#I can't think of something funny or clever to add

[somerandomdudelmao]

',:)

[luludeluluramblings]

With popstar reader and their siblings accidentally simping is so funny to me😭. Dick has always been a little bit, ever so slightly a manwhore. He's always crushing on someone, on the rare occasion that he isn't in a relationship he usually has a sidepiece. So when a popstar pops up singing and dancing around in lingerie of course he's gonna be interested. I feel like Dick would feel equal parts guilt and disgust. Guilt that he didn't even recognize his baby sibling, and disgust that he didn't realize it was his younger sibling ( ykwim).

Jason doesn't really follow pop culture, he listens to whatever music he wants to without shame. He would probably hear about reader from a friend god forbid its dick who tells him or a goon says something in passing. He eventually takes a peek and their music later becomes a guilty pleasure. You were right about his reaction, a cold cigarette on a rooftop while contemplating jumping off.

Tim is up to date with pop culture and upcoming artists. He also has an obsessive personality and falls head over heels with whoever catches his attention. It starts with a member of teen titans or maybe just a video popping up in his feed. The songs are catchy and have clever double entendres, the performances are inspired and playful. It's very easy for him to get entranced. Him finding out would be traumatizing. If he had been keeping tabs on some random popstar it wouldn't be that big a deal, but his adopted sibling, whom he lived in the same house with for most of his life. He needs to clear his search history, delete everything off his computer, see a therapist, and sit alone in a corner for a very long time.

Steph and Duke are major fans. They haven't really interacted with reader much. Reader had already begun to reject their "family" and pull away by the time they entered the manor. Steph plays their music, watches their videos, and goes to concerts with Duke. They have her posters, and albums. It's been Steph's dream to be picked at a concert. When they find out they are easily the most excited. Steph dated Tim in the past she doesn't give two shits that popstar reader is secretly a Wayne. She loudly announces her attraction to reader in detail. Duke is much more respectful about it but can't contain his excitement. He asks when they're going to come home, where their room is, why didn't anyone tell him?

Cass and Damian are in a similar spot. Cass wasn't super into it like the rest of the family. She'd dance around with Steph and peek at Tim's computer occasionally but she wasn't crushing on reader like the rest of them. Damian felt above it all, he saw his family's antics as ridiculous. He refused to fall prey to some siren. It's more of a puppy love type crush, he's not crazy but his stare lingers at Steph's poster. Like a kid outside Victoria's secret. When he finds out he does feel sick, but he covers it with outrage, reader is tainting the family's public image! They're making a mockery of the Wayne name! Don't bring up the stage names, his anger is just to hide his shame.

The way this would just fuck with Singer!Reader mentally.

Think about it?

You finally got your family’s attention, but only because they’re attracted to you. (Sans Bruce cause I’m not touching that with a ten foot pole.)

I love it.

It adds such a sinister vibe to them trying to bring you back to the manor or constantly checking on you. They are your worst fans.

And, the way Gotham Media would gag over the scandal it would cause even if it’s not technically wrong?

Technically. Technically. Technically. It’s such a key word in all this. And, would total used as the justification for their feelings if things became too much.

[sitp-recs]

hiii i don’t know if you still do recs but if you do, do you have any fics where harry and draco are just obsessed with each other but not in an established relationship? like stalker vibes if you get me 😭😭

Hi anon! I think you might enjoy this list I posted recently: Harry thinks Draco is Up to Something as many fics would fit in this category. I’ll also add these great reads with stalker vibes:

Paint It Red by @dictacontrion (E, 5k)

Draco's a graffiti artist with a bone to pick. Harry's the P.I. tasked with catching him. Or, apparently, stalking him all over town, asking a lot of questions, and showing surprising artistic talent.

A Memory and a Mystery by hollyxhawthorn (E, 8k)

After a night with a mysterious man, Harry Potter hires Draco Malfoy to recover a missing personal item.

A New Page by @bixgirl1 (E, 8.5k)

Draco just wanted to find out what was up with Potter's new attitude. Some light stalking, the discovery of a hidden diary, and a lot of wanking later, and he has some answers. They're just not the ones he expected.

Blueprints for a Dream by Frayach (E, 24k)

Harry breaks Draco’s heart, but that doesn’t mean Draco’s going to let him go without a fight.

Now I Wake Up In The Night and Watch You Breathe by @hoko-onchi-writes (E, 25k)

When the DMLE assigned Harry to watch Draco, Harry’s interest ramped up. He wanked so much that first year he tore a muscle in his upper arm. It was all sexual at first. But with time, Harry’s feelings deepened. Draco was clever, well-informed, viciously funny. He stopped to pet dogs on the street and looked after his neighbour’s cat. He took an art course at a Muggle uni and opened his own gallery. He was smart and sharp; ambitious.

on the divine agony of longing by @flimsi (E, 25k)

Speaking to Draco is like poking a beehive - and Harry is a glutton for punishment. In which Harry makes some serious blunders and then tries to fix it. Somehow.

Glory Be by Lomonaaeren (E, 32k)

Draco—Draco Malfoy, skilled assassin, powerful and wealthy Veela, former Death Eater—has always known what to do, where to go, who to kill. And then Harry Potter came along: Harry Potter, Unspeakable, former Auror, the most powerful wizard Draco has ever seen. And Draco catches a glimpse of glory he may be unable to live without.

Shine, Even in the Darkness by raitala (E, 41k)

Harry hasn’t seen Draco for over fifteen years, but now he’s showing up everywhere and Harry is sort of weirdly attracted to him, but that can’t be right?

Even From Opposite Ends of the Universe by @kbrick (E, 114k)

In sixth year, Harry begins obsessively tracking Draco Malfoy's every move, telling himself it's the only way to prevent Malfoy from carrying out his dark plans. But as the year progresses, fist fights and mutual animosity gradually give way to a swirling, complicated intimacy that neither boy expects or understands, even as they desperately try to shield it from the outside world.

Can't Sit Still by wilteddaisy (E, 193k)

Five years after the war, Harry finds himself drawn to Draco Malfoy by memories that aren't his own.

[midnight-mourning]

DCA Promptober Day 14: Knock

There's this youtube animated horror short out there, I think it's called Francis? Anyway, I watched that when I was younger and didn't sleep for months. This was inspired by my memories of that.

Word count: 867

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

"Knock-knock!"

"Who's there?"

A pause, he's thinking, "Canoe."

"Canoe who?" You ask, giggling.

"Canoe come over and play?" Sun then bursts out laughing, and you can't help but do the same.

You settle down, snuggling further into his arms, "That was a good one, I'll admit."

"As you should, I only make the best of the best knock-knock jokes!" He crosses his arms, head held high. 

"Yeah, yeah, alright."

Sun leans over to look down at you, "That sounds like an admission of defeat, Starlight~"

"Fat chance," You scoff, "Just give me a second to think."

His rays tick to the side like a clock, you know he's doing it to tease you. 

For a split second though, the ticking sounds off to your ears. You feel dizzy, your head hurts. What's going on-

"Is everything okay, Sunbeam?"

You shake your head, Sun's still staring down at you. You blink, his face changes for a moment. Red eyes, black and white color scheme, a hat-

You blink. It's just Sun.

You bite your lip for a moment, then smile, "Yeah, think I might be just a bit tired is all."

