#the vibes were immaculate my dudes

[noctilionoidea]

Tiny art dump cause why not

this is just some stuff that isn’t related to my usual sort of art on here, ranging from a year ago to two days ago. Some have been posted before but yk wtf not (actually no wait I’ve sorted out the ones I posted before oops lmao)

[mamadoowop]

also huge shout out to the merch crew in chicago y'all were the realest and coolest

[twig-tea]

With 23.5 finally coming out, the people are rejoicing at finally getting a high profile gl from GMMTV. But there have already been several gls airing this year, including my fav TsukuTabe, that have been flying under the radar with fandom, and in general there are more gls already out there than folks seem to think. I just know you have a list of all the gls we should be watching, please share with the class!

Thank you for the ask! How did you know I had a draft of GL recs to make at some point? [Trick question, I mentioned it to you.]

It may seem like I'm out here hating on GL because i've made a couple of negative reviews of recently airing series recently (Love Senior and Chaser Game W in case you're curious) but I actually have lots of GL that I love and that I wish were better known! Thanks for sending this ask so I am inspired to actually finish it! I've limited myself to series so that I could keep the list and this post to a reasonable length. Where possible I've listed where you can find each of these and included a link. And I've included an 'elevator pitch' summary but I am NOT in marketing for a reason, so please don't roast me too hard for my terrible comparisons. Alright, enough waffling!

Twig's GL Rec List

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat S1 & 2 (Japan, 2022 & 2024, both seasons fansubbed by @furritsubs; if you need help accessing this show feel free to DM me!)

Elevator pitch: Our Dining Table with lesbians and an even slower burn. Watch for beautiful food, acespec rep, mental health and therapy rep

What might turn some off: Extremely low heat, and quite slow-moving; warning for a disordered eating and family trauma plot (v gently handled)

Let's start with the one you've already mentioned. This is a heartwarming slice-of-life slow burn in which an autismspec-coded woman who likes to eat is invited by her neighbour, a femme acespec woman who loves to cook, to come and eat her food. It starts from a very practical place (when you love making food you need someone to help eat it), but their relationship grows as they spend more time together. The story follows them as they both move towards self-actualization in several ways: as a lesbian, as asexual, at work, with their families, with their friends, with each other. This show is so careful to say the important words aloud. And there is so much delicious cooking! Each episode highlights a particular recipe, and the food porn is real. Do not watch while hungry, but definitely watch. The found famiy vibes in this one one are also immaculate.

She Makes My Heart Flutter (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Younger lesbian friend group tries to help out (slightly) older lesbian bar owner with mixed success. I can't think of a good BL equivalent, The Moment Since feels the closest with its similar bartender/patron romance

What might turn some off: Comedic tone; short runtime; struggles with being closeted

This is a gem of a miniseries about a bar owner and an interior designer who smoulder at one another while an intrepid group of younger bar regulars (including the bar owner's neice) meddle. This series is really cute, solid, and full of sapphics! Once again found family vibes are immaculate (you may sense a theme in my faves). Run don't walk.

Fragrance of the First Flower (Taiwan, 2021, GagaOOLala)

Elevator pitch: Right-person-wrong-time/second chance romance; tonally is a little like We Best Love 2: Fighting Mr. 2nd but with an ambiguous ending.

What might turn you off: Medium heat, second chance romance means they break up once, internalized homophobia, adultery/cheating, at one point there's a creepy dude, child with autism (depicted well), ambiguous ending

At its core this is a story of a woman who can't stop getting in the way of her own happiness. This series is a little more sad than the rest of this rec list but I couldn't not include it because this relationship is so poignant. Plus there's a s2 that supposedly is to come out in 2024 so maybe we'll get our happy ending after all?

Love Greater Than or Equal to 70 Degrees C (Korea, 2019, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Ingredients but with lesbians staring at one another over beautiful tea pairings! What more could you ask for?

What might turn you off: Low heat; short runtime; ambiguous ending; like Ingredients this is essentially a long ad for the café it's filmed at.

This is a Korean miniseries about passionate tea sommeliers making really fancy tea while staring at one another a LOT. Perfect sapphic representation, 10/10 no notes. This one packs a lot of the drama tropes into its short runtime, so even though it's short it's full of butterfly-inspiring moments.

Sleep With Me (Philippines, 2022, GagaOOLala/iWantTFC/Netflix w/VPN set to Philippines)

Elevator pitch: The Truth About Cats and Dogs but the self esteem issues are handled without catfishing. BL equivalent: Hmmm. Closest I can think of is Gaya Sa Pelikula.

What might turn you off: There's some ableism (treated as such) in this show; Open ending.

Stellar GL between a late night radio DJ and an insomniac who listens to her show. One of the main couple is a wheelchair user and the show tackles ablelism and navigating disability in relationship as well as feelings of inadequacy in a relationship and how that manifests as interpersonal conflict.

Our Relationship Ended Before it Began (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Along the lines of I Cannot Reach You; the show gives both perspectives and they are held back by queer angst.

What might turn you off: No kiss (but they make it very clear both want to kiss), internalized homophobia

Really sweet miniseries about having a crush and being afraid of being hurt so you don't actually make a move. I really like the way the girl who has not dated a girl before defaults to gender roles and it throws the more experienced lesbian lol I also really like the way this show makes clear that both of them are waiting for a kiss, and that if you get in your head about things, it can get in the way of your own happiness!

Pearl Next Door (Philippines, 2020, Youtube)

Elevator Pitch: Gameboys but with lesbian vloggers.

What might turn you off: Love triangle, lots of teasing but low heat in the end, a lot of (good) conversations about mental health issues, ambiguous ending

This is the GL spinoff to Gameboys, starring Pearl from Gameboys. Pearl ends up being fought over by the two gorgeous women in the gif, an old love and a new. I love the queer friendships in this story as much as the relationships. I will say it's an open ending (that felt a bit like the showrunners didn't want to decide between ships) and definitely the love triangle features prominently but even in the face of these aspects that would normally turn me off a series I had a good time. The characters and interpersonal conflicts feel very real, and are allowed to be complex even when the show tone is comedic.

Dear Uranus (Taiwan, 2021, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Schoolgirl ensemble GL; a little like My School President but without the singing.

What might turn you off: Short runtime; ambiguous ending; a little bit of bullying; very standard romance trope execution

The first Taiwanese GL miniseries, this series was produced by a Taiwanese lesbian couple (Rabbit & Wolf)! Lots of excellent drama tropes, and incredibly gorgeous women (I think the entire watching audience fell in love with Erol.

Lily Fever (Korea, 2015, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Complete crack; YYY but with more kissing and frankly an even less coherent story.

What might turn you off: The lack of coherent plot; less a romance and more a very thirsty lesbian kissing everyone she can

This miniseries is utter chaos. Nothing really makes sense, it's all just random excuses to cause very suggestive moments (and kissing) to happen. I love so much how this series depicts women being so absolutely thirsty for one another (and yes that date isn't a typo, this series is ~9 years old). Not an "happy ever after" ending but it really isn't that kind of story.

Chasing Sunsets (Philippines, 2020, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Ocean Likes Me with lesbians. Resort romance with a mental health twist.

