#No spoilers (since it's not really a spoiler as it doesn't move the plot lol)

[sysig]

Duet Battle (Patreon)

[mochinomnoms]

Since PTM!Yuu has magic, does it mean they capable of flying on a broomstick? Do they have to take remedial flight classes since they wouldn't have been able to take the class in their first year? As someone who is absolutely terrified of heights, I know I'd be absolutely terrible at it and would probably need extra lessons to get anywhere with it lol.

Maybe coach Vargas gets Yuu to do some after-school flight workshops (i think thats what its called?) along with none other than Jade. I can imagine Jade trying to act suave and composed in front of them whilst simultaneously trying not to fall flat on his face on the broom. Maybe seeing him out of his depth and floundering will help Yuu see that there is more to this big bad eel than meets the eye 🥰

Yes! They can, but their classes vary by semester, like in a regular college. For the sake of story, I'm having the potions class be a two semester course for the sake of plot and looking at it the same way you would with a thesis or dissertation can sometimes be spread over multiple semesters. I also like to think about the more logistics about how NRC and its classes are run and have a lot of headcanons that I put in PTM.

But for flight, I like to think that flight class is one of those basics that all students have to take at least their first semester. Then they have an option to complete a sports club for the rest of their mandatory credits or continue with general physical education with Vargas, which included flight.

If you do particularly bad, such as merfolk in flight class, you are required to take a remedial class in that specific subject. In Jade and Azul's case, they both have to take a remedial flight class, but Floyd is able to get around it by being in the basketball club.

The remedial class is less about getting a good grade (it's a pass or fail class) but more about demonstrating that you are able to do basic moves and exercises on the broom. If you do, then you get a pass grade, which allows you to graduate. In the fic, I have it set that the remedial class is paired up with an advanced flight class, which is meant for students potentially interested in pursuing Spelldrive as a career. For extra credit or as an honors project, those students can be paired with one of the remedial students and tutor them.

With all that in mind, Grim tends to handle the magic bases classes in the canon storyline, or it's implied at least. I think that since they're in their second year in PTM, they have at least one semester for Yuu to catch up and make up for Grim's grades. So while they're not yet at the level that they'll need a remedial class or workshop yet (and for spoiler reasons the Nurse doesn't allow for them to participate in rigorous exercise), they might in the future!

What I do think makes for a fun scenario is Yuu needing to go to the class to take pictures, as is their job still. So they take pictures of the students in flight class! And imagine their surprise when they really pay attention to Jade and just how bad he is on the broom. He's always so elegant, it's so funny seeing how hard he clenches the brook and stares at the ground the moment his feet leave the ground.

It's almost cute, seeing him so nervous. He never lets anyone see him like this, but even Jade has his moments of simply being a person, rather than a perfect right-hand man. He even manages to get turned upside down at one point, though he's barely off the ground he's wrapped his legs and arms around the broom like is life depended on it.

Yuu can't help but laugh at him and his expression, covering their mouth to feebly hide their laughs. Jade is mildly annoyed that someone is laughing at him, until he realizes just who it is. Now he's admiring the cute sounds leaving their mouth and considering letting himself be the butt of the joke for just a bit longer. At least until his grip slips and he falls on his back.

[meanbossart]

I love Izzy so much, I feel for him tremendously.

Can you tell us something about his future relationship, whatever it might be, with Grodderick? Or is it under wraps for spoilers? 👀

Sure! The details of their relationship are never relevant to the plot, it's more of a background thing that changes some very minor character interactions in ways I doubt one can predict by simply learning about it - I'll still leave it under a cut for anyone who wants to avoid it. I'll also skip certain story beats which allow their relationship to happen in the first place that are most definitely spoilers, and only talk about the actual dynamic between them and post-ANE events, so if details feel amiss, that's because they are.

So it's probably obvious that they're meant to develop a romantic relationship lol this happens after Grodderick gets somewhat "stuck" with Izzy around through certain circumstances. Izzantar, in his predicament, happens to be far more comfortable around him than anyone else because of his predisposition to feel safe around "slave" races. Now, that's obviously not a great start to any relationship, romantic or otherwise lol but it is what it is.

They grow a little closer through Grodderick's endless patience and sincere curiosity about a culture he isn't familiar with. Izzantar, despite his experiences, considers the underdark his home, he can only properly conceptualize of surface customs by comparing them to his own culture, and Grodderick is the only one willing to hear it without judgement - with the eventual wisecrack or pushback. But the way he does it is one Izzantar comfortable with.

Likewise Izzantar would probably defy Grod's own generalized negativity around the orc-ish side of his culture (and frankly be positively shocked it has any merit at all). It's a funny little game of "no, YOU have internalized hate" they keep playing between themselves by accident.

Another major point here is that Grodderick is a) the only person who sees Izzantar as an adult and b) someone who immediately recognizes him as someone with an anxiety disorder. With time he would help Izzy to calm the fuck down and not always assume the worse out of people. His company also allows Izzantar to feel more at ease in public settings in the surface as a drow, and Izzy's brazen company and completely unfiltered perspective is a breath of fresh air to Grodderick. He thinks he's funny, he recognizes and participates in his dry humor, he doesn't offend easy, and he's the furthest thing from a drow. This makes him an apt friend choice and later a romantic interest. Being hot and having cool tats helps LOL

Also they both like to partake in a little devil🌿 which is likely how their first meaningful interaction ever happens (Izzantar sees him smoking and is like "oh boy I could really fucking use some of that right now")

They probably starting fucking kind of casually. It's entirely on Izzantar to pursue him since Grodderick isn't interested in feeding a drow's ego, which is a funny interaction of its own where Izzantar just blows up frustrated that he won't make the first move, since he's used to being a very passive partner. Something along the lines of "WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO FUCK ME" probably comes out his mouth verbatim LOL they get over this non-misunderstanding quickly and Izzantar is just happy to have sex in a way that's completely the opposite of what's expected of him in the Underdark as a popular breeder. Obviously he also finds Grodderick profoundly attractive both for his confidence, smarts, appearance, and frankly his imposing presence because he's not immune to a little bad-boy charm.

I think they catch feelings around the same time as one another, and proceed to get on a long-term relationship.

Izzantar (this is post ANE and never mentioned) eventually sets shop somewhere as a jeweler. He gets a lot of business based on the fact that he's a drow and knowingly plays up the part of someone who's mystically more knowledgeable and skilled about precious stones and minerals than most because of his race (on top of his genuine talent). His bad attitude is also hysterically seen as charming drow bedside-manner and indicative of the quality of his work to wealthy clients.

He lets his hair grow out and for semi-plot-related-reasons starts passing as a female drow (also, he just likes it) Grodderick doesn't care either way. At that point they're living together and get a cat that Izzantar names Angkacha. To his despair, Grodderick nickanames it Chacha and it sticks. Izzy wants the cat to be a vicious killing machine but whenever he casts animal speak on it the cat's just like OOOO MAMA ME LOVE MAMA and he hates it (but not really, he would kill for this cat)

aaaand here's some old doodles of him from that point of his life! The last two have been uh cropped for uh reasons

[lover-of-mine]

okay so I had a really terrible thought and I’ve been following you for a while and I wanted to hear your thoughts (maybe i’m just in a place of doubt rn) BUT

since they’re basically writing the episodes as they go, and are seeing fans reactions (and possibly taking them into consideration as they write), do you think if they see such a positive reaction to buck/tommy, they’ll make him more long term (and possibly endgame)…? again, I could be overthinking it but I’ve been seeing a tON of buck tommy stuff and idk if they’re going to consider that when they write the upcoming episodes for the rest of the season…like buck/tommy is cute ig don’t get me wrong bc we see bisexual buck and him enjoy his first male relationship and like i’m so proud, but…i’m an eddie-girl and buddie has always been my endgame

Okay, hi, ngl, I had this exact thought too when Tim kept insisting there's no plan. But the thing is, I don't believe him. I believe he doesn't have the full plot locked and loaded, but I doubt he doesn't have any idea where the story is gonna take him. Personally, I doubt that a few weeks of excitement over Buck being bi will be louder than 5 years of people BEGGING for buddie to happen. Buck and Eddie have a compelling relationship that's been cultivated for YEARS. And, look, far from me to make Buck's bisexuality about Eddie, but making a character who's HEAVILY shipped with another man for years queer in season 7 while having no plan on following through with the love story they've been building for 6 seasons would be dumb. Buck with a new guy and Eddie doubling down on being straight and ending up with some random woman is the worst case scenario here. This fandom is weird in the way that most of it is mono shipping. It's Buck and Eddie together or nothing. So they would piss off the homophobes, who are already pissed, and a solid amount of the people who have been following buddie for years and that's bad for business. They have the power to have a ridiculously compelling queer love story that's built on a foundation that's been there for 6 seasons. Buck and Eddie getting together could be EPIC. And they made the move to make Buck queer. They didn't have to. I love that Buck is getting a queer storyline, but if we are going there with Buck, what's actually stopping them from going there with Eddie? I don't see how you can have one of them being queer and not go there just because people are excited that Buck is bi. Tim can't say it's gonna go there. That would be a spoiler. A huge spoiler. But narratively speaking, or from a business perspective, Buck being bi has to mean buddie getting together. Because that's what people have been wanting from them. And honestly, if they wanted to play Tommy as having any chance of being Buck's endgame, he wouldn't have so many parallels with Taylor. The TK of it all, the helicopter of it all, the kiss that happens because Eddie is injured, Buck is even wearing a shirt that looks like the one he's wearing when Taylor comes back, like, seriously, what the fuck? And that's not going into the symbolism they have to know is there on the way the loft itself is a symbol of romantic doom, because Buck got it in a relationship that instantly Ended and the 2 times he started something there it went up in flames, so like 🤨🤔 I'm curious to see where it's going, but, personally, don't see them actually lasting the rest of the show. At least that's what I'm telling myself to calm down when I panic and trip into the bad place lol

[twig-tea]

Under the Oak Tree: How Do I Talk About This Show?

