#rar spoilers

[1apple-fox1]

RaR update for the ppl who care, currently working on a lore doc, just trying to do anything that will help me keep things relatively consistent and help me actually pin down locations for places

[vaalthus]

Ah and as previously suspected, the Southern Empire has a bit, and by bit I mean big, of a political corruption problem when it comes to just existing. I am curious as to whether it was built that way or whether it simply devolved into that overtime.

That being said, it makes sense as to why Sirius refuses his place on the throne and why there's been a theme of Damocles throughout this questline so far. Good men and women like Sirius don't always last long in political systems that demand that one be curel, corrupt, and amoral just to survive. Leading to them either being ineffective, dead, or becoming something they themselves would look upon with disgust to keep the system running as is.

Worst part here though is that becoming emperor might not be a choice Sirius has. As Kassandra pointed out the Imperial family seems to a vested interest in Sirius being bound to the Sword of Inanitas in spite of the limitations it imposes on his very being.

Coupled that with fact that Fear Sirius asserts that wielding the sword will allow Sirius to rule unopposed brings me to a conclusion. It is likely in my view that the Imperial family sees the Celestial artifact as a means of ruling by virtue of might more than anything and judging by the fact that no one in the family has been able to use the sword since Sirius would seem to mean the power they hold over their empire isn't what it used to be and are desperate to have something maintain that hold or they're just tired of the politicking they normally employ to get what they need or want.

Meaning they will certainly try and force Sirius to either rule or at least keep him within reach of the Empire.

Which brings me to Kassandra. In spite of what we just learned about the cause of her parents death, I'm not fully convinced that the Imperial family didn't have a role in their deaths yet. Whether it be putting them in the sights of this Aker'varus or some other way, it feels way too convenient that the family that runs on corruption and sacrifices just happened to no longer have two of the only people that were researching for a way to have Inanitas' sword removed from Sirius against their wishes, especially if its true they are desperate to have someone in the family have access to the sword's magic.

Either way this might further put a wrench in Kassandra's plan to leave the empire for good. I can't see them allowing her to leave if they have to enough awareness to know that she's one of the few people that could be used to coerce Sirius, in a way that's against him I should add, into ruling.

[blueberrytwoberry]

Okay, well, I have a bunch of unformed half-thoughts about Eddie, and Buck, and potential relationships (not positive, for the record), and I thought, you know, why not write them all down on this Saturday morning when I’m up super early, because, I don’t know, at this point I feel less and less (and less) like them being together would actually be good for Eddie, and he’s my favorite so.

(I am putting all my many unpopular opinions under this cut)

It’s just… Well, let’s start with the end of the last episode. Where Eddie finally allows himself to experience joy, to dance around and just be free for once in his life. And in the midst of that joy, in that one moment of freedom, Buck shows up at his house in a thundercloud and just. Brings the whole mood down.

Which, you know. Would be one thing, except it also comes after episodes and episodes of Buck not being around when Eddie is clearly going through a lot of shit. Of a season where Eddie has shown up twice to help with Buck’s shit and is now getting pulled into helping with a third serving of crap, and it really just… paints the picture that Eddie is there (in Buck’s head) to take care of him. To help when Buck has a “problem” and to be put away up on a shelf when Buck has other things going on (a boyfriend).

(Note also that when Eddie is up on his shelf, Buck doesn’t want him getting down on his own and going to do other things, and will react violently if he tries, per 7.4. Because Buck may not have any use for Eddie at certain times but he doesn’t want anyone else stepping in, which….)

And you know what, all of that reinforces something I’ve felt about the two of them for a while. There are, for sure, people who date single parents because they’re hoping (either consciously or unconsciously) that they’ll get parented, too. They want parents, not partners. They want someone to do the work for them.

Which, well. I’ve been told over and over by fandom that’s what Buck wants and I didn’t agree and then I didn’t want to believe but, actually, based on his relationship with Tommy, sure. Sure, it seems so. Tons of people said Buck wants to be babied and coddled and hey he was ready to move in with the boyfriend who babied and coddled him in his thirties and he gives Abbie credit for making him grow up as a guy in his mid twenties, and Ali forced him to actually get a place to live as a guy in his late twenties, so, yeah, okay. Seems he does. Which. Fine. Not unrealistic. Like I said, some people are like that. If they find someone who wants to parent them, more power to them both.

But I absolutely do not believe Eddie wants to be a parent in his romantic relationships. He has, in fact, shown a preference to find people who will co-parent, regardless of his own attraction or desire for them on other levels. And I do appreciate that the show seems to confirm that, over and over.

Eddie wants and needs and deserves a chance to be joyful and human. To be free and happy without getting roped into parenting another adult. And if I’m really getting into it, taking everything that’s happened in canon, both distantly and especially recently, I think on some level he’s always known that he’d get stuck parenting Buck if they got too close.

Because I don’t know. Probably my most unpopular opinion (but you have so many, you say) is that Buck doesn’t actually co-parent Christopher and never has and doesn’t want to. Buck acts mostly like Chris’s older sibling. He’s nearly always there for fun time hangs, he puts the pressure of caring for his emotions on Christopher more than once (at the pier, after Eddie gets shot), and he’s the “I ran away to your house because dad was mean” choice, which has always been, in my experience, a sibling role.

I don’t know. This all ties into why I can’t buy the Buck-Wants-Kids thing, I think, because I don’t see it. He, for sure, likes kids. (Even loves kids!) But he likes kids in the… fun to play with and hang out with way. In the “fun uncle who takes you on crazy adventures” way. Him watching Jee was basically a masterclass in demonstrating this, IMO. He likes hanging out and being silly. Not the nitty-gritty “you’re going to have to deal with teething and potty training and refusing to do homework” way. He hangs out at the kids table during events and that’s fine for the cool uncle but as a parent it puts him into the “I’m not like other parents, I’m a cool parent” box and you know what, I’ll just say, not a great box to be in for the care and development and growth of your child.

Kids don’t need parents to be their playmates. Kids need parents to be their parents. Not to say parents shouldn’t play with their kids. But they have a bigger role beyond fun time buddy.

