#I have a bad habit of making antagonists sexy

[josephine-zeppeli]

Oyecomova for my 90s AU, he’s a wolf dog. I was lowkey inspired by various 90s horror icons for his design such as Billy Loomis from Scream and also Eric Draven from the Crow.

[dokidokitsuna]

Ladybird Extras 3

...I don't like the weirdly "professional", detached way I talked about the previous extras (it's a bad habit of mine...pretending to be a formal corporation instead of just one insane artist), so I'm gonna stop doing that from now on, and just rant about what I love about these side characters and how I came up with them. ^^ I'll try not to spoil too much, though.

Mura So one of my favorite personal character archetypes is the "sleazy youngster", where I put this weird shady slimeball personality on a character who is literally a tiny child. XD And they're running around talking like a yakuza member to everyone else in the cast, who just stares at them like "...aren't you, like, 4??"

And Mura is exactly that, except for the fact that he spends most of his time in the story interacting with Nell, a fellow tiny child who doesn't really have a frame of reference for how strange he is. ^^; I loved writing them together; in another fictional universe they would definitely be best friends...as it is, I've destined them to be nemeses.

This is because Mura actually is basically a mob boss; a former rival to the "Leader" character I mentioned in this character set. After some shakeups in his hometown, he and some fellow criminals ended up trapped in a special prison camp specifically designed to contain Ladybirds.

Milly Where there is a prison, there must be a warden, and that's Milly here. ^^

The part of the story where Milly and Mura are introduced is where the characters finally start to get involved with the uglier aspects of Ladybird activity, and the events at the prison camp are actually kind of dark. It was tough to write the characters and their dialogue in a way that kept the tone relatively light despite the violence and cruelty they were engaging with-- Mura's ridiculousness is part of that. ^^

Another part of that is Milly's design: I really needed her to not be scary. ^^;;; I think a grounded design on a character as mean and cold-hearted as her would make the story feel much heavier than I wanted it to feel at that point. But on the other hand, I couldn't just make her into a weirdo clown or something, because the whole point of her character is to serve as an uncompromising antagonist, who shows how far humans will go to protect themselves from Ladybirds if no one else will.

So after some brain-wracking, I settled on "sexy" as a middle ground. ^^; Like, her clothes are still absolutely ridiculous; way too effortful and unconventional to take seriously. But overall she still looks like a big, powerful, intimidating figure, especially as she towers over the stringy teens in the rest of the cast.

Agnes Let's take a breather with a character from a different, more lighthearted part of the story. ^^

...Well, not that lighthearted-- Agnes is the daughter of Weaver's old mentors, and for story-related reasons I will not spoil, she is a Ladybird who regrets becoming one, and has shunned the lifestyle entirely, as evidenced by her civilian-coded clothes. She's kind of a gloomy character with a sad backstory, but the MCs manage to cheer her up a little and help her feel more encouraged about her chosen lifestyle, as she and Weaver work together to teach Nell her parents' techniques. I think it's important to show that there are multiple ways to be "heroic" in a story, and that deciding you don't want to be a globe-trotting RPG adventurer doesn't necessarily mean you've given up on life.

[jnnul]

jnnul's [works in progress]: ii

because when have i ever done anything the way i planned on doing it? there are technically more than these but those probably won't be more than like 5k so i'm not including them here. i know. those are light work by now, aren't they?

the right side of wrong.

PAIRING ▸ sunghoon park x fem!reader

GENRES ▸ young justice au!, nightwing!sunghoon, there is a vision here of sunghoon as nightwing and i want everyone to have it as well, superhero au

WARNINGS ▸ profanity (ofc), drinking, nsfw content (making out, thigh riding, oral sex, clothed sex), violence (fighting, blood, general superhero warnings), character death, on another note, y/n is mostly referred to as ardor just because my backslash button is stuck and it's pissing me off, sunghoon is a sexy mf, yes that's a warning, the first few parts of the story are in the chat font but that's just the profile section i swear, and yes, that's also a warning

SUMMARY ▸ sunghoon park has a really bad habit of collecting strays. especially strays by the name of y/n 'ardor' faust who are definitely not supposed to be showing up in gotham city with information on the light and a penchant for setting things on fire. but hey, technicalities, right?

PLAYLIST ▸ yosemite - travis scott, back - jey, stay - ari abdul, element - pop smoke, dirty laundry - blackbear

EST. WORD COUNT ▸ varies per chapter

RELEASE DATE ▸ currently being released

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ i've fallen back into my superhero phase (which i'm always in, who am i kidding?) and everyone needs to understand my love for the found family + superhero trope. extremely self-indulgent and shamelessly fun to write! it's a little different from what i usually write (college aus) so hopefully i do it justice (haha get it).

that ain't my baby

PAIRING ▸ jake sim x fem!actress!reader

GENRES ▸ idol x actress au!, exes to enemies to friends to lovers (idk either tbh), lots of famous ppl cameos

WARNINGS ▸ profanity (do you sense a pattern here), drinking, uhh nsfw content but specifics tbd, mentions of infidelity and emotional cheating, you're a bad bitch w an detachment issues, crazy stalker fans, accusations and false accusations, somebody claims to be in a relationship w someone but it's not true

SUMMARY ▸ we got married is back - with a vengeance! you're an actress who's just beginning her ascent to stardom after playing the main antagonist in a sleeper hit kdrama. jake sim is about to make his solo debut and needs to prove that he's got nothing to hide about his dating life. so the both of you join we got married to find fame, fortune, and favorable friends on the show. when the two of you were paired together on the show, everyone was sure that the two of you would hit it off immediately. the only issue? jake sim is your ex.

PLAYLIST ▸ maria - justin bieber, popular - the weeknd, back for more - txt, greedy - tate mcrae, obsessed - mariah carey

EST. WORD COUNT ▸ 15k words

EST. RELEASE DATE ▸ on hiatus

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ i actually started writing this soon after i published the first work in progress masterlist but didn't write enough of it for it to be included as an official wip (kinda like how sm rookies works - if i didn't despise sm). after listening to the song maria though, i found the charm that this work was missing and it's back!

two reflections into one

PAIRING ▸ yudai koga (k) x streetdancer!fem!reader (ft. fuma)

GENRES ▸ dancer!au, fake relationship, mostly angst, 90s au

WARNINGS ▸ profanity (it's basically not even a warning anymore), tbh not really a healthy relationship at first, you end up liking the second lead more (that's a warning.), k is a menace at first i'm so sorry, y/n is...questionable when it comes to drawing the line, this is the early 90s so 90s pop culture lol, probably a few inaccuracies

SUMMARY ▸ y/n l/n has always looked up to koga yudai - known better by his stage name k. and when the universe ends up delivering her directly to his front door, she decides she's definitely not going to go and knock it. but as they say, you should never meet your idols - a lesson that she learns the hard way when a twist of fate ends up with her having to pretend to date k, seeing more of her idol than she had ever imagined.

PLAYLIST ▸ maula mere maula - roop kumar rathod, hawa banke - darshan rawal, honeymoon avenue - ariana grande, ihyn - f.n.

EST. WORD COUNT ▸ 20k words

EST. RELEASE DATE ▸ on hiatus

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ the first time i planned out a fic scene by scene from start to end! let's see if that changes anything about how i write or if the characters decide to create a story of their own - regardless of what i think. i've always had more ideas than time to write anyway.

it's midnight in paris

PAIRING ▸ jung sungchan x reader (i'm aware that it's younghoon but i'm switching it and i haven't made a banner yet sue me)

GENRES ▸ percy jackson!au, greek mythology/demigod!au

WARNINGS ▸ profanity (seriously.), all the warnings of demigod-ism (fighting, violence, characters get hurt, somebody's always tryna kill them), y/n can't catch a fucking break, zeus is an asshole but what's new, modern romance is trying not to die while on a date

SUMMARY ▸ deliveries to the gods were never all that exciting. usually, doing the dirty work for the greek gods meant that you were pretty much guaranteed a safe passage when dropping off their toys at the empire state building. but you must've pissed them off big time if they were sending you on babysitting missions now. or, the one where you accidentally save a late blooming demigod from a minotaur and now he's emotionally dependent on you.

PLAYLIST ▸ sweet juice - purple kiss, kingdom come - the boyz, blue blood - ive, dahlia - (g)-idle

EST. WORD COUNT ▸ 30k words

EST. RELEASE DATE ▸ end of fall 2024

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ GOD i have to stop doing this to myself. this being writing fics that cause me to have to plan out the whole thing out instead of just writing whatever the hell i want. i say this but i will be the most invested in this one at the end, i promise you.

[skybird13]

Why I Think Fair Game Works

So we’re coming up on the midway point in this mini RWBY vol. 7 hiatus, and I have a serious addiction to Fair Game. With no more canon content coming out for another week (😭), I thought I’d provide some self-indulgent rambling in-depth analysis as to exactly why I think Qrow and Clover work so well together. I’ll be pulling off of what we have in the show so far (because I tend to base my ships off of canon context), but I’ll also be making some reasonable assumptions regarding Clover’s character since we don’t have a whole lot on him yet. 

[Note: I’m not really trying to sway anyone with this post, so if you don’t agree or don’t like FG, feel free to scroll right on by and have a nice day. I’m all for discourse but that’s not the point of this particular post. Make your own and invite me to engage and we can have a convo.)

That being said, and without further ado, here are my top reasons for being Fair Game trash. Be forewarned, this is loooong. Damn thing turned into a dissertation. 

Reason #1: Clover is a source of stability

One of the biggest criticisms I’ve seen aimed at Fair Game (aside from the more inane ones, which I will not dignify with an acknowledgment on this post) is that Qrow hates specialists. And people are right. It’s one of the first insights we get into his character in his volume 3 debut episode, right after the fact that he’s an alcoholic. I completely agree that if these two men had met in volume 3 or even 4, there is no way they would have gotten along. Clover is a soldier. A military man. He goes by the book and, in his mind, there’s not a lot of wiggle room when it comes to doing things the right way (see: his conversation with Robyn). He would have driven volume 3 Qrow up the wall, and not in a sexy way.

But the fact is, Qrow has been through a hell of a lot since then. He lost Ozpin twice (once to death and once to the lies Oz himself told), lost his way and sense of purpose because of it, almost died on multiple occasions, fell into deep emotional darkness, came under the influence of the Apathy, and had to finally acknowledge his own depression and poor coping mechanisms, or lack thereof, as a result. Shit like that changes you in deep and fundamental ways and, while I would have loved for a bit more in-show focus on this transition, I think RT gave us enough to infer the rest.

Thanks mostly to Ruby, Qrow is finally in a place where he is trying to heal for the first time since we’ve known him. He started the show as an impulsive– albeit manipulative and brilliant (see: him baiting Winter into a fight)– alcoholic who had no problem whatsoever with getting under people’s skin. The only relationships he really seemed to value were the ones he had with his nieces and with Ozpin, and everyone else could take a flying leap. Now I can’t deny that there was a certain charm to that. It’s one of the reasons I think he became such a fan favorite so rapidly; a lot of us can relate to that desire to not give a shit. But the underlying implications of that type of behavior are, I believe, pretty damn dark and serve as the earliest signs of Qrow’s depression and emotional isolation. Consider: his only functional relationships were with people who were incapable of really knowing him on a deeply personal level. Oz couldn’t because he was the one to give Qrow a purpose, thereby establishing a certain power imbalance in their relationship, no matter how close they were (I love Oz despite his mistakes before anyone comes after me for that statement and have nothing against Oz x Qrow, these are just my thoughts). And Ruby and Yang couldn’t, and still can’t, because they’re his damn nieces and being the adult in a relationship with kids means you maintain a certain distance between them and any insecurities or struggles you might have. Anything else is just not okay. He bungled that in volume 6 but he has clearly been trying to re-establish that supportive adult role in volume 7, which is amazing all by itself.

This brings us to Qrow’s emotional and mental state at the start of volume 7. Again, he’s in a place where he’s trying to heal. I don’t know how many people can relate, but that place is friggin’ terrifying because it’s the place where you have to stop lying to yourself about your problems and commit to dealing with them. But it also comes with a weird level of mental… stillness? Peace isn’t the right word, but when you’re not constantly fighting yourself anymore, you are able to breathe a little and that’s worth a lot to someone who has been trying to suffocate themselves for most of their lives. I think this has a lot to do with his shift in outlook. He’s less antagonistic because it no longer serves to feed the self-loathing monster inside him. Or rather, he’s trying to make sure he doesn’t feed it. The fact that he comes into Mantle, gets arrested for doing his job, and doesn’t immediately get in James’s face, or Winter’s for that matter, attests to the fact that he has changed. Qrow isn’t the one to call James out on the embargo or the state of things in Mantle. Instead, he steps into a role that we have never seen him in: the gentle voice of reason. He points out that James doesn’t need an entire military presence to build and launch the communications tower, and when James reveals his plans to tell the world about Salem, Qrow doesn���t outright disagree or go after him for it (as he certainly would have in earlier volumes). He simply points out that Oz spent every lifetime he had keeping that secret and then lets James explain his reasoning (flawed as it might be).

In short, all that outward anger he displayed in earlier volumes was most likely a manifestation of the self-hate storm he had brewing inside. Now that he’s decided to try to move away from that, he’s different. Of course he is. It would be completely unreasonable to expect otherwise.

Enter Clover Ebi. By sheer virtue of being who he is, Clover provides a source of stability for Qrow that he both sorely needs and has severely lacked up to this point in his life. Healing is an internal and independent process for the most part, and Qrow is going to have to sort out his issues on his own, but having someone in your life during that process who is solid is invaluable. And so far, Clover has been nothing but solid. He has been the one to pull Qrow back from bad old habits (self-deprecation and self-hate regarding his semblance). He’s been the one to take Qrow’s semblance in stride and even to get him to joke about the whole concept of having luck, good or bad, for a semblance. And so far? He’s done all of this with absolutely no strings attached. He’s not like Oz, who needed Qrow to be functional enough to carry out his spying missions, and he’s not like Ruby or Yang, who reasonably need Qrow to be solid for them because he’s their uncle. Clover is the first person who doesn’t need anything from Qrow, and so he is able to offer the type of emotional support that Qrow has never received from anyone else. They’re not even official battle partners, despite them being paired quite a bit. The lack of strings, of ulterior motives, of complicated and messy ties, and even of familial bonds, means that Clover can be the solid one. He can be a safe place where Qrow can fall apart and put himself back together if he needs to, because nothing is going to cave in if he does. Qrow won’t be putting too much weight on his nieces or on someone who relies on him for information and support. He can lean on Clover without having to worry about any repercussions. 

