You know, I was really hyped over Ganondorf reappearing in TOTK, he actually had REAL VOICELINES for once, had an amazing design, and seemed to make himself a massive threat in Hyrule, and while I did enjoy the battle the first time around... I'm kinda disappointed about his return simply because we didn't see MORE of it while playing the game. The reason why is due to how... disconnected TOTK feels from BOTW and how the narrative just mostly sucks in honesty.
The first problem is that he doesn't really do anything. See in previous Zelda titles, Ganondorf's usual M.O. is to get unsealed, take over Hyrule, cast all into suffering with his plots, and then lose to Link. That's exactly what TOTK Ganondorf does but the things he does just feel so minor in comparison to the other Ganondorfs seen thus far:
Ocarina of Time Ganondorf:

• Killed the Great Deku Tree.
• Trapped the Gorons in their mountain.
• Tries to off Lord Jabu-Jabu.
• Kidnaps Zelda.
• Tricks Link into sealing himself for seven years and gets the Triforce of Power.
• Took over Hyrule in those seven years and reduced Castle Town to rubble.
• Revived Volvagia to feed the Gorons to it as a way to enforce his rule.
• Cursed the temples so the Sages would lose their power
• Made Link go through the Water Temple (THE BIGGEST SIN).
• Introduces himself at the climax by playing his own goddamn theme on a pipe organ.
• After losing, tries to kill both Link and Zelda by making his fortress collapse out of spite.

Wind Waker Ganondorf:

• Escapes from his prison and rules Hyrule, again, causing the gods to flood Hyrule to trap him and forces.
• Frees himself again and sends the Helmaroc King to kidnap all young girls with pointy ears.
• Murders the sages of Earth and Wind to seal away the Master Sword's power.
• Has Link unleash the Master Sword to undo his seal and tells him how weak the Sword became.
• Kidnaps Zelda and manages to take Link's Triforce, allowing him to assemble the full Triforce.
• Tries to kill Link and Zelda at the end after his plan failed.

Twilight Princess Ganondorf:

• His failed execution resulted in him killing the Water Spirit.
• Gave his power to Zant by feeding off the hate of the Twilight Realm.
• Possess Zelda to battle Link.
• Thought to have killed Midna in her battle against him.

And for good measure, I'll do Hyrule Warrior Ganondorf too:

• Corrupted Cia's soul and made her evil over lust for Link (Weird, I know).
• Revives Girahim and Zant.
• Awakens and you play as him as he defeats Lana, Zelda, and Link for their Triforce pieces.
• Summons an army of monsters to take over Hyrule.

"So what does Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf does? Let's ask the Gerudo King himself! Introducing the King of Thieves! The Demon King! The Menace Unleashed! Master of the Secret Stone! Here he is, let's give a terrifying welcome to the Great King of Evil... GANONDORF!"
Just pretend there's fireworks on a stage.
"So with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you have taken on a new persona of the 'Demon King' of Hyrule! Could you tell the audience of your evil plans within the narrative of this new game?"
"Of course, after my millennia of slumber, I have decided to enact a series of heinous plots to cover the pathetic land of Hyrule in infinite darkness. My first action was to remove the hand of that warrior, Link."
"Oh my! What a horrific action! What did you do afterwards?"
"Afterwards, I covered the Zora Kingdom in mud!"
"...Huh? You covered the Zora Kingdom... in mud?"
"Indeed I did!"
"Well that's okay, what else did you do?"
"I casted the Hebra region in a horrific blizzard!"
"See now that's better! A blizzard can vastly affect an entire village-"
"Then I got those moronic Gorons addicted to weird glowing rocks from a giant spider!"

"WHAT?"

"And for my Gerudos, who I have rescinded from myself so long ago, I gave them the curse of zombies."
"Zombies? You gave the Gerudo Kingdom zombies?"
"Technically they're insects now, but yes, that was my curse!"
"Sighs Have you done ANYTHING ELSE in Tears of the Kingdom?"
"No not really!"
You see the problem? He barely does anything in the game, all the previous iterations are way more connected to their games and their events in the narratives, but TOTK Ganondorf feels so disjointed from the disasters, not like they really are much of a concern anyways. I mean like... feeding the Gorons addictive rocks to make them lazy? This was his big plan to keep Yunobo away from the Secret Stone? What happened to just simply leading a conquest on the lands like in every other game beforehand?
Ganondorf taking over Hyrule and casting all into suffering is what makes so vile and heinous of a villain, especially from the likes of Nintendo, but he doesn't really do that in this game, in fact, these "disasters" feel like minor inconveniences at best! Like even the massive blizzard for the Ritos didn't feel all that threatening or serious when the Rito thrive in the cold anyways. Imagine he just froze the Zora Kingdom, that is way more threating and evil than making the coldest region in the world even colder. I would like to know what was going through Ganondorf's head when carrying out this moronic plan.
Now I will address that issue with my second point but have to address the calamitous elephant in the room:

CALAMITY GANON.

So for those that don't know, in the previous Legend of Zelda titles, Ganon and Ganondorf were the same character, just in a different form, Ganon being the massive boar-like form, and Ganondorf being the humanoid form of a male Gerudo. We can see this in all titles that feature Ganondorf because he always transforms into Ganon, in fact, we can see him to into Ganon then back to Ganondorf in Twilight Princess.
This does not seem to be the case with Calamity Ganon and Demon King Ganondorf though. Calamity Ganon and Ganondorf seem to be entirely two different entities. Going from BOTW to its sequel, it seems like Calamity Ganon was an amalgamation of his hatred and spite which gained sentience. This is further shown by how Ganondorf waking up and having no remembrance of Link besides being told of him by Rauru, if he was actually Calamity Ganon, then he would have known of Link after his loss in previous game.
Why does this matter? It matters because Calamity Ganon already affected the world in a meaningful way leaving Ganondorf with nothing to do really. In the narrative of Breath of the Wild, it is effectively the timeline where Ganon actually won, the world has been devasted, the champions of Hyrule were slain within their Divine Beasts, and left to rampage with the Guardians. Link was mortally wounded and to slumber for a century while Zelda seals herself with Ganon with the seal itself being undone. Its action made for a tragic narrative.
However, I literally cannot put any of that on Ganondorf himself. Even if Calamity Ganon was spawned from his anger and magic, it does not seem to be intentional, or planned. It just happened. If he was Calamity Ganon or atleast made it on purpose, then I would not have to separate these two, but they are separate from each other. This is a problem because there's nothing Ganondorf could do to have the same level of impact as Calamity Ganon, in fact, it seems like his entire plan is just a lesser version of what Calamity Ganon did in BOTW, which makes it terrible overall. Another thing is that there's no real reason for this disconnect at all, he could have easily just been him in a different form, but not an entirely different entity.
You might make a counterpoint with, "What about the things he did in past?", and that will lead into my second (might as be third) point which is THE PAST OF TOTK SUCKS ASS. Like seriously, how did Nintendo fumble the bag on doing the SAME TYPE OF NARRATIVE AS BOTW? The past of TOTK seems so irrelevant and worthless to the current world of the game that it might as ell not exist at all really, we don't even know why Ganondorf hates the Zonai anyways, is it because they did something to him? Was it because they controlled Hyrule? Why can he unlock the true power of Sonia's Secret Stone?
No seriously, why is he called specifically "Master of the Secret Stone"? Everyone else was fawning about with their stones while he did research on them? Did he know ANYONE could wield them or just took a guess on it? In fact, how does the stone transform himself unlike every other stone? How does his power translate into demons, he barely used dark magic in the cutscenes! Even so, it still doesn't translate to literal demons! I think this is just nit-picking but I feel like there's some large amount of personality traits of Ganondorf that the past doesn't reveal to us because the narrative of Ancient Hyrule is just a garbage narrative! There's not a single compelling character in the past besides Zelda and Ganondorf because they didn't bore us to death. We don't the the Ancestors names, you know, the original warriors that give their secret stones to their descendants in the game, this backstory is so terrible that whatever little story it gives to Ganondorf makes it all the more confusing at worthless.
"So Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf sucks?"
"Huh what?"
"You said that he doesn't do much in comparison to the other Ganondorfs, he doesn't do much in the narrative of the game because of the separation between him and Calamity Ganon, and the backstory given to us happens to suck. So you dislike this version of Ganondorf, correct?"
"What no! I love this version of the Evil King!"
"...Elaborate."
See even with ALL of the points I made, I still think this is one of the best versions of Ganondorf in the franchise, his design, music theme, his actual voice, the fact he flurry rushes your flurry rushes, the sheer amount he pride he has to the point he is willing to sacrifice both his mind and body just to kill you, and how evil he portrays himself happens to be rather good. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE NARRATIVE AROUND HIM IS DESIGNED LIKE RUBBISH MAKING THESE COOL CHARACTER TRAITS WEAKER IN THE GAME, WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE FINAL POINT!

WE BARELY INTERACT WITH GANONDORF! GOD DAMN-

Sighs This is like my main problem with TOTK Ganondorf, he has all of these great things about him, and we basically never see any of it. We interact with him three separate times, once at the beginning of the game, at the penultimate climax, and finally at the actual climax when he dies. This is a long game. And you encounter its main villain three separate times. WHY? Not only does he feel disconnected to the plot of the game, and his plans are not that serious, but the fact we barely encounter him at all is a heaping amount of Sodium Chloride in the wound! It's like the writers went, "Hmm, we made this really cool version of a beloved character, how can we ruin this? Let's just not write him!" I don't understand this at all!
Look at Elden Ring, you never talk to a single boss, but the actions of what they have done is explored through their lore with their various items associated to them, how the NPCs talk about their personalities and histories, and have entire areas dedicated to them, Ganondorf has some elements of this, but still mostly feels disconnected from the events of the game, the events which I have established, are not that good anyways. So then they top it off with not having you interact with him at all, could you imagine if Sephiroth got the same treatment? You'll probably not even know his name. It's infuriating that the rest of his character is TOTALLY FINE!
The writers for both Ganondorf and this game is like a couple chefs working together to make a cake, so they go to the most prestigious grocery store for the best ingredients possible, they go back to work, mix all of the groceries up, aaannnddd they set the oven too low! So now we have a cake that while it is a cake doesn't taste all that good because they set the heat too low! All they had to do was write better like in BOTW BUT THEY MESSED IT UP! WHY! If this version of Ganondorf sucked ass at the start, I probably wouldn't rant about him, but he didn't, which I feel like is worse. I would rather have him suck from the start and have no good moments then have some REALLY good moments and have the rest of him suck.
Anyways... I've been writing this for too long now and I now done with this rant.
TL;DR, TOTK Ganondorf has a hilarious amount of issues that made a really cool character worse throughout the game.

