#the reason I did not do them all is because logicality does not strike me as a qpr almost at all???

[demodraws0606]

I'm kinda peeved off that I'm seeing a few people that have the critique that Siffrin didn't deserve their "happy ending" in the end, that he was forgiven too quickly. I'm bad about this for actually a number of reasons.

(Warning this will be long because I am irrationally passionate about this, totally not because I relate to Siffrin or anything ahahahahaha)

First, logically, Siffrin's actions definitely are not as awful as people make it out to be especially not in the context of a time loop story. The worst Siffrin has done was his actions in the Bad Touch achievement and the last loop, one being purely optional. Outside of that, any tampering Siffrin had done was purely harmless, sure it's existentially horrifying but it's not like he did any actual manipulation.

You could also argue since Siffrin was in control of the loop, they are responsible for everything that was happening but we know full well he wasn't in control literally, his emotions were in control of the loop. Considering, a whole thing in this story is how acting as though you're fine and trying to control your emotions don't work, I don't think we can make the argument Siffrin was really in control.

He only wanted to trap everyone in the timeloop when it already had destroyed his mind. I thought it was obvious it was a monkey's paws situation.

The last time loop was the breaking point of Siffrin and it's one of the things he does suffer consequences from, they do get mad at him and he does apologize. What else do you want him to do ?

The Bad Touch achievement is the only thing that could be said to be "unforgivable" but it's optional and as far as I know it's hinted that Siffrin would talk about it with Isabeau. In fact it's said that even though right now they're fine and okay, they literally say they are okay to be mad at Siffrin later.

And also, it's not taking into acount the Actual feelings of his family either. They can't remember the loops and they have their own reason to not still be mad with him, so why should they hold Siffrin accountable for feelings they don't have.

In fact, the storyline strikes the perfect balance to not have Siffrin do such horrible action that he'd actually be unforgivable but still have him do enough that it shows what the loops are doing to him but....

..it's not just logically, judging Siffrin's actions as bad/good things like that is not just what's wrong with the narrative that Siffrin should've suffered more consequences. It also goes against the narrative itself.

For me at least, ISAT is a game about mental illness but also recovery. It's not coincidental a lot of people project their own mental issues onto Siffrin, it's not just a "ahahaha they're so relatable !!", it's a genuine part of the story.

I could make an entire essay about it but that's not the point, what would a story about these themes be if the ending was just "you need to repent for the things you did during your own mental breakdown"

It may seem ridiculous after all this that they'd just forgive Siffrin after all of this, but really hasn't most of the points against Siffrin's morality been coming from Siffrin themselves.

Siffrin believed he deserved to be rejected, that he deserved the suffer, that he was disgusting. It was these belief that kept him from talking about the loop because for him, everything was his fault. Not just because he created the loop but because the desire of staying with them was the very sin he hated himself for since the beginning.

So for all that self hatred to be met with, strange acceptance. It almost seems ridiculous, and Siffrin's talk with Odile in the epilogue reinforces how almost comedic it is.

It's close to reality, isn't it ? How many times have you thought you did something completely unforgivable to someone you cared about and you were waiting for them to be furious at you, but that moment never came.

Because they just simply weren't hurt enough by what happened. And sure it was definitely a bad thing you did and they were maybe mad in the moment, but you apologized. Sure there could be more consequences for what you did but what's the point in asking for them to be more mad at you ?

Shouldn't you strive to be better than beg to be hurt for your actions ?

Do you think being hurt, being yelled at would make anything better other than just feed the voice in your head what it wants to hear ?

Weird flowery talk aside, it just doesn't fit the themes and the narrative of the story is what I'm saying. Asking for more punishement for Siffrin goes against what the story is about.

It's just like complaining that the looping mechanics are too frustrating, that's part of the package deal bb !!

Fuck the idea of "repenting by suffering through the consequences" !!! Having to deal with "blinding unrelenting forgiveness and kindness" is in !!!!

[yomigaere]

Regarding Touga's age in flashbacks

Touga appears as a child in two significant flashbacks in the series: in episode 9 where he and Saionji find Utena hiding in a coffin after she just lost her parents, and in episode 10 where Nanami gives him a kitten for his birthday, with all that that ended up tragically entailing. (It may be worth noting at this early point that neither of these flashbacks are from Touga's own point of view; ep 9's is Saionji's memory of the event, and ep 10's is of course Nanami's memories.)

The assumption I've seen throughout the entire fandom is that Touga is younger in Nanami's flashback, in which he has short hair, and a bit older in the coffin flashback, in which he has long hair. It's a perfectly reasonable and logical assumption, and one that I wouldn't question either -- if not for two things.

The first of those two things is head writer Enokido's notes on Touga; to sum them up very briefly for those who don't already know, they say his unpleasant backstory as depicted in the movie was also intended to have been his series self's backstory, with some additional details included to account for Nanami and Saionji. A specific point from both these notes and the movie itself is that Touga was ordered by his original parents to grow his hair out, as that was what Mr Kiryuu wanted. If we take Enokido's comments on Touga's backstory as applicable to the series canon -- as I personally do, as it heavily informs my entire reading of Touga as a character -- then they need to be reconciled with what's depicted in the series itself in one way or another.

The second thing is simply that I noticed some curiosities in the series character design sheets, which I'll go into past the readmore. Before that, I just want to pose the question I'm exploring here in the first place:

Could Touga have actually been younger in the coffin flashback than in Nanami's flashback?

Please note that this is more of a thought experiment than anything; I'm not trying to push this as The Actual Canon Truth, even if this does inform my personal headcanons regarding Touga's (and Nanami's and Saionji's) history. I just want to put forward some bits of evidence with my own thoughts and speculation on them. Without further ado...

First up, here's one of the design sheets for Touga and Nanami as kids from ep 10's flashback:

It says that Touga was 12 and Nanami was still 7 (keeping in mind that her birthday is a couple of months after his). I personally think they both look a bit younger than those stated ages, but I digress.

It could possibly be said that whoever added the notes on these design sheets might be pulling the characters' childhood ages out of thin air, but evidence that Touga is intended to be 12 here did make it into the episode itself:

Twelve candles on a cake for a kid's 12th birthday would make a lot of sense.

Meanwhile, here's the full-body design sheet for Touga and Saionji as kids from ep 9's flashback:

This one doesn't give any ages for the boys; I'm mainly posting it here for the sake of comparison. Your mileage may vary on which version of child Touga looks older or younger, and I'm a little back-and-forth on the matter myself; that said, it does strike me how dainty he looks in the design sheet for the coffin flashback, though I wonder if it might just be because of his clothes.

What had me questioning Touga's (and Saionji's) age in the coffin flashback in the first place is that, in the manga, it's stated that Utena was 6 years old when her parents died. That would've made the boys about 9 at the time, as they're three years older than her. Having said that, though, the manga and anime are different continuities with different takes on a lot of things, so just because the manga says one thing doesn't mean it definitely applies to the anime version as well. So how old was child Utena in the anime, then?

As with the boys, the design sheet for Utena's appearance in the coffin flashback doesn't specify an age for her, either. This would ostensibly make their ages at the time ambiguous -- but I'm not giving up here. There's another character who was a similarly-aged child at the time.

Anthy appears as a child in flashbacks in episode 34, one of which takes place very shortly after ep 9's coffin flashback. According to the design sheet, she was 7 years old at the time, and she's noted to be the same height as child Utena. Therefore, I find it reasonable to conclude that Utena was also about 7 years old when she lost her parents, which would've made Touga and Saionji around 10 at the time.

That's the evidence I'm putting forward to support the possibility of Touga being younger in the coffin flashback than in Nanami's flashbacks, with the admitted underlying assumption that the design sheets can be used as reliable sources for characters' ages as children. I think it would address discrepencies in his hair length with regards to his backstory as given by Enokido, but there's still a couple of other things that ought to get a closer look in that case.

All of Nanami's childhood photos of herself and Touga that we see in episode 31 show him with short hair. What's with that?

My speculation on this is that Touga deliberately curated the photo album so that it would only show him with short hair as a kid, in order to hide the reality of his and Nanami's situation as "adopted" kids sold to a paedophile from her. It probably helps that in all these photos, he and Nanami look roughly the same as they did in her flashback in ep 10, suggesting that they could all be from around that time. I've also considered the possibility that there could be some Mamiya-esque shenanigans surrounding the photos (in that they're showing a falsehood, like the photo of the fake Mamiya that turns into one showing his real self during Mikage's duel), but that feels like too much of a stretch to me.

