#cs imagine a random annoying person saying

[soov]

i wish i was born brainless so i wouldn’t have thought ab frat!jay using a necklace with ur initial

[terraliensvent]

I still can't believe how ridiculous and wild the trading scene is in this species tbh. You'd think the mods refusing to make myos even slightly easier to obtain would encourage people to be a little less greedy but nope.

Also it's hilarious how fast mods changed their minds on giving out limited traits/myos, and how greedy people are for them as well. It feels like mods have way too much bargaining power in the server. Which is a huge problem when you consider the fact that most of the mods get promoted because they're friends with other mods.

To me it feels less like a species and more like a cover up to net the mods as much money/high value characters as possible with little to no actual effort. You know what most species do with special mod traits/myos? They limit the amount mods can obtain so they're not inclined to use them as currency because that's extremely unfair to everyone else participating in the species.

Imagine if it was some random person offering the same thing on your $500 character, nobody would even consider something so ridiculous because obviously a random myo has no value. There is quite literally no value in getting a limited trait or myo when you have to do most (if not all) of the actual work.

The only thing the mod has to do is decide to give you a supposedly limited item. Once it's in your hands (assuming anyone actually uses these things) it's your job to go through the process of designing the myo, getting said design approved, and whatever other bs the mods put you through before the design is official (because we all know how tedious and annoying mods are about approvals).

That's not even mentioning their insistence on only making good designs for their $100+ batches. It seems like every time the artist isn't making profit off the design they give out least appealing design possible. Or the fact that they refuse to acknowledge how unfair raffles are in general when they only give out 50-100 myos a sale knowing they'll get well over 1000 entries.

Sorry for the long rant I'm just baffled by how easily everyone in the server seems to accept these things. The economy is absolutely destroyed and I feel like the lack of public suggestions and the general attitude towards any sort of criticism means that people will continue to be tricked into thinking this behavior is ok. I feel like someone should have the braincells to say "hey this isn't right!"

Honestly I could go on and on about the issues with terras in general as well as the mods but for the sake of everyone reading I'll cut this short.

I don't have any hope for this species seeing as the mods are just like every other greedy cs owner (except they pretend to be nice and welcoming, and seemingly are at first glance). I just pray the people falling victim to the fomo eventually realize they're being scammed.

this post is very well said anon, i agree with the points you made and you covered a lot of bases

pretty accurately describes the state of terras

[terreisa]

Love Down the Line: Chapter 2

The last thing Indie musician Emma Swan needs is a gigantic wrench thrown in the workings of her biggest tour to date weeks before its launch.  When her backing guitarist that caused the problem says she has the perfect solution Emma is skeptical but left with little choice but to accept.  Unfortunately she isn't really prepared for said solution to be former Rock Star and leading man of Emma's teenage fantasies, Killian Jones.  With no other options and a month of performing across the country ahead of her Emma just hopes she doesn't come to regret letting Killian onto her stage and into her life. 

Ch 1, AO3

~*CS*~

Portland, Maine- April 10th

Emma hadn’t intended to be late to rehearsal.  In fact, she wanted to be early to get a step up on Jones.  She figured just because she was doing Ruby a favor didn’t mean she couldn’t exert a little pressure on the guy at the same time.  By the end of a tour she was usually ready to kick everyone off the bus and finish the damn shows herself and she was good friends with Ruby and the others in the backing band.  Jones had to more than prove himself to her during the rehearsal turned audition.  He had to blow it out of the water.

Of course, that had been before she was the one showing up almost forty minutes late.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” she huffed under her breath as she ran across the parking lot, the guitar strapped across her back knocking her in the ass with every step.

“You’re late Miss Swan.”

Emma grimaced at the sound of her manager, Regina Mills’, voice.  The woman was scary on a normal day with her custom designer suits, red soled stilettos, and three hundred dollar haircuts that made sure not a single dark hair was out of place, or grey.  She was holding open the door for her with a look of extreme annoyance or impatience or disappointment.  It could have been all three but Emma blew past her into the building and down the familiar hallways towards the space she and the others had been rehearsing in for years.

“I know, I know.  Sorry-” she shrugged in apology and nearly dropped the three notebooks and handful of loose papers in her arms.  Hugging them tighter into her chest she kept moving, “The bug wouldn’t start and I had to call Mary Margaret to borrow her car and then there was an accident on the highway.”

“And why couldn’t you have carpooled with Ruby?” Regina asked cooly as she followed, clearly unmoved by her tales of woe.

Emma stopped dead in the middle of the hallway and spun to face Regina, “Ruby can’t be here.  She’s not supposed to drive with the pills she was given.”

“She is and she didn’t,” Regina said with a roll of her eyes, pushing at Emma’s elbow to get her moving again. “Some other woman who has the manners of a barn animal is here with her.  If you keep inviting people to rehearsals I’m going to start charging for the privilege, maybe even turn it into a VIP package.”

“It must be Dorothy,” Emma smiled, her first real one since Ruby’s practically world ending phone call. “Good for her.  And the only other person who should be here is that Jones guy Ruby swears is worthy of replacing her.  She said he’s a session guitarist, do you not know him either?”

She’d opened the door that led to the rehearsal space, looking over her shoulder as she asked.  Regina raised an impeccably plucked brow and settled her gaze behind her.  Turning towards the room she immediately saw who the stranger was and promptly dropped everything in her arms in shock.

“Careful there, Swan, if you’re anything like every other songwriter I know those things are worth more than their weight in gold.”

