#could've added some spice to their characters

[missmitchieg]

Sometimes I imagine Haley and Will bonding over hating their spouses jobs.

[opreaadriann]

Found your game today, and tried it out and really enjoyed it. I already brought up the trans name situation on the forums, which you so kindly already replied to and figured I'd ask the last few things here both to get your account here some traction, but to also avoid clogging up the forum post.

The player is able to get a tattoo, which is fucking amazing but I was wondering if it would be possible to get more than one? Unless individual tattoos and their meaning is brought up at any point in conversation, which it would then make sense to limit it to just one. But if the specifics of the tattoo isn't brought up, could you make so that the player could've multiple tattoos?

On the topic of tattoos, an option to have piercings would be a really cool option as well. Even if they aren't outright mentioned at all in the story, they would still be a cool addition if for no other reason than a head-canon of what your MC looks like. Again, having multiple piercings would be cool. Piercings would definitely add some extra spice for the players like me, who are going for the rebel without a cause / rockstar musician persona.

Height. Absolutely height. I want to be a tall trans girl rebel/musician who can tower over the shorter RO's, specifically the girls, even if I do feel like I won't romance anyone of them. At least not from what I've seen of them so far, and their personalities and past and present behavior.

And last but not least. Cigarettes. When you meet the clown that was our first friend, you can pull out a pack of cigarettes and hand him one, because you think he might find it cool. This option to me at least, seemed very out of left field since there was absolutely no indication the MC was a smoker. I don't personally mind the MC smoking, again it would fit her persona, but it might be jarring to some players. Maybe make it an option early on if the MC smokes, and if they do they'll have the option to pick this scene? Like that it's established the MC smokes, and as a result can be used later on in the story for other scenes as well, rather than just potentially being a one-off situation, and it could potentially become a cool story element to build on the MC and their potentially very different personalities from each different player. Because as it currently is, making it a one-off scene would make it even more weird than it already feels without any prior choice of smoking or not, because why would the MC smoking never be mentioned again if they picked this choice, because clearly they smoke otherwise they wouldn't carry a pack of cigarettes with them I would imagine.

This last bit isn't really a topic, suggestions, or request, but rather a question. If you join the band with your adept skill being music, the MC has some internal monologue about how you might be able to take over the lead singer role if you got trained in singing. Will this ever be an option? Because I would love to absolutely take over the band, as the main 'front girl' with my bass and singing, haha.

Hey, first of all, thanks for the name change suggestion. It really would have been stupid to keep the same name after the transition haha. I’ve already added the code for it, I’ll just wait to do a bigger update to add it to the demo.

Originally I was thinking of making the tattoos important in some way or another but It’s been 5 years and I can’t remember for the life of me what that purpose was. So yeah, I’ll add the option to add more tattoos and I’ll probably only talk about one of them or mention their overall presence.

And sure, piercings, why the hell not?

Oh yeah, height would be good for the character customization. I just naturally assumed the MC was relatively tall, but forgot I should actually give the choice haha

The smoking bit I thought worked well with the rebel/edgy persona, since, for example, the edgy type will have a lot of stuff never mentioned before ready for special occasions. In the cafeteria scene, the edgelord had food prepared from home and they don’t stay in line to get anything. But yeah, I guess I could explain better that our MC prepared stuff from home for occasions like these.

And, yes, you can become the lead vocalist for the renowned Fighting Rooster! Without spoiling anything, there will be a plot in the band where you’ll need to figure out who should be the vocalist. And that option can also be you.

[thoughts-of-loyalty]

Let's give it up for my 5th round of Nitpick November! And for it, I'm going to tackle a topic that isn't all that bad in the grand scheme of things, but feels like it could've been explored more in the story itself: the relative dropoff of Dust in the series.

Now, this isn't going to be me talking about how RW/BY pretty much abandoned Dust as a hinted part of the villain's plans between Volumes 2 and 3; there IS something to be said about it, but other people have already said it better than I could, and that's less of a nitpick topic anyway. So I'd rather talk about how niche using Dust in combat has become outside of a select few folks, and the shame it is given the versatility Dust could give to the show's combat.

