#book 7 chapter 12 part 1 spoilers

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

book 7 part 12 part 1 thoughts!

***THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7 PART 12 OF THE MAIN STORY!!*** This spans part 227 to part 244, focusing on Cater and Deuce.

We will get the other 3 Heartslabyul boys in 2 future updates. The second part is Ace, then Trey. Riddle is last!

Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that roughly unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.

We land in what seems to be a hallway at NRC. Unfortunately for me (who seeks vengeance against a certain lion for emotional damages), Leona provides no funny reaction to the bumpy travel while dream hopping. He even makes fun of those who had a hard time, calling them weak if something like that gets to them 💀 YOU'RE ALREADY ON FUCKING THIN ICE, KINGSCHOLAR

Grim gets distracted by the smell of lunchtime so he scampers off to the cafeteria to eat! But... um!??!?! Scarabia mobs in mohawks get aggressive with us.

Before they wail on us, who should appear but the owner of the dream, Deuce!! Our guy has blonde hair (it's a Japanese trope that delinquents bleach their hair). He intimidates the mobs away with some backup from dream!Trey and dream!Cater, who still appear to maintain their vice dorm leader and "#3 in Heartslabyul" positions, respectively. Sounds like Riddle is still the dorm leader as well.

Deuce, Trey, and Cater spot Leona and kind of start picking a fight with him???? They say that if Ramshackle has been taken over/absorbed by Savanaclaw, then there will be problems (or something to that effect). (SORRY, THE DIALOGUE IS SO WEIRD AND FULL OF TERMS I DON'T UNDERSTAND CUZ EVERYONE'S SOUNDING LIKE A DELINQUENTTO SOME CAPACITY)

Cute detail: it's stated that Yuu is typically seen with Ace and Deuce! So even in the world of Deuce's dream... he still thinks about their friendship!!

Leona (and Ortho), actually Being Smart, backs off and lets Deuce take Yuu + Grim over to the Heartslabyul table to eat (even though Sebek gets mad about it). Leona tells the others it's better to observe the enemy first, then demands that Idia find a way for him to listen into the conversation Yuu + Grim are having with Heartslabyul. Luckily, Idia is able to hook them up aaaaand...

We get sort of a reinactment of that part in book 1 where Trey explains the 7 dorms at NRC to us, except this time Deuce is dropping the lore in a really bombastic way.

ALRIGHT, SO. In Deuce's dream, the 7 dorms are still the same as they are irl but each dorm sort of functions like its own... gang????? And there are daily gang wars to use the facilities at school. Certain dorms rule over certain territories, and if you want to go there or do something specific then you have to beat a member of the respective dorm in a battle. Rach dorm has a suuuuper over-embellished title... THIS FEELS LIKE SOMETHING STRAIGHT OUT OF A DELINQUENT MANGA (I also want to add that the devs chose the most unhinged expressions in each character's repertoire for the following visuals:)

Heartslabyul is centered in the library; you need to pass them to borrow books.

Savanaclaw owns the botanical garden (LOL BECAUSE LEONA'S ALWAYS FUCKING NAPPING THERE *flashbacks to the time he almost kicked our shit in for stepping on his tail*). If you want any herbs or other items from the greenhouse, you need to go through Savanaclaw.

Octavinelle is in charge of the area bordering Ramshackle, around where the Mystery Shop is. Sam has apparently signed a deal with them to have his store there. You can avoid a fight with them if you pay a "toll".

Scarabia is considered moderate compared to the other dorms, but they're serious about food, as they reign over the cafeteria, as well as places on campus that produce food/ingredients, like the windmill and chicken coops. It'll be hard for you to take the Master Chef course if you aren't comfortable with constantly pummeling Scarabia kids.

Pomefiore handles the courtyard and the potionology/alchemy labs. If you have to do a makeup lesson in that department, be prepared to contend with them.

Ignihyde students usually don't come out of their territory, which is the auditorium and infirmary. hbfbyoadfadfpfas DEUCE SPECIFICALLY MENTIONS THAT ORTHO IS A NEW MEMBER AND THAT HE'S LIKE A FIERCE GUARD DOG 😭😭😭

Finally, Diasomnia has hold of the coliseum and stables. They are considered the toughest dorm and command respect, otherwise lightning will fly.

Ramshackle is basically Switzerland (ie neutral territory); the ownership is not determined by fighting but rather is determined by the headmaster. (We got no cool visual, lol)

Leona and co. try to think about ways to wake Deuce up... Since fighting seems like an everyday thing in this dream, maybe we have no choice but to go with a physical blow...? But if fighting is so normalized, maybe that wouldn't work... Plus, there are so many faces that the darkness has taken on, so it would be hard to overpower them all. They also discuss their own impressions of Deuce (ie how he looks/tries to present as an honors student versus his efforts and suspected "bad" background). In this dream, Deuce is apparently considered a top performer based on his contributions to the uh student gang wars 💀

A Heartslabyul mob rushes in and reports to Riddle that Octavinelle students are invading the library. Riddle sends Adeuce to clean up and they have this really shounen manga-esque battle where the Octa mobs call Ace and Deuce by long nicknames and Deuce even lets out an ORAORAORAORAOROARAOROAROA!!

A bunch of books are chucked around in the ensuing battle, which causes Sebek to literally FALL TO HIS KNEES and check on them. He laments that they've been damaged and is very upset by this. However, Sebek becomes truly ENRAGED when he actually opens a book and notices its contents are faulty. Like the spelling is screwed up, the pages are blank, or the writing that's there is hard to read. Sebek concludes that the contents of the books are fucked because the dreamer, Deuce, has not read these materials himself to understand them. AND DEUCE DARES TO CALL HIMSELF AN ASPIRING HONORS STUDENT???! SEBEK WON'T STAND FOR IT!!

... This fucking green haired fool shouts at Deuce and provokes a fight by shaming him 🤡 LMAO, Sebek calls the books just papers bound by a cover, IT CANNOT BE CALLED A BOOK!! He tells Adeuce to READ the damn books and then hit each other with the knowledge they gain from reading... OKAY NERD

They open up a book that should list the rules of the Queen of Hearts, but because so much of the book is blank, only like a handful of rules are written down. Deuce says that's not correct, there are WAY more rules--in fact, 810 of them! This starts to wake him up, but dream!Ace becomes darkness and tries to convince Deuce that, at NRC, only strength matters so he doesn't need to study to get to be an "honors student".

HJBAHJBAFSBHDSAHBAS HLAFHL DEUCE STARTS HAVING FLASHBACKS TO ALL THE TIMES ACE FUCKING BULLIED HIM AND DEUCE LEGITIMATELY GETS SO MAD HE FULLY WAKES UP

Wait, this is so sweet 😭😭😭 The image that Deuce has in his mind right before he wakes is his and Ace's reunion with Yuu and Grim at the end of book 6...

Deuce joins us to beat back dream!Ace. Of course Ace isn't this one, the real Ace is way more insensitive and annoying!!

Deuce starts to sort of talk down to himself. He says if his dream turned out like this, then there must have always been a part of him that "wants" to solve everything with his fists. Ortho comforts Deuce by saying that though Malleus's dream is created based on a person's desires, the output can be highly variable depending on the individual.

Sebek starts scolding Deuce again for not reading books in their entirety, and they discover one book that seems to have more information than the others. "The Story of the Trump Soldier" is a famous children's book in the Queendom of Roses, containing short stories about the Trump Card soldiers that serve the Queen of Hearts. Deuce says that he has always admired those soldiers and how cool they are, especially when they chase lawbreakers through the rose maze!

AWWWWW Deuce would beg his mom to read this book to him when he was little.. and when he finally learned how to read himself, he'd read and reread the book from front to cover. WDBHLYOIDFFIADIADF WAIT WHY IS THIS ACTUALLY SO CUTE... OTL

Deuce wants to continue reading where he left off and Sebek says the ideal way to read is in quiet so you can focus on the words. ASBHBLSAIHIDBASSD THEY CRACK A JOKE ABOUT HOW SEBEK ONLY EVER SHUTS UP WHEN HE'S READING...

Sebek seems to demonstrate genuine interest in what Deuce reads. I half anticipated him to follow up with an insult, but Sebek is actually very mindful about different reading levels. He even makes a comment that a simple children's book such as this is able to be the start of someone's love for literature, that it can still have the power to move someone as it does Deuce. That's honestly really powerful.

They then get into a conversation about picking books for each other; Sebek suggests that Deuce pick out an easy book for Yuu and Grim to read sometime. We also learn that Sebek would do this for Silver, but that Silver would get sleepy and never fully finish Sebek's recommendations. Deuce has this nice line where he goes "Even if these books are empty now, someday they will be filled", expressing his desire to become that honors student ideal for real and not just superficially.

Guys, I'm glad you like reading (I like reading too) but now is REALLY not the time for it... 🤡 The moment's cute and all (and it definitely feeds into Sebek's character arc about opening up to non-fae), yet it still feels weirdly placed to have so much casual banter when everyone knows what's at stake.

aiuaidbadab Sebek says that he will check out "The Story of the Trump Soldier" when he's out of the dream world... which is so sweet, right up until he transitions into mocking people who don't understand the emotional value of books. Silver apologizes to Deuce for Sebek's attitude and they prepare to hop into the next dream.

But wait! Where's Leona...?

... BRO WAS NAPPING ON SOME LIBRARY CHAIRS WHILE EVERYONE ELSE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE JOYS OF LITERATURE 🤡 ASJVUFEOVEOQIVib;WBIEQTOIPfwpib He finally wakes up with a stupid hot yawn and asks if they're done with their errands.

Okay, NOW we're ready for the next dream. Off we go!

We land in front of Heartslabyul dorm.

OH LORD Grim's gonna be fried up and eaten, I swear... Leona gets mad at him for clinging to his necklace while they fall out of the sky. Grim claims he didn't notice it was Leona because his hair was all over the place (Grim just grabbed what was close to him), and that leads to Leona filing a complaint to the manager (Idia). "Oi, daikon radish sprout! Make travel more convenient for me." Idia refuses, claiming he's too busy and that since travel only takes a moment, Leona can suck it up. He also has the BALLS to say Leona shouldn't pull a selfish second prince move ,adbilbiodsbiasdi AND THEN LEONA GOES HE HAS SOME CHOICE WORDS FOR HIM NEXT TIME THEY MEET FACE TO FACE, YANNO?????? Omg guys... the girlies are FIGHTING...

On the other hand, Deuce LOVED dream hopping. The wind in his face is even better than what he experiences when he rides a magical wheel. Even if he can't control where he's going while falling, he really liked the rush.

Up comes dream!Ace. He asks if Leona's over for tea or something, which makes me laugh a little because even though Leona knows how to act all proper, he LOATHES actually doing it. Anyway, Ace says that there was a Magicam notif about an urgent matter, so they're going to hold a trial. Deuce is confused that such an important announcement would be made via social media, then tells Ace off for not being in dorm uniform for the trial. Deuce also says that students from other dorms are NOT allowed to be present for trials since they're one of Heartslabyul's most sacred traditions. Riddle would behead you so fast! ... Which confuses Ace. SO YEAH FELLAS, I THINK DORM LEADER!CATER IS CONFIRMED...

Ace leaves for the trial, with Deuce chasing after him. The rest of us decide to go after them, since all the Heartslabyul students would be gathered at the trial and it will be easier to determine who the dreamer is.

But up comes... Deuce?! This must be the dream! or NPC Deuce. So we decide to deal with him early and get him out of the picture. He doesn't revert to darkness at any point, so we speculate that this is because we haven't run into the dreamer yet, or maybe because the darkness has yet to register us as a threat to the dream's stability. In any case, we tie up dream!Deuce so he doesn't interfere!

To the courtroom we go! I think it's the first time we've seen this asset...?

It's very lively inside, some students aren't in dorm uniform though.

OH MY GOOOOOD dream!Riddle is a regular ol' student now. Interestingly, he's got a little red heart as his card suit. It's a similar color and placement to Cater's diamond mark, but he shares the same suit as Ace. sdhlbabiyfaio AND HE'S NOT WARING HIS DORM UNIFORM, HE'S BREAKING A DARN RULE HIMSELF

(Trey is still vice dorm leader!)

The courtroom doors open and someone zooms in on a skateboard! It's Cater, the Heartslabyul dorm leader and our resident dreamer.

He is surprised to see students from other dorms present, especially Leona. ADBKHLADBILADBSI LEOAN LIES HIS ASS OFF ANS CLAIMS DEUCE INVITED HIM TO TEA AND CATER BELIEVES HIM

Cater takes a selfie with Leona and posts it on Magicam. Dream!Riddle interrupts to let him know the trial is starting 15 minutes late, so Cater apologizes and says they should begin for reals.

Leona and Idia have a brief exchange about dorm leadership. Most students probably want to be dorm leader more than not being dorm leader. They each express their own opinions about their title; Idia doesn't want to live under someone who is incompetent (he thinks highly of his own skills) and Leona just hates the idea of following someone else's lead. Spoken like the duo who don't have vice dorm leaders, eh...

Uuuuh so it looks like the trial is for a mob student that was too afraid of Cater to invite him to a croquet game. Cater decides to skip to the part where he gets mad and commands Riddle to behead the mob. Sebek complains about the lack of actual deliberation, but Cater dismisses it. All that he needs to render a judgment is his anger, right?

