#i mean my favorite is on the last page but it’s a major spoiler

[teartra]

Some of my favorite frames from Deya Muniz’s The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

[strawberryxfieldz]

hi hi! I have combed through the Website (and what a webbed site it is!!! absolutely delightful!) so here’s some thoughts about some of the stuff we got:

(WARNING: MAJOR WH SPOILERS AHEAD)

Barnaby’s stamp on the Stickers page (formerly: Links) is no longer clickable! He was the only one you could click on before the update but now no one’s is.

Julie can actually talk to flowers! I’ve seen this theory/headcanon before so it’s nice to have confirmation

THE PURPLE THEORY!!!! In the “Just So” audio, Wally’s voice is distorted when he says purple, lending substance to the theory something is wrong with the color purple—Eddie’s favorite color.

Wally says something like “You’re so still. What are you doing?” and like??? did he kill someone or something and not realize it??? so many questions… (Edit: After listening to all the audios, I don’t think this is the case anymore but it’s still an interesting thing for him to say.)

Eddie mentions cows twice I believe in the audios… makes me think he comes from somewhere with cows given his accent. Perhaps that means cows exist somewhere outside of Home?

There’s an interview with Wally and Barnaby which means there’s evidence they have interacted with humans outside the show. Are all the puppets sentient then???

Frank is the Prince and Julie is Cinderella in the retelling, giving some evidence to the theory they were meant to be a couple but decided to stay best friends.

Whoever the poor guy is dealing with the “nightmares”/phone ringing/thinking it’s a prank on him IS GOING THROUGH IT! I wonder who it is…

ALSO WTF HAPPENED AT THE EXHIBITION??? THE MESSED UP GLOVE??? HELLO???

Edited for more info (7/24/23):

I’m beginning to suspect hearts are a central theme here. There’s a lot of heart drawings (even though Wally can’t draw hearts), there’s heart beating sounds in the audios, etc. There’s also not a heart separating Wally and Home like there is for everyone else on that one art border.

There’s a difference in the “Just So” audio and transcript. In the audio, Wally says, “I don’t mind that you reorder my crayons” but in the transcript he says, “I don’t mind that you steal my crayons.”

Small note but I love that the hidden recordings can be found through bugs, which are both insects and bugs, like glitches!

Also, the 14-14-bh audio is the last audio that ends with Wally being entirely uncommunicative and unmoving, and the bug that leads to it is the only realistic bug.

I’m so glad we got the Wally audio redone (the one from the It’s For You Phone button) because there’s some differences from Clown’s original one. Most importantly, at the end, Wally says, “You have work to do.” It makes me wonder if he’s talking to You OR the person the Restoration Team that’s going crazy and hearing the phone calls and stuff… (or possibly both??? what if this person was You the whole time???)

Another line of Wally dialogue I love is, “I have more eyes than I did before.” Maybe it all the attention that gives Wally “more eyes” but he still “can’t see,” whatever that means. It seems his popularity isn’t helping his power of influence on reality, perhaps specifically over the one person on the Restoration Team.

[sunniedesi]

Future Diary x Detective Akechi Crossover TL

Before anything, I want to thank @syrpai for providing screenshots and information about this crossover after my first post regarding the subject (seriously, you're the goat). I was correct about this story not being in the original manga, though I made the glaring mistake of assuming Shonen Ace didn't digitalize their releases. Turns out they do! And this crossover was featured on their March 2018 issue:

So in conclusion: the crossover between Future Diary, Detective Akechi and Esuno's other works was made after ending volume 2 of Detective Akechi, to commemorate its release, and it was featured directly on Shonen Ace's next issue. With this in mind, I'll leave you with the TL.

Though first, I have to share some important context to understand the story: "Detective Akechi is Berserk" follows the story of Mayumi, a high-school girl who is being possessed by the spirit of acclaimed detective Akechi Kogorou to solve mysterious crimes involving "phantoms," who are criminals from a gang that Akechi is pursuing. The end of volume 2 (the volume that precedes the Future Diary crossover) introduces a new character named Grimoire, a kid and member of the phantoms who lost her dad to a murderer, and later lost her mother to an illness while walking with her in a mall. Grimoire lost consciousness during this tragic event, so her mother got taken away from the scene before she could say her last goodbye. Grimoire used to roam the mall, searching for the place where her mother passed away, until Mayumi helped her find the spot, thinking that Grimoire was nothing more than a lost child. From this point on, her and Mayumi became acquainted, though Akechi doesn't seem too fond of Grimoire... (Mini-spoiler: we also learn at the end of volume 2 that Detective Akechi was likely the one who killed her dad, meaning Akechi is probably more of a villain than a hero). Btw Grimoire is a girl but people refer to her as a boy because she looks more boyish.

The eeeeend!

A few things to note before ending this post:

The quality of page 2 is a little wonky because I accidentally did the cleaning for that image on a version that was a lower resolution, and since I had to redraw a great portion of it in order to clean it... I didn't wanna redo it (sorry!).

The ending here is certainly a bit... confusing. Considering Esuno's three magical girls are, well, magical, it makes sense that they'd dodge bullets with ease. So I guess that explains that part of the ending. Everything else is left a bit more open-ended, which isn't too surprising considering this is probably more of a gag story than something to take as canon. Still, my favorite chapter of Detective Akechi lol.

I know that the majority of people reading this have not read Detective Akechi, so sorry if me dissing this series comes out of left field. I'm not planning on reviewing it, because to be quite frank, I don't think I totally understand the plot lol. So, instead, I'll leave you with my personal thoughts: It's just... incredibly bizarre, and the fan service didn't help. I originally stopped reading after volume 2 because of a particularly distasteful scene where Akechi possessed Mayumi to assault another girl (because he's a huge creep btw), and essentially assaulted both of them in the process, which is just... I think my brain genuinely tapped out after reading that, like how the hell do you come up with that? I decided to read over the series again to write this post, and it just gets weirder and weirder. Including, but not limited to, Mayumi having an Eiji and Sena moment with her brother (iykyk). Out of complete nowhere too. As I mentioned in my previous post, I generally don't have an issue with nsfw topics in stories, in fact, some of my favorite stories do cover nsfw and unhinged plots. As long as it's done with a purpose and isn't mind-numbingly dumb, I don't necessarily mind. Detective Akechi though is just weird, horny, and weirdly horny in ways that detract from the story. This is a personal opinion of mine, but I think it's quite funny that Esuno's favorite topic to write about, which is supernatural detectives, isn't exactly his forte. Something about the Future Diary formula, which probably wasn't intentional, managed to combine his bizarre plot points with the broken psychology of his characters in a way that just worked, though he unfortunately hasn't been able to recreate it since :/

[indianariesolive]

My Unpopular(ish) opinions/takes on Legacy of the Gods series by Rina Kent

Contains spoilers ⚠️

Starting off strong, let me just get this off my chest, I really dislike God of Malice. This is mainly due to the insufferable MCs; Killian & Glyndon.

