#but i think she will succeed tho there will be some tragedy in there like there has to be something massive

[ilynpilled]

Do you think Brienne will also turn really grey in winds too like GRRM alluded?

i dont think brienne is intended to go that dark and i dont think this is the aim of her character thematically to be frank, nor do i think this is what is being set up ig. the one thing that i could imagine that would make her substantially morally darker in winds is if she eventually had to really choose between podrick and jaime in a way where jaime is actually in direct and immediate danger so not entirely like the feast scenario where that is not really the case and she picks jaime

[ellzilla]

Finally finished watched Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Good god this is the most mixed feelings I've felt after watching something. Spoiler warning ig if you care about the almost 10 hour long show that has 5 minutes of total godzilla but If you don't want spoilers, I rate the 60's segments an 8/10 and the 2015 plot a 3/10 I really REALLY wish the whole show was about the trio in the 60s, that or they were the main focus and not the 2015 group. Cate was good at first bc I liked the angle of "G-Day PTSD and survivor's guilt" because it was cool! And then I found the plot of the Dual Families super interesting but then. It felt like nothing happened. And also she went from enjoyable to annoying because she started acting like a teenager and not the almost 30's she's supposed to be Kentaro was just kinda there but yknow what, I relate to being a tired sad artist who's dragged into family tragedy so whatever. His mom was also super sweet and I felt so, so, SO bad for her. May uh. Yeah she's there. I guess. It feels like she's just there to be [maybe?] Cate's slow burn love interest and is there so someone can betray the mcs. In the last few episodes it feels like she's only there for Apex to be connected to the show in some way and it's like? Okay? I guess this is happening. Pretty cool that she's Bi tho. Bill, Kei and Shaw on the other hand? Oh my GOD I LOVE THEM. I love Bill and Kei's relationship so much. I love how sweet Shaw and Kei were and made me actually care about a LOVE SUBPLOT!!! Which I always find boring or forced!! But they were sweet!! I love how the writers were a little too accurate with how the uh.. social climate? was back in the 60's. I think it was also smart to have Kei's kid be neither Bill or Shaw's, but instead her husband who died in the bombings, although I do NOT like the man he grew into. Really wish they didn't 'sacrifice' Shaw in the way they did because it was really stupid imo. Like bro, how aren't you being dragged towards the portal? The GIANT METAL BALL was, how are you not? I would have preferred he simply sacrificed himself while trying to plug the machines again. The way I would of written it is that prior to getting out the Orb, he and Kei have their sweet n' sad final moment together while in the safety of the metal coffin. He jumps out and has his struggle with the cables, only to be eaten by the Ion Dragon the very moment he succeeds. The machines get tossed around by Ion flying with the cables in his mouth, only for Godzilla to legitimately save the day and knock Ion tf out the way he does regularly and The Gang gets thrown into the portal that way. Also I'd make the fight scene last longer than like. 1 minute. It was over before I realized it and I was so bwomp :( Also I liked the ice dog thing earlier in the show. uh yeah that's it from me.

[momentomori24]

Next video is out and I'm somehow even more concerned where this is all going.

•The whole City being Homunculi and having replaced their original counterparts during the Blank Week is all but confirmed now. And they actually do die when they're exposed to sunlight long enough was true as well, and as the cherry on top they go absolutely beserk too. So Lil' Mac created that rain cloud machine so that doesn't happen a second time. And it's probably also why he's bringing in criminals from the outside so he doesn't have to feel guilty about using them as food for his city. As much as I love dunking on Makoto (even tho I love him) he was put in a pretty difficult predicament as to what to do in this kind of tragedy if that really is his motive for everything. It's either kill criminals or let innocent people be killed. If he truly loves his city as much as he says he does, then it makes sense why he'd be doing all of this (if him shutting down Project:Homunculus and getting rid of Yomi is anything to go off of). He's a prick and I will never forgive him if he truly did kill Halara, Vivia, Fubuki and Desuhiko (which he didn't and I will cling to that for dear life) and actually did killed Yakou, but I get his end goal here. Not entirely, because I don't understand why he's antagonizing Yuma the way he is. He wanted to trigger him going to the Mystery Labyrinth, but why? He knows the true culprit will die if Yuma actually beats it. The target Mystery is the mass of corpses in the factory refrigerator, which is a feat he couldn't possibly have done on his own. Number One was in on it. The WDO was in on it. How many people will even die this time and what effect will it have? Will it kill all the corrupt figures in power and have a more positive impact on the world? Will it end with Kanai in ruin? What the heck does he want Yuma to do? And that's if Yuma actually succeeds in reaping the culprit's (or culprits') soul(s) and doesn't end up trapped in the Labyrinth.

•Makoto remained unaffected by the timestop because he made us hold his hand helping him across (so dramatically lazy but wicked smart). Which means that we activated Coelescence, aka Lil' Mac has a Forte of some kind, right? If he's a homunculus based off of Number One (which is where the game is going I think) then was he born with the same abilities as him? And if he's a perfected Homunculus, then that son comment makes more sense than if it were the other way around. I retract my earlier statement and stand more on the side of Makoto being the Homunculus after all.

•I wonder why the Mystery Phantom we encounter is Yuma (or is stated to be him tbh if it hadn’t been explicibly said, his sprite and the voice I wouldn't have reconized him). This isn't the first time Yuma has stood in the way of truth. We see him struggling with this in Chapter 4. The difference is that we see that play out in the form of the Mystery Labyrinth itself. It made us go in circles and fought us at every turn as a reflection of Yuma's subconsious reluctants to face the reality of the situation. But we never got a Phantom of him before. And it's even weirder considering said Phantom looks like the mysterious figure we've seen run away from us in Kanai Ward. It's pretty obviously hinting at something considering the game calls it out and it stands out in the chapter literally all about clones, but I really don't like the implications of that. I could be Makoto in disguise like with Yomi actually being Yakou in Chapter 4, but if that's the case where is he leading us then? And why was he laughing like that after Yuma cut down his arguments claiming the residents couldn't have been swapped? Shinigami seems to have realized something and considering that she's so desperately dismissive of it, it doesn't look good.

•Speaking of Shinigami, I'm going to miss her. I've been Team Shinigami (and Kokohead) since day one and I knew her character development was coming-- and it did and it was great, but she's going back in the book after the dust settles on these events and I'll be really sad when that happens. And too see how far their relationship has come, to Shinigami being more openly kind and compassionate to Yuma showing her genuine comradere and affection, was really nice. Man, I really hope the other detectives are ok, which they most likely are (delulu), because if not Yuma will truly have nobody left. Please, Kodaka. He already lost Yakou and will lose Shinigami and most probably Kurumi, at least let him keep the other four members of his found family (there's no crosses on their portraits if Martina can sverve her way out of that they can too).

•And to end off: This Mystery Labyrinth looks cool as hell. The fact that it's literally just Kanai Ward and we're wandering through Yuma's memories of each case, following in his old footsteps as he made his way through cases was without a doubt the best decision the developers could've made in regards to the final Labyrinth. You can just feel we're at the endgame and everything we've encountered up until that point is coming full circle and it's amazing.

[rare-and-beautiful-things]

Headcanons for Eto with their s/o please? (Sfw or nsfw is fine by me)

Omg someone requested my girl Eto 😖 So happy! Hope it's to your tastes, dear anon~

Yoshimura Eto with her s/o

SFW

I can see her with a woman or a nb person more easily than with a man but she'd probably be fine with either as long as its someone interesting enough.

Whether you're a ghoul or a human or something in between you'll have more chances with her if you meet her Takatsuki Sen persona first. While Eto is Eto no matter how she presents herself, her more sentimental side comes into play when she's wearing her Takatsuki mask. Aogiri Eto is more brutal, focused on the end goal, hungry for all too many things. Not that hunger ever really subsides but it's less agonizing when she acts as Takatsuki even if it's mostly play pretend.

If it's her that pursues the relationship with you in the first place and not the other way around she'll probably also use Sen. It's the obvious decision if you're human but even if you're not and even if you're acquainted with the Aogiri Eto, Takatsuki has the luxury of being a bit more peaceful - and Eto knows that most ghouls would appreciate the feeling.

She'd probably prefer to be the one pursuing the relationship and initiating most things btw. In the beginning, I mean, after a bit of time it stops mattering. It's just that with her past she'd probably be wary of random people trying to get close and personal with her (just expressing your interest and appreciation is fine tho, as long as it's respectful).

She won't make a big effort to hide her nature from a human partner. She wouldn't outright tell that she's a half-ghoul of course and she'd avoid that kind of conversations in the beginning, but at some point she'd invite you to her place and you'd open the fridge and see a human head or something in there. And she'd be like 'what, no, I'm not a ghoul, dummy. I'm a half-ghoul. But yeah, I eat humans, very tasty'. She'd make it sound like a casual joke but she'll be waiting carefully for your reaction. And if your reaction is to run away or to scream loudly or to fight her, odds are you're gonna die that day.

She'd try hard not to get attached. She won't let herself get attached to a human before she knows they're fine with her being half-ghoul at all - as well as she'd never let herself get attached to a ghoul until she knew for sure that their goals aligned. After that... she'd still try to deny herself that attachment but she wouldn't succeed. She'd be able to cut them loose or even kill her partner if she felt there was no other choice - but it would be so, so painful. Not like Eto's a stranger to the pain though, huh?

She doesn't expect unconditional loyalty, she doesn't expect you to prioritize her before everything and everyone else in your life. She couldn't promise you that either anyway. But some loyalty and some prioritization are expected. You are going to put in an effort if you want this relationship to last and not end with your lungs in her mouth.

You're her muse. She's gonna model a character or three after you. You'd think she'd write you as a love interest or a main character - but nope. You're gonna be either a mysterious prophet that dies tragically soon after being introduced and gives motivation to the main character, or a fierce young revolutionary that dies cuz they choked on their own tongue or somehow even more stupidly, or a background character who's repeatedly appeared on a sight of every great tragedy but they're never involved with anything dramatic and are just living their life as best as they can. She's gonna bully you lovingly, troll you a bit, but her writing is also where her hopelessness and loneliness are most noticeable. On the other hand, if you manage to give her some hope and light and make her feel loved, you'll be able to see the subtle but almost immediate change in the world of her books.

