hey logan ! i’m thinking of getting into re8, so here i am at the re8 expert’s door for any lore and headcanon’s you have for any of the characters/place settings (i’m fine with ‘spoilers’!) :]

OMG OMG JACK HELLO I AM SO HAPPY TO OBLIGE

i’m adding a cut because i started rambling so the post ended up being a bit long. i tried to organize all the ideas as best i could and made some smaller sections to make it easier to process

also, i wrote this operating on the assumption that this is your first re game. so i might go too in depth for some stuff that you might already know i just like talking about re

TO PREFACE: i haven’t played 8, and i’m not sure if i’ll ever be able to. i’ve watched a bunch of edited play throughs and am currently about 2/3 of the way thorough snapcube’s full play through!

ok so. in my opinion 8 is VERY different from a lot of the other resident evil games in terms of atmosphere/setting. while most of the games before had been very ‘zombie/virus/mad science’ feeling, this game is closer to a fantasy type vibe (although it is all explained by science).

just to give a brief synopsis- ethan winters is the protagonist. his main motive is to rescue his daughter, who was taken into this village that is overrun by monsters. the village is run by mother miranda, who’s sort of a deity to the people of the village. the rest of the land is divided up amongst the four lords. i’m order to save his daughter, ethan has to fight through each of the lords.

my favorite lords

my favorite lords are donna beneviento and karl heisenberg. i hc them both to be trans and autistic :) to be honest, i hc every single resident evil character to be trans lmao

anyways. donna beneviento. she’s the doll maker and her portion of the game is probably my favorite. she only speaks once in the game, and you only see her face once. she’s very reclusive and typically speaks through her dolls. i also personally think she’s the most compassionate of the lords, despite her section being one of the most horrifying. her abilities rely mostly on causing someone’s own mind to sort of turn on itself and feeds into the person’s fears. but yeah, i love her and hc her as autistic :)

karl heisenberg is the magneto dude lmao. i love his parts in the game because he feels very… genuinely unhinged. like he’s HILARIOUS but not really on purpose, he’s just being really showy and dramatic. i personally wasn’t a fan with how they ended his part on the story bc i want to see more of him lmao

ok also. she isn’t a lord, but i adore daniela dimitrescu. she’s one of the daughters of the Tall Vampire Lady and she’s TOTALLY unhinged. even though i have favorite parts of the game, i love all of it. i wasn’t expecting to care that much about the dimitrescu section of the game but honestly all of it was so enjoyable

ethan winters

ethan winters is probably my favorite playable character of resident evil because he’s so… i don’t wanna say stupid, but he’s a dumbass

he’s like a horror movie protagonist that is in the situation they’re in because they made a dumb decision. but i think that’s so funny, especially for resident evil. his character in 7 vs 8 is pretty much the same- his objective is always to protect his family, and i think that’s really good for resident evil as well. most of the past characters’ motives were taking down huge corporations or stopping the spread of a virus, but ethan’s is just to protect his family and get somewhere safe.

tie ins to other games

i figured i’d add a section about this since i love all of the re games so much!

so the first obvious one- chris redfield is a relatively main character in this. he’s the co-protagonist of the original resident evil, so he’s definitely still involved with plot lmao. he was 25 in the first game, so in re8, he’s nearing 50.

at the end of re7, ethan winters meets chris redfield after escaping the baker’s residence. chris was working with blue umbrella at the time I THINK i’m gonna be honest i don’t keep up with what organization he’s with because he switches around so many times. basically he takes ethan and his wife and move them to europe as a sort of witness protection program. i like to think chris became close with them and would go over for dinner

anyways in re8 he gets tangled up in the plot in pretty significant ways. he’s one of the ogs of re so it was definitely fun to see him fighting monsters well into his 40s

there’s a few references to other games throughout re8. my favorites are

- the duke (who is the shop keep) has a line where he says something along the lines of ‘what’re ya buying? heh, just something a friend of mine says.’ this is a reference to re4’s merchant, who would say that when you opened his inventory. i thought this was a really funny implication- that the duke and the merchant know each other.

- one of heisenberg’s lines refers to chris as a ‘boulder-punching asshole’ which is capcom making a joke about themselves. in resident evil 5, there’s a scene where chris redfield literally punches a boulder into an active volcano. it was memed a lot because it was such a ridiculous scene, so this line is capcom acknowledging it

general/setting

i think resident evil 8 did a good job being a great game but also keeping the core resident evil elements. like the plot’s connection to the overall re universe is dumb as hell but it feels very resident evil. personally i feel like it’s super similar to re4 in the sense that it takes the typical zombie genre but gives it a completely different setting or tone than you’d usually expect. like, castles in a zombie survival horror game is BRILLIANT and not something i’d ever expect.

i’m also a huge fan of the sort of ‘mutating into something that isn’t human’ trope and resident evil 8 has SO MUCH of that. all of the lords are basically infected by a parasite that affected them all in a different way. so heisenberg can control metal while donna causes hallucinations and shit.

———

ok i think that’s most of my thoughts on it… re8 is such a good game and even though the plot can be dumb and full of contradictions the campiness and seriousness is balanced near perfectly in re8. one of the issues some of the past re games had is they took themselves too seriously. re8 does a great job at not taking itself too seriously in order to be a fun game.

i hope this wasn’t too long! i love re8 to death and will always jump to talk abt it lol. ethan winters is one of my favorite re characters ever, and this game is full of great ethan moments. i hope you enjoy it!! it’s definitely a great experience regardless of if you care about the lord and connections to other games.

Pretty sure your sudden spike in Fate content is gonna be like the third time I check something out bc you started posting it (I know next to nothing about Fate. In fact, I think I now know less than before you started). I'm rly not sure what the best starting point to get into it is, though. Any recommendation? (also I got Moriarty on your quiz and now I want to know why he's so beloved)

Oh sick! Awesome! I hope you enjoy it! 

Uhm, so, Fate notoriously swaps out like their whole creative team from work to work, so some of it is really good, and some is really bad, and some in the middle, because it’s made by very different people. The things I am most into are UBW, and Fate Go. Fate Go is a little gatcha phone game, that suffers from the fate of the whole fate franchise but as a single unit. They swap out writers from arc and event to arc and event, so sometimes you’re living and thriving, and sometimes you’re like *thousand yard glazed, pained stare* ‘why the fuck did I download this game?’ Very mixed bag. I enjoy it because I just kinda blow through any arc I don’t like and skim, and then go hella into the good ones, but it’s very much an individual matter of taste one. It’s very fun to collect spirits and get to know them though, and some of the arcs are fantastic. Also, they have made/are making some of the Fate Go arcs into shows, and I expect the ones that are of good game arcs are good? But I haven’t actually checked any out myself yet--I really need to watch E Pluribus Unum, because it was an easy top 3 arc for me in the game.

