#(as well as plenty of differences. especially scandal's versus the others)

[laufire]

there's this brand of ship that's. divorced parents of main character (ymmv) with a thousand and one unresolved issues and hostility but who still have the finger on the pulse when it comes to the other, and whose decisions can alter the course of nations, planets, universes... I'm thinking about liv's parents on scandal, on some level. about marisa and asriel in his dark materials, obviously. about khlyen and yalena in killjoys (the ones who prompted this post). bruce and talia could be that, in a story about damian. anyway yeah, absolutely killer dynamic, gonna work on crafting one like it of my own.

[celestines]

                have   you   seen   IRINA   MOON   around   campus   ?   i   hear   they’re   a   FOURTH   YEAR   ,   WINTER   witch   with   a   specialty   in   ENCHANTMENTS   .   i   almost   never   see   them   without   their   ERMINE   .   if   they   ever   want   to   be   a   ENCHANTER   someday   they   should   ease   up   on   being   SUPERCILIOUS   &   MANIPULATIVE   .   at   least   you   can   say   they’re   CAPTIVATING   &   SEDULOUS   ,    too   .

━  ˙ ˖  ☆     QUICK  STATS  !

full  name  :   irina   sophia   moon   .

nickname(s)  :   rina   ,   ice   princess   .    

zodiac  :   capricorn   sun   ,   scorpio   moon   (  click   !  )

sexuality  :   bisexual   .

alignment   :   lawful   neutral   .

pinterest   :   (   tba !   )  

━  ˙ ˖  ☆     BACKSTORY  !  

hailing   from   a   long   line   of   winter   witches   &   warlocks   ,    irina   was   born   into   a   family   that   seemed   to   fit   every   stereotype   of   their   coven   :   cold   ,    calculating   ,   and   striving   for   more   power   than   they   had   .   her   parents   were   well   off   ,   and   although   they   were   not    elite   ,   they   were   prominent   enough   to   exist   side   by   side   that   world   anyway   .   almost   important   ,    but    not   important   enough   .   almost   at   the   top   ,    but   not   quite   there   .   while   most   people   might   find   it   ridiculous   anyone   could   have   so   much   and   still   be   unsatisfied   ,   it   never   stopped   irina’s   parents   from   their   desperate   ambitions   .   

she   would   be   her   family’s   only   daughter   ,    as   well   as   the   last   born   moon   child   .   irina   was   aware   of   the   differences   in   how   she   was   being   raised   versus   the   way   her   brothers   were   being   raised   right   away   .   while   her   father   payed   close   attention   to   his   sons   ,    irina   was   cast   off   to   the   side   into   the   awaiting   embrace   of   her   mother   ,    but   she   wouldn’t   find   affection   there   either   .   for   her   brothers   ,    freedom   was   a   luxury   ,   and   while   they   were   raised   studious   it   was   obvious   to   irina   that   they   had   it   easier   than   her   .   when   they’d   come   home   late   and   tipsy   after   a   long   night   of   what   they   always   referred   to   as   “   networking   ”   (   which   a   young   irina   quickly   discovered   meant   partying   )   she’d   still   be   awake   at   the   dining   table   triple   checking   her   homework   .   

while   she   took   to   books   easy   ,    what   she   felt   challenged   by   were   the   lessons   her   mother   put   her   through   .   she   raised   irina   to   believe   a   woman   must   be   smart   and   worldly   ,   and   so   irina  learned   to   play   the   violin   .   her   mother   ,   who   always   had   a   certain   fascination   obsession   with   the   winter   high   warlock   ,   truly   believed   in   the   importance   of   upholding   tradition   .   she   was   willing   to   go   to   any   length   to   preserve   the   coven   ,   even   further   than   irina’s   own   father   would   ,   and   she’d    use   emotional   manipulation   to   get   her   there   .   while   the   woman   thought   her   sons   would   have   no   trouble   rising   the   ranks   ,   she   worried   about   irina   ,    often   pressuring   the   young   girl    to   be   wise   and   marry   well   .  

in   the   years   her   older   brothers   were   away   at   the   academy   of   arcane   arts   irina   would   learn   her    most   valuable   lesson   of   all   .   underneath   every   rule   and   tradition   there   is   hypocrisy   ,   and   nothing   is   ever   truly   what   it   appears   to   be   .   she’d   believed   in   her   parents   and   the   way   she’d   been   raised   ,   wholeheartedly   believed   and   endured   it   all   ,   never   questioning   them   once   until   the   night   she   catches   her   father   locking   lips   with   a   summer   witch   in   what   they   must   have   assumed   was   a   private   corner   of   a   high   profile   charity   event   .   she   never   spoke   a   word   about   it   to   anyone   ,   but   things   were   never   the   same   after   that   .   

every   time   her   parents   scoffed   at   the   other   covens   ,   she   thought   about   that   party   .    every   time   her   mother   tried   to   control   her   friendships   or   relationships   ,   she   thought   about   the   irony   of   her   father’s   infidelity   .   while   her   older   brothers   went   on   to   become   a   successful   duelist   and   council   officer   respectfully   ,   irina   was   counting   down   the   days   til   she   finally   got   to   escape   to   the   academy   .  her   life   so   far   had   been   reminiscent   of   a   porcelain   doll’s   ,   eighteen   years   trying   not   to   fall   right   off   the   highest   shelf   .   she’d   become   exactly   who   her   parent’s   needed   her   to   be   ,   something   irina   once   wanted   more   than   anything   in   the   whole   world   ,   but   all   she   felt   was   empty   .  

 when   she   arrived   at   arcane   as   a   freshman   ,   she   already   had   huge   footsteps   to   fill   .   her   brothers   ,   who   had   excelled   not   only   academically   but   also   socially   ,   had   achieved   just   about   everything   —   except   becoming   head   of   winter   house   .   one   of   them   came   close   their   3rd   year   making   it   as   prefect   ,   only   to   lose   head   of   house   the   next   year   .   irina   quickly   became   obsessed   with   the   idea   of   making   it   to   house   head   and   she   knew   it   would   take   more   than   being  smart   or   proficient   in   magic   to   get   her   there   ,    but   she   also   knew   if   anyone   could   do   it   it   was   her   .   she’d   been   raised   to   chase   powerful   positions   ,   to   study   ,   to   be   charming   ,   and   to   find   the   right   connections   .   like   most   in   the   winter   house   her   ability   to   read   people   was   something   she   had   mastered   ,   and ultimately   it’s   how   she   finally   got   her   wish   her   fourth  year   at   the   academy   when   she   got   the   house   leadership   position   .                                          

━  ˙ ˖  ☆     PERSONALITY  +  TIDBITS  !

in   true   capricorn   nature   ,   irina   is   very   ambitious   .   while   she   used   to   strive   to   be   the   best   at   everything   she   does   to   get   a   sliver   of   her   parent’s   approval   ,   she’s   recently   made   the   discovery   it’s   much   more   satisfying   for   her   to   work   hard   and   prove   to   herself   she   can   be   so   much   more   than   just   a   pawn   in   whatever   game   the   winter   coven   seems   to   be   playing   .   she’s   a   perfectionist   that’s   constantly   on   the   borderline   of   obsession   ,   which   means   while   she   has   high  standards   for   everyone   around  her   ,    the   most  unrealistic   expectations   are   the   ones   she   sets   for  herself   .   

she   is   ridiculously   charming   for   someone   who   ,   at   first   glance   ,   appears   to   be   icy   and   distant   .   pleasant   at   all   times   ,   but   especially   in   times   of   conflict   ,    which   is   exactly   what   makes   her   a   good   house   leader   .   has   the   uncanny   ability   to   read   people   disturbingly   well   ,   which   she   does   use   to   her   advantage   (   even   when   she   doesn’t   mean   to   </3   )   .   irina   has   a   habit   of   making   people   feel   important   when   she   talks   to   them   ,   like   there’s   not   a   single  person   in   the   world   she’d   rather   be   in   conversation   with   (   exactly   like   this   quote   )   .   plays   a   lot   on   the   ambition  and   the   ego   of   winter  witches   when   leading   the   house   and   the   shiny   promise  of   being   the   best   because   she's   never   known   anything   else   /:   surprisingly   though   ,   she’s   not   as   strict   as   the   other   house   heads   probably   believe   her   to   be   ,   something   only   winter   witches   and   warlocks   would   know   (   and   keep   to   themselves   if   they're   smart   )   .   

while   most   of   her   relationships   ,   per   request   of   her   mother   ,   are   more   business   transactions   than   they   are   anything   based   on   real   emotional   vulnerability   ,    irina   has   made   exceptions   .   even   with   people   she   should   only   care   about   because   of   status   she’s   finding   it   harder   and   harder   to   act   like   her   feelings   and   vulnerable   side   don’t   exist   .   she’s   terrified   to   share   those   parts   of   herself   with   just   anyone   ,   only   trusting   a   select   few    to   really   know   her   ,    the   rest   of   the   world   only   seeing   a   carefully   crafted   projection   of   herself   .   

honestly   ...   she’s   kinda   on   the   verge   of   losing   it   JSDBWJBDJW   very   nina   in   black   swan   there’s   plenty   of   female   histeria  to   go  around   !   but   she's   trying   her   best   to   hold   it   all   together   and   stay   responsible   while  coping   with   the   fact   that   her   entire   childhood   was   some   bullshit   and   with   the   fact   that   while   she   might   actually   have   zero   interest   in   upholding   traditions   spread   by   hypocritical   witches   and   warlocks   in   positions   of   power   ,    playing   the   game   all   the   way   to   the   top   is   the   only   way   she   sees  herself   ever   having   true   freedom   ):         

she’s   rarely   cruel   on   purpose   .   most   of   the   time   when   she   hurts   someone   it’s   because   they   became   collateral   while   she's   trying   to   achieve   a   certain   goal   .   definitely   wants   to   be   genuinely   nice   to   people   as   opposed   to   fake   politician   nice   ,   she   just   kinda   feels   like   a   fraud   doing   it   ,   like   it’s   impossible  for   her   to   actually   be   genuine   when   she’s   pretending   everyday   of   her   life   .

has   a   super   complicated   relationship   with   house   rivalries   since   she’s   questioning   everything   her   parents   taught   her   .   summer   house   makes   it   hard   for   her   to   change   her   opinions  ,   however   ,   when   they’re   constantly   getting   on   her   nerves   even   if   they   don’t   mean   to   </3   generally   speaking   she’s   on   the   best   terms   and   at   her   friendliest   with   winter  and  autumn   house   ,    and   is   much   more   likely   to   trust   and   befriend   people   from   those   houses   ,    but   she   will   never   outright   discriminate   against   someone   from   spring   or   summer   house   (   unless   they’ve  earned   it   )   .  

