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manifestoonmoralmanlove · 3 years ago

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What will be in my bag? Pre-ordered Manga. Straight and Lez edition.

Here’s a list of English-released manga I’ve currently got on pre-order, and manga series I ordered before but won’t be continuing with the series.

As a note: Some of these titles have been released but I have not received them yet due to a issues with covid backlog effected how things are released. I personally find that if you pre-order it tends to get you manga quicker. It seems there is more pressure to keep up with the new release schedule than chip away at the backlog.

I’m starting with the stuff I’ve already read some of and confirmed enjoyment, then stuff I’m shooting in the dark for, and finally series I have tried recently and have discontinued.

Heteros

My Androgynous Boyfriend

Story & Art by: Tamekou Publisher: Seven Seas

It is rare for straight shit to end up in my library but My Androgynous boyfriend is an exception that will surprise no-one since it’s pretty queer adjacent. This story is mostly a couple being lovey-dovey between jokes about sexuality and gender but (so far) isn’t problematic at all. The female lead is quite enjoyable as she’s well-balanced and has agency throughout. There’s even ace representation! It’s very low-stakes, wholesome, and sweet so far. (Volume 3 is set to release in November.)

My Excitement Level: The gentle about to sink into a bubble bath variety

Yuri/Lesbian

Even Though We’re Adults

Story & Art by: Takako Shimura Publisher: Seven Seas

Takako is also the creator of Sweet Blue Flowers and Wandering son. I have dipped by toe in to both those series. I overall find their writing kinda meandering and tepid (might just be me) but technically pretty solid. I am hopeful for this series since it features adults....if the title didn’t make it obvious. I was intrigued by the one character being married but the man finding out about the affair quickly and reacting more realistically and interestingly than the average male love interest in a Yuri. I also found myself relating at bit to Akari’s angst about being unlucky with relationships with women. I also do enjoy the artwork! This one is the most likely of my followed series to be dropped at some point. (Volume 2 of this manga was set to release in June this year.)

My Excitement Level: Cautious Optimism

For more click the jump!

Kase-san and Yamada

Story & Art by: Hiromi Takashima Publisher: Seven Seas

This is a series I keep going back to. While it is the very typical low-stakes bubbly, cutesy School age Yuri...it is a very good version of that. Just warm bubble bath vibes. (Volume 7 is set to release in February of next year. I think it was originally supposed to be released this May but was bumped back.)

My Excitement Level: The gentle about to sink into a bubble bath variety

NOW ONTO THE SERIES I HAVEN’T READ BUT I’M TAKING A CHANCE ON!

Adachi and Shimaura

Art: Moke Yuzuhara Story: Hitoma Iruma Publisher: Yen Press

This, as I understand it, is a slow-burn romance about two delinquent girls. I have heard good things about the novel and the anime series! However I prefer manga to novels and don’t have a funimation account so I went to snag it in manga form. (Volume 1 was set to release in February this year and 2 in September)

My Excitement Level: Cautious Optimism

The Girl I want is so handsome!

Story & Art by:Yuama Publisher: Seven Seas

The premise is a young lady has a crush on a handsome older girl who’s oblivious to her advances. When she tries to confess she instead gets roped into being the club manager of the basketball team that her crush is a part of. So it feels like it may end up cycling through 2 jokes and be so deep in the stereotypical manga bullshit you can easily-predict its beats volumes in advance. HOWEVER that is also a premise that is similar to Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun which is legitimately a hilarious series. Also I fucking love butch/stud/masc-presenting women/AFAB people. So I’m willing to risk “The same Anime bullshit” for good jokes and a cute lezzy romance with a beautiful butch. (Volume 1 is set to release of December of this year.)

My Excitement Level: Pretty nervous actually. I hope it works out!

Monologue Woven for You

Story & Art by: Syu Yasaka Publisher: Seven Seas

A woman gives up on a career in theater gets tangled in a relationship with a woman passionately pursuing theater. Since it is set between college age women, and appears to be about more personal and mature themes I am interested. (Volume 1 I BELIEVE is supposed to be released in February of next year.)

My Excitement Level: Cautious Optimism

Mizuno and Chayama (No page yet so far as I can tell.)

Story & Art by: Yuhta Nishio Publisher: Yen Press

Two daughters of feuding families meet in secret. This is by the same author of After Hours. I read a bit of After Hours and found it fine but boring since it seemed without conflict. Conflict doesn’t seem to be in short supply with a story like this! While I enjoy the sugary-sweet high school lesbian romances...those are not in short-supply. So I am always hungry for something darker, meatier, more mature. (Volume 1 is set to release next February)

My Excitement Level: Cautious Optimism

5 Seconds Before The Witch Falls In Love

Story & Art by: Zeniko Sumiya Publisher: Seven Seas

It appears to be a playful fantasy about a Witch and Witch-hunter who’s antagonism turns romantic. This may end up one note and stupid...but I’m always hear for queer romances set in high-fantasy and I haven’t read a Yuri where rivals turns to lovers. (Volume 1 is set to release next February)

My Excitement Level: Low-key

Catch These Hands! (No page yet so far as I can tell.)

Story & Art by: Murata Publisher: Yen Press

A former delinquent runs into her high school rival. After losing a fight to her she agrees to her terms...her terms being to go out on a date with her. I mean the title alone makes me want to pick it up! It may run afoul of bad anime humor, but I’m hoping with the fact that it’s full of gay adult delinquents that it’ll be a little different. (Volume 1 is set to release next February)

My Excitement Level: Medium-key

Series I have discontinued:

I’m in love with the Villainess

Art by: Aonoshimo Story by: Inori Publisher: Seven Seas

A woman gets reborn into her favorite Otome game but she wants to romance the villiain! I had heard a ton of great things about the novel but I picked up the manga version. (If the novel is totally different I can’t speak to it.) For me, the writing is ham-handed, the jokes flop 90% of the time, and the fact the lead’s only personality trait seems to be ~obsessed with a bully~ really dampens this title. Her advances are so aggressive and unwanted I honestly started feeling bad for a spoiled rich bully. I will say it’s saving grace is the fact that the lead is masochistically into the villainess’ tsundere abusiveness. For me I hate tsundere romances if framed like, “I like you DESPITE your insults.” It is only tolerable if it’s instead, “I like you cause you tell it like it is. I’m a dirty little pig. Please step on this bad little piggy!”

Our Teachers are Dating

Story & Art by: Pikachi Ohi Publisher: Seven Seas

Well one reason I stopped the series is that cover you see up there. The sex in this series is fade to black but FOR SOME REASON the 3rd cover has them both butt naked. But on a less superficial note, the story is about two teachers who start dating. And while cute at points, I was just underwhelmed. I think a part of it, is the fact that this behaves like a stereotypical high school romance...and while set in a high school...these are grown ass women not 15 year olds. So I have less patience with the, “Gosh when will I get to kiss my girlfriend?” bullshit. I mean, I would hesitate to call it bad...but it’s just not a good version of it’s brand of bullshit.

Breath of Flowers

Story & Art by: Caly Publisher: Tokyopop

Absolute train-wreck, this is hands down the worst Yuri I have ever bought. The story is nonsensical and all over the place. There is a love rival who’s trying to break the two of them up so she can get with Gwyn...but then switches mid-gear to put in a lot of effort to bring them together intentionally...but she also still wants to hook up with Gwyn...it’s very ???????????? The main conflict of Gwyn is hiding their gender so they can play basketball on the boy’s team (not well explained) is built up hugely and resolved with a hand flick. There is a melodramatic moment where a school nurse says more or less, “GIVE IT UP YOU’LL NEVER BE A BOY!” And it’s like “OH SHIT! The fact that Gwyn is on the basketball team is cause he’s a transboy trying to live life as a boy! Oh gosh it makes so much more sense now!” But the author seems to not even know that trans people exist cause the story bumbles along as if that scene never happened. The closest we get is at the end Gwyn is like, “Look I’m learning to do make-up on myself to make you happy lawl!” Which is I GUESS supposed to be, “NO NO DON’T WORRY ALL OF GWYN’S GENDER STUFF WAS JUST THERE TO MAKE THE MAIN CHARACTER SEXUALLY CONFUSED WHEN SHE DISCOVERS GWYN’S TRUE GENDER! HER TRUE GENDER IS 100% CIS WOMAN CAUSE SHE DID MAKE-UP ONCE! IT’S FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!” Like whaaaaaaaaat? And it ends on a very random scene which doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the story. Ugh just very bad do not interact!

A White Rose in Bloom

Story & Art by: Asumiko Nakamura Publisher: Seven Seas

At an all girls catholic school a young woman falls for a mysterious foreign student. I grabbed this cause it’s gay and I overall like Asumiko Nakamura’s work (she also does Doukyusei, double mints, and others.) However I was just not grabbed with this title. I just felt like I wasn’t getting what was making the MC pants on head obsessed with Steph. Also the lead’s mother tells her that she’s getting divorced and therefore will no longer have money to pay for the university and she’s framed like a super bad person for this. Like I get why the MC (a teenager) would think that something like that is THE END OF THE WORLD! But I remember them really framing the mom like a selfish bitch for this...when like...it’s well established that her mom and dad’s relationship has been toxic for YEARS and that they TRIED SO HARD to fix it. OH WELL! This might be good but it just didn’t grab me in the 1st volume.

I’ll make a post on the BL titles later! Take care and Stay Rotten!

#preorder #my androgynous boyfriend #kase-san and yamada #even though we're adults #Adachi and Shimaura #the girl I want is so handsome #white rose in bloom #our teachers are dating #breath of flowers #catch these hands #I'm in love with the villainess #Mizuno and Chayama #monologue woven for you #5 seconds before the witch falls in love

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rinisbowen · 3 years ago

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Anonymous asked:

Hi! What do you think is going to be the arc of each main couple (or possible one) in season 3??

(i accidentally prematurely posted this ask, so i’m gonna post it like this as a text post. oops...)

oh gosh... arcs for the main couples / possible main couples in season 3 is... a TALL order haha.

i will say this- i truly don't know with any actual certainty what disney has planned for us. i'd feel a lot more able to speculate on what might be a focus for particular characters than i am for the ships solely because i think that's very much up to a lot of different circumstances that might befall them.

(all of the discussed ships are in the tags in my usual tag format. just like- i always try to not spell out ship names unless it’s 100% positive content to keep searches clean for people. also if i’ve missed a ship in this post, someone please let me know. i tried my best.)

i need to put this under a read more bc it's excessively long, but for those who dare, here is my like- ideas of possible things... more than actual predictions. because like i said, i don't know what's going to happen. i don't think we're going to really know much of anything in this regard until we get the actual episodes. (besides what can be gleaned from the trailer, but that can also be misleading)

returning characters:

howie is someone who i just don't know why they'd put such an emphasis on resolving his and kourtney's issues with in the finale if they weren't bringing him back, but also he's a character that i feel like doesn't need to come back necessarily. it’d be odd to just have him cease to exist, but i don’t see it as out of the question.

it's just complicated bc some of these potential ship arcs really do depend on whether or not the other half of them is coming to camp or not.

i think characters like big red, seb, and mazzarra, will probably be in the season regardless of whether they come to camp. for mazzarra, it makes way more sense that this man wouldn't be at a theatre camp. i'm honestly still confused at how miss jenn will be operating at a professional theatre camp in california, but i'm going to just assume that maybe she needs a summer job bc she's canonically not doing well for herself financially, or that the kids for whatever reason register with the group and they need a chaperone or something. for big big red helping his family at the pizza shop, and seb helping his family at the farm, it's easy enough to justify them not going.

but whether they're at camp does help to determine where they take their respective ships. not because i think them not going means that the ship is over, or that i think them going to camp means they absolutely won't break them up, but it's a lot harder to fight and reconcile within a limited time frame if they're not around each other a lot.

extra caveat:

i do want to note that ships where neither member is in the core four characters aren’t likely to carry the weight of any stronger portions of the show’s major relationship conflicts, so unless things get reshuffled in that sense (which other than maybe nini if they’re getting ready to phase her out for season 4 seems highly unlikely), it’s likely that ej and gina and ricky and lily (and possibly nini depending on how they execute this whole ordeal), are going to bear the majority of the burden for the “drama” again this season.

it’s not that i think all the ships won’t have issues, they all did in season 2 and i’d expect that to continue, it’s just that my considerations i explain them here don’t mean that i think it’s a) what necessarily will happen, or b) that it’ll be as necessarily thorough as i’m laying it out.

seb and carlos:

this is something that could be interesting for this season. regardless of whether seb comes to camp or doesn't, i think it's important for us all to note that the season long conflict seblos had wasn't ever entirely resolved... i know the easiest thing would be to just say well in a heartbeat did just represent them fixing all their issues, and it's possible that the writers do just go that route and say that all is in fact well between them, but i don't think it's over. i think in season 3, they could very well play with both bigger aspects of the seblos conflict.

if seb is staying home to work on the farm, it's kind of a perfect way for them to continue the money plotline that was particularly not addressed. if carlos nonchalantly says oh my family can pay/could've paid for you to come too it's not that big of a deal... just like they were going to pay for seb to come on that vacation, and seb has to tell him it's not just about that part, it could be a really good extension of something that for me just- didn't feel wrapped up. (what i mean here is that it’s not just the cost of the camp, but the cost of not having seb’s labor around the farm, plus the fact that while seb wants to spend time with carlos, seb potentially doesn’t want to leave the farm.)

regardless of seb coming to camp or not though, i think the insecurities about not having other options would be the other big part of the seblos conflict that could come up. this is a summer camp in a whole other state. there will probably be at least one other guy who 'watches drag race canada' as big red/ashlyn put it. (as a side note if disney could remember to just say the word gay that would be great.) it could give carlos an opportunity to actually choose seb, even in the presence of other options.

i don’t expect a huge seblos conflict this season, because it’s just- not how the show is set up, and i do anticipate (unless joe’s leaving after season 3), seb and carlos to stay together, but i did want to lay this stuff out because i think if they’re getting a broader conflict it’d make the most sense for it to be one of the two bigger ones that they already have.

big red and ashlyn:

gosh i wish we knew definitively what was going on with the unconfirmed regulars, bc that would definitely help here. but- i think something they could do with big red and ashlyn is just like- continuing learning how they work together and things. building them up more as a couple because they don’t face a ton of external strains. their issues are mostly internal. i don’t know if the thing i’m talking about here specifically will come up in season 3 bc it would be a bit repetitive, but it’s something i wanted to discuss.

i think the main issue for big red and ashlyn (as individuals but also in their relationship) is not feeling “enough” in some way or another. i went on a ramble that i deleted about their 2.08 storyline bc- it’s way too much to get into on this post, but maybe another day haha. for this post, i’m just going to say that the being enough thing is probably going to be where their continued issue comes into play.

big red faced not feeling like he was enough for ashlyn in 2.03 with the belle thing, and again sorta in 2.08 with the career day thing. they could do something with that again in season 3. i don’t know that they will, bc it’s been twice now and they kinda did put it to bed both times, but- insecurity is often a hard pill to swallow, so maybe it comes up again. ashlyn not feeling like enough is a repeating theme for her... in season 2 she questions herself as belle a good number of times. so they both have that kind of motif going. that makes it a compelling argument for something to play with that in season 3.

kourtney and howie:

for the sake of this post, i’m going to operate on the assumption that he will be in the season and at the summer camp. if they’re going to use the harness to break up ricky and lily (which i don’t think is a given, but i’d see it as quite plausible), i think that it’s going to come back to bite howie and kourtney’s relationship as well. personally, at this point i’m of the mind that zackey roy is responsible for the plan of the harness theft because he was the one who took the beast mask, and lily and howie (and antoine since we don’t ever see him in the audience, but he was at the show) carried it out on his request.

i think howie likely was the one who grabbed the harness backstage bc he’s the only one the ehs kids would trust backstage. also this boy was just WAY too suspicious in the hallway for him to merely be caught off guard by kourtney’s being talented. i think the “i was blown away” line from 2.12 can still be true, but i also definitely think he was helping with the harness theft. i can get into details on that another day.

now on to my actual explanation of what i think is likely to happen between howie and kourtney for season 3. if the harness reveal comes out, i think the most likely answer as to how, is probably howie owning up about it because he feels guilty lying to his girlfriend. kourtney of course feels betrayed again, so this would probably drive a wedge between them, but i think that’s resolved easily enough because it wasn’t like it was his idea to steal it in the first place. (bc zack’s of course not coming back, they might put it all on lily, but i stand by my argument it was zack’s idea.) either way, the blame won’t fall on howie for it regardless of his involvement. he and kourtney have dealt with the fallout of his betraying her trust before, and that’s led to them resolving their issues as well.

i don’t have a reason to suspect that won’t happen this time too, beyond the possibility of them writing howie out of a season 4 if they get one. if he’s not returning, they will both end the season single more likely than not. if he is, i’m sure they’re going to be happy as ever by the end. regardless of the harness conflict coming up in season 3 or not, i think the issue with kourtney and howie is probably one of trust. she wants to trust him, but she has a hard time, and kourtney’s not someone to ask for any less than she deserves. i think if kourtney and howie encounter any further bumps in the road, it will follow that same type of path as last season with a trust thing of some kind. maybe they’d do something with the ‘intimidation’ aspect from the finale? i don’t know, but i do know i think kourtney’s not the type to let anyone stop her from shooting for her full potential, and she won’t want to feel held back either.

