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halorocks1214 · 8 months

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okay so i just steamrolled thru detective pikachu returns over the past 2 days because i was sick and had nothing else better to do and right after finishing it i went into the tags and WOWIE the negative reception is very large!! i do understand and even agree with some of it but i just felt the need to get my own thoughts down (again. sick with nothing better to do) so take a peek under readmore for very typical elongated halo ramblings about his fave video game series

for the record i never played the first game (only watched a few clips of it on youtube even) but i did go see the movie in theaters. just figured i'd mention this ahead of time so my favoritism is known and to prevent myself from coming off as a perfectly unbiased reviewer

BEWARE THE SPOILERS BTW

(post-editing note: it be long under here, you have been warned)

to start off YEAG this game is not worth 50 bucks! the story's pacing is all over the place and is very basic, the graphics are not particularly well refined, the characters' expressions do not fluctuate as much as they should (professor gordon in particular ;-; i felt so bad for him), and the voice acting outside of merloch and detective pikachu himself are kinda phoned in! it felt like an early 2000s 4kids dub for real. even the gameplay aspects themselves were rather meh in presentation; the button hitboxes were annoying to deal with and as cool as i thought the "main" mechanics were they were incredibly clunky and the tension they tried to build up in the "solving the case" climaxes was just Not It. there was absolutely no reason for the loading/pauses to take that long

(the pokemon gimmicks were okay tho. i would die for growlithe)

however, this isn't a problem specific to this game. while i enjoyed scarlet it was definitely not 60 bucks material (and when i went back to it for the teal mask i even went "good lord, did it always run this badly?"). i gotta give credit to detective pikachu, at least this game ran properly for the most part and never crashed on me lmao

while that doesn't negate the criticisms i previously mentioned i simply wanted to say that this is going to be a problem for as long as pokemon keeps making money. this isn't me finger-wagging at anyone in particular (i certainly have no room to talk, i did say i liked scarlet), i just wanted to say: yeah, pokemon has been A Mess

"but halo!" you cry. "you talked like the negative reception was overblown! what gives the giant negative paragraph??"

because much like scarlet, i still really enjoyed this game sdfjnsdk. how can i say that with confidence, though, when i largely agree that there were many, many issues to be had with its performance?

the word of the day: expectations

and perhaps this is where my bias comes into it. whenever i play a spinoff game (like snap or pokepark for instance), i don't really go into it for mindblowing gameplay and stories, i do it for the same reason this series has kept me enraptured for over a decade of my life:

the pokemon themselves!!

there are SO MANY little things that the regular games don't go into, and while i have my own headcanons and OCs i can play off of, it is so much fun to see actual canon material acknowledge certain things you've only ever theorized about!!

the whimsicott were so fun to watch float around, the article asking where a furret's tail began and ended made me laugh out loud, the fact that they went hard into the "slowpoke tails are eaten as food" thing, and the "let's not get into that right now" jokes about venonat hunting other pokemon and dusknoir eating souls LIKE. i LOVE when pokemon goes into its more "serious" aspects. i know main series games do it too occasionally but outside of offhanded mentions or pokedex entries, do they go this hard into them? if they do and i'm just stupid pls tell me about it i'll eat that shit up

being reminded of less-talked-about pokemon is always a plus and how can you not pop off when you see one of your faves included in the story? (INTELEON AND WOOPER I'LL KICK THEIR ASSES 4 U) it's simply fun immersing yourself into the world of pokemon and getting a glimpse of what it would be like to have pokemon walking down the street and how that affects everyday life! maybe the story is basic, but it served its purpose and i had fun going along with it!

perhaps it's just my mental illness talking, but walking around and seeing all the pokemon and THEN doing the quiz girl's quizzes was actually kinda nice! even if the puzzles weren't that hard, i can't lie and say i didn't pump my fist when i guessed where the mystery was going like with cramorant swallowing the jewel or how the passimian statues needed to hold different berries. overall, i just enjoyed being reminded of how much i know and what i love about this series

also, the ways they incorporated the movie were pretty baller. i liked how they didn't just do a repeat of the mewtwo plot from the movie and let me tell you, even tho i called it early on, i liked that my suspicions about the aurora drop being deoxys were confirmed!! (i suppose it's not that hard to guess bcs what other pokemon comes from space, but i just recently finished playing omega ruby again and i normally don't think about deoxys a lot so LET ME HAVE THIS)

plus "i heard they made a movie about the R case" MADE ME SCREAM. i thought they were just going to ignore the movie and do their own thing but then they DID THAT. incredible. you can call my expectations low (which is valid) but holy fuck

so the TLDR for those who want this: if you want a sweet but cliche game exploring the world of pokemon with a lot of funny moments + worldbuilding, then this game is perfect for you. if you want a game with a groundbreaking story with graphics to boot, then yeah, you're not gonna find it here. i've even seen people say their own nostalgia of the original spinoff wasn't enough to get them to enjoy this game, so take my words with a grain of salt

i would say just watch compilations of the game on youtube, but not every youtuber is gonna go fully exploring the game for all of its little details, so if you care about that kind of stuff, buying the game is your best bet. also if you don't care about that kind of stuff then you should just ignore the game altogether etc etc anYwAY

as for a TLDR for the TLDR: new pokemon snap is goated and i would say a more enjoyable experience than this game esp if you didn't like it so PLEASE buy it the game's only 30 bucks and you can throw treats at pokemon PLEASE it has so many sidequests and interactions you can partake in PLEASE i prommy i won't bite PLEASE stick your fingers in my enclosure PLEASE PLEASE PLE

#pokemon #detective pikachu #detective pikachu returns #video game review #my post

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artemis-entreri · 6 months

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Sorry if this is a dumb question, but can you please post links to your review of Lolth's Warrior? I love your reviews and can't find your Lolth's Warrior one. Thanks!

[[ Greetings!

Not a dumb question at all! ^_^ The reason that you can't find it is because it doesn't exist. XD In fact, I still haven't read the book yet, and I don't know when/if I will. I'm thinking that this is a good thing, as apparently even among the most diehard Drizzt fans there have been some very negative reactions to Lolth's Warrior, more so than ever.

If you follow me, you've probably noticed a significant drop in my activity. I've been greatly enjoying investing my time in other things, which is something I've been wanting to do for a while now but my brain wouldn't stop being hung up over these characters. It's no secret that I've been tired of Salvatore's BS for a long time, but I was too invested in the characters to be able to move on.

I think what finally helped me flip the switch is WotC investing a shitload of money to make Drizzt products, especially with whitewashed Artemis even though it's 2023. With the context of them also giving the excuse that they couldn't pay the other creatives who worked on their setting at market standard rates in the past along with their actions with the OGL earlier in the year, well, suffice to say that while I haven't respected Salvatore for a long time I did respect WotC, however after everything that happened this year, that has changed. I'm not sure how much WotC execs are responsible for the recent mass lay-offs, which in itself is really bad, but the fact that Mike Mearls was finally let go doesn't really help WotC's case for me because it only serves as a reminder of how Mearls wasn't fired earlier for assisting his sex abuser friend (he was instead quietly shuffled to the video games division for a while). When Mearls returned to the D&D division, about half a dozen female D&D staffers quit at the same time. This says to me that WotC cares more about a male sex abuser supporter than they do about all those female members of their staff, and it makes me question whether they care about women and oppressed groups in general. I've really started to question how much hypocrisy is present in their making a huge show of being LGBT+ inclusive; recent D&D products do indeed include a lot of LGBT+ representation, but how much of that is due to Jeremy Crawford having to fight to get it in there each time? How could WotC continue to march in Pride parades with pomp and circumstance while allowing the Mearls incident to have transpired?

When the OGL snafu happened, a friend made the comment that WotC may have had its ups and downs in the past but overall was generally viewed in a positive light by many, but that the OGL fiasco has probably bankrupted them from a "good will" perspective for a while. This is basically where I'm at with the company now. I still care a great deal about Ed Greenwood and the authors who penned the works that led me to fall in love with the world so hard, and while I still play D&D and care about FR, I'm at a point where I feel like WotC has demonstrated a clear lack of regard for their own Drizzt franchise, so much so that they don't even bother to get basic facts about one of its primary characters correct. As such, what's the point in me continuing to care? While I also don't care about how WotC feels about me as an individual fan, I've long been distasteful of how dismissive they are of their most dedicated fans, the ones who have spent hundreds of thousands of unpaid hours curating the (in)consistencies of their universe that they themselves can't be bothered to maintain. I can understand the reasons for WotC actively instructing their creatives to not use the FR Wiki, but it's painfully obvious that those creatives including Salvatore still use it to keep their facts straight because there is no comparable official resource for them internally with the company itself. Furthermore, the stuff that WotC is continuing to do suggest that they have no intention to change that, quite the opposite in fact. It was quite eyebrow-raising when WotC compared their D&D franchise to the Marvel universe, because what makes the Marvel universe so compelling and successful is the very self-consistency that WotC is trying to do away with in D&D. A big part of the reason why Marvel movies are loved is because it's the same characters that recur, and you never know if a character from a different movie will show up in the movie you're currently watching, but it's always a delight when they do. And, of course, it's so epic when all of those storylines across many different movies all come together and culminate in truly astounding ways. Despite the usage of an infinite multiverse in Marvel, there's this big sense of consistency, which is what makes the franchise so impressive and compelling. Marvel's world is everything that D&D's is not, at least in D&D's current iteration. Even though many different stories across a shared world is part of the draw of FR for me, I don't need D&D to be like Marvel, however because WotC made that comparison of the current D&D world to the Marvel world, I can't help but feel like WotC is more talk than action. I'm not at all saying that D&D isn't a quality product, it's just for me the shine of WotC is no longer there.

I think the biggest indicator for me that I was ready to shift my focus was my lukewarm reception of Baldur's Gate 3. It is everything that I hoped for and more for a current generation Forgotten Realms/D&D video game, and yet I was just ok about it. Here is FINALLY something that I spent so many years dreaming about, getting more and more hungry for it following the flops of Sword Coast Legends and the Dark Alliance reboot, but when it finally happened, I was just ok about it. It's a fantastic game and 110% deserving of its awards and its huge fan acclamation, and yet I was just ok about it. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the game, but I can't see myself playing it again.

I'm still happy to help and support the people in this fandom, be it by answering lore questions, suggesting novels to read, pointing the way to resources, or with more serious matters. I don't know how much new content I'll make though, I've got a bunch of WIPs in terms of art and writing, as well as miscellaneous drafts containing information about the world, but I don't know if I'll ever feel like finishing them/polishing them up to post. It's very freeing to no longer feel compelled to read each new Drizzt book because the drop in quality with each new installment has really been immense, and I'm a lot happier not spending those hours consuming really badly-written media. I do feel bad for no longer providing for those who want to know what's happening in the newer books but don't feel like reading them and who want to know a non-sycophantic summary of them, but hey, maybe someone will step up and fill in the summaries for the books. I'm not really sure why none of the diehard Drizzt/Salvatore super fans have undertaken the task since Hero. Wikis are editable by anyone, but the Wiki staff do try to make sure that everything is objective and factual.

If you're trying to find my old stuff, I'm sorry that my tags are kind of all over the place, I never got around to organizing them better. 😅 I *think* I've reblogged all of my LoD art to my otp-jartemis sideblog, but now that I look at it I see that's probably not the case. If you like my art though and want to continue seeing it even if it's not in this fandom, it'll be on my non-fandom specific blog: sno4wy.tumblr.com

This isn't goodbye, as I'll still be here now and then, I just won't be as invested, which is honestly a really great feeling. :> ]]

#Artemis Entreri #legend of drizzt #Forgotten Realms #Lolth's Warrior #WotC #ooc #ama #anonymous

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rachelkaser · 6 months

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RE4R Separate Ways Review: Backwards and in high heels

Resident Evil 4 Remake now has its own version of Ada Wong's Separate Ways DLC. Let's take a look at how the remake refreshes Ada's story, giving her room to shine separate from Leon -- and how it occasionally lets her down as a protagonist.

Within moments of Resident Evil 4 Remake (RE4R) launching -- hell, within moments of it being announced -- gamers began speculating about whether the remake would incorporate Separate Ways. A legendary DLC to a legendary game, the original Separate Ways is a retelling of RE4's story that shows what spy Ada Wong was up to while she flitted in and out of Leon's story.

When RE4R debuted, players discovered that some elements of the story had changed significantly -- the personality and agenda of Ada Wong seemingly among them. In keeping with the tonal shift of the remake, Ada has gone from being flip and flirtatious to calculated and focused. She helps out Leon and Ashley in her own way, but it's very clear her own agenda comes first.

So now that Separate Ways Redux is out, has Ada's part in the RE4R story changed? It turns out that, while the new version of Separate Ways has changed structurally, and expanded the roles of several characters, Ada's role remains the same. She may look and sound different, but the new Ada Wong is still doing everything Leon Kennedy does -- backwards and in high heels.

