#imo this book never has a dull moment

[agentravensong]

Sooooooo Book of Webs

alright, let's do it. let's talk about the book of webs by Jesse Kohn (yes it's not capitalized, yes that's important).

i read this book over the summer, having randomly spotted it in the fantasy/sci-fi section of a bookstore and deciding to take my chances with it. the premise, as best i can put it, is that two revolutionaries are trapped in a cave, recounting to each other the story of how they got there. their purpose in this retelling is to try and remember the contents of the book of webs: a book so powerful it can change (and thereby, in their hands, liberate) the world.

the best way to describe the book of webs is that it's Complex with a capital C. if you try to take it as a standard narrative with a solid throughline and a True version of events beneath all the tangents, perspective shifts, hypotheticals and obfuscations, then you'll find it hard to follow and potentially unsatisfying.

rather, it's a maze that you're dropped somewhere in the midst of, a labyrinth with impossible geometry that will, after a long stretch of seeming progress towards an exit, loop back in on itself — just as often as it will defy your expectation that it will loop and instead take you to an entirely new ecosystem. it's meandering. it's heavy and dense. it's absurd.

it's also, when it wants to be, genuinely funny.

the thing is, to try and describe what this book is about, to sum it up in a post, is going against its very nature. because it's a book about the tyranny of meaning.

but, of course, that's oversimplifying it.

it's a book about books, what they mean to people, and how they can change the world.

(ragad fans, this book is for you)

it's about books as doctrines and as active shapers of truth. it's about the intentions they're written with and the ways they expect you to engage with them. really, it's about narratives in the all-encompassing sense of the word, and the myriad people and entities that shape and follow them.

in particular, this book is in large part about the narratives that the state writes (or co-opts) and propagates to sustain itself and its systems, writing reality for all who exist within and beneath it. (the 'state' later being substituted by God, psychologists, an amusement park, a mall, etc.) it's about how a person's expression of even their most personal, creative thoughts is hampered and twisted by the dominant structures of communication and meaning. a book about the inherent political nature of all stories, all ideas.

it's a book about authority and alienation. about how collectives are made up of individuals and individuals are made up of collectives. it's a book that interrogates the idea of the individual. it interrogates the idealization of completeness and cohesion. it's a book where its revolutionary heroes must seek out imperfections — including their own, the rebellions of their bodies ("excretions, tics, bad hair days, and, most importantly, their dreams") — and must tear themselves into pieces in order to triumph over empire.

it's a book about the power and limits of speech, of words, and the impossibility of knowing other people.

and yes, this book is about the tyranny of meaning and truth, but it's also about the desire for meaning and truth. about the longing for understanding. for connection.

it's about how our definitions of those concepts, of our desires, and our understanding of what things we are supposed to desire, are informed and enforced by society; how it contains our very imaginations...

...and what it might take, what it might look like, to exist outside those definitions. to imagine something genuinely new, genuinely liberating, and make it real.

it's about the good that can come from letting yourself be confused. from taking a leap of faith: pulling up the anchor you've set down in safe harbors — or full-on abandoning ship.

from taking yourself apart and reconstructing those parts into something different; something nonhierarchical, noncohesive, unco-optable, ungovernable.

it's a book that interrogates all the things you've taken for granted (in stories), all the structures you've been mentally subsumed by, and posits, instead, actively losing oneself, letting oneself become lost, as a way to freedom.

it's a book that's full of and celebrates such seeming contradictions, because that's how the world is: Complex with a capital C. incomprehensible in scope; ever-changing yet so resistant to change (or so it feels), so difficult to actually fight against.

it's a book about getting caught up in things.

(ragad fans, this book is for you)

or, to put it another way: it's a book. about webs.

i'm going to cut off my rambling there, but i will still include a couple of bonus passages where, upon reading them, i couldn't help but be reminded of some other works that i love:

beginner's guide moment:

and we know the devil moment:

with all that having been said. i figure you, reader, can determine for yourself whether or not you'd be interested in this book. if it does sound like your thing: you know what to do. :)

[intoxicatedeuphoria]

Tears of Themis Speculations: Beyond Chapter 8

Just finished re-reading the Main Story from Chapter 1 to 8 and I am once again blown away by MHY’s storytelling. In hindsight, the Chekhov’s guns (yes, there are A LOT!) were cleverly written into the dialogues and integrated in the character designs. It is possible to solve SOME of the mysteries if you carefully follow the clues that were spread throughout the chapters.

Chapter 8, in particular, is really, really good. There's no boring or wasted scene AT ALL. Everything is relevant to either the chapter’s case or the overarching plot. It is such a satisfying read because it gives a feeling of closure, but at the same time, it introduces new mysteries to be solved. It feels like a season finale tbh. We’ll probably enter a new arc in Chapter 9.

More raving and ranting about Chapter 8 and the overall plot under the cut. I’m writing my questions and theories here so I have something to refer to once new chapters are released :)

SPOILER WARNING FOR MAIN STORY CHAPTERS 7 AND 8!!!

(Content not yet available on global server at the time of writing.)

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Hands down, Chapter 8 is the best, and not just because it's a Vyn-centric chapter! I cried so hard over the NPCs’ story :( The plot is THAT good and the pacing is just right. I can’t recall a dull moment in the chapter, and there are 17 story parts, including the final trial!! Chapter 7 is great because of its plot twists and Marius was very cunning in it so it was amusing, but it can’t beat the thrill from reading Chapter 8 imo.

I think we might get a Svart arc since at the end of Chapter 8, the NXX team agreed that they've pretty much exhausted the Heirson-related clues located in Stellis City. They found out that the sample that Artem got from Jovi Vance (sent to him by Simon Bloodworth, the presumed dead Materials Director of Heirson) is a drug that contains NXX. This drug is more developed/sophisticated than the sample that Xiao Ren (no English name yet; Heirson’s lead researcher for the NXX-based “elixir of life”) gave them from the Heirson’s lab near the Opaline Village. They all reached the conclusion that there may be some other entity out there that’s secretly conducting research and development of NXX-based drugs and it looks like their progress is more advanced than Heirson’s.

Here are the some of the remaining leads (at least afaik) at the end of Chapter 8 along with my own speculations/theories:

#1. Simon Bloodworth: truly dead or still alive? He’s presumed dead, but his body was never found. He was the one distributing the NXX raw material in Stellis City after stealing some from the stocks procured by Tyson Turner (Heirson CEO) and Xiao Ren in the auction on Pluto.

How did Simon get the more sophisticated NXX drug and where did he get it from? Tracing Simon’s actions from the past few years may reveal the NXX distribution route from the source to Stellis City. Another point: why did he send the sample to Jovi Vance who claimed he never met the dead man? The answer to the second question is likely related to how and why Tyson suddenly became critically ill with gastric cancer.

#2. The illegal NXX trade on the Pluto cruise ship According to the transactions record/accounting book in the dead Svartian "art" (but really NXX raw material) dealer's room, it has been sold to quite a number of people for some time already. Selling art pieces is their front since there has to be a "legal" exchange of goods and currency that they can show if something happens, which is probably why participation in the auction onboard Pluto was necessary. In this way, they can legally argue that the onboard auction house is "clean" and no shady business is going on.

Now, all of these beg the question: where did the Svartian dealer get his stocks of the NXX raw material in the first place? Since this illegal trade has been going on for years already, there must be a constant source with a stable supply of NXX somewhere – could it be Svart? The fact that the product is sold by a Svart-national on a cruise ship owned by a nobleman from Svart is very suspicious.

#3. The connection between the NXX raw material trade and the Svart Royal Family We already know that a member of the Svart Royal Family owns Pluto from Vyn’s briefing at the beginning of Chapter 8. It was also revealed that the King is the supreme head of the Church of Svart so the latter may be involved in this nasty business, too. Does this mean the sale of NXX raw material has the Royal Family's/Church's "blessing" and/or “protection” because the trade has been going on onboard Pluto for years already?

Vyn received the special invitation to join the Pluto luxury cruise from his father because the latter wanted to investigate the auction on board after getting a tip. It seems like Duke Haspran is on a mission to uncover whatever it is the Svart Royal Family and the Church of Svart are secretly up to. Could this be related to why Vyn is in Stellis? OR maybe why he joined Giann von Hagen and Neil Hume to establish the NXX investigation team?

#4. The laboratory where Jerome Adams et al. are working We still have no idea where Jerome and his boss are working from. We know that Jerome has been in contact with Tyson and the latter wanted to take down “that investigation team” as seen in the opening scene of Chapter 5 (Part I). Xiao Ren from Heirson’s Opaline Village lab didn’t recognize Jerome when they met onboard on Pluto so they might be working for different organizations, although Jerome knew who Xiao Ren was. Jerome might be with either Crimson Biotech or Pax Pharmaceuticals (tho I am more inclined towards the former)... or another subsidiary of Heirson perhaps?

#5. The new character decked in a red suit A new character appeared in the final scene of Chapter 8, where he conversed with Jerome and his boss in the unknown laboratory. He seemed to know what Jerome did onboard Pluto, and was aware of the research they were conducting.

My guess is he’s affiliated with Crimson Biotech, probably its founder, Christopher Cromwell, who is mentioned in the Big Data Lab entry for Crimson Biotech Ltd (see below). If this were the case, then he could be involved in the international NXX trade since “the Cromwell family has been gradually shifting business abroad for the past decades” and Crimson Biotech is one of the two big companies, along with Pax Pharmaceuticals, who had access to NXX before it was banned 25 years ago due its dangerous effects on humans. It would’ve been easy to get away with it because the records of all the collected samples of NXX were lost in “the war” (mentioned by Vyn during MC’s briefing in Chapter 5 Part I). Also, there are very few organizations and institutions that have the technology to detect NXX. If we are to believe Marius’ claim that Pax has nothing to do with the illegal NXX trade and drug development, then it could be Crimson... or maybe some other international entity that is involved.

I really hope there will be a Svart arc (or at least a chapter) because I want to see Vyn and Rosa/MC working closely with his father T__T Also, I want to know Vyn’s real reason for moving to Stellis and joining the original NXX team. How and where did he meet Giann? What were the meetings like with the founding members? I WANT SOME ANSWERS!! I’m looking forward to the day I return to this post to check which theories I got right ^__^

[blazing-spectre]

What does tlt stand for please I'm intrigued and scared

Hi! :0

It stands for The Locked Tomb, an ex-trilogy, now quart.. thing… (series? What do u call a series w four books?) about an amazing gay sword herbo and her necromantic… other half???? Idk how you’d describe it nvjnfidnf. The series tag line is lesbian necromancers in space.

It has an amazing cast of characters, some of the most intriguing world building I’ve seen in SO long, a very complex and intertwined maze of mysteries that are built up Amazingly, never a dull moment, Dr. Sex is there sometimes, rlly good queer rep imo, it’s great. By far the best book series I’ve read in a very very long time, maybe ever.

10/10 would recommend to literally anyone that likes goth stuff, sci-fi, mysteries, wlw, swords, etc. And to ex-Homestucks.

[liria10]

Favorite Benny books?

Ok so. Tumblr crashed as I was typing this on mobile. I am retyping it on desktop cause fuck this site, and I Have Opinions, and my friend I will let you hear them or so help me!

.... This got. Really. Really long. I am adding a read more to spare you guys from that.

Ok so! As a preface, I haven't read many VNAs with Benny in it, and of her solo books, I still have 2 of her Legion books to read.

I'm going to (re)start this with the VNAs!

Love and War: a very classic answer perhaps, but it is a really good introduction for Benny, even if the book has its flaws and can certainly show its age nowadays. Cornell absolutely nails her right off the bat, and from her very first page, Benny is just a character that keeps you interested. Not only does she work great as a counter to both Seven and Ace, but she also brings a breath of life to the whole range the way only a prose character can.

Plus, I think one of the greatest successes of that book lies in how Benny appears as a rounded and flawed person from the beginning. She’s not your ordinary girl dragged to a whirlwind of adventure and an universe of wonders, but an older, adult woman, with a good chunk of life experience and adventures already behind her, and while setting foot inside the TARDIS opens up a new and unexpected chapter in her life, it does also remain just that. A chapter. Benny had a life before the Doctor, and from that moment, while noone could have predicted it then, she would have one after him as well.

The Left-Handed Hummingbird: I just finished that one last week, so it’s obviously both fresh in my mind, and one I'm thinking highly of at the moment. Well I mean, it’s Orman! Or course I love it. She really is great at writing both intricate, large stories, and yet focusing on the personal, on the human side of things. And I find that this book does a great job at putting benny in the role of the grounding presence both for ace and the doctor, as well as exploring how time traveling as they do, and dealing with seven’s schemes can be frustrating for benny. That whole tardis team is a mess, and none of these people really… work well together, but it’s because they’re so dysfunctioning that they’re fascinating, and orman absolutely nails that.

Theater of War: A very different type of book, it is honestly a fun romp, and it has Benny being an actual archeologist, down to dealing with the academia side of things. And it’s the little things, but I love it when Benny books remember that about her tbh? Also, it has some nice theater theming, and well, as an introduction for brax, it certainly works well! It’s one of those VNAs that I think is just fun. A well crafted story with good takes on the characters, that’s always enjoyable to me!