Reason #2: Qrow is a source of disruption 

Now for the fun flipside of my first point. While Clover provides a source of stability for Qrow, Qrow has the very real potential to provide a much-needed source of disruption for Clover, thereby balancing out what we have gotten of their relationship dynamic so far.

Being a military man, stringent structure and unconditional loyalty to his superiors are likely major aspects of Clover’s character. We have enough in the show so far to assume that’s accurate about him even if it hasn’t been blatantly stated. 

Clover carries out his orders without fail, to the point of arresting a bunch of kids and Qrow in Mantle for operating outside of official parameters. His conversation with Robyn is also extremely telling. He doesn’t have a problem with what she wants; he has a problem with how she’s trying to get it. He doesn’t believe that the ends justify the means and, in that same vein, probably also believes that institutions are there for good reason. He is the epitome of lawful good.

Qrow, on the other hand, has never operated within official parameters. He was a spy, for god’s sake, and therefore is intimately familiar with the inherent grayness of the world. He’s not someone who is going to see things in black and white, and because of this, he could offer a sort of push back against Clover’s blind loyalty to Ironwood. 

Not only is Qrow not in the military, and therefore not bound by its restrictions and dictates, but he has known James for a long time. He, more than anyone, is in the perfect position to call James out on his crap, and he’s probably the one with the best chance of actually getting through to him. Not with the same aggression and vehemence he displayed in volume 3, but with more of a tough-love approach. I fully expect this to happen at some point (and will be very sad if it doesn’t. I like James and want him to snap out of all this).

So how does this relate to Clover? Well, it forces him to acknowledge that, military or not, always trusting that the people above you are doing the right thing or the best thing is never a good way to go. He would have to step back and re-evaluate his general approach to life, which is the core of character growth. Clover never questions authority (that we’ve seen) whereas Qrow’s existence has always been in stark contrast to it. If anyone is going to act as a catalyst for Clover’s potential evolution from strict military man to a more free-thinking, free-acting individual, it’s going to be Qrow. And I think the pieces are set-up for that exact thing to happen.

Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see where CRWBY takes this one (if they take it anywhere) but the potential for growth from Clover is there because Qrow has come into his life. One of the best things couples can do is challenge each other, and these two are primed to do exactly that.

Reason #3: Opposites attract for a reason

We’ve all heard the phrase, right? Opposites attract. Sometimes I think this statement falls victim to a lot of misunderstandings so let me clarify what I mean by this. I don’t mean their chosen routes in life (rogue and spy vs. structured military man), or their semblances, or even their different combat styles. I’m talking about the complementary nature of their personalities. 

Qrow has always been a bit impulsive. It’s been established that he sometimes doesn’t fully think things through, or if he does, he doesn’t care about the consequences and is willing to deal with them (see: his battle with Winter again). Don’t get me wrong. The guy is brilliant. He baits Winter knowing it will give him the opportunity to pick a fight with James as well and call him on his shit. But I’m pretty sure he also does this knowing full well that’s all he’s going to get: a fight. He’s not going to convince James not to bring the full Atlas military presence in for the Vytal Festival by shouting at him. He knows this and does it anyway. In his fight with Tyrian, you can see more than one instance where he’s planning his moves so his semblance has the chance to work on his opponent, but it’s at the risk of his own safety as well (see: the roof stunt). There are plenty of other examples throughout the show. Qrow runs off instinct and momentum.

Clover, on the other hand, strikes me as someone who exercises a bit more caution in his life. He thinks through a situation before he steps into it and overall just seems a little slower to take action. This is true in combat situations, as the whole mine mission was meticulously planned out beforehand. You can also see this approach mirrored in the way the Ace Ops work on the whole. Vine and Elm definitely don’t rush in when they encounter Grimm in the mine, and while Marrow and Harriet might be a bit faster to go after the main target, they don’t do it without a fully formed plan. It’s not foolproof, obviously. Marrow does cut off that piece of Dust with no one there (that he knows of) to catch it, but the point is still valid. 

This tendency to go slow and feel his way is also true in Clover’s personal life. In the truck scene, you can see him watching Qrow while he talks, gauging his reactions, trying to find the best way to reach him. Nothing he says is mere chitchat. It’s all meant to pull Qrow into a conversation, which Clover tries to keep focused on Qrow himself. His opener might be Ruby but he ditches that line of thought as soon as Qrow gives him the opening to do so and shifts his attention to where he really wants it to be: getting to know Qrow.

Then you also have Qrow’s penchant for falling into dark mental places balanced against Clover’s good mood and playfulness; Qrow’s willingness to be a little more open with his emotions and Clover’s tight emotional control; the fact that Qrow feels things fully and deeply while I suspect that Clover might have emotional walls he hasn’t learned how to lower yet; Clover’s ability to follow orders and Qrow’s ability to question. And that’s all out of only 3-ish minutes of total interaction between them so far. I think as the volume goes, we’ll only get more insight on the ways in which they balance and round each other out. 

Reason #4: Shared semblances

So this has been the biggest kicker for people so far, and I’ve seen it as a point both in favor of and against FG. Some people theorize that Clover’s semblance might have some balancing effect on Qrow’s, making it much safer for Clover to be around him than it is for others. Others think that it might be more of a trade-off: good luck part of the time and bad luck the other part (I’m in favor of this). And yet others seem to see Clover’s semblance as a negative thing for Qrow, somehow dampening his own semblance or countering it to the point that it’s mentally or emotionally detrimental for him. I personally don’t quite see the logic behind this given what we’ve seen so far, but I’ll just make my point and get out of this debate because the truth is that we still don’t quite know how their semblances function together. 

What we do know is that they are two sides of the same coin, and as such, are not nearly as far apart as they might have seemed at first. They both carry around luck semblances, which I assume is pretty damn rare. Almost every other semblance we have seen has existed more in the practical realm (Yang’s damage absorption, Blake’s shadow self, Weiss’s glyphs, Ruby’s rose petal thing, Marrow’s ability to slow time, Tyrian’s ability to rip through Aura, etc. etc. etc.) And then we have these two who operate in the realm of chance, something intangible and completely unpredictable. They are fairly unique in the RWBY-verse in this sense, and uniqueness usually breeds a certain degree of separation. 

A ton of theories are floating around about how Clover’s semblance has affected him throughout his life. I’ve posited a few myself. We obviously have no idea what the canon backstory for Clover is, and while I do think it’s pretty safe to assume that while Qrow has dealt with ostracization because of his semblance, Clover might have experience with some sort of idolization or even over-reliance (which can be damaging in its own right) because of his, there isn’t a whole lot we can speculate on without more information.

So where does that leave us? With the scene depicted above. Regardless of how their semblances might play off each other or what these two have suffered (or enjoyed) as a result of them, one thing is certain: they understand one another. Qrow may not know what it’s like to be able to draw good luck to himself, but he knows what it’s like when his semblance does work in his favor and screws over an opponent. Clover, by the same token, probably doesn’t understand what it’s like having to constantly watch out for misfortune, but he most likely does know what it’s like to have his semblance flip on him and give the edge to his opponent. Additionally, them both having such similar semblances means that learning to look for signs of each other’s being at work won’t be much of a stretch for them. They would be able to adapt pretty fast to working together. Note, I’m assuming their semblances function in the same way and that Clover has no more control over his than Qrow does because it just makes narrative sense. 

This puts them in the unique position of being together in their semblances, even if they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum. Qrow has not exhibited any jealousy or bitterness towards Clover because of his semblance, and Clover sure as hell hasn’t put any distance between them out of concern for Qrow’s semblance. They get each other, and after only half a season, they have developed a level of comfort with one another that already allows them to joke about it. An inside joke that no one else could possibly understand. And that is some powerful shit for two people who have potentially (one person we know for certain has) been isolated in one way or another because of their semblances throughout their lives.

Reason #5: Clover is new

Okay, if anyone partial to a different Qrow ship has somehow made it through this monster of a post, you might want to skip this bit. Because I’m going to make an argument for why bringing in a new character to be Qrow’s love interest is actually a good idea. This is not to hate on I//ronqrow or S//nowbird or any other popular Qrow ship, but it might annoy the shit out of you so… fair warning. I’ll keep it brief, though. 

I think Qrow getting involved with someone who he has no past connection to would be insanely good for him. When it comes to James or Winter or, really, anyone else who knew him before this volume, there is a lot of baggage there. And I mean a lot. At this point in his life, Qrow is dealing with enough of his own internal shit that throwing external interpersonal baggage on top of that probably wouldn’t help him in any way. Sometimes, you just need to start over somewhere (especially when you’re trying to pick up the pieces of yourself and figure out how they go together), and Clover offers Qrow the perfect opportunity to do that. There are no preconceptions that Qrow has to deal with, nothing he has to make up for or prove. Clover won’t be hovering over him anticipating a relapse or using his past behavior to interpret his current actions, or wondering why he’s changed, or holding things against him. He can figure out who he is now without the pressures of who he was hanging around his neck. And that, like so many other things these two have going for them, is unbelievably powerful. 

Reason #6: They already have the nonverbal thing down

This one is more for funsies than anything, but come on. They’re already communicating non-verbally? 

It took me a while to pinpoint that expression on Clover’s face but I finally got it: his brows don’t lower in annoyance or anger. They furrow: the universal sign of concern. What exactly he’s worried about, I’m not completely sure. It could be any number of things at this point, from a hint that he’s not totally supportive of this particular order he’s getting (bringing Robyn into custody) to a concern that he and Qrow might be approaching a clash point (not so far, though if Qrow is going to be the disruptive force Clover needs, that point is probably coming). Either way, this look speaks volumes. I’m just not entirely certain how to read it yet. 

But in the interest of keeping up on the analysis, note his answer to James. It’s not a “yes sir” or a “whatever you say, sir”. He says “we’ll figure it out”. Qrow looks at him and only then does Clover shoot him that sideways glance thing. Is he making it clear that he means to include Qrow in this? That he wants Qrow’s help? That he knows they’re all in a crap situation but the Amity project is stalled and they need to try something so they should at least try this? They’re communicating something here and just because I don’t know what it is yet doesn’t mean this is any less significant in terms of their relationship. This kind of thing only happens when you click with someone and these two definitely click.

Bonus: They’re just so damn cute together

If you made it through that nonsense, congratulations! Have some Fair Game goodness as a reward. These two are adorable together and you will never convince me otherwise:

[hrh-selene-r]

Celebrity/Character Crush Tag game!!

• tag; post below ten characters, musicians, or celebrities you are attracted to/love and have people assume your type.

Tagged by the Marvelous @ellelaconiwrites 😘 love ya hun!! And yes Michelle Yeoh is AMAZING. Be warned, this list comes in no particular order...so please don’t make me choose

1. Tom Hiddleston (he’s fun, cultured, smart, talented, has a great sense of humor and is good looking; not to mention that he has a boyish charm. If you think he’s a goody goody, you haven’t seen him nasty😏....plus he has a dog named Bobby 🐶)

2. Adam Driver (OF COURSE he’s on my list...I’m not an idiot.. What can I say, he’s a tall and handsome/cute drink of water, he’s also funny and goofy, but thoughtful, talented, hard working, and smart. Not to mention that he has a doggie named Moose 🐕. Of course I Stan! )

3. Cody Fern (While I’m not usually a fan of blonde men, Cody is hmm. This beautiful Aussi falls under my list of men that play with gender. There’s nothing sexier than a man that’s confident enough to play with gender. 🤤 AND!! He’s a great dresser and when he wears make up, ufff. He can be sweet, snarky and Daddy all in one. Plus he’s never boring and is talented, thoughtful.)

4. Adam Sackler & Phillip Altman (They’re both mischievous little boys trapped in men’s bodies. They’re both endearing and obnoxious, but very sweet and emotional. I also like that Adam likes to the role of a caregiver, he likes to feel needed and responsable for someone, and that makes him a good potential to be a father.)

5. Alexander Vlahos (Actor, writer, director, and cat lover. He does it all. Alex is super funny, goofy, smart, witty, handsome and beautiful. He looks good in drag or just hanging out. We have to Stan.)

6. Alexander Ludwig (He’s a gorgeous Canadian Maple, and I can’t help but make heart eyes at him.)

7. Clyde Logan (They grow them big at West Virginia! I just wanna lie on the couch with him and read a book or cook dinner. Like with Paterson -another military vet- Clyde makes you appreciate the simple life.)

8. Toby Regbo (Actor, activist and amateur drag queen. We Stan Stella Lagoon, but I like Toby more ;). He’s so intelligent and thoughtful, he reads a lot of philosophy books and also donates his time doing charity. Plus those eyes are entrancing and I just wanna have a laugh with him while staring at them all night.)

9. Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, D.O., AKA Dr. Mike. (He has to be on this list. He’s a Russian doctor, he’s handsome AF, funny, goofy and is a doggy daddy to Roxy and Bear. He also has a YouTube channel and honestly his best moments are when he’s not perfect.)

10. Jake Gyllenhaal (this is a long time coming. I don’t know if it’s his face, his eyes, his smile or his laugh, but 😍.)

Honorable mentions

Toby Grisoni (He’s a bit of a cynical asshole, but he’s a sexy AF cynical asshole. He needs someone to whip him into shape and show him a bit of humility)

Alexander Dreymon (I have no words for this beautiful German man.)

