#blood on the clocktower spoilers

[dailyfalsesymmetry]

day 27

that clocktower do be bloody

[roviniko]

Jon Gracey: gives a whole speech on why they should kill daddy ben

Ben: I don't really feel the need to defend myself against the man who dresses up as a wolf and prances about at conventions for a living

Jon: I don't dress as a wolf! I dress as a games master in a cloak!

Ben: I apologize Jon, I haven't actually seen any of your work

[sullivanbeaubrown]

*spoilers for god is a legion ep of nrb plays blood on the clocktower* but have the most important end to any clocktower game ever

(feat. dan’s silly little dance, tilly’s righteous fury, and a ton of good games)

[fudgecake-charlie]

[i had a reblog tags ramble but it got WAY TOO LONG so I'm adding it here!] #sorry blood on the clocktower enjoyer here #looking at what cleo showed in their previous episodes im pretty sure this is the Basic script called Trouble Brewing #i first started playing with this script! :D #but tbf i think the main difference and problem was just how unexperienced Everyone was with botc #i think its just rough to have so many new players

#i think the only way cleo could have made the game any nicer for first time players would be her individually picking roles #which my ST friends do sometimes! #but I totally get that they wanted to do it the traditional way

#but i think everyone was doing really well for their first ever game! like Well even if there were some moments that got me #guys i know cleo said be cagey with your info but if she says its a good idea to tell your info you might wanna do it /lh/lh #I'm glad impulse got imp as the guy w a lot of hours in social deduction games #god imagine if xisuma was the imp...

#but yeah mostly i think it was just everyone being new and receiving the rules as a massive upfront block was the tough bit #can't really be avoided unless they recorded for even longer than they already did lol #so excited for cleo's episode it's gonna be lovely seeing everyone's thoughts

#anyway i NEED more of this. i need to watch the hermits get hooked like i did

can i say. cleo it feels a LITTLE MEAN to choose a setup for the game that includes both a drunk and a saint. for what is several of these hermits' first time playing a game like this. like, very fun, but also possibly slightly rude,

[astronomodome]

Hermit Blood on the Clocktower thoughts from someone who has fallen down a BotC-themed rabbit hole since the Hermits last played this game (and has probably watched a few hundred hours of modded among us streams over the last few years but that's irrelevant):

(BIG SPOILERS FOR THE LATEST ROUND (9/26) BELOW THE CUT)

first of all Cleo was insane /pos for giving them both a poisoner AND a drunk. they really said lets not let them know anything <3 and i support that so much. also Xisuma being the Drunk was so so funny to watch and if he posts his POV im going to watch that so many times. bro was STRUGGLING i felt so bad.

Keralis as the Imp was really fun even if it was a little obvious. he was kinda overplaying it which is what got him killed but for a first-time player it's completely understandable! He's very funny when he's evil (generally true for every Hermit as well).

Side note but once again Cleo was hilarious for making Impulse the red herring. He will never escape the demon allegations

IF they end up playing the next script it will be absolute chaos and I will eat it up. Can you imagine a fuckin. cerenovus game. or a pit-hag. i can't wait for Cleo to try and explain the concept of madness or good-aligned minions and evil-aligned townsfolk. CHAOS

if xisuma keeps playing im convinced he will not have any brain left it will all be cooked :pensive:

[rose-of-pollux]

So, @belphegor1982 asked me for my thoughts on the BTTF musical which I saw about 10 days ago, and I've managed to put them together and keep them as spoiler-free as possible--

Even before you go into the theatre, the merch store is separate, which is great when it's a rainy January night and you're waiting for the doors to open (which I was). I'm not sure if this has been a thing for previous productions at the Winter Garden Theatre, but for other Broadway shows I've seen in different theatres (Phantom and Anastasia), the merch was sold inside the theatre, and you needed a ticket to get to it/wait til the doors opened.

The pre-show immersion/ambiance is fantastic; not even Phantom can boast that.

There are numerous easter eggs for fans of the movies; it's so fun spotting them all.

It does not take long for the fourth wall to come tumbling down, and it is glorious. Marty even lampshades it in the opening number.

@knickynoo mentioned this in her writeup, but Doc and Marty are just as neurodivergent (if not moreso) than their movie counterparts

Doc is also so very obviously asexual in this version, I love it.

A small thing, but we actually get to hear Doc say "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." In the movie, everyone credits him for saying it, but we never actually hear him say it.

Doc's involvement in the Manhattan Project is canonized in the musical-verse!

The DeLorean is borderline sentient and sassy

Most people know by now that they changed Twin Pines Doc's cause of death/the reason Marty goes back in time, and it works so much better for both practicality reasons on stage, and for the fact that the original was a charging bull elephant in the room.

Goldie Wilson gets an absolute banger for his song (as well he should!)

Another small thing, I like the little addition of Doc's fear of heights.

