#themes: nora's extra content

[andreil-fic-stash]

The Kings' Gemstone by brainrottingdirt

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 10,193

Time Period: Post-TKM

POV: Robin Cross

Summary:

Robin had not had a conversation with Andrew about anything. Not about why he had picked her, not about how she could improve her skills, not about exy, not about anything at all. They had not said a word to each other for three weeks. She was comfortable with silence, and he seemed to be as well. An exploration of Robin’s freshman year, the cousins’ last year, and Neil’s senior year.

[millportdingo]

TSC Motifs/Themes/Whatever

Dogs

Starved dog, leash metaphors, cardboard dog, obedience. I think Jean represented as an obedient, loyal dog is pretty straight-forward. I think it's interesting that in the extra content, Nora described him as an angry cat when he came to Evermore. He left as a starved and beaten dog. I wonder where this arc goes, though. Like, he takes a chain around his neck from Renee -per Neil's philosophy, is this "collar" his first reason not to slip the [Moriyama investment] leash? Also Jeremy has always wanted a dog. I guess this piece is a little harder for me to wrap my head around, maybe I'm overthinking it, but maybe he's the right kind of [s]Dom[/s] [s]owner[/s] person for Jean. He has the authority "I'm your captain," but he pairs it with an equalizer "I'm your partner". He pushes Jean, but he holds the hard boundaries. He's intrigued by Jean's scoop neck deep blue shirt - I think partly for the personal growth to wear color and partly because it allows him to see Jean's collarbone. He shivers with the sound of "Yes, Jeremy." I wonder if "my mom is allergic to dogs" is foreshadowing his family's reaction to Jean.

2. Safety

Neil's arc was about hope, finding a future in a futureless situation. Jeremy's had an idea of the future, the perfect court, but his big thing is safety. "Safe" and its variations appear in TSC 48 times. This boy is really not asking for much, but Jeremy makes him feel safer which is just too sweet. Also, tighten those screws for safety..

3. Childhood

At the beginning of the book, Jean knows immediately that he is not in the Nest, because he knows every inch of it. He feels like he knows everything about the world and he often insults people by calling them children. His childhood innocence was stolen from him at the Nest, and outside of it, he regains pieces of it. He wonders at the vastness of the world, he learns skills he never had before (shopping, cooking). I had a hard time when I found out he was 19 (ie 14 and 16 at the time of some really unpleasant things). I didn't understand why he had to be two years younger. But the protection and corruption of innocence is a big part of his story. We see that acutely with his sister's story and it allows him to turn on his parents without guilt. The duck/duckling motif is cute too. When he first comes to Evermore, Thea describes him as a little duckling. He associates little yellow ducks with his childhood and baby sister.

4. Air?

Being able to breathe is core to the safety thing. When Jean feels least safe, he can't breathe. One of his earliest revelations about being Riko's pet was the buried alive punishment, and pressing his face against the sparse airholes. Then there's the waterboarding thing. You'll see Jean mentions being unable to breathe when he feels threatened and grabs at his throat. Conversely his happy things include breeze and open sky (rainbow and the open road). When Grayson appears, Jean says he can no longer feel the breeze, and he is particularly disturbed by the neck biting. There are lots of throat and neck things going on in the book too and maybe it's a stretch but burning (ie eating away at oxygen) comes up several times too.

[threewaywithdelusion]

I wrote a really negative rant post about All For the Game fanfic, so I want to write a positive one. I really do love this fandom, and it’s fanfics, and I want to share the love as well.

By category, here are some fics I love.

Time Travel

Once More by AkemiAsh I just call this The All For The Game Time Travel Fic in my head. It has a really interesting take on Neil and Andrew going back in time all the way to high school. It will probably never be finished, but I still love rereading it.

One More Time (With Feeling) by elesary All of elesary's fics are wonderful and there are several on this list. Many are unfinished, and though the author tends to update a new chapter every week, they rotate between fics. So if you don't like unfinished fics, this is not the one for you. However, if you want a time travel fic with Neil and Andrew going back to their first year at Palmetto, with really interesting characterization and relationship dynamics, this is the fic for you.

Amnesia

Back To The Start by fuzzballsheltiepants There's a lot of fuzzballsheltiepants on this list because they're an absolutely brilliant writer. You can't go wrong with any of their fics. Please note that they are locked though, so you will need an AO3 account to view them.

Muscle Memory by elesary Andrew wakes up in the hospital with no memory of the past few years. It's incredibly in-character and wonderful.

Presque Vue by elesary Neil wakes up in the hospital with no memory of anything since Andrew drugged him at Eden's. Really interesting start! Unfinished so far.

Raven!Neil

Black As the Raven Is, He’ll Get a Partner by nekojita I think this counts as a fandom classic, but it's my favorite Raven!Neil fic so I had to mention it anyway. The Ravens find Neil after he turns down the Foxes' offer to play at Palmetto and he is a Raven from the beginning of his college career. Featuring Neil & Jean friendship and really, really slow-burn Andreil. Mind the warnings for graphic violence and rape (I think it's slightly worse than canon)

Ever More Raven Neil (series) by ynnon this is a recent series where Neil goes to Evermore for Christmas and never leaves. It has two complete installments thus far but the series is technically unfinished. It is one of the most original takes on Raven!Neil I have ever seen and the writing is spectacular. I can't recommend it enough.

Neil’s Asexuality

Swinging Along the Z Axis by SpangleBangle Neil and Andrew discuss what attraction is like for Neil.

Sliding Doors by Moth2Flame Neil and Andrew never kiss during their time at Palmetto. Neil and Robin figure out their asexuality together, and Neil and Andrew get together years later.

The Test & All The Little Lights by fuzzballsheltiepants The first fic really focuses on Andrew, the second on Neil. I call this the "Willing vs. Want To" fic in my head and think it's a really interesting exploration of asexuality (particularly in the second installment).

Random Andreil

Not Nothing by TheRainbowElectric Possibly the most brilliant AFTG fic in existence. I cannot hype it up enough. Seriously, just go read it.

Except When It’s No by TheRainbowElectric The one where they try handcuffs and it goes badly. Based off Nora’s extra content.

Out of the Ashes by puddlejumper99 Neil and Andrew meet pre-canon when, after his mother’s death, Neil starts attending high school in Columbia instead of Millport.

A Mewment Like This by fuzzballsheltiepants I'm usually not the biggest fan of AUs, but this one is wonderful. Andrew and Neil meet at the vet because they both have cats with stupid names. It might sound fluffy, and it is clever and funny, but it also explores some of the darker themes and character development that happen in the books.

if every time we touch, you get this kind of rush by Talls This fic has Andrew and Matt kissing (still with Andreil and Matt/Dan as the main ships) and it sounds absolutely insane but just trust me, you have to read it. This is also possibly the best-written makeout scene I have ever read in my life.

[inexplicablymine]

Soon to be YOUR WIP Wednesday

Instead of sharing my own work this week, I’m sharing the 10 prompts I just submitted to the @halloweenhuh Fanworks Fest.

YOU YES YOU can go claim one of these prompts and write to your hearts content, I highly encourage it ;)

Styled as actual summaries instead of outlines because I think it’s fun and a more creative way to make the story match… BEHOLD

1. The one with sugary treats

“I swear to god if you have just dyed everybody’s buttercream black with your stupid charcoal paste I will end you.”

“You can try sweetheart but we all know I’ll come out on top.”

Cupcakes, cakes, and all things sweet, welcome to the Halloween episode of “Can You Bake It” featuring our favorite contestants in their most challenging week yet.

2. The one where they are cowboys

All Alex can really think about is the way Henry’s ass looks in those jeans, how his cowboy boots fit, and the way the Stetson he is wearing sits just right on his head.

Cowboys for Halloween was a great idea.

3. The one where they grow up together

5 Times they went in a group costume for Halloween growing up and 1 time Henry and Alex went in a couples costume

4. The one with the masquerade

Maybe there is something in the Hallow’s Eve punch, maybe there is something in the way that dapper stranger moves across the ballroom, maybe it is the fact that everyone is masked, maybe it is the fact that there hasn’t been a ball this grand in decades, regardless someone has caught his attention and Alexander, well, he never said he had the patience of a saint.

