#Unfortunately big fault spoilers prevent me from saying more...

[nomsfaultau]

Philza Malewife Competition Round 9

Previous rounds: Cleaning. Cooking. Decorating. Karens. Sick Day. Eggs. Hugs. Venting. Current points: The Lambs Wolves Wear (2), Lighting Lanterns (1), Weight in Gold (2), Fault (2), everyone else (0). And an honorary point to qsmp for a guest appearance.

For a quick synopsis for the fics I’m referencing- those are here

Next round: Handy man! Broke a Samsung Smart Fridge? Giant magical explosion? No problem! These Phils are on the job, dedicating their experience and skills to crafting, repairing, and home improvement!

GOLDEN APPLES (Gilded Atrophy): Well this Philza did repair all of L'Manburg after withers, tnt, and however many wars occurred. If he could patch up a crater, he can fix just about anything. This includes lovely walkways and infrastructure, beautiful residencies for the refugees of the nation, stunning air balloon lanterns, and overall just the prettiest town ever seen on the server. It's all developed from his centuries of knowledge, though might be a little slow since he's building it all by hand while his wings are recovering from the blast damage. If he can fix a country, he can fix anything. Also patches up creeper holes <3

The LAMBS Wolves Wear: He lives in an old house (built by his great great grandparents) and is used to fixing things up by hand. Doesn't have much in the way of materials, but can chop down trees or make rudimentary replacements. And given "Tommy" keeps destroying the house, he's putting those skills to use....or would, if "Wilbur" isn't refusing to let him, insisting on plastering illusions to 'fix' everything. So, now it's broken, and you can't tell it is until it's too late.

MANDATORY FAMILY REUNION: Hahahahhah......he has a check for 200k to make this go away..?

Where do BABIES come from?: "Heyyyy Dad? Could you swing by, I think my fridge is broken. And the shower, and backdoor, and- DID YOU START A FIRE IN THE WASTE BASKET?! Sorry, I- oh yeah, I have news about new...roommates?" Essentially, this dude just got out of college, does not have money for a repair person, and is replying on his own dad to dad for him. Also forgot to tell his family he now has...four kids? And counting?? So that'll be fun....

LIGHTING LANTERNS to Bring You Home: "Mmm I'm reading. Technoblade I humbly fall in supplication in need of your godly power blah blah fix it for me. "HAEH?! Your words fall upon closed ears for I am a god of Work, not of lazying about!" "Fascinating. I did not realize you were incapable." "NAY! VERILY I AM THE MOST CAPABLE!" "uh huh prove it. Do I win the tournament now?"

Worth far more than you WEIGHT IN GOLD: He has made a very fluffy nest! (this is all he is capable of building). Like technically he can use rudimentary tools...but that's kinda it.

LORD what fools these mortals be!: Poof. He conjures up the finest of new rooms. The ceiling is infinitely high and sparkles with constellations. There are floating steps and magic candles and waterfalls for bed curtains and jewel trees and just about any magic you can imagine. Doesn't show much hard work, though.

FAULT: Philza reveals a lot of craftiness and resourcefulness within Fault. He is shown carving a reed based woodwind instrument for Wilbur, tanning rabbit hide and creating sinew thread for a dagger sheath, contributing metallurgy abilities to the crafting of Tubbos' prosthetic legs, and constructing fairly serviceable tarp tens for everyone while on the run. Has lots of experience from building houses, crazy knowledge for all sorts of time period based skills, trades, architecture trends, etc. However doesn't currently particularly have a house to do home repair in.

I thiiiiink next round will be the Maid Outfit round but that will take a bit because I’m planning full drawings for each one.

[vflamrrrph]

Yall are gonna get mad, but hear me out. I wish for no harm, no problems. You can even correct me on some things if I got it mixed it. I'm just laying out my thoughts.

Odysseus is my favorite. He's my baby. Like, to a degree. So when I say this, I mean it from a logical POV, no bias.

I, as upsetting as it sounds, believe that the whole situation to get home was Ody's fault, no Eury.

HEAR ME OUT! Also SPOILERS, depending on if you're starting the musical for the first time like I did a while ago. This gets pretty wordy.

Both Eurylochus and Odysseus are complex characters, human, we can understand that. But there's something that bothers me.

Had Ody not reveal his name to Polyphemus, kept it as Nobody, Poseidon wouldn't have found out it was him(hopefully). Whether or not the gods knew about Odysseus to begin with(other than Zeus and Athena) is a mystery to me. You're free to tell me if Poseidon knew him before the Cyclops saga.

And let's say if he did! Let's say, Odysseus had kept the bag closed with no problems and made his way home. Who was to say that Poseidon, while knowing his name and location, will show up like in the Vengeance saga and take revenge right then and there? Or worse, when they finally make it to shore(potentially putting more people at risk).

If Poseidon didn't know his name and Eurylochus opened the bag, there PROBABLY wouldn't be any danger. Just a longer and more stressful journey. Would they encounter the same problems in the musical? Maybe. Who's to say if those situations will be handled the same as well(considering we still have our 500 men)?

If Poseidon is clever enough to see behind the Nobody trick(I wouldn't know), then as unfortunate as it sounds, Athena would've also been right. Because if what I heard is correct, handicapping someone back then was worse than DEATH. So true to Poseidon's word, it would've been best to kill his son. How? I don't quite know. Polyphemus is big, definitely better to kill after blinding him so that the path wasn't blocked.

I'm going on a tangent, my apologies.

Now, I've said what I've said. I love Odysseus, but this journey really could've been prevented if his pride and grief didn't get to him. But that's not something I can just say. Especially after seeing his best friend's death. It's more like, grief can make you say things you may not mean/regret. It happens, it's natural. No one can really hold you against it. But it could really bite you in the ass and make you feel more regret(in this case, tenfold). I feel bad, but mistakes were made. There's no changing that.

On the bright side, at least it makes the musical more dramatic and entertaining to listen to.

Also please understand, I'm no Eurylochus apologist. Like Ody, he's complex and has moments that'll bite him in the ass(tenfold).

Ngl, like modern times probably, a lot of this could be resolved if we communicated or just listened more amongst one another. But that's just me. I wouldn't know.

Also RIP Polites. I listened to his cut song. I absolutely see where Ody is comin from-

[littlesliceofmarvel]

I’m Sorry | Part 2

Request/Synopsis: Reader dies during the events of Civil War. 

Warnings: Swearing, detailed mentions of death and gore, ENDGAME SPOILERS!!!! Big Ol’ Endgame Spoilers below the cut!