@wromwood pointed out how only Doc and Marty seem to acknowledge the existence of the chorus ensemble (Lorraine gets some backup singers for her number out of nowhere, but she takes no notice of them). I didn't even realize this until he mentioned it, and now I'm fascinated by the implications of Doc and Marty being hyper-aware of the fourth wall for whatever reasons.

The Act I closing number is gloriously chaotic.

...I could do an entire post about why I love "For the Dreamers" so much and how it delves so deeply into Doc's character. Just... GAH. This man has dealt with so many naysayers and considers himself a failure (it's telling that he did technically have a success with the Manhattan Project, but still considers that a failure--I'd theorize because he obviously feels so dang guilty about having the blood of innocent civilians on his hands as a result of it) but now he has hope that he will accomplish something great.

Not only do we have Marty worrying about Doc dying in 1985, we get to see him worried and unsure of his own fate. This kid has been Through It, and it isn't over yet.

THE WAY THEY DID THE ENCHANTMENT UNDER THE SEA DANCE. I cannot spoil this; you must experience this firsthand, but I will assure you that "Earth Angel" and "Johnny B Goode" are there in all their glory.

The Clocktower scene is spectacular. You're wondering how they'll pull it off onstage, and they just do it.

Others have mentioned this BUT WE GET THE LONE PINE HUG THAT SHOULD'VE BEEN IN THE MOVIE.

The absolute best meta joke comes courtesy of Jennifer near the end. I cannot spoil this either, but if you know, you know.

THAT FINALE (again, if you know, you know).

[safetyrat]

hello, my name is rovin, and I have immense blood on the clocktower themed autism! so i wanted to leave a ramble on my thoughts here on the hermit version of it, as somebody who has ~80 games under my belt

I have only watched impulse's episode until now, and there will be spoilers!

- first of, big props to the builds, the clocktower is so fun and i love it when everybody has their own little houses. plus, the podiums!!! biggest downside of playing this game in a non physical space is not having those, this is so fun to watch, just, visually

- Impulse is iconic

- everybody stumbling at the beginning not knowing how much information was appropriate to give was very funny to watch. generally, new groups are always sweet. its clear most of them are used to the format of werewolf or maybe among us - there was a far bigger focus on social reads, compared to information!

- iskall played incredibly well for what i assume was his first game? grasping the purpose of the soldier to pretend to be a stronger character and stop kills from the get-go isnt unimpressive

- impulse was on another level though! going undercover almost entirely was scary and he gave of such a good read, to me at least. sacrificing his minion when needed and convincing xisuma not to vote on him, absolutely deserved the win

- the way xisuma played is just. so me in games that drag on for three hours djkfhfj "what is going on, youre talking too much so you are suspicious" absolute mood

- props to cleo above all! she did an amazing job storytelling, with only one or two rulings that weren't exactly clean and I believe not a single mistake? which, thinking back on my own first time storytelling...

- having this little game arena built makes me excited for the prospect of having more games with different players - maybe joe as a full player rather than traveller!

overall this is great fun and i hoped it achieved some publicity for what i believe is the best social deduction game out there

[t4t4tclethian]

literally smiling giggling kicking my feet twirling my hair over this minecraft man who wants to kill so bad he’ll willingly die for it. who ASKED for other people to kill him so he could go attack and murder people. TWICE

SHOUTOUT TO IMPULSE FOR ASKING TO BE KILLED TWICE. FREAK BEHAVIOR. GIRL WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. this man loves killing so much hes like "PLEASE murder me i want to KILL PEOPLE i need to DIE so i can KILL PEOPLE I LOVE MURDER" and i respect it so much. mans like "cant be betrayed if you ASK them to stab you"

[basilpaste]

one of the things i have to fully and completely praise rain code for is its foreshadowing.

spoilers ahead, naturally.

the way the victims die in chapter 0 is done narratively for a purpose, of course. to obscure the bodies so the hitman can use another corpse to fake his own death. the burning of the corpses also serves the purpose of not letting the audience see their blood.

see the thing is: you do see someone bleed in chapter 0. its none of the characters who die, theres no visible blood on any of the corpses. the only person who you see bleed before entering kanai ward is yuma himself.

he cuts himself on some glass. his blood is distinctly red. however: the fact that the only appearance of blood is so minor is kind of the point. its a piece of evidence, not something as glaringly obvious as the corpses you find on he train.

so you get to kanai ward and have a lot of time between seeing the little evidence slide with yumas blood and the first victim in the city. the way yuma responds to the body in the clocktower is written pretty cleverly! you think hes just reacting to a corpse, but hes also reacting to the colour of the blood.

brains are silly. you see a bunch of pink blood in a game involving the guy whos known for making games with pink blood in them and you fill in that any blood youve seen so far has been pink. the little piece of evidence is minor enough that its easy to overwrite in your brain. 'blood' in the mystery labyrinth could easily be one of the places quirks.

its just one of those things that you look back at after finishing the game and go 'oh shit that was really cool actually'

[redstonedust]

cleos blood on the clocktower spoilers ---> cannot believe theyre executing xb just for being quiet. he's literally xbcrafted smh

[commandervamiris]

Day 2: Time

CW: blood mention, implied alcohol, character death. Spoilers for the first two Hermitcraft Blood on the Clocktower games! 595 words.