Paul Rudd (he’s been a crush of mine since the 90’s and I still adore him)

Chris Evans (That’s America’s ass ;)

Jared Leto (He’s a bit of a fuckboi but he’s an immortal one. Plus he’s fun and really smart. He contemplates things a lot and is a nature lover, he has fun with his appearance and is very creative. Plus he’s hung...I mean, there’s a reason they call it Satan...plus he’s into some sado masochist stuff. I’d try it.)

Darren Criss (I cant put my finger on it.)

Michael Langdon (He’s the son of Satan and he’s kinda sexy. He’s not always sure, and he had some help along the way, but when he finally came into his own...daaaamn.)

Nico Tortorella (I just a sucker for them. Nico is just 🤤 but they’re fun and has an adventurous soul. I am so team Josh in younger. To be clear they’re non binary.

Kylo Ren ( Complex character...need I say more. Kylo is a scholar of the force turned commander, turned Supreme Leader. He’s not evil, but also not all good -like any real person. I didn’t see enough of him to get a good grip of his personality, but that’s where we can fill the blanks -cause I can guarantee it’ll be better than whatever Disney would’ve come up with.)

Zuko (Bad guy turned good in the best way possible. Story/character wise: he’s what Kylo isn’t; a well redeemed antagonist. He fails, gets frustrated, tries to be funny but tends to be moody and humorless. But he has a soft cookie dough core underneath it all.)

James ‘Pale’ from Burn This (Jersey boy be Jersey. He’s tall, a hard worker an artist and has a motormouth. Yeah he’s obnoxious, is traumatized by his brothers death and has a cocaine habit, not to mention that he’s in a failed marriage and has issues expressing emotion, but god damn it if you can’t see the emotional vulnerability underneath.

Charlie Barber (I low key love his controlling energy. He’s probably a sub, if I’m honest. But he needs an assertive woman, the man is a controlling narcissist, so his partner can’t take his shit, has to bring him down a peg once in a while and support him, but also demand that he support them.

Sam Geggie: (Sam is a total creative power house as Gigi Goode. They’re funny and witty. I’ll be bad for them if they want. 😏. ❤️ In case you’re wondering Sam is gender fluid.)

L (So he’s basically a law breaking Sherlock Holmes. He’s actually a very engaging and intriguing character. And to be real, there’s an ego thing to being recognized by someone with his intelligence and influence.)

Bill Skarsgard (He’s beautiful.)

Sung Kang (He’s just gorgeous, and his attitude kills me.)

John Hamm (He’s masculine and traditionally handsome...plus he’s hung.)

Alexander Skarsgard (He can be my Viking any day)

Vegeta (yes I’m a dragonball fan. He is arguably the most complex character in the franchise. He is a present father and a supportive and loyal-to-fault husband. Sure he had some growing pains, but I Stan.)

Andreja Pejić (I had a crush before she came out as trans and I still have a crush on her)

Gustav Skarsgard (I cant even. There’s something there.)

Clark Gable (I don’t need to say anything, he’s just so suave and debonair.)

Kento Yamazaki (I mean c’mon. He’s cute)

Did I cheat? Maybe.. ;) Do I have a type? I don’t know, if you thinks so then leave a comment to let me know.

Tagging some friends!! @kowalskibro-adamdriverblog @ktellmeastory @adumbdryer @callmehopeless @direnightshade @commanderbensolo @tsarinastorm @jyn-z-solo @ohiobluetip @oh-adam @thomasscresswell @mind-p0llution @klauscarolove

[vanityloves]

🎫 here's a gush pass! feel free to gush about whichever f/o you want, however much you want, then send this ask to 3 other selfshippers!

oh man, thank you jsjsj ive gotten a few of these but ive been too anxious to actually go off ab my f/o but, lets fucking gooooo!

can i talk ab the actual animation of the source material is that allowed?

they gave us this but we ended up with

WHICH LISTEN- I enjoy n love regardless. I just find the contrasts in phases fascinating and funny. I loved his appearance in phases 1 and 2; what a fucking iconic character design. The animation is so endearing and amazing- the thicker lines, the fluidity, the range. Like the first gif that shows the vibrations of the vehicle in his shoulders/shirt? The simplistic art style was nice and even if hes Hard On The Eyes, I'm like 🥴 ok ugly ❤.

Not like the newer mvs are any less quality content - its nice to see the use of thick and thinner lines and there's definitely a different feel to it - more child friendly or easy going? Idk how to explain it. Murdoc as a character is still very, Not Child Friendly, and Im always like :cursed emoji: when someone says that their 14 year old watches their videos like help, his dick is out in at least 3 dif vids (censored ofc but man).

They definitely lost me after the 4th phase though and many people argue that the band/music lost its meaning, which i can honestly agree with (esp when they didnt name officially name 4, 5 and 6. Im p sure ppl refer to 4 as We Are Still Humanz).

I was never an avid/active fan of keeping up with the characters and didnt really think they had any story anyways, i was like "feel good inc is sexy. melancholy hill's a banger" so honestly, finding out that these apes actually have lore was fun.

Murdoc being the given this tragic backstory made my eyes Zoom, and ofc I was like "oh youre funny looking and sad. I want you ♡." In a weird way, I take a lot of comfort that 'we both have shit parents' and 'no one really thought we'd amount to anything'. to be fair, i haven't accomplished anything yet, and even if hes a bunch of pixels who i know doesnt really exist, its kind of motivating bc he never gave up? A literal quote from him being "If there’s a dream in your heart, never let anyone tell you you’ve got no talent. Get out there, embarrass yourself, and prove to the world you’ve got no talent." With how many failures hes faced he never stopped trying to prove himself worthy of attention and fame and love, which is ambitious and kind of intimidating with how much confidnece he has.

Hes a complete bastard of a man and not even close to being a good person. He's definitely complicated but can be boiled down to "just an abusive asshole", which, hey, fair. I hate the way he treats 2D, its so toxic and terrible. Honestly, its inexcusable and he needs to apologize, grow and learn a LOT and god knows he needs therapy.

I think the most tragic thing ab his character is that he basically ended up like his father and to some extent, he acknowledges it. His bad habits and behaviors stem from abuse and neglect which doesnt excuse his actions but, "man hands on misery to man." I feel like theres a haunting part to his whole life - we don't know much about his mother and brother but from assuming things, I know they weren't innocent, clean, or soft spoken, let alone, kind. I think he has a "It runs in the family" mentality and gives into it bc there's no use in running from something so deeply engraved within him.

But as a man of contradiction, hes shown to care, despite "hating everything, including himself". To be short, his father was a failure and a man thats never worked for his own money, so he contradicts that and escapes that part of 'failure running in the family' by forming Gorillaz. I do think theres something way more ab his character in that regard. I think theres a lot that he needs to work on but he's escaped a part of that mindset, and his 'Plastic Beach'. I wonder what theyre gonna do with valley of the pagans thing.

I guess as a band, theyre not gonna show a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff like that. We wont know if he ever gets help, or apologizes, or even feels sorry - its up to us to decide which is a safe game to play on Their Behalf.

People are upset that hes actually cleaned up a bit and is shown to be nicer bc they miss having that disgusting, cruel man which again, I understand. He has always been the antagonist to the entire band. But as someone that likes to see people happier n mellow (or, boring) rather than doing shit and compensating for their depression, its nice to see that type of development (or downgrade, depending on how you see it).

This could be Their (read: jamie and damon) way of being lazy by making him 'mellow out w/ age' or whatever it is. It definitely seems to woobify his character and intentions but well, His Main Goal, Was To Blow Up. And Act Like He Dont Know Nobodaaayyy argargarg and guess what? He's already made it- he's successful, he's rich, he's famous, he's adored. Now what? Maybe this is just his way of taking it easy from here on out - who knows.

Gorillaz definitely took a turn after all the brand deals so it lost its meaning (since one of the phases had a 'fuck capitalism' message) and with that, Murdoc is no longer allowed to be the stank bitch hes was always meant to be, no more obvious sex and drugs, for the new gen 🥴 ironically a lot of songs 'today' are always complained ab being ab sex, drugs, and whatever, but they def needed to step on the breaks when Money/Companies got involved. So here we have The Wigglez 😌💕

ANYWAYS, I LOVE HIM LOTS, HAVING MANY THOUGHTS

[lordeasriel]

Hi! I saw that you read Alice Network and I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I asked you a question about it, cause I don't know many others who've read it. I was wondering what you thought of René's depiction. Quinn writes him so slimy and despicable, but then she really emphasizes his suaveness and idk sexiness - the way Eve remembers her nights with him, it's much more than Quinn gives to the actual VIABLE romantic interests in the book. Why is that? Or does this just say a lot about me haha

To get this first out of the way, I did some research on Kate Quinn before I read and a little after, to see if I could find her process while writing TAN, or anything like it, and I didn't find much, other than plenty of history fiction books. So, she's an author that does A LOT of research and she thinks her stories through - so mind you, I could be very wrong - but the vibes I get from Rene is that of a character who wasn't entirely planned the way he came out, from the start.

When we meet him, he's put right off the bat as the enemy, the antagonist, someone who sees past Eve's doe eyes and stutter, he doesn't underestimate her based on these things. Not that we can forget he's a devious, wicked man, but the narrator, going through Eve's perspective, shows us Rene as someone to loathe and fear, Eve is constantly terrified that he might see through her façade. However, Rene is also reasonable, logical, understanding even, he portions scraps of good food between his employees (mind, this is horrible yes, but considering he DIDN'T HAVE TO do that, it's quite something that he does so), he is even I daresay thoughtful in some ways He's very complex, as one expect from normal human characters, but we are introduced to him as someone terrible, slimy, loathsome. This is because it's how Eve shows us her first impressions of him, again he is The Enemy, so the text focus on showing us a stern man, sitting in a room full of luxury, purely ostentatious, after we see (through Eve) a city starving, sieged by the Germans who kill, steal and violate them at will. We're supposed to see the contrast of starvation and gluttony, luxury and poverty, and we're supposed to understand that man is someone who enables that.

As the story moves on, Eve began to add new layers to Rene: at first we have a scene where he is shown to appreciate art and poetry, he shows off by quoting Baudelaire (then he never stops LMAO); then we have him confronting her lie because he can tell different French accents apart, which is both a nod to him being a snob and petty, as well as a very well-travelled and educated man. This adds to him elegance, makes him appealing to the target audience as well as Eve, because the closer the story gets to the point where they engage in a sexual relationship, the more Eve perceives him as someone who would be desirable to the right people. She doesn't feel attracted to him because she sees him as a traitor, she's a spy in enemy territory, she's under stress a lot and he is living the easiest life on Earth by throwing everyone else under the bus. All of this conflicts with her personality, she's headstrong and righteous, so he's unappealing, but cut her disfavored perspective and you can see he's appealing from the start, she just doesn't let us see it because of course she hates him. But even Eve slowly began to notice these details, for example, when Violette suggests he might be interested in her, Eve says she's "not sophisticated enough" which shows us she considered that possibility, even if it was just for a moment. And after Violette suggests that, Eve began to avoid Rene at all costs, and when she talks to her she tries her best to keep the conversation as respectable as she can because she notices now his flirting/courting and it makes her uncomfortable, because suddenly he's very shave and cult (she even starts to remark on his scent). She of course, always end up in an obscene Baudelaire quote because that's Rene's game, so she's always trying to avoid that at all costs.

As he makes a move, Eve begins to notice him as someone appealing, and she's a wee prude so she's embarrassed, mortified with his presence. It's not that I don't think Quinn couldn't have planned this transition from the start, if she did, good for her, great storytelling, but this feels more like she realised the potential a sexual relationship between Eve and Rene, but she realised how he wasn't initially an attractive or suitable "partner", so she slowly begins to make him more palatable. As a first time reader, I didn't think him appealing at all, because like Eve, all I saw was the layer of luxury and lack of morals, that hindered the rest. He's a cultured man, educated, an art lover, there's a lot of appeal in him, that we take a long time to see because Eve resents him at first (righteously of course). Suave is the tip of the iceberg concerning Rene.

And it's easier to sexualise a relationship between a woman and a man if the man is appealing and handsome. Most female authors do that, because women already experience complicated sexual lives; we like the idea that a female character engages in a relationship with someone attractive, appealing. Eve having sex with an ugly, slimy, hideous man who is selfish and who collaborates with the enemy, just so she can have information to report? Distasteful, and this is why Rene checks all the boxes for an appropriate suitor. He's even described as "not un-handsome" which is English for "he's handsome but let us pretend he isn't too handsome cause otherwise I'm pushing my luck", and there's a whole section of the story that deals with Eve feeling horrible for taking pleasure in her time with Rene. Not only because she's a lil biased due to her upbringing, but also because he is a horrible man supporting the Germans while people die and starve. She doesn't understand how can she have any pleasure with someone like that, because she's very tormented by conservatives views as well as the conflict caused by the knowledge Rene is her Enemy.

So all of this contributes to Rene being, not likable, but perceived as attractive and sexy. Their relationship makes it hard not to perceive him like that; it's consented, and he's very thoughtful towards Eve and while she hates his guts, she enjoys the situation even though she feels guilty about it. We're just so used to associating villainy and evil with ugliness and disgust, that when we're presented evil characters we have to be explicitly told they're attractive cause otherwise we just imagine them as ugly and disgusting as possible. Such examples are Mrs. Coulter, who is beautiful and we know that from the start, while she does horrible things; or even Cersei Lannister; (there is also Count Olaf in ASOUE, who we are constantly reminded that he is unattractive, dirty, with poor hygiene habits and in contrast to him, we have Esme Squalor, who is described as attractive and fashionable, while she's just as cruel as Olaf).

