#I tried to avoid romance focused scenes

[techwrecker]

The Bad Batch Off-Duty Headcanons

✧Hunter

His favorite off-duty activity is fishing off the pier. Due to his heightened senses, sometimes he just needs a quiet break with a little action.

Sometimes will bring Echo with him when he wants a little company. Usually they sit in a comfortable silence.

Conversation includes the occasional complaints about the goings-on of the Marauder. ("Wrecker left his used blacks on my bunk, again.")

Can be coerced into going to 79's but only if Wrecker offers to pay for the first round.

Self-Appointed DD (Except for that one weekend but we don't talk about that one weekend. EVER.)

✧Wrecker

Absolute Bumper Speeder junkie

Will beg and beg and BEG anybody he can to go with him once they're off.

He knows exactly how to wear each of the batcher's down. (But crosshair always manages to disappear before he can get to him)

He does calculations on the fly all day to calibrate the correct elements for the explosive reaction he needs, so bumper speeders is a way to just let it all go

Wrecker doesn't have a hard time having a good time. He's a pretty happy-go-lucky guy on on and off duty.

His favorite waitress at 79's has a specially mixed strong brew for him. Because he's so much bigger, the alcohol content is way high. (But he’s on unofficial friendly probation for a few weeks by the 79’s manager because of that one weekend.)

At the end of the night, he's usually doing karaoke with whatever poor sap of a clone he was able to rope into it.

Can still carry everybody back to the Marauder on his shoulders

When he's not pal-ing around, Wrecker can be found sweating at the Republic-sanctioned Workout Station.

✧Crosshair

He typically stays pretty close to the Marauder when he's off-duty.

A surprisingly big reader. Prefers history holos or historical fiction. (One time Echo caught him with a historical romance holo, but in his defense, "the summary had no indication it was romance!") ((He secretly enjoyed it.))

Even though he's off-duty, he still shines and cleans his rifle every day. Can't have it crukking out on him mid-mission!

Depending on the planet they're on, he actually likes to go out with Wrecker and try the local cuisine and food stalls. Sometimes he'll try and convince Tech to go back to a planet just for a food he's craving. (Tech only obliges if Crosshair promises to clean his gear, too. Maker knows he is the least tidy out of all of them.)

79’s isn’t really his scene unless the whole batch is together & even still, he tries to stick to the outskirts to avoid unsavory company.

There’s a few buddies in the 501st that he’ll talk to occasionally because they share an affinity for artillery and sharp shooting (Echo introduced them)

Has to intervene when Wrecker gets too crazy (don’t worry, no fighting… except that one weekend…) and reassure his large friend that “yes, wrecker, everybody is your friend... whatever helps you sleep at night…”

✧Tech

Tech is never really “off-duty”. His projects and experiments are his hobby. Besides, if he wasn’t fixing the Marauder from the most recent mission on the off days, when would the crew find time to do it next?

But if the Marauder is (surprisingly) in complete “working” condition, he focuses more on his hand held technological upgrades by himself or weaponry experiments with Wrecker.

He and Wrecker were commanded by Hunter to yell an obligatory “CLEAR!” whenever they do a new explosion text (because of that one one weekend)

Spends his extra extra free time at the deep used markets on the lower levels of Coruscant to scrounge and barter for parts he needs for his projects.

"I hardly think a second rate, third generation circuitry coupling is worth fifteen credits. I could get better parts from the dumpster outside Dex's during All-Species Week."

Tech will typically just nurse a sweet drink at 79's because "why drink something that does not taste good? It would have little value beyond the mind altering effects."

✧Echo

Always visiting and making plans with his 501st buddies

79's is the place to be when Echo is around. He becomes the life of the party with his old command. (Everybody blames him for that one weekend we don't speak of...)

Prefers to get as drunk as fast as possible

Happens rarely, but Echo gets the WORST hangover and regrets his entire life. Not fun to be around when that happens. "WRECKER! I said. Shut. Your. Mouth." (but he goes out to buy him Mantell Mix as an apology.)

When they're not available, sometimes he will help Tech out with his mad scientist projects, but usually he gets worn out from Tech Talk after a couple hours.

Likes to go on whatever scenic route walks are available to him on the planet they happen to be on that week. (It helps reduce the feedback he gets constantly through his headpiece ever since Skako Minor.)

Will catalog new flora and fauna to the database for Tech on his walks.

Has definitely made a few furry little friends & always brings treats with him to share

Once he finds a great view, he likes to meditate for a few minutes and really soak it all in. It helps keep him focused & calm. (Especially since life with the Batch isn't exactly serene...)

When fishing with Hunter, he likes to create new lures for Hunter to see what the biggest fish he can get (Most impressive catch so far was 42lb/19kg at 10ft/3m) (And yes, of course, he scanned the aquatic creature and saved the records for Tech.)

His datapad background is either of Hunter holding up the latest, most impressive catch OR its of the most breath-taking scenery in the galaxy taken by himself.

[byersfanclub]

if you’re ever having byler doubt just remember that milkman has never spent a season TOGETHER like as a COUPLE without FIGHTING or BREAKING UP. jancy shows us its possible got a couple to go through traumatic horror events together and still be a couple. they have romantic moments, they act like a couple, they talk about how much they love each other. milkshake has never. mike always avoids talking about romance, bffr. he tried speaking in riddles to her in s3 because he was avoiding it so much 😭 meanwhile mike spent all of s1 and s2 focused on WILL. he had no problem telling will how he felt in his s2 monologue. even in s3 mike will do ANYTHING for will, including biking across hawkins in the pouring rain because he wanted to apologize for their fight. take a moment and THINK about that. and then for the duffers to go and make is canon that will is gay and in love with mike? yeah no, they’d be evil for that. i dont even know how to explain how much backlash and hate the duffers will get if they ended up using will’s sexuality to hurt him even more by having him in love with his best friend when it’s so easy to write in a different love interest. the duffers know what they’re doing. if you ever lose hope, watch joey and jack’s breakup scene in dawsons creek and it’ll trigger a certain memory of a m1leven scene from s4.

[that-ari-blogger]

Weaponizing Empathy (Mer-Mysteries)

She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power is, pretty fundamentally, a war story. It has psychological affectations and a cyclical narrative structure, but it’s a war story.

As such, there aren’t that many plots that it has access to, although the series is surprisingly good at weaving odd ideas into the central scheme. You want a prom episode? It’s a diplomatic meeting. You want a lone wanderer western? Exile. You want a romance?

One of the best examples of this approach to storytelling is Mermysteries, which draws on detective fiction and film noirs to subvert almost every convention that this season has going on.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD (She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power)

Ok, first up, let me explain my biases: Mermista can do no wrong and so any episode with her in it is a masterpiece. Best character. Fight me.

In seriousness, I like Mermista for reasons I have spoken about before, but I also have a deep love for detective fiction and slow burn stories. I am the type of writer who avoids writing dialogue at all costs, and that reflects in the stories I like reading.

I was guaranteed to like this episode.

But I don’t actually want to talk about the one true queen in this post. I actually want to talk about how this episode and the series as a whole handles Double Trouble.

This is a character who is defined as being the opposite of every other villain in the series, someone who is a threat the protagonists aren’t prepared for at all.

Shadow weaver is completely unempathetic, to the point where she is repeatedly blindsided by Glimmer, who is willing to bend her morals entirely around her care for others.

Horde Prime is also utterly uncaring. His motif is control through the absence of free will. What use does he have for empathy.

Catra, still a villain at this point in the story, is in that place because she seems unaware that there are actual people around her. She cares when she realises, but her trauma has made her self centred and selfish. She can’t comprehend anything in terms other than victory and loss.

Which leads me to Double Trouble, a character whose greatest strength is that they can read anyone like a book and then play that back to them.

They are an actor, a shapeshifter. They exist on replication and take great pride in the art of that. They are terrifyingly empathetic.

Which leads into the plot of the episode and reframes it slightly. Usually, a detective story focuses around finding out what happened, the audience learns about the relevant details along with the detectives.

Here, we all know Double Trouble is the spy. We know how they are doing everything, from the impersonation to the communication. There are no stones left unturned here.

So, instead the story hinges around that dramatic irony, and showing off how easily everyone can get twisted around. You know that Flutterina isn’t Flutterina, so you notice her discrepancies, and you notice how she works as a manipulator.

Hey look, our protagonists are divided by a wall, separated by Flutterina. Meanwhile, Angella hangs over both of them like a ghost.

“It's just that, everyone's so on edge after what happened in Dryl. Have you tried interviewing Shadow Weaver about it? She seems kinda untrustworthy.”

Double Trouble has identified a weak spot that they can use to drive Adora and Glimmer apart, so they use it defensively. The second they are asked questions that might reveal their deceit, they poke at the hole in these two’s armours, then exit the scene.

This carries over to when they are caught. They love the drama, so they strike at that wound a little more, with the question about drawing from experience. Double Trouble knows people better than they know themselves.

In any case, the central question has already been answered. We know who the spy is. So, is there actually a mystery in this story?

You could argue that the question of whom Double Trouble was impersonating functions like this, but you see two Frostas on the screen at once, and Flutterina turns directly to the camera at one point and does the weird blink thing just to let you know.

You could also argue that the true mystery centres around the attack on Saleneas, but I will contest that. This isn’t set up as a mystery, nobody is investigating it. It’s a Chekhov’s gun that gets brought up at the start then forgotten about before coming back. It’s not a mystery, it’s just a plot point.

This flips the season’s theme on its head. We have been focusing on tragedies subverting themselves at the last minute, but now we have everything going right until it abruptly isn’t.

This episode, more than any other, feels like it is being written. It’s not organic, it’s contrived. But this is the point, and it works because the person doing all that legwork to make the plot happen is a character within the story. It’s contrived because Double Trouble is contriving it in real time.