Return of the Living Dad: Orman again?? What a surprise! But frankly, I love how this book is all about Benny and her daddy issues, be it with the Doctor or well, her actual dad. Between that, her budding marriage with Jason, and finding out so many old wounds reopened, I just. Really love how raw Benny can be under Orman’s pen? How underneath it all, she still has that side of the scared orphan that lost both parents to a war she was far, far too young to ever comprehend, and how that just left her rebelling against the world in general, and resenting deep down her parents for that abandon. I mean, it’s neat character stuff, but it can very easily be written as dull & cliche shitte you know? And Orman really… always get down to the heart of it all, and boi does it make for some great reading.

The Dying Days: It’s a very fun book, and well, technically works as the first round for Benny as the lead woman after all! It’s a joy all throughout, triumphant where it needs to be, and managing to both celebrate the Doctor and what he brought to the VNAs, as well as setting up the stage for Benny to go on to her own range. It’s basically one last run of the old team, and well. I do love Benny & Eight, and yes I am blaming Parkin for it. Also, big brained take to have Eight give her Wolsey because I love that cat and Benny deserves a cute kitty in her life. We all do.

Ok!! Now on to the NA, and my personal favorite era!

Dragon’s Wrath: It’s a fun one!! I do really like the story being centered again on archeology first and foremost, and it’s a good romp that has some really good take on Benny. Especially the trial scenes, I love how those one get down to Benny as someone who despite everything, loves history, and cares very very deeply about the artifacts she uncovers. Also, it introduces brax as a mainstay of the dellah era, and does so in a rather nice way. Overall, a very enjoyable book!

Beyond the Sun: Benny & students stranded on a planet with mystery to uncover, that’s already a fun premise, and then throw in all the various queer themes present, especially with Emile, and the whole scene of them all in drag performing on top of a bus, and it’s just a rather good book. Plus, I love how it mirrors the whole VNA Doctor mantra, except with a very Benny twist. Sometimes cruel, sometimes cowardly, but trying her damndest to do good. And well, that’s just Benny isn’t it? I always harp on about the very heart of Benny being her humanity, and if there’s something that book highlights, it’s that.

Deadfall: Jason takes center stage in this one, and well, I do really love Jason. It’s overall a fun book with some nice lore ideas, and I love how it works Cwej in the whole Dellah setting. Also, at least it’s a story with Jason in the lead that doesn’t end in utter tragedy, and that’s always nice!

Tempest: Ok so. That book isn’t great. The story’s cliche, the characters aren’t the best, and the plot itself? Forgettable, it’s another in the list of “sort of base under siege story in the dellah era” which you’d think wouldn’t be super common and yet! So… why am I listing it here? Cause the concept of the planet!! The idea of a world of storms and disaster, run through via a blind train as the only means of transport? The fantastic animal life described in it??? That book left an impression of me, and that’s not something I can say of all of the others.

The Medusa Effect: … Justin Richard writes a good Benny. Like, legit. I love how that one really works with the setting & history of Dellah, and gives further information on the planet’s involvement with the Dalek war. Plus, it also got some really, really nice aesthetics. I am soft for good aesthetics ok? Benny, dancing with a skeleton on the deck of an old spaceship made to look like a cruise liner in an hallucination/dream sequence type of thing? Sign me right up!

Beige Planet Mars: That one is a blast. I remember just, absolutely loving it when I read it tbh. Between the overall description of Mars, the further Lore Implication of the Mars invasion & all that, as well as it basically being one last round of more… Normal dellah books before everything goes to hell? It’s one i’d highly recommend if you want to have a good time.

Tears of the Oracle: Probably my favorite of that whole range? (apart from dead romance, which I am not counting as a benny book) I love just, how much overall… feelings isn’t quite the words i’m looking for, but i can’t think of a better way to put it… there is throughout the book? It was thought to be the end of the NA as it was written and well, that shows. I love how it weaves the whole mystery of “what happened to that legendary archaeologists?” with the whole side of what’s basically some of the only survivors from dellah going on one last round of discovery. The status quo of the range was destroyed quite a few books before that one, but imo, it’s there that they take the time to stop for a bit, and just. Deals with what that means in actuality. And ngl, I love the entire sequence of Benny & Brax walking through the wreckage of what used to be their home, it’s a scene that works really, really well.

And well, it does a great job at setting up the future as well after all! Yes, there’s still 3 books after it, but when you look at where Big Finish picked up… they went for what Tears of the Oracle was setting up. It really makes the transition flows well between those two, unlike my rambling for a full paragraph before going to “here’s the BF books I like”

The Doomsday Manuscript: A very good start for the range! Not only does it set up the whole collection, but it also introduces the Fifth Axis as a major threat, and does so in a wonderfully well paced book that keeps you hooked throughout. I like how it also sets up Jason’s loss as something Benny is still suffering over, as well as how she hasn’t lost hope in finding him again. Plus frankly, it’s also a really good story.

The Glass Prison: You’d think that for a book where Benny spends the majority of it in prison and not very active due to being near the end of her pregnancy, not much would happen, but the way Jacqueline Rayner builds up an atmosphere of unease, mistrust and a genuine disturbing ambiance throughout the book is just, fantastic.

Genius Loci: This book. This book!!! Ben Aaronovitch writes an absolutely powerful story of Benny as a young woman, lost and finding herself faced with far more responsibility than she ever thought possible. The way he writes the whole mystery, while also making Benny as a 20yo not only believable, but quite distinct from Benny as the adult we’ve all come to know and love is just. So good. My main grip with this book is how abruptly it ends, and how we’ll never get the sequel. I want to read Terra Incognita and more of Benny slowly finding herself damn it!

Dead Men Diaries: Just like Doomsday Manuscript, does a great job at establishing the collection as well as the recurring cast. I really enjoy most of the stories in it, and I think BF started out so strong on those books srsly!

A Life in Pieces: I love it so much. It’s pure brax at his most manipulative, and for such petty reasons. I really like how it both deals with the aftermath of the Fifth Axis occupation, as well as the repercussions Brax’s schemes have for the people living on the collection. Also, it’s just 3 very good novellas in a row that build up to something more, and I always like seeing that.

Nobody’s Children: That book has the best Draconian story in the entirety of doctor who and related. Like, yeah just that. It’s also nice to see the fallout of the Mim/Draconian war. It’s one I didn’t expect a lot out of, and frankly, I ended up really loving it.

The Vampire Curse: The middle novella is one I absolutely hated, but the other two are really good, and mixing benny and vampires is just, very fun. Also!! Predating the Predator is in it, and it is a really good take on vampires in a science fiction setting that also has some nice creep factor as well, and manages to be both a good vampire story, and a good sci fi story, which isn’t always an easy balance to find.

Life During Wartime: It’s a surprisingly hard hitting anthology about living under a fascist regime, and the compromises you have to make, the personal sacrifices and small rebellions. Honestly, there’s a lot I love about it, but certainly one of my favorite moment, is when Benny, having to dine with one of the officers, miss jones & jason, sees that the officer is nearly on to her hiding peter away, and that split second moment of “if I have to, I am willing to kill everyone in this room to protect my son” before he just laughs it off, it’s a lot of tiny moments that build up to a really well done ambiance tbh.

Something Changed: While it did the terrible, terrible sin of introducing Doggles to the world, I really love the concept of every chapter after the first being a different split universe, and how they’re all spiraling more & more out of control. It’s got some really good stories in between too, though they can also be rather hit & miss. An aspect I love about it too is how impactful Wolsey’s death ends up being.

Present Danger: That one is fun, I love how it’s basically everyone vs the deindum, a situation slipping more and more out of control, mixed with some neat stuff one the deindum’s whole temporal deal. It’s again a bit hit & miss, but it’s still a blast, and as the last anthology of the collection era, it does send it all off with a bang.

Welp. Far, far too many words later, and here we are!!! I love Benny a lot ngl, and I genuinely think that prose is the medium best suited for her. I have been rather disappointed with the more modern books, I find them far more bland than what I personally expect from Benny but ah well. Can’t always get everything.

And while it’s neither a book, nor even an official story in any mean, the fanfic “Sepelio” that’s an Hannibal au set in the Dellah era is great, and the benny story I have been enjoying the most lately. I would be remiss not to at least mention it!

[gammacousin]

Okay. I’m ready to real talk Black Widow. I don’t want to but as an activist there’s an obligation I have to share and educate. I nerd to forget but I suppose it shows the power of this movie if it brings something real into the light.

*Spoiler Warning. Trigger warning for everything.*

There are some things I want to say that could potentially spoil aspect of the Black Widow film. I also would advise you to skip this post if you have a darker past, if you aren’t interested in getting serious, or wish to skim by, I’m sincerely not judging! I come on here to avoid the universe as well. You do you, I totally still love you if you don’t read this and want to move onto something nerdy or more fun. This isn’t the post for you.

It’s taken me a while to process and organize my thoughts. Skip if you don’t want to hear deep, raw stories.

3

2

Okay. Nerd review first.

The level of girl power and any and all glass ceilings… There is SO much left to do. So much that needs to still be addressed. But seeing 3 women run this show: Yelena, Natasha, and Melina was an absolute joy to observe. This isn’t the end of some hard waged war, it’s the beginning and I beg you; Disney/Marvel. Please give us more of this? It’s so important for young girls to see other girls kicking butt and winning. Quick summary of nerd feelings; Losing Nat still burns. Yelena is a boss.

Okay…Real talk.

I have to get a little deeper here now. My personal story absolutely played into how I felt about this film and I wish I saw some trigger warnings about the material covered. Do I know Black Window’s story? Yes. In and out. I can read it, I can write my FF on it. However. Little to no one knows my story and so absolutely no one is to blame for not warning me. I was not expecting to come out this shook.

I’m sharing this because it’s happening now, today. In the real world. I doubt the film makers had this mind over other social issues, but after feeling like it’s irrelevant, that my pain is somehow less than, I’m realizing through my activism it’s not.

I grew up in a cult where women are not relevant. You matter up to a point. You are useful, to a point. If you’re giving 24/7, you’re not giving enough. If you’re not smiling as you’re doing cult stuff, you’re complacent. In addition to why I’m about to share, my house growing up was not a safe space which is a story for another time. So it’s a stack…this janga-ish game that eventually just comes crashing down.

My trigger started moments after the film started the handing over of the kids. When Alexei chooses the job over the welfare of the girls. Alexei put his two “daughters” in danger to save ‘face’. To put the job ahead of two children…it hit home. In the group I’m from, fathers, mothers, grandparents, siblings will absolutely choose the group over blood. You are nothing and you mean nothing if you ‘defect’. If you break a rule. If you complain. If you say ‘no’. If you put in a bad review for a leader, if you have anything bad at all to say about the organization as a whole. You can confide something deep in someone you trust and it absolutely will come back to hurt you.

The title song shook me completely. This collage of video and images of brainwashing, treating these girls like absolute objects is disgusting in itself. But when you’re raised in this other world, there’s a level of brainwashing that is absolutely unmatched. Videos, books, quizzes, 12 hour lectures, weekly meetings.

People are unified to the point where you lose your own identity. There’s a language- a literally language- words you start to misuse. Verbiage only people in the cult use. Kids of any age will watch any rated film. Frequently the themes are about obedience and or cooperation and the consequences if you do not cooperate/obey. Death is a such a common theme that either you become petrified of your own shadow, petrified of breathing wrong, or turn completely numb. In sharing these videos, the goal is to instill this fear that you will never be enough. That you will die- turn into a charred hot dog of a figure if you do not obey 8 white men - the leaders, in New York. That your friends, classmates, neighbors, family will die if they don’t believe what you do. That you’re held accountable if you can’t bring them to your side.

The song for the credits hit me. I cannot listen to it. I have no idea what it was about.

When I watched the film, I couldn’t focus at this point at gosh barely 15 minutes in. I had already checked out. I heard keywords. “Entertainers,” “I feel stupid and contagious…”

In my world, I did not matter. What mattered was, what was presented to the public. To your group. Meeting some checklist of this perfect family at any cost. You’re not an individual, you’re a number. Literally. Your records are documented by men in the back room- your actions, your track record. But ultimately? You’re part of a numeral equation reported to headquarters. And if you’re a woman, you do not have a say in how you look, dress, act or in what you say. You are as the title song says, …“Entertainers”. You smile. You do your job, and you are ‘happy’ about it. Your job is to dedicate x amount of hours cleaning the room you gather in, and in recruitment of other members…

There’s a ‘job’ in the cult called a “pioneer”. Okay. No, we might not have been trained assassins. But you are trained to manipulate emotionally. To prey on the weak. You get books, magazines, movies, speeches, lectures- you rarely get a free Saturday. Oh and the job isn’t paid. So make sure you’re working (part time because full time secular work isn’t acceptable) at a desk job (because college and getting an education is not allowed). Don’t make friends with the people who work with you, they’re out to get you. Back at the club; You answer questions like it’s some schoolastic quiz every week and quote what your reading. It’s a brainwashing tactic. If you say something enough times, you remember it. You start to believe it. You spend hours reading these things, training… Your job is to target people who have lost- and have lost a lot because they’re vulnerable. You learn to go to cemeteries, and literally stalk people who are grieving. Like Val. If you can catch someone when they’re weak, senses are dulled. They’re desperate. And you bait them with this false promise. This idea that all THEY have to do is change all that they are, join you, and they’ll see their dead loved ones again. That they are doomed if they don’t change. Most pioneers draft 2-4 people per lifetime. If you’re a great saleswoman, you can draft more into this horrific world. And I regret the hours I spent lying, torturing people. For some cult that doesn’t give two cents about me.