Rene goes very easily from slimy to smooth as the story progresses. To us, compared to Eve, it's easier to feel lust for him (even if we question the morality of it) because we are not living that situation closely. We don't experience the same things as Eve does, we're merely observers, while Eve has to deal with starvation, poverty, fear and lack of freedom, and those are things she sees when she looks at Rene, which is why she feels such a shame. But personally I think there's nothing wrong in thinking he is a sexy character; I've seen much worse situations, and as long as you don't brush off the bad things he does to make him more likable, I suppose there's nothing wrong to feel attracted to him. (as I am, guilty as charged, Anon lmao)

I usually tend to stay away from sexualised female protagonists, but in this case I enjoy the whole dynamic because it's a powerful and very rare dynamic. They don't fall in love, or at least Eve doesn't, he fulfill his role as a "villain" by torturing her, but their dynamic is good because it puts under perspective lots of things. Especially considering it's a history fiction, so at that time women had very different views on sex, especially pre-marital sex, and we see Eve struggle with the idea of "how can I have pleasure with someone I don't love?", And it's interesting because, at least from my experience, sex and love are two very different points of relationship. And Eve spends a lot more time with Rene, especially because I think with her viable romantic options, there are no conflicts and that's fuel to the story. Her time with Rene doesn't change her experience someone else, but it changes a lot of her concepts and connects them through something frivolous, which is refreshing. Most situations like this end up with the woman falling in love, so this twist on the trope is very yummy.

[genderfreezone]

Do you like the Evil Within 2?

Yeah! Certainly not as much as the first one (i was not immune to being sad they left out fan favorites Jojo and Ruvik's Cube)

The rest of this post is me rambling about things i didnt like about the game, and then things i did like (most of my issues are how they treat the female characters tbh)

Its missing kind of the action-noir-gone-horrifically-wrong feel of the first game. The scare factor also suffers bc our player character has been through this before, hes a veteran at dealing with this crazy shit, it doesnt phase him anymore and by extension it doesnt phase the player. They really like tripled down on the Evil Corporation thing and both the intrigue and horror suffer for it.

This game did not drink its respect women juice (the first one didnt really either, case in point: Everything About Kidman) Sebastian is surrounded by 5+ female characters and only 2 of them survive (and one of them is his 7 year old daughter hes spent the whole game trying to rescue... and yet they never bothered to give her any kind of characterization or agency. A highly empathetic and supernaturally powerful little girl in a monster-infested hellscape?? HELLO???? Lily really had the potential to be the most interesting, sympathetic, and complex character--especially as she slowly lost her innocence--in the WHOLE GAME, but she was just sort of relegated to Plot Device McGuffin) The rest of the female supporting cast are killed off for Sebastian's Man Pain. In fact, THIS ENTIRE GAME IS CENTERED AROUND SEBASTIAN'S MAN PAIN. Torrez is a walking stereotype, shes literally just Vasquez from Aliens. Hoffman was the most likeable and believeable, except when it Turns Out She Was In Love With Liam Or Whatever (psst, guess what, i dont care. Also O'neal was kind of a dick anyway? I dont care x2)

And you know who i SUPER dont care about? Bland-White-Bread-And-Mayo-Sandwich Myra. Where's the no-nonsense firecracker of a police lieutenant Sebastian married? Not here, thats for sure. Her entire personality is "mother" and "worries about stressed-out husband". We got more characterization of Myra in seb's jornals from the first game, where she never even made a physical appearance! Horror media does this SO MUCH, women are either A. Sexy Lamp B. Hurts Men (Sexily) C. Mother or D. Innocent Virgin. It sucks. Do better.

The story lacked the "digging up old buried memories" and "theres more to this than meets the eye" of the first game. It felt too...... Straightforward. Everyone told Sebastian the truth. EVERYTHING WAS EXACTLY WHAT IT SEEMED. It all felt too simple, too easy, like there SHOULDVE been something else beneath the surface. And yet there wasnt. (I watched markipliers playthrough and i loved his theory that Kidman was actually Lily. It had such potential. Kidman's entire resume for the police station was fabricated, who's to say the rest of her past wasnt fabricated as well? It would retcon a lot of stuff and like 80% of her backstory from the DLC, but you know games like this arent above retconning important shit, and at least it wouldve been sacrificed for something with actual intrigue. Maybe it wouldnt even retcon anything! Consider: tiny Lily is taken by Evil Corporation and dropped off in a non-nurturing environment that would lead her to become the kind of person who would willingly join & work for an organization like Mobius. At least wouldve been a nice excuse for why Kidman and Lilys face models looked so similar... other than... yknow.... "WomEN ARe hArD tO DRaWwwwwee")

Okay okay ive been ranting for long enough. It probably makes it sound like i kinda hate this game, but i dont! It certainly doesnt hold the same place in my heart as the first one (which i still have very glaring issues with lmao Kidman deserved WAAAAAAY better), but i do like it! It brings back salty, grizzled, tsundere Sebastian Castinellos. It brings back spooky monsters that kill you dead. It brings back having a fun theatrical over-the-top villain who takes himself a litte too seriously.

I love Stefano. Probably not in the way some other fans do, but i love him as a ridiculous theatrical over-the-top villain. He sucks! And i love that he sucks! I love him BECAUSE he sucks! Hes terrible and exaggerated and completely up his own ass and ITS GREAT. He isnt as ACTUALLY THREATENING as Ruvik was (even in his bad assassin's creed cosplay. I could go on and on and on about why Ruvik is simultaneously a ridiculous AND frightening antagonist and how much i love it but uh..... maybe later) but hes such a FUN villain! Hes the kind of pretentious art snob shitheel i cannot STAND irl, but in this game i LOVE to HATE him. Hes just SO over-the-top you kinda wonder if he actually subscribes to the pretentiousness he spouts, or if hes just being Exceptionally Extra.

The other villains? Theodore was.... forgettable. His monsters were forgettable. (Its like how i completely forgot that Frank Manera was a character in Whistleblower for like... 5 years lmao i guess this game also kinda followed that "having multiple named/characterized antagonists in one game" thing that Outlast did) Myra, i just didnt care. Her final design was kinda cool, i liked the red clusters of insect eyes. Her monsters werent really gross enough to be memorable. The only reson theyre gross at all is bc they kinda look like theyre made of semen. (I checked the wiki and apparently Myra's white goo is "psychoplasm" and her monsters lost 99% of their gross factor. I just dont care.) The Administrator literally just looked like a 3D human model of Maxwell from dont starve, and i have to laugh every time i see him. Hes not terribly threatening, all he does is threaten characters to work faster and doesnt actually follow through on those threats. He doesnt even make fun threats like HABIT or anything. He thinks hes so powerful and ominous that his mere presence will frighten the player but hes just kinda all bark and no bite. Hes The Big Bad Company Man so you know hes gonna get whats coming to him, and you know Kidmans gonna be the one to do it to him, so hes not even that much of a threat. Hes whatever.

Stefano definitely got all of the coolest monsters. Many Arms Buzzsaw Lady was terrifying and i love her. And OBSCURA was just *Chef's Kiss* Anima was cool, she kinda looked like a mix of Laura and Samara. The Harbingers were neat, but really only bc ive got a thing for gas masks. The rest of the monsters werent really unique or weighty/threatening enough to be memorable. Now the first game is a fucking TREASURE TROVE of unique monsters *muah* you got Sadist, Sentinel, Keeper, Amalgam, Heresy, Laura, Shigyo, the Twins, Alter Egos, and im probably forgetting some!! But holy FUCK!!!!! And if we're includong the DLC?? MOTHER FUCKING SHADE. SPOTLIGHT LADY. LIGHT WOMAN.  SEXY LEGS.  Whatever you call her, i fucking love her. Her design is so simple. Helmet. Sheet. Legs. Her voice? Unnerving as hell. Love it. (Also i just personally love the diving helmet. Also like you know how a lot of games have a spotlight mechanic where you have to avoid the light and if it lands on you, you're fucked? LET'S MAKE AN ENTIRE MONSTER OUT OF THAT. She's PERFECT.) Oh and also those weird crawling exploding dudes. They made gross sounds and it was great. (Tbh Keepers still probably my favorite, if only for horny reasons)

TATIANA HOW HAVE I NOT FUCKING TALKED ABOUT TATIANA. Shes like the ONE female character that i fucking LOVE in the sequel. I love how they finally gave her a personality, and that personality is literally just "fuck you, Sebastian" Oh GOD its great shes SO FUNNY. I just.... god i love Tatiana lmao. I love how she makes you kinda uncomfortable too, like she knows something, but she wont tell you bc youre stupid. I didn't like the kind of "all-knowing guide" thing they did to try and make her creepy (like she's a "guide" but then also turns around and is like "no i wont tell you what you need to know bc you """have to discover it on your own""" or whatever") it serves no purpose since she never gave you any actual information, and it didn't succeed in making her creepier, all it did was frustrate me. She was at her creepiest when she IMPLIED she was doing something behind the scenes or knew something you didn't know and then didn't elaborate (not REFUSING to elaborate, just... stopping talking and leaving the statement to hang in the air, like the "getting her nails done" and "its been a long time, detective" and the "now what makes you say that" from the first game) and she was at her funniest when she was interacting with Sebastian from the sidelines, her snide little comments and sarcastic clapping cracked me the fuck up. Tatiana not treating Sebastian seriously was a fantastic touch for a game that otherwise would probably take itself so seriously it would double back around to being silly. Without Tatiana, it would've been just another male-centric gun-toting "survival horror" game, and for the most part, it was just that. She was definitely a much-needed source of slightly derisive comedy and a definite high-point for me, even if they didn't so a great job of making her creepy or fulfilling her "purpose."

Oh I also really love the COLORS in TEW2. The first game fell into the trap of having the colors be totally washed out that a lot of horror stuff does, but it also kind of worked for it. Especially with the color pallette of our main villain and how the whole thing was His World. The saturation of the colors in the second game is a breath of fresh air and gorgeous to look at, and you can even see the color motifs of the game change with each new villain: the game starts out with Stephano has lots of blues and purples and dark reds, when Theodore takes over we get bright orange and yellow contrasted with black and brown, and in the climax with Myra the game goes back to having washed out colors and white (and with her villain design? Let's face it: they were kinda just trying to do Ruvik again) We did get portions that were still kind of wahed out whites and greens and greys, but it wasnt the ENTIRE game, even the big blood-and-brains splatterhouse sections of the first game kinda had their colors weirdly muted for that "Horror Aethetic."

In conclusion, i do like the evil within 2, but i also had a lot of problems with it. And i complain about these problems because i like the game and know it couldve done better, tried harder, and been a LOT more than it was (the wasted character potential is my real overarching pet peeve, probably becuase i loved the characters in the first game, and character development is kind of my whole jam) . But all in all, it was still a fun monster-zombie romp with at least one entertaining villain and fun-to-look-at designs and environments. It wasn't character or horror or even REALLY story driven in the way I know it COULDVE been, but i still had a fun time and enjoyed myself.

[thebestoftimes]

50 QUESTION BOOK TAG FOR WORLD BOOK DAY

By me, Jess. I made this for world book day but then got depressed and didn’t post it on time lmao but here ya go kids be warned though it’s a long one. Also the numbers thing got fucked up and I couldn’t fix it.  I got a lot of these questions from other tags I’ve seen and google so if something sounds familiar... that’s why.

Who or what sparked your love of literature?

Aw my parents fueled my book habit when I was a kid and took me to the bookstore all the time and since then all my teachers have always encouraged me and made me love books even more than I thought possible.

Do you have an ‘odd’ book habit? (page sniffing/never leaving the house with a book)

It’s true that I never go anywhere without a book. I got one in my backpack or purse or reading on my phone but it’s always there.

Do you have a book that you think has changed your life? How?

A lot of books and series have made significant impacts on my life (like I can’t picture elementary school without Percy Jackson being in my life) but like as a person I can’t think of any one book that has changed who I am. It’s been a team effort.

Which book have you reread most frequently?

I think I reread Hush Hush every year lmao idk why

You can meet any author and ask one question. What author would you chose and what question would you ask?

I’d want to meet Shakespeare and ask him if all his characters really were just that gay or if we’re all reading too much into it.

Best book published this year so far?

It’s only March but The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Imagine you’ve started a book and don’t like it. Do you see the experience through to the bitter end, or are you able to talk away from it mid story?

I used to always finish what I started but now that I’m in college and have a mountain of a TBR I’ll just stop.

What book is top of your wish list/TBR pile?

Uhh A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos  is on top rn

Favourite place to read?

My bed. Boring but a classic.

If you buy books, do you lend them out? Ever had a bad experience?

Of course. No all my friends respect my stuff and return them promptly.

What fictional character do you ship yourself with?

So many but I think Gansey and I from The Raven Cycle would make the best couple.

Weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark

I use whatever near me so I might have done something weirder but lately I’ve been using tissues because I have a tissue box by my bed and never real bookmarks. But I’ve used graded homework, a toy car, a crayon, earbuds, etc.

Favorite quality/qualities in a protagonist and antagonist

Wow this is s hard okay for protag I am a sucker for like stubborn, smartass with a martyr complex. Sad but true. Antags I love a good morally grey character or anti-villain. Tragic backstory but smart as hell. The worst (the best). Characters like the Darkling from The Grisha Trilogy, and Warner from the first Shatter Me book (I know he’s a good guy NOW but back then we all thought he was a sadistic and sexy villain).

Favorite genre and favorite book from that genre.

YA Urban Fantasy babyyy and that’d be City of Bones by Cassandra Clare or Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare:)

  Best/worst movie adaptation in your eyes

Best: Harry Potter and The Hunger Games | Worst: Percy Jackson

Do you prefer reading your own books, or library books?

My own.

How do you choose your next book to read?

Literally whatever I’m feeling like at the moment.

Your favorite word.

I love many words but I have a soft spot for “lively” and “lilt”.

Book that got you hooked on reading/how you got hooked.

I’ve always been obsessed with reading but The Peter and the Starcatchers Series was like my shift from nicotine to heroine.

Opinion on dog-earing, margin writing, ect.

I only write in the margins of books I have to read for class/textbooks. And that’s for studying and active reading purposes. For any other situation: no.

Top 5 immediate to read in no order

A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab

Most underrated book you’ve read

Definitely The Foxhole Court/ All for the Game series. Fairly small fanbase for some of THE most amazing books I’ve ever read. And the memes will have you in stitches.

What is the first book that catches your eye when you look at your bookshelf?

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell because of the exceedingly bright cover/spine haha

How do you arrange your books on your shelves?

