#keeping up with the 'stan' legacy idk

[arttsuka]

Guys meet my gravity falls oc, Standard Pines

[horizon-verizon]

While B&C is objectively horrifying, I’ve honestly never once felt any emotion when reading it… but Aerea’s death, oh my god, I was completely engrossed and taken back by the hideous, stomach-turning and repugnant description of her death.

👀

Aerea had to have had those fireworms crawl through her still-living body for days. Aerea's death was much more detailed, a lot more gory, and connects to one overarching and critical element, or "layer", of the ASoIaF series: the Targs' legacy with their dragons and the effect of the Valyrian's imperialism over Essos. Aerea's death brought a sense of doom because it alerted us and Jaehaerys of the Targs' vulnerability to forces that their own ancestors probably caused. And the account is very reliable, more so than most F&B accounts and certainly so for the Dance portion of the book. Its relater, Septon Barth, he's the one who tried to treat Aerea. And of all the "Faith-aligned professionals" we ever encountered in this world, he was the most dedicated to impartial study of the people and things around him. (Sincere about it, too, even though he does also factor in a few societal lens...because he still lives in Westeros and is still a septon.) So you know he was writing what he saw impartially.

Why do the Targs' relationship with their dragons & past AND their dragons' future matter? We (should) know and have read ASoIaF and read about Daenerys, how she becomes the Queen that she is meant to be to save the world. We have learned that something can hurt a dragon. We need dragons//fire for the Long Night & protect humanity. The Targs' assimilation into the Andal-FM pre-Conquest culture and subsequent refusal to better & truly incorporate their women into their politics--or just think outside of their own immediate needs for power, even with some being genuinely better people and leaders--have lead up to their own loss of said dragons, then their usurpation. It's a lead up to Daenerys in-world and re-contextualizes her role for the Long Night to come.

*However, reminder, yes the Targs' Conquest and reign still greatly reduced the thousands of years of constant warfare b/t the non Valyrian Westerosi former kingdoms. Two things, true at once.*

Whereas with Jaehaerys, the death served this one story to illustrate how far a specific group of people will go to destroy the other or get the other back for perceived/real wrongs done. Jaehaerys became a victim of a blood feud & another motive to keep that particular blood feud going. It's not even the first death, but a response to another's death done by the greens (Aemond), who decided to usurp the king-chosen heir, a woman, for their own ambitions. He is part of a succession of a drama. And while his 6 fingers generate some curiosity and inquiry as to what effects the magical connection to dragons have on disabilities/congenital conditions being more reduced--which Idk about, since the Westerosi have been marrying their cousins for centuries and most of the nobles we see aren't fugly nor have many congenital conditions to rival the Hapsburgs--this doesn't serve or inform us on the bigger story. Sad and tragic, but in terms of the scales of consequences, it had a simpler effect.

Ironically, he has less narrative importance than Nettles or Mysaria, whom some Rhaenyra & black stans try to argue was "just a plot device" 🙄 to use against Rhaenyra. Both within and out of Fire & Blood. Then there's the business of green stans being so overwrought & talkative over his death than the:

sack of Bitterbridge & rapes/murders (of refugees, of children, septas, old people, etc.)

sack of of Tumbleton & rapes/murders

Dalton Greyjoy's raping women and killing innocent peasants,

etc.

It is perhaps all of these that make Aerea's death seem both more harrowing and "important" than Jaehaerys'. Aerea's death is more shrouded in mystery, Jaehaerys' is not. Her death has a larger narrative purpose compared to his.

[twopoppies]

Kanye West is crazy and I usually don't pay no mind to his blabbering but what he said recently about every famous person having a zionist in their contract I believe 100 percent. I'm kinda mad at Harry for not speaking up on this. I know he rarelly does talk about any social issues and I never minded that and would defend him in front of holier-than-thou stan twitter that wants to cancel him for breathing every 5 days but this is like, the only situation where the only thing you can do is post and the palestinians are actively asking you to do it because they can't. He said once in an interview that he's waiting to find one thing that's gonna be his thing to be passionate about. Idk isn't an ongoing genocide a good reason to start... And I'm saying I'm really not looking at Harry Styles for moral guidance or expecting him to be super informed or an activist. But decades from now we're gonna look at this the way we look at the holocaust and wonder how did this happen. Does he really want to stay neutral on this... And he has a lot of friends who are zionists (Winston) or that signed that stupid petition in defense of Israel (Corden, Irving, Olivia)... History won't treat him well if he stays silent as one of the most influental people in the world right now. And the thing is I love him to death and I know he doesn't have a single evil bone in his body. But he is extremely privileged, uninformed, surounded by zionist friends, with whom he is, from what I've observed, very naive. But he won't be given much grace for his silence. At the end of the day it's everyone's own responsibility to educate themselves. He's a 30 year old man with internet access. Because I think what Kanye said is true I'm kinda giving him the benefit of the doubt. But I'm not sure that history will. Or that he deserves it.

Kanye isn’t only crazy, he’s insanely anti-Semitic. Basically he’s blathering on about the old nonsense about “the evil Jews” controlling Hollywood. So he can just fuck off.

I agree with you that Harry is privileged and likely very uninformed on political issues like this one and yes, he’s in a rather complicated spot because he’s very closely affiliated with Irving Azoff who is clearly supporting Israel. I don’t know if Irving/Ben/James are the only ones he’s getting information from, though. I hope not.

I know his fans want him to speak out, and I know that to us it seems like a no-brainer. But, I don’t know if he will make any clear kind of pro-Palestinian statement. I don’t think that means that he supports Israel, but what it ultimately does is make him look like he does and makes it look as though his business relationships are his priority.

At the same time, I really do understand that he may be feeling caught between a rock and a hard place and that keeping out of it is the best option (as most celebrities do in terms of politics). And I understand how complicated it can be as a “brand” to take a stance when your business partners are on the other side of an issue. He’s far from the only celebrity who hasn’t said anything. And I understand that not everyone thinks public displays of activism are as valid as boots on the grounds/money where you mouth is activism. But I can see what a difference people speaking up has made in helping the general public see how awful things are (which, hopefully means there will be political pressure to help the people of Palestine).

Personally, I don’t think history is going to focus on what Harry Styles did or didn’t say, and I don’t like the idea of leveraging threats to one’s legacy. But I do understand what you’re saying and that you’d like to know he’s done something positive in this situation. I truly don’t have an answer for you. I feel very overwhelmed by the whole thing.

More here

[petrolstationflowers]

okay SO

Stan the Pathetic Loserman has completed his LTW. Now *obviously* I don't want the carnage to stop so I have a number of ideas for how to continue the challenge for subsequent gens because I'm enjoying myself.

I have a number of ideas here:

Option 1: The classic legacy. Heir poll for one of Stan's kids, with their rolled traits, for the next challenge. Stay in Isla Paradiso until my computer explodes.

Option 2: Wait until all kids have aged up with their five rolled traits. Pick the one who is most like Stan/heir poll if there's multiple (eg August is in the running because he has Diva) and they continue on Stan's morally dubious slutty legacy of eight million children whilst doing the challenge. Probably in a new neighbourhood to avoid hooking up with cousins.

Option 3: Entirely new save. Same old Stan. He continues his manwhore thieving ways in a new neighbourhood, just a different way of earning money.

Option 4: Stan in an entirely new neighbourhood but with his one random trait (the No Sense of Humour one) rolled again each time. So idk he might get genius this time and become a slutty scientist. For example.

Option 5: You hate all of these and have another idea (reblog or put in tags)

Poll below! I am open to suggestion but primarily I want to keep making content people enjoy! So please let me know your thoughts:

[edbaldwin]

people and by people i mean targ stans mythologising aegon's conquest and the way torrhen stark bent the knee as he saw the devastation that are dragons and, well, the north does not have the resources to follow up the war when WINTER IS COMING and your house is bound to keep the wall and the ice horrors away south the wall, so you make a tactical decision to avoid bloodshed and fire horrors from the south.

(meanwhile dorne and house martell has hating targaryens and dragonlords imbedded in their DNA, it is an imported good that arrived on nymeria's ships and you honor your legacy, and you keep being unbent to the dragon or die trying. which kudos to you divas)

meanwhile, the goddamn moment show starks nope put of bending the knee anymore they're compared to kkk (oh you know the moniker) and it annoys me so much, because house that almost 300 years later got so much devastation from the south and from the fire horrors (not the dragon fire per se but pyromancer's fire) and the rebellion and actively going south and involving themselves in the politics was their fall and rlj this and that but to people not interesting in prophecies or question was it love or not it is an abductions and is remembered by everyone is a crime. and the north remembers. and idk it annoys me so much to miss this nuance especially that robb's title as king in the north was all about norther independence and is this so bad that at least one sibling decided to keep up honoring their brother and his will? and honor northern lords' agreemement to not be ruled by southerners who bring nothing but devastation in thier region.

