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evakuality · 3 years

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Mia, episode five

1. One thing Druck is super good at is these aesthetic shots. This whole opening bit reminds me of the scene with Amira when she’s praying in her room. Lots of beautiful shots of the room, curtains and stuff, which are just super pretty with a few hints of colour. I dunno, this is just an aesthetic I like and I appreciate that Druck caters to me. Mia is so cute, too! Like both the way she looks and also how kind she is. She still doesn’t really like Alex a lot (though you could see in that montage from the previous night that she’s warming up to him) but she still feels like she should leave things looking nice. These little post-it notes are sort of cute too, and you can see that she thinks they’re sweet. I don’t like this Bjorn though.

2. Interesting that we get a clip specifically one week later. I have no idea how that must have felt while this was live, and I’m really glad that I didn’t have to live through these long gaps in any of the things I did watch in real time. This one was reasonably low key though, so maybe the wait wasn’t as agonising. If you didn’t know who Bjorn is (I’m assuming the Niko character) then nothing in the last couple of clips would have felt all that alarming. But Mia’s so flirty here - that one conversation at his house must have really charmed her. Pity we didn’t really get to hear a lot of it because he still hasn’t charmed me!! And actually that ‘show a montage of how things are going while a song and/or other conversation plays overtop’ is a huge thing Druck does, I think. I feel like in some cases (Matteo and David after their first pool kiss moment, for example, or Hanna and Jonas breaking up) work quite well. But here, I think we needed to hear more of Alex to actually believe that Mia would be this flirty with him. For me, this is too big a turnaround from her very cold manner with him at the piano and an actual proper look at that conversation might have helped. But also, I am super biased because William and so maybe a more reasonable person might like it okay. This bit with Linn is weird. Genuinely creepy, and I’m not sure why they’re setting her up to feel like this. Maybe some sort of hint of the creepiness to come with Bjorn (I’m assuming it’s coming, anyway).

3. I don’t get this bit with all the pictures at the school. I assume it will become obvious later but I’m not sure what exactly they were trying to do with this. You’d think they run the risk of having the whole Abi chaker clan thing shut down - if this happened in my school there’d be so much trouble. A groups of kids once put post-its all over one teacher’s room and they got in SO much trouble for it, and that wasn’t obscene like this is. This thing here seems so targeted at the Abi thing, using their plan specifically, that it feels like someone outside the group wants them not to be allowed to run their theme. Or someone in the group who wants a different motto maybe. I don’t know, but it feels very mean and very specifically directed at this group of people.

4. Hmmm, I’m with Leonie on this one. I’d be giving Carlos the super evil stare too. It may be ‘funny’ to some of these people, but given that there are younger kids at this school (I assume, right? They still have classes running for the smaller ones at the end of Matteo’s season, allowing their prank to go ahead) this is sure to go down really badly with the school itself. I’m rolling my eyes at the ones who are outraged that the school is considering reporting it - what did they expect? Also, surely they can figure out who was doing it - people were literally throwing handfuls of the pictures over the stairs. Surely they could work out who it is. It’s pretty clear that Alex still thinks this is funny and I’m losing patience with him. Every time it seems like maybe he’s getting less gross he goes and acts like this again. Bleh. I’m not often rooting for Leonie and feeling for her, but wow today I really am. This is shitty and she has a right to be angry.

5. Ew, Alex, why are you stalking Mia again? She’s made it pretty clear she’s not happy with you. Turning up out of the blue like a creep isn’t a good way to go about winning her over again. His ‘we were drunk, what can you do?’ is so... stupid??? They’ve lost money from this, the school is really angry, they could easily have some pretty bad consequences and he’s all ‘meh, it was a drunken prank’? I know money isn’t an issue for him, but there are issues here beyond the money. I’m also kind of annoyed that everyone keeps suggesting she’s upset because she’s jealous. I’ll be really annoyed if the show carries on this way - this isn’t just a silly little prank, and people have every right to be angry and annoyed. Diminishing it to jealousy isn’t cool. Is Leonie also jealous? The people who are angry and upset they’re being blamed and their money has been taken?

6. I do love scenes where the whole girl squad is together. They make me happy and I miss seeing them together so much. But OMG, Alex is blackmailing Mia again???? I mean I guess it worked the first time so why wouldn’t he? But this is seriously shitty behaviour. Honestly, in clip one I was mildly starting to warm to him with the post-its and all, but he’s managed to speed run right back into ‘asshole’ category. This was the problem in the og as well - William was such an asshole, that in order to make him likeable, we had to see a much more genuinely villainous character. Alex is still super dislikeable and so we need someone ‘worse’ to make him look palatable, which I assume is coming. We’re halfway through - we should like him by now. I dunno. Maybe some people do? But he still has done nothing to make me think he’s nice or someone who Mia might be attracted to.

7. Oh a long Friday clip? Almost half the episode? I guess it’s going to be a rough one for Mia then. More reflections again - her whole face in the mirror now, but it’s surrounded by graffiti. I’m always fascinated by the way mirrors and reflections work, and it’s fun to see Mia slightly obscured in her mirrors even now. It’s not as disjointed as it was at the start but it’s not a fully clear reflection either. I may not like the way Noora/Mia’s story goes but I do like some of these things which show the progress.

8. I feel kind of sorry for Jonas, because that break up wasn’t his choice. But seriously, he seems to be blaming this on Hanna a bit and like ????? He chose to make her feel small and unworthy through her whole season. She’s allowed to try to figure herself out outside of him and his wants and needs. Eh, I know he’s hurting and all, but that’s actually his issue and he shouldn’t be pushing it on her.

9. This scene with Mia and Alex bothers me. He still seems to have no idea why she might find his actions (selfish and self-serving and filled with blackmail) offputting. ‘I fixed it, so we should totally be together now’ is such an immature and childish take on this. These types of guys need to grow up and learn that they can’t just buy and/or coerce their way into whatever they want. I like the way they decide to have Kiki walk past just as Mia has to choose whether to say she doesn’t want Alex or not. It adds a poignancy to it and Mia obviously chooses to stick by her friends. I do wish it felt more conflicting, like if Alex genuinely had changed or had shown he has depth or something it would be a bigger ‘wow she’s rejecting him for her friend’ but instead he’s still such an unpleasant character that I don’t care.

10. I’m not sure why Mia does the brushing off of the makeup - I feel like it made more sense when Noora did it (I mean I watched it once a very long time ago so who knows, but my memory is that it was her way of trying to reject being ‘pretty’ and having guys liking her because it was messing her up). With Mia, I don’t understand. Someone help me out?

11. I still don’t get what Mia sees in Alex. Again, I know I have a really big bias against him because of William and I know it was always going to be tough for him to be someone I care about. But even so, this feels like a huge whiplash when she says of course she likes him. I’d get it if we’d seen any of his development, but every time he took a mini step forward he shoved himself right back into dislikeable territory. Once again, I mourn the actual conversation between Mia and Alex. This all feels far too fast, and the fact that this is suggesting his blackmail is all good is very worrying. All the post-it notes in the world can’t make me think he’s nice enough to want to kiss.

Overall, I didn’t really like this one. I feel like the pacing is still off; I don’t believe the speed at which Mia has fallen for him and honestly it hasn’t been very long since Kiki was with Alex and had her heart broken. The fact that Mia even saw her and told him she doesn’t like him only to turn around immediately and change her mind is strange to me. Mia has always come across as a caring person who tries to do the right thing and help out her friends. That she has apparently no qualms at this point is difficult for me. They’re acting the hell out of this, but I can’t buy it. Unfortunately. Sadly, because this is based on a very flawed original, I don’t think it’s going to make me enjoy these two. There are things that I’m interested in seeing as we go forward but most of those have zero to do with Alex.

#druck #mia - episode 5 #didn't like this one #update on feelings about Alex - still don't like him #honestly I don't see why Mia goes after him #none of this makes sense to me

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where-theres-smoak-2 · 3 years

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S&B Book Review From A Show Viewer.

I did it, I got the Shadow and Bone book yesterday and I’ve just finished it. I have to say the ending left me both shocked and flabbergasted and not necessarily in a good way but I will get into why soon. I don’t want people to think that I thought the book was bad because its not, I thought it was ok, I mean its not my favourite fantasy novel but I still enjoyed parts of it. I think the best way I can describe my feelings about it is you know when a film comes out that’s based on a novel they always say watch the film before you read the books or the film will disappoint you, well I feel like its the other way round with the books, I just think the show is better than the book, and by watching the show first I was a little disappointed with the book and I do think if I had read the book first I would have enjoyed it more if that makes sense. But like I said there were parts of the book that I enjoyed there were even some things that I think were handled better in the book than in the show. But overall in my opinion I do think that the show is better. So in this review/ comparison I am going to talk first about the parts that I wasn’t so keen on then the parts I liked as I like to end on a good note. Also let it be known I have only read the first book and obviously there are spoilers for both the first book and the show. The rest is under the cut.

Dislikes.

1) The Characters.

So when I got half way through the book there was something about it that just didn't feel right to me and I couldn’t, at first, put my finger on what it was. For some reason I just wasn’t enjoying the book as much as I thought I would. Then it hit me, I didn’t really like any of the characters. In the show I loved or at least liked pretty much every character. For example Marie and Nadia, although they were only side characters who didn’t get much screen time, I liked them, they seemed like such sweethearts. But in the books Alina describes them as being two faced, how they are all sweet to Zoya to her face but then are mean behind her back and Alina wonders if they are the same with her and she doesn’t really seem to trust them. Whereas in the show like I said they seemed genuinely sweet and it seemed like Alina really was friends with them. Another example is Dubrov and Mikhael. They are only really in like a paragraph or two of the book and they aren’t nice at all. In the show they were lovable goofs, their friendship with Mal is soo wholesome and we see Alina meet them for the first time. However in the books Alina already knows them and they refer to her as ‘sticks’ which she hates and she also thinks about how Mikhael had once ‘pawed at her’ whilst drunk. The reason why I think their show counterparts are better (other than they just seem to be nicer human beings) is because I liked them I was sad when they died. I was upset when Marie died. I cried when Mikhael and Dubrov died, because I cared about their characters. Whereas in the books to be honest I really couldn’t have cared less when I learnt that they had died.

Even the main characters didn’t do much for me. It’s not that I didn't like them I just didn't love them the same way I did in the show. I can understand now why so many people dislike book Mal. He is barely in the first book, in the beginning its not that he’s a bad person but its obvious that Alina feels ignored by him and he’s a little oblivious to her, its the classic taking a friend for granted until you lose them and then realise how much they meant to you situation. I think the fact that we don’t see any of what Mal is up to whilst they are separated doesn’t do any favours for the character in the book. When he does show up he is cold and actually kind of mean to Alina. I do believe that alot of this is because he is traumatised by witnessing the deaths of his friends but I will get into that more later. As for Alina and the Darkling again I didn’t dislike them I think out of all the characters they were the most interesting but I didn’t feel that same connection with them that I did in the show. Basically there wasn’t a single character where I had that I love this character moment, I was just kind of meh about them all.

2) Alina’s Age and Agency.

Another thing that the show did better in my opinion was aging Alina up and giving her more agency. In the book she is only 17 and I think you can tell that. She is much more timid and dare I say whiny in the book. I mean she comes across as a teenage girl which is what she is so it’s not the books fault she was written as she was supposed to be. But after seeing her show counterpart who wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself and defended Mal the book Alina seemed like a different character, one that I felt like I just didn’t know and one that I didn’t love as much as the show version. I mean in the show Alina shows these moments of defiance. Like when she is first brought to the General’s tent and he asks ‘well’ and she replies ‘well what’ before remembering who she is talking to and adding ‘sir’. Again when the Queen in making the comments about her being Shu and asks her maid to say good morning to her. And so Alina tells the queen she doesn’t actually speak Shu before again remembering who she is talking to and adding ‘your highness’. When Mal is being bullied at the orphanage and she threatened the bully with I think it was a letter opener. She has this kind of snarky, sassiness about her that I didn’t really get in the books. Also I feel like Alina had alot more agency in the show. Like burning the maps to get on the skiff. It was a terrible idea no doubt, but it was her doing something to get herself on the skiff so she could help her friend. In the books their unit is ordered to cross the fold from the beginning, Alina has nothing to do with her being on the skiff. Also with her relationship with The Darkling, Alina is mostly nervous around him and he is the one that initiates all their kisses. Whereas in the show Alina is the one to kiss him first. I do feel like in the book Alina is more kind of pushed and pulled around by the plot or by other characters and doesn’t really do much for herself. Like another example is when Baghra reveals that The Darkling is the Black Heretic in the book she has this whole plan for Alina’s escape which is for her to go to Os Kervo and board a ship where her passage has already been paid for and in the book Alina just goes with it, whereas in the show we see her decide not to take Baghra’s instructions and escapes herself, her own way, again it might not have been the best choice seeing as she puts herself right into The Crows hands but it is her choice. Even the decision to go after the Stag isn’t hers in the books. It’s Mal’s. There was one decision that Alina did make for herself and it was one part of the book that I think I hated the most which I will get into later.

I do like that she is older in the show as I feel like I personally can relate more to her as an adult as oppose to a teenager. Its also fresher because there are so many of these young adult fantasy adaptions where the heroines are 16-18 years old and that nice but you are still a young adult in your early twenties and so I think its a nice change to see a slightly older heroine if that makes sense.

3) The Darkling’s name and Novokribirsk.

Well I know this one is not going to make me popular with the book fans but I really didn’t like that no one knew the Darkling’s name or rather that he didn’t have a name really. I know his name reveal is a big deal to book fans and that was one thing they didn’t like about the show and maybe if I had read the book first I would have agreed. But I personally, having learnt his name in the show, found it difficult seeing everyone refer to him as The Darkling because in the show it is only really used by his enemies and always in a derogatory way and as a slur, everyone else just calls him The Black General or General Kirigan. I also think the fact that he does have a name in the show makes him a little more human. The other difference between the show and the book is Novokribirsk. In the show although I didn’t necessarily agree with him expanding the Fold into Novokribirsk I understood his reasons behind it, his motivations. But the West Ravkan rebels plot doesn’t exist in the book and so I just couldn’t understand why he was killing his own people, why he was killing Ravkans. If he had expanded the Fold into Fjerda or Shu Han I would have understood but Novokribirsk made no sense. I am sure I am wrong about this but I kind of felt like Bardugo was trying to be shocking and trying to show look he’s a villain but it just didn’t line up with the rest of his character. Like he is power hungry yes but he also cares about the Grisha and the Ravkans and so him turning on the people of his own country with no motivation at all didn’t make sense to me. Instead of feeling shocked I just felt kind of confused by his actions.

4) The Reveal That Genya Is A Spy.

This is another one where I feel like if I had read the books first it wouldn’t have bugged me so much. But one of the more powerfully emotional scenes for me in the show was that conversation between Genya and Alina in episode 7 where Alina realises that Genya was Kirigan’s spy. It is heartbreaking to see these two friends fall apart like this and you can see both of their sides. You can understand why Alina feels betrayed but you can also understand why Genya did it. But in the book the scene just isn’t that emotional. Alina realises that Genya is a spy but whilst we see her thoughts and her processing it she doesn’t confront Genya about it. Instead Genya tells Alina that David feels terrible about putting the collar on her and that he feels like he has destroyed all of Ravka. As Genya leaves Alina calls after her asking her to tell David she forgives him and then she silently, in her head, forgives Genya too. I just was disappointed in this scene when I read it. I do think this is just another thing that was handled better in the show.

5) Mal and Alina’s Sudden Romance.

Ok I’m not hating on Mal and Alina here I actually think (well more in the show than the book) that their relationship is cute, I don’t hate the relationship its just that I prefer Darklina. But in the book I was actually really shocked when they kissed. For me I feel like it was a little jarring and I would have preferred if their kiss had come in the second book. I think the problem is it just felt like there was no development. I mean we had Alina spending the majority of the book lamenting about how Mal doesn’t like her back and only sees her as a friend. We barely see Mal in the book at all and then all of a sudden they don’t just kiss but are confessing their undying love for each other and I was just left with my head in a bit of spin at how fast that change came. But hey maybe it was just me. I do think part of the problem is that we only get Alina’s pov so that makes it come as more of a surprise. But they went from just friends to intense burning love in 0.1 seconds flat and for me it was just too much of a rush. I just wish it had been built up a bit slower as I felt like they got to the whole I love you’s a bit too quick. Even if they had their first kiss at the very end of the book and then continued to build the relationship in book 2 and have the love confessions then I think it would have been a bit more believable to me.

6) Shaming Alina.

Ok so there were a couple of times where I felt like other characters were shaming Alina for having feelings for The Darkling and for falling for his manipulation. Of course I could be misinterpreting this but I didn’t like the connotations behind these lines. The first was when Baghra is organising for Alina to escape and Baghra tells her she’ll organise for a servant to be placed at Alina’s door who will claim she is ill so that Alina has more time to get away. When Alina tells her the servant would have to be placed this evening as The Darkling may come to her room and Baghra replies with ‘foolish girl’. Obviously this makes Alina feel ashamed and even more foolish for falling for The Darkling’s manipulation. Here’s the thing I don’t mind Alina feeling foolish I think that’s realistic, I think any of us would feel like a fool if we were in the same situation. What I don’t like is the author having other character’s call her foolish for being manipulated by someone. I just don’t think its the healthiest of lessons to teach to young girls that if you are unfortunate enough to be manipulated by a a man than girl are you a fool. I don’t necessarily think it was the author’s intention to present it that way but I do think that is a message that a young girl could take away from this, I mean if I can interrupt it this way than others could too.

