#i also have an issue with this group that ive never encountered before

[casuallyhollering]

I am never teaching a zoom class ever again omfg it's just not worth it. Either in-person or fully asynchronous, but never ever zoom

[my-mt-heart]

TWD 11x07 “Promises Broken” Review

Huh. It’s funny how an episode typically meant to ramp things up before a mid-season finale (or however it works for a three-part season) feels like TV purgatory to me. There’s the illusion of story movement. For example, Maggie and Negan are able to devise a new plan together. Eugene and Lance have a tense confrontation that potentially  leads to a revelation about the communities. Daryl’s and Leah’s encounter with a random family shows a different and perhaps useful side of Leah. Ultimately though, it’s all just more set up. We land in the same place we started, wondering when the hell any of it is going to fold together and have a big impact. In case I haven’t stated it enough, the pacing this season is really testing my patience…

To no surprise at all, Maggie and Negan start off having the same damn exhausting argument they’ve been having this whole season . “Let’s go back home.” “We can’t.” “But--” “No.” The only difference is that by the end of it, they make a pact with each other. Negan will stay and help infiltrate the Meridian and Maggie will accept Negan as an upstanding member of the group. I’m bumping against a few things here. First of all, since when does Negan spending a few days with the whisperers make him an expert on masks and herding? Didn’t season 10 establish that he could never truly navigate their way of life? Points off for bending continuity to advance the plot (a centimeter or two), though I will say building up an army of the dead to attack the Reapers is a pretty cool idea considering they don’t have enough live people to do so (yet). 

Second, and I can’t stress this enough, what. is. the. fucking. point of focusing so much on a dynamic we know has zero chance of growth? Sure, Maggie gets to hear Negan’s perspective on the war against the Saviors. And yes, Negan does admit if he could do things differently, he would...by killing every last one of Rick’s and Maggie’s people. So essentially, he’s still not sorry for the pain he caused Maggie and therefore, Maggie still can’t begin to forgive him. I’m not saying I want or need an emotional breakthrough between these two, only that I’m tired of precious screen time being wasted on a lost cause. Honestly, Father Gabriel turns a bigger corner and all he does is spy on a Reaper who’s talking to God, reminding him to keep the faith alive instead of having to play God himself and kill everyone. Elijah seems to be headed down the opposite track, mentioning to Maggie that he wants revenge against a particular undisclosed Reaper (Pope? Carver?), and I imagine that drive is only going to get stronger now that he has confirmation his sister is dead. He finds out while walking with the herd, spotting her as a walker. Maggie very sweetly offers him comfort, taking his hand as they head toward the Meridian.  

You all know by now I’m not the biggest fan of the commonwealth arc, so apologies if it’s obvious I’m rushing through my discussion of it. Just a few things to note. Ezekiel getting the medical attention he needs (antibiotics, painkillers, IV fluids, lollipops) feels like an anticlimactic, short-term solution to an issue that’s been building up for over a season, but it also just leaves me with more questions, especially with the latest filming spoilers that I won’t go into here. In short, I guess I’m just curious why it’s going to take so long for all of this to fully pay off. The man has suffered long enough. Give him Jerry back at least. 

Also, is anybody else really sick of the one-note douchebags like Deanna’s sons, Gage, and now the guy I’m assuming is Sebastian Milton? I just find his scenes in this episode really obnoxious, and the less I see of him the better (I know I’m going to be seeing a lot of him). At least Eugene gets a good punch in. Too bad it gets him in more trouble though. For reasons I don’t understand, the CW expects him to realize the severity of his actions despite being unfamiliar with the town hierarchy . Lance, who clearly has a hidden agenda, uses this as leverage to get information about Alexandria/Hilltop and it looks like Eugene might be ready to share. Whether he actually does or not is still left open, but I think we can safely guess the CW will end up at Alexandria’s gates eventually. As for Yumiko, she’s not having any luck getting through to anyone, not Pamela Milton and not her brother, Tomi, who insists it’s a bad idea to mess with the system. Apparently he’s right because even just talking to Yumiko gets his ass dragged away by soldiers.  

Meanwhile, Daryl’s and Leah’s arc is shaping out exactly how I expected it to, albeit painfully fucking slowly. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that while on the hunt to find Maggie’s group, the two of them walk alongside a river, a visual reminder of what brought them together all those years ago, not only for us, but for Daryl. He’s questioning the source of her strength, whether it’s Pope’s leadership or her independent thinking. He’s beginning to see two sides of her, the one that reigns in the present and the one that he remembers from the past. The next step is figuring out which one is really at her core. For strategic reasons, absolutely. He needs to know if he can somehow team up with her to defeat Pope who (for now) poses the biggest threat to him and his family. 

But let’s also keep something else in mind. Norman Reedus has spoken about the importance of playing it from both sides, conveying a really good manipulator as well as someone who still cares. I understand why this might lead some to wonder and stress over where Daryl’s heart lies. Personally, and not to sound controversial, I think it’s okay to see both of those layers. The entire purpose of Daryl’s journey this season is to challenge his character not to let a dark past consume him again, and for someone who still bases his self-worth on “never leaving anyone behind,” moments of confusion are bound to happen.

Indeed we do start to see that confusion after Leah and Daryl follow a (random) man to a house where he, his fatally wounded wife, and his young son have been holed up. Leah’s humanity comes through in a moment that is surely triggering for her, having been a mother herself once upon a time. She lets the man and son go free despite Pope’s orders to take out anyone they come across while Daryl puts the wife out of her misery. Once again reminded of the Leah he knew in the past, Daryl feels it’s safe to try to confess everything to her, though (thankfully) he doesn’t get the chance. 

Don’t be too hard on him, friends. Clearly, his hero complex is showing again, but also? Leah’s striking resemblance to Carol probably isn’t helping matters. It becomes dangerously easy to believe in someone he may not actually know too well when he’s able to connect her to someone he wholeheartedly does. After all, he has seen this narrative play out before through Carol, one where a woman finds her way out from under a cruel man’s thumb and reclaims her inner strength, becoming her family’s great protector. 

I have very little doubt this is a false redemption narrative. At some point, Daryl’s lies are going to come out in a way he didn’t plan and Leah is going to snap in a way that forces Daryl to accept that, despite all his efforts, not everyone can be or deserves to be saved. Fingers crossed that Carol plays a role in that. We still have three episodes to go in this arc, so I am not giving up hope on that front. That being said, we have three episodes to go in this arc, and at this snail’s pace, it feels like there are still a million more steps that need to be taken before we get to the good stuff. 

Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of speculating on what’s in store for episode 8 because unless I missed it somehow, AMC+ did not put up a promo. Um, the fuck? Does that mean those of us who have AMC+ might be going in completely blind? That could be fun. Or that could be really annoying. I haven’t decided yet. Apologies again if this review feels sparse. I just wasn’t feeling this one.

EDIT: Okay. Saw the 11x08 promo. Initial takeaway, nothing much. Still digesting though. 

11x01 “Acheron Part 1″ Review

11x02 “Acheron Part 2″ Review

11x03 “Hunted” Review

11x04 “Rendition” Review

11x05 “Out of the Ashes” Review

11x06 “On the Inside” Review

[hanghenfil]

Still taking asks? What's siorc society like and how do they interact with humans? Also are their actual merpeople, like with human upper bodies and fish tails?

i am ABSOLUTELY taking asks anon!! i always am 👀

as for siorc! lets go this will be LONG bc ive been thinking about this, for such a long time

modern human relations

siorc are rumoured to be-and really, factually ARE-the most dangerous hanghenfil to humans.

while they're not as physically strong as some other hanghenfil like shifters-they have the unique advantage of incredible coordination in a group, and are the only hanghenfil known to have organised armies.

(basically imagine how organised a shoal of fish moves, then give those fish humanoid form and intelligence and weapons, and theres like 60 of them and theyre all climbing up the sides of ur ship at superhuman speed)

were they not restricted to living by big bodies of water, or the obvious issue that technology doesn't work in the fuckin ocean-they'd probably have given humans an incredible run for their money at being the Top Species

thats why in Present Day humans have an (if somewhat shaky) peace agreement with siorc. siorc and humans trade whatever their main export is (the kingdom faldurs family rules sits on a hefty undersea deposit of gold) and humans don't fish in siorc territory, in return for...not being attacked.

disclaimer to above rule is if humans DO fish (or sail in a way they don't like, honestly) in siorc territory, siorc are within their rights to do whatever they want to them. it's free food bro

old timey human relations

it's not so prevalent anymore, but back when ships were a prevalent form of transport, sailors-or often entire ships- would often go missing in siorc territory

accounts are few and far between, but most have a consistent theme of siorc calls being eerily similar to human singing and chanting. it's still not known if this is coincidental, or intentional mimicry evolved to target humans specifically.

some theorise that the song itself has an entrancing effect on humans due to some kind of magic, but it's unconfirmed.

the sailors lucky enough to escape siorc encounters often described them as ethereally beautiful, and those not attacked by entire shoals of siorc describe individuals as targeting lone sailors, often singing to and holding their face before they're dragged underwater.

this is where rumours of mermaids originate-sailors captivated by the singing but lucky enough to escape alive, would never see the legs of the creatures...what else is gonna be there but a fish tail right

perhaps as a comfort to soothe those who lost loved ones to siorc, a very common rumour is that the kiss of a siorc allows a human to breathe underwater for a period of time.

siorc biology

while their anatomy and biology is mostly unknown to humans, a small amount has been discovered.

their body temperature is naturally lower than humans...cold to touch :(

they get BIG...average height for a siorc is probably around 6 and a half-7 feet. they also live longer than humans and most hanghenfil, averaging out at around 160-200 years. they mature at age 18, but continue to age much slower than humans.

few studies have been done on how well siorc survive outside of water, though it is known that they need to submerge their gills and fins in water at least once every 48 hours or risk a slow and painful suffocation. over 24 hours of dryness and they get unbearably itchy...

there are different subtypes of siorc! they change markings and colour based on biome/water temperature, though the boundaries between types is not as well defined as it once was, with siorc travelling longer distances and mingling with other kingdoms.

royals (bottom row) also look different to common types! they're generally larger, stronger and live up to 270-350 years.

though there are no confirmed live sightings, fossils have confirmed that all types of siorc evolved from a deep sea variant. they were generally larger, stockier, and missing certain features of modern siorc-such as the vocal chords to express advanced speech or full dexterity in their hands

some siorc retain characteristics from their deep sea days, however, like bioluminescence, multiple rows of teeth or...horrifying unhingeable jaws, perhaps

siorc society

siorc all, obviously, live by/in the sea ! (or rarely a large body of freshwater..) some live fully underwater but the Preferred Setup is within access to isolated land. islands are fine but archipelagos are the favourite setup!

they carve out large cave systems underwater and often build structures on islands-these used to be purely for show to lay claim to the land as a status symbol, but are now where necessary technology (generally medical equipment and not much else) or items such as books or paper currency are stored

most (though not all!) live in kingdoms run by a royal bloodline-though if the reigning monarch is challenged, and the fight is won, the royal family is either exiled or executed-depending on the preference. this is a huge rarity, however.

due to royal siorc living so long, royals tend not to take the throne until they are a century old. the heir will usually take this time to train, and to choose their own heir (always a family member, typically their own child though not always!) and train them.

the training of a siorc heir is brutal and rigorous-physically and mentally-starting from age 13 and potentially running for decades. it's common for heirs to drop out of training, and for the trainer to run through multiple heirs in the decades before they take the throne.

siorc are a SUPER proud species, and do not take anything lightly. challenges will always be followed up on, broken agreements or rules will be punished, and should you slight a siorc, revenge is a certainty.

a small silver lining, however-on the rare occasion a siorc asks for help, they will grant a favour of whoever helped them, no matter how big or small, as long as it is within possibility.

[endcant]

i used to be very active in the cottagecore realm in 2018. im not alone in this, but i had my cottagecore blog before the word “cottagecore” was coined, and thus before it was presupposed that the lifestyle and aesthetic being posted about had anything in particular to do with cottages. a lot of the relevant posts found their way to me through other tags— dirtcore, plantcore, grandmacore, solarpunk, diy, etc— or just through the sheer natural popularity of the posts that ended up defining the cottagecore style

over the time between like 2016-2018, i had been pivoting away from my 90s/arcade themed aesthetic that i had fostered since like 2013 or something, because the colorful carpets and cheap plastic toys and bubblegum dispenser candies and slimes were beginning to be presumed to be part of something called “kidcore”, and kidcore was having a problem

the issue at hand for kidcore (and stim tumblr as well) was that ageplay and other controversial/triggering kink accounts were openly interacting with and advertising themselves on posts that were either meant for kids and age regressors, or themed around the original poster’s own childhood. as a result, kidcore/age regression and ageplay/kink were getting weirdly and uncomfortably conflated. it was a huge issue that i found really offputting, so i just bailed from the use of that visual language in general

the way that many, many kidcore and stim bloggers responded to these kinds of issues was to diligently put a DNI banner at the bottom of every single post, no matter how unsightly or combative that seemed. at the time, i thought that this was kind of a hopeless exercise. i thought that kidcore as an aesthetic would never really manage to extricate its content and reputation from that offputting area of kink tumblr, but it seems like i was wrong. through just like the sheer saturation of in-post DNI banners, it seemed to work. kidcore was more safe for kids and age regressors to blog and reblog about without getting weird fucked up interactions, and people seemed to be under less scrutiny for having a kidcore blog at all because it was no longer uncomfortably conflated with kink to that degree

the thing i admire most about this is that so many kidcore and stim bloggers decided all on their own that they wanted make it clear who their blog was and wasnt a safe space for. more of them could have decided to ignore the issue, more of them could have said that naysayers “just dont get it”, and more of them could have decided that they didnt mind added traffic, no matter who it came from. but these posters were uncomfortable with the issue, so they made that discomfort known at every opportunity.

this sort of stands in contrast to how most cottagecore bloggers ive seen have responded to the realization that cottagecore was growing to be popular with ecofascists and weird patriarchal tradcath & colonialist bloggers, esp since like 2019 or so. some bloggers sacrificed the simple aesthetic by adding DNI banners, but compared to the DNI saturation of kidcore bloggers, these were few and far between. also, weirdly, most of those banners also pertained to the kink-related boundaries that kidcore and stim bloggers had to set, and generally said little about politics except sometimes that terfs were unwelcome. anecdotally, i dont personally recall ever seeing a banner that said something like “dont interact if youre an ecofascist or christian nationalist!” or anything like that underneath any of the crafty and pastoral cottagecore imagery that ive encountered over the years.

the most common response that i saw from cottagecore bloggers to all the criticism and suspicion in 2019-2020 was every cottagecore blogger going on the defensive— “the accusations of cottagecore bloggers being right-wing or colonialist are false and not worth our time. anybody who spent any time in our community would know that plenty of us are leftist or poc!!” — for roughly one or two posts, and then never responding to the criticism again unless it came to their askbox specifically.

in short, the message a lot of cottagecore bloggers sent with their posts was not “ecofascists are unwelcome here,” but instead “critics who point out the ecofascist issue are unwelcome here.” and ecofascists and their ilk kept reblogging the same mushrooms and lace curtains and transparent homemade pie pngs as everybody else, unperturbed. there was no concerted effort to make it clear at every fucking turn that fascists were unwelcome

i ended up just drifting away from the cottagecore tag family over the course of 2019 to focus my gardening/naturalist/diy energies more directly on leftist environmentalism rather than aesthetic. since then, ive been thinking about the difference between cottagecore and the previous tumblr aesthetic i unintentionally joined and intentionally abandoned, kidcore. i have watched the response of both groups to these kinds of issues from a short distance, and i feel like kidcore posters better rose to the challenge of community infiltration by parties with harmful views and intentions. less kidcore bloggers have their DNIs directly in their posts nowadays from what ive seen, but the popular DNI banner phase of the kidcore world seemed to be essential and effective in establishing who the tag was and wasn’t meant for. no effort like this has been widespread on cottagecore tumblr, particularly among popular cottagecore posters, and so the reputational damage and the failure to exclude literal fascists from the main bulk of the aesthetic’s ecosystem continues to persist.

i guess overall the stories of these aesthetics (as i witnessed them) are just an interesting anecdotal comparison of how tolerating individuals that make vulnerable/marginalized members of a community feel threatened lead to that community becoming de-facto dominated (or assumed to be dominated) by those who are making others feel threatened, as vulnerable/marginalized members leave and additional vulnerable/marginalized people are deterred from ever joining. whereas proactively stating boundaries again and again and again leads to the creation of a better safe space, as well as a culture of awareness about the issues at hand

[minerstatus]

Teyvat’s School for the Gifted

Summary: He's cruel, mean, and sadistic. Lumine cannot fathom why he has the  followers he does, but she won't fall into his hands like the rest of  them.  It was unknown to her at that time how such a stance would cause the biggest uproar the schools ever seen.

This is the silly drama filled high school/college parody AU nobody  asked for filled with Lumine not giving a shit and Childe trying to buy  his way out of problems.

Ship: Lumine/Childe

Tags: Highschool AU, Enemies to lovers, Slow burn, Jealousy, lots of side ships.

Status: 10/? on Ao3

Chapter 2

She had two options to think about after that ‘encounter’ or whatever you want to call it. Get in line like the rest of the students and eventually ‘hopefully’ her new toy status wears off and she fades into the sea of students. But that would depend on how HE acts after the dinner encounter. And something told Lumine from the way Amber and Barbara reacted to even speaking of the red headed devil he was a force to be reckoned with.

She tossed and turned in the night thinking of different scenarios for the morning.