It's also possible that Nanami might be misremembering Touga's hair length in her flashbacks in the first place; the Kaoru twins offer precedent for this, as their "Sunlit Garden" flashbacks in episode 5 show Kozue with a completely different hairstyle depending on whether it's Miki or her remembering that time. Personally, though, I find it more likely that Touga really did have short hair at the time, especially if we assume from everything I gave further up in this post that he'd just turned 12. Apologies for the horrible following thought, but I wonder if, by the time Touga had reached that age, he was getting a bit too old for Mr Kiryuu's sick tastes...

Putting that nastiness aside, there's one more flashback involving Touga I want to talk about, and it's one I wouldn't even have thought to include if I hadn't rewatched the episode it appears in recently: Tsuwabuki's flashback from episode 6! (Always leave it to the comedy episodes to surprise you!)

Tsuwabuki is presumably in preschool here based on his clothes, Nanami is in the girls' elementary school uniform, and Touga is in the standard boys' uniform as worn by middleschoolers and highschoolers. For all this to line up, I think their most likely ages here are 5-6 for Tsuwabuki, 8-9 for Nanami (putting her in third grade) and 12-13 for Touga (putting him in seventh grade, or his first year of middle school as per the Japanese school system).

Yet Touga has long hair here! If he had short hair when he'd just turned 12, how could it have grown out so much in only a year or so? (To say nothing of the growth spurt he seems to have had in that time...) I could chalk things up to Tsuwabuki idealising him as a big strong older brother in his memory -- middle school Touga apparently fought off a great big rampaging bull, after all -- which would explain why he looks basically the same here as he does as a highschooler. That said, Touga doesn't necessarily need to have had long hair in order for Tsuwabuki to idealise him the way he does; I doubt his hair length matters too much either way for that, so I don't see any reason for Tsuwabuki to misremember his hair in particular. This could lend some credence to the idea that Nanami misremembers Touga's hair length in her own flashback, but I question that for the reasons I already gave further up.

(As an aside: it might just be a matter of the lighting in that specific shot, but had Touga already dyed his trademark lighter streak in his hair in Tsuwabuki's flashback? He noticably doesn't have his highlight in either of the flashbacks with him as a child, which the design sheets for both of them make a specific point of noting. I might talk about the possible significance of his highlight in a different post.)

I think that's about it for my rambling and speculation on this, at least for now. What do you think? Is any of this plausible? Not plausible? Is it at least an interesting thought experiment to read about either way, or is it just a load of codswallop? Are there any blind spots I might've missed that I ought to address? Any other questions or comments? I'm curious to know.

[paper-starz]

WELCOME HOME THEORY 2: The Theory Strikes Back

Good evening, gentlemen, gentleladies, and gentlethems,

Or Good night

Or even good morning,

Whenever you are, I humbly come to you all with another theory.

This time, its our favorite morally questionable sentient house, Home!

So strap in, buckle up, cause I have STUFF TO SAY.

THIS WILL BE VERY LONG AND IT WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE UPDATE!!

Alright, so to begin, what the HECK is going on with Home?

They are one of the most mysterious characters in Welcome Home, we don't know much if not anything at all. And what we do know... wellllll......

Yeah definitely not menacing at all.....

The only thing that we do know of Home is well… ^ This and the fact that it and Wally are sentient.

Ok, let’s backtrack. HOMES SENTIENT???

Yep! While it was implied in the first update that it was aware of us, this handy-dandy audio clip confirms that Home (like Wally) is aware of “You” (Whoever this “You” person may be. Either literally us or the Question Answerer).

Now, what exactly Home is saying is still up for debate. Some say that it’s “Help Me” while others say it’s “Hello”. (It’s incredibly hard to know what’s exactly dots and dashes with Homes banging) but one thing is for sure, Home is communicating with us.

“AHHHH HOW SCARY! THE CREEPY DEMON HOUSE IS GONNA KILL US” D:

And that’s where you’re wrong, dear viewer. While Home is clearly morally dubious and incredibly suspicious, like Wally, I don’t think it’s necessarily evil.

Take for instance this link right here. It’s an honestly cute lil audio of Wally singing to Home. But while that is adorable, it’s the ending that I really wanna focus on.

Wally: …Do you like it? Home: *Creaks* (it’s Morse code again! Spells out IDO) Wally: Thats good… I think…

Ok why did I bring this old little clip up? Oh ya know… no reason… OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT WALLY CAN’T UNDERSTAND HOME ANYMORE!!!

Ok, I know whatcha thinkin’ “Why not anymore?”

Take a listen at another audio clip, this time it’s a secret one!!

The clip is about Barnaby and Home having a conversation with one another! But if you listen real closely… Home is not speaking in Morse code! It’s their own lil Home language, still consisting of creaks and bangs… yet Barnaby doesn’t seem to have any trouble understanding Home.

So how come Wally can’t understand Home and yet Barnaby can?

It’s because Wally’s sentient now. He’s getting more real. More human. Cartoon logic does not apply to Wally anymore! To us, Home is speaking in gibberish! Since it’s gibberish to us, then it’s gibberish to Wally!

And Home knows that, so it does the next best thing and tries using another language to hopefully communicate better. Now that I’m listening to the first audio clip again (so-below), it makes sense why Home is “speaking” slowly. It’s not used to communicating that way. It’s hard to tell their dots from their dashes, their bangs from their creaks, and it’s pauses are sometimes too long and too short at the same time! In a weird way, Home kinda has an accent when speaking in Morse code.

It’s kinda sweet just how hard Home is trying to communicate with Wally and us. Makes ya forget that Home has a weird portal and a flesh heart inside of them.

“WAIT WHAT?!?” (<- That’s you)

Yeah, remember when I said the more sentient something gets the more “real” they get?

Yeah, it’s also been happening with Home too. Go on any doodle audio file, and you can hear assumably Home’s heart beating away. You can hear it very clearly in this audio right here! I doubt the Playfellow Workshop made Home with a literal BEATING heart, but hey, Home is where the heart is I guess…

And now, the portal thing.

“Since when did Welcome Home ever had a portal??”

Oh since the very beginning actually!

First updated “portal” picture

Many people (including yours truly) theorized that this swirly spiral was a portal to the real world. It seems that we have more evidence to support this theory too!

First updated portal (shown left) and second updated portal (shown right)

Hey…. Wait a second…. Is it just me or it the portal getting…. Bigger?

The first update it was small, even the black goo wasn’t as bad… on the second picture, the spiral is INCREDIBLY large, and now the goo is coating the trees.

Well, isn’t that ominous.

"But wait. If Home has a portal... where is this portal even going?"

Both portals have the same black goo surrounding it, the same white eye in the center and the same swirl.

It's going to the Restoration team. And look at where the portal is placed. It's on the ceiling. "As above"

and the one in Welcome Home is "So below"

So perhaps the portal in Home is on the floor... This CANNOT be a coincidence I swear!!

With weird goo covering everything. And like, thats not all!

If you compare the items that the Restoration team uploaded onto the site in the first update and on the second update, you'll notice that the items have grown significantly larger.

At first, it was just envelopes with paper crammed inside of it. As if the person was trying to cram in as much information as possible. It isn't neat.

About us page: All of the paper materials tucked away inside the envelopes we have received are usually crammed together and covered in paint and ink.

Now, in the second update, the items have grown larger.

These items are much larger than mail, and I believe it also has something to do with how much bigger the portal has gotten.

Pretty soon, we might have full-grown puppets jumping in. But now that begs the question... Why is Home doing this?

Well, I think it's because Home really wants to help Wally.

As you inspect the website, there's a bunch of evidence that Wally is growing increasingly desperate for some other kind of sentient connection. It's been growing so much that it starts to get worrying...

Let's go back to the conversation between Home and Barnaby, notice anything weird? Not really? Well, I noticed that every bug audio file was in the perspective of Wally. Here, Wally is just staring at his half-finished painting, even Barnaby comments on this and finds it odd that Wally stopped painting.

It looks to me that Wally was dissociating. There, but not really there. He's been disconnected from reality because it feels unreal to him.