I’m big into Fate, but I actually have approximate knowledge of many things? And have not consumed as much media as you’d think. I tend to hear people really like Fate Zero, and very mixed reviews of Apocrypha, but I would wholeheartedly recommend the Fandom Classic(tm) and my personal fave as where to start, which is Unlimited Blade Works.

Sorry this is so long. Okay, so. Originally, Fate Stay/Night was a visual novel with three paths/routes: Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel. All of these are shows now. Unlimited Blade Works was made twice. Do not watch the early one; it’s bad. Watch the 2014 TV series--it’s on Netflix right now. Don’t watch the English dub--the VAs are...not great. 110% recommend watching it in Japanese/original dub, with subtitles. (This one)

My usual pitch is that if you’re a normal person, you’ll probably go “This was a little confusing, but I really got into it: 8.3/10″, and if you’re like me and you never really gave up on wanting to become a superhero and save the world some day, you’ll go: “It was fantastic, 18/10, but it also ripped out my soul and left me wounded but somehow in an okay way.” Either way very worth watching. Since it’s not the first route, there are some things they don’t explain about the world because they kind of assume the viewer will know, but that’s pretty minimal--it’s def coherent enough that the more confusing bits are more of a “Uh, okay. I think.” than a “W-What the fuck is going on?”

It’s really good. Two seasons, the most beautiful fighting in almost anything I’ve ever seen, phenomenal soundtrack, and one of the best show opens (Season 2′s) of any show I ever saw. All around a just big blanket rec from me. It’s a long-time fan favorite for a reason. It’s one of my fave shows ever :’-] It was. Very personal to me.

Uhhhh what else--okay so, on Netflix if you watch it there, and a lot of streaming sites, they list “Episode 0″ or “Prologue” as the first episode? This was originally bonus content, not the first episode. It’s basically the first episode from not the MC’s point of view, but a different major character. It’s got some really great character moments and insight into Rin and Archer, and it’s fun, but since it was originally bonus, the pacing is super weird? So I would recommend you start with actual episode 1/Winter Days, A Fateful Night instead? Unless you just want to. Like it won’t mess up the show, but it might give you a weird idea of what the pacing is. So you can watch it first if you want, or later whenever you’re curious about those two, just like, if you start on it, don’t get overwhelmed by the stuff they’re not explaining, or the weird pacing. It’s supposed to be bonus content haha.

Very happy you’re interested! I really love UBW so I hope you enjoy it! If there’s anything else you want to ask feel totally free! I just don’t want to ramble for eight years about my special interest and fall into a black hole unprompted haha. : D Very happy you’ve been intrigued by my weird spike of fate content WAIT YOU ASKED ABOUT CRIME GRANDPA HOW COULD I FORGET.

Woof this is gonna be a long ask answer. Uhhhh, so Moriarty is from Fate Grand Order/Fate Go, the phone game. The game has three major arc sets so far: Grand Order, Epic of Remnant, and Cosmos in the Lostbelts. He’s from Epic of Remnant, and he’s universally beloved because he’s amazing. The MC in Fate Go is like 16, but he or she (you get to pick) is constantly having to risk their life and be hurt and traumatized and watch people die to save the world because there’s no one else to do it, and usually people are...not super nice to them. Moriarty shows up in the first of the second set of arcs and is like ‘Haha that’s a wholeass human child tho. Guys. Guys, a-are you sure about this?’ and he’s really there to pull of a massive evil culmination-of-my-life’s-entire-work-and-value scheme, but this kid is nice to him, and has nobody who looks out for them, and Evil Has Standards, so (Arc End Spoilers for that one ahead) he ends up giving up basically at the last minute. He had a plan that was totally working and could have won, but can’t really pull the trigger, because winning would mean this kid who has been nice to him and is already a massive pile of trauma and pressure and mental illness would die, and he cares more about them than his life’s goal. In Go usually boss fights are progressively harder, but his is super easy because he throws it, and chooses to lose, and basically throws away his life’s work for this one kid because nobody else is taking care of them, and lets himself get killed. This is a pattern with him. Other high points include later being 5 seconds into a scheme when Frankenstein (the girl one, who in fgo is like 14) stops him to call him Papa and asks for help, so he adopts her on the spot and just is her dad forever after that. He’s very goofy and I love him; he’s evil, but I’d trust him with my life, because he’s more good than he is evil, even though he’s both. Basically he’s just a very interesting and well written villain, but he’s also like, the /best/ dad in the game at the same time, and his dialogue is amazing. Evil Has Standards team dad poster man. He’s like the only adult in Fate Go who actually is responsible, which is fuckin wild. I’ll try to find some good screenshots of his dialogue. Anyway he’s incredible and I’m so happy you got him; Crime Papa is life.

Here have some Moriarty junk: (Shinjuku arc you have 3 partners, and the other two are adults but harass the MC constantly, and this was the dynamic. Bless Moriarty) 

And here’s some him roasting Sherlock memes and being good dad to the MC

Hey so I'm an anon who pops in sometime. I had no idea you were feeling this way. I'm a student rn so I have to pic my way through your works really slow, but I want you to know I'm here! I've been dying to read the minho fic you posted a whole back and it's new sequel bc hes my bias and we need more good minho fics. I love your world building, by the way. Like a ton. You helped my find a missing fic on here a while ago (it turned out to be eye of heaven) I loved it. I also got to read candles in the sky a while ago, it was super good too (I want to go back and read it bc jisung has been wrecking but it's been midterms). I like the whole assasin au you did as well. I first found you because of the match girl and you honestly broke my heart 😥 never moved on from that and always live under the hopeful delusion you'll write an alternate ending.

It is clearly my grief talking but still.

I think I've read every single drabble (I try to heart every time) but sometime i come back just to be sure i havent missed any, esp when a bias wrecker comes calling and I want content. Tbh you're really good. Good enough youd never have to write for us for free. But I'm grateful that you do.

I confess, I dont get to engage with your longer works as much as I want to (if you ever wanna do chapters that would be fun bc it gives you a way to find your way back to the spot you left off reading easier 🥺).

But like, your descriptions are super good, your world building is awesome. I I'm too take the time really READ it not just skim it.

But, I'm sorry you havent felt appreciated bc honestly you're more engaging to me than a lot of published novelists. If you dont want to write because its not bringing you enjoyment or positive feedback, I understand. But you deservse to at least know how amazing and talented you are. I see other blogs talk about you and tag you a ton. But even so, to be honest I feel like the best writers on here often get overlooked you among them. So I understand, but please know: you are amazingly talented. I'll honestly be really sad if you go, but we arent entitled to your hard work and effort, and I get that. And know if you ever write original fiction I'd be down for it.

Anyway. Sorry this was long. And sorry I havent gotten to see some of your longer works yet but I at least want you to know u see them, and I plan too. I know that's not a big consolation but I do love your writing and I want to partake of it when I can actually truly read it. Thank you for your time and energy, and sorry if this is ramble but its 3am here but I couldnt not adress this.

Thanks for your time and investment,

-Anon.