LOL I do not have a system at all. I keep series and authors together and that’s it. Everything is placed where there is room.

You have the power to change a book’s ending. Which ending would you change and what would you make happen instead?

I’d change the end to Allegiant and SPOILERS SPOILERS not make Tris fucking die over her shitty ass brother. I know why she did it but like Veronica girl wyd with that. And I’d want the entirety of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins to be rewritten into a book that just focused on the domestic life of Finnick and Annie and no one dies.

Favourite book cover?

This is SO HARD. Either The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin or Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Which book from your childhood has had the most impact on you?

My entire personality was shaped by the Maxmimum Ride series by James Patterson. For better and worse.

When reading, what do you value most: writing style, characters, plot, world building, pacing, etc?

Characters. I think all of those things are essential and as I read more and more, the pickier I get, but I find myself leaning towards being a fan of a book when I become obsessed with the characters. Like hey!! New friends!!! For my brain!!!

Do you prefer buying books or borrowing them from a library/friend?

Buying them even though I shouldn’t. It’s a real problem.

What books/sequels that are being published this year are you most excited for?

SO MANY OH MY GOD

Okay some of these already came out because it’s March right now but I’ll include them anyways.

SEQUELS/ SPIN-OFFS AND SHIT

The Wicked King by Holly Black; King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo; Dream by Natalia Jaster; Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare; The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare; Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco, Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater; Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi; The Shaw Confessions #3 by Michelle Hodkin

FIRST BOOKS

The Binding by Bridget Collins; Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan; The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi; A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer; Romanov by Nadine Brandes; The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen; The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Which fictional character would you want as a sidekick?

Percy Jackson because he’s my firstborn son and one of my favourite characters of all time. He is talented, smart, hilarious, an amazing friend, and the sweetest of boys (when he isn’t the sassiest of boys).

How many books have you read so far this year?

Only 15 I am so behind :(

What’s been your favourite read so far this year?

Oh man. Gotta be Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo :)

You’re stuck on an island with a suitcase big enough to hold five books. What books are they?

I probably shouldn’t cheat and say How to Build a Boat huh

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The King’s Men by Nora Sakovic

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

If you had to go out to dinner with any character who would it be and why? What would you talk about?

Will Herondale and we’d talk about books

Is there a book you have such a hatred for that you would throw it off of the highest tower knowing that the last copy of it will be destroyed so that not another living soul can read it or would you rather keep it and give it to someone else who might actually enjoy it?

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne or After by Anna Todd

Do you believe books make nice decoration?

I mean. I think they should be read before used as decor but I love showing off my books so I guess both. But I don’t believe in buying books for the purpose of decoration instead of reference or reading lol

Do you listen to music when you read? Or do you need complete silence? 

I need silence or low amount of white noise. I used to read and listen to Taylor Swift when I was a kid but I can’t do it anymore.

Do you have a favorite book? If not are you in the group that believes there are too many great books out there to just choose one?

I tell people it’s City of Bones by Cassandra Clare but in all honesty no I don’t have a favourite.

Do you sleep with books under your pillow.

Nope

Do you go to the library or do you have a book buying addiction or are you one of those lucky people who is able to do both?

I do both. Mostly bookstore though.

Own any book inspired clothing?

Yes. Several items :)

Have you ever read a book in another language?

I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Tristan and Isolde, and Beauty and the Beast in French. And parts of Les Mis.

Strangest book you’ve ever read?

John Dies at the End by David Wong. Still not sure exactly what was going on. 

Favourite type of non-fiction?

Memoirs babey

Favourite non-fiction?

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Favourite subject to read about?

History

Favourite book you’ve read in school?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Favourite work of Shakespeare?

Hamlet

Character you’d love as a mom or dad or guardian?

Hmm Sally Jackson, The Women of 300 Fox Way, or Tessa and Will (they totally count because The Last Hours Series)

I tag literally whoever wants to do this and @fangirl-daydreamer97 @acleeds12 @iviisastrawberry @221bdoom @bicycles-bees-bisexuals @betterthanapit @dippindots126 @vlctorvale

[thousandeyesand-one]

Tagged by @naomimakesart

■What are your top 3 favorite houses of Westeros?

HOUSE TARGARYEN. I mean Hello! 👀

HOUSE STARK. The Ice to my favorite fire house!

HOUSE DAYNE. Extremely underrated & unexplored I would love to know more.

■If you could live during one era in GRRM’s universe what era would it be? (Age of Heroes, Valyrian Empire, Conquest of Westeros, Dance of Dragons etc.)

I'd probably be like either a weirwood & live through all of these eras lol or I'd be a child of the forest secretly surviving since dawn age at the isle of faces or something! Coz I can't choose one era 😜

■What is your favorite episode/scene from the Game of Thrones TV series?

Battle of the Bastards, Loot train attack, Tower of Joy, First look at Ser Arthur Dayne 💜 basically every time arya is on screen. But I guess S05E04 holds a special place in my heart that whole episode was about Subtle hints at jon's Parentage/Subtle-mild hints at Jonerys future magical babies/ & had perhaps my most fav scene in the show of dany & Ser Barristan Selmy bonding over Rhaegar! 

"Rhaegar never liked killing, he loved singing."

■What ruler do you think brought about the most change in Westeros, be it good or bad?

Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the Conciliator. Alysanne Targaryen, the Good Queen. I think they were the Obama's of the 7k literally inherited the realm from Maegor who almost crumbled the dynasty & the realm but they rebuilt it to last for two more centuries. While you asked Good & Bad I'd like to mention for 99% of good that Baehaerys did there was 1% of bad done by him too. The Iron Precedent of 101 A.C. that establishes male inheritance over female which single handedly caused DOD, Blackfyre Rebellions & is still a problem! If only Jaehaerys would've listened to Alysanne & made daenerys the heir! Listen to your wives Men! Make it a habit!

■If you could ask GRRM one question what would it be?

In a shitty, patriachial world like Westeros, where it is more than clear that men have build & sustained their kingdoms & legacies through Acts of War or Revenge or Want & Need to secure power. Why are women like Daenerys, Arya & Cersei criticized as would-be Mad or psychotic/Too far gone or Already Mad characters?

■If GRRM could write a short novel/series about one other family or historical time (besides the Targaryens) in his universe what would you want it to be about? (My choice would be Nymeria’s Journey!)

Good choice Naomi!👌

I would like to learn more about The Daynes man House Dayne! They are so peculiar, mysterious & any reader of asoiaf knows theres more to that house that is important for the endgame than what we know! More about this family dating back to the Dawn age & the era of the rule of Kings of Torrentine. More about Ashara Dayne & her eldest brother who is still unnamed what is his name? How did he actually look like if his son has valyrian features? was he a snack just like his younger brother?.. you know.. important questions like those needs to be answered!

■What was your first introduction to ASOIAF/Game of Thrones? Did someone tell you about it, did you see it online or did you come across it at a store/shop?

My cousin told me about the book series but I was busy with my studies at the time so I couldn't pick it up. But then the show happened & he told me about it too so I watched the first season before reading the books. Then I picked up my Jaw from the floor after watching S01 & straight away bought those books. & THAT'S HOW MY LIFE ENDED!

■What’s one thing that bothers you about GRRM’s series?

I think it's the doylism that bothers me. It has always bothered me I am a Tolkien nerd & that man wrote stories beyond human capacity & error. Middle earth is as fantasy as fantasy can be & even though J. R. R Tolkien was inspired to write his stories by the service he did in military during war his story isn't a doylist one, maybe mild references here & there but nothing as serious as asoiaf. I feel like doylism complicates everything in this story! (P.S I also never was much of a history student Biology was Life!)

■What’s one thing you unabashedly love about GRRM’s series?

The impossibly, irrevocably, unattainable & unfair high expectation of men (selective men) that GRRM has created. I mean good luck to myself on getting in a relationship or getting married coz you aint never gonna be Ser Arthur Dayne awesome or Rhaegar Targaryen & Jon Snow Broody, Melancholy sexy!

■What are your feelings about the prequel series in development at HBO right now for the Long Night?

I really really love Bran Stark & how he is connected to the rich 8,000 or longer history of Kings of Winter & the actual nature of this world, all the stuff that predates back to Dawn Age. First Long Night is something I would definitely love to watch, Fingers crossed am sure I'll like it! Also because valyria came into existence right after the First Long Night so this series only gives me hope for a Valyrian Freehold Prequel THAT WHICH I TRULY WANT!

Now tagged by @chillyravenart

Here goes..

■Which Westerosi castle would you like to live in?

Starfall, Dorne. Duh!

■Would you rather be a rich and influential lord, born into wealth and privilege or would you rather be someone who wields power from the sidelines, like Littlefinger?

I'd rather be born rich & influential because I know myself I won't be another cuckoo Lord or lady of the 7k. Plus it seems like anyone like Little Finger or varys who rises from sidelines have to sell their souls to the Satan with zero sense of humanity & everything being a race for power.

■Pick one: platinum hair or purple eyes?

I'll take purple eyes because I have jet black hair & purple eyes just compliment the fuck out of black hairs!

■Based on a tag I made once, based on your physical features, which part of Westeros/which house do you belong to?

In dorne probably House Martell.

■Who do you think will actually defeat the Night King?

I think Bran is the one who is truly going to defeat Night King.

■Three people you think will die in season 8?

Night King, Cersei & Varys. Can I add a fourth? Melisandre too.

■What would you name your dragon/direwolf?

My Dragon would be called Tzarax & my Direwolf would be called Amaris which means Child of the moon. She'd be an albino without red eyes maybe golden eyes!

■How must Ser Pounce be avenged?

Ser Pounce's daughter should train to be a faceless assassin & return all badass with many faces of cats & avenge Ser Pounce roaming around the red keep biting the hell out of anyone because Valar Mewghulis. All Men must be biten.

■Whose POV chapters are your favourite? (If you haven’t read the books... skip this and hang your head in shame lol jk jk jk)

My fav POV chapters are Bran, Dany, Jon, Arya. In that order!

Hang your head in shame lmao👏😂

■Your favourite ASOIAF/GOT antagonist? 

Varys. This dude is going to burn in the seventh hell for all the bs he has unleashed upon just about everyone he has ever come across. I would name LF too but unfortunately it seems Varys outlived him so yeah The Spider & his webs are deadly as they come.

My Questions are:

1. What is that one moment or situation in asoiaf or GOT Tv show that inspires you positively?

2. YOUR ONE TRUE SHIP?

3. What is your favorite, ride or die character? CHOOSE ONE, ONLY ONE!

4. If you were to be the Ruler of Westeros & name Seven fighters to your Kingsguard who would they be? (They can be from the current generation of asoiaf or any fighter from any era, choice is all yours!)

6. Your own House sigil, house color(s) & house words?

5. What are your views about Robert's Rebellion?

7. Which is that one Character you wish had more screen time on the show (or) had a POV in the books?

8. Imagine Red Keep School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, which houses would the sorting hat sort these characters into? { Arya, Jon, Daenerys, Bran, Tyrion, Robb, Jaime, Cersei, Sansa, Rickon, Gendry, Joffery, Margaery, Brienne, Pod, Tormund, Hound, Missandei, Greyworm, Bronn, Sam & Gilly }

9. How do you prefer to watch the Final season? With a partner or spouse / alone by myself with no one to bug me / go to a watch party or bar episode events.

I'm Tagging @chillyravenart @naomimakesart @beautifuloutkasts @drakhus @phoebemaybe @mamadragon-daenerys @blue-roses-and-red-rubbies @northernlights37 @tomakeitbeautifultolive @toaquiprashippar @daenerys1417 @submarinesofpacific @crystalmusezz @ anyone who would like to do this i'd like to know your answers!

10. Nobody knows for sure how this story ends, but what is your ideal end to this story?

[bicycles-bees-bisexuals]

50 Question Book Tag For World Book Day

My darling pal @thebestoftimes tagged me in this and who am I to refuse, though i am a lame loser who hasn’t read very much since high school. I read so much in elementary and middle school that I think I read enough for a whole lifetime. Also I’m a verbose asshole so enjoy my essays on books I read 13 years ago.

Who or what sparked your love of literature?

My mom used to read to me when I was really little and my sister despised being read to so my mom stopped. It made me sad so I started reading to myself and I just kept reading and reading and reading all throughout elementary and onward.

Do you have an ‘odd’ book habit? (page sniffing/never leaving the house with a book)

If I really really really love a book I use it to press flowers, so you’ll know which book is my favorite when you open it and it’s full of flowers

Do you have a book that you think has changed your life? How?

Shit I dunno man, I feel like Tolkien shaped my creativity and his characters are characters that I truly hold dear. But Pride and Prejudice really impacted me, which I know is weird, but it was my first foray into literature written by women for women and I just loved the dynamic of the characters, the spunkiness of Elizabeth Bennet, and the style of writing.

Which book have you reread most frequently?

Pride and Prejudice because I’m a huge freakin’ nerd and whenever I’m sad P&P is my comfort book. This is closely followed by the Lord of the Rings/the Hobbit

You can meet any author and ask one question. What author would you chose and what question would you ask?

Oh shit.....ummmmmm..... Ummmmmmmmmmmm.....I would ask Jane Austen her opinion on the Lizzie Bennet Diaries(after showing her the whole series)

Best book published this year so far?

(I haven’t read any books published this year I am so sorry)

Imagine you’ve started a book and don’t like it. Do you see the experience through to the bitter end?

I am a sinner of the highest caliber and I read the end to see if it’s interesting enough to warrant suffering through the rest

What book is top of your wish list/TBR pile?

Any of Holly Blacks books tbh, I hear such good things about her work and I just haven’t gotten around to reading it yet and I really want to

Favourite place to read?

On the porch in my beach chair with a mug of tea and a blanket

If you buy books, do you lend them out? Ever had a bad experience?

I lend books out all the time. I recently had a person I considered my friend abscond to Russia with several of my books and I am not happy about it

What fictional character do you ship yourself with?