While she doesn't expect unconditional loyalty she does want unconditional love. She doesn't believe anyone could see the ugliest parts of her and still love her, so if someone's able to? She might just cry. And laugh at the same time. But she'll feel so happy and powerful - and she will make sure you know that her love for you is as strong as yours.

She'll give you gifts. They seem almost random cuz it may be clothes, or rocks, or jewelry, or something miscellaneous, and they can be very different in style and price, but the thing is they all reminded her of you in one way or another. It's her way to tell you "I think of you always, and here's the proof". And she does think of you - a lot more than she tells you with words.

Eto will make fun of you and prank you. You'll just have to live with that, there's no way to make her stop. She can go easy on you if she sees that it makes you upset but stopping completely? Out of question. You can prank her too tho, she's totally fine with it.

She'll steal your hoodies and sweaters and probably like half of your clothes. If you're bigger than her? Excellent! If you're smaller than her? She'll do that anyway and will whine about how little you apparently love her if you're so worried about some stretched shirts smh. You can wear her clothes if your size is the same or smaller and she'll still be unhappy about it. There's no way she lets you wear her clothes if you're bigger than her.

She's good with words but if you need encouragement or reassurance sometimes it's hard for her to give it. Because even if she consciously undestands what you need to hear, another part of her is like is it really? Wouldn't it be better in the long run if they were tougher? Or maybe I should break them and rearrange the pieces? Most of the time she'll say the right words but every once in a while... well, you'd better not be very fragile.

At some point, if you're able to overcome all the differences between you and all the obstacles in your way, you're going to be more important, valuable, precious to her than anything and anyone else - more than the revolution, the truth, the justice and the revenge. Ironically, it will probably only be possible if you share her ultimate goal and some of her values.

Nsfw under the cut

NSFW

She's a domme. More playful than controlling, but if you think you can control her... lol. She might let you have your fun for a bit but don't let it fool you, she will put you in place.

You can and will top sometimes - just remember who has the control here.

She indulges in bondage from time to time - prefers to go all out with it when she does tho. So unless you have a thing for handcuffs or something when she ties you up you won't be able to move at all.

Nicknames must reflect your dynamics so they may differ, but I think she'd enjoy being called daddy. ('mommy' would only come up if you have a mommy complex or something, otherwise she won't find it appropriate)

She wants to be worshipped - and sometimes she also wants to worship you. She doesn't expect you to pray to her or praise her tho (especially since sometimes you won't be able to talk), it's mostly something she wants to see in your eyes. Look at her like you would look at god and be eager to please her.

She's loud. You can be loud too but you shouldn't be louder than her - unless she specifically demands it. It's not just moans and noises, she just won't shut up during sex. She'll mix praise and degradation for you really nicely - but it will be so poetic she could as well publish her dirty talk.

She's hardcore. Especially if you're ghoul but even with a human she will rarely be soft. She wants to give you pleasure as well as pain and she wants you to find pleasure in the pain she gives you, so someone masochistic would probably work best with her. She's willing to go easy on you if you make it clear you don't enjoy that tho.

Edging or overstimulation? Why not both? She'll enjoy the first part more but she wouldn't want to stop so it'll naturally turn into overstim. None of that nonsense for herself tho, thank you.

She doesn't care much about marking you but she does care about tasting you, and marks occure naturally when she does that so... You're gonna be covered in hickeys and bite marks all over. Get used to it.

If you were afab she's gonna enjoy eating you out on your period so much if you let her. Will keep track of your cycle and look forward to it every month.

Quickies aren't very rare but they're... kinda one-sided. She'll opt for a quickie when she wants to play with you for a bit, to taste you. She'll take time when taking care of her own needs.

Will probably like having sex in semi-public places. She doesn't get much adrenaline out of these things but she'll like how it if it makes you flustered.

Aftercare is mostly determined by your needs. She'll get you water and maybe a snack, will help you to get to the bathroom. If you're human she'll check the bruises, if not there's a good chance she won't bother. She'll like some cuddles but most of the time she'll prefer some space when sleeping, even if you sleep together. There's also a good chance she'll wait until you're asleep and then go do her things - maybe write for some time or go to the Aogiri hq. She'll try to be back by the time you wake up though, brew some coffee for both of you.

[gingus-doon]

It's ask time! How about thoughts on the Yabusame siblings? ( by the way, I always love hearing your thoughts on this game! they honestly make my day. <3)

i'll talk about them separately first, then together! so i hope you don't mind if this gets a little long (＾��＾)

(update after writing this– it got quite long LOL so i'm gonna put it under a read more—)

—

first, alice– i think he's great!! himbo extraordinaire, how could ya not like him :'D i've probably ranted about this before (read: in the tags earlier today lol) but i just love how much of a softie he is. it's especially apparent by how hard he tries to come off as this intimidating lone wolf figure lol. it's funny, because with his muscle and prisoner uniform (as well as actually being a murderer lol) he succeeds on that and comes off as untrustworthy despite being just a softhearted fool 😔 he'll be all like "you fools!!! you can't make allies in a death game!" and all that edgelord junk, insult sara brashly and then feel VERY bad about it as soon as she started fake crying. it's so immediately un-intimidating and i love that lmao. and how COWARDLY he is, despite being a pretty big dude. i think he doesn't perceive himself as intimidating, as some of the moments in his ytts events suggest (i'm specifically referring to when he meets mishima and is like Yikes! and then at the end mishima's like "appearances can really be deceiving huh" and alice is like "?!!??" LIKE SJDHDJ I LOVE THAT DYNAMIC FOR THEM, poor them having that issue 😭😭)

i wouldn't consider him one of my favorites but i appreciate him very much <3

—

okay, now reko– REKO'S CHARACTER FALLS INTO ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TROPES!! angry punk woman is always good（⌒▽⌒）but i also love how caring she is, an even better trope than Chaotic Angery™ is Chaotic Angery with a soft spot!!! it's very good of her and mwah i just love her.

i also think it's interesting that this more caring aspect of herself came out after alice's incarceration and that it seems to have been largely hidden from him throughout their lives?? in the flashbacks when they were kids, she seems fairly nice, but alice describes her as cold when they were adults, and he loves her so much that i trust his opinion. i really wonder what's up with that !! i don't know if i'm forgetting something that implied the cause of this harshness towards him but i'd really like to know ;; (i may be forgetting or misremembering some things, the only part of the game i've played recently is chap 3 and never with reko sjdhd)

—

it's also kinda nice how reko seems to outgrow the conventional morality thing she has going on? because she pushes alice away entirely on the basis of his murder, and that murder was very likely justifiable given that it was of the Bastardest Bastard. perhaps if alice told her the circumstances under which it'd happen, she'd understand, but alice condemned himself as harshly as (if not more than) reko so he wouldn't try to reach out to her when she was already pulling away. regardless though, reko seems to hold the general opinion that you can't just like, kill people, even if they're bad! but then she goes apeshit on rio after he kills alice so i appreciate that lol. though i'm a little upset that there's no epic cg of reko trying to whoop his ass :' we were robbed…..

robbery aside tho, i love reko!! she is one of my favourites and i'm sad that she's logical route bc that probably means she's not going to be part of the good ending (assuming there is one and that it's emotional lol)

ok so now i'm gonna talk about both of them together so this is gonna be sad. IT'S SUCH A TRAGEDY THAT THERE WAS NO OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO JUST BE SIBLINGS AND GOOF AROUND?? THAT MAKES ME SO SAD, I WANT THOSE INTERACTIONS THE MOST !! 😭😭 i don't know if we're gonna get them in ytts either since there is still that unresolved tension but i hope we get a taste of it! they're just both so dumb and i wanna see em be happy and just have a good time together 😭 also, reko seemed more like the leader of their duo when they were younger and i think that's a nice dynamic! it sounds endearing. reko seems like the one to say "come on bro!! let's go ___!!!!" and alice seems like he'd just listen to her, and then they'd get up to some shenanigans lol. like i could see reko getting them into a barfight HSHHDJSBSJHD. but i could also see her taking him to an abandoned building and just having a heart to heart after exploring like little kids :'D

oof, and, one of the things that hurt me most in the game was the bongos saga? i genuinely thought getting the bongos was gonna have them make up!! but then after the room of lies thing with reko happened, it dawned upon me that the real reko would not be there to receive them– not just the real reko, but a reko who had gotten a little closer to working out her feelings about alice's murder and was kinder than the one alice recalled. IT FUCKING BROKE MY HEART TO SEE HIM REJECTED LIKE THAT… i was just like "i'm not even an alice stan but i'm abt to cry right now." AND THE SHITTY TIMING OF REKO'S ABDUCTION….!! LIKE GRRR NANKIDAI WHY'D YOU DO THAT 😭😭 IT'S GENIUS BUT I WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY !

a lot of my feelings on characters and relationships in this game boil down to "i just want them to be happy!!! let them be happy!!" so the way only one or the other can survive makes me sad ;; though, i am interested in seeing how (and if, maybe) saving alice turns out to be the better choice, since it is the emotional one. it probably has more to do with the dolls' relationship to humans than alice himself but still lol. and they did get at least a little reconciliation in the end, so that's nice and good.

sorry this got so long!! thank u for the ask and for ur kind words anon (＾∇＾)

[rosykims]

OTP TWENTY QUESTIONS - TRISS MADDOX / AVA DU MORTAIN

i was tagged by @goblin-deity​​ and @pillarsofeternity​​ thank u both !!! tagging @trvelyans​ @arlathen​ @solasan​ @lvllns​ @abelas​ @noonvvraith​ @lavelans​ @rosebarsoap​ and anybody else who wants to!

who can out drink the other?

who CAN but chooses not to? ava. who WILL but absolutely SHOULDN’T? triss 100%. neither one of them are big drinkers but put triss in a social setting and watch her instantly lose any and all ability to self discipline lmao

who says “i love you” more?

hmm okay so they both have their own individual and specific Issues around relationships, so neither of them rly say it all that much except during intense/intimate moments when it rly matters. but i think after a while (as in like a year or so into the rel when ava is used to it and comfortable) i think ava might say it slightly more than triss does, just in priavte together whilst Doting on her u know.....

who has trouble sleeping alone?

triss ! i mean even before they got together her nightmares were real bad :( but being w ava thru the night helps, to the point where theyre basically a non issue for her anymore. plus she’s a very cuddly person in private just in general and likes BEING cuddled fdjdjfkjf so not having bae w her during the long, cold nights is..... a tragedy luv 

who swears more?

oh triss djdjkffdkjfdk tho shes doesnt swear THAT much and never around ppl she doesnt know. usually just when shes distracted or with fwends having a goof...

who does more of the housework?

probably ava.................. triss is lowkey a messy bitch lol. not DIRTY or anything like her house isnt gross or whatever but she definitely just leaves shit lying around and never tidies lmao. when ava comes around she always ends up cleaning jsut bc shes Like that. as for things like dishes/vaccuuming/etc, mostly triss does that stuff bc its her apartment lmao,, tho ava will always end up helping her anyway bc, again, shes just like that

who forgets their anniversary?

triss :’’’’(((( shes RLY independent and before ava she took a very modern approach to dating so she rly doesnt.... consider those things too much. i like to think ava WOULD remember bc her memory is like. impeccable lol and she’d want to know these things bc shes somewhat old fashioned - but i also dont think she’d care enough to be upset by it. like she IS old fashioned in some ways but like ava of all ppl would probably agree that its not a big deal. regardless triss always wants to do smth together when she does remember lmao

who steals the duvet in their sleep?