Pairings: Avengers x Reader

A/N: So, after many people have asked, part 2 is finally here! I don’t remember all of the dialogue from the movie, so if there are some mistakes there, just ignore them! Also, the italics are flashbacks. Gif isn’t mine! Enjoy! xx

Also, Tumblr is being weird right now so the flashback scene isn’t all in italics, I don’t understand. I’m tryna fix that. 

-

Part One

“Tony, I don’t want to fight you,” Y/N faced the man in the suit, his weapons lowered when she came to face him. She hated the fact that the Accords had separated the team, leading them to turn on each other, to turn on family.

“I don’t want to either, but until Rogers turns Barnes over, I have to do what I can to make you guys give in,” he said with regret, his heart breaking at the sight of the girl in front of him, bloodied, bruised and slightly decayed. 

“You kill me later on, you know, it’s your fault,” Y/N spoke as the patches of blood started to spread on her body, the skin slowly peeling off of her face to reveal the bones in her skull, her legs giving in under her as she collapsed to the ground, reaching out towards Tony who could no nothing but break down, seeing her fall apart in front of him, his body threatening to crumble at the sight of her, blaming him for her death. 

He knew there was nothing he could do now, he had this nightmare over and over again every night. So did most of the team. Y/N’s lifeless body haunted their dreams, each of them feeling the guilt build on their shoulders more and more every morning after she taunted their sleep. They knew that Y/N wouldn’t blame any of them for her death, that she would want them to move on and be happy, live their lives and save the world, but they couldn’t help it. 

She was gone, she had disappeared from their lives, taking her bright spirit with her. For the first couple of weeks, the denial had set in, and they would wait around the table during meals, hoping she’d skip out of her room and laugh at them for falling for one of her many pranks. But she never did. She wasn’t going to. 

And that hit them harder than they could have ever prepared for.

-

SEVEN YEARS LATER

Going back in time seemed like an almost impossible task if you thought about it. To go back in time would be to mess up your present, your future. This had crossed their minds, of course, Tony almost dropping out of the adventure completely to ensure the safety of his wife and new daughter.

But they did it. They went back, collected the Infinity Stones, and made it back to build an Infinity Gauntlet, props to Tony. They lost Natasha in the process, having sacrificed herself for the soul stone to save the universe. Clint was devastated, feeling as if she had deserved to live so much more than he did, but it was too late. She had asked him to promise her something, that if it was possible, bring back those that we had lost before her, those who didn’t deserve the death they were given. Of course, she meant those who had been wiped out in the snap, that was their mission, but the two of them knew she also meant Y/N. 

-

“It’s her birthday,” Steve broke the silence in the room as they looked through a box of pictures, wanting to frame some around the tower of Y/N and her smiling face, brightening a room immediately.

“Remember... before it happened, she wanted sushi,” Wanda said, a small smile on her face as she looked down at a picture of her, Y/N and Natasha, the three of them bruised and bloody, sitting in the medical lab while getting treated for injuries, but each of them giving the camera a thumbs up. A classic. 

“We should celebrate with sushi, then, for her birthday,” Tony said quietly, Natasha nodding from beside him as she looked over his shoulder to see another picture of Y/N, this time of her passed out on the couch, her legs flung over the back as Sam and Bucky held sharpies to her face, drawing ‘tattoos’ on her skin, big smiles on their faces as Y/N slept soundly, not noticing what was going on. 

“It’s been eight months, she’d be pissed as us for still moping about her, you know that, right?” Clint asked, chuckling slightly, his head in his hands as he looked down towards the table before looking back up to face the rest of the team, all nodding slowly.

“Oh, she’d be furious,” Natasha grinned, picking up another picture out of the box, smiling down at it, realizing Clint was right. Y/N would be pissed at the team for sitting around in their sweat pants, looking through pictures of her months after her death, guilt still swirling heavily around each of them.

They wanted to move on, they knew that they should, but they couldn’t. If she had died any other way, they would have. If it were Thanos, Loki, Ultron, any other bad guy, they would have been able to move on by now, but it was their fault. They let their own problems get in the way, and she paid the price with her life. There was no turning back from that. 

-

Clint broke the news to the team, telling them that Natasha sacrificed her soul for the sake of the universe, and if anything, they were so much more determined to make things right because of that. If they failed, they would have failed her, she would have sacrificed herself for their failure. They were distraught at having lost one of their best people, a wonderful soul and an important member of their ever-growing family, but they had to do this. Now or never.

“I’m going to have to be the one to do it, I hope you realize,” Bruce spoke, approaching the gauntlet, his voice filled with determination as he approached it.

“No, why does it have to be you?” Clint asked, crossing his arms to look at Bruce’s figure, approaching the gauntlet himself.

“The radiation’s mostly Gamma, I’m the only one who can handle that,” Bruce stated as if it were obvious, looking around the room, no one really volunteering to do it in the first place. They had seen the effect that the snap had on Thanos, nearly killing the guy, so they knew that anyone who’d snap it next would deal with the same fate. 

Bruce approached the gauntlet, his mind racing over all of the possibilities that could happen to him once he put it on, but they all didn’t matter. He was going to do this, whether he survived or not. He slid his hand into it, the power of the stones completely taking over his body as he collapsed on the ground, the rest of the team approaching him to make sure he was alright. Bruce nodded, letting the pain settle down as the power coursed through his veins, igniting everything inside of him.

“Ok,” Steve looked over a small scan of the gauntlet before turning back to Bruce, “Just bring everyone back. That easy.”

Clint uncrossed his arms, looking to Steve, “Nat... uh, had a request, actually.” He ignored the crack in his voice as he mentioned her, the realization that she’s gone not completely settling in yet. 

“What was it?” Tony looked up from the machine he was using to close off the room, large barriers crashing down around them to prevent chaos once the snap had been done. The sound vibrated throughout the building, but no one took their attention off of the conversation.

“She, uh, asked if there was any way we could bring back people who didn’t die because of the snap, people who were innocent,” Clint finished, looking down to the ground before looking back to the team, each of them understanding what he meant.

“Y/N.” Tony nodded slowly, looking to Bruce, “Do you think you can try?”

Bruce nodded, eyes wide, “Yes.”

Steve, Scott, Clint, Tony, Rocket, Thor, Rhodey, and Bruce looked between each other, each of them feeling an immediate weight on their chest. Rocket had never met her, but being around the team for the last five years made him feel like he knew her.

“Is there any way to bring Nat back?” Bruce asked, breaking the silence that over took the room, everyone trying to think of ways to make this possible.

“I don’t think so,” Clint said, looking back down to the ground as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration, “Her soul is what’s going to power that stone for us to use. Try it, of course, but I don’t think we should get out hopes up.” He knew what he was saying was true, but part of him wished that it wasn’t.