First of all, I found Killian really difficult to empathize with. Sure, what his dad said about regretting having him sucks but that's no excuse to be an a$$hole. I'm sure that if a mid/ugly guy with no money & prestige did the same things he'd done when first meeting Glyndon (iykyk) they'd be mercilessly ripped apart by the fandom. Also that one line in his POV when he said that the main reason why he chose to be a med student was because that gave him a free pass to poke & prod into people's innards & watch them squirm in agony 🤢

Coming to the 2nd part, Glyndon. As a protagonist she was such a blank slate. Killian at least had personality! (A bad one but he had one nonetheless). Same can't be said about Glyndon with her wimpiness coupled with an absurd inferiority complex (despite being talented & surrounded by a powerful & loving family & friends) as well as her lack of a deep connection with her friend group. On a more serious note, I despise the absolute double standards with which she views Killian & her brother Landon. Both are clinically diagnosed psychopaths but she has none of the grace & understanding for her own brother but readily excuses her boyfriend's behavior even though both of them are the same person, different font. 🙄

Moving on to the 2nd book, God of Pain is one of my favorites in the series but not without its fair share of drawbacks. Even though Annika appeared to be a manic pixie dream girl at the beginning she grew on me as chapter by chapter, her POVs revealed her to be more complex & headstrong, contrasting the whimsical image she's perceived as (both by her love interest, the MMC Creighton as well as the other characters like her friends & family). She's a sweet, soft girl with a dormant badass side that can get dangerous when provoked & that's precisely what Creighton had to learn through the hard way.

Getting to the gist of my main problem, I really hated the way everyone treated Annika after the you-know-what. I mean, what else was she supposed to do, watch her beloved brother get murdered by the love of her life? Everyone cut her off 'cause 'she hurt Cray-Cray who's like our brother'. Well, SHE HAD TO DO THAT TO SAVE HER OWN BROTHER, YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBASSES!!!! Y'all brains weren't braining here. Also, that scene near the end where there's this huge confrontation Creighton has with Adrian Volkov & Annika with her quick thinking just snatches a guard's gun, negotiates & diffuses the situation without bloodshed was just chef's kiss. 😌

Also, everyone gushes over Lia & Yan's friendship but Yan's bond with Annika, how he plays the role of the fun uncle while Adrian glares & has to rein them in as the level-headed dad. 🥺

That brings me to this sidenote: Glyndon could take a page out of Annika's book & learn a lesson: How to Love Your Brother & Stand Up for Yourself.

Regarding Jeremy & Cecily, I don't have any major complaints. I like how Cecily put Jeremy in his place & made him grovel for disrespecting her with his trust issues. Putting his mommy issues aside, Jeremy was overall a good character for a dark romance. He's got the hot biker thing going.

Moving on to Landon & Mia. I have nothing against Mia per se. She's pretty cool. I only hated how the author ruined her bond with her twin Maya. Also, I'm kind of ashamed to say that I wasn't the biggest fan of Landon at first but then going through his POVs made me realize that I'd been bought into the anti-Lan propaganda by Glyndon. He actually cares for his siblings, unlike Killian. He just has an unconventional way of showing it. Plus there wasn't a huge power-gap/imbalance between him & Mia so that's another point in his favour.

Last but not the least, God of Fury featuring Nikolai & Brandon has got to be among my top favorites. I only dislike the unnecessary mud-slinging with the irrelevant ex Clara. Everything else was perfection. I never expected Nikolai to be such an adorable & funny character. Also something I find really funny was that both in this book as well as in her POV, Glyndon claimed to be the one closest to Brandon. The way she described her dynamic with her brothers was, "Bran & I are a team against Lan." And not only did Brandon shut her down in a gentle yet firm tone, also her dense arse never noticed anything wrong with Brandon like!?!?! Landon was the one who'd picked on Brandon's tendency to hide & repress his emotions & stuff, and he was the one who'd tried to help Brandon open up, even if his attempt was unsuccessful. So much for her being the one on the same team lol.

[feyreandhercourt]

My thoughts on HOFAS, ft. SPOILERS

Overall, I will say I think this was a very well "written" book craft-wise. Like better than HOSAB and ACOSF, imo.

Okay Bryce telling Hunt “thinking about you getting tortured was hard for me!!!” was a… choice. If fated mates could divorce, I’d be filing

Honestly all around. They are my least favorite but before I attributed it to just not being into Hunt. But honestly they just seemed to be on different pages.

Where was Fury?????????????????????

Okay the hand thing was brutal but well played

Lidia was great. Also I recognized the Brann thing when he was introduced and was very proud of myself because I never make the connections lol

But I did think he might be like OG Brannon… the fact he’s not still has me interested

The bonus chapters were decent generally. Az and Nesta were likeable in them which makes me hopeful because Az’s LAST bonus chapter was Not A Good Look (tm)

Tell me how Feyre beat the Midgardden wyrm or whatever with a bone and yet Az and Nesta couldn’t. Nothing but respect for MY high lady

Speaking of, Theia really went the tradwife route and said no more high ladies tee hee only men should rule, huh?

Did Sigfrid or whatever even matter?

Ariadne felt like the opposite of Chekov’s gun. You have a DRAGON and a lot of fire and girlie is MIA

Ithan becoming Prime when the boy has zero main character energy was… meh.

Getting their powers back was AWESOME though am I forgetting something or did that not happen to Bryce? It felt like a copout but maybe I missed it?

The Theia/Silene reveals were interesting but lmao Nesta and Bryce kept talking shit during them which was both funny and just… repetitive

Bryce seemed to CONSTANTLY making inappropriate wisecracks. Like I don’t mean with the king but like when Lydia’s sons were captured or whatever??? not necessarily that but similar. Like girl there are times to be serious.

Ruhb SHOOTING LYDIA IN THE LEG while they are in enemy territory was one of the DUMBEST things going. But ya know what I need a couple to root for and Juniper/Lydia had no page time so they get a pass

Um. So we’re just not gonna address the Rhys/Ruhn twinsie connection?????

Tharion really made the bold choice to just… exist.

Also not the book’s fault but the video thing lmao would SO be disbelieved with where AI is today and that was all I could think when they released it

The Urd/Wyrd thing was a facepalmer that I liked

Wehb ACOWARA came out, a blogger (who posts great takes) was annoyed Feyre reused the starfall dress because that was a major royalty faux pas. That’s how I felt when Bryce used the mask.

People said things felt “too easy” but I don’t think that was an issue. Like QOS was “easier” but it’s one of the most beloved SJM books. I think the real issue is people didn’t feel connected and SJM had a few too many instances of explicitly saying “they didn’t know what they were doing but they did it by instinct”

GIVE ME MY FIRE BREATHING BITCH QUEEN WITH HER POWERS BACK PLEASE

SJM is 100000% going to write another TOG book and I am so ready. Those do. Not. Miss.

As ever, (and I had the same issue with Marvel) the issue with these multiverse things for me personally is I read some really fantastic theories that make a TON of sense, get excited for them, and then when they’re either not present or not present but with no explanation or a worse one, I wind up disappointed.