That's ok no hurry! I just wanted to be sure it was there 🥺 also I wanna add I'm sorry I dont reblog more...I have friends in tumblr who dont know I read kpop fanfic...😥 I'm thinking of getting another one at some point so I can. But I want you to know, I would reblog your stuff a ton. That's why not, and I'm so sorry if its come off as apathy. 😥

hey, bubs! ✨ thank you for taking the time to write this out, I really appreciate it 💞

oh wow, I don’t know where to begin with this 😅

let me start by saying that I’m happy to know you’ve enjoyed several pieces of my work, including my blurbs. reading this yesterday helped me a lot 💕 and don’t worry, I’ll probably never leave as long as I’m in my right mind...

I know I don’t post as often as I used to a year ago, and my content has changed a little over the time, so I’m grateful that all of you are still here. don’t misunderstand me, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the humble audience I’ve attracted, it’s that I’m baffled at the counter effect of their growth. with the uncertainty of the tumblr tags, we writers solely depend on our followers to share our work. if neither tumblr nor our readers want to cooperate with us then expect that we remain active and happy, then we’re all set for doom. 

there are solutions if you look for them. one can always create a side blog to dedicate for their different interests, in regards to the situation with your friends. a lot of people do that, and you could try it too if you’d like! ✨

once more, thank you for this 💖 

(p.s. I don’t write alternative endings :P)

I enjoyed doing this last week so this is. a thing now I guess. click through for roundup of whatever media I’ve been into in the past week (will normally be on thursdays I think bc that’s the day I’m usually free but my schedule this week was weird) (inspired by the tuesday again thing that @girlfriendsofthegalaxy does)

listening: the new Mountain Goats album Getting Into Knives is very fun and full of bops, for a given value of both “fun” and “bops” because it’s The Mountain Goats so it does have that edge of depression but quite a few of the songs are a bit more. cheerful? than a lot of their other stuff, for lack of a better word

favorite track is probably The Rat Queen

listening (podcast edition): this very fun episode of Overinvested tearing apart the new movie adaptation of Rebecca which I have not seen and was not planning on seeing but I do enjoy people smartly analyzing why things aren’t good and also I do love discussions about Gothic romance

reading: The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall is probably a very good book that someone else will enjoy very much, as lots of people whose opinions I generally trust already have enjoyed it. and I possibly will enjoy more if I give it another chance, once I’ve gotten over being disappointed that it wasn’t what I was looking for right now. the premise is neat! the worldbuilding is cool! the characters are interesting! mermaids, witches, and seas are three of my favorite things and also there are pirates, my other fave thing!

the reason I bounced off of it so hard is that I kept seeing it hyped up as a trans/nonbinary book, and then felt kinda let down when I started reading it and realized that the main character whom I’ve seen described as genderqueer is 1) dressing as a guy because someone else suggested it for safety reasons and 2) this was several years before the story starts and this character still refers to herself exclusively (disclaimer that I didn’t read the full thing but. as far as I got and also I skimmed toward the ending) as she and by her feminine birthname. and those things are fine, that’s a valid gender story, nonbinary people can absolutely keep their old pronouns and names and it doesn’t make them any less nonbinary, but the way it was framed in the parts that I read felt to me more like the old classic ‘girl dresses as guy for plot reasons’ thing, which isn’t something I personally wanted to read more of right now, especially not when I went in expecting something that would resonate more with my gender experience

watching: I’ve been rewatching Leverage, since I only ever watched the first season many years ago because that’s what was free on hulu at the time, and the thing that’s really getting to me is how fundamentally hopeful it is. like, yeah, sure, the premise of it is about how capitalism is designed to fuck people over and there is A Lot about specifically health insurance being really really awful. so there are parts of it that are a lil bit too real, but then at the end of the day they always win and punish the rich capitalists and help their victims and it’s just. nice to see that kind of happy ending

the specific episode I’m having lots of thoughts about is the Mile High Job, which is about the team is trying to protect a potential corporate whistleblower from being murdered by her coworker while on an airplane. at first they’re not sure what’s going on because they weren’t expecting two people from the corporation to be on that flight, so they don’t know which person is the one they should be focusing on. one of them is an anxious younger woman and the other is an extremely generic man, and from the moment they decided that the woman was the one they had to protect I was dreading the plot twist of “no actually you just helped her take out her target and you should’ve been protecting the other guy” which would’ve felt just. so mean-spirited and cynical but it’s the kind of thing I expect from media I guess. and then once it was clear that nope, that twist wasn’t going to happen, I expected her to turn around at the end and be like “actually no I’m not gonna testify against the corporation because I’ve realized how dangerous it is.” and I kind of hate that I’ve become so jaded by both media and also the real world that I’m so ready to expect the most cynical option, because I’m not used to stories about how even though the system is corrupt and oppressive and exploitative, people can still help each and they do and sometimes they make things better

playing: got back into playing Dishonored after taking a couple weeks off because I got stuck and frustrated and also kept playing for too long at a time and giving myself headaches. Lady Boyle’s Last Party (which I am going to completely and entirely spoil so if you don’t want that this is your warning) is probably the mission that I have the strongest mixed feelings about. I love the approach to the party, I love the concept of sneaking into a masquerade ball, I love signing the guestbook with your actual legal wanted fugitive name while wearing the mask that you commit all of your crimes in, I love a good fancy party mission I cannot stress that enough it’s the sexiest possible setting

HOWEVER. trying to sneak around upstairs fucking sucks because the ceilings aren’t high enough for there to be places to hide, like convenient hanging lamps or pipes to blink up to. my least favorite room in this entire game is that art gallery because you can get on top of the cases and you think you’re safe because you’re Up but then the guards spot you instantly and sound the alarm and the entire party shuts down and then you let them kill you so that you can go back to your last save

ADDITIONALLY, fuck the nonlethal option for this one. I hate it so much and feel so incredibly gross about choosing it but I also feel extremely not great about tricking her into meeting me alone and then actually assassinating her. the conversation is so uncomfortable that I tried to be like “actually no nevermind” which causes her to think you’re weird and creepy and she has the guards ““throw you out”“ which apparently in Dunwall is just how you say that she’s gonna have the guards murder you. but anyway. she's a shitty rich lady but she doesn't deserve either of the things that could happen to her and she's only a target because she's sleeping w a guy who sucks. she hasn’t done anything! she isn’t actually responsible for what happened to Jessamine or Emily! which works on a narrative level in my opinion because this is the last mission before you go after the lord regent and it’s becoming clear that the loyalists are just using Corvo for their own agenda and don’t actually care about Jessamine. but it’s still unpleasant to be the one enacting it, y’know?

also on a narrative level, I really like the concept of doing a clean hands run except killing each of the actual targets, because I feel like that would be a cool inversion of the trope where the hero kills a bunch of mooks and then refuses to kill the big bad because murder is wrong. on a gameplay level, I’m still gonna do the nonlethal options because I refuse to risk getting the bad ending, and I’m proud of the fact that I haven’t killed anyone since getting out of prison. I do wanna do a high chaos playthrough at some point though just to see how it goes, since I went low chaos last time too

sorry for writing an entire essay about Dishonored but. the funniest thing from that mission is that apparently if you get spotted by one of the maids in the basement where you are not supposed to be (the guards will immediately attack if they see you) instead of raising the alarm she just says “welcome to the party.” love that solidarity.

making: none of my cosplay stuff is at an especially picture-worthy stage and I didn’t get pictures of the pesto I made for dinner last night so there’s not gonna be much that’s interesting here but I did go to Spirit Halloween after Halloween when everything was on clearance and got a bunch of stuff that I’m gonna use for cosplay eventually

writing: soon I will finish the Eddis/Attolia Queen’s Thief fic that’s been rattling around in my brain ever since I finished the last book. hopefully.