Mmm, that's interesting. Cater's being just as strict as Riddle is irl and continues to use Riddle's power as a means to punish others. His reputation is also just as scary as Riddle's is in book 1, and Cater mainly seems to be using his emotions to judge others. So in one way, yeah, Cater is laxer with the rules (he allows other students to join trials, lets people wear the wrong uniforms for important ceremonies, makes announcements via Magicam, etc.) but is still a force to be reckoned with.

Dream!Trey suggests hearing some witness testimony since there are special guests in the audience today. They have Deuce bring up witnesses, so Deuce picks Yuu and Grim. On the stand, we claim we don't know anything and the jury records our statement using their smartphones.

abhldbilasiyasoyfe THSI IS SO DUMB THAT LEONA GAVE UP TRIYNG TO UDNERSTAND THE SITUATION AND PROCEEDS TO NAP 💀

Deuce drags the still sleeping Leona up to testify. Despite being handled so roughly, he doesn't wake up one bit!! Leona mumbles something in his sleep, it's an order to Ruggie about how he wants a deluxe menchi katsu sandwich at noon. Cater announces that this is SUPER important testimony so the mobs hurry to write it down.

Last up is Silver! He's the only one that takes being questioned seriously and answers with sincerity. He is asked where he was and what he was doing at the time the grave offense was committed. Silver says probably enjoying tea in the dorm. Dream!Riddle asks why, is it his unbirthday? To which Silver says his birthday (May 15) is a little further away.

This makes dream!Trey realize it's an unbirthday, so Cater announces they MUST have a party! And... BOOM, the background goes dark with tons of neon light fixtures! Cater demands food (which I guess is the context for his new SSR's initial artwork) and has dream!Riddle DJ FOR HIM??????!?!??!?!???????? 😭OKAY, I did NOT want to side with Kingscholar but I'm afraid I have to this time... This has got to be the most nonsensical dream so far, which I guess is fitting seeing the source material www

Deuce wonders if Cater is dissatisfied with Heartslabyul irl, because the Heartslabyul in the dream seems so different. Leona drops it on us that this is actually the Heartslabyul of the PAST, when the previous dorm leader was in power. Deuce would not know about it because he's a first-year student.

BEFORE ANYONE SAYS "Omg, Cater former dorm leader theory real!!!", the game does NOT confirm this. Leona speaks about the previous dorm leader as if it was another student. He never once names Cater. (Oh, and we learn that Leona challenged his dorm leader for the seat when he was a second-year student.)

Deuce reflects and realizes he never really knew anything about the third years because he never bothered reaching out to them. YES, HERE'S A POWER OF FRIENDSHIP AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL LESSON OTL He also thinks back to book 1 and how not enough strictness (like what they are seeing now) is its own vice, like how too much strictness can also be trouble.

asfuiadofadaefi WHAT THE FUCK

Leona proposes the idea that Trey and Cater are both "using" Riddle. He compares the scenario to how people will bring up a young leader, Riddle, as a pawn in order to overthrow the previous regime (ie the lawless Heartslabyul). Then Trey and Cater become advisors to the new ruler, manipulating him in order to create the kind of country THEY want. It's a tale as old as time. anfbiyoaafiyodgovyqefoiy I HATE HOW MUCH OF A BIG BRAIN MOVE THAT IS...AND OF COURSE FUCKIGN L*ONA OF ALL PEOPLE SAYS IT

The dream!Heartslabyul boys encourage us to eat and drink. Most of us are force fed or pressured into taking a bite/sip, but Leona won’t fall for it. Cater tries to get him to drink mysterious juice from a bottle (does Leona wanna be beheaded?), but bro’s not having it.

Ortho (the one guy who cannot eat) interrupts and reminds everyone that the darkness is trying to lull them back to sleep. We then get the reveal that Trey, Riddle, AND Cater are the darkness, meaning that this Cater is a clone and the real Cater is elsewhere.

Battle time~

Aaaah so Ortho couldn’t identify Cater as a clone because apparently it takes a really strong imagination to make convincing copies??? That, and he comments that Cater sees himself an objective way?? Something, something, because this is a dream, it is hard for Ortho to determine what the true composition of something is.

LOL???? The real Cater barges in, he saw the other Cater’s Magicam post about Leona coming over for tea and got excited about it??? He sees the black sludge everywhere and is sooo confused… It’s literally the meme of the guy walking in with pizza boxes only to find the room on fire 😭

Dream!Riddle is on a rampage and beheading everyone, and THAT triggers Cater to wake up. His own dream fucked up THAT hard.

Deuce is about to be collared but Cater uses Split Card to make a bunch of clones that catch the strays of Riddle’s UM and protect Deuce. This must be the context for his new SSR's groovy!

He and some new clones join us to beat up the darkness! As they’re melting away, dream!Trey and Riddle call out to Cater AND CATER SAYS THEY’RE DISGUSTING, THE REAL TREY AnD rIDDLE QoULD NEEEEVERRR… “Could you please disappear? Bye bye ⭐️”

OH MY GOD 😭 Cater Diamond is not beating the bi allegations… First it was him excitedly running into the courtroom when he saw that LEONA was there, now he’s all like “It’s thrilling to be woken up by the prince”. I THINK WE ALL KNOW WHO THE REAL LIONKISSER IS HERE FOLKS.

zbsnsbiska Cater compliments Idia’s video an says it’s sooo cute 😂 but Idia is not thrilled with that comment.

Cater says that he’s not unhappy with Heartslabyul irl (Deuce’s misunderstanding, ig??). He actually likes the dorm the way it currently is. So I guess Leona's theory about Cater trying to revolutionize Heartslabyul wasn't true after all?? ADFHJAFBUASDUO CATER ROASTS LEONA BY SAYING HE'S NOT THE TYPE TO BE SAYING THAT BECAUSE WASN'T LEONA TRYING TO DO THIS SHIT IN BOOK 2.

ADBILABIYOAOYOIB CATER MOM MODE?????? He scolds Leona and says the Heartslabyul underclassmen are cute because they're stupid and easy to deceive, he doesn't want them to become twisted and gross because of Leona's' poor guidance. THEN CATER CLAIMS HE HIMSELF IS A KIND RELIABLE AND COOL UPPERCLASSMAN THAT WOULD NEVER EVER TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DEUCE... Is this the same guy who fucking tricked us into painting the roses red for him??? THAT Cater??? *stares at him* Leona says no way will Deuce buy that bullshit BUT DEUCE DOES INDEED BUY CATER'S BULLSHIT OTL YOU POOR SWEET SUMMER CHILD...

ADFBHUFSYUOFSOYFEO CATER CALLS SEBEK "SEBEK-CHAN"... This throws him off, because "Sebek-chan" is something his older sister calls him, but when Cater says it, it sends a shiver down his spine!

The group agrees to head to Ace's dream next. Before they depart, Cater seizes this opportunity to take a group selfie~! aberiylaiyladasd Cater wanted to take a pic of his dorm leader outfit as a souvenir, but then he says he also wants to take tons of pics of Leona-kun! (Leona says this feels like harassment adshasd) adshuvoayafeyovifpbiVIYFWPF CATER DIAMOND YOU WON'T FOOL KME, I KNIOW A LIONKISSER EHWN I SEE ONE.

Aaaand we set off to the next leg of our journey! That's it for this update.

Man. I did NOT expect a Deuce and Cater-centric update to be THIS bulky but here we are, I guess 💀

The highlight of Deuce's dream was definitely the part at the end where he shares his favorite book with Sebek. Now, I still got HUGE gripes with the pacing and how the characters continue to waste valuable time chit chatting and hanging around but that aside, I really liked what this moment did for both Deuce and Sebek's characters. We get confirmation that Deuce truly does want to work and study hard to be an honors student--and as for Sebek, we get to see him actually opening up and sharing something he genuinely loves with others. You can tell just how much he values reading; he doesn't dismiss Deuce for reading an "easy" book and sees actual value in it being a jumping point for others to get into other books. He is constantly sharing books he loves with his friend Silver and encourages Deuce to do the same for Yuu and Grim. AND THIS IS FURTHER PROOF THAT SEBEK IS THE BEST B--*is bricked into silence*

Anyway, I'm glad they didn't stop Sebek's character development in Lilia's dream. I'm definitely now getting the sense that Lilia's dream was just the initial "rude awakening" for him when he's confronted with a dose of his own racism thrown back at him. He's not used to his loving grandfather being so vitriolic to him on the basis of his race. And now in more recent updates Sebek is being exposed to the good side of students from other dorms (such as Jack), as well as connecting with them via shared interests (like he is now with Deuce). It's so adorable how Sebek promises he will check out the book Deuce loves so much once he returns to the real world, AHAHHHHHHH H HHHH H H H H H HH H H H H H H H OTL SEBEK-CHAN LEMME SQUISH YOUR CHEEKS MYR PRECIOUS BABY BOI

Something else I appreciated about Deuce's dream is how his friendship with Ace, Yuu, and Grim is made relevant. When he first runs into Yuu and co., he worries that Ramshackle has been absorbed by Savanaclaw and doesn't want to fight his friends. Then when things are cleared up, Deuce still invites Yuu and Grim to come eat with Heartslabyul. He and Ace fight together very well in his own dream--so well, in fact, that it reminds me a lot of how Silver and Sebek are perfectly coordinated with one another when they fought the flowers in GloMasq. It's Deuce's own (loving) anger towards the real Ace that ultimately wakes him up. And you can tell that Deuce places value in his relationship with Ace, Yuu, and Grim by how he acts. AND THEN WHEN HE WAKES UP HE'S THINKING OF THAT TIME WHEN ALL OF US REUNITED... HOW IS THAT NOT SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME TEAR UP A LITTLE...

I thought I wouldn't enjoy Cater's dream, but I actually found it to be very fun! I loved how silly and nonsensical it was; it really tickled my Alice in Wonderland-loving bone. asdvhdvsoidsa I'M SHOCKED AT HOW MUCH WEIRDLY PLACED L*ONA CONTENT THERE WAS IN ACATER'S DREAM OTL I expected him falling asleep to be a gag at some point, and I was right (it happens in both Deuce and Cater's), BUT I WAS NOT EXPECTING CATER TO BE SUCH A LION SIMP, NOR WAS I EXPECTING L*ONA TO MAKE THAT REALLY SMART ANALOGY ABOUT A POTENTIAL HEARTSLABYUL REVOLUTION... **slams an angry fist on the ground** LITERALLY SHAKING SOBBING THROWING UP OVER HERE 🤡

The twist with the real Cater being somewhere else was really interesting, but it's a shame we never got to go deeper with this idea or get exposure to the "real" personality of his. I think there was another missed opportunity (although this would still prolong the pacing problems, lol) with dream!Deuce being taken out so early. I thought for sure that dream!Deuce would escape his binds and interrupt the trial, and then that would lead into a whole Ace Attorney style segment where they try to deduce which Deuce is "real". It would parallel how Cater's UM allows him to make clones, as well as how Cater keeps putting on an act and not showing his true self to others. At the climax of the trial, the OG Cater could make his grand appearance and the rest of his dream could still proceed like the version we really got. I DON'T KNOW, I THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN COOL TO SEE... (<- totally biased Ace Attorney fan)

That being said, Cater's dream felt... more geared toward comedy than being serious? And it's not like we haven't had dreams like that before, but it feels especially hollow because we've been waiting SO LONG for him to get more depth, be if exploring his dark side or explaining more of his general inner thoughts. It sucks we didn't get any of that.

Cater's not a character I care for a ton, but I think I saw a side of him today that's pretty funny! He was delivering banger roast after banger roast, especially when he called out Leona for trying to overthrow another regime while accusing him of doing the same. dbiabsiofobiapb Also love that we get a reminder of how underhanded Cater is (something I felt we didn't see outside of book 1 when he tricked Adeuce into doing his chores for him). He fr abuses his status as a "trustworthy" senior and accuses LEONA of corrupting the kids to gain Deuce's support 💀 That scene was so funny, it had me in stitches!

With every new dream, I think I become more and more confused about how these things even work. It feels like they offer a completely contradictory explanation or a new detail to overcomplicate the situation every update, and now I have like NO understanding of anything. What confuses me the most about this update is how BOTH Deuce and Cater claim what we saw in their dreams does not reflect what they actually want. Like... Isn't Deuce ASHAMED of his delinquent era? Doesn't he NOT want to go back to that? Isn't he trying hard to study and to be an honors student irl? That's the opposite of what the dream shows. Yeah, it would be more convenient for Deuce to understand and succeed if everything were decided with strength instead of smarts, but this is still actively NOT what he would want, especially given all the time and effort he sunk into reforming himself. Cater also very explicitly states the has ZERO interest in being dorm leader, so why is it that his dream manifested this way??? I suppose you could say he's lying (because he very much is a liar) and is hiding his true desires?? BUT EVEN THEN THIS DOESN'T MAKE TOTAL SENSE BECAUSE HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN DEUCE OVER THERE??????