Emma could do nothing more than stare as Killian Jones set his guitar aside and crossed the room to pick up the papers and notebooks at her feet.  He gathered them all and tried to straighten them before handing them up to her, a crooked grin on his face.  It faltered a little as she continued to stare at him before he chuckled and scratched behind his ear.

Killian Jones was definitely not the random guy off the street Emma had been imagining, he wasn’t even a vaguely familiar face she’d seen in the halls of their rehearsal space.  He had been the lead guitarist and second vocalist for one of the biggest rock bands in the world almost fifteen years earlier.  His band, Realm of Jewels' second album had gone multi platinum, they’d played arenas and headlined festivals across the globe.  Rumor had it that their third album was supposed to be even bigger.  Then there had been a terrible accident and half the band was gone in an instant.  Killian Jones had survived but emerged from the wreck with one hell of a dragon, in the form of alcohol and pills, on his back.

As far as she’d known he was just another rock star that had gotten lost in the world because of his addictions.  Apparently the story hadn’t ended there.  No, it had seemingly kept going with him ending up in her goddamn rehearsal space looking bashful and hot as fuck.

“You’re Killian Jones.”

He blushed and it almost killed her, “Last time I checked.”

“Realm of Jewels,” she challenged, wondering if he’d shy away from his past.

“Once upon a time,” he shot back, a glint of humor in his eyes as his blush faded.

She hummed, “Rolling Stone called you a ‘not so hidden gem in the rock world, poised to be among the pantheon of rock gods’ if I’m remembering correctly.”

“Good memory,” he grinned, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “And that same illustrious publication said you were on the road to being the Stevie Nicks of your generation.  A bit belittling but not far off the mark.”

“Belittling?” She asked sharply, her hackles rising.

He held up his hands in defense, “Not in the way you think, Swan.  If I had written the article I would have perhaps said that you were a talent beyond compare.”

“Oh,” she said, deflating a bit but still on edge due to him being there at all, “um, okay.”

She glanced around the room, trying to find a way out of the suddenly awkward silence that had settled between them.  Tink Greene and Will Scarlet, the other members of her backing band, were huddled by the drumset, watching them with barely hidden awe, clearly star struck at being in the same room with the Killian Jones.  Ruby was sitting on the couch, whispering to the woman sitting next to her, who could only be Dorothy.  Emma caught Ruby’s eye and not so subtly jerked her head back towards the hallway she’d just come from.

“Emma-” Regina snarled as she started backing out of the room.

“I’d like a minute with my guitarist if you don’t mind,” Emma said through gritted teeth, giving Jones an insincere smile that had his own widening in glee.

“Oh, do let them go, Your Majesty,” Jones said with a laugh. “I believe we still need to discuss certain terms and conditions of this little arrangement.”

Emma opened her mouth to argue that nothing was decided when Ruby pushed her fully into the hallway with surprising strength in her uninjured arm.

“Are you fucking kidding me Ruby?” She hissed as soon as the doors closed behind them. “Killian Jones?!”

“So you obviously know there’s no need for him to audition,” Ruby said with a sly smile. “I mean you have seen him in concert four, no fi-”

She covered Ruby’s mouth with her hand, shushing her as she pushed her further down the hallway.  They only made it three steps before Ruby licked her palm, cackling with glee when she yanked her hand back, disgusted.

“It’s not gonna happen.”

“Come on.  He can play, he’s available and he knows the songs.  This is the best you’re going to get and you know it,” Ruby stated proudly, her grin smug.

“The best,” Emma muttered, shaking her head and trying to keep hold of her temper. “The best?  Jesus Christ, Ruby, the second he steps out on stage it’s not my show anymore, it’s his.  I have worked too fucking long and hard for that asshole to come in and take it all from me in some bid to reclaim his glory.”

“Oh, oh no, Emma, that’s totally not at all what this is,” Ruby whispered, her face pale and looking stricken. “He owed me, big time, and I obviously didn’t think about any of that when I called it in.  Look, don’t repeat this to anyone.  Like, anyone.  But Killian hasn’t played in public since he got out of rehab.  That he even agreed to do this is I think big enough for him.  He’s not looking to steal the spotlight.”

“Then why is he here?” Emma asked, slightly mollified but still seething.

“He misses playing for an audience but I think he has a kind of block or something about going for it on his own,” Ruby said softly.  She gave a half-hearted shrug, “I’m just trying to help out two friends in one go.”

The last of her anger drained away at the sincerity in Ruby’s voice.  It wasn’t often that Ruby was the serious one in their friendship but when she was Emma always paid attention.  If she hadn’t she’d have still been waiting tables at Granny’s Diner and only playing her guitar at barbeques and bonfires for their small group of friends at home.  She also wouldn’t have been able to call Storybrooke home for that matter.

No longer angry but still infinitely annoyed she tipped her head back and let out a sigh, “Fine I’ll give him a chance on two conditions.”

“Excellent!” Ruby crowed.  Emma dropped her gaze back down and raised a brow at her, “Whatever the conditions he’ll totally do it.  He wants this, just doesn’t know how badly he does until you start making him jump through hoops to prove it to you.”

“Oh, only one of the conditions is for him,” Emma said with a smirk.

Ruby’s eyes widened, “What?  Why do I have to prove myself?”