[summaryi]

A Deadly Education - Naomi Novik (Lesson One of The Scholomance)

I’m a Naomi Novik stan. I adore Uprooted. Uprooted literally grows roots inside my heart. I have not read Spinning Silver or the Temeraire books yet but I’m confident I’ll love them.

I’m in love with A Deadly Education and literally ranted to my girlfriend for an incoherent hour.

Spoilers Below

I LOVE MAPS IN BOOKS. I FUCKING LOVE MAPS. AND THIS MAP WE SEE IS SO FUN TO LOOK AT. AND WE GET TO SEE EL’S AND CHLOE’S ROOMS? WE LOVE CLASS COMMENTARY.

THE CHOSEN-ONE TROPES TURNED ON THEIR HEAD! THAT WE SEE IN BOTH EL AND ORION!

THE WAY THAT I VERY SELFISHLY WANT TO READ INTO EL’S DARK-CHOSEN-SORCERESS TROPE AND THE AMOUNT SHE HAS TO STRUGGLE JUST TO SURVIVE AS PERHAPS AN ANALOGY FOR the struggle of neurodivergence and depression.

The fact that literally just getting through an ordinary day is SO much more taxing and difficult for El compared to enclave legacies (like Orion or Chloe) or even Aadhya, who isn’t a legacy but at least isn’t constantly bombarded by an inescapable dark fate (hello, depression and passive suicidal ideation idk maybe i’m projecting here)

The extra work she has to do to weed out her assignments before she even STARTS, in order to make sure she doesn’t hollow herself out or accidentally kill anyone. The extra struggle it is to start normal, everyday tasks irl with depression.

The way that she physically showers less often than other people, and her hygiene is one of the contributing factors to people not really wanting to associate with her. The fact that she doesn’t shower that often because she straight up doesn’t have people to watch her back and protect her in the bathrooms. The way that hygiene is so so much harder with depression and neurodivergence.

The way that the void in her room LITERALLY keeps handing her “how to start really strong fires” and “1001 ways to kill your enemies” and “10 ez ways to turn your problems into literal dust!” (those stupid stupid intrusive thoughts, hello anxiety and depression, no i will NOT do that dangerous thing THANK YOU), when all she wants to do is clean her room (CLEAN HER ROOM).

The way that she encounters the mals more often than others like enclavers, and Orion pokes fun at her diligence (hi ptsd and hi straight up systematic injustices, sexism, racism) - when her diligence, literally living with her head on a swivel, are the ONLY things keeping her alive. The way she has only herself to depend on because the world she lives in is literally NOT built to accommodate her, and is ONLY built for a privileged few. Literally. Designed. By enclavers for their enclaver children.

The way El very plainly states that Orion likes her because she’s the only person to treat him as a human being, and not a hero on a pedestal, and how she understands that normalcy is valuable and expensive, so so precious and life changing.

The way that enclavers have so many invisible and visible advantages over non-enclavers. Bigger rooms (hi, Chloe), SO MUCH MANA, an automatic group of people, even if they’re not friends, at least people to watch your back. The knowledge that is passed down by generational wizards, the power that they can rely on and trade on outside of school. The way we see that difference in advantage highlighted.

The way that El learns to rely on others. The way that she FINALLY MAKES FRIENDS AS SHE DESERVES LET’S FUCKING GO LADIES GASLIGHT GATEKEEP GIRLBOSS ok jk they don’t gatekeep or gaslight but they SURE AS HELL GIRLBOSS you get it 

THE WAY THAT OTHER PEOPLE TELL EL

TO NOT SHOVE THEM OUT OF HER LIFE

BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE HER FRIEND

AND SHE HAS TO LEARN TO BE LIKE

OH SHIT

OK

THE WAY MENTAL ILLNESS REALLY FUCKS YOU UP INSIDE AND YOU NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED NEED NEED NEED COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT BUT ALSO SELF-AWARENESS AND REFLECTION AND TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY 

idk i’m rambling i love this book and I didn’t cry once but I probably will when I re-read it

[inmyarmswrappedin]

Im gonna pin a small part of skam's lost allure on Tarjei and the rest on NRK/remakes. For Tarjei's part, his character is credited for being a large part of the reason that skam found int'l success, but my dude wanted no parts of the fame/small celebrity that came with it. He stomped out that hype. As for NRK, in signing off on remakes that mostly cheapen the skam name, they fried the skam legacy. Disposable remakes that don't ever inspire/require a rewatch = the slow death of a fandom

Hi anon 🗿 I mean, I guess? This is such a weird ask. I don't doubt you feel this way, along with other people. I just don't think what appealed to you about Skam is what appealed to everyone.

First off, your ask appears to praise Tarjei for disappearing after Skam, but at the same time lowkey places responsibility upon him for Skam losing its ~allure. And tbh, the only thing that Tarjei has done differently is avoiding fan conventions. He has done many interviews, both print and video, and talked about Skam. He has gone to Pride events for Skam. He has participated in awareness campaigns for Skam (such as the pink elephant one). Hell, he made himself super available both during Skam and after, by participating in low budget stage plays like those of Antiteateret, which were very easy for moneyed stans to attend and then demand that he do stagedoor for. And if that weren't enough, his last year and a half of high school was turned into a meet and greet that he didn't sign up for. If he didn't attend fan cons so stans could get some residual evak dopamine hits, that doesn't mean he turned his back on his Skam fame and celebrity lmao. He seems very aware that he can afford to do whatever he wants because of Skam (not in terms of money because I’m pretty sure Skam didn’t pay that well, but in terms of industry cred and the roles offered to him).

Needless to say that, for me, fan conventions don't keep Skam's ~allure alive or are what appealed to me about Skam in the first place. Again, I don't doubt that people (many people even) are in it to continuously relive evak over and over, be it through Isak season remakes or through being in Henrik's vicinity at conventions or his mom's defunct restaurant.

As for the disposable remakes. First off, it's clear NRK did its best to protect the brand as much as it could. It required a number of things from the remake teams, such as compulsory research among local (to the remake country) teens. It's also pretty obvious (to me anyway) that one of the seasons had to be about a LGBTI main, another about a girl of color, and another touch on sexual assault. I'm pretty sure they'd have sold the show to many more countries if said countries could pass on one or more of these mains. There were reports that many more countries than ended up signing were interested in Skam. And tbh, if NRK didn't give two fucks about the Skam name like you suggest, if they were only in it for the money, then what stopped them from allowing every version to do an Even season, a lesbian Vilde season, a white gay Mahdi/Penetrator Chris/Jonas/background actor season, etc? I'm not going to say NRK hasn't signed off on some dodgy original season concepts, but lol idk about blaming NRK for the remake teams being incompetent.

As for rewatchability... eh. That's such a subjective aspect. For instance, Robbe's season is so boring and just badly made as far as I'm concerned, but some people think it's even better than Isak's season and certainly contains more shower scenes. People still rewatch Cris' season a ton, and I assume same goes for Lucas L's. @liburnapworld posted screenshots showing clips from Nora G's season reaching 10+ MILLION views. And I have personally rewatched Matteo's season more times than I care to mention. I would even rewatch what was out even while the season was still dropping. I also find that Skam Austin s2 is very rewatchable because you can see how the team was developing the side characters' future storylines in ways that most remake characters were probably not allowed to be developed. (Because the Austin contract had different clauses, like for instance Jo would've been allowed to have a season, and probably Kelsey as well.) Again, I don't doubt that many evak stans watched the s3 remakes (and only the s3 remakes, not the s1 and s2 remakes) once to relive the evak dopamine hit, but otherwise found them to be cheap and disposable. It just feels like that's not taking into account the people who showed up for Cris, Joana, Matteo, David, Lola, Shay, Jo, Fatou, Nora M, Nora G, Kieu My or Ava, and liked Eva, Noora, Isak and Sana well enough, or even A LOT, until these remake characters showed up.

[rickriordanfandam]

opinions on riordanverse ; my edition

a lot of people have been doing this so i decided why not right. probably gna lose some followers or smth but anyways. pls respect my opinions! if u disagree, thats fine, but please be polite. unless any of my opinions strikes u as morally wrong then pls point it out to me respectfully. thanks!