Now, Dust in general wasn't too widely used to diversify combat beyond the basics to start out: Weiss was the prominent Dust user, and I recall Cinder and Roman making use of it a few times, but the overall RW/BY kept the usage of Dust pretty light in Volume 1. And to be fair, I think that was a good call - the show was in the process of finding its feet, and having to juggle what was effectively 2 systems of magic (Dust and Semblances - I know the show says they're not technically magic, but they're still what you'd call in storytelling "magic systems") at the time was a lot to ask of the show, so it's fine it was kept on the more basic side.

Once Volumes 2 and 3 rolled around, it seemed that RT had more confidence in their world building, and thus let Dust kinda be more naturally woven and used outside of their specific characters. In volume 2, the idea of the Dustweave (lacing outfits with dust to make it was fairly simply explained when Cinder used it during her infiltration (...and then the idea removed from relevance because Maidens, but I digress), and then Blake introduced the idea of blending one's Semblance together with Dust, allowing her to effectively create elemental clones when fighting Roman. And then Volume 3 had Reese have a fire Dust crystal get tossed to her and seamlessly used it on her weapon/board to cause fire with her attacks. Y'know, all pretty seamless for the world RW/BY was at the time.

And then after Volume 3, it feels like making creative use of Dust became much more limited again. Like, yeah, Ruby occasionally pulled out a different element Dust cartridge, and Leo and Raven had weapons with different Dust effects, but outside of Weiss (and Blake after Volume 7), most often if a character had Dust be a central part of their weapon's function, it was only that one element. Sure, Jaune's shield later got updated with a hard light expansion and a gravity center to repulse, but that was it. Ilia's whip? Only ever used lightning. Maria? Magnetism. And so on and so forth. And the idea of using Dust in conjunction with one's Semblance is pretty much gone.

It's just serious untapped potential, as I see it. Imagine things like Jaune swapping out gravity for fire so that anyone who strikes his shield gets a burst of fire for doing that. Or if Yang added added ice bullets to Ember Celica so that she could freeze her foes in place and set them up for even more damage? Or heck, imagine if Ruby could make use of Dust while using the scythe part of her weapon and unleash slashes of electricity or waves of fire!

So yeah, RW/BY had the potential to really do some good stuff with Dust in their combat, but after Volume 3, outside of a handful of characters, most uses of Dust in combat were just part of the one gimmick a character had. It's a real shame, since it could add some real spice to the fights.

[squidkidnerd]

Operation Atlantis Notes - "Sango" (Chapter 8)

Chapter 8! We're only 2 chapters away from the end of part 1 guys, can you believe it? The end of part 1 is in 2 chapters! Woohoo! I am so happy about this information. The end of part 1! Just two chapters away, oh wo—

So, this chapter was pretty fun to write. I finally feel like I'm starting to hit my stride with these, so hopefully that means I can get them out faster (or not, because Side Order busted into my house and gave me a million plot ideas because of course it did). As you probably know from reading the chapter, this one is another transition (like last chapter... and chapter 6... and chapter 4). Aka, there's a hefty chunk of filler and not much major plot stuff going on, but hey. You need build up for plot points to actually work. And besides, it's pretty fun.

Something I really enjoyed about this chapter compared to the similar ones I've written, though, is the foreshadowing. As you probably could've guessed, there's some big and juicy stuff coming up in Chapter 9. Look forward to that whenever it comes out (which may be a while because again, Side Order busted into my house with a million plot ideas).

Opening poem: I like this one. It's pretty simple, and sweet. The flower metaphor also works well with later in the chapter. Not much to say about this one, it's just about Eight's journey as a whole and not anything specific.

The Interview: Oh look, it's Lila again. Not much to say about this particular scene. As you could've guessed, I really like reusing characters when I can because it gives more depth and dimension to them instead of them only appearing like, in one specific set of circumstances. Giving them different opinions helps too! Anyways, onto something more substantial.