she   specializes   in   enchantments   !   and   she’s   really   good   at   it   !   she’d   never   admit   it   ,   but   her   dream   job   isn’t  actually   being   an   enchanter   ,    but   a   professional   violinist   .   she’s   in   orchestra   club   as   a   coping  mechanism   for   the   fact   that   she’ll   never  have   her   dream   ):

her   familiar   is   an   ermine   named   jasper   ,   who   is   way   more   high  strung   than   irina   could   ever   dream   of   being   .   looks   very   cute   and   approachable   but   he   is   deadly   ...   winter   house   has   probably   learned   to   beware   when  he’s   roaming   the   halls   unless   irina   is   by   his   side   😔   

has   a   huge   phobia   of   being   in   love   ,   partly   because   she   was   raised   to   believe   it   didn’t   exist   ,   partly   because   she   wants   it   so   bad   she’s   afraid   of   what   will   happen   if   she   ever   gets   it   .   irina   also   avoids   real   relationships   in   general   and   often   uses   the   married   to   her   studies   excuse   to   avoid   getting   into   one   because   she   knows   her   parents   would   want   to   manipulate   it   /:   any   relationship   she   has   is   casual   OR   it’s   fake   and   she   will   100%   ruin   anything   that   seems   like   it’s   going   some   place  real   

has   a    wilder   side   she   saves   for   special   occasions   ,    like   more   important   parties   .   values   her   control   so   it’s   rare   to   see   irina   inebriated   ,   although   there   are   famous   (   albeit   few   )   tales   of   all   her   scandalous   actions   while   under   the   influence   .

she   just   really  needs   a   hug   🥺   maybe   a   lobotomy   too   if   she   ever   wants   to   be   happy   for  real   😳                 

━  ˙ ˖  ☆     WANTED  CONNECTIONS  !  (  all  open  to  all  genders  )

people   she’s   befriended   because   she   wants   something   from   them   !   maybe   it’s   status   ,   or   information   ,   or   something   else   entirely   .   maybe   they’re   using   her   at   the   same   time   ,   or   maybe   they   have   no   idea   .   i   think   it   would   also   be   interesting   to   have   a   friendship   that   started   out   as   fake   but   morphed   into   something   real   and  irina   feels   super   guilty   about   it   ):   

winter   witches   or   warlocks   who   get   in   trouble   a   lot   (   like   break   curfew   ,   etc   .   )    that   she   has   to   deal   with   .   maybe   she   ends   up   being   an   unintentional   mom   friend   to   them   ,   or   maybe   they   get   on   her   nerves   and   she   makes   sure   they   know   it   .   it   would   be   kinda   sexy   to   have   a   winter   witch   or   warlock   that   starts   breaking   rules   on   purpose   just   to   mess   with   irina   or   spend   time   with   her    

hookups  !   yes   ,   meaningless   (   unless   ?   )   sex   with   people   is   how   she   copes   with   all   the   stress   she’s   under    😔   .    i’d   love   some   past   hookups   that   ended   for   whatever   reason   (   like   maybe   one   of   them   or   both   of   them   was   starting   to   catch   feelings   so   irina   snuffed   it   out   like   a   candle   or   maybe   they   ended   it   )   ,   hookups   that   were   huge   mistakes   and   she’s   doing   her   best   to   forget   they   even   happened   (   mayhaps   with   a   summer   witch   or   warlock   )   ,   and   current   hookups   !    there’s   always   room   to   make   it   messy   ,    or   to   keep   it   fun   and   casual   🥺  

a   confidant   ,   someone   who   really   truly   knows   her   and   is   there   for   her   in   ways   most   people   could   never   be   ,   and   in   return   she’s   there   for   them   .    it   would   be   interesting   if   they   don’t   actually   hang   out   and   do   normal   friend   things   ,    so   it’s   a   little   weird   and   awkward   when   they   do   despite   knowing   so   much   about   each   other   .

a   summer   witch   or   wizard   who   could   be   the   child   of   the   summer   witch   her   father   is   having   an   affair   with   !    bonus   points   if   they   don’t   know   it    yet   so   there   can   be   future   drama   &   extra   bonus   points   if   somehow   them   and   irina   end   up   getting   along   despite   all   odds   only   to   have   whatever   blossoming   relationship   ruined   by   the   realization   ...      

younger   witches   or   warlocks   who   look   up   to   her   🥺   she   wants   to   be   an   inspiration   and   she   would   definitely   try   her   best   to   be   a   good   one   .  maybe   even   a   winter   witch   she’s   low   key   training   to   become   house   head   after   she   graduates   !

someone   to   bring   out   her   softer   side   &   show   her   that   it’s   better   for   her   not   to   keep   her   emotions   bottled   up   .   someone   who   inspires   her   to   be   better   and   more   selfless   even   though   she’s   not   selfish   on   purpose   /:   

an   enemy   or   two   !    people   who   actually   get   to   see   her   angry   side   and   her   dirty   not   poised   side   for   whatever   reason   .    

maybe   someone   irina   helps   to   be   more   confident   or   ambitious   .   since   she   was   raised   with   a   me   first   mentality   (   that   she’s   had   to   keep   in   check   as   head  of   winter   house   )    she’s   good   at   helping   people   who  constantly   put   other   people’s   wants   and   needs   before   their   own   . 

perhaps   some   childhood   or   family   friends   that   would   know   irina’s   family   kinda   sucks   ):    maybe   they   were   close   as   kids   and   drifted   apart   as   they   grew   up   ,    but   it’s   weird   and   kinda   sad   because   they   still   know   a   lot   about   each   other   !

a   bad   influence   😈    whether   or   not   they’re   trying   to   get   irina   to   loosen   up   with   malicious   or   not   malicious   intentions   ,    they’re   the   only   one   capable   of   melting   down   her   walls   bit   by   bit   ,   quicker   the   more   she   internalizes   all   her   struggles   .   someone   she   has   real   fun   with   who   puts   a   stop   to   all   her   overthinking   and   gets   her   to   live   in   the  moment   !           

THIS   ONE   IS   EVEN   LONGER   IM   SO   SORRY   😭😭😭   i  have   rambling   bitch   disease   and   it’s   fatal   !    once   again   if   u   wanna   plot   u   can   find   me  on   discord  @ glo lovecore ʕ´• ᴥ•̥`ʔ#8172   but   if   discord   isn’t   ur   thing   we   can   100%   plot   through   im’s   ,   i’m   just   gonna   be   slower   to   respond   through   tumblr   i   won’t   lie   🥺   give   this   a   like   and   i’ll   message   u   (   or   u   can   message   me   first   hehe   )   and   tysm   for   reading   this   novel   of   an   intro  ...     

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on Lazy Writing, aka "Look Look, We Got You An Asian Woman LI, Now Give Us A Medal Just For Making Her Exist".

• Yep. This is not going to be about Chapter 15. I don't think Chapter 15 is worth a fucking QT post. It does not deserve it, this book doesn't deserve it, this team does not deserve it, I'm not giving it one.

• This chapter is basically part-resolution-of-Hana's-arc and part-sex-scene-on-the-balcony. I'll probably write about the balcony scene when I resume writing essays. But as of now...I'm going to write about Hana. At least that way she'll get the focus that she deserves, and that PB is so unwilling to give her 😡 So if you think I've whined too much about Hana Lee, my dear readers, let me tell you this: you ain't seen nothing yet. Leave now while you can if Hana-rants aren't your thing.

• Basically - since I'm not going to do the usual chapter walkthrough this QT - I'll summarize what happens. Xinghai and Lorelai insist on taking away Hana's belongings despite protests from Hana and the MC. There is a diamond option to help her retrieve her black embroidered cheongsam, which is more precious to her than anything else because it holds memories of her grandmother. Afterwards you get ready for the lantern festival and spend majority of the chapter trying to get Hana's parents to give a positive statement, and eventually figure out that Rashad is the key to this. You convince him to accept Xinghai's proposal, Lorelai and Xinghai openly support you and make a half assed apology to Hana, everyone is happy and telling each other their wishes, and the diamond option to scandalize the entire country (...or not. You can go to the bedroom instead lol) with your LI pops up. It ends with Maxwell getting excited about hosting your bachelorette in Las Vegas (somehow I have a feeling the TRR writers never read RoE Book 2).

• Yep that's it. There really is nothing worth writing about in this chapter, because they didn't bother to nail the most important part of it: and that is Hana's story.

• That's all I'm going to talk about today. Hana.

• Hana. Hana. Hana Hana. Hana Hana Hana. HanaHanaHanaHanaHanaHana.

• Did I mention Hana?

• Title: Light the Night. Which is straightforward, it's a festival dedicated to lanterns and takes place around nighttime. Though IMO the title should really have been: The Number of Fucks Given About Hana Lee By Her Own Writers Is Equal To The Number of Times Anton Severus Makes An Appearance In This Chapter

•

...I just had to slip that in somewhere since there is no way I can ever make this statement unironically IRL 😢

•

This is the first of many statements Hana's parents make about her inability to survive on her own. She is a "delicate flower" that requires watchful care and tending, and the MC is the "weed", the kind that doesn't fit in - but also the kind that is tough and resilient and can survive all manners of things, that depends on itself. Lorelai's argument is that without them, or without a partner that meets their approval, Hana will have very few skills to take care of herself (whose fault is that, I wonder!)

This is something Hana is aware of, and has been highlighting on the few occasions that the people who right her remember that she is meant to be a well-rounded character (which isn't often). She has spoken about not knowing how to live without her parents (Book 2 Chapter 2), how she doesn't know if her skills will help her in the real world (Book 3 Chapter 5), how she isn't even aware who she is (Book 2 Chapter 9). Her character arc was meant to be about learning what her parents neglected to teach her in their mad rush to make her the perfect aristocratic wife, the perfect hostess. Except that, unfortunately, these narrative threads were picked up in fits and starts: implied at and alluded to but never satisfactorily explored.

I will come back to punch holes in Lorelai's arguments (echoed by Xinghai at the festival) later.

•

On the surface this looks like a nice story? It harks back to a dress we've seen before (the black-red-gold cheongsam she'd shown us in Shanghai, alongside a dress she'd made specially for us. She also wears it when she proposes to the MC in case she's the one you declare your love to), something we know she made and is important to her, and tells us more about her youth (the dress seems to have been made when she was "of age", since those measurements perfectly fit an adult Hana) and her family in China. But I have two major problems with this:

1. How many chapters has it been since this book started? 19 chapters in Book 1, another 19 in Book 2 and 15 at present. That makes it 53 whooping chapters.

FIFTY THREE CHAPTERS AND WE LEARN ABOUT HANA'S GRANDMOTHER, SOMEONE SHE WAS IMMENSELY CLOSE TO, ONLY NOW??? IT TAKES US FIFTY THREE FUCKING CHAPTERS FOR US TO GAIN ACCESS TO THIS PIECE OF PERSONAL HISTORY????

2. The second major problem lies in the scene itself. I'll get there.

• So I'll start first with the main components of this scene:

1. The MC and Hana choose an accomplice (Maxwell/Olivia).

2. The accomplice distracts Lorelai

3. Hana distracts an attendant while the MC grabs the dress, but not before almost getting caught by another attendant. They make a run for it and find themselves in a secret hideout.

4. Hana changes into her dress and is happy. If you're marrying her, this is where she and the MC kiss. But besides this there's very little distinction between how this scene plays out if you're her friend versus if you're her fiancée.

•

The Olivia option of the Lorelai-distracting-segment is perhaps my favourite moment in the scene and the only reason it could be even remotely worth playing. Not just for Olivia herself, but also as a reminder that while Hana and Olivia have made their peace with each other and know each others' strengths, they will never actually like each other...and that's okay. Olivia reverts to her bitchy Book 1 persona, hinting at Hana's failed engagement with Lord Peter and casting her in a less favourable light, and I especially love that Hana lets her emotions take over here. There's always been a palpable tension between the two (and often Olivia is the one more open about it, while Hana usually prefers to display diplomacy instead) and this is one of the few times Hana gets to be anything other than neutral or cheerful. She doesn't like what Olivia said, and she makes it clear at least to the MC.

