#10/10 extortion scene

[g36a2]

the cunt

[devotion-disorder]

ok but i feel the bailey brainrot... when i first got into the game they annoyed me bc bitch why they hell do you need so much damn money from orphans but now i fear i've fallen for all the sexy bailey propaganda 😔

like the devlog said seducing them will need to involve a lot more so they're definitely not immune to PC but that just made my brainrot worse thinking about all the various scenarios of bailey being extremely horny for the PC but refusing the cave in and PC just keeps pushing their buttons....

(that being said they still piss me off sometimes like wdym you want £4,000 right after i get discharged from the hospital)

SAME.........I am not immune to sexy old man propaganda.........

iirc they are still planning to implement a bailey seduction scene in the future that is more properly in-character...!!! so im v v excited for that. I loooooveee the idea of PC and bailey having a super messy and toxic relationship that is not necessarily even romantic. From Vrel's QnA it seems Bailey does have a slight fixation on PC, probably because PC is the best moneymaker, but there are points that are like???👀??? wdym bailey has had possibly plot-spoilery dreams about PC. wdym bailey would not let PC go even if they've paid all their debts. explain yourself old man!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!1!!!!!!!

Maybe this is the terminal stage brainrot delulu speaking but, sometimes i wonder if Bailey is the way he is only because he knows PC can handle it (eg. Bailey sends PC to Eden betting that PC can and will escape, according to the QnA). I wonder if he's deliberately or unconsciously trying to pass down his intensely mercenary mindset onto PC (and ostensibly all the orphans) because he understands first hand that's the only way you can survive in rapechestershire? I like that he's principled and holds a certain degree of respect for PC - cause if he really wanted to extort PC to the fullest he could've been a lot crueler, like not allowing PC to defend themselves when people pay to fuck PC at night. ok the real answer probably is still just so he can make more money but RAGUUUGJHHHHGHGH LET ME HAVE MY SECRETLY-KIND-OF-A-SOFTIE BAILEY DELUSIONS

also i just wanna put this here

Higher than Whitney? the dude licking PC's face in public at 10 am every school day?

[cafejulii]

In honor of the hxh manga coming back in a few days, I want to take a second to honor the more light-hearted moments Succession War that we most likely may not be getting for a long while just simply because the plot is really starting to add up (which is amazing but all the more nerve-wracking). There are many and a lot of people have talked about this scene specifically already, but I just need to talk about it personally because I can't stop laughing at it.

Like all of it is just gold. First of all, just starting off with the plain insult. Amazing. 10/10. There's nothing like telling your co-worker straight to their face and with blatant honesty that they have a below-average level of comprehension. He just says what we all wish we could say. Love that for him.

And then it just gets better really. The subtle shade from Killua to both of them. "Since it's you we are talking about" like damn. Though seriously favorable in comparison to having a whole disclaimer about just how gross you are.

Also the fact that, Kurapika; a mafia boss who has done hordes of awful things such as extorting, manipulating, and stealing from people in order to further advance with his mission (and oh yeah has also killed a member of the Spiders and buried him with a shovel he brought to the fight) had to pause and remind himself that this was all for the sake of his fallen brethren....just because he had to give out the most mediocre, obviously dramatized, compliment to Bisky ONCE?? Just so she could leave him alone too LMFAOAOA

I usually don’t like when people him overdramatic but in this instance I will absolutely let it slide because it’s just the flat out truth.

I’m glad this scene exists because it’s just another example of how he hasn’t fully lost himself to his mission (on top of the many other scenes that explicitly indicate this such as his interactions with Queen Oito, Wobble, Bill, Hanzo, and Leorio). Not because it holds anything of substantial value *really* but because because it shows that he still has a sense of pride beyond his goals and that he's still the brilliantly witty, slightly judgemental asshole from the hunter exam. (I say this in admiration)

I also just love the fact he regresses to his childhood expression of pure annoyance. This was most definitely intentional and I will die on this hill.

I need to lock in and create more serious hxh posts my god. But either way, so incredibly excited for what may come to pass in the upcoming chapters. (Togashi please let him live I need to see him insult people more)

[valeriancrow]

Directory

Dividers: @sisterlucifergraphics , @cafekitsune , and @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Thank you for letting me use ur dividers!

Genshin Impact (not taking requests)

One Piece (pending release)

The Arcana (not taking requests)

Requests are OPEN. Rules for requesting are here.

Requests currently pending… 0 (pls send some)

Currently have 5 fanfics in progress.

Shanks x Genderfluid Reader: mundane life on the Red Force, haven't figured it yet. has the most written words but lacks true form

Strawhat crew x afab anthropologist: Big ol' slowburn between Luffy and reader, they might not even get together. not a lot of romance goin on, but some well thought out high tension scenes. a real lil summary: "Series or mini-series with strawhats & afab anthropologist. Luffy comes across reader while they’re digging on an abandoned island at some ruins. Ur so tuned into ur dig site and notes that you barely notice ur being watched until it’s too late. Also takes place after wano and before egghead" I'm really excited for this one. this could also be Robin x reader but we'll see which way this story takes me.

Strawhats & male accountant/brooker: this is another potential slow burn but with nami. but this one most likely won't have any romance. also might just be a one-shot, when I write it i'll know how I feel about it. the real summary: "Series or mini series with strawhats & male accountant/brooker. Becomes besties with nami and keeps her in check from extorting the crew too much, def helps her with it sometimes." with how I'm feeling about this and how nami only loves beri idk if they're gonna get together.

Luffy x reader: based off of a poem

Zoro x tomboy reader: based off some fanart going for a mini series vibe. def modern au tho

"[Soft haughty tone] Hello fellow travelers, I am the Master Tale-weaver Valerian Crow. You might have heard of me on the whispers of the wind, or in your local tavern. For I have written a great many of stories, from entertainment of the sexier kind to the softest of fluff. [abrupt pause and soft accent is dropped] Okay, that's enough of that. I literally don't have anything else to say."

Hii, I'm Danny but my penname or persona for this blog is Valerian Crow. When referencing this blog, my works, or just addressing me use Valerian. I'm 18 and I recently graduated high school and going into college in Autumn.

I've been writing fanfic since I was 10 I think, might have started earlier, starting with the good old favorite Nico di Angelo x Will Solace smut that never got posted. Then later I wrote a 13 chapter pjo self-insert on Wattpad that I deleted so that's never getting posted here unfortunately (not). Also I happened across tumblr during the early days of the quarantine, I got no idea how I didn't find out about it sooner. I then got back into writing with Genshin Impact fanfics and posted them on Quotev. I have since abandoned the fandom in favor of One Piece which is the only thing I will be writing for. I possibly may be open to new fandoms or only specific characters but for now I'm sticking with my One Piece.

If you want to get to know me as Danny and not as Valerian please go follow my main blog @nico-ith. Here on this blog I am Valerian Crow and will not respond to Danny unless it is important.

credit for banners: @cafekitsune

~Valerian

[ncillary]

POV : First meeting in the Destiny Cafe

Content : Fluff, short drabble, Affinity 10

Xavier

MC : Fancy meeting you here in the Destiny Cafe.

Xavier : -nods at you- You are fancy.

MC : What?

Xavier : What?