I’d say this is my second favorite CC book. I did think it was well-written though. And I know some were upset not to have ACOTAR POVs (okay me too lol) but I do think it makes sense to keep it as Bryce’s book. Except it’s more “Bryce and Friends” than Bryce.

[the-eighteen-horsemen]

dsaf is actually rotting my brain this is becoming a problem

ok so im listening to mumford and sons rn trying to work on homework

AND EVERY FUCKING SONG REMINDS ME OF DSAF

so please take what i relate every song in sigh no more to (spoiler warning. like really big spoiler warning.) oh theres a lot of text here too. read under the cut at your own risk 🤷‍♂️

sigh no more - dsaf 3 good ending, last goodbyes from jack. why does this song make me sad

the cave - also dsaf 3 good route but like the entire thing. ive analyzed the lyrics to this song so much its not even funny "so come out of your cave walking on your hands, and see the world hanging upside down" is literally so davetrap coded to me.

winter winds - FLIPSIDE DAVESPORT!!!!!!! this is self explanatory im pretty sure but uhm. dave dealing with learning to love properly

roll away your stone - dsaf 3 evil route!!! woo. this song to me describes jack's slow acceptance of henry's influence ("and darkness is a harsh term, don't you think? yet it dominates the things i see") and davetrap's trust of jack leading up to his demise ("don't leave me alone at this time, for i'm afraid of what i will discover inside", "and you, you've gone too far this time, you have no reason nor rhyme, with which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine")

white blank page - reality dave's feelings towards jack, the obsession. three cheers for toxic zombie yaoi!! anyways this song is rlly good at portraying that for me. "you desired my attention, but denied my affections, my affections, so tell me now, where was my fault in loving you with my whole heart?" ITS SO DAVE CODED.

i gave you all - henry's major influence of how dave turned out and how davetrap's relationship with legacy reminds him of henry. trust me on this one guys.

little lion man - jack and dave's relationship to me, how jack (imo) will lash out say things he doesn't mean ("i really fucked it up this time, didn't i, my dear?") self explanatory enough.

timshel - THE KENNEDY FAMILY!!! this is so the kenendy siblings to me. theyre all different and yeah they have their fights but they stick together ("and you are not alone in this, as brothers we will stand, and hold your hand") i feel like the first verse is more dee-coded to me- "and death is at your doorstep, and it will steal your innocence"

thistle & weeds - MY FAVORITE!!! anyways uhm. dsaf 3 for SURE. more good route to me. jack sort of being torn between what to choose, the flipside crew advising him what to do ("but plant your hope with good seeds, don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds" (thistle and weeds implying henry here)) etc etc. but also dave in a way?? like how jack could leave him ("alone in the wind and the rain, you left me, it's getting dark, darling, too dark to see, and i'm on my knees, and your faith in shreds, it seems", "i know you have felt much more love than you've shown")

awake my soul - flipside davesport to me. again. im so normal abt them. sort of like jack teaching dave what a healthy relationship is like ig

dust bowl dance - dave. definitely dave. listen to the song and you'll see why tbh.

after the storm - post dsaf 3 good ending!!!! with also hints of thoughts back to the henry fight ("and i took you by the hand and we stood tall and remembered our own land, what we lived for")

woo!!! that was a lot of typing. thank you for taking the time to read this im very normal abt mumford and sons and dsaf

[sirellas]

Left Hand of Destiny (1&2) stream of consciousness review

Overall thoughts: I really liked this book! Or technically 2 books but the second is just the continuation of the first so in my head it was just one long book (~500 pages all in all). This is only the second trek book I've read and also the second written by the actor who played the character in ds9 (shoutout to ASIT, though this one has a non-actor co-writer as well), but even beyond the star trekking of TLHOD, this was a really good read in terms of writing style, pace, emotion. It was very action and character focused which I enjoyed, and especially the characterization of Martok was so great and obviously JG Hertzler had a lot of thoughts about the character he played that translated really well on page.

The memory alpha article on TLHOD says this but I didn't really start to see it until the last half of book 2, but this is very much a King Arthur story (btw don't look at that memory alpha page unless you don't care about major spoilers lol). Down to a lady in the lake handing out mythical swords. That instance was a little heavy handed in my opinion, but I did like all of the prophetic dreams and talk of glorious purpose.

That's something to note though: if you don't like dream sequences, this is not the book for you. There are A LOT of dreams. In fact the opening scene is a dream, but it's now my new favorite opening line in a book because it jumps right in by telling you who this guy is and what his deal is:

I personally am a big fan of overt symbolism like this (even a well done cliché or two), myths and repeating cycles of heroism etc etc. And I think this book melded Arthurian drama with Klingon drama well. The Klingon-ness of this book was great. What better way to get to the heart of Klingon culture in a story but by focusing on the guy chosen to lead his people and getting it ripped out from beneath his feet and having to decide that he actually wants to be chancellor. In a lot of ways this is a story of outcasts finding their way back to where they belong, which isn't always what they expect or want in the beginning. Which leads me to...

The supporting characters really made this book. Without Pharh the Ferengi who got bullied for being as ugly as a Klingon as a child and now runs a landfill on Qo'noS, there would be no book. He's my favorite (little buddy coded to the extreme) but most of the major side characters are really well explored in terms of motivation and actions. Worf, Sirella, Ezri, Darok, Kahless, Alexander, to name a few. Alexander and Kahless were two of my other surprise standouts. And because no one who hasn't read this book knows about my new favorite guy Pharh, I will now include a couple passages I highlighted to spread the word about how great he is:

Wide array of well developed side characters aside, this book is awful for women. Yes the main antagonist is Martok's insane ex, but her character is kind of too outlandish to really have much depth. Ezri shows up at the end of book 1 and plays a big part in book 2 but honestly I'm not sure why she was even there (apart from loyalty etc, but I mean story-wise she didn't add all that much to keep the action moving ((anyone else could have been subbed in for her 9 out of 10 times and it would've made more sense tbh)) except to be another explainer of Klingon things to the reader). Sirella has a few great scenes, but not nearly enough and she wasn't allowed to do much either in terms of agency and impact on plot. Martok's two daughters are barely afterthoughts.

The main plot is that a usurper attacks Qo'noS (and specifically goes after Martok), swaying the Klingon people to their side through a combo of bioengineered charisma and the people's growing resentment toward progressive ideas that Martok (and Worf) represents. That's really only the problem in book 1, while book 2 deals more with Martok accepting the hand fate has dealt and deciding to win so they can save the decaying Klingon heart and so on. But even with the kind of cheesy setup, it rarely felt overwrought or unearned with the emotional beats. The antagonist lady is, yeah, she's a bit over the top. And before 2016 I would've said the quick flip to xenophobia and Make Klingons Great Again (I'm pretty sure they use that phrase almost exactly) in the general public was unrealistic but hey, cycles of destiny and evil constantly shifting and repeating, am I right??