Anyway. I do have, I guess, the smallest smidgeon of hope that maybe things’ll happen on the show that can get me back on Buck’s side. The talk about him taking time to figure out what he likes encourages me a little, but, honestly, I mostly suspect he’ll discover he likes the same things he’s always sought out. Which, again, to be clear, is a FINE thing to want! People do! It’s chill as long as all involved parties are into it!

BUT! I hope if that is what he discovers that he stays away from Eddie, because I don’t know. Some people want to parent their partners. Seems Tommy did. But I absolutely believe Eddie doesn’t and I just want him to find more joy. Not subsume it to make someone else happy.

Anyway. Yeah, thanks if you read this far. It feels good to get this all out and I figure I’ve included something in here for most people to block me in the fandom but you know? I’ve got to live my truth, I guess. And my truth is I want better for Eddie. I want him to be happy. I’d like Buck to be happy, too! But, as of this moment, I truly don’t think their happiness is compatible. Also I have tried to tag this appropriately but if I’ve missed something, let me know.

[youremyonlyhope]

In chapter 7 of Siege and Storm, he gives the coat to his second in command Privyet, because someone always acts as Sturmhond whenever he has to do princely duties. That's literally one of the last things we see Sturmhond do before we find out his secret; he gives his identity away. In chapter 31 of Rule of Wolves, Nikolai says Privyet is once again acting as Sturmhond to keep the Merchant Council off their backs. In the same book it's confirmed that multiple people have been Stormhund to keep the legends alive, because otherwise someone would be bound to notice Sturmhond conveniently disappears whenever Nikolai is back in Ravka.

He always gives Sturmhond to someone he trusts, and he trusts Mal.

im sorry, but nikolai would NEVER give away his sturmhound identity and coat. and to mal, of all people? i dont know who's nikolai that is, but it's not mine

[absolutelynotararr]

PATROCHILLES, CHIRON AND HEADCANON.

RAR!

I decided to make a small post before I put out something bigger ( Spoiler: I LIED, IT GOT AWAY FROM ME), and this time it will be one of my favorite headcanons about patrochilles, cause "The Song of Achilles" couldn't remain without attention after reading (oh, these long tears that created a whole ocean after reading-) . One of my favorite episodes in the book, in my opinion, was training with Chiron on Pelion, and not only cause the FBI mommy couldn't see the boys and what we had all been waiting for for a long time happened ( ;]]] ). My favorite headcanon is ✨maaaaagic✨ from Chiron, so that the boys' bonfire nights are not boring, but fun. Chiron could change the color of the flame using various substances that were at hand (salt, so that the fire became yellow, copper from river or sea water, so that the fire became green, and so on...I hope I haven't messed anything up). He was amused by the boys' reaction to how he changed the fire by passing his hand directly over the fire, while the centaur, unnoticed by them, threw substances into the fire that he had previously hidden in his fist.

Chiron: *holds fire over it and it changes color* Oh, ✨MAGIC✨

Patroclus and Achill: WOW, HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! THIS IS THE SPECIAL MAGIC OF CENTAURS, RIGHT?!

(•ﾟдﾟ•)\/(•ﾟдﾟ•)

Chiron: yeees, absolutely! * these boys so innocent and impressionable,ah🥺*

And when Patroclus and Achilles grew up, he naturally told and showed them that there was no magic. And with such a trick Patroclus entertained everyone in the military camp near Troy, surprising the soldiers and kings at the fires. (Addition from @gareleia from notes ) - "Everyone would start to think that Patroclus was a sorcerer, and Achilles would support this general idea, laughing somewhere on the sidelines. Odysseus would not have fallen for it, but he would prank Diomedes by saying that he started questioning if it was actual magic. Or Ody would pretend not to believe Patroclus' tricks, but deep down he was afraid and was in eternal questions about how the young man does it."

ODY:

"Ody pull patroclus aside and be like: okay, very funny, kid. but seriously, how did you do it??"

Pat: hehe ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶

[samthecookielord]

I keep thinking of rhyme and reason whenever you post about that mackintosh guy from Layton

GGDSGDSDSSHTJDJGD they should be friends

(Everyone GO READ @rar-archive !!!)

AL spoilers under cut

[interstellar-elf]

Things I love about the Transformers One trailer

Putting under a read-more because *SPOILERS*

I love techno-organic stuff. Like having Cybertron with wildlife and plants, it's beautiful and stuff and just makes Cybertron alive.

I was not expecting Airacrachnid

Geniunely surprised about the animation and the voice acting. Didn't think it was going to be like that. (Currently awaiting to hear Steve Buscemi's Starscream honestly)

I kind of find it hilarious that modern TF fiction has made Bumblebee a little bloodthirsty/rarring to go fight people. Especially since he's supposed to be the "kid appeal" character done to death

[checkoutmybookshelf]

My Favorite Star Wars Book Ever

At this point, my deep and abiding love of the Star Wars EU Legends Continuity Books is no secret, and I have apparently pissed off a few people who were fans of Kenobi (the book, not the the show). Them's the breaks in the fandom that is helmed by Anakin *bring the goddamn drama or get off my stage* Skywalker. (Please realize that that is said lovingly; I am HERE for Solo/Skywalker legacy shenanagins.) And speaking of legacy shenanagins, the fact that this book is the culmination of arcs for so many characters that we have literally been able to watch grow up and survive many adventures as the Yuuzhan Vong threaten to annihilate the galaxy is what makes it my unequivocal, hands-down, ride-or-die favorite Star Wars book. Let's talk Star By Star.

*Spoilers abound below the break*

So, like many Star Wars books, the plot of Star By Star is pretty darn straightforward: The Mission to Myrkr to kill the Voxyn Queen and it's immediate aftermath, interlaced with the fall of Coruscant to the Yuuzhan Vong. (For anyone who needs a refresher or an explanation, let me direct you to the one, the only, the wonderful Wookieepedia.)