the miss jenn triangle:

this is probably more than likely going to go in the direction of miss jenn and mr. mazarra unless they’re writing him out after season 3 bc of cal tech. it’s not that i think miss jenn and ricky’s dad aren’t likely to give it another chance potentially, i think ricky giving her his blessing is important for ricky’s character growth, but it also just is something that only ended out of care for ricky which means that they were still interested when it ended which makes it not such a clean break.

i think unless mr. mazarra leaves for cal tech permanently, he and miss jenn are probably the most likely scenario for the end of the season. i think they’re going to have to deal with the cal tech thing as a big part of their conflict, and then the other is with miss jenn puzzling over how she even feels bc she’s still likely going to be torn between her two suitors. she has some nice moments with mr. mazarra, post 2.06 especially, but she’s definitely still into mike at the end there as well, and given ricky’s down now for that (to the greatest extent he can be anyway), i think she’s going to be likely to want to give that another shot.

gina and ej:

the biggest conflicts for them will imo probably be related to college and val (i consider those one thing for the sake of this post), and then the experience issue.

ej and gina are in/going into different life stages as he enters college and she has two more years of high school remaining. that’s not something the show seems bothered by at all, so i always try not to use it against them in my analysis necessarily, but it has to create an issue somewhere, particularly if they’re making a point of bringing in a college girl. like- if they don’t touch on it, that’s probably going to bother me.

val is described as a college student and a counselor in training, so my best guess is that she’s probably the year right above ej if she’s not potentially even in his same year. i have two thoughts here. the first being that ej doesn’t know what his future holds as far as college and that sort of thing, because he made a non-decision decision about college in season 2. his actual arc about his future never got resolved, so i think having someone around who is in college will be the perfect way to get that story straightened out. i know that’s more an ej arc thing than a portwell arc thing, but it’s important to this relationship that ej be in proximity to gina.

i discussed this in another ask, but i think right now, gina would be unwilling to deal with long distance in a relationship. she’s not there yet. but she also doesn’t want to let go of ej. so the fact that his college stuff is so up in the air at the moment will be something that affects their plot arc in terms of their relationship, beyond it just being an ej thing.

this also (presumably) being the summer camp where ej and nini hit it off, means that it’s important that val’s described as being a “long time camper”, because that means that she and ej have probably known each other a couple of summers at least, if not even longer than that. she’s going to be a fantastic way to touch at gina’s potential insecurities in this relationship, and her being a dancer (and choreographing the show) is also going to pick at gina as well more than likely on top of the whole age and time thing val should bring in. plus of course there’s the carlos factor of him feeling robbed from this thing (choreographing) that was his. (but this post is about ships)

gina’s probably going to become very aware of the fact ej’s had a good deal of relationship experience, and while i don’t doubt she’ll likely be quite excited to share some of these firsts with ej (like she was her first kiss), i think the fact it’s not exactly shared in that same way might weigh on her a bit. his being older adds to that as well even beyond the way he’s presented, and i think if val is seen by gina (even if not actually by ej) as a potential romantic interest for him, i think that age part is going to come in harder. i lowkey would not be entirely shocked if val was perhaps ej’s first kiss or he hers if they really want to play with that aspect. (again, i don’t necessarily expect val to be like- an actual legitimate romantic interest for ej, if it’s a thing i’d anticipate it being more of a omg we were literal children isn’t that so funny thing. for me, val would only pose a chance of being a legitimate romance for ej if ej’s not returning for a fourth season. and even then...)

that said, none of this is to say whether or not they’re going to make it out together. they may quite well make it through the whole of the season. i don’t know what the plan is. i just think there’s a decent likelihood they carry a substantial amount of the couple drama this season. if this is like the more secondary ships on the show, they’re gonna make it out just fine. i think people either understate or overstate their probabilities on here a lot, but what i’m willing to say is, if they think this is their final season, this couple is almost decidedly going to end the season together for closure’s sake. they could have a ‘none of that matters’ type of scene, and it’ll be just fine.

it’s likely in my mind that if they’re so willing to brush over the concerns in 2.10, they’ll do the same in season 3, but just make them actually face concerns instead of just like ‘oh no it’s not about that’. it’s silly for the show to just say lol no that’s not a problem about every possible issue. they could very well just come out stronger for addressing them. if they break up i don’t really think it’ll be bc ej ‘chooses val’ or anything like that. if they break up it’ll be because gina’s decided to take herself out of the equation more than likely. they’ll be friends. it won’t be an easy decision, but they’ll decide it’s the right one. that way the door is still propped open, but the book is shut. we’ll see. i think there’s decent odds going in either direction, and i think part of it depends on whether they anticipate an additional season, and what they anticipate the size of ej’s role to be in an additional season.

ricky and gina:

putting these two couplings back to back is maybe odd, but they’re in direct contention for people so i figure it’s easier.

the biggest thing for ricky and gina in season 3 is rebuilding their friendship, because that’s just a part of their positions in the broader group and then as members of the main four. the other big thing is then also deciding once and for all if this is going to have romantic potential moving forward. imo, we will know in the season finale for a fact if ricky and gina are over as a romantic thing or not.

i think the priority will be making them friends again, even if only in the proximal sense. gina arguably was putting distance between herself and ricky in the latter part of season 2, and i think they’re probably going to start making up for that decently early on in the season (but of course this also depends on what they do with ricky and lily, because if he’s nonchalantly bringing her around the ehs kids... i say good luck with that.) by mid-season, they’ll likely be interacting more regularly.

if gina and ej are broken up in the last few episodes of the season (for a non-ricky reason, because that’s very crucial to this being a good decision for the writing of this show. we ALL know that ej losing another girl to ricky because they’re still into him is... not exactly kind to ej’s character arc), and then ricky and gina have a sweet moment in the finale, season 4 would then be ricky and gina’s season to get together.

this wouldn’t be an explicitly romantic scene, i don’t think they can give them anything this season that is explicitly romantic. if it’s in the cards, it’ll all be about the stares. the missing each other aspect that we really didn’t see in 2b... and tbh should’ve gotten in 2b if they wanted us to anticipate these two picking up again romantically but that’s a personal opinion. and if it happens... it’s going to have to start on ricky’s side of things. that’s where it gets extra complicated. the show is going to have to prove that ricky genuinely likes gina and that it’s not another season 1 situation. it has to be him that does the longing first. i don’t think even if gina decides she’s not over him, that she’s going to be willing to put herself out there again for him, even in the case that she and ej are 100% over.

i just don’t know. in the same way i don’t know if ej and gina are 100% making it out of this season together, i don’t know if they plan on putting ricky and gina in a place to get together properly. only time will tell.

can y’all tell i’m pretty indifferent to who gina ends up with? i really just- we’ll see. as long as they’re all happy i don’t care.

ricky and lily:

this is... a complicated one. i’ve given them three episodes in the past, i’ve thought about it more and considered that it could be likely to be about half the season, if not maybe even a bit longer... i don’t know. i genuinely just don’t know how they’re planning on handling this relationship. she’s definitely his rebound, no one can deny that, but he’s also genuinely trying this time vs. the half hearted effort in season 1. we’ll see what difference that makes.

i’ve talked about this before, but i genuinely think both characters will be able to get something really good out of this. i don’t claim it’ll be some sort of panacea for lily by any means, but i do legitimately think being with ricky is going to help her quite a bit. there’s several ways they can execute this. one is the like- “i’m not willing to really do this until you can show me you’re the person i see you can be”, another is the “maybe let’s keep this between us for now? so they can start to see what i see”, and the third option is ricky shamelessly trying this out for himself because well- he’s in rebound mode and he’s just here to try his best to enjoy it.

obviously it’s vastly more complicated than that, but well... those are probably the three more likely scenarios.

i don’t know like- the first is how i’ve seen people compare them to simbar from soy luna. like ricky kinda starts getting to know lily properly, but he’s not genuinely giving this a shot romantically until he sees she genuinely is being the good person he sees within her. the ‘i don’t think she’s as mean as we thought’ or whatever the line is in 2.11. this is the option that i think is probably the kindest on ricky’s character arc. i don’t know if they’re willing to be this nice to him tbh. but we’ll see. this is the version of their story that has their arc last the longest. because we’ll have to wait a while to see them even try it romantically. it would make sense given the little “loyal to the last” comment from the hallway conversation in 2.11 for him to wait. this is probably the least messy version of the story.

the second is the tropey delight which is secret dating. or “dating” more likely. i don’t think this is going straight from wow i’m calling you after your awkward confession to now we hold hands and stuff regardless of what route they take it. before it ends, they probably will be properly like- together... but most couples on this show sorta have to establish the relationship in some way. i expect theirs to be the same in that sense. but yeah secret dating... it’s not an unlikely idea, given his little “i’m learning that loyalty can be... complicated” when he and lily see his dad and miss jenn flirting in the hall in 2.11 after she describes him as loyal. maybe his loyalty in season 3 will be complicated in this way, extending past an outright sort of ‘flaunting’ but a betrayal that’s been hidden as well. it adds another layer to the hurt when it comes out. (like the howie reveal in 2.07.)

the third is probably the messiest option. because i mean- yes, ricky is clearly in his rebound era. whether he does it meaningfully this time is what actually matters. i do think lily’s bound to get him out of his rebound era with this relationship of theirs, but him like- oh so casually bringing her around and such just- it isn’t likely going to go over well for anyone involved. could it be fun? sure. will it be positive for his character development? absolutely not. this one has him facing rejection by his friends much earlier on in the plot, and while that means the reconciliation there can happen earlier as well, it’s still not gonna be pretty. they all already don’t like lily. him ‘flaunting’ their new little situation isn’t going to give him any favorable attention. he doesn’t even have to do it intentionally, people are still gonna be angry with him for just existing with her around the others. it’s how this goes.

or no, the most messy version of the story is the ‘i can make him worse’ version. like “i could fix him” / “i could make him worse” thing? y’all know what i’m talking about. lily makes ricky into a more negative character instead of him improving her. i do not want to have to watch this. it’d be such a waste when they really could help one another, and especially lily could really help him with the family stuff (especially if miss jenn doesn’t immediately choose mazarra the way i suspect she won’t). if lily is solely an “agent of chaos”, i think it’s a waste of the extra characterization they’ve built for her in the back portion of season 2. she will absolutely still be messy in season 3, but i truly don’t think she has to actively act to hurt ricky’s character herself. her proximity will do that alone through the betrayal of sorts he commits against his friends by being with her. plus the harness. if they’re doing the harness thing that’s harm enough on him.

i really do think lily could be good for ricky, i have an ask answered about it, but i don’t think this arc, regardless of how they handle it, is going to be good for ricky in the sense of his friendships. he’s going to be left alone for a bit, and not in a positive way. bc he’s going to end things with her, and then his friends are more than likely still going to be mad that he did it in the first place. even if he ends it solely out of loyalty to them, the same loyalty he acts on when he rejects her offer for pizza in the hallway in 2.11. (and then he calls her of course bc he tells miss jenn ‘no one should be able to tell anyone who they can or can’t take a chance on’ or whatever that line is in 2.12.) it’s not likely to end well. just saying. that’s the thing i hate about this situation the most is that more than likely it’s just almost certainly going to lead to him suffering more in the end.

ricky and nini:

to tell you the truth i’m of a few different mindsets for these two... (but i mean that’s true about most of these couples as well). the biggest thing for ricky and nini in season 3 is that they can’t just ignore the fact these two were childhood friends and such, they’re friends before they’re a couple, and i think that’ll be a good thing to use now that the romantic end of things is closed for the moment, like it would be odd if they just downright stopped speaking after the 2.12 card scene in the dressing room gave that transitional moment for them. imo if there’s anything with even the implication of romance between them it has to start on nini’s end (this part is non-negotiable for me ngl), and if something is occurring, it has to fall on the last episode or the penultimate one if they’re gonna draw out the fallout for it. (imo they’ll wait for a final season to give them the implication of maybe having something between them again, because of the space i think there needs to be plot-wise for both of their character arcs, but it’s yet to be seen. i don’t think they’re going to be in a relationship on screen necessarily before the show ends, but i don’t think they’re quite done with each other)

if something happens between these two romantically in season 3, i think it’ll be more thoughts then actions. (or actions with no clear romantic intent, but maybe undertones. like- an it’s technically a friendly gesture but it reminds me why i love(d) you type thing perhaps?). i just can’t see anything beyond just the kind of lingering looks and possible jealousy and maybe some kind of kind gesture from maybe ricky’s side, maybe nini’s... but the biggest thing for me this season for the two of them is that they’re shown being friends.

i don’t think we can quite rule them out for a romantic plot in general for the show, particularly bc they broke up while definitely still loving each other, but... for the time being they both have their own plots i’d anticipate their focus going towards. if there’s anything between them we’ll see it in some possible jealousy on nini’s part watching him with lily i’d bet, particularly since he’s having this summer romance she had with ej in this place the previous year, but the main thing will be that their friendship shouldn’t just disappear entirely this season. it’ll frustrate me a great deal if it does. i just want it to be shown that they are friends who care about one another, bc that doesn’t just go away post-breakup.

i’m talking a good deal about what the romantic potential is for them in season 3 bc this post is about ‘relationships’, but again, i don’t anticipate anything actually happening for them that is explicitly romantic. i don’t think it’s the right time for them, because while tim said we didn’t see the treehouse get torn down, the book is closed right now. and closed with good reason. they both have other plotlines for season 3 that aren’t inherently incompatible with their romantic reconciliation, but would be for the way nini’s growth has always been written. ricky’s not over her, but he’s trying to be. we’ll have to see how much success he has. and how much she has to be fair. i don’t expect much of a romantic plot for nini this season (if any at all), but i think that’s for the better for allowing her to actually let her character growth stick.

ricky has to learn not to need her, nini already knew that in the latter part of season 1. when nini gets back together with him in 1.10, the idea was that she didn’t need him anymore, but she still wanted him, i think he needs to get to that same place before there’s any real possibility between them. like the goal for him (in any relationship he finds himself in as the show progresses) is that you want to be with her, you don’t need to be with her. she can be his calm amongst the storm, but she can’t be his safety blanket.

for a quick side tangent, using camp rock songs in the one season where it makes no sense for ricky and nini to have a real romantic plot is sort of a waste to me considering the fact that the connection between music and love is genuinely their thing, there’s a reason they sing “you are the music in me”, it’s one of their tethers. imo trying to give that sort of metaphor to another couple if they use a song like “gotta find you” for narrative- singing about someone being “the song inside of me”, and “you're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason that I'm singing” is just not going to work as well for any of the other couples on this show when it’s a hallmark of ricky and nini’s relationship that songs (and songwriting) are super meaningful to their relationship. i’m completely blanking rn but there’s honestly a good few songs in camp rock (both movies) which use that tie-in, not just “gotta find you”.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts season 3 #ship: seb x carlos ( hsmtmts )#ship: big red x ashlyn ( hsmtmts )#ship: kourtney x howie ( hsmtmts )#ship: miss jenn x mike ( hsmtmts )#ship: miss jenn x mr. mazarra ( hsmtmts )#ship: ej x gina ( hsmtmts )#ship: ricky x gina ( hsmtmts )#ship: ricky x lily ( hsmtmts )#ship: ricky x nini ( hsmtmts )#answered #anonymous #//y'all this is SO long i'm so sorry

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twdmusicboxmystery · 3 years ago

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American Revolution Theme - Part 1: Beth’s D.C. Spoon

So, this week I’m going to talk more about a TON of symbols we’ve connected to the American Revolution Theme. These are always exciting to uncover because it shows how these themes—many of which have stumped us somewhat for years—are finally coming together. These were conversations we had over weeks, so I’ll definitely be breaking them up into chunks for you.

Take it away, @wdway!

@wdway:

We've all been looking at Beth’s spoon for 6+ years and I know I, like so many people, thought it was an indication that Beth would show up in Washington D.C. Suddenly, looking at it the other day I realized the spoon could be telling us Beth will be part of a Revolution.

I would have never gotten this had it not been for the connection @twdmusicboxmystery made to the Swamp Fox and the story of Greene and the American Revolution. Where the spoon says “Washington DC,” I'm now looking at that realizing that Washington may refer to George Washington, the leader of the American Revolution. The D.C. stands for a coda, a repeat. Beth will be a part of a new American Revolution.

I started remembering how we have seen pictures of George Washington in the show. I know s5e7, Dead Weight in the cabin with the Governor, as he came through the door, there is a portrait of George Washington. I always thought it stood for the city of D.C. That it represented where they would end up.

We've also seen images of the Washington Monument on Fear (also in TWD when they first got to Washington in 5x11). Actually, if you look at the handle of Beth’s spoon, I think that might be the Washington Monument. There have been lots of hints. We’ve just always read them differently.

