#BUT HOLY SHIT ARE THEY GARBAGE AT SEASON LEVEL PACING

[vashti-lives]

So I'm not putting this behind a cut because I'm not really going to discuss the episode proper but oh my god after watching this finale it just makes episode 3 EVEN MORE EGREGIOUS. HOLY SHIT. What a goddamn waste of time.

I'll probably rewatch the whole season at some point this summer, but like, I liked it pretty well. Generally on an episodic level I think the writing is quite good. Its definitely a fun time. But oh my god they fucking blew it on the high level plotting. If you were going to do an episode not about Din and Grogu WHY waste so much time on that weasel scientist and not give the other Mandalorians proper backstory and context????? These last two or three episodes would have been drastically improved if we'd developed the rest of the Night Owls and their relationship with Bo-Katan and each other.

Plus Bo-Katan's ENTIRE ARC would have been more meaningful and also just... more comprehensible. Her arc and character growth are there in the season we got but its so fucking subtle I've seen people missing it all over tumblr. People needed that shit spelled out. It sincerely boggles my mind that people looked at their outline and went, "yeah 40 minutes on a guy who isn't going to show up again this season, that's a good use of time."

(and then i decided it got too long and added a cut anyway)

And frankly some of the problem is that this season needed more time to tell the story they wanted to tell. 8 episodes is just objectively not long enough to really explore the conflict between the two groups of Mandalorians AND have the empire plotting in the background doing shit, in among all the episodic adventures.

With more episodes they could have developed the Mandalorian conflict and the conflict with the empire in a more compelling way. Plus with a slightly longer season they could have fit the Mandalorian stuff the squeezed into the Book of Boba Fett into its actual place and let Boba have his own goddamn show. I kind of question why Disney didn't just order 12 episodes-- its their fucking flagship Star Wars show and it has to be making them the most money merch wise. But then I also think that when you're a writer and you know you have 8 episodes to tell a story its on you to write a story that will fit in the confines of the space you have to work with.

Still at the end of the day I do think a 12 episode season was the correct choice because I DEEPLY SUSPECT that at the end of season 2 there was an entirely different season 3 planned that got scrapped because the execs didn't trust the Mandalorian to be popular without Grogu. This would explain the mess that was Book of Boba Fett-- someone got cold feet and felt they had to assure the audience that Grogu would be in the Mandalorian after all. But really if you're going to demand your writers undo their last ending and change their whole story you should at least give them the time to do it. Let Boba have his own story and then expand season 3! Announce to everybody that 4 more episodes have been ordered! Make it into a thing! Don't fucking cheap out when its a show that's making you a shit ton of cash.

#the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian #i have a lot of feelings about script writing and pacing #there are actually lots of things i liked about this season that were apparently not that popular #and in fact i liked a lot of the dumber shit in book of boba fett #BUT HOLY SHIT ARE THEY GARBAGE AT SEASON LEVEL PACING #i blame disney tbh #not that i think it couldn't have been a writers room issue #but in this case i do think it was high level meddling #i'm pretty sure i can see the ghost of the season 3 that would have been

[theroyalweisme]

Duties of a Prince - Chapter 4 - Leo x Liam x MC

A little AU of what would have happened at Leo’s fling before the social season to determine his bride kicks off.

Rating: For mature audiences… language and themes as the story continues.

(A RoE and TRR Crossover)

Summary:

Two brothers who couldn’t be more different if they tried. One out to be the life of the party. The other understanding both of they’re roles and determined to fulfill them all. But what happens when they fall for the same girl?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Tagging: @youwontlikewherewewillgo @captainkingliam @chrstbll @pens-girl-87 @mfackenthal @xxrainbowprincessxx @queencatherynerhys @syltti78 @boneandfur @ranishajay @decisso @blackcatkita @trianiasti

Liam held his hands up easily in front of him, hoping to portray an unassuming manner as he stepped slowly towards her.

“I wanted to ensure you’d get home safely,” he shrugged easily at the beautiful woman in front of him. Her stature relaxed as the hand in her oversized bag moved to her hip. Her intense ice blue eyes rolled at his comment.

