#lol didn't mean to get all sentimental but here we are

[thesymphonytrue]

For the fic asks: What fic meant the most to you to write?

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

thanks for the ask!! <3 <3

What fic meant the most to you to write?

Okay, this was a tie between Pluchrae Alis (Beautiful Wings) and Let This Last Forever. Pluchrae Alis was a long effort---the longest fic I've ever written, so it meant a lot to me to finish. But Let This Last Forever is so special to me because it's basically a love letter (as you coined!) to Peter Burke through the eyes of Neal (um and maybe ME LOL)---I'm a sucker for grief fics and reunion fics and this was just that, so it was personally very self-indulgent and meant a lot to me to write it.

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Oh definitely Pluchrae Alis (Beautiful Wings) . The satisfaction of finishing a chapter fic is amazing! Also, I loved writing it and posting chapters a little at a time and interacting with readers in the comments---a few times readers actually caused me to change my plot and it made the fic BETTER! (for example, a certain someone was supposed to die and they DIDN'T thanks to some comments from readers---lol I won't name who but...yeah, you all saved that character's life!)

Also, @enolaholmes18 did INCREDIBLE art for this fic and that was so amazing for me as a writer and fellow white collar fan! I mean. HOW COOL. 😭😍

Lastly, this fic really stretched my muscles as a writer outside of white collar because while it DID feature white collar characters and some canon plot line, it was a fantasy/sci-fi based AU with some original characters, "magic ideas", etc, and a backstory that was entirely from my own head and that was so fun to merge my ideas with characters I love so dearly from white collar. 🥹 Finishing that fic gave me the small tiny hope that maybe, just maybe, I could write my own original novel someday. MAYBE. And lot of that hope was from readers and comments and kudos, so thank you to everyone who read and encouraged me on that fic---it really meant so much to me 😭

[yanderes-galore]

First of many. Here we go.

Angel Dust (Platonic)

Your prompts

2

28

61

Sure! These prompts give mental breakdown vibes so... that's exactly what you're getting, lol (Or at least it's what I'm aiming for-)

Yandere! Platonic! Angel Dust Prompts 2, 28, 61

"It's an honor for someone such as me to take you in and love you!"

"Do you know how hard it is to wear a facade? Just to get people to like you?"

"Being alone is worse than you hating me."

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Emotional Manipulation, Mental breakdown, Drinking/Intoxication, Clingy behavior, Poor mental health, Drugs mention, Stalking, Possessive behavior, Projecting trauma, Unhealthy friendship, Swearing, Mature themes, Angst, Overly affectionate behavior, Dubious turned forced companionship.

Since you became a Sinner and entered the Hotel, you were close with Angel Dust. At first you found him a bit jarring and crude. Eventually, however, you managed to become a support system for the both of you.

Naturally you knew about Angel's job. He worked for the Overlord Valentino and said Overlord overworks and... Hurts him. The thought made your blood boil, but it wasn't like you could pick successful fights with an Overlord as a Sinner.

Angel appreciated the sentiment, even if he had to hold you back from attacking his boss.

The issue with Angel's job was his behavior due to it. He was often self destructive, ranting and venting with you and Husk over a strong drink. He's often stressed... But you're always there to help.

In fact, it seems you became a coping mechanism for Angel. With you, he feels like he doesn't have to drown himself in alcohol and drugs. Even Husk notices how calm yet clingy Angel is when you enter the room.

He's always playful with you, a smile on his face when you show concern. You care so much about him.... Angel isn't sure what he'd do without you.

Which is why when you push him away... He nearly breaks.

It's his toxic trait, he's too selfish when it comes to you. However what Sinner or Demon isn't selfish? He's allowed to have nice things, isn't he?

Angel had a tendency to be... Possessive. You are one of the only ones to care for him like this. Which... Makes him follow you around... And be a bit manipulative.

He's allowed to have you... Right?

So who are you to deny him his comfort?

Angel wasn't in his right mind when you chose to distance yourself from him. He had recently come back to the Hotel from a job at Val's studio. He already wasn't pleasant before he had a few drinks.

Yet when he called your name in a needy tone, you didn't come. Why? Well... It seems you noticed you were becoming an unhealthy coping mechanism for him. You knew it wasn't healthy.

But Angel wasn't going to just let you ignore him... Not after all he's gone through.

He didn't care how unhealthy it was. Angel knew he needed you. You helped him get rid of the pain.

Like an addict to a drug... He needed to stay beside you to forget about Val.

"It's an honor for someone such as me to take you in and love you!" Angel yells, his voice in a hiss. "Do you know how in demand I am!? You're lucky I give this much care to you!"

Angel knew deep down he was corrupted. Every sinner was, especially someone like him whose always around Valentino of all people. As much as he hated to admit it... He was acting the same way Valentino acts around him towards you.

"Are you just going to ignore me...?" Angel seethes, laughing softly when you back away from him. "Really now? You act all sweet then abandon me in my darkest moments...."

"I don't mean to, Angel-" You frown. "You've just... This has all been unhealthy lately and-"

"We might need a break?" Angel clicks his tongue, glaring at you. Despite this... You still see a certain softness in his eyes. "Hell no. Healthy? When is any relationship healthy in Hell?"

Angel Dust steps closer, wrapping himself around you in an attempt to feel your warmth. You can tell he's drunk and it appears ranting to Husk didn't work. You push your friend a bit, but he tightens his grip with an annoyed groan.

"Do you know how hard it is to wear a facade? Just to get people to like you!?"Angel growls, "I'm so fucking tired of playing these games!"

"Angel, please! You're a mess...!" You plead, unable to pry the demon off you as you fall onto the couch.

"With you, I don't have to play pretend!" Angel cries out, grip unrelenting. He's in a haze... Unable to think properly. "I can be myself..." You feel his grip loosen... "I don't have to act with you, I don't need to play a role... I just get to have your comfort."

You frown when he slips off you a bit, leaning against you as tears spill down his cheeks. He hated being vulnerable... But he felt he could do that with you. Which is why...

"You can't leave me alone!" Angel sobs, "You can hate me if you want... I don't care...."

He looks you in the eyes... You can see the hurt in his gaze. You don't want to encourage him. However... You find yourself giving into his emotional manipulation.

He really has learned from the best at it.

"Being alone is worse than you hating me." Angel admit, pulling himself closer against you. He perks up when you embrace him... Hiding the grin on his face.

"I don't hate you...." You whisper, the demon watching you closely with watery eyes. "I just wish... You had an easier way to cope."

"You're better than any drink or drug, doll." Angel winks, grinning softly. Even if you were just friends... He was always so affectionate. "Not sure what I'd do without you...."

You stay silent as Angel busies himself with holding you. Truthfully, he'd rather die again than give you up. Part of him feels bad for using you...

Yet he's used to it. Perhaps he's learned more from Val than most think...

"You should feel lucky to have me...."

[strwbrychffoncke]

''rockin' around the christmas tree,, 2.6k words synopsis: in your attempt to prepare a present for the twins, a misunderstanding ensues... contains: slight angst -> fluff! luke + kieran & f!reader (platonic!) ,implied sylus x hunter!reader (not specifically mc) ,reader is called "miss hunter" (by the twins) + "kitten" (once by sylus) ,mostly silly/maybe slight crack(?) ,lots of twins' shenanigans (i luv them) ,kind of linked to my santa baby fic (its mostly in the time that sylus was gone ,no they aren't on the trip w him ,try not to think ab it too much LOL) ,like one suggestive comment/moment (but its between you + sylus) ,twins being cute at the end ,that should be it note: (warning: unedited! so pls stand by....) this idea struck me while working on other fics, and as a result is the last to be released sigh.... but i like how silly it is i hope its enjoyable :x finally finished my mini event & i actually really enjoyed it (and am v grateful for all of the notes my self-indulgent writings have received ,so thank you v much !)

-

luke and kieran thought that a certain miss hunter was acting strange these days.

it wasn't uncommon for you to visit sylus, given your relationship, and as your relationship grew so too did yours with the twins, often indulging their antics, engaging in their banter, and sometimes joining in on their schemes against sylus (still sometimes resulting in you being on the receiving end of their pranks in the process).

they were more than well aware of their boss' fondness towards you, and they could say they shared the sentiment.

they thought you were close.

so, imagine their surprise when, the past couple of days, you seemed to be ignoring their existence altogether.

...bringing them to their current impromptu meeting with each other in the living area.

"it just doesn't make any sense," luke thinks aloud.

"have you done anything to anger miss hunter recently?" kieran tilts his head, looking straight at his brother through the crow mask.

luke scratches the back of his head.

"not anything that would garner this kind of reaction..." he trails off in thought.

"she didn't even tell us she was coming" kieran adds.

luke straightens up.

"right?! isn't that strange?? i mean, it's not like we're the ones that she comes for, but she still usually gives a notice! when i ran into her, it's almost like i was the one at fault when i didn't even know she was here in the first place!"

luke rants animatedly, hands flailing about to emphasize his words.

"and, and! it wasnt even my fault, she practically slammed into me. she barely spared me a word before darting away!"

he sighs, slumping back into the cushions.

a moment passes before kieran speaks up again.

"and we were just decorating with her the other day too...." he trails off before thinking aloud. "think we should ask the boss about it?"

"should we really bring it to him?" luke questions. "he may not even answer us. he's much more likely to take her side, don't you think?"