Unfortunately, everyone had already got their hopes up to see the two ladies again. They understood that the chance of seeing Natasha again was much smaller, but the hope was there for her anyways.

Bruce nodded, lifting his hand as if to signal he was ready. Steve lifted his shield, Tony and Rhodey covered themselves with their suits, and the rest of the team got themselves secure and safe, out of the way of the snap. Bruce closed his eyes, not letting his emotions get the best of him as he focused on what he wanted. When he was ready, he snapped his fingers, a gust of wind blowing across the room as everyone took cover.

Seconds passed, and no one dared to speak. Tony lifted the barriers in the room and Scott approached a window, looking outside to see birds chirping, settling themselves into a tree. Clint felt his heart drop when he looked over to his vibrating phone, a call from his wife signalling that their plan had worked.

“Guys, I think it worked,” Scott said almost too quietly, but it broke through the dead silence in the room.

“Um, what’s going on?” A small voice from the room next door made their eyes widen, a familiar soft voice enough to make seven years of emotions come barreling through. Tony felt his heart drop, running over to the sound of the voice and his eyes landed on Y/N, standing next to a window, looking down at her body in complete confusion.

She could feel all of the atoms in her skin forming once again, it was as if she was being re born. She could feel her blood, the pumping sensation of her veins feeling all too real. Her head was pounding as she looked around, seeing the familiar faces of the people she called family looking back to her.

“Y/N...” Steve whispered, not being able to look away from the girl, who looked as if she hadn’t aged a day since her death. Technically, she hadn’t, but the rest of them were so sleep-deprived and devastated that they seemed to have aged 20 years.

“What’s going on?” Y/N asked, eyes wide as she faced the team with shaky hands, “We were... in Berlin, I was asking for sushi...” To her, it was seconds after her death, it hadn’t felt like nearly a decade had passed. 

“Oh, we’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” Tony looked to Steve who nodded, bracing themselves for what was to come.

[hyunnielix]

Fake Smile

During the current unsolved case, Y/N mysteriously vanishes forcing David to chose which is more important. 

Pairing: Y/N x Detective Loki

Warnings: Prisoners Spoilers!, ANGST!, Fluff, Backstory?, Timeskips, kinda AU

Word Count: 2.2k

I won't say I'm feeling fine After what I been through, I can't lie Fuck a fake smile

You vividly remember the time he caught your eye, his darkened slicked back hair and distinctive warped version of a star tattoed on his neck that was nearly always covered by the collar of the shirts he wore. His build was somewhat muscular but complimented his height and he radiated dominance in his mannerisms. You observed his nervous facial tic which was yet another thing that interested you. His demeanour held something that drew you to gravitate towards him, curiosity and questions lingered in the back of your mind every time you saw him. 

Luckily for you, he regularly visited the little Chinese restaurant you worked at, unfortunately, you usually had the day shifts meaning Mei your friend and co-worker served him during the night shifts.

“Y/N, it wouldn’t be a bother if you could possibly do the rest of the night shift tonight?” the raven-haired waitress called out as she began to hang up her apron, throwing her head over her shoulder with her brows furrowed awaiting your verbal response.

“I get it you have a family here, I understand it’s no problem,” You reassured her, your lips upturning into a weak smile as she mouthed many ‘thank you’s’ before collecting her bag and exiting through the doors and into the typical depressing weather of Pensylvania. The rain pattering against the windows was somehow relaxing, a nice contrast compared to the chaotic noise of the restaurant during the day.

The ear piercing ring of the irritating bell signalled the entrance of another customer, poking your head around the corner you tried to prevent a smile as you realised it was him.

“It’s on the house,” You murmured as you placed the last plate decorated with a cheesy fortune cookie on the white marble table in front of him.

“No one deserves to be alone on Thanksgiving,” You commented, leaning on one of the metal chairs as you peered down at the male who seemed to always captivate you.

“You are,” He observed, bringing the coffee cup up to his lips as his bright blue eyes met yours, you couldn’t help but take notice of the dark rings under them causing you to let out a sigh.

“Don’t have any family around these parts, I’m used to being alone doesn’t bother me really,” You responded a bit too quickly covering it up with a smile as he nodded, fascinated by your forwardness.

“Y/N,” You stuck your hand out, you’d noticed he wasn’t a big fan of physical affection so this would have to do for now.

“David,” He replied, his voice monotone as he pressed his lips into a line, gripping your hand shaking it politely.

Since then a friendship had blossomed between the both of you, always looking out for each other as if was like second nature and instinct.

The town had dubbed him the best detective for the sole reason of every case he had been assigned he’d closed. Although his occupation originally intrigued you, it was an outlet for his frustrations and internal demons, the violence you’d witnessed firsthand had frightened you to the core. It was almost as if Detective Loki and David were two entirely different entities altogether.

The new case he had been assigned was taking a toll on his physical and mental health, although he wouldn’t like to admit it he had a soft spot for children.

“Bob Taylor fucking killed himself under my surveillance,” The words fell off his tongue like venom as he paced around the living room, he was beyond stressed as you noticed his double blinking became more prominent when he was in a state like this.

“How did he do that, I thought he was in custody?” You questioned, tilting your head in confusion as you leant against the wall, arms folded over one another as you intently listened.

“It was my fault,” He admitted, shaking his head almost in disbelief before running his fingers through his longer slicked back hair in a defeated notion.

“All my fucking fault because my anger bested me and now those little girls are going to die because of me,” He raised his voice to the point that you were flinching from the harshness of his tone as he stood in front of you.

“You couldn’t have known the outcome stop being so hard on yourself, you can’t save everyone.” You tried to convince him reaching out for his shoulder, frowning at his self-hating tendencies.

“Who else do I blame,” He snapped, his fist colliding into the all just mere centimetres from your face causing your breath to hitch. Letting out shallow exhales, you began to feel your eyes water unsure of how to handle his aggressive outburst.

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to-,” He profusely apologized shakily bringing his fist up to his mouth and cursing quietly under his breath turning around, you were the last person he’d want to scare away.

“C’mere,” You whispered softly enough for him to hear you, he turned his body to face you, his eyes glued to the ground as his chin trembled. Cupping under the side of his jaw, you brushed your thumb against his cheek trying to calm him down.

You wrapped your arms around his torso holding his body closer to yours, resting your hand on the back of his head comfortingly. He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck. You felt warm liquid dripping onto your shoulder, hearing the soft whimpers that left his lips completely broke you. You knew he was hurting and had trouble expressing his emotions but it’d never been this severe before.