Eight, Three, and the Calamari Inkantation: Oh no, it's my greatest weakness—cute agent 24 scenes! So yeah, I love this scene. Eight and Three are so absurdly, astronomically different from each other, and yet here they are, connecting over a simple song. The symbolism of the Inkantation in general is something I really love, because art really does hold the power to connect people. You guys are all connected to me through this fic, after all! Three singing it isn't only just about giving Eight the rest of the lyrics, it's an expression of vulnerability. Three is self-conscious about her singing, but she sings it anyways. Why? Because she wants to connect with Eight. And at the end of the day, what is connection but not continued moments of mutual vulnerability?

Turfing!: Woot woot, it's Three beating people up time! Fun fact, I wrote part of this scene in my crowded high school cafeteria. You think I would learn from this mistake, but I'm typing this right now in my crowded high school cafeteria. Anyways, I thought incorporating Three's confusion about Splatoon 2 mechanics added a little spice to this scene. Also, I had to reference the orange-blue color palette just because. You know, because it's the classic colors of the first game, and because of Inner Agent 3... I'm sure the latter won't be relevant later :).

Investigating at the Library: These were a sweet couple of scenes to write. I love Iso Padre, especially when he shows his caring side. I imagine his hugs are very pleasant due to having multiple arms. Anyways, it was interesting to write Eight's reaction learning about Inkling-Octarian history. Because she doesn't remember it, she really doesn't empathize with it in the way she should. The way I see it, it's like learning about history that happened before you were born versus what you actually remember. Broad overviews of history are essential to get the context, but you can only understand the emotions through more specific accounts.

The Void of Eight's Past: Okay, this isn't a scene technically, but a paragraph, but I wanted to highlight (it's right at the end of the library scene, and begins with "Eight grabbed it."). And well, that's because my beta really liked it, and looking back on it, I do as well. There's a sort of horror to Eight's amnesia that I've seen crop up in several fics—this idea of not knowing who you are, of your memories, which are everything that makes you you, being stripped from you. I absolutely adore it, and I wanted to explore it here. My beta also told me that's how they feel being mixed sometimes, which I think is pretty cool! I'm not so I didn't necessarily write it with that in mind, but I'm glad they connected with that! Overall, I think it shows how we're more similar than different... that kinda got off topic.

Fates and Daffodils: One of my favorite things about the market scene was inserting my Octarian headcanons, particularly about the Fates. I really like the concept of the three of them and I can't wait to weave their symbolism into the rest of the fic. With Haisho, who represents growth, I felt it fitting to tie her to plants. Flowers in particular are connected to her because their blooms represent the beauty that can come from growth. With that in mind, of course I had to put in some flower symbolism. As mentioned in the fic, daffodils are one of the first flowers of spring—which for Eight, represents the beginning of her healing after the "winter" of losing her memories. What will happen next? Who knows.

Selfie at Central Park: This scene. THIS SCENE!!! I'm gonna be real with you guys, this is one of my favorite scenes of Eight and Three interacting that I've written so far. There's just something so tender and vulnerable about it, but at the same time, withdrawn. It strikes a great balance, I think, of both the vulnerability and awkwardness present in Three and Eight's relationship at this time. They're both starting to see each other in a different life—Three is starting to see Eight as more than a generic enemy of her people (and maybe even a friend shhh), and Eight is realizing that despite how she acts sometimes, Three is ultimately not as scary as Eight thinks them. The selfie, in fact, not only serves as a release of tension, but also a form of symbolism. This is one of the first times Three and Eight truly connect... what will mean in the future?

Mundane (Or Ominous) News?: Not much to say about this scene other than it will be probably be a fun one to reread once chapter 9 comes out. Yeah, it's foreshadowing. What could it mean? Who knows? (I know). I really love playing up the kinda unsettling imagery surrounding Eight's memory loss, so I'm glad I got to put that here.

And there you go, that's chapter 8! As you probably could've guessed, chapter 9 is a big one. It's the penultimate chapter of part 1, after all, so it makes sense. I'm really looking forward to writing it! However... Side Order busted into my house and gave me fic ideas, because of course we can't have nice things. Look, I absolutely love alternate realities that affect people not physically but psychologically (is a Persona fan) okay! Of course I came up with plot ideas. The main one I have in mind is Monochrome Malaise, which is sorta-rewrite that fixes some issues I had with Side Order. It's very fun and I can't wait to get into writing it! However, I also really want to get part 1 of this thing finally fully OUT and I can't do that working on an entirely separate project, so... Yeah. Who knows what'll do. Whatever happens, I'll let you guys know. No matter how long we go between updates, I'll never abandon this fic!

