#ALSO there has to be some kind of a protection scene for jackie because that is ALL they want

[canwriteitbetterthanueverfeltit]

ugh I keep realizing there are more scenes/revelations/moments I want in this story and I don't know how tf I'm gonna get all this done without having actual time to not rush myself and just sit and replan

[sixstepsaway]

right, so, here are my Thoughts about that whole thing now i've slept on it. probably won't be super coherent but here we go

i feel bad for stede. he got shoved, somehow, into the weird love interest role so many female characters find themselves in, where they are truly completed by a man and a romance not the things they've been striving for throughout the series so far. he's shown no sign of wanting to give up the pirate lifestyle he's just finally got back, and to accompany him giving that up with izzy's gorgeous "piracy is about family and somewhere to belong" speech from earlier just feels cruel. we joke about how episode 2 stede wouldn't care if lucius died but that changed, he got attached, his crew became his family. they were loyal to him and followed him even when they were just working at spanish jackie's for pennies. they respected him and loved him enough to let him talk them into letting ed back on board. this was, at least at this point in stede's arc, his happy ending. in fact, you can even argue he was happy without ed for a while at the start of this episode. his relationship with ed is important and it's icing on the cake, but it isn't something to complete him, or his only source of happiness -- nor should it be!!! and then for some reason ed shows back up, fishes up his leathers, kicks ass to save him, loses izzy and now they're leaving stede's ship and crew and found family to... run an inn made out of the world's shittiest fixer-upper? stede? stede twirly fancypants bonnett??? in that place? maybe at the end of a full run this might have felt like a good conclusion to his story, him realizing he wanted belonging, not necessarily to be a pirate, and maybe them bringing some of crew along to have their home somewhere safer and happier than the piracy they don't really enjoy but turn to because they have no other choice, but right now it just feels like... honestly like either he agreed to it to keep ed with him ("AITA for convincing my boyfriend to run an inn with me after leaving him two days ago because we were moving too fast? little backstory: this involved my boyfriend leaving everything in his life for me and no i did not apologize for running off to become a fisherman") or like, as i said up there, a matter of "actually all he needed was a BOYFRIEND all along" which... ngh. stede is more than his relationship.

idk why we bothered establishing that frenchie, jim and even archie were willing to put their lives on the line and lie to ed's murderous face to save izzy's life just for them to be stone-faced and have no feelings about his loss. like, okay, ed and he's stories are tied together and him dying in ed's arms makes more sense narratively than him dying in anyone else's, but also ed hadn't earned that and izzy deserved to die in the arms of someone who hadn't tried to kill him and shot him in the leg not to mention we went from fang's squishy hug and frenchie holding his hand to just... nothing? not a thing? roach, the ship's surgeon, did nothing to try and save him? it's just ed slapping his gunshot wound pathetically?

it strongly feels like they swapped izzy and ed's roles in his death scene sounds stupid but hear me out "you're my only family" would make so much more sense coming from izzy with ed dying in his arms. izzy's desperation to keep hold of ed, right down to accidentally pushing him down the kraken path at the end of season 1, being rooted in the feeling that ed is all he has in the world? ed responding that no, the crew love izzy. he's earned their love. he has a family outside of ed now, can't he see that? that makes so much more sense, considering izzy nearly died for them multiple times and spent the first few episodes trying to protect them and then being protected by them in kind he was their new unicorn!!! meanwhile ed said sorry to fang, izzy and lucius, and no one else has been shown to give any fucks about him since that whole thing, and like... rightly so? because he hadn't earned them back at all? and he fucked off on them too last episode lol dont forget he didnt JUST leave stede

we should have known better than to trust djenks when he broke jim and olu up for no reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ idk

nothing worth a damn happened this episode it was all running around and waving swords. idk how anyone got to where they were at the end. it was just poor writing.

the pacing has been off all season but they really shoved three episodes into one and hoped it'd work

i'm getting flashbacks to the timeless ~finale~ ugh

they spent so much time one ed's stupid fishing boat monologue instead of on ANYTHING ELSE

i ran out of thoughts

oh, here's another: the show walked a line between muppetry and things that were taken seriously lucius' finger, izzy's toes: serious ed getting bonked by a cannonball: emotionally serious, but not physically serious ed and stede both getting stabbed: not serious and what was treated as serious and what was treated as handwavy was dictated by what the storyline and the emotional needs were izzy getting shot to make it so they all had to run away yapping would have been hilarious, especially if he got back to the ship and went "nah eddie it's my left side, remember what i told you about the left? nothing important on the left" "your liver" <- roach, horrified but instead weird death scene because this was treated as physically serious, even though it...should not have been, really? and that is bothering me a lot too, because when lucius was thrown to his death, we looked at stede finding the crew on the island and went, "aha! lucius will be fine, because that's what the show logic is" and we were right, because the show had taught us that but that didn't extend to izzy for this and that's just weird

[introvertguide]

Influential Directors of the Silent Film Era

Upon hearing that I am a fan of silent era film, people will ask if I have a favorite actor or movie from the time period. However, when I am asked about my favorites from other fans of silent film, it tends to involve my favorite director. This is because silent film actors had to over gesticulate and performed in an unrealistic way and could not use their tone or words to convey emotion. The directors also did not have a way to review as they shot and would have to use editing skills and strategic cover shots to make sure that everything was done properly and come out the way they imagined it. It was up to the director to be creative and they were forced to be innovative and create ways to convey their vision. Luckily for many average or poor directors of the time, audiences were easily impressed. However, today's more demanding and sophisticated audiences can look back at some of the genius behind the films of silent era Hollywood.

Alice Guy-Blache: Matrimony's Speed Limit (1913) and The Fairy of the Cabbages (1896)

Art director of the film studio The Solax Company, the largest pre-Hollywood movie studio, and camera operator for the France based Gaumont Studio headed up by Louis Lemiere, this woman was a director before any kind of gender expectations were even established. She was a pioneer of the use of audio recordings in conjunction with images and the first filmmaker to systematically develop narrative filming. Guy-Blanche didn't just record an image but used editing and juxtaposition to reveal a story behind the moving pictures. In 1914, when Hollywood studios hired almost exclusively upper class white men as directors, she famously said that there was nothing involved in the staging of a movie that a woman could not do just as easily as a man.

Charlie Chaplin: The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1923), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), and The Great Dictator (1940)

It is unfortunate that many people today think of Chaplin as silly or for screwball comedy when, in fact, he was a great satirist of the time. He created his comedy through the eyes of the lower economic class that suffered indignities over which they had no control. He traversed the world as his "Tramp" character who found his fortune by being amiable and lucky. The idea that a good attitude and a turn of luck could result in happiness was all that many Americans had during the World Wars and the Great Depression. He played the part of the sad clown and he was eventually kicked out of the country for poking fun at American society. Today he is beloved for his work, but he was more infamous than famous during a large part of his life.

Buster Keaton: Sherlock Jr. (1924), The General (1926), and The Cameraman (1928).

That man that performed the most dangerous of stunts with a deadpan expression, Buster Keaton was a great actor, athlete, stuntman, writer, producer, and director. It is amazing that you could get so much emotion out of a silent actor who does not emote, but Keaton managed to do it. He was also never afraid to go big, often putting his own well being at risk to capture a good shot. Not as well known for his cinematography or editing as many of the other directors of the time, he instead captured performances that were amazing no matter how they were filmed. Famous stunts include the side of a house falling down around him, standing on the front of a moving train, sitting on the side rail of a moving train, and grabbing on to a speeding car with one hand to hitch a ride. If you like films by Jackie Chan, know that he models his films after the work of Buster Keaton: high action and high comedy.

Cecil B. Demille: The Cheat (1915), Male and Female (1919), and The Ten Commandments (1923)

Known as the father of the Hollywood motion picture industry, Demille was the first director to make a real box office hit. He is likely best known for making The Ten Commandments in 1923 and then remaking it again in 1956. If not that, he was also known for his scandalous dramas that depicted women in the nude. This was pre-Code silent film so the rules about what could be shown had not been established. Demille made 30 large production successful films in the silent era and was the most famous director of the time which gave him a lot of freedom. His trademarks were Roman orgies, battles with large wild animals, and large bath scenes. His films are not what most modern film watchers think of when they are considering silent films. That famous quote from the movie Sunset Boulevard in 1950 in which the fading silent actress says "All right, Mr. Demille. I'm ready for my close-up," is referring to this director.

D.W. Griffith: Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916)

Griffith started making films in 1908 and put out just about everything that he recorded. He made 482 films between 1908 and 1914, although most of these were shorts. His most famous film today is absolutely Birth of a Nation and it is one of the most outlandishly racist films of the time. The depiction of black Americans as evil and the Klu Klux Klan as heroes who are protecting the nation didn't even really go over well at that time. Some believe that his follow up the next year called Intolerance was an apology, but the film actually addresses religious and class intolerance and avoids the topic of racism. At the time, Griffith films were known for the massive sets and casts of thousands of extras, but today he is known for his racist social commentary.

Sergei Eisenstein: Battleship Potemkin (1925)

This eccentric Russian director was a pioneer of film theory and the use of montage to show the passage of time. His reputation at the time would probably be similar to Tim Burton or maybe David Lynch. He had a very specific strange style that made his films different from any others. The film Battleship Potemkin is considered to be one of the best movies of all time as rated by Sight and Sound, and generally considered as a great experimental film that found fame in Hollywood as well as Russia.

F.W. Murnau: Nosferatu (1922), Faust (1926), and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

I think that most people would know the bald-headed long-nailed vampire Nosferatu that was a silent era phenomena. It was so iconic that the German film studio that produced the movie was sued by the estate of Bram Stoker and had to close. Faust was his last big budget German film and has an iconic shot of the demon Mephisto raining plague down on a town that was the inspiration for the Demon Mountain in Fantasia (1940). Also, Sunrise is considered one of the best movies of all time by the AFI and by Sight and Sound as well as my favorite silent film. Fun facts: 1) more of Murnau's films have been lost then are still watchable and 2) he died in a car wreck at only 40 when he hired a car to drive up the California coast and the driver was only 14.

Erich von Stroheim: Greed (1924)

Maker of very strange German Expressionist films, Stroheim films are often listed as Horror or Mystery even though he considered himself a dramatic film maker. His most famous movie Greed was supposed to be amazing with an 8 hour run time but it was cut drastically to the point that it makes no sense and was both critically and publicly panned when an extremely abridged version was released in the U.S. Over half the film was lost and a complete version no longer exists. Besides this film, Stroheim was even better known for being the butler in the film Sunset Boulevard as a former director who retired to be with an aging silent film star. He also made a movie called Between Two Women (1937) that told the story of a female burn victim that was inspired by the story of his wife being burned in an explosion in a shop on the actual Sunset Boulevard.

Victor Fleming: The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Gone With the Wind (1939)

Although not known for his silent films, Fleming did get his start during the silent era. He was a cinematographer for D.W. Griffith and then Fleming directed his first film in 1919. Most of his silent films were swashbuckling action movies with Douglas Fairbanks or formulaic westerns. He is the only director to have two films on the AFI top 10 and they happened to have come out the same year.

Hal Roach: Lonesome Luke films starring Harold Lloyd, Our Gang shorts, Laurel and Hardy shorts, and Of Mice and Men (1939)

It is not really fair to put Hal Roach in the silent era directors because he was influential at the time but he had a 75 year career. He was a producer and film studio head and even had a studio named after himself. His biggest contribution to the silent era was his production of Harold Lloyd short comedies and he continued to produce films in the early talkies including Laurel and Hardy shorts, Our Gang shorts, and Wil Rogers films. Roach was the inspiration for the film Sullivan's Travels, in which a famous director who only did frivolous comedies goes out into the world to find inspiration to find a serious drama. Roach did direct a single serious drama, Of Mice and Men, but it came out in 1939 and was buried underneath the works of Victor Fleming. The wealthy cigar smoking studio head that many people think of when they picture a film studio suit is based on this guy. The man would not quit and stayed in the business into his 90s and lived to the ripe old age of 100.

[ethanramseyyy]

OPEN HEART: THIRD YEAR CHAPTER 1 thoughts and opinions

Wow. Wow. Wow. What a start to the new book. I am so excited with the start of the third book. One because I missed my husband and two because Open Heart is just my favourite thing ever. One thing though @playchoices where’s our baby Naveen?

Obviously the chapter opened up with explaining the changes to the hospital which by the way are INSANE. As much as I love the new and mordenised look, a part of me does miss the classic Edenbrook Hospital we have seen in the past 2 books. I really hope we get a fourth book and I know that the third book has only just started but when Elijah was talking about what was going to happen after their last year of residency, it really made me want to experience the rest of MCs career and obviously the more time we have with Ethan (Or whoever you are romancing) the better. I also like how ALL of the LIs were incorporated into this chapter and it wasn’t entirely Ethan based, because I know that annoyed a lot of people during book 2. RAF. I am so unbelievably happy that they kept Raf in the book, I mean they kind of had to but that’s besides the point. I am so happy for the Raf stans. YOU GOT YOUR MANS BACK.

I picked Ethan to tell me more info because I need to spend as much time with him as possible since I have to wait an entire week to see him again. BITCH when he took our hand I nearly choked. It is so so so strange to see him actually make a public display of affection considering what we went through in the past 2 books to even get him to admit he was in love with us. And our friends reactions. I adore the fact that they are so happy for MC and Ethan. I don’t think I will be the only person to say this butttt.... Leland DEFINITELY has a hidden meaning for taking on Edenbrook. There is something dodgy about him and I am glad that Ethan has also noticed it. I have a feeling Leland Blooms storyline about the takeover of Edenbrook is far from being over.

When I saw the nurses desk it was so bitter sweet. For a second I expected Danny to pop up from behind his desk and say Hey. He did not deserve to die and I will NEVER be over it. But anyway I obviously had to play every single diamond scene given to us for the opening chapter and so I accepted the chance to spend some time with our friends and take a tour of the new and improved facilities. I have to admit the new hospital sounds amazing. Almost too good to be true if I am being honest. I LOVED the little playful scene between MC and Elijah. We can all appreciate the fact that Elijah needs to be protected at all costs. And then it got a bit awkward for me because we had to choose who to have a massage with and obviously I am romancing Ethan and he wasn’t an option so I picked Bryce because why the hell not. I obviously didn’t pick any romantic options with him but I do love Bryce just not like my main man Ethan. I appreciate that the other LIs aren’t being as sidelined as they were in the previous book. Even though I am romancing the main LI of the book, it still angered me that so many people missed out on any interaction with their chosen LI in book 2.