"Oh! Then maybe you should take a nap," He says, tone shifting at the end there. Almost glitching. Your vision flashes again. 

"I, you? Suggest a nap of all things?" You laugh, nervous, "How out of character for you, Sun."

He just stares at you. You look away after a moment. 

Suddenly, his hand reaches under your chin, forcing you to focus back on him. 

He tilts his head, "Tell your joke, Star."

"Knock-knock."

"Who's there?" His grin almost feels threatening from this angle.

You swallow, "Boo."

The room takes on a quivering now. Everything around you rumbling and glitching. It gets hard to see. You have to close your eyes.

"Boo who?"

Your hand clutches onto the Attendant's pant leg, "Sun I'm scared."

You initially just get a raspy chuckle as a response.

"I don't believe that's part of the joke now, is it?" You hear several clicks, and can feel him lean down closer, "Because if so, it's not a very funny one."

You whimper. Your body feels wrong, everything feels wrong. You don't want to open your eyes. 

The bot tuts, "Oh, come on now, friend. It's just a simple joke. Surely you can handle that."

You stay quiet, then he sighs. 

"Open your eyes, love."

You shake your head.

"Open." A sharp click, "Your eyes."

You relent.

It's just Sun. 

He runs a hand over your hair, soothing, "See? Everything's juuust fine. Now, will you tell me your joke?"

"I, o-okay."

He waits, hand stopping its motion.

You take a deep breath, and try again, "Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

You hesitate. Everything seems normal. Maybe you were just going crazy.

"Boo." Again, nothing's off. It's just Sun.

His voice is soft, sweet, "Boo who?"

"Don't cry, it's just a joke!" You try to add extra enthusiasm to hide your nervousness.

Sun's rays rotate slowly. Then, he laughs. He laughs hard. As he continues to outright cackle you shrink further and further in on yourself, but being stuck in his lap you have nowhere else to go. 

He pretends to wipe a tear from his eye, "Oh, how clever. You really got me!"

"Y-yeah?" You ask, smile awkward. 

He sighs, "Yes, but Starlight," His tone has a cheeky glee to it.

"Hm?"

"Aren't you the one who shouldn't be crying?" Out of the corner of your eye you see him raise his hand, "Afterall~"

It rushes down towards you, and you gasp.

"It's just a joke!"

You wake up with a start, breathing heavy. 

Your hand goes to your chest. There's no gaping hole. It's fine. You're fine.

It takes your eyes a moment to adjust to the level of darkness you're in. You're in a closet or something. You sit up, finding that you've been laying hap-hazardly on a pile of, stuffed animals?

Looking around further, you see that there's crayon drawings hanging on the walls, assorted toys, string lights which aren't currently in use. 

You realize that you're in the Daycare Attendant's room.

Knock-knock.

You freeze, ears straining to find where the noise came from. Or if you just imagined it-

Knock-knock. 

It's a bit louder this time, but only slightly. It sounds closer, too. Your eyes scan the space and see nothing. How did you even get in here?

Knock-knock.

Your head is pounding, and your memory is fuzzy. Nothing makes much sense. You do your best to sit up, and while there's no visible wound your entire body aches. You want to say it's from your sleeping position, but something in your gut tells you it’s not.

Knock-knock. 

You must be losing your mind. There's no logical place as to where that noise could be coming from. From what your eyes can make out, there's nothing in here besides you. You're almost certain of it.

Knock-knock.

It's then that you think to look over to the entrance to the room. And you find your answer.

There's a hand on the edge of the door. Behind it is a grinning visage with red eyes. 

Knock-knock.

Who's there?

I think you already know.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Damn y'all got TWO unhinged robots today didn't you? What a nice little treat. Other promptobers are here, thanks for reading!

[smosh-fessions]

I find it hard to articulate exactly WHY Shayne has been considered Smosh's golden boy since he joined. And how, even now with hard-hitters and fan favorites like Angela, he is still so so persistently seen as THE cast member of Smosh.

Obviously, much like Angela he's funny as hell and they're both GREAT comedic partners for nearly everyone they're paired up with. They're both also great at iconic one-liners, and are very charismatic personalities. Both of their YEARS of experience being actors and on-camera personalities are very obvious and pay of super super well.

But I think that what makes Shayne such a persisting iconic figure in the Smosh fandom is the fact that he has SO MUCH fun. I love that he laughs at other people's jokes, and that he allows himself to LOSE IT when he finds something really funny. I love him and Angela together, cause when they're together- she seems to allow herself to react to stuff more and just laugh and find things silly instead of feeling the need to add to the joke, ykwim?? Shayne is just FUN to watch and he seems like so much fun to be around. Like, if I made a joke around him and he laughed- even though it seems easy to make him laugh- dude I'd feel so accomplished cause he makes mid jokes feel hysterical simply because it hit HIM in the right way.

like, that man has a lust for life and laughter in his heart that makes watching Smosh so much more enjoyable, and I think that's why he's such an icon. People can just sense that he's enjoying himself, and we end up enjoying things, too.

Obviously, I think Damien and Courtney are THE cast members as well and I genuinely can't imagine Smosh without them. But I think the reason "Shayne being 99% of Smosh's power" jokes are STILL relevant and STILL being made and the fact that it's bsen so persisting over the years, is because Shayne isn't just a comedic powerhouse in that he adds to bits and that he's clever, but also that he acknowledges that other people are funny, too. AND IT'S JUST FUN TO WATCH. I think Angela is getting there.

Sorry to ramble, I just really fuck w Shayne. Shayne Topp gotta be my top 5 white man of all time. Stay tuned for asks detailing why I think every other cast member except for the zionists and Keith (unfortunately 😔💔) are also incredible.

Shayne seems like the kind of guy who gets along with basically everyone unless they've done something egregiously wrong in some fashion. He can adapt to situations with ease and he's able to bounce off of everyone's humor and help them showcase what they're best at and I think part of that comes from how much he loves all these guys. He wants them to shine and he has no problem stepping back or giving them the opportunity to do so. He knows how to match individual energies very well, which helps considerably. Angela can do the same, but I think she's lacking a little confidence in her abilities sometimes.

[tezuze]

A hero Hiro and his party

My cringe rambles below the cut- because I can never be short winded!

Hi welcome to the cringe rambles

Okay okay, stupid things I headcannoned:

Hiro

Class: Paladin

Weapon: Gamma sword

Stats: Balanced

Magic: Fire, wind, electric, light, dark (mid level spells)

I want some cool way to incorporate the whole Gammamon thing. Was thinking his sword at least would be cursed and be something only he can control. Maybe the sword can have different modes like the Monado to represent the other evolutions? There's some clever way to incorporate the Gamma gimmick, I just can't fully think of it....

Ruli

Class: Theif/Assassin if that's not too dark

Weapon: Dual daggers

Stats: High attack and speed, low sp. attack and HP

Magic: Wind (low level spells)

The mysterious masked Lirurun!

I know typically the theif class has terrible defense but while I was making these designs I kept going between if she should be a berserker tank like Lamortmon or be a speed type attacker like SymbareAngoramon and Diarbbitmon. Ultimately, I think it'd be cool if she was kind of a blend between the two classes

Kiyoshiro

Class: Cleric

Weapon: Staff (not pictured)

Stats: High sp. attack and HP, low attack and defense

Magic: Healing, electric (high level spells)

Church of Thetis' youngest priest!