And Home sees that. As soon as the conversation turns to Wally, Home goes dead silent. When Wally still does not respond, Home releases a series of quick creaks and bangs to try and get Wally's attention. It doesn't work. Once Barnaby says Wally's name, it snaps him out of his dissociative state.

And Home is worried about Wally.

It gives a whole new look to the infamous "so-below" image.

Home isn't looking at Wally, it's looking straight at us. Eyes shaking as Wally seems like he's begging. Home doesn't look malicious here, Home looks like it's begging us to do something to calm Wally down because it physically can't anymore.

Home and Wally don't have a lot, if not any facial expressions at all. And shaky eyes in cartoons are a good indicator that someone is scared.

And if Home (in this link) is saying "Help Me", then no wonder! Heck, even the freaking disk is shaking!

Home is reaching out to us for help because it can't comfort Wally anymore and I don't know about you but that is SAD.

Two puppets that recently gained sentience can't even get the comfort out of each other because they can't communicate anymore :(

So, all Home can do is wait and watch Wally.

And if help won't come to you, well, having a handy-dandy portal is very helpful!

You can go to the help instead.

[brittle-doughie]

Hello CCCC Anon here, 4th time i've sent this so sorry if I seem impatient. It's been a while since I've sent an ask mainly because I couldn't think of anything but here I am!

For some reason I've grown strongly close to one-sided Logical y/n and Royal icing cookie where Royal icing cookie tries to initiate a relationship and flirt with them multiple times, but logical y/n is not only too egotistical and loves themselves(side note: they still care for others to some extent), but is also just plain rude, very blunt with their hatred of Royal icing cookie, and is too focused on finding ways to get themselves and the other halves to become whole(y/n).

They can and WILL reject Royal icing cookie harshly since they know how terrible of a cookie he is cause of him being unhealthily obessed like his sister, the other halves, especially y/n's logical side know this.

Not only that; despite them claiming to be emotionless, they can emotionally lash out, mainly out of anger, resulting to them having a higher chance of inflicting violence on others, on purpose or not. Recovery from injuries inflicted by them may take a long time or not be able to recover from them at all, as Logical side y/n's nearly entire body is made up of strong metals and not sugary sweets; they will not apologize not matter how many times you try to get them to.

So please do include this at the end where instinctual side y/n holding back an angry logical side from accidentally killing off royal icing cookie who's laying on the floor and now has to deal with a severe injury inlicted on him (and somehow survived idk how but he did) by y/n's logical side, because as emotionless they claim to be, they still have flaws mixed in them and the other halves from y/n splitting into three.

So I propose one-sided logical y/n and Royal icing cookie based on these lyrics!

"I love you!

I love you not.

I love you~!

I love you not.

Should I take or should I break your heart?

Should I take or should I break your heart?"

The lyrics are short yes but better than nothing really. If you want the song then it's called "love you, love you not" by little purr man.

Anyway imma move back into the shadows til I got a new idea, Farewell!

Sincerely- CCCC Anon

Yooo @/scarabeeart, probably should’ve asked sooner if it’s all good to tag you for Royal Icing mentions, whoops.

Unfortunately, logic simply doesn’t mix with a determined cookie that by all means wants to claim the hand of the one he adored and the answer of no only makes me ponder on his APPROACH rather than Logical’s geunine disinterest.

It would come to ahead where Logical would lash out at Royal Icing, tired of having to tell him over and over that they’ll never like him to the degree that he does for them. Instinct has to step in and calm down Logical, as Royal Icing clutched his face with the bruise of the smack.

And yet, something that his sister would do…

He only focused on that Logical PAID ATTENTION to him, never the strike. He saw it as his efforts working and will act to double them so, maybe the next time will be the one where he finally gets their hand.

Much to Logical’s irritation, of course.

[nevermoreconfessions]

I was reading back old episodes and... I really am not a fan of what they did to Lenore. Honesty. She started off with a very flat figure, but as the series progressed her waist got smaller to a concerning degree, and her chest grew untill it's pretty much at the point that Annabel was at in Episode 1. Speaking of annabel, YIKES!!!! That is one crazy hourglass, it honestly hurts to even look at. Idk it just... strikes me the wrong way.

I think I touched on this "stick figure" waist debacle a while back. Crazy times, right?

As a corset-wearer (cosplay, amiright?), the waist really can cinch in like that, given proper "seasoning" and frequent use. But it's not practical for running, bending, and saving damsels.

It makes sense, in this little corsetry regard, that Annabel's waist is small during the daytime; I assume she's been wearing corsets all her life and rarely does all the running, jumping, and nearly falling off the balcony rails that Lenore does. I can excuse her figure as some extreme waist training and some well-placed weight gain; which, by the way, I am extremely jealous of and seems to be a little impossible.

Lenore, though? Her posture is too slumped to be a corset-wearer. Corsets were made for posture (and dress weight distributation!) after all; she could not have worn them while horseback riding (too expensive, back then) or wheelchair bound (you try sitting for hours while cinched). So, that one? I can't really excuse it. It feels... well, I don't have to say it, do I?

Taking the drawings aside and personal headcanon into account:

I imagine Lenore to have a frail, almost boy-ish figure to emphasize her androgynous look. Not very voluptuous in curves; she passes for a man very well to fool nearly everyone, after all.

I imagine Annabel, while corsetted, is basically how she's drawn. Curvy, thick thighs, wide hips, and larger chest. She's been corsetting for a long time with custom-made pieces. But, not corsetted? She'd have a tummy. For sure.

EDIT (because my initial point didn't come across how I wanted it to): I touched based on the super-slim figures a while back, but maybe I should repeat myself. Admittedly, that's a pet peeve of mine (repetition), but let me specify further.

The stick-thin, strange figures they have and the further slimming of their waist is, you know, a little odd. A little, dare I say, appealing to the thirst-traps?

Logically, I excuse Annabel for the corset purposes. I stared for a long while at my 22'' corset laying upon my dresser while typing that, because it is possible to shrink that far down (WITH FREQUENT USE AND PROPER TAILORING, DO NOT HURT YOURSELF). Do I like it? No, not really. I wouldn't corset while in a death game, but that's just me, and it's the only logical explanation for that figure of hers.

Lenore is... yeah. Yeah, I don't really like the slimming of her waist and the protrusion of her chest. I'll admit that. It feels tailored to the fans that read for the attractiveness of the characters. But am I going to make this post all about my distaste for it? No. I give the reasons why it's distasteful in my mouth and my personal headcanon for her body type.

Sorry I didn't get that across. My bad. It was bedtime. And, of course, I'm looking at this through the biased lense of a corset-wearer and historical fashion degenerate.

[amuseoffyre]

Have had a couple of days and a rewatch and some mulling to put together my thoughts:

The good:

the writing - I've talked at length about the use of metaphor, symbolism, allegory and the like to add meat and substance to the narrative

the continuity tied in to S1 and the foreshadowing coming full circle, plus running themes continuing

the music is flawless throughout - both the soundtrack with songs and the original score and the way old motifs are used to add parallels and depth to scenes

the acting across the board has been staggeringly good. Especially for Taika, Rhys and Con. I can see why so many reviews had been raving about it.

the bits of set-up for S3 that have been planted if/when they get it

new characters who are an absolute delight

Family Trauma the TV show - intense to watch but cathartic af

Badass ladies and the soft boys who love them

Auntie.

The bad:

too much story and not enough time to tell it

sacrificing a lot of crew-related stuff - I know this is primarily the Ed and Stede story, but we're told that Olu was always talking about Zheng, but we never even got a single line of it. Buttons' disappearance gets one sus line. We gloss over the probation and why Ed is back in his leathers literally the next day. Again, I know, time constraints, but it does feel weaker for it.

speedrunning so much that it's taken several rewatches to catch everything that's going on - yes, it can work as a narrative device, but not all the time

still not over Zheng falling for Ricky's gift. Do not trust the aristocratic white dude, especially not when you've been blackmailing him. And I know there's some logical sense to her being so used to being able to manipulate desperate people on the fringes with both carrot and stick, but it feels like severe underestimation on her part about how ruthless and cruel and petty Ricky could be. He's not like the pirates - he has the power and privilege and it feels like she ignored that.

whatever that Teal Oranges pivot was so Jim could have a girlfriend, especially since they didn't have time/space to actually develop the Olu/Zheng and Jim/Archie stuff. Archie was barely a scrape of characterisation because of time constraints.