5. The one where it’s not all fun and games… or maybe it is

Come in costume they said. It would be a fun party they said. Tell that to the fact that he is stranded with his arch nemesis, blindfolded, on the side of the road, shirtless, soaked in something he isn’t even sure what to name.

Alex would think that would be enough for one evening, but Henry kissed him only moments ago and he isn’t sure if he is more mad at Henry, or himself for liking it.

Halloween is about to be one wild night.

6. The one where I insert the ghostbusters theme here

Alex did NOT want to be living with a ghost, but he wasn’t all too upset about the hot ghostbuster that he kept getting to call over to the house.

7. The one with Arthur’s world famous Halloween party

Meeting the parents wasn’t supposed to be nerve wracking, but Arthur Fox was literally James Bond, and Alex might throw a New Years Bash in Texas for his mother’s Governor’s ball every year, but Arthur’s Halloween parties are legendary.

8. The one where it’s shipping season and the suitors get competitive

“Fall Ball, there is no earthly antiquated reason why this kingdom still does something so ghastly”

“You want to ask Alexander don’t you?” Pez asks with a raised eyebrow

“Just me and everyone else,” Henry sighs out.

In an event rivaling the Spring Fling, the Fall Ball was one of the most prime positions during suitors season to make a move. Everyone wants Alexander’s hand, so Henry must work extra hard to capture his heart.

9. The one where Alex is a ghost courier

Alex looks down at his note again and shakes his head. Trying out the Ouija board with Nora had been a mistake. Now he was on some convoluted journey to tell a bunch of people a ghosts last wishes. The laundry list of names is long, but near the bottom there is one that makes his heart flip over in his chest, why in the world would a disembodied voice want to talk with Henry?.

10. The one where they are making spooky outfits for the Met Gala

“I think you might have bitten off more than you can chew.”

“I’ll bite you.”

“I mean I wouldn’t be opposed.”

The Met Gala Costuming Institute has named this years theme as “The Haunting.” It might only be tipping into fall but the design houses are already in full swing. Too bad fashion’s best and brightest don’t get along… or do they?

You can claim one of my prompts (or one of the other amazing 61 prompts) here and go follow along @halloweenhuh for some fandom fun!

[bloody-wonder]

Why do you like aftg series so much?

bcs i like how distinct and well-rounded the characters are, how unique their dynamics are, how they are a found family but not quite, how wymack is The Dad, how each of the characters has a different tragic backstory, how there are no cheap redemption arcs and instead every character gets to shine in their morally grey glory, how the relationships are developed and not stated as fact, how the story allows for so many different interpretations of the characters 

bcs i like the plot and how edgy and unrealistic and dramatic it is and how it’s a perfect vessel for this character driven story and how the triumph over the bad guys at the end feels earned

bcs i like exy both in terms of how it looks and how it structures the story and supports some of the character arcs

bcs i like the straightforward writing that is sprinkled with over the top dramatic quotes, how much dialogue there is, how many lines are perfect one-liners, how the story doesn’t shy away from the darkest aspects and combines both angst and humor, how the feel good moments really feel good and not like cheesy platitudes bcs the narrative makes the characters earn them

bcs i like how it comments on the themes of social deviance and acceptance, of different forms of love and friendship and family, of respect and understanding being the prerequisite for trust, of how you sometimes need bad coping mechanisms to survive before you find some good ones, of how trauma changes you and how non-linear the healing process is and how there’s always hope that there’s someone out there who will understand you and accept you and love you as you are with no conditions and reservations  

bcs i like andreil and how it’s a romance but not quite, how it omits many cliche elements of a fictional romance and instead invents something new and fresh and unique to these characters, how it depicts what it’s like being on the ace spectrum and how you don’t need to conform to amatonormative standards in order to have a fulfilling relationship 

bcs i like the extra content and how by posting it nora gave fans like me and my mutuals a reason and a space to participate in the aftg fandom which would otherwise skew the characters completely under the guise of “healing” and we wouldn’t be able to prove it’s ooc and there would be nothing here for us

bcs i like how the fandom is not too small and not too big and it still thrives several years later, and how talented the creators are and how funny the shitposts are, and yes, how heated the discourse gets bcs it’s so interesting to see how exactly some characters, narratives and themes get skewed but also it’s good to know that there are always people out there who agree with you and that you’re not alone in relating to certain less palatable aspects of the characters

[pipedream-truths]

the minyards

“It’s not a lie. He—”

“—is a Minyard,” Aaron said, “and Minyards don’t get higher than rock bottom. Now leave us alone.”

[norgestan]

Yeah honestly I just wanted the extra clips to be about the girls so that we can give them a proper farewell since they were the ones we went on this journey with. I low key am disappointed that they’re wasting it on a new plot line that’s too big to deal with in 5-7 mins per week. TLDR I’m missing the girl squad and their dynamic :(

oh me too anon. like i've already expressed this feeling but there's something so powerful in just... having the girls' pov again, you know? seeing eva's life again now that we know how much she's grown from the insecure mess she was in s1. seeing cris deal with her bad coping mechanisms and getting insight to what cris and joana's relationship looks like now that they've been together for a year. seeing the consequences of last season in nora's life, maybe truly closing the open thread of that conversation with emma in s3, watching her pain and fear while she tries to make up her mind about alejandro. seeing how viri is holding up on her life too, trying to decide what she wants to do with her life after high school is over. and the extra clips is just such a smart way to give us insights to their lives after their seasons without taking the spotlight away from amira! kinda in this, "everyone is fighting a battle yadda yadda" way. and all they did was throw this option into the garbage, shoehorn their new storylines into the main storyline without worrying about them really serving to the season's themes... not only the extra clips don't feel like bonus content at all but it's such a missed opportunity to give a real farewell to the girl squad :/

[fuzzballsheltiepants]

I probably shouldn’t weigh in on the whole Nora’s EC thing because one of my major talents is pissing off the entire fandom, but I’m going to anyway.

I adore these books with all my heart.  Nora did an amazing job with creating complex, damaged characters and starting them on the road to recovery.  The books are flawed; all books are flawed.  And I have mad love for her for continuing to engage with fans long after the books were published and working to supply our hungry selves with more content.

As a writer myself, I know that sometimes we project our current mental/emotional state on our characters.  It’s one of the reasons we write!  But sometimes, our current state does not necessarily jive super well with the characters we established years earlier.  And sometimes, when someone asks writers about those characters, long after they have finished with them when they are no longer living in their heads, they answer in a way that sounds more dramatic or interesting or romantic to their ears at that particular time. 

This is why creator interviews/extra content/etc. counts as “Word of God” and not canon.  Canon is thought out and developed slowly, over years in most cases, with a lot of going back, reviewing, making sure the entire picture is cohesive from start to finish.  On-the-fly responses do not meet that criteria.

But one of the best things about books and fandom is that we, the readers/consumers, also get to project ourselves onto the characters.  We get to take what is meaningful to us, and carry that forward.  For me, as someone who grew up heavily traumatized and yet has lived long enough and worked hard enough to recover from a lot of that trauma (and is still working on it!), recovery and healing is the single most important theme of these books.  That is what I take from them.  Which leads me to reject a lot of the EC, not because I don’t respect Nora, but because I read their journey post-canon differently than she did when answering those asks (after the books were completed, when she was already onto another project).  For someone else, who is in a different mental/emotional place or who really highly values the creator’s vision as the most important thing, taking Word of God as canon may be more important to them.  And that is fine!

My vision of recovery is not your vision of recovery is not Nora’s vision of recovery, and we are all valid, even if sometimes that’s hard for me to see and admit.  I am not right.  I am not wrong.  The same goes for all of us.  We don’t have to agree with each other to still treat each other with respect, and nobody, even the creator, is exempt from criticism.  

[adamslynches]

[All of this is just my opinion, and even though I feel that I’m correct on this you’re fully entitled to disagree with me. Just leave me alone about it, thank you. Also, this isn’t proofread nor is it going to be- all typos build character lmao]

cw mentions of andrews past, defence of andrew’s healing, critique of nora sakavic’s writing specifically in aftg, critique of some andreil content that I’ve seen on tumblr. 

