#i just wish the kanes would at least get a mention... a cameo.... something

[moonlightperseus]

rick riordan: fuck it! three more books about percy, annabeth and grover!

sadie and carter kane: you can just do that????

[stormyykat]

things i’d like to see from arc 2

this is just a list of stuff i would personally like, you dont have to agree with me. also i realize some of these aren’t the most realistic lol

Krokotopia - so krok is probably the next world? seems like it with the setup and addition of its stormgate, as well as the old assets. i don’t have a lot of wishes for the world (other than to be good lol) however i’d like to see less of Marleybone. I love MB but i want more focus on the kroks this time. Some other things, maybe an Alhazred cameo and Zigzag?

El Dorado - OK so most of these are gonna be worlds but i promise not all of them. ANYWAYS El Dorado is a given. I wanna go here SO BAD. also if they were to add El Dorado, I feel Wizard City and/or Celestia would probably be added as well, considering how tied they are to El Dorado (Celestia being the ones to unmoor the stormgate, Merle helped Marco Polo). For El Dorado itself, the gold sentinels HAVE to be mobs/bosses. Maybe we could finally meet the ghosts of our parents? Maybe FIGHT the ghosts of our parents? (wed get there and theyd be like we told your ass NOT to come here!!)

Marleybone p2/Albion Skyway - kingsisle please let me go to albion please please....i wanna help the foxes now that the war is over!!! LET THEM BE FREE!!! also this is a PERFECT time for a bonnie promo...jus sayin lol.. also guy fox companion? ik he ran off to port regal but i think hed try to get back to albion, we’d have to chase him down and make sure he doesnt blow up any small islands or whatever.

Companion Promos - SPEAKING OF A BONNIE PROMO...here are some companions i’d like to get a promo!!

Bonnie Anne (surprise! last promo at 57, around 75+ there should be another)

Ratbeard (promo at 55, around 75+ is also reasonable)

El Toro (HE NEEDS ONE give him epic strike at least)

Gracie Conrad (unreleased promo....pls...)

Hawkules (needs one, has an unreleased promo)

Catbeard (needs one, has an unreleased promo)

Tavern Companions (they all have unreleased promos. last promo at level 37??? they shouldve gotten one already lol)

Trainer Companions (anything to make carcarius usable. give him mojo flow?)

Starter Companions (been awhile, 46 last lvl. same boat as tavern companions)

Other (Magnificent 7, Argos, Contessa?, Mustang Sally. i just think companions involved in the story should all get something)

Presidio companions shouldn’t get another promo for awhile, as their last promo is at 67. They seem to get promos every 20ish levels (21,47,67) so around 85+ is reasonable. The ones listed above are either due for one or need one (imo).

Other Worlds - the worlds above are my most wanted, but these would be nice to see as well! i feel some of them are probably going to happen.

Polaris (no way that this one wont happen tbh)

Darkmoor (has concept art, a skyway)

Grizzleheim (one of the el dorado crew members is from here, only one we havent met in game besides our mother)

Azteca (Could be a lead up to dorado? also post morganthe azteca would be interesting!)

Celestia/Wizard City (already mentioned them earlier)

Monquista P2

Rajah (this is either a world or a skyway. Could be tied to Albion in a way)

Other Stuff - misc. things i’d like to be added.

Magic Mirror

MORE SHIPS/FLAG OPTIONS!! (Cool Ranch Skiff, Armada Ships, Valencia Ships, Boochbeards ship. More variety in flag designs, rerelease of the AMD ship flag designs..? they were so cool)

More packs/bundles (return of boochbeard bundle?)

Valencia P2 Nerf/Fix (you know i had to add this one)

If no fix, maybe we can get Able in arc2? Since Queen/The Armada is probably coming back.

More furniture/face items/Customization

Stitchable Nefarious Weapons

Gold Cap Increase

Kane’s Robe/Henchmen Items (a few of the henchmen wear items that we can’t get)

Fishing (i can do without crafting tbh)

this is all i can think of right now. if I have any ideas later i’ll just make a part 2 of this post.

[travllingbunny]

The 100: 7x01 From the Ashes

Disclaimer: This post is about the episode of the show The 100, From the Ashes, the season 7 premiere, and only about it.  In this post, I will NOT be discussing any original scripts, unused takes, bloopers, behind the scene photos or videos, scribbled notes exchanged between the writers, or any  tweets, Instagram posts, SMS or e-mails by any of the cast or crew members,  considering the fact that none of those things constitute the  show’s canon, which consists of the actual episodes.

I will also not be discussing anything about the future episodes posted by any ‘spoiler accounts’, and, in fact, I am unaware of most of these things, since I’m trying not to read any spoilers. Please do not tell me any spoilers for future episodes or ask me about them.

I really enjoyed this episode, in spite of the unfortunate lack of Bellamy (which I was already expecting since what happens to him here was already spoiled by the trailer. Of course, I’m looking forward to see Bellamy again, and, before that, to everyone finding out about disappearance and it becoming the focus of the season. But until then, the show has quite a few other storylines to deal with, from setting up and delving more into the Anomaly mystery, to dealing with the fall-out of season 6 in Sanctum, and both of these were handled well, for the most part.

This episode in particular had really good characterizations all around - for Murphy, Echo, Indra, Madi, Raven, Emori, Gaia, even Jackson - and, of course, Clarke, who had an arc that took her tendency to try to repress her feelings to an extreme, until they exploded in a most memorable way. It will cause her trouble, no doubt, but it was great to watch, and something I had been wishing for for quite some time. 

There is just one character whose storyline I’m still not sure how I feel about, because I’m not sure what the show is doing with him. 

After the last season’s cliffhanger, there was some concern in the fandom that Bellamy would regress to being all about protecting his sister, after their relationship had been redefined with “You’re my sister, but you’re not my responsibility”. Some of that was really exaggerated: there’s absolutely nothing odd or surprising about Bellamy crying over his sister disappearing in his arms. Of course he loves her and wants her safe. But I was concerned they may regress his development if they make him forget about everyone and everything else in his life in order to impulsively jump after her into the Anomaly. However, that did not happen - Bellamy didn’t decide to go on his own, rather than tell others and make a plan. He was taken.

The mysterious people from the Anomaly seem to be able to control the Anomaly, and have some sort of a cloaking device, presumably connected to their suits and helmets, that makes them invisible to others. They also have some sort of a screen inside their helmets, with facial recognition of targets and commands. It’s all a bit creepy - these seem to be humans, but they are receiving orders the way a robot would. (It’s all very Terminator-like!) Maybe because they also have lost their memories while going through the Anomaly? Where did they get the info about who Bellamy, Gabriel and Echo are - was it from Octavia’s memories? 