I felt a similar way with Mal’s line when he says ‘I love you, Alina, even the part of you that loved him.’ Look I’m sure that this line was suppose to be romantic and show acceptance. But it bothered me, it really really bothered me. It bothered me because once again it is suggesting that Alina should be ashamed that she had feelings for the Darkling, it presents Mal as being this oh so righteous person because look at him he loves her even though she once loved The Darkling. It suggests that its harder for him to love her because she loved the darkling and like she has to be forgiven for it or as if she has been tainted by it. It wasn’t Alina’s fault that she developed feelings for The Darkling or that she was manipulated by him. And Mal isn’t a better person for loving her even though she loved The Darkling, he shouldn’t get extra brownie points for loving all of her unconditionally.

7) Alina Is A Murderer!!!

Ok so this is the part of the book that shocked the hell out of me but also left me utterly confused and I hated it, I really hated it. I’m also kind of baffled as to how I’ve not seen anyone talking about this. I mean maybe I am over-reacting but I have only just finished the book so it is still pretty fresh. But there is a huge difference between the ending of the first book and the ending of the series and that is what happens in The Fold. So first off Mal doesn’t sneak on to the skiff he is there because the Darkling is planning to execute him as a traitor by feeding him to the Volcra. The other thing is there are alot more people on the skiff, you’ve got the ambassadors from Fjerda and Shu Han, you’ve got Kerch Merchants, you’ve got an envoy for the King, you’ve got a ton of Grisha and their are also a ton of soldiers, all on this skiff. The darkling also never has Ivan kill the ambassadors they don’t try to fight back against him after he expands the Fold. What does happen is this, The Darkling throws Mal overboard and this is what triggers Alina being able to free herself and her power from The Darkling’s control. She then abandons ship and jumps off the skiff to Mal and leaves everyone who is onboard to die. Which in itself is bad enough but that's not all she does. She doesn’t just leave them without her light to protect them she uses the cut to destroy the skiff, she damages the mast and also cuts the skiff in half essentially stranding them there without any way of escaping. She does this knowing that they will all die.

I know what some of you will say. How can you be mad about Alina doing this when the Darkling has killed people and you still like him. Well first off because The Darkling is the anti hero in the show whose motivations I understood and well I’ve already said I wasn’t a huge fan of his actions with Novokribirsk in the books. Also with him being the antagonist I know he’s going to do things that are morally grey or downright dark. I don’t however expect it from my hero of the story. Also I wouldn’t have cared as much if Alina had a valid reason for doing it. Like she was sacrificing these people to safe a larger number of people or something like that where she was in some kind of moral conundrum where sacrificing the people on the skiff was for the greater good, if it was for example a situation like Clarke from the 100 and the Mountain Men, what she did was terrible and definitely morally grey but she did it to save her people and that’s what made it interesting to see her struggle with the guilt of it, to be horrified at what she had done but understand that it was a difficult decision for her that needed to be made for her peoples survival. Or even if it were a similar situation to Katniss and Finnick in Mockingjay where she knew she couldn’t save him so had to make the choice to sacrifice him to stop the mutts from coming after the rest of them. But that’s not what was happening here with Alina, she does it to save Mal. And look I get it. Mal is her childhood friend, and Mal is the person she loves, Mal is her home. But Mal is also one person and she probably could have found a way to save him without sacrificing everyone else to do it you know like she does in the show. It’s not even just the leaving them behind bit that gets to me but I just don’t think it was necessary for her to break the ship. It was one thing to take her light from them and use it to protect only her and Mal, but at least if she had left the skiff unscathed they would have had a chance to survive.

I mean maybe I am just have too much of a rigid idea of what a hero is suppose to be or gotten too used to heroines being a certain way but the difference between the hero and the villain is that whilst the villain does everything for themselves and is usually very selfish the hero is supposed to be selfless. They are suppose to think of the greater good and put that above all else, they make personal sacrifices and that doesn’t necessarily mean not protecting their loved ones but it also doesn’t mean leaving innocent people to die just so that you can save one person, regardless of how important that person is to you.

I mean I feel like we are being told that Alina is this saviour and that she is the hero but then the character isn’t acting like the hero. I mean she doesn’t seem to care about anybody but Mal and yet she is still very judgemental of the Darkling even though he is trying to save his people albeit in completely the wrong way.

I mean one thing I will say is that she does recognise that what she has done makes her like The Darkling. She also does have guilt about it and nightmares but I found it hard to have sympathy for her because I just didn’t think it was necessary for her to do it.

I don’t know maybe I’ll feel differently about it in a few days after I’ve processed it more but at the moment I feel strangely betrayed by the book like they’ve taken one of my favourite characters and ruined her. Which I know is silly because the books came first but I just can’t help but think my show Alina would never. She saved Mal and everyone on the skiff.

Grey Area

Ok so this section is an odd one, so this is things that I’m not sure how I feel about them I liked some bits but also didn’t like some bits.

1) Alina’s POV

So the book is told entirely from Alina’s pov and to be honest I am of two minds as to whether that's a good thing or a bad. I mean most YA fantasy novels are told from the heroine’s pov like The Hunger Games or Divergent. So this is something that can work, but in the case of Shadow and Bone I feel like having it solely from Alina’s pov was at the detriment of the other characters. I feel like because Alina doesn’t like alot of the other characters or has negative thoughts about alot of the other characters the reader also doesn’t like them. On the flip side of this it does very much put you in Alina’s shoes so it helps you better understand that isolation she feels and that not really trusting people, doubting them. You can understand her struggle to connect with people and how she always wonders if they really do like her or if they have an ulterior motive. There is this one part earlier on in the book where she talks about how people, in particular girls, would befriend her but it was only because she was friends with Mal and they were interested in him, so they used her to get close to him. I think this really does explain why she struggles to trust people when she gets to the Little Palace as she automatically assumes that if they are trying to be friends with her its because they want something from her. Because you can see her thoughts you also get a really good idea of how insecure she feels and how much she wants to be accepted. Like there are several parts where its obvious that she wants to please The Darkling, or she wants to impress Baghra or Botkin. She worries about how the other summoners will react if they find out she is struggling with her powers. There is one scene I loved where Alina is finally able to summon on her own and she just rushes outside to the lake where all the other summoners are to show off her powers because she is just so excited. All of this where its exploring Alina’s thoughts and feelings is great and well written but I think the problem of having it from her pov is although you get a good idea of Alina and how she feels, first impressions are also important and we get all of our first impressions of the other characters through Alina. However Alina doesn’t really like anybody, so when she talks about how mean Dubrov and Mikhael are and how they call her names and ignore her, or when she talks about Mal not really seeing her and taking her for granted, or when she thinks about how two faced Marie and Nadia are, how grumpy Ivan is, how intimidating and mysterious The Darkling is, and so on, these impressions of the character stick with the reader and so I think it is then hard for the reader to change their view on these characters, if that makes sense. So in some ways the first person narrative is great but in others I think it is a little bit of a problem.

2) Mal’s Reaction To Alina And The Darkling/ Their Reunion.

Ok so this might be a controversial one but I’m kind of split on which of Mal’s reactions I prefer. I know that seems crazy considering how mean he is to Alina in the books when they see each other again for the first time since she is discovered to be Grisha, but hear me out. On the one side I liked how non judgemental show Mal was when Alina admits that she had feelings for Aleksander. I liked that he said she didn’t owe him an explanation because its true she doesn’t, just like he doesn’t owe her an explanation for any relationships he’s had. So in that sense I think the show did it better.

In the books their reunion doesn’t go so well. Mal shows up at the Little Palace having found the Stag and unlike in the show he does speak with Alina. But its a very negative interaction where he gets angry about her wearing black and talks about how the Darkling is all over her and just in general makes her feel bad about this new life she has found as a Grisha. Obviously I didn’t enjoy this scene but there was one element of this whole reunion that I did like and that is Mal’s trauma. In the show they don’t really address the trauma Mal experiences at seeing his friends die beyond a small conversation with Alina where he tells her what happened to them. But in the book during this scene and then later when they are travelling to find the Stag together Alina notes a few times that he sometimes gets a look in his eyes or that he seems different. There is a notable change in him due to what has happened to him and I feel like this gives some depth to the character. Yes he acts like a dick to Alina but its because of his trauma.

Likes

Ok on to the good stuff, things that I loved from the books.

1) Grisha Powers And Amplifiers.

So I’ll be honest the books do a better job of explaining the Grisha abilities and the amplifiers than the show does. So in the show they do have that line about the small science feeds us and merzost feeds on us. Well in the book this is better explained and you find out that a Grisha gets stronger and healthier the more they use their powers. Whilst in the show Alina tricks the testers by cutting her hand, in the book she actually supresses her powers. As a result this makes her ill, she always has circles under her eyes and she has no appetite so she is really skinny. I really like this idea that instead of draining them like most fantasy powers do in other series it actually makes them stronger. I thought it was a very interesting concept. It also explains why Baghra looks to have aged despite being immortal like The Darkling. In the book when Alina asks The Darkling what powers Baghra has he replies that it had been so long since she had used them that no one knew. So it seems like the reason why Baghra has aged is because she isn’t summoning.

The other thing that we get more information about in the books is the use of amplifiers. Morozova’s creatures aren’t the only amplifiers other Grisha do have them for example Ivan has a bear claw and Marie has a seal amplifier. I think Zoya also has an amplifier. We also find out that a Grisha usually can only have one amplifier.

2) Ivan’s Backstory

Ok this is probably a small thing but I really wish they had kept Ivan’s backstory in the show. He lost family to the Fjerdans, if I remember rightly I think it was his father, brother and uncle. Though correct me if I am wrong on that. But this has obviously had an impact on him and he says they died fighting the King’s wars. It just really goes a long way to explain why Ivan is so loyal to The Darkling. Its because he believes the Darkling will end all wars and seeing as Ivan has lost a large portion of his family to war it makes sense that he would stand by the Darkling.

3) Alina’s Time At The Little Palace.

So another thing the books did better than the show was showing the time and training that Alina goes through. In the show it only seems like Alina is at the Little Palace for a few weeks but she is actually there for at least five months if not more. You also see her struggle with her powers and combat training more and you see her starting to get better at both. In the show by the end of episode 4 she can summon on her own and she has that break through but it takes alot longer in the books. But yeah I would have loved to see more of her training.

4) Baghra and The Darkling.

So this isn’t really something the book does better but it was a scene that I really liked and that was where Alina arrives to her lesson with Baghra and The Darkling is there and she is surprised that Baghra is arguing with him. Whilst we do get the interaction between Baghra and Aleksander in the show which I did really like, Alina herself never sees the two interact and I think it would have been interesting if she had. I just wish in general that we had gotten more interactions between the mother and son. The other thing I liked was during the scene where Baghra is helping Alina escape Alina question why Baghra would be betraying her son. One thing I did wonder when watching the show was if Baghra knew all this information about Aleksander and how he wanted to expand the fold and if she really did believe he was power hungry, why did she stay by his side. Well the book does give an answer to this and she says she loves her son that’s why she is trying to stop him because she doesn’t want him to cross a line he can’t come back from. I do feel like this adds more depth and complexity to their relationship which I am always glad for. I can’t wait to learn more of their backstory.

5) Alina’s Mirrored Gloves.

In the books the gloves David makes for Alina are used alot more. They are also described as being mirrored whereas in the tv show they looked more like gold chainmail. Also she gets them sooner in the books. But they’re really cool and she uses them to like distract or blind her opponent during hand to hand combat. Also I really like the scene when they are introduced because its basically Genya giving Alina a tour and they go to the Fabrikator workshop and when Genya introduces David he’s working on the gloves and he just goes these are for you. It’s awkward but also funny.

6) Genya and David.

You get so much more of their relationship in the books. Well by so much more I mean Genya does talk to Alina about David. As a result we get one of my favourite interactions in the book where they are having a girly talk and Alina tries to reassure Genya that David will come around and that he’s just shy, then Genya says ‘“Maybe I should lie down on a table in the workroom and wait to see if he welds something to me.” To which Alina says “I think that’s the way most great love stories begin.” I don’t know why but I just loved this I think its because its just two girls talking about a crush and I think its very relatable. But yeah Genya and David are very cute.

7) Tidemakers.

So one of the things I wished we could have seen in the show was the tidemakers using their powers. We get told about them and obviously they can control water but we never see one. Well in the books we do get Tidemakers using their powers and we get Alina describing them to us. There is a particularly cool scene that happens at the winter fete where tidemakers create this wave as part of the Grisha demonstration that then gets turned into mist by inferni. It wasn’t much but I still enjoyed getting a little glimpse of them using their powers.

Ok that’s all I can think of for now, I’m sure I’ll think of more once I’ve had more time to process the book. But overall I thought it was ok I am interested to see where the characters go from here. I ordered the second book already and its due to arrive tomorrow so looking forward to that. As for this book if I gave it a rating I’d say its probably a 6/10 I thought it was good but there were some things about it that I think it could have done better with.

#shadow and bone

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choices-and-voices · 3 years

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hi sorry if this has already been asked somewhere but im was wondering if you had any tips on how to get the best experience without having to pay ?

Hi there! Don’t worry, this question hasn’t been asked before, and I am honestly super flattered that you value my opinion enough to ask it ☺️ I’m not sure how helpful my tips will be because I don’t exactly consider myself an expert in this, but here are some things that came to mind! I’ve gone into quite a bit of detail, but if you want a quicker overview, just stick to the bold headings. Also, if any of the people reading this have good tips of their own, please lmk! I’m always learning new things about how to do this too 💕

1. This one’s a bit obvious, but still – take the opportunities that the game gives you to earn free diamonds. That means watching the bonus ads every day (5 diamonds/day), playing through chapters as often as you can (including replaying old books if there are no new releases – 2 diamonds/chapter), and watching ads at the end of book chapters for an extra diamond. Obviously, all this is a bit of a balancing act – you want to be playing Choices often enough to build up your diamonds, but not so often that it takes over your life and makes you feel frustrated, because what’s the point of it if it’s not fun anymore, y’know? So I’ve always been careful not to overdo it. Even if all you do is watch the bonus ads every day, that’s 35 diamonds/week – basically, one big diamond scene a week – which is honestly not too shabby.

2. At any one time, only play 1-2 books that you’re really invested in, and try to supplement that with another 2-3 books that you’re not really invested in or are replaying just for diamonds. As tempting as it can be to rush through every good-looking book in the app all at once, that just leads to a situation where a) you’re trying to divide your free keys between waaay too many releases, and b) there are so many demands on you for diamonds, you never get to consistently spend them on anything. So I personally think it’s best to only read a couple of good books at once, and instead of marathoning them, break them up with chapters from less-good books – this builds up your diamond stash for spending on the good books. Which leads into my next point:

3. Don’t zip through books too fast – even if most of the chapters are already released, spreading them out helps you earn more diamonds for them in the meantime. I’m really lucky to have been playing Choices for so long that almost all the books were presented to me in weekly release format – if I downloaded the app for the first time today, and saw all the fully-released books on there, I feel like I would be way too overwhelmed to play. So I reckon that, even if a book isn’t technically a weekly release for you, make it a weekly release! You might decide to play all the books you’re really invested in on a particular day when you have more free time – say, a Sunday. Then, you have Monday-Saturday every week to earn diamonds for those books, and something to look forward to at the end of it all. As for what you do with those diamonds:

4. Be smart about what you spend diamonds on. There are a couple of different components to this tip – it involves things like a) figuring out which types of purchases are worth diamonds in general, b) figuring out which types of purchases you want to prioritise in certain books, and c) planning ahead before you start playing a book chapter about where you might want to spend diamonds. To address each of those things one-by-one:

a) Figure out which types of purchases are worth diamonds in general. Off the top of my head, there are 6 main types of diamond purchases in Choices: ‘friendly’ scenes with LIs (12-25 diamonds), ‘steamy’ scenes with LIs (25-30 diamonds), scenes with your whole friendship group, collectible items (e.g. the tapestry pieces in Bloodbound, the clues in Veil of Secrets, etc.), outfits, and pets. Your mileage may vary a lot on which of these are most important to you, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. But my general advice would be to i) prioritise group scenes above LI scenes, ii) prioritise ‘friendly’ LI scenes above ‘steamy’ LI scenes, iii) avoid collectibles, and iv) go for outfits and pets only if you really like the look of them. This advice is based on the fact that, firstly, I think you get a better experience of immersion in a book if you know a bit about all the characters around MC, rather than just about one LI; secondly, ‘friendly’ LI scenes tend to tell you more about the LI than ‘steamy’ scenes, which are often 80-90% copied-and-pasted erotica despite being more expensive; thirdly, collectibles are a massive drain on diamond stores, and almost always unlock quite short, generic scenes that it’s easy to find on Tumblr or YouTube; and fourthly, both outfits and pets don’t do much except appear in the story at key moments, which can be a really nice touch but is still only needed in moderation. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules, and you might find that those exceptions are sometimes book-specific. Which leads me to Part B of this point:

b) Figure out which types of purchases you want to prioritise in certain books. It’s all well and good for me to say that group scenes are usually better than LI scenes, but when I’m playing a book with an amazing LI but a pretty meh supporting cast (*cough cough* Myra Dixon carries Baby Bump on her shoulders *cough cough*), I obviously may need to adjust my spending habits slightly. Moreover, by focusing all your diamond spending on just one main thing per book – like Myra’s romance in Baby Bump, or the party’s side-quests in Blades of Light and Shadow, or the posse in Queen B – I think you end up with a much better playing experience, because you feel like you’re seeing at least one facet of the story in-depth instead of getting a patchy surface view of lots of different facets. For the most part, the purchases you prioritise in a book can mostly depend on personal taste, but there are a few books where some background knowledge might be helpful in the decision. Four things that I think are worth flagging are that i) the ‘competition books’ (America’s Most Eligible, Queen B, Hot Couture) do require regular outfit purchases to win, although winning isn’t that much better an experience than being runner-up; ii) Veil of Secrets and Nightbound are two books where it’s worth saving 30-35 diamonds for the final chapter, because your MC is forced to leave the small-town setting if you don’t; iii) Across the Void is a book that frequently invites you to spend diamonds to save characters’ lives, but their death arcs are honestly much better-written and more sensible than their survival arcs; and iv) the It Lives series is the only one where characters can die due to an accumulation of choices you make throughout the story, so maybe it’s worth keeping some diamonds in reserve for that one. Which just leaves us with one more sub-point:

c) Plan ahead before you start playing a book chapter about where you might want to spend diamonds. I want to take this opportunity to thank whichever people in the fandom maintain the Choices wiki, because oh my gosh, they are lifesavers. For the last year or so, my response whenever a new Choices chapter is released has been to wait a few hours, Google ‘[book name] choices’, open the wiki result, and skim through to check how many diamond choices are available & how much they cost. Because all the wiki includes are the possible responses to every choice presented – it doesn’t even state the wording of the choice itself – this is a relatively spoiler-free technique that helps a lot with big picture planning. For example, you might decide not to buy an early group scene because there’s a nicer-sounding LI scene later on, and come to think of it, you should replay a few more chapters of another book first to save up the diamonds for that scene. If you don’t mind encountering just a few more spoilers before you play the chapter, you can also scout out its diamond scenes in more detail by searching the relevant book or character tags on Tumblr, or by looking for a chapter stream on YouTube. You may decide that you don’t need to buy a diamond scene if you’ve already seen it played through by someone else, or alternatively, you may decide whether or not to buy a diamond scene based on how good it looks in an existing playthrough – in either case, these techniques can help you thoughtfully ration out the diamonds you have, instead of being caught off-guard whenever a diamond choice comes up.