There were boys like him back home. Maybe not filthy rich, sons of local shop owners, that acted like him. None of them possessed the same air as he did. Being able to part a sea of students just by walking has to be a superpower in itself.

Come to think of it she didn’t even find out where he was from, perhaps she should ask. The more info the better when it comes to defending herself.

She was never one to sit down and take abuse. When she was just in grade school the local boys knew not to mess with her after a few unfortunate incidents. Her mother always told her it was her blonde hair and honey eyes that made her stand out.

It always starts with them testing you. Small things to annoy you, just to see how you react. She would not be able to keep her temper down if that happened. She already had an issue with her mouth as it is.

She turned one final time in the plush bed she had been provided with. The school had made sure even the scholarship students were treated above average. It was impressive, but did little to dampen her jitters.

-

First day, which means new people and new teachers. Lumine was walked by Amber and Barbara to the faculty building. Razor was found sitting on a bench halfway there. It brought a smile to her face.

Razor had never left Amber’s side the entire night they sat talking. It was girl gossip that Lumine was never into, but enjoyed now that she had some people to actually talk to. Not many people are willing to come to a run-down farm for a sleepover back home. Razor himself didn’t talk much, but Lumine was observant. He sat on her bed and watched her, every action, smile, glance. Lumine was quite interested in understanding what Ambers reservations about him were. She seemed to like him from her perspective.

More questions for later.

A plump woman greeted her at the front desk. She was cheerful, but not like Mrs. Lee was, instead giving off warm motherly tones. Lumine could imagine her doting on all the students she came in contact with.

“Here you are dear.” She handed her a slip of paper with her classes.

“Thanks,” Lumine said quietly as she read the sheet. Alchemy, ancient runes, adventuring 101, history, then finally vision training. She internally laughed at the last class, perhaps they were going to rename it. She pulled on the collar of her school issued cardigan as it threatened to slide off one shoulder.

“Just head out to the academics building Mrs. Lee showed you yesterday and a student will be waiting to guide you to your classes,” The woman told her. Lumine nodded and gave back a genuine smile before turning to leave.

It was easy to pick out the student waiting for her in front of the buildings doors despite the crowds entering and exiting. It was a green haired girl nervously fisting her skirt between fidgeting with her glasses. Two small animal ears poked out from under her main of messy hair. She wore her skirt long, unlike the rest of the student body (and Lumine herself), and covered up with a baggy school issued cardigan like Lumine’s.

“Are you the one waiting for the new girl?” Lumine asked. The girl snapped out of a nervous trance and a blush covered her features.

“Ah! Y-yes,” She stuttered before taking a breath, “Sorry I get nervous easily, my names Sucrose,” she extended a hand.

“Thats a pretty name, I like it,” Lumine said as she returned the handshake. She hoped it might calm her down but Sucrose turned scarlet instead.

“I-I'll walk you to your class,” She mumbled and walked inside. Lumine followed silently, deciding the best course of action was to not embarrass her further.

She led her to a decently sized class of students with a portly teacher standing in the front. He wore robes and a ridiculously oversized wizards' hat. The site was an oddity in Lumines eyes, having only ever had exceptionally plain teachers back home. Sucrose left Lumine at the front of the class as she shuffled over to the teacher, managing to get his attention with a simple clearing of her throat. Lumine decided to inspect the chalk board instead of the students. She didn’t want to know if the red headed asshole was in here yet.

“Ah yes Lumine!” The teacher bellowed and waved her over. She stepped lightly up onto his raised platform as sucrose scurried to her seat in the front row. “My name is professor Rasmodius, take a seat next to Zhongli back there,” He pointed off into the right of the room. Lumines stomach sank at the mention of a familiar name. She dragged herself to the back of the class and slid into the empty stool next to him.

They made eye contact and she swore she could see the gears turning in his mind before he spoke.

“He’s not in this class,” He said in monotone.

Lumine choked on her own spit, “w-what?” she asked him.

“He’s not here, if that is what you are worried about,” He smiled down at her sweetly. Lumine felt her face heat up.

“I don’t care if he's here or not,” She quickly recovered and crossed her arms.

“Hm,” He put a hand on his chin, “You had the same gaze as most other new females.”

“Yes, well sorry for being nervous.”

“Perhaps I have made a wrong assumption, I apologize,” He turned his body to her, “Zhongli of the Wangsheng funeral parlor.”

Lumine fumbled a bit at his words. Was it normal to greet someone with your name and what company you hail from? She eyed him wearily for a moment then decided to screw it. Not like they wouldn’t find out if she lies.

“Lumine of a very poor farm outside of Mondstadt.”

He chuckled in a low deep tone. Lumine felt her façade falling as her heart sped up.

“Sorry, perhaps too formal?” He asked.

“You talk like you are speaking to a business partner,” she told him honestly.

“Ive been told that before, even by my friends,” He admitted. For the first time Lumine’s lips quirked into a teasing smile.

“Alright class today we will be looking into the mythical potions of Esteria! page 103!” The teacher commanded. The room filled with the sounds of turning pages.

“I didn’t get a book?” Lumine questioned.

“You will more than likely get them at some point today,” Zhongli told her as he slid his book over between them, “here share mine.”

“Thanks,” She mumbled, dipping behind her hair to hide her blush. Perhaps her friends were right, most of the group wasn’t that bad.

-

Okay maybe they were wrong, at least two out of the four were very very bad. She had not seen the infamous Childe today, but after alchemy Zhongli was very kind to walk her to the next class. Relieving a very thankful, yet worried, sucrose from her job.

They talked about small things, mostly how the school was going, what she thought of it, what kind of things she did back in Mondstadt. To her surprise Zhongli seemed genuinely interested in the day to day life of a poor person. He was awkwardly polite with everything, but had a sincerity to him that he wore on his sleeve.

There was just one sneaking suspicion she had regarding the man. How on earth does a funeral parlor have enough money to send their son to this school AND be the top of the food chain. Surely these boys were flooded with money otherwise the attention wouldn’t be as drastic. There were even glares tossed her way as they walked to the next class.

It was nice to have the attention, he had a smooth deep voice that sent her insides into a flurry. That was until they came upon Xiao. The boy was shorter than his tall geo counterpart and crossed his arms at their arrival. He glared at her as Zhongli added another sentence to their conversation. The words fell on deaf ears as Lumine tried to fight back a snarky remark. She had done nothing to earn this glare from him and it was irking her.

“Keep glaring like that and your face will freeze that way,” She blurted out.

“What?” He hissed at her.

“Ah,” Lumine back tracked, she didn’t mean to speak her thoughts like that, “you just look awfully peeved is all,” she decided on. He narrowed his eyes at her.

Day one, mouth already got her in trouble, nice.

They had a standoff for a few moments before Xiao conceded with a huff and turned into the room.

“Don't worry about him, he's weary of newcomers,” Zhongli said from besides her. She looked up to him for reassurance and was once again met with an honest gaze and smile.

“I-” She began to say and stopped to think about it, “I trust you.”

Even if he was lieing, what harm would come of it? She loses a friend she never even had?

Ancient runes was a snooze fest as expected. She sat next to an incredibly ordinary looking girl who should have hissed like a cat when Lumine sat down. It would have made the look she gave her less comical.

But things perked up in Adventuring 101. The class was useless to someone like her. It was basically preaching about basic safety the entire time. Don’t touch pryo slimes, they hurt. Don’t go off fighting electro monsters in the rain, that also hurts. Always have food rations and medical potions on you!

Blah.

She didn’t need this info, but it was a required class. Get a taste of everything before heading off to the college and decide what classifications you want. Stupid rules some adult made to torture the youngins.

It was fifteen minutes into the class. There was a saving grace, she had a seat next to Zhongli. He shared his book with her again and was polite and overly cordial as always. She assumed the class was full with everyone in attendance. There were a few empty desks but students could be sick or the class could have fewer students than desks.

Then HE walked in, opening the door without a care in the world, loudly. There was this beaming, disgustingly fake, smile plastered to him. A girl followed him inside, checking her makeup on a small compact mirror. They seated themselves in the empty spots adjacent to herself and Zhongli.

The teacher scolded him as he walked, but he ignored it with a shrug. His entire demeanor made her want to mop the floor with his pretty face. Just like the boys back home. She made a point to keep her eyes forwards or at the text in front of her. Not wanting to give him any ideas. There was a cold chill crawling up her spine again, he was staring.

The class continued onwards. The teacher quickly dropped the subject of publicly shaming Childe for walking in to class late. They were moving on to something at least slightly interesting she didn’t know too much about. How to read the stars and sun for location and time. It was something she never needed as she stayed close to home.

It was useful to her so she took out her notepad and began to scribble down some text out of the book as she teacher lectured. She made it a few words in before the girl next to Childe giggled in that high pitch way girls do when they are trying to impress a man.

She dared a side glance over to the table and noticed the girl enamored by him. Getting a full view of the back of her head as Childe whispered sweet nothings to her. He sensed her gaze and looked up, making eye contact. She went back to her work before the girl could turn, clearing her throat.

He was testing her; she could feel it. Between yesterday's stare down and this there was no mistaking it.

“Something wrong?” Zhongli asked her in a low whisper.

“Just a little difficult to get work done with so many distractions,” She growled.

“You will grow accustom soon,” He told her. She laughed quietly at his choice of words. Someone needed to remind him he was still a teenager.

The entire period passed with flirtatious whispers and laughs flying.

And not, one. God. Damn. Time, did the teacher say anything to the two culprits. Although something told her Childe was the true mastermind behind the distraction. She tried her best, she really did, but Lumine was never great at keeping her temper in control. Not when it came to completely asinine males making a side show out of a class.

Her pencil lead snapped on her paper.

“Shit,” she whispered.

“It seems you have snapped your lead,” Zhongli murmured. She refrained from calling him captain obvious. There was a chuckle to her right, this time clearly mocking and directed at her, she herself snapped. She turned and with pin point accuracy threw the pencil at her tormentor. The eraser bounced off his forehead, sending the object into an unknown destination in the room.

The smile fell from his features and they traded deadly glares. The girl sitting with him was busying herself cooing over him asking what's wrong. Oblivious to the events that just unfolded. Zhongli of all people fucking laughed.

She turned her glare into a smug grin reading ‘what are you gunna do about it? now shut the hell up’ and turned back to her work. She leaned back and crossed her arms.

“Well played young lady,” Zhongli whispered to her.

The option of fading into the background had vanished.

[azenta]

ur really good at articulating the sx experience lol..i wanted ur thots on the sx energy burning out. if an sx user sx-ed with a thing that no longer gave them that charge they would immediately drop it nd look for something else...but how does that apply to ppl nd relationships? granted sx-users have no intention of thinking about when the charge dies out (like sx-blinds)but when it does what do they do? drop them? or do they have a convo about why they want to leave nd proceed to do so? thanky

They can do either: drop or talk it out. Because that kind of issue is more related to healthiness and maturity than the sheer IVs themselves.

Unhealthy Response

When unhealthy and/or immature, they can drop you because the spark isn't intense "enough", according to their also unhealthy perspective, or dies out "too easily", or even because it's "too hard" to maintain and it feels easier to jump to one flame to another. They can also do the opposite and rather latch onto you because it was "too good" and so keep you for very selfish reasons, revealing in them a really possessive, jealous and manipulative little bitch that do everything to keep you around and try to spark things up to the point of burning and crashing to inevitable destruction (more likely Sx dom). 

This is mainly because when unhealthy, the auxiliary tends to be either ignored as there is a distorted perception that the dominant is never satiated enough, and this leads to perceive the auxiliary as a waste of time (level 7 to 9 of health). Or the auxiliary is recognized as a tool, but used poorly at the cost of the auxiliary need itself (level 5 to 6~7). 

For unhealthy Sx/sp, it leads them to see maintenance/preservation of relationships as either too harsh to do or pointless, leading to drop and abandon relationships willingly, or they view this maintenance as so !!!IMPORTANT!!! they refuse to let the flame dies out and goes overboard to maintain the given relationship to a point it intoxicates it and ends up killing it anyway. They destroy themselves in the process, ironically.

For unhealthy Sx/so, they see bonding, reciprocation and the feeling of belonging with the given person not as important either, leading to superficial empty relationships (same for Sx/sp denying sp) and abandoning or ignoring every relationship that doesn't provide this intensity. Or they jump within every single relationships relentlessly and ignites all of them without consideration to how the other feel in it, leading to consume and burn to ashes every single one of them even before anything could happen or destroying any foundation they had. They impose their Sx in every Soc relations, rather than use Soc to seek the ones that can give Sx.

For unhealthy So/sx, they'll tune out Sx as it will be seen as nuisible (complementarity, affinities, energy/intensity), so even if the spark was still there, they'll ignore or neglect it to not restrain their Soc, or they'll start doing something slightly similar to Sx/so and start igniting every relationships crossing their way, also leading to their inevitable destruction. The difference is So/sx use Sx "fire" as a way to light up their soc relationships, to make them "stronger/spicier", while Sx/so use Soc to provide more and more fuel to Sx (as a metaphor, soc becomes the woods to make the fire that is Sx bigger).

And for unhealthy Sp/sx, as above, they'll ignore it as it will be seen as a threat to Sp, or they'll start to ignite their relationships to "test" how tough they are, leading also to destruction because they'll make it burn until it cannot anymore, so until it is turns to ashes, "confirming" it wasn't that lasting (sp concern) anyway.

Healthy Response

Now, when healthy, they can still decide to drop it, because some relationships aren't worth pursuing if it actually lacks this much Sx quality to them, or talk it out, share their expectations and needs, and find compromise or ways to make it last healthily.

Healthy Sx/sp recognize Sp as its own set of needs, and therefore also incorporates the notion that they can maintain the level of intensity (energy) in their relationship without constantly pushing for intensity (transformation). They know there are boundaries and limits to be taken into account, and that demanding "more, more and more" actually leads to the loss and destruction of the relationship, because it breaks and over push those limits. Instead of transforming they just crash. They'll realize the reason why they never were satiated is because destruction without renewal doesnt lead to the transformation (mate/merge) Sx actually seeks, thus why they kept seeking for more.

Therefore, healthy Sx/sp will not drop relationships if they see the energy lowering, and might actually retreat from it more so to let time for both party to care for themselves and come back when they'll have enough resources to light up the fire again (/to merge, mate, get that enlightening moment, which demands lot of energy and synergy). Or another cute metaphor for it, they'll go seek woods in the forest, which requires a certain amount of it and so, also some time, in order to make a fire again. So, they'll go wander in their forest.

Healthy Sx/sp learned to recognize that a relationship is built with two individuals with different needs and aspirations, thus needing to do different things at different times, and so that it needs to be considered to keep the energy flowing. It demands energy to transform through one another, this is why they learn to respect Sp as a way to prepare for those times and moments to be able to "burn" bright (/vibe/flow/transform/"mate") with their people again. To take back the metaphor, they recognized some might be faster to gain wood, some in greater quantity, other in lesser quantity in less amount of time, due to a variety of reasons, ranging from "physical" limitations to different motivations (one wanting more wood, the other less) or even contextual ones (encountering wild animals, not finding wood, etc.). And some don't care about "wood" itself and have other methods (see Sp blinds). Therefore, they stop using Sp as a way to possess and leech people of their energy, as the resource itself, they rather place boundaries between them and their chosens instead of trapping their people within them.

They might also decide to cut out some people if they deem that the synergy is rather too destructive and so, doesn't lead to transformation but rather destruction, or that it just doesnt bring anything transformative. So it is too dull and doesnt bring anything out from each other, it is too stagnant and the energy barely moves and flows. There is absolutely nothing good about keeping a stagnant relationship. They will talk it out if they are worried about the synergy dying for good, and that's where they'll resort to Sp to help Sx gains some fuel and so are likely to retreat to do their activities, and to let you do yours, and "come back" after some times of resourcing. 

Also, when they retreat, since they neglect Soc, they neglect to reciprocate and bond with people on a more lightly and regular basis, thus why they vanish for periods of time or are barely talkative or even deny any talking. But worry not, they just established boundaries they deem necessary to preserve synergy. Or if you are worried and are a soc user, directly ask them rather than make scenarios about it. Tho, when Sx/sp get healthier, they usually allow some place for basic Soc and can show some reciprocation and do some talking instead of becoming extreme shut in when in Sp mode. So, you have even more reasons to ask them some news.

Healthy Sx/so will rather learn that one person or people in general cannot always prodigue you with intensity even if they want to, thus why it matters to reach other people and create new connections. They'll learn that to enhance the intensity and make it last, bonding and reciprocating actually help and temper the flame to make it bearable all while still being intense and transforming. They'll also recognize that belonging into groups or networks help them achieve better transformation and "mating" (/merging) and that creating many connections doesn't lower the intensity they invest in some of them, but rather help balance them out. Again, with the forest metaphor, they'll turn themselves to many (groups or many unrelated people) instead of one individual at a time to gain the resources to enlight Sx faster. Or they'll light up many fire at a time to be sure to always have a flame somewhere burning. As a group or alliances, the solidarity (thx to soc) is what keeps feeding the fire more than the wood itself (Sp) for sx/so.

They'll also learn to distinguish actual transformation from destruction like healthy Sx/sp, and so will be more aware that to gain Sx they dont need "more" of it but rather need something that helps them feed it and renew it (bigger flame vs feeding and caring for the flame). So, they'll also stop using soc as an escape route the moment Sx lowers in one of their connection and use it as a way to care for Sx (running away and burning other's wood (boundaries) just to gain a flame then leaving when it dies) .