My poor baby Baz. When it showed how sad he was, I was ready to fight anyone who had made him feel that way. And then he dropped the bombshell at the end of the chapter that he was leaving PERMANENTLY. I WILL NEED 2-3 WORKING DAYS TO PROCESS THIS INFORMATION. If he actually leaves I will be heartbroken. I love his character but I am very interested to find out why he is leaving which I presume we will find out in the next chapter. DR HARPER EMERY IS DEAD MEAT IF SHE THINKS SHES GETTING ETHAN. Is it just me or was she flirting with our man the ENTIRE time. Little does she know we spent some quality time together in a certain on call room 😏. I swear if she try’s anything with him, I will not hold back. It’s such a strange route for PB to go down with trying to make MC jealous over Ethan and Harper. To be honest I’ve always loved Harper but she WILL NOT have Ethan. Leland taking away Ethan’s leadership privileges was not okay. I enjoy dating my boss husband thank you very much. I think it makes MC and Ethan’s relationship that much more scandalous if you ask me. I did enjoy the bit were everyone agreed with Ethan despite Leland clearly trying to undermine his power. Never going to happen Leland. Get over it.

Then came the diamond scene where MC, Jackie and Sienna went shopping for the cocktail mixer. I did like the fact that we got a small scene of us actually going shopping for the outfit rather than having to pay diamonds just for the outfits. As I said before I did every diamond option possible considering the fact it is the opening chapter and to be honest I would have done it regardless because MC looked BOMB in that dress.

What made purchasing the dress even better was the fact that all eyes were on MC when she walked into the party. I chose to talk to Elijah because I just love him and I couldn’t say no to him. This meant that I got to see Zaid. Now I am not sure if everyone got to see Zaid or it was different depending on who you chose to speak to but I loved seeing him. I feel like we saw Zaid all the time in the first book and then he kinda just disappeared during the course of the second book so I am glad he made an appearance.

ETHAN GOD DAMN RAMSEY. Did you guys see that suit?!?! I almost choked to death he looked that good. And then that little cut scene!!! I think my family thought I was being murdered I screamed that loud.

OBSESSED.

And then we got the option for a ‘private, passionate end to the evening’ and lord knows I said yes. I know I keep saying this but I love that all 4 LIs were an option. The fact that scene was ONLY 18 diamonds. Bargain if you ask me. If any of you have watched Greys Anatomy it really reminded me of when Meredith and Derek had THAT scene at the prom. If you have watched it you know what I am talking about. Anyway, every single bit of that scene was perfect. When it gave us the option of him taking charge or MC, I was like BITCH we are in for a real fucking treat today.

After the absolute dream end to the evening spent with out man, we found out what was wrong with our patient because hello MC is the best damn doctor at Edenbrook. And you all know I picked the option that said ‘I am surprised that Emery didn’t figure it out’. Yes I know I am petty but Ethan and her are getting on TOO well considering they are exes so I have to claim what’s mine. Then Dr. Baz Mirani thought it was okay to announce that he was leaving the diagnostics team permanently. That better not mean he is leaving Edenbrook because I will put a stop to that straight away. Also, I need to know why because Baz is genuinely one of my faves and I really don’t want him to go.

I would LOVE to hear what everyone’s thoughts were on this chapter. Did you like it? Why do you think Baz is leaving? Do you think Leland has good intentions?

[crazy-loca-blog]

Personal thoughts on Open Heart, Third Year, Chapter 1

Note: As the title says, these are just personal opinions on Choices books and chapters. Of course, you may agree or disagree with them, I only use this platform to express my thoughts on what I read every week and what I’d like to see in the next chapters, because none of my friends play Choices so I have no one to comment the books with.

OMG, I didn’t expect this to be so long, I’m so sorry! I guess I was inspired…

I had planned to find some time to do this tomorrow, but I just can’t… because… book 3 is finally here and I can’t stop venting about it! And even though having my favorite people in this app back is making me really, really happy right now, writing about this is a bittersweet experience because we don’t know what will actually happen to this series after this book. So I think I’ll just enjoy the ride this time, because if this is the last book in the series, I want to feel happy about it and I want to keep the focus on the good things.

First of all, I have to admit I was scared. Yeah, I love romance books, but what makes Open Heart my favorite series is that the writers manage to balance both the medical cases and the leisure/romance/friends time pretty decently when compared to other books in the app. And I was scared to lose that hospital setting because it looked like everyone was looking for more romance and less medical stuff. So I’m glad that they managed to keep the balance in this chapter. Not only they found a way to include scenes with all our friends, but they also gave us equal time with the LIs, we got to work on a new case, and we were given some hints about the new dramas, so I’d say we got the full package, and I’m happy about it.

There is no doubt that the main focus of this chapter was the introduction to a new Edenbrook… and for me, this thing has the word “shady” written all over the place. I didn’t trust Leland Bloom in the past, and I certainly don’t trust him now. What worries me the most is that the only ones who seem to realize that something is suspicious are the MC (depending on your choices), Jackie and Ethan (and I have a feeling that Zaid might be questioning some stuff, too). And even though I’m waiting to see Naveen at some point of the book because I need to know what he thinks of all this (Ethan says the MC something about him in the pre-sex scene, but I think I need more info), I also think this chapter gave us some hints of the issues we might face in the future:

We all know Leland Bloom is not a doctor, he has no idea about medicine, but he still wants to run a hospital and do things his way. And that might explain the first “non-sense” of this book: Rafael being hired as physical therapist and Harper joining the diagnostics team. I know Raf has plenty of experience as an EMT and that will save him plenty of time in case he wants to study to become a therapist, BUT we all know that’s not enough… I mean, not even Raf thought he’d be getting the job! And then we have Harper, who is an amazing doctor… but she’s a surgeon. Even though she’s perfectly capable of doing research (do you remember Bryce looking for surgical options to save Ms. Martinez in Book 1 and Kyra in Book 2?), her main job is not to discover what’s wrong with people, but to fix what’s wrong with them. And I believe both of them performing jobs they have no experience with will only mean trouble in the future.

Leland also added some extra zeros to our paychecks, gave us a completely new doctors’ lounge and threw a party… of course, you can bet this is not for free. Just as the man tried to buy us at the end of book 2, he’s trying to buy the rest of the doctors, nurses and everyone else. The man needs to find a cure for him and his wife, so people getting all these high amounts of money will do anything he wants them to do. And I think the first one to fall for this will be Elijah (because Jackie already learned her lesson). He is so in love with research and all the new technology, and he sees so many new chances to discover things that will save people, that I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds himself agreeing to do things he normally wouldn’t do just to help Leland. So our boy must be protected at all costs.

Finally, we know that Leland is a business man, so he’ll be treating Edenbrook as a business, not as a hospital. And that got me thinking about the role of the patients in all this. Depending on your choices regarding Martha, she asks the MC about the cost of a full-body exam, and the MC tells her not to worry about it. What the MC forgot is that Edenbrook is under a completely different business model now, and that might mean trouble for future cases, as the patients might not be able to afford their treatments and they might feel forced to participate on researches to cover the expenses (like some kind of offer… “oh, but if you cannot afford the bill, then you may want to participate on a trial…”). After all, if Leland wants to make Edenbrook the best research institution, he needs to have not only personnel, he also needs patients subjects.

Besides all the Edenbrook drama, we had some nice quality time with our LIs, but the pre-sex scene with Rafael actually broke me, because it’s the kind of scene that we were all waiting to have, but not everyone will be able to see in their games. For the first time, the MC and Rafael took some time to remember Danny and Bobby, and to share their feelings about the accident in Book 2. It was a brief and very meaningful scene, but I think it deserved more than being seen only by people who are romancing him. I was also glad to discover that both Jackie and Ethan seem to be on the same page as the MC when it comes to having doubts about Leland Bloom (if you follow the route of being suspicious, of course), but I’m so disappointed with Bryce! I mean, what was that of not wanting to be seen with the MC? I swear that I read it and I felt the same heartache I felt when Ethan told the MC he didn’t know what was going to happen with their relationship after Edenbrook… that’s not OK Lahela, and you know it! You’ve been hooking up with the MC for over two years now, I demand answers! And yeah, I’m publicly rooting for Keiko to return and give him a piece of her mind.

As per our friends, it was so nice to see Sienna wanting to move on, but never in a million years would have thought that Ines has a girlfriend… after all these years rooting for Ines and Zaid to become a couple, and after all these years that this couple has been actually canon for most people, discovering that she’s actually a lesbian and that she has a girlfriend was something like “you have to be kidding me, right?”. Anyway, love is love and if she’s happy, we’re all happy… it was just funny to realize it after so long! Another one that got me a little worried is Aurora. Maybe it’s just my perception, but I felt like she didn’t give us anything new, like nothing happened to her… it’s like the writers put her in the chapter just because she had to appear in the book… or maybe she’ll have some more important role in future chapters? Like taking Baz’s place in the diagnostics team?

I seriously didn’t think about this until now. I don’t know if Baz leaving the diagnostics team surprises me (remember that in Book 2, Zaid got him his dream job), but the way he left the team was weird… and I have so many theories on my mind now. He was very explicit about leaving the team, not Edenbrook, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually got some lead role in some research team at Edenbrook (we know Elijah was given a chance to work on research, so Baz is probably on the same page). Or he might have been tempted by June and be leaving to Kenmore. I honestly have no idea… as I have no idea of who will be replacing him. I have two candidates, and both of them would definitely cause drama in the team: I already mentioned Aurora. Can you imagine Harper and Aurora working together? I can already feel the tension in that team. However, I’m taking a risk and I’m going to say that the new member of the diagnostics team will be Tobias Carrick. This was the only plot that wasn’t fully addressed in Book 2, and I wouldn’t be surprised if PB decides to rekindle this old feud to give it the proper closure it deserves.

Finally, I can’t help it… this topic needs to be addressed… if you’re romancing Ethan and you didn’t feel at least a little jealous about what we saw today between him and Harper, then you’re a liar. I stan Harper Emery, I love her and everything that she represents as a powerful, successful and independent woman, and there is no doubt that I would ship her and Ethan if my MC weren’t romancing him. But the truth is… my MC is romancing Ethan, and yes, I did feel jealous about them (and I felt so stupid! LOL!). However, I’m far from thinking that this will be a love triangle thing. This will be a strictly professional conflict (that may have some extra dialogs if you’re romancing Ethan). Why? First of all, the writers have to make this conflict work for everyone (and not only for Ethan stans), and second, because I think the writers are bringing back an old friend of our MC. And here is where I remember a moment during the first book where my favorite pep talker in the world (I’m talking to you, Bryce Lahela) said something about how the MC tends to doubt themselves… and this is exactly what I think this is all about. Harper’s presence will be bringing our MC’s doubts and lack of self-confidence back, and that’s it.

I’m not going to lie… everyone knows I’m super biased here and that I love this series to death, so it’s hard for me to find something I don’t like, especially in the first chapter, because everything is new and things aren’t quite developed yet. So what can I say? I can’t wait for next Friday to come fast!

[violetwolfraven]

I already asked this in the @s, but I’ll ask it here too, javid with either 28 or 23, (I don’t really care) pleaseeee :0

We adopted a kid/kids.

and

What if we kissed because we were arguing and I really wanted you to shut up but we both enjoyed it? Lol jk... unless..?

How about kind of both? Lol. Get ready for a canon-era Something to Believe In scene rewrite with a side of The Truth About the Moon! Also, this gets corny as fuck towards the end FYI.

...

Davey was at home and he couldn’t decide if he wished he wasn’t or not.

He’d helped out at the Lodging House, comforting the others, as long as he could, but eventually, almost everyone was already asleep or dead on their feet, and Race just gave him a look that said he saw how drained Davey was, and told him to go home.

Besides, he needed to get Les to bed and tell Sarah what had happened, as she wouldn’t have heard with her factory job.

So, now, he was out on the fire escape with his twin, while their mom put Les to bed after he cried himself to sleep.

Davey wished Jack making Les cry made him angrier.

“Maybe he had a good reason, David. Maybe he—“

“Shut up, Sarah.”

His tone was barely above a whisper, but Sarah stopped talking for a second.

“David,” she said slowly, “We don’t have all the facts. We know Jack... we know he scabbed on us, but...”

She trailed off, seeming to realize there was no good explanation for this. There were no facts either of them could think of that would make this better.

“The point is, we don’t know what was going on in his head,” she said finally, “Jack’s smart. Maybe there was—“

“Shut up, Sarah!”

Davey turned around, ignoring how now that he had, she would see him trying not to cry.

“Saz, we both know there is nothing you can say to make this better, so why don’t you shut the hell up?!”

She only stared at him levelly, “Is it really me you’re angry at?”

Davey shook his head, “No. No, it’s not. I should be cursing Jack’s name; not yours. I’m sorry.”

“You’re not angry at him, either,” Sarah realized, “You can’t be. You’re angry at—“

“If you finish that sentance, I’m going to say something I’ll regret.”

Sarah stopped talking.

“Look, Saz... just... go. Please go.”

She sighed, “David, things don’t always have to make sense. Feelings rarely do, and... and that doesn’t make it better—in fact, it probably makes it worse—but... damn. I don’t know how to explain this. Just... I’ll go inside if you want me to.”

When Davey didn’t tell her to stay, she climbed in the window and left him alone.

Davey sighed. He was so messed up right now. He was so messed up because... because he wasn’t angry at Sarah. He wasn’t even angry at Jack. He couldn’t be, because...

Long story short, he was angry at himself, because he couldn’t be angry with Jack.

Davey looked up, seeing the moon shining above. At least one thing still made sense.

“Latin name: Luna,” he muttered absentmindedly, “Hundreds of thousands of miles away from here.”