“You’re worried about little old me, Blue Eyes?” Her voice was playful, now taking a step in his direction. Shrugging, embarrassed, as he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his dress pants.

“I watched some of the customers you had to deal with tonight. There were some unsavory people and I was concerned…” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and he could see the humour in her eyes.

“The only strange man I see waiting for me outside my place of work is you.” She smiled, tilting her head towards him.

“I did let you know I would be waiting, Sabrina,” he nodded at her. “I believe Drake provided you with my card, did he not?”

Her brow furrowed in thought as she reached deep into her pocket. What he wouldn’t have done to smooth the furrow with his thumb.

She pulled the thick white card out of her pocket and ran her soft thumb across the raised letters.

“Liam Rys, HRH…” she whispered so softly he had to lean his head towards her to hear what she was saying. Her eyes flicked up to meet his dead on. “What kind of title is that?”

He awkwardly cleared his throat and shifted on his heels. How the hell was he supposed to explain this…?

“Well… you see…” He started slowly, his fingers running through his dark blond hair roughly, thinking of the best or easiest way to answer her question.

“Liam Rys…?” Her eyebrow arched as she stared at him imploringly. “You’re avoiding the question.”

Her long fingers traced down the sides of the card, flipping it in her hands as she studied him. He cleared his throat awkwardly, staring down at his shoes. One was scuffed… Damnit… He’d have to get them shined again before tomorrow.

“It stands for His Royal Highness,” he murmured under his breath. He could feel the tips of his ears heat with the blush of embarrassment as she began to laugh. A soft giggle at first, leading into a full belly laugh at him.

“Right…” She snorted through her fit of laughter. “His Royal Highness… Like a prince or something?”

His back straightened haughtily, raising him to his full height of 6’4”. She was laughing at him… Him… The prince of Cordonia. Albeit he wasn’t the crown prince… No, that title belonged to his older brother. None the less, he was a prince.

“Exactly like that.” His voice lowered to a commanding level, demanding her respect. Her ice blue eyes shot to his in the semi-darkness as the last of her laughter died almost as quickly as it started.

“Holy shit...” she exclaimed, studying him closely. “You’re serious!”

“Incredibly,” he nodded at her solemnly.

“So... pretty boy...?” She paced a few steps away from him before spinning on her heel and heading back towards him. He could see her thoughts as she tried to process the information he had just given her.

“Leo is the Crown Prince of Cordonia,” he nodded proudly. “Next in line to the throne.”

“Fuck me...” Her long, slender fingers found her temples. He watched her closely, waiting for her reaction. Would she run? Would this change her opinion of him? Of Leo? Would she decide to want the person closer to the power?

“Does this matter?” His voice shocked even him, strained… Unsure. “My title, I mean?”

She studied him from her position only a few steps from where he stood. Her eyes drifted over him, studying his shoes, his suit, and finally settling on his own. Her feet carried her purposefully to stand right in front of where he was. His breath hitched as her fingers played with the edges of his lapels.

“That depends…” she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Liam noticed her brow furrowed as she considered her next words carefully. “Does it matter that my dad was connected to the Irish mob and that both my parents were killed in a mob hit?”

“Th-they were?” His voice caught as he pulled Sabrina back from him, unable to wrap his mind around the words she just told him. Her ice blue eyes rolled prettily as she shook her head. “Well… that’s… uhhh…”

“No, they weren’t,” she sighed, pulling herself out of his grasp. “That reaction says a lot though. See ya later, Blue Eyes...”

She turned on her heel, pulling her wool coat tighter around him before waving over her shoulder and starting down the street.

“Sabrina, wait!” He ran the few steps to catch up with her. He grasped her arm lightly as he moved to face her. “Look… That was a shock… I mean, the mob? What did you expect my reaction to be?”

“Yah… sucks getting shocking information thrown at you, hey?” Her brows narrowed at him before she glanced at his hand on her upper arm. “Look, you’re cute, Mickey Blue Eyes. I could actually see me really fallin’ for a guy like you.”

