#cedric looks better imo

[mushroomsie224]

Could you draw newborn baby Cedric curled up content in Winifred's loving arms, wrapped in a purple blanket?

I tried the colouring method from before again. I hope you like it!

[itsclydebitches]

Hey Clyde, have you caught Shaun's recent video on Harry Potter? It's quite good, but while watching I was also struck by a number of his general criticisms of the series (no good or bad actions only good or bad characters, lack of forethought when introducing new world elements, lack of engagement with established world elements, extremely poorly thought out racial allegories etc) and you can probably guess the other series I thought of lol

I'm watching it now! Thanks for the rec, this is quite good (and I love the background art). I'm about a half hour in and:

"What is done isn’t so important as who is doing it.”

Yup. Yuuuup. That covers a lot of RWBY's current problems right there, alongside that specific tendency to not plan ahead while also attempting to fix things later with the same lack of thought put into the explanation that created the problem in the first place. "Why can't everything be solved with time turners? Oh no, all the time turners were conveniently smashed, problem solved" feels very similar to, "How in the world will they survive the immortal witch? Oh yay, Oscar has a magical nuke in his back pocket, problem solved." Sure, technically speaking both scenarios could (and obviously did) happen, but that doesn't mean they're satisfying to watch/read. I think both RWBY and HP suffer from a lot of moments that never had to be problems in the first place if the authors had just thought ahead a bit more, or even just gave some honest "There's no good explanation because I didn't think about that at the time, sorry" responses to fan questioning. Although, the problem might lie in how those two things appear to contradict for some people. There's such a desire for authors to have thought through every aspect of their stories that when they're faced with a question they don't have a good answer for, they scramble for one to avoid looking bad. Hence ill-thought-out ideas they'd "always planned" that either wreak havoc on the canon, or just come across as ridiculous. The silver lining I suppose is that these moments give fans a chance to come up with cool explanations that the authors failed to consider (with the "My headcanon is actually canon, how dare you suggest the author is less than perfect" take being an extreme result of that play). By coincidence I finished up a HP fic the other night and one detail I liked was the author considering the question, "Why did Voldemort have his followers create a two-way portkey that ultimately allowed Harry to escape from the graveyard? Surely a one-way-ticket (ha, Weiss) would have been better." The kids theorized that all portkeys are like that. Later the reader learns that's incorrect and Malfoy just blames Crouch for being incredibly foolish. It's eventually revealed that Voldemort did that deliberately, hoping to send Harry's body back to Dumbeldore as a warning. It was one of those moments when I went, "Oh cool, the fans aren't just thinking through the world building more, but also thinking through the facts of the world vs. student ignorance vs. biased assumptions vs. egotistic plans that thoroughly backfired."

Though it's by no means a new conversation, I'm really glad fandom is unpacking problems like the fatphobia and alcoholism, alongside JKR's TERF-rhetoric, especially since much of it is all bound up together. Also, I immediately like any vid that acknowledges how utterly ridiculous Cursed Child is lol. Look, I have heard from multiple people whose taste in media I greatly respect — one of them very recently! — who say the play is absolutely amazing... but I just can't get over the plot. Or the characterization. Or the, well, everything else. I too might get caught up in the spectacle of the production if I ever get the chance to see it, but strip that away and you've just got a bad story imo. So yeah, I'm always sitting up when someone else mentions how insane it is that Cedric became a Death Eater because he lost a contest. Guess it's a good thing he was killed and that moment is no longer the tragedy that sparked the second war!🤦‍♀️

(Ah man, now I'm thinking about parallels to Penny's death: a similar revision where we strip the tragedy away for silly shenanigans that exist only to bring a beloved character back into the spotlight, no matter how their characterization is butchered in the process.)

I've gotta admit though, as well done as the video is so far and as much as I agree with Shaun's primary points, I think he's excluding important context for some of the smaller examples to push the "This is very badly written" angle. For example no, we don't know that Harry is a horrible child who didn't give his friends gifts for Christmas. The books are written in a limited third person, mostly Harry's POV, which mean the texts, especially early on, tend to focus on what he's received, not what he's given. But the existence of later gifts and Harry's overall characterization say pretty clearly (to me anyway) that of course he gave his friends presents, we just don't hear about them because the short paragraphs assigned to describing Christmas are more concerned with what he got. To be honest, I've always taken issue with the, "Harry should have solved the Weasley's financial problems and the fact that he didn't means he's a shitty person" take. Beyond the fact that I don't think 12yos should be responsible for solving or attempting to solve the financial problems of those around them (especially abused 12yos who randomly learned one day they have a fortune), JKR may have fucked up a lot of the story, but she does a pretty good job of establishing Harry's careful approach to wealth and the Weasleys. As Shaun lays out, Harry offers to share his candy and tries to trade for Ron's sandwich. He recognizes right from the start that Ron's pride won't let him accept a straight up, charitable gift. In later books Harry thinks about how he'd happily pay for all the Weasley's stuff, but he knew by then they wouldn't accept. By the fourth book Harry is old enough to have figured out a way to help without embarrassing anyone:

"Harry," said George weakly, weighing the money bag in his hands, "there's got to be a thousand Galleons in here."

"Yeah," said Harry, grinning. "Think how many Canary Creams that is." The twins stared at him.

"Just don't tell your mum where you got it... although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it."

"Harry," Fred began, but Harry pulled out his wand.

"Look," he said flatly, "take it, or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now. Just do me one favour, OK? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they're from you."

The twins are the most carefree and chill of all the Weasley clan and they're still pretty reluctant to take money they know Harry doesn't need, money he won through traumatic events to boot. Imagine the response if he tried to get the most money-concerned member (Ron) to accept an expensive new wand at 12 years old, using the money his dead parents left him. Toss in practical concerns like "The wand chooses the wizard," so these kids need to get back to Diagon Alley for this Christmas present — Harry can't just order one in the mail — or else get Molly and Arthur involved, so we're right back to the embarrassment of this kid doing for Ron what his parents can't. It's just always seemed silly to me, this idea of, "I can't believe the literal child who has known about magic for about a year didn't solve the financial difficulties of this prideful family. Harry is such a jerk." The REAL question is why McGonagall, the adult Deputy Headmistress and Head of Ron's House, was willing to shell out a stupid amount for Harry's racing broom, but won't buy her student a new wand. There's some characterization to unpack. Obviously though Shaun's end point is the main takeaway: we have to ignore a lot of easy fixes to set up Ron's broken wand ending up in Lockhart's hand (personally, I would have just had the wand break during the fall into the chamber), but I don't actually think Harry's money is one of those easy fixes here. For all the awful problems with the novels, Harry as a fully realized character is something I've always liked. He makes bad choices, silly choices, often does things and doesn't do things based on emotion rather than what's the Objectively Right Choice. I absolutely buy a 12yo who grew up with the Dursleys keeping his head down about money problems until, a few years later, he's figured out a way to give some without embarrassing everyone in the process.

ANYWAY I've ranted about HP for too long now (surprise, surprise). Gonna watch more of the vid tomorrow👌‍

[abybweisse]

Nothing against anon but.. The undertaker n Cluadia being lovers is just so overly hinted on imo it’s a stretch to say they aren’t

I don’t even like the ship personally, I enjoyed Undertaker better when he was less lovey doveY BUT don’t change the fact all signs point to the fact he was lovers w/Cluadia or to be more exact EXTREMELY close w/her

I don’t think he had any actual blood kids w/her, that also seems like a stretch imo, there really isn’t any real evidence to back that up, and I agree it’s unlikely Vincent was him+Claudia’s son

It seems more likely he simply feels very connected to him as he IS Cluadias son, whom is assumed to have been his lover, same for Ciel

Idrk I just think it don’t make entire sense for him to have not been lovers w/Cluadia bc it seems crucial to the plots development-I hate that it is, but it seems like a fact 2 me

Wait, what?

For one thing, which anon are you talking about? Because I agree with the anon who read some ig thread and asked for my opinion. That anon and I seem to agree that not only is Undertaker probably Cedric, but that would make him the father of both Vincent and Frances/Francis.

I, for one, wholeheartedly believe Undertaker is Cedric K. Ros— and the father of Vincent and Frances/Francis.

And there are pieces of evidence to provide of that now. Put them together, and it does become rather compelling.

Undertaker’s striking moment of mourning for Vincent. Undertaker cries over Vincent’s death in front of Diedrich. Right in front of Vincent’s best friend and confidant. I don’t think Yana-san would have Undertaker cry like that about the death of someone else’s son, even if he was involved with the guy’s mother or in love with her. I mean, I do see parallels between Undertaker and Snape, and Snape wanted to help Harry because of his love for Harry’s mother, Lily. He even (somewhat appropriately) took the blame for Lily’s death. But Snape never shed tears for what happened to James or Harry. Only Lily. (Always.) So, I see Vincent’s death as a personal loss for Undertaker, not simply because he was her son, but because he was their son.

Undertaker’s embarrassing remarks to Frances/Francis. She is trying to downplay how they even know each other, but Undertaker not only calls her by her maiden name (in front of her husband) but also comments he recalls her birth like it was yesterday. It’s not just a comment about how 30-something years means nothing to him; it’s a suggestion he was present at her very birth. And she knows it. But her husband doesn’t. And she’s freaking sweating bullets over the whole confrontation. Because, somehow, she has become too embarrassed by him... as her father.

Undertaker’s resemblances to Cloudia/Claudia’s offspring. Yana-san tweeted that 1. not only are Vincent and Frances/Francis full siblings, but 2. Edward physically takes after his mom, and she physically takes after Cedric K. Ros—. There are numerous posts on here (I’ve reblogged some of them from their OP’s and have written about it, too) showing just how much Frances/Francis and Edward physically look like Undertaker. And similarities between how they carry themselves, position their bodies, move, etc. Same for Vincent and Undertaker, not so much in physical looks but regarding how they carry themselves, and so on, too... which shows a different side to Undertaker — one of leisure and a hint of laziness. Then you have Frances/Francis’ and Lizzie’s formidable talents and skills with sword fighting. You can even toss in Edward’s ability to perfect techniques he’s learned from others. And let’s not forget the adorable baby hairs at the napes of necks: we see it early-on for Frances/Francis and Lizzie, and when we get to Weston we see it for Undertaker, too. These are shared physical or other traits that we are being presented with, and most of it’s pretty subtle, particularly if looked at separately. However, put them all together, and a pattern of inheritance forms.

Undertaker’s and Cedric’s mysteries. If Undertaker isn’t Cedric K. Ros—, there is no need to cover up Cedric’s last name and the years of his birth or death. No need to emphasize that Undertaker has been a reaper for easily over a century. No need for Yana-san to have him go by his registration number, and for even someone like Othello to not know his actual name. No need to toss in all these little parallels between Undertaker and Cedric of Rotherwood from Ivanhoe, which the name Cedric was coined for... or for Undertaker/136649 to attack the reaper HQ around the same time Ivanhoe was first published. If that’s all one huge red herring, then it’s overdone....

I’m sure there’s more I should have included here, but I should be asleep right now... and this isn’t the sort of ask I was accepting, either. I went ahead and replied because this one is easy enough to reply to.

[benisasoftboi]

Unorganised thoughts on Trails of Cold Steel III:

...I’m gonna need like a week to process that

I guess I know why people hate George now!

Could really use a good old reset from KeA right now

This is the best game in the Cold Steel series so far. Easily

I... there’s no way they’re all really dead, right? This series has been completely toothless about killing anyone who isn’t a villain until now, no way they’re permanently killing someone who’s been here since practically day 1, no way. Show me a body

And even then I’ll doubt it with all these revivals happening all over the place 

‘He’s HIDING’ I sob as I apply clown make-up 

Ben Diskin did not need to go so hard on the voice acting at Millium’s death he did not need to do that to me

My god when Angie drove into the graveyard and my PS4 popped up a little notification telling me it was a blocked scene, the tension in me... and I never saw that coming, I’ll have to see if it was foreshadowed at all by replaying CS1 and 2 some time

I saw Lughman being a baddie a mile away (a mysterious professor turning out to be evil in a Trails game? UNPRECEDENTED!) but he’s Alisa’s dad!?

Neat writing trick actually, since they probably knew we’d guess the former, they blindside us with the latter

I can’t express how happy it made me that the Rufus battle was Machias Jusis Elliot. My dream team!

Estelle and Joshua got mentioned so much I figured they’d make a surprise appearance at the end and save the day

:(

So. Characters:

Rean: Rean is once again moderately more interesting than he was before, but still the least interesting person in the game. I guess he’s got some guilt that’s actually justified now, that’s cool? 

I ship him with Crow, not because the pairing really appeals to me that much, but because being shipped with Crow would totally piss Rean off and I find that extremely funny

His relationship with Altina is the best relationship he’s ever had with a female character and it is 100% because she’s the only girl he’s never ship teased with

(I don’t have an issue with the concept of ship tease itself, I have an issue with Rean-ship tease because 1. I still truly do not understand why so many girls like him so much and 2. None of it will ever canonically go anywhere)

(Seriously I’m so tempted to write a breakdown of why every other guy in Erebonia is more desirable than Rean)

Juna: I like Juna. I realised early on that she and Kurt remind me of Estelle and Joshua, without being carbon copies, and that’s good. I also think her relationship with Rean was really interesting - ‘I don’t know how to feel about you because you saved my life, but it also wouldn’t have needed saving if it weren’t for your country’s actions, which you’ve played a major role in - but now I’m being forced to confront that you’re a human being too’ is a really complicated situation for her. It’s a lot more interesting than ‘I don’t like you because you accidentally got a face full of chest’, Alisa

I also really liked using her, I ended up loading her with the Platinum Pecky Medal and defensive stuff, and she was a wall, she took an S-craft from Arianrhod in her stride! My buff girl!

She should’ve just been the new protagonist ngl

Kurt: Kurt had a lot to live up to, seeing as his brother is my favourite minor character. And oh does he succeed, Kurt is my favourite of New VII, he’s a good straight man, he’s great in battle, I like his arc, I like his friendship with Juna, I like Kurt

Altina: I was not sure about Altina just... being a student now. But damn if she didn’t have the best character arc in the game. I only did her final bonding event on a whim, but it’s the best one I saw. My girl Allie deserves the damn world

I really, truly believe those three have a bond as well, they’re very well written as a group. This was a problem I had with Old VII, the fact that so many of them just... didn’t have relationships with each other. How do, say, Fie and Machias feel about each other? I have no idea. But this group has a fantastic dynamic and it makes that ending so much more effective

It’s like I praised Crossbell for, really - having a small core group is much more manageable in terms of giving them all equal screen time and getting me to care about them

Musse: Uh, kind of one-note and annoying, honestly. I don’t hate her or anything, but like... she’s either Being Mysterious or Hitting On Her Teacher (I hate it I hate it so much). It’s just hard to care about someone who’s clearly so fake, I guess? I’m definitely interested in her, but like... I don’t really like her

Ash: Poor boy. I thought Ash was such an interesting character (and man do I love having someone around who does not like Rean, and never really changes his mind about it). Ash is very well done imo

Alisa: Alisa is good when the issue is her family drama, and is so goddamn boring when it comes to Rean. Nothing new there

Elliot: I love his little ponytail I love it he’s so cute I want to hug him so bad

Laura: Winner of the ‘best new outfit’ award (was never that fond of her war outfit, but this one is perfect). Still good, but not notably so. I feel so bad for Laura, she tries so hard to matter, but she’s by far the character you’d have the easiest time lifting out of the game

And while I love Elliot... same situation really. You could go back to the start and have one character named Elliaura who likes swords and music and has two big-shot dads, and you wouldn’t lose much

Machias: Took down Rufus, yeah, destroy your best friend (boyfriend)’s evil family! Winner of the ‘worst new outfit’ award, AGAIN. Also winner of ‘dorkiest S-craft’. I did his final bonding event first, and according to Playstation trophies it’s the least popular one! Stop sleeping on my boy Machias guys, I know he was annoying in the first game but I love him :(

Gaius: Special award to Gaius for finally being interesting! Boy’s a Gralsritter now, did not see that coming!

And of course it happened off screen. Because god forbid interesting stuff happen to Gaius when we’re actually around

Oh also goddamn, that is a beautiful man

Emma: Don’t really like the new outfit. It’s kind of remarkable that she’s so important but I keep forgetting she exists. Exposition witch who sometimes just doesn’t deliver the exposition I guess

Fie: Still my fav girl. Wish there had been more focus on her feelings about her dad coming back to life. Like that she’s a bracer

Jusis: Wasn’t sure how to feel about his newly close friendship with Millium because I was concerned that I was meant to ship it (by far my least favourite thing about this franchise is that that was not an unreasonable concern, as it wouldn’t even be the most inappropriate relationship in this game alone). Very, very glad it was confirmed sibling-y (not that it’s stopped them before). He didn’t really get to do anything else, sadly, but he’s good as always

I did the Purebread contest with him, and he made bread from coffee beans Machias gave him, the Ferdibert Fire Emblem energy- 

“What are you doing underneath this scarlet Pleroma Grass?”