He remembered reading about this. Thinking back on every fact he remembered about the moon was certainly better than thinking about his own emotions.

“No signs of water, or life, or atmosphere.”

At least facts never changed on him. They made sense. Davey wished everything could.

“This is the truth about the moon. The facts are black and white.”

He smiled, despite himself, thinking about only a few days ago, when things were simpler and nobody had gotten hurt yet.

About a boy who made it so not everything had to make sense, because you felt good when he smiled at you, and that was enough, even if it didn’t make sense. Facts didn’t have to matter.

Davey couldn’t deny what he was feeling, even if the facts didn’t make sense.

Jack was a boy.

Jack made Davey feel like no one ever had.

He smirked at the sick sense of humor the universe had and mumbled his thoughts to himself.

“Shall I try to deny all I know from moments that’s gone? Would my heart let me be someone different from me from now on..? No.”

Davey wished he could be angry, but he couldn’t. Because even if it didn’t make sense, he knew how he felt.

And he was completely, stupidly, still in love with Jack Kelly.

That handsome, charismatic, dime-novel cowboy who still believed in a fantasy called Santa Fe.

As confusing as they were, Davey still had some facts about Jack, and he might as well try to organize them.

“Given name: Jack Kelly. Someone who seems to get by with a smile.”

Jack was smart in his own way, could even have a way with words, sometimes, but he had never gotten an opportunity to go to school, or sit down and read a book, and often made his points by appealing to emotion instead of logic; something that was the opposite of how Davey had always done it, yet somehow was still effective.

“Having no substance, he compensates with style.”

It was so effective that he had everyone believing what he said. He had Davey believing in what he said, when he said he cared, when he said he wouldn’t give up.

The truth about that boy was that he was a leader, a protector, or at least everyone thought he was, and he had the kind of eyes that drew you in. That made you want to keep on looking at him and make him see you, too.

Davey still couldn’t quite be angry, but bitterness definitely crept its way into his tone.

“And if I first thought he was who he claimed he was, it’s just because that kind of boy must be good at what he does.”

Davey was so stupid. Jack had admitted that he had a way of improving the truth. He had proved that he didn’t have a problem with lying to survive.

The problem was that he was so good at improving the truth that everyone believed his truth was the real, actual truth.

Revising a previous thought, he lied to survive or to get what he wanted.

And he was too stupid to see that despite all he said, his dream was really of a home, of a family, and it was right in front of him. Santa Fe was nothing he didn’t already have and if Jack still couldn’t see that after throwing away what he had, then... then let him throw it all away and fly away to Santa Fe.

“Santa Fe,” Davey mumbled sarcastically, “You’re the scene of a dream, not a plan.”

A lovely, dream, sure, but nothing that was really out west, that was really real anywhere but right here in New York.

“The dream of a boy, not a man.”

Davey took a deep breath, realizing that he wasn’t close to tears anymore. Sorting through his thoughts and facts, about the boy and about the moon, had worked, for the most part.

He looked up. The moon was still there. It always would be.

“Latin name: Luna.”

He wished the boy was, too, like he’d made it seem like he would be.

It was what had made Davey fall in love with him, how he was clearly always there for his friends. His family.

He remembered that first day, how a few different kids had come up to him and Jack had hugged them, suggested how to fix a problem, helped patch up a scraped knee, all with the patience of a loving big brother even with no blood tying him to the others.

As much as Davey had loved his charisma, his fearlessness, it was that softer, gentler side that he’d really fallen for.

Maybe it had just been an act, but Davey was still in love with him, no matter how much he wished he could just be angry and hate him.

“Lovely name: Jack.”

“Davey?”

Davey reeled back towards the window as he realized who was climbing up next to him.

“Dave, wait, please.”

That tone in his voice, the broken, almost-crying one, was what made Davey pause.

“Give me one good reason not to go inside and lock you out here.”

Jack sighed, “I... I don’t have one. Not for me. I don’t blame ya if you never want to see me again, but... here.”

He held out a paper, and Davey took it, reading with suspicion.

“Katherine wrote it,” he explained, “Pulitzer has an old printin’ press in his basement we can use, and the idea is to pass these out to all the workin’ kids of the city. If we play our cards right, it might just work, but... but I can’t do it alone. And I know Race. I know he won’t so much as talk to me right now, but we need him to get the other fellas to help. Kath’s busy gettin’ some friends who know how to work the press, so... so I need you to get through to him. He’ll listen to you.”

“And who’s fault is it he won’t listen to you?”

Davey hadn’t thought he would be able to summon that much ice in his voice, but he was glad he could.

Jack took a shaky breath, “Mine.”

As he finished reading it... the article was good. Really good. It might actually work, if this was for real.

“Jack Kelly,” Davey warned, “I swear to God if you are bullshitting me right now, I will let Spot Conlon push you in front of a carriage. He already offered to do that, by the way. Race declined.”

“I’m not bullshittin’ you,” Jack promised, “I swear on my life, I—“

“What’s that worth?” Davey snapped, not meaning a word of the angry rant he stepped forward, getting in Jack’s personal space, “Two days ago, you told me you’d give your life for this strike, for these boys, and you betrayed them! You broke their trust, Jackie! You broke my trust!”

“I know, but—“

“No!” Davey shouted, “You don’t get to voice an opinion! You’re supposed to be the one that protects everyone! You know that more than a few of them cried on my shoulder tonight because they saw you as a big brother and you abandoned them? What—for a city you’ve never seen?”

Jack looked like he was going to cry. Davey tried to act like that didn’t bother him.

“Ya know what? Kath is right. You’re crazy, Jack Kelly. You paint a place you’ve never seen and call it home. You say you want a family and ignore the one right in front of you. And you are a goddamn idiot for trading your family in for a place where you will never find what you’re looking for.”

“I... I didn’t do it for Santa Fe.”

Davey scoffed, “Then why?”

Jack’s eyes still had something broken inside, but some of the strength from before everything started to go to hell was starting to come back.

“I did it for you.”

“What?”

“I did it for you,” Jack repeated, louder, “Pulitzer threatened you, by name. He mentioned Crutchie and Les, too, but he said he’d come after you and... dammit, I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let you go to the Refuge.”

“This was always going to be dangerous, Jack. That’s not good enough.”

“You don’t know nothin’ about the Refuge.”

“I knew the risk when I signed on to this strike with you!” Davey argued, “I knew from day one it could end in me goin’ to jail getting hurt or even dying, but I don’t care.”

Jack glared at him, and as he took a step forward, his voice sounded haunted and strong all at the same time.

“You have no idea what you’re talkin’ about.”

“What the hell are you—“

Davey stopped as Jack turned around, having pulled his shirt off most of the way, revealing...

Deep, criss-crossing scars across his back. More than Davey cared to count and certainly enough to shut him up.

“Snyder thinks it’s funny,” he said bitterly as he put his shirt back on, “First time was when I was 13. I got out the next night, but he got me again when I was 15, then again when I was 16. Each time, I barely made it out alive. Do ya think I would ever let one of mine go through that if I could stop it?”

“I ain’t one of yours,” Davey tried to argue.

“No, you ain’t,” Jack grumbled, “Mine let me protect ‘em.”

“I don’t need your—“

“Davey, don’t you get it?” Jack yelled, grabbing Davey’s shirt as he got all up in his face, “Pulitzer knew exactly how to get at me! He knew who to threaten because you won’t let me protect ya, but you’s probably the one I wanna protect the most! So hit me if you want, but agree to the Children’s Crusade because we don’t have time for this!”

Davey grabbed Jack’s wrists, “I ain’t gonna hit you, Jackie.”

“Just do it!” Jack shouted, “I know I deserve it! Kath already punched me in the face and she apologized but we both know I don’t deserve that shit because I’m a traitor and I hurt everyone including you so just—“

That was when Davey kissed him, needing him to shut up shut up shut up. To stop talking about getting hurt like he deserved it, to just be okay.

Jack gasped against his mouth and Davey almost pulled away, but then Jack was desperately kissing him back, gripping his shirt like it was a lifeline and half-sobbing as Davey let him pull him in closer.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as they pulled apart enough to breathe.

“We don’t have time for that,” Davey whispered back, “Be sorry later. Rally the troops now. I’ll meet you at the Lodging House.”

“Wait,” Jack said as Davey was about to climb in the window to grab Sarah and Les and let his parents know where he was going, “Wait, Dave. What... what’s this about?”

Davey knew he wasn’t talking about the strike.

“Am I... am I kidding myself, or is there really something..?”

Davey rolled his eyes in exasperation, “Of course there is.”

“Well don’t just say it like I happens every day!”

“Jack, I—“

“No! I’m not an idiot! I know boys like you and me...” he sighed, “I know we don’t get happy endings, but... standin’ here right now, lookin’ at you... I just wanna grab hold of somethin.’ Make time stop so’s I can just keep on lookin’ at you.”

“I know what ya mean, Jackie. But we have work to do, so we should just—“

“Wait,” Jack insisted, grabbing Davey’s arm, “Please. Can we just... can we talk? For 5 minutes?”

Davey could see how badly Jack needed reassurance. How bad he needed to see that no, this wasn’t just his imagination, a pretty painting in his head. This was real.

“Look,” he said quietly, grabbing Jack’s hand, “You snuck up on me, Jack Kelly. I never even saw it coming. Till the moment I found you, I thought I knew what love was. But now I’m learning what is true. The world finds ways to sting you, and then one day decides to bring you something to believe in for even a night. And if you’re gone tomorrow... what was ours still will be. I have something to believe in now that I know you believed in me.”

Jack nodded in understanding, “We was never meant to meet. And then we meet—who knows why? One more stranger on the street, just someone sweet passing’ by. An angel come to save me, who didn’t even know he gave me something to believe in for even a day. And if I’m gone tomorrow...”

He trailed off, and Davey grabbed his face gently to make him distract him.

“Do you know what I believe in?”

He hoped Jack could just look into his eyes and see.

They almost kissed again, but Jack pulled away at the last second.

“If things were different...”

They both knew what he was really saying, but neither of them said it.

“If you weren’t still chasing Santa Fe...”

Because he was. No matter how stupid that dream was, Jack couldn’t give it up just after a 10-minute talk.

“If Kath’s father wasn’t probably going to kill me.

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, it turns out Katherine is Pulitzer’s daughter. Don’t worry, though, she’s on our side.”

Davey decided to process that later, “You’re not really scared of Kath’s father.”

“No... but I am pretty scared of you.”

Davey slapped his shoulder gently, “Don’t be!”

“Well...” Jack smiled, finally, “I have something to believe in, now that I know you believed in me.”

Davey couldn’t help it. He kissed Jack again, quickly, then backed up.

“I’ll wake up Les and Sarah and meet you at the Lodging House, okay?”

“Yeah. And by the way, if we’s together now... I should probably warn ya that I might not always have time for ya. I’ve been sorta takin’ care of all the other fellas since I was 14, so...”

Davey rolled his eyes, “Jack, I’m already stuck with Les. I am more than happy to adopt all of your siblings, too.”

“Oh. Okay. Ya know they ain’t actually my siblings, though, right?”

Davey shrugged, “You always act like they are, so it’s close enough.”

“Fair. Guess ya have been helpin’ take care of ‘em these last few days, so the change shouldn’t phase ‘em too much.”

“Yeah, they’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“So... you’re sure you’re in for... whatever this is? Cause there ain’t no goin’ back in time, so... are ya in for sure?”

Davey nodded, “For sure.”

Luckily, that seemed to put Jack’s mind at ease enough for him to leave.

[anyathefandom]

Things I want to see up and coming or in the future...

I want to see them focus on taking down peter once in for all because this has been going on too damn long and I'm ready for dante to go full winter soldier on his ass. Sigh the fact that franco will most likely be the hero of this sl is annoying.

I want valentin to spill the tea to peter about alex being his mom and tell him if he starts acting like a little bitch about that revelation then hes not the changed man he thinks he is and his supposed redemption would be faux.

If they don't kill peter off at least have him go to jail and then get out acting like a real fucking villain. I want to see him on his "Fuck my family" shit. Bruh it would be even better if maxie x dante are together during all this and dante is raising maxie's son or daughter as his own and peter finds out and gets super pissed.

Okay so I don't want maxie x dante to immediately get together due to peter's downfall. I want to see them lean on each other alot and do mundane things like drop each other's kids off for school and hang out and talk about life as a single parent. I want to see them fall into a family routine without realizing it until somebody one day mistakes them as a couple and then they try to deny it not because the attraction isn't there but because of lulu.

I said this before and I'll say it again I want jackie to come back and for her and finn to share some moments together and then on the night before the wedding finn sleeps with jackie and its all exposed at the wedding. The drama would be delicious.

I want to see sam break up with jason and for jason to respect her decision. I also feel the minute that she breaks up with him, he might run into britt and they talk and end up drinking together and they end up sleeping together.

I want to see sam focusing more on her family and not worrying over a man and if she wants a man maybe she could start casually dating or having ons for now. I just want to see sam enjoying her life for once.

I want them to go ahead with this chase/willow/michael love triangle with chillow coming out on top obviously but first if I don't get willow staying with michael out of obligation but her pining away for chase and having a emotional affair with him then I don't want it 🤷

Brando x Sasha bring it on. Bring on him helping her through her recovery and him confiding in her about what's going on then them falling in love because fuck michael corinthos 💅💁 (Y'all it kind of hurt when she said she doesn't have any family and I want somewhere down the line for brando to pull an arya and say "I can be your family"🤘😭)

I want michael to keep his word and make cyrus pay since he got involved with sasha. I just hope that wasn't all in the heat of the moment talk and he starts his descent into the mob. Give him something to do instead of talking about willow and wiley all the time. 🙃

Jax/nina: ..... I guess go ahead and rip the bandaid off about nelle being her daughter 🤷

Carly/jason/sonny: I don't care what y'all do I hope in vain that y'all screen time gets reduced but we already thats not happening. So I'm just going to hope they move this mob war along instead talking all the damn time. 🙄

Alexis: Get sober but stay savage and let her fuck valentin. That's all.