Control over the narrative is a signifier of power in storytelling. When everyone reacts to something someone has done, that means they are significant or influential. Double Trouble takes this a step further by looking the audience directly in the eye and saying “remember what story we are telling here”. They let you have your fun, and then remind you that there is a war going on.

Which brings me to a criticism I have about this character. Well, I have two, but one is more significant to me.

First up, Double Trouble is a flat character. They are a charismatic plot device who exists to cause trouble because they enjoy causing trouble. They don’t have a backstory or a motivation beyond selfishness, and this is disproportionate to their significance in relation to the plot.

This is actually not my criticism, but one I’ve seen online and want to examine a bit. This is based on the assumption that complex characters are more effective, and to that I ask the following question: “more effective at what?”

Is it engagement with the audience? Every early Disney villain would beg to differ.

Nuanced storytelling? I would argue that Rasputin from Anastasia is an incredibly simple character who doubles as an allegory for grief. Even if the film isn't the world's greatest, it's a nuanced story and part of that is its villain.

The key thing to understand is that, on a basic level, all characters are plot devices. They exist to serve the story. They are not real. They only need to do what the plot decrees and all you have to do as a writer is to create a motivation or quirks for the character that cause them to fill those needs.

In that case, complexity is a matter of preference, some people like one end of the spectrum, some people like the other. I would recommend a balanced diet, but what do I know?

The other piece of criticism is my own, and needs to be taken very carefully.

The fact is, Double Trouble is the only named nonbinary character in She-Ra, which steps into some tricky ground. Coding is a complex topic, and the idea that the only character who is nonbinary is a shapeshifter alien who plays both sides isn’t the healthiest. It implies that this is either a gimmick chosen for the character, or it has other, nasty connotations about nonbinary people being inhuman. Stereotypes have baggage attached to them that isn’t always obvious.

This is, I need to clarify, so obviously not the writer’s intention. I have no doubt in my mind that the coding was not intended. But it is still there, and it causes turbulence. It’s just something to be aware of.

But I’ve complained too much. This is a detective story, it’s all about the fine details. So, here are some that I really liked.

Every time a character looks away from the camera and out of a window or into a fire pit. They are silhouetted against it, their back to you, hiding their face and their motivations. Bonus points for Glimmer and the window especially because it alludes to her desire for freedom.

The lighting in this episode is brilliant. It’s soft enough to not be jarring, but its warm, framing the truth as welcoming and benevolent.

The camera pulls back here, stretching the scale even further and making it seem almost infinite. But that pales in this scene in comparison to the fact that Mermista doesn't speak. She's too stunned, too broken. She's had more lines in this episode than the rest of the series combined, and now she is suddenly and noticeably quiet.

That final scene, with the shot of everyone looking over a destroyed Saleneas. I’ve talked before about the show’s use of scale, but it comes back here to highlight just how massive of a loss this was, and how devastating it is.

I also like that the purple lightning. I think that’s pretty.

In this one shot, Perfuma manages to be the smuggest here, despite not being that at all. She is nice, eternally so, and that's annoying in the best way possible. It's the "oh, did I foil your cunning plan? I am so sorry." It's such a fun character beat.

Final Thoughts

Why does Horde Prime smile at the end? Why is he in this episode? Like, I get that he got the message about the port, but why would that make him smile?

And what does it do for the episode and season? Are we just associating him with bad stuff?

You don’t need to remind the audience he’s there. They last saw him destroying a moon. He will show up when he shows up and the audience has already been given enough about him to care. This feels redundant.

However, because this episode is perfect and I will hear no word against it, I am choosing to ignore this criticism, because I said so.

Next week is Boys’ Night Out. Stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[ineffable-opinions]

Fumi Yoshinaga is known for her big hits including Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, which depicts the rise and fall of the Tokugawa family in the world where the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the female shogun, Antique Bakery, a story about a bakery where only men work and What Did You Eat Yesterday?, a slice of life series focusing on a gay couple. 

Excerpts (emboldened - for my own benefit)

Ever since I was a little girl, Patarillo! has been my favorite, so I enjoyed reading stories about male and male relationships. I didn’t think of it as a homosexual story at the time.

However, when I was in junior high and high school, bullying was a social problem, and I thought that if I stood out, I would be bullied. So I tried my best to hide the fact that I was an otaku so that it would not be obvious. Although I read major popular manga to keep up with everyone, I tried to avoid talking about the manga I really liked outwardly.

I had friends who were otaku, but when I graduated from high school, not only me but also all of my otaku friends “mimicked” normal people by reading the atmosphere. I dressed as normal as possible so that I didn’t look like an otaku, and I didn’t join manga club. I would go to coterie events, though (laughs).

Since then, I have not been able to do anything other than creating fan-fictions, and I even went to graduate school to continue my doujin activities for as long as possible. During that time, various BL magazines sprang up. A friend I met through doujin activities became the editor of one of the BL magazines called Hanaoto. And the opportunities I have been given to be involved in it have helped me build the career I have today.

Also, at the time of my debut, the term “BL” was coined and there was an atmosphere in which the entire market was gradually gaining momentum.

At the time, it was seen as pornography for adult women. Although I was embarrassed in the sense that I was creating erotic manga, I had no special feeling about the fact that I was depicting male/male love stories.

[...]can easily broaden my imagination as to stories starting from “comradeships,” “master-slave” relationships or the kind of friendship that becomes too passionate and then turns into romance.

Nevertheless, although I debuted as a BL manga artist, it was not at all easy for me to draw many variations of romance.

Even though I was drawing BL, love is love. At that time BL was basically short stories, characters in manga met and fell in love each time. I was troubled by the fact that they were another kind of love stories after all. Also, due to the policy of the magazine, I had to include sex scenes, which was very difficult for me. So I tried to move to a general magazine soon.

About All My Darling Daughters

In this work, I straightforwardly express the feelings I have had since childhood, such as the oppression I received from my parents and the speculation that I could be happy without falling in love. I didn’t want to use manga as a means to convey my ideas, but I was conflicted because I had to touch on these feelings in the creation of the story.

Sayako, who has no romantic feelings for anyone

She is what we now call “asexual,” but I didn’t even know that category at the time. I think it is very important to be named and recognized. It has certainly made life easier for many people.

It all started when a friend said to me, “I pay my taxes, I take out the garbage on garbage day, and I live a decent life, so why should I feel as if the world is blaming me just because I am not in love?”

I nodded deeply at her statement because I too had been uncomfortable since I was a student because I was not passionate about love. I guess I had to go with the flow of society, where people who have never loved others are considered to be living a pitiful life. I have been skeptical that loving someone is the highest good. If I say, “I don’t want a boyfriend,” people say, “Don’t try to act tough!” so I had to pretend to want a boyfriend, which is too much of a bother (laughs). I felt like I was mimicking them all the time in my life.

Gay people

I drew my BL and other works thinking that gay people might read them. So when gay people read my works, they may think “this is different,” but I was careful not to make them feel that they were being denied. I thought it was still okay to be unrealistic, but I never wanted to portray them in a way that might give an unusual impression to the readers.

But Ono [in Antique Bakery] was in a way the only exception. I had no intention of making him a laughingstock, but I felt bad if I had given readers a mistaken impression about gay people by portraying him in a funny way.

I have a gay friend who reads my works. When I apologized to him for how I portrayed Ono, he said, “If you get angry at every little thing like that, you can’t live as a gay person,” which baffled me. At that time, I felt very sorry. Since then, I have been careful not to change the attitude mentioned above. As for the depiction of gay men, I am not really conscious of whether it is realistic or not.

I think there are not many male-female love stories that depict realistic dramas. Rather, I enjoy reading them while thinking, “How could this happen? ” or “I hope this kind thing really happens in my life.”

What did you eat yesterday? & serialization of it in the youth magazine Morning

At first, I presented the idea to the editor of a BL magazine, but that person didn’t respond well to it. In the context of BL, the relationship of the two who have already gotten together was not interesting. There is no description of sex, no indication that the two are growing closer. For the readers of ordinary BL manga, there is no part of the story they want to read.

The editor-in-chief of the gay magazine also contacted me politely and said, “It is epoch-making for a story like this to be published in a youth magazine like Morning, so please feel free to ask me anything if you have any questions.”

I was just drawing what I wanted to draw, which was not much different from what had been published in BL magazine, so the objective opinions made me raise my consciousness and feel horrified at the same time.

One thing I changed was that I made sure to draw the recipe and ingredient quantities properly because I received a postcard from a reader saying that she had made the strawberry jam that appears in the piece. Although I was able to make some adjustments to it in the aspect of cooking manga, I thought I couldn’t change much about the setting of the gay couple, so I continued the manga as it was. However, the editor-in-chief of Morning changed around the time I published the second volume, and when I greeted him, I was surprised to hear from him that Morning is a conservative magazine for middle-aged men.

expressing yourself in a place where many people would see your work & fear of hurting someone

Doujinshi is simple; people who want to read it read it, but that is not the case with commercial magazines, so I was worried in the beginning.

When I was young, I once told an editor that I wanted to draw a manga that didn’t stand out in any way, and he admonished me, “That won’t make for an interesting work” (laughs). As long as it is a concrete expression, it will definitely hurt someone. So, in a way, I gave up on that point.

I think I am probably in a kind of trance when I am drawing. I am outputting what I wanted to read and reading it myself, so there’s definitely an adrenaline rush. That kind of pleasure is what keeps me going with this job.

Changing world, changing manga

I think that the range of content that we can depict has become much wider. Even in terms of BL, there are now not only love stories with sexually explicit descriptions, but also love stories in which couples gradually deepen their relationship. Manga featuring argumentative but attractive girls are also popular. The number of stories that do not depict romance has also increased dramatically. But as a reader, I also love romantic stories.

The range of manga I enjoy reading has expanded and now I like manga even more than before. As a reader, I look forward to the future.