I remembered a painting that tptb released a rework of a famous painting substituting the characters from TWD that was done several years ago and I have searched @twdmusicboxmystery’s archives, but I cannot find the painting. Here's the original.

(I can’t find the TWD version of this anywhere, either. But like the Thanksgiving painting they’ve been using the past few years, they used this and replaced all the people’s faces with characters from TWD.)

I remember we thought it was a little strange why they would do this painting with characters from the show. Now it makes a lot more sense. I believe that Rick replaced George Washington but I can't remember who the other characters replaced. I'm especially curious who replaced the person in red, because I believe that will be Beth in the new Revolution. Here's what I found in the description of the painting. It speaks of the different people representing the different American population and then it goes on to say that some believe the figure in the red coat and black scarf may represent the women that fought and died for freedom.

So, it might be another female character like Carol but ultimately, I believe it is supposed to be Beth. Remember the red cape in Beth's prison cell. Another painting that Beth has been a substitute in was DaVinci's Last Supper. Jesus and Mary Magdalene both wore red.

Another image would be that Beth is associated with wolves and the famous story of Little Red Riding Hood who obviously wore red.

I believe the lady in red represents Lady Liberty. The reason I say that is because in my search after I read about this figure information on Lady Liberty popped up. One of the earliest versions of Liberty was the Roman goddess Libertas which description sounds an awful lot like the Tarot card of the Empress. Another image that popped up under Liberty was this one and I gasped when I saw it and thought, “Oh my gosh, I think I'm on the right track here.”

Remember this from TWB? (We saw it near Iris in a tent in one of the episodes.) I remember us having a discussion about how we believed that she represented Beth and yet we didn't know anything about the Revolution storyline at that time.

I'm about to take you down a side tunnel and this one is also so very good. In the episode Still, after Beth picks up the spoon, she looks over and sees Daryl stuffing jewelry and money into a black backpack. And now that I think about it, it's Daryl who initially carries the backpack on his back next to his red rag hanging from his back pocket. Red and black, the colors of Liberty.

So many things I want to point out. To start with, the pattern of the rug is diamonds a Beth symbol. Daryl is leaning over a dead walker wearing a watch. There is also another watch in the loot that Daryl is shoving into the bag, along with gold jewelry, pearl necklace a water symbol, also a military one because of the famous Naval Base, Pearl Harbor.

If you enlarge the picture so that you can see the bundles of money, they're all $20 bills, turned so we only see what most people consider the backside of the $20 bill. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't off hand know what the back of a $20 bill was. I definitely knew Andrew Jackson is on the front, so I took out my wallet and pulled out a $20. On the back was the White House.

Here a side note about the $20 bill that I found out when I Googled for more information. In 1861, the 20-demand note (what it was called) had on the front side, the Goddess of Liberty holding a sword and shield and on the back was an abstract design printed in green.

(Now back to the present $20.) My first thought was White House, white=Beth. You might be surprised at this, but I have watched the episode Still a number of times through the years, haha. I know the ending very, very well, as does everyone else. I remembered that Daryl and Beth used one of these bundles to burn the Moonshine Shack down and it was Beth who actually lit the match to the bundle and Daryl who throws it.

I guess I actually did pay attention in school so many years ago because it hit me like a ton of bricks that the White House was burnt down by the British in the War of 1812. Not only the White House was burned but also the capital and the Library of Congress.

Was it a coincidence that they used a bundle of money featuring the White House to burn down their dwelling? I think not.

Did I hear you ask the question is there anything significant about the fact that Andrew Jackson is on the front of the $20 bill? I'm so glad you asked. The answer is yes. This is something I remember from American history and the fact that I live in Tennessee and that Andrew Jackson’s home is within 30 minutes of where I live. You can't grow up in Tennessee without knowing some of the history of Andrew Jackson.

First let's start with a little brief history of the War of 1812, which lasted more than that year. This is my non scholar way of telling you about the War of 1812. After Great Britain had won the war with France and had taken away Napoleon's power, they decided to go back to the colonies and see if the first round was just a mistake because they were the dominant power. They were the British Empire.

One of the last big conflicts before the British finally realized they were dealing with the wrong people was the Battle of New Orleans. The British wanted to dominate the Mississippi river and if they could do that, they would basically be taking over the territory on the other side (the West), but first they needed to take New Orleans.

The British didn't think it would be a problem because they were a great force and the Americans led by Major General Andrew Jackson, were a small ragtag army made up of militia frontiersmen, slaves, Indians and pirates.

That's right: pirates.

Jean Lafitte was a pirate who ran a smuggling empire. The actual battle only lasted a short time, even though the British had a huge force. They fought the Americans the old-fashioned way, by simply marching forward, whereas the small force of Americans who were made up of people had to count every bullet were sure shots. In 30 minutes the British lost 2,000 and Andrew Jackson’s army lost fewer than 100.

You're probably thinking that was kind of interesting but what does that have to do with the storyline in TWD? This is just my guess, but I think there will be 2 wars or 2 revolutions that will include Rick and Beth. The first one will be against the Commonwealth and the second the CRM in the spinoff.

Back to Beth’s spoon. I thought occurred to me about the dinner scene in Alone where Daryl is eating the jelly and it has always been an odd scene. People have talked about it off and on for years how he's very obviously really over playing the eating of the jelly with a spoon.

The question occurred to me though, could that spoon be Beth's Washington D.C. spoon? Granted, there's no way to know for sure but it's an intriguing thought, isn't it? If in fact one of the meanings of the spoon is what I stated above, that the spoon hinted there would be a coda, a repeat of a fight for freedom similar to Washington's American Revolution, then the sharing of the spoon would be indication of the sharing of the storyline that they would be an equal part of the fight to overthrow a corrupt system and give freedom to the good common people that are still out there.

One of those definitions that I read about a coda is that it is a repeat that eventually brings a satisfactory completion to the piece of music. In reading that, I realize that the coda spoon is an indication that Beth and Daryl since they both are connected with the spoon both will be part of the satisfactory completion of the TWD story. It means that we will see Beth before the series ends.

We can tell that there's some type of twists in the spoon on the handle shortly above scooped area we think of as the spoon, it looks to be the same place that we see it on the first 2 shots featuring this spoon.

Again, no true proof but it does tend to give some credence to the idea. This gives another importance meaning to us seeing the spoon in Leah's shack. It points to the fact that we're about to see a coda.

READ PART 2 HERE

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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thetypedwriter · 3 years ago

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A Curse So Dark and Lonely Book Review

A Curse So Dark and Lonely Book Review by Brigid Kemmerer

My gosh, I feel like I have enormous feelings about this book.

So, I had seen this book for awhile bestow the shelves at Barnes & Noble and while it drew the eye, it also didn’t entice me right away. I must have read snippets of the backside summary a dozen times before I finally succumbed and purchased it when the store was having a buy one, get one 50% off deal.

Lame, I know.

That being said, A Curse So Dark and Lonely surprised me in a lot of pleasant ways and at the end of the experience it was a book I genuinely enjoyed reading, despite the flaws throughout.

First off, somehow, in ways that I don’t even fully understand, I did not realize that this was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

You might ask, seeing the title, the reviews on the back literally calling it a retelling of a classic fairytale, the summary itself, and the basic premise, how did I not realize what the true nature of this book was?

I genuinely have no idea.

I really don’t.

It’s so flabbergasting that I don’t even have a proper answer for you other than Beauty and the Beast was not my favorite Disney movie growing up and that I probably should have spent more time checking out what bargain books to buy before I laid down the cash.

Oh well.

That being said, retellings of classic fairy tales has been a fairly popular phenomenon in the YA literature scene (and popular culture as a whole, really) for the last couple of years and while I can see the appeal, it was never something that beckoned me.

I’m not a huge fairytale fan to begin with so a retelling of the original doesn’t hold much sway in terms of intrigue and buy-in.

If I had known what A Curse So Dark and Lonely truly was, I never would have bought it. Frankly, it’s a little sad because I genuinely would have missed out on a very fun and engaging read. Fortunately enough, however, my dumb actions actually paid off in good luck this time around.

The whole premise is exactly what you’ve probably surmised up to this point: an enumeration of Beauty and the Beast with some modern fanfare and twists and turns along the way.

Rhen is the current Crown Prince of Emberall, a country in some parallel world to the one that you and I currently exist in. With a series of twists, the main protagonist, Harper, is unwillingly hoisted from her homeland of Washington D.C. to the magical world of Emberfall, which unfortunately is not all that magical with a looming war on the horizon involving a neighboring nation, rumors of a savage beast that has wreaked havoc on the country, and a wicked witch that delights in torment and carnage to sadistic glee.

Soon enough, a high school dropout with cerebral palsy soon finds herself in the imaginary role as the Princess of Disi, an allying nation that has promised aid and troops to Emberfall and potentially betrothed to the Crown Prince, Rhen.

To make matters more complicated, Harper finds herself often in the company of Grey, the lone soldier of the Royal Guard and Rhen’s constant shadow, a figure she soon begins to trust despite herself.

With a war on the horizon, the ever-present threat of the witch Lillith, the haunting promise of the beast’s return, and evolving feelings, A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a lovely concoction of both fast-paced action, romance, humor, and fantasy. This whole book gave me a pleasant buzz from start to finish.

The plot itself, while recycled at its core, is fresh enough with the modern flare of Harper being from D.C. (Disi-this still makes me laugh), representation in the form of a character with a disability like cerebral palsy, interesting and complex relationships, and opposing enough with the threat of Lillith and future battles that it never seemed pithy or banal.

While the world building is...mediocre, I don’t think it was amazing nor do I think it’s awful, it’s a useful enough background for the characters and their emotions to take place, which honestly is the real focus throughout the entire novel (although the author did take some liberties by inputting in things like the castle automatically regenerating food-how much more deus ex machina can you get?).

Kemmerer’s writing style is also fine. Nothing groundbreaking, but also not writing I find abhorrent or even unlikeable. She comes across as a typical YA author to me in terms of her vocabulary, her figurative language, and her writing style.

The real focus, if you haven’t caught on by now, are the characters.

I genuinely like all three main characters quite a bit, which, if you regularly read my reviews, is quite the anomaly.

Rhen I find to be strangely complex. While he fits the mold of the brooding, arrogant prince that actually cares deeply for his people and his country quite well, I also found him more interesting than just the archetype of the royal son.

He’s surly, dark, and quite temperamental. While he does care deeply about his people, he’s often selfish and petty. Honestly, he shouldn’t be very likable at all, but it’s for that reason alone that I do like him.

I like that while he might be a good ruler he’s not necessarily a good person and I like the dichotomy and the conflict that implicitly comes with that struggle, a struggle often shown to the readers and the two other characters he’s closest with: Harper and Grey.

In addition, often in YA I feel like authors constantly feel pressured to make romantic love interests “perfect” which to me, translates to being stereotypical and boring. Very often my favorite characters are the ones who are flawed and complicated-just like Rhen.

Grey is also a character that I thought would be more simple than he actually turned out to be. I originally thought Grey was going to be the stoic, soldier type and while he is, I also really enjoyed seeing his lighter side, his sense of humor, his love for children, and the deadly loyalty that binds him not because of a curse or a spell, but because of his own stubbornness and dedication to the decision that he made and the refusal to break it.

I found this honor code fascinating and his adherence to it almost obsessive. His loyalty to Rhen is both baffling and intriguing and often it was the best part of the novel for me.

Which brings me to my next point: Rhen and Grey’s relationship is hand’s down the best part of this book. It’s a complicated relationship and, therefore, really fascinating to read about it. They have a serpentine history involving Grey being the one to let Lillith into Rhen’s chambers which sets off the whole curse business in the first place.

However, as Rhen says later on in the book, it was his choice to keep Lillith overnight and to pursue romance, not Grey’s.

There is guilt, blame, affection, loyalty, ownership, friendship, frustration, anger, sacrifice and more to their relationship. Their history stops them from being true friends, as do their roles as prince and guard, yet they are the only companion the other has for seasons upon seasons.

At the end of the day, Grey is all Rhen had for a very long time and it shows.

Their relationship was always so engrossing to read about due to its complications and its nuances. Very few YA relationships, especially that of platonic male friendship, gets even near the level of depth and grey (I couldn’t help this pun) area shown between Grey and Rhen. Their relationship alone is a huge draw for why I found this novel so captivating.

I did wonder for a while if perhaps there were more than platonic feelings involved, but I could never quite put my finger on the true nature of their relationship or their feelings towards each other, which I find absolutely amazing. Their relationship is messy and complicated, just like real life relationships are.

That leaves the third piece of the puzzle: Harper.

Out of the three main characters, I like Harper the least, but I do still like her. I like that she’s strong and tenacious, not in spite of her cerebral palsy, but in addition to her already present bravery and ferocity. She’s headstrong, stubborn, kind, merciful, and compassionate.

My dislike from Harper stems from the fact that she’s a little too perfect, especially compared to Rhen and Grey, who I found to be much more convoluted characters.

Again, harping (hahah) back to stereotypical YA, other than her cerebral palsy, I don’t think there’s anything in particular about Harper that makes her complicated, flawed, or especially interesting.

She’s a good girl willing to give it all up for a country she’s only known for a few weeks even though her mother’s dying at home and her brother is most likely involved in some kind of gang violence.

The best scenes with Harper are the scenes were she is struggling to choose between the two worlds and weighing her options, as at some points it does depict her as selfish and wanting to go home, even though she knows it would doom thousands of people.

But of course, this is all taken care of later when she realizes D.C. isn’t her true home any more and that Emberfall has become where her heart lies.

Lame.

Kemmerer made Harper just a little too pristine for my liking, which is why she ranks lower than both Rhen and Grey when on paper she is by far the best in terms of personality and character traits.

This especially grates on me when Kemmerer tells us that Harper is fantastic instead of letting us glean that for ourselves. I really dislike when an author tells me instead of shows me that someone is brave or kind or amazing or whatnot and I feel like there were enough instances of Harper being all of those things without having needed Rhen or Grey to point it out all of the time.

I also do feel like there is some weird shaming regarding things typically seen as “feminine” in relation to Harper and why that makes her “better.” For example, Rhen talks often about how no girl ever has ever done what Harper has done, like attacking him.

I’m sorry? You’re telling me that Grey has kidnapped hundreds of girls and not one of them before Harper tried to attack them? In any form? Really?

I find that preposterous.

Other instances of Harper being unique in this fashion is also sprinkled in, like how most girls apparently only care about the dresses and the jewels in the castle, but not Harper. Or how most girls would be crying from a scar on their cheek, but Harper is just upset that she misses her target.

I get what Kemmerer is going for, but these force-fed characterizations really bothered me and were the most irritating thing about the book.

Being feminine or caring about stereotypically feminine things like jewelry or dresses does not mean that someone can’t also be strong and brave and fierce. I dislike a lot of the subliminal messages in the novel in regards to that.

In terms of romance, again I have to ask myself when the trope of the love triangle will die. Perhaps it never will. Perhaps it will live on for eternity, forever immortal and present in nearly 90% of YA literature.

The love triangle between Grey, Rhen, and Harper doesn’t bother me so much in this novel as I feel like it isn’t truly focused on very much, which I appreciate. I understand that Harper has feelings for both Grey and Rhen, but her feelings make sense. I don’t feel like Kemmerer is just foisting a love triangle onto the readers for the sake of having a love triangle.

It felt somehow...natural.

In addition, most love triangles suck as they’re very one sided, usually in terms of the female’s POV.

In this case however, the love triangle is influenced by Grey and Rhen’s relationship, where the lines are very blurry and for a good portion of the book I thought perhaps they were in love with each other and Harper.

Frankly, I would have been ecstatic if this was the route Kemmerer had taken. Not many YA authors go down this route, but examples like Mark/Cristina/Keiran from The Infernal Devices and Niall/Irial/Leslie from Ink Exchange are actually the only examples I know from YA literature so this would have been so welcome and anticipated.

If Kemmerer had gone down the route of looking into a polyamorous relationship I would have been over the moon. I don’t think she is sadly, but polyamrous relationships are still so few and far between in YA that it would have been utterly captivating, especially as she has all the ingredients to do so.

Or, I thought she did.

Until it’s revealed at the very end that Rhen and Grey are brothers. Or, at least half-brothers.

Yeah.

It’s super unfortunate.

I’m genuinely disappointed that this is the route Kemmerer decided to take it as it seems so grossly safe. It’s almost like an intense male/male relationship can’t exist unless it’s romantic or they’re brothers and I despise that.

Hence, why I have also decided that I won’t be reading A Heart so Fierce and Broken. I want to keep the memory and the interesting relationships between the three characters as it is: interesting.

I have a very strong feeling that if I read the sequel that will all be shattered.

When all is said and done, I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to reading it and I wasn’t expecting very much, but it met all of my expectations and more.

I am sad that I won’t be finishing the series as a whole, but I know that the direction it's going will only make me frustrated and annoyed and I would rather preserve the positive emotions attached to A Curse So Dark and Lonely than ruin it with a sequel that I know won’t meet the expectations I have.

Perhaps that’s unfair to say, and rightly so, but I know myself and I can see where the sequel is going and I’m almost certain that I won’t like it.