Memories and memory loss are obviously going to play a huge role this season. People who come from the Anomaly to Sanctum seem to lose their memories, except when the Anomaly is still there. Does this happen only on Sanctum, or at the other side(s) as well? How does the fact that the Anomaly sucks in radio signals fit into that? Hope had to use a message she put into her own arm to remind herself to “TRUST BELLAMY”. (Interstellar is mentioned a lot as an inspiration for this season, but this reminds me of another Nolan film, Memento.)

We also see Clarke spout knowledge about how the big mansion was built (by Russell for Simone, to remind her of her house on Earth), which she would know due to still having some of Josephine’s memories. And I’m sure that the fact Madi still has the memories of past Commanders will play a big role - specifically, the fact she has Becca’s memories, which could be the way to tie the present day story to the prequel/story about what happened during and right after the apocalypse. (She also probably knows about Sheidheda more than anyone else alive, which may play into the Sanctum story.) 

It’s too early to judge Hope as a character, but the mystery surrounding her is certainly super interesting. Why do the mysterious people from the Anomaly have orders to kill her on sight (as opposed to capturing, which they were supposed to do with Bellamy, Echo and Gabriel)? Is it because of who she is, or what she is - is it about her actions, does she know too much, or is her existence itself that’s the problem? 

I loved the Octavia cameo in Hope’s hallucination, with the confirmation that she was an “aunt” figure to her, a part of a found family with Diyoza and Hope. The Anomaly makes you see your biggest desire or biggest fear - and Hope’s biggest desire seems to be to be reunited with her family 

Echo’s hallucination, on the other hand, is obviously about her biggest fear - so it makes perfect sense that it’s Roan who appears to her, as he exiled her from Azgeda. Of course biggest fear would be losing her kru and her king/queen and being left alone and adrift. I’m as surprised as anyone that I found Echo's scene to be maybe the best in the episode. But she did have some really good character moments in seasons 6, and this is IMO her best character moment so far, picking up from her red sun hallucination in 6x02, and flashback from 6x11. which revealed that even her identity as “Echo” is fake. It seems the show is finally doing the character development it neglected to give her in season 5, and addressing all the obvious issues with Echo’s development and her relationship with Bellamy. I think this confirms that it was indeed Echo talking to herself while hallucinating Emori in 6x02, since her hallucination of Roan tells her the same thing, that she is still just a killer following another master’s orders. We finally see Echo feeling guilt over the things she did in the past, including her betrayal of Bellamy in season 3. When she imagines him calling her out on betraying “the man she now claims to love”, is it just about her thinking the others would doubt her love, or is she herself questioning whether her feelings for Bellamy are really romantic love, or just loyalty to her current leader? Their relationship, especially in S6, often came off more as the latter.

 (It was also really cool to see Zach McGowan again) 

The timeline of 7x01 seems to have confused some fans, but I think it’s pretty obvious that, at the beginning of the Sanctum story, no more than a day (probably less than that) has passed since 6x13 - going by the facts that 1) the Anomaly storyline picked up minutes after the end of 6x13, and the Sanctum story was presumably happening at the same time, and 2) Indra had to explain the situation in Sanctum to everyone. The only thing that seems to go against that is that Russell is said to “not have slept” since what happened on the ship, which makes it seem like it’s been longer. Or maybe Russell was just being extra dramatic. “Oh, I have no slept for a whole day!” He certainly spent a lot of this (his last) episode feeling sorry for himself. At least he seemed to have finally realized he wasn’t the superior good guy in all of it (”Tell them I’m treated better than I deserve” - yes, indeed.)

Indra was great, even though poor Adina was forced to be an exposition machine for a part of the episode. 

A common complaint I’ve seen among fans is that it’s weird that Clarke and others in Sanctum aren’t worried about Bellamy and co. I don’t understand this complaint, as it’s clear that very little time has passed and that Bellamy, Octavia, Echo and Gabriel must have told everyone they were leaving and why (though I don’t know how many details they told them about the Anomaly Stone). People have been gone for a whole day in season 6 when they just went to the Offering Grove (Echo in 6x06) or the radioactive shield (Raven, Emori and Echo in 6x05), which are within the confines of Sanctum and much nearer than the camp by the Anomaly. What are they supposed to do but wait for a couple of days for them to come back? It’s not like they can call them, when radios and other means of communication usually don’t work on Alpha because of the Anomaly sucking the signals.

In fact, their absence was mentioned in the picnic scene, when Raven toasted to “absent friends” and we got a reaction shot of Clarke (I know, Clarke, I'd be annoyed too if I was you, but Bellamy had to be all "I'm gonna go now and explore the Anomaly Stone while Sanctum is in chaos and you're in mourning for your mom" because the plot needed him to..., before Niylah toasted to the “departed ones” (which would include Kane and Abby) and we got a close-up reaction shot of Clarke trying to keep it all inside, as she did every time in this episode someone mentioned Abby. 

The idyllic picnic by the mansion - everyone’s attempt to get some rest and nice time after everything they had been through - was such a contrast to the “powder keg” of Sanctum and the end of this episode. But it also felt fake - just as fake as the deception and lies that Murphy and Emori are Daniel and Kaylee Prime, or that Madi still has the Flame in her head - to keep the devout and Wonkru under control, respectively - and just as fake as Clarke’s attempts to convince everyone she’s “fine”. As usual, the song playing in the background (”Darkness” by Pinegrove) was very fitting:

Suddenly I find I've got darkness on my mind It's a question mark that keeps me looking And it's never satisfied And it's never what I thought Saying I'm happy when I'm not No, I got darkness on my mind Leaning out the frame When it's particulate and gray I'm perpendicular to my whole being When I lean a certain way Saying I'm happy when I'm not Finding roaches in the pot Oh, I got darkness on my mind Some people spend their whole lives looking For someone who could understand While meanwhile a lilac blooming Sometimes on the driest land And I know it's been a long time coming I'm angry and I know that's weak And I'm longing out that open window For whatever it is I seek [musical breakdown] Some people spend their whole lives looking For someone who could understand And while meanwhile a lilac blooming Sometimes on the driest land And I know it's been a long time coming I'm angry and I know that's weak So I'm trying not to be so bitter I'm just looking at it honestly Well, I know it's been a long time coming I'm angry and I know that's weak And I'm longing out that open window For whatever it is I seek Some people spend their whole lives looking For someone who could understand While meanwhile a lilac blooming Sometimes on the driest land, yeah 

I like that there was anger, blame and conflict between our kru and that everyone didn’t just forget what happened last season (and for once, Clarke is not the one getting the blame!) It would've made no sense if no one was blaming Murphy, and it makes sense it would be Jackson, who was so close to Abby and who’s not particularly close to Murphy. It also makes sense there was disagreement about the method of keeping peace in Sanctum, and that not everyone would be happy with Memori cosplaying the Primes. 