Contrary to Sx/sp, they won't retreat to let the "flame" rest but rather engage other people while the chosens are resting or doing their life, as illustrated in the metaphor above. They'll also take news and interact now and then anyways to see where the person's at and how the energy feels as of now, as a mean to give some fuel but without engaging full Sx if it still feels unstable (not enough wood /energy). Where they'll have more trouble is actually the maintenance (vs consistence for Sx/sp). Since they don't value Sp (even tho, i'll argue the healthier they are, the more they recognize value to Sp), they can tend to disappear similarly to Sx/sp and then burst out of nowhere and chitchat like you never did before to then get lost in many other connections for a while. They'll be much more volatile if Sx is not that much present to a point of feeling distant or disappearing out of the blue for unknown period of times. On that Sx/sp can be more stable when they actually come back to you, but both Sx/so and Sx/sp can become wandering ghosts since lacking in either Soc or Sp makes them unreliable with the consistency and maintenance aspect of relationships. Metaphor again; Sx/sp will wander in the forest for the longest and be willing to discuss only until they can light up the fire, while Sx/so will run around from fire to fire to take part of those fire and bring it back to you, until there is enough fuel (usually "wood" aka energy) to light it up more intensely. They'll be more often present (frequency) through in and out than Sx/sp, but also stay for shorter periods (duration), while Sx/sp stay longer but come more rarely.

So, like healthy Sx/sp, they might try to talk it out if they get worried, but will wander in other connections or choose Soc methods such as casual bonding with you if they perceive the flame is either dying or becoming too destructive, as a mean to temper the flame. They can end up cutting people out for the same reasons as healthy Sx/sp if they judge it lacks any transformative component or it is too destructive.

Healthy So/sx will learn to recognize the value of Sx as its own needs, and that having many connections can be great, but can also be awful if there is no synergy and transformative component into their relationships. They'll learn that fewer but stronger connections is better than many shallow ones, and that it doesn't restrain them from pursuing new connections but rather help them weed out the "unworthy" ones. Metaphor time: they'll recognize that having a goal (creating a fire) helps bringing more solid solidarity and create the sense of belonging. Fire reunites and make people work for the greater good.

Again, healthy So/sx will also discern destruction from actual transformation and will thus not ignite relationships that are naturally devoided of them because of their nature (ex. professional networking, it could help but it is unecessary). They'll recognize the need to choose them more carefully and be able to strengthen their connections more properly. Again, metaphor, instead of burning each pile of woods just because they believe it is what everyone need, they'll seek people that actually are ready (enough wood) and want to ignite a fire (that have the actual goal to create a fire, instead of building a house with it like some would prefer). 

Therefore, when healthy, So/sx are not likely to drop an Sx connection. However, they will not prioritize them over the Soc aspect of it, so if you are exclusively an Sx connection, you might be put aside more often. However, it doesn't mean it's because they don't appreciate you nor doesn't care, but rather that 1. They prioritize other ways of connecting that respond to another need than Sx, and it's absent with you. 2. Sx is on and off and demand a highly specific synergy/synchronicity to gain energy as much as it spends it, thus why they will also go on and off with you (small fire that barely warm you up vs moderate fire that warm you up). And like Sx dom, they can also decide to cut off the connection if the synergy is toxic or too absent, especially if it becomes nuisible to their Soc need as well. Since they're healthy, usually it means they'll communicate it and won't let you guess the relationship is dead, if it was an important relationship for both of you. So/sx can also communicate their worry about the "flame" dying, but contrary to Sx dom, it's a first "alarm" signal to tell the Soc established is about to be jeopardized as well. Since for Sx dom, if the flame dies (doesnt light up anymore despite "the wood" or the support), then the connection is dead to them for sure, while for So/sx, if Soc is still well established, Sx can be dead for a while it won't matter as much, even tho it has importance (as it maintains stronger "alliances" /and friendships).

Finally, So/sx will also have trouble to maintain and preserve their interactions like Sx/so, so they can be more likely to change circle often or prioritize newer connections over their established one. Since they are Soc dom, it's even more typical of them to be social butterflies and loosing touch with the already established, long to date relationships (they value groups, alliance or friendships that have already fire to offer, and not the wood itself). Sx aux usually is the one helping to maintain or make them last longer, until they are mature enough to let Sp be a small part of their priority too. The fire gives a reason to have wood (Sp) to cater for.

Healthy Sp/sx will come to understand Sx actually helps them better preserve themselves, because Sp alone becomes pretty stagnant, and stagnation usually means things (yourself and your life) go no where. And this doesn't help to preserve in the long run. It's like rotting from the inside. They learn that they need some flow of energy too, and therefore allow for Sx connections. Metaphor: Having a small built up place is sure great but with no fire to keep you warm, it leads to cold which can ironically lead you to be unable to cater for more woods. Cold means your body won't be optimal and suffer in its capacity to actually preserve itself. Your body need warmth. So fire helps maintaining you and actually help you produce more.

Again, they also learn to distinguish pure destruction from transformation. They'll distinguish igniting something/someone and burning it until it can no longer do because it is turned to ashes (so, destroyed and ruined) versus lighting something/someone while considering its capacity to better maintain it and still gain an interesting intensity from it. Simply put, learning to take care of a relationship (or hobby) all while knowing how to spark it and keep the spark. Again with the metaphor; they'll understand that lighting every single resources they see just to get some temporary warmth to continue their things is not as Sp neither as Sx as taking the time to dedicate a set up for a fire or an actual place (like a small cabin or housing) that can contain it and make its warmth bigger and last longer. 

Therefore, healhty Sp/sx are less likely to drop relationships when the spark dies, even less likely than Sx doms. They can do without for a while like So/sx, but they also recognize that it is important, so they'll do their possible to spark it up. They'll give it up if they see it is destructive or if it stagnates (which is another form of destruction) and doesn't serve anyone in the relationship as this also jeopardizes Sp.

However, healthy Sp/sx are still the least likely to drop for good a relationship because of Sp dominance, all while being the least likely to actually reach out and form one. Since they are soc blind, they dont see the point to reach for the sake of it. Metaphor: they don't see the point of living in a village when they can make up their own house in the wood directly, near water and all the shit you need, especially since they know how to do all that stuff themselves. They come to understand the importance of getting things or even some few people that ignite fire as it makes things easier, but still, they don't see the point of more when few do the job very well. This is why losing those few relationships is hard on them and why they dont see the point of reaching for more either. In fact, they'll often let their few relationships do the soc job for them, and so go into those villages and bring the necessary when needed. They sometimes do it themselves, but not for long since they don't care about it, until they are healthy enough to recognize it actually makes things even more easier for their Sp and Sx concerns. 

Also, a little note for Sx blinds; reminder they also have Sx, because blind spot =/= not having the said instinct, and so they will have those "transforming/enlightening/flowing mergy" moments too, they just don't seek them nor deem them as important as soc and sp. In other words, with my sweet, sweet Ni metaphor; they value more building a house, even villages with woods and other resources, with the aid of communal (reciprocation, belonging, etc.) effort, than catering for fire itself. 

That's it. Sx blinds are not empty shell devoided of energy and fuel, they are FULL of it, they just dont see the point in pursuing it for its own sake (METAPHOR: the fire comes naturally from the effort of the number and the establishment of houses and villages = fire itself is not as important, and it is required in less intensity to do the job, even if it still helps out).

I'm pretty sure i answered beyond what you asked, but i hope you managed to find your answer in all that text lmao

[choices-and-voices]

hi sorry if this has already been asked somewhere but im was wondering if you had any tips on how to get the best experience without having to pay ?

Hi there! Don’t worry, this question hasn’t been asked before, and I am honestly super flattered that you value my opinion enough to ask it ☺️ I’m not sure how helpful my tips will be because I don’t exactly consider myself an expert in this, but here are some things that came to mind! I’ve gone into quite a bit of detail, but if you want a quicker overview, just stick to the bold headings. Also, if any of the people reading this have good tips of their own, please lmk! I’m always learning new things about how to do this too 💕

1. This one’s a bit obvious, but still – take the opportunities that the game gives you to earn free diamonds. That means watching the bonus ads every day (5 diamonds/day), playing through chapters as often as you can (including replaying old books if there are no new releases – 2 diamonds/chapter), and watching ads at the end of book chapters for an extra diamond. Obviously, all this is a bit of a balancing act – you want to be playing Choices often enough to build up your diamonds, but not so often that it takes over your life and makes you feel frustrated, because what’s the point of it if it’s not fun anymore, y’know? So I’ve always been careful not to overdo it. Even if all you do is watch the bonus ads every day, that’s 35 diamonds/week – basically, one big diamond scene a week – which is honestly not too shabby.

2. At any one time, only play 1-2 books that you’re really invested in, and try to supplement that with another 2-3 books that you’re not really invested in or are replaying just for diamonds. As tempting as it can be to rush through every good-looking book in the app all at once, that just leads to a situation where a) you’re trying to divide your free keys between waaay too many releases, and b) there are so many demands on you for diamonds, you never get to consistently spend them on anything. So I personally think it’s best to only read a couple of good books at once, and instead of marathoning them, break them up with chapters from less-good books – this builds up your diamond stash for spending on the good books. Which leads into my next point:

3. Don’t zip through books too fast – even if most of the chapters are already released, spreading them out helps you earn more diamonds for them in the meantime. I’m really lucky to have been playing Choices for so long that almost all the books were presented to me in weekly release format – if I downloaded the app for the first time today, and saw all the fully-released books on there, I feel like I would be way too overwhelmed to play. So I reckon that, even if a book isn’t technically a weekly release for you, make it a weekly release! You might decide to play all the books you’re really invested in on a particular day when you have more free time – say, a Sunday. Then, you have Monday-Saturday every week to earn diamonds for those books, and something to look forward to at the end of it all. As for what you do with those diamonds:

4. Be smart about what you spend diamonds on. There are a couple of different components to this tip – it involves things like a) figuring out which types of purchases are worth diamonds in general, b) figuring out which types of purchases you want to prioritise in certain books, and c) planning ahead before you start playing a book chapter about where you might want to spend diamonds. To address each of those things one-by-one:

a) Figure out which types of purchases are worth diamonds in general. Off the top of my head, there are 6 main types of diamond purchases in Choices: ‘friendly’ scenes with LIs (12-25 diamonds), ‘steamy’ scenes with LIs (25-30 diamonds), scenes with your whole friendship group, collectible items (e.g. the tapestry pieces in Bloodbound, the clues in Veil of Secrets, etc.), outfits, and pets. Your mileage may vary a lot on which of these are most important to you, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. But my general advice would be to i) prioritise group scenes above LI scenes, ii) prioritise ‘friendly’ LI scenes above ‘steamy’ LI scenes, iii) avoid collectibles, and iv) go for outfits and pets only if you really like the look of them. This advice is based on the fact that, firstly, I think you get a better experience of immersion in a book if you know a bit about all the characters around MC, rather than just about one LI; secondly, ‘friendly’ LI scenes tend to tell you more about the LI than ‘steamy’ scenes, which are often 80-90% copied-and-pasted erotica despite being more expensive; thirdly, collectibles are a massive drain on diamond stores, and almost always unlock quite short, generic scenes that it’s easy to find on Tumblr or YouTube; and fourthly, both outfits and pets don’t do much except appear in the story at key moments, which can be a really nice touch but is still only needed in moderation. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules, and you might find that those exceptions are sometimes book-specific. Which leads me to Part B of this point:

b) Figure out which types of purchases you want to prioritise in certain books. It’s all well and good for me to say that group scenes are usually better than LI scenes, but when I’m playing a book with an amazing LI but a pretty meh supporting cast (*cough cough* Myra Dixon carries Baby Bump on her shoulders *cough cough*), I obviously may need to adjust my spending habits slightly. Moreover, by focusing all your diamond spending on just one main thing per book – like Myra’s romance in Baby Bump, or the party’s side-quests in Blades of Light and Shadow, or the posse in Queen B – I think you end up with a much better playing experience, because you feel like you’re seeing at least one facet of the story in-depth instead of getting a patchy surface view of lots of different facets. For the most part, the purchases you prioritise in a book can mostly depend on personal taste, but there are a few books where some background knowledge might be helpful in the decision. Four things that I think are worth flagging are that i) the ‘competition books’ (America’s Most Eligible, Queen B, Hot Couture) do require regular outfit purchases to win, although winning isn’t that much better an experience than being runner-up; ii) Veil of Secrets and Nightbound are two books where it’s worth saving 30-35 diamonds for the final chapter, because your MC is forced to leave the small-town setting if you don’t; iii) Across the Void is a book that frequently invites you to spend diamonds to save characters’ lives, but their death arcs are honestly much better-written and more sensible than their survival arcs; and iv) the It Lives series is the only one where characters can die due to an accumulation of choices you make throughout the story, so maybe it’s worth keeping some diamonds in reserve for that one. Which just leaves us with one more sub-point:

c) Plan ahead before you start playing a book chapter about where you might want to spend diamonds. I want to take this opportunity to thank whichever people in the fandom maintain the Choices wiki, because oh my gosh, they are lifesavers. For the last year or so, my response whenever a new Choices chapter is released has been to wait a few hours, Google ‘[book name] choices’, open the wiki result, and skim through to check how many diamond choices are available & how much they cost. Because all the wiki includes are the possible responses to every choice presented – it doesn’t even state the wording of the choice itself – this is a relatively spoiler-free technique that helps a lot with big picture planning. For example, you might decide not to buy an early group scene because there’s a nicer-sounding LI scene later on, and come to think of it, you should replay a few more chapters of another book first to save up the diamonds for that scene. If you don’t mind encountering just a few more spoilers before you play the chapter, you can also scout out its diamond scenes in more detail by searching the relevant book or character tags on Tumblr, or by looking for a chapter stream on YouTube. You may decide that you don’t need to buy a diamond scene if you’ve already seen it played through by someone else, or alternatively, you may decide whether or not to buy a diamond scene based on how good it looks in an existing playthrough – in either case, these techniques can help you thoughtfully ration out the diamonds you have, instead of being caught off-guard whenever a diamond choice comes up.

5. On the subject of the Choices wiki, it’s also a great way to maximise your success in books without using diamonds. Whenever there’s a ‘right’ option to a choice that gives you a better outcome later in the chapter, that’s indicated in the wiki. So with a bit of pre-reading of the wiki before you play the chapter, and/or with the wiki open on a separate screen as you play, you can get the best outcome without having to buy that outfit or bonus scene that promised you ‘an advantage.’ Obviously, your mileage may vary on whether this method is actually worth it, or whether it takes all the fun out of Choices by ‘cheating’ at the gaming aspect. I personally view Choices as more of an interactive story app than a game I’m trying to beat, so I have no issue with this method, but opinions may differ and that’s okay.

6. If you’re really feeling like a lack of diamonds is limiting your playing experience, it may be best to start out with ‘cheaper’ books until you have more diamonds stored up. In this case, I’m using ‘cheaper’ to mean books where there are fewer diamond scenes, where diamond scenes are less expensive, and/or where diamond scenes don’t play as big a role in the plot. It can be hard to identify which books fit this bill, but as a general rule, it’s more likely to be the earlier-released ones or less-popular ones. Some which I’d recommend are the first few books of the Freshman series, the #LoveHacks series, the High School Story series, the Perfect Match series, Most Wanted, The Heist: Monaco, Wishful Thinking, Bachelorette Party, and The Royal Masquerade.

7. Finally, a really quick tip for making the most out of free keys – keys are used up as soon as you start a book chapter, and refresh ~every 3 hours. This means that, even if you don’t have time to play chapters every 3 hours, you should try to open the app roughly that often and just click to unlock a chapter. When you finally have time to play, you’ll have a whole lot of chapters ready to go plus another two refreshed keys, and you can power through them at whatever speed you need to fit in them into your break time or to earn diamonds for an upcoming release. Once again, this is a tip that may need to be practised in moderation, because you don’t want to be constantly interrupting your life to load up an app on your phone. But even if you just log in and unlock chapters every 6 hours, or every 12 hours, that’s still 2-4 extra chapters ready for you at the end of the day plus your two free keys.

I think that’s about all for my tips! Thanks for reading, and I hope it helped at least a bit ❤️

[alistircrat]

Hetalila Fanfiction Recs

Here’s a list of some of my favorite Hetalia fanfictions. Most have pairings, which I’ll specify. I put this up because I know I’m always on the lookout for good fanfiction and I wanted to help out anyone else who’s in the same boat :D Feel free to add onto this or rec me some too ;) Also a good master list of the ones I like LMAO. I’ve noticed I either like tragic, angsty fanfiction or really fluffy ones. A lot are rated M. And a LOT of USUK and Spamano #srynotsry Disclaimer: I did not write any of these; they all belong to their respective authors.

Update: Ive had this sitting in my drafts for like over 4 years and i began it when i was super into hetalia n fanfiction LMAO, what better time to post this when i should be studying lmao its nearly 4 am halp

UsUK

The Secret : Rated T, 32k words, 5 chapters, Drama/Romance, Complete Arthur's sister, engaged to prince Alfred, is killed before she even meets him. Arthur's parents do not want to shame themselves by ending the engagement and force Arthur to dress like his sister and marry Alfred instead. But can this secret be kept? (note: very interesting!! I loved every second of it)

The Courting of Alfred Jones : Rated M, 26k words, 13 chapters, Romance/Hurt/Comfort, Incomplete Alfred Jones is the most popular guy in school and also extremely homophobic. This is why Arthur is his new favourite 'victim', but Arthur has no intentions of grovelling in the dust for him. Punk!ArthurxJock!Alfred (note: Rated M, so there IS some explicit material and I advise viewer discretion. Another highschool AU. Sad that it’s probably not going to finish but it’s worth the read)

When I Only Wanted to Save the World : Rated M, 29k words, 11 chapter, Romance, Complete Alfred is a firefighter in New York City. When he gets badly injured, he takes a trip to London to recover. There he meets a man named Arthur, who ends up helping him recover from wounds he didn't even know he had. (note: warmed my weeb heart)

United Again : Rated T, 31k words, 7 chapters, Humor/Romance, Complete Arthur gets a letter in the mail informing him of his school's ten year reunion.