“You don’t.  I just want to know how you can call Killian Jones, one of the most famous guitarists-”

“Who you had a poster of on your wall,” Ruby broke in with wiggling eyebrows and a giddy grin, “and a laminated photo in your-”

“Who had a very public and very destructive drug and alcohol problem, your friend,” Emma continued pointedly.

Ruby’s grin faded, “He was in the same rehab facility as my mom.  Well, one of them.  On one of her bad days I went for a walk around the gardens to cool my head a little and recognized him.  Had a bit of a fangirl moment, if I’m being honest.  Not exactly my finest moment since he was there to get his life back together and I go gushing about how great I thought he was before it all went to shit.  I could tell he was humoring me until I started talking about gigs and asking him how to improve my playing, then his eyes kinda lit up and he started offering me advice and some tricks for the road.  So whenever I went to visit my mom I would also stop by to talk to him about music.

“After my mom decided she was done being sober, again, I still went by to see him.  He needed a friend and I guess I needed to believe that someone could actually follow through with getting clean.  When he got out we stayed in touch.  Just a ‘hi, how’re you doing’ text every so often.  Until, of course, the arm thing happened.”

“And you never mentioned it because…?”

“I wanted to but it seemed-” Ruby shrugged, “like an invasion of privacy, somehow?”

Emma nodded, getting what Ruby meant but still a little hurt that she’d kept it from her.  She’d only admit it on threat of death having met him but Jones had been her number one celebrity crush since she’d discovered Realm of Jewels in her senior year of high school.  Ruby was a witness to it then and clearly still remembered that embarrassing fact.  Then it occurred to her that there were dark parts of her life that she wouldn’t want shared with a fan no matter how close of a friend Ruby was with them.  She nodded again, fully accepting the truth of what Ruby had told her.

“I’m not going to go easy on him,” she warned, spinning on her heel and walking back to the rehearsal room.

Ruby laughed, “I would have been suspicious if you did.  So what are you going to make him do?”

“You’ll see,” she said cryptically with a grin before opening the door.

“Finally,” Regina muttered as they walked back in.  She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at Emma, “You may be a favorite of the owners here but we’re still paying for every minute this room has people in it.  So start playing or find somewhere else to work out your little grievances.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Emma apologized again, knowing that if there was something that pissed Regina off more than wasted time it was wasted money.

She felt Killian’s eyes on her as she greeted Tink and Will before moving to the piano.  It was like a phantom pressure between her shoulder blades that she was trying her best to ignore.  If he was trying to unsettle her she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction and if he was trying to figure her out she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.  When she finally had all her things set up how she wanted and ignoring him was no longer an option she turned to face him, valiantly trying to hide that she was still slightly shocked and unnerved that he was there.

“Ruby said that you’re a session guitarist now,” she began without preamble, hoping to gain whatever upper hand she could.

“I may not be hurting for cash, love, but a man does like to keep busy,” his voice dipped low at the end of his statement.  Paired with a raised brow and feral grin she had to hold back a snort of amusement at his innuendo.

“Not your love,” she shot back dismissively, “She also said that you’ve played on my albums?”

His grin faltered, “Aye.”

“And would you say you enjoyed the songs you recorded or were they just a forgettable few in a long set of recordings to… keep you busy?”

There was the sound of a violent snort and then a deep spluttering a cough that belonged to Will from behind her.  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ruby rolling her eyes at her and Regina throwing up her hands in exasperation.  She kept her face impassive and gaze on Killian, pleased to see him fidget and scratch behind his ear in what had to be nervousness.

“Erm, well when I first recorded one of your songs I’ll admit I had no clue who you were and no interest in discovering more,” Killian admitted but instead of dropping his eyes he held her gaze. “Then I had the fortune of recording another one and found myself intrigued.  I’ve listened to everything you’ve released up ‘til now and I’ve enjoyed all of it, not just what I was hired to play.”

“Okay then,” she said as cooly as she could, despite the giddiness and disbelief running through her knowing that he liked her music. “Now I hope you don’t mind but I’d like to hear you play something.”

“Play something?” He repeated, flabbergasted.

“Just a few different songs,” she said innocently, “so I know you’ll be a good fit.”

His mouth opened and closed several times before he shot an incredulous look at Ruby.  Emma could barely hold in her laughter as Ruby shrugged and said nothing.

“Problem, Jones?”

He turned back to her, looking incredulous, “Let me get this straight, Swan, you can quote an article from Rolling Stone that was released well over a decade ago about my playing and you want me to audition?”

“Only if you want the gig,” she said with a shrug.

She could see the muscle in Killian’s jaw jumping, though she wasn’t sure if it was from annoyance or contemplation.  Either way it gave her a little inspiration.  While he continued to stew she pulled out her phone and did a quick internet search for what she needed.

“Fine, love,” he said, drawing her attention back to him.  He picked up his guitar and slid the strap over his head. “What would you like to hear?”

“Can you read music?” She asked with honest curiosity.

“I can,” he said warily.

“Good-” she turned to Ruby, “I need your Ipad.”

Ruby gave her a calculating look before slowly extracting the tablet out of her purse and handing it over.  Emma gave her what she hoped was a look of innocence before pulling up what she needed and handing it over to Killian. 

“Layla?  A classic-” he smirked and handed her back the Ipad, “and one I already know by heart.”

With that he started playing, amazingly, and Emma almost didn’t have the heart to stop him.  Almost.

“Whoa there, Jones,” she said loudly, waving her hands for him to stop.  He did with a discordant note and stared at her in confusion.  She handed back the Ipad, “I wanted you to play this.”