I had always remembered my deeply rooted envy at a girl at my old high school. Alyssa Howard, Home Room 207. It hadn't been long since I graduated there. I was in Class of '22, in a homeroom that I simply didn't fit in. It was isolating since everyone in my homeroom was in groups of friends, everyone was their own designated groups.
Alyssa was in the Choir group, consisting of 8 girls. They were girls that were a part of Choir Class, an elective that made no sense why I took it. Along with Alyssa Howard, there was Brianne Becker, Fiona Figueroa, Leslie Smith, Hannah Klidford, Emma Kelly, Mandy Lake, and... Karla Reyes. Karla Reyes was one of them I knew very well. In fact she is the reason why I'm typing this out.
Karla was my childhood friend, we met in 5th grade. Her family was from around Texas, and she recently moved to this small town of Meadows Dale. I didn't have friends at that age since most kids thought I was...well weird. I didn't comprehend why I was weird to them at the time, I just simply thought I wasn't cool enough. I remember vividly that I was walking far from the rusty playground, to a hill that pretty much if going more up north, you'll be at the Centennial Park of the town.
That sunny day in 5th grade felt like it was just yesterday. I was walking up a hill, my Elsa shoes making every step feel like a chore. I sighed, looking down at my shoes, feeling embarrassed that my mom had gotten them for me. All the other kids in my grade were wearing Converse or cool sneakers, and here I was, stuck with sparkly, princess-themed shoes. I flopped down on the grassy ground, feeling like the biggest outcast in the world.
I sat there, lost in my own thoughts, I noticed a girl with dark hair and tan skin walking towards me. She looked a bit nervous, fidgeting with her hands as she approached. I recognized her from my homeroom class.
"Hey," she said, trying to sound casual. "These hills look like a pair of butt cheeks, don't they?" She giggled, and I couldn't help but laugh too.
I signed back to her, using my hands to mimic the shape of hills and then making a silly face to show that, yes, they did look like butt cheeks. Karla laughed, and I was surprised. Not many people in my class knew sign language, and it was nice to have someone to communicate with in my own way.
"Do you know sign language?" I signed, curiosity getting the better of me.
Karla nodded, her dark hair bobbing up and down. "Yeah, my aunt was born deaf, so I learned to communicate with her."
I signed back, asking her if she thought it was cool that I knew sign language too.
Karla grinned. "Yeah, that's really cool! I'm Karla, by the way."
“Lily,” I signed my name, and Karla sat down next to me on the grass. We chatted for the rest of recess, discovering that we had a lot in common. We both loved DreamWorks movies better than Disney, and our favorite music group was Fifth Harmony. I was obsessed with them back then, and Karla was too. We both wanted to be like Camila Cabello when we grew up.
From that day on, Karla and I were inseparable. We'd sit together at lunch, partner up for group projects, and even started a Fifth Harmony fan club in our class. Karla would always lend me an earbud so we could jam out to our favorite songs together. Our friendship was effortless, and I felt like I'd finally found someone who understood me.
It was perfect until the start of Freshman year of Meadows Dale High School. I held my scheduler tightly in my hands as I climbed the stairs to the kitchen, my stomach twisted in knots. My heart sank as I scanned the pages, taking in the fact that most of my classes were designated for students with special educational needs. Homeroom and choir were the only exceptions.
I made my way to the living room where my mom was seated, tears brimming in my eyes. "Mom, why do I have to take these classes?" I signed, frustration etched on my features. "I don't need this kind of help. I can handle regular classes just fine."
My mom looked at the schedule, her expression sympathetic. "I know you don't seem to need help, sweetie, but the school requires you to take these classes. It's just protocol."
I sighed, feeling a wave of frustration wash over me. "I'm going to feel like even more of a freak than I already do," I gestured angrily, trying to hold back tears.
From the living room doorway, my father's deep voice cut through the silence. His ears perked up from the conversation. "Hey, kiddo, what's going on?" he asked, his voice gentle.
I signed again, rapidly gesturing my fingers "I don't want to take Special ED classes, Dad. I can do normal classes. I can hear the teachers very well!"
My dad walked over to us, his eyes scanning the schedule. "I know it's tough, Lily, but the school is just trying to help. Plus, You're not a freak. Not in our eyes, anyway. If anybody gives you trouble, I'll personally see to it that they regret it." His tone was lighthearted, but his meaning was clear. He was the sheriff, after all, and his reputation preceded him.
I rolled my eyes, signing, "Dad, please. You're only making things worse."
Ignoring my pleas, he ruffled my hair affectionately before leaving the room. I retreated to my bedroom, collapsing onto my bed in a heap of tears. The night passed in a blur, and soon enough, it was time for me to wake up and face another day.
I woke up to the sound of my dad calling me from downstairs. "Lily, time to get up! First day of school!" I groggily got out of bed, still feeling the emotional hangover from the night before.
My dad drove me to school in his police cruiser, which only added to my embarrassment. I remembered feeling weird being in the cruiser, with its flashing lights and sirens. As we pulled up to the school, my dad turned to me and said, "No matter what, you'll always have me and Mom, okay? We love you, and we're proud of you."
He hugged me tight, and I felt a lump in my throat again. I nodded, trying to hold back tears, and got out of the car. Finally me into the world of Meadows Dale High School.
The enormity of the building hit me hard as I stepped inside. The halls were bustling with activity, and the noise level was overwhelming. The classes flew by, and I couldn't help but feel like my Special ED classes were too easy for me. The teacher aides were sweet, but they were busy helping other students, leaving me to feel like I was just going through the motions.
As I walked out of my Literature class, I noticed a boy sitting alone next to a locker. He had ginger hair and was a bit overweight, and he was using a big headset to listen to music. There was something about him that drew me in, so I walked over to say hi.
He removed his headphones, looking up at me with a nervous smile. "Hi," he said, his voice a little shaky.
I signed back, "Hi."
He laughed, a little awkwardly. "Sorry if I'm a bit awkward. I'm not really used to talking to people."
I signed, "You're not awkward at all."
He smiled, looking relieved. "Thanks. I'm Matt Weston."
I nodded, signing, "I'm Lily."
Matt's eyes lit up. "Sweet. What's your homeroom?"
"207."
Matt's face brightened up. "No way, that's my homeroom too!"
I smiled, feeling a sense of excitement. "That's amazing!"
Matt stood up, walking towards a bookshelf. "Homeroom's next class. Want to walk with me?"
I nodded, following him as the bell rang. We exited the class, and suddenly we were swept up in a sea of students pushing and shoving to get to their next class.
We finally arrived at class 207, which was already filled with students. I saw Alyssa sitting in the back with her group of friends, looking like a star athlete. Matt went to sit in the front seat, and I sat next to him.
Just as we were settling in, one of the guys from Jr high football, Ryan Peterson, hit a football at Matt, saying, "Can't believe we got 'Butterball' in our class."
Matt rolled his eyes, saying, "At least I don't have a father who cheats and spreads gonorrhea."
Ryan's friend, Warren, said, "Ohhh sick burn,"
Ryan huffed, whispering to Matt, "Just because you're special doesn't mean everybody likes you."
I got mad, flipping Ryan the finger, which made him laugh. "You're lucky I ain't telling the teacher, because I don't want any issues with your old man!" Ryan walked away with Warren, leaving me feeling annoyed.
The homeroom teacher arrived, a young guy in his 20s with cedar brown hair and a pair of glasses. "Hello Students! Like that you are all sitting in neatly placed groups. My name's Mr. James and I'll be your homeroom teacher for Freshmen till Senior Year. Hope you excited as I am!"
Just as he was about to start writing on the white board, a beautifully dressed Karla emerged late, looking older and more mature with a lot of makeup on. I looked up, happy to see her, only for her to not notice me and sit down next to Alyssa's group.
Matt whispered to me, "Do you know that girl?"
I signed, "No."
Matt nodded, looking curious. "She looks familiar, but I don't know her name. Was it Kayla or Karly?"
"It's Karla," I shrugged, feeling a pang of disappointment. It seemed like Karla had moved on to a new group of friends, leaving me behind. I don't know how this change happened, since Karla and I went on a trip to Orlando, Florida, three weeks ago. I thought we had the best of our life's during that trip.
I was stumped, watching from afar as Karla chatted with Alyssa and her friends. I felt a twinge of jealousy and sadness as I realized how easily Karla had seemingly moved on and found a new group to hang out with. I mean, I thought we were best friends. It felt like Alyssa had stolen her from me.
I turned my attention elsewhere, not wanting to dwell on it. That's when I noticed a teenage boy sitting alone a few rows in front of me. He had jet black hair and there was something familiar about him, although I couldn't quite place it. I wondered who he was and why he was sitting alone.
"Hey, Lily," Matt said, following my gaze. "Do you know that guy? He looks kind of like a mini Detective Loomis."
I shook my head, signing that I had no idea who he was, but now I was curious too. Detective Loomis had been a family friend for years, and I knew he had a son, but I hadn't seen him in a while.
Matt chuckled nervously and waved his hand as if to dismiss his own question. "Just wondering. He kind of looks like him, that's all."
Just then, the boy turned around in his seat and our eyes met. He raised an eyebrow, clearly having overheard our conversation. "Yeah, that's my dad," he said, a hint of challenge in his voice. "Why?"
Matt shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly not expecting such a direct response. "Oh, um, no reason. Just curious, that's all."
The boy, Brandon Loomis, as I now knew him to be, nodded slowly, as if accepting Matt's explanation. Then, to my surprise, he introduced himself with a small smile. "Brandon Loomis. And you are...?"
"Lily Anderson. Nice to meet you, Brandon."
“I'm Matt by the way,” Matt chimed in.
A flash of something—was it pain?—crossed Brandon's face, but it was quickly replaced with a smile. "Nice to meet you both. Your dad's a good man, Lily. He helped me out a lot."
I could only imagine what Brandon had been through. I remembered hearing snippets about his kidnapping a while back, but I had no idea what he must have endured. No wonder he hadn't been in school until now.
"Well, I hope the rest of the year goes well for you," I signed sincerely.
Brandon smiled at me again, and I felt a warm glow spread through my chest. "Thanks, Lily. I hope so too."
As the homeroom continued, Mr. James had us all introduce ourselves and played some icebreaker games to help us get to know each other better. It was actually kind of fun, and it took my mind off Karla and her new friends for a while.
One of the things we had to do was share a fun fact about ourselves. When it was Matt's turn, he revealed that he was the son of Mayor Weston and a great friend of my dad's. No wonder he seemed so familiar! I knew my dad would be thrilled to hear that Matt and I had become friends.
Before I knew it, the homeroom was over, and Matt, Brandon, and I headed out into the hallway together. I was relieved to find out that we all had B lunch, so I wouldn't have to eat alone.
"So, where do you guys usually eat?" Brandon asked as we made our way down the crowded hallway.
"I don't know about Lily, but I usually just grab something from the cafeteria and eat outside," Matt replied.
I signed, "That sounds good to me. I like being outdoors."
Brandon nodded. "Yeah, me too. Although, I usually eat my lunch at Dillard's Diner since I work there after school. You guys should come by sometime. The food's pretty great."
"Definitely!" Matt said enthusiastically. "I love diner food. And hey, maybe we can even help you out sometime if you're short-staffed."
Brandon laughed. "Sure, why not? It can get pretty crazy on the weekends, so any extra hands would be appreciated."
As we made our way to the cafeteria, Matt started talking about his favorite band, Deftones. I had to admit, their music was a little too heavy for my tastes, but Matt was so passionate about it that I found myself getting drawn in.
"You know, you should check out their album 'White Pony,'" Matt said. "It's a classic. My dad actually introduced me to them, and I've been hooked ever since."
I signed with a smile, "My dad's always trying to get me into his favorite bands too. He's a big fan of The Beatles and Queen."
"Oh, those are classics," Brandon chimed in. "My dad's more of a country music guy, but I've definitely grown to appreciate some of the older stuff."
While we ate lunch, I pulled out my sketchbook and started drawing, something I often did when I was feeling nervous or needed a distraction. Matt and Brandon were curious and asked to see my drawings. I showed them some of my anime-style sketches, and they both complimented my work.
"Wow, Lily, these are amazing!" Matt exclaimed. "You're gonna be like Picasso one day."
I signed, feeling my face heat up with embarrassment. "Thanks, Matt. That's really nice of you to say."
Brandon nodded in agreement. "Seriously, you're really talented. I wish I could draw like that."
As lunch came to an end, Matt and Brandon suggested that they walk me to my next class. I was surprised but pleased that they wanted to stick together. My next class was Choir, and thankfully, it was just down the hall.
"So, Lily, do you sing?" Brandon asked as we walked.
I signed, feeling a little self-conscious. "A little. I mean, I really want to sing, but I'm not sure I'm any good."
"Don't be shy, Lily," Matt said with a grin. "I bet you have a great voice."
I felt my face flush again, but I was glad that Matt and Brandon seemed so supportive. As we reached the choir room, I took a deep breath and prepared myself for whatever the class might bring. I slowly pushed open the door to the choir room, unsure of what to expect. The room was dark, but as my eyes adjusted, I could make out the outlines of rows of chairs facing a small stage. The room had a strange beauty to it, with its blue and white color scheme and intricate design carvings. I made my way to an empty chair near the exit, wanting to keep a low profile.
Before long, a flood of girls began to pour into the room, chattering and laughing. I recognized many of them from the Meadows Dale Advanced Academic Program. My heart sank a little as I spotted Brianne Becker, one of the most popular girls in school, deep in conversation with Meg Peterson. They were giggling about some guy they both apparently liked. Brianne's eyes suddenly landed on me, and her smile faded. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, feeling self-conscious under her gaze.
Alyssa entered the room, and the atmosphere seemed to brighten. Brianne's face lit up, and she rushed over to give Alyssa a hug. "I'm so happy you're in this class!" she exclaimed. Alyssa smiled back, her warm hazel eyes shining. I felt a small sense of relief seeing her friendly face.
Following Alyssa were Mandy, Fiona, Leslie, Hannah, Emma, and Karla. They all seemed to be deep in their own conversations, and I felt even more alone. Karla was telling Fiona about getting her nails done, and Fiona was expressing her dislike for acrylics. I stood up and waved at Karla, trying to get her attention. She had been one of my few friends in middle school, but something had changed between us lately.
Alyssa, however, made her way over to me and offered a genuine greeting. "Hi, Lily! It's so great to see you in this class," she said, her eyes sparkling with sincerity. I felt a small smile tug at my lips. At least there was one person here who didn't seem to mind my presence.
Entering through the red velvety curtains of the stage, a woman with brunette hair, who looked to be in her early 40s, emerged from behind the stage. She had an air of enthusiasm about her as she introduced herself as Mrs. Becker, Brianne's mother. I remembered hearing that they were related, and at the time, I had thought it was sweet that a mother and daughter shared the same class.
Mrs. Becker instructed us all to take our seats and explained that this class was for girls only. She then asked each of us to come up on stage and recite the Do-Mi-Re-Fa-So syllables so that she could group us into sections of eight. My heart sank as I realized I would have to sing in front of everyone.
One by one, Mrs. Becker called each girl up to the stage. Some of the girls had okay voices, while others were truly talented. Then it was Brianne's turn. Her voice was like an angel's, a beautiful soprano that filled the room. Fiona and Emma also impressed me with their deep, rich alto voices. Mandy, Leslie, and Hannah had high-pitched, yet well-controlled voices that blended beautifully.
Alyssa and Karla were the last to go, and they both had perfect voices. Alyssa's voice was like honey, smooth and warm. But it was Karla who really stood out. She sounded like a pop idol, her voice clear and powerful. I found myself getting lost in the music, forgetting my worries for a moment.
Then Mrs. Becker called my name, and my heart sank. I nervously made my way up the stairs to the stage, my hands trembling at my sides. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. As I opened my mouth to sing, an awful, screeching noise escaped. My throat instantly sting, as the aftertaste of metallic overwhelmed my mouth. It was so bad that Mrs. Becker immediately cut me off.
"Why are you in this class, Lily?" she asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
I looked at her sadly and signed, "I don't know. I didn't choose this class."
Mrs. Becker softened a little, seeing my dejected expression. "Well, you better discuss these matters with a counselor about switching, because there are better candidates out there who want a spot in this class," she said bluntly.
I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment as I made my way back to my seat at the very back of the room. I could feel the eyes of the other girls on me, and I heard their stifled laughter. Karla's laughter rang out the loudest, stabbing me like a knife. Alyssa was the only one who didn't join in, her face a mask of disappointment. I wasn't sure if she was disappointed in me or in the other girls' behavior.
It was next week, I got out of my algebra class heading towards the office. I had to wait till Monday, since during the first few days, my assigned counselor was not available. I was already antsy of finally getting out of that Choir class, I couldn’t deal another day with a class I clearly didn’t fit in. My schedule in my hand, I pulled the door open, being greeted by the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip muffins. Nervousness ran through me, wondering what type of counselor Dr. Wells would be.
The door was wide agape, leading me into the source of that muffin smell. Sitting there on a working desk, was a man typing on his laptop. He looked a bit exhausted, almost to the point that he slumped on his chair. Tilting my head, I nudged on his shoulders, trying to shake him awake. I couldn’t help but feel warmth radiating in my cheeks.
“Huh? Oh, hello there Lily. What brings you here?” Dr. Wells jolted up, probably noticing how close I was to his face. I backed away, sitting down on a red couch next to him.
“I want to change classes please.”
Mr. Wells nodded off, scooting his chair back towards his mahogany desk. He searched up my schedule, turning his laptop to my view. “Oh, I see. In what class do you want to change?”
I nervously let out a breath, as I finally let out what emotions I was holding. “I don’t know why you assigned me Choir, but everyone in that class hates me. I really need that class changed, Dr. Wells.”
I saw my counselor's lip repeatedly twitched a bit, before he gathered his composure. Dr. Wells looked up from his desk, his kind face softening as he saw me. "Lily, I want to apologize profusely for putting you in that situation."
I signed, feeling a little comforted by his words. "It's okay. I did want to be in that class, but I just... I felt so out of place with all the other girls laughing at me."
Dr. Wells sighed and rubbed his temple. "I'm truly sorry, Lily. I was told you loved music and thought you would enjoy the class. But it's clear that it wasn't a good fit. Do you have another class in mind that you'd like to take instead?"
I nodded and signed, "Art class. I heard my friend Brandon is taking that, and I've always loved drawing."
Dr. Wells typed something into his laptop. “Consider it done. I'll have the change processed by tomorrow, if not sooner. In the meantime, help yourself to a muffin. The library teacher made them for me, and they're delicious."
I smiled and took one of the muffins, taking a bite. "Are you and the library teacher... a thing?" I asked, feeling a little bold.
Dr. Wells laughed, a deep, hearty sound that filled the room. "No, no, nothing like that. Just colleagues. She knows I have a sweet tooth, so she often shares her baking creations with me."
I felt a wave of relief wash over me. It was probably one of the few times I'd developed a crush on someone, and as usual, it was harmless and something I'd get over quickly. Dr. Wells was one of those crushes indeed. I stood up from my chair, feeling much better than when I arrived. "Well, thank you, Dr. Wells. I better head to class soon."
Dr. Wells smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Of course, Lily. And remember, if you ever need someone to chat with, my door is always open."
Later that day, during lunch, I made my way to our usual table with Brandon and Matt. They were already deep in conversation about their morning classes.
"PE is a nightmare," Matt was saying. "All the athletes make fun of me because I'm not as fast or strong as they are. It's frustrating."
Brandon nodded sympathetically. "I heard you beat Ryan on the pacer test, though. That's impressive."
Matt shrugged, taking a bite of his apple. "It was just luck, honestly. Ryan got too cocky and sprained his knee on the seventy-ninth lap. I just kept a steady pace.”
I signed to Matt, "You should still be proud. I bet your dad was happy."
Matt smiled. "He was. It's not every day I get to impress him, especially when it comes to sports. You know how Mayor Weston was a star athlete back in his day."
I laughed, and then took a bite of my sandwich. "Speaking of impressing people, I have some news. I'm switching out of choir class and into art elective. Hopefully, I'll be in the same class as you, Brandon."
Brandon's face lit up. "That's great! I'm so glad you'll be joining us. Art class is a lot of fun.”
Matt nodded in agreement. "I'm happy for you, Lily. But why are you leaving Choir? I thought you loved singing."
My smile faltered, and I looked down at my lap. "It's just... it's not the right fit for me," I signed.
Matt frowned, chewing on his apple. "Is Mrs. Becker too mean? I've heard she can be hard on students who aren't part of the popular crowd."
"No fair," I signed, my eyes pleading with him to understand.
Brandon nodded. "It really isn't fair, Matt. That's why I prefer to keep a low profile. Popularity contests aren't worth the hassle.”
Just then, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to see Karla standing there, a sad look on her face. "Lily, can I talk to you?" she asked, her voice soft and hesitant.
I hesitated, signing, "Why?”
With a strand of hair tucked behind her ear, she leaned in and whispered, "I want to talk to you in private."
I glanced at Matt and Brandon, signing, "I'll be back, okay?"
Matt nodded, his eyes curious. "We'll be here. Take your time."
I followed Karla to the girl's bathroom, my heart pounding in my chest. I wasn't sure what this was about, but I sensed it was important to her. Once we were inside, Karla pulled out a juul vape from her pocket and took a hit. The sweet smell of watermelon filled the air.
"Want a hit?" she offered, holding it out to me.
I was curious, so I signed, "Sure."
I took a cautious drag, expecting to choke, but surprisingly, I didn't. Karla laughed, "I guess you already know how to smoke. Not so innocent after all, huh?"
I rolled my eyes. "I learned from watching Effy in Skins. It's not like I've never seen it before."
Karla laughed again, a genuine sound that seemed to break through the tension between us. "Look, Lily, I wanted to apologize for what happened in the choir. I shouldn't have laughed. It was mean, and I'm sorry."
I stayed silent, unsure of how to respond. A part of me wanted to accept her apology, but another part was still hurt by her earlier behavior. Before I could say anything, Karla cut in, "I know it doesn't make up for it, but I want to make it up to you. How about I take you to the skating rink this evening? It's one of our favorite places, remember?"
I hesitated, considering her offer. Finally, I signed, "Okay, I guess."
Karla's face lit up, and she gave me a quick hug. "Great! I'll text you the details. See you later, okay?" And with that, she left the bathroom, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I walked back to the cafeteria, my mind racing. Matt rushed over to me, his eyes full of questions. "How did it go? What did she want?" he asked.
"It went okay," I replied, signing as I continued. "Karla invited me to the skating rink this evening."
Brandon's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know, Lily. Karla hangs out with those choir girls. I don't think we can trust her, especially after what happened."
I bit my lip, understanding his concern. "What if I sneak you and Matt in too? That way, if anything goes south, we'll be together."
Matt's eyes lit up. "That's a brilliant idea! I'm in."
A small smile tugged at my lips. "It's settled, then. We're going skating."
That afternoon, I waited on the porch for Karla to pick me up. The sun was starting to set, casting a warm glow over everything. My dad emerged from the house, dressed in his sheriff's uniform. "Why are you wearing your uniform on your day off?" I asked, curious.
He chuckled, patting my back. "Got called into work. Something strange is going on. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
I signed, "Be safe, Dad."
“I will, honey. Have fun with Karla, okay.” He smiled and gave me a thumbs-up before heading off. A minute later, a black Chevy pulled up, and I recognized it as Mrs. Becker's car. Karla leaned out the window and waved me over.
I took a deep breath and climbed into the back seat. Besides Karla, there were a few other girls from the choir class—Mandy, Hannah, Emma, Leslie, Fiona, and Brianne. Alyssa was noticeably absent.
Noticing my curious glance, Karla explained, "Alyssa had track practice. She couldn't make it."
I signed, "That's nice."
Brianne turned to Mrs. Becker and asked, "Can we get some McDonald's shakes? Please?"
Mrs. Becker smiled. "Of course, sweetie. Does anyone else want one?"
Everyone nodded eagerly, and Mrs. Becker placed an order for nine shakes. Emma and Leslie wanted vanilla, Brianne wanted the seasonal spice pumpkin flavor, Hannah and Fiona requested strawberry, Karla and Mandy chose chocolate, and Mrs. Becker asked about my preference.
"Mint, please," I said, making a gesture of a mint leaf.
Mrs. Becker smiled. "Mint it is. Anything for my girls."
I felt a warm glow spread through me. Maybe, just maybe, they were starting to like me. I took a long sip of my mint shake, savoring the cool, refreshing taste.
"Chocolate is definitely the best flavor," Mandy declared, taking a sip from her own shake. "Nothing beats the classic."
"Pumpkin spice is where it's at," Brianne interjected, taking a sip of her pumpkin spice shake. "It's got that perfect blend of sweet and spicy. It's like autumn in a bite."
"Are you kidding?" Mandy scoffed. "Chocolate is timeless. It's the ultimate comfort food. Pumpkin spice is just a fad.”
"Oh c'mon! Pumpkin spice is leagues better," Brianne retorted. "It's a limited edition for a reason."
The other girls joined in, each defending their favorite flavor. I snickered at their playful bickering, feeling a sense of warmth despite the earlier tension.
About ten minutes later, Mrs. Becker pulled into the parking lot of a magenta-colored building. The girls piled out of the car, and I followed them inside, curious about our destination. Mrs. Becker turned to Brianne and said, "I'll pick you girls up at 8 pm sharp. I need to head home and take care of your little sister."
Brianne gave her mom a quick hug and yelled out, "Okay! Love you, mom!" Then she joined the choir group, whispering something in Karla's ear that made her smile in an unsettling way.
Karla walked over to me and whispered, "Hey, Lily, I want to take you to our hiding spot. It's been a while since we hung out there."
I brightened at the idea, signing, "I've missed that place. We used to act like it was our studio booth."
“Uh-huh,” Karla led me to an abandoned janitor's closet that was blocked off with a "Do Not Enter" sign. She opened the door, and I slid inside, feeling a rush of nostalgia. I slid inside the small, dimly lit closet and sat criss-cross on the floor, my heart racing with anticipation. Karla joined me, and for a moment, we just sat there, our knees touching, the silence comfortable between us.
"I've missed you, Lily," Karla signed, her expression softening.
"I've missed you too," I signed back, my heart warming at the sentiment. "It feels like it's been ages since we really talked." I looked down, my smile fading slightly. "I've missed the old Karla. The one who was always on my side, no matter what."
Karla furrowed her eyebrows, her face a mask of confusion. "What do you mean? I haven't changed, Lily. I've just matured."
I scoffed, shaking my head. "Matured? Making fun of someone less popular than you isn't mature, Karla. It's just mean spirited."
Her eyes widened at my words, and I could see the hurt flash across her face. "I haven't been making fun of you, Lily. I—"
"Yes, you have," I interrupted, my anger bubbling to the surface. "I know exactly what you and your new friends have been trying to do. You've been pretending I don't exist, like I'm not even worth acknowledging.”
Karla's face contorted with frustration. "That's not true, Lily! You always have to make everything about your disability. If anyone's changed, it's you. You used to be so happy, always laughing and joking around. Now, you just cry and complain when things don't go your way."
I signed angrily, my hands moving frantically. "How can you say that, Karla? I don't mind if you want to be more popular, but you're acting like you don't even know me. You're trying to pretend we're not friends."
Her eyes filled with tears, and her voice shook. "Maybe I don't want to be friends with you anymore, Lily. Maybe you're too held up in the past, too stuck in your own little world. You're a sad, pathetic sap, and I—"
Before she could finish her sentence, I punched her squarely in the face. The force of the blow knocked her back, and she stumbled, her hand flying to her nose.
"I wish I'd never met you, Karla!" I angrily figured my fingers around, my breathing being audible in the small space. "I wish you'd never been my friend! I wouldn't care if you dropped dead right now!"
Karla's eyes widened in shock, and tears began to stream down her face. Without another word, she turned and ran out of the janitor's closet, leaving me alone in the dimly lit space. I trembled as I crouched down in the corner, my heart pounding in my chest. I had never hit anyone before, and now I wished I could take it back. It was rather immature of me to end that way with Karla. Especially when this was the last memory I had of her alive.
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream pierced the silence, freezing me in place. It was Karla. My eyes widened in horror as I realized what I had done. I rose to my feet and ran out of the closet, my heart pounding in my chest. As I turned the corner, I came face to face with a masked man. He was tall and imposing, his mask was painted like a 1940s woman with green eyeshadow, vibrant red blush, and blood-red lips. His copper-blonde wig fell in sleek waves, contrasting with his all-black suit.
The man walked slowly towards me, his gloved hand reaching out. I kicked him in the abdomen, my fear fueling my strength. But he was too strong. He grabbed me by the waist, his gloved finger pressing against my lips.
"My little flower, I am so happy to see you." he whispered, his voice deep and gravelly.
Before I could scream or struggle, he covered my mouth with a rag. It took a while for the chloroform to finally take effect, as I remembered my last thoughts were about Karla. Sometimes I wished this encounter was just an elaborate prank played by Brianne. However it is never the case.
When I woke up, I woke up to the sound of a girl's voice, soft and melodic. My eyes felt heavy, my body sluggish as I tried to lift my head. The singing was familiar, reminding me of Karla. My heart stirred at the memory of my friend, and I tried to shake off the grogginess that clouded my mind.
As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I realized I was restrained to a bed, my wrists and ankles bound. Panic surged through me, and I struggled against my bonds, my heart racing.
The singing continued, and I finally located the source—a television mounted on the wall across the room. My eyes widened as I recognized the singer. It was Karla, her face bruised and beaten, her eyes closed as she sang "Once Upon a December" from the animated movie "Anastasia." Her voice was shaky but serene, and tears pricked my eyes as I watched her performance.
I opened my mouth to scream, but only a weakened screech escaped my throat. I tugged at my restraints, desperation fueling my strength. I had to get out of here. I had to help Karla.
Catching me off guard, the door swung open, and the masked man from my encounter at the janitor's closet stepped into the room. My heart sank at the sight of him, and I shrunk back against the bed, my breath coming in short gasps.
He carried a plate of applesauce, his gloved hands setting it down on a table by the bed. "Good morning, my little flower," he said, his voice deep and distorted by the mask. "Your friend has a lovely voice," he remarked. "Have you ever wanted to sing like that?”
I shook my head, my eyes never leaving his face. I mouthed the words, "Let her go.”
The Masked Man smiled sadly. "Your friend has been let go. Don't worry, she's no longer suffering.”
I wanted to scream, to demand that he release me, but my voice failed me. The masked man approached the bed, his eyes cold and unfeeling. He picked up the spoon and dipped it into the applesauce, then brought it to my mouth.
"Open up, sweetie," he cooed. "You need to keep up your strength."
I turned my head away, my body rigid with fear. I didn't want his help, I didn't want anything to do with him.
"Now, now, none of that," he chided, his gloved hand gently tilting my chin back towards him. "You need to eat. And one day, my little flower, you will sing too. And it will be the most beautiful voice anyone has ever heard."
Tears slipped down my cheeks as he forced the spoon into my mouth, the applesauce tasting bitter on my tongue. I choked down the food, my throat constricting with fear and anger.
The masked man set the plate down and pulled me into a tight embrace, his gloved hands stroking my hair. "Shh, my little flower. Everything will be alright. I'm here to take care of you."
I sobbed into his chest, my body shaking with grief and terror. I had no idea where I was, no concept of how much time had passed since I had been taken. All I knew was that Karla was in danger, and I was powerless to help her. The masked man held me until my sobs subsided, then gently laid me back down on the bed. "Rest now. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
With that, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I closed my eyes, my mind reeling. The next time I woke, it was to the sound of my mother's sobs. I blinked groggily, my vision blurry as I tried to focus. I was in a hospital room, my mother sitting by my bedside, her face wet with tears. Matt and Brandon, my closest friends, were also there, their faces etched with concern.
"Mom?" I raised one of my hands, my fingers weak and stiff.
My mother's head snapped up, and she rushed to my side, her hands grasping mine. "Lily, oh, Lily, you're awake!" She smiled through her tears, her voice shaking. "I thought I'd lost you.”
I placed my palm to touch her cheek, my throat too dry to speak. Matt and Brandon stood by silently, their eyes filled with relief.
I then asked the big question, signing, "What... happened?"
Matt nervously stuttered, "We... We found you inside an old shed near the skating rink. You were... you were unconscious, and we called for help right away."
Brandon added, "Before that, you were missing for roughly 33 hours. We searched everywhere for you.” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat, unable to meet my gaze.
"You're safe now, Lily," my mother said, stroking my hair. "That's all that matters. There's nothing to worry about anymore."
I shook my head, my eyes flying open. Where was Karla? I signed, "Where's Karla?”
My mother's face crumpled, and fresh tears slid down her cheeks. "She's... she's still missing, Lily. We don't know where she is."
I closed my eyes, the weight of my guilt crushing me. If I hadn't fought with Karla, none of this would have happened. It was my fault she was still out there, alone and in danger.
The days turned into weeks, and Karla remained missing. The police conducted an extensive search, but there were no leads, no clues as to her whereabouts. I blamed myself, replaying the events of that fateful day over and over in my mind.
Three weeks after my rescue, the news channel delivered a devastating blow. Karla Reyes, aged 15, had been found dead, her body buried near the Yellow Rock River. She had suffered multiple bone fractures, and the unsettling detail—she had been missing her vocal cords and larynx.
I recalled the day vividly, the sun shining brightly through my hospital window as the news anchor delivered the grim update. I had broken down, sobbing uncontrollably, the reality of what had happened hitting me like a ton of bricks. I remember wanting to just die, to pay for what I have done. If I hadn't had my friends Matt and Brandon, I wouldn't have been alive writing this. And yet, I never told anyone about The Masked Man or what had transpired that day—until now. Sometimes I wonder if Karla could hear my prayers, wishing that she deserved better than this, and I'm sorry for causing her death. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I needed to say next.
Karla Reyes may have been the first victim, but she certainly wasn't the last. There were 7 more Choirs Girls left.