Side note: This review will include story spoilers -- nothing radical, but there are some things in Separate Ways Redux that differ from the original. If you want to experience them for yourself, don't read this review.

Separate Ways, Separate Perspectives

If you've never heard the expression before, it was coined by cartoonist Bob Thaves in his comic strip Frank and Ernest. A female filmgoer at a Fred Astaire film festival points out that legendary dancer and film star Astaire was great, but his longtime counterpart Ginger Rogers did everything he did "backwards and in high heels" -- meaning the same feats of athletic prowess but with extra handicaps. In some ways, it feels like RE4R Ada is working with some of the same handicaps.

I had the feeling, while playing the main campaign, that they were "saving" Ada for the inevitable Separate Ways DLC. Her presence in the main campaign feels a bit perfunctory, her performance restrained to the point of being dull. But I hoped that this was setting her up for a doozy of a starring role in the DLC -- after all, Lily Gao is a huge fan of the character and I find it hard to believe she would play this sexy, beguiling agent with such reserve if it weren't for a good reason.

And I was on the money! Ada in Separate Ways Redux is revealed to be juggling a lot of different problems in her own story -- her reticence in the base game is revealed to be because she literally does not have time solve Leon's problems for him. After seeing what she has to go through in her story, her going even slightly out of her way to assist him seems like an act of true kindness on her part given how much it messes with her plans.

Separate Ways Redux makes one big change to address Ada's overall stake in the story: She's also been given a Plaga parasite, meaning that if she doesn't play along with Luis's insistence on finding a cure, she's worse than dead. So not only does Ada have to find a way to appease her employer, the sinister and demanding Wesker, and accomplish her original goal of obtaining the Amber, she also has to contend with a parasite messing with her head while helping Leon, Ashley, and Luis out where she can.

In terms of gameplay, Separate Ways Redux feels like a bouillabaisse of Ada-specific features and upgrades thrown together with locations and setpieces that were cut from the base game. It feels quite a bit more hectic than RE4R, but that's not a bad thing. There's less backtracking and exploration but Ada does have more mobility with her hookshot.

Ada Wong, filling in the story gaps all over again

As with the original, the developers used Separate Ways to explain a few plot holes from the original -- who rang the church bell with such fortuitous timing, for example? Separate Ways Redux does the same thing -- most notably, it explains what happened to Saddler's mysterious Left Hand, Pesanta, who vanished from the main game while the Right Hand, Verdugo, tussled with Leon. Here it's Ada's recurring pursuer enemy who attempts to stymie her quest.

There are two big changes in Separate Ways Redux that I wholeheartedly endorse: First, the incorporation of the hookshot into melee combat, which gives Ada a different toolkit than Leon. Second, the fact that Ada doesn't simply refight Leon's boss monsters. Yes, she encounters her own Gigante (which destroys the farm section Leon had earlier passed through) but that boss fight is different enough from Leon's that it doesn't feel as much like a rehash.

Separate Ways feels as though it's attempting to simultaneously bridge the story gaps in the base RE4R game and pay homage to the original. Some of the iconic scenes from the original game that were cut from the remake are in Separate Ways, including the laser hallway, U-3's boss fight, and the gondola sniping section. This makes it feel tonally closer to the original game -- which admittedly means that it also feels a bit out-of-step with the remake.

Separate Ways is also a bit more of a straightforward experience than the base game. There's none of RE4R's backtracking or exploration, and Ada's journey follows three-act structure more closely than Leon's: Village, Castle, Island. She fights her own boss at the close of each -- the second Gigante that was cut from the village; Pesanta's U-3 form in the castle; and new character Martinico on the island before the final showdown with Saddler's minions while Leon deals with the man himself.

The Martinico boss fight was my favorite thing about the DLC, full stop. Ada has thus far shown nothing stronger than annoyance at anything thrown her way, but in the final hours of the DLC, she encounters a monster hidden on a part of the island Leon never visits that's functionally immortal: Martinico. Ada very understandably nopes the heck out of there, with Martinico in hot pursuit.

In any other DLC, this would having me thinking: "Oh, look, here's the boss that got cut from the main game, tossed to the DLC protagonist like meal scraps." But instead this boss fight sets up one of the best (and most ridiculous) homages I've seen in a game, that put an enormous grin on my face. I won't spoil it for those who wish to see it, but suffice to say it feels like an affectionate call-out to the media that inspired the original RE4 in the best way.

"Complete local saturation."

One difference between the original Separate Ways and the remake which changes the dynamic is the physical presence of a certain character: Albert Wesker, who here deigns to make an appearance both in the village and on the island. He appears because Ada's not accomplishing the task of retrieving the Amber in a satisfactory time frame, and he makes it very clear he's willing to hurt her should she not deliver. Even before this point, it's implied he could see through Ada's retinal display in addition to keeping tabs on her via satellite (like in the original).

At first, I found this change a bit confusing -- firstly, because none of the remakes thus far (excepting the first one from 2002) have really alluded to or used Wesker, so he feels less connected to the new continuity. Secondly, it begs the question: Why doesn't Wesker accomplish the mission himself, rather than allocate it to a secret agent of dubious loyalty who keeps getting sidetracked?

But the more I played, the more I began to understand and like this change. Sure, I still don't think it makes sense for Wesker to trust Ada with a task she's proven she can't really be trusted with, but at least he seems to be doing his own thing. Destroying cult leaders would be beneath him, after all. Also, I love how quietly sinister this Wesker is. Ditching the early 00s grimdark scenery chewing of RE5, this redone Wesker is more of a walking implied threat -- he doesn't raise his voice because you'd already better be listening to him closely.

Now Ada's rather frosty demeanor and reluctance to help -- even her insistence that Leon should abandon Ashley and get out of dodge -- makes so much more sense than it did in the base game. Of course she can only do so much to assist Leon; Wesker is literally breathing down her neck the entire time she's on the mission. While I'm sure Ada can handle herself, she also likely doesn't want to make Leon's life harder . . . goodness knows she's already done enough of that.

Just a cover story

That being said, there's still one way in which Separate Ways Redux kind of fails to do what I want it to do: It doesn't necessarily give Ada room to be a fully realized character. While I'm pleased that Lily Gao has a chance to play a cooler, more emotive Ada, I don't feel like I knew any more about her as a person at the end of the DLC than I did at the beginning. Yes, I know it's in keeping with Ada's character to be a little mysterious, but that's hard to swing when she's the protagonist.

One of the hallmarks of the remake continuity is that it tries to give more layers to everyone's personalities. Characters like Leon and Claire are more confused and frightened in RE2R than they were in the original. Jill is more exhausted and angry in RE3R and Luis is solemn and repentant in this game. Even Ada was more than just a one-note vamp in RE2R, showing signs of being in way over her head on this precarious mission.

But RE4R Ada just doesn't have the same level of vulnerability, not even with her player. There's one moment in Separate Ways, when she passes the charred body of the Spanish cop in the village, when she laments that she never wanted to encounter that smell again, and I sat forward in excitement. Finally, a hint of Ada's internal struggles and her possibly tragic past! But sadly, that was the only time that happened in the game.

I was hoping to perhaps learn more about how she felt about Leon, but I'm no more clear on it than Leon is by the end of Separate Ways. As best I can tell, Ada's raison d'etre has changed from, "Aw, I can't abandon this cute, oblivious lummox to these parasitized Spaniards. He wouldn't last five minutes without me watching his back" to "I'm gonna do my best to complete this increasingly complicated mission while trying to both help Leon and keep him from figuring out what I'm up to . . . and because he wouldn't last five minutes without me watching his back."

Final Verdict

Separate Ways Redux is a fantastic homage to the original DLC and builds out the story of Resident Evil 4's Remake in a fun way. Ada Wong's journey follows a slightly different (and altogether more stylish) path than Leon's, and gives our favorite spy a chance to show her own Ganado-slaying skills.

That said, I do wish Ada had a chance to be more of a character in her own story. It's a minor complaint given the overall quality of the DLC, but it definitely leaves Ada feeling like she's once again been robbed of the chance to lead her dance. She's kind of stuck doing what Leon does . . . backwards and in high heels.

#midweek madness #ada wong #resident evil 4 #resident evil 4 remake #separate ways #game review #leon s kennedy #video games

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ordinaryschmuck · 2 years

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What I Thought About "Thanks to Them"

Salutations, random people on the internet who are already scrolling past this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

When it was announced that The Owl House's third season would get cut short to three hour-long specials, the fans fought as hard as they could to rectify this insane mistake. And...I really hate how I wasn't surprised.

I've seen this before. There have been many instances when a studio decided on something fans didn't like, and those fans did everything they could to fight back against it. The problem is that the fans rarely win, and it'll take a gosh dang miracle to make a studio change its mind about something. Studios don't care about how badly the fans want something or about a creator's vision. All studios care about is how much money they can make off a product. And it seemed The Owl House didn't have as big of a number as Disney's other shows at the time. It's an unfortunate pill to swallow, but that doesn't mean the situation is hopeless.

There are competent writers out there that, when given restraint, try to roll with the punches and still push out something amazing. Believe it or not, what happened to The Owl House is the best-case scenario, as the writers were told ahead of time what their situation would be, giving them the chance to adjust and make as satisfying of an ending as possible. And if you ask me, I have absolute faith that they'll be able to pull it off. The Owl House isn't my favorite show at the moment for nothing. The writers are outstanding, and the final product of Season Two proves that they know how to tell an overarching story while still giving the characters and the audience the time they need to breathe. The question is, did "Thanks to Them" reinforce this faith? Well, let's find out together, shall we?

SPOILERS BELOW

WHAT I LIKED

Starting Where the Last Season Ended: This was the best decision. The events of the finale are too big of a thing to gloss over immediately by starting with a time skip of them already working hard on getting home. Continuing the story right after the last season left things off works because the characters are allowed some time to establish this new normal and get started on their mission. While putting out some...issues.

Luz and Hunter’s Guilt: I'm still a little iffy on Hunter's guilt, mainly because I don't see him as the victim here, but I understand what Luz's going through. What happened isn't her fault either, as Belos could have tricked anyone instead of her, but I can see how she can believe it's her fault. Even though it could have been anyone else, Luz is still the one Belos tricked in the end, and her pain of knowing that she inadvertently caused so much damage is well within reason. So I'm glad Luz has Hunter with her to share some of the pain. If you think these two were siblings before, you'll get a kick at watching them bond over shared fears and anxieties, being each other's support and reassurance that things are going to be ok. Luz adds more to that last part (because, of course, she does), but it's still sweet seeing them go through this together. It makes their relationship grow stronger and more compelling, and I hope we get just the briefest moments between these two in the future. And I'll go over each character individually, but there are just a few things I want to get out of the way first.

Starting with a character who deserves way more love.

Camila: IF I SEE ONE MORE MOTHER F**KER CALLING CAMILA A BAD MOM AFTER THIS, I'M GOING TO LOSE IT!

Let me break down what this woman does for the dumb dumbs in the back:

Upon seeing these four new kids without a home or anywhere else to go, she doesn't hesitate to insist that they can live with her and Luz until they find a way back. Even if she doesn't entirely understand how they function and is a little freaked out by certain antics.

When Luz came out to her, Camila pulled her and Amity in for a loving hug, and Camila started to wear a pride pin throughout the rest of the special, an extra cherry on that sweet sundae.

Upon seeing Vee in her new form, Camila ran toward her daughter with just as much pride as she did when Luz came out.

She looked at Luz's quirkiness and antics with pride, and if anybody had the AUDACITY to call her daughter a freak, Camila was more than ready to throw hands.

Once she finds out that Luz is planning on staying in the human realm, which is what Camila wanted once she realizes where Luz was during the summer, Camila refuses to let that happen. Back in "Yesterday's Lie," Camila didn't know the context of why Luz wanted to stay. Now, she does. The context has been living with her for months. And they helped her understand why Luz loves the Boiling Isles so much and how it's more of a home than the Human Realm.

The woman even jumped into a dirty graveyard pond to save our precious boy Hunter!

The one misstep she might have made was going through her daughter's journal, but, like...what parent hasn't done that? If you think your secrets are safe, they're not. And they never will be. Just accept that right now.

Is Camila a perfect mom? No. No parent is perfect, as there will be mistakes no matter how good you try to be. And if your takeaway from "Thanks to Them" is still about how Camila's a bad mom, despite all the kind-hearted things she does for her baby and her friends, you're an idiot. There's no other way around it. You are an idiot who doesn't understand good parenting if it slaps you in the face. And I'm only partially joking about that.

Alright, now that I've got that rant out of the way, let's keep things chugging along.