The Vietnamese musical BL Under the Oak Tree ended today (after a delay from last week for political reasons that affected all Vietnamese shows).

The music in this show is great. Full disclosure I am coming at it from a place of liking Vietnamese OSTs and Musicals, so I was definitely primed to enjoy it. But they do a great job underscoring the big moments with appropriate music, including very fun villain songs. You can get a taste of the music style in this teaser:

The story is...a rollercoaster lol This show has a lot going on. We go from cute high school romance to gang threats to parental trauma to forced outings and life-ruining betrayals to a timeskip and a twist and an ending that could be read as either very dark or a happy ending, depending on your preference.

My biggest critique is that the romantic relationship is not actually the core of the story; it's actually the protagonist and his friend who betrays him that are the core of the plot, especially in the last few episodes. That relationship gets worked on, but the core romance is just kind of treated as an afterthought.

That being said, there is a lot I loved about this too. There's a Lord of the Rings fantasy sequence that is fantastic, and there's a really interesting exploration of revenge and how satisfying it is (or isn't) that I found fun to watch play out. I also really loved that these were gay characters from jump (neither Dang nor Khanh really wrestled with their attraction to the other), and these actors can kiss.

Also just to say Vuong Huy did a great job, but it was sooooo nice to see some of the familiar faces again, especially in episodes 8-10! I love Duc Duy, Duy Lam, Gia Huy, and KaiBie, who have all been in several Vietnamese BLs before (Duy Lam and Gia Huy have costarred before in shows like Beef, Cupcakes, and Him, Duc Duy has played opposite Ba Vinh in The Most Peaceful Place, and KaiBie has been around since Hey! First Love, just to name a few highlights from their CVs).

If this sounds intriguing to you, Under the Oak Tree is 10 episodes, 30-40 mins each, on YouTube.

Discussion of my thoughts on the ending after the cut!

Ok, so MAJOR spoilers ahead.

Under the Oak Tree takes place mostly in 2011, but then there's a 15 year timeskip in episode 8. We find out over the course of episodes 8-10 that in 2011, after Linh betrays Khanh by lying that she saw him steal money from the band, Khanh's mother dies from shock at hearing him confess to the crime (in order to prevent Dang from being punished for defending him even in the face of Linh's eyewitness evidence). Khanh leaves Dang and the small town of Da Lat for the big city, remaking himself and his life. He runs into Linh, who has since married Dang, and pretends to befriend her and let bygones be bygones so that he can infiltrate her company and set her up to be ruined. As the final piece de resistance for his betrayal, he kisses Dang, and Linh falls down the stairs in shock and ends up in a coma.

This is the part where I think opinions will differ. Linh ends up in a kind of limbo, in which she has to either agree to go to hell and be tortured, or sit and watch her own memories over and over, unable to change them. She spends a lot of time unwilling to admit that she did anything wrong, but sitting and watching herself over and over seems to get to her and she comes to terms with the fact that she's caused terrible pain.

Khanh goes to see her in her coma, and yells at her that this is too easy, she needs to live so that she can be tortured knowing what she's done. We then get a sequence from Linh's perspective in which Khanh visits her in limbo and they reconcile and go back in time together to fix the past.

This is the part that could be read as dark if you're me lol. On it's surface, the show essentially wrote fix-it fic for itself; Linh never betrays Khanh, so his mother doesn't die, he doesn't move away, and he never leaves Dang. We leave Dang and Khanh happy and together and on the road to becoming musicians to fulfill their dreams as a team, with Linh owning a coffee shop seeming pretty content. But at the end Linh asks whether this is all real, or all in her mind, and Khanh replies that maybe her memories of the other future are what are all in her mind. It's left a little ambiguous.

That being said, the show also was careful to say that we cannot actually go back and fix the past. So the read that this happy ending is all in Linh's head while she's in a coma is a dark but realistic one.

I also need to talk about Dang and Khanh. In the present/future, Dang and Khanh are arguably not actually in love anymore; they're both too resentful of everything that's come before. This is the part that feels unreconciled to me; while Khanh and Linh got to work through their issues, Dang and Khanh never get to have that conversation, because in the revised past, Dang doesn't share the memories of the future that Khanh and Linh have, so he doesn't know who he hand Khanh became in this other timeline. He says explicitly that he believes no matter what, they'll always love each other and never leave one another; but we know that's not quite true. The smile that Khanh gives him after that speech seems a little sad to me.

I would have loved a little more time for Khanh and Dang to reconcile; for Dang to more fully own his part in not supporting Khanh in the face of his friends ruining Khanh's life, and in marrying Linh even after her betrayal, instead of going to find Kanh or at the least staying true to himself. And I would have loved Khanh to own up to giving up on Dang when things were difficult (to be fair to him, things were extremely difficult--this is another instance of a poor character in love with a rich character whose life gets ruined because of that relationship, while the rich character's life stays essentially the same), and making his life about revenge at any cost to anyone, including Dang, rather than just living for his own future happiness. With all of that hanging over them, it's hard to believe in their forever, even if the new timeline is real and not a coma dream.

Anyway! I really did have a lot of fun watching the show and the wild swings of emotional turns; I also feel like I understated how much I really love these songs. This show won't be for everyone, it's hard to recommend as a blanket statement, but to save you scrolling back up: if this sounds intriguing to you, it's 10 episodes, 30-40 mins each, on YouTube!

[min-9things]

4 MINUTES EP 1 thoughts and theories (the more serious post where I talk about the deeper shit)

WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

Am here for the plot and storyline, so I am ignoring that scene entirely (personal preference).

General thoughts before I zoom in on certain things: I like this concept. I think a lot of times people do the see the future and try to change to future shit and it doesn't really fit logic properly, like there is just no consequences for changing to future constantly (I do believe in the need for balance in the world sort of thing so it makes no sense to be given a superpower ish and just not have any drawbacks or impacts).

With that said, one major detail that I like is that no matter how Great does see the future, whatever he sees will happen in one way or another. Looking at the car accident, the woman still gets injured despite Great's slow ass driving, Great's father still clears the issue up with the police for him (I assumed that Great driving away will still lead to his father doing that for him, considering how much his father cares about their reputation). For the scene at the hospital, the flowers will still be delivered to the woman, and the impact of the woman's words on Great remains since he has already heard it once.

blurry pic but welps.

Next, the lifts. Why is it that whenever Great's power starts kicking in he was taking the lift either from the 4th floor or to the 4th floor. Genuinely, please have meaning for why specifically 4th floor and not just out of convenience. The scene of the first lift, the one in Great's apartment where he suddenly has loss of breath and dizziness.

There is no mention of Great's medical history in ep 1 and we do know there is some link of this seeing the future power with having heart conditions/heart attack. However, Great does not seem too fussed with this since dude literally just goes "why can't I breathe" and then decides to drive. I feel like if one has history of such conditions they would be at least more worried, if not possibly have medication on hand or go to see a doctor or something to check for relapse. Unless this superpower just comes with heart problems, but working theory.

I think the way the clocks move also does have purpose. Whenever the time is 11am/pm, the time is using 12h clocks, Great's bedside digital clock in the mornings (and dude constantly waking up at 11am) and analogue clocks for 11pm at night. I think this repeated showing of 11 is to make us remember that something bad will happen to Tyme, most likely in the future, and Great will see it eventually. Whenever the time is used when showing Great's power, the blinking to show the seconds is very obvious. Additionally, the frames focuses a lot on the clock, as we see in the hospital room, with the glowing, blinking digital clock.

It makes us take note of the time, and sort of foreshadows that this is the 4 minutes into the future he is seeing.

I would also like to explicitly point out the difference in styling for Korn and Great. Korn is always in perfect suits, neat button ups, hair gelled up and styled and not a single strand in his face. While Great...is in asymmetrical shirts (LOL) and hair that he lets casually fall around his face. Which could show sth for the story, but we shall see. For now I will admire Bible's styling.

[empress-of-snark]

more detailed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice thoughts!

I was going to wait to make this post until I've had the chance to see the movie again, but right now the plan is to go with my best friend when she visits at the end of the month (I was the one who introduced her to the first Beetlejuice movie back in high school), so I decided to go ahead and write a longer post now!

(spoilers under the cut)

CHARACTERS

Absolutely no complaints here! I think Lydia's transition from edgy goth teen to somewhat lost adult struggling with single motherhood is realistic. We get one line referencing that her mom is still alive (distinguishing the movie from the musical a little bit), but it doesn't seem like they're close, and obviously her relationship with Delia has been a struggle through the years. It makes sense that she'd have difficulty connecting with her own daughter, especially with the circumstances surrounding Astrid's father.

While at times Astrid feels like Wednesday Addams in a different font, I liked her a lot! Jenna Ortega fits into the Burtonverse very well, and she and Winona Ryder have great mother-daughter chemistry, both onscreen and off. I do wish that she'd gotten the chance to interact more with Beetlejuice, because as far as I remember, they only exchange one or two lines of dialogue. This feels like a missed opportunity, as I could see him making a lot of jokes about being her future stepdad lol.

As mentioned in my initial review, Catherine O'Hara was a crowd favorite at my theater and earned a lot of the biggest laughs. I really loved Delia in this movie, especially since she and Lydia have clearly grown a lot fonder of each other in the years since the first. I'm also obviously very glad that Jeffrey Jones wasn't invited back to the party, and I think the way they used claymation to show his death was a clever workaround to avoid hiring him again lol.

I adored Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson. Was he necessary to the plot? No. Do I give a shit? Also no. He was hilarious and completely ineffectual and I love him.

