#tristan arc long

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY Winter Tales

Ghostly Winds

For @chaoslordjoe

Jaune and Yang smiled as they watched Tristan and Lionel shape their snowmen. While most children would make simple snowpeople with sticks for arms, stones for eyes and a carrot nose, Tristan and Lionel decided to go all out and make snow sculptures. Tristan's was a knight wielding a sword in both hands, while Lionel's was a puppy with a bone in its mouth. Jaune chuckled as he picked up the younger of the two.

Jaune: Seems like we have ourselves two artisans in the making.

Lionel: *chuckles* You know it! I already have a name for this dog right here.

Jaune: Oh? What is it?

Lionel: Gelert! Just like in the story of the Loyal Dog.

Jaune: Awwww, that's really sweet! I'm sure Gelert would appreciate the tribute.

Yang: What about you, little man? Who's this handsome fellow supposed to be?

Tristan: That's me. Some day, I wanna be a great knight! Just like the ones in Vale!

Yang: *nods head* Very nice! Saving kingdoms, swinging swords and riding off in stylish armour.

Tristan: You know it! But if that doesn't work, I can always be like you and Jaune. A Witcher for hire.

Yang: ...you want to be a Witcher?

Tristan: Eh, maybe. But only if I can't be a knight.

Yang: I see... oh... *frowns*

Tristan: Hm? Are you okay?

Yang: ...you know, I think it's about time you went off to bed! *smiles nervously*

Lionel: Aw what?

Tristan: But it's not even dark yet.

Jaune: Boys, listen to your mother. Night falls faster in winter. Come on now, scoot.

Jaune and Yang hurried back inside and tucked in their children to bed. In the living room, Yang cast Igni on the candles and warmed her hands. She had a saddened look on her face.

Jaune: *places blanket over her* Is everything alright? You seem tense.

Yang: *sighs* Of course I'm tense. Tristan wants to be a Witcher.

Jaune: *raises eyebrow* That's what got you worried? Come on, he's a kid. They're always saying silly things like that.

Yang: But what if he's serious about this? Ever since we took him in after his father died, he's always looked up to us. He sees as heroes, even after some of the terrible things we've done.

Jaune: Isn't that a good thing? He doesn't see us as monsters.

Yang: I know, but our life as Witchers isn't what I want for him. It's filled with pain, blood, hatred. *carresses his cheek* We're a family now and I don't want him to face the kind of dangers we did.

Jaune: *holds Yang* He won't, don't worry. Look, I know you love him, Lionel too, but I think you're letting this get to your head a little. Kids change their mind all the time. Remember when Lionel was adamant about hating turnips. One bite of your roast changed that and now he begs for more every day.

Yang: *chuckles* Yeah, you're probably right. I guess I just didn't realise how hard being a mom would be. *turns to Jaune and kisses him* Thank you, sweetheart.

Jaune: Always. Now can I get some of that blanket? It's freezing.

Yang: *laughs and opens the blanket* Get in here.

Jaune sat on Yang's lap as she draped the blanket over both of them. Outside, the snow started fall heavier and the wind picked up. The sound of hooves thundered the ground as a group of knights in jet black armour raced across the landscape. They screeched and howled, their eyes glowing red as hot flames. Any who came into contact with them would never see their old life, their souls now belonging to the riders. Many nations and kingdoms across Remnant feared them, for they were wraiths that brought the omen of war. They were the Wild Hunt... and they were sending a message.

[mitternacht]

Mixed feelings about todays chapter but at least we got some cute panels of Rip and Latla (under cut for 231 spoilers)

Rip tearing up when Remember was used….. I need him and Latla to have a really heartfelt reunion with Leila later I’m demanding it genuinely.

I’M ALSO THE BIGGEST FAN OF RIP CONSTANTLY BODILY SHIELDING LATLA. Like. Her whole thing is having a nearly impenetrable barrier and Rip’s first instinct is still always to throw himself between her and danger like he loves his wife so much. So much.

Also the family being reunited…… they are so cute…… I’ve said it before but if they don’t officially adopt Bunny by the end of the series my vengeance will be swift

[gx-gameon]

I’ve been thinking about the post-canon digital world arc for this au. I don’t know if this will ever be officially I’m just playing with some concepts right now.

But some of the DM crew and some of the GX crew are pulled into a digital world and forced to use the deck master style of dueling.

Here are the pairings I’m playing with (this is after the Gx crew knows Jaden’s identity as Jaden Moto.

Yugi and Jaden - Yugi, upon realizing that they are in a digital world and will be using deck masters again and dueling for their lives, makes a mad dash for his son. He’s been through this song and dance before. He knows they are about to be split up. Right as the ground opens up below Jaden’s feet Yugi tackles the kid and the two go down together. He’s sat on the sidelines for to long. If these people want to attack his son then they are getting both of them.

Atem and Jim - this one might seem out of left field. But I wanted so weird pairings. I think Jim is calm and collected and him and Atem would mash well together. They handle business and keep moving forward. Jim is also someone who will give his all to help his friends and is very loyal to Jaden. Both traits earn him Atem’s full approval.

Seto and Chazz - Chazz is determined to impress Seto Kaiba. (He’s basically already family but he’s never got to duel along side Seto and this is a big deal) however he needs up with Ojama Yellow as his deck master through their usual shenanigans. (He loves to Ojamas but he’s trying to show off here) but they do turn out to be quite helpful especially when paired with Kaiba’s crush card. I can also see them having a cool moments since they both play XYZ canon cards.

Joey and Jesse - these two are having a blast. The Crystal beast are out and roasting every opponent that comes towards them and Joey is loving these spirits. It takes a bit to get their decks to sync up but over all the two are having a great time. There is a little stress because Joey has seen what Jaden will do if anything happens to Jesse. But he quickly forgets that worry because who’s taking down Joey Wheeler? Nobody that’s who. They spend most of the time talking about Jaden and Joey roasting any opponent sparing the Crystal beast to join in.

Tristian and Axel - Tristian is a weak duelist and while he’s learned quite a bit over the years he’s still not a duelist. I wanted to pair him with someone strong. Both are fighters. Tristan is always willing to through hands. They are also to characters who are willing to make the sacrifice play. (Tristan more that Axel) Axel is also super intense and not every character from DM would be able to play off that. While Tristan is giddy he can also buckle down and get things done.

Téa and Alexis - while I don’t normally like “pair the girls together cause they’re girls” but I think Alexis deserves to be with another girl for once. Also I think the character work here could be really fun. Alexis misses her friends (this is probably the first time they have all gotten together since the tournament arc) she’s struggling with her desire for things to go back to the way they were and her need to move towards the future. She started to learn this lesson with Jaden in their final year, but I think talking with Téa and learning how friendships change over time but that doesn’t mean they are gone. Friendships also require both sides to put in an effort. There is a lot of growth to be had

Mokuba and Hasselberry - honestly this is probably the weakest pairing. Mokuba has been head of torments for years now and Hasselberry has just graduated. Hasselberry is a charge ahead break down all obstacles kind of person, while Mokuba is a lot more meticulous. He’s used to dealing with long game business buyouts. He can duel well but not at a professional level. He does however know the rules inside and out. I can see them having a great moment when Hasselberry want to charge ahead in their duel only for Mokuba to slow him down. Pointing out a super obscure rule that leads to a winning combo. They are opposites that work well together

Duke and Atticus - the “pretty boys” of their series. Defiantly putting on a show every time they have to duel. When they meet up with the others everyone is a little haggard from their experience and then these to strut out like runway models

Serenity and Aster - once again this might be a strange pair but hear me out. Serenity, while far more knowledgeable than she was in battle city, is still not a duelist. Pairing her with a pro makes sense. Also Aster is a gentleman, he also loves being a hero. I can see him trying to duel for both of them and trying to protect Miss Serenity. (Although doing so might put him in over his head) Serenity is also nowhere near the Novices she was in the digital world arc in season 3. She has a working deck. She just doesn’t play on the level of Joey, Yugi, Atem, and Seto. I like the idea of her also having a fusion deck. Maybe one themed around angels.

Again right now this is just an idea. Let me know if you think any other pairs would be fun. I’m open to some changes.

I also need to figure out everyone’s deck masters.

[desire-mona]

why i think richard cameron is Like That

the long awaited cam analysis post of sorts!!!

so to start off, let me acknowledge the obvious: CAMERON SUCKED FOR WHAT HE DID TO HIS FRIENDS. THAT WAS MEAN AND SHITTY OF HIM, HE DESERVED TO GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE AND HE DESERVED TO HAVE HIS FRIENDS STOP LIKING HIM. this post is just to paint a more nuanced picture of the motivations and reasoning behind his cam-ness. also i feel the need to address that my love for dylan kussman HEAVILY influences my opinion on cameron, so please keep that in find when u read this. if my bias shows at any point then feel free to offer your perspective, odds are i'll find a way to agree :3

-

lets start at the very beginning of the movie, his first appearance with the tradition banner. this obviously wasn't anything i rly thought of in depth on my first watch, but on my second watch i was like oh Hm.

tradition, of course, is a BIG aspect of welton that the movie repeatedly emphasises, drawing lots of attention to how nothing changes. i find cam holding the tradition banner especially interesting in relativity to neil holding the excellence banner specifically. cam very clearly tries his best to embody the rules of welton (more on this later) and very rarely deviates from those rules, although he does on occasion (again - more on this later.) but despite his attempts to be the manifestation of those values are never met with any praise, unlike neil. that's not to say that neil isn't deserving of that praise though, absolutely he is deserving, but in terms of academics specifically, cam's pretty up there too! this part doesnt exactly tie in directly with the rest of the post, but just thought id point it out first to add a layer to the rest of my thoughts.

how i view cam's character arc is something that's framed in a way thats not supposed to be viewed as an arc, i suppose (interesting considering the tradition thing hm). of course thats inaccurate as he does in fact have in arc, it just small in relation to the more forefront-ed poets. and it makes him ultimately less likeable, so.

during a majority of the movie (pre neil death) cam is known as the guy who doesnt like to break rules, that much is obvious, but in the end he still does with the dead poets society. now the reasoning behind that isnt actually touched on in a direct way, so there are a few different ways you can view that. i'll touch on a few different reasonings that me, @pencileraser1, and @good--merits-accumulated came up with.