So how are these supposed to be their "happiest" dreams????? THIS MAKES NO SENSE and all I'm getting from this (until the writing clarifies) is that the devs didn't actually make the dreams "happy", it's partly this way because they just wanted a convenient excuse to write scenarios that would be interesting for the players to see, such as Leona being king or delinquent Deuce or Savanaclaw Rook or whatever OTL I'm hoping this gets properly explained by the end instead of continuing to flounder and leaving the fans to come up with all the answers for themselves... (I also pray for us to stop wasting time doing nothing while the world is about to end, but given that this is an Important Part of the Pattern, I'm guessing there is no chance this is happening. A BIRD CAN ONLY DREAM.)

Alright, that's all from me. See you next main story update for Ace and Trey's dreams...!

[yuurei20]

how muscle is the boy and who the most buff because i think silver gym clothes is lying

Hello hello! Thank you so much for this question! I have been hoping to talk about this for so long ⚔️

There is something special about the school uniform and gym clothes cards 👀

Summary 1) Sprites do not always visually represent what is actually happening in the game 2) Yana does not have full control over what can appear as sprites 3) Yana illustrated the gym clothes and school uniform cards from start to finish by herself!

Details/Sources 1) There is sometimes a disconnect between what the sprites are doing and what is actually happening in the stories, as the limits of the medium mean that they can only portray so much.

We will be told via dialogue that what is actually happening is different from what we're seeing on screen, which is where the "novel" part of "visual novel" has to do some heavy lifting.

(above: We are told that Idia is riding Ortho, Jack has tanned and Kalim is wearing glasses, without anything represented visually.)

This is also true of Silver being unusually well-muscled, with characters referencing such repeatedly! (especially in Book 7, for spoiler-reasons that cannot be shared on this blog)

(Ortho: "Silver is also incredibly built!")

In a vignette Silver explains he was able to beat a man in an arm-wrestling contest who had successfully beaten several "burly" members of Savanaclaw:

"All of Ruggie's burly friends had tried, but each lost within seconds. At first the owner went easy on me. Worried he would hurt me, he said. But once he realized I was no pushover, he stopped holding back...It was no easy feat, but all their encouragement helped me eke out a victory."

As for how Silver can possibly be so well-muscled, he explains it is from life with Lilia:

"I've never really struggled with anything involving physical fitness...my daily life back home was training enough. Drawing river water, chopping firewood...Chasing around the animals who lived nearby must have helped strengthen my legs as well...once I stalled while climbing a sheer cliff, and (Lilia) climbed right up beside me to show me how it should be done."

2) In a tweet posted on 2020/5/12 Yana talks about submitting her idea for Crowley to be wearing a vacation outfit in Book 4, despite expecting it to be rejected.

So it seems that she does not have complete control over how the sprites look: she designs the characters but is maybe not doing the game development work of physically implementing them, and there are others who can approve of or reject her ideas based on in-game limitations.

Was a canon-accurate Silver sprite maybe one of those rejections?

Effort was even made to give Silver muscle in the 2nd anniversary PV, so it does seem to be an important point.

3) We do not know too many details about the team that is helping Yana with card illustrations but we know they have been there from the beginning, with the recently released English-version of the first visual book (called "The official art book" in English) providing translations of Yana's notes to the colorists for the ceremonial robes and labwear art.

(Above: hand-written notes seen on Kalim's labwear and ceremonial robes base art)

She also references a graphic artist in her 2020 interview for the Magical Archives:

"As for the illustrations, this was my first time having my original drawings cleaned up by a graphic artist. I am a very rough draftsman by nature, and I make overall corrections before a piece is complete. No matter how careful I am in my original drawings, sometimes details get confused, so whenever I receive a draft back from the graphic artist, I become a useless original artist who is constantly going back to say, ‘I am so sorry, but can you please make these corrections?’" - Toboso Yana (Magical Archives game guide)

But the gym clothes and school uniforms (the original batch of R cards) were different: Yana says she did them all by herself from start to finish, as they were going to be most people's first introductions to the characters.

Disney Twisted-Wonderland has been released today.  ・Character design ・Main scenario creation ・Card illustration (all rarities / including finishing for the R cards) ・Supervision of personal scenarios (writing several as well) I handled everything above. I hope you enjoy it! - Toboso Yana (Twitter, 2020/5/8)

I felt that the initial R school uniforms and sportswear cards are special, as they are likely to be the first introductions to these characters, so I was in charge of them all. I am grateful to have been trusted with them. - Toboso Yana (Twitter, 2020/4/13)

So there we are! 🥳

If anything we can maybe consider the base card art for the gym clothes and school uniforms as more "canon" than the sprite designs of those same characters, even though the sprites are what we're used to seeing, as card art is not being forced to change the characters' appearances in order to fit the limitations of Live 2D sprites ⚔️ Maybe!

(The sprites have this same issue with height! In the game Epel is made taller while Malleus is made shorter, in order to fit his horns in the screen.)

[isheamiable2008]

🚨Onyx Storm Spoilers🚨

.

.

My initial thoughts and theories:

1) Naolin is venin (possibly the head venin), which means Sloane developed her siphon signet to be his balance.

2) Dain has a second signet. I don’t know why or how, but he does, and it will be one of the big six that is meant to be the balance to a dark wielder. Either that or he can develop his memory reading to be a full blown inntinsic. Sloane said he has too much power, so there is definitely something more there.

3) Sloane has a second signet too (obviously).

4) Violet is going to pull some Inception stuff next book. Maybe even dream walk with day dreams (she possibly already has)?

5) Bodhi turned venin, which meant there was no one left from their family to rule Tyrrendor, which is why Xaden married Violet and made her the Duchess before he took off. Obviously Violet did this willingly, but made Imogen take her memories of it, probably to keep it all secret and/or to not deal with the emotional pain.

6) Garrick is missing because he is stealing the dragon eggs that they need to make the deal with that one isle to get another army.

7) Berwyn is a dream walker, so Violet developed that as her second signet to be the balance to him (although I do think there is more to her second signet than what we initially know or think).

8) Melgren might actually be venin, which is why Aaric developed precognition (to be his balance).

9) Violet might be pregnant and carrying the heir of Tyrrendor. Theophanie said she reeked of his kin. She got dizzy and felt weird a lot in this book.

10) No clue how this would tie in, but could Lilith have had an affair? We see in the snippets at the beginning of the chapters that she was angry with Asher for taking Violet to be dedicated at the temple and she said she might not ever be able to forgive him, and then we also see her unsent correspondence that doesn’t have a stated recipient and doesn’t address anyone by name, but simply as “my love”. Weird. (Could just be her writing him letters after he died as a sort of outlet for her.)

11) Lilith knew someone who turned venin and sought to cure them. That’s why she was asking if there was a cure. Maybe she knew what really happened with Naolin (or at least part of it) and wanted to cure him for Brennan’s sake?

12) Theophabie implied that she had faced Lilith before, right?

13) Violet could still communicate and somewhat wield at times on the isles because she was bonded to Andarna and as the other irids said, Andarna IS magic.

14) The closer the isles get to the island of the irids, the more magic they have.

(I know I had more, but I can’t remember now. I should’ve taken notes while reading.)

[exactlycleverpirate]

Timeline from Xavier's Perspective Part 2

EDIT: Updated with some new information and some adjustments.

(Includes spoilers for basically everything, including all myths.)

This is an update of my earlier post. See Part 1 here.

Timeline from Xavier's perspective (Part 2/Earth):

Timejump.

?1248 (“It’s been 800 years!”)? Sometime in a past life, Rafayel and MC were lovers. (Is this when MC was trapped on the Island of Songs in a hut by herself, doomed to someday drown and Rafayel comes, gives her his heart and saves her?) Then she is cursed and turned into a Sea Witch in the Abyssal Rift. She has no memory of Rafayel or being human. Rafayel exchanges his scale, eternal blood, and a shell with his voice in order to turn MC human and restore her memories. Then he turns to sea foam. (Fragrant Dream.) (This could all be an actual dream or allusion that never happen or hasn't happened yet. However, this could be when Rafayel gifted MC one of his scales and formed the bond between them.)

2018 Xavier checks out a book in the library that MC will check out 30 years later. (An 

1834 AD Xavier, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Noah (Likely actually Jeremiah, due to translation error), and others stranded on Earth. (This timing comes from a promotional video where Xavier says he has been on Earth for 214 years.) (Part of a team called the Backtrackers. Were on a Backtrack mission when something went wrong in the Deepspace tunnel.)

Appointment)

2021 Zayne born Sept 5th.

2024 (...probably) Rafayel born March 6th

2025 The year Xavier claims he was born, on Oct 16th.

2026-2027 MC born. (This age comes from chapter 5.1. The letter she gets from Grandma says she was 7-8 when they started experimenting on her, and she was adopted by Grandma after the Chronorift Catastrophe in 2034.)

Child Rafayel likes escaping to explore the ocean. On one or more of these excursions, he sees a lantern festival and puts out their lanterns. (Ocean At Night)

2032 Xavier joins Arthur's police team. (Anecdote 2)

2033 That winter, Noah (Likely actually Jeremiah, due to translation error) contacts Xavier for information to make a new identity. Noah mentions wanting to be an ordinary person in this timeline and that he fell in love. Xavier fakes his death as a police officer and encounters a lost little girl with a bunny plushie. Fights Isaiah in Linkon city in a fight that makes the whole city go dark. He disguises this by making it look like there is a meteor shower. (Anecdote 2)

2034 Deepspace tunnel appears and Chronorift Catastrophe (timespace anomaly in Linkon city). MC is 7-8, taken in by Grandma. Caleb is also adopted by Grandma. 12 year old Zayne loses control of his Evol at the end of summer and has a nightmare about the Grim Reaper for the first time. Rafayel would be 10 at this time. Xavier appears as Lumiere for the first time, kills the first Wanderer in the Chronorift Catastrophe and saves MC. On December 31st, Lemurian ruins are discovered, after a tsunami southeast of Linkon city, when a rift opens up and reveals it. Her grandma participates in experiments to fuse a human heart and a protocore. At some point, MC's heart is fused with an Aether core. Onichynus and Dr. Noah are both somehow linked to these experiments. Her first heart doctor is Dr. Noah.

At some point in MC and Rafayel's childhood, Rafayel visits the surface world but gets trapped on the beach on his return trip (on Ebb Day?) (Perhaps during her field trip to Hat Island?) She saves him and they make a pinkie promise. Rafayel says if she doesn't return, he will chase her to the ends of the earth. (Nightly Stroll)

Child Rafayel is given a Whale Call as a means of protection, in case something happens on one of his escapes from Lemuria. However, he never uses it, because he never escapes again after this, and sometime later he buries it in the Lemurian city. (Whalefall Lament)

Child Rafayel is tricked and his people slaughtered. Some survivors go into hiding living on land among humans, including his Aunt Talia and K. (Anecdote 3)

Sometime before 2038, MC goes on a field trip to Hat Island (possibly when she meets Rafayel?).

2035 Zayne (age 14) begins medical school at Skywalk University, spends 6 years in med school program. (It normally takes 8.) (From his biography on the hospital wall.)

2043 Zayne (age 22) graduates from medical school. Goes on a mission to the Arctic where he is forced to mercy kill his mission leader who is being consumed by some sort of ice (Anecdote 2). Begins work at Linkon Central Hospital. (From his biography on the hospital wall.)

Rafayel's Anecdote 3 immediately precedes Anecdote 2 (See 2044-2047). Rafayel is singing in the opera and seeking revenge overseas in Verona under the name Mo. He is being investigated by a private detective named Louis. He is not painting at this time. His Aunt Talia is also in Verona. He attends a Seamoon Ceremony for a fellow Lemurian survivor, K. Lemurians are hiding amongst humanity, but being hunted, tortured, harvested for their scales and blood and killed. Rafayel then moves to Linkon city and resumes painting again. He has a photo of MC in his pocket. (Anecdote 3).

Sometime between 2043-2045 MC (17-18) begins attending University of Linkon. (School year usually begins in September.)

2043-2047 Rafayel's Anecdote 2 takes place sometime in this timeframe while MC is at University of Lincoln. That summer, his painting Illusion projects him into the spotlight as a popular artist. In late summer, he becomes a lecturer at University of Linkon. He receives information on her from someone at the Nest. He believes there are “predators'' surrounding her, some of whom may be trying to use her to trap him, so he is wary about approaching her. He burns the photos and information the man who investigated her collects about her. He describes his feelings toward her as painful and addictive, thinking he is ready to spend the rest of his days with her, but also wants to settle the score between them. (Anecdote 2). Thomas becomes Rafayel’s agent. (Anecdote 1).

2045 Xavier meets Arthur at his tombstone. (Anecdote 2)

2046 Zayne makes a groundbreaking discovery about the effects of the Evol gene on heart development. (From the AKSO hospital article about him). He receives the Starcatcher and Linde Awards. (From his biography on the hospital wall.)

2047-2048 MC graduates. (School year usually ends June-July)

2048 Pregame: Zayne becomes chief surgeon. Zayne becomes MC's doctor 6 months before the story begins (in July of 2048, making 6 months prior the month of January) (Dr. Dean/Noah was her doctor before him). Also 6 months before the story begins, Raymond begins exhibiting symptoms of mental confusion and other abnormal behavior. At the start of the year, (per Main Story chpt 2.6) Rafayel returns to the country from overseas. He is known for spending six months painting in his studio, then traveling the world for inspiration/materials for the other 6 months. The month before the main story, Rafayel's art broke the record for the highest selling art at Lizio Auctions. Raymond buys a painting from Rafayel's gallery.