ZombieCleo begins the second game.

It's open mic night at the Mud Shop. The smell of freshly, hand made mud wafts through the soft dead air. The soft din of conversation and laughter dance with the silence around them. The soft lights offer a safe haven in the thick, overpowering darkness. 

From outside, ZombieCleo finds themself grimacing. 

But they shamble forward, nonetheless.

Through the shopping district. Past the people. Into the light. 

Again.

To begin with, they're ignored. A warm, confident smile that disarms the local hermits and protects ZombieCleo's own dead heart. The smiles in return are polite, but friendly. Warm. Welcome. 

But it is in their nature to be kind. To share their stories, and for ZombieCleo, the stories exist in a world that they can create by weaving their words to create fascinating worlds. A nail biting escape from a falling moon, or a twisting betrayal of a boogyman, they thought a trusted friend. 

But as time passes, their enthralling stories get more and more ears. The townsfolk hang on every word they say. Every world, and every twist and narrative construction that only a true storyteller can weave… 

Yet, the bells strike midnight. 

And ZombieCleo knows it is happening again. 

The warm fireplace casts no light anymore; it is only the shadows dancing in the night hours. ZombieCleo feels the cold. They feel the cold sink in the pit of their stomach. 

They drop their glass. 

It shatters.

Again. 

Everyone laughs. "They're merry!" "A fun time with friends isn't it?" "What fun we're having!" 

And ZombieCleo's cold, dead heart beats. But for how long?

They see Cubfan. They want to shout and scream, "is it you?" But he smiles with merriment. 

No. Not this time. 

Rendog catches their eyes; how long has he been serving drinks? Why are his teeth bared like that? Were his eyes always so red? Why is he-

ZombieCleo realises. 

It's him! The poisoner!

Yet their voice is a hoarse whisper. 

Their throat burns. 

It's too late. 

They scramble to leave, maybe this time they will live. Maybe- 

Before they can open the door, it's Impulse who asks, "are you okay?"

ZombieCleo shoves him. No. Not this time. The demon won't get them. Not- 

They're outside the Mud Shop by the time they realise that Impulse isn't the demon anymore. But by then, the real shadow is on their heels; the sounds of blessed silence are gone as ZomebieCleo knows that the sounds of laughter on the wind aren't just in their head.

They run and run but the shadow- the demon, chases them. Getting closer and closer.

Through the shopping district, ZombieCleo runs; the thought of the morning light is a distant hope. 

The first unlocked door they find, they push forward. Harried attempts to block the door fail as the oppressive presence of the demon is so, so close. 

But the place they find themself is just stairs that wind up around a thick bit of rope and before they can think- the demon is charging the door so they run! They run up the stairs. Creaking wood. Laughter. Their own breath. Their heavy footfalls as their legs feel like lead with every step. 

And they reach the top. 

Machinery. A bell. A circular glass window. A clock. 

And ZombieCleo realises it's happened again. They wonder, how many times? Will they find the demon this time? Is it all for naught? 

ZombieCleo turns to face the demon. 

Keralis cackles as he pushes them through the glass. 

And once again, the bell tolls softly as their blood runs down the clocktower.

View the masterlist here!

[eyeofthechasm]

Hi hello I know we've literally just met this very moment but please tell me everything there is to know about your isat OC, I crave knowledge.

HWIWHSIWHEKWNS HI OK !!! This’ll be extremely scattered tho so be warned

Also sorry this took so long 😭😭 i was havin a day yesterday lmao

(Full game spoilers under cut)

So!!! Lorenzo Silvana Halloran ! He/him pronouns, Scissors/Rock dual type with the title of The Performer. He’s 22, half portian and half islander. (Mom was Portian, dad was an islander)

Starting w backstory stuff: When the Country disappeared, he was only 12. He washed up on some random beach with only some tattered clothes, a notebook and a small ring. He stayed with his mom for a little while though left to venture on his own at 14 bc she actually sucks and is terrible.

Living in Portia, he’d grown fond of live performances of all kinds. Music, plays, comedy shows, etc. He ended up doing a few of his own and building somewhat of a name for himself. It became a fine source of money for him.

Isabeau and Mirabelle heard about him a little after Isabeau joined. He’d tagged along for navigation to find the second orb and greatly impressed the two with his skills and he joined ! (After getting proper clothes bc the only fitting ones he had were. Performance clothes and coverups plus one other set of clothes)

Ok !! Now onto everything else

Nicknames, others to him-

Mirabelle -> Renzo

Isabeau -> Renz, Enzy

Odile -> Lorenzo

Siffrin -> Zo, Renzo, Enzy

Bonnie -> Zo/Zozo, Loren (he absolutely hates this. Bonnie thinks it’s hysterical)

He heavily prefers Renzo over Lorenzo, as his full name always feels too formal to him.