“It’s going to be okay, you’ll figure it out you always do,” You reassured him as he pulled away, covering his face with the palms of his hands to recollect himself.

“But what If I don’t?” He asked, rendering you speechless as you tried to respond optimistically which was proving to be a harder task than usual.

A ringtone caught the attention of both of you, giving him a small nod dismissing him he quickly bolted out of the corridor and front door eventually towards his black car, phone held up to his ear in the process.

The last encounter you had with him was three days ago, you knew the vulnerability he showed you embarrassed him and the fact you brought that out in him terrified him. From what you could tell he was burying himself deeper in the case to avoid you which you didn’t blame him for.

They’d found one of the girls, Joy Birch but the Dover family’s daughter Anna was still reported missing according to the morning news you’d just happened to turn on coincidentally at the right time.

A weak knock on the door disturbed your concentration and train of thought as you mixed the tea mindlessly in a ceramic cup, placing the metallic spoon on the counter of the kitchen you strode towards the door hoping like hell it was David.

“Holly!” You were surprised to see the rather old woman as you opened the door, her frizzy grey hair and magnified glasses were her defining features that were prominently engraved into your mind, perks of having her as a neighbour.

“Y/N, sorry to intrude I just wanted to ask you a few questions about Alex,” She inquired, pushing her glasses up further on the bridge of her nose a sickly sweet almost fake-looking smile plastered on her face.

“Uh- Sure Ms, Jones,” You stuttered allowing her to pass you, closing the door after she’d walked in you felt a hard metal sensation at the back of your head realising it was the barrel of a gun you froze.

“It’ll hurt less if you don't move,” She explained, Sinking down onto your knees as you obeyed her non-verbal commands, she brushed your hair to the side exposing your neck.

“This should be just enough to knock you out,” She murmured as you saw the small syringe she was holding out of the corner of your eye. Dropping the gun she held your head in a lock position, injecting the black unidentifiable liquid into your bloodstream. 

A feeling of nausea overtook your body, causing your eyelids to flutter shut against your will body crumbling into a heap on the ground.

“You’re too personally involved in this case detective, I think you need to sit on the sidelines for a while,” The chief explained lifting a glass to his mouth that was filled with a dark auburn liquid that could only be the distinctive alcoholic beverage whiskey due to its infiltrating smell, offering one to him as a polite gesture.

“No, sir you don’t fucking understand,” David cursed, standing up from out of the seat and towering his height over the chief intimidatingly, causing him to place down the second glass of poison for your liver. 

“I will not stop until I find her, now are you willing to deploy your best officers or not?” He questioned rather confrontationally, pointing this finger onto the desk repeatedly to get the message across as he resisted the urge to blink again.

“Just be sure the little girl doesn’t get killed in doing so that’s if she’s still alive.” The chief taunted him, dismissing the detective from the short meeting that ended on a bittersweet note.

Dreading the information he had to give to Holly about her nephew Alex, he reiterated and rehearsed the particular words he was going to use as he reached the front door of the familiar house.

The iridescent moonlight that shone down momentarily distracted him from the fact that it was almost too quiet as he scanned his eyes around the property hesitating before deciding to press the doorbell, the obnoxious ringing of it almost deafening with the silence originally surrounding him.

Listening intently, what he could deduct as rustling around and movement in the house began to interest him more than it should.

“Miss Jones? You in there? He began to speak, voice starting off strong but ending in a whisper as he pushed the front door open easily, causing his suspicion to triple. A brief and almost faint noise that sounded remarkably like someone crying fully caught his attention.

“David! We’re in here,” You screamed muffled by the piece of cloth Holly had stuffed in your mouth, fighting against your gag reflex every time you attempted to open your mouth as warm liquid continually streaked down your cheeks unable to rid the shock out of your system.

“You little bitch,” Holly exclaimed referring to you, rushing to inject more of the deadly poison into the little lifeless girl's body beside you before yours.

Your eyes widened as your gaze fell on his shadow that seemed to be approaching the room silently, hearing a small exhale which you could only guess was him, he stepped into the doorway gun at the ready while his eyes focused on the scene unravelling before him. 

”Stop, put it down!” He ordered, gun outstretched and pointed in her direction as she pulled out the half-emptied syringe and released her grasp on it, the small syringe collided with the floor causing a tiny clang.

“Make sure they cremate me. I don’t want to be buried in some box,” She commented, her gaze focused on yours a wicked smirk plastered on her face as she straightened up, still facing you. 

”Turn around, show me your hands,” His tone was dead serious, adrenaline pumping through his system as he waited. Your eyes widened as you realised she was reaching in her pocket for the gun she threatened you with earlier.

“I will shoot her,” Holly threatened, pointing the gun at your head. The sound of guns firing sent electrical shocks through your body, eyes clenched shut as a bullet buried itself in the wooden planks beside you. What sounded like a body hitting the ground prompted you to open them.

“Requesting backup to the Jones's house,” He muttered, momentarily forgetting the address which caused him to curse as he ambled towards you, he’d been hit slightly grazed by the bullet causing a crimson substance to trickle down his face temporarily stunting his vision.

“Shh, sweetheart it’s okay I’m here now,” He dropped to his knees, removing the piece of cloth that was holding back your choked sobs before he wrapped his arms around you. You leant into his touch resting your forehead on his shoulder as he began to help you breathe properly. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, your crying stopped.

“You’re bleeding, fuck,” He exclaimed as he brought his hand down to your lower abdomen watching your face contort with pain as you struggled to speak, nodding instead in response to his observation.

“So are you,” You weakly replied attempting to wipe away some of the crimson substance streaking down his cheek while slumping back against the wall.

“Now take Anna and get her to the hospital, she’s not going to last,” You ordered, glancing at the lifeless child with worry, unsure of the specifics of what Holly had injected her with.

“What about you?” He questioned, face painted with concern as his brows furrowed while you tried to convince him to leave and potentially save the girls life.

“I’ll be fine, you requested backup remember?” 

[noramoya]

“THAT’S A BIG STATEMENT, I KNOW. BUT ... IT’S TRUE. REGARDLESS IF YOU BELIEVE MICHAEL JACKSON IS GUILTY, IS INNOCENT, OR YOU HAVE NO OPINION, OR ARE ALL THE ABOVE, THIS IS THE DOCUMENTARY TO SEE.” — Reidun Saxerud .

”For the superfans among us that are reading this:I’ll spare you the hassle – there aren’t any bombshells, spoilers, or anything that we don’t already know. But, stick with me.