He looked at it and then back at her, his brow furrowing even more, “But I was.”

“No, you didn’t read the music-” she wiggled the Ipad at him, “You were playing the lead.  I want to hear you play the rhythm.”

“Ah,” he breathed, a look of bemusement and something that was too much like awe replacing his confusion, “I see.”

From there he played every unflashy guitar part she could throw at him.  He didn’t complain and his annoyance didn’t make a reappearance.  The others listened happily and even offered suggestions, though Regina had left with a disgusted huff after the fourth song.  They passed the tablet back and forth several times before she decided to end the teasing with one of her favorites.

Killian snorted when he saw her choice, “You do know that two great guitarists play on this one right?  Even playing rhythm on this one is an honor.  Although, the same should have been said for Layla, but I have enjoyed this little challenge.”

“Good to know,” she said, smiling. “I don’t want you to play rhythm on this one though.  If you don’t mind.”

“It would be my honor,” he hummed, handing her back the Ipad.

The chatter in the room fell silent as the familiar chords of While My Guitar Gently Weeps swept through the room.  Emma closed her eyes and let the music wash over her.  There was only one constant in her life and it was music, first listening, then playing, and finally creating.  It had never sent her back, never sent her to prison, and never forced her to send her child away.  As Killian played the last notes she felt the familiar pang of melancholy the song invoked in her but made sure the smile she gave him when she opened her eyes was genuine.

“Thanks.”

“Shouldn’t I be thanking you for giving me the opportunity?  I’ve never had to audition before-”

“Lucky git,” Will grumbled as he ambled by them, heading toward the snack table on one side of the room.

“Will Scarlet, drums, constant pain in the ass but our pain in the ass,” Emma commented lightly, batting away the Red Vine Will had tossed at her.  She hitched her thumb over her shoulder to where she’d last noticed Tink, “That’s Tink Greene, bassist, she’s small but she’ll knock you out if you mess with the current rotation of romance novels she’ll be bringing on the bus.”

Killian raised a brow at her, “I can’t quite tell by your tone but am I to believe I got the gig?”

“You had the gig as soon as she saw your pretty face and hot ass,” Ruby called out from her spot on the couch, causing Emma’s cheeks to heat up and Killian’s lip to curl.

“Yeah, well-” she cleared her throat, “We’ve, uh, already used up our reserved time for today and Regina won’t be happy if we stay late, even if we actually rehearse.  We’ve got a couple more weeks of rehearsals on Mondays and Fridays and then it’ll be almost every day until the tour starts.  If you need somewhere to stay just let Regina know and she’ll book the hotel room or whatever.”

“So I got the gig?” Killian pressed, his blue eyes glittering in mirth.

“You got the gig,” she sighed, rolling her eyes at his toothy grin. Then she let her features settle into what she hoped was a menacing look, “There’s some conditions.”

“Of course,” he said, nodding sagely.

“Your name isn’t going to be in any of the advertising, or brought up in interviews, and absolutely not on any of the damn marquees.  You’re being hired as a guitarist in my backing band, not as the feature player.”

He nodded again but with understanding, “Of course, I have no desire to upstage you or hijack the tour for my own needs.”

“Good,” she said, slightly surprised he agreed so easily. “This is also temporary.  Once Ruby gets the all clear from her doctor she’s back and you’re out.”

“As I wouldn’t want to keep a fellow musician, or friend, out of work I will happily step aside-” he gave a little bow that she refused to see as charming.

“And last, no groupies on the bus,” she added, fighting to keep her face impassive and the blush that threatened from pinkening her cheeks.

It had never been a set rule, in fact it was one they’d each bent a little one time or another, but a weird pressure built in the back of her neck at the thought of having to see and listen to Killian with some doe eyed fan.  Not that she cared.  She just didn’t want to get to know him that intimately, even if it was by proxy, when she barely knew him as anyone other than the rock star she’d had a crush in high school.

His jaw clenched almost imperceptibly before he laughed.  It didn’t sound forced or off but somehow Emma knew it was fake all the same.

“Understood, love.”

“Still not your love-” she held out her hand and his hand was calloused and warm when he grasped it, “Welcome to the band.”

[lizacstuff]

7x04 Anons

I have a ton of asks so I’ll answer a few under the cut.  A lot of them deal with negativity over the ep and season so be warned and don’t click if you don’t want to read that.

Anonymous said:Liza, have you watched tonight's episode? What did you think of the Rumbelle send off? And of Alice being Roger's daughter?

I had zero emotional reaction to Rumbelle’s story in this episode. None. It’s been too toxic and gross and I have never really cared about it so it didn’t make me feel anything at all. I was curious what they were going to do. Now I know. 

As far as Alice being WishHook’s daughter. Eh. So they take the only interesting character and now she’s a fake Wish person too?  I just can’t with this nonsense. I’m having  a lot of problems with WishHook, so I’m not thrilled she’s tied to his story. 

Colin is still hot and an awesome human being and a terrific actor, but the plot... it’s a no for me.

Anonymous said:Sometimes I think Adam and Eddy believe they are the most clever people to ever write, and that everyone else are simple minded peasants. Like that one post-7x04 interview where the interviewer asked if Alice is wish Hook's daughter. "You're very perceptive." Uh, no, Adam and Eddy. You just have all the subtlety of a freight train. You had Alice and Rogers play chess. Wish Hook and his daughter played chess. It's obvious. Don't talk to people like they're stupid for figuring the obvious out.