What makes this book absolutely fucking AMAZING is a combination of the character work and worldbuilding, much of which comes to a glorious head in this book--as well it should, this is very much the turning point of the Yuuzhan Vong war. It also launches a solid half dozen long-ranging new arcs for characters that I just adore.

Normally I do my best to have coherent, organized thoughts about books, but at this point what I really want to do is just a big, messy, disorganized list of stuff I love about this book. So, in the immortal words of Captain Han Solo: Punch it!

The whole concept of the voxyn and the voxyn queen. Let's be real, predators bioengineered to hunt down and murder the crap out of jedi with their ability to sense force-users, sonic blast roars, acid saliva, retrovirous-laden paw pads, and a poisoned tail barb. These things are horrifying and genuinely felt like a threat to the jedi, which honestly got kinda hard to do sometimes in the EU. The big "they're all cloned from a single queen" is a wee bit video game weak spot/boss fight, but honestly I'm not complaining given the sheer grind that this mission becomes.

The Jedi Strike Team Dynamics. This TEAM you guys. This team is an absolute disaster from start to finish. Not only do you have all three Solo kids with their sibling fuckery dynamics--specifically Jacen and Anakin's crippling fundamental disagreement on force use ethics that ultimately is a rehash of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's debate about the living vs. unifying force but in an apocalyptic combat zone--but almost every member of this team is potentially a disaster. You have Tenel Ka, Tahiri Veila, and Zekk on the team, who are collective love interests for the Solo siblings, and I'm pretty sure that sending siblings and couples on life-and-death missions is not a good idea because instincts and motivations get all sorts of fucky and tangled. Then you have Alema Rar, whose sister gets acid-in-the-faced-to-death by a voxyn in chapter 1 of this book, which is just a disaster waiting to happen. Then you have the friendship dynamics with Raynar Thul, Lowbacca, and Tesar Sebatyne, which arguably carries over some of the young jedi knights dynamics that never got solved. This team was a TIME BOMB, and frankly the fact that they managed to pull this mission off is a miracle.

The Battle/Force/Jedi Meld. So, not only do we have a team full of hideously complicated and unstable relationships, but they spend the entire goddamn mission in a meld that basically lets them all be in each other's thoughts and feelings and share extreme physical sensations, including pain. Which like...The Vong are major pain fans, so this might have been a poor life choice. Plus, it sets up some of the complicated stuff with Raynar and Jaina and Zekk in the Killick War later. *weird telepathic forearm rubbing* That said, I love the idea of the battle meld, and it really is just a great ride to watch this shred the team.

The Yuuzhan Vong Worldbuilding. Literally the worldbuilding for the Vong in this whole series is A+ horrifying and fascinating. We just get a lot of it here, and it's used to excellent effect.

Anakin's Death. Ok, so this was fucking heartbreaking, and it might seem like a weird thing to put on a list of things I love about this book. But what makes this death just an incredible read is the quality of the writing, the impact on the mission, and the fact that this death sets Jacen on the path to becoming a Sith Lord, pushes Tahiri into becoming the badass she grows into, fundamentally changes how we think about the unifying and living force, and honestly adds some stakes because if the Solo kids aren't safe, then literally ANYONE could die here. This death is so critical and changed so much and was done with respect and weight.

Borsk Fey'lya's Death. We don't love this Bothan. He's kind of a dick. But uh...I will give him credit for buying time for people to get off-planet during the fall of Coruscant, and for blowing 25,000 Vong to hell along with him.

Lando Calrissian Being the Only Adult in the Room With Eyes. Lando delivers the strike team to the Vong, but before he does, he starts a fight. Lando Calrissian HAS EYES IN HIS HEAD and can clearly see the lines along which the strike team is destined to fissure. He tries so hard to get them to air it out before the mission and to clear the air. It doesn't work, but he TRIED, and that's more than Luke or Han did. I guess that's what happens when you're a farmboy who has never had to lead a pre-fractured team and a gruff loner who did everything himself. Lando though...Lando understands that even Jedi have fracture points and conflict points. Give this man more credit.

I think that more or less covers the things that I love about this book. If you love the EU Legends Continuity, I strongly recommend this whole series. There are more good and great books than there aren't, and the Yuuzhan Vong are such great antagonists.

[medjedrpresources]

Jinx (Teen Titans '03) RP Icons

In this RAR file, you’ll find 360 icons of Jinx from the 2003 Teen Titans cartoon. These icons are all 100x100, and were cropped from episode screencaps and the Teen Titans Go!* tie-in comic.

HD Jinx screenshots provided by Reference Emporium.

Feel free to edit any way you see fit, just don’t claim them as your own.

Contains spoilers for Teen Titans.

Download: Here!

*No, not that Teen Titans Go!, the comic that ties into the 2003 series.

[alltimefail-sims]

What are other ways to save sims you create without posting them on the Gallery?

I'm assuming this is the same person, so I'm going to answer both of these questions in tandem!

It's a bit of a long-winded answer, soooo...

let’s get into it! Response below the cut ↓

Here's how to save sims to your tray/library without posting them on the gallery:

That's it! There's nothing else you have to do. You can access your library at any time by clicking the gallery button and going to "My Library." (It will be the third tab). If your sim uses CC, like mine, you'll need to make sure you have "Include Custom Content" checked in the sidebar for them to show up. I forgot to take a screenshot of that, but here's an image from SimsVIP that shows you what I'm talking about!

Now: "Why do sims get banned?" That's a complicated question that I would need more details to answer - are you talking about banned from posting on the gallery, or banned from your EA account/accessing your Sims game in general? I've never heard of anyone being banned for using a lot of CC or posting sims on the gallery that use a lot of cc - in fact, I was under the impression that bans from the gallery are pretty rare! If you are just having trouble posting on the gallery but still can play your game and access your EA account, you could be using words or phrases that are prohibited. It also could just be an outdated mod or piece of CC causing the issue. Are you getting notifications when you try to post? Feel free to reach out to me with specifics and so I can help you. (Off anon and in a private message would be best, but if you'd prefer to stay anonymous in my asks that's fine, too!) If I can't figure out the issue, I can at least point you in the direction of someone who can.