To the lay readers or casual fans: this is what I hoped we could show you all along. It removes the cacophony of the #MJfam flooding your Twitter mentions, mutes any sensationalism, and presents the facts. Just FACTS .

I make no claims that I have any qualifications to critique film-making itself. While I was impressed with most of the editing and overall quality (with a few minor exceptions), my comments focus almost entirely on the content and its presentation.

‘Square One’ begins in 1993, with the Chandler incident. This is the case that started everything. Most people are aware that there was a teenage boy involved and a settlement for $20 million, and not much more than that. The reality is that the Chandler case is intricate and complex, and there’s no simple way to articulate that to someone who only wants to consume bite-size information. It’s why many fans simply point critics in the direction of several books, transcripts, and compilations… There is just a lot to take in.

I prefer to whet others’ curiosity: if you had a child in your life that was abused by someone with the kind of wealth and power Michael Jackson possessed, what would you want to happen? Would you go to the police first or sue them? What matters more: preventing this person from hurting anyone else or cashing in? What if the state in which you resided and the abuse occurred, permitted you to sue a criminal defendant after the fact, so you could achieve both ?

I’ve found that, if someone is willing to consider that and put themselves in Evan Chandler’s shoes, they’re often intrigued enough to peruse on their own, and will return to me with more questions or a reformed and informed opinion. Until now, thanks to Danny Wu, there has been no one-stop-shop to summarize what is ultimately a complicated situation. The information is well organized. I’ve been reading about and researching these cases for years, and never have I seen them presented on a timeline like this. Even though I am familiar with and agree with all the details Wu included, it was the first time I appreciated and understood how quickly everything happened, and I’ve been learning about this since I knew how to internet myself in the mid and late 90s.

The bulk of the documentary focuses on the Chandler case, but excellently bridges the era between the 1994 settlement and the 2003 Arvizo case that ultimately led to a trial. For that, I highly recommend tuning in to YouTube on October 5 to understand how the Chandler case lays the foundation for everything that happens. It’s important to remember, Wu reminds us, that in 1993 there was no real internet. We didn’t have social media, or screen-shots, or even some laws and policies that exist now, because of this specific event. People who are old enough to remember what happened formed their opinion then and there, with a lot less knowledge and access to Michael Jackson than we have now. If what happened in 1993 occurred now, that is, for the first time to either a living or dead Michael Jackson, I believe things would be very different. Ultimately, my favorite thing about the documentary is that…it doesn’t reek ‘Made for and by a Michael Jackson Fan™’.

Most especially since Leaving Neverland aired earlier this year, I’ve witnessed and experienced some of the worst of the fandom myself, and I don’t fault any doubters or critics for distancing themselves from otherwise compelling material. Us fans, in all our solidarity and devotion, can really be a lot to handle sometimes. We spin things, we’re aware of who Michael Jackson truly was as a person, we’re traumatized and disenfranchised and desperate for anyone to just listen, please…and some of us get way out of hand. No one wants to listen to that noise and I’ll make no excuse for out-of-line behavior.

There is no noise here. There are just facts and firsthand accounts of those who were present. There is no sensationalism, no off-topic showoffs of Michael’s philanthropy or stories of his humorous and curious nature. None of that. In fact, there is very little of Michael Jackson in it at all, and that is its greatest strength: it shifts the focus away from his eccentricities and fanfare and highlights who did what behind the scenes (and his back). And yet, without much Michael Jackson in it, it sucks you in. Even though I already knew the story, I found myself sitting up straighter and scribbling notes.

As I mentioned, there are some goofs here and there. A typo in one title screen, some style inconsistencies. I was a little put off by some interview segments where the subject wasn’t available and so Wu interviews them on his phone (and worse, the audio is a little sharp and bright; I cringed involuntarily a few times). Some edits looked a little rushed. But the timeline and story are clear and easy to follow and will finally explain everything we have been saying for years in a way that is much more digestible than poring over endless court transcripts and long, densely-worded books. For those who are familiar with the source material, it will likely re-center your points of reference in the cases. For those who are new and willing to listen: thank you, and welcome”.

—Reidun Saxerud.

“SQUARE ONE”will premiere on YouTube Saturday, October 5. Follow #SquareOneMJ or Danny Wu at @dannywuyue, on Twitter for more.

“I don’t sell ad space, but writing costs me a lot of time and resources, and these Michael Jackson blogs bring the most traffic to my site. Consider my memoir, NORDISCO, which is available directly on this site or through Amazon. If you would like to support my work in other ways, click here, or follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Thank you and best wishes!” — Reidun Saxerud

PS. Unfortunately I couldn’t post this info with the links. Tried many times. But you may go to her sites, by her name. – Nora Moya.

[mini-kkukkungie]

This is probably not so very important? But I just finished a game and it was a very great game but, when I looked up if anyone has made fan content for the game, nobody had? Which made me a little sad. So, I wanted to give a review for the game to see if it can spread more awareness to how wonderful the game is! Or, perhaps, how wonderful the creators are because they're releasing another game! The game I played is called

            The Monster Brothel

It's a text-based R18 Choose Your Own Adventure game where you can make choices that eventually lead to your ending. The background story is that there's this house in your town called Madame Marigold's House of Respite and it's a house shrouded in mystery. Except, I think, it also has a reputation of being a brothel. However, every so often (I'm thinking once a year), the house holds a sort of party and welcomes people in (though apparently others are welcome in any time). The playable character is invited after years of longing to be invited (because they're curious and for no other reason).

Below the cut are some pros and cons to the game as well as my overall final opinion.

So, it's a game you do pay for which isn't always fun but, if you think about it, you're supporting the creators which makes me feel just a little bit better about it. Plus, it isn't that expensive, just $5.00. The only complaint I have about that is that it's a pay per month thing? My suggestion is to pay for the one month first and then pay more if it takes you longer to complete the game. I say that because I paid for the three-month subscription (thinking that it was a huge monolith of a game) but, because of my habit of hyper fixating on things, I knocked it out in like two to three days. You could also just support the creator on Patreon which is really cool! You get extra content for the money you're giving AND you get to play this wonderful game. Not only that but you can also see content for their new upcoming game.

The price aside, I think it's worth it if you put the time into it. The story is really gripping and I was very entranced by it.

The characters are all very lovable and very seductive. I found myself completely falling in love with them. There's a part of the website where you can see drawings of them and all of them are wonderful and amazing. They're all drawn by the lovely @doe-eyed-monster-draws whose art is just so well drawn and detailed. The drawings are accompanied by lore about that specific monster or about that specific person. It’s all very facinating. The characters also have kinks in the profiles so that you know exactly what you're dealing with when you pursue the character's story. It's a good idea. If you have a specific kink you want to see, you can browse through the characters to see where you can find that kink. If there's a character you want to pursue, you can check if their story includes a kink you're very much not enthusiastic about.