I 100% believed of I didn’t convince my classmates, neighbors, to join my side they would either turn me in or they would be killed by a divine being. From 2 years old I was supposedly handing out pamphlets. The doom is not a quick painless death, no. You have visuals. You have men getting up to talk in detail about what your ‘friends’ will look like as corpses. Visually descriptive to the point where I still feel a bit numb to it all. That you will have to bury their bodies after the whole divine destruction. That you will have to “clean up” the earth. You are numb- convinced- bullied to the point where you believe this is true.

If you’re hurt as MANY WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE, and you don’t have two people to testify and say they saw it- it never happened. Abuse is the norm. And if you speak up about it? You’re called a liar. Your friends cut you off. They think you’ll die along with everyone else if you put in a ‘bad review’ or leave. You’re bullied into submission and taught from a young age that you are not in control of your own decisions. You relinquish yourself under the pretense that the men you have such reverence toward are under some divine being’s control.

Your parents hurting you is acceptable. And don’t you dare speak against your father if he’s deeply involved. Don’t even think about approaching if he’s on a phone call. If you’re hit you take it- because you “deserved” it. And you smile. You shove that pain deep down. You hide the bruise, the cut lip, the depression, the bottles of pills you’re swallowing the whatever….You’re screwed if you faint, throw up, pass out, because you’ve missed a meeting. You better be dying for that to happen…

The idea that is portrayed in the movie (IMO) is that you can forgive family who hurts you. I see people forgiving Alexei and what’s her name. Look- that’s great. It’s a fun film. Alexei is funny. Here’s what I saw; it’s a toxic man- nay- father who can’t accept responsibility. He takes pride in what the girls have become- monsters. Not in who they are at their core. He has no idea who they are. And the mom has this photo album…I’m tearing up. She remembers this a certain way, a wishful thought. I’ve confronted my own mother about our past and had an album thrown at me, “We were happy. You were happy.” The fact is I was told the smile. You’re forcing this perception that everything was normal. That it’s okay to go back. (I’m not taking away Yelena’s view that everything was real to her, that’s fine for the sake of the story, and sweet. The moment between her and Alexei..fine. Milena turns and takes their side at the end, great.) The problem with how I saw this, is that’s not how the real world works. I don’t owe my parents forgiveness when I didn’t mean shit to them. When people leave the cult they’re cut off. Treated like they’re dead. I didn’t find these moments cute, I found them horrific. Hugging me, saying he’s proud of me is the toxic sh** my father would pull. Ignoring the holes in the wall, in my skull, the phony impression he gives to the rest of the group. Hugging me…after sweeping everything he did not only to me, but countless others under the rug because the cult…because 8 men in NY will protect him. Legally. Or otherwise.

I don’t need to forgive my parents. If you’ve been mistreated, you don’t owe anyone anything. They can “try” to do the right thing, that doesn’t somehow block out years of mistreatment. Years of trauma. Sheetrock only patches the surface of the broken walls. Wounds heal but some scars stay with you forever. Metaphorically or otherwise.

‘Entertainers’ was a trigger word because if you’re high enough in the ranking system you’re asked to “testify” or share a story. It’s in front of a couple thousand. It’s an “honor”. What it really is, is a three ring circus. You will only see women on the sidelines reading from the cards while only men stand at the main podium. They’re reading what they have told them to say. Stories are manipulated, cut, changed to fit a narrative that better suits the group of a couple thousand members.

Dreykov. I hate this. But I have to go there. I’m neck deep already, might as well. I think the worst part of all of it is that you can’t touch the person who made you this way. Those 6-7-8 leaders are untouchable. It doesn’t matter what you try. What legal entities, ex groups have tried. There’s a term for us and we are considered ‘mentally diseased.’ Members are told to avoid us. And in case you were curious, no, they can’t just break their nose on a table to be free- if only it were that simple. Gosh that got me. I would cut a limb, split my skull open, if it meant I could just cut a chord. It takes years of therapy and I still have nightmares. Urges to just, go. I’m OKAY. But most escapees are not. If you manage to escape with your life and don’t end it because the pressure, guilt, abuse that comes with leaving is too much. (This is sadly the fate of MANY LBGTQ+ members.)

The only hope is either the group eventually runs out of money or they’re taken down legally. Both of which are impossible since many older members will leave all they have to the group rather than to their family. It’s a complex billion dollar publishing company that plays monopoly with people’s investments, homes, and lives.

If you speak up, you’re the liar. So you cannot free your friends, who have turned on you, already cut you off, and discarded you the day you walked out and didn’t come back.

Watching Natasha, and Yelena free their sisters made me think of every woman who is stuck in this cult. For every woman, child, currently being sexually/physically abused and can’t say sh** because they literally believe god will kill them. If I say anything to them, they block me. If I expose what’s happening they will lie in court. That’s what is happening. And it’s not in the news, it’s not talked about. Because you can’t. You’re forced into silence. There’s a block. A literal legal force field that you cannot penetrate. They have their own lawyers. You can’t break into it. You’ll lose every, single, legal battle you try to fight.

Was this a decent movie? Yes. Was I expecting to share this days after release, no. I’ve been forced into silence for so long, told that people have it far worse and that I shouldn’t talk about it. But just today I saw a grown ass couple in an escapee group, talking about how one trigger word sent them into a depressive spiral. Wondering if some god damn lightening will come out of the sky and knock them dead. And we frickin struggle in silence. People will just shrug and go “oh it can’t be that bad,” while my gay best friend can’t catch an effing break. While someone else suffers at home because god wants it that way. Someone else will bury their kid today, maybe not even hold a funeral for them if they were ‘mentally diseased.’

For people like that couple I met today, like me, if you don’t just see a fun film but a darker past or maybe it’s brought up some memories for you, I’d honestly love to chat!!! Message me! I feel like for as painful as this is to hash out not too many people know about what goes on behind a group of smiling, well dressed woman who come knocking on your door. “It’s just a religion.”

I guess I didn’t realize…the criminal aspect of what happened to me. You’re so ingrained to keep quiet. To smile. To ignore, to suppress. I can smile, joke laugh, but visualizing…inadvertently seeing this mirror was so unbelievably uncomfortable. I would always rather help someone else because it takes me out of my head. Live in a bubble where I can call my trauma a ‘fantasy’. What’s real is when someone like me has a bad day? Lol! Look, my husband literally checks his phone to make sure a conversation never touches a couple hundred trigger words that will absolutely send me into the closet with a gallon of ice cream or a bottle of whiskey. I can’t imagine what someone else, what some other traumatized individual goes through. (Maybe that’s why the Bucky stuff makes me all angry She-Hulk too..)

Look, talking people ex members of this group, out of suicide is a daily endeavor to the point where it’s borderline on autopilot. But having this, I suppose, brilliant, piece of cinema turn the camera around left me raw and writhing and angry. Not for me, but for everyone else still stuck. With every year you spend in that cult, add ten more to therapy.

If you feel like me at all, you’re not alone. Not anymore. We were raised to feel alone in the world. That the universe is somehow out to get us and that’s simply not true. You don’t need the people who raised you if they were absolute shit bags. And you DO NOT have to forgive them for keeping you in that environment. Family isn’t family if they’ve hurt you. You owe them nothing. It is healthy to feel your feelings (and you and your feelings are valid. )

Anyways! I hope to be able to talk about more fun Marvel topics soon. But this felt important so thanks for listening. I’m really not hating guys, this is just…it’s heavy. And I beg you to do your research into cults and to help out where you can.

Love and light,

-M

[poptimus-prime]

Here is what the kids call my highly disorganized, half-baked list of stuff that could have been done with Jack to make him a better character.

@yeetmetothehell I am sorry if you are disappointed by my ideas.

“Optimus was more like...Jack.” OK…so show us that.

In my opinion...Jack seems like he was intended to be written to be almost a parallel to Orion’s journey to becoming Optimus Prime, at least how he is used in the plot. Jack is described as “smart and responsible”, which can also be read as “hardworking and responsible” and really this can be achieved in narratively using a few points, IMO:

Long hours in his room/the library studying outside of work and school. 

Filling out the background of the garage more with sketches/print outs of motorcycle blueprints (to keep the idea that Jack really wants a motorcycle and show hints of extreme dedication, but they’re kept in the garage rather than his room to metaphorically show that distance he’s put between himself and what he wants)

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too fast” (This will be discussed more later but TL;DR “I’ll handle the electric bill this month, Mom”)

Somewhat fragile work/school/life balance that Jack somehow perfectly maintained before meeting the team

Orion was very physically passive. Jack seems to be intended to be written as passive but it comes off as an apathetic reluctance that Orion doesn’t possess (Orion may not believe in violence but he clearly wasn’t unwilling to communicate his thoughts; it’s how he got the title of Prime in the first place.) However, Orion had to learn to become more outspoken over time probably, so we can keep him as being aloof/reluctant at the start of the series.

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too Fast”

It’s no secret Jack came from a nonconventional home; June is very explicitly portrayed as a single mother with a dad nowhere in the picture. However the situation surrounding Mr. Darby is unknown. The way June talks about it makes me personally feel like Jack’s dad either ran out or divorced June and doesn’t bother with his kid. Dysfunction in the family really just goddamn changes you TBH. (can confirm bc hi, I come from a dysfunctional home) Sometimes you just grow up super fast. Jack probably spent his childhood missing his mom as she worked shifts at the hospital and seeing how lonely and hurt she was. He maybe went out and got a job the first day he could and helps with smaller bills (“I’ll handle the electric bill this month.”), or maybe other expenses like groceries and his own phone bill. June probably makes enough to comfortably support her and her son, especially given her job and the cost of living in rural ass desert Nevada. But Jack still does this anyways--it’s how he copes with his issues after what happened with his dad. Doubling down and trying to be what he thinks is the bigger man because his dad couldn’t be fucked. 

This would make the disruption him letting the bots into his life creates more staggering; June doesn’t expect her son to pay bills, but the sudden change in behavior (skipping out on work) would be a cause for concern because sudden shifts like that are Usually Signs that Something is Very Wrong. Especially because Jack is usually responsible and open with his mom; he would have told her if he was gonna cut hours at work, theoretically.

Jack feels like he has to constantly put his own wants aside to contribute to his household. Even if June doesn’t force this expectation upon him, it’s a feeling that he will have, especially if he watched his dad just abandon him and June. Maybe he has resentment towards his dad for this and that is causing some anger he’s keeping tightly under wraps? And maybe the bots give him an excuse to do something he actually wants to do for once or some excitement in his life and that’s why he goes along with it? Lots of options, people!

Clothing Choices: The Hoodie™

You are going to have to deal with me being a whore for costuming choices and what they can mean. The show has a problem with the humans wearing the same shit every time they’re on screen and I’d love to rant about all of them (yeah yeah I get it saving money) but I’m focusing on Jack right now. Give Jack a hoodie 2020. A grey one or some other dull and drab color. And make him actually always wear the hood (except like in scenes where he is working bc workplace dress codes obviously) As time progresses, the drab hoodie is changed to a more vibrant color, but he still always has the hood over his head. And then, at a pivotal moment, the boy takes the hood off. (You could even throw in Miko cracking a joke about Jack actually having hair if you really wanted TBH.) Why this? The narrative is that Jack is constantly holding himself under wraps because of his self-imposed responsibilities. As he starts to become more into his own, he decides to express himself more with brighter colors, but still has some reservations. When he takes the hoodie off, that’s when he’s fully realized himself in this process and thus completes the parallel.

Actually make him interact with Optimus in a meaningful manner.

Arcee can still be his guardian in the field and I think working on strengthening their relationship is vital. But also, if you’re gonna make Jack the confidante holding the key to Vector Sigma, there actually has to be...meaningful interaction. Optimus asking Jack what he’s so engrossed in reading and Jack explaining the book he’s got with passion before shutting himself up and saying “it’s kinda dumb though” or something. And Optimus just responds “I don’t think it’s dumb, tell me more.” Coaxing him towards more self-discovery and expression. Optimus maybe sees more of his old self in Jack and starts attempting to be a quasi-paternal figure without really thinking about it because he is, after all, Dadimus. Jack maybe lashes out about how he doesn’t need Optimus to be his dad and that makes the space between them tense for a while. Eventually Jack comes to apologize and maybe there’s an important Talk.. Just a few ideas I will expand on later. I feel like forgiveness and lack thereof is a good theme--I know I was held back for a long time because of how convoluted the concept of forgiveness is with family.