What might turn you off: Some of the mental health stuff gets intense, this was filmed in 2020 so the pandemic features heavily; hopeful but slightly ambiguous ending.

A complex story from the Philippines covering mental health and finding yourself. A woman shows up to a resort and befriends one of the women running the resort. They get closer as they spend time together, and the resort owner realizes something is off. There's also a BL side couple in this series.

Show Me Love (Thai, 2023, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: A little like My Day the series with lesbians, in that they work together and fall in love and it's full of tropes

What might turn you off: The advertising for the Miss Grand competition, there is some bullying and cheating (though way less than I was expecting tbh), not a lot actually happens, the editing gets a bit wonky at the end

This is essentially a massive ad for the Miss Grand Thailand competition; this GL was produced by the same company that produces that competition, and the stars are mostly Miss Grand competitors. The main pairing were shipped in the actual competition, and the company decided to make a GL about them. It's very slow paced and low-stakes, and there are better kisses than I expected considering everything I just said about where this show came from. There are a lot of cute moments!

Girlfriend Project (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Love Class with lesbians

What might turn you off: One of the leads is kind of mean in that pgitail-pulling way? It ends abruptly (but happily)

This is a short miniseries about two girls paired in a class that are assigned to "date". The chemistry is chemistrying. And there is a kiss (a good kiss, and a tiptoes kiss at that!). This show also has one of my favourite tropes, in which someone who seems like a pushover stands up for themselves and their partner finds it very attractive. For the record, in this show they are watching another GL by the same company, Love Tech.

Lulu (Philippines, 2022, Vivamax/grey)

Elevator Pitch: Present Perfect with lesbians (but with a better ending).

What might turn you off: Depictions of panic attacks, brief depiction of drowning, pandemic lockdowns, illness, exes, waffling, happy but open ending (which I actually liked for this story)

Two women trying to move on from the garbage in their lives meet at the beach of a B&B (where one saves the other from drowning) and become one another's company during their escape and then something more. They both have baggage that seems determined to keep them apart even as they continue to be drawn together. In the end, they decide to stick it out and see where they end up, with no guarantee of happily ever after, which I found very sweet. Requires either a VivaMax account or searching the grey for it, but it's worth the effort (check MyDramaList comments for suggestions on where to find it). Plus one of the leads has a cactus as a pet.

Welcome to the Lesbian Bar (Korea, 2023, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: A little like Fudanshi Bartender but without the fudanshi bartender and all of the bar patrons are lesbians lol

What might turn you off: Short, can get a little bit preachy, abrupt ending

Cute short series with different very stories every episode as different patrons visit the bar. The stories range from women who have been together for awhile, to people meeting from an online app for the first time, to someone visiting a lesbian bar for the first time; and yet the story all weaves together in a way that's satisfying though ends abruptly. Includes some solid marriage equality propaganda.

GAP the Series (Thai, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Kind of the vibes of Together with Me but lesbians and in an office instead of school. Angry boss falls for charming new intern and

What might turn you off: This one is the highest heat of all these recs; homophobia especially amongst family, brief depictions of death by car, brief mentions of suicide, cheating, bullying, abuse of power in the office.

A list would not be complete without this one! Honestly the plot is a bit wobbly but the show is a lot of fun. The girls are very cute, the feelings and tension builds really well between them, the friend group is excellent, and in the special we get a wedding.

---

The rest of these have caveats of one kind or another, but i couldn't leave them off a rec list, so here are the side couples and censored stories that are still worth your time anyway (I might do a separate more detailed post for these, as well as for films, one day if there's interest):

Nevertheless (GL side; Korean, 2021, Netflix) Not sure it's worth watching a whole kdrama for side lesbians? Search soljiwan on youtube. They are great. Even the Netflix account stans them. I watched this (ngl, I watched the SolJiwan cut) as it aired and was constantly braced for it to let us down but it did not! A really good friends-to-lovers story.

Friend Zone 2: Dangerous Area (GL side; Thailand, 2019, YouTube): These sapphics are messy and I love them. Decent conversation about dating someone with mental health issues in this series, and they're one of the only couples in this ensemble to get a happy ending. If you're just watching the lesbian couple (which you can, their story is pretty self-contained) you don't need to have seen s1.

Six Survivors (GL side; Japan, 2022, Viki) This show is a horror comedy and it is SO MUCH FUN. Warning for zombies and blood, but way less than you might think. One of the eponymous 6 survivors is a lesbian who keeps trying to convert them to veganism lol. If you watched Chaser Game W you'll recognize one of the actresses in this, the lead actress is from Kamisama no Ekohiiki, and one of the guys is from the prequel series His as well as I Want to See Only You! And yes there is a kiss. Also a surprising number of Mallrats references. Not for people who can't handle gore or relationships being complicated/not a "true love" story/ambiguous ending.

Kamisama no Ekohiiki (complicated question of is it GL in parts, Japan, 2021, furritsubs once again coming through to save the day) This one is a bit complex because there's bodyswap, but the girl who falls for the bodyswapped boy-in-a-girl's-body is clear that she is only interested in the girl. One of the better bodyswap stories because the bodyswap is not a secret for very long, so instead there's a lot of introspection about what gender means and who/what they are attracted to. Feels wrong to call this GL, necessarily, but it's very queer.

Couple of Mirrors (Censored GL, China, 2021, Viki) Story of a rich girl and her assassin girlfriend. This production did an amazing job getting away with what they could, just don't watch the last five minutes and we've got essentially a happy lesbian family.

Legend of Yunze (Censored GL, China, 2021, @douqi7s) Very cute very low budget xianxia miniseries with two seasons and a special. The special is set in modern times in a future lifetime so if you want a cute censored-but-clearly-a-soulmate-love-story this is the one for you. Don't be thrown off by the weird cuts/abrupt episode endings, that's in line with cdramas in general.

Led Astray by Love (Censored GL, China, 2021, @douqi7s) A very fun and adorable isekai story in which a modern day girl is transported to a wuxia novel setting and has to figure out how to get home, and gets romanced by the princess along the way.

And a few additional links for people who even more content:

My Indian sapphic webseries rec list

My suggestions for content with toms (Thai category that's similar to but not exactly the same as butch lesbians) in response to this post.

This really good GL MyDramaList list (not made by me!) lists what seems to be everything I've mentioned and about 200 more. Even I haven't seen a few of these!

My YouTube playlist of sapphic content: This includes anything I stumble across or find in my searches, a lot of music videos and random shorts as well as some microseries and miniseries that I don't consider GL but are WLW/sapphic in addition to true "GL" content. For serialized content, I add just the first ep. A complete mess, but you can trawl through to find stuff to watch, like Hetero!

SOONOTSUE: The same producers of She Makes My Heart Flutter have other short series on their channel worth checking out; if you liked that one, try Out of Breath!

Shakeshoulder: Thai YouTube producers of very pulpy (read: low budget and dramatic plots) shorts

FuFuKnows: This YouTube channel is owned by a gay Taiwanese couple that produces shorts every week, including some with GL mains and sides. These are very low budget but cover a whole swath of queer themes.

