tana's trash bag of random things

As someone who had read the last seven chapters during their release dates AND reread them all the way to the end, I must say that while I was initially hesitant and unsure of where the story was heading, reading it in full actually does give a sense of satisfaction worth noting after years of reading Akayona. I know it could have been better (author said so themself on their social media!) but I also think it's still a good ending for a story that revolved around found family and love in the midst of changing political climate.

If I had to pinpoint specifically on what I was happy about with the ending chapter, I would say it was satisfactory in a sense that I know the Dragon Warriors deserve the happiness and freedom that they had been deprived of since their birth and rise to their respective positions. I found that everything has come to a full circle, with Yona assuming, Hak reinstated, and everyone returning to their startpoints to do some necessary closure before finally taking that first step forward to the Great Unknown. I also think that the acknowledgement of Soo-won's nuanced actions was more or less well-addressed, though as I said before, it could have been better delved into.

I think something I wish could have been handled more was this whole Sword and Shield aspect of the prophecy. It wasn't just the Dragons who forgot, I did too haha. I didn't even connect it to Soo-won and Hak, but I suppose that may have been an oversight on my part rather than the story itself. I also feel that the Crimson Illness was quite rushed, which was sad considering how heavily it impacted the roots of the plot. I kind of felt that Soo-won was quite overlooked despite being such a necessary character that drove much of the story proper, and I hope someday there would be a side chapter focused on how he'll move on from being a former king and usurper.

You are so beautiful. So innocent and curious. You just ran to wherever your little heart told you to go. You had a hard time making friends but that's alright. You rather choose friends who would want to stay with you rather than friends who force themselves to get along with you.

You were terrific as you were weird. You stared too long or didn't look at all. And the way you would pore through books, God, I missed just doing that. I miss being you, gloriously weird and lonely you.

I'm now different from you, and sometimes I wish I wasn't. Now, I'm the standard people are compared to. I know how to make friends, shallow relationship it may be. And I've learned to open my heart to other fields. People have forgotten that the "talent" they see was skill that was continuously polished for years. They had forgotten that you existed before.

Something I really commend Yana Taboso for is the way she highlights how impactful familial ties are to her main cast. Though relatively short, the Ortho-focused chapters captured my heart with the unexpected but welcomed appearance of ldia and Ortho's parents. And how could I not let my heart be swayed? I just adore the soft gestures and obvious favor that the Shroud parents have for their sons.

They call Idia 'Idy', recognize and praise his intellect and abilities, but also ensure that they're strict enough with him due to his antics. They consider Ortho their third son, who they never even thought of as a replacement, but rather a child that they raised alongside Idia, a boy who they constantly remind to be safe and to prioritize his comfort even in the face of mass destruction. And while they didn't delve so much on "Ortho", you can already guess just by how loving they are with Idia and Ortho how meaningful their second son is to them.

Finally started playing through Book 7 of Twisted Wonderland and reached Chapter 38ish, give or take, before having to do something else. It started really well, with it continuing from Book 6's foreshadowing. Honestly, my heart really broke for the Diasomnia babies huhu no one wants to see Lilia leave, not Sebek, not Silver and definitely not Malleus! And it's just so heart-wrenching to know that Lilia didn't want to let them see him so weak and helpless, which is why he chose to drop out instead and move somewhere far. I hate it, I understand them and it makes sense considering who these characters are and where they're from, but it hurts so bad??

The population my group chose was fireflies. The conclusion on our talk was that for all they are as a beauty to behold, human actions as seen the past decades have been disrupting their mating cycles, their homes and their short lives. The article really reminded me that us humans just do whatever we want, and that's something we just often go about without thinking. I don't crucify it, it's not really our fault if it's in our nature to be self-absorbed, but if you just take a step back, if you just look at the bigger picture for a moment, you'll realize that we are too impactful to our environment, to the point that our co-inhabitants are forced to adjust to us despite all of us being living beings. For such minuscule lifeforms, the lives of other species are hinged on our decisions.

We are our own ripple in the waters.