There are so many badass ladies that if I lived in their world I would flirt so hard with them and I can’t decide. Definitely Annabeth and Rachel for Percy Jackson, Hermione/Ginny/Luna from Harry Potter... Brett Ashley from The Sun Also Rises....Arwen from LOTR but also Aragorn and also Eowyn....I just love hot ladies who get in fights alright

Weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark.

A whole sock, it was the nearest object to me and I was in a hurry, but at least it was clean

Favorite quality/qualities in a protagonist and antagonist

I love a flawed character who experiences character growth in the story, be they protagonist or antagonist. Not even in a ‘bad guy becomes good guy’ way, character growth is just so sexy man I wish writers used it more

Favorite genre and favorite book from that genre.

Why must you hurt me in this way, making me decide. I must say Fantasy is my genre of choice, and my favorite is actually The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Best/worst movie adaptation in your eyes

Dragon is by far the worst movie adaptation I have ever seen, I remember being so utterly disappointed and gutted when I watched it, I love those books so much and that movie let me down so hard(the effects were really good for the time though I must give them that)

Do you prefer reading your own books, or library books?

I am poor so library books all the way

How do you choose your next book to read?

I read descriptions until something strikes my interest. Or Jess recommends something to me.

Your favorite word.

Flourish

Book that got you hooked on reading/how you got hooked.

Mrs Peregrins Home for Peculiar Children, which isn’t a book I didn’t expect to like and didn’t have much interest in but the opening line of “I had just come to accept my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen” it was an interesting enough hook to draw me in. I was not disappointed, it’s a pretty great book

Opinion on dog-earing, margin writing, ect.

I dog ear books and write all over them. I love books and I love the stories they contain but I don’t think the pages of each individual book are sacred. My books look loved because they are loved. Unless I’m borrowing them then I don’t dog ear or write in them because that’s rude

Top 5 immediate to read in no order

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Most underrated book you’ve read

Tbh I don’t think I’ve read any underrated books. They’re all pretty highly rated

What is the first book that catches your eye when you look at your bookshelf?

My collectors copy of Sherlock Holmes because it’s beautiful and fancy and those stories hold a dead place in my heart

How do you arrange your books on your shelves?

I don’t arrange them, I just place them so that they fit, though I do keep series together

You have the power to change a book’s ending. Which ending would you change and what would you make happen instead?

Why do you do this to me.....okay I would definitely change the ending of Inheretence by Christopher Paolini. Tbh I wish he hadn’t written the fourth book at all and just left it with Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr but if we accept this book then it must be changed. I would have liked to see more character growth from Murtagh especially, but also Eragon who really regressed in this book. And I think Galbatorix’ death was super anti climatic and didn’t really resolve all of the built up tension from the series, it was too easy and didn’t resolve anything at all.

And Eragon just abandons Arya and the riders and they separate themselves from each other after all they did together, several books of allusion to a relationship and all of the issues between them being resolved and he just leaves. The plot threads just weren’t resolved and honestly I would have to scrap the whole book for the most part and start over.

Favourite book cover?

The book covers for the Inheretence Cycle by Christopher Paolini hold a special place in my heart and are what drew me to that series in the first place. I bought hard covers just for the aesthetic of them

Which book from your childhood has had the most impact on you?

The Chronicles of Narnia, tbh, my first introduction to fantasy

When reading, what do you value most: writing style, characters, plot, world building, pacing, etc?

Characters are the most valuable to me, if I don’t love the characters I don’t love the book

Do you prefer buying books or borrowing them from a library/friend?

Borrowing, for sure

What books/sequels that are being published this year are you most excited for?

Unfortunately I haven’t read enough lately to know what’s coming out this year

Which fictional character would you want as a sidekick?

Samwise Gamgee all the way

How many books have you read so far this year?

Seven, all academic books

What’s been your favourite read so far this year?

The Heliand

You’re stuck on an island with a suitcase big enough to hold five books. What books are they?

Arghhhhh ummm.... the lord of the rings trilogy, Pride and Prejudice, and a book on survival tactics

If you had to go out to dinner with any character who would it be and why? What would you talk about?

Hmmmmm Bilbo Baggins because I wanna hear the hidden stories of his journeys

Is there a book you have such a hatred for that you would throw it off of the highest tower knowing that the last copy of it will be destroyed so that not another living soul can read it?

Inheretence by Christopher Paolini tbh

Do you believe books make nice decoration?

Yeah I do and one day I want to have book shelves displaying all my books

Do you listen to music when you read? Or do you need complete silence? 

I do listen to music because I can’t focus on just one thing at a time because I’m ridiculous

Do you have a favorite book? If not are you in the group that believes there are too many great books out there to just choose one?

I CANT CHOOSE I CANT CHOOSE I CANT CHOOSE I CANT CHOOSE I CANTTTFTTTT

Do you sleep with books under your pillow.

No because I move too much in my sleep I would destroy the poor thing

Do you go to the library or do you have a book buying addiction or are you one of those lucky people who is able to do both?

I definitely go to the library because I am poooorrrrr

Own any book inspired clothing?

I have a pride and prejudice book scarf and several Jane Austen necklaces

Have you ever read a book in another language?

Yep I read books in Latin all the time and I used to read books in Spanish because I used to be smart, what the fuck happened to that who knows

Strangest book you’ve ever read?

The Heliand

Favourite type of non-fiction?

Historical Drama, in which they tell real events but in the most dramatic way possible. The best.

Favourite non-fiction book?

I CANT CHOOSE I CANT CHOOSE I CANT CHOOSE I CANT CHOOSE I CANT CHOOSE (does hidden figures by Margot Lee Shetterly count? If not then I can’t decide)

Favourite subject to read about?

History, always, especially history involving regular people losing their shot

Favourite book you’ve read in school?

No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women by Estelle Freedman

Favourite work of Shakespeare?

Tbh I don’t like Shakespeare but Midsummer Nights Dream is most entertaining to me. Though I love merchant of Venice for all the jokes I get out of it on Bards Dispense Profanity

Character you’d love as a mom or dad or guardian?

All of them would be terrible parents and it would be so delightful but tbh I’d love to have Han Solo and Leia as my parents so I can beat the shit out of my bro Kyle Ron every time he tried to glorify space hitler

[the-modern-typewriter]

I’ve always been fascinated by villains/antagonists in stories, sometimes even more than the heroes/protagonists. You write them so well and seem to have a good grasp on developing them into more than two dimensional ‘bad guys.’ I’m just wondering if you have any insights on why I’m always more drawn to the antagonist, even if I’m supposed to be rooting for the other guy?

I think there are probably multiple reasons, but some of the thoughts off the top of my head…

1) Villains/Antagonists/Monsters have a history of being or being coded as Other. Ergo - they are often women, often non white or somewhere on the LGBT spectrum or coded as being queer or more feminine etc. For a long time, a lot of protagonists in literary canon were cis straight white men, and the only way that these kinds of characters were allowed any representation was if their diversity was offset with them being the antagonist. However, if you are any of these, obviously you might want to root for or be drawn to the character who is like you. 

2) It’s fiction. Fiction allows you to explore characters who are often very different from you, which is interesting and can make antagonist characters appealing. We want to understand people who behave this way, they fascinate us in our horror. It is not quite the same as ‘rooting for them’ but it does explain some of the draw people may feel to stories about these characters. 

Also, we are not generally bad people, we don’t want to be bad people and often would not do bad things in reality, but we do all have darker impulses and it can be satisfying to watch these played out in fiction where it doesn’t actually particularly hurt anyone. We are also all very flawed individuals, which can make some protagonists harder to relate to if they are badly written and aren’t capable of lying or selfishness or jealousy in the way that humans are. A good protagonist overcomes those things, but anyway…

Leading onto…villains do often have motivations that we as readers can relate to. They pick terrible ways of fulfilling those motivations, but like Magneto in the X-men for example they are absolutely motivations we can understand. There is a reason that their actions are sometimes extremely compelling. Often villain’s provide counterpoints to the protagonist without being the worst that humanity has to offer.

It’s also worth noting that villains are sometimes fun and campy depending on what you’re watching, which slightly links to 1.

3) Sort of a mish-mash of the above, but villains have a habit of being beautiful. They are often fully intended to be seductive and appealing as another code for dangerous. See the Evil is Sexy/Beautiful trope or the Evil is Cool trope. If you’re living in a very repressed culture, which to a certain extent we still are and certainly were, the villain is absolutely going to be temptation incarnate. The backfiring of this is that we are in fact tempted. This can lead to wish fulfillment and various unconscious currents such as that if you’re seduced by the evil then it’s not your fault, it’s theirs, and you get to play out all of your forbidden desires and still be a good person for fantasizing about it while reading. 

Also, a lot of not that bad things have been coded as sinful, you know? 

[loverunderwater]

You Get Me (2017) dir. Brent Bonacorso

summary: After a one-night stand, Holly develops a dangerous obsession with Tyler and transfers to his high school, desperate to keep their romance alive.

1/5 stars

I’m back and worse than ever, with more italics and less coherent thought than before!!

Listen, I’m not saying this movie is as bad as Life in a Year. But jeeeeeeesus it kind of is,,

Spoilers, duh, but maybe you should save your two hours and go watch something that wasn’t a waste of Netflix’s budget. Though, Netflix doesn’t really seem to have any regard for its budget or movies that are worthwhile to produce, considering the fact that it made an adaptation of a book with the exact same plot as You Get Me just one year later (You, 2018).

The entire first five minutes of the film were indescribably bad. One, it was a shot of the ocean with a man monologuing his heart out in a voiceover. Two, said shot of the ocean was interspersed with clips of adult actors who were way too old to be playing high school seniors fake-laughing on the beach like it was a laxative commercial. Three, said monologue contained lines such as “Love changes you,” and “The moment I saw her, I just knew. It’s like everything had been in black and white, and suddenly there was color.” I am not ad-libbing. I am not paraphrasing. I am transcribing directly from the subtitles.

Even later on in the film: “We’re done here. It’s over.”

“You found me.”

“So... last night happened...”

“I like who I am when I’m with you.”

“Your laugh, I love it.”

“This was special.”

I swear to god, the writers must have consulted 12-year-olds who published self-insert One Direction fanfiction on Wattpad for help on their script. Either that, or their Creative Writing professors in college need their teaching licenses revoked.

None of the lines in this movie were funny. They all tried so hard to be witty, and snarky, and all *mic drop*, but they were uncreative and predictable. Just like the plot and acting.

Plot summed up: Main dudebro with a forgettable name (it was Tyler but I’ll be calling him dudebro throughout this review) has a perfect life and is stupid in love with his girlfriend Ali. They go to a party and he gets intimidated by some other guy from Ali’s past who spews shit about how Ali used to be a wild child and slept around. DB takes it out on Ali because he’s pissy that Ali hasn’t slept with him yet, even though she has a perfectly valid reason for wanting to change her lifestyle habits before college.

They break up because dudebro has a small dick and can’t respect Ali’s space. He also gets jealous of her talking to another guy that she’s clearly not interested in, so we can check “can’t read a room” and “coward” off the list (which is probably why the rest of the movie goes the way it does).

DB leaves the party and sees Holly, who is the world’s most pathetic antagonist. They hook up, and then DB stays over at her house and acts super boyfriend-y even though he was soOooO upsET when he broke up with Ali the literal night before. They continue to hang out for the rest of the summer. Then when the school year rolls around, DB gets back with Ali and Holly has transferred to DB’s school.

She starts threatening to tell Ali what happened over the summer and this drags out for a super long time. Holly forces herself into their friend group to make it more torturous for DB and gets really close to Ali. Only one of DB’s friends thinks Holly acts sketchy which is ridiculous, since Holly is absolute garbage at acting inconspicuous.

Holly makes up more lies to win Ali over and make DB sweat. She starts stalking DB and breaking into their homes. Shit goes from 0-100 in ten minutes and DB finds out Holly is her middle name, and that she’s been expelled from multiple schools for aggravated assault. More badly written drama, Holly tries to kill Ali, DB comes to the rescue, the end.

Something absolutely hilarious about this movie is how DB began his speech with true love, and honesty, and giving you heart to someone, and yet he had absolutely no qualms about sleeping with Holly right after he’d broken up with Ali. True love, huh?

I don’t understand why all of the characters (except Anna Akana’s, named Lydia) were so oblivious to Holly. Holly even poisoned Lydia’s drink to remove her fro the picture. As Lydia fell to the floor, choking, Holly was sitting peacefully across the table from her. Did no one think that was suspicious? Did no one think to accuse the girl with a smirk on her face as her supposed friend was choking? Holly was also always lurking around the school to find DB and give him a dumb speech about how she thought they were in love. Did no teacher see her and tell her to get out?

DB is shirtless way too many times. I’m pretty sure the directors thought it would make up for his mediocre acting. It was not attractive.DB also doesn’t seem to realize that there are consequences for his actions throughout the entire movie. Neither does Holly, but at the very end, the writers tried to pull the “mentally ill” card to excuse her flat character arc.

A HUGE plot hole in the story stems from this lazy writing. If Holly has repeatedly gotten in trouble (seeing as there is almost an entire google search page filled with articles about her expulsions), even admitted to a therapist (though I think psychiatrist would be more accurate), why is she allowed back into public schools? Why is she allowed to be around sharp objects? Why does her mother, rich enough to afford a bigass mansion but stupid enough to keep her pills out, not know to hide her GUN from her psychotic daughter?

The worst part of this lazy, terrible writing is that the principal of DB and Holly’s school has no idea about Holly’s past. If you’re stupid enough to not make the connection between someone whose face has most likely been on the news for aggravated assault just because they go by their middle name,maybe you shouldn’t be in charge of thousands of kids who you’re putting at risk by admitting this student as a regular kid.

My absolute BIGGEST problem with this movie was how much stupid shit the actors did with their mouths. Miss Bella Thorne was either pursing or biting, or flexing, or puckering, or pouting, or twitching and it was disgusting, one, and idiotic, two. It happened way too many times for it to be a tick or a subconscious thing from the actors, which means the directors specifically went “Be sexy and mysterious,” every half hour of shooting and after the sixth time, Bella’s eyes hurt from looking out from underneath her lashes or giving dudebro side-eye so they were like “Fuck it, lick your lips.”