The Character Arc

 So, what would Jack’s character development throughout the events of season 1 be? My basic idea for a Jack arc that mirrors Orion’s self-realization and coming into Prime-hood without being a carbon copy is essentially: 

Jack is portrayed as a responsible, hardworking, studious teenager who constantly turns down chances for fun and excitement to handle his responsibilities. Has clear dreams for after high school and for his own personal life; but he’s constantly contemplating and changing his mind about whether he will or not because he’s extremely dedicated to helping his mom and all that. However, he still gets super curious about Arcee and gets swept up by her in the Vehicon chase, and he still has whispers of courage and protects Raf during the altercation. He first tries to ditch Team Prime because he’s concerned about his responsibilities, but eventually returns because he’s drawn to the opportunity to finally go buck wild for once in his life (even if he spends his time being hesitant about everything.) His hesitancy and dedication to severe self-imposed responsibility is a result of his inability to move on from what his dad did to him and his mom; he’s under the impression that he 1) Has to forgive someone to move on, and thus 2) He cannot move on because his dad isn’t there to bother to say sorry and take on his position as Dad. In essence, he becomes less the character telling Miko to stop and more the character being pushed by Miko to be more adventurous. In lulls in action, Optimus starts to take interest in him when he notices his constant hesitance to express himself and is just being dragged along rather than going willingly. Has a conversation with him about a book Jack’s reading, which Jack attempts to shut down because it’s “dumb and childish,” but Optimus urges him to continue. The idea that June knows about Arcee as a bike and Jack explaining that he bought a motorcycle as a fixer-upper for dirt cheap can stay. (He probably still is saving up for his motorcycle.)

The longest portion, after Optimus starts interacting with Jack on a level of bonding and gently coaxing him to be himself— Jack becomes more outspoken and he’s shown as curious, analytical, quick witted, and has a deep sense of justice. Being young and craving a childhood lost to his trauma and self-imposed obligations to help his mom with running the household, he suddenly starts spending more time at the base pursuing hobbies and going on missions rather than studying and work, which concerns June. She tries to press Jack, and is met with what can be described as typical teenage headbutting that gets progressively worse. She grounds Jack after the fight, MECH takes her, the rescue happens. (That makes sense to stay in this narrative IMO.) Around this time, Optimus has effectively started becoming Jack’s own Alpha Trion—teaching him things that he’s picked up that he may feel apply to Jack. Jack interprets one of these lessons as Optimus trying to be “dad” and he’s not having it. Makes it VERY clear that he does not need a dad (“didn’t need one before and sure as fuck don’t need one now”) and definitely snaps at Optimus, which then pushes his progress in the arc closer to the end. He eventually comes back to apologize, and Optimus forgives him. He and Optimus have a heart-to-heart about one of the hardest lessons Optimus has had to learn—how to let go of the past without forgiving those who have hurt you and refuse to make amends, so that you may determine your own future. It’s very clear he’s talking about Megatron, even though he never says his name. Jack takes this lesson to heart.

His final bit of development before the hood removal thing probably happens during the events of “Rock Bottom” and reinforces that hard lesson, right when he’s faced with the option to off Megatron. Maybe there’s some taunting about how Optimus preaches softness and forgiveness too much when Jack refuses to kill him. Jack gets angry, and he’s about to fucking do it. But then he stops, takes a breath, and says “Optimus doesn’t preach forgiveness, he preaches moving on from those who refuse to move on themselves. He will never forgive you, but he’s learned to live on despite what you’ve done.” Soon after this, when Megatron comes to the base, Jack takes off his hood, stares Megatron right in the face, and says “This is not forgiveness, Megatron. Don’t you forget that.” Later, when Optimus gives him the key, he tells him something along the lines of “you have grown since we’ve met, Jack, and even though there is still a long way for you to go...” he hands Jack the key. “...Remember that even I am a work in progress.”

Anyways this is again, half-baked. And needs lots of polishing. But it’s something.

[evajellion]

2020 vidya ranking: #1 Bug Fables The Everlasting Sapling

You already knew that I was going to tell you that this was the best game I had played last year.

Imo, this should have been indie GOTY back in 2019, but whatever, I guess I should explain why I ranked this one at the top.

Back in 2004, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was released. I had sadly missed out on getting the original game on the Nintendo 64, but I was nonetheless very excited for the sequel. I got the game, still have my copy even years later… aaaand I got confused in Rogueport Sewers because I was a dumb eight year old, but I swear I picked up the game a second time. Got through all of the chapters, and had fallen in love with the game.

I loved the characters, the battle system, the story, the chapter progression, the cooking system, even the hidden lore and the amount of side quest scattered throughout the game. I even cried. It was the first time I had cried over a video game.

I wanted more, but then, Nintendo didn’t do it again. Sure, Super Paper Mario had a fantastic story, and a lot of people treasure that game the way I do TTYD-- I wouldn’t even mind if the series stayed in that direction. After that though?

Well, Sticker Star happened and stripped away all of the things I loved. Two similar games and one spin-off followed after that. Needless to say, me and several other fans of 64, TTYD, and Super weren’t happy about it. Seemed like I would never get another game like the one that was so dear to me ever again.

Cue me finding Arlo’s video about a cute little game called Bug Fables, just around the summer time. It had come out in 2019 and had been in development for some time by an indie studio. I was skeptic, but at this point I wanted anything-- besides, I actually love insects.

And after the first two chapters, which were a bit bland, I found it. I found the game I had been looking for. I was so afraid that this would be another Mighty No. 9 or Yooka-Laylee, but Bug Fables was anything but. Sure, it took inspiration from Paper Mario with its gameplay structure, but saying that this game is “just Paper Mario” doesn’t do it justice, because game can stand tall on its own.

I loved just about everything here in the same way I loved TTYD. Characters (except for two), the battle system, the story, the chapter progression, the cooking system, the hidden lore and the amount of side quest-- and there was even more than that.

“Gee what did Bug Fables have that Paper Mario didn’t?”

More than one super boss

A card game

Three party members in battle at a time

An entire side quest chapter that you can miss

An in-game randomizer

Higher difficulty settings

FREE DLC

Actual quality of life improvements

And finally, a villain who doesn’t just get a mere slap on the wrist as punishment for their actions. It’s one of the things Super did far better than TTYD because Beldam being let off scott free in the ending always pissed me off as a kid. The final boss is less ham-fisted in general too.

You have three characters at all times-- they’re your only party members and the only ones you need because they’re all perfectly balanced: Kabbu, Vi, and Leif. The third of which you won’t even meet until a bit into the first chapter. You don’t have to worry about wasting turns by switching your members out in this game.

The story starts off simple with the team of three collecting artifacts for Queen Elizant II, who seeks the Everlasting Sapling for an unspecified reason. About half way through the game and into the fourth chapter, the tone of the situation begins to shift, as the wicked wasps from the Wasp Kingdom also seek these artifacts for their lord.

This game doesn’t skimp out on being accurate to bug details either, there are little nods to how things work in real life, which is something I always appreciate. There isn’t really a dull moment in the story or a second where you feel stuck, because with the amount of Medals you get, there are plenty of strategies you can play around with.

Bug Fables is also… surprisingly dark, which perhaps isn’t unfitting of a game inspired by Paper Mario, given the direction TTYD and Super would get into. I can’t really spoil anything in regards to that, because much like with Three Houses, I would rather someone experience that themselves.

In terms of the flaws in this game, I can only think of two. One is regarding a terrible Flappy Bird game that’s required for 100%. It just shouldn’t be there, or at least be easier on the eyes.

The other is that this game suffers from having too many characters, when only four of them get actual character arcs: The main trio and the queen. You have some characters that get more fleshed out in side quests such as fellow team members or NPCs, but I feel like other “major players” suffer in the process.

Neolith is a big one. Cute nerdy moth who just exists as exposition for the artifacts and is a part of Kabbu’s backstory, but he never really does anything besides that, which is disappointing because he’s very cute. I would have loved more lore to him and Kabbu’s past, maybe a future DLC quest can solve that!

Your “rival team” also suffers a bit in this department. The team leader, Mothiva, is a snooty diva who never properly gets her comeuppance or realization that she needs to stop making everything about herself. I guess that’s the point, to give that vibe similar to old Pokémon rivals. But we’re supposed to believe she’s an official couple with her partner; Zasp, who just seems to simp for her in a one-sided way. Perhaps this could also be fixed with another DLC quest.

The worst of the bunch is Kina, Maki’s overly protective and possessive sister to the point of it being creepy. Unlike Mothiva, who is your rival, Kina is supposed to be a supporting cast member, yet she has even less likable traits. She stalks her brother and constantly wants to be with him, gets upset at the idea of him needing space, threatens a small caterpillar character-- you could remove her from the story and it changes nothing. There’s not even a backstory reason for her to be the way she is.

Mind you-- these are very minor nitpicks that don’t really bog down the game. Some may say the main villain of the game suffers from this as well since he shows up halfway into the game, I personally think he was handled perfectly, because you can piece together his motivations and backstory through lore.

Speaking of lore, I hope with so much in this game, that we end up getting a sequel. There are so many questions left unanswered, so much more I wanna know about! 

Other than that thought? The trio of Kabbu, Vi, and Leif and their story is just about perfect. I can’t thank Arlo enough for introducing me to it, and I think this game will catch on more in the future since Chuggaconroy said he was playing it on Twitter, and Fatguy just completed his LP of the game.

I think… we’re entering an age where we should start expecting this level of quality from indie developers more often. This game didn’t feel like an indie game, it felt like a grade a RPG. Which is funny, because that’s what Paper Mario used to be.

God speed, Paper Bug devs. Keep up the good work in the future, thank you for bringing back a feeling I thought I’d never experience with a video game again. I know it sounds cheesy and stupid, but that’s.. just how much Paper Mario effected me back then. Even now, it inspires the books I wanna write, and it’s safe to say Bug Fables did the same.

By the way, can I talk about how delicious some of the food items look in this game? This is insect cuisine, and even I would eat these.

For recap on what the other games I had played this year were, just so you know how Bug Fables topped ‘em:

2. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

4. Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town

5. Super Mario All-Stars

6. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and The Blade of Light

7. Final Fantasy VII

8. F-Zero

9. Star Fox

10. Puyo Puyo Champions

[padawanlost]

People often talk about Anakins failings as a Jedi, so how about somethings he was better than them at. Was there ever things (non-Jedi things) that people appreciated him for? Did his loyalty and emotion ever help someone, or make them feel better? Just, some ways in which Anakin being a bad Jedi, ended up making things better.

You asked me there’s any non-jedi trait Anakin excelled at I’d argue Anakin excelled at the most Jedi trait of all: compassion. Unlike the great Jedi masters of his time, who talked a big game about compassion, Anakin actually cared about the people he met and tried his best to connect and help them. But I’m not going to say much about this, I’ll just show you the receipts.

When Anakin and Obi-wan find a captive woman who has been physically abuse, this is what happens:

He was polite:

Anakin was looking relieved. “Water would be greatly appreciated, thank you. Food, too, but I’ll wait for Obi-Wan to come back before I eat.” She crossed to the small kitchen table, put down the precious holoprojector, then nodded at the commercial-sized conservator her keepers had so kindly given her. “It’s entirely up to you. The water’s in there. Help yourself to as much as you like.” He drank three full bottles, hardly taking a breath. Noticing her surprise, he shrugged. “Sorry. My manners aren’t usually that bad. It’s just—it’s been a long, hard day.” “I can tell,” she said, disposing of the emptied bottles down her makeshift kitchen’s waste chute. “You should sit down. If you don’t mind me saying so, you look tired.” He considered his filthy clothes. “Are you sure? I don’t want to dirty the furniture.” [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

He was supportive and unfailingly kind:

“Oh. That’s right.” There was still dried blood on her fingers, and a dull, throbbing pain in her head. “I’m sorry. I’m not normally this stupid. I just—” And then she felt her face crumple and heard herself sob. Her knees buckled and she began to sink toward the floor. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she choked. “Don’t mind me. I’m fine.”

He caught her before she tumbled completely. Lifted her without effort and carried her to the sofa. Boneless and unprotesting, she let him. Let her face turn to his roughly shirted, dirty chest and howled her rage and shame against him. Dimly, she felt his hand warm and comforting on her back and heard his soft voice saying, over and over, “It’s all right. It’s all right. You’re safe now. It’s all right.” The crazy thing was that she did feel safe. For the first time since those Separatist blaster bolts seared the air and sand of Niriktavi Bay, since she saw her friends and colleagues slaughtered, she felt safe. [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

He helped her with her wounds:

“Don’t apologize,” [Anakin] said gently. “You’ve got a right to be upset. Now, where’s that medkit?”