- i actually liked drew. im so sorry to everyone who hates her but full offence, why. think about it this way ok, first of all drew became hc because silena died. silena was the traitor, the one who betrayed chb, yet after she died campers celebrated her as a hero? and then drew suddenly has to replace her and live up to idk that legacy she left behind,, when all of a sudden this girl named piper swoops in and takes her place. idk abt u but i wld be salty abt that too. not only that, but as an asian, the chances of drew having faced racism/bullying as a child is pretty high (she studies at brooklyn academy). which means that when she finds out shes a demigod, and arrives at chb where most of the campers are white (this is an assumption btw), she’d obviously be scared of being bullied for her skin color right?? so the first thing she wld do before the campers get to bully her is to bully them before they can do so. (sentence structure here is wack i apologize) ofc this might not even have happened, drew could have had a perfect childhood && was a b1tch for no reason, BUT EVEN THEN HER ROLE AS A BULLY WAS PRETTY VITAL BECAUSE THAT FURTHER SHOWED THE CONTRAST BETWEEN HER AND PIPER,, HIGHLIGHTING PIPER AS A HERO//GOOD CHARACTER,, AND THEREFORE MAKING READERS LIKE PIPER MORE. anyway stop hating on drew please. ALSO WHY IS THIS SO LONGA SDFJHG

- jason isnt bland, the fandom just kinda erased his backstory (thanks to @pjohoo-memes for the phrasing lol)

- reynabeth wouldnt have lasted/would have broken up several times. idk i just see them as two extremely powerful characters who have firm opinions and will definitely clash at some point. in a platonic relationship,, i can see them as really good friends but as lovers? idk i just think theyll break up

- PIPABETH

- i dont really like jercy,, i see them as better friends than lovers. also idt jason and percy were that close..?

- the dam and not my type jokes are srsly cringey and were never funny. ik that seems hypocritical since my username literally makes use of the dam joke but honestly i dont actually like the joke. its not funny to me and has never been funny

- the seven were not best friends. they definitely argued,, and honestly probably werent as close as the fandom makes them seem. like ure dumped with 6 other people, out of which u only know a few. my introverted ass would have jumped off the argo 2 quicker than leo valdez could bomb camp jupiter up. also leo was a dick to frank. so what if frank is bigger sized?? thats not a valid reason to tease him

- the fandom needs to stop hating on octavian while worshipping luke. if u hate luke and u say u hate octavian too, then okay. but if u tell me ure a luke stan but u despise octavian?? imma disagree w u. luke was worse than octavian im sorry. first of all, octavian being a dick was kinda justified. hes been after the praetor position for so long, and everyone keeps saying to “wait for jason” when suddenly this dude, whos a son of NEPTUNE (neptune wasnt liked much by romans), and the camp decides to make him praetor?? dude i would be pissed off big time. and then afterwards, he finds out that greek demigods are real and the dude they made praetor is greek. AND THEN GREEK DEMIGODS COME TO CJ AND ONE OF THEM BOMB IT UP?? octavian has been told all his life that greeks are scum and this dude called leo valdez attacks cj. sure it was an accident, but did octavian know that? no. so it was honestly justified that he was such a salty prick im just saying. also some of yall be hating on octavian for cutting a teddy bear open and thats the funniest shit ive ever heard i swear 

- luke didnt go to elysium

- travis and connor stoll r way too underrated. the two have been head counselors of the hermes cabin since luke was revealed as a traitor, can u imagine the stress? luke, the person they probably looked up to as a brother, betrayed them. and they didnt even have time to process this when they were  thrown the roles of being hcs. that would have been so stressful and i would probably have broken down if i were them. the stoll brothers taking turns to wake up at ungodly hours because a new camper is crying and homesick and terrified, the stoll brothers having to comfort and take care of new campers, having to deal with the amount of people in that cramped space because not enough campers are being claimed fast enough. having to resolve issues between campers in the hermes cabin all the time. the stolls arent just comedic relief, and we need to stop treating them as such

- tratie shldve been canon idc idc

- demigods of the demeter cabin arent talked about enough and i love the fact that meg was demeters kid. like she isnt the child of one of the big three yet shes so powerful.

- we need to hype clarisse up more her character arc was phucking amazing 

- rachel is overhated. sis found out greek gods exist and regularly come down to earth to fuck around and went “ok cool”. queen shit behavior methinks

- the floor 19 crew of mcga is srsly underrated. like do u even remember halfborn gunderson, mallory keen, tj, etc??? bc i feel like we only remember samirah, magnus, alex, and sometimes blitz and hearthstone

- sadie (tkc) was kinda annoying at first. i like her more now tho but i rmb not liking her for a phat while

- tkc and mcga need more love

- carter kane and jason grace arent boring. theyre just really sweet boys who are too good for this world and yes yes yes 

- hazel and frank (especially frank) need to be hyped up more. i hardly ever see anything about them. also yall seem to forget that frank was literally made praetor and that even hecate admired hazel and was willing to fight beside her because of how powerful she was

- frazels age gap is kinda sketch but i still think theyre really cute

- nico definitely had trauma from going to tartarus on his own

- GROVER IS PERCYS BEST FRIEND

- annabeth isnt smarter than leo but neither is leo smarter than annabeth. ive seen a lot of discussions about who is smarter and heres my hot take on it: neither. theyre equally smart, just in different ways. leos a genius mathematically speaking. he has no issues solving math problems meant for people much, much older than him. annabeth on the otherhand, is great at strategies etc. she can make an army of 1000 more powerful than the enemy, even if theyre outnumbered. so in my opinion, both are equally as smart//u cant compare their intelligence, because their talents lie in two different areas.

- while i do agree rick riordan isnt a god and that hes bound to make mistakes,, AND that hes given us a lot of representation,, if the representation offends the people its sposed to represent, then theres a problem. im talking about piper as a poc and wearing feathers in her hair. im not a poc, so i cant speak for them on whether or not its wrong, because i dont know either. HOWEVER, i have seen multiple posts BY pocs talking about how they didnt really like rick’s representation of piper, and thats an issue. pocs have been and are still oppressed and discriminated against by many. as a white cis man, we cant really blame him for not knowing (tho he could have done a research,, asked some pocs,, idk), but by representing pocs in that manner, hes influencing impressionable kids/teens into thinking “oh pocs wear feathers in their hair all the time” etc, which isnt true. the pjo/hoo series is extremely successful, and kids who read the books will probably start forming inaccurate opinions on pocs. the amount of fan art that depicts piper with feathers in her hair dont help either. “but rick said so in the books, so its canon” yeah well rick isnt a god and he can get some things wrong at times. im not saying we should cancel him, im saying we should start educating ourselves and not spread false info like pocs wearing feathers in their hair all the time. also that snake song shit where she sang Summertime was just- yeah. bc heres the thing you can be racist, and still include minorities, but portray them in a racist way. And even then, ignorance isn't a thing to admire. Getting those facts wrong still has a major impact. It continues to perpetuate racist stereotypes.

“ With the feather thing, I looked it up myself; it takes less than five minutes to figure out that Cherokees don't braid feathers into their hair. I didn't grow up in the country where my parents are from. I have many other first/second generation American friends who have also been through that, with a bit of a disconnect from their culture. But something that most of us have in common is that when we didn't know something, and when our parents weren't that big of a help, we looked it up. We sought out resources online and through other people from our culture to be able to connect more with where we came from. Some of that took a Google search. So I find it hard to believe that Piper, a girl who Rick's trying to portray as someone who is attempting to connect with her culture and is totally against racist stereotypes, wouldn't know that eagle feathers aren't supposed to be braided into your hair casually. She may be disconnected from her culture, but she's also shown to want to connect back to it. Piper wouldn't be casually braiding feathers into her hair while also telling off people for being racist. It makes no sense.” - reddit thread (down below) 

for those of yall who wanna know more please please read this, it has a lot of things i wanna add in here : https://www.reddit.com/r/camphalfblood/comments/gy3gl2/piper_mcleans_portrayal_is_innacurate/ 

as well as https://finding-my-culture.tumblr.com/post/189422373260/maxie-ratties-and-cattie-finding-my-culture 

i will be posting screenshots of these in future posts so if ure viewing this on ig and u dont have tumblr,, dont worry 

- the fact that most of the strong female characters in the series refuse to be “girly”, and ngl i dont really like that. just because ure girly doesnt mean u cant be strong. 