"yeah, not to mention it'd interrupt his business deal," kieran thought, tilting his head as he pondered a different thought.

"well, there's only one other option then," he muses.

despite being unable to see each others faces, they share the same look under the masks.

"we get to the bottom of it ourselves!" they exclaim in unison.

-

stage one: catch her off guard!

"when she's least expecting it, we'll barge into her space like we usually do, and watch her response!"

"miss hunter!"

dammit

you shove the bags under the bed as quickly as you can before the door to your room bursts open, revealing none other than the two troublemakers themselves, donning their usual crow masks.

"wh-"

"we wanted to check on you!"

"...why?"

"because," luke begins, "you must be lonely with the boss out on business so suddenly, right?"

"thats-"

"so we thought that we'd keep you company!" kieran finishes his thought.

"but i was-"

"don't tell us you were busy with something," luke chides.

"actually i was," you begin, gaze shifting between both masked men staring down at you.

"so go entertain yourselves for awhile, yeah?"

"sheesh! what did we do?" kieran complains animatedly.

"just.. leave me alone for awhile, i'm-"

"you don't happen to be working on something for the boss, are you?"

you pause, denial dying on your lips before thinking maybe this can work.

"as a matter of fact, i am" you nod. "so, if you will-"

"then we can help you!" they quickly cut you off, excited.

"actually, its not-"

"come on, miss hunter, let us help!"

"after all, who do think knows boss the best here?"

they look all too proud, and you want to smack them over the head.

you let out a frustrated groan before thinking of an excuse.

"why don't you help me later? for now, can you both just leave already??"

"ouch!"

"that stings, miss hunter..."

having enough of their dramatics, you finally get up from your spot and physically begin ushering them out the door.

"out, out, get out."

"ah- ok- stop shoving-"

"we're going, we're going!"

once they're out in the hallway, you begin shutting the door before kieran stops it with a hand.

"but later, you have to-"

"yeah, yeah, i'll make it up to you later, just leave for now!"

and with that, you promptly shut the door, their ears not missing the click of the lock.

they turn to one another, arms crossed over their chests.

"thoughts?"

kieran thinks it over for a moment.

"you definitely pissed her off."

"WHAT?" luke practically shrieks. "says YOU! did you consider that maybe your shabby job at decorating ticked her off???"

kieran scoffs at his brother.

"says the one who came up with the idea of most of them."

"you literally called me a genius."

"whatever, back on topic," kieran shrugs. "wasn't she a little too eager to get rid of us??"

luke nods along quickly, chain dangling from his mask.

"yeah! think she's hiding something from us?"

"could be.... this needs more investigating!"

they scurry off, preparing for the next step.

-

stage two: distraction tactic

"drag her away to do something with one of us while the other investigates!"

"miss hunter!"

your body gaze shifted from the snack in your hands up to the source of the voice.

"let's bake something!"

one moment, you're leaning on the kitchen counter, peacefully munching away at a small bag of chips while thinking over your gift plan and the next, your space is surrounded by various ingredients fished out by none other than kieran.

"what are yo-"

"we're making gingerbread!"

"...since when do you know how to make gingerbread?"

"uh, since now?"

you deadpan, trying to sidestep him.

"kieran, i really don't have-"

he follows you, reaching out to grip your shoulders.

"come on, don't run away again! can a capable hunter really not do something so simple as make some gingerbread?"

"of course i can, its just-"

"you're working on your gift for boss, yeah, yeah, this can be part of it!"

you blink at him.

"i mean... i guess?"

"great!" he exclaims a little too loudly, releasing you from his hold. "now, let's get to it!"

. . .

at hearing his brother's word, luke assumes he's in the clear.

he quickly and quietly makes his way down the hall towards your room (or technically, a guest bedroom, but it might as well be yours with you making yourself comfortable there, he thinks, but can't understand why you won't call it your own), checking the door before opening it slowly, looking both ways before he slips inside, carefully shutting it closed behind him.

he lets out a short sigh.

he flicks the light on, and the first thing he notices is that the room is in a bit of.. disarray.

there's various things scattered over the floor, some papers with scrawling on it spread on your desk, and your comforter on your bed is crooked.

he decides to take a peek of the papers on the desk first.

he doesn't move them, only leans in closer to take in what appear to be sketches with some messy handwriting off to the side.

were these.... masks?

luke tilts his head.

why on earth are you drawing out masks suddenly?

one of the papers seems to have a ribbon drawn out, and luke assumes that's your choice method to secure it around your head.

not too sure how well that'll work for you, he mutters.

he turns around, shifting his attention towards the items scattered around the floor.

there's a pair of pliers, some jump rings, what looks like string, super glue, beads, and rolls of ribbon spilling out of a plastic bag.

so miss hunter is the crafty type, huh? why would she hide this new hobby? luke thinks aloud to himself as he inspects everything.

thats when he notices a certain dress hung up on your closet door, standing out from some other clothes he now sees are sprawled messily on the floor surrounding it.

and then, he realizes.

"ah!"

he turns around, excited and ready to run out of the room when he hears the click of the door.

"miss hunter, wait!"

"hold on, i just need-"

he's frozen in his seat, barely registering the muffled voices behind the door before you open it, immediately locking eyes with him.

"luke???!"

"h-hey, miss!"

"what the hell are you doing in here???"

he stammers for a bit, unable to think up an excuse before he decides to just make a run for it.

he dashes out the space between you and the door, and is out of your sight within seconds.

you're stunned for a moment, looking over at everything, thinking about the look in his eye, and you're nothing short of mortified.

did he figure it out...?

. . .

that night, luke shares everything with kieran, and both being absolutely sure of having uncovered everything, begin to initiate step three.

-

stage three: confrontation station!

"trap the unsuspecting hunter and reveal that we know her secret!"

despite feeling embarrassed at being found out, you tried to carry on as usual while still avoiding the masked men when you could.

but somehow, you found yourself cornered once again, in the living area this time this time, stuck on the sofa as the twins stood above you as they blocked your view and any chance of escape.

"miss hunter!" they spoke in unison, a little too loudly considering their proximity.

you flinched at the volume of their voices, catching you slightly off guard before answering them.

"yes...?"

"ahem," luke clears his throat before pointing an accusing index finger at you.

"we've figured you out!"

oh no.

"listen, there's-"

"we know why you've been avoiding us!" kieran points as well, looking down at you behind his mask.

"i can-"

"you're planning to scare boss with a new mask and in a pretty outfit before apprehending and tying him up, aren't you?" they accuse in unison this time.

you pause.

"...huh?"

"we know everything!" luke folds his arms over his chest.

"yeah, so just give it up!" kieran mimics the action.

"..."

a beat of silence passes.

you're unsure if you should be angry at them for snooping or grateful for their shared braincell before you burst into laughter.

under the masks, the twins look at each other.

huh?

you're laughing so hard you tilt to the side, clutching your stomach as you sink into the expensive cushions.

so that's what they thought?

the twins gazes flick from each other back to you as you slowly calm down, catching your breath.

"so, that's what you came up with?" you finally speak again, wiping at your eyes that are threatening to spill amused tears.

"we promise not to tell boss!" kieran speaks up first.

"ye-yeah! we'll even record his reaction, if you'd like," luke offers, snapping back when his brother speaks up first.

you shake your head.

"no need, you two are wrong anyway," you tell them, standing up from the sofa.

"actually, you'll get to see it soon enough."

"really?!??"

you nod at them, reaching both hands out to pat each of their heads at the same time.

"mhm, just wait a little longer, okay?"

"yes, miss!" they speak together, determined voices reaching your ears.

you begin making your way out of the living area before luke calls out to you again.

"uh, just a suggestion, but maybe use something a little sturdier than ribbon for the mask!"

you stare at him.

"it may be too heavy to hold it, so i recommend something like ours!" he turns his brother around, gesturing towards his mask.

"r-right" you nod. "thanks, i'll keep that in mind," you mutter but loud enough for him to still hear you.

"anytime, miss!"

with that, you're scampering back to your room, hoping luke is as oblivious as he seems and not just messing with you.

when you're out of sight, they turn to each other.

"so, you were wrong," kieran starts, hand moving behind his head.

"hey! i bet i was close. and anyway, we'll see whatever it is soon enough, right? isn't that all thanks to me??" luke juts his thumb towards himself.

"yeah, i'll give you that at least."

"but still, i wonder what the deal is with the interest in masks. isn't it too sudden?"

"maybe she got jealous of ours," kieran suggests.

"that must be it," luke quickly agrees.

"guess we'll just have to wait and see for miss hunter's masterpiece mask."

-

stage four: ???

"..."

sylus had returned a couple of nights later.

you initially told them that they'd likely get to see what you'd been working on for christmas as you'd wrapped it and placed it under the tree, but when the day came and you noticed sylus hadn't yet returned, you made the twins wait until he did.

and he had.

finally.

though, they had to entertain themselves for one more night, already surrendering opening them despite their beloved boss' return after seeing him haul you down the hallway and into his bedroom.

as they trotted off to their rooms, luke piped up suddenly.

"so that's what all the ribbon was for..."

"huh?"

"didn't you see? miss hunter had ribbon dangling from her wrists and ankles."

"freaky."

"definitely."