[antisociallilbrat]

Hello <3 I followed you a while ago and I was scrolling through you blog (sorry if that's creepy) I saw you mention how you think the Duffers lied about Steve supposing to die in season 1? I'm a little confused (but not judging) why you think that?

Love your blog! Sorry if this seemed rude!

Anon trust me when I say this isn't rude at all, I love talking about this shit and I thank you for giving me an excuse to do so.

Okay so first of all this probably stems from this post where I first talked about the chance the Duffer brothers lied about Steve in season one. That's because in my research for answering the anon in that post I found two conflicting articles. One that talked about Steve getting the redemption arc that was supposed to go to Lonnie Byers and how instead he was supposed to leave the Byers house and die at the hands of Demogorgon but then I also found this article that conflicts with that one. It basically says that Steve was originally supposed to be the human villain and have an arc more reminiscent of Billy's.

So here's what I believe happened. All speculation of course, no way to know for sure on any of this. I believe that Steve was supposed to be the human villain at least up until season three where he would- presumably- die like Billy had. I don't think his villain arc would've been exactly like Billy's, but he probably would've been the one to get flayed and his would've had a lot to do with Jancy.

In season one we can see where they were setting him up for that villian arc, his fight with Jonathan, his slut shaming of Nancy, the general anger he had for the two. Alongside his typical 'jock persona'; like Jason Craver in season four. Steve really wasn't doing anything 'decent' until the very end of season one, as if his character had a paradigm shift.

Edit: More under the cut, holy shit it's been a while since I did this

I do believe the Duffers when they say that they fell in love with Joe Kerry, I just think that they decided to make him another 'good guy' instead of the series 'bad guy', I don't think they ever had any intention just 'killing him off' though.

There are a couple instances in season one that support this. After his fight with Jonathan we see him with Tommy and his girlfriend in front of a convenience store. This is the first time we see him snap back at his two 'friends' in the defense of Nancy. Then after this we see him go back to the movie theater and volunteer to wipe the graffiti off. This is the start of the shift in character from bad guy to good guy for him.

Then on top of all of this we see him go to the Byer's house to apologize. Driving home his character shift. After he leaves the house, after trying to apologize, this is when the Demogorgon is supposed to get him. And if it did play out this way,,,it would make the whole scene messy- and not in a bloody way.

Like that would mean that the Demogorgon appeared outside, killed Steve, fucked off long enough for Lonnie to get there, and then appeared back inside the Byer's home? It's a little much don't you think.

And if they were going to kill him, why show his character shift from bad to good? If he was just going to be another body for the count, why show the audience those two scenes I mentioned previously? Up until then some of the audience would've been rooting for his death. And you could say having Steve go apologize would've given him a reason for being there in the first place but he could've easily just shown up at Jonathan's house for revenge before getting picked off.

So why would the Duffers lie? That question is easy explained, press. The Duffers needed all the press they could get after season one. Netflix took a chance on Stranger Things and season two was not happening unless season one did well. So I think the Duffers fibbed, added a little spice to the press if you will. Obviously they weren't going to mention about Steve supposing to be the bad guy since they were still going to keep that arc and just write it into a different character, that's part of the reason we got Billy, so saying that Steve was supposed to die was just an easy route.

I fuckin rambled but Anon I hope this explains why I think the way i do and thank you for the question! I love fandom discussion questions.

[jungle-angel]

Halloween Prompts: Part Two

I know it's still a little early for this and I swore I was gonna wait till October, but I desperately need to keep writing. Trying to take up my long WIP has been excruciating and I just need to keep the brain active. Don't worry though, there will be more to come in October (lol). Taking requests for Top Gun Maverick (any character), Outer Range, Bad Times At The El Royale, Catch 22 (Hulu), Salem's Lot and Press Play. (Some might be from a previous list so I apologize in advance)

Putting together Halloween costumes

Planning the haunted hayride and the night of the event

Watching an old school horror movie with their s.o

"Your little varmits just ate half a bag of candy and are running around the house like a bunch of half crazed lunatics!"