Murphy himself had a really good characterization in this episode - we saw his grief and his feelings of guilt. While he tried to defend himself when blamed that he didn’t know what Russell would do, when left alone, he blamed himself for various actions that led to it, which is something Murphy from a couple of seasons ago wouldn’t do.

It’s great to see Raven looking more like her old, pre-season 6 self, and even better to see that her self-righteousness has gone. She’s more like the old Raven but without the snarky b1tchiness. I’m glad that she got called out by Murphy on her “Miss Morality” role from last season (which never really made sense, pre-time jump Raven was never a moral compass of the group, she was smart, pragmatic and could be as ruthless as anyone).

Another major theme of the Sanctum plot were the new beginnings.  Clarke pointing out season 3 feels like another world seems almost like the show going meta and pointing out to the audience how much Clarke and all these people have lived through and been since.What is Sanctum now after the Primes have been defeated, with Children of Gabriel coming back home and clashing with the Devout - brainwashed and loyal followers of the Primes, with the rest of the Sanctumites in between? How are Wonkru and the 36 Eligius prisoners going to start again on a new planet moon? (36?! Wow, so they really suffered heavy losses in that gorge, too, when there are so few left?) Can Grounders be without a Commander? Gaia without her religion? Can Madi be a normal kid, without the Flame - or is that even possible while she has to pretend to still be Heda? The title From the ashes seems to refer to that - and maybe the end of the episode means that you have to burn down the old beliefs and old idols to build something new? 

Mothers and daughters were another theme.  I liked that Madi mentioned her biological parents (well, mother) on-screen for the first time, since the fandom tends to forget about them and ignore them too often. Madi was unsuccessful in her attempt to make Clarke share her feelings with her - maybe because this conversation showed a big difference in how they see each other? Clarke thinks of Madi as her child, but Clarke has never had a child before, while Madi had parents and suffered their loss; Clarke assumed Madi was talking about her and what happened in S6, but Madi always calls Clarke “Clarke” rather than “Mom”, and tried to connect to her on the equal level, as another daughter who’s lost a mother. Maybe it’s exactly because Clarke sees Madi only as her child that she feels she must be “strong” for her all the time and not show grief. 

There was an unexpected parallel between Indra and Clarke in how Indra also tried to suppress outward expressions of grief when her partner - Gaia’s father died, which clearly wasn’t healthy and caused a rift between mother and daughter. (I’m not sure about when that happened, i.e. when Gaia first decided to become a Flamekeeper. I guess it must have been before the timeline of seasons 1-3. So Gaia’s dad is probably not the man that Indra recognized in 2x15 as one of the Reapers? I’m still angry that we never got any resolution to that storyline and that the Reapers were forgotten after season 2.)

 The one thing I’m not sure about is Jordan’s characterization and arc. I’m not sure what the show is doing with his exactly, and I’m afraid that they’ll try to leave it ambiguous just how much he is or isn’t brainwashed. 6x13 made it very clear that he has been “adjusted”, which Russell confirmed here, and Jordan’s “adjustor”, who was creeping behind him in the season 6 finale, was very present and active in this episode, and clearly still had a big influence on him. At the same time, we learn that Jordan does not believe in the divinity of the Primes - instead of that, his hallucinations made him see something connected to the mystery of the Anomaly, which Russell describes as something “greater” (almost like he has finally found God, of sorts, after all, which he talked about 236 years before when he first landed on Alpha)? The good news is that it means Jordan will have a role in the Anomaly story, rather than being the advocate for the Devout. What I’m afraid of is that the show will gloss over the fact that Jordan was brainwashed - whether or not he came to believe that Primes were gods, he certainly did a 180 from despising Primes as murderers, being outraged by their actions and knowing very well that Priya was not Delilah but someone who took over her body; to (just a few days later, after “adjustment”) spouting Prime propaganda about the “peaceful” society they had before the Bad People from Earth came (that’s the peace they had when they regularly murdered their people to steal their bodies, left babies to die, and made them go crazy and kill each other from time to time) and having some kind of attachment to Priya herself and her mind drive.

At least, I hope that Russell unceremoniously smashing the mind drive means we’re done with that storyline. I loved it, it was my favorite storyline of the show, but it’s time for it to be over. It makes no sense that anyone is still letting Russell keep his mind drive, for starters. When will they realize they need to destroy these things?

- Clarke’s way of dealing with grief over her mom’s death was certainly unhealthy - repressing her feelings even more than usual, trying to be calm, composed, logical, to do the things needed to keep peace. In her last scene in 6x13, Clarke was open about her grief with Bellamy, looking to him for comfort, finding comfort in his arms and his words. But now he’s absent, there’s no one else she can be that open and vulnerable with. (The only other person Clarke looked for comfort to was Abby.) It’s nice to see that she and Raven have mended their friendship with Raven, she is starting to develop a new one with Gaia over their mutual care for Madi, she has mutual respect with Indra, she’s known others - like Murphy or Miller = for years, since the Delinquent days... and they all want to help her, but she’s not opening up to anyone, not even Madi. She thinks she must be “strong” for all of them, and her Head and Heart are unbalanced - she’s repressing the latter, until she finally explodes. 

I love the scene of Clarke finally losing it and beating up Russell (I had already seen it in the trailer, and it was my favorite moment) and then crying while holding Abby's clothes. I don’t know about anyone else, but I love seeing an angry, emotional Clarke, letting it all out, especially when it's anger at people she has every right to be furious at. We haven’t seen that from her since early season 3 (when she yelled and spat in Lexa’s face over her betrayal). It had bothered me for a few seasons that Clarke - who used to be vibrant and could be impulsive, angry, hold grudges, yell at people in seasons 1-2, had become so repressed and muted due to her constant self-blame. I’ve had enough watching Clarke look sad while other people keep yelling at her and blaming her. (The only other instance of Clarke being furious was her hurt and rage at Bellamy and the slap in 5x09, but that was more of a silent, “internally screaming” rage/hurt, which turned into Clarke being emotionally frozen for the next couple of episodes, until learning he was alive. When Clarke is keeping everything inside and not yelling, that’s when she’s in the worst emotional state.)

It is, however, so sad that she still blames herself, too, for her mother’s death, whispering “I’m sorry”, the same way she whispered after seeing her father floated.