. . .

the next day, like young children on christmas morning, the twins berated sylus' door with knocks, calling at you both to hurry up cause they'd waited long enough, threatening to rip open all of the presents should you make them wait any longer.

in short time, both you and sylus had appeared in the living room (you being carried by sylus and placed comfortably on the sofa) as the twins sat by the tree, eyeing the presents.

"go on, then" sylus urged, leaning back on the sofa, manspread as a hand reached over to caress your hair.

you pointed out the two cutely-sized presents wrapped with care in gold and silver wrapping paper, the twins snatching them up quickly before ripping the paper after you have the okay.

under the paper, the each help a small cardboard box. they looked at each other.

"open it up," your voice is sleepy, comfortable from sylus' caresses but fighting the fatigue in favor of seeing the twins' faces.

"on three," kieran tells luke, who nods.

"one," kieran starts.

"two," luke continues.

"three!" they say together, snatching the lids clean off of the boxes.

its quiet for a moment as they inspect the contents.

inside each box are one shiny ring, the perfect size for their masks, and a small chain dangling from it adorned with a small, shiny crow charm on the end of it.

they both take theirs out, inspecting it and watching the charm dangle.

"i.. hope you like it. it wasn't easy to make... you trail off, watching their focused expressions.

they pause their staring before slowly looking at each other, a sudden realization donning upon them.

"so thats what it all was for!"

sylus tilts his head.

"what what was for?"

"long story-" luke begins.

"we thought miss hunter was making a mask to scare you and then tie you up."

sylus stares for a moment before a chuckle escapes him.

"well, that's definitely an idea..."

you swat at his thigh.

"such a feisty kitten," he teases, but continues his caresses.

the twins then shift their hidden gaze towards you.

"thank you, miss hunter!"

needless to say, the sight of them donning the matching dangling crow charms and sometimes switching from their classic gold ring to your silver one filled your heart.

-

a/n: happy new years! its still new yrs eve for me so technically i finished this in dec (& all month of dec is christmas to me heh....) i wish everyone a lovely new yrs celebration & hope the yr brings you peace & fulfillment :x i'm quite proud of myself for writing + posting fics for lads for the first time in succession & hope to improve w any new piece that i release :x also ,good luck to everyone on this current banner.... i was lucky to get rafayel & then zayne alr and have my sights set on sylus next.... i will get freaky w him trust

-

[sheeezu]

you asked for free labor and i OBLIGE! there’s nothing more i love than hearing people talk about their drs: anything simple from morning routine, to life altering moment, to happiest moment, literally anything you’d like 🎀 lol i’m a sucker for a good story

Oof I completely missed your ask.

Anyways I'm happy to share :)

I'm not sure what I could possibly share in my morning routine, it's the same as any other person's DR. Wake up, get a kiss from my SO, eat breakfast which has always been porridge, i find it more convenient, then I change into my work uniform (yes, I wear a uniform to work) and then go to work.

I think it's just better to just do a random storytime, I have a very mushy brain at the current moment so my mind is replaying a single memory so-

I was in college and my best friend (who's my SO now) forced me to go a concert with him, it was a pretty big celebrity in my reality, and so I knew there was going to be a crowd.

I was too hesitant because I didn't even know a single song from that artist, second, I didn't want to be pushed around, and the main reason was I had dinner with my dad (Btw I love him, best dad ever)

So after adjusting my schedule, I arrived at the concert with my soon-to-be SO.

All I did during the concert was stand stone faced in the middle of the crowd, we were standing pretty close to the stage. Long story short I ended up being pushed by this very eager fangirl into the stage, and ended up getting a small cut on my wrist from the edge of the stage.

I left to hopefully locate a restroom, it was a very local concert literally held at our college. So I entered the washroom and stopped my bleeding cut. After a while I thought there was no better place to find peace away from the crowd than in the restroom, meaning I got distracted and took out my phone and read world affairs for a good 20 minutes.

After a while some guy comes in, so I put the phone back and faced him, he was the singer who was performing, at this point in my life this had been my first time being this close to a celebrity, but did it mean much to me? no.

What I was more confused about what this 2 year post graduate celebrity guy just walked into the college restroom which students use, without a care of security risks.

I asked him what he was doing here, he told me that "What? Even famous people have to go."

I realised this was getting awkward, so I reworded my question, telling him that this is the restroom students use, I tried to prove my point I pointed towards an area of the wall where random swear words and suggestive drawings were made with a sharpie, only to find they had been covered with some sort of weird medical tape.

I cleared my throat, before he tells me that this is the VIP restroom he had been escorted to.

Sure enough, outside there was a paper stuck to the door and a big VIP was written on it.

Basically they converted the restroom on the campus into a VIP restroom only for one day.

And I managed to sneak in, idk there was no one guarding the restroom so that makes it even more funny.

He asked me if i wanted an autograph to which my politics clouded mind responded with a big fat blunt no.

But then I remembered it would give me some brownie points if I bring back an autograph to the guy I was trying to win over, who, at that time was a pretty decent fan of this celebrity (also, there is nothing special to this celebrity just because I haven't mentioned his name, his name was Jimmy, and he looked like jimmy Nuetron) so after a while I told him that, I, infant would like an autograph.

I had nothing on which I could get a signature on, in my pocket was just one blood socked tissue paper.

And so I got it signed.

...

I got out and like a psychopath handed over the bloody signed tissue to my soon to be SO who was more worried since he thought I got lost somewhere, since the concert ended a while ago.

...

He still has that tissue paper. It's has a sentimental value in our relationship.

[merinathropp]

okay here's my massive and hugely late Wicked movie review in case anyone is still interested alksdjalskdjaldk bless you all for your patience

Glinda - 11/10 no notes I am besotted. I was so wrong about Ariana Grande, she was pitch perfect and melted into the character. She played Glinda with all the nuance she desperately deserves, she was SO MUCH MORE than just a mean blonde girl, she had a sort of 'spoiled rich girl innocence' and genuine sweetness in everything she did. And the RANGE!!!! Her expressions during No One Mourns get the award for First Thing To Make Me Weep, there was SUCH pain and bitter resolve underneath her composure. Ariana the woman that you are.

Fiyero - I feel like Fiyero is a character who only works if you make him a bit camp and silly and absolutely commit to The Flynn Rider-ness of it all, and Jonathan ABSOLUTELY DID. He was outrageously charming. Love that he flirted with girls and boys and even members of staff, really drove home the whole 'scandalous reputation' thing. Equal opportunity Fiyero Flirting. What a time to be alive.

Elphaba - Okay this is where things get complicated. I really struggled with Cynthia's Elphaba. I totally respect that she wanted to take the character in a different direction, making her more vulnerable and soft-spoken and sad.

It just didn't work for me, because it stripped Elphaba of all the things I love about her in the show: her fierceness, her rage, her explosive nature, her terrible temper. I just adore how messy she is. And I missed that in the movie.

I've seen people talk a lot about how Cynthia's Elphaba is 'internal' - she doesn't let her emotions show, she keeps it all on the inside. Again, this was a choice that really bugged me. So many classic Elphaba Reaction Moments were reduced to Cynthia just...looking?? It drove me mad.

Her vocals were out of this world. She looked absolutely stunning. But I just can't connect with this new version of Elphaba as much as her stage counterpart.

Sets, Props & Costumes - GORGEOUS. A literal feast for the eyes, this is a sumptuous movie and I kept wanting to pause the frame just to take in all the little details. Everything felt so distinctly Ozian, all the bizarre textures and fabric choices and steampunk Victorian vibe...ughhhh obsessed.

Screenplay - I think my overall take for this section is: The additions they made were fun, but if I'd been in charge, I would have prioritised completely different things lol.

With the 3 hour runtime, I guess I just assumed they would put all that glorious extra time towards Gelphie and Fiyeraba? Especially because there are SO many juicy cut scenes from older versions of Wicked (e.g. workshops, San Francisco tryouts), and this was an amazing opportunity to bring some of that stuff back.

But instead, we got like...A Sentimental Man dance break, more dialogue with the Wizard, a big action sequence with Elphaba and Glinda escaping the guards, a new song about the ancient sorcerers of Oz, loads of Pfannee and Shenshen dialogue etc.

Again, I don't think any of this stuff was bad! But I wish the extra time had gone towards expanding the character relationships rather than like...The Wizard Will Dance For You Now lol.

(Not to mention they cut some of Fiyeraba's dialogue - a BIZARRE choice, I scream into the void etc, these two have such limited time together already, Why Would You Cut More Of It)

Misc Things I Loved - Galinda and Elphaba's new little 'signature wave' for each other, based on their Ozdust dance. Destroyed me emotionally every time they used it.

- Popular was a MASTERCLASS in adapting a musical theatre number to screen, I was so worried it would be Too Much but they pitched it just right. It was hysterically funny but still sincere, Galinda was very much 'kid who's had too much sugar at 3am' and she was so DRAMATIC and silly and sweet, I'm besotted fjhakjsdhaksjda.

- ALL THE CHOREOGRAPHY. Bursting with energy, highly musical. I found myself wishing the camera would slow down / zoom out a bit, so we could enjoy it more fully.

- Doctor Dillamond actually saying to Elphaba that she has a friend in him, and gently offering her one of his hooves to so they could 'shake hands'. My friend and I were both like 'we did not expect to get emotional about the goat professor, yet here we are'.

- Fiyero 'yeah I ate grass as a child' Tigelaar. he absolutely did. not a single doubt in my mind.