2048 Story begins Wednesday, July 1st (most likely), with MC being initiated as a Hunter in the Hunter's Association. MC is about 21-22, and her Evol has to do with Resonance, Anhaunsen Class. Rafayel is 24, Fire Evol. Zayne is 27, Ice Evol. Xavier claims to be 23, Light Evol. Traceback II is approaching the event horizon and entering the black hole.

See Love and Deepspace: the Story So Far Part 1.

Sometime in the future, after the destruction of Linkon but before the destruction of Earth, Grim Reaper Zayne lives, killing humans turned Wanderer and dreaming of a life as a doctor with the woman he loves. (Anecdote 3)

Part 1 and 2 in this timeline continue in a loop perpetually?

[choicesbookclub]

✨Blades of Light & Shadow III✨

Welcome to the Blades of Light & Shadow III Wide Release Book Club!

This Book Club is open to ANYONE and EVERYONE. You can participate as much or as little as you want. You do not need to have participated in the Blades I or II book club to be eligible. I welcome new users to join us! If you are playing as VIP, you are still welcome to join in, but please avoid any spoilers beyond the chapter we are currently reading.

Our playthrough of Blades 3 will follow the official wide release of the. book with one chapter a week on Wednesdays. However, late entries are more than welcome if you are unable to play on Friday. [Learn more about how to participate here]

Meet our Blades MCs:

As part of our Blades 1 Book Club we created a MC profile list. If you have a profile page for your MC, feel free to send it to me so I can add it to our directory.

Blades 3 Character Template on Canva

Reading Schedule:

Wednesdays beginning November 20th

Each week, I'll try to include questions, polls, or prompts to inspire some discussion. Feel free to send suggestions if you have something you want to see!

Weekly Prompts:

(links will be added when the prompts are posted)

Chapter 1: One Day More

Chapter 2: The Undiscovered Country

Chapter 3: Here at the End

Chapter 4: Connections and Consequences

Chapter 5: The River of Seekers

Chapter 6: The Heart of the Sea

Chapter 7: Rage and Ruin

Chapter 8: Trespasser

Chapter 9: The City of Light

Chapter 10: Into the Deep

Chapter 11: Abandon All Hope

Chapter 12: The Pit and the Pendulum

Chapter 13: All Shall Fade

Chapter 14: The Queen's Cage

Chapter 15: For One, For All

Chapter 16: Life, Death, and Beyond

Participation

You can post screenshots, reactions, dialogue, sh*tposts, memes, fanfiction, drabbles, moodboards, edits, drawings, sketches, poems, songs...anything that inspires you or that you want to share during the playthrough.

Please tag @choicesbookclub and use the tags "choices book club" or "cbc blades 3"

If your post isn't shared within 48 hours, please send me a link to @lovealexhunt.

[taki118]

IruClarAzz Master Post Part 12

Just collecting all of the cuteness of the Love Trio and adding my commentary. Spoilers ahead very current with the manga. (Also warning I may make jabs at the IruAmeri ship here and there just small comparisons showing why I don’t like it as much, no hate but if you don’t like your ship being talked about even slightly negatively probably look away.)

If you didn’t see it Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, Part 3 here Part 4 here  Part 5 here Part 6 here Part 7 here Part 8 here Bonus here Part 9 here Part 10 here Part 11 here

Getting ready

Clara making sure the pair take care of themselves during the event

They are so proud of themselves

Look he has dolls of Azz and Clara and patches of Opera and Sullivan (The closest you can get of ameri imagery are the other designs if you squint)

So the haunted house was a success and Iruma gets the prize but theres an issue and Azz and Clara are so upset for Iruma

But as it turns out this rank can't be given by the teaching staff and will have to leave and work with one of the 13 crowns as a test, which Iruma has mixed feelings about. Again the focus is how he does not want to be separated from those he cares about again, but the focus is Azz and Clara followed by Sullivan and Opera, this could have easily been a group shot but its not, these are the people most important to Iruma

Soooooooo I didn't take a shot of the gag (curse you tumblr photo limits) but the Crown Iruma is working with gives him a bell that he can use once during the test to get him something important he needs and Iruma rings it immediately and its followed by this and when I tell you I DIED at this moment of my god haha.

The crown is undeniably confused but sir you don't understand you cannot separate them, and I am so happy it's been so long since these three got to do a thing together and oddly they are incredibly helpful.

So the test is establishing a kingdom for the many eared demons and they gotta wear these cute ears to blend in

I just love how delighted Clara is and if you'll notice Azz took out his phone to get a pic of her and Iruma before getting annoyed by what is very likely a scam

I just love Azz stopping Clara

The crown is talking up Iruma and the pair are so delighted

A rather unfriendly boy of the many ears is brought on to be a guide and he's not happy about it I love that this is basically the "He asked for no pickles" meme

Its just cute

Again just cute, but this was kinda the perfect test for Iruma theres no way he'd want to rule over these demons

I love that Azz is now fluent in Clara ..... to a degree.

Haha the rare moments they share a braincell

They see the boys room is full of books and I just like Iruma and Clara sharing a book

So Iruma comes up with an interesting plan and again ask for the pairs help and god Azz's face

We get a rare chapter from Clara's POV where we see just how miserable she was at school before Iruma and Azz came into her life

And we get to see the important people to Clara and I think its nice how much she cares about her teachers

I like that the center focus of Clara's Luck montage is her laughing with Iruma and Azz

SO part of the plan is to teach the many ears magic while Iruma and Azz are having poor luck but suprisingly Clara's weird explaination works

I love how Iruma is just delighted while Azz and Clara are being smug and teasing the kid

Iruma is lucky he's with them as again he can't really cook but I love how they immedietly after hearing the growl clock it as Iruma but for once its not

Again surprisingly (not really) Clara is the best for the situation they are in, currently taking care of kids to teach them.

Clara goes full in on the school giving them looks that resemble their teachers and slight uniforms for kids, and again it actually helps to settle them down and focus.

These outfits are so great though you can kinda see influences from the Bablys teaching staff in their designs but it's still undeniably them and I love the little like titles they have.

[poisonousquinzel]

Origin

Harleen (2019) [Comic]

Harley Quinn: Mad Love [Novel]

The New Batman Adventures "Mad Love" [Episode]

Villain -> Emancipation Arc

Batman: The Animated Series

"Harlequinade", "Harley & Ivy", "Harley's Holiday"

Batgirl Adventures (1997)

Detective Comics #831

Harley Quinn: Wild Card (Backstories). [Book]

Batman: Gotham Adventures #10

Batman Secret Files: The Gardener

Injustice: Year Zero #7 - #8, #14

Unofficial Continuation Of Harleen (2019)

Harley Quinn (2000) #1, #2, #4, #6, #12

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #1, #3, #14

"Harleen: Red", "Get Yer Story Straight", "Fixer Upper"

Harley Quinn: Make Em Laugh #1, #2

"Headshrink", "Housewarming", "The Lady or The Tiger"

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder #2

#2: "Origin Stories For Dummies", [skip middle story], "Coffee And Pie Oh My"

Batman (2016 - ) #105

---

Notes {Mild Spoiler Warning}

Batman (2016 - ) #105

This is in the middle of a story arc, but it doesn't really matter. Only context you need for Harley's part is that she, Batman and a kid named Bao (Clownhunter) were knocked out and brought to Arkham as a part of a separate conflict between Bruce and someone. ❤️

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red

The first chapter, "Harleen: Red", is connected to and takes place in the Harleen (2019) universe. Best read after Harleen and the unofficial continuation.

The continuation is just parts that Stjepan has posted online over the years, I tried my best to put them in an order that flowed. <3

Batman Secret Files: The Gardener

The full comic isn't Harley centric, but I absolutely adore the way Bella tells the tale of Ivy's origin & meeting Harley, it's a cute part showing their relationship.

Harley Quinn: Wild Card (Backstories)

This one is kinda like a somewhat more detailed cliff notes for kids. Parts of her origin is different and aligned with her Rebirth one, but I think it's great to get a feeling of how her character progresses. Though like I said, it is definitely for a preteen & younger audience so some stuff is watered down. Her relationship with Joker isn't as graphically abusive (he's a toxic little bitch, but not shown being directly physical with her.), and her introduction into the Suicide Squad is more chill and something she agrees to do.

But even with that, I love it! It's got pencil sketches throughout, notes from Harley herself which I think is a lovely detail and added bits about her relationship with Ivy over the years.

Harley Quinn (2000)

#6: this is kinda the beginning of a two chapter plot, but I'm including for stuff in this chapter only.

Also, her characterization during one part that involves Bruce's female bodyguard feels ooc imo, especially considering it's the same writer from #2.

[mo-racca]

Predictions for Percy Jackson S2

So season 1 used chapter titles for the episode titles and it got me thinking about which SOM chapter titles will be used for season 2 and how the book will be split up over 8 episodes.

I'm gonna run on the assumption that the success of season 1 will mean more budget for season 2, including having episodes that are all at least an hour long.

Spoiler warning for Sea of Monsters (the book). Predictions are under the cut.

Episode 1: I Play Dodgeball With Cannibals

Comprising Chapters 1-3

Episode opens with Grover being chased by Polyphemus. He runs into a bridal boutique and dons a dress. Polyphemus shadow looms over him as he turns to look directly in the camera and says "Percy, you have to help me." Percy then suddenly awakes from the dream.

We'll then get our introduction to Tyson. Probably via him and Percy walking to school together. First class is gym!

Dodgeball match plays out more or less like the books.

Annabeth hails the Gray Sisters taxi & they ride to CHB.

Episode ends with them arriving a the bottom of the hill and staring on in horror as they witness mechanical bulls wreaking havoc.

Episode 2: Tyson Plays With Fire

Comprising Chapters 4-7

Opens back up to the horrified faces of Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson seeing the mechanical bulls. The fght with the bulls then plays out similarly to the books, including the Tyson is a cyclops reveal.

Tantalus is introduced & and announces the chariot races.

First chariot races occurs with the birds attacking. I genuinenly hope they "defeat" them in the same way as the books where they play Chiron's shitty music, but I'm not 100% they'll go that route.

Clarisse is chosen for the Golden Fleece quest. Percy is upset. I think they might slightly change this and have him choose to run off on his own to save Grover, and once he's on the beach, he runs into Hermes.

Episode ends with Hermes giving Percy the gifts, Annabeth and Tyson running over. And then the camera pans out to a cruise ship out in the distance (The Princess Andromeda!)

Episode 3: I Have The Worst Family Reunion Ever

Comprising Chapters 8-9

I think this episode will open with a flashback to Annabeth, Luke, and Thalia during their time with the Brooklyn cyclops. Probably not much will be revealed beyond Annabeth being young and scared and we won't see what it is that she's scared off.

Cut to the present: Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson are already on the ship. Probs some exposition dialouge about the name of the ship and "Why did Hermes want us to board this ship?"

We'll end up having the confrontation with Luke more or less how it happens in the book. Might have a couple more Annabeth flashbacks thrown in as well, but we don't ever see what she's running from.

Ends with them escaping on the emergency raft.

Episode 4: Clarisse Blows Up Everything

Comprising Chapters 10-11

Opens with them on the raft, probably talking or something, when suddenly a raucous noise draws their attention to Clarisse's ship.

The Charybidis & Scylla fight plays out more or less like the books except literally no one is sad about confederate ghosts dying (redying???)

I imagine we'll have some concurrent Grover and Polyphemus storyline throughout this episode.

Ends with everything being blown up and Percy believing Tyson is dead.

Episode 5: We Check into C.C.'s Spa and Resort

Comprising Chapter 12

Opens with Annabeth and Percy washed up on the shores of Circe's Island.

In the books, I'm pretty sure the island has an enchantment that is part of the reason they don't realize something is up right away and I would love for them to keep that for the show.

Percy's half of the story will play out similarly to the books with the guinea pig stuff.

We'll also get to see what Annabeth is doing on the island. I want it to be clear that she's trying to fight the enchantment, but is struggling (can an athena kid resist the temptation of knowledge?). Her concern for Percy is what helps to pull her out of it ("Where's Percy? What did you do to him?")

Annabeth rescues Percy like in the books with the Multivitamins. They escape to the boat. The escape scene could be drawn out a bit more than it is in the books for ~suspense~

Episode ends with them sailing off.

Episode 6: Annabeth Tries to Swim Home

Comprising Chapter 13

I think this episode will open up with another dream of Grover for Percy, to emphasize that time is running short.

Annabeth tells Percy she wants to hear the sirens.

I envision more Annabeth flashbacks this episode.

Annabeth dives, Percy saves her just like in the book.

They have a heart-to-heart about fatal flaws. Annabeth tells Percy about the Brooklyn cyclops, this is shown through flashback. We finally see what she's been scared of in these flashbacks the whole time. (We get to see baby Annabeth stab a cyclops in the foot bc she's a badass and we deserve to see it)

Episode ends with Polyphemus's Island coming into view and probs some line about "let's go save our friend".

Episode 7: We Meet the Sheep of Doom

Comprising Chapters 14-16

I think we'll open to Grover when Clarisse arrives to the cyclops lair and we'll watch her ruin his bride cover.

Then it switches to Annabeth and Percy on the island surveying the sheep and the fleece. After a moment, Annabeth says she has a plan.