My only problem with the scene of that stupid palace burning down is that  "mistakes" is a serious real understatement for what Russell has done. I know, I know, this will cause a lot of trouble in Sanctum and Clarke will probably have to go back on some of these decisions to keep peace. But there’s really nothing morally wrong with deciding to execute Russell - not only does he deserve it, but he’s arguably even an exception from the general objection to death penalty, since he’s lived several times the normal human lifespan, by stealing other people’s bodies. And the palace burning down is a symbolic way to send the message that the old power structures are gone - which Clarke pointed out when she said there will be no kings or queens anymore.

Sheiheda taking over Russell’s, or rather his latest host’s body, wasn’t surprising, as that was the most popular theory. But it was cool to see Sheidheda’s creepy mindspace again and Sean Maguire as the original Russell. The bodysnatcher got bodysnatched. That’s something like poetic justice.

I just have to post this because it’s such a beautiful shot!

Rating: 8/10

[happymeishappylife]

DC CW Shows

I finally caught up on all the DC Universe shows. Quite an accomplishment for me considering I was 2 seasons behind. It feels good to finally get caught up to speed, but some of them are starting to feel like chores getting through them, rather than fun entertainment. A concern that gets amplified by the fact that the producers want to add on 2 more shows to the line up. So I felt like it was a good idea to breakdown my thoughts on each of the shows and what I liked/didn’t like. Plus then I will break down my thoughts on Crisis, because I have a lot of them. I’ll also rank these as I go as far as which ones I liked best, beginning with least to best. So let’s begin:

#7 - The Flash

I used to love this show so much. The first two seasons were a lot of fun and I loved all the characters so much. Thanks to the writing though, I can’t honestly say I don’t like this show much at all anymore and that’s kinda sad. Part of the reason is it became soooo angsty. Like the reason The Flash was great, was it was the antithesis to the angst on Arrow which made it so refreshing to watch. Now it’s like everyone must suffer some sort of pain over the tiniest things or worse, they become entrapped in characters and situations like its been haunting them for years when it only got introduced a couple episodes ago. At this point the only characters I care about are Caitlyn/Frost, Joe and Cecile West, Wally (when he’s on, which is like never), and Ralph. And that’s painful that Hartley won’t be returning to fill that role anymore because he was the only one who still could joke and laugh around like old Team Flash.

Season 5: Overall season 5 had a pretty solid storyline despite some of the angsty writing. After a while though I got pretty sick of fighting Chicada over and over again, especially Grace’s version. My one big pet peeve with it though was the relationship of Nora to Barry and Iris. I’m sorry. I can’t honestly picture any 20-30 something meeting their adult daughter and automatically assuming the role of an actual parent and treating her like a preteen. That always felt super weird and uncomfortable. Not to mention it happened almost automatically with little to no hang ups on ‘is this really our kid? Should we trust her?’ Plus then it created angst between Barry and Iris which I’m really over at this point in the series because their relationship was never my favorite to begin with.

Season 6: A hot mess. Granted, because of Crisis and Covid-19, the season probably didn’t get a fair chance to play out to it’s full potential. But cutting the season into two arcs didn’t do it any justice. Especially because instead of having character growth, I felt like a lot of the characters regressed. Take Barry for instance. The whole first part of the season is him prepping/training the team to take over for him after Crisis since he believes he is going to die. Only when he doesn’t, he assumes the role of leader still without actually leading. He stops telling his team members key details and putting aside the fact he killed the speed force, he stopped being a hero. The whole fight scene with Mirror-Iris, was so bizarre to watch. Yes, Barry would never hurt the real Iris, but she’s not and instead he just stands there and gets stabbed over and over, crying at the end that she’s not there. It’s really hard to watch.

#6 - Arrow

Arrow used to be in my top 3 slots as last I left it. The storylines were still on point. But leading up to Crisis and the show ending, there were some things that worked for me and some that didn’t. Still, kudos to the team for standing their ground and saying that we’ve told all we can tell, let’s put this show to bed and give it a close it deserves. It made the ending super emotional, but at the same time satisfying despite, Oliver’s death in the universe. My only complaint is the fact that the producers can’t put it fully to bed and now want to reboot Arrow all over again with Mia and the canaries. Don’t get me wrong watching strong women take more of the leading roles is awesome, but not to tell and retell the same storylines.

Season 7: The first half of the season when Oliver was in Iron Heights was not my favorite. Mainly because as it continues to develop it was like all the reasons he got put in Iron Heights to begin with no longer mattered. Diaz is still on the lose, he’s still playing his games in prison, and really what was the point? Now the second half of the season where we focus on his rehabilitation into society and working with the SCPD to track and take down his sister Emiko, was actually good. Too bad it got horribly overshadowed by a time travel flash-forward storyline to introduce and make us care about Mia.

Season 8: Obviously this season was the closeout season and the season leading up to Crisis. But I liked the way they treated it. They gave cameo spots and guest starring spots to former faces like Thea (she’s still freaking awesome), Tommy, Moira, and even Merlyn came back. My only complaint was that all of sudden we did have another time travel situation on our hands to meet our future kids. Thankfully I felt Arrow overall took that development better than the Flash, which since that was only a couple episodes and not a season, says something about the writing. Plus the post-Crisis pilot for the Green Arrow and Canaries felt a little out of place given everything that happened and a little insulting.

#5 - Supergirl

There’s parts of Supergirl I still absolutely love to pieces and the writing that are still doing it the justice that started the show by telling storylines of not only heroism, but commentary on today’s events to help push for progress. I love the whole cast of characters and think the acting has been great. My only complaint is with Season 5 and the fact that the show is beginning to find its tipping point of being less than stellar. I mean, I still enjoy it, but it’s beginning to show its where and tear so I’m worried what’s going to happen as it continues forward. Especially as it gets hyperfixated on Lex Luthor, who don’t get me wrong is a fabulous villain, but isn’t that Superman’s arch nemesis, not Supergirl’s?

Season 4: What a great commentary to tell throughout the season that parallels the feelings and conversations being had about immigration in our own world. I thought the idea of the Alien Amnesty Act squaring off against Ben Lockwood and his Agents of Liberty was not only great commentary but great story telling. I also loved that we got to introduce Nia Nall into the series because she’s fantastic and has become one of my favorite characters. I even love the twist reveal of how Ben Lockwood isn’t the enemy, it’s really Lex Luthor and his communist Supergirl clone. Plus Jon Crier plays an amazing Lex Luthor.

Season 5: Don’t get me wrong, the stakes and the storylines with Leviathan and Obsidian North, I do think are important and worth telling, but they detracted from the main storyline that developed at the end of last season which was Lena and Kara’s new relationship. Yes, it was still hit on and explored, but by far that was the storyline I was interested in seeing the most, not Ramah Khan or Virtual Reality horror stories. Also, while I like Lex, thanks to his antics during Crisis, the second half of the season felt hijacked and became this witch hunt. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to see what he and Lillian are doing, but I wish it played out more in the shadows and less of the actual screen time. I’m also glad Lena is back on Kara’s side again. But Brainy better not be dead! He’s one of my favorites even if his motives during this season were hard to watch.