[f3r4lfr0gg3r]

just right 🐻🍯 [goldi crush/dating headcanons]

Art Cred: Zac Retz

A/N: Sorry this took so long, I use my phone to write and it's been acting up lately 🥲. Ty for waiting so patiently and I hope you guys can understand!

CW: nothing but fluff and a tiny bit of angst in the beginning??? That's about it!

romantic/crush (x reader);

- With how guarded and abrasive Goldi can be, in my opinion it would take awhile for her to be attracted to someone romantically (I hc her as demi lowkey). So it would definitely have to be something of a friends to lovers situation, and even then Goldi wouldn't pick up on why she felt so..weird around you. Which is funny because it seemed like everyone else knew but her.

- At first she didn't question why she began to feel so nervous but giddy when you came around, opting to ignore the fuzzy feeling as it continued to grow

- She began to notice little things about you that she never did before, like your small pouts whenever she'd jokingly teased you or the way you'd hum a small tune while trying to stay focused

-"Though Goldi didn't care much for appearance before, she started tidying her hair up a bit and making sure she looked clean if she knew you guys were going to meet up– becoming more conscious of how you saw her

- Touches became more lingering and happened more often (I don't see her as such a touchy friend outside of noogies, playful punches, nudges, etc so it would be totally noticeable)

- And yknow those scenes in movies with people longingly staring at each other in the midst of a conversation?? That was you guys-

- Along with that I feel like Goldi would start to show off just a little bit, yearning for some praise (just a lil tho!)

- In general…with a crush I just see Goldi being a bit of a dork, constantly trying to look cool, but still a dork

- Once someone (*cough cough* The Bears) brought these sudden changes to her attention, Goldi would deny anything going on before returning to her bed.

- Even though it seemed so easy for her to deny it, Goldi ended up not getting a wink of sleep that night, questioning everything as she never thought of being anything but friends with you

- Once she actually gave it thought, it was clear to her…she liked you, a whole lot (not like she'd ever admit it though) but she didn't want to ruin what you guys already had

- After said realization, Goldi became a little more hesitant and avoidant towards you. Trying to block out the crush so everything could be "normal" again

- Despite her trying to be subtle, Goldi's avoidance was very much apparent to you, though whenever you tried to bring up concerns she'd give a random excuse for why she's acting so weird and becoming a bit flakey

- Soon enough you get tired of all the excuses and confront her, leading up to her blurting out her true feelings

- She'd tried to convince you that she said something else right after, in a panic as she was not ready emotionally to be rejected but that instead you hugged her and confess your own feelings, reassuring her that you weren't weirded out in the slightest

- At first Goldi would be in shock, silent as she continuously replays what you just said in her head to make sure you really just said what she thought you said

- Full of excitement she'd hug you back in a practically bone-crushing hold, her fears squandered maybe along with a few of your ribs

Romantic/Dating (x reader)

- I feel like the most Goldi knows about romance is from books. So with this knowledge it's clear she'd be pretty inexperienced!

- Despite all that, Goldi would try to take the lead because she feels more comfortable being in control of situations, even so she fumbles at it so hard at first

- To make up for that inexperience, she'd begrudgingly ask her parents for advice…the embarrassment was worth it to treat you well!

- Now that I think about it…I actually feel like Goldi would like feeling like she's leading things while in reality it's 50/50 (she deserves to be wined and dined like the queen she is!!!)

- Though hesitant at first, she's be more open to being cared for over time, it just takes a while because of her stubbornness

- Her love language would be a mix of gift giving and suprisingly physical affection (I really just love the idea of her stealing stuff for a s/o honestly-)

- She'd definitely spoil her lover rotten yet would get really flustered if they did the same 💞

- I also feel like she'd be a bit clingy but in a very quiet way (always subtly touching you/in your proximity) though if you ever said anything she would kinda stop for awhile out of embarrassment

- Playfighting is a given in the relationship, she loves expressing her love through a bit of aggression- SHE LOVES CUTENESS AGGRESSION SO MUCH (nothing ever too rough though)

- Since I'm having fun with this...I mentioned in my gen. hcs for Goldi that she's a biter so...definitely gives little love bites/nibbles on her partner from time to time in private

- An awkward cuddler at first but becomes very obsessed with it after some time in the relationship (loves having you lay on top her like a weighted blanket, the pressure soothes her)

- Not to keen on PDA will hold hands, give brief cheek/hand kisses, or something else that's subtle but nothing beyond that (it flusters her too much >_<)

- On a last note, she has ungodly hand placement without even knowing- she's so oblivious to the way butterflies erupt in your stomach everytime she caresses your waist just right...and it flusters you so much

(There will be a part two so dw about the actual dating hcs being short!)

Taglist: @zenmieisaa

[thetypedwriter]

What the River Knows Book Review

What the River Knows Book Review by Isabel Ibañez

Mystery, murder, romance—this book has it all. What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez is a fun and thrilling young adult novel set in the late 1800’s in Egypt.

The main character, Inez Olivera, finds herself making the long trek from Argentina to Egypt in order to solve the mystery of her parents and try to figure out along the way why they always left her for six months every year to go visit their beloved Egypt. 

I want to say more about the plot, but it’s better if you go in knowing as little as possible (although the book jacket gives away way, way too much—avoid reading it if you can).

If a headstrong Latina main character who won’t take no for an answer, multiple mysteries that intersect and keep you turning the pages, a witty and actually good enemies-to-lovers romance, and a beautiful setting filled with magic and history alike sound alluring to you, then you will adore this book as much as I did. 

The characters in this book were all multi-faceted and interesting. Inez herself, while not perfect, was a pretty infallible main character, especially considering that even though she’s a sheltered young lady living in a Bridgerton-Esque society, she’s incredibly determined, intelligent, witty, brave, and not worried whatsoever about societal etiquette.

I’m not saying that women weren’t capable of having these qualities in 1884, but Inez acts like a modern, independent woman living in 2024 instead of a person from her own time period. This annoyed me from time to time, but overall, it’s a small criticism to accept in the face of such a fun book. 

The other characters all added good depth to the story, including the British love interest, Whitford Hayes, and Inez’s remote and closed off uncle, Tio Ricardo.

Instead of welcoming Inez to Egypt with open arms and charming smiles, they are cold and distant, constantly calling her a headache and telling her to go back home. 

Inez, unwilling to leave until she’s solved the mystery of her parents, slowly carves out a place for herself amongst her uncle’s archaeology team, proving herself as a talented artist and as a capable adult.

As the book continues, more characters are introduced but I found the relationship between Inez and Whit and Inez and her Uncle the stars of the show. 

Inez’s feelings around her family were complex and nuanced. Her love for her parents simultaneously warred with her anger at them, her attraction to Whit danced alongside her rejection of his alcoholism and the fact that he works for her uncle, she desired her Tio’s acceptance and love while also being wary and suspicious of him. 

These intricate relationships were one of the things I enjoyed the most about What the River Knows. However, emotions were not always Isabel Ibañez’s strong suit.

My other main criticism of this book was a strange lack of emotional beats during certain scenes. Sometimes Inez’s emotions were spot on and multi-dimensional—portraying the thoughts and feelings of a real human being dealing with enormous change and shocking events.

Other times, however, I felt like Inez focused on the completely wrong thing while enormous occasions of magnitude were occurring. I won’t spoil what these are, but she would learn a harrowing filial detail and comment for a page and a half instead on how attractive Whit was. 

….Like what? It’s the equivalent of having a tornado hurtling towards your house and only remarking instead on what your crush posted on instagram. The gravity of what Inez focused on didn’t always make sense. 

For a main character who’s supposedly so mature and smart, it was a bad stylistic choice that she didn’t reflect or even think about massively significant events happening in her life during different moments in the plot beyond a few simple phrases. It bothered me just as much as I thought it was a dead give away. 

Isabel Ibañez tries to create some twists and turns in this novel—all of which I predicted because Inez simply didn’t think about a particular issue too deeply.

Whenever that happened, it was a clear indicator that more was going to happen with said issue. I think Isabel Ibañez was trying to be sneaky and subtle, but instead it made it glaringly obvious and shallower than the book needed to be. 

While some of Isabel Ibañez’s emotional beats scored and others failed, her descriptions of Egypt always succeeded. I’ve never read a book set in Egypt before and I loved all the descriptions about it.

From the lurid details of the Nile, the history involving Britain’s imperialization, to the food, language, and architecture, Isabel Ibañez did an incredible job setting the scene and making it magical. 

And while her words were magical in of itself, Isabel Ibañez also literally made her world magical by having artifacts imbued with old world sorcery.

The small slice of life fantasy elements never interrupted the story too much, but every time a small piece of magic would arrive, I devoured the explanation of what it did, how it worked, and its connection to Ancient Egypt. 

By the time I turned the last page of What the River Knows, I had thoroughly enjoyed myself. The characters, the world, the relationships—it was all a beautiful concoction that allowed me to overlook the flaws I perceived while reading.

While I don’t think this is a perfect book by any means, it was really thought out and different from other YA books in the sense that the tropes Ibañez uses were all very well executed, especially the enemies-to-lovers romance (which is getting increasingly saturated and cliched in the YA market). 

I am excited to read the sequel and can’t wait to discover Inez’s next adventure, her relationship with Whit, more information about her parents, and the continued world building that helped make this book such a charming read from start to finish in the first place. 

Recommendation: If you want a Bridgerton-Esque tale with hints of magic, complicated family relationships, and set in the fascinating land of Egypt, this is the book for you.

Even if you don't like all those things, this is still the book for you because it’s a great book that will hook you one way or another, be it the romance, the history, the low fantasy, or the crocodile-packed action sequences.