The ... Forbs Boding

Izzy - it falls under the typical archetype of Loss of a Role Model especially given all Ed's dad issues, which I thought we were beyond, but then it also fits with the running motif of the show of change, death and rebirth. We've had confirmation of the existence of a place between life and death plus a character who was beaten to death coming back from it and a seawitch turning up at the grave. I can see why it was done as it has been foreshadowed since "the only retirement we get is death" but after all his growth in S2, having Ricky be the one to get the jump on him is... hm. I feel like they had him and Ricky talking and Ricky causing his death for a reason. Feels like there's set-up for S3 planted and ready. My Forbs, they are A-Boding. ffs, they Obi-Wanned him right after he did a speech about "our spirit will last beyond your whole fucking empire". Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine vibes.

The way trauma is/isn't being dealt with - I feel like there's stuff there that is set up for S3 as well, because we've seen how Stede is still bottling all his stuff and hasn't dealt with any of it, while Ed has done some processing and started to make peace with himself over it. Stede still has his mental lockbox and while he tries to pretend it isn't there, it still informs so many of his decisions.

All the Star Wars vibes - I've always been convinced this was the Empire Strikes Back season and now, they have all the pieces in play for the Return of the Jedi arc: Stede and Ed are together and recovering but will have a role to play, Izzy is in carbonite with a seawitch control panel, their allies are out there getting pieces in place, and the Imperial figurehead villain who showed up in S2 is still out there and convinced he holds all the power. And I just realised that this means that if they use Hornigold, he's the equivalent of Boba Fett - Bounty Hunter for the Empire XD

On the whole, I am content with it and am already having thoughts about the potential for S3, but I find it incredibly frustrating knowing how much more it could have been with the budget/time they wanted and didn't get.

[indras-wife]

hii!! LITERALLY loved all your other writings and thank you so much for writing my requests, lovely! I was wondering if you could write a yandere indra with a fem, medic! Reader who is super stubborn? like she never gives any attention to his advances or him whatsoever? Since she's a medic, she's constantly busy healing people to pay attention to him?

once again, thank you sooo much for answering my other requests, take your time, hun<3.

Once again another nice and awesome request! I am happy you and many others enjoy my writings. Your kind feedback encourages me to write moreeee! I got carried out a little so I hope it's okay!

Enjoy reading and I hope you enjoy it. Feel welcome to request more<3

It was UNHEARD for the great Indra Otsutsuki, the genius of ninshu, to get wounded. He knew he was perfect and no man could hurt him. Except his brother who has gained their father’s powers.

Indra got wounded during one of the many battles with his younger brother, Ashura. He was careless and suffered a huge blow to his chest, leaving a nasty scar. Of course, Indra did not care about having any scars, because in his mind, a great warrior should have scars to show the battles he came out winning. Unfortunately, he was bleeding a lot, so he had to retrieve.

In the small village, which he founded himself, he had one specific medic who was able to heal any wound, and even heal the scars. Y/n, under Indra’s HARSH training only was able to gain perfect skills, and she realizes it too, that's why she is always ready to help him, hoping to repay back the kindness he showed her. 

Y/n knows that Indra has feelings for her. Even her friends and elders keep telling her that, but Y/n does not care. She finds chasing such matters futile and childish, and if Indra himself isn't talking about it, then she won't as well. Also…Y/n already has someone else whom she likes. Her childhood friend who is fighting alongside Indra in his wars. Of course, she did not confess, but hopes to have that opportunity one day.

“That’s a terrible scar, My Lord” Y/n spoke calmly as she entered the small tent, where Indra was already in, his upper part of kimono down, showing his broad shoulders and the terrible wound he had. It pained Y/n seeing Indra wounded, but she knew he HAD to fight. He had a very logical reason too so she didn't mind. As long as she was able to help him, she was happy.

She was carefully cleaning the blood and then healing Indra, not looking at his face. However, she felt his eyes on her, how they were studying her every move. For Y/n, Indra was a VERY intimidating man. He was cold, while the man she liked was radiating kind and warm energy. Y/n was trying not to pay any attention to her curious mind, to know why he was always so cold, but she 

“There. The wound is healed, my Lord” Y/n said, standing up and looking at his face, which was derived from any emotions. She could never know what's going in that man’s mind, but part of her did not want to know as well. She was just doing what she had to, and whatever he was thinking did not matter. “Thank you, Y/n” he mumbled, getting up and wearing his kimono back. She bowed to him, ready to leave when Indra grabbed her hand, turning her to look at him.

“Thanks for healing me. Take a day off. You are working too much.” he spoke. Y/n was taken back, considering Indra not only never told ehr to rest, but he never thanked her for doing what she vowed to do. She looked at him, and for a moment she saw his eyes soften, a sight she had never seen. 

“Thank you, my lord. I am not tired frankly, but I will finish my work earlier today” she said. Indra nodded, slowly letting go of her hand and walking out of the tent.

From that interaction, Indra was ALWAYS watching her, checking her out, following her actions with everyone. He would even try to strike more conversations with her, but Y/n was always cutting them short. To be a little more romantic, as one of his soldiers advised, Indra was giving her a few gifts such as flowers and beautiful jewelry, but Y/n was not accepting any of them. 

 It’s true that Indra already knew what type of a woman Y/n was, what were her likes and dislikes, what she even desired to have in her lifespan, but for some reason she was not accepting him and his efforts. He found out that Y/n liked one of the soldiers in his army, someone who’s energy reminded him of his own younger brother. The fact that Y/n likes him, makes Indra rage. Why him? Why not Indra? After all he is strong, handsome, full of drive and just has the means to take care of her and give the world to her. Indra found himself having ideas about killing that man with his own hands, just so he can have Y/n all by himself. That fantasy of him is another reason he was always taking that man with him to the battlefield. Every time he got wounded, the idea of him dying was getting more embedded in Indra’s mind. Maybe, he really did want that man dead, to get closer to Y/n. 

Indra’s mind got clouded with dark thoughts more when he saw Y/n and him talking together, her laughing and having slight blush. She was never this carefree around him, she never smiled or even laughed, but with him she was like a fully different person. It made Indra angrier and more jealous. He became even more determined to get her to himself. She belonged to him.

That same night, Indra walked to her house, his mind already playing the plan he had. He did hold his urges, his words and ideas for a very long time, but from now on, he will act upon them. It's about the damn time. When he reached in front of her house, he did not even care to knock. He made his way in her house, catching Y/n by surprise.

“M-My Lord..?! What are you d-doing here..?! I-I was not expecting you…!” Y/n spoke, visibly shocked from seeing Indra in her own house, uninvited. 

Indra looked at her, not caring about her shock. “I have something IMPORTANT to discuss with you, Y/n. And you better NOT disturb me, because the moment you open your mouth, I will shut you up.” he said. Y/n was taken back more by his usage of words. What has gotten into him…?

“You have been ignoring my feelings for quite some time now. You KNOW I do like you, ever since you set foot in this damn village Y/n. I tried to be nice, to respect you and not pursue you as hard as I would usually do. Everyone knows that I like you, even that loser of a guy for whom you have feelings for. Every person, every elder in this village KNOWS you are MINE. Everyone…but YOU apparently.” he spoke, walking closer to her. His sharingan was activated now, making Y/n feel more intimidated. “Why is that so hm? What does that guy have that I don’t huh? He is not as strong as me, not as handsome as me and not as respected as me! so why do you like him BUT NOT ME…!?” 

Y/n has never heard him talk like this ever. He was always reserved, not talkative and just minding his business. She wished she did not have to talk about her feelings and explain them, but if it meant getting him off her back she would do it. “My l��Indra, I have a very specific reason to like him. He is a kind man, easy to talk with and overall a good man. I have liked him for a long time and I am not ashamed of it. You lack the kindness he has, you lack his ability to communicate! Don’t you think I know how you look at me, stalk me?! You want to be honest, so I will be. I don't like you and your feelings for me do not matter in my eyes. I am healing you and others every time they need it ONLY because I feel a need to repay you back for the kindness you have shown me! I don’t owe you anything, I am allowed to like who I want and YOU are not who I like. So please, leave me alone. I want to be with someone else and NOT you” she spoke, her eyes full of determination and hope that he would leave her alone.