Hello,
Disclaimer: I'm french, and not too well versed in the English LGBTQIA vocabulary, some I may say things that sounds inappropriate sometimes. Please, don't think too much about it. It's probably just me not knowing the good word. I hope I will not offense anyone.
It will be very long but I'll be grateful to anyone giving their thoughts.
I've just finished watching SPOP with my gf, and while I think it was a pretty good show with some good characters and overall consistent quality (compared to other shows that have some low points), I didn't find it as ground-breaking as I've seen people and critique say. I would like to describe my thoughts (and my process when watching shows in general) and ask you questions, with my main interrogation being the title.
So.. When I'm finished watching a show I love taking some times to think about what I liked about it, and what I didn't, what it is talking about and how I can add those views into my own views on life in general. When there are some things I didn't get, or some things I'm confused about, I look up online what people think about it. And with SPOP I feel like I'm missing a big piece : how it integrate queeLGBTQIA culture into its characters and story. I feel frustrated because I think there is something I don't get, and this upset because I'd like to give this show the thoughts it deserves.
Some personal background, about me and the condition in which I watched SPOP : firstly, I'm a man (or so I think), male and heterosexual, born and living in France. I think I had period where I wondered if I was bi but never really explored that possibility (but no frustration, or repressing, it was just a wonder). I (like to) think I'm open minded, and my upbringing was pretty diversified. I've met and been friend with gay, lesbian, trans, gender-fluid people and I'm never bothered or shocked when I see a homosexual couple in the street or something like that (I don't even think about it generally).
My gf and I are on "show streak/marathon" we're just watching them one after the other, some of which one of us has already seen, some which we discovers together. Before watching SPOP, we've watched TLOK, ATLA, Steven Universe, Star Butterfly, Chainsaw Man, Gravity Falls, Scissors Seven, The Amazing World Of Gumball, Miraculous Ladybug, JJBA (up to part 5) (it's not the actual order we've watched them and I'm probably forgetting some). My gf had already watched She-ra 2018 in its entirety, I am barely accustomed with the Master of The Universe franchise while she's not. We've watched the show in French dub because she preferred to (which may explains some of my interrogations).
Now to my opinion on the show and my interrogation :
My thoughts could be summarized in "Good but done better before/somewhere else". For example : SPOP tackles war, genocide, the fear it instilled onto people, grief and the necessity to use violent/unethical methods to gain advantage, which were explored better in ATLA. In the first 2 seasons, except for Glimmer's mom, the princesses's reluctance in joining the rebellion, and propaganda (barely), the war is rarely an important subject. SPOP also talks about forgiveness, and how it is important to let people have their soace and time to change... which is Steven Universe's whole schtick. I know it isn't really a good way to see things and how it's not about "who did it best" but "how they did" but almost everytime a theme is explored I ended up frustrated because I kept thinking about how other shows reached similar conclusions but explored more, giving more nuanced and complete views on it.
There is one thing that I think it did better than most things I've seen : feminism. Well, while it's not really something "in the show" but "on the show", it's really satisfying to see characters with such diverse body types and personalities, and especially the women. And them being the main actors of every actions is really cool and unique, and really sets it apart from other cultural piece as it is really not "in your face" as let's say... The Marvels ? It's not really a problem to put feminism in the forefront but it makes it feel more genuine and less about marketing.
Now, my interrogation (finally ahah) : when looking up online I've seen people talk about all the aspect of queer-culture/representation that this shows has, and that from the first season onward, but personally I never noticed that. I mean, yeah sure, in the last season there is Catradora admiting their feelings, there are Bow's parent, the princesses couple ( I don't know their English names)... And that's about everything I've seen and noticed. I didn't even give all of this much thought because they're a not really treated as "it is different to be queer" but just like people who love each other (and I love this approach). I've seen people talk about the rainbow in the last episode of season 1 but I didn't associate it with the queer symbol it is until I've looked it up. And I've never thought of Catradora as a couple until the middle of season 5 but apparently people call them an "unambiguous couple " from the beginning ? When I've read that I was like "wtf". I was wondering if it's due to some kind of censorship in the french dub (as they already did with Steven Universe) but I found nothing, and I'd be surprised as it is produced by Netflix. Overall, this feeling I have about SPOP and its relation with queer culture is weird because it was more clear and visible for me in Steven Universe for example.
TLDR : I may not be cultured enough in the subject or I am just clueless but here are my questions:
So, is the show as queer-coded as people say ? Is all the LGBTQIA part so important in the show ? Is Catradora really visible early on ? Can someone who watched the show in both french and english tell me if there are difference that explains some of my questions ?
And globally in terms of visibility (because it is probably just me not being aware of how queer people live and experiment culture pieces because now that I think about it, I don't that is something I've ever really informed myself on) : Is it just that your representation are so poor or so little genuine normally (or at the time) that the few things there in the show is what makes SPOP actually a GREAT representation (I'd like to think it is, but I'm not concerned) ? Or maybe it is because the queer people in the show are treated as "normal" characters instead of "queer" characters ? I'm saying this because I HATE when I see author says or shows that "they don't know how to write women" because they think a woman as to be written in a specific way (looking at you Kishimoto) I mean, if you want to talk about what it is to be one, yeah sure, but otherwise it doesn't make sense (but, again, I'm no woman).
Thank you for any answers you may bring. I hope that that you will help me expand my horizons.
edit : I cannot change the title but "queer-coded" was a bad wording apparently, and my questions were confusing so I'll put my most important questions better phrased here :
What are the queer aspects of the show that you can see in it ? I'm not talking about things that have been confirmed by ND Stevenson or chara-designer Ray Geiger later on but things that can be induced from dialogue, visuals or contextual clues in the show.
Which aspects of the show made it so appealing and important in its representation of queer people ?