@douqi7s is a godsend providing subtitles for all kinds of content, including sapphic shorts and more series than I've listed here. Check their tumblr for links to all of their content; A Practical Guide to Being a Superstar's Assistant has one of the best setups to giving us great moments in the guise of something else so that they get past censorship I've ever seen; I also recommend The Vampires if you're into genre fiction, as well as Legend of Yunqian if you enjoyed the xianxia parts of Legend of Yunze. @wlwcatalogue did an excellent summary of many of the non-wuxia options here.

Quick pitch for the streaming platform GagaOOLala; it's affordable, has a ton of content, including a whack of GLs (originals, license series, and a ton of shorts), and is run by queer people out of Taiwan who care about good quality queer content being made and having an audience, and using the soft power from those successful series to support social change. And if you can't afford a subscription it's worth checking out what they have for free, they open up temporary free access to some things for various events throughout the year.

In searching for gifs for this post I found fellow tumblr user @drowningparty 's WLW compendium list; they've listed more series and films so check it out if you still need more content!

*wipes sweat off brow* that should be enough to be getting on with, but it's really just the tip of the iceberg! If there's something specific you want to see with sapphics let me know and I can tell you if I know it exists. Anyway, I hope this gives you and everyone else a taste of what all is out there! I of course always want more, I am serious about being a sapphic dragon hoarding every crumb i can get my lizardy hands on, but I do think what we have should also be appreciated more. If I missed one of your faves, please tell me!

[octuscle]

My professor gave me a zero on my essay for no reason! I did the work! When I asked him why he said that it was because I was a jock and jocks always fail his class. It’s time for payback!

Seriously, what do you expect from a professor of German studies named Dr. Kurt-Heinrich Schulte Obermeier? He's a Westphalian lateral thinker with Prussian discipline oozing from his every pore. Immaculate hairstyle, perfectly fitting suits, first-class pressed shirts. Handkerchief and tie always coordinated with great taste. A luminary in matters of German post-war literature. And an asshole as a professor.

I am a natural scientist. Sort of. According to my self-image as a support staff member. I'm of the opinion that the world isn't a worse place with one less Germanist in it. If he spends his time on meaningful things instead of Günther Grass.

When he wakes up the next morning, he feels fresh and rested. Dr. Kurt Obermeier is one of the youngest research assistants to have ever worked at your university. He is cool. He knows he's clever. But he's a good tutor and even if he's always dressed a bit stuffy, you can have fun with him. Rather atypical for a German studies student, you can even meet him in the sports bar in the evening. When the German soccer league is on.

Curt Meier is a WASP like no other. Although half of him is not Anglo-Saxon but German. That's why he decided to study business administration and German studies. Out of pure interest. He doesn't need to earn any money anyway, he lives off his parents' money. And he lives off the occasional modeling job. Curt is New England incarnate. Cultured, educated. And in his beauty, he is unfortunately also a little boring. But what do you expect from someone who plays cricket?

Yo, dude! Check it out, this Curtis Meyers guy, man, he's like, totally not fitting in at the uni, you know? Button-down shirts? Rugby shirts? That ain't his vibe at all. He's all about football jerseys, bro. But honestly, he only throws those on when he has to. In German studies? Forget about it. The professor thinks he's gotta dress fancy? Ridiculous, man! If they kicked him out for that, he'd be damn happy. He only picked this damn major 'cause he thought it was gonna be all about Thor and Wotan and all those badass demigods, you feel me? They're awesome. But Rilke and Heine? Hell no. And their language, man! Who the hell came up with that? Must've had a sunstroke that day, dude. Oh, and what's up with the sun? Time to link up with the boys and toss some balls on the field...

Mike Curtis hated university, man. Those snobby dudes there were just dumbasses and annoying as hell. Too dumb to take out the trash properly. Too lazy to clean up their own mess. Keeping the campus clean was a crappy job. He especially hated that German Studies building. Full of stuck-up know-it-alls. All a bunch of weaklings. Supposedly Mike had some German great-grandfather or something. What a load of crap! What kind of dumbass has two last names? Anyway, Mike supposedly got his German looks from him. Also bullshit! That was all sweat and hard work in the gym. Mike didn't inherit nothing. He earned everything he got. And he was damn proud of it!

Mike is not a jock in the strict sense of the word. But certainly more than Professor Dr. Schulte Obermeier. I don't think you have anything more to fear from him, Bro. As long as you separate the garbage properly.

[fushigurojpg]

So, this dude and I have been flirting with each other for MONTHS then, all of a sudden, he stopped talking to me. Literally just like that, one day he was getting all close and personal and from the next one he wouldn't even look my way.

A little context: we met at work, we only saw each other at work and only ever interacted at work. So 3/4 weeks prior this sudden change, we started following each other on ig and then we didn't saw each other for a couple of weeks cause of Christmas holidays. Mind you, we are complete opposites SO in a way I sensed that maybe what he saw on my profile didn't sit right with him. Because in a way that's what also happened to me?? Look, idgaf if you're a religious person, live your life gurl BUT the moment you start saying that people who don't follow your religion are sinners and it's your mission to change their mind I'm out of here boy.

So, I was a tad thrownback about the whole religious fanatic thingy. Still, our vibes were immaculate so I continued chatting with him as per usual until he stopped all of a sudden.

But TODAY, TODAY BABES he greeted me??? TWICE??? AND even SPOKE to me??? I'm so confused because rn all that fanatic shit is long gone from his account but I don't follow him anymore and he went private.

I'm so confused and frustrated because I'm really fucking interested in him and would actually love to have tha chance to actually get to know him without prejudices or suppositions.

To end this dramatic turn of event, today was my last day at work bc I'm going on a holiday for two weeks and by the time I come back, he's gonna be on a holiday </3

Am I just a delusional fool?

[cinnamontails-ff]

July Fic Recs!

I saw @shewhowas39 do this last month and thought it was such a cool idea to highlight the fics I've been enjoying recently!

Portrait of the Pale Elf by @larvasmoon

Post-canon Tailor!Astarion meets a lovely artist named Selene who is desperate to draw his portrait, all while struggling with her own demons. The writing in this is absolutely stunning, gorgeous imagery, so atmospheric and immersive, and the masquerade ball chapter that came out this month was such a highlight.

Strange Highways by NoCryptoGrapher

Cazador fucks up the Ascension and finds himself in NYC, 1987, where he is picked up by a struggling rock band. Through a series of hilarious misunderstandings, he decides to join them for the Battle of the Bands (which - in his words - "will not be much of a battle when I'm there"). Seriously, this is one the funniest fics I've read in my life. If you've ever wanted to see Cazador being referred to as "dude" by his bandmates and discover the power of friendship and 80s music, this is where it's at.

With Sharp Teeth and Fins by @davenswitcher

A beautiful "Free Willy" type take on Sharkstarion who is kept in a mysterious museum by Cazador until he is discovered by the new hire Jeanie (*off-key singing* "Quit living on dreams"). The vibes in this are so cool and I am a sucker for a good museum setup.

Afterlife by Cweepa, Dummptruck

Very cool futuristic Bloodweave AU where Astarion picks up Gale, a mysterious damaged android and decides to fix him up. This has immaculate worldbuilding. The way the authors have translated the BG3 lore into a futuristic sci-fi setting is so, so cool and the way they interpret Astarion's and Gale's backstories is fascinating. Lots of mystery, intrigue and sad boy energy.