TRISS AND SHES SO BAD ABT IT AS WELL. shes the MOST restless sleeper u will ever meet, absolutely throws herself all over ava during the night and if ava was as fuck-off-strong as she is, i have no doubt triss would succeed in pushing her out of their bed on multiple occasions

who keeps the other awake at night with their snoring?

neither, fortunately ! tho on the odd occasion when ava sleeps, she is sometimes woken up by triss sleeptalking during nightmares

who finds stray animals and begs the other to let them keep them?

honestly neither again, mostly bc triss is so busy and her apartment is too small for anything other than her bird. triss is definitely the type to pick out the ugliest/most feral stray animal she can find and gush abt how cute it is tho!

who usually makes dinner?

triss! she likes cooking even tho she’s not very good at it. she sometimes asks ava to help her in making recipes that ava likes or is more comfortable eating, bc of the whole sensory thing

who plays their music out loud?

triss again ! i have a hc that there is ALWAYS music playing at triss’s apartment, she always has her radio or her speakers playing smth bc she is uncomfy with silence, and also just bc she likes to dance around the house kfdjkdkf

who hogs the bathroom?

okay.........i HONESTLY think ava. idk why but i feel like ava takes rly good care of herself. whereas triss is a rat who will brush her hair and teeth and maybe put a moisurizer on if shes feeling it that day lol. ava at the VERY least spends a lot of time on her hair imo, washing it as well as making it look so damn Iconic

who gives the most compliments?

triss ! shes a very sweet bby and u cant rly get thru a convo with her without being complimented at least once lol

who usually starts/causes arguments between them?

definitely ava, tho i would argue - at least in the context of their relationship - that its actually a good thing, or at least a healthy thing. triss HATES conflict that involves voicing her own issues w something, and much prefers to just bury it down or pretend it doesnt exist. which isnt healthy at all ! so a lot of their arguments usually have to do with ava trying to get triss to have meaningful dialogue with her and not hold back so much.

who isn’t afraid to embarrass the other in public?

triss.................i feel so damn sorry for ava actually lmao

who gives the other cringe worthy pet names?

hmmmm, ava gives them unironically (like. triss’s cousin once overheard ava call triss “my love” or “my heart” once and NEVER lets triss forget it) but triss absolutely goes out of her way to come up w some truly creative ones. 

who fusses over the other when they get sick?

ava !!!!! i feel like after 900 years she would be Extra worried abt that kind of stuff, and severely catastrophises abt how absurdly fragile/vulnerable she thinks humans are. like triss will get a cold and ava will still partially act like its 1183 or whatever and her gf is literally at deaths door lmao.

who finds it impossible to stay angry at the other for long

hm both ! ava tends to get frustrated a lot at everybody in general, but triss has an annoying way of cutting thru all of that lol. whereas on the other hand, like i said, triss just doesnt get angry, and even if she does she tends to just move past it as quickly as she can because she doesnt want to argue

who clings to the other for comfort when they’re sad or scared?

i think both, but in slightly different ways ! triss always wants comfort from ava, whether shes happy or sad or whatever lol, but i do rly love the idea of ava relying on triss a little more for emotional support once they have been in a relationship for a while, and once and ava feels safe w that kind of thing............like just letting her be vulnerable with someone whom she trusts, just for a little while.... 

who is more ‘physically passionate’? (hugs, kisses, or maybe more…)

again i would say both in different ways ! it rly depends on what the q means by passionate. like triss is very handsy and quite physical w her affection, and ava is more into the subtler stuff. but in saying that, when ava does get physical its WAY more intense and ‘passionate’ in that sense!

[feelhuman]

ʻ   /   wow ,   i  am  so  excited  to  introduce   jessica delaunchy   to  our  current  students  at  cape  coral .   she  is  extremely  excited  to  join   track / field  &  latin .   coming  in  as  a  twenty one  year  old   junior  ,  they  shouldn’t  worry  about  fitting  in .   the   cisfemale  leo   has  always  reminded  me  of   zoë love smith   ,  but  some  people  don’t  see  it .   trying  to  keep  the  fact  that   she was under witness protection    from  getting  around  this  school  is  going  to  be  tough .  no  worries ,   though ,   cape  coral  will  create  a  new  life  for  them ,   i  assure  you .  ʼ 

                     hiya  beans  !  i’m  nae  (   she  /  her  ,  twenty  ,  australia  gal  /  acst tmz !  )  and  i’m  real  pumped  to  get  crackin’  &  introduce  you  to  this  walking  tragedy !   ──   this  is  my  gal  jess  ,  who  is  rlly  smthin  else  ,  phew .  i  truly  am  in  love  with  her  tho   &  i  hope  ya’ll  like  her  too !  click  ....  the  ....  read  more  ....  now .

basic stats .  

*    find  her  full  stats  here !

current  legal  name  :  jessica  blaire  delaunchy.

nickname  /  alias  :  jess  ,  jj.  /  none.  

gender  /  pronouns  :  cisfemale  ,  she / her.

dob  /  age  :  august 13 1998.  /  twenty one.

place  of  birth  :  long  beach  ,  california.

currently  living  :  portland  ,  maine.

ethnicity  :  curaçao  ,  indonesian.

nationality  :  american.

languages  spoken  :  primarily  english  ,  learning  latin .

religion  :  her  father  was  christian  &  her  mother  was  muslim  ,  so  she  was  exposed  to  both  growing  up  (  her  dad  wanting  her  to  feel  closer  to  her  mother  in  a  way.  )   jess  doesn’t  really  know  which  bracket  she  falls  in  ,  if  at  all  ,  so  instead  she  respects  both .  does  this  make  sense ..... no.

sexual  /  romantic  orientation  :  pansexual  ,  panromantic.

occupation  :  self - employed  ,  ig ?  she  takes  odd  jobs  wherever  possible  ,  and  the  $$  is  always  under  the  table   :  house / pet / baby sittin’  ,  deliveries  ,  written  papers  /  tutoring  ,  even  ...  dare  i  say  it  ...  gambling.  

education  :  scholarship  student  at  cape  coral  international  school.

major  :  archaeology. 

biography . 

*    tw  :  parental  /  family  death  ,  murder  ,  gang  activity  ,  &  nae’s  obsession  with  rlly  bad  tragic  backstories .

the  unfortunate  beginning  to  this  story  is  this  :  a  girl  understands  death  before  she  understands  life  ;  a  sad truth  ,  a  lost  mother  on  the  birthing  bed  as  they  try  reviving the  infant  &  succeed  ,  a  broken  family  from  day  one  ━  she’s  born  novi  ovard  ,  with  a  head  of  thick  raven  hair  &  a  set  of  lungs  you  can  hear  three  floors  down  ,  but  healthy ,  alive  ;   her  mother  meets  a  much  more  grim  fate  that  very  hour  ,  and  it’s  almost  as  if  she  carries  that  misfortune  as  a  stain  for  the  remainder  of  her  childhood  ,  because  if  she  wasn’t  here  ,  maybe  her  mother  would  have  been . 

her  father  is  a  stern  man  ,  strict  &  abrasive  ;  he  loves  his  daughter  though  ,  that  is  crystal .  nora  grows  up  wanting  little  ,  and  some  could  say  that  is  her  father’s  way  of  over - compensating  for  the  lack  of  maternal  parent  in  the  household  and  the  way  he  works  long  hours  at  the  police  department .  he  remarries  when  nora  is  twelve  ,  to  a  woman  with  a  couple  of  daughters  &  a  son .  it’s  not  a  bad  thing  ,  no  evil  step - mother  or  new  step - siblings  horror  stories  ;  nora  likes  the  feel  of  a  feminine  presence  ,  likes  having  siblings  to  confide  in .  most  importantly  ,  she  sees  her  father  smile  for  the  first  time  in  years  ,  and  that’s  more  than  enough .  it’s  a  family  ,  not  entirely  by  blood  ,  but  it  feels  just  as  close  ;  like  pieces  that  finally  form  a  whole .    