“So why don’t you?” Liam released her arm from his grasp as he tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. “Sabrina, I don’t know anything about you but I want to get to know you.”

“You know that both my parents weren't killed by the mob,” her features soften as he chuckled at her quip. “Ok, Prince Liam. You get a shot. But you only get 1.”

“I will take what you give me,” he grinned down at her before offering the crook of his arm to her. “May I now escort you home?”

She quirked her eyebrow as she placed her hand in the offered crook.

“Does your charm turn on by itself? Or do you have a switch or something?” His laugh was open and hearty at her comment.

“I suppose it’s a symptom of circumstance. You have to be charming to convince people to see things your way.” She made a soft sound of acknowledgment as they walked down the empty New York street.

“It’s so quiet…” Liam commented. “I always thought this was the city that never slept.”

“Oh… it is…” Sabrina nodded thoughtfully. “It may not be wall to wall people at 3 a.m. But they’re there. Look over there?”

She pointed down a small side street at an old man standing in front of a large garbage can.

“He’s here every night… Looking for something to eat.” His brows furrowed at the obvious hardship the man was going through.

“That’s heartbreaking,” he whispered softly. He glanced down at her grip tightened on his arm.

“That’s life here.” She shrugged her shoulders as she turned them down the next street, now lined with old 5 story walk up apartments. “It’s hard and rough, but it’s beautiful at the same time. Sure he’s searching for food, but what you don’t see is the dog that curls up around him and keeps him warm on chilly nights, or the old woman who brings him a warm meal once a week.”

They stopped in front of a, particularly run-down, building. The gate attached to the chain link fence hanging on by a thread.

“Well...” She motioned to the building, “this is me. Thanks for the walk, my prince... or is it, your majesty?”

“Just Liam is preferred...” he muttered as he glanced around her at the building. “Are you sure you’re safe here?”

“Oh yah!” She waved his concerns away with her hand. “Jorge downstairs makes sure nobody bugs me. Doesn’t look like much but it’s mine. Thanks for walking me home, Blue Eyes.”

She smiled softly before turning away from him. Unable to stop himself, Liam’s hand curled around her upper arm, spinning her back towards him.

His lips pressed firmly against hers as a soft moan escaped her throat. Her hands wound around his neck pulling him closer to her. His hand slipped around her lower back bringing them flush against each other. His tongue danced with her own as he moaned into her mouth, feeling himself harden against her.

Slowly, he pulled back from her, cupping her cheek with his hand. His soft fingers tracing the corner of her mouth.

“Wow…” she grinned playing with the hair at the back of his neck.

“Yah…” he echoed, staring into her eyes.

“I’d better go inside…” she smiled.

She shivered gently as a cold breeze blew across them,

“You’re right,” he smiled, pressing a quick chaste kiss to her lips. She followed with another and a third after that. “Sabrina…”

He chuckled before pulling her back from his body.

“Go inside, before I refuse to let you go.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth before turning away from him again and moving around the gate hanging on to 1 hinge. “Sabrina, wait!”

She turned towards him slowly, cocking her head to one side.

“Can I take you to breakfast tomorrow?” His voice caught traitorously, causing her to smile in the semi-darkness.

“Sure, Blue Eyes. Pick me up at 10.” She waved her fingers at him before turning her back on him and heading into the building.

“Highness,” a voice from behind him called out. “Your brother is at the hotel, sleeping off the evening, as requested.”

Liam turned, giving the apartment building one last glance over his shoulder.

“Thank you, Bastien,” he smiled, patting the older man’s shoulder gently before ducking into the car. “You’ve been a great help this evening.”

Bastien closed the door of the car as Liam leaned against the plush seats, anxiously waiting for the morning.

—

“Jesus, Sab!” The tall fit man stood over her, offering her his hand to pull her back up from the mat. “What’s gotten into you today? I’ve knocked you flat 4 outta 5 today. I don’t usually get a hit.”

“Sorry, Jax,” she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand wraps setting up for the next round. “Something on my mind... I’m here now. Let’s go.”

“Something... or someone?” The trainer grinned as he ducked under her quick jab at his face.