So in this case, I’m going to quit while I’m ahead and savor the moments I had reading this novel in all its fairy-telling glory.

Recommendation: If you love Beauty and the Beast, fairytales with a modern twist, interesting characters and interesting relationships set in a fantasy world where the music never stops playing and a savage beast runs rampant, than this book is calling for you.

I didn’t know that I needed this novel in my life and now I’m so glad that it is. Captivating from beginning to end, if you’re anything like me and a sucker for interesting romance and strong, nuanced characters you won’t be able to put this down either.

Score: 7/10

#a curse so dark and lonely #a heart so fierce and broken #brigid kemmerer #popular fiction #Popular Books #teen books #Teen Romance #teen fiction #book review #book blog #Book Recommendations #book rec #ya fiction #YA Book Review #ya book rec #book blogger

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kyndaris · 4 years ago

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A Hero Lies in You

On April Fool’s Day 2019, a video was released showing the latest game in the Yakuza franchise. Many thought it was a prank. The reason why? The sudden change in combat. Gone was the brawler beat-em-up that was associated with the series. In its stead was a turn-based system reminiscent of role-playing games. Characters waiting for their turns before utilising special skills? In a franchise known for its hard gritty storylines about gangs duking it out in the streets of Japan? ‘Haha Ryu Ga Gotoku. You thought you could fool us, but we see right through you. This isn’t our first rodeo and you’re not Square Enix,’ was many a thought when the footage had been viewed by thousands online.

What gamers did not know was that this was no gag. Fast forward several months to August 2019 and it was confirmed that Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon, starring new protagonist Kasuga Ichiban, would actually incorporate turn-based battles. There would even be JOBS!

As I had just finished playing through Kiryu’s story, as well as Judgment, in 2020 I was eager to see what new protagonist Kasuga Ichiban would bring to the table. From trailers, I could already see how much livelier Ichiban would be in comparison to the more stoic Kiryu. And, in contrast to Yagami, he was definitely more of an idiot. A lovable idiot, to be sure, but an idiot nonetheless.

Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon released in a huge week for video games. While I would have preferred to play it earlier, I had other huge titans to wrestle into submission first. Once I had managed to satiate my Ubisoft open-world needs with Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, I dived head first onto the streets of Yokohama, ready to bust some heads.

The game opens on a play. For a moment, I thought I had somehow purchased the wrong game. But as the lengthy prologue progressed, it was very clear that this was most definitely a Yakuza game. It just needed to set up a little bit of the tale, starting with Arakawa Masumi - father figure and role-model for our erstwhile hero. It isn’t long before players are introduced to Kasuga Ichiban with his trademark ‘punch perm.’ Born in a soapland and raised by those that lived on the fringes of society, Ichiban, rather than being hardened by his experience, is empathetic and not afraid to show emotion. Tasked with collection, he interprets his orders in a way to benefit those that are struggling. His goofball attitude immediately makes him a character one can connect to. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s a bit of a nerd, having played Dragon Quest during his childhood and likening many of the people around him to things in the game.

It’s not long before the plot escalates and Ichiban volunteers to give himself up to the police. Sentenced to fifteen years in prison, he inadvertently extends his sentence when his Patriarch is insulted by one of the fellow inmates. After nearly two decades spent in prison for a crime that he did not commit, Ichiban is released with little fanfare and no waiting convoy. Disappointed, he takes it in stride. The first thing on his order of business: to get his signature punch perm and reconnect with his second father-figure and Patriarch of the Arakawa family.

Along the way, he is dogged by a former policeman: Adachi. At first, it isn’t made clear why Adachi seeks Ichiban for help. After all, Ichiban had supposedly killed another yakuza in Kamurocho, Tokyo. Adachi, on the other hand, was a detective in Yokohama. Why would he have any interest in uncovering the truth behind what had put Ichiban behind bars?

After a few shenanigans are had in and around Kamurocho, our protagonist is shot and left for dead - waking up in a homeless shelter in the heart of Isezaki Ijincho. Climbing his way from rock bottom, Ichiban embarks on a journey to uncover the truth, stumbling upon a series of events and unearthing a vast conspiracy in which he was to serve as a pawn.

Many of the earlier chapters felt a little contrived. In particular was the death of Nonomiya. While it served to move the narrative forward, it was most assuredly a means to an end that didn’t highlight any significant character growth. Poor Nonomiya was fridged just to bring Ichiban into conflict with the Liumang branch of the Ijin Three.

It was only in the later chapters that the story picked up steam - with the confrontations with Bleach Japan and the encroachment by the Omi Alliance. Joined by a menagerie of characters like Zhao, Saeko, Han Joon-Gi, Nanba and Eri, there was a lot to keep track on as the plot barrelled forward at a breakneck pace, connecting Ichiban’s past with his current present and all the while setting up a juicy conflict between two men that could have been brothers. And honestly, the ending with Arakawa Masato and Ichiban got to me. I loved how that Ichiban was finally able to reach his old charge by being vulnerable and finally letting out a little of his resentment at the life Masato led, despite the fact that he could not use his legs.

The characters were superbly written and their motivations were a good reflection of the human condition. The themes of family and finding a home were evident, right from the start, even though a lot of it was glossed over by Ichiban’s desire to be a hero in a video game.

(I also really liked Seong-hui and would love to see her be an actual playable character in possible future instalments. On a side note, Arakawa...you cannot simply say: ‘See you tomorrow, Ichi,’ and expect to walk away. You basically wrote your own name into the Death Note with that line!)

As far as aping Japanese role-playing games go, however, Yakuza: Like a Dragon falls woefully short. While the Tendo twist was a good one - it was pulled a little too early. Worse, there was no world-ending threat. Everyone knows that a Japanese role-playing game MUST HAVE A VILLAIN/ EVIL GOD FIGURE THAT INTENDS TO DESTROY THE WORLD. Yakuza: Like a Dragon was too focused on old childhood rivalries to extend it further afield. I mean, yes, Aoki Ryo hoped to pull the strings of the Japanese government as chair of the CLP, but WHERE WAS THE METEOR HURTLING TOWARDS EARTH?

Honestly, 1/10 for holding true to Japanese role-playing games.

Other than that, the summons with Pound Mates was amusing. As were the side stories. Honestly, there can never be enough side stories to flesh out the wacky world of the Yakuza franchise. So many old favourites made their return. From Pocket Fighter (now dubbed Dragon Fighter) and Gondawara Susumu with his baby fetish.

Also, I didn’t think I’d be so obsessed with it, but I think they cracked property management this time round. Ichiban Confections, later known as Ichiban Holdings, was a blast to manage and accrue juicy money for.

The bartender of Survive also looked very familiar. I mean...what with the huge scar across his face. My suspicions were confirmed when I searched up Kashiwagi up on the Yakuza wiki page and was awarded with the fact that HE MANAGED TO SURVIVE THE ASSAULT HELICOPTER FROM YAKUZA 3!!

Other than that, my few other gripes involved the implementation of the levelling system and the way area of effect skills were handled. In particular, the pathing for how characters moved around the battlefield proved, at least to me, a bit of a frustration. Often, characters would be blocked by a knee-high fence or a corner. Sometimes they would be able to go around, but other times the game (after several seconds of watching them fail to walk through a solid building) warp to the enemy that I had targeted to launch their attack.

And even though the combat is turn-based, most of the enemies tend to walk around the battlefield - either clumping together or distancing themselves from each other. What truly annoyed me was when there were moves that could be used as an area of effect, with the MP cost to go along with it, but were limited by their effectiveness when the enemy combatants were too far away. Yes, it makes sense, but golly gosh, how much of a pixel measurement does it have to be for it to not hit?

Besides that, the levelling was also a bit of a tedious chore. Were it not for the invested vagrants, I feel like I might have put the game down with how much grinding there was - particularly when it came to the various jobs. The biggest hill to climb was from 20-30. Without the exp (experience point) boosting items, it would have been a torturous slog. I know that in the original Japanese release of the game, the cap for jobs was level 30, but if you change it to 99, please, for the sanity of all the gamers out there, tweak the requirements to make it easier. And maybe give normal trash mobs a bit more experience points for the playable characters to munch on.

Goodness, imagine having to grind on level 55 Ornery Yakuza and receiving a paltry 1000xp for each battle (when, in order to level up a job, you needed almost a million).

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a break from the traditional formula that’s been a staple of the franchise for many years. Much like Ichiban, it’s a bit of fresh air to liven up the experience that might have gone a bit stale after I slogged through the whole Kiryu arc last year. With a few tweaks, and a few more Persona 5 CD soundtracks, I’m eager to see how the story evolves and whatever contrivances Ichiban will somehow force him into.

Although, to be fair, is it still appropriate to call this franchise Yakuza when the game literally saw the dismantling of the two biggest clans? Then again, Civilian: Like a Dragon 2 just doesn’t have the same ring to it. In any case, I hope the next one comes soon and we’ll be able to have Seong-hui in our party. I feel like she’d be wielding a gunblade.

(Did I just use a lyric from Mariah Carey? You bet I did! I had been tossing up the idea between this line and ‘I need a hero.’ Why? Well, I think that would be self-explanatory after knowing Ichiban’s proclivities. And it fits so, so, so well!)

#yakuza 7: like a dragon #yakuza #video games #i need a hero

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radbeetle · 5 years ago

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Bless me with your OTP!

Tagged by @tarberrymentats! I have... lost track of who all has done this one so uhhhh if you already have and I’ve tagged you, feel free to skip, but I’ll tag @ronqueesha, @its-sixxers, @lookbluesoup, @nukaworldnerd annnnnd @catastrotaffy

Do they fight often? If so, what is their dynamic like?

Oh gosh no. It's something Kate goes out of her way to avoid. She hates any sort of confrontation, and if she's on the receiving end, her most likely strategy is to just doormat. Nick is very aware of this - though there's not often any conflict between them. Nothing major, at least.

Who is the most skeptical of the two?

Nick, by far. Katherine definitely has her moments, but she has always been sincere, and has a tendency to believe everyone else is, to take them at face value. At least initially. If she's left alone to think about something long enough, she'll torn it over in her mind, doubt and question it endlessly - but rarely come to a conclusion. These thoughts can eat her up inside.

Who would be most likely to suggest a night of dancing?

Nick, but only slightly. It's not something either of them would gravitate towards in most situations (but it has happened... it's just rare!) Though Nick absolutely can dance (And quite well, when his servos aren't acting up), Kate? Cannot. But what she can do is follow a lead very well, when given instructions. She's got a very good sense of rhythm, just... not great at dancing.

What would they do if the other was injured in battle?

lmao at ‘if’, this has absolutely happened before. Nick has definitely just ignored injuries (don't have to worry about blood loss if you don't have any blood) which leads to Kate's disapproval if she notices a new bullet hole in his coat (or HIM.)

Nick, however, is far better at making it out unscathed. Katherine's gotten her fair share of scrapes and bruises, sure, but unfortunately, she has the tendency to also attract danger of a much higher caliber. (See: her history with vertibirds.) Nick has literally dragged her out of flaming wreckage on one occasion, and out of general danger on a few others. While Kate is usually cautious, her tendency to push herself has lead to a few close calls.

How do their fighting styles complement each other?

They're both distance fighters for the most part, though Katherine prefers an even longer range. Nick will usually hang back at first while she snipes, but once they've been spotted he won't hesitate to get in closer. There have been a few... incidents... due to this (damned harpoon gun) so they've had to revise tactics on occasion.

They very much try to have a plan of attack before going in, whenever that's possible. Whether or not that all holds together is something else entirely. They both have very good instincts, though, even if it has taken a long time for Kate to learn to trust her gut (and it's still something that she struggles with)

Do they want children? Does it frighten them? How many do they want?

Not gonna happen, for a variety of reasons. Kate has enough trouble taking care of herself some days, she absolutely could not handle a child, by her own admission - and really just doesn't WANT to. Kids are too much work. Not that she has anything against them but she just can't be a parent. The closest she ever comes is being Shaun's weird aunt.

As for Nick, well, the detective lifestyle isn't very accommodating when it comes to children, and also, /gestures vaguely. It's never really been something he's thought about much, as a result. He's good with kids, though, and he likes Shaun well enough.

What happened when they took them home to their families? If their families aren’t in the picture anymore, how do they feel about it?

"What, bring her home to meet the family? Sure, let's take her on down to the Institute, find the scientists who put me together. That'll be a great time."

Nick's only family, so to say, is DiMA, and Nick didn't know about him for the longest time. Hell, he and Katherine were already involved by the time they made that first trip out to Far Harbor and met him. Their relationship didn't come up immediately, of course, there were more pressing concerns...

(I am not going into too much detail about that because I do plan to actually write that event out! I just have to figure out the when and the how... but it does all go down quite well. It's a sweet kind of moment, in part because I read DiMA as having sentimental tendencies... maybe a bit of an understatement, heh.)

Katherine's family was just her parents - she never had any siblings - and they would have died in either the Great War, or if they survived that, they would have passed away in the 210 years since. Kate knows the answer is one of the two, and she's never gone to try and find which. It's better for her if she never knows, she thinks. But she has thought about the what-ifs.

It would have been an interesting first meeting, really. Her father was always a stoic man. Never mean, or angry, he was a good man, but just unexpressive, hard to read. He would have liked Nick, though it might have been hard to tell.

Her mother was very much the opposite - she had no problem making her thoughts known, and didn't shy away from speaking her mind. She was never aggressive, and was always good to Katherine, supportive, even if she didn't always understand. She would have been rather taken aback by Nick - and his relationship with Kate, in part because for her entire life, Kate had never shown interest in anyone in that way. No childhood crushes, no teenage dates, nothing. So, having Kate come home one day with Mr Synthetic Detective would have been more than a little confusing. But in the end, her mother would have approved as well, though perhaps tentatively.

How does each person show affection towards the other?

Neither of them are big on PDA, though in different ways - Nick doesn't think about it much , but he won't shy away from it, not now. (Things were very quiet on that front from both of them in the early days.) Katherine will avoid any overt forms of PDA because she's just nerves all the time. (And Nick knows this - the single most reliable way to fluster her is to kiss her when anyone else is around!) But she won't shy away from showing love, it's just in a much quieter fashion. She's a very tactile person (despite her issues around touching most people) so there a lot of hand holding, shoulder touches, cost and tie fixing... little things like that. In particular - this one always really strikes Nick - is that she won't shy away from holding his bare hand, despite the exposed metal.

She's also very liberal with the I love yous and will find any excuse to remind Nick.

Nick is very much one for the classic romantic gestures, albeit adapted for the wasteland life. More than anything, right now, he wants to find roses - or whatever irradiated flora has derived from them. It's a gesture that would have been so much simpler to make in the old world. Maybe that's why he's so determined. He so often wishes he could do more for her, though he knows she didn't mind. That she's perfectly happy with everything as it is.

That doesn't stop him from wanting to give her the world, though.

Who cries the most? Who is better at comforting?

Oh, Kate is the one who cries the most - she's never seen Nick cry. (... and wonders if he even can, but that line of thought makes her sad.) Though she struggles with sadness a lot, it's still very hard for her to actually cry, even when she wants to, or needs to. It's from years of forcing herself to stifle her emotions. So it takes a lot to push her to that breaking point, but when she hits it, it takes a lot out of her. Crying, for Katherine, is a messy and exhausting affair.

It's an uncommon occurrence, but it still breaks Nick's heart when he has to see it. He was very quick to figure out exactly what she needs when this happens, and that's something very simple: he just needs be there. When she's reached that breaking point, words, counselling, discussion, that's all no good. She just needs his presence, to be held. That's comfort enough.

Who is the bigger flirt?

Nick. Kate couldn't flirt her way out of a wet paper bag. The few times it has happened, it's been entirely unintentional on her part, so much so that she doesn't even realize it until hours later.

Mind you, Kate can be just as oblivious about being on the receiving end. She's gotten a bit more aware, recently, but there's still definitely been moments when Nick's said something and it just goes woosh over her head for a while, until she makes the eventual connection.

Nick isn't bothered by this at all. (He'd never admit it, but he finds it funny, watching her realize it later in the day with a 'nick oh my god'.)

#fallout 4 #nick valentine #fallout oc #sole survivor katherine #beetle's ocs #prompts #vancentine #screenshots #radbeetle screenshots

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matterofperception · 4 years ago

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MUSTAT LESKET FINAL MUSINGS

Okay, so I finished the second (and last) season of Mustat Lesket (Black Widows) a little while ago. It ends on a significant cliffhanger, and with a number of loose ends, but the series was never renewed despite the success of its first. Excuse me while I rant into the void, because there is zero fandom here for me to bounce things off (it’s an old show, 2014/16 AND not in English, so...) and I have so many thoughts...

Firstly, I actually really enjoyed the first season of Mustat Lesket, and would recommend it based on that (and because I think Pihla Viitala is wonderful). It had just the right balance of mystery/thrills and drama, but also black/dry humour (I laughed a lot in S1). A lot of it was far-fetched and beyond belief, but you could kind of let that slide because the show never took itself too seriously. As far as character introductions went, I loved Veera and Johanna, and could understand the trajectories that had led them to feel like killing their husbands was a viable way out. Kirsi, well, she just felt like a necessary caricature, designed to milk the drama for everything it was worth. The dynamic between sweet, gentle Veera, emotional, crazy Kirsi, and strong, wilful Johanna somehow worked in S1.