5. On the subject of the Choices wiki, it’s also a great way to maximise your success in books without using diamonds. Whenever there’s a ‘right’ option to a choice that gives you a better outcome later in the chapter, that’s indicated in the wiki. So with a bit of pre-reading of the wiki before you play the chapter, and/or with the wiki open on a separate screen as you play, you can get the best outcome without having to buy that outfit or bonus scene that promised you ‘an advantage.’ Obviously, your mileage may vary on whether this method is actually worth it, or whether it takes all the fun out of Choices by ‘cheating’ at the gaming aspect. I personally view Choices as more of an interactive story app than a game I’m trying to beat, so I have no issue with this method, but opinions may differ and that’s okay.

6. If you’re really feeling like a lack of diamonds is limiting your playing experience, it may be best to start out with ‘cheaper’ books until you have more diamonds stored up. In this case, I’m using ‘cheaper’ to mean books where there are fewer diamond scenes, where diamond scenes are less expensive, and/or where diamond scenes don’t play as big a role in the plot. It can be hard to identify which books fit this bill, but as a general rule, it’s more likely to be the earlier-released ones or less-popular ones. Some which I’d recommend are the first few books of the Freshman series, the #LoveHacks series, the High School Story series, the Perfect Match series, Most Wanted, The Heist: Monaco, Wishful Thinking, Bachelorette Party, and The Royal Masquerade.

7. Finally, a really quick tip for making the most out of free keys – keys are used up as soon as you start a book chapter, and refresh ~every 3 hours. This means that, even if you don’t have time to play chapters every 3 hours, you should try to open the app roughly that often and just click to unlock a chapter. When you finally have time to play, you’ll have a whole lot of chapters ready to go plus another two refreshed keys, and you can power through them at whatever speed you need to fit in them into your break time or to earn diamonds for an upcoming release. Once again, this is a tip that may need to be practised in moderation, because you don’t want to be constantly interrupting your life to load up an app on your phone. But even if you just log in and unlock chapters every 6 hours, or every 12 hours, that’s still 2-4 extra chapters ready for you at the end of the day plus your two free keys.

I think that’s about all for my tips! Thanks for reading, and I hope it helped at least a bit ❤️

#playchoices #choices: stories you play #asks #asked & answered #original post

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faustandfurious · 4 years

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@calendille I had to make a new post because Tumblr keeps messing up the old one, but here it is:

Dumb Opinions On Roman Emperors From Someone Who Knows Jack Shit About The Roman Empire

Warning: swearwords, awkward allusions to the sex lives of people who have been dead for 2000 years, my uninformed opinions

Julius Caesar: Not actually an emperor, but the OG Kaiser/Czar/Tsar and that deserves some recognition. Radiates douchey dudebro vibes; “veni vidi vici” is exactly the kind of thing you can say both after a battle and after doing the horizontal tango in some Roman brothel. Slightly redeemed by good taste in women, as evidenced by his affair with Cleopatra “I speak 9 languages and rule a country at the age of 18, what have you accomplished?″ Philopator. 6/10

Augustus: Listen, Will Shakespeare’s bisexual ass had a huge crush on Marcus Antonius, and my opinion of Octavian will forever be affected by the fact that he is not Marcus Antonius. 3/10

Tiberius: Honestly doesn’t seem all that bad as a ruler, but several historians described him as pervy, tyrannical and depressing, which isn’t exactly how you want to be remembered 2000 years after your death. 4/10

Caligula: Pervy and tyrannical, but apparently less depressing than Tiberius. Got senators to worship him as a god, which, in my experience, is exactly the way to go when you want to spice up boring political meetings. Understandably assassinated. 5/10

Claudius: Seems like a pretty decent and competent guy who became emperor by coming across as so non-threatening to his predecessors that he survived their reigns. 9/10

Nero: Believed by many to be the Antichrist and ngl, that’s metal as fuck. 7/10

Galba: Whomst? 1/10

Otho: Sackville-Baggins? 3/10

Vitellius: “Yet I was once your emperor” are pretty rad as last words go. 5/10

Vespasian: We stan one piss tax emperor. 10/10

Titus: Donated his own money to the victims of the Vesuvius eruption. Objectively better than his father’s piss tax, but a lot less amusing. 9/10

Domitian: Not as good as Titus. 6/10

Nerva: Funny name but otherwise blander than oatmeal. 2/10

Trajan: Had people executed for “obstinacy”, which is a policy I can get behind. Name reminds me too much of the condom brand Trojan, which in light of that incident with the horse is a pretty awful and misleading brand name for condoms. 6/10

Hadrian: Builder of walls, writer of mediocre poetry. 4/10

Antoninus Pius: Meh. 3/10

Lucius Verus: Fancy beard that still does not make up for the fact that he married his adoptive brother’s daughter. 2/10

Marcus Aurelius: That One Dude Who Will Not Shut Up About Philosophy No Matter What, And At This Point You’re Actually Getting Interested In What He’s Saying And Considering Signing Up For That Philosophy 101 Class, But You Won’t Because Then You’ll Have To Deal With All The Quasi-Intellectual Dudes Who Think Aristotle Is The Best Thing To Have Happened To Humanity Since We Crawled Out Of That Prehistoric Soup Pond A Few Billion Years Ago And Frankly You Don’t Have Time To Listen To Them Mansplaining The Concept Of Eudaimonia, Because It Sure As Fuck Isn’t Contributing To Your Personal Eudaimonia. 8/10

Commodus: Is not entertained. Name sounds like the Norwegian word for dresser/chest of drawers. 3/10

(I’ll deal with the rest of them later, maybe)

#roman empire #julius caesar #rome #history

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weirdochick56 · 4 years

Text

Mr. Evans II- Chris Evans AU Chapter Three

Teacher!Chris Evans x Student!Reader

Warnings: Explicit language, heartbreak, angst, MILD SMUT, a little bit of infidelity (it doesn’t get that far but if this triggering to you, kindly don’t read.)

Disclaimers: I don’t condone relationships of this kind, this is for entertainment purposes only.

Word Count: 4, 122 words

Read Chapter Two Here!!

***

(Gif isn’t mine! Ugh who told him he could be so BEAUTIFUL?)

You tiptoe your way to the kitchen, trying to be as quiet as possible. Something stops you in your tracks as you near the kitchen, though. Two voices, hushed but clearly arguing bounce out of the kitchen walls.

One is male and one is female and against your better judgment, you conceal your body behind the wall, eavesdropping on their argument.

Alright, so maybe not your proudest moment, but you couldn’t help yourself because you recognize one of the voices. The male one is Mr. Evans and the female one, well you can only assume it’s his girlfriend (if you could even call her that).

As you listen in, you wonder what they’re still doing here this late.

“Chris, I’m sick of you doing this shit to me,” she hisses.

“Doing what, Cassidy? Huh? Doing what!?” his voice increases in volume only a little bit but you can tell he’s utterly exasperated.

You flinch a bit at his tone, unable to help how much you hate when he’s upset.

She growls, gripping at her hair. “Ignoring me, dammit. Do you even care about me, Chris? I mean genuinely care for what I’m feeling? At all! God, all I really need to stay is for you to tell me you care about me, Chris,” her voice cracks. “I don’t even need you to tell me you love me,” she rasps.

Your heart races as you too await his response. Utter silence ensues and the tension rises.

He lets out a meek “I-”

Your breath catches and you lean in anxiety and curiosity peaking.

More silence, hard breathing. You lean closer. Closer. Closer. Close-

“Ah!” You yelp when you lose your footing and trip forward. You land on your knees and hands with a loud grunt as pain shoots through you.

“Shit!” you curse loudly, pushing yourself back so that your ass was pressing against your heels.

“Sweetheart?” He sounds confused as your head snaps up to them.

The brunette looks at you with a frown, but Mr. Evans looks on the brink of bursting out in laughter, his lips curled in a bemused smirk.

You at least have the decency to blush, smiling sheepishly as you begin to hoist yourself up.

“You okay?” Mr. Evans wordlessly and quickly runs over to your side, gripping your elbow to help you up. His other hand wraps around your waist, fingers brushing against your ribs. He whispers the question into your hair.

His hands are big and warm, familiar in the most exciting way. Can’t help it when your body gives the smallest shift to take in more of those hands of his.

You look up at him, hating how good his touch felt against your skin and how incredible his warmth felt as well.

Then your gazes lock and you almost forget what to say.

“I’m fine,” you finally mumble, snapping out of it as you tenderly shake his touch off and clear your throat, looking down at your bare feet.

God, could this situation get more awkward?

The woman, seemingly sensing the tension in the air, sighs, offering you a tiny smile.

“Well, I’m off to bed. Goodnight.” She gives Mr. Evans one last stare- conveying that this was not over, before walking out.

A beat of silence passes before he finally speaks, addressing the elephant in the room.

“It’s rude to eavesdrop you know, sweetheart...” he jests bemusedly.

You look up at him, smiling sheepishly as a blush rages madly on your face. “I’m sorry, I was just coming to get something to eat. I didn’t think there would be anyone here.” You bite your lip, shrugging meekly.

He watches you closely, licking his own lips before looking away with a smile and shake of his head.

“Anyway, thanks for saving me.”

You sigh, moving around him to reach the fridge. “Don’t even mention it...”

You lean down to scavenge for any leftovers, feeling a surge of pride when you find some pizza that looked relatively good.

You put it up to your nose, spinning around. “Hm, this smells pretty- Jesus fuck!” You yelp lightly, heart racing once more when you bump into Chris’s strong chest lightly.

You crane your neck to glare up at him. “What the hell is it with you sneaking up on me and invading my personal space?” you snarl.

He smirks that insufferable smirk he seemed to reserve just for you and a chill travels through you as his face tilts and nears yours, his eyes piercing right through you. “What is it with you listening in on private conversations?”

You scoff, stepping away from him truly because it was too damn much to have him this close, but you make it seem like it’s because you’re headed for the microwave to heat up your food.

“I already told you, I was just trying to get food when I heard you two speaking,” you lean up on your tiptoes to get two plates out.

You put two cold pizza slices on the plates and stick one into the microwave. “And anyway, what are you still doing here?” you can’t help but snark, spinning around to face him with a brow raised.

He’s sitting on a stool by the counter and his eyes have clearly been trained on your ass. The thing is, unlike before when he would’ve blushed and looked away and acted like he hadn’t just been eye-fucking you, now he does nothing to hide it.

“Your father offered me the guest room for the night,” he answers simply, gaze unwavering.

“Stop looking at me like that,” you snap.

“Looking at you like what?” He feigns innocence and almost with deliberate laziness, he moves up your body with his eyes— letting you know that he’s not in the least ashamed of having been staring at you in the first place, much less of getting caught.

“Like that,” you grumble.

“Alright.” But he doesn’t stop, only looks at you more intensely and with more want than before.

This, for some reason, ignites a fire deep in your belly and you raise your brows at him, pointing to the pizza because you can’t let him know how turned on that fucking gaze makes you.

“You want a slice?”

He grins ominously. “How’d you know?”

You shrug, crossing your arms over your chest, deciding to bait him. “Arguing tends to make one hungry.”

He doesn’t take the bait, shoving a hand into his sweatpants’ pocket. “Oh? And you would know?”

Seeing that your strategy isn’t working, you decide honesty is the way to go.

You blow a raspberry. “Are you kidding? It’s like, my dad and I’s thing.”

He chuckles, his eyes sharpening with interest. “Is that you and uh, Daniel’s thing too?”

You think he says the name with a just a little too much force. It could just be your ears playing a trick on you though.

You instantly look up at him, jaw dropped. “W-what?”

He doesn’t even spare you a glance, just stares down at his hands like they’re the most interesting things ever. “You really should keep your voice down when you talk on the phone.”

“How much of that conversation did you hear?” you murmur.

He shrugs. “Meh. Only all the juiciest bits.”

You regain your composure, determined not to give in to his attempts at making you feel out of control. Not that you needed much help with that when he was around, though.

“So we’ve got a case of the pot calling the kettle black on our hands. It’s rude to eavesdrop you know, Mr. Evans.” You use his words against him.

He opens his mouth to speak, but the loud beeping of the microwave cuts him off. You hold a finger up to signal him to hold that thought before you pull the plate out and put the other in. You bring the plate over to the table, sliding it over to him as you sat on the stool in front of him.

“So. You were giving me an excuse for why you were listening in on my private conversation?” You lean forward, feigning interest.

“I wasn’t. There is no excuse other than you were loudly talking about me so it’d be kinda hard not to listen in,” he responds honestly before his eyes flicker to yours, pinning you to place. “She’s right, you know?”

“Who?”

“Margo.” He responds curtly, taking a bite of his pizza slice.

“About what?” You push.

He swallows, putting the rest of the slice down as he looks at you. “About us,” he says matter-of-factly.

You immediately look away, unable to bear looking at him while he talked about an “us” like there even was one to begin with. And the worst part? You wanted so badly to ask him what he meant.

No, Y/n. The past remains in the past-- where it belongs.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

You expect him to agree. To take the chance to move away from the past and leave you there slightly disappointed but majorly relieved. But what he does instead shocks you.

“Well, I do,” he says firmly. Not an ounce of anger in him or even desperation. Just...solidity.

Your gaze snaps to his, fierce but clearly hurt. “But I don’t. So drop it.”

He stares at you for a minute too long before he finally relents in a shrug. He instead leans forward onto his elbows, clasping his fingers in front of him-- the picture of interested coolness.

“Fine, I will. But...‘just a schoolgirl crush’, really?”

“You sound offended,” you observe the ghost of a grin tugging at your lips.

He tries to shrug it off, but you can see his discomfort from miles away. “I’m not.” He takes a bite of the pizza, signaling the end of that conversation.

You sigh, crossing tucking one of your legs underneath you and motioning to the doorway with your head. “So. Pretty brunette-”

“Cassidy.”

“Cool.” You smile with sickly sweetness before snapping back to a serious expression. “What’s you guys’ deal, then?”

He takes another bite of pizza, eyes searching yours. “You heard, didn’t you? She thinks I don’t care about her.”

“You don’t seem all too broken up about that,” you mumble. “Do you care about her?”

He pauses his chewing, pondering for a few seconds, before slowly nodding. “I do.”

“So why couldn’t you tell her that?” you instantly ask, unable to hold back.

He looks at you with a smug grin. “Why can’t you have sex with this Daniel guy? Is he ugly or something?”

If his goal was to stump you, he’s achieved it.

Now, unable to express your embarrassment any other way, you grow angry.

“That’s none of your damn business, Chris.”

He doesn’t seem affected in the least by your rough tone. “Then mine isn’t yours either.”

You look at him for another second, trying to look out for any cracks in that wall only to come up empty once again. His face is perfectly composed- smugly calm.

There’s something so much more unabashedly raw and real and unadulterated about him now. He isn’t mild-mannered or outwardly sweet anymore- he’s raw and witty and smug.

He knows what he wants and how to get it; much like he did before, except now it was outwardly apparent and thought you could see glimpses of his sweet nature, it wasn’t the same as before.

And my god, if that doesn’t just make him so much more fucking hot.

“Fair enough,” you finally relent, getting up to retrieve your pizza.