Yes this is a fantasy setting, but his wrapped hand still has to hold no significance

His silly little integer overflow/limit break is perfect for an rpg gimmick, but I wouldn't want him to have a special gauge or anything if the others don't. Maybe he can have high healing/low spells initially and then flip to low healing/high spells if his HP is half or less to represent that? Oh that'd be so annoying.... (Also Ruli needs a gimmick)

Digimon-wise, I initially liked the idea of the partners also joining the party for a full team of 6 but I think they'd be too similar to the humans, plus I borrowed too much of the digimon's design for the overall aesthetic of the party not to look boring with digimon included.

My friend came up with the idea that the Digimon could be like spirits, that only certain humans have the ability to perceive, kinda like....

Ghosts.

Ha.

Anyway, if I go with that idea, the digimon could either bless their human with power or they could just be silly little guys that accompany the party.

Wouldn't it be funny if the digimon were the ones that sit back while the humans fight? Okay moving on...

I think Airdramon would be the first form of travel, then Ginryumon to get to other locations. (Then, maybe possibly HoverEspimon for the final form of travel, if I must incorporate them)

Also, clearly Blacktailmon Uver. Acts as a traveling merchant for items and such

And there's gotta be sidequests to add more members of the digimon gang (which means Labramon sidequest!!)

OKAY I'LL ACTUALLY SHUT UP NOW

I'm sorry to put you through that ^^" would love to hear if others have any neat ideas of incorporating stuff from the show into an rpg setting, I am  s u c h a sucker for that kinda thing

[fadeling]

helia week ✨ 05

day one | day two | day three | day four

🌻 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 🌻

21. Did the Warden romance anyone from their group? If so, what attracted them to their partner?

Alistair, of course, which i've already more than alluded to a few times and i already accidentally answered the second question in the previous post. i'll just talk about their romance in general here

despite both having warm and intimate feelings for each other, it took awhile for their relationship to begin in any capacity. this is because helia is a little bit stupid when it comes to realizing her own attractions and romantic feelings, and is even less aware of when that attention is directed towards her. she just didnt really think about it, assuming that the hope she'll get to spend the rest of her time as a warden with him is Totally Platonic and that there's no deeper feelings to analyze there. just utterly clueless.

Alistair was the more emotionally aware one. at least he has the capacity to know and acknowledge when he feels something for someone. i think he's utterly fascinated by helia, never has he known someone so poised and yet so. weird. i think he wants to study her. how could he not want to fuck her. there's a nervousness too, she seems better than him and considering her lack of flirtations he might just be an asshole for presenting his feelings

funnily enough, it's actually helia who encourages him into sharing his attraction for her. he calls her beautiful and then retracts it, then even asks what she'd think if he really did call her that. and so she says she'd love to have an answer but she can't know until he commits to it. which like fair enough, so he does!

the rose conversation happens ( jsyk redcliffe is one of the last things i do before the landsmeet arc) and helia reciprocates deeply. it's extremely kind and fuck, of course she feels the same way? however. and im not bullshitting you. she is COMPLETELY unaware that this conversation is romantic in any way. and he doesn't know she doesnt know. so imagine her surprise when later on, during another romantically charged conversation, he kisses her. helia is completely fucking blindsided its awesome

... which he realized after and oh my god he can't believe it! this woman can read an assassin out of a throne room, how can she have not figured it out by now ? it's very very funny. it's very cute and he's super lucky she said that it's fine because she liked it.

another fave moment is that i usually do things in a way where after his personal quest i get the sex cutscene, and then immediately after THAT one i get the post-hardened "i think from now on im going to do whatever i want that makes me feel happy" like um. yeah man. i can tell. <3

22. Which gifts would raise the Warden's approval, if they were a companion?

These questions are always really hard for me to answer umm. She’s not a very picky person but she appreciates things she can use more than appreciates aesthetic. if you give her expensive jewellery she'll end up selling it unless you clarify extreme sentimentality, for example. she doesn't want for very much.

i can imagine that she's interested in books. of all kinds. geography, history, biography, even magical tomes, she hungers for Lore. she'll even enjoy a random tattered journal you found in a well. i think she also enjoys candles.

also it's cliche but she fucking loooves blades and weapons, not just because shes a sicko but because she's also a geek about the craft. she appreciates a well-designed weapon, and enjoys clever add-ons. She actually perked up when she heard her betrothed has ties to blacksmithing. I think its a special interest of hers :) if you gave her starmetal to craft starfang with it would change her life

23. If Dog is in the party, what did the Warden name him and why?

Bloodkin because he also drank darkspawn blood, lived, experienced ostagar, and then lived from that too. just like her and alistair did. ^_^ there's a deep companionship found in the events that brought them all together and helia finds that deeply important. He's A Part Of Them. he's called bloody for short btw

24. Did the Warden complete the companions quests?

yeah, i very rarely ever have a character who will skip out on optional questlines and companions because I simply Just Dont Want To so my rpg protags will sometimes have through-line similarities. but in different flavours i do still try and think about it.

im pretty sure i said before that helia considers her relationships to be a part of her duty, so going out of her way to do extra things for her comrades, i mean... how could she not?

25. Did the Warden focus more on their objective or did they do side quests?

She likes helping people and stealing from nobles. And delivering justice. so hell yes

[artist-issues]

are there any controversial pieces of media that you like? why is it controversial? why do you like it? do you defend it against people who don't like it, and if you do, how?

Do I

Oh boy

This answer is going to dive in to how I've worked out "The Right Way to Make Sequels." So it'll be another long one.

I really, truly like Star Wars: The Last Jedi. And without that movie, I would not like The Force Awakens as much as I also like it.

TLJ is one of the most hotly contested Star Wars movies of all time, which is saying something, because the Star Wars audience loves to hotly contest everything.

I think Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the best Star Wars film since the original trilogy. I would rather rewatch it than any of the original movies, or the prequel movies, or any other Star Wars media.

Because it's just good. It's just a really good movie—and it is also a really good Star Wars movie, because it nails the whole theme of Star Wars, which is "Faith Triumphs Over Fear."

But. Not everybody measures the phrase "really good movie" or the the phrase "good Star Wars movie" by the same metrics I do.

You know that I believe a story is good when it reminds you of the Good, the Beautiful, the True, or all of them at once—by nailing the "main point" or "theme," instead of being entertaining alone. Add to that the fact that I believe a Star Wars movie (or any franchise movie, or story-sequel) is good when it believably emphasizes the overall main-point of its predecessors, without losing the ability to be compelling.

To be "believable," it has to make sure that the characters (if they're returning from their predecessor appearances) make in-character choices. It does not mean that those returning-characters have to make choices that the audience approves of. Nobody likes the fact that the two characters in La La Land choose not to stay together forever. But there comes a point when it doesn't matter what the audience likes, it matters what the characters "would do."

Anyway.

Another way to have the sequel be "believable" is to make sure that what filmmakers call the "style & tone" stay somewhat familiar, echoing their predecessors. There's a lot of wiggle room for this. Some deviation from what the predecessors did in terms of style or even is good and right. But you want to keep the core stuff—because "style & tone" are just another tool used to "nail the main point" that the predecessors used, so you don't want to change it too much.