Indra felt angry from her words. How could she be so shameless, rejecting him after all he did for her. Coming out of his comfort zone for her, but not being appreciated. Y/n’s behavior hurt him more than all the things he had witnessed in his life. “Y/n…If this is what you want and feel, then you are leaving me NO choice….” He spoke, grabbing her face and making her look in his eyes. “I get what and who I want. And now…I need YOU. I tried to be nice with you, to be romantic, to strike up more conversations with you just so you would want me. But you really picked the WRONG way. If I cannot have you…then I will force you to be with me. Say BYE to your memories about that man because from this point on, you will have eyes only for me, your mind will have images only of me and you will belong ONLY to me” he spoke as his eyes glowed dangerously. Y/n felt danger, but it was already too late to do anything about it. She felt her consciousness slowly leaving her and her body going limp. “Now…you are MINE. Only MINE Y/n”

[sneakyboymerlin]

I have said it before, but Kilgharrah has a parallel-opposite arc to Morgana. His character is redeemed in the same streak of episodes where Morgana goes from an ally to a major villain. While Kilgharrah was often self-serving and manipulative in the first 2 seasons, this changes by the end of season 2 because Merlin chooses to show him mercy after incapacitating him. It’s the first real kindness that Kilgharrah has experienced in well over 20 years. Whereas, when Merlin shows Morgana mercy by making the deal with Morgause to save her after she’s been incapacitated, Morgana returns more vengeful than ever. Back to Kilgharrah, though…

Not only does he indebt himself to Merlin, he comes to see Merlin in an entirely new way. Before, when he would call Merlin kin, it was in the most literal sense—both are creatures of magic, cut from the same cloth, and should be allies. But now, they’ve formed a bond from that kinship (and in a literal soul connection sense, too, no less). Kilgharrah’s plea strikes Merlin with so much force because they’re both now the last of their kind, and Merlin cannot help but consider and understand what Kilgharrah has been through, despite the destruction he’s caused, because it’s happened to Merlin, too. When they see each other next, this is what they have to say:

Merlin: I didn't think you'd answer my call.

Kilgharrah: Merlin, I could not resist a dragonlord, even if I wanted to.

Merlin: I’m grateful, thank you.

Let’s focus on that: “…even if I wanted to.” Kilgharrah did not want to resist Merlin’s call for help because he’s come to care about Merlin in his own way. This development is easily traced back to Merlin’s show of mercy. It cannot be stressed enough: this was the first kindness Kilgharrah had been shown in over 20 years, after rotting away in a dungeon when he was betrayed in every way possible, suffering from the grief of his entire species going extinct on Uther’s orders. And with this one show of mercy, Merlin changed the heart of a creature that everyone had already dismissed as a monster (the same way Merlin sees himself), one who sought his revenge by razing an entire city to the ground. From the start, Merlin treats him as a person: “Why are you doing this? You’re killing innocent people!” No one who saw him as a mere beast acting on its true nature would ask a moral quandary of him. And in the end, this path leads to Kilgharrah being spared, and Camelot repeatedly being saved as a result.

Kilgharrah’s sincerity in his care for Merlin is consistent in later seasons, and is seen in more than just his rescues. In 4x02, he plainly urges Merlin not to sacrifice himself, despite the fact that Arthur’s life (and thus, Kilgharrah’s ultimate freedom) hangs in the balance.

Merlin: Arthur intends to sacrifice himself to heal the Veil. It is my destiny to protect him; you taught me that.

Kilgharrah: Merlin, you must not do this.

He shortly follows this with something we’ve known since Merlin mended the rift between them in 2x13:

Kilgharrah: From the moment I met you, I saw something that was invisible. Now, it is there for all to see […] It will be an empty world without you, young warlock.

Having failed to convince Merlin to let someone else be the sacrifice, Kilgharrah commends him. Not only that, Kilgharrah mourns him.

This is all to say that Kilgharrah’s actions in seasons 1 & 2 should not be the sole focal point for our judgment of him, when he undergoes such an extreme change of character. Furthermore, there is no reason to believe that Kilgharrah’s faith in the prophecies is anything but genuine. Alongside his newfound care for Merlin, his ultimate goal is his own freedom, and he believes that Arthur is the key to that.

Kilgharrah: We need Arthur to live […] Your destiny is to protect the young Pendragon until he claims his crown, and when he does, magic can be returned to the realm. Only then will I be free.

This logic is in line with what occurred in 5x13. Kilgharrah wouldn’t have said or done any of what he does in 1x13 if he did not believe that Arthur’s ascension to king would lead to his own freedom (even if it didn’t take immediate effect). Arthur’s place on the throne made room for an end to the wars, namely the one on magic. Kilgharrah did not make these prophecies up, nor is he the only one to believe in them. Alator and Finna possessed knowledge of the same prophecies, and both believed in Emrys’ vision/mission.

Kilgharrah had great knowledge himself, and tried to share that with Merlin to pave the best path, but he was not all-knowing, and he tells Merlin as much himself. Kilgharrah is merely a messenger, believer, and interpreter. So, he still believes the prophecy has come to pass, even if Arthur did end up dying anyways. The five kingdoms could now be united and magic restored to the land once the war was ended upon Morgana’s death. The prophecy was fulfilled within Arthur’s lifetime, despite the success of Arthur’s Bane. It did not go as Merlin expected, nor how Kilgharrah expected, but it still… went. This is what he means when he says, “No young man, no matter how great, can know his destiny.”

The idea that Kilgharrah simply played Merlin, when he was depending on Arthur as much as any creature of magic, and when he genuinely cared for Merlin as kin, is bad faith conjecture. How they got to the end point still mattered to him (i.e. Merlin must protect Arthur so that he has a chance to fulfill the prophecy), because that potential only existed through Arthur, and they all continued to suffer until that time came. Regardless of the age at which Arthur died, though, he was destined to fulfill these prophecies and return at Albion’s time of need. This, Kilgharrah knew. So is it any wonder that he maintained faith in it even after Arthur died? Especially after Arthur died, proving the prophecies true once again?

Kilgharrah: Merlin. There is nothing you can do.

Merlin: I've failed?

Kilgharrah: No, young warlock, for all that you have dreamt of building, has come to pass.

Merlin: I can't lose him! He's my friend!

Kilgharrah: Though no man, no matter how great, can know his destiny, some lives have been foretold. Merlin... Arthur is not just a King— he is the Once and Future King. Take heart, for when Albion's need is greatest, Arthur will rise again.

No, Kilgharrah did not predict the exact ending, but he did his best to help Merlin bring about the best possible outcome, and he said what he could to comfort Merlin when he was grieving Arthur. Kilgharrah was genuine, and his motives were in alignment with Merlin’s by the start of season 3.

[its-the-sa]

it is serious. the ship just comes off as nasty to me and i dont understand it

oh, then I'm sorry for being dismissive. I thought you were just a hater lol.

but in all seriousness, if a ship seems nasty to you, then a logical explanation of it is probably not going to change your mind. squicks are just gut reactions, so it doesn't really matter whether or not you understand the thing that squicks you. and that's ok! if the ship makes you uncomfortable, you should just block the rw regicide tag (or in my case you should probably just block me entirely lol )

but since you did ask sincerely, I'll at least try to explain why I ship it:

basically, I'm just a sucker for the 'enemies to lovers' trope and the 'villain redemption' trope. show me any two characters who fit both of those, and I'll probably ship it lol

I like villain redemption, because I like tragic villains. I like villains whose actions are inexcusable, but understandable. villains who lash out due to grief and end up doing horrible things in the throes of rage. and I like making them feel bad about it. I like villains who know they are monsters, who know they have done despicably evil things and truly hate themselves for it. and I like giving them a second chance. I like to see them feel remorse and turn away from evil and try to become better people.

and I like enemies to lovers because... well, for a lot of reasons that would probably take several thesis papers to unpack, lmao. but basically there's just something really intimate about two characters who can handle each other at their absolute worst, when no one else can. arti is like an unstoppable force of rage until she meets scav king, who is like an immovable object to her. he's willing to fight her and kill her as many times as he needs to, but he never strikes first, and he always gives her the chance to back down. and since he does have min aggression and max sympathy, I see him as the type of person who would easily forgive someone who is genuinely remorseful. he doesn't want to keep the cycle of violence and hatred going; whenever arti is ready to let go of her rage and stop the bloodshed, so is he. when she's ready to face the consequences of her actions and try to become a better person, he would rather support her than condemn her. he doesn't necessarily expect his people to forgive her, and he doesn't try to make excuses for her or downplay any of the harm she caused. i just think he could personally look at arti and find someone worth caring about underneath all the rage and hate, and in turn she could look at him and find someone she can trust enough to let all that hate go and admit she was wrong.

obviously, this type of relationship could never happen in real life (or if it did, it would be a fucking toxic disaster). but they're just characters, so their relationship doesnt have to be realistic, and I just want their story to have a happy ending I guess.

idk if any of this makes sense to you, but it's fine if not. you don't always have to understand why people like things that you don't like, it's ok to just block them for your own peace of mind. so if this ship still makes you uncomfortable, feel free to block me, I wouldn't take offense. stay safe and remember that fandom is for having fun , so dont stress out about it too much!