- piper would have been a great way for him to start making the strong characters act girlier, but instead he went with the “I’m not like other girls” trope which is quite obnoxious to hear constantly, and I don’t think it’s necessarily great for younger girls to read that idea growing up.  the closest we've ever had to a strong female character who was also into "girly" things was Silena. when I was younger I admired Piper's "I'm not like other girls" thing, but then I got older and realized that the whole mentality of "not like other girls" is super obnoxious, and a little bit toxic

i have a heck load more that i cant rmb rn but yeah feel free to add more 

[ruby-read]

mid-year book freak out tag! - 2021

best book so far

a court of mist and fury by sarah j maas - 5 / 5 stars

need i say more? it was just so good.

best sequel so far

bitterblue by kristin cashore - 5 / 5 stars

i don't think i have talked about the graceling realm series and how much i love it on here but here i am.

i loved every book in this series but bitterblue stood out to me because even though it was incredibly long, it kept me gripped throughout. there was an unsolvable mystery (maybe im dense though) that kept me guessing for hundreds of pages and just a glimmer of romance which i usually miss when its not there but this stood on its own without it.

i thought bitterblue was an extremely strong character and it was a great ending to a companion trilogy (before winterkeep was announced and continued it). also, loved seeing all of the characters come together at the end and seeing katsa and po pop in and out.

new release i haven't read yet but want to

the nature of witches by rachel griffin realm breaker by victoria aveyard

something about witches and elemental magic just sounds so awesome to me and i am just so drawn to this book.

and i am currently enjoying the red queen series and love a good found family so im hoping to love realm breaker. ive heard mixed things so im gonna lower my expectations a little but still excited.

most anticipated release for the second half of the year

these hollow vows by lexi ryan aurora's end by *** ******** graceling: the graphic novel by kristin cashore six crimson cranes by elizabeth lim the hawthorne legacy by jennifer lynn barnes

idk why i am so excited about these hollow vows but i am and i think it's just gonna be a (hopefully) exciting fantasy romance. im hoping for two sexy men and a bad BITCHHH of a main character.

ive heard only amazing things about six crimson cranes so i am very very excited! i've been waiting for this book i think since january and its almost finally here!

aurora's end (even though the authors are cancelled) i NEED to finish the series then they will officially never receive my money again. the cliffhanger at the end of aurora burning was so incredibly uncool and so now i have no choice but to see what happens in the finale.

the graceling graphic novel. do i need to explain myself?

and the hawthorne legacy is the next installment in the inheritance games series and i really enjoyed the first book! the mystery and the way patterns were worked into it really had me intrigued and i was itching to know what was happening for the entire book. so excited to see what happens in the next one!

biggest disappointment

the crown of gilded bones by jennifer l armentrout - currently on pause/possible dnf

this book was just so boring but also SO much happened in the first 50 pages that i was honestly incredibly confused? and there was just overwhelming info-dumping about the history of the world and an underdeveloped plot. idk i just couldn't get into it (which was really disappointing bc i loved akofaf). thinking of dnfing...

biggest surprise

crown of midnight by sarah j maas - 4.5 / 5 stars

ok so. i really did not enjoy throne of glass. after reading the acotar series and then jumping into throne of glass, i hated the love triangle, the intrigue wasnt enough to get me engaged until the last third, etc. sooo i was even considering not reading the rest of the series. but of course like the sjm stan that i am, i had to. and this one was so good. i wrote a review on it so if your interested in more in depth thoughts go take a peak!

favorite new author (debut or new to me)

kristin cashore!

the way that she writes political mystery in her world is so good. not a single time did i have a correct guess on what was happening. i also loved how her books had strong woman main characters, but they all had agency in a different way. and how the romance subplots were small but enough to keep the romantic in me satisfied, but also didnt take away from the main heroines story. ugh just so good! love u girly <3

new fictional crush

aaron warner (shatter me series by tahereh mafi)

ok i know hes kind of like super crazy and kind of creepy obsessed, but also like.... cmon. hes kinda super hot too. and i kind of love the i hate everyone but you trope....

art credit: @jessdraw.s

new favorite character

lara (bridge kingdom series by danielle l jensen)

her strength, her agency, her ability to unlearn everything she grew up believing, her power. an amazing and complex character.

art credit: @rosiesfables

books that made me cry

a court of wings and ruin by sarah j maas

if you've read this book u understand why. there was a happy ending for our two main characters at the end but the war that ensued at the end of this book was just fucking heart wrenching and so beautiful at parts i will never forget everything that happened.

books that made me happy

heartstopper vol. 1 by alice oseman

i feel like this series is great for young readers (12-17). it teaches about friendship, sexuality, mental health, asking for help, how to offer help, etc. and tons of really diverse representation throughout. i wish this existed when i was younger.

it made me happy to think about young people reading this series and feeling seen and validated. and about how openly alice oseman illustrates difficult topics and how to deal with them. just made my heart swell.

most beautiful book bought/gifted so far

the ones we're meant to find by joan he

i mean... its gorgeous!!

books i need to read by the end of the year

crescent city by sarah j maas

again as a stan i need to finish this before the end of the year bc i have only heard good things and the second book comes out jan 2022.

favorite book to movie adaptation so far

moxie, shadow and bone, brigerton lol (and very excited about along for the ride!!)

2021 reading stats so far...

45 books read

35,000 pages read

11 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reads

4.13 average rating

thanks so much for reading my mid-year update! happy reading! : )

[crowfalled]

If you had to pick new leaders and deputies for each clan and the tribe, instead of who would you personally pick- who would make for the most interesting picks?

ohhhh HM... for this i’ll include some younger cats to broaden my options up but they’re obviously assumed to be old enough to Be leader in these scenarios

JaggedClan

i’ll start off SUPER selfish and say i think Leopardstar with Night[redacted] as her deputy would be interesting!

Leopardpaw is a very untrusting and reserved cat, and Nightpaw is very much the opposite, which kinda flips the dynamic Mantisstar/Oakjaw have going on right now. i think it’d be fun to see how JaggedClan would do under a leader who doesn’t particularly want to help cats outside of their clan, or want open the clan up to any to offer shelter or the like, especially after how i think Mantisstar’s constant kindness has softened the mountain cats reputation up a lot. but then there’d be Nightpaw as her deputy at her shoulder, and as we’ve seen Leopard definitely looks to the cats she looks up to for guidance. so WOULD Nightpaw be able to convince her to help the other clans when they need it? to take in rogues? i think it’d be a really interesting leader/deputy dynamic between them!

CreekClan

iiii had a lot of trouble with this one tbh. so you know WHAT... Raccoonstar with deputy Applepaw.

Raccoontail is charming. he could bust out the good relations he could make with the other leaders by sweet talking.... or deeply offend them and make everything so much worse. i feel like he’d have a sort of laissez-faire approach to leadership, very chill with it, which is another direct opposite to how Currentstar currently operates. i think Applepaw has some natural leadership qualities, which would be interesting to see alongside Raccoonstar! they’d get along, but maybe not agree on how to approach everything. i could see her overworking herself as a deputy, determined to keep things running smoothly and holding all of that weight on her shoulders, but she’d certainly be good at it. and if her penchant for forbidden sort of crushes keeps up..... spicy

NettleClan

Applestar with Swan[redacted] or Swanstar with Apple[redacted]. doesn’t matter. listen.

hear me out. can you IMAGINE the power they would hold. i’m not saying it would be an entirely fairly run NettleClan because ohhh those girls certainly hold some biases but. it’d be fun to watch! there’s not a lot of that sort of leveling each other out with a milder deputy to a harsher leader or vice versa since both Applepaw and Swanpaw are pretty intense little cats, unless Rabbitpaw manages to get a word into her sisters edgewise, so i could see a LOT of conflicts or little issues that are blown into something just a bit bigger or harsher. maybe some petty punishments. maybe some clanmates not agreeing with how they operate. running their mouths off to the other clans about NettleClan superiority. yknow. spice. they’d be a FORCE to be reckoned with.

FogClan

going with the most basic choice of Bramblestar with Foxflame deputy.

they’re just GOOD together..... i think that same dynamic they have as mates would extend to being leader/deputy together. the Loyalty they’d have to each other. the power couple energy. Foxflame using his deputy power to officially adopt every cat in the clan. i feel like together they’d make some good headway at fixing up the damaged relations FogClan has with the other clans, maybe help out their admittedly rather poor reputation?