All that being said, if you don't mind me giving my personal opinion/a piece of advice, there's really no reason to post sims that use "a lot" of CC on the gallery anyway, especially if you use custom presets or sliders. When people download your sims from the gallery, if they don't have the cc you used, they'll get a basically naked sim (cc does not transfer through the gallery - you might know this, but I thought I'd specify just in case).

If you want to share non-vanilla sims, I would recommend downloading The Sims 4 Tray Importer. It's a useful and free program that, among other functions, will take all the households you've saved to your library and provide the specific tray files and an organized list of all the custom content you used in that household as well. From there, you can literally copy the tray files and the cc files directly from their source folders and put them in a Zip/RAR file to share with others. This sounds complicated, but trust me it's not! There are a lot of tutorials out there, but if you want me to write the steps on how I do this, I'd be more than happy to do that in a separate post.

Here's what that same sim from above, Ramona Spivey, looks like in TS4 Tray Importer:

Please ignore the spoiler alert graphic - there were two households and a build I have yet to share and I didn't want to spoil them lol!!

Again, please feel free to reach out with additional questions you may have or, if you want me to, I'd be happy to make a tutorial on how I personally share my sims with CC in a separate post!

I hope this was helpful! 🖤

[kraefishh]

3.4 REALLY DID THAT, HUH???

heavensward spoilers under the cut for those who follow me that havent finished it. as well as me dumping about my wols

FIRST OF ALL I TOOK SO MANY SCREENSHOTS. LIKE MAYBE TOO MANY SCREENSHOTS BUT THATS BESIDES THE POINT.

<- ME, SCREENSHOT HAPPY.

Starting off with Aymeric.... I love him. I love him very dearly. I love how the story acknowledges that the wol is apprehensive about accepting drinks from people even if they know it will probably be fine. ALSO EVERYTHING ABOUT TAHT CONVERSATION.... it hit. it did. i love Aymeric.

AND THEN-- I really met Alisaie when doing coils and then met her 30 minutes after finishing it because i did coils back to back with 3.4 and HRHJGMMHHFHM. like I liked her but she really did just skyrocket into my top 5 characters within a few set of quests. AND HOUUAUGUHGHG MAN.

the stuff with Ga Bu..... the poor baby. AND THE STARGAZING SEQUENCE. SOLIDIFIED ALISAIE TOP 5.

ARDBERT IS HIS OWN CAN OF WORMS. HE IS ONE OF THE CHARACTERS EVER. TRULY. PUNCHED ME RIGHT IN THE GUT. ME AND MY WOL BOTH. "we never aspired to be Warriors of Light." THAT WAS A SUCKER PUNCH TO THE FACE. THATS MY WHOLE SHIT. THATS MY WHOLE THING WITH MY WOLS. "We fought and we fought and we fought... until there was no one left to fight. We won ...and now our world is being erased from existence."

^ Quite literally my whole point about what my wols struggle with. They give EVERYTHING to the fight. to the cause. and in the end, it never is enough. It never was enough, for Alidae. she gave up at the end of ARR cause she lost hope that she could do enough. T'lyr was forced to take a break, lest he resign himself to burnout and destruction of self. Sthallona never returned to the fight after the Calamity. she no longer wanted to have to prove herself to the world that she was enough.

and here it is. in the fucking game. in personified form. rar you warned me and i really didn't understand. I Understand Now.

oh also dont get me started on Urianger. I've already resigned that I have to put him on my top ffxiv character list. I was losing my goddamn mind the entire time about his double crossing scheme.

OH SPEAKING OF URIANGER. AND JUST IN GENERAL. THE VOICE ACTING???? THE VOICE ACTING??? tHE VOICE ACTING!!!! The voice acting in this patch was phenominal. I was worried I wasn't going to like Urianger's voice after swearing by Gideon Emery AND THEN WAS PROVEN WRONG WITHIN SECONDS. Ardbert, again, is his own can of worms. Joe Dempsie really put his all into this role and I could not thank him enough. I quite literally almost cried and news flash: I don't cry at things. Very easily.

EEEEHAHAHAHA THEN WE GET TO THE WORD OF THE MOTHER MINFILIA. THAT ENTIRE SEQUENCE RIPPED WHAT LITTLE LEFT OF MY EMOTIONAL STABILITY TO SHREDS. "Minfilia don't you dare I don't have the emotional capacity tonight," I say to my sibling, right as she appears, having not even experienced the cutscene yet. I was right. I did not have the emotional capacity. (Side note: neither did Alidae! guarantee she was holding back tears the entire time.)

Thancred was on the verge of tears too I don't care what you say. That is his sister that he is saying goodbye to for (to his knowledge) probably the last time.

OH F'LHAMINN'S REACTION HURT A BIT MORE THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD. THATS HER DAUGHTER.

Oh I'm SO MAD that Y'shtola and Krile and Lyse (yes I know about Yda being Lyse such is the curse of being on the internet) and Papalymo weren't there to say goodbye too. like I understand that would have been a lot of voice acting and a lot of models to fit on screen, BUT THEY DESERVED THAT :(((

and I finished the 'An Ending to Mark a New Beginning' quest already in shambles. but I knew there was going to be some kind of teaser cutscene to wrap up the patch. I was Wholly expecting something pertaining to Papalymo or Yda in set up for Stormblood. and well lets just say I was Wrong.

Something you should know about me, I got abnormally attached to two characters. Those who know me personally, it should not be a surprise as to why I got attached to them. And for those who don't its anybody's fucking guess. Those two characters being Cid and Nero respectively.

SO THE TEASER CUTSCENE BEING NONE OTHER THAN MOTHERFUCKING NERO DISCOVERING OMEGA. SENT ME INTO HYSTERICS. HI I AM NOT SORRY FOR WHO I WILL BECOME WHEN I REACH THE OMEGA RAIDS. I WAS IN THE CORNER OF MY ROOM CONTEMPLATING FOR A SOLID THREE MINUTES BEFORE REGAINING MY COMPOSURE AND GOING BACK TO MY COMPUTER.\

anyway thank you for your time. TL;DR I am not normal about Ardbert, Alisaie, and Nero. I don't think I will emotionally recover from this patch for a solid week and I am so sorry for those close to me that will have to hear about it (and to those who already have)

I have to work later tonight. I have not slept. <- this was posted at 6am.