#4 - Batwoman

I actually really, really, really liked Batwoman’s first season. Getting to know the badass that is Kate Kane and watch the horror’s of Gotham play out week to week was such a refreshing change of pace. After all, The Flash and Supergirl are undeniably heroes and must carry those burdens(?) as they fight for truth and justice. And Oliver was a vigilante, but while he took down drug lords, weapons dealers, etc. the stakes of being a vigilante in Star City is nothing compared to wearing the cape in Gotham. I loved the cast and seeing the stories play out of their past and how they connect to each other and also how some of them discover who Batwoman is, was fantastic. Even as creepy as Alice is, I enjoyed seeing the performance of the completely unhinged and psychotic villain take the stage to play out her twisted fantasies. I also appreciate the openness that Kate brought to being an out and proud lesbian, even revealing her super identity to a teenager to prove that it does get better and lesbians can be awesome is super freaking powerful. I even like that with the shortened season, it didn’t feel like we got robbed of an awesome storyline, but now we get to why this ranks fourth on my list instead of higher: Ruby Rose left the show and we get a whole new Batwoman. I get that this is out of the hands of the producers and the writers and I am super sad to see her go. But its hard not to feel like we lost a whole season of introduction and development to just reset and begin again. I’m not sure how they will handle it, but I do hope that a lot of the cast stays and stays in their roles. Especially Luke and Mary who are a great team. Mary is also like my all time, instant-favorite character because not only is she super wicked smart, but she has so much humanity in her so I hope she still continues on the show.

#3 - Stargirl

 Yes, yes, this show is still airing which is why I can’t speak to the overall season arc in finality yet, but I absolutely have been loving this first season. Again, what a refreshing new reality to step into and what a great new storyline to pursue. This rag-tag group of teenagers becoming the new Justice Society of America is a fun telling and already, the stakes of the Injustice Society are so high! Like I was expecting that it was going to be like the other shows where slowly by slowly we meet all the bad guys in different seasons, but instead it feels a little flipped since we don’t have all our new heroes on the stage yet. Still I love Courtney and her relationship with Pat as she discovers these secrets of his past and their new home of Blue Valley. I love her recruiting reasoning to bring Yolanda and Rick into this crazy plan and even her acceptance of Beth becoming the new Doctor Midnight. Plus, the show keeps surprising me because on one hand, giving these teenagers these powers to help them redeem their self esteem is a great storyline, which is why I was expecting them to force us to like Cindy since the beginning of that episode was leading up to maybe becoming friends with her, but no. Turns out she is the super bitch and super villain of the show and that’s kinda awesome. Also I like how because their teenagers, their secret identities aren’t really that secret, which makes it’s kinda fun, but also dangerous. We’ll see how the last 3 episodes play out, but I can’t wait.

#2 - Black Lightening

Talk about real gritty, dark, and powerful storytelling. I enjoyed the first season, but these last two have been a real punch in the gut in good ways and the writers have been outdoing themselves to provide heartfelt, real, honest emotions and discussions to the world of superheroes, compared to the other shows. And it’s hard, but the gruesome nature of the show also highlights some of the real struggles going on in the Freeland Community which of course highlights the issues in our own world around the Black Community. The whole spinal chord ripping scene will haunt me forever and not only because they keep replaying it, but because of how insane that was. The cast is also great and I love that at the end of Season 3, it’s not just a family of super heroes, but a group of powerful metas squaring off against the government and the most dangerous threat of all so far: Gravedigger. Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

Season 2: Now that the whole family knows the stakes of what they have gotten themselves into with Tobias and revealing the girls have power, I love the way we got introduced to the ASA and the pod kids as a menial threat while still struggling to take down the perceived ‘bigger threat’ that is Tobias. Jennifer also having trouble coming to terms with her powers and how to use them I think was a great way to explore that not everyone wants to be a superhero, especially in antithesis to Nyssa who is a full on badass as Thunder and Blackbird. Watching Khalil’s story in this go from obedient lap dog to a runaway and finally a victim of Tobias’ violence was hard, but I felt was justified throughout and made him that character you want to root for, even when not everything he’s done has been great.

Season 3: What a harsh turn of direction. A full on occupation of Freeland, house arrest, killings on the street, and an underground railroad of metas or suspected metas completely changed the tune of this show. Watching each of the Peirces struggle to find out who the ASA is, what their doing, if their actions are justified and if the Marcovian threat was real was really fascinating to watch. The showdown with the Marcovians too with a whole team behind them was also a nice change of pace, even if their mission didn’t end the way they expected. I think the amplified stakes though of what happened and what’s to come will continue to develop into an incredible show, minus one now big problem I have, but I will detail that out below when we talk about Crisis.

#1 - Legends of Tomorrow

You can fight me, but Legends of Tomorrow is the best goddamn shown on this network for one simple fact: They don’t take themselves seriously. There is no real angst and because of that it makes the adventures so fun and so hilarious that its such a great break from all of the other shows. Plus, because they keep swapping new and old cast members into the show, it always feels new. Kinda that Doctor Who spirit, which I love. That and because there are hardly any rules to a time travelling group of heroes who don’t really want to be heroes, you get ridiculously themed episodes like Bollywood Musical or TV Crossovers. It is what makes the show a total blast.

Season 4: As the team gears up to track down magical creatures throughout history, you get the introduction of permanent team member, John Constantine who I freaking love for his cool, aloof character and yet sarcastic and sassy contrast to the sunshine and bro-squad that is Ray and Nate. I also love that the season not only was about capturing these magical creatures, but fully rehabilitating Norah Dhark into a good guy now accidentally turned fairy godmother. To be honest, I definitely did not see that one coming. I like that fighting the demon lord also helped transition the show from Season 4 to 5 to fight hell spawn creatures. Quite a leap from the original Legends concept, but again that’s what makes this show so fresh.

Season 5: Part of the other fun of Legends is getting to see old characters get reinvented. I loved the storyline with Charlie and her reveal to be Clothos, one of the 3 fate sisters and the reason the ancient loom got destroyed. I also loved Tala Ashe’s portrayal of Zari in a different timeline because the difference between tech-geek, super smart Zari and social influencer extraordinaire Zari were well done. Plus we got another awesome bro-squad member in Behrad who I hope sticks around for a while. The only bummer was saying goodbye to Ray Palmer. Ray has been one of my favorite characters in the Arrow-verse and seeing his exit was sad and partly because I think it could have been handled better. Like don’t get me wrong, seeing him have to get approval from Damian Dhark to marry Nora was entertaining and I’m glad he isn’t dead like Dr. Stein or Leonard Snart, but I just feel like the exit was a bit rushed. The good news is, it opens the door for Ray to return and I hope we get to seem in the future.