- The Wizard, trying to convince Elphaba to join him: uhhhh you can even bring your...friend...with you! (I was literally like HAHAHA HE GETS IT oh no. he gets it. oh no. I just loved that he seizes immediately on the one thing that might sweeten the deal for Elphaba, which is having Glinda with her.)

[mrinafria]

Seen some viewers not liking The Judge from Hell for different reasons, and I think I kind of get why (just my guess). Also, disclaimer (in case it's not obvious enough): I respect and am fine with anyone disagreeing with me and not liking the show for whatever reason.

If you've watched The Devil Judge, then The Judge from Hell is not that. Unlike The Devil Judge, it doesn't have a dark, grim, ominous setup that stays true to that heavy vibe till the end. If you've watched Lucifer, it's not that either. Close but also not really. Unlike Lucifer, The Judge from Hell hasn't shown us an anti-hero/anti-heroine who, underneath the charisma and confidence and tricks and looks, is full of self-loathing, unprocessed angst and human-like emotions. I'm just going off of the 8 episodes of TJFH aired so far. Unlike Lucifer, Justitia doesn't seem to display a subconscious desire not to be misunderstood and abandoned, nor does she feel complex emotions about humans and humanity (it's just starting with Daon she still has a long way to go). We don't see a Fallen/Demon with a semblance of a moral compass here.

Even her "I trust what children say" doesn't mean much because she doesn't do that out of some morality; to her, it's just facts that children are the least crafty and least vile amongst humans. Justitia is very mechanical (and petty even) in what she does- she's not on some great self-discovery or redemption journey in here to even entertain the notion of humanity or morality. If we expect such nuance from her so early on in the story, we maybe setting ourselves up for disappointment. Y'all she's been doing this for Lord knows HOW many hundred years. It's not her first gig. If you have been having coffee at night despite being an insomniac for like three decades, it's highly likely you'd stop thinking or caring about the morality, the 'rightness' of drinking coffee even when it destroys your health.

It's like that for her, to the point where she can, in fact, treat every murder, every crime, every criminal lightly. She's been the judge, jury and executioner all along, and that's the job she needs to do well on earth too. As audience, we may be living on earth longer than she's been but the moment Justitia stepped in, it became 'her world' that we're now getting a peek at.

She's not some vigilante or messiah; just an eccentric, murdering demon from hell who likes Z cola and a pretty wardrobe and Han Daon too- what's wrong with that lol. I remember seeing similar sentiments when Vincenzo was on, because some felt the comedy and humor didn't go well with the overall theme, with a psycho CEO committing all kinds of crimes+ ML's childhood grief and mafia ptsd+ revenge etc. I feel like it was a conscious choice not to make the show so heavy or serious, despite the subject matter. TJFH feels like it treats heavy stuff casually because it is mostly shown through Justitia's lens, and so far, SHE has been treating heavy stuff casually. She really doesn't feel anything emotionally for the girl being in an abusive relationship, or the child being with that horrible excuse of a stepmom. All she sees are the sinners and their sins, and whether they can help her fulfill her mission.

But even that is changing now, gradually, with Justitia/Kang Bitna starting to feel more and more human emotions (props to Daon).

Now, could we have gotten a more nuanced character arc with a serious undertone? Maybe yes, maybe no. The story is yet to unfold fully so I say it's too early to decide that? However, three things that come to mind are: 1. kdramas generally don't get seasons unlike TV series in the US or UK, to explore things gradually with each season geared towards a certain theme or development. Lucifer did what it did in six seasons. 2. I've noticed that unless it's a super horror, super apocalyptic or dystopian show, kdramas like to incorporate humor in their story no matter what genre it is (even shows like The Light in Your Eyes or Moon Lovers or Hi Bye, Mama have their lighthearted moments). Kdramas aren't perfect. Different shows become perfect to different audiences because of their personal preferences. I watch the show because the trailers promised us a fantasy drama with angst between the leads, because it gives me a good laugh, and also maybe because a small part in me kinda sorta lives vicariously through Justitia's ultimate reckoning lol.

I'm actually glad it's not a heavy show because the stuff they've shown so far can be quite disturbing and triggering and I'd be very hesitant to proceed with it if that were the case. 3. I think it's also okay to acknowledge that not all writers/creatives would prefer to do the research needed to pull off certain themes, nuanced character arcs and dynamic, which can leave some viewers wanting more out of a character/show too.

It's fine not to like a hyped drama or a character (happens to me too). But in my opinion, the show is delivering what it promised to deliver initially, and I'm glad it is.

[utilitycaster]

As someone who hasn't watched majority of c1, reading your thoughts on how tlovm compares is really interesting! I've been in the fandom since c3 began and have seen all of c2 and c3, and I've picked up a lot context.

However, I watch tlovm with a friend who has only seen tlovm at all (and like, 1 hour of exu calamity e1 that we never continued lol, so he did recognise Zerxeus' name). From his perspective of seeing the show as it is on it's own, he's been having a great time, something I do think speaks to the strength of this adaptation - that one of the things CR set out to do was to make something that stood on it's own, and I think they've succeeded in that.

How do you feel on that aspect of tlovm?

I agree - I think a lot of the criticism does come down to disappointment that we're not seeing some of the peak moments of Campaign 1, and I want to be clear that I share some aspects of that disappointment! It is just that like, again, I don't see how you make a scripted show where A Bard's Lament hits if you haven't seen the original, or where Glintshore hits in the same way at all.

I've been thinking about this a lot because I have gotten into some things for which I am unfamiliar with the original/prior installments through mutuals. For example, I have now read some of The Wheel of Time series (gotta get back into it) but I watched the show without any sentimentality for the original, and I think many people who haven't liked it have been mad about changes from the books, not how the TV story holds up. Similarly, I'm very intrigued by Veilguard despite zero past knowledge of basically anything Dragon Age, and I know a lot of longtime fans in particular are mad about changes. The challenge of adaptation, or further installments, is to straddle that line of appealing to new fans and old fans alike. And it's possible - I think TLOVM could have done some things better, but I'm here and I'm not mad about it and while I cannot claim OG C1 fan status I was around in time to have watched C1 and backed the kickstarter, but at the same time it's clearly working for people unfamiliar with the source.

I don't think you should totally abandon everything old fans liked about a series; but the fact is, old fans are a spectrum ranging from people who will love it no matter what because it's their blorbos some more! to people who will nitpick the fact that a specific phrase they have an emotional attachment to didn't appear, and everyone in between. You can't gain more old fans; you can only lose them. And in the end, you should tell a story that works for the medium and what you are trying to do. That doesn't mean every series or adaptation is good, to be clear; I think people who hate on Game of Thrones are 100% valid and not just bitter ASOIAF fans, and we all know that the MCU's attempt to build both a coherent universe but also be accessible to new fans turned it into an absolute trainwreck. But I think that an adaptation should not only be the original but in a new medium, and it should be something a new viewer would enjoy, and yes, I think TLOVM achieves that.

[nalyra-dreaming]

I'm sure you've heard already but ppl on Twitter tearing sentiment about Louis entering relationship with Armand for protection TO SHREDS. Going off how flirty Louis looked on the date. I just have two question for them:

1)What is that happened after that date that would've made Louis change his heart? (Sarcasm) Yes, Louis clearly boldly flirted with Armand there (lets ignore lestat third-wheeling and Louis taking photos of lestat with Armand being at the side). And AFTER he nearly died by Armand's hand. And Assad confirmed that Armand was planning to kill him, it wasn't just a sham. So, it's understandable that Louis started to look at Armand differently there.

2)"it's also the beginning of the ultimatum with Armand and the beginning of the darker side of their relationship" from Jacob's mouth. They need to look up definition of ultimatum. It's a CONDITION usually combined with a threat. We're being NICE when discuss this scene because I haven't seen single person imply that Armand was pressuring Louis into sex. All I saw people saying this situation happened unintentionally on Armand's part because he's used to power plays, toxic relationship etc

People are sooo hypocritical in this fandom. They SWEAR they love toxic love stories but get scared by toxicity. Bet same people who are pissed about this believe that Louis didn't want sex in ep6 and that he did it to appease lestat. Picking and choosing where to see abuse and where don't.

Also it seems like some give more importance to reviews than cast's interviews. I read reviews and read about tender romantic loumand in Paris.

I also heard Hannah saying that cage in bedroom was intentional. I also read jacob saying Armand is dark looming presence and that he serves function to Louis and that Louis becomes dissatisfied. There was a lot in Jacob's interviews actually.

Reviews and interviews don't always say the same thing, sometimes even contradict each other (Assad and Eric mentioning devil's minion and reviews saying there's nothing between them). And you would think people will focus on words of someone who WORKS on the show, but they prefer to hear only things that support their headcanons

Tbh, I have been taken aback by how willingly everyone is jumping/hating on that post (and, I mean, I have pointed out the same thing???), because... it completely dismisses what Assad and Jacob have said...

AND it completely dismisses Jacob's acting there.

Really look at him. I'm not going to pull up the gifs now, it's the current episode, go look at Louis' face and expression and body language... and then remember what his "inner Lestat" said.

And we all know how good an actor Jacob is, right.