my reasoning - i see cam's willingness to break the rules as cam holding his friends' idea of him on a high pedestal, constantly taking into consideration what they think. not wanting his friends to consider him a loser or boring in any way, he joins despite the anxiety surrounding being caught. not without fuss though, he does still outwardly talk about how this isnt something they should be doing. all this and yet he does in fact join, AND he doesnt rat anyone out for a majority of the movie (even after the call from god dealio!!!) fomo, basically.

nick's reasoning (found in this post) - he just wanted his friends to be safe!!! joining to (in my view) keep them in line in terms of safety as well as. i guess. provide the reminder of the consequences i suppose?? nick im opening up the floor to u if u wanna delve into this point more cuz ur definitely able to provide better reasoning n such. if asking nick to talk abt things was a full time job.

tristan's reasoning (discussed in dms) - cam's need for authority. tristan brought up a very good headcanon/ theory/ something or other that cam is the type to need constant direction or authority, and i totally agree! (reason for that will - again - come up later.) now this culminates in a couple different ways. 1) most obviously, adhereing (ehh) to the rules of welton, and 2) his relationship with the rest of the poets. due to the size of the welton student body, a lack of individual direction from teachers and staff is almost inevitable. so to fill that gap, he adheres to his friends' """"""rules"""""", and joins the poets. floor is open to you as well if you'd like to elaborate further, tristan :3

my thoughts of cam being super focused on his friends' idea of him actually started as a bit. i believe i made a hc post about smoking weed?? maybe?? and said something along the lines of "cam would smoke even if he doesnt want to, not cuz of peer pressure from his friends but more of a self imposed peer pressure. thinking its rude/ cringe/ uncool to turn down smthn like this bc all the rest of the guys r doing it." but after a rewatch of the scene in dps where theyre all walking outside, it started having some merit in my mind! in that scene, keating does a sort of imitation of cameron when he first starts to walk, something like "am i doing this right?", "am i walking weird?", etc. (paraphrasing ofc.) so i sort of took that aspect and applied it to other parts of his character and found out that oh, this actually kinda makes sense!

speaking of keating and his lessons, lets talk carpe diem.

now my interpretation of cam is that he doesn't exactly *want* to apply carpe diem in his life, seeing it as an antithesis of the welton values. only joining the poets for the reasons mentioned above. however, he does indeed apply it in my eyes, but more as a fucked up reversal and dickish version which eventually ends up in him deservedly getting punched. now is this how keating intended him to interpret carpe diem? ehhhhhhhhhhhhh,, it's complicated, let's talk about the context a bit.

this part is more theorising than anything, so take it with a few grains of salt if u wish.

cam quite obviously is a pretty big stickler for the rules, which i believe is a result of outside influence. id like to thank @lovech1ld for reminding me of this! cam's parents/ grandparents/ guardians are noticably older than the other poets, which, in my eyes, makes a heavy emphasis on following the rules make a lot more sense (respect your elders type shit.) so this, combined with the inherent fear of authority that most of the boys seem to have, makes him a chronic rule follower. but it goes further than that, after these ideas have been pushed for so long, i feel that cameron's started to mix up his own personal morals and values with the morals and values of welton, viewing those two things as one in the same. here's where that starts to muddy things up in terms of carpe diem.

i interpret cam's finking AS his application of carpe diem in his life, but as more of a subconscious choice. now you may be thinking "hey. mona. what?" and i UNDERSTAND! but here's my reasoning behind that. as i mentioned/ theorised before, cam has a very high opinion of his friends' idea of him, but this does eventually change after neil's passing. his subconscious carpe diem application, to put it into proper words, was a way to stick up for himself and his beliefs despite what all his friends think. again, being brought about by neils death, since he didn't choose to rat anyone out when the opportunity first presented itself during the call from god assembly. and i dont think cam sticking up for himself is inherently a bad thing!! but! since cam's idea of his morals are so clouded by welton's, this isn't actually sticking up for himself, this is just being a tattletale.

he did provide other reasoning for doing so to the poets of course, so lets talk a bit about that too. he says something along the lines of "i did it for neil" and "this is what he wouldve wanted" which is obviously bullshit, objectively. but i don't think he saw it that way, i think he genuinely believed thats what he thought neil would've wanted, as stupid of him as that was. obviously thats not what he wouldve wanted AT ALL, and why he actually thought that is FAR beyond me. but i really dont think he wouldve turned anyone in if he didnt genuinely believe it, especially considering the fact that he was PART of the dead poets. even if he was the one to confess, im sure he likely got punished as well. (which also couldve been what he wanted? tristan this is an opening to also discuss catholic cam on here bc ur reasonings for that were INCREDIBLE.)

on top of this, i really dont think that cam actually understood the weight of what turning in everyone would do. now i will say right away, hes not dumb, he knew that keating would be fired and charlie would be expelled, and that alone should've turned him away if he really wanted to honor neil. as i said before we started, he absolutely deserved to be punched and lose his friends, that was a dick move that ended up ruining two lives for a long long time, if not forever.

but.

due to him grieving, his rules = morals shtick, and fear of authority, i think he turned in the poets without giving actual, proper thought into what the consequences of that would be. which manifests itself both in the film with the final scene.

in the last scene where all of the boys stand on the desk, we see multiple shots of cam looking around and looking at everyone standing. and we (or at least i) can definitely see some sort of consideration to join them!!! he of course doesnt, and ends up choosing to sit, looking QUITE ashamed. this too can he interpreted a couple ways, either as him being embarrassed that his peers are doing this, or as him wanting to join them but knowing that he was the reason keating was fired. knowing that it would be incredibly disingenuous, even if he stood as a way to sort of apologise to keating + the poets for what he did and show that he regrets his actions, he stayed seated. and was so. so. mad at himself for it.

now i don't remember where i heard this so im not sure how to go about fact checking, but i believe the choice to keep cam seated was ultimately dylan kussman's?????? but dont take my word as gospel in terms of that, i very well could be wrong.

BUT! this gives me an opportunity to talk abt how much i love dylan kussman!!!!! nick vocalised the thought before i was able to in one of his posts, but considering the fact that i agree wholeheartedly, i'll reiterate it. i see rsl and ethan hawke constantly be praised (deservedly!) for their understanding of the inner workings of their characters, especially reflected in the desk set scene. and while YES ABSOLUTELY, i think dylan needs this praise as well. dylan was the PERFECT casting choice for cameron and i will shout that from the rooftops until my voice goes hoarse. so so so many of his little mannerisms, facial expressions, ways of speaking, soooo many etceteras are just so. so. CAMERON! even the most comprehensive directorial choices cant top an actor's inherent understanding of a character and reflection of that in their performance. good god! i think my new dream in life is to ask dylan about how he came about properly embodying cameron and his process in doing so.

anyway

with my dylan fanfare over, that about wraps up my thoughts on cam in terms of the film itself. HOWEVER. i have lots and lots of thoughts after a long convo with tristan about certain headcanons and post-canon theories and whatever. will probably touch on those but i dont really have my thoughts properly collected enough, so that wont be until later.

as per usual with these types of posts, everyone else is welcome to add any input they may have. cam is one of my fav things to talk abt in terms of dps so i will eat up every single little thing. thank u for reading!!!!

[orphanheirs]

author ask tag

Ty so much for the tag, @the-inkwell-variable, @drchenquill and @spideronthesun !!

What is the main lesson of your story? Why did you choose it?

"Lesson" doesn't feel quite right for my story because it's pretty dark and the characters do a lot of bad things and aren't conventional protagonists. But I do think I'm exploring a cluster of themes and asserting some beliefs I hold through the events of the plot and the arcs of the characters. One of these is that children (and people in general) should be empowered to explore the world freely on their own terms and be freely themselves, despite what limitations their families have in mind for them. Unsurprisingly, this is closely intertwined with a not-so-subtextual championing of queer kids in the narrative. On a larger scale but related to that is a questioning of oppression of all kinds in the story, which I think I can have a lot of fun with in a story set in the extremely oppressive and hierarchical society of 19th century Britain. I think maybe the emotional undercurrent "lesson" of the story will end up being something like "everyone deserves love, acceptance, and freedom". There's a lot more I could say about it but I'll leave it there for this post lol. I chose these themes because I'm passionate about them ideologically and personally.

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding?

I haven't done a whole lot of that yet, in terms of determining what the supernatural world/other side will be like in the novel. But as I start to string ideas together I'm thinking about a lot of things: fairy folklore, fairy and folk tales, mythology and demonology. Besides those "primary sources" so to speak I'm inspired by other fictional fantasy worlds in books and film. I also look to art for inspiration.

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, or help the reader grow as a person?

Tristan is trying to live life and experience the world outside his family home before he dies. He also wants to explore the magical world, and complete the dastardly deeds he has to do in order to fulfill his contract with the demon he conjured. He's got a lot going on. Filled with hubris, this one, as most 12 year olds are. As for what I want to achieve with him, he's got a redemption arc but he also has an arc when it comes to letting in the love he's never gotten and realizing he deserves it. So there's absolutely lessons to be gleaned there. And (I think) he's kind of an inspiring character because of how determined and defiantly himself he is. Crispin is my other MC, and I really feel like I'm still working on his motivations. But I'm thinking it will have something to do with his attempting to reconcile his inner conflict from his human and demon sides, and finding a place/group where he belongs since he's kind of a misfit everywhere. I see the potential with him to symbolize the similar journeys of identity and search for humanity a lot of us go through. I think a lot of us can relate to feeling like a monster nobody will ever understand.

How many chapters is your story going to have?

I don't know! So far it has zero lol.

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

It's original! I'm planning to try and traditionally publish it--that's the dream at least. Failing that, I'll likely indie publish anyway because I would want to share it regardless.

When did you start writing?

Not exactly sure, but pretty young. I've never written any long form fiction before, but I wrote short stories and poems and such starting when I was elementary school aged. Most of my stories have been attached to characters I drew who I then gave a personality and imagined a life for. I've started a million stories that I never finished. But I have made stories up in my head all my life. I've always sort of lived with one foot in the world of my imagination.

Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers do you follow?

Well I'm still very new to this myself haha 😅I guess I'll say I feel so privileged to be allowed in to the various worlds of your guys' imaginations; it's such a delight. It's a gift to the world to share these things that once were private to your minds with the rest of us. Never think it's not! You're giving neurological signals in your brain a new life in the collective consciousness, images and sounds and personalities other people can experience, and that's true magic.