Hmm, it’s very interesting that some people in this fandom are so adamant about the fact that Andrew will never/can never heal beyond what he already has by the end of the books.

There have already been posts about this so this isn’t anything that anyone doesn’t know, but guess who’s gonna say it anyway? Me. 

Nora Sakavic gave us a wonderful world, and a cast of wonderful characters. She did, not a single person is saying that she didn’t- we all love the Foxes, and she did a pretty good job giving us some lovable characters to get us attached to her work. But, and it is a big but, she made a lot of mistakes while writing the series and just because you love the series doesn’t mean that you can’t criticise her on the many mistakes she made during the writing of aftg. I’m sure she knows that she could have done things differently/better too, so some of y’all are helping exactly no one by frothing at the mouth to defend a book series that she wrote six years ago. Anyways, next.

Andrew in particular is a wonderful character. We all know that. He went through hell in his life and despite that we see him working and striving for happiness and good mental health in the series, prioritising his own mental health over the feelings of every other person in the series (for better or worse, but either way it is an attempt at allowing himself to heal). In fact, I would go so far as to argue that the main theme of the entire series is healing, regardless of how well Nora executed it. Andrew is healing, Neil is healing- All of the Foxes are healing from the tough hand that life gave them, facilitated by Wymack and his foxes programme. 

That being said, Andrew’s work is far from done by the time that the series is over and it’s worrying when in the extra content we see that Nora seems to think that it is, that Andrew can’t possibly smile and be happy and fully heal from what happened to him as much as is possible. It’s disheartening- Nora made this character that so many people can relate to, that so many people can look at and think hey, he’s like me and made him work his ass off to get better, and then still had him fail at the end? What the fuck kind of message is that? It’s no secret that Nora’s research into mental health and it’s treatment left a lot to be desired, but the least she could have done was make it work, to give Andrew the happy ending that he worked so hard for and deserved. It’s unfair to show the people who read this series that no matter what Andrew is never going to get better, no matter what he does, especially under the guise of “uwu everyone recovers differently”. Yes, everyone recovers differently, but with hard work and a good support system everyone can recover. 

Next of all, marriage. In my opinion andreil get married, because that seems like the most in character decisions that Andrew and Neil could make as they move into an adult life together. Some people might not agree with that, and that’s fair enough. Headcanons are headcanons, and I don’t really care about that. What I do care about is when people, fans of this series, turn around and then use their HEADCANON of Andreil not getting married (on purpose or just implicitly) to 1. Cheapen the importance of same sex marriage because “not all gay people have to get married” and 2. Act as if Andrew could never possibly want to get married (which imo is out of character- Andrew is a man who loves not only promises but also spectacle, do you really think he wouldn’t want to promise Neil the rest of his life in the most fuck you to the rest of the world way possible?)

No one is saying that Andreil have to get married and every other headcanon is wrong, not that I’ve seen, but it’s oh so telling that the “Andrew never gets better” squad are the ones who are denying Andreil any and all forms of intimacy beyond sex, i love you shown only though actions and not words (why would Andrew not use the words? It’s never said that he’s a man of few words so people are ONLY going off the ec with this) and the odd jealousy/protectiveness fueled emotional moments of vulnerability. You have every right to say it, that Andrew will always stay stagnant and unhappy and angry at the world, but that doesn’t mean that anyone has to listen to you- healing is GOOD, recovery is IMPORTANT and Andrew deserves it. All of the foxes do.

Okay I’m gonna stop this here bc it’s getting super long and I have to go to work but I’m not interested in what anyone else has to say. I don’t want to hear any hot takes about how actually Andrew stays the edgy, angry 19 year old he was at the start of the series, I’m not interested. Andreil are in love and they deserve to do everything and anything they choose to to show it, have a nice day.

[miningmyminecraft]

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A caregiver named Jaica is employed by Vivian, a successful businesswoman who recently found she was unwell. Little does Vivian know, Jaica performs a considerably larger function in her life— one which reconnects her to her distant son. At that time, Siguion-Reyna, son of movie legend Armida Siguion Reyna, was known special info for breaking barriers. One of his earlier films, additionally that includes Roces, wasLigaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin, which illustrated rape. It was initially given an X rating and was only aired to the general public after quite a few concessions that resulted in scenes on the slicing ground.

When Lito’s fellow inmates notice he’s an harmless man, they assist smuggle in his young daughter Yesha so the two can proceed bonding. Starring Kapamilya actress Kathryn Bernardo and Kapuso star Alden Richards, Hello, Love, Goodbye is the best-grossing Filipino film of all time.

This intensive, months-lengthy course of results in a movie that literally looks like nothing else that Pinoy cinema has to offer. Ulan could be about love, nevertheless it’s not your average Filipino romance. The film stars Nadine Lustre as a author named Maya, who’s struggling to find romance and happiness. As Maya journeys via life,Ulan weaves fantastical tales from her creativeness and childhood as a reflection of her psyche. We see her speaking withtikbalangsin one second, and typhoons in one other.

If you’re trying to celebrate the occasion within the consolation of your personal house, you might be interested in doing so by catching up on must-see titles Philippine cinema has to supply — or, when you’ve already seen them before, watching them unfold all over again. Initially hard to find , these motion pictures have been made accessible to extra audiences thanks to different streaming platforms.

Most of the Philippines' critically acclaimed films are gritty and heavy, but this Maryo de los Reyes basic sticks to the reality of highschool, which is light, relatable, and fun. There are many extra intricacies between and after these occasions, and you may need to essentially watch Karnal to understand why it's such a fantastic Filipino movie. The combination of a powerhouse forged and formidable director Peque Gallaga led to this beautiful Filipino traditional.

The movie tells the story of mysterious happenings in a remote village which end in Ferdinand E. Marcos implementing Proclamation No. 1081, which locations all the Philippines under Martial Law. The movie delves into the difficulties of the village folks as they cope with this new proclamation. The drama Himala takes place in a poor Filipino village and stars Nora Aunor, Veronica Palileo, and Spanky Manikan.

When the brother, the youngest of the siblings, declares that he plans to get married, the sisters devise a plan to speak him out of it, revealing the deep-seated animosity they've for each other. The romantic drama The Hows of Us stars Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, and Darren Espanto.

Any benefit thisAlvin Yapan filmevaporated when word got out that a canine was killed throughout production. Based on the true story of the "Gata Four Massacre" in Caramoan, Camarines Sur, it received a number of accolades and obtained positive critiques. The dog killing, nonetheless, resulted in Senate hearings and closed-door meetings. The scene was eventually edited out, but its impact has one way or the other lasted. Have you ever come across a movie so controversial, so bold that the President needed to step in to ban it from public viewing?

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Anyone who didn’t will nonetheless benefit from the 5 stories’ easy however meaningful takes on adolescence. Another more distinctive Filipino love story that came out in 2019 wasIsa Pa with Feelings .

It seems to be the case for lots of the nation's most groundbreaking movies. Mang Kepweng was a popular comic strip by Al Magat a couple of humorous village albularyo. The character was dropped at life by comedy legend Chiquito and it spawned a number of installments, with Mang Kepweng and Son being the fourth film within the sequence. Dindo Fernando, Vilma Santos, and Hilda Koronel play a person, his wife, and his lover on this Danny Zialcita film about the intricacies of marriage and adultery. The in style Filipino movie won six prizes on the 31st Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards , including Vilma Santos' third Best Actress win.

It’s a type of films where the protagonist has to make a tough alternative – on this movie, K’na has to make a sacrifice between her village clans and real love. all not on Netflix – can now be accessed freed from cost, due to the kind hearts of our filmmakers. We’ve listed 10 of these local films – from blockbuster hits to horror movies – under. It’s a black comedy by the use of city fairy tales and magical realism. It has impeccable use of cinematic language — from scoring, to cinematography, to editing.