FAMILY  OF  FIVE  FOUND  MURDERED  IN  LONG  BEACH  SUBURBAN  HOME  :  nora  comes  home  from  a  night  out  with  friends  to  find  strange  men  in  her  house  &  bloody  stains  on  the  carpet .  they  don’t  see  her  ,  if  they  had  perhaps  she  wouldn’t  be  breathing  right  now  ,  but  she  see’s  them  and  that’s  just  as  bad  ━  the  lights  flash  bright  red  &  blue  as  the  cops  ask  for  a  recount  of  the  events  that  occurred  ,  but  she  can  only  describe  faces  and  remember  a  few  names  shouted  as  the  culprits  ran  from  the  crime  scene .  they  presume  it’s  connected  to  the  L.A  mafia  ,  looking  for  justice  from  a  cop  that  did  them  dirty  a  few  years  back  ,  but  there’s  not  enough  evidence  yet  &  they  say  her  safety  is  at  risk  now  .  so  ,  they  offer  her  protection  ,  say  it’s  for  the  best  if  she  leaves  her  california  life  behind  ,  leave  everything  behind  and  start  anew .  

portland  is  a  big  city  ,  not  entirely  ideal  but  it’ll  do  for  now .  she  leaves  california  as  novi  ovard  ,  and  is  reborn  as  jessica  delaunchy  in  maine   ━   no one  remembers  a  jessica  delaunchy   ,  or  at  least  ,  no one  truly  knows  who  she  is .  she  lives  with  her  aunt  ,  no   ;  her  parents  work  overseas  so  she  lives  alone .  she’s  from  somewhere  in  west  virginia  ,  except  she  doesn’t  sound  like  it  ,  so  maybe  it  was  oregon  ?  apparently  she  got  expelled  from  her  last  school  for  setting  fire  to  the  gym  ,  or  was  it  trashing  the  headmaster’s  coupé  ?  in  truth  ,  not  much  truth  is  known  about  jessica  delaunchy .  she’s  only  at  cape  coral  because  the  thought  of  getting  a  free  ride  to  an  expensive  school  sounded  appealing  ,  and  a  refreshing  change  from  a  life  of  constant  camouflage  ;  she  only  joins  track  ,  because  everyone  hates  track .  she  only  joins  the  latin  club  because  who  really  has  the  patience  for  it  ?  jessica  blends  in  ,  jessica  is  just  jessica  ━  an  enigma  ,  hell  in  heelys  ,  possible  undercover  secret  agent  (  ?  )  and  a  heck  of  a  lot  of  fun  to  have  by  your  side  on  friday  nights .  

other  tid  bits .

phew  ,  where  do  i  begin  .  .  .  in  general  she’s  a  pretty  fun  gal  !  knows  how  to  let  loose  &  have  a  good  time .  we’re  here  for  a  fun  time  ,  not  a  long  time  ,  homeboys .  

this  is  also  her  downfall  because  she  will  literally  do  ANYTHING  to  have  fun  ━ jump  from  a  moving  car ?  sounds  cool .  jump  into  a  tank  full  of  piranhas ?  best  idea  she’s  ever  had  ,  get  the  camera  ,  tony .

does  NOT  understand  boundaries !!  at  all  !!  she’s  not  sorry !!

bit  of  a  compulsive  liar  too  tho  ??  she’s  one  of  those  people  that  you  never  rlly  know  if  they’re  telling  you  the  truth  or  just  mucking  around  ,  which  she  is  like  99 %  of  the  time  ,  and  no  -  matter  how  much  you  pester  her  ,  she  will  just  come  up  with  more  extravagant  ways  to  deter  you  from  the  truth  because  she  has  some  sort  of  .  .  .  allergy  to  sincerity  ,  ig .  

for  ex  .  don’t  ask  abt  her  family  unless  you  want  a  5  hr  presentation  on  how  she’s  related  to  the  lost  romanov  family  &  was  disowned  because  they  were  too  intimidated  by  her  big  dick  energy .  

really  in  denial  ??  over  everything  that  happened  ??  she’s  been  ignoring  the  truth  for  years  &  tries  not  to  let  her  thoughts  wander  too  close  to  family .  which  is  # yike !  

as  much  as  the  portrays  this  too  cool  for  school  persona  ,  she  actually  enjoys  it !  she’s  v  smart  &  studious  ,  loves  history  ,  philosophy  ,  literature   ,  loves it .

a  complete  DORK .

rlly  bad  attention  span  tho  &  one  of  those  annoying  ppl  that  waits  until  a  person  finishes  talking  and  says  ‘  u  say  smthin ?  ’

lives  on  her  own  w/  her  cat  larry  ,  who  she  uses  as  a  judge  of  character  but  he  hates  everyone  so  its  ....  useless  ,  but  one  day  this  asshole  is  gonna  like  someone  and  she’s  gonna  be  STUNNED .

has  a  big  heart  ....  somewhere .  she  just  forgets  she’s  supposed  to  have  one  sometimes  dfkjlhhfdhg 

will  always  do  the  unconventional  way  of  doing  things  because  she  hates  following  the  norm  or  being  labelled  as  a  stereotype !! def  one  of  those  ‘  i  liked  it  before  it  was  COOL  ’  bitter  ppl  too. 

i  think  that’s  iT ?? I  THINK .

wanted connections .

*    find  her  wc  page  here !  if  nothing  floats  ur  goat  tho  ,  pls  hmu  &  we  can  figure something  out !  (  either  here  or  on  d*scord  :  i’m stu pedasso #7836  )

[kendrixtermina]

Compare and Contrast: The ‘Rival’ Characters

In each house there’s like this one guy who doesn’t really get along with the House Leader

I swear this is the last rambly essay. Or... second to last. 

Felix

Perhaps the most “typical” rival - The Blue Lions in general are designed around basic fantasy or anime archetypes with a twist here and there so its not too suprising that Felix starts off like a less chliched/ more reasonable variant of your basic anime rival. 

He’s your basic ‘Arrogant Kung Fu Guy’, a loner,  not very friendly, focussed on gaining strenght, used to be friends with the MC once, not a fan of “the power of friendship” but not immune to it either... though unlike most examples he’s not envious or obsessed with beating Dimitri nor actually particularly arrogant. When Leonie beats him with a trap in their support he’s like “Wow thanks, you made me aware of a potential weakness” 

Like your classic anime rival he is the strongest of the Lions apart from Dimitri himself, but has a contrasting fighting style - Dimitri is big, tanky and has immense brute strenght, but is clumsy; Felix is lithe, agile and has a very skill-based fighting style. The second strongest deer or eagle would not be Lorenz and Ferdinand.  It’s definitely Lysithea for the deer, and probably either Hubert or Petra for the eagles.   

Also like your classic anime rival, he’s got a backstory that parallels the hero’s. He also lost a beloved relative in the tragedy of Duscur and also still feels a lot of attachment to people who are gone, but he deals with it very differently than Dimitri. Unlike most cases you can’t really say that one of them did ir ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ both have their dysfunctionalities resulting from the loss if anything Felix is more level-headed though his rejection of all attachment isn’t grounded in maturity either. 

They managed to have the classic “ideals are BS, only strenght matters” line actually make sense in a non-voldemordy way for once if you consider the context where he grew up, he definitely has a point. Though he would protest the notion he actually has a moral code of his own (Dimitri clearly offends it - though mostly he’s really thrown of by/ doesn’t know what to make of the Dr. jekyll and Mr. hyde situation) he just wasn’t ever told that it “counts” as it’s not what passes for morals in Faerghus. He’s present and results oriented, rather than guiding principles or rules of thumb he likes to focus on wether it actually saves lifes. (”We’re protecting your subjects not your ego”)

Likewise it makes more sense for him to be the team contrarian when Dimitri actually does have no plan or regard for safety while he’s in Avenger Mode, but ultimately he very much wants Dimitri to succeed. 

Another thing of note is that since Claude and Edelgard are revolutionaries, their rivals are the token traditionalists of their respective teams, whereas Dimitri is someone who wants to reinstate the order - He doesn’t like oppression any more than the others but he thinks the existing social institutions have their merit; As he sees it they’d work just fine if they were just carried out virtuously and as a service to the people, not selfishly abused. Hence his rival is one of the two more independent-minded Lions. 

Lorenz

Of the three he’s probably the one who most dislikes their leader and who is most genuinely flawed at the start of the game. 

With Ferdinand it’s not more than a passing first impression you quickly notice that while he may be naive about how he comes across he isn’t actually arrogant nor does he hate or have seditious intentions toward Edelgard, he’s actually a deeply good guy, a straightforward hero to contrast Edelgard as an anti-hero. He lived an easy live in a good environment which allowed him to develop his potential to the fullest whereas Edelgard was forced to resort to things she doesn’t like because of her harsh life and precarious situation. She just wants to live quietly in peace but had to to grand impactful actions because someone needs to fix the broken system and she happened to have power she never asked for, meanwhile Ferdinand really wants to be a politician and go down in history but is afraid that he’s not making enough of an impact.  Felix is more complex, he truly IS mean and spiteful as a real character flaw (with Dedue and Dimitri he has arguably valid principle-based reason to dislike them; But with Sylvain and Ingrid he’s just being mean for meanness’ sake due to his own issues with attachment and says some genuinely awful things to them) but its the one sharp edge on an overall principled dude who actually does care for his comrades, Dimitri included, and he is not a bad person. 

Lorenz meanwhile is certainly not what he seems either, he’s not just a superior twat and actually very dutiful, believes that the nobility should actually live up to their obligations and is sort of a cautious shrewd political mind, surely not half as naive as Ferdinand. At the same time he has real shortcomings, at the start of the game he’s somewhat immature and frivolous (very apparent in his pre-timeskip supports with Sylvain and Byleth), though his intentions are not per se impure (he really wants to marry and is actually picky and romantic),  he just doesn’t get it in his head that those girls he’s hitting on find him annoying.

But eh, he was like 18 at the time. More damning is his callousness and lack of perspective. He doesn’t really look past his immediate surroundings and the self-interest of himself and his own, and at several times alledges that he wouldn’t have particularly minded if Claude wound up dead in a ditch. He doesn’t know him and genuinely doesn’t care about him, making cold, dissing comments all the time in early part 1.

Of course when you get more context and get further in both their support chain and the plotyou find that he actually has good reasons to distrust Claude, it’s not just snobbishness and prejudice he just really cares about the Alliance and doesn’t trust it to someone who just showed up out of nowhere under suspicious circumstances after the previous Duke had an ‘accident’ (which, ironically, was the work of Lorenz’ own father) - but that doesn’t change that he’s genuinely a little callous. 

If you don’t spare Claude on the empire route Lorenz stands out as the only person who will diss him - everyone else, imperial leadership included, is either sad or gives him the worthy opponent treatment, even Hubert who’s not usually the sort to point out his enemies’ redeeming features. He will also diss him in the Kingdom route and express spite that he didn’t get to be Alliance leader. 

Indeed while Ferdinand and Felix will wind up supporting Edelgard/ Dimitri if they’re not recruited, Lorenz always opposes Claude unless you’re on the GD route. Even some of the arrogance is real, see his A support with Byleth, he really thought that commoners were ultimately less consequential/influential even though, as he later admits, Byleth was right in front of him the whole time. 