I follow a whole lot of amazing folks! I'll list just some of my mutuals here:

@indoorghost, @seastarblue, @vesanal, @gaslightwestern,

@theink-stainedfolk, @tragedycoded, @armentas, and

@transthadymacdermot !!!

+anyone else who sees this who wants to do it!!

[miss-revy-1412]

A letter to Tumblr fans of 7 Brothers

I'm gonna manifest Queen Megaris in me to actually read to the filth to some of you people regarding 7 Brothers. You may see I'm going all out that I'm about to say.

You know it's really toxic and pathetic when fans are forced by some people here to write a long arse essay to explain that : "Hey I may not romance Grant but, I'm not racist."

Few days ago, I read a blog done by someone and I felt really sad and uncomfortable for the user (I'm not taking name to save her privacy) imagine the fandom putting you in such a position where you have to explain yourself why you don't like certain characters. No, it's not racism if you don't romance Grant. Grant lacks an arc or something going on with him.

Let me explain it to you: Tristan , Lillian and Chloe are romance options yet they got some arc going on with them: hacking the rich guys for ending capitalism is Tristan's arc, fighting against addiction and recovering her true self again is Lillian's. Trying to break off from her toxic dad, spying and put the criminals to jail is Chloe's arc but, What about Grant? He doesn't even have a proper arc nor his tensions with dad is ever noticed which itself is saddening. I romance all these people and heck it's really sad what is going with Grant even the new branch has issues and drama given his parents are literally involved in smuggling and corporate capitalism.

Same applies to Chloe and Lililan. I haven't seen any rude comments or mockery for them but, no these two are actually good branch and just because, people aren't romancing them doesn't make the fans as homophobic nor racist respectively. This fandom has majority of girls who are straight, it just people want to aggresively use these things rather than addressing the real flaws and issues with the story. Not everyone will love the cup of tea that you are having!!!

Let fans love their characters please, like stop being such a moodkill or toxic. This is FICTIONAL it's not so serious.

Moving on : we wanna just f*ck white men, we don't give a f about Langley's story. Oh look they forced her to do this, we are begging for James, shaming the fans. This is peak toxic behaviour.

No, there are people who didn't played 7 Brothers because the plot didn't clicked to them, the FBI kidnapping thing was seen to be absurd especially a barely legal girl investigating her seniors not many people liked that aspect and that was the highlight for not getting into this story secondly while, the plot was called 7 Brothers people thought we would sleep around with every guy or something but it didn't sure this part might be a nitpicking but, honestly because of people criticising some aspects besides the LI made please for once do look at from others view too rather than putting these victimhood mentality.

Langley improved her story by 3rd and 4th update respectively. We stared having more interaction with other brothers and people who weren't LI. I mean Simon should be a Li Only came into debate when we started getting more scenes with him and all (Hypocrisy)

Now, moving on to the biggest elephant of this room. Jesus Christ!!! Can I understand why there was so massed up pent up aggression the very day Langley announced back in September that James' will be a fling.

I swear so much attention and confessions were bought who would romance this dude, he's so sh*t and all. I understand your confessions but, some of these literally forgot we have Mehmed, Amrit, Zain, Deigo and Masked Man as love interests who actually were killers (not Zain) , potential r*posts and even the hell were sleeping with MC whom they would qualify to be their uncles, cousins? You people don't have seen this? Not ya all seeing James worse than Amrit , Mehmed or Deigo

James literally said one freaking scene at stables also, can I ask for snippets where he shows r*cism openly or call certain Jaynies as by racist tags, or scenes where he humiliates Logan and Grant or maybe wearing an offensive outfit or putting a theme at Halloween to target certain people of race?

Also no, I don't believe in I can fix him mentality. He can look for a therapist rather than asking me to do so. Never I asked for that

He's a classist asshole that's the thing I see. He atleast didn't try to r*pe Jaynie (Mehmed) nor undressed her while unconsciously (Amrit) or decided to go trying to murder Ray. That whole estate thing was his dick parent's doing and he tried to take fun of this sufferings because he's an asshole

but, I pray for you haters that you get a scene to kill him off and even get satisfaction and all for that. Killing him with an axe , Poisoning him or pushing him from Bahamas Cliff or even Dr*gging him to death , etc etc and I'm pretty much sure Langley will deliver that!

Imagine getting blocked because, saying: "They will make a hot/interesting/ dynamic couple." That's just so be fr. I would hear everyone's fantasy rather than being a d*ck because, freedom of speech and expression is a basic thing for all.

Also white cis man 💀 ya all would really take it if we go call other POC guys as Greg and Vincent like this? No that be racism. They got a name you know, etc etc. Seriously give them a nickname God or just call them by name labelling them for skin colour is a hypocrite behaviour if you believe racism and colorism is wrong.

7 Brothers is literally a story about from Rags to riches either you wanna do it unfairly or on your own merit or wanna use the money for humanitarian goals (this is the theme)

Also, we are here for the romance and drama. The drama is about exploitation of the hard working citizens by the rich people. It's about classism not politics. If It was then this book would had been called : "Vying for Whitehouse" instead.

Also, this is romance club a game that sells you romance and love interest . No one here begs. It's a customer's request and RC can do where money talks. Could be a slap at the wrist but, if RC sees a certain character bringing them fans, money and all they can do that. Langley was never forced.

There are scenes where James follows Alexandre's path and even Jaynie saying in "I" not certain that I like James, her trying to change her wardrobe in Episode 5 to look classy after that James remarks. Like why do you care what that asshole says??? Alexandre was a scumbag too and his first s*x scene also had no strings attached thing .

Some of you also want XYZ character to be a LI yet, you go mock others for doing that (hypocrisy!!). Mocking someone for loving James or even trying to silence them isn't very liberal thing to do. People were scared? Hello. please learn to take other people's liking rather than blocking them off or just mocking behind their back.

Finally, coming to the conclusion no, we don't want bastards like him as a lover in real life. This is ficition also stop wasting your time hating on others or Fictional pixelated character they won't make a change to society or to others. Go out and fight for social justice and wrongs in the society.

Yours unruly,

MRZ

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Honey Cut by Sierra Simone

5/5. Releases 6/18/24.

vibes: WEAPONIZED LONGING, the perfect angst recipe, the man Lana Del Rey was singing about but much better, We Can't Discuss Our Feelings Because My Feelings Are Hard

Heat Index: 10/10

Isolde Laurence is in a bind (literally, at points). She's about to marry Mark Trevena (the cold, dangerous man who deflowered her and promptly crushed her heart) in an arrangement that will enable her to seduce him and offer his secrets to her uncle, a high-ranking cardinal. However, on her way to do so, she's fallen in love with Mark's romantic, pining bodyguard Tristan. And Tristan--who very much loves her back--is also in love with Mark, thanks to a preexisting whirlwind affair he put a stop to upon finding out about the engagement. Isolde is determined to, if nothing else, guard her heart against her new husband. And, for personal and practical reasons, honor the agreement they made years ago: once they exchange vows, they'll be faithful to each other.

Easier said than done.

But Isolde herself is deadlier than she seems, and in the midst of a thorny triangle, she may end up crushing not only Tristan's heart, but her own... and maybe even Mark's. If he has one.

Well, this was my most-anticipated release of the year, and BY GOD did it live up to expectations. This is an ongoing series (you must read Salt Kiss before starting this one, and in my opinion? You should ABSOLUTELY also read the prequel novella, Salt in the Wound, as it lays the groundwork for Mark and Isolde's relationship) and of course, I don't want to count chickens before they hatch, but... If Sierra pulls the ending off--which I totally believe she will; she's yet to let me down--this could end up being her best series yet. And that is a LOT coming from me, someone who worships at the altar of New Camelot (and Thornchapel, for that matter).

The thing about the way Sierra writes triads--and nobody does it better--is that they all feel unique. You might think that Mark, Isolde, and Tristan would have a lot in common with New Camelot's Ash, Greer, and Embry. They're MMF, they're based on Arthurian myth, these people literally know each other (Sierra: I owe you my life for that cameo). But the dynamic is completely different--and in this installment especially, quite darker. I didn't see Mark's darkness as much in Salt Kiss (Salt in the Wound... perhaps more so, which gives you some insight into the differences between his individual dynamics with Isolde versus Tristan) but here? Um. She portrayed the conflict within him and his ruthlessness perfectly... While also letting us even further into the vulnerability she hinted at in Salt Kiss.

Mark can be a difficult character for readers to humanize, I think, because we haven't had his POV yet. It's easy to sort of dismiss him as this frosty, stern alpha who doles out pain while also dealing with plenty of his own (on the inside, because Mark is clearly very uncomfortable with feeling a feeling). Where she makes it brilliant is through these moments of BOYISHNESS. We got sneak peeks of boyish Mark in Salt Kiss, but here? Oh my god. The grins, the poking at Tristan, the GOOFY HOT FACETIME SEX WITH ISOLDE??? It's so human, and dropping those sneak peeks in makes his pain even more palatable.

And the thing is that you do get that pain. Because Sierra also doesn't shy away from the agony of a love triangle and, yes, cheating in this book. I often find that MMF is used in a sort of like... "Why choose? Heehee it's all okay because everyone wants each other" get out of jail free card. Sierra really doesn't do that ever, but this is the hardest she's gone in on "these people are cheating, and it HURTS the person they're cheating on, and it HURTS them". No punches are pulled here. This is one of the angstiest books I've read, and as an angst hound, I loved every second of it.

The ending? I am going to be in actual PAIN until Bitter Burn (out early next year, SHIT). There was a moment in the last few pages of this book that made me gasp. In part because I really didn't think she'd go there on multiple levels. This is a book of huge swings, and for me, every single one worked.

Quick Takes:

--I have been very vocal about how much the one time Mark called Tristan "puppy" in a cut scene (Beg Me, which you should absolutely read if you can--I think it's on Sierra's website) has not left my head since. Guess what? It's just a regular nickname now. He says it SEVERAL times in this book, in prime moments. And I was extremely happy.

--You can for sure read this series on its own, but I will say that this book in particular "spoils" a good bit of New Camelot. In the same way that any romance in the same universe or series of standalones sort of spoils others, but if you want to read chronologically without any giveaways, you should read that series first. And in general, read it even if you do read Lyonesse first. Because it's gorgeous.