MC : ...

Xavier : ...

Staff : May I take your order, sir?

Xavier : I've ordered. Please excuse me.

-Hurriedly out of the cafe-

Barista : Drinks for (MC's name)

MC : Huh? That's me but I haven't ordered yet.

Barista : Oh? You're not that blue-eyed boy that ordered.

Staff : Ah. He just booked it out of here.

Staring at each other then the drinks.

Barista : Might as well take it with you since it's already paid.

MC : -receiving the drinks in confusion- Thank... you?

Staff : You're welcome. Have a nice day.

*Xavier was watching the whole situation just on the corner of the cafe's window. Stupid smile on his face as MC was enjoying the drink.*

Zayne

MC : Dr. Zayne? What a surprise meeting you here?

Zayne : -staring-

MC : -getting awkward- Well then, it was nice meet-

Zayne : I'm offwork.

MC : What?

Zayne : ...

MC : I... noticed... Enjoy your... offwork...

Zayne : Care to join me? This is the last batch of the limited muffin for today -gliding the plates of 5 muffins on top of it-

MC : Oh, what?! -immediately sitting- I can't believe you're able to get it. Wow. You really don't mind?

Zayne : I've eaten five of them. Try it.

MC : -hesitantly eat one and lights up- Thish is delichious! Yvonne and I have been talking about it.... (proceed to tell the story)

Zayne : -giving small smile to her that went unnoticed- I heard.

MC : What?

Zayne : Your review is very refreshing. Go on.

MC proceeded to compliment the muffin all the while Zayne kept looking at her with that small smile of his.

Rafayel

MC : Rafayel?

Rafayel : Hello there, Miss Bodyguard. Up for a side income?

MC : Aren't we already established on that?

Rafayel : -playful gasp- Miss Bodyguard. I didn't know we had an established relationship outside of work?

MC : -sigh- Not like that. I meant-

Rafayel : Oh, look at that. The flowers they put up on the countertop are different everyday.

MC : Huh?

Rafayel : -proceeds to pull her to sit near him as he points at the counter- And look at the pastries. Some of them have the same flower decorated on top. Go on. Order them for me.

MC : Rafayel-

Rafayel : Here's my card. Get whatever you want along with the pastries. I need some muse by consuming those pastries. Go on. Stat.

MC : -already getting up with the card- Fine. I'm ordering the most expensive one from the menu.

Rafayel : -another gasp- Miss Bodyguard! That's an extortion.

MC : -grinning- You pay who you hire. Remember.

Rafayel kept looking at her as she ordered. He smiled simply for another successful evening with her.

Sylus

Sylus : Fancy meeting you here, Miss Hunter.

MC : -wary- You're not...

Sylus : I'm here? Yes. Shady business? No. But I do need a recommendation since this is your territory.

MC : -crossing arm- Why should I?

Sylus : Why shouldn't you?

MC : Wha-

Sylus : I'm just another foreigner from a far away land. Visiting Linkon for a peaceful time. Will the exemplary citizen like Miss Hunter deny someone like that in a time of dire?

MC : I-No! But- -sigh- fine. Just... don't cause a scene.

Sylus : I wouldn't dare when Miss Hunter is nearby.

MC glared at him a bit and he put his hand up to show he meant no harm. But the smirk played on his lips irked her to no end.

Sylus following, towering, MC close as she ordered. He paid for both of them. Received a slight argument but took her free drinks and pastries begrudgingly. They sat together and able to have decent conversation somehow. What a weird, pleasant, night.

[marlinspirkhall]

I watched the unaired Selection pilots so you don't have to

But, if you want to, you can do so here, and here (password: “selection”), credit to Media Garage on YouTube

Edit: links no longer active

The Selection (2012)

Strong Hunger Games vibes throughout, the plain-text opening screen isn't helping

Stock-footage of rolling hills gets replayed way too much

ETHAN PECK?

Unlike in the books, America only finds out she's been entered into The Selection after she gets selected, so the plot point about the photoshoot & her radiant smile being the thing which gets her selected no longer applies, I guess

Everyone in the YouTube comments was saying that Aspen and Maxon were miscast & the actors' roles should have been swapped (... No comment. I believe in you, Mr Peck)

This castle is looks too small to fit 24 TV show contestants in it

Fiona, unprompted: “Can you keep a secret, America?”

America: “I have been known to”

Fiona: “I play the violin”

Okay? (This is actually a very sweet moment and, again, Fiona may be the best actress in this)

This episode covered a significant portion of the first book, out of order, which makes me wonder if the intention was to cover all 3 books in one series.

This almost feels like half of a film, making me wonder if someone adapted a film spec script into a tv show spec script

Apparently, Fiona has a secret child and Celeste knows about it, causing Fiona to drop out on day one and tearfully warn America to “trust no one, there's no such thing as friends here”- which is a fucking wild thing to say when she's probably the only contestant who's been nice to America so far & Celeste didn't even need to get to know her to know her secrets because she has spies anyway 😭

It's worth reminding you that they have been at the palace for one entire day total

You think Queen Amberly is being fleshed out in this version but... Hmm

Amberly appears to be the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes (she confronts Celeste about extorting Fiona, tells her "she would have gone home in due time" and to "leave America to me. Anything we do to try and separate them [her and Maxom] will only make him want her more")

Again: IT HAS BEEN A DAY

America sees her servant gathering all her dresses (none of which she has used yet, bar the yellow and green ones) including the iconic blue one from the book cover. America asks what's happening and the servant replies: “Prince Maxom's orders”

Cut to America's family. They open a box with a glittering pair of high heels inside. I guess this is supposed to mirror the part of the book where Maxom cuts off the stipend for 2's and 3's who are in the selection?

If you think this version feels unfaithful to the book, just wait until you see The CW's pilot

IT HAS BEEN ONE DAY

Runtime: one day 45 minutes

Final rating: 5/10, kinda long and stiff in places and the set design was all over the place. Felt like a Hallmark movie (the set design didn't help). Probably would watch another episode of this if it was a full series or a limited series of 3-6 episodes. A little script-doctoring and a better set would work wonders.

The Selection (2013)

I cannot stress enough: this version begins with a sex scene between Maxom and a servant

Okay, I got ahead of myself; it actually begins with another hunger-games-esque black screen with text on it, text which reads “Someday, in the future”, which is read aloud by a woman's voice.

We zoom in on a much roomier-looking castle on a hill, as a random whip sound effect plays (leading into the sex scene, in which no whips are present)

All the female servants in the palace are dressed in sexy maid costumes and I wish I was kidding

The world map explaining the history of Illea is CONFUSING AS HELL, but maybe they hadn't nailed down all the details yet. I'm genuinely not sure

ANTONY HEAD?

Aspen is introduced tied to a St Andrew's cross and being watched over by a guard. America asks the guard to free him, he chases her through the streets, she circles back and cuts Aspen down

America's selection is similar to the 2012 pilot, except Aspen is present. America asks her mom why she'd enter her into the selection when “You know I'm with Aspen”, so uh, I guess they're not keeping it a secret here.