[wondereads]

My Opinions on Shadow and Bone Season 2

As an original reader of Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, I wanted to share my opinion on the new season since it's been pretty contentious. Check under the cut since it's probably going to be pretty long and there will be spoilers

I love the title cards for each episode

In the same vein, the map method of moving from place to place is great

Mal is much more likable in the show than in the book. In particular, he's much more supportive of Alina

I have to think of Alina as a different person than from the books. In the books, she hated her power and the pressure that was put upon her, but in the show she thinks of it as her calling

As such, the ending makes sense for this version of Alina, but it does have a lot of implications going forward

Personally, I like the RaR ending where Alina loses her power because I feel that is a happy ending for book!Alina. However, I think it was clever to change the price to Mal, but in a different way

Everyone was shitting on Nikolai's casting, but not me. From day one, I said he'd be able to pull it off, and he did. Amazing casting choice!

Kirigan/The Darkling is just so...annoying? This may be biased because of my intense hatred for Darklina, but it seems like the show is going out of its way to make him sympathetic because he's popular, and it just irks me at every turn. He isn't even an intriguing villain at this point

Genya and David were lovely, but David dying out of nowhere? Why? I haven't read KoS, but in SaB and SoC he is alive and well. His death is jarring, unwelcome, and doesn't even do anything narratively or character-wise

Who is this random Tidemaker bitch who just...appeared? She isn't in the books, and every scene with her was boring as hell. Yes, even that major combat scene in the finale with the two others, which dragged out for way too long

Zoya was a queen, no complaints

But what the fuck was that sword plotline? They didn't even end up needing the sword?

Tolya and Tamar were amazing character-wise, great sibling energy

Tamar just one chance please

Now for the Crows...oh, the Crows

Freddy Carter absolutely destroyed it as Kaz, he was superb

Unfortunately, a lot of his backstory feels rushed, and while I loved the scene with Pekka, it didn't have nearly enough buildup considering it originally occurred in the latter half of CK

Inej was also great, but her and Kaz's relationship was also rushed. Almost all of the major scenes (most of which happen in CK!) between them have occurred, which leaves...what? for any potential spinoff

Inej left? WHY. That is the CULMINATION of her character arc, not halfway through! I think they're trying to play it safe in case they get cancelled, but I'd much rather have a loose thread never tied up than an unsatisfying end

Also the 'I will have you without armor or not at all' is set up as if Inej has an issue with the physical contact. She would never do that, considering she has similar issues herself. The original quote is because Kaz has the emotional intelligence of a stack of kruge

While I found Jesper and Wylan adorable, they were rushed as well. It felt very insta-lovey, especially considering they slept together before? How? Wylan is a recent addition to the Barrel when he meets the Crows

That piano scene made me cringe I'm sorry

Matthias' arc seems pretty on-point, and his conflict is pretty well-portrayed for something mostly psychological

Nina was wonderful, simply a delight

I do wish she hadn't said Matthias was her 'true love', they wouldn't really be at that point

Also, at the end, I wish Matthias hadn't seen Nina. It would definitely set up their whole conflict much better

A lot of CK development happened in this show, which a) ruins the whole slow-build that a lot of people loved about SoC and b) means either the potential spin-off will be lacking in emotional depth or they'll be bringing in other conflict (which I don't even want to think about)

That's pretty much all I have to say. I liked some parts, but I really don't like a lot of the changes. A lot of people have said that we knew it was going to be changed, to think of it like fanfiction, but there's a limit to how much can be changed before it is no longer an adaptation. With the amount of fundamental character things that are being changed, I am finding it harder and harder to enjoy this show. I have no issue with plot differences, but Netflix is speeding through these heavy-hitting, developmental scenes that completely change the context and, as such, change the characters. I worry for the SoC spin-off, if we do get it.

[whitewaterpaper]

SL05: “Hemsökta Skogen”.

Originaltitel: The Sorcerer in the North.

Serie: Spejarens Lärling #5 (Ranger's Apprentice #5).

Författare: John Flanagan.

Översättare: Ingmar Wennerberg.

Publicerad: 2006 (på svenska 2013).

Medium: eBok/B. Wahlströms.

¡Oi! Spoilers, stavfel och alternativa fakta kan förekomma rakt föröver!

Delmål 1 (Kap 01–04).

Will har fått sin första egna postering, och det är tydligen det lugna lilla landskapet Seacliff. Det är kanske inte konstigt att Will nu börjar röra sig bort från lärling-rollen och till mer ansvarstagande roller. Med sin historik har han säkert haft lite av en raketkarriär redan inom Spejarskrået. Det slår mig lite under andra kapitlet att det vore kul med en uppdatering av Wills övriga vänner – de senaste två böckerna har et främst varit Horace av de gamla vännerna vi fått bekanta oss med.

Och redan nu sätts spelbrädet upp, hunden som Will hittar dödligt sårad kanske inte kommer ställa till förtret – men jag blir väldigt förvånad om Will inte kommer stångas åtminstone lite med John Buttle som ingen verkar tycka om. Och redan under andra kapitlet får jag en känsla av att vi kommer få träffa en Robin Hood-figur. Något med omnämnandet av tjuvskyttar som informationskällor, och bokens titel kanske, ingav mig den känslan.

Redan i andra kapitlet får en aning om Will kvinnliga kompis denna bok. Flickan som tittar ut från värdshuset (som var ”anmärkningsvärt söt”, suck™) måste iaf ha introducerats av en anledning – och inte bara som ett led i att den kommande hushållerskans introduktion.

Intressant att se hur länsherren och hans krigsskolans ledare redan här försöker försätta Will i beroendeställning och få auktoritet över honom. Jag kan kanske tycka att det känns lite tidigt för Flannigan och låta de äldre männen köra över Will, speciellt på ett sådant klumpigt och osmidigt sätt…

Delmål 2 (Kap 05–08).