Feeling feral enough, darling? by @w1tht33th

A smut one-shot I remember reading before, but rediscovered on AO3 and boy, oh boy, does it hit. Established relationship, role-play, pegging as well as PiV, Astarion going absolutely fucking crazy over his girlfriend - just all the things I love. Cannot recommend it enough.

Where were you when I was new? by @kittenintheden

I reread this all the time. It is such a gorgeous take on virgin law student Astarion who thinks he's too good for anyone until the right person comes along to prove him wrong. Astarion's voice is so spot-on in this. It's the perfect proof that Astarion can be soft and still so very Astarion, and seeing it in this pre-canon setting is pushing all my emotional buttons.

[nikethestatue]

Greetings,

I’m a baby elriel. I’ve like never really “shipped” any characters before in my life — and after the last few weeks of looking at the historical/ongoing ship war clusterfuck that is the ACOTAR fandom I don’t think I’m ever going to set sail again anywhere. You and all the other elriels who have been in the trenches from the get go have my respect 🫡 Anyways, your blog is super swaggy and you’re like the chillest elriel I’ve seen, so it is to your inbox that I shall share my testimony, my come to Mother moment if you will.

I didn’t really start giving any serious thought to the two them being a legit thing until I was already done with ACOSF. And it’s wild because it was the “‘I don’t see you spouting poetry, brother.’ ‘I don’t need to resort to it.’” bit in ACOWAR between Cassian and Azriel that triggered me to reevaluate.

When I first read that part I was like damn okay I see you Rizzriel, and I just kept on thinking about it and coming back to it cause it was so funny and entertaining but one day I was like yo hold up, don’t need to resort to it?? Okay, Mr. “Born Hearing the Song of the Wind.” Okay, Mr. waxing poetic about “The Naphelle Philosophy.” Like don’t get me wrong, it is definitely, first and foremost, a subtle flex for his third unspoken title; he is Azriel — shadowsinger, spymaster, and rizz master of the Night Court. However, I am a firm believer that he doesn’t need to resort to poetic words as some sort of attempt at flattery or being charming because the right situation/person naturally draws out that part of him.

✨Walk with me✨

When Elain and Azriel first meet in ACOMAF, even though there’s not a whole lot of interaction between them, it’s definitely a case of two people having a connection simply off vibes alone (yay for those of us who don’t have loud personalities). He puts her at ease with a smile and by acknowledging her fears and apprehension about their presence, about how much of a mindfuck it was for her to be dining in her home with those she was raised to believe were horrific creatures that would kill her if given the chance.

So like because of this, I think Elain is driven by a deeper curiosity that came from her unexpected comfort when she asks “Can you truly fly?” cause ngl asking the dude with massive wings if he can fly is certainly a choice 🧍🏽‍♀️ Like, there’s more to it than that, more than just attempting to transition from a tense situation into conversational small talk which could’ve been done just as easily with the likes of “Tell me about yourself” or a more confrontational “So what are you?” — which is essentially what Nesta asked immediately after ����

Elain doesn’t know anything about these guys, but she sees Feyre trusts them, and Azriel’s small expressions of gentleness towards her amidst the escalating interactions made her willing to attempt connecting with him further. So I think her asking a ridiculously simple question with an obvious answer was her way of softly inviting him to share something about himself — not necessarily through what he responds with but rather how he responds — because something, if anything, unique to his answer beyond a simple yes or no would offer her a glimpse at him. And what does he do? Stone-faced, cold ass — doesn’t open his mouth except to give the shortest answers possible or to make some sharp sassy retort — Azriel spouts poetry for her about his and Cassian’s heritage.

So after my revelation slapped me in the face and then bonked me over the head for good measure, I went back and sought out all their interactions and was like dang bro became horrendously down bad for her in the most quietly romantic way possible and she’s feelin something too I can’t believe I didn’t pay attention to this before. I love love love that they just seem to be at ease in each other’s presence, that the vibes between them are so immaculate they don’t even need to bother with many words. Existing in comfortable silence with someone is like my favorite way to spend time in relationships whether it’s familial, platonic, or romantic so it makes me feel all fuzzy that we see them like that quite often.

So now I’m here and am looking forward to eventually reading about them and discovering more about Elain’s gifts because the whole creation story with the Mother + the Cauldron always gave me Gaia-type vibes and with Elain being invested in gardening and then being made a Seer by the cauldron because it thought she was so lovely I’m like Elain Archeron — the absolute goddess that you are, light and life flowing through your Made veins — we haven’t even seen all you can do yet and you’ve got this angelic fae male of death and darkness ready to worship you on his knees and I’ma be right there with him yes ma’am 🛐

WOW baby Elriel. You smote me with this beautiful post.

(first of all, you should write fanfiction. You reminded me of the greatest Elriel (or otherwise) writer that ever graced this hot mess of a fandom with their presence)

But I can't agree more. I think SJM actually pays attention to them, as a couple. Not something she does with many others. That relationship just flows so beautifully in the background, calm and poetic, even with the language she uses around them. There is so much imagery of death and life and decay and rebirth and beauty and flowers and blades and warmth and baking and loneliness and despair and searching for love and for home.

I don't know what she'll do with them, but it could be her Magnum Opus if she is careful, thoughtful and steady in crafting their story. What she already put down deserves special treatment when the story actually comes to pass.

Also, welcome to the fandom.

[cursed-blade-gf]

First Impression Best to Worst Boss Fights in Shadow of the Erdtree

DLC has been out for a minute and I’ve done my initial runthrough and taken as much as I could from it. Suffice to say, I did love it a lot and thought that it has a solid amount of staying power. This list covers the main bosses only (and a few notable side bosses) and as usual, unless you don’t care about SPOILERS, I recommend not reading past this point:

Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame: Now, already, I feel like people are gonna disagree with me. Hear me out. When I first hit this fight, I was like “they integrated a PVP-centric status condition into a boss fight. How is that fair?”. And then I thought about it for a second. No fight style makes this fight easier. No weapon, no spell, no armor makes this fight easier. It is as you see it. This man’s attacks can cover almost an entire room, snipe you from a thousand miles away, his melee attacks hit like a train, and builds up your Frenzy, which can leave you vulnerable and chunk your health and FP. But, he also is easy to stagger, he doesn’t move very fast, and his attacks are telegraphed a year in advance. It’s perfect. He doesn’t have a ton of health, but he is absolutely savage. He’s what difficulty SHOULD be and the sigh of satisfaction when you beat him is REAL. You can’t really cheese or simplify this boss beyond KILL HIM and it’s so refreshing to find a boss that no matter your choice of loadout, Midra will keep you on your toes in the most horror game-like way. Also lore wise, the vibes in this entire area were unsettling and immaculate and the “Eyes of Sauron/Winter Lantern” enemies actually made me jump in that horror game fun way and I adored it.