To some extent this might be due to his upbringing his father was very much a “Look out for Number one” sorta person who cares only for the wealth of his own territory the rest of the Alliance be damned. Compared to that starting point Lorenz is already a whole lot more considerate as he thinks that his father at least ought to consider the rest of the Alliance, and would certainly NOT stab a rival in the back or callously kill commoners as collateral damage, even at the start of the game. 

I don’t wanna get too down on Lorenz tho, once you get to know him he’s adorable and sensitive (his caution comes from actually being somewhat afraid/anxious underneath) and as a friend he is very helpful generous and considerate. I love that support where he keeps offering Ignatz jobs, it’s probably his best moment. He got layers and ultimately ends up having a positive political legacy.  And if you’re playing GD or CF he even gets more open-minded by the end.  

He also makes for an excellent contrast to Claude - both are somewhat self-interested, opportunistic and distrustful, but Lorenz is cautious and conventional, whereas Claude is unconventional and a risk-taker. Ultimately what brings them together is appreciation for the other’s shrewdness and good intentions, they’re both natural politicians. They also both love poetry. 

And Claude’s storyline is one of bringing different people together and convincing them to come to his side/ have them come around. He uses deception to accomplish it, yes, but ultimately he wants people to see his point - Even someone who is as different from him as Lorenz is. After all he wants to build a world where there’s a place for everyone. So when he finally wins over Lorenz halfway through part 2 it means a lot to him. Claude probably half doubts that it’s possible but he wants everyone to truly come around. 

Whereas Edelgard would surely prefer convincing as well, but failing that she’d strongarm or eliminate someone like that. (Though it has to be said that she would do so because she cares deeply about the net result and one priviliged twat’s feelings, or even her own,  are not more important that ending oppression asap IMHO Both have a point and both have their shortcomings.) 

Another Detail is that while Ferdinand and Felix are each from the Second most Powerful house in their respective countries, the number two spot in the Alliance is probably held by the Gonerils; But the Alliance by nature is more flexible and there is more rising and falling in influence based on wealth merit and your ability to convince and rally the other nobles. Lorenz actually could take Claude’s job, and early on, actually wanted to, so he’s the closest to a real political rival - and Claude’s strenght is more in politics and planning than it is in punching so this is fitting. 

The other two are more one-sided, as Dimitri flat out ignores any hostility coming from Felix and would really like to be friends again (also Felix wants Dimitri on the throne ‘cause he’s still vastly better than Chaos or Cornelia, he’d just like him to act reasonable and get his act together, and is ready to support him once he does) and Ferdinand, try as he might, is simply no match for Edelgard in any way as she is the single strongest individual among the younger characters, she’s evenly matched with Byleth in the Church Route reunion scene and ends up with the highest total stats out of all the playable characters. 

Ferdinand

Though he’s introduced as always trying to one-up her, makes sure to tell you that he’s the one in charge when you first walk in (no doubt naively repeating something his father said), can end up being full-blown enemies with her in 3 out of 4 routes including the Church route, he doesn’t actually have any sort of personal beef with Edelgard and out of the three ‘rivals’ he probably has the least actual issues with/ dislike toward his respective house leader. 

Even when they wind up as enemies he’s actually one of the characters who speaks of Edelgard in a respectful fashion after her death (in GD he mentions how she wanted the next ruler to be chosen based on merit and how she really believed it), and at one point offers Hubert to let the two of them flee right under the Church’s nose if you have them fight. (Especially notable since the Church route is probably the least sympathetic toward Edelgard)

He IS the one who gets the classic rival trait of being competitive, jealous and attention-seeking - I tend to hate these sorts of characters but that’s usually because they are petty, spiteful people who begrudge other’s happiness and are always putting others down so I expected to hate him but actually ended up loving him to no end because he isn’t like that at all. He’s deeply good and has a heart of pure gold. He never lashes out. If someone dislikes him, his reaction is usually to come up some grandiose elaborate gesture to prove his worth and make them like him (Mercedes, Bernie, Dorothea etc.) 

Ferdinand was raised by an actual supervillain who clearly wanted to bring him up with an ellbow mentality but that clearly bounced off his inherent goodness like teflon. His sheltered luxurious upbringing might’ve left him a bit naive pre-timeskip in ways that make him come off a tad arrogant or annoying, but he doesn’t think he’s superior to anyone - indeed he works hard to be worthy of his inheritance and justify being in the position that he’s in. He’s somewhat aware that his father’s a crook but his response to that disillusionment is to become the real thing himself. He wants to actually be exceptional and live up to the hype.  The old man surely told him that he’s got to make the princess his bitch with some thinly veiled euphemisms but he kinda didn’t catch the seditious treasonous parts of it. 

He doesn’t hate Edelgard nor does he wanna doublecross her or put her down, rather, he figures that he’ll be a pretty poor Minister if he can’t hold his own against her he must have something of his own to offer and just generally strives to constantly improve himself. He also strongly believes in thinking for oneself (in that sense he’s kinda like Felix but its a more intellectual thing for him) - In the Church route that’s why he views it as his duty to oppose Edelgard even if it costs him alot. If he sticks with them instead, he eventually realizes that she and Hubert are actually all for independent thought and actually pretty open to his input once they come to trust him (which doesn’t really happen on the other routes). If recruited to the Kindom he’ll also not be afraid to criticise Dimitri. Can’t recall any scene where he criticises or defies Claude right of the bat but then again Claude doesn’t exactly go around saying what his objectives are.

He certainly sticks out among the eagles the way Felix does among the lions - not quite to the same extent cause he’s not that polished and inadvertedly annoys people a lot early on, but they’re all pragmatic, antisocial or both and also largely unconventional and quirky, whereas Ferdinand is very sociable, optimistic, has high ideals and  traditional. He’s the one among the nobles who actually wants his father’s job, he’s also the one believer among the largely secular Adrestians, though he’s not exceptionally devout. Though he values collectedness, he’s an expressive romantic sop and very genuine in contrast to the more stoic and unsentimental Edelgard and Hubert (as well as Byleth if they’re on the team), i mean Dorothea’s also extroverted and friendly but she’s often wearing a mask and kinda jaded too. Caspar’s nice and honest but he basically lives to fight.  Basically if the Crimson Flower cast were Section Nine, Ferdinand would be Togusa - and like the Major, Hubert and Edelgard actually appreciate him for that though this is not immediately obvious to him. 

Ferdinand obviously matures some as the storyline continues but - consider that Lorenz basically gets schooled and Claude is 100% right, and Felix gets to get over himself and stop being so tsundere, he’s not all wrong but he’s not right either and in his Kingdom route endings usually winds up continuing his dad’s legacy after all, even winding up in one of those chivalric tales he used t hate in his paired endings with Dimitri. Lorenz’ position is understandable, Felix has a valid point and comes from a good place, but largely, they are wrong. Ferdinand does somewhat change what he thinks but it’s more of a hegelian synthesis. He’s a helpful ally who contributes a lot and Edelgard and Hubert kinda know this before he does because he was busy comparing himself to her. He’s not gonna beat Edelgard at Edelgard stuff but he has a lot to offer precisely because he’s Ferdinand, and because he’s different from them and actually helps them improve and refine their plans. 

After all if you want to replace a flawed system you’ve got to understand why it persisted and your new system has to solve all the problems the old one solves and then some, if it is to last. 

Unlike Felix Ferdinand’s very proud of his country, but this is in the context of the Eagles’ main storyline being to put right what their parents done fucked up (or, in the case of Dorothea and Petra, what created the sucky circumstances they lived in) whether they do it with Edelgards revolution or through reconciling their homeland with the church. 

Of course Ferdinand isn’t blind to his homeland’s flaws and wants to fix it because he cares about it. 

Leonie

Now onto the MC’s own designated rival. 

She probably can be said to be have a shade of petty jealousy but since it’s centered around a shared mentor figure and largely harmless it comes off with a distinct annoying-younger-sister vibe more than a more serious rivalry. She never really gets overly upset that she can’t beat Byleth; She just kinda keeps trying undeterred; Might as well shoot for a high target. 

Notably she is actually a remarkably chill person in her other supports and has a lot more characterization than just the jeralt thing, with her poor village background and frugal, pragmatic outlook being pretty interesting, she just doesn’t get along with Byleth, but since they’re the POV character and Leonie is kinda constantly aggro at them that works in her detriment. For all that I’m frequently praising how even the more gimmicky characters are seldom one-note I still think they could’ve eased up on the gimmicks now and again. 

On the other hand, it shouldn’t be so strange that even Byleth can’t immediately get along with everyone xD

Much like most of Bernadetta’s supports start with her freaking out and running away, Byleth’s usually go like this: At C the various characters act largely how they act toward everyone else (the nice characters are nice, the blunt ones are blunt etc.), then at B they spill their life story and worries and Byleth is like “pat pat”, by the second half of part II the monastery dialogues also evidence some level of fondness and familiarity even with the students that aren’t in your house  (which is important cause most of them are pretty sad and apologetic about having to fight Byleth later on)

But of course there’s exceptions here, you have cases like Felix and Edelgard who instantly like them because of obvious similarities, people who take distinctly longer to be won over such as Hubert and Dimitri but ultimately do click with them after a certain point, and then there’s cases like Claude and Dorothea who DO like Byleth but are still somewhat stumped by their somewhat unreadable demeanor, they’re used to dazzling ppl with their charm, not getting the expected reaction and hence their defense mechanisms are lowkey active, indignation for Dorothea and suspicion for Claude. 

Leonie doesn’t fit either category she sorta tries to apologize for her latest outburst each time but then ends up going off again. 

On the one hand the fact that she isn’t overawed isn’t always a negative thing, it’s like she’s part of the family, and particularly the human side of it. 

After they merge with Sothis most the students are awed and excited about their new power/looks and comming divine revelation - some of the eagles are notably cooler on this as they’re not as religious, Bernie’s lowkey scared, Dorothea seems kinda worried about them/ that this will distance them from normal people, Edelgard is secretly heartbroken cause she takes it to mean that they’re destined to be enemies - they’re not the only ones tho Lysithea notably worries about side effects (she would), but then there’s Leonie who’s like “But it’s still you inside there, right? That’s what important.” Like... I think Byleth really needed to hear that. 

Instead of “wow everyone mysteriously likes you, you must truly be blessed” she’s like “you accept ppl as they are just like your dad no wonder people like you. ”, she just looks at them with a different perspective. 