Unexpected : Rated T, 5.7k words, One-shot, Humor/Drama, Complete World Academy. When Arthur was asked to tutor the star of the American Football team, he expected several things. Sitting in an apartment full of Asian children was not one of them. (cute!)

The Invitational Year : Rated M, 208k words, 41 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Alfred is an awkward dork, despite the fact his dad is President. Arthur is a member of British royalty, and he's a perfectionist loner. Both boys are given an invitation to attend the prestigious World Academy and, naturally, they're roomies. (note: A favorite of mine! Quite long but very much worth it. Highschool AU. Can be silly yet dramatic. Anyways, you should read it! Viewer discretion due to sexual themes)

The Sophomore Year : Rated M, 173k words, 34 chapter, Romance/Drama, Complete After meeting at boarding school, Alfred and Arthur became unlikely friends and then lovers. Now, they'll face their sophomore year in America and all the challenges that come with being young, famous, and madly in love. (note: sequal to The Invitational Year)

And All That Jazz : Rated M, 98k words, 22 chapters, Romance, Complete Alfred is approached by the Student Body President, Arthur, for help on his math exam. They hate each other, but maybe opposites can attract with the help of something unexpected. (note: I love this fic. Highschool AU. Also involves music...cuz liek yknow the title)

1912 : Rated T, 52k words, 9 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Cynical, overweight and bored in the dull twilight of his empire, Arthur finds distraction in the form of rekindling his relationship with Alfred on board the RMS Titanic during her doomed maiden voyage.

The Arrow was Shot : Rated K+, 5.8k words, One-shot, Romance, Complete In order to win his family's respect, Arthur enters a tournament to win the Princess of America's hand in marriage. At the tournament, he befriends the mysterious Alfred- a fellow competitor who is equally determined to win. As he and Alfred grow closer, he begins to question what is more important to him: his family's respect... or Alfred.

Flirting with Failure : Rated T, 2k words, One-shot, Romance/Humor, Complete Alfred just wanted to get one date with Arthur Kirkland before the semester ended. To do that he had to speak with him. Thus, he was set up for failure.

Hero Frequency : Rated T, 12k words, 3 chapters, Romance/Humor, Incomplete America's got the coolest and most awesome band in school, and he's totally going to win the Battle of the Bands contest. Or at least he might, if he can get England to put aside their past issues long enough to play guitar...

The Gentleman and the Hero : Rated T, 57k words, 21 chapters, Romance, Complete World Academy students have been paired up for an anonymous email exchange program, so they can talk to someone about school and personal problems in private. These are the emails of two students nicknamed 'The Gentleman' and 'The Hero'. (note: I also love this. I find it very cute and also very in character. I want an email buddy lol. Highschool AU)

Breathless : Rated T, 35k words, 4 chapters, Angst/Hurt/Comfort, Complete Arthur Kirkland never thought that golden boy Alfred Jones would ever have a reason to attempt suicide. Then again, how much did he really know about the oh so popular blonde? The rumor mill would surely chew him up and spit him out. (note: p sure this is another favorite of mine. Though angsty, I really enjoyed the development between the two. Highschool AU. Really great read!!)

Static : Rated T, 45k words, 9 chapters, Drama/Romance, Incomplete Sequel to Breathless. Arthur always thought that the incident with Alfred's arms would forever be the biggest hurdle their friendship would face. But as the looks change and the touches linger, it becomes frightfully clear that he was dead wrong about that. (note: continues after Breathless, but not finished ): worth the read anyway)

Ask Me Anything : Rated T, 7k words, One-shot, Romance/Humor, Complete Alfred starts to follow Arthur on tumblr. It's not long until they become friends... and possibly more.

The Cost of Affection : Rated M, 61k words, 32 chapters, Angst/Romance, Incomplete Being a whore is easy: all Arthur has to do is spread his legs and take the money. He doesn't have to face his past; nor does he have to deal with love. And for good reason - because when he does fall head-over-heels for someone, he's forced to realize that his sins go beyond prostitution, and that even as he rediscovers himself, his past is coming back to haunt him after all.

You Can’t Take the Sky Away From Me : Rated T, 113k words, 32 chapters, Adventure/Romance, Incomplete Ace pilot America is on a mission for the World Military when a chance encounter with a group of sky-pirates leads him to team up with their captain, England, against a malevolent group that wants to fill the sky with zeppelins. (note: Steampunk AU. This is a really cool fic!)

We’ll Meet Again : Rated M, 43k words, 13 chapters, Romance/Angst, Complete WW2 AU. London pub owner Arthur Kirkland is driven to distraction by loud, brash American fighter pilot Alfred Jones. Unable to stop it, Arthur finds himself falling for Alfred's charms... just as the pilot is preparing to leave for war. (note: a hetalia fandom clASSIC. MUST READ. unfortunately the OG fics were deleted so someone reposted it, giving credit to the OG author George deValier. this will rip ur heart out n tape it poorly back together)

Franada

La Patisserie de La Rose : Rated M, 35k words, 6 chapters, Romance, Complete Accountant Matthew Williams is used to being unnoticed, ignored, and forgotten. That is until pastry chef Francis Bonnefoy appears like a burst of colour in his dull, grey life. 

AmeViet (yes, Vietnam!)

Hard to Get : Rated T, 57k words, 20 chapters, Adventure/Romance, Complete During World War Two, serious, limited Vietnam meets the boisterous America. Amid fighting, friendship, and stress, America tries to get Vietnam to like him, but she won't let that happen. Or will she? (note: One of my all-time favorites, unforgettable. I can never find fics of this pairing, it’s so hard! But this is a really great fic, highly recommend. also after learning more about Vietnam history, i might give this yet ANOTHER re-read with my new perspectives)

Of Broken Promises and the Taste of Freedom : Rated T, 1.4k words, One-shot, Hurt/Comfort/Romance, Complete Vaguely, Vietnam wondered if this was what freedom tasted like. If perhaps, the hot waves that crashed through her body and set her skin on fire was what it was like to know that you are truly free.

GerIta (apologies, I don’t read too much GerIta LOL)

Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart : Rated M, 104k words, 18 chapters, Romance/Angst, Complete WW2 AU. Feliciano Vargas is a passionate, if slightly scared, Italian resistance member. Falling in love with a German fighter pilot was the last thing he expected... and it will test his national loyalty, and his heart, to their limits. (note: another VeraVerse, so well written! you will not ragret. also a repost since Og was deleted, all credit to George deValier)

RusAme

Dear Diary : Rated T, 55k words, 17 chapters, Humor/Romance, Complete Alfred F. Jones isn't gay. Just read his diary; you'll see. (note: I absolutely love high school or college AUs, omg. Also this is hilarious. I can really relate to how Alfred's rambling)

PruHun

The Most Awesome Date Plan Ever : Rated T, 7.5k words, 6 chapters, Romance/Humor, Complete It was foolproof. He had worked out every plan, every detail and each possible outcome almost guaranteed him Elizaveta's love. Until it was ruined by Gilbert's two cockblocking best friends. (note: funny and cute)

Táncol? : Rated K+, 24k words, 6 chapters, Humor/Romance, Complete Elizaveta is determined to find out who Gilbert wants to ask out for the school dance. If that means bullying his friends, being hired by Gilbert to slave over a cake, and invading his diaries, so be it. (note: Another favorite! Very cute)

Hello Hurricane : Rated T, 61k words, 18 chapters, Hurt/Comfort/Tragedy, Complete Sequel to "Táncol?" Elizaveta, Ludwig, Francis, and Antonio are forced to watch Gilbert slowly fade away every day. (note: It might seem like I have lots of favorites, cuz I do and this is one of them. Warning, I cried a lot towards the end. Highly recommend)

PruCan

That Song Called Love : Rated T, 62k words, 25 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Matthew had always resigned himself to a fate of musical obscurity on a supporting instrument, but after meeting an ex-delinquent named Gilbert, he just might learn to take the lead. (note: contains other minor pairings. Although she doesn’t play a huge role I’m so happy Vietnam is in it Dx)

Operation Not to Hot : Rated T, 10k words, 2 chapters, Romance/Humor, Complete Gilbert Beilschmidt is dorky, nerdy, and has serious confidence issues. He doesn't really care about himself until he sees Matthew Williams, AKA super-hot-hockey-jock. With Matthew's heart in mind, Gilbert undergoes a complete transformation. (note: funny story. Prussia being Prussia)

Overdue : Rated T, 12k words, 8 chapters, Romance/Supernatural, Complete "Well, Gott, Mattie, at least look someone in the eye when you tell them you're a ghost. Make a good impression!" (note: cute lil one-shot series)

I Have all Summer to Fall For You : Rated T, 162k words, 38 chapters, Incomplete At school, Gilbert makes fun of Matthew, and Matthew just wants to be left alone. But then when the hot days of summer roll around, and they have nothing but free time, things happen that NO ONE could have planned for! (note: MY ALL-TIME FAV PRUCAN FiC Ever. Probably will never finish but the length and quality make up for it)

PruAus

Please Don’t Read the Verdict : Rated M, 57k words, 11 chapters, Romance/Crime, Incomplete District Attorney Roderich Edelstein is faced with a gruesome, controversial murder. He has three months to build a case against the accused, but more than his will to prosecute may be destroyed in the process. (note: sadly not done, but highly interesting!)

Lily of the Lamplight : Rated M, 27k words, 4 chapters, Romance/Angst, Incomplete WW2 AU. Austrian musician Roderich and German soldier Gilbert are forced into an army prison unit and a fight for survival on the Russian Front. But in the midst of blood and death and hell on earth, how long can they fight their desire for each other?  (note: MY 👏 FAV 👏 VERAVERSE 👏 I loveeee this fic, I’m so SAD it’s nEvEr going to be completed. Savor those 4 chapters. Luckily theyre long *cries* Also love the set of main characters, including Prussia, Austria, Berwald, and Poland. Also listen to the song the title is based off of, i luv it too)

SuFin

Cheers to a New Life : Rated M, 94k words, 47 chapters, Romance/Family, Complete Sweden could only find a job as a Kindergarten teacher and the famous Kirkland's little Peter happens to be enrolled into his class. But it is not Mr. Arthur Kirkland who is picking Peter up, it's this angel with the greatest ass Berwald's ever seen. (note: viewer discretion, mostly on later chapters. also has cute lil Peter/Sealand)

My Heart, In Segments : Rated T, 14k words, 10 chapters, Family/Hurt/Comfort, Complete Berwald is a man left alone, and Peter was a kid left behind. Berwald's not really the perfect dad, Peter's not really innocent anymore, and Tino's not really sure he's ready for something so real. But, maybe... Maybe it's time.

In Want of a Wife : Rated T, 41k words, 18 chapters, Romance/Humor, Incomplete Berwald's life is turned upside down when he is accepted into Hetalia International University, and everything changes for the better when he catches a glimpse of his future wife who lives down the hall. Who cares if Tino doesn't accept it yet? (note: Human AU; Lietpol is a bonus in all this hehe)

Treatment : Rated T, 55k words, 12 chapters, Romance/Humor, Incomplete Tino is a young psychology major, well known for being kind and eager to help others with their issues, but less so for his habit of profiling "patients" on campus. His therapist's eye has fixed on Berwald, but will he be the one who ends up on the couch? (note: Though not fully done, it’s one of my favorite sufin fics. Also hilarious bahah)

Catch Perfect : Rated T, 35k words, 8 chapters, Romance/Friendship, Incomplete When Berwald loses everything he is forced to move into a share house with an insane Dane, a sociopathic Norwegian, an unfathomable Icelander and a perfect Finn who makes it all worth putting up with. (note: can be crazy and random, which is probs why I liked it so much. also by George deValier I believe, reposted onto wattpad after it got deleted)

DenNor

Hummingbird : Rated T, 61k words, 12 chapters, Tragedy/Hurt/Comfort, Complete Lukas' only goal in life was to take care of his younger brother, until he was diagnosed with an irregular heart rhythm. His originally peaceful stay in hospital was interrupted when the loud, cheerful Mathias was moved into the bed beside him and refused to leave him alone; yet as his health began to deteriorate, the Dane decided to fall in love with him. (note: I love this fic so much, it’s also another favorite of mine. Very cute but with lots of angst, ahhh just what I ordered)

Secret Crowds : Rated M, 3.4k words, One-shot, Hurt/Comfort/Romance, Complete An explosion leaves Denmark with a permanent brain injury and Norway struggles to find his role in their relationship as the line between lover and caregiver begins to blur. (sad and touching)

I also read a lot of DenNor so im like ?? where the fics at LOL. but i think i read more DenNor doujinshis, so that’s def something yall should look into

Spamano

A Beautiful Story : Rated T, 16k words, 10 chapters, Tragedy/Romance, Complete Lovino Romano Vargas is a suicidal designer who is unhappy with his fate. One day, he chances to meet Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, who turns his life upside down.

Flashlight : Rated T, 38k words, 11 chapters, Parody/Romance, Complete "If I throw a tomato at you, vampire bastard, will you still sparkle under the sauce?" (note: OKAY SO This is actually a Twilight parody w Romano as Bella and Spain as Edward. I don’t really like Twilight but I really like this version of it lmao. Funny and a good read. Mostly Romano’s POV, cRACK )

New Batteries : Rated T, 41k words, 10 chapters, Humor/Romance, Complete Sequel to Flashlight. "WELL, I NEVER LIKED YOU, EITHER. WHAT NOW, YOU STUPID SPARKLY EXCUSE OF A VAMPIRE?" (note: also a parody, just the sequel to the previous one listed. I understand the Twilight plot through these better than the original)

Kismet : Rated M, 174k words, 52 chapters, Romance/Fantasy, Complete Lovino learns the hard way that things change and that they can change quickly. The necklace fell and now he's in a strange land far from home. Will he ever see his brother again? Will he find his way home? Or will he discover home is where the heart is? Fate is a strange woman and can work in mysterious ways. (note: RATED M, viewer discretion. the author has a list of warnings on the first chapter you can look at so you know what you’re reading. Fantasy AU)

Catch You, Catch Me : Rated M, (basically)37k words, 7 chapters, Drama/Romance, Complete Clumsy, clueless detective Romano is on the trail of the infamous handsome and charming thief El Apasionado Caballero. But there's more to this, what seems like a simple game of cat and mouse, than meets the eye.

The Bet : Rated T, 20k words, 9 chapters, Romance/Humor, Complete When someone kisses you, and then moves away you'd think that would be it. But when Antonio comes back from Spain he wants Lovino to be his again. Except Lovino now hates Antonio...which sucks for Lovino because Antonio isn't going to let go that easily.

Zero Tolerance : Rated M, 55k words, 24 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Lovino lives a perfect life. Or atleast thats how he is suppose to appear. Antonio lives a life as a dangerous gangbanger. North Side meets South Side as these two are partnered in their Chemistry class. But there is one chemical reaction these 2 arent prepared for- Love. (highschool AU)

Breathless in the Atmosphere : Rated T, 31k words, 3 chapters, Hurt/Comfort/Romance, Complete Antonio only needed money for marble. He needed to make his art. And a chance encounter on the subway offers him a job as a male escort. It was just for the money. He could stop anytime he wanted to. Really. (note: viewer discretion advised. contains prostitution and suicidal ideation)

Before the Snow Falls : Rated T, 19k words, 2 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Lovino, jersey number nine, right winger. He was ready to pass the ball, ready to set up the win, but Antonio, opposite team, center fielder, was ready too. Someone thought, and someone didn't, and they crashed. Hard. A few months later, Lovino's on crutches, Antonio has scholarships, and they have to deal with the aftermath of what happened.

Door to Door : Rated T, 3.5k words, One-shot, Humor/Romance, Complete Do not open the door. It could be a zombie, an unwanted boyfriend of your brother's, or a persistant salesman by the name Antonio Carriedo.

Numbered Lithograph : Rated M, 133k words, 29 chapters, Drama/Romance, Complete When Lovino starts attending art school with his brother he finds his most important lesson doesn't come from his professors, but from a culinary student at a sister school: sometimes the flaws hold the beauty. (note: Probably my favorite spamano fic. Very touching. Has fluff and angst)

Bésame Mucho : Rated M, 48k words, 6 chapter, Angst/Romance, Incomplete WW2 AU. Lovino Vargas only ever wanted something exciting to happen in his boring, everyday Italian village existence. He never expected war, Resistance, love, passion, treason, or a cheerful, confusing, irritatingly attractive Spanish freedom fighter. (note: ANOTHER 👏 ONE 👏OF👏MY👏FAVS👏 BUT SAD BC ITLL NEVER FINISH HDUEOFREGH. Also by George DeValier and reuploaded onto wattpad (originally on ff.net)! I’m in love with the writing. Incomplete but sooo worth the read.)