Rory is a good minor antagonist, and he's fun to root against. I've seen people seemingly frustrated at his relationship with Lydia, and how easily he manipulates her, but I don't find it out of character on her part. In the first movie especially, she's shown to be very lonely and mentally unwell, contemplating suicide on more than one occasion. She latches onto the love that the Maitlands give her as their surrogate daughter, but imagine how hard it must've been for her when they were finally able to move on, and she was stuck with a father who didn't understand her and a stepmother who barely tolerated her? When she meets Rory, Richard has recently died and Astrid resents her. To me, it makes sense that she'd latch on to anyone showing her affection. She doesn't really love Rory, but she thinks that he loves her, and that's enough. It isn't until Beetlejuice helps her see Rory's true colors that she's able to recognize how unhealthy the relationship is.

Speaking of Beetlejuice, I'm so so glad that they followed the trend of the first movie and kept his screen time to a minimum! He's only onscreen for 17 minutes (about three minutes longer than the original), but the way that he eats up every scene he's in makes it feel like more. Michael Keaton was clearly having so much fun revisiting the role! I think that the less we know about Beetlejuice and his backstory the better, so I actually wasn't thrilled when I heard that there was a flashback to his death in this one, but the way they shot the scene with the Italian dub was hilarious, so I'm giving it a pass.

THE STORY

Allegedly, the original runtime of the movie was around 2h15m, which means that a whole thirty minutes ended up getting cut, and I really wish they'd kept it in. Not just because I want more content (though I do), but because the plot does feel a bit cluttered and rushed at times. Between Astrid's fleeting romance with Jeremy, Beetlejuice being hunted down by Delores, and Lydia fending off Rory's proposal/wedding plans, there's not a lot of room to breathe, and the Delores plot definitely suffers a bit. She's made out to be such a huge threat, but gets so little fleshing out that Monica Belluci almost feels wasted. I'll be very interested to see if the DVD has deleted scenes or better yet, a director's cut!

But I've been having fun trying to figure out Beetlejuice's actual motivations, because the differences between the first movie's wedding and this one are very telling. Rather than speed things along like he did the first time, this Beetlejuice takes his time to give Lydia a proper, romantic ceremony. "MacArthur Park" is not a short song, and I'm pretty sure they didn't cut any of it.

It's an interesting song choice, to say the least. The lyrics are about a couple breaking up, and the man vowing to the woman that even though things have ended, he'll always love her. This, coupled with the fact that Beetlejuice gets defeated on a flimsy loophole when you'd expect him to have an ironclad contract, and when Lydia finally banishes him, he doesn't resist at all (again, think about how much he had to fight to shut up the Maitlands when they tried to stop the wedding in the first movie), makes me wonder if he ever actually intended to go through with the marriage. As @simplyshelbs16xoxo theorized in an earlier post, I think this was all just an excuse to see Lydia again and show her how much he loves her (in his own twisted way). Maybe he'd even sort of accepted that Delores was going to find him and kill him (again) any minute, because after all, why would his getting remarried even stop her from doing so?

Who knows? The fun thing about Beetlejuice as a character is that he never fully shows his hand, and there's no way of knowing exactly where his motivations lie.

The Beetlebaby was… something lol. I still haven’t quite decided how I feel about it, but I liked the design, and the fact that it was a clear reference to Chucky. I also like trying to figure out how much of the movie was Lydia’s dream. Just the last scene? Or maybe the whole thing? Does Astrid even exist, or is Lydia really a spinster in the attic, as Winona Ryder says?

THE VISUALS

Tim Burton thrives with practical effects. I'm a fan of most of his work, and my least favorites tend to be the ones that rely too much on CGI (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, Miss Peregrine, etc). Not to say that any of those are bad movies, but I'm glad he's returned to his roots with this one.

One of the things the original Beetlejuice movie is known for is its campy visuals. Part of that is due to the fact that their budget was so small, since Burton was still establishing himself as a director, but it works with the cheesy horror/comedy vibe. And words cannot express how delighted and relieved I was when the sandworms in the sequel were still made with claymation!

Obviously the movie wasn't completely devoid of CGI, but most of it was subtle, and only enhanced the practical effects. The makeup was great as well--I especially liked Willem Dafoe's partially-exposed brain. The original movie actually won an Oscar for Hair/Makeup Design, and I think this one has a good chance for a nomination at least!

FINAL THOUGHTS

The original Beetlejuice has been one of my favorite movies since I first watched it at around thirteen/fourteen. It's a Halloween staple, and I was extremely nervous about the prospect of a sequel after so many years (let's all breathe a collective sigh of relief that that old rumor about a reboot starring Johnny Depp wasn't true because it truly had me scared). While the trailers gave me hope, I still went into the theater with enormous reservations and was fully ready to be disappointed.

And in the end, I definitely wasn't! While the sequel's not perfect and could never come close to surpassing the original, I enjoyed it immensely. It was a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to my second viewing! I think it's safe to say that this is Burton's comeback!

[breakfastteatime]

hope you don't mind the rant but argh i finally realised why i feel so disconnected to survivor in comparison to how close jfo is to me

spoilers for those who haven't played survivor

but i really dislike major decisions made and i'm gonna babble on a little (i've had like eight panadol and two sleeping meds as of the last hour n a half so if this doesn't make sense that's why)

one that's been swirling around my head ever since i played us that it really felt like they brought cordova back JUST to kill him off. this also ties into my next point that i find bode's betrayal hard to believe as well. every role he had in the story could easily be replaced by someone such as cere, and i felt like the only reason he was there was to have someone for bode to kill to show how really evil he was but respawn didn't want to kill any of the main cast off. he's such a useless character in the plot that killing him off didnt effect anything LMAO

my next major dislike is, understandably, about bode :,) yes i know this can come off as making excuses for a character i was attached to since the trailers dropped but the more i think about it the more i really cannot understand both the timeline and the motive that was behind bode's betrayal. i kind of get the idea he was lax about betraying them UNTIL cal mentioned using tanalorr for the hidden path but according to the echoes you get after the game bodenis plotting and scheming the whole time... plus, you think that his whole motive relies on creating a safe place for kata on tanalorr where no one can find them but also like. you have two (technically three) jedi, a nightsister, and a whole clan of anchorites that kick the empire's ass every day. "will you be able to protect her when the empire comes?" fuckass have you SEEN cal use a lightsaber?? kata is safer with cal then she is bode

dagan was hella underwhelming too which disappointed me tbh i was excited for this high republic jedi to show us all this cool stuff only for him to die in like three seconds 😔

ANYWAY i hope this ain't too long but i'd love to hear your thoughts/criticisms on js bc i love the game and all the little bits are amazing but some of the decisions made have me a bit hrghh

Okay, friend, you asked for it ;)

The decision to bring back Cordova was an unexpected one, but the sight of him makes me cry happy tears every damn time, so it doesn't bother me at all. I take your point re: Cere being able to do everything he does, but part of Bode’s betrayal also hinges on him betraying Cere to Vader, who clearly wants vengeance after Nur (which is SO IN CHARACTER for Vader I can only lol. Petty bitch.), so Bode killing her wouldn't have had quite the same impact.

Because I was so convinced he was dead that him *actually* being dead didn’t strike me as ‘brought back only to die’. I would argue that killing him off did put them at risk of not being able to reach Tanalorr and defintely drove Cal to Nova Garon, but yes… Cordova's character probably lacks development and definitive purpose compared to the others… Although even as I say that, I find myself thinking of the logs he left behind in the various ruins on Jedha and the words of advice and I just can’t get mad. Plus there's that teeny hint that he's been unwell when Merrin asks how he's feeling. I see your points, yes, but I'm not too fussed by any of it.

Moving onto Bode...

So, here’s my interpretation of Bode, based on the post-game echoes and the little nuances that take on a totally new light on a replay. Bode is playing Cal from the very beginning. They are never friends from Bode’s perspective, and he is a master manipulator. He’s a textbook abuser – he lovebombs Cal with compliments and praise to cement their relationship, and does the same with everyone in his family. Plus, he used his knowledge of Cere’s location to further his cause with the Empire.

There’s also a power dynamic at play here because Bode was a Jedi Knight during the war while Cal was still a Padawan. Bode is older and more experienced with the world than Cal. He knows Cal longs for friendship, and he wields that against him more effectively than any weapon. Every action, every word, every choice Bode makes is solely to dig in deeper with Cal so he can and Kata can escape the Empire. Had Cal agreed that Tanalorr would just be for them, *maybe* Bode wouldn’t have betrayed him the way he did, but Bode is well on his way to the dark side because of his attachment to Kata. And Cal very nearly follows him because of his attachments to his family.

To me, this is what the Jedi Order meant by 'no attachments'. Jedi are allowed to love, but when that love becomes all consuming, when it becomes an obsession, that’s when the attachment becomes dangerous. Bode’s story is very similar to Anakin’s, he’s just not as powerful. Hasn’t got those Skywalker genes 😉  

Bode’s motive to me is clear – he *thinks* everything is about Kata, but actually it’s all about him. It’s about his grief and rage and fear because of his wife's death the terrible choices he made. Denvik promises that if Bode gives him what he wants (Cal and Cere), he will reveal which Inquistor murdered his wife. Bode is already in it for revenge, not his daughter's wellbeing. His choices are very pre-meditated. He is a parent, yes, and I can understand that overriding love of a child, but he is also a grieving husband who is so broken by his loss that his love for Kata has become too possessive. He is terrified of losing his daughter, and it eclipses his love for her. Kata is aware of this, and her love is also turning to fear. Bode is neglectful (he's always leaving Kata behind) and bordering on abusive at the end. He trusts no one but himself, and he even asks Cal at the very end if he can protect Kata. Cal says nothing because he knows he can’t – he’s tried protecting so many people, and he’s lost nearly all of them. He won’t make a promise he can’t keep, and that’s what completely breaks Bode. Bode doesn’t believe anyone *but him* can protect Kata because he has become completely consumed with fear and anger. Cal gave him a chance to make a better choice when he disarmed him. In fact, Bode had *so many chances* to make a better choice, and he didn’t. So, when Bode responded by choosing to try and kill Cal, Merrin *and* very nearly his own daughter, Cal had no choice but to put him down – hard. That second shot took my breath away both times I played the game because Cal knows he cannot save Bode and protect the people who matter, and by showing Bode mercy, more people will die. It's also about control - Bode tries to control everyone. Cal knows he can't, so he takes the only option left - killing Bode. Honestly, the more I think about that finale, the more intense it becomes. It's an astonishing moment.