“In the refresher.” She pointed. “Through there. Top shelf above the sink. But please, don’t bother. It’s nothing. I can—”

Standing, he frowned down at her. “It’s not nothing. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.” Even if she’d wanted to, she didn’t think she could move. Hope had vanished, leaving despair in its wake. Leaving her empty of everything save pain. Her eyes felt scrubbed raw. “Right,” said Anakin, returning with the medkit. “Here we go. And I’ll say sorry in advance, because I’m probably going to hurt you.”

Again, that extraordinary sense of being small, a child, as he carefully wiped the blood and tears from her face, cleaned the bruised, throbbing cut on her forehead with antiseptic, and lightly pressed a steriseal over it. “You’re very good at this,” she murmured. [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

He was gentle:

Taking them, she looked up at him and shook her head, even though it still ached. “It’s odd. You’re nothing like I expected.”

“Why?” he said, perching on the edge of the nearby chair. “What did you expect?”

“I don’t know,” she said, floundering. “I can’t say I’ve ever given the Jedi much thought. I mean, not as individuals. I never expected to meet one—let alone two. I don’t tend to go places where your skills are needed. But—well—you’re gentle.” That made him smile. [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

She sat down again. “I understand. This is war. You have to look at the big picture. You can’t afford to see the little people.” Scurrying like rodents. Sacrificed for the greater good.

“That’s not true!” Anakin protested. “That’s what the big picture is. Lots and lots and lots of little people. You matter, Bant’ena. The friends you lost on Taratos Four, they matter. We’re fighting this war so no more like them will die.”

He was very sweet. Very young. Full of grand ideals and breathtaking, intuitive compassion. She looked at Master Kenobi. Now, there was a pragmatist, a man possessed of a scientist’s soul. [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

When Anakin runs into a planet where the population has been enslaved:

As for the native Lanteebans, they were easy to pick out. Hunched and nervous, skittishly aware of their armed supervisors, they were the ones lasering and sweeping and riveting and hammering and sweating to upgrade the spaceport to their new masters’ specifications. They wore nothing but overalls and sandals. No protective eye goggles. No steel-capped boots. No sensor-harnesses to protect them from a fall. The indifference to their safety was breathtaking … and at the same time, unsurprising. Their fearful misery muddied the atmosphere. Beside him, Anakin muttered something. Not in Basic. His outrage was palpable, a red shimmer in the Force. Oh no. Not now.

“Anakin …”

“Look at them!” Anakin retorted, low-voiced. “They’ve been turned into slaves!”

“I know. It’s irrelevant. Focus on why we’re here.” [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

He was generous even with his dreams:

When the war was over he’d go back to Tatooine and see. When the war was over he’d buy any child he found enslaved to Watto and find them a home where they might live and love in safety. Belonging to no one but themselves. [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

When Anakin runs into a group of poor kids playing in the street:

“Just like Mos Espa’s slave quarter,” Anakin said under his breath. “Everybody knows everybody else and nothing much stays secret.” Obi-Wan nudged him with an elbow. Not now. They’d accumulated a gaggle of children, who seemingly had nothing better to do than tag along in the newcomers’ wake, giggling and whispering and kicking a soggily inflated synthafibe ball.

[…]Grinning, without bothering to ask if he might, or if it were wise, or if they had the time to spare, so independent these days, Anakin jogged to join them. After a moment’s amazed hesitation the children welcomed him with squeals of delight, rough-and-tumbled him into their midst and made him one of their own.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “He’s nice,” said the girl with the bracelet and the ragged hair, wandering over to stand beside him. “Don’t be cross with him, Teeb Yavid.”

[…]“But—” Gathering his thoughts, disciplining himself, he watched Anakin scoop up one small excited boy, too young to kick the ball, and zoom him overhead like a fighter chasing a vulture droid. The boy nearly sickened himself with laughing. “Greti, are you saying—”

[…]“So that was merely a cynical exercise in the manipulation of a local populace?”

“Oh, no,” said Anakin, grinning. “It was fun too.”

May the Force give me strength. “And that business with the boy? Because when I said no heavy lifting I—”

Anakin’s amusement vanished. “He wasn’t heavy. These younglings are skin and bone. I look at them and—” He clenched his jaw. [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Siege]

And this is just a few examples from ONE book series. The EU (TCW and the movies) are filled with moments of Anakin caring deeply for people he barely knows (TPM, anyone?) as the Jedi stand back and chastise him for caring too much. It’s so unfair that people forget that Anakin wasn’t always cruel and selfish. They forget that for a long time Anakin was of the few Jedi who actually acted on the compassion all Jedi were supposed to possess.

Anakin Skywalker didn’t become a heroic figure during the war only because he was a good fighter. He was a good person too. A person who cared about people as individuals. And the sad part is that people forget this compassion and caring attitude wasn’t learn from the Jedi, it was learned from Shmi Skywalker. A person that also acted on her words about being kind and generous:

“Helping others isn’t always easy, is it? If people paid us to be good, the galaxy would be overflowing with kindness. But most of the time there isn’t much reward, and sometimes it even costs us dearly to do good things. Yeah. What if it costs so much that it hurts? I think we should do it anyway. Make it a habit, like eating or breathing. Once you do, you’ll hardly even notice the cost.” Star Wars Episode I Adventures: The Ghostling Children by Dave Wolverton

Anakin and Shmi’s generosity, kindness and compassion was real and truly heroic and, imo, it’s the most important trait a Jedi should possess. Ahat’s why I think Anakin had everything he needed to be a great Jedi. He had everything else too: kindness, compassion, fighting skills, etc.  the only ‘trait’ he lacked was the acceptance and support of his superiors.

[albelen]

Book Talk: Flamefall

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Let me start this post by saying, prepare yourself. From the first page until the very last, you’re gonna be holding your breath because holiest of all the holy-- this book never had any dull moments. Nothing ever feels like a filler scene.

Since in the first book no one from the main cast died, I knew that eventually someone had to-- BUT DUCK?

After the next few chapters, I always expected for Duck to show up. I knew there was no way for him to simply “die” the way he did, but I lost hope when Annie gave the piece of armour to Cor and then talked about always having a part of Duck inside of her even though she may end up forgetting his face (THIS WAS SO HEARTBREAKING TO READ. I read this line over and over again because despite the pain, it’s still so beautiful??)

Imagine the surprise when he showed up in the last scene. HOLY DRAGONS. While i’m glad he’s alive, I also fear he’s changed, that being imprisoned we won’t even have the shadow of the old Duck.

I still feel so bad for the Sutter family, Duck-- and then Ana. It wasn’t easy for Cor, this is why I also understood why he decided to support Magara and her cause.

In this sequel we also get a new character - Griff.

I like him, but I’m still unsure of what to feel about his romance with Delo. To me, it feels a little forced? The way Griff mourned for Julia, and then suddenly he’s describing Delo as this nice lord, so kind compare to Julia. It was a little disorienting, but I still want the best for them.

I feel like Delo could do so much more, not only for Griff but for the Norcians or at least try and show how he’s not on board with how they treat anyone who aren’t Dragonborn. Also to hell with Nestor, Delo’s father, using his late wife to guilt his son to do as he says.

Moving on, I loved the way Annie became a sort of “hero” and inspiration for the Norcians.

Among all the characters, I relate the most to Annie except for the whole guardian, Firstrider thing, of course lol I like the growth she had both in Fireborne and here as well; the way she learnt how to believe in herself, how to be confident in her job, how she learnt that she didn’t anyone to tell her she can do it. She doesn’t need encouragement from other people to be strong.

I can’t wait to read what she’s gonna do in New Pythos and how she’s gonna help the Norcians. I have a feeling Power’s gonna go after her as well, he didn’t attend the Norcian language for nothing.

Speaking of Power - AHHH his crush on Annie was so unexpected. I initially thought that he’s helping Annie because he believed in her (more than he believed and trusted Lee) but that he also has a crush on her?!? Sorry Power, i still want Annie and Duck.

How can I talk about Flamefall without mentioning my boy Lee? He can be just as frustrating as Annie. For goodness sake, they are so bad at communicating, thank the dragons for Crissa!! I feel like Flamefall focused more on Griff and Annie, so I hope we get more Lee on the last book. I’m excited to see how Lee will deal with Atreus AND Ixion. He’s new found confidence and cause added more depth to his character.

All in all, this book didn’t lose any momentum, there’s just always something going on and you won’t even notice how you’re already finishing it. If you think things have escalated towards the end- WAIT UNTIL THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS DEAR DRAGONS.

i usually don’t mind cliffhangers but this one hurts i want to read the next book ASAP.

The writing, as I forgot to mention in my Fireborne post, is actually simple and easy to read. The way the POV interchanges between the three main characters is a good example of a multi-perspective book done well IMO. The jump from one character to another is not disorienting and it’s interesting to see a certain scene or a moment from both Lee and Annie’s perspectives.

I rated this 5 out of 5 stars. Definitely one of my favourite reads of the year and when the next book comes out, I’m getting it immediately and I will not be waiting months for the paperback anymore.

[icegoddessrukia]

Kataang! And maiko (from azuwulastan)

Thanks! <3 

Kataang

What made you ship it?

Of course, if it isn’t abundantly obvious I’ve been a hardcore Kataang shipper for a while lol. I never watched ATLA while it was airing but around the time when the first book of LOK as airing, I watched that and it made me interested in checking out the original ATLA series. My friends basically told me that Kataang/Maiko were canon but I didn’t know what to expect because most people seemed to prefer Z*tara. So during Book 1, it became extremely clear that the writers were going with the Kataang angle. I didn’t mind it but wasn’t completely sold just yet. Then their bond gradually developed from friends to something a lot deeper and after The Guru when Aang envisioned Katara as the personification of the love he has for his entire culture, they were clearly more than the standard fluffy teen romance. After that especially and The Headband episode, I started to love Kataang. 

What are your favorite things about the ship?

There’s just something sweet about how Aang adores Katara. He has seen her at her highest and lowest points but he still loves her as she is. I love how there’s this spiritual aspect to their relationship, which is fitting for ATLA. They are attracted to each other but there’s also this special, almost otherworldly connection they have to each other that goes deeper than that. 

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

That they’re not just a fluffy, rainbows and sunshine relationship and it’s kind of dull when they’re portrayed that way. Sure they’re a really happy relationship but they do have conflicts throughout the story, which actually imo makes them much more entertaining and realistic. 

Maiko

What made you ship it?

Always had a soft spot for them but after Mai stood up to Azula and delivered her whole “I love Zuko more than I fear you” line, I couldn’t not ship these two.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

They’re both kind of weird hipster introverts who get each other and share the same warped dark of humour that any other character would be repulsed by. It’s very sweet how he gets this huge smile on his face when he talks about her and she shows her soft side around him. 

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

There are some unhealthy relationships in atla but Maiko are not this toxic horrible couple they’re portrayed as by detractors. They’re actually one of the most positive relationships in the story and they inspire each other to be true to themselves. For two people who each had childhood drama and were going through some of the toughest moments in their lives, they still managed to work through their difficulties and stay together. 

[irhinoceri]

Finished Asunder and have thoughts, though I don’t think it’s much different than the other reviews or hot takes I’ve seen about the book.

I finally listened to it because I wanted more Mage and Circle focused inspiration while I’m writing a Surana/Amell fic and also because I just am in a completionist mood wrt Dragon Age this year.

So, my thoughts:

Worth it if you love Cole. Best spirit. Not much to say about his storylines except that it makes me want to boot up Inquisition and take him everywhere with me.

Disappointing if you liked Wynne or Shale in Origins and care about Wynne and her son or the quest to return Shale to a dwarven body. Wynne has some moments but her wishy-washy pro-Circle attitude is annoying at best and nonsensical at worst. The fact that she gives up her life to save Evangeline is weird because... well she does it just because her son was sad about his Templar love interest dying and that’s a terrible reason to kill off a character, imo. It reduced Wynne to the sacrificial mother and that’s just... meh.

I’d like to find out what happens to Shale after this. There’s no mention of her in Inquisition but she’s still alive at the end of Asunder. I wonder if she’ll return in DA4.

Rhys also suffered from the wishy-washiness, though I could forgive him because he’d spent his whole life in a circle and doesn’t truly know how else to be and part of the story is him coming to terms with the system being broken. But Adrian is a far more dynamic and sympathetic character. She’s basically Anders in the story and the book did not successfully make me hate her just like DA2 didn’t make me hate Anders.

Still don’t understand why the Equitarians gave Rhys the final vote to speak for them all and make the decision to start the Mage rebellion or not. I do appreciate that the character development of Rhys led him to chose Rebellion but that doesn’t mean the people in the story should have given him that power just because his mother used to be the leader of the Equitarians. The mage fraternities aren’t a monarchy.

For most of the story I hated Evangeline, mostly because the narration kept trying to convince me that she Wasn’t Like Other Templars and Wasn’t Like Other Noble Girls. But she still did a lot of Bad Templar Crap and had cringeworthy attitudes about the value of the Templar order and the Chantry’s exploitation of mages (basically she fully supports treating mages like children as long as you’re compassionate about infantilizing and enslaving people). I don’t think she deserved as much fanfare as she got until the very end when she finally took a stand against Lambert. She was inconsistently drawn, just like Rhys.