It reached P880 million box office mark after a month of hitting the cinemas. The movie is not a typical “LizQuen” love story that showcases the Philippine Art and nostalgic 90’s vibes. It depicts the story of a pair who faced many challenges from their school romance to turning into actual adults entering the real world. 2019 has been a great yr for Philippine cinema as it supplied numerous motion pictures that entertained a lot of Filipinos throughout the globe. You can watch more award-successful Netflix Originals, documentaries, motion pictures and TV reveals by choosing a plan that’s best for you.

The film tells the story of the romance between the young couple, Primo and George, who dream of building a life collectively and are already devising their future. However, their plans are put to the take a look at when they're confronted with obstacles that put their relationship in danger. Set in the Philippines in 1972, the drama From What is Before stars Perry Dizon, Roeder, and Hazel Orencio.

The movie tells the story of Elsa, a Filipina villager who claims she has been visited by the Virgin Mary. The go to changed her life as she now appears to have particular healing powers. Her newfound talent begins to trigger hysteria in her small village.

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This Jose Javier Reyes movie is known for being known as "a properly-made gentle porn movie" by none aside from then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Live Show, which was originally named Toro, depicted the lives of poor individuals who had to resort to performing lewd acts on stage to outlive. It is among the few extensive-launch movies that featured full-frontal nudity. After pressure from the Catholic Church, the President herself had to suspend it from airing on theaters. Though initially banned by the MTRCB, it was allowed to re-air after the title, which meant pay-per-view sex, was changed.

The film tells the story of Basha and Popoy, a young couple deeply in love who spend all of their time together. But when clashing ambitions and tensions come into play and the couple splits up, they're both feeling devastated and heartbroken. Strangely sufficient, pandemic motion pictures have turn into extra in demand because the coronavirus outbreak. If you have received the guts to sit by way of movies that observe the results of a virus, check out our suggestions. A record of greatest Filipino motion pictures would be incomplete with no Dolphy starrer.

It indulges the equipment behind the love team to flex its muscular tissues, creatively and financially, proving the online value of the pair by putting out an enormous-display romance that’s so rigorously calculated to a fault . And lastly, it indulges the actors to show their benefit as reliable actors, with tacked in confrontation scenes and weepy dialogues that profess the true nature of formulaic love. The marriage is a attainable gateway to a greater life however Teria’s leaving, the way in which the movie is a one-take shot of her going across the island earlier than reaching the pier, more so embodies the ills and the heartaches that kind the core of the Filipino diaspora. Are the “mainstream” and “indie” labels even applicable nowadays, when budgets and industry don’t considerably differ?

If it’s a matter of sensibility, how can we distinguish when “impartial” filmmakers are directing studio-backed motion pictures, whereas established actors and filmmakers from the big networks are also increasingly going “indie”? And let’s not even delve into the query of whether or not it’s primarily based on notions of quality.

Produced by then-married couple Nora Aunor and Christopher de Leon, the World War II-set drama follows Rosario , a woman deserted by her lover when he joins the Resistance, solely to then fall in love with a Japanese soldier . But Hello, Love, Goodbye is the mother of all migrant dramas—and never why not pinoy movies just because it's officially the best grossing Filipino film of all time. The dramatic motion crime movie Metro Manila, set in Manila, Philippines stars Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, and Althea Vega.

The story revolves round beautician Coring as he takes in Nonoy , who is the son of his crush. With Lino Brocka behind the digital camera, Ang Tatay Kong Nanaydelves into the themes of homosexuality and single parenting through a comedic lens. This Filipino film is a traditional rich-woman-poor-boy romance delivered to life by actors Vilma Santos and Bembol Roco and director Celso Ad Castillo.

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The movie follows the story of Oscar Ramirez and his household who flee a lifetime of poverty in a small village in northern Philippines to the bustling heart of Manila. The quick paced lifestyle and hardened locals quickly overwhelm the household, and Oscar should do what he needs to to survive in the massive metropolis. The romantic drama One More Chancestars John Lloyd Cruz, Bea Alonzo, and Derek Ramsay.

[andreil-fic-stash]

Do you hear the sound of the already-broken shattering? by iriswords

Word Count: 16,634

Rating: Mature

Time Period: Post TKM

POV: Jack

Summary:

Jack comes to the Palmetto Foxes hoping for understanding. Thinking his life will finally get better. It is not what he gets. Instead, he spirals forever down, drowning in the hatred the Foxes bear him and the abuse he hasn't quite escaped. - Jack is probably a controversial character, but I wanted to explore him in another light that the two-faced asshole Nora depicted him as in the extra-content. He was accepted in the Foxes for a reason, and I think we as a fandom overlook that too often, even if it doesn't excuse his behavior. Please, check the trigger warnings before each chapter, this fic isn't exactly the epitome of fluff.

Comments: As much as I love to hate Jack, I really enjoyed this look into his character and why he acts the way he does. This fic strikes a good balance between portraying Jack sympathetically and staying true to his faults.

[skammovistarplus]

FAQ

Will you translate or sub this text/post/story/youtube video/clip/episode?

See here.

Do you know where I can watch season 1 or the season 1 extra clips?

Message me for a link.

I have an invasive question about the actors’ personal lives!

See here.

Do you think there will be a special clip or episode on [x] date before season 3?

See here. But I won’t stop anyone from going full clown, of course. Be my guest, lol.

When are season 3 and season 4 dropping?

See here.

Do you know who the main for season 3 or season 4 are?

As of this moment, there is no official word. My personal opinion (opinion! Not fact!) is that Nora will be the s3 main and Amira will be the s4 main.

What does “me renta” mean?

See here.

What does “tío” and “tía” translate to?

See here.

Is it true that the director or the showrunner or the writer is LGBT?

See here.

I read that Skam España consulted psychiatrists as far back as season 1 so Rizha could portray Joana’s borderline personality disorder better. Is that true?

This is accurate, but not the whole picture. Skam España has hired a team of three psychologists specialized in teen issues as consultants. Because Skam España opted to make changes to certain storylines, they also decided to make sure those issues would be portrayed accurately by consulting with real Spanish psychologists who have worked with Spanish teens in the past. So, yes, the psych team did assist Rizha with her portrayal of Joana, and they also assisted with the portrayal of cyber-bullying in season 1, and will be on hand for any relevant themes and issues going forward.

When it comes to Joana’s Minuto a Minuto project, what happened was this: the psych team explained to Begoña Álvarez Rojas and the crew that it would be inadvisable to delve into borderline personality disorder and leave it at the onscreen portrayal. The crew was told that, most likely, some viewers would see themselves or someone close to them in Joana, and they would have more questions. And, quite simply, there needed to be someone on hand to actually answer those questions, not a Skam España intern or an actor, but someone who could actually provide guidance. The psych team got the crew in touch with an advocate group, AMAI. In tandem with AMAI, they developed the concept, texts and infographics that make up the Minuto a Minuto project.

I just want to tell you that I love/appreciate you, can I do that?

You absolutely can, and I do appreciate your messages. I don’t always publish them because I don’t want to seem too up my ass, but I do read them when I’m having a bad day and they mean the world. Thank you so much.

I have a question that’s not any of the questions in this list.

You can send it to me. I’m up for obscure questions like, how do you spell this actor’s name or what’s this minor character’s name or what’s the song that played in this scene or I read your translation or someone else’s translation but I still have questions of nuance or I want to write a fic but I have this culture question or do you know anything about how this storyline came to be or I want you to rank stuff or what were the Legendary Research Meetings about or something else I haven’t thought of but will come up at some point. I always enjoy interacting with you guys, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t finish the task I set for myself, which was translating the entirety of Skam España including all the transmedia content, but I will do my best to make myself available to you in other ways.

[rwbyconversations]

A retrospective look on the second half of Volume 6

Just over a month and a half ago, I did a retrospective on the first half of Volume 6- everything from Adam’s short up to The Grimm Reaper. Now in hindsight if I’d known the season was getting cut down an episode I’d have done the analysis a week earlier so it would be perfectly symmetrical, but life comes at you fast. I adored the first half of Volume 6 and still rank it as the best string of episodes quality wise that the show has ever had. It was very clear even early on that the crew over in Austin were going all out to prove that they knew what they were doing and could still create a stellar season of a show. I was confident at the time that the back half would stick the landing, and while it wasn’t as good as the first half, Volume 6′s second half still retains the quality that makes it one of the best volumes of the entire show and a standout piece of animation by any standards.