I mean Cyril and Catherine get a bit jelly that they get so much of Rhea’s attention but then that’s tied up in their own adulation of Rhea and so ultimately the magical destiny thing. 

Even the infamous B support evidences a somewhat different, less distanced dynamic - Anger is a natural stage of grief but she’s going off in Byleth’s face when they’re still half in schock, which is a not so great situation but also different from the usual dynamic where Byleth is the calm in-control leader person while their conversation partner spills their soul - they can’t be, because they’re involved. Jeralt’s death affects them both in different ways and that leads to a rather painful clash. 

Contrast wise Leonie is maybe what Byleth might’ve been like if they had been born normally. She’s also kinda sassy has a pragmatic fighting style and comes from a common, nonfancy background where she had to work on her own survival by catching her own food. But she doesn’t have the magical destiny/ random religion ready to throw itself at her feet, as she often points out she doesn’t have a crest or money so she has to be shrewd to even get her hands on good equipment instead of having a mystical legendary artifact just falling into her lap. 

One wonders if Byleth and Edelgard ever ended up hiding out in some odd place in order to escape from two lance wielding redheards looking to duel them XD

Outcomes

Though Ferdinand gets this dialogue where he wonders about what might’ve been and laments the “Adrestia-shaped hole in his heart” his endings are actually pretty similar regardless of what faction he ends up with. He almost always becomes a statesman or politician of some sort.

He didn’t rely on things just falling into his lap so when they stop doing that he still succeeds, besides with his optimistic go-getter attitude and determination, it’s not a surprise that he’d be fine no matter what happens. It’s a big shock to him when his land gets confiscated on non-empire routes but he always deals somehow and comes out on top through the trials and tribulations.

By contrast Felix gets tons of unique dialogue for each route (with the most, but not complete overlap between VW and SS) and his endings are vastly different depending on wether he sticks with Dimitri or not to the point that even paired endings with the same characters can be vastly different. Generally speaking if he sticks with Dimitri he suceeds his dad and becomes Dimitri’s Right Hand Man (or Left Hand Man depending on where Gilbert and Dedue end up) whereas on the other routes he becomes a wandering mercenary and kinda doesn’t seem as satisfied with the independence and strenght that he used to want so badly.    

Only Bernie and Alois come significantly close to having such hugely divergent endings based on route (He becomes the leader of the Knights of Seiros - unless he turns against them then he just chills with his family. Bernie gets a lot more “confident” endings in CF, the one with Byleth is a 180 and the Hubert one is similar, also she’s out of her room a lot more and talks about traveling etc. and even there it’s not ALL endings nor quite as pervasive. )

As for Lorenz there’s three ways it can go. If not recruited he plays ball with the empire out of self-preservation and, its implied, to save his father who’s not worth half of him, and gets killed in the process should the empire lose.

If he’s on your team there’s 2 basic paths depending on whether you’re on one of the ‘revolutionary’ routes (VW and CF) or the ‘restore order’ ones (SS and AM) Either he initially follows to pursue his own interests but eventually comes around to Claude’s and/or Edelgard’s ways of thinking, or, you spare him, since he joined the empire ‘cause they looked to be winning he’ll have no qualms jning you when you appear to win, esp once you nap that pesky bridge through which the Imperial troops would’ve marched in, so he has more leeway to do what he actually wants to do, ie oppose the empire and go down in history like he always wanted. He doesn’t change as much but gets plenty of opportunity to show off his more gallant side and redeem himself for the initial turncoatery.

As far as Leonie’s endings go, it’s nice to know that there was someone to take over Jeralt’s mercenary troupe - Byleth probably always thought they would do it but now they’re off being King/Queen/Archbishop/ eating cake with Edelgard 

So she needn’t have worried/ eventually was able to take on Jeralt’s legacy like she wanted precisely because she isn’t magic

Of course there’s also the outcome where she dies somewhat ironically  either at Gronder (”Can’t back down because I know you I’m a proper mercenary”) or Myrrdin (particularly ironic since Jeralt didn’t trust Rhea one bit and Solon and Kronya did, not, in fact, report to Edelgard. She was ostensibly trying to get Jeralt on her side post Remire.), in either case to fulfill her dream and become like her mentor she’s pitted against that mentor’s own kid, no option where she can be truly true to her allegiance.... slightly less so in the empire route since she believes she has good cause for revenge here, und understandably so. Edelgard can’t exactly go around yelling “I mean to DOUBLECROSS you!” where the slitherers can hear so she did look guilty. 

It is supposed that she died offscreen at Gronder in the church route. :( Better recruit her. And Alois, if you’re doing CF, so poor Byleth doesn’t have to hack through all their remaining quasi-relatives. 

[kcde]

( zayn malik, cismale, he/him ) — that’s KADIR HASSAN, the TWENTY-FOUR year old, who was known as the PHILANTHROPE of the class and was voted most likely to SUCCEED. since graduating they’ve been STUDYING BUSINESS AT NYU, PAYING HIS YOUNGER SISTERS WAY THROUGH COLLEGE and WORKING NONSTOP. you know what always makes me think of them? low-key designer clothes, lingering spicy-sweet scent of whiskey and soft eyes that gleam with confidence. ( victoria | 22 | est | she/her )

god, this is gonna suck. i hope that you’ll bare with me through this. it has probably been about two years since i’ve actually been a part of a roleplay group     &     had to write an introduction post like this, hah. but HI, CUPCAKES     !     my name is victoria, but you can call me just about any nickname your heart desires     —     my name has about a thousand of them. i’m twenty two     &     i live in the eastern standard timezone. i’m kind of obsessed with zayn     &     b99     ?     which you guys will find out soon enough     !     anyhoes, ON TO KADE     …

OKAY, SO, his parents were blue-collar workers. his mother was a grade school teacher     &     his father worked as a farm hand that helped cultivate whatever crops/resources were in season at the time.

both of his parents died in a car accident when he was ten     &     his sister was 8. as a result, they both moved in with his grandparents, who mostly got by on union checks     &     what not.

in other words, money was always tight. obviously, in such a small town, a tragedy like that didn’t stay a secret. kade never really had the time to thoughtfully process his emotions regarding the death of his parents, tbh. he felt as though he was responsible for taking care of his sister     &     his grandparents almost immediately.

sooooo, he became very stoic     ?     in a way     ?     he didn’t want anyone to pity him, nor did he let anyone see how much the tragedy impacted him. he kinda just      …     internalized it all, i guess.

it didn’t take long for kade to realize that to provide for himself     &     his sister, he would need to get OUT of greenville. the easiest way he thought to do that was through education. aka, dude let his nerd flag fly.

BUT he tried to do his best to never let his studies impact his social life. he is naturally a pretty good dude, very charismatic, sarcasm is a minor defense mechanism     (     he can be a lil salty     &     he isn’t shy about it tbh     )     , he was a part of a lot of clubs in high school, as well as the school soccer team. he was social     &     got along with most but he has never been the guy that was really in people’s face about things unless it comes to defending people. so he would’ve been a little less loud, a little more quiet, always happy to let other people take the spot light.

he is protective AS FUCK     &     he isn’t afraid to stick up for the people he cares about or for those who he feels like are being unjustly harmed     (     kade is a bit taller than zayn, about 6’2”, and has a bit of muscle on him for reasons that i’ll explain in like     …     2 seconds xD     )    

upon graduation, kade received a scholarship to NYU. so, he moved to new york city to study business and worked as a barback to pay for extra expenses . however, the scholarship doesn’t cover all of his expenses     &     he was still sending money home to his sister to help her get her what she needs. so, he got a position as a bar back at a popular nightclub to pay for it all. BUT SHIT IS EXPENSIVE     &     it wasn’t anywhere near enough money.

soooooo, through connections he made at the nightclub, he became a high end male escort. yup, you read that right, KADE IS A PRICEY GIGOLO. aka why he has a bit more muscle on him, as being physically fit increased his prices. the escort service he works for was experiencing a shortage in male escorts because most of the men that work for the service catered to male clients. so, even tho kade is bi, he only has female clients. kade is primarily attracted to women anyways, but there is the occasional male that he is like “damn”

ANYWAY, most of his clients are wealthy, married women in early 30s to early 50s. i cannot stress this enough:     HE DOESN’T HAVE SEX WITH ALL OF HIS CLIENTS. shocking, ikr. he was just as surprised. but being a male escort is a lot more than just having sex, he has to provide an entire experience to meet his clients emotional needs. sometimes, that means he has sex with them. other times, it can mean going to an event     &     flaming their egos, or taking them on a date     &     giving them the romantic experience they are lacking in their marriages. it honestly varies.

as a high-end male escort in new york city, kade makes a shit ton of money. like     …     a lot. enough to pay off his student expenses that aren’t covered by his scholarship, enough that he can help cover some of his sister’s expenses now that she is in college     (     she went to nyu to be close to him     )     , and save a little on the side.

he graduated recently with his bachelor’s in business. he did so well as a male escort that he now works more on the business side of the escort service but he still sees a client or two every week or so.

like he was in high school, kade isn’t very loud or in your face with his wealth tho. he likes nice things but he primarily saves his money. he definitely is A LOT more confident in himself and is more charismatic than he was. it goes without saying that that confidence is primarily because of his job as an escort, he learned a lot more about developing relationships with other people, the human connection, etc.

he is a sarcastic piece of trash but not in a shady way     (     unless he is being protective or he just doesn’t like someone, in which case he is totally shady     )

in new york, he doesn’t really care what other people think about his job but he will be less open about it at the reunion. he won’t lie about what he does for a living, but he won’t readily bring it up either xD

the glow-up is real tho, he went from looking like this at graduation

to this at the reunion

if you’ve read this far, congratulations     !     you’ve wasted probably 10 minutes of your life (((((((((: if you wanna plot, please don’t hesitate to like this post or shoot me a message directly     !     i can’t wait to meet you cuties.