The Montages: There are two prominent montages in this special, the first showing us what Luz and Co. have been up to the past few months and the second detailing the antics Vee and Luz's friends went through in finding the secrets of the puzzle they found. And this was another perfect decision on the writer's part. The Owl House's third season has a similar plot to Amphibia's, only that the writers are working with a third (Ha) of the run-time that Matt Braly and his team did. This means they'll have to speedrun through the same story beats Amphibia had while still providing a satisfying final product. So, seeing the characters adjust to the new environment is relegated to montages instead of dedicating entire episodes (and wasting time) of them going on a wacky adventure in the human realm. And I'm ok with that. This idea of keeping things moving forward but delivering the briefest of cute character moments makes The Owl House more different (and better) than Amphibia. While Amphibia will grind its stories and narratives to a halt so we can have a filler episode dedicated to stuff like Sprig being a superhero, The Owl House keeps things going while working these character moments in with the story. It's a reason why I think people get too bent out of shape when shows don't have filler episodes anymore. Yeah, I get that some of them can be fun when done right, but that doesn't mean characters can't grow without them. Maybe Luz coming out to her mom or the characters meeting giraffes would have made great episodes, but I'm not losing sleep over getting a few seconds instead. Besides, while "Thanks to Them" is still continuing the story, that doesn't mean it can't stand out on its own as something spectacular.

Or should I say spooktacular...?

It’s a Halloween Special: And I love that. I love that despite the writers having less time, they still went out of their way to deliver the one holiday special this series is perfect for while continuing the story. They just added the fun, filler-like stuff with it (see what I mean?). As for how well it works as a Halloween special...it's pretty good. Some solid imagery feeds into the spooky season with some creepy stuff that should be enough to scare the kids watching. Heck, maybe some adults might get creeped out given some body horror that happens later...and yes, we'll get into that...but first, let's talk about something wholesome.

I need something wholesome.

OH, MY GOODNESS, DO I NEED SOMETHING WHOLESOME!

The Kids Learning Spanish: You'll do.

This was sweet, by the way. It shows us just how much these kids care about Luz and Camila by putting in the effort to speak a language that they mastered. It's a small thing, but it fills up my heart.

(Also, that demonic Duolingo is perfect as an in-joke for the fandom. If you know, you know)

They Painted Hooty on the Door: This, on the other hand, is both funny and kind of tragic. Like, the kids miss the Boiling Isles so much that a reference to Hooty gives them comfort.

Hooty!

Man, they really need to find a way to get back home...

The Kids Finding a Way to Get Back Home: Oh...that was fast. But not too convenient. It's heavily implied that the house the kids set themselves up in used to belong to Philip and Caleb (or something like that), so it's not too hard to believe that the kids find their first real clue there.

As for the others leaving Luz out on the search, this does bring up my friend's complaint about how Luz doesn't have much agency as her friends. And, yeah, I can see that frustration. Luz doesn't get to do much in this special, with the most crucial story-driven moments going to the others. Luz is the main protagonist, and she should be able to do more than...relatively nothing. However, it does make sense in context. Luz is currently not in the right mindset and is going through a lot, so her friends are doing their part to chase a lead, wanting to surprise Luz with a win instead of letting her down with another failure. It's her friends' way of paying back all the kindness Luz has done for them by going just as above and beyond as she would in completing a task. It has the unfortunate side effect of letting Luz have little importance, but I wouldn't call it bad writing. Just...a slight mishandling of characters.

Besides, while Luz doesn't do much to advance the story, she adds a lot when it comes to character development.

Luz: This is the most development Luz has gotten through the whole series. Luz is weighed down by her guilt over accidentally helping Belos to the point where she believes things would be better if she never existed. That...hurts. It hurts a lot to see Luz think this way. And it hurts even more to see her heart not being in it when acting like her usual self. When Luz smiles, it never reaches her eyes. When she says something lighthearted and goofy, it almost sounds as if she's empty inside. This experience changed her, and it makes sense. To Luz, she caused so much damage that is unable to fix it for months. It makes sense why she's so emotionally numb throughout the special because...how would you react to all that? Something tells me it wouldn't be great.

This special also gave us more insight into Luz's life before the Boiling Isles. We get to see how isolated she feels, how miserable she is being in a world that doesn't understand her, and even why she loves The Good Witch Azura. We get bits and pieces of that in the past, but this is the first time it's a central focus, and that's great. We know a lot about Luz's friends and family but don't know much about her. So to finally get something about Luz is spectacular. If you ask me, having her go through the most development is a fair trade to her not having much agency in the first part of a three-part finale (besides, we've got two more parts to go through).

Although, she's not the only one going through a lot this special.

Hunter: Next to Luz, Hunter might be the one who grew the most in "Thanks to Them." He gets a hobby that allows him to find some self-expression, finds a book series that gives him comfort over his anxieties, and ends up crying tears of joy when he realizes he's part of a kind, loving family. Again, "Thanks to Them" worked all these great character moments into the story while still moving things along. Seriously, take notes, Amphibia writers!

Jokes aside, it is great to see Hunter happy for the majority of an episode for once. After everything he went through (and will soon go through. We'll get to that), it warms the heart to see my boy just loving life and getting everything he could have ever hoped for...This is why it does serious emotional damage to see it soon crumble to an end. And we'll get to that...but can we go through some more nice stuff first? Please?

Cosmic Frontier: Sure, why not?

I like Cosmic Wonder primarily for the help it gives Hunter and his issues, but it's also amazing how it gives him and Gus something to bond over. It adds more to that brotherly bond they've got going on, which is sweet to see.

Also...those books obviously belonged to Camila. The way she reacted to them and the fact that she got bullied in school over something is all the proof I need. And that's also sweet because it means she's as much of a nerd as Luz, even though she has bad memories of expressing it. Plus, now that we know that Luz's father is the one that gave Luz her first Azura book, a fact that breaks my heart as much as it makes it whole, that might hint at how Camila and Manny met. The boxes in the closet imply they went to conventions together, even saving old cosplays they've made. Really shows you how much Luz takes after her folks, thus warming the heart up in the process.

Masha: Do you want to know what else warms the heart? The Owl House continuing to excel at having such casual LGBTQA+ representation.

Here, we have a character that's non-binary but embraces feminity. There's an incorrect stipulation that to be non-binary means to not conform to either male or female genders, but (as far as I can tell) that's not true. Being non-binary means that you don't identify as either male or female. How you choose to express that is up to you. But if a man can wear makeup and have long hair but still identify as male or a woman can choose to wear no makeup and shave her head but still identify as female, why can't a non-binary individual choose to wear pride nails and wear long dresses?

For The Owl House to allow a group of people to feel that seen is fantastic, and I hope this series will be remembered for years because of that reason alone.

And, hey, it looks like they might be a potential crush for Vee. Isn't that just cute...Oh, yeah, VEE!

Vee: I'm surprised with how well Vee fits into the group. She doesn't do much, but she adds a lot of cuteness and charm, and I love that there are zero issues with the fact that she's a basilisk. She's just a part of the gang, and there are no questions or hesitations about it. And that's nice. It's great to see Vee happy and loved after all the crap she went through before meeting Camila. Also...at least someone had a happy ending...unlike others...But I'm not getting into that yet! There's still the, uh, um...OH! I know!

The Tale of Brothers Whittebane: They just...put it all out there. That's the story of Caleb, Philip, and Evelyn (who's obviously a Clawthorne. I mean, come on). This story is everything we could really need to know, and it's told uniquely by having it be a sort of puppet show. Any blanks in the story we might have can only be confirmed through the background paintings found in "Hollow Mind," which the Tale of Brothers Wittebane in "Thanks to Them" adds clarity towards. Would a flashback episode work better? Most certainly, yes. But, as I've said, the writers have no choice but to speedrun through these story beats while making it serviceable. And that's what this is: Serviceable. I would love to know more, but I'm fine with where we're at.

Belos–NO! No, come on, there's gotta be something else!

Uh...Luz making a light glyph? That was cool and effectively gave me goosebumps.

"Shmuck--"

Um, uh, Luz's journal entries are neat! It's probably the best scene in the entire series, showing us exactly the kind of person Luz is and the heartbreak she learned to deal with!

"Schmuck."

And how about Luz and Amity going as Azura and Hecate?! That's something I've always wanted to see, and I got it! And I bet it made you all happy, right--

"SCHMUCK!"

...

"It's time."

...*Sighs* Yeah...yeah, let's get into it.

Belos Possessed Hunter: This...might be the worst thing Belos has ever done. And that's saying something.

Hunter was finally happy and at peace with everything. He had friends who loved him, interests that gave him something to hold on to, and a family that accepted him. The sad part is that the stuff that made Hunter happy only led to his own downfall. His love of sewing caused a hole for Belos to sneak his slimy self into. His admiration for Cosmic Frontier led to him staying behind and finding Belos in the first place. It is beyond twisted and could potentially lead Hunter to think he's not allowed to be happy if this is where it gets him. Sure, we got a cool fight scene and some decent body horror as Belos took over, but it will never change how this is an experience that will scar Hunter far more on the inside than the out. Especially considering...

Flapjack’s Death: This stings.

No, screw that. This shatters.

Flapjack, the first good thing to ever happen to Hunter and what kickstarted him learning to be loved, is...gone. He's gone, and it's all for the pettiest of reasons: Belos' resentment towards a witch his brother fell in love with. Sure, he hates magic and palismans in general, but he clearly specified that he was doing it because of how Flapjack reminded Belos of Evelyn. And he did it while using Hunter's body as a vessel, adding more damage to the poor boy.

But, if there's one good thing to take away from this, Flapjack died on his own terms. Belos cracked him, and it was unlikely Flapjack would survive anyway, but in his last moments, he spent them saving Hunter one final time. It's not the sendoff we wanted Flapjack to have, but this showcase of true loyalty proves how endearing he can be and how badly he'll be missed.

RIP, you little rascal.

...Thankfully, it doesn't take long before tragedy fades and hope rises.

The Truth Comes Out: And everything is fine.

I'm not shocked that Belos tried to throw in one last manipulation by telling the truth to Luz's friends about the mistake that she made. Nor am I surprised that their reaction was to be stunned at first, but they were quick to get over it, reassuring Luz that there's nothing to be worried about and ashamed of. And you have no idea how much relief I felt when that happened.

Lesser shows would have taken the opportunity to milk this drama far more than what it's worth, having Luz constantly blame herself while others refuse to look at her the right way ever again. Meanwhile, the writers of The Owl House said, "F**k that!" and gave Luz the instant reassurance she'll need. I'm sure she's not totally over her guilt and that we'll get bits and pieces of it in parts two and three, but I'm glad that the writers gave us all the drama they could about Luz keeping her mistake a secret without it feeling like it overstayed its welcome. It's another case of phenomenal writing in this series that was more than welcome.

(Also, Amity echoing back the words Luz said when confessing to her is beyond adorable, and I will hear nothing of the contrary)

But while this wasn't much of a surprise, what definitely was is...

Camila Deciding to Go With: I mean...yeah.

A part of me thought this might happen, but I did not expect it to come true. Still, I'm excited. I cannot wait to see Camila join the fight and kick some butt in the Boiling Isles...That or die/sacrifice herself to save her baby...I mean, if Camila's the only thing keeping Luz in the Human Realm, her death would give Luz the excuse she needs to stay in the Boiling Isles forever with her new family and home...I'm not saying I want this to happen, but it's even more of a possibility now than ever.

And I'm gonna hate myself for calling it...

WHAT I DISLIKED

Get the f**k out of here--YOU ARE NOT NEEDED!

...No, really, you're not needed. I took the one complaint I had (Luz not doing much) and weaved it into the likes so I could rationalize why it still works even though it rubbed me (and others) the wrong way.

What did you expect me to do? Break the flow so I can do something that's not necessary? What am I, an Amphibia writer?

...People probably think I hate Amphibia due to me ragging on it even though I gave it a B- in my final verdict review. The truth is, I do like Amphibia. It's funny, Anne's character development is ten times better than Luz's, and this is a show that knows how to stick the landing when it comes to its finales. My problems are that certain ideas and decisions weren't executed well, with the primary issue being how poorly it mixed episodic storytelling with a serialized one. Other than that, it's pretty good. Check it out.

...What were we talking about? Oh, right! "Thanks to Them!"

Yeah, this is an A+ for sure.

IN CONCLUSION

"Thanks to Them" is better than anything that came out of the series so far. It proves that Season Three is going for the "less is more" approach, giving the fans everything they could want and ask for but not letting it distract from the few narratives left established. There's a voice in my brain telling me that parts two and three of this final season might not live up to expectations, but it is outclassed by the part of me that is reassured by how astonishing this season will be. I have high hopes for the future. And it's all thanks to the writers who really do know how to roll with the punches.