“Something, jackass,” she scowled, pulling her knee in to push him back with her foot. Jax gave her a sarcastic nod to show her that he really didn’t believe a word she was telling him. Her frustration with the large man in front of her did nothing but fuel her kick to his side. Watching him struggle for his footing she grinned, coming up underneath him and clipping his chin with a solid uppercut. “4 outta 6, dick.”

He grinned as she helped him back to his feet. She glanced over his shoulder at the clock 9:40.

“Shit,” she sighed, pulling her hand wraps off. “I gotta go, Jax. We still on for Sunday?”

“You got it, Sab,” the large man grinned, watching her struggle with the pieces of cloth. “Have fun with your someone... oops, I mean something.”

“Fuck off, dick,” she laughed as she pulled her hoodie emblazoned with Sitan Muay Thai over her torso and her hand wraps into her pockets.

“Hey, Sab!” Jax called out as she reached the door. “Don’t make a mistake… Make sure he covers that snake!”

He laughed heartily as she threw her middle finger in the air, pushing the door open and moved into the cold air.

A cab pulled up in front of the gym just as she stepped out. Karma’s on my side today… She grinned as she slid into the back and gave the driver her address.

The cab pulled up to the apartment block, parking right behind a smart black car with tinted windows.

“Thanks, man,” She smiled at her driver handing him some bills. “Keep the change.”

She slid out of the back seat of the cab and started towards the door of her building. A lone figure stood in front of her building, studying the list of names living there. She cleared her throat softly as she approached. Her breath catching as the figure turned and she was met with familiar blue eyes.

“Blue Eyes!” She exclaimed as he stepped down from her doorway,

“Sabrina,” her name was almost a sigh on his lips. “My apologies, we did agree to 10 am, did we not?”

“No… we did…” She sighed, running her hand over her eyes. “I’m sorry… my training session ran later than I expected. C’mon upstairs with me. I need a quick shower and then we can head out.”

#choices stories you play #choices: stories you play fanfics #roe #trr #liam x mc #leo x mc #princes #brothers rys

[amazingalphys]

Prompt: Alphys and Undyne play Mario Kart. VERY AGGRESSIVELY. 

Thanks for the prompt, @eevees-garbage!  I hope this was something like you were looking for.

Rating: G

Characters: Alphys, Undyne (POV), and a special guest appearance from THE GREAT PAPYRUS

Pairing: Alphys/Undyne

---

Undyne liked to compete.  There was something about the thrill of competition that pushed her to new heights of skill.  Alone, she could carry six, maybe seven children at once.  If she was in a child lifting competition, she could lift fifteen and a half children, all the while shouting taunts at her rivals.  

Alphys was different.  Undyne would say she had been ambitious once, and when Alphys was sure she was right, she would state her point for hours at a time, but those just weren't the same thing.  

No matter how many times Undyne tried to rile her up into an intense air hockey battle, or tried to transform self-esteem jogging with Papyrus into a race, Alphys just cheerfully accepted her own defeat.  Undyne didn't mind hearing how cool she looked when she won, but still.  

She'd thought, once, that she had managed to get Alphys worked up about winning a high stakes  bowling game against their friends, but during the harrowing final few rounds Undyne had glanced back at where Alphys was sitting and found her checking her phone, watching the trailer for the new season of her favorite anime.

Undyne learned to accept it.  Alphys wasn't competitive, but she was passionate.  She was brilliant, she loved her friends, and she was always trying to improve herself in ways that mattered to her.  So what if she sat on the side when Undyne got a team together for beach volleyball? Undyne loved her for being herself.  Wouldn't it be worse for Alphys to pretend to care about winning the annual monster arm wrestling competition, or whatever?  Undyne was pretty proud of herself for being such an understanding girlfriend.  

But she was wrong.

Completely, 100% wrong, from start to finish.  Undyne would have said Alphys didn't have a competitive bone in her body, but she actually had one, just one, and it contained an entire skeleton's worth of condensed competitive energy.

"Oh, sweet!  A racing game?"  Undyne knelt on the floor, digging through a pile of videogames to find one she felt like playing.  They'd recently finished an epic multi-game fantasy dating sim, and its conclusion had left a hole in their schedule that only a new video game could fill.