There's also no mention of Aspen being of a lower caste than her, nor of America having a job other than the vague title of "laboring class" which hangs over them all, vaguely

This is a masterclass in editing and pacing. The dialogue is okay, but the added geopolitics make no sense. Any issues with this are smoothed over by the fact that the plot keeps moving forwards at a breakneck pace to keep you distracted.

The lack of breathing room would probably be too confusing for an audience who wasn't already familiar with The Selection

The set here is absolutely beautiful but unfortunately it gives me Merlin vibes, and casting Antony Head as the king does not help with this.

Maxon attempts to pull a Mr Darcy. He then tells America that if she runs away with Aspen, the guards will beat him to a pulp and they'll both spend the rest of their lives in prison. America suggests that she make the monarchy look good so the working class don't side with the rebels. Looks like we're going full Hunger Games.

Celeste's handmaiden seems way too devoted to her; they turn out to be lovers

Just when you think Maxon might start redeeming himself, we see the palace guards swarm Aspen and kicking him. Maxom stands nearby on his horse overseeing this so there's no question of whether he did it or not

Final rating: 6/10, I would absolutely watch another episode of this. It was an absolute mess, but I've seen teen wolf, so I'm not gonna pretend I'm above it.

This feels like the kind of pilot which would get greenlit just to attract hateviewers.

Summary:

Neither protagonist had red hair and neither adaptation was trying particularly hard to give it to her (2012: dark red box dye. 2013: blonde!)

These actors are doing their best and some of them even seem to be having fun (good for them)

In the 2013 pilot, the writers lampshade America running around “like an action hero”, but she promptly forgets how to do that by the midpoint of the episode, so w/e

It feels like the 2013 pilot was a reworking of the 2012 pilot, because there were too many similarities carried over from one script to another which weren't present in the original book, like Fiona having a secret relationship.

I forgot to mention that Aspen has a brother in the 2013 pilot. He seems to be adapted from the palace guard who has a relationship with one of the contestants in a later book.

I can't get over how fucking weird of a decision it is to make the kind and likeable love interest into a power-corrupt despot, but it does feel more true to an actual monarchy. I assume they were trying to give Maxon a bad-boy vibe, which doesn't make much sense because that's supposed to be Aspen's whole deal.

There was a whole subplot in both pilots where an advisor character is revealed to be working with the rebels at the end of the episode

Extremely funny to me that the 2012 pilot makes a point of mentioning that sex before marriage is illegal and the 2013 pilot opens with premarital sex with the prince regent

[the-way-astray]

Ok just saw that your asks are open

Ik that you do not like Keefe (for valid reasons)

But here's something for you to analyze/think about

Not necessarily to change your mind about him bit if it does it does

Ok so

At the end of neverseen Keefe said "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better"

Yes he was referencing to him running away and for lodestat Yada Yada what have you

But I FULL heartedly believe that it was foreshadowing for the entirety of his chara arc throughout the series

Cause as of stellarlune he is at his lowest of lows

However you want to classify that us he's there

The way he treats his friends, his relationships with them, his mental state, ability state, common sense

All of it

And do I think it's gonna get worse than what it already is

YUP

But here's what that quote implies

It DOES get better

Never says when or how

But just that it does

I fully believe that after he gets past the roughest patch (whether that's him currently or even him in book 10) that he'll slowly start to realize how he's been and start trying to be better and get the help he needs

And tbh

I don't think it'll be anytime soon

I feel like he needs to have the (inevitable) argument with Sophie to finally realized it

Cause trust me as much as I ship sokeefe I really do believe they need to have an argument

Maybe even not speak for a book

But it'll be good for him in the end and hopefully he sees how he's been acting these last few books

Thoughts on this?

okay, sorry this took so long to get to. every time i try to answer it, it doesn't come out quite right. but here's my best shot.

i would agree with the idea of "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" as an arc for keefe. that would be cool. and obviously, since at the time of this writing, the series is unfinished, there's always a possibility shannon could turn it around for herself. i've talked about this briefly in some post from a while ago, but there is a chance shannon will execute a flawless character arc for keefe in unraveled. is it likely? not really. but i wouldn't say it's impossible.

what makes me think this will not happen? in short: the fact that his flaws, the real flaws, not "cares too much about sophie" or "is too willing to self-sacrifice", have not once been villainized or called out as something seriously wrong in the series.

here's a list (referencing this post, where i list out all the things i dislike about keefe, there's more than just what i listed here, but these are the character flaws):

"i hate the way he manipulates, gaslights, extorts, and pressures sophie (and other people) into telling him shit they wouldn't ordinarily." this is never made out to be a bad thing. the person on the receiving end usually just grumbles something like "empaths", then after five seconds it's dropped. you don't see it affect keefe's relationships, you don't see people become uneasy around him, keep their distance from him because oh, that's the guy that's going to spill my secrets, it never feels like this affects keefe's relationships in any negative way. there is no long-term damage. it is completely swept under the rug, and it is never, ever seriously villainized. if shannon wanted to execute a "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" type arc for keefe with regards to this flaw, she'd have to start by having it be a negative thing. then only can keefe work toward a better place. but shannon skipped that crucial step. so how can i assume that she's trying to develop keefe out of this, even if the development goes forwards and backwards and all over the place?

"i hate what a terrible friend he is." there are so many examples of this that i can't remember exactly what i was referencing when i wrote that. in any case, basically the same as what i said above applies. keefe needs to first be villainized for his toxic behavior if he's to grow out of it. take his comments toward fitz in the famous healing center scene, as an example. yes, the scene is told from keefe's perspective, meaning obviously he's not going to hold himself accountable. but maybe elwin steps in and reprimands keefe for what he said. maybe keefe detects sophie's anger toward him for the comments he made toward fitz. maybe he's even told off by fitz himself. there are a variety of ways to make it clear that this is not a good person to be. only then can keefe's journey even begin. if shannon is to do a "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" type thing for keefe with regards to this, then things have to get worse for him. he needs to feel the consequences of his actions, which he never does.

"i hate the way he simultaneously pedestalizes and infantilizes sophie." once again, this is never made out to be a bad thing. if anything, keefe's pedestalization of sophie is meant to endear the audience to him. his infantilization is disguised as """"""witty"""""" jokes, so that is also probably supposed to make us like him. shannon actually managed to take keefe's toxic traits and sell them to the audience as good qualities. could be a masterclass in writing if she did something with this, but it's very clear she actually believes that these are good things. once again, if keefe is to develop out of these things and find a better place, even if he makes a few mistakes and "gets worse", so to speak, at various points along his character arc, that would still require his arc to actually like. begin. shannon hasn't even reached that part. so once again, how am i supposed to expect that she'll write any kind of arc with regards to this?

"i hate the way he's so jealous, so passive-aggressive, so toxic to his supposed friends." i've talked about this very, very briefly before, but i'm almost certain that we're supposed to see keefe as being "in the right" during the healing center scene, at least as the way shannon intended for it to be taken. one second . . . okay i found the post where i said it. here's what i said verbatim: "#i really feel like. shannon genuinely did not mean for him to come off so mean#she was definitely banking on the fact that everyone hates fitz#it's FITZ that's the one that's the butt of the mean joke by KEEFE so nobody will care! right? right guys? guys?#and honestly she's probably correct about that because most of the fandom DOES like keefe and hate fitz so like". now obviously i cannot be 100000000% sure, but from years of reading and rereading these books, i've become pretty confident that shannon genuinely wants us to perceive keefe as an otherwise-perfect angel whose only flaw is recklessness and his tendency to self-sacrifice. so those are the only flaws for which she writes a proper arc. and once again, if she wanted to write any sort of arc for him, even one that isn't perfectly linear, she would first have to start my acknowledging that keefe is the possessive, jealous, toxic friend here. but she doesn't.