Cut to Percy annoyed and hanging on the underbelly of giant sheep muttering about Annabeth's plan.

I think the ensuing Polyphemus confrontation will be pared down a bit for time, but will still include the initial fight in the cave, escaping across the bridge, and Tyson's triumphant return.

Episode ends with them leaving a wailing Polyphemus on the island.

Episode 8: The Fleece Works It's Magic Too Well

Comprising Chapters 17-20

They arrive on land, parse out Clarisse's prophecy and send her ahead with the fleece.

Luke and his crew show up. This confronation plays out similarly to the books with the IM message. Chiron and the Party Ponies arrive. Depending on their CGI capabilities, it might just be Chiron who arrives. Fighting ensues.

They get back to CHB where they witness Clarisse put the fleece on the tree. All seems to be well.

It's clear that some time has passed now. They do the second chariot race. Percy & Annabeth win. CHEEK KISS.

As they are celebrating, attention is drawn to Thalia's tree (maybe it's like glowing or something). The campers all head towards the tree to see what's up and find a girl lying against it. Her face is hidden. Percy asks her who she is and she looks up and we get to see her face for the first time.

"I am Thalia. Daughter of Zues." Roll credits.

I considered having the Thalia scene be a post-credit moment, but I think it's too important for setting up season 3 to not have as part of the main episode.

A good post-credit scene I think would be like Grover on the phone at Westover Hall and saying something like "All I know is that these two kids are powerful and they're in danger. I could use your help getting them to camp."

Anyways, I'd love to hear people's thoughts!

[tea-potato-gt]

My reactions and memes I thought of while reading the new “Shot in the Dark” book by @marydublinauthor @bittykimmy13 @kendsleyauthor for the first time! 🥰😆

Part 2 here / Part 3 here / Part 4 here / Predictions / Pirates AU

*spoilers*

——————————————————————————

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

*looks at this post* me trying to imagine Russell Crowe with wings.

Who’s Damian? 👀👀👀

Chapter 3

This exchange, “Do you want more wine?” “I think i love you, Sylvia” was giving…

Chapter 4

Alice being baby, 🥺🥺 “a gift for keeping me company” 😭😭👻🤍

“Someone was in the house with me. Humans.” 🧠My brain🧠:

Okay, Alice to the rescue?! Slay queen! Slaaaayyy!… *Alice’s face distorts* OMG I shouldn’t be reading this so late at night 😟😨😭🫠🫥😰 I is scared 😟

Chapter 5

OooOoo Jon’s POV 👀👀 *looks through book* no Cliff Pov? 🤔 I guess Cliff is also 3rd wheeling his own book lol 😂

What a crazy how I met your mother situation. Jon: “Oh yeah, my best friend shot her.🧚‍♀️🔫 Then we kidnapped her and held her hostage for days. 🤷‍♂️”

Chapter 6

The boys at Sylvia (from this chapter onwards):

How Sylvia sees herself Vs How the boys see Sylvia:

Jon speaks Spanish??? 👁️👄👁️ that’s new

Chapter 7

Cliff and “The Other” 💀💀💀 (get wrecked Jon)

Draw me like one of your human girls🧚‍♀️✍️📖🧍‍♂️

Sylvia asking what everthing is has extended my life by three years 😌🥺😊

Chapter 8

How Sylvia sees her interactions with the boys:

Sylvia: “by your definition, you are a monster.”

*“The Other” gives Sylvia a handkerchief to keep warm* Part of me: aww that’s so nice 😊 The other part of me: Eeeeewwww 😷🤮🤢 who knows where that thing has been??? Girl don’t touch it!

*Sylvia escapes from the box and planning to go outside* Me: okay then what? You can’t fly? How can you escape if you don’t heal your wing?? 🙄

Chapter 9

Sylvia: I’m NEVER gonna tell these hunters ANYTHING 😤😡🤬

*Jon gives her a piece of chocolate 🍫 and shows her basic human decency*

Sylvia: “I lied to you”

Chapter 10

The boys based on their physical descriptions, or lack there of…

Apparently, Jon is built like a freaking tank💪, while Cliff is just a dude🧍‍♂️? 🤷‍♀️

Jon: “What, are you gonna leave again? Over this?” Sylvia🧚🏼‍♀️:

Sylvia: Okay! From this point on, I won’t say ANYTHING else to these hunters. 😤😡🧚🏼‍♀️

*gets a Pop Tart*

Sylvia: “my sister would live these”

*And here we see the start of Sylvia’s Pop-Tart addiction.*

Chapter 11

The disrespect the boys showed to my girl Alice😭

The boys at Sylvia after she reveals her magic:

Chapter 12

Jon at Cliff after he gets bit:

Sylvia asking for help to heal Jon. Voice: “You ask a gift of us?”

Jon and Sylvia at eachother:

——————————————————————————

It was at this point, while reading, I looked up from the book and realized the sun was rising. 🌅🌄

👁️👄👁️

Part 2 here

[verai-marcel]

Your Hearth Is My Home (BG3 Fanfic, Astarion x Female Reader, Part 19 of ?)

Summary, Notes, Tags, & Part 1 are here.

Act I - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12

Act II - Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18

AO3 Link is here, darling.

Word Count: 3,707

---------------------------------------

Act II, Chapter 7 - The Gauntlet

Even after he confessed, you realized that Astarion was still, well, Astarion. His feelings, though out in the open, were still a confused mess. If you were to describe it visually, it was a tangled ball of string; most of the strands felt like fondness, while there were a few threads that hummed with anxiety intertwined with lust. As if he felt bad for wanting you in such a way.

Not going to unpack that for now. It’s all too tightly wound together. I’ll let him unravel a bit more before I broach that topic.

On your end, you believed your feelings were pretty straightforward. You cared for him. You enjoyed spending time with him. Just the skinship, touching him, being touched, and sensing that feeling of him enjoying your company, without any ulterior motives, was incredible for you.

You imagined that other couples after confessing their feelings would be flinging their clothes off and having intimate relations in a secluded corner of their own little world.

Instead, you and Astarion were sitting by the campfire, your right arm linked with his left, the two of you reading quietly together.

“Is… is this alright?” he asked tentatively.

You looked up at him and smiled. “Yes, this is perfect.”

He leaned his head against yours. “I feel the same.”

Through your skin contact, however, you felt a slight twinge of guilt from him. Shit, if I say something now, he’s going to start questioning why I always know how he feels…

So you let it go, and just snuggled against him as he continued to read his book.

You had borrowed one of his books just so you could sit like this and spend some quiet time with him. You had few books of your own and you had read through them all at least twice. The book you had borrowed was some kind of adventure novel that featured a drow ranger.

Astarion glanced over at the page you were on. “Oh, you’re coming up to a good part.”

“Hush!” you chided. “No spoilers.”

“You two are being awfully cuddly.”

You both turned around to see Karlach smirking triumphantly.

“You snuck past my alarm on purpose,” you said accusingly.

She grinned. “Of course I did. Otherwise I would have missed this,” she said, pointing at your linked arms.

You could feel Astarion trying to pull away, but you only linked your arms tighter. “So? What of it?”

“Just glad to see you two finally out in the open,” Karlach said. Leaning in, she whispered to the two of you, though it was loud enough for others to hear, “Unlike another couple I know.”

You snorted, and Astarion grinned knowingly.

Looking past Karlach to see the others coming closer, you realized that you probably should do your job. “Alright, guess I’d better get food started.”

***

You were most certainly feeling better. After spending half the day quietly with Astarion, you felt like the pool of magic within you had almost refilled to full. You happily sang the tent cantrips while your rice porridge with herbs and dried mushrooms bubbled in the stew pot.

During the meal, your companions told you about their adventures, about how they met Balthazar, about how they discovered and solved three puzzle rooms, and about how tomorrow they would explore the rest of the lower levels.

“We’ll probably run into the devil down there,” Wyll mused. “We hadn’t seen any signs of it yet.”

“So perhaps all of you should go,” you said. At their shocked looks, you waved off their concern. “My magic has come back, and nothing came by today, not even a rat. Besides, Scratch and Owly can help defend the camp if anything happens.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about what you lot will run into down in the lower levels, given what you’ve told me.”

Lae’zel nodded. “Then I will train you more tonight, so that we may leave you tomorrow without concern.”

Oh boy. I’m going to be sore tonight.

***

You barely had the energy to change into your sleeping clothes. Falling into your bedroll, exhausted from Lae’zel’s training, you closed your eyes and groaned from your sore muscles. My gods. I cannot wait to fall asleep.

The soft footsteps of a certain elf drew your attention. Looking up, you watched Astarion kneel down beside you. 

“Darling, you’re not thinking of staying out here, are you?”

“Too tired to think.”

He sighed dramatically. “But I confessed my heart and soul to you today. You will come to my tent, won’t you?”

Dragging yourself up, you grabbed your bedroll. “Haven’t had enough of my company?”

“Never, darling.”

You grinned as you walked with him to his tent. “Never say never,” you teased.

He held the tent flap open for you like a gentleman, ushering you inside. Laying your bedroll alongside his, you flopped down ungracefully. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Lae’zel put me through a thousand paces, so I need to rest.”

He chuckled as he lay beside you. “Did you sing?”

You blinked. “Oh. No, I forgot.”

“Hmm. Try it next time.”

“Alright. Sweet dreams, Astarion.”

He leaned over and pressed his forehead to yours. 

I’m going to get addicted to this warm fondness I’m feeling from him.

“Did you know that elves don’t usually dream?”

“Oh?”

“Dreams are… chaotic, uncontrollable. Memories are bad enough,” he murmured.

You touched his face, stroking his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“Why? You’ve only given me good memories so far. Well, except for when you got hurt.” He frowned. “So don’t do that again.”

You smiled. “Alright, I’ll try.”

He sighed. “Good enough, I suppose.” Reaching out for you, he pulled you close. “Sweet dreams, darling.”

You closed your eyes, and inhaled his unique scent, rosemary, bergamot, and a touch of brandy.

***

You awoke, cold and alone. Quickly getting up and changing, you saw that everyone was already getting their things together for the day’s exploration. Walking up to Astarion, you tapped his side with the back of your hand. 

“You didn’t wake me up?”

“You were sleeping so soundly, darling. I’m not a monster.”

You rolled your eyes. 

“Besides, Gale apparently wanted a chance to cook.”

“Shhh!” Gale hissed.

You glanced over at the stew pot. Seeing it mostly empty, you walked over and scraped what was left of the breakfast soup into a small bowl and sipped it. It was a delightful mix of spices and savory flavor, shreds of dried beef jerky mixed with some lentils and beans.

“This is amazing,” you muttered jealously. “Gale, give me the recipe when you come back!”

“What, and divulge my secrets?”

“Just do it,” Shadowheart said with a laugh, slapping him on the arm.

You chugged the rest of the soup and gathered all the dirty items for cleaning later. Just as everyone was ready to go, you headed to the entryway with them to wish them well. Astarion waited for everyone else to go past before he quickly pulled you in for a hug.

“Stay safe,” he murmured into your ear.

“You too,” you replied before the two of you pressed foreheads.

“We don’t have all day!” Karlach yelled gleefully.

Astarion just huffed and left with the rest of them, but not before giving you one last look.

You waved and smiled. Come back safe.

***

It was a long day and a half by yourself. You started counting the hours after you realized a full day had passed. You went up to Withers to check if they were all still alive, and he always nodded solemnly, with no other updates. So you just read books and cleaned and played with Scratch and Owly. You danced and practiced your cantrips for hours at a time. You slept in Astarion’s tent, rolling onto his bedroll and immersing yourself in his scent.

Am I being weird? It’s definitely weird. But… It makes me feel comfortable.

And they still had not returned. It was times like these where you wondered about the possibility of joining them on their adventures.

But then you remembered that you hated pain, and you had nowhere near enough battle experience to survive alongside them without being a hindrance.

Better to stay behind and tend camp. After all, if not me, then who will? Withers? Hah.

Wandering to the edge of the balcony overlooking the statue of Shar and seeing all the water below, you sang a song to coax a stream of water up to your level, filling up a few basins with water. Finding an empty barrel amongst the rubble, you plugged the holes with some clay and filled that up as well. But when you tried to move the barrel filled with water, it barely shifted.

You glared at it.

Move, damn you!

Your song became a chant, the tempo faster and stronger than you normally sang. 

The barrel hopped two feet closer.

Oh?

You continued to chant, almost like a war hymn as you led the barrel away from the edge of the balcony, but after a few hops, you felt drained.

Okay, we’re going to stop there.

You looked through the pile of loot that the companions had dropped off the previous night and found enough rags and scruffy clothes that you could fashion a sort of curtain, hung by some old spear handles that you formed into a three sided divider screen, with the backside open to the view of the balcony. There was space to stand next to the barrel and still be hidden from view.

Well, that’s good enough, I think.

You went back to your pack and grabbed your soap bar and one of the water basins. Singing a hot water rune into existence, you heated the water in the basin, took your clothes off, and scrubbed yourself clean. After rinsing yourself off, you heated the water in the barrel before awkwardly climbing inside.

Damn, I should have made a seat in here.

Instead, you squatted down and let the hot water cover your head. Closing your eyes, you let the heat relax your body for a good ten seconds before you came back up for air. Grabbing the basin and emptying the water out of it, you pushed it under you and sat on it precariously, slowly leaning back until you felt balanced.