Alright...... To end this long spiel, let’s talk about Crisis on Infinite Earths and what that now means for all these shows. Because unfortunately.... it can’t be ignored. And I’m sorry to sound pessimistic, but to be honest, Crisis wasn’t my favorite story and was too hyped for the end result.

The only show who came out better for Crisis, in my opinion, was Arrow. Mainly because the story of Oliver’s last sacrifice to reboot the universe was the only one that made complete sense and doesn’t complicate the show after it happens. Granted it could be because it was used as the show’s exit, but still. I used to love crossover episodes and getting the whole team together, but now because there is soooo much going on in each show and such a large cast, these big multi-night and multi-universe shows just feel scattered because you are constantly hopping around and between each of the characters and all the individual storylines don’t matter. Like remember when Barry and Oliver would actually talk about what they were up against? Miss that. That and Oliver, Barry, and Kara stole the show even when it was other shows turn to shine. Like Kate was hardly in it, even in her own episode and the Legends weren’t in it at all. It was just Sara and Ray which was disappointing because as Crisis was their season opener, you missed a real chance to have the Legends save the day. Don’t get my wrong, there were some great moments during crisis and I liked the nod to past versions of the DC characters, including Brandon Routh getting to play Superman again, but overall it just made chaos for things that don’t make sense post-crisis.

Like yay, all our favorite heroes are in one place and created the justice league to help each other, but once Crisis is over, nope sorry, no one can be bothered to borrow a hero friend. Like that makes sense for some shows, Batwoman for instance isn’t that close to everyone and her storyline is so rooted in her own family drama, that ignoring the other supers made sense. The Flash’s stakes weren’t high enough to involve anyone else, so fine. And Legends of course travel through time and so aren’t around, fine. But Supergirl’s takedown of a longstanding secret group of people capable of bending Earth’s elements to create catastrophic events, isn’t enough to at least reach out to Cisco or Luke for help tracking them? That seems underwhelming. Plus where are the aliens in all the other cities now? Or the metas in National City? That’s a pet peeve, but more so because of the biggest twist in Crisis:

Pulling Black Lightening into the Arrowverse. Like the shows writers and producers, I think Black Lightening works better outside the Arrowverse which was the intent and goal from the get go. Pulling Jefferson Pierce’s family and world into the same Earth as all the other shows, no longer makes the shows storytelling as strong and maybe it was because this was a last minute decision, but there is just no justification post Crisis as to why they had to come in. I mean, The Flash and Black Lightening have metas related issues, you would think that alone would be a prime source of teaming up. Especially when Cisco goes out on a worldwide quest to document metas, you’re telling me skipped over Freeland? And where’s our favorite Kyrptonian to fight for truth, justice, and the American way as Freeland is being occupied by the ASA? Oh, what too busy going after Lex Luthor? Sorry, I’m not buying that Kara Danvers ignores racial injustice. Like I get that maybe it was a way to be able to use Black Lightening later in cross-over events, but the fallout from bringing them in this season with everything going on is a huge mistake in my opinion. And heck, having shows exist outside each other is probably a good thing. Too many and these crossover events don’t feel fun anymore, they just feel chaotic. I think I’m with the Legends on this one: the crossovers aren’t worth it anymore.

[aspeckof-stardust]

the 100 ask game

Tagged like over a month ago oops I didn’t mean to take this long by the amazing Kat | @viviansternwood​, thanks love <3 

1. What station on the Ark would you be from?

Apparently Mecha was formed from the AEB spaceship so probably Mecha?

*AEB is like the Brazilian NASA

2. What would you get arrested for on the Ark?

Probably for arguing with authority or some shit like that. I don’t take things at face value.

3. Would you take off your wristband when you landed on the ground?

Nah, I’d probably try to find a way to make it possible for me to read the vital signals it was detecting.

4. What would the necklace Finn would make for you look like? (Clarke: deer/Raven: a raven duh..)

Finn is a douchebag and I doubt I would ever get along with him, but anyways, I have several owl necklaces, so probably an owl.

5. If you could resurrect any MINOR character who would it be?

Zeke love of my life

6. Create a squad of 5 characters to go on missions with. Who are they?

Raven, Miller, Monty, Bellamy, Clarke.

7. What Grounder Clan would you belong to you?

I will say Trishana just because I like me some pretty glowing forest

8. What would your name be in Trigedasleng? (example: Octavia=Okteivia…just make it up!)

I think my name is already spelled like it’s spoken? idk

9. Thoughts on Finn? Some people hate him, and others love him, so I’m curious

I... I cannot remember my first impression of him. I also binged the first 2 seasons, so I never really got to form an opinion on him, I guess. But he is an asshole, no questions asked there.

10. Be honest. How willing would you have been to take the chip without knowing all the horrible things it does?

I don’t think I would.

11. What character do you relate to most?

Monty, probably. Or Raven, to a certain extent.

12. What character do you like the least?

Abby and Kane have been around for longer than they are needed at this point tbh and I never liked Gaia that much either, and Niylah just feels kinda ooc to me

13. Describe your delinquent outfit. (Would you wear something like Murphy’s jacket with the spikey red shoulder patch or have a trademark like Jasper’s goggles? Be creative, yet practical)

I wear a lot of black pants, and I have a biker style jacket that I tend to wear when it gets colder mine is suede though not leather. Oh, and colorful headbands if we are going for practical, I have a lot of hair I need to keep off my face.

14. Favorite type of mutant animal?

Mutant insects!!! They were never really shown but gimme all the bugs

15. What would your job be on the Ark?

I would probably be a scientist or teach science.

16. Would you have willingly pumped Ontari’s heart if Abby asked?

Sure

17. If Lexa wasn’t Heda, but she was still alive then who would have made the best commander?

I wasn’t her biggest fan, but Luna would have made a good commander

18. How would you act if you ate the hallucinogenic nuts like Jasper and Monty?

I’m a sleepy drunk, so maybe I would get sleepy? Or just like super absent-minded?

19. How would you have dealt with Charlotte’s crime? A more John Murphy approach or Bellamy Blake approach?

Bellamy Blake approach, definitely.

20. Who should have been the Chancellor, if anyone?

Honestly? I cannot picture anyone as a truly good Chancellor. Maybe David Miller? He seemed to have his head on the right place.

21. Would you have been on Pike’s side like Bellamy or on Kane’s side? Or Clarke in Polis?

Kane’s side.