And, man, after playing this game pretty thoroughly, I'm sure there's not a single kink they've missed. There's something in this game for all the monster fuckers out there.

My all-time favorite character is Puck (which wouldn't be a surprise since I'm pretty sure he's been dubbed the main character seeing as his face is the first one you see on the mobile site). I'm always a sucker for charming bastards like him. Like a lot of popular male characters, he has a sad backstory and you're exactly the playable character that helps him.

Not to say that the playable character is the usual useless one either. In fact, I was surprised by how sassy and strong-willed the playable character is (since I'm so used to playing games with weak-willed damsels in distress). The playable character does meet some distress here and there (they have a penchant for getting into sticky situations, literally and metaphorically) but they're rarely saved by other people. The playable character is clever and smart and doesn't let anyone stomp over them unless they want to be stomped over.

This is, however, where I have to address one of the unfortunate (or maybe fortunate?) features of the game. One of the things the writer has done is change the gender of the playable character often throughout the game. One wonderful encounter with Puck makes the playable character a trans man that uses a packer but the epilogue of the game (which features another encounter with Puck) features a playable character who is a packless woman without any dysphoria about her private parts. This is very confusing and can prevent the player/reader from really connecting with the main character. I, myself, as a person who doesn't favor being either a Male or a Female, didn't mind the gender changes at all. I ended up enjoying all of the scenes, whether the playable character was a woman or a man. This might not be the same as everyone else.

Another complaint I had was that the game wasn't very... fluid? I don't exactly know how to word this but, maybe, it would be easier to give specific examples. Giving exact examples is going to reveal certain events in the game, though, so I give fair warning. There's going to be spoilers if you keep reading. They’re minor though and the spoilers don’t spoil any endings.

Basically, when you're finally invited into the house and you receive your welcome, you're given a lovely silver pin and then you can make a choice as to where you want to go in the house. You can choose to curiously gaze at a willow tree nearby which prompts Puck to invite you to the party near the willow tree. If you pick certain choices, you will eventually leave the party at the willow tree. When you find yourself coming back to the willow tree, however, it will prompt the same event all over again. Puck will act as if he hadn't met you before and everyone will act as if they had never even seen you.

This discontinuity can be irritating, especially when you get confused by the plot because of it. 

There's a mushroom that the playable character can have a fun time with (for those who favor tentacles over limbs) and, afterwards, they're found by one of the employees of the house (who is oddly not listed in the character page or so I think?). The employee of the house then leads the character to Marigold who gives them a task. If the playable character follows the task, it leads them to a wonderful mothboy (mothman???). Except, you end up not talking to him about the task at all. Instead, he talks to the character about how they're turning invisible like a ghost? It's very confusing to say the least.

Also, if the playable character goes exploring into the woods, the event will state that they've run away from the willow tree party? Except, sometimes, that's not the case at all. I had come across the woods once while exploring the mansion grounds and had been confused at the mention of the willow tree party since I hadn’t even checked that out yet.

The most annoying one is a part where they require an item. The playable character either has to have the fairy boon or the curse. I thought that having one would result in one thing and then having the other would result in a different outcome. I was mistaken. Instead, having the curse only lead to the exact same thing as having the fairy boon. It was annoying because 1.) I had to do a lot to get the curse and 2.) the result still described the scene as if you had the fairy boon.

I managed to sleuth out the true storylines after playing so thoroughly, of course, but it does take away from being able to really immerse yourself into what you're playing. It can also make you have to repeat events more than once if you don't have an item you need or if you want to read every single scene in the game.

I don't think this discontinuity is the fault of the creators, though. As someone familiar with creating CYOA games, it's hard to make a scene for literally everything in the game. If you make too many paths, the storylines can get tangled up or get so big that it'd be hard to keep track of. A good shortcut to prevent this is to reuse certain scenes. Knowing that makes the repetitions much more tolerable in a sense. It’s also hard to really double and triple check pathways since there might be so many of them so it’s easy to imagine why these mistakes happened.

There’s also another thing about the game. Specifically, the writing. I enjoyed the writing thoroughly and I thought that it was really great. All of the sex scenes were absolutely enjoyable and I loved the plot and how the story unfolded. However, the game does rely heavily on the pictures of the characters in the Characters page of the website. 

One of the stories that I loved the most involved the werewolf pack. There were descriptors for them but, when it came to Julio, the leader of the pack, and his human form, it was a bit lacking. I get that since the game probably wants to focus on the monster aspects so it isn’t really a big complaint. It’s just that the game has this habit of being extremely descriptive in some places and then not that descriptive in others. 

Maybe that’s just me, though, since I am much more used to big long CYOA games that take forever to describe even the smallest things. I’m not saying that the writing is bad. I really did enjoy the writing. However, I know some people who enjoy those really long CYOA kind of games and so, if that’s you, I just wanted to give a warning.

I do think, however, that, despite these cons, the story itself is wonderful and certainly worth the $5.00 you'd spend (and perhaps the $13.00 I had spent). It really is an enjoyable and arousing game with a complex and interesting storyline that you can't help but want to follow. The music is immersive and the writing is good (though there are one or two grammar mistakes) For monster fuckers and for people who love stories about faeries, its certainly a delight. The writer is good, the artist is great. Why not support and get to read an intriguing and enchanting story too?

the game's tumblr: @geekinglikeaboss

[amongthewishesandstars]

CROWN OF MIDNIGHT (BOOK 2) REVIEW

Spoilers ahead, please do not read ahead if you haven’t read the book yet! (Yeah, yeah, I know I am the one who is late to the party). :P The review is 3200 words long, y’all have been warned! (But I would be thrilled if people were to read my review. lol)