What I mean is, in The Last Jedi, you have things like:

Epic-scale visuals (dramatic shots that make use of big objects and light and shadow in the composition)

Dramatic Use of Color (Red is bad, blue is good, black is bad, white is good—very in-your-face symbolism)

Quirky Alien Cutaways (even though it's a dramatic adventure, you still sometimes cutaway to see a funky alien or a funny little creature, to remind you this is a fun space-romp.)

Somewhat-Obvious Adventurous One-Liner Dialogue (No explanation needed)

INTENSE emphasis on orchestral score (I don't have to explain this, Star Wars is one of the greatest examples of all time for music in movies)

All of the above contributes to the "tone and style" of a Star Wars movie. The Original movies have that. Most of the Prequel Trilogy has it, too. The Last Jedi does it right. You're supposed to feel heights of "operatic" drama, but it's not working very hard to be subtle or "clever." It's just common-sense, easily-accessible storytelling, from the lighting to the colors to the dialogue. Everyone of all ages can watch and enjoy.

(It doesn't mean a Star Wars movie is not profound—it means that it lets simple-truths shine, because truths that are plain and simple are profound, and only arrogant "intellectuals" can't accept that and clamor for something more "complex" just for the pleasure of hearing the gears in their own heads click. Anyway.)

So The Last Jedi gets that right. You know what doesn't?

Andor. The Star Wars show on Disney+. Andor does not get the Star Wars Style & Tone right. It tries too hard to be complex. It is all about grey areas and blurring the line between right and wrong, good and evil. It tries really hard to be "sophisticated" and "for mature fans." And its style and tone reflect that. It doesn't feel like Star Wars.

So you see how I can show the different examples of what gets this right and what gets this wrong, even in other areas of Star Wars—I'm not just biased and using the movie I like as a template. I enjoyed Andor. But Andor is not a good Star Wars story; not if I apply the metric fairly.

So that's "believable." You have to make the audience believe that they are re-entering the world, and seeing the characters, or the story itself, continue. Otherwise you lose them. Because you got them in the first place with a promise: "you're going to see a continuation."

Let's move on to "compelling."

To be "compelling," you have to tell a good story. That's it. That's all.

It is good and right to re-enter a franchise's "world" and shine a light on the same main-point as the original stories—from a new set of characters' perspective. It is good and right to not re-tell and reboot the same old characters and recount their lives, over and over. It is good and right to make a new story that continues the theme of the old story.

And as long as you're doing that, you don't need to follow any other supposed "rules" that the "fandom" made up.

The Last Jedi does that perfectly. It takes the characters that were introduced in "The Force Awakens," takes into account where each of them began and where we last left them, and then believably and compellingly moves forward.

That's all it was supposed to do. And it did it, super super well. In a way most Star Wars media does not.

Like for example, I said Andor is a bad continuation of the Star Wars franchise because it gets the Style and Tone wrong, right? So it's not "believable" as a Star Wars story?

Well, the other side of the coin is also true. Ahsoka, another Disney+ Star Wars story, is on the other end of the spectrum. It might nail (in lots of ways) the "Style and Tone" of a Star Wars story, to make it believable. But it's not compelling. Because it gets the other thing wrong: it's a bad story.

The Last Jedi gets both "believability" and "compelling storytelling" totally right.

But the fans didn't want a good story. They didn't want a continuation of the Star Wars theme, because they probably never really thought about what that theme really was.

No. The fans wanted what I call 💫 A Checklist of Star Wars Stuff Disguised As a Story 💫 . They wanted to hear more name-drops of characters from Deep Cuts in the previous movies. They wanted the New Characters to have familial ties to their favorite Old Characters. They wanted the movies to be about the Old Characters—so they really wanted Luke Skywalker to come out swinging as an undetectable Jedi Messiah with no character flaws who makes the New Characters look like fools because the fans hate the New Characters. They also wanted more Old Characters to come back, and they would only have liked the New Characters if those characters, in and of themselves, were...bad characters, because Star Wars fans, by and large, really often forget what made their precious Old Characters well-written characters in the first place. And that was: human flaws.

Luke is always focused on how he can control his future, especially when it comes to fulfilling his destiny or saving his friends. That's a flaw. That's pride. But Star Wars fans forgot that that's Luke's "fatal flaw." They just remember the nostalgia of green lightsaber backflips and retconned Legends books.

So then when Rey comes along and is focused on her past, and has her own pride issues, the fans go "ew, she's so annoying, let's nitpick about whether or not she could win a fight in real life."

Because Star Wars fans went into The Last Jedi believing that "A Good Star Wars Story has Luke Skywalker Being a Total Beast, a Realized Messiah who Dominates New Characters," or "A Good Star Wars Story Has Ultra-Powerful Villains Who Fit the Previously-Done-to-Death Mold, Like a Video Game Boss..." then they found the movie unbelievable. They don't believe it because they had silly expectations going in.

The one thing they can't deny was that it was compelling. Every showing I went to, even way past the premier, you could cut the tension in the theater with a knife when you were supposed to, you could feel the air move as everybody gasped when they were supposed to, you could hear laughter at all the right moments and empathy with the characters at all the right moments. But then a few months after the release, and online, everybody's claiming to have hated it. I know that's not true. I experienced it.

But Mark Hamill, the guy who played Luke Skywalker, ran his mouth about how he didn't understand Luke's character direction. He very cleverly, in interviews, set himself up as the Actor who Understands His Character being ignored and misunderstood by a Plebian Director...and as a "consequence," they "got Luke all wrong." So then of course the nostalgic fan base, who already had silly expectations, feels those silly expectations justified by the actor from their childhood. Who is wrong about his own character, I don't care, that's happened before, actors are wrong about their own characters, get over it.

Anyway. My point is, The Last Jedi is controversial because it's a good story, and not a Star Wars Checklist Disguised as a Story. And people have a skewed idea of what stories are for, so no wonder they have a skewed understanding of what made Star Wars good—and if you don't know what makes it good, you won't be satisfied when the real thing comes back around in the form of a good sequel. Because you thought "good" meant "name drops, intellectual tickling, and a regurgitation of Focus on Old Characters to entertain me."

You could apply this whole measurement-system for sequels to where the MCU did everything right for so long, and how it's doing it all wrong here recently. Anyway.

I have a lot of posts expanding on this. One or two argument-reblog-matches with fans who hated the movie, too. They're not very popular, because people have been majorly gaslit by the loudest Star Wars fans concerning the Sequel Trilogy.

Thanks for reading!

[slow-burn-sally]

I think one of the most frustrating things about being neurodivergent, for me anyway, is the inconsistency. My whole life, I've vacillated back and forth between seeing myself as an intelligent, popular, well loved person, and then I'll lose my drivers' license, say something hurtful, forget to pay a bill, or send an email at work to seven other people that completely exposes me as the world's largest moron, and I think "I can't be intelligent. In fact, I must be very stupid." I mean, what else am I supposed to think? All my life, people who do things like this are considered less intelligent, so that's the only template I have.

The thing is, half of me is very clever, hilariously funny, charming, and organized. Have of me is also clumsy, forgetful, socially inept, moody, and the worst, most horrible troll that ever lurked, pustule-covered, under a darkened bridge.