I mean. The fandom dismissing what cast and creators say in favor of accusations is nothing new. God knows I've ranted about this. But... I mean... how can you think Louis, after Armand almost kills him... would just happily enter a relationship? When he just asked to be decapitated??? When the only thing that stopped him - was Armand's comment that Claudia wouldn't be around for long.

THAT is, as far as the tale is currently spun, what made Louis stop. Literally.

Jacob said that it would go darker from here and I... don't doubt it. But I think some people are not prepared, lol.

Dubai is a golden cage, by intent and set design as stated. And Louis was "the little birdie for the next 50 years".

Or does anybody really think the overlay with the coven telling Claudia that was a coincidence....

Or wonder why AMC did not promote Loumand as a couple... at all.

I'm just glad the gag orders have dropped away, at least I can listen now to Assad, Jacob, Sam and Rolin telling it like it is.

[neonnightflower]

I'd like to talk about the fact that I doubt that Singed really got a happy ending. Yes, that's probably enough for him. But I still find this ending sad.

I'm not going to talk about what disappointed some of Singed's true fans right now. Namely, this is what he was given a primitive sentimental motivation. In general, someone doesn't like the fact that the goals of this character were reduced to bringing his daughter back to life, instead of him doing everything purely because of his scientific interest. Now he can answer any question "for the sake of my daughter." However, in general, I like this turn of events. I haven't played LoL.

So, in the finale of the second season, we see that Singed has achieved his goal. His daughter is sitting at a table and admiring a box with mechanical ballerina, while her father sits down next to her and looks happy. But let's think about what it cost him. This is, in fact, an unhappy character. I'm not saying that everyone else is happy. But nevertheless.

We don't know about his past, but he probably lost his wife if he was the one raising Orianna. Of course, a woman could despair and break up with him on this basis, but maybe Orianna wouldn't have died if she also had a mother who looked after her. So I'm inclined to believe that Singed's wife was dead after all. So, he lost his wife, and daughter is the only thing he has left of a loved one. Accordingly, that's why he values her so much and wants to preserve at least one part of his ruined family at all costs.

Now imagine that this man lost everything, and he was also kicked out of the academy. I don't know if it was before Orianna's death or after. But in LoL, Orianna didn't die. She just gradually became a robot and lost her humanity. Or was Singed not kicked out? Did he resign because of financial problems? I can't say for sure. Was it said in Arcane? I only remember about the resignation. I'd be grateful if you could clarify this point. But, one way or another, he lost both his family and his job.

Singed had led a lonely life for a long time, and where he lived, only his terrible experiments, silence and a dead daughter awaited him. Most likely, there were also many painful and overwhelming thoughts related to the past. He was alone with it all. And so on for many years. Thanks at least to Viktor (I'll add here a meme that was made by guineapigeddie, sorry)), Silco and his work that he had some kind of communication. And he was just great that didn't give up, didn't go crazy, but continued to try to find a solution, putting his life on healing the loved one from the death.

He also suffered severe burns to his body, especially his face, as a result of which he even lost his lips and an eye. It must have been very painful and traumatic. Isn't that the price?

But what is the price for? As a result, he managed to revive Orianna, yes. But who is she now? A robot or a puppet that will never grow up. She will only be able to return to her hobbies, work, and maybe make friends with someone. But, most likely, she is infertile or even asexual, so Singed will never see the birth of his grandchildren, and even, probably, the moment when his daughter finds a partner and will be happy in this sense. Although the question is whether she wants it herself. If so, it was bad, and it was selfish of him to bring her back to life. Did she even want to come back to life? Will she be able to socialize? Would she blame her father for the bad things he did for her sake? Maybe she'll give up on him eventually. Or she'll be left alone when he dies and won't be able to adapt to life.

And who's Singed now? An old and ugly (not for me ^u^) man who was called a monster, the meaning of whose life is now tied only to his daughter. Someone who is stuck in his past. He lost a lot of time, which now he will never get back, and he has relatively little of it left. I think it's a controversial happy ending. A happy ending with a taste of bitterness.

[fadetouchedsilk]

camellia mercar is the saddest wettest cat of a da protagonist i have and i didn't even get a say in that characterization but here we are. this game is Insane for making it look like everyone else is part of a groupchat that rook wasn't invited to but i guess i'm integrating that & coming out on the other side with something that's crossing into the territory of 'world's most unfortunate being, emotionally.'

anyway here's some comedic depression wherein i crank up the isolated vibes

so like. considerably less fun than Crypt Baby Rook, we have Abandoned Battlefield Baby Rook. which is already a very promising start /s

adoptive family was probably mostly fine? except being an elf it seems that she basically never left the property? which is like alright yeah sure tevinter is just Like That i guess. the important personal takeaway here is that a lot of time would have been spent on her Own and deeply under-socialized. this made her 1. something of a people pleaser and 2. Extremely weird if you paid enough attention for like .5 seconds.

absolutely internalized being Not Very Important at home & carries this for the rest of her life lmao. no one made her follow the 'do not speak unless acknowledged' rule, she put that one on herself.

isolation is The Only Coping Mechanism. she did not have friends, she had a string of pet rats over the years (acquired without permission). several of them were trained to do tricks. she had an abundance of free time by herself to do this.

unsurprisingly she's probably also tried whatever creative solo hobby you can think of

has absolutely internalized her lot in life as being sort of assigned to this role btw

in her mind 99.9% chance that varric assigned her a nickname because he didn't actually remember her name. this cannot be disproven, doesn't actually matter if it's the case.

not actually convinced that any of her fellow shadow dragons know who she is personally? (based on my vague memory of getting the letter from viper but then also the game introducing me to him in conversation like this was the first time we'd met. wild.)

(aside from having a general interest in wanting to make a difference, she also initially found the idea of the shadow dragons appealing because it was a cohesive group working towards a common goal, which felt like a good place to try and meet people right?)

(she does not manage to progress past Work Acquaintances Status with anyone. unfortunately. she justifies this with the idea that 'they probably already know enough people/maybe i wouldn't like hanging out with them anyway/maybe they didn't know if i drank or not and didn't want to make things weird, etc etc)

not invited to group hangouts at the lighthouse--this is an assumption borne of the fact that she's, yknow, pretty preoccupied with making sure we all don't watch the world explode & Die & also the whole 'alone = familiar' thing. it's an Incorrect assumption, she Does want to go to the group hangouts but legitimately has no idea how friendship dynamics operate outside of literal rats.

will say this is 100% fine with her, she's just happy everyone is getting along

(it's not fine. this sentiment is delivered with the energy of someone who is keeping a list of potential 13th reasons)

finds out about book club night after the fact. is trying so very hard to be chill about it, knows that she's stepped out of her typical role as a background character but that doesn't automatically mean that the rest of the status quo will shift along with that. (she is privately not chill about it & is in fact very sad)

you know those people who are very good at asking others about themselves & since they're always around you just Assume that it must be mutual, only to sit there and realize you don't even know what their favourite colour is or like literally anything else about them? yeah.

she wants to ask if anyone knows what her name is for real but is also afraid of the answer lol

you might be asking yourself, why does she allow this to keep happening? why not Say Something? & to that i say, look, we've all been in a situation where we try to make friends with an established group & how awkward that can be even if you're a more secure person. this is like that except she's in real time watching people become better friends with each other (since it's Not an established group) & none of them are choosing her :')

(we love residual childhood wounds) so, so willing to just roll with being the afterthought or more of a Concept of a person who happens to be useful instead of drawing attention to the problem & making things worse (worse how? she doesn't know, it's just the nebulous concept of Worse)

certain that the only two beings she know for sure actually like spending time with her would be Manfred and Assan. assan is food motivated though so that's toeing the line a bit. but manfred definitely likes being around her! that's a win. that's her only win.

she's a genuinely nice person she's just incredibly convinced she's going to go through life Alone & acts accordingly. it's not anyone's fault, that's just how it is.

this becomes painfully funny when she's dealing with solas or solas-as-varric

solas does not have to work hard to convince her that she's the odd man out or spin things to make it look like she's disliked so that he can manipulate her more easily. no no. there's at least a part of every fade conversation where she reveals some sort of crushingly lonely habit she's developed & is weirdly kind of relieved that at least He's taking some time to ask how she's holding up (never mind that this is a verbal hostage situation)

she kills his vibe so hard without trying lmfao.