Messmer, The Impaler/Base Serpent: Now, this was the fight I forced myself to learn through sheer force of will. I literally slammed my head against this man for a day because I knew that the only thing that was killing me was my own arrogance and IT PAID OFF. By the end when I finally beat him, I adored this fight. This man lets you fucking have it, but at no point did it ever seem unfair or bullshit or, hell, even free. This fight is a perfect mix of cinematic, difficult, and a riot to learn and improve at and I genuinely look forward to this fight each playthrough now.

Rellana, Twin Moon Knight: A scaled-up version of my favorite base game Dark Souls 3 boss and she didn’t disappoint. Incredible fight, solidly learnable, and definitely one of the highlights of my first runthrough.

Bayle the Dread: The quickest love-hate relationship I’ve ever had the pleasure to wade through. In my first ten tries, I could not help but think “this is the worst. What can I do against this man except die?”. But the more I fought him, the more I enjoyed it and the more fair I found it. He is overwhelming, yes, but his tells are obvious and when you recognize the areas his attacks affect, he becomes a lot less oppressive. He also has the greatest phase 2 transition of all time. I mean my love for Placie has grown over the past few months, but I think Bayle edges out for Second place in best Dragon fights in Elden Ring. Fortissax takes first.

Scadutree Avatar: This fucker seems easy at first, and then he starts driving around. I severely underestimated this boss at first due to how much damage he was taking compared to everything else. Then he hits second phase and until then, I’d never been jumpscared by a sunflower before. Still not the hardest boss by any means, but definitely checks you at the door.

Romina, Saint of the Bud: I mean, outside of the obvious, I don’t know why I enjoyed this fight. Her rushdown is legendary and she deals in Scarlet Rot, so you’d think I would hate this fight. But her tactics ended up being fairly straightforward, her Rot wasn’t as oppressive as I thought it would be, and she really is such an aesthetically pleasing fight.

Putrescent Knight: The goofiest looking creature on this list by far, but this dude kicked my ass several times. He definitely came with his fair share of surprises, but he never felt overly obnoxious or overstayed his welcome. Not the most fun fight, but definitely worthy of more praise than scorn.

Allies of Miquella: Debated putting this in here because it’s more of a PVP standoff than a boss fight, but I feel it’s worth a mention. Nothing particularly exciting, but it definitely is much more of a marathon than I was expecting and a very difficult one at that. Come prepared here. These people don’t pull punches.

Ghostflame Dragons: More a mention than anything. Nothing unique, but it did force me to rethink how to fight dragons a la Darkeater Midir which I enjoyed.

Metyr, Mother of Fingers: Well, we had to hit the lower half eventually. Metyr doesn’t have a ton of health which puts her up here, but I generally dislike bosses that remind me of The One Reborn where it feels like no matter where you hit the boss, you’re still being dealt damage just for walking up to it which, I’m sure, incentivizes spellcasters, but frustrating nonetheless.

Promised Consort Radahn: Malenia without all of the charm and enjoyment. Malenia, I still firmly believe takes the cake in terms of hardest (and best) boss in Elden Ring, but Radahn did not skimp on the difficulty round two. That being said, his move set is far less enjoyable to learn than Malenia’s and often, it just felt the impressive amount of health and the absolutely unhinged amount of capable range this man has is unjustifiable. Plus, Malenia invites aggression and allows for so many ways to contest her despite her making you work for it while Radahn just hurts. Pain for the sake of improvement is great. Pain for the sake of pain is a lot less fun.

Ancient Dragon Senessax: I did not think that the thing that would make me hate a fight like Lansseax or Fortissax would be just setting the damn thing in a pool of water, but here we are. The lightning AOE’s in this fight are ruthless and are a lot less avoidable for how much they stagger on a regular day. Definitely not the worst, but not a fun development.

Golden Hippopotamus: This thing definitely killed more innocent players than real hippos do every year in real life. This thing SUCKS to fight. Camera monsters in general are just a pain, but when half of your screen is covered in porcupine quills (yes, YOU HEARD ME), this thing becomes substantially more of a drag. That and this abomination punches above its weight class and I just generally found this fight as entertaining as a mosquito bite.

Commander Gaius: Fuck this man. I’ve never had a dude kill me so consistently or so consecutively in the first 5 seconds of the fight. It’s been a minute since a boss legitimately made me yell at my TV screen and I did not welcome the experience. Also, this man had absolutely no right or privilege to ride my ass this fucking hard unless he bought me dinner first. Will not enjoy revisiting this dude.

Divine Beast Dancing Lion: Brace yourself. This is gonna be a long one. I apologize in advance. *breathe in* *heavy sigh* I’ve never actively thought any boss in any Dark Souls game was purely unwarranted or worthy of true hatred. Despite all of the bosses I dislike fighting across all FromSoft games, I always attempted to find a bright side or something like lore or environment or something to justify its existence and I had succeeded. Until I met this fucking thing. This menace didn’t have the most kills on me (that goes to Malenia and Messmer) or did anything in particular that actively exploited my playstyle (like Maliketh, Mohg, or the Crucible Duo). This cockroach merely existed and it was enough. Its body is a giant blob. Its hitbox is horrific. It punishes aggression. It punishes passivity. This thing has ranged attacks, melee attacks, magical attacks, passive effects, movement patterns, retaliatory tactics, and even him just looking at me hits like a goddamn truck. He is so hard to read and does so much damage and does the most unhinged, wtf follow-ups that I’ve ever seen with the most hairpin trigger aggression I’ve ever experienced in my life. He does frost damage, lightning damage, physical damage, I’m pretty sure there is fire damage in there somewhere, emotional damage, and mood damage. And, to top it all off, THERE’S A FUCKING SECOND ONE OUT IN THE BOONIES THAT IS EVEN FUCKING WORSE. Basilisks have been in the Soulsborne conglomerate for as long as I can remember and I’ve tolerated their existence until FOUR OF THEM WANDER INTO THIS FUCKING FIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF PHASE 2. THIS LION HAS A DEATH BLIGHT PHASE. You know, the one status effect in Elden Ring that INSTANTLY KILLS YOU. And the best part? If you don’t kill him fast enough, HE CAN DO IT AGAIN. It would not surprise me if the same sadist that came up with the Double Gargoyle fight came up with this one. And like I said, he doesn’t have the most health I’ve ever seen, but it doesn’t fucking matter. The only thing that matters is how fast you can remove his health because he WILL kill you if you give him any leeway. I fought this thing twice and I know about as much about how to fight this thing as I did the first time I walked into its arena. I succeeded twice by SHEER DUMB LUCK. I despise this thing and if I could actively avoid it, I would not hesitate.