You bend down to get it from the microwave. “Do you want anything to wash that down with? There’s soda in the fridge and I’m pretty sure there’s some leftover beer somewhere in there.”

His eyes aren’t trained on your face though. Instead, they’re once more blatantly staring at your body. Your tits, to be specific.

You freeze, shocked. So shocked at his brazen actions, in fact, that you must even trace his gaze from his eyes to your boobs, just to make sure you’re not imagining this. When you realize this was really happening, your body immediately warms- both with excitement and irritation.

“Hey, are you listening to anything I’m saying?” you hiss, snapping your fingers in his face.

He looks up at you with a blank expression. “Not really, no.”

His gaze, in sharp contrast to his expression, was lighted with that fire you remembered oh-so-well, slick with lust and feral want- somehow so much more intense than it had ever been before.

Something in your shifts, like you know exactly what would ensue from this very moment. The look in his eyes. The emotions in your body....they were all too familiar.

The air tenses with crackling energy in the air and even though you knew anyone could walk in at this moment, you couldn’t give less of a shit right now.

“It’s not fair for you to come here after two years and do this to me, sweetheart,” he rasps from deep in his throat as if he’s struggling to control himself.

Your breath catches at the intensity of his eyes as they make you feel like he can easily see right through your flimsy clothing.

“I’m not doing anything,” you utter pathetically.

His gaze never leaves your body as he gradually stalks up to you. You can’t move, can’t speak, can’t think, can’t breathe- eyes locked in an infinite battle with his now dark blue ones. “Oh, trust me on this; you’re doing all sorts of things to me right now, sweetheart.”

And then his arms are caging you against the kitchen counter within a matter of seconds, what with the advantage of his long legs.

Your breath instantly catches at the sudden proximity and your heart clenches with something. This was the first time you’d had him close in over two years and fuck if it didn’t make your insides shift in all kinds of ways.

His scent is overwhelming, instantly hitting you in the face like a sucker punch, all warm and inviting and delicious and him. Gosh, you’d missed him.

You bite your lip in order to contain all the tiny sounds threatening to spill out of your mouth.

His nose brushes against yours softly and your stomach clenches.

“This isn’t right,” he rasps huskily and you instantly know what he’s referring to.

You should stop. You should remind him that his girlfriend was here just a few minutes ago and that your boyfriend was waiting for you at home. You should tell him how dangerous it was to play with fire like this and yet you don’t.

Because you wanted to get burnt. God, you wanted to get so deliciously hurt by him it’d ruin every other emotion for you.

You barely gasp, eyes fluttering half-way shut.

“When has it ever been right?” you breathe before you can even process what you’re saying, practically gasping for air.

He presses himself against you in the sweetest of tortures and you can feel just how much you’ve affected him, his dick- all hard and ready pressing against you.

It drives you crazy how close he is and how unable you are to have him. You’re teasing the invisible line, but you’re not sure you’re brave enough to cross it.

“Stop fucking with my head like this,” he responds instantly, voice almost a growl. As if he was angry. “You’re not supposed to still have this hold over me, dammit.”

Was he angry at you? At himself? Both maybe?

In a risky move which you don’t entirely think through, you push back against him, pressing your body against his, crushing your stomach to his manhood, softly brushing your lips against the tiny space between you two just to tease him.

“Is that why you’re angry?” you whisper into the mostly non-existent space between you, peering into his eyes with a challenging kind of feigned innocence.

His knuckles turn white as his hold tightens on the counter. Heh. Barely restrained, you muse mentally, feeling your cunt pulse with arousal at the mere sight of him trying so hard to hold back from fucking you right here right now.

Because you could see in his eyes that he wanted to as much as you did.

It was intense, similar to how it’d been two years ago. But it wasn’t the same, not even by a bit. It was as if two years apart had done the opposite of what you’d wanted and only made your ache for him three thousand times stronger.

And when you least expect it, he grips your jaw in his hands, looking at your face with those fucking eyes of his. Not inspecting, rather debating. With himself, most likely.

You hold your breath, deep down wanting nothing more than for him to kiss you and then bury himself so deep inside you, you wouldn’t even be able to remember your own goddamn name.

His touch felt like heaven after having been deprived of it for so long. You can’t help but lean into it, practically begging him to touch you more.

More, please.

“Chris,” his name tumbles from your lips unexpectedly- a breathy beseech, almost a moan.

He mutters a husky almost desperate “fuck” under his breath as his thumb softly brushes against your cheekbone like he’s used to do back then. Then he abruptly steps away from you, leaving you there- cold and unsuspectingly vulnerable.

...just like he used to do back then.

“It doesn't matter why I’m angry.” He answers roughly, lips pursing. “Won’t change anything, will it? We’re both still going to be two different people who are now on two very different paths.”

Despite how much that single statement hurts you, it also clears the desire-fog of the moment. You briskly come down from your high and find yourself suddenly remembering that you have a boyfriend and he has a girlfriend and that nothing about what just happened was right. Even if it did feel like drinking water after days of walking a seemingly endless desert.

“You’re right,” you respond tightly, swallowing. “We’re both two people in committed relationships who have no business doing...” You left the rest unsaid because if you can avoid saying it out loud but still get your point across, it was worth it.

He smiles. He just smiles, but you know exactly what that means.

He agrees.

“We need to-“ he motions to his manhood, which was still so...excited. “I can’t-“

You cut him off, blushing madly because you were embarrassed beyond belief. “I- yeah. I-I don’t know what happened but it won’t happen again. We’re two adults now who know what their places are.” Your voice lowers. “We know with who those places are.”

He flinches slightly, nodding just the tiniest bit stiffly, “Yeah. Yeah...”

The next day you practically tumble out of bed, mind initially too foggy with tiredness to even focus on anything other than your sudden and entirely overwhelming need for coffee.

So in a zombie-like state, you pad your way to the kitchen, eyes squinting against the morning light filtering in from the open curtains.

It takes you a second to realize it, but Kennedy, Chris, and Cassidy are already seated on the stools in the kitchen counter.

Chris and Kennedy are already stuffing their faces with bacon, eggs, and toast while Cassidy casually sips on her mug.

You mumble a croaky “Morning” on your way to the box of granola bars, ignoring the shiver that traveled down your spine when you felt his presence so near yours after what happened yesterday.

It was wrong. On so many levels.

And still, just thinking about his touch, his eyes, his practically tangible want, and your own, it makes you want to forget just how much.

It was all just so...intense. The very air particles were charged with energy that you couldn’t see but could feel in your very bones.

Your first day back and you’d already barely kept yourself together again. And the mortification of that after the high of the moment has dwindled down, hits you like a bucket of ice-cold water.

It wouldn’t happen again though. Once more, not wanting to believe reality was real didn’t make it any less of a fact.

And just as it had been so intense yesterday; today all that you could feel was intense awkwardness being in the same room as him and his girlfriend knowing you’d shared a moment in this very room yesterday.

Not to mention what the hell were they doing here? Did he and Cassidy live in your damn house now?

After last night and how abruptly he’d left you in the kitchen when your conversation got a little bit too close to hitting a nerve, you expected him to be long gone by now.

Plucking a bar up, you make your way to the coffee machine, planning to make yourself a mug and then dip the fuck outta there as quickly as you could.

Kennedy’s voice interrupts you. “If you’re looking for coffee, there’s a mug for you at the table already, hun.”

You turn to look at her, brows furrowed. “Huh?”

She chuckles lightly, pointing at a steaming mug beside her and you hate her for being so sweet. “Chris was nice enough to make it for you; he guessed you’d probably want some first thing in the morning. I guess he was right.” She laughs, glancing at Chris. “Come sit. I’ll have a plate out for you in just a sec.”

You only hesitate for a second before nodding and walking over to the table nervously. Your eyes are plastered on him the entire time, the small yet sweet gesture making your heart flutter in ways you hadn’t felt for a while.

He didn’t need to say it out loud for you to know he remembered how crazy you were about coffee. Especially first thing in the morning.

As you sit in the stool positioned directly in front of him, you take the mug in your hands. “Thanks,” you murmur at him, taking a sip of the warm beverage and letting it travel down your esophagus.

Your eyes widen when you realize he’d added exactly the amount of sugar you liked and even more shocking; he’d added the tiniest bit of cinnamon and nutmeg, a detail you remember telling him the grand amount of once.

Chris focuses on his food just a little too much, ignoring your gaze at all costs as he nods in response. “Sure thing.”

Cassidy, on the other hand, smiles brightly at you and you can’t help but hate her too, for being so gorgeous this early in the fucking morning.

They’re both already showered and dressed and you can’t help but blush when you realize you’re still in your pj's and your hair more than likely looks like a bird’s nest.

“Morning,” she chirps perkily and you swear your eye twitches.

You return a polite smile nonetheless. “Morning Cassidy.”

She looks at you with an awkward and slightly sweet smile, murmuring under her breath. “I’m sorry about yesterday by the way. You didn’t need to witness that.”

You shrug lightly, fiddling with your granola bar. “It’s fine. I’m sorry for ya’ know-” you wave a hand, referring to your eavesdropping. “It wasn’t my place,” you whisper the last part.

She shrugs, grinning crookedly. “It’s cool. I wouldn’t be able to help myself if I were you either.”

You glance at Chris only to find him already looking at you. His gorgeous blue pools of intensity shock you to your core. He discreetly grins, mouthing “nice PJs” to you before smugly taking a bite of his toast.

You want to retort something like “you saw them yesterday asshole”, but you bite your tongue and look down instead.

Scoffing before taking a small bite of your granola bar, you shift uncomfortably in your stool as an uneasy silence once more falls upon you three. It only lightens when Kennedy comes back with a plate for you.

You take it gratefully, offering her the smallest of smiles as to not make her think she’s off the hook with you just yet. “Thanks.”

As you start to chew your food, you realize something. “Where’s Dad?”

Kennedy responds. “He went out to buy some things for the wedding.”

You hum in acknowledgment and another uncomfortable falls over the table. Surprisingly, Cassidy is the first one to break it.

“So,” she starts, smile and all. “Y/f/n tells me you’re in college now. What’re you majoring in?”

You immediately perk up at this, grateful for a conversational topic as well as just happy to talk about your studies. “Right now I’m majoring in psychology. I just love it,” you gush.

You hear Chris snort bemusedly under his breath and all your heads simultaneously swivel to him. He’s smirking to himself, only confusing you further.

“Baby?” Cassidy asks him and you have to physically fight back the urge to gag.

He looks up and is bewildered to find you all staring at him. His brows furrow. “What?”

Kennedy smiles. “What’s so funny?”

He smirks, gaze flickering over to you. “Nothing. I just always figured that’s what you’d go for. Either that or journalism.”

You can’t help but smile, a bit taken aback by the accuracy of his statement. “How’d you-”

“You were always an open book, sweetheart,” is all he says, eyes twinkling.

You hold each other's gazes almost on instinct, stupid, goofy smiles spread wide on both your faces, a hidden understanding passing through you both. One nobody but you two was in on.

It didn’t worry you how well he knew you because you knew him just as well. There was no other way around it, you just did.

Cassidy clears her throat, snapping you both out of your little moment. You clear your own throat lightly, cheeks reddening as Chris looks away instantly.

“Anyway,” Cassidy mumbles, visibly weirded out. “Chris and I are going out shopping.” She instantly perks up again, gripping his arm lovingly.

You really can’t help it when a pang of pain hits you in the chest and you grip your mug tighter, eyes unable to leave her long, slender, perfectly-manicured hands that grip onto his muscular bicep like it was the most natural position in the world.

Like they were meant to be together.

You can’t help but look down at your own nails. A pang of insecurity hits you when you’re met not with nicely manicured nails, but bitten down, uneven ones instead; courtesy of being a college student.

You look at Cassidy closely, unable to help yourself when you begin to compare yourself to her. Her chest was bustier than yours, her build more slender and delicate, her skin tanned in a sun-kissed kind of way. She was tall and gorgeous. With glossy, healthy-looking dark hair and striking dark eyes.

You instantly feel yourself deflate when you find none of those attributes within yourself. Nothing about you was striking.

Maybe that’s why he preferred her. She was more beautiful and mature than you, after all.

What in the hell are you thinking Y/n? You mentally smack yourself. He is not yours. You have no claim over him and never forget, you have a boyfriend who loves you for who you are.

You make a mental note to call Daniel later.

“What’re you shopping for?” Kennedy inquires, breaking you from your self-deprecating thoughts.

“Dresses. I have nothing to wear to the wedding,” Cassidy responds, practically beaming.

At the reminder, you choke on your drink. Crap. A dress. Right.

Kennedy gently pats your back. “What happened, hun?”

You lightly flinch away from her touch and she notices, quickly retracting her hand with a concerned frown.

“I just-” you blush, biting your lip. “I don’t have a dress for the wedding either,” you whisper sheepishly.

“Oh!” Kennedy waves you off. “It’s fine. I’m sure Cassidy and Chris would be happy to take you out shopping for one.”

She shoots them a look.

Cassidy instantly nods. “Yes. We’d love to.”

You can’t help but cringe at the idea because as soon as it’s brought up, Chris’ head snaps up and his gaze locks with yours. The same thought passes through you both.

Not good. Not good at all.

You try to shake your head and protest. “It’s fine. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you guys. Really.”

Cassidy and Kennedy shake you off instantly, telling you that that was “nonsense” and that it was “fine”.

You’d fought back hard, but eventually, they’d convinced you. The entire time you refused to look at Chris- too scared to see his reaction even though you felt him silently looking at you the entire time.

You nod, picking up your plate and mug and quickly wash them, drying your hands afterward. “Fine. Just let me get ready really quick.”

A day out in the town with Chris and Cassidy?

This was bad. This was so, so bad.

Read Chapter Four Here!!

***

As a writer, I thought having control of my stories would make me less emotionally invested in the characters than my readers. I was wrong.

A Special thanks to:

@star-spangled-steve

@tomoyaevaans

@pepsicolailovedogs

@whereeverythingisbetter

@fallenoutofrose

@plutonium-m

@beepbeepromanoff

@faithmichaluk

@sincerelytlh

@tomshelbystits

@kind-sober-fullydressed

@liatnism

@sashimi-cat

@zofty15

@gemgemswift

@fafulous

And my forevers!

@jessikared97

@ladyofletters67

@lilypalmer1987

@sammykb1994

@tomshelbystits

#Mr. Evans II #Mr Evans #chris evans x reader #Chris Evans

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ronnytherandom · 3 years

Text

Media n Stuff

2/1/2021: American Psycho

Excellent, truly. Has a lot to say about those on the top of our social hierarchy, the wealthy and influential and how our modern system facilitates them at the expense of everyone else. A very stylish film, well edited and directed. Rests upon a truly magnificent performance in the case of Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman, who does a fantastic job of playing something pretending to be human. Soundtrack is a bop.

3/1/2021: Se7en

All right, not my kind of thing ultimately. There are some thoughts about legacy and what doing good means here but I feel its slightly obscure and could be more clearly stated; perhaps I wasn’t paying close enough attention. Directing is top notch. The acting also is good but nothing truly incredible. The suspense is very effective but on occasion can be defeated by pacing, excess time creating boredom. Further it was partially predictable, which harmed the effectiveness of the piece. Though the point of the state of the victims is to inspire disgust this especially did not fit the remit of entertainment for me.

4/1/2021: The Martian

Highly Enjoyable. As usual, weaker than the novel but not to a Golden Compass level. Any work that bends heaven and earth to save a single life is good in my books. Retains the wit and the scientific backbone to good effect to offset the bleakness. Likewise, the back-and-forth structure between Mars and other locations helps to make the survival scenario less overbearing. Star-studded cast, and I think rightfully so here as the performances are generally very good. Matt Damon as Mark Watney has many moments of excellence. Mars is beautiful and I’m glad Ridley Scott captured that well, on top of doing a job that lives up to his reputation.

5/1/2021: Dredd

Good. Though I worry about the implications of a “Not All Cops Bad” message, it could be interpreted elsewise and is decidedly sympathetic to civilians which works in its favour. There is the aspect of portraying Police and Criminals as two sides of the same coin, with Dredd and Anderson existing outside of said dichotomy to some degree, but ultimately implying that the existing system just needs the right people in it without severe reform, though again that’s up for debate. Otherwise, good spectacle and very nice presentation; the film can be beautiful at times and when it isn’t it has excellent action. Something I appreciate is a clear view of the action, rather than the choppy action of modern superhero films, and an unflinching approach to the depiction of gore even if I was flinching at times. Though I’m unfamiliar with the original work I find this an interesting dystopia, even if Dredd himself can be a little cliché. Performances haven’t left much of an impression though.

6/1/2021: The Wolf of Wall Street

Meh? It’s well made don’t get me wrong, everything looks and feels high quality. Of course, Scorsese is a good director. Of course, DiCaprio’s acting is fantastic, as is the rest of the acting to be frank, but it just doesn’t come together for me. I don’t feel like there was a compelling reason to sit through that for three whole hours. I can see meaning in the depiction of excess; of Belfort’s alienation, losing everything that should be dear to him; of the animal nature of people who just want to make money. I can appreciate the powerful performances and the craftwork on display. I just didn’t enjoy it.