Their romance was dull and uninspired. Look, I have trouble with writing romance, too... so maybe I shouldn’t bust Gaider’s balls so hard. But still, I think he has written better romances in other novels and romance storylines in game, so this one just stands out.

Frankly I got more romance from Cole and Rhys than Rhys and Evangeline.

Adrian’s unrequited love for Rhys was sad. Girl, you could do better.

I don’t know how anyone could read this book and side with the Templars, but then I don’t know how anyone could be pro-Templar even without having read this book, so I guess I’ll just never understand that crowd.

[laufire]

hellooo for fandom ask meme- atla?

Top 5 favourite characters: Sokka, Azula, Toph, Ty Lee, Mai.

Other characters you like: practically everyone. Aang, Zuko, Katara, Suki, Yue, Jet...

Least favourite characters: Ozai sucks, obviously xD. And frankly... though I love other parts of him, I have to say Iroh has not aged well in the rewatch. I hate how creepy he was with June, the bounty hunter. And I side-eye his attitude towards Azula vs. Zuko.

Otps: tbh nothing really makes it to OTP levels, BUT in this rewatch I’ve found myself appreciating Aang/Zuko and their dynamic and parallels all the more. I don’t ship them during show-time (I watched the show when I was 10-12 and it’s kind of hard to ship Aang at that time lol) but as adults I could tbh; their dynamic is just incredibly well-written. Other of my fave ships are Sokka/Suki/Zuko, Sokka/Yue, Azula/Sokka, Azula/Mai/Ty Lee, and Jet/Katara.

Notps: nothing gets to NOTP levels, though over the years I’ve decided to keep away from both Aang/Katara and Aang/Zuko discourse LOL.

Favourite friendships: Zuko & the Gaang, Toph & Aang.

Favourite family: Azula & Zuko. I love disfunction xD.

Favourite episodes: the Boiling Rock and Azula’s coup in Ba Sing Se.

Favourite season/book/movie: season 2 >>>>>>> (late s3 was... disappointing in some areas. AKA the Dangerous Ladies).

Favourite quotes: Aang talking to an asleep Zuko in the Blue Spirit episode vs. Zuko talking to an asleep Aang during the blizzard about Azula ( “She was born lucky. I was lucky to be born.” That whole speech is A Lot); “pride is not the opposite of shame, but rather its source”. And of course, “can your science explain why it rains?” “YES IT CAN”.

Best musical moment: the Avatar state theme always gets me.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: the Dragons episode (I looooove dragons).

When it really disappointed you: the Dangerous Ladies’ endings (Azula’s is utterly undignified, Mai’s is dull, and Ty Lee’s is kinda heartbreaking but presented as triumphant aka what I hate the most xD).

Saddest moment: Zuko going back to his father in s2.

Most well done character death: Jet’s.

Favourite guest star: Jet I guess? I never know how to take “guest star” in shows like this.

Favourite cast member: didn’t Serena Williams voice someone? The guard that was nice to Iroh so he spared her? There you have it xD.

Character you wish was still alive: Jet, if only for The Drama LMAO.

One thing you hope really happens: ........ I just hope the live-action reboot doesn’t make concessions and they write what THEY want to write.

Most shocking twist: hmm. Can’t really remember anything.

When did you start watching/reading?: I watched the show more or less as it aired, the first time.

Best animal/creature: Appa, DUH.

Favourite location: Ba Sing Se. So damn creepy, such good plots.

Trope you wish they would stop using: tbh the thing that annoyed me the most is when they tried to ~recreate the... effect some of ATLA’s characters had with LOK’s and utterly failed ¬¬ (Bolin annoys me in particular. It’s a good thing I’ve never seen anyone in fandom explicitly compare him to Sokka LMFAO). And I want to clarify I don’t say this as a way to hate on LOK, because I love LOK (and Korra is my favourite character in the whole ‘verse). But that part annoyed me xD

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: it falls on that category of “children show that NEVER talks down to children” and I’ll always love it for that.

Funniest moments: Sokka was sincerely funny and enjoyable. And the show was great at visual/physical humor, especially with bending.

Couple you would like to see: Sokka/Zuko or Azula/Sokka, Just Because LOL (and I really hope the reboot doesn’t erase Jet/Katara tbh).

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: n/a. Well, actually, that’s wrong. I’d love to see Brandon Soo Hoo to join the cast as ANYONE, just because I want to see Brandon Soo Hoo on-screen again :P

Favourite outfit: Azula’s Ba Sing Se outfits. And the ones on the beach episode.

Favourite item: Sokka’s boomerang, OFC. And his meteorite sword.

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: nope.

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I’d love to be an airbender (I just want to flyyyy).

Most boring plotline: n/a.

Most laughably bad moment: Ty Lee’s ending. A character that valued individuality so much she left a family because there was nothing differentiating her from her sisters ends in a uniformed order where every girl looks the same. O-fucking-kay.

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: Zuko’s banishment flashbacks *sniffs*

Most layered character: Aang and Zuko, IMO.

Most one dimensional character: cabbages man, but we love him so xD

Scariest moment: Zuko’s Agni Kai. Poor dear.

Grossest moment: that weird deformed panda spirit comes to mind.

Best looking male: I actually have some Issues(TM) about how they’re drawn as grown-ups LMAO. Hmm. Between Sokka and Zuko I guess.

Best looking female: 12-year-old me had a mini crush on the Dangerous Ladies LOL.

Who you’re crushing on (if any): see above.

Favourite cast moment: n/a.

Favourite transportation: Appa.

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): there’s a lot of great ones but I’m going with the dragon dance.

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: n/a. Though if we get into LOK I would have a few LOL.

Best promo: n/a.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I liked it from very early on, but I remember starting to Love It in Jet’s episode (Sokka and his ~instincts! Tragic ship with Betrayal(TM) and irreconcilable issues! My catnip).

[undeadwicchan]

Something I find very interesting is that some Adam stans compare Adam's death to Roman's death where "They were done dirty!" Which I sort of understand cuz some may argue that Adam wasn't fighting at his best in his last fight but like, Adam at least got a lot of his backstory revealed before he died, including a song. Roman however, the most we know of him is that he's trying to survive and that he just cares for Neo. We don't know why he feels the way he says in his last words. (1/3)

We don’t even KNOW the NATURE of his relationship w/ Neo (cuz CRWBY zigzags on whether it’s romantic, platonic, familial.) and Roman never even got a song (unless Die counts cuz it’s only played when Roman’s onscreen but I doubt the lyrics are really about him… then again Casey once said One Thing reminds her of Die… idk…) But anyways, while I can sort of understand the disappointment Adam stans have w/ Adam dying, there’s enough info of him that can be considered closure. Roman on the otherhand, we just have to hope for whatever info comes out with Neo back. I get the feeling Neo being back is also gonna be closure on Roman’s background but I don’t know… Anyways, IMO I feel like Adam has a lot of info for him that at least gave closure, but Roman doesn’t have enough info that gives closure on him. 

—-

I agree. If I recall don’t emotion stability and stress usually affect their semblances? Adam was shown to be emotionally unstable during his final fight with Yang and Blake. Hence why he wasn’t able to cut down Yang’s prosthetic because he was emotionally unstable at that moment, which resulted in his Moonslice usual sharp edges to be rather dull that time only doing a small amount of damage, along with Yang using her aura to shield herself from the blow.  However, because he was so focused with Blake, and not as stressed out that he was able to cut through Gambol Shroud using Moonslice even with Blake’s aura protecting her weapon as a last resort shield. Adam wasn’t nerfed, he just wasn’t thinking straight and very mentally unstable at that point. Anyways onto Roman.

Yeah, we never really did get closure on Roman and it’s true that the only lore we’re ever going to get about him is going to be from Neo most likely. I do feel that One Thing kinda does feel like a Part 2 to Die.

I know it might be much because RWBY takes up so much time and money that they can’t really even continue Chibi at the moment… But! 

I want them to create a spinoff series focusing on the villains and give them lore like what was Roman’s past, or go into more detail about Adam’s past, or learning more about Hazel. Stuff like that, since the Companion book was more of a behind-the-scenes kind of book rather than a full on lore book for these characters. I just want to see all of the lore for all these villains! 

[wetalkinboutbooks]

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson

Summary

The Bird King is a 2019 fantasy novel set in 1491, the novel takes place in the Emirate of Granada during the territory’s final days. The story concerns the flight of Fatima and Hassan, a concubine and mapmaker, respectively, from service to the Emirate’s last sultan. (Taken from Wikipedia)

We follow Fatima and Hassan on their search for the Bird King as they avoid soldiers of the Spanish inquisition, and meet a variety of characters along the way.

Our Ratings: 

 → Geena: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 → Kae: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: The Bird King is an amazing book that manages to be complex yet light-hearted. It touches on subjects like faith, love, and friendship. The characters are engaging (and absolute drama queens) and the plot is fast-paced so there’s never a dull moment. The dynamic between the characters leads to the funniest situations that will have you dying. In summary, reasons to read this book if you haven’t already:

A- ONE SUPER FUNNY BOOK PLZ READ IT

B - THE DRAMAAA OF FATIMA AND HASAAN

C - Vikram 

D - Stupid

~ Spoiler-full discussion below ~

The Good: 

→ Hassan and Fatima’s Relationship

Geena: The best thing about the bird king (aside from the horse named Stupid) was Hassan and Fatima’s friendship. IMO it was so wholesome and they were so in love (PLATONICALLY!!!!). When Hassan said seeing Fatima walking around was like seeing his heart outside his body…… a BITCH DIED!!! Also, the fact they would take shots at each other constantly? Loved it. HOW COULD I FORGET… HASSAN CONSTANTLY BEING HORNY AND FATIMA BEING LIKE “CAN U CHILL!”  

Kae: OKAY MOOD LMAOOO. So boom. Geena covered it. We love this book! Hassan and Fatima are the definition of the 💯 emoji. But these bestie-bitches are DRAMATIC af. I’ve never seen two best friends who love each other as much as they do. They’re hugging and crying one moment, then the next they’re jealous that one of them is talking to someone else. DRAMATIC. I love it. Have we talked about Gwenny and Stupid yet?  

Geena: WE HAVEN’T TALKED ABOUT THEM, the perfect accessories to the Hassan-Fatima duo. Gwen is the token white boi, there for Hassan to thirst over and Fatima to learn how to sail a ship. Stupid on the other hand…. God bless that horse all it did was drown and then LIVE!!!! The absolute legend.  BUT Kae HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE GWEN AND STUPID? HMMM

Gwen: I only love God

Also Gwen: *sleeps with Fatima on the deck of the ship while Hassan is 3 feet away* 

Kae: Well... Gwennec. Ol’ Gwenny Gwen Gwen. Gwen, the Monk who FUCKS. PAHAAHA. Gwen was a new Monk who was at first, totally against helping our favorite bestie-bitches. But Fatima was all “Don’t test me white boi I will kick ya ass.” And Gwen lowkey thought it was hot so he let them slide. He taught Fatima and Hassan how to sail while Hassan made googly eyes at him and definitely wanted to tap that. But, as previously stated, Fatima and Gwen got it ooonnn.  Hassan found out and as like “Fa, I can’t believe you slept with my husband who doesn’t know we’re married yet!”,  and that was basically that.. Then we have Stupid. The horse who was just as damn stupid as his name. The horse lived to spite the Grim Reaper just to prove it would breathe another day. We also haven’t mentioned our Jinn friend and their literal lifesaver/guardian angel, Vikram.  

Geena: VIKRAM, aka another dude/djinn/dog man that Hassan wanted to fuck but couldn’t :( Vikram was essentially the only one in the group that had a substantial amount of brain cells, and spent most of the time trying to make sure Fatima didn’t accidentally kill herself. The fact that he saw his death and it was in the arms of a “beautiful woman” should sum up his character really well. 

Kae: Geena is sooo right. Vikram was the only one with brain cells because Fatima and Hassan both shared two. Our loveable, dramatic, but also a little dimwitted faves wouldn’t have survived any of their adventure without Vikram. He lead them through a Jinn filled tunnel that Hassan made. Escorted them across the land with the Inquisition right on their asses, and fought off whoever tried to hurt them. Initially, he agreed to save them because of a debt he owed to Fatima’s Sultana. But in the end, Vikram helped them because he wanted to. He was a weirddog/man/Jinn who just wanted Fatima and Hassan to stop being dumbasses for five seconds. But they couldn’t so he was constantly annoyed and probs wanted to eat them to shut them up. BUT WE STAN THAT FURRY LEGEND BECAUSE WITHOUT HIM, OUR ESCAPEES WOULD BE DEAD-EEE. Also he was one suave, smooth talking mofo and I feel like if he walked up to you and said “You’re lovely, but you’re an idiot. It’s okay, because you’re pretty tho.” that compliment sandwich would go right over your head and you’d thank him.  

Geena: ok FIRST OFF I would be like “why do you have a tail” but god Kae you hit all the points. 