This show has always been pretty obvious about some things, but they used to pull off some twists. I remember a time when fan speculation was way more wrong than it is right.  

However, season 7 is just really obvious in terms of some of the “big twists.”  Take Alice being the LGBT character, the entire fandom speculated that from the first second she appeared in shooting spoilers based on stereotypes. I have been hoping it’s not her because of those stereotypes, but nope! They had no surprises up their sleeve with it. Then most people immediately assumed she was Roger’s daughter the second we found out he had one... and apparently no twist there either. 

I guess the days of the entire fandom being shocked by finding out Hook is the Dark One and Dark Swan did everything for Hook... are over. 

Of course we should have known this reboot lost all subtlety in the second episode when everyone and their mother kept asking Henry if he was in love with the random woman he just met.  

Anonymous said:I know the promo pics didn't spell anything good for Belle, but I'm still surprised that they actually had her die. I kept thinking that there would be some twist to it.

As I was just saying... no twists, no turns. It’s exactly as everyone predicted. 

Anonymous said:I didn't watch the ep, but shit Henry and ivy have so much more chemistry than the other girl. Cinderella I think lol damn talk about epic romance also I saw comments that also agree with the Henry and ivy

If you haven’t watched how do you know they have more chemistry?  Seriously, that’s kind of ridiculous. What are you basing that on?

Anonymous said:ouat is a weird show, it requires you to pay really pay attention but not to close of attention or you will notice all the plot holes

100% accurate.  This reboot is creating so many more plot holes with all the magic mcguffins that are suddenly in play.  I guess you either have to accept it and go along for the ride, or recognize it for what it is. 

Anonymous said:hey liza, who are your favourite characters from the new cast? some of them don’t really impress me but i quite like ivy and tilly.

Both of those characters have some interesting aspects to them.  It may have a lot to do with the performers.  I haven’t been impressed with Gabriel, Dania or Mekia’s choices so far, but Adelaide and Rose have interesting screen presence. 

Anonymous said:Drizella really is a Mean Girls version of Regina. I'm between finding her general attitude annoying and finding her somewhat sympathetic considering she has to deal with Tremaine all day.

You mean Regina when she was a girl and under Cora’s thumb?  I could see that comparison.  Lets hope Drizella doesn’t follow in Regina’s footsteps and become the mass murdering rapist in town.

Anonymous said:Did Rumbelle build the house in Storybrooke?

Um... I’m not sure I understand this question.  In the show I believe that Up-inspired cabin where they were living isolated from everything and everyone else (do people really find that a happy ending?) was in the edge of realms. 

Anonymous said:I'm almost mad that we got to see more of Belle and Rumple's story than we did of Captain Swan. We all know they are living their happy ending but it would still be wonderful to see a little clip of Emma sitting on the beach with their daughter waiting for Killian to show up and join their picnic. Just some good ole domestic Captain Swan on scene would make me so happy. *sigh*

I have a number of anons like this, and just NOPE.  

First, we did not see more of Rumbelle than CS on this show.  Rumbelle was a backburner story that was most often characterized as a cautionary tale of abuse and manipulation and the pair were mostly apart and had very little focus through the run of the series. 

The showrunners decided that going forward they needed viewers to feel good about Belle and RB so after making them a gross, toxic mess for seasons now (it was just last year that Rumple was fucking the Evil Queen while Belle ran and hid for her life as he stalked and threatened her) they gave fans a bunch of twee scenes of her growing old (a life she lived isolated from everyone but two people) and dying in order to get rid of her and give Rumple motivation for this idiotic S7.

You’re jealous of that? Seriously? Fuck no. 

Also you need to understand that 7.02 and 7.04 were very different episodes.  7.02 was still really Henry's story and a moment in time where he called for help and got to see his parents for a few minutes and we all found out that Emma and Hook are doing great and gonna have a baby and living a blissfully happy life together.  It was just a check in where it was confirmed for us that Operation Happy Beginning has been a success and things are amazing. Also it spun off WishHook and completely separated the plot of S7 away from CS.  7.04 was 100% Rumple plot and his story. It explained why he's there and what is motivating him in Hyperion Heights.  Very different.  For 7.02, CS were not the focus because they didn’t need to be. Nothing in S7 requires knowing exactly what is going to happen to them minute by minute.  I'll take less screen time and my OTP being completely disentangled from this mess any day of the week.

Anonymous said:Lol my jealousy of Rumbelle having more focus than CS has dropped to 0%, that episode was eh. CS is expecting a baby, and Belle is dead after spending her life trying to fix rumple's. Nice.

Yep.  Look, I’m happy for any fans of Rumple or Belle that are happy about this episode and found peace in Belle’s life, but the writers did too much damage to this pairing over the years for me to care about it at all. 

Anonymous said:While I can't stand rumbelle I feel for the shippers. They did get some happy scenes but their ship is going to spend the rest of the season apart and in pain until the half alive dies.

Yeah... I would not like that, I don’t think. It’s just kind of creepy and icky and ew-ey. However, to each her own.  

Anonymous said:Agreed with that anon, there some good moments, but this was definitely not even close to one of the best episodes of the series. I have to respectfully disagree with Colin on this one. (Actually season 7 in its entirety lol)

Oh dear sweet Colin. Just trying to do his job.  So many cast and crew and media have shot their hyperbolic wad with this episode. Calling it the best EVER!!!!!  What will they say for the rest of the season?  “This is the second best episode EVER!!!!!” Or will they keep one upping every time they have to promote an ep?