[thegamingcatmom]

You asked for asks and I'm asking :) I know is probably a long shot from where we stand rn bc everything is new and terrifying, no matter how nice they are, how beautiful they are... MC has still been abducted and that's well, quite a shocking experience I might say, idk I've never been abducted by pretty women before so wat do I know, right(?) Thing is MC can't stand them, Irina can't stand MC, Tanya and Kate want to be in MC's pants and Eleazar/Carmen play a more chill kind of parental figure in all this, whic I'd say they both are the most neutral of the bunch but not less to blame bc well, they are part of it too. My question is. How the hell is this even gonna work? Like what's going to change for MC to go from hating them to tolerate them to eventually like them and fall in love with them? Same with Irina, how goes from wanting to unalive and suck MC dry to fall in love with her? I understand this may be kind of a huge spoiler to the future bc of obvs reason but I find it to be so interesting how the dynamics are going to change, sure is gonna be a bumpy road there (ha see what I did there? :p) but it is the goal after all, so I understand totally if you don't wanna say anything about it bc well, spoilers(?) But if you could at least share a lil bit of what's going through your mind on that regard? Bc in my mind I find it quite difficult, like is MC's love a lie? In the sense that she falls in love bc the trauma is so severe that she's accepted this is all that it is out there for her bc she is not getting out, like that's kind of sad but it is a possibility yk some kind of psychological response to trauma perhaps. or is her love going to be genuine, like she found true love bc she eventually got to know them and oh surprise they are not that bad despite the fact that they abducted her? (That doesn't sound pretty good either XD) But I think you'll understand where I am going with this? if not is ok I'll try to explain better (: Thanks <3

I knew I could count on you. ❤️

Aight so, right off the bat:

It is difficult. And complicated. And ugly. And beautiful. And just fucking complicated.

A bumpy road alright. 😉

...is MC's love a lie? In the sense that she falls in love bc the trauma is so severe that she's accepted this is all that it is out there for her bc she is not getting out

This is something I can answer with 100% certainty:

No, I won´t turn MC into a brainwashed puppet. I´m not saying she will always be honest with her abductors (which is well within her right, if you ask me), but when she does start developing feelings, they will be real.

...Whether she will accept them is another story. 🙈

But there´s so much that still needs to happen before we even get to that point. And I think this is really what it comes down to:

It´s about all these different struggles and obstacles MC & the Denalis will have to face - alone and together. These challenges will force changes - some for the better, some for the worse. But both is needed to make progress.

I mean, it´s easy to live in a bubble when there´s nothing there to burst it, right?

...Well, it has been burst the moment Tanya chose to bring MC home. Thing is, nobody´s realized it yet. 😅

I mentioned it a while back, but the Denalis have this system in place that has worked for centuries now. They never had a reason to change their way of living and their, well, "culture". Which basically means Tanya is the boss and everyone else just goes along with whatever strikes her mood at the moment.

...More or less. With lots of hissing and spitting. 😏

In other words: They´re a less than functioning community right now because Tanya is a less than ideal leader right now. A leader is supposed to act in the best interest of everyone else, which means Tanya should have ended MC in those woods.

...Logically speaking. 😏

But ye, there´s a lot that needs to change first before we can even think about feelings, which means that all of this here-

Like what's going to change for MC to go from hating them to tolerate them to eventually like them and fall in love with them? Same with Irina, how goes from wanting to unalive and suck MC dry to fall in love with her?

...can´t really be answered in a straightforward way. It´s gonna be a long and bumpy road (hehe) for all of them, and it´s because of those bumps that they´ll eventually (hopefully) become the best versions of themselves. Because, in the end, that´s what it´s all about. ❤️‍🩹

...she found true love bc she eventually got to know them and oh surprise they are not that bad despite the fact that they abducted her?

I mean...getting to know them is defo a huge part of it all. If not THE part. This will (hopefully) become clearer as the story progresses, but MC & The Sisters have more in common than they´re currently aware of. And I think this will make a big difference, in the long run.

(Tip: Check out Chapter 2 again. 🔍)

BONUS: REMINDER

We´ve also got something else heading our way that might cause some panic, distress, disbelief confusion among The Sisters.

Don´t forget: MC has a +1. 😉

.

.

.

Thanks a lot for your ask! I love reading those novels. 💋💋💋

[frenchkanna1808]

We already know the ending of the game, at least one out of all them.

So for once i'll write an actual full analysis instead of blabbering about greenbling for the 900 time

One thing that i always thought when playing ytts was what is the purpose of that game in game. Because in reality this game was created to expand upon the characters of the game we lost early and give them a time to shine. But what is the in game reason for ytts ?

If you didn't play it please do because this game is pretty good and the interaction are either hilarious or very sad. Especially if you are a kai or mishima fan this thing is gold for you. But also play it before this because i think that ytts gives us not only one give us blatantly one the endings of the game in front of our eyes, but also give us vital info for the rest of the game.

okay got it then let's start.

The game is a simulation full of ai of the characters. There said it. we can see this in the tested one ending and the sunnies ending. In the tested ones ending we see this

This isn't Sara, at least not the current one. This is a Sara who won the death game and became the leader of asunaro. The scientists in the room fear and respect her like a leader. This is the "perfect Sara", ultimate sara, the one that asunaro gro*med into becoming after the entire death game. It doesn't make sense for her to be a past Sara. This simulation goal isn't to make the percentage, no, it's for sara to watch the cast all together and happy. And compared to what people say her expressions and words do not strike me as an "evillllll" sara that much, more like a broken one.

All of this screams that sara knows that watching this hurts her, but, she still wants to see them again and again, even if it breaks her heart, again and again. That's the ending she wanted, her dream ending. But this isn't reality. Also her expressions doesn't scream evil but more so pain

Look a her eyebrows, her eyes despite the fact that there is nothing inside, you see the pain. If she smiled or something then yes evil sara, but no she's in pain.

So what does this says for the future of Sara and the game itself:

-In at least one of the endings ( probably one of the endings for logic routes), sara will be the sole survivor and asunaro will win. Le'ts call this ending the asunaro ending. Sara will become the leader of asunaro and continue on the organisation.

-But this also tells us that the manipulation that asunaro did on sara since she was a child to make her this unloving killing machine capable of doing anything for survival didn't work. Because she still misses and wishes for a different reality where they could have all survived together and happy away from all of this.

My favorite part about this is that technicaly even in the ending where asunaro wins they still lose which is great because fuck them so hard

[je-brille-dans-la-nuit]

Watching Star Trek TOS and loving it! Sex pollen!!

The Return of the Archons

Jim Spock shenanigans shenanigans it was ok enough.

Gotta say I'm all for criticism of organized religion

.

Space Seed

So I met Khan (not the Benedict Cumberbatch whitewashed version)! The episode was good, lots of good dialogue, a solid plot and an uncertain ending (kofkof uncertain for them).

The toxic masculinity vibes were off the charts though:

First, I'm not commenting on McGivers instantly falling for the hyper masculine guy, accepting his abusive behaviour and choosing to stay with him; because if I do, I'll get mad. But you know, it's terrible and I hate it.