•

Hana Lee, Queen of Awkward Flirting xD xD

• We take a turn that almost lands us in a room where Lorelai is still talking, narrowly escape the attendant chasing us to finally find ourselves in a secret passage with a hole in the wall, from where you could easy watch the sunset.

• Hana changes into her cheongsam.

Very pretty. Lots of flowers and butterflies form the patterning of this dress.

• Now this was the point where I thought we'd learn more about this dress. Or about her grandmother. Or about her life in Shanghai. SOMETHING.

• But no. We get a brief conversation about how hurt Hana is that her mother is intent on disowning her, and the MC convincing her she is stronger than she believes herself to be. Which is nice, but it sounds like a repeat of what's been said before.

• Do you remember that one diamond scene option in The Sophomore where the MC get to to grab Natasha's Loose Pins posters so she can't sabotage Kaitlyn's band? I liked it, it was funny and I liked the thrill of the chase in that scene. And that was exactly the focus of that scene: the chase. Kaitlyn had other scenes focusing on her equation with the band, her trust issues post Gutter Kittens and how she has learned from her mistakes since TF Book 3. It made sense to have a funny, silly scene that revolved not around Kaitlyn but around that chase instead.

Well, that's exactly the focus of this scene. The chase! The fact that time was running out! The wild rush to grab that cheongsam before Hana's mother could catch her! That's exactly all this scene was meant to be and that's exactly how it was written.

But there's a huge difference here. Hana is not Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn's arc about her sexuality and about her coming out was highlighted in detail. She was given subplots that made it clear how complicated a journey it was for her and she has a canon sexuality openly addressed in the books. Hell, TF Book 2 has her scream "I'M GAY" in a crowded bar to her childhood friend Arjun!

Kaitlyn is allowed to be a well-rounded, imperfect person, who trusts the wrong people and suffers the consequences in such a way that it reflects on her self-esteem in the next few books. She had plenty of scenes exploring all these aspects of her journey, so a funny, light scene like this one works in the larger context of Kaitlyn's story.

But this scene - for Hana - was supposed to be the culmination of her entire journey. You hear that? Her entire journey! It was supposed to be the point where she made it clear to both her parents that this was who she was and this was the life she preferred to live, take it or leave it. This scene was supposed to be a watershed moment for her, and this is what it comes to? A scene where Hana isn't even the focus? Where her story, her journey isn't even the focus??

• The grandmother story irks me to no end for another reason too. It was clearly not meant to be development for Hana. If it were, there would have been more in the diamond scene itself. They would have spent the secret hideout scene on a thorough exploration of Hana and her childhood, her growing up, what this woman was like. If it really were meant as development, we wouldn't be hearing about this grandmother now at the very end.

No. That little tidbit about Hana's grandmother was bait. It's fairly obvious that most of us who love her character are literally starved for information about her compared to, say, Drake and Liam (Maxwell isn't exactly treated all that well either). So they push in this little story so that her fans can buy this scene that isn't even worth two diamonds, forget fifteen.

• So now we've got Hana's cheongsam, that she can now wear to the lantern festival (for a girl who knows how to sew, and sew beautifully, Hana has remarkably few outfits of her own) it's time for us to get ready. In some glittery beaded blue number.

Is it just me or does the art team for TRR have a thing for armbands?

• So the main problem now is to reach out to, and convince, Hana's parents before they make their final statements to the press.

• Penelope and Kiara love the festival, Olivia and Madeleine don't altogether hate it. Yay?

• Kiara is the only one among the court ladies whose wishes we hear, which is a nice touch considering she's always been the one given the least attention in the books. The lantern rituals are apparently both about letting go of things that are holding you back in your life, and making wishes for the future. Kiara is letting go of her doubts and her fears for this tour, and wishing speed in her learning of Icelandic. Hakim uses his wish to speak about work, and he's not the only one. Rashad needs help with getting a deal finalized for the Sloan firm too!

• We now move to Xinghai and try to convince him, but it only leads to a realization that Hana's parents still want to secure a match for her with the two men she'd firmly stated she had no interest in. This is nothing new, but this argument of Xinghai - also something Lorelai stated earlier - is something I want to expand on:

1. I'm incredibly familiar with the first argument. I've had a largely restrictive childhood under a very traditional Indian family dynamic (your parents are close to God so obey them), and didn't have much opportunity to mingle outside my home. As I grew older my father began to get increasingly frustrated that I was "glued to your mother's dupatta" (scarf) and not independent enough. And he said this genuinely, unironically. It never occurred to either of my parents that they'd created an environment that made it hard for me to actually make my own decisions without feeling like I was doing something wrong.

Xinghai and Lorelai are right to some extent: I mean, Hana herself on certain occasions has questioned how useful her skills are in the real world, in a Cordonia that needs her to be decisive and firm. But that didn't happen in a vacuum, did it? Both of them leave out (or in fact, don't even recognize) a significant truth about Hana's lack of independence - they were, to a large extent, responsible for it. She is dependent because they brought her up that way. Because they never gave her space to work things out on her own and the one time she demanded that space, they viewed it as an insult rather than actually give her that chance. The moment you place that much pressure and those many restrictions on a child, you've lost the right to talk about her lack of independence as if it's something that is a part of her. It isn't. You put her in that position. Tbh, it irks me that Xinghai and Lorelai genuinely don't see the irony in their statements.

What Hana had was an immensely restrictive childhood, and perhaps if she didn't have the friend circle in Cordonia that she did, she would have struggled. Her kind of upbringing doesn't allow for real world skills (something Lorelai views as a negative when she says "people wouldn't have to be resilient if they stayed in their place to begin with") and she's never been allowed to view even her own personal feelings as a good thing! This goes beyond "taking responsibility for one's past and future". She's never been allowed a responsibility that doesn't involve her being forced into matches she has had zero interest in, and that seem to have higher benefits for her family than they do for her.

All in all, Hana's skills do not fully equip her for independent living, sure, but they both overlook their own role in her eventual inability to adjust if it comes to that.

2. What Xinghai says about trust going both ways. He misses the fact that she already did. She trusted them completely and did everything they told her to, often to her own detriment. The engagement to Lord Peter? That's the perfect example of this. It wasn't her fault that the match broke: she followed through with it no matter how uninterested she was in the man, to the point where when he asked her if she really loved him she couldn't open up and tell him how she really felt. Yet she was viewed as responsible for the breaking of that match - for doing everything she was expected to do - and left Shanghai viewing herself as a failure.

She's spent years trusting them, spent most of her young life perceiving their worldview as correct and wanting to do right by them! She's gone above and beyond when it comes to trusting and respecting her parents' judgement! Even at the cost of her own happiness! There is only so much any human being can take before they realize how messed up this manner of bringing a child up is.

But guess what. None of this is actually addressed properly in the book, because we never get a real insight into Hana's upbringing and the effect it has had on his with any kind of nuance.

• After Xinghai and Lorelai tell us that what they're planning for Hana is for her own good, and imply that either Neville (the man is still around, yes) or Rashad can prove to be advantageous for her and moreso for their family and business. Hana and the MC briefly agonize over this, and if the MC correctly names the firm that Rashad wants as a client (IDK what happens if she doesn't - TBH I was sleepwalking through this chapter and wasn't interested in seeing what the alternative was this time. Sorry guys) they work on convincing him to work with Xinghai in exchange for introducing him to a contact in this firm.

• The MC first gets to choose what she will let go of, then chooses what she wishes for. Once this is done, Hana's mother makes a statement in support of the MC, having spoken to Rashad and suddenly realizing that their daughter can thrive without their handholding. Emotional family reunion. Everyone is happy. Lorelai apologizes and Xinghai reveals his wish for Hana to be happy. The end.

• There you go guys. This is how it ends. That's the conclusion of Hana's entire character arc. The culmination of a journey that lasted three whole books involving Hana fighting to create an identity for herself...ends in her parents realizing she's useful on her own after all. After all this time, after so much conflict and stress and confusion...it all boils down to her parents still seeing her more as an asset than as a daughter.

Awesome message, TRR, awesome message. Now give me a moment while I vomit.

Allow me to elaborate. She is still worthy only if she facilitates Xinghai's deal with Rashad's firm, if they manage to gain an advantage even minus her alliance with a titled man. There is no real change. Not in Hana, not in her parents, not in their relationship. This conclusion is superficial and is a horrifically weak way to end Hana's overall arc.

• To sum up the rest of the chapter before I give you a broader insight into why this chapter pissed me off so much...there is an LI diamond scene and then Maxwell announces a bachelorette party in Vegas (why aren't they doing that in Cordonia? Cordonia clearly has a gambling hub and a pretty famous casino if one were to recall RoE).

• The LI diamond scenes are quite sweet - all the LIs get to speak about family and having children - and there is a lot of sweetness and tenderness in all of them from what I've seen of the screenshots. Had this chapter not ruined this book for me, I would probably appreciate it better? In any case, I might do a four-LI-breakdown-essay of this scene once I feel up to it. I'll be doing the same for the LI scenes at the Capitol, Lythikos and Valtoria. Eventually.

• The Hana-specific scenes in this book, however...I think I'll pass. We have had just three so far: Polo Playing at Portavira, Snow Angel Making at Lythikos and Hana's Cheongsam here at Valtoria. None of these scenes possess any depth or nuance, none of them say much about Hana that hasn't already been said, each of them are pale echoes of the scenes we have seen Liam and Drake getting. If you're going to give an LI three individual scenes in 15 chapters of a book, those scenes had better be excellent, detailed and nuanced in their characterization. If you're not ready to give us that...then what's the point, team TRR??? You could have either given us more scenes with tiny but substantial tidbits, or less scenes but with bigger opportunities to know her better. But something tells me that you don't care enough about this character or your LGBTQ audience enough to actually do the work.

• And this problem isn't restricted to Book 3 alone. Hana has been subject to lazy writing since Book 2. The groundwork laid for Hana in Book 1 was really good...but that's all it was: basic groundwork. No Hana stan should have to pat you in the back for laying a good foundation for that character, not when the other two established LIs had just as solid a foundation PLUS excellent buildup in subsequent books. And no Hana stan should have to thank you now for throwing only scraps their way.

• Hana's foundations in Book 1 lay in two areas: her sexuality and her complicated relationship with her family. Hers was the classic coming-out-of-the-closet story, and it was heavily implied that she was never really given the space to view herself as anything but "straight", that she'd been pressurized into pursuing men, that the experience of falling for the MC itself was immensely confusing for her (in her first confession scene, she couldn't even articulate her feelings - that was how confusing this experience was).

But her sexuality is hardly ever directly touched upon in the books beyond that (beyond a botched Facebook response from a Pixelberry employee who dubbed her as "bi if she is pursuing you and straight if she is pursuing the Prince" like WTF - and a post from one of the writers stating that the team sees her as "bisexual...but that is something she is still figuring out". However the books never really touches on this the way they did for Kaitlyn, and they really, really should have. They should have established her sexuality in no uncertain terms within canon).

However she identifies herself, Hana's struggles would still be important and valid, and she would still have major issues coming out to herself and her family. In this recent chapter, Lorelai's issues are aired as a class issue rather than on the level of sexuality, which is contradicted by the very fact that Hana was pushed to pursue men, make herself desirable to eligible men, assumed by her parents to only have an interest in men. Not only does canon tell us very little about her parents' views on her sexuality, they don't openly voice what she identifies as!