Turning the community building at the church into a haunted house for a fundraiser

Making homemade Halloween decorations

Halloween baking

"This party is either gonna be amazing or it's gonna be a total shithouse mess"

Trick or treating with the kiddos

Carrying the kids to bed after a long night of trick or treating

Snuggling under a blanket to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas

Halloween party for the kids at school

The Haunted Mansion

Telling the kids scary stories before bed

Carving pumpkins with the kids

Bobbing for apples at the Halloween party and accidentally coming back up with their s.o's bra/underwear in their teeth (SMUT)

Getting revenge on the local bullies by scaring them at the haunted hayride

Doing each other's makeup for their costume

Baby's first Halloween

Watching "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" with the babies

Playing in the pumpkin patch on Halloween night

Selling all sorts of Halloween goodies in the general store that they and their s.o own

Halloween rodeo

"That had better be a fake spider damnit!"

The dog getting in on the Halloween antics

Finding a black cat in the graveyard and adopting it as a pet

Sneaking the leftover candy from the kids' buckets and bowls

"You think I can make this fruit punch look like blood? I'm gonna add eyeballs in it later to amp up the gross factor"

Singing a Halloween lullaby to their newborn

Harry Potter movie night/AU

Dancing in the moonlight

Masquerade ball

Picking out the costumes in the store

Making sugar skull treats

Taking a trip to New Orleans for Halloween

The kids putting on a play at the Halloween party for a spooky story they heard in school

Bonfires on Halloween night

Friendly ghosts

"I could've swore I added that into my grimoire"

Meeting a spirit friend in the cemetery

Screwing around with the Halloween decorations at Home Depot

Haunted apothecary shop

Lanterns in the forest

Halloween marionette show

Couples costumes

"You made a Halloween scented soap?"

Spiced coffee

Shadow puppet theater

Halloween murder mystery party

"Would you like to go for a roll in the hay?"

[jayy-day-library]

REVIEW: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding... six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Review

I am not the smartest person when it comes to biological science, so a lot of whatever the hell hey were talking about really went over my head while reading this book. Aside from that, this story really did capture my heart despite it being from the infamous Book Tok. Though, this book wasn't exactly as it was marketed to be from readers. When many talked about spice, it sounded like this entire story was meant to be erotica. The reality is that there was really only one sex chapter, which given the traits of our beloved heroin, Olive, it makes sense.

The prologue drew me in immediately. I'm a sucker for a good laugh especially if it's relatable. I've learned my lesson from wearing expired contacts myself! Immediately after reading the prologue, I knew we had our hero. Then suddenly two years and eleven months later we find Olive kissing some guy who is none other than our hero himself, Adam Carlson.

One thing that irks me about the beginning of the book is the first chapter where it is described that Olive had kissed Adam without his consent. At the beginning of the story, the two of them are the perfect strangers who stand at very different levels in their careers - Adam is a professor, Olive is a student which isn't exactly the power dynamic I usually go for in contemporary romance novels. While I love a good plot in STEM, specifically women in STEM, I find that the relationship could've been represented better with a more preferable age gap that does not make it seem too inappropriate. However, they do end up making it work as they start becoming more comfortable with each other, so I guess that works.

"I'm starting to wonder if this is what being in love us. Being okay with ripping yourself into shreds, so the other person can stay whole."

Both Adam and Olive have admirable goals in their careers; Olive's pancreatic cancer project and Adam's fight for his research fund while under suspicion that he may be moving to another university. This story is very much character driven with not much character development. But, if you're looking for that grumpy x sunshine fake dating trope, well then this book is perfect for you. I noticed that this story did not focus much on the flaws of the characters which added to the lack of character development, aside from them being more comfortable with each other as the story progressed. The more we got introduced to new characters, the more I started to realize that each character lacked diversity. It seemed that they each had either the same or a similar personality. Which while entertaining for certain character interactions, it all seemed repetitive in the end.

"Olive had felt that he was on her side. Over and over, and in ways that could never have been anticipated, he had made her feel unjudged. Less alone."