These two people are always inside me, waiting to assert themselves. Just at the moment when I truly believe that I've hacked this AuDHD thing, when I'm really riding high on that wave of success. When I remember everything I'm supposed to, and remember to get gas, and pay the internet bill on time, the Other One pokes it's head up, and then I'm a fucking mess.

Yesterday, I got home from a great day at work, where I'd contributed, and worked well with my team, and correctly answered oh so many questions. Then opened my mail, found out I was being sued for a car accident I'd been involved in due to distracted driving from 2 years ago. I look at the paperwork for roughly 5 minutes, the adrenaline allowing me to actually read it (not possible if I wasn't losing my shit with fear), but it doesn't make any sense, because it's purposefully obtuse legal language. I walk into the kitchen, freaking out silently, intending to test my roommate's chili, (because, when you find out you're being sued, the next thing you should do is eat) and drop the spoon on the floor, causing the tomato sauce to splat across the tiles. I proceed have a total meltdown where I begin sobbing, and yelling at my roommate not to come near me, not to even look at me, while I hyperventilate and spray the floor with disinfectant. I go from Self Contained Adult to Panicky Child in .2 seconds.

I am such a badass, and so in control of everything, and then I'm an irrational mess who sometimes hits herself out of frustration, and who can't add numbers higher than 12 + 12. I have tons of friends, lots of mutuals. I enjoy hobbies. I love my job. I love my roommate. I am absolutely privileged and blessed to live the life I live, but fuck, man, I wish I could just have it stay on the easier path for longer. Why is it always so inconsistent?

[thesummerstorms]

wottg next day thoughts/rambling under the cut

I may not really be the intended audience for Triple Goddess at this point.

My favorite of the OG books is The Last Olympian and I loved the tone the Trials of Apollo book, especially in the later half.

I thought Heroes of Olympus was inconsistent but one of my gripes with it was that Blood of Olympus failed to commit to the actual consequences of everything that had happened.

So almost everything about WOTTG moves in like...the complete opposite of the things I enjoy most from the other series. That is going to heavily skew my opinions.

That said:

who the fuck incapacitated Rick's editor????? I'm used to a measure of continuity errors but ... This book really needed more editing.

Son of Morpheus? Leo mentioned as alive pre his return in TOA?

I ended up somewhat enjoying Chalice because I felt like the juxtaposition of Ganymede against both Percy and the Olympians had some decent emotional pay off. I don't feel like I really got that from Gale, Hecate, or Hecuba despite there being the bones of something there.

I was reading tired so I may have just missed something, but I still do not understand why the baby hellhound barks sound like "nope"???

I like the baby hellhound in theory, though I thought it was awkwardly handled in places

I could have done with 1000% less pee jokes. Like why even?????????

At least Rick finally stated outright that Annabeth held the sky for longer than Percy and that she wasn't immediately blessed or rescued by Artemis like certain folks seem to enjoy arguing

Some nice world building with the cellphones. Like we knew, but it's nice to see it actually have at least a little bit of plot consequences for once, and the time testing Percy mentioned was both funny and interesting (in that we got an actual measurement of how long it would take monsters to try to eat Percy)

I don't buy Percy taking 5 years to notice Chiron's permanent injury and intense chronic pain. It's nice to have it in canon, but it would NOT take Percy 5 years.

Nico took Percy Christmas shopping in Florence????????????? Details please???

Annabeth's characterization felt ... Oversimplified? And I hated the constant self-put downs by Percy basically saying he needed her to think for him

You can't even say it's his self esteem because we really don't get anything in the narrative to challenge the self perception other than one kind of cliche convo with Annabeth and it doesn't... Don anything really?

Percy may not be book strong, but he is clever!! He is a strategist! Wth is with the lack of balance/the diminishing of his abilities to fit in the "smart girl/dumb boy" trope

I really want to like the moment with Percy and Annabeth holding the torches together. And I do mostly out of context.

The plot just feels sloppy honestly.

I may be in a minority here based on early posts I've seen, but I don't feel like Sally's past role adds to the story so much as is neutral or detract. I don't love it.

The nymphs would have been a good chance to revisit Sea of Monsters from an older Percy's POV especially since he and Annabeth have already learned how their actions affected Reyna. But that wasn't the angle that was taken at all!

Honestly so many of the problems, as with Blood of Olympus, stem from Rick's refusal to commit.

I do generally feel like Rick did an okay job balancing between protective Percy and Percy who respects Annabeth 's ability and doesn't try to stop her making decisions. So that's a plus

We almost got a decent moment of Percy having to deal with his anger and fear and it would have been a great moment to touch on his readjustment after two wars and Tartarus. But again. RR did not commit.

I just... Could not care about this plot. Chalice wasn't life or death either, but I think it had better focus and at least somewhat more emotional depth.

[conchelle]

I removed a half towel from Night Sea's rating. Fucked up. But I've been thinking about it for a while...

Honestly, I can't say I'm too fond of Koucha as character in that game. She's a painful downgrade from her TK4 counterpart. A lot of her character just feels like it lives within the shadow of TK4 Koucha.

It's really disappointing how much agency is removed from her in Umi. I really liked how in Towelket 4, a lot of the tragedy that befalls her are a direct result of her own impulsive and naive decisions. Something she's constantly taunted for after those consequences manifest themselves.

But in Umi? Nothing is allowed to be her fault. She's not allowed to actually make any decisions for herself. She doesn't decide to become a human to be with Mocha. Furi just shows up and forcefully swaps their bodies. She doesn't abandon the sea to follow Mocha, wherever they are, Soapbox just kicks her into the ocean instead and she conveniently ends up at Barrieland? And then on her route, Furi just orders Soapbox to mess with Koucha even more...because. Her routes are both presented as the true routes but I honestly don't see why she's so important in the context of the story aside from the fact that she was the heroine in Towelket 4. How is she more important compared to a character like Chihedo Musubi? How come she's being targeted specifically?

I like the fact that her routes add more to the game's story overall but Koucha as a character in this game is just so undercooked.

In general, almost all of the parts that were lifted from TK4 were just really awkward. The piratechasu plotline is the most infamous of these. It technically does progress the story and have some wacky implications but it all feels like its done in the most convoluted way possible for no reason other than wanting something that happened in Towelket 4 to happen in this game too.

Moochasu is "taken" by Agochu and becomes a wacky pirate dude for a while. Kidnaps one of the inn girls and a fairy. The other fairy shows up at the inn and is like "Omg Mocha you have to help, my bestest best friend is missing" and they'll take you to Barrieland where you'll spend the rest of the game. And then that entire conflict is just solved offscreen and never acknowledged again. What was Kanao thinking !!!

The characters. I always complain about the characters. But it still drives me crazy how underutilized they are in this game. Not every route has to contribute some wacky clue to the overall narrative, it would have been a super clever way to approach this aspect of the game but like whatever. It's fine. But damn, did the characters have to be so lackluster?? They're mostly just silly funni which I don't think is inherently a bad thing. But for a dating sim can i get like one ounce of depth PLEASE PLEASE.

