full wolf or something. Other than the logic I really like this choice because everyone would naturally assume Yuma's just a pathetic little puppy dog when his real identity is hiding in plain sight!

I went back and forth on alot of the fur aspects. How smooth is too smooth? How much of it should just look like blunt cuts? Should I even give him his human hair? Usually I don't like giving my furries human hair in general because I want them looking a lot more like animals rather than people, but for Yuma his hair is such an important part of his design that I ultimately decided to keep it on both him and Makoto.

MAKOTO IS A WOLF IN SHEEPS CLOTHING AND THAT IS SO FUN, SO SILLY, SO GOOFY, HOOOORAY(Specifically a dall sheep cause they have those big curly horns). In theory, the hardest part of choosing an animal for Yuma is that whatever his animal is needs to tie into Makoto, and also be able to be implemented in a way where their connection isn't obvious. Makoto having a mask helps of course, but if you pick a really distinctive animal for Yuma you'll have to come up with better ways to hide it. Others have gotten a lot more creative with how Makoto hides his species, but I didn't do that and went in the full direction of just giving him a disguise. Its a littlllleeeeee lazy but I'm too smitten with the idea to care. I was a little confused on what to do with the tail. I considered just chopping off the majority of it to make it look like a short little sheep tail and put the justification for it in his suuuuppper tragic past(Though I honestly don't know if homunculi can regenerate like lizards). Luckily, the pose makes it so you can't see it anyway so I don't have to grapple with the responsibly of weather or not I need to brutally amputate one of Makoto's body parts. I consider this a win.

Disregarding his actual animal, I think the sheep is also weirdly fitting because of some of their associations. When I met Makoto I wasn't sure what to make of him besides being cautiously optimistic about him not letting Yuma die(What a fool I was), and sheep/lambs/rams and animals in that ballpark can vary wildly in their depictions from literaly the devil to good little fluffy guys!

For his actual look I wanted the sheep parts to look costumey sort of. I was going for a similar effect as the blood in chapter 0, where it's very noticeable but you write off the weird things about it because it's not immediately relevant. So, the mask has fake horns attached. The hand hooves are just little caps over the paw fingers, and there are two gold and silver caps to mimic his rings and point to their artificiality. The feet are also fake and are suppose to look a little clunky like Makoto's actual shoes. His hair is also much more full looking, a little less limp; because his actual ears need some place to get tucked away. I think the main problem with this design is it'd make for a really awkward reveal, cause when he dramatically gets the mask taken off then he'd just be a canine with hooves.

For both of them I think wolf works very well in terms of their characters and their shared forte. Yuma spends most of the game struggling with needing to rely on others, and Makoto has been carrying the weight of Kanai Wards secret on his shoulders alone for like three years. They also both have the Coalescence forte, which by it's very nature requires the help of other people, and at the end of the day being with others and working together is what brings them farther then they could do alone(even if some of the themes get muddled at the end and arn't really as clear as I'd personally like I find that Kodaka's games can have some not so rock solid theming with shakey conclusions but this is what I chose to take away from it)

These aspects of their characters fit perfectly with the stereotypical idea of a strong and stoic lone wolf in contrast to real wolves being pack animals that work together to survive!

I thought I'd like Yuma's design more by a landside cause I've grown really fond of his human design, but I actually really love this version of Makoto. I guess any designs with horns or hooves just appeals to me in a way that paws don't. Still really happy with these two. They could most certainly be worse! I think they're both cute little guys though and I learned a lot about how to like, render from this so that's a bonus!

[princess-of-the-corner]

Amnesia!Dabi: Twice

Ok, so. This entered my head and will not leave, so. Tell me how likely this seems, I guess.

One of the things I genuinely love about canon MHA is Himiko and Twice’s relationship. How supportive they are of each other, and how they stick together. They are just … weirdly wholesome? Very big brother, little sister? In CC, they won’t have this relationship of course (and I mourn quietly), but seeing it potentially die in Amnesia!Dabi made me sad, so. Anyway.

The Touya Is Alive Thing is public. The Toga’s interview has gone live. U.A. is suing them in court. Magne took off. Things are going … poorly, for the League of Villains. Shig is doing REAL bad right now. Spinner and Kurogiri are doing their best to help him, but they know the only thing that will really help … well. It’s not exactly an OPTION right now (though it doesn’t stop Spinner from imagining shooting AfO in the head, or Kurogiri from wishing he would). And Twice. Twice is doing REAL BAD.

He’s conflicted. Uncertain. All the regular shit. But worse than that … So, Twice’s Quirk. That’s the big gun that the LoV has right now. Or it would be, if Jin could use it properly. And, like, none of the LoV are blaming him, they know this shit is hard for him. They’re cool helping him work his shit out.

AfO is not.

He might be in prison, but, well, we all know that isn’t actually that effective. He manages a contact. A quick one. It’s all it takes.