"i hate the way sophie has to constantly babysit him because she doesn't know what stupid thing he'll do next and i hate the way he doesn't care about that, despite claiming he's doing half the things he does for her." this is the last one i'll mention in this post, promise. his stupidity is the flaw, by the way. i would say it's acknowledged. so congrats, shannon, you've reached the first step. better than i can say for the last four points. but that's where it ends. it's never developed from. keefe doesn't know how to work on a team and is incredibly stupid, something i ran into the ground while writing my rant. and come unlocked, 8.5 books into the series, he is still incredibly stupid and doesn't know how to work on a team. he consulted exactly zero people before running away to the forbidden cities, and while you could argue that it was ultimately his decision, i do think he should've at least gotten other people's opinions. this decision was so monumentally stupid, i cannot wrap my head around it. i'll talk about it more in my part two rant, but in my opinion, it's his stupidest move yet. now, what about the "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" arc idea for this? doesn't this mean that this could just be a low he's hitting in his arc? well personally i'd say no. because he never reaches a point where he feels like he's working towards not hijacking plans because he wants to genuinely be better and stop. the famous nightfall scene comes to mind, and as i've mentioned before, the reason this, in my opinion, isn't indicative of his arc progressing is that he apologizes entirely out of a desire to appease sophie and win her back to his side, and not because he actually wants to change. so that doesn't count. in legacy, sophie thinks to herself that if she doesn't go with keefe to london, he will find a way to get there himself, once again showing that he has no desire to consider other people's opinions. sophie actually only agrees to go because she's scared of what stupid shit keefe will get into if she's not there to babysit him. she caves to his hijacking, instead of nipping it in the bud, the way she tried to in nightfall. so i'd say there isn't any spectacular moment before unlocked where keefe is getting better with regards to his hijacking plans because he thinks he knows better than everyone else.

okay, now that i've hopefully sufficiently proven that keefe's arc is not a "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" arc, at least not in the way it's executed in canon, i'll move to the rest of your points:

"as of stellarlune he is at his lowest of lows/The way he treats his friends, his relationships with them, his mental state, ability state, common sense" (sorry for formatting this like the lyrics of a freaking song, but i wanted it all in one paragraph lmfao.)

i disagree with this. i actually think his arc is looking up, with regards to his flaws, at least, in stellarlune. he seems like, to put it very, very bluntly, a morally better person. like he did some thinking in the forbidden cities and decided to get his shit together. this is why i say that i have to read unraveled before making my mind up about whether keefe's arc truly sucks or not. because if shannon has him acknowledge all the things i mentioned and make an effort to be better for himself, because he wants to be, then i can see how i could be swayed to the "keefe has a good arc" side. i do still think the chances of this are incredibly slim, though.

i would tentatively say the way he treats his friends is better in stellarlune. he certainly seems like he mellowed out a bit. he also only has like a couple hundred pages of that book to himself, and even less to showing what he's truly thinking on the inside, so it's difficult to tell for sure. his ability state and mental state are as shit as ever, agreed. but i'm not really talking about that? i'm talking about his arc and the flaws that i dislike about him, that i believe should be developed or at least called out for him to be a decent character.

"And do I think it's gonna get worse than what it already is"

same, but i think that low will be hit in unraveled. i think what we're seeing in stellarlune is actually him getting better from some major low he must've hit in unraveled. but once again, none of this has anything to do with why i dislike keefe. i dislike him because his flaws are never acknowledged or developed out of as the series progesses.

"I fully believe that after he gets past the roughest patch (whether that's him currently or even him in book 10) that he'll slowly start to realize how he's been and start trying to be better and get the help he needs"

one thing that i absolutely despise when it comes to writing character arcs is when like 90% of the development happens in the last like 10% of the series. it always feels incredibly rushed and incredibly forced, and it can be done well almost never. it's my opinion that arcs, and all the major progress and setbacks, need to happen evenly throughout the series so that you really feel like the character at the 25% mark is a different character than the one at the 75% mark, with regards to the thing being developed. i don't see that with keefe. he's a toxic friend in everblaze, he's a toxic friend in legacy. he's stupid in everblaze, he's stupid in legacy. he's manipulative in everblaze, he's manipulative in legacy. there hasn't even been a realization on his part.

having said all that, i do think there is a way to write his arc in unraveled that could at least make me tolerate him. and i do agree that there's a slim possibility that shannon could magically decide to develop him in book ten. but also keep in mind that book ten or book eleven is the last book. so there's a strong possibility that i'll still consider it too little, too late. but they are future books. i'll have thoughts when they come out for sure, but for now it's hard to tell what i'll feel about them.

"I feel like he needs to have the (inevitable) argument with Sophie to finally realized it/Cause trust me as much as I ship sokeefe I really do believe they need to have an argument/Maybe even not speak for a book/But it'll be good for him in the end and hopefully he sees how he's been acting these last few books"

i agree. i've actually talked about this briefly in my keefe rant, except i've talked about how i wanted them to fight in nightfall, not in book ten. here's that part, copy-pasted verbatim:

“Sometimes I still worry that some tiny part of her holds it against me. That she’ll never fully trust me. That she’ll always see me as the guy who betrayed her and stole from her and ran off with the enemy.” (Unlocked, Keefe's diary entries, 494) This would be really cool to explore if it was actually done. Sophie holding this against Keefe and struggling with that in the aftermath of Lodestar would be an awesome way to develop their relationship and have them overcome that hurdle and give them both some much needed development. But we know that aside from a single line at the beginning of Nightfall, Sophie never really blames Keefe. She just immediately forgives him for his time with the Neverseen. It’s pathetic writing. Something like that should have consequences. But it doesn’t, because then our poor Keefe will have to be *gasp* villainized. There could be this whole arc about how Sophie doesn’t trust Keefe the same and it impacts their relationship subtly and both of them feel it but don’t want to talk about it and it’s this giant, gaping hole. Then finally there’s a climax where Keefe confronts her about it and maybe she yells at him and he agrees that he’ll do anything to get her trust back. Then he does it. He does the smart thing, takes the smart advice. And he learns. He understands what he did was wrong and is truly a different person now. Honestly, the fact that Shannon explained this out shows me that she’s aware the possibility of this arc exists, but unfortunately, didn’t actually put it into action. Would it have been the most original conflict ever? No. But it would’ve been much better than whatever this dumpster fire of a lack of an arc she actually wrote is. I think I might’ve genuinely enjoyed Sophie and Keefe as a couple if she’d just made them have some distrust that they overcome through genuine work and growth.

anyway, if i didn't answer your question the way you wanted, feel free to shoot me a follow-up ask. i think i got it, but if i misinterpreted, tell me.

tldr: the reason i don't buy keefe's arc as a "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" kind of arc is because that would require keefe's flaws to actually be acknowledged and villainized by the narrative, and for them to have actual consequences that affect him, which they do not. this leads me to believe shannon doesn't see these things as flaws, and therefore will never give keefe the development he needs to have a good arc.