No one with an economic interest in S7 can be trusted when talking about the quality of this season (and I include Mitovich and NA in that.) 

Anonymous said:I didn't watch the episode but I'm curious: are we supposed to believe that when Belle dies Emma and Killian are old too or was there some timeline glitch and Emma and Killian are still young in Storybrooke at the time of HH events? 

Who knows. Belle and Rumple were off living at the Edge of Realms for the last years of her life.  Rumple said something about time standing still there except for Belle??? I think. (my mind kept wandering duiring those scenes becuse they were so boring) Then after she died he opened a portal thingy to go to the time and place where the Guardian (the deux ex machina that is going to cure him of the Dark One curse) lives and Rumple was then transported to the newEF (that looks exactly like the old, I mean couldn’t they have given this new storybook’s fairy tale land some stylistic differences???)  on the night of Cinderella’s Ball and we see Henry drive by on his motorcycle. 

So yes, I think some of the flashforwards could have been from far in the future, and some could have been not all that distant because they were in a weird realm with weird time mechanics. 

However, I think Rumple and Belle left Storybrooke well before Henry did (they talk about it at Gideon’s first birthday and Henry still would have been about 14 at that time) so by the time this Hyperion Heights stuff is happening they would have been off in Fairy Tale land “traveling?” (ie living their lives in dusty libraries searching books for a way to cure Rumple.)

It hurts ones head to try to sort it all out. 

Anonymous said:After watching this episode, all I think is how sad it is how far this show gone from greatness. Going back 3 years, I would’ve never imagined ouat would be like this now. Sorry for being dramatic, it’s all just so jarring.

I think one of the most unfortunate things about this is that I really think OUAT could have been a valuable and viable franchise for years to come.  However, they tried to reboot it too soon.  As I’ve said since last spring, I think it would have been much better to let it rest a year or two and then come back with 10-13 episode event series for ABC.  

However, this experiment will probably negate any opportunity for that.

Anonymous said:I think it's a little sad that in real time, Belle died like 5-10 years after the s6 finale. I know it was longer for her but to everyone else that knew her, it'd be like she died young.

Yep. I’m not sure if in Hyperion Heights or Storybrooke in 2017 if Belle is dead, dead, or still living out her life at the edge of realms or wherever and Rumple traveled back in time???  

I don’t know. 

Anonymous said:Do you think killing Belle off is going to decrease the ratings more?

Nope. If ratings do decrease, I don’t think that will have been a factor.

Anonymous said:They lost viewers even with the episode they promoted the most wow 

They did and yes, other than the premiere, this has been the most promoted episode.  As I’ve said since the premiere, ep 5 ratings should be the most telling. I’m guessing that will be the baseline for the rest of the half season. At that point anyone in the audience who was just curious if they would preserve our favorites happy endings from the first 6 season will know and there won’t be a bump from that.  We’ll see. 

[raventheempress]

So, I finished V’s route and I just need to get everything out. Obviously, this will be riddled with spoilers for Seven’s route, both secret endings, V’s route.... really, the whole fucking game. This will be very long, and probably quite unorganized. Also, cursing, because this is me. You’ve been warned.

I want to start off by saying, that we really fucking owe Cheritz big time. I will never, ever complain about hourglasses again. I’ve never complained about the hourglass cost on DLC, instead saving my complaints for missed chats and such after you’ve already played a route, but damn if they aren’t easy to earn and Cheritz deserves all the fucking money. If I see anyone else complain about the 300 hourglasses needed to unlock V’s route, I will fucking fight you. Not only is the route worth so freaking much more than that, but they are stupid easy to earn and cheap enough to buy. There is so much content in this route alone that it could easily be the Casual route twice. There are 18 visual novels before the first game branch alone! I counted 68 total for the route, and that was just rushing through quickly. Days 7 and 9 have VNs for all but 2 of their chats that day. And many of these VNs were longer than the entire party of the Good Ending. There is so much content and story in this route that I am shocked and amazed at the work that Cheritz put in. And I didn’t even play it with sounds!! I went back and listened to some of the voice acting and the music and it blew my mind. Cheritz has given us so much, and this is a free game!! They deserve all the love. All of it. Forever. In fact, this shit needs it’s own post. Done. Someone needed to say it, and it will be seen better in it’s own post. Moving on.

So, I got the Good ending. I wasn’t surprised, except for the fact that I was aiming for the normal ending. Despite only, accidentally, opening two emails from guests, I still managed to invite 22 people. I mean, how? Was there even 22 possible guests?! I usually save right before a party so I can get the normal route and then load the save, open the emails, and get the good ending, but that didn’t work for me this time. I think what it might’ve been, was that I had done Seven’s route just before and never gone through the party, so when I began Another Story, I was still getting emails from guests in Seven’s route. So I will have to do a full replay to get the normal ending, which is annoying because the whole thing is just so heartbreaking. I have been spoiled on two of the bad endings though. I know there is one where you basically become Rika’s lover, and then another where V doesn’t learn to treasure himself and allows you to become his new obsession. You decide to force him to do a photoshoot of you basically in an orgy and he goes along with it because he just wants to make you happy.