Nicknames, him to others-

Mirabelle -> Mira, Belle

Isabeau -> Beau, Ibabeau (hot stuff)

Odile -> D, Odile (shes intimidating leave him alone)

Siffrin -> Siffs, Rinrin, (pretty)

Bonnie -> Bons, Bonbon, Kid/Kiddo

He’s incredibly kind, though a little obnoxious and incredibly closed off. He doesn’t really know how to be super genuine without being incredibly uncomfortable. Also doesn’t ever show fear ever at all. Never he’d rather die.

He hates any blood in large amounts not his own. Hates it. Not a phobia, but it makes him freeze up completely. He didn’t do that good when Siffrin lost his eye. That was the very first time they all saw Renzo actually scared ! Like visibly shaken ! He never did it again tho

He loves puns. Him and siffrin are an absolute fucking nightmare together

His hair is naturally darkless, but he dyes it a vast number of shades. It’s fun and covers up his grays (yes he has grays at 22. Genetics <\3)

He’s the tallest party member ! 6’1 without heels

He used Craft to alter his teeth, which are pointy as hell now, and his vocal chords, so he can hit ridiculous notes he really shouldn’t be able to hit.

His accent is a fucking mess. Similar to Siffrin’s, but mixed with both Vaugardian and Portian.

He really wants to craft more ridiculous stuff onto his body (like pointy ears n shit) but doesn’t. Remember how to do body craft. So he needs to re-learn (from isabeau hehehe)

He loves chocolate, but would only try super weird flavors if Siffrin was doing it with him

Chatty drunk. Absolutely will never shut the fuck up

Has called Odile “mom” on more than one occasion.

He sleeps on the floor bc he can’t fit on the clocktower beds 😞😞 leg too big

Haven’t exactly decided on weapons yet but his weapon will either be an old modified guitar that literally couldn’t play anymore OR these

Thats all for now, but i’m absolutely adding more as i figure out more abt him. Official Renzo info post

[eldragon-x]

@scalproie tagged me for WIP wednesday JUST before I was about to go to sleep so I'm making it everyones problem by sharing Loop intrusive thoughts moments

warning for self harm and food contamination (in relation to the intrusive thoughts) as well as start again: a prologue + major isat spoilers

You were actually quite excited to help Bonnie in the kitchen. You were still going to end up eating the same food as yesterday, you doubt you could change Bonnie’s mind, but it was something new. Something you haven’t done in these loops before. Something you couldn’t remember doing even if you did before the loops.

You couldn’t help but chuckle when you entered the clocktower’s kitchen only to be met with Bonnie’s strict glance, giving you no explanation outside of “Hands.” and pointing to the sink. It’s a distant memory, but you recall that during your journey, Bonnie would always get Odile to buy an extra supply of soap and water whenever you stocked up on supplies. With how careful they were with the food, you were honestly surprised they trusted you to help them out today. A naive part of you wants to believe that the Kid likes you more than they let on.

You walked up to the sink and rolled up your sleeves. As you did so, you caught sight of a peeler laying nearby the counter. It was just a quick glance but seeing the tool while running a hand over your arm brought up a very disturbing image in your mind. Your hand lingers on your arm. Carefully, you let go and look down at your bare arms to make sure your skin wasn’t peeled off. 

When you notice the Kid giving you a look, you pretend nothing is wrong and wash your hands. Their brows were still furrowed when you turned to look at them with a smile.

“What should I do?”

“I already peeled the potatoes for the Samosas, but they still need to be cut.” Bonnie pointed at a drawer. “The knives are in there.”

You think about drawers and a pen piercing the skin of your hand repeatedly. Slowly, carefully, you open the drawer and take out a knife without hurting yourself.

You end up cutting your finger when your thoughts drift while you cut the potatoes. Your yelp was apparently too loud, as Bonnie looked at you like you cut your finger off before seeing that it was just a small cut. Seeing that you were bleeding but otherwise unharmed, they push you away from the counter. 

“Go get a band aid from Belle! And ask Dile if she can help me.”

You frown. “I can still help you out.”

The Kid pouted. “I don’t need your help, Stupid! Also touching food with a band aid is gross.”

You were disappointed, but complied. You joined the others at the table where Mirabelle put a band aid around your finger as Odile stood up and made her way to the kitchen. She complained about standing too much and you wondered why the Kid wanted her help of all people.

From where you sit, you can see into the kitchen. Bonnie and Odile talk about something and Odile briefly looks in your direction.

Oh. 

There’s a pit in your stomach.

You don’t end up eating a lot this evening. Aside from the looks Odile keeps giving you, you couldn’t stop thinking about the cut you gave yourself. What if your blood stained the potatoes? What if you and your friends were eating food with your blood in it? Mirabelle and Isabeau wouldn’t even know. You feel sick.