Score: 7/10

[pagesandpothos]

Fall for Him by Andie Burke

Official Blurb:

Dylan Gallagher’s hot neighbor loathed him from the second he moved in, and causing a flood, falling through the floor, and landing directly onto that same neighbor’s bed probably means that’s unlikely to change. The poorly timed “It’s Raining Men” joke didn’t help. Meanwhile, ER nurse Derek Chang’s life is a literal when-rains-it-pours nightmare. A man he hates dropped into his life along with an astronomically expensive problem originating from Derek’s own apartment’s plumbing. Also, the local HOA tyrant has been sniffing around trying to fine him for his extended, illicit banned breed dog-sitting. Since Dylan also wants to keep the catastrophe quiet, he offers to fix the damage himself. Dylan’s sure he’s not Derek’s type, so he focuses all his ADHD hyper fixation energy on getting the repair job done as quickly as possible―avoiding doing anything stupid like acting on his very inconvenient crush. Meanwhile Derek tries to ignore that the tattooed nerd sleeping on the couch is surprisingly witty, smart, and kind, despite the long-term grudge Derek’s been holding against him. But will squeezing all their emotional baggage plus a dog into a tiny one-bedroom apartment be a major disaster…or just prove they’re made for each other? Fall for Him combines banter, hijinks, and heart in a story of finding out what it means to fix things after your life crumbles.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed Fall For Him. I've read some great romance books this year and this one is certainly going on my list of favorites. I always love it when a romance can make me laugh, cry, and swoon along with the characters. I want to feel like I went on a full emotional journey by the end! Fall For Him gave me all those feelings.

Dylan and Derek are great characters and their emotional journeys throughout the book were really well done. Some scenes seriously made me want to cheer because I felt so proud of their fictional growth.

I also loved the cast of supporting characters, Gus, and the book's humor. I really had the best time reading this! It's delightful and the ending made me shed some happy tears.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tropes/Tags:  romance, rivals to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5. There are multiple sex scenes that are “Open Door”.

Content Warnings: Nothing major but it does focus slightly on grief. Grief is not a heavy theme in the book but it does factor into why one character is behaving a certain way and e processes this grief throughout the book.

If you liked this I think you will like Fall For Him: I think fans of Alexis Hall's contemporary romances should enjoy this book!

Other Notes: Fall For Him is a companion novel to Andie Burke's Sapphic romance from last year called Fly With Me.

Links: Storygraph | GoodReads | AndieBurke.com

Fall For Him will be released on September 3, 2024, and is available for pre-order!

I received an advanced copy of this book for free thanks to NetGalley. The above are my honest feelings on the provided book.

[tathrin]

Writing Year Wrapped (2023)

Ooh, thank you for the tag @sallysavestheday!

3 Favorite Fics You've Written This Year:

Of course we have to go with my current obsession, And In The Darkness To Unmake Them, an as-canon-compliant-as-possible Fellowship-AU that asks, what would happen if Celebrimbor got himself re-embodied and came back to Middle-earth to try and make up for his mistakes by helping to destroy the One Ring (and brought all his unhealed trauma with him)? Plus a slow-burn romance for Legolas and Gimli, a whole lot of delicious world-building for Mirkwood, and a more active role for Arwen too!

Five Times Gimli Died (and One Time He Didn't) is, I think, despite the simplistic and trope-y title, one of the most elegant things I've ever written, and I am very much in love with it. It's the story of Gimli and Legolas's romance, from beginning to end (well...not really end, because the joy of them is that they're a story that doesn't end—Gimli Immortality Agenda, you can't stop me!—but the story ends with the beginning of their happily-ever-after, which is a sort of end, no?), told in a series of scenes that takes place from Moria to the Undying Lands, and could almost slip right in between the pages of canon if you squint enough to overlook a little bit of meddling from Mahal on behalf of his new favorite dwarf (don't tell Durin).

To Live In Undying Lands is a series of snippets set in Aman after Legolas and Gimli cross the Sea, focused on both their new life there and that of our beloved Hobbits who went over before. And I went back and forth several times deciding whether to swap the placement of this one and Last Temptation... below, but I ultimately think that was a bit more of a stretch than this one, despite the fact that I Never Write Hobbits and am writing quite a lot of Hobbits for this one, and also I Never Write Snippets Without An Overarching Plot—and because I'm such a sucker for Gimleaf that if I have to pick a favorite between any two comparable stories, it's always going to be the one with them in it! (Also: Gimli Immortality Agenda, always!)

3 Fics That Stretched You the Most:

Dead Faces In The Water; Dead Faces Everywhere - I don't write present tense, I don't write modern AUs, and I don't write zombie stories...but here I am, writing all three at once! (Thanks, @katajainen! This story is 1/3 your fault, 1/3 @roselightfairy and @deheerkonijn's fault, and 1/3 Mira Grant's lol. And you were the inciting incident, so you get first blame!) And somehow having a great time doing it! (So much world building! I'm in paradise!)

The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm - probably one of the most overtly ambitious stories I've ever done. It's likewise in present-tense, although that's considerably less daunting now after almost forty chapters of zombies; but there were a lot of other balls to juggle on this story, including my first time properly writing both of the main characters as well as anything set in Ost-in-Edhil; and of skirting right up against the line of how close it came to all ending differently and making that (hopefully) feel almost like it could have gone differently and avoided all that tragedy in a way that, hopefully, both satisfies and distresses the reader.

And (I suppose this is a bit of a give-away, but it's not like I tried very hard to hide anyway; the anonymity is mainly designed to make people feel more comfortable offering con-crit, which I have no idea if it actually helped or not but I did get some lovely and helpful feedback on it, so I'm going to say the tactic has been a success) definitely Cliffside Revelations, which has the honor of being my very first explicit smut fic...even if most of the smut is an excuse for world building, which I'm sure shocks all of you lmao!

(And sneaking in an honorable mention of On The Far Side of the Sundering Sea, because my name isn't on the previous one so it probably doesn't technically count...which means I can slip in an extra story as a technicality, right? Right. Shhh, it's fine!)

3 Favorite Lines You've Written (loosely interpreting "lines" as sallysavestheday has cleverly demonstrated):

Oh this is difficult. Most of my best lines are only their best because of the context around them; and it's hard to remember them as distinct lines after their sections have been finished and posted. But this does at least save favorite and not best, so that helps; let's give it a try, then.

First, from Five Times Gimli Died (and One He Didn't) we have a moment of a revelation on Gimli's part, as he discovers that his heart might not be as alien to his Maker as he feared it was:

He stood in silence, staring at the unseen form of he who had made all Dwarves; of the Maker of stone and rock and mighty mountain. Mahal, who had made the Dwarves…Mahal, who loved the green.

This is one that definitely needs the context to make it work, so we're including the whole preceding paragraph from Blows Uncounted, a little AU-take on Helm's Deep where either the uruks are stronger or Gandalf is slower, and the battle has a darker ending.

For Legolas was not simply any elf: he was an elf of Mirkwood. Taur-ne-Fuin, the forest under nightshade; Taur-e-Ndaedelos, the forest of great fear. These orcs and uruks of Isengard, used to preying on earnest horse-lords and forthright farmers, had never met an elf of his sort before. Their northern kin could have told them stories of what befell orcs beneath the black boughs of Mirkwood…but orcs did not often come alive from those dark woods, not at least without Nazgûl to guard their travels.

And there were no Nazgûl here.

And taking a complete one-eighty in tone from the previous, I am quite inexcusably delighted with this one from Honeysuckle and Cider, and still giggle to myself whenever I re-read it:

"Uh," says Aragorn, son of Arathorn, King of Gondor, first of the House Telcontar.

(The line after it definitely qualifies as a runner-up, but I do think this one beats it out. Sorry, Faramir!)

Actually there's one other line I really wanted to put in here, even more than the one about the Nazgûl, but I'm not going to, because it's the very last line of the story it appears in, and reading it before you read that story would suck all the wind out of its sails, I think; so if you want to know what that is, you'll have to go read The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm for yourself.

3 Characters You Enjoyed Writing (that surprised you):

Anntar (Sauron), actually! I got to play with him as more than just a Menacing Presence in The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm and oh, he was so much fun! This was Sauron in full-on seducing-the-Gwaith-i-Mírdain mode, with maybe just a hint of how he actually wanted to be stopped, so that he could let the schemes for world-domination go and just be happy here with his smith-lovers...or maybe that was all wishful thinking on Narvi's part. Regardless, it was great fun to play with both failed and successful manipulations here, as well as to actually write something with my new favorite OT3.

Boromir may have come as even more of a shock to me, actually. I very quickly went from "distant fondness but very little interest" in Boromir to taking great delight in him, thanks in largest part to Dead Faces in the Water, Dead Faces Everywhere (and a little bit to Two Fell Into Shadow, although most of that was written or at least sketched-out earlier; but I'm counting it, because I don't think I realized how much fun he was fifteen years ago or so when I was writing it initially). Also, of course, his part in And In The Darkness To Unmake Them, although I haven't gotten to the point of posting any of his Grey Company chapters yet (shhh). He's such a wonderful sort of "I did not sign up for any of this; I have no idea what's happening; but I Am Participating Anyway!" sort of character, dragged out of his element commanding Minas Tirith's armies (where he's an extremely competent and confident fellow) and tossed into this baffling world of weirdness full of elves and magic and nonsense, for which he is so ill-equipped and ill-prepared. And yet he gamely goes along with it, because it needs doing! Whatever the fuck it is! He has no idea!

And last but certainly not least: Gimli, although this one may be less of a surprise; but it was a surprise to me how often I ended up writing from his perspective. I did not expect that, because I'm much more interested in elves (especially Mirkwood elves) than I am dwarves in general, and I've done a lot less world-building (a lot less) for Erebor than I have Mirkwood; but it's so much fun using Gimli as "the sensible perspective" (as well as an excuse to get really flowery with my wording sometimes, shhh!), not to mention an extremely astute and observant one, that he makes for a very addictive viewpoint character. I actually ended up having to make a conscious effort to switch to Legolas's pov sometimes, in fact, because it was so easy and charming to fall into Gimli's head and stay there! That was definitely a surprise to me.