'god i wish the inquisitor was here,' he thinks for the Nth time that week. 'isenril would have thrown a chair at me by now if i tried this with her. i miss that dynamic. she would just yell at me. i know how to work with that. this just feels. Bad.' it's like kicking a puppy except the puppy has been conditioned to accept it & has settled into resignation.

it's worse when he has to pretend to be varric. small mercy there is that she hasn't spent nearly as much time around him as the inquisitor but god. solas is Not a comforting person.

he's So uncomfortable whenever she sounds like she's going to start crying & has never pivoted to a different subject in a conversation so fast in his life. ('there there. you're uh. you're doing Great i'm sure everyone is noticing.')

like. he's still going to try and switch places with her in the fade at some point but he's not even certain she would argue about it afterwards.

he does not love the fact that she doesn't have Friends at the lighthouse because this means he's the default. he's done a lot of fake-napping mid-conversation with varric. give this man a daytime emmy. (he's cornered himself, no one else can see him so he can't even orchestrate a relationship with someone else to pawn her off on. he's in hell.)

also elgar'nan didn't even say anything specific to tempt her when they faced off lmao. everyone Else got a personalized taunt but not her (do you ever take it personally when even the god who wants you dead can't even bother to find out some basic wants of yours or are you normal)

the way no one checks in on her after minrathous. lol. lmao.

she's not going to hold it over neve for being upset. that would be insane & also she knows she's not being blamed for real, it's just a bad situation.

but also she does feel maybe like everyone Else might be blaming her? maybe just a bit?

guys you know i live there too right. guys. you know i made the decision because i thought that treviso would have the weaker defences & we would have had a better chance right. you know i'm not any more powerful than anyone else & had no way of knowing i would also be destroying My own home, right? Right???

yeah this is one of those moments where she removes herself from the situation and just breaks in private. she doesn't dislike neve at all (she wishes she was cool like that tbh, people seem to like neve much more in general. even the wisps seem to prefer neve over her) but one can only take so much concern for someone who is in the Exact Situation You're In without so much as a word directed your way.

also she feels irrational guilt for the choice so it doesn't help with the whole Feeling Punished thing

(again not like she Knew what would happen!! it seemed the more logical choice based on what she knew)

the catch 22 with withdrawing is that people tend to assume that you don't want them to intrude on your privacy, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy if you already suffer from Terminal Lonely Disease. no one has seen rook since we got back really = she must be fine & not want help so we'll leave her to it = 'oh god they must Really not care about me all that much'

unfortunate situation where like. yeah she probably could have made things more obvious when it comes to connection efforts but also that shouldn't be one-sided effort either you know?

she's also fully expecting this to transfer over to any surviving faction members & if they don't end up hating her for it, it doesn't compute.

the relationship with lucanis is just. a comedy of errors & poorly communicated intentions tbh.

she likes him a lot but because he's the way he is there's no reason to think this is anywhere close to mutual

he remembered what she likes to drink but she also knows that he's the one typically making the grocery lists so like. yeah no shit he remembered she isn't special.

she's not a Confident flirt but the one thing she has going for her is that it's fairly obvious so she's pretty sure he's noticed he's just not into her. which is fine! no expectations so no disappointment!

maybe some disappointment

honestly she feels like she's made more of a connection with spite than anyone else at this point. spite likes her, spite Wants to talk about her. spite would be actively interested in seeing any of the rats she's trained at the lighthouse & would do so without making her feel silly for it.

(she's trained two. the have recall & can jump through a small hoop & she's working on object retrieval. these are new rats she grabbed as coping mechanisms at some point because it felt more reactive than talking to the fish in the tank.)

this only goes so far because of the body sharing thing (she thinks it might be crossing some sort of boundary) but the point is that the Literal Demon is somehow the only being who seems to actively enjoy her presence & make this fact known

unsurprisingly the Almost Kiss makes spite insane. 'lucanis why are you upsetting my best friend rook. are you stupid i think you might be stupid. she's not going to come here anymore do you understand that. she's crying. look at what you did.'

guess who starts aggressively avoiding group mealtimes (on purpose this time not like 'oh sorry everyone already ate, there's leftovers though') & the pantry in general. at some point she just starts her own mini pantry in her room to avoid crossing paths.

you thought she spent time on her own before? you haven't seen the 'i got my hopes up & it went nowhere which i Should have expected so i'm not even mad about it really but i am humiliated & feel very stupid for actually wanting something & don't want to talk about it' version of Isolation yet. it's real bad lmao.

like she's still going out & doing her job and also helping the rest of the team is at least something else to focus on (but gosh it sure would be nice if literally anyone asked if she was doing okay)

spite would like to do that but he's Not Allowed and couldn't be more unhappy lmfao.

(note: this will not even be remotely addressed until after 'inner demons.')

the 'i made you a dessert' lock in scene doesn't translate at alllll. he thinks he's being So Smooth & So Obvious (it's not another gifted knife without context). in his mind this was a success. as far as she's concerned this was literally just about dessert.

slowburn is great. he's treating every conversation like actual relationship progression & she's like. well we're friends again i think i'll just be happy with that much.

low self worth & self doubt keep her stagnant

fade prison break out is. something else. it's been an unpleasant hour for her & a month for everyone else. harding is dead bellara got Grabbed by the blight & solas is Loose. everyone is having a great time. super fantastic.

girl is legitimately surprised there was That much of an effort to find her since she's lost the dagger & solas isn't in her head anymore (not that she's complaining)

atp her only goal is to try & un-fuck everyone's lives as much as she can before something inevitably takes her out (she is not the hof she is not the inquisitor she assumes she Will be dying at some point soon thanks)

fucking news to her that she's apparently been in a relationship for at least the duration of her time in the fade. that talk ends up much the same way as we see it play out but not before a Lot of incredibly distressed clarifications.

this isn't lucanis getting dragged he feels So goddamn bad holy shit. spite feels vindicated finally, he was Correct & his human counterpart really should have just listened to him instead of whatever the fuck he was trying to do.

anyway the lesson here is that you waste a whole lot of time getting wrapped up in your own issues when you Could have been going on actual dates instead (this is a call out for both of them they're both annoying about it)

by the end of things she still doesn't. really feel 100% part of the group lmfao but it's maybe not as terrible?

i also just think as a professor emmrich has had More than enough students break down in his office to recognize her particular flavour of instability. he's probably going to end up putting in some extra effort. perhaps he will even learn about some of her hobbies & even coax her into doing them outside of her room or on one of the private balconies

bellara also likes her i think she just has horse blinder style hyperfixations & forgets regular socialization. time blindness will hit her like a truck. it's fine.

camellia Needs to be explicitly told that she's getting a good grade in friendship, something that's both totally normal to want & possible to achieve

she still doesn't like to tell people about the trained rats though because when she inevitably explains Why she knows how to train rats she realizes as she says it that her childhood was actually probably pretty sad sounding.

actually every time she starts to talk about how she grew up she kind of stops herself halfway through like Huh. actually maybe that wasn't as fun as i remember it being you're looking at me with concern.

anyway she knows how to cross stitch & does watercolours. those are her main things. please show some interest in them she's dying to talk about them but will not take the floor on her own.

please stop calling her rook also she's losing her mind & it's been so long at this point she doesn't know how to address it :')

[tsutsumi-kurose]

tsukasa looking at amane in 109

based on these panels…

…tsukasa is not only staring at amane here…

…but he also turns to address hanako as he says this!!

so many possible readings of this!! so many questions!! did he want to destroy it for amane? or did he maybe not like what amane was trying to do with the clock? was it actually just genuine curiosity, and if it was, did he never attempt destroying it before bc he knew amane was trying to fix it? also, how was hanako affected by hearing this sentiment from tsukasa at the trial? i get the feeling this is a look of “we both know what I’m talking about” but it's hard to say without seeing hanako's reaction to it!

either way, what an incredible little insight into middle school tsukasa those panels paint over the course of just one sentence. tsukasa sitting there all quiet and placid watching amane, looking patient and harmless. meanwhile his head is full of violent destruction not even hinted at on his face. what other sorts of thoughts were going through tsukasa's head at this point in his life, and how, if at all, did they get expressed? this is also potentially an interesting insight into the timeline of things, considering amane's apparent lack of injuries while fixing the clock... maybe some connected hints at things there?

i also love this moment of him looking at hanako even as he's supposedly talking to the clock keepers bc it feels like such a classic tsukasa move. keeping his awareness of the situation in tact, keeping an eye on things as much as is necessary, but taking the opportunity to steal a private moment for amane, his real/personal focus. he's a professional!! he's gonna do what he needs to!! our little anarchist will temporarily appease the process of Law and Order if he must, to get his plan to work—but he's also going to have a moment to meet amane's eye and reference something only the two of them understand, having an entire conversation that everyone else can technically hear, but can't understand.

even the line speaks of self indulgence in this look: yes, he says he has his professional reasons for destroying the clock, but there were also personal reasons, and i love that while he's fulfilling the necessary business of twisting the trial to his benefit, he has this little look to hanako as he touches on his own desires surrounding the clock. a little detour from business. he didn't need to share that! he's already explained himself enough for his plan to work!! that last sentence was just bc tsukasa wanted hanako to hear it.

it's honestly kind of endearing, that, for someone who seems to be all about doing as he pleases, tsukasa is actually very good at doing his job, even the stuffy parts he probably doesn't like very much, and only giving himself brief little treats like this while focusing on his duties!!

i also love how this one line, these two pages, just makes me desperately want to know more about what amane was doing with that clock, what tsukasa knew, and how he felt about it... i love you yugi twins lore crumbs <3 lol they're always so well done and make me lose my mind in the best way!! so many thoughts on this one sentence and those two looks but i still have no idea what any of it actually means!!!! so good!!

[misc-obeyme]

So uh... Lesson 18 huh??

I'd just like to say that the juxtaposition of Lesson 18 being all sad and serious with the new event being all ridiculous was both weird and kinda nice? Like I needed that event to cheer me up after Lesson 18 almost made me cry.

Anyway, let's talk about it! Lesson 18 spoilers below!

Okay. I've seen some speculation that perhaps Lesson 20 won't be the end of season one. However, I don't think that's going to happen.

I think they're gonna pull some time travel shenanigans on us again. Or Nightbringer is gonna show up and deus ex machina this mess. Or the solution to everything is for MC to just make a pact with all seven brothers at the same time. Solomon did say that he thought they could do that in a past lesson. And if they do it all at once, it wouldn't take that long? Hmmm.