As such, this will be a review of every episode from Chapters 8 to 13, spoilers obviously will follow if you haven’t watched those. 

Dead End- the stumbling block

So you know how I said in the retrospective for the first half of the volume that if chapter 8 was good than we’d get the longest uncut string of good episodes in all of RWBY? I’m pretty sure someone upstairs heard that and chose deliberately to make Chapter 8 the weakest episode of the season. There is good to be found here, but unfortunately every race has someone end up dead last and chapter 8 drew the short straw. 

While the opening scene with Caroline and her minions is funny at first, it quickly drags on for too long and desperately needed another few goes with a weed-whacker to condense the scene. Barring setting up Corvodin as an obvious antagonist little is gained from the scene, especially given how much of the episode it consumes. 

Jaune’s scene with Oscar remains... sketchy on a moral level, especially the accusation Jaune makes that Ozpin has been pretending to be Oscar the entire time. Jaune’s still not truly processed his grief over Pyrrha’s death and while I’m glad to see his anger at Ozpin return after it went missing in Volume 5, I think Jaune crossed the line when he decided to start manhandling Oscar. It’s also still really weird how outside of Yang and Weiss saying “Jaune!” with the concern you express when someone stubs their toe, no one actually runs over to pull Jaune off. It’s just a weird moment, I still don’t really like this scene or many of the defenses for it. Fuck’s sake, Oscar’s trembling like a leaf in a hurricane afterwards that stuff ain’t right. 

Ruby’s scene with Maria is the real saving grace of the episode, especially since we finally got some solid information on the Silver Eyes, accompanied by some wonderful background music and cinematography. Maria really is one of the best characters in the show and it’s amazing how much audiences grew to love her in just one single year, so kudos to the writers, designers and actors for that. Maria’s Semblance is simple but neat, and you can actually go back and listen to the Maria vs Tock fight for their auditory trigger which is an insane attention to detail touch. 

Also something I couldn’t fit in anywhere else; it’s sad but fairly realistic that Qrow falls right back off the wagon after the Corvodin meeting goes south.

Dead End has some quality to it, mostly in the back half with Maria and Ruby bouncing off each other wonderfully to create a great teacher-student dynamic, but the first half drags and is let down by an overly long intro before pouring gasoline on the fires of the anti-Jaune crowd. 

Lost- The Refound Footing

Remember what I said in the first half of the volume retrospective, Em and Merc appearing is an instant thumbs up in my book. So an episode where they get half the episode to themselves, and even get to be in the thumbnail for the first time since Volume 3? Hoo boy, that’s a solid contender for episode of the season right there. And it nearly is, in all honesty. In fact, Lost’s only mis-step is how a part of it feels like the third act to a trilogy when we never saw the second part, but we’ll come back to that. 

Mercury and Emerald’s scene is nothing short of breathtaking. There’s a lot of great lighting choices in this scene such as Emerald initially sitting in the darkness before rising and coming into the moonlit parts of the room after being confronted with her denial to believe that Cinder’s a monster, that lend the scene a bit of extra weight. Yuri and Katie are their usual amazing selves, especially since this is the first time either of them have been given some really meaty dialogue in a while. 

Kerry had already teased content for Mercury was coming in the Reddit AMA, and we already knew the kick boi was sporting one of the darkest backstories of anyone in the show, but the curtain was uncovered here to make it absolutely obvious how much of a bastard Marcus Black was and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that interest in Mercury jumped up after this episode and the average theory on Team Jaded went from “Emerald will defect and Mercury will stay or die giving her a chance” to “Emerald and Mercury will leave as a group.”I also love how the Yang and Mercury foil status only continues to amplify, as now we have both of their fathers giving different advice and training in regards to their Semblances- Tai encouraged Yang to learn to control it and not to use it as a crutch unless she was sure it would finish the fight, while Marcus stole it so Mercury never got reliant in the first place.  

Merc’s backstory is also making me salivate for when he finally gets to cut loose in a fight, since his two biggest fights- against Pyrrha and Yang- were him holding back, so Mercury fighting needing to worry about keeping his cover would be an insane fight. And if Cinder and Neo is any sign of the CRWBY’s skills with hand-to-hand fighting... yeah, Merc’s next bout will be something to look forward to. I also love that Merc spends this scene training his punches, showing that he’s covering his bases for the next time he gets to fight Yang or another brawler. 

Emerald is still the best girl in this show. I love to hate how the music changes to a soft version of Cinder’s theme when Emerald explains why she’s backing Cinder, as if Emerald is twisting the music itself to make Cinder out to be the hero. Mercury bluntly telling her to stop living in fantasy land was a great moment that I’d been waiting years for, and “I’m sorry you didn’t have a mommy who loved you, but I had a father who hated me,” is just solid gold in writing. 

I love how Merc’s smirk as he calls Emerald out on her denial just melts off his face because he cares enough to want Emerald to stop being delusional, but he’s not going to be nice about it.

Also can I just say Mercury, the whole “I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be” crap would work if literally every other one of your scenes this volume didn’t show you scared and clearly rethinking your life choices. 

Tyrian’s tail upgrade is fine, but the real treat to his grand return is Tyrian playing psychoanalyist on Mercury and immediately calling bullshit on his above line- Merc’s only here because he’s been in a cycle of violence his whole life and is too afraid to leave it. The way he practically begs them to run because he called dibs on hunting them down is way too gleeful for my liking but given how Merc and Tyrian are two of my favorite villains right now, them finally getting to chat was a delight. I can’t wait until Volume 7 when we get to see Tyrian bounce off Watts without Mama Salem’s watchful eye. 

OK I’m done talking about the best scene in the Volume. Now let’s talk about another great scene. 

So first off I’d like to give my apprecation to the crew for making new Argus locals every episode we spend in it. It gives the city a lot more weight as a locale to see different streets and environs every week instead of prop recycling like a motherfucker. It gives Argus a lot more weight and makes it feel more lived-in than the few samey environments of Mistral that we got to see, and the streets are beautiful as a consequence. It also lets me play my new favorite spot, Spot The Emerald Clone!! 

Jaune’s scene at the statue is a beautifully shot and acted scene, no complaints from me here and Forever Fall has already killed me and claimed my soul. I love how it calls back to the Volume 1 OP as well, and Miles and Jen kill it here. It’s on its own an amazing scene, but the wider problem is what sets it down. This is JN_R’s only scene this volume, and as a consequence it feels like it needs to include most all of their character beats since they won’t get the chance to otherwise- their mutual grief over Pyrrha is brought up, Nora tells Jaune to drop the suicidal tendencies he suddenly gained at Haven and Ren... is there. If JNR had more to do this volume I wouldn’t mind but this scene just gives the vibe of “JNR get one scene to develop and justify them staying to fight Salem and that’s it!”  So nothing wrong with the scene itself, more the problem around it.

Finally we have Oscar’s sudden return. I think even if Chapter 8 hadn’t been the episode before the New Years break, fans wouldn’t have liked how this played out. Oscar really needs more character moments, especially after spending much of Volume 5 as just a fleshsack for Ozpin. Him going solo would have been a great way for Oscar to develop on his own and come to terms with his part to play in the war against Salem, maybe even have Ozpin or Ozma manifest and talk to him. Instead, he just goes and buys a new costume.

I still think Oscar lifted Qrow’s wallet for the record. And I still like his new outfit. The bandages give me Bungou Stray Dogs vibes. 

So in this retrospective, I’ve been pointing out little moments for Ruby in each episode, moments where the writers pointedly have her take center-stage, even if just for a minute, to remind the audience that she’s the leader. Here, her moment is... fairly weak. Ruby’s inspirational speeches are never her strong suit, but her telling Qrow that they “didn’t need an adult” when he saved her from Tyrian back in V4 and Maria saved her from the Apathy just a few episodes ago is almost darkly comedic. Her quiet exasperation with Qrow when she finds him on the stairs is a much more understated moment that landed for me. Her hero worship for Qrow has been pretty much shattered at this point and now she’s just tired of his crap. 