3 Unexpected Inspirations:

This fucking dream! I still don't know what the hell happened to me that night, but it sure was unique and extremely unexpected!

And quite startling was the time where seeing the Legolas-always-looks-back-for-Gimli gif-post from the LotR movies cross my tumblr dash right to an Orpheus-and-Eurydice poll basically popped this whole-ass story fully formed into my head in one big rush of inspiration. Although the same thing happened with this post and And His Hands Ran With Gold and Shadow, so maybe I should stop thinking "random post on tumblr" is unexpected inspiration...

And uhhh....this XD

3 WIPs You're Excited About in the Upcoming Year:

And His Hands Ran With Gold and Shadow which I swear I will get back into working-on as soon as I get some of my other ongoing stuff finished, because I absolutely adore it! and I definitely want to write more on it! very much so! but the vibes required for writing it are so different from the other stuff that it's hard to switch back-and-forth between it and them (same goes for the zombie-fic).

An As-Yet-Untitled story set many, many, many years after the end of the War of the Ring in the Undying Lands, where our three beloved Hobbits (and one Dwarf) living on those timeless shores discuss their mortal lives, and decide when and whether to let them end.

The sequel to The Dark Reborn, because I am at some point going to drag my brain back into the galaxy far, far away enough to start reading and writing Star Wars fic again, and I fucking will finish this fucking awesome sequel trilogy fic I started, kriff it!!!

3 People Tagged to Share Theirs:

Tagging with zero pressure: @babybat98 @bifuriouswaterbender @katajainen

[spacedlexi]

Also do you think there’s a chance Louis and James would end up being together/growing close if he did join the school?

answering this question first since i put this post in my drafts last night lmao the timing...

i havent really thought too much about how james would fit in with the ericson kids if he ever came back. but the writers didnt have to have james say "...cute" in regards to louis saying some goofy shit so i do find that notable 👀 especially since thats the only scene where they actually interact....very interesting way to use their very limited time (in violets version i dont even think he reacts to her?? lmao)

the james we know is trying his best to be peaceful and kind and is doing what he can to preserve life. because of his time with the whisperers he tries to avoid conflict so i think he might be able to appreciate louis' "im here to have fun and blow off steam" outlook where the others usually dont (although he'd probably disagree about the walker bashing). he could benefit from that carefree influence like if anyone needs to loosen up its james aha the peaceful and kind stuff is something hes still striving towards. based on how he was gonna kidnap aj over disagreeing with clems parenting style hes not totally there yet. but clem talking james down by telling him he cant force his beliefs onto others (calling back to what he said to lilly about her forcing her ideas onto others because shes weak) i think is a wake up call for him and gives him something to think about. he needs to learn the only person he can control is himself. pairing that with louis' "dont know whats gonna happen tomorrow so might as well enjoy today" outlook i think would actually be a healthy perspective for james to take from

so yeah i think james could have a surprisingly high tolerance for louis' antics compared to the rest of the group. and i think thats something louis would in turn appreciate since the others can get kinda sick of him fucking around. i can definitely see them hanging around together finding ways to enjoy a nice day while the others are focused on their work first. in regards to romance well we know james had a boyfriend and thinks hes cute so i could at least see a one sided crush happening but idk if it would be reciprocated

[livums]

yours and his alike. {🌹}

Hello! More The Romance of the Demigods content! This little snippet is the byproduct of my non-chronological sort of... habit now. I made a document (I called it the Sanctuary. LOL) listing all the scenes I am excited to write. I closed my eyes and picked one, so here it is! Trying to get a better sense of Eve.

I think this one avoids major spoilers but still. If you prefer to read chronologically.... beware! 💜

cw: emetophobia / mention

In the reflection of the water’s surface, Eve beheld the face of one who, out of spite more than anything else, refused to vomit.

The pools were beautiful. Glossy ripples pulsed through the surfaces when disturbed, settling into a steady glass-like sheen when not. In her wandering, Eve had noticed how some appeared nothing short of bottomless. Even those that appeared to sink no deeper than ankle height on her, she could not be certain that they would not swallow her whole. Not a hint of her left behind. Such was the nature of the Fae domain.

So, even as she stumbled beneath the dizzying sense of some unfathomable weight on the softness of her brain, Eve was careful not to stray off the mossy path. When she knelt, it was with a stony and spiteful determination—she would not vomit.

She could, in the eye of her mind, envision the resulting series of events with grim clarity: one Fae (or more, with her fortune) happening to spy upon her vulnerable state, spewing the contents of her pitiful human stomach into the serene pools of the fabled Aiamede. And with an unnatural speed, they would spread vicious word throughout their network of siblings that the human paladin had shamed herself into their pristine waters. And it would eventually make its way to Nysa, to Kesh, and to Irial. And when she saw him next, he’d be wearing a smile that would drive her to violence.

So she stared into the pool, and focused on breathing deep. In the time since their arrival, her sense of being slammed about by the whim of a giant had only intensified. Some invisible force tugged and squashed her spine and stomach. And she looked every bit of it, too—her eyes were burdened by ghoulish dark circles, and the skin of her face had developed a most charming gleam of sweat. The bun of dark hair atop her skull clung to the barest pretense of form. Behind her head, she could see on the dark earthen ceiling the gentle breathing of the light that lived within the Aiamede’s flora and tiny crawlers thereupon. The perfect frame for the picture she made.

It was only with titanic mental fortitude that she forbade herself from dwelling upon what the Fae had told her, upon how she’d embarrassed herself with her response. They would love for her to be sick at the thought of Kesh and Irial, together in any one of these pools. At the thought of his hands on her. At the thought of them speaking of Gods-knew-what.

Her fingernails dug trails into the maroon dirt as she weathered the last roils of her stomach. Eve squeezed her eyes shut, and tried to believe that she were not clinging for dear life to the soil. One beat of her heart. Two. Three.

With a deliberate exhale, Eve straightened her spine. She opened her eyes to see Cirsi crouching across the pool from her.

The water rendered a hypnotic double image of their tail of bone swishing languidly this way and that. Their wings were folded closed delicately behind their back. They regarded her through pale and glassy eyes that revealed nothing, as Eve was rapidly coming to expect.

Earth-sick. The words rippled across the pool. They were not unkind.

“Whatever,” Eve grunted. “So you’ve come to find more gossip for you and yours.” She made herself begin to rise, slowly.

Not to find. To deliver. To the Star come to the earth-beneath-earth.

Eve felt her stomach lurch. She answered with a rough shake of her head—then aborted it, for it sent her surroundings spinning. She opened her mouth, and nothing came out of it.

There is talk.

Heat swelled beneath Eve’s skin. Talk. She knew well, now, the traps that awaited her should she venture unwisely into the clutches of Fae conversation. She had been so foolish once—never again.

So she hoped.

Eve turned away, lest Cirsi catch sight of the blush that threatened her cheeks. “None of you seem to ever cease chattering. So I suppose there’s always talk.”

There was a flick as Cirsi’s wings opened, and a flurry of movement. Eve glanced back in time to watch their cloven hooves alight upon her side of the pool. Most interesting talk, pulsed the lights around and above them.

The Fae was small, Eve was reminded, now that they stood before her. The highest curve of their onyx horns reached just to her collarbone. It bolstered her in a way that it shouldn’t have.

“I’ve never been concerned with anything less.” It wasn’t true, but Eve said it anyway.

Of the Star’s own desires, she has never been concerned? Cirsi tilted their head. Eve was coming to despise those unblinking eyes, wide and shimmering and all-seeing.

Eve narrowed her eyes. “Whatever you and yours think you know of my desires—“

Refute us, then.

“You would like that.” A sour taste revived itself inside her mouth.

We should like that.

Eve paused for a deliberate breath through her nose—in, out. “Piss off,” she said, finally. She turned away from the Fae once more, long ready for the end of this encounter. “Find somewhere else to feed.”

The Star must forgive us our curiosity, murmured a breeze that had not been there before. We aimed only to hasten the inevitable. We are so rarely met with mortal visits. It delights us that we might behold your story.

As if leashed, Eve found herself jerking backwards, turning on her heel to jab a gloved finger in the Fae’s direction. She no doubt looked unwell. “There is no story,” she hissed, “and there is nothing which you have the right to hasten.”

The Star—

Once she started speaking, Eve found herself unable to contain herself. “I am not a plaything of yours, and neither is she. If you were ever a force benevolent to man, you would leave her be, and let us see to our task here.”

Cirsi’s eyes flared, all six of them. It was the most emotion she had seen from them yet.

In your grand mortal sight, you misunderstand. You. You are the interloper, the surrounding pillars creaked. It is you who seeks more than just the Faeling’s touch, as those among us whisper. Unless we are mistaken.

Eve sucked in an indignant breath. The words had struck like a spear through her chest. She thought of how she’d carelessly revealed to the Fae folk her weakness. Now, she reaped the consequence of her mistake. Eve began to realize for certain, then, that no matter how she protested, she could not erase what she’d spoken into truth.

And now, when she needed a voice with which to shield herself, the iron grip of overwhelm was not so easily shifted.

The water laughed at her. Then it is only her touch for which you would so ardently vie. Though the veil hid the lower half of their face, Eve could not dispel the sense that Cirsi was smiling. And why should we concern ourselves if so? She gives her touch freely. Take it, and be content, if that is your design. Yours and his alike. Yours and all man’s alike.