I do wonder if the reason people struggle with Bode is because he is so nice, and he fits in so well, but it’s all fake and it’s all an act. Whether you saw it coming or not, that hurts. Cal – and the player – want so badly for Bode to be better than he is, and that’s the tragedy. Bode’s not capable of that. He has suffered losses just like Cal, but he couldn’t overcome them. It’s a lot to deal with emotionally!

And as for Dagan, I quite like him! Mostly because that final battle with him incorporates my favourite Star Wars thing – WEIRD FORCE SHIT. He’s also a mirror held up to Cal – this is what you could become if your obsession takes over you. I also think his relationship with Santari Khri is meant to show Cal the potential pitfalls of his relationship with Merrin if his attachment overcomes him… but we’ll have to see what happens next…

Gosh this got long. It's always fun to see other people's perspectives and share my own! Hope you've got some rest and feel better soon :)

[13docwriting]

Hello! It's me again, giving my minute by minute review of The Giggle. I have not seen any spoilers or watched any trailers, so I know nothing. Well... I know that Neil Patrick Harris is someone lol. As a summary, I enjoyed Chibnall's era, loved the thirteenth Doctor with all of my heart, and know little about the classic series but am obsessed with nuwho. I am also weary of RTD's writing but I loved the first special and enjoyed the second. LET'S GO!

Again, last time I'll complain, I MISS LIVE REBLOGGING WITH FANS. 1. Oh my horror movie vibes again. Okay.

2. Uh. What's up with the accent for Neil Patrick Harris (NPH to make my life easier). That feels a bit... Not good. Especially with the "messed up" words to accentuate it. It just doesn't sound right. I know it's supposed to be a STUPID amount of fake, but it's boarding on offensive.

3. "I'll need a moving image" right to the jump scare lol. I don't MIND horror movies, but I don't necessarily want it for every single Doctor Who episode. A bit disappointed.

4. NPH dancing with David Tennant for those point two seconds did something to me. Also, LOVE NPH's makeup there.

5. I'm already so tired of UNIT having all this money. I don't know, it doesn't feel right. They were supposed to stay hidden so that people didn't know about them. Are we officially saying that humans know about aliens? That's the only acceptable answer I'll take as to why we got helicopters and military vehicles just out and about.

6. Awesome, AWESOME music. Always. Just, again, a thousand kudos to everyone doing this beautiful arrangement.

7. I LOVE Shirley. I love her. Representation done right, in my opinion. It's ironic that RTD can do something EXACTLY as it's supposed to be and the fumble the ball on something else in the very same episode i.e. the first special with Shirley right to "male presenting" Time Lord (see my first live blogging to hear the speech I did already lol).

8. KATE - KATE - KATE. My h e r o. My LOVE! We JUST saw her with 13 and I loved every single part she was in. Her finally seeing the inside of the TARDIS made me so happy.

9. KATE HUGGING THE DOCTOR. Awww! That is so gosh darn cute. I don't know how long it's been exactly since Kate saw 13 after the whole Master thing in Power of the Doctor, but it's so nice to see her hugging him. I was scared for a moment it was going to be a slap lol.

10. "How do we fight the human race." Uh... That's quite a plot, isn't it? I... The Doctor, thirteen especially, always made a point of saying how good "you humans" can be. Saying that humans are inherently bad just doesn't sit right with me. There's a speech roaring up with me about how RTD sees people in general and how that effects the optimistic and hopeful attitude of Doctor Who in gneral, but that'll have to come later.

11. OH HEY Melanie! I know that companion! Kind of! I've never see any of her episodes but that's awesome. SIDE NOTE... Just like with Power of the Doctor, I feel a little disoriented when I know I'm supposed to know something / really appreciate the moment and I can't. I'm so happy that Chibnall AND RTD are so very willing to let classic who people come back, I'm just always a little lost with things like this. (I wonder if other people my age feel that way? Any else 25?)

12. "Is park rude?" "Borderline". I... What? Why would you even turn to Shirley with a question like that? See what I mean about dropping the ball.

13. "Why should I care?" Prime Minister. "No change there then." Donna. hehe I love those little moments where DW shows current political distain.

14. We're... We're not gonna ask a million questions about what Vlinx is? What they're doing there? How they got there? The Doctor's not doing the usual excited dance and asking how hot their cortex runs, the amount of brain power they have, etc. Idk, seemed like a wasted moment. (Unless I'm missing some classic who stuff again?)

15. Listen, I'm a very simple lesbian... I see an "evil" Kate and I get a little excited, okay? Woman power and all that, am I right? 16. "As for you [Shirley], with that chair - I've seen you walk!" What the actual fuck. Listen, I know, I KNOW people are idiots about wheelchairs. I know some people don't know that some people who use a wheelchair aren't completely paralyzed, but to point it out in this way just feels... It feels like a misstep...? I have no right to comment, I'm not a wheelchair user, but the way RTD handles things like this always makes me nervous.

17. "The old archangel network" ahhh hello there preteen headcannons! Ahhhh the Master, how lovely a reminder of those days! God, what a plotline that was back in the day. I am not surprised at all that RTD fit that line in, let me tell you. The man seems to like to brag about his old stories (inconspicuously points to David Tennant and Catherine Tate.)

18. Why would Donna ever, ever guess that those brain waves were music? Where in god's name would ANYONE come up with that without ANY sort of hint? What kind of mary sue writing is that? I'm just supposed to take that? Talk about a convenient plot device. I don't like lazy writing.

19. "The very first image has been hiding in every screen ever since." See, THAT'S cool! I like that kind of story, where another god-like entity has that sort of power. Someone PLANNED that. As always, things like this are why I love when the Master comes back. His convoluted plots creates such great writing and stories.

20. "What, because you're so clever [at Shirley asking why they never found the Stooky Bill laugh before]." Hey 14, your 10 is showing - the parts of 10 that adult me has problems with.

21. "[The human race] is also savage, venal, and relentless." Alright, maybe I'm thinking too much about 12 and 13, mostly 13, but the distain that 14 (cough ten cough) displays for humans has ALWAYS been icky to me. The Doctor TRAVELS with humans, has worked with them, has LOVED them. You can't call an entire species monsters and then claim to love them. People CAN be monsters, but ten - sorry, 14 - has a habit of not taking the time to make that distinction between species vs person. 13, meanwhile, has never insulted a single human. She has encouraged people, genuinely wants them to be better, and only alienates herself not by pointing humans down, but by feeling so different than everyone around her.

22. "Using your intelligence to be stupid... And hating each other. You never needed any help with that". Well, congrats, this may be my least favorite episode of Doctor Who ever. I don't like getting insulted, I don't like the Doctor being mean, I don't like the tone of this episode... Doctor Who is a hopeful, lighthearted show that brings a smile to my face. Yes, it has moments that make me sob, but it's not some police drama. DW is a sci-fi show about traveling a beautiful universe. THIS is not what the show should be.

23. "Can we take out that satellite?" So Kate's waiting for permission... But, question... THE TARDIS IS RIGHT THERE. You're telling me the Doctor can't go up there, sonic the thing off to make it look like it's a technical error, and then eff of? I know writers OFTEN give the good old "the TARDIS is unavailable" to avoid thoughts like this, but RTD left the TARDIS RIGHT THERE. We have a time and space machine!

24. Side note, very side note, but are we ever gonna fix the gravity to "mavity" thing? Is that gonna come back?

25. The Doctor: "you have my permission" [to blow up the satellite]. But... But that's... What can UNIT say to that? "Oh yeah hey, our alien from outer space that we trust that you don't know gave us the go-ahead to blow your satellite up. Please don't fire missiles at us, we got the "OK." What? Just... What?

25. Oh hey, was Melanie at the therapy session for past companions in the Power of the Doctor? That would honest to god fit so well and I would love that. I'll have to look later.

26. Again, I almost have to laugh at the budget. All this money and we're using it to fire off a gun... In Doctor Who... Where the Doctor hates guns. Figures.

27. 120[k] plus five weeks' holiday." OH FUCK YEAH DONNA. Girl boss right there! You deserve that money! Freaking LOVE IT. And I'd love Donna working at UNIT. Maybe Martha and her could be best friends? Oh hey, where the hell is Martha and Mickey, btw?

28. Ha, Crowley, COUGH, I mean the Doctor on SoHo's streets once again. Hehe.

29. "Donna, I'm a billion years old". WOAH, WHAT? He can't be serious, right? No way 13 lived that long after 12's 2,000 ish years, right? Is 14 counting the confession dial? He has to be, right? I almost wish 13 mentioned her age now.

30. "But you are busy every second of every day" uh, yes. That was 13's coping mechanism. If she never stopped, she never had to think. Granted, that was every single Doctor's coping mechanism, but 13 had a lot of crap to get through and the fact that she got sent to prison with all that MUST have destroyed them.

31. Donna trying to give the Doctor mental health advice will forever be a favorite moment between the two of them for me. I'm so glad to see how much Donna cares about him.

32. NPH is just fabulous. He really just takes over the scene, even against actors like David Tennant and Catherine Tate. I was mesmerized by the ball scene. Granted, the accent makes me squint my eyes, but still... Him playing the villain will always be exciting.

33. Oh the Doctor knows him! An old enemy, that can't be good. OH and with the first Doctor as well, talk about a VERY old enemy. It's only been a billion years, eh? Hm, and the Doctor seems terrified of him. I'm getting the Master vibes. Is the Toymaker a Time Lord?