Storyline: Continuing right after Book 1, Celaena had been crowned the King’s Champion and had been ordered to kill a number of the King’s enemies. The King only revealed one name at a time in order to prevent Celaena from guessing if there was a pattern within these targets. I was relieved (as was Chaol, Dorian, and Nehemia) to see that Celaena didn’t actually kill any of the targets but gave them the option of running away under a different alias. Celaena already had enough blood on her hands that it would have been horrible to just follow through with the King’s orders. The most important target was Archer Finn who was someone that Celaena had known. I thought that Celaena would have been a bit smarter in terms of finding out Archer’s actual plan because it seemed very strange for Archer to be cowering in fear for someone who trained with her as an elite assassin. It was pretty clear in this book that everybody had their own agendas and sharing it with other people was a surprisingly difficult decision (ex. Celaena told Nehemia everything in one paragraph, told Chaol everything reluctantly and it was a smattering of information throughout the entire book, and told Dorian only half of what she knows). Two people/parties working together doesn’t necessarily mean that they are working towards a common goal. People might want to achieve their goals through the same means but they have different results in mind. With Nehemia’s untimely death, Archer indirectly helped the King achieve what he wanted for some time but it happened without him orchestrating anything. This is what I mean when I say the same means yielded into different results. As a result of Nehemia’s death, Archer managed to show Celaena that Chaol didn’t tell her about the threat against Nehemia and the King got his wish of getting rid of Nehemia without doing anything. Who knows what the King wanted to talk to Nehemia about. Maybe he was going to kill her as well. With the plot shifting towards Wyrdmarks, portals, and Wyrdkeys, we finally see Celaena turn into her Fae form and this was also witnessed by Chaol who ultimately sends her to Wendlyn (much to Dorian’s anger) in hopes that it will save her from the King’s grasps.

CHARACTERS

Celaena, Chaol, & The Big Blowup: Where to even begin… If I’m being completely honest, I don’t like where Celaena’s character is heading. I can recount several times where I wanted to hurl my Kobo e-reader against the wall because of some of the decisions that she made. My main issue with Celaena is the fact that she blames Chaol for Nehemia’s death and she still continues to blame even after finding out who killed her and how the plot was brought to action. I think it is unfair for Chaol to be blamed for everything. I do agree that Chaol could have warned her so Celaena could have been more alert but he is not completely at fault. Nehemia knew what she was getting into – plotting against the king, helping form a rebellion, etc. She had to know that she would have a target on her back since she openly disagreed with the king and his councilmen. Even Celaena should have been wary that Nehemia could be in danger. Despite all of this, Nehemia acknowledged that this was her destiny and she was willing to fulfill her destiny in order to get the wheels in motion. Archer (to his credit) was clever enough to lure Celaena out by kidnapping Chaol. Who’s to say that even if all that didn’t happen, Celaena would have known anything when an assassin entered the castle and killed Nehemia. She could have been sitting in her room and not have heard anything. Chaol posted more guards around Nehemia and even they didn’t hear anything. Celaena just had a disagreement/fight with Nehemia and they weren’t talking at that point. In addition, Nehemia kept secrets from her too but it was okay for her to do that because she was the one who wound up dead and all was forgiven. But no, for Chaol, he got the short end of the stick and somehow Celaena will never be able to trust him again. Why. Why. WHY. After everything that has happened, everybody had their own dark secrets to keep but Chaol got the brunt of the blame. I get that Celaena had the right to be angry because they were together at that time but she had secrets she didn’t tell him at the time so to blame Chaol for everything regarding Nehemia’s death and to never fully trust him again completely irks and frustrates me to no end. It was just unfortunate that Chaol’s decision not to tell Celaena about the unknown threat against Nehemia may have contributed to her death. How can you go from trusting someone so much to loathing them in a matter of seconds? I feel like I can rant on and on about this topic.

Celaena: It comes to no surprise that Celaena turned out to be half-Fae. With Elena talking to her in Book 1 already, readers could have already guessed that she was somehow involved in the magic aspect of things, had some sort of magical capabilities, or she was some sort of descendant, etc. However, even with this revelation, I can only wish that it didn’t happen like this. To have a lost princess wielding magical powers seems almost typical and unsurprising. I would have much preferred if all 3 of them didn’t have any magic and they teamed up with other magic users and become allies in order to fight against whatever evil force that is out there. That makes things more unique and interesting? (Dorian finding out that he had magic was like Morgana from “Merlin” finding out that she had magic and both kings in the book and the TV series were dead set on destroying magic.) What I did appreciate about Celaena’s character was the particular consistency she had as an assassin. As horrible as this may sound, I am glad that she is still as ruthless as she was since the beginning of Book 1. She slays her enemy without hesitation and I am glad she didn’t soften due to being with someone, having a better life, etc. Being an assassin is always going to be a part of her and whoever she ends up being with has to be able to accept that fact. (I feel like Dorian and Chaol have mostly accepted this fact but not being an assassin themselves, I feel like they are still sometimes shocked at her ruthlessness.)

Dorian: I am glad that Dorian is starting to stand up to his father. I am sure we haven’t seen the extent of it yet but I feel that he is on the right path to becoming the type of king that he wants to be in the future. With his new discovery of having magic, I really hope that he is able to accept it as something that is a part of him and he will be able to use the magic for good. It’s going to be ugly when his father eventually finds out that although he thought he destroyed all the magic but the magic in himself, he unknowingly kept Dorian’s magic dormant until now. I know that confiding to Celaena about his powers made him feel less alone but with Celaena gone now, I wonder how he will cope.

Chaol: I feel so bad for my favourite character… how can rainbows and roses turn into dark clouds so soon. I truly wished that Chaol had made the right decision to tell Celaena but I just know that this regret will last a very long time. And I am not even sure what he is going to do now. Return to Adarlan with his father, but he never specified to him when he would return. With the overload of information that he now has, he might try to solve the Wyrdkeys’ mystery as well but what I really hope is that he will break free from the King’s grasp and be able to see just what kind of evil is hidden under there. I hope he is able to gain allies in the difficult journey ahead because right now, he is walking down that path alone.

Celaena & Dorian: They were so awkward around each other at the beginning of Book 2. I guess the way that Celaena ended things between them made their relationship afterwards kind of awkward but it’s pretty clear that Dorian still has (had?) feelings for her even though he knew that at the time Celaena and Chaol liked each other and after the big blowup, Chaol still liked her. I feel sorry for Dorian because I do want him to be happy and I feel that he never really got a chance to really develop his relationship with Celaena on a deeper level. However, he’s still there to pick up the pieces when Celaena breaks up with Chaol and is even relieved a bit that they are not together anymore. For the better half of the book, Celaena barely even talked to Dorian but suddenly when she breaks it off with Chaol, she is now buddy-buddy, good friends with Dorian. That left a bad taste in my mouth because I felt like she was just using him because he was conveniently there. I don’t think she meant to come off that way and I don’t think Dorian saw it that way either but as a reader’s point of view, that was sort of what I saw and interpreted. Their relationship did grow closer as each found out about the other’s secret but not close enough as Celaena didn’t tell Dorian all that she knew.