#the owl house #the owl house season 3 #the owl house spoilers #camila noceda #luz noceda #toh hunter #toh flapjack #toh vee #vee noceda #emperor belos #the owl house reviews #what i thought about

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hellcatinnc · 2 months

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A Sign Of Affection Anime Review

Spoilers Included

So I'm going to tell you what I think of the show then I'm going to break down each relationship and my thoughts on them. Even though there is one main couple there are others on the side line that are sweet too. So first off I swear this show should not be called a sign of affection like I have seen so many others say a sign of rejection does sound more fitting to this show. I would love to say it was one of my favorite anime's but it isn't matter of fact the longer I watched it the more it started to turn my stomach based on what the writers wrote.

Its about a deaf girl who has a childhood best friend who is in love with her, a best friend who doesn't sign who is in love with a bartender who happens to be the cousin to the man who shows interest in Yuki and she is in love with after meeting on a train. You got through watching Itsuomi and Yuki fall in love, Oushi get his heart broken, torn out , and stomped on. You watch Rin & Kyouya confess their love for each other and watch Emma get hurt by Itsuomi, watch all the girls choose Itsuomi and Emma push Shin aside who loved her since school. That the just of the show. I give it a 5 star out of 10 mainly because only Yuki & Itsuomi have the best part of things because I will be damn most everyone else besides Rin & Kyouya go through bullshit and lose their girls to Itsuomi.... SERIOUSLY WHAT IS SO GREAT ABOUT THIS GUY?!?!?

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Itsuomi & Yuki

So at first I thought this couple was cute, the first episode you think they are adorable together but as the series goes on there is so much wrong with this couple. First I don't think she is in love with him because I really think she is too naive to know what love is. I mean she didn't even know what love was when she asked Rin then she decided it was and that was after not even knowing him that well, thats called infatuation. At first I think he was just intrigued by her like he is by others he meets along his travels so while she was talking bout love he was just being friendly. I don't think he is a bad guy but just not right for her. He is easy going and relaxed and acts like he doesn't have a care in the world. He even said he didn't have time for relationships with his travel his cousin even mentioned his fear of him playing games with Yuki.

The fact he has all this money to travel every time you turn around but doesn't just offer to pay for his girlfriend to go with makes her go out and get a job which was hard with her being deaf to pay her own way. Not to mention realistic he is one who travels alot to enjoy things and I just don't see him stopping every second to sign for her or make sure she knows whats going on or what happens if she gets left behind because he is busy talking to someone. I really just don't see this as a good relationship realistically speaking and if she don't go with him she gets to deal with him constantly leaving her behind to travel. I have been in a long distance relationship before and if you have you know they suck and they will reach a marker where something has to change.

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Itsuomi & Emma

This couple never needed to happen she was always meant to be with Shin. However they met in highschool and instead of actually truly shutting Emma down he let her believe still that she could be his at some point since he wasn't serious about anyone yet all the girls wanted him including her. I however don't think as a friend and a guy who was interested in Yuki should he let Emma stay at his house either because he gave her false hope just like letting her hang off him and such he didn't really make it clear he never wanted to be with her like. I felt so bad for Emma through all this just glad she ended up with the better guy being Shin.

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Yuki & Oushi

Oushi is the 2nd male lead the one you get to watch through the whole season get his heart ripped out and smashed. Alot of people says he deserves it but seriously for all who think he deserved to have it thrown in his face over and over again to the point he breaks down and is crushed then you get your heart shattered and you tell me its ok for this guy to go through that. He may have not been the guy she was to end up with but he never deserved what he went through either. Also for people he is a tsundere he was a little poorly written because he was nice to everyone but Yuki and most tsunderes is the other way around. However he learned sign language to talk to her at a early age. People forget no matter what he was there when she had no one yes life split them apart with her going to a deaf school but this is the only reason they didn't talk much.

He didn't just wake up and have feelings for her I think he always loved her but was scared he wasn't good enough for her even though he also didn't want to see her with someone else. Its a double blade sword and something most best friend troupes go through. He didn't want to mess up what they had as well yet he sees her with someone else and he realizes he would rather be with her than let someone else be. Sadly because Yuki is so caught up on Itsuomi she can't even see Oushi loves her and always has. Shoot even Oushi's sister could see it and his friend too. This is what makes Yuki naive, immature, and kinda dense. Even before she fell for Itsuomi the signs were right there but she was like oh Oushi doesn't care about me he just cares about deaf people bullshit.

As you can tell as the season went on she pissed me off and in a real world the kinda guy Itsuomi is would break her heart and Oushi would be there to pick up the pieces. Granted the best friend still might not get the girl in real life but he would still be the one to comfort her. If you can't tell I prefer Oushi and let me tell you your gonna be one side or the other usually in this show whether team Oushi or Team Itsuomi. Another thing that irritated me is when they showed them as kids he said he was rude to her but that became their conversation like she was used to him being this way and it was ok until she met Itsuomi then she acted like Oushi wasn't the best guy. Yes he is a bit immature but so is she so please don't say he is without putting her in the same category. Another thing people talk about Itsuomi wanting to be in her world yet Oushi had been there way longer.

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Itsuomi & Oushi

So this pretty much irritated me because Itsuomi knew he won Yuki yet I swear it felt like he threw it in Oushi's face. When Oushi hated him he decided he wanted to be friends with him but last I knew it takes two to be friends. Anyways I'm almost definite if someone comes at you tells you they are in love with the same girl as you and if you hurt her he is coming for her then thats probably not a friendship that for very toxic one. Funny thing is I think Oushi is the the more attractive one yes he is tsundere but he does love her. But forcing a friendship then telling Yuki they are the best of friends and wants to know where he lives thats border line stalkerish.

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Rin & Kyouya

So this couple really is cute to me. Kyouya is Itsuomi's cousin who runs a bar he is in his late 20's and isn't looking for head games. He mentions to Rin that dating became such a hassle he gave up finding the one that is until she confessed she had feelings for him. He told her she was the only one worth the dating hassle to be with cause he had feelings too. They were always so cute because they would try to help Itsuomi and Yuki together but when they were left alone they realized that there was something between them and honestly I think they were probably one of the best couples of this show because they never wavered in feelings from the start and they always seemed real with each other. I hope if I continue watching that these two get more screen time together.

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Shin & Emma

This couple is one I'm glad ended up together in the end and look forward to seeing more of them. What sucked was Shin loved her back in school and would have done anything for her but she was so caught up on Itsuomi and barely even registered that the man who stood by her through everything was Shin not Itsuomi who didn't even want a relationship. I think it was fucked up Shin had to tell her about Itsuomi having a girlfriend but least he was able to tell her how he felt finally.

#a sign of affection #shoujo #anime #shoujo anime #nagi itsuomi #yuki x oushi #yuki itose #oushi ashioki #Kyouya Nagi #Rin Fujishiro #emma nakazono #shin iryuu #shin x emma #Kyouya x Rin #yuki x itsuomi #itsuomi x emma #reviews #review #anime review

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separatist-apologist · 1 year

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You review ": From Blood And Ash + the other books. Look. When are we going to discuss the absolute antisemitism that ribbons through these books? I guess its fine since Casteel is so hot, but lets not pretend the whole shadow elite drinking the blood of innocents for eternal youth/power isn't just repackaged blood libel because it absolutely is. Ignoring that, JLA is a bad writer with no editor pumping out book after book to bleed her fandom dry. How many 500 page books of no plot are people willing to read before they move on?

Gurl, i-. i was onep of the people kinda follow the booktok book reco back inthe day. When ut was hyoe and love all across the booktok fandom. But gurl. I WANNA BE MAD AT HOW BORING THE BOOK AND HOW I WANA SLAP BOTH ML AND FL. I was so mad by how hype the book is. I feel betray by the booktok community.

Then i give chances to the Kingdom of wicked. Like hellooo?? This book is dar below kingdom of ash. AT LEAST, i remember that cassteel is the ML,pretwnded to be a guard, climb a tree wuth the maiden FL and black hair. But this ML in KoW?? I remember nothing of the guy. He so bland,no spice at all,all salt and thats is that. But I did remember he had a good body. The rest? Wth am I reading? Is this a fever or what? I dont even remember whathappen in that book. But i know the FL hs twin and FL grandma sounded fun to have in holiday and her cook can solve world hunger

How the hell tiktok love this book. Half of the booktok reco is a scam. Now, the only reco i take from booktok is non fic or anything not YA,fantasy and romance

I think my issues fall into two categories: is it bad technically (craft/pacing/writing/etc etc) but not harmful

Or is it bad (all the same) AND harmful. I have a rant, I'll put it under the cut

So like- who cares really if someone likes garbage? I like garbage too, we all rummage through the trash and pick our faves and while it's not for me and I don't like a lot of it, I don't begrudge people who do. Kingdom of the Wicked is here. It's boring, it's got a plot that never made sense and it's clear the author didn't have a plan when she went in. Whether she wanted to write her books as quickly as she did or was pressured, I think the constant pumping out books for consumption like it's television seasons diminishes the quality. I would guess publishers are riding author's hard to write faster in order to captialize on hype because it makes them money.

I also think the way a LOT of self-published author's write like they're publishing to AO3 is part of the problem. So like- leaving me a rude review is mean because I'm doing this for free and it's a hobby but author's ask you to consume their work, often for money and its disrespectful when they don't, for example, hire an editor to catch their mistakes and then turn around and make people feel bad for leaving poor reviews or send their followings after reviewers for pointing out the lack of quality and consistency.

Those things are, in my opinion, bad and I dislike it's usually white mediocrity being put on this pedestal over and over when there are very well written, GOOD stories by poc author's that are ignored in favor of another mid story of a dark haired abuser and a spineless sassy LI.

But then there are bad books that are also harmful and that's where I don't feel so nice and I AM judging people like. Very hard. ESPECIALLY when it comes to the blood libel because Jesus goddamn Christ it's like every 4 months it's another author saying "oopsie I accidentally put antisemitism in my book" like look at the Haunting Adeline author. At least she's sorry but it's really exhausting AND highlights what a good editor could catch if they had any respect for their readers.

JLA is offensive in my opinion because she doesn't care so long as people keep buying her padded books. She'll keep churning out books and if you say "you know maybe it's okay to be critical of what you consume, even if it's just for fun" you get railroaded with people saying you have internalized misogyny and can't stand to see women enjoy themselves. I personally support women's wrongs EXCEPT when they're perpetuating hateful centuries old conspiracy theories that have gotten people killed and are still spewed on Twitter by, for example, Kanye West.

And the fact that so many of these author's rush to write whats in their heart and what's in their heart too often is racism is a conversation I feel like booktok isn't interested in having and so people still uphold Haunting Adeline when it never deserved the hype (but at least the author said sorry I guess, and reworked her issues) and will say they don't notice the antisemitism in FBAA (lucky them) and they're just trying to have fun without ever considering whose expense they're having fun at or like. How the self-publishing model COULD disrupt who we make popular if people could move away from the same four tropes strung together by shreddable plot and a dark haired man with tattoos.

#haters book club but with feeling

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daffodi1 · 2 years

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I know literally nobody cares but I'm doing a first impression review of The Ssum (because my otome blog is p much dead at this point)

The good:

-I like that you can set your own schedule! That's a really nice change from MysMess where you had chats happening at hours you might not be awake or might be busy.

-It's kinda cool that the game takes place over the span of 200 days. I feel like that's fun and there's a lot of ways to get content from that.

-The community features are really nice! I like that the game has its own built in social media app for you to communicate with other players, I think that's so fun.

-The bgm is really soothing and nice.

-Pets are always a welcome addition.

The bad:

-The artstyle is.... eh. I don't *hate* that they took a slightly more realistic direction, and some of the CGs are really cute. But some of them are really uncanny valley and dare I say it... the ultra pale skin and lack of nose definition in some of them makes Teo look like James Charles 😭 Also the backgrounds look like stock images w filters over them. They're not bad but... I miss having drawn backgrounds.

-Teo as a character is... well... he's very cute and sweet, and I appreciate him being an awkward dork. But he's unfortunately bland to me: and I feel like this is less of a flaw with the writing and more of a flaw with the game itself. I actually have two points to make about this:

1) The ssum itself seems to revolve around an app that connects you to your "special someone", which is something I kinda assume is like... your soulmate maybe? But the thing is, Teo is the game's only character. If you make *one* character to be the soulmate of every single person who plays the game, well... of course he's going to turn out to be a bit bland. Everyone has different things they like and dislike in an otome game character-- some people think tsunderes are cute while others think they're mean. Some people think possessive characters are sexy and others think they're scary. So if you wanted to make someone appeal to everyone, it'd be hard to give them any meaningful flaws and quirks. I personally don't understand the design choice of making Teo the only character-- the game itself has a personality test feature, so wouldn't it make more sense to have a cast of different characters and to connect players to them based on their personality test results? This also gives a degree of replayability to the game since they could try to get different results each time, with the one they got playing organically as their "true ending". But perhaps that's not how the game is meant to be played, bringing me to my next point:

2) I've heard from a lot of people that Teo is supposed to change depending on how you speak to him, which makes me wonder-- maybe instead of being a traditional dating sim where you fall for the characters as they are, you're supposed to change one character into your ideal partner? I'm sure that's an interesting concept to some, but to me, it feels a little too much like nintendogs or some other pet simulator where you have to train them. That kind of concept isn't really appealing to me, bc I play dating sims to meet these different characters, get insight into what makes them who they are, and fall for them. So maybe this isn't a *bad* game per se, just not for me.