[sexybritishllama]

after many, many, MANY hours, i have finally completed persona 5 royal and am now presenting my thoughts. overall i think i have to rate it a 4.5/10, with a note that rather than being generally mid, it swings so wildly between the good and the bad that it evens out just below average for me

spoilers for ALL of the game under the cut including 3rd semester

the good:

this game is STYLISH. that is probably the first thing everyone says about this game but it's true and it has to be said. everything from the hud to the settings menu is themed, it's slick and fun and just really well done

the music slaps. again, gets said a lot, but has to be acknowledged. so good

in theory the gameplay loop is fun. the swapping between dungeon crawling in the palaces and the daily social links is interesting, and for the first good 40 hours of the game or so i found it really addictive and well balanced (yes in spite of the tutorial)

the characters were (mostly) likeable and there were some good social link stories- notable mentions include futaba, sojiro and yoshida

i loved walking around tokyo, it felt very immersive. i used to travel to shibuya all the time for work and it was a lot of fun recognising the spots and even the way you walk out of the train station!

the bad:

IT'S TOO LONG. it's just too long. my save file is at 119 hours after completing the game. i spread this out over an irl year of playing the game. i was still so burnt out when i got to the end my main emotion was RELIEF. you could cut this game down to like half of this run time and it would only benefit it. there is so dialogue spent just repeating points you already know, or scenes that you have to play on a regular basis (eg me spamming through doing affinity readings or kawakami making coffee or WHATEVER), and it is not to the benefit of the game at all

the excessive length also makes other parts of the game that would otherwise be forgivable into absolute slogs. stuff like the combat being mostly way too easy (with the exception of random frustration spikes like okumura), or the fact that so many of the confidants follow the exact same pattern down to which rank you’re going to be asked to arbitrarily go to mementos to solve their problem- these would be much less annoying if i didnt have to do it SO MUCH AGAIN AND AGAIN

on that note oh my god mementos. i fucking hate mementos. most boring content in existence and when i found out they made more of it in the third semester i screamed out loud

ren/akira/joker as a self-insert main character did not work for me and that negatively impacted just about every character relationship with him for me (especially the romances) because it just felt like there was nothing for people to connect to. he’s just so… nothing, but at the same time wasn't enough of a blank slate for me to feel like i could fully project onto him as a self-insert

i think joker could have worked better for me if they either a) made him a more defined character (my preference), OR if they insist on sticking with a self-insert, make the dialogue options were varied. i don’t expect branching options but i do appreciate it when you at least pretend to give me some agency about the replies my character gives, it can mean a lot in a roleplaying game to actually feel like you're, yknow, roleplaying

i generally like the bombastic wild designs persona has for enemies and stuff but i really struggle to take some of the characters seriously when their masks look like this

IN PARTICULAR why is futaba's whole metaverse outfit so ugly. do my girl justice

akechi is a character who i feel will make for very compelling fanfiction but unfortunately i found his actual canon depiction underwhelming

the entire way they handled kawakami as a confidant and the fact you can choose her as a romance option. INSANELY uncomfortable and negates the point of her entire story arc about deciding to care about her students again and not get extorted anymore, but then you as the player character can date her, can continue to get her to do your manual labour for you and give you massages, which you're heavily incentivised to do because it's so useful as a gameplay mechanic. it is SO UNCOMFORTABLE

maybe i'll make a separate post breaking down my thoughts about each confidant because i have other issues with other peoples arcs but kawakami was the most egregious. as if people havent heard me rant enough already

in general that thing of the game undermining its own messages for the sake of either very bad comedy or fanservice is a reoccuring issue. unfortunately very anime in that sense. as well as kawakami: - you spend the entire first dungeon of the game talking about how shitty this perverted teacher is for his treatment of ann and trying to assault her and then i have to spend the rest of the game sitting through MULTIPLE fanservice jokes about ann (this underage girl btw) being really Hot and Sexy and forcing her to strip for yusuke - ryuji risked his life to save the others and then the girls... beat him up for it? it was clearly meant for comedy, but god did it land flat - the game proves over and over again that the police and justice system is corrupt and ineffective but they never actually seem to... want to do anything about it? makoto literally says she's going to become a cop at the end of her confidant arc!!! girl!!!

their solution to the justice system being shit is to get people to confess to their crimes and Feel Bad, where the villains then proceed to.... be handled under the same justice system we have i guess? as though the issue here was just the fact that bad guys wouldn't confess, and we don't need to look at, hey, why do these people commit the crimes they do, how do we handle punishment vs rehabilitation, etc.

it's weird because they do sort of dance around this topic sometimes (like with akechi's fucked up upbringing) but it always feels like they're scared of diving too deep into it. i don't expect a full marxist re-examining of society from highschoolers but idk man, for SUCH a long game i feel like it was a weirdly shallow reading of the societal issues around authority and crime

also: why does the 'rebel against social norms!' game still not let me romance same-gender confidants. let me date ryuji you cowards

[julielilac]

Yesterday was the anniversary of the trial in which Biu was a plaintiff and won the case. No matter how disgusting antis tried to twist the narrative, that bitch never filed a lawsuit, because all her "evidence" was from Pinterest and her goal wasn't "justice" (the abuser who blames her victim for her own crimes seeking justice, of course, of course 🤡), but to ruin his life and career so that he returns to her and she continues to torture him mentally and physically. This vile creature, whom I cannot call a woman, beated, threatened, blackmailed, coerced, gaslighted him that no one loved him, stole his gifts, extorted money from him (10 million for fake compensation for Netflix 🙃), insulted him in every possible way, wrote the most vile things on her social media (vulgarity, racism, homophobia, mocked widow, wished death to fans). She is absolutely disgusting, but even after a year and a won trial thai pseudo-feminists still consider her a victim when she is a lying narcissist and abuser in its purest form.

After the trial, this bitch hired an anti-account to which she leaked their correspondence, taken out of context, edited and mistranslated into English so that even ordinary slang sounded like insults. She leaked many photos of him that were taken when he was unaware of it, in a vulnerable state and even half naked. This is revenge porn. But disgusting antis grabbed onto the CRIMINALLY leaked correspondence with the wrong translation, and all just because his vile ex-colleagues, who sold their souls to the devil for money and fame, unfollowed the VICTIM (but still follow the criminal until today 🤡), which they NEVER supported, even when he sued his abuser for deformation, blackmail, extortion and coercion! These are the people the fans decided to support, and not the victim, who was kicked by his ex-colleagues even when he was already lying on the ground and bleeding. NONE of his ex-colleagues told their fans to stop, but for some reason their fans want Beyourluve to respect and praise them. I will NEVER respect nor praise the people who helped an abuser ruin the life of their "friend" (as the antis believe, although this friendship never existed, not between these jealous bastards who hated to see that Biu received more attention than them AT EVERY concert in that damn tour).