Valentin: he doesn't really have an sl but I've been fine with him cruising around pc. The only thing I want from him is to fuck alexis and spill the tea to peter tbh

GIVE KRISTINA A FUCKING SL!!! LET HER OWN CHARLIES OR SOMETHING!!!

Trina/joss/Cam: Start investigating if taggert is alive or not. I still want chase to help them and they present all the info they have and he realizes they have more info than he does 😂

Okay give me at least one scene of chase talking to brooklyn on the phone damn it.

I just want one liz sl thats all about her and she doesn't get pushed to supporting character in her sl.

I want to see the Carsam friendship die completely because fuck carly selfish ass

Ooh I hope joss tells her mother how she truly feels about her life and snaps on her for the one time when carly tries to shut her down and pull the " I will always protect you card" and josslyn objectively lists out everything that kristina and michael has been through so its only fair that she doesn't want that life for herself. I'm not saying joss has to hate sonny and carly but at least call carly out on how delusional shes being about everything.

Hmm I'll update it if have more to add.

[ciceroisthefamilycat]

The conclusion to the VA/BL reread with Silver Shadows and Ruby Circle (here’s the post on FH, here’s the post on the VA closers SB and LS)

I think I forgot to emphasize this in the last post: it is bullshit that Adrian still had the Alchemist-paid-for apartment after the events of “TFH” and only becomes more unbelievable that Trey has it still in “SS”... I do not get it

Like with SB and LS, I would make a lot of plot changes in the adaptation.

Silver Shadows

Fun fact: her golden lily on this book cover actually flashes a little gold in the right lighting, and I love that

This one, especially the majority of Sydney’s stuff in the first half or so of the book, was much better than I remembered.

Adrian’s stuff had me far less forgiving. I realize he’s struggling with a fictionalized elevated form of bipolar disorder and he developed addictions in trying to self-medicate over most of his adolescence/early adulthood so far, but as far as his actions go... the part where he blackouts for something like three weeks while in Sydney’s chapters she’s so certain he’s going to rescue her... it really frustrates me. Especially because Richelle writes him as self-flagellating over it, but Sydney immediately reassures him “oh, no, I just got the gas turned off, you couldn’t have really done anything...” as if those three or so days weren’t a big deal with the way the time crunch worked out later... it’s one of those heavy-handed things where I don’t feel like Richelle ever actually makes Adrian own up to his errors in the same way the rest of the main characters have to. Including: Wesley Drozdov and his motley crew show up again, and Adrian plays big hero and outs their dabbling attempt on Sydney, and then with Keith later on thinks to himself “at least I’d taken no for an answer from girls” as if he hadn’t insistently pursued both Rose and Sydney (including the scene at Alicia’s Victorian inn in IS) and been revealed to have dabbled at least once. Like, good that he’s trying to make up for past behavior, but again and again it comes off to me as glib or insincere (in the way it’s written- that he’s some model that is exempt from causing harm). This especially pisses me off in the way he treats his mom for sticking in a loveless marriage to his dad (did Adrian forget about his mom’s affair with Ambrose btw?) for financial security, and even with the hypocrisy being pointed out to him and him begrudgingly admitting it in his mind, or he drags Nina to Sonya’s to try and get her compensated for her work and she’s all googly eyes at him, but his acts of chivalry feel empty. And this extends to Marcus, too, to a lesser extent. Look, I love Carly (all the Sage sisters mean the world to me) and I’m glad that she became an advocate for fellow survivors and I get what Richelle was trying to do in empowering survivors with Carly’s character, but Marcus’ star-struck admiration of her (being made speechless by her strength) felt weird and make me uncomfortable.

On to Sydney’s stuff, holy hell her side of the story is dark. And this conversion therapy nonsense in it is part of why I desperately want canon queer leads in the adaptation (preferably Sydney herself, which would yes mean Adrian and probably Rose... that’s my prerogative). Is that potentially triggering? YES. But Richelle took that step when she laid it on so thick with the allegory. In the meantime, I love the supporting characters that Richelle drew up to be in the center with Sydney. Emma, Duncan, and the rest (the fellow detainees- not Sheridan... she can burn) and I want more of them (seriously, Richelle made some great underexplored groups with the Unpromised, the Keepers, the Merry Men, and then these additional Rebelchemists). There is a weird mention of Sydney having arranged some supply closets on one of the floors, despite whatever scene she did that in seemingly having been cut (there was also a line Rose ascribed to Victor at the end of Last Sacrifice about sending Jill away, so it’s not unheard of). When I first read the book (with a long break before), the degree to which Sydney was using magic in there felt illogical, but rereading directly from the other books, it is more justifiable. I think the Detainment, and Sydney’s struggles there, is some of the best writing Richelle managed in the books, and I don’t have any changes to that part.

But the escape... is actively worse than I remember it. There are glimmers of some great stuff in there- I mentioned in the last post how much I love when Sydney wakes up Hopper and sobs over him, and that still is powerful. But omfg Sydney (and Adrian) hold up the stupid stick so many times in these chapters. To be clear, first-off: Adrian should have gotten blood before they ever went into the desert. In the worst case, he and Eddie (the night before the infiltration) should have gone off to the side and done a feeding (doesn’t have to be Eddie, since I imagine he actually has a bad reaction to them since FB, but it does have to be someone willing). Eddie would have enough time to recover, especially with adequate food. Setting that aside, the actual events of the escape work for me. So I guess it’s more the after. Sydney and Adrian should have driven straight to Las Vegas (if they wanted to stop in the other town and change clothes and switch cars that’s fine with me- I even like the senior citizen tour they were on; p.s. we never learn if the Ivashkinator was shipped back to Palm Springs or anything, which is very surprising to me). Their decision to stay in a hotel overnight, even as much as Sydney did deserve that kind of relaxation, was stupid beyond belief. I would have preferred they got to Vegas, were spotted by Alchemists but made it to the Witching Hour without issue, and then Adrian got them a room, and that was the point where Sydney relaxed and slept. Consolidate some of that. Let Sydney have her luxury bath, and a haircut from Adrian, and other stuff there. Let her mention to him that the first photo she saw of him was taken near there, and hey, did he know Rose had bought a car in Russia that Sydney loved. And when Adrian goes down to make some money to further their escape, that’s when he realizes they’re being watched- there are too many yellow and orange auras. Let them have a less exorbitant wedding than in the book- no ridiculous mermaid dress that Sydney can’t expect to move in and that is ridiculously expensive (she can still have a beautiful stunning white dress). Let her start with the blue sneakers. Let Adrian find a place to get the ring made, if that’s necessary (or just use the dang cufflinks as are for the time being and pin them to the fancy attire). And Jill sends the chopper directly to the Firenze for an “Italian” wedding. They can still have the showdown with Sheridan on the roof- just simplify everything.

And then when they get to Court- let Sydney do more of the talking. Let her (righteously) call out the conditions in the reconditioning- the torture because she showed empathy to Renee who couldn’t even eat on her own, the torture they inflicted on Emma to break her- she didn’t betray her own kind, the Alchemists are repeatedly betraying their own kind, pushing them into the darkness of an empty hole. Oh, and this necklace around her neck, that Sheridan took for her own before Sydney reclaimed it, the morning glories were painted by the man she loves. And she rejects the Alcehmists having any authority on her. She’s a witch of the Stelle coven; she’s Sydney Sage Ivaskhov damnit. And when her dad tells her that if she doesn’t come with them, these will be the last words she ever gets to say to him? She gets to ask him if he knew what happened to Carly, if he let it happen under his own roof because he wanted a son like Keith more than the daughters he was blessed with. I want Sydney arguing her case, having her real communion. I said the same for Rose and Spirit Bound, and Sydney deserves the same here.

p.s. there are a lot of structural parallels between this book and BP/early SB- Sydney’s reeducation being like Rose’s time in Novosibirsk, the Tasarov escape from SB (which Eddie directly mentions) immediately followed up with a Vegas trip

Ruby Circle

Dang it. Look, I no longer hate the idea of Sydney and Adrian raising a kid. Their ending in RC was a lot better built-up (and a lot less bitter for Sydney) than I thought the first time. But the road to get there...

I hate the Jill being kidnapped by Alicia part (and I don’t buy the Warriors working with her). Honestly, just let them deal with Alicia during the events of Fiery Heart (when next to nothing else is going on). Like, Adrian and Sydney come off really badly in my head for “causing” her kidnapping because of a personal vendetta against them, when they came there to protect her in the first place (I realize the actual fault was with Alicia, but the feeling stands). Also the pointless scavenger hunt leading them from Pennsylvania (so conveniently, even though Alicia would have had to go there to set her traps after abducting Jill in the first place?) a month after the fact to whatever castle (then to Michigan) then to Palm Springs and the infiltrating the Warriors mission... it’s all too much (also I refuse to believe Sydney cast those stinging demons... that’s so dangerous I can’t even). Given the introduction of the Stelle in FH, and the unnecessary Malachi stuff, it works better to do that all then anyways. (I still want Jackie involved somehow of course) Instead of sidelining Angeline at Amberwood, she should get to be involved in the hunt for Jill (same as Eddie was for Sydney).

In other parts... Wesley Drozdov was never a good character. I really didn’t need even a mention of him in this book. I also... don’t buy how stigmatized Adrian was for marrying Sydney. I can see it being a scandal, or a laughingstock, the source of snarky asides and derision, but Richelle never built it in VA or the earlier BL books to being as heinous as she then tried to make it (so that Adrian could feel suffocated by Court, just like Sydney). I would have been much more interested in trying to see Sydney blend in, and take a stand in the Moroi world (and seeing her try to ally with nonroyal Moroi, but that also still not going super smoothly because they don’t like being on the same level as a human), and maybe her trying out her magic with the Moroi fighters that Mia and Christian had formed (that beautiful, blessed little moment), and then if it integrating there didn’t work admitting that it just... wasn’t going to. Rather than not even trying.

I understand that Richelle was building up with Adrian’s fears of completely losing it with Nina, but she just got screwed over in both of these books. (We’re acknowledging that it was wrong of her to kiss him in SS when he wasn’t even conscious, and moving on). And then Olive got screwed. And Neil got screwed. I said before that I don’t mind Sydney and Adrian raising a kid. But I mind a whole heck of a lot that Richelle killed (essentially) Nina and Olive both (in bullshit, tragic ways) and then wrote Neil off so that Sydney and Adrian would have to raise a baby. Let Sydney be pregnant. Let her be recovering from the most traumatic event of her life, she and Adrian forewent protection on their hectic honeymoon/escape, she’s going to be a mom to a Dhamphir and wow that’s going to be weird for her... and meanwhile this allows her to get through to Olive. To promise Olive and Neil that Sonya and everyone else will not use their baby as a test tube. Nina can still go up to the brink (maybe she passes it and the spirit trio of Lissa, Sonya, and Adrian have to heal her), there can still be a Strigoi attack at the Refuge in northern Michigan, but ffs cut the crap treatment of those three to pass on a readymade kid to Sydrian. It is a trope that I loathe. I also dislike the “ohmigod” fangirl characterization of Mallory, and while the Rand stuff was better than I remembered (that is to say, he is terrible and everyone acknowledges that and no one makes light of it the way I misremembered), I could do without it (especially since I’d prefer that if they keep Dimitri and Adrian cousins, they addres it much earlier).

Honestly, I would do the following:

the start of the season for RC (which doesn’t match its name??) has Sydney and Adrian locked down at Court and they can’t help like they want to, so they try to adapt and do what they can there, including Adrian trying to get Nina to calm down; their friends from Palm Springs and Marcus team up altogether and get an infiltration squad with the Warriors of Light; Eddie gets to participate; they rescue Jill, and get some of the data on the Alchemist/ Warrior collaboration

the Moroi Court finally gets into action on the age and family laws in earnest; meanwhile, Sydney is helping carve out a niche for the rebel Alchemists to work with the Moroi, especially for Strigoi hunting groups like what Mia and Christian wanted to organize; Jill and Sydney are helping each other emotionally recover from their respective hostage ordeals; Sydney realizes she’s pregnant, which helps Adrian realize in a dream with Olive that she’s pregnant, and finally sees her location marker

it’s “rescuing” Olive time; Neil gets to go too- with his presence, things don’t all go to shit; there is a Strigoi attack in retaliation for the new hunting groups, but heroes persevere and protect the commune; the data on the Alchemist/Warrior collaboration, and the Rebelchemists work with the Moroi, gives the perfect leverage now to get the Rebelchemists their freedom and establish Sydrian’s future together

SO, after rereading Bloodlines

I dislike Sydrian less than I did, though I still think Adrian could be vastly improved if adapted as a woman

the second half gave Eddie more to do, but still not enough emotional focus on him

man Amberwood and its supporting characters disappeared; I get that Adrian isn’t likely to settle in California long term, but can I please get more resolution to those characters, whether it comes from more focus in IS, or a graduation ceremony or something?

Abe also disappeared which is strange

man, Sydrian have a lot of daddy issues. because their dads are both abusive jerks. but why oh why did Jared end up collaborating with the Warriors for tattoos? was it because of anger over ‘losing’ Sydney or just greed? I’m glad that Zoe and Sydney at least started to heal things, and that Zoe is ok where she is

we still never got answers on who restored Lee... Clarence only showed up for deus ex machina money and shelter and I guess blood (did Marcus ever get to speak to him again?)

minor grievance: Richelle described the Warrior recruits as being almost evenly distributed between men and women, with a slide toward men, before two pages later saying there were 30 potential guys and 13 potential ladies, and remembering that, oh, yeah, the Warriors didn’t really use women on the front line; I don’t want any of that subplot adapted I just... editing?

#DoBetterByOliveAndNinaAndNeil2030 (who gets to name their kid Declan?), #LetSydneyUseHerBeautifulBrain

[lefossile]

compare anime & manga mu🔪🔪🔪

The one that gets me every time, besides Pierrot adding tons of “extra” stuff is also how the animation twists original impact the chapters had, for example the whole Rukia suspense was lost, bc not only did they voice her which is a big spoiler, but also showed her face right away. That is a mood killer. We can talk about poor narrative takes with more extra time to some fullbringers such as Ginjo saving Ichigo and Yuzu or the whole ordeal with Jackie, where they just did contradict themselves, but nooo, we're gonna go straight to the point that kills me a lot.