22. Mount Weather had a lot of modern commodities. (example: Maya’s Ipod) What is the one thing you would snatch while there?

An Ipod, or some other sort of electronic device.

23. What would your Grounder tattoos look like? Hairstyle? War paint?

War paint around the eyes I would say, and then hairstyle a lot of braids probably, and tattoos... probably some sort of pattern using thin lines.

24. Favorite quote?

I’M TERRIBLE at remembering quotes y’all

25. If all of the characters were in the Hunger Games, who would have the best shot at winning?

Octavia or Echo

26. Least favorite ship? Favorite canon ship? Favorite non canon ship? NOT INCLUDING CL OR BC OR BE

Least - idk I’m not particularly against any ships

Fave - Memori or Zaven

Non canon - MINTY WE WERE SO ROBBED YALL

27. A song that should be included in the next season? If there had to be another guest star like Shawn Mendes on the show, who would you want to make a cameo?

Can we get Stephen King to make a cameo lol he watches the show right so that would probably be funny

As for a song, idk I don’t think I listen to the kind of music that matches The 100 vibe

28. What would you do if you were stuck in the bunker with Murphy for all that time?

Sleep... I feel like there must have been books in that bunker, so read them all and reread them all. 

29. You’re an extra that gets killed off. How do you die?

Let’s be real, my glasses get broken and I can’t see shit without them, so I fall off a cliff or something very stupid like that.

30. A character you’d like to learn more about and get flashbacks of?

Echo, the founders of Sanctum. I wish we had learnt more about Luna and her conclave class or maybe had seen a flashback with Costia. Grounder culture in general? There was a lot of build up around it, but not that much telling, let alone showing.

31. A character you’d bang?

Raven, LINDSEY MORGAN IS A GODDESS and I’m a mere mortal

32. Would you stay in the Bunker? Go up to Space? Or live on your own in Eden?

SPAAAAAAAACE

33. In the Bunker, would you follow Octavia? What would you do to pass the time underground?

Probably I mean, I definitely wouldn’t want to die. I don’t know what I would do to pass time though.

34. What crime would you commit in the Bunker that lands you in the fighting pits?

Again, speaking against authority aka Octavia? 

35. Up in Space, who would you bond with first? Who would be the most difficult for you to get along with?

Emori!! And Echo I think it would be hard for me to get along with.

36. How long do you think you would last on Earth by yourself?

Less than a day, I was born and raised in the city, I don’t do outdoors well

37. When the Eligius ship lands what do you do?

Hide and wait out

38. Favorite Eligius character? Least favorite?

Fave - Zeke. Diyoza is growing on me this season too

Least fave - McCreary?

39. Would you Spacewalk?

Yassssss

40. Would you prefer to eat Windshield Bugs, Space Algae, or Bunker Meat?

Space algae

41. Would you start a war for the last spot of green on earth? What would your solution be to avoid it?

Sharing is caring

42. Would you rather dig out flesh-eating worms or stick thumb drives into bullet holes?

Either or?

43. Are you willing to poison your sister for the Traitor Who You Love? What would you do to stop Octavia?

This is a very subjective question, like if I knew my brother I don’t have a sister would recover from the poisoning, then maybe, otherwise I might just imprison them or something.

44. Would you go to sleep in cryo or stay awake like Marper?

Cryo

45. Who are you waking up first to explore the new planet?

The 5 I mentioned for my explorer team

I won’t tag anyone because we are well into the season... again I didn’t mean to take this long but I forgot I had this on my drafts 🤷‍♀️

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: March 19-23, 2019 + Thoughts on upcoming books

High School Story: Class Act Chapter 6:

Most of the trip to the aquarium is relaxing. There's no presidential election drama to worry about aside from Ajay learning that the twin's ahead in the polls. Definitely the break I needed from all that drama.

As much as I dislike Ajay, I feel bad for him that his parents are arguing to the point of getting a divorce. I just wish his story is executed properly and has a conclusion that makes sense. Same goes with Skye.

Across the Void Chapter 14:

Ah, back to Matara. Playing as my MC is fun in some ways, but these moments are few and far in between. And my happiness quickly vanished when I have to get back on the Atlas. Not to mention that having to pay diamonds to save a passenger's life is just stupid. On a morbid note, that's one less passenger to worry about.

Great, I have to play as Eos again. I still remember how petty and self-righteous he is, and I certainly am not pairing him with Lyra. She deserves someone better. At least there's no sign of Pax.

I didn't hesitate picking the option hoping that Barlow is a handsome fellow. That was actually pretty funny. With VEE and Sol on board, I hope most of the rest of the crew made it safe and sound. And since my MC's dating Sol, I hope they get to reconnect, and Sol gets to develop as a character. He has potential owing to his vast knowledge of the setting around him.

The Heist: Monaco Chapter 16:

Wow! This is a nice, sweet ending. Prove that a Choices story doesn't need romance as a main focus to be awesome. It was also nice and satisfying to take down Ansel and Carlise in order to prove who's boss. Reuniting with Sonia at Vegas was the cherry at the top. I owe her a premium scene once I can afford it.

As for the ending, I got an average one, but at least it's more satisfying to match the good endings of my recruits. I particularly enjoy those of Jones and Graves. Even the cameos from other books are fun to watch. Sure some of them are from books I'm not fond of, but at least they're done in a way that doesn't piss me off. It's fun to see Graves starring in a movie directed by Tommy Phelps. And yay for Alana! I miss her so much!

Overall, this story is great. I love the fact that I have to think in order to get favorable outcomes, allowing me to exercise my mind. The heist crew is also one of the strongest points, each of them having unique and distinct personalities, and their conversations together are fun to watch. I'm definitely replaying this with the crew members I didn't recruit in order to immerse myself again. I think this story works just as well with a second book, but with a new crew and a few recruits returning, kinda like America's Most Eligible has a new set contestants in All Stars. That would keep the story fresh and exciting while still preserve our choices on who we recruited.

Desire & Decorum Chapter 13:

I'm starting to miss Prince Hamid, whom my MC is engaged to. It doesn't help that the premium option to go with Ernest comes across as pointless, so I skipped that. Nevertheless, it always cheers me up to pick the snarky options with Duke Richards.

I picked the premium options to play as Briar and eavesdrop on the conspirators with Luke. Reaching the point where I have to pick Arthur Woods or Edmund Marlcaster got me thinking that it's. For the conspirators, I wish there's a way to play them against each other, and the pretending part to keep them unaware is a start. At least I got proof of how much of a hypocrite the duke is.