[dillydedalus]

what i read in march

several antigones & some other stuff

call me zebra, azareen van der vliet oloomi

oh boy. i really wanted to like this one, but uh. nah. so this book is about zebra, a young iranian-american from a lineage of ‘autodidacts, anarchists and atheists’, still traumatised by her childhood experience as a refugee (incl. her mother’s death on route). when her father dies years later, zebra decides to retrace the route of her exile thru barcelona, turkey, and back to iran. this sounds great! the beginning is good! but zebra is a quixotic figure (don quixote is unsubtly flagged as THE intertext several times), delusional about her own importance, obsessed with some kind of great literary mission and obnoxious & condescending & egotistic as all fuck (she looks down on students but treats her realisation that like, intertextuality is a thing, as this grand revelation when like..... we been knew since Lit. Theory 101) - and this is intentional & part of the quixotic thing & in general i approve of abrasive & bristly & difficult female characters BUT i expected there to be a gradual process of realisation where she sees that a) maybe her entirely male lineage of geniuses ain’t all that, c) her mission is uh.... incomprehensible. instead, once she reaches spain, she gets bogged down in endless pretentious bullshit and a #toxic relationship that takes up way too much space. knowing that all of that is likely intentional doesn’t.... make it good. also the writing is pretty overwrought for the most part & not even your narrator’s voice being Like That excuses plain bad writing, like the  absurd overuse of ‘intone’ and ‘pose’ as dialogue tags. i see the potential and i see the point & i liked some of it but uh. not good. 2/5, regretfully, generously

in the distance, hernan diaz

i don’t really go for westerns or man vs wilderness stories but damn i’m impressed. despite the violence & deprivation and sheer amount of gross shit, this story of a swedish immigrant getting lost in the american west for decades remains at its core so human, so tender, so sad (honestly this book is SO SAD, yet sometimes oddly hopeful), so evocative of isolation, loneliness, and the desire for human connection. 4/5

notes on a thesis, tiphaine rivière (tr. from french)

god, if i ever considered doing a phd i sure don’t anymore. this is a short graphic novel about a young woman’s descent into academic hell while writing her dissertation about labyrinths in kafka. it’s funny, the art is expressive and fanciful, and it is incredibly relateable if you’ve ever tried to actually write your brilliant, glorious, intricately constructed argument down, battled uni administration or had a panic attack over how to phrase a harmless email to a prof. Academia: Not Even Once. 3.5/5

red mars, kim stanley robinson

this is a very long hard sci-fi novel about mars colonisation & terraforming, discussing the ethics of terraforming, the potentials of a truly ‘martian’ culture, and how capitalism will inevitably fuck everything up, including outer space. all of this is up my alley and i did really like the first half (early colonisation efforts), but the 2nd half (beginning of terraforming, lots of politicking) was a slog - i liked reading about how terraforming was going, but the rest was just bloated, scattered and confusing. also there’s a tedious love triangle the whole time. 2/5

dragon keeper (rain wild chronicles #1), robin hobb

i love robin hobb she really can write a whole 500+ page book of set-up, characterisation and politicking and make it WORK. anyway, this has disabled dragons, a quest for mystical city, lots of rain wilds weirdness, a dragon scholar in an unhappy marriage, liveships, a sweet dummy romance, and uh... a lil penpalship between two messenger bird keepers? not much happens but it’s so NICE & so much is going to happen. also althea & brashen & malta turned up & i screamed. 3.5/5

season of migration to the north, tayeb salih (tr. from arabic)

this is a seminal work of post-colonial arabic literature, a haunting tale of the impact of colonialisation, especially of cultural hegemony in the education system, the disturbing dynamics of orientalism and sex, and village life in a modernising post-colonial sudan. it’s important, it’s well-written, it’ll make you think, but fair warning, there is a lot of violence against women - it has a point but still uh... wow. 3.5/5

dune, frank herbert

SOMETIMES.... BOOKS THAT ARE CONSIDERED MASTERWORKS OF THEIR GENRE.... ARE WORSE. so much worse. the writing in this is atrocious (”his voice was charged with unspeakable adjectives”), herbert somehow manages to make court intrigue and plotting UNBELIEVABLY DULL and sure, it was the 60s, but i’m p sure people knew imperialism was bad in the 60s! the main character, the eugenically-engineered chosen one or whatever, literally spends years among the oppressed & resisting natives of a planet ruled by a space!empire and at the end he’s like ‘i own this planet bc imperialism is Good Actually’. emotionally neglecting/abusing your wife, who you (!!!) decided (!!!) to marry for political reasons bc you’d rather marry your gf is also Good Actually (cosigned by the protag’s mother....) the worldbuilding is influential for the genre, sure w/e, but mainly notable for there just.... being a lot of it, the whole mythology-science makes No Goddamn Sense, all around this is just Bad. Bad. 0.5/5 i hope the Really Big Worms eat everyone 

dragon haven (rain wild chronicles #2), robin hobb

this healed my soul after toxic exposure to dune. anyway w/o spoilers: everyone is very much In Their Feelings (including me) and there’s a lot of Romance and Internal Conflict and Feelings Drama and Complicated Relationships and Group Dynamics and also dragons, which are really like very big, very haughty cats who can speak, and a flood and a living river barge with a mind of his own (love u tarman!). it’s still slow and languid but so so good. also: several people in this have to be told that People Are Gay, Steven, including Sedric, who is himself Gay People. 4/5

an unkindness of ghosts, solomon rivers

super interesting scifi story set on a generation ship with a radically stratified society in which the predominantly black lowerdeckers are oppressed and exploited by the predominantly white upperdeckers, mixed in with a lot of Gender Stuff (the lowerdeckers seem to have a much less stable and binary gender system than the upperdeckers) and neuroatypicality. it’s conceptually rich and full of potential, but just doesn’t quite stick the landing when it comes to the plot. 3/5

sanatorium under the sign of the hourglass, bruno schulz (tr. from polish)

more dreamy surreal short stories (ish?). i didn’t like this collection quite as much as the amazing street of crocodiles, but they are still really good, even tho you never quite know what is going on. featuring flights of birds, people turning into insects, thoughts about seasons and time, fireman pupae stuck in the chimney, and the continuing weird fixation on adela the maid. 3.5/5

angela merkel ist hitlers tocher, christian alt & christian schiffer

a fun & accessible guide to conspiracy theories, focusing on the current situation in germany and the current boom in conspiracy theories, but also including some historical notes. i wish it had been a bit less fun & flippant and more in-depth and detailed bc it really is quite shallow at points, but oh well. also yes the title does indeed translate to ‘angela merkel is hitler’s daughter’ so. yes. 2.5/5

the midwich cuckoos, john wyndham

fun lil scifi story in which almost all women in sleepy village midwich are suddenly pregnant, all at the same time. the resulting children, predictably, are strange, creepy, and possibly a threat to humanity. i get that it was written in the 50s but it is strange to read a book where almost all women, and only women, are affected by A Thing, but all the main characters are men & no one tells the women ‘hey we think it’s xenogenesis’ -  like realistically 80% of women affected went to the Neighbourhood Lady Who Takes Care of These Things like ‘hello, one (1) abortion please’ and the plot just ended there. i still liked it tho! 3/5

antigone project

antigone, the original bitch, by sophocles (tr. by fagles)

god antigone really is That Bitch. that’s all i have to say. 4.5/5

antigone, That Bitch but in french, jean anouilh

the Nazi-occupied france antigone. loved the meta commentary on what tragedy is and how antigone has to step into the Role of Antigone, which will kill her “but there’s nothing she can do. her name is antigone and she will have to play her part through to the end”. i didn’t really like (esp. given the ~historical context) the choice to make creon much more sympathetic, trying to save antigone’s life from the beginning. hmm. 3.5/5

antigonick, anne carson

look, antigone really is That Bitch and you know what? so is anne carson. best thing i’ve read so far this year, don’t ask me about it or i’ll yell the task of the translator of antigone at you. 5/5

home fire, kamila shamsie

honestly i really wanted to like this bc politically it’s on point and an anti-islamophobia antigone sounds amazing, but it just doesn’t succeed as a book/adaption. it spends way too much time in build-up/backstory (the play’s plot only starts in the second half of the book!), waaayyy to much time on the weirdly fetishistic antigone/haimon romance, and even the most interesting characters (ismene & creon) don’t fully work out. sad. 2/5

currently reading: the magic mountain by thomas mann, but i should be done in a week or so! also: the paper menagerie by ken liu, a collection of sff short stories

[thedivergingpaths]

The Diverging Paths: What Could Have Been

So in light of a post I reblogged recently (and also just other discussions elsewhere) I’ve decided to tackle my ideas and opinions about how Three Houses could have done a more solid job at diverging paths (hehe because of my blog name).

These opinions are both my own and my own as developed by reading stuff, some of which I have reblogged here and some of which I just read. Just a sort of disclaimer and FYI.

So here we go!

White Clouds

I think the differences should have been more prominent, not just in the occasional cut scenes, with changes in lord dialogue and group dynamics. Important, especially for the shared beats of the game, but each route should have had distinct beats and not just shuffled up dialogue for the same beats.

To clarify, what I mean by beats is story beats - i.e. like scenes and the content that goes with it.

I do think White Clouds should still have similar missions and objectives across all routes, because I think it would help demonstrate how divided Fódlan became following the war and five years during Byleth’s absence.

So there should have been more distinct missions, or even if they were the same, maybe shuffle what exactly happens. Like while leading the Black Eagles, maybe instead of confronting the church invades in the tomb, they are confronted elsewhere because of a failed diversion by Edelgard and Hubert.

And some of the missions that really should be Faerghus missions - Miklan and Lonato - should be Blue Lions exclusive. There are other rumblings going on in the grand politics of the three nations, as seen in paralogues. Maybe instead of Hilda’s being the main one to discuss the conflict with Almyra pre-timeskip, maybe there’s a mission because of civilians at the border during a skirmish and the Golden Deer are sent to deal with it. It would be a good way to plant the seeds of Claude’s dream of open borders by actually, you know, exposing us to the wider world and having to make opinions based on people and not boogey-men. For the Black Eagles, we could actually do things in the Empire and meet the main players there rather than them just being mentioned or randomly appearing once the war begins.

Certain things I feel would need to happen to keep the main plot of the Empire vs Everyone Else going, such as Flayn’s rescue, Monica’s reveal as Kronya, the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, etc., etc.

Verdant Wind

Verdant Wind should have been grander in what it achieved. Claude wants to open up the borders of the world and foster understanding, and while some of the insulation and the whole war isn’t really something he can control, the world should have felt bigger in the Golden Deer route.