• Book 1, in fact, is the only book they seemed to have put in some effort, but as I have maintained earlier, I refuse to give them credit for that because what you give in the first book is the foundation of the character. It can only come to life if you build on that foundation in the next book, and the next. But Book 2? Lazy writing from the start. The revelation that Liam - not Madeleine - was responsible for Hana's return came from Drake's scene, not hers. In Italy when Liam and Drake had amazing character and background building scenes, Hana was stuck with scenes that were barely about her. At the beginning of the Paris chapters, she got one of the most lackluster scenes in the entire book (the fashion runway with Penelope). I suppose there must have been some backlash because they brought out two good scenes in the Paris section - the Patisserie scene and the Library scene, only to treat her later like a persona non grata in Shanghai. SHANGHAI. HANA'S OWN HOME.

• This point is incredibly important, because Shanghai was the only place that was home to an LI. The narrative at this place should have been centered around her. The stories and love legends should have been told by her. Her background should have been receiving focus like never before but it didn't. Shanghai only lasted two chapters (as opposed to Capri's 3 and Paris' 4) and neither of those chapters gave her enough focus besides the confrontation with Xinghai. The panda reserve scene revolved around Liam. The night market scene focused on the mending of Drake and Maxwell's relationship with Hana functioning as a mere mediator. Liam was the one who got to give us the lovely dragon koi legend, not Hana who actually lived in China. Hana's only diamond scene in Shanghai focused less on her and more on the trip to NY - and she didn't even appear in the first chapter in that city!! (the writers later came up with the excuse that Hana was emotionally drained after her confrontation with her parents...except that NOBODY in the story - not even the MC - gave a flying fuck about where or how she was or why she wasn't there).

• I bring up Book 2 mainly because it's important for us to understand that what the writers have been doing with Hana isn't just restricted to this book or this post hiatus period. It's been ongoing. She's been given lazy, half-baked writing for a majority of the series, and I cannot even count the "development" she got in Book 1 because those are only building blocks. If you don't develop a character beyond that, all that's really there is a hollow shell. Hana had the promise and the potential to be a truly well-developed character, and they made a shell out of her instead.

• And it's not like the TRR team is unable to write women. Case in point: Olivia Nevrakis. Olivia's character development has been consistent and well-written throughout the entire series. Not only are her background, motivations and emotional state constantly given attention, the narrative somehow ensures she gets good development even when the focus isn't on her.

For instance, Olivia takes a definite backseat in Book 2, and she's mostly relegated to either investigation work or slowly becoming part of the MC's inner circle. She doesn't have a presence in group scenes where Liam appears, and she doesn't have a single individual scene the way she did in Books 1 and 3. Still, she is given enough material to facilitate her growing relationship with the MC (if she so chooses) and the group. As Liam's alternate LI, parallels have been consistently drawn between her and the MC especially in Book 3. Her faith and belief in Liam is constantly highlighted as unwavering, and her trust in the MC takes a while but culminates eventually in Olivia sharing an important part of her family history with her first.

Olivia's growth from a wary cactus to someone who trusts you if you reach out to her enough, wouldn't have been half as convincing if she wasn't given that kind of development. But perhaps this is because Olivia - like Liam - is so involved in the larger plot of the books, whereas Hana exists mostly outside of the main plot.

• But you know WHO isn't exactly all that central to the main plot of the series but still gets great character development? DRAKE. It started slow, with Drake's first individual diamond scene coming in as late as Chapter 7 (which IMO makes sense, since they needed the MC to warm up to him first), but he was given a solid foundation in Book 1 that was built on in Book 2, and furnished with detailing in Book 3. His diamond scenes were mostly rich in character development and the book was consistent in their focus of him as well.

In Book 3, there is a marked difference between how he is written as an LI versus as a friend. While his overall arc was frustrating to some readers, it was built up pretty well and the conclusion to it (the duel) was written in such a way that it really felt like a vindication of sorts. The duel in fact had an added significance if the MC was his fiancée, because both are commoners who are being targeted by Neville for "rising above their station". There isn't a single scene of Drake's in Book 3 that doesn't explore his character in a detailed manner, or have two diametrically different scenes highlighting his LI/non-LI status.

How does the duel act as a game changer for Drake? He tells it to us himself: the duel was not just for his honour alone, but for every commoner a noble has slighted. For his family, for his sister, for his fiancée (if he is marrying the MC) or friend. It's poignant, dramatic, powerful as a culmination of Drake's journey. The conflict resolution of an arc should end with a bang, and Drake's really did.

• Hana on the other hand is a different story altogether. No matter what her relationship is with the MC in Book 3, she is mostly relegated to "best friend" status regardless. Her initial conflicts as a fiancée seemed to indicate she feared turning into her parents (Chapters 1 and 2) and it sounded really promising, but that characterization was dropped as soon as the Unity Tour kicked off. She is depicted worrying about how she will survive and contribute to Cordonia and whether her skills really equipped her for the outside world, but it is explored only in one character scene of hers, and very very superficially.

Unlike the duel scene for Drake, Hana's conflict-resolution scene this chapter falls flat and doesn't really mark much of a change. The only difference in her relationship with her parents' is that they see her as useful minus a man by her side now. Emphasis on useful. What kind of resolution is that? Does it have a great impact? Does it have any impact?

• Hana's treatment is marginally better only when you compare it to Maxwell's, who has had just one character scene so far, and who hasn't seen much significant development since the beginning of Book 3. Even though the team has mentioned that he was meant to be an LI from the beginning, the way he was written in the beginning and the way they write him now tells me otherwise.

But they don't have that excuse for Hana. Hana WAS a confirmed LI from the beginning. She WAS part of the original lineup. Which means they should have been working as hard on her as they did Liam and Drake. What excuse does the team have for not developing her properly??

• The problem here is clear: both Drake and Olivia are centered within the narratives that focus on their stories. When the focus comes to Paris in Book 2, or Lythikos in Book 3, they are front and center. Compared to that, how is Hana going to compete? At the points that the narrative should be focusing on her, she is given garbage in place of content and story. Even when the narrative is supposed to be about her relationship with her parents and her growth outside their influence, she is the least important person. She was the least important person in Shanghai, and she's now the least important person in this chapter that was supposed to showcase how far she has come from the nervous, underconfident girl we met in Book 1. It's even more infuriating when you take into account that she was meant to be the only female LI, that they

1. never planned to give people who wanted to romance a woman in TRR more than just this option, and

2. couldn't be bothered to follow through and do a decent job of the one option they had.

• I hate calling Hana a Mary Sue, because that wasn't at all what she originally was. She was indecisive, had low self esteem, didn't always enjoy the activities and skulls she was pressurized into learning. There was at least one occasion where she spoke of getting her way by failing...and now the same character is labelled a Mary Sue.

But you know what? There's a reason why she is addressed as such. A Mary Sue is a mark of lazy writing and poor characterization, used on characters that are made to appear perfect in lieu of real development. And while Hana started out a little flawed and confused and in need of guidance, she soon turned into this Ms Perfect who was talented in everything and received praises from everyone instead of an actual insight into her character.

• Hana is at a disadvantage on her own. She is the only LI among the four who was brought up elsewhere (in China), and who wasn't from familiar ground (America)/fictional places (Cordonia) for the writers. Her issues are very culture-specific, they rise out of a context. Not many people may relate to that straightaway so it is essential that her story is handled with a lot more care and nuance. She is a woman of colour who is in the closet, brought up (as is hinted) in a family that doesn't exactly view her sexuality as normal. This is how the Hana of Book 1 was written.

Then Book 2 happened, and the writers either realised they didn't know enough to write this story convincingly, or didn't care enough to do the research. I suspect it's a mix of both. Even so, they should have done some reading up, done some homework, tried to at least center this character around her own narrative. No one is asking for a thesis on society and norms in Shanghai - they're asking for some good background, some basic research, legends and stories that she must have grown up with, if that's what it takes to do justice to this character. If you're going to create a character so unfamiliar to this world and make her a love interest, you had better put in the work that story requires.

Otherwise stop. Stop branding yourself as LGBTQ friendly when most of your female LI fans have to make do with mere scraps, stop patting yourselves on the back for including women of colour in your books when you view them as nothing but tokens.

• I'm sure Liam and Drake sound more lucrative...popular...whatever...and that factors into the way they're being writen, but when the lone female LI consistently gets the short end of the stick, what do you expect? They write Hana (and many other female LIs) in such a way that they're almost set up to fail. At least a few players I have spoken to have highlighted how they went from liking Hana in Book 1 to hardly interested in her presence in Book 2. That change didn't occur out of nowhere: when the writers themselves don't write her with any amount of conviction, how do you expect the readers NOT to lose interest?

There have been a lot of improvements made in terms of readers' demands. Whether it involved the way LI scenes were written, or Liam's initial lack of romantic interactions in Book 3, or even how Kiara's PTSD was addressed. The one thing neglected every. single. time. was Hana. And I'm saying this because I've spoken and spoken and spoken about how little Hana is given and how much more she deserves, and things still haven't changed. I highly doubt they will at this point. It's too late now. Hana's arc is largely over, and her ending makes absolutely no sense when you compare it to the way her story was initially written. Had she had the kind of focus that, say, Drake has been having, we wouldn't have this rushed mess of a conclusion for her story.

• Tldr: Hana could reached her potential as a character. She could have been interesting, imperfect, inspiring. If her writers were actually bothered. But they aren't, so those of us who do love her are left wondering if we care about her more than the people who created her (yes we do). I'm tired, fam. I give up. I think I'm done with this book, and I don't think I can ever get back to loving it the way I used to.

[letterboxd]

Docs.

“I was very intrigued with this idea of the chest-burster scene.” The origins of Alien, and other Sundance 2019 documentaries.

Park City, Utah: Sundance has long had a reputation as the pre-eminent launching pad for cinematic documentaries, and that was especially true last year when a bunch of Sundance 2018 premieres went on to do extremely well at the box office. Titles such as RBG, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and Three Identical Strangers have made a significant theatrical and critical impact in 2018 (not to mention an impact on our Year in Review).

Sundance 2019 had no shortage of buzzed-about docs on offer, with the highest profile one being Dan Reed’s Leaving Neverland, about the long-term sexual abuse two men claim they suffered as children at the hands of pop star Michael Jackson.

Although it only screened once, it was unquestionably the most talked-about film of the festival, and by all accounts an extremely harrowing watch. HBO will air the film in early March. (Letterboxd member David Ehrlich’s in-depth review is worth a read.)

Other documentary titles that garnered buzz at this year’s Sundance Film Festival include The Great Hack, covering the Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal, Alex Gibney’s The Inventor: Out for Blood In Silicon Valley, about controversial blood-testing start-up Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, and Where’s My Roy Cohn?, a look at the life of the infamous New York lawyer best known these days for mentoring a youthful Donald Trump.

There were three other documentaries making waves at Sundance that Letterboxd had the chance to see. Read on for details.

A young Harvey Weinstein in Ursula Macfarlane’s ‘Untouchable’.

Untouchable After Leaving Neverland, this was the title that generated the most discussion around Park City. Ursula Macfarlane’s film examines the sexual misconduct charges surrounding disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein via gut-wrenching, first-hand testimony from some of his accusers.