Anyway, I could speculate all day, but there were some really interesting things that happened in this lesson that I'd rather talk about.

First of all, Diavolo pulling out the Prince Voice on Raphael had me going OHHHHH lol.

I honestly love Diavolo's different sides. It makes him feel so real, you know?

SPOILERS FOR HARD LESSON 18 (just skip this paragraph in case you haven't gotten to it yet!)

And I feel like that really is even more evident in the hard lesson where he talks to Barbatos about the difference between his head and his heart. And how all he really wants is for the brothers to be happy. Which was so dang sweet. And Barbatos just gives him that whole speech about what a great king he's gonna be. I was like I can't with these two.

HARD LESSON SPOILERS OVER

Anyway, the fact that Diavolo can just step into this Prince persona and be a leader when he needs to, but then he's just a silly guy when he's not needing to do that is very realistic to me. A lot of people have different versions of themselves that they only show at certain times or to certain people. Gives his character a lot of dimension, in my opinion!

And oh... can we talk about Mammon?

My precious baby. I wanted to hug him so bad. I wanted him to continue to chew out Raphael. I mean, I know Raph is kinda just the messenger here, but I felt like Mammon was actually saying what everyone was feeling, but was too restrained to say. For some reason, everyone was just kind of letting Diavolo take the lead (and I guess that makes sense, he is the Prince after all and Raphael is basically saying they'll go to war over this). But Mammon was like oh hell no.

I agreed with him entirely. The Celestial Realm can go fuck off. I was NOT expecting this to be about the fact that the brothers have power in the Devildom now. Like are you kidding me? THAT is your big concern? Should've thought about that before you threw them out, GOD.

And when Raphael was like are you questioning Father's word to Lucifer and Luci just kinda got sad looking, I was like YES QUESTION HIM because Lucifer and his brothers deserve better than this bullshit.

It really feels like the Celestial Realm booted them out because the bros did something they didn't like, but now they've realized they made a mistake. So to get them back, they're gonna go down to the Devildom and threaten them.

Are they trying to get us to hate the Celestial Realm? Is that the goal here? I don't, obviously, but I think this was a pretty shitty move considering all that these guys have been through.

BUT THEN THE BROTHERS COMIN THROUGH WITH THE WE WON'T LEAVE SATAN

when I tell you I was crying... it was Belphie's fault.

Pretty sure this was the line that made me tear up, but then we get the same sentiment from Beel and Asmo about not leaving Satan behind and I was just like that was MY HEART you guys just shattered.

Now let's talk about Solomon and Barbatos in 18-A, shall we?

Please refer to this collection of screenshots featuring my true love dishing out some real insults.

WOW. Let him have it, Barb.

I don't know what Solomon did, but I do find this exchange incredibly interesting. Note that Solomon is wearing his human world outfit here. I kind of think human-world-outfit-wearing-Solomon is the imposter. He's the one who talked about the pact with Asmo first, where it didn't fit with his later version of the story. He was also the one who pushed all the brothers into Asmo's tub and therefore also the one who then made a pact with Asmo. He was also the one who commanded Barb to make a portal when he didn't want to and who had the discussion with Nightbringer.

I'm just sayin... maybe he doesn't know why Barb is mad at him 'cause we got more than one Solomon running around...

Buuut I could be completely off base here. We'll see, I guess!

This could all be resolved by the end of Lesson 20, you never know with this game lol.

[beifong-brainrot]

why do you ship weilin ?

Honestly, great question lol. Like I think I've written up at least a small manifesto of why I think weilin would be an objectively intereating ship lol

But like, if you mean personally why this ship is so important to me, I suppose there's a rew reasons. When Korra was coming out, I only kept up with it up until b2 and then I kinda ended up dropping it.

It was a few years ago that my sister and I were introducing our cousin to Avatar and we ended up watching the whole of Atla and then tlok, including B3 and B4. I think I got really attached to Bolin because I could sympathise with being a pushover and people pleaser, so naturally I gravitated to having him as my fave character.

When we reached B3, I immediately had a bit of a dislike of Bopal, and sorta of Opal herself, since I didn't really look much into her character at all. It felt forced and shoehorned in to please the fans who were feeling bad for Bolin for having such poor luck with women. A sort of 'give that nice boy a girlfriend, he deserves it' type of thing, which wasn't compelling to me.

I didn't initially take much note of Wei other than most ppls 'aww they're cute and they love their mom'. I really liked the pebble scene, and I think it carried a lot what I like to see shine through with Bolin. I also really liked the phrasing Wei used, 'trial by fire' since I think it's kinda what Bolin needs to grow as a character. The challenges placed before him are always dismissed and therefore he doesn't develop from them, which is perhaps something he could achieve with Wei, who has proved good at and willing to challenge him.

And I think the face pat scene just sparked my interest further. My sister, my cousin and I rewinded a couple of times and like kinda laughed about why they did that. And then I was jokingly like 'yeah this could be a good fanfic'. And my cousin and sister kinda encouraged me to commit to the bit.... which is how "Let's Change the Subject" happened. Which is now very outdated and silly but aim still proud of it lol.

My sister was actually the first person to leave kudos on it, as a guest, since she doesn't really read fics. I don't think she saw it through to the end, but it encouraged me a lot, since she's not always this genuinely encouraging.

I remember taking an almost year long break in writing that fic, because my mental health was tanking severely and school was hell. At first I didn't plan to continue that fic. But for some reason I saw that like 5 ppl left comments on what was written and that strangely encouraged me. So I posted another chapter and I ended up sorta crawling out of a deep rut by using that fic. I genuinely loved writing it, which is probably why I actually ended up extending it way past the point I planned to end it. Because writing it made me happy.

And then I kinda ended up accidentally stumbling into the tlok fandom lol. At first I think I was basically only talking to @dudelymantits who was the only other weilin shipper online at the time. And somehow then my very random side blog became an Avatar blog. It's weird, but I'm not complaining.

As much as I complain and grumble about the Avatar fandom having its flaws, I genuinely love the source material, and I have met a lot of amazing and talented ppl here.

So I guess it's really corny, but I think one of the reasons I'm so sentimental about weilin is that it literally led me to you guys lol.

[melonteee]

"A pirates life means leaving lovers at shores, because your first love is the sea! I can't see Sanji canonically with Pudding, or with anyone, because that's not the life a pirate lives! After all, his dad was 60 without a partner and a crew of his own (ie the Baratie chefs), why would Sanji be any different?"

I want to push back on this a bit not for any shipping reasons, but because we have canon examples of this not being a hard truth in the series. Aladin/Praline + Bege/Chiffon & now Lola/Gotti are examples of couples seamlessly being part of a pirate crew. Bege & Chiffon even have a kid who constantly sails with them. So I'm just confused where this idea of romance being impossible if the Strawhats want to stay together comes from. We already know they're different from other crews what with lack of offical hierarchy & how they feel comfortable to boss Luffy around so why not this particular case? Luffy even implies if any of his crew wants to get married it's no big deal to bring them aboard. This goes for ANY crewmate btw not just Sanji.

Lastly, not only did the literal king of pirates have a whole family sail with them (Oden+Toki & kids) but even he fell in love and had a partner. The only reason he gave up the pirate life was because he was dying. Sure, he could've met her after he got his death sentence, but I really don't think he still would've stopped being a pirate had he been able to keep doing it. Probably would've taken her aboard ship too. He already knew what having a family aboard would be like.

I dunno. I think it's a bit silly to think you cannot be a proper pirate AND have a partner sail with you. I mean if you can take a baby from a chest and raise it on your ship I don't see why you can't have your gf/bf travel with you if you both choose to do so. Isn't the freedom to live how you want the core of the pirate way?

I just feel this sentiment is just a preemptive way to hate on any possible ships for our strawhats just because it might not be the one we want? Like a way to go ha! see it's ~bad writing~ IF the hypothetical becomes reality. I feel Oda has left enough hints through worldbuilding that romance is not 100% off the cards for our mains.

I'm not trying to start an argument, but I do think people might want to try deconstructing the whole "No Romance in One Piece" mentality that was built upon misinterpreted quotes by Oda very long ago & perpetuated by sexist male fans because we're nearing the end lol and if it happens fans will unfairly rage about it all over the internet like with so many other series when they don't agree with endgame couples. People can still engage in ship content even if said ship isn't canon after all. Canon isn't a binding contract.

*sorry if this comes off condescending I promise it's not meant to be!

It's just mainly because, again, Sanji's own mentor didn't have a partner, and while Sanji LOVES women and everything it feels...strange?? For him to like, end up with anyone, when he says he's a man for ALL ladies! I'm not saying it's impossible, as you've pointed out, but I just cannot see the Strawhats getting partners by the end of One Piece, at most I can see it being heavily implied but that's it.

There is romance in One Piece, of course, but it always has a point to it, and the greatest romance within One Piece is the world of adventure and fantasy itself. I personally would be very disappointed if there were end game pairings that were solid and set, because not once have I thought any of these characters want to settle down and marry anyone. It's cute to have crushes here and there, but I have just have never seen any indication of marriage being in the books once for them.