There were... quite a few deaths. I guess I should've expected that, being a Klingon setting and all, but some of them hit me hard. And a few I don't think really needed to happen and kind of weakened the narrative.... maybe I'll put a spoiler section below a cut at the bottom of this to discuss those 🤪

This paragraph will haunt me for a while I think... 😀 sorry for inflicting it on others now but hey that's show business

Even with some hiccups (see spoiler section below), I loved the book pretty much. Shocker: tumblr user girlmartok loves the Martok book, but it was better than I had hoped even. The Martok focus was so good and the side characters just made it even better. Much more of a heroic fantasy than most star trek settings, which fit really well and also was refreshing. It's long! But I would recommend it if you have any interest in Klingons and/or fun little guys who go on adventures and think a lot about death.

SPOILERS ⬇️

Okay ripping the bandaid off. The way Sirella died was not chill. I mean even having her die was not something I would have included, because the story really didn't dive all that deep into her and Martok's relationship. But ramming an enemy ship so Martok could flee near the beginning of book 2... and she doesn't even kill any major bad guys doing it?? It just served no point narratively (the bad guys still outnumbered them, still caught up to them not long after) and it didn't even really affect Martok all that much beyond like one paragraph where he wants to turn around and go on a murder spree in her name... He doesn't even get to go on a murder spree in her name!!!

Bandaid rip #2: PHARH MY LITTLE BABY BOY DIES???? I was glad I had forewarning about this one because I would've been mad otherwise. I am not exaggerating saying he was my second favorite character in this book after Martok. The humor he added, yes, but also just his role as an outsider who's seen as weak by both Ferengi and Klingon, and he befriends the chancellor of the Klingon Empire, HOLDS ONTO THE CHANCELLOR'S RING FOR MOST OF THE BOOK AND BECOMES HIS SQUIRE BASICALLY 🫠💔 I don't know how anyone wouldn't fall in love with him. At least his death was done well, even though I don't think it should have happened. He at least got a murderous rampage in his name 😤 and Martok basically adopted him so he could get into Sto'vo'kor 🥺

Those were my main two criticisms of the book, and really ties into why this wasn't as great a story as ASIT, for example. A lot of things happen to Martok, but some things don't get the resolution they would need to influence him on this character journey he's going on. One of Martok's defining characteristics in ds9 is that he's a wife guy and his wife doesn't take bullshit. But then his wife dies suddenly and he's upset but he's not Upset upset, if you know what I mean. It didn't feel earned and it didn't feel necessary. Literally the first and only time it did feel like a reasonable plot device was at the very end when Worf tells him that people love a tragic victor even more than a victory. The problem is just that Martok doesn't ever explore what that tragedy really means to him.

Justice for Shen and Lazhna, Martok's daughters, who in addition to dying off screen are only brought up to highlight how shitty of a dad Martok has been. He just thinks of them (and his son Drex too but he gets more characterization solely by virtue of appearing in the narrative) in terms of himself and his love for them is more on the side of pity rather than real emotional attachment. Sirella should've been way meaner to him about that tbh.

Non character death related but a big focus of the first book was Martok losing public opinion pretty much immediately. Old friends turn against him and that really shakes him. But then in the second book... that's not really brought up again? The whole second book takes place away from Qo'noS, and yeah they mention that people will probably become less affected by the dumb bioengineered charisma after time, but I cannot stress enough how much the entire planet hated him. So he won the big battle against his foes etc etc, came back to Qo'noS and... just told everyone all that?? That goes along with the lack of fully exploring the consequences of some of these bad things that happen to Martok. It felt like a little too much piled on him and not enough resolution.

[beepofsleeplessdreams]

thinking out loud about some anime an illustrator i like worked on

so, one of my favorite illustrators (at least, I think that's the right term for him) is yoshitoshi ABe. recently i made the decision to look through a bunch of projects he had a hand in, mostly because i wanted to see what kind of stuff he'd attached himself to over the decades. prior to this i'd only seen Serial Experiments Lain, but i feel like basically everyone's seen that so that's not saying much lol. this was partially spurred on by a friend of mine telling me Texhnolyze was among their favorites. at time of writing, i've finished Texhnolyze and NieA_7, and i'm watching Haibane Renmei on-and-off and loving it. the world is bizarre and beautiful, and the character designs are lovely and have so much personality in my eyes. so that's where i started. so below is a series of rambles and thoughts i've had on this little journey of mine up to this point. i've still got a ways to go.

misc. spoilers for Texhnolyze in the next section

texhnolyze was a show i really enjoyed, but falls into the same pit as serial experiments lain in my brain. i struggle to understand what it's trying to say below the immediate surface and i end up primarily enjoying it as a surface-level product. not to say that i didn't make some connections in my head along the ride, i have so many questions about the world that i want answered, and some really fun observations I made. ichise's conversation with the voice in the chair was something that i had a lot of fun picking apart because it tickled that little goblin in my brain that loves social science. with the whole idea that height relates to authority, the pile of stones bringing images of gods on mountains in myth, but the chair tying all that powerful imagery up in this idea of boredom. apathy of the gods and all that. the entire trip to the surface is something that had me on the edge of the seat, and kinda tied into my greater sci-fi brainrot. that whole idea that one a society stagnates and rots people seek "better times", and this is how you end up with so many space prussians/germans being bad guys in older sci-fi anime like classic gundam and legend of the galactic heroes. it's people clinging to an idea of a """better time""" to larp that they're better than they are. this is what was going through my head during the arc of the story on the surface, whenever i saw that outdated technology that lives only in old b&w movies and period pieces. despite these obversations, i feel like i can't formulate a big picture, this is by no means bad, but i can't help but feel like i'm "missing something". though, this might be rectified in lain's case when i get around to it, it's been close to 10 years since i last watched it.

misc. spoilers for NieA_7

this is one that i don't think i ever heard someone talk about prior to me just plucking it off of ABe's wikipedia page. it's this weird slice-of-life comedy about living in poverty but there's also humanoid aliens that are kinda just around and comically failing to integrate into society. that whole second point, with the aliens, i feel it kinda detracts from a lot from the show's actually really simple and touching heart about just trying to escape being poor. the whole thing is kinda tainted with this mild xenophobia for the sake of "comedy" and the vast majority of the recurring aliens are these really mean-spirited racist stereotypes. eventually i came to ignore the vast majority of that aspect of the show, besides the titular NieA, and focus on the part of it that really spoke to me. the main character, Mayuko, is a young adult working 3 jobs on top of going to cram school in a desperate attempt to get into a good college and escape poverty by getting a """real job""" and a """future""". the reason why i use quotations is the same reason why her character really spoke to me. she was so focused on the mere act of survival and vaguely working towards the future that she never found the time to really think about the future. no plans, no dreams, inching towards a success she has no idea how to capitalize upon. something similar happened to me, personally. i spent the vast majority of highschool and college fighting for good grades and accolades with no other plan than to just get away from a very toxic family situation. and i succeeded. i gave up a social life for the sake of advancing and was rewarded by getting poached right out of college into a fairly comfortable. i moved out 6 months later and subsequently broke down. without that constant pressure of ESCAPE ESCAPE ESCAPE i had this sort of psychological explosive decompression and became incredibly depressed, and almost made some very poor and very permanent decisions. i saw a character that was flying towards the same mistakes i made and i was wondering all along if the show would propose some kind of "solution" that i'd failed to see. it didn't offer anything concrete, but something much simpler that i nontheless really appreciated. a loving promise that things will be okay somewhere, someday. the same sentiment helped me when i needed it. i get that that's corny as hell, but i'm a stupid mushy man-thing. it's a show i really recommend people look at, because while the lows are INCREDIBLY low and mean, the heart is there and beautiful.