It also chronicles Weinstein’s rise to power in the movie business, and his long tradition of wielding power and access to control the way media reported about him. Following the screening, Macfarlane acknowledged that the story being told in her film isn’t finished yet, with Weinstein yet to stand trial.

“We had to make a decision,” she explained. “Because you could carry on filming this story for God knows how long it’s gonna take until there’s some kind of conclusion. But we wanted to make our film evergreen in a way. So we did make a decision quite early on that we would begin with the arrest and we would end with the arrest. It almost became a kind of mythological, epic story.”

“It remains to be seen, of course, as to whether the legal system itself is capable of prosecuting someone like Harvey Weinstein,” added producer Simon Chinn. “Our hope is, through watching [Untouchable] you’ll get a clearer understanding of the nature of abuse in this industry and why the legal system is insufficient in dealing with it, perhaps. But equally, hopefully, you will understand how plausible the women who are accusing him are. For me, the film shows irrefutably that these women are to be believed. Let’s be clear about that.”

‘Untouchable’ on the red carpet, from left: producer Simon Chinn, director Ursula Macfarlane, actor Rosanna Arquette, and producers Poppy Dixon and Jonathan Chinn.

One of Weinstein’s accusers, actor Rosanna Arquette, appears in the movie and was present at the screening.

“A lot of women are not in this [film] because they were too afraid to speak,” said Arquette after the screening. “And I’ve heard from all of ’em, pretty much, during this process. Today. Everybody’s triggered. I’m here for all of them. I stand in solidarity for them, representing them. Just by telling your story, you help another person tell their story, so it’s a chain reaction across the world. So for that, we all very blessed to be a part of that because it’s helping people heal, slowly but surely.”

The Amazing Johnathan is the subject of Ben Berman’s untitled documentary.

Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary The Amazing Johnathan is a successful Las Vegas-based magician/comedian with a slightly sadistic edge to his act—his most famous gag involves appearing to slice a knife into his own arm.

Before watching, we weren’t sure that this would be the most inspired topic for a documentary, but the film was not at all what we were expecting. This is one of those documentaries that eventually becomes more about its own making than the ostensible subject matter.

Not that The Amazing Johnathan isn’t worthy of a doc—he’s a plenty interesting guy in a unique situation and the film gets a lot of value out of examining him. But the film has more to say about the nature of documentary filmmaking itself, as director Ben Berman becomes more and more central to proceedings.

There are secrets revealed throughout the film that might make you question its veracity. We won’t spill them here, but following the screening, Berman stood up to attest to its truthfulness.

“It’s absolutely real shit that happened,” he swore. “The biggest theme of the movie is trying to determine what’s truth versus what’s illusion, right? So to have that experience continue into you guys watching it is very exciting.”

The film’s comedic sensibility betrays Berman’s previous involvement in oddball comedy shows like Eagleheart, Lady Dynamite and various Tim and Eric projects.

The Amazing Johnathan himself was also present, and an audience member asked him about his current relationship with Berman, considering that it gets pretty strained in the film. “I don’t know what our relationship’s like,” he replied. “It was only towards the very end that I hated him. He definitely made up for it, what a genius ending.”

A sketch of the notorious chest-burster scene from ‘Alien’.

Memory: The Origins of Alien Screening as part of the festival’s genre-leaning Midnight section, this documentary about Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic Alien is the latest work from film nerd extraordinaire Alexandre O. Philippe, the Swiss director behind such documentaries as 78/52 (2017), which was entirely about the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, and The People vs. George Lucas (2010), which examined Star Wars fan discontent.

Philippe’s latest film is a deep scholarly dive into the cultural forces that lead to Alien’s creation. He factors in Greek and Egyptian mythology, underground comic books, sci-fi B-movies and the art of Francis Bacon.

“For Alien to become an A-movie in 1979, it doesn’t make sense,” Philippe said following the screening. “This is not a time when people were ready for it. And what becomes really interesting is this idea of, when a movie becomes that successful, at a time when the environment is not quite ready for it, what does it mean? It means, in a way, that there were certain images and certain ideas, and that we as a collective unconscious, and I truly believe this, that we summoned this film, we collectively put it on the screen.”

Philippe’s film champions the contributions of screenwriter Dan O’Bannon, who is often overlooked in favor of Scott and HR Giger, the Swiss artist behind the film’s iconic creature design. O’Bannon’s first attempt at the screenplay that would eventually become Alien was named ‘Memory’, hence the documentary’s title.

From left: Alexandre O. Philippe, Ridley Scott, HR Giger, Dan O’Bannon.

“To me, this film really is about the triptych of O’Bannon, Giger and Scott, and the symbiosis between those three people. It’s essentially an essay about those three extraordinary people meeting.”

The film was originally just going to be about the film’s most notorious scene before Philippe expanded his scope: “I was very intrigued with this idea of the chest-burster scene and, especially after 78/52, of making another film about another scene that had an impact on us as a culture. It seemed like a natural fit. But we did an early sizzle [reel], and it didn’t feel right.”

The resulting documentary is strong argument for the value of a film that does nothing but critically examine another film.

“What I really hope is that this film will make people look at Alien and consider it in a different light and maybe wanna go and dig deeper into it. Great movies, you can go over and over and over again and you will never ever get to the bottom, you will always see something new.”

Hulu has acquired ‘The Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary’. ‘Untouchable’ and ‘Memory: The Origins of Alien’ have yet to announce distribution deals. Reporting by West Coast editor Dominic Corry.

[therealestatesparkblog]

7 Types of Tenants That Are Harder to Insure (& What You Can Do About It)

Insurance is all about mitigating risk. Im hoping to make some of the concepts around insurance less intimidating in my first series of articles about insurance for real estate investors here on the BiggerPockets platform. If you have feedback for this articleor insurance information youd love to see explained in plain Englishplease let me know about it in the comments! Anyway, back to the subject at hand. The big box companies especially will run screaming from the seven types of tenants described below. Read on to learn more about the seven types of tenants that are most difficult to adequately insure and how to handle these situations, whether you decide to attempt to screen out these types of tenants or proceed with the deal knowing you have these tenants in your rental home. Whatever you choose, I have practical advice and tips for you. Lets dive in. 7 Kinds of Tenants That Major Insurance Carriers Dont Usually Cover These are the types of tenants that consider riskier from the insurance companys point of view. We have also included some insurance solutions you can employ if you have these types of tenants, or plan to invest in a property that will house such tenants or operate as the types of business discussed below. 1. Section 8/Rental Assistance Tenants Only a handful of carriers in the country will insure Section 8 tenants. Of the thousands of companies nationwide, that isnt very many. If you or your property manager start taking in Section 8 tenants, you must make your insurance company aware of this situation. Failure to do so is misrepresentation. The best thing you can do if you must have Section 8 tenants is speak to agents of the companies offering this specialty coverage. Tenants receiving rental assistance from a variety of other programs may be treated the same as Section 8 tenants by insurance carriers. Underwriting guidelines will determine whether a carrier will treat tenants receiving subsidized housing differently. Some may insure if these tenants constitute less than 15% of the occupants of a multi-unit building. 2. Individuals Operating an In-Home Day Care State law will outline when someone is considered to be operating a daycare. The lines can get blurry for those who care for other peoples children for any reason. Babysitting one or two kids several times weekly is generally OK. But state and local laws outline how many children can be watched and for how long before someone is considered to be running a business. A tenant may come forward and state that they are operating a licensed daycare in compliance with relevant law. If youre a landlord with tenants running a day care without your permission, even if it as unlicensed, talk to the tenant first. We have some tips on how to do so below. You can check them out under Heading #7 (Assisted Living), which gives an example of how you can have this conversation with your tenant without causing yourself more problems.

3. College Students There are different levels of coverage for types of housing. Lets take a look at the basics. If theres more interest in this topic, Im happy to write more in the future about the levels of student housing and what investors can do to keep their premiums and other insurance costs as low as possible. Student Rentals Underwriters look to see how close your property is to a university campus, whether the property owner is marketing explicitly to college students, or whether all of the leasing dates fall along the same timeframe as school years. Those items are dead giveaways that a property may be student housing. Student rentals have higher costs than normal market rentals, but are a lower level of coverage than, say, our next category. And again, dont think you can get sneaky on this issue: If youre busted marketing to college students (remember, the insurance folks can see everything your prospective tenants can!), expect to pay the price for this deceit. If you genuinely just own property in one of these areas but arent marketing directly to students, you may be able to get a normal market rental (i.e. cheaper) rate for your policy. Sorority and Fraternity Houses Fraternity and sorority houses especially may be treated differently from an insurance perspective. In fact, they are an entirely separate specialty class. Many carriers who allow student rentals will still exclude these types of houses. This isnt that crazy, considering the type of debauchery going on in these homes daily. Between unrestrained binge drinking, tons of people in and out of the home, and the inevitable property damage (which can usually be blamed on aforementioned binge drinking), you cant really fault the insurance company for charging more. Liability costs for injuries, even those that are clearly the tenants drunken fault, can be massive. Plus, there are plenty of other scandalous lawsuits waiting to happen that dont bear repeating in polite company. Again, if you must invest in a property involving a sorority or fraternity house because your heart compels you to or you have some compelling financial reason, be sure to consider the actual cost of what the specialty insurance will be. Graduate Students These students are considered more responsible and may be accepted with the same type of coverage you would use for a normal market rental. Because graduate students may or may not require a specialized policy, you will have to check with your carrier to know for sure. Market rent apartments that simply allow students to live there are another gray area. If the property is not explicitly student housing but still has student renters, most policies will treat this situation as a typical market rental. 4. Individuals Running Assisted Living Businesses If you or your tenant are running an assisted living business, keep in mind that facilities for adults may require specialized coverage. Some of the factors that will influence the cost of this coverage include: Types of individuals living in the home. The elderly may be treated differently from individuals with physical or mental disabilities.Hours of operation and degree of care. Round-the-clock care facilities may be costlier to insure than daylight or night-time only facilities. The same goes for high levels of care versus lower levels of care.Licensing status. There are four types of assisted living licenses. Knowing which kind the business operating on your property needs is essential for insuring the property properly. The types of assisted licensing include a Standard License, Extended Congregate Care License, Limited Nursing Service, and Limited Mental Health. Ensure the facility has the proper licensing. If your tenant is the one running the business, ask him or her about licensing. If your tenant is running the assisted living business, you can have him or her pay for the cost of insurance coverage. This will offset your costs, and if the tenant is likely to remain for the long-haul, may be a great way to guarantee the continued passive income we are all after. 5. Owners of Restricted Breeds of Dogs Most major insurance carriers have dog restrictions. How strict or lax they will be depends on your provider. Always check this information prior to permitting pets on the property. If you dont know where to look, ask your agent. Were here to help you! Keep in mind that even service animals may be restricted, completely legally. You may choose to have a tenant with a dog even if your insurance company has restrictions. However, check what those restrictions are to know if the animal will be covered. If their breed isnt restricted, well, doggo-party on! If you choose to have tenants with dogs that are in fact restricted, you may. But if that dog bites somebody, your insurance carrier most likely wont be covering any claims. Some plaintiffs may even go to the effort to sue you civilly. 6. Short-Term Tenants Week-to-week rentals are more difficult to ensure than most. Insurance carriers that do home and auto have made adjustments to cover insurance for vacation rentals. This is a fairly recent change that reflects the fact that these markets are more established. Related: Which Types of Insurance Coverage Should I Have on My First Rental Property? There are two major companies that specialize in properties purchased explicitly for Airbnb or other vacation rental formats. This option may be preferable for an investor who purchases a property that will be a vacation rental most of the time. 7. Transitional Living and Halfway Houses Carriers view the types of tenants in these homes as very risky, which theyre largely not even incorrect about. However, there are many types of transitional living homes: housing for those who have experienced domestic violence, individuals with credit or financial constraints who are working towards more permanent housing, and the growing sober living home and addiction recovery support industry. The point is, transitional living helps a variety of people in neednot just felons and rapists. Is this a bias problem? Maybe. A tightly controlled sober living home that is run-well can actually be the cleanest house on the block. Reputable facilities routinely drug test clients and conduct breathalyzer tests on clients returning from weekend outings or at random. So while the reality may be that a recovery home is the only house full of 20-somethings on the block that isnt partying on the weekends, drug use carries unfair stigma but also a degree of risk that insurance companies justifiably may not wish to take on. Halfway house tenants tend to have poor credit and often criminal backgrounds that make other types of housing unfeasible. These types of homes are ultimately very good for society. Some business models are more lucrative than others, but be sure to include the actual cost of your insurance quote for greater accuracy while you examine your deals. Fortunately, many of the pointers for the assisted living category can also be applied here. Talk to your tenant about their situation, whatever it is. Lets imagine for the sake of simplicity you have a tenant, Betty, with many children, who routinely babysits her friends children as well. It comes to your attention that Betty may be meeting your states definition of running a daycare. Speaking to Betty about this situation is a great first step. She may not know she is breaking the law or may be able to provide documentation that the children seen on the property are actually family members. She may be willing to stop her operation once she knows her housing is on the line. If she continues to break the law or implies she might, ask her to stop. Make it clear what shes standing to lose. You may be able to come up with a different arrangement where Betty assists with handling the policy coverage change/extra expense, particularly if shes running her business by-the-book and not under-the-table. If you encounter a situation like this and are unsure of what to do, chat with a friendly real estate attorney. Weve got tons of great attorneys here on BiggerPockets who are all too happy to share their thoughts, but ideally youll want to retain your own for matters such as entity formation and asset protection. Consults with great attorneys are often cheaper than youd think. Less experienced attorneys may offer free consults, but your time will be very limited. If you have an hour or two worth of questions, write them down and get connected with a legal professional with experience dealing with real estate investors.