Milliam: :(

Sara: Doesn’t get much to do because this cast is bloated but like, I still really like her :)

Towa: Someone needs to check on Towa all her friends are dead or evil the poor poor girl (or uh. I guess Crow isn’t... hmm.)

Angie :(

My kids Tita and Agate are back and completely overshadowed by people teasing this almost 30-year old man about being in love with a 17 year old that he’s only ever claimed to see as a sister, I swear to god

The orbal gear looks so goofy lol

Stop mentioning Schera as just being ‘totally here, just off screen, ha ha’ give her a model! Have her be here!

Don’t get me wrong, I loved seeing Josette again, I just don’t get... why? Why is she here?

Tio is back! And so is Randy, as a major character! I’m very very happy, I love them both

Michael’s fine, I guess? He’s kind of bland but I guess that’s kind of the point and I like him just fine. He serves his purpose well

I’ve never really liked Claire all that much, but she’s fine in this one again I suppose. A bit disappointed by the Lechter reveals really, I had expected more, to be honest

Aurelia is a fun character and I enjoy her as the principal. Want to see her fight Cassius

Want to see Cassius 

I love my girl Annabelle, but she’s the only reason I didn’t get all the character profiles (how was I meant to know I could even go to the highway at that point hmmm Falcom!?)

They picked a good selection of returning Thors students. Even Dorothee isn’t as annoying as she used to be. Hilarious that she’s the only one who didn’t get a profile

Juna gave a great big speech about how awesome the SSS are and namedrops everyone EXCEPT WAZY! My FAVOURITE Crossbell character! So offensive!

Oh speaking of offensive I took Machias to the Mishy show and was told he and Rean did a Mishy dance but they didn’t show it, what the hell-

Playable Olivier! Olivier back story! I could write a goddamn essay on why Olivier is such a great character. Glaring at you Falcom

I miss Mueller :(

Ada Grant is wonderful and I want better things for her

Rufus is a damn great villain just because of how much sense his actions suddenly make when you know that one little detail of him not actually being Jusis’s brother

I hate Cedric but like, in a way where I’m having fun hating him. That little bitch

Literally what do you even actually want Osbourne

I still cannot stand Elise. Something I realised playing this game is that one of the things that stops the Estelle and Joshua relationship from being as weird as it could be is that they don’t look at all alike, it’s very clear they’re not related in the slightest. Elise and Rean look like they really could be siblings, and come to think, so do Lloyd and Cecile. Which is also teased, to a lesser extent. It would be so much less uncomfortable if they just swapped Elise and Alfin’s models ngl (though still not good)

inb4 the final plot twist of the whole series is that Estelle and Joshua actually were biological siblings all along

This game looks so much better than its predecessors. Having the models being a little rounder and softer looking makes it look much more like an updated version of the original style than the complete departure that was CS1 and 2. Every time there was a flashback, Rean would be like ‘back then...’ and I’d feel compelled to say out loud ‘when we were shiny, and looked bad!’

‘Evil ancient magic corrupts people into making them do bad things!’ is... honestly a bit of a cop out that I did not expect from this series 

I found Rean telling Patrick ‘leave room for Aidios when dancing with my sister’ extremely funny. Rean would totally be a Christian summer camp counsellor in the real world

I honestly would have enjoyed it a lot more if Alfin decided to cause a scandal and have her first dance with Elise, but we can’t have such luxuries I suppose

When you get that book on dystopias, very clever to put the author on the last page. Seeing the name Gideon gave me such a start

Racquel was easily my fav new location

Leeves > Trista no doubt, maybe I’m just biased because it looks a lot like the village I grew up in but it’s just such a nicer design

Also the branch campus > main campus purely for being smaller, making the filler segments between field trips more bearable 

I prefer the longer but fewer chapters set-up, I think

There’s so many sad faces in this write up :( 

Back when I played Sky SC, I said something about how one of the themes is ‘you are not defined by your trauma’. I now think it would be more accurate to say that the theme of all the games (but especially the Sky arc) is ‘don’t let your worst experiences define you’

Because there are characters who define themselves by their traumas and worst experiences - and those characters are all villains, or miserable, or both. Like, they don’t phrase it as such, but the requirement to be an Ouroboros enforcer is ‘have trauma and define yourself by it’

And both Joshua and Renne’s arcs are about learning not to do that

Equally, the idea that ‘it’s much easier to not to define yourself by your trauma when you have a good support system that wants the best for you’ is a big theme as well

I just think that’s a really interesting idea for a JRPG series to tackle, idk

I can’t believe I’m at the last game! This series has been my life for the past near-half a year, what do I do when I finish it?

...go back and play Sky FC, maybe?

[madonna-of-meridian]

30 days of WITCHversary

 Day 11 - Something awesome

Okay, a big PRAISE to the German dub on this one. As some of my followers, who read all my extra long tags, already know – yes, I’m from Germany and therefore watched W.i.t.c.h. in German. And this is actually the good thing about it – non-english speaking countries (that have enough money to spend on film industry) put a LOT effort in dubbing movies and tv shows. Germany is one of those countries. As far as I know the two European countries whose film/movie dubs are know as the best are Italy and Germany and it SHOWS.

Because I am a language nerd, I often do switch languages on my DVDs for fun and tbh when it comes to the guardian’s voices in the English dub of W.i.t.c.h. I was like SO disappointed? Like, a lot of changes (Taranee speaking with Cornelia’s voice at times etc.) and also pretty lame acting? I remember Taranee having an eel in her shirt in episode 3 and the English voice actress did..not deliver at all? While Marie-Luise Schramm, who voices Taranee in the German dub, is like F*CK THERE IS SOMETHING HELP ME AHHHHHH. But actually she is like that the whole time, she has got sm Taranee spirit it’s awesome. Also, Blunk’s German voice was so funny and CUTE while the english one was simply..funny? But idk the german voice feels sm more in character same with Caleb who sounds like a 12 years old in the English sub xD. So enough bitching about the English sub who has it’s good things too (like phobos and Cedric are awsome in there!)

So, long story short – I love the German dub sm! (I also love some other dubs and maybe will do a post about other good dubs too at some point). So while I will save our two evil bad boys for a later day, I’m gonna list up the 5 guardians with their voice actresses now and tell you why they are so good (and I bet now everyone stops reading lol.)

Will: Magdalena Turba

Okay, let’s start with a voice I am nearly always annoyed of because I first noticed her as Will and she therefore stays Will to me. As I said before, I am by far no fan of show!Will and I think things would have been better if Will had a cuter voice in the German dub? But on the other hand Magdalena’s voice is very fitting: she is confident and strong and also catches Will’s bossy moments very well.

Memorable roles: She is also the German voice actress of Amanda Seyfried and I still connect my childhood with Magdalena because she voiced Cera in the A Land Before Time movies (BEST CHILDHOOD MOVIES EVER FIGHT ME).

Irma: Esra Vural

She was sm Irma it is not even healthy anymore xD I once read an interview with Esra in which she said how much she enjoyed voicing Irma and you really FEEL that when you hear her. She got all the emotions so right as if she really was the character herself.

Memorable roles: Another very Irma-like character she voices was Clawdeen Wolf from MH. She is also the German voice actress of Ashley Tisdale. (And now compare a Sharpay Evans to Irma Lair – NO similarities and still she got both characters on point!).

Taranee: Marie-Luise Schramm

Oh, my baby! She makes Taranee such a cute sweetheart. She really catches Taranee’s nervous personality in all the little scenes so well. I think I am more a fan of her acting frightened than the brainy part because the first one makes Taranee sm human if that makes sense? She has got her flaws and still keeps on fighting. And Marie-Luise catches those emotions very well imo.

Memorable roles: Toph Bei Fong from Avatar (also MY GIRL) but she does sm stuff

Cornelia: Anna Predleus

Now, while Cornelia has got a mature voice in almost EVERY dub, the German dub was like: Hell no? She’s the shopping girl? She’s blonde? She needs a high voice. But..it works? Like people complain that Cornelia was too much of a bitch in the show, agreed but she still has got a brain and is still very mature and smart? I mean being a shopping girl doesn’t automatically make you dump. I guess they made Cornelia that way in the show because she was pretty unlikeable in the comics – especially in the first issues. So in the show she might have been bitchy but at least she still was FUN lol. So that is why I like Anna’s voice as Cornelia, yes it is no deep voice but it still fits the character in a different way. I also really liked her acting when it came to Elyon’s situation.

Memorable roles: Especially from my childhood: Gemini Stone from Sabrina – The animated series and Gina Lash from Angela Anaconda xD

Hay Lin: Carmen Katt

Now, she is the only one which I only connect with Hay Lin. Her voice was pretty high and “airy” but still might seem more mature than in other dubs. She really got the weird character of Hay Lin very well and I really like how she feld inside the character if that makes sense? Like, Hay Lin always got that little side-kick quotes and Carmen wasn’t simply reading them out but putting a lot Hay Lin spirit and it - is a bit like in Irma’s case – she really WAS Hay Lin. Like, she was the whole person, all emotions all states Hay Lin went through were on point. Be it her being very enthusiastic about being a guardian, or doing her art stuff or being hopeless in s2 when Yan Lin becomes brainwashed by Nerissa. I love her sm, my little baby girl. (Yes, I LOVE HAY LIN WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT).

Memorable roles: I just looked her up and was like WTF she voiced Cleo de Nile (fhjdjsjlskl) from MH and RIAS GREMORY IN HIGHSCHOOL DXD  xD  and also Raven Queen in Ever After High. Lol, this women has got talent.

 And last but not least I want to talk about ELYON

Elyon: Julia Meynen

Omg, she was SO on POINT. I know, I said that before but Julia as Elyon OMG. I really LOVE how she got the emotions of the lost and angry Elyon in episode 01.14 Parent’s Night. Like, she can go from super friendly and cutesy to absolute terrifying mad like she is in 01.23 when confronting the guardians. She plays Elyon from the nice bf of Cornelia to the brainwashed princess and Julia played is so believable. Again, I use the word emotions here a lot, but Julia’s job as Elyon really gives me goose bumps.

Memorable roles: As for my childhood I’d put here Honoka Yukishiro from Pretty Cure and Sunburst from Barbie: Magic of the Rainbow and also Mami Tomoe from Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Of course ALL voice actors if W.i.t.c.h. are GREAT and I will come back to this topic on day 19 xD

And now, everyone who read till here but a heart in the comments xD

[battlestar-royco]

What are some flaws you've noticed in HP and how would you improve them?

This is a question I’ve been thinking about more as I get older. When I was first reading the books it was hard for me to see any flaws, so this question is hard for me but it’s been getting easier. First of all, we’re pretending Cursed Child doesn’t exist lmfao. Moving on. I’ve always wished JKR had done better with the side characters. I really like Ginny as a character and Harry’s endgame, but I understand why people found her rushed and underdeveloped. I’ve always wanted her to be more central throughout the books. Same goes for Luna and Neville. Luna had the misfortune to be introduced in book 5 of 7, but she’s so sweet and I love her as a foil for Hermione and as someone who’s super confident in herself. I also love how Neville doesn’t fit into the typical Gryffindor mold and he shows streaks of unconventional courage here and there. So, more of that would have been great. Honorable mentions for Seamus, Dean, Lavender, Parvati etc!

Better Slytherin characters. As stated above, over the series we get a bunch of Gryffindors who show bravery in different ways, and even Gryffindors who turn out to be horrible cowards. Ravenclaw similarly has a nice range of characters who exhibit both academic and emotional knowledge. Hufflepuff suffered from a relative lack of characters, but you can still pull out Tonks, Cedric, and now Newt. I would’ve loved to see more Slytherin characters who aren’t evil, bullies, and/or blood purists.

The Time Turner and the wand allegiance plot holes. Tbh, I don’t consider the TT thing to be as much of a plot hole as others do (using the “if they could time travel, why didn’t they kill Voldemort as a child?” argument). To JKR’s credit, she DID destroy all the TTs in OotP, she never specified how far back in time the TTs could go, and she clarified that meddling with time is generally not done. I also just don’t see time travel as a solution any of the characters would have used to deal with Voldemort. That said, it would have been so easy for her to just say “they only go back 12 hours/3 days/1 year” or whatever in PoA. The wand allegiance thing is waaaay more egregious. People have been stupefying and disarming each other since CoS, but now apparently that causes wands to change ownership, thus making Draco the owner of the Elder Wand at the end of DH? I think this could have worked if JKR had established an intentionality/willpower system with the wands maybe? Like the wand chooses the wizard after all, so maybe the wand and/or the wand owner have more agency over their loyalty? I don’t know. I’ll probably have more defined thoughts on this after I get to DH in my reread; it’s been a long time since I read the last book!

Um, FANTASTIC BEASTS?! Newt should definitely not be the main character. Like. Even if we were ignoring the whole werewolf registry thing x, he’s still only okay as a protagonist imo. Tina is meh at best and stupid at worst. I loved Queenie and Jacob in the first film, but the love potion thing (ESPECIALLY played as a joke) and Queenie’s nonsensical defection really ruined that entire relationship for me. The concept of a character doing bad things for a reason they think is good and slowly becoming Dark is very interesting, but Queenie isn’t the right character for that story. JKR completely botched the arc, doesn’t even seem aware that Queenie did something wrong to Jacob, and made a Jewish witch join a N*zi coded organization. Besides, the FB story’s center is, or at least it definitely should be, Dumbledore and Grindelwald (hereon D and G) and Obscurials. We were already invested in this conflict and these characters because of the books, we already know a bit about Obscurials because of Ariana, and all the main tension comes from D and G’s past dark dealings. Keeping Newt as a protagonist just forces more unnecessary and fake-looking beast chase scenes when the most interesting part of the series (at least to me) is D and G’s movements toward and against each other in this chase for Obscurials. So if I were to rewrite FB, I would make someone like Dumbledore or Credence the main character, I’d cut Newt and Tina (probably keep Queenie and Jacob), make Dumbledore explicitly gay, keep the canon consistent with the books, and build on whatever happened with D and G. Also, J*hnny Depp can eat shit and die.

[lizziebennet]

AURORA. Very important question for you on this Tuesday night - what is your opinion on the HP scores and could you order them from fav to least fav?

what an excellent and essential question. i admit that it’s hard for me to approach this matter from an objective point of view as obviously my opinions of these scores are very intensely affected by nostalgia and my experience w the film itself, but i shall try my hardest to just evaluate the scores on their own merit. 

RANKING OF THE HARRY POTTER FILM SCORES, FROM WORST TO BEST:

7. deathly hallows part 1&2 by alexandre desplat

i remember when it was announced desplat was going to be doing the last 2 films and it was so exciting to have such a Hot Composer taking on the final two films… but i gotta say he severely disappointed me and i haven’t forgiven desplat since. these films–especially part 2–were the culmination of the entire franchise, and should’ve been fucking epic masterpieces that evoked the previous films’ score. instead, desplat largely ignored the iconic potter themes that williams and others created and went in his own direction which like… isn’t really the right move for the last 2 films of a franchise imo. 

and im just not super a fan of what he came up with?? like ‘lily’s theme’ is good, but im not sure it really fits potter?? and i just feel like a lot of the final battle stuff could’ve been so much more epic and emotional like. it doesn’t take a lot for a bitch to cry in a harry potter movie but desplat wasn’t helping me out u know. anyway i honestly like the score he did for fucking new moon better than for potter which …….is not great. 

6. order of the phoenix by nicholas hooper 

i am trying not to let my hatred of this movie cloud my judgement here but like even so i think this is one of the weaker scores. there are just so many annoying tracks lmaooo that like they blast at the wizarding world parks u know. like umbridge’s theme… i get its SUPPOSED to be annoying but still its not a fave. and like i think again the stuff in the ministry of magic during the fight scenes couldve been better. its just not a fave tbh but i do like a few themes like particularly the track ‘a journey to hogwarts’ is very sweet and sirius’s death moment was well done. but overall there are more tracks on this one i skip than play. 

5. chamber of secrets by john williams

this is where things get rly tricky bc i legit love the rest of these scores. but i have to put chamber here because i feel like a lot of its greatness piggybacks off the genius of the score of sorcerer’s stone... which isn’t a bad thing at all but. it doesn’t bring a ton of new stuff to the table. however i do love the ‘fawkes the phoenix’ theme!!! so!! much!!! and lockhart’s theme is very funny and cute. we do edge into a saccharine territory a bit when it comes to tracks like ‘reunion of friends’ but like i cry every time so who fucking cares. 