We’re talking about Ichi’s lowest breaking moment and how it was handled differently in anime and manga by both parties. I was both time unsatisfyingly short tbh, but alas. 

In manga everything goes kinda of rushed, Ginjo just extracts Ichigo’s power and leaves and narrative wise it feels mirroring Ginjo’s own situation, even though we don’t know that context at said point. I told it before, all of this was orchestrated in this way not only of mere practical reasons, but because of harsh lesson Ichigo learns that way. Ginjo literally puts him in the same pit of despair he most likely was himself after losing the original fullbringer group. He wants Ichigo to suffer that kind of pain, pain of wrong choice and its consequences, pain of powerlessness. And what makes it worse, he just leaves, making no long excuses or whatever, he gives Ichigo no time to recuperate or gather any moral strength.

What do we get in anime?

Well firstly everyone is having a nice little chat while Ichigo kneels in stupor. 

We get a whole lot of flashbacks with dramatic music, to stretch the episode to its logical conclusion. Even if technically it wasn’t really necessary. After seeing Ginjo absorbing (finally after what? 15 minutes) Ichigo’s fullbring, we follow pretty close to the page with Ichigo’s inner monologue and here is where things GO ASTRAY.

From artistic choice to represent Ichigo alone, at “end of all bonds” while Tsukishima and Ginjo already walk away we get this poetic cinema shot. (Who allowed them, bc it makes zero sense for them just to chilly stand there and gloat, as they should made haste and just go on with their stuff, as they “mercifully” are letting Ichigo and his friends go.)

Even Uryuu’s initial bewilderment changed into trying to shut down his own failure ends up kinda a lot more dramatic shojo style stuff?

So we get different pacing, bc neither Tsukishima nor Ginjo move before Ichigo starts wailing, but technically they are already on their way and Tsukishima TURNS to cast a glance on another person’s despair. Which can either hint that he finds pleasure in the suffering or idk, is a normal human being who reacts to peoples tears.

And now when it gets worse.

In the manga Ichigo is still in denial about what happened, as he chants one phrase. Ginjo still walkis away but stops in his tracks to just side eye a mentally broken teen. (In case of any confusion the left speech bubbles are both Ginjo’s words, as he literally says that Ichigo got his fullbring because of Ginjo, so the power he gained with Ginjo’s help belongs to the one who helped achieve it).

What we get: no satisfaction, no standing up, straight up trauma out there as Ichigo is even drawn without blicks in his eyes to represent his lowest, desperate self. He sees Ginjo’s back, tall, unreachable and soaks in his failure, screaming in a final, futile attempt to action. It's the actions of a child.

Meanwhile, virgin anime gives us this:

Straight out of nowhere, as artistic choice we see Ichigo’s inner world which he shouldn’t be even able to access, where he, “chained by despair”, reaches eh, bottom and tragically lies there as sack of potatoes, thinking, “Is that it, what can I do?”

BUT SUDDENLY without further ado, light shines at the edge of water, and the memories flood in how he “wanted to become strong” and HIS CHAINS ARE RIPPING APART! God. As we couldn’t get enough of the same sentiments as of all the arcs before. And don’t get me wrong protecting others is what drives Ichigo, but don’t deny him any kind of growth like that, please? Let him live and process stuff not just coming back to his senses after two or three cliche sentences.

Spoiler: he does anyway.

And we’re coming to what completely destroys the original impact manga had.

So Ichigo says “Give it back”. But not in a way he chants and pleads it on his knees in the rain. No, he demands it with willpower to stand up. Ginjo stops in shock to hear him utter those words before rebuffing it, because it completely disregards the original setting of this scene. Here Ginjo, who served Ichigo despair akin to his own, witnesses him standing up, not losing any will to fight.

And we get extra pieces of dialogue, which just wasn’t there, which shows that Ichigos stubborness annoys Ginjo a lot, so much he asks him extra questions, giving some kind of extra care to somebody “useless” to him. While this serves to the point I was making earlier and we can guess that this kind of question Ginjo probably often asked himself and he accepted the situation happened to him or at least tried to, so that’s why the different approach shown by your overage shounen protagonist iffs him so much; it still turns the situation upside down. God, Ichigo even stands up himself.

AND as if it wasn’t enough to completely dismiss the WHOLE POINT OF THIS SCENE, they added this and I had to make a gif bc I am PISSED.

Can you believe they couldn’t let the protagonist hit the bottom, they had him, this 17 y.o. traumatized teen completely morally dominate old ass man who is SUPPOSED to be, at this exact moment, not giving a shit and being in the winning position.

There’s no tension, there’s no catharsis, there’s just same “I wanna be strong” agenda and zero character growth. Rukias arrival later feels absolutely bland, bc she doesn’t save Ichigo he already saved himself. 

It does rob Ginjo of some of his real iconic moments, when he, a mentor figure and a character specifically made in contrast with Ichigo (also in their age, so he kinda has more life experience, that archetype) has won, as experience wins against naivete. 

I’m smad//

Don’t let me get started at what they missed at his death sequence-

[lizzybeth1986]

This won't make you feel better, but this anon might have an explanation for the problems in Pixelberry's stories: essentially, I think it's because media and fandom culture in general has been hijacked by people with much older value systems, value systems where "whether behavior hurts people or not" was at best a secondary concern. The way Olivia is coddled, for example, does resemble how children used to be expected to be grateful to abusive parents for at least being given food and shelter.

Thank you for the ask anon.

Initially, when you'd sent the first ask, I'd had a different answer planned. Because sure, those kind of mindsets could very possibly factor in on how they treat a certain character type or trope...but it never actually happened with any sort of consistency. There were these invisible unspoken rules that certain characters would get away with breaking, and other characters would be punished for. So if there is no consistency in this treatment, how could I believe that it comes from a value/belief system that the writer holds, and nothing else comes into play?

Which brings me to the second thought you had. It's possible, yes, that the demographic they're hoping to cater to the most are the ones who may benefit the most from seeing white (and perhaps straight) characters thrive above others. The ones who will benefit from black and brown characters being placed on a heirarchy of worth - the most exoticized being the most "worthy" of "good treatment". But PB does benefit from a show of appreciating and celebrating diversity, and they do know it - as you can tell from the posts they were putting out during Black History Month last year:

(Thank you @nikkisha16 for helping me source these!)

This is a "nice gesture"....if we ignore the fact that only three out of the handful of default black characters featured at all. And if we ignore the fact that Griffin from this tiny list was hardly given an opportunity to use his skills in the biggest "disaster relief" diamond scene in the series, just to make more space for the white guy. Or that Luke's "alternative romance" arc was given more attention than the one where the MC chose him - to the point where we didn't get to see his mother (more attention to the alternative arc is often a surefire sign that the team is focusing on another LI and presuming said character as single by default, which is why you'll see more effort in the playthroughs where they're single). If the demographic you aim to please are the ones who may not notice or care about what actually happens to such characters in their respective stories...why this posturing? Why this pretence that you care?

It's not that PB is evilly rubbing their hands and contemplating on which character of colour to screw over today. It's very rarely as cut-and-dried as that. Very often it is just as possible that they don't know, or notice how some of these subconscious beliefs translate into their art. Ignorance of how damaging certain tropes can be for certain communities, and an unknowing favouritism towards certain characters based on their skin tone just as plausible causes for the mess we see in most stories of PB now. And a certain dismissiveness, would account for why it keeps happening despite people pointing out these problems. (I mean, this is the company that issued an apology on Twitter for Drake Walker calling a pink cake girly. And I don't recall them making apologies for anything else thus far)

It takes awareness to understand the cultural weight of some of these tropes and archetypes, and certain kinds of treatment in some cases. It also takes awareness to figure out ways to empower these characters within their stories and arcs! And I do believe for that kind of awareness to emerge in the storyboards and the office meetings...there (possibly? Idk what the PB office is like) would need to be more voices from varying communities in the rooms. For instance, look at this incredible interview by Chelsa Lauderdale on the experience of writing Griffin's character in The Elementalists:

Griffin is the rich, fullfilling character that he is because the writer brought her own experiences and worldview to that character. And you can see glimpses of that promise in so many different black and brown characters when they're given even half a chance. Kiara's ambition and logical bent of mind. Hana's loyalty and struggle to discover who she really is. Sloane's courage in taking on the world while battling an anxiety disorder. Teja's love for her craft and desire to excel in her field. Jax's protectiveness towards the underprivileged. Lily Spencer's humour and playfulness and recognition of those who have less privilege. William's (RoE) recognition of his work-home imbalance and his commitment to change that for this woman he loves. James Ashton's creativity and insecurities. Victoria's wisdom and her experience in the film industry. Aurora's desire to make a name that's her own, so that no one will ever view her as benefiting from her aunt's high position again. But unfortunately, we're often only allowed glimpses for a lot of these characters, rather than whole stories that use these traits as a foundation. Having writers from diverse backgrounds and with diverse experiences - not just a handful but many - with voices that will be embraced and respected, would go a long, long way in both pointing out these blind spots and in enriching the writing and stories themselves. Only a handful of writers cannot be burdened with the task of "educating" an entire company, but a vast team of diverse writers would mean there is an environment where they can more openly question and maybe shoot down more tone-deaf narrative choices.

@massivelysilentchaos made an amazing post about this sometime last year IIRC. A lot may have changed since this post, but there's plenty in it that still applies. More now than ever, I tend to go back to this one paragraph in her post (but please, please read the full thing):

I think a lot of PB’s problems with regard to representation in their writing could be helped by having more diversity on their writing staff. That’s not to say they don’t already have a fairly diverse staff (at least it looks that way from their blog) but some of their narrative choices are tone deaf in a way that tells me they could benefit from more black and brown perspectives on more of their stories. Specifically I’m thinking of the choices to have a book set in Trump country where an eventual protagonist pulls a gun on a potentially black MC or the recent decision to include the detail that Syphax, a black man who spent 8+ years at Lena’s scholae where MC was presumably taught to read and write, can’t read. Both of which were entirely unnecessary to the overall story they’re trying to tell and left a bad taste in mine and many other black fans’ mouths.

To add to this - I can speak, as a South Asian woman who was excited everytime a South Asian character appeared in a series - of Teja Desai getting one solitary scene to address her parents' initial doubts about her becoming a filmmaker, and one solitary scene about being a "woman in a boys club" as a director - which the writers never bothered to connect to her current work ethic - and being presented her as overworked, pressurized, frazzled by the punishing amount of work she was taking on - only for RCD's narrative to turn around and compare her to Marcus von Groot, the mediocre white male whose lack of control over his crew came from his own incompetence and delusions of grandeur (btw, in subsequent books he was written as this adorable funnyman the MC could bond and hang out with). I can talk of Jackie Varma, who was placed in a position where players could pick and choose between her and Bryce (with Bryce having more free scenes), before the narrative wrote her out for a large chunk of the story. Even in Book 2, scenes we get with her explore OUR backgrounds more than hers. Given that getting into medicine or engineering is such a huge deal in our communities, I can just imagine the ways in which that would tie up with Jackie's work ethic. And I know that many desi voices in that room would maybe make those connections and understand how to tie that into these stories.

I'd like to close this post with a quote from Chelsa that I showed you all earlier in this post: "Stories can perpetuate stereotypes or change narratives. That's really up to the people who write them". And perhaps, the people who hire the writers as well.

[sage-nebula]

With the news of the sequel and Netflix broadcasting to me that they had put up the first two seasons of InuYasha, I decided to rewatch it (or at least the two seasons that Netflix has) for the hell of it. I’m watching it in English, both for nostalgia and because when I want to have it on in the background as I go to sleep or play Animal Crossing (and thus don’t want to have to pay enough attention to read subtitles), and while I don’t think I’m going to seek out the rest after I run through what Netflix has, I have to say that it’s mostly an enjoyable ride. That said, though I’m not finished yet (I’ve just started what Netflix calls season two; last episodes I watched introduced Rin and Kouga), I do have some Opinions™. I live tweeted a bit on Twitter when I first started watching, but I’ll summarize here as well:

— While I think the English dub is pretty good as far as English dubs go (and there’s one scene in particular that I think was definitely improved in the English dub), there are times when I wonder if it’s an awkward translation that makes the scene so hilarious or if the dialogue was really that bad in the original Japanese as well. The first notable instance comes in either the first or second episode; it’s when Madame Centipede (what kind of name, I ask you—) has Kagome pinned up against Inuyasha when he’s still pinned to the tree, and she (Madame Centipede) mentions that she heard that a half-demon was after the Sacred Jewel and that it must have been Inuyasha. Kagome then thinks to herself, “Half-demon? What is he . . .” And it’s like, don’t get me wrong, Kagome is smart. She’s adept at using her wits to get herself out of situations more often than not and is good at thinking on her feet. So I’m not pointing out this ridiculous dialogue to make fun of her intelligence, but rather to make fun of the writing, because—sis, the centipede demon literally just said what Inuyasha is. You literally just said what Inuyasha is. What do you think he is, if not a half-demon? There are plenty more instances like that sprinkled throughout the show as well, and it always makes for a good laugh and some eyeroll-laden commentary. (That no one but my dog hears, of course, but hey.)