His ex-partner is one of the worst people in this story and the reason for the biggest regret of my life that I ever loved him. If anyone wants to argue that he is a holy little angel who has done nothing wrong, then I want to save your time and tell you how everything will be: I will give you a whole list of his crap actions, which you will try to justify with the standard excuse of all Bubbles "the company forced him to do all this, but they have love/friendship behind the scenes and he privately supports Biu" (yeah, mythical "private support" when he need PUBLIC support), after which our dialogue will end, because we live in completely different realities.

CEO of the company who tried to sit on two chairs, first showing a video of him hugging Biu (because he needed his fans to buy concert tickets 🙃), then saying that he "doesn’t know what kind of person the actor played Pete is" and that his Nong-abuser is "hurt too" and how he feels sorry for her and this whole smear campaign to ruin the career of his former employee is simply a "lover's quarrel", oh, and the fact that he could sue him for damages, but will generously not do so. The same CEO blocked Biu's fans when they asked him if Biu was alive when all this slanderous mess broke out. And the same company liked the anti-tweet from their COMPANY account that "he deserved what was happening to him" (or something like that), and then apologized from a burner account that followed to all the media that wrote slanderous articles about him (the company paid them for that, sorry for ruining your imaginary world if you were naive to think that they didn't do it).

The screenwriter of that minutes project (she's Apo fan and BBJ shipper, by the way) never wanted to see Biu in her project. The same screenwriter who, in response to accusations of plagiarism (and it wasn't even her who was accused, but him) talked to the accuser and said that it was just a "misunderstanding" (and the CEO called it a "coincidence"). 🤡

The last couple of days have triggered me so much that I decided to write it all down (actually there are many more things that I want to say, but one post will not be enough for this). When people who claim to love Biu try to defend all these vile creatures, try to rewrite history to justify their desire to watch a porn series that ruined Biu's 10 year career and he had to start all over again in ANOTHER COUNTRY, it makes me want to do… ugh… A LOT OF THINGS.

I have never hated someone that much: this abusive bitch, vile ex-colleagues who support the abuser, disgusting antis who, even knowing the truth, write slanders about Biu to denigrate him and make victims of their faves, fake Bubbles who continue to use him as a shipping tool in order to keep their real fave relevant and use his words in vulnerable moments (when that bitch gaslighted him and extorted money by accusing him of plagiarism when he's not even a screenwriter, and when that CEO threatened to sue him and forced him to write words in his defense) only to watch how two men who looks like brothers would pretend to fuck on screen and not feel guilty about it.

I'm so done.

P. S. Biu is currently suing the person/people who are behind the publication of his personal information from that anti-account and I hope that he will sue that psycho bitch again because she was the one who leaked all this to third parties and then stated that her phone was hacked. Yeah, and it wasn’t money or bank information that was stolen, but Biu’s photos and his correspondence with her. 🤡

P. P. S. When I talk about their correspondence, I don't claim that it is real, because many of the screenshots could be fake (they were posted by an anti-account, why should I believe it? 🙄). And even if all are true: 1) it was a PERSONAL correspondence that NO ONE should have seen; 2) complaining about his job where he was mistreated (he literally had no work for a whole month when he was forced to go on hiatus, while the company were making his scandal bigger instead of hushing it up like they did with all Mile and Bible scandals 🙃) and venting about his colleagues (we can now see how "good" they treated him and there is a lot of evidence that they bullied him when at the same time his abuser gaslighted him that no one loves him and he is not needed by anyone except her, that's why he only smiled when they mocked and physically harmed him, they especially liked to kick him) to the person he trusted is NOT A CRIME.

[depressed-sasuke]

The Three Mexicans!

Bleh new info dump, but besides Clint and Lee, we have three good side characters!

Ramon, Indio, and Tuco❤️❤️

Here’s my analysis on them

Ramon is…

A decent villain, Someone who likes to take charge, and have whatever he wants. IE. His unfortunate kidnapped wife.

A decent head on his shoulders, being naturally suspicious the second he meets Joe, though he doesn’t take it any further.

“I don't like that Americano. He's too smart to be just a hired fighter.”

Overconfident, to a fault. He can never lose, and trusts his skills with his own gun entirely too much.

“When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with a pistol will be a dead man. That’s an old Mexican proverb..and it’s true.”

I would say he’s the least interesting, to me personally.

While he did travel, it seems he’s the biggest problem in just his little town alone, not one for building up a bounty. He probably likes the power of being in charge of one place, where it’s easy for him to stay on top.

On account that we don’t really see him till the middle of the movie, and his character doesn’t get any major screen time, I can see why he’s so…plain.

Decent villain, for a decently silly hero. 4/10

El Indio

Yes! A very decent villain in my opinion, he has more than enough screen time of his own to execute his character carefully.

He is quite basically just unhinged at all times, as well a manipulative and a mischievous planner.

He’s not to brash, slowly plotting his moves, but he’ll go to the extreme with his plans if he wants to.

He was more of a threat, he moved from place to place, and had a huge 14 (its was 14 right?) man army behind him. And a whopping $10,000 over his head, you know he’s a bad guy.

This guy is shown to be smart or at the very least extremely perceptive.

- Knowing Manco was a bounty Killer

-Being suspicious enough to go east after being suggest north

-Figuring out Mortimer was a bounty killer

-Planning one of his goons death by setting up another one as guilty, THEN killing the innocent guy, pretending he let Manco and Mortimer escape, and acting as if he was completely distraught

-Using that plan to set up the Death of our two heroes and escape with the money himself

He’s also what I would consider The most “Villain” of the three. While Ramón probably did S/A His captured wife. Indios background shows just how all too easy he was able to kill S/A Mortimers sister. We see him order his men to kill an innocent woman and her baby, obviously not the first time for that either.

His morals are completely gone and he will do anything to get anything he wants.

Him and Ramón are the same that way and in the egocentric way. They both thrive off of being in charge, the big guy, the strongest. Add that with Indios intelligence/Intuition and you get a good 8/10

He was written beautifully and I’m happy we also got to see him show off his own gun skills. The duel with him and the man who betrayed him is my second favorite fight scene of the trilogy.

His intelligence makes his death more satisfying, as it was more difficult to kill him.

Also he was pretty handsome. 😆

And finally our third Mexican!

Tuco!!😆😆

Technically not a villain. The other two, especially Indio are way worse than Tuco is.

Though Tuco wins the record for longest list of crimes…

Crimes

Mass murder

Armed robbery

Theft

Trespassing

Kidnapping

Impersonation

Assault

Vandalism

Extortion

Arson

Con artistry

Arms trafficking

Rape (inc. statutory)

Intended slave trading

Perjury

Though, I’m sorry if this is biased, but Rape? I don’t think Tuco is a rapist. Everything else, even a cheater and abandoning multiple wives I can believe. But not Rape. I couldn’t even see him being abusive, just something slimy like a cheater.

With that out of the way, Tuco is a silmy, very good gun slinging Rat!

His endurance is out of this world, he’s crafty, cunning and extremely greedy.

The second blondie is his ticket to money. He immediately switches up, playing nice and trying to get blondie to talk, though It doesn’t last long after blondie throws coffee in his face.

Though through all his faults, he has one key element from all the Characters in the movie, a heart. As meek as it is, he truly loves his brother and his parents. He’s not the type to kill baby’s, or kidnap women to be his wife.