Tribe of Twisted Tunnels

spring - Feather Breeze

maybe not the most Out There of choices, but what can i say, i’m a Feather Mist stan. she’d definitely bring a softness to the spring leadership that Tiger Breeze (and her heirs) don’t exactly have... but would that be a good thing? could she be taken advantage of? idk! Feather Mist has always had a lot of big sister energy, but would she be able to handle being the head of her season? that’s a lot of responsibility!

summer - Twilight Sun

maybe just a little bit biased but ohhh i love a boy. especially with the way he shadowed Cold Sun around, he would’ve made a good heir!! Twilight’s enthusiasm for his season is contagious, and i think his pluckiness and go-getter attitude would be good for summer. it was really sweet to watch him try to take Howl under his wing, and while i could totally see him continuing to do that Regardless, leader Twilight would be so good at making all of the new summer to-be’s feel special and right at home in their season.

fall - Butterfly Leaf

okay i don’t know if Tiger Breeze would have existed as leader in this scenario, BUT. imagining her raising the two fall heirs (especially after the ordeal with Hollow the summer heir) would be so juicy. Butterfly Song is the softer of her and Firefly Flicker, and while I think Firefly could make a good leader in her own right... it’d be neat to see how Butterfly Song handled being thrust into leadership after being raised by a leader in a way as complicated as their childhood was. she’s so by-the-book and such a rule follower, but would she enforce more of that attitude on the tribe whenever it was her turn to lead? or would she let cats walk all over her? i could maybe see Firefly Flicker running a behind the scenes thing against cats giving Butterfly Leaf a hard time if she wouldn’t speak up much for it herself, like knock it off Or Else .

winter - hmmm okay i flipped back and forth between a few options for this one but. i think i’m gonna go with Hawk Frost!

not only would it be fun to see Hawk Frost and Twilight Sun leading side by side, but he’d be carrying on Honey Frost’s legacy, which i could tooootally see getting to his head. i feel like being leader would give Hawk an inflated sense of ego, and since he’s already pretty confident... that might be a recipe for some total recklessness. and ALSO. the dynamic between him and Aspen Breeze if he was heir/leader??? ohhhh god would that be something

[petitmimosa]

About overscoring and all that.

Real hard Nathan stans aside, is there really anyone out there blind to what the ISU is doing? They’re not trying to hide even a little anymore, so.

Don’t get me wrong, Nathan IS a good skater, a great jumper, he’s just not a complete FIGURE skater yet. Which is the name of the sport so unless you go and change the very name itself, you’ll keep having the same issues.

Skaters aren’t blind either. Obv Nathan is happy about the score, but boy himself is saying that components wise, he’s nowhere near where Yuzu is. Nathan isn’t blind, he knows his sport. He knows his PCs are way too high because jumps aside, right now his programs are, well, kind of empty. I really think he means it when he says Yuzu can do everything he does better than him. Because, as a skater who’s been doing this for the better part of his life, it’s the truth. Transitions? Better. Skating skills? Better. And so on. 

Did you see the height of their respective 4lz? Nathan’s peak was around 65cm, Yuzu’s was 85cm. (at 25 azghr(tyezrethn boy is going to land a 4A that’s 1m high and we are going to die, bye world.) Do I need to compare their 3A? 

Right now the ISU is holding onto Nathan because he’s a 20 year-old kid from the USA aka what they’ve always dreamed about having as their mascott. Also, Nathan’s reaction was so...lukewarm? The way Raf was holding his hand high up like he was some kind of boxer was... pathetic, to put it lightly. I’m not saying Nathan doesn’t take some kind of advantage of that, because let’s face it, he’s in it to win it. But you know what this weekend taught me? I don’t give a fuck anymore. I’ve made my peace with how corrupt all this is and won’t blink at scores anymore. As long as Yuzu’s happy with his skate, comes out stronger after every performance, I’m happy too. 

Also, how funny is it that with a 4lz in the SP and shameless GOEs, Yuzu is STILL the WR holder? Even funnier, the 225+ 5 quads FS score under the new system is BARELY higher than Helsinki’s 223+ 4 quads FS under the old system, and only 6 points higher than GPF 2015 219+ with... 3 quads. Don’t even get me started on how 335 and 330 because I start laughing everytime. 2 more quads for only 5 points difference total when at the time Yuzu was only jumping 4S and 4T. The ISU works hard, but Yuzu’s ankles work harder. Sorry bitches. It truly is laughable.

Yuzu’s comment about how figure skating isn’t a jumping competition makes me think that maybe he’s started to realize what the ISU is doing? Idk. Boy is trolling so hard when he says that the gap in scores doesn’t bother him since he’s already won competitions this way too. The real tell will be when he truly skates CLEAN and they have no reason to underscore him, doing so will be so blatantly cheating it might just make him snap for good. I mean he already went for the kill at SC when he said OUT LOUD and STRAIGHT TO THE CAMERA “i hope the rotation was okay for the toe”, who knows what the heck he’ll say the day he’s done with the ISU bullshit.

The ISU must be losing their mind, trying to find a way to get him to quit. As much as I adore Yuzu and want him to keep skating, I can’t wait for the ISU to lose all their damn money the day he retires. Overscored skaters might help them for a season, but it won’t make people stick around and travel from across the world. As much as I think they’re hoping that they’ll get rid of the problematic part of the FS fandom, aka Fanyus, they’re just so certain people will stay and keep financing them.. it’s pathetic. Really pathetic. Sorry not sorry. I love figure skating as a sport, it's actually my favorite one alongside tennis, but i didn't spend that much money to go to Torino to watch FS live. I did it to see Yuzu. So.

They can try all they want to put higher and higher numbers, but as time passes, numbers fade. Scores are forgotten and what sticks is the performance. Seimei will live on forever, Hope and Legacy too. I mean I could name every single one of his programs because let’s face it, they’ll all stay engraved in everybody’s minds. R&J? Chopin? LGC? Phantom GPF14? Pistol pose in PW, that swagger at 18? People watch the Swan and cry. There is something to remember from every single one of his performances. 

I keep showing footage of Yuzu to a friend who knows nothing about FS and she once said that you can see his “beautiful soul” when he skates.

That’s the power he holds the moment he steps on the ice, and that’s why, despite all the ISU’s efforts to erase everything he’s ever done, his legacy will live on forever. He’s touched so many souls, too many for his achievements to be forgotten. Ever.

[hallucinosims]

Wondering if you have any favorite newer simblr stories / storytellers? As I’ve read thru both those amazing stories by honeybodies and daniparadise multiple times lol

Ah yes… I have waited for a moment like this for eons. My friend, welcome to Hall’s library

I’ll start with complete storys (gens/arcs) and then tie it up with my fave ongoing ones yes this is a full rec like back in the fanfic days ya’ll are getting summaries and what I love about each one too. 

Complete

We’ll start with the fallen soldier of @simmerberlin

I say fallen soldier because Miles To Go was the last story simmerberlin put fully on tumblr due to Tumblr’s ban. It’s techinically a gen 2 but stands well on it’s own! But, if you have the chance ya’ll should read all her stories from when she moved to discord. Another benefit, it’s a little gay

Next, @lyrics-and-intoxication‘s Trouble (in this case part 1)

AHHHHHHHHH AHHHHH I HAVE REREAD PART 1 THREE TIMES AHHHHH OF COURSE I STILL READ IT AS IT GOES ON BECAUSE PART 2 IS STILL A THING BUT IT HURTS MY FEELINGS SO I JUST KEEP RE READING PART 1. Okay but real talk this is definitely one of the heavier ones (which is why I love it) so if you are faint of heart it may not be the one for you. It’s intense

Ya’ll all probably know the iconic @softpine’s Cameilla legacy by now

But not as many of you have been around for Caroline’s beginning character arc and that HITS DIFFERENT. Ya’ll need to experience Caroline growing up to be the mother she is today for everything that happened recently to really hurt (if you’re into that sort of thing) Anyway Cara deserves the world but don’t think for one second I forgot her teenage fashion sense

Wolfgang Munch’s arc but the lovely @gunthermunch

Ooh bitch. Ai was the first simmer that made me care about the Munch’s and is probably the only one tbh. Espescially Wolfgang, that shit ripped my heart out. So, if you’re into seeing the bleached scumbag turn into an alright father ex-punk who just wants to water his plants and hangs out with his niece then you’re in for a treat because despite my summary here a lot more happens and it HITS (This is a Cassandra Goth stan account she deserves the best)

Gen 2 @ratboysims

Now of course I like this whole legacy, and I know gen 4 is kinda on hiatus right now but Gen 2???? GEN 2??? THAT HURT! They loved each other so much!!!! (also has a little pocket story that involves a trans character! I don’t believe that’s finished but the couple of posts were lovely!)

Incomplete

Is it cheating if i say @liliithvatore?

Because she just restarted the story of the Vatores. IDK I’m here for it and love a good redux so I’m excited to see where it goes. You guys into tarot cards? Ya’ll like some vampires? Some tragedy? Well folks Hell or High Water is it for you

@weoaty and the fated Unusual Days

Unusual Days hasn’t even begun story posts yet but i have been waiting for unusual days for 500 YEARS AND I WILL WAIT 500 MORE 

@wanderlustonline and The Kolbs 

The Kolbs is more gameplay then story and its been a hot minute since she posted but we still stan Augie in this household so i had to. It’s aesthetic, there are cryptids. Literally what more could you want?