Conclusion

All in all, I feel that while the relationship was cute and had great development, the story could've used more personal character development for the individual characters. One thing that I did enjoy that I tend to joke about quite a bit is the fact that even though they had no "one bed trope," they ended up making their own anyways and I thought that was funny. The best takeaway from this book is that it surrounds the difficulties of women in STEM and the fact that Adam became her biggest protector in the end made my heart flip. Nothing is sexier than a man who will do anything for his woman even if it means pinning a man against the wall and threatening to kill him. Hopefully you find this book enjoyable as much a I did despite it's many flaws and it's redeeming qualities that balanced it out.

"If you say another word about the woman I love, if you look at her, if you even think about her - I'm going to fucking kill you."

[the-vorgothian-writer]

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓐 𝓒𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓼 𝓢𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 | 𝓐 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀

<Caution - this review contains spoilers>

Firstly, to everyone who suggested I read this series, thank you.

I was sceptical about it at first since I'm not really one to really like fae-stories. Up until I finished this series, my idea of fae was basically Tinkerbell and similar things. This, of course made me think that ACOTAR wasn't a series I would enjoy.

I was wrong.

The world is so vibrant and beautifully described, with believable characters I feel I can talk to if they were real. The plot (especially ACOMAF and ACOWAR) had me left in awe, the twists were mind-blowing, and I really didn't see them coming.

For ACOTAR - I started it thinking in the later chapters it was a Beauty and The Beast retelling, with Tamlin's beast form and so on. But the last 3rd of the book had me so hooked and invested I couldn't put it down. I finished around 2 am on a Saturday night and immediately started ACOMAF afterwards. I loved the way Tamlin and Lucien was written, Feyre started out to me as a usual-female lead, but then grew into an unstoppable force that brought hope back to Prythian. When reading the rest of the series, you can see how many of the events of ACOTAR was a catalyst for Feyre to discover her true self, and even set into her role as High Lady.

ACOMAF was amazing. The shift that happened from backing Tamlin and loving him to seeing the truth behind him and seeing the truth behind Rhysand. Sarah J Maas captured the true meaning of "rose coloured glasses" where Tamlin, in book one, was the beautiful caring man and turned into a horrible, possessive beast once everything was over. I know a few relationships that were like that, and that added to the personal realism I felt. Chapters 55 and 54 were beautifully written, I don't often cry but Rhysand baring it all to her, really touched some nerve. The found family theme came through strong here. The ending of the book, of course had me cussing at Tamlin for a good hour.

ACOWAR was unlike the first two books. We learned more about Prythians politics and got to see more of the other courts and their High Lords. I loved the political aspect, it for me added a sense of reality to the story, where war isn't simply about fighting and armies, but also about building alliances with unlikely friends. Elain's pain and sorrow were so beautifully written, I truly felt sorry for her. Then with chapter 76 and 77... The most heart-breaking thing I've ever read. Tamlin did redeem himself a little in the novel, however he still gave off "I'll get her back" vibes - which we know won't happen. I loved the battle strategies and the vivid descriptions of the battle scenes; however, they were nothing as vivid as for example in Game OF Thrones, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless.

I didn't really enjoy ACOFAS - it felt like a filler. I finished it in a day, and I felt like it didn't add much to the story. There were some interesting parts, and fun bits but overall, I thought it could've been absorbed into ACOSF, with ACOSF being split at part 2.

ACOSF, I enjoyed reading from Nesta and Cassian's point of view. Cassian's role within the Night Court is explored more as well as his relationship with Rhys. Nesta and Cassian’s relationship is also a rough one at first, but when they finally give into their feelings, it was beautiful. Her character development was also done well, I went from hating her to understanding and eventually liking her. Elain also growing into her own role and finding her own bold nature was refreshing. However, in this book, I didn't really like the "spice" - I don't read books for the spice of it - but the last few spicey scenes had me feeling quite queasy. To each their own, but definitely not for me. I also felt, at the end of the book with Cassian being forced to do the old crone's bidding, that there should've been more internal conflict, I would've liked to see more from his perspective.

All and all Sarah J Maas solidifies her stance as Queen of Fantasy amongst the others, she's completely in control of her narrative and knows where she wants her characters to go.