[lacomandante]

i’m screaming at a pitch only dogs can hear about getting to read sharpe’s command!!! what would you say are the best sharpe books with teresa bits for new readers?? corndog repeats himself a lot and i’m trying to avoid burnout on a ton of books that don’t contain the best woman in the history of fiction 💕

AHHHH!!!!! Teresa stans unite!!! I would LOVE to help you bc god knows I also scraped the bottom of barrel to find every Teresa related thing I could.

But I want to give a word of warning before delving into the books just for Teresa because I want to spare any disappointment. The Sharpe books, in my opinion, vary quite differently from the films, especially when it comes to Sharpe and Teresa. This is mostly referring to the books written before the films. There's also not that many books with her, so unfortunately there's little to pick and choose from. Compared to the films...definitely lower your expectations for the books.

Teresa's first introduction is in Gold. The backstory she's given in the film is actually happening and seen by Sharpe (the second attack anyways) in the book- and though Teresa's been a partisan, she spends a majority of the book...without spoilers, not doing many partisan things- though we get to see her fight for sure, she's definitely not an equal to Sharpe at this point, and is more of a prize, tbh, though that changes later on. (Some of the covers for the book in the 80's are uh....very different from how we see her in the films).

Teresa and Sharpe's relationship is different from how it is in the films too, though there is love there, the films really give us more time with the two of them, more time to develop emotions and complexity that there simply isn't in the book. Corndog isn't the best at writing romance, and it really shows in the early books. I think the films do a much better job of portraying Sharpe and Teresa as equals and actually have a believable romance, especially with Teresa being in Rifles and the events that happen there. She's already established as a leader and is very capable. Teresa and Sharpe have their first adventure in Gold, and then don't see each other for almost 17 months until Company, (book!Battle, written while the films were being made, mentions Teresa and Sharpe corresponding by letter during that time). It's why I really prefer the films for her and for their relationship, and like the books more for background information.

It's hard to put into words because yes, they're the same characters, but they're also not? I would say their relationship is a lot more loving/fleshed out, as is Teresa's character, in the films. I won't go into it too much here bc it'll be a whole big post lmao but Sharpe, I'd say, drinks more respect women juice in the films than the books (except barring the last half of Enemy which is extremely OOC for FILM Sharpe and I WILL die on that hill.)

But, barring that- there's really very few books she's in, so I'll start with the pre-film books (meaning they were written before the films were made). Gold for obvious reasons, but I really like Company, despite her not being in it so much- it's just a great book in general, and I love that we get to see their wedding! (and Antonia of course!!) Teresa make a very brief appearance at the end of Sword (literally the last two pages) that's a heartwarming moment. She makes a brief appearance in the middle and end of Enemy, the last book she's in chronologically.

However, I would say my absolute favorites for Teresa are in Sharpe's Skirmish and Sharpe's Command. Skirmish is set immediately after Sword, and is a short story, but has very sweet moments with her in it, though I would love to see her featured more. However, it's Command that REALLY steals the show. Everything I've ever wanted for Teresa in the books is handed on a silver platter (at least, to me) and is honestly going to be the closest we see to film Teresa in the books.

Without too many spoilers, we finally get to see Teresa be a partisan and fighting and being brutal and cutthroat. She gets some incredible show stopping scenes that would usually be reserved for Sharpe, and it really felt like a love letter to her from Cornwell. She gets to help move the plot forward, and not just be in the background. We get to see different sides of her, sides that differ from Sharpe and how they clash (in a good way!) Since it's set two weeks after Company, we get to see Teresa and Sharpe be husband and wife and fight alongside each other. Skirmish and Command have the benefit of being written after the films, where their characters, I think, are written better and follow their film counterparts better. I've been trying not to be rude and post spoilers here because I know most people who follow me are Americans and won't get the book until April, but god. I just want to gush about Command so much!!

But a small warning about Command: it's somewhat unpolished for a Sharpe book. Corndog forgets a lot of details (he's admitted he doesn't read his prior works lol.) There are also some details he adds that make me squint but nothing major that I can't look past because I really, truly loved how much she got to do, and her portrayal in the book. She's vicious, she's bloodthirsty, she's combative, she's funny, she's loving, she's kind, she's angry and all these facets and more we get to see of her and ahh!!!!! Now I'm gonna go reread Command LOL.

[odditycircus-2002]

Hellboy And The Crooked Man Review

I'm on YouTube! I guess star on the Big Screen Show's channel.

I may have given my review and thoughts about the movie in the video, but I want to go more in-depth here. I write better than I talk, especially when I'm passionate about something and my brain is going faster than my mouth.

SPOILERS BELOW!

I specifically want to talk about the flak that critics or some viewers give the new movie. As I mentioned, given Hellboy (2019) was a MAJOR box office bomb, no significant studios would be giving the Hellboy IP a big budget again and risk losing millions of dollars again. So, this new Hellboy movie has a noticeably lower budget. This means that the production has to be more creative and/or take shortcuts to make the final product look as good as it is. Granted, you could see the low budget for sure, such as with the CGI snake that came out of Cora Fishers.... lady bits and her mouth. Or the action is only sometimes being focused on as the camera becomes too shaky, making fight scenes harder to focus on. Or the action gets dulled down near the end, such as the final fight against the titular Crooked Man being killed by Hellboy punching him, throwing him down some stairs, and then stomping him. I'll admit the effect was good with that last part, as the villain was stomped and revealed to have a bunch of coins inside him. Like he was some sort of evil piggy bank.

The movie follows the comics closely, with some scenes coming straight out of the pages. Yet, it's not a shot-by-shot comic book movie since, as the comics were short, the story had to be expanded with its characters to make it a feature film—which it does successfully, for the most part. This new movie as a lot more focused on suspense and atmosphere, rather than just action, as the woods are dripping with old evil that should've stayed dead. The set up of Hellboy and Bobby Joe ending up in Appalachia is fitting, as it seems like something that would happen within the world of Hellboy. I liked that the Crooked Man's demise was more stretched out, with him mainly relying on trickery to take out Hellboy and Tom Ferral in his wounded state rather than brute force like earlier in the film. I didn't care for Hellboy having mommy issues this time around. Sure, here, being a witch is kinda fitting for the themes of witchcraft and condemning yourself for the sake of power, but it was honestly needed and shoehorned in. Firstly, how would Hellboy even know about his mother or that she's a witch???