[385bookreviews]

1.72.5 Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

SPOILERS

Pages: 645

Time Read: 11 hours and 23 minutes

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ Storyline: ★★★★★ Dialogue: ★★★★★ Characters: ★★★★★

Genre: YA Fantasy

TWs for the book: Violence, blood, death, murder, gore, torture, injury, grief, war, confinement, slavery, fire, physical abuse, vomit, miscarriage, emotional abuse, body horror, pregnancy, s*xual abuse, kidnapping, death of a parent, genocide, su*c*de, child death, child abuse, su*c*dal thoughts, trafficking, colonization, mentions of r*pe, s*xual violence, medical trauma, classism, domestic abuse, self harm, gaslighting, s*xual harassment, ableism, cursing, misogyny, panic attacks, stalking, alcohol, execution, xenophobia

POV: Third Person

Time Period/Location: Rifthold, Adarlan; Morath; Oakwald Forest; and Terrasen on the fictional continent of Erilea

First Line: There was a thing waiting in the darkness.

Aelin lands in Rifthold from Wendlyn and goes straight to The Vaults, the seedy underground tavern/fighting pit/pleasure house in order to find Arobynn Hamel. She is surprised to discover Chaol, with an unknown woman, meeting with Arobynn. He leaves without noticing her, and Aelin confronts Arobynn. He informs her of Aedion's capture by the king, and that he is set to be executed at a grand party for Dorian's birthday. He offers to help her free him, in exchange for her capturing one of the Valg soldiers now infesting the city. Arobynn leaves, and the city guards Aelin had led there break in, and she wrecks the entire place. She then leaves to hunt down Chaol in the sewers, and encounters the woman who was with him. Her name is Nesryn, and she is a member of the city guard now aiding Chaol and the rebels. Chaol sends Nesryn and the rebels and the captives they freed ahead, and explains to Aelin what happened with Dorian, Sorscha, and Aedion. They part angry with each other after Chaol refuses to tell her how to free magic. Aelin goes back to her apartment, and the next day finds Lysandra and a child named Evangeline outside. Lysandra insists she has changed from when they were children, and gives her a letter written by Wesley, Arobynn's former bodyguard, and Lysandra's deceased lover. In the letter Wesley explains everything Arobynn did involving Sam's death and Aelin's capture. Chaol and Aelin argue about whether or not to kill Dorian now that he has a Valg prince possessing him. Aelin swears she won't, and so Chaol tells her how to free magic. Aelin sneaks into the castle with a troupe of dancers set to perform for the King and Dorian at his birthday party. She spills water to wash away Wyrdmarks that would notify the King of her presence. Madame Florine, Celaena's dance teacher for years, aids in the ruse, and gives all of the dancers black glass roses. Aelin sneaks through the crowd, disguising herself as a man to get close to Aedion. When the dancers smash the glass roses, the whole hall goes up in smoke and Aelin uses the distraction to free Aedion. Everyone rushes out, and Aelin and Aedion run through the gardens until they are confronted by Dorian. Aelin uses a Wyrdmark to freeze him in place and tries to kill him, but is stopped by Nesryn. Her and Aedion run, and with the help of Lysandra, manage to make it back to the apartment. Chaol and Aelin fight over her almost killing Dorian, and Lysandra finds out that Aelin is Queen of Terrasen. Aelin discovers that the eight creatures on the clocktower, that she dubs Wyrdhounds, are living in the sewers and that the King uses them to speak to his Valg commanders. She goes out for drinks with Aedion and Nesryn, and on their way home, they are stopped by Rowan. They tell each other of what has occurred when they are back in the apartment. Rowan then reveals to Aedion that his father is Gavriel, and also lets it slip that he took the blood oath to Aelin. Aedion believes it was his right to be the only one to claim the blood oath, and him and Aelin fight and he storms out. Rowan then finally tells Aelin why he came to Adarlan against her orders: Lorcan is hunting her and the third Wyrdkey.

Aelin sneaks out at night to lure Lorcan into the sewers. He is attacked by the Wyrdhound and kills it, and follows Aelin, threatening to kill her. Rowan puts a knife to his throat, and Lorcan warns them that Maeve let them walk out of Doranelle, and that she isn't done with them yet. Rowan meets Lysandra and reveals that she is a shape-shifter. She warns them that Arobynn wants his demon tomorrow, so they go out and capture one and interrogate it themselves. They manage to talk to the man the demon is possessing, Stevan, and tell him a plan. The next day, Rowan, Aelin, and Aedion go to the Assassin's Keep. Arobynn tortures the Stevan for information, and Stevan tells him that the King put him under his control by putting the ring on and licking his blood. Arobynn cuts the ring off Stevan's finger before killing him. The three then have dinner with Arobynn, and he becomes jealous at seeing how close Aelin and Rowan are. He then pulls her aside to talk to her privately, and gives her the Amulet of Orynth containing the third Wyrdkey in exchange for her working for him again to take down the King. She agrees, but he then puts on the Valg ring and licks her blood. She becomes his slave, and he sends her back to the apartment. She is silent until they arrive there, and then she takes off the ring, revealing that Stevan lied about the blood and that Arobynn just revealed his true intentions. That night, Lysandra kills him in his sleep. The next day, acting as Celaena, the trio goes back to the Keep and Celaena demands from the other assassins and Lysandra to know what happened. They determine it wasn't anyone among them, and Arobynn's will is read. All of his fortune, lands, and the Guild are left to Celaena, much to the dismay of the other assassins and Clarisse, the brothel owner that owns Lysandra. Aelin kicks them all out, and tells them to come back with money if they want to buy it from her, which they do. Aedion and Rowan figure out she switched the will so that way they would have money for an army.

