#this also mean Maya will be the bigger sibling

[beedreamscape]

I was searching for what type of sexual dimorphism Cerrit would present, being a Phillipine Eagle, and this is what the wiki says:

The level of sexual dimorphism in size is not certain, but the male is believed to be typically about 10% smaller than the female, and this is supported by the average length provided for males and females in one source.

This is reverse sexual dimorphism. Females are not only heavier but have a wider wingspan!!!

Wrayne is (very likely) bigger than Cerrit!

(And even if she's another type of eagle, this rule still applies. The difference can even be higher than 10%.)

[beezonia]

How are the Specialists families and how are they as fathers?

lets start with Sky and Erendor, they aren’t on the best of terms in my rewrite

Erendor keeps choosing what sky should and shouldn’t do, who he can be around because of his royal blood

Sky hates it and has continuously tried to get his dad to stop, the last straw was definitely erendor picking out Diaspro to marry sky when he finishes his studies at red fountain (I’ll explain that later)

Sky and Samara are similar since Samara values what happens to the kingdom more then how her son actually feels

but they do have conversations about the future and she does believe that Sky should get to choose someone he loves to marry (she regrets marrying erendor)

—-

Brandon lives with his mother and siblings (older sister two younger and a younger brother)

his parents are divorced but their on good terms

his dad Alfie is a blacksmith and his mother Carmen is samara’s personal knight (hence why he’s quite close with Sky)

Alfie is a good dad, her tries so hard to be their for his kids and Carmen even though they aren’t together anymore

he usually takes his children to the forest and catches up with them there

carmen is a bit strict but she’s does it because she wants her kids to grow up strong and polite (even if they do get potty mouths)

they all love to cook with each other though!

(Carmen has a girlfriend named Maya btw she’s also part of this family)

—-

Riven’s dad wasn’t a good dad, nor was his mother

His mother, Cassiopeia was a strong witch and was heavily using her magic for darkness (surging the last surviving cult for the ancestral witches)

She taught him how to fight and how to be extremely rude to those around you (this is where he gets his bitch attitude from)

Riven’s dad, Lukas told him at a young age showing emotion was a weakness, who just made riven angry

so riven gains his mother’s temper and starts lashing out and so she leaves them after a big argument with her son and husband

Riven @ age 16/17 manages to get into red fountain on a scholarship and leave his very bad parental figure

—-

Nabu’s father is dead unfortunately, his mother Linari is alive and well

they have a tense relationship but she wants what’s best for her son even if it means partnering him up with the princess of andros

so they have a lot of arguments about what’s right and what’s the best thing to do

But they do deeply love each other and will fight for each other if needed

linari is duchess of a small land called Castalia and nabu is set to inherit that land after graduation

—-

Timmy has two moms! Clarisse and Nannette, also the sperm donor Terrance who’s Tim’s father

Clarisse is nice, but tends to push timmy away because she’s always working on projects that are bigger then her and take up most of her time

She’s a strict mother, always wanting him to succeed but pushing him too hard sometimes

but Clarisse will always let Timmy knows she loves him and she doesn’t mean to push him away (she’s just needs to prioritise her family more)

Nannette bakes Timmy cookies for when he gets back home, she loves sitting with him and watching crappy movies with him

they are the ultimate duo tbh

Timmy’s moms are cool

——

Helia’s dad is out of the picture, he went missing a few years back

Helia’s mother Chang’e and Saladins daughter lives in melody atm as that was where her husband was last seen and she’s been searching for him

so helia’s parents aren’t around often

saladin is like his dad at this point

—-

yeah there are all the specialists parents!!

[penny-nichols]

ok. So gonna write a list of the sibling and/or romantic relationships cases in AA

-literally all of the trilogy (possibly excluding Turnabout Samurai, but it dies have peripheral Mia and Maya discussion)

-Apollo Justice cases 2 and 4

-Dual Destinies cases 4,5, and DLC? I think its 4 5 and DLC. not much sibling stuff in Dual Destinies outside of Simon and Aura.

-Spirit of Justice cases... 3, 5, and DLC? I think thats mostly it?

gonna split them into sibling cases vs romantic cases now.

Sibling cases are:

1-2 (Mia and Maya) 1-3 (Peripheral Mia and Maya) 1-4 (Mia and Maya) 1-5 (Lana and Ema) 2-2 (Ini and Mimi. a bit of Mia and Maya. Misty and Morgan. Pearl and Maya might be something I touch on) 2-3 (Acro and Bat, peripheral Edgeworth and Franziska) 2-4 (Peripheral Edgeworth and Franziska, Adrian and Celeste in the anime) 3-4 (Dahlia and Valerie) 3-5 (Dahlia Iris and Pearl, Mia and Maya, Misty and Morgan, Franziska and Edgeworth) 4-4 (Kristoph and Klavier, Apollo and Trucy) 5-4 and 5-5 (Simon and Aura) 6-5 (Nahyuta, Apollo, and Rayfa) 6-DLC (Sorin and Selena)

Romantic relationship cases are:

1-1 (Larry and Cindy) 1-4 (Yanni Yogi and Polly) 2-1 (Maggey and Dustin Prince) 2-3 (Max/Trilo/Bat and Regina) 2-4 (Matt/Juan/Adrian and Celeste) 3-1 (Dahlia and Phoenix) 3-2 (The DeLites) 3-3 (Viola and Tigre) (Yeah Viola thought Tigre loved her and he was just pretending to to not get killed by the mob for running her over. and no one talks about this) 3-4 (Dahlia and Terry) 3-5 (Phoenix and Iris) 4-2 (Alita and Wocky, Little plum and big wins kitaki) 5-4 and 5-5 (Aura and Metis) 5-DLC (Marlon Rimes and Azura Summers) 6-3 (Tahrust and Behleeb inmee) 6-5 (Amara and Dhurke) 6-DLC (Sorin and Ellen, Pierce and Selena)

now I feel like some of these can definitely be trimmed. I don't think 2-1 is necessary (actually maggey keeps insisting that they weren't together so it's way easier to exclude), 3-3 is unmemorable and Tigre and Violas relationship is not even really a central part of it. 5-DLC is probably not much too. It does involve the loss of a lover but we don't know much about Azura generally, and any point that Marlin could bring would be brought up much better with Pierce Nichody and/or Acro

I'll have to pare things down generally, and obviously some relationships play a much bigger role than others. I also cut a lot of the crushes (aka one sided where the other party is not at all playing along, so no juniper and apollo or maggey and gumshoe or any oldbag stuff. etc)Eliminating crushes entirely would mean no Adrian or Aura for romance but I think they're an interesting enough topic to ignore that for.

I don't HAVE to play this much ace attorney for my English class. but I WANT to

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

5 underrated movies I recently watched that I think are amazing and deserve better

Maya the Bee (2014) I watched this recently for the first time and it's incredible! I'm saying this as a hardcore DreamWorks fan that THIS IS BETTER THAN THE DREAMWORKS BEE MOVIE! The bee movie is more for adults, only good to make fun of and laugh at the memes, meanwhile Maya the Bee actually has a good story for the whole family. I especially recommend this movie to kids! I loved how refreshing it was to see a guy friend actually be protective of the main protagonist and not in a love interest way. Maya and Willy actually work together really well. I also loved the minor characters too, and that grasshopper, Flip, was ICONIC! (Btw the movie is not the one with the d*** on the rock, the d*** drawn on the rock was from the tv show so if you watch the movie don't go looking for the d***)

Around the World in 80 Days (2021) This is the animated kids version of the story with animals, they also credited the book it was based off of, but please don't get it confused with the live action version. You won't be disappointed in the animated version at all! It's incredible and it's so funny! Phileas frog is literally so hilarious, and Passepartout is an adorable and funny monkey, and he's very determined too! You'll also love Princess Ayuda, she's voiced by Katie Griffin! (The voice of Ruby from Max & Ruby btw). The movie is actually genius and don't let the fact that it's made by a small Belgian-French company, turn you away from it. Just because something's not by Disney or DreamWorks, doesn't mean it can't be a masterpiece!

Daisy Quokka, World's Scariest Animal (2020) As I said before, just because something is made by a smaller company doesn't mean it doesn't have the same potential (or in some cases, more potential) than a bigger company like Disney. This adorable movie is about a very optimistic quokka girl, trying her best to compete in the "world's scariest animal" contest, with help from an alligator. The humor is incredible, andthe voice acting is amazing, The movie is also well paced and not too boring for younger kids that might watch it. I 100% recommend this for all ages (well, 6 and up at least) and it's a great movie for the whole family! It's made by an Australian company that I never heard of, but like I said, give the smaller company a chance. Animation is getting so much better nowadays and so are the stories! Trust me, you won't regret it!

Manou the Swift (2019) Okay, the animation isn't groundbreaking or anything, but the movie is still pretty great. It has a good message about acceptance and everything but I wouldn't call it exceptional. It's just a good movie, I think it deserves SOME recognition though. Kate Winslet (voice of Rita from Flushed Away) was in it, and she voiced a really loving seagull mother. One thing I actually loved about this movie was that the brother was 100% on Manou's side, instead of being jealous of him like a lot of movies. I know it's unrealistic, but it's nice when they show 0 sibling rivalry once in a while. I loved when he samed Manou from the rats (LOL Spoliers). This is a German-Chinese movie, dubbed in English and no one has ever heard of it. It's 88 minutes long and just give it a try if you're bored.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023) This is the only big-company made movie I put on the list because IT DESERVES ALL THE HYPE! This is an amazing DreamWorks movie, their newest one, and I'm still furious about Elemental making more money than it. Ruby Gillman deserved to win, 100%! All the crummy stereotypes I was worried about, it did the opposite! Like, it was WAY BETTER than I thought, it deserved so much better! I was worried about it being the cheesy coming-of-age story with the awkward girl vs the popular chick, but it's NOT like that at all and I regret not being able to see it in theaters. I think a good comparison of this movie is Turning Red, and it tackled a lot of things better than Turning Red (The generational trauma, conflict with mother..ect) and didn't show too much of the teen drama with her crushes and stuff. Ruby's love interest, Connor, is actually a really sweet guy and kind of a nerd like her. Unlike Mei, Ruby actually has a reason to like Connor and isn't just simping for the "cute guy" all the time. DreamWorks has been known as making movies similar to Disney to kind of "make fun of them" but in this, they actually did the movie way better. You can watch this movie online in 4k now so I recommend you go and do that!