In short, this was not a good movie.

[calamity-bean]

Any meta thoughts on wig wearing and Turn characters? Particularly in the wake of Hewlett in photos with his real hair? Culpers seem to wear them the least (then again, Richard never wears one), and Hewlett always wore one until he was kidnapped. Andre had his brief debut in one and then never again. And Simcoe--well, what do you think? Does wearing a wig/false hair signal anything to the audience about characters on Turn?

This is SUCH a fun question, thank you! Disclaimer: I am soooo not a fashion or military historian. I’m not any kind of historian, in fact, and as such, I feared I wouldn’t be able to answer because I simply don’t know enough about wig-wearing habits of the 18th century. INCREDIBLY, though, I actually DO know a totally concrete answer to at least ONE of these character’s situations, because JJ Feild told USA Today last year:

[Andre] did have the wig early on, but Feild was able to ditch it after asking executive producer Craig Silverstein, “‘Do you really want that for your seducer/lover for the next three years? And he said, ‘No, not really.’”

So, where Andre is concerned, the answer is — yes! His wiglessness was much more a narrative choice than a historical one, and it absolutely signals something to the audience! It signals, “You Are Supposed To Fall In Love With This Man And His Sexy Hair”!

(pictured: HAHAHA NO.)

Feild also said that he wanted to ditch the wig because he wanted the audience to see Andre, born to immigrant merchant parents, as an outsider among his fellow officers, who are largely of gentle birth. This is more of an in-universe explanation than the sexiness principle, but it was still definitely a conscious choice intended to influence audience perception. So overall, I suppose the question is: Does TURN give its men wigs based on historical accuracy to their social class, military rank, etc.? (Aka, an in-universe justification?) Or is TURN more concerned with the overall impression of a character’s costuming than with strict historical accuracy?

…TURN being not particularly known for its historical accuracy, I kind of already have my suspicions. But I’m also not discounting the historical element entirely; I think that does play a part. Let’s see…

Powdered wigs were expensive and troublesome to maintain. As such, I would expect to see them only on men of means, status, and/or a keen sense of fashion, and broadly speaking, TURN … kind of holds true to this principle. Most of the civilians we see are wigless, as are the Continentals. Makes sense; these are colonists, after all, provincials, many of them country folk. Even GWash powders his own hair for formal occasions rather than donning a peruke. A notable civilian exception is Rivington and a notable Continental exception Lafayette; I think both can be justified in-universe by Rivington’s pretentiousness and Lafayette’s status as foreign aristocracy. (There’s also Freddy! Who’s just stylish.)

Where things might get a little shakier is the British army. While there are background redcoats who wear their natural hair, I’ve seen it opined that TURN honestly features far too many wigs being worn by soldiers who would have more likely just treated their own hair with grease and powder and styled it into some sort of queue or plait. Again, Hewlett and Simcoe we can forgive on the basis of their social class, but what about orphaned Baker? What about all the other background common soldiers in their expensive, troublesome-to-maintain perukes? 

The overall trend — though with definite exceptions — seems to be a not strictly historical effort on TURN’s part to associate wigs with British rule and wiglessness with the colonists. More abstractly, these expensive, fussy wigs are associated with the old-money wealth, social hierarchy, and pomp implied by British rule, while the colonists are made to seem more down-to-earth, more egalitarian, less pretentious. It’s alllllmost a way of coding Good Guys vs. Bad Guys, at least in s1, when that was more clear-cut — but that’s a complicated issue. Again, there are practical, in-universe reasons for this. I mean, the Continentals are broke, they couldn’t afford wigs even if they wanted them! But I really do think that the general principle goes back to what JJ Feild said about Andre. Andre is allowed to go wigless even from the beginning because we’re meant to dissociate him from the wealth, status, and pomp (and … villainy?) of the rest of the British army. Rivington, although a colonist (an English immigrant, but still a colonist), does wear a wig because he’s pretentious and at least ostensibly a Tory. Lafayette’s wig likewise signals wealth and status.

Okay, what about the other exceptions, then. Simcoe and Rogers. British soldiers, yeah. But wildcards. They— and the Rangers in general — are Irregulars, with a sort of wild, woodsy, feral lawlessness that sets them apart from the fussiness and ceremony of the Regulars. Also, as far as I can tell, historical Rangers just legit did not wear wigs. But I still think it fits the theme, especially since historical Regulars apparently probably wouldn’t have either. Certainly Simcoe’s shift from Regular to Irregular is essentially one in which he’s let off his leash, free from the constraints of regular military hierarchy that kept him somewhat in check in season 1.

And then there’s Hewlett. Of COURSE I have thoughts about Hewlett.

Honestly, ever since the photos of him with natural hair came out, my mind keeps going back to that JJ Feild quote. Like, I don’t want to sound like a crazy shipper fangirl here, but the evolution of Hewlett’s wig situation over these four seasons has been notable, and I think that it’s very much been about influencing audience perception of him. I mean, look:

Season 1: The Worst Wig. The poofiest wig. I can’t look at it, it’s so tragic. But it’s also no better than I’d expect, because at this point, Hewlett is essentially a non-villainous antagonist whom we’re meant to find a bit ridiculous — and, of course, the absolute epitome of that upper-class old-money fussiness that’s being contrasted with salt-of-the-earth ‘Merica.

…But then suddenly. Holy shit. Suddenly, someone decides that this guy should be a love interest. A love interest for a major protagonist. And like JJ Feild said, you can’t have your love interest looking like … that. You have to make him attractive! You have to give him a much more dignified, more understated wig that flatters the shape of his face!

And is it coincidence that part of season 2′s process for making Hewlett more likable involves revealing that, oh, actually, he’s not the epitome of old-world wealth and status? That he’s a gentleman, sure, but his family’s broke, and he’s just trying to support himself and his parents, and actually he’s big into the kind of Enlightenment thinking that (particularly in Scotland, which is where he’s, uh, from, suddenly?) was concerned with social progress? …Weird.

As part of this humanization, s2 also gives us our first glimpse of his actual hair, which I am … more than okay with, even considering the circumstances.

Season 3 is either the same wig or a very similar one, which makes sense given that Hewlett does not have any major beats of character development between 2 and 3. But then season 3 smacks him with some MAJOR disillusionment and personal tragedy, and thus … The Hair!

I still suspect that the in-universe explanation for this is that he’s been demoted to some extent, if we’re to believe what he said about resigning his commission and being cashiered. But I seriously cannot shake the sincere suspicion that this development is FAR more about making him more appealing to viewers than about anything in-universe. It’s another step in the same progression of character development that has, since 2.01, been continually positioning Hewlett as more sympathetic, more down-to-earth, more at home in the colonies, and — critically, if my theory about the overall wig theme holds true— less certain about his devotion to the British cause. And if there’s Annlett this season, the hair will also be part of his progression as love interest.

Again, I’m definitely coming at this from the perspective of a storyteller, not the perspective of a historian. I would love to hear from anyone who can give a better opinion on TURN’s wig accuracy and how much of a role historical fact plays in determining which characters wear wigs. But the more I think about it, the more I think that there is some sort of general characterization trend here and that the costumers are conscious of how audiences will perceive men who wear wigs versus those who don’t.

[comicteaparty]

January 24th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on January 24th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Pike’s Reach by Mabs.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Pike’s Reach by Mabs~! (https://tapas.io/series/pikesreach)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Superjustinbros

Hello!!

RebelVampire

hey super~!

my favorite scene is probably the fight with ezo and nefayn. largely because of https://tapas.io/episode/1179545 this page. i really just like the first few panels illustration wise cause even though theyre simplistic, i kind of feel like they convey this ominous sense of defeaning silence that is appropriate for conveying tension right after something climatic happens

Superjustinbros

https://tapas.io/episode/1234181

RebelVampire

yes there is also that scene. XD which was some good comic relief considering the comic was being very dramatic at the time.

also a good lesson about making sure someone gives permission

instead of just knocking and opening the door

Superjustinbros

yes

Because naked people

RebelVampire

another comical scene i enjoyed was the where they were showing off their drawings of pella's uncle. https://tapas.io/episode/962506 because man are those some not great drawings. especially that left one scares me

Superjustinbros

Oh my god

RebelVampire

another moment i liked, which isnt a scene but more a scene transition you could say, is when the comic switches from adelaide goofing around and then suddenly the warning bell rings.

https://tapas.io/episode/604008

in particular that page

i really love the shots and especially the ominous overtone the first panel has

cause it really helps visually convey the serious has come

Superjustinbros

I love the art style and general color scheme, lots of pinks and purples

mathtans

Made it, though I may not be mentally all here, today's been crazy.

Superjustinbros

hey Math

mathtans

One of my faves was actually to start Chapter 3, when we looked at the "villains" and the main guy was talking about how he didn't want them dead, more turned to his side. I liked the humanizing aspect of the antagonists.

Superjustinbros

Same

mathtans

Too often we just see things kind of one sided. This didn't go that way.

Superjustinbros

Villains that do more than just want the main character(s) dead are always good

mathtans

As far as comedy goes, I liked the brief scene where Adelaide "winked"... maybe... because she could have been blinking and her hair was in the way.

Though I also liked the "cold feet" bit where Nefayn was laughing and Nassar didn't know. In particular it was sort of called back later when he was thrilled that she liked his jokes.

RebelVampire

yeah i really enjoyed that moment with the antagonists. also partially cause i like it being explained why they dont just crush the army cause adelaide is already being silly meeting them on an open field and not using the fort's defenses as was intended

mathtans

Little one's fussing.(edited)

Superjustinbros

Rebel gets it

RebelVampire

but yeah i liked this humanizing affect too of course. because conflicts of territory are rarely straight forward evil guy wants to rule over all the things

Superjustinbros

^

RebelVampire

that and selfishly i really wanted to like pella and that scene proved to me that it was okay to like him cause hes just a goofy sparkly dude just trying to unite the lands.

Superjustinbros

heehee~

Mabs

Hi there! I'm Mabs and the creator of Pike's Reach! I can't stay for too long because sudden school stuff came up, but I wanted to say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for reading PR! Your comments are making me really happy ;w;

Superjustinbros

Hi!!!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Unfortunately for Nefayn, she is cursed twice over both in body and magic. Who do you think cursed her with the first seal and for what reason? Could the culprit be Ezo considering she and Pella seemed to know Nefayn? Why was said culprit pursuing her? In other words, what are their long-term goals in using her? How powerful do you think Nefayn was before the first seal came to be? Now that Nefayn is sealed twice over to be all but human, how will this affect her helpfulness in a battle? Do you believe that Nefayn will be able to undo the seals eventually and return herself to her original form and power? If so, how might this affect her growing relationship with Adelaide?

glad you could stop by, mabs~!

im torn on the culprit issue. on the one hand ezo seems likely cause from her characterization that seems like something shed do. but on the other hand their army is kind of near the end of their campaign since pike's reach is the last one standing and they dont want to murder hobo them. so idk why theyd need nefayn. i kind of like to think theres something bigger gonna show up and pella and adelaide are gonna join forces to defeat it. and that whatever the it is is what's after nefayn. but that could be wishful thinking cause i always cheer for antagonist protagonist team ups when both are basically good dudes with different goals

mathtans

(I swear, my life after 8pm is running back and forth to my little daughter's room.)

RebelVampire

as for goals, maybe using her as a magic conduit. cause thats the only thing i can think of.

mathtans

I get what you were saying about the climactic magic fight scene earlier btw. Just I've never been huge on drama, you know me. ^.^

Superjustinbros

perhaps

also lol math

mathtans

Oh, hi Mabs! I ship everyone!

Superjustinbros

lol

Mabs

Hi there! Yes good, please ship all the characters.

Superjustinbros

Will do~

especially this page https://tapas.io/episode/1221349

mathtans

I wonder if Nefayn was originally that uncle that the General was talking about. Except that would destroy the best ship, so I'm not sure I like that possiblity.

RebelVampire

if were shipping all the ships i now accept https://tapas.io/episode/1077847 this page as canon

mathtans

Yeah, I don't know that it's Ezo. There was also that scene where Nefayn said she thought the big Pike's room seemed familiar, so I feel like she was a citizen of the place somehow.

A teamup would be pretty cool between the two groups. Maybe the West has been getting more organized than they realize, there was some mention of the latest attack being more of a ruse.

Hah. That was a funny one.

Part of me actually ships Ezo and Nefayn, in that sort of 'mortal enemies become friends' kind of deal. So I guess Adelaide ends up with the General's second in command? This was probably heresy to propose.

RebelVampire

idk. shooting someone in the chest seems like a romance deal breaker there XD

Superjustinbros

all ships set sail here

mathtans

It was an arrow of love and respect. Deep down. After all, it didn't kill her.

RebelVampire

but yeah the west could certainly become a threat. or even just one person in the west. like maybe one nation got themselves some guns and are bringing their guns to all the sword fights

mathtans

("It was worse than death, I was made human.")

RebelVampire

LOL

mathtans

As long as they don't bring the gunpowder, it's fine.

RebelVampire

Ezo wanted to make Nefayn human cause she too supports the adelaide/nefayn ship

it was the plan all along

mathtans

Actually, it's not a bad plan. Good way to make the enemy commander very distracted.

RebelVampire

and tbf it does probably take nefayn out of the battle a bit. cause being human has its mortal perils.

mathtans

Here's a possibly related question, who keeps sending the evil things to attack Adelaide? Which makes her sleep with a sword? I don't think it's the general, he seems honourable enough to keep his distance after losing, at least for a while. Maybe it's the same person who did the thing to Nefayn.

Flying is more of a problem for humans.

RebelVampire

i just assumed the magic things showed up of their own accord.

although

pella and ezo dont seem to be plagued by birds

so maybe someone is sending them

or adelaide is special and theyre super attracted to her

mathtans

Right.

Everyone's super attracted to the heroine.