Aelin, Rowan, Aedion, and Chaol go into the sewers in search of hellfire, a potent mixture that would blow up the clocktower and free magic. They find the hellfire, but also an old temple built of bones, where wicked people carved their confessions onto them. They go through the temple till they find the confession of Gavin Havilliard. He explains that him and Elena fought the Valg king Erawan and that they could not kill him, so they entombed him in Morath and sealed it using the Eye of Elena. Nesryn finds them and tells them that the King is building a dark army in Morath, and tells them about the witches and wyverns. Aelin storms off and Lorcan pins her, telling her and Rowan the true reason he is here. He isn't on orders from Maeve, and plans to find the Wyrdkeys and destroy them to keep Maeve from becoming a monster. He offers to exchange Athril's ring, which grants protection from the Valg, for the Amulet of Orynth. Then he leaves to let them think it over. When they arrive home, Evangeline breaks in and tells them that as part of Arobynn's will, he had a letter sent to the castle informing the King that Lysandra was a shapeshifter. The guards came and took her and she was being taken into Oakwald forest for the King and Dorian to have a meeting with the witches.

Manon, the Thirteen, and the other Blackbeak covens have been stationed at Morath for months, taking endless orders from Duke Perrington, a collared and lifeless Kaltain at his side. The Duke demands that Manon chose a coven to be implanted with Wyrdstone so that way they can bear witch/Valg offspring. Manon initially refuses, but a Yellowlegs coven volunteers. Elide Lochan, daughter of Marion and Cal Lochan and niece to Vernon Lochan, is chained and crippled, working as a slave in Morath. She is assigned to serve Manon, and when Manon gives her a small cut and tastes her blood, she discovers she has witch lineage. She tells Elide to choose whether she is human, or whether she is a witch. Elide says she is a witch, and so Manon sends her to go and check on the Yellowlegs coven. She discovers that the witches are being bred multiple times, and producing monsters as babies. Manon is angered and writes to her grandmother, to no avail. Asterin, her Second and cousin, grows increasingly angrier with Manon and they fight multiple times, and it ends with her being demoted. but is then summoned by the Duke to meet the King and her grandmother in Oakwald forest.

The Matron shows the King a new weapon, a wagon covered in mirrors on the inside, meant to amplify shadowfire, a dark fire that doesn't physically burn but kills and injures regardless, that is wielded by Kaltain. Manon and Dorian instantly connect, the Valg prince in him immediately fading away and giving Dorian control at the sight of Manon's gold eyes. Dorian tries to goad her into killing him, but she doesn't oblige him. Meanwhile, Aelin, Aedion, Chaol, and Rowan free Lysandra and are about to escape but Chaol disappears to go try and mercy kill Dorian. He runs into the witches instead. Aedion, Aelin, and Rowan run after him. Manon is about to let them go but Aelin doesn't believe her and goads her into a fight by revealing she killed Baba Yellowlegs. They run through a temple and Aelin and Manon fight. The temple begins to collapse and Manon is trapped and going to die, but Aelin decides to save her life and then leaves. While Manon is gone, Elide is captured by Vernon and thrown in a cell. After the fight, Asterin tells Manon they need to talk, and she tells her how she fell in love with a human man, and went back to the witches when she was pregnant. Her baby was stillborn, and Manon's grandmother, the Matron, beat her, branded the word "unclean" across her stomach, and threw her out to die. Asterin never told Manon, and that is why she had been acting out. Manon is angry, and decides that she will not give another coven to the Duke for breeding. She then realizes that Aelin was probably trying to rescue Dorian, and that Chaol was trying to mercy kill him, so she flies to Rifthold with Asterin and paints all around the city a warning that Dorian is still alive despite the demon.

Aelin reveals to Lysandra that she has paid off all of her debts and she is now free from Clarisse and the brothel. Rowan is recovering from the battle with the witches, but smells Lorcan out on the roof and goes to meet him. Lorcan says he killed all the Wyrdhounds and offers the ring again for the amulet. Rowan agrees and they trade. Rowan gave him a fake though.