Bad Touch Trio (may or may not contain pairings/slight pairings)

Oh No, We’re Hot : Rated T, 1.4k words, One-shot, Friendship/Humor, Complete In which, after a summer apart, the Bad Touch Trio realizes that they have become really attractive. Really slight hinted Spamano. (note: I absolutely love the BTT, this is a cute short fic about them)

The Trap : Rated T, 4.7k words, One-shot, Friendship/Humor, Complete The prompt was Prussia and Spain meeting France for the first time, thinking he's a girl, kiddy-courting him, then finding out he's a boy, but still kiddy-courting him. Exactly as wacky as it sounds. (note: another cute story about the BTT and their rad friendship! I need this in my life)

Multiple Pairings

Playing Cupid : Rated T, 24k words, 15 chapters, Romance/Humor, Complete In Everett High School there is a secret club called the yaoi club. It is their job, during Sadies, to set up couples. This year Elizabeta has an ambitious plan. She is going to find a date for the infamous Lovino Vargas. Her choice is Antonio, unfortunately half the girls want to ask him too. Will she and her friends succeed? Spamano, UsUk, Prucan, GerIta, others (note: very cute highschool AU! highly recommend! also contains many of the hetalia girls, which is amazing~)

No Pairings

Bad Pasta : Rated T, 13k words, 6 chapter, Mystery/Tragedy, Complete Kiku and Arthur trade rooms. (note: Author also made a game based on this posted on deviantart: Bad Pasta game. I really liked it, especially since I’m into hetalia fangames and whatnot. warning, contains death of characters)

Fun with Former Vikings : Rated K+, 63k words, 17 chapters, Friendship/Family, Complete Brothers that are too awkward to even stand next to each other, husband and 'wife,' and that one guy that drinks a lot. The Nordics couldn't be any more different. And neither could the situations they get themselves into. (note: I love love love the Nordics. This is also probably one of my all-time favs. I love them as bros Dx)

God Only Threw the Humans out of Paradise : Rated K+, 4.5k words, One-shot, Friendship, Complete 12 years is nothing in the life of a Nation. But to a puppy, it's a lifetime. This is a look at 12 years of England's life through the eyes of man's best friend.

Gutters : Rated M, 98k words, 20 chapters, Adventure/Drama, Complete 'The Calamity' has left the world stripped and dying. Alone in a civilian bunker in Munich, Sealand will be reunited with the last known living member of his surrogate family and together, they will set out across Europe to find those they have lost. (note: It’s an adventure story starring Sealand and Denmark. Can be really intense and eMOTIONAL i cried like a bitch, highly recommend. Probably one of my 👏 favorite👏  fics of all time)

Ditches : Rated M, 2.4k words, 2 chapters, Drama/Family, Incomplete Prequel to Gutters. In the days leading up to The Calamity, the world braces and families struggle not to be torn apart.

Breathe Me : Rated T, 66k words, 21 chapters, Angst/Hurt/Comfort, Complete "God I'm so fat." "No, Alfred. You're not. You're –" "Stop it! I am and you know it! The whole world knows! Just stop okay?" Trigger Warning, Human AU, and F.A.C.E. Family. (note: very important TRIGGER WARNING due to mention of eating disorders, verbal abuse, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.)

[suumekoi]

By @mang0tree BECAUSE I FORGOT TO PUT YOUR USERNAME IN THE LAST ONE

- - - - x

hdsfjdsf helo i am Back 2 ramble abt my ideas :] uhh this might b a bit more scattered then last time bc i dont have as solid of an idea for the rest of the story so this might b more just talking abt concepts more then anything else sweats (i have ideas involving gameplay and all here too so i might fit that in somewhere)

SO we left off w/ divinus telling yuelia and the protag that he figured out lava lamp dragon (hdxkgfdg thats its name now i have decided everyone settled on calling it lava lamp dragon) can go poof between dimensions w/e it wants and theyre all just there like "well fuck this aint good" bc this means the drago can now go w/e it wants basically to get itself more energy, and the protag is just like "ok well i can go chase after i-" but then divinus shuts the protag down saying that they still dont know what this drago is abt or where it came from or even what it wants to Do exactly and that its too dangerous for a human like them 2 go after

after that the protag is walking back 2 castele with their arms crossed all >:[ bc Divinus Wont Let Them Chase After Lava Lamp Dragon, and yuelia notices and says "hey, it's nothing personal [player]... not even me and lili could stand up to that thing. i think he's just trying to look out for you." and thats not. Extremely relevant or anything i just had the idea for that dialogue in my head

yuelia splits up w/ the protag once they get back 2 town 2 go uh. Do Stuff and the protag just stands there for like 2 seconds before thinking 'ok im gonna find a way to travel 2 a different dimension Myself if nobody else is gonna help' so uhhh Commence Research Montague (i dont actually know how they figure out this thing yet ok just pretend they found an old book on it or somethin) and after looking around they find a source talking abt some sealed up treasure that probably has the kind of thing theyre lookin for oh boy!!!! but they dont recognize the location, and so they ask around 2 a few other ppl who end up suggesting they ask lili since she travels around a lot and might recognize it

and lili's doin mostly ok by this point, shes awake and can move around fine and all but ppl still want her 2 rest 2 regain Al her strength before goin out adventuring again or anythin (despite her protests otherwise jfgkdfg) so the protag goes up and asks lili if she knows abt the location they found, and lili thinks for a moment before responding that she recognized the description where what theyre lookin for might be and has a vague idea where she might b able 2 find it, and then looks at the protag all like "why are you so curious about this place?" so the protag ends up explaining what happened with divinus and how they think if they find the Thing in this Place that itll make them able 2 help stop lava lamp dragon, and lili goes like 'hm' and sits there for a minute before going "you know im going to come with you, right?"

dsjsdkf and even if the protag tries 2 argue w/ lili shes like Set on coming bc she wants to see what the fuck this thing is too, so lili gathers her gear and her and the protag sneak out of town 2 go explore spooky place ooo!!!!! so after making it thru the Place (i um. havent decided what it is yet maybe a sort of ruins or cave) at the end u notice that there Is somethin at the end there, so u go up and investigate and it turns out its some kind of funky lookin gauntlet and the protag just goes 'oh cool!' and puts it on immediately and um side note this gauntlet May be slightly cursed and you May not be able to take it off once u put it on but ykno still thinkin on that part

so ANYWAYS the protag puts on the gauntlet and lili goes "oh wow we actually Found something here! we just, uh.... need to find out what it does now, i guess." so the protag thinks for a moment, before deciding to see what happens if they hit something w/ the gauntlet, so they smack the wall w/ their hand and BOOM the wall cracks open 2 make way 2 a portal 2 an unknown world that the protag and lili end up getting pulled into

and um. this is the part where most of my concrete ideas for Story kinda end but my idea for this world was sorta like what reveria would look like if celestia hadnt come in 2 help everyone by creating lives so like. mostly nature and not much of civilization to see except for the occasional ragtag group of survivors but also ofc not just reveria itll also b its own world w/ its own unique stuff 2 it and all, i just thought itd b interesting 2 explore what would have happened if celestia never came 2 help reveria in the first place

so basically then its just lili and the protag exploring this new world, meeting a group of survivors that explain everything that happened in this world and all and u try 2 help them out before u head back (considering having something of a Lava Lamp Dragon Encounter here, not rlly a fight persay but you might spot it from afar and try 2 chase before it escapes)

after u make it back 2 castele Not Dead lili mentions to the protag she wants to look into that gauntlet they found more mostly bc shes never seen or heard of it before (and shes been a lot of places) and wants to be sure it doesnt have like Sinister Origins or anything

and basically after u unlock another world thru Story Progression ur essentially free 2 stop at any time and go back 2 explore that place, u can like go there 2 complete quests and theres also somewhat of a Side Story in each world where u can learn more abt the world and also help the ppl solve some other issue they got going on in their world Aside from the lava lamp dragon that might b planning on destroying everything (so for example in the first world their issue would be that uh. theres a lot of monsters everywhere)

the second world ive been thinkin could b somethin of a steampunk world with legally required scrappy mechanic and a tiny robot friend named beep bop bip (bip for short) and uh. the third world is the one ive thought out the least but i wanna go for some kind of Mythical foresty place, maybe with non human inhabitants like bird ppl or somethin

and then the 4th world (the final one u unlock) i want 2 b all spooky and ominous, bc thats the world that the final boss is going to happen in where u fight Lava Lamp Dragon for the last time

so that sorta. all i have in terms of ideas for now i think?? unless im forgetting something jdfgkdg but i definitely think i wanna go w/ the whole celestias sister being behind this thing bc that would be a very interesting thing 2 explore........ at the end i feel like celestias sister would b like trying 2 command lava lamp dragon but it has gone cazy w/ power and ends up not listening 2 celestias sister so the protag is just (pulls out sword) "guess im gonna have to save you from your own hubris" and UM another side note but i also do wanna include the guys from the first fl game too jdfgkd there is just a Lot and it is kinda complicated 2 try and fit everyone in when the story is sorta still a wip so they are There. Somehow

im thinkin abt that cursed gauntlet idea atm and idk if thats like. Generic or not but i feel like it would be interesting if the protag somehow just forcibly got themselves involved in this whole thing w/ celestias sister and Lava Lamp Dragon just by getting this gauntlet stuck on them jdfgdlgk but yea either way im donw now woo!! no more ramble

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The protagonist sounds quite lively in your story xD putting on the gauntlet just because it looks cool. I think the gauntlet should jump at the protag instead, or maybe it could be alive, like it came from the other dimension to search for a hero/chosen one and our protag happens to be there. It would be like yuelia/flutter and dogu.... But a gauntlet I guess xD

(Also it would cool if the gauntlet can control the protag too, like once you reach the final boss battle, the protag lost control and we have to play as our old protagonist, lili in this case. Or the other way round. I just love it when games makes us battle our previous protag. ❤️❤️)

But a dimension where celestia didn't come to reveria sounds interesting! ... there's so much you can make of it! The current characters in reveria would still exist in the other dimension but living their life differently!

[aelaer]

Whumptober 30: Recovery

I did say at the beginning of this series that Endgame was sorta… not really paid attention to. So yeah, same mantra.

Direct sequel (and conclusion!) to all of these:

Part 1: Shackled Part 2: Bound Part 3: Winded Part 4: Muffled Scream Part 5: Beaten

If you’ve been able to read the rest of the series without any of the warnings being an issue, then yeah, this’ll be fine. Just minor canon-typical violence.

30. Recovery

The world exploded into a series of reds, whites, purples, and blacks that blinded his sight and made him shut his eyes at the dizzying cacophony. It was accompanied by the sound of pulsing energy, explosive fire, and cracked stone, and beyond all that there were shouts of surprise and chaos.

When Stephen dared open his eyes again, the abominable horror reaching out from the inky darkness, ready to tear into him and consume him, was gone. He squeezed his eyes shut once more, then opened them yet again; yes, it was really gone. The portal was broken, the ritual interrupted by gold and red streaks, loud sounds, and figures he couldn't quite make out in his current state.

A small part of his mind wondered if this was an illusion by the eldritch abomination that had entered his mind. It was very possible; with such timing, it did seem a little too good to be true. That would be a very good nightmare, and he knew such beings were certainly capable. Was this one? It probably could do something like that, but it seemed more of the world-exploding type of demon rather than something so personable. It had, however, singled him out by name across the multiverse...

Stephen slowly shook his head out of his rambling thoughts. He needed to pay attention in case this wasn't an illusion or fever dream or anything of the sort. There were definitely people fighting, that much was obvious. Definitely Kamar-Taj sorcerers, and quite a few of them at that. That red stuff… that was Wanda Maximoff. She used Chaos Magic, didn't she? He wondered if she would be willing to let him study her abilities a bit more, after all this… but wait, Maximoff. Avengers? Would the Avengers really bother with him? This wasn't even Earth.

Mmm, world-ending, though. He did say that to Wong, didn't he? Wong didn't like the name, either (and now it was a name Stephen refused to directly think about in his head, not after seeing the demonic creature); now he understood Wong's horror. Was the powerful demon still in his head? All this truly could just be an illusion perpetrated by the entity to give him a false hope before ending his miserable life—

"Doctor Strange," a soft voice said behind him, and it caused him to startle (and jerk his wrists, which really hurt, dear fuck, how hard had he tugged at the ropes?). "It's Natasha Romanoff. Clint and I are getting you out of here."

He wasn't quite sure what he should say, at least when he could speak again. 'Thank you' seemed rather inadequate. Would asking them to prove they were real be too rude?

Before he could think of a good answer, the ropes at both wrists were cut and oh God it was agony, absolute agony, and he didn't even try to catch himself. Thankfully two sets of hands caught him before he completely did a faceplant on the stone altar (and in his own blood— that was a surprising amount of blood). They maneuvered him to the back of the altar, away from the explosions and colors and shouting. Clint was taking off the awful, awful gag as Natasha said into an earpiece, "Need a portal."

Wait, no, there was still fighting going on. "Need to help," Stephen murmured the moment he could speak.

"You need to sit tight until we get you into the medbay," Clint retorted.

He opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly Wong was there, just a few feet away. He blinked at him, but Wong was already forming a portal in between himself and the small group. Before Stephen could say anything, his friend pushed it towards them.

Oh. This must by the so-called medbay. It smelled very much like a medbay. They were still sitting on the floor, though now Natasha and Clint were trying to pull him to his feet and truth be told, Stephen really didn't feel like walking.

Everything hurt. He let the two of them support him as he took a deep breath. When he looked up, he was being ushered into a room by nurses and doctors he didn't recognize. They started asking questions, talking, and fuck it, no matter if this was an illusion or reality, he wasn't going to just stand by as they talked about his state over him.

"Hypovolemic, but not in shock," he interrupted one of the nurses as he was helped to lay on his uninjured stomach upon the bed. "Well… maybe mild shock at most. Definitely not— didn't lose over thirty percent. Didn't hit arteries." It was just the back; there were many more deadlier places to bleed from. He'd seen more lost blood in the ER time and again. He was fine.

Well, mostly fine.

So long as this wasn't an illusion, that is. He looked at his surroundings as they started the initial work on him. The tech was more advanced than he was used to at the Metro-General, but not so alien that it was completely incomprehensible. Natasha and Clint were in the corner of the large room, saying… something he couldn't hear. That made sense with the distance and the noise around him. So that was good, okay. At some point the staff got him hooked up to an IV, oximeter, and a sensor he wasn't familiar with for his other vitals. Something from Wakanda, perhaps… that was also a good sign. Good signs.

Stephen slowly began to relax, a sensation which only increased when some sort of painkiller hit his system. It wasn't a heavy opioid, but it turned the flaming pain into something that felt more like a sting than anything and he could work with that. They applied topical painkillers as they cleaned out and sutured his cuts shut, as well.

"Y'know I could just heal it with magic," he mumbled when Clint and Natasha came to his bedside.

"All your good sorcerer healing buddies are fighting," Clint said cheerfully. "I've never seen such a dangerous looking LARP group in my life."

"Hah," he mumbled. "Good precaution, though; there's a lot of them… the occultists."

"Yeah, we saw," Natasha pointed out. "The good news is that we had enough people between your guys and us to keep them all occupied while we found you and snuck you out. You were very easy to find, though."

Stephen made a face, and it wasn't at the work they were doing on his back (and now his wrists, which was proving to definitely sting). "You interrupted… at a good time." He swallowed. "The nick of time. It was… close."

Clint crossed his arms. "Wong was saying something about a world-eating entity. I'd call bullshit, but, well… maybe I'd have called bullshit ten years ago, is what I'm saying."

Natasha shot him a brief look of amusement. "What he's trying to ask is if it was that bad."

"It was that bad," he answered immediately. "I've… I've only encountered such immense power once."

"Thanos?" she asked.

"No, not Thanos."

Clint made a face. "Yeah, your job sucks, Doc."

"It's usually not this bad," he mumbled. "I get to do magic, after all."

"We all have bad days," Natasha reassured him. "We're going to let the doctors finish patching you up, Doctor Strange. I expect others are going to come see how you're doing as soon as they're finished up with those occultists."

Stephen mumbled an affirmative and closed his eyes as the two left him to the doctors and nurses.

————— 

About two hours later, an impressive crowd came into his room.

"Hey Doc, look, I brought flowers," Tony said in greeting, lifting up the genuinely ugliest bouquet of flowers Stephen had ever seen in his life.

"You brought me a bunch of thistles," he said slowly.

"Well, yeah. You know, for a speedy recovery, good health, protection, and the other things these flowers are supposed to mean." He shrugged and placed them on the counter beside the bed.

Stephen wasn't anywhere near an expert on flower meanings, but he was pretty sure that was not what thistles meant at all. "Who told you that?"

Tony nodded his head towards Wong, and Wong, bastard that he was, kept his face completely and utterly stoic. But the bastard had not only helped rescue him, but had also brought the cloak; the cloak had already swept past the group and circled Stephen before settling across the hospital bed.

In the background, Rhodey was checking something on his phone and shooting Wong a knowing look while Wanda and Vision remained wisely out of the whole flower conversation.

Stephen cleared his throat. "Right, well, thanks. Is everyone okay?"

"For the most part," Tony answered. "A couple nasty cuts, but nothing life-threatening. Worst part was probably whatever Sam was cursed with while pushing one of your guys out of the way."

"Minoru appreciates the gesture, but he shouldn't have done it," Wong said.

Rhodey made a face. "Did you see the size of that blue flamey thing coming at her? Sam can handle it."

"Sam's going to be in Kamar-Taj for the next week recovering from the side effects," Wong retorted.

"Sam could use a vacation," Vision said, speaking for the first time.

This conversation was getting a bit ridiculous. "Okay, I'm glad that for the most part no one was badly hurt," Stephen said. "I appreciate the news, but uh, I don't think I needed five of you to tell me that."

Wanda smiled. "We're here to see how you are doing, Doctor Strange. We were worried about you."