@zombietrait​ who hurts my feelings with every post these two aren’t together

Who’da thought Hugo and Malcolm would be a match made in heaven? Sure as hell not me. And yet here I am thinking about these two together and how much they deserve each other but can’t because CRIME SYNDICATES AND COOKING AND VAMPIRES AND THEY BOYS JUST DESERVE LOVE THEY WERE SO CLOSE 

BROKEN ROSE!!!!! I CAN’T REMEMBER THEIR USERNAME RIGHT NOW BUT IT DOESN’T GET THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES HOLY SHIT WILL UPDATE AS SOON AS I REMEMBER!!

General Rec

aka, a list of stories that i haven’t had the chance to REALLY get into yet but I’m excited for the prospect

@oakensky, @cyberth0t, @gremlinsims, @romanticsims, @saomie, @wonderscotts, @captainmrbored (i love their editing it’s so unique their stories are pretty short but absolutely worth it), @afternoonzephyr, @stillgotme, @streetlightaurora, @okruee, and more that will be updated with time that was just off the top of my head!

[lgcmedia]

i’ve seen a lot of talk about the new generation of legacy trainees but i haven’t seen anyone talk about hwang subin yet?? and why??? when he’s a whole snack?? honestly, i attended the festivals and concerts that legacy keeps doing for their other artists but i have to admit… he caught my eye… like have you seen his arms?? he’s insane for this… they look even better when you see him perform because he’s actually a really good dancer and super charismatic on stage.  i couldn’t stop watching him even with all the other trainees! i was really surprised because i had no idea legacy had someone like him in their dungeons… why hasn’t he been given more opportunities like some of the others?? he could be so popular! just look at him!!! legacy, please push hwang subin more!! i would give you all my money if he debuts!!!!!

[ + / – ] wow… his arms are crazy??? HOW has no one mentioned him before when he looks like THIS?! legacy would be crazy not to debut him… just imagine how many fans he could make his own if he was pushed more? [ + / – ] idk op… maybe there’s a reason he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities… i remember seeing him in cram school because my friend made me watch episodes with her and he didn’t seem special? the only thing that stood out was his pink hair tbh… [ + / – ] finally!!! i swear i was the only one who cared about subin because i barely saw any posts about him… he’s really cute, has a sweet voice AND he’s smart on top of being a good performer! did you know he’s studying astrophysics while still being a trainee?? if that doesn’t scream amazing then idk what does…. wake up and stan hwang subin already!!!

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[justicebled]

on yuri, on flynn. ‘

when yuri / flynn are okay. the boys are okay. tina, you’re getting a tag. hmu if you don’t want it i laugh because we both hate ims but if you’re fine with it i’ll just do that rn tbh! lily being straightforward as always. 

but...i can finally reblog this hurt comfort art i found just for this occasion. as a yuri and genuinely someone who relates to him without projecting i can fully say i obviously i LOVE trolling flynn and my friends know i roast and defend him in equal measures. they’re good people and they honestly suffer enough tbh. i hope they rest one day.  ?  but i’ll be the first to defend him even if i can be hard on him. friends know i am very hard on flynn in the game and also go analytical for once about it and i don’t like thinking too much tbh. more a doer. yes, i actually really care about flynn’s character. i just am bad at conveying it.

 i don’t really expect anyone who writes flynn to go easy on me and i can take that. these two realistically hurt each other horribly and they’re trying their best to fix their world. one took an agonizingly heavy burden and job no one wanted and the party pretty much is like ‘lmao yuri this is the worst job man’. the other took the public eye and is stuck p much forever in the spotlight and can’t show weakness unless they both retire at some point. and he literally has the legacy of his father on his back? and yuri has the outside world to bear.

i mean it’s unrealistic i realize in the end to think one or the other, one of them does dirty to the other when they just...they want the other always to be okay. there’s no power imbalance i mean personally i write yuri pretty dominant in his relationships without overpowering but not because he’s superior. he’s a very strong-willed man? however you see them, i can see all ways, and i’ve really over time with a LOT of time loved them more as kinda star crossed dumbasses? yuri loves flynn as a best friend first but the road to liking them like THAT took me forever.

he will always be in any relationship, his best friend. he will never harbor resentment for him doing what he feels he has to if yuri strays from that unwavering, ‘pure justice’. and yes, he’s not just a hero but a criminal, and yuri owns that and flynn owns his mistakes. so i feel i have to defend both. not just be your unapologetic yuri stan.

 while it’s such a hard thing to watch, their initial most of the game journey...and how they fall and distance, i don’t think they’re an unsalvageable relationship and i’m a brutally honest realist. i don’t need to tell you guys that i think it’s obvious yuri / flynn in any form is insanely important to me just as much as any other tov bond. i mean, a lot of the ring a bell stuff pretty much is talking about them falling apart and wanting to get the other back however you see them. but JUST AS MUCH  i also think it talks about the entire cast / yuri’s relationships as a whole, and like or dislike, yuri and flynn are a huge theme to the game. so it’s both for me? like it genuinely phases even me who tries not to get very emotive about...things in general because reasons but, watching their descent and fall into not talking and being livid at each other to not smiling and laughing is meant to make anyone feel miserable. because you know they want each other to be okay. and they’re both so stubborn. 

but i admit like...it’s nice to see how flynn always fondly in spin offs is like ‘haha you remind me of my friend.’ like it’s a running theme that flynn openly and unashamedly hints at how fond and how much he cares for yuri. i mean the story sure, makes it hard to make it ‘normal’. they’ll never be normal. but they are yuri and flynn.

 it’s nice how yuri always in the party is harsh / never gives him leeway on flynn because someone has got to get on him when he’s overdoing it. but also really fond in his mannerisms. how estelle says flynn says ‘he can never ignore someone in need’. how yuri looks fond and says, ‘well you tell him he’s the same way.’ so yeah it sucks! to watch them throw stones at each other when you know they’d die for each other. in any form! and idk. i just gotta defend their relationship because it isn’t just flynn. nor is it all yuri’s fault. 

this got long but. in any form, yuri / flynn has and is very important to me like all the tov relationships are for me and it took me a while to actually warm up and ship it beyond the fandom representation? but my own y’know? mostly because i disagreed with how i saw yuri being.. done but hey i don’t own him. 

  flynn gave just being his best friend and the angry kid ‘outside the wall’ his home beyond old hanks and the kids he led before flynn showed up and...beat the shit out of them and earned yuri’s respect and even his tightly guarded, absurdly kind heart. which tbh makes yuri suffer more than anything else. his selflessness and kindness. miss me with yuri being a bad person lmao, he’s far from it. 

and frankly neither is flynn or why would yuri keep at it? yuri is a good judge of who a person is. flynn makes him proud and he watches over him even if it’s far away. and probably pranks him with joke mail. :’ ) which probably has flynn scifo screaming from zaphias all the way to be heard from dahngrest.

so yeah i do want them to be happy! it just will never be normal or easy. but to say they hate each other or make each other at their core, miserable is... i don’t think that’s quite it. you never make someone just ‘one thing’. relationships are complicated. yuri / flynn is a great fictional example of one that is full of love and also...a lot of trauma and hurdles. 

basically while i’m ‘team yuri’ in terms of agreeing with him? i will be like yuri, in flynn’s corner and also like yuri...get mad at him LOL. because however you see it he’s a huge part of yuri and a major chunk of him. just like brave vesperia. but no one can take flynn’s place just because yuri has a pack now. neither cancels the other out in yuri’s life.

flynn has a permanent massive spot in yuri’s heart. 

and he always will. and yuri will always, always watch over him.

[inventors-fair]

Herald Commentary

I’m happy with the wide range of cards that people jumped into for this contest! There was a wide range, but a lot of modern ideas. I think because of Magic’s contemporary focus on legendary creatures, many people sought ideas that came from more recent sets. Looking at the entries, what do you think?

Let’s get to commentary!

@ace-hobo​ — Caller of Devastation

That’s a pretty cool name, and it’s an interesting flavor that you’re going for. I would have rather seen a card that focused on a singular card and follower, one that fits an isolated flavor. For the sake of this contest, it makes sense that you would name the cards. I could see this printed in a regular set as a card that tutored for a God creature card or something.

@aethernalstars​ — Caller of the Harvest

Alright, it took me a second to understand this card. I don’t think that almost-irremovable devotion is a pain in extended formats, but in a vacuum it’s a pain in the butt, and I’m not a huge fan. Still, a cool idea for mechanical execution. Still trying to figure out how a plant becomes a cleric. Additionally, those symbols: it should be “GW, T:” with the comma and space.