Aelin sees Manon's message and runs to tell Chaol. Aedion and Rowan sneak through tunnels underground to install the hellfire at the base of the clock tower to blow it up. Aelin pretends to be Celaena again and leads Chaol through the gates as her prisoner. As they are walking through the gates, they see all of Chaol's men, tortured and dead, strung up on the gates. They go to the throne room to meet with the King and Dorian. Aelin pretends as though she has killed the Wendlyn royals and gives the king two fake seal rings to prove it. He then reveals he knows that she is Aelin, and he sends Dorian to attack her. She runs, and Chaol faces off against the King. Lorcan lied about killing the Wyrdhounds, and Aedion and Rowan are attacked by them when they are supposed to be lighting the fuse. Lorcan, after seeing that Aedion is Gavriel's son, saves them. Aelin faces off against Dorian, and puts Athril's ring on his finger to try and get the Valg out. Rowan and Aedion blow up the clocktower, and magic is freed. Rowan and Aedion are targeted by soldiers, and Lorcan flees, but Lysandra appears in the form of a ghost leopard and helps them fight them off. The King appears and taunts that he killed Chaol, and Dorian breaks free from the Valg. Him and Aelin combine magic to kill the King. The King then breaks free from the Valg that was controlling him and reveals that Perrington tricked the King, raised Erawan, let Erawan possess him, and then possessed the King with a Valg prince. He claims that he got rid of magic to help protect Aelin and Dorian so the Valg wouldn't find them, and that he magically attacked Aelin when she was a child in order to provoke her into killing him. Dorian doesn't believe him and uses his magic to kill him and shatter the whole glass castle. Aelin uses her fire to melt the glass into a wall so the city is saved. She proclaims herself as Queen of Terrasen and Dorian as King of Adarlan. Lorcan steals back Athril's ring from Aelin. Chaol is alive, but he is paralyzed from the waist down. Dorian makes Nesryn his Captain of the Guard and Chaol his Hand, but immediately sends the both of them to the Southern Continent so Chaol can be healed at the Torre Cesme. Aelin makes Lysandra a Lady of Terrasen. Aelin, Lysandra, Aedion, and Rowan all leave for Terrasen.

In Morath, Manon arrives to discover Elide missing. She immediately hunts her down in the dungeons, being dragged away to breed with the Valg. Manon slaughters the guards, and they run into Kaltain. She reveals that she had killed the Valg that had been possessing her a long time ago, and takes Elide's clothes to pretend to be her to give her time to escape. She then cuts open her arm and takes out a Wyrdkey and gives it Elide, making her swear to give it to Celaena Sardothien. Manon, Elide, and the rest of the Thirteen run, and Kaltain uses her shadowfire to obliterate a third of Morath. Manon gives Elide supplies and tells her to go north to Terrasen to find Aelin and Celaena.

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius (Celaena Sardothien/Lillian Gordaina/Ansel of Briarcliff/Aelin Fireheart/Aelin of the Wildfire): I know a lot of people find Aelin's endless scheming and plots to be annoying, but one of my favorite parts about this series is watching her schemes and subtle plans come together. None of it comes out of nowhere, it was all well thought out and planned (a theme I wish SJM had kept in her Crescent City series).

Storyline: Once again, I love watching the intricate pieces and subtle hints all come together in this series, but especially in this book. She also lays the groundwork for later schemes in this book. The entire story was engaging and entertaining the entire time, and I loved seeing Lysandra, Rowan, Aedion, Aelin, Chaol, Dorian, and Manon all come together. I do wish Dorian hadn't killed the King as quickly as he did, as there was so much more information they could have got from him.

Representation: Ghislaine, one of the Thirteen, is described as being POC. Characters like Rowan, Lorcan, and Dorian are left up for debate as to whether they are POC or just tan.

Quotes: "She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing, save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph." (p.142) "'But would you bleed red, or black?' 'I'll bleed whatever color you tell me to.'"-Manon and Dorian (p.463) "You make me want to live, Rowan. Not survive; not exist. Live."-Aelin (p.527)

[awakened-dreamers-blog]

Ultrakill Layer 7 thoughts (spoilers obvi)

7-1 /// The Garden of Forking Paths: Great level. Super creepy and off putting, even with having watched the trailers for the level. The first time the mannequins activated for real scared me so bad that my soul fully left my body. The Minotaur showing up the first time also scared the crap out of me. Overall, the level captured the whole "labyrinth" vibe really, really well and the leadup to the Minotaur part of the level was great. Speaking of the boss, its visual design was really great and worked with the lore to make a surprisingly tragic story. The fight itself was a bit finnicky with the trams, but surprisingly easy once I got the hang of it, and the second phase was even easier (a bit too easy, imo).

7-2 /// Light Up the Night: I have mixed feelings about this level. The sound design and visual feel of the level are great, and some of the segments were really cool, particularly the clocktower and the library-looking part. I wasn't a fan of the fact that you could just go anywhere in the level at any time, that felt weird to me. I would have appreciated something akin to the sand in the Greed layer; as it is now, just being able to walk on relatively flat ground feels kinda boring. I have... thoughts on the Guttertanks, but those aren't about the level itself. The ambush when you return to the train station with the bomb was really well done imo. Probably my favorite section of the level was the library section, since the room design allowed for a lot of shenanigans with the sharpshooter pistol and the electric rail, so that wasn't as annoying as the first Guttertank fight.

