they stumble that run fast

What’s that saying? Screaming, crying, throwing up 😂 No, seriously though, nothing really compares to Apothecary Diaries right now I feel like. The story is so well written, the characters are captivating and the animation…just look at it. Cannot wait to have Maomao and Jinshi back in the anime and in this movie. The trailer was a welcome surprise 💜💚

It is true that to become an atheist, all you have to do is read the bible, I guess

@postingtime2 I asked you to cite specific scriptures, not just give untrue generalizations which all atheists do when they have no ability to prove what they’re trying to claim. Nice try but until you actually can prove your argument, there’s no discussion here.

What is with these, quite frankly, insane takes about Vax not submitting due to his ego and wanting to “save face?” Did we all watch the same show? You know, the one where there’s a character who has barely any ego and sacrifices himself for his sister and friends over and over? I mean, if people are not able to understand the hero’s journey to this degree, I fear for the ability to grasp much media at all. When heroism is now being spun as selfish and egotistical, that’s not just a bad take, it’s a dangerous one.

Because yeah, we can say this is fictional and regardless of how people perceive Vax’s actions, it’s how he was written so people should bear with it and not be so offended. However, if you view a character’s act of heroism as inherently selfish, what if a person commits such an act in real life? Would you call them an egotistical person just doing it for vanity? If a solider chooses to leap onto on a grenade for comrades, we don’t say “wow, just doing it for his ego, what a loser.” No we honor such people because of the costs of their sacrifice. Are there some people who “play the hero” for attention? Sure, but that isn’t what this is. This isn’t a commentary on narcissistic manipulation. It’s a character journey that leads to one man standing up to a vile, liar of a villain so others can do the same.

Them writing Vax as a character who doesn’t submit is completely in line with his arc. It’s not about ego or pride when he doesn’t bow to Vecna. For one, the idea people seem to have that they would’ve been able to regroup had Vax given in and Vecna would’ve kept his promise is ludicrous. He’s a villain, since when are you supposed to trust anything a villain says? Especially when he had just admitted to spinning an unholy web of lies for so long to convince them to kill him so he could resurrect. But yeah, sure, that guy would just let Vax go so they could regroup.

Well this ending was kinda confusing for me, not gonna lie. I get it that of course this series is going to go on for a bit so they can’t have him pick a girl right away and need to drag things out but parts just don’t totally make sense. Like Arashiyama saying that she likes him but can’t be marriage material now due to her wanting to become super independent so she can help and support him. Um…did I miss the last few episodes where she felt powerless and then figured out she could support him another way with the abilities she has? And then also that Gero said he doesn’t care if she’s this awesome boss babe, that he likes her as is and is glad she’s there to stand behind him. Plus if people become so independent it then almost can become impossible for them to settle down.

On a similar note, when she said she’d make him fall for her, Gero was flustered but to me it came across like he maybe was interested when he said he’d wait for her. But then later Kinosaki said his reaction in that moment was actually because he felt awkward and couldn’t respond to Arashiyama’s feelings in the way he’d like. Meaning what, he wanted to turn her down? This just makes it appear like Gero was lying when he said he would wait and she’s a potential candidate. I’m still gonna root for Arashiyama to be the end girl but after that final I think that’s a way more remote possibility.

Here’s my thing about the ultimate Vaxleth ending (not Season 4 but when the two are reunited after the campaigns). While I think there’s beauty in how their love story has deep yearning and basically unfolds over so much time, I would love to see a better payoff in the end (if we ever get there in animated form). What I mean by that is, for those who know the campaign, which I’ll admit I’m not as versed in but have tried to keep up as best I can, Vax and Keyleth’s ending is still somewhat bitter-sweet. Yes, he comes back and it appears he’s basically immortal so now he’s the one who will outlive her vs there being the stress of lifespans as before. However, he’s still very much tied to the Matron of Ravens and his duties keep him wrapped up just as much as they did before. So although he can now see Keyleth, being together still isn’t this grand possibility.