I was just wondering what do you think about posts that excuse Cersei's behaviour because she's mentally ill, or that if you critique its because your ableist and hate mentally ill people? Or some variation/combination of the two? Like it just bugs me in general when people automatically excuse and even justify horrible, violent and abusive behaviour just because someone's mentally ill, particularly as someone whose been on the receiving end of that behaviour from mentally ill people.

... I think I’ve made my opinion clear, but very briefly and hoping that I don’t unleash the kraken:

c.’s issues could have been solved if someone had sent her to a child psychologist before the age of then in modern au. period. because someone who grows up not having a shred of regret over having thrown a supposed friend in a well when they were twelve over a menial thing either should have had a completely different upbringing or should have gotten therapy. which doesn’t exist in westeros, but anyway, when discussing c’s issues that’s the crux of the matter;

c’s issues also hurt other people and I’m not talking about j., I’m talking about everyone around her or mostly, and the point is that the moment someone’s issues also mean hurting others... your freedom ends where others’s starts. assuming that her MH issues mean that she’s justified in behaving the way she does means that having MH issues is a free out of jail card for hurting others, which... it’s not;

spoilers: all three lannister siblings have mental health issues. same as like, 90% of the characters in these books. I’m 99% sure that the only two POV characters who doesn’t have issues that would require immediate therapy are davos (and he’s lost four kids, he has his problems) and asha, probably, and asha is just... very functional but it’s a miracle she came out like that considering her background. everyone else has issues over issues to different degrees, so... at this point disliking anyone in these books with this reasoning would mean hating mentally illy people while at the same time 85% of the characters you like most likely also have mental health issues and I’m talking just that, because I mean... if someone likes bran and not doran or viceversa I’m not going to assume that they’re ableist since both characters are disabled and both can’t walk, but most likely it’s just a personality preference, so saying that if you don’t like c. it’s because you hate mentally ill people or are ableist to me is ridiculous because like... I don’t like c. and my top five has three pov characters who have obviously mental health issues up the wazoo and one who most likely had plenty (and two out of those five also have become physically disabled as well during the series), I have gone to therapy for a damned long time myself and I hate mentally ill people now just because I don’t like a character who has MH issues? sorry but that’s like... ridiculous. you’re allowed to not like some characters because their personality is not your thing regardless of the issues they have;

also: again, c.’s issues hurt other people. those other people have no obligation to stick by if they feel like it’s detrimental to their health, same as no one has an obligation to stick by someone who is detrimental to their MH or well-being and also has no intention of changing/is aware of that. like, I can get behind wanting to support someone you love whose behavior hurts you who has realized it and is getting help/is actively trying to get better, but if that person doesn’t care or isn’t aware then no one has an obligation to stick by if it hurts them, so assuming that people who don’t like c. or whoever else or that characters in the books should stick by c. because of her issues if it hurts them is imvho not a thing people should even bring up because it implies that people have an obligation to excuse actions that are hurtful when the person who commits them has no interest in getting better, so... nah;

also there’s critique and critique and disliking a disabled character doesn’t automatically make you ableist same as disliking a woman doesn’t make you a misogynist, but like, going outside cersei: people can dislike tyrion just because they don’t gaf about him or because they don’t like the character or because they don’t find his personality that charming, but the moment the criticism turns into calling him a monster or joking about his height or basically sounding like tywin when he talks about tyrion then it’s definitely ableism and to be quite honest when it comes to tumblr there’s a lot more ableist critique thrown at tyrion than at cersei, because the ten of us who dislike her openly do it because she’s terrible while recognizing that she has issues which explain why she’s like that but don’t justify what she does at pretty much almost any point ever, the army of people who meta about tyrion as if he’s these books’s ultimate villain when 90% it’s because he could be in the way of their ship or say that he has male privilege over c. who therefore couldn’t have abused him (YES I had to read that with mine own eyes) and the likes most likely should check their priorities because that’s not hating him bc he’s a character you don’t like, that reeks of ableism 101 and of having skimmed his chapters (also tyrion has MH issues up the wazoo too but I don’t see people on here mentioning it). same way, one thing is disliking cat because she’s not your type of character, another is the fact that this entire fandom seems to have decided that blaming catelyn for every horrid thing that happened in these books that would not have happened had she just stayed home with the kids which imvho shows exactly the level of not-so-hidden misogyny rampant around here/directed at her specifically. but I don’t think that everyone who hates cat is misogynist or does it because of misogyny, I just think that a lot of fandom bias against her is... very misogynistic;

to sum up the above thing, considering that c. is also straight up written as a negative character and grrm has said time and time again that it’s her point in the narrative, assuming that someone would dislike her just because she’s MH is pretty much fried air as we say here because given what she’s pulled up until now, I think that she has enough of a CV that people have more than enough reasons to dislike her without bringing her mental health into account. because her issues might explain why she’s like that, but they don’t justify for shit anything she does, and if that’s valid for knowing why theon was the way he was in wf but doesn’t justify him killing the miller’s kids, knowing why jaime pushed bran but doesn’t justify it, knowing why sandor doesn’t disobey ethically horrid orders but doesn’t mean he hasn’t done pretty fucked up shit etc., then it’s also valid for c. and I really would like for characters to be judged evenly, thanks.

also: everyone has their limits when it comes to understanding/explaining where a person committing wrong actions comes from. if people can relate to c. and/or see themselves in her issues and have compassion for her, that’s their prerogative and I won’t go bitch at them for it same as I appreciate if people don’t bitch at me for having compassion for theon or sandor or jaime or whoever else. but at the same time assuming that everyone has your standards is ridiculous. for me c. was irredeemable after she basically went and laughed about the red wedding/thought she was so much better than cat because cat went insane after seeing robb die because to me people finding the red wedding funny or hilarious or well-deserved is the ultimate thing that will make me stop caring about them. if for someone jaime having pushed bran out of the window is irredeemable as long as they don’t come to me complaining about why I don’t think it is, it’s their prerogative.