Oh. He paused as he processed that. He was ninety-five percent certain that it wasn't an illusion before, but now he was definitely certain because he didn't think either his mind would have come up with that, and the eldritch entity would definitely have not come up with the thistles.

That was a real relief. Though these people, some only acquaintances, wanting to see him at all he found a bit mind-boggling.

Tony boggled him further when he said, "And it's only five because even we have to listen to the doctors here when they say only five of us can visit at once."

Stephen slightly shook his head. "And, what, you five pushed yourselves to the front of the queue?"

"Hah," Tony retorted. "Vision could just phase through. But nah, they," he gestured to the other four, "were the real MVPs of that fight. Wong contacted us and got things going, of course. Rhodey got S.H.I.E.L.D. off Wong's back in the way he does best, Wanda's magic did something with the portal that I'm not even going to try to make sense of, and Vision figured out he could block people from being hit with those weird blue flamey things with his Mind Stone Version 2.0."

It wasn't anything resembling one of the Infinity Stones, of course, but that didn't stop Tony's ridiculous naming conventions. Stephen shot an amused look at Vision's expression, then asked the engineer, "And you?"

"Well, I brought you flowers, of course."

He snorted, then looked from him to Wong and Wanda. "Even if Tony doesn't want to know about Wanda's magic, I do. What happened?"

Wanda gestured to Wong to explain, and he answered, "From what I could tell, the portal was made from the elements of some sort of Chaos Magic, though those exact mechanisms I've not seen in our reality. It would have taken us some time to dismantle it, but as her magic branches from Chaos Magic as well, she was able to break it apart in something less than ten seconds."

Stephen saw the math; without that quick dismantling, he would have been gone before anyone had a chance to get to him. It was quite possible that the entity may have even been able to sustain the portal's opening once it was finished with him. "You saved my life," he told her.

She shook her head. "Oh, no, it was a group effort. There were many occultists there."

"No, what I mean is, the—" He swallowed at the memory, then pressed forward, "the thing was reaching for me when everything exploded in color and noise."

"The explosions were probably Tony and me," Rhodey admitted. "Sam too, come to think of it."

"They were very good distractions," Vision said.

"Regardless," Stephen continued, "It was reaching for me. The portal was far from it, but it had an endless— an endless uh, arm of some sort. If you had not disrupted the portal, it would have taken me maybe ten, fifteen seconds later."

A brief silence fell over the group. Wanda looked a bit stunned.

"So, uh, good timing on our part, then," Tony commented.

Stephen swallowed. "Yeah. Very good." He looked down at his hands and bandaged wrists, then at the cloak lying quietly and patiently. He didn't have his sling ring, of course, but now that Wong was here…

As he started to get out of bed, Rhodey said, "Hey, where are you going?"

He stared at the colonel. "Back with Wong? I don't have my sling ring so I needed to wait for him."

"The doctors want to keep you overnight," Tony pointed out.

Stephen rolled his eyes. "What, to monitor? I'm fine; see, blood pressure's back to normal, oxygen levels normal, heart rate normal. It was not nearly enough blood loss to worry about."

Wong gave him an even look. "You need rest and time to recover, Stephen."

"Yeah, and I can recover in my own bed or even the Kamar-Taj infirmary just as well as I can here."

"The moment you get back to either, you're going to immediately see how Mr Wilson's faring. We both know that the moment you see him, you'll throw yourself in study to see if you can help him recover faster."

"I—" 

"Don't even try to argue that you wouldn't."

And now everyone else in the room was smirking in various degrees; even the android looked vaguely amused. Stephen frowned at all of them.

"Fine, I'll stay overnight for monitoring. But at sunrise, you— or anyone else from Kamar-Taj— need to come and pick me up."

"In the morning," was Wong's infuriating answer.

"Sunrise."

"Maybe after breakfast," Wong mused aloud.

Stephen glowered at him.

"Doctors really do make the worst patients," Tony quipped.

"I'm ready for the next group of well-wishers, now," was Stephen's answer. Tony laughed and made his way to the door. As the others followed him out, Stephen called, "Miss Maximoff?" She lingered at the door, and after the others left, he said, "Thank you. Truly."

She offered a small smile. "I am more than happy to help you, Doctor Strange. I know you would do the same for me."

"Stephen, please," he said. "I was actually hoping, if you would allow it, to study your magic further. I can offer you my own expertise, or any knowledge from the library at the New York Sanctum and most of Kamar-Taj, in return."

Her smile widened. "I think that could be of help to us both."

He inclined his head. "That is my thought as well. Chaos Magic is not heavily practiced in Kamar-Taj and it could be a valuable learning experience for us."

"And I know I could learn much from your order. I was amazed at the magics I saw performed yesterday by so many different people. I would love to."

"Great," he said, smiling.

Wanda nodded, then paused. "But only after you are fully recovered!"

Stephen groaned as she left the room with a chuckle.

[judgement-free-sideblog]

The enemy of love is the truth

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x reader

Summary: They were happy just as friends, but one morning the call from an old trauma may change everything.

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, history of drug use, mental health issues, cursing, angst. Also I tend to give terribly long explanations, so I'm sorry in advance if it seems like this takes too long.

■ Part I ■ Part II ■Part III ■ Part IV ■ Part V ■Part VI ■ Part VII ■ Part VIII | Final ■

Part II

The rest of her morning occurred without remarkable events, her general practice office in the small london hospital she worked at was the perfect place to hide from her feelings. Nobody could blame her for not checking her e-mail. And February usually was a busy month with many people getting colds and the flu.

Then the sound of a text interrupted her thoughts, it was from Tom, "Are you ready to negotiate?" and it had the infamous picture he had taken that morning attached.

"The daily mail is offering me a trip to Paris for yours, can you top that?" She responded immediately.

"That would be hard to pass, but What about dinner? And my eternal gratitude of course" He responded after a few minutes, she could almost see the smile in his face, knowing he had won, "asking her out" like that always made her back off, but since he was not physically there she send one last text "I'll think about it" even when she regretted at te same moment.

How we end up here? Y/N asked herself after 30 minutes with no response. Being honest it all have started little over 3 years back, one day before her 30th birthday when the idea of spending that day far from her friends and family was about to break her resistance and forced to call a certain person.

She was coming out of her shift at the hospital, it was 4 p.m. walking from the tube to her apartment, it was in the middle of some nasty and loud bars but it was cheap and quite empty at the time; when she saw her, a beautiful blonde girl not a day older than 19, she seemed disoriented and she was sweating profusely.

Before she could think of a reason to keep walking and let it go she was already holding her still before she collapsed to the ground, the girl looked back at her confused but grateful, Y/N took her pulse, almost 40 per minute, too slow.

People start gathering around to see, so she asked someone close to her to call an ambulance while desperately looking for something with sugar. One of the bar tenders offered her a simple syrup he used to make cocktails and looked surprised when she put it straight in the girl's mouth.

She recovered some color, looked at Y/N and quietly said "Please call my mom". The ambulance arrived and drove them both back to the hospital.

Her name was Bethany Edwards, and the worried woman that appeared 15 minutes after they were at the hospital was Caroline Edwards her mom, as she told Y/N she was the manager of the Harold Printer theater. Going trough a nasty divorce, as she told her while both waited for Bethany to wake up.

"When did she start using?" Y/N said once the woman was calmed enough. It taker by surprise the bluntness of the question but it was truly no reason to sugarcoating it.

"About a year ago" when her father and I separated. "He once said to me that he had already be enough in her life while she was little and sick... I guess this was her way to prove him we still needed him"

"Well I guess doctors don't usually tell you Type 1 diabetes and cocaine don't mix, but she will be fine" and out of sympathy she add "Don't be so hard on yourself for other people mistakes"

And so they became friends, and she became a constant presence in the theater unspokenly taking care of Bethany, every now and then she took care of Caroline's staff too, a bloody nose, a small burn for a shortcut, and, to the dismay of the understudies, of the actors too. And she end up in the payroll, with a schedule of 5 to 9 with an office and a new family.

And then the Betrayal production started, and she met Tom, as perfect and as beautiful as she had seen him in movies, she had, as discreetly as she could, watch him rehearse, completely overwhelmed by the way he got into character, and she had just smiled at him and pointed to her right when he had ask her where could he find one of the makeup artist.

Until Caroline, tired of looking her helpless crush on him, introduced them at Bethany's birthday party and him, being the perfect gentleman he always was, completely ignored their previous awkward encounter.

They talked, and they drink, maybe a little more than she should, and they even share a group song in the Karaoke. But then she ruined everything. The little spark, and the little maybe were stumped to death by her big mouth and emotional baggage. After a terrible first date they chose to be justfriends, and the years passed proving it was the right call, she cared about him deeply, and even when she could not believe it, she knew he did too.

The hours passed, and she got out, and soon she find herself on her way to the theater. A new text appeared in her screen. "Dinner is ready, it's your favorite" with a picture of a take out bag from her favorite sushi place, waiting for her in her office and two pairs of chopsticks. She couldn't help but smile, she loved him, there was no other way to describe it, even when it was impossible she truly loved him.

"Here's your bloody photo" she said when she finally entered her office. "But you are gonna have to take me to Paris some day"

"You can keep it love" He said opening the bag and taking out the food "And I would keep yours, you never know when it may be useful" He showed her the picture proudly displayed in his wallet and she had to hold herself from her desk to not swoon at the thought of him carrying her picture all day in his pocket. So she opened her laptop and pretend to check her email in order to avoid is obviously amused look.

"What is today, by the way??" He finally asked, she clearly was upset in the morning, and the idea of something causing her displeasure didn't suit well with him. "Earlier today you said 'It's today after all' What is today?"

And she clearly didn't want to answer because se pretend to ignore the question while a shadow of sadness appeared in her eyes. So he asked again.

"February 08? Monday? ... winter I don't know" she answered, ignoring the question and looking deeply in her screen.

"I think after three years we are past this kind of nonsense" He said even more concerned "But you clearly are upset about something" And that kills me, so fucking answer, he wanted to say but he didn't and after and awkward silence he only add "It's okay if you dont want to talk about it... But I'm here for you"

Then she took her eyes off the screen, clearly trying not to cry, and finally said: "It's my wedding anniversary"

Here it is!!! Part II, I hope you enjoy it, again I'm sorry for my grammar, this is so much fun even when I have not done it in years.

[hylialeia]

Saw your response to the ask about Dany being affectionate and touchy and it inclined me to ask- I saw a post from someone who said Dany sexually assaulted/raped a previously enslaved girl. As someone who has yet to finish the first book, I had no idea what that person was talking about. Does Dany sexually assault a girl?

There is a scene in which the consent between Daenerys and Irri (the formerly enslaved girl in question) is dubious at best, and it opens a lot of criticism over GRRM’s portrayal of sexuality (among other things).

Under the cut:

There are two instances in which Dany and Irri have sexual encounters, the first in which Irri instigates and the second at Daenerys’ command (?).

Still, the relief she wanted seemed to recede before her, until her dragons stirred, and one screamed out across the cabin, and Irri woke and saw what she was doing.                  

Dany knew her face was flushed, but in the darkness Irri surely could not tell. Wordless, the handmaid put a hand on her breast, then bent to take a nipple in her mouth. Her other hand drifted down across the soft curve of belly, through the mound of fine silvery-gold hair, and went to work between Dany’s thighs. It was no more than a few moments until her legs twisted and her breasts heaved and her whole body shuddered. She screamed then. Or perhaps that was Drogon. Irri never said a thing, only curled back up and went back to sleep the instant the thing was done. (Daenerys II, ASOS)

This is the first instance, and it comes up again later:

“Should I pleasure the khaleesi?”          

Dany stepped away from her. “No. Irri, you do not need to do that. What happened that night, when you woke … you’re no bed slave, I freed you, remember? You …”                  

“I am handmaid to the Mother of Dragons,” the girl said. “It is great honor to please my khaleesi.” (Daenerys II, ASOS)

It is, at least, brought up and discussed after it happens; it’s established that Irri is no longer a slave, and she certainly has free will, but she’s not doing this out of any attraction to Daenerys. Rather, the instance is brought on by a sense of duty or servitude, and from this exchange, she doesn’t seem to mind doing it. Since she’s Daenerys’ servant, however, it brings the issue of power into play.

I take issue with this, particularly because GRRM has done a notably poor job of characterizing the Dothraki in Daenerys’ group. If it weren’t for their names, readers wouldn’t be able to tell Irri or Jhiqui apart, and this instance brings that even further into focus. We get no real sense of who Irri is, making this whole interaction even more uncomfortable; Irri is just a prop, her entire personality consisting of a desire to serve.

(Also, compare any of Dany’s Dothraki companions to, say, Pyp and Grenn in Jon Snow’s POV chapters. That’s how you flesh out secondary non-POV characters. The fact that Dany’s bloodriders and handmaidens don’t get similar treatment relates to GRRM’s problems in the depiction of race.)

What we know about this scene is that, in this case, Irri made a conscious choice to initiate sex with Daenerys, but it was as an act of service rather than lust, love, or attraction. It doesn’t lead to any fleshing out of Irri as a character, and honestly, I don’t know why GRRM included it at all.

All this gets left on the back burner, never mentioned again until ADWD.

That night she could not sleep but turned and twisted restlessly in her bed. She even went so far as to summon Irri, hoping her caresses might help ease her way to rest, but after a short while she pushed the Dothraki girl away. Irri was sweet and soft and willing, but she was not Daario. (Daenerys IV, ADWD)

This is supposed to be an extreme scenario, since the ASOS exchange established Daenerys isn’t comfortable asking a servant into her bed (sexually, anyway), and, again, it raises some eyebrows. I think it was GRRM’s intention to make this consensual, with Irri being “willing” and earlier outright telling Dany she’s alright with it, but he falls short.

Daenerys is Irri’s queen, making the power imbalance glaringly obvious; if Irri were to say no, I’m sure we the readers would agree that Dany wouldn’t push her, but that’s not entirely the point. The point is that Irri (and Jhiqui, and the other Dothraki for that matter) are made into such non-characters that this is never an issue. They’re just there, caricatures in the background of the larger plot, and when they do come to the front they fall under a harmful light (the sexualization of women of color, for example), never developing. Irri isn’t in love with Daenerys, but rather is just… really psyched to be her servant, I guess?

So, no, there’s no forcing or actual rape taking place, exactly, but the consent is still muddied, both by the power dynamic between the two and by the issues GRRM has in depicting Irri in general. I’m not even sure GRRM would recognize it as being a problem; the purpose of these scenes, unfortunately, is focused on Daenerys being lonely/tormented. Irri’s feelings are given next to no consideration, not as a result of POV bias or character faults, but rather as a result of faults with the author’s overall depiction of women of color.

This is one of the more significant examples of issues within ASOIAF, and if you want further reading there’s this masterpiece that @bitchfromtheseventhhell and @lyannas compiled that goes into the issues of racism and sexism, touching on this scene and others.

[figureinthedistance]

so my evil coworker made an insinuation (she communicates primarily thru insinuation rather than any actual commitment 2 any actual stance) tht the tribunal which hears equality cases needs mechanisms 2 combat false claims of discrimination + i like called her out + was like yk actually self reporting of discrimination among minority groups is incredibly reliable + matches up w other 'objective' methods of measuring discrimination + fear mongering around false claims of discrimination is entirely disingenuous + jst used to fuel distrust of minorities + ease the consciences of powerful groups. but like it wasn't this straight forward or linear @ all i said those things in like 4 or 5 different installments bc she kept trying to like. i can't even put it into words basically but like OK basically when she first said it i was like "do u mean false claims of discrimination? bc thats not rlly a major issue like at all" + she was like "no i mean (says what she said the first time but in even more vague terms)" + i was like ''OK but are u talking abt false claims of discrimination, bc if so i think ur wrong, i think theres dishonest fear mongering around how much of an actual risk that is'' + she was like "no i mean (meaningless sentence fragment which she does not complete but assumes i will read whatever i think is the good kind thing to say into her silence)" + thru out this she is giving me Looks like im being mean + she feels under attack (the dykephobia of it!! Haven't made a post abt how disgusting she obviously finds lesbians bc i literally can't verbalize it) + then im like "OK, yes or no, was your comment (which i then repeat bc she often lies abt what shes said/meant) abt false claims of discrimination?" + shes silent for ages w this face of shock like its so unbelievable anyone wld ever be so mean + rude as to hold her accountable for anything shes ever said or done ever. + i think by staying silent she was expecting me to jump in + like apologise or elaborate or whatever but i didnt + eventually she said 'yes' + I said "OK, well what im saying is that that is wrong bc xyz" + then she was like "well I jst think its interesting tht (something entirely irrelevant as if its what shes been saying the entire time bc shes literally a demon)".

+ i never like calling ppl out but i kno i have a moral duty to do it + i also kno not saying anything will ultimately only make me feel worse, Your Silence Will Not Protect You, etc, but the thing is in the past i don't that regularly encounter ppl who Need to b called out bc i choose to spend time w ppl who actually have souls so its jst rlly wearing me down being around someone who i have to call out @ least 3 times a week, + especially someone who reacts so pathetically as her. + my hands are always shaking + i find it impossible 2 focus in the aftermath bc i find it so scary + im jst glad i havent cried yet tho idk how.

i can feel her sapping my energy + honestly my kindness. i find myself having rlly mean thoughts abt her which aren't justifiable by virtue of her own flaws e.g. this week ive kept thinking of her as rlly stupid + ive never like disparaged someones intelligence before or like not since i was a kid + I kno its an unjustifiable practice but i keep thinking of her in those terms. + not jst using the language but like the feelings behind them are clearly motivated by my disdain fr her intellectual capacity. so this is also sth i have 2 worry abt. i didnt think tht was sth i had in me

[mythicallore]

... What was that sound?