A week later, Himiko is walking back to the Todoroki house with Fuyumi. They were having a “girls day”, trying to distract from the legal shit show that Himiko is stuck in. They met up with some of Shoto’s classmates, and it wasn’t even as awkward as it could have been. Himiko is feeling … not great, but not bad. She’s optimistic. Maybe we’ll get through this-

There’s commotion. Noise. Natsuo sounds panicked, and his boyfriend doesn’t sound much better. The girls exchange glances, and hurry up to the house … and Himiko can’t breathe.

There’s so much blood.

She’s moving before she really thinks about it. Knife out, poking holes in a new shirt (which one, doesn’t matter), making a makeshift mask. She’s shaking, but her hands are steady as she puts it over Jin’s head. As always, it calms him. Let’s Yosuke and Natsuo get to work on the frankly staggering number of injuries he has (how did he get here? how did he even know where to go? how is he not dead??). Himiko can only sit there, holding his hand, while Fuyumi frantically calls Endeavour, emergency services, Dabi/Toya, SOMEONE. Then she realizes Jin is talking. Mumbling.

“-real, I’m the real one, real one, the real one, I’m real, I’m real-”

He’s scratching at his arms. Twitching. It’s takes Himiko a minute to realize what he’s trying - and failing - to do.

Twice can’t use his Quirk anymore.

It was stolen.

(In a hideout, Spinner stomps out of Jin’s room, angry and hurt. Left without even saying GOODBYE, even Magne told them to their FACES she was going.

Shig’s face crumples when he’s told. Compress tenses. Kurogiri is quiet.

He keeps silent, about The blank spot in his memory. About the fact he made a portal recently, but doesn’t remember how or where.

He can only hope he’s wrong.)

(A certain doctor wonders if their security really IS that bad, because this KEEPS HAPPENING-)

-

OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHOHOHOHOOHHO

YES! YES!!!!!!!

Like on one hand I’m kinda sad that Chaos Children doesn’t have the ‘Himiko sees the LoV as family’ bit. On the other hand, bold of you to assume I won’t work her bonding with the LoV into the plot!

BUT ALSO OOF OUCH MY HEART

[kimberlyannharts]

Notes on Ranger Academy #6 -

= The obligatory school dance portion of the magic school plotline. Kinda wanted more romantic drama tbh but the friend group stage everyone's in at this point is legit cute. Sage's team is a legitimately well-written group in that I can buy that they're all close friends without it feeling forced or like they're just co-workers

= Everyone's family getting a moment to shine is nice. Kartyr's family still legit comes off like a big polycule at first glance even though I know they're supposed to be his parents, his sisters, and their partners

= Going along with my rant about the fandom's weird hang-ups on Sage's attitude and the book's attitude on Greens, this is another issue where Sage outright says "i'm the reason for the extra security right??? i'm putting everyone in danger???" and Tula outright says "no. what? it's Dark Specter." The book is NOT SAYING GREEN IS THE PROBLEM SAGE JUST HAS ANXIETY

= Besides the reveal at the end of Tula's sister being a Green Ranger, probably the most notable thing about this issue is that we learn Nadira is Mathis's mother (as well as having a brother, which I'm pretty sure makes Nadira the only show character to have more than one kid in her future - obviously not counting Tommy technically having two kids due to alternate universes.) We don't know the father outside of Nadira saying he's a Power Ranger - Mathis's brother being named Joel seems to point to Joe, especially considering the franchise has been weirdly insistent in keeping the Joe/Nadira marriage canon, but nothing is confirmed. What further muddies it is Nadira's odd dialogue about how Mathis's father "was" a Power Ranger (when Mathis tries to say he "IS" a Power Ranger, Nadira just says that depends on how optimistic you are. Not sure what that means) and Hyperforce's odd place in the canon in general. My best guess is that the vagueness could have something to do with the Green Ranger thing, as Mathis's dad potentially being a Green would have messed with that, but again, nothing is confirmed. Especially when we actually get into the explanation as to what happened to the Green Rangers.

= Also Mathis handwaves the weirdness of the implication that they're originally from a different time period with "don't think too hard about it" but. I'm sorry, I can't stop thinking about it. How does that work. Are they stuck in this time period after they graduate?????????

= Tula distracting everyone by turning her and Sage's relationship into queerbait is still really really funny

[falmerbrook]

what are your tes 6 expectations?

hmmm interesting question.

Firstly, it sounds like it's basically all but confirmed to be in Hammerfell based on analysis of that one "please shut up about TES 6" trailer by people who know more than me, and the fact that ESO has kinda avoided dipping their toes too substantially into the province despite covering the rest of them pretty thoroughly. On one hand that's sorta meh because if so it'll be the third game in a row to focus on a human province, but on the other hand ESO and Redguard have kinda gotten me into Hammerfell, so I won't be sad or disappointed if it indeed is. I've seen some say they think it will or want it to focus on the the Iliac Bay (so both High Rock and Hammerfell), but I think that's a bit of a cope.