Bah, that snake Henrietta! Always looking after herself. I'm not super surprised she would get rid of MC. After all, it's a temporary "alliance" of convenience, and she practically does nothing to help with the investigation. This series's MC has suffered a lot, espececially because of Duke Richards, but I can't see her giving up because she strikes me as determined to be with who she loves no matter the situation in the end. In her case, I'd love to see people's reactions when she marries Prince Hamid. That's right, a prince.

Passport to Romance Chapters 1-2:

Eh, it's okay. I get that it's light-hearted, but there's not much to say because I don't get to see much of the love interests. At least they don't look super bad, though Elliot looks like he should lighten up. I also like that Marisa and Sumire are opposites in terms of personality, though it's a tad bit sterotypical. Still miffed that the male MC faces come from BSC. Why can't it be from VoS or AME?

I cringed at the thought of spending diamonds just to get extra views on the blog. Not to mention that I already have a bad feeling I have to pay diamonds just to add certain pictures of iconic landmarks to the vlog. Nevertheless, I'm more interested in the traveling for the vlog than the romance.

Anyway, let's see how this goes.

America's Most Eligible Chapter 10:

Ugh, Vince continues to get on my nerves for his unnecessarily rude behavior, and I'm glad Ivy's sick of him.

I'm curious of Ivy right now. I know she comes across as an underdeveloped villain back in Book 1, but I'm all down for understanding her character. Pity it costs diamonds, and after watching the scene on YouTube, I'm glad she reveals that she plans to run pageants if she won, and her desire to win no matter the cost makes more sense now. I think it's fun to see her choosing underhanded means to win and not letting her past bring her down.

As for All Stars' format, it's about time Jen and Omar are feeling the frustration with Carson's mishandling of things. I saw some screenshots, where Carson doesn't want to become like Piper, only to mess things up. If I were him, I'd take Jen and Omar's opinions into account and evaluate them. That would've allowed him to keep the show exciting for the audience and contestants. Either way, Jen and Omar should've been the showrunners instead of Carson.

The go-kart ride was a breeze for because I picked the premium option to pick the audience vote and train with Crash just because I wanted an advantage and continue roleplaying my MC as a flirt. Didn't expect things to go easily. Oh well.

Holy cow! That ending with Eden and Kiana was a curveball! I had a bad feeling they'll get eliminated soon, but having them in a go-kart accident that results in karts exploding? That was a drastic move! I just hope they'll be okay, but chances are that they won't, and I'm scared. The next chapter summary doesn't exactly relieve my worries either.

Open Heart Chapter 6:

Man, the beginning of this chapter was super tense. For a moment, I thought I might kill Shonda if I wasn't being careful. Fortunately, she survived and gave decent advice to MC. That should be useful later on.

My MC's number 19 on the list. Well, that means he has to work harder. Jackie's shock at Aurora being first and Aurora telling her to go on was priceless, though.

So, Sienna's boyfriend Wayne is a clone of some characters I've already seen. He even talks robotic that it's creepy instead of funny. There's no emotion when he talked about being a lead programmer at a software company. Seriously, Sienna should dump him and move on to Danny, just in case Wayne's company decides to go after Edenbrook Hospital.

Speaking of which, it's adorable to see Elijah feeling infatuated with Phoebe, even if Phoebe has Lucilla Nazario's model.

I'm curious about the C.T. scan from Ethan. My guess is that it's on Naveen Banerji, hence his retirement announcement. Either way, this story is getting more interesting.

Ride or Die Chapter 10:

After seeing the nitrous oxide tank, I just can't help but think of Crash Team Racing. It's a PS1 game I often played during my childhood, and its antagonist is named Nitrous Oxide. Anyway, I didn't use it because I'm saving diamonds.

The party's okay, though I'd rather not go to one in some decrepit area. Pity it costs diamonds to kiss Mona, but whatever.

I didn't pick the premium option to talk with Teppei Kaneko, but after seeing some screencaps on it online, I have conflicting opinions on him. I get that he ultimately cares for his son and encourages him to pursue a life outside of crime, but grooming Logan as his "successor" just so he'll have nothing to lose in case Logan gets in trouble is what caused Logan and Colt's rivalry in the first place. Colt needs a heart-to-heart talk with his father, especially since the MPC leadership is hereditary, and Kaneko seems adamant to encourage his son to abandon this kind of life, just like Colt's mother did.

So Logan knew the dad was investigating the MPC and was the one who called the cops because he wanted to MC to "owe" him? Well, MC never owed him anything. In fact, I never liked Logan to begin with, so am I supposed to feel angry and heartbroken that he tricked the MC? That's something he would do, honestly. I thought the rest of the MPC will get rid of her, but that didn't seem to happen. As for her oldest friend, I'm guessing it's her old friends Riya and Darius. I hope it's Darius because I like him for displaying common sense.

The Elementalists Chapter 2:

I like this book even more than I thought. The indication that some choices affect MC's karma meter looks like choices will affect the MC's personality and relationship with others. After the ability to impress Kane A.K.A. that funky fashion disaster of a villain, I'm guessing we can choose who we can trust.

Katrina Harrington is so pretty. And a cool teacher, not less. I love the way she teaches her students and look forward to know her better, preferrably directly from her.

I swear, Beckett should start behaving in front of his sister and friends. I get that he's distant to his friends besides the MC, but his rather disparaging descriptions of his friends isn't helping matters on his insecurities. I get that he doesn't want to be overshadowed by his sister and thinks she barges into his space, but that doesn't give him the license to abuse it by acting dismissive towards his "friends".

Thoughts on upcoming books:

I'm mildly excited for Nightbound, in part because it will feature gender options. Yet at the same time, I'm worried that Pixelberry will resort to the same clichés plaguing so many of its books, forced white male LI derailing the story being the biggest one. In the end, let's see how this goes.

I have mixed feelings for Wishful Thinking, especially after it's revealed that we can only play as a female. What's more important, however, is the quality of the story. If it ends up aimless like #LoveHacks, I don't want that.

I'm not excited for Sunkissed, which comes across as a cheesy romance story most likely to be female only. After all, Choices's low-effort books tend to lack gender options in order to make quick bucks. As for Platinum, I'm more excited because it's less like just romance and more like building up a music career. I fear that it will end up a fiasco like Red Carpet Diaries because of the protagonist being an up-and-coming music star. When Peyton said it will be gayer than TH:M, my guess is that its female love interests will be more prominent than the male ones. It could have gender options like TH:M, but it's also possible we won't.

Regarding the Royal Romance sequel series, I feel like a short epilogue would've been a bit better than an entire sequel series. Don't get me wrong. I love Olivia, Maxwell, the corgi, my MC, and her husband Liam, but I think it would've been better if the writers focused on treating their own characters well in Book 3 instead of focusing too much effort on Drake.