@cas-420 — Crackling Boltkin

Now this is fun. Honestly, I would have liked this card better as either a graveyard summon or a library summon, not both. I’m really proud of you for the wording on this, though. It’s a complex idea that you pulled off well. The double triggers plus the double search makes this card feel like it’s trying to do a little too much, but I like the name and I like the concept. It feels like a contemporary elemental.

@dabudder​ — Gerrard, Legacy Protector

It’s interesting to see white using the graveyard as a “keep this secret safe” kind of thing. I think. Man, that ability though... I can imagine this being pretty crazy broken in some capacity. Stacking a bunch of different legendary artifacts and big bombs or something... I don’t know, this card feels powerful and worrying but it probably isn’t broken. Small note: The card is just “Weatherlight” lol

@dimestoretajic​ — Yar-Kul, the Maggot

I actually remember reading about Yargle way back in the Dominaria days. Man, wish I could have afforded more Magic back then... Anyway. I personally find the “card within a card” concept pretty fun. There’s nothing really objectively wrong with this card. If I had to find a criticism, it feels minorly clunky that one legend is a search while one is just a sacrifice. Comparing that to that Reef Worm thing from the Commander set, it’s just a little iffy. But it fulfills the contest and I like it.

@ezurad​ — Mad Cultist

Looks like you forgot to change the name in that activated ability there? Always always proofread. Conceptually, I think I like this card. For a common, I would have added reminder text to the Madness instead of adding flavor text, as cool as the flavor is. Interesting take on an “any number of X” ability. This card also needs a shuffle clause after the search, FYI. Not a bad entry!

@fractured-infinity​ — Hunter’s Prey

I don’t know enough about the Ikoria storyline, and that’s on me. Regardless, I get it, and it’s a fine enough tutor even if it is pretty easy to abuse. It’s a unique take on the tutor, and it’s a cool flavor to set out prey to summon your Snapdax. Two wording criticisms: One, the name doesn’t need to be in quotes; and Two, the shuffle clause can be added to the previous sentence e.g. “When ~ dies, its owner may search their library for a card named Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle their library.” Minor things, no biggie.

Genex-P — Herald of the Night

We’re going WAY back. I had to search this card because I was actually totally unfamiliar by name alone. I really like that! And holy crap, I didn’t know that Nightstalker was a real creature type. I do wish that the tokens contributed to the search, though. It feels weird that the first ability still requires you to have a different Nightstalker to activate it. Still, neat idea, pretty fun, and a great old callback with modern updates. Amazing flavor text, too.

@gollumni​ — Incarnation of Aclazotz

And I’m also not super familiar with Ixalan story, either, but that doesn’t mean this card isn’t cool. It’s complex, and it’s a little confusing to take things and turn them about, but the card itself plays well. I would really have liked for that token to have indestructible, personally, but that would have been a little too powerful for five mana. Still, cool concept, and an interesting “land tutor” in black.

@greensunzenith​ — Meroe Revane

Flavorfully, I think this card is really cool, even if I’m not positive that it makes sense considering... Would Nissa’s mom be on Zendikar where all this takes place? IDK. Anyway, mechanically, the fact that you have to have to have both the cards to do anything is a big ask. Nissa Revane, the card, was pretty egregious for asking to have that card itself. But yeah, I’m not the biggest fan of this card’s mechanics. Still a fun card conceptually.

@gus-goose — Herald of the Hunt

Another Snapdax stan? Did Snapdax become the ultimate Ikoria stan when I wasn’t looking? Anyway. I think that the combination of cards is a flavorful way to express devotion to Snapdax and I like how you included the mutate clause. I’m not a fan of how the ability works mechanically. Building around this card is pretty moot, because the setup feel like too much when you could just get Snapdax itself. Were there enough of those in Ikoria? There were a lot of creatures there... I don’t know, this card just feels like too much work.

@haru-n-harkel​ — Moonrise Dragster

I like the concept of searching for a flavorful aura like Caught in the Brights. It’s a fun and interesting way of tutoring for control cards. There’s a lot about this card that I’m not sure I understand. Why such a high crew cost? The mana cost to P/T ratio feels all out of whack. I’m also not sure why there’s the “doesn’t untap” clause. Is it flavorful? Is it a mechanical addition? I just don’t “get” a lot of this card’s decisions. Power-level wise, getting the aura from your graveyard is too much. It’s not a weak enchantment. 

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes​ — Devotee’s Squire

It’s a cute idea, I think. A little bit underwhelming to search for a card to search for a card. I’m not sure why this card mechanically exists. Flavorfully, this also takes place on Theros, Greek mythology, which as far as I know doesn’t have knights or squires.

@ignorantturtlegaming​ — Whirling Waves

This card is...powerful. I think the first ability is crazy, but fine. Second ability is insanely overpowered in limited. Third ability is holy cow powerful, assuming you mean “X on each” and not “X distributed.” Conceptually, I like this card a lot and I think that it’s a cool summon. In practical terms, the power level needs significant tweaking.

@karkatvantasticvantas​ — The Second Scourge

Interesting! “Tapped and crewing” is a fantastic little tweak with a flavorful idea behind it that I fully support. Seven mana for that cost, though, is... It feels like a little much, but it probably isn’t? I would have made this card colorless, honestly. I don’t think the Grixis colors are really useful here. “Menace” should be lowercase. This is a unique card, and I think I like it. Probably should be a rare.

@koth-of-the-hammerpants — Krajling Incubator

“Egg Ooze.” Love it. Great flavor text and a pretty fun card that’s very Simic. Two small notes: “Remove” should be capitalized, and the card needs a shuffle clause. Aside from that, I think that this card is a pretty fun uncommon. I wish there was a way that it could put counters on creatures.

@misterstingyjack​ — End Times Proselytizer

Thirteen colorless nonland permanents is a LOT. Even if you get something crazy off that first trigger, getting up there is a lot. Thirteen creatures would be enough, honestly. If you would have an easier time casting Emrakul by herself than using this card, then things might be a little too crazy. Also, why doesn’t the first ability just say “for each non-Eldrazi creature that died this turn”? I think this is a cool card, but it’s just not as good as the creature you’re searching for. I do love how you cast it from outside the game.

@ozthearistocrat​ — Oketra’s Blade

It’s a concept that I appreciate for sure. Getting a creature at different points in the story feels like a Time Spiral-esque idea. Honestly, though, I’m not a fan of the mechanics here. There are two different sets for a reason, and the spirit of the contest is a little different than that. Still, not a bad idea. FYI, I would really look into getting your MSE set up with fonts, because this card is REALLY hard to read.

@real-aspen-hours​ — Oracle of Oracle of Mul Daya

10/10. In all seriousness, keep this in a file for something that can let you play land and Shaman cards from the top of your library or something. Not a bad concept. I am laughing at the name, though.

@reaperfromtheabyss​ — Terrible Flamespeaker

Once more, the name of the card doesn’t need to be in quotes. As for the card’s mechanics, this one is interesting. I like how it encourages mono-red shenanigans. It’s a powerful on-curve card by itself which is pretty cool. I like how it tells the story of a world more than it does of a legendary creature, even if it is a rare searching for a rare, which feels... IDK, a little off with the nature of this contest. There’s nothing objectively wrong with this card besides the quotes, though, so call it a success.

@shakeszx — Beast Blessed Sword

Was there something about the Eldraine story that I missed? When was there a sword involved? Why isn’t there a hyphen to make it “Beast-Blessed” - unless it’s a different meaning? I’m a little confused. Regardless, the card itself I like. It’s recursion for Kenrith, which is a pain in the ass, but it’s a fun card regardless, I think. Having played against Kenrith, I’m not the biggest fan, but I know he’s fun to play, so I can’t complain.

@shandylamb​ — Scrap // Salvage

Okay. Straight-up, this card is doing too much. If this was on an actual Aftermath card, it would be packed to the gills and be practically unreadable. Scrap is probably the best side, even though it should say “put it onto the battlefield” and just “sacrifice an artifact” since you can only sacrifice permanents you control anyway. Salvage is just... I don’t know, I don’t get it. It requires both a legendary permanent and a target for it, and it doesn’t feel like a legendary event. The thing about “legendary” instants and sorceries was that they had a creature or planeswalker attached to them that made them feel epic. This card just doesn’t have that. I feel like you put too many ideas into too small a space.

@sigiledpaladin​ — Alarm of the Tenth

Why does this card search your graveyard too? That’s one hair in an otherwise fine cupcake of a card. It’s just a bit of a shame that it doesn’t “do” anything when it first comes out. Also, the second sentence should be “This ability costs (4) less to activate if [etc].” It’s a fine tutor, just a little underwhelming.