And when Jukka returned, his redemption arc in S1 was done fantastically. Suddenly, you could understand (although not necessarily condone - same as with the widows and the boat) why he’d been such an asshole, and you could also see Veera start to come to that realisation too. The build up to their reconciliation at the end of S1 was the most authentic and believable in the entirety of the series (with the possible exception of Johanna and Petri, though they didn’t have the romantic chemistry that Veera and Jukka had).

S2 however, was an odd and fragmented ride. With the truth of the boat blast that bonded them no longer a looming threat, suddenly the widows were thrown into very separate storylines. Kirsi, despite Veera and Johanna inexplicably taking her back into the fold after her betrayal, spends half the season away from them locked in a genuinely abusive marriage to a man she’s known for about half a minute. She pushes so far past the point of what is forgivable in terms of her friendships with Veera and Johanna, and becomes increasingly difficult to sympathise with. The bulk of Veera’s storyline is focussed on her weird open relationship with a high-profile MP/author who she has absolutely no chemistry with (I used to think Pihla would have chemistry with a rock - she’s had it with basically everyone else I’ve ever seen her paired with - but I don’t see it at all with this guy) while her own husband becomes a mere inconvenience, and Johanna...well I can’t even remember what Johanna was doing half the time, besides the will-they-won’t-they dance with Petri. The widows then intersect at the tiniest dribs and drabs to talk about the DVD. That’s really it.

And Jukka, oh my god, did they write him into the ground or what? S1′s redemption arc shows him falling back in love with his wife, so much that he’s willing to leave her to make her happy, and then to go to jail to keep her and their daughter safe. And S2 opens with him trying to drown her, not even stopping to question the legitimacy of what Kirsi - who has just been coming on to him behind Veera’s back - is saying? He then spends half the season locked in a basement, and when he does finally get free and worms his way back into Veera and Siiri’s lives, there isn’t a single proper conversation between him and Veera about all that’s gone down between them. Yeesh. By the end of the season, he’s gone legitimately off the rails. Even if there had been a S3 (and Jukka hadn’t been shot in the S2 finale), it would’ve been really hard for him to redeem himself.

I honestly don’t know what drove the storyline decisions here. You’d think that logically, the Veera/Jukka conflict and relationship would have the most potential for drama and rich storytelling (not to mention the strongest bond to the underlying trigger plot of the show - the boat blast). We saw nothing of it in S2. Nothing. It was just swept under the rug. They barely even interact.

I guess I’m just really disappointed in where they took this. I wonder if even the writers/actors were in the dark about where they would take that relationship in S2, because the way they played Veera and Jukka’s reconciliation in S1 was just so…emotionally romantic? In that post-sex scene where they’re talking by the fire, Jukka looked like he absolutely adored her, like he’d have done anything for her. The show had also made an interesting decision to not show them having sex (only the prelude, which was incredibly loving and tender), in contrast to Veera/Erno and Veera/Anttu who we quite graphically see having sex... For a while I’d wondered if they were using the whole ‘making love vs having sex’ contrast to highlight that her relationship with Jukka was special, but that quickly got blown out of the water in S2.

(An aside - it’s interesting that Veera and Anttu barely ever kiss throughout the whole relationship, and I wonder if there was a recognised chemistry issue between Pihla and the guy who plays Anttu).

Based on what they’d shown us about their feelings, realistically both Jukka and Veera should’ve been way more devastated by Kirsi’s reveal. Surely, he would’ve wanted to understand. Surely a part of him wouldn’t even believe it until hearing it from her (especially bearing in mind Kirsi has just been coming on to him behind Veera’s back)? Surely he’d have been heartbroken as well as angry? And surely Veera would’ve been more hurt by his reaction, would’ve understood his anger, and would’ve wanted to explain things to him (they basically wrote S2 as if she didn’t care enough to try)? S2 made a huge mockery of the redemption arc of S1. It made Veera look fickle and unattached and Jukka regress into the volatile asshole he’d been presented as at the start of S1. And perhaps most significantly of all, it denied Veera of a redemption arc of her own. The reality, is that she should’ve wanted that redemption - she was wrong about him, and had nearly killed him because of it. Why didn’t the writers address that?? It really pissed me off that they just had Veera brush that whole thing under the carpet.

And Anttu, oh my gosh I don’t even know what angle they were going for with this storyline? Were we supposed to be rooting for him? Because I was really not. First off, I don’t believe that Veera would ever be so desperate to seriously pursue the relationship in the first place - she is fiercely protective of her daughter (to the point she was willing to kill her husband to protect her) so I doubt she would’ve engaged in a relationship that she knew would never provide any stability for Siiri.

And Anttu himself, what the hell? He takes her out for a public dinner, and then everyone acts like it’s such a shock when the media snaps them out together and reports on it as gossip? Veera’s humiliated and hurt, but doesn’t even have enough pride to walk away from a) him b) the job she has working for his wife until way later on? All the while, her own husband is popping in and out of her life and it’s like she’s just flicked the off switch on her feelings for him? It just makes no sense to me!

And then there’s the fact that we aren’t shown any great emotional connection between Veera and Anttu. They basically had no emotional or sexual chemistry. We’re meant to believe that the pull between these characters is so strong, and the audience is told by way of the characters that Veera and Anttu are supposedly so attracted to each other, but the chemistry is so non-existent that we don’t see it. The clincher though, is that he was actually kind of an asshole. The show tried to present him as this wholesome guy, but he didn't actually seem to give two shits about her wellbeing at all - he showed up at her house the first time she broke it off basically to convince her to keep sleeping with him on the side (telling her how attracted he was to her while her kid was in hearing distance, wtf), took her out to dinner knowing that people would likely talk, brushed off her concerns about the photos, outed her name to the press against her wishes, stood by his wife and basically belittled her and treated her like the other woman on live television, then when she tried to break it off for good he kept pursuing her because he wanted her, like she was some kind of trophy (and ‘I’m not used to being dumped’ - OH PLEASE!). He had no regard for her feelings or wishes at all. The scene where he shows up at her house with the party invite and wouldn’t even let her speak raised my hackles - I mean, was that supposed to be romantic? Him constantly stalking her despite her saying ‘no’ on multiple occasions, and showing up at her house (and scaring her kid) despite her wishes? Honestly, it just about killed me seeing Veera allowing herself to be treated like that. She deserves so much better, and it was really unsatisfying to see the series end with her going back to him (the fact that he left his wife is really the least of the issues).

So maybe I wrote all that just to come to the conclusion that - I’m actually kind of glad that we’ll never see beyond the ending of S2. Perhaps I’ll just pretend that this universe concluded at the end of S1, before Kirsi had the chance to make that phone call. I’ll pretend that Veera eventually told Jukka of her own accord, that they fought and got angry, and made up and were able to understand each others’ circumstances. That they talked and kissed and made love at the villa, and plotted a way to keep the police off Veera’s back. And then they lived happily ever after with Siiri. Sigh.

#mustat lesket #black widows #finnish tv #pihla viitala #Ville Tiihonen #veera joentie #jukka joentie #veera x jukka #I love them and am bitter about how they were written post S1

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theorynexus · 5 years ago

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68 will be my second post, this morning. I wonder if it will start section 8 of the Meat Epilogue.

Oh darn it. I forgot to make a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy/Meaning of Life reference on Meat 42. At least we’re back to a 43, and things might therefore be luckier. Maybe. (I am very silly when it comes to superstitions regarding numbers, sometimes, even though I don’t really believe them.)

MY TIMING SENSES WERE TINGLING!!!

Hmm. Well, strategy meetings and investigations are important. (Also: I am again reminded of the dreadful likelihood that Terezi went with Dirk, which continues to be a disturbing thought.)

Hmm. For some reason, I have the impression that he does indeed have a vague idea where he’s going, but he may not actually know where/how to find it, yet. That seems pretty likely. Thus, Roxy would be partially correct. (On that note: Interesting that Jake didn’t actually come with. I thought for sure he’d have snuck aboard at the last moment, or something, as a stow-away.)

Eh, I’d say it goes a little beyond “prove a point,” but it’s also probably incomprehensible to you, right now. I guess we’ll all have to be patient before we can more thoroughly sort through his insanity in that regard. As for Jane... I don’t know. It might be more trouble than it’s worth to contact her. The fact that Dirk has her as a seemingly important part of his plans suggest that it could essentially be springing a trap on yourself. I wonder how she’ll react to finding out that Dirk’s been mind controlling people and that that probably invalidates the actual results of her election, in the sense that it dramatically undermined the democratic process. (That is a really complicated issue that is somewhat entangled with real life politics, though, so I don’t want to get into a deep and proper discussion of what determines electoral legitimacy on a philosophical or political level here.)

It is a very interesting choice on Alt!Calliope’s call to focus on incestuous questions and Dave being awkward, rather than to follow tat important call.

Dirk is so twisted at this point that I’d almost not put it past him, but at the same time, why, Dave, do you have to assume that the motivations are sexual in nature? (I mean, honestly, it could be the fact that Dirk was trying to force him to have sex with Karkat that gave him the impression that Dirk was [and he is, but maybe not to that extent] way too carnally-minded and motivated.) Honestly, Dirk’s head is way too concerned with philosophical matters, and if anything he’s probably going to make a clone of himself to have sex with or something stupid like that, if he REALLY has to engage in some sort of tension-releasing copulation that isn’t masturbatory in the way that having sex with someone you’ve brainwashed and twisted into being your personal object of amusement is. Therefore, I juuust can’t quite see Dirk having sex with Rose/her new robot body. (Gosh, I hate that I feel compelled to address this.)

I honestly quite agree with Karkat, and now understand a little bit more about why our focus strayed where it did--- though it would have been nice to receive some sort of narration to indicate that. And yes, it’s sad that Kanaya’s being put on hold, I guess. A little bit. (Not really. I understand politicians in places of power can get quite busy, and it may not even be Jane’s decision to have her on hold... though if it is, I can most certainly affirm that that is quite rude.)

I mean... to be fair, Karkat, it’s rooted in biology. Humans not having a Mother Grub means that the don’t have a natural means to reduce the genetic load that would be caused by related populations interbreeding and therefore dangerously duplicating genes. Thus, it is not actually arbitrary, which I am sure you would know if you had spent a bit more time acting like the “geneticist” your troll handle suggests you happen to be (yes, I know it means to refer to his ectobiological frog wrangling/recombination; even so, the point stands).

I take it that Karkat’s dejection about the election has kept him a bit preoccupied and out of the loop, lately.

This is horrible (Karkat’s part, I mean). Roxy’s new new outfit sounds like something I would be very interested in seeing fan art of. A pink-looking slightly more effeminate Dave look sounds aesthetically striking (and I’m not even a fan of pink). But yeah, good on her for not giving up in frustration for people confusing them, I guess. ***shrug***

And we return to this awkward and slightly funny subject. Considering it was not resolved last time, I guess that’s reasonable. (Some day, maybe I’ll write a post analyzing Roxy’s trans-iness and/or how they/he seems to have been affected by those around he/them in his/their path to figuring it all out. This sort of issue is always a bit difficult to properly tackle without raising some people’s hackles, so to speak, though, so I am not sure if I’ll end up doing it. Regardless, it’ll have to be quite some time in the future, should I do so, after I’m at least done reading both sides of the epilogues. I’m sure Roxy’s interactions with John will have some important light to shed on the matter.) It’s sortof nice that Dave and Roxy can joke about this without it becoming too uncomfortable (apparently) for either of them.

... Is revealing this something they’ve discussed before now? I mean, doing this in front of friends and family could be sortof... bad for things between them, if Karkat’s still trying to figure out how he feels about it and whether he wants to press on vs throttle back? I mean, just calling each other boyfriends is not something either of them were comfortable with, and just because Dave is now doesn’t mean Karkat necessarily will be. I dunno. I feel conflicted on the matter, despite the fact that it is on the border of being cute.

Yeah, see, this is what I meant: Awwwwkwaaard.

Yeah, it definitely did serve as a good distraction, at the very least. ~~~ Jane either not knowing or not being willing to tell (we’ll have to wait for a perspective shift to her to be certain) is no surprise.

Gah. FINALLY. If Roxy weren’t such a Void-y ball of fun, everyone would have known this for some time, by now. (Also: This is another reason why I am quite certain that Dirk was responsible for at least the way that John died. He didn’t want him to be a threat to him. [I wonder, though: will Candy John potentially pose that problem, in the future, given the fact that he will likely be able to traverse the two different timelines, should he become aware of them? Heck, this could be the reason why one had to die in the first place. Or one reason.])

This is what you get when you A S S U M E. Also, Terezi would really be useful due to her Seer powers in particular.

Well. That is a useful compromise. Good on you for finally figuring something out to bridge the gap between your morals and Dirk’s amorality. (Also, that presents interesting potential conflict in the future, insofar as there might be a point where Calliope has to decide whether to allow them to take Jade with or not.)

Has little Timmy fallen down a well? O: <

This is funny because it’s like that one time where Jade was sleeping and Dave couldn’t get in touch with her. That time his weird fursona came up. Tightest butt in the jungle, or some stupid nonsense like that.

Dave is smarter than Dirk would give him credit for, calling him the dumbest of the Stralondes, by the way.

Not only do they need one of his ships, but it is quite reasonable to assume that they might be able to entice him to follow with them to where Dirk is going. This is a potentially dangerous gambit, like bringing Gamzee along anywhere, but I think it could pay off in the end. I think that, as I suggested earlier, Jake’s probably going to be the one to end up killing Dirk, in spite of all the underestimation that and horrific invective that had been directed his way. In all honesty, this would really seem to be the direction that Jake’s been being pushed in all along, considering all the failed opportunities to interject him into a place of importance in the story.

Considering his level of devotion and love for Dirk, now, he very strongly reminds me of that one old clown story that AH wrote... the one where the clown was never able to pull himself away from the service of his abusive, evil master. I bring that up specifically to suggest that Jake WILL succeed, however. I believe that, counter to the example that I just cited, and contrary to all of the deterministic forces that Homestuck has seen in play, the power of Hope will be what is necessary to do the impossible. A Page has a long, pain-filled story arc, but when it finally blossoms into the great behemoth that its seed of potential suggested it was from the very beginning, amazing things can happen. A Page of Hope is perhaps one of the most potent Classpect-endowed figures that Paradox Space could conjure up. I have come now to see that this turn on Dirk’s part was probably planned from the beginning, as was the fact that Dirk’s abandonment of him was likely meant to be the catalyst for the eventual realization of Jake’s full potential. Obviously, this will not likely happen in the near future, much to our short-term misfortune. Dirk, if you ever see this, know your folly: Jake English is just the force you would need to break free of the shackles of the reality you live in--- if only you believed in the him that believes in you. Instead, your Rage will consume you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love this dramatic comedy.

Honestly... this is great. From a writing stand-point, this is excellent. The decision to have Dirk drag Terezi along brings more significant stakes to things and drama for the future, especially with the fact that we DO know that he can be brought back to life, now, despite Dirk’s statement to the contrary. Despite all of my pathos earlier, the way this story (the story of Homestuck) is ending is actually getting me excited and washing away the scars that came from the darkest hour of the path previous. I really like the mechanic of Dirk having reality warping powers and Alt!Calliope being able to counter them, but only in close proximity. With the speed of his ship being a factor, especially, this sets up for some really interesting potential action in the further development of the story, as well. That Hussie was able to so masterfully navigate these emotional waters and string me along to this point was brilliant too. In sum: WOW, GUYS, I’M PUMPED!!! ... But... while this would actually serve as an excellent, fully complete and enticing epilogue in and of itself, the fact remains... there is yet more. Not only in the Postscript, but in Candy. This throws many spanners into the works, and I honestly don’t know how to feel about all that! If this weren’t Andrew Hussie we were talking about, I would be incredibly afraid that what is to come would throw everything off and make the eventual follow-up in Homestuck^2 (which I know he’s at least directing, though he’s not quite as involved in the story as he was in Homestuck, apparently?!) potentially quite messy and of a much lesser quality than I might expect. Given this IS Andrew Hussie we are talking about, however, I actually am quite confident that eventually, it will work out splendidly, and raise his literary accomplishments to even greater heights. Though... I am filled with a bit of trepidation. That “eventually” will be so far in the future. ***laughs awkwardly*** ... Buuuuutttt there’s still more left, even on this page, so I had better get to that. ...

It is very interesting that she’s been enveloped in that blanket of space so thickly and constantly that she’s come to find it comforting. That said: How is it possible for her to withdraw and still let narration continue, supposedly without source or accountability, as she states? Is this meant to suggest that the passive forces of Paradox Space will naturally fill in the gap if there is no one manning the ship, so to speak? This feels a bit unlikely, considering the lack of content for years of the characters’ lives, and Dirk’s suggestion that “God had abandoned them,” or however the heck he put it. This is all veerrry curious, indeed. (I do like her commentary on narration. A lot.) ~~~ Woooooo!!!~ It’s really nice to finish this at-- Dangit, time, why do you have to keep ticking into the future?! Well, even though it’s not 3:14, anymore, it’s still very nice to finish the Meat Epilogue on 02/02/2020. :’)

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alaypsy23 · 5 years ago

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Wanna Dance?