You let out a sigh of relief. It worked. Now you had a nice hot bath in the privacy of a little makeshift divider screen, and the others could take some time to relax as well when they came back.

If they come back.

Shaking the dark thought from your mind, you submerged yourself again and held your breath for as long as you could. It was only for 25 seconds, but when you came back out, you could faintly hear the alarm bells on your belt, hung over the divider.

Is it them? Or is it something else…?

Your heart raced at the thought of being naked while intruders came upon your camp.

I don’t hear Owly or Scratch.

A few more moments passed as you listened to footsteps echoing in the cavern. Then you finally heard your name being called. 

Oh, thank goodness. “Over here!” you called out.

As you heard them walk over, you quickly realized that if they came around the screen, they’d see you naked. “Wait wait wait! Let me get my clothes on!” Quickly drying yourself with a towel for once and throwing your dress on, you came out to see them looking bloodied and exhausted.

“You look freshly washed,” Shadowheart said, the longing for a bath evident in her voice.

You grinned. “You can too, shortly. Come, come!” You showed everyone the bath set up, watching their expressions growing relieved that they could have a warm bath even in this darkened place.

“I’ll get food going,” you said as everyone else played rock-paper-scissors for who would go first in the bath.

You quickly threw together some cured meats and cheese together as an appetizer before putting some ingredients in the pot for a hearty stew, inspired by Gale’s meal yesterday morning. In a separate, smaller pot, you cooked some rice to go with it.

You tucked your wet hair behind your ears as you worked, and once you were done, you put your hands over your head and sang a quick drying cantrip that gently drew the water away without taking out too much moisture. If there was one thing you were a bit vain about, it was your hair, and you took good care of it.

The soft footsteps behind you seemed tentative, yet the cadence sounded familiar. He stopped directly behind you and gently grasped your shoulders.

“Welcome back, Astarion.”

He only hummed softly, one hand moving your hair to one side before dipping his head down to nuzzle your neck.

“You want supper now, or later?”

Astarion took a deep breath, inhaling your scent. “Later, darling, when we’re alone.”

Your body reacted instantly to his lowered tone, but you quickly tamped down on it. You knew he had felt your rush of blood when his grip on your shoulders tightened just a little bit.

You turned and looked up at him, but he only had a soft expression as he looked at you. Reaching out and cupping his face, you searched his emotions as he leaned into your touch. You could feel mostly contentment with a strand of anxiety weaved within.

He finally backed away from you. “Until tonight, then.”

Dammit. I wish I could help him with his anxiety.

During supper, everyone took turns describing the battle with the devil to you. It was a very hectic fight, and it sounded like everyone was pushed to their limits. But their teamwork and their communication had grown so much that they pulled through in the end and defeated him. 

“We even got Astarion to graciously say thank you,” Wyll joked.

Glancing over at him, you saw that he was looking a bit grumpy at being reminded about it. You snickered softly.

They continued to tell you about the rest of their adventure, and how they were feeling exhausted by the time they had finished exploring all of the rooms and gathering all of the orbs needed to activate the final elevator that would take them down to what they believed would be the final level of the Gauntlet.

“Tomorrow, we’ll end this,” Shadowheart said with determination. 

With supper completed, everyone broke off to relax and turn in for the night. Astarion turned to you. 

“I’ll go have a bath. See you in our tent, lover.”

Our? “Alright. Do you want me to make the water hotter for you?”

“Let’s go test it, shall we?”

Heading over to the bath with you, he dipped his hand into the water. “Seems adequate.”

You looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “But not perfect.”

“If you could…”

“Easy,” you said with confidence before singing a hotter water rune. Once it took hold, steam came out of the water. Turning around at the sound of shuffling clothing, you realized that Astarion was already stripping behind you.

“Astarion!” you gasped as you turned back around.

“You’ve seen all of me already, darling.”

That was only a glance, and it was in the middle of the inn. That doesn’t count. “Anyway I’m going back now byeeee,” you said in a rush as you nearly ran from him. His laughter followed you all the way back to the tent.

It was still a bit surreal to you, having your bedroll in his tent. You laid down and stared at the canopy, the red and gold fabric looking a bit dull in the dim light of your cantrip.

He won't mind if I do this, right? I wonder…

You sat up, put your hands up in the air, and sang.

Moonbeams and starlight,

Paint the sky above me,

Light up before my eyes,

A sparkly sight to see.

The fabric glittered for a moment then darkened, and pinpricks of light began to form in the darkness. You gestured with your hands purposely through the air as if you were weaving, and lights of different strengths and sizes, with different tints of color, populated the ‘sky’ you had created. You even created a full moon so that there was still enough light for you to see, but not too glaring.

Satisfied with your work, you lay back and stared up, feeling much less claustrophobic.

Astarion came in, shirtless and hair wet, with a seductive expression on his face, but then he looked up, and his expression changed to that of innocent wonder. To you, it was a much more attractive look on him. 

His eyes were round with amazement as he looked at the ceiling. “This is… beautiful.” He sat down next to you and smiled. “You completely distracted me from my plan.”

“And what plan was that?”

“Convince you to dry and brush my hair for me.”

You snickered. “You only need to ask, no need for a plan.”

He gave you a smarmy smirk. “But if you offered it freely, I wouldn’t need to ask.”

Rolling your eyes, you sat up and gestured for him to sit in front of you. Getting up onto your knees, you sang your hair drying cantrip slowly, since his hair was finer and more delicate than yours. Then you gently brushed his hair, first with your fingers, then with his brush.

“Gods, your touch feels so good,” he murmured.

That line, in another context, would have made your face heat up. Even now, you swallowed, your throat suddenly dry. “Glad you feel relaxed,” you mumbled, trying to push down any naughty thoughts.

He turned and took the brush from your hand. Slowly he ran his fingers up your bare arms, his eyes gazing at your body.

“Astarion?” you whispered.

Moving closer, he cupped your cheek. “You promised me supper, didn’t you?”

You nodded and tipped your head, exposing your neck.

Astarion leaned forward and licked your pulse. “Such an enticing treat,” he purred before he sank his teeth into your neck. With one hand gripping the back of your head, the other snaked around your backside and pulled you close, his body lining up with yours. You could feel the hard lines of his chest against your soft bosom, his muscled thigh resting between your legs.

You gasped softly as your hips moved on their own, searching for friction against him. But somewhere along the way, you realized that you had stopped feeling his emotions. Even with his fangs deep in your neck, you only felt the sting of your own flesh.

“Astarion—”

He released you from his bite, languidly licking your wound before he pulled back to look at you. Letting go of your head, he grabbed your bottom with both hands and pulled you harder against him. He buried his face into the crook of your neck and nibbled at your collarbone.

“Darling,” he rumbled against your skin, “does this feel good?” His hands traveled up and down your body, a slow, sensual exploration.

“Y-yes,” you gasped when one of his hands trailed up to gently caress your breast, a finger brushing against your sensitive nipple.

Then you looked at him. His eyes were on you, but something about his expression seemed as if he was realms away. You cupped his face with both hands.

You felt nothing.

It was like a bucket of cold water when you realized he had shut down. You put your hands on his chest and gently pushed him away. “I… I don’t think we’re ready for this.”

He looked hurt for a moment, and you could feel it through your touch. 

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled.

He shook his head. “It’s alright. I should have asked first.”

It’s not me I’m worried about. “That wasn’t it. You seemed… not all here.”

He blinked. Then he looked away, but you caught the misery in his expression.

You slid off his thigh and took his hands in yours. You were hit so hard with a wall of revulsion that you had to hide your gasp, acting as if you were taking a deep breath. “Astarion?”

He turned back to you with a sad expression. “I can’t help but feel… tainted.”

Your eyes widened in surprise.

“Not by you, darling. You… you’re incredible. You deserve something real. I want”—he pointed back and forth between the two of you—“this, to be real.”

He sighed dolefully. “But after two centuries of playing the rake… I just don't know what real looks like. Any kind of intimacy was just something I performed, to lure victims back…to him.”

You squeezed his hands and kept silent, nodding for him to continue.

“I want to be with you. I truly do. But these feelings of disgust and loathing… They keep coming up. And I don’t know how else… to be intimate… with you.”

Gods, I didn’t realize it was that bad. You let go of his hands and pulled him into a hug, resting his head on your shoulder. You carded your fingers through his hair and kissed the top of his head. “You take all the time you need to work through this,” you said softly. “Just let me hug you, and I’ll be happy.”

Slowly, his arms came around you and hugged you back. “This is enough for you?” he asked hesitantly.

“More than enough. We’ll take it one step at a time, at whatever pace you need.”

His body, which had felt tense in the beginning, steadily relaxed in your arms. The feelings of revulsion and guilt slowly faded, replaced by a sense of relief and…

Safety? I’ve felt this from him before, when I asked for a hug in the Underdark…

You hummed a lullaby as you led him down to the bedroll and held him close, running one hand through his soft hair while you gently rubbed his back with the other.

“Is this alright?” you asked.

He nodded and pressed his face further into the crook of your neck.

You continued to hum your song until you felt him fall into a trance.

“Sweet dreams,” you murmured, kissing his forehead.

---------------------

Act II, Chapter 7 End notes: Some more soft and fluff, but soon, we’ll get out of Act 2. Only two more chapters to go before we start Act 3! And a bit of heads up, I'm going to be leaning more into that hurt/comfort tag in Act 3, so if you're squeamish about injuries (I am, so I won't be writing very descriptively, but painful things WILL be happening), just be warned now.

Tags List: @numblytemporary @xalphafox @avitute @stormyjane7 @kmoon21

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

wake up and smell the ozone, guys

[ Sebek and internalized racism / Sebek and his place in the Diasomnia found family / Sebek and his capacity to love / Sebek and the love of literature ]

wake up Wake Up WAKE UP

DO YOU REALIZE WHAT'S GOING ON??? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? BECAUSE I'LL TELL YOU, I'LL TELL YOIU WHAT 'S GOING O N

Do you remember... Lilia's farewell party????? In 7-34, he takes us aside and says this: "Then if you truly wish to repay me, would you indulge a little request of mine? There's a freshman in our dorm, Sebek Zigvolt... It's been half a year since he started here, but I have yet to see him make any friends in the freshmen class. [...] I wouldn't ask [you to be friends with him]. Just... If you notice he's ever stuck at some point during your time here... I would ask that you card soldiers give him a little nudge."

When Sebek runs over shortly after with berry juice for Lilia, Lilia invites him to toast with his fellow first years (Ortho included): "These people will be your rivals and classmates until you graduate. You should take this chance to bond with some students from other dorms."

Of course, Sebek adamantly refuses to do so at that point in the story. "While I appreciate your consideration, I haven't the slightest intention of being friendly with these shallow people. [...] I already have more than enough training partners between Silver and our fellow Diasomnia students. Feeble humans are naught by deadweight! There's no need to be chummy with them!"

We are now well into book 7's Heartslabyul update and it is only now that I realize WE'RE FULFILLING LILIA'S REQUEST FROM ALL THE WAY BACK THEN IN 7-34.

Firstly, Sebek is already having his entire worldview shaken because he is exposed to the terror hie liege, his idol, Malleus, has brought about. The person he dedicated his life to and worked so hard to better himself for is misusing his powers to force his will upon others, including his own retainers. And then Sebek is given a taste of his own medicine when he meets a younger version of his grandfather in Lilia's dream. Baur calls his own grandson "human" and acts suspiciously towards him because of Sebek's race (refusing to trust him, refusing to eat food he prepared, etc.). Sebek, who is hateful and others non-fae, is now the one receiving hate and being othered by the grandfather that he loves and admires. He is experiencing the discomfort with being the target of the behaviors that he himself engages in irl. These two events are challenging Sebek's beliefs and how he sees the world. He's being forced to recognize that Malleus isn't perfect, and how it feels to be persecuted and rejected on the basis of one's race.

Sebek is taken aback by the attitude of dream!Baur and doesn't exactly know how to react (though he continues to act in ways to try and earn his grandfather's praise). Silver has to intervene and remind Sebek that, in real life, Baur doesn't despise him and to not let this get to him--but it's clear that this experience still bothers Sebek, as he grumpily responds with the usual DONT BELITTLE ME, OF COURSE I KNOW THAT tsundere response. Many of the other events Sebek experiences in Lilia's dream also call into question the nature of racial relationships, and, at times, puts Sebek in the shoes of the one defending the partnership between humans and fae. For example, some Silver Owls demand to know why we're siding with the fae, and Sebek declares back that whether human or fae, it doesn't matter because at the end of the day, they fight against those with bad intentions.

When we finally transition into the dream hopping segment of book 7, I noticed that Sebek has very targeted interactions with specifically the first-year characters--the very same group that Lilia asked to help him out if he ever gets stuck. For example:

Sebek spends a prolonged period of time in Lilia's dream with Silver (a human he does like), Yuu, and Grim (two newcomers that he has to get adjusted to). Together with them, he unravels an unspoken about part of his country's history. It's kind of like traumabonding/j

Sebek relies on the technomantic support of Idia and especially Ortho (who helps them navigate to new dreams in combination with Silver's UM). He has to acknowledge that this is a specialty of Ignihyde and not something that he, a student of Diasomnia and a first year, could achieve on his own. It humbles Sebek and forces him to depend on others instead of trying to brute force the task by himself. He's physically INCAPABLE of doing so.