Se där, jag tyckte väll att efternamnet "Treaty" kändes nytt och obekant. Tydligen förlängdes Will det efter fredsavtalet med Skandierna.

Några fler indikationer som ger mig en känsla av att en Robin Hood-figur kommer dyka upp. Annars är det kanske mötet med de antågande Skandierna som är delmålets stora händelse. Hur Will deskalerar situationen och undviker en attack och plundring visar på att han kommer bli en tillgång för den lilla ön. Bra också att både kungen och Norris rar sitt ansvar gör den slappa disciplinen bland öns krigare.

En annan trevlig sak är att vi får träffa en av Wills gamla vänner: diplomatlärlingen Alyss. Det antyds att de blev mer än vänner efter att Will kom hem från Skandia. Synd bara att man sätter upp henne i ett triangeldrama med flickan Will ser när han först kommer till byn.

Ser fram emot att få se vad det här hemliga uppdraget är, och varför det är så viktigt att just Will genomför det. Speciellt sedan han mer eller mindre nyss kommit till den nuvarande tjänsten.

Delmål 3 (Kap 09–12).

Så får Will möta John Buttle, mannen som lämnade hunden till att dö med uppsprättad mage. Det kändes ju som ett lägligt svepskäl att han vill ha tillbaka sin hund när man åker fast för att tjuvlyssna på den lokala spejaren. Hunden i fråga väljer dock Will. Alyss är orolig för att de måste döda Buttle nu när han vet om att Will skall på hemligt uppdrag, jag roas dock av idén att Will helt sonika dumpar honom hos Skandierna som en avskedsgåva. Smidig lösning som spejarnas överhuvud blir lite imponerad av, iaf efter att ha blivit påmind om sina egna gamla försyndelser. Buttles insats i boken verkar bli det här kapitlet och inte så mycket mer.

Jag vet inte riktigt vad jag skall tycka om att Will sätts i egen tjänst i Seacliff för att sedan – mer eller mindre omgående – skickas norröver på hemligt uppdrag. Det känns fruktansvärt onödigt faktiskt. Han hade lika gärna kunnat vara jvar hos Halt och frilansat som egen spejare.

Jag har dock för mig att nästa bok heter ”Macindaws Fästning” så jag tror vi får förbereda oss på ett rejält äventyr. Det skall bli intressant att se vad det här med trolldom handlar om, som man brukar säga att det mesta är de facto trolldom till man begripit sig på det. Intressant att Will skall anta rollen som en gycklare (eller kringresande speleman), det förklarar intresset man visade för Wills sångförmågor tidigare i boken. Beskrivningen av Berrigans kläder påminner lite av både en klassisk Gycklare, en Harlekin men för faktiskt också tankarna till Lekarnas mantel i Sagan om Drakens Återkomst (iaf bokversionen).

Vi verkar slippa ett triangeldrama iaf. Alltid något.

Delmål 4 (Kap 13–16).

Bara jag som fick Bond-vibbar när Spejarnas ledare delar ut presenter till Will på hans uppdrag? Det började med den alternativa spejar-/gycklarmanteln med snökamouflage och rullar sedan på nästan smärtsamt… Och märkligt undfallande är de när det kommer till kontaktpersonen. ”Det är någon du kommer känna igen”? Låter väldigt mystiskt, har svårt att se att de inte har en plan klar för kontaktpersonen. Och när folket på värdshuset börjar tala om problemen i området kommer Sleepy Hollow-vibbarna. Har Flanagan börjar tappa greppet om inspirationen?

Inte mycket händer egentligen under delmålet – mer än att vi får se Will ”in action” som gycklare/speleman. Jag är faktiskt lite besviken att vi inte fick lära känna Barrigan ytterligare. Så kanske är det inte så konstigt att vi redan i slutet på det här delmålet väntar utanför Macindaws portar.

Delmål 5 (Kap 17–20).

Det är lite av en tryckt stämning i fästningen när Will anländer, och det kan man väl förstå. Och troligtvis bidrar Ormans beteende till saken. Mitt intryck av Orman är att han är en pompös besserweisser, full på sin egen ”höga” utbildning. Hela grejen med hans tal om ”den högre musiken” påvisar noll sympati med folket han nu är satt (att om än tillfälligt) leda. Han verkar också själv känna att han sitter osäkert på sin post, att han kallar upp Will till sitt ämbetsrum för att markera sin status bekräftar det. Han verkar till ytan inte vilja regera – men det vet vi ju från andra historier att det kan vara en ren fasad.

Jag kan tycka att det är lite magstarkt att Will promenerar in i Dysterdalsskogen redan första kvällen. Det känns lite genomskinligt liksom och något som kan dra ögonen till sig. Något är det iaf som rör sig i skogen, även om konstiga ljussken och stora svarta gestalter känns som uppenbarar sig känns som ett spel att hålla folk borta. Skall nog inte släppa min Robin Hood-teori än, bara för att vi flyttat till en annan landsända.

Och givetvis är det Alyss som är Wills kontakt, det borde man begripit eftersom hon redan var indragen i det här uppdraget som budbärare. Inte för att jag var förvånad egentligen, det kändes mer som ett :rolleyes:-moment.

Delmål 6 (Kap 21–24).

Jag tycker på det hela taget fungerade samtalet mellan Will och Alyss, till skillnad från Will är jag dock inte alls överraskad att Alyss är lika mycket spion som han – bara med en annan plattform. De gör också ett bra jobb med att dekonstruktera vad Will egentligen såg i skogen. Jag ser fram emot att se hur detta hänger ihop med maktstriden i fästningen; för det är jag säker på att den gör. Orman ser ut att ha koll på styret, så kanske är det Keren som ligger bakom ”fenomenen” för att själv få tronen. Det är oroväckande att soldaterna kanske går emot Orman (som är deras herre) i respekt för Keren som kanske inte är annat än usurpator.