7/1/2021: Enola Holmes

Enjoyable. Has a more juvenile tone than I like, that’s to be expected from a coming-of-age story, but it certainly does a far better job with the gifted sister idea than the BBC Sherlock series did. At times this film was truly joyous and inspiring and I would attribute that to a cast of endearing characters and a strong thematic core which is carried throughout the story. However, from a more radical perspective I cannot endorse a seeming admonishment of direct action, as much as I appreciate the idea that getting new blood in politics is a progressive step forward. Performances are good, Millie Bobby Brown does well in the lead, though I am not so keen on her 4th wall asides, and I always appreciate the sight of Henry Cavill. Also, proud to see Burn Gorman portray the most accurate Normal Englishman I’ve ever seen. I also wanted to make note of what id consider good editing, felt very snappy and effective.

8/1/2021: Shaun of the Dead

Very good, but maybe doesn’t quite live up to its reputation. Very put off by the use of F and N slurs even if the prior is in context with English slang at the time. Id say this is the lesser of the Cornetto trilogy films but with such competition it’d be hard to come out on top. Quite dry humour, I don’t think all the jokes land, but there are a few true laugh out loud moments. Similarly, it works emotionally only some of the time but at moments, especially in Philips last words, there’s some genuine power. I do feel like the pace lulls slightly too much at moments but is generally very good and saves itself for a fun final sprint. The Zombies themselves are true to Romero’s style of zombie and though the satire is light in comparison to character-zombie parallels it is still effective. Performances are good, and serve well in demonstrating the range of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in comparison with the later Cornetto films and Bill Nighy is always a treat. I only ever have praise for Edgar Wright as a fan of all his later works, so I’m glad to see even his first feature demonstrates his ability well, stylish young man is our Edgar.

8/1/2021: Avatar: Legend of Korra: Series 1

Not by any stretch a worthy successor but good by its own merit. Has powerful emotional moments and excellent action, I cannot get enough of any kind of bending in this universe. Some characters are likeable; Korra is a good lead, Tenzin is my personal favourite and I want to hug Naga. Bolin, however, can get shafted. his particular brand of comic relief inspires in me an absolute hatred I cannot fully fathom. I have many little gripes though. I find the love “square” (?) plot annoying and do not understand what purpose it serves. Just be honest with each other goddamn! In universe I wonder at the limits of metal bending, but the police are content simply to launch cables with it. Why are the Chi Fighters such an obstacle in the first half and yet become cannon fodder by the end? I also feel like a lot of the “powerful moments” I feel are dependent on nostalgia for The Last Airbender, such as any moment where the original theme is played, or when General Iroh appears etc. This is particularly egregious with the feature of cabbage corp. Really? It is frustrating to me that Korra spends the entire series past the second episode tell-not-showing us she can’t airbend before having it essentially gifted to her, similarly with the avatar state. As much as she does endure hardship, I feel like the series would be improved even slightly if Korra’s bending is taken away completely and she uses the avatar state to rescue Mako from Amon, when she is actually at her definitive low point. I find with most episodes there are moments which I’m absolutely invested in and really enjoying but then a gripe or two will pop up and marginally ruin the experience for me. But again, these are minor and as much as I fuss over these details the ultimate product is enjoyable and watchable. The setting is certainly interesting but (probably by design) New Republic City clashes too harshly with the magic system, and I think it harms the series. The animators and artists however should be lauded, as the spectacle here is magnificent.

9/1/2021: Ex Machina

Magnificent piece of work. This is what I imagine is actual good cinematography, rather than the usual “pretty stills equals good cinematography” take. Every frame a painting indeed, aided in that way by fantastically beautiful set work. Each actor deserves applause but I feel especially Alicia Vikander. As Ava she does brilliant work and at times uses an alien affectation which is an impressive highlight of attention to detail here. The director knows exactly what they’re doing, the whole thing has a kind of spotless professionalism. Special Effects are minimalist but used so very well, especially the work of making Ava and the other AI look so real. I love that this is a film which doesn’t stoop to explaining every little thing and treats the audience as an equal, and how the tension is reflected in all aspects of the piece and builds to such a mighty crescendo, though I was quite put off by the self-harm scene and would rather that were not a thing. Not only all of that but its deeply meaningful with a lot to say about our own minds (I don’t think Nathan passes Turing test) with a decidedly feminist angle too. It really is a treat.

10/1/2021: Sourcery (unfinished)

Even as a fan of early Pratchett, this ain’t it chief. I don’t like it. The jokes don’t land, the only character I like is The Librarian and the whole thing just kind of bores me, so I’ve stopped somewhere just past halfway as I can’t be fussed for the rest. I don’t care about Coin, or the wizards, or Rincewind, even the Luggage has lost that pariah charisma it usually has. Conina feels weird? I feel like there this constant unnecessary sexualisation of her and Rincewind’s affections seem more than mildly inappropriate. I’ve been reading it a week and I’ve barely been able to drag myself to it these past couple of days so I feel its time for something a little fresher.

10/1/2021: The Two Popes

Very good. There is excellence in all aspects of this films craft. Johnathan Pryce gives an endearing performance; Anthony Hopkins is likewise very good as you’d expect. I think this is a film to listen to through a good sound system, the sound work struck me as exceptional in its attention to detail while the soundtrack is good fun. Direction is dynamic and effective most evidently in the camera work which tends to feel Just Right. Dialogue is very well written and feels very organic. I enjoy the themes of change and reconciliation and feel contrasting the character of the two popes expresses this very effectively, however I would much rather see evidence of genuine change that surely must’ve occurred rather than a simple implication of change as we see. There is the argument to be made that fully reconciling the old and the new without altering material reality, beyond giving speeches encouraging others to do so, represents the will to change being co-opted and perverted by the conservative establishment. But its still a nice sentiment and a well made film regardless.

#film #books #series #opinion #american psycho #se7en #the martian #dredd #the wolf of wall street #enola holmes #shaun of the dead #avatar the legend of korra #ex machina #sourcery #the two popes

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catathyst · 4 years

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OkayOkayOkay

So, now that all the first 10 episodes are out I can finally do my intenseness list and review each one properly now, so let's begin

10. A Very Special Episode

This is obviously the lightest episode of the 10

It is pretty silly and funny, it is basically a psa about not over working yourself :9

Also meme faces

There great c:

The only moment I can even say stressed me out even a lil bit was the part with the doll

Creepy. Very creepy. (Also started theories about him getting Corrupted, losing a eye, or about him turning pink)

Overall, I got a couple laughs out of it, we got to see rainbow and sunstone again which is nice and even got a song which I wanna cover and probably will soon.

9. Snowday

So this was originally 3rd place, cause I expected more of a episode with all the crystal gems, and Steven being forced to talk about his problems and crap, but nope instead we got this

This is pretty light hearted as well, it is about the gems and Steven getting snowed in, and it also shows how much work Steven had to do, also dude, stop with the protein shakes, not good for you :<

(also, I love that Steven is a vegetarian, not vegan, vegetarian "don't confuse the 2" I actually asked like 2 and a half weeks before the episode came out being like, is Steven a vegetarian? Looks like I got my answer)

I also like that pearl shapeshift for the first time since the fake shattering, it really shows her growth, we got more fusions, tho shape shifted as steven

I actually can feel for Steven here, luckily for me I'm gonna have a baby sibling (gender to be revealed on new years) so I will no long be the baby, but sometimes, I also feel like my parents (and my grandparents on both sides, my aunt, great aunt, great uncle, etc) still see me as a child, and being reminded of stuff that happened years ago, when I broke my phone by eating it when I was 4, being reminded of when I was 12 and I ran off with friends, just because I did a great job cleaning that one time I was 10, I'm expected to do it all the time!

*cough* sorry ranted a bit there

But this episode wasn't just for the gems to see then Steven is bigger, cause let's be honest most of us up till snow day saw him as

When in reality

This episode was great, and definitely in my top 5 favorite episodes our of the 10,

8. Guidance

I was originally gonna put rose buds in this slot, but I think in intenseness and angst etc, guidance is slightly less that, episode 2 of the first 10, we start seeing Steven struggling to the fast that not everyone needs help, I can kinda understand it, always wanting to help, even tho not needed, we got to see smokey again :D we also see the first instance of him realizing he doesn't know what he wants to do with his future, and he is worried about losing his touch

Maybe I should rate this out of my favorites... Meh I'll do that at the end

7. Rose Buds

The most awkward episode definitely, especially with the rose that looks like... Well rose, I... Don't got much to say about it really, expect how awkward and funny it is tho

Also Steven's faces

6. Why So Blue?

(this is where it starts getting hard)

First of all, I live for Frankie and Curla (that's what I'm calling then and ur not changing my mind) and this is a good example as to some gems liking there old jobs, other example being holly blue, Jasper and aquamarine/eye ball, also ANOTHER LAPIS SONG YAY

I wanna cover this song too, it is also nice to see lapis's development, she's not perfect, but she's much better and has grown so much :3 and I like how only one shows up at the end, which a. Gives another person to the rebellion that might happen, and also shows that not everyone wants to change, but there are still people who want too

Also, I would die for her

(I reached the 10 image limit oof, gonna split this into 2)

#suf spoiler #suf spoilers #su spolier #su spoilers #steven universe future #steven universe

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fuckingfroggymemesorsomeshit · 4 years

Text

Yknow I’ve spent the last 3-4 weeks day in and day out doing nothing but playing monster hunter world trying to beat it and since I’ve spent well over 100 hrs on it I’m going to make a long post on how I feel about every monster fuck you

Great Jagras - A very well designed first monster. He has a cool gimmick, he introduces the new player to the initially clunky feeling combat and is visually appealing. His end game switch axe is surprisingly good.

Pukei-Pukei - A very good second monster. He’s still not difficult to fight at all, but introduces status condition and flight, as well as a severable tail and more interesting environments to fight in. Very visually appealing, that tail is just begging to be cut off.

Kulu-Yaku - First bird wyvern you fight, and it’s meh. It’s a very fun fight if you use big, heavy hitting weapons like the hammer or greatsword, as he just gets absolutely fucked. His reactions to getting hit are probably the only thing that makes the fight interesting. One thing to note, he is the first monster with a truly heavy hitting move, his leap attack. This introduces you to stun and also backing the fuck away.

Barroth - One of my favorite monsters to fight with a hammer. Really a monster you can just butcher as there’s so many breakable parts on him. Breaking all the hardened mud is satisfying enough, but cracking part of his scalp off and severing his tail almost makes me feel bad for him. Doesn’t bring anything entirely new to the table though other than slinger thorns and environmental traps. Another underrated switch axe on this one.

Jyuratodus - Like the Barroth, this is a fun monster to break up, however the lack of actual severing makes him a bit less interesting. Introduces you to environmental hazards for the hunter, the deep water.

Tobi Kadachi - This monster is the first “difficult” monster you’ll fight, even though he isn’t the most challenging. He has the ability to paralyze you and his rapid attacks can also stun you. He often uses a high damage slam with his tail and moves around faster and more often than any of the previous monsters, and has less attacks that leave obvious openings. He’s the first real monster you fight, very pretty, some really cool looking gear.

Anjanath - One of the poster children of the game, Anjanath seems almost misplaced in this game. Most monsters seem somewhat alien or altered enough from the animal they’re inspired by to fit in this fantasy world, but Anjanath is just a T-Rex. He does breathe fire in his enraged form and his fins give him some uniqueness, but his normal form is just boring. As for fighting, he is quite difficult to begin with, and he has some real hard hitting moves. You may even cart three times to him or run out of time the first attempt, as his weak spots are harder to hit and his damage is higher than any monster before. Very cool weapon designs and okay armor.

Rathian - Rathian is very intimidating at first. Coming off the fight with Anjanath, this seemingly bigger and badder monster appears to be a step up the food chain. And Rathian is somewhat challenging, with access to heavy hitting moves, two status conditions, and true, albeit short and infrequent flight. However, once you realize you can just flash pod flying monsters out of the air for a free knockdown, and that Rathian is significantly weaker after severing her tail, this fight really isn’t too bad. My favorite gunlance in the game comes from Rathian, and the overall design is good.

Tzitzi-Yaku - The Barroth of bird Wyverns. Something about this wimpy Kulu clone with a blind is just so satisfying to bludgeon. I think it’s the fact that you can break his photophores and he will attempt to flash you anyways, despite not having the ability. He has the expressive reactions of Kulu-Yaku and the satisfying breaks of Barroth, with some actually sort of cool armor. What more could you want?

Paolumu - Surprisingly difficult. Paolumu’s tail and hind legs are tough and easy to bounce off of, and he has some truly devastating attacks coming from his front side, making fighting him feel a bit weird. He also stays in the air for a really, really long time, forcing the player to either flash pod or use high hitting moves instead of their normal rotation.

Great Girros - The least satisfying punching bag in the game. This fight in concept is supposed to have you outnumbered, where the real boss is the adds. However, if you use any wide hitting attacks, you will kill all the less Girros before they become an issue, making Great Girros kind of just a slightly larger, lone Girros with more health. Probably the least interesting fight in the game.

Radobaan - The largest monster you’ll have fought so far, Radobaan is truly a spectacle. His appearance is one of the most unique in the game, with tar covering his entire body and bones from other monsters sticking to it and forming an armor for him. Breaking these bones is incredibly satisfying, and his rolling mechanic is somewhat fresh at this point in the game. Armor is quite cool, 7/10.

Legiana - The first apex predator you fight, Legiana can be quite challenging. Her Iceblight makes stamina management a hassle and most of her moves do very high damage. The best way to fight her is to flash pod her out of the sky and mount her as often as possible, keeping her grounded while you focus on her head and stun her. Armor is nice, monster design is very pretty.

Odogaron - My least favorite apex predator. Odogaron does have some nice armor and weapons, but there’s just something about fighting Odogaron that just feels bad. He moves around more than any monster you’ve fought yet, excluding maybe Legiana. Perhaps it’s because I’ve only fought him with heavy hitting, slow weapons, but this fight just feels unsatisfying. He never sits still, and even when he’s knocked over or stunned, he’s flailing about wildly, making his head hard to target. As a hammer user, you see the issue.

Rathalos - Rathian’s boyfriend and an icon of the series. Rathalos is basically just the real Rathian fight. He has true flight that keeps him airborne often and for long periods. makes better use of his fire, has poison talons, and is much more aggressive. This armor is some of the coolest in the game and his sword and shield are my favorite SnS in the game.

Diablos - My favorite apex predator. Diablos is what got me into hammers in my first play through. I had settled for bows, the hunting horn, and the insect glaive before this fight, but something wasn’t working. Diablos was fast, had one shot attacks, and kept me staggered with either his roar or tremor, either knocking me out of the air or keeping me in one spot due to my slow weapons while he charged me. I picked up the hammer, and with it’s increased move speed and stun power, the Diablos was easy to beat. Also, another good monster to just brutalize. You can break both horns as well as chop off the tail.

Kirin - The first elder dragon fight. Kirin, despite giving me a similar situation to Diablos, is a monster I think I hate. It’s fight is definitely the most unique in the game, and it makes you change your play style to fit how it wants you to play, but it just is frustrating to play against. Every other move stuns you, every other move paralyzes you, and this wouldn’t be a huge deal if every other move wasn’t a one shot. Getting caught off guard twice in a row is a death sentence. I haven’t even mentioned that unless you’re hitting it’s ridiculously small head, your attack will bounce off, and then while you’re stuck in the bounce animation, you’ll probably get stunned. Wear thunderproof mantle, use gunlance, and the fight is trivialized, but still not fun.

Zorah Magdaros - I really don’t consider this monster a fight, since you just run around on its back or shoot cannons at it from afar. Okay design, kinda boring, and cool armor/weapons.

Dodogama - Cutest monster in the game, another one you can just go to town on. Break it’s jaw, break it’s tail, break it’s back. This monster has some massive damage, but it’s very telegraphed and easy to avoid, while giving the player every opportunity to punish. Pretty cool armor with good stats.

Pink Rathian - Rathian but pink and with harder scales, an okay monster but overall nothing special.

Bazelgeuse - One of my favorite monster designs. The sleek, smooth scales on the monster make me wanna pet it really bad. A fun fight, his carpet bomb is nothing to scoff at but he never feels like bullshit. Some of the coolest armor and weapons in the game.

Laviosoth - Maybe the most forgettable monster in the game. I really forget what this monster does.

Uragaan - Radobaan wishes he could be Uragaan. The easy to break bones of other monsters that coat Radobaan are overshadowed by the home grown plates of steel that cover Uragaan. His fire attack and bombing runs are devastating, and his chin can one shot you. Also you can mine his back, neat. Armor looks a bit goofy, but I guess so does everything in this game.

Azure Rathalos - Just like how regular Rathalos is the better Rathian, Azure Rathalos is the better Pink Rathian. This is a subspecies that actually changes the way you approach the Rathalos fight, as Azure Rathalos is almost always airborne and spamming fire attacks. Bring flash pods as always, but he may become immune to their effect before you kill him, making the fight much more challenging for melee users.

Black Diablos - Literally no different than Diablos, what’s the difference supposed to be? I dunno. They seem to fight the exact same, but one is black. I think Black Diablos has a new move that functionally is no different from the move it’s a variation of except it has a back hit box?

Nergigante - The best fight for hammers, and the star monster of MHW. The initial area that Nergigante spawns in is filled with places to slide attack with the hammer, really making the fight trivial, given the aerial attacks from the hammer are the best in the game. Nergigantes design is okay, I really think it leaves something to be desired, and the regrowth mechanic seems kinda weird for some reason. I dunno, I don’t like Nergigante as much as I could.

Teostra - One of my favorite visual designs, Teostra has some of the coolest looking armor in the game and a fairly fun, if not uninspired and bland fight. The fire dragon has fire attacks except they’re technically blast, nothing special. Very soft looking, would pet.