How Notto Deal With Difficult-to-Insure Tenants We investors are always looking for workarounds when we encounter obstacles. While creative problem-solving is no doubt a great skill to develop, there are two common mistakes people make once they have selected the types of tenants described above but dont wish to pay the price. Mistake #1: Lie About the situation to the insurance company. Not mentioning it is a bad approachthats considered misrepresentation. If you dont say you have any Section 8 tenants, for instance, but you do and you know about it, the insurance carrier can deny your claim. You may be in a better situation if, say, youve owned a property for 10 years and chose to price it affordably. Originally, you had no Section 8 tenants, but your property manager has since allowed some on the lease. You may be able to negotiate in that situation, but if you knew or should have known about the tenants, lying is the worst thing you can do regarding any claim. Related: Landlords: These Are the 4 Types of Insurance You May Need Mistake #2: Deny applications in a discriminatory manner. This is where it is handy to have a legal professional to bounce your concerns off of. This doesnt apply to all of the categories above. However, those affecting vulnerable populations usually do. Here are some things you cant do on your application if you want to avoid discrimination accusations that lead to litigation nightmares another BiggerPockets poster has written about here in the past. Check out that article if you really want to know all of the gory detailsand how dark it can get. Stating in the application that you wont take specific kinds of people. This is begging for a lawsuit. You can state you wont tolerate a behavior, but never a person for who they are. So you can say that you wont permit drug use on your property, but you do not want to say, I wont rent to drug addicts or people with a history of drug addiction. Why not? Because addicted and alcoholic tenants are a protected class under the Fair Housing Act. Its not worth the headache of even a nuisance lawsuit. Educating yourself on the Fair Housing Acts protected classes can help you determine what is legally considered discrimination.Asking irrelevant or unfair questions that imply discrimination. Asking questions about a persons sexuality is a good example of this. Some landlords have prejudices or personal biases and try to head these off with specific questions. If those questions overlap with protected classes, youre leaving yourself vulnerable to a situation that may very well land you in court regardless of which insurance policy you use. The reality is, you can choose whomever you want to live in your property. There are other ways to vet for behaviors that make individuals risky to rent to. Follow the tips below to avoid discriminationor more accurately, the threat of a brutal discrimination lawsuit. Not all protected classes are obvious, which is why I recommend getting to know more about them. For example, you also cant deny someone for their family status. Family status may include factors like number of children, blended or unconventional families, older family members choosing to live together, and other situations which you may not like, but cannot use as grounds for denying on an application. If you know you dont want to take a certain type of tenant on, look at what about that tenant sketches you out. Is this a person who is likely to have a poor rental history or poor credit? Its perfectly legal to deny an application on those grounds. Behaviors and non-protected classes may be items to address in your lease agreement. For example, individuals who smoke are not protected, nor are individuals with dogs. A restricted breed owner cant sue you for discrimination if you clearly state No pets are allowed on the property in your lease. However you choose to handle this issue, ensure youre on the right side of the law and screening all applicants the same way. You can even use one of those handy-dandy lawyers I mentioned above to develop a fair and legal screening process that you can use for each and every tenant. How to Handle Higher-Risk Tenants and Select the Right Policy Fortunately, there are insurance solutions for all of these types of tenants. If you are a landlord, you may decide to avoid these types of tenants altogether when selecting a tenant for your property, provided you arent discriminating. But if your heart or pocketbook compels you to take some of these higher-risk tenants on, Ive got good news. All of them can be insured. The question for you will become whether doing so is worth the cost. This question will require you to know the exact cost, but also take other factors into consideration. If the tenants are running businesses, perhaps they will assume the cost of the policy. The more you know about the situation is crucial, and yet another reason to always communicate directly with tenants. Speaking of the power of knowledge, keep in mind that you should Select Appropriate Insurance Options and Know Their Costs Before Investing Specialty insurance can be 150%-300% higher than a traditional landlord policy. If you are getting involved in a real estate deal that includes these types of tenants, that is something to consider ahead of time. You may find yourself a great deal involving these types of tenants, but later find that once youve applied actual insurance costs, it isnt such a great deal. The cost of insuring the property should be figured accurately in any pro forma so you know what youll really be spending. Most of us know the value of having a buffer in our pro formas. Ideally, you should have botha buffer for unexpected costs and an accurate, up-to-date figure for your projected insurance costs. One Final Important Tip Get an actual quote in hand before making offers on properties that involve these types of tenants. Dont go with a verbal or over-the-phone agreement. You want the actual piece of people to determine the cost of insuring your real estate business. It is best to give your agent one to two weeks of lead time to research the best options for your quote. Whether you choose to dodge these tenants altogether or proceed with a promising business that involves these types of tenants, I wish you the best of luck. Im always available to answer questions for the BiggerPockets community. While I post frequently in the forums, I look forward to hearing back from some of you hear!

So please feel free to ask questions, add your comments and thoughts, or otherwise continue the conversation in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading my first BiggerPockets piece and I look forward to hearing from you all soon! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/7-types-tenants-harder-insure-it/

[edc-creations-blog]

The deepest, darkest secrets of Reverend Curtis Black are revealed at last!

Curtis Black is no stranger to scandal. Throughout the decades, he as done much in the public eye, both good and evil. But what most people don’t realize is that Curtis has been hiding an abusive childhood that has affected him in horrifying ways.

Sadly, when his estranged sister becomes alarmingly ill, his buried past returns without warning, and his youngest daughter, twelve-year-old Curtina, becomes the kind of problem child he never thought she could be…and this is only the beginning.

Worse, all the public scandals they’ve experienced over the years now seem like mere child’s play compared to the turmoil they are facing in private. And who could have known that their deepest wounds would come from within?

    Chapter 4:  Better Late Than Never by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Curtis was a nervous wreck. He and Charlotte had just parked in his sister’s driveway, gotten out of his SUV, and walked up to the beautiful brick home. Charlotte grabbed Curtis’s hand, squeezing it tighter than usual, and Curtis rang the doorbell. During the drive there, he’d said a number of silent prayers, trying to calm his thinking and uneasiness, but now his heart beat faster and faster, and he took a couple of deep breaths, trying to regain his composure. Charlotte looked up at him. “Everything is going to be fine. You did the right thing by coming here.”

Curtis continued holding Charlotte’s hand, still attempting to calm his nerves, and finally his brother-in-law, Jason, opened the door. He smiled. “I’m so glad you made it. Please come in.” Curtis hugged Jason, as did Charlotte, but then he saw a young man in his mid-twenties walking toward them. He knew it was his nephew, Eric.

“It’s good to see you, Uncle Curtis.”

“It’s good to see you, too, son.” Curtis hadn’t known how either of Trina’s children was going to react when they saw him—especially when they’d known for years that their mom had wanted nothing to do with Curtis—but here Eric had even called him uncle. Curtis looked at Jason. “So, does she still not know about me coming?”

“This morning I told her that she was going to have a surprise visitor this afternoon, but that was it.”

“Well, I just hope that seeing me doesn’t upset her too much. Because we all know how she feels.”

“I know,” Jason said, “but things are different now. And she’s different…because of what she’s going through.” Curtis nodded, and then he, Charlotte, and Eric followed Jason down a long, shiny wooden corridor and around a corner. They stopped in front of a door that Jason lightly knocked on and eased open. A beautiful lady in her early thirties stood up from a recliner, and just as Curtis had known right away who Eric was, he knew this was his niece, Amber. She was the spitting image of her mother, and Curtis had to stop himself from crying.

“Is she awake, sweetie?” Jason asked his daughter, and then he looked over at his wife, lying in the king-size bed, propped against two pillows.

Amber walked closer to where all of them were standing. “She is.”

“How are you?” Curtis asked her.

“I’m okay, Uncle Curtis,” she said, with sad eyes and hugging him. “I’m so glad you came.”

“Me too,” he said, and once Amber hugged Charlotte, Curtis moved closer to the side of the bed and saw Trina watching him. Her skin was a bit pale, dark circles outlined her eyes, and although her hair appeared soft and curly, it wasn’t longer than half an inch. Curtis guessed that as a result of her chemo treatments, she had likely cut it. Because from the time she’d been a child, she’d had gorgeous thick, wavy hair.

Curtis half smiled at his sister, still not knowing what to expect. “I hope you don’t mind our coming to see you.”

To his surprise, Trina smiled back. “I don’t, and it’s good to see you, Curtis. I mean really, really good to see you.”

Curtis had never felt more relieved about anything than he did currently. He’d been so prepared for his sister to turn away and ask him to leave, yet she’d done just the opposite. Curtis leaned down and hugged her, and she held him as well. Then she and Charlotte embraced.

“Thank you for coming, Charlotte,” Trina told her. “I really appreciate it.”

Charlotte smiled. “Of course.”

Curtis wasn’t sure what to say next, and apparently no one else did, either, because the room fell silent. But finally, Jason spoke. “Why don’t you both have a seat? And can we get either of you something to drink?”