The ugly:

-Cheritz. I'm begging you to please stop with the microtransactions. I know you need the money but I cannot afford these subscription services and there's no ingame way to grind for currency. Please fix it.

-Some of the mechanics are not really intuitive and take a lot of guesswork. More detailed instructions and a better translation would be really helpful for those parts-- I don't mind the translation for Teo's dialogue since he is Korean and it makes sense his English wouldn't be perfect, but it is still important for us to understand how to play the game.

Once again, this is just my first impression, so I might change my mind as I play the game and discover more about it. But it really depends on what they show me. If anyone has any other insight to offer me; please feel free!

#emil chatter #the ssum #long post

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shirophantomvox · 3 years

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Leorio, Hisoka, Illumi, and Chrollo Head Canons #2

What’s up y’all! Thank you so much to the people who have given me feedback about what posts you all would like to see! This post will be about the “Adult Trio” and Leorio about how they would help their significant other with a subject in college. This one is a good suggestion! I’m going to incorporate fluff in this, as I am a sucker for fluff. I hope you all enjoy this! I most certainly do. This post is about 2687 words but don't worry, it's worth the read! These head canons came from my mind its a coincidence that some of these pictures match the thoughts. Portentous (old English) means wonderful or marvelous (in modern English) FYI: I am thinking about creating a discord server for both Voltron and Hunter x Hunter fans. I don’t know how to use the fancy perks of discord yet, so if you know how to and can help me out, send me a message! Alright, let’s get to it! Obviously these images are from Pinterest.

Discord Server for Voltron and HxH fans!

Leorio

“Mr. Leorio”, as we all know, is a sharp guy. He dresses in a suit, carries a suitcase, and wants to be a doctor. This man knows everything about academics, especially math and science. He will need to know these subjects to be a successful medical doctor.

Leorio received an A- in Calculus II and a B+ in Organic Chemistry. He was the only one that passed with flying colors while everyone else barely made it. He didn’t gloat in their faces but as soon as he got into the hallway he jumped for joy.

He was extremely happy about his progress and counted the days until graduation even though that was in 5 years. Wow! Don’t we love graduate school?!

He deserved the high grades because he spent countless nights studying missing parties, football games, and being with you just to make sure he was on the right track to graduating on time.

As we all know, Leorio wanted to pursue this career because he witnessed his best friend dying in front of him powerless to save him. The care for his friend would have been too expensive. Obtaining his degree was in honor of his friend; he’d save countless children, women, and men who’d all thank him for his hard work.

Leorio didn’t socialize much, but he did find himself hanging around a group of classmates that were a part of a co-ed fraternity that provided information on scholarship money for graduate school and job opportunities. This is where he met you. You didn’t want to be a doctor but instead wanted to be a computer scientist and decided to volunteer for this fraternity job fair.

As he rejoiced, his smile faded when he saw you walking down the hallway; tears falling from your face not caring who stared at you. He quickly walked up to you, put his arm around your back, and gave you a soft hug.

“What’s the matter,” he asks.

You were failing Calculus, a class you’ve been taking since the 12th grade but for some reason, you couldn’t pass it. Everyone else had A’s and B’s, while you had a D. D’s aren't accaetable in college; most make you retake the class.

“Don’t worry. I’ve just passed my midterm. I can help you study. You’ll pass; trust me.”

Later on that evening, he kept his promise but gave it a unique twist. He kept the lights off and lit 4 Yankee-sized candles in the room that smelled like Lavender. In the background, he had piano jazz playing on his speaker. You felt confused for a moment. You and Leorio weren’t necessarily dating but you both flirted with each other here and there. He wasn’t a social butterfly, but he felt comfortable talking to you.

“Um...what’s the music for?”

“It helps me concentrate. Believe it or not, it helps my brain flow. You like it don’t you?”

“No, actually I don’t.” Truth be told you loved it but you wanted to pull his strings a little. He looked up with a confused look.

“Ok. I’ll turn it off.”

“I'm kidding! It’s great!”

Whenever he cannot solve a Calculus question, he reviews similar problems from Algebra II. He applies this knowledge to your problem.

“Perform the indicated function evaluations for f(x)=3−5x−2x^2 . I’ll solve the first part for an example: f(6+t) simply means you will exchange “x” for 6+t. It will look like f(6+t)=3-5(6+t)-2(6+t)^2=-49 . You’d distribute -5 and -2 to the numbers inside of the brackets in which they are next to.”

Wow, that was easy! Wait, not he must think you’re stupid.

“You must think I’m stupid, don’t you?”

“Of course not! It took me a while to understand it too. You’ll apply the same knowledge for the rest.”

After what seemed like 4 hours (which was 2), you finally finished your homework! It was probably wrong but at least you made it past the 1st question! As you blew out the candles and turned on your LED lights instead, you see Leorio sleeping on your couch. Something about his soft face made you smile and place your hand over your heart.

“My little doctor,” you whispered to yourself.

“Well, come give this doctor some company then. I’m freezing over here!”

The throw blanket was large enough for you both. Snuggling on the couch was a great end to a stressful day.

Chrollo

To everyone else Chrollo was “Boss” or “Boss Man” but to you, he was Chrollo. Big C was known for his love for poetry and language.

He read poetry any chance he had at lunch and even dinner. It had gotten so bad that you had to tell him for the millionth time “No books at the table!”

Given his past, he always read at least 2 hours a day or one book a week. Reading is what got him through the day.

He was staying in your dorm for the day to relax because he had taken and passed his midterms to. The young thief thought about hiding in the closet but he didn’t because he sensed that you’d be tense because of midterms.

As you walked through the door, you looked angry, so angry that you could punch a wall. He immediately rose to his feet, threw his arms straight out in front of him, and motioned for you to stop. You just stared at him blankly.

“Come here,” he said like you, on cue, melted in his arms. He was warm and the deepness of his cooing voice vibrated against your neck. “What’s the problem?”

“I’m failing this stupid Shakespeare class!”

“Really?”

“Yes and if I don’t pass this midterm I’m going to fail the class for the 3rd time. I want to drop out! Who needs this scam anyway?!”

Chrollo held you a bit longer until you were ready to sit down and get to business. You pulled out your college’s book about Shakespeare plays and how he used Old English. Chrollo was the perfect man for the job! He’s read Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet several times!

Chrollo read a few stanzas and explained them. He then had you read some on your own and explain them...still you can’t.

He notices the problem immediately. He catches you snuggling comfortably against his toned arm, nearly falling asleep.

Chrollo laid at the very corner of the couch as you lay horizontally placing your head against his chest. You were comfortable but you weren’t able to focus. He notices this and slightly demands that you go sit at the table. When it came to academics, he was serious.

For as long as he had been reading, he has an arsenal of vocabulary words ready to be of use. He created flashcards for you and had you flip them over for nearly an hour. You start to memorize the words!

But you’re not done yet.

“Say the word ‘portentous’.”

“Por-ten-trious…?”

“No. Por-ten-tas.”

“Tias…?”

He moved his chair next to you, just an inch away from your face. He cups your mouth and moves it as he speaks again. This wasn’t a hard clutch, it was soft and he wasn’t irritated but he could sense that you were becoming irritated.

“Por-ten-tas,” he said again.

Instead of letting your cheeks go, his eyes diverted to your lips. They were moist and plump, ready to be met by his.

“Your lips are gorgeous. Kisseth me quite quaint.”

Oh no. Look at the monster you’ve created.

Chrollo created a reward system. Whenever he did things right as a child, he was rewarded with money and jewels. For every word you pronounced and defined correctly, he kissed you once. For each word you got correct in a row, he’d kiss you twice.

Soon enough he had kissed you so much that you couldn’t see straight!

The kisses worked because you passed your midterm! Each kiss placed a stain in your brain that made you remember the definition and how to pronounce it.

You and Chrollo celebrated by drinking champagne and listened to him read Sonnet 23 and 57.

Hisoka

As unusual as it seems, Hisoka is gifted when it comes to Chemistry specifically. That is why you two work well together...there is some chemistry going on between you two.

His hair down and his glasses were his alter ego, it was something that made him act completely different than what you were used to.

When you all were freshmen, he would skip class, attend parties, and would be hungover almost every week but once he was called into the Dean’s office, he changed.

You slightly missed that edgy side of him, but you enjoyed having a serious beau.

Hisoka is a social butterfly and is the life of the conversation and you loved him for it but sometimes it was awkward.

While he was chatting away about Calcium (Ca) and Iron (Fe), you stood there nodding like an idiot. You had NO IDEA about what he was talking about and that is why you were going to drop your chemistry class.

“I saw an imbecile put aluminum foil in the microwave and it burst into flames. How did they not know that Microwaves are the radio waves falling under frequency around 2500 megahertz? Any metallic object detected by radio waves inside the microwave acts as a reflector of radio waves.”

You shove his arm hard. He was acting arrogant in front of his friends. You were used to this but it got on your nerves. You made mistakes, everyone does!...even those that almost burn down the entire dorm room.

You two leave the party and head to his dorm room. Once you were settled, you released a can of anger and threw it all over your boyfriend.

“Hisoka? You just humiliated me.”

“Oh? No one knows that I was talking about you, my dear.”

“Don’t ‘my dear’ me! I asked for your help and you’re ignoring me. I don’t appreciate that. I didn’t ignore you when you sprained your ankle, did I?”

“No, you didn’t, dear. I supposed I have a few hours to kill. What do you need help with?”

Hisoka’s way of studying was much different from other students. He exercises like crazy before he opens his textbook.

He listens to EDM instrumentals while on the treadmill and when he lifts weights. You weren’t standing there like a trophy, he made you lift too.

“Being healthy will help your brain flow more easily. Lift this dumbbell as heavy as you can.”

He ran a mile on the track upstairs. Sweat dripped from his face like he had been standing outside in the rain.

By the time you returned to his dorm, you were beyond tired. You laid your head on his pillow but just as you closed your eyes, he pulled you up on your feet.”

“Not on my watch,” he tutted. “It’s chemistry time.”

You were having trouble memorizing Chemical Formulas and this by far was the most difficult concept you had come across.

To make you stay awake, he turned on a bright LED light and faced it towards the table. The bright light nearly made your head fall off from the pain it reflected in your eyes.

Hisoka grabbed his book and began to write down the major chemicals on the periodic table and their charges.

“Pay attention to the following abbreviations and charges: Calcium is Ca, Chloride is Cl+2, Carbide is C+2, and Carbon Dioxide is CO+2. Read these over and I’ll test you again.”

He did just that but you still weren’t understanding. You were ready to give up.

Stupid scam. Why do I need a piece of paper to determine what I can do? You thought to yourself. Well, it’s obvious. If you can’t do the work now, what makes you think you can do it at a job? Harsh, I know.

“Let me try this,” He said. He carried you to his bedroom and gently placed you on it. He took off his shirt and removed his glasses. “Aluminum has a charge of +3 and Oxygen has -2. If there were three of me and two of my clones disappeared, how many of me are left?”

“Just you, right? One”

“Correct! Excellent.”

Wow, everything started making sense once he took his shirt off.

From then, he just inserted himself into the equation and then it started to make sense! He apologized for running his mouth earlier and promised to keep any more secrets between you two. The night ended with you sleeping in his bed wrapped in a cotton blanket just cuddling and that was it. And bam! You slept as sound.

Illumi

Dating the “hot” quiet history buff was a flex of its own. Sure Illumi didn’t talk to anyone besides you, but it didn’t matter. People swooned if he looked in their direction.

History was a popular major during your era. People were not like their grandparents; they wanted to learn about other cultures besides their own. Illumi’s specialty was in world history and civilizations. The class was very interesting to you but there was so much information, you could barely process it.

Illumi often wrote his essays in one day proofread and all! He often charged people to look their essays over.

One time he made $500 in one year!

Glancing at your transcripts, he notices that you have a C- and offers to help.

“Why are you looking through my stuff?”

Hey, he’s your boyfriend! But still, he should ask.

“Sorry. It was up on the screen,” he said, throwing his hands in the air.

You began to blush in embarrassment. The hottest smartest man in the building now knew that you were failing one of the easiest classes on campus.

Placing his thumb under your chin, he lifted your head to meet his gaze. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I can help you.”

“How? I am so behind! I zoned out after chapter 2!”

“We’ll watch a movie.”

“Oh, God! Not one from PBS is it?!”

“Yes. How else are you supposed to learn?”