Kushala Daora - I think they nerfed this monsters tornado spawn rate since I first played, but my initial encounter with this monster was the most annoying of anything. Kushala is almost always airborne and moves very quickly. Kushala will becomes immune to flash pods. Kushala spawns a lot of tornadoes. At one point, this monster had spawned so many tornadoes that the area I was fighting in was literally filled by tornadoes and there was no walkable area, my poor character was permanently staggered and I could do nothing until Kushala decided to leave. Cool design though, and honestly very cool armor, but I am too afraid to fight Kushala again so I will never farm it

Vaal Hazak - Easiest elder dragon fight, I think Capcom figured that Vaal’s ability to cut your health in half was very strong, so they counter balanced it by giving it no good attacks. Everything is slow and telegraphed and it’s full of weak points. I really don’t have much to say. Okay armor, really cool weapons.

Xeno’jiva - Man, am I glad this isn’t really the final boss. This fight is uninspired, boring, and a slog. There is no part where you are in danger, every move is slow and telegraphed, the only challenge is staying awake. Xeno’jiva is visually uninteresting and has some of the worst weapon designs in the game, they’re literally just stock weapons with Xeno’jiva skins on them, it’s so fucking gay. I am so glad Iceborne’s final boss completely blew Xeno’jiva out of the water.

Pt 2 and Iceborne next post

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lunamanar · 4 years

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Off-the-Cuff First-impressions Review: Trials of Mana

I got Seiken Densetsu 3/Trials of Mana in the mail today and am surprised by just how excited I am about it. After the admittedly predictable letdowns of the Secret of Mana “remake” and the FFVIII “remaster,” not to mention the iOS revision of the former, you’d think I’d be jaded at this point.

But! FFVII remake is Actually Good, and so far it looks like Trials of Mana is, while certainly lower budget, also Actually Good. The voice acting is kinda meh, but not bad enough to detract from the game in my opinion, and considering they are working with SNES-era scripts (the dialogue is 99% word-for-word the same as the more recent translation of the original SD3 game, so it’s going to be a bit stilted anyway) it’s really not bad at all.

Besides, the actual meat of the game--the world, character and monster design, and the gameplay--is extremely solid and I have had very little trouble acclimating to it. It’s fun to play, it feels good to run around and explore the world and the battles are both very simplistic in a way that is familiar to an old fart like me and very satisfying in the way they function. One of the biggest weaknesses the original game had was absolutely horrendous input lag in some areas due to 1. the sheer size of the loaded map section, such as Rolante/Laurant, 2. The number of on-screen instructions the SNES had to process during battles, particularly during fights where you had massive sprites taking up the entire screen (the awful awful wall-guardian “Genova” [harhar] is probably the single hardest boss in the game purely due to input lag/drops; when you attack an enemy, even assuming your weapon swings when you tell it to, and that’s a big ‘if,’ the monster you are attacking is actually in a state which is several frames ahead of whatever state it visually appears to be in on-screen, making it extremely difficult to time your attacks properly to both defend and do optimal damage to what should have been a relatively minor “miniboss” fight). Trials of Mana, on the other hand, has none of those problems, simply thanks to more modern technology. So far every fight I’ve engaged in has been smooth and responsive as well as very visually appealing.

And wow is this game pretty. It’s not the most amazing example of the best graphical advances in gaming history, to be sure, but I genuinely don’t think that matters, as it’s still beautifully detailed and really does look like they took the original graphics and magicked them into more modern models. The re-imaginings of each area and monster are very faithful to both the aesthetic and the layout of the original design while at the same creatively expanding on them; I've had no trouble finding my way around familiar maps or identifying the bestiary, but I have found a lot of added depth to them, such as the ability to jump down on rooftops and find hidden nooks that were just static backdrops or otherwise out of sight in the original. The areas are more layered and interactive, but very importantly, nothing is missing. Not even the dogs and cats, who still bark and meow at you if you talk to them. I feel like I’m being allowed to see and explore the original maps from angles I didn’t have access to in the past. It really makes the 16-year-old in me unbelievably happy, to be able to finally, actually see and do these things I could only wish for back then. For people who have never played it, it’s probably a very pretty, if otherwise unremarkable experience, but for me it’s the granting of a wish I’ve had for a long time, but never expected to happen.

Similarly, I think a lot of people will look at the plot for this game and go, “...what?” Because it really doesn’t seem to have been changed at all from the SNES version, aside from a few little tweaks to the dialogue here and there to ease the transition between some sections or correct for differences in game mechanics (of which there are only a few; again, this is definitely a remake--it remains the same game with the same mechanics at its core). This can lead to some pretty awkward interactions between characters, and at times it seems pretty clear that the voice actors weren’t given a lot of direction about the context of their lines. It’s not a bad story, but it’s a very simply told one, and feels more like it’s targeting 12~16 year-olds (which it probably is, to be fair) who might not care so much about nitpicking the semantics of the plot and character motivations. Which is to say, most of the characters who are not main protagonists or villains are painfully cardboard-flat. They do what they do and say what they say because it advances the plot for them to do and say those things. Elliot falls for a “trick” that I’m pretty sure most 4-year-olds would see through. The Bad Guys are 1-dimensionally evil, wanting to either destroy or take over the world, with the possible exception of Lugar and Koren who have slightly more complicated “I’m your rival” reasons. That leaves the complexity up to the protagonists to shoulder, and while I haven’t played that far into the game yet, thus far is is beat-for-beat and shot-for-shot the same as the original, so I expect that character-building will be left largely up to the player to mentally write in, especially since the game features light/dark class-changes as a feature of its progression. (I do kiiiind of hope that your choice in class changes has a more material effect on the ending’s outcome, but I think that might be asking a bit too much from a remake of this sort.) But the somewhat archaic plot and character arcs are not surprising and for me don’t take away any of the game’s charm. Nikita is still the best, the shop owners still dance inexplicably, the fact you can play a werewolf is badass, rabites are still cute, Don Perignon is still kind of a jerk. I’m very nervous/excited to get Busukaboo and Flammie and hope they’ll be as much fun now as they were then. And the whole world is so damn pretty, I’m just glad to be there.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the music. I’m not sure how much of a hand Hiroki Kikuta actually had in this remake, but the synth-orchestral arrangements of his originals are excellent so far. They’re both accessible/adaptable to the game’s sudden scene transitions (”Nuclear Fusion” starts and ends just as cleanly) while being a richer version of the themes, keeping close to the original sound while making better use of all the instruments that the SNES just wasn’t capable of emulating well. It blends very well with the rest of the game and I hope that continues to be true.

I do have nitpicks; while I know it’s a popular mechanic, I don’t like the “shift-lock” sort of dash using the left analog stick as both directional and a button. I think the camera controls are solid, but I do wish there wan a toggle-option to have the camera just follow over your shoulder wherever you run until you either run into a battle or turn it off. The character models don’t seem especially affected by anything except the most intense/pervasive lighting and sometimes feel oddly out of place, like I’m watching one of those old movies where an animated character comes into the Real World. Some of the monster designs seem cute-ified more than I’d like. And I can’t help but think that if the game can be this nice as a third-tier title for SE, what could it have been if they’d but the resources behind it that they obviously did with FF7? I understand why they didn’t, but it’s hard not to wonder what it could have been if they had. Seiken Densetsu is one of the most fraught series in the history of home video games and the fact that it’s even still around is something of a miracle, in my opinion. After the last...four?...titles following Legend of Mana, and the disappointment that was SD2′s (second!) remake, I really didn’t go into Trials of Mana with high hopes. I have been really, honestly pleasantly surprised. Even if you’re a diehard old-schooler who really doesn’t like modern JRPGs, if you have any nostalgia left for this series, you should give this one a go. I think it translated really well to 3D models, and what little it loses in the switch, it makes up for in playability. It’s not hard to pick up, it’s easy on the eyes and ears, it’s less grind-y than the original, and it doesn’t try to be more than what it is. I’ll probably always prefer the original, of course; there are too many memories attached to it for me, too many things that were groundbreaking at the time that are now old news or completely obsolete nowadays, and the new game certainly doesn’t push any modern boundaries. But it’s worth checking out, and especially if you’ve spent 20 years feeling let down by the Mana series, this might actually be the game you were hoping for, albeit maybe a decade late.

#other games #seiken densetsu #seiken densetsu 3 #sd3 #trials of mana #sd3 remake #long post #i have not proof read this at all #wysiwyg #opinion

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teaveetamer · 4 years

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Alright just for fun Ima rank my personal preferences when it comes to Pokemon gens.

1) Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald

Admittedly this might be a bit of nostalgia talking since these were the first games I really played as a kid, but idc I love them. Archie and Maxie are kind of ridiculous but Hoenn is such a wonderful region that’s interesting and intuitive to explore, the music is pretty kickass, and it’s full to the brim with Pokemon that I absolutely adore.

Main criticism: 7/10 Too Much Water (Also I was not the biggest fan of ORAS as remakes).

2) Black, White, Black 2, and White 2

I’ll admit I wasn’t too keen on these ones when they first came out, but now that they’ve had quite some time to sit I gotta say I love them. IMO this is the last Pokemon game that really took risks, what with having the largest cast of new ‘mons since Gen 1 (and Black and White actually forced you to use them). Admittedly some of the new ‘mons were a bit hit or miss, but with such a large cast there’s at least a lot of cool ones to choose from. I also really wish they’d revisit the sequel idea at some point, getting to explore Unova again from a different angle was truly something special.

Oh, and I’d say Team Plasma is probably, like, the least ridiculous of all the evil teams (barring maybe Rocket, since at least they’re just a gang without world ending aspirations). It honestly had some pretty interesting characters and character focus that I wish more Pokemon games would do.

Also I really liked PokeStar Studios. Sue me.

Main Criticism: A little too linear at points. I know they were trying to phase out HMs, but it did create a sort of annoying situation.

3) Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum

Also perhaps a bit of nostalgia but Sinnoh is an excellent region. Another roster of kickass new pokemon, including some new evolutions to give some of the older ‘mons a bit of an upgrade. Another thing I really wish they’d revisit at some point. There’s also lots of neat little nooks and crannies to explore, and the series’s best rendition of pokemon contests. The little areas with the AI partners and forced double battles were also really cool, IMO.

Main criticism: Not enough new Fire Type ‘mons.

4) Gold, Silver, Crystal (+Heart Gold and Soul Silver)

Crystal was technically my first Pokemon game, though I was too young to really play it properly. I know HGSS are technically remakes but I don’t think I’d like the originals so much if they didn’t get such fantastic remakes. Everything about HGSS is absolutely amazing. Pokeathalon was a fun diversion from the main game, two regions in one game was amazing, and the cute little ‘mons following you around were amazing. Buuut if we go just by the original games then they’re definitely lower on the list, just by virtue of being older games without a lot of the little modernizing touches and QoL fixes we got down the line.

Main Criticism: I find the game generally enjoyable, it just didn’t really grab me like some of the higher games on this list did.

5) FireRed and LeafGreen (with a special shoutout to Let’s Go! Eevee)

I actually didn’t play the original RBY until I was an adult, but I think by now we all know those games were being held together with scotch tape and hope. Kanto, as the OG region, has a special place in a lot of people’s hearts but I just… can’t really get that into it anymore. I mean I enjoy it, but given GameFreak’s incessant need to throw the OG 151 into everything I’m just kind of bored of the region and the ‘mons that came with it.

I will say that the Let’s Go games really spiced things up with the visible map pokemon, following/ride pokemon, different catching system, boxlink letting you switch up your party on the fly, and the adorable as fuck little partner you get to have riding around on your shoulder the whole time. Not to mention the fun little post-game challenges for the completionists out there.

Main criticism: Overuse. Also Let’s Go only included the original 151, even though many gen 1 ‘mons got evolutions or pre-evolutions in future titles. Would have liked to have seen those carried over. Was also not a fan of the lack of breeding or GTS to make certain Pokemon easier to obtain.

6) Sword and Shield

Might just be recency bias, but I did really have a lot of fun with this game. A lot of the locations were really beautiful and I really hope they bring back a big, explorable wild area type thing in the future. It’s one of those things that Pokemon always should have had, but you don’t realize how good it is until you’ve got it. The new ‘mons were probably my favorite new cast introduced in the most recent three gens. Also the clothes perfectly captured my bum aesthetic and I appreciate.

Unfortunately this game loses a lot of points with me because of just how unfinished it is. The towns were woefully small and the story was pretty non-existent. It just screams of a game execs wanted to push out to reach a deadline.

Main Criticism: Obviously unfinished. Probably my least favorite collection of starters ever.

7) X and Y

Honestly the last two slots are pretty interchangeable for me, but I will say I had a lot more fun with X and Y than I did with Sun and Moon. Even if it’s not my favorite I have replayed it at least once, which is not an honor I can give to Sun and Moon.

That said… I just hated a lot of the things X and Y did. I hated megas (and how they were forcibly shoved into ORAS), I was not a huge fan of Fairy type, the rollerskates were fucking stupid, the story was dumb, and just like Sword and Shield there were a lot of “this is clearly unfinished” moments. Granted there were less than Sword and Shield, but they were definitely still there. This was also the first gen to start the “less than 100 new pokemon per gen” tradition.

I’ll also say that this is the first gen where “exclusions” started to become really noticeable. Newer gens always removed features from older gens, but it was usually small stuff or side stuff like contests or the pokeathalon. This time around they put in a whole ass core gameplay feature (megas) only to completely remove them two gens later with very little explanation.

That said, Kalos was a really beautiful region on the whole. PokeParis is probably the best “massive city” that Pokemon has ever done.

A Random Compliment: They finally added sitting to a Pokemon game god bless.

8) Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon

Ridiculous amounts of handholding, small cast of new pokemon, very few Pokemon I was actually tempted to use, and a region I was very meh on. Island trials really didn’t interest me. IMO they didn’t do enough to mix up the formula, it was very much still a Pokemon Game going through the Pokemon Game motions, just with a slightly different coat of paint.

I also find the existence of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon insulting. X and Y were unfinished, but they didn’t then try to sell you the improved version one year after the release of the original at full price.

I know the existence of third versions is a bit controversial, but they didn’t bother me that much with Gens 1-4. Yellow was completely it’s own thing, and Crystal, Emerald, and Platinum were just improving on already extremely solid games. Sun and Moon made me feel like a beta tester. I was honestly so disgusted I’ve still never finished playing Ultra Sun to this day.

Biggest Fucking Criticism: They took away my ability to sit?! One gen after they introduced the magic of sitting?!

#Pokemon stuff

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callunavulgari · 4 years

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Year-In-Life | 2019

Or that annual New Year’s meme about yours truly.

1. What did you do in 2019 that you’d never done before? Had abdominal surgery! I spent most of April either doped up or unconscious. Long story short, I had an ovarian cyst that they thought was twice as big as my fist. So they fast-tracked me to surgery, and discovered that while I did have an ovarian cyst that was pretty large, most of the issue was that my bowel had fused to my uterine wall. Or was it abdominal wall? Either way, my bowel was glued to where it shouldn’t be and very angry because it had a fairly large pre-cancerous polyp in it. Which I found out a week after the abdominal surgery, when I had to have a colonoscopy. Which leads me to...

Had to do three different bowel preps in less than a month! It’s really not fun, guys. But, I got a cyst removed, a polyp removed, a metric fuckton of endo removed, and got my bowel back where it should be. Also, they confirmed that I can have babies! Which I didn’t know I was so fucked up about until I started crying about it post surgery.

Oh, also I peed in a bedpan. That’s also something I’ve never done before. And and and, been sick on Christmas! - Adding Tanya later in this post means I remembered something else I’d never done before - jumped into a pool fully dressed. Then became... no longer dressed.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Still don’t remember what my resolution was which- hey, 2020 Heather! Your 2019 resolution is to legitimately lose weight (she says while eating cotton candy ice cream out of the tub) and quit smoking again. Also, maybe be engaged. But mostly, the weight and the smoking thing.

As for 2019 resolutions- I can guess what they were, which probably boiled down to losing weight. I put on about 20 pounds after surgery and haven’t lost it, because shocker, abdominal surgery really fucks with your core strength. Pretty sure there was something in there about reading 100 books (done), beating 4 games (done), and write something original (done? technically?) and/or novel-length (negative).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? High school people and a few old coworkers. Nick’s cousin and his wife just had their third kid though. I think it may have actually happened on Christmas. 4. Did anyone close to you die? No.

5. What countries did you visit? Alternatively, what is your favorite place that you did go this year? No countries. Went to North Carolina for our possible last beach vacation. In January we’re going to Vegas for our friend’s wedding, which will be interesting. They’re getting married on a ferris wheel by an Elvis impersonator. May also go to Maine this year, but not sure yet because I only have a certain amount of vacation time.

6. What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019? Didn’t get a ring, yet. But we’ll see. We also didn’t get the house yet, so lets recycle those wants! Also, while we’re shooting big here, how about a better goddamn president?

7. What date from 2019 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Started my second big girl job on November 18th. Had surgery on April 12th. Not a whole lot else stands out. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Got a new job! With more money and more responsibility and will look really good on a resume! Didn’t kill myself? Which sounds pretty morbid, but I had a lot of pain in my life earlier in the year.