I will say, I wasn’t happy with the Good Ending. Maybe Day 10 just took too much out of me and I wasn’t able to see anything good, but I wasn’t satisfied. Yes, V ventures off and learns to love himself and that is great, but there was just something about it that left me feeling very unfulfilled. Maybe his After Ending will make up for it once it’s released, but I felt that his ending was the worst for me, barely beating out Yoosung’s ending.

After playing through his route, I have to say, everything is V’s fault and happens because V is the most selfish person in the game. That isn’t completely a bad thing, but I believe it’s the truth.

V is the one who obsesses over Rika, believing it to be love. Yes, everyone makes mistakes and this is one of his, but it all stems from him being selfish and wanting to find his meaning without really trying.

All of the members could’ve been “saved” had V just seen past Rika and paid more attention to the people he surrounded himself with. (I’ll go into this in a minute)

The twins never would’ve been separated.

Saeran wouldn’t have died.

Rika might’ve been able to be saved, because she would’ve gotten proper treatment if he had pushed it on her a bit more and also not kept her condition a secret. Knowing Yoosung and imagining what kind of parents he must have, you know damn well Mrs. Kim would be in there with a wooden spoon making her get treatment, regardless if she wanted it or not, because Mama Kim is all about what you need, not what you want. #MamaKimForPresident

There wouldn’t have been a fucking bomb in an apartment! It was a residential area for Pete’s sake (who is Pete and why do we sake him? /random)! What if someone had been injured?! Seriously!!

There would be no discord within RFA, because there wouldn’t be secrets in RFA. Aside from maybe who the Choi Daddy is, because that could be important, but that is more a Choi secret and not an RFA-V-is-an-idiot secret.

Now, despite it all being his fault, I still can’t bring myself to hate V. Everyone makes mistakes, his are just greater than others. I understand why his guilt pool is overflowing and I still stand by him deserving to be saved. However, after playing his route, I feel like I understand why we weren’t given that option originally. I always felt that he could’ve been shot but survived in surgery. I still, partially, stand by the idea that he didn’t need to die, except, maybe he did. He let things get too out of hand. In the Casual/Deep stories, I really feel like he did need to die. It wasn’t fair to lose him, but things had exploded out of control so badly that I feel like his death was needed to bring a close to everything and set the world back on the right track. Having him live, would’ve caused more stress for longer, making the characters continue to suffer instead of allowing themselves to begin to mourn, which honestly might’ve been the exact reason V lied about Rika dying to begin with. So everyone could mourn who she had been while he dealt with who she became.

In Another Story, he didn’t need to die, but I also can’t get behind the idea of him ending up with the MC. It’s fine for him to have fallen for her, but I truly feel like she should’ve been with someone else. Anyone else. I think I felt so unfulfilled with the Good Ending because literally, no one else is saved. Jumin is still emotionally stunted, Jaehee is still a workaholic in a job she hates, Yoosung is playing LOLOL and seems to still be skating through university, though at least not as depressed and hopeless as before since he received some closure but not enough to set him straight, Zen is fine, but he also didn’t need saved as badly as the rest. Then there is Seven. Poor, goofy, loveable Seven, who doesn’t smile or have any real emotions in the ASGE (Another Story Good Ending) at all, who, assumingly, doesn’t know that his precious brother is dead, and is still working at a dangerous job that he hates and that only makes him hate himself.

The fate of Saeran really is the worst for me. I think out of everything, that burns my britches the most. That precious baby didn’t deserve his fate at all, and it’s all V’s fucking fault and you won’t convince me otherwise. Saeran died, Seven is left in the dark, but V is all better and loves himself and is ready to jump into a relationship after being away from everyone and everything for two years and I am supposed to be ok with that? No. I adored V, right until the moment that he said he was done with the secrets and then turned around and lied to Seven’s face about who the hacker was. That chat, right then, Day 8, “17:32 - It’s all my fault”, that was the moment I threw my hands up and said “I’m done.” Tbh, going into this route, I expected death. I expected Rika would die though. When her apartment blew up at the end, I wasn’t shocked in the least. I was when she showed up at the party the next day, but not when the apartment blew up. I didn’t expect Saeran to die though and that really killed me inside. Here was a poor, innocent little cinnamon roll, who yes, did some bad things, but not nearly as many in AS as he did in the CS&DS, since he didn’t have those extra two years of angst and the elixir to screw him up more. He was still pure and warmhearted, only truly beginning his spiral. He could’ve been saved and wouldn’t have been tainted like he was after the Secret Ends, he could’ve returned to the Saeran he was before. He could’ve stayed Ray instead of Unknown. When I was spoiled early on in AS, my dislike for Rika grew into absolute hate, until I actually saw the end of Day 10 for myself. Contrary to my belief, Rika doesn’t order him to stay behind and die in Mint Eye as his “mission”, she had told him to escape. He chose not to, because he had “nowhere else to go”, something that could’ve been avoided if V had just told the fucking truth and allowed Seven to contact Jumin sooner so they could drag him out of ME kicking and screaming if they needed to, so he could get his brother into detox and therapy and spend the rest of his days helping him to find happiness. Saeran’s death was completely needless, which is probably why it is so heartbreaking and I can’t get over it. His death alone took AS’s enjoyment level from a 3 to a zero. The story is a 5 star all around, but enjoyment level... unless you are a masochist, yeah, it’s pretty low... I couldn’t even cry at that point. I was just, numb. V should’ve told Seven. He should’ve. I will never forgive him for not doing so.