Summary: You reluctantly join your friend out at a club, discover your boyfriend has been cheating on you. When you confront him, someone comes to your aid...

Pairing: Jaeboum x Reader

Words: 2k+

Genre: Angst, a little bit of fluff at the end

Warnings: cheating, drinking,

A/N: this is my first time posting anything like this. I wasn’t even sure of how it was going to turn out when I first started writing. I have an idea of where this is going, but not really sure if it is worth pursuing. We’ll see. Hopefully, it flows okay. And hopefully you all like it.

oh and the gif obviously does not belong to me. i got it from the gif generator... thing... credit to the owner.

“I don’t usually DO clubs….” you mumble to your quirky best friend.

After getting off work, you check your phone to see several missed calls, all from Sarah. She insisted on coming by your apartment and started demanding you go out with her tonight.

“Oh, come ooooooonnnnn!” She whines as she goes through your closet throwing clothes on the bed for you to change into. Looking at how excited and, um, demanding, she was being, you think what could be the harm?

Rolling your eyes, “Fine. Just let me message Shawn to let him know where I’ll be.” You turn to pick up your phone off the dresser, but Sarah lunges to get to the phone first. “NO! I mean… lets let tonight just be a girls’ night out. Its been forever since we have done anything.”

“Okay. Sure. You’re right. This will be fun.” You initially wonder what her response was about, but decide to credit her quirkiness. You and Sarah have a lot of fun dressing and getting made up. Then you both head out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaeboum drags his feet behind the guys. He isn’t sure how they convinced him to come out tonight. Jackson with his “Come on, hyung! It’s good to get out sometimes.” And BamBam with his “It will be fun!” and even Jinyoung with his “It might be nice time to bond as a group. It’s been awhile since we have done anything together that wasn’t work.”

The seven guys gather at the bar. Jaeboum laughs to himself as BamBam and Jackson immediately start flirting with the bartender. He can tell she is humoring them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking into the club, you start to question whether you should have heeded your own instincts. It is exactly what you feared… Lots of over-cologned bodies all brushing up against one another, some a bit too close for comfort, many reeking of too much alcohol. At least the music wasn’t too bad – what you could hear of it anyway. You would much rather be at home, finishing off the last few chapters of any of the 5 or 6 different books you were in the process of reading.

Sensing your mood, Sarah pulls you to the bar. “You promised! At least an hour. Give it a chance. Look around. You might find something interesting.” With a resigned sigh, you motion for the bartender in order to place your order. She nods to say she will be right over and then returns her attention to the group of guys next to you she was waiting on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaeboum notices the bartender turn to acknowledge the newcomers at the bar, a couple of girls about his age had just walked up to the bar. One of the girls looks about as excited to be there as he is. Something about her catches his attention. She wasn’t the most gorgeous like the girls he was used to being around, but beautiful all the same. More subtle beauty, more intoxicating beauty.

He realizes he is staring so he quickly looks away, but he can’t keep his gaze from you for long. Up until now, he has been standing in front of the guys as they have claimed a few of the barstools. In a moment, he decides to take the barstool next to you in hopes of --- of what? He immediately thinks himself crazy. What is he hoping? That you will turn to see him and immediately fall in love with him? That he doesn’t have to actually speak to you? He shakes his head at himself. As he caught your attention and motions to the seat between you and Mark, his voice catches in his throat. You just looked at the stool and motion for him to take it and then turn to scan the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You look around the room. Your eyes fall on a couple sitting a couple tables over. You notice how the girl laughs flirtatiously as the guy leans over to whisper in her ear. Then, you notice how the guy looks awfully familiar… “—Is that ---?” you look at Sarah who is watching you with obvious pity in her eyes.

“That’s why I wanted you to come out tonight. I had heard he was going to be here with her. I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I just told you. I’m so sorry, y/n!”

You look back toward the couple just in time to see your boyfriend stick his tongue down some chic’s throat and can feel the anger radiating off of you. You were normally one to avoid any conflict and hold in any anger because, in all honesty, it scares you. In this moment, you want to let it all out.

“What can I get you?” the bartender had just walked up.

You turn to her and see your saving grace. “I’ll take a shot of your strongest stuff. Actually, make that two!” You throw the shots back as she hands them to you and then stand to turn. Sarah grabs your arm, “What are you doing?”

You brush her arm off and start walking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaeboum notices your change in demeaner immediately – after all, he has been watching you this whole time. Only, now you have caught the other guys attention, too, so at least he can get away with watching you. Your friend has turned to the bartender to explain what was going on, which he and the rest of the guys unabashedly listen in on. So now the bartender watches you as well in case she needs to intervene.

All this is outside of your awareness as your attention is solely on the couple you are quickly approaching. You walk up to the table with a smile and address the girl.

“Oh my Gosh! That dress is absolutely stunning! You have to tell me where you shop!” you exclaim, feigning interest in her. You notice the look of horror on Shawn’s face and can’t help but smile and wave. “Hey Shawn. How’s it going? I’ll get to you in a minute.” He starts to stand, but you quickly give him a look that warns him not to move. Up until this moment, his date was pleased with the compliments, but then turns to confusion. Clearly, she doesn’t know who you were, or why her date suddenly looks horrified.

“I just adore your style. I have to know where you got your outfit. You know, since we seem to have so much in common. I mean, we have the same hair color. We look to be about the same height. We have the same boyfriend… well, at least until 2 seconds ago…” You look over at your now ex-boyfriend, look down at your wrist where the bracelet he gave you for your birthday dangles, rip it off and throw it at him. You look over at his date, who is now looking at Shawn with disgust, and smile, “On second thought, I think I’ll find it on my own. Have a good night, and good luck with that!” You start to walk back to the bar where you notice Sarah is watching proudly.

You notice her expression quickly change as you almost get back to your seat. Then, you feel a hand on your arm roughly turn you around. Shawn is right in your face. Quicker than your alcohol-fogged brain can register, three guys immediately flank you. You look to your left, a guy with short dark hair and an intense look in his eyes, and to his left, another guy with dark hair with a hand on the other’s arm in restraint but still with a look of disdain toward Shawn. You then look to your right, a guy with hair just as dark but a bit longer stares daggers at Shawn. The part of you that is still sober registers this could easily develop into exactly the kind of drama you always avoided.

You look at Shawn, who is desperately trying to keep his gaze on you and pretend the other guys are not there. You then look down at your arm, then back to Shawn. He quickly releases your arm. You look behind him to notice his date was nowhere to be found. “Seriously?! I was your best bet at redemption tonight?”

“Y/N, I’m sorry… Its not what you think.”

“Oh, was she choking? And by that, I mean, on something other than your tongue.” You hear a couple of unfamiliar snickers behind you.

As a look of realization comes over him, and its clear you saw more than he thought, he quickly changes tactic. “Oh come on, y/n… You can’t lay this all on me. You are always working. I needed to blow off some steam. I need someone who makes times for me.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault you couldn’t keep it in your pants?!”

“You know we are meant to be. Let’s talk this out y/n. I can make this up. If you break up with me, you won’t be able to find anyone else. I’m the best you will ever have the chance with.”

You laugh a little. “You know, I never thought I would like coming to clubs like this which is why I’m guessing you thought it was safe to bring her here. But you know what? I’m actually having fun. I think I want to dance.”

Shawn looks at you with hope that he had persuaded you. You laugh and pat him on the head. “Oh not with you.” You look around to the guys who were still at your side and standing like bodyguards. You turn to the one on your right, the one with the longer hair. “Want to dance?”

Jaeboum has watched the entire scene, from you walking up to the couple, the conversation, and you walking away with a look of relief and almost disbelief in yourself of what you had just done. Then, he saw the guy’s date walk away and the guy start coming toward you. As soon as he saw his hand reach for you, he feels himself move. Apart of him is screaming at him that it would not be good for the group to beat this guy to a pulp. Another part of him is glad Jackson and Jinyoung seem on the same page. He uses your voice, every comment you make, every subtle change in your tone that indicates your nerves and anger are at odds, but your anger seems to win out. Apart of him wants to laugh when Youngjae, Bambam, and Yugeom snicker at your little jab. But when he heard you ask him to dance, he is shocked out of his defenses and immediately turns to you.

Jaeboum motions for you to lead the way. “Ladies first.”

You smile at him. “Ah, a gentleman!”

As you start to walk between Shawn and the guy who jumped to your rescue toward the dance floor, you look to Shawn. “Looks like I already traded up. Shawn, I think you better learn your place before someone puts you in it.”

Taken aback, he looks at you with disbelief. “And where is my place?”

“Far, far away from me.” You take your hero’s arm and head to the dance floor.

As he takes you in his arms on the dance floor, you can feel yourself starting to break down. Jaeboum notices you on the verge of tears. “Hold on just a bit longer. Don’t let him see.” You look up into his eyes and see an understanding. He gives you a small smile of encouragement.

You smile back, but then everything that has happened comes rushing back. Your hand comes flying up to cover your face. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“For dragging you into this. For ruining your night.” You look down in humiliation.

He ducks his head to catch your eye. “Hey. I could have said no. And besides, my night has gone much better than I thought it would. I got to hang out with my brothers. I got a pretty entertaining show,” you look up with a small laugh, as he hesitates and then continues quietly, “And now I get to dance with a beautiful girl.”

You blush and smile a thank you.

“Ah, I knew you would have a beautiful smile. I’m Jaeboum, by the way.”

“Y/N. A pleasure to meet you.”

#got7 #got7 jb #got7 imagines #got7 angst #fanfiction #got7 mark #got7 jackson #got7 jinyoung #got7 youngjae #got7 bambam #got7 yugyeom

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icecoldflames · 5 years ago

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The Pinnae Flower Chapter 4, Part 1

Masterlist

Underneath Sidney’s Cloak?

We have made plenty of posts about this subject. The longest mystery in the Pinnae series, probably. What is under Sidney’s cloak?

If you just Google searched the topic you’d probably find enough posts and theories about it to make your head spin and take you weeks on end to read all of them through.

Previously, we’ve theorized that maybe Sidney was hiding some kind of tattoo that belonged to one of the rouge sprite gangs. We’ve also theorized that perhaps maybe Sidney wasn’t hiding anything under his cloak and perhaps it was the cloak itself that was important. Maybe a dead relatives' creation or a love interest. We also said that maybe Sidney was hiding a battle scar or something like that that he was embarrassed of due to the fact that he’s petrified of dragons and the thought of them.

But now we’ve got a new theory: what if Sidney used to be a fairy?

We’ve all sensed that Pinnae: Spelunca might take a turn to the dark side. What if Sidney used to be a fairy and his wings were ripped off? Maybe by a dragon (which would again explain his dragon phobia). Or another fairy or sprite ripped them off?

It would make complete sense.

Sidney’s cloak is used to hide the remains of his wings. His wings were maybe ripped out by dragons which would have an everlasting effect on him and making him scared of them.

Might I point out an excerpt from Pinnae: Exsul?

The tree is massive. It’s branches are thick and twisty and the leaves look almost too green. It soars above Exsul with it’s mushroom houses and I swear that I could probably see Magus and Parisa.

“Arel, come on,” Sidney calls out to me. When I turn to look, he has begun to climb the tree. The wind is ruffling his hair yet his cloak doesn’t move. For a split second I wonder what’s beneath it. I’ve heard the rumours from the other sprites.

But I shake those thoughts out and begin climbing the massive tree. I wonder how Sidney feels—that small and climbing this thing. I find it huge, I can’t imagine what it feels like climbing this tree while being a quarter my size.

It takes us some time (and some tree bending on Sidney’s part) to finally make it to the top. The sky is so blue I wish I had a camera and I can hear birds chirping nearby. It’s peaceful. It’s the most at peace I’ve been since the fairies’ pinnae flower was cut.

Sidney perches on one of the smaller branches and I sit on a thicker branch to hold my weight. The wind is stronger up here and I wonder what my kite at home would look like flying and soaring through the endless blue.

A raven flies past us and Sidney watches it, enraptured.

“Have you ever flown before?” I ask curiously.

Sidney’s face is shocked when he looks at me—almost panicked—and I wonder what I said that made him react so strongly.

“I mean, you know, on the back of a bird or something.” I add in quickly, trying to make amends. I run a nervous hand through my hair.

Sidney’s face relaxes and he turns to look back to the raven, now only a speck in the distance. “Yes.”

Ah, the famous tree scene. This is such a nice scene for multiple reasons. For one, Sidney isn’t as rude and closed off. It really shows how much Sidney likes Arel. Secondly, it’s just so beautiful.

In any case, we can see that Sidney has flown before. Although Arel suggests on a bird and Sidney says yes, we can all tell that Sidney might not actually mean on a bird.

When Arel first pops the question, he’s shocked. Only when Arel specifies on a bird does he finally relax and answer the question.

Which brings us to the conclusion that Sidney thought that Arel was talking about something else—something that he shouldn’t know. Like maybe how Sidney used to be a fairy with wings?

It would explain so much and why Sidney’s character is so bitter and cold. It also explains the cloak too.

So that’s the new theory for what’s underneath Sidney’s cloak: remnants of wings.