Och Wills högra arm Horace kommer till undsättning, tror det kommer behövas med lite muskler som livvakt för både Alyss och Will.

Delmål 7 (Kap 25–28).

Handuppräckning: hur många kände att de behövde en comeback av John Buttle? Nä, trodde inte så heller. Bokens stora suckafrustrerat-moment. Och här får vi bekräftelse på vad jag nämnde tidigare: Keren är antagligen den som ställer till allt besvär och Malkallam är inget annat än en verkligt skicklig helare och örtagårdsmästare.

Sådant har hänt förut. När någon blir riktigt skicklig inom ett område börjar folk tro att det har med magi att göra. (Kapitel 27).

Jag är inte jätteöverraskad att Orman visste exakt vad Will egentligen var. Men det var ändå en trevlig twist att Orman kallade till sig Will för att få hjälp. Min känsla här är att resten av boken kommer att centreras kring att rädda Orman och dennes far. Fästningen kommer falla i Kerens händer och nästa bok kommer vara hur man återtar den.

Sedan kände jag mig långsam, jag fick tidigare bilden att Makallam var en gammal (mer eller mindre) historisk figur, och förvånades av att han fortfarande levde. Men det förstås, den historiska Malkallam och denne örtagårdsmästare kanske delar namn eller den senare fått epitetet på grund av sin skicklighet.

Gillar scenerna inne i skogen då Will både får visa upp sin skicklighet, men samtidigt göra misstaget att göra en missbedömning med bågen. Även om jag gärna sett Buttle avpolletteras redan här. Men visst är detaljen roande att samtidigt som Buttle tagit tjänst hos Keren så jobbar dennes före detta hund för Will att finna den mytomspunne helaren och ett botemedel?

Delmål 8 (Kap 29–32).

Okej, lite för välbekant är konceptet med den mystiske (och överlägset visare) helaren som bor på en otillgänglig plats dit han också plockar samhällets utstötta. Det funkar, och bidrar givetvis till ryktena om monstren som Malkallam sägs skapa. Och mycket riktigt handlar det om en Malcom som fått epitetet Malkallam för sin skicklighets skull, troligtvis av Keren som ett led att ta över styret i regionen. Så helt fel ute var jag inte med min Robin Hood-teori, om än att det inte handlar om några ädla stråtrövare heller.

Alyss däremot ser Will och Orman fly borgen, och inser att det är fara å farde. Givetvis smart nog att inte säga för mycket till Keren som hon avslöjar med minst två lögner under deras samtal. Gillade dock inte den nedlåtande tonen i att Alyss tjänare skulle vara ”mer intelligentare än de flesta tjänare”. Buttle lär avslöja henne, det troliga är att enda anledningen till att han är där för att han vet att Will fick uppdrag dit, och gör han inte det satsar han på utpressning.

Så Orman kommer klara sig, och nu återstår att se vad som händer med Alyss. Undrar f.ö. om Horace kommer anlända i något av slutkapitlen för att kunna hjälpa till med att ta tillbaka borgen i nästa bok? Känns logiskt just nu, saker har hänt väldigt fort de senaste kapitlen.

Delmål 9 (Kap 33–36).

Givetvis hinner Buttle springa på Alyss. 🙄 Givetvis känner han igen henne. Personligen tycker jag hela scenen där han kommer inbrakandes i hennes svit som föga realistisk. Jag menar, han är rekryterad soldat och kliver in som om han äger stället? Beordrar en kvinna av betydligt högre status att ställe sig upp? Antingen har Buttle en hållhake på Keren eller också hängav sig Flanagan åt slarvigt skrivande i den scenen. Fanns inte något alls jag köpte i det partiet.

Den där stenen Keren hade skall det bli intressant att få höra mer om, klart är att den fungerar som något hypnotiskt fokus, kanske med en viss narkotisk verkan? Och min tippning här är att Alyss troligtvis berättat allt för Keren.

Wills klättring uppför muren och tornet tillhör bokens hittills kanske bästa partier, den gjordes spännande utan att man slängde in en massa onödig överdramatik.

Delmål 10 (Kap 37–EP).

Äsch. Snacka om ett fullständigt ointressant slut, eller slut och slut. Det är väl snarare ett icke-slut. Buttle lyckas rymma från skandierna och det var bara en slump att han hamnade precis på samma ställe som Will och Alyss av en ”slump”. Oh-ja. SLUMP. Till och med läsare i rätt åldersgrupp måste se den ”twisten” som rent idiotisk.

Sedan vet jag inte riktigt vad jag skall tycka om den där stenen. Som läsare över målgruppen känns det mest som en billig ursäkt för att slippa ha med tortyr eller tuffare förhör. Så ”smidigt” då med en mystisk sten (speciellt sedan vi nyss dekonstruerat alla ”magiska fenomen” hittills i boken) med hypnotisk effekt på folk.

Samma pissiga icke-slut som ”krigarkungens sal”, den liksom bara slutar utan att man åstadkommit så mycket. Och man slog på stora trumman mitt i boken om att skicka Horace – vilket inte görs förrän i epilogen?

Nä, sista delmålet var nog bokens sämsta, ett typexempel på när man får klippa av intrigen för att det skall passa ett visst sidomfång snarare än att berätta en tillfredställande historia.

Sammanfattning.

En helt okej story med förvecklingar och tvister, det är kul att se Will och Alyss ute på ett gemensamt uppdrag, men kommer med ett låtsasslut som lämnar lite av en sur smak i munnen. Precis som de föregående två böckerna så verkar storyn delats upp på två delar för att passa ett visst sidantal. Jag gillar heller inte heller hur karaktären Buttle kläms in med två skohorn i storyn för att ställa till oreda. Han bidrar inte till så mycket mer än att göra mig irriterad.