He’ll drag a man through the desert if he wrongs him! But killing people needlessly left and right isn’t something he’d do. He'd definitely scam them!

[pratturl]

The dark side of the American entertainment industry reflects American democracy

On September 16, world-class superstar and American hip-hop legend "Sean Diddy Combs" was arrested in the lobby of the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, New York, on multiple charges including sexual assault and sex trafficking.

As early as March this year, when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided Didi's homes in Los Angeles and Miami, they found a large number of guns, bullet clips, ropes and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil.

According to federal prosecutors, Diddy was charged with sex trafficking, extortion, drug abuse, prostitution, kidnapping, bribery, arson, etc. He was suspected of controlling a criminal group that lasted for several years and used violence and other means to intimidate and harm women. , forcing them to take drugs for sex trade, and even involving the sexual abuse of minors. So far, 120 victims have come forward to identify Diddy.

According to recent news, there is a secret passage underneath Puff Diddy's mansion, with six secret rooms hidden in the middle, leading directly to the homes of many Hollywood celebrities.

The power and sex trading empire that Diddy built using music is like the tip of the iceberg, revealing the dark side of the European and American music circles.

1. The darkness of American society. Rich and powerful people can play tricks on others.

I don’t know if you still remember Jeffrey Epstein's Paedophile Island.In a lawsuit, filed by Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George, she accuses Epstein of bringing girls between the ages of 12 and 17 to his 577-million-dollar estate by boat, helicopter and plane between 2001 and 2019. The air traffic controllers in Virgin Islands said they saw Epstein leave his private plane with girls who looked 11 years old in 2018, the lawsuit claimed.

The registered sex offender has also refused investigators from entering his island and instead met them at his office. The lawsuit also claims that a 15-year-old girl, who was raped and forced to perform sex acts on others by Epstein, once tried to run away from the island but was caught and held captive.

2. Loopholes in American law. If you have money and power, you can avoid sanctions.

As early as 1999, Diddy was arrested for assaulting music producer Steve Stoute because Steve used footage of Diddy in a music video without permission. He recalled that the scene was "full of blood." In the end, Diddy paid $500,000 to reach an out-of-court settlement. He was originally sentenced to seven years in prison but only attended one day of "anger management classes."

In December of the same year, a gunman opened fire in a car at a Manhattan nightclub, injuring three people after an altercation between Diddy and them. The shooter was Diddy's singer Shyne, and Diddy's girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Lopez, was also in the vehicle involved. Shyne was later sentenced to 10 years in prison, but Diddy was acquitted.

Even in response to the Paedophile Island incident, the Internet is full of speculation about the cause of Epstein's death, which is believed to be related to the fact that some famous people are suspected of being involved in the case and may be disclosed. For example, former US President Bill Clinton and British royal family member Prince Andrew.

3. The guise of American politics. Those with money and power can control the political arena.

Among the incidents that were exposed, there was no shortage of well-known figures in American politics.They participate in promiscuous parties for a long time, and are controlled by others, so they obey the orders of people outside politics. How can such an American political arena be called democratic?For example, not long ago, the United States requested a ban on the use of TIKTOK. The software that every American likes was forcibly banned by the government. Does this mean that TIKTOK has affected the interests of people in the entertainment industry? That's why politicians make policies that have no regard for people.So everyone, please wake up. Today’s U.S. government may be a puppet government controlled by rich and powerful people. They use the guise of democracy but are actually engaged in profit-seeking activities. When have they ever thought about the American people? ? What role can such a government play?

[queenoffishingandcookies]

Alliance just put into concept for me the wealth of the Ushiromiya Family. For the sake of not being too spoilery, I’ll try to be pretty vague, so as long as you’ve read Legend (or don’t care about spoilers), this should be fine?

Anyway. Setting the scene, the three families who live off Rokkenjima (Eva + Hideyoshi, Kyrie + Rudolf, and Rosa) all need a large sum of money for various reasons.

To get that money, they’re asking their elder brother Krauss to either see their father Kinzo (who can permit a loan), or for Krauss to pay them money himself.

As heir to the family, Krauss holds control over Kinzo’s assets.

By ‘asking’ for money, I mean they are attempting to extort him via blackmail.

Kyrie, in Alliance, asks Krauss for 9 billion yen divided between the three parties. That makes for 3 billion yen to each family.

To make it more feasible for Krauss, only 10% of that, 300 million yen, is needed to be paid to each party come end of the year.

So naturally. I got curious and looked up the conversion rate.

By today’s date, 9 billion yen is roughly 62 million USD. (62,188,624)

3 billion yen is roughly 20 million USD, for each family. (20,733,300 specifically).

900 million yen is around 6 million USD.

300 million yen is 2 million USD, for each family. 2,073,412).

It’s estimated by the siblings that Krauss only has 750 million yen on hand to be scrounged up at the moment, so five million dollars.

According to this site, In Japan October 1986, I believe one USD equaled about 150 yen, roughly (the highest was around 200 yen). So, the conversion should be the same, I think (l’m also relying on the Internet for this information, though, take it with a grain of salt).

So. They’re millionaires. (Kinzo’s either a millionaire or a multimillionaire? -> Eva becomes a multimillionaire in the future, so he’s probably not a billionaire. She would have inherited her father’s assets eventually. Unless her fortune in 1998 is being compared to her and Hideyoshi’s fortune in 1986?).

It’s a fact that you always kind of know throughout the VN, that the members of the Ushiromiya family are wealthy, at the very least in their assets, but whenever concrete amounts of money - and large amounts, at that - are brought up, it’s kind of like a blow to the back of the head.

Since the VN primarily takes place on Rokkenjima, where the money means nothing aside from the prescribed value it has…other than the fact that they have money, and need/want money - which is a perceivable motif for the ‘human’ argument of who and what the culprit is as the murders start to occur against fantasy - you don’t really think about the financial status of the family.

Obviously, this is still a large amount of money for the families - but still.

[trendingtank]

🚨 Breaking News in the Country Music Scene! 🚨

Country music superstar Garth Brooks is facing serious allegations of sexual assault and battery from a former hairstylist and makeup artist identified as Jane Roe. The lawsuit, filed recently, claims that the alleged incidents occurred during a work trip in 2019, where Brooks is accused of raping Roe in a hotel room.

The suit goes on to detail other inappropriate behaviors, including exposing himself and making explicit comments. In response, Brooks has vehemently denied the allegations, stating they are false and part of an extortion attempt against him. He has also filed a defamation lawsuit to protect his reputation.

This case shines a light on the ongoing issues of sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry, even reaching the heart of country music.

💔 For a deeper dive into the allegations and the unfolding legal battle, check out my latest blog post on Trending Tank: https://trendingtank.blogspot.com/2024/10/country-star-garth-brooks-faces-sexual.html

[kathrinesadventures]

Alright! An update!

For those who are following my Patreon, I know I said I’d release it on the first of this month but uhhh… Yeah, thing kinda got a bit out of hand. More importantly, the scene where you burn Harag’s “house.” You can fully skip it but it’s 9K (Might go to 12-13K as I said, getting outta hand). You’ll also find a lot of things so I suggest you don’t, but then again, I’m giving you so many options because I want your options to matter. Whether it’s burning down someone’s house, or choosing just how loving you want to be towards your rift walkers.