— When I was a teenager watching InuYasha for the first time, I thought nothing of the fact that Kagome, also a teenager, was allowed to travel back to the feudal era for days or weeks at a time to fight demons with absolutely no qualms given by her family. Now, as a thirty-year-old adult, I am appalled. Like, her grandpa giving the OK on this I can believe, because he’s a super devout believer of all the tales and legends of the shrine, and plus he gets free medicine out of faking Kagome’s injuries and illnesses to get her out of school. But her mom? What is with Kagome’s mom? Why is she so okay with this? Why was she okay with Inuyasha bursting into her house to kidnap her daughter just because he had cute dog ears? Why is she okay with her barely fifteen-year-old daughter jumping down a well to go fight monsters, without ever knowing if she will come back alive? You would think she would put up a little resistance at least, but she doesn’t! She just cheerfully helps Kagome pack her backpack and then fixes up a bike for her to use in the modern day as well. You could argue that this is a typical thing in anime, that the Pokémon parents do it all the time, but in Pokémon it’s established lore that parents send their kids off into the wild at age ten to go battle and collect monsters. InuYasha is supposed to take place (at least in part) in modern day Japan, and Kagome’s mother just does not give even 1/300th of a fuck that her teenage daughter travels back to the warring states era and risks her life on the daily with no way of knowing if she’ll ever come back again. This, from the same woman who apparently won’t let Souta travel on the metro by himself (granted he’s 10, but like, traveling on the metro is significantly less dangerous than going to do battle with demons in the feudal era so the point stands). Again, I get that this was meant to be an adventure for the target demographic to imprint themselves onto, and so I’m not so upset at Kagome for wanting to leap into battle, but more appalled at her mother for cheerfully allowing this with no stress given (i.e. this is a Mrs Higurashi callout post). I haven’t watched Doctor Who in ages, but man, as an adult myself now, it makes me appreciate Jackie Tyler a hell of a lot more. 

(Putting the rest under a cut as it’s getting a bit long.)

— I was never deeply involved in the InuYasha fandom, but I do remember looking up stuff about it online Back in the Day (circa 2003) and I remember seeing a lot of hate for Kagome. Forum posts and fanfics that depicted her as being useless, as being weak, as being stupid, as being abusive to Inuyasha via the “sit” command. And honestly, while it’s entirely possible that the “sit” thing gets flanderized at some point in the anime (and perhaps the manga as well, though I haven’t read that), there’s really no basis for any of the rest of it. Even from the very start of the anime, it’s clear that Kagome is smart, competent, and capable. She knows how to hold her own. She knows exactly what to say to manipulate the Thunder Brothers into taking her to Inuyasha, thus saving herself from being devoured. She comes up with the idea to tie the crow demon’s foot to her arrow to make sure she hit it (which, yes, resulted in the Sacred Jewel shattering, but nonetheless she quickly figured out a way to get around her lack of archery skill). She was the one who figured out where the hair demon’s true skull was, the one to sneak up to try to get at it, the one to use an arrow to shatter it, and there are so, so many more examples like this. Even before she can sense jewel shards and becomes adept at archery, Kagome proves over and over again that she’s smart and capable of taking care of herself. And at least from what I’ve seen so far, she doesn’t really abuse the “sit” command—and even if she did overuse it, it still wouldn’t count as her “abusing” Inuyasha, because she doesn’t really have any power over him. Yeah, she can make him faceplant, but he could also snap her neck with one hand if he wanted, or else up and leave her completely. (And that, of course, is setting aside the fact that she doesn’t want to control, manipulate, or hurt him in the first place.) Kagome got a lot of undeserved, unwarranted flack, and the worst part is that it was all from the ship wars.

— But of course, she wasn’t the only one . . . there’s also the matter of Kikyo. Kikyo also got a lot of hate, if memory serves, from people who wanted Inuyasha to end up with Kagome (or else projected themselves onto Kagome and thus hated Kikyo for “getting in the way”), which in my opinion is rather silly since it’s pretty obvious from the jump that the endgame was always going to be Inuyasha/Kagome. Setting aside the fact that Kagome is the main character (because while the show might be called InuYasha, the story is really Kagome’s, kind of like how the game series is called The Legend of Zelda but you always play as Link instead), Kikyo’s . . . well . . . dead. Even after she’s “resurrected,” she’s still undead. Like it’s pretty clear that if she was still alive the story would be different, but she’s not. She’s dead, and the title character is not going to marry a zombie when her very alive reincarnation (that he also loves) is right there. So Inuyasha/Kagome shippers getting angry over Kikyo’s mere existence is just absurdly silly, because she was never a “threat.” She was just a tragedy.

With that said, I’ve noticed in the episodes I’ve watched that Kikyo’s characterization seems . . . inconsistent. Like there are moments where she acts far more antagonistically than she was even three seconds ago in an earlier scene, or that it would make sense for her to. I’ve done a bit of reading, and it seems that the anime prolonged her antagonistic behavior, likely to fuel the love triangle relationship melodrama (which I’ll get to in a second). This saddens me, because honestly Kikyo is one of my favorite characters. Her story is a tragedy not only because of how she was deceived and murdered at such a young age, but also because of how she was robbed of ever getting to live a normal life simply because of the power she was born with. She has a line in the most recent Kikyo episode I watched about how she is now “free to hate, free to love,” and that really stuck with me. Because due to the responsibility she bore with guarding the Sacred Jewel, she wasn’t even truly free to have real emotions. At the very least, she was never free to feel anything negative. She wasn’t free to want anything for herself, to have dreams, to feel frustration, anger, or true sadness. Her falling in love with Inuyasha weakened her protection for the Sacred Jewel. Even a usually positive emotion like love is something that was denied to her. Even when she was alive, Kikyo was not allowed to live. It’s only in undeath that she finally gets a taste of freedom, freedom that she knows cannot last, freedom that she has to borrow from the souls of the recently departed. Her story is heartbreaking and her character is fascinating, and I think she deserves so, so much more than what petty shipping drama granted her by the fandom and show alike.

— On that note, though . . . I have to say that I personally feel like the romance is the worst aspect of the show. Like again, I’m sure a lot of this has to do with the fact that I am now thirty and thus have long since dried up my well of tolerance for teenagers acting like teenagers when it comes to love triangles, but the constant wangst over the romance from the various characters is just so annoying. Kagome’s worst fear being Inuyasha and Kikyo being in love (and not, you know, people she loves dying?) to fuel the romance drama, Inuyasha having a spazz attack any time someone so much as mentions romance within fifty feet of Kagome, Kikyo being hyper concerned over whether or not Inuyasha and Kagome are dating instead of the myriad of other things going on with her . . . god, spare me. It weighs down the narrative by taking up screentime that could be filled with more interesting things (more on that in a minute) and, in my opinion, does a disservice to the characters, particularly the ladies. Like, Inuyasha being shrill and annoying is nothing new. It doesn’t really drag his character down when he’s always like that. (Not to say that I hate Inuyasha, because I don’t, but he is shrill and annoying all the same. It’s just how he is.) But while I like Kagome 90% of the time, I find myself wanting to claw my face off with how annoying she is whenever she goes into one of her “oh noes Inuyasha loves Kikyo and not me :’(” wangst fests. Likewise, I love Kikyo, but her being petty jealous over Kagome and Inuyasha possibly loving her (and moving on with her since she’s, you know, not dead), and especially that being used to amp up her antagonism and make her into more of a villain, saps away the interest she otherwise brings to scenes. Kikyo’s not interesting because she’s a member of a love triangle, she’s interesting because she’s a person who has only gained a chance to live through death and cursed rebirth. Kagome’s not a likable character because she wangsts over a boy who she likes, but because she’s a smart, capable, compassionate girl who can manage living in two eras of time at once. And while female characters are of course encouraged to have flaws and be as well-rounded as their male counterparts, saddling them with this petty romantic drama doesn’t count as a believable or well-written flaw, especially since you know the romance isn’t meant to be seen that way since it’s a core facet of the show. It’s just irritating.

On top of that, there is so much to like about InuYasha’s worldbuilding that it frustrates me that so much of the story is overshadowed by the romantic nonsense. One of the more recent episodes I watched is the one where they learn how the Sacred Jewel was made. The story about Midoriko and how she ripped the Sacred Jewel from her own chest during a fight with a demon was frigging fantastic. Not only is it cool that InuYasha has so many powerful women in its story, both past and present (which isn’t too surprising since it was written by a woman, but you know), but the original and immersive worldbuilding is really something to be admired. The fantasy version of feudal Japan that was created for the show has so many interesting elements, none of which feel out of place because they all build upon each other. There is a lot to like about InuYasha, and so it’s frustrating to me personally that the annoyingly written romance bullshit overshadows it. And building on that . . .

— I know I just said a couple paragraphs ago that it was obvious that Inuyasha/Kagome would be endgame from the jump, and I still stand by that. And on the surface, I don’t really have any problem with it aside from the issues I have with the romances in this show as a whole (such as how their love for each other started so early it felt like it came out of nowhere, but whatever). But I still do have an issue with Kagome deciding to live in the feudal era full time because . . . a.) then why did you bother trying to keep up with school, and b.) girl they don’t have indoor plumbing. They don’t have modern medicine, or showers, or convenient food, or the internet, or anything else. Girl what are you doing, deciding to live in warring states Japan full time for a boy, you are what, sixteen at the end of the series? Eighteen? GIRL. I know it’s meant to be ~a feudal fairy tale~ but it’s like . . . the idea of being stuck back in feudal/medieval times horrifies me. Like sis, if he says he loves you that much, make him prove it and live in the modern day full time. He can use a hat to hide his dog ears. He’s done it before. Honestly, Kagome, just:

And “choices” here includes the choice to go romping around feudal Japan fighting demons in nothing but your middle school uniform instead of something more practical, like lightweight armor (Sango could help you!) or at least a pair of pants. HONESTLY, KAGOME—

— On a more lighthearted note, I do enjoy most of the OST, though I have to say that I’ve been laughing at Naraku’s theme music for at least the last ten years and I don’t foresee that stopping any time soon because it is just the worst. Like every time Naraku’s theme music starts up I just imagine him in his bamboo costume, hunched over a tiny piano (like the one Schroeder has in Peanuts), just banging on the keys. Like it completely ruins any tension that Naraku should be instilling. That said, he does have some pretty good snark at times (at least in the English dub), but between his theme music and the fact that you just know it’s always going to be a fucking puppet when he shows up, it definitely takes the edge off his appearances. 

— Actually, back to the “I’m fine with Inuyasha/Kagome but I’m not fine with her being stuck in the feudal era forever” bit, a fanart I saw earlier tonight made me realize that I think it would have been better if Kagome had met Inuyasha’s reincarnation in her own era, and they ended up together. Like, okay, hear me out—

The entire reason why Inuyasha didn’t reincarnate before Kagome was pulled into the well the first time is because he never died. He thinks of himself as having been killed by Kikyo, but he wasn’t; he was just pinned to a tree and put into immortal sleep. But once Kagome goes back to the feudal era and frees him, she changes that. She essentially altered history, which in return would alter her own era, even if in only small ways. (Small ways which should undoubtedly pile up the more she does back in the feudal era, but nonetheless.) Provided Inuyasha isn’t given the immortality of a full demon or put into an immortal sleep at any other point in his future, then he should eventually die, long before Kagome’s time period rolls around. Thus, it would make perfect sense if his soul reincarnated as well. Imagine if, during one of her visits back to her own time, she happens to run into a teenage boy who looks startlingly like Inuyasha does in his human form. Of course, he goes by a different name, but he attends her school (when he feels like it) and she sees him around town, and somehow everyone acts as though he’s always been there . . . because to them, he has. Because Kagome altered time, and with it the memories of all those in Tokyo who would have reason to know him, except her since she was the one who inadvertently made the alteration. There is someone with Inuyasha’s reincarnated soul in her time period, and she feels herself drawn to him just as Inuyasha was drawn to her.

It could even be taken a step further, that perhaps at some point Inuyasha’s reincarnation follows her to the well for some reason or another, trips and falls with her, and goes back to the feudal era himself. The negative consequence of this would be that even more romance nonsense would ensue (perhaps with Inuyasha’s reincarnation traveling with Kikyo for a time? Which would be a shoe on the other foot for Inuyasha), but also it would give time for Kagome and Inuyasha’s reincarnation to get to know one another and grow closer, so that perhaps at the end of the series it would make sense for them to be together in the modern era—for everyone to be in their own time periods, but for the two souls that keep falling in love with each other no matter the era to finally get a happy ending this time.

I don’t know. It’s just a thought.

Anyway, that’s about all I’ve got for the moment anyway. It’s a fun little blast from the past but I doubt I’ll continue beyond what Netflix has, especially since I don’t want to have to sit through a billion episodes of repetitive filler, haha. But yeah, the characters are all pretty good most of the time, neither Kagome nor Kikyo deserve the hate they get, the romance melodrama is annoying, the worldbuilding and lore is really interesting, Naraku’s theme is narm as hell, and Kagome’s mother deserves a callout post so she can maybe learn to care about her daughter at least a little. And that’s that on that.

[raeloganthesonic06fangirl]

I though I’d illustrate this bit from Chapter 5 for AO3′s release of “Temporal” as well (well, actually, my larger intent is to illustrate as much needed visuals as possible for this story, hopefully with some in color, as well as really try to nail the expressions). In this particular bit, as prior readers may recall, is where Jacky tries once more to interrogate Darkwing for what exactly happened that night he fell out of a window, and, of course, it’s advised against giving any information that could compromise Jacky’s memory recovery, as anything without solid proof that it happened could manufacture false memories. 

Hence why Darkwing is so adamant that Jacky just try to watch the rest of the surveillance tapes. Unfortunately, Jacky is a bit stubborn and the prior tape viewing (and the one attempt after this) had resulted in Jacky having a meltdown. In which he tried to, in a panic, flush the tapes down the toilet, as you may recall. Which obviously didn’t work too well at all.

Additional info under the jump

I should also note that part of the outburst here in this bit is partly fueled by the mark left on Jacky after Darkwing had disappeared for about a year. Though it’s not touched upon directly in the story, Jacky does in fact have some degree of emotional trauma from Negaduck running Darkwing off the grid for a while... as Jacky was well aware that Negaduck knew Darkwing’s secret identity (as shown in the comics), and that Darkwing disappeared after the incident of the shredding of Mr. Banana Brain. 

See... two particular things QuackerJack could always count on being a stable fixture prior was 

Mr. Banana Brain would always be by his side

Darkwing will, without fail, show up to either apprehend him, or get him out of a jam if the situation calls for it.

Negaduck took both of those away in one day. No more silly fruit buddy to bounce ideas off of and use as an additional speaker piece, or have as a security item on hands at all times. No more getting a kick out of messing with Darkwing, or even having that little safety net of having Darkwing around if a situation happened where Darkwing had to be there to defuse it (Such as in “Stressed to Kill”, “The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain”, “Jailbird”). As far as anyone knew, Darkwing was gone, as no one knew of his secret life or that he went off the grid to protect his family. 