Anyway, tell me what you think, write in the comments if you seen any of these movies, and if you know fun facts about them ^u^ I forgot to say a fun fact that the Maya the Bee book was written in 1912! Like, Maya the bee existed in the Victorian era? What? 0_o So crazy, huh? It's ancient!

[ygsunflower]

Only on S1E08 of my Station 19 rewatch but I can already see how much Maya has changed throughout the seasons- She was such an intense character. Everything about her in the early episodes scream intensity and confidence (with maybe a hint of smugness). Her messed up “eyes forward” mantra was also the signature of her character. She sincerely believed in her Dad’s philosophy and was genuinely happy to be that carbon copy of her dad.

Her “pushing through pain no matter what” mentality not only ingrained in her actions, it also showed up when she’s helping others- a) When she was helping Vic getting over her trauma with being surrounded by fire, Vic was clearly triggered yet Maya kept pushing her over the edge. b) She was championing for Andy to become the captain every opportunity she got. She constantly cheered Andy up, and she also not so subtly reminded others how much Andy had helped each one of them grow into the firefighter they were. And, she wasn’t afraid of making her stand known by everyone. (Side note, Maya truly is a bigger person… I know I am biased and bitter, but she was loyal and genuinely wanted nothing but the best for her friends. She supported them without a single hesitation but look what she got in return… No one cheered for her when she needed the cheering. No one cared for her like she did for them. No one was at her corners when she was down.)

Despite the changes, there were also rare moments of softness, and of the suppressed Maya (or the Maya after meeting Carina who no longer shy away from her kindness)- the scenes involving Mason, and the talk Maya had with Ryan in the park… We can almost glimpse the same vulnerable Maya from later seasons here. I wish either Ryan or Mason were still on the show… I hope at some point, the writers remember that Maya has a younger brother. It’ll be nice to see them connect again. My head canon is that Mason would have a hard time accepting the fact that Maya is healing and that the little Maya was also a product of Lane’s abuse like he was. Carina being both the protective wife and the loving older sister was able to get through Mason. She told Mason how hard Maya has been working to decode and heal from her trauma and how close the trauma came to break them. Yet, they made it out still together. Carina would also share with Mason her family history, and how much she missed her stupid little brother. She would tell Mason to give both Maya and himself a chance to rebuild their relationship because no one and nothing is promised for tomorrow. Also, having their sibling connection back also means to take back another part of what Lane ruined for them.

Anyways, so much possibilities… I honestly just want the show to acknowledge Carina as an independent character more. She has, in my opinion, the most interesting yet heartbreaking backstory on the show. It’s about time they start investing in the many stories of Dr. Carina DeLuca!

[mayxlee]

"Alright... if you say so," Maya said softly with a smile, his promise only making it easier to believe. She was curious to see him in an environment where he seemed to excel and feel the most comfortable, enjoying what he loved doing. Was he going to record himself? Or was it live? Whatever the situation, she couldn't wait to see how it worked. With a small nod of her head, Maya just weighed both options. "We could play... or watch a movie. Maybe both? Let's see how much I suck at the game, and then we can decide," she offered, thinking that they could just figure it out later. "I am sure it will be fine... I mean, you'd be there. I am pretty sure I've heard it all by now, but I know I will be okay with you there," the brunette admitted, with a warm smile on her face. She trusted him that his intentions were not bad, and at the end of the day, she had a thick skin. If they tried to bite, she'd bite right back... just gentler.

It was the little things that counted, from being present to making sure the days went by without being on an empty stomach. Perhaps he was a kid back then to understand the bigger picture of things, just like all of them, but his actions had made a difference, and there was no doubt in Maya's mind about that. Looking down at her food as Dean spoke again, she couldn't help but smile sadly. "Thank you," she replied, wondering if there was ever going to be a day when the topic wouldn't cause her heart to drop in her stomach. What she didn't expect was for him to have gone through something just as similar. "I am sorry," the brunette muttered, glancing over at him in hope he knew she meant it. "I know... I mean, we're not here to compare our losses, but I am sure it wasn't easy on you either." Maya exchanged softly before shaking her head. "It's okay. I mean, it's part of life, right? If I am being honest, I do prefer people acknowledging the fact he was here at some point in time because sometimes it does feel like everyone but us has forgotten him... so thanks. For remembering him. It means a lot."

It wasn't too hard for him to make her laugh, and the moment he called her "dude" that was enough to just brighten her mood again. It was odd how easy it was, but Maya wasn't complaining one bit. "Well... I was kinda of a history nerd. I was the quiet kid carrying around colored pencils and would draw everything I'd seen in history books. My parents just... supported me through that, till I decided I wanted to go to fashion school," she explained, smiling softly at the thought. "My dad made me promise I would. I don't know, I just loved being able to create designs of my own, whether they were traditional or modern... or a combination of both. At first, it was easier, sketching them, but creating them from scratch was completely different... I mean... I also wanted to be a vet back in the day, but designing just gives me peace of mind. It always did. And since I promised my dad.. I didn't want to let him down." she explained, trying to give him a more direct answer.

She smiled again at his compliment, highly doubting that would be the case, but appreciating it nevertheless. "You're too good to me, you know that?" Maya muttered, knowing that despite her lack of general confidence, she knew that her pouting game was strong. Years of using it against her siblings meant she had mastered the art of it, to the point she felt confident enough to even show Dean playfully. "I'm not sure if it's all of Providence Peak, but let me tell you it gets me places," she teased. "Whether it means getting extra sugar in my coffee or an extra donut." Maya added, giggling.

The siblings' code was important to keep the balance, especially in a large family like theirs. Luckily, Hoonie was harmless... most of the time. "Yeah..? I was the sibling I couldn't say no to anyone," she responded, pinching the tip of her nose. In fact, when could Maya say no to anyone, especially if it was from a person she cared for?

"My pouty face? Okay, prepare yourself! One... two—" But before she could count to three, just when she was about to give him yet another pouty face, Dean leaned in to kiss her. She would be damned if she didn't just melt into his gentle kiss, a smile slowly forming on her face. "Yeah... yeah, it's fine," Maya muttered, already feeling butterflies in her stomach, which was unexpected if anything. Well, shoot. Now she had forgotten how to even make it, with his face so close to hers.

@deanchaiyachet

"Nah. I have to deal with annoying people in my chat everyday, asking the weirdest questions ever. You won't annoy me." As he ducked his head, searching for her gaze, once he found it, Dean continued. "I promise." And still he didn't really mind it. Dean had felt like he'd been able to create a good relationship with his fans and followers, so he took most of their annoying questions in a joking way. People found him funny, so funny he would keep on being. A little daft sometimes, depending on the question, but he'd always stand his ground on others. "If you're up for it, after dinner, I can show you how to play it on Playstation." To that, he was quick to add: "Only if you want. We can also watch a movie or something. Whatever you want." Because that was the point of that evening, right? Talking, getting to know one another, without the peer pressure of others staring at them or crowds. "Please. They'd be stupid not to have you around. Besides, they're really easy on newcomers, so you'll be fine. They're just... you know... men, so a few stupid jokes are bound to happen, but I'll have your back. I can't say I'll hold your hand because that would be counter productive, but, you know the drill. I got you." Besides, it was really exciting to welcome Maya into his world. Not even the streaming part, but the gaming one. The part that relaxed him and made him want to make a living out of it.

As Maya went on about what he had said about his mother, Dean bobbed his head at her words. He didn't think of himself as some sort of savior, but he did his best to keep his family from falling apart, whether it was baking for his mother or simply, not leaving Colorado as a whole as he'd always dreamed to do. "I'm sorry about your dad, by the way." He said, gently nudging her sides with his elbow to catch her attention. "I know it's too little and it's too late, but I really am. I lost my oldest brother to cancer." He shared a bit more, but that was probably the most that he would share about Pat, because he didn't want for tonight to become sad, and if he continued talking about Pat, she would probably be sad about her father and the whole evening would be ruined. "I don't really remember him. I was three when he died, so I'm not saying it's the same as what happened to you and your dad, but, you know... I understand. And I'm sorry." As he reached for her hand, Dean gave it a light squeeze. "I'm also sorry I brought it up. I don't want to make you upset or anything."

Luckily, they changed the subject and with that, came the topic of her career, and he was super interested in getting to know more about it. "Dude... big YIKES! Especially in the fashion department, right?" Wait. Had he just called her dude? Okay, okay, this wasn't a date per se, but would she think he wouldn't want to go on a proper date because he'd called her dude? Ugh! He needed to brush off his vocabulary, because his habit of calling everyone 'dude' might have cost him a date with a nice woman. "How'd you get into that, by the way?" Although his mind was racing, his lips didn't seem to be following his mess of thoughts as they continued asking her questions about being a costume designer. "You said you wanted to be a lot of things growing up, so what was it about costume design that stood out to you?"

When she mentioned him wanting to give her wrinkles, Dean figured it was safe to assume he hadn't screwed everything up but saying 'dude' to a woman like Maya. "I mean... I think you'd look very pretty even with wrinkles." And, shit... as she went on about her pouty face, it was very hard for Dean not to go back to his teenage self and realize that she had always been this cute. Even back in high school. And now, he was actually chatting up with her. He wouldn't say that his crush on her had returned, but he'd be lying if he said he thought that flirting with her was a bad idea. "Oh... I can see that." And Dean wasn't joking. He had even leaned a bit closer to her, though involuntarily, as he rested his chin on his hand. "I'm sure you have all Providence Peak swooning over it." Because seriously... they'd be crazy not to.