--I can't emphasize enough how happy Isolde and Mark's dirty Facetime calls made me. Like. At the end of the day, Mark is just like any other man with a hot young wife, desperately trying to get a peek over his phone. While someone else peeks, perhaps.

--Isolde's such a fantastic heroine. Broken and devoted to God and maybe lowkey a zealot, while also craving physical and emotional pain and release and Tristan's soft heart and Mark's cold one all at once. She's the kind of heroine we very rarely get to read about in romance. If I'm being honest, I was a little worried about how the dynamics would balance here, as so much of the last book was Mark and Tristan on their own, and then the remainder was Tristan and Isolde on their own. (Which is another reason why you should read Salt in the Wound first, in my opinion.) But God. The dynamic of the three, the dynamic between Mark and Isolde, just blew me away. Two black cats circling each other, Mark perhaps a little more reticent to open up to Isolde than Tristan because he recognizes something of himself in her.

While at the same time, I found that Tristan and Isolde's relationship deepened. I always fully believed in their agonized love for Mark, and their desire to stay loyal to him. Yet I also completely believed that they couldn't possibly stay away from each other, not permanently.

--Mark's backstory? I foresaw some surface level stuff, but not the parts that mattered. Those kind of blew my mind.

The Sex:

I mean, it's Sierra Simone, so it's creative and very much a part of the character development. One of the sex scenes in this book was so... it was really one of the best she's ever written. But also? DEVIOUS. Sierra, you did not have to do us like that. However, I'm glad you did.

There are so many different "flavors" of sex in this book--super kinky, kinda vanilla (or as vanilla as these people can get), happy, angsty, sad, passionate, light, funny.

You can expect, among other things: restraints, impact play, cum play, breeding, biting, public sex (a lot of that), car sex, edging, voyeurism, pain play, cum licking.......... all that shit. And more!

Look, dude. Read this book if you've read the other books. If you haven't read the other books, read those and then read this book. I can't recommend it enough. This is angsty, passionate, heady romance at its best. Hot and emotionally complex and well-written. Sierra's prose! It's what romance should be; she sets the pace, and we all must chase it.

Thanks to Candi Kane PR for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[prettysophist]

Hello, it's your Secret Sleuth here! 🕵️🔎🎁 I hope you're doing well. I was wondering if you'd be able to give me a little more information about your favorite Nancy Drew things. Would you say that shipping Nancy/Ace is your main thing, or do you like the whole show and the ship is just a bonus? (No wrong answers! I'm just trying to figure out what to focus on.) You mentioned your favorite characters are Ryan and Tristan--what about them do you love? Do you have any favorite scenes with them in? Favorite lines? Do you have any other favorite characters or scenes or lines from the show? I'm excited to make something for you that I hope you will love! Have a great day! 🩷🧡💛💗, your Secret Sleuth x

Hello Secret Sleuth! 👋

Definitely love the whole show - I used to read Nancy Drew as a teenager, and I love fantasy so the show is just 🤌😘 I definitely don't need to see Nace in my gift, even as a side pairing, but I would prefer that if either of them are shown in a relationship with someone else that it is not suggested to be long term/endgame.

With Ryan I just love his whole character arc, the contrast between the entitled grown up rich kid we see in season 1 to who he becomes later. I especially am intrigued by his relic hunting - I wanted to see more of that world than we really got to explore in canon 👀

Tristan I just found charming and fun, and with an intriguing backstory. I felt like canon dealt him a bad hand, and I'd love to see more of him either in the future or his connection to his parents' world.

Um...all of them? I really loved all of the main ensemble, and Jade and Odette as well.

I think my favourite thing about the show in general is just how fast it becomes clear that 80% of the population of Horseshoe Bay is aware of the supernatural to some extent, and that the initial scepticism of a lot of the main cast is the exception rather than the rule. With that in mind, I think my favourite scene is where we first see McGinnis interacting with the supernatural - and just how done he is with the Drew Crew stirring things up 🤣

@secretsleuthexchange

[threbe]

I know that sometimes nakuba can make amazing outfits but a lot of other times the outfits are either trash kind of like personals current outfit

Only have one part of the outfit that makes the outfit look good like with meliodas and his King look where only the coat makes him look cool and the rest of his outfit is just his old boy had outfit which is kind of okay but you get sick of looking at it after a while

Elizabeth's been looking fine in her Queen outfits I still look back at seven deadly sins though the only good outfit she had was the one she wore like the second half of the manga where the top was purple and the skirt was black I believe I don't know I'm just trying to remember it but I can't really

The dress she had in the final arcs where they were fighting the demon King look like a nightgown with a pink jacket over it

Like I said his queen and the four nights manga she's looked fine

Merlin's always looked great in any outfits she's worn in the show her best was always that sleeveless coat she had with the high popped collar and the long tail in the back the silver shoes and the purple thigh highs with the circles cut out throughout it that was her best look but for some reason and certain adaptations they change the color back to a fur collar which seems really stupid cuz the high collar it looks really good

Even some of escanor's outfits especially his armor looks amazing

Bon looks really cool now in the four nights manga but I do miss the red outfit he used to wear in seven deadly sins

Characters that go through have always had a gother have had good outfits in the past

Tristan looked amazing when he got introduced in four nights and he had the armor under the yellow jacket even his squad looked amazing in their outfits with chino ,jade easel all look amazing in our outfits and then they got downgraded in the next part of the mongo when they all went on their journey

Lancelot looks okay his outfit I believe is a outfit that was originally a concept or outfit for bon in the seven deadly sins manga but I can't remember I will have to go back and

Arthur looks okay in the seven deadly sins manga when it comes to his outfits he had his armor the then he had that ugly purple vest outfit that he was wearing during the druid training art it was ugly I hated it was one of the worst outfits I've ever seen, then we have that cross outfit I don't mind the cross outfit because it represents certain things that play into the theme of what Arthur's going through but I get sick of seeing that outfit because I see it all the time especially in Grand Cross and other stuff when Arthur is mentioned and even in flashbacks during the four nights manga in the beginning all you saw was that cross outfit I can't stand that thing but nothing is his dad is the outfit he had in the saved by like movie that outfit was ugly and it made a return and I wanted to rip my eyes out I hate that outfit I don't care what you color it is just ugly

His current look as of right now as the king of chaos is a good outfit really amazing nice design simple yet stands out I just wish he could get a new outfit or maybe wear some armor or something cuz now I'm sick of looking at the outfit like I said it's kind of like with the cross outfit you get sick of looking at it after a while

And I know I'm sound like I'm just rambling on about characters in a different outfits but sometimes when we get outfits in these mangas they're a real hit or miss and lately all the outfits have been a Miss since the end of the invasion on lions by Arthur in the earlier chapters before he declare war on everybody after Arthur declared war everybody's fashion sense went out the window cuz all I see is ugly outfits

Gwaine looked okay in the outfit she was introduced to us in when we first met her, but then she got to hand me down outfit that just screams escanora Merlin and we could already guessed from her power and abilities and stuff that she was linked to them she didn't need a hand-me-down outfit to scream it, and when we got reintroduced her again after the time Skip and the recent chapters she looked okay she was just at home playing the normal loving daughter, but now she has a heart character design when she Powers up and she's wearing the hand-me-down outfit again and that's what this is all leading to I'm like I said I know I'm rambling on but God I hate that hand me down outfit I hate these awful outfits do they not have access to Pinterest over in Japan or I know they have fashion books over there because I have a few fashion books I've gotten from Japan that people I know have gotten me as gifts I really need nakuba to go get some fashion books or to just draw people in armor when he draws a character in armor they look amazing they're at their best even when the armor gets messed up later on they still look kind of good even beat up he just needs to stick to armor he needs to stop drawing clothes

And I'm not saying I could do any better I've done redesigns of characters outfits and made outfits for characters that I think would look better on them as of lately but even I have hits and misses a lot myself I'm not saying I'm perfect for anything I've been messing up outfits a lot lately especially since I've had art blocked and have been real stressed but I just can't do these outfits anymore please let Tristan and all the others have better outfits I hope Lance a lot at least has a better outfit when we see him again 😭

[dullyn]

KIT, MY BELOVED (AFFECTIONATE) For the Arthuriana ask: ♘🫅💚 📽😏🥖 (I think I know who you'll say but it's just an excuse to hear u wax about Lance again) 👨‍👦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Sarah thank you for enabling me <3

♘: Bors, please save me Bors. I just love him so much and when he finishes the Grail Quest, ah.

🫅: I want to say Guinevere because like,, that’s my girl. However, my favorite lady has to actually be Iseult the Fair. She’s just so smart and crafty, especially when it comes to dealing with the barons and King Mark’s suspicions of her. Like when Tristan carries her while disguised as a well meaning peasant and she is like “the only man I have between my legs besides you is that man” and it’s like hell yeah he is girl.

💚: The Lot-Pellinore blood feud. I don’t know if that counts as just one thing since it’s like an ongoing arc, but god it’s just so funny. They just keep one upping each other with more murder until Percival is just hanging at the round table lacking like any living brothers.

🎥: I recommend everyone go and read Sir Galahad, A Christmas Mystery. It’s a poem, and not a very long one, but I still think everyone should read it. It’s such a whimsical take on the Grail lore.

😏: Yes.

🥖: Okay so oddly enough Bors is my favorite french. The entire WIP originated as an excuse to write a Bors-centric story and then I realized it was far more compelling to write Lancelot-Guinevere interactions. This love of Bors can be seen in the snippets before each Part (old man Bors my beloved). But yeah,, Lancelot gave me brain worms and now he’s the protagonist. That being said I love my dumb Lancelot, he gets like smarter as the story goes on because he is currently a fifteen year old boy, but he’s so precious. Just a stupid baby with a sword who then grows up into a murderous bastard.

🧑‍🧒: Sir Ector. The way that he raises Arthur and Kay and does all he needs to do and asks like zero questions. Ideal father figure, just supporting his random adoptive son he got from a wizard.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿: Lamorak, just because the funniest thing he could do in the blood feud is exactly what he did. He banged his enemies’ mom (rip to Morgause). It reads like a bad middle school joke.