Here’s the lyrics: (Verse 1)
Yo, step into the magic, let me take you on a ride,
Where the dreams come alive, feel the Disney pride.
From the castle to the kingdom, it’s a fairy tale vibe,
Universal’s cool, but they can’t match this tribe.
(Chorus)
Disney World’s the place where the magic’s unfurled,
From the young to the old, it’s a whole new world.
Universal’s fine, but if you want the best time,
Disney’s got the spark, it’s the top of the line.
(Verse 2)
Mickey and the gang, they’re the OG crew,
From rides to parades, they got something for you.
Magic Kingdom’s lit, Epcot’s a dream,
Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom’s the scene.
(Chorus)
Disney World’s the place where the magic’s unfurled,
From the young to the old, it’s a whole new world.
Universal’s fine, but if you want the best time,
Disney’s got the spark, it’s the top of the line.
(Bridge)
Park hopper passes, fireworks in the sky,
Every moment’s magic, make you feel like you can fly.
Universal’s cool, but it’s just a theme park,
Disney’s got the heart, it’s a work of art.
(Verse 3)
Princesses and pirates, adventures galore,
With every single step, you discover more.
From the food to the shows, it’s a sensory delight,
Disney World’s the kingdom that lights up the night.
(Chorus)
Disney World’s the place where the magic’s unfurled,
From the young to the old, it’s a whole new world.
Universal’s fine, but if you want the best time,
Disney’s got the spark, it’s the top of the line.
(Outro)
So if you’re choosing parks, and you want pure delight,
Disney World’s the choice, it’s the ultimate flight.
Universal’s got thrills, but if you want more,
Disney’s the kingdom that you’ll truly adore.

i would like to ask you how you are now? have things been good to you? well to say the least, you were a really good guy from how i remember you. am sorry for how i ate those cookies back then, now remembering everything i was a really spoiled child by my mother and eventually you.
thank you for giving me a bike that costs 8k back then, i really used it a lot. thank you for giving me good education back then, even buying me that purple disney princess themed trolley bag. you are a good man, and you just wanted to be loved as much as you are giving love to others around you. i cannot thank you enough for those gifts you gave me then, and you stood up like a dad to me. and i really wanted you to be my dad, really. maybe in another lifetime, you were my dad.
im sorry things didn’t end up good with you and my mom, and it haunts me till this day that i could’ve had a more stable life with you around. with that radio by the living room here at home, is my living memory of you. you’re really a great dad to me, even supporting me with things i want to do then. i really, really liked you because you understood me. we’ll talk in english and you’ll try your very best to relate to me, even bearing with the philippine heat to do errands with me and my mother.
i remembered a lot of good memories, because am listening to one your favorite bands right now. The beatles. must i admit, they’re very good and i enjoy, and love it. i remember that you like playing the guitar, and you like singing their songs like you did back then. are you still singing their songs now?
in the alternate universe, am a different person as i am right now, and am officially your daughter. maybe then i could repay you with my appreciation to you, and i wouldn’t be suffering this much today.
thank you for everything, uncle peter. i hope you’re doing perfectly well with a family you’ve always wished to have.