34. I sincerely wish that the Doctor mentioned being the Timeless Child to Donna when the Doctor said "what am I without my toys". I just... Donna can't understand why this speech even exists without knowing that the Doctor's entire history was erased - was taken from him. People may hate the Timeless Child plotline, but it's THERE. If RTD is going to build the emotional trauma off of that, it should be mentioned by name. I'm glad we mentioned the Flux, but the Timeless Child is what drove the Doctor nearly insane. It's what drove the Master even more insane. It should be mentioned properly.

35. Why the fuck, after that emotion speech, would these two idiots even separate AN INCH? Donna just saw how terrified the Doctor was, the Doctor IS terrified, why would they not hold hands? Why would they not stick to each other like glue. Again, lazy writing.

36. I can not explain how much this doesn't feel like Doctor Who. I can not even being to rant about how much this doesn't feel like my goofy little sci-fi show that makes me smile. I feel cheated. RTD, you got your Midnight / stupid scary episode last time and I complimented it. I cannot believe I have to sit through another one of your horror episodes. Again, the spirit of Doctor Who is the relationship and connections to how amazing humans can be. It's about hope, and optimism, and learning. Of course there's scary episodes, of course there's a step to the left in terms of how the usual episodes go, but what the heck is this?

Is it good writing? Perhaps. The dialogue, tone, and plot is convincing, I'll give RTD that. But is this MY show, my Doctor Who? No. I've said before that RTD relies on nostalgia and this episode only ferments that. If it wasn't David Tennant and characters that weren't already introduced literal years ago, how'd we even know this wasn't the same show?

37. Why the FUCK is Donna so violent? We know she's a badass, we know she's sassy, we know she's fearless... But banging that doll into the wall, a furious look on her face? Where the fuck did she learn that one?

38. How fucking dare RTD mention the Flux but bypass the fam, Yaz, and Dan. How fucking dare he. How dare he pick and chose what he liked from Chibnall's era. And you know what, let's have a laugh, shall we? Maybe he can't mention them because all of them had a GOOD ending. All of them left of their own accord. They left feeling stronger, feeling good about themselves, feeling like they've see the universe and want to make their home, earth, better. What has RTD done but killed the Doctor's happiness? And don't come at me with my own words - the Doctor could have mentioned Yaz and the fam as a defense against himself. "But I've learned - I've learned that humans are strong, that my friends are stronger than I ever could be! Yasmin Khan, Ryan Sinclair, Graham O'Brian, Dan Lewis - all them are safe. All of them are loved. They have always been the best parts of me. Now, Toymaker... I challenge you to a game." TADA. I even think I got David Tennant's correct cadence, and I never even wrote him!

If you are a showrunner for DW, you have a responsibility to the past writers to show some respect. The way RTD is handling the Flux is fine, but you can't erase the Timeless Child because it doesn't fit with your own version of Doctor Who. It has been done, get over it. USE it.

39. *Splutters* "I made a jigsaw out of your history". You will NOT be taking responsibility for the Timeless Child like this. You will not have a villain create the Timeless Child just to erase it. AND YOU TOOK THE MASTER FROM ME? MY FAVORITE MASTER? YOU TOOK SPYDOC FROM ME? Holy shit I need a drink. My rage is unfathomable.

40. To be fair, seriously, it's good writing if it WASN'T Doctor Who. I am being fair. It's heart pounding, it's exciting, but it's not the same show or the reason I love the show.

41. ... Okay, NPH... Yeah. That scene. I'm not even going to hint about what scene I'm talking about. Everyone knows. It was a 10/10 performance. It was fantastic. There's no criticism, I'll be watching that ten million times. (Damn shame they didn't let him sing it though).

42. The speech the Doctor is making to the Toymaker sounds AWFULLY familiar, doesn't it? Perhaps, the Master, once again? The Doctor just picks these god-like entities and goes "I will love you" and clings on for dear life. I assure you, somewhere in that tooth the Master is screaming "YOU ASKED ME FIRST".

44. "We can be celestial." Someone tell me if DT played Crowley season 2 before or after this. I could HEAR Crowley on that last word, come on now.

45. what the fuck. what the fuck. what the f u c k. WE'RE FUCKING KEEPING DAVID TENNANT. WHY THE FUCK ARE WE KEEPING HIM. HE'S HAD HIS TIME TWICE OVER. WHY. WHY. WHY. HE WAS A GOOD DOCTOR BUT IT'S NOT FAIR THAT HE'S STILL HERE.

RTD changed regeneration. I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH THE HATERS TORMENTING ME ABOUT CHANGING THE DOCTOR'S PAST IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T EFFECT DW CANON, AND YET RTD CAN DO THIS?

ALL BECAUSE HE WANTS TO KEEP DT. Someone sedate me, I'm going to be the one being on walls and screaming soon. Fuck me. Let the Doctor go! That's the whole bloody point. I can't with this. If you haters out there accept this one I don't want anyone ever coming at me about the Timeless Child again. I'll just throw pictures of up this regeneration scene with a bunch of arrows. And not to mention, I hate this idea? I hate it. I hate it. Regeneration was about change and rebirth, now it's about adding a little hint of something new. It was about letting go, getting ready for a new future, handing someone else the torch of this beautiful show. Oh my god, I hate it here. I'm STAYING for Nucti. I'm honoring his first performance, but I am pissed. I might not even be able to write more.

46. "Do you come in a range of colors." What. What kind of line is that? What... Why did we even have to mention that? He also comes with a different gender, Donna, I don't think his "color" matters. That was the point of the first special, if you could remember that.

I'm taking an effing walk... Off a bridge at this point.

47. Why didn't we give the 15th Doctor trousers? We didn't give 14 13's clothes now did we? But we can have the 15 Doctor running around half naked... On a family show? Come on now.

48. We... We really... We really wasted the Toymaker with a game of catch. Really. I was just complimenting the writing and then we did that?

49. I'm loving 15's care and love. His openness. Is this the Doctor forgiving himself?

50. Oh hey, what lovely person took the Master from that gold tooth, eh? Maybe... Missy, perhaps?

51. MENTION THE TIMELESS CHILD YOU FUCKING COWARD OH MY GOD. Not you, 15, you're great sweetie. RTD MENTION THE PROPER PAST YOU ASS. You can mention all the past adventures but not the latest one? Seriously?

52. Something, something, so glad 14 got a happy ending, something something, wish 13 had that, something something, too bad Chibnall followed the rules of regeneration just as all the writers did beforehand SOMETHING SOMETHING.

53. I'm getting the mildest hint of karma because I never understood why people said the couldn't understand Jodie... I'm actually having a bit of a hard time with Nucti lmao. I always use subtitles so it doesn't matter to me, but just thought I'd mention that.

54. Nucti better kiss a man full of the mouth. He is... Quite something. Jack Harkness would faint.

55. I have a question. How is 15 older? Isn't it like 2.2 seconds only, if anything?

56. I really am glad that 14 got a family. It is beautiful.

I usually do like a summary or whatever but I'm just so bitter and pissed. Here, 3/10, two of those points are for 15 and one is for the Toymaker... Even if the Toymaker character was wasted.

[melverie]

⸺ LESSON 2 ⸺

Solomon

Barbatos

Solomon & Barbatos

demons & angels (& humans)

strange feelings & soup

misc

- lesson 1 || lesson 3 || all posts so far -

Please share your thoughts (if you want to lol)!! General spoiler warning for all of Obey Me Nightbringer, as well as for the original Obey Me

⸺ SOLOMON ⸺

Solomon essentially is the reason Leviathan got tot keep Henry 1.0 since Solomon is the one who shrunk him [2-1]

he's also the one who--completely unprompted--brought up Cerberus' existence and that taming him would grant you the title of 'Ruler of the Underworld' [2-1; pic below], which we know the brothers to hold by the time of the OG -> interesting how Solomon basically sets up the events in a way that allows them to eventually play out like they did in the future tho. Iirc we see it happen a few more times throughout the story

happened in 1-12 as well, but Solomon once again talks about the people around you not remembering who you are and how that hurts [2-3]. Not sure if this is him empathizing with MC or if this is alluding to something else... -> he also hopes that MC and the brothers will grow closer again soon [2-3]

Solomon switches to his human world look [2-9 + lesson 2 hard mode]

⸺ BARBATOS ⸺

Barbatos doesn't seem to know who MC is upon their first meeting [2-13]

he also seems surprised when he learns that MC is Solomon's apprentice [2-13], though I'm probably reading too much into this

he gives MC and Mammon the job at the castle regardless if they get any of the questions right or not [2-15]. Tbh it's probably just to keep the plot moving, but I'm slightly suspicious of him regardless...

⸺ DEMONS & ANGELS (& HUMANS) ⸺

more instances mentioned of the brothers being cast out because they are fallen angels [2-6]

Cerberus is also known in the Celestial Realm [2-8; pic below]

Mammon gives us a few insights into how being a guardian angels as well as forging pacts works [2-9; pic below]

Few things I want to point out here:

1. "To a demon, makin' a pact is like handing over control of your life to someone else, right?" Not entirely true. While the demon does give up a certain amount of control over themself to the human they've forged a pact with, there are certain limitations, such as:

you use a substantial amount of magical power while controlling several demons at once, so by that logic you probably also need some when commanding just one demon. Additionally, you might mot be able to command one in the first place if you have little to no magical power in the first place

you need to keep a clear head when giving a command, otherwise the demon can just break free from its hold. We see this at the end of season 2 when Lucifer is not affected by the 'stay' command because MC isn't thinking clearly

demons aren't forced to act out commands that go against their pact(s). Beel explains this back in the OG's season 1 when Luke accidentally gets ahold of the brothers' grimoire

2. "It's pretty much the same as when an angel decides to be a guardian to a human." Does that imply angels hand over control over themselves when becoming a guardian angel? Interesting 3. "An angel's only gonna pick one person to protect, and that's it. Just one, for all time." MC's just keeping all the guardian angels for themself then since Luke and Simeon have both expressed the desire to be MC's guardian angels, and I'm pretty sure Raphael is eventually going to follow suit lol

⸺ SOLOMON & BARBATOS ⸺

the second Solomon is mentioned Barbatos makes it very clear that he is absolutely not fond of him. Mammon points out that he finds Barbatos reaction a little strange since they have a pact and whatnot, but Barbatos dismisses it [2-13] -> side note but I just remembered how surprised Diavolo was when he heard MC was Solomon's apprentice. Then there's also that one throwaway line in the OG of Solomon's apprentice betraying him. I really hope those things don't have anything to do with each other tho...