[xjulixred45x]

Hello how are you doing? Hope your doing just fine ❤💗💓 i really love your work so I was wondering i could please request lancelot x percival(platonic) headcanons?

Thanks so much have a amazing day!

Feel free to decline and detalte this ask:)

Hello! I never have make Headcanons of this style (character x character, Even Platonic) but i think i will try. Sorry it's a little short

Lancelot and Percival Platonic Headcanons

Genre: Headcanons

Warnings: SPOILERS!!!!Fluff and Angst.

OK! This can be considered more of a personal take based on what we saw in canon, but I think it's pretty obvious that Lancelot has 0 social skills.

I mean, he has spent a lot of his free time training or looking for Jericho, his only friend is Tristan and he only sees him when he travels to Liones (not very often) and in general he has this intimidating aura that makes it difficult to read him.

so it's pretty easy to say that not only does Lancelot have zero interest in friends, but he has too few to have any idea how to make them (I mean, Tristan met him through his parents, so I don't know how valid that is). be).

Percival, on the other hand, is a social butterfly without really knowing it.

The boy lived even more isolated than Lancelot, with only his grandfather, he was not even taught basic etiquette or certain unspoken manners of the "time", but at the same time Percival has no problem talking to people.

quite the opposite.

He is VERY interested in other people, sometimes to an overwhelming degree, and he is an extremely empathetic child, so it is VERY easy for him to forgive people and make friends (like with Donnie and Nasiens).

Let's be honest, if Lancelot had encountered similar situations, he would have killed them both before listening to reason or giving them a chance to improve.

but anyway, if we go to the more general things:

I think the main reason these two were able to become friends in the first place was precisely because of Percival's pure nature.

Even sincerely, I imagine that Lancelot thought for a LONG time that Percival was acting that way either to cope with the loss of his grandfather or simply so that people would underestimate him and thus make it easier to stand out.

in a way what he did with his form of "Sin" but more to the extreme.

I just don't think that someone like Lancelot, being the serious and almost pessimistic boy that he is, wouldn't distrust that a child who went through so many horrible things wasn't even a little bit resentful of life.

Although this idea weakened the more time he spent with Percival on his adventures to Liones, that idea would always really be in the back of his mind.

Percy was simply TOO good to be true.

and takes us to the scene where he is revealed to be Lancelot.

We know that Lancelot can see the hearts of others like a fairy, he has done it several times in the series, and it is precisely when he sees Percival's thoughts about him that it is revealed that he realizes that what he is doing is not an act.

Percival is EFFECTIVELY that good and naturally well-intentioned.

Lancelot finds Percy quite strange.

while Percival, well, finds it Awesome!

We already know that this ray of sunshine child already considered Lancelot a friend even when he thought he was a fox and that he was quite rude, it's just like that.

(i wonder if his nature as a life spirit allows him to unconsciously see the true nature of a person, or see if the person is trustworthy or not).

Anyway, going into things a little more generally, I think Lancelot tends to be a bit cautious with the people Percival interacts with.

not only because of the incidents that happened on the trip to Liones, but because in general Percival is, well, Percival.

Even if Lancelog wants to believe what Percival says, he is naturally distrustful and rightly so.

If you saw the demonic world arc, you will know that Lancelot is little by little letting himself "loose" with the rest of the group and allowing himself to be more relaxed with them, I like to think that it is because of Percy's influence.

The thing is, the baby is so bubbly and happy that it's hard not to play along.

Besides, Lancelot IS a boy after all, I think it's good for him to have a friend like Percival to remind him of that (they are both the same age but act in such different ways that it doesn't seem that way).

Lancelot is definitely harder on Percival in training because 1- he is one of the few members of the crew who does not underestimate him for being young and 2- he considers that he needs him to toughen up and thus perhaps better handle the things that will come later.

I think that in part Lancelot fears that Percy will turn out badly in the whole situation, that he will lose the innocence that characterizes him, but he considers that he is strong enough to protect him.

It reminds me a bit of a sibling dynamic in a way, Lance wants to prepare Percival to better handle the real world at the same time that he doesn't want him to change the way he is.

that's how they are¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

In general I think that Lance is more protective of Percy than he lets on, not only because he is a knight of the profession as well and he needs him to be alive, but because they both understand each other in a certain way.

They both lost someone (either literally or metaphorically) because of the knights of chaos, they both want answers and/or revenge. Lance EMPATHIZES with him.

It's like he's trying to be Percy's "Jericho" in a way.

I mean, being the teacher/older brother figure that Percival needs at a time like this.

For the same reason, when Percival "dies" Lancelot not only takes it as a horrible loss, but as an absolute defeat.

He had set himself the mission of helping and guiding this CHILD on a path they were destined to have TOGETHER, but he didn't know how to do it well.

makes much of the responsibility fall on him and he doesn't really accept any other alternative.

He considers that being the strongest, it was HIS responsibility to protect Percival.

He asked me how things would be after what happened in the manga, but hey...only time will tell...

Shares, reglogs and comments are very welcome!

thanks for the request!❤️ but I don't think I'll be doing this type of Headcanons again anytime soon, they're just not my style, I prefer the x reader canon a thousand times😅

[darksaiyangoku]

HellGoku Stories: RWBY x Witcher

One Awkward Moment

Jaune grunted as his arms were strung up together by rope, wearing nothing but his torn, maroon trousers. Standing in front of him was his wife, Yang, wearing a tight yellow corset, white lace underwear and long, brown leather boots. In her hand, she held a small whip and she started slowly rubbing it on his abs, making him shudder.

Yang: *giggles* I love it when you make those noises for me, sweetheart. *kisses him softly* Mmmm~ Mmm~

Jaune shuddered more into the kiss as he felt his chest being caressed by his lover, Blake, who wore long, silk gloves, a black breast bandage wrap and laced black underwear. She pushed herself against Jaune's back and peppered his neck with kisses.

Blake: You have been such a good boy for us that you deserve a reward.

Jaune: Oh? And what would that be?

Yang: A lovely night with two, ravishing beauties. *winks*

Blake: And we'll make sure you scream so loud, the entire Kingdom of Vale will hear it. *firmly grabs his ass*

Yang: Now relax *leans in and whispers* and enjoy~

Yang cupped Jaune's face again and kissed him. She pressed her tongue deeper into his mouth. Blake, meanwhile, wrapped her fingers around Jaune's neck and began to gently choke him. He felt his entire body tingle as the girls continued to play with him. It was pure bliss.

Tristan: *opens door* Mother, I can't find the biscuits- AAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!

Yang and Blake jumped away from Jaune as they heard Tristan's screams. The young boy closed his eyes and quickly raced out of the room.

Tristan: SOLIEL!!!! MOTHER AND AUNTY BLAKE WERE HURTING FATHER!!!!!!

Yang: *blushing* Crap! Crap! Crap! *grabs clothes and runs after Tristan* Tristan, it's okay! We're only playing together is all!

Jaune: ...please tell me you know a spell to erase memories.

Blake: *shakes head* Nope.

Jaune: Fuck.

[mitternacht]

UU Appreciation Week Day 1: A negator you appreciate

Of course I was gonna sit here and yell about Rip! I’m still fairly new here but I have so much to say about him and his character, I ran out of time to do any sort of proper fic or anything so I’ll stick to what I do when all else fails and that’s write Too Much Meta™️ about my faves. So here is a bit of that.

The rest under the cut for spoilers!

Rip Tristan, where do I even start.

The tragedy of someone whose entire life was decided for him as a child, who never had any choice but to continue trying to carry out the singular goal he’s had since he was young and will be forever haunted by that. The constant visual symbolism of him not being able to escape his child self in Loop 100, the constant reminder that he’s changed and he’s betrayed everything he used to stand for. The cover for 175 in Loop 101, the entirety of chapter 176 finally allowing him to make peace with his inner child as he’s been given the chance to finally keep the promises he’s been holding in himself for so long.

The tragedy of a doctor turned weapon, no longer able to use his hands to save or heal, only to kill and maim. Blades used for saving lives only now good for taking them. The ever constant betrayal of himself and his ideals, of his deeply internalized need to help and save people, all in the name of love. Someone who was once willing to do anything to save the lives in front of him now willing to sacrifice quite literally everything around him for the sake of seeing the one he loves again.

The tragedy of someone who doesn’t realize the love in front of him until it’s too late. So blinded by the love he would sacrifice everything for that he didn’t recognize the love that would sacrifice everything for him.

The tragedy of someone so kind becoming someone willing to let the entire world burn without remorse, for love.

And that kindness that occasionally shines through in Loop 100 is genuinely what saves him in the end, going into Loop 101. And the few times he’s thrown aside his own goals and objectives to rush into trying to save a life don’t go unnoticed by those around him (aka trying to save Anno after using Life is Strange on him, and when Fuuko was stabbed by Unruin he immediately ran to her and started trying to figure out how to save her)

Has anyone ever talked about how the handgun Rip gives to Fuuko and ends up letting her keep after the Autumn arc becomes one of her main tools of offense and self defense going into Loop 101, and how she’s built an entire fighting style around it?

Have we talked about the way that Rip (in Loop 100 specifically) actively avoids direct physical contact with those he doesn’t want to hurt, unless absolutely necessary? And the way this parallels Fuuko, the way she might see a bit of herself in him? Rip in Loop 100 is so careful to avoid touching Lucy after saving her from Unruin, and it’s such a sad contrast to how affectionate he is in Loop 101 before Unrepair manifests.

The ways in which Rip and Andy also foil each other, the way they both begin Loop 100 trying to handle everything theirselves, not letting others share their burden. The ways in which they will both in the most literal sense sacrifice life and limb for the ones they love. The way we see both of them slowly take that next step forward, learning to let others shoulder the weight they carry (Rip took a whole loop to learn how to do this, but better late than never).

Rip was never supposed to be a villain, and he’s never written to be one which I adore. He tries so hard to portray himself as one in the beginning, but his true nature always ends up shining through, for the better.

I also adore so much the ways in which he will fight to keep holding on to the people he loves, regardless of whether anyone else in his life approves. He’s fought so hard to achieve his dreams, and I’m obsessed with his absolute refusal to give any of it up. He’s a bit of an idealist, of a romanticist, but he’s always proven to back that up with his actions and words.

He’s a beautifully written character with such a lovely storyline and it’s made me so happy to see him finally getting to exist as his truest self in Loop 101. He’s so full of love and light and I hope with every fiber of my being his story ends on a positive note.