Big Mum's children were very specific cause that arc overall was about marriage and family, and while Pudding did fall for Sanji, he still rejected her and her marriage. Yes Luffy said it wouldn't be a problem, but in the end, Sanji still didn't want to. Sanji only accepted the marriage when making the promise that the Strawhats would be safe, so I'm unsure why it would suddenly flip in the future and he'd have his sights set on marrying someone lmao

Oden and Toki were also different because the purpose for their marriage was to continue on Oden's lineage. Yes, they fell in love, but Momo and Hiyori ultimately existed for Wano's plot.

I think I also just really fucking hate endgame pairings LMAO like if One Piece ends with Strawhat endgame pairings instead of open interpretation I will just pass away because I really don't want this series to box itself and its characters in by doing such a thing.

[quetzalpapalotl]

You could call Nominus, Sentinel and Zeta "fake Primes" on the basis that they faked Metrix affinity with a fake Matrix to cement their positions, yes. But the thing is that even if they are fakes, there is no such thing as a "true Prime". There are matrix bearers, sure, and that overlaps with being a Prime, but in IDW1's setting it's important that these two things are not the same and both are ultimately not all that special.

The Matrix itself was always regarded as something special, but Prime seemed to be originally a title for the tribal leaders of old, given that Arcee and Galvatron are first shown ruled over a dude names Septimus Prime before Megatronus kills him. The 13 Primes seem to be the ones holding onto that title when they united the planet, which is when it first got its mystique. Prima keeping the Matrix on his sword mutually feeds their legends. Then they have a fallout that leads to the First Civil war and we get our first "modern" Prime.

It's important to note that Nova Major seems to have become Prime, or rather the ruler of the planet, thanks to his merits as a warrior in uniting the planet after the 13. There's never a mention of the Matrix playing a role in this. Most of what Nova did with it was leave it with Tyrest and co. to experiment on and create sparks and didn't even take it with him when he set off to conquer the galaxy. But equality important is the fact that despite all of this he held the real Matrix.

We have no information on how Nominus rose to power, but by the end of his reign the Matrix is something intrinsically linked to the title of Prime. Nominus pretends that his Matrix is real and both Sentinel and Zeta maintain the charade in order declare themselves Primes. So while I wouldn't put it past Nova to use his link to the Matrix to glorify himself, I think is reasonable to conclude that the idea of the Matrix as a means to legitimaze sovereignty, namely, Primacy, solified with Nominus. Using an object associated with Nova, Prima, The Knights and Primus himself.

(It bears to mention that when Nova is challenging Optimus with the Legacy of Primes, he recognizes Sentinel and Zeta as Primes despite their lack of Matrix (or at least as much Primes as him, let's not get into Titan Return) (he makes to mention of Nominus, to which I say: lol, lmao even))

The Matrix certainly played a role in Optimus becoming the Autobot leader, but so did the vacuum left after Zeta was killed, the fact that Megatron was taking over and they needed someone to rally behind and that Optimus already have had somewhat of an important position in the ranks. During the war proper it matters most that Optimus is able to go toe-to-toe with Megatron and Optimus himself doesn't put all that much stock in the Matrix. But as seen in the OP ongoing, he knew Zeta, he knew how much of a fabrication the title of Prime is and he knew the power of symbols. He tought he could give make the Primacy into something that gives people hope and the answer the story gives him is: it's nice that you tried, but the legacy of Primes is rotten to the core. That's why he had to die, so people could move from this idea. (I wrote more on that here)

When Bumblebee becomes the leader of the Autobots, he's not granted the title of Prime probably due to his lack of Matrix. But neither is Rodimus for having held the Matrix. A Prime is a role and Rodimus never led the Autobots. He's as much of a Prime as Thunderclash, which is to say, neither is. And is ultimately revealed in LL that the Matrix does have a morality lock but that anyone can pass it if they believe in themselves. And that is a very nice sentiment, but also, I must repeat that group includes Nova, a guy who sucks, notably so.

Nominus, Sentinel and Zeta weren't bad because they were fake Primes, they were just bad. Just as Nova was bad despite being legit. The Matrix doesn't make Optimus nor Rodimus special because it will take anyone. It's not actually capable of making fair judgements on the nature of a person. Matrix affinity was always a scam. And there is no glory in Primacy, is an idea that needs to be buried. *Utena voice* There never was any such thing as a Prime anywhere in the world in the first place.

[buckybarnesss]

Something that frustrates me is that Theo can full transform into a wolf and it’s never talked about. Like how is it a big enlightenment thing for the Hales and then the evil 17 year old test tube were-creature can just do it casually and he doesn’t even USE IT FOR ANYTHING

lol fucking theo.

okay.

here we go.

i can understand how this would be frustrating and yeah it kind of is but the thing about theo is that narratively he's a derek mirror.

especially for scott and stiles.

read more because i had thoughts on this subject.

for the two of them, derek has always been there. it started with the three of them and for the type of shit they dealt with on a regular basis derek being there was comforting. even when they were actively being deeply annoyed by him because derek was safe to them in so many ways that i think that like a lot of teenagers they took for granted that he'd always be around because it's derek.

than he wasn't.

and argent left too.

it's the moment where the paradigm shifts and says "you're on your own kids".

it really pulled a rug out from under the two of them.

derek's departure at the end of season 4 in smoke and mirrors was so significant but also understated. i think people really do dismiss the amount of growth that occurred in the derek and scott relationship. fandom gets so hung up on their antagonism in seasons 1 and 2 they don't look much deeper for why they were like that and sort of ignore that season 3 spends a lot of time showing them moving away from that.

stiles and derek are more difficult to parse for some. their relationship whether you ship it or not is mostly in subtext. stiles is fucking attached by season 4.

stiles fears change. it's a huge part of his season 5 and 6a arcs. it terrifies him to lose people he cares about or have his relationship with them change.

i think it's important to remember that in smoke and mirrors, derek is all but dying in front of stiles. he's bleeding out. it doesn't look good. no one knows the dumbass is gonna evolve or whatever werewolf magic he pulled out his ass. he is dying and his last words to stiles are to go save scott.

this is after a season of where derek's been messed with magically by kate, where he's been losing his werewolf powers and lydia predicted his death.

when derek's lying there bleeding out stiles hesitates. twice.

he gets more focus than peter or braeden does in this moment. the focus is derek and stiles. we get like six close up shots of stiles being deeply affected by this and by affected i mean fucked up.

sure, derek doesn't end up actually dying but he leaves with braeden. we have no idea if they've really spoken all that much in the in-between.

stiles's face as they watch derek and argent leave does not give the vibe that he has had closure.

derek being unable to give stiles a proper goodbye is a whole other post.

it's really significant that derek leaving unmoors stiles emotionally even months later and that scott recognizes it. we are shown stiles getting sentimental and gooey over the initials d.h for a reason in creatures of the night. he misses derek.

why all this background when this post is about theo? it's because derek's absence in season 5 is glaring and tangible. it's an unsaid thing that theo is able to take advantage of.

it's a compare and contrast but sort of in opposite directions for stiles and scott.

both derek and theo grew up in beacon hills but left for a period of time before returning.

derek is immediately recognized by stiles and theo is recognized by scott.

both are accused of killing their sister. derek didn't kill laura but theo did kill tara.

derek is a born werewolf who earns his full shift which is an inherited rare gift whereas theo is a chimera artificially created by the dread doctors.

derek rejects the influence of peter and duecalion whereas theo is a tool of the dread doctors.

derek's desperation in building a pack and losing them versus theo's desperation to build a pack and killing them himself using deucalion's teachings about taking power.

derek wanting to kill lydia because he thought she was the kanima versus theo wanting lydia because he wanted her knowledge and she was the key to the hellhound

scott wanting to trust theo is an obvious course correction of how he mistrusted derek in the beginning and how he misses the connection he had with derek.

scott's just desperate for something to work out.

stiles's mistrust of theo is in contrast of how he trusted derek despite scott's insistence that derek wasn't trust worthy.

it also highlights that stiles's is on edge. he cannot afford to trust someone. not again. he cannot let another person close.

which brings us to parasomnia and the benefit of a doubt conversation.

there's a lot happening with stiles and scott during season 5. there's nogitsune fall out, them growing up and the pain that comes with it but also how stiles's behavior is increasingly paranoid and irritable. it's why theo is able to take such advantage.

but i think on some level scott misunderstands that stiles never really distrusted derek the same way he did.

stiles: "yes. okay? we followed him out here. what do you want me to say? that i'm a stalker? huh? that i'm crazy? totally paranoid? none of this is new information!" scott: "now you're gonna try to at least give him the benefit of the doubt?" stiles: "i give people benefit of the doubt! i've given a lot of benefit to a lot of people." scott: "like derek? ...kira? ...liam?"

i can not post scott's face when he's about to bring up derek to stiles.

scott may not know all the details, he may not understand them but what he does understand is derek leaving has stiles fucked up and bringing him up is going to poke at sore spot. bringing up derek was his entire point. adding kira and liam weren't the important part of this segment of conversation. i don't even think stiles ever mistrusted kira prior to when she begins to lose control of her fox.

scott is trying to appeal to stiles's derek feels and stiles just ends up super mad about it.

so to me in the end, a lot of scott and stiles's whole theo issue was really about derek.

(here's how i can make everything about derek hale lol).

theo being able to shift really was only to compare him to derek lol and who knows if he can even still accomplish this after he was returned from hell. he kind of went back to factory settings. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

tl;dr season 5 theo is derek-lite.