9. What was your biggest failure? Not... losing... weight? Because I really need to do that. The heartburn bullshit will likely go away. The sleep apnea thing will likely go away. Your health in general will improve. And you don’t even like food that much anyway! 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I think I’ve had the flu twice this year and again, abdominal surgery, so yes. 11. What was the best thing you bought? I got nice clothes? Most of the other shit has been knick-knacks. I got more books. A new bookshelf! 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I don’t know. Mine, I guess. I mean, 2019 wasn’t the worst, but it definitely has not been great. 13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? I have a friend. Let’s call her Amanda. Yeah, her. She’s blown us off a lot this year, which really sucks. The rest of it is her own decisions that only affect us because it’s inevitably going to affect her in a terrible way, but the blowing us off and only using us as passes for free food and ways to do her laundry really sucks.

14. Where did most of your money go? Surgery! My OOP may have been met in April, but the surgery itself was $48,000. I’ve only had to pay about $6,000 because my OOP was 5k, but that still hurts. And my dental sucks, which means I paid out of my ass to fix my teeth. Also, I bought way too many clothes and books. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I do still appreciate having a job with decent money. The new job will have insurance after my 90 day probation period (yeah, because you can’t have health care for 3 months even if you work in health care because you’re new). I’m glad that I caught the polyp before it became cancerous. I was happy I could have babies. I got excited about the new His Dark Materials series and The Witcher series and Kingdom Hearts 3 and God of War, and probably at least a couple other fandom things.

16. What song will always remind you of 2019? Face My Fears. Curse of the I-5 Corridor. Hadestown soundtrack. Transistor soundtrack. Wasteland, Baby! album. Billie Eilish in general. Lark of My Heart. But mostly, Face My Fears and Don’t Think Twice. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Sadder, probably? 2019 wasn’t great. ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter. iii. richer or poorer? Technically probably on par with where I was last year? I didn’t save quite as much as I wanted to with the surgery happening. Also, my car needed some pricey repairs this year. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I do wish I’d written more this year, but I wrote a lot in October. Possibly more than the last two years combined, which was nice. And I read a lot. I kind of wish I slept more. Or ate better. Or worked out more. I’m just really tired this year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Spent less time with doctors? But I mean, taking care of myself is good and I’ve never had that option before.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? Spent it mostly sleeping. We got a bug that was either a really bad cold or a flu, so I’ve spent the last week generally shitty and sweaty and tired. First year that we haven’t been able to do Christmas basically at all. But we spent the hours between 6pm on Christmas Eve and 10am Christmas morning have the most restless goddamn sleep in the world and then opened presents and watched Love Actually and some television (the last two episodes of the Witcher!) while kind of napping on the couch, and ordered Chinese because it was hungry and the only thing open. 21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? Think I’m going to make the pirozki on Sunday, and then we’re doing a gift exchange with some of our friends at his mom’s house. 22. Did you fall in love in 2019? Eh. Still love him. 23. Best month for you this year? Clearly me having a good 2018 while everyone else had a shitty one guaranteed 2019 to be shit, because I honestly don’t fucking know. October was nice. So was August. But fuck most of the rest of it.

24. What was your favorite TV program? Of just 2019? Russian Doll, Glow, The Dragon Prince, Good Omens, Schitt’s Creek, The Terror, Chernobyl, Buzzfeed Unsolved, She-Ra, His Dark Materials, The Witcher... 2019 may have been a meh year, but it had some good shows. Of those, I think my favorite was probably either The Witcher or Good Omens, with His Dark Materials, Russian Doll, and The Terror tying for third. 25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Eh.

26. What was the best book you read? Red, White, & Royal Blue was probably my favorite. I also read Sanderson’s books this year though, which were also absolutely amazing. Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive were wonderful. It was a pretty great year for books too. Books and TV, well done 2019. Middlegame, The Ninth Gate, a lot of rereads. Best one was still Red, White, & Royal Blue though. 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Do Utada Hikaru’s new Kingdom Hearts anthems count? Because Spanish Sahara by Foals, Obstacles by Syd Matters, the new Hozier album, and the Hadestown soundtrack were all wonderful musical discoveries. 28. What did you want and got? I don’t know. New clothes? A laptop? Confirmation that my ovaries work?

29. What did you want but didn’t get? Well, I lost the bet with Brandon. No ring by the end of 2019. No kids, either, but we aren’t quite there yet. No house. No perfect health? Is that a thing?

30. What was your favorite film of this year? I liked Into the Spiderverse a lot. Detective Pikachu. Rocketman.Frozen 2. Endgame was all right. I didn’t hate the new Star Wars. Toy Story 4. IT. It wasn’t a super great movie year for me.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? The big 3-0. It was all right. The night before we went to Fujiyamas with a couple of our friends, then on my birthday we had breakfast at First Watch, did some Christmas shopping, and went to the Zoo Lights a little after 5. Froze to death because it was snowing and shocker, when snow melts you get wet, but it was nice. Then had a late dinner at Mackenzie River, because it was one of the only places still open and close to our place.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Hah! A better president and a ring is the only thing that I didn’t get from my wishes last year. ----Hmmmmm 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018? I did not give up and buys Scrubs. Instead I have a perhaps slightly oversized work appropriate selection of jeans (for Fridays), work slacks, blouses/sweaters, dresses, and skirts. I spent a little too much on clothes this year. I blame discovering Torrid. 34. What kept you sane? Reading was really, really great this year. - STILL leaving this answer, three years running! 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? David Tenant made a shocking comeback after Good Omens aired. 36. What political issue stirred you the most? FUCK DONALD TRUMP IN THE EAR 20156789. —– Ayyyyy, this was my response from last year, and apparently also the year before and the one before! Hello past me’s, don’t worry, it’s still getting worse. 37. Who did you miss? Myself. Also, my brother, who is still in jail almost a year later and still no fucking trial. 38. Who was the best new person you met? I don’t know. Oh! I do know! I really like Tanya.

39. Talk about a new friend that you made this year: Tanya is awesome and pretty and fun and possibly at least a little bit crazy, but we all fucking are, come on. She got to come with us on vacation this year and it really made it interesting. Also, Shay and Alicia. I knew them last year, but got to know them pretty well this year.

40. Post a picture from the beginning of the year:

Took this one about 20 minutes after midnight on January 1st, 2019 after my first successful round of Battleshots. The hat went to the winner. It is not the most flattering picture, because I had been drinking already before I had to take four shots of Satan’s cinnamon liquor.

41. Post a picture from the end of the year:

Taken on my birthday, at the zoo. Again, snow melts.

42. A memorable meal discovered this year? Not sure? There’s not a whole lot of new food we haven’t tried. One of the pharmacists brought in some authentic Indian food for one of the potlucks we had and I don’t remember what it was called but it had rice and eggs and was amazing.

43. What was your favorite memory this year? I don’t know. We saw both Hamilton and Les Mis this year and they both reduced me to tears. I also had some good moments with books and tv shows I watched with Nick.

44. What are you excited for next year? There’s a couple new books. The election. Some tv shows, I think? Games? I don’t know, man. I’m trying not to come off as horribly depressed but I am kind of pretty depressed and nobody will ever know because the only person who ever gets this far into reading these things is me, so- hello 2020 me, you were really sad on December 26th 2019 and honestly for most of the year, so I sure hope 2020 is the year that we fucking seize life by the horns or however that saying goes.

45. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019: I feel like my message from last year is fucking taunting me. Legit though, this is not the worst thing you’ve ever been through. You have a boyfriend who loves you, two wonderful cats that better not fucking die anytime soon, and like, I don’t know, working ovaries. A job. A car. An apartment that has a kind of shitty kitchen and a bath tub that might as well not exist, but is still an apartment! Which is more than some people have!

I guess my message from last year (it gets better) is in almost direct opposition of this year, which is basically: it could always be worse. 46. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: Feed me sunlight, feed me air In a place where nothing matters Feed me truth and feed me prayer

(seriously, deliriously happy 2018 me quoting singin’ in the rain is taunting me wtf)

First Fandom of 2019: January of 2019 was pretty solidly Detroit Become Human. It hit me hard. Favorite Main Character of 2019: Jonathan Sims. I was a slut for the Archivist in 2019. Favorite Villain of 2019: Elias from The Magnus Archives, maybe? My only other response would be.. dun dun dun, Ben Solo aka Kylo Ron or whatever Favorite M/F Couple of 2019: I... am back on my Reylo bullshit. Favorite F/F Couple of 2019: Can I say Villanelle and Eve even if I didn’t really dip into the fandom? No? Okay, Catra and Adora. Favorite M/M Couple of 2019: Okay, so the three that got me this year was Hank/Connor, Jon/Martin, and Ryan/Shane. Fandom That You Never Expected To Get Into: Um, Buzzfeed Unsolved. Never would have guessed that one. Also like, while I would have expected Detroit Become Human I never would have guessed my favorite ship. Fandom That Made An Unexpected Comeback: Sigh. Twas that Reylo smacking me in the face at the tail end of 2019. Fandom That Inspired The Most Crack: Insert shrug? I read a weird Buzzfeed Unsolved fic above Mothman giving the guys sharable dreams (that were sometimes weird and sometimes sexy) until they boned. Last Fandom of 2019: Sighing again. Reylo. Though Yuletide has made it so I’ve read a lot of Queen’s Thief stuff. Favorite Fandom of 2019: I think that Buzzfeed Unsolved was my favorite purely from a fic standpoint, but Detroit Become Human and The Magnus Archives were both really great too.

#heather says what #2019 #new year's memes #selfie tag?

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veestormcourage · 5 years

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I’ve finally gotten around to the Ace Attorney anime

And boy am I disappointed so far!

Not sure I need spoiler breaks for an anime that’s already been out for a few years and a game that’s been out for over a decade in the states and more than fifteen years in Japan, but I’ll still pretend no one knows about the sled, so to speak.

FIRST POINT: Animation

Seriously, the animation is shit. I’m having flashbacks to Sailor Moon Crystal. I didn’t take a million screen caps of it like I did for Crystal, but type the following into Google and take a look: ace attorney anime bad animation. When Phoenix bows to Grossberg, his hands did the same thing Jadite’s did, and in the very beginning when he’s apologizing to Mia for being late, again, the hands. His hair spikes are constantly changing size, the 3D is egregiously terrible when they pan the courtroom in the first episode (not so bad when they don’t pan the model), and the gallery in the second trial (ep. 2-5) could have been made with better models back in the original game’s launch year...of the Japanese version!!! The use of effects only in the trial of ep. 1 just highlights further what a dumb idea it was (albeit one sort of taken from the live action movie), while the whole magic screens coming from the paneling thing seems just plain dumb given at this point the setting of the games has turned around and become “present day” instead of “fifteen years into the future.” Inconsistencies with things like Mia’s boobs and Phoenix’s hair spikes aside, the actual models they came up with...are pretty terrible, actually. Phoenix’s forehead is just plain wrong, Gumshoe’s head is all...something...Mia looks like she has an animation error instead of a mole, the whole makeup thing when Maya channeling is idiotic and kind of sexist when taken in context with the credits animation, Mia wears slight heels and is only 8 cm/3 in. shorter than Phoenix in the first place yet she’s way shorter standing next to him in court -- for that matter, Maya is 22 cm/8 in. shorter than Phoenix, yet she only seems to come to his collar. This tends to be true in all the official art that she’s absolutely diminutive, but it’s always irritated me there as well, so I’ll just grouse about that one on the entire franchise.

On pan outs, the judge is literally a tan ball with a beard. Contemplate that quality kwality for a second.

SECOND POINT: Sound

The use of music from the games is a lot more understated than I was expecting, which is a crying shame because the franchise’s music is beloved by fans, and has been acclaimed repeatedly for years. When I did hear the motifs from the games, I started to feel a shred of hope for the anime. The opening is just fluffy nonsense, generic OP stuff that will be forgotten immediately and probably skipped if VRV will stop being a pain in the ass every time I jump around. I like that VRV gives me the option of dubbed or subbed. I also appreciate that if I go to Crunchyroll itself instead of its VRV channel, I can choose the English or Japanese names on the sub track. I wish that option was on VRV as well, just because I find it interesting, but meh. I don’t hate the credits song, but I’m not...happy with aspects of the animation on it. But that’s for character reasons, not technical ones.

THIRD POINT: Voicing

I’ve watched both the dub and the sub, and I have to say, I like the fan VAs better from the years of fan-dubbing of the games. Slightly British Edgeworth and scratchy Phoenix Wright are better than either official VA. That said, I like Japanese Wright and Maya better than English, and I was so disappointed when I heard Edgeworth’s lack of posh accent that I went immediately back to subtitles, which is a shame because this is the kind of franchise where I might have actually gone with the dub. And yet, that shrieky “WHAT” to open Ep. 4 in English...yeah, that lost me. Sorry, US English Maya.

FOURTH POINT: Subtitles

Just gonna say, just because they kept the English names for one of the subtitle tracks doesn’t mean they had to keep all of the localization aspects. Hearing Maya say “miso ramen, RA~MEN!” and seeing “burgers” gets weird. To be fair, this was similar to the dissonance I had to wrap my head around when Digimon Adventure Tri came out.

SIXTH POINT: Compression

Actually, no complaints. I think they’ve done well with what to cut and what to keep, and using the time they have to make the characters feel as over the top as they were in the games, so far. Little sad the cute moment where Phoenix carries Maya to the couch was lost, though.

FINAL POINT: Characterization

This section is mostly gonna be about Maya, but I’ll knock a couple other things out of the way, first. One is that Mia sounds a lot more...motherly, than I was expecting. Another is that it seems weird Maya heard Mia in Ep. 4 when that’s...not a thing. At all. The judge seems less like a doof so far, and Edgeworth’s pompous ass has yet to seem quite as pompous as it should. Gumshoe seems even less competent than usual, though, given his weird posing when entering the scene.

Maya got to point things out during the case and show signs of intelligence, which is nice, because half the fandom has her as Phoenix’s cool sis or something akin and recognizes her common sense wisdom and the other half has Crya the burger monster. In the games, Maya gets Phoenix to actually pay her share way less than in fanon. Her sprites present someone who’s a lot more solid and steady than the promo art does, which I’ve never been able to wrap my head around. I’d finish a game, unlock that final CG, and be like “wait, what?”

So then this anime comes out, and I hear her voiced, and I go, “Wait, so she is the high-pitched adorable mascot?” I’ve never understood the universal need for them in every single anime and take great joy in subversions like Kyubey and the “Fairy” guy in Mahou Shoujo Ore. It’s not that I don’t like them when done well, it’s just, if the series isn’t fantasy, they seem to squish a female into the role. “Mayushii-de~su.” Like that. So hearing Maya done like that...ew. Just, ew. It also makes her seem much, MUCH younger than 17. I moved out on my own when I was 18 and hadn’t come to terms with my gender, but I wasn’t sitting there with makeup to try to be more “adult,” either. I think most girls go through that, sure, but it’s more of a middle school thing. Even I did, and if 13 year old me (who wore makeup every day) was told “I have a magic ray that will make you a boy” I would have thrown my compact away and asked “Can you make it look like an accident? My parents are Fundamentalists.” And maybe I’m wrong for bringing my experiences into this, but then again, I’m not trying to give a professional critique, but my personal review, and in the end, that boils down to what I like and don’t like, which, meh, what can I say, I’m an innately selfish creature and myself doesn’t like seeing girls pressured to use makeup to be “grownups.” Sailor Moon always did that, too, and that’s one of my all-time favorites but LORD I hate that aspect, and hate that it’s persisted across adaptations for decades. I hate that Maya’s new look in SoJ has lip gloss, too. Like, “Hey, we back-stepped on all the growth at the end of AA3, so how can we show she’s matured?” “I know! Lip gloss!” “Perfect, give that guy a raise!”

CONCLUSION: I’m gonna go over to AO3 and read “Archeology” again because it’s the Ace Attorney characterization we all really deserved and probably still come back and watch the entire series, but I’m gonna pray really hard it improves as it goes. Maybe it got some actual money for the sequel seasions.

#ace attorney #ace attorney anime #gyakuten saiban #gyakuten saiban anime #rantz #is this how i used to tag things

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peterjakes · 5 years

Text

My Mad Fat Diary Fanfic - The Two Months - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The First Meeting

I'm still unsure about this chapter - maybe a little too dialogue centric? Lemme know.

Archie and Barney meet in a corner shop - how exciting!

Also posted on ao3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20154688/chapters/49483409#workskin

Some meetings are by chance, you both need to stock up some jam, you both love the theatre, you both need to cross the road. Others are controlled by fate, or at least that’s what Archie’s mum always says. His parents met by this apparent notion. It was meant to be. Archie never really believed in that. Maybe, there was some truth in it, but it wasn’t this magical thing. They met. Liked each other. Fell in love. Got married. Had two kids. End of.

It wasn’t that Archie hated romance or anything like that. Actually, he was a pretty romantic soul. He’d just never been given the chance to show that side of him. Sneaking Rae off to the leisure centre after hours hadn’t been his best work, even he could admit that. He had taken Lacey Croft to see Sense and Sensibility when it came out, which he thought was a pretty good shot. He’d never been romanced though. Something he wanted to change. But something they seemed pretty unlikely.

But fate? Archie wanted to believe in it, he really did. But sadly didn’t. There wasn’t some kind of powerful force controlling your life or who you met. Your own actions decided that. And it just happened that Archie decided to get a pint of milk for the house the exact time that Barney was stocking up on some cigarettes and a crate of beer. What a coincidence.

“Archibald!” Archie had just picked up a pint of milk from the freezer when he heard the voice of the boy who had infiltrated his dreams the past few days. He turned his head, the first thing his eyes saw was Barney’s glistening smile, the one that made all of the girls weak at the knees, a feeling that Archie was beginning to understand.