When Hellboy and the Crooked Man first released images behind the scenes, I, too, was cautious with the new Hellboy, not just because of the costume and the makeup, especially with the horns. I also wanted to know if Jack Kesey could bring our favorite demon-hybrid paranormal investigator to life. Jack Kesey really brought the comic book character from the comic to life! I was so drawn in by the actor's performance that I hardly noticed that he didn't have yellow eyes or that his tail moved. While Hellboy would still be fairly new in his career at the BPRD, having only done it for a couple of years instead of decades, he's still a gruff character who holds himself with a demeanor of a blue-collar worker who works in heavy labor, who probably would like to take a nap by the end of all this, but still will get the job done. Yet, Jack Kesey also portrays Hellboy's humanity and insecurity, which are integral parts of the stoic demon man, who has some deep-seated self-hatred, often taking the brunt of the Crooked Man's attacks to protect the rest of the humans. While Jack Kesey's Hellboy isn't some action hero like Ron Perlman's Hellboy, he still has his one-liners, which is something more you'd hear from John McClain in Die Hard as a way to keep himself and everyone else calm as he can. Ultimately, Jack Kesey portrays Hellboy's good heart throughout the film.

The new character, Bobby Joe, was also a solid new character who wasn't just some damsel for Hellboy to keep safe. She's this former government researcher who came to work for the BPRD to continue as a researcher of the occult before switching to fieldwork. Bobby Joe is a go-getter, being the first to offer Tom Ferral assistance rather than Hellboy and to cast a spell in the mines to cut off the Crooked Man's source of power, the tunnels in the hills. Which would ultimately save Big Red. Bobby Joe is also sort of our audience surrogate, being a newbie to fieldwork and everything, as she reacts far more to the strange and unusual phenomena around her than Hellboy, who has been seeing that sort of thing since he was 10 years old. Who wouldn't freak out seeing someone's empty skin on their bed or the sun suddenly set in a matter of seconds before their eyes?Or see the sunset before their eyes in a matter of minutes? I think she may have a thing for Hellboy, who wouldn't TBH, as was hinted at by the Reverend but I don't see it that way, honestly. I would prefer her not to be made as another love interest to Hellbpy, as I see them more as a mentor/mentee thing where Big Red is showing her the ropes, readjusting her expectations accordingly, and NOT getting her killed.

Yes, this movie is flawed and clearly has production issues. However, I still stand by as a fan of this film—a film that was clearly made with love and effort. It was made for the enjoyment of longtime fans of the Hellboy Franchise. I've seen proof of this on Tumblr and Twitter, with them enjoying the movie even with its flaws and appreciating Mike Mignola for helping to give his character another shot at the Silver Screen. So whatever YOUR thoughts may be, just know that the true fans of this franchisee's love for it are as unwavering as the Right Hand of Doom.

[ayamisc]

Deathly Hallows [spolier alert...maybe]

(c) J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Entertainment (Harry Potter)

approximately ten hours and thirty minutes

i finished reading the book… in 10 hours and 30 minutes. 759 pages. 1AM to 11:30AM.

…………………….i.. liked it. no. i LOVED IT.

it answered a lot. it's DIFFERENT. it's… cool.

……excerpt from the book: [it is vague.. and probably of no importance…lol]

"But he was home. Hogwarts was the first and best home he had known. he and Voldemort and Snape, the abandoned boys, had all found home here. . . ." —JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 34

---------------------------mild spoilers-------------------------------

…..WHY DO MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS KEEP ON DYING!! [3 of them died… and 1 semi fave]

…..oh. and great battle scenes. [i know.. very vague right? lol]

…ok.. more specific now..

uh……….

GO MRS. WEASLEY!! YOU ROCK!!! LOL!

oh.. and GO NEVILLE!! … and Kreacher too! lol…

The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore by Rita Skeeter [screw that woman!!! …lol]

..oh! and! oh! POTTERWATCH! [i think that's what it's called….lol… wasn't paying attention much…uh.. yeah]

oh… and Harry Potter…. just how many times can he survive from the Avada Kedavra?!!! >< …lol… the last statement was actually meant for humor… i mean.. seriously… it's funny. [now. by this i'm not saying Harry's gonna die or survive.. i'm just stating the fact that he had been hit by the avada twice in this book. the first time.. ovbiously his 2nd time.. he survived AGAIN.. the third time? HA! go read it yourself!!]

and the R.A.B. thing… like what 95% of the readers predicted.. it's regulus black.

….ok.. the Snape question.

-------------------MAJOR SPOILER-----------------------

SNAPE IS GOOD! …..I TOLD YOU SO!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ^_^ [ooooh! what now!!!]

PS. This blog was originally posted on DeviantArt.

[blackheath505]

The Last of Us RP

Hi! My name is Blackheath. If you’ve taken a look at my page, you’ll see that I mainly look for medieval, low fantasy roleplay’s, but as of recent, I’ve fallen in love with a game called The Last of Us. I have just beaten the first game(currently playing the Left Behind DLC) and I absolutely loved it. The tight supply management, the learning curve that pays off in time, and just the world in general! Unfortunately, I haven’t played Part 2 nor have I watched the HBO show based on TLOU, so no spoilers!! But anyways, enough of me rambling on.

I am a literate roleplayer with around 5 years of roleplaying experience, and I am a minor; And because of that, I would prefer that my partner is as well. I can write from two paragraphs all the way to ten if need be, though I doubt there will be many scenarios where I will need to write ten paragraphs. My timezone is EST, and I am active most days, though I do go to school so that may block my ability to respond to messages in a quick fashion. I love worldbuilding and strong character development. Gritty and dark settings are my favorite, and having romance in my roleplay is always a must.(Love slow burn stuff.) I am looking for someone who shares the same literacy, drive, and creativity.

I’m hoping for this roleplay to be a MalexFemale roleplay with me playing as the male. I also want to do an OriginalCharacterxOriginalCharacter roleplay, so no cannon characters. I don’t have any plots for a The Last of Us roleplay, though I may have some rough ideas. Maybe our characters are teens in one of the Quarantine Zones scattered around the country and one day that Quarantine Zone falls to the Fireflies or infected, and our characters are forced to flee the city and live out on their own? Just an idea! This roleplay will take place in the game version of the universe, not the HBO one. Meaning there will be spores and all. Lastly, I do the majority of my roleplays on Discord, though I am open to doing the roleplay on here.(keep in mind that this is not my native platform.)

[lilmackiereads]

A TAXONOMY OF LOVE (2018) BY RACHAEL ALLEN - SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW

For the review WITHOUT SPOILERS, click here. To continue WITH spoilers, begin reading after the cover photo.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I am actually surprised with myself for giving this such a high rating as I am easily very bored with the teen romance novels. Of the few YA romance that I have read in the last year this has been my favorite which was a total surprise! I actually almost gave up reading it in the first 50 or so pages because I found the initial few chapters from Spence’s point of view unrealistic. For some reason I just didn’t feel like the dialogue and thought processes going on in this 13-year-old boy’s head felt accurate to the tween boys I’ve known growing up. There wasn’t enough swearing or boyish grossness. For instance, I feel like he needed a bit of a sprinkle of yucky (belching/ nose-picking/ farting/ name-calling) like the boys in Stephen King’s “The Body” aka Stand by Me (1986), The Sandlot (1993) or Stranger Things (2016) because many boys at this age are generally just pretty gross and obnoxious in my experience. (I grew up tween to teen between 2008-2018 and babysat lots of kids and now I work with middle school and high schoolers…)

HOWEVER, I think Allen did nail Spence’s dorkiness, which is why I ultimately kept reading because he is pretty adorable and his taxonomies are pretty funny.