⸺ STRANGE FEELINGS & SOUP ⸺

Solomon points out that the bonds MC shares with the others extend across time [2-3]. All hail the Time Soup!

Mammon already has feelings for MC [2-9] but we also know how fast he fell for MC in the OG, so it's not really all that unusal

this has happened in 1-12 as well [first pic below], but the word 'present' is once again written in quotation marks [lesson 2 hard mode; second pic below]. Might be because of the entire time soup thing, but it's weird nonetheless

⸺ MISC ⸺

Levi would love you if you were a worm 💖 [2-1]

the brothers' qualities as Avatars are starting to manifest more and more [2-A]. Not sure if this is meant to say that it took this long to happen/it took MC to show up, or if they just took this long to realize it happening

Mammon explains that demons can't forge pacts with other demons [2-9], so Solomon offically beat the demon allegations!! -> ......or did he. Because Mammon then goes on to say this [2-9; pic below]. Though to be fair this was probably just meant as a plot device to built tension since MC would have to reveal they are human before they could forge any pacts with the bros. Could also have been a small nod at Mephisto's powers later on

Mammon never was a guardian angel to anyone [2-11]

while shopping MC spots a book that they think might be precious, but Solomon claims that it isn't a grimoire since you wouldn't find a demon's lifeline in a place like this [lesson 2 hard mode]. Weird that it was brought up at all, but I'm guessing it was meant as a setup for later in the season

[crazy-loca-blog]

Hey! Been sick in bed for two weeks already and even though I'm feeling MUCH better (I'm getting up tomorrow! Yay!), I'm still struggling with some cough. Flu has become a major issue in this side of the world, especially for kids, so please get vaccinated!!

Of course, I've been making the most of this time and I've been catching up on a lot of books that were in my pendings (leaving them under the cut to avoid spoilers for non-VIP players), so I need to vent about them even though no one asked for it (The Ghost Of Us is pending because I’m still in chapter 3, and I want to make a special post about Open Hearts On Fire):

Hot Shot: Overall, I liked this story because I enjoyed the relationship between the MC and the LI. Even though the LI was a jerk at first, I think it's been ages since the last time we saw a straightforward LI (admitting they were falling for the MC in the middle of the book and not waiting until the last chapter? loved it!), who knows what they want, but who doesn't feel pushy or invasive. I also loved the respect and understanding the LI seemed to have for the MC when she tried to keep a hidden relationship because of the conflict it could have caused with her job. I mean, really, kudos to the writers for that. However, there were also things that ruined the book for me. First, this is one of those stories where we could have had more than one LI (I'm looking at you, Kels). The relationship with Adesh? Poorly written. And I'm not saying it because of his betrayal (I would never have talked to him again after that!), but because the writers tried so hard to make them besties and I'm sorry, but I had a hard time picturing them even as colleagues that get along. And then the ending... I mean, wtf was that?!?! What a terrible final chapter! From the writers pushing a "perfect" 30 diamond scene even though the LI was injured (seriously, I can't believe there was no mention of it during the scene), to the fact that we didn't see the LI’s dad in the final game after all that arc the writers gave us with him, and some details such as the MC "remembering" her life playing hockey (girl, you barely played ONCE in the whole story and there wasn't even a mention of your "career" in hockey), everything felt rushed and sloppy. Not a fan of it. And not a fan of the sequel either. This book should have remained a standalone.

The Deadliest Game: At first, I struggled with this story. The Deadliest Gambit was such a slow prequel that I had a hard time trying to connect with the book. But after I moved to The Deadliest Game and since the plot began to develop, I’ve been enjoying it a lot, to the point that it’s becoming one of my favorite new releases in 2024. Our gang is pretty smart (the weakest character is probably our nepobaby, Dante), and I like how the writers have portrayed Nick so far (he was a good person, but he was far from being perfect). Having to go back to the starting point right after we had discarded most people in the house as “the killer” felt like a nice change of pace, but to be very honest, now I feel completely lost about whom the killer could be. As per the romance, I’m not sure about romancing anyone yet. I gave Dante a chance because at first I thought he and the MC had a lot in common, but I don’t know. The relationship doesn’t seem to flow naturally after that first kiss, and now after a few chapters, Farah is becoming my favorite LI. However, I feel my MC is actually more worried about solving the case than dating anyone, so I might restart the book and remain single. PS: kudos to the writers for naming my country and the miners’ story lol

Filthy Rich: There isn’t much to say so far. Basically, the boy who broke our heart 10 years ago is back, he’s “filthy rich” and wants to date us. Also, the man happens to be a TV producer (just like the MC!) and he has the MC and her brother in mind to produce a new reality show that SCREAMS “The Kardashians”. Not a fan of the book so far; however, it’s only been 4 chapters, so I can’t really tell whether I like it or not. I like the fact that the MC can give the LI a piece of her mind, though. She hasn’t forgotten him, but she clearly won’t make things easy for him.

Along Came Treble: ohmigod what a headache! There are so many things I dislike about this book! First, I'm close to sending the MC to horny jail because she's just too much! Second, the LI. He is actually a cool guy, but the writers made him so similar to Raleigh Carrera (the boy band past, the tattoos, the rebel side) that it’s impossible not to compare them both (and if you love Platinum as much as I do, you’ll agree that Cai is not Raleigh). Third, the inconsistencies. At one point in the story, all of our belongings are stolen, including our laptop, but then, shortly after, we’re working with it? Fourth, our MC and the LI are way too different. Our MC is an intern trying to become a manager who cares about fame and recognition, and the LI only cares about his music. I’m not sure whether I see the romance between them having any future (but PB will definitely push for them to have their happily ever after). And finally, they’re trying to push the BD*SM narrative just like they did in Open Heart, by just adding a random scene that doesn’t make any sense, but this time, with a couple that barely know each other. What’s the point? Showing the LI is a “bad boy”? No sense! Funny thing, I think we’ve seen worse in this app.

Immortal Desires 2: I knew this book wouldn’t disappoint me. In fact, I binge read it in two days. The plot is very on point. I like how the writers reused the hunters vs. vampires’ conflict, but with new characters and a little twist that makes it look different and fresh. Also, the poly route is so *chef kiss* that I don’t regret choosing both Cas and Gabriel in the first book. Discovering both LIs past has been so nice, but discovering Cas’ new powers has been incredibly cool, I love them. However, there are many things I still don’t understand. The book constantly gives me the idea that Cas and Gabriel were turned forever ago and that they've been vampires for a really long time. Then why do their human pasts look so “modern”? I’m also confused about our MC’s abilities; I don’t think we’ve been given an explanation on why we get them (and I don’t know if we will). Is she some kind of special/gifted vampire? Is it because she doesn’t have a coven yet? I won’t deny they’ve been super useful, but not knowing why she’s been chosen to get the abilities just feels weird. Anyway, I can totally see a Book 3 coming (and PB has already been giving some hints), there is most definitely room for new plots.

[wsdanon]

okay i'm still sick and feeling very miserable right now so as a distraction let me write up a bit of my vampire au lore that i've been too nervous to bring up because vampire-enjoyers might think it's silly. it's mostly to fill plot holes please grant me mercy (i don't know if it's already a thing in some vampire lore? i haven't heard of it at least, but i'm not the most knowledgable)

for length reasons i'll be putting it under the cut--i wouldn't say it's spoilers because it'll technically come up early on in the au's timeline but also if i write more for this au it'll be out of order anyway

okay so i've heard of "sire" before, and that's what this is going to be focusing on. cellbit is pac e mike's sire as i've mentioned before, but the reason he specifically doesn't show up to fit right now (plus the reason why fit never tries to fight mike) is because i'm kind of ruling it that if you kill a sire, you can kill the vampires they turned too

within reason! i think maybe… there's a sort of field or space. where if you're within that distance to your sire then you are more powerful, but you're also more vulnerable because if your sire is killed when you're in that space then you also die. but if you're outside of it, you're good

fit doesn't know cellbit exists, and they plan on keeping it that way. because he found out pac was turned first and believes pac is mike's sire (probably something they did intentionally to throw him off). fit could try to kill mike if he wanted to--if he succeeded, it would work and mike would die--but he figures it'd be easier to win one fight against one vampire since pac is acting really strange about the whole thing and doesn't let mike join in on their fights. but also he lets fit go when he wins

fit's assumption is that if he actually manages to succeed at killing mike, he'll lose all of pac's good will and pac will actually kill him (this is true). and since mike doesn't seem to want to fight him, he figures it's not worth it. so they just have an uneasy neutrality with each other. because, again, if fit manages to kill pac he won't have to worry about killing mike afterwards because mike would also die

so you can see how this was born from me filling in kind of plotholes lol

i'm going to say the field can be like… as big as a town? or city? it's hard to get out of, so if people don't want to deal with the vulnerability in exchange for more power then they move to a different place. and, hey, biology-wise this could even be the equivalent of like… how plants want their seeds to be tracked to new areas… or something. for the survival of vampires as a race it's beneficial to encourage them to spread out or for them to be stronger when together… i don't know lol

anyway hope this is interesting \o/

[thepiedsniper]

A huge review for A Curse For True Love (spoilers, obviously - all below the cut).