Can only ship within the continental US. F&F preferred, but will do G&S. Prices from Price Charting today, but I'm open to negotiation! Buyer pays $10 for USPS Priority Mail (tracking number, boxed & padded). Photos on request. All games NTSC. All games tested and working on original consoles.
Nintendo 64
Diddy Kong Racing - CART ONLY - $25 Hercules - CART ONLY - $24 Hey You, Pikachu! - CART ONLY - $9 Pokemon Snap - CART ONLY - $15 Rugrats In Paris - CART ONLY - $9 San Francisco Rush - CART ONLY - $14 Star Fox 64 - CART ONLY - $22 Star Wars: Episode I - Racer - CART ONLY - $8 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - CART ONLY - $10 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire - CART ONLY - $12 Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - CART ONLY - $10 Xena: Warrior Princess - CART ONLY - $11
Nintendo GameCube
Legend of Zelda, The: Collector's Edition - DISC ONLY! - $50 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - CIB - $5 Star Wars: Rogue Leader - DISC ONLY! - $12 Super Smash Bros. Melee - CIB - $58
Nintendo (NES)
Super Mario Bros. & Duck Hunt - CART ONLY - $6
Super Nintendo (SNES)
AAAHH Real Monsters (Nickelodeon) - CART ONLY - $9 Animaniacs - CART ONLY - $10 Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues - CART ONLY - $19 Kirby's Dream Course - CART ONLY - $36 Mortal Kombat - CART ONLY - $13 Warlock - CART ONLY - $10
SEGA Genesis
ClayFighter - CART ONLY - $13 Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures - CART ONLY - $6 Sub Terrania - CART ONLY - $6 The Tick - CART & BOOKLET - $20 X-Men 2: Clone Wars - CART & WORN BOOKLET - $25
PlayStation 2
Bloodrayne - CIB - $15 Destroy All Humans (GREATEST HITS) - CIB - $9 Dragon Quest VIII - CIB - $33 Gauntlet: Dark Legacy - CIB - $26 Just Cause - DISC ONLY - $8 Myst III: Exile - CIB - $7 Onimusha Warlords - CIB - $9 Primal - CIB - $10 Resident Evil - Code: Veronica X - CIB - $15 Resident Evil 4 (GREATEST HITS) - CIB - $10 Rogue Galaxy - CIB - $22 Summoner - CIB - $8 Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness - CIB - $9
PlayStation (PS1)
Ape Escape (GREATEST HITS) - CIB - $30 Area 51 - DISC ONLY! - $12 Transformers Beast Wars Transmetals - CIB - $50 Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - DISC ONLY! - $20 A Bug's Life (Disney Pixar) - CIB - $7 Casper - CIB - $11 Cool Boarders 3 - CIB - $8 Crash Bandicoot (GREATEST HITS) - CIB - $20 Croc (GREATEST HITS) - CIB - $11 Crusaders of Might and Magic - CIB - $10 Darkstone - Disc & manual only! - $7 Driver 2 (GREATEST HITS) - CIB - $9 Elmo's Letter Adventure (Sesame Street) - CIB - $9 Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko - CIB - $21 Gran Turismo 2 - CIB - $14 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - CIB - $10 Magic: The Gathering - Battlemage - CIB - $18 Micro Maniacs Racing (FoxKids) - CIB - $12 Monsters Inc: Scream Team (Disney Pixar) - CIB - $15 Myst - CIB - $24 Namco Museum Volume 3 (GREATEST HITS) - CIB - $5 Nightmare Creatures - NO MANUAL! - $20 Nightmare Creatures II - CIB - $58 Ninja: Shadow of Darkness - CIB - $24 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus - NO MANUAL! - $12 Populous: The Beginning - CIB - $12 Riven: The Sequel to Myst - CIB - $19 Rugrats: Search for Reptar - CIB - $20 Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase - CIB - $10 Sim Theme Park - Case & manual only, NO DISC! - $3 Space Jam - CIB - $17 Speedball 2100 - DISC ONLY! - $4 Story Studio, Mulan (Disney) - CIB - $8 T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger - DISC ONLY! - $15 Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation - CIB - $11 Tomb Raider Chronicles - CIB - $20 Toonenstein Dare to Scare (Tiny Toon Adventures) - CIB - $14 Toy Story 2 - DISC ONLY! - $10 Vandal Hearts - CIB - $54 The Wild Thornberrys: Animal Adventures - Case & manual only, NO DISC! - $3

Final Fantasy is one of the biggest(if not the biggest) RPG franchises out there. As an anthology series, the games each hold a different world, every single numbered installment, as well as a different story. The patterns that connect the stories are there in order to keep a Final Fantasy game a Final Fantasy game. They’ve been able to make these games feel consistent in their approach for about 10 installments, with the titles after 10 being more on the subversion side. Now that Final Fantasy 7 is getting a remake “trilogy”, this subversion has become a complete deconstruction of what made the series well loved. The new people in charge of the IP seemed to have lost the magic, resulting in the series becoming a hollow husk of its former self.
With so many RPG Maker people wanting to recapture the magic, as well as Square Enix itself, this brings up the question: what exactly is a Final Fantasy plot?
In the 80s, Final Fantasy was conceived as a response to TTRPG games like Dungeon and Dragons and computer RPG games like Wizardry, with Dragon’s Quest being an influence and sharing the same influences itself. These fantasy game influences created a lot of the gameplay, with the story coming from what came prior in the form of Tolkienesque stories. To further the chain of influence, these Tolkienesque stories were inspired by Arthurian romance and mythology, holding a big focus on how alchemy approached the combination of mythologies to express a monomyth. Carl Jung helped popularize the monomyth, along with Joseph Campbell, which would later establish the media usage of the hero’s journey. When Lord of the Rings came out, the prevention of the world ending by the usage of a MacGuffin became a staple in heroic fantasy storytelling.
Final Fantasy began with nameless characters of unknown origins, having you play as the 4 warriors of light. 4 warriors were picked to represent the 4 elements, the 4 corners of the world, with 4 monsters of the elements acting as their main form of opposition as they head to the final boss. Fire, water, air, and earth were treated as vulnerable crystals that must be restored, bringing order back to a chaotic world, with the final boss being Chaos itself, to end the game with a peaceful kingdom. Rather than a single ring to rule them all, the MacGuffins in FF1 are instead key items, each one unlocking a new location to move the story forward. The world map is entirely used, from land to sea to air, forcing a journey process across different areas as these heroes attempt to fix the world.
The gameplay focuses on classes, with each class serving a different party purpose, forcing the player to pick different types for easier results. Each class was given a different outfit, easy to tell the difference between their roles, with each one symbolically having a different personality. It’s not that they had a personality in the game where they never speak, but rather the roles they hold grant them different paths on how they got there. For example, the fighter would have to become physically stronger and knighted to become a knight, while the thief would have to sneak around and learn black magic to become a ninja. In fact, having more thieves in your team was a way to make the game harder, because of their lower HP.
This combination of classes and a quest to save the world changed upon the second installment, where characters were finally given names and backstories. Due to this held history, their hometown was presented as the catalyst for the story to begin, being saved by a princess this time as they start a rebellion against an evil Emperor. Sounds familiar? This is where Star Wars comes in more full, acting as an inspiration for the science fantasy elements that come in during the later half of this game and the first one. The final location of a floating island could be considered part of Star War’s Cloud City, but it can also be tied to the more Japanese inspiration of Castle in the Sky.
Studio Ghibli, the “Japanese Disney”, came out with this movie a year prior to Final Fantasy 1’s release. In this movie, steampunk retrofuturism was inspired by science romanticism books of the 1800s, while its castle in the sky was inspired by the floating island in the satirical novel Gulliver's Travels (1726). All of these are still directly inspired by both the hero’s journey of alchemical study (through Star Wars) and mythological journeys(with floating islands being found in Homer’s Odyssey). The steampunk style continued into later titles, allowing the usage of swords with the combination of robots to make sense to the player. This also reinforces a romantic approach to storytelling, as Arthurian romance and scientific romance are combined into a mythological premise concerning the end of the world and heroes who go out to save it with MacGuffins.
Two creatures that would play important roles for the heroes were both made by the same designer: Koichi Ishii. The Chocobo would be used as a giant bird that you ride like a horse, while the Moogle was meant to be a spiritual assistant that has a pom-pom growing out of its head, symbolically declaring itself as your personal cheerleader. The cat-like body of the Moogle, as well as its infinite source of magical assistance, could easily be traced back to the 60s blue cat named Doraemon. While the cute Moogle was based on a culturally significant source (as well as the kami of Japanese folklore), the chocobo turned itself into one by becoming a cute form of transportation, both allowing the game to become more appealing to kids and animal lovers. These additions allowed the traveling merchants of the game, as well as the trusty galliform, to serve more of a story purpose when their significant locations are visited.
By the time we hit Final Fantasy 6, the classes are changed from choosing outfits to become character locked. At this point, the characters themselves are the class, with more classes collected as more characters are collected along the way. Their backstories come with their discovery, allowing their hometowns to become different locations across the map, and their relationships growing into pre-game histories and future romances. The summoner, a special type of mage, is treated as the most important type of character, due to their control of creatures that are based on our polytheistic gods and some mythological characters. Their role is to serve as a humorous deus ex machina, a reference to how plays would use a god of mythology to interfere with a story and set things right when the writer usually wrote themselves into a corner.
The roles of characters each become a repetition of this setup from 6, causing several key plot points to occur. The main “leader” is a young male who holds a bladed weapon, in the form of a sword or dagger. This is the “Luke Skywalker” of the group who is aided by an older magician or mentor who shows him the ropes. Along the way, they find a “princess” with access to ancient powers who is able to lead them to the MacGuffin that will save the world. From the beginning, they are opposed by a “black knight” who is the shadow of the leader, with an emperor antagonist that is overshadowed by this black knight, leading to the final showdown that is fought in several stages.
Three stages are utilized to represent the destruction of the antagonist’s body, mind, and spirit. Their presence throughout the story is in the form of stages, acting as spiritual checkpoints for the heroic leader to confront their shadow. Once the evil “emperor” is defeated, the shadow's presence brings in the apocalypse that threatens the world, as well as their symbolic four horsemen. Across the journey of the main party, they unlock the 4 forms of transportation: earth(main map), water(boat), air (airship), and fire (combustion vehicle/chocobo). Each quest unlocks the next quest with the next ability to access it, whether it’s a key item or a form of this transportation.
Each game comes with about 10 hours of storylines, making up about a fifth of total gameplay for an average playthrough. This sounds like a lot, but when split up by the 5 point story structure, this gives about 2 hours per point. When we realize there are an average of 70 locations per game, we can feel overwhelmed by the amount of locations to visit. Thankfully, only a small handful are actual story locations and the majority are battle locations for gameplay. The trick to figuring out their location planning is all in the types of locations they go through.
Locations are split into two types: 1. Hub 2. Dungeon
Hubs come in: 1. Small merchant 2. Rest stop(usually a save point) 3. Village (people but no shops) 4. Town (people and shops) 5. City (people, shops, side quests) 6. Castle (people, shops, main quests)
The dungeons come in the variety of: 1. Grassy 2. Desert 3. Snowy 4. Mountain 5. underwater 6. Cave 7. Forest 8. Haunted House 9. Laboratory 10. Castle 11. Space/unknown
When we view it in this way, those 70 locations get split into 35 each, with about 4- 5 hubs for each type and 3 - 4 dungeons of each type. With how each game needs a main hub as the kingdom, the emperor’s tower, the shadow’s fortress, a hometown(plus dungeon) for each side character, 3 to 4 main islands, and remakes of locations caused by running themes(like the gardens in 8), the tall order becomes far more shorter than presumed. The gathering of the side characters make up the bulk of act 2, which include: 1. A driver of the airship 2. An unconventional “mancer” 3. A gag character 4. One who betrays the empire (sometimes comes as an NPC or temporary character) 5. Secret characters 6. A tragic character (seeks revenge on the empire) 7. A dragoon (or sniper in the case of FF8
These character types can be combined in any way, but the goal is to include them for a full experience.
As for villains, the typical boss will be based on a particular weakness to a single(or theme based) type of attack. Reoccurring “Team Rocket” style battles will act as another form of story checkpoint, with these goons being a creature like Ultros or a trio like The Turks. In the final dungeon, a boss rush will either summon a lot of previous bosses to take you on at a higher level, or introduce a cast of new bosses that are to be fought at different layers. The defeat of a boss is meant to be the ending of a quest and the expansion into the next quest area until the game is over, with optional bosses causing neither of these(hence the name “optional”). The normal enemies of the area are (supposed) to train the player for the encounter with the boss of that same area.
Final Fantasy followed this simple formula for about 10 installments until the PS2 era started to make it shaky and then Final Fantasy 12 removed the doomsday weapon. 13 removed the male lead and any coherent recollection of a main antagonist. Once we got to 15, the doomsday weapon was back but now the summonings are treated like main characters. The remake of 7 flips everything on its head as it tries to force Midgar to be a world of its own, not realizing that the journey requires the player to leave the castle and get on an airship within the same game. As time goes on, the romanticism of its origins will be lost and it will just be building over itself without understanding where any of the structure comes from, because each installment comes with more deconstruction.
Final Fantasy started as romantic mythology, tied together with the fairy tale magic of Disney and Studio Ghibli. Everything about it is supposed to be cute, aimed at kids, hits hard enough to make an adult cry, and blessed by the presence of consistency. We don’t need the games to be more realistic, we need them to be more enjoyable. But hopefully, with this guide, you will be able to make your own Final Fantasy one day. You will make it better, make it proper, and it will certainly not be the final time we see it.

I wish you all an inspiring BABYMETAL weekend!
It is BABYMETAL goodies time again! ...and BLACK BABYMETAL Friday!
I encourage you all to put almost all of the super-cute/fun/cool stuff, awesome moments, favourite pics+animations+vids++, curiosities, fan art, fan stories, covers, reactions, mash-ups, memes and similar non-news goodies in comments here or in one of the specialized weekly goodies threads, so we do not clutter up the main submissions list, especially when it is not new ...or it is "typical goodies thread material".
If you have trouble narrowing down on a goodie to submit this week from the near infinite amount of awesome/great goodies available from BABYMETAL and The One, you can seek inspiration in the goodies theme of this weekend which is: Soul and Inspiration -- so you are hereby encouraged to submit BABYMETAL stuff that are very inspiring/uplifting/energizing or soulful/emotional/touching.
Off-theme goodies are of course also, as usual, just as welcome!
Share and Enjoy!
Sincerely, JalmarY
Links to additional info and goodies:

• If you want a more detailed description of this weeks goodies theme, you will have to visit the 2024 Master Goodies Thread. Same if you are a relatively new readecontributor wanting a full introduction to the Goodies Threads or an experienced readecontributor wanting a clarification or a refresh.
  
• And as usual: Here are the previous goodies thread and the latest Su Sunday, Moa Monday, Yui Tuesday, Momo Thursday and Kami Wednesday (not this week) specialized goodies threads, in case you want to check them for late additions or have not already read them.
  
• Previous Goodies Threads this year are: 517 516 515 514 513 512 511 510 509 508 507 506 505 504 503 502 501 500 499 ...but for even earlier Goodies Threads, you must go via the current Master Goodies Thread so we can limit clutter in these weekly threads...
  