Alphys leaned over the back of the couch, checking what she held up.  "...oh, right!  I, uh..I really liked that game for a while."

"Who's the mustache gremlin?"

"You d-don't have to play as him, even though he's the one it's named after! There's all sorts of characters!  Princesses, turtle monsters - " Alphys launched into a full description of the character choices while Undyne brought over the game and set things up.

"So don't kick my butt too hard!"  Undyne said, laughing.  "You're an expert, right?"

"Um, I've played...well, I got really into it for a little while, but it was mostly me against the computer which is a completely different experience than playing against a person, obviously, so then I - well, I did find some friends to play with and then...well!  Never mind!  Let's pick characters!"  

"Hell yeah!"

"Maybe you should play against the computer a couple times, to get the hang of the controls?"

"Nah, that's for babies.  Show me what you've got."

Undyne noticed unease flicker across Alphys' features, but passed so quickly Undyne wondered if she had imagined it.

She expected to lose, and she did, handily.  Where did her hands go?  At one point, Undyne almost ripped her controller in half in frustration.  The worst part was she got the impression Alphys was trying to help her. She spotted her start to lean in, and then Alphys leaned back again and suddenly she'd be in second place instead of first.  

But she'd still be the first one across the finish line, every single time.

"Th-thanks, Undyne.  That really took me back," Alphys said.  "Eheh...I used to play too much."

"You won!  I'm proud of you," Undyne said.  

Alphys looked away, just for a second, and then she smiled.  "Yeah!  It was fun!"

Undyne needed to get better.  She only seen the tiniest flicker of the skill Alphys was hiding, and she wanted to see it all.  She wanted to see Alphys struggle to keep up with her.  She wanted to beat her and see her swoon in admiration at a display of skill that she understood and admired.  Screw volleyball!  Screw bowling!  

She was going to get so good at Mario Kart that Alphys was going to fall in love with her all over again.  

She hid her plan from everyone but Papyrus.  He was her training partner.  He thought the game was a silly child's game, at first, but he eventually admired the puzzle-like structure of the racing tracks and looked forward to their friendly competitions.  

"I've been playing that Mario Kart game with Papyrus," Undyne said.  "Just a couple times!  But I think I have a handle on the controls now."

"Oh!  It's really a fun game, right?  More complicated than you think when you start - like there are levels of strategy that - uh, anyway!  Ok!" Alphys took their dinner out of the microwave and brought it into the living room.  Undyne couldn't wait until she showed Alphys how much she'd improved.

Alphys beat her again, immediately.  "You really have a hang of the controls!"

Undyne almost threw her controller through the window.  "Yeah!" she said, through gritted teeth.  "How much did you play this, again?"

"W-well...um." Alphys looked away.  "I don't remember how many hours I logged, but there were a couple months where I probably played....a few hours a day?"

There was absolutely no way Alphys didn't remember the exact number of hours she had played.  That wasn't how Alphys' mind worked.  

"But you're so much better!  Let's play again!"  Was there a light in Alphys' eyes, or was that just the lamp reflecting on her glasses?

-

"I have to beat her," Undyne said, pacing back and forth in Papyrus' kitchen. "I have to run her smug adorable face right off the road!"

"YOU MEAN IN THE GAME."

"No shit! Jeez, Papyrus, what do you take me for?"  She whapped him on the back, laughing, and he fell on the ground.

"YOU CAN GET VERY...COMPETITIVE."

"This is just a friendly girlfriend thing!  I want to kick her ass at this freaking game, and then make her some tea and eat snacks and watch cheesy anime the rest of the night."

"I SEE!  SO THIS IS PART OF SOME ELABORATE DATING RITUAL."

"Uh, yeah, Papyrus.  Step one - complete devastation in Mario Kart.  Step two - we get HITCHED on the BEACH on a MOONLIT NIGHT."

"HOW ROMANTIC! DID YOU BUY A RING?"

"No - ok YES you nerd, but -- ANYWAY, STEP THREE!  I noogie all the huge dorks in the room!"  