ACOTAR - 4 stars

ACOMAF - 5 stars

ACOWAR - 5 stars

ACOFAS - 3 stars

ACOSF - 4 stars

[yandere-daydreams]

Thinkin about darling unknowingly helping out a bad person, sparking their yandere tendencies

like maybe a darling finding a wounded barbarian, or even just a murderer, and helping them out, only to find that not long later either said barbarian demands their village to hand them over as some sort of payment for not destroying it (but destroys it anyway) or waking up in the basement of the murderer dude. both of them probably would believe that darling is too naive to be living without their added help

tw - unhealthy relationships, mentions of injury/blood, noncon touching, abduction, slight intimidation.

I'll raise you one - a darling who know the stranger they've taken in probably isn't a great person, but decides to help them regardless, practically sealing their own fate in the progress. I mean, there's only so much you can do to ignore the signs, the golden insignias littered across their torn clothes, the ragged scars that cover their bruised skin, the many, many, many weapons your strip them of after you drag their broken, mangled body through the forest, back to your cottage, onto the hay-stuffed sac of cloth you call a mattress. they talk in their sleep, of titles and ranks, of prizes and war trophies, but your healer, not an executioner, and you know it's not your place to declare yourself the object judge of moral character, to take someone else's life while they're on the verge of death. You want to be kind. You want to help them, and you don't want to let rumors and gossips cloud your empathy.

It's not like they're difficult to care for, either. They're abrasive, sure, untrusting of your intentions and your methods, prone to spouting abuse at the birds who perch on your windowsills to sing and the woodland creatures who cry and scratch at your door whenever they're denied access, but they aren't rude, or violent, and while they may not think highly of your herbs, your mantras, your concoctions, they don't stop you from attending to their wounds, rubbing aromatic salves into their gaping cuts, offering them teas and broths laced with spices meant to promote rest and revitalization, often at the expense of taste. They don't ask about their weapons, or lose their temper when you admit that you'd give them to the local blacksmith to be reshaped into horseshoes and cookery, and when they're able to, they attempt to put their (limited) domestic talents to use, chopping firewood, gathering water, offering to hunt the rabbits and hares that do their damnedest to burrow underneath your garden, despite all your many refusals. They talk about their past in vague allusions, half-remembered stories, never using names, never directly confirming or denying your worst fears. They're aware of what they are, know to skirt around their origins, but not ashamed enough to lie.

And, when their legion inevitably comes for them, when women with hooked broadswords and men with barbed arrows come to your cottage in the dead of night, clutching scraps of fabric and calling for their comrade, their brave warrior, their leader, they have the decency to meet your eyes as they take you by the wrist, to let you kick and scream as they throw you over their shoulder, as they rejoin their pack of thieves and barbarians and murderers. They're gentle as they hush you, as they hold you in their arms while basking in the cheers and mirth of those who share their nature, but there's nothing warm about their crooked smile, nothing welcoming about the dark glint in their eyes, the pointed teeth allowed to brush over your bare skin, and there's nothing kind about the way they squeeze you to their chest, about the ugly, ugly promises they whisper to you, underneath the commotion, meant for you and you alone.

There's nothing kind about them, and you were a fool for ever thinking there could've been.

[quicksandblock]

speaking of c!techno and losses, cus I thought about it a bit in the shower, you know what I would've liked for techno to lean into? the loss of his allyship and friendship with c!tommy.

even though the relationship between them was completely dysfunctional and doomed to fail due to conflicting goals, they still CLEARLY cared for each other while working together. and c!techno was clearly very hurt and felt betrayed when c!tommy switched sides. that could've been a major loss for him, or prompt him to question his ideals and whether it was worth the people he hurt and lost.

that's really why c!technos response to c!tommys death later was disappointing. sure, you could argue that 1. c!techno isn't the type to grieve publicly and maybe he grieved privately "off-camera" 2. cc!techno obviously prefers a lighthearted tone and isn't gonna lean into angst.

but his lack of response obviously gives the audience the impression that he doesn't care. and im not sure if that was the intent, but if it is, that's disappointing.