DISCLAIMER: I have read the B&N and Waterstones epilogues but not the OwlCrate one yet (I don’t think anyone has, to be honest). So possibly some of my questions will be addressed in that ending.

On the Kiss: there was a compelling theory that Jacks would turn human due to his love for Eva (per the rules established in Caraval) and that’s how they could kiss and be together without killing Eva. I thought this made a lot of sense (because if your universe has established that becoming human is the canonical consequence of an Immortal falling in love, this kind of definitely needs to happen for the prequel series readers to believe that he really loves Eva, right?). Except Jacks clearly never really became human - his tears were tears of blood and the story curse refers to him as a not-quite-human in the epilogue. This also means he's still ageless and will ultimately outlive Eva by A Lot. So, oof.

To that end - I know Jacks is a fatalist and Eva is an optimist, but did it never even OCCUR to either of them to be like "what if we just did everything together EXCEPT kiss for the rest of our lives?" I know Jacks is compelled to kiss (and it’s obliquely confirmed that the apples are his way to fighting that urge) so you'd have him struggling with that arrangement in the long term. But also, Eva seems convinced she's never been in danger of Jacks kissing her before, so why wouldn’t she at least float that idea and see if he goes for it? Why go for the kiss other than Extreme Belief in The Power of Love; i.e. the exact thing Eva found out was actually the one condition that would ensure the curse killed her, according to Aurora like five minutes beforehand. Which Eva Does Not Mention to Jacks, by the way. "Hey, you know that blonde from Valenda you thought was the one exception to your curse and caused you a tonne of angst and confusion ever since? Turns out you had your whole curse backwards these last several hundred years lol."

Eva still owes Jacks a kiss. If you even care.

No but forreal, at least address it. Do a cutesy "OK, then spend that kiss on me, right now, mwah!" bit in the epilogue, or even a juicy "I’m never cashing it in, because not only is it practical that we can still speak telepathically, but I like that you're still tied to me magically foreverrrr". But like, these three magic kisses were the main conceit of this series. Until they weren’t.

The book seemed to shy away from many interesting plot hooks and tropes. Not even subverting them, just...moving on and away instead of fleshing them out. The main one off the top of my head is The Hunt. This seemed like a really specific and interesting event, with a lot of potential tension and parallels to Jacks’ former life as a hunter, if things went wrong in interesting ways. Except we never see any of it, and instead Someone Tries to Kill Eva (turns out Petra had a lover? This plotline is Not Important and everyone quickly moves on despite the fact that I’m pretty sure Belleflower was never found or dealt with) and we get a slightly less satisfactory Hollow II with the Ye Olde Brick Inn. And even the Inn introduces the Only One Bed trope only to sort of fumble it. Jacks has some mystery gold sleep dust (providence unknown) which just kind of doesn't do anything until it knocks them both out at differently convenient times. Idk man, it felt kinda meh to me.

I love Lala. She should have been in this more because she’s honestly one of the more interesting things outside of the romantic tension (which is great, but a novel cannot live on romantic tension alone, lest it become one-note). But also, when she does appear and we finally get to find out what her reunion with her great love was like, it's just kind of glossed over and hinted that her love with Dane has gone sour. Where’s the actual development/exposition!! Who actually dumped who, and why? What did she actually see in him in the first place? The small amount he’s in this book he is a) not turning into a giant dragon (Chekov would be disappointed), and b) kind of a tool. Lala became The Unwed Bride for this guy!!! At least let her have a proper “I realised I was sabotaging all my engagements not because I still loved my unreachable First Love, but because I enjoy the idea of love more than love itself” moment and make her canonically aromantic or something.

Chaos likes/loves Lala? I guess? He also murdered a bunch of people from great houses, for Reasons. He’s around, more than many characters were, but I dunno. What’s his deal these days? Does he still hang out with his vamp friends? Was he killing all those people because his parents asked him to, or was it pure hunger, or personal vendetta? Is he like, Tight with his folks now?

Another wasted (in my opinion) trope is Aurora stealing Jacks' heart away from Eva. I thought we'd get a little juicy angst from Eva seeing the man she loves be manipulated into fake-loving another (which would have also been a little poetic justice for Tella, but that's neither here nor there I guess because the Caraval characters Do Not Matter and are in fact not mentioned At All). But instead, we don't even find out what Aurora wanted to do with the heart, because it's immediately stolen back by Jacks (which like, why didn't Aurora make him swear in blood not to immediately knock her out and steal it back if that was an option? Is she just super delusional?). Also, it was meant to seem really romantic and self-sacrificing that Jacks gave up his heart and possibly autonomy to Aurora to save Eva... except he never intended to let Aurora keep it, so it was just another selfish scheme and not a sign of actual growth/love.

The Valor children in general (aside from Castor and Aurora) were pretty much non-existent when I honestly thought they'd be more of a Thing. One of them has memory magic, but that's not important for some reason. Nah, the thing Apollo did to Eva was just a potion from Aurora or something (providence unknown). Yeah.

It’s unclear why Honora Valor couldn't have reversed Jack's original Archer curse if that's something she easily did with a bit of hair at the end of TBONA. like I guess that says more about that book than this one, but it seems kind of lame that this mythical healer is never even ASKED about Jacks' kissing curse (or anything related to healing ever again).

Cycling back to Aurora for a moment: what was her magical ability in the end? Just non-specific spellwork that seemingly anyone can do (based on the first two books)? They made a point of lamp-shading it and then never actually addressed it.

And speaking of witches/witchcraft, Marisol is one of the many characters that never reappear or get much (if any) mention at all. Eva wouldn't have remembered her stepsister while her memories were gone, which I would have assumed would make for some interesting retconning opportunities for the conniving Marisol. But no, she's just not important anymore, I guess.

Also Gone: Luc. Did he and Marisol run away together after hashing out their twisted histories? Did Luc eat Marisol and then fall of a cliff? Who cares!!!! Not Important Anymore!!!

Tiberius is also Gone (possibly because his existence would have reminded the audience that Apollo has people he Actually Cares About in his life that might have helped him back from The Dark Path). The whole Protectorate just stopped being a thing as soon as the Valory opened. Do they know, or care? Surely they monitor that sort of thing? Was someone from the Protectorate able to piece together the sudden arrival of the “Vale” family at least?

Phaedra of the Damned from the very first book (the girl who first discovered Apollo wasn’t dead after trying to steal his secrets, and also Havelock is there) never gets explained. I assume she’s one of the twins from the Vanished Market mentioned in the Caraval trilogy, but she really was just there for half a scene in the first book and then never mentioned again. OK.

Havelock, Apollo’s most loyal guard, is not mentioned after Chapter 13 (when Apollo really starts ramping up the Atrocities). Again, possibly his existence would have complicated Apollo’s evil villain speedrun, but it would have been interesting to see what he might have done (and if he decided to leave Apollo’s service out of condemnation for the monster Apollo had become, a sentence or two establishing that might have been nice).

Which leads me to Apollo. He went very evil very quickly. I actually really liked the self-delusion in his focalisation, and his whole backstory with the pressures put on him by his father made sense. But damn, dude went from No Murder to Child Murder pretty dang quickly!!! Also, his death was fairly predictable. Which I wouldn't have minded, because not everything needs to be a Surprise Twist, but it really felt like that scene was the climax/final conflict in a sea of other loose ends that got ignored, so I guess I wanted it to be More so that it could make up for all the plotlines whose resolutions got sacrificed for it.

The original fox from the ballad doesn’t matter. She doesn't ever get a name. It's Fine. She could turn into a freaking FOX, which seems like a very cool and rare ability, but sure, she was just Some Chick Jacks was forced to hunt (and then kind of fell in love with and got traumatised by killing). Why do you want to know about her?? Why do you want Jacks to address the ways his feelings for her (and Tella) are inherently interwoven with trauma, in ways that don’t specifically relate to Eva?

I’m not sure I’m explaining this properly (because on the surface, of course the original fox is an important part of Jacks’ backstory and the overall plot; but only in a “Jacks is scared to love because he killed this one girl one time, and that also makes Eva sad” kind of way. The same story could arguably have been told without the Archer ballad, and just keeping the original concept of Jacks from Caraval – he’s the prince of hearts, doomed to kill all but his one true love. He kills many ladies that he hopes he’s actually in love with, but they always tragically die instead.

Cool twist with Aurora’s involvement in the curse, even if it was somewhat predictable (again, not a crime for a plot twist by any means), but I don’t know. It just felt like one of many things that got “resolved” with a quick aside (Eva found an expository journal entry) and then everything quickly moved on because hey, the reader knows what happened now that Eva found that journal entry, so who cares if Jacks knows too? Telling him everything important that Eva learned since seeing him would just detract from the love confession!

It's never officially confirmed whether Jacks of the Hollow's family owned the Hollow? Or what happened to his family, or the original owners if it wasn’t his family. The Hollow doesn't seem particularly attached to Jacks, nor he to it (according to the epilogues).

Eva should have gnarly back scars from her secondhand flaying and it's pretty clear they're either not there or just forgotten in ACFTL. My understanding was that The Hollow allowed Eva to become "fully healed" due to the effects of several weeks passing in the space of a day or two. So Eva's body essentially got the chance to heal naturally over time, in a sped-up way (which still would have left hella scars). Apollo, on the other hand, was healed with vampire venom (which canonically removes scars; see: Luc) but he's still got his back scars for some reason. Both of them healed in different ways during the period when the mirror curse wouldn't have mattered. I personally think it would have been interesting to give Eva horrible back scars she can't explain due to her amnesia. But alas.

All in all, it felt like the kind of book that wanted to be third of four instead of third and final. It wanted to introduce new and interesting concepts, but still had to rush to put a conclusion (satisfying or otherwise) to everything that had come before. I had fun reading it, and all the usual romance/drama/angst with Eva and Jacks was still super fun, but pretty much every other element felt lacking (and even a lot of the EvaJacks stuff kind of just Happened and then Kept Happening without a strong plotline to run along). I look forward to reading a lot of fanfiction addressing all the missing bits. Or a new trilogy series from this rich universe, maybe (even though I doubt it would follow Eva and Jacks directly).