Lost is just an amazing episode. Mercury and Emerald are easily the most interesting characters in the series for me, this episode gives us more sights of Argus, the statue scene is wonderful and now I have the mental image of Oscar lifting Qrow’s wallet to go stress shopping as my favorite headcanon of the volume. Ruby’s speech is a little phoned in but it’s still a decent ending to a fantastic episode, and it’s easily my favorite episode in the entire season as a consequence. 

Stealing From The Elderly- Most Apt Name For An Episode 2K19

The Argus Battle episodes all vary in quality- while none of them are outright bad episodes, some flow more smoothly or have more standout moments than the other. There is, however, one constant.

They’re all too fucking short. Half of the episodes are just barely fourteen minutes long, and taking out the Genlock preview and the opening and closing credits, it’s more generous to say they’re ten to twelve minutes on average. While I will take shorter, more concise episodes over something that drags on longer than it needs to (see Dead End and the opening scene again for my thoughts on that), there is a point where I must bemoan the length being too short. Especially when some of these episodes are insanely good. 

Jaune’s plan is alright. Not quite as much of a disaster as some make it out to be, it’s a decent plan if lacking in contingencies. I think it’s noteworthy that had Adam not intervened, the plan would have gone off without a hitch.  

The first half of the episode is also really funny. Corvodin’s guards are a lot easier to manage in the shorter pace of the episode and Maria is just a goldmine of comedy. Like I said earlier, it’s amazing how fast the fandom fell in love with this salty old grandma. I also love the joke that Maria’s jargon was perfect (which it is in real life btw I checked), but the guards knew something was up because their pilots aren’t old women.

The one real drag to the episode is Qrow having another angst episode and bemoaning how everything is his fault again, which just seems to be in the episode so Ruby can have another Ruby Moment. This is perhaps the weakest of all of her moments in the season, as it feels the most shoved in for the sake of being able to say “We gave Ruby something to do in every episode!” Which is fine, but repetition is a beast best avoided when possible in writing.

The mech is kinda cool, at least. And for the record, Corvodin is the guilty party in this conflict- yes, Ruby and co stole military equipment, but it was Caroline’s call to escalate to the Walking Gen;Lock Ad. They could easily have just dispatched other airships to catch the protagonists. 

Adam’s return was a bit of a wet fart, unfortunately. A CRWBY episode released days prior to this episode releasing accidentally had mocap footage of someone fighting with Adam’s style, and storyboards that could be seen in this episode showed he was fighting Blake during it. Had the CRWBY episode not been so blatant in spoiling the surprise the twist of him suddenly arriving may have had more impact, but alas. I will say on an animation level, the fight in the tower is pretty good, if a bit clunky compared to what comes after. It makes good use of the environment and has Adam and Blake constantly crawling up and down the tower, giving the fight a bit of a unique quality to it. I also like the new visual additions to Adam’s Moonslice such as the bolt of lightning that crawls up his back. 

Stealing From The Elderly is a decent, if very short, opening act to the Argus Battle episodes. It sets up the major conflicts of this trilogy of episodes, and has some great wit at the beginning, but doesn’t have much to make it stand out on its own.

The Lady In The Shoe- 

Pretty. Fucking. Stellar. This episode is almost all fight scene, and works for the most part.

The mech fight is unfortunately the letdown of this part, and I’d probably rank it as the least exciting fight of Volume 6. While it does have some great moments such as Ruby getting to run on goddamn missiles, Ren actually getting to do something and not job for once, Ruby and Weiss’s great moment on the Lancer, everyone getting a moment to themselves where they get to land a blow on the mech (barring Oscar) and a new song in Big Metal Shoe, it’s overall a very slow battle that never really picks up. It doesn’t help that Caroline as a villain is very one-note, an exaggerated caricature who we know won’t stop the heroes, she’s just a stop gap for them. 

Honestly though, the fight in this part of the episode just peaks at Ruby zooming up and firing her sniper rifle one handed at Caroline, and landing a no-scope right on the window. Heck, go and look and it’s at head level with Caroline. Ruby went right for the kill shot! God it’s so cool to see Ruby being a badass again.

But of course the real highlight of this episode and of the entire Argus Battle sequence was Adam’s brawls against Blake and Yang, the latter of which has already earned a spot in most people’s favorite fights of the entire show list. Every time I thought Volume 6 had peaked fight wise, it got one more burst of energy and make a new “best of the season” fight to top the last. Cinder vs Neo was topped by Maria vs Tock, and now that was beaten out by Adam vs Yang. I can look at this fight and find a new favorite moment each time- Blake putting Adam’s sword into her sheath and disarming him for a few seconds while dual wielding for the first time in years, Adam’s almost instant turns whenever Blake uses her Semblance on him and him breaking Gambol Shroud, Yang smashing Adam with the bike, the list goes on. It’s not only great to see the Adam/Yang test footage getting remade to give the fight an extra edge, but as someone who wrote a lot of words on what the Battle of Haven did to Adam’s reputation, it was great to see the CRWBY remedying that mistake and giving him and Yang a fantastic battle, easily their strongest outings. Yang in particular really has evolved since Beacon, with her style having specifically changed to counter Adam and a whole barrage of new tricks- that rapid-fire machine gun punch is beautiful. 

If this is how Yang fights now, her rematch against Mercury is going to be a fucking treat. 

Adam’s face reveal was also a big shock. Some people had predicted branding but I don’t think anyone specifically called that he would have the SDC logo plastered on his eye socket. It’s a rather haunting sight, and puts his utter hatred for humanity in a startling light. It doesn’t excuse Adam of his actions, especially the abuse he put Blake through, but it puts a lot of Adam’s older actions- his disregard of the people on the train the Black trailer, his sadistic grins in his short whenever he was dominating humans- in a new context. Kudos to CRWBY for finding a way to take what most people thought they’d called already and putting a new spin on it. 

While the mech fight isn’t stellar (though Nora’s moment of “You get back here with MY MAN!” was adorable), Adam vs Yang on its own makes this a high-ranking episode of the season with what cannot be stated enough as a good fucking fight. Melanie, you are a goddamn boss and I can’t wait to see you get that team working on more battles. 

Seeing Red- The Assassination of Adam Taurus by the Not-So-Cowardly Blake Belladonna

So uh... last episode had Maria’s ship get hit with a missile, then it’s fine in this one? No smoke trails, not even any damage? OK? 

Mech fight isn’t as good as it was last time, unfortunately. Ruby’s speeching is still rather annoying but at least she makes up for it by jumping into the cannon to make sure we all realize Volume 5 Ruby is a thing of the past. A really nice touch was her psyching herself up for a second before taking the second shot. It reminded me of Wonder Woman when Steve dies, he takes a second to breathe before firing. I like that she didn’t succeed with the first plan to shoot the missiles, it added a little tension to the fight. I also loved her moment with Qrow when he tried to stop her, it was a really soft and humanizing moment for both of them. 

Adam vs Yang and Blake is still great, but last episode has it beat for sheer choreography. I very much enjoyed seeing them tag-team Adam, but part of me finds it funny that after Lady In The Shoe’s declaration of “We’re protecting each other,” Blake gets knocked out 40 seconds into the fight while Yang has to fight Adam for over a minute. 

It was great to see the fire hair finally make a return, and having it serve as part of a climax where we see Yang correct her error when she fought Adam at Beacon- literally, they recreate the move where Adam cut her arm off but this time Yang dodges to the side first- was an amazing touch. And the hair looks pretty great too. 