And on that note, why was this a thing to begin with? I won’t ask for a Saeran route, I know that we were blessed by the great Cheritz Gods to be given a V route as it was, but I would hope for another Secret Ending, or something, somewhere, even a simple VN memory... or a series of VNs for Saeran as he is looking back at things. Anything. I need to know why. Why were the twins separated to begin with? Why did that even make sense? Yes, Choi Daddy is a big bad who would want them dead so they can’t make him look bad because appearances are everything, but why did they have to be apart? Seven joined the agency to hide his identity. Alright, that makes sense, but who was hiding Saeran’s? He didn’t join the agency. The agency didn’t even know he existed. Yes, V and Rika got Saeran out, as promised, and he was clearly happy for a time, but then what? Where did he go? What did he do? And why didn’t V know, or expect for that matter, that Rika would pull him into ME with her? He very clearly didn’t know Saeran was there until he ran into him, and such a thing seemed to still be the case, that he had only learned he was there recently, in the other routes. Why were they drawn apart and what happened to Saeran during the time V stopped giving a shit until he was drawn into ME? It’s the only thing in this game that I feel desperate for an answer for. Anything else is meaningless. But the fate of Saeran matters to me. It might be my Seven-bias speaking in that, but it still remains so.

The lack of resolution really bothers me. No one else was saved. V’s, and eventually MC’s, friendship could’ve been enough, but it didn’t happen that way. V went off on a trip of self discovery and left everyone alone to their own devices to hope they get better, or not, he doesn’t care. Even coming back in the ASGE, he finally treasures himself, but even his words was off-putting. “I want you to love me, because I love you like I love myself.” I might still be mourning Saeran, but it just felt... wrong. It felt unhealthy. Sure, V was healthy, but after 2 years... was anyone else? Zen, really didn’t need saved. He lacks confidence, but true friendship and care could’ve handled that. Yes, he needed to reconnect with his family, but even that could’ve been handled through friendship. Jaehee needed encouragement, to be told she was better than she was allowing herself to be. MC could’ve been her bestie, regardless who she ended up with, and still given her that push to the coffee shop that she deserves. It wouldn’t have happened as quickly as it did in her route, but it still could’ve happened. Yoosung... he got some resolution. I feel like his (outside of the Choi Boys) was the most tragic of plots. I wanted to strangle him through AS, he just... ugh!! He got on my nerves so hard. It was so frustrating to watch. I understand the boy was in pain and hardcore denial, and he got that closure when he saw how out there Rika was, but he doesn’t appear to ever get help. The whole group really felt like empty shells in the ASGE. Only V felt like he had any life in him at all. Even Zen felt like he was forcing himself. Jumin, he could’ve been better also. He didn’t need MC, he just needed V. V was so selfish and narrow minded, that he couldn’t even tell that his closest friend was in pain and in need of help. He couldn’t see that Jumin had feelings for Rika, past what was appropriate for his BFF’s girl. Had he seen, knowing Jumin as well as he flattered himself, he could’ve done more for his friend to help him be around women. And having MC around, even without a romantic attachment, would’ve been good for him to become more comfortable and trusting around women, especially if she were to never work with him. Seven, wouldn’t have needed saved if V had never tried to pull the Choi Boys apart to begin with, but I bet if he had said something after AS, Jumin would’ve pulled all the fucking strings to help him out of the agency and to keep out of Daddy Choi’s sight so he and Saeran could live in peace. But all V could see was himself, and he ruined six beautiful people and contributed to the faster decline of a seventh. And Seven not knowing about Saeran... I can’t live with that. I can’t love, trust, or even respect V with that. At the end, it really felt like V was the only one with any kind of a happy ending. Yes, it was his route, but even in Seven’s route (which I consider to be the true end), everyone was better off aside from maybe Jumin. The whole route just contributed more and more to me seeing nothing more in V than his abhorrent selfishness.

I really expected to hate Rika through this, but in the end, she was still a victim. She isn’t blameless, Gods no, she deserves serious judgement and I will forever be convinced that she shouldn’t be allowed to get off on a plea of insanity. Her disease didn’t make her do all the wrong she did, it just twisted her moral compass away from the rest of society and it’s laws. I do, however, feel more pity for her now. I can’t blame her for things. Before AS, I blamed her for 90% of what had happened, but now, I can see that it wasn’t as much her fault. V coddled her and placed her on such a high pedestal that she couldn’t get down on her own and couldn’t see past his light. She couldn’t ask for help because she was so suffocated by his obsessive love that she was in fight-or-flight mode and just wanted to run. If V hadn’t been so obsessive, and even controlling, then she could’ve gotten help before it was too late to turn back. But he was so determined to by her messiah or die a martyr, that he foolishly took things in the wrong direction and became a controlling boyfriend. He controlled her treatment, her death, her darkness. He controlled everything about her, trying to keep her from doing anything without his hand, because he was supposed to save her. He was supposed to make her his greatest masterpiece and no one was allowed to break his control to change that. So in the end, I went from loving V to barely liking him. Sure, you could push it back on V’s parents, namely his father, for him becoming the way he did. But at the end of the day, everything really does stem from V’s selfishness allowing everything to be his fault. Everyone is responsible for their own actions, but his influence was the catalyst to everything wrong that happened.

TL;DR: V deserved to be saved, he really did, but Rika was much more of a victim than the rest of the game leads you to believe. He never should’ve been with MC, because he really doesn’t deserve her past friendship, and I will never forgive him for lying to Seven and preventing us from making a harder push to save our precious Saeran.