Right. Her brother. Dean remembered how scary the older man felt like to him, especially since he knew that he was into martial arts, according to one of his older siblings. One hit and Dean would've been doomed back then. "Nah, I'd never break the siblings code. You wouldn't caught me getting a glass of water to my siblings, but I'd give them a kidney if I had to." And he almost did. Maybe not a kidney, but well... details. And right now, Dean was more interested in something else than talking about her brother. Or any of his own siblings.

"But like... About that pouty face... you want to show me again?" And as if caught by a surge of courage, Dean leaned in and pressed his lips to her pout in a gentle kiss when Maya repeated her actions. "Is this okay?" He asked softly, pulling away a little to check on her answer as he looked into her eyes, but not too much to make her or him give up on the idea of continuing kissing her.

[hechiima]

Thank you sm for sharing your 7 yg headcanons!!!!! Franziska protecting Miles is just- 😭😭

I also wanted to ask (im sorry if this is a boring question) if you have an opinion about whether Phoenix believed in rumors about Edgeworth forging evidence in aa1? Bc in 1-4 Phoenix says: "(That's quite a claim coming from someone who forges evidence)" (about Miles)

But then in 1-5 he says: "But you didn't know, did you? I mean, that the evidence was falsified."

So I'm not sure, did Phoenix started trusting him as a prosecutor only post 1-4?

Omg no thank you for asking and I KNOW RIGHT. The Von Karma siblings are just Everything to me ;A;

Also omg absolutely not this isn't boring at all I have so many thots about nrmt and trust/Edgeworth's past b/c its SUCH an important part of their relationship and it's pretty complicated but also extremely human?

Tbh I don't think Phoenix consciously trusts Edgeworth wholly/as a prosecutor until the end of the second game. There's that part in 2-4 where Phoenix comes out and says this:

Phoenix: If I take this verdict right now... I'd be betraying his trust. (...His trust...? I never thought about it until now... I... I trust him...?)

Mia: ...Yes, you do.

This part drives me insane b/c to me it's a defining moment of their relationship. It's Phoenix realizing that he DOES trust Edgeworth, despite everything. I think when Phoenix started his legal career, he heard about and probably believed in the rumors about Edgeworth. Esp with Mia as a mentor, I don't think he'd disagree with the accusations b/c the evidence is there and, as you point out, he does reference Edgeworth forging evidence.

But I also think that subconsciously he still believed in Edgeworth this entire time. Based on his whole "becoming a lawyer to try to save Edgeworth" we know Phoenix at the very least sees that there is something in Edgeworth that's worth trying very hard to save. I don't think you can have that kind of attitude towards someone you don't have some degree of faith in. Maybe Phoenix doesn't trust Edgeworth as a prosecutor as he is in AA1 but he trusts Edgeworth inherently as a person at all times.

And this attitude seems pretty contradictory at first but I think it's just horribly human. It IS insane that he has this attitude towards a childhood friend that he only hung out with for a year but we've all been in a position where someone we love is struggling and behaving badly? And you still love and trust that person, you still understand that there's goodness in them, that there's something worth saving, but you know you need to help them and you don't trust them in all capacities as they are now.

A while ago, I dropped a little excerpt from a nrmt fwb fic that I'm publishing now that kinda sums up how I think Phoenix feels at the end of AA1: https://www.tumblr.com/hechiima/669407282001494016/a-bigger-wip-from-nrmt-fwb-fic-happy-wednesday?source=share (I had to cut this bit from the story unfortunately b/c it didn't fit ;A;)

So I think Phoenix subconsciously trusted Miles Edgeworth as a Good Person this entire time but only made the conscious decision to trust Miles Edgeworth as a Prosecutor at the end of JFA. And tbh I think that choice and acceptance is SUCH a beautiful moment b/c it's also when Phoenix realizes that he can ask Edgeworth for help. Before this, I think Phoenix would have done anything to save Edgeworth but he would have never asked him for help; Edgeworth just wasn't someone Phoenix could rely on for all AA1. So when he has the revelation that he CAN ask Edgeworth for help and does so when Maya's life is literally on the line?? That's it. That's full trust we are HERE babey!

Also for me, I think this is the moment where Phoenix realizes he loves Edgeworth b/c he finally sees Edgeworth as an equal and someone he can wholly trust. We know Phoenix's entire personality is driven by this need to be useful to others, so for him to finally ask for help is massive. Also trust is central to nrmt so when they have that? It is over babey!!!

Hope that made sense adslfkdajfklj it's kinda complicated and hard to explain but I think that's what makes nrmt SUCH an interesting ship? It's the layers and how human and complex and weird they are just. Nobody does it like them I s2g. ;A;

(Tysm for these asks!!!! I'm just insane for this series so any opportunity to scream about it is so appreciated.)

[kittydemon9000]

SO MERLOPIAN KAI PART 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

So, with Kalmaar, he ofc immediately goes to his parents about his feeling, slightly placing his revenge on hold. They are...dubious about it, but Maya raises the point of how there has never been a human/merlopian hybrid before, and from what Ray has told them about having two EM parents it’s possible for Kai to have some water abilities himself, which could be what gave Kalmaar his feeling. So, they agree to look into it.

Moving on..... Uh. Kai doesn’t have a fun time in S6, as briefly as he’s there. You see, Nahdakahn knows exactly what buttons to press and is able to get Kai into a panicked state where he, on the verge of a panic attack and mental breakdown, just says “I wish that I could just be normal! I wish I could just go home! I wish I could be with dad and mom and father and Kal and Bentho and Nya!!!”

The “normal” comment comes from how they weren’t able to completely hide Kai’s heritage since yeah, there were other people on the boat who saw him. That and he also tried a lot less to keep it hidden. And because some humans are assholes, he has to deal with that.

So ofc, Nahdakahn interprets it in the worst ways and as two wishes. Kai is now a full human yes….but was also sent to where the fish fam currently were……which just so happened to be at the bottom of the ocean.

So yeah, double trauma for both groups. Kai got to experience what drowning felt like, and his fam was essentially forced to watch him die since there was nothing they could do. They were too far under to take him to the surface and too far from the palace to take him there.

But dw, it gets even worse.

You see, the whole reason Nahdakahn is being this malicious about Kai’s wishes is because he learned that Kai was the reason the Preeminent was destroyed, thereby destroying Djinjago.

Nahdakahn is then able to do a “oh? Is this not what you wanted? I thought you wished to be normal.” Which ofc sounds really bad since it’s in front of his family. “But, I understand. You grow tired of the stares in the street, how they whisper behind you back about what you are. Not human, not merlopian, not normal. Just a freak masquerading as one of them.”

This ofc supremely pisses off the fam. Like, weapons drawn ready to commit murder.

But then Nahdakahn stop them with a “ah ah ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. After all, I am the only way your son has a chance at living. So go ahead. Make a wish.”

Trimaar ends up being the one to do it, and is smart enough to know this uh will twist it in anyway he can so says. “I wish for Kai to be sent safely to the surface without harm done upon him.”

Blah blah blah, your wish is yours to keep, Trimaar realizing “wait there’s a lot that could be interpreted” but too late BAM now Kai’s kinda stuck on the Misfortune’s Keep.

And he....generally has a pretty bad time. Think Jay but this time it’s personal.

However, Kai’s appearance had Trimaar get the Merlopian army and start heading to the surface. The remaining ninja have a brief moment of “are you kidding me two enemies at once” before learning that this is Kai’s lost family and they’re here to help.

So now the ninja have a whole ass fish army to help them, plus a very protective, very angry fish family.

But for the rest of canon, the only difference is that when they’re leaving Tiger Widow Island, Nya gets snatched along with Jay(who was taken because he hadn’t used his wish yet) and they aren’t stuck on the island, and then later that Kai gets sucked into the sword when the ninja launch their rescue mission.

But yeah, it gets all Un-Happened by Jay’s wish(which at seeing Kai physically hurt and being emotionally torn apart at his baby sister dying, wished that none of this ever happened and that Nahdakahn was never found), only like canon Nya and Jay still remember what happens.

Nya is now firmly on team Kai Is Alive and tells her parents everything about what happened and the wish Jay made, and more importantly where Kai is.

Unfortunately, they need to take some time and prepare. Trimaar and Maya have been doing their best over the years to open the populace possibly making bonds with the humans, but now it’s finally happening. They can’t just go up there out of no where, since from what Nya has told them 1) most humans don’t even know they exist and 2) in the past few years they have been subject of many attacks, mostly from non-humans, so they need to make sure the humans understand they don’t mean any harm.

So DotD happens, then the beginnings of S7 :)

Right out, Kai never liked the museum curator. Up to that point he’d only ever caught fleeting glimpse of him but something about him Kai just despised. As a result, he also visited the museum as scarcely as possible, and thus didn’t notice a very interesting painting containing a two very strange figures.

When he learns his name was Dr.Saunders.....things don’t go well.

It happened when Kai brought the helmet with his dad’s symbol on it. As much as he disliked the curator, he was the most likely to be able to recognize what kind of helmet it was.

Then in his anger he gets himself captured.

He’s taken to a special cell lined with vengestone and has guards around the clock, and Krux takes extra care to make sure Kai doesn’t know where Ray is.

ofc it’s around this time that the Merlopians arrive and express their wishes for a possible alliance between their two races. Unfortunately they showed up at literally the worst time, and double unfortunately the people in charge of diplomacy decide to bring some of the ninja in as an extra precaution because of the villains have been running around.

So the people who join the meeting are Lloyd and Jay from the ninja(they would’ve brought Kai but he hasn’t returned from his missions yet and isn’t answering their calls) as well as some police officers and from the Merlopians is the whole royal family plus a few guards.

Both Jay and Nya have a silent moment of staring at each other since “I know and I��m not sure you know but I think you know but I don’t want to say anything since you might not”

And just as they’re about to start, The Time Twins attack. Because why the hell not.