I also need to give an honorary mention to Latla, because she is my queen and she is such a force of nature, I love her to bits.

[enemyoflactose]

I finished Noah's Arc

My descent into villainy begins.

@lostsomewhereinthegarden wanted to be tagged in this one 💕

Voice acting:

I have no clue what any new characters sound like in the sub, so this 4kids performance only.

Noah: round of applause he sounds fantastic.

Gozuburo: he needs to sound more like he smokes

The Deep Sea Warrior guy: I forgot what he sounded like

Crump: he sounds weird

Johnson: Why is his voice so deep? Why is it so deep? He sounds like a big scary monster.

The robot: I wasn't paying attention to him

Lector: nice. I like his voice.

Dark Magician Girl: it's really annoying for some reason.

Flame Swordsman: hot voice

Serenity's deck master: I don't like it.

Characters:

Yugi: that sure is Yugi. He gets more screentime than usual and that's a nice change. I love his interactions with Téa after her duel, he's so sweet it makes my dumb shipper brain go crazy.

Yami: he sure does duel. He insults Noah a few times, and is mean to Kuriboh in his first duel.

Téa: QUEEN. If Kaiba didn't exist this would have been her season.

Joey: That sure is Joey. It killed me every time he thought of Mai. Bro wants her back so badly.

Tristan: he was robbed. He deserved to duel again.

Duke: this man is so fucking rude like what the hell? I love him tho he's funny and silly.

Serenity: this poor girl blames herself so much. It was not her fault that Tristan died. It was 100% Duke's.

Seto Kaiba: why is he like this? He's so cool.

Mokuba: precious baby wanted to forgive Noah so badly. He said they were family. He said Kaibacorp would help build him a robot body and they could be twins. I'm crying.

Noah: Why was his backstory handled better than the Ishtar's? Why? This is a filler character and I felt worse for him than Marik. Maybe it's because he's a better duelist idk.

The big five: they exist

Gozuburo: his love for Noah was so conditional, I hate this man. I'm glad he's dead.

Important note

Deck Masters are a thing. I like the idea of them.

Duels

Duel 1 - Yugi vs Gansly

Yugi chooses Kuriboh as his deck master and is upset about it because it was an accident.

Gansly is his own deck master.

Most of the duel is Gansly explaining the rules to Yugi and using cards that either don't exist, or are really bad.

Yuugi wins using Kuriboh, Rainbow Bridge, and Gaia the Fierce Knight to attack Gansly directly.

Duel 2 - Téa vs Crump

There was so much Téa fan service in this duel and before this and after this duel. It would have been distracting if this duel wasn't hype.

Téa picks Dark Magician Girl as her deck master, and Crump uses himself/Nightmare Penguin as a deck master.

Crump uses Penguin cards and cards like Cold Wave (Rest in Peace King) to gradually turn Téa into an ice sculpture.

Téa uses cards like Maha Vailo, some equip spells, and Mirror force to help herself, but due to still being a beginner mirror force gets destroyed.

Téa is getting guidance from Dark Magician Girl on how to duel, and ends up using Sage's Stone to special summon Dark Magician.

Téa wins the duel.

Also, Crump wanted to build a penguin themed amusement park, but that's not important.

Duel 3 - Joey vs Johnson

Joey stumbled into a court room after thinking he found his way back to the blimp. He was tricked by Johnson who was pretending to be Mai.

Joey's deck master is Flame Swordsman and Johnson's is Judge Man.

During this duel, Joey is using his deck master's special ability to raise his monsters attack points, but then they all get destroyed.

Now Joey is putting his faith in his gambling cards, but Johnson is cheating and making it so Joey can't use them

Noah catches this and calls out Johnson, but Joey says it's fine as long as he doesn't cheat anymore.

Joey ends up winning.

Duel 4 - Tristan, Duke, and Serenity vs Nezbit

I wasn't paying attention to this duel until Tristan died.

I still wasn't paying attention after he died.

Duke and Serenity win, but Nezbit got to take control of Tristan's body and now Tristan is Robot Monkey Tristan.

Duel 5: Kaiba vs Lector

This duel was too short.

Lector's deck master is Jinzo and Kaiba's is Lord of D.

During this duel, Lector is using cards like Jinzo and Imperial Order to make sure Kaiba can't use spells or traps. He also uses Injection Fairy Lily. I miss her. I miss my Lily.

Kaiba catches on to Lector's plan and makes him lose too many life points to keep Lily and Imperial Order on the field, then he summons Blue Eyes White Dragon and destroys a Satellite. I'm pretty sure 4kids censored this scene, because there was a weird jump cut from Blue Eyes attacking, to the debris falling.

Duel 6 - Joey and Yugi vs The Big Five

The big five are using Tristan's body to duel, and they're doing alright with early Umi Control. Then Johnson ruins it.

Yugi and Joey fuse their deck masters The Big Five fuse their deck masters.

Uhhhhhh

Yugi and Joey win and we never see the Big Five again.

Important stuff that happened

Mokuba got kidnapped and brainwashed.

Kaiba and the gang found out that Noah was Kaiba's step brother.

Noah is being really creepy to Mokuba.

Duel 7 - Yugi and Kaiba vs Noah

This duel is so long

Kaiba is really trying his best and is kind of winning, but Noah is reciting the Bible and using Mokuba as a shield so Kaiba loses because he is a hardcore reddit atheist and loves Mokuba.

Yugi calls Noah a hypocrite and combines his and Kaiba's deck.

Kaiba and Mokuba are turned to stone at this point.

Yuugi keeps talking shit and then Duke gets turned to stone. Nothing of value was lost.

Noah has to activate his deck master's second ability because Yugi destroyed the first one, and now Yugi has to fave Shinatu or whatever his name was.

Noah keeps raising his life points and he's using Spirit Monsters

My honest reaction to spirit monsters.

At least we saw Yatagurasu.

Noah is turning Yugi's friends to stone every turn, but Téa gets to stay alive for one more turn because she's just cool like that.

Yami summons all three Dark Magicians that he has ,but Noah destroyed all of them.

Then Yami summons Blue eyes and wipes out Noah's life points.

Yugi won and Kaiba wasn't happy that Yugi used his deck.

Duel 8 - Kaiba vs Gozuburo

This duel was also too short.

Gozuburo has Exodia and it gave Kaiba PTSD.

Kaiba has to send all 5 pieces of Exodia to the graveyard so that Gozuburo can summon Exodia Necros.

Necros is invincible and Kaiba's all like "You still take damage dumbass"

Gozuburo raises the attack of Necros, and Kaiba banishes (or puts them back in the deck I forgot) the Exodia pieces that were in the graveyard.

Kaiba wins and Gozuburo tries to take over his body anyway, but Yugi saves him.

Important stuff that happened

The squad was looking for an exit with Noah

Noah was told he was disappoinment so many times.

Mokuba accepted Noah as part of his family

Noah went to the real world to help the gang get their bodies back.

The island is about to explode.

Téa, Tristan and Serenity get their bodies back first

Then Duke and Joey

Then the rest of them.

Noah traps Gozuburo in Cyber space.

The island exploded

The End

[blogger360ncislarules]

The warm comedy “Ghosts” has been a hit for CBS, despite facing an at-times claustrophobic feeling over the years, perhaps spawned in part by being a show launched during the pandemic. Star Rose McIver, who plays Sam, broke down Season 4’s premiere for TheWrap and teased how this season opens up multiple new pathways for the show to explore and for new characters to enter its orbit.

The premiere of Patience

That first new pathway comes with the debut of new ghost, Patience, played by comedic actress Mary Holland (“Nightbitch”), in Thursday night’s premiere titled after her character. McIver praised Holland’s season-opening arc playing the traumatized Puritan ghost — but shared that the character had initially left her apprehensive due to an existing “Ghosts” prude.

“I had been a little concerned with potential overlap with her and Hetty as characters, Patience and Hetty being the sort of rule setters of the house,” McIver explained. “But it was incredible to see, when they’re next to each other in the episode, how vastly different their characters are, and how progressive Hetty has become in her own funny way.”

As we saw with the end of the premiere, Patience is set to stick around for a beat — and seems likely to continue to pop up even beyond her initial arc.

“I think we all know Mary is awesome to have around. So I’m sure she’ll be back plenty,” McIver said.

Holland brings experience as a prolific Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre performer. McIver said that she started taking UCB classes herself while working on “Ghosts.”

“She’s able to make a character that could be so finite and at risk of really being dull or being the buzzkill of the party,” McIver shared. “It’s sinister energy, but she’s so energetic and so thoughtful and plays things so many different ways. I mean, in the true improv sense, she really is in the moment.”

Expanding the show

But Patience isn’t the only new character set to help open up the show’s world. Next week’s episode brings the debut of another new character to “Ghosts”: Sam’s dad, played by Dean Norris (“Breaking Bad”).

“It’s notable that we haven’t met him for three full seasons,” McIver noted. “We’ve had multiple Christmases, and there’s never really been mention of him. And so the stakes are very high when he appears,” McIver explained.

“They’re able to kind of reconnect in a way, and that they hadn’t for so long,” McIver shared. “The tough guy exterior with a sensitive heart inside is just always very fascinating to me, and I think he plays that better than we could have ever hoped for.”

That lets McIver play something new as well.

“It gives us a little bit of insight into Sam’s longing to fit in and to have a family, and a fear of abandonment, which is quite nicely paralleled with some of Patience’s fear [and] experience of abandonment,” McIver added of the ghost’s background, left stranded in the dirt underneath the mansion for centuries. “We start to understand how our characters’ history has informed exactly where they are now in a special way this year. And that episode, for me, was obviously very helpful for understanding Sam.”

The show is set to continue expanding this year as Sam’s partner Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) opens the bed and breakfast’s new restaurant, offering another way for new characters to come into the series.

“Anything that opens up the universe is very helpful for us,” McIver shared. “Obviously, we’re in a house a lot of the time. There’s the same characters inside a house. And to have this restaurant is just kind of an injection of fresh blood coming in.”

Jay will be teaming with the show’s recurring contractor Mark (Tristan D. Lalla) to run the restaurant, also giving Jay a new playground.