In Epel's dream, he appears very tall and muscular. However, Sebek chides Epel and recalls that, at Lilia's farewell party, Epel was praising Lilia because although Lilia has a similarly small stature, he never once failed to be at Malleus's side. Back then, Lilia had told Epel that physical prowess has nothing to do with a mage's strength. Later on, Sebek even praises Epel's style of fighting despite Epel being a first year. Moreover, Epel has a 70-80% success rate at casting his UM--which shocks Sebek, who has not yet mastered his own. Here, he is learning that humans that present as small and weak can actually be formidable fighters with skill that surpasses his own. This is notable because Sebek often pushes himself to train hard physically and mentally to be the best possible retainer and may have insecurities about being a magical late bloomer.

In Jack's dream, Sebek makes a big fuss about the injustices Diasomnia suffered back in book 2 due to Savanaclaw's nasty plot. He makes it clear that he won't forgive them even now--but then Jack says it's understandable given that his dorm members were playing so dirty. Sebek expresses surprise that "there are people like Jack" in Savanaclaw. He's acknowledging that even in a dormitory that Sebek had previously pegged as all underhanded ruffians, there are people who have a moral compass and go against the grain. After all, Jack was the whistleblower in that incident and still to this day realizes their actions were wrong. This shows Sebek that not all members belonging to a group are the same.

In Deuce's dream, Sebek and Deuce bond over books. Deuce shares happy memories that he has with a popular children's book from the Queendom, and this inspires Sebek to want to read the book irl. He also suggests that Deuce pick out or recommend a book for Yuu and Grim, which is similar to what Sebek does for his own loved ones (like Silver). Here, he is sharing his interests with a non-fae in a sort of cultural exchange.

Update: In Ace's dream, Sebek butts heads with Ace in an attempt to rouse him from his dream. Ace resists and counters by saying he doesn't want to listen to someone who looks down on others. He honestly points out Sebek's character flaws. Ace also mentions that Malleus should accept the consequences of his actions, which could also apply to Sebek, as Sebek's attitude has made a lot of his peers dislike him. After Ace departs, Sebek is faced with this question from Ortho: if it was not Malleus responsible for their circumstances, would he really be trying as hard as he is to stop him? Sebek cannot give a proper response to this. By attacking his flaws and how his overly proud nature makes others dislike him, Sebek is being forced to face and reflect upon his weaknesses in character.

I know I've critiqued the pacing of book 7 a lot (particularly when it comes to the dream segments), but I find it really ironic that, of all characters, Sebek is the one with the most spread-out character arc... Lilia's and Silver's arcs were mainly crammed into Lilia's dream, we haven't seen Malleus for several tends of chapters now (so he only ends up being present in the beginning and end of the book), and then you have Sebek pacing himself in this marathon 🤡 even though Sebek is also the one in Diasomnia that's the most in a rush to "grow up" and "be better" (so much so that even his UM is associated with wanting to quickly rush to someone and/or to be immediately stronger).

[anonymwlw]

What parts of the books do we read each day?

The question came up, and since I made this list for myself I thought I'd save everyone the trouble of having to compile it themselves.

Putting it behind a Read More bc it's long and contains minor spoilers concerning how much happens each day.

"Book" refers to the 6 books the story is divided into, not the three volumes of the trilogy.

"Chapter x-y": finish chapter x and continue until chapter y (don't necessarily finish reading y)

"Chapter x & y": read part of each chapter

Sep 16th: Book 1, Chapter 1

Sep 17th: Book 1, Chapter 1-2

Sep 18th: Book 1, Chapter 2

Sep 19th: Book 1, Chapter 3

Sep 20th: Book 1, Chapter 3

Sep 21st: Book 1, Chapter 3

Sep 22nd: Book 1, Chapter 3

Sep 23rd: Book 1, Chapter 3

Sep 24th: Book 1, Chapter 3

Sep 25th: Book 1, Chapter 4-5

Sep 26th: Book 1, Chapter 6-7

Sep 27th: Book 1, Chapter 7-8

Sep 28th: Book 1, Chapter 8

Sep 29th: Book 1, Chapter 8-11

Sep 30th: Book 1, Chapter 11

Oct 1st: Book 1, Chapter 11

Oct 2nd: Book 1, Chapter 11

Oct 3rd: Book 1, Chapter 11

Oct 4th: Book 1, Chapter 11

Oct 5th: Book 1, Chapter 11

Oct 6th: Book 1, Chapter 11-12

Oct 7th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 11th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 12th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 13th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 15th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 16th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 17th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 18th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 19th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 20th: Book 1, Chapter 12

Oct 24th: Book 2, Chapter 1

Oct 25th: Book 2, Chapter 2 & 3

Dec 18th: Book 2, Chapter 3

Dec 25th: Book 2, Chapter 3

Jan 8th: Book 2, Chapter 3

Jan 9th: Book 2, Chapter 3

Jan 11th: Book 2, Chapter 3

Jan 12th: Book 2, Chapter 3-4

Jan 13th: Book 2, Chapter 4

Jan 14th: Book 2, Chapter 4

Jan 15th: Book 2, Chapter 4-6

Jan 16th: Book 2, Chapter 6

Jan 17th: Book 2, Chapter 6-7

Jan 18th: Book 2, Chapter 7

Feb 1st: Book 2, Chapter 7

Feb 15th: Book 2, Chapter 7-8

Feb 16th: Book 2, Chapter 8

Feb 17th: Book 2, Chapter 9

Feb 18th: Book 2, Chapter 9

Feb 19th: Book 2, Chapter 9

Feb 20th: Book 2, Chapter 9

Feb 22nd: Book 2, Chapter 9

Feb 23rd: Book 2, Chapter 9

Feb 24th: Book 2, Chapter 9

Feb 25th: Book 2, Chapter 9-10

Feb 26th: Book 2, Chapter 10; Book 3, Chapter 1-2 & 3

Feb 27th: Book 3, Chapter 2 & 3

Feb 28th: Book 3, Chapter 2 & 3; Book 4, Chapter 1

Feb 29th: Book 3, Chapter 2 & 3-4; Book 4, Chapter 1-2

Feb 30th: Book 3, Chapter 2 & 4; Book 4, Chapter 2

Mar 1st: Book 3, Chapter 4 & 5-6; Book 4, Chapter 2

Mar 2nd: Book 3, Chapter 4 & 6-7; Book 4, Chapter 2

Mar 3rd: Book 3, Chapter 7

Mar 4th: Book 3, Chapter 8; Book 4, Chapter 2-3

Mar 5th: Book 3, Chapter 8-11; Book 4, Chapter 3-4; Book 5, Chapter 2

Mar 6th: Book 4, Chapter 4; Book 5, Chapter 2

Mar 7th: Book 4, Chapter 4-5; Book 5, Chapter 2

Mar 8th: Book 4, Chapter 6-7; Book 5, Chapter 1 & 2

Mar 9th: Book 4, Chapter 7; Book 5, Chapter 1 & 2 & 3

Mar 10th: Book 4, Chapter 7-8; Book 5, Chapter 3 & 4

Mar 11th: Book 4, Chapter 8; Book 5, Chapter 4

Mar 12th: Book 4, Chapter 8-9; Book 5, Chapter 4

Mar 13th: Book 4, Chapter 9-10; Book 5, Chapter 4

Mar 14th: Book 5, Chapter 4 & 5; Book 6, Chapter 1

Mar 15th: Book 5, Chapter 4 & 5-8; Book 6, Chapter 1-2

Mar 16th: Book 5, Chapter 9; Book 6, Chapter 2

Mar 17th: Book 6, Chapter 2

Mar 18th: Book 5, Chapter 10; Book 6, Chapter 2

Mar 19th: Book 5, Chapter 10; Book 6, Chapter 2-3

Mar 20th: Book 5, Chapter 10; Book 6, Chapter 5

Mar 21st: Book 5, Chapter 10; Book 6, Chapter 5

Mar 22nd: Book 6, Chapter 3

Mar 23rd: Book 5, Chapter 10; Book 6, Chapter 3

Mar 24th: Book 5, Chapter 10; Book 6, Chapter 3

Mar 25th: Book 5, Chapter 10; Book 6, Chapter 3-4 & 5

Apr 1st: Book 6, Chapter 5

Apr 8th: Book 6, Chapter 4

Apr 9th: Book 6, Chapter 4 & 5

Apr 16th: Book 6, Chapter 5

Apr 23rd: Book 6, Chapter 5

Apr 30th: Book 6, Chapter 5

May 7th: Book 6, Chapter 6

May 14th: Book 6, Chapter 7

May 18th: Book 6, Chapter 8-9

May 25th: Book 6, Chapter 9

May 26th: Appendices

[innerchorus]

Are there drawings of Tehamin from the novel?

Yes! I don't have access to all versions of all novels so this is not going to be comprehensive, but here are some images. There are a few novel spoilers in here, though I won't go into detail about anything.

Innocentis lays eyes on Tahamenay for for first time, Book 1, illustration by Shinobu Tanno.

Tahamenay with Innocentis in one of the palace courtyards, Book 1, illustration by Yoshitaka Amano.

Seated on a wicker chair inside the glass greenhouse looking at the laleh (tulips), Book 2. As you can see, Amano's Tahamenay has black hair as is consistent with novel canon.

'The queen looked younger than her thirty-six years, or to be more precise, hers was an ageless beauty. Her raven hair, jet-black eyes, and ivory skin glimmered all the more for the jewels and silks adorning her.' (Book 1, Chapter 3, part ii)

Arslan and Tahamenay meet, Book 7. Yoshitaka Amano's work again.

I know I shared this before in the post about Layla but I'm including it here too for completion. Tahamenay jumps between Layla and Gieve in Book 12, illustration by Shinobu Tanno.

Yamada Akihiro's colour illustration of Tahamenay on the cover of Book 12. That's all I've got, though if anyone has other images to add please do so!

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Friday, September 13th

XANDER: No, it's just... this Malcolm guy? What's his deal? I mean, tell me you're not slightly wigged. BUFFY: Okay, slightly. I mean, just not knowing what he's really like. XANDER: Or who he really is. I mean, sure he says he's a high school student, but I can say I'm a high school student. BUFFY: You are. XANDER: Okay, but I can also say that I'm an elderly Dutch woman. Get me? I mean, who's to say I'm not if I'm in the elderly Dutch chat room?

~~I, Robot... You, Jane~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

cherry lipgloss by sapphistically (Buffy/reader, not rated)

Oblation by The_Crazy_Knight (Buffy/Giles, E)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion, Chapter 341 by madimpossibledreamer (Ensemble, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure crossover, T)

Don't Swerve, Chapter 9 by thisyearsgrrl (Buffy/Faith, E)

My (love) Kill, Chapter 3 by witchywriter3 (Buffy/Spike, G)

Book Stew! Chapter 5 by MGAllan (Michael (from Gingerbread)/Lance (from The Pack), G)

After Life, Chapter 5 by Alwaysandforevermylove (Buffy/Faith, E)

A-Z of Sex, Chapter 1 by KatyAmberAuthor (Buffy/Giles, E)

Soul Mate Magic, Chapter Three by emma-m-black (Giles/OC, 18+)

Out of this World, love..., Chapters 7-8 by Miss Kitty (PG-13, in French)

The Neighbor's Point of View, Chapter 130 by the_big_bad (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Little Light, Chapter 7 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Way Beyond Chaos, Chapter 1 by Girlytek (Buffy/Spike, R)

Wallflower, Chapter 24 (complete!) by Girlytek (Buffy/Spike, R)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Manip: MerMade For You by Claire (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Lego: my custom Lego Buffy the Vampire Slayer by buzzlymuzz

Artwork: Collage #160 by thedecadentraven (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Collage: Spike by thedecadentraven (worksafe)

Gifset: Buffy/Cordelia by lovebvffys (worksafe)

Fanvid: Andrew Wells | Puppet Boy [slight flash warning] by homoeroticvillain

Fanvid: Spike/Buffy - The Albatross by DarkEleni

Fanvid: Andrew Wells | Puppet Boy [slight flash warning] by homoeroticvillain

Fanvid: Don't Stop Me Now [BTVS Season 6 BLOOPER REEL] by Aurora Edits

Fanvid: Buffyverse by juliaroxs241

Fanvid: willow and tara | i know the end by editsbysarahx

Fanvid: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2 Opening Credits (Charmed Style) by Rotten Lemonade

Fanvid: Buffy and Spike - Are You That Somebody By Aaliyah by Naki-a Littlejohn

Fanvid: Buffy and Spike - Bang Bang By Ariana Grande by Naki-a Littlejohn

Vidlet: hello kitty | buffy summers | mep part by DreamingWithDragons

Vidlet: Buffy summers || legends never die || by CaptainSwann

Vidlet (untitled) by cupcakexmeow (Buffy/Spike, Buffy/Angel)

Music: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER THEME SONG / ‪by JETT Fighter Drumming‬ (age 12 )

Acting: Anya's Monologue by Skyler Brown

Song: Something to Sing About - Singing - by Sparkly Rainbow Kaz

Song: Rest In Peace - Spike - Once More, With Feeling - Buffy - Singing by Sparkly Rainbow Kaz

[Reviews & Recaps]