He turns on the movie and allows you to lay your head on his shoulder but not too much. He is aware of your tricks and he wants you to pay attention.

Every 15 minutes, he pauses the movie and asks you checkpoint questions. If you got them wrong, you had to stand up with your underclothes on (t-shirt and shorts) in the cool room for 10 minutes. If you got the questions right, he allows you to lay more comfortably. You were already in your underclothes but you were under the blanket.

He made you write down key definitions and the embarrassment of each section.

After the movie, he blindfolds you and reads out a term. Surprisingly, you got them all correct!

As a reward for your past midterm, he takes you to dinner at a restaurant where he slips a promise ring on your finger containing your birthstone.

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weebukibble · 2 years

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Weak Hero 184 - Review & Summary

Non-spoiler summary: Without going into details, this chapter is what I like to call a 'seed & develop' chapter. Seopass (author) is master of story telling, and this entire chapter is a perfect mix of 'boring things that need to be explained' and 'massive character defining moments'. We see some details into the minds of the Chungil Lee (Mr.CEO), Mr. Song, and we're given a bit of a cliff hanger when Philip Kim meets the Mok-Ha duo.

( ꈍᴗꈍ)ﾉ✿ *SPOILERS* ( ꈍᴗꈍ)ﾉ✿

Review: The chapter starts off where 183 left off. Mr. CEO is in his car watching Eugene's aunt (don't you dare touch her you dirty old man). He yells at some punks to disperse so that they don't bring down the property value in the area with their presence (what a glorious insult) and then we get introduced to his driver - who gives off some serious 'future important character' vibes.

His driver asks him about the land he's recently purchased and its revealed that it was a congressman who suggested to him that buying the land around the development area was better to avoid suspicion. If I'm being honest I never used to pay attention to these moments in the story, I knew they were important and I'm sure that the intelligent writing really comes across in moments like these but my smol weeb brain usually just skims these parts of the story because it's 3 am and I don't have the mental CPU to spare.

The story then switches over to Donald Na who is hard at work again behind his desk. The Mok-Ha duo is delivering some paper work for Mr.Song when suddenly, as they're leaving Mr. Song gives Dongha Baek some 'spending money' for the two of them. In exchange he'd like them to tell him any information they get from Donald a few days they tell any 'other places'. Dongha checks the amount and immediately turns into a money ho* (he probably has a lot of hair products to buy).

After the Duo leaves, his assistant starts asking him questions and it comes out that this shady mofo is using defective building material for the new development. Tsk tsk these old men....

Ok, we are out of the bushes now. The story jumps over to Philip Kim, whose gone to see Kingsley because he was insulted by the money he received after giving the union some information from his fathers company (he and Dongha are not the same).

Kingsley makes it very clear here that he was paid for the information because he's a simple informant, he's not a member of the union so he needs to be compensated. Philip is basically told, 'this is how it is', 'no you can't speak to Donald', 'it was and order from Donald, nothing you can do, bye beach'.

One of the things I love about Weak Hero is that it gives its characters credible personalities, in this brief exchange we can see Philip's desperation and shame. He may be a manipulative jerk but his character is fleshed out so well that you kind of start to feel bad for the guy. (It really makes me wonder what is going to happen with him, he's not the type to sit around and accept his fate, but he's also weak as hell in a school full of fighting geniuses and monsters).

Philip leaves, has a mini existential crisis and then bumps into the Mok-Ha duo. More accurately he and Dongha eye each other up before Dongha teases him and asks for a cigarette. When Philip says he doesn't have any, Dongha tells him to go buy some.

The chapter ends here and Im dying to see what Philip does. The love of his life, Donald Na, basically told him he's a call girl and then this easy going creep, who has everything he wants starts ordering him around.

Theories:

This series honestly gives us so much to work with. We STILL haven't figured things out from season 1 (why does the girl from Grays cram school know Julia???) and I am super grateful that Seopass gives us so much meat to chew over.

was just demoted? Seongmok Do doesn't say a word and in most chapters he's less decorative than a house plant. Although the money was given to the both of them, he's never shown to have a reaction.

And this guy, handsome driver guy, I have a few questions for you. Why are you giving off main character vibes in this car? how come you're asking Mr. CEO about his business? Why aren't we married yet? No, I don't trust this handsome face at all.

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

See you next week ~

-R

#weak hero #webtoon #gray yeon #chapter #184 #webcomic #seopass #razen #my babies #weeb #weebukibble #weeb trash

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goldlightsaber · 3 years

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No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men doesn't really need my praise, given that it won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor and several other awards. But I'm here to give it anyway! It is truly a work of art. Over a decade old and it has stood the test of time as a gripping thriller. Warning: this review is a bit all over the place, but I covered the bits I liked best!

The Big Bad

Javier Bardem. Where do I begin with him? I could watch this man clean up gunshot wounds in a cheap motel room for hours. It was so fascinating to see him work -- even if a lot of that work was brutal, cold-blooded, psychopathic murder. Watching him was like watching a true crime documentary. He felt real and chilled me to the core.

I commend the script for all its cleverness, but especially the intentionality behind Anton Chigurh's dialogue. I have never seen more unusual, rhythmic dialogue. What stuck in my head was his relentless way of asking questions. "Where does he work?" he asks the trailer park management lady. She tells him she can't tell him. Again, he asks, "Where does he work?" She tells him again, more firmly, that she can't reveal the information. In the same monotone, he asks for a third time, "Where does he work?" He puts on no charm. He does not bribe or threaten. He asks questions straight. He disguises himself as --but does not claim to be-- something he's not. He pretends to be a cop; a man stranded on the road; a hotel guess. People believe what he only appears to be. They make something of him, something recognizable, so that they know how to interact with him. Except slowly, through dialogue, he reveals to them his true, sadistic nature. And no one wants to believe it. Often the people he speaks with are dumbfounded, stammering out "Sir?" and "I don't understand." It doesn't dawn on them until its too late that he is someone they should run from. It's ironic, really. The goodwill and trust of other people is his bread and butter -- it's what allows him to extract information without force (at least at first) and to obtain all the resources he needs. There's a Southern hospitality theme that runs throughout. Many of the Texans he runs into offer him help -- little do they know that, with Anton Chigurh, it will likely cost them their lives. Everyone is a means to an end unless they are the end -- the person he means to kill.

Don't even get me started on his weapon of choice. It looks like he's carrying around an oxygen tank. It even gives him a misleading look of frailty -- like he might be using it to survive despite it not being attached to his person. If he was carrying around a gun, people might run in the other direction. But, seeing a captive bolt stunner, people are often just confused (I had to look up what it was called) -- and that's part of his genius too.

Yet he's tone deaf. He is easily irritated by small talk, seeming not to understand its point (award for most extreme introvert like, ever?). He nearly killed a gas station worker seemingly because of the small talk. A hint at his disturbed, unusual mind. As I mentioned earlier, he always cuts to the chase -- no fluff. He will get what he needs now, or else. Unless you're lucky and the coin toss flips in your favor. Or there are too many witnesses nearby. But rest assured -- there is no escaping this man. As Woody Harrelson's character, Wills, asks Llewelyn: "You've seen him, and you're not dead?"

Subverting Expectations

With a crime movie, you hope the good guy lives and the cops catch the killers, or that at least one of the two things happen. Nope! Not that simple with a Coen brothers film. Llewelyn is a law-breaking and a "street smart" guy but has a golden heart. He's empathetic (like when the "agua" man hung over his conscience) and only shoots people when he needs to -- Anton Chigurh is his foil, in that sense. Even though his resourcefulness and quick thinking gets him out of trouble for the majority of the film, he is suddenly killed by the Mexican cartel. We don't see it happen, we only see the drug dealers fleeing the scene and the aftermath. It comes minutes after a flirty motel patron tells Llewelyn that, whatever is coming, Llewelyn will never see it coming. And he doesn't. And neither does the audience, for that matter. With Llewelyn seemingly gearing up to fight Chigurh, I expected the two of them to have a showdown over the money. Llewelyn's death was sudden and abrupt. He didn't go out with guns blazing. He didn't get to showcase his strength. For all the times he has healed from injuries, Llewelyn--likable, honorable--still dies.

The sheriff retires -- he doesn't manage to track down Chigurh or anyone else for that matter. To him, Chigurh is a "ghost." The sheriff, at the end of the movie, describes himself as "ummatched," and that is underwhelming too. You fully expect -- or I did, based on previous crime thriller movies-- for some sort of justice to be served, for someone to be caught and locked away, but Chigurh is alive and free at the end of the movie and so are all the anonymous players of the drug cartels working these deals. There was no justice. Not for Llewelyn, not for his wife, not for all the collateral damage.

A Brilliant Script

Speaking of Llewelyn's wife! I loved her last show of defiance in the face of Chigurh. She was shocked but not surprised. Surely, his appearance scared her, but she knew death was coming for her -- and she didn't give Chigurh the liberty of making her death her responsibility. He was fully accountable -- and she made that clear. Was it a foolish choice? I don't know. It did leave me thinking for a while -- what would I do in the situation? The coin toss is the greatest mercy Chigurh is capable of bestowing on anyone. He is a Harvey Dent without a grudge. She chooses not to participate in the game and he kills her. I asked myself: were I in that situation, would I have chosen not to play? There were two options: she plays and has a 50% chance of living. She doesn't play, and she will, for certain, die. She chooses the latter. Is that bravery? I think so. It's certainly strength of character. She is principled in a wholly other way than Chigurh. I feel that I would have wanted to "call it" -- give myself a chance at living. But even that phrasing is misleading. No matter the "choice," Chigurh is the real judge, jury and executioner. And he chooses to kill. Always.

When he exits Carla Jean's house, I found myself wondering what had happened. In the first few seconds of the scene, it isn't yet clear whether he killed her. What follows is one of the more brilliant, subtle moments of the film: Chigurh checks the bottoms of his shoes. We know from an earlier scene that he takes care to keep them clean from the carnage of his crimes, and so, we also know he was checking to see if Carla Jean's blood had spilt on them. He murdered her.

The Ending

I have not yet uncovered the symbolic significance of the car crash, but I can try to take a guess. The car crash brutally injures Chigurh, breaking his arm and God knows what else. It is a random accident, not someone intentionally trying to kill him. Two boys who were riding their bikes behind him approaching Chigurh, who is sitting on the sidewalk, seriously injured. The boys offer him help only out of goodwill. But then he offers them money for one of their shirts, which they initially reject until he insists they take it. Is the symbolism in that? Of yet-uncorrupted youth starkly contrasted with his total evil? In offering them a large sum of money, is he corrupting them to think of life transactionally? As he walks away, the boys argue about splitting the money and he is no longer their concern -- greed is on their mind but only because he brought up money in the first place. (I feel like I cheated on this one because I read somewhere how the movie is about the rising forces of evil in the world that are hard to defeat -- hence the sheriff is unable to defeat them). Will this start them down the path of chasing money and power? Who knows. Maybe.

Overall: a movie I couldn't look away from except to run to the bathroom. I could watch hours of Javier Bardem in this role just sitting. Or eating. But preferably treating his own wounds.

Watch if: you're a fan of Ozark (TV show); or Fargo (movie or TV show).

#no country for old men #the coen brothers #javier bardem #my love <3 #josh brolin #tommy lee jones #kelly macdonald #film #text #i decided to cheer myself up by writing a movie review so HERE #i guess i only do these for movies i like lol #need to watch some shitty films #I ALMOST FORGOT THE PICTURES

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the-shared-brain-in-retrograde · 3 years

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Iron Man

A joint review...

We finished watching the film last night and then had a quick phone call debrief. For a film we both agreed was three and a half stars there was some raised voices...

@becksxoxo : Do we need to include some sort of trigger warning for the heated discourse that will inevitably happen at some point? Because I'm still a bit traumatised. #whenthesharedbraindisagrees

@cassandrafey : I think it was a civilised argument. A constructive and respectful disagreement. Which was a miracle because we both have a lot of feelings and it could have become firey and in many respects we are airing our difference nicely in the way I said they should have done in Civil War.

We should also mention that we were 18 when this film came out, and so some of the aesthetic properly hits different. That camera, the mention of MySpace. Tony is deffo in bootcut jeans at some point (as were other people today as it turns out.)

Cass: Look Becks don’t come for me like this, my other jeans were more hole than jean (why did I keep them? The leg almost wasn’t attached!) so we work with what we’ve got and what we had got was a forgotten pair of bootcuts just like style icon Tony Stark.

We can all agree the opening to this film is brilliant, and unexpectedly violent. We also whole heartedly agreed that Tony looks better roughed up and bloodied a bit. But it would be awful to wake up and find you had a big hole and a magnet now in your chest.