but assuming that all of us need to find c. redeemable or understandable or relatable because people who like her do is ridiculous because you can’t expect anyone to relate to your favorites just because you do, and calling out the social justice card is ridiculous because fictional preferences are what they are and you can’t force yourself to like someone you despise just because they belong to X category - I wouldn’t tell people they have to like jaime because he has ptsd nor I’d expect them to be automatically ableist if they don’t gaf about jaime either way and don’t make jokes about him losing his guts with his hand or about how he’s the stupidest lannister, I’d expect people wouldn’t tell me I have to like c. because she has MH issues or whatnot. because there’s plenty of reasons to dislike c. and none of them have to do with her MH and most of her have to do with her abusive behavior.

also, last thing: the one time I actually met someone who was a self-proclaimed ‘I empathize with cersei on a personal level’ person, after three days in which they were an asshole to everyone in the group we were, the moment I called her out on it after she had been even more of an asshole when someone else tried to discuss it reasonably, I got backhanded in the face twice for it. now, I handled it and tbqh I didn’t mind it half as much as I could have because I didn’t gaf about this person and barely knew them. I also know that this person had issues (and later went to therapy so good for them), but as much as I could sympathize with her issues, forgive me if I don’t really think I want to see again someone who barely knew me and saw fit to hit me in the face twice. now, am I ableist for that? I really don’t think so. it’s the exact same principle. someone else might have had another reaction to it, but I’m not obliged to give them a second chance since they hurt me first and no one would say I’m ableist for it. it’s the exact same argument just brought to fictional level. one thing is disliking a character because of their issues only (ie theon and the castration jokes), another is disliking them because you think they’re boring and/or they’re not your kind of character.

and people need to realize that their favorite character can’t be everyone’s favorite character statistically. like. none of our faves are automatically everyone’s faves and that’s fine because that’s how the world works. *shrug*

The Bully (part one)

[HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE! Ya boi is excited bc I’m uploading my first-ever fanfic!! @joshua-rush-fanpage I hope you like it! This is part of the Valentines Day Friendom Gift Exchange. I wrote quite a lot more than I expected to, so the tag #myfanfic on here will be where you can find the rest uploaded later today. Sorry about the spacing errors— I originally wrote this in a google doc and Tumblr was being weird when I tried to fix them. I really really hope you like it! The first part is utter shit as a warning but it gets better!!! Hopefully I write more stuff soon, but here’s a little GHC to warm your hearts for now. I can’t believe I’m leaving a long, shitty, Wattpad-ass Author’s Note for the whole world to see but here we fuckin’ are. I also did not think I was the Soulmate AU type, but ALSO here we fuckin’ are. Meme mutuals please don’t think I’m lame I PROMISE IM COOL UwU. Have a lovely day even if you don’t read anything besides my ramblings. Thanks for making a community where I feel brave enough to finally post some writing I’ve worked hard on. I’m very grateful. <3 @swingsetboys Thanks so much for arranging this.]

Kids normally started thinking about their soulmates and deciphering their marks once they got their first crush, but Cyrus Goodman was different. He’d been worried about love all of his life, and the more he thought, the less sense it made. Trusting fate was generally put forward as the best way to deal with soulmate-related issues, at least before you met them, but Cyrus was finding that trusting fate was remarkably more difficult than all of the online articles and books in his parents’ offices made it sound. He wondered sometimes if he maybe was the universe’s first-ever mistake, a legendarily big screw-up, and this was a concern that was difficult to express without simultaneously concerning everyone else around him.

Cyrus’ mark was in what he had decided was the worst possible place it could be— his back. Two solid pitch-black handprints were indented into his skin so he had to twist around in the mirror to even glimpse the peculiar birthmark, like a two-year-old’s art project smushed across his skin or a crude frat party drawing etched on during a hangover was supposed represent his hope for the future and the person he was supposed to love more than anything. He’d always felt weird about it. The question that was tied most to it, the great white whale, the million-dollar-Jeopardy one, was what the situation could possibly be that would cause the mark to light up, to fill with color, when it made contact with his future spouse’s skin.

They’re gonna... push me? It was still, after years of contemplation and stomachaches, the best theory he had. The first way the person he was supposed to find eternal happiness with was by them trying to hurt him. That sure didn’t sound like love to him.

How would he make them angry? What would he do wrong?

The thought was his shadow, and the more he thought about it, the more confused he was. He didn’t want to make them angry, though! He wanted the person he was destined to spend the rest of his days with to like him right off the bat. He wanted the happy ending that everyone got.

“It’s fate,” Buffy had said and shrugged at their final summer sleepover before seventh grade began. “I mean, you can’t do anything to change it, Cy. I’m pretty sure you can’t fool the system by covering it with a tattoo. Since you always try to be as nice as possible anyway, I think you’re doing all you can.”

“Yeah.” He squinted. Maybe I’m just not good enough at being nice.

Buffy rolled her eyes, seeing through his words. “Cyrus. You really need to stop forgetting how cool you are. It’s annoying.”

“Thanks, Buffy, I just hope my soulmate understands my annoying… ness.”

“That was a joke—“

He gasped, shooting up with wide eyes. “What if I annoy them too much and that’s why they push me? What if I’m the one who ruins it?”

“Cyrus, I’m fairly certain that you would never be destined to spend your life with a total jerk. You may be weird, but that’s why soulmates love us, dummy. That’s why we love you.”

The two exchanged a smile, and Buffy reached around to squeeze his hand with her comforting smile.

“You’ll know when you see them anyway, because that’s like the whole thing. So… I don’t know. Maybe the push will be an accident or something. If it helps, I’ll personally remove the toenails if anyone who messes with you.”

“Well, I think,” Andi interjected like the voice of God from above, staring at the pair from her position of power on Cyrus’ couch. “You should stop worrying about something completely inevitable. It’s coming, like it or not.”

The boy let out a yelp and rubbed furiously at the goosebumps blooming on his skinny arms. “You didn’t have to phrase it like that, Andi!”

“Seriously,” Buffy agreed, eyes wide and unfocused. “Yikes.”

“It shouldn’t be scary. You two should really trust yourselves more. Future us will all make good decisions, I’m sure of it. Mostly. Probably.”

She leaned over to look down at her two best friends, reduced to frightened messes at the thought of someone who loved them, and deeply did not understand.

“I trust future Andi, at least. You two are weird.”

She stuck a bookmark made of old newspapers into the John Green book she was skimming, one of Bex’s favorites. She’d explained earlier about how since her older sister would be coming to visit her for the first time in practically forever, she had better know something about what she liked. Although from her various annoyed growls that echoed from above every once in a while, her friends could tell Andi’s tastes maybe differed from the latter’s.

“Real life isn’t that dramatic! Certainly isn’t as dramatic as this Augustus”—she gesticulated to the paperback copy—“thinks it is! What’s even going on in this book?”

She wrinkled her nose in disgust, setting the book down by the lamp.