This place is a message... and part of a system of messages... pay attention to it!
Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.
This place is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... nothing valued is here.
What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.
The danger is in a particular location... it increases towards a center... the center of danger is here... of a particular size and shape, and below us.
The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.
The danger is to the body, and it can kill.
The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.
The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.

[Original source] [Wikipedia]
The above is from a 1993 study on how to warn people in the distant future about the dangers posed by a nuclear waste repository. This message needs to be communicated to people who stumble upon the site, and it needs to be done so non-verbally. As nuclear waste stays dangerous for tens of thousands of years, there will eventually be people who come upon the site who will not share a language with us. They will not share symbols with us. They will not share a culture with us. Yet they will be humans, and we are obligated to protect them.
I came upon this specific ... it's not quite a poem, but that's what Chelsea Weber-Smith of the podcast American Hysteria called it in her most recent episode, which I had the joy to listen to earlier this week. It's about the borderline-bonkers field of study (and one of my occasional obsessions) called nuclear semiotics, which analyzes this problem.
Coincidentally, I started my second playthrough of Tears of the Kingdom the day after listening to this story. As I descended the staircase, through the gloom, past the murals and to G-Do himself, I couldn't help but think... the ancient Hylians/Zonai had a similar problem to our civilization. There is a danger underground that must be contained, and people must be warned. It's interesting how some of the strategies they employ to convey this message are mirrored in the thoughts of nuclear semioticians, and how in other ways went against the most basic ideas of this field. In the end, did they fail? (Yes, the answer is yes) Will we fail to protect our own future people? (yes, but for different reasons)
Worth saying, they had it easy compared to us:

1. We know nothing of the people of 10,000 years from now. They literally had a princess from this future culture at their disposal.
2. All human languages currently in existence will be unintelligible to the people of 12024, more so than how Proto-Indo-European (spoken only ~6k years ago) is unintelligible to us today. Ancient Hylian, on the other hand, is basically Middle English.

They tried many strategies that nuclear semioticians have considered, some implemented better than others, with varying levels of success:

1. An "atomic priesthood", namely the Sheikah and the Royal Family. This is a group of people who are dedicated to the mission of preserving information about the threat across millennia, in the same way religious movements dating to the Iron Age and Classical Antiquity have managed to preserve the teachings of their founders into the present. We know Sheikah tech is seen in the imprisoning chamber, and the royal family pass down the story of the Imprisoning War. Unfortunately, this "priesthood" over the millennia proved small and unstable. Depending on how you place TotK in the timeline, the Sheikah and the royal line were nearly wiped out several times, reduced at one point to kindergarten teacher and a pre-teen pirate captain. Even if the movement survived, the message of "do not go below the castle" was eventually forgotten.
2. Physical monuments. There are three general threads of thought. One is to create some kind of frightening, ominous landscape that communicates "this is a bad place," like a forest of jagged concrete spikes. Another thread, as Weber-Smith put it, thinks that's some very American absurdity, and the best thing is to just hide it somewhere unimportant. Dig a hole in the Arctic, drop it in. Another (more interesting) idea is to make it the center of attention. Build a nuclear-themed amusement park, a nuclear temple, something people will tell stories of and preserve. No one wants to drill for oil on the Acropolis. The Hylians went and built a magnificent castle and their capitol city. It's not clear this helped since the original message was eventually lost.
   1. They appear to have communicated the specifics primarily in writing, and in a single written language: Zonai, a system so obtuse that not even the Internet can crack it. Correct me if I am wrong, but we see no Gerudo hieroglyphs, no Sheikah characters, no other text in the game in any other language warning about what is under the castle. Almost none of this text is near the castle. Much of it is in the goddamn sky. There is text immediately adjacent to the Imprisoning Chamber, on and around statues of Zonai. Zelda just takes pictures and keeps walking.
      1. (I am trying to find a source, and I cannot, but I remember tales of a warning in the castle itself, a very nondescript stela that's like "don't go under the castle." I don't remember what language it is in, but in any case it's not exactly in a prominent place) EDIT: my thanks to u/banter_pants who linked to some screenshots of the stela in question in the comments. You can see it here. Some important points: Link can read it, meaning it is not original to the ancient period, and it is in a space only accessible to the Royal Family and those associated with them. To me, this suggests a later addition related to the "atomic priesthood," preserving this secret memory. What's also really striking is the text really seems to evoke the quote I opened with even including the phrase, "If the site is disturbed..."
3. Written and artistic representations of the message. Nuclear semioticians seem to think this is a challenge. Many proposals that do include written messages would start with it being in multiple languages, with broad, general terms are the periphery of the site (Bad! Malo!), getting more specific as you approach the center (plutonium 1.4km down). There's art, like this, which might not work, as we can't guarantee symbols like ☢️ or skulls will mean the same thing to future people. The Hylians/Zonai just... well they didn't think about any of this.
   1. The statues closest to the source of the danger are Zonai, a race completely forgotten. They are not in a position warning people off. They just stand there, arms at their sides, conveying nothing.
   2. Of course, a discussion of art would be incomplete without talking about the murals... they're a bit too close to the problem. G-Do is literally in the next room. If he was nuclear waste, you're already losing all your hair. The murals are only understandable by people with specific knowledge of the Royal Family's lore. They do not depict useful information (eg. he's literally in the next room), only a legend. And the structure of the space it was in was so poorly constructed that literally the most important bits were obscured by rubble.
4. Finally, there is the physical barrier between the environment and the threat. You bury it in concrete, deep underground, somewhere without a lot of rainfall and earthquakes. The last thing that needs to happen is a bit of groundwater to start carrying plutonium into a well. You don't just leave this stuff in a ditch (unless you do). And yet... there is apparently a staircase directly to G-Do. He keeps spitting out calamities. People are getting sick from the emanation of energy/gloom...

I am not sure I have a point exactly. The lore nerds will rightfully point out that containment failed at exactly the moment it was meant to: ie. when Zelda came upon it and closed the time loop. True fact. I'm just stirring these tropes together. The ancient Hylians/Zonai tried to communicate a danger and how to deal with it to people in their distant future, ultimately showing us a bunch of ways that this did not work.
Us in the real world will have to hope nuclear semioticians have better ideas. Most of this stuff is sitting the parking lots of nuclear power plants as we argue about where to put it. Hopefully we put it underground with good signage before we have our own calamity.

I am still NOT the Original Poster. That is still u/Parking_Mission_7544. She posted in AITAH
I fixed spelling mistakes in the title for readability. I also added names instead of letters and paragraphs.

A reminder that this sub has a 7 day waiting period. The newest update has not been posted here before, but you may have seen it on a different sub.

Previous BORUs here and here. New Update marked with ****\*
Trigger Warning: mention of miscarriage
Mood Spoiler: >! looking up!<
Original Post: March 28, 2024
I (32F) have a daughter (9 going on 10F) with my ex-husband (36M). We divorced when she was 3. He then remarried with one of his co-workers (let's call her Melissa). They also have a son together (6M).
My daughter's birthday is in 9 days. I reviewed with my daughter things for her birthday, like the theme, the cake... Here's the issue: when we were going through the guest list, she looked anxious. When I asked what's wrong, she told me that she did not want to invite Melissa. I asked her why and she explained to me that Melissa would make weird comments sometimes around other parents/ to her .
For example, when Melissa would pick her up from her dance lesson, she would hear Melissa say things like "That is why I prefer boys, girls only like pink and tutu", calling her a brat, and other things. She also told me that every time her brother (Melissa and ex-h's kid) would do something to annoy her (like breaking her toys, calling her names, starting a fight), Melissa would always defend her son and punish her every time and say "boys will be boys" or some crap like that .
I asked about her dad and she said that she does that when her dad is around, but he is always in his office so it is like a free pass. Later on, I called her father. He asked for the date of the party (her real birthday is a school day). I told him that his wife was not invited and I think I was in loudspeaker because I heard Melissa screaming at me saying that I "destroy her family"
So, AITA for not inviting my ex-husband's wife to my daughter's birthday party because she told me not to?
Okay, just for precision:

• My daughter's half-sibling is 4 years younger than her; she was born in April, while he was born in March the next year after the divorce (he just turned 6).
• BUT it is true that we divorced because my ex-husband told me he was in love with M and "wanted to confess."
• We have a 50/50 custody.
• He has a busy job.
• My daughter explained me she never told me/ her dad that she was scared of ruining her father's marriage because he seems happy

There is not consensus bot on AITAH, but the majority of comments were NTA
Update Post: April 8, 2024 (10 days later)
So, a lot happened. First of all, I met my ex for lunch alone. I explained everything that my daughter told me. At first, he was defensive and told me that she was overreacting. I replied that even if that were true, his relationship with his daughter is at risk. I gave him a choice: fix the problem or I go back to court for more custody.
Friday, when I came to pick my daughter up at his house, I talked to her in private, and she told me that her dad spent time with her, picking her up from school/activities, helping her with homework, and playing with her. Melissa then told me that she accepts not going to the party but still wanted to see my daughter blow out her candles on her actual birthday. She baked a cake and asked her (my dautghter) if she was okay with doing it before leaving. She seemed okay with it, so we gathered around the cake (my daughter, Melissa, ex, and half-brother). When my daughter blew out the candles, M junior decided that the good thing to do would be to smash my daughter's face into the cake....(To be honest, if this was not a kid, I would be in prison.) He and Melissa burst out laughing while my daughter was crying.
Melissa then told her that she was being dramatic and "emotional." We (Melissa, ex, and I) got into an argument, and to my surprise, my ex-husband was on my side, saying that it was not okay. While arguing, I noticed that my daughter was not there, so I left to check on her. I helped her clean herself, and then we left for my house. I tried to cheer her up, but she was still a little sad. The party went well, her dad came, and during the party, I told him that I want more custody because of his wife's bullying. So yeah, I will update you if anything happens.
Precision 2 :
Some of you asked questions about my daughter's reaction. My daughter is a really shy and silent kid. Except for me and her dad, she does not talk unless spoken to or if you bring up a subject that she likes. When something upsets her, she just stays silent and cries. It's always been like that and it is what she did. Started crying, went to her room.
Relevant Comments:
To be honest, I don't entirely blame the kid. He probably picked up that attitude from his mom
Commenter: If you are going to court for more custody time, ask for increased child support as well.

OOP: I don't receive child support. I earn more than him
(OOP to a different commenter) I live in California, so in a 50/50 custody arrangement, the parent with the higher income pays child support (which means I pay) At least this is what I got

Commenter: What did your ex-husband say when you wanted more custody? I mean, does he not see his new wife as terrorizing his daughter?

OOP: It went approximately like this:
Me: I want more custody.
Ex: What? I know she was mean, but you can't do this to me.
Me: Really? Your wife is bullying our daughter. I've told you before, you did not keep the promise, so I'm going for more custody.
BLAH BLAH BLAH...

Does he recognize that Melissa is mistreating his daughter?
He apologized for their behavior and told me he would fix it. BUT he asked me not to fight for more custody
Update Post 2: April 19, 2024 (11 days from previous post)
Update 2: Hi! I saw that many of you asked for an update.
*My daughter: After the cake "incident," I asked her questions about whether M/half brother had ever laid hands on her, played such "pranks" on her, or behaved inappropriately (we never know). She told me no, explaining that the fights with her half-brother are mainly him annoying her. I also inquired if anyone else from both sides had made her uncomfortable in any way, and again, she said no. Since my last post, she has been seeing her psychiatrist twice a week. The bullying apparently started about two months ago. I don't know if it is related (although I am sure it is), but it was also around that time that Melissa had a miscarriage.
*Me: To be honest, I feel like a terrible mom. I did not see the signs. I am trying to fix everything.
*My ex-husband: GUESS WHO SHOWED UP AT MY DOOR AT 10 PM???? He called me last night, was outside, and said he wanted to talk. I let him in, and because I don't trust him (I really don't), I recorded the whole conversation (with his consent).
He told me that since the party, he's been thinking about what to do and yesterday told Melissa about my desire for more custody. From what he told me, she said that it was not such a bad idea because my daughter was not fitting into their family dynamic. They started to argue, and at one point, she just started cursing me and my daughter. Apparently, I am a sneaky B-word who is bitter about her affair with my ex-husband. She described my daughter as a spoiled, bratty princess who needs correction. And now, he has to choose between which woman he loves the most.
This is where he had the click! He left the house, drove around, and then showed up at my place. He is going to stay at a friend's house to think about his relationship with Melissa. Our daughter will stay with me during the week and visit him on the weekends. I told him that if he's going to get back together with Melissa, I am continuing with full custody. But if they divorce, it will depends of his custody for his son because I don't want him around my daughter. He agreed.
That's it. Thank you for all the support.
Relevant Comment:
Commenter: I suspect Melissa miscarried a girl and that's what she's turned poisonous against your daughter and you. Grief and guilt. You did a job thing keeping your daughter away.

OOP: I just know that she was between 3 and 4 months pregnant.