Like, I don't expect the game to suddenly go all serious and question the relationship between characters like idk, Smile dk and Nyanyamo. Questioning why Nyanyamo feels the need to constantly abuse someone she actually cherishes deep down and in turn, exploring why Smile dk accepts such treatment with a smile. Like, it's silly right? Just framing their relationship in a serious light at all sounds very wacky because it's always played for laughs. It's just a silly goofy gag that their conflict revolves around because that's what these characters are. They're gags. The resolution to that conflict doesn't result in any character growth but instead a punchline. It's like the game is too afraid to allow them to stray away from this gag in any true and honest capacity because that would mean removing their entire character. Because their character revolves around a gag.

Maybe its a silly thing to criticize since what's there is still entertaining. But I don't know, I feel like it isn't too much to ask that a dating sim portion (that you'll spend a good chunk of your time with if you pursue all the routes) actually takes advantage of what it is and explores these characters in a meaningful way. It almost gives off the impression that most of the characters aren't allowed to change or grow because it would change their initial appeal too much (AKA it would have to be something more than pure fan service)

I don't know. It's weird. For everything I like about Night Sea, there's like 10 things that lead up to it that aren't terribly offensive bad, but also just not really good either. Compared to Towelket 4, the story just flows very weirdly even though there are a lot of good moments...

So I had to remove the half towel from its rating. Fucked up.

[ellohallohiya]

Kald-dal’s QQ1 OCs Name Yap >:) P.1 / A gift for my fav writer/artist because I can't make fanart

I picked out names for the characters you said didn’t have last names since you allowed random entries (if that’s ok). Also if some of the name definitions weren’t on purpose, maybe this will make you happy to read for extra meanings :D

(Sorry this sucks butt this is my first time researching name/word names pretty deeply, well relatively for me)

-

Beau - Handsome in French, fine and beautiful, and in Latin it means pretty. It also is an old fashioned way of saying boyfriend, partner, or lover

Dent - A blow of impact from a weapon or implement in combat. Also means mark or a form of damage

So this just means Beau is a beautiful man, and he makes a significant mark, and this leads into the fact that he is career material and well enough trained. And he might be in a relationship/is a player

-

Shimmer - A soft slightly wavering light

Aleela- Meaning, she cries

This just means light, of course, I think this is just a name given to the character instead of having meaning, but once I find out her last name I can add more meaning. Also the word ‘wavering’ being in the first definition I see of Shimmer is a bit funny. And I choose the name Aleela, because ‘she cries’ is a really vague statement over what she cries about. So I think it fits my first interpretation of her character

-

Garde - Guardianship, safeguarding, covering, authority. Defending aggressions and attacks. Responsibility and protection

Riggs - Meaning, of the ridge or one of the ridge. There isn’t many other definitions of it. But it can also be correlated with the fact that he is ‘rigging’ the game against Claudia (like the ass he is)

He’s definitely not protecting Claudia loyally. Anyways I assume this just means he has great defense and can cover attacks easy, because he’s a vicious little backstabbing viper he doesn’t get the title of a guard though

-

Claudia - In both Latin and Spanish it means lame, but also in Latin it means enclosure. And in Hebrew it means limp- to be shut in or be shut in. Never truly in and never truly out. Not too popular yet not too unusual. Though in a baby name website, girls named Claudia have compassionate and empathic nature, and good leadership skills

Benetiz - This name has several different cultures around it. In Spanish it means ‘Son of Benito’. In Latin it means blessed

So Claudia has never felt truly belonging in any group. Even in the career pack she’s not as good as Garde, Sheelin, and Polina. But she isn’t at the level of Beau and Taurus. And in her childhood she often felt outcasted due to her family history

-

Alex - To ward off, keep away. The defender of men. A protector. And for a person explaining why they thought ‘Alex’ would be a great name for a thg oc from district 3 is because it goes after ‘Alexa’

Bentley - Coarse grass meadow. Cleverness, luxury, and is apparently in kudos (affiliation) with the number eleven. Also ‘get bent’ is a phrase that can derive from this

Yeah no, the name definition doesn’t fit his character, but it is a catchy name for a d3 character. Wished he got more scenes though

-

Peg - A small cylindrical object that is tampered at one end, it is usually to help hold things together. It is also a point of limit of a scale. And to fix something

Debois - In French the word means, wooden table. But it also means a topographic name for someone who works with wood

Again name definition doesn’t match much, but hey, it doesn’t matter as long as nobody searches it up as deeply as me :)

-

Polina - In Latin/Greek origins, the name means small and humble, a bundle of joy. In Russian it means, little stone/pebble

Carrol - This means champion or victor in the baby website section. It also means free man in German. And dancing and singing in a circle in old english

So her last name matches her more because I don’t think she’s humble at all. And for the baby website section, it was the American meaning. But this just means she’s victor/champion material

-

Sheelin - Ancient Irish translation to, Fairy Pool *insert sparkles*. It is also a lake in central Ireland

Montgomery - Meaning mountain belonging to the ruler. In both old French and British it means belonging to nobility/royalty. This also means manpower in some viking language

So I assume that Sheelin is definitely carefree to a degree due to ‘Fairy Pool’ being his name’s only meaning and definition I could find. And him belonging to a ruler makes sense with his and Polina’s dynamic. And manpower makes sense as well

-

Muriel - The star of the sea. Sparkling or shinning sea. And also the fragrance of God. And in a definition of the name I saw it said exactly ‘an educated, willing worker who sees what is really happening during the Russian revolution but is afraid to speak out against it’

Callahan - Bright headed, strife, and contention. Bright headed usually means of light or of knowledge. Strife means negative disagreement over fundamental issues. Contention means heated disagreement, or assertion of any sort

I think it’s funny her name is correlated a lot to the sea. But let’s see if her name has anything to do with stars. Also I can see her as an educated worker, and since she’s rich she probably knows more than the average districts citizen, but does not speak up about it. And with her last name, it has a lot to do with arguments and knowledge. (Honestly the person who picked the name out gave her a badass last name though)

-

Isak - Means laughter from Icelandic/Hebrew origins. Also from the bible, Isaac was the baby of two people who laughed when God told him they would have a baby. Issac is also the gift from God. And with the spelling Isaaq, the name means honest and trustworthy

Truitt - Honest little one, dry old wood, small and quick, extremely loyal, river bend, and is associated with the number five. All of these definitions are from several cultures/languages

So Isak is trustworthy, by that I think it means he sucks at lying. And it’s funny his last name has so many definitions, especially the fact that a few languages agreed the meaning would be ‘little man’ and ‘trustworthy one’. And with his first name, I think about how Isaac’s parents laughed at God’s face and got punished (without being hurt), then proven wrong with their child being Isaac

-

Lexie - Lexie is actually a greek girl name, meaning the defender of men. It also means luxury and elegance. It also means to finish whatever you start in another culture. And it’s a more feminine version of ‘Luxus’ which is a car brand, which also means luxury and excess in Latin

Cohen - Means ‘priest’ in several languages. But it means wild goose in Irish, and it is a ‘royal’ name in Jewish

So Lexie’s name could mean to finish what you started, which is kinda badass. And her last name is a wild goose (chase) plus it means royalty in Jewish, which adds on to her family status. It would be funny to see her give an alliance a wild goose chase though

-

Asshole - Jerk or idiot. Not only just stupid or annoying, but also very mean

Greason - Was apparently a war cry or slogan originally. And it also means a quest for higher truth and spiritual victory. When you are also doing reasonably well in an industry. And it also means a yeti-like creature- a tundra dweller. There are several more definitions (surprisingly)

Sawney - Naively or sentimentally foolish. And another defender of mankind. It is also a derogatory word for Scotsman. It's usually associated with the word ‘jock’ and is informal in most of its definitions

So Greason is a yelling loud person, he has many faces/personalities. He is a truth seeker (I can maybe see that in his character). And he can be associated with a yeti. Also he is a foolish jock

-

There will be a part 2 sorry for being so lazy- anyways ye, hope this makes @kald-dal-write happy to read :)

[sepyana]

Noir 2001 Ep. 1-10 Thoughts

I really love her France Shirt dhshbd

I figured stopping at Chloe's introduction would be the best idea. From what I know this should be when the main plot picks up.