“No, I’m fine, but thank you,” Curtis said.

“I’ll take some iced tea, if you have it,” Charlotte added.

Amber smiled. “Well, hopefully my baby brother hasn’t drunk all of it. Because that’s what he usually does.”

“Whatever, girl,” Eric said, laughing. “You just made a huge pitcher of it this morning, so who could drink all of that, anyway?”

“You,” she said, and everyone laughed.

“Well, for your information, there’s plenty left.”

Amber playfully punched her brother on his shoulder and then looked at Charlotte. “I’ll pour you a glass now.”

“Why don’t I come with you?” Charlotte said, already following Amber. “That way Curtis and Trina can spend some time together.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Jason added, and he and Eric followed the two women out of the room. Curtis continued standing, just wanting to look at his sister. She stared back at him, but since neither of them seemed to know what to say, Curtis asked her a question. “Do you mind if I pray for you?”

“No, not at all.”

Curtis held Trina’s left hand with his right one. “Dear Heavenly Father, I come before you right now, first thanking You for another day, and most of all, thanking You for allowing me the opportunity to reunite with my sister. Thank You for answering my prayers. Then, Lord, I now ask that You would please remove all pain and discomfort that my sister is experiencing and that You would heal her body completely. Lord, please make her whole again. Please allow her illness to only serve as a test that will ultimately become her great testimony. And if there is anything that we can do here on earth to help her, Lord, please speak to our hearts, our minds, and our souls. Please give us the wisdom we need, along with total direction. Because while we know that the prognosis Trina has been given doesn’t look good to us as human beings, we also know that only You have the final say. So, Lord, I am asking You to heal Your child. I am asking You to perform one of Your awesome miracles on my dear, sweet sister. Lord, we ask this and all other blessings in Your Son Jesus’s name. Amen. Amen. Amen.”

“Amen,” Trina said, opening her tear-filled eyes and holding her brother’s hand a bit more securely than before. “Thank you for praying for me, and…” Her voice trailed off, as she took a deep breath and swallowed tears. “Well…I just want you to know just how sorry I am. How truly sorry I am for everything.”

Curtis was confused. “Sorry for what? You haven’t done anything, and I’m the one who will be sorry from now on.”

Trina gently slid her hand away from Curtis and patted the side of her bed. “Please sit.” Curtis did what she’d told him.

“It’s time for me to forgive you, and it’s time you forgave yourself,” she said. “And the reason I’m sorry is because I didn’t forgive you before now. But it was just that I was so hurt. When you left for college and never called or came back home, it hurt me to my core. It felt like you had died.”

“I know, and if I could turn back all those years, I would. If I could talk to that same eighteen-year-old boy and tell him what a huge mistake he was making, I would.”

“I loved you and looked up to you, Curtis, and I needed my big brother. But while I won’t ever fully understand how you were able to walk away so easily, I have thought about your motives. I’ve had these last few months to rethink things and to try to see them through your eyes versus mine. And you know what?”

“What?”

“I didn’t like what I saw. I mean, Thomas Black was the cruelest, most uncaring man I’ve ever known, and he made life miserable for all of us. But what I’ve now come to realize is that our father’s evilness must have been a whole lot worse for you than it was for me. Verbal abuse and spankings are one thing, but violent physical abuse is something different…and sadly, Curtis, I know you were the victim of all three things.”

Curtis stared at his sister for a few seconds, and then they chatted for a while longer until she began drifting off to sleep. But sadly, he was still replaying everything Trina had said about their father. Words that had taken him back to a very dark place he didn’t want to remember.

# # #

Thomas stormed into his son’s tiny bedroom, drunk as always. “Didn’t…I…tell you…to take that garbage out of here? Didn’t I?”

Curtis dropped his Bible onto the floor, the one his aunt Samantha had given him earlier this year for his thirteenth birthday. “I…am…I had to finish my homework. I’ll do it now, Dad.”

“You’ll do it now, Dad,” his father said, mocking him, balling up his fist and striking Curtis across his face. Curtis fell to the floor but quickly scurried across it on his hands and knees to the closest corner he could find. “Dad, I’m sorry. I’ll do it right now.”

Thomas staggered closer to where his son was cowering in fear, and Curtis took cover with both his hands. But it didn’t help. “I hate the day you were born,” Thomas said, kicking Curtis in the stomach, seemingly with all his might, over and over, and Curtis winced and cried out.

“You’re the reason I never got to move to California, and I’ll always hate you for that,” he yelled, swinging his leg back as far as he could and kicking Curtis again. “And I don’t know what you’re readin’ that Bible for. Your crazy mama started you doin’ that mess when you were a small boy. Don’t you know there ain’t no God?” he exclaimed, kicking him again. And again. And again. He kicked Curtis so many times, his body went numb. But as Curtis lay there, crying uncontrollably, not a single person came to see about him. Not his mom or his sister. His father had always been a stern, angry, uncompassionate man who had spanked Curtis and Trina just a little too hard when they were small children and then whipped them with belts and tree switches when they’d gotten a little older.

But now that Curtis had turned thirteen, something was different. His father’s abuse had escalated and turned for the worse, and for some reason, he only inflicted this new level of abuse on Curtis. He still yelled at his timid and seemingly terrified wife as though she were less than a dog on the street, he ruled over her like she was a five-year-old child, and he spent all his money on women and liquor—leaving Curtis’s mom to fend for their children all on her own. But Thomas never put his hands on her. He also never did much more than grab Trina by her collar, push her from time to time, or call her awful names. Curtis didn’t understood that, although, the more he thought about it, it, he had heard his father say to his mom, many times, “You’d better be glad I don’t believe in hitting women. I never have. Otherwise, you’d be a dead woman.”

Curtis’s father had always hated him, Trina, and their mom, but now he acted as though Curtis was his sole enemy. Still, no matter how much his father beat him and put him down verbally, he wouldn’t let his father win. He also didn’t care what his father said about there being no God, because Curtis knew God was real. He didn’t understand why the God he kept reading about wasn’t protecting him from his father, but at some point, He would—and Curtis wouldn’t stop believing and trusting in Him. Not when God was all he had. Not when no one else seemed to care about him, one way or the other.

Curtis lay on the floor, crying all over again, and then heard his father leave the house and slam the front door behind him. Curtis was glad he was gone, but more than anything, he wished he would never come back. He wished his father would just die—and claim the special place in hell that Satan had waiting for him.

# # #

Curtis looked at his sister and realized how soaking wet his face was. So he wiped it with both hands. Trina was still asleep, but he was just happy to sit there alone with her in silence. He didn’t like that his visiting her was stirring up old wounds, but he was glad to be there nonetheless. And he would come back to see her again tomorrow. He would do so as often as he could, because she was now his priority.

( Continued… )

    Purchase Better Late Than Never by Kimberla Lawson Roby Available: Kindle, Nook, audiobook, print and hardcover Genre: Women’s Fiction / African American / Christian

https://www.amazon.com/Better-Late-Never-Curtis-Black/dp/1455569763 https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kimberla-lawson-roby/better-late-than-never/9781455569755/ https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/better-late-than-never-kimberla-lawson-roby/1127172046

  About the Author Kimberla Lawson Roby is the New York Times bestselling author of the highly acclaimed Reverend Curtis Black Series. She lives with her husband in Rockford, Illinois.

Email: kim@kimroby.com Website: http://www.kimroby.com Twitter.com/KimberlaLRoby Facebook.com/kimberlalawsonroby Instagram.com/kimberlalawsonroby Periscope.com/kimberlalawsonroby

Chapter 4:  Better Late Than Never by Kimberla Lawson Roby The deepest, darkest secrets of Reverend Curtis Black are revealed at last! Curtis Black is no stranger to scandal.

[cryptobully-blog]

Planning For The Crypto Price Recovery | Hacked.com

http://cryptobully.com/planning-for-the-crypto-price-recovery-hacked-com/

Planning For The Crypto Price Recovery | Hacked.com

Bitcoin fell below $8,000 this week. There have been many articles saying that we will be stuck in a “purgatory” following the bear market, as compared with previous bitcoin cycles. I usually don’t agree with technical people, but they could also be right from a fundamental perspective. New buyers aren’t going to be joining when the SEC is trying to arrest people for trying to start a business. The purgatory could be us waiting on the sidelines until the rules are set. We need the American public.

Eight percent of Americans are invested in cryptocurrency, and 4% will be “joining eventually,” according to recent data. Seventeen percent American Millennials own cryptocurrency. That is absolutely nothing. The main reasoning behind why the other 83% don’t own it is because it is “too complicated”. I know people who have put large sums into the cryptocurrency market and don’t understand what distributed ledgers have to do with bitcoin. Lack of knowledge is a very silly problem to have, especially when the benefits are so apparent.

Coins can provide the security that credit cards can’t. In 2016, there were over 15 million identity thefts related to credit cards in America alone. That is one in 16 people who were affected. All of us know that these credit card numbers are constantly being bought and sold on the dark web. There is nothing for these people to take hold of if everyone is transacting with coins. You have private wallet addresses, sure. But you can’t pay for something in a private wallet address. I have said before, paying for something in Litecoin was a very pleasant experience. They gave me a QR code, I snapped it with my smartphone, and the transaction was done. No expiration dates or CVC codes being inputted into websites/swiped over and over again.

American Regulations

As it stands, the true way in America to offer a coin is through a regulation D offering. Regulation D offerings cannot be listed on crypto exchanges, and accredited investors must only exchange it with other accredited investors. The Regulation D offering legal fees range in the 6 Figures (priced in USD). This is called a barrier to entry. Millennials have not had access to high paying jobs yet, as only 16% have saved more than $100,000 in some capacity. They aren’t going to blow it all on an ICO regulation fee.

This is what led me to see how drastically different other countries were handling blockchain technology and its use cases. My first stop in Singapore was refreshing! They were actively trying to encourage blockchain in their financial services sector through federal incentive programs (ITMs). With a population of roughly 5 million, they have the ability to adapt to change very quickly. Their prime minister is close to holding a weekly talk show on the subject. In my opinion, this country would be very hard to beat in terms of favorable conditions for cryptocurrency investors and investments.

My next stop is Switzerland. The country that many have considered a haven for all things banking and discretion, Switzerland has been the trusted holder of valuable things for hundreds of years. Their history in global banking is what makes them such an interesting choice for an ICO. As a politically neutral country, they have the ability to connect many financial pieces that other countries are too emotional to do. Cryptocurrency seems to be flourishing within Switzerland, giving rise to the first Crypto Valley.

Background

The first modern Swiss banks were established in 1741 to manage the wealth of Swiss mercenaries (fought for foreign armies for pay) and merchants. Some of the banks are still recognizable on hedge fund DDQs – Lombard Odier (1796) and Pictet Group (1805).

Today, the banking industry accounts for 11.6% of GDP, and employs over 100,000 people both domestically and abroad. It is estimated in 2016 the Swiss banking sector managed over $6 trillion dollars in a variety of different account types and instruments. In 2007, that figure was $2.7 trillion – a record in those days. Countries around the world rely on Switzerland so much, they decided to make it all of their hubs. The Bank of International Settlements acts as the conduit between all member central banks. It was founded and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.

The country’s formal relationship with cryptocurrency began in 2013 and has since evolved into a set of ICO rules that were provided to us 2/2018 by FINMA, the regulatory watchdog of Switzerland. Blockchain has shown to be of great interest to the country, as there are plenty of things that I am sure they would like to enhance about their banking and transaction processes with an AUM of over $6 trillion.