Thanks for reading my loyal plebeians,

Prince Roman Falco

~~~

A couple of days passed before Roman could bring it up. It was late evening and him and Logan were in their hotel room, sitting on their beds while silently looking at the screens on their computers. The TV was on the news for background noise.

“Logan, I’ve been thinking,” Roman began hesitantly, “I don’t think I necessarily want to figure out Raz’s identity anymore.”

Logan paused his typing and looked over at Roman curiously. He shifted his position on the bed and cocked his head to the side. “And what changed your mind now?”

Something told Roman that Logan already kind of knew the reason for the change of heart but just wanted to hear it from him.

“It’s just that, I was there when Jo was trying to flirt with Virgil. And I got to thinking that that’s what Raz feels like—all this unwanted attention that you don’t want. It must get scary, people constantly trying to figure your identity out.” Roman said, trailing off. Virgil’s terrified, pale face was burned into the back of his eyelids and he wasn’t sure if it would ever go away.

Logan pursed his lips and didn’t say anything for a long time.

Roman’s eyes widened as his thoughts came to the startling conclusion: Logan wanted to figure out Raz Keeran’s identity.

Roman knew Logan enough to know that he wasn’t in this for fame like he had been. He was in it for the sake of solving a mystery.

Roman’s favourite series was the Pinnae series. Logan’s was Sherlock Holmes.

Logan wanted to be Sherlock Holmes. He wanted to solve a mystery. And the mystery has presented himself once he was forced to go on a summer trip at Roman’s request.

Logan’s voice came out meek and Roman wouldn’t have believed it was coming out of him if he hadn’t seen it with his own two eyes. “I really want to find them though.” He looked incredibly conflicted with himself. “But not for fame—for me.”

Roman didn’t know what to say. Was this how Logan had felt when he was obsessed with Raz and finding his identity?

Roman no longer wanted to find out who Raz was. Yet Logan had no intention of releasing the knowledge to the public.

He crossed his arms and legs and then immediately recrossed them. “I’m not so sure about this anymore, Logan,” Roman finally said.

Logan looked flabbergasted. He didn’t speak for a long minute and Roman wondered if he too realized that the roles were now reversed.

They stared at each other, blinking occasionally.

Roman had no idea what to say. If Logan did continue his search, Raz wouldn’t be affected because Logan had no plan to tell the public. But it was still wrong. But Roman would feel bad if he barred Logan from trying to find Raz.

Logan seemed to be in the same boat—unable to speak and unsure what the next move should be.

Finally, when Roman couldn’t handle the thick silence, he managed to form some words. “I...I won’t tell you no but I won’t help you anymore.”

Logan nodded. “Okay.” Was all he said.

To be honest, Logan would probably find Raz quicker without him. He was smart all on his own and Roman got distracted easily. It was probably for the best anyway.

They soon went back to their own business—Roman rereading Pinnae: The New Era and Logan doing whatever he did. Probably research or work from home. Maybe responding to emails.

When Roman finished his book he closed the computer and stood up. He couldn’t stand the silence anymore. Even with the TV on and the clicking sounds from Logan’s computer, it still sounded like an empty room in the dead of night.

“I’m going to go over to Patton’s.” Roman muttered, grabbing his phone and wallet before exiting the hotel room. He breathed deeply as the door clicked shut behind him.

As soon as Roman walked into Patton’s, he wondered if maybe staying at the hotel was the better option because Jo was sitting in Virgil’s spot in the corner.

Patton emerged from the kitchen as he walked in and his eyes immediately looked over to Jo, quietly typing at the computer with such rigor Roman was afraid the computer might break.

“Hey Roman,” Patton said. His voice didn’t have the usual pep it did when he came in.

“Hi Pat.” Roman greeted, trying to walk normally towards the counter. “Could I have some churros?” He needed a taste of home right now.

“How many?” Patton asked, opening the sliding door and gripping the tongs in his right hand.

“Uh, three please.” Roman was tempted to ask if Patton had any edible glitter—preferably pink—but decided against it. He doubted Patton had it anyway.

After Roman paid he found a spot in the middle of the cafe. It’s wasn’t too close to Jo to make him uncomfortable but not too far away that Jo might think he hated her. Which he kind of did. But that wasn’t the point.

“Roman!” Jo exclaimed and both Roman and Patton’s head shot up. “Come here for a moment, I want to get your opinion on something.” Her voice was light—not noticing the tension in the cafe.

Roman glanced at Patton worriedly before taking his last churro with him as he crossed the room. “Yeah?” He prompted, taking a bite of his churro.

Roman glanced at Jo’s screen. The churro went down the wrong way and he began coughing up a fit. The screen. Oh my gosh.

Jo looked at Roman worriedly and Patton quickly hurried over. “Are you alright?” She asked.

“Do you need a glass of water?” Patton said.

Roman coughed one final time, pounding a fist to his chest before saying, “I’m fine. Really. It just went down the wrong way.”

Jo, seemingly not worried anymore now that she knew Roman was fine, gestured to her screen. “You look like the kind of guy to have a knack for dramatic and punchy titles, so what do you think? I’ve narrowed it down to two.”

Roman looked at the screen once again, feeling sweat beginning to pool at his hairline.

AUTHOR RAZ KEERAN: REVEALED

MYSTERIOUS AUTHOR, RAZ KEERAN, FINALLY UNVEILED

Roman felt Patton still behind him.

Jo cocked her head to the side, unsuspecting of everything. “The first one is shorter and gets to the point quicker but the second one is much more dramatic.”

The words came out of Roman’s mouth before he could think them through. “You shouldn’t do this.”

Jo’s eyes narrowed. “Oh. You’re one of those Pinnae fans. ‘Raz should be able to do what he wants.’” Her voice went up a pitch in mocking. “Oh, he should have the freedom to choose, he doesn’t have to be in the spotlight, Raz has his freedom to do what he wants…” Jo gave Roman the death stare and he wondered how someone could be so rude to a practical stranger.

“It’s wrong.” Roman stated once again and it was like Logan’s brain was attached to his own. “Raz does have the choice to choose whether to stay out of the public eye or not. Just because they’re a famous author doesn’t mean they’re obligated to tell their real name and show their face. The public is so cut-throat. You should know this. Raz might not want internet strangers behind a screen picking them apart and stalking them and making them uncomfortable.”

Jo made a disgusted noise and rolled her eyes. “Raz Keeran gave himself up to the press and any scrutiny on a silver platter as soon as he published his first book.”

“No he didn’t.” Roman shot back. Was this how Logan felt, trying to smack some sense into him when he has the same opinions as this woman? “Raz Keeran can do whatever the heck they want. Who’s the famous author again?”

Jo’s eye twitched. “If he has the right to hide under a pseudonym then I have the right to tell the world.”

Roman opened his mouth to make a biting remark but Patton beat him to it. “That is not the same thing.” His voice was the sharpest Roman had ever heard from the man and he was slightly scared. “You have the right to wear your hair however you want. No one has the right to tell you otherwise. As a child, you have the right to education. No one has the right to take that away from you. I have the right to express my opinions, you don’t have the right to silence me.”

If it had been appropriate, Roman would have applauded.

Jo pursed her lips. “If I knew you two were one of those fans, I wouldn’t have asked you for your opinions. Although, I suppose it makes sense.” She shrugged nonchalantly and if she had been chewing gum Roman would have expected her to chew it obnoxiously loud. “You are buddy-buddy with Raz anyway.”

“What?” Roman’s voice went hoarse. “What are you talking about?”

Jo put the face of pure innocence on but Roman could see the malice behind her angelic eyes. “Oh? Virgil hasn’t told you?” She put a hand in front of her mouth like she had just spilled something. “My bad.” She flicked her head around, her ice blonde hair smacking Roman in the face.

Roman felt stone cold and rooted in place. It was only when Patton began pulling him away that his feet finally decided to move, however clumsy.

Virgil was Raz Keeran? Virgil? Roman felt shocked and stunned yet, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

That was the reason why Virgil was hesitant about revealing his opinions about Raz. Because he was him.

No wonder he could afford to spend all that money to get 40 of the rock collectables. Because he was a famous author.

Patton dragged Roman into the kitchen. He looked panicked and frightened. “What do we do?”

Whenever Roman needed help he always went to the same person—his best friend Logan. He always seemed to know what to do.

Even though Roman and Logan weren’t on the best of terms at the moment, this dire situation trumped over everything.

So Roman dialled Logan’s number.

“Yes?” Logan prompted, always straight to the point. His voice didn’t sound annoyed.

“You have to come over to Patton’s immediately.” Roman hissed into the phone.

“Through the kitchen door.” Patton piped up.

“Yes. Through the kitchen door.” Roman repeated.

He could head the springs of the bed squeaking and the rustle of blankets on the other end. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay? What happened?”

“No, everyone’s physically okay.” Roman said. “It’s just that Jo is going to reveal Raz Keeran’s identity. I don’t know what to do. I panicked so I just called you.”

Roman heard Logan suck in a breath. “What? When? How soon?”

Roman heard even quicker shuffling on the other end then a click of a door. “I don’t know. She asked me for options on a title for her article so I would say quite soon.”

“Keep her occupied until I get there. I’ll be over in a second.” Logan said and then the phone went dead as he hung up.

Roman glanced at Patton, his eyebrows drawn downwards. “You can stay here if you want.”

Jo was still at her computer, her forehead creased and her whip straight hair was pulled up in a messy bun. She was typing furiously. A still full cup of coffee was next to her, no longer steaming.

“What do you want?” Jo snapped, not looking up from her computer. Her voice was bitter and strained and reminded Roman of when Logan was immersed in a project. He always hated when he was disrupted.

“You can’t do this, Jo,” Roman pleaded, sliding into the seat across from Jo. “What are you trying to gain from this?”

“Fame. Glory. The title of first person to figure out Raz’s identity. The first person to get it right...” Jo’s voice trailed off.

Roman cringed—this is exactly what he had wanted back then. It was like looking into a mirror. Except, now he was better. He was a changed Pinnie.

If he changed, surely Jo could too.

“You should know how internet fame works, Jo,” Roman said, honing in his inner Logan, “you’ll be top trending on social media and maybe have a Twitter moment but, in a few days time, no one will remember your name. You’ll have a couple news articles about you but soon they’ll be buried by newer news. You’ll have fifteen seconds of fame. That’s it.”

Jo’s sucked in a breath, pausing her typing for just a moment. “Fifteen seconds is better than what I have now.” And she continued her vigorous typing once again.

Where is Logan? “Come on, Jo. Think about this rationally. It isn’t worth it. You’re ruining someone else’s life to give yourself fifteen seconds in the spotlight. Imagine if someone were to do that to you.”

“That would never happen ever because I will always embrace fame, no matter what.” Jo snapped.

Roman was beginning to get desperate. He couldn’t imagine Virgil being yanked into the spotlight like that. So unannounced and forcefully. So, he pulled out his last card. He reached his arm out and slammed the computer shut, Jo just managing to avoid pancakes for fingers. “What the—“

“—Please, Jo. I’ll do anything. Please. Just don’t tell the world about Virgil.” Roman pleaded.

Jo, who had been about to re-open her computer suddenly stopped. “Anything?” She repeated.

“Anything.” Roman confirmed. He cared so much about Virgil, he would do anything to protect him. “What do you want? Money? Life-long groceries using my pocket money? A personal maid—“

“—I want ‘The Prince’s Crown’.”

Roman blinked. “The—?“

“You heard me.” Jo said icily. “I want your blog. All of it. Forever. I want your followers. I want your email list. I want your place in the Pinnae fandom. And, you aren’t allowed to notify your followers of your absence.” Jo looked defiantly into Roman’s eyes.

Roman’s throat parched and his brain seemed to suddenly stop. “The Prince’s Crown”? His baby? This woman wanted that? His pride and joy?

But, through Roman’s halted yet swirling mind, one thought came through crystal clear. Yes. Of course. It makes sense. His blog was popular in the Pinnae fandom. They sometimes got sponsors. If Jo wasn’t able to get her fifteen seconds of fame, owning an incredibly popular blog was the next best thing.

Roman was tempted to say no. But then he thought of Virgil who chose to write under a pseudonym so he wouldn’t be under the scrutiny of thousands of people.

He thought of Virgil—who he really liked—and thought of that intimate moment in the alleyway when Virgil was touching his shirt. It would affect him so horribly. He could barely take Jo’s advances...what would happen when there were thousands of Jo’s?

While Roman could never really assume Virgil’s reaction to being dropped into the spotlight on his head, he could certainly guess. And guess he did.

Roman’s blog was pretty much his everything. But could Roman really keep his blog while Virgil’s life fell apart because of it?

“Deal.” Roman’s voice felt far away and he noticed Patton and Logan in the kitchen doorway. How long have they been there?

Jo grinned a winning smile. “Thank y—“

But Logan interrupted Jo, mid-sentence. “I’ll create the paperwork.”

“What?” Jo spun around to look at Logan. “Why would you need paperwork?”

“It’s good to have things official.” Logan sniffed, walking closer to Jo and Roman’s table. “And the deal set in paper.”

So he did know about Roman’s deal.

Jo frowned. “You don’t think I’ll follow through.” Her voice was accusative and she pointed a finger at him.

“No, I just think it’s good to have a paper copy of the deal. So you both know the limits and you both have something to show if you break them. It goes both ways,” Logan enunciated.

“Actually, that sounds like a great idea.” Jo chirped. Roman hated her happy-go-lucky voice.

Logan gave a tight-lipped smile. “Okay, just hold on while I go get my computer.”

He was gone and back again in less than a minute and, again, Roman wondered what had taken him so long to get to Patton’s the first time.

They talked through the terms of the transfer what Jo and Roman could and could not do.

The only terms Roman could come up with was that “The Prince’s Crown” had to stay a Pinnae series blog and Jo would never expose Virgil to the press or any other kind of media.

Jo, on the other hand, had many terms. Roman wasn’t allowed to tell his followers of the switch of ownership, he wouldn’t say anything about “The Prince’s Crown”, he couldn’t tell anyone about this he knew personally, the email list had to be given to her, he couldn’t do a lot of things.

“And he isn’t allowed to create a new blog surrounding the Pinnae series.” Jo added in.

Roman had every intention of just nodding and agreeing with everything Jo said like the past terms.

However, Logan spoke up about this one. “Oh, come on, Jo. That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

Jo sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She huffed. “He’s allowed to create another Pinnae relegated blog after...ten years.”

Logan glanced at Roman apologetically.

Roman shrugged apathetically. “Fine by me.”

Logan quickly typed this up. “Is that all?”

Jo thought to herself and Roman braced himself for another term to slap him in the face. “No...I think that’s it.”

Roman breathed a sigh of relief. It could be worse, he thought. It could be worse…

Logan smiled grimly and closed his computer, standing up. “I’ll go print this at the library. I’ll be back soon.”

Jo grabbed her phone. “While you do that, I’m going to book some plane tickets to get out of this dump.” She rolled her eyes and began dialing numbers.

Logan left and Patton must have retreated back to the kitchen so Roman was all alone in the cafe with Jo who was arguing with whoever was on the other end. Roman felt sorry for the poor bugger.

Roman flinched when his phone buzzed in his jean pocket. He unlocked his phone and glanced curiously at the text from Virgil.

Wait until she’s super impatient and seconds from blowing her head off. Then, text me “now”.

Roman read and reread the text over and over again.

What are you talking about?

Virgil’s text came back almost instantly.

Wait until Jo is about to blow her top. Then, text me “now”. Just trust me oh this.

Okay. I trust you.

Roman had no idea what Virgil was doing but he did trust him wholeheartedly.

Jo got off the phone and leaned back smugly in her chair. “I’ve got a plane ticket to Alabama in four hours. Enough time to get to the airport and through security.”

As the time ticked by, Jo’s smug smirk slowly fell away. “Where are they? I thought they were going to print a couple sheets of paper?” Her voice was growing annoyed but Roman could tell she wasn’t an overflowing volcano yet.

More time went on and soon Jo asked Roman to text Logan to see what was taking him so long.

What’s taking you so long? Jo wants to know.

The printer’s malfunctioning. I should be able to get it working in a couple more minutes.

“The printer’s not working…” Roman said. “But Logan said he’d get it working in a couple minutes.”

Jo huffed. “Show me.”

“What?”

Jo sighed and made a ‘come here’ motion with her hand. “Show me the text. I want to make sure you’re not lying.”

Roman flashed his phone screen to Jo who read it over at least three times before finally coming to the conclusion that the text was legit.

More minutes passed. Jo made him text Logan three separate times, Logan not answering either one of them.

“I’m going to miss my plane!” Jo exclaimed, furiously typing on her phone. She had her suitcases surrounding her, ready to go the minute she signed the contract.

Three minutes and 43 seconds passed when Roman finally thought Jo might blow.

She was cursing up a storm and Jo was about to stand up to find Logan herself. “I swear! I am going to find that man and—“

Now.

Roman texted the signal to Virgil and instantly Logan hustled in.

Roman blinked. Had Logan been waiting outside the door all along?

“Sorry, sorry, sorry…” Logan trailed off. He had his computer under his arm and papers in his hands. “The printer wasn’t working so I had to go all the way across town and—“

“Just let me sign the dang papers!” Jo snapped, her arms outstretched and a black ink pen ready in her hand. “I have a flight soon and I still have to drive to the airport!”

Logan gave Jo two sheets stapled together. “Here’s your copy.” He passed Jo another two stapled sheets. “Here’s Roman’s copy.” And another. “And here’s my copy.”

“Why do we need three copies?” Roman asked as Jo skimmed through the first paragraph and skipped through the lines and sentences before signing her name on the two lines. The “I have read the terms and agreements” and the simple “I agree with all terms and agreements”.

“In case one of you guys lose them. It’s always good to have a backup.”

Jo signed the other two copies in record time.

“Good doing business with you.” Roman said, signing his own name on Jo’s copy.

“Can’t say likewise,” Jo muttered, snatching the copy out of Roman’s hands and scurrying out the door.

The cafe felt eerily silent and empty. The fact that “The Prince’s Crown” was no longer his gourged a piece out of his heart. It was gone.

Roman should have been happy. Jo wasn’t going to tell the world about Virgil. And he was.

But his blog was gone.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal. It was just a blog. Just a simple blog.

But it was his blog. Not just any blog. His.

Logan sat down in the chair Jo had just left and Patton emerged from the kitchen.

“I said to keep her occupied,” Logan said quietly. “Not barter away your blog.”

“It’s the only thing I thought of.” Roman muttered, hanging his head and crossing his arms.

The bell rang signalling a customer but Roman didn’t look up.

“Thank you for doing that for me,” said Virgil’s voice and Roman’s head shot up. “Your blog must mean so much to you.”

Roman shrugged, trying to play it off and ignore the aching in his heart. “Eh. I can make a new one in ten years.” He paused. “It could be worse.”

Virgil drew closer. “Seriously though, thank you.” He pulled up a chair and sat next to Roman. He grabbed a copy of the terms of transferral. “Listen, you phoned Logan the first time he came to find me.”

Roman nodded hesitantly, unsure as to where this was going. However, this now did explain why Logan was so slow getting to Patton’s in the first place.

“And I came through the back with Logan and heard everything.” Virgil’s shoves his left hand in his hoodie pocket and ran his right hand through his hair nervously. “And then I got the idea…” he trailed off.

Virgil passed the paper to Roman. “It isn’t much but...sixth paragraph.”

Roman took the paper and counted down to the sixth paragraph, reading the middle sentence.

Roman Falco will be able to create a new Pinnae series-related blog in exactly one month after the signing.