*****New Update Post: May 9, 2024 (3 weeks later, 1+ months from OG post)****\*
Final Update : Hi again! y'all ask for an update. Here you go :
*My ex-h : Earlier in the week, he asked if he could come by,saying that he had something important to tell me. He told me that last friday Melissa junior got into trouble at school for cursing at a girl.
Long story short : he confessed his fellings to a girl (the niece of the director), she rejected him. Apparently, he started shouting insults at her that no 6-year-old should know, let alone say. Because of this incident and our daughter's situation he decided to divorce Melissa. She would be served the divorce papers next week. He is also going to pay Melissa in therapy because he still wants her to have a relationship with their son.
We (ex-h,daughter,me) will also be attending family therapy together.
*My daughter : She is happier now, and that's the only thing that matters to me. For the summer I am going to take her to Japan to see my side of the family !
Brooke, if one day you read this, mama loves you more than anything. I am sorry for seeing everything earlier. I love you!!!!!!!
Precision 3 :

1. I am still going for full custody of my daughter with visitation the week-end. If and only IF Melissa junior's behaviour improves, I will let him and my daughter interact.
2. He (my ex) is going for full custody of his son.
3. I still don't trust my ex-h. I am keeping my eyes on him, and how he will raise my daughter. I don't know why people would assume that I am going to nice with him. Am I polite? Yes. Nice? No.
4. I am not going for more custody because he wants his son. Because he recently got a promotion so works more. He doesn't have the time to take care of our daughter on the week days so I take her.
5. Someone asked me our races (for some reason??). I am Japanese, like my ex-h, and Melissa is white (French).
6. Like I said I am Japanese but was raised in France so French is my first language, than Japanese, than English (sorry for any mistakes)

Relevant Comments:
Commenter: Just a question , when it was 50/50 why not your time it’s a bday party for your side and on his time he can do that . I know it’s harder for thanksgiving and Xmas just the schedule can be worked out.

OOP: We decided to host the party at my place, inviting both sides of the family. I live in a house, whereas he and Melissa lived in an apartment. If she is with me at Thanksgiving, she would be with him at Christmas, and vice versa.

Commenter: v glad that op's daughter is now safe, but ngl i am worried about op's ex's son - it's honestly kind of disturbing that he knows those insults & i'm concerned about what m (or mb others in his life) are teaching him. hopefully op's ex gets full custody and things improve.

OOP: Yeah... I don't know what he heard his mother say, but a 6-year-old saying that a girl is being "heartless b-word" or a "W word" is VERY disturbing

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Synopsis:
Juliette Contzen is a lazy, good-for-nothing princess. Overshadowed by her siblings, she's left with little to do but nap, read … and occasionally cut the falling raindrops with her sword. Spotted one day by an astonished adventurer, he insists on grading Juliette's swordsmanship, then promptly has a mental breakdown at the result.
Soon after, Juliette is given the news that her kingdom is on the brink of bankruptcy. At threat of being married off, the lazy princess vows to do whatever it takes to maintain her current lifestyle, and taking matters into her own hands, escapes in the middle of the night in order to restore her kingdom's finances.
Tags: Comedy, Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Copious Ohohohohos.
Chapter 240: Private Gallery
My, how quaint.
An underground maze.
If it wasn’t dark towers laden with bats, it was underground mazes filled to the brim with all the upholstery recovered from the Summer Solstice Festival’s annual bonfire.
Here beneath a barn utilised as little more than a cellar door, black was still the new black. An unending panorama of dark embroidery and furnishings to match any budding empress’s humble beginnings, ensuring I remained busy offering all the slightly different variations of wrinkling my nose could perform.
The porcelain vases featuring motifs of the wrong season? A mild scrunch. The candelabras burning below 98% of their height instead of being immediately replaced? Hints of a sneeze. The golden silk carpets clearly stolen from the cathedrals of the Holy Church? … A nod of my head.
But what I could have no complaints about was a door still swinging upon its hinges.
Poetry in motion, it painted the picture of a baroness desperate in her haste to stumble over her dress as much as humanly possible. Excellent news. We didn’t need to break another door today.
A surprise.
After all, the baroness seemed intent on breaking everything herself.
Bwoomph.
The sound of a heavy object being dropped came crashing through.
And then another. And another.
A commotion to rival the scuffling of two rival sons at our reception hall. The cadence of chairs, small tables and then backsides falling to the ground as insults became slaps and slaps became a scene of disgrace, all the while my sisters and I watched and snacked on the walnuts.
Sadly for the baroness, I chose not to stand idly by as she roughly squirrelled away her stolen possessions. And neither did Coppelia, who rubbed her hands together in gleeful expectation.
It was still the most innocent gesture she’d ever made.
“Should we let her gather up the loot pile some more?” she asked brightly.
I shook my head at once, my nose aching from the ceaseless wrinkling.
“Absolutely not. Even a moment is too long in this burrow.”
“We could double back and ominously stamp our feet to make her go faster, too.”
“Or we could merely offer our supervision instead. Come. It’s time to end our stay in the countryside. As well as this baroness’s grand misadventure.”
Already dreaming of my bed, I lightly pushed the door open.
A moment later, I was met by the sight of an adventurer’s most wanton dream come to life.
Within the centre of a bedroom chamber, chests laden with silver and gold crowns sat waiting for the first lout to claim as hardship expenses for chasing cats in an endless circle. The chests gleamed with an organised lustre, winking in unison as though counted and arranged to the coin.
It was a sight which contrasted with the desperate movements of the baroness.
Only brief snippets of her could be seen as she went to-and-fro in another room, accessed through a parted bookcase. Through the opening, I heard hints of calamity. Heavy banging as objects crashed to the floor, joined by the sound of ragged breathing to match a servant dashing up and down my bedroom tower to fetch grapes for me in quantities of one.
“Haah … haahh … hahhh …”
And now my curiosity was kindled.
Things worth more than chests of crowns. What could she possess, I wonder?
Sweeping past the gleaming pile of silver and gold, I made my way towards the parted bookcase, and then peeked through to see our baroness performing one last act of defiance.
With her golden hair as dishevelled as her dress, she was kneeling beside an assembled pile of what were unmistakably paintings. A veritable mountain of them, all framed in gilded brass. The scent of oil, watercolours and various pigments struck me more than any whiff of alcohol I’d experienced today.
Clearly a gallery of sorts. A secondary trove of treasure, but no less valuable. Rare paintings were worth their weight in silver and gold as much as any of the coins gathered in the chamber.
And also, to my horror, much easier to destroy.
“Haah … haahhh … hahhhhh …”
The baroness didn’t even notice our presence.
So absorbed was she in her final act of petulance, her only concern was to raise her feeble arms, weakened by all the disdain it required to gather so many heavy paintings in one spot.
All to set it alight.
With a look of desperation on her face, she raised a single candle, readying to set the oil upon the canvasses ablaze.
“Noooooope~”
“–Aah?!”
The same candle which was promptly plucked from her hand by Coppelia, who required no prompting to stop the destruction of precious treasure.
The baroness jolted in shock at Coppelia’s sudden appearance behind her, and even more so at the playful smile leaning towards her. A heartbeat later, she swiped at the candle, tearing away the topmost half. But it was too late.
The flame had already been extinguished.
“Noo … nooooooooooooo!!”
The baroness cupped her hands around the top, offering a tiny breath as she hoped to ignite it like the fading embers of a hearthfire.
She failed.
I took a step into the hidden gallery, ready to offer the coup de grâce to round off this minor detour into my countryside. A final reminder to my kingdom’s nobility, that whatever their rank, none were too lowly to be ignored.
“Ohhohohohohoho … how pitiable,” I said, my hand barely covering my lips. “Instead of a vain attempt to flee, you choose mindless destruction instead. I suppose I’ve no grounds to fault on this. You were wildly successful. Only that it was your own schemes which came to ruin.”
I gazed at the crumpled heap of the baroness as she turned around.
Her grey eyes widened as she viewed me.
All of a sudden, what colour remained upon her face drained to the point where if she threw herself on her bed, she’d be invisible against the white linen. Her only method of escape remaining.
It certainly wasn’t in the gurgling she made.
“Ah … n-no … wait …”
Her voice petered out, whatever words she spoke fading like a mousy squeak in the distance.
Ugh. The standards I endured.
Despite attempting a final act of spite, she didn’t even have enough vigour left in her to transfer that into the most cursory of insults.
“Now, this right here is what separates the barony from the city nobility,” I said, well and truly exasperated. “You may despise your peers, but know that Lady Tolent and Duke Valence at least performed their roles as expected. They were rude until the end. You’ve a considerable amount to learn.”
With a sigh, I took a step towards the mound of portraits.
Given what I’d seen so far, I doubted if any painting here was worth what the baroness deemed worthy enough to hide away like a dragon’s favoured treasure. But I was open to being pleasantly surprised.
Who knows? Perhaps she’d pilfered more than carpets from the Holy Church.
However–
“Wait!!!!!”
The baroness scrambled to her feet, arms raised as she blocked my path.
Despite her sudden burst of life, no colour returned to her face. It was like a ghoul raised as a puppet, desperately heeding the command of its owner.
“You … You can’t look!” she said, quivering. “None of this … none of this is for you!”
My mouth widened at the gall.
… Why, so she did have some insult left in her!
To insinuate I wasn’t worthy of judging these paintings was far more wounding than any generic disdain she could level against my superior wealth, standing, beauty and shape of my hair!
After all, I was exceptionally confident in my curating skills!
Anything less would see my own works being met by a chorus of snivelling! Amongst all who resided in my kingdom, it wasn’t traitors who were the most fearless to my ire! It was art critics!
“E-Excuse me! Rest assured that I’m more than capable of judging the qualities of any painting! When it comes to my assessment of art, my valuation leaves no detail unturned!”
Somehow, the baroness paled even more. Her eyes quivered like ponds in a gale.
A moment later–
“You can’t!!!!”
She threw herself at me.
A slow, lumbering tackle to match her anaemic state. I stepped to the side as she hurled herself past me, falling to a heap by Renise’s feet.
The maid looked down. She didn’t wear a single hint of animosity. Only pity and sorrow. Truly, she was too kind to ever have been in the nobility. I feared for her current role.
Still, I gave a sigh, before leaning over the mountain of paintings.
“Uwah~ this is a new one.”
As the light from the doorway fell upon it, Coppelia offered a hint of what was to be expected. She wore a peculiar expression, her smile oddly fixed as she gazed down at the nearest one to face upright.
I joined her.
And then–
“Hmm.”
I blinked as I assessed it.
A moment later, I glanced over those nearby. And then those nearby them.
Not only paintings. But portraits.
All featuring the same subject. A girl with long, dark hair and vivid eyes.
Many featured a dress hinting at a summer’s day. Shafts of golden sunlight was a common theme, along with a backdrop of a pristine tea table, laden with a familiar array of confectionery. Carrot madeleines and carrot cakes. The same ones I tactically placed for everyone else to eat at my mandatory tea parties.
Indeed. That made sense.
Since this was assuredly my tea table being presented. And that girl with a pleasant smile, unblemished features, a regal bearing and warmth radiating from her very presence was me.
I dug inside the mountain of portraits, lifting up another at random.
Yes.
It was me. Again.
In fact–
Every single portrait in this heap was of me.
At least a hundred or more. All framed and recently placed upon the walls of a hidden room. A private gallery to a baroness–one who was a keen painter. A corner had been transformed into a small workshop. Unlike the one found in her tavern, this one was far more organised. Easels and brushes were neatly tidied away, cared for as much as the paintings that had been created here.
“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!”
Ignoring the cry of despair behind me, I gazed at the heap of paintings, hand against my cheek as I considered the sight.
A short hum was all I required.
I turned to the stricken baroness upon the floor, her mouth wide as she waited for my judgement.
And then–
“Oho …”
I began to laugh.
“Ohoho … ohhohohoho …”
But this was no mocking laugh which spilled from my lips.
No … it was a laugh of pure delight.
“Ohhhohohoohhohohoohhohohoo!!”
True, nothing here was fit to be placed upon the Royal Villa’s walls. But few paintings were. This didn’t mean they were without merit. On the contrary, even a surface level impression of my face was worth more crowns than even a mosaic of the Grand Duchess completed by a thousand master painters.
But while better artists than her had painted me, few had painted more.
And this I could use.
Why … with this many paintings, I could fill up Soap Island with my imagery!
I could ensure that every tunnel possessed my permanent smile and watching eyes!
No matter where the soap miners hid, seeking respite from their days of hard labour and repentance, they could be met by the sight of my angelic face reminding them that I know and judge their every moment of unsupervised rest!
How … How wonderful!!!!
“A 7/10,” I declared. “Individually, they range between passable and acceptable. Except this one. There is something wrong with the nose. But when taken as an entire collection, the overall composition is greater than the sum of its parts. Alone, each is a verse describing a princess forced to adhere to her mandatory tea parties even as summer blooms a window away. But together, it is the sonata of a princess who continues in her duties without care to repetition or fatigue, reminding those whose hands falter when they should be mining soap that I do not rest, and so neither will they. Not an overly complex message, but then I wouldn’t wish it to be lost.”
Thus, I clapped my hands together in satisfaction.
“... Indeed, I shall put these portraits to excellent use!”
I waited for the gasp of relief which usually came with any of my scores which didn’t plunge into negative numbers. The baroness would not be destroyed by the world of fine art. Only ignored. The baseline criticism. She’d survive.
Providing, of course, that she ever woke from her stupor.
Looking down, I was appalled to see all the light had vacated her eyes.
Far from offering her gratitude, she lay collapsed in an untidy heap upon the floor, her body prone and motionless, her expression locked in morbid embarrassment, and with no signs of life other than the trail of drool which began to leak from the edge of her lips.
“Wow~” said Coppelia, leaning down to poke her cheeks. “You managed to kill her with just the laugh.”
I was appalled.
If this was the reaction to my satisfaction, I may as well be disappointed! That was always easier!
“C-Coppelia! I didn’t kill her! … Why, anyone who dies looking so slovenly would come back to life just to fix themselves!”
Also kneeling beside the fallen baroness, Renise gently shook the girl’s shoulder. Only a weak gurgling came out, wishing for an eternal night.
After a moment, Renise sent a slightly pained smile towards me.
“Um, by any chance … do you not have any thoughts regarding seeing so many portraits of yourself?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well … do you not find it odd?”
I looked at her in puzzlement.
“... No? Why would that be odd? Isn’t it natural that people would wish to paint me? I’m a princess. And an excellent one, too. Better me than a fruit bowl, surely.”
Renise blinked … just before raising her hand to her lips in a small giggle.
“Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
Words which advanced her on my family’s career ladder exponentially. I nodded profusely.
Mreoow.
At least until an unexpected sound filled the air.
I looked around in puzzlement.
“... Did I hear a cat?”
“Mmh~” Coppelia pointed towards the faux-vault door we’d passed. “More than one. There’s a whole bunch being kept nearby. It smells terrible.”
I threw up my arms in exasperation.
Why, no wonder the baroness sought the bliss of unconsciousness! It was to evade my utter disbelief!
The absolute state of my kingdom’s schemers!
First Trierport! Now Hartzwiese! To think it was an epidemic!
Just what were these people doing?! Truly, it’s one thing to undermine my kingdom. But that was a pale crime compared to their feat of singlehandedly fuelling the existence of the Adventurer’s Guild!
“It must be Tantrum and Peppy,” said Renise, far less aggrieved. “As well as all the others.”
I directed my bewilderment towards her instead.
“What is a … Tantrum and a Peppy?”
“They’re the names of the deputy guildmaster’s cats. The ones she was looking for. We should ensure they’re rescued before the night is done.”
I shook my head rapidly. No, no, no, no.
“I am not rescuing cats.”
“Hm? … Why not? Isn’t that the job of adventurers?”
“No, that’s the job of drunkards who mistake the commissions plastered on walls for requests to save a kidnapped princess. Besides, cats hardly need rescuing. Whatever bonds they find themselves in, they’re more than capable of slipping free by their own endless guile.”
Indeed, our only danger was that we tripped over a lazing cat hidden in the shade!
It’s a wonder they hadn’t escaped already. By the time we were done, I fully expected to see cats causing anarchy as they reclaimed the town, mewing from rooftop and windowsill with barely held contempt for the very people who fed them!
… Why, they should be ashamed!
“I see …” said Renise, with a hum of uncertainty. “Well, I suppose they’re known for their self-sufficiency. But even so, I feel that we shouldn’t leave them in the chance that their artfulness fails. There’s a very dangerous forest between here and the town.”
Coppelia clapped her hands together.
Her interest in the baroness severed, she leaned towards her next source of amusement, her smile alive with all the usual colours of the mischief rainbow.
“That’s right~ cats are pretty smart, right? There’s no way they’ll be caught by the slobbering horrors devoid of mercy and compassion which I kept from eating us.”
“Coppelia, you frightened them away with sticks.”
“Exactly. Sticks thrown using opposable thumbs which cats lack. And that means they know where they are on the food tree. They’re gonna stay here where it’s safe, waiting for the dumb humans to come fetch them like they always do, even though cats do nothing but hiss and scratch at them.”
I gave a cautious nod … all the while leaning further away.
“Yes, well, I’m glad you agree. We’ve no need to lift a finger to rescue them.”
“Mmh~ but even so, aren’t you willingly leaving gold on the table?”
“Excuse me?”
“I bet every cat has a poster somewhere up in the Adventurer’s Guild. That’s a whole bunch of change you’re leaving lying around that could be used for our apple strudel budget.”
I was aghast.
Not only at the suggestion our funds went entirely towards the apple strudels she ate before I could even touch them … but also because I knew exactly what Coppelia was doing!
My keen eyes could see through her deep subterfuge!
True, it was only prudent to ensure our personal finances were as secure as possible … but even so!
I had my pride!
In my darkest dreams, I still recalled the shame of rescuing a warehouse of cats in Trierport! There was no scenario in which I’d willingly suffer such humiliation again! Once my dignity was stripped, what was I, but a beautiful maiden without equal?
Indeed, I had no doubt in my mind!
I, Juliette Contzen, 3rd Princess to the Kingdom of Tirea, would absolutely not resort to saving lost cats!
“The Adventurer’s Guild will never be happier,” said Coppelia brightly. “I bet that in less than a day, a literal army of adventurers will be swooping in to claim all the free cats for themselves. They’ll be everywhere. Literally everywhere. Productivity will be at its highest. You’ll be actively supporting the livelihoods of all those guys you see drinking themselves into a coma!”
Renise blinked, then looked at me with an expression filled with new warmth.
“Oh, I see! You intend to leave these cats behind to be collected by new adventurers. That’s very thoughtful of you. I understand now. This must be how high-ranked adventurers help their juniors progress and gain confidence in their skills.”
Renise filled the ensuing silence with her smile.
And then–
She slowly waved a hand in front of my face.
“... Miss Coppelia, why isn’t she responding?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Her cogs get stuck every now and again.”
“I see … ? Should we do something or … ?”
“Mmh~ I’ll scoop up the striped ones! You get the normal ones!”
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So in the last few years, we have seen an overwhelming amount of people calling out Disney for trying to be more "woke" with strong female Disney Princesses specifically in regards to the failed planned Snow White remake.
People flipped out when the leading actress leaked that Snow White would spend less time dreaming about "true love". And many in the opposition retorted that young girls should be encouraged to follow "true love".
But here's the thing, when it comes to adult demographics, that logic no longer flies with public opinion.
The same people who scream that girls should be able to dream about "true love", are almost always the ones that also scream about men being forced into the role of providers.
You can't have it both ways. Because the fact of the matter is, almost ever female marketed erotica involves either a dark mysterious billionaire, or a farmer that does suspiciously little farming. And the main character of the story always ends up living happily ever after inside this ranch or corporate empire.
They're literally just adult contemporary retellings of the "prince" (rich dude) sweeping the girl off her feet and carrying her away to live happily ever after in his kingdom and all the classic Disney princesses prior to Mulan follow this theme (Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas). In other words, it's just the smut version of what girls were taught to dream about since they were young.
You can't have it both ways. If you don't want adult women to be dreaming of their version of Prince charming, then don't fight so hard for the princess to be dependent on Prince charming for her happiness.