Unlike John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, 2012 and Turtles All the Way Down, 2017) and Becky Albertalli (Simon vs the Homosapien Agenda, 2015) who are two of the best teen writers that can accurately display the minds of the opposite sex in my opinion, I feel like Allen struggles a bit with writing Spence’s point-of-view. I found Hope’s p-o-v more realistic (and relatable) as a female, but I think that Spence became more realistic as the book progressed from age 13 to 19. Especially once he hit puberty, I think the romantic stakes and thoughts were more accurate to a teenage boy. Haha. But what do I know? I’ve never been a teenage boy.

Hope reminded me a lot of myself because I’m generally happy-go-lucky, but I had a major emo-phase in high school that really warped my attitude at the time (and admittedly comes out to play occasionally as an adult.) I wish we had more chapters from her perspective. I was bummed out when her sister died. It's hard to lose someone so close to you, especially when they're so young. The only thing I didn't like about Hope was her last name, Birdsong. I think it was just a little too on-the-nose. If we're really going for the "girl next door" she could have just had a basic last name like Smith or Miller.

I really liked all the little parties the characters through for the holidays and the references to Hamilton (2015), Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Grease (1978), and Pokémon. Jayla and Spencer's Pikachu and Ash costumes sounded adorable. I feel like Hope’s transition over the story is actually a lot like Sandy’s! Also, the two girls at the Halloween party who were Sandy before and after, such a cool costume idea!

Jayla and Dean were both kind of annoying at times, but ultimately, I think they had good hearts, but were just a little too self-involved for their own good. I really appreciated after Dean went to college and grew up a little and started to stand up for Jayla and Spencer.

I also like that the book goes over some important topics like racism and the Civil War, disability awareness, bullying, mental health, and using sexual situations as a coping mechanism.

My top three favorite parts are:

The Vice Principal’s Surprise -- I mean DICK CONFETTI? How much better can it get?

2. The Tree Stand in the Rain -- My little heart at all the romance:

3. The Lightning Bugs -- Just such a sweet and magical moment.

Would I Read this Book Again?

Low key kind of want to read it again right now! I hope they make a movie of this!

[blacknovelist]

Speaking as someone who has played oneshot since its initial iterations as an rpgmaker game a solid... man. It's been like. What. Almost seven years?? Eight???? Screw the progression of time, man, the original game came out literally in 2014

But like it's insane to think about ngl. I remember when it was just this... little short cute lookin meta game I picked up not long after playing OFF (since the meta scene was super popular by then) like, oh, cool, let's see what it can do! It'll be fun!

It turns out what it can do is give you terminal brainrot that lasts a blindingly vivid eight years and the now borderline fundamental childhood-earlyteen memory of crying for over an hour over the weight of the impending decision you'd have to make and the knowledge that the consequences, both good and bad, would be permanent, and it was up to me to decide what i could live with. I assure you all I have been very normal about it this whole time.

I have not been normal ever since holy FUCK that moment was formative

But like... man. I remember thinking, wow. This game is really small and niche. It's gonna be one of those little things I store in my chest and hold onto forever that I won't get to see outside of my sphere much. When the steam version got announced I was MIND blown and SO excited, because this was my favorite game on the PLANET and suddenly it was not only coming to steam but maybe there would be NEW STUFF like holy SHIT! I can recommend it so much easier!

and fucking. Solstice. Solstice. Hang on I need to readmore if I go on cause this is getting into spoilers but motherfucking solstice I just

This game has meant so much to me and it means the world that. Here it is. Joyous and loud and so very cared for. It's small but beloved and I can't believe we got all the way over here. Oneshot is on every major console now. It has its little virtual machine. I love it so much and it's out there for everyone else to see... I am. So glad.

[Spoilers below the cut— I usually believe they don't matter that much, but Oneshot is one of the very few games I believe deeply needs to be experienced mostly blind the first time so please take care]

When oneshot on steam first released tho like. people who Don't Know, I need you to know that solstice did not exist back then. We had two total clues that it was even a thing— the clock in the Refuge, gradually counting down, and the bolded words on the game steam page. Yall, that was IT. When it first came out, there was no "return to the beginning" or whatever, it was just... the journal. And the tower, helping niko even when he didn't know I was there. Hell, the journal was new to steam and I remember it, you know. How afraid I was. For the world. For Niko. For everything, that first time. Because I loved it, and I wanted things to be as good as I could make it.

And we counted the days until solstice. We wondered. We figured out what day the clock would stop counting on, wondered what the door would do. And then it dropped, and suddenly... suddenly there was the chance for everything to change. Do you know how magical that was? Three years of knowing the choice was always one or the other, even when little things changed, only to be told that maybe... maybe this could be it?

Fuck, guys.

And now we are here again. I never would have dreamed this little game I loved would end up on literal game consoles— but it's so clear to me how much love went into this game port to make it happen. The essence is the same but you gave it just enough that I.... man. Man. I. Never knew a gut punch like 'From Niko'. But it reminds me, you know? This world never died, not really. Not even at first, back then, when it was all or nothing, one or the other. It was always in my heart.

It's in Niko's heart too. And all of yours, who played it. I don't know what else to say or think, really, other than... thank you.

[captorations]

oh okay brain says it’s time to analyze more tlt characters with classpects actually. which mind you is an exceptionally reasonable thing to do considering that muir herself is a homestuck

camilla: maid of space. i’m aggressively certain about this even if i haven’t firmly established why and also couldn’t get into it here anyway for spoiler reasons

palamedes: doom player through and fucking through. my first thought was mage but honestly i think he’s a sylph. he *could* be time if you really need him to match with camilla but. if that’s what you need. dulcinea is right there

gideon: obvious heart player is obvious. hard to say what class quite yet. prince is tempting for quite a lot of reasons, though, as is knight

harrow: the mind to gideon’s heart. she honestly could well be a muse just like her favorite popsicle. speaking of-

alecto: muse of life aka the jesus classpect, next fucking question

john: also comically easy. lord of doom

abigail: the legend herself claims void handily. i’d say bard of void, actually

ianthe: is anyone expecting me to say anything other than thief. i mean come the fuck on. her aspect is a little trickier but i’d go with blood, possibly mind

ortus: Big Page Energy. also light player nope doom player actually

corona: blood. no question there. i’d hazard a guess at rogue or possibly heir

mercymorn: this bitch is undiluted rage. dunno what class though. probably witch

augustine: hard to place. but based on some things in nona, and also to clash with mercymorn, i’d say hope.

anyway the main thing to note is that the locked tomb as a series primarily revolves around the heart/mind question (“what defines the self?”) and the life/doom question (“do the rules matter?”). so its major players were always going to be of those aspects and i don’t expect the last book to change that

[yabai-korra]

The reasons why we're getting Manorian book

There has been a lot of speculation whether SJM is going to favor us with book/novella about Manon Blackbeak and Dorian Havilliard, recently I saw some fans doubting it, so here's a list of logical reasons why it's happening.