They’re actually able to hold them off for a while, but unfortunately there are too many Vermillion. Then Kalmaar whips out his Water Powers which causes him to get kidnapped since they need both Fire and Water masters for the blade.

While they’re recovering, Lloyd then gets a panicked call from Zane saying that he checked the museum footage and Kai has been captured. The gets overheard by the royal family, and then Lloyd asks why they looked so upset at which they learn(sans Jay since wish) that Kai is royalty. The eldest son actually, and thus first in line for the throne, as well as being presumed dead for the past five years.

So basically Krux has kidnapped the King and Queen’s husband, the crown prince, and the second in line prince(if anyone knows a more fancy term for this please let me know)

Maya, Trimaar, Nya and Benthomaar are not happy. Not with the Ninjagian people, no they’re fine, but they’re bout ready to murder Krux, and they don’t even know about Ray yet.

So they offer any help they can.

Zap back to how Kai and Kalmaar are doing.

Kalmaar is….kind feral tbh. Like, he’s biting, clawing, trying to strangle them with his tentacles, and before they got vengestone cuffs on him was trying very hard to drown anyone.

Ofc, this does little to the Vermillion and soon Kalmaar finds himself in the cell right next to Kai’s. He’s overjoyed to see his brother again, albeit upset that this is why.

They both reluctantly come to the conclusion that there isn’t much they can do at the moment, and there are many Vermillion guards right outside their cells, so they decide to start catching up.

And for pretty much the rest of the season canon is pretty much the same, just shuffle around the characters a bit and add a protective Fish Fam. 

Though their little trip back in time is quite sight for the Past EMs, especially because of how Kalmaar is using his powers, which leaves Kai mostly stuck in his Fish Form. This time they don’t even bother trying to explain, just give instructions on how to defeat the Vermillion and jumping into the battle. 

And I mean just imagine that from the EMs perspective. An enemy you thought you defeated just returned with a giant metal creature and an army of snake things that don’t look like any kind of Serpentine they’d ever seen. Then a shark person and squid person??? show up and not only do they know how to fight the snake things but they also seem to be Elemental Masters???? Despite the fact Ray is very much alive and they didn’t even know there was a Water EM. Then the two not only summon dragons but they also fuse their dragons into an even bigger one with two heads.

And then all of them disappear into the sky without a trace.

W i l d

But yeah, after that it calms down quite a bit. Kai spends the time skip before S8 reconnecting with his family and his dad, and through some tech courtesy of Borg they're able to bring Ray with them :D

And Kai actually goes to meet the Jade Royal Family since y’know. He’s the crown prince. He’s kinda important and legitimately forgot about it. Luckily Kalmaar is able to help coach Kai through it, but is also a bit smug about how he finally has something to teach to his older brother. Kai was actually the one who suggested asking the ninja for help protecting the mask.....but we know how that inevitably ends.

Bentho, Kal and Nya were actually on the ship for this particular adventure, and then Nya and Bentho were dragged along when they got sent to the First Realm. Bentho, despite being the youngest sibling and to the surprise of literally everyone, was actually really good with kids and spent the most time with Little Wu, right behind Cole.

But yeah S9......Nya and Bentho have a really bad time in the First Realm beause of the heat, but at least they don’t get captured. Kai on the other hand....

Yeah at some point he gets accidentally splashed with water and well.....it definitely doesn’t help with the Oni accusations. The Dragon Hunters decide to burn him along with the Wind Dragon, which moves up their Build Our Own Dragon time table.

After they escape Faith is actually pretty chill about the whole fish thing, but she does ask a lot of questions. 

And then S10..... kinda the same. They end up dropping off as many people as they can with the Merlopians since the smoke can’t reach them.

I might make a Part 3 for the rest of the seasons, but yeah. this is where we’re at.

[popchoc]

Do you have a wishlist of stuff you’d like to see happen (or NOT happen) in s19 season 5? Anything ranging from “totally probable/possible” to “would only happen if this show was actually a super high-budget prestige actiondrama on cable” - I wanna know! :)

Hey Anon! Pfff I honestly haven't given it much thought. But here are a few of the first things that come to mind right now:

- More fun, more joy, more laughter. S4 was way too heavy for my liking, with too much preaching. (I'm not saying those serious topics aren't important, I just don't need all that in every episode!) I really enjoyed the lighter moments like we saw in S3 (calendar shoot, boat parties) and I definitely wouldn't mind more of them.

- Also some well deserved happiness for pretty much every character on this show! I honestly don't really care who's doing who, except for Maya and Carina, but I'm ready to say goodbye to Sullivan, and actually curious for Andy and Jack (as we've never really seen them together, since they mostly dated before s1). I would also love to see them zoom in on some friendships a bit more, as life and joy is about a lot more than romantic relationships. Vic and Travis kill every scene they have together, and I feel like we haven't seen the best of Maya and Andy just yet. So yeah, bring it.

- That being said I'm not shying away from the drama, I actually hope we get tons of that, too. I just hope it will be more job related. I just really want some real action, with some real big fires, and some real danger. Then, yes, some shit may happen. People may get injured and even nearly (!!) die, I really don't mind as long as it's thrilling. If these characters are supposed to be heroes than I want to see them as such.

- With this, I'm really looking forward to watch Maya run into fires again. I'm proud of her that she made captain and I do want her redeemed from all the blame, but I'm not gonna lie about this: she's way too hot to sit behind a desk ;)

- (Also I want her to find her brother, and Jack to find his foster siblings, but based on Andy's story with her mom I'm afraid it would be meaningless and we'd better leave it to fic writers who actually care.)

- And with that, I want every hook-up or relationship in this show to be shown in the same way. Which means the same amount of screentime, the same amount (or lack) of clothes, the same way of filming it all. I know it's ABC/Shondaland and it's not gonna happen, but that doesn't mean we should stop asking for it.

- And last but not least: I want some decent writing and some actual communication between characters... but I'm afraid the chance of seeing them all butt naked one day is a whole lot bigger.

Edit: oh and if we're actually talking about everything being possible, I'd say bring in AJ Cook to play Maya's long lost sister!

[hellswolfie]

So about season 8.

The last clip was so lifeless, it was so sad. Every dialogue was about Jo, there was no substance, it was just Bilal looking for Jo and then Bilal and Jo kissing for the longest time without even talking about their obvious issues they had as a couple. Not any resolution to anything else, the other characters are toatlly forgotten, there was nothing except that. Everything just got resolved out of the blue, we never even got to see Bilal's new flat, we never got to see them actually trying to get a new flat or receiving the news that they finally had one. He suddenly has a great job with a boss he knows well, but we only got to see some part of it because Jo's sister came to visit him and it was used so that we could have our thousandth declarations about how AMAZING Jo is instead of focusing on Bilal's own mental state. We have no idea what losing the previous job did to him in the first place. We have no idea how he got the new job, how he knows the boss, why he did not go there in the first place when he first needed a job at the begining of the season.

Having more than one protagonist and more than one theme explored in a season has always been done. Here, however, they decided to focus on only one character and only theme (and very badly at that), even after having set up another character and another theme. And that was their big mystakes. In season 3, they had two big theme : Lucas's sexuality and Eliott's mental illness. But we only talked about Eliott's mental illness in episode 9, which meant the story around Lucas's acceptance of being gay had time to be explored before having to talk about something else. And even then, they still found a way to link it to Lucas, what with his own mother's mental illness, and to give other characters, like Basile, more depth, while still letting Eliott talk about it, and giving the theme of mental illness more substance and nuances than season 8 ever had even for the HIV plot.

The same thing goes for the love story. EVERY season is about, in a some way, really falling in love for the first time. This is not a big novelty. But here their "love story", instead of supporting their respective themes, only just took over them and Bilal's character to just talk about Jo. Not even mentionning how toxic their relationship was, contantly fighting (like they managed to be together for A DAY), Jo always being so mean and cold with Bilal, and Bilal accepting that without saying anything and running after her for whatever reasons. And he was no perfect either , since seeing her so much as talking to her ex, even knowing their situation, was enough for him to jump into another girl's arms. I love the trope "friends to lovers" but their relationship is just so forced and unbelievable.

And since all of the story only resolve around this badly written love story and no other characters or plots...It just does not work and makes it really really boring. You can't have a good love story by only focusing on two characters. Take season 3 for example. There was Lucas' relationship with Mika, who helped him come to term with his sexuality. His bond with Yann, his best friend. We were introduced to the rest of the gang, with Basile and Arthur, and Basile himself had his own story with Daphné. Daphné had a whole storyarc with the foyer, Manon with Charles, and Lucas actively took part in those plots, and we saw him bonding with them over that as they all supported eachother through their each arcs. There was also Imane, with whom he had interesting discussions and a very cute friendship with. And of course his whole arc around his parents. Season 3 was a love story, but it was never just that, it was never just about Lucas and Eliott. And that is one of the reasons why this season is so great. In season 8, however, all of the other characters (incluiding Bilal), even the ones that could help him and logically should have had a bigger role, and all the other plots, are completely absents. Even his own family who were introduced for this specific season and who had their own problems. And tbh, even the HIV plot was not developped really well...Everything had to be about Jo.

And i found that really funny because Jo was like THE character that had nothing to bring to Bilal's character and story, and yet she was the focus in his season. Rédouane is his childhood friend and knows him better than everyone. Lola and Maya bot have a lot in common with his experiences (mentally ill parents, dead parents, having money problem, having to take care of a sibling -for Lola-, being homeless and having to take a job -for Maya-,...) but it was never brought up, on the contrary we were supposed to think that they could not possibly understand Bilal's problems even though they were the ones in Lamiff who had the best chances to do so (but no of course we were supposed to think JO was the one who got it even when she completely ignored his problemes and treated him like trash like yeah sure of course xD). Maya and him could have even bonded over their shared love of fashion, and as an ecologist she would have probably loved the idea of making your own clothes. Tiff could have been used as a way to hightlight her priviliege compared to Bilal, being a rich white girl, but the only time he began to talk about his own problems with her, she shut him down so that they could talk about Jo instead (what a great friend am i right). Max, too, could have given him some support in challenging his views on gender roles and machisma (what with Bilal constant ghosting to his hook ups, for example).