Legal Rules

Banking Law of 1934

The law that made everyone love Switzerland was passed in 1934. These laws made it a criminal act to reveal the name of a bank account holder. The bank accounts are numbered, and they reserve the right never to reveal the identity of an account holder to tax authorities or foreign regulators. Also conveniently in Swiss law is the difference between tax evasion versus tax fraud. To put it simply, they believed the former was tolerable.

This law was challenged in 2007 after whistle blower Bradley Birkenfeld outlined just how large Switzerland’s underground economy was becoming. His report showed the UBS was actively soliciting tax evasion strategies to American clients, even going as far as bringing encrypted computers into the country.

The aftermath caused Switzerland to make the unprecedented decision to provide documentation via UBS of thousands of tax evaders from the United States. Over time, the G20 countries led the charge to demand treaties to be signed with Switzerland to cooperate with tax regulators, and to abolish the differences between tax evasion and fraud. The United States eventually left the final blow for themselves, in which they forced a new Swiss law in 2014 to make bankers work with tax authorities according to Foreign Account Compliance Act.

The regulatory body that was born out of debate was the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In their Mission Statement they encourage “soft laws,” but treaties may be necessary. Clearly, that was the case for the Swiss. Now the focus has shifted to the new place for foreigners to take their money and hide it: Singapore. That will be wishful thinking, as Singapore’s response to the global community was to enhance security measures to protect client identities, not limit it. Overall, the global game of hide and seek continues.

Regulators

FINMA

This is eerily similar to MAS in Singapore. Enacted in 2007, FINMA merged all financial regulation under one roof to provide a unified front for the entire industry within the country. Because UBS and Credit Suisse are so vital to the country’s economy, they have dedicated teams working with each company to ensure there is an open dialogue between the government to resolve issues immediately. The trend with these crypto-friendly countries is they have one single regulatory body.

An example of their nimble structure was in the UBS tax evasion scandal. FIMMA was entrusted by the Swiss government to be the intermediary between UBS and the US Government. They dictated the terms of providing names of US citizen tax evaders. FINMA was eventually halted by a Swiss administrative court from releasing all names, but this tale is for future reference on just how much power they have within the country to dictate outcomes.

The U.S. has more than five regulatory bodies, all of which need funding and a seat at the table. With such a rapid development like cryptocurrency, I am always looking at how many agencies have power over it. The FBI shut down Mt. Gox, the SEC has handed out subpoenas to ICOs and Hedge Funds, and the IRS has gone after Coinbase. I could keep going. Each one needs their head on a stick to bring back for the meeting on budgets for the next year. Those heads on a stick are presented to people who have been running campaigns on bank money since the start of their careers, clearly this system isn’t going to produce innovative financial infrastructures before countries like Singapore and Switzerland. 

VQF

The SRO who seems to be taking the lead on cryptocurrency within the country. They were established in 1998 in Zug to oversee and educate anti-money laundering practices within the country. Read the following for more:

“In addition, since 2009 the VQF has also exercised the function of an Industry Organisation for Asset Managers (BOVV) with professional rules of conduct officially recognised by FINMA. As such, the VQF contributes towards protecting and strengthening the interests of financial intermediaries and their investors, as well as the interests of Switzerland as a financial centre.”

Their role changed in 2009, now gaining the ability to oversee and regulate financial intermediaries and their investors. The laws were almost designed for blockchain and ICO regulation. According to FINMA rules, you must either be under their direct supervision, or an SRO’s. This SRO seems to be very crypto-friendly. Their main concern is Anti Money Laundering, and other than that they are not designed to intervene.

Government Timeline

2013

Spring/Fall

Niklas Nikolajsen founded Bitcoin Suisse AG, a bank, wealth manager, and service provider for the cryptocurrency community within the country. Based out of Zug, Switzerland, Bitcoin Suisse is the first company regulated under VQF. This was an unprecedented decision by the SRO to allow digital asset banking to be conducted in the country, especially when you take into account the immaturity of the market at the time. Bitcoin Suisse also had a network of ATMs that were within Zurich, but remained offline until full government approval (ATMs were approved by FINMA).

Winter

The government of Switzerland considered adding bitcoin to its list of foreign currencies allowed to be transacted within the country. This would ensure Bitcoin Suisse’s perpetual existence within the country, along with giving the government powers to regulate it as such.

2014

June

In response to the postulates (requests for information) from parliament, the Swiss Federal Council stated that virtual currencies are “not in a legal vacuum” and their regulation was not needed at this time. To me, this was an even better answer than what the pro-bitcoin people were hoping for. The government was going to allow this all to pan out before definitions and labels

2015

Franz Gruter, a Swiss Parliament official, filed multiple motions to change the definition of a bank to make it easier for cryptocurrency companies to do business. His main point of contact was Xapo (Wallet provider) CEO Wences Cesares, who was working with regulators on moving his business to the country. For half of 2015, Gruter kept his motions live. This was in annoyance of the government, who repeatedly told him they were not interested in making such large changes.

In June, Cesares and Gruter were approached by FINMA personnel who told them that they would soon be releasing regulations that were designed to open up the barriers to entry for blockchain company operations. Gruter rescinded his motions.

FINMA did not disappoint. They began to offer “fin-tech licenses” to businesses, with capital requirements of $300,000 to remain within compliance. The rules of Fin-tech licenses? Here is FINMA’s response:

“Leaving institutions free to implement the requirements in a way that takes account of their differing business models and of the particular risks associated with them.”

Couldn’t get more free and open than that, can you?

2016

The local government in Zug, Switzerland proved to be the first city that wanted in on the revenue that blockchain companies were beginning to produce. In an effort to appeal to the nature of a “de-centralized” utopia, they began to accept up to 200 CHF in Bitcoin to pay for government services. There were only 10-15 transactions within the year, but this was the marketing piece that Zug needed early on to attract talent.

CODE is Born

Centrally Organized Distributed Entity, or CODE, was created by a consortium of blockchain professionals now living in Switzerland. The focus was to try to create a legally complaint ICO framework that FINMA/VQF would approve as a legal way to operate. The Ethereum Foundation, Consensys Project, and Zug law firm MME were the co-authors. By the end of 2016, there were 12 projects using the CODE framework to operate their blockchain companies in Switzerland.

2017

Crypto Valley Assocation

The same folks who created CODE wanted to formalize it. This consortium of cryptocurrency and blockchain professionals were getting country-wide support from FINMA, VQF, the Swiss Government, and the many different entrepreneurs now working within their framework. The result was the Crypto Valley Association. Their website describes the launch in the following terms:

“In January 2017 the Crypto Valley Association was established as a professional organization to coordinate, accelerate, and scale the further development of Crypto Valley into the world’s best ecosystem for crypto technologies and businesses. The founding members included Bitcoin Suisse, Bussmann Advisory, iprotus, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Luxoft, Monetas, and Thomson Reuters.”

The Swiss incumbents were able to create something very quickly that the government accepted. This association would be the conduit between the blockchain community and government officials that were trying to regulate them. This does NOT exist in any other country, especially in this type of format. The Swiss listen to their citizens. They want to help.

Personal Taxes

The government clarified once again that they would be joining Spain in saying that Bitcoin is not subject to VAT. The opinion of accountants in December 2017 is that all cryptocurrencies would not be subject to capital gains, but they would also not be able to report losses as well. The government still deemed it to be a reportable asset on tax bills each year. American taxation is still supposed to be charged at full capital gains rates.

2018

January

With more than 500 individual and corporate partners apart of CVA, it was time to upgrade CODE ICO Procedures into something more formal. In January 2018, CVA produced the updated code of conduct for all Swiss cryptocurrency and blockchain companies. Although not explicitly said, this was approved FINMA, who has been working with CVA exclusively on regulation. The following quote from the Crypto Valley Association provides more:

“The Code calls on all organizations running an ICO to be fully transparent about all details pertaining to the process. Importantly, these details should be disclosed in a manner that can be easily understood even by those that are not technologically sophisticated. This includes being clear about how funds raised are intended to be used and how the token will function, as well as providing a clear risk assessment for the underlying technology.”

This is the widely accepted definition of a utility token. They want to make sure KYC and AML procedures are bank-level quality, but they are widely accepting global crowdfunding. If this code of conduct remains, it will be one of the most liberal interpretations of digital currency, especially with no capital gains taxes in the secondary market!

February/March

When any country like the U.S. begins to crack down on cryptocurrency, it prompts all of the other countries to re-evaluate their positions. One Swiss Finance Minister even said “I am just waiting for Washington to call Bern and ask what the hell we are doing in Zug.” The CVA has remained strong, and the government has not tried to disrupt the framework that they are building alongside regulators.

In February, FINMA came out with their own ICO guidance for companies that were interested in starting in the country. Still having an autonomous feel, the agency defined three different tokens, which are as follows:

Payment tokens are synonymous with cryptocurrencies and have no further functions or links to other development projects. Tokens may in some cases only develop the necessary functionality and become accepted as a means of payment over a period of time.

Utility tokens are tokens which are intended to provide digital access to an application or service.

Asset tokens represent assets such as participations in real physical underlyings, companies, or earnings streams, or an entitlement to dividends or interest payments. In terms of their economic function, the tokens are analogous to equities, bonds or derivatives.

In true Swiss fashion, FINMA let the door open just like its difference between “Tax Fraud” and “Tax Evasion.” They wanted utility tokens to still have a chance to be offered, but also needed to differentiate between coins that were blatantly either tied to hard assets or only for means of payment.

Conclusion

Swiss regulators have been doing cryptocurrency related work for years now. Each industry within the country has FINMA as its parent, but also has the freedom to work under direct guidance of an SRO that wants them to make money. VQF AND CVA are the two main contributors to policy in the country, and I can only hope that remains. These people aren’t trying to create a decentralized world filled with Monero and money laundering. They are just trying to conduct their businesses to serve the needs of a gigantic population struggling to find a home.

The differences between Switzerland and Singapore are surprisingly pretty large. MAS is not of the same level of intimacy as VQF. The SRO is literally located in Zug, and their indirect job is to keep the crypto guys happy. I like the level of care Swiss authorities have put into not only their regulation, but their dialogue. The 20 year-old genius from Russia, Vitalik Buterin, was immediately welcomed into the country via the Ethereum Foundation, and given an opportunity to give his opinion on how token offerings ought to be conducted. That type of outreach is not common, especially during blockchain infancy in 2014.

If I had to choose between the two, I would choose Singapore if I was not living there, and Switzerland if I was. Singapore just recently upgraded their account holder secrecy laws, and their ICO structure is purposely free-wheeling. They only care about AML and KYC. It seems as if Switzerland is being forced to regulate incrementally more, as their relationship with the United States is a crucial one.

On the other side of the coin (no pun intended), Switzerland’s infrastructure is designed to be resilient, and the amount of support you would get in a community like Zug is like nothing Singapore can offer right now. This isn’t just a meet-up group at a high end hotel; CVA is a quasi-regulatory body headed by the same people who started the blockchain commerce boom. It is an awfully good group to be close to during your design and implementation process.

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell cryptocurrency. Market looks like crap right now anyway. Please be safe, and always be on the lookout for government announcements. These are what is really affecting the market right now, and it is best to be prepared. Best of luck- @raijincrypto.

Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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