“You have no dominion over her bonds,” Eve bit. The fear came back—that she and Irial were the same. Undeniably the same. Despite everything, she kept her hands at her sides. “She’s not one of you—you and yours have made it so.” She was sick. Sick with anger. Her hands and forearms trembled. Gods, if she had her sword. “You and yours, who share her blood—“

No. The moss shivered. When Cirsi stepped backwards, Eve was momentarily stunned. The Fae looked, for a breath, like any swordsman Eve had ever disarmed in a duel—taken by surprise and forced onto their back foot. Their small hands, typically clasped together serenely in front of them, raised and parted to trace lightly at their face. For the first time, those eyes were trained downwards. Lightly clawed fingertips grazed over their temples, down their cheeks. When they met Eve’s eyes again, she was struck by the emotion there. Unreadable, but undeniable. It is not so simple a thing.

Eve’s vision was drawn by a shift in her peripheral. When she looked to the side, she saw a curling current of myriad colors bleed through one of the pools. In it, the colors swam one way and another, searching for their part in a greater image. Slowly, slowly, shapes took form. For a moment, the pool hurt her eyes to behold—as if her vision had been forcibly unfocused. She struggled for several seconds to make sense of what she saw.

Some decades past. Beyond your years. After the upheaval of Earth and Sky. I was summoned by Father. He tasked me thusly—seek out this creature, half-Fae. Bring it here, before Our court. We would look upon this thing.

(tag, DM, reply, or fill out this google form to be added/removed from taglists)  

The Romance of the Demigods taglist: @aalinaaaaaa​ @sarahlizziewrites​ @thecrookedwriterspath​ @inkspellangel​ @crystal-librarian​ @hallwriteblr​ @bluberimufim​ @wip-nook​

General taglist: @enchanted-lightning-aes​

[suzuran777]

Review: Angel's Feather (Blue Impact)

Years after watching the Angel's Feather OVAs I finally decided to try the visual novel, and it's... pretty good, I wonder why I never tried playing it before? Angel's Feather was released in 2003 by Blue Impact, the BL branch of Studio e.go. There's also PS2 port, but this review is about the PC version only!

Synopsis

A clan of people with white wings lived in a land far away from the human world. Peaceful times suddenly came to an end when a mutation caused individuals with black wings to be born. Those with black wings were also able to use magic, which was eventually used to take over the kingdom of the white-winged clan, who didn't have the ability to use magic.

Meanwhile in the human world, Shou Hamura, the winner of the national kendo championship, is transferred to an all-boys private school. He soon realizes his younger twin brother Kai also studies there, though he doesn't seem to remember him. Soon after his enrollment, a series of strange events take place within the school, and black-winged individuals start attacking Shou and his friends.

Visual novel elements What is pretty unique about this game is that the visual novel parts of the game often let you pick which character you want to play as. At first you can only play as the protagonist Shou, but after that you can also pick Anri, Kurisu (…should I just call him Chris?) and eventually Kai. Because of this, it's also possible to pair up almost every character with whoever you want. Later two other characters, Shion and Sena also join the team.

Even though there are a lot of romance options, the game is very story-heavy and pretty much all romance is optional. I do think it's impossible to unlock all romance scenes in a single playthrough because even if you re-load your saves, some scenes later in the game won't unlock if your character hasn't previously interacted with them. To unlock all CGs, you probably need to re-play the game many times which might get a bit… tedious, so I recommend just picking a pairing you like in advance.

I do personally think it's not necessary to unlock all these scenes because most of them are short and the r18 scenes also aren't voiced. I'm not sure if that's always the case, but I applied the 18+ patch and those were the only scenes that weren't voiced (the game's all ages, but they did release an official patch which adds NSFW scenes).

Which reminds me... because the system is rather old, there really aren't a lot of save slots either. When you load your saves, they often make you replay the entire scene rather than the exact location you saved at. It wasn't a big problem, but it just surprised me a little bit.

RPG-like elements Like other older BL visual novels such as Ouji-sama Lv1 and Teikoku Sensenki, this game combines the usual visual novel gameplay with RPG elements. Occasionally you'll be able to walk around the school, but it's only limited to a few specific areas. Almost all enemies in the game are random encounters, making it impossible to avoid them unless you run away. I do recommend fighting them because they drop useful items and it's also easy to level up. Especially during the second part of the game, you'll spend a lot more time walking around and fighting enemies, so these items and experience points will be useful later.

The game doesn't really explain how the gems, elements, or even items work, but to be honest the gameplay was not super difficult so I didn't have much trouble finishing the game, even if I admittedly had no idea what I was doing sometimes. Also, most boss battles aren't ridiculously hard and they usually only know a few different attacks.

Plot and overall impression The game mostly focuses on battling the black winged characters and discovering why there's a conflict between the white winged clan and the black winged clan. There are not that many big plot twists, but it's a pretty fun fantasy story and I enjoyed playing it! Sometimes I was a bit confused if the main characters even knew they were part of the white winged clan, because they suddenly grew wings but didn't always… seem surprised by it?

There are several side characters in this game who have pretty well-developed personalities too, so I had fun trying all kinds of choices and talking to different characters. I'm also a big fan of older BL game artstyles, which is another reason why I wanted to try playing this game. When I looked at the artbook and some of the extra content the company released, I learned that all the art was originally hand-drawn and later scanned to turn them into the game CGs, which I thought was really cool.

I also had a bit of trouble with the in-game music because the noDVD patch somehow removed all of the background music. So if you can, I recommend not using this patch (you can either insert the DVD disc or use a tool like Daemon Tools to mount the ISO file before you play), because the soundtrack is also pretty good!

Kohaku no Hitomi The game also has a shorter sequel game, which takes place after the events of the main game. It's split into two different chapters, with the first one focusing on a new character called Kaoru, who's the child of the family that used to live next to Shou's family.

Chapter 1: This part mostly consists of the RPG-like gameplay style, until you beat the final boss. The battle system is mostly the same, but it does look a bit different this time. Instead of the pixel art they used in the first game, this time they used sprites for the main characters and the enemies. You can also only use 3 characters at the time, but you can switch them out anytime. All characters still gain experience points even if they're not in the team you're using. I must admit, the first part of this game is a bit... grindy, you have to visit 6 different areas and the level of the enemies increases quite drastically sometimes.

Chapter 2: After fighting the final boss of the story, the characters all return to their school. This part of the game is just normal visual novel gameplay and you can choose which characters you want to hang out with during the school festival. The plot isn't super serious, but I thought it was pretty fun! This time it's pretty easy to unlock all kinds of different scenes with all the characters, so it's easier to check out different pairings. There's some pretty funny scenes, for example the characters reenacting Romeo and Juliet, or a scene in which you can pick which character crossdresses.

In my opinion playing the second game is completely optional, the new character did have a lot of backstory but it's also nothing too different than what the characters in the first game experienced. The second part of the game was my favorite because there's a lot of funny scenes I enjoyed. There was actually also supposed to be a third Angel's Feather game, but unfortunately the staff left the company and no information about it was ever posted again.

Overall, I had lot of fun playing both games! I watched the OVAs a long time ago and had no idea what was going on, so it was really interesting to finally play the games 10 years later. The OVA added characters that aren't in the original game and also suddenly ends after only a few episodes, so I'm not surprised it made absolutely no sense to me back then. The games are unfortunately only available in Japanese, but you can use machine translation tools like Textractor if you really want to play!

[princeescaluswords]

Both a Poison and a Cure

This is written for @teenwolf-meta 's May meta event; the subject being trauma.

Teen Wolf, inspired by Romeo and Juliet, starts off with a newly-bitten werewolf and a girl from a werewolf-hunting family falling in love. While it works completely and quite effectively as a romance in it's own right, I believe it also serves as a symbol of Scott employing externalizing behaviors in order to cope with the trauma he endures throughout the show.

In the strongest possible way, I want to emphasize that this is not meant to define Scott and Allison's relationship as somehow superior to Scott's other romantic relationships with Kira and Malia, nor is it meant to define it as more important than his platonic relationships with Stiles, Liam, and Derek. All of those relationships were fully developed and just as valuable.

But I believe that Scott fell into the habit of thinking about Allison in order to avoid thinking about his own trauma, and I'm grateful the production was careful to indicate that this technique had its drawbacks as well. I also think that no matter how one deals with trauma, only focusing on how it affects other people cannot be entirely healthy.

Scott: My boss told me it's a poison and a cure... which means you can use it... and it can be used against you.

Scott said these words to Jennifer in The Overlooked (3x10), but they can also apply to Scott's symbolic relationship with Allison. In Season 1, the beginning of his relationship with Allison coincides with his horrifying transformation into the werewolf. This link crystalizes in Pack Mentality (1x03) when his subconscious conflates being drawn out by Peter to kill Garrison Meyers to an attack on Allison during interlude. He is filled with relief that he hadn't killed her. From then on, his frequent response to what he is put through is often immediately directed at Allison (or Allison's memory). This isn't to say he becomes obsessed with Allison; that is demonstrated by the number of times he risks their relationship to protect others, in Magic Bullet (1x04) when he uses a study date with Allison to save Derek, in Night School (1x07) when he ditches a date with Allison to go to the school, and in Wolf's Bane (1x09) when he risks their relationship to steal the pendant for Derek.

Instead, he manages his reaction to pain and horror by focusing on the idea of her. It's aligns with but is not exactly the same as making her his anchor, because he still does this after his anchor shifts. There are scenes showing this process in stark clarity. In Co-Captain (1x10), he is lying in the woods bleeding out after being shot by a poisoned bullet, and his possible last words are Allison's name. In the next episode, Formality (1x11) after Peter comes for him at the clinic (and he is protected by Deaton) he pushes any thought of what that means to him by focusing on protecting Allison. He moves past any resentment he might have had for Derek betraying him, helping Peter violate him, and trying to kill Jackson when Stiles brings it up in Code Breaker (1x12) by arguing that while he doesn't believe Derek was going to kill Jackson, he needs to forgive Derek in order to help Allison anyway. Scott learns that he can move past what's happened to him if he can focus on someone else, and while Allison isn't the only person he saves, she continues to serve that purpose, even after her death.