In terms of everything else, I'm gonna be honest, I don't really have any expectations. I'm by no means a gamer, and the TES games are pretty much the only ones I play, so from my time poking around TES communities, I don't think I have as high or complex of expectations for my gaming experience as someone who plays games beyond just being weirdly obsessed with a particular game series. I'll also admit that I can be a bit of contrarian, so seeing people get genuinely angry at things they assume will happen with TES 6 as if they have already been confirmed to be happening has made me sort of be overly optimistic about it by default. I think by not having expectations I'm less likely to be disappointed if it is disappointing (which, once again, it sorta hard to achieve by my low standards), and I won't be too burned by being optimistic since no matter what, I'll probably just enjoy running around a part of Tamriel either way. It'll probably be fairly similar to Skyrim, but hell, I'm not a game developer. Who am I to say what direction they'll take.

If Oblivion supposedly had a lot of influence from Lord of the Rings, what might TES 6 have inspiration from? Maybe they'll see how well BG3 did and lean in that direction (writing wise) more? The new Dune movies have come out right as its started proper development, so maybe they'll take from that (y'know, deserts)? Maybe they'll just do their usual of building off of new systems they implemented in their last game (which would be Starfield, which I haven't played and don't know what new things they played around with, so I don't know what it will be) and/or the DLCs of the last TES game (although maybe it's been too long since Skyrim for that).

The one thing I am tentatively hoping for is that these like 4 years of pre-development shows in the worldbuilding and writing. But like I said, I'm not expecting much. Just trying to be contrarily optimistic.

Also I made this post awhile ago about what I hope they change about Redguard history if TES 6 is in Hammerfell. Not the same topic but I thought I might as well include it

So tldr: I don't really have many expectations period, positive or negative, but I'm cautiously looking forward to it. I don't really know what to expect outside of the typical Bethesda open world structure.

[lovecanbesostrange]

A quick weekly Grey's rant:

Very good fall finale vibes, I already hate waiting for the conclusion to everything. But at the same time I'm not that worried... or worked up about it.

Sure, it does look like Lucas might be shot, but my money is on the robber actually. (It would be interesting if the shot was a through-'n'-through for Lucas and both got hit. While watching I expected Gladys to get it though, so it was already a surprise she lived. Such restraint, Grey's! Really loved that Lucas mentioned how his grandfather died and also that Amelia and Derek were both there. They can remember things! Look, even if Lucas is fine, Amelia just hearing this story -- somebody hold her. Which is also why I think her patient will pull through. She has to. Amelia Shepherd doesn't get much wins in her personal lives, but she is good at what she does and the show lets her have that. (Kinda wished when she talked to the mother she had shown her full optimistic confidence level, a la "there is only one neuro-surgeon better than me, and that was my brother, but he is dead", but I guess two mentions would have been too much). Speaking of remembering things though... I for one do remember two things about Jo Wilson. a) She owned a gun for a long, long time (which is weird, she owned that while with Paul, so hey at least she didn't kill him and clearly never wanted to fire it), so in a way I hoped a little bit she could grab that damn thing when it fell to the floor. Of course I understand that she hid away, especially because oops complications (is she pregnant with twins just so she can lose one for the drama? How diabolical). Anyway, the b) thing though, Jo helped a guy rob a convenience store once. This would have been a nice time that she could clarify she drove the (probably stolen) getaway car. Jo Wilson could have ended up in prison, she is so fucking lucky she didn't.

Yasuda... MIKA YASUDA!!! Leaving too soon. Oh, my heart broke for her. The trauma those hospital walls have seen. Remember when Cristina was allowed her absolute breakdown after the shooting? Yeah, took long enough for somebody else to say "I can't go back". I'm very sorry to see her go, but I find the reason very believable. Grief is such a bastard and they managed to make it worse with her story about being the one who named Chloe, how her favorite sister that meant so much to her died in this place... Also really liked Simone and Bailey talking to her, about what they feel (about their moms). I get why Jules was angry and lashed out, I think Bailey can take that in stride. She was right in what she said. And for Mika to trust herself on this. Could have thrown in that Bailey could offer at least a few calls, if Yasua returns to her family, they might be a hospital nearby or something. A few recommendations. And then Jules and Mika................. I will live with "help me feel normal" for a long, long time. ;_____;

Breaking News: Owen is an ass. I would want him as my trauma surgeon. Even would want him as a teacher or mentor. But damn stay away from this man on a personal level. Weirdly his relationship with Amelia was the one that made the most sense for a long time. Come on, we all expect him to cheat again, right? That little touch in the elevator sure was very unfortunate, but he runs right out to offer another woman a car ride (while everybody in the hospital is busy). The one thing I have to say though, we knew from the start that he is not suited for romantic relationships, when he ended things with his fiancée via super short e-mail and didn't even tell her that he had returned. His shittyness is consistent (it just gets worse when his anger issues flare up; which doesn't include his PTSD that led to choking Cristina, that was a separate issue I do not hold against him). But i guess Owen is vital for the Grey's ecosystem. Makes other people's mistakes look less shitty (I don't consider him evil, he doesn't even enjoy his bad decisions).

Don't know what to think of the Blue and Molly thing. I love the very, very dramatic story they have. Feel bad for her partner now.