Again it reminds me more of Will and Elizabeth, pre-sequel where they released him from the contract. He can only be on land for a day and that’s it. Yes, those two still got married and had a kid in the meantime but they were basically apart. With Vax and Keyleth, we’re given the impression that Keyleth finally mourned him and although she knows a part of her is very much still in love with him, they have to start from scratch, which both are willing to do, but it ends with “every now and then her Champion comes to visit.” While this sounds sweet, if you’re a romantic like me it’s still a bit sad cause an epic romance being rebuilt isn’t going to happen on “every now and then”. That just sounds like casual friends getting together for lunch. And somehow I can’t buy that two people like Keyleth and Vax who had such an intense relationship could either go back to being just friends or stay somewhere in the awkward middle of being in love but never getting married or starting any kind of life together.

Part of me hopes that they use the animated show to add on to this ending or tweak it and make it so there’s a better finality to it. Do they get married? Have children? Does Vax have time to spare and an actual life with Keyleth or is he almost always gone in which case their relationship is mostly one of companionship and familiarity but won’t ever be what it was before? Sincerely hope it’s the former rather than the latter. I know some fans have wondered if Vax is different because it was speculated that Vax changed when he became part of the celestial realm but my hope would be that as he’s with Keyleth it becomes evident that the old Vax is still present and in ways has always been there.

Seems to me that some were almost expecting Vaxleth to have a love story similar to Perc’ahlia when the things is, narratively I wouldn’t want a copy of what we saw with Percy and Vex. I’d say they’re both good because they’re different. Percy and Vex’s love story was incredibly well told and is wonderful in its own right but it’s not similar to what unfolds with Vax and Keyleth. While they wanted to have a love like Percy and Vex, their respective paths made it clear that wasn’t going to happen early on. They’re the star-crossed, deeply in love but tragic Shakespearean lovers as opposed to the more classic yearning and epic declarations of a Jane Austen couple. It’s ships passing in the night, wasted opportunities, dreams unfulfilled and ultimately the reckoning of having to start over. But their struggle is what makes Vaxleth a beautiful love story. Because it shows that love isn’t always about getting swept away in the moment but about choosing the person, over and over, even when it’s uncertain and the road isn’t easy.

While some may be like “why should a one year fling be a lifelong love story?” I’d ask why not? And was it really a one year fling? After all, Vex knew she loved Percy in about the same time but was unwilling to admit it. And they settled down into their married life easily and quickly because they knew there was no one else. I think it’s clear, had Vax not have been in the situation he was with the Matron, he and Keyleth would’ve likely followed the same course. Their “one year fling” would’ve turned into marriage, kids and a whole lifetime of everything they’d wanted together.

Honestly, for all that buildup to having Hinagiku and Sakura see Rosei and Itecho again that was a serious letdown. I was hoping that seeing Rosei again more than anything would be the catalyst for Hinagiku to come back to herself. To stop talking in the third person and saying she doesn’t deserve happiness because it belongs to her other self who “died.” She split her personality due to trauma and a need for self-preservation and yes, there are times where the damage cannot be undone but this is fantasy. Rosei really wanted to “rescue” her in a way he wasn’t able to when they were kids so it would’ve been more poignant had the true Hinagiku come back when she was with him once more, when he did hand her the flower of ice, effectively making her feel truly safe to be herself again. Instead though, quite frankly, by this point it just got uncomfortable. Especially when she says she’s the wrong one and he goes “I know” yet he thanks her and we’re supposed to think this is a love story?

The same could be said for Sakura and Itecho when there was an equal buildup for them, the tension they had in her feeling betrayed and walking away and his obvious feelings towards her. Yet when they meet there was no impact, as she says it felt like he was addressing her like a relative. All the yearning the story had built for both couples went out completely gone the moment they were together which was a complete shame. And I’m really over Sakura and her possessiveness of Hinagiku. If they were just going to keep the kind of unhealthy codependency between the girls where they struggle to let anyone between them, why even bring in Rosei and Itecho there in the end? Cause the reunion with the boys falls flat when again it’s just turned into Sakura wanting to interrupt and then actually doing so later but Hinagiku doesn’t protest.