[darkchocolatedimples]

from the vault! (speak now & 1989)

speak now

electric touch - keefe

ALL I KNOW IS THIS COULD EITHER BREAK MY HEART OR BRING IT BACK TO LIFE

when emma falls in love - linh

like if cleopatra grew up in a small town!

i can see you - tam

IMMACULATE VIBES

castles crumbling - fitz

its THE fitz song oh my gosh "now they're screaming at the palace front gates, used to chant my name, now they're screaming that they hate me, never wanted you to hate me"

foolish one - dex

okay don't talk to me

timeless - biana

she deserves that timeless love dude

1989

slut - biana

GOT LOVESTRUCK WENT STRAIGHT TO MY HEAD GOT LOVESICK ALL OVER MY BED its so her

say don't go - dex

WHYD YOU HAVE TO LEAD ME ON WHYD YOU HAVE TO TWIST THE KNIFE WALK AWAY AND LEAVE ME BLEEDING

now that we don't talk - fitz

i miss the old days, you didn't have to change, but i guess i don't have a say now that we don't talk. MOURNING KEEFITZ ONCE MORE

suburban legends - sophie

AND YOU KISS ME IN A WAY THAT'S GONNA SCREW ME UP FOREVER

is it over now - keefe

you dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor !!!! / your new girl is my clone 🥸

you're losing me - sophie

the whole song is so perfectly her but also "how long? could we be a sad song? till we were too far gone to bring back to life. i gave you all my best mes. my endless empathy. and all i did was bleed as i tried to be the bravest soldier."

[jade-kyo]

RvB 20th rewatch: s3

And we’re at season 3. The point where I feel like the show really starts to find its identity!

I was trying to remember what the zealots were called and I accidentally called them faggots…

For me season 3 is really when the humor kicks into high gear

It really feels like this is when the characters identities found their footing and solidified

The O’Malley/Doc/Lopez/Vic/Wyoming evil team up is so brilliant, it cracks me up so much

“What was your code name?” “Nevada” Tex’s willingness to just fuck with people is great

This is also the season where Caboose became Sarges favorite blue

“So I guess if I’m not on the team and you’re not on the team then nobody’s on the god damn team! The team sucks” another heavily quoted line for me

I love that the guy named Wyoming has the most comical British accent

Tex calls Tucker her friend and I start frothing at the mouth

Allison name reveal from freaking Wyoming of all people

You know early on it really does seem like Grif wants to gain Sarges approval

The crackpot retcon time travel arc here makes more sense than the actual time travel arc in the shisno trilogy

Man Tucker really is the one who worries about Church the most

The domestic evil lifestyle with O’Malley, Doc, and Lopez is such a good bit

Ah yes grimmons parked in the shade for two hours…

Super strong Caboose introduction!!

“Well can we at least rule out the gay stuff?” Grif you’re the one who brought up gay me thinks you’re projecting

“I miss the old days when we didn’t risk our lives and you were all a bunch of nameless assholes I’d yell at with Church” THEY DONT KNOW THE HORRORS THAT ARE TO COME SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP

THE SWORD!!!!!!!

I think it’s really interesting that Tucker doesn’t try to hype himself up about finding the sword- he just says it how it happened… idk I think it’s a good reflection of his character and what he’s actually like

Friendly reminder that Blood Gulch was an elaborate torture session to get the alpha to fragment more

CAPTAIN FLOWERS!!!!!

Since the time travel stuff with Church was a simulation does that mean Flowers actually had a heart attack or did the dude fr die from aspirin somehow unrelated to Church? Or was the time travel actually real and they were using Wyomings time distortion unit?? But like that was the only time travel that actually happened???

“Man first I kill myself then I realize I’m a honking dork” bro just like me fr

Requesting that Caboose speak at my funeral

“Mechanized… Americans” I cannot emphasize enough how much I love that line delivery it is one of my biggest vocal stims

Also a great example of how rvb has this sense of realness to its dialogue because people actually stutter and ramble on about a whole lot of nothing like that! It just makes the characters feel so relatable and real!

Church apologizing to Tex for getting her mixed up in everything and not being better for her and OH MY GOD THEY MAKE ME FERAL I AM ALSHAKBSKSHDKDH GOD HE HAS NO IDEA HE DOESNT KNOW WHAT THEYVE BEEN THROUGH!!!! HE DOESNT REMEMBER!!!!!!! YET HE STILL KNOWS SHE DESERVES BETTER AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

Tex loves being part of the shenanigans omg she’s so silly. It’s what she deserves.

SHISNO!!!

Chex divorced but still in love vibes are immaculate man I love them so much

DONUT SCREAM LIKE A WOMAN

I love how O’Malley understands Lopez yet didn’t know he was being told to say stuff about his butt by Lopez

Donut discovers his bloodlust

I don’t really have a ton to say about the blood gulch seasons cause they’re the silly goofy seasons but I always enjoy rewatching them. They’re such a blast!

[wildxtreasures]

Play Session #18

tldr; DAVRIN KISSED ISOLA DASJKF

the music at the beginning of isana negat is so good???

i just want to stand outside and look at the mountains here, the vibes are immaculate

stalgard is a real one tbh

WERE IN THE TITAN

the crystal heart and veins is so badass, taash is so right

THE SPINE?????

CRYSTAL HARDING??????????

taash and rook protecting harding?? bringing her to compassion??? i cry 😭😭😭

HARDINGS INQUISITION ARMOUR WITH LIL EMBROIDERIES OF HER FRIENDS I CRY EVEN MORE

BELLARA IS WRITING A SERIAL ABOUT ROOK I CANT I LOVE HER OMG

bellara asking rook if there is interest is so wonderful and don't worry bellara, next time!!!

omg talking to zara, please spill the tea girl

illario wants to be first talon, dude is a wet blanket!! illario don't be delusional !!!

Dagna mentioned in the codex !!!!

Emmrich, my man, ily, thank you for asking how i want my body to be prepared at my death

Antoine loves his wife so much, i love him so much

pls read the Codex entry "A Dog Named Ostagar" and cry

davrin's voice gets so soft when talking with valya and i adore it

the way davrin speaks with mila is making me swoon omg

im trying some combos i haven't done before and neve and emmrich are so good together, like such a deep respect for the other

lol @ the reference to going through the Fade in DAI and having to fight a bunch of spiders

going through lucanis' fears and thoughts was so good and interesting? there's a lot of good writing there without being too heavy-handed

my only wish is just a little more on Spite, he's a spirit but could there be something more there? something in the way he talks gives cole vibes and i feel like there's another conversation of why and how spite chose lucanis

DAVRIN SANG TO THE HALLA I CAN'T

i love eldrin, he's my dad now too

assan giving little berries to the halla, my heart

WE KISSED REPEAT DAVRIN KISSED ROOK

IT WAS SO CUTE

MY LITTLE HEART

BEAUTIFUL PERFECT

[ginnymoonbeam]

My Dear Gangster Oppa ep 3 let's gooo!

- Funny how none of Guy's other internet friends are sus in Wahl's eyes. Just the hot guy. Funny.

- Listen I know this ain't about them but the vibe between Pai and Muffin is immaculate. Fluffy femme getting bossed around by a bike dyke and batting her eyes about it? Six seasons and a movie please.

- Even Tom has caught on that Tew likes Guy. They are both so pathetic, I love it.

- Tew got to do a rescue! What a good day for him. And once again Guy isn't content to just swoon about it, he's gotta ask the tough questions like "why did those dudes seem scared of you?" What a good day for me.

- Y'all who said Tul is the best character were so right.

- I would clown on Tew for this but if I'd gotten cornered into telling a giant lie my first instinct would also be "okay how can I adjust my whole life to make this true before anyone finds out"

- Oh my god if the "buy an entire restaurant to look legit for a cute boy" scheme sparks a mob world paranoia spiral I'm going to be SO happy

- Oh my god if this is going to be a problem boyfriend for Tul I'm going to be SO HAPPY

- Kenji is so creepy and gross. Not even in a fun way.