7-3 /// No Sound, No Memory: Absolutely stellar level. The atmosphere throughout the entire level is excellently moody and eerie, and the lack of jumpscares (except for one) really contribute to the sorrow that pervades the level. The first three blood trees were fun fights I love the gardeny design of the first section. The friendly fire chaos of the last room was a ton of fun the first couple times, although there was a lot of stuttering. I do wish that any kills throughout the room contributed to the blood for the tree, since I died multiple times to the stupid blood puppets. That was really anticlimactic and kinda ruined the mood. Otherwise, a really good level.

7-4 /// ...Like Antennas to Heaven: An interesting boss battle, to say the least. The reveal of the Earthmover at the very beginning was *amazing* and I'm always a sucker for "climbing up a gigantic boss" sequence. The defense system was a fun stationary boss but it was pretty easy. The boss itself was really easy too, once I realized that I was just shooting towards the middle of a circle. Personally, I would have preferred slower moving lasers, more health, and an additional obstacle to fight/dodge. My main critique of the level is that it doesn't feel like a layer climax, at all. The hardest fights of the level were, by far, the ones against the Guttertanks and other normal enemies and not the intense, 1v1 duel that I like so much about the other boss fights. The Metroid Prime-esque countdown escape was really, really cool, though. I just wish the sequence was less about fighting random enemies and more about tough platforming. Also, I know that the golden arm is obviously the eponymous "Godfist" but I'm still not a fan of not getting an arm at the end of the first layer of an act.

Lore: Love how Hakita captured the feeling of a self-perpetuating cycle in the Final War. Reading about the individual stages of escalation was really, really interesting and marched the visual design of each enemy well. Can't wait to see which six-lettered King built the Minotaur for Minos (more than likely the next prime soul).

Mannequins: A fun and surprisingly challenging mix of Filth and Strays with an extra layer of horror. Incredible visual design and animation. I do wish they were a bit less bullet spongey because it doesn't really fit their aesthetic as is, but adding a few extra enemies to compensate.

Guttermen: Great visual design and lore. They're not too hard to deal with on their own, and I'm glad to have another use of the Knuckleblaster (Hakita, please, PLEASE let us map seperate buttons for each arm). When they have a hunch of other fodder around them, they make interesting counterparts to Mindflayers as high-priority targets.

Guttertanks: Ooooh boy. I really like some of the things about them, but I have a lot of issues as well. Having an enemy that forces players to either stay far away or risk a well timed dash to get some blood is an interesting shakeup, but I do think the punch should at least be parryable. As is, the punch feels way too fast to react to, way too high-damage to recover from, and knocks you back like a million miles. For enemies that are supposed to be long-ranged artillery type things, their ranged attacks are surprisingly easy to deal with (especially with the freezeframe rocket launcher) but their melee attacks are way more of a threat and they have way too much health. I would prefer it if they had either significantly less health (or some kind of massive vulnerability, akin to the streetcleaners) or if their melee attack was nerfed and their ranged attacks buffed slightly.

Other thoughts: The new puzzles with the golden orbs is interesting, but I would like if the Whiplash had slightly more of an autoaim. Thank Gabriel that the voids on the puzzle sections don't damage you. Also, my computer isn't the best, but I was having a ton of performance issues during the third and fourth levels. Nothing too crazy or fatal, just some annoying lag and stuttering.

Overall, Violence was a really great layer, one of my favorites. I do think it needs some minor changes and tuning, but I'm excited for the psecret level and the new alternate gun, plus everything else yet to come from Hakita.

[sportsballs-the]

For the first time in more than a month, I have a content schedule image to show you all!

On Monday I'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming with some Roguelike Roulette! With the Steam Summer Sale going on, I've splurged a little bit and gotten quite a few new games to try out on the wheel. Seriously, the wheel is at like 150 wedges now, it's absurd.

On Wednesday I'll be solving murders in The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve! I don't want to say too much in case anyone is still trying to dodge spoilers, but one of my least favorite characters is the defendant for this case, and I'm both excited and feeling dread to see how this unfolds.

On Friday I'll be over on the CTBloodOnTheClocktower channel playing... well... Blood on the Clocktower lol. I'm excited to try out some of the new experimental characters I haven't played with much yet, and I'm sure this chaotic group will be a fun way to explore everything lol.

On Saturday I'll be playing some Tabletop Simulator with some friends for the donor suggested stream for June! You all wanted to see another edition of a perfectly normal Uno stream, and let me tell you I am more than happy to oblige. Also ignore that it's already July lol.

And on Sunday we'll be kicking it back with a Discord Game Night of the classic Garry's Mod. TTT is practically a comfort game at this point, so it's nice to have some chill vibes to backstab and betray your friends to.

Additionally, thank you all so much for understanding that it's been busy for me. It's been a rough few months for me, but I think (I hope) that I'm on the right track now and will be able to actually do all of the fun streams I have planned. Keep an eye on the events tab to see what's coming up!