4. half-blood prince by nicholas hooper

i really really love this score as a stand alone score, and i almost put it higher on this list but i feel like this score totally abandons all the potter scores that have come before it and does its totally own new thing. this isn’t really the scores fault, as im sure like david yates told hooper to do this you know, but it deviates so far from the original themes instead of just adding onto them, so much so that if you just heard it without watching the movie you might not even associate it with the potter movies at all. again, this probably isn’t hooper’s fault but i think this was a big mistake for the sonic evolution of the movies. the potter movies failed to create a cohesive sound across all the films, and i think it is worse for it. can u imagine if the harry potter movies were like the lord of the rings movies, where they bring back themes from the first movie in the final one and the audience recognizes them subconsciously and the moment is all the more emotional because of it? tbh just a missed opportunity imo. 

but anyway just about this score on its own, it has some of the best standalone tracks in the entire movies tbh. the one that stands out the most to me is of course ‘dumbledore’s farewell.’ such a hauntingly beautiful song--i remember seeing this movie for the first time and this track pierced me to my core. i also love how this score uses harp like in ‘when ginny kissed harry,’ and how it uses choral arrangements?? like in ‘in noctem.’ honestly i adore this score so much but i have to rank it lower because i doesn’t feel like it serves its purpose in the potter movies as a whole well :( 

3. goblet of fire by patrick doyle

idk why patrick doyle only did the 1 movie because i really like this score. i know its super hard to follow up john fucking williams lmaooo but i feel like he did a pretty good job of drawing from the original williams themes but also incorporating some new stuff to fit the darker tone of the movie. there are some of my favorite potter tracks of all time on this score like ‘death of cedric’ which is so haunting and perfect and ‘harry in winter’ which is so beautiful and potter-esque. he also did a really good job with the action scenes in the graveyard which is v important to me. and the diegetic music in the yule ball stuff is so funny and lovely at the same time. 

2. sorcerer’s stone by john williams 

the fucking classic. the og. like, what is there to say?? talented brilliant incredible amazing showstopping never the same totally unique. like only john williams could create such an iconic theme. it’s hard for me to be objective here because i was young enough when the first movie came out that ‘hedwig’s theme’ /is/ harry potter to me, they are one in the same, you cannot separate them in my mind. but truly williams captured the magic of the harry potter world in music and enchanted everyone with this score. 

i also love the little medieval-y influences in this score that were dropped by chamber of secrets. like with the harp moments and in ‘diagon alley and the gringotts vault’ and ‘in ‘hogwarts forever!’ there’s just a very majestic and antique vibe that i really dig that didn’t really carry over to the other movies. 

i will say sometime williams gets very... williams-y in his very uhh loud?? and kinda frantic composing u can hear in like ‘the quidditch match’ which isn’t my favorite way to do action scenes, but like who the fuck cares u know the pros of this score far outweigh it. 

like. just. so manyyy iconic themes that have so much EMOTIONAL WEIGHT!!! like the moment u see hogwarts for the first time and the choral vocals... and the bells in ‘christmas at hogwarts.’ and who can keep a dry eye during ‘leaving hogwarts’??? NOT I!!!!!!!!!!! such a gentle theme of longing and home and yearning and family and bittersweet loss. it starts so small and intimate but then swELLS to this grand and sweeping tune. it’s stunning. 

1. prisoner of azkaban by john williams

this is PEAK!!! potter for me. again, hard to be objective because this is the best my favorite harry potter movie, but i also truly think this is the best score because it carries over the iconic themes of the first two movies but adds a quirky and dramatic flair that fits the tone of the movie cuaron was trying to make u know? i think u can really tell that cuaron had a lot of imput on the score and didn’t just let williams do whatever he wanted, because we get a really interesting, stylized sound that is really different from williams usual fare in such a great way. but, it still is a williams score and because of that it shines and also weaves in the past movies’ themes to give us an outstanding amalgamation of sound and melody. 

like we start with ‘lumos!’ which gets us right back into the potter universe but then we get a series of quirky new themes, like the waltz for aunt marge, the jazzy knight bus theme, and the medieval choral rendition of ‘double trouble’... iconic. and we get the dark and disturbing dementors theme (’apparition on the train’) which is very understated for a williams score and extremely effective. 

however ,,,, we do not abandon the themes from prior movies!!!!! a great illustration of how williams takes those old potter themes and adapts them for this movie can be seen in ‘secrets of the castle.’ this minimalist take on hedwigs theme is a completely different tone from the original, but still establishes that we are in the same sonic world as that film. you can also see this in ‘the portrait gallery’ where an old potter theme is played on some kind of woodwind (idk sorry) and a harpsichord, giving the odd, quirky, vintage feel of the movie but still keeping with the established potter musical world. 

i really love the ~medieval vibes~ that this score gives me and i wish this was something later scores went back to (instead of going in a jazz direction..looking at you hooper). theres a lot of traditional sounding instruments used that give it a real rustic, celtic feel rather than the grand classicism of a full orchestral sound that the first 2 movies use. a lot of harps, strings, and woodwinds!!!! 

some of my favorite tracks of all time are on this score. ‘window to the past’ is just... a triumph of emotion. its absolutely stunning in its simplicity in the beginning, and how it builds toward the end. the return of that theme in ‘finale’ when sirius is saying goodbye to harry...i truly sob every time. the isolated vocals in ‘the patronus light’ truly embody the purity of that awe and joy when the patronus is cast. and of course, of course, ‘buckbeak’s flight’ is an absolute magical joy ride captured in sound. williams refrains from using a full orchestra for most of the score, so when everyone plays together in moments like this you get the full grandeur of the scene just... bAM! it’s so fucking well done and just... perfect. 

[habibialkaysani]

harry potter + gayness ratings

so I've been doing a hp reread the last week or so. I'm on the goblet of fire and I figured it was time to look at all the hidden subtextual (and therefore the last thing from intentional from she who must not be named) homoeroticism in the books I've read so far:

harry potter and the philosopher's stone - 2/10, pretty much zilch as harry was still smol and therefore didn’t really understand his feelings at all (not that he got much better at that later on lol), but I'll give a couple points for harry and ron because their friendship at least started here

harry potter and the chamber of secrets - 3/10, nothing really springs to mind except ron being fiercely protective of his bff MY DUDES I HAVE FAILED MY OWN FANDOM how could I forget the whole “scared, potter?” “you wish” moment??? or just generally how harry and draco are archenemies aged just 12 years old?? for realsies tho that moment in the books and the films was one of the few things that I think was done justice. 5/10

harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban - 7/10, now we're talking. this was the one that made me glad I was doing a reread (the first two, while enjoyable, felt a bit predictable, possibly because I have watched those movies so many times), and the moments with remus and sirius being unflinchingly loyal to their bf james and rightly berating peter for not dying for him the way both of them would have - showstopping. I'm just sad they only hugged when they reunited but hey this is you-know-who after all - and no, I don’t mean voldy-shorts. and I felt like drowning in my own tears at “not at all, padfoot, old friend” and good god now I want to either read or write marauder fic. I will have to dig up some of my old faves at some point soon. 

also!!! ron with his whole “if you’re going to kill harry you’ll have to kill us too” - this is the kind of RIDE OR DIE person I need in my life one day - girls only tho lol.

harry potter and the goblet of fire - 12/10, omg. omg omg omg. I haven’t even finished it yet but here’s a quick list of what I have so far:

harry meeting bill and immediately realising he’s got a crush on him (”bill was - there was no other word for it - cool”). 

also I always felt like bill radiated bi energy with that long hair and earring combo amirite

fred and george legit say to harry that they’re sure percy is gonna pop the question soon to barty crouch, which aside from being rather funny also reminds me of the fact that there are a fair few jokes of this vein that I might have missed in past books - tho I still find it hilarious that crouch calls percy weatherby, lolol

so! many! mentions! of cedric diggory being handsome! like harry my boy I know how you feel. I used to wonder what that feeling was when I looked at a girl and was sure I was just jealous of how pretty she was and actually it turned out I just wanted to kiss her. harry should have kissed cedric on the mouth 2k19

god also harry gets so nervous around cho, bless my lil bisexual disaster

when harry is doing the second task, the thing that he would have missed the most was “his wheezy” and honestly SAME. like, aside from fleur who got her sister, the boys all got the people they loved to save

(side note, I love love love all the krumione in this. not gay directly but I’m getting there)

I know it wasn’t in the books but when the weasley twins are teasing ron about how much he admires krum it reminded me of how in the movies they were like “viktor, I love you, viktor, I do, when we’re apart my heart beats only for youuuu” and also!!! ronnie literally has a figurine of viktor in the dormitory. freddie wasn’t wrong when he said ron was in love :D 

on that note, omg, I am something of a sucker for love triangles and I have to admit I loved the whole thing with ron, hermione and krum, and then harry, cho and cedric, esp because??? they all liked each other??? and they could have all been happy together if they wanted to. in particular, ron clearly fancied the pants of viktor, and there is no platonic way of harry thinking of him as handsome that many times, lbr.

the yule ball. good god. it could have been so, so, so easily solved if they just went with their best friends. I remember seeing a post about how ron should have danced with harry to open the yule ball with a rose between his teeth and honestly SAME. 

not to mention??? parvati and lavender were clearly girlfriends and dean and seamus were boyfriends, so they also should have gone together instead of forcing this thing with parvati and harry (krum and hermione meanwhile were a match made in heaven imo and I loved them and always will)

I’m sure there will be more as I continue to reread. just thought I should liveblog for this :) 

[lytefoot]

James / Sirius/ Remus😁 Neville/ Ron Hermione / Percy Harry / Cho / Cedric Cedric/ Harry Dean / Seamus

James/Sirius/Remus - B: It’s really cute

Could we get Peter in on this? Literally the only reason this isn’t getting an A. Like, I wouldn’t really want “wasn’t allowed in the puppy pile” to be the reason Peter betrayed them.

Neville/Ron - A: I love it

This was a recent upgrade from a B, but @ronandhappiness​ really sold me on it. The only problem I have with it is I see Ron really wanting kids and Neville really not, but I think they could work that one out.

Hermione/Percy - C: Not a bad ship

I feel like Percy might be too intense for Hermione. While Percy (IMO) likes people who match his intensity, Hermione seems to prefer to be with someone who’s capable of bringing a little chill.

Also, I’m gonna downgrade this one to an E if they’re both in politics, simply because I think one of them would end up resenting the other if they had the same career and one was more successful.

Cedric/Harry - B: It’s really cute

I don’t think Harry really had a crush on Cedric, but it’s a lot of fun (read: horrible painful angst) to pretend he did. Like, especially reading Dudley taunting Harry in OotP is especially agonizing.

In an AU where everything went down as it did except Cedric didn’t die in the graveyard? This could be very sweet. Like Cedric is such a sweetheart, and he was actually there in the graveyard, and... have I mentioned that I want OotP Harry to have more ready sources of hugs?

Harry/Cho/Cedric - C: Not a bad ship

In a “Cedric lives” AU I could definitely see this working out adorably, maybe even better than Cedric/Harry. On the other hand, if this had been what was emerging before Cedric died, fifth-year Harry/Cho would have been even more of a disaster.

Dean/Seamus - A: I love it

I’m sorry, the reunion scene in Deathly Hallows? *chef’s kiss*

(Also, I especially enjoy this being in the background of my Rarry fics for those moments when Ginny looks around and says, “Wait, do I just have this effect on men?” because honestly, has Ginny ever dated a straight guy?)

[silver-wields-a-pen]

Illthdar High: An au fan fiction

Saturday

Vyxen, in a fancy set of green dress robes, was spinning across the dance floor of the Yule Ball in the arms of Cedric Diggory. Then Khrome came up to play and Date pulled her up on to the stage to sing with him. Her brother Salem (who looked an awful lot like Neville Longbottom) looked on adoringly and when Cedric tried to pull her from Date, he decapitated him with his bass and proclaimed that all the Horcruxes had been destroyed. While everyone celebrated his demise, Vyxen found herself on the patio with Date, who was now shirtless. Just as he grabbed her arms to pull her in for a kiss, she looked down at his stomach. “Wait. Where is your bellybutton?!”

Vyxen’s light grey eyes fluttered open as she woke up in the pillow fort on Raemina’s bedroom floor. The sun drifting through the multicolored blankets that were tented above sent different patterns across her and her friends’ skin. As she shifted her position, she noticed that Nyima was already up and texting on her phone.

“How’s Jingyi doing?” asked Raemina with a sly grin as she stretched awake on Vyxen’s other side.

Startled, Nyima blushed furiously but couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “He’s good,” she answered. The two of them texted most of the night and, unable to sleep more than a few hours, Nyima sent him a message first thing when she got up.

“So cute!” Vyxen cooed and the three girls giggled, waking up slowly and happily. That was how they spent most of their morning. They ate a breakfast of waffles inside their fort and chatted about the dance and all the possible outcomes of their dates. In secret whispers and with blushing faces, they went through the various ‘end of the night’ scenarios that could happen. Would they get kissed? Would it go further than that? Were they ready? Who knew!? It was all terribly new and exciting for the three girls, none of which had ever had a real date before. They didn’t crawl out of their fort until mid afternoon when it was time to get ready for the dance. They stayed up late watching Youtube tutorials for hair and makeup and while it was certainly no professional job, they all looked pretty when they were through.

“How does this look?” Raemina asked, holding a small mirror in one hand and using the other to slide a pearl comb into her hair. She’d gone with a neat bun tonight and the comb perfectly matched the short, plaid dress she’d gotten earlier in the week. It wasn’t what you would normally think of for a homecoming dress, but it worked on her, and she loved the way it showed off her long legs.

“Gorgeous!” Nyima called from her seat while Vyxen ‘awwed’ her approval. Vyxen stood behind her, pulling half her fluffy, black hair up and pinning little flowers throughout to match the flowers on her pale yellow dress. It was a pretty dress, one that probably would have looked nicer without the addition of the thick grey cardigan over the top. 

“Can’t you go without the cardigan?” Vyxen pleaded.

“No,” Nyima said, stubbornly hugging the sweater closer to her body and balling the cuffs around her fingers to keep them warm.

“What if I let you borrow one of mine?” Raemina suggested as she walked over to the other two. “I have a blue one that would match those flowers perfectly.”

Nyima considered for a moment, scrunching her face up in thought, but when Rae brought over a three-quarters sleeved shrug, she flat-out refused. “Nope. I'm not going to freeze for fashion or nobody.” And Jingyi already admitted he thought she was beautiful, and she wore cardigans all the time, so it obviously didn't matter to him. She scrunched up her face happy she got to go out with a nice boy who accepted her as she was and had the cutest smile to boot.

“Fine,” Vyxen relented, tweaking her cheek and adding the last pin to Nyima’s hair. Her own hair was so short that there was nothing much she could do with it. Her dress was short and black, with lace details and an open top. Granted, the top didn’t look too open because of the lace but it was still the most skin she’d shown in her entire life. Typically, she would have gone for a soft pastel color, but she was looking to impress someone tonight. She hoped Date liked it.“This could be the best or worst night of our life,” Vyxen sighed, smoothing her hands over her dress to give them something to do, excited but also unable to stop thinking of everything that could go wrong.

“No negativity allowed!” Rae stopped that train of thought before it had a chance to leave the station. “Tonight is going to be amazing! We all have awesome dates and just look at how cute we are! We are so cute!” This was their first dance, their first real dates and their first late-night out of the house, she was not going to let them sabotage themselves with anxiety before the dance even started. “Come! Let’s take a picture,” she grabbed Vyxen and Nyima’s hands and pulled them both close to her side, holding up her purple cellphone to take a selfie of the three of them together. The first, she hoped, of many more pictures to come this evening. 

~*~*~

Since trying to wake Xyl was about as useful as waking the dead, once Salem woke up on his friend’s futon, he made his way into the kitchen. Of each of the band member’s houses, Xyl’s always had the best food. The Allaway household never had anything good because of Vyxen’s allergies, Rhovan’s mom didn't believe in junk food, and Date’s parents refused to eat ‘American food,’ whatever that meant. Xyl’s aunt worked a lot though, so the Kallders were always stocked with every sugary cereal and microwave dinner imaginable, and at least three of their weeknight meals were takeout. Salem excitedly made himself a breakfast of frozen blueberry waffles with extra syrup and Cinnamon Toast Crunch on the side. Just as he was about to sit down and eat, Imogen walked in. “You're up early,” he said, a little taken aback at seeing her so soon. 

“The sound of banging cabinets woke me up,” she said pointedly. Even though she was clearly cranky at his disrupting her sleep, he couldn't help but think of how cute she looked with her tangled hair and pjs. Catching him eyeing the logo of the old t-shirt she wore, Imogen folded her arms over her chest. 

“I thought vampires were supposed to be quiet,” Rhoe grumbled a minute later, emerging from her own room. It was eerie how alike the two girls looked when they were angry. 

“I need more practice,” Salem answered with a grin, not feeling all that bad for waking them up. The two weren’t remotely alike in day-to-day life but they were both awfully cute with their frizzy hair and pjs. You could see the resemblance between them, but he was sure they’d both stab him if he pointed that out.

“Stop looking at me like I’m a cute bunny or I’ll punch your teeth in,” Rhoe threatened, marching past him to get a bowl of cereal herself, making much more noise than he did because if they had to be up, Xyl did too. It was his fault that Salem was even here, after all.

With Rhoe’s back turned, Salem was free to continue looking over Imogen. It was unlikely that he’d ever get to see her like this again and so he needed to commit every detail to memory while he could. “You look cute,” he mouthed to her and carefully did not snicker when a blush stained her cheeks.

Rolling her eyes, Imogen grabbed a quick breakfast herself and headed back up to her room to take a shower and get dressed. Zercey would be here to pick her up soon and Scyanatha would have no mercy if they dared to show up late to the beauty appointment Seth booked them.