“Yeah, whatever.” Buffy turned to look doubtfully over her left shoulder at her other best friend, from the spot on the calming maroon carpet where Cyrus was French-braiding her curls. “If you think all this soulmate crap will be totally drama-free, all relaxation and games, Andi, you’re kidding yourself. And it’s middle school.”

“You might want to rethink your position here,” agreed Cyrus, twirling a lock dastardly between his fingers.

A beeping sound came from the kitchen as butter filled the warm air, clashing with the rosy scent of the aromatherapy stuff Celia insisted on spraying everywhere before anyone else entered the house, even though it was just Buffy and Cyrus. They’re very well-behaved, Andi would always say, even though one was now swatting like a kitten at the other. True friendship.

“Stop that! Grow your own facial hair so you can stop using mine!”

“Low blow,” Andi commented.

“Never!” He fell backwards onto the carpet with a grunt as she attacked him with her fringe scarf, smacking her opponent with swift malice. Andi got up to go get their popcorn from the microwave, hopping easily over the destructive swarm of thrashing limbs on her floor.

The two broke apart, close to the door now. Like wrestlers, the kids sprinted to either corner of the room.

“Every time! This is why I don’t let you braid my hair, Cyrus!”

“You underestimate me! Now I have a secret weapon!”

A shadow rushed forward and cackled menacingly, a beautifully stitched pillow in shades of pink and red held aloft to decimate his friend.

“No! Bad Cyrus!” Andi scolded from the kitchen. “I made that for Bex!”

“This isn’t a Western!” Buffy yelled, hands up in surrender. “You aren’t going to tie Andi to the train tracks, no more!”

Cyrus pouted mutely, savoring the power, then conceded mercifully. “Ohhh-kay.”

“Maybe that’s why your soulmate will push you,” Buffy laughed. “You attack them, viciously, in a war of pillows.”

His face fell again, the weight of worry and insecurities returning instantly.

“Dammit.” Buffy sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Maybe I will... I’d demolish them, anyway.”

The three collapsed onto the couch together once Andi returned, mutely chewing their popcorn, their feathery Cold War forgotten. They could still hear cicadas outside. It didn’t quite feel like school yet, and something about that made the night seem more important, more meaningful, and made them all the more grateful for the other people who they felt like they could tell anything.

“Soulmates are weird to think about, though,” Andi added. “I mean, it’s not something you can teach in school or anything. How one person is made for another. I think it’s pretty crazy. Although I bet Augustus and Hazel would disagree.”

“Yeah, love’s simple until you think about— like— what if they die before you meet them?” Cyrus said, the years’ worth of anxiety seeping into his words. “Assuming it isn’t a fate thing. What if you’re the first one to prove it wrong? Or… you don’t know if you like that type of person?”

“Well,” Buffy chimed in, shrugging. “I mean, people always do, so…”

The trio fell quiet.

“Like soulmates or not, we can agree the marks are freaky as hell?”

“Absolutely.”

“At least you don’t have your mark in as weird a place as me.”

“Buffs, yours is on your hand. That’s not that weird.” Cyrus reached over her back to lightly touch the white splash of color across her right palm, and she jerked it away fast as if she was scared of it going off like a bomb. “High-fives happen all the time.”

“I know, but why would future me let anyone touch my hand? That’s not allowed!” She shivered dramatically. “Ugh. Can you imagine me all… stupid and love-struck? That would be remarkably awful.”

“Middle school,” Cyrus said, nodding sagely. “It changes all who experience it.”

“Well,” Andi whispered, suddenly solemn. “I guess we’ll find out if it changes us too.”

“Guess we gotta trust that the Future Good Hair Trio will make good choices. Soulmates or otherwise.”

The three looked around.

“At least we’ll have each other. No matter who comes, we’ll at least have each other.”

Merman!Hyunjin AU

(Hello! So those recent pictures of Hyunjin with green contacts gave out some demon au feels but for me, it gave more of a merman feel y’know? SO HERE WE GO. P.S. THIS IS SUPER LONG AND I’M REALLY SORRY!) * let’s start with how you meet •Your family was visiting a nearby island in your country bc… you’ve got a lot of islands there. •everything was going fine at first •selfies here and there while the guide made terrible puns •weather was nice too (hA, for now) •BUT •the guide suggests on showing your fam the awesome harmless animals and fruits in the specific island you guys were on •your family is ecstatic! bc animals are cool. •you saw some rad lizards, lil snakes that had no venom, these thicc beetles, and more. •well you were sorta gazing at the critters for too long bc when you looked up, your family was gone. •like you were alone at this point. •you called out to them but received no reply. •after a few minutes of mindlessly searching for them, you had no clue where they went. •there was no cellphone reception and the only thing you had was your backpack filled with snacks, water, your underwater camera, and phone. •AS IF YOUR LUCK COULDN’T GET ANY WORSE, the sky started turning into a really dark color. •oof •sprinkles of rain started falling and you were getting a little more worried bc the ground was getting a bit slippery to walk on. •you tried remembering the route back to the boat but everything looked the sAME! •the rain becomes more aggressive and you search for some shelter bc at this point you needed a quiet place to think. •AND BEHOLD! a cave •it was hidden through some vines and rubble but you managed to squeeze yourself inside. the opening was pretty narrow and very dark with a dim light coming from the other side. •you keep walking till you reach the middle of the cave that had a vast underwater paradise within it

•your mouth hung open bc wOw! it’s such a beautiful place but no one else would witness it bc it’s not included in the vacation brochure •you took out your camera to snap a photo of the beautiful area •as you checked the photo, a silver slither of... something catches your eye. the thing was behind some rocks and appeared to be peaking out from them in the picture. then the camera slips from your hands and slides down the rocks and directly into the water * it went “ploop” * you leaned over the water and just searched for your camera but you couldn’t see it??? * wat? * you literally felt like shoving your head in the water bc how could u do such a thing? your camera was a present and now you lost it. * your hand found its way to your necklace that you toyed with when you were nervous/upset. * “i’m so doNe. how in the heck could this get any worse?” you huffed to yourself. * “...well you could fall in the water and die?” a voice said nonchalantly from behind a rock. * deFENSE mode ActivATED! you peered cautiously at the area where you heard the voice * “...is someone there?” you asked * “nah. just a talking rock.” the voice sounded deep and like it belonged to a male but you weren’t sure. * “Show yourself.” you requested, half hoping it isn’t some sort of terrifying monster and the other half you hoped it would be someone who could help. * a handsome hyunjin appears, swimming towards you. * you were so mesmerized! this boy was so attractive like his face was scultped precisely by the gods themselves. his hair was as dark as the night but his eyes were a nice mint green color with black pupils. * you released a breath you didn’t realize you were holding in * he chuckled. wow his voice is dEEP. “...ah, how do you humans say it? cat’s got your tongue?” * you were stumped. how in the world did he get into this cave through the pool? * your eyes looked into the water and found something resembling a fish tail that was connected to... HIM? * he followed your gaze and chuckled again at your surprised expression. * this guy even waved his tail at you from underwater. * and your eyes were still as wide as saucers. * “impressed?” He asked you all smug. * you whirled your backpack straight at his face to see if he was,,, real? * he clutched his nose because that fucking hurt :) * “okay... ow.” was all he said. * “m-mermaid!” you uttered out. * he rubbed his aching nose and said, “the correct term is merman but yeah, you get the gist.” * whAt wHat whaT?! * you were in shock because 1. you didn’t consider merpeople as real until now and 2. you were speaking to one * “you’re real... you’re actually real.” you said after taking a couple breaths. * he nodded and gave you some more moments to process it. * “you’re surprisingly calm for a human. aren’t you afraid i’m gonna eat you or something?” he asked. * “if you were gonna eat me, you would’ve done so already.” you pointed out. * “...and what are you doing here anyways?” you added. * “i should be asking you that since this is sorta my place.” he said. * you kinda ignored his previous statement because his tail caught your eye again.