First, the bad:

The first episode was really jarring to watch. The cuts were awkward, the music was too loud at parts and certain scenes dragged out for too long. Maybe this is just me, but I didn't realize the music was coming from the watch until the end of the episode, which made things really confusing.

From then onwards isn't like this. Maybe I just got used to it, but the cuts didn't feel jarring and the flow between scenes was smooth enough.

There is a lot of reused animation, which is fine for the most part. It's not as elegant about it as shows like Utena but it's not a big deal.

What annoys me is sometimes the plot will screech to a halt to show you a flashback you have already seen before. Personally, I'm fine if a conversation is just one still frame or made of reused animation. The flashbacks and the occasional training is clearly there for budget reasons and nothing else. That's why it takes me out of the story sometimes.

Kirika and Mireille don't have much going on. They are pretty bland which makes it hard to care for them. The "I will kill you when this is over." thing is the most interesting bit. There is still plenty of time to develop them so I'm not that bothered about it.

The show feels rather empty at times, if that's the word. It feels like nothing is happening. For example: the information we get about the main mystery is not enough to make any conclusions or draw connections, so whenever a new development happens I can only think "Oh, we learned this now". We don't learn anything about what our protagonists are like either. The quiet moments are great for that, but I still feel like I know nothing about them.

I don't mind the censorship but it can be really funny sometimes. Kirika will get hit but her arm will look completely fine, making it impossible to tell how bad she was hurt until she reacts.

When I started episode 7 I genuinely though I skipped an episode. They don't make it even slightly obvious that a time skip happened.

This one is really stupid: I can't seperate Mireille from Misato in my mind. I'm sure Noir fans are annoyed by the comparison by this point but I'm really trying guys (ﾉД`)

Okay,, we can get to the good stuff now:

The atmosphere is great. The backgeound art is lovely and complements the animation well. They definitely achieved the aesthetic they were going for.

The soundtrack is pretty nice. Again, adds to the atmosphere.

Kirika especially can be super clever, making the fights fun to watch (only about 50% of the time though)

The composition of the shots draw your eye to the focus well. It's a good way to make shots interesting with a small budget.

It's fantastically homosexual, while also not being about romance at all. All the notable characters are women. That might add to the yuri vibes I guess.

I liked Silvana. She is one of the few side characters that have anything going on. Her relationship to Mireille is intriguing to me, they have met only once. But it's clear their one interaction has left a big inpression on not only Mireille but also her, especially since they were kids at the time. Her pulling out a knife and cutting the crown off of Mireille when she says she is scared tells us everything we need to know about her.

There is also something to be said about the crowns. Mireille's innocence being destroyed by Silvana. It's important to Silvana that she has control, removing the crown she gave to Mireille is a way for her to feel superior, I guess. Even at a small age.

Mireille is still scared in their final confrontation, but she fights anyway.

I am very interested in Chloe because clearly, the two maidens who govern death are suppose to be Kirika and Mireille. However, she is insist she is Noir. I imagine things will go south when she realises that's not the case. (I doubt it's the case). The woman we see is most likely using her and Chloe is dependent on her validation. That's what I am guessing.

[danielfeketewrites]

DOCTOR WHO TOP 10 - 2nd Doctor

Ah, my fave Doctor. My 10 favourite stories with him. Keep reading!

10. The Land of the Blind

A nice comic book with a cool twist. I dunno, as a fan of 8th Doctor's DWM run, I have a soft spot for Scott Gray's Doctor Who.

9. The Abominable Snowmen

I really like The Abominable Snowmen. Heck, I think it's a lot more interesting story than The Web of Fear. The setting, the characters, the atmosphere... It all just really works. The Intelligence is a wonderful villain and the Yetis are really cuddly.

8. The Bringer of Darkness

Admission: I'm not a big fan of Fury. I get why everyone likes it, but I just can't get behind how it treats Victoria. While it's admittedly at least "her last story" (something not really afforded to characters like Dodo, Polly, or Ben), but the way she suddenly decides to quit si very... sudden.

This story is short and simple, but manages to do the heavy lifting of "when did Victoria start realising that she doesn't actually want to travel with the Doctor" and... it's really good. I like it very much.

7. The Power of the Daleks

Another admission time - while the animation is great, I might prefer the Loose Cannon reconstruction on this one, as it feels more atmospheric.

But both of these versions are amazing. The David Whitaker Dalek stories just hit differently.

6. The Moonbase

In my bachelor's degree dissertation, I wrote that The Moonbase is the quintessential Base Under Siege story. I stand by that. It's amazing, fun, an upgrade on The Tenth Planet... And it basically invents the Patrick Troughton era. Did I mention how fun it is? Obviously, I have a soft spot for it.

Also, it has the best animation.

5. The Mind Robber

When I first watched The Mind Robber, I didn't get. I didn't get why everyone likes it so much.

I rewatched it a few months ago and fucking loved it. It's funny, creative, inventive... It's such a wonderful, unique story. I love the shit out of it.

4. The Enemy of the World

This story fucks. In the season full of monsters, David Whitaker had the balls to go "you know, what if we just had a dictator that looks exactly like Dr Who? would that be fucked up or what?"

I love David Whitaker. I love Patrick Troughton. I love this serial.

3. The Evil of the Daleks

By this point, I'm not sure what to say about this. I praised Whitaker's Dalek stories overall in the bit about The Power, sooo... What now? Well, I can add that this is the perfect ending for the Daleks, their perfect finale. It's such a rich, wonderful story.

(I haven't seen the animation yet and I'm kinda afraid of it. I hope it doesn't lose the visceral atmosphere that the reconstruction has for me.)

2. Daughter of the Gods

One of the best Big Finish audios of the past decade. You could even argue that it's THE best one.

I fucking love how well this is done. Like, it could have been a vapid, shallow crossover... But it's not. It's built in such a clever way and the focus on Katarina was a stroke of genius. I love it to bits.

1. The War Games

As a pick for my number one Troughton story, it's a bit basic, innit?

Can't help myself. I love The War Games so goddamn much. Watched all of it in one sitting, breathless. It's amazing. People sometimes say "oh, the last episode is good, but the nine episodes before that not so much" - and those people are wrong. This is an increadible epic and probably my favourite thing the series did in the 60s.

I promise my other best story picks aren't that mundane! I promise! They are weird and unusual! I swear!

[youwouldtreatittenderly]

Some thoughts about Chain of Iron:

Alastair has really grown on me. I love his sibling dynamic with Cordelia and I'm liking his romance with Thomas. Although that 180 he does at the end about giving their relationship a try came out of nowhere, considering he's the one to voice the possibility of something serious happening between them. It just felt a bit contrived for drama and it could have been executed better.