"This happens all the time," says Darren Evans, a bystander joining the paranormal investigating team of Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures. The target: Zozo, an ancient demon who makes his presence known by rapping on walls and moving objects, and might be doing so in the empty hallway upstairs.

Evans isn't rattled by the sound; he's used to his house making strange noises. For years, he claims that Zozo has stalked, harassed, and tormented his family. Evans even claims to have been possessed by Zozo, who is an ancient supernatural presence who has wormed his way through history, wreaking havoc on participants since the pre-Biblical days. Evans is a self-proclaimed "Zozologist," who regularly tells his stories at paranormal conventions, on supernatural-themed podcasts, and across 236 pages in a recent book. For this television appearance, he's leading a team into the darkness, into the unknown.

Zozo's origin story is riddled with supposition, fabrication, and a hive-mind belief system that keeps his power alive and thriving -- despite giant gaps in its history. But since 2009, Zozo has been a popular internet fixture, so notorious that he's inspired feature films, books, podcasts, and been the focus of entire episodes of both the aforementioned Ghost Adventures and SyFy's Paranormal Witness. A YouTube search of "Zozo demon" turns up more than 80,000 results, with videos ranging from emotional personal encounters to timeline histories to alleged, full-on possessions. Internet lore has one explanation for how it crept out of the shadows; facts tell us something very different.

The demon's story is intertwined with Darren Evans, a man whose stringent belief in the unseen -- and whose obsession with Led Zeppelin -- helped birth a modern urban legend that gains traction with each passing year, its foothold coagulating into an accepted, inescapable truth.

Who is Zozo?

The Zozo demon (sometimes stylized as ZoZo or ZOZO) is a mysterious trickster entity known for stalking people through Ouija boards. Those who claim they've made contact with Zozo – who also goes by Zaza, Mama, Oz, Zo, Za, and Abacus – say he often shows himself by guiding the planchette into figure-8 formations, before frantically zooming back and forth between the "Z" and "O." His interactions start out friendly, but grow malicious; he's known for cursing at and threatening contactees, sometimes personally. While he's often wrangled by a Ouija board, some believe that saying his name out loud can also summon Zozo from the depths of hell.

Zozo believers claim the demon has ancient origins, either African or Sumerian, depending who you ask. While those claims can't be substantiated (they may be confusing Zozo for Pazuzu, a Mesopotamian wind demon who famously appeared in The Exorcist), a supernatural entity called "Zozo" was referenced in the 1818 French text Le Dictionnaire Infernal. The demonological encyclopedia, written by French author Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy, recounts the story of a young village girl who claimed she'd been possessed by three demons named Mimi, Zozo, and Crapoulet.

But according to the website The Paranormal Scholar, accurately translating the text of Le Dictionnaire Infernal shows that the girl's story was faked. "She rattled nonsense," de Plancy wrote, adding that the girl had been publicly beaten years before for faking possession, and was eventually imprisoned for her fibs. He goes on to describe what he believed to be genuine cases of demonic activity, ending the Zozo extract with the sentence: "Nonetheless, there are real cases of possession."

Zozo's first-known textual appearance was technically a non-appearance, but this hasn't stopped people from using Le Dictionnaire Infernal as "proof" of Zozo's existence. A number of websites and videos still cite it as fact, bolstering the belief that Zozo predates the event that seemingly willed him into existence.

Darren Evans (right) on a 2014 episode of Ghost Adventures | Travel Channel

A legend is born

In 2009, an Oklahoma man named Darren Evans recounting his experience with a demon named "ZOZO" on a website called True Ghost Tales. In the post, Evans admits to an adolescent fascination with the occult, citing many Ouija board incidents through the years. But Zozo, he said, was different. The entity consistently showed itself to Evans, "too many times to count," pretending to be a kind spirit before shifting into threatening language, including curses in what "looked like Latin or Hebrew."

"I was genuinely fascinated and startled by how many times 'ZOZO' showed up, even in many different states and many different Ouija boards," Evans wrote. He claimed that the demon also made threats against his toddler daughter, nearly drowning her in a bathtub and later infecting her with a mysterious illness. "We almost lost her, and that was when I began to suspect demonic attack."

Evans' post garnered a great deal of interest, with other readers alleging similar Ouija encounters with Zozo. He eventually set up a website to collect stories, which steadily gained popularity. A film production company called One World Studios took notice of Evans story, acquired the rights, and in 2012, released the independent feature I Am ZoZo, which featured a cameo appearance by Evans. A YouTube video promoting the film -- titled "Scariest Ouija Board Demon ZOZO Possessed Girl" -- went viral; it currently has more than 5 million views. The comments still debate its validity, despite a promoted link to rent I Am ZoZo below the video's description. "Oh my gosh, [you're] not meant to joke with this. She was laughing and insulting Zozo, so that's why this happened," one comments reads. "The thing was going around in a figure eight. That's bad," says another.

In 2014, Evans and his family appeared on an episode of the Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures. The show's paranormal team, led by host Zak Bagans, visited Evans' house in Oklahoma, which he claimed to be plagued by Zozo. During interviews, he added new details to his original story, including the temporary blinding of his daughter, which he blamed on the demon.

In 2016, Evans co-authored a book, The Zozo Phenomenon, with leading paranormal expert Rosemary Ellen Guiley. He once again added new details about his first encounter with Zozo, claiming that he came in contact with Zozo in 1982 after discovering a Ouija board in his then-girlfriend's basement. Engraved on the back? "ZOZO."

According to The Paranormal Scholar, earlier that year in a phone interview with a New Jersey newspaper, Evans told the same story about a mysterious Zozo-engraved Ouija board, only that time, he claimed "Zozo" was written on the front, "where 'Ouija' is normally written," not on the back. Both of these mentions were the first time in the seven years that Evans had been talking about Zozo that he mentioned an engraved board.

The Zoso symbol from 'Led Zeppelin IV' | Atlantic Recording Company

The part where one of the most legendary rock bands of all time factors in

As if the cracks in Evans' story weren't enough, The Paranormal Scholar uncovered another fascinating revelation: the "Zozo" font on the cover of Evans's The Zozo Phenomenon appeared to be lifted from the "Zoso" symbol, an ancient glyph representing Saturn that was widely used by Led Zeppelin frontman Jimmy Page. Though Page has never revealed what Zoso means to him personally, it's possible that his being a Capricorn -- a sign ruled by Saturn -- has something to do with it.

Evans also happened to be an on-the-record mega-fan of Led Zeppelin, a band long been associated with Satanism and demonology. For a time, his Zozo website even linked directly to the official Zeppelin website and had a link to purchase Jimmy Page's autobiography.

Evans, for his part, has attempted to counter the claims that he fabricated his story. He claims the root word "Zo" -- appearing in both Zozo and Zoso -- has some sort of "magical power," which he believes explains its recurring nature. In a blog post from earlier this year, he posted more historical "proof" of Zozo's existence, once again citing Le Dictionnaire Infernal and a Nigerian paranormal website, Nairaland, where in 2005 a user named Makaveli wrote of a friend's encounter with a demon called "Zo-Zo." (Curiously, in the Nigerian languages Hausa and Igbo, "Zozo" translates to "come up.") He found mention of a demon named Zozo in a 1966 play by Jacques Audiberti, and in an 1876 issue of the Catholic Review, where Saint Bernardino of Siena mentions a "Mass of Zozo," some sort of Satanic ritual.

There's little consistency between Evans's personal accounts and his sourced material that relates any one Zozo to the other. Furthermore, none of these instances explain why, before Evans' 2009 True Ghost Tales post, "Zozo demon" yielded next to zero results in Google's search function. If Zozo encounters are such a shared experience, no one felt comfortable enough sharing their own run-ins until Evans came forward with his viral anecdote.

A scene from I Am Zozo | Image Entertainment

Zozo lives on

Even with such traceable and flimsy origins, Zozo lives on in the collective subconscious, seemingly unstoppable. Like Slender Man and other Creepypasta concoctions, his mythology is so entrenched in the niche corners of the web that you'd be hard-pressed to convince believers in his non-existence. From Reddit to YouTube vlogs to message boards, many people remain utterly convinced that they've had Ouija board run-ins with Zozo.

In the 1970s, scientists attempted this on a large scale with a project known as the "Philip experiment." Hoping to manifest a nonexistent "ghost" through fear responses, the scientists created a fictional character named Philip and held a séance with a test group. After feeding the group Philip's story, they tried to conjure his spirit. The experiment was successful: through sheer force of belief, the participants felt the table vibrate, heard rapping sounds, and said they sensed a presence.

Zozo could be like Philip, a presence people decided to believe in and have now willed into existence. It's strikingly similar to Slender Man, who, despite being wholly and obviously fictional, inspired two Wisconsin schoolgirls to stab their friend, hoping to sacrifice her to the figure they were convinced was real.

Perhaps Zozo is real, and Darren Evans is merely the conduit through which we were introduced to him. In lore, demons are known to disappear for long stretches; it's possible his 2009 emergence was by some hellish design, and he's here to prey on the specific fears of a new generation, one who can spread his word through the viral capillaries of the internet, where any unsuspecting soul might stumble on his wrath.

[i-am-the-entertainer]

RevieWBY: Volume 6

This has been stated so many times, but Volume 5 was bad. Okay, it wasn’t terrible, like I don’t feel offended by it being bad (unlike certain folks), but looking back on it I don’t have anything to say to really defend it as something Rooster Teeth should have talked up as much as they did at the time. It had some good things going for it, but the amount of problems it had in terms of animation and writing really put a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. So for Volume 6 to deal with all that fallout, it was going to have to do a lot. And to their credit, CRWBY accepted the criticism in stride, and actively worked to make Volume 6 something that people who despised Volume 5 might enjoy.

Still, one had to go into this season with the understanding that some people were never going to be completely satisfied with whatever CRWBY did. Because at the end of the day, the RWBY that Rooster Teeth currently makes is not Monty Oum’s show anymore. No, this isn’t saying CRWBY is in any way disrespecting his legacy, it’s just Monty Oum had a certain method to running the show that only he could really get away with: epic fight scenes, suddenly throwing giant curveballs into the series’ mythology, taking vital time away from storytelling so the fights looked cool. I mean, there are people who criticize the show for doing that now when they didn’t give two shits when Monty did it, because Monty did it in a manner that somehow worked. I don’t know how he did it, but he did, and, well, he’s not here to do it, and there’s no way even a huge animation team can collectively do things like him. And they shouldn’t: if they can use a better industry standard animation engine than Poser, than the fact that Monty Oum didn’t like animating with Maya shouldn’t stop them.

Blah blah blah...this is all about FNDM reception. What did I think of Volume 6?

Well...

Focus

In my mid-volume review I cited this as Volume 6′s strongest aspect, and as far as I can tell this remains the case. By focusing our hero storyline on one group and for the most part the villain storylines on only a few characters who were paired off, Volume 6 effectively told a story that didn’t force the viewers to juggle multiple things and find some semblance of a continuing story. Everything happened linearly and the whole thing made for a more enjoyable watch overall.

Tone

Building off of that renewed focus, this volume felt like it had more of a consistent tone that lasted from beginning to end. RWBY markets itself as an anime show and uses a lot of that anime-style of humor (slapstick and comedically exaggerated emotions), but honestly it’s always played fast and loose with using that humor in a way that doesn’t feel out of place. In this volume it was more consistently used, and that’s largely thanks to the nailed down focus that allowed character interactions to utilize the humor in a natural way. Ruby and Maria Calavera were especially good sources for humor.

Now, things did get a little more screwball when Cordovin came into the mix, but it was interesting seeing CRWBY take that humor to a logical extreme for the first time in a while (not since the Beacon years). It interrupted the tone for a bit, but not in a manner that overall changed the genre this show is going for.

Animation

Beautiful. The improved production pipeline that we’ve heard about really came through. These episodes were the best they’ve ever looked, minus a few errors here and there, showing just how amazing RWBY can look when you give the animators time to add their own touches. There was some really great fight animation to boot: none of the fights this volume felt awkward, and you could tell the animators had a lot of fun.

Worldbuilding/Storytelling

It feels weird saying that Volume 6 did a better job with worldbuilding than Volume 4, which took place on four different continents and traveled across one, and Volume 5, which took place on two different continents and featured the second major skirmish between the villains and the heroes. I think this has to do with just how well it was integrated into the story: insight into the world came at points where the story needed it and when the viewers wanted it. Nothing ever felt like a massive info dump better suited World of Remnant; where there was just too much information delivered that wasn’t relevant to what was happening in the show. Volumes 4 and 5 had this same problem with establishing the world, often telling us too much in a way that just didn’t feel natural to the story. With Volume 6, almost every chapter up until the final Argus arc included some form of that insight:

Chapter 1 showed us how ordinary civilians deal with traveling through Grimm territory––the steps they take to protect themselves

Chapter 2 showed us some aspects of the Mistral criminal underground, not telling us too much about it but suggesting it was much larger than what Cinder encountered.

Chapter 3 showed us...so many things.

Chapter 4 offered a sense of the stakes RWBY faced in relation to all of Remnant.

Chapter 5 and 6 gave us a glimpse at another form of non-city life in Remnant.

Chapter 7 introduced us to Argus, my favorite of all the Remnant cities we’ve seen; plus a glimpse into the life of the silver-eyed warriors; and a more representative depiction of what domestic life is like in Remnant

Chapter 8 told us what Atlas personnel who aren’t Ironwood or Winter are like, plus the long-awaited insight into how the silver eyes work.

Chapter 9 shows something of the effect the Battle of Beacon, and by extension Pyrrha’s death, had outside of our core group.

Things kind of teeter off with the finale arc, but that’s because worldbuilding became a little less important to what was going on. This is kind of a stretch, but the mech fight and the arrival of the Grimm in Argus give us an idea of how large non-capital cities defend themselves without just spelling everything out.

All in all, this volume delivered on some impressive worldbuilding, probably the best the series has had in a while. It wasn’t massive info dumps unless it needed to be (e.g. Chapter 3), and it offered just enough for other important things like the storytelling and the action to still be in the forefront.

Characters

Volume 5, despite the fact it involved the major reunion of Team RWBY after two volumes, felt like it was simply putting the main characters through situations without those situations really doing anything to develop them or define them as anything beyond what we already knew. Some characters fared better on the development front, namely Yang, but others, especially Ruby, just seemed to be along for the ride without us getting any insight into them. This is where the writing issue that came from separating everyone starting with Volume 4 really came to a head: too many different characters with their own story to cover, and sometimes those stories just didn’t do much for the character beyond existing as a situation they were in.

Volume 6 feels like the refutal of that, and that mostly has to do with the fact that we’re not juggling so many storylines anymore. When a major event happens to the heroes, everyone gets affected at the same time. The train crashes? DEVELOPMENT! Jinn’s story? DEVELOPMENT AND INSIGHT! Snowstorm? INSIGHT! The Apathy? DEVELOPMENT! Telling team JNR about Jinn’s story? DEVELOPMENT! Adam ambushes Blake and Yang for the first time since Volume 3? DEVELOPMENT! WITH A HEALTHY DOSAGE OF ANGST!

Surprisingly, the same thing is happening to two of our favorite villains, Mercury and Emerald: even though they only really appeared in three chapters this Volume, we actually got a surprising chance to see how their defeat at the Battle of Haven affected them, and their increasingly strong misgivings about working for Salem. We get more of an idea of them as people rather than Cinder’s blind followers, understanding why they stuck with such an evil person for so long. It’s the most we’ve learned about them since Volume 3, and we didn’t even need lengthy flashbacks.

Even Adam got some more insight. RWBY has been following the path that Adam was an abusive ex-boyfriend for quite a while now, but there was always this underlying thought that he got into the White Fang business for a seemingly noble cause. The problem was the show hadn’t depicted how he got from Point A to Point B. The Adam Character Short offered us some of that much needed insight, putting some of his actions up to this point in a new context, even if it was set-up for clearing up some things so they could get rid of him.

Of course, there are still exceptions to characters getting character development, and honestly they’re kind of glaring ones. Oscar’s development arc, where he came to accept he was his own person, completely happened offscreen (for reasons that I’ve brought up before and will reiterate in the final section), robbing us of really witnessing his growth as a person. I enjoyed some of the stuff Cinder did this volume, especially her escape from the vault and her fight with Neo. But honestly she continues to be a pretty bland villain with little hints at her motivations for being such a terrible person: the Battle of Haven was such an utter defeat for her there needed to be some form of consequence that would’ve affected her character while also telling us more about her. Maybe it would’ve been her strategizing her revenge, which would’ve gotten more insight into how she thinks as a master planner. Instead, we get her leaving the vault, more or less going back to what she used to do but in a more low-key setting, fighting with Neo, plotting with Neo, and leaving with Neo. It felt more like “Hey, she’s alive, and here’s what she’s doing,” which while I appreciate it feels kind of a waste of time if you’re not doing anything with her beyond that. Honestly, a post-credits reveal that she was alive and then a pre-Volume 7 character short detailing how she made it to Atlas that covered her and Neo’s entire storyline this volume would’ve been more helpful.

Before I go on to my most major critique of this volume, I need to address the two Goliaths in the room.