The Bad AND The Ugly

→ The Sultan and His Mom Being Pedos 

Geena: Ok so, Fatima is 17 and I’m assuming the Sultan was in his mid-thirties, because he has kids Fatima’s age 👀. So I am sure it was historically accurate, the fact that the old ass man had a 17 year old concubine, but that doesn’t make it any less gross!!!! What’s worse is that Fatima’s mom was originally a slave for the sultan, so when she was born the sultan’s mom raised her and had her instated as a concubine when she was 15!!!!!! Scuse me while I 🤮. 

Kae: Yea, Geena said it all. The Sultan was ewww. Fatima was his favorite and I guess he talked to her like she wasn’t a concubine? She was treated very well. For a concubine. Probably better than any concubine I’ve read about Like, she had rights and could talk shit without punishment. But still, DISGUSTEEENNNG. Our girl was groomed so we do NOT stan the Sultan. 

→ Luz

Kae: we also have our main villain, Luz. She arrived at their palace to play peaceful, but she had ulterior motives that involved her spreading the word of the LORDT and taking Hassan in to be tried for Witchcraft and all that magic shit. Because if we didn’t say it before, Hassan can draw anything on a map and make that place a reality. Luz has this little worm in her eye that basically makes her super weirdly strong and badass. But fuck Luz. When Fatima finds out that Hassan is to be tried for witchcraft, she goes to him so they can both escape. Fatima wants to be free and she doesn’t want to see her bestie die. So what do they do? They dip. And now our friends are on the run. 

Geena: UGH Yes, can I just say the moment that Fatima realized that Hassan would get canned she was like “fuck all these people” and peaced out with Hassan? Friendship goals… But yes LUZ!! I enjoyed reading her as a villain because she genuinely thinks she’s a good person and that her life’s mission is to “Save” people like Fatima from people like Hassan. You really end up liking her in the beginning, and then she turns around and murders a few people and you’re like…. Ah…… i see….. aND THEN it turns out she was being controlled by some brainworm that was also trying to get to the Bird King and you kind of wonder…. How much of what Luz did was her being a violent inquisitor and how much was the worm controlling her… you kno? She redeems herself by dying, so I guess she gets…. Like one (1) right. 

Kae: Damn girl! Well said!!! LITCHERALY that is a perfect summary of Luz’s character. I can’t say anything else because it’s been SAID.  Villains are always interesting when they don’t see themselves as the bad guy. They’re righteous and unforgiving because they believe they are doing the right thing. That’s what scary about them. 

Conclusion 

Kae: Okay, so in conclusion. This is an amazing book and in all honesty, I enjoyed the hell out of it. I was never bored reading it. Hassan, Fatima, and Vikram had quite the adventure and all the dramatics of made it that much more enjoyable. They left the palace in hopes of freedom. Hassan and Fatima got the idea of The Bird King from a story they liked to read, but never knew the ending. So they continued the story on their own, making it up along the way. In hopes of escaping their new fate to Luz and the Inquisition, Hassan drew up a map to the Bird King in hopes to find it. Their journey took them to meet Gwennec who sailed them to said island, where they discovered used to be inhabited long, long ago. Soon, others began to show up on the island. Hassan even got him a MANS. A DOCTOR. Whew. He’s got taste. The island is also forever changing and some of the remaining inhabitants are Jinn. 

Geena: Kae summarized the story really well!!! The journey to the end was an absolute trip, but G. Willow Wilson tied up the story neatly. We get to see Fatima become less dependent on Hassan (thanks to his doctor bf who told her to chill out) and Hassan finally find the happiness he deserves. Gwen, unfortunately, doesn’t make it to the end (press F to pay respect). Luz essentially sacrifices herself by taking the map Hassan drew, getting off the island, and ripping it up. Why does she do this? Because to make a place or passage Hassan drew disappear the map has to be ripped. And leaving the map to the island wasn’t an option because the Spanish inquisition never stops!!

Kae: And if they ripped the map on the island, the island would cease to exist! Upon arrival to the island, everyone had their ships wrecked. Luz got fucked up on the shipwreck and that worm thing got ripped out of her eyes and then it became a monster on the island that was NOT to be trifled with. Since Luz got all jacked up, she was gonna die anyway and no one wanted her to stay--

Geena: Everyone said “u cant sit with us” to luz. OKAY DISCUSSING THIS BOOK MADE ME REMEMBER HOW MUCH IT MADE ME LAUGH, GENUINELY ONE OF THE FUNNIEST BOOKS I’VE READ. 10/10 FOR ME!!

Kae: LMAOOO HONESTLY. XPECIALLY FATIMA NEVER HAVING WALKED SO FAR BEFORE AND BEING A BIG OL BABY. but she DIIIID have messed up shoes that blistered so I’ll give her that BUT YES HASSAN WAS A DRAMA QUEEN “waaah, I have red hair and im pale BUT I'M STILL HOT AND I LIKE TO F U C K” But yeah, Luz got voted off the island and voted herself off the island, ripped up the map, and then they were safe and lived happily ever after. Vikram even made his final appearance to say his goodbyes to Fatima, even though he hates goodbyes. I give this book a 10/10. It was funny, the characters were likeable and relatable, and it was just a good adventure read.

[tsthrace]

For Us - My 3.07 Fix-It

My one-shot attempt at fixing 307, starting right after Clarke and Lexa's sex scene. Lexa doesn't die (obviously).

No content warnings. Rated T (almost M, but not quite IMO) 2,171 words

She still feels Clarke all over her. Her fingers on her spine, her mouth on her neck, her skin sliding over her. She closes her eyes, letting the memory wash over her. She shivers. Then smiles. Then sighs.

Now will be the time for goodbyes.

She runs her hand through her hair and takes a breath. She checks her shirt, her pants, looks in the mirror. She’s glowing. She smiles. She’s stalling. But she knows every minute she waits puts Clarke in more danger. She takes a long breath and turns to the door.

A crack rings out, slicing through the warm quiet. Her heart jumps. It came from Clarke’s room. She runs.

--

Pain rips through her. Silence. Her vision narrows, sharpens. She sees Clarke, her blue eyes wild and full of worry. Across the room, Titus looks down at the gun in his hand. He’s shaking. The gun lands on the floor with a heavy thud.

She looks down. A black stain spreads over one side of her shirt. She takes a breath. The air moves through her chest, her stomach, and finally out into her limbs. She balls her fingers into a fist and then slowly unfurls them. The pain goes quiet, replaced by white rage that moves like a storm through her. She feels her face turn to ice. Then she launches.

She shoves Clarke out of the way and springs onto Titus. Instinctively, Titus deflects her punch to the throat and pulls back into a defensive stance. His movements are smooth, graceful.

“Lexa, I’m sorry,” he says, his eyes dark with regret.

Impulsive, she berates herself. Emotional. She puts up her hands and bends her knees, spreading her weight evenly.

“Lexa, let me explain.” He lowers his arms halfway in partial submission.

She spins into a kick that catches him in his side. Titus absorbs the blow, jerks back, and inhales. He bends his knees. Teacher versus student.

He shakes his head with sad eyes. “You don’t have to do this.”

“You did this.” Her voice is even, sharp. “On your knees, Fleimkepa.”

He closes his eyes. Nods. Then falls to his knees.

“All the way down, Titus.”

He obeys, prostrating himself before her.

“Clarke, get the gun.”

Clarke nods and dashes around the bed and picks up the gun.

“Now keep it on him.”

Clarke stands over Titus, the gun pointed at his head.

She takes another breath. Stumbles. She looks around. Someone else is here. Tied to a post. She shudders. Pain screams through her, erasing all her questions.

“Lexa!” She hears Clarke’s voice call out before the world turns black.

---

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” A voice cuts through the fog. She hears rustling.

“So she’ll be okay?” Indra.

“We can hold off on planning the conclave.” She can hear the half-smile in Clarke’s voice.

“Clarke?” she mumbles from the darkness. She can’t seem to open her eyes.

“Lexa, stay still.” Clarke’s voice calms her. “You’re okay, I promise.”

Her right side pulses with a dull, deep pain. She reaches for it. Clarke grabs her hand and wraps her own hands around it, her thumb moving slowly back and forth over Lexa’s skin.

“Stop,” Clarke says gently. “The bullet grazed you. Maybe cracked your rib. There was a lot of blood, but it could have been a lot worse.”

“Titus?” Her throat is dry.

“He submitted. He’s locked up.”

“He shot me.”

“Lexa.” Clarke takes a deep breath. “He didn’t mean to.

She opens her eyes, squinting as the room comes into focus. Her head pounds. “Are you defending him?”

Clarke lets out the breath. “He was trying to shoot me.”

She closes her eyes again. “I’m glad he missed.” A tiny smile creeps across her lips. She feels Clarke squeeze her hand as she drifts back into a black sleep.

----

A day later, she is in the throne room. Titus is chained to a metal pole in the middle of the room. The same metal pole that Emerson had been chained to not long before. Indra is there, a sling on her arm and dark circles under her eyes. The novitiates sit to her right, cross-legged and wide-eyed. Trikru warriors fill the rest of the space. Clarke sits in shadows.

She stands, working hard to conceal the pain that floods her body, the wince that threatens her face.

“Gona,” she says, her voice ringing clearly through the room. “Titus kom Trikru stands accused of harm against his Commander. An act all the more treacherous because he is the fleimkepa, entrusted with the care of the Commander.”

Titus throws his shoulders back. Stern lines crease his forehead, but his eyes are sad.

She looks down at him, narrowing her eyes. “Speak in your defense.”

“I am guilty of harming the Commander, that is true.” He looks at her steadily as he speaks. “But I am not a traitor.” His gaze travels over the crowd of warriors. “I was caring for Lexa. Protecting her leadership. Protecting the Coalition. Protecting Trikru.”

“By shooting her?” Indra’s voice is quiet but carries.

“I wasn’t trying to harm the Commander. I was trying to kill her.” He looks at Clarke.

“Why?” Lexa growls.

“Lexa, Clarke is putting you in danger.” Titus’ eyes are sincere. “She insists on mercy when justice is called for. Skaikru killed 300 warriors who you sent to protect Arkadia. And yet you did nothing. Because of her. Then Skaikru attacked another village. And you again denied your people justice. Because of her. Wanheda puts all of us in danger.”

“I made those decisions.” Her voice is low but sharp. “Not Clarke. I declared that blood must not have blood. Not Clarke. And yet you tried to kill her.”

Titus looks down. “She convinced you. Because…”

Lexa’s eyes are smoldering. “No one makes me do anything—”

“Heda.” Indra has stepped forward. She bows, her shoulders slumped but her face steady. “Forgive me for interrupting.”

Lexa takes in a breath and the room stands still. Finally, she exhales and gives Indra a nod with her eyes.

“I have spent time with Skaikru in Arkadia. Trained with their warriors. Slept just on the other side of their wall. They are not just one thing. There are some good people. People who want peace.” She looks at Clarke. Then her eyes turn back to Lexa. “But you saw that battlefield. You saw our people’s blood.” She looks out the open doors over the valley. “I saw Skaikru’s eyes when they came. They didn’t see people...” Her voice trails off. Finally, she looks back up at Lexa. “I believe Clarke when she says she wants peace. I trust her because you trust her. But Skaikru is not just one thing. And Clarke is not their leader. When the leader they chose sees us, he doesn’t see people. And it’s not just him.”

“I know I can get my people to overthrow Pike.” Clarke steps into the light. Her voice is fast, desperate. “I just need more time.”

Indra’s face stiffens. She doesn’t look at Clarke. “Clarke keeps asking for time. But whenever you give her people time, your people die.”

Lexa’s jaw tightens. “This isn’t about Clarke.” She forces herself not to look at Clarke, keeping her gaze on Indra. “Are you speaking in Titus’ defense?” Her voice is cold.

“No, Heda.” Indra shakes her head. “He was careless and put your life in danger. It was a dereliction of his duty.” She looks up at Titus. “But I do believe he thought he was helping you.”

“By attempting to kill an ambassador?”

Indra takes a deep breath. “By removing an ambassador who seems to have great influence over you.” 

She and every other warrior brace themselves for the Commander’s reaction.

It doesn’t come.

Lexa turns, walks to her throne, and sits. She looks out at her gona. Finally, her gaze settles on Titus. “Do you want peace, Titus?” she asks evenly.

His sad eyes gaze back. “Yes, Heda. I do. It’s why we worked so hard for the Coalition.”

Lexa nods then shifted her eyes on Indra. “And you, Indra, do you want peace?”

“Peace without justice is not real peace.”

Lexa looks at Clarke. “He was trying to kill you. What does justice look like now, Clarke? What does peace look like now?”

Clarke searches Lexa’s eyes, but all the warmth and want from the day before is now gone. Finally, she looks down. “He did it because he cares about you.”

“I’ve killed people I care about before,” Lexa says quietly. After a few moments, she stands. “This is my decision.” Her voice cuts through the room. “Titus is banished from Polis.” Titus’ head drops. “Until there is peace with Skaikru. He will go to Arkadia to work on it.” Clarke’s brow furls. “When he succeeds, he can return as my fleimkepa.”