But none of that happened.

This season was such a waste.

[blursed-ninjago-ideas]

TELLUSTELLUSTELLUS!!!

Oh hello.

So ATLA AU. (Trigger warns will be applied in the tags)

Kai and Nya are both born in the Southern water tribe. Kai is still a firebender though, him and Nya are half siblings, same mother, different fathers. (Ray and Maya are not their parents in this AU) Kai was the result of a fire nation raid with an over eager solider forcing himself on their mother.. So Nya’s father resents Kai heavily, even more so when their mother passes. Similar to the dynamic in the Wicked musical, Kai is entirely focused on protecting and caring for Nya, the favorite and “legitimate” child, he feels a lot of guilt and shame about his existence and tries to make up for it by being useful, often working himself to exhaustion.

Nya is a waterbender and loves her big brother and didn’t understand why he father didn’t for most her life. When she gets old enough to understand, she still has a lot of trouble wrestling with it. Her father was always a great dad to her and loves her very much, but could she really forgive him for all he’s done to Kai? She also tried very hard to get Kai to see himself as worthy with little luck.

Jay is a firebender, awesome at lightning bending, not too good at the basics. He was born and raised in the Earth Kingdom, his parents were some of the first people sent to live in the colonies, so he’s never seen the Fire Nation and is pretty far removed from the rest of the world, living in a small remote place.

Cole is his best friend. earthbender, his family has lived in the village since forever. He was too young to know why he wasn’t supposed to befriend the boy from the “other” village when he met Jay, so he stubbornly did anyways. He understands a little better when he grows up, but he’s never seen any soldiers, They were long gone by the time he was born, having moved on to bigger and more important targets. So he only really understand the war as an abstract concept, not a reality. The Fire Nation colony is mostly assimilated into the existing village by the time Jay and Cole are teens, so there isn’t much conflict or tension around them.

Zane is Northern Water Tribe, waterbender. Maybe he’s part moon spirit? IDK.

Now. The avatar didn’t get frozen in this AU. He was killed. Two more avatars lived and died, not being able to do much or hiding.

Wu and Garmadon are the two sons of the Firelord (FSM, cause I couldn’t bare making either of them evil, but that ass I can do it to.) Garmadon was banished when Lloyd was young and Misako disappeared shortly after.

Morro, is the child of some airbenders that escaped the genocide and were living in secret. However, his parents died when he was a baby and they kept their secret well and left no clues. So when Wu adopts Morro, nobody has any idea he’s an airbender (not even him)

Morro is jealous of Lloyd because he will inherit the throne, since he’s the legitimate child of the Firelord’s first born, and because Lloyd is a fire bender and Morro (as far as he knows) is a non-bender.

The whole story kicks off when Lloyd discovers he’s the avatar. He freaks out and runs away, finding himself at the southern water tribe.

Morro is tasked with finding Lloyd and returning him home.

Lloyd runs into Kai and Nya. Kai feels a connection after finding out Lloyd is a firebender like him, but not a soldier. So Kai helps him and takes him home, hiding who he is from everyone else so they don’t kill him. (Nya of course is all aboard for this plan)

Well Morro comes looking for Lloyd and through plot, it’s revealed not only that Lloyd is the fire prince, but also the avatar. (Morro’s jealousy skyrockets)

Kai, Nya, and Lloyd barely get away, they go to the Northern Tribe looking for safe haven and find Zane, and eventually decide to go looking for an earthbending teacher for Lloyd, finding Jay and Cole, who get a rude wake-up call to what’s really been happening and what it really means. All the while being chased by Morro and Wu who is trying to Iroh the boy. Eventually finding Garmadon who had rebelled, and Misako, who knew Lloyd was the avatar and went to go research all the things he’d need. Morro also dramatically finding out that he’s an airbender and having his over crisis over that somewhere in there.

I wish this took my as long to come up with as it did to write it out. But no, this all hit me in the same ten minutes.

-Ivy

[annalyticall]

Hiya! I'm curious what thoughts you may have on BL3 story wise. Do you have many criticisms/things you personally didn't like about it or thought could've been done a little better? Sorry if you've talked about it at length on here before, I've had all BL3 posts blacklisted until recently.

No problem! Actually, I don’t think I have ever talked about my thoughts on Borderlands 3 before on a general tumblr post. So, I’ll list some of my bigger thoughts on it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story up until Maya’s death at about the halfway point. It did take a while to get going since I felt like the introduction to the story dragged on Pandora, but I had so much fun on Promethea and Athenas. They were such refreshing settings compared to typical Borderlands fare, and I loved interacting with my two favorite characters Rhys and Maya. It was so worried with how Gearbox was going to handle Rhys, since it would have been easy to go down the Handsome Jack 2.0 route, but I’m glad they decided to keep his eccentric quirks and his dedication to becoming a better kind of CEO than Jack was. I especially loved the detail that he purposefully didn’t open the vault on Promethea because it would have put the citizens in danger, while Jack had done the exact opposite. Maya also had a lot of interesting development going back to the planet that had abused her out of her sense of duty to protect the innocent that had no part in her abuse.

Maya’s death, however, was a very, very solid turning point in the story for me. It wasn’t so much that Maya died - I could live with that narrative decision - but it was what followed. 

Eden-6 was by far my least favorite section of the story. Gearbox rehashed the entire last arc of the story and barely added anything new. Example - we are helping a perceived “good guy CEO” (Rhys and Wainwright) by defending his “better-than-the-other-guys” company (Atlas and Jakobs) from a hostile takeover by a spoiled evil sibling that wants it for themselves (Katagawa and Aurelia). This story-arc villain is being supported by the COV as well. In the end, we kill the story-arc villain and get to a vault, where Troy and Tyreen ambush the supporting Siren character (Maya and Tannis). It’s a story that was better the first time because I felt Rhys, being an established character in the franchise, better portrays the struggles of a “good” company in the universe compared to Wainwright who doesn’t even particularly want the Jakobs company which is now inexplicably a “good” company too despite canon contradictions to that in previous games. Also, they absolutely did Aurelia dirty making her a black-and-white evil villain rather than just a rich brat. And I just don’t find Eden-6 a particularly interesting setting.

I’d say I liked the story a little better once we got off Eden-6. The story involving Tannis inheriting Angel’s powers was very interesting to me since I love the Siren lore in these games. I also really liked Necrotafeyo as a setting and the small insights into just who and what Eridians were. However, I found Typhon somewhat a nuisance to the story. The echo-logs he leaves behind are not interesting whatsoever, since they don’t really talk about the lore despite him being a great vault hunter that should have an expansive knowledge of it. Instead, many of the echo-logs are used for cheap jokes, which meant that I had almost no attachment to Typhon when we finally got to meet him and I certainly didn’t feel anything when he died.

Ava is also not a very good character. She is hypocritical and rash, which is fine on its own, but she doesn’t have any sort of character arc that leads her to become a worthy successor of Maya’s powers and Lilith’s leadership. She doesn’t really learn anything, and that frustrates me a lot since she is someone who theoretically is taking the place of some of my favorite characters in the franchise.

Troy and Tyreen were... okay. In concept, they had the winning balance of comedy vs. serious threat that Handsome Jack had, but in execution, I felt both were lacking. Their story and theme potential were perfect and Gearbox could have really done something great by either pitting them against each other so much that they turn on each other and destroy themselves out of spite or, contrarily, are so devoted to each other that the death of one would spark an unspeakable fury in the other. Yet, Gearbox did neither of those things. They kinda turned on each other, but also kinda didn’t? Tyreen’s reaction to her brother nearly killing her, then her brother dying, was almost non-existent, which was very underwhelming. I also felt nearly nothing when Tyreen killed her father, which is not... good.

Overall, I consider Borderlands 3 to be split into three parts: the “good” Promethea and Athenas part, the “bad” Eden-6 part, and the “okay” Pandora and Necrotafeyo part, which means my overall feelings towards Borderlands 3 is very mixed.

While I haven’t played DLC 2 or 3 yet, I did play the Handsome Jackpot and also really enjoyed it. Fleshing out Timothy was a great idea and I also really liked the new side characters they introduced there as well. I think Gearbox is much better at making mini-stories like those in the DLCs rather than over-arching narratives.

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 50.14 - Magdalene, Cam vs University, Oxford

With the first round coming to a close, we can reflect on some excellent performances - Birkbeck bashing out 295 points, and St Andrews and Warwick 255 apiece - and look forward to a second round that promises to be equally as exciting. Unfortunately I’ve been told I have to retrain in cyber, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to cover any of the episodes.

Although, “cyber” is a sufficiently vague term that I reckon I could argue this falls under its umbrella. Where are you reading this, for example? That’s right, in the cyber. And where am I writing it? Also in the cyber. So maybe I’ll be alright - I’m just lucky I’m not a ballerina, eh (and yes, I know the ad I’m referencing was actually from 2019 rather than the present day and wasn’t actually encouraging people in the arts specifically to leave their professions for one of more utility, but when I wrote this intro this morning that much wasn’t clear yet).

And I’m very glad I’ll be able to cover it, because apart from the high-scoring smackdowns I’ve already mentioned, the teams on show this year have been pretty exceptional across the board. The average combined score this series so far has been 315, which is the highest since 2014/15 (statman strikes again, although I will say that I didn’t check every year, there were a few I eyeballed as definitely being lower, but I’m pretty sure its right). Lets hope tonight’s game keeps up the standard or this research will be rendered even more redundant. 

Anyway, lets get to the teams. Magdalene, Cambridge is the sister college to Magdalen, Oxford (though they’re spelled differently which has always annoyed me, mainly because it means I have to go and check which is which every time one of them is on), though they have been nowhere near as successful as their Oxonian sibling. MagOx are four time champions of University Challenge, while this will be MagCam’s fifth appearance on the show. They have a single win to their name. But MagOx aren’t even here this time out so maybe it’ll be their time to shine.