Then the admiration for Khan, "the best and most dangerous of the tyrants" expressed by Scotty, Bones and Jim. Sigh. Of course it's all three of them, the only one out being Spock ("Illogical"). We're supposed to take away that it's because he doesn't feel the human/manly appeal of courage, ambition, greatness or whatever. Honestly not even IC? (sorry but I don't want to picture Jim and Bones as real life fans of Napoleon lmao they are the worst)

SPOCK: Gentlemen, this romanticism about a ruthless dictator is KIRK: Mister Spock, we humans have a streak of barbarism in us. Appalling, but there, nevertheless. SCOTT: There were no massacres under his rule. SPOCK: And as little freedom. MCCOY: No wars until he was attacked. SPOCK: Gentlemen.

You tell them Spock!

MCCOY: Well, either choke me or cut my throat. Make up your mind.

Instant classic

MCCOY: Well, there aren't any regulations against romance, Jim.

Duly noted!

Jim thinking he and the bridge crew were dying and recommending commendations in his log? Him being in the decompression chamber being murdered? I was on the verge of tears then

jsbfjhe i'm sorry i can't take it seriously this shot is so funny

SPOCK: Surprised to see you Captain, though pleased. JIM: I'm a little pleased myself

they're so dumb (lovingly)

SPOCK: It would be interesting, Captain, to return to that world in a hundred years and to learn what crop has sprung from the seed you planted today. KIRK: Yes, Mister Spock, it would indeed.

.

A Taste of Armageddon

Wow the plot's heavy but powerful. The whole episode is dark but hopeful ending! (plus pissed off Jim is v sexy)

Death, destruction, disease, horror. That's what war is all about, Anan. That's what makes it a thing to be avoided. You've made it neat and painless. So neat and painless, you've had no reason to stop it. And you've had it for five hundred years. 

I've given you back the horrors of war. 

Ending a 500-year war is just one of many things Captain Kirk does!

And of course:

SPOCK: Captain, you almost make me believe in luck. KIRK: Why, Mister Spock, you almost make me believe in miracles.

I love them ._.

.

This Side of Paradise

OMG OMG IT'S HAPPENING THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! SEX POLLEN!!!

The perfect mix of fun and tension in this episode! Loved it!

Jim's confusion at Spock is everything. When he says "Spock" - clears his throat - "Mr Spock"

Jim being his dramaqueen self "In effect, I am marooned here."

Jim's immunity is his sense of duty what a goody two-shoes (affectionate)

The idea that anger/strong emotion is necessary ties up nicely to The Enemy within

Then the scene... You know which one... Did I have to pause because Jim was being so mean to Spock it was a bit much to watch? maybe!!

SPOCK: You did that to me deliberately. KIRK: Believe me, Mister Spock, it was painful in more ways than one.

My heart!

SPOCK: Captain. Striking a fellow officer is a court martial offence. KIRK: Well, if we're both in the Brig, who's going to build the subsonic transmitter? SPOCK: That is quite logical, Captain.

Sooo dumb <3

The scene between Layla and Spock was lovely too!

MCCOY: Well, that's the second time man's been thrown out of paradise. KIRK: No, no, Bones. This time we walked out on our own. Maybe we weren't meant for paradise. Maybe we were meant to fight our way through. Struggle, claw our way up, scratch for every inch of the way. 

This after the reference to Milton two eps ago! Yes! Yes to all of this!!!

[bestworstcase]

I like your analysis on many things and I generally concurred on your points regarding Salem not seemingly doing anything but a thought did occur.

How does the idea Salem wasn't engaging in a secret war align with her killing Silver Eyed Warriors? No one else has anything to gain from their demises after all, so it wouldn't make sense for someone we've not met to be doing it.

the worldbuilding gremlins in my brain will not permit me to answer this without first noting that people are absolutely fantastic at rationalizing pointless violence and there’s a fine line between a savior and a scapegoat.

all it takes is one rumor that the warrior who turns grimm aside with a mere glance is really their master, sparing the faithful but unleashing the monsters on those who do not fall in line. or someone putting old myths about the maidens—witches whose power you can take by killing them—together with silver eyes. or one charismatic zealot blaming silver eyed warriors for the massacre of a village they couldn’t save. you know?

but, realistically, if silver-eyed folk are all descended from ozma, they’d have to be pretty rare to begin with—man doesn’t seem like he’s done a lot of settling down to have kids on the regular—and i don’t imagine there’s ever been enough of them for anyone but salem to be consistently picking them off.

although i will add that our data points here are: 1. maria, who was unambiguously targeted because of her eyes, 2. summer rose, who sought salem out on purpose, 3. hound guy, who salem fucked up good, and 4. maria’s father’s theory that the only reason silver eyes could possibly be so rare and obscure was if someone was hunting them down, which… isn’t logically sound actually, it requires the presupposition that silver eyes were common once and aren’t anymore, which probably isn’t the case bfjrhrk

and then like, look at the circumstances surrounding the three silver eyed people that we know FOR SURE that salem crossed paths with in some way: maria was a legend who styled herself as the grimm reaper. summer chose to go after salem, not the other way around. the hound… we have no idea where, when, or how salem found that guy, but we do know that he was the first, bc the hound was an experiment.

2 out of 3 are clearly atypical, and the 1 who isn’t was a SUPER high profile huntress, and combined with V9 establishing that summer’s “normal” was constant false alarms and ‘emergencies’ that turned out to be nothing? to me that raises the question of whether salem made a regular practice of culling silver-eyed warriors or if she went after maria bc maria’s fame brought her to salem’s attention?

BUT. THAT ASIDE,

i do think it’s pretty likely that salem regularly put bounties on the heads of SEWs of maria’s caliber, and may have exerted more effort than that (although if so, those efforts seem to have tapered off in the postwar era—it beggars belief that summer, ozpin’s protégée, would have slipped salem’s notice).

why? salem’s a grimm. grimm are very clearly shown to be… not mindless demonic monsters; they’re social creatures, they’re way smarter than huntsmen give ’em credit for, they have a drive to live just like any other living thing. and they’re all salem has. she’s been exiled from human and faunus civilization for thousands of years, but the grimm have never rejected her. it makes sense to me that she’d want to protect them?

and also, if she made the same connection maria did, and assumed silver eyes derived their power from the god of light… well. all the more reason to strike them down.

but, more to the point, salem taking maria out was entirely unrelated to whatever conflict she may or may not have been engaging in with ozpin at the time, because maria… didn’t know ozpin, wasn’t party to his conspiracy, had zero knowledge of salem’s existence. she was a lone, legendary hero doing her thing completely separate from what ozpin had going on. (which if anything supports the broader theory that salem was Focused On Other Things besides him; ‘other things’ need not necessarily be ‘good things’ hrgjshk)

there’s this pretty widespread fanon that ozma recruited silver-eyed warriors to his cause / that there is a power struggle of some kind over silver eyes akin to the one over the maidens, but i’m not… sure how well that holds up. certainly ozpin placed some importance on ruby’s eyes, but the impression i get is that ozma sees silver eyes as a proxy for his ‘smaller, more honest soul’—he’s not looking for the power so much as he’s looking for a particular purity of character. & obviously there’s silver-eyed folks out there who don’t answer to him or even know him.

so salem targeting silver eyes might sometimes overlap with taking out an agent of his, but equally it might just as often be motivated by—somewhat ironically—wanting to protect the lives of grimm.