- Okay so I wasn't exactly sure about the nuances of Wahl's departure before, but now it's clear. He stuck by Guy and refused to leave (and rejected a call from Nami? Caller ID wasn't translated) until the rest of the friends showed up and it wasn't just Hot Dude there. Then it's suddenly very important that he go watch Nami's presentation. I hope Nami dumps him.

- Every time Wahl looks perturbed at the idea that he's no longer the center of Guy's universe, an hour is added to my life.

- Okay, there's some poetry in the fact that Tew is wearing this candy-shop polo shirt because he almost got stabbed and then beat a guy half to death.

- I said to a friend this week that even though this show is chock full of tropes, there's an earnest air to them, like they're reinventing the tropes from first principles. This lip wipe is a great example. The foiled attempt coming first makes it feel oddly fresh. So much of why I'm enjoying this show comes down to that kind of detail.

- I guess this Boss kid is the spy sent by Kenji's people? but I can still ship him and Tul.

- IS he the spy? He's being way too weird to be a good one. Whatever, I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy. The way Tul's looking at him is exquisite. Honestly he needs someone bossy and competent to take a little something off his shoulders.

- I'm in love with Tul actually. That is all.

- Mob guys: notoriously can't endure one single day of silence from their beloved without spiraling. Yes this is a Tang Yi callout.

- TEW. TEW MY BESTIE, MY DEAR DUMBASS CHILD. I wasn't gonna say anything about you buying an entire restaurant to cover your identity for your crush, but then you gave him a business card with your apparently very googleable name? SON. You're so dumb. I love you, never change.

I'm glad the mob identity is coming out now, I hope he doesn't somehow manage to cover it up in the cliffhanger continuation. I also hope whatever Boss is there for, he ends up kissing Tul about it.

[imovyn]

ok day recap time ig didn’t do one yesterday bc i did bad yesterday 😔😔 wasn’t until 3pm that i realized ohhhh i haven’t taken my adderall that’s why everything is so. impossible. are like two good meals tho so at least that. highlight from that day was hottubbing w my roommates in the evening that was nice but today was good slept in later than i would have liked but woke up way earlier than i have recently on saturday which meant there was still time to go to the weekly farmers market downtown that runs june through october that i’ve just never had the chance to go to before bc i’m always doing stuff on saturday or i sleep in or forget anyway pb&j breakfast/lunch (not brunch that is something else entirely) and hella cute farmers market outfit and while i was at the train station i sat next to and talked w this dude from nepal who is doing grad school here and he was way cool and laughed at the notion that i consider the rockies “mountains” he’s like lol that’s what we call hills and we talked about hiking and he showed me some photography he’s done in nepal and how we both love ghibli films that was nice then i took the train and walked to the farmers market it was wayyy bigger than i though it’d be there was farmers selling produce and food trucks and artists and clothes vendors and so many other things and the vibes were immaculate there was a lot of people i bought some v fresh v sweet peaches and also bookmarks from a very entrepreneurial seven year old then i went over to my fave coffee shop that has taken all my money to work on an assignment that was a day overdue about mesoamerican art and i got it done really quickly and remembered i’m actually rlly good at writing essays they just make me anxious and i walked over to the bus stop and while i was waiting there were lds missionaries going back to the mtc (missionary training center) from the temple and i talked w one of them for a bit he and his group were going to japan for their missions he was debating what college to go to when he got back love public transit bc of all the people i meet and i’ve been reading the great gatsby and i read that on the bus on my way to trader joe’s bc i was out of things again and it was busy af on a saturday afternoon people were buying cartfulls of pumpkins amazing i was in and out and i went back home and made myself rice and egg and celery in a rice cooker and added some sauce it was kinda mid and also ate some edamame and had some tea and listened to some dope dreampop and was incredibly chilled out spent my evening organizing and watching youtubes about spirituality stuff that i might have to get more into and now i’m on the train on the way to my parents house bc we’re having dinner w my extended family tomorrow yayyy

[leaflovingal]

Take a shot every time i say psyker, forge world, or ad(eptus) mech(anicus).

Something I am continually surprised and disappointed by in 40K lore is the lack of Adeptus Mechanicus Psykers, for several reasons.

1. Can you imagine how they would look? Immaculate. Fucking insane. It's the Ad-mech who are zealots that range from normal looking people to masses of creaking metal and chunks of rotting flesh, and then psykers who can have the batshit insane wizard vibe. Religious mad scientist and wizard that can't tell the difference between the several realities their minds perceive? Yes please. Adding tons of body horror? Just take my money already dude.

1.1 electro priests already exist and those guys are dope, if not a bit goofy looking at times. Still love them, wish they were represented more in lore. (Though I wish that for all of Ad-mech)

2. Lore wise they both do and don't make sense, but in a very ad mech way. Firstly, they almost certainly have enough political power to keep or acquire psykers, most likely acquire. Even if they didn't, it's the ad mech. They have more secrets than the astartes, maybe even the inquisition. Keeping psykers is just another drop in the bucket for them.

Next, using psykers is the exact kind of thing the ad mech would do. Using an extremely dangerous and somewhat rare resource that is little understood beyond some of its number in an incredibly archaic and arcane way? Who suits the bill better?

Also, if you don't like them, you can just ignore them entirely. Wanna know why? Because there's no fucking way some forge worlds are using them. I highly doubt graia would, agripinaa would also be pretty wary. Plenty of other forge worlds cultures might go against using them, or it might just be a case-by-case basis of each fabricator general.

I imagine lower class forge worlds might attempt to procure some for themselves a lot as it could mean a massive power jump if used properly. Certain upper-echelon forge worlds (*cough cough* stygies *cough cough*) will be using them because they get their grubby little hands all over anything they don't understand. Also even if a forge world would use psykers, you're telling me there aren't various clans on every forge world that are all vying for power who have various sub-cultures and doctrines? Their private army might not use psykers, so you still wouldn't have acknowledge them if you don't want to.

3. Money.

[friedfriedchicken]

I finally finished watching TF:EarthSpark S1 (please give me like 2+ seasons) and I have gathered all my thoughts into one silly list

Love how Alex Malto is very Filipino honestly. Like- it's so small but he's very there and he's the only fictional Filipino I've ever seen in anything live-action or animated that didn't originate from the Philipines. My dad was immediately activated when he heard/saw Alex say 'nanay' (my TV was quiet compared to the movie he was watching in the other room) and it makes me insanely happy. Also he's a lot like my dad scarily enough.

Originally I had TF:Cyberverse in my brain as the 'divorced Transformers show' but EarthSpark has much more divorced-exes vibes oml. Megatron with Soundwave and Shockwave, Bumblebee with Breakdown, Tarantulas in general, especially Megan and Sounders

I'm not a fan of humans in TF stories but the Maltos were great- they were woven into the story very well and were also very entertaining! Alex could infodump and had a fun arc with Bumblebee, Dottie and her backstory were great lore-fillers and her mom abilities were silly (there were a lot of dads but only one mom), Robbie and Mo felt like their own characters without overshadowing the Transformers, and the other background humans were generally enjoyable.