1. It's SJM

This woman writes two 500+ pages books per year, for her it would be a piece of cake.

2. There have already been books focused on side characters

a) Chaol and Yrene - Chaol was one of the most unpopular characters before Tower of Dawn (which made me love him hehe) and she still wrote a 600+ pages long book about him, just imagine what she'd do with the most popular character (Manon) and one of the most popular ones (Dorian).

b) Nesta and Cassian - this is ship is the closest to Manorian equivalent in ACOTAR series, aka starting from a physical relationship that develops into a sentimental one. Also 6th ACOTAR book will be focused on a new characters (most probably Elain)

3. Favoritism

SJM has talked multiple times about her love for these two. When asked about her favorite TOG character, she said Aelin, but Manon was a close second place and she said that she absolutely loves writing her.

In another interview, when asked who she would go on a book tour with and a few similar questions, she answered Dorian.

Now, I haven't seen all of her interviews ever and I'm not sure how much she loves Nessian and Cahorene (seems to love Nessian a hella lot tho), but it's definite that Manorian are some of her favorite characters and it's just logical that she would write about them.

4. Unfinished story/Unresolved feelings

Ships at the end of TOG:

Rowaelin - married

Elorcan - engaged

Lysaedion - engaged

Chaorene - married with a baby on the way

Nestaq - engaged

Manorian - hug and "we'll see"

All the ships basically got engaged in the last chapter (it's not like I didn't like it hehe) and their stories, romantic-wise, were pretty much finished and they have no unresolved tension between them. Manorian on the other hand, have enough of it for all the ships lol.

KOA spoilers ahead!

Keep in mind, Manorian relationship was mostly a sexual one, and they don't quite yet have a way of communicating their feelings properly. So there is a lot of unaddressed between them, even though they obviously care a lot about each other.

The unresolved things between Manon and Dorian:

"“And if I asked you to stay?” / “I’d need a very convincing reason, I suppose.” / “Because I don’t want you to go.” - they just fucked and Dorian left for Morath later, which impacted Manon a lot but they haven't discussed it

"I even care about you." - Manon got up and left

"There is only one witch who will be my queen." - Manon doesn't know about this

Manon saved Dorian from Valg demon even when Aelin couldn't. It was the worst thing to happen to Dorian and he still bears scars from it, yet he didn't have an appropriate situation to thank Manon for it

Dorian knows that Erawan lusted after Manon, which got him pissed of course, and he didn't have a chance nor time to ask Manon about it. It might be nothing, but if I were Dorain and my girlfriend who doesn't show feelings was locked up with a crazy guy who has a thing for her, and have seen the way he treats women, I'd be concerned. Erawan was a Valg king, a tough opponent even for Manon. If he had done something to her, and he had plenty of means and opportunities and wish to do so, Manon would never openly tell anyone (maybe Asterin) about it, because it would imply opening up and being weak, which is Manon's worst fear. Again, SJM, as the Queen of Foreshadowing, wouldn't just randomly throw in the main villain having a thing for an important character, everything in her books always has a meaning and purpose.

"Would you miss me if I didn't [come back]?" - Manon didn't reply

This is how SJM described Manorian marriage: "She would be his wife, his queen. She was already his equal, his match, mirror in so many ways. And with their union, the world would know it." - and you're telling me it's not deserving of its own book? Not just that, Manon asked Dorian for marriage and they, again, just had sex, with Dorian loving the idea but deep down knowing that Manon would feel caged in a marriage. And that attitude won't just change out of the blue. It takes time and development which is something SJM writes amazingly.

With the Thirteen gone, beside Abraxos Dorian is the only creature Manon cares about.

Dorian's mortality (although as you'll see in point #6 I'm sure he's not human)

The dreaded "You could just marry each other." / "We'll see." (Thanks Yrene :)

5. Foreshadowing

Listen here, SJM IS THE QUEEN OF FORESHADOWING. She thought of a detail (Dorian's dad's name) in the first book that would matter in the last book. Of course, there are many many many more examples of that, but if we got "We'll see." then we'll fucking see it happen.

6. Unresolved things about Manon and Dorian as individual characters.

Manon and Dorian and both pretty broken at the end of KOA.

Manon lost the Thirteen, the only people she cared about. That is a huge trauma that needs to be addressed, especially with someone so reluctant to show feelings and heal like Manon.

Dorian can't be human?? He has fae abilities due to his relation to Gavin and Elena even though he's not even called a demi-fae. He possesses powers no one else does, phantom hands for example, which he didn't steal like shape-shifting. And Maeve pointed out that due to his father being possessed by Valg when Dorian was sired, it's possible he got some of the Valg abilities. (Also she said that he's stronger than Aelin) The main villain, especially written by Queen of Foreshadowing, wouldn't just let drop it there and that's it. Also not to mention Dorian's own struggle with depression and self-worth.

They have both just become rulers of their kingdoms, completely new to it. Dorian has spent a big part of KOA imagining what kind of a king he wants to be (one that will have a witch queen hehe) and it was a major point of his character. And addition to that affecting them as characters, the future of Adarlan and Witch Kingdom could make a good plotline.

7. Other TOG characters

Although pretty much all the readers would die to see Chaorene baby, Lorcan in Perranth, Aelin and Rowan ruling Terrasen, Lysandra and Adeion officially adopting Evangeline, Nesryn and Sartaq becoming Khagan and Empress of Antica, all of these don't make enough of a plot on its own. They are great side-plots.

We know all of these characters love each other and are happy together, there isn't that much to be added to their personal stories other than kids. (same way Feyre and Rhys got a baby in Nessian book) Manorian however, they haven't even kissed without it leading to sex, they hugged at the end of KOA and it was the pique of their relationship. Their relationship is merely at the beginning, whereas others have pretty much reached their ultimatum (ofc SJM can decide to add some drama with betrayal, kidnapping, pregnancy etc. but for now everyone is good and settled beside Manorian)

Not to mention the way other relationships would affect them. Chaol, Dorian's brother, and Yrene, Manon's wannabe bestie and Manorian shipper, would bring their baby to meet his/her uncle Dorian and aunt Manon, and imagine Manon with a baby lol.

SJM loves Aelin and other characters way too much not to give us an insight on them as married couples, but since her books are huge and it's her, it needs a plot with drama, addressing traumas, repressed feelings, worldbuilding, and sex, and Manorian's got all of that.

8. Abraxos

We need more Abraxos, that's just a fact.

Wow that was a long one. Anyways, in conclusion, we're getting that Manorian book. Pretty sure it's gonna a book rather than a novella (TOD was also planned as a novella but then guess what) because there is just SO MUCH possible content.