@cassandrafey : I would like to add that I think the opening to this film is brilliant. It opens with Back In Black for a start, which is just such a banger, it’s like ‘yes announcing we are here!’ In the space of five minutes it shows you so much about Tony’s character, he’s kind of a dandy, you can tell from his look and his drink he has money, he’s kind of a smart mouth but he’s also very personable and gets along with people easily. You don’t exactly like him but you want to watch him anyway. And then BOOM! Explosion! Instant peril! Ready for character development! Great stuff.

Tony Stark: Visionary. Genius. American Patriot.

Arms dealer...

@becksxoxo does not find the charming in Tony Stark, but is trying very hard to be nicer to him as a character. Very hard. And I understand that this opening is setting us all up to be like, oh that Tony Stark, what a horrible man, so he can be redeemed or whatever, but I don't get why the women are throwing them selves at it. Vanity Fair, have some self respect. Also, air steward ladies, just chill out. why is there a pole on a plane? Its all so tonally different from the rest of the films in the MCU. And again, I KNOW, its showing him growing at what not, but as my good friend Chris Evans would say, I don't wike it.

@cassandrafey Does see the charm in Tony, but still in this instance found it wild that the Vanity Fair lady went from slightly aggressive dislike to sleeping with him when the chat up line was relatively bad.

It was startling to see not our Howard Stark in the photos, and Terrence Howard instead of ol Don Cheadle, but a delight to see our Jon Favreau, and hear dear dear Jarvis.

We have a couple of Interior Design based questions.

There was a lot of fireplaces in the LA houses, and being from the North of England we questioned the necessity of fireplaces in California. We went to LA in February and it was bloody boiling, is an open fire really necessary?

The other one was, is a big statement water feature wall something you would actually want, or would it be quite annoying and make you need the toilet?

I do anything and everything Mr Stark requires. Including occasionally taking out the trash.

Pepper Potts. Really enjoy the character, really don't enjoy the actress.

@cassandrafey I agree. Feelings on Gwyneth and the fact that Pepper Potts is a very silly name aside, I like the relationship between her and Tony because she does give him good sass, and thankfully is very practical and organised. It’s a shame she didn’t get her dry martini with all the olives.

Q1. What would you buy yourself with Tony Stark's money for your birthday?

@becksxoxo Disney Golden Pass. Between his money and himself I would wrangle myself that lifetime disney parks pass.

@cassandrafey when Becks asked me this in our debrief all I could think was chocolate. A massive chocolate fountain. However, in hindsight maybe I would like to hire a party venue and a DJ (although I will very much have heavy sway on the playlist) and invite a lot of people to a good party where Tony buys all the drinks.

I could really go for some Sake cocktails right about now Cass. And maybe an entire pickled cucumber...

@becksxoxo It was really good to find out what that thing in him was. I just presumed it was his heart, so a magnet was a shock. The more you know. What I would like to know is does that mean he is magnetic now? Could I stick fridge magnets to him? Because I think a very fun drunk game could be made, in the style of buckeroo, sneak up on a sleeping Tony Stark, see how many fridge magnets you could stick to him before he woke up and blew you to kingdom come with his little iron man hand blaster. Eh, sounds good right?

@cassandrafey I propose the little letter ones be used. You could see how much of a word you could form. Play scrabble. Maybe even hangman!

Is this war propaganda?

I appreciate the ray of hats the gang have, nice to see. Also it was nice to see a flat cap. You don't think of them as a desert hat traditionally.

Q2. Who would win in a fight, Din Djarin or Tony Stark?

@becksxoxo I'll preface this by saying, the question came up because I likened his first suit to beskar. Din Djarin, hands down. He'd do a little head tilt, and be all broad. My husband refused to answer this. He says its a mute question because there wouldn't be a situation where it would happen. He did however happily answer the others so clearly thinks he will get the opportunity to spend Mr Stark's pennies at some point...

@cassandrafey I think the cross over is more likely than you might think because they are both under the Disney umbrella. Also I don’t know who would win, but I will say that Tony is tenacious and resourceful. But I think it would be funny to witness because Tony would be talking a mile a minute and Din would just be silent and occasionally sigh or make a grumpy humpf noise.

@becksxoxo I fucking love his grumpy humpf noise. It financially ruins me...

WHY WERE ALL THE SUBTITLES IN CAPLOCKS. NO ONE WAS SHOUTING. IT WAS ALARMING.

It was very sad to see that fella die, but I have no idea what his name was. I will refer to him as Jimmeny Cricket, as he was clearly Tony's blossoming conscience.

Q3. What food would you want after being trapped in the desert for three months?

@becksxoxo Pumpkin Spice Latte and an almond or a chocolate croissant.

@cassandrafey probably a sausage sandwich. Hard to go wrong with that.

I've never been to a Burger King, so I can't comment on their food offering. But in Burger King News, the one near Cass' mum and dad's has just burnt down. So.

Surprise Phil Coulson. Nice.

We both noted Coulson and whilst the above was Becks’ thought my notes read; Ah Coulson. Get’s in everywhere.

It was here that @becksxoxo began to question if Stane was going to be the bad guy. Was it his mannerisms, or was it his choice to wear that blue shirt, with the white cuffs and collar, with that yellow tie?

@cassandrafey Look, you know nothing good will come of Jeff Bridges playing a character with the name Stane.

@becksxoxo This was also the first moment I've ever had any respect for Tony Stark, dare I say even liked him?

Pepper getting that copper wire out of Tony's chest was very stressful. Did not enjoy it. At all. I'd like it to be know @cassandrafey that I would do it for you, but I would bitch about it, big time. Internal goop? Werp.

We love Tony's relationship with his robot pals. We especially love the little bot who keeps trying to hose him down, and how when he fucks up his test flight landing it sees it’s chance and take it. We also love the helpful bot who took the arc reactor to him at the end.

If I was Tony I would not have done my testing so close to my collection of expensive sports cars. But again, this is probs just a case of Stark and I being very different people.

@cassandrafey my notes when he was racing with Happy just read ‘Faaaaaaast cars baby yehaw’ and I don’t know the person I was when I wrote that. Some sort of road cowboy.

Also, I saw a post recently saying that looking back on Iron Man all the holographic stuff is so lame, and I would like to take the moment here to disagree wholeheartedly. Yes, interactive holographic bits are so stereotypical sci-fi futuristic but I really enjoy them because let’s face it it would be cool. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t love to have a go on that.

Q4. What colour would you make your super suit?

@becksxoxo Green and gold.

@cassandrafey Green and silver. We were almost perfectly aligned and I think its because we're Slytherins.

hiss hiss motherfucker.

I'd like it to be know that I, @becksxoxo, sniggered far too much over the request to 'deploy flaps'. heh heh heh

The audacity of sneaking Steve Rogers onto the Iron Man post. Thought I wouldn’t notice it, but I did.

Stan Lee Spotting - smoking jacket chic

Q5. Which big event would you make a statement at, uninvited?

@becksxoxo all i could think if in the moment were ComiCon or a prize giving assembly at school. Obvs, the two biggest events in my life. I think my statement at comicon would be something so endearing that some older actors would either fall madly in love with me, or head over heels in friendship, and off we'd trot into the sunset. The assembly statement, I dunno, perhaps just to screech that none of this matters, but I'm torn between wanting to approval of teenagers or teachers. Ha, so sad.

@cassandrafey I think you would give the equivalent of a flyting in the assembly Becks. You'd announce everyone who has ever wronged you and then you'd shout 'fuck!' as you run off the stage.

When Becks asked me this question last night I instantly said her wedding, which ignored the facts that a). that's already happened, and b). I was invited. Then I thought that it's more likely I'll stand up at Wimbledon one year, make my way onto centre court and give an emotional speech about how Rafa Nadal deserves the world and y'all don't know lucky we are to have him. This tends to happen at the drop of a hat at all seasons of the year, usually if I've had a drink, but regretfully, not always.

[Becks here - she did this a few weeks ago. She pulled me to one side on our drunken stagger round the lake, and cried whilst telling me all about Rafa's knees. So, be prepared...]

But what I'd really like to do is dress up very posh and femme fatale-y, put on some big sunglasses and then turn up to a funeral of someone I don't know (possibly a rich person), stand at the back in silence, and then quietly slip away. Leave people with the element of 'who was she' mystery.

Becks: Speaking of fancy things that dress of Pepper's is beautiful next to her red hair.

Cass: speaking of beautiful things, RDJ’s eyes really are lovely.

TW: things are getting heated in the Tony Stark moral character debates...

@becksxoxo Tony Stark has bad friends. I think this is another reason that he is the way he is. he doesn't trust other people, he doesn't trust his Avenger friends and that's what leads him to make shitty decisions, al la Civil War. I know you're traumatised Tony, but there's no need to be a dickhead.

@cassandrafey I agree that Tony has some really shitty friends. But his relationship with Rhodey at least is nice, and Pepper. I suppose there is a certain amount of loneliness that comes with having a lot of money.

Tony, as he says himself, has a laundry list of flaws but I like him despite them, and possibly because of them. He is reckless and a thrill seeker and that does cause him to make bad choices at times. He is impulsive and that can cause problems but his heart is in the right place. His impulsiveness also means that he is able to build and escape in a crazy metal suit when he is captured, and when he clocks into the fact that maybe blindly following his father's footsteps isn't the way he wants to live his life, well, he doesn't waste a moment trying to fix it. He is genuinely upset about the loss of Yinsen and he takes his words to heart, he won't waste the life that's been given back to him. He wants to help people, to undo the wrong he's done, and it is sad in a way because his recklessness is quite self destructive, but now he isn't going to destroy himself for no reason. Now he's been given this chance of life he isn't going to waste it away drinking and gambling, but that destructiveness still lingers - this is a man who would make the ultimate sacrifice when the stakes are highest. I love him for it, and thinking about it too much hurts a bit.

@becksxoxo Tony Stark weaponises his emotions. I hate that. He's not alone in wanting all that, he keeps a hold of all that weight and then lashes out.

I don't want to recreate last night Cassandra, for reasons, so we'll leave it here. I love you and I hate you're eloquent with your wordages. KISSY FACE.

@cassandrafey See? Expressing our opinions with love and respect babe 😘

💥 SONIC BOOM 💥

Do the 10 rings gang here have anything to do with the 10 rings in the new film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings? Answers on a stamped address envelope.

@becksxoxo I love me a good dog fight, as in like an airplane fight not actual dogs I'm very against that. I thought it was a pity that, when that man's parachute didn't work, that Tony didn't swoop down and grab him bridal style and land him safely to the ground. I woulda loved that.

And there is another instance of Tony and his bad friends. I knew Stane was a wrong un, but I hadn't expected him to be in cahoots with the other bad guy. What a bad friend. Baldies together.

I think he plays a really good villain though, he gets very sinister especially in the scene with Pepper in the office, and he's so hateful how he's been lying to Tony and yes, as Becks says being a really bad friend.

Imagine if your work computer worked that quickly. It makes me mourn the minutes I have sat watching watching the little spinny thing moving at a snail's pace as SITS loads. I'm not getting of that time back.

Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave... with a box of scraps!

Or, Tony Stark built all this shit in a cave or whatever...

We really liked this quote from Stane but I also liked Becks' paraphrasing of it and wish we had the opportunity to hear Jeff deliver the line as Becks wrote it.

In terms of the suit, I'd like to say that I had made a note that said, quite gushingly, 'gosh RDJ has lovely eyes' and I stand by the fact that he does have great eyes for those close up shots in the suit.

My (@becksxoxo) notes on Stane as Iron Monger: Ooof big boy. Ewww he's like the mole man creeping out the ground.

The Ending:

@cassandrafey I love the ending of this film. I think it’s hard now to remember how game changing that ending was at the time, for a character to reveal his alter ego like that to the press when traditionally the exposure of their identity is one thing superheroes fear the most. Brilliant. The truth is... I am Iron Man. Boom. End film. As our dear friend Anthony would say, CUT THE CHEQUE!

Tony Stark: Genius. Billionaire Playboy. Philanthropist.

Nick Fury, you old softy. The Avengers Initative, named after his old pal Carol. Nice.

Nick Fury getting in everywhere as well. Making friends, basically forcing people he likes the look of to join his gang. Fair play to you Nick.

#iron man #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel marathon #marvel rewatch #tony stark #pepper potts #happy hogan #iron monger #film review #movie review #the shared brain in retrograde #the grand adventures of cass and becks #back in black #this marvel marathon will be the death of us #marvel opinions #marvel #tony stank #stan lee

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samshogwarts · 3 years

Text

My review of 2020

Or: I say thank you.

First of all, sorry for the long post 😅. You guys know I don'tike long posts without a "read more under the line". But I nade the post with my mobile phone.... Aaaaaaaanyway. Also sorry for all the tags. I hope I don't annoyed someone with it <~<. So let's continue:

I think this year has been a particularly difficult year for everyone. As 2020 is drawing to a close, I mentally let the year pass again.

The bottom line is that I have to say that 2020 was turbulent for me, but not necessarily bad. Much good, but also bad, has happened. And I want to start with the bad things right away.