All QuackerJack knew is that Negaduck had plans to destroy Darkwing at his most vulnerable, and apparently succeeded. No Darkwing, no more fun, St. Canard sucks, things get taken over by QuackWerks which was pretty much run by a mob boss, there’s no balance to the city structure, little children are being arrested for pirating music, QuackerJack’s entire experience in QuackWerks is an isolation nightmare of being undermined and overworked to the point of nervous collapse while being dismissed during any cries for help, like, QuackerJack is canonically a genius and innovator and he was put in a helpless situation.

Can you blame him for being a little furious at Darkwing for, in his POV once Darkwing came back, abandoning the city he was supposed to be protecting? QuackerJack is a St. Canardian, after all. 

I mean, the comic pretty much have QuackerJack refer to Darkwing as his “favorite toy”, and if you remember how QuackerJack literally drops everything he’s doing to chase after Darkwing as soon as the Duck Knight makes his triumphant return to St. Canard... it’s pretty clear that QuackerJack feels like Darkwing is his nemesis. 

So, in Jacky’s POV for that scene there in “Temporal”, he’s pretty much infuriated that he’s being seemingly patronized by someone he holds in high regards. Because of his brain injury, he kind of has no filter here, and all he knows right now is that he’s angry, confused and scared.

[choicesenthusiast]

Open Heart 2, Ch. 7 AKA Dilemmas Left and Right

What happened this week:

Be shook, because a coma patient of thirteen years just woke up. The ‘Nostics team seizes the opportunity for a research grant, but all we need is the family’s permission.

The parents are cool with it, but understandably, the patient is a little out of it.

Esme’s having some ethical dilemma, and she’s come to the right person for advice: MC, Queen/King of ethical dilemmas. Have coffee together to sort out said dilemma.

Sienna’s intern has been giving her some trouble and it was at this point where everyone put their LI differences aside, equipped some armour, and set out to murder anyone who gives Sienna a hard time.

Have an expensive dinner with Jackie, courtesy of one slimeball Delcan Nash Discount Carson. Jackie’s whole vibe recently is screaming “Eat the rich” and I find that very sexy of her.

June reveals that she’s been doing some of that “goody-goody” stuff on us to get us on her side, which is, like oh, okay that’s fine I would’ve done that too. But she’s also been looking at our very private personal file, which is kind of a big yikes. Makes me wonder what else she’s done to get into her position, or what else she’ll do to make sure she stays there.

We find out more about Ethan’s mommy issues, for instance, they literally used the “she went to the grocery store and didn’t come back” card. I’m sorry, but I have to cackle. It’s such a meme thing at this point that I laugh whenever I hear that. Unfortunately, it’s in yet another diamond scene. PB please, Ethan’s awesome but I just want LI equality. Come on. Also, she commits shoplifting. So she’s still a dirtbag.

Mass Kenmore steals our coma patient, which will definitely be a hot topic in next chapter’s cross-town baseball game. Really, why? Anyways, if Laundry is there, I’m really hoping we get to slug one right into his rat body.

Thoughts:

Y’all give Tumblr Ethan stans flak for being wack, but have y’all seen Instagram Ethan stans yet? They’re a whole different breed of cuckoo. Read some of the comments on the OH posts. I fear them. I love Ethan, but I don’t want to be affiliated with them in any way, shape, or form.

Protect everyone at all costs, please. This is a great cast of characters and the thought of the impending funeral at hand… no. I won’t think about it.

Y’know, I like calling the diagnostics team the ‘Nostics team. There’s a certain flair to it. I’m gonna do that in my future reviews.

[alexisluthor]

Prodigal Son Deep Dive - “The Professionals” *SPOILERS*

*PRODIGAL SON SPOILERS AHEAD*

A lot happened in the latest ep of PSON, “The Professionals.” As soon as Malcolm walks into the station and everyone’s staring at him, you know something bad happened. Plus, Gil was drinking. During the day.

So, Eve’s dead, that’s a bummer. We also miss getting two episodes of the show due to the virus, so who knows what those two episodes contained. What we have to work with is a seemingly all-powerful Nick Endicott who promised Whitly in 1999 that he’d…sleep with…Jessica and destroy his family if he ever reneged on their agreement. He’s made good on the first point and is working on the second.

It is my theory that when Malcolm went to “interview” Eddie, the man in the room wasn’t even Eddie. If the team were smart and trying to intercept Nick Endicott’s attempt at framing Malcolm…they would have a bandaged man sent to the hospital – have Malcolm show up with orders from Gil to interview him (which is weird bc he’s a profiler, but whatever). They’ve already got the assassin in their pocket. She goes to Endicott, tells him she killed Eddie and planted evidence after Malcolm’s visit. Voila. Nick thinks he’s got the upper hand.

The team has to keep Malcolm in the dark, to make everything look believable. But notice, at the end of the ep, Dani is looking upward. As if searching for cameras or something. Eve’s place had been spied upon and I think the team hoped that Malcolm’s place was bugged as well so that Nick would get the confirmation he sought. Malcolm gives an amazing ‘shocked’ performance, because it’s not a performance. He really thinks he’s being arrested. Although, if you watch his face carefully, you watch his expression shift to something…else. Less shocked and more… ‘aha, I know what you’re doing here.’

Maybe he’s safer in the clink than anywhere else at the moment – at least until Nick is…taken care of. But the promos for the next ep indicate that he’s not in jail.

Speaking of “taken care of…” as soon as it’s mentioned that Mr. David was sick, alarm bells went off in my head. It was nice to see Martin ‘caring’ about his ol’ pal, and even nicer to hear him hiss at Eddie that he’s, “not like other prisoners.” Is Mr. David still alive? Did Nick kill him?

Now we know that Martin’s cushy existence behind bars is because of Nick. But at what cost? The way Endicott threatened Martin…talked down to him…offered him his little rug. I would say that Martin is a…dominant…type. I think it’s killing him that Nick has infiltrated his family so thoroughly. That pent up rage is probably not doing good things for him, mentally. I think a lot of that rage comes out when he’s brutalizing Eddie.

The scene where Eddie tries to kill Martin was fantastic. Martin being choked…Malcolm unable to get into the cell. As he was being choked out, it was like Martin had all but given up until he heard Malcolm scream, “Dad!” It was a moment that so perfectly echoed that scene when Martin was in a coma. It was Bright who brought him back to the surface. Martin’s eyes snap open and he gets the upper hand, going into full kill mode, and all Malcolm can do is watch. I think Malcolm watches in both horror and fascination. This is the first time he’s really seen his father do real damage, revealing his animalistic nature in the most brutal fashion.

What’s just as shocking is the way that Martin attacks Eddie. He goes for the eye sockets, which is one of the ways he’d mentioned previously, to a collegiate Malcolm, how he could kill him. He tells Eddie, “this is for my boy,” and grins wildly at Malcolm as he does it. It’s like watching his sanity snap in real time. And Malcolm can’t pull his eyes away.

I think part of Malcolm…a part that he’d never admit to having…wasn’t too terribly upset by his father’s brutal treatment of Eddie. That is the man who killed Eve after all… The look on his face is more one of fascination than disgust. Despite not being >>as<< panicked as when Martin was being attacked, he still urges Martin to stop. JT pulls Martin off Eddie and Martin has this moment…it’s almost like he’d disassociated a bit. He almost has to come back to himself. Hmmmmm….

And poor Gil and Jessica, talking about Malcolm – drinking – reconnecting. Their night had been going well. Jessica is right, she sure can pick ‘em. And to find out that she did have a history with Gil is beyond satisfying and something I think we all suspected. But to hear that she had turned him away – made him think he wasn’t good enough for her – that was brutal. Poor Gil. Still, he got to have his life with Jackie. And now he gets Jessica. Or does he?

Boy…what a time for Martin. He lost Jess both to his enemy Endicott, and to his enemy Arroyo. That rage will really boil when he hears about Gil. He already fears that he’s lost his boy to the lieutenant and now his ex? Ouch.

We get that lovely kiss between Gil and Jess and several other incredible moments with the rest of the team.

Ainsley puts herself in danger as she tries to investigate Nick. But part of me wonders…if she’ll be the one to kill him. I think Martin went after the wrong kid to try to convince to be a killer. If I had to put my money on it, I’d see her killing someone before Malcolm would. Then again, he did stabby stabby his very own daddy daddy but I think the reasons behind that were more complicated than – well, he’s a killer. I digress.

And poor Eve. No wonder Malcolm is haunted by her specter. In a way, it is because of his family that both she and her sister are dead. She had just begun to taste hope, had just renewed her spark, and boom –  her life was snuffed out. I think Malcolm’s psyche is more fragile than ever as a result… How many ghosts can haunt him before he cracks apart entirely?

And what of Nick’s fury? What happens when he finds out Jess has moved on to Gil? When she says “no,” to him? Eeeeek. Martin is the big, bad predator, but he can’t do much protecting from behind bars. And judging from the ‘upcoming ep’ scenes, there’s a bounty on Martin’s head. He’s going to be in gen pop – all of his cushy privileges bestowed upon him by Endicott revoked. There is a prison free-for-all in the promo for the finale so I still hold out hope that Martin could manage a jailbreak, or at least a chance at staying alive.  

Tangent --- If Martin does stay alive (which he better), how would his dynamic with the team be altered now that he’s a ‘regular’ prisoner? No more private room? No more desk and books and surgical consulting? No more Mr. David, lion nature specials, and extensive private phone time? His own sanity would probably begin to splinter. Maybe his work/cooperation with the NYPD and surgical consultations would be enough to get him some old comforts back? As much as Malcolm professes to hate him (and does hate him), I don’t think he’d like these changes for Martin either (because part of him, also begrudgingly loves him). Perhaps he himself could rescue Martin from the lost privileges? After all, is it really a GOOD IDEA to mix Martin with a bunch of other prisoners? He is a puppet master, a mastermind. So maybe Mal gets him his old existence back. Wouldn’t that be a twist? >evil grin<

What I need is Mal and Martin in the same prison. Malcolm protecting him from getting whacked while the team and Ainsley try to bring down Nick. But if Martin is urging Malcolm to kill Nick, that means that Malcolm’s free. No Prison!Malcolm for me unfortunately.

I think it’s also highly unlikely that Malcolm will kill Nick in the end.

Finally, I find it fascinating that Martin urges Malcolm to be the killer, rather than Ainsley, even though he’s talking to both of them. He points out that HE is a Whitly. Like…hello? So is she? (THIS REALLY BOLSTERS MY THEORY THAT SHE IS NOT MARTIN’S KID – that and the way he barely acknowledges her existence) Maybe she’ll take Nick out in the end? Who knows.

All I know is that the team is more kickass than ever. Malcolm improvising with that knife and ketchup? Perfection. Dani taking out the assassin. Beyond amazing. The director actually giving us a LIT SHOT OF TOM PAYNE’S FACE…YESSSSSS. There were plenty of wonderful moments in this ep that have me screaming at FOX to renew this show.

PS If Edrisa is the ultimate Malcolm Stan…HOW DID SHE NOT KNOW THAT HE HAD DATED EVE? LIKE…what kind of stalker are we here Edrisa? You can do better. Plus, no one from the team thought to CALL HER? Give her a heads up maybe? “Yo – Bright is coming in. He dated the dead girl. Act somber.” NOTHING. She just had no idea. This from the same woman who HAD MAL’S MEDICAL FILES after he got kidnapped? I just…. sigh…come on team. Come on Edrisa. (GIF courtesy of MyBoy)

[xolarajean]

Greenhouse Academy S1-4

Preface: So, I finally have gotten around to writing a review about S1-4 of Greenhouse Academy. I finished over a week ago and watched all 4 seasons in about 4 days haha. Honestly, I’ve been procrastinating this review because I have A LOT to write about. So here we go!

Plot: Eight months after losing their astronaut mother in a rocket explosion, brother and sister Alex and Hayley Woods enroll at a private boarding school, the Greenhouse, for gifted future leaders. Separately, they join two competing houses, Ravens and Eagles, within the school and tension builds up between the two siblings as they adjust. Soon, mysterious events catch the attention of the students from both houses and forces them to work together in order to find out what is happening at the draw the Greenhouse.

Review: 3.5/5

I found the plot really intriguing at first. In addition, I liked the actual events that happened and where the story could head in the future. Though, the execution was not as great. The acting I felt was good for the most part, but the writing seemed a little awkward and cringey at some points. But bear in mind that it is targeted at kids/teens (even though at some points in season 3 and 4 there were some curses thrown around) so it is kind of expected to have those moments. Either way, those moments are bearable to watch through. I personally liked season 1+2 more than season 3+4 for the most part. There is one main issue I have with this show, but I can’t describe it without spoiling it. So, continue reading if you’ve watched the show/don’t care about being spoiled (It’s mostly about season 3+4).

But the main issue I have were the character changes. The obvious ones are the actual cast changes for Emma and Brooke. And the fact that Jackie left... that broke my heart. I still have this naive hope that she will come back though. It sucks that the original actresses could not continue with season 3 and 4, but you can’t really blame anyone since those decisions are based on personal reasons. It’s hard not to prefer the original actresses because well they are what we are used to. Though, I can’t understand why everyone is hating on them sooooo much. I personally think they were fine at acting. The REAL problem was the writing. In season 3 and 4, the personalities of so many characters were switched and the plots were messier. 