Celaena & Chaol: I was so incredibly happy when Celaena and Chaol were together. Everything in the first part of the book and even the last few chapters of Book 1, pointed out just how happy they were together. I truly felt like they were two halves of a whole so it breaks my heart and at the same time makes me angry that the likely chance of them getting back together is pretty much zero. Of course I would hope that they would get back together at the end of the series but all signs are pointing that it is pretty much impossible. In any series that I read, I always hope that the original characters would end up together, despite the bumps and twists along the roads (ex. meeting new characters, fighting with each other, etc.). But unfortunately, this doesn’t seem like the case… which makes me extremely sad. Part of me feel like they were purposely ripped apart because there were other plans for both of them. The fallout between them didn’t really even make much sense to me. Celaena went crazy and actually attacked Chaol with her nails and left a permanent scar on his face. It’s like he committed some sort of unforgivable crime when in fact he made a mistake, an error in judgment and it unfortunately (and just so happens) resulted in the death of Nehemia. Of course Chaol didn’t know that this would have happened and he probably regrets his decision every day and it truly sucks that from now on, no matter what he does, it won’t matter because Celaena will never truly forgive him and she will also never fully trust him again.

Dorian & Chaol: My bromance is teetering on the edge of a cliff! Dorian is beyond angry at Chaol for sending Celaena to Wendlyn and Chaol refuses to tell him the actual reason that he did that. WHY. Why create more misunderstandings! It feels like even to his grave Chaol won’t say anything to Dorian about this. I just want them to be close friends again. I don’t want them to drift apart due to everything that has happened. They both need each other’s help! I don’t necessarily believe that Chaol is as loyal to the king and to the kingdom as everybody claims him to be. I feel that above all else, he is most loyal to Dorian. I hope I am not wrong about this! *sobs*

Celaena, Dorian, & Chaol: All I could hope at this point is that somehow they can all remain good friends at the end. Though I have no idea how that is going to happen because now it has become that Chaol is the odd one of the group by being an actual normal human being. Celaena is half-Fae with fire magic. Dorian also has magic but to what extent is still unknown. As Celaena has mentioned before, he seems to have “raw magic” and with that being said, he could be a powerful magic user for all we know.

Nehemia: Her and her secrets and riddles. I found it harder and harder to like her because she had her fair share of secrets as well. I appreciated the fact that she knew what she wanted and she stood up for what she believed was right, despite putting her own life in danger. What I didn’t like about her was how many secrets she kept from even Celaena. She obviously knew more than she let on but couldn’t be bothered to tell Celaena much of it. I guess she wanted Celaena to grow into her role when she was ready but it’s just frustrating to read because she knew SO much more. I know she accepted her death as part of her fate/destiny but I can’t help but resent her for all of the things she didn’t say. If she had told Celaena about working with the rebellion, maybe the whole fiasco that resulted in her death and the falling out of Chaol and Celaena wouldn’t have happened. I know this is all a big IF. But still.

Archer Finn: I will forever hate him for breaking up the Celaena x Chaol pairing. Okay, I did loathe him on that particular aspect but I actually didn’t hate him all that much. He had his own agenda and the means of getting to his goals didn’t matter all that much to him. If Nehemia had to be sacrificed for the greater good of the rebellion, then so be it, he was okay with that. I assume he just wanted to pay off his debts to other people and somehow figure out a way to overthrow the King with the growing rebellion. He, as well as other people, wanted to create a “new world” but who knows if this new world would be better than the one right now.

Burning Questions:

1. Why does Celaena tell Chaol and Dorian different bits of what she actually knows? How does that help matters? It just creates more conflict and misunderstanding – as if there isn’t already enough of that.

2. Did Celaena not tell Dorian that she is a demi-Fae and turned into one as well? And Chaol didn’t bother telling Dorian either? That again doesn’t help matters. I assume that if Dorian actually knew that Celaena is a demi-Fae, he wouldn’t have reacted so angrily towards Chaol when he suggested sending Celaena to Wendlyn.

3. I don’t understand why Chaol can’t tell Dorian everything that he is speculating and working on. What harm can there be by telling him? Why create these misunderstandings and make one of the people he cares about hate him just so he doesn’t have to feel that guilty about returning to Adarlan.

4. Did Celaena not know exactly where she was going when she headed to Wendlyn? Going to a land where Faes lived? Does she not remember her lineage at all? That seems unlikely. Chaol didn’t know due to the fact that he didn’t know which lineage she came from. So I don’t completely understand why she was opposed to going since she had to leave eventually anyways to look for the other two Wyrdkeys if she had stuck around.

5. Why did Nehemia have such a big impact on Celaena? I feel like whatever impact that Chaol and Dorian had on Celaena paled in comparison.

Celaena X Chaol Quotes (because my ship has sunk but I will go down with this ship):

1. “I know you can look after yourself. But I worry because I care. Gods help me, I know I shouldn’t, but I do. So I will always tell you to be careful, because I will always care what happens.”

2. But then a warm, calloused hand grasped hers beneath the table, and she turned her head to find Chaol looking at her. He smiled slightly – and she knew he understood. So Celaena looked at her Captain of the Guard and smiled back.

3. When her eyes found his, she forgot about the cold, and the moon, and the glass palace looming above them. The secret library and the king’s plans and Mort and Elena faded into nothing. She took his hand, and there was only the music and Chaol.

4. The rest of the world quieted into nothing. In that moment, after ten long years, Celaena looked at Chaol and realized she was home.

5. “Because,” she whispered, her voice shaking, “you remind me of how the world ought to be. What the world can be.”

6. The kiss obliterated her. It was like coming home or being born or suddenly finding an entire half of herself that had been missing.

7. She twined her arms around his neck, her mouth meeting his in a second kiss that knocked the world out from under her.

8. Like she was everywhere and nowhere all at once. Like she’d somehow been half-blind all her life and could now see everything clearly. Like she could stay her forever and be content.

9. He caught her hand in his, holding it up so he could look at her amethyst ring – the ring she never took off, not even to bathe.

10. It somehow felt as if it had always been Chaol, even from the very beginning, een before they’d ever met.

11. Just seeing her made him forget the world around them.

12. I think… I think I’m happy for me, too. For the first time in years, she was truly happy.

Random Thoughts:

1. It’s funny how everybody in the series keeps secrets assuming that other people would be better off not knowing but it never works out that way because it just ends up blowing up in their face. I don’t know why they would think this. So many problems can be solved through communicating. *SIGH*

2. How can you go from trusting someone so much to loathing them in a matter of seconds?

3. It breaks my heart to read that Celaena and Dorian confided to each other about their deep secrets/findings (Dorian’s magic and Celaena’s findings of Wyrdmarks though she doesn’t completely tell Dorian everything) before telling Chaol anything about it.

Score: 4/5