At the beginning of the year, my depression and eating disorder relapsed. I've always had trouble talking about it because I know my friends can't handle this issue. I felt pressured because they wanted to do things with me, but I couldn't. So I withdrew completely, hiding my emotions and wearing a mask.

At that time I created this blog. At first I didn't want to create my own content, just follow the content of @ladycibia, @hogwartsmystory and @kyril-hphm. Incidentally, that is also the reason why I call these 3 blogs the Big Three. So it's their fault that I'm here. Lol.

And then the first Hyops message came at the end of March. A very good friend of mine got Corvid-19 and lost the battle against the disease a few days later. I still remember how the news pulled the floor from under my feet. It feels like I completely lost faith in everything and I started to realize how dangerous this year could be.

But life goes on and so I visited a friend and her family in early July. It was the anniversary of her husband's death, who was also a very good friend of mine. He died of cancer last year and I couldn't go to his funeral. So I wanted to stop by on the day he died. I actually thought I could do it. But when you read a friend's name on a tombstone for the first time.. Guys, that's a punch in the stomach like no other and I can't really describe how it feels. I had made up my mind not to cry in front of his wife or children because it was hard enough for them. Didn't work.

And of course this year meant to go one better.

Another friend of mine died of the virus in mid-August, leaving behind a wife and a child. Again, I was unable to attend the funeral. And to be honest, it still bothers me way more I want to admit. In two years I lost three wonderful people who meant a lot to me and I couldn't say goodbye to any of them. When I see the three of them again after my death, you can be sure I'll kick their butts for it.

But August was the worst month for me in many ways. In addition to the death of my buddy, my father's family also volunteered. And that means only one thing - trouble. And properly. I haven't had contact with this family for over 12 years for good reason. Now one person from this family has passed away. And first of all, I don't really care if anyone of them would die. I don't even know the person who passed away. But I wasn't told either by my grandmother or my father. So my deadline to cancel the inheritance has expired. Of course it was debts. You have to know that the inheritance rights of my country are very complicated. The reason my father or grandmother didn't tell me about it was because they didn't want to bother with the paperwork. They always had the opportunity to contact me via Facebook or my half-sister. But that would mean work for them. And while I was walking from lawyer to lawyer to court to court, I was allowed to hear sayings from my grandmother that I apparently have achieved nothing in my life. Nice to know that some people never change. I'm still struggling with this matter to this day and will probably not be able to fully clarify this until the beginning of 2021.

At the end of October everything seemed to be taking its revenge and I passed out at a friend's house. Nobody knows exactly what happened until today, but my friend took me to the hospital where I had to stay one night. That was Halloween. And I'm such a big fan of hospitals hahahaha hahahaha. After that I was allowed to wear an ECG for 2 weeks and it turned out that my heart values had deteriorated. Why not. Let's just take everything with us this year!

Rounding out the negatives this year was my (as a teenager) best friend's suicide. I have to say that I haven't had any contact with this person for 9 years. However, it is the one who cut herself in her youth and then called me afterwards because she didn't know what to do. It was also the one I tried to get into therapy for 2 years. But her mother was always against it. And it was exactly this mother who was standing in my mother's shop, telling her about her daughter's suicide and that I was probably in the farewell letter. I don't know exactly what it said, but the mother now blames me for her daughter's suicide. And do you know what's craziest about the whole thing? I agreed with her! I really thought it was my fault because I knew how sick my former friend was. Yet I was the one who ended the friendship (for many reasons that had nothing to do with her depression). And I still wonder what would have happened if I had acted differently.

But enough of the negative things! A lot of nice things happened this year too. Among other things, I have found a new job within my group, earn more money and have pleasant working hours. I've renovated my apartment and I've started saving money on a new one. My two nieces are now going to school and I am a proud aunt. My male best friend and his girlfriend (my best harry potter friend) are pregnant and are expecting their first child soon and my mother's health is better.

But one of the best things that happened to me this year is this blog.

I already mentioned that I actually only created this blog to stalk the Big Three. I didn't want my own content at all. But I discovered more and more blogs and these incredibly great MCs that I thought I wanted to do whole too. And so Samantha O'Connell was born.

I received so much great support and encouragement on this platform. I don't think many people even realize how much that means to me. Especially this year.

I have also found great and lovable people here, some of whom I also call my friends. Even if we come from other countries, speak other languages and may never see each other in real life, you are my friends and I am grateful to know you.

@annabelle-tanaka-official : I'll start with you of course! XD on tumblr you are just my best friend. I don't write as much with anyone as I do with you. You are such an incredibly talented person and so warm hearted! Over the year we have invented so many insiders that soon nobody will know what we mean. Be it the monster hug, or that my cats are your spies or our many RP scenarios, which I really enjoy and which always make me laugh. I thank you for that!! I love you so much and I am so glad that we are friends! *minster hug*

@lunasilvermorny / @lunasilvermore : you are next to you !!! XD the next person I write to almost every day. What started with a little conversation about among us has turned into a friendship. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to streaming with you next year (and this year)!!! You are such a good listener that strengthens me. Your support is so nice of you too! Just the fact that you have subscribed to my YouTube channel xD (because of the language I even have an idea). I'm looking forward to the next year with you! Thank you so much for dealing with my craziness and still likes me!

@kyril-hphm : muahahahaha. You can't escape me !!! Yes, what should I say? One of my big three even made friends with me. One of my Senpais noticed me! And then it's a lovely fluffy marshmallow! I still think it's funny that we have such similar circuits and hearts! Nevertheless you are an incredibly honest, loving and talented person. I've never told you before, but sometimes I stare (for 20 minutes +) at your drawings to improve my style (just not working so far). You are an honest person and I am happy every time we talk, or when you react to my content. I would like to say thank you for that too! You are great and you can trust yourself more.

@carewyncromwell : my Chinese fireball, my Disney princess. Yes, for me you exude the aura of a Disney princess and nothing can change my mind. So! You were one of the first friends I made here on tumblr and one of the first to write with me! I still remember how proud and nervous I was back then! Just when I was in the hospital on Halloween and couldn't sleep that night, you kept texting me and distracting me from my fear. That means a lot to me. You are such a creative and lovable person too. Ah, that's just amazing. Your comments or hashtags always make me grin or laugh. Thank you for all your support and help!

@catohphm : my fluffier Ravenclaw brother!!! Of course you can't be missing either. I also write with you almost every day and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your kind words and your support. I just love the energy between Samantha and Cato. And it's always fun to write RP with you! Thank you for being such a lovely and kind person!

@mira-shard : MIRAAAAAAA! It's kind of funny how long we've basically walked next to each other without talking to each other. And now I don't want to miss you anymore! You are such a fun and happy person. Writing with you is just fun! I also love your cosplay photos. Someday I'll come to visit you, and then we'll do cosplay shootings together until the camera bleeds! I would also like to thank you for your support and your kindness.

@sirfluffig : ha. I hope you didn't think you were escaping me! Where should I start with you? Maybe that you were one of the first to give me such lovely feedback on Samantha? Or this super funny stream and that you helped me to stream in English? Or just like that, when we talk about our MCs or pen and paper. It's definitely always fun. I want to thank you for that and I'm looking forward to playing together again soon (get Among us)

@nightrhea-hphm : * run into you in slowmotion * Night! My wonderful supportive Gremlin! I've grown very fond of them over the years. And your support and feedback are just amazing. I also love the friendship between Night and Samantha. I think it's very similar to ours, right? You are also such an incredibly creative and lovable person. You make you feel like it's ok to be who you are. Thank you!

Of course there are many, many more like @rosievixen, @wangxianforever000 , @mollydarling-hphm , @morningstarinwinter , @hogwarts9, @hphm-brooke , @raymondhope-writer , @nikyiscreepy , @immagrosscandy , @mizutoyama , @ariparri-hphm and many many more.

I want to thank you all for your encouragement, support and feedback. You are the reasons why I am adding more and more details to this blog, why I dared to start with the fan comic and many more.

It's still so amazing for me to meet so many talented, creative, kind and funny people.

This year showed me again that life isn't just black or white. Life is Grey. Good things and bad things happen. Sometimes one side more than the other side. But as long we are taking the next step, life wl continues. Just keep in mind, as like you support me, I want to support you. So if you ever wanna talk, no matter what, remember you guys can always contact me.

I'm really looking forward to next year and already have so many plans. I can not wait any longer. Enjoy the last days of the year, stay safe and most important: they the way you are guys!

Love you all so much.

#My end of the year thank you #Personal #Ooc #My year 2020 #God my heart beating so fast #Don't know why but these post makes me nervous #Very personal #Cry counter while writing this: 4 #Yeah so adult xD #Like I care #Hope you all enjoyed the Christmas holidays #Love you all #Such a great community #Never saw this before #💙❤️💚💛

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bitxhmoonrising · 3 years

Text

My ACOTAR Review (sorry if it's not what you expected)

TW for SA AND ABUSE - because for some reason that wasn't something the author felt like they needed to warn people about???

I decided to go ahead and finally read this book. After years of seeing it online, and the mixed reviews, I'm finally going to pick it up and give it a try. (Its just going to be in a point form list)

1. The first four chapters are weird, I have a hard time believing Feyre cannot read when they lost all of the money at 14, she should be able to read. She came from a very rich family, one in which the mother wished to marry off her daughters, and even if she did not like Feyre, education would be an important factor in marrying her off, it means they are wealthy. It's very hard to believe this fact, but I can look past it.

2. The relationship between the sisters is hilarious, it honestly reminds me of my own with my 4 other sisters. We used to call each other smelly and ugly, and said the rudest shit and I liked for once that I saw this in a book. Though, I think the author wanted them to be 'evil', but it just came off as more realistic then anything. And funny, honestly.

2.5 the father is an abusive POS. Clearly these 3 girls have been emotionally abused by both their parents to some extent.

3. I find myself rolling my eyes at her narration, she is very whiny. Hopefully that changes as her character develops or I'm not sure I can stand 5 books of this.

4. Do you expect me to believe, that Feyre would choose Tamlin, WHEN LUCIEN IS RIGHT THERE?!?!?! their relationship is so boring, to the point that I believe they wont end up together because the author was so lazy with it.

5. Tamlin sending Feyre away was probably the best thing he could do for her. I'm actually surprised the man could admit to her that he could not protect her instead of pretending, though Lucien's reaction makes me think there is something bigger about Tamlin's love confession. . (Ok, coming from finishing the book, the reasoning wasn't that climatic). Also, Rhysand can fuck the fuck off, slimy bitch.

6. Ok, Feyre and Nesta 🥺🥺 they are so cute. Though it seems Nesta character has gone through a bit of a change since the first four chapters. Nesta admitting she wasn't capable of taking care of the family like Feyre did such a big thing for her (but like, I'm also on the train that oldest siblings are not parents, because that's toxic thinking imo, and they are close enough in age for it to not bother me, idk.) Feyre teaching Nesta to paint is so wholesome, it has my heart exploding.

7. Something happened with Tomas and Nesta, it was bad. I just know it. BUT NESTA GOING INTO THE WOODS FOR FEYRE HAS ME WANTING TO FAINT!! THE LOVE SHE HAS FOR HER.

8. I hope we get to see Nesta and Feyre together again at some point, I love their weird relationship. Me and my second youngest sister, who reminds me of Nesta, have a very similar dynamic and I see us in them. There love is one declared through action, not words. It's unspoken.

9. 100 pages of info dump and we are at he mountain.

10. NOT CLARE BEDDOR!! Also, why did Rhys even give the name??? Either the guy is truly evil, or a moron. Thankfully, Tamlin has some sense about him to keep his mouth shut and not let on how much she means to him because this Rice boy would happily fuck them over. I feel like the author is trying to make me like him, but I don't.

11. The answer is love (I'll delete this if I'm wrong).

12. WHY WAS THERE NO TW FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THIS BOOK?!?!?! I DID NOT WANT TO READ THIS!!!! Rhysand can die and I hope he does. The entire drugging and assult scenes were disgusting and hard to read AND THIS IS A YA BOOK!!??!

13. Tamlin has a stone heart????

14. Wtf was this book?

My review

Feyre is ok, nothing I haven't read before. Think she should run away from all these men (including their abusive father) with her sissy's, but she wont. How she cannot see any red flags is beyond me.

Tamlin, meh.

Rhys, gross. Nothing he does makes sense.

Lucien, to good for this world. Must protect at all costs.

Rating: 3/5 because I wasn't horrible. Will still read second book.

#idk how to tag this #um #acotar #a court of thrones and roses #is this anti #because i did not hate it #ok #good enough #i hope this doesnt come off as ranty #or to overly negative #just my actual thoughts #ive never been so harsh with a book #so this was new #im not usually this negative in my reviews #anti acotar #someone told me it was #so ok #if it makes you happy

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