University College, Oxford are two time winners and two time runners up on the show from the Bamber Gascoigne Era, but they haven’t had as much success since Paxo took over. The main thing they do though, is remind me of the James Acaster joke, ‘every hour of your life... is an hour you’re not getting back’. Every Oxford College is a University College. They may as well be called College College, or Oxford College, Oxford.

But that’s enough of my nonsense. Let’s not bother with the rules; here’s your first starter for ten. Both teams have teddy bear mascots, though Magdalene have a slightly bigger one. This match will therefore provide vital data for the size of teddy bear mascot vs University Challenge competence graph, which is sorely lacking in chartable points. 

Pite kicks things off for University with fountains, but they only manage one on a relatively easy set of bonuses on words from the titles of Harry Potter books. Pite then comes in super early (rapid buzzing would become a theme of the episode, though it was mostly wrong) with Walt Whitman, but he’s not right this time, and Magdalene fail to pick up the points with Maya Angelou. 

Payne gets Magdalene off the mark with Leviathan, and looks charmingly pleased with herself. Two flowery bonuses extend their lead, but no one gets the next starter, colligative, which is a word I swear I’ve never heard despite doing a science degree, so I reckon it was a pretty hard question.

Both sides are struggling on the bonuses so far, but University get a full set on the first picture round - German titles of German books - to take a twenty five point lead. Byrne jolts Mags out of their lull with a fast buzz of sulphur, and the Cantabrigians would go on a little run of their own to take it back. 

The lead then became the UK Government, changing direction so many times as to give you whiplash. When the sides passed the hundred point mark this phenomenon stopped, and Magdalene began to stretch their legs (and buzzer fingers), though they were undoubtedly helped by some more early (and erroneous) buzzes from Univ (as Paxman kept calling them). Sheng did his best to keep them in the contest, but it was pretty much a solo effort for much of the time, and when Crompton negged yet again for Oxford it was game over in terms of winning the match.

They still had a chance of reaching the 145 needed to make the play-offs, but unfortunately for them the gong came too early (much like they had done on the buzzer) and they were punished for their five negs.

Final Score: Magdalene, Cam 170 - 130 University, Ox

If they’d managed to hold their horses on the starter questions a bit better then Univ may well have made the play-offs (they answered 155 points worth of questions after all), but their trigger happiness cost them dear. Given the quality on show in the first round, Magdalene will have to up their game to make the quarters I feel, but another entertaining game this. 

The combined score of 300 just about kept the average above previous series, if you’re wondering.

[blackmuzak8484]

nortey dowuona’s best of 2020

to be completely honest, I decided to do this entirely for TSJ. otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered at all. Best end lists are for music nerds and billboard chart nerds and industry vultures, and i happen to be subscribed, in the discord and in the comments of the youtube vids of these folk. so, i decided to pick 10 out of random from the big best of 2020 i was compiling for the whole of the year, which I was gonna post to this Tumblr at the end of the damn year, but I guess I can just post the link to the playlist in the bottom of this post. Here, i’m gonna write about 10 songs I personally love, and pick out a few artists i specifically loved:

artist of the year.

RAP Ferreira put out his best album and best verses in a year everybody either stagnated, fell off or got rendered irrelevant by the world at large. He was ebullient, hilarious, thoughtful and even surprisingly honest. I enjoyed the fact that now he’s begun to create a real platform for many talented folx, and I hope he continues to do that in the margins and make even more beautiful music in the years to come.

rookie of the year.

Enny by a mile. Everybody else who debuted this year got hamstrung by the pandemic but she created 3 great songs, each thoughtful, insightful and a joy. Apparently she just started publicly releasing music to a large audience, and I hope she gets better and better, and even gets bigger than J-

most pleasant surprise.

Vic Mensa’s V Tape. An artist who I though had no more moves left completely turned around his whole career with a fantastic performance at Lollapalooza, a fantastic fleet of features and tis gorgeously produced EP which had some of his most brilliant songs on it. I love it all, Vic Mensah is well and truly back. Welcome back bro. (ALSO, DROP THE DRILL TRACK.)

GREAT THING A GHANAIAN ARTIST DID.

Strongman Burner, Amarae, Okunta Kinte, Vic Mensah in general.

cool things my friends and classmates did.

Justine Darcenne’s #4TheBaeless. Valencia Rae’s Siren thyhomebodies’s Coming of Age. (Phil, a producer in the group, made his own studio!) Brad built his own computer. petit abri put a track on APT9 Record’s compiliation album Volume II. khaalid anderson’s transitions. (khaalid will also be performing at Beats & Brunch on January 23, 2021 at 11 am.) Yannick Paul’s Bear Fruit. The Big Climax’s This Is Ya Boy kxng jetson’s Waves (ft. Kokko Williams & Mike Mezzl) Nicole Gonzalez performed in The Composer’s Melody. Victoria Marie released a bunch of beaufiful covers on her Insta, @toriiii_marie @ph0ssy_jaw works as a counselor online. Pay her at her PayPal. Johnny Aperano Yoba was on People AND Vogue. Dalitso is a wonderful pianist at his church back home in Zambia. Kobina is a fantastic drummer at his church. Kayla graduated with a BS in Music Technology and Industry! Damian been cookin on his insta. Travis graduated! (Look out for Clan of Dragons.) Rorghino Flores made a documentary! Francis (and Animax FYB) put out Mmofra on AmaLexPrime! (play it with yo kids.) A Hype has been dropping crazy all year, roll by his SoundCloud and check out Persistence Of Memory. Reina H been doing great covers on her Insta, @challenges_inlife. Hannah placed music on C. B. S.

best albums of the year (that nobody’s written about).

Maya Huyana -1991 DaWeirdo - Broke and Ugly $ilkMoney - Attack of the Future Shocked, Flesh Covered, Meatbags of the 85 VI Seconds - Because Why Not/Never Knows Best Erik Cain - Heart & Soul Vol. 2 Dimitri & the Scarecrow - Messenger is Sender (from 2015, finally got released onto streaming this year, still pretty great and another great Zimbabwean rapper for us to all fawn over, just like billy woods) Flowking Stone - Gifted 1 The Hoodies - Incommunicado Jayy Grams - Every Gram Counts Domo Genesis/Mike and Keys - Just in Case1/2 Madwiz - God’s Gold Teeth Maez301 - Hasaan Daara J Family - Yaamatele Dai Burger - Dessert EP TeePhlow - Road To Phlowducation II Tef Poe/Blvck Spade - Preacher in the Trap Terrell Hines - Portal One: The Mixtape redveil - niagara Nyukyung - Trap Harmonix AdrianXpression - Sucka Deante Hitchcock - Better (Deluxe) maassai & jWords - ve.loc.i.ty tobe nwigwe - cincoriginals everything Kelsey Lu did this year.

strangest things happening in music in general.

vic mensah actually making a great record. goldlink going through a narcissistic collapse and winding up making the best music of his career. redveil blowing up off Fantano calling him wack. pharoahe monch finally making a rock pivot and it actually works. meet me@the garden coming 10 years too late for my 14 year old self. RAP Ferreira being in the NYTimes, selling a vinyl record for $72, creating an actual nostrum grocers in a video game so we can listen to his next record. The entirety of the playboi carti phenomenom. The entirety of the lil uzi vert phenomenom. The entirety of Chance’s instagram EP being far more money worthy then the entirety of the Big Day and yet being released on Insta and not immediately monetized. Deante Hitchcock releasing a great album and being completely forgotten armand hammer releasing their underground kings wayyy too early. my ass continually not actually looking into amapiano despite always loving it when I review it. several good songs needing to be tacked on to a prior youtube vid as an ad for me to find them instead of actually listening to the artists. santan dave still releasing good verses after he made his illmatic. (expect his new album to suck.) slowthai becoming cake. (we let that go way too far.) Guapdad and BfB Packman being wonderful. Finding out BfB PAckman is a better rapper than Sada Baby. John Boyega putting on Ego Ella May. Having to admit Young Dolph was good all this time and i missed out like a fool.

best tv performance.

Chance The Rapper’s “A Chi-Town Christmas.” IDK’s “Change The Channel.” Sa-Roc’s Tiny Desk Concert. Chika in general. Robert Glapser’s “This Changes Everything (ft. Denzel Curry).” SZA at the Roots Picnic. Sampa The Great at the Roots Picnic. RAP Ferreira in general. Umi’s “Introspection Live Show.” Alexa Esperanza’s cover of “Is It A Crime.” Bad Bunny in general. the jwords, nappy nina and MIKE performances at Satellite Syndicate

most embarrassing piece of music i love with all my heart

Logic’s No Pressure. In all sense of the words I should not love this album like I love my siblings but I do. It is beautiful.

best 10 songs of this year objectively

1 - RAP Ferriera - An Idea Is A Work Of Art (ft. Mike Ladd) [prod. by Kenny Segal, mr. carmack and Mike Parvizi]

I know, I know. In all honesty Doldrums should be here. Then Noz put it on his best list and I had to be all ChiTown Go-Getter and pick the next better thing: this. And in all honesty, it has the best lyric RAP spits on the album: “we build better answers.” But it’s not just that, it’s RAP’s most animated performance, the most dexterous piece on the whole album and the most gorgeous beat, a loping bassline sliding behind the flatfooted drum, allowing Mike Ladd, his musical father, to gently drift through, saying, “what if royalty depised us?” and knowing the only gold is soul and giving it to all of us, all us maggots and vultures and locusts and weevils, to hold to the light so we can finally see. On the quest to get open and free, we continue.

2 - Chika - U Should [prod. by Lido]

I heard this the night it dropped and shot 2 insta videos playacting as it played. But apart from that, it’s a intimate, beautiful song about getting to know a new lady love, so tenderly sung it might melt and disappear if not held gently, with a sweeping guitar lick and purring trumpets sliding all over the place, Chika softly holding each frayed piece together into a considered, gorgeous piece - wait, she’s talking her shit.