Video: Top Grumps - Buffy The Vampire Slayer by Nerdy Up North

Video: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4: Episode 7 - The Initiative by The Cheshire Kiwi

Video: Our Love of Buffy The Vampire Slayer PART 1 by It Crept From The 80s

Video: Buffy 2.15 Phases by Jen Katz and Ryan Something

Video: Buffy Vs Charmed | An Observation of Unnecessary Comparison by They Call Me MR. G

Video: Buffy S02E22 "Becoming (Part 2)" Spoiler Review by LGRN - Entertainment

Video: Sleeper-Slayer Sunday by Jane Talks Buffy

Podcast: Showtime S7 E11 Buffy and the Art of Story by Lisa M. Lilly

Podcast: BwB 609 - Point Insertion [Smashed] by Beer With Buffy

Podcast: Tales of Music and Film Season 8 Episode 8 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Take Two by Tales of Music and Film Hosted By Christian Taylor

Podcast: Tales of Music and Film Season 8 Episode 9 Angel by Tales of Music and Film Hosted By Christian Taylor

Podcast: The Quintessential Buffy The Vampire Slayer by Sure Look Sure Listen Podcast

[Search & Recs]

Fic search: Actor spike fic lost by YummyCookies333

Vid rec: Anya Jenkins | Why? [Character Study.] by HostilePoet17 recced by IceStorm22

Fic rec: The Devil's Elegy (Buffy/Angel, M) by coalitiongirl recced by I Will Remember You Marathon

Fic recs: favourite Spuffy recs by userttpd

Vid rec: Charles Gunn - The Loss and Recuperation of the Self by Honeycutt Videos recced by umbralsong

[Community Announcements]

Buffybot and Gilesbot, sitting in a tree… by Buffyverse Kinkmeme

[Fandom Discussions]

Buffy saying “I just wish my mom was here” really falls flat by canary-prince

Rewatch thoughts and questions [Shells, Underneath] continued by multiple posters

Two comics artists who've worked with Joss have died this week by Skippcomet

What happened to the parents in Buffy? continued by multiple posters

Podcast : "Alyson Hannigan Reveals Her #1 Hidden Theory About Me" by Klaus Kartoffel

Spikes justification for not reuniting with Buffy from the episode Harms Way by wtffu006

If I were her relatives, I’d request a refund from the funeral home by Jade_Pratt953

Anyone else believe that the police/coroner/hospitals knew about the undead Americans? by CountChocoula

What is your favourite single scene in the Buffyverse… by tommywest_123

Which ep would you choose [to watch for 24 hours straight]? by No-Jaguar8044

On S2 - watching for the first time and loving it! Will it continue with this quality? by RedRxbin

So I watched a theatre show called Buffy Revamped by CaptainZir0

Your Own Buffy The Vampire Slayer Episode Concept? by Big-Restaurant-2766

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Video: Buffy The Vampire Slayer | Full Q&A | For The Love Of Fantasy (London) 2024 by Monopoly Events

Video: Anthony Stewart Head interview, Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Regis and Kathy Lee (with Tom Arnold) by Cleverkio

Video: Episode 364: Interview With Julie Benz by Don't Go Out There Podcast

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Join the editor team :)

[chocogigi]

THE BAD (Part 2)

Onyx Storm full spoilers under the cut!!

Cue to point 1: the pace was there for me, but it kept growing and growing and growing. It constantly felt: BOOM PLOT TWIST, BOOM REVELATION, BOOM SETTING A NEW PLOT TWIST, BOOM PLOT TWIST!! I don't want to complain, it's just that I would have gladly shed a few things along the way to make it more manageable. It felt overwhelming at times (like my first post I was maybe in the first 10 chapters still??), and it gave me the awful sensation of not being able to absorb events and plot points fully.

This book was packed. When I tell you packed, I mean I finished without taking notes and one of my IRL friends is still reading and said "I'm on 35% and they just got out of Anca, Grady died". And I was like "wait, does that not happen like in the first five chapters??", because there's just so many things AFTER that, it felt like what came before was 25 pages and not 150. I get we're on book 3 of 5, we're going on new journeys, but it was 535 pages-ish of things perpetually happening.

Maybe I'll change my mind in due time, but WHAT WAS THAT!!!

3. I'm going to say something that probably won't be well received, but I need to, I want to, I have to...I did not like Xaden's Mom revelation. I did not. I'm not sorry.

WHY!!!!! I'm sure as hell she'll be important or a side character in the future, I think RY hinted it, but truly, really, what...no. I'm not setting for this anclimactic plot twist thrown at us like that. Also she's EEEEEW (but i felt sorry for the cake poison thing, they traumatized her lol)

4. I need to re-read about Venin rankings because I thought Mavens were like the final bosses and Sages were like generals, but how Berwyn and Theophanie seem equals?? I mean is she not more powerful than he is?? Or is she just older???

5. Do not let me start on the dedication to the gods thing because it's not that I didn't like it, I feel I actually didn't fully grasp it. And in the grand scheme of things it felt like another thing thrown at us. So Violet has been touched and not fully dedicated. But WHY??? I mean what happened??? Someone get grandma Daxton here, please. I refuse to believe they took her to a fucking god temple because Lilith came down with a simple fever while pregnant. THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE. And Violet was two, no???

6. Not bad but the question arises: Is Brennan dedicated to a god?? He has a rune on his hand. IS HE????

7. At times I got bored on the Isles journey. I'm sorry. But I'm so glad they went!!!

8. Also why Violet needs to cross all the isles??? Asher Daxton Sorrengail come to the front, speak to the mic. You left her six books, she's dedicated to a god, you obviously thought she would be a scribe...was that a suicide quest??? She finds about venin, she reaches the books, she finds she's touched and then what?? What was the quest? To gather an army? To find the irids which I don't think he knew about??

9. The Irids. ANDARNA. I love you my baby, but what was that. Why let her disappear for like ten chapters and then not hold the line. She goes away and she returns in a span of maybe two weeks. So what was the point?

But I'm glad it's not truth-saying! LOL

10. The Dream-Walking thing is not bad, I actually like that as a second signet. But the execution was meh to me. One, in Xaden's dreams it looks like the venin are obviously relaying messages, so it feels quite prophetic, two Violet yearns for knowledge and information, but she manifests when Andarna's in the Dreamless sleep and RY was like "ISN'T IT OBVIOUS??" and I'm like "MA'AM, NO????"

11. Not respectfully, Daddy Aetos go die on a ditch or something, JUST PLEASE DIE (this is in the bad because he's a piece of scum)

"I don't have one. Just like Xaden"

12. Marked ones second signet theory. I like it, I DO, BUT it's also confusing as fuck. When Vi finds out about Garrick, then questions Xaden and he tells her the dragons came searching for them...it's in "direct descendant came searching" or the second signet came because of Codagh's magic combined with the rune?? Like it's that power that holds the signet powered by their dragon??? How not all of them has one?? Garrick and Imogen do...I don't believe Bodhi doesn't. What Sloane's will be??

Save my boy from his misery, please.

Because if it's from the power of the relic than I get it, you can or can't have another, if it's from direct descendant bonds I will be confused as hell, since it's from book one we know Sgaeyl was bonded with a relative...I get records are not kept straight but HOW NOT STRAIGHT??? LIKE 4 DRAGONS NOT STRAIGHT??

13. Halden Tauri being the toxic ex but also a spoiled child was fun but also ewww. I now get the bitching part Lilith had to do about Violet's taste in men. LOL

12. I did like the end, but what is that last chapter? Excuse me, why?? The marriage thing was all over the book and I don't necessarily have thoughts about it (my theory was a book 5 epilogue with their marriage or like a book 5 thing but ok).

Also fun how everyone got the Halden theory right HAHAHAHA

It makes sense, she promised to protect Tyrrendor, he's turning venin, Bodhi doesn't want the job and the title will protect Violet too, but the cliffhanger didn't cliffhanged too much.

Was Imogen with them? Did Violet and Xaden married and then she ran in the battlefield, found Imogen and made her erase the memory, so she couldn't be questioned? The shadow was clearly Xaden so ew, I don't think.

It felt so rushed in the end...I know we will get the memory somehow. I'll bet my ass Violet will walk into the dream in Xaden's veniny sneaking lying mind.

13. The balance in magic thing I need to re-read, because Lynx is the response to Xaden, Lilith was the response to Theophanie?? Lol, for a moment there I thought Theophanie would be revealed to be Lilith's sister. I was so ready for the aunt plot twist!! Ahah

The boy had a giant ring on the ready. I don't believe he came back to Aretia to take it and then gave it to Violet. He travelled with it, I'm telling you.

It was a venin panicked marriage. But could be like the first interracial magical couple?? AHAHA

And Violet is the variable in the magic...so Lilith knew about Theophanie?? Leadership knew about venin having signets?? MMMMH sketchy, unclear. Not bad just confused.

14. Dragons don't really have magic, but lands do and they channel from it, and then channel to their riders, while venin channel directly from the source?? It feels like a question for book 1, but I will admit I'm stupid enough to having reached the conclusion in book 3. I thought there was power in the land, but dragons had like their own magical power.

15. Can also Caroline Ashton die? Thank you.

17. If Syrena Cordella is not going to be there in book 4 we're going to have words, Rebecca

16. King Tecarus, lol

18. NOT REALLY BAD BUT JUST CAME TO MY MIND, ARE THE SIX EGGS MISSING BECAUSE SOMEONE TOOK THEM TO UNNBRIEL???? AARIC SAW THE FUTURE? DID GARRICK TOOK THEM? HOW? WHO? WHY???

[alexilulu]

Books I read in 2024 Masterpost

#0: A Memory Called Empire (Arcady Martine, Tor Books, 2019)

#1: A Desolation Called Peace (Arkady Martine, Tor Books, 2021)

#2: Exordia (Seth Dickinson, Tor Books, 2024)

#3: The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives Inside Your Home (Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor, Harper Perennial, 2020)

#4: The King In Yellow (Robert W. Chambers, Warbler Classics (originally F. Tennyson Neely), 1895)

#5: Katana-Ra (Jay Libby (based on an outline by Kosala Ubayasekara), W.R.K.S. Games (self-published), 2023)

#6: Runequest: Roleplaying in Glorantha (Greg Stafford Steve Perrin Jeff Richard Jason Durall and friends, Chaosium Inc., 2019)

#7: Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë under the pen name Ellis Bell, Thomas Newby, 1847)

#8: Moby Dick (Hermann Melville, Independent Publisher (originally Harper & Brothers), 1851)

#9: Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead (K.J. Parker (pen name of Tom Holt), Orbit Books, 2023)

#10: A Legacy of Spies (John le Carré, Viking Press, 2017)

#11: Saevus Corax Captures the Castle (K.J. Parker (pen name of Tom Holt), Orbit Books, 2023)

#12: Karl Marx (Isaiah Berlin, Times Inc. Books, 1963)

#13: The Yiddish Policeman's Union (Michael Chabon, HarperCollins, 2007)

#14: Final Girls Support Group (Grady Hendrix, Berkley Books, 2021)

#15: Slow Horses (Mick Herron, Soho Crime, 2010)

#16-18: The Scholomance Series (Naomi Novik, Del Rey Books, 2020-2022)

#19-22: The Apothecary Diaries, Volumes 4-7 (Natsu Hyūga with illustrations by Touko Shino, published by Shufunotomo, English translation by J-Novel Club, 2021-2023)

#23: The Saint of Bright Doors (Vajra Chandrasekera, Tor Books, 2023)

#24: Agent Running in the Field (John le Carré, Viking Books, 2019)

#25: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run (Hirohiko Araki, Shueisha, serialized 01/19/2004-04/19/2011 in Weekly Shonen Jump for the first 24 chapters followed by Ultra Jump monthly thereafter)

#26: Fire Warrior (Simon Spurrier, Black Library Publishing (an imprint of Games Workshop), 2003)

The Rules

1: unless tagged #spoilers, any novel I post will not contain plot spoilers but may contain vibe spoilers or allusion to events; I may talk about what the story is About that the dust jacket or my own synopsis may not make obvious but I won't tell you who killed somebody or a cool twist

2: I'd I post a book here it is because I finished it and liked it, OR I finished it and need to untangle why I didn't. Novels I simply don't enjoy I don't finish anymore, as a rule, but I may break it if something about it compels me to finish it. I've only had to do it twice in the last year, but both novels were so antithetical to my enjoyment that it made me actually feel mad about trying to read them.

3: I'm not gonna rate them. I don't like ratings systems, I'm not gonna try to hammer something into a number, and forcing it is just going to be dumb. I did think about making a 7 point criteria list that if a novel met it I would declare perfect, but that's too much work. Maybe in a lull of books or something I'll hammer one out. If I do, one point will be "did it contain a character wielding a sword flicking the blood from their blade before sheathing it?"

4: no rereads. I have a bad habit of returning to old books series when I have so many books that interest me that I'd like to break, so for 2024 unless I need to for something wild like a series entry I'm not expecting, no rereads.

5: There's gonna be some nonfiction in here. I've got a couple of things at the top of my to-read list that are political or social in nature, but if you're following me or reading these you probably can attune yourself to my political stances to know what's up pretty quickly. That said, I'm gonna talk about social shit occasionally even outside of those, so idk if that's a big deal but, yknow.

6: fuck it, we ball