Now, onto the updates!

First off, I just want to thank all my Patreons and Ko-fi (I know there aren't any yet but thank you all future supporters! <3). They’ve been a massive motivation and I may have had an emotional breakdown this week over “OHMIGOSH PEOPLE ARE STILL SUPPORTING ME ” So haha, yeah. Thanks, everyone. You guys are awesome <3 I might also hold a poll there to choose a short story so yeah!

The game is at 44K (Yep, you heard that right. That’s almost 9K words from last week >:3) I’m gonna try to push myself really hard this week because on the 10th or 11th I’m gonna have to go camp at my professor’s house so he doesn’t send us on an unpaid internship. (A lot of reasons for me doing that, but first and foremost would be that I already left my previous job hence why I’m able to write 9K a week, but also cause It’s unpaid and a 9-10/11 job instead of a 9-5 (cause of me learning and such) along with other subjects in Uni, and then tutoring kids as well, it just leaves me no time to spend on the book, even if I pull all-nighters like I used to.). Dunno how long it’ll take for that but I won’t be alone so yeah, I am going to push really hard to release a Patreon version on the 8th or 9th (Imma try to release it on Friday or Saturday but I want this to be as perfec and enjoyable). (I think I might be oversharing, do tell me if I am;-; )

I’m just gonna leave this here cause I’m having way too much fun with the game.

Three heartfelt moments with Thor and two with Laurel, you can now extort a femboy from Harag (I was thinking of having you send Laurel to extort a femboy from a 12-year-old and also beat him up and take his money cause that’s literally what Pokemon was lmao but then I thought “Hey! This is even better!” As such, you can punch Harag where it hurts the most… well, not between his legs, but you’ll get the time to do that later.

A lot of world-building was done… and by a lot, I mean I referenced to like, 4 or 5 things BUT HEY! PROGRESS IS PROGRESS >:c

Annnddd that’s all folks! Thanks for coming to my TED talk, have an amazing weekday! Remember to sleep well, eat well, and drink well! (Cause I don’t lmao) Love ya’ll

[warningsine]

Having finished season 1 of "Good Girls," let me say that:

It is a hilarious series with 3 disaster leads (affectionate), but for all of its slapstick humor, its heart is: working class women trying to stay afloat.

Retta, Hendricks and Whitman give amazing performances that complement each other. Their chemistry truly is the biggest strength of the show.

Joan on "Mad Men" was understandably guarded, so it's refreshingly different to see Hendricks let loose as Beth. The way her voice switches from sweet and girly to sharp and authoritative on the spot? 11/10.

Retta nails both the comedic and dramatic bits with ease.

Whitman is charming as emotionally immature yet completely lovable Annie.

Truth be told, the season drags a little towards the second half despite the fact that the series is fast paced in general. They could have gotten away with 8-9 episodes instead of 10.

Yes, the concept is not entirely believable or original, but who cares? Didn't see anyone criticizing "Breaking Bad" for its straight up cartoonish moments. Why do we have to be so harsh when it comes to soapy delights that do not take themselves seriously like this one or "Why Women Kill"? Prestige dramas are good and all, but please give us a break from the typical male antihero narrative.

My point is, it is not the most scathing or poignant take on #MeToo and feminism, but so what?

Watching Beth hit the guy that almost rapes her sister reminded me of that moment in "Kevin Can F*ck Himself" where Patty injures her brother to protect Allison.

They paraphrased "Thelma and Louise" during that very scene. <3

Allison Tolman, here you are again being a total gift. If only she had more screen time/were a regular. Let her extort the ladies all she wants, but get rid of Leslie.

Say whatever you want about Dean, but Matthew Lillard's scenes with Hendricks are [chef's kiss].

Really loved Annie's child. Ruby's was also a delight. Both family arcs were touching.

Ruby and Stan. What a loving relationship. It was inevitable that the lie would leave their marriage in shambles, but it still is upsetting when that happens.

For a moment there, I was afraid that they were going to make Nancy the 1D "bitchy" wife so that the audience would root for Gregg and Annie (I do like them, but I do not think they will work out). Suffice to say, I gave a sigh of relief when they had Annie sympathize with her and call Gregg out on his shit.

I do not get the hype about Rio. He was funny in the beginning, but his generic/1D bad guy shtick got repetitive and annoying pretty fast. He shows up, puts on that growly voice, recycles 3 facial expressions while threatening the ladies and flirting with Beth, leaves. It does not help matters that Hendricks outshines the actor in every scene they share. From the way people talked about him, I thought he'd be more of a male Villanelle (s1 Villanelle), but without APD. Mea culpa. Knowing that they were actually initiating a romance, not just sexual tension between them, does not surprise me in the least, but it does leave me unimpressed.

[ivaerleth]

4, 5 general, 8 story, and 1, 4, 10 romance?

G4. What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

Approval: Stand up against lies and manipulation, being kind to people in need and give her space to open up

Disapproval: Siding with supernatural beings, especially when it involves gaining something they promise to get out of trouble, extortion from the poor

G5. Are there instances where your Tav can permanently leave the party, depending on the player actions?

Siding with the goblins causes her to permanently leave the party, on the basis that tav chooses to actively hurt the tieflings and the children. Other than that most situations do cause her disapproval, but she still stays ultimately.

Putting the rest under cut 💕

S8. Do they have comments on who the Player Character chooses to spend the night with?

Gale: “Gale huh? I suppose all that reading would come in handy some way.” Generally teasing, but friendly.

Shadowheart: “Saw you sneaking glances with Shadowheart. Oh, don’t look at me like that. She deserves a good time and you should do well by her.” She bonds fairly quickly with SH so its more of a “you better treat her right” comment

Lae’zel: “I saw you with Lae’zel earlier. I’ll be prepared with an extra cover for my ears for later.” Lmfaoo

Astarion: “Astarion? I can see the appeal, pretty as he is. You deserve a treat after today.” Lmfaoo x2

(Bonus) Wyll: “He seems.. distant tonight.” “Who?” “Wyll. Do check up on him if you can, he should be enjoying this party as much as the others are.”

(Lmk if i forgot anyone else idk if Karlach has a scene)

R1. Is your Tav a romanceable character? Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

Yes. Requirements is to expose Kagha and preventing the druid grove from falling into the Shadow Druid’s hand. Kyani was part of a druids tribe so she’s well aware of the shadow druids and their cause. She already disapproves of the Rite of Thorns in the first place so siding with the tieflings for this earns extra points.

R4. Do they have a special romance scene at the tiefling/goblin party?

Kyani can be found a little aways from the din of the party, growing a little plant via druidic magic. She mentions that in her tribe a tree is planted after a victory among the happiness and revelry of the tribe as a way to keep the memory of the moment. She mentions that in time, its fruits will bear the happiness and feed the children, and they will rejoice for the freedom as they are now. Going forward with her dialogues the PC will have a chance to trigger a romance with her.

R10. Will they join in with the PC and the Drow twins, or no?

Unfortunately once she learn they are twins, she will not be willing to join in, though she is not opposed “if you want to go with anyone with a less…. familial bond.”