RebelVampire

XD

this is an interesting line of thought

cause i definitey doubt it's pella

cause the impression i got is that this has plagued adelaide for much longer than pike's reach has been under siege

since the sword thing is usually the sign of a long term habit

mathtans

I wonder if maybe the charm that was mentioned as something to keep her safe is actually attracting all the problems. Though it'd need to be something fairies can't pick up on.

Superjustinbros

@mathtans must be one really sexy heroine

RebelVampire

these are some good catches math. i really didnt pay much mind to any of these mentions. that could be though. and tbf nefayn's powers were already partly sealed from the get go so i wouldnt be surprised if shes missing out on some magic things

mathtans

Thanks. ^^ I guess it just struck me as interesting that she's got the sleep issues, and no one else seemed to.

I was wondering if one of Nefayn's powers was to grow big.

RebelVampire

maybe. although i keep thinking its gonna wind up shes a goddess or something O_O

not a fairy sized goddess mind you cause she does mention that fairy form is not her original size

although to the stuff b4 that brings up an interesting point about how much can the magic world interact with the non-magic. cause obviously adelaide being able to see magic and stuff makes her able to interact with it. but how aware does a non magic person have to be before magic stuff can affect them

mathtans

Goddess of sparkles.

RebelVampire

like obviously the others cant see nefayn

but can nefayn like punch them

and theyll be like "oww what a random pain"

mathtans

Well, since magic mines could influence people, I imagine if you make the effect large enough, it'd register.

What if Nefayn caresses?

(I mean, kinda moot now, but still.)

RebelVampire

yeah the magic mines worked. cause if the magic can affect the non magic regardless of their ability to see it, it adds evidence to the idea those birds are super out to get adelaide specifically

QUESTION 3. Magic seems to be at the center of several other mysteries that are presented in the comic. What is Pike’s Reach’s past with magic regarding the mention of a catastrophe involving it? Is Pella onto something about everyone being Adelaide’s age? What might this have to do with the previous lord of Pike’s Reach and Adelaide becoming its lord? How might any of this relate to the fact that Nefayn appears to recall being at Pike’s Reach for a brief moment? There is also the issue of Pella’s missing uncle. What do you think happened to his uncle? How might Pella’s uncle be related to past or present events that occurred in Pike’s Reach? Lastly, will Pella ever discover the truth about his uncle?(edited)

Superjustinbros

That's a cool skill imo

mathtans

Oh yeah, my memory had kind of glossed over that whole catastrophe thing. And the age thing too. Hm, really good points. Maybe they don't physically age in Pike's? Like, they're actually 60, but have the bodies of people much younger?

Again, suspected the uncle might be Nefayn, but that sinks the ship.

Superjustinbros

lol

RebelVampire

if the uncle isnt adelaide's father i will be so surprised

mathtans

Oh! Maybe the uncle is the one who cursed Nefayn.

I wondered about that. If the seeing magic lineage was a direct ancestry. But it might make sense for the uncle to be the one attacking Adelaide too.

RebelVampire

https://tapas.io/episode/970094

like legit look at that family resemblence

https://tapas.io/episode/822837 and pella and adelaide have the same eye color too

and theres no reason it cant be both

adelaide's father and the real antagonist

mathtans

Valid arguments. Maybe it's a red herring though. (Or a red pike! Hah!)

RebelVampire

id even peg him for the causer of this supposed catastrophe. not on purpose. but he vanished and hes after nefayn to try and fix his mistakes.

mathtans

Or maybe he's dead, and he left behind the ultimate weapon to use in case of dire magic circumstances, down in the catacombs.

Or maybe he's undead. He's a necromancer.

Superjustinbros

Could be that now that you mention it

mathtans

As Nassar would say, a very grave matter.

RebelVampire

the charm is the key and thats why the birds are after adelaide. they want that ultimate weapon

birds love ultimate weapons

alternatively he couldve been the one to stop the catastrophe from becoming worse too

mathtans

Adelaide's love is the ultimate weapon.

RebelVampire

cause the fact the catastrophe only took out the elderly or so is implied makes that a very targetted attack. and him being the savior makes sense for why everyone made adelaide the lord.

mathtans

Ah, right, I guess I was still on the "elderly look young" track not the "elderly died" track.

Maybe they were all turned into fairies instead.

Maybe the uncle was turned into a pike.

RebelVampire

or everyone was

theyre all pikes

in the nearby lake

the place was previously called nefayn's love nest, but they renamed it to pike's reach cause theyre always trying to reach those pike

mathtans

spit-take

Lovely vacation spot it is either way.

Mabs

You all are absolutely hilarious and I have really been enjoying reading this. Thank you so much for reading so thoroughly gosh. I have to go to a school thing but I'll be sure to check back later and read the logs! Thanks again

RebelVampire

np and good luck with school~!

Superjustinbros

Cya, Mabs!

And good luck from me as well~

mathtans

Thank you for the creation! Hope school goes well.

Mabs

Thanks again! Bye all~ Good luck with the rest of your discussion

Superjustinbros

Bye!

RebelVampire

ya know, since nefayn doesnt quite remember pike's reach outside of haziness, i wonder if theres some magical third seal that was meant to hide her own memories. a third seal set up by certain uncles.

mathtans

Speaking of school, if there's no older adults, who runs public institutions?

Maybe she set the third seal herself. Nefayn was the cause of the magical catastrophe, doesn't want to remember it.

Everyone fighting about the love nest.

RebelVampire

idk. hard to say without an exact timeline. also without exact knowledge of their system of governance. like for example, education could just be an at home by parents thing. so no actual public institution for it. but i also dont know the cut off date. and maybe no all the old ppl are dead. more its just heavily skewed to one age group

mathtans

"We're in favour of same sex marriage." "Oh, well, we're leaving then." "You realize the founder of this place was gay?" "We're definitely leaving."

I liked Nassar's story, incidentally.

Some good zingers too. "Reel", heh.

RebelVampire

i really hope we get to see more of adelaide's group. cause i feel there isnt enough nassar yet. we need more puns

mathtans

Yis. Looked like we were getting some focus on Berlin towards the end.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Despite the romance and good feels in Pike’s Reach, they are the last fortress standing against the Eastern hordes. Do you believe Pella is genuine about his desire to unite the east to make the country a better place? Why do you think Pike’s Reach is so ardent about not uniting with the rest of the eastern lands? As time drags on, do you think Pella will give into his advisors and stop going so soft on Pike’s Reach? Will Ezo being injured drive them to it potentially? Alternatively, do you think Pike’s Reach and the Eastern hordes might join forces and put their differences aside for some reason? All in all, who do you think will emerge victorious?

mathtans

Ezo's injury could do that (escalate things), since Pella seems to have that thing for her. Honestly, I don't quite see why he's so keen on the uniting to this extent... is it all ego? I mean, why not just be glad you've got 95% of the continent?

It might be interesting if they join forces though.

I hope love emerges victorious.

RebelVampire

i do think ezo's injury is gonna make pella made. at least enough to challenge adelaide to another duel. but then he might also be mad at ezo and be like wtf ezo we were retreating

i dont think its all ego

just more its kind of awkward to not have pike's reach not united with the rest

cause according to that map pike's reach is basically surrounded on all sides

by pella's united country

mathtans

They'll have to redraw all the maps if Pike's given in though.

What the PUC?

Superjustinbros

D:

mathtans

I feel like Ezo needs a friend even more than Adelaide. One who won't keep patting her on the head.

Maybe the injury will mellow her out, but I doubt it.

RebelVampire

i feel like ezo first needs to take a chill pill and stop going all life or death on everything

https://tapas.io/episode/850159 by this map id also assume pike's reach is a strategic advantage cause its closer to the west so if the west tries something its a good outpost to use to stave off an attack traveling in further eastward toward the capital

but all in all i think pella is genuine and really does want to make the country a better place.

mathtans

I can see that. It's a cool map too.

Superjustinbros

Yeah

Feels a lot like Europe/Russia/Asia merged into one

mathtans

"I will bring you love even if I have to smack you around."

RebelVampire

i actually dont know why pike's reach wouldnt want to unite with them to be honest. XD cause trade would be a nightmare at this point cause youd always have to try to skirt and sneak through the eastern horde lands. if the eastern hordes go to war with someone, land troops would be moved through pike's reach anyway. and to me it just seems pike's reach is more holding out for pride

but i guess tbf we dont know much about pella's country. maybe they eat babies and pike's reach has a strict no baby eating policy

mathtans

That's a fair point. Maybe there's something to the whole magic catastrophe, like they used to be a united continent and it went badly for them.

Jelly babies.

Incidentally, they seem to have all the major seasons, so don't live near an equator.

RebelVampire

i mean i guess it could just be an issue they dont want to be governed except by their own ppl or something. idk. i do feel the magic catastrophe has left some scares and suspicions. and ezo is proof pella isnt opposed to magic.

mathtans

Maybe, heritage and traditions or something. Ooh, maybe aliens will come and attack. That would unite everyone.

RebelVampire

this might be the wrong genre for that

maybe nefayn gets kidnapped

and they unite to save nefayn

cause love is the only thing that matters

mathtans

Could be. Oh, that's a thought, since she's vulnerable now and Adelaine owes her one or two.

Oh, and one nice bit I wanted to mention, the gag about her height.

RebelVampire

youll have to be more specific cause my mind is blanking on which specific gag youre referring to XD

although speaking of gags i liked the one where adelaide and nefayn were having the eating contest. except no one could see nefayn. XD

Superjustinbros

Alright, I'm gonna take my leave for now, thanks for the CTP and best of luck to Mabs on the story~

mathtans

(Sorry, little one again.)

The gag with Nefryn still being short... but being at an okay height. (Like, who isn't thinking that... )

That was amusing too. I wonder if you can get away with stuff when you see magic. "Uh, I wasn't talking to myself, no. Sure."

Have a good one, SJB!

RebelVampire

ah okay i know which gag you mean. that one was funny. XD

mathtans

Final closing thought, slow burn romance can be fun for when things come to a peak. Or a pike. ^.^

RebelVampire

i feel in general theres been a lot more jokes like that since nefayn became human

mathtans

It's been good for alleviating some of the tension.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Mabs, as well, for making Pike’s Reach. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Mabs’ efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/pikesreach

Mabs’ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mabsart

Mabs’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mabs_art

[crystaljjohnson]

Love Stories & Rainbow Farting Unicorns

Oh, to be in love. The colony of butterflies that flutter in the pit of a stomach when fingers interlock. The sickening sweet lovey-dovey words passionately spoken late at night. Being caught longing staring from across a crowded room and receiving a bright smile in return. Cuddling, groping, kissing and kissing some more. There are a million wonderful things about being in love, but one truth out shines all the others when it comes to this complex emotion. When someone is in love they are out of their mind bat shit crazy, and other human beings immensely enjoy being witness to the dramatic up and downs of their relationship. And that, my beautiful blog reader, is why love stories are so popular.

The process of falling in love should be fairly simple to write. One person meets another and there is chemistry between them. They go on a date, kiss goodnight, call each other for another date, sleep together, define the relationship, get engaged, married, have 2.5 kids and die holding each other in their sleep. Easy, right? Yeah, sure. But then again, why don’t I just go sit on my next-door neighbor’s couch and watch their life unfold. At least, NCIS will be playing in the background as I’m slowly dying of boredom.

In my humble opinion there are four key components to a good love story.

First, take the time to build the relationship. I’m going to give a little relationship advice here and by all means you can take it or leave it. Don’t fly through all the firsts in your relationship or your leading couple’s. There is something to be said for a slow but natural progression. Once you pass a milestone it loses its wow factor really quick. There is no redo on a first kiss, or having sex for the first time with a new partner. When it is done, it is done and now it is just a kiss or just sex, or making love for those romantics out there. Let the tension compile until it feels like the situation is going to spontaneous combust. Be a bit of a tease with the firsts and then write the hell out of it when it happens.  

I would also like to point out that writing the details of a sexual encounter are not a must. My favorite love stories of all time insinuate the hot and heavy but leave it to the reader to fill in the blanks. I for one am all about the emotional connection and not the physical as much. Just because a book has explicit sex scenes in it does not make it a great romance novel. Sometimes it just means it is a shitty story with a bunch of smut. Also, it doesn’t make a book smut because the author has chosen to let the reader in on the “sexy time” details. It is at the writer’s discretion to let the reader come inside the bedroom doors.

The second key is a series of extraordinary internal and external events. Nobody is interested in the fact that two lovers had another comfortable uneventful night at home, but throw in a heated argument or a trail of love notes that lead to a romantic candlelit picnic in the backyard and you have something interesting. Let the reader into moments that are unique to the characters and bypass the average day unless it has a purpose to move the story forward.

Third is to identify the antagonist of the romantic tale. Normally, we think of the antagonist as being a person with bad intentions towards the protagonist, but it can be different in a love story. Many times, it is one of the love birds that is working against the relationship. Maybe one of them has a sorted past that makes them hesitant to fall in love. Or, they have a factor in their life that makes it seem impossible, like a personal or environmental abnormality. The antagonist is crucial to the climax of the book so if the antagonist is one of the lovers the stories big moment is going to come when they become heart eyes emoji for the other person. If the whole story is rainbow farting unicorns all the time it is going to go stale really fast and the love affair with the reader will be over.

Finally, it is vital that your reader fall in love along with your characters. To do this, you need to tap into the characters’ senses. Describe how it feels to touch and be touched. What it smells like to lean in and take in the scent of their lover’s shirt or skin. Write about their mannerisms and the sound of their voice. Of course, describe what their presence does to the other character. Help the reader to see the love interest the way that the main character does. Most importantly, don’t make them too perfect, perfection usually translates to unrelatable. I don’t know about you, but I’m not likely to date, let alone fall in love, with someone I don’t relate to on some level.

Remember to set the progression of your leading couple’s relationship to a nice tempo. Don’t rush it or you might find yourself writing about another night at home eating pizza and watching the mating habits of animals on the Discovery channel. Highlight the events that set them apart from the regular folks with a heap of rainbow farting unicorns and a dash of conflict. Above all, be head over heels in love with your fictional couple’s love story.

**My works can be found on Wattpad at https://www.wattpad.com/user/crstlbtrfly