Adam

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: they needed to get rid of Adam. The way things have been going, there was only so much more you could do with his character before he became a nuisance that was overstaying his welcome. I understand people wanted some deeper insight into him, but the fact was he was never introduced to be a major villain to anyone beyond Blake and later Yang. They could’ve had him have a thing against Weiss, but they didn’t, they focused the time that would’ve made him a major villain for everyone else on making people like Roman and Cinder and Salem the big villains. They decided on the path of abusive ex-boyfriend a very long time ago, and if you hadn’t figured that out after the Adam Character Short I honestly think you were being willfully ignorant to what’s been building up.

The best I can say is that Adam and his history is a missed opportunity for some pretty interesting storytelling and worldbuilding, but the fact remains: it is not his story that they want to tell, it is not his show. It may make something interesting to think about, but Adam’s story is supplementary, and works better in supplementary material, a la character shorts and maybe mangas.

Jaune

Y’all need to quit it with the “Hrrr drr Jaune took up time again moan moan Miles Luna is self indulgent” talk, he barely did anything this volume beyond Chapter 9 and having a sister that the whole fandom loved.

Pacing

This...this is where Volume 6 ran into trouble.

Overall, from the season premiere to the finale arc, this was probably the best-paced season of RWBY we’ve ever had. Major story events happened right when we needed them, and for the most part they didn’t drag out story arcs for any longer than they needed to be.

Well...until they reached Argus, that is.

At face value, a lot happened in the final couple of chapters. Chapter 8 gave us Maria explaining the silver eyes, Chapter 9 had the scene with Pyrrha’s statue and the mysterious Red-Haired Woman (I’ll headcanon whatever I want about who she is, Jen Brown) Chapter 10 started the Cordovin fight, Chapter 11 reinforced Blake and Yang’s partnership, Chapter 12 killed Adam, and Chapter 13 had Ruby finally use her silver eye powers to defeat a Grimm and they made it to Atlas. Yeah, it was a pretty eventful set of episodes.

So then why did it feel like it dragged? Here are a couple reasons that I’ve identified.

1. The Cordovin Battle sidelined story arcs for too long

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: the finale arc should not have been split up like that over so many episodes. It afforded us some pretty well-animated fights, some of the best the series has ever had, but the volume hadn’t been relying on that action to keep up the forward momentum, but on actually telling the stories of these characters. I get the need for CRWBY to prove that they can do well-animated fights, but as I’ve come to accept action should never take precedence over storytelling (I know, that’s hard to swallow when parts of the fndm spends hours complaining about how Monty’s not animating the fights anymore). And it’s clear to me in this final arc put emphasis on the action over the momentum of the story, bringing the actually pretty good storytelling the volume had had up to that point to a grinding halt.

Now, historically RWBY fights have delayed telling stories, but it’s never been for too long, at most maybe two chapters? But if you spend three chapters on a single fight, thereby devoting three weeks of your viewers’ time to high-octane action, people are gonna notice that the story is basically going nowhere.

What could’ve made this less of a problem? Well, perhaps establishing Cordovin earlier and making her less of a buffoon would’ve eased my hatred of this arc. Volume 6 lacks a clear antagonist for the story, but the way Cordovin was treated as a big deal in this final battle made it seem like she was taking up that role, except we didn’t even see her until the final half of the volume, and in her debut we couldn’t take her seriously as a villain, much less an antagonist, because of the pure comedy they used in her intro. There needed to be something about her at least a few episodes early––take this with a grain of salt because I think following JNR in Argus would’ve killed the balanced pacing of the first half of the volume (and just made the Jaune haters apoplectic), but maybe a few quick scenes of JNR arriving in Argus and getting rejected by her would’ve been helpful. Or honestly easing off on the comedy of her intro. Such a one-note character who we are primed to not take seriously isn’t interesting as a major force, so identifying her as a more threatening roadblock for the heroes would’ve made the stakes of the final fight a little more...present.

2. Important storylines got trimmed for time’s sake and weren’t addressed properly.

@hypeathon (whose excellent production analyses for this Volume are well worth a read) identified a tweet Miles made back in October, prior to the premiere and most likely when they were finishing storyboards, about “killing your darlings.” For those unaware and who may have severely misinterpreted that comment, “killing your darlings” is when writers have to sacrifice something they love or want to do so that the story works better. The timeliness of this tweet (after they would’ve finished the script but before they’d wrapped on storyboards and voice acting for the final episodes) suggests the writers’ room had to cut a lot of material from Volume 6 (what Miles called a massacre of darlings), most likely due to production limits or not having enough time to cover them.

Think about it: the story from Chapters 1-7 was really good: everything was properly spaced out, the scripts felt polished, there was a balance of action and comedy and legit storytelling, the good pacing lasted longer than it ever has within a single volume.

Then we hit Chapter 8 and suddenly it all changes: storylines don’t get the proper time devoted to them, arcs come to a screeching halt due to the big fight. Unlike previous volumes, where the imbalance was pretty much the entire volume, there’s actually a clear point right in the middle of this volume where things suddenly took a turn for the worse. And the fact is, some of the problems with the story in the final arc suddenly make more sense if you accept that time that would’ve been devoted to it got sidelined in this “purge”: Qrow’s alcoholism suddenly getting brushed aside after Chapter 9 hopefully to be addressed next volume, Oscar disappearing and all his development happening offscreen, Adam’s completely unsubtle return after only a vague hint in Chapter 1 that would’ve been stronger if he’d kept popping up in Argus. I’d even go so far to say the odd pacing of the final few chapters could easily have been the result of the writing team not being able to devote a single chapter to such a grand fight, so they needed to stretch it out so CRWBY could actually animate it within reasonable deadlines, which meant sacrificing time for those arcs that so desperately needed development.

So what overall is gonna fix RWBY’s pacing in the future? Well, I think at the moment the show is too ambitious. If it wants to keep to a reasonable production schedule, they need to control the scale of their finales so that it can be completed without needing to sacrifice other storylines. If it wants to hold onto that ambition and make the finales as grand as they want it to be to do their boy Monty proud, then they absolutely need to delay the actual release of the volume so they can put in the proper amount of time to both the story and animation. And I don’t think anyone would mind waiting a little longer for Volume 7 if it meant this show got the care and attention it needs to tell the story it clearly wants to tell.

Conclusions

Evaluating Volume 6 is impossible without evaluating what came before it. RWBY was never a perfect show, but when you lose someone who was responsible for the show’s popularity in the first place and have to change how it’s made to make up for his absence, there’s going to be backlash. Backlash from the fans, and, uh, backlash from inside the company. The fact is, people are never going to be satisfied with the RWBY that Rooster Teeth makes today, and Rooster Teeth is never going to push out a RWBY that will make everyone happy. All they can really do is keep moving forward.

And move forward they did. Despite my problems with the finale, Volume 6 was good. I’ve always been sort of ambivalent about the show (I was drawn to it by my brother shortly before Monty’s death and have been watching it out of respect for him and the company as creative artists), and even if I thought some of RWBY’s critics were being too harsh (or seriously needed to find something better to do), I didn’t find Volumes 4 and 5 enjoyable enough that I felt like defending them. But guys, Volume 6 did something amazing: it made RWBY fun to watch again. Focused, consistent, and compelling storytelling plus gradually eased-in worldbuilding made for a story that I could follow along without having to juggle so many different plots. Improvements in the overall animation made things nice to look at and when fights happened they were always entertaining, never making me cringe or grimace, always making me think “Hell yeah, beat the shit out of them!” Just like I felt back in the old days of the show.

I feel as though what’s holding RWBY back at this point, however, is adhering to the production schedule that its old vision called for in making its current vision. And it honestly cannot keep doing that. RWBY is a show trying to reach grand heights, and its rushed production timelines and lost story arcs are keeping it tethered to the ground. Yet I can’t help but say: Volume 6 is RWBY at its finest so far. It can’t fix the problems that previous volumes have had, but it builds on the void those problems left to build a story that makes this show feel like something worth following once more.

So, I can safely say I’ll be following along when RWBY returns for Volume 7...hopefully later rather than sooner (again, it needs a better production schedule).

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND July 4, 2019  - SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, MIDSOMMAR, MARIANNE & LEONARD

It’s the 4thof July weekend, which is often the bane of my existence because I’m never invited to do anything with anyone. Fortunately, I’m going back to Ohio for the first time in nine months so I’ll be spending this 4thof July with family, and hopefully, that will include some movie-watching.

The movie I’m most excited about seeing again is SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME (Sony), the sequel directed by Jon Watts that returns Tom Holland to the Spidey-suit and brings back all of his friends and classmates, as well as throwing Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio into the mix. You can read how much I enjoyed the movie in my review below, and also, check out my interview with the director, also below.

MY REVIEW OF SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

INTERVIEW WITH JON WATTS ON THE BEAT

The other wide release this weekend is Ari Aster’s sophomore feature MIDSOMMAR (A24), starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor (Sing Street) and Will Poulter as a group of friends who travel to Sweden to observe a Midsommar ritual held by the community of their friend, but things are not what they seem. Before you can say “The Wicker Man,” they’re finding out the real intentions for their hosts.

Mini-Review: Like most, I loved Ari Aster’s Hereditary and saw it as the advent of a fantastic new vision in filmmaking and horror, specifically. Whenever a filmmaker delivers such an amazing debut, his or her follow-up is going to be eyed with equal parts anticipation and scrutiny, and that’s truly been the case with Midsommar.

Like Aster’s previous film, this one begins with the death of family members, in this case those of Florence Pugh’s Dani early on in the movie.  Dani’s boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor from Sing Street) is ready to break up with Dani, because he can’t handle her family drama. At the same time, Christian has been invited by his friend Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) to go to his small Swedish community to take part in the Midsommar ritual along with friends Josh and Mark (Will Poulter). When Dani finds out about it and Christian invites her (think she’ll say “No’ – she doesn’t) – it soon becomes obvious Dani will be the fifth wheel threatening to bring down the mood. That’s okay because Pelle’s friendly community might have ulterior motives for the visitors.

There’s a lot to like about Midsommar, particularly Aster’s clever way of exploring The Wicker Man territory in a new way that offers terror and horror often in the brightest of daylight, an achievement in itself. Other than the film’s look and the production design that went into making it such a unique-looking visual film, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this is the exact same “stupid young people on vacation getting slaughtered” motif we’ve seen in so many horror films from Eli Roth’s Hostel movies to Touristas to so many more.

For the most part, Aster has another strong cast --  Florence Pugh is quite fantastic in a very different role, although she does a lot of crying in this movie. Jack Reynor could begin stepping into a few of Chris Pratt’s roles without anyone batting an eye, because he has similar rugged looks and charm. I actually liked Will Poulter’s obnoxious American to the point where when he mysteriously vanishes halfway through the movie, it loses quite a bit.

Beyond that, Midsommar explores some of the same themes Aster explored in his first movie, including death and grief and family squabbles with one character crying a lot, and of course, diabolical cult rituals and lots of nudity. Aster also use the same upside-down camera shot he used in Hereditary, which itself was borrowed from Darren Aronofsky. Maybe I’d have liked Midsommar more if it didn’t feel like Aster was retreading familiar territory. I do have to wonder if Aster has ever had therapy, because he certainly seems to have issues, maybe even with a sister, driving him to kill sisters in both his films?

Owing as much to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the more obvious Wicker Man, MIdsommar is still not your typical horror movie by any means. If your favorite part of Hereditary was its crazy ending and you didn’t think it was crazy enough, then Midsommar is the movie for you!

Rating: 7/10

LIMITED RELEASES

Because it’s the 4thof July this week, we’re getting far fewer limited releases but I do want to call attention to a couple docs opening this week.

But first, I want to draw attention to a movie that opened at the Film Forum last week, Lila Avilés’ The Chambermaid, an amazing portrait of a Mexican maid in a high-end hotel as she goes through the day-to-day while trying to achieve her goals and dreams, all which seem to move further and further away. I was a fan of last year’s Romaand though The Chambermaid is a different type of movie, it features another amazing performance by an indigenous Mexican, Gabriela Cartol, who had appeared in a couple other movies before, but she really keeps the viewer drawn to the movie and the things that she goes through. At times, it feels like there’s no way for her to fulfill those dreams, and it’s something to which we can all relate.

A doc that’s a must see for all Leonard Cohen fans is Nick Broomfield’s MARIANNE & LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE (Roadside Attractions), an amazing look at the relationship between Cohen and Marianne Ihlen, the Norwegian woman with whom he lived on the isle of Hydra in Greece, one of his early muses and the inspiration for the song “Goodbye, Marianne.” It’s an amazing film by the award-winning documentarian that has a lot of revelations, including the fact that Broomfield as friends with Marianne going back to the ‘60s, making him the perfect filmmaker to tackle the subject. It opens in select cities including the Angelika Film Center in New York Friday.

Opening at the IFC Center in New York is Rob Fruchtman and Steve Lawrence’s The Cat Rescuers about New York City’s 500,000 street cats and a group of volunteers who go through Brooklyn getting these cats fixed and returning them to their colonies or getting them adopted. It’s a movie that cat lovers will probably enjoy similar to the film Kedi from a few years back, but it’s also kind of sad when you realize that some of this cat population will have to be put down, because cats are adorable and you don’t want them to die. 

Opening at the City Cinemas Village East in New York  almost two years since premiering at TIFF is Tali Shalom-Ezer’s My Days of Mercy, starring Ellen Page and Amy Seimetz (Pet Sematary) as sisters Lucy and Martha who attend state executions to demonstrate against the death penalty. At one such event, Lucy meets Mercy (Kate Mara), the daughter of a police officer whose partner was killed by a man about to be put to death. They quickly bond before Lucy confesses that her own father (Elias Koteas) is on Death Row.

The only other limited release this weekend is Frédéric Petitjean’s directorial debut Cold Blood (Screen Media), starring Jean Reno as Henry, a hitman who is living in a cabin by a lake in the Rocky Mountains when he encounters a young woman who survived a snowmobile accident and has to decide whether to save her life. It opens in select cities and On Demand Friday.

STREAMING AND CABLE

There aren’t any big movie releases on Netflix this weekend but that’s because Season 3 of Stranger Things will premiere on the 4thof July, and I expect many people will be spending the early part of the weekend watching that.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

Unfortunately, I missed something last week in terms of repertory series at the Metrograph as I didn’t realize that former Village Voice critic J. Hoberman was doing another series in conjunction with his latest bookMake My Day: Movie Culture in the Age of Reagan. The series Reagan at the Movies: Found Illusionsincludes a mixed array of films including 1951’s The Day the Earth Stood Still, a new restoration of Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Clint Eastwood’s Firefox (1983), Hal Ashby’s Being There(1979) starring Peter Sellers and more!

Also on Wednesday, Metrograph will be premiering a special 20thanniversary restoration of Takashi Miike’s horror classic Audition, which I think is so perfect for the remake treatment due to the #MeToo movement and its implications. Can you imagine how well a revenge thriller about a young woman getting revenge on sleazy movie producer types would go over in this day and age? Call me, Jason Blum!  

This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph is Penelope Spheeris’ Suburbia (1983) while the Playtime: Family Matinees is Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988).

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Weds has a special matinee screening of the Bond film From Russia With Love (1963) and Tarantino’s theater isn’t taking off on the 4th of July. In fact, it’s holding a special event screening of Red Dawn (1984) and Rocky IV (1985) (You might notice a theme there… USA! USA!) Weds and Thursday are also double features of The Happening  (1967) with Anthony Quinn and Land Raiders  (1970), starring Telly Savalas. The Friday/Saturday double features are the 1966 sci-fi classic Fantastic Voyage with 100 Rifles. The weekend’s KIDDE MATINEE is the Disney classic The Love Bug (1968), while Friday’s midnight screening is Tarantino’s Django Unchained and Saturday at midnight is a 35mm print of Richard Rush’s Getting Straight (1970), starring Elliot Gould and Candice Bergen. Sunday and Monday is a double feature of Dean Martin’s Murderer’s Row (1966) with Ann-Margret’s Kitten with a Whip  (1964).

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky (1976) gets a new 4k restoration that begins on Friday, plus May’s 1971 film A New Leaf will also screen through the weekend. The restoration of Jennie Livingston’s Paris Burning continues to play through the weekend, while the Film Forum will also continue showing Elaine May’s Ishtar and the Coen’s The Big Lebowski through the 4thof July.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

The Friday after the 4thof July sees a double feature of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) and Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987), co-presented by Beyond Fest. Saturday is a screening of the classic Lawrence of Arabia (1962) in 70mm, while Sunday sees a double feature of The Return of the Living Dead (1985) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2  (1986).

AERO  (LA):

Oh, look… Spielberg’s Jaws is playing here, too… but on Wednesday. Director Peter Hunt will be on hand Friday to screen his movie musical 1776 (1972). On Saturday, you can see a double feature of Jaws 3-D  (1983) and A*P*E (1976), co-presented by Cinematic Void, and on Sunday is a Baseball Double Feature of 1993’s The Sandlot and Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own  (1992), both in 35mm!

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

MOMI is having another screening of Stephen Frears’ My Beautiful Laundrette  (1985), starring Daniel Day Lewis on Saturday, wrapping up Grit and Glitter: Before and After Stonewall. This weekend’s See It Big! Action movies are Robocop (1987) on Friday and the Wachowskis’ The Matrix on Saturday and Sunday.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Opening on Friday is a 4k restoration of the Director’s Cut of Daniel Vigne’s The Return of Martin Guerre (1982), starring Gerard Depardieu.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

On Saturday, you can see Alfred Hitchcock’s terror masterpiece Psycho (1960) on the big screen again!

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday’s midnight screening is Tommy Wiseau’s midnight movie “classic” The Room (2003).

Next week, things slow down with two lower-profile films, the comedy Stuber, starring Kumhail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista, and the alligator horror film Crawl, from Alexandra Aja and Sam Raimi.