While this behavior is established in Season 1, Seasons 2 and 3 begin to show us the downsides of this externalization. Certainly, in Season 2, Gerard tries to use their relationship against Scott, and while that gambit fails, suppressing his trauma by focusing on Allison begins to complicate matters. There's his infamous reaction to Victoria poisoning him in Raving (2x08), where he focuses on not what the act did to him but on what knowledge of it might do to Allison. This decision causes conflict later with both Derek and Allison. He repeatedly tries to make what's happening about protecting Allison, much to Allison's anger.

This externalization also breaks down at a major crisis point. I would argue it also appears in Motel California (3x06) when Allison is not able to stop Scott from contemplating his own suicide, because:

Scott: What if doing this is actually the best thing that I could do for everyone else?

The problem with externalizing the trauma response is that a person can come to believe that they deserve their trauma or they are misbehaving if they think of themselves and not other people. There is the scene in A Promise to the Dead (4x11) -- which I would argue is directly related to this idea -- where Scott doesn't surrender to Kate until she invokes Allison.

Kate: But yet somehow, in less than a year, this great family is decimated by a teenage boy. So my question is simple. What the hell is so special about Scott McCall?

Scott: You want me? Take me. Just me.

Allison's memory becomes tied to Scott's flirtation with martyrdom. Such as in Creatures of the Night (5x01) when after stating that he was worried about Belasko trying to kill him, literally his next act was writing Allison's initials during the Senior Scribe. While I'm sure it's meant as a gesture of love and remembrance, it does come straight on the heels of yet another attempt on his life.

I like this idea mostly because it supplies a satisfying answer to a nagging question that I've always had about the show. In Apotheosis (5x20), during a deadly fight between Scott, his pack, and the Beast, Sebastian Valet grabs Scott by the neck and accidentally shoves his claws into it, starting the memory-sharing ritual. Sebastian sees memories of Allison, who looks nearly identical to his own sister, Marie-Jeanne and shocks him into loosening his grip. Why the hell was Scott thinking of Allison during the climax of the crisis? If my meta is valid, then it is because that it what he always does: focus on Allison to push through the pain and suffering. It gives credence to Stiles assertion that Allison -- or in this case, Scott's devotion to Allison -- saved him.

It also explains why The Movie employed Allison's resurrection to enable Scott to find closure that he didn't find in the show. When Scott encounters Allison again, she doesn't remember him. In fact, she is a pawn of the nogitsune. (Note: I like what that means for Allison as well, but that's a different meta.) He has to re-establish their relationship, and this one isn't about moving past old trauma, but focusing on a future with her and Eli. It transforms his feelings about Allison into something different -- an action rather than a reaction.

[tief4tief]

can i send you 1-8. like all of them. for illphyr. is that allowed

why yes you can!!

let's see here...

1. Low approval: mm, something to say?

Medium approval: Ah, Vendui! (hello in low drow)

High approval: Abbil! Welcome!

Romanced: I haven't thought of a general romanced greeting, but she calls shadowheart "Ussta'anon" which means "my flower" (if I'm translating my drowic right)

2. No tent! On clear nights she'll take reverie sitting against a tree or rock, or if she wants to seek shelter she will wildshape into a squirrel or something similar and shelter in a burrow, bush, or in a tree.

3. The Silver Druid, which is basically from the "Pale Elf" school of naming, which comes from her being both a druid and follower of Eilistraee, and her wildshapes have either silver fur or streaks of silver in their feathers/coat.

4. hmm good question, I imagine most of her scenes would be focused on her overcoming her tendency to avoid intimacy, her only previous experiences in that area would have been when she was still living in Menzoberranzan, which aren't necessarily happy memories given she was raised male, and she's been very isolated since then so it's not easy for her. I think she'd have an act one scene where she awkwardly tries to get close to you, and a more complete scene in act three, I think she'd be focused on other things in act 2.

5. Her idle animations would be:

a. Sitting down cross-legged and mediating somewhere around camp (location changes with her whims)

b. Stopping to very intently inspect a patch of dirt or plant

c. Smoking her big Tolkieny pipe

d. fiddling with her flute or playing a short tune

6. She would be wild shaped into a silver tabby, stuck up a tree in the wilds near the nautiloid. you would have to either convince or force her to come down and coax her into leaving her wildshaped form.

7. I think her arc would be focused on finding a place where she feels she belongs, prior to bg3 there were lots of places she didn't fit in, she chafed against the structures of Menzoberranzan, and even after taking the changedance she was never quite accepted by the priestesses of Eilistraee and remained essentially a lay worshipper due to her formerly being "male", and the druid circle who took her in after Eilistraee died never fully trusted her aside from a few members who died well before bg3. I think another big part would be rekindling her faith in Eilistraee, after her resurrection (in my game she's light cleric of Eilistraee 1 and Druid X). If she is in your party when you come across Phalar Aluve she will say that she feels the blade calling to her, and you can get big approval for letting her do the ritual and keep Phalar Aluve, and she'll see it as a gift from Eilistraee. In my game her desire to belong is resolved through her relationship with shadowheart, as a companion I could see some possible resolutions could be: joining the Harpers, encouraging her to create a temple to Eilistraee, or maybe on a evil run you could convince her to give up her identity to pursue belonging, and joining the Sharran cloister after Shadowheart takes over as Mother Superior.

8. Depends on how her journey to find belonging goes! I could see her dedicating herself more fully to Eilistraee as a Priestess, or maybe a chosen of Eilistraee who serves as a bridge between the Harpers and the newly returned Eilistraeen faith. And the bad ending she would show up with shadowheart as a faithful and very brainwashed acolyte, very different from how she is during the adventure, much "blanker"

thank you for letting me infodump about Her!!

[reaxion]

Jack o' Frost Drama Review (9.7/10)

Brief Synopsis

An illustrator Okusawa Ritsu, and a salesman Ikegami Fumiya met together in an old coffee shop and eventually fell in love with one another. However, a misunderstanding arose, which caused a quarrel, and Fumiya decided to end their relationship. The day after the fight, Fumiya was contacted by Ritsu's younger brother, informing him that Ritsu is in the hospital getting treatment after getting involved in an accident. Upon awakening, Ritsu remembered everything but Fumiya. Fumiya then takes Ritsu back home while thinking of wanting to start over again. Ritsu asks for Fumiya's help to regain his memories by bringing him to different places to trigger his old memories with Fumiya. As they continue to regain his memories, Ritsu falls in love again with Fumiya while having amnesia.

Story (9.5/10)

I find the story very bittersweet. It tells the story of a gay couple having a quarrel due to a misunderstanding and the gradual diminishing of affection for each other. It's somewhat your typical bl amnesia show where one gets involved in an accident in which only forgets the existence of their significant other. However, the thing that I find this special amongst others is the maturity between characters and how they're both created by the author. Halfway through the show, we see that the series focuses on an introspective story of a character, which I find uncommon on most shows that deal with melodramatic genres like this.

The part where Fumiya tries to help in regaining Ritsu's memories is the aspect I find very bittersweet since Fumiya himself also tries to reminisce about their old selves. It tells that one may not move on quickly from the past things; it needs proper closure.

In terms of characterization, I relate to Fumiya in a sense he's really not good with words, he expects that from his body language alone can make people around him pick up what he's thinking or feeling. Whereas, Ritsu, is more of a laid-back and introverted character. Therefore, there is a need for both of them to express their emotions and thoughts to avoid further misunderstandings and arguments.

Acting (10/10)

Both actors showcased their acting capabilities. Honda Kyoya (Ritsu) and Kosuke Suzuki (Fumiya) portrayed the characters very well as if they were THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES.

During the first episode, the argument scene felt intense with how Fumiya acted cold and mad toward Ritsu while Ritsu was drunk-talking about how busy he was during the day.

During the sensual scenes, it never felt off or awkward. I could see the passion and affection they have both for each other as professional actors, and none of their sensual scenes have disappointed me.

During the best part, where both finally reconciled and Kyoya cried from fully regaining his memories struck a feeling inside me. His emotions were as powerful as if it was me he was talking to, and he looked desperate which felt emotional.

Cinematography (9/10)

The entire cinematography of the drama focuses solely on nostalgia and calmness. The angles and color grading throughout the show express melodramatic feelings such as bittersweetness and sorrow, and on top of that, the frames that caught the visuals of the actors added more emotions and depth. As for the sensual scenes, the darkness of the atmosphere gives more impact since it matches the mood of the story.

Chemistry & Romance (10/10)

These Japanese men showcased their chemistry with all of their might! Suzuki and Kyoya's domestic lives have never been this naturally sweet. I keep giggling whenever they interact with each other, especially when doing their love languages. Throughout the entire show, their chemistry or dynamic has never felt awkward and weird, it shows how they both practiced and took time to build their friendship before diving into the portrayal of their assigned characters. I could say that these professional actors have what it takes to become more famous than what they have right now.

Overall & Rewatch Value (10/10)

This is one of the more mature BL shows that's done very well. The production value is off the charts, and the production team did a great job in casting the actors and actresses. I could rewatch this show all over again for the hundredth time and would never find myself complaining or finding this show boring. I'm biased but I believe that the uniqueness of the story's progression and the compatibility of actors make the show even more interesting and intriguing to the point that I'm attached to the show.

[primevein]

The Prime of His Youth: Prime of His Youth: Book I: Forging His Own Path: Ch17: Sappy Romance Scene

The three left Knockout's lab, and stood in the incredibly wide streets, (at least from the perspective of Humans). Arcee nervously, expectantly avoiding looking at Jack.

"Climb the tallest building?" Jack asked, "Look out over the city?" Arcee developed a wide smile. "Are we allowed to?" he then asked, and Arcee immediately developed a disappointed look.

"The tallest building in Petrohex is an observation deck, and public access is allowed." Sirenia excitedly stated. Arcee simply glared at her, "When I had enough Energon to do something, I would often come over there."