On the other hand- Mandroid didn't really stick with me, especially after he came back after his thingy blew up. Dude is practically a zombie- let him die 😭 BUT I'm excited to see what he'll do next season regardless of how little I enjoyed him as the big baddie

This show has so many dads oml. Alex Malto, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Tarantulas, Soundwave, where are all these dads coming from?! It's so fun, you get dads in different fonts like silly, casual war vet, PTSD war vet, not-paid enough war vet, new dad war vet, give him another chance war vet, and angry ex!

Starsceam's eyes are blue! It's so random and small but it activates my brain! Is it a design choice or something more?!

We've seen multiple stunticons but never all together in one place. I wonder if we'll get Menasor or not but, regardless, I love this version of Breakdown so much. Dude is so chill and spawned a new ship in my brain QwQ Bumbledown? Breakbee? Those two had very complicated vibes but my non-TF fan sibling agrees with me they have friendly exes energy

TERRANS- I LOVE THEM- ALL OF THEM- THEY'RE SO COOL

The fight scenes were so 💋 smooth and beautiful and I'd marry the fight scenes if they were people

I thought Bumblebee's friend he was chasing down was going to be Blurr because hee hoo I grew up watching TF:Animated and TF:Cyberverse plus Blurr is one of my favorite Transformers

Actually, my brain is infested with Bumblebee × Breakdown because seriously- this show didn't use slowmo scenes until BREAKDOWN SACRIFICED HIMSELF TO LET BUMBLEBEE ESCAPE. WHAT IS THAT?! IT TICKLES ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHIPPING TROPES OF ALL TIME (friends to enemies to lovers) BECAUSE THEY RACED TOGETHER, GOT SEPARATED, BY THE WAR, AND STILL RETURNED TO RACING WITH EACHOTHER HELP ME

Arcee with her classic car-inspired look omg 🛐 she's so cool and pretty besides for her black eye-liner thing. It looks really weird when her eyes are closed but she's very pretty regardless

Addicted to the found-family vibes of this show (It's not a TF series unless there's found family) but the especially traumatic energy of Tarantulas and Nightshade fuels my 4:47 AM mind. Tarantulas literally doesn't care about anything other than keeping this kid safe and can't tell what actually is safe or not and SACRIFICES HIMSELF SO NIGHTSHADE AND THEIR ENTIRE FAMILY CAN ESCAPE. PLEASE DON'T HURT HIM HE JUST WANTS TO LIVE IN PEACE WITH THE COOL KID HE FOUND IN HIS HOUSE ONE DAY

The size differences in this show are immaculate.

After getting kidnapped by Mandroid and cut, Megatron keeps the slice in his shoulder for later episodes and it's so cool that the continuity is there but sir, please patch yourself up! I don't hate it, it looks cool, but your armor is broken!

Please where did Mandroid get the funds to make who knows how many Arachnamechs?! The government/GHOST sure wasn't paying him while he was in his corrupted Howl's Moving Castle evil lab or sitting in his illegal fight ring.

I know the captions call Hashtag 'Hashtag' but she said she didn't have a word for it therefore her name in my brain is actually gonna be #. Just that. #. She deserves it because she's so silly. She has a fake ponytail and headset as part of her head design- it's amazing.

ALSO # MADE A REFERENCE TO "All your base are belong to use" AND I LOVE HER FOR THAT- POP OFF QUEEN

On the topic of design, Nightshade's protoform look was a little uncomfy for me with the helmet leaving their head very exposed and the random 'ear' discs. It felt weird but after they got their alt-mode they've been nothing but beautiful.

Jawbreaker my boy- you don't need an alt-mode to be so silly <3

Reoccurring Fluffy Ears is amazing

Honestly a lot of designs are either hits or misses. Megatron looked perfect to me but Optimus was off with his very flat head and weird faceplate. Like he was missing a forehead and the faceplate itself looked wonky. Soundwave was super pretty, even if his face is one solid color he absolutely rocked that look. I miss the smiley face Cyberverse Bee had on his pelvis area but at least my eyes aren't drawn to EarthSpark Bee's hips lol. Also Wheeljack. They brought back the mustache face but made it white and it feels incredibly silly and cool and scary and weird at the same time.

I think I'm done rambling for now but this might come back later hee hoo

[shychick-52]

Character ask game- Gyro with 1, 12, 20 and 26?

My first impression of them

DUDE. When 'The Great Dime Chase' first debuted, I remember feeling a little disappointed because I was like 'Ok, when are they going to actually go on more adventures?' BUT THEN. When Gyro randomly kicks open the door and interrupts the meeting to loudly declare "Shut up, everyone, I've done something brrrilliant!" (rolling the 'r', no less XD), all disappointment in the episode was instantly forgotten and he became my main focus. I. WAS. HOOKED.

And when he said his second line of the series: "Apology accepted. Now, try to keep up with my mind-numbing genius"- not only did Jim Rash's delivery make it hilarious, but so did the context because Bradford obviously wasn't apologizing when he started to say "I'm sorry-" at Gyro's bold entrance, and it's unknown if Gyro knew that and was just being a smartass or was just so arrogant he automatically assumed Bradford apologized for being unworthy to be in the presence of such genius- anyway, as I was saying, that second line had me just DEAD. And every single following line and scene with him in the episode further confirmed he was a keeper (that is, I knew he was officially my favorite character XD).

Sexuality hc!

Gay, naturally! Not only is he voiced by Jim ducking Rash (the Gayest Man Alive), but it comes forth in Jim's delivery, as well as Gyro's mannerisms, body language, and overall snarky, sassy attitude. And trans, ofc. ALSO, I definitely see him as aroace in canon; to me, he just gives off aroace vibes as much as he does gay vibes. (I see all versions of Gyro as aroace, but especially 2017 Gyro).

A weird headcanon

Not really weird, but I see him being extremely fastidious about his clothing, hair, and overall appearance. If his bowtie is even slightly crooked or a single strand of his perfectly immaculate bangs is out of place, he probably freaks. It's also my headcanon that he stopped getting his haircut by a hairdresser ages ago, and got Lil Bulb to do it ever since he created him (I mean, he did create him to be the perfect helper) likely very shortly after the Board turned him down.

When do you think they were being "themselves" the most?

Oh, definitely in 'Astro B.O.Y.D.' when he just dropped all barriers and admitted "2-BO was the first machine I worked on that turned evil, and I have spent my whole life trying to live that down." The pain and frustration in his voice was amazing. It was the first time in the whole series we got a chance to see him being totally real, displaying his vulnerabilities (it was a VERY vulnerable moment for him) after keeping it inside him for so long.

Another moment is that glorious, emotional hug with Boyd. It was another rare moment of just letting his emotions free, which was just as significant as the other scene, but in in a different way because it was the start of healing (for both him and Boyd) and properly reuniting with his son- who he learned was just as much a victim of Akita's treachery as him, had his life ruined as much as Gyro's,(regarding Boyd, he was always alone, used and tossed aside by countless others, always having his life controlled and never being able to make his own choices, never knowing the love that Gyro once gave him and would give him once they were together again), and was always as wildly misunderstood as Gyro.