“She’s out of your league, glitter boy, you might as well stop ogling her.” Rhoe sat down and ate with Salem, half amused and half disgusted by how he’d been staring at her sister when he thought no one was looking. “Imo has a stick up her ass anyway. I don’t know what you or anyone else sees in her.”

Salem made an affirmative noise to show he was listening but didn’t say anything about it. He was too used to the triplets talking about each other to be annoyed by her comment, their attitudes towards one another made him feel much better about his relationship with his own siblings. “You think this whole thing is going to go according to plan?” He figured it was best to change the subject anyways, if Imogen thought he was talking bad about her with her sister then whatever little thing they had going on was sure to be over.

“It should, I’m the one that planned it.” Unless Imogen decided to actually look at the votes beforehand, no one would notice they’d been switched until it was too late. “Don’t worry your sparkly little head, it’ll be fine.”

They finished breakfast and Salem went to physically drag Xyl out of bed, but paused when he passed Imogen in the hallway. He grabbed her arm before she could hurry out and into the ugly red car that Zercey drove and placed a quick kiss to her lips before she could stop him. “Hey, I know you’ll be busy at the dance but if you get a moment, meet me in the back of school. Maybe around ten-thirty?” The dance would be winding down by then and most of her duties should be over.

“I’ll think about it,” Imogen snipped, already making plans to be there but not willing to let him know that. Unable to resist his stupidly cute face and the taste of cinnamon on his lips, she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and dragged him into another kiss. It lingered on until Zercey started to blare her horn outside and Imogen sighed, giving Salem one last look before she was down the stairs and out the door.  

Not one for school spirit – or just excitement in general – Rhoe now found herself in a predicament: stay comfortably at home ignoring the rest of the world as was her usual preference, or join the student body as they dressed themselves up like prize-winning pigs so that she could watch the world’s worst couple have a public meltdown. She scowled. There was no way she could miss the train wreck that was going to unfold, especially since it was mostly thanks to her own evil genius and hard work. Decision made, she got up from her bed and walked towards her sister’s room to find something ‘appropriate’ to wear, treading on clothes that littered her floor every other step. Imogen might not be useful for much, but at least she was the same size and all of her clothes were clean. 

~*~*~

Across town, another set of girls were in a frenzy. “I knew we shouldn’t have waited so long to come shopping,” Anna bemoaned, already nervous about not being able to find anything she liked in the short window of time they had to shop.

“It’ll be ok,” Nina assured, her arm hooked through Laura’s as they made their way through the mall. Last night she and Richard had found Laura crying in a corner after the talent show. Scyanatha had apparently said something very mean about her brother and Laura was upset about it. “Friends shouldn’t be cruel to each other,” Nina had said after learning about the exchange. In an effort to make her feel better, she added, “A few friends and I are going shopping tomorrow to find dresses for the dance. I’d love if you joined us.” Seth had already bought Laura the dress Scy approved of, but after last night… it was time to start making her own choices. 

Laura’s tear-streaked face had cautiously broke into a smile. “That sounds nice.”

The dress shop was crowded but the group of four, Nina, Anna, Laura and Miu, managed to find and lock down an empty dressing room. It was decided that Miu would stay there to hold down the fort (and loudly tell off anyone who tried to use it) while the other three ran around in a tizzy to find outfits.

Anna was the first to find her homecoming dress, which was a pretty dark blue color with a sparkly bodice. “It’s perfect!” she shouted. “This is one of the few colors that doesn’t clash with my hair!” Her orange locks were a source of constant frustration. Excitedly, she dashed back to Miu and the dressing room. It looked beautiful against her lily white skin and the smile upon her face made it even more obvious that she’d found the right pick for her. She was so taken with it that she wore it out of the store, and hurried across the mall to find a set of shoes to match it while the others kept their search.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Miu yelled at another girl who tried to sneak into the dressing room that Anna vacated.

Nina and Laura looked around from the rack and giggled. 

Not even a full hour later, both Miu and Nina had also managed to find something to their liking. Miu decided to go with a dress that was as loud as her personality. It was so short it could almost be called a shirt and the color was a bright neon green, so much so that it probably glowed in the dark. The top was peppered with clear crystals to make the dress stand out even more and, like Anna, Miu decided to wear it out of the store, snickering at all the horrified looks she got in it.

Nina ended up settling on a short golden dress that was covered in glitter and had a ruffled peplum going right across the waist. It fit her like a glove, but was still modest enough to be proper for a young lady. She was sure Richard would like it and she picked up a gold tie so that they could match.

Laura looked high and low but she couldn’t find a dress that she liked. She rarely ever bought herself nice things but, just this once, she decided to splurge and head back to the fancy boutique she’d shopped at with Scy earlier in the week. The dress she’d wanted was still there and she fell even more in love with it once she had it on. “What do you think?” she asked when she had finally had mustered up enough courage to leave the dressing room and show the other three girls. She was nervous to see their reactions, especially because of how much she liked the silver dress. The top was little more than a crop-top, made up almost entirely of dazzling crystals, and the bottom was a simple and short grey tutu. 

A wide grin immediately split Nina’s face and Anna clasped her hands and squealed in delight. Miu, for once, was speechless. 

Laura felt a wave of relief wash over her. 

“Wait there!” Nina called suddenly, jumping up and rushing across the room. “Here,” she said triumphantly when she returned, handing over a sparkly pair of cat ears to the other blond to finish the look.

Laura had never felt more accepted than she did in that moment. She was never going back to Scyanatha and her friends. Never.

~*~*~

“Do you think you could clasp this for me?” Zercey asked Imogen, carefully pulling her brown hair to the side with one hand and using the other to hold the lace-front red dress to her chest so that nothing slipped out. 

“Sure,” she replied, having just stepped into her own dress. Her wine-colored frock was more modest than Zercey's, and the zip on the back made it low-maintenance, which she was grateful for.

Scyanatha was still in her pale pink silk robe, glancing at the other girls behind her through the vanity mirror. She had paused with her eyeshadow brush in midair at the sound of Zercey’s question and now went back to looking at herself. 

“Thanks,” Zercey said, finally letting go of the front and letting her long hair fall behind her once again. While Imogen joined Scy to do her own makeup, she turned to look at herself in the full-length mirror and pivoted so that she could view the cutout in the back over her shoulder. I look hot. She played with one of her curls appreciatively. Since her cheerleading schedule usually dictated Zercey’s hair, it was in a high pony more often than not. Naturally she was thrilled when Scyanatha had informed her and Imogen that Seth offered to pay for appointments at the beauty salon so that the three girls could get their hair and nails professionally done. Tonight, she braided the top half of her hair across the front like a headband of sorts and the rest hung gracefully, bouncing ever so slightly when she moved.

Imo, whose responsibilities would keep her busy for most of the night, struggled between finding something that would be both stylish yet practical. In the end, the hair stylist curled her auburn tresses into bouncy coils and then ‘pinned them into oblivion.’ “And you’re sure this will keep for the rest of the night?” she asked for at least the fifth time. 

The stylist gave her a strained smile, her patience clearly wearing thin at being questioned by the teenager. “Hun, even if you hung upside down for a full day, I promise nothing’s gonna come loose. It’ll take at least two washes before gravity wrecks this masterpiece.” 

The memory brought a smirk to Zercey’s face. She wondered if Imogen would get to test out the hairspray’s strength with her mystery hickey-giver tonight. Her gaze flicked over to her friend’s neck, which had by now cleared up, before wandering over to Scy, who was still busy with her meticulous makeup routine beside her. 

In a move that had surprised no one, Scyanatha went for the most extravagant style she could find. She twisted her hair every which way, ending in a fancy side-pony. Painstakingly placed little rhinestones dotted throughout her do to make it look as if her hair shimmered. The top was weaved into a circlet, the perfect resting place for the Homecoming Queen crown she knew she’d be wearing.

A buzzing and the sound of Ellie Goulding’s voice interrupted Zercey's thoughts. “Yeah?” She answered her phone.

“We’re here.” Lerki’s came voice from the speaker, sending shivers of anticipation down Zercey’s spine. She smiled and turned to inform Scyanatha, who was finally shimmying into the sparkly pink dress she had picked out days before. 

A moment later the doorbell rang and the girls heard the muffled sounds of the boyfriends being greeted by Scy’s parents in the foyer.

“Ok,” Scyanatha checked her appearance in her fancy full-length mirror one more time before turning to her friends, checking them both over as well to ensure they were up to her standards. “Seth got us a hummer limo so we can arrive in style. It’s a little high off the ground so just be aware of where you put your feet,” she warned before giving them both a serious look. “Do NOT fall out of that car in front of everyone, do you understand me?”

Zercey and Imogen assured her that they wouldn’t fall and then followed her out and down the sweeping staircase that served as the focal point of her parents mansion. Seth and Lerki were waiting for them at the bottom, both dressed in smart looking tuxedos and each holding a corsage and a bouquet of roses. Standing between them was another member of the football team, holding a corsage and a bouquet of his own.

“Scy!” Imogen hissed, knowing the third boy was there for her and already dreading the conversation that was going to happen between her and Salem later because of this. “I told you I didn’t want a date.”

“Too bad,” Scy hissed back. “You’d look stupid if we got out of the car with dates and you didn’t. He’s hot, you’re hot, it works. Don’t be a brat.”

They were at the end of the staircase before Imogen could say anything else, forcing her to silently seethe as her surprise date told her how sexy she looked while slipping an ugly carnation on her wrist.

“There’s my queen,” Seth descended on Scy as soon as she reached him, wasting no time in pulling her into a deep kiss. She looked as beautiful as he thought she would and he was glad now that he’d chosen to buy her a diamond, flower bracelet instead of a normal corsage. Something as common as a rose wouldn’t look right with the rest of her outfit.

Lerki opted to go the traditional route and slipped a corsage of red and white roses onto Zercey's slim wrist, pulling her hand up so he could kiss the back of it once it was on her. “You look beautiful,” he told her, pulling her close and remembering the way she’d teased him with this dress at the boutique. It was tempting thought to just skip the dance and go back to the beach they were on last night. He might have done just that if he didn’t already know that Scyanatha, and therefore Seth, would never allow it.

They posed for the obligatory photos in the front hall before the six of them crawled into limo to be on their way. They spent most of the ride in silence as the two couples opted to make-out instead of talk. The football player, Imogen couldn’t be bothered to remember his name, dropped not-so-subtle hints that he’d like to do the same but she’d resolutely ignored him. After a while he just sighed in irritation and pulled out his phone to text. From what Imogen caught of the conversation, it seemed be a very heated, very gross, conversation with another girl in their school. It would be a long, long night.

~*~*~

“Do you want a brownie?”

“What?” Vyxen turned around to see two girls she only knew by sight. 

The taller one, Avari, had red hair twisted into two buns at the top of her head. Her color-blocked white and pink strapless dress ended in a psychedelic floral skirt and a mass of vintage costume jewellery adorned either arm.

The other girl, Ghenha, was holding out what looked like a homemade brownie to Vyxen, Raemina, and Nyima. Her turquoise blue dress had cherry-blossom-looking flowers embroidered on top of it, the color of which seemed to match the redness around her caramel brown eyes.

“I have food allergies,” Vyxen said, not sure she heard the question correctly. Nyima’s eyes were wide beside her and Raemina frowned and shook her head. 

“Suit yourselves,” Ghenha replied happily, passing half to Avari. The two walked away giggling.

“Are they high?” Vyxen asked, watching the two girls giggle and frolic down the hallway.

“Most definitely,” Jingyi answered, knowing both of the girls in question and just how much they enjoyed their ‘special’ brownies. “It’s a good idea to decline any kind of food or drink they offer you,” he added before turning to Nyima. “You look really beautiful,” he told her and held out a pin-on corsage comprising a pale blue rose with shiny beads suspended around it on wires. “It reminded me of Shiva from your game.” Jingyi had forgotten to ask what color her dress was and so he’d just winged it. He regretted it now since the flower didn’t match her outfit at all and he was just about to offer to ride his bike clear across town to get her a different one when a soft smile appeared on her face.

“I love it,” Nyima said.

“You could put it on for her,” Raemina suggested and then watched as the shy couple blushed all the way down their necks and seemed to short circuit. The most obvious place to pin the flower would be close to Nyima’s chest but Jingyi was clearly having issues putting his hands anywhere near that area.

Vyxen ended up taking pity on them both and pinning the corsage onto Nyima herself.

That minute hiccup now over, the four of them made their way into the gymnasium that was serving as a dance hall for the evening. They decked the space out in jewel tones and fairy lights with dangerously lopsided foam trees placed sporadically along the walls, some of which had strange looking creatures and smiling cats painted on them.

“What was the theme supposed to be?” Nyima asked, eyeing the evil looking, three-eyed cat painted on the tree nearest to her.

“Originally it was supposed to be Faery Wonderland, but it looks like the dance committee got uninspired and gave up halfway through.” Raemina had expected little from them to begin with and wasn’t surprised. Hopefully, the school hired professionals to do prom or it would be a train wreck. “At least the lights are pretty.”

“I wish they hadn’t chosen the gym, it’s always so cold in here.” Nyima knew the room would heat up once everyone got here and danced, but it would never be as warm as she preferred.

“I know a way to keep you warm,” Jingyi was quick to suggest, offering his hand out for Nyima to take. The proposition might have sounded dirty coming from someone else, but Jingyi wasn’t the type to make innuendoes. He led the girls across the room and to a table situated right by an exit into a side hall and directly beneath the heater. A warm breeze blew from above that would likely become sweltering as the night went on. Nyima seemed happy with it though and Jingyi was happy that he made her happy.

It was cute and Raemina decided that it was worth sweating through her dress to see the two have a good time.

~*~*~

It wasn’t long before more and more students showed up. The DJ got his area sorted out and soon the gym was alive with music and dancing. Raemina was determined to have a good time and pulled Vyxen and Nyima out and onto the dance floor when a fun pop song played. “Just one dance, you guys promised!” Rae was quick to remind them when Vyxen and Nyima tried to deny her offer. Their fates sealed, they had no choice but to follow along, dragging Jingyi with them because if they had to suffer, so did he. It was painfully awkward at first, but eventually the girls loosened up and had fun. They formed a little dance circle that poor Jingyi had no choice but to be a part of. He shuffled as a dance, but he was happy to be included and so he didn’t complain. The girls didn’t dance much better, but they were having fun with it and that’s what counted.

One dance turned into two and somewhere near the end of the second song a wolf whistle sounded from behind them. At the exact same moment, a pair of arms grabbed Vyxen around the waist and pulled her close. “Got you,” Date whispered in her ear kissing her cheek before pulling back to look her over. “You look gorgeous, I love your dress.” He couldn’t help but smirk, he knew that the mini dress wasn’t her usual style and that she’d obviously done it to impress him. Mission accomplished, all that black lace looked good on her and would look even better if it ended up tossed into the backseat of his car later on.

“I wondered if we were going to see some of those bedroom dance moves.” Rhovan, the culprit behind the whistle, arrived with Date and wasted no time in taking a spot next to Raemina, He loved how short her dress was and recalled that the skirt she’d been wearing that day when they caught her dancing was around the same length. It was probably sleazy to hope that she’d get down and dirty so he’d be treated to another panty flash, but he was hoping for it anyway.

“Bedroom dance moves?” Jingyi asked before he could stop himself, picturing something that was much worse than what had actually occurred.

“These two walked in on us dancing at Vyxen’s house,” Raemina explained before his imagination ran too wild.

“Oh,” he said awkwardly. His eyes darted over to Nyima, but she was stubbornly staring a point on her shoes. 

Date looked as if he were about to say something else when a tan hand clapped one of his shoulders.

“There you two are! Xyl and I have been looking for you.” Salem wedged his way between his friend and his sister with a too-innocent smile on his face.

“Come dance with me?” Rhovan asked Raemina, eager to put some space between himself and the budding tension between Date and Salem. He took her hand when she agreed and lead her to another part of the dance floor, just barely remembering to call a goodbye to the others over his shoulder. He was better at making music than moving to it, but he could mimic the moves of those around him well enough, all that really mattered was that he got to be close to Rae. He gave her what he hoped was a dazzling grin and moved closer so that their bodies would be almost touching. “I like your dress, you look really beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you.” Raemina wasn’t much of a dancer either but she didn’t care, she was just here to have fun and it was nice being close to him. She had wondered what being near him would feel like for months and she was happy to say that she wasn’t disappointed. “You look nice too,” he was wearing a pair of black trousers and a grey button-up shirt. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it looked nice on him.

“Thanks,” he smiled down at her and pulled her in closer.

~*~*~

“Wow, Imo, this is what you call a ‘Faery Wonderland?’” Scyanatha sneered as the group of six walked into the made-over gym. As her eyes wandered over the decor, her nose scrunched more and more intensely. 

“I didn’t have a hand in any of this, actually,” Imogen replied, trying to control her temper. When he wasn’t texting vulgar messages to other women, the dumb jock she was forcibly paired with had spent the entire limo ride trying to get up her dress. She was fed up and just about done with the rest of the group around her for all the help they were. “The budget was laughable, and some bimbo freshman practically begged to be in charge of the decoration.”

“And you let her?” asked a surprised Zercey.