* lemme say this: his tail was really pretty. it was metallic silver but depending on the sunlight, it appeared black in some areas. * “...are you gonna like... tell me your name or something?” he asked you. * you tore your eyes away from his tail because you didn’t wanna make him uncomfortable. * you gave him your name and he gave you his. * SO LET ME SPEED IT UP A BIT * hyunjin and you discussed how you came to your predicament and to your current situation. * you both tried to come up with a solution on how you can get found but it all either ended up with him being discovered or you dying from trying to swim to the boat. * he saw the upset look on your face and it made him feel kinda bad?? like he totaLLY didn’t mind your presence in his cave (it’s literally his chill area when he wants to be away from the other mermen!straykids.) bc he found it kinda comforting to talk to someone new (he loves his other mer friends tho don’t get me wrong!!) but the upset look you had on was unsettling for him. * to get your mind off of things, he pointed at your backpack and asked what was inside. * you said that it was food and water. * “human food?” he asked all cute & curious * you came to the realization that this guy probably hasn’t eaten any human food in his life. * you whipped out some granola bars from your bag and handed him two. * he held one in each hand like an adorable little kid. he was skimming through the name, ingredients, nutrician facts, etc. * “have you ever tried human food before?” you asked him. * he shook his head for a no. you showed him how to open the snack and he took a small bite out of one of the bars * you’re literally sharing food with a mythical creature right now. * suddenly, your mind came to the realization that he could feel ill from eating human food. * his reply was simple, “if i get sick from this then...oh well.” * HE ENDS UP LIKING IT! * you two start talking about your favorite foods and his food selections were seaweed, kelp, clam, etc. * you tried to explain the concept of some of your favorite treats but he still couldn’t really grasp the info. (it was alright tho bc he was still really enchanting with a confused expression) *  you also ask him what life was like as a merman and he answered all your questions to the best of his ability. * unfortunately?? you heard the familiar voice of the guide shouting from a distance near the entrance of the cave. * you both stared at the source of the sound and the chill mood you both once had suddenly turned....sad. * you kind of didn’t wanna part with your new friend. * “uh, guess i got the help i needed after all!” you awkwardly said. * hyunjin nodded understandingly and watched you stand up to gather your belongings. * “it was nice meeting you, dude. even though it was only for a short time.” you said through a sad smile. * “same to you, (y/n)...” he said with the same expression. * you took a few strides away from the pool but turned around and saw him still swimming in the same location where you two were just chatting seconds ago.   * “do you know that pier with a restaurant on a big yellow boat?” you asked. * he nodded. “yeah, below that pier is a hangout spot for us. what about it?” * you sheepishly toyed with your necklace as you said, “well, my family and i own that restaurant and if you wanted to speak with me again, you can find me there.” * tHIS BOY WOULD BE GRINNING SO WIDE BC HE GETS TO SEA YOU AGAIN (ahaha sorry.) * he agrees that he’ll visit you there soon. (by that he means the next day lol) * he pulls out an object from behind a rock and hands it to you. * IT’S YOUR CAMERA!!! * ah you could practically jump in the water and give this kid a hug. * “I saw it sinking down earlier before I revealed myself and saw how torn up you were about losing it... so here.” * “thanks!” you said and then, asked if you could take a photo of him for your scrapbook. * of course he didn’t know what a scrapbook was but agreed nevertheless... you reminded yourself to bring your scrapbook to the restaurant next time so you can show it to hyunjin. * (i’m not saying his smile in the photo was the sweetest you’ve ever seen... but that’s exactly what i’m saying. you only took a photo of his face and upper torso tho, avoiding his tail in the shot in case someone got a hold of your camera.) * you waved goodbye to him as you made your way towards the entrance of the cave and left with the guide who took you back to your worried family at the boat. AHHHHH THIS WAS LONG. if you want some more mermen!straykids au’s feel free to request hehe.  I’M OPEN TO A PART 2 TO THIS BTW! I’M SORRY IF THIS WASN’T PLEASING... I HAVEN’T WRITTEN FOR A WHILE ASIDE FROM SCHOOL PAPERS XD

mermen!straykids au links: bang chan: https://tinyurl.com/mermanchan

Song of the Sirenas Review- Part 1/4

Firstly, I wanna say muchas gracias to my best friend, Becca, along with DisneyNerd, DisPrincess3 and others for helping me with some of the visual aspects of this awesome, incredible and amazing movie!

  As many of you know who read my tumblr, I’m almost blind.  That means this review will be unique.  While I’ll be touching on some important visual aspects, I’ll mostly be focusing on storyline and the friendships formed and established bonds between our favorite characters throughout the movie.  There will also be some shipping as well, just so you guys who aren’t Elenaomi shippers know ahead of time.  One more thing before we officially get started:  How cool was it that this movie premiered on international peace day?  This makes it even more timely and relevant than ever!  Okay, let’s dive in!  Pun intended wholeheartedly.

  We open with a spectacular view of the Turner’s boat skimming through the water.  The royal familia, royal guard Gabe and Naomi , along with her parents Captains Scarlet and Daniel Turner, are heading somewhere.  Hmmm?  Where could they be going?  Maybe they’re dropping the douche of Avalor, Esteban off on a deserted island and continuing without him.  Only one can hope.  (I DID NOT come up with that nickname for the chancellor.) Oh yeah, Mateo’s there too.  Well, Esteban isn’t being dropped off anywhere.  No such fortune is shining upon us.  Instead, Elena is stuck with her cousin for the entire journey.  It’s not long into her magical bow and arrow practice that Naomi gets Esteban right in the butt!  Elena giggles, even though she tries to remain stern.  Oops, Sorry!  never mind.  That’s my fanfic version of events.  Back to the actual movie. 