Roman blinked to make sure it was true and wasn’t a trick of the light.

But it was still there—in ink. On the official papers.

His heart soared. One month. That was nothing compared to ten years.

However, Roman thought of Jo and what she could do if she figured this out. This wasn’t one of the terms they had agreed on. “What about Jo?”

Logan smiled and pointed to the line where Jo had hastily scribbled down her name. “The line she signed says she read the terms of agreement.”

Roman’s eyebrows raised and he looked between Virgil and Logan. “Oh my gosh.” He said. “Oh my gosh.” He repeated.

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shy-magpie · 5 years ago

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RQG 129

Zolf's back, so unless one of the former hostages shows blue veins, there is nothing this episode can do that won't make me eager for more. Players sound peppy. Did Alex really do that? Gosh he plans everything. Eh Zolf seems to be understanding about them not being happy with him. Hamid has calmed a bit. So much for that. Fair Huh, Zolf is willing to take trust into account enough to spend the quarantine bringing them up to speed on non sensitive matters instead of cooling their heels Thanks Hamid/Bryn! I need to know what Zolf has been doing. Love Azu's work out. And her attitude Alex! Zolf is just as good as I remember about talking about emotions, which is to say he is barely hinting at so much angst, revelations about his family, the whole break up with Poseidon etc, and sticking to a pretty dry account of events Zolf: Meritocrats aren't much better, so much of a muchness Hamid: only 1 of those 2 factions allowed a necromancer to rise in a city leading to the deaths of hundreds of people but sure. Not sure if its my distrust of monarchy/oligarchy speaking but they both have points. Azu has an interesting take, not sure it fits but... Finally! He was looking into the weather side, not a side effect Hamid: Car-ter! He seems so offended that Carter might have actually been competent pre-curse. Ow Zolf finally asked about Sasha See what I mean, Zolf isn't going to be comfortable spelling it out like: "you remember how I was in near full break down before I nearly killed a subordinate making me feel like a sheep killing dog and had to leave because I was a danger to myself and others? Yeah I needed to process for a couple weeks before I tried to keep up with the papers" Hamid is legit not someone who really gets this (as someone who feels the emotions openly at the time, instead of being steady right up until he breaks) but its letting Bryn feed Ben some great openings. Oh Hamid, the pull between the needs of the world and the need of his family/team is just breaking him Zolf is great Oh Hamid and Azu still think they can get Grizzop and Sasha back. Ow Oh I actually forgot Ben knows about the side quest. Big sigh for a little dragon Zolf is understanding but he already mourned the whole team; he is celebrating getting Hamid back after more than a year; while Hamid is stuck between the pain of the loss and holding out hope that someday he will be able to get them back. Poor guy isn't really designed for compartmentalizing where not only has Zolf had more time to cope, being able to separate the threads is a chunk of his personality. Finally some questions that can be answered, non specific world events. Ah but he can only confirm Curie's info not give us more. Wilde is in full "I will treat you as infected until proven otherwise" mode. Touches his scar too, so that's a pretty huge hint as to what his year has been like. Why soot blackened? Did they have to burn the cells to avoid spreading infection? Zolf is trying to help, Hamid is just trying Bless him, Alex is giving us Campbell backstory. Zolf just gave Azu the first in his Bertie send up series. I love it. Ben reads Phillipa Gregory? I read a couple of those ages ago. They know us too well, and and are spending so much time on Campbell. If Hamid didn't hate Campbell books before, Zolf making a Azu a fan would have pushed it over the edge Yes! Hug time! Of course its not the hug I was envisioning but I'll take it. Alex! We needed to know that the strip test was a daily thing, it affects the dynamics a lot. Poor Azu is claustrophobic on top of everything; Hamid is a good friend. This is such a great scene. I actually like that Zolf isn't just popping back in like he hadn't left. It makes so much more sense that the dynamics would be different; even before you factor in that Azu never met him and she & Hamid are all that's left of the LOLOMG Hamid finally gets some of his usual self comforts and is working on a new look. Bless him, Zolf is trying but not good at this emotional stuff Azu holds a grudge, this is surprisingly delightful Love these two, a week stuck in a cell together and they still want to stay at eachother’s side. No macho BS about being vulnerable to each other. So what is Wilde like now that they aren't under suspicion. OK now I understand why people ship Zolf and Wilde. So do I just add the ship to my armada now or wait an episode? Gosh my sympathy to people who can't have multiple conflicting ships. My heart, I did not sign on to care this much about Wilde. Yes I remember Damascus but this is like Ed levels of caring or more. Hamid is a good leader and immediately moves to smooth things over Wow, genuine Wilde is new, no layers of detachment and wit Too funny when we hear the players being just as frustrated with wanting more as us, if not more. Oh good they get to keep recording.

#Rusty Quill Gaming #RQG spoilers #RQG season 4 #long post #live blog thingy #RQG 129

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brainy-storm · 6 years ago

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S417 - I Don’t Beli-eve You

General Thoughts:

okay idk why Lockwood can bring his son around to Important meetings, and I’ll let that slide, but hmmm I’m just getting red flags, totally thought that his son was going to die.

I am for Colonel Hayley being more trusting of Supergirl. Like I’ll accept if she still has to obey gov orders to do stuff on behalf on the DEO, ‘cause I think that’s in her character but I do think that she’ll be cautious about it internally because she doesn’t actually think Supergirl is capable of that kind of destruction

While the ep was about ‘Eve’ technically, I feel we didn’t really...get much of her, though we got stuff about her. Though her interaction with Red Daughter was great.

Supergirl bringing dougnuts - heh

‘Crazy Lex Girlfriend’ Pfft.

‘ILoveLex’ ....PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

The Team Up

Was nice seeing Kara, Alex and Lena working together

It’s interesting to see the difference because while it may have been a bit tricky, it was easier to work around Lena when Alex knew her Supergirl identity as Kara but without Alex’s backup it was...more difficult.

Also interesting to note that I feel if Alex had her memory of Kara being Supergirl she would most likely (*cough* 100% *cough*)be more on Kara’s side in regard to Kara’s initial reaction to finding out the Harun-El was being used by Lena.

I kinda expected Kara to be angrier, otherwise, what’s the point of this having been secret? I meaan I can see Kara apologising if Lena brought up how Supergirl asked Guardian to break into the labs to destroy the kryptonite and not idk...doing it herself. Hm, I just feel like the apology happened because she didn’t have Alex to back her up. Also, if did apology was going to happen I would have thought Lena would have apologised too hm.

Though I did like the part where Kara’s like I can’t lose. Perhaps a ‘I can’t lose’ in an actual fighting sense but also a ‘I can’t lose anymore’ in a...people/things she cares about sense.

Side note: Lena and Alex work very smoothly together and I like their dynamic.

I like at the end where Lena and Alex show their trust in Supergirl, which would make sense after them working all episode together. She definitely needs more people on her side through this whole ordeal.

Kara’s shot of trying to call J’onn made me sad though.

Lena & Lillian

WOOO I LOVE WHEN LILLIAN LUTHOR IS HERE

lol I like how she’s just like ‘yeah you should come over to our side’. Join the dark side, we have cookies.

though didn’t she say she wanted to make amends or something, weird

Those Luthor minds games are strong...tbf Lena did try to say at first that she was working with Lex but Alex interrupted her. This is definitely going to blow up later on

Lena reversed on those mind games, though - hoho I wonder what Lillian would have told her.

Lillian be like ‘okay I don’t wanna die so fine’.

J’onn and My’rnn

This, in my opinion, was the best part of the episode

No I’m not saying that because I cried in their last scene, ofc not, shh

But seriously, I just I LOVE GRANDPA MARTIAN SO MUCH

And J’onn and his struggles and finally accepting he’s the manhunter

and My’rnn being sorry for not conveying he will love J’onn no matter what

but them tieing it all up in the end

bonus soft points for when Kara kissed J’onn’s forehead...I love myself a father-daughter moment thank you so much.

(J’onn, I hope you left a message somewhere for your daughters...)

James & Kelly

I’m weak to sibling stories, I can’t help it

Also, I felt so so bad for James and his...ptsd (?). I thought it was well done how he was so against getting help, being in denial that there was anything that was wrong, but then he eventually accepted it and went to ask his sister for help

That thing where he was like ‘you’re only here when you can tell me what to do’ - like it’s obvs meant to be untrue but it’s such a sibling thing to say when you don’t want to listen. I FELT THAT.

Kelly ofc hugs him and says that she will stay - YES YOU WOULD.

The amount of times that James has revealed to been through this is insane, and I understand completely why he would be apprehensive when he first met Lena.

That said, uhhh if it does come out about Lena working with Lex, I wonder what James’ reaction would be, with him acknowledging he’s severely affected by it. Probably very conflicted, since the serum cured him but he’s been so tortured by the guy.

100% Kelly would be mad.

BRAINY

HI I LOVE HIM

And I love his subtle expressions throughout this whole episode

Especially the small exchanges he has with Kara - just that silent communication in that scene with Alex. It just showcases how he can read people. And event wordlessly encourage Kara, being one of her few allies that knew who she is, this episode.

His not so subtle just happiness at getting his ring back was a blessing.

He’s just so....HE SPARKS JOY.

I also like seeing back in the lab, thank gosh, back where he belongs.

The preview looks intense...looks like the show wants to show another side of his’s ‘not a robot’ and ‘has feelings’ character. As much as Brainy being in pain would sadden me...okay pfft I’ll stop lying...GO ON BRAINY. GET ANGRY. I’M READY. PUNCH AGENT LIBERTY, GO ON!

I’ve been waiting for Brainy to show either ego/irratation/anger for a while now. Looks like we’re getting anger.

#supergirl #kara danvers #alex danvers #lena luthor #brainiac 5 #j'onn j'onzz #my'rnn #james olsen #red daughter #eve teschmacher #kelly olsen #cw supergirl #my post #my text #long post #supergirl ramblings #my ramblings

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dcarevu · 5 years ago

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Batman TAS: Perchance to Dream

“It’s a big hole in the ground, with a big car in it that’s all black. Remember?”

Episode: 30 Robin: No Writers: Joe R Lansdale (teleplay), Laren Bright (story), and Michael Reaves (story). Director: Boyd Kirkland Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: October 19, 1992 Grade: A

This should go without saying, but because of the nature of the episode (and because it was spoiled for me before I ever saw it), I am issuing a MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING. Take this as me telling you that going into this episode blind is highly recommended, and part of the fun of it is the mystery.

Are you ever disappointed to wake up from a dream? For me, it is usually a matter of not having finished the story that was playing out, or forgetting details. I don’t like waking up and causing cliffhangers which go forever unsolved, especially when I can’t even tell people about them. Then there are the dreams that you are so glad you woke up from. Usually these dreams consist of the scariest things we have ever experienced. Isn’t it crazy to think about? For many of us, the scariest moments of our lives never even truly happened in the real world. Batman lives these moments practically every episode. Things like our friend getting half of their body demolished and then turning into a contradicting gangster, or a clown who turns all the fish in the area into smiling, trepidatious frights. These events have very dreamlike qualities. They likely would never happen in real life, and don’t make all that much sense. Ironically, when Batman has what starts out as the best dream of his life, providing an escape from all that we try to avoid at night, he wants nothing to do with it. Because even though our REM thoughts are his conscious ones, and he probably could have lived the rest of his life in bliss, it means nothing to him if it’s not real. Looking the other way is not something that Batman is capable of. This is why he has made the enormous impact he has. Not only did the night at Crime Alley send his life into a gothic cave of despair, it also seemed to cause him to purposely repel any hope of happiness. Happiness to Batman is irresponsibility. Yet he stops at nothing to allow the innocent to live the happy life he is incapable of.

This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series, even though I never got to experience the unknown. Batman falls into a mysterious trap, but wakes up immediately afterward. Suddenly, his life is completely different. His parents are alive. Selena Kyle is set to become his wife. He is no longer Batman. The weight of responsibility has been removed. He is set to live life as a rich playboy, while someone else swings around the city in a bat-mask. But there is a nagging feeling that none of it is right. There are inconsistencies and problems that prevent him from enjoying. Through a series of events, he ends up at the top of a tower in a cemetery, in a fight against himself, eventually jumping to what seems like his death. He wakes up from a dream that the Mad Hatter set up for him, and apprehends the criminal. What makes this episode so sad is that Bruce so desperately wants the dream to be real. At one point, after talking to Leslie Thompkins, he actually does begin to accept things. He tells us, “The nightmare is over!” Bruce considers his life a nightmare. He hates being Batman, but he is an addict. Right as he is truly about to throw his old life away, he opens up a newspaper and can’t read a word. The text is all jumbled. This is proof that this new life is not real, as he knows that in dreams, it is impossible to read. Cleverly, at the beginning of the episode, there is a sign on a building that is jumbled up, and no one mentions it. A very subtle detail that one can appreciate on a second watch. Another Easter egg is the music that plays immediately as soon as the title card pops up. It’s the Mad Hatter’s theme music, and we have only seen Hatter one time, so one is not likely to recognize it. But if you know it, you know it. Figuring this detail out yourself can give one a sense of accomplishment, and discovering a twist ending on your own rather than a spoiler is incredibly satisfying.

I also noticed that certain characters are nowhere to be seen, most notably being Robin. At first I wasn’t sure how to take this. Does Batman regret inviting Robin into his life? Why is Robin not there? This is supposed to be his desired life. But after talking to Char, I realized that in Batman’s ideal world, Robin’s parents never would have been killed in the first place, and so Robin would have no reason to be living with Bruce. Alfred is here, but his usual warmth seems to have vanished. I think this is less a reflection of Bruce, and more that Alfred never had to become such a fatherly figure. He lived with Bruce’s parents, serving as the butler, and not much more. He is still fairly friendly, but there is not as much between he and Bruce as there typically is at all. Also, I’m not sure if this was an inside-joke, but there is one point where Alfred helps pick out something for Bruce to wear. He selects a brown coat and says, “This should be just the thing for your meeting.” In the DVD commentary, the crew has joked about Bruce’s sense of style, making fun of his typical mustard-yellow and brown combo. The way Alfred says it makes me wonder, but I could be looking way too much into it.

Perchance to Dream is mostly action free until the ending, but Dong Yang still manage to knock it out of the park. Their best work yet, and they especially shine during the climax. There were some incredibly beautiful shots, and other points in the story are great too. There were a couple instances where the animation was massively smooth, reminding me of the pilot The Dark Knight’s First Night. I’m wondering if they blew their budget on this one, and that is why their work on Robin’s Reckoning is so poor (coming soonish). Credit should also go to Boyd Kirkland who’s angles and ideas give us a sense of wonder at every step, even when fairly mundane. The voice cast does the same. I swear the police officer is voiced by the dude that did a bunch of trailers in the 90’s or early 2000’s. Because I am so used to hearing it in that environment, yes, it sounds very out of place in Batman, but in a good way. His delivery is startling, and it acts as icing on top of the dreamlike cake. While we’re on voices, though, it should be noted that Bruce doesn’t talk in his Batman voice for the majority of the story. if this is his natural speaking voice, I think he should have been. I’m sure there’s a way to make it sound happy. They did it in Batman Beyond. At the same time, lines like “I’ve never felt better in my life, sir” have such perfect delivery they make me tear up, and said any differently would not have been as stellar. Oh gosh, and Mad Hatter’s delivery. The anguish made you feel for him, and he is not a character I held any sympathy for previously. I found him to be the ultimate incel. Many people see him as a tragic character, he’s a creepy asshole who carries the dreaded “nice guy syndrome”. Does he mean well? Don’t know, don’t care. But hearing him scream at Batman, explaining that he was willing to give Batman the life he always wanted just to prevent him from being a bother anymore, it’s heart-breaking. He simply wants Batman out of the way, and he decided to do it humanely this time. I find this very interesting, and this Mad Hatter episode dwarfs Mad as a Hatter.

Batman’s wipers come on after his car is coated in gunk. It’s the little details.

Nothing good ever happens on catwalks in this show.

Pictured here is a 13-year-old in the presence of Justin Bieber. Or whoever the kids listen to these days.

Little known fact, the Batcave is very much there. But this is. obviously an episode where it’s located behind the bookshelf, not behind the clock. Silly Bruce! Must have forgotten to read that part of the script.

Well no wonder he always wears that jacket with those options.

I’m wondering what types of things Bruce does with his parents still alive and all. Then again, nothing in this world exists beyond the boundaries of when the dream starts and ends.

Bruce has been wanting Selena practically since her first appearance. But that face says it all. Is this relationship any more genuine than Mat Hatter and Alice’s?

This is the point of the episode where I could really sense the gears in Char’s head working. It’s the point where things go from being wrong to impossible.

Notice the sign.

Love the movement of Batman’s cape.

Some of the unusually smooth animation I mentioned before.

Great takedown. Batman holds the guy and spins down a pole, making him so dizzy that he faints.

These two have the most conflicting colors on...

“Then... The nightmare is over.”

Kinda wish we saw Bruce shed a couple of tears.

Not only is the text all jumbled up, but there also seems to be way more text than what would fit on the paper. Even more strange, we see a smiling Batman.

A look of madness on Bruce that we hardly ever see. it’s a great facial expression.

The text here is also unreadable. Also, we’re getting to the point of the episode where virtually every angle is perfect. So here is a series of shots:

Boyd Kirkland and his team clearly cared a lot.

Batman comes in mysteriously like a kite. It reminds me of when Dorothy was trapped in the tornado.

Bruce gets a taste of what criminals get almost every night.

Seriously, how can a figure with cute little bat-ears be so threatening-looking?

The Mad Hatter’s model isn’t quite as finicky this time around, and while I still feel that it was probably hard to translate to animation, it works a lot better. He looks like he belongs on the show.

Look at that smug face. He is sure that Bruce will never escape. I also like the thought of Bruce reaching a waking point, so even though he’s still asleep, he still picks up conversation going on around him. His subconscious recognizes Jarvis’ voice, and that’s how dream-Bruce was able to reveal the truth. But that’s just my interpretation.

Bruce took a gamble, and you can tell by his expression that he may regret jumping. He truthfully has no idea if this will do the trick or not.

This is weird, but I love the shape of Batman’s eye here.

Char’s grade: A Next time: The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy

Full episode list here!

#perchance to dream #dcau #dc animated universe #batman tas #btas #batman the animated series #mad hatter #spoilers

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