Adam’s death was a bit of a shock. It’s karma, no doubt, and ultimately this fight was only going to end with either him or the protagonists dead. But to be honest, I don’t think anyone expected him to win, especially after Weiss and Cinder took a spear to the narrative stakes last year. After the branding reveal I was personally hoping (but I was 90% sure he’d die) that Adam would get knocked off the cliff (I suppose I wasn’t wrong on that front at least) and get picked up by Cinder and Neo, then he’d become a problem in the Atlas arc. In particular I feel it would have been a great way to tie Adam into Weiss’s plot, as a way for her to see first hand that the SDC under Jacques is directly creating the monsters that go on to kill Weiss’s family. I’m fine with the death here, so long as what Jacques has done to the Faunus still appears in the Atlas seasons. But I feel this was a good place to see him off. On a technical level it would have been difficult for the crew to top the fighting scene in Chapters 11 and 12, while on a thematic level unless Adam went full-in on the Faunus cause he would have felt like dead weight. In effect, he’d have become the villain’s version of ReNora in how useful he really was for the plot. Additionally, even with the choreography here, had he run away again or lost I think that would have been a nail in the coffin for Adam’s threat-factor regardless. So ultimately, this was the best place to get rid of him, and at least he went out with a good death. (i really hope none of this paragraph gets twisted by someone trying to say i’m an abuse apologist, been down that road already thanks) 

Also Blake breaking down was harsh. Her and Yang are gonna need to have a long conversation or six about trauma because that’s the closest either of those girls are getting to therapists in this death world. But for real, the finale all but confirmed that Blake and Yang are endgame, and whether your own thoughts on that, their arcs next volume should be about addressing that before romantic tension comes in. We’ve got at least six volumes left, the show can afford to take it slow and have them get some therapy before they get a Tinder profile.

... though I will complain about one thing about the fight. Adam’s sheath is a gun, why didn’t he just try and shoot Blake and Yang after he lost Wilt? He just rushes for the broken fragments of the sword when he has a working gun at his belt. Literally, the one thing I don’t like about the fight itself and it’s the epilogue to it. 

Seeing Red’s fighting choreography might not be as impressive as Lady In The Shoe for either fight, but both are augmented by instead focusing on the characters and nailing a lot of the symbolism in its key moments. Ruby gets to shine with a hell of an insane move, and the show parts ways with its first real villain. 

RIP goatboi, you were trash but at least it was fun to watch you swing your weeb stick. Thanks for sucking in Volume 5 so much I started writing narrative essays about the show as a consequence. 

Our Way- And now, the end is near, and so I face, the final curtain

As an episode, Our Way is pretty cool. As a finale, it’s a bit weak, continuing the meta trend of season finales getting shorter every volume since V3. Nothing here is inherently bad, in fact it’s a lot of good material, but it’s not finale material.  

Ruby’s arc (well it’s not really an arc but that’s a subject for another post) has been building up to the moment where she finally become a proper leader, and her facing down the Leviathan was that moment. The shots of this thing looming over Ruby are cinematic gold. I love that Ruby uses Jinn’s time stop feature to cheat out a few more seconds to prepare her Silver Eyes, and that Jinn, albeit begrudgingly, admits that she made a good play. When a near omnipotent lamp admits you’ve got some moves, you really have come a long way as a fighter. 

The 2D stills of the Beacon season moments were a delight to behold, especially thanks to the added detail they gave moments like Weiss giving Ruby coffee and Penny’s death. The Summer appearance was amazing and made the finale for me, and it fading right as the lyrics to Indomitable kick in is a fantastic rush of emotions. Four lines and that song’s already my most anticipated track on the volume. I’m kind of bitter it wasn’t the credits song if I’m being honest.

Corvodin getting the final blow on the Leviathan was mixed. I appreciated how fucking anime it was that she used her DRILL THAT COULD PIERCE THE HEAVENS to kill Bubbles, but that the Leviathan was just so casually one-shotted made for a bit of an anticlimax to the battle. I’m not exactly also fond of the racist old hag being given a “soft” redemption but whatever. 

Really that’s my one big problem with this. I get that there was no real way to have another big Grimm fight, but it makes the Battle of Argus feel like a bit of a cheap fight as a consequence. I’m overall fine with the result, but it does weaken the finale as a direct consequence. If the Ruby Silver Eyes moment didn’t land for you I can imagine this finale being rather weaksauce. Still, at least most of it was onscreen this time, so progress over Haven. It’s overall an OK episode but it needed a bit more time in the oven to make it a great finale. I didn’t hate it, but I can’t deny that outside of the character moments it wasn’t as climactic as I hoped it would be, especially once they cut episode 14 as I assumed that meant a longer than normal finale to compensate for the runtime. If you like Ruby, this is a great conclusion to a season that’s been great for her overall. If you don’t? Well, twelve out of thirteen good episodes. 

Really though, Our Way made clear one important fact. Blake will never be allowed to solo her own songs, she will always have to share it with someone else. Honestly after From Shadows, Wings, Like Morning Follows Night, This Time and now Nevermore, it has to be deliberate that Blake only gets duets. 

Also you remember how I pointed out that each even-numbered season up to V6 opened with Em and Merc? Well the tradition was kinda kept alive because they closed out Volume 6. Fitting that they be the ones we close out the Mistral seasons with, alongside literal flying monkeys. At least Mercury has his eyebrows back to normal now so... character arc?  

... oh yeah and Neo and Cinder were in this I guess

Conclusion

Volume 6 is stellar, superb, at times outright spectacular. As a fan who felt Volume 5 was at best mediocre and at worst just bad, Volume 6 is an immediately counteraction and a redemption arc for RWBY as a show. Almost all of the major criticisms that had been levied at the Maya Era since Volume 4 started- janky animation, poor pacing, underused characters, weak fights, poorly explained backstories and weak villains among countless others- were all addressed and fixed to a certain extent. Ruby finally feels like the protagonist of her own story, Salem and Ozpin’s backstories have been explored, Adam was given a shred of sympathy before his death, the songs were great, the fights were stellar and it managed to, for the most part, stick the landing.

Granted, the first half is far better paced and written, the pacing does take a hit once RWBY reach Argus, but a conscious step was taken to avoid the Mistral House Round 2, we only spend three episodes in the Cotta-Arc house and a large portion of time outside it to boot. Miles said in a post-RTX interview that the plan was for each episode to have at least one new location per episode to avoid repetition and for the most part, they succeeded. As a consequence, the world feels more alive than it ever has before, Argus feels much more intimately known and we see the characters reacting to new environments and stimuli. But regardless, things slow down and hit a roadblock at Argus and while the pacing smooths out, it does break the stellar flow the earlier episodes had managed to keep going. 

The Argus Battle episodes, while as a whole better shot and choreographed than last year’s battle at Haven, have far smaller stakes. The mech fight has some entertaining moments but fails to entertain, but the slack is thankfully picked up by Adam vs B&Y which will top a lot of “best fight of the show” lists for a while to come. But still, the episodes feel less wide-reaching than the Beacon or Haven versions, and perhaps because of this, the final episode fails to excite as much as it does due to the Battle for Argus having no real stakes or danger. It leads to a great moment, but it’s not as exciting as it could have been.

While overall the pacing was very good, one plot did drag- Cinder and Neo. This did not need to be in Volume 6 and while I liked their fight, Cinder’s plot is rather blatantly just there to set up Volume 7 and their threat there. While it did give the crew a chance to finally explore Mistral’s criminal underworld that had been teased in the World of Remnant, Mistral still feels woefully underused compared to Vale thanks to a shoddy start. As well, plain and simply, I just don’t like Cinder and Neo as much as I do the other villains, and I’d have rather their screentime be used on the other villains- a segment of Adam stalking Blake in Argus, more of Emerald and Mercury processing Cinder not being around anymore, Hazel and the duality of his want for pacifism and his utter hatred of Ozpin, Tyrian and Watts and the inevitably buddy cop drama that will ensue from them. This is a personal gripe, I’m aware, but Cinder has still failed to grab me as a villain six volumes in- hopefully now that there’s one less villain to juggle, she can finally get something to hook us in next volume. Also I just don’t like Cinder’s new outfit, give Em and Merc new outfits already for Christ’s sake. 

Another plot that didn’t so much drag as was just removed was Oscar going missing. I was sure this would lead to an Oscar solo scene where he’d get to confront Ozma and Ozpin and figure out his place in life. As it is, it feels like he just went missing so Jaune, Ren and Nora could have the statue scene. At least his new costume is nice.