-----

The thump of quick footsteps thunder closer. Lexa doesn’t look up when Clarke crashes through her chamber doors.

“Are you out of your mind?” Clarke is all anger.

Lexa’s eyes remain on the book in her hands. “You want mercy, I showed mercy. You want peace, I gave you help to achieve peace.”

“Help?” Clarke scoffs. “He tried to kill me.”

“He shot me.” Lexa finally looks up. “By our law, he should be tied to a pole and...the same as others guilty of less.”

“So why isn’t he?”

“The same reason Emerson is running around in the woods somewhere.” Lexa tries to set the book down, but a flash of pain shoots through her. She gasps and slams her eyes shut. The room seems to shift as the pain washes through her. She feels arms around her, slowly lowering her onto her back. Then she feels hands brushing hair out of her face, then lips on her forehead. She opens her eyes. Clarke is looking down on her, worried.

“Hi.” Lexa smiles softly.

“Hi,” Clarke whispers back. “Are you okay?”

Lexa nods and reaches up to grab the front of Clarke’s shirt with the arm that doesn’t hurt as much. She pulls her down until their lips meet. They kiss slowly for a moment until Clarke pulls up and looks at her with soft eyes.

“I was afraid I would never get to do that again,” Lexa says, her green eyes steady on Clarke’s blue.

“Me too.” Clarke’s face is suddenly sad. She takes a deep breath then lets it out. “I think I need to go, Lexa.”

“Now?” Lexa had understood why Clarke needed to leave before, but after all that had happened...

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Clarke takes Lexa’s hand, twining their fingers. “It’s...well, you heard what Indra said.”

Lexa nods, wincing. The pain returns at the strangest times.

“If we really want peace,” Clarke continues, “I think we need to...I don’t think I should be here.”

Lexa closes her eyes. “Is that what you want?”

“Lexa, I want you to be safe.” Clarke puts her hand on her cheek. “And I just seem to bring you harm. Your people don’t trust you when I’m here.”

Lexa huffs. “What kind of commander am I if the people I love—” She stops, feels the flush on her face.

“Hey,” Clarke bends down and gently kisses one cheek, then the other, then her forehead, then the tip of her nose. She stops just short of Lexa’s lips. “I love you, too,” she whispers.

Something swells through Lexa. Not pain, but warmth—and struggle. She feels tears prick at the corner of her eyes. She takes a breath practiced a thousand times—the breath that commands her feelings, that puts them back in their box. She wants to run, she wants to wrap her arms around Clarke. It will all hurt. She takes another breath. It doesn’t work. The tears build for a moment before they spill down.

Clarke wipes each one away with a finger stroke. Lexa silently lets them fall.

“Clarke,” she says haltingly as she tries to catch her breath. “The last time I...I loved someone and she left…”

Clarke shakes her head, resolute. “That’s not going to happen.” She leans down to kiss her again. Lexa tastes like salt.

“I can keep you safe here.”

“No, you can’t. And you know it.” Clarke sighs and gently nudges Lexa over. She lays down on her side next to her, her head propped up on one arm. “If we want this to work, we need to be who we are.”

Lexa turns her head, looking straight into Clarke’s eyes. She smiles a little. “Who is that, Clarke?”

Clarke shrugs, closes her eyes, then shakes her head. She sighs. “We need to lead our people.”

“You’re a strong leader, Clarke.” Lexa looks away.

“So are you, Lexa. Your people love you.”

“Not all of them.”

“If I leave, you’ll get them back.”

Lexa nods slowly. “I do want peace, Clarke.” Her voice is quiet.

“I know, Lexa. So do I.” Clarke leans over and kisses her again. “For us.”

If you liked this, give me some love and a reblog! If you really liked it, check out all my stuff on ao3. 

If you weren’t really into it, god bless you for reading to the end. Let me know what you didn’t like or what you thought it was missing. (I love concrit, respectfully given.)

[sarcasticace]

wait why is AME b2 so bad??

Under the cut because this gets long and kinda rant-y, sorry

 - The writers should’ve never implemented double elimination. It helped this season feel different, which was something this book needed to be successful, but it only made it feel like the new characters left way too soon. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like we hardly got to know most of them. I get that it was so there was never an odd number of contestants, but they could’ve done something like… winner is exempt every other challenge or something.

 - I am convinced the writers DID NOT know what to do with Ivy or Vince. Particularly Ivy. They kept switching between the 2D villain Adam-mancers love to petty hate to this really compelling (at least imo), complicated rival character.  They should have stuck with the later AND they should have paired Ivy with MC at least once, leading to addressing her betrayal from last season: letting players forgive Ivy and move on (and rekindle their romance if players did that last season) or remain bitter towards her. But mostly pairing MC and Ivy in a challenge for the drama. It boggles my mind that both Ivy and MC are in the same season, but no one bothered to pair them up. I vaguely remember it was one of the reasons S10 didn’t tank. I might be remembering some details wrong, but in-universe, didn’t fans tune it to see that sweet MC/Ivy drama? Any good showrunner would have taken advantage and milked the hell out of it by doing whatever they can to put the two in the same room. I guess Carson being portrayed as incompetent subverted that, but Carson is a fictional character so that doesn’t count. If the writers weren’t going to fully take advantage of the Ivy/MC dynamic, they should have cut Ivy from the book entirely.

 - The partners. This was such a brilliant idea, but omg did they fuck it up. Why did they ONLY pair MC with Slater, Vince, and Adam. I mean, of fucking course it’s Adam, but they should’ve made it so the contestants got new partners AFTER EVERY CHALLENGE. Not when Carson felt like it or something came up. And MC should never have been paired with Adam (or Mack and Derek for that matter). It should have been Ivy (for the above reason) and all the new characters especially if they were committed to the idea of double eliminations. That way players get to know the characters one-on-one before they’re gone. Obviously, Adam is gonna stick around till the end because he’s one of the LIs and he’s on the cover. Also because of the whole proposal setup. Making him one of MC’s partners is a waste of time when you have new characters that will be leaving way before him. Diamond scenes aren’t going anywhere. That’s where they’re putting LI character+romantic development nowadays. MC, Adam, Mack, and Derek seem to have formed a friends group. They interact the most and there are several entire chapters where those three (+Jen) are the only characters to appear. What’s the point? Just pull a Total Drama and bring back the old contestants in a season 10.2, but switch up the elimination order. Having said that, yes, we do get to interact a lot with Eden/Heath and Kiara, but not characters like Yvette and Rowan. Maybe it’s just me, but I felt like I knew more about Ryder, Lina, and Han in their short time than any of the new All-Stars. These are winners and VIPs of previous seasons. They should have something to offer! If the new characters mean nothing then why waste the assets. Take Yvette for example… she’s a mom and willing to use her kids to guilt people into not voting her off. Enough to make players dislike her, but besides that moments and a few single lines, she’s a throwaway characters. And to prove my point, PB didn’t even wait for AME2 to finish before recycling her character model for a minor patient character in Open Heart. I don’t care about PB reusing assets, but can they stop being THAT lazy for five minutes.

 - There’s the fact that they didn’t do anything creative with partners outside of the ones involving the MC. Particularly the ones for the LIs. Vince, for example, didn’t get paired with Adam AT ALL despite their history. Just like with MC/Ivy, why would any showrunner worth their salt not want to capitalize on the drama between Adam and Vince? Same goes for the actual writers of this book. Why even have Adam around if not to spice things up with Vince? 

 - And since we’re on the topic of Vince… why did he not have that big of a role? I mean, on one hand, I kinda like that he’s just a diva and annoying. I’ll give B2 that much, they subverted my expectation of Vince being the main villain of this book, but in all honestly… they should’ve went with that route. It would’ve been exciting if MC would have to ally with Ivy in order to defeat a worse contestant. Then I was expecting Slater to be the secret big bad and Vince would be a red herring, but again… nope. Vince is just a diva and Slater plays rough. Those aren’t bad things, but they were also disappointing… much like the entire book. I know they didn’t want to copy what they did in the last book, but having this book’s finale just include your friends/LI rather than having it you vs. your rival is kinda lackluster imo.

 - One last thing about Vince… he almost seriously injured Adam in one of the earlier chapters and it’s never brought up again. Ever! They could’ve included a scene later on, like B1 had with Zeke, where MC could decide whether to reveal they saw Vince mess with the controls and that’d sway the opinions of the jury house and affect whether or not they’d listen to him. But of course that’s not what happened. This is Choices so consequences are only every applied to the MC. 

 - This “dating Jen” drama should’ve been done in full back in B1, but only for players actually romancing Jen. No offence to the other LIs, but Jen was the most appealing. Having a forbidden romance with one of the producers? Narrowly avoiding getting caught and risking your chance of staying on the show? It’s way more interesting that Adam/Mackenzie all of a sudden falling for MC just because. We know PB has the coding power. They could’ve and should’ve done it If they’re gonna have multiple endings for RoD, of all books, then they should commit to a standard for their books and should’ve coded AME A LOT better. Hell, they should’ve just outlined the whole series better, but we ended up with… this.

 - Also they need to do something with Mack’s backstory… her family is poor? She wants the prize money to put her sister through college. And yet she ONLY ever sabotaged Ryder then fell in love with MC and did nothing dirty for the rest of both seasons. If they weren’t gonna make Ivy a complicated rival character, they should’ve just cut Ivy all together and given that storyline to Mack. This is mostly a B1 complaint, but it follows through to B2 because they don’t commit with Ivy and don’t do much  with Mack. They introduce her family, which was interesting, but idk she lost a lot of appeal for me in B1 when she fell head over heals for my MC for no reason. Mackenzie’s route had “slow burn” written all over it, but they neglected her. Either Mack should’ve been the rival LI or they should’ve cut her and made Adam fully customizable (like Hayden) then have Ivy fill the role of second female LI.

- Again with Mack… her complaining about cheating is really funny and kinda OOC. Like I mentioned before, she literally sabotaged Ryder because he was a jerk and she wanted to win. Did the writers forget about that? This was just one of several points that shows the writers did not care about their own story and characters. 

 - Also they needed to do something? … anything… with Derek. Poor man, he’s the only LI who gets how this show is played. He deserves better. I don’t talk about Derek much, but I honestly love this man. He’s just dull. He needs… anything. Give him anything. Like the only significant storyline they gave him, that I can remember, is his show-mance with Ivy and that was more Ivy’s storyline than his.

 - And Bianca being friend-zoned despite PB bringing her back. Really? PB must know a lot of fans like her. At the very least a lot of tumblr fans. Idk why they wouldn’t want to capitalize on that. Did they really think it wasn’t a good idea to give her a few diamond scenes? Did neglecting her again make them more money? So instead of giving Bianca… literally anything, they give Slater, a completely new character, a couple of diamond scenes and let players be a little flirty with him. 

 - Having Eden/Heath and Kiara getting into an accident was a good twist, I was genuinely worried about them, but I gotta laugh that it took them both out of the competition. I mean, it makes sense. They were seriously injured. Realistically, they wouldn’t be able to compete, but their elimination brought the final 6 to MC, the LIs, Vince, and Ivy/Slater. Determinant 5 of 6 contestants are from S10 and one has been in 3 seasons, 2 of which he quit. That’s so dumb. Like… were there ANY in-universe fans who saw this and thought this show was rigged? I mean, more than fans normally would about reality shows?

 - How did Mack, Adam, and Derek even get on this show? At first I thought MC was surrounded by celebrities. Bianca was a model, Han was an athlete, Ryder was a pop star, etc etc. I assumed everyone else were celebutantes or something and MC was the odd one out who got lucky when they stumbled across Whitney and Jen. But nah, Mack and Adam (and I think Derek too) are just college students who applied for the show to pay for tuition??? If they’re not famous or didn’t come from fame, why did Piper invite them to compete in the first place? What was so special about them that drew her attention. This is a minor complaint, but it’s just weird to see each of the LIs come from regular families like MC. Not that what we got was bad, but like… did they win a contest or something? What’s the deal? Idk if it’s in a diamond scene I didn’t pay for, but it really should be a free piece of characterization. It would’ve made me care more about the LIs and make them more memorable. 

 - Does anyone think the friendship/ally status does anything besides determine who votes for who at the end of the season? Why would they implement the friendship meter from ES if they don’t use it for alternate dialogue? Because they know most of the characters won’t be in the next book? Probably, but still. I can’t tell if Adam hating MC is any different then Adam being MC’s ally besides him voting for them at the end of S10, but even then, that doesn’t make sense because he has ample reason to not vote for Ivy. And yet he still votes for Ivy if he’s anything lower than ally. Again, mostly a b1 complaint.

 - Someone had a great idea (I forget who, but please message me) that the LIs should be an auto vote and for the rest, whether or not they vote for your should be based on a percentage. The higher the relationship status, the higher the chance. Friends being 75%, neutral being 50% or lower, dislike/hate somewhere around 20 -15%. As an idea.

And that’s the major ones, I’m sure there are more other people can tack on.