The Almyrans become allies and Claude is their Prince Khalid and yet we get very little of them and only one Almyran character appears in the second half of the route. I think it would have been interesting, and fun, to have had a few diplomatic-ish (tho because it’s fire emblem, inevitably having some sort of battle) missions with other nations, like Almyra, but maybe even Dagda and Sreng and a few other close nations that we even no less about, like Albinea.

For the Fódlan war, I think that the confrontation with Edelgard should be a little different. The cutscene doesn’t really fit, so maybe a different one where Claude and Byleth get ready for the final death match, but then Byleth holds Claude back as Dedue appears to avenge Dimitri and Duscur, even though Edelgard didn’t cause the Tragedy of Duscur, Dedue doesn’t know that and she’s also working with those who caused it so. I just think that it’d be good closure for Dedue before he leaves to mourn. Also ~collaboration~ in toppling the war.

And so, after the war in the immediate fall-out, I think the confrontation with the Agarthans/Those Who Slither in the Dark should still happen, but not culminate in Nemesis’ resurrection. As great as that cutscene is, I think having more efforts to try and reconcile with the Agarthans would be more interesting. Let there be non-homicidal Agarthans who just want to live in their caves with the shiny tech in peace.

Azure Moon

I feel like the route should have started more in Faerghus. Part of that country was annexed to the Empire during the five years of Byleth’s absence, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable for Edelgard to make appearances there.

And in some ways, that would be more heartbreaking because Dimitri is in his kingdom, and his friends and followers are trying to get him to save their nation, but all he sees is Edelgard. It would be more of a blow to what choice he makes. He’s choosing vengeance over salvation. Until, of course, he begins to recover and really looks at what has become of Faerghus and figure out what he must do to end the suffering.

Also Dedue should be more involved once he returns because not only is he Dimitri’s retainer, their bond is a lot deeper than Dimitri and Byleth’s so Dedue should have had a stronger hand in Dimitri’s recovery arc.

Crimson Flower

It would be interesting if the route split wasn’t decided whether to betray the Church or turn on the Empire, but how to handle the war once Byleth returns from their five-year absence.

Like, let us either embrace the villain route - and potentially show how our allies who have a very different sense of morals start cracking under the banner of the empire - or let us challenge Edelgard’s motives and morals and goals.

I’m pretty sure that a lot of Edelgard’s anti-church and crest stance is really just nonsense fed to her by the Agarthans - particularly Thales - so that she could set Fódlan on fire for them. There were possibly similar lies told to Nemesis, honestly. And I think that should affect the trajectory of the game.

Embracing the villain route entrenches the Agarthans deeper into Fódlan politics, even though Hubert and Edelgard says it leaves a bad taste in their mouth, but both groups are taking advantage of each other. And obviously this would culminate in the battle with Rhea and her death. Basically, keep the route more or less intact but really drive home that this maybe isn’t the good and moral choice.

On the flip side, a Byleth who challenges but still cares for Edelgard might succeed in Edelgard at least considering she’s on the wrong path. And here I think the main foes should be the Agarthans. Essentially, abandon the war for a more internal one. I feel that the Kingdom and the Church would still be thorns in the Black Eagles’ side - because they’ve been at war for five years and Rhea is very angry at Edelgard and Byleth’s actions - but they’re not the focus. I think this route would be interesting to find out more of the depth of the Agarthans’ manipulations throughout history, their experiments, and maybe have a moral crisis when Edelgard realizes she’s just been an attack dog all this time.

Silver Snow

Really two big things:

1) I think the catalyst should be for this route is a Byleth who would not choose a house back in the pre-timeskip era. They end up a sparring master (replacing Jeritza once he leaves, but is like, a supporting teacher with him prior to that) and so we can forms bonds across all of the houses.

yes, this is to make it more painful when the war happens and all those kids you knew are grown up and killing each other

2) Byleth’s background should also be revealed in this route, and the history of the Nabateans as a whole. There’d be something poetic about returning to Zanado and having at least some of the battles, if not the climatic one, there. A sort of closure.

I’m not sure whether Rhea’s dragonic feralness should still happen or not, depends on how things go with the whole “well, time to talk about genocide and a dead society” goes I guess.

A Final Thought

I  think it would be appropriate if Byleth, the avatar character, could decide whether they became the supreme ruler of Fódlan/the archbishop (since it varies what they are by route) because while I get why the characters would hoist this onto Byleth, it seems to be more following “remember the past games where people were fulfilling their divine destiny as king, guess we’ll keep going with that!!! :)”

I just think it’d be neat to go “nope” and be able to nope off into the woods or something haha.

And it wouldn’t change anything but the ending slides, so it would really just be an Aesthetic choice, but it could give even more variety to the ending slides since most are basically the same, just some phrases swapped out depending on the route and pairing. Some are outright different which is cool, but most aren’t.

[onpagetwentyone]

It has been a very unproductive work week. I filed a leave from work during the Holy Week because... It's Holy Week but it was denied, unfortunately. I was still a blessing in disguise tho, since I worked and got paid double for doing nothing. HAHA! And that is the reason why I got the time to draft some blog posts and rant... a lot.

I'm doing my March Wrap Up.

I wasn't able to follow my list and I didn't reach my goal for the month but I'm happy. So here are the books I have read this March.

CRACKED KINGDOM (Royals #5)

SYNOPSIS:

These Royals will ruin you.

Ever since Hartley Wright met Easton Royal, her life hasn’t been the same. There are enemies behind every corner and dangers beyond each door. When tragedy strikes and steals her memories, she can’t trust anyone, not even the blue-eyed boy who promises her that everything will be all right.

Because while Hartley’s memory is full of gaps, her instincts tell her Easton is dangerous. She doesn’t know if he’s the snake in the garden or her chance at salvation. The chaos he brings wherever he goes is too much to handle, the intense feelings he evokes are too confusing to unravel.

Easton wants her to remember. Hartley thinks it’s better to forget.

She might be right.

Tragedy. Treachery. Trust. Hartley has to face the facts—in this world, you can’t escape the Royals.

Either you live by their rules or you die by them.

RATING: 5/5

ONE LAST TIME

SYNOPSIS:

From New York Times bestselling author, Corinne Michaels, comes a new heartwarming standalone romance.

I’m getting really good at cutting my losses.

First, the husband. Divorcing him was the best decision I ever made. But between single-parenting and job-hunting, I can’t catch my breath. When a celebrity blogging position falls into my lap, I’m determined to succeed.

That is, until I get my first assignment and actually see Noah Frazier for the first time . . . practically naked and dripping wet. My heart races and I forget how to form complete sentences. His chiseled abs, irresistible smirk, and crystal blue eyes are too perfect to be real. So, what do I do? Get drunk and humiliate myself, of course.

I’m ready to forget the awkward night, yet Noah has no intention of allowing me to move on. Instead, he arranges for me to write a feature on him, ensuring a lot more time together. One embarrassing moment after another, one kiss after another, and before I can stop myself, I realize—I’m falling in love with him.

But when the unthinkable happens, can I even blame him for cutting his losses?

What I wouldn’t give for just one last time . . .

RATING: 3/5

RUNAWAY GROOM (I do, I don't #2)

SYNOPSIS:

For one charming playboy, getting cast on a Bachelor-esque reality TV show is the shock of a lifetime—until he finds love where he least expects it. And now the chase is on!

Gage Barrett’s reputation as a ladies’ man has been greatly exaggerated, but none of that matters after a drunken bet lands him on Jilted, a reality TV show that matches runaway grooms with wannabe brides. Now he’s stuck at a Hawaiian resort with nineteen women competing to drag him back to the altar—and one contestant who’s even more miserable than he is. Gage has no idea how feisty, independent Ellie Wright wound up in the cast, but it’s obvious she hates his guts. And if there’s one thing Gage likes, it’s a challenge. . . .

Ellie can’t believe she let her best friend talk her into exchanging her dignity for a glorified bikini contest. Still, she could use the exposure—her business is struggling—and she’ll probably be one of the first to get eliminated anyway. But Gage isn’t the shallow jerk Ellie anticipated—and he’s in no rush to send her home. As stolen kisses turn into secret trysts, she finds herself losing track of what’s real and what’s for the camera. With the wedding finale looming, this runaway groom is tempting Ellie to start believing in storybook endings.

RATING: 4/5

WE OWN TONIGHT

SYNOPSIS:

From New York Times Bestseller, Corinne Michaels, comes a sexy new STANDALONE romance novel.

I’m not a one-night stand kind of woman. I’m especially not the woman who has a few drinks at a concert and ends up in bed with my childhood celebrity crush, Eli Walsh.

However, that’s exactly where I find myself.

What’s a girl to do after a drunken mistake? Run. I grab my clothes and get away from the powerful, irresistible, and best-sex-of-my-life superstar as fast as I can. His gorgeous green eyes, rock-hard body, and cocky smile have no place in my world. My life is complicated enough.

Someone forgot to tell him that.

Eli is relentless. Pushing his way into my heart, wearing me down, proving he’s nothing like I assumed, and everything I need. But when my world shatters to pieces, he holds the broken bits together. Unwillingly, I fall desperately in love with him.

He made me think we’d have forever . . . I should’ve listened when he said we could only own tonight.

RATING: 3/5

ONE TRUE LOVES

SYNOPSIS:

From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a PeopleMagazine pick and a "Best Book of the Summer" by Glamour and USA Today—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

RATING: 5/5 for the second time! OMG!

THIS IS ME LETTING YOU GO

SYNOPSIS:

Letting go is not a process that comes naturally to us. In a world that teaches us to cling to what we love at all costs, there is an undeniable art to moving on – and it’s one that we are constantly relearning. In this series of honest and poignant essays, Heidi Priebe explores the harsh reality of what it means to let go of the people and situations we love most - often before we are ready to – and how to embrace what comes next.

RATING: 5/5

So that's it! HAHA! I read One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid for the second time, by the way. It's one of my favorite books. I badly need a heart-wrenching book, that's why I decided to reread it. I even watched P.S. I Love You for the first time (I know, I know. I rarely watch movies. Don't judge me.) I really need a good cry, until now.

And I read my 1st ever (I guess) non-fiction book, It's This is Me Letting You Go by Heidi Priebe and I love it. I'm looking for more essays and poetry books. Recommendations are highly appreciated.

That's it, everyone. Thank you for reading.

ღ, JL