But overall, the second half was good, no, great a lot of the time after the awkward stop in Dead End. Volume 6′s second half may not have been as grandiose as it could/should have been, but it still maintained a steady pace, gave us a lot of fantastic standout scenes, great combat and character beats while finally leaving the ghost of Volume 5 behind on Mistral. I am thoroughly onboard for Volume 7, and I am now eager to see where Miles, Connor, Kerry and Melanie steer the ship. 

Thank you for reading. 

[petrichorsmemory]

The King's Men by Nora Sakavic

Disclaimer: in this book there are mentions of sexual assault against adults and children, physical and mental abuse, drugs usage, general violence and rape, and graphic descriptions of torture.

This book is a little “cheerful” that the previous one, as there is not as much heartbreaking moments but that doesn’t mean that my heart wasn’t beating four times faster than normal during some parts. It’s just that, that were happy moments. Some of them were cute, others heart-warming and some just funny. There were still plenty of things that hurt my heart, as one can deduce from the disclaimer but it wasn’t the overwhelming majority of them, as in the second book.

In this book we see the growth of the characters, specially Neil. He transforms from scarred and calculating kid into confident and brave young man, who at least tries to open up to other people. He is not yet completely well, but enough to provide support in the recovery of others. I also like the fact that “Nathaniel” is still somewhere inside him, and he is Neil’s dark side. The fact that he is not “cured” at the end seems to be a recurring theme, as neither is Andrew. I know is more painful that way, but in the real world mental problems can’t be solved that easily, by finding “something” to care about. I read the extra content from authors tumblr, so my opinion on this may be influenced by thing from outside of the novels, but it’s really refreshing that Andrew is not a “good” person at the start of the series, and he doesn’t change (at least not in this context) at the end either. He doesn’t even try. He isn’t a bad person, but he doesn’t really care about anything much a part from his fave 5 (Neil, Kevin, Aaron, Nicky and Dr B.) and he just stays like that. He does try to get better mentally (willingly participates in therapy and tries to overcome his dislike for touching) but would still murder anyone who cross him.

And Kevin found his spine for just few minutes, it was in the same place his balls were.

This series is officially one of my favourites, but I’m sure I won’t read it ever again, at least not all of it, some parts are just too traumatic for me (see second book) but I will definitely read fragments of it along the years.

[bloody-wonder]

It would be really interesting to hear your thoughts about Aaron being homophobic. Also why don’t you agree with Nora that Andrew is bipolar?

wow thanks :))) then here it goes

(i’m not at all an expert on bipolar disorder but as far as i understand a person suffering from it should have both depressive and manic episodes - that’s why it’s called bipolar. while andrew’s apathy can be interpreted as an ongoing depressive state, manic episodes aren’t there. books 1 & 2 don’t count obviously, because his manic behavior in those is drug-induced. nora did say in the extra content that andrew is supposed to be bipolar, but what she also said is that the whole situation around andrew’s pills is in her opinion the least plausible aspect of aftg: she just needed andrew to be manic for plot reasons and didn’t bother with researching the whole mental illness theme in depth. so, if we return to the text, what we have is either a very poor portrayal of bipolar disorder or simply absence of it. i personally choose the latter, i think andrew just has a very severe ptsd).

unlike andrew’s misogyny i can’t just dismiss aaron’s homophobia out of hand. however, i am increasingly dissatisfied with how the fandom sees it and how we choose to engage with it. full disclaimer: what follows are all very personal takes and they are to be understood as venting of a person whose hcs are unpopular and not as criticism of anyone.

so, problem one: how people see aaron’s homophobia. i have a feeling that every aaron’s interaction with nicky or neil in which he’s being harsh or rude are interpreted as displays of his homophobia. this approach totally ingnores all the character-related and context-specific aspects of those interactions: for instance, that aaron has a thousand reasons to hate neil and neil being not straight wouldn’t even make top five of those reasons, and that half of the times aaron tells nicky to shut up, nicky does need to shut up because he’s being inappropriate. aaron vs nicky discourses frustrate me especially, because they tend to overfocus on aaron’s perceived homophobia and overlook nicky’s more problematic sides (bcs aaron is a ‘big meanie’ who can and will be bad, and nicky is a ‘gay cinnamon roll’ who can’t possibly be bad). 

that being said, aaron is indeed homophobic - as in ‘has prejudice against gay people’, which is very internalized and is showcased in subtle ways. for example, the biggest tell in my opinion isn’t him being rude or whatever, but this: imagine nicky’s straight and keeps saying all the stuff he says in the books - but about girls (makes me very uncomfortable) - would aaron call him out on it still? i believe that no he wouldn’t because, unlike me who thinks nicky’s behavior is inappropriate at times no matter what gender it’s directed at, aaron probably thinks it’s okay in hetero contexts and would totally let it slide. he calls nicky out not because he’s concerned about the people who his words affect, but because he’s ashamed of his flamboyant gay cousin. and that is the realest kind of homophobia because we may never/seldom meet a person who will want to beat up a gay or call them a f… but this deeply seated internalized prejudice is something we’ll find in many people in our immediate surroundings, and maybe even in ourselves.

problem two: how people engage with aaron’s homophobia in fics. so, aaron’s homophobia in the books is written in a really subtle way, but when translated into fan works it becomes a caricature. people will overblow it with additional facts and stories and then make aaron learn the error of his ways, redeem himself and apologize to andrew and nicky. which is fine. i get that a lot of people just need the emotional catharsis of having a relative figure go through this didactic story and accept ‘lil gay me’ in order to sublimate what will hardly happen to us in real life. but aaron is one of my favorite characters exactly because of his complexity and i just hate to see this complexity being sacrificed, so that he can become a hate sink, a boring trope or a didactic plot device.

for the thing is, whereas andrew’s alleged misogyny comes up relatively seldom and only in discussions of andrew’s flaws, aaron’s homophobia has sadly evolved to be his definitive characteristic - it comes up every single time whenever aaron has a role to play in a fic. but aaron has so much going for him - he’s a person trapped in other people’s stories, constantly overshadowed by his brother who also seems to define his life for some fucked up reasons, who seems to strive for ‘normality’ a lot more than other characters and yet his past doesn’t let him go. there’s so much stuff to work with and yet i have to read an obligatory ‘aaron learns to be less homophobic’ plot line every single time.

so yeah, these are my thoughts on aaron and his big evil homophobia. i’d like to reiterate what i said at the beginning - that this isn’t meant to be a criticism for example of the people who write those fics so much as venting my sadness that there are obviously few to no people who see aaron as i do.

[unravelingthepages]

The Midnight Library- Thoughts and takeaway

Hi! The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a book I genuinely liked reading. I read it a while back so please bear with my muddled thoughts on it!

I was drawn to this book, I couldn’t stop reading it once I started. It managed to balance heavy themes with simple writing and never goes the soul- wrenching heavy that would make it unsuitable for a younger audience. I would say it’s a perfect read for everyone above the age of 15! (do look up trigger warnings beforehand though)

The Plot

Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? A novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

Why you should read this book

The simple writing. That was definitely a selling point of the book for me. The story flowed perfectly and I loved it so much!

The Midnight Library. The library inside the book, not the title. I absolutely loved the concept as well as how it was executed. Every scenario I felt Nora should try, she did and I was left feeling content with the ending.

Nora’s character development. I know that everyone’s depression as well as recovery looks different but I loved that the book iterates the self-doubt, the overthinking, the utter helplessness you feel and more. From my standpoint, Nora has just started her recovery. The book leaves you with the hope that she’ll make it through. She finally begins to accept herself as she is and you end this read feeling so proud of her!!

The message you leave with. The message I got from this book, for all I know, might be completely different from your takeaway. And that’s a beautiful thing. Maybe if I myself read the book a few years down the line, I’ll have a takeaway different from the one I got this time. That actually makes me really excited to re-read the book.

All-in-all, I recommend this book to you a hundred percent. I hope you like it as much as I did!!

In order to keep me up to my ears in books please consider using the following amazon affiliate link to purchase this read. It would be at no extra cost to you and would really help me out, thank you!

purchase this read: https://amzn.to/3Q0Tdoq

reading is addicting because, hear me out, you read one amazing book and then proceed to read a 100 bad ones just to find that feeling again