“Only on the condition she wouldn’t lay a finger on prom,” Imogen said triumphantly while also swatting away the hand from creeping down her shoulder. 

“V.A. don’t like to talk about himself, but…” he started. 

“I have to pee!” she shouted. Clearly not caring that his advances were unwanted, V.A moved closer and tried to grab Imogen’s waist, and she had to squirm away from his grip. “Zercey, come with me?” she begged her friend, and though Zercey wasn’t too happy to be leaving Lerki’s side so quickly, she nodded.

“All right.” Getting up on her tiptoes, she brought her lips so that they barely grazed her boyfriend’s ear. “Don’t do anything naughty while I’m away,” she whispered before playfully nibbling at his lobe.

“Whatever,” said Scyanatha as the other two girls quickly vacated the gym. She was bored of Imogen being a drag and complaining. Sure, V.A was an idiot, but he was hot and she should really just get over it. “Come on, babe, let’s show the peasants how a king and queen ought to behave.” 

Dutifully, Seth held out his arm so his girlfriend could lace hers through and hold onto his bicep. “Lerki, V.A, you comin?” The two other footballers, momentarily dateless, followed the couple around the ‘wonderland.’

In the bathroom, Imogen was venting to Zercey. “...And he constantly talks about himself in third person. I didn’t even know his name before tonight, but I’m pretty sure V.A is going to be burned into my memory for eternity.”

“There are plenty of things you could be doing besides talking,” Zercey said with a smirk. “Or do you save those for the neck-sucker?”

Flushing, Imogen responded, “I don’t want to talk about that.”

“I know, I know.” Zercey held up her hands in surrender. “So what’re you gonna do?”

“Avoid him, I guess? I’m sure I can find something. Can you just make something up for the others? I don’t think Scy’s going to care if I don’t see you all for the rest of the night anyway.”

Zercey agreed and headed back into the dance to join the boys and Scyanatha.

“Where’s Imogen?” Seth asked when only one of the girls returned from the bathroom.

“You know, homecoming dance stuff,” she lied, casually flicking her wrist to sell it further. “I swear, this school is filled with idiots. It’s amazing she’s put up with all of the things she has.” Deciding it was best to start steering the conversation away from Imogen she asked, “What have you all been up to?”

“Just rating the ensembles,” Scyanatha drawled, having only barely registered the Zercey's presence. She felt on top of the world tonight. Seth was by her side, they both looked hotter than ever, and in just a couple hours she’d be wearing a tiara and he a crown. There wasn’t much that could bring her down and she didn’t intend to let it anyway. This night was about her and her king. Scyanatha brought her fingers to Seth’s face and then slowly crawled them down his neck until she was playing with the collar of his shirt and the peek of skin underneath. “Want to dance?” she asked as she bat her eyelids at the tall, dark, and handsome boy.

Seth smiled and, taking the hand that she’d been using to tease him, kissed her fingertips. Staring into her eyes, he said, “I’d love to.” The two got up from the table without another word and left their friends, and all thoughts of other people, behind them. Once out on the dance floor, the couple held each other close, gyrating and grinding without ever taking their eyes off one another.

Unable to hold out any longer, at the end of the second song, Seth pulled Scy’s hair away from her neck, now starting to glisten with sweat, and pressed kisses to it. “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen,” he said still keeping his lips close to her skin. 

She smiled. Putting a hand on either side of his face, she directed his mouth to hers and pulled him in for a kiss. She gently held onto his bottom lip for a second between her teeth before saying, “I love you, babe.” 

“I love you too,” he replied. With a mischievous grin he added, “I’ve got an idea,” and quickly led her out of the gym.

Scyanatha always looked beautiful, but tonight she was particularly radiant in her boyfriend’s eyes. Earlier that day he and the rest of the football team had won their sixth straight game and their victory had put him in a particularly good mood. After making a few stops in dark corners of the school so that they could exchange more hungry kisses, the couple finally made it back outside to the parking lot. 

“What’re we doing?” Scy asked, though she had a pretty good idea.

Seth responded by flashing another smile and then rapping on the window of the limo. The limousine driver, who had been sleeping in the front seat, jolted awake at the sound.

“Ready to go already?” he asked groggily, starting to fumble for the keys.

“No,” said Seth. “But we’d like to use your car.” 

~*~*~

“Aw, how pretty!” Nina chirped, walking in on the arm of Richard and being one of the few students who thought the gym looked nice. Anna, Miu, Laura were behind her, alongside a few other girls that Nina was friends with. Richard was the only boy with them and seemed to take it upon himself to be their escort, pulling out all of their seats at the table they chose and hurrying to get them each a glass of punch.

“He’s such a gentleman. I can’t wait till I find a guy like that.”

“You will.” Nina promised, proud of her boyfriend and hoping that the others might find their future one and only at the dance tonight. She knew a couple of Richard’s friends were interested and hopefully they’d gather their courage and make a move before the dance ended. Her hopes may very well become reality, she thought with a smile, when she noticed that when Richard came back, he was closely followed by the aforementioned boys. The three of them were working together to bring all the punch to the table and, with a little help from Richard, the two new additions were soon part of the group.

They had fun chatting before Miu loudly declared, “Time to dance!” She grabbed the nearest person's hand and dragged her right into the center of the dance floor to get moving. It wasn’t hard to get there, since the area was being cleared by Ghenha and Avari, both of whom were spinning around with their arms outstretched, either not noticing or not caring that they were accidentally smacking people as they twirled.

“I agree,” Richard gave a bow to Nina and offered his hand out to her. A pointed look towards his friends had them quickly following his lead and offering their own hands out to Anna and Laura respectively.

~*~*~

When Scy and Seth finally made their way back into the gym, their faces were flushed and their clothes askew. She made a quick adjustment to her skirt before leaning over to her boyfriend and recentering his tie. To most people, the limo driver’s requested ‘tip’ would have seemed like an obscene sum, but for the rich boy it was hardly a week’s allowance. And man was it worth it.

It seemed the couple had timed their rendezvous perfectly. More than half the students were on the dance floor, bouncing around and thoroughly enjoying themselves when the current song ended and another didn’t immediately start up. Mr. Culvers walked onto the makeshift stage that had been set up for the occasion, wearing a ridiculously bright red plaid suit and a shiny grey tie. “What an awesome dance!” The man started, as overly excitable as usual. Luckily for him, most of the students were in a good enough mood to clap and humor him instead of ignoring him as usual. The history teacher went into the typical spiel, thanking the dance committee for all of their hard work and the student council for organizing and promoting the dance. Mostly everyone tuned out until he got to the part that most of them were waiting for. “And now, to introduce the homecoming court,” Culvers’s voice boomed as he fished a piece of paper out of his dress jacket. “Ladies first,” he added, before reading down a list of four names. “Scyanatha Dubhgaelach, Nina Du Blanche, Yyvone Black and Temia White!” There was polite applause as each name was read and the girls made their way onto the stage, though Scyanatha obviously got the loudest cheers. They all knew their place and everyone knew that she was going to win.

Somewhere in the crowd, Salem and Rhoe locked eyes. This was either going to be perfect or horrible.

“Now for your nominees for king,” Culvers continued, “Seth Idle, Richard Graevale, Bjorn Bergan, and Linuad SoHangry.” Just like for the girls, applause followed each name as the guys took their places to the side of the girls, all except for one. “Linuad SoHangry?” Culvers called again and in the crowd, Xyl, Salem and Date lost it. The three of them were bent over, laughing so hard that they could barely breathe.

Rhovan was less amused. He cursed when the name was called and shot a death glare at Salem, who was the only member of the band who was within sight.

Raemina was amused, she rose a brow at the angry face he was pulling and tried not to laugh. She didn’t know exactly what Linuad SoHangry meant to him, but it was clearly a sore spot. “An alias of yours?” She dared to ask, watching Salem’s face turn red and wondering if he was going to laugh so hard that he’d end passing out.

“Something like that,” Rhovan admitted begrudgingly. “It’s a long story.”

“It seems that Linuad isn’t with us tonight,” the teacher went on and somewhere behind him, Rhovan heard Date snort.

Raemina looked up at Rhovan with a question still on her face. It’d be a lot easier to ignore if she didn’t also look ridiculously cute when she did it. 

Rhovan sighed. “Apparently I get mad easily when I’m hungry. One day, Xyl and Salem decided to name it and now I never stop hearing jokes about ‘Linuad’ escaping when I haven’t eaten in awhile.” She grinned while he talked, and by the time he was done explaining, he had a begrudging smile on as well. “I guess it’s kinda funny when you think about it.”

Back on stage, Mr. Culvers pressed on. “Don’t they look lovely?” He gestured to the assembly behind him before fishing out another piece of paper from his jacket. “Without further ado,” his loud voice rang out, “this year’s Homecoming King and Queen are,” he paused for dramatic effect, “Richard Graevale and Nina Du Blanche!”

~*~*~

Like most of the student body, Laura was stunned. 

For a moment after the King and Queen were announced nobody moved. But then whoops and whistles started from the back of the room and washed forward in a wave of euphoria. 

Nina jumped up and down with wild abandon, not caring that Scyanatha could probably see her reaction.

“YEAH!” Miu shouted next to her, punching the air.

“Richard Graevale and Nina Du Blanche,” Mr. Culvers repeated, clearly confused by the shocked faces of the contenders before him. Finally the couple moved toward the teacher, Richard first heading over to his girlfriend to offer up his arm so that they could approach together. 

Rhoe was casually leaning against the wall, watching the scene unfold from behind the refreshment table. 

“It looks like you made the right choice, Xyl,” she heard Cowan say to her brother as they watched the couple place the crown on each other’s heads. They wore matching grins on their faces and the gold in their outfits accented the headpieces wonderfully.

“Er, thanks,” Xyl said, pulling down the sleeve of his shirt. The poor kid had grown so fast in the last year that his only dressy outfit looked as if it had shrunk on his form, the cuffs of both the shirt and pants at least two inches higher than they should be. He might not have been so uncomfortable if his own friends hadn’t deserted him, but Rhovan and Date had left as soon as they spotted Raemina and Vyxen, and Salem had disappeared on him without a word. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re not a complete waste of space after all. Congratulations,” Rhoe added sardonically. Cowan gave her a look that told her she was being ‘mean’ again. “Fine,” she shot her friend a scowl before turning back to Xyl. “This still doesn’t mean that I like you—and I don’t know why anyone would want such a stupid title anyway—but I’m glad the people you chose aren’t total monsters.” She turned her back on them again, not wanting to give her brother any ideas about them being friends now.

The music changed, and a slow, smooth beat pumped through the speakers. “And now the King and Queen’s dance,” Mr. Culvers announced.

Rhoe observed the other students coupling up around the dance floor with Richard and Nina in the middle under a spotlight. Scyanatha’s face had turned such a fierce shade of red it was rivalling her hair as she stomped furiously out of the room, her boyfriend only steps behind her. Her own pale face lit up with unrestrained glee.

Cowan noticed the girl’s expression change immediately. “That can’t mean anything good,” he commented.

She turned to him, her face aglow in schadenfreude. “I can’t miss that,” she said, pointing to the unhappy couple over her shoulder. “Don’t wait for me! I’ll find my own way home,” she called excitedly, already stalking into the crowd to pursue her entertainment for the night.

Cowan shrugged, he was used to his friend’s flights of fancy. He caught Xyl looking at him out of the corner of his eye and barely suppressed his smirk. Rhoe would probably hound Scyanatha and Seth until they acted disgusting again, and then she’d likely go to the skatepark before holing herself up for the night in that cave she called a room. He couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to make a move on her brother. “Wanna get out of here?”

~*~*~

“Well, that won’t end well.” Zercey knew Scyanatha well enough to know that a blow-up was coming and she wanted no part of it. Looking around at the terrible decorations and nerdy couples taking over the dance floor, she quickly came to the conclusion that staying at the dance was not worth the self-important rant she’d have to deal with once Scy was done yelling about it to Seth.  She turned to Lerki, the look on his face telling her that he was thinking the same thing, it was time to go. “Should we ditch this place?”

“Absolutely.” Lerki liked Seth but he didn’t want to get in the middle of discord caused by who won a plastic crown at a half-rate high school dance. He took Zercey’s hand and the two of them exited without a backwards glance. “If I knew things were going to go south, I would have brought my own car.”

“It can’t be helped now, you want to call a cab?”

“Nah.” Lerki brought Zercey’s hand to his lips to kiss. “There’s no sense in calling it a night so soon, let’s head to a club.”

Downtown was a short walk away from the school and while they technically weren’t old enough to get into a club, it only took a few hundred dollar bills to make the bouncer let them in and then forget he saw them. Lerki wasn’t as rich as Seth, but he wasn’t poor and he was fairly used to throwing dollars around to get what he wanted. He hadn’t gotten a chance to dance with Zercey at the school and he didn’t get dressed up in this stuffy suit for nothing.

The suit became a lot less stuffy as he lost his tie and coat. The dance floor in the bar was a lot more active and exciting than the one at school. With no teachers to interfere with them, Lerki’s hands were free to wander wherever they liked.

So were Zercey’s. 

When they had started dancing they were in his hair, playing with the strands that grazed his neck. Then they had moved down to his collar, and then trailed the line of his buttons, her fingers grazing teasingly along his chest. They had ended at his waist and she pulled him by the belt loops to bring him closer. Finally they were untucking his shirt, lifting it just enough to get her own hands onto his moist skin. He was usually insanely hot, but she lost it when he started to sweat. There was something so satisfying and primal about seeing a guy perspiring. It was part of the reason she had only ever found jocks attractive. They always hungered for more; they knew the gratifying taste of salt. It was too loud to talk, so Zercey settled for giving Lerki a sultry look and tugging on his flesh to let him know he should follow her. His hand found hers and the two zigzagged through the crowded floor sticky from spilled drinks.  

The club’s bathroom was as gross as any bathroom could be. The walls, mirrors and sink were covered in graffiti and discolored stickers, the urinals had beer cans in them and all but one of the stalls was missing its door. Had the two of them been paying attention, they might have reconsidered staying there. A short cab ride to anywhere else would have been a better call, but they were not paying attention and they quickly claimed the stall with the door. It didn’t have a lock, but that was hardly important. Hands and lips were going everywhere, it was a crazy mess of thoughtless touch and stupid, hormonal need. Lerki’s hands followed the familiar path up Zercey’s thigh before he realized something and stopped.

“Are you not wearing anything under that?” He asked, unable to stop from snickering.

“I got sick of losing bras. Do you know how much those things cost?”

“What would have happened if you bent over at the dance?”

“Some underclassmen would have gotten the show of a lifetime,” Zercey responded with a wry grin, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend’s neck and pulling him closer. “A show that you’re missing by asking stupid questions.”

“I adore you,” Lerki told her honestly.

“I know,” Zercey mumbled, fingers working to undo all of the buttons on his dress shirt.

~*~*~

Jingyi had been surprised that Seth and Scy didn’t win, but didn’t care enough to wonder about it. He was glad they lost, they were jerks, and he was going to celebrate their downfall by doing something he’d thought about doing for months. “Would you like to dance?” he asked Nyima as a slow song started to play. “Not in here though, he amended quickly when he saw her glance around nervously. Taking her hand, he walked them out of the gymnasium and into a dimly lit side hallway. Taking it one step further, he tried the door on one of the darkened classrooms and, finding it open, led Nyima inside. If they left the door open a crack, the music from the gym could still be heard and this way, there was no chance of them being seen or interrupted. Jingyi had never slow danced before, but Nyima didn’t seem to mind. Sheepishly, he brought hands to her waist and she put hers on his shoulders. Then slowly they rocked from side to side in time with the music, breaking eye contact every so often from sheer nervousness. The room was dark and smelled like dry erase markers, it was far from being a magical first dance for them, but it was only their own and Jingyi loved it. “I’m really glad you decided to come with me tonight,” his voice was little more than a whisper in the darkened room, as if speaking too loudly could break the spell.

“I’m glad you asked me,” Nyima’s voice was just as soft and her eyes were now locked with his, unable and unwilling to look away. Almost as one, their faces moved closer together until their lips touched in a soft and sweet kiss.

When they pulled apart Jingyi gave Nyima the dorkiest lopsided grin and she felt her face burn from the cuteness of it. It hadn’t been a long kiss but all that mattered was that she had just had her first kiss and it had been with Jingyi.

Feeling brave from her sudden realization, Nyima took a deep breath before saying, “So I’m staying at Raemina’s tonight, but I’ll be home early tomorrow—probably like twelve or so – and I was thinking—that is, if you want to, maybe you could come over and we could play Final Fantasy like we’d talked about?”

Jingyi had to blink a couple times before he understood what she’d proposed. The question had come out in one quick jumble with the words all sort of melting into each other. “Yeah!” His voice sounded entirely too excited even to his own ears. “I mean yeah, yes…that would be great,” he amended quickly.

Nyima laughed and soon he joined her, both of them giggle ridiculously in the dark until the sound of footsteps breezing by their classroom hide out forced them both to quiet down. “We should head back to the dance now,” Nyima suggested. “Raemina will be worried if she sees me missing.”