[fivedollarfred]

I saw the ask post with all your wips and two of them had me curious; Tornado Warning and Psychosis!

(Tbh, all of them intrigue me, but I don't want to ask too many questions lol)

Thanks for the ask! I would have answered it yesterday but it was sent right when I had to go to bed.

First, I'll say that the ones you asked about are tf2 fanfic WIPs, so bear that in mind. But I'm glad someone asked about them, since I like talking about the ideas I have! Tornado Warning is the WIP I'm currently working on and is the direct sequel to my first published fanfic It Came With The Rain that takes places a few months after the first story, and could be seen as this fic/AU's version of MvM(Mann Vs. Machine). Don't know if I should go into spoilers because I'd have to spoil ICWTR's main plot points and reveals, but if you want me to go in depth of TW's plot and how it relates to ICWTR, I'd be more than happy to. It's definitely more of a drama than the first story, as the first is a mix between a thriller mystery and drama with a lot of horror elements(which were really fun to write)

Here's a paragraph from the chapter I'm currently working on:

"The second Scout silently stepped through the door frame, a sharp, chilling feeling shot through his system like a blaring siren. The feeling that he shouldn’t be here. That whatever he’d been planning on doing could wait another day. That he had stumbled into no man’s land; a minefield where one wrong move would set things in motion the runner couldn’t hope to alleviate. 

He took another step."

As for Psychosis, that is a placeholder name for what would be a crossover between Silent Hill and tf2 if I ever get the time to write it. I got inspired by an already existing crossover fic about tf2 and Silent Hill, and while I liked it well enough, it was more based around the first Silent Hill's lore and not the second's, and the second is the one with all the symbolism and psychology in play. So I spent around a week or two thinking about what each merc's own SH experience, and their own "Pyramid Head", would be. I can't go over all my notes and thoughts and ideas, otherwise I would be here typing for hours, so I'll just mention who has a clear environment and personal monster and who doesn't, and if you're interested in the details, I can talk more in depth when I get the time. Scout: has both a clear monster and environment to deal with. Soldier: has a clear environment, not so much a clear monster, but I have some ideas. Pyro: clear environment and monster, but I think they could be more fine tuned. Demo: clear monster, but no environment yet. Heavy: clear monster, had environment that needs fine tuning. Engie: very clear environment, can very much picture where he'd be located, but monster not so much. Medic: neither but that's more intentional as he'll experience things different than the others. Sniper: Very clear environment, and the clearest monster. Couldn't imagine him dealing with anything else. Spy: clear environment, monster is slightly foggy and needs more thought. That's about all I can say for now. Like I said, if you want more details I'd be happy to give them, I just don't have a lot of time to get them all out right now. And don't worry about asking too many questions; I like getting them and answering!

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

Hello, I read and love your Chained Series but only now noticed the Major Character Death tag on the second one, since I moved from part 1 to part 2 without checking the tags/summary. I normally really really really do not touch Major Character Death, it just... well it just makes me really sad in a way i don't enjoy, to keep it brief, even when it's plot or story wise fulfilling a purpose.

This is in no way me asking you not to do it, it's your story, and that's how it should be!

But I was hoping if you'd be willing to give me some information around the MCD, who for example (or if this'll straight up be a bad ending overall), so I can emotionally brace myself because I really don't want to stop reading the fic, because it's really good, but going further into it blind feels daunting, in a way. I will of course not relay anything regarding the fic to others, that you might tell me (since idk how familiar you are with tumblr: there is a way to respond to asks privately in the ask-post settings, if you prefer).

If you're not happy doing this I completely understand, it's your story, but i figured it's worth asking.

I hope you have a nice day, and that the writing will be easy 👌

I would be quite happy to explain what I've got planed with that! I deliberately read spoilers for similar reasons all the time; I totally understand wanting to be forewarned and forearmed. Also I'm just happy to ramble about my fic lol :3 If ya gotta drop it, no worries, glad you enjoyed the first sections and I don't mind anyone takin care of themselves

You're probably not the only one who'd want to know so I'll just put all the spoilers in a read more:

First of all, I don't consider this to be a particularly dark story (though granted I don't consider Death Note to be a particularly dark story so uh your mileage may vary) nor do I see it ending in tragedy.

The planned deaths:

The Joker - So, he's not really a main character in this fic, in fact, he might not even get speaking lines, I'm unsure right now, but he's major in the comics so I'm counting it. It's not going to happen for a VERY long time but it is so pivotal to the functioning of a main emotional plotline that I don't know how I'd write around changing my mind about this one.

Captain Boomerang - Like the Joker, I'm not really even sure he'll get speaking lines, but he's important enough to Tim's other canon stories he makes the cut. Unlike the Joker, I don't actually know if he's going to die yet! At the end of Red Robin Tim tries to kill him but fails. I don't know if my older Tim will do it, but I am certain he'll go at least halfway through a second similar plan. Much will hinge on what I read of his interactions with Huntress.

Other assorted villains, such as Darkseid and the Batman Who Laughs - This will depend a lot on, again, my reading of how Tim interacts with the kind of violence Huntress brings to the table. It also depends a lot on how a few in-fic decisions shake out. Tim has to make the decision as to whether or not they kill more people than just the ones on his small list from the first fic and I've got a more solid idea for if he does than if he doesn't.

Roy Harper (and a few other Heroes) - He's not gonna stay dead though, none of them are. So, due to hesitance and fear of fucking shit up Jason and Tim aren't going to make some key decisions in time to prevent the whole "Heroes in Crisis" plotline from happening. Once they learn of this they are immediately going to start doing mad science to figure out how to resurrect people safely. And, of course, they have the power to time travel.

Jason Todd... Kinda. - An increasingly large and loud elephant in the room is gonna be the fact that Jason doesn't have to have died. Ever. In any timeline.

Tim could save him.

But of course that would mean rewriting the Jason he knows out of existence. There really isn't a clear cut moral equivalent to doing this? But I feel emotionally it would count as this/our Jason dying.

On the other hand if Tim refuses, he is deeply morally responsible for Jason's actual already happened death... but will have saved our Jason's existence.

Tim's decision of whether or not to save Jason's child self is THE emotional climax of the story. One of the main purposes of Chapter 12 was foreshadowing how each character will react to this very situation.

I can't put another read more, so if knowing the two options is good enough for you turn back now! And if you wanna know what Tim's decision is (I sure would!) scroll passed the two big pictures!

Tim refuses to save Jason's childhood self. He loves this Jason too much to emotionally withstand losing him. I have had this story beat and the resulting fallout planned for absolute ages and I'm 100% certain on this one. Frankly, timeline erasing the Jason we know and love would make ME cry too much to keep writing it lmao, so this one I can guarantee.

[azsazz]

okay, replying to the long anon message this way so i can put it under the cut for spoilers :)

if it wasn't for fanfics of acotar i would have dropped it in acowar tbh, there were too many inconsistencies with the plot and characters and so many things that happened so the story moved forward but had no reason to happen, like it was out of nowhere and she prioritized romance over plot more and more each book and then prioritized smut in acosf over her own characters. i know ppl like that book but that was a shit characterization of nesta and cass and everyone that showed up almost and what for? to have a bunch of smut scenes that didn't actual help anything with nesta's development or the plot (i think it didnt even help with them getting together bc i would have prefered they actually started getting closer organically and then the tension starting after that) and she actually had a good idea with the valkyries but then the blood rite kinda cheapened it in my opinion bc they literally won with the power of friendship when sjm could have just skipped more time ahead (since they're immortal) and then when the 3 of them were realistically ready they could have won, and since the 3 bat boys winning was such an important thing i think if she really had to have that parallel than she could have wrote it better

i absolutely agree with this. and there's amazing examples of fantasy books where the smut hasn't ruined the plot and it's flow is great. but like, she's just cranking these books out with little thought i swear. and she can brag that she wrote cc3 in whatever like 6 weeks or some shit and then scrapped the whole thing. but like? sounds like a rush job to me? and how does she keep up with all these fucking characters because i can't. cc3 will make me lose my mind i swear. cass/ness had so much potential tbh i was here for it but acosf was a complete whirlwind of fuckery. and i get that it was no longer feyres pov or whatever but what the hell, that's not my cassian.

im glad you mentioned the bryce and az chapter bc i havent read that series and i dont want to but sjm is crossing them over to get people to read it (which makes me want to read it even less lol) and its just one more storyline she probably can't keep up with. like it's crazy how we still don't know so much about the acotar world or the characters, even rhys we still don't know how far his powers go or so much about his backstory and why? bc sjm doesn't care about building a character, i know it's a romance book but you can't just ignore every other aspect of the book

literally the only reason i read it was for the crossover. it was one of the worst books ive ever read and long as fuck too. did not need to be that long. i couldn't tell you a single thing that happened in it to be honest besides the fact that literally every man bryce came across had to make sure to mention how beautiful she is. fuck off with that shit fr.

also! this one is kinda me being picky maybe but the jokes about feyre having canned food in this setting with no other modern stuff is actually bad world building imo, i mean there were no signs of industry in the book and then a can of soup shows up out of nowhere? before other more basic stuff than would have to have shown up already? idk what that was about. that and the leggings, im not saying it's not possible for them to be there but to this day my mom calls them tights bc that's what they were called until a few years ago so seeing the word in the fantasy setting sjm had set up literally pulled me out of the book

OMG you're so right i never thought much of the soup can but you're so rightttt im actually dying that's so funny. yeah, leggings was stupid as fuck too, you're telling me they have synthetic stretchy fabric? be so fr rn

maybe im in a mood today too lol but i really just much prefer fanfiction over the books, in fact i only finished them bc since i was getting spoilers from fics and thought i might as well read them

i feel this so hard 💙