@snugz​ — Sliver Hivecaller

Would you believe that I actually love this card? Would you also believe that, in my opinion, this card would have been a winner......... if it wasn’t a Sliver? With the exception of the old legendary Slivers, all Slivers should inform other Slivers. And, well, this card doesn’t feel like a sliver. I love it, I really do. But it’s just not Sliver-y. I know that’s useless and boring commentary, but man, trust me, this card is great. Just make it, like, a Human Shaman or something? Ooh, or a mutant.

@starch255​ — Oracle of Ancestry

This card would break eternal formats. Tutoring for Ancestral Recall and Brainstorm is... Wow. I don’t know, I might just be paranoid, but “tutor for some of the most powerful draw and thinning in Magic’s history” is something to be paranoid about, right? I’m not going crazy? Considering the wide range of formats and places that these cards come from, it’s not out of the question to assume that that was the intention of the card. Not sure how I feel about that.

@yesimnotrealanymore — Rise of Emrakul

The good: It’s certainly flavorful. The criticism:

3BBBB is way too costly, and color-heavy.

You don’t necessarily need “a” in that first ability. Just “Create Cryptolith”

Second ability should be two sentences. “Its,” not “it’s”

“Destroy up to four target creatures. For each creature destroyed this way, its controller creates a colorless 3/2 Eldrazi creature token.”

The Roman numeral for four is “IV.”

In order for that last ability to work, Emrakul would need three time counters on it and then gain vanishing. Additionally, we need to suspend our disbelief that both sagas and vanishing exist in the same set as Eldritch Moon.

~

Thank you all for your entries! A new legendary contest starts tomorrow.

[warzofstarz]

star wars Thoughts at 4 am

ok so rise of skywalker happened,,, and i have mixed feelings. i didn’t hate it but i didn’t love it either (and i usually love star wars movies), so i am in desperate need of a little rant about both the good and the bad in the conclusion of the saga

DISLIKE

1. JJ ABRAMS DISREGARDING ALL OF THE DEVELOPMENT WE EXPERIENCED DURING LAST JEDI. this is what i am most upset about. you don’t have to like tlj, but you can’t pretend it never happened. it’s like he was trying to completely backtrack on everything that happened in tlj bc it was ~his~ vision for the franchise. i think that is disrespectful to not only rian, but to fans who grew attached to the development of the characters. we see finn revert back to first movie finn (lovesick puppy lowkey), rey become an invincible child of the sith, the end of the skywalker family line, complete abandonment of rose, and a total shift in the message of the trilogy. all jammed last second into the film. the next few points all have to do w this

2. the fact that in tlj it is revealed that rey is truly nobody- she’s not some all-powerful descendant or some with royal blood- and tros completely ignores this and makes her a palpatine. the whole point before was that she’s normal, but that doesn’t make her any less powerful, smart, or strong. the message from the first two movies was that you don’t have to be in these elite categories to be special and powerful, which is an important message to every single child and adult watching. it empowers us as viewers to believe that we have the capability to be great, no matter our status, birth name, ethnicity, class, or where we are from. you can find family when you have none. you have the power to change your life. when jj decide LAST SECOND to make her a palpatine, with no clues thrown into the first two movies to lead us to believe this, it feels like a joke. the rey we had come to sympathize with is suddenly an all-powerful sith, seeming stronger than even anakin and yoda, even though she had never even completed training. this reveal is not emotional and literally loses respect rather than gaining any from the audience. a cop out. i felt less emotionally attached to rey than in the previous two films bc of her sheer perfect power

3. rose being 100% sidelined even though her character was incredible in last jedi. her arc was one that i truly couldn’t wait to see finish and sadly we never got it because she was completely abandoned so it could just be a trio once more. i love her. the disrespect.

4. the sudden introduction of zorri just so that poe has someone to flirt with??? like if you wanted to prove he was heterosexual make him flirt w someone he has actual on screen history and chemistry with, like uhhhh idk? rey?????? dont get me wrong tho she is a badass and i love how she shuts poe down!! queen

5. how they throw it in there that finn is force sensitive but don’t fully explain it?? and he never even tells rey??? this is SUCH a cool concept yet it’s never even hinted at until the third movie and its not further developed as to why. likewise i wish we saw the stormtroopers before they left the first order. see what they dealt with and the abuse they endured bc it’s such an important facet of the trilogy and literally drives finns character

6. how we never touch on why poe felt it when rey was tortured?

7. i wish leia hadn’t died and she rallied support w lando

8. if they are a dyad why didn’t rey and ben fight palpatine together?? then no one would have died??

9. i’m just really sad that they chose to kill ben because even though rey takes their name, the skywalker bloodline is gone, while a palpatine lives on. the entire purpose of the first six movies is anakin bringing balance by defeating palpatine. somehow, palpatine survived this (never explained!!!!), which completely defeated the purpose of the first six films and strips anakins chosen one status and ultimate sacrifice of any true importance. in the end of tros, the palpatine bloodline lives on while the skywalker bloodline is gone, and i can’t help but to feel like that contradicts the theme of the original saga in which the skywalkers defeat palpatine and hope lives on.

10. lastly, i just don’t think george lucas would have wanted ben to die. when people kill off main characters to make the movie more emotional, he has literally said “i don’t like that and i don’t believe that” he goes on to say that he hates when main characters are killed, stating “the whole point of the film, the whole emotion that i am trying to get at the end of the film, is for you to be real uplifted, emotionally and spiritually, and feel absolutely good about life. that is the greatest thing we could ever possibly do.” so, i’m sure some of you could see why i have a little issue with killing someone who has finally recognized the error of their ways and wants to be better. yes, he has done awful things that cannot be separated from his new identity as ben, but i think that it would have been even more impactful to make him live with the crimes he has committed and still make him keep fighting his demons to join his legacy on the light side. overall, bens death left a sour taste in my mouth, and for that reason i don’t walk out feeling uplifted. i just wish i knew what george lucas is thinking right now.

LIKE

1. ben solo’s arc and han. now, before some of you pop off at me, i still think he was awful and horrible and didn’t deserve instant forgiveness, but i also think that someone who has grown up his entire life being treated like the spawn of satan by all adults who are supposed to love him would fuck him up majorly, like it would to anyone else in that situation. i think that he deserved another chance at experiencing love and happiness, and i absolutely adored the scene with him and han solo. it was honestly one of the best parts of the whole movie. thank you harrison ford. the whole “i don’t think i’m strong enough” and him tearing up to his dad CUT DEEP. AND THE “dad-“ “i know” LIKE LITERALLY MY HEART. bringing back the “i love you” “i know” so they are LITERALLY TELLING EACH OTHER THEY LOVE EACH OTHER!!! i’m at peace. adam driver’s acting was absolutely phenomenal. so much respect for him. truly incredible.

2. i loved poe and rey’s bickering. lowkey thought it built some chemistry between them. and how poe seemed quite jealous that finn knew stuff about rey that he didn’t, literally asking him more than once (1nce) about it, like???? han leia vibes. tea. but also poe and finn

3. i really liked jannah SOOO much (and i usually am not one for introducing a character so late) but, like i explained in detail above, i wish they had built that backstory better and introduced her a little bit sooner with more screen time. but i loved her and finns connection and understanding of their trauma.

4. FINN AND POE BEING THE CUTEST HUMANS EVER. that’s all. i just love how they care so very much about each other like stop. cogenerals.

5. ALL THE JEDI VOICES WERE SO FREAKING COOL. CHILLS.

6. i honestly think that’s all. i don’t have anything more

7. OH WAIT HUX BEING THE SPY. i ate that shit up. yes. we stan. AND the hint that he was going along w poe’s phone call in tlj so that the resistance could escape (that’s how poe KNEW it) like YES

8. the animation of young luke and leia made my heart weep

9. that lil sketchy bitch babu and the new cone droid that talks,, mmm

10. OH THAT THE FORCE BOND LETS THEM TRANSMIT OBJECTS THRU IT LIKE THE VADER MASK SCENE WAS ICONIC

11. this is so sad that i am putting this in my “like” parts but the fact that they didn’t kill chewie and that they showed him being so torn up about leias death

12. OH AND CHEWIE GETTING HIS MEDAL THAT WAS SO HYPE

13. rey burying the skywalker lightsabers and looking into the sunset, perfectly tying back to luke doing the same 42 years ago

overall, if i don’t think too hard, i did like it and felt kind of at peace. BUT it could’ve been much better @ JJ :/ i feel like it didn’t do the saga justice as the “conclusion of the saga” bc there is still so much left unanswered. but, like i said, i did enjoy it a lot and have so much love for this world. rant over. i love u star wars. thank u for everything. <3