[certifieduruihater]

wish we got to learn more about april's character outside of when she hangs out with the turtles. maybe part of the reason for this is because the writers wanted to make her a "part of the team," hence the reason why we only ever see her with the turtles, but that logic doesnt hold up when the guys themselves have established personalities on their own. like we know what every single one of the turtles does for a hobby. but i still don't know what april likes to do for fun. she can draw, sure, but is that her hobby? idk. she journaled after their defeat during the invasion, but did she always do that or was that just a one time thing? she never really struck me as incredibly reflective or introspective, either. she's more of a "go out and get 'em" kind of person to me.

i wish we could have gotten to see more of what she's like at school, too. how come she doesn't have more friends? she's a nice girl, and she doesn't strike me as particularly shy. is there some other reason? she signed up for extra credit classes, but why? does she need more credit? is she studious? enjoys school? why was she failing trig? bad at math? bad at trig itself? doesn't want to study? no time to study ever since mutant insanity invaded her life/grief over her father? it's these little questions that i think would have painted a better picture of april's character.

and this is what i mean when i say i wish she had better writing. april is not a bad character. she's not "ungrateful." she's not a "brat." she's not a "b****." from what we do see of her, she's kind and friendly, but can also be incredibly stubborn and a little prideful.

when she blows up at the turtles for getting her dad mutated? completely understandable. the guys got cocky and reckless (which was another point of the episode). they did not prioritize her or her dad's safety. the only reason they were out there was because the turtles insisted, and didnt think of the potential consequences. and yeah. it WAS the turtles' fault that the city got mutated. yes, it was an accident. yes, they were kids. but like i said, they were incredibly cocky, reckless, and arrogant. accept your faves' flaws guys!! and the way mikey delivered the news that it was their fault was...oof. so blasé. not apologetic at all. bro was treating this as a comic book adventure the whole time. no wonder she got mad. i would too, and im an adult. she's 16. of course she's going to say hurtful things in anger (imo what she said in the episode wasnt even that bad. it was understandable, given the situation). of course, it's fine when raph or mikey throw a tantrum (and usually for much more minor reasons), it's fine when donnie explodes in anger, but when april does it, the world ends? april actually blamed herself first, before she found out that it was their fault. her first reaction is NOT to blame others. and part of the reason for her anger was BECAUSE she trusted the guys so much. she spent the episode filled with hope that because of her and her dad's help, they'd be one step closer to taking down the kraang. she didn't even WANT to ask her dad in the first place, considering her dad's been suffering paranoia as a result of being kidnapped from the kraang for an entire season. but she had hope and faith in the turtles as heroes.

she had faith in them, and her entire life fell apart. AGAIN.

that's why when they revealed it was their fault that her dad got mutated, it was a big loss of trust for her. for a whole season april has been going along with the guys shenanigans, agreeing to be bait, wanting to tag along, wanting to be useful. i like this for her character because it shows that she does have a limit. she's not a yes-man for the turtles. she's her own person (which many fans seem to dislike). have fans ever considered that maybe april didnt WANT a crazy life? that she never asked for any of this? that she wanted to be normal? what's wrong with that? and after she and the guys resolve their issues, april even admits that her father's mutation "was an accident, and more importantly, you're my friends. I don't ever want to hold a grudge ever again." she needed that reflection time away from the guys to reach this conclusion.

she endures a whole episode of feeling looked down on by the guys due to a mix of their insensitive comments (raph in particular), as well as her own pride/wanting to be included/not wanting to feel useless mixed in there, sort of snaps at raph ONE TIME (to which raph doesnt even care), and suddenly, she's the devil incarnate. unbelievable.

and another thing: she's not a mary sue. she has flaws. in fact, the fandom actively blows up at her whenever she does display her flaws (pride, stubbornness, willingness to throw herself headfirst into danger). so then what does the fandom want? oh, i know. someone who will bow to the turtles' every whim. someone who has just enough of a character, or can at least pretend to be one, just so long as they don't get in the guys' way. so long as this person doesnt hurt their little pookie-bear. okay tmnt fandom. i see u

so even if we did see what she was like outside of the turtles, i wonder if anyone would even care. after all, this is a show about the turtles. most viewers probably aren't here for april. maybe this is what the writers were thinking? and worse, some people might have even complained about the screentime april would have gotten, saying that it was too much :/

[dragonairice]

Any fun squip headcanons you got?

OH DO I okay so a heads up before hand that I am a huge geek so if I get technical about something please bear with me Okay this is less HEADCANON and more THIBK ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BECAUSE-

Okay so we know that Squips implant in the brain right!! but where exatly do they DO that because- well it can control movement to an extent but it can't seem to affect reasoning directly (like it'll manipulate Jeremy to think something different but it can't FORCE it) and can affect the optic nerves SO it would make sense that it implants near the back of the brain (also the right side since that's non-verbal processing) close to the cerebellum and away fromm the prefrontal lobe. (basically it would theroetically be easier for the Squip to control Jeremy's movement, eyesight, or hearing than it would be to like. manipulate memories or logic directly).

ALSO something I've always wondered is why did the Squip go easy on Jeremy at the play? Because it DEFINITELY did. They can hear his thoughts! They can control his movements! So why allow him to give Christine the Mountain Dew Red? An interesting headcanon I've seen is that the Squip was forming itself to be the 'villain' in the story so that by 'saving' Christine, Jeremy increases his chances of actually dating her. Idk it's cool to think about.

OH also!! some things the Squip does are actualkly very interesting because- you notice that. Jeremy wants to become popular and date Christine. Who is already popular and dating Christine? Jake. And I think like, subconsciously, Jeremy was trying to mirror Jake the whole time. Like the bit at p;ay rehearsal where he tries to strike up a conversation the moment Jake leaves. SO, with this in mind the Squip ALSO accounts for subconcious desires right!! and!! might have been trying to make Jeremy more like Jake!!

This is all reminding me of a fanfic I'm working on so I'm gonna go write a bit now but THANK YOU FOR THE ASK ANON IT'S ALWAYS LOVELY TO ANSWER THEM <33333

[gwyns]

I’m feeling a little snarky tonight. I was reading something a Gwynriel/Elucien posted, and saw an E/riel had reblogged it to share their opinion, so I randomly saw it (I didn’t go actively seeking E/riel content).

An E/riel - “And for the love of god, the "you're the new ribbon Az." line: Tell me you can't discern the difference between platonic and romantic banter without telling me you can't discern the difference between platonic and romantic banter. Every single instance in ACOSF that involves Azriel being around Gwyn for training, for example Gwyn's loud laugh, is quite obviously platonic. Her laughing loud enough to briefly gain the attention of absolutely everyone in the room? Come on now. That is a natural reaction to look over in the direction of a loud noise.”

Same E/riel - “Gwyn to be Azriel's partner and lover and mate? Doubtful. Very doubtful. There's just not enough evidence in the current text to come to that conclusion logically vs what's going on with E/riel together. Why can he smell elucien's bond when no one else can? Why does such a thing physically hurt and sicken him to sense? Why does he agonize so much over Elain to the point where he can hardly take care of himself? Why is he always so instinctively protective over Elain? And yes, I am bringing up the "shadows poised as snakes, ready to strike" against Nesta. Azriel was willing and waiting to scrap it out with Nesta over Elain. Let's be real now.”

I laughed out loud when reading this. They also said that Azriel’s shadows were dancing to Bryce’s music in the HOFAS bonus chapter. It literally says in actually text, that Bryce’s phone had died, and that Azriel’s shadows were dancing to his humming. Azriel smelling Elucien’s bond isn’t a big deal, and it was in his pov, so obviously?? And Amren could smell Feysand’s. When Nesta & Cassian visited the Prison, Lanyths was about to tell them that they’re mates from smelling them.

WE can't discern the difference between platonic and romantic? US??? that's a big claim coming from the same fandom that hinges all their hopes on smelly bread

gwyn being loud isn't the only instance of sjm highlighting az's attention shifting to her though. if that were it, i'd agree with them that it doesn't necessarily mean anything but both az and gwyn are constantly looking or paying attention to one another. sjm continuously shows us this in a nessian book. it's been said many times, if e/riel were endgame, sjm could've easily made these type of interactions happen between them. like hello?? we all expected elain to be in this book more but guess what? she was notably absent and that's for a reason

hey um, do they realize that agonizing over someone to the point they can't take care of themselves isn't a good thing? like... at all? i am actually worried for them if this is what they think relationships are supposed to be like. i mean sure there will be uncomfortable moments and you will worry and struggle at times, i've been there. i've worried to the point where i made myself physically ill but it wasn't over whether or not i'm worthy of him, it was because i was genuinely worried for his safety. big difference. relationships take work, but ultimately your partner will make you feel good about yourself. they'll encourage you (hey that's something that az did for gwyn!), you'll feel at ease around each other (hmm something az was around gwyn, interesting...) and making conversation will be the easiest thing in the world (huh yet another thing that happened around gwyn... weird how that works)

yup! i've only read that bonus chapter once but i remember bryce being upset that her phone died since it was her only connection to home, to hunt, at the time. if his shadows were dancing to the music on her phone, why weren't they doing it the whole time? e/riels really act all high and mighty and like their word on canon is law when they literally can't even read. sjm explicitly tells us things but they're so delusional they actually believe the opposite. it's quite fascinating really