They shared another small peck and joined hands, hurrying across the hall and back into the gym. The sound of loud music and shouting as everyone screamed and jump up and down caused the two to pause. 

“What about a walk before we go back?” Jingyi suggested, not interested in trying to weave his way through the mosh pit that the gym had become.

“Let’s,” Nyima agreed, hooking her arm through his. The hallways of the school were empty mostly and the quiet was calming. If he was alone, Jingyi might have been a little freaked out, schools were kind of scary at night, but Nyima made him feel braver than usual. She talked as they walked, telling him everything he needed to know about the new Final Fantasy game and the several layers of lore that went into it. It all seemed a lot more complicated than his simple Mortal Kombat games, but she looked so excited about it that Jingyi couldn’t help feel excited too.

“And then they died! All four of them! I was wrecked initially, but there are some theories online that them dying isn’t the real ending and so I’m going to….” Her words cut off by a weird noise from around the corner and they stopped dead in their tracks. It sounded like heavy breathing, mingled with wet noises and Nyima didn’t know exactly what it was, but she knew that they shouldn’t investigate it. “Let’s go back,” she whispered, trying to remain as quiet as possible now that she knew they weren’t alone. Sadly, the quiet sound of her voice wasn’t soft enough to save her from being noticed.

“I think I heard someone,” a mystery voice sounded, followed by the sounds of quick movements and a zipper being pulled.

Nyima and Jingyi, now understanding the situation better, flushed right down to their toes. Panic took over the shy couple and they did what anyone with anxiety would do in their situation, they ran all the way back to the gym without looking back.

They weren’t fast enough to not be seen though. Cowan’s head craned from behind the corner that had hidden him and he saw their retreating forms just before they vanished around a corner at the opposite end of the hall.

“Who was it?” Xyl asked, hastily trying to smooth out his clothing and praying to whatever god was willing to listen that they weren’t seen and Rhoe would remain safely unaware of what they were doing.

“That Asian couple—you know, silent boy and anxious girl,” Cowan answered, retreating back into their hidey hole beside the water fountain. “I wouldn’t worry about it, neither of them talk normally and so they’re not gonna say anything about this. I don’t even think they saw us.”

~*~*~

Imogen was angry. Seth and Scyanatha should have won, she saw the votes when they first came in and those two had the most. Someone had tampered with it and considering that Rhoe was here, wearing a dress she didn’t ask to borrow, Imogen bet that she was responsible. She would never hear the end of this from Scy and on top of that, she couldn’t shake the creepy jock she’d been set up with to save her life. She’d had to jump through figurative hoops to get away from him and now she was creeping through the hallways like a crazy person and trying to make it outside and to Salem before V.A found her again. She almost succeeded, he was a few feet out the door and she could see the spot where she was supposed to meet Salem when a firm hand clasping around her wrist stopped her.

“Hey sexy, leaving so soon?” Imogen felt the hot, wet breath on her neck and couldn’t fight off the repulsed cringe that followed it. 

“Hey! Let go of me!” she yelled in surprise, squirming to the best of her ability as she tried to break free, but V.A held on tight. 

“Oh come on,” he said as he edged closer and forced her back towards the wall. “Don’t make a scene. I know I can show you a good time if you just let me.” 

“Seriously V.A, this isn’t funny. Let me go.”

“The lady said ‘no,’ creep,” came a forceful voice. Salem had just walked out of a side door to see Imogen scared and cornered, and a menacing figure huddled over her like a predator. He might spend more time putting on glitter than working out, but he knew what it meant to be a decent guy and this wasn’t it. “I think you should leave now.”

“Oh yeah? And who asked you? This isn’t any of your business,” V.A jeered, now turning his attention from Imogen to him.

Sensing she had a very narrow window with which to escape, Imogen put all of her force into her right leg and drove it directly up between V.A’s. 

“You fucking bitch!” he snarled, hands moving to protect his dangling parts from further harm. Salem wound back his arm and brought his fist to the side of V.A's face.

V.A’s head snapped to the side and his curses grew louder. It would have been cool to have a ‘movie moment’ where the bad guy ran away and the hero saved the day, but that was not what was going to happen here. Salem felt like his knuckles were broken from the impact of the hit and it took very real effort not to start cursing himself. He wasn’t a big guy and the sad reality was that he was never going to take on a football player and win. Not tonight, not ever.

The options he had in this situation were slim and became even slimmer when V.A straightened up, the shock of getting hit in the groin and then the face finally having passed, and growled at him. He was in a full Neanderthal rage and Salem realized that the only two things he could do in this situation were run back into the school or to run for his car in the parking lot.

The sound of the school door slamming open and the tall, imposing and angry figure of Ms. Queline stomping her way towards them made Salem’s decision for him. He grabbed Imogen’s hand and bolted for the parking lot.

“Wait. I can’t. Breathe,” Imogen panted a few minutes later, letting go of Salem to bring a hand to either knee and gasp for air. 

“Okay,” he agreed. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was struggling to catch his own breath and now had a stitch in his side to add on top of his stinging knuckles. “I think we lost him anyway. My car is just up there,” he pointed at the end of the row. “We can sit in there and make sure he’s gone.”

Once they were both safely inside, Salem peered over to the girl beside him. He wanted to help her, wanted to do something, but he didn’t know how or what. “Are you okay?” 

Imogen closed her eyes. Am I okay? No, of course she wasn't. She was shaken up by V.A’s actions and there was still adrenaline coursing through her veins that made her feel jumpy. The feeling of V.A’s skin on hers had made her panic and act purely out of survival instinct. But then Salem had been there. She returned his gaze and gave him a wan smile. “No, not yet. But I think I will be.” 

“I wish I had done more. Someone else could have given him the ass kicking he deserved. I'm sorry…”

She laughed without humor. “You’re sorry? You didn’t even have to help me! You shouldn’t be apologizing –” 

Salem cut her off. “Of course I did! Do you really think so little of yourself that you don’t think you’re worth helping?” She looked away, trying to blink back tears. “I’m sorry.” He started again, “That’s not what I meant, I…”

“No, it is what you meant.You’re right,” said Imogen quietly. “At any rate, thank you. I appreciate what you did for me.”

He sat back in his seat, at a loss for anything else to say. He almost made to reach out to her in comfort a couple of times but stopped and ended up bringing his hands under his legs to keep himself from touching her. That’s not what she needed after what just happened.

“Listen,” she said, breaking the silence, “I don’t really want to be alone right now. Do you think we could drive around for a little bit?”

Salem agreed, grateful that he finally had something to do. He pulled out of the parking lot and brought them around the town, trying to fill the silence by sharing anecdotes and facts about the places they were passing and was relieved when she let out a few small chuckles. Finally they pulled over at the lookout. Usually the spot was filled with couples in cars, but since almost everyone was still at the dance, tonight it was deserted. 

“The lookout?” Imogen queried. “Are you trying to say something?” Salem could tell by her tone of voice that she meant to ask it in a teasing way, but the tension she kept in her body gave away her discomfort. 

“No. I just really like the view. Have you ever taken the trail further down?” She shook her head. “Great!” He jumped out of the car and ran to open the passenger side door for her before leading her down a mostly-hidden footpath. 

“I didn’t even know this was here,” she said surprised.

“Not many people do. But it gets better, just wait.” Finally they came upon a ledge just big enough for two people to sit side-by-side. The town looked like a toy model from that height and they were far enough to not hear the noise that usually came with so many people and cars going about their lives. “I like to come up here to think sometimes,” Salem explained once they had sat down.

“It’s beautiful.” Imogen turned to Salem. “Thank you -- for sharing this and for everything else you’ve done for me. Just… thanks.” She picked up his hand, gently running her fingers along his scraped knuckles. “Does it hurt?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t see any point in lying.

She looked him full in the face then, her eyes sweeping over his brows, his kind grey eyes, his smooth sparkly skin, before finally coming to rest on his lips. He had surprised her over and over tonight, comforting her, just being there and keeping her company. “I like you,” she confessed. “I mean like like you.”

“I like like you too,” he replied and interlaced his fingers with hers. 

Imogen smiled. “Good,” she said. Gently, she brought her lips to his.

“We should go find them,” Raemina didn’t think it was a good idea for the two to be alone. She’d seen how Date looked at Vyxen and Vyxen’s blind adoration of him would get her in trouble.

By @guardians-of-las-vyxen & @yogiwithabook

[anissagraces]

Just some thoughts about the new broadcast shows I’m watching

I Feel Bad: the first episode was..so bad. The jokes fell flat, the storyline wasn’t great. The good thing is it was a double premiere, or I might’ve dropped it immediately. The second episode was a lot better and funnier. It’s definitely not the best new comedy, but it’s okay and has potential. 6/10

Single Parents: I was looking forward to this show A LOT. There were so many good reviews for it so I had high expectations, but it just underwhelmed a lot... The pacing is weird, the jokes aren’t great and the main character is not very likeable imo (Will). I really love the premise, so I hope the next episodes are better or this’ll be dropped soon. 6/10

A Million Little Things: I have no idea what to think of this. Some of these characters are SO unlikeable (like the cheating couple...yikes) and I’m not sure what this show’s plan is for the next episodes? It just feels like a drama that’ll never stop dramaing. (lmao okay that doesn’t make sense). I’m going to watch the second episode and we’ll see what’s next. Maybe they’ll surprise me. Overall, it’s a decent drama with a good cast, I’m just not sure what the story will be.  7/10

God Friended Me: Also a show I was looking forward to. The first half felt a bit weird, but overall I really liked it. I’m not religious myself, but how Miles acted was sometimes too much, maybe because I don’t think that way? Anyway, I like the premise and I’m curious about who the ‘God’ really is, bc I think they’ll eventually put a face on this ‘character’. The chemistry between the cast is great and I always love seeing Brandon (R.I.P. The Mayor, gone too soon) and Violet. I have to add I don’t like the whole ‘asian character is the hacker’ stereotype, so I hope the character gets some other characterizations.  8/10

Happy Together: I read a lot of negative reviews about this, but I actually really liked it? I love Damon Wayans Jr. & Amber Stevens West so maybe that’s why, but I genuinly enjoyed the jokes and the chemistry between the cast. The premise is kind of unbelievable (popstar that moves in with a couple in their 30s), but I’m okay with that as long as it gives me joy and a break from life. 8/10

New Amsterdam: so far, my favorite new drama of the season. I’m not a big fan of Ryan Eggold, but I love the character he portrays. And while a lot happened in the pilot, it didn’t feel rushed. Also, bonus, Freema Agyeman is in this!!! I’m so happy to see her thriving. Overall, I love me some good medical drama so i hope this stays strong. 8,5/10

Manifest: I know everyone loves this a lot, and I just don’t? Idk, it’s decent and okay, but I wasn’t immediately interested in the plot or characters. That said, I haven’t seen the second episode yet (I will in a few hours) so maybe that’ll change my mind. I did like the ending of the pilot a lot, so I hope it’ll build on that. 7,5/10

The Neighborhood: idk what to say.. I feel like I can’t form an opinion about this after only one episode, because it fell so flat for me and I have no idea what these characters are like yet. Obviously Cedric the Entertainer will be the stuck up guy and Max Greenfield the nice, fluffy neighbor. There were some good jokes, but overall I just didn’t like it a lot. I’ll watch the second (and third probably) episode just to be sure, but I don’t think this will be my show. 6,5/10

[nogoodmox]

cedric and anthony for the character thing :)

this is a very sarah ask….thank u for these good cruiserboys :’)

cedric: 

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life attractiveness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty | gorgeous! (he’s so fuckignd hansome r u kdiding me)hogwarts house: gryffindor (maybe w/ a bit of ravenclaw?) | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: DETERMINATION!!! this boy’s climbed his way to the top only to be knocked down so many times, yet he keeps picking himself up and moving forward and it’s so admirable. and look where he is now!!!! :’‘‘)worst quality: this isn’t necessarily a very Bad thing but he tends to be…a little cynical? or i guess just more pessimistic than most babyfaces (which is definitely understandable given all he’s been thru!)ship them with: n/abrotp them with: MOOSE, granneeds to stay away from: noam (for both of their sakes lmao)misc. thoughts: I LOVE HIM!!! imo he’s second only to moose in terms of talent and i’m still getting used to the Joy that comes with him being our champion. like...we really couldn’t ask for a better champ i’m so proud of him

tony:

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life attractiveness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous!hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (this is a tough one...but i think hufflepuff works)best quality: he’s so loyal!!! he may be a (former) rudeboy but he values his friends a lot and is ride or die for them!!! worst quality: well,,,,, his Arrogance probably! it’s what tends to stop him from reaching Full Face Potentialship them with: n/abrotp them with: kinda cedric? they have a weird rivalry going on. ariya....noam....god please get this boy some more friendsneeds to stay away from: DREW until that wheat thin apologizes and cleans up his actmisc. thoughts: tony isn’t my fave cruiserweight but he’s a really interesting character and i love him!! i’m really invested in his Journey To Babyfacery and i wish 205 would actually....show him each week so we could see that progression. 

[roadtripsinspace-blog]

Do we need "Love, Simon?" TIME says, "nah, bro."

I was reading the TIME article that attracted all this controversy over Love, Simon and I'm not gonna lie, some solid points were made. I agree in that there look to be some tropes and cliches, and that the trailer feels it will be a more juvenile film compared to, say, the pedophilic wonder Call Me By Your Name (I joke...sorta) -- but I don't think we can really compare the receptions from both films (CMBYN winning an Oscar and LS getting this [insert adjective that sounds nicer than "shitty" here bc I'm trying to be civil...] Time article) because, as Time itself points out, the two movies were made for different audiences in mind. And isn't that the whole point? 

This was the headline^ I'm not saying YA movies/shows, etc., have to be unintelligently written. Many are intriguing, layered and that's why so many rent-paying adults are still toting Harry Potter scarves and arguing about which House is better (Ravenclaw btw, fight me) -- because YA material can engage all ages. But yes, a lot of YA can also be straightforward (hah there's a pun lurking there somewhere) and one-dimensional, it happens. But if Time's point was that the movie didn't do its subject matter justice due to the fact it was a "flat rom-com," that's kind of very much bullshit since it never pretended to be some sort of genius plot to begin with. Like if the movie sucks (which imo it doesn't look horrible but I can see where the tropey tropes might come in) then that's too bad, but how does that have anything to do with whether or not it tried to carry a message that people can still take something away from? I mean when did bringing the LGBTQ+ genre to the big screens suddenly mean one had to produce amazing work in order to justify a gay character being the lead? If the plot was bad bc it did not try to send this message, then yes something would be wrong here but clearly that's not what's happening. The message is clear. Everyone deserves love. Two seconds into the trailer and bam. I already know. You don't gotta be a Ravenclaw to see the message (still best House tho, not backing down). It might not be done cleverly, idk, but the movie's not muddling that message in general no matter how trope-tastic it is. People who thought Twilight was dumb didn't conclude that oh, hey, since this ex-Cedric-Diggory fellow was one-dimensional and the romance was unconvincing, that must mean the efforts to portray straight people finding love on screen for all to see is "unneeded."

In fact, I'd actually be sort of glad if Love, Simon ended up being a "flat rom-com." Hooray! The LGBTQ+ community should be able to have the luxury of making both generic entertainment AND more, idk, Oscary Oscar entertainment (the voting process for that makes it a debateable standard anyway). That would be a hallmark moment: Gay characters can star in shitty movies too, folks. Just like straight leads. How does that put down the LGBTQ+ movement in any way? Why do all works that have homosexuality as a topic HAVE to be "good" in order to be something that exists? Can't the producer/director/cast just try their best to be passionate about what they make and hopefully entertain some people along the way?

But what IRKED me the most was this quote from the article:

"But those kids who were met with support when they came out are probably too sophisticated for Love, Simon–so much so that its vision of how good it feels for a masculine, traditionally attractive bro to receive encouragement might not resonate at all."

Firstly, 'bro'? Art thy not Time? What's with this colloquial language? Did I accidentally stumble upon a Tumblr rant such as my own? For fuck's sake?

Secondly, I get the criticism of Simon potentially being like a stereotypical white dude, but idk if I'd agree that it's this huge horrible thing. I'm not white but I don't feel offended? It doesn't seem like a racist move, in my opinion anyway, I mean whatever someone's ethnicity is they would have a story to tell in this situation and that's what the movie is about. Everyone equal and deserving love.

Thirdly, how does a KID being met with support when coming out mean they are suddenly too mature to handle a movie that represents something that happened to them? Oh shit maybe THAT is why I like Harry Potter! Because I haven't been told "yer a wizard!" It makes so much sense now, only things that I haven't had to handle should grace my TV screens -- so fuck off, all movies starring straight people! If I've seen one man kiss a woman, I've seen em all! Can't learn anything new I guess!

So basically what TIME is saying is that because Simon wasn't oppressed but instead had a healthy, positive coming out experience, the movie was unnecessary. Uh, what? BY THE WAY, Time also argues that the movie isn't relateable because in the parts of Simon's life that ARE indeed making it hard for him to come out, it seems like he's facing an outdated problem. So make up your mind please, Time. Is the movie a waste because it is too kind on Simon or too harsh? Oh, what's that you say? Matters are actually complicated and struggles are not able to be easily dismissed as "over now"? There we go...