"OW, WAIT, BUT WE HAVEN'T REACHED THAT STEP IN THE PROCESS YET."  

-

"W-wow, Undyne, you're really good!"  Alphys said, smiling.  

Alphys had beat her.   Again.  Easily.  

"Alphys, I need you to do something for me," Undyne said.  "I need you to be honest."

"Wh-what? I'm...trying to be honest, all the time!  How could you say that about..."  She trailed off into a long silence, and then she sighed.  "What do you want to know?"

"How much of this game have you played?”

"Oh, god.  Um. Way too much."  She laughed, nervous.  "Do you remember when I was supposed to be working on that project for Mettaton, and I was...sort of.  I, uh, hit a snag and I decided to play a game to try and...loosen up, a bit?  Clear my head.  This was that game.  I got, um, reeeeeally into it.  Partially out of frustration because I still couldn't figure out an answer to his battery issues, but also, I don't know.  It was...fun?"

They had gone on quite a few dates during that time, but Alphys had always seemed tired.  Alphys when she was tired tended to have a frenetic energy, almost a level of desperation underneath everything she did.  Undyne had assumed she was having trouble with her work and was watching a lot of anime.  This wasn't that different.

"It kind of got easy, so I joined a club, and then there was a, uh, tournament, and - "

"Wait!  You were in a competition, and you didn't tell me?"  

"I was supposed to be working!  I felt so guilty!  Every second I wasn't playing, I felt guilty."

"But I would've cheered you on!"

"I...thank you. That would have been nice."  Alphys relaxed.  "I don't know.  Mettaton found out eventually, and he and his cousin and Sans for some reason hosted an intervention, and I haven't played much since then."

All this had happened behind Undyne's back.  "Did you win?"  

"I, uh..." Alphys drew something out of her inventory.  It was a gold statue of the mustache gremlin.

"Holy SHIT, Alphys!"  Undyne hugged her tight.  "I'm so freaking proud of you right now!  That's amazing!  That game is actually really really hard!"  

"You're...p-proud of me?  It's just a...silly game, honestly.  I shouldn't have gotten that into it.  I was just avoiding my problems, again."

"Ok, yeah, but that's still really cool!"

"Is it?"

"I mean, you're a huge nerd!  This is like the ultimate cool thing for huge nerds!"

"Go big or go home, right?"  Alphys giggled.  

"And now that I know I'm going up against a championship winning gamer -"

"It was just a regional - "

"A friggin CHAMPION with a creepy but totally badass statue, I know how much training I have to do to kick your butt!"

"Wh-what?"

"I'm going to win against you so hard you're going to beg me to take your trophy away from you, because you just don't deserve it anymore!"

"What?  Undyne, I earned that!  I spent months - and you think you can just waltz in and play a few games and beat me?"  

There it was.

"YUP!  Maybe you know a bunch of lame strategies, but I have the honed reflexes of a natural warrior!  Once I start to really try -"

"I'll - I'll just beat you again!  You really think you can - are you serious? You have NO idea what you're up against.  I could fall asleep and kick your butt!"

"That's what I want to hear!"  Undyne grabbed her controller.

There was a fire in Alphys eyes.  The desire, no the need to win.  

-

It was a month of regular games before Undyne won her first one.  Alphys had been playing cocky all night, and she finally paid the price for it. Undyne jumped on the couch, ripping the controller right out of its socket and almost throwing the game system onto the floor.  She pumped her arms in the air.

"HELL YEAH! There's a NEW champion in THIS house!"

"Oh, come one, Undyne!  That's one out of, wh-what, a hundred?"  Alphys scrambled to put the system back in order.  "That wasn't skill! That was just luck and I'll prove it to you."

When Alphys won the next one, she clambered up onto the sofa and yelled, "S-suck on th-that!  No one can beat the champion!"

"YEAH!" Undyne jumped up next to her and held her in the air.  Alphys' head almost bumped on the ceiling.  "You're the winner!"  She spun Alphys around until she got queasy.

They put away the controllers for the night.  Undyne made tea and Alphys got some snacks and brought them into the living room.  