"You get that much from begging?" Arcee asked.

"While I do that far too often, I was actually working as a courier." Sirenia asked.

"Then how did you end up begging?" Arcee asked.

"Energon rations are thin for air couriers." Sirenia stated. "If I have too much of a lull, or get too careless, I end up without enough Energon to make the trip."

"And then you end up begging..." Arcee said, as it sunk into her. "I guess I've been priviledged. The privledge of not dying in a war..." she uttered. She looked lost for a moment until Jack slapped her on the ass. He eyes immediately focused. "Right, cuddles." she said with a warm sigh.

"I must say, I'm intruiged." Sirenia stated, "You seem enamoured by them."

"Human intimacy is a wonderful thing." Arcee stated, "Too bad most Cybertronians will never feel them."

"Sirenia?" Jack asked.

"Master?" she replied.

"Could you bring me up?" he asked.

Sirenia looked over to Arcee, whom was already leaping up.

* * *

Sirenia landed on the roof. Jack stepped out and she transformed as Arcee leapt up beside them.

"After you." Jack said to her. Arcee stepped out and laid down, a few feet away from the edge. Jack moved in to lay in front of her.

Sirenia watched them for a moment, before being unsure of what to do.

"Tsk."

"Hm?" Jack asked.

"It's just... she's looming."

"I'm sorry." Sirenia stated.

Jack turned towards her, "Why don't you sit down... kneel down?"

Sirenia quickly kneeled by Arcee's feet.

"Is this better?" Arcee asked.

"It's my first time having a servant..." Jack grumbled.

"Master?" Sirenia asked.

"Sirenia?" he asked.

"Weren't you going to test your bubble?" she asked.

"Oh, right?" Jack asked. He sat upright and shifted back into Arcee. "She said compromising the suit will automatically open the bubble." Jack voiced. He grabbed his finger and pulled. The moment it opened up a bubble of air appeared around him as he put it back together. He then reached up, grabbing just under his chin. He pulled it up and the suit pulled back, his head covering completely disappearing. He breathed in and out and paused. He tried it again and again, and he had no troubles. He relaxed and let hmself breath. He felt Arcee relax behind him.

"Success." Sirenia said excitedly.

"Now for the best part." Arcee said, lowering her face to his, her lips to his.

* * *

The two pulled apart. They lingered for a moment, looking into each other's eyes before fully pulling away. Arcee then looked to Sirenia, "How long do we have?"

"Two microcycles, mistress." Sirenia replied.

Arcee pushed Jack forward a bit before slipping out from behind him, "Well, I did say she should try it." She then gestured to Sirenia to take up her spot. Sirenia gave her a lost and fearful look. "Jack?" Arcee asked, and Jack shrugged.

"Sit down if you want." Jack said, and she paused, "Sit down." he said more firmly.

Sirenia walked over, kneeled down, and tried her best to mimic Arcee's position, leaving a few inches of space. Jack shimmed back, snuggling into her. Sirenia had wide eyes, unsure of what to do.

"Just relax and enjoy yourself." Arcee firmly said to her, which from her was almost jovial.

"But, what if I need to?.." Sirenia asked.

"You want to be a good servant?" Arcee asked.

"Yes, mistress!" she quickly affirmed.

"Then cuddle Jack when he wants to be cuddled."

"Yes, mistress!" she repeated, and paused a moment, "I know how much you treasure your sparkmate. Aren't you worried that I might?.."

"If Jack starts it, it's fine." Arcee said.

"Anything?" Sirenia asked.

"Anything." Arcee stated.

"Affirmative." Sirenia added.

Arcee then looked down over Cybertron. "I wanted you to see Cyberton as it was, but that might take..."

"This is honesty how I imagined Cybertron." Jack stated.

"That's a horrifying thing to say." Arcee replied.

* * *

Sirenia landed on the street as Miko and Bulkhead simply watched. As she was landing Arcee drove up.

"Who's the new girl?" Bulkhead asked Arcee.

"We did talk to her, duh." Miko stated.

"Oh, right?" Bulkhead said. Jack climbed out of Sirenia, and she reverted to her robot form.

"Bulk," Jack stated, "this is Sirenia."

"Hello." Sirenia said to them, and Miko turned to Jack.

"You got a servant?!" she asked, and Jack shyly nodded. "And you can wear anything over your exosuit, and that's what you decide to wear?"

"What should I wear?" Jack asked, and Miko thought it over for moment.

"Oh, I know! Badass longcoast!"

"Really?" Jack asked, "What am I, in high school?"

"You know?" Arcee positively asked.

"What, what?" Jack asked.

"You are kind of skinny." Bulkhead said to him.

"Compared to Miko?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, but Miko's a... what was she again?" Bulkhead asked.

"Fembot." Arcee stated.

"Sure." Miko added.

Bulkhead then turned to Jack, "A long coat would give you a great sense of presence." He then slapped his stomach. "You can't all be a big as I am, but you can look the part."

"So, what?" Jack asked, "It's three against one?"

Bulkhead then turned to Sirenia, "What about her?"

"She's getting her own stockings." Arcee simply stated.

"You guys are getting stockings?!" Miko exclaimed, "Finally! Cybertron is learning about fashion! It's awesome and all, but it could use some colours."

"I know I grew up here," Bulkhead stated, "but I kind of miss the colours on Earth. Even around the base."

"It's Terra according to Ratchet." Arcee added.

"What is?" Bulkhead asked.

"Earth."

"Why is it Terra?" Bulkhead asked, and Arcee shrugged.

"You'd have to ask Ratchet. The only reason I brought it up is that Knockout seemed to agree."

"Two eggheads are better than one." Bulkhead stated. "Still strange to have him on our team."

Arcee dismissively waved her hands, "Apparently he was only with them because he could do crazy experiments."

"And because they thought they would win." Jack added.

"That's kind of a shitty reason to join the Decepticons." Bulkhead grumbled.

"Not everyone wanted to get involved in the war." Jack said to him.

"Well, if you don't, the Great War would come and get you involved." Bulkhead added.

"I learned that much." Sirenia stated, "I barely escaped to Caminus."

"What's that like?" Bulkhead asked.

"Lovely. Mostly femmes. We worship the Primes. The war didn't get there until the very end."

"Funny you should say that." Bulkhead stated.

"Yeah!" Miko exclaimed, "Because J..." she said, only to find Jack right in front of her face. "Yo?"

"I'm trying to keep that on the... what is it? QT?" Jack said to her.

"Why would you want to keep it a secret?" Miko asked, "It's only the most awesome thing you've ever done?"

"I do." Jack simply said to Miko.

"Does she know?" Bulkhead asked.

"My mother told her." Jack uttered.

"I am doing my best to not worship him." Sirenia anxiously said.

"Is that how you got her?" Bulkhead asked.

"He was nice to me." Sirenia said with a bright smile.

"That's it?" Bulkhead asked.

"What more would it take?" Sirenia asked.

"Really?" Jack asked Miko.

"We'll leave it at that." Jack said.

"Either it's really boring." Miko stated.

"Or we don't want to know." Bulkhead added.

"It's not that interesting." Arcee stated, "But if she wants to keep it a secret, we'll just leave it at that"

"I am overjoyed to be serving them." Sirenia said with enthusiasm.

"Let's get you two to the apartment, so you two can do things with your helmets off." Bulkhead voiced.

* * *

They stepped into the apartment. It loomed high enough for Bulkhead to stretch his hands in the air without touching the ceiling. The door closed behind them.

Miko walked into the room and pulled back on her helmet. It folded back and disappeared into the suit. Jack let her breathe for a moment before joining her. "You going to join me?" Miko asked, and Jack did the same with his own. "Yeah, you're new to your suit. It samples the surrounding air, and if it's not good enough to breathe, when you breach it, it will make the bubble. Welcome to our apartment!" she exclaimed, lifting her hands into the air.

"Even by Cybertronian standards, this is barren." Arcee stated.

"Yo, really, you?!" Miko asked.

"I have learned to enjoy the smaller things in life." Arcee said, leaning forward to look her in the eyes.

"Was that a short joke?" Miko asked.

"Was that a joke?" Bulkhead asked, "Man, you have changed. Earth has been good for you."

"Either Earth." Arcee stated, and looked at Jack, "Or something else."

"Are you always this lovie-dovie?" Miko dismissively asked.

"They are." Sirenia stated, "And it's wonderful."

"Uh-huh?" Miko asked, and turned to the giant screen that dominated the room. "Bam!"

"I didn't know that Cybertron has TV?"

"TV?" an offended Miko asked, "You think we watch TV?!"

"Then what do you watch?"

Miko then pointed to a set of bookshelves filled with DVD's and BLU-Rays. "Only the best collection of movies in Human... or Cybertronian history."

"The only collection in Cybertronian history." Bulkhead added.

"Yeah-yeah. You guys want to watch a creature double feature?" she asked, and neither Jack, nor Arcee seemed all that excited. "Tough room. You probably want something sappy, like The Mummy."

"How is The Mummy sappy?" an aggravated Jack asked.

Miko then turned to Sirenia, "And how do you feel?"

"I have never seen any Terran movies or tv." Sirenia stated.

"You guys haven't shown her any movies?" she accusingly asked Jack and Arcee.

Jack shrugged, and Arcee spoke up, "We've been doing... stuff."

"Lovie-dovie stuff, probably." Miko stated, "The Mummy it is."

"Sirenia, can you transform?" Jack asked. Sirenia moved away from the others and transformed. Jack started unpacking things from her back seat.

"Whacha got?" Miko asked.

"Supplies, tools, bedding." Jack stated.

"Wait, supplies, like, food?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Jack replied.

"Like, your mother's cooking?"

"Yeah." Jack said, giving her a wide smile.

"Wicked!" she exclaimed.