Grace has turned into a really interesting character. What she's done to James is terrible, but I like that the situation is more complicated than it seemed at first. I wish the narrative had explored more her feelings on the horrible things she's done because of Tatiana's influence.

The plot revolving around Lucie, Grace and Jesse was my favorite by far. The actual resurrection felt very anticlimactic though. The tie-in with TDA through Malcom was cool.

The first half of the book feels like a slice of life / fake relationship fic with some crumbs of plot sprinkled in. It was boring.

James and Cordelia being married was such a wasted opportunity to create romantic tension. I can think of only two scenes that take advantage of that. I didn't feel like they grew closer because they were already friends and they already knew they wanted each other physically since Chain of Gold.

Cordelia falling for Lilith's trick was embarrasing. Not that she was tricked at all, I actually like that part, but it should have been a clever ruse, not something so obvious it puts Cordelia's critical thinking skills into question. I thought it was hilarious that this happened in the same book where Tessa calls her clever and resourceful. She deserved better.

Similarly, Thomas says Will is smart and strategic, then Will proceeds to ask him if he's hiding any secrets while Thomas is holding The Mortal Sword, when he knows damn well James and his friends have been keeping secrets from the Enclave. Asking Thomas if Gideon is pretending to forget about the money he owes Will was funny though.

There's so much time wasted on narrating the comings and goings of all the characters, what they’re wearing, where they’re sitting, etc. and since there's so many of them it takes forever.

So. many. interruptions. I'm begging CC to find a more subtle and organic method to create tension.

Matthew often disappeared in this book and it's a shame because he's such a compelling character. He's still my favorite though.

Why was Cordelia the only one trying to help Matthew? I wouldn't expect a group of teenagers to know exactly what to do, but they could at least try.

I thought there was something weird about Magnus so I'm glad that turned out to be another trick. I can't fault the characters for falling for this one.

I'm not very invested in the Jordelia romance, but Cordelia telling Belial he can't have James because he's hers and pulling him from the shadow world was pretty great. Plus finally breaking that goddamn bracelet.

What I liked about the final battle: the reveal that Belial has been using Jesse's body, Lucie's powers and Christopher's invention saving the day.

What I didn't like: Leviathan's attack didn't add anything besides keeping the side characters busy. As far as villains go, Belial is pretty underwhelming.

What the hell was that ending???? Yes, I'm still mad. Out of all the overdramatic and painfully clichéd tropes CC has ever used this is the worst one by far.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Dragon Reborn! Chapter 26: Behind a Lock

I'm done doing anything but warning people who haven't read the whole Wheel of Time series not to keep reading.

This chapter has the Black Ajah icon because the gals are investigating their dirty deeds.

There were many more empty rooms than occupied in the Accepted’s galleries.

Another reminder of the Tower's slow decay. It's rather funny that it is a parallel of the land at large in its own way, since it's the diametric opposite of Rand.

“She was no Gray Man. She was tall and striking, with black eyes and black hair. You’d notice her in a crowd of a thousand. I have never seen her before, but I think she is Aes Sedai. She must be.”

Lanfear probably made her various weaves a little stronger than she intended to have Egwene this fixated on her still.

The library stood a little apart from the tall, thick shaft of the White Tower proper, its pale stone heavily streaked with blue, and it looked much like crashing waves frozen at their climax.

I wonder why the Ogier who built Tar Valon wanted to associate the library with blue waves. A warning of the forces that might someday wash what little knowledge the Tower preserved away if it failed in its mission?

Around the foundations of the library, lying flat to the ground in the shade of tall pecan trees, were other doors, both large and small.

At first I thought pecan trees being this far north was a little incongruous and wasteful of the Aes Sedai, but research tells me that they naturally grow almost as far north as Wisconsin, so I will allow it. I will note that they're an American plant though. Perhaps the Breaking was more thorough than any of us give it credit for, or perhaps at some point in the future they'll be moved across the sea... Either way, the Wheel's turns are broad indeed.

Elayne made a glowing sphere for herself at the same time, and the pair provided more light than two lanterns would have. “It feels so—wonderful, doesn’t it?” she murmured.

It's a miracle none of these girls went the route of the heroin addict.

She felt a lightning bolt form, or the potential for one, and nearly stumbled. She had never before channeled two flows at once; it did not seem difficult at all.

I'm legit surprised it didn't come up in damane training. Or perhaps the sul'dam can't handle that kind of thing? Something to keep an eye on.

I could open the lock myself, if I could see how the inside of it works. We will open it some way.

Elayne's the closest thing this trio has to a superego (sadly for third age humankind, prolonged exposure to chora trees causes the genes for emotional regulation to mutate so absolutely no one in the 1,000+ character cast is capable of being a straight example of a superego because those genes haven't mutated back yet), so naturally her approach to solving the puzzle is to solve it on its own terms: if she understood the lock, she could unlock it.

Letting the rest of the tirade fade from her awareness, Egwene touched the chain. She had learned more things than how to make lightning bolts since leaving Tar Valon. One was an affinity for metal.

Egwene, as eventual leader, is the team ego, so she thinks outside the box a little more but still accepts the challenge as presented: it is both lock and chain that keep her out so the clever solution is to attack the chain that most people would ignore.

Thrusting the end of the prybar through the chain, Nynaeve braced it, then heaved with all her strength. The chain snapped like thread, Nynaeve gasped and stumbled halfway across the hall in surprise, and the prybar clattered to the floor.

Nynaeve is the team id and that's all there is to say on the matter because I'm afraid she'll start hitting me if I add any more.

Elayne frowned at her as if considering, then hung her light on the wall, too. Watching, Egwene thought she saw what it was she had done.

And of course the thing that makes this trio so dangerous on net is that they're capable of bootstrapping off of each other to a degree that I don't think any current third age Aes Sedai group can emulate.

“Tear,” Nynaeve said in a flat voice. Kneeling amid the clutter from the bag she was searching, she retrieved a scrap of paper she had already thrown away.

A collection of clues so blatant you'd almost wonder how Siuan missed them if it wasn't obvious that these clues didn't exist about twenty minutes ago.

“The Amyrlin,” Nynaeve said bitterly, “keeps her own counsel, and what matter if we burn for it!”

Oh look, it's Team Light's complete refusal to engage in anything other than complete paranoia about each other coming to bite it in the ass again.

“Unless they do not care whether whoever found this saw the trap or not.” Uncertainty tinged Elayne’s voice. “Or perhaps they meant it to be so obvious that whoever found it would dismiss Tear immediately.”

Or Lanfear is so high on her own supply that she forgets other people aren't drooling idiots. Actually I'll be slightly charitable to her. Four months ago she spent a few days with Rand while he was being a drooling idiot so maybe she's using his barely-resisting-her-Compulsion self as a barometer for the general intelligence of the Age.

Egwene squeezed the ring hard. Dreaming was closely linked to Foretelling; the future, and events in other places, could appear in a Dreamer’s dreams. “Maybe we will know after tonight.”

Occasionally when responding to bad films, critics quip that the characters are only doing the strange things they choose to do because they've read the script and have no other choice. Jordan manages to wrap this around to the point where his characters are outright planning on consulting the script to decide what to do next and it's glorious.

Next time: Egwene checks the script!