Anyway -- not all coming out experiences are the same or laced with tragedy, so why does Simon have to be SAD and DOWN in a movie like this? You sadistic Time writer you? I get it, okay, Time wants to be MOVED, they paid good money on their box of tissues but again, Time already agreed that this is a YA movie. If it wants to be simple, why is that bad? And isn't it good, to not only let others who had a similar coming out experience know that they are just as legitimately a part of the LGBTQ+ community even if they had a calm coming out experience, but also to show audience members an example of how to positively and encouragingly converse with someone who is trying to tell you they are gay and/or any other kinds of things they would want to share with loved ones? Would Time rather ask the YA demographic to watch something gruesome and dark like a beating or some shit? Are the people at Time also those people who are so uptight about violent video games influencing their children yet somehow believe portraying how NOT to handle someone coming out is a good idea, and the only way to give meaning to a story about a gay male lead?

I just don't understand why the article had to make Love, Simon seem like it was this waste of an idea/hard work/money/excitement simply because it happened to be exactly what it said it would be, a YA movie. I don't understand why Time made it sound like the only way hype about a gay male lead would be allowed is if Interstellar happened again but like instead of Matthew McConnaughey trying to find his way back home to save his daughter, spewing copious amounts of philosophy and space jargon as he did so, he was now trying to reunite with his gay lover or some shit. (Actually, now that I say it aloud, I really need to watch that. Please someone make it happen. We can start a petition or something. Matt is a generous guy, I feel it in my soul.) And yeah I'd probably enjoy that movie more than Love, Simon because looking at the trailer, if I may take a moment to pre-judge the movie, it does so far seem to have the setup of a cheesy rom com for young teens. So? That doesn't mean it's some kind of setback for the LGBTQ+ movement. That doesn't mean it's a waste.

Also this has nothing to do with the rant but I thought it was pretty cool:

(found on instagram)

[ariyadaivaris]

catsi replied to your post “catsi replied to your post “catsi replied to your post “catsi ...”

YES YES YES THAT FEUD HAD SO MANY FACETS TO IT IT WAS SO INTENSE... my fav part of it was how akira, who'd previously been very alone in his feud with brian, was growing to trust others to look out for him and allow himself to rely on others sometimes with titus worldwide, finding a sense of family and community in the process. once akira stopped trying to do everything on his own, and let others reach out to him, he became strong enough to defeat neville and that is

FUCKING EVERYTHING TO ME. THAT WAS SO GOOD BUZZ I'M SORRY I TALK ABOUT THIS FEUD TO YOU AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH BUT IT REALLY WAS SO GOOD AND I'M SO PROUD OF AKIRA AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH AND I EARNESTLY DO ADORE HIM MORE THAN ANYTHING OR ANYONE

PLEASE NEVER EVER APOLOGIZE FOR TALKING ABT THIS FEUD I WOULD ALSO GLADLY TALK ABOUT IT FOREVER CAT AND YOU, NUMBER ONE AKIRA TOZAWA FAN, ARE THE BEST AT TALKING ABOUT IT IN THE WHOLE WIDE UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!

god what makes me so so so happy is seeing akira now, surrounded by friends, because that all stems from learning to trust people and build a community with titus worldwide!!! the way he works with mustafa and with cedric, he’s constantly just finding reasons to hug them or let them know what he’s up to, he does the same with kalisto and with any partner he has, he has SO MUCH LOVE in his sweet heart and we got to see him learn to express that!!!!!!!!!

AND THE WAY HE LEARNED FROM TITUS WHEN IT’S BETTER TO TAP THAN TO DIE FIGHTING...his feud within his title feud, with ariya, where he sacrificed his shoulder to win a few times, that was ALSO masterfully done, and 1) ariya is a really really good person to have establishing fights with? like, he rarely gets proper feuds but he’s gone against neville and akira and jack and kalisto and helped them really get their grounding on 205 or in the title picture OR like, in neville’s case, as someone who can lose to people just like any of his subjects on technicalities, like, ariya is underappreciated in my HUMBLE imo and i love him and i loved his feud with akira and with neville, 

and 2) as much as i’m still upset about that 6 day title reign, for many reasons, including the derailing of a story arc 205 had been building for months because vince wanted to “shake things up”, i feel like there’s no better way for akira’s time in the title picture to end than...with him tapping out against a foe he’s fought and known and learned to begrudgingly respect. akira learning it’s okay to tap out and to recover and to let people take care of him is a HUGE step for his character, and it was just so so beautifully done, and i would lasso the moon from the sky for him if he gave the word!!!

I LOVE AKIRA!!! I LOVE 205 AND I LOVE NEVILLE AND I LOVE TITUS AND APOLLO AND I LOVE AKIRA, I HOPE HE MEETS DANA SOON, I LOVE AKIRA AND I LOVE LISTENING TO YOU TALK ABOUT AKIRA, CAT!!!!!!! IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY <333333 I LOVE YOU SO SO SO MUCH

[sage-nebula]

If you could rewrite Pokemon Sun/Moon with things like better character development and more depth to the Aether Foundation, how would you do it? :D

I mean, these games were such a ridiculous disappointment (especially with regards to the Aether Foundation) that we could be here all day, but …

Let’s get started.

General:

Let the Island Challenge actually be a fucking challenge. I love the concept behind it, and how similar it sounded to the Orange Islands in the anime, and I love the idea of having that instead of the standard Gym challenge, particularly since it allowed Alola to be run under a religious oligarchy rather than the typical League system (even if Kukui staged a political revolution, but more on that in a second). However, the actual Island Challenge itself was pathetic. There was hardly any exploration, the challenges themselves were like teeny-tiny minigames … and considering how interesting or challenging they could have been, it made the entire thing feel boring, particularly since the “totem battle” at the end is basically just a Gym Leader battle, albeit against “wild” pokémon. It’s a cool concept that Game Freak didn’t bother to flesh out at all.So instead, I’d want the Island Challenges to actually be detailed and fleshed out. Give us temples or caves to fully explore. Give us actually challenging puzzles to complete. Make it a blend between Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda. And don’t just have us do a totem battle for every single one, or at least—perhaps there’s a way to pacify the totem pokémon without battling. Maybe you can battle, but you can also find alternative solutions with your team, thereby strengthening the message of unity between person and pokémon and also giving players various different ways to complete their Island Challenge—a way to make it unique to each person. At the very least, don’t just have us go through pretty much empty locations (like Kiawe’s mountain—there was practically nothing there, just a boring hike to the top and then a ridiculously easy “game” before the totem battle) until we hit the end goal. Give us more lore, exploration, and challenge instead of wasting a perfectly good concept.

GIVE. US. BACK. THE. BIKE. Or at the very least do away with the fugly outfit and godawful Ride music. And for that matter, let us use our own pokémon for the Ride feature. I should not have to call upon a charizard when I have a charizard in my party. That’s asinine. 

Similarly, MAKE ALOLA BIGGER, and make it so that we can surf between the islands. Alola feels tiny. Having a tiny region isn’t necessarily new—some of the other regions aren’t that big, tbh—but it feels very compact because you just insta-travel between the islands, rather than being able to surf the distance as you could in, say, Hoenn. Additionally, some of the islands are mini, sometimes only having one city or town. I get that Alola is based on the State of Hawaii, but there were certain design choices that limited exploration that make it seem infinitely smaller, which is a disappointment. Make Alola bigger, or at the very least let it breathe.

Stop having everyone fawn over and worship the player character. It felt so unnatural and got to the point where I wanted to punt all of the other characters into the ocean. The player character—or player, I guess—does not need to be worshiped and have their shoes licked for being “OMGOSH SO AMAZING BEST TRAINER EVAR!!1!!!1!!” by the other characters. I hate that. Let the other characters be incredible, too. Let them recognize their own strengths and talents. Shine some light on them, rather than on this rando child who spontaneously moved to this region and yet is somehow the savior they were all waiting for. I just … hated that, so much. It felt like even more fawning and salivating over how awesome the player is than usual, and it really rubbed me the wrong way.

Put so much more focus on Kukui’s honest-to-Arceus political revolution. Kukui overturned the religious oligarchy that had governed Alola for ages and turned it into a League system because … well, because he felt like it, I guess, and yet this not only goes smoothly, but basically no attention is called for it whatsoever. Now, I know that Nintendo did this because they still wanted to give the player a chance to be the Champion and have an actual throne to sit on while the rest of the characters at the game salivate at their feet (sigh), but that doesn’t change the fact that this should have been met with a lot of resistance and upheaval and should have been a very solid B Plot (if they weren’t going to make it the actual plot), particularly since the end result was an eleven-year-old child who had just moved there and knew nothing of the history or populace suddenly being placed in charge. Like, you would think Hala would take serious issue with Kukui being an upstart and calling for a revolution, but no, he was fine with it because … just because. We don’t know, because Hala didn’t get to actually do much in the main story despite being hyped up as an important character. But as far as we know, everyone was perfectly fine with Kukui’s massive political revolution, and the ramifications this would have on Alola (both domestically and internationally in fields like general politics, finance, et cetera) were completely ignored.So let’s explore that at least a bit. Even if Kukui is still ultimately successful, perhaps show him meeting resistance from people like Hala, and gaining support from people like Nanu (since Nanu doesn’t want to be a Kahuna anymore lol), and people like Olivia being torn. Show the effect this has on the kids, where perhaps Hau ends up coming into conflict with Hala because Hala is against Kukui’s revolution, while Hau thinks it could be interesting and fun, and so they encounter some family strife there as Hau tries to find his own way in contrast to what his grandfather wants for him. Show this coming up again and again, and explore Kukui’s motivations for it more deeply. Why does he want a revolution so bad? Is it really that he wants Alola to have a stronger presence internationally? Does he have personal stakes in that? Will Alola have a stronger presence internationally if they switch to a League system? And so on and so forth. And since he’s the one leading the revolution, make him the Champion, versus the eleven-year-old who literally just moved here and knows fuck all about Alola. Honestly, please give Kukui some semblance of intelligence and let his revolution actually be treated with some degree of gravitas, as it should be. (Alternatively, if Game Freak is incapable of doing this, remove this subplot and let Alolan government stand. We don’t need to be the Champion. It’s not that big of a deal after six bloody generations of letting us do just that.)

On that note, Professor Burnet needs to play a bigger role in the Aether plot. While Kukui is spearheading his revolution, Burnet is studying wormholes and Ultra Space and, as such, should have played a bigger role in the main plot, going up against Lusamine (or at least assisting the kids in doing so) in the process. That she was all but ignored in favor of Kukui, whose research and ultimate goals had absolutely nothing to do with the Aether Foundation, was a huge mistake and (imo) just one of the MANY ways in which Gen VII treated its female characters horribly.So let her be more involved. Actually show her relationship with Lillie, rather than just telling us about it in a couple lines of dialogue. Let her continuously run experiments on the wormholes and dig deeper into what the Aether Foundation is doing. Show her her science contrasts with that of Lusamine’s, in addition to how her parenting contrasts with that of Lusamine’s. Let her show up at various times throughout the plot, including when Aether Paradise is stormed, because this is her field of expertise and, as such, she is damn knowledgeable about it. Let Burnet be the one to point Lillie and the others to the pedestals where they can get the flutes, and let her be the one to direct them when it comes time to play. Basically, actually utilize this wonderful character that was created, instead of ignoring her because she’s not the “main professor” (or more accurately, because she’s female, because apparently this series can’t give us a female professor without upstaging her with either her father (Cedric Juniper) or her husband (Kukui), regardless of how little sense that upstaging makes).

Make the RotomDex optional. This speaks for itself. The RotomDex was obnoxious, and is quite possibly one of the worst companion characters I’ve ever seen in a video game (far worse than Navi, for instance). I hate it. 

Don’t make Team Skull bad guys at all. The idea of having them appear to be criminals (or at the worst being punks) but actually having some heroic moments near the end was one that was kicked around a lot, and was also one that was shamefully wasted by making them cardboard caricatures of villains instead. Instead, it’d be much better if they were instead representative of the terrible CPS system / justice system in Alola (at one point a cop NPC mentions there being no crime despite crime being everywhere, showing how useless the police in Alola are), which could potentially be fuel for why people like Kukui and Nanu want a revolution, thus tying into that B Plot. It would also drive home a message about appearances being deceiving to have Team Skull actually be decent people despite being forced to sometimes steal food because they have none, whereas the Aether Foundation looks pristine but clearly isn’t. It’d certainly be more meaningful than the “they’re comic relief but also still Bad Guys™” message we were given instead.On that note, LET PLUMERIA PLAY AN ACTUAL ROLE, GOD DAMN IT, particularly with regards to Guzma teaming up with Lusamine (if he still acts as her grunt), and Plumeria being the one to confront him over it. If Plumeria is the aneki of Team Skull, let her act like it, and let us see her acting like it. I would have her stepping up and taking charge, the one truly in charge of Team Skull (and even Guzma tbh) because she has her shit together. I would also expand and build upon her relationship with Gladion, with whom she actually does have a good relationship with, so that he, too, had some support outside of Null / Silvally. But more on that in a second.

Give Hau actual depth. The most we get out of him is that he has an inferiority complex, is a bit of a stepford smiler, and dislikes how much of a bully Gladion is to him (and thus dislikes Gladion—and yes, he did dislike him, complete with an D8 reaction whenever Gladion showed up, and their “reconciliation” was rushed af, so I don’t count it).  That’s not really enough, and Hau deserved better. If Kukui’s revolution B Plot was given more focus, inserting that conflict between Hala and Hau mentioned before could spur Hau to really find himself and his own motivations other than what was expected of him + his “having fun” excuse. He could also have his relationship with Lillie explored more, particularly since they were friends before the player character showed up and stole everything, meaning that he should have been more prominent as a support figure for her rather than being shoved to the side so that the player could do it instead (again, rather inexplicably). And as a final idea, perhaps he could be manipulated by Lusamine (whom he seemed to like in the games) into working for her, possibly even for Lillie’s sake (potentially) because he wants to help Lillie reconcile with her mother, + believes Lusamine is doing the right thing, + is potentially even trying to escape the brewing conflict between Kukui and Hala and figures that since the Aether Foundation is removed from it, joining up with them is a safe way to go. He doesn’t know that Lusamine is evil af, of course, and so he (rather like Alan in the anime) is completely manipulated into thinking he’s doing good—but that could spur his development along even more and make him a much more prominent and important character, which would be awesome considering the fact that he was another under-utilized character who, again, deserved better. There’s no reason why he can’t be involved in the plot from multiple angles so that he can exist as more than a simple rival, and I think that would be a good way do it.

Aether Foundation + Aether Twins:

LET. THE AETHER. FOUNDATION. BE. SCIENTIFIC. And I don’t mean general zoological science, but I mean, very specifically, that I want them to be drenched in alchemy and science of that nature. It doesn’t have to be historical, realistic alchemy; in fact, making it strictly realistic would be boring, which is the reason why stories such as Fullmetal Alchemist go the “magical alchemy” route. Nonetheless, I want that. I want the basis of the Aether Foundation to be scientific and alchemical. I want the reason for their existence to be based in the alchemy plot that makes up the A Plot, because these games have been heading toward alchemy for several generations now and it would have made so much sense to have that payoff be here. I want to see experiments, I want to see talk of theories and hypotheses, I want tests, I want—I want the Aether Foundation to resemble Aperture Science Laboratories in a lot of ways, basically.

On that note, the “conservation” needs to be a farce. None of this “well, most of them were good, but it’s just the neurotoxins that made them bad!” bullshit. The conservation needs to be nothing more than a facade in order to gain them funding from the government + good press. Additionally, the pokémon that they “save” could be used in experiments (such as the chimera creation experiments that created the likes of Type: Null) behind the scenes. Essentially, just as Team Skull should have been good with bad publicity, the Aether Foundation needs to be bad with good publicity. LET THEM BE EVIL, particularly since I love the visual contrast between how pure and clean they look, but how corrupt and vile they are beneath the surface. Love that so much.And note, too, that it isn’t necessarily that every single grunt knows the full scope of Lusamine’s plans and is on board with them. Perhaps some of them are in it for personal gain, perhaps some of them are in it because they’re interested in studying science, perhaps they put up with parts that creep them out because they feel the benefits outweigh the cons, et cetera. Not every unnamed Aether employee needs to be evil, they can all have their own motivations for going along with the plan + might only know bits and pieces, but by and large the Aether Foundation should have been our large villainous organization for this game, rather than the half-assed nonsense we were given. And on top of being villainous and corrupt, they should have also been massively scientific, in terms of actually carrying out experiments that we see and using conservation as an excuse / way to get test subjects. Don’t make them charitable; make them corrupt. Go big or go home.