Tried to post on other places but pretty sure it's gonna get deleted because it's meme related
I have been following the Kitty tweets mostly for entertainment, they are fun, but I think I see a theme. So here is my tinfoil hat theory.
1.It's not about GME anymore. The game powerup logo, batman tweet says - now we have a symbol, that is a warning, fear etc.
Braveheart meme, dying gamestoooop rallying cry - Wallace dies at the end of movie, but inspires with his death.
Finally, the diversion tweet, magic, the prestige, kasas city shuffle. Everyone is looking at GME stock again, but that's the diversion, kansas shuffle

1. So what is it if not GME ?? He is, saying he is very careful what he says so listen. He is posting SIGNS. What signs do many of the tweets have in common?

Candman says "Be 🐝 my victim" with the bee emoji after the word be =BB
It's Britney Bitch BB
Goosebumps- Bear Beware BB
Busta rhymes -Busta Bust BB
Breaking Bad, and Jason Borne in Boston might be a stretch, but
BLACKBERRY. There is some dd out there about solid fundamentals for BB..
Not a bagholder, I only played amc in 2021.
My positions : shares and june/July calls
Just lottos, not full porting on some meme tweets, but this a casino, so I'm gonna gamble.
Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk

Are wa tenshi no koe!

Extra Info and Links

ANN MAL TV Tropes Wikipedia
Synopsis:
"To know your sin is to have no sin."
Born from a cocoon in the village of Old Home, a young Haibane, an angel like being with a halo and small gray wings and very yummy looking ears, awakens to a world she does not understand without memories of her past. Named Rakka da rapper for the dream of falling she had while inside the cocoon, she soon becomes accustomed to life in the strange town. However, there are strict rules for the Haibane, such as being forbidden to leave the village or go near the walls surrounding it. These, along with mysterious disappearances of their kind on their "Day of Flight," begin to unsettle Rakka and the others since they know almost nothing about their own kind.
Haibane Renmei tells not only Rakka's story but also of those around her, as they live their lives with no memories of the past while trying to break free from their former pain and ultimately find salvation.
From MAL~
Haibane Renmei (Charcoal Feather Federation) is a 13-episode anime which began life as Charcoal Feathers in Old Town, a doujinshi series by Yoshitoshi ABe. Yoshitori's fingers are all over this work, best known for working alongside Chiaki Konaka for the holy trinity of Lain and Texhnolyze with Haibane being ABe's personal baby. With Tomokazu Tokoro lending his adorable name to the directors credits with his MariaHolix and Hellsing Ultimate experience!
Also may be worth noting, some of you may actually be slightly familiar with this project since of course we hosted Lain earlier this year before we jumped onto basketball loli randomly. No news on Texhnolyze tho. That shit is waaay too much of a downer for a The Loli Otaku rewatch

Why should you watch it?

!"Reincarnated as a Lv1 Angel in Another World: My Slow Life as an Odd-jobber."!
Ahahaha! This is where I, as your super responsible and reliable host should try to sell you on the Haibane Renmei experience. Well let me tell you!! I don't know...
Haibane is certainly a series that will show up on your anime adventure a few times but truthly I couldn't quite tell you what it's about. Until hosting Lain I genuinely thought it was an iyashikei slice of life, close to Chiaki's other work, NieA_7, which also has supernatural themes but instead of being on angels it's instead a starving and poverty stricken alien and human duo. Tone wise unfortunately it's gonna be a gloomy time, but I'm sure we can find some lights to focus on~ The show has similar vibes to what you could sometimes find in your Mushishi, Girls Last Tour for another TLO anime, or your Chiyo's Schoolwait, Kino's School Road. No!! Kino no Tabi! There, that's the one.
If you're interested in checking out a series that's more about a journey into the philosophical and life's karma then this is an experience that you shouldn't miss out on. Don't be afraid, this is exactly the type of series you should enter completely blind. Just trust your guide~

Fun Stuff

Daily QotD's, as I do, but whilst I will be doing my Comments of the Day, the corner where I nominate my favourite one liners, favourite observations, and just plain neat comments from rewatchers that definitely replied to at least three other users. I will also be bringing back our much beloved...
Abyssbringer's "What is the thematic purpose of this scene corner!!"
Each day I will post a Prompt as a sort of preview for the upcoming episode. Take this Prompt and write something charming~ Be it a quippy one liner, a prediction on what the scene could possibly be, or just take it totally out of context and try to confuse any tourists that are lurking! If you're confused or need more elaboration I will be happy to discuss further. You may also check out my many previous rewatches for references.
For tomorrow, here's our episode one.

Abyssbringer Prompt!!

Index Thread

Dates, times and plans

So then! The rewatch will begin on Friday, May 17th at 22:00 UTC, 17:00 EST 16:00 CST, 15:00 MST, 14:00 PST So 10pm UK time. We will be doing one episode per day with a series discussion to wrap up. I'm sorry about the short notice, I'd just been holding off on the thread too long!
If you strain your ears, you can probably hear it.

Hello! Just as the name suggests, I’m looking for someone to roleplay with! Before messaging me, I would like it if you could read through. Let me start off by introducing myself, and telling you about myself so you get a good idea of who I am, and if that doesn’t scare you off then great!
My name is Euphie or Ras, whichever is fine, I’ve been roleplaying for several years and even aspire to write a book at some point. I work, have a spouse, and I also do a lot of gaming, anime watching and binging. Roleplay wise: I am comfortable doubling up, playing male and female roles, I have diverse characters (they’re all not mary sues) and I’m big on communicating with my partner. I can do semi-literate to literate, and be able to match what my partner gives. I do not mind playing Canon character’s, it’s not my strong point but I’m down to try anything. Just so I know you have read through this properly; tell me what is the capital of Hawaii?
What I’m looking for; I’ll try to keep this simple. I do require a few things from my partner if they are to RP with me but they’re not too bad.
1.) Please be older than 21. I’m older than 25, it’s a bit weird for me.
2.) Be comfortable playing Male Roles and or Doubling up. I like to play both genders; but I’m still rusty when it comes to being a man. Most of my men are morally gray buttheads anyways.
3.) Communicate. This is my biggest thing. I’ve had people ghost me a lot, or suddenly change their mind when they realized I’m not 24/7 waiting to talk to them. I’ve also had people drop me over little misunderstandings. Just to let you know, I will likely ask you multiple times for clarification.
4.) GOOGLE DOC/Discord. I only roleplay through Google Doc, I try not to use Discord a lot but for the right moment I will heavily contemplate it!
I am looking for several things. * is how I will rate how badly I’m wanting it. *** is the most.
Fandoms:
***Baldur’s Gate 3 / OC x Canon / Either; Gale, Astarion or Halsin: I have a vague idea for this, I would be willing to double and play whoever.
**Harry Potter / OC x Canon / Draco Malfoy - Again, I can play whoever for you, I have a storyline for this.
*** Call Of Duty / OC x Canon / Either; Soap MacTavish, Alejandro Vargas. Same as before.
*** Bridgerton - The new season is coming and I am heavily excited for it. So, anything themed. Prefer double up and maybe OC x OC.
Tropes:
NOTE: Do not come into my DMs wanting....more than just RP.
***Second Chance: MC1 and MC2 dated for years until one day MC1 left town, never to be heard from again, MC2 moved on and eventually either a funeral or a wedding happens and MC1 is back in town many years later. I have a plot for this. I’VE BEEN WANTING FOR LIKE EVER to roleplay this.
** Best Friends Brother - MC3 is MC2’s best friend, and grew up together. MC3 is MC2’s brother who went off to the military after graduating High School. MC1 has not needed MC3 since they graduated highschool nearly 10 years ago.
*** The One Night Stand - After a fling, both character’s go separate ways. MC1s family is hosting an event (maybe they’re rich or own a company), only to be reintroduced to MC2 who is investing into MC1’s family's business or whatever.
** Fake It - MC1 needs to marry someone in order to maintain their social status AND MC2 is struggling financially to help their family , so MC1 devises a plan to fake marry MC2 and in return, MC1 will help MC2s family.
I’m also open to fantasy related things like:
Arranged Marriages. Princess x Knight. Demon x Priest/Priestess.
Feel free to DM me if you have any ideas!