Barney strolled over to Archie, with a little swagger in his walk. Archie was quite bemused at this sight, Barney also seemed super cool, but the current setting almost diminished that. Managing to compose himself just as Barney slapped his hand onto Archie’s shoulder, his usual sign of ‘hello’, Archie tried to rid the thought of anything unnatural. “Good to see ‘ya mate, it’s been a while. What ‘ya been up ‘ta?”

“Oh, you know.” Archie pushed his glasses off of the rim of his nose, wanting to seem as chilled out as possible and not making it obvious that he’d wish the ground would just swallow him whole before he did something or said something embarrassing. He wasn’t entirely sure how to react to Barney, especially after his recent conversations with Finn and Chop. Yes, he was also friendly, and they’d gotten pretty close over the past year, but they weren’t ‘best pals’.

“Always so mysterious. I like it.” Barney gave the boy beside him a subtle smile and edged towards him slightly, already holding tight his packet of cigarettes. Archie was beginning to feel uneasy – he didn’t want there to any awkward silences or for him to blurt something out that was ruin the conversation. It had been a long time since the two had seen each other or even been alone together, and Archie didn’t want to spoil it. He’d like this moment to last more than 10 seconds if he was being completely honest.

There a pause. Luckily for Archie, Barney knew how to fill it. One of his many talents, one that he knew he’d had to invoke with Archie. He was a funny sort. That’s what Barney first thought when they met. Not that there was anything strange about Archie or off. Barney always held him in high regard. He could just tell that he wasn’t like other lads, he had more about him. It was no wonder he had so many girls after, nearly as many as Barney – which was something he would have never admitted out loud.

“Saw Chop ‘t’day,” Barney said as casually as he could, not wanting it to seem like he was egging Archie to say anything he didn’t want to.

“Oh?” Of course, he had. Archie tried to hide his disappointment at the mention of Chop. It was unlikely that they’d talked about Archie, or that Chop would have mentioned what he asked about when Archie last saw him. Chop wasn’t always aware of certain things, but he wasn’t stupid, and he wouldn’t have dropped Archie in it. But why would Barney mention it? Archie didn’t tell anyone every time he saw Finn or Rae. Was it a coincidence that Chop had mentioned Barney and then they suddenly met up? Maybe. Archie was always a worrier, especially when it came to things like this. But he was out now. Properly. He needn’t have things to worry about. Not really. But that just wasn’t the case. He could feel himself getting more worked up by the minute, praying to God that Barney didn’t notice. Thankfully for Archie, Barney was none the wiser. Even though he should have been, by the way Archie was acting. He could extremely obvious at times like these.

Barney could see a slight confusion on emerging on Archie’s face, but couldn’t understand why. Barney liked to pride himself on being a pretty good judge of character, but Archie was someone he still couldn’t figure out. Even after knowing him for five years. To try and ease the tension, he brushed past Archie, slightly leaning over him and grabbed the last crate of beers sitting on the shelf and gave Archie a little wink as if to say, ‘when you know, you know’.

“He’s such a mental case sometimes, always going on about some crap. I don’t know how you spend so much time w’him, I need breaks in-between” Barney said as he popped the beer create under his arm, trying to make it didn’t slip away. His infectious laugh filled the small corner shop, which was empty besides the two boys and Mr. Parker. Archie couldn’t help but smile at this, Barney’s biggest fan (apart from possibly Archie) was himself. But that was something that made him so endearing. He was ridiculously cocky, but he didn’t love himself to the point that you couldn’t have a decent conversation with him. And he did care about other people. Even if he cared about himself just as much.

“It’s a special skill of mine,” Archie said with such confidence that it almost didn’t sound like him. His apparent attempt at something, flirty? Possibly. But Barney was right – Chop could be a right handful, especially when he had a plan or got excited about something quite menial. But that was what made him so charming.

“I bet it is. Might have to teach meh. Got any other special skills?” Barney was an extremely flirtatious person. He seemed to flirt with everyone. This was something that Archie didn’t notice when they were first introduced. Too innocent. But since he’d gotten to know Barney, he saw how much he flirted with the girls. Sometimes the things he said, to even Finn or Chop, seemed a little… well… “I never got ‘ta chance to say,” Barney placed the crate down beside the two, creating a bridge between them and disrupting Archie’s thoughts. “I thought what ‘ya did was super brave, mate.” A crack appeared in Barney’s voice, which did ruin the sincerity of what he wanted to say. That didn’t happen often, usually, his confidence would fill the room. This was a side Archie wasn’t used to. But he liked it. He liked the vulnerability in him.

Archie was pretty surprised Barney even dared to mention his coming out. Not many of the lads Archie hung around with had, apart from Finn and Chop. He’d assumed they didn’t hate his guts considering they still wanted to see him. And maybe some thought what he did was cool. But none had outrightly said it was, as Barney put it, ‘brave’. Archie could see Barney was waiting for an answer, but Archie didn’t know what to say. ‘Thanks’ probably wouldn’t cut it. He started to fiddle with his glasses and avoided Barney’s eye.

“Urm, right. Cheers, Barn. Appreciate that.” blurted Archie, who hadn’t had a clue on how to respond and that was the nonsense his brain decided to go with. ‘Appreciate’. Wow. Archie really knew how to sound like a 50-year-old woman.

“I mean it, mate. I couldn’t have. You’re class.” Somehow, Barney not avoiding the subject and actually talking about it head-on was really attractive for Archie. It showed him that Barney wasn’t afraid. Wasn’t afraid of talking about it. But why did he mention it? When Archie had originally come out, Barney wasn’t around much. Archie didn’t think this was intentional, a lot of people had started to avoid him, but for some reason, he didn’t think that was why. But when Barney had been around, he still acted the same way towards him. Maybe even a little kinder. Like he understood in some way.

It became obvious to Barney that Archie didn’t particularly want to talk about ‘that’, and Barney got it. It was still relatively new for Archie, and having people going on about it to him probably wasn’t the best thing to do, so he tried to swiftly move the conversation along to something a little less awkward.

“Should come for a drink w’me and the lads, been way too long. Be a laugh.” Barney couldn’t remember a time where he and Archie had been alone together. He didn’t want to seem so forward, but Archie was a mate and well… he wanted to get to know him better. He heard of the gang having a bit of trouble the past few months, and in that time, he’d spent more time with Chop than anyone else. But only now did he wish he’d reached out to Archie. He’d been given a load of shit from too many people. But anyway, they wouldn’t alone. Little Al and Lizard would tag along, they always did. But Barney didn’t mind admitting to himself that spending some time with Archie, without anyone else, would probably be quite enjoyable.

“I’d love that. Need it.” Archie nodded, trying to seem casual. He did need a drink. That was something he had needed more and more recently. Which wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

“College working you hard?”

“Just a tad. Never see you there.” Archie tried to pass this off with a cheeky smile, which was reciprocated by the handsome boy beside him.

“I’m there! Sometimes. Just got better things to do with me time, mate. Could join me somet-“ Barney stopped mid-sentence, glancing towards the shop window as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have. Archie looked in that direction but didn’t see anything significant. He gazed back over to Barney, who was still distracted by the non-existent distraction. What was he going to say? Why didn’t he want to finish it? Archie had spent way too long overcomplicating and worrying about these kinds of things in the past. But he was young. And couldn’t help it.

Archie waited a moment before bringing Barney back to reality, “Barney?”

“Sorry, mate.” Barney shook his head, ridding whatever that thought was from his mind and gave Archie one of his signature smiles. “College isn’t me cup o’tea, let’s just say that.” Archie could tell there was more to it than that. It was true Barney, like most of the people Archie knew, hated college and tried to spend as much time as they could away from it.

“Whose is it really? Some of us just need it.” And wasn’t that the truth. Archie hadn’t been enjoying college for a while – but it had become a routine. Something he had to do, especially if he wanted to actually make something of his life.

“Going Durham, right? That’ll be class, mate.” Barney didn’t know much about any universities. That wasn’t his scene, not really. But he did think it pretty cool how committed Archie was. He knew what he wanted, he’d worked hard for it, and he was going to get it. And get out of this dump. Barney was rather jealous, a feeling he wasn’t used to.

“Yeah, guess so. Nothing can beat this beautiful town though, eh?” And Barney’s face. That was something Archie would desperately miss.

“Oi – don’t go dissing it! Barney Stimson was born and raised here and look at him now!” Barney started to show off, flipping the beer crate between his two flexed arms and just catching it.

“Suppose it has a special something – whatever that is.”

“Ha! You know, you can funny be when ‘ya want to. Very,” Barney laughed and punched Archie lightly on the shoulder. “But I better go, mate.” Barney bowed his head with some sincerity, waltzed towards the counter and within a flash he was gone.

Archie allowed himself to take a moment as if he needed to exhale after quite a stressful 5 minutes. He glanced down to his hands, to make sure he wasn’t shaking and picked the pint up again. Not caring if it was full fat or skimmed. He didn’t understand why he’d become so nervous around Barney. They’d hadn’t seen each other in while; in all honesty, Archie hadn’t given Barney much thought. He’d been so involved with his and the gang’s problems that nothing else has entered his brain. But since speaking to Chop and even Finn, Barney had been in his mind. They were friendly enough with each other. But one of the only times they’d actually spent a lot of time together was at that sexy party. Since then, well, it wasn’t that barney had avoided him or even vice versa, but their paths hadn’t crossed much. Which disappointed Archie. He liked Barney and his company. But he hadn’t thought beyond that, not really. He hadn’t let himself.

But seeing Barney again, in the flesh, made all the world of difference to Archie. He actually felt happy for once, which was a rare feeling for Archie recently. He was almost skipping down the road on the way home at the thought of seeing Barney again. He knew that his problems could go away or be solved, even if he wasn’t facing up to them just yet.

#mmfd #my mad fat diary #mmfd fic #mmfd fanfic #mmfd fanfiction #the two months #*my writing

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smile-smile-ichthys · 5 years

Text

A Princess’ Choice - Chapter 9

Game: Be My Princess Pairing: Oh who’s it gonna be? MC X a butler maybe, or a prince Genre: Comedy, fluff, drama MC Name: Kia Rating: I’m sure this will be ok as a 15 but it MAY change in the future, depends on where I want to take this fic…I really should plan better.

Summary: Kia Michael is Lord Nobel Michaels hidden granddaughter and she has a huge responsibility in being heir to the throne, finding a husband is one. She knows marrying a prince from another kingdom would be hugely beneficial to everyone…but what if it’s a butler who captures her heart instead?

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Tagging @hifftn

“And, of course, not forgetting the rule 487 that was established way back…” Prince Joshua continued talking as we took a walk outside together.

Two days. I had only been here two, whole, days, and he was still going on about the glorious rules of his kingdom. Was this even real anymore? Was I hallucinating at this point? He wasn’t even doing this in order either! How the actual fuck did he manage to go through all his rules without doing them in order?! Normally, I’d be impressed at the skill of it, but honestly? I was bored out of my mind. I couldn’t wait to get back to my room and discuss what Zain had found from the rumours. Roberto said he found something too. But no, I couldn’t learn about this yet, I had to spend time with Joshua. Official duties and all.

“Fascinating” I piped up since I hadn’t spoken for a while.

“Isn’t it? I heard Michel has less than half the rules we have here, so if we were to marry, I’m sure we could implement some” he suggested.

“Erm” I hesitated.

“Naturally for the benefit of the kingdoms…” Oh I’d had enough already, so I changed the subject.

“You like food right?” I said.

“I do” he looked confused.

“Then let’s go make something” I smiled, grabbing his hand and leading him to the kitchen. If I still had, what, an hour or so with him before I could go to Zain, I would at least have some fun.

“But, we can just get Jan to get us…” he said.

“NO! I want to make it, loosen up Joshua, besides Jan and Zain are busy” I smiled at him again, causing a small blush to form across his cheeks.

I pretty much dragged him to the kitchens, he wasn’t complaining, just hesitant to be the one who was going to be doing the cooking. I didn’t care. Me and Zain used the kitchen together all the time to bake. However, Joshua was brought up completely differently, he’d never set foot in a servants area unless it was to find Jan.

God bless Jan. He was a little angel who took a lot from his master, and yet never stopped smiling. I’d discovered that he originally was a spy from Nervan for Prince Leo, but it all turned out ok in the end. And that was the short version I had gotten last year. Things were still a little tense between the two countries but, nothing to be too worried about. Jan was forgiven and they both went right back to their original relationship. It was almost like Jan enjoyed being scolded by the prince. Meh, each to their own. I was just happy Jan bailed me out a lot of the boring activities. This time? He had training with Zain.

The kitchen was huge, of course it was, and it didn’t help I had no idea what to make. We both stood in the entrance for a good few seconds before Joshua broke the silence.

“You don’t know what to make, do you?” he asked.

“I so do, erm…rice balls!” I laughed when I saw a bag of rice. Simple enough for him to pick up, but fun to do. I let go of his hand and began pulling out some pans to start cooking the rice. Ah but what to put in them? Hmm. The fridge would tell us! I gazed inside to see what meats I could use. Salmon would work…chicken…ew not venison…yeah that would do.

I happily trotted around gathering everything whilst Joshua stood there.

“Ok, rice is cooking, so let’s prepare the filling together, yeah?” I suggested.

“Sure, erm ok” he finally said, coming to stand next to me instead of leaning against a counter.

“Do you prefer Salmon or chicken?” I asked.

“To eat or?” he asked.

“Oh, you’ve never cooked before, ok, sorry I mean to prepare…slice and dicing…you do the salmon as it’s easier” I said.

I happily showed him how to cut the salmon safely and got him working in the herbs and spices to the fish.

“Is this what you did before you became a princess?” he asked.

“Hmm? Oh, make rice balls?”

“Cook”

“Oh, yeah, me and my parents would bake a lot together, was our fun time” I smiled. Joshua, however, almost frowned.

“Wonder what that was like” he said out loud.

Oh fuck. He didn’t grow up around his parents. I just stepped my foot in it with him. Joshua wasn’t a bad guy, sure he had high standards, lots of rules, but to be honest, he didn’t know any different. I guess a lot of the princes didn’t. I suddenly felt pretty bad. He didn’t know how much fun you could have with your parents just messing around with flour. The laughs, the sheer joy that you all shared together. Shit. What do I do? Quick Kia, think! I smirked when an idea popped into my head and chucked a piece of garlic at him.

“…what the hell?” he asked.

I laughed, tossing more food at him. He flinched and dodged, but quickly realised what I was doing, beginning to throw food back at me. I laughed harder when he finally joined it. We both ran round the kitchen, using the cabinets and table tops for cover, and he quickly grabbed the squirty cream from the fridge when he reached it.

“No, Joshua…oh my gosh no!” I laughed backing away.

“Oh yes, you started this” he grinned. He actually looked quite…handsome smiling naturally like that. You know, enjoying himself for once.

He lunged at me but missed me. We dodged, played and I hid with my own weapon, ketchup! Thank you ketchup Gods.

“Princess? Come on, I won’t hurt you” he chuckled, looking around.

“Maybe not, but I have ketchup now, so put your weapon down” I smirked from my hiding spot.

“Ketchup? Oh, that almost rivals mine, so I won’t back down” he stalked towards my voice. I heard his footsteps draw closer and closer. I readied the lid, hands braced for squirting. When I heard him close enough, I yelled as I stood, squeezing the bottle as hard as I could. He shouted in objection, but returned the favour with his cream. Damn, we were both covered, but neither of us cared. He lunged at me again, grabbing me and pulling me close.

“Have a taste!” he laughed, squirting the cream directly onto my face.

“Ah no!” I laughed harder until he finally stopped. I glanced up at him. He was very handsome, even covered in ketchup. If only he wasn’t such a stickler for the rules, I could easily for this man.

“Kia…” he said “the rice”

“Ah fuck yes!” I said, jumping up and pulling the rice off the hob.

“Jan is going to be so confused as to what just happened” he admitted.

“I think he’ll laugh when you explain” I said.

“I think he’ll be more confused” he said in reply.

“OH, wanna bet?” I asked.

“What do we bet?” he asked.

“Well, as long as it isn’t against the rules for you to bet, if I win, we do what I want to do tomorrow” I suggested.

“And if I win, I get to show you the library that holds every single law every made” he said. Ugh. Tough bet.

“You’re on!”

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Naturally, I won. Of course Jan laughed at what we had done. So I happily excused myself to go and plan for us tomorrow. It was also to find out what Zain and Roberto had found out.

With Roberto on loud speaker, Zain sat next to me on my bed.

“Not going to lie Kia, this was hard” Roberto said “but Zain did so well!”

“Thank you, your highness” Zain smiled “As he has already said, it was difficult, rumours can be extremely hard to trace, but thanks to Prince Roberto’s influence, we managed to track the source”

“Was I right?” I asked.

Zain simply nodded.

“Damn” Was all I could say.

“Reckon we could get Edward involved at this point?” Roberto asked.

“If I may” Zain asked “I think I have a slightly better plan that would be more beneficial”

“OH do tell us Zain” Roberto asked. I gestured for him to go ahead.

“It may be risky, but I think in the end, it may genuinely help Prince Edward to gain back more power, maybe even be the fall of the people in government”

Now THAT I was interested in.

#a princess' choice #bmp #bmpp #prince joshua #prince roberto #butler zain #voltage inc #fanfic #chapter 9

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