3 - Issa Gold - Boys Don’t Cry [prod. by Kingjet & Sherwyn and Matt Zara]

The only reason this isn’t number one is because it dropped on Christmas Eve. But otherwise, it’s a openheart letter to us all. “it’s a lonely path being different,” Issa says, swimming in the melted ice caps as he once danced happily on the edges of melting glaciers that failed to drown him, looking at the world that keeps hurting his heart, yet he still opens his eyes and smiles, and dances. The heavy drums are so bouncy the whole song suddenly flies, formerly a hidden murmur becoming a bright sunlit flight across the sky so we can all see. I can’t wait to see Tempus, if it’s anything as good as this was.

4 - Deante Hitchcock - Growing Up/Mother God [prod. by Brandon Phillips-Taylor]

In all honesty, “Growing Up” is really not the best song on Better. It’s a sweet, happy song with a smooth, crackling bassline with soft, ghostly synths, but still kinda ok. It’s the song added at the end, “Mother God”, that has warm, sizzling piano chords and gorgeous singing in the back. It’s one of the few time I’ve ever heard a man pay homage to the woman in his life and to the God above while being entirely sincere and not faking the funk. The way he praises his mom, his lady, remembering the women in his family taking care of him and him foolishly neglecting Breonna due to his overburdened mind feels full of details, remembrances, explanations and praises. Plus, it actually makes sense that God, if she exists (she does) is a woman since -

5 - Yana Perrault - whiskey and weed [prod. by slate]

Apparently, Yana Perrault is verified now. Excellent. {YES YES MY GOD YESS}, It means more folks know about how great this song, and Yana herself is. If I had any sense, I would’ve written up 12:21 as the best song of 2018, but such is life. Anyway, we have this smooth, bass heavy slinker with shimmering percussion and lumbering drums about hooking up with a former flame who’s “sober” yet keeps on calling Yana to break their sobriety, “know we ain’t talked in a while but you still know my address,” she wryly mentions. As the beat sprints away under a warm cocoon of accapella echoes, it mirrors a relationship so tenuous it might disappear into the wind. Yet still strong enough to have whiskey on call.

6 - Marlon Craft - Culture Sick Freestyle [prod. by Cormill]

Apparently this was supposed to be a shot at Flex. And since Flex is a woman beater and a lame, good for him. Shouldn’t have even gone on Flex to be honest, but then again neither should Jay Critch or Tyler or Black Thought and besides, I watch those freestyles too. And on the freestyle, Marlon frankly put things in perspective. “You don’t want us to better, you just want to be cool still.” This describes all of rap media to be real. And tellingly, it only has 310,000 views. Methinks nobody really wants real. But I do. Thank u Marlon, you continue to be the best white rapper alive. (Nowhere near the best rapper tho, and if Token hadn’t fell off -)

7 - Miah - Cascades [prod. by Cedes]

I’m sideeyeing the boy Miah cuz I had to search up his Audiomack to find the producer’s name (it’s Cedes, and they have a really great avalanche of Drake Type Beats is you like that kind of thing). Were you trying to trick folk into thinking you produced it yourself? You don’t need to do that shit. Especially since you’re writing stuff like “back in high school all my peers were tryin to hit the league / until the league too far from reach so they tap dancing over beats.” When you can frankly break down life that clearly, don’t be trying to hide producer’s names unless you actually learn to produce too. Plaster your name all over that shit.

8 - Justine Darcenne - Off Days [prod. by Mikhail Miller] / Enny - Peng Black Girls (ft. Amia Brave [prod. by Paya]

Justine is indeed my classmate, but that’s not why this song is here. it’s here because it’s a nice little guitar driven song with a spellbinding bridge that’s the best thing I’ve heard her do yet. And I’mma keep it short cuz I already wrote this up at the Singles Jukebox.

Enny released this soft, cushiony record with washed out synths over bulky drums and floated FLOATED over them without even trying to run in the tar, saying frankly, “He said to me, 'they put guns in the streets, that’s what they wanted for me.’ And I said, ‘G, someone can fix you a plate but no one can force you to eat.’” After all, why not try to live for something greater than what the world has expected you to be. And Amia sings, ��We’re gon be alright, ok?” with the joy and excitement of someone realizing the words coming alive on their tongue. One of the best songs of this miserable year, and it’s kinda funny watching Jorja accidentally Drake out Amia and even Enny (and by funny I mean irritating.)

9 - Tobi Lou - okay (ft. Dreezy) [prod. by Matteo Woods & Dilip]

Fun fact: Dilip did some great songs with Otxhello, a producer who recorded and mixed 2 records on my first album. That again is not why this song is here. The warm, swinging synths and heavy, bouncy drums are why this is here. Oh, and Tobi’s goofy, silly lyrics and his surprisingly effective Missy Elliott tribute are great too. But obviously, the verse that vaulted this into top 10 was Dreezy, which opens with such a openhearted line, “i can’t help it, it’s too hard to say I’m sorry.” And every line is harder than the last, until she closes with “and I ain’t talkin frontals but we got the city sown up.” Absolutely amazing.

10 - Strongman Burner - Pilolo (ft. KelvynBoy) [prod. by Nixie]

The sweet, gooey synths are poured over the soft, zipping and smooth drums as the wiry bass whirls between Kelvyn’s soft, thin crooning as Stoneman tap dances over the drums, both desperate and defiant, trying to salvage a sinking relationship that he knows is already gathering coral and snappers. It’s the best afropop song of the year and yet it still has a Nigerian on it (well, I put 4 Nigerians on here, next year I’m rectifying that.) And they even did a song together last year , not as good as this. At all. (still pretty good tho.)

best 10 songs i love (but not enough to write full paragraphs for, I already put 10 in and this is already 5 goddamn pages)

11 - Logic - Heard ‘Em Say

best song on the project that isn’t Dadbod but at least it isn’t tempting fate.

12 - Deqn Sue - Creep

I already love this for having a gorgeous bridge, and is cute af. Yes Sue, you can creep.

13 - Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Sudden Death/ka - i love {moms, mimi, kev}

QUELLE CHIS CAN SANG SANG./ka can heart heart write.

14 - IDK - Square Up (ft. Juicy J)

I don’t know why this is here either but this slaps regardless.

15 - Nappy Nina - Modestly (ft. Maassai)

Maassai is creating some of the best raps out here. so is Nappy Nina.

16 - Kehlani - Lexii’s Outro (ft. Lexii Ajaii)

Let’s celebrate our great rappers when they’re alive (and this includes me. Pls Chika, don’t win Best New Artist.)

17 - Samad Savage - Goodnight

What Travis Scott should’ve tried to be instead of what he is now. Samad still dope af regardless.

18 - Bad Bunny - Si Veo Tu Mama

The way Bad Bunny actually hits that last note makes me feel so excited and alive.

19 - Fat Tony - Back In The Saddle

I fucked up. But I’m getting back in the saddle, back in the saddle next year. NO NIGERIANS ALL NIGERIENS. #ENDSARS tho.

20 - Lady A - the truth is loud

Why am I the only one who has this on a best list? I have 34 bot followers. Vibe, step it up.

best of 2020 music right here folxs.

worst music things of the year:

The Pop Smoke album. Just in all areas. (Better win that Grammy tho.) Travis Scott in general. (So loud and empty and boring.) Big Sean’s Detroit 2. (why does this exist? Just put out Deep Reverence and Detroit Night Cypher and leave everything on the cutting room floor fo the next album.) Remembering all the great rappers who are dead or incarcerated. No Kendrick album (just leaks. Not good enough.) J. Cole and Noname beefing and Noname getting strung up by twitter. Jay Rock pushing being anti-vaccinations. The realization that Normani might never drop a single record ever again. Tory Lanez in general. Joyner Lucas making actually good songs and falling off almost immediately. Cardi B in general. Anything positive being said about steven Universe songs. Luzamity shipping (until it’s canon please stop! Willuz is RIGHT THERE!)

[ambitionsource]

What is everyones favourite animal? Are these the same or different to their spirit animals?

Es and I don’t really have much of a take on spirit animals, per se, particularly because as far as we’re aware there’s kind of a frustration with the popularization of the concept from the indigenous community in that people like... don’t actually get what that means to their culture and use it sort of flippantly. So we’ll plead the fifth on that, BUT we can definitely talk about favorite animals confidently!!

Farkle was obsessed with bearded dragons when he was in elementary school bc he did a report on them and it became a hyperfixation. For weeks all he would talk about was these lizards and his family got so sick of it LMAOOO to the point that Stuart got him a pet lizard (a gecko, not a bearded dragon, but close enough) just to get him to chill. He also is drawn to regal birds, like ravens and eagles and stuff. But mainly the bearded dragon.

Isadora’s favorite has always been (at risk of being a cliché) spiders. She’s never been scared of them and is the go to techie for removing them from spaces in the auditorium where they’re working (because believe me, spiders are EVERYWHERE in musty auditoriums with lots of dark nooks). It’s common for you to just hear someone up in the lofts go “oh SHIT” and then three seconds later be like “ISSSAAAAAAAAAA.” So that’s her calling card, spider caretaker.

Maya is not a horse girl by any means, but if she liked any animal when she was younger it would be a horse. Like a stallion almost, those regal, beautiful snow white horses that kind of symbolized wealth in a way. She basically wanted to grow up and have an irl Barbie horse, because that would mean she made it. (A part of her loves unicorns really, but she wouldn’t say that out loud).

Maybe it’s the Leo in him, but Zay has always vibed with jungle cats. Like tigers, leopards, cheetahs, that’s his speed. He had a few stuffed animals of them when he was a kid (and a couple are still scattered around his room). There’s something about their elegance, their regal nature, their speed and strength and impressiveness that really makes him like them. Not to mention they’ve got some fun prints, and we know Zay Babineaux appreciates a good pattern.