“That’s really awesome for Utkash to get to play such a distinctly his storyline. And, I mean, they haven’t shown themselves to be flawless business people yet with the B and B, and I think you can kind of anticipate, certainly, things don’t go smoothly on the restaurant front either,” McIver said.

She compared the coming dynamic to that of classic farce “Fawlty Towers.”

“‘Fawlty Towers’ moments, struggling to manage the hotel with 12 people who are expecting customer service — that works well for me,” McIver said.

Rolling with a tumultuous four years

The season premiere of “Ghosts” comes following a strike-shortened third season, as well as McIver having her first child in between seasons. The star, along with the rest of the cast, has had to get used to a tumultuous run ever since launching as the Covid pandemic began.

“I mean, this show, we did our pilot table read on March 13, [2020,] like the day the world shut down, and it’s been sort of ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ to get here,” McIver quipped. The show finally premiered in the fall of 2021. “We moved [shooting] locations, from L.A. to Montreal. We survived a strike, we survived a pandemic. We survived multiple characters, actors on the show having babies. It’s been this very wild ride.”

The New Zealand-born actress reflected on how being a new mom has informed the way she plays Sam.

“Being a mum, a new mum, definitely gives you a different perspective on things,” McIver said. “It’s quite interesting that it’s sort of paralleled in Sam having to learn that she can’t be pleasing everybody all the time, and she can’t accommodate everyone all the time.”

McIver said that she’s been feeling spread thin in her real life, while also acknowledging that she’s in a fortunate position.

“It tempers your eagerness to give yourself up in order to be what other people want you to be,” McIver said. “And I feel like it’s given Sam a bit more depth for me and a bit more to sort of chew on, that that feels very personally resonant with trying to navigate all sorts of different worlds at once.”

A witchy Halloween episode

McIver shared her excitement for the forthcoming Halloween episode, the third episode of this season, which she previewed includes Patience leading the house in accusing Sam of being a witch.

Holiday episodes “bring out such a strong viewpoint from all the different characters,” McIver said. “They always obviously deal with family a lot, specifically in the Christmas episode, but just what it evokes of the child within the character is really interesting. And obviously, in a Halloween episode, irrational or rational fears come into play.”

“The sense that Sam is believed to be a witch, and everybody has a very different take on whether that’s possible or not, whether that matters or not,” McIver teased. “It’s just a perfect little fly in the ointment for the ghosts to navigate this this year.”

Being the lead in an ensemble

The actress’s role has evolved over the years as McIver has worked to give the ghosts a spotlight.

“Early on for Sam, when you’re navigating 10 characters on a show, she’s a facilitator. In most ways, she’s conveying other people’s stories. She’s an engine pushing things,” McIver said. “Until recently, a lot of it has been trying to get out of the way.”

She shared her desire to make the whole ensemble shine, even though she’s the lead.

“It’s interesting being the lead of a show where, really, I feel like I’m trying not to take up too much air time,” McIver said. “You know, the show is called ‘Ghosts,’ and it was about me trying to illuminate aspects of their lives.”

Beginning in Season 3 and into Season 4, though, McIver said that she feels she’s getting the chance to find how to create humor with Sam herself.

“There’s a lot in Sam’s desire to be liked and to seek approval that, to me, is the heart of what’s funny about her, and endearing, and infuriating,” McIver said. “It’s been really kind of a treat this year as we’ve had more time and we do these breakaway storylines to indulge Sam as Sam, not Sam as who she is to the rest of the family.”

McIver said that she has a better understanding of the character now and that we’ll see multiple sides of her this season, including continuing her work as a writer. She also pointed to “strange alliances” beginning to happen between certain characters as something to watch out for.

A musical episode?

McIver and her castmates have expressed their interest in doing a musical episode before. While we have yet to see one come to fruition, the desire for one remains, McIver said.

“The sense of performance within performance is really fun,” McIver said. “I think there’s so much to mine from it. And so that element, for me, of a musical would be wonderful, to see who people project and who people believe themselves to be and want themselves to be.”

That’s a theme that McIver said happens throughout Season 4. “There’s a lot of facade. And a lot of people impersonating people.”

That includes new ghosts visiting the show, McIver teased. They’ll also have an ally in dealing with some of the dilemmas that their secret ghosts provide for them with Jay’s sister returning to the show, already knowing what’s going on, McIver noted.

Getting deep

The show has tackled surprisingly deep topics at times, but McIver emphasized that they know it’s all about the jokes.

“People aren’t tuning in for a TED Talk. They’re not coming to hear a lecture on the state of the world and the human condition,” McIver said, “they’re coming for a comedy. So whatever we do has to be palatable and have a certain amount of levity and escapism, for the end of people’s long days at work.”

The subject matter of “Ghosts” could feel darker, but McIver pointed to the natural pairing of comedy and tragedy as helping the show avoid that, as well as inspiring fans to wrestle with bigger issues.

“It’s been quite interesting actually meeting people at conventions and things, and hearing the way some of the personal stories have really touched them, and people being able to have conversations about the afterlife in a way that they hadn’t, or of mortality,” McIver shared.

What makes exploring dark topics work for the show, McIver said, is to offer the conversation “but without finite answers.” She added, “We’re not trying to be moral police or to tell everybody, ‘this is how it works.’”

Facing a changing industry and what comes next

Through all of the show’s growth, McIver expressed her thanks for both working on “Ghosts” and being able to maintain a career across different TV shows, including her run as the lead of “iZombie.”

“At a certain point, I feel like it’s just dumb luck,” McIver said. “I’ve been incredibly lucky to be signed on shows with great creators who have ideas that have longevity.”

She also recognized that this is even more the case as the entertainment industry goes through some historic shifts.

“We’re all so insanely appreciative for the jobs we have,” McIver said. “Especially in this crazy climate, to be on something that not only keeps going and that is fun, but is evolving.”

She expressed her excitement about the way a show continuing lets you keep getting deeper — though she concedes that it’s a bell curve, and you might run into some issues if you went “40 seasons or something.”

“The texture that you’re able to get when fans and cast and crew alike all know who these people are, a little bit, and start to anticipate decisions and be surprised when they’re not exactly what they expect — it just gives a whole new life to something,” McIver said. “Season to season, it’s growing more and more, and it doesn’t feel tired at all. If anything, it feels like it’s really waking up for me. This season, we get to explore less just characters’ backstories, and more of the dynamics between them and how their histories have informed their current decisions.”

[booreadsbooks]

The Atlas Paradox, Olivie Blake, Review :) (Sequel to the Atlas Paradox)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Non-Spoiler Review as follows:

"The failure to believe in failure— or even to accept the nature of things and adapt— felt like an extreme form of narcissism."

This quote, in my opinion, perfectly encapsulates the characters in this book, all in their own unique ways.

Overall, I appreciated that most of the characters developed in unexpected yet mostly plausible ways, and while there was still a lot of long, overly technical passages about philosophy and physics etc., I felt that they were less frequent and much more digestible than in the first book. If you liked the academic speak, it's still there, but to a much lesser degree.

The book led me to enjoy some of the characters who I frankly didn't care for before (Callum and Parisa, and to an extent Libby) but didn't manage to make me a fan of characters I actively disliked (Tristan). A really interesting side character got to come forward and have some more screen time, which I loved.

If you're looking for a story where everyone is morally gray, that confronts corruption bred from capitalism, and is more character than plot driven, I'd say that the Atlas Paradox is for you! I felt that in some ways it was an improvement from the first book, and in others wasn't as good, and at the end of the day it will entirely depend on your preferences while reading. Actual progress in the A-plot felt low to nearly non-existent, so you can definitely tell that this book serves as a transition to get the characters to where they need to be for the finale, but I really didn't mind that. The B-Plot (I think at least lol, I may have them backward) was really interesting to read.

If you're at all interested in a literal ESSAY of character analysis, more below the cut (warning for spoilers, I include specific details and quotes):

So first, a completely non-character thought: I really loved that this book answered a lot of the questions I had about a fully integrated, magical society that still faced many of the environmental/political problems we face today, and how that was remotely possible. The answer, of course, was capitalist corruption. Belen, a new side character we meet, is there to really prove and drive this point home, and I honestly appreciated that. I loved that she had similar goals to the "antagonists"— She believed the world was a horrible, cruel, awful place in desperate need of change, but her way of going about it was far less apocalyptic. While her ending was painful, I felt it rang really true, and I couldn't be mad at it when looking back, I certainly saw it coming.

Speaking of side characters, we also see a lot more Gideon in the sequel! This was very fun for me, as he was a personal favorite from the Atlas Six, and seeing his power and personality in a greater spotlight was very fun. I still have so many questions that I'm eager to see answered.

As far as main characters go (as this review will be mostly focused on them, because once again, this book was really all about their personalities, relationships, and changes), I think I'll give them each a section, clearly marked. I know this is long, but I have a lot of thoughts, so feel free to skip to whoever you most want to read about lol.

🫀Callum🫀

Going in alphabetical order, we start with the caustic and cruel empath of the house. I personally enjoyed Callum's arc the most, which was a major surprise to me, as he faded a bit into the background for me in my reading of The Atlas Six. Callum is forced to confront his own self loathing in a very casually depressing scene where he's faced with his own image. Combined with the betrayal he felt from Tristan, and his own emotional overload due to the use of his powers (which I have more to say about), this sends him into a spiral where he becomes less suave, put-together evil villain man into a sardonic drunk who is desperately grasping at the shreds of his humanity and sanity. This culminates in a lot of low-key pathetic, but endlessly funny moments. I feel this was the absolute best punishment/direction for his character. He went from feeling so above everything, to hitting his absolute rock bottom. No longer inspiring caution and hatred/disdain from the others, he instead elicited pity and annoyance/disdain. He loses his edge, people hate him but no longer see him as an adversary worth worrying about. I kind of loved seeing him kicked off his high horse, and was almost excited to see him on the road to getting back-to-form near the end.

I also felt that his powers worked in a really cool and interesting way. I really love "give-and-take, what you give is what you get, your actions have very real and very painful consequences" magic. (This is also why I liked Serpent and Dove, shout out). A passage:

"To create the fluid membrane within the Society's wards alone had meant absorbing everything that had occupied it beforehand. Terror, anguish, longing, isolation, envy, pride. The cost of that kind of magic radiated through his ribs into the bars of his container, and whatever else Callum Nova was or wasn't, he could only regenerate at a moral rate. He could only repair himself slowly over time."