"I think I'm going to, um, get sick if I go around the track again tonight," Alphys admitted.

"We were like halfway through that lacrosse anime before we got kind of distracted," Undyne said.

"Oh!  And the team captain was just about to confess something!  I can't believe I forgot."

Undyne grabbed a blanket and tossed it over both of them.  "I just want to know if they're going to win."

"Well, even if they lose, I'm sure it'll be like a moral victory," Alphys said.  

"Screw moral victories," Undyne said.  "I want to see someone get their butt kicked."

Alphys laughed.  She leaned against Undyne's shoulder as the opening theme blared through the living room.  

#fanfic #my fic #alphyne #alphys #undyne #eevees-garbage

[stray-tori]

| 2017 Personal Rewind |

for two hours over here, actually. But it’s time for me to ramble about it! But I won’t make you scroll over it for an endless time, instead I’m offering you to read it by clicking keep reading ;)

FANDOMS

Okay, so fandom-wise, this year has been quite Cartoon-dominated. I think I watched like 10 cartoons, but only 2 anime. And that’s with someone who actually called cartoons out for how childish they can be and how they don’t fit my humour (I’m all about them anime-humour apparantly). So I myself was surprised when I noticed how many cartoons I watched this year:

Steven Universe I watched this one before 2017, and 2017 had the longest hiatus for SU ever, so uhhh yeah it wasn’t the best year but we had the Zoo and Abduction Arcs SOOOO yay? Like most, I have noticed a drop in excitement, but I still love this show for things it does so I can’t be too mad.

Star vs the forces of evil I am not sure if I watched season 1+2 this year or last (damn my memory), but I know I wasn’t too fond of this show. I didn’t think it was bad, it simply didn’t fascinate me the same way SU did. Even with battle for Mewni, I only liked the Eclipsa and Moon Parts and not much beyond that. In the new season I’ve grown to really like Tomstar for some reason, but I still think the episodes are too random at times and there is sometimes too little connection between them. But maybe I’m just too used to SU being slow-paced that I can’t handle how fast Star is jumping between events.

Voltron I'm not sure if S2 was this year or last year, but any way Voltron has been part of my 2017. I’ve had a phase where I really shipped Plance due to the Ouran High School Host Club Vibes it gave me back when I watched S1 and this year it decided to come back at me.  Else, the material has been great! I love the series, and how serious it is and how it doesn’t focus on romantic love AT ALL. I really like that, even if I started this Section with saying what I shipped. I’m so hyped Matt is back and the Keith almost-sacrifice scene really got me like I actually thought they were gonna do it. They never get me with almost-deaths. NEVER. 

Wakfu As Season 3 came closer so grew my expectations. When I finally watched it, I was blown away. I won’t sugar-coat that the Time-Paradox thing was 1000% Bullshit, but it won’t stop me from loving this season, even if it had it’s weak elements. But I just loved the rest too much and while I am picky with it, I can’t get myself to not enjoy it (which I’m really happy about because I hate it when some elements ruin something for me). If you wanna hear more of me rambling, go here for the post and here for the s3 tag.

Miraculous Oh I have a love-hate relationship with this show. I can see the potential and all, but it’s just too episodic for me, relies a bit too much on the cute love-square that changes progress every episode. The characters don’t always feel like what is established about them (for example, Adrien loved Ladybug, yet in the new season he KEEPS being overly nice to Marinette like dude sure you’re a bit oblivious but ughhh) and there are no conflicts present for more than one episode.  I really don’t like how they lured me in with the first episode being story-heavy and then keeping nothing happening for like 5 episodes. The only episodes I can even remember what actually really happened were “The Collector” bc of the obvious Gabriel-Adrien-Drama, the episode where her aunt (?) visits bc I heard she’s plot-relevant, but I don’t see how tbh; the episode with the Owl because it actually went out of the usual formular for an episode and Robustus because it had some story I guess in the last few seconds.  I really hope the season picks up soon, I’m like 10% invested haha.