there could've been subtle ways to show grief and regret (he's good at the subtle stuff anyway). he couldve subtly implied that he was covering up grief with humor. techno is not a bad actor or writer, he excels at subtle storytelling. but that whole thing really made me just. dislike and distrust his character, lol

-cube-cumb3r (thank u for reblogging my crit post earlier btw)

it was a good post lol, like I said you put it all very well

and yes!! all of this!!! like it would have been weird if he’d grieved too obviously, but we wanted something, and we didn’t get it, and now Techno’s character is starting to feel kind of flat. he’s losing a lot of depth he had at the start. like it’s still an interesting character, but more and more we’re having to read that in from possibly-unintentional clues rather than being able to analyze obviously deliberate character choices.

unfortunately I think the root of the problem is that Techno isn’t having as much fun on the dsmp anymore. he came in to play a cartoon villain and promote his channel, and suddenly everyone’s storylines are fucking dark and everyone has 15 different kinds of ptsd and his funny anarchist pig doesn’t really have a place there anymore. not to say his character hasn’t always had its serious moments - but like the dream smp itself, they used to be the spice that added significance to a mostly lighthearted story, not the norm. nowadays it feels like you have to be able to cry on command to even participate.

there’s also the fact that he doesn’t really like collaborative storytelling. he’s said this on stream before - I can’t remember exactly when, but it was when half the fandom decided that Ranboo was his son (?? why????) and he had to come in and clear that up. he doesn’t like other people being able to decide things about his character, and he doesn’t really like “yes and”-ing as far as I can tell. he prefers to have tighter control over his own story. which is valid - but creates some problems in a story built entirely out of collaborative roleplay.

unfortunately both of these lead him to clash with Tommy’s storytelling style pretty severely - Tommy loves the dark stuff, and he’s also more than willing to play off of people and let improv and chance have a strong influence on his character’s path. and Tommy does a lot of highly emotional improv acting, which Technoblade just Doesn’t (unless the emotion is anger).

Ranboo and Tubbo have been talking about the older “semi-lore” style of the smp recently, and I think that a return to that style would allow Techno to come back to participate more in the story. but overall I think the conflict here is going to remain until the current arcs, especially the Tommy and Dream thing, have been wrapped up. which is unfortunate because Techno is kind of an integral part of some of those arcs.

coming back to specifically his response to Tommy’s death... I kind of feel like cc!Techno is trying to retroactively make that relationship less important to his character in an attempt to separate himself from the grimdark stuff. but I honestly can’t tell. it could just be a manifestation of his tsundere-ness. I hope it is, because while I get not being interested in a darker story, it would be kind of disappointing if he just noped out of any story that didn’t fall in his comfort zone. I just wish he would fucking stream so we could have anything at all to go off of lmao

[aliaoftheknives]

I went in without much knowledge of the plot details of Dune the first book (the only thing I knew about was the giant sand worms and Paul becoming a leader I think?) so the movie wasn't exactly confusing but the various phrases/names that they used were. The political stuff was kind of abstract bc I could understand the Harkonnens deciding to double cross the family in order to continue getting the spice, but I had to look into why the emperor was afraid of House Atreides in the first place that he'd deliberately set them up for slaughter. I'd say the movie did ok when it comes to setting up the environments of the story but I def feel like more could've been added in terms of how the Atreides are still other colonizers sent to drain Arrakis off of spice. And overall the movie felt more like a story setup than a proper "half" of the plot of the book, since I felt like we didn't even get more exposition on how the characters really felt about some stuff. I hope we at least get some more of that in part 2.

thanks for the feedback! and yeah, i also have a bone to pick with how house atreides are portrayed in the movie. quoting haris durrani's excellent article for the washington post here: "...Kynes' depiction reflects the film's broader worldview. It paints the Fremen as generic people of color, who are also generically spiritual. It sprinkles Black and Brown faces throughout the rest of the cast, with sparse attention to cultural or religious detail. The film does accentuate the novel's critique of Paul as a white savior, opening with the question, posed by a Fremen: "Who will our next oppressors be?" But the film fails to connect the abstract critique of messianism to anything resembling the novel's deep cultural roots. It wants its audience to love the Atreides family and the ecologist- those banquet liberals- while keeping the Muslimness of Dune to a dull whine."