Ahhhh SO good. For someone who saw himself as so above it all, having to confront that he was just a mortal man was enough to completely destroy his foundations and force him to rebuild. The Archives stole a crucial piece of everyone, and for Callum it was his whole identity. Seeing him fall apart and only very slowly start to put himself back together was one of my favorite parts of the book. A lot of the passages/quotes I wrote down and saved were from Callum, simply because he was entertaining. One more before I move on:

"[Callum produced] a very neat and well-prepared document from the inside cover of his book— which was actually How to Win Friends and Influence People, chosen for its many wonderful techniques. For example, one way to make people like you was to smile, which Callum winningly employed now."

☢️Libby☢️

Libby took more of a background spot in this book, which I was initially not mad about because I didn't like her in the first one lol. She was too puritan, and while she served as a good moral contrast to the rest, her endless worrying and anxiety grated me (probably because it reminded me too much of myself haha). Her journey, while separate from the rest, was actually really really interesting. While she wasn't under the oppressive power of the Archives, she was absolutely broken down due to her experiences in the past. She learned how to struggle, she learned desperation and drive and showed that when pushed far enough, someone's perfect morals can absolutely break down in the interest of preserving your life, your purpose, your right to self-actualization. In this way, I think she and Belen are perfect mirrors of each other.

A lot of her journey is split, in extremely blurred and vague ways, between dream and reality, which created a writing style that I really enjoyed because I felt just how hurt and weakened she had become.

Her relationship with Belen was a turning point, showed that she didn't know how to be alone at the time, but was also an early sign just how selfish she was becoming. She didn't care how she was hurting this person who was so desperate to succeed, to make a name for herself, to make the world a better place. She basically used and manipulated a version of her previous self, in the name of achieving her goals.

Her true turning point, the confirmation of her corruption arc, was a breathtaking read:

"Later she would not remember the details, on the surge. The course it took inside her chest, to use herself as both the conduit and source of power that no other machine or man or myth could ever reach. She would not remember the hysteria, the absolute lunacy of carrying stellar energy inside the same heart that had been broken in periodic increments since she was twelve. She would not recall the details of what it took from her, would not catalogue the force exertion or sweat excretion, would not be able to chart the temperature changing in her blood or the cramping in her muscles, the trembling in her fingers or the dehydration, the excruciation, the agonizing drive of her staggering pulse. She would experience in retrospect the moments, the flashes, but not the blindness— the absolute carnage of the pain. For all the hazy aftermath, the only thing she would recall for certain was that morning. The way she had put on her badge, straightened it, polished it until it shone and then thought to herself: Destiny was a choice. Time to torch this outcome and let the fucker burn."

Surprising myself more than anyone, I am actually kinda interested in seeing where her story goes lol.

🔆Nico🔆

Nico is still my favorite character of the Six, despite admittedly not developing as much as the others, and in my opinion taking more of a back seat in this book. He's sunny and optimistic, he's naive and trusting, he's too "good" to be corrupted to the same extent of the others, though his morals are still flexible and we see his desperation erode his desire to "do minimal harm" more and more over time. He's desperate to get Libby back, feeling acutely the loss of his "balance" or his "other half", and his relationships with the others in the house erode or increase depending on their willingness to help him achieve this goal.

I'll be honest, the complete severing of his alliance with Reina shocked me, and in my opinion wasn't really done well and seemed to be mostly Blake's attempt to shake up the pairings, but his inability to see why she was pulling away, and her inability to clearly communicate any of her feelings, did feel very true to the characters.

Every time he and Gideon met, the devotion they felt for one another was absolutely palpable, and I really hope to see more in the future. I wish he'd had a greater role in actually finding Libby and getting her back, but his attempts to murder Tristan and help him hone his skill was entertaining. The Archives didn't attack his spirit and personality, instead draining his energy and his power, which I think was as crucial to Nico's identity as his trust.

💔Parisa💔

Parisa was another surprise standout for me, and it's not even because her role in the story changed. Originally, I was frustrated that she was seemingly the only character discovering things and moving the plot forward, while also doing absolutely nothing about what she learned. And while she still does a bit of that, I think her focus on Dalton and his mysterious mind did a lot for her. It helped expand her character beyond "sexy black widow who reads your mind and is mean to you about it" into "I don't know how to deal with my feelings or the situation I'm in, so I'm going to hyper-fixate on this project and decide what to do from there". While she was still true to the cold, calculated, independent woman from the first book, we got a lot more depth and vulnerability.

I actually liked her increasing fondness for Nico, that whatever she said she was noticing the strain he was under and therefore felt more open to share hers (only in a highly stressful moment, of course). I hope we see more of them together in the future. I can definitely see why his openness and optimism would be pleasing to her, as he is essentially the opposite of herself.

I think this new Dalton can only mean bad things, as they will wreak havoc together, but I trust that I will be interested in her story going forward. The Archives broke down the walls that she put in place to keep herself safe, but I think in the end these small cracks and openings will only make her stronger.

🌱Reina🌱

Reina was one of my favorites previously, I liked her self-assurance and capability, I liked that she felt a foil to the others' power-hungry nature. I liked that she was so closed off, but slowly opening herself up to an ally she felt would protect her and keep her safe.

A lot of these things either change completely or increase to concerning amounts.

She's still self-assured, but in the wake of her identity crisis, takes this confidence and increases it exponentially, to the point of a narcissistic God Complex. I liked that she felt she needed meaning for why she had her power, and hated that this information was kept from her, further assuring her that she was close to objectively correct and dangerous knowledge. The library not allowing Reina to research Gods only further proved (in her mind) that she was close to dangerous discovery. I think it was a really interesting representation of a positive-feedback loop, and from that moment forward she couldn't be swayed. Because she felt Nico saw her as less, and her past family and experiences made her feel insignificant, she needed to prove to herself that she was so much more. While unexpected, I found it really interesting and fitting to her character.

The Archives took something from everyone, and I felt that it stole her pragmatism and humility. Turning to Callum, someone she felt could be helpful to her while also allowing her to look down on someone, felt natural to me. He was useful, but pathetic in her eyes, and Callum was willing to work with her because he desperately needed direction and purpose.

I'm a little bitter about her and Nico not working together more, but I do think it was necessary for Reina to completely unravel.

🔮Tristan🔮

Tristan is stupid for plot reasons, he's aimless until someone tells him what to do, and he rarely makes any discoveries or seeks out information, instead requiring it to be handed to him. While I kind of get it, I also hated it. It's necessary, for the story to continue, that he overlook details and sorta-kinda trust Atlas, or at least be willing to work with him "for now". I get that. But also, I wanted to shake him and tell him that for someone who can literally see and manipulate the make-up of the world/space/time, he's incredibly and infuriatingly clueless. I'd like it better if he at least tried to understand the full scope of things, but he really doesn't.

While other characters I think would absolutely be on board with Atlas's crazy, world ending plan, I honestly don't know that he would be, and I'm annoyed that we never got to learn if he would willingly go along, because he didn't dig any deeper into his initial conversation about the multiverse before agreeing. I don't know. I can't really articulate why it annoyed me, but Tristan never knowing or caring exactly what was happening, when it felt like others (Callum and Parisa with Atlas, Nico when it came to Libby) did was irritating to me. Like, even if he tried to get more information and was lied to/failed/misled I think I'd care less.

Really I just want him to have more agency, to do more than brood and pine over Libby, to not just sit idly by until someone pushes him to act. That's all, and I hope it happens in the next book.

⭐️Side Characters⭐️

Gideon: I still really love him, and seeing him in his element in the dream world was lovely. His devotion to Nico, going through the absolute ringer to see him and putting himself at risk to find Libby, despite the danger it put him in, while never revealing it all because he didn't want him to worry- ahhh my heart. I love that he's like, disability rep because he does suffer in his real life due to his powers, and I love that while others think it makes him weak, he constantly proves that he is stronger than they give him credit for, is an integral part to Nico and Libby's success, and can take care of himself, god damn it. My favorite Gideon moment was early in the book:

"... and Gideon, summoning the volumes of his pain, let out a scream— the primal kind. The kind that mean the screamer was giving in, letting go. He screamed and screamed and tried from somewhere inside his agony to offer the proper capitulation, the secret password of sorts. The right message. Something like I will die before I give up but everything inside your wards is safe from me. I am just a man in pain. I am just a mortal with a message."

Belen: Again, a perfect foil for Libby because in my opinion, she is pre-society Libby. She has hope for the world, she is willing to do whatever it takes and fight tooth and nail to right some cosmic wrong she believes has taken place. She believes that her work has promise, that her sacrifice will mean something for the future. And her descent, her desperation after fighting within the system for years, and years, only to finally accept that things are too messed up, there's too much wrong to make slow, incremental change the "right" way, she decides to push aside her morals and do what needs to be done. The fact that this allows Libby to rise, while it ends in her downfall, is a really interesting commentary on power and even colonialism that I love. If you're useful to the corrupt, you can do what you need, you can rise yourself. But once you become a problem, you're taken down, destroyed piece by piece until you're destroyed entirely. She was one of my favorite parts of this book. The quote I started this post with was from her, and I wish her story ended differently.

Atlas and Ezra: Two sides of the same coin, except Atlas is willing to burn down anyone in his way, to hurt and kill and destroy as much as necessary to achieve his goals, and Ezra is not. Atlas is hardened with age, with experience, with guilt, while Ezra has never been forced to deal with consequences, or complications, or struggle for nearly his entire adult life. He doesn't realize how out of his depth he is, he doesn't realize the enormity of power and unapologetic ambition of his foe. It was inevitable that Ezra would fail, because he was not willing to go the same lengths as Atlas was, he was not willing to put down his morals and do harm in order to combat harm, and Atlas was. And after everything he did to her, Libby was his consequence. In the end, he basically handed her to Atlas on a silver platter, hardened and broken down just enough to sink his claws into.

Anyway, if you read all of this, thank you and you're as insane as I am. I love characters lol, and I was really, really excited that this book gave me a lot more to think about and talk about (and it helped that I had a friend who'd read the book previously to talk with while reading, to listen to my thoughts as I went, and either agree with or challenge my views. Thanks bestie)

I'm looking forward to book three, honestly, and I'm glad that I didn't give up on this series after my previous mixed feelings.