To start off, the whole love triangle between Daniel-Hayley-Leo was annoying. I DID ENJOY Daniel and Hayley, but Leo was just being a dick for the entirety of season 3. Obviously Leo was already a bit of an ass with the whole Aspen and LDR drama, but in season 3 the writers just made him 10x that (especially with the whole leading Beca on and straight up insulting Hayley at every chance he got). As you can tell I’m not a big fan of Leo, but the thing that got me is that the writers made Daniel such a jealous boyfriend? It seemed really out of character to me for Daniel to go through Hayley’s text like that and be paranoid of Leo (I mean hello this is the guy that is just straight up insulting your girlfriend and cheated on her. I don’t think you have that much competition or so I thought -- ending of season 4 was annoying). Like I know he was probably scared of Hayley getting back with Leo because of the Brooke and Alex thing, but honestly he knew that his relationship with Brooke was already sinking before Alex came into the picture. Plus, Hayley wasn’t flirting with Leo like Brooke was with Alex in Season1+2. The only good part about this love triangle was how supportive and understanding Daniel was with Hayley at the end. I mean done get me wrong I was thrown off by the huge 180 his personality took, but I’m just gonna believe that Daniel is just that good of a guy to be that mature. Anyway I’m just gonna end it with I prefer Dayley because their relationship felt more real (also I’m so glad that she told Daniel about the button and secret room right away and the writers avoided the keeping secrets to protect you which leads to tension trope because I would have imploded if they did that) and I want to erase the ending of season 4 from my head. 

Next up: Emma and Max. Honestly in the first episode when I learned that Jackie was gone and both Emma and Max started lying about being in LDRs, I knew the writers were gonna try and pair them up. I had hope that they would pull a twist and have Jackie show up in the middle, but NOPE. Like this pairing is just super... boring? Like they are both sweet characters, but they really don’t bring that much to the table in terms of romantic chemistry. I liked them better as best friends who geek out together. And because the writers focused so much about their relationship it left almost no room for actual individual screen time or character development for either of them. Like all they did was use some algorithms and their intelligence to solve some seriously hard problems, but it made them seem more like robots and tools to solve the conflicts in the plot. All I have left to say is that I still ship Jackie+Max.

Now I wanna talk about Alex and Brooke. Tbh I never saw much chemistry between the two characters in any season. Like yeah Alex was a good guy that was with her at the right time when she went to the cave at night in like season 1 where he fought off the park ranger, but still it didn’t feel like a real relationship. This continues into season 3+4 and I was sooo happy when they broke up (but why did she have to do it during a basketball game? Heat of the moment I guess) Also, even when Alex was “trying to be a good friend” to Brooke, it came off that he was still trying to get back together with her even though it is obvious that she is just not ready? And near the end of season 4 after she talks to Jason in the hospital when she and Alex were talking, I cringed so hard when he admitted that he was having trouble being just friends because it felt to me that he was trying to guilt trip her into getting back together with him which is just so wrong?!?! Again, I wish to delete this scene from my brain.

Lastly I wanna share my opinions about Sophie, Parker, and Enzo. Let me start out by saying I think in season3+4, Sophie was my favorite character. I mean come on how could I not love her? She is determined to chase her ambitions like the bad ass she is even with her past (which I’m super mad that they didn’t really delve into her past because that could have made the show a lot more interesting). I also liked the introduction of a character like Enzo since it brings a new kind of person into the show and makes it more realistic because for the most part these kids seemed a little “too perfect.” Though, the writers didn’t use him to the full potential that he has which sucks for the viewers and the actor too and based on what we saw he is pretty good. Anyway I liked how he is actually a softie at heart and does the right thing for Soph. Now I wanna talk about the Sophie+Parker ship. Honestly, are the writers trying to pair up literally all the students together?!?! Again like Emma and Max, I felt that this wasn’t a real relationship; we’ve barely seen these two have any romantic chemistry and I view them more like a good pair of friend (class clown/funny + class president/serious dynamic is something I love). That’s all.

Quick opinion: Louis just felt off since the S3. I mean I get that he wants to better the students, but causing fights seemed wayyyy out of line for his character. So that was weird. 

Anyway that was all of my thoughts (at least for now) about Greenhouse Academy! Even though it seems like I hate the series based on my complaints above lol I actually really liked it and hope for a season 5 (crossing my fingers) where the writers and other staff can hopefully redeem themselves by fixing the problems above. If you have any thoughts about the show, please do talk to me about it because I LOVE chatting about the shows I’ve watched. 

[ton-e]

Lol ok so I didn't wanna do aesthetics so I wanna brainstorm possible scenes instead

Ok so the premise is, basically, Viktor, an aspiring kid looking to enter this straining affair of the boxing world. He's young and impressionable and he's got something to say. Something that old underground New York pubs and junior gyms don't provide enough eco for.

Barnes, a big shot star in the 80s, is pretty much known as the best of the best there, holding the impressive score of 34-1. (Tho I don't know if it can count as a victory since he wasn't even there for the fight, anyway) but after a near fatal shooting which happened right before his big championship match with Rollins, a bullet piercing his right shoulder which leads to the amputation of his limb, he dissapears into the shadows. The world moves on.

I like the idea of Barnes being trained by Mary who was in his exact same spot years ago but had to give up her career to have Anthony which she doesn't regret! Between her heart problems and the growing annoyance of public attention, a baby is practically a blessing and if it puts Jarvis and Howie to rest then it's a bonus. (I also kind of like the idea of her having only losing once and it was against Maria lol)

And maybe Viktor goes to her first but, while she does seem fond, like she's looking at an old memory twice, she refuses. "Kid, I'm gonna tell you exactly what I told my old pain in the ass when he stood in your spot: I can't."

"Why?"

"Because us Carbonells train to kill, not fight. Alright, what you think boxing is, - this cookie-cutter bullshit version you kids have today? The civilized conversation, the heavy editing, the contracts promising defenses, - that doesn't mean shit. Apollo Creed had a contract.

Muhammed Ali had a contract. So did Jimmy Doyle, Frankie Cambell, and Brad Connels. A sheet of paper can't protect you from the ring, and I'm not having another kid on my conscience. Besides, these guys? They have purpose. Whether it's money, or sport, or just to chase the high - they have it. You just want the glory."

"Yeah? So what?" So what if he wants to be seen? So what if he's doing all of this hoping to impress? So what if he has to prove he's worth someone's time. "If I die I die. Big deal."

For some reason, he wants to both cry and retaliate at the look of pity that crosses her face. "Go home, kid. You're gonna break your momma's heart." Are his last words to him before she closes the door.

In a Viktor fashion, he does the exact opposite.

He likes the street fighting, - the vibrations under his fists, the crack of his bones, the violent taste of crimson metal blossoming in his mouth, it's liberating. He doesn't think about anything. It's just him and his adversary, not an enemy, just someone seeing him as Viktor sees them. That rush could ruin a man.

It doesn't hurt he's making pocket money on the side, either. Certainly better than watching some snotty kids or mowing laws, in his book.

No, what kind of hurts is seeing the sharp scrutiny in Aleksei's sharp eye and the soft disappointment uncovering Ryurik's Dad Stare when they come pick him up from the station.

He and his mother are alike a lot in that aspect, - really he's pretty sure the five, Sasha and him have had an agreement to collectively throw themselves off a cliff if they disappointed Ryurik in some way. A broken arm, bruised ribs, and black eye? Pale in comparison to what Ryurik's power really holds.

I refuse to believe Aleksei doesn't freely parent other people's kids sksk Aleksei only stops scolding him when a police officer says ''He's going to spend the first part of his life in the streets, and the other in the grave. I put my life on it." Well a certain fashion teacher is gonna design the outfit for your funeral BITCH-

"You're so damn lucky Talusha was busy digging her medicure through someone's intestines right now. Do you even know how bad you look right now? Of the mountain of trouble you're into? Are you? Viktor Iosef Novak, you look at me when I'm talking to you, -"

"Relax, relax, take it down to a two, " Viktor pushes back a laugh watching Ryurik placate his husband bc it's just cute, and ignores the shush river of Russian pet names bc they're not for him to hear. It makes him feel vulnerable tho, that Ryurik feels the need to somehow hold Aleksei back. He can take the heat just fine.

He can take it and give it just as good, because every battle he's been into before has been on his own name. But this is harder because it was never a fight, to begin with.

Fighting is easy. Stopping is harder.

It doesn't stop feeling bad when Sasha bandages his wounds and his back doesn't cool town from the target five pair of eyes fixate on. Yasha's burn the hardest thought. "The fuck you looking at?" He playfully glares, the good part of his shoulder bumping against the other boy's, who tries to small but it lifts with a strain.

"An idiot."

"Are you looking for a mirror?"

"Fuck you, Vitya."

"Hard pass."

"Okay, Viktor you're not getting away that easy, " Ronin says, arms still bound tightly around Antoska's slender shoulders and Sasha's frail middle. Despite his easy going tone, Viktor uncovers the touch of concern underneath. "Why can't you just ask your mom to teach you? Or Papa? I mean, you want to be on a knuckle sandwich diet be my guest, but it's not really good for digestion from what I hear."

"It's not the same. Your father knows another kind of style."

'He doesn't want to learn from mom and uncle Ryurik because she's a girl,' Sasha signes irritably, eyes making an impressive tumble. 'My brother, the 14 year old, making sexist comment. What a never heard of fact.'

"I didn't say that!" He exclaims, flushed. Hissing when Natalia kicks him in the tender bruise he sports on his hip. "I just said, that I want to learn boxing! And that's not the same thing as what Ma does, or you guys do. Boxing is special. But if I can't learn from Barnes specifically, then there's no point!"

The red head huffs in indignation. "Okay, so, boo hoo, some washed-up Rocky Balboa doesn't want to train you. You have options, V. People give up over worse."

He doesn't feel like being home anymore, so he flees, the call outs to his name going ignored. in the street or just outside, he doesn't know. He just knows red follows him, that concrete shakes under the stomp of his heel and that the wetness on his cheeks freezes on his face. No one gets it, no one gets HIM. It hurts, that a part of him, the part that tells him he's worthless and insignificant and forgetful , really does think Barnes has better things to do than train him.

A sleek car, long, vintage, a touch too expensive for the streets he's haunting right now, stops beside him. He continues. It follows him, engines unusually quiet.

"Mr. Novak?" A deep voice, subdued, but persuasive nonethelesss coerces him into stopping. The windows roll down, revealing a man with a smile too friendly to be true and eyes too kind to be nondeceiving. "My name is Alexander Pierce. And I happen to have an irresistible offer."

"It's in the process of extension, " Pierce expresses later, as he leads Viktor through the underground fighting bar. Its practically a huge stadium in a molehill and his mind struggles to compute how Pierce pulled it off. "I'm looking for capable young talents to craft into tomorrow's brightest stars. I'm assuming you've heard of Rumlow before?"

"Crossbones? 23-2? Yeah, I heard. He's currently heavyweight champ, right?" Barnes should have been, he wants to say, but reading the room better he thinks against it. "I don't... Actually think I've seen him around much. Maybe since '98, but that's his most recent match. What's ... Up with that?"

"He's kept that belt around him for closer than two decades. Id say its time for some adjuments in the records, don't you agree?" He doesn't like it when Pierce smiles. Bad things happen when he smiles, of that Viktor is certain. "That being said. I think you could be our following breakthrough. What do you say? I'd love to see a performance. "

"I'd be surprised if you guys had a Juniors league." He snorts, expecting a smart retort, but all he gets is a sinister grin. All of a sudden he's in the ring, without even noticing he was moved, and before him stands a beast of a man, two heads taller and promise of pain in his eyes. "... What juice do you give this kid?"

"You're charismatic. You'll need that in this world. He's your adversary for tonight. I'd suggest an old fashioned glove bump for the sake of sport, but, seeing as you're barehanded id advise against it. "

"You can't do that, " nervousness bubbles in his throat. "That's against the rules. I can't fight like that."

"Oh! Don't worry. You don't have to fight. You just have to die."

--

The last time Rumlow sees Barnes is on a stretcher, arm bathed in blood and with the press around an ambulance.

He doesn't know what they were. Fuck buddies to almost friends to friends with benefits? He doesn't know what he had, but he knows he lost it. All he has is a sheet of paper with scratched blue ink, digits that no longer call, and some gold on leather.

"You should treat that belt with more respect. " Rollins scolds him. Rumlow uses it as feet rest next, and doesn't flinch at the sharp slap he receives. Instead, he smiles mockingly, lower lip sticking out in a tempting pout.

"Hit a bit harder next time and maybe it'll be half close to how Barnes used to do it. Just because it felt good with him doesn't mean you'll receive the same response." The pout slips into a smile that drinks into the frustration sizzling around the air. "Besides, I don't listen to cowards, Jackie. Thought we established that."

"Oh, please. Are you ever going to let that go? I ain't gonna repeat it a thousand times till you get It through that hard head of yours, but I didn't shoot your boy toy."

'' I didn't say you shot him. Pussy like yourself, I'm thinking you hired someone. Why did you do it? Hm? Were you that scared to fight him that you wanted to kill him? Hell, I don't blame you. Man sprints like Ali and serves like Creed. "

It's Jack's turn to return that grin, that fucking blood-curling grin. " Used to, for sure. Remember when he fucked up your pretty face in '84. Now? He's a street rat barely getting by, sniffing after junk and scraps just to stay alive. Must be hard to think about, I guess, that he used to give it so good and now he can't even hold you, can't he? Not with his cripple self. "

The beer can in Rumlow's hand spills over. Neither comment. "I ain't afraid of no half-man, Brocky, " Honey-sweet words make him sick. He wants to kick Jack out, but they both know he won't stay away, and that Rumlow won't keep him away. He's too dependent on him at this point. "And not stupid enough to think he's coming back."

"... You're right. You're not afraid to fight him. You've got a lot of words worth to point the finger at, but chicken shit? Ain't one of them. You know what I think?" Rumlow sits back, smirk wide and nasty, contradicting the sadness on his tongue, the venom, the tired. " I think you were afraid to be him. That he just? Didn't give a shit. Just like I did. That he could fuck me whenever and wherever he damn well pleased without giving a shit about who had something to say about it.

You were afraid I'd say something about you, even if we both damn well know that never happened, that he found out. I think you were terrified he was gonna tell the world Jack Rollins was a faggot just like his daddy."

He can't snapshot the moment his body makes contact to the floor. He doesn't count the punches either, letting them numb over his face, no longer present for the beating. At around one point, his neck snaps to the TV screen, in sync with Jack ceasing his onslaught, and his eyeballs follow his stunned gaze.

Rumlow can recall the time Barnes lost his right hand.

And he'll brain engrave the image of him kncoking some goon out with his left.