hats off to the writing in the ILTV finale; I've had my gripes with the way the anime has been adapted so far but episode 12 really hit the nail on the head I think.
That added monologue where Rei goes "no, actually, I actually wish she would notice me and fall in love with me and see me the way I see her", while it was condensing a much longer internal monologue, was a wonderful little summation of her feelings and I feel like the added bluntness does a lot for how raw her feelings come across as.
and while I was sad that "Rae is mine, don't take her from me" got translated the coward's way ("Don't take what's mine from me") the addition of Claire physically grabbing her and pulling her away does sooooo much for her character, especially since the manga and the light novel never really addressed the fact that Rei and Manaria treated her like a prize to be won. One of my biggest concerns with LN1 is how little internality Claire gets, so her falling in love in LN2 felt a little sudden. That little bit does so much for her to reassert herself into the narrative and makes her realizing her feelings feel so much more natural.
Just, wonderful, I was looking forward to this arc a lot and I'm so happy it got done justice with the very obviously limited resources that the anime was working with.
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Little... crossover thing between I May Be Invisible But I Still Look Good and little kid with a big death wish by @remedyturtles because uhhhhh yeah
massive spoilers for both IMBI and death wish (especially the most recent chapter (29)).
I'm putting this on my main blog because... it feels a little heavy for the turtle blog haha. it's also under the cut.
cw: suicidal ideation and discussion of suicide
They sit with their feet dangling over the edge.
Leo can see the third rail. It's pretty close; it would be trivial to hop onto the tracks and touch it, exactly what you aren't supposed to do. Of course, in his current state, he could stand on it all day and never get shocked.
Next to him, the one-armed Leo shifts for the first time. His voice is quiet and raspy when he speaks.
"So... you're on the other side of this."
He means recovery from the Krang, or at least, Leo is pretty sure he does. He turns to look, even though the other Leo is pointedly not meeting his eyes.
"I had it a little easier than you." He wiggles his shoulders. "Both arms, no dissociation... the hallucinations were a bitch, though."
The other Leo doesn't pull his eyes away from the tracks. "But then something else bad happened."
"...Yeah. Yeah it did."
His face twists into a deep frown. "So then what's the point?" he asks, voice hollow. "Even if I make it through this... it's just more pain. Just more misery. What do you get out of that?"
"Mm... being alive, I guess."
Leo can tell by the set of the other Leo's shoulders that this isn't a satisfying answer. Which is the whole issue, really.
"...Did you ever think about just... letting go?" the other Leo asks him, and his voice sounds even more worn down.
"...Yeah. Yeah, I did." Leo pulls his feet up onto the platform, shifting around to face the other Leo fully. "I could just let the time run out, be cursed forever. I'd never feel pain or get tired or hungry ever again. I wouldn't be afraid. I wouldn't feel... like I'm failing everyone's expectations. I'd just be done."
"Sounds nice," says the other Leo softly, and he nods.
"Yeah. Can't deny that." He shrugs. "But then I wouldn't get to be with our family, either. And that would be worse than anything."
The other Leo doesn't agree, but he doesn't disagree, either. Leo knows himself, and he can guess that the question is: would it be worse for his family without him?
"Have you told them? That you thought about it," the other Leo asks after a minute or two.
"No. But I'm going to."
"That's gonna suck."
"Oh yeah it is. It's gonna suck massively." He shifts around again, leans back on his arms so his face is more visible in the other Leo's sightline. "But I think it'll be okay afterward."
"They may be mad."
"Maybe."
"They could yell at you."
"Yeah, but I'm kinda hopin' for hugs instead."
"Something else bad could happen."
"Something good could happen."
The other Leo doesn't answer him. He keeps his eyes on the rails.
Far off, Leo hears a train.
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