LET WICKE ALSO BE EVIL. My god, Wicke had all the personality of a wet piece of cardboard, and it’s bullshit that she was relegated to just being a motherly piece of cardboard while Faba actually got to be the villain he always wanted to be. Wicke, as I characterize her, would know pretty much everything of what Lusamine is up to, and would be in support of it both because it aligns with her personal beliefs and because she loves and is deeply devoted to Lusamine (what type of love that is would be up for interpretation by the player, but in any case, Lusamine doesn’t return it, she just takes advantage). Wicke wouldn’t truly care for the twins, but would instead be the type to guilt trip them for not also being loyal to Lusamine + hurting Wicke in the process by running away and whatnot. She has that simpering, faux honey approach, similar to Umbridge. She’s allowed to be competent, strong, and every bit a member of the villain triad as Faba and Lusamine.

On that note, let Faba be more of an actual scientist. Let’s see what contributions he has made to the Aether Foundation other than his ego. Maybe he was the one who made the chimeras. If so, great! Let’s see that. Let’s see why Lusamine bothers to keep him around. Let’s see more of a conflict between him and Wicke that isn’t so much that he puts her down and she cowers, but more that she looks down on the fact that he’s here mostly for his own self-interest (+ interest in science + Lusamine lets him do what he wants) and less because of loyalty to Lusamine, whereas he thinks that her loyalty to Lusamine (/ her reasons for that loyalty) are pathetic and that the only thing that matters is, well, science. Like, he’s loyal to Lusamine, but he’s loyal because she’s giving him the opportunity to do / get what he wants, rather than because of personal feelings for her. He thinks he’s using Lusamine. He’s not aware that the situation is actually the other way around. Let’s see that, let’s explore it, and let’s explore how his hubris is in direct contradiction to the principles behind the Philosopher’s Stone and, more importantly, the lion that devours the sun, according to alchemical writings from our own world, long in the past.

LET THE TWINS HAVE AN ACTUAL RELATIONSHIP. My god, one of the things that bothered me the most was the fact that Lillie and Gladion barely interacted, on top of how under-utilized Gladion was and how Lillie seemed, in so many places, to exist only as a way to further boost up the player and make them feel special rather than getting to explore her story for her own sake. (Right down to giving Nebby to the player, ugh.) To begin with, I want to know more about their past at Aether Paradise. What happened the night Gladion left? Why did he leave without Lillie? I’d like to think there was a fight or disagreement there—that Lillie wanted to stay because she was insistent that perhaps they could change Lusamine’s mind, or that combating her plan would be easier from Aether Paradise, or (far more likely) that it was their duty to stay, that they were family and thus it was wrong to leave. Gladion disagreed, and so he left, leaving Lillie behind when she refused to come with him. This creates tension between them in the main plot, because Gladion resents Lillie for seemingly choosing their mother over him, whereas Lillie resents Gladion for leaving as he did, even though she herself leaves later in order to save Nebby.But over the course of the game, they encounter each other again and again, and slowly their relationship mends. Gladion appreciates that Lillie is now willing to rebel against their mother, while Lillie learns to admit that her brother had good reasons when he left two years prior (even if his method of leaving still chafes with her), and she respects how he has managed to survive on his own (well, with Null). They meet again and again, come to understandings, and ultimately reform the bond of best friendship they had prior to Gladion’s departure in order to stand against their mother TOGETHER in the climax. (So if there are two flutes to be played, the player is standing off to the side watching while the twins play the flutes in restored harmony.) On top of all of this, I would want to modify Lillie’s personality so that she’s more than just the demure, shy, moe girl who worships the player. Gladion shows the C-PTSD he has from years of child abuse by being harsh, closed-off, and cold. While Lillie doesn’t have to be exactly like him and while everyone is different, I feel that Lillie just being ~omg shy~ as a result of her abuse is not only playing into the Good Victim / Bad Victim dichotomy (with Gladion being the Bad Victim), but was also done just to make her someone the player would want to protect at the expense of making her a well-rounded character with a believable personality. So I would want to modify Lillie so that she’s also stand-offish and cold in various ways; where she, like Gladion, feels that she has a unique view of the situation because of her background, where she’s incredibly studious and smart even if she doesn’t battle, where she’s unwilling to open up to others without the others putting in serious effort (such as Hau potentially, pre-game), where she “defrosts” just as much as Gladion does, because girls can be cold and hard as well and she should be no exception, regardless of how feminine she is. Lastly, both of the kids should have been adopted by Kukui and Burnet at the end of the game. I won’t budge on this.

LET LUSAMINE BE THE VILLAINOUS SCIENTIST QUEEN SHE WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE. Lusamine’s canonical role / personality is perhaps one of the biggest letdowns the Pokémon franchise has ever bestowed upon me and I’m never going to be over it. Whether she’s actually an Ultra Beast herself or not (and I’m still disappointed that the Ultra Beasts didn’t get to be shapeshifters), she still should have been the mastermind behind everything, the one in control, and the one perfectly aware of everything she was doing, as well as the one wanting to do it because of her own grand plans, rather than just being ~*~manipulated by neurotoxins~*~ and ~*~in need of redemption~*~. So to that end?Lusamine is the actual founder of the Aether Foundation, versus it being founded by her father or grandfather or whatever that NPC said, because I’m sick of this series having women simply inherit positions from male relatives or else be overshadowed by them. Lusamine founded the Aether Foundation as a scientific organization to promote her own ambitions and goals while using pokémon conservation as a convenient cover (as well as a means to get government funding if need-be). She’s the president and founder both, and everyone respects her for it.To that end, Lusamine is blindingly intelligent. Not only does she have a wealth of scientific knowledge across various fields (alchemy is obviously her forte, but she’s also incredibly knowledgeable about chemistry, physics / astrophysics, and various other fields), but she’s also quite knowledgeable in terms of history, various fields of mathematics, and other areas of study. She is very much a Ravenclaw in that she loves learning and studying, but also views the universe in terms of the ultimate question True or Not. She is very interested in the (or at least a, but in her mind she is always right, so the) universal Truth, and seeks to not only claim knowledge of the Truth for herself, but also to grasp it in her hand show the rest of the world / universe that she has it. Right or Wrong doesn’t matter to Lusamine, because both of those things are subjective. True or Not is what matters, more than anything else. She is very, very Ravenclaw. So Lusamine is the Big Bad. I have actual motivations and goals for her in my AU fic, To Devour the Sun, and I won’t get into those here—but if Game Freak didn’t want to make her actually an Ultra Beast, they would change anyway. Instead, we could say that perhaps Lusamine was furthering her alchemical ventures in an effort to grasp the Universal Truth™, much as alchemists of the past were always searching for that very same thing (in a fashion), usually by means of the Philosopher’s Stone. In the context of Pokémon, Lusamine could not only be searching to harness the power of Solgaleo (or Lunala ig, but Solgaleo makes far more sense) for this endeavor, but could also be trying to rip open the Gates between Worlds in order to obtain the Truth (much like Father in FMA:B!). This could potentially put the entire world at risk, particularly since Lusamine wouldn’t exactly care who or what needs to be sacrificed in order to make her dreams reality. To that end, no, she doesn’t care about her children; in her mind, they would be additional pawns that could be used in order to accomplish her goals, and if they disobey then they are cruelly punished—but otherwise, she doesn’t (and has never) care(d) about being a family with them. Mohn isn’t really important, either; he has no bearings on Lusamine’s motivations or desires. If anything, he doesn’t even need to be in the game, at least not as the twins’ father. It’s not like he adds to the plot, and it wouldn’t be the first time kids didn’t have present fathers in this series. (Additionally, if the Johto Rival’s mother is never identified, I don’t see why the twins’ father needs to be.)So yes, Lusamine is frighteningly intelligent, calculating, savvy (she doesn’t take gambles or risks if they can be avoided, generally—once she has everything in place, she won’t risk it for a lesser payoff than she’s planning for), extremely manipulative, and ruthless … with a spiteful or sadistic sense of humor at times (in terms of causing emotional pain, rather like GLaDOS). She uses whatever and whoever she needs to in order to achieve her ends, and while I’m aware that sounds Slytherin, remember, Lusamine does not have precious / important people, does not care about those close to her, and is concerned with the question of True or Not, which is all very not Slytherin and also very Ravenclaw. (And yes, while her actual goals are different in To Devour the Sun, this is the characterization I’m using there, too. She, like Sycamore, is a Ravenclaw. She just also happens to be a very terrible person on top of it. She foils him, in other words, in a variety of ways, on top of having some surface resemblance to Lysandre.)Let her be the true, unapologetic villain she deserved to be. Let her be in command the way she was supposed to be. Lusamine was done a massive injustice in canon and I’ll never be over it. (Oh, and as a final note? She either dies or goes to prison in the end. No exceptions.)

Of course, I’d still love it if the Aether fam were Ultra Beasts as well (and that Ultra Beasts could have human forms), but if Game Freak didn’t want to go that route in canon, then the above is fine as well.

This is all I’ve got for right now. Completely rewriting the plot would take more time (and would likely largely ignore the player, but tbh that’s probably for the best, because the fact that Lillie’s most important was relationship was with the player instead of her brother will never cease to make me salty af), but these are the base ideas I have that would have made me more happy than the disappointing, flat mess we were given. Here’s hoping USUM can improve things, but unless the plot is radically changed, I highly doubt it will.

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Jost, Zucker, Steel, Chabot, Kreider, and Forsberg – July 17

  We’re only a couple weeks away from the release of the 2018-19 Dobber Hockey fantasy guide! It is set for release on August 1st and will be updated regularly as new information becomes available. Be sure to grab it early, get a grasp on values for players, and see how they can fluctuate over the next two months. It’s a great way to identify values later in draft season.

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For the second straight year, Filip Forsberg’s overall time on ice declined. For the second straight year, his five-on-five ice time per game declined. For the third straight year, his five-on-five shot rate declined. For the second straight year, his shots per game declined. For the second straight year, his five-on-five individual expected goals rate declined.

Anyone watching Forsberg knows he’s not in decline. The guy’s hitting his prime. Injuries played a factor last year and the emergence of Viktor Arvidsson meant fewer shots to go around when the duo was on the ice together.

One thing that saved his season was his shooting percentage on the power play. His previous career-high was 15.4 percent. From 2014-17, he shot 11.3 percent on aggregate. In 2017-18, he shot 26.7 percent. Just playing 82 games will help mitigate the drop in PP goals but a return to normalcy could still cut his PP goal totals by three or four, even with the 15 extra games.

The team shot 8.8 percent with him on the ice at five-on-five from 2014-17. Last year, that jumped to 10.2 percent. Despite the team’s expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five with Forsberg on the ice being 2.7, they scored 3.6.

He also set a career-high in individual points percentage – the rate he tallies points on goals scored with him on the ice – with his previous high coming in 2014-15. It was a marginal record, but still his best.

Forsberg wasn’t very far off a point-per-game pace last year. The question is if he can repeat that and be an 80-point player this year. Given the high percentages basically across the board, I find it hard to believe he’ll be near a point-per-game player. Maybe he can crack 70 points but I’ll be interested to see his ADP once September rolls around. It might be too rich to search for any profit.

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Writing about Alex Kerfoot last week got me thinking about Tyson Jost.

Jost had a fine year for a teenager, managing 22 points in 65 games playing under 15 minutes a game. There were growing pains along the way. He suffered an injury early in the year and eventually had to be sent to the AHL to sort his game out after his recovery. He was moved up and down the lineup. It’s not a terrible thing, though. In the era of super rookies and emerging players, it’s easy to forget that for many players, development is neither immediate nor linear.

It’s worth looking at what the numbers aside from just goals and points say.

Here’s how things like Jost’s zone entries, zone exits, and shot rates compared with another 19-year old centre in 2017-18 (from CJ Turtoro’s tableau):

The sample differs but 23 games for Jost is not nothing. He’s showing himself to be a player who looks to generate offence as soon as he gets the puck but being a scorer more than a distributor.

Another area Jost excelled is penalty differential. In terms of penalties drawn per 60 minutes of five-on-five ice time last year, Jost was 31st out of 307 forwards with at least 700 minutes played. He ranked just behind names like Ondrej Kase, David Perron, Connor McDavid, Brendan Gallagher, and Kevin Fiala. In other words, pretty good company. That led to a plus-5 penalty differential, a solid mark in limited action.

He didn’t have star-level boxcar stats but Jost did a lot of the ‘little things’ extremely well last year. If he can continue his progression of creating plays both coming out of the defensive zone and entering the offensive zone, looking to score, and giving his team the numerical advantage, he’ll be a solid fantasy contributor in the next year or two. It may not happen in 2018-19 but once that young roster starts to fill out, Jost should be just fine. Dynasty owners just need to exercise some patience.

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Sometimes I wonder about Chris Kreider’s ADP this year. His goal, assist, shot, and penalty minute paces (per game) were pretty much around his career norms. He’ll be on the top line with top power-play minutes. With the Rangers going through a rebuild and Kreider coming off a season where he missed a lot of games due to injury, does his ADP get depressed? He can be a very good across-the-board roto contributor when healthy. With a new coach and true top-line minutes, this seems like value in the making.

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One player whose ADP I’m excited (scared?) to see in September is Yanni Gourde.

Gourde was a player in the vein of guys before him like Viktor Arvidsson, Jonathan Marchessault, and to a lesser extent Ondrej Kase. A guy certain pockets of the hockey community saw a player with good underlying results in small samples, solid minor league numbers, and hoped they’d get a chance. Gourde finally got his chance and managed 25 goals and 64 points as a 26-year old in his first full season.

Assuming the reports are accurate, Tampa Bay looks like the landing spot for Erik Karlsson. The question is the return. Is Gourde part of the package? Tyler Johnson? Alex Killorn? There will surely be picks and prospects. It’s still uncertain if any roster players are part of the package. Regardless, the lineup as it sits today is not likely to be the lineup in two months.

Gourde likely slots on the third line this year, be it as the centre or winger. Who plays with him? Will either Killorn or Johnson still be around? Will he be lined up with Cedric Paquette? Maybe one of their young wingers in Boris Katchouk or Taylor Raddysh, unless they’re part of the Karlsson trade.

There’s also the shooting percentage, which was over 18 percent overall and over 14.5 percent at five-on-five. That put him just outside the top-10 league-wide among forwards with 1000 minutes.

Gourde is a very good player. In cap leagues, he’s an exceptional asset. I just worry that the steam behind Tampa Bay as a team, Gourde’s superb year, and everyone wanting to get The Next Marchessault will push his ADP too high to be had at a reasonable price. We’ll see in a couple months.

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Speaking of the impending Erik Karlsson trade, what does this do to Thomas Chabot? It surely gives him more minutes, especially on the power play, but the quality of that team will be… lacking, let’s say.

Chabot was, predictably, caved in last year shots-wise when playing away from Karlsson. That’s to be expected from such a young defenceman playing on a team devoid of talent. But who does he play with next year that could help in this regard? Cody Ceci?

Though he looks to have a bright future it could be tough sledding ahead for Chabot. It may be a few years yet before his fantasy potential is realized and it’ll have nothing to do with his play personally. Just the team surrounding him and the player he’s paired with.

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This has to be the year the Ducks finally throw Sam Steel in the lineup, right? He averaged a shade under two points per game in his Draft+1 year and followed that with 83 points in 54 games last year. The injury to Ryan Kesler, and the uncertainty that brings, undoubtedly leaves them one centre short. He has to figure into the lineup, right?

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the need for the Ducks to move Ondrej Kase to the top line. I’m not sure that will actually be the case (no pun intended but welcomed nonetheless). A third-line duo of Steel-Kase is something that would be worth the look for the Ducks. Scoring outside of Rickard Rakell was hard to come by in 2017-18; Kase and Adam Henrique were a distant second behind Rakell’s 34-goal total with 20 each. Being able to run forward pairs of Getzlaf-Rakell, Henrique-Silfverberg, and Steel-Kase is a good way to spread out the talent while having solid lines throughout the roster. Provided, of course, that Steel can prove himself.

I’m intrigued here. He won’t get the top PP minutes to bring significant fantasy relevance but with so much time having elapsed since his draft, outside of dynasty owners, Steel is likely to go under the radar in keeper league setups. Take a flier on him late.

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For those on Twitter, there’s a great account run by twin brothers called Evolving Wild. Though they delve often into the Minnesota team, they cover other ground as well. I just started recently following them but they’ve been around for a while.

Anyway, last week they were discussing Jason Zucker and posted this:

Zucker is worth north of $6MM IMO.

— EvolvingWild (@EvolvingWild) July 11, 2018

If you think that’s rich, Matt Cane’s salary projections (you should follow him, too) have Zucker at $5.2-million.

Now, there’s a difference between what a player is really worth and what they get on the market. Fourth liners are often overvalued (hi, Vancouver) while superstars less so. Teams often overpay for middle-of-the-roster players on the open market – go look at 2016’s free agency period – and underpay their top talent. Teams are getting better with aging curves but it’s a process.

Basically, all this is just reinforcing my unabashed love for Zucker. He’s an excellent hockey player who can do everything you’d want from a top-line forward. He should have had an offer sheet before he got to arbitration. Matt Dumba, too.

Again, what a player gets on the market (or in arbitration) isn’t what he’s necessarily worth. It’s just one way of valuing a player. Owners in cap leagues should be wary of this. I know it sounds basic but it’s just a friendly reminder.

  from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-jost-zucker-steel-chabot-kreider-and-forsberg-july-17/