Tangled The Series Holy fucking shit. Like I started watching it while doing other stuff and I started right before “Queen for a day” aired, so by the time I caught up, I could actually watch that episode and what can I say? The animation is beautiful, and you think it’d be a cute little series and suddenly there’s death and everyone’s hopeless and betraying and ??? WHAT HAPPENED. Varian and Cass are super enjoyable and I love the way the series is going! I’m super sad it’s going to end so soon! If you wanna know more of my thoughts, go here.

Teen Titans I BINGE-WATCHED THIS IN LIKE 1-2 WEEK/S. While I had to study so yas. Well I have to thank Tangled for the short hiatus I guess, because I was like “Man I need something else to watch then” and was like “I could just watch 1 or 2 episodes of Teen Titans each Saturday, I wanted to start that for a while!” and suddenly I was 10 episodes in. I love the characters, I love Raven, I love Star and I love Robstar as you probably noticed. I was surprised how much plot the show actually had (and how brutal Robin could be if he wanted) and I never really found episodes annoying except the ones that focussed extremely on other teams or superheroes, I’m just not invested enough in the DC Universe to care about these guys haha. I thought S3 and S5 were kinda weak and it also bothered my how Characters sometimes really shift in their characterstics SOMETIMES to further the plot. But it never got to the point that it annoyed me extremely.  Also it doesn’t even feel like “Stranded” happened at all in S5 cri hahahahaha. Also I don’t know where to place Trouble in Tokyo but I wasn’t too fond of the movie anyway so I guesssss it doesn’t matter. I liked it, I really did, but it felt a little too straight forward sometimes and depending on the placement to the seasons, it doesn’t fit a lot either. BUT that’s nitpicking.

So yeah, anime-wise, I don’t even know what I watched this year and what was last year. I just remember Akatsuki no Yona, which was fine I guess. Reverse-Harem for the win! Though it’s the first time I actually found the main love interest so unlikeable I ended up rooting for someone else completely even though I know who was going to be end-game. I’m honestly just sick of these man-ly, seducing men who play hard and are all like STRANGE honestly?? Like I wouldn’t want to be treated like he treats Yona. I ended up really liking her and the guy who looks like a girl (Yoon) together; I just loved how Yona influenced him and made him stand up for them on the boat and everything.

PERSONAL LIFE

 This year, especially the second half, has been quite hard on me. My family has been horrible the whole year and I finally feel like it gets to me. I’m just... tired. I’m just numb. I’m so good at pretending I’m happy --- even to myself. But it tired me out and I finally start to notice it. I’m selfish, I know that, but I couldn’t even get myself to be sad - and that’s... an excuse. I know that. I just don’t want to actually be sad. I wanna enjoy my life, I don’t wanna drag myself down, but where did get me?

Anyway, on a more friends-based level, I guess it went good? It was a good year. It was one where I found new friends, deepened some other friendships... and feel like I’ve lost another one... Maybe some of you noticed the time when I got together with a friend for a short amount of time because we both felt like it was where we wanted to go. It went good, really good - at least that’s what I thought. It was slow sure, but for the most part I realized that what I really want is someone close, not necessarily a romantic interest.

More or less out of the blue that ended per text message. And after that, I half fell apart and half felt like it was no problem. And then I really began to get socially paranoid. I was paranoid before, don’t get me wrong. But suddenly I felt like everyone (especially he) was avoiding me, like they pretended to like me. And always when I wanted to express it to him, it stopped. It was like he was playing with me, but I know it couldn’t have been that, because he couldn’t read my thoughts after all. It got better in like November/December too and I hope it stays that way, and maybe one year to do in 2018 is to actually address my feelings -- even if it may end up making everything even more awkward and maybe ruining how good we have gotten.

On the bright side, I’ve gotten closer to two other friends and have made like 3 new friends this year whom I hope to grow closer to in 2018. 

ALL IN ALL

I can’t say this has been the best year, especially the second half. There were too many self-doubts, too many crisis, too many thoughts I’d like to stop, too much school-stress and too much emotional garbage. But at the same time, there was many to balance it out. Most of that being friends, old and new ones.  

#original post #tori talks about shit nobody asked for #tori talks about herself