[tears-of-boredom]

ok ok im gonna fucking vomit about baldurs gate now, beware of spoilers and shit.

so. first of all. baldurs gate is kind of the whole reason i broke windows lmao. that and trying to adjust the gamma levels on my shitty hp monitor. like, I found the game right? on gog. just. there. and I literally the whole time did not believe it was legit. literally only after i was in the game did i believe it. and I was struggling cuz the rar file took a shit ton of space, and i couldnt extract it because the rar file itself was the thing taking up all the space. thankfully windows saved the rar file when I reset, so literally the first thing i did was re-download 7zip and extract it. the feeling when i could delete the giant ass rar file was so satisfying. anyways yeah so. to the actual game.

so. i spent probably like 3 hours creating my character. they're a dwarf and a druid. and theyre only a druid because no other class had efficiency in sickles. i really fucking wanted those sickles. i need to look at the feats more closely because there might be one that gives you efficiency in sickles, so I can change my class to one I like more. i mean. i dont hate being a druid. but I like the uhh, sorcerer was it? i like the idea of that more. oh and also being a munk seems cool. basically i just want to reconsider my choices without the sickles being a factor there. oh and bard of course. as soon as I found out that sickles were a potential weapon, i so wanted to just be Sarmenti from darkest dungeon. but we'll have to see what i do.

so, the gameplay. first thought. what the fuck is going on. the ui was so foreign to me i was so confused. but in the end it took me like two minutes to be comfortable with it. i still really want to have control over the Y-axis of the camera, but if it must be so, I can handle it. and.

okay I cannot talk about these things in the order they happened because. Lae'zel is apparently into me. what the fuck. i literally thought she hated me and gave up on even befriending her. it was just so fucking out of knowhere man. i was so surprised. like I had given up on thinking of her that way completely. because she was clearly not interested. and her explanation. like i guess it makes sense but girl. give me a couple hints before hand alright? you can't just say that out of knowhere my guy. like jesus. like, I could not accept her in the end, because i was not sure if she was asking for a deeper relationship or just to have some fun. and the situation being what it was, i could not with confidence promise her a deeper relationship. because she has just lowkey been an asshole. and didnt agree with me on much either.

on the other hand. um. astarion. i. i feel like making a character a vampire is cheating. like straight up. I was so obsessed with Wyll, and astarion just seemed like kind of a rude person. but then. then when he's really hungry. out of all the people at the camp. he comes to me. and yeah yeah he did try to just drink out of me without my permission. but who am i to shame a hungry man. and sorry the scene? when I permit him to drink? and he does? dude. its fucking cheating to make a vampire. and then. and then he says my blood tastes really good. and then he says that he hasnt done that before. revealing just how desperate for blood he mustve been to approach me in the first place. and. and sorry but why does the game give you so many options to not like it. like sorry who doesnt want this man to suck their blood. like omg. the fact that you suffer from the blood loss? the fact that he gains bonuses from it? dear god. I. making him a vampire was cheating alright. straight up cheating. so so cheating. i wonder how monogamous the game forces you to be.

oh and the story parts or whatever? well. I keep having to ressurrect party members because i keep running into death traps. or creating them for myself. but im going to steal that idol from the grove druids. like maybe i should make my character a rouge or something because I literally want to steal every chance i get. literally no other reason than to just do it. and side note. is it spelled "rouge"? because i keep reading it like, like french for "red". but I cant think of other spellings for it.

tbh that wasnt anything about the story. i mean. the protector appeared to us. and I trust them. so im gonna lean into the powers more. and also astarion wants to do it too. as if I needed more reason.

and lastly uhh. i wish it was easier to sell your shit. like the multi-select isn't enough. i wish it remembered what items you put into wares, and then would automatically add them when you get new ones of those items. also I'm bleeding every merchant dry. they cannot resist my cauldrons and copper pots and non-silver-silverware. also the plates. there are so many plates. and im kind of afraid that at some point the game is gonna be like "remember all that shit youve been storing? hope you have a lot of them because now you need them!"

and also I am talking to every rat and squirrel i meet. they are my friends.

oh and. for the longest time i thought the only way to move the characters in combat was to jump. lmao.

[greensaplinggrace]

I have seen a meta of Alina losing her powers was a good thing because she hated them and that they put her in danger

Yeah I mean that's just...false. I talk about it a bit here, but one of the central themes of Alina's character arc and growth as a woman and member of the Grisha was her learning to love and accept that part of herself. And arguing that her losing the powers is a good thing for her because the powers themselves put her in danger is a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the Grishaverse works as well as the progression of Alina's own character arc.

Honestly it's disturbing to me how many people will use that as an argument for Alina losing her powers, because it's a misreading of some absolutely essential truths about both Alina as a person and the world which she lives in, as well as the implications losing said powers has.

I think there's a very important discussion surrounding the way Alina still retains some of her negative views on her powers even in the third book. How she goes from a full progression of hating them to loving them to suddenly viewing them as a tumor/invasive thing that needs to be removed from her. It's a very strange regression to make, but it could be argued that this ties into some of her more ingrained issues with her view of self and her self worth. Yet the fact that this occurs in the third book, after she has a healthy arc of learning to accept every part of herself...is strange and uncomfortable. And then the book ends on that note, while also making it bittersweet that she's mourning these powers. And I get that people can have mixed feelings about many things, especially when it comes to themselves, but for a coming of age story wherein Alina grows and develops in a very self fulfilling and self accepting way? Yeah, there’s something off about that.

Anyways, that was a tangent. But yes. She absolutely did not hate the powers. Saying she did means you missed about half the books, including some very key lines and events throughout her character arc. And the powers themselves were not what put her in danger, as discussed here.

And yet even if both of those things were true, her losing her powers would still not be a good thing. For the reasons discussed in the other post regarding the Grisha and their position in society, and how that ties into Alina's own character and what she needed from the story.

So yeah, there are plenty of arguments in favor of the ending, but absolutely zero that I've read so far that properly justify her losing her powers at all/in the way that she did. I have no problems with her settling down with Mal and living a peaceful life. I think it's lovely. But the events before that? Her losing her powers? Was unnecessary and quite frankly gross, imo, considering the way the world was set up and the way Alina grows/needs to grow/should have (almost did? but then got retconned??) grown.

[pan-fried-autism]

the simps moments