Riley has an inexplicable love for elephants. She has a stuffed animal of one on her bed that she’s had as long as she can remember. Not only are they cute and kind of silly looking in the best way, but she admires their quiet wisdom and peaceful nature. Also I think she has a little bit of kinship in that even though she’s not nearly as large as them, she shares their kind of... clumsiness and isn’t as graceful as some of her fellow performers.

Charlie has always loved rabbits, likely because they featured prominently in a lot of the media he was given as a child in that like... they’re innocent, they’re fluffy and pure, they mind their own business and don’t cause trouble. Also Agatha had a rabbit for a lot of his childhood, which passed away right before she went to college, so Charlie has fond memories of being allowed to hang out with the rabbit when Agatha felt open to letting her little siblings bother her that day. So now whenever he sees one in the wild (like. Central Park) he’ll be like omg, Zay, look at that bunny. And Zay is just like... you are so weird... he’s endeared, but still. Weirdo.

Lucas is a basic bitch but he loves dogs. Just... loves them. The bigger, the better. To say he wants one super badly is a major understatement, but he’s long accepted that’s not happening (and he would never say it out loud). But if you’re his friend and you have a dog, he’s 45% more likely to go over to your house just to hang out with the dog. When the techies hang out at Dylan’s house, Lucas and Dyl’s St. Bernard Mr. Puff are attached at the hip. One of the reasons he likes wandering around the city so much is because you’re almost guaranteed to see multiple dogs on walks. God... someone LET HIM HAVE A DOG.

Asher doesn’t have a favorite animal. I don’t think, honestly, that Asher cares about animals all that much. Like they’re fine, but he doesn’t have opinions. Instead, if someone asks his favorite animal, he just goes “Dylan, what’s my favorite animal,” and Dylan will cheerfully throw out whatever animal speaks him on that day. It’s more of a game of like “what will Dyl say today” than an actual question of Asher’s preferences. Similarly, Dylan isn’t really a person for favorites, so while he’ll throw out an answer for Asher he would probably plead the fifth and never give a definitive answer on his favorite. Or, alternatively, he’ll say birds specifically because of the bird bones nickname he gave Asher. Asher will, in response, most definitely roll his eyes.

-- Maggie & Es

[wakandaforeverwrites]

Learn Ya || Chapter 8

Tag List: @deliciousstreetkidcroissant @rose-bliss @theunsweetenedtruth@cancerianprincess @wakanda-inspired @aykanna@supersizemeplz@ayellepea @Ijstraightnochaser @chaneajoyyy@vanitykocaine@blowmymbackout @slimmiyagi @kissmyafropuff @purple-apricots@justanotherloveaffair@beautifulqueenflaws@hotthrow@90sinspiredgirl@hidden-treasures21@marvelpotterlove@depressionandfandomsinc@theblulife @airis-paris14@blackchickfics @skysynclair19 @jusanarae57@leahnicole1219 @blackdesires-blog @ voyagetoadinas9 @lalapalooza718 @blackpinup22 @chefjessypooh @tntnv @jennajai@erikstan4ever @raysunshine78 @determinednot2fall

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Author Notes: Sadly there’s no T’Challa in this chapter but he comes back in a big way in the next one. And remember whenever there’s a short update that there’s a reason for it.

Her family was boisterous and loud. She loved it. Her family used any excuse they could to get together and have some sort of gathering that was usually complete with a barbecue. Her grandparents flying in from Florida was all the reason they needed to gather at her mom’s house, cousins and aunts and uncles. Everyone that could come was there. Even Charlie would be there, who was considered extended family even if there was no blood relation involved. 

Amaya peeled away at the skin of the potato that was in her hand as she watched her mom, Tiesha, argue with Amaya’s Aunt Monica about who was going to make the potato salad. It happened every time and in the end neither of them would end up making it because it would be Aunt Chanel that made it. It was moments like this made Amaya said that she didn’t have any older sisters to argue with when she got old. All she had was one lousy older brother who she wouldn’t trade for anything in the world, but still, it would have been nice. 

It was as if he knew she was talking shit about him in her head because the sliding glass door slid open, the smooth melodic voice of Prince singing about wanting to be someone’s lover came from the backyard—probably her Uncle Troy’s doing—as her brother, Anthony, came strolling into the kitchen with their grandmother on his arm. 

Anthony was ten years Amaya’s senior and her only sibling, taking on the typical protective older brother stance from the moment she was born mainly due to the fact that their father had walked out their lives just before Amaya was even born. There were times where Amaya hated him for trying to act like he was her father, she also loved him for it. Though, she would never admit it to him. 

“There’s my Maya baby.” Her Grandma’s face lit up with a large smile that Amaya didn’t hesitant to return as she dropped the potato in her hands to get up and greet her with a hug. 

“Aht aht, don’t start distracting her. She need to finish those potatoes.” Tiesha looked over her shoulder, her serious eyes bounding and forth between her mother and her daughter. 

“Who is the mama here? Huh?” Amaya pulled her lips between her teeth to keep from laughing because this happened almost every time. It was always hilarious to watch her mother get reprimanded even if it was playfully. 

While Amaya tried to hold back her laughter, Anthony didn’t even try which earned him a harsh look from Tiesha. 

“You can help Amaya since you’re in such a good mood, Anthony Latrell.”

Anthony held his hands up in surrender, “I was gonna help her anyway. Ain’t need to break out the middle name, woman.”

“Boy, I swear….” She slapped him with a towel as he walked passed her towards the kitchen island only gaining a laugh from him. 

“Mama’s boy.” Amaya grumbled under her breath and rolled her eyes as she went back to seat and picked up the ear of corn that she had dropped as Anthony helped their grandma into a seat next to her. 

“Don’t be mad cause I’m her favorite.” He flashed a smug grin in her direction and she only rolled her eyes harder. “Where’s Charlie? I know she’s around here somewhere since y’all attached at the hip.”

“She’s coming later. She picked up an extra shift.”

“That must be what you been doing.”

“What are you talking about?” Her brows furrowed and her look of confusion was met with an incredulous one. 

“Pretty sure it was your idea to have a family dinner last week and then you ain’t even show up. So either you were at work or you were dying. Which one was it?”

“I was busy. Mind your business.” She rolled her eyes, trying to be as defensive as she could because if she acted remorseful about skipping out on the dinner that had been her idea in the first place to have T’Challa over instead, her brother would never let up on her ass. He would keep picking and picking until she finally let it slip. 

“Busy? Busy doing what?” Anthony’s dark eyes were fixed on her and she gave him the finger while their grandmother rooted around in her purse for something. 

“Probably on a date with that young man she was cooking for. Maya baby, you never did tell him how he liked the meatloaf.” The old woman looked up as she unwrapped a peppermint and popped it into her mouth. 

Her grandma was the original messy queen. 

“It better not have that little nigga Rod.”

“Watch your mouth.” Tiesha turned around, her dark eyes glaring a hole through her son. 

“Mama, I’m just saying it better not have been him.” 

“You don’t need to worry about him. We broke up a little while ago.” She rolled her eyes at the wide grin that spread across Anthony’s face. It was no secret that her family didn’t like Rod and they didn’t approve of her being with him. They always told her she deserved better but she needed to see that for herself. She was just glad that she saw it before it was too late and she got pregnant by him. 

“So who was this date with then?” Her mother had a hand on her hip and her attention was solely on Amaya. 

“Just a friend.” She shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her hands as if they were more important than the conversation. She and T’Challa hadn’t exactly spoken about what it was that they were doing so it wasn’t an outright lie to her family. 

“You don’t go on dates with anyone that’s just a friend.” Amaya looked up long enough to glare at Anthony. “And you damn sure don’t make them Grandma’s meatloaf.”

“You’re really out here making it a bigger deal than it needs to be. We work together at the centre.” Another half truth.

“If some little nigga is tryna take your big head ass out then yeah, it’s a big deal.” Anthony only winced with he was smacked across the back of the head by Tiesha but that didn’t slow him down.

“He’s not little. He’s older than you.” The words came out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them

“Fuck you mean he’s older than me?”

Neither older woman was ready to reprimand Anthony about yet again cursing because they had their attention on Amaya who had her lips pressed together. She could only shrug her shoulders. Not only was T’Challa older than her, but he was also older than her older brother. If the age gap was something that worried her then it was definitely going to be something that worried her mother.”

“Amaya, how old is this man?” 

She kept her lips pressed together and shrugged her shoulders again. Just when it looked as if her mother was going to say something again, the back door slid open, filling the quiet kitchen with the sounds of The Temptations singing about how they had the month of May when it was cold outside as Charlie came strolling into the kitchen.

“Aye, who is Amaya dating?” Anthony didn’t even fully allow her into the kitchen before he turned his questions to her. If there was one thing that everyone knew about Charlie, it was that her ability to read a situation before speaking didn’t exist in the slightest. 

“She didn’t tell you she has a whole ass African king now that she broke up with Rod?” Amaya pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a long sigh. Not only did her grandmother throw her under the bus, so did her best friend. 

“Y’all got one more time to cuss in my house….” Tiesha’s nostrils flared as she pointed a wooden spoon back and forth between Charlie and Anthony. 

“My bad, mama.” Charlie held up her hands and gave an apologetic smile. “All I’m saying is he’s a king.”

“Charlie, stop talking!” Amaya threw a discarded potato peel at her to get her attention because she knew that was about to tell all her business. “Can’t take you nowhere.”

“What did you do? Go find some old man to pay for law school?” It didn’t sound like her brother was kidding at all and that confused her. 

“I don’t need someone to pay for law school. It’s already paid for.” Her brows furrowed at the way his features started to soften as he looked to their mother as if he were looking for help.

“Tiesha..you still ain’t tell the girl?” Amaya looked back and forth between her mother and her grandmother, her confusion growing by the second. 

“Charlie, you hungry? You look like you hungry. C’mon.” Anthony pushed away from the island and grabbed Charlie by the arm to lead her outside.

“Tell me what, mama?”

“I got laid off.”