  As I was saying, it’s not long before we find out Scarlet doesn’t take any crap from anyone-including her husband!  She finds Daniel standing, using a barrel as a table.  Poor Daniel just wants to eat a sandwich, but instead he’s told to trim the sail.  He tries to get out of it by assuming bc his wife is captaining the voyage that he would get a well-deserved brake.  No such luck buddy.  Say adios to that break you were hoping for.  Turning, Daniel goes to complete the task.  Before leaving his post, he snatches up his sandwich, knowing his daughter too well, not to mention the fact that there are two hungry teen boys on the ship.  It’s then that Isa answers the question that’s been on our minds since the movie started-especially if you haven’t read the book companion that was released in June or kept up with spoilers before the movie premiered.  The royal familia is on their way to Nueva Vista on the west coast of Avalor.  Isa is excited to get there and her abuela feels the same way.  Louisa mentions sitting on the terrace of the summer palace and napping in the sun.  Esteban puts his two cents in, commenting that Francisco has gotten a head start, indicating him sleeping on a chair.  On another part of the ship, Elena is hanging out with Naomi and Gabe, practicing with her scepter.  Elena demonstrates a few powers we’ve seen in the past-including envision and glow.  Then she shows off a newly acquired power, which is making objects invisible by saying the word vanish.  She uses Naomi’s lasso for this test.  It works and Elena beams.  Gabe asks how many powers the scepter has.  Naomi chimes in by requesting teasingly if her girlfriend can test them on something else bc she wants her lasso back.  Unfortunately, this is the last time in the movie that we see Elena and Naomi treating each other with the love and respect we’ve come to know they possess.  Just knowing this makes me sad.  Hopefully, they’ll resolve things fully in Snow Place Like Home.  I love how Isa comes up to them and is fully welcome by Elena and not told to go away like most older siblings say to the younger ones when with their friends and significant others.  Isa tells them that Scarlet said they’re almost there.  Elena starts to reminisce about her and Isa’s first paternal cousin, Christobal, telling everyone how she remembers going fishing with him every summer.  Gabe is puzzled and says he thought Esteban  was the girls’ only cousin.  Naomi throws her usual jab at the Chancellor by stating “Leave it to Esteban to exaggerate.”  She lays a hand on Elena’s shoulder, initiating the only loving contact they have for the rest of the movie.    In making that jab at the douche, she exemplifies why I love her so much!  Mateo, yup, he’s there, tells Elena she’ll have plenty of time to reminisce when they arrive and it’s time to get back to practicing.  Come on, dude, give Elena a break!  Mateo encourages her to try to make herself vanish.  Elena protests that she only knows how to make objects vanish.  Mateo is insistent, so our favorite future Avaloran ruler obeys.  Elena, there’s no law that says you must listen to him!  You make the laws or will be doing so in three years!  After trying the power, Elena mildly succeeds.  Her body disappears, but her head is still visible.  Mateo makes a lame joke that doesn’t even make any sense by saying “You’re headed in the right direction.”  Leave the quips to Naomi, por favor.  Elena reforms just as all five of them hear a bell ring, followed by Scarlet yelling about approaching sirenas.  All four young adults have different reactions to Scarlet’s announcement.  Elena is confused, while Mateo is all excited and looking every which way like a puppy who is trying to find his new bone.  Apparently, he’s never seen a sirena before.  Gabe is also curious.  Naomi is ready to obey her parents’ instructions at a second’s notice.  Scarlet commands her to take the wheel, calling Naomi Nomes, which I despise!  Naomi does so while her parents ready the crossbows.  Elena shakes her head upon hearing this and asks why they need the weapons?  And this is where I get a little irritated with Naomi.  I know she’s panicking, but still.  She whirls around and snaps at her girlfriend for no reason.  “Sirenas are dangerous!  Everyone knows that!”  Excuse me, Naomi, everyone knows that?  Not everyone has traveled as extensively or has the knowledge you do.  Especially your girlfriend who was trapped in an amulet for 41 years!  Daniel explains to Elena that sirenas sing a song that put sailors into a trance, crashing their ships.  Even though he too is panicking, he doesn’t snap at her.  Take a lesson from your Dad, Naomi.  Elena points out the sirenas aren’t even singing and Mateo chimes in that he can’t remember the last time sirenas caused a ship wreck.  Still, the Turners go through with their defense plan.  Glancing down into the water, Elena locks eyes with a female sirena.  We later learn her name is Marisa.  In the moment their eyes meet, Elena is captivated in wonderment-never having seen a sirena before this.  I’d like to think  she’s also silently assuring Marisa that she knows Marisa isn’t doing anything wrong and that she, Elena, won’t let any harm come to her.  Meanwhile, Scarlet commands Gabe to get everyone below deck, which he does immediately.  Elena commands Scarlet to stop firing.  Instead of listening, Scarlet fires anyway.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s grounds for treason.  Scarlet defied Elena’s direct command.  Eighteen or not, Elena is in charge.  If she says stop firing, you stop firing-no questions asked.  Scarlet, you just keep slipping further and further down my like meter.  It looks like there’s one more in Esteban’s party on that deserted island if they find one.  Elena keeps her silent promise to Marisa and fires her scepter, knocking Scarlet’s crossbow out of her hands.  This affectively saves Marisa and her male companion from injury.  We switch points of view and see Marisa, her friend and seahorse dude in the water.  We discover that the male friend is actually Marisa’s twin brother.  Marisa is just as amazed by Elena.  She asked if her brother saw what Elena did, then must keep him from retaliating.  She calls him Marzel and tells him to stop!  Marzel argues that the people on the ship tried to fillet them to which Marisa points out,  “But the princesa stopped them with that magic thingy.”  Marzel advises they better leave before she decides to use it on them.  Their seahorse friend agrees, and they dive beneath the waves.  Meanwhile, back on the Turners boat, Naomi again turns on her girlfriend, demanding,  “Why did you do that!”  Elena doesn’t take her crap and shoots back with,  “I’m not going to attack someone who hasn’t attacked me first!”  As much as I love watching Elena stand up for herself, my heart breaks a little more.  I don’t like it when Elena and her future wife fight.  I know it happens in every friendship-whether it’s destined for romance or not.  Even so, it’s still hard for me to watch when it's Elena and Naomi. Meanwhile, under the sea, Marisa and Marzel are swimming towards the palace they share with their parents.  Marzel points out that “Sirenas haven’t sunken a ship since before we were born.  And still Humans come after us.”  Marisa counters with,  “That’s because no one has told them we’ve changed.”  Marzel doubts they would listen.  “Maybe the princess would.  You saw what she did.”  Marzel disagrees.  He shakes his head when he sees an all too familiar look in his Hermana’s eyes.  “I hate that look!”  Marisa ignores him.  “We can tell her, then she can spread the word to the rest of the Humans.”  Their friend tells her to keep dreaming.  Marzel reminds him that’s what Marisa does best.  Marisa declares she’s going to talk to their father.  Marzel tells her she’s wasting her time while watching her swim off.

And that’s where I leave everyone off for now!  Part 2 is coming in a few days!  Feel free to leave comments or send me asks!