#not really spoilers cause this scene was in Kings Tide too

[akozuheiwa]

“Hey, Dad. I’m back.”

Now that I’ve figured out who’s who in this AU I had to do another redraw. Also to cope with “Thanks to Them” because I’m still SUFFERING.

Anyway, featuring from left to right, Aja as Willow, my OC Alex as Amity, Douxie as Luz, Krel as Gus, and Steve as Hunter!

[eggelette]

Simplicity and One Piece

So recently, I’ve completely caught up to the One Piece Manga. I usually take a year or two sabbatical (while keeping my eye out on spoilers), to let the story continue and so I can binge it one fell swoop. So before we embark on the “final arc” I’ve decided to articulate some of my thoughts:

I think One Piece has become too complex, where it functions fantastically when it executes its simplicity well. I hope that in the ending it goes back to its simplicity.

Spoilers from all of One Piece here on out.

World-Building: One of my favourite parts of one piece is how many forces are at play, from pirates, the world government, the marines and the revolutionaries, and all the different individuals without those collectives based on the information that is built. However, One Piece is at a peak when these forces effect each other naturally and logically- Nico Robin can read poneglyphs, thus she is a threat to world government, thus her capture is a top priority, thus she is captured (willingly due to the impact of the world government on her mistrustful character), and then she escapes. All of the forces are acting at their utmost. However, with the revelation that the gomu-gomu fruit is actually the Sun God Nika, it throws into question these forces. If the world-government knew it had resurfaced, why didn’t they send out the Admirals to take care of Luffy there and then? It makes the world government look stupid and incompetent, they hunted . By complicating the nature of the gomu-gomu fruit it makes the plot more convoluted. Even the Luffy is JoyBoy revelation, it questions the simplicity of Luffy’s charisma and personality as his greatest power, is it because of who he is or because of the Sun-God Nika fruit? Rather than remove the Joy Boy aspect, I think it would be more simple to compare the two. To compare Luffy’s drive and selfishly selfless nature to JoyBoy, rather than making him actually a reincarnation. This could still work with Gear Five, as it is the extent of the rubber-rubber fruit is to make the world around him into rubber, and still have those cartoonish fights (I really like them).

(Really minor gripe I have is that the straw-hats bounties after Wano refer to them as the “Nine Commanders of the Straw-hats” Yet Chopper is considered a “pet”? how is a pet a commander world government ? If the explanation is that Luffy is a commander too I simply call it as cap) 

Character: Another gripe I have with One Piece recently is that when characters say they’ll do something, recently they don’t do it. A lot of telling with no showing. Zoro says he’s going to fight Orochi for what he did with the smiles? Why didn’t he? Zoro said he’s going to visit Ryuma’s grave. Why doesn’t he? Even further than specifically Wano, the core of the Stawhats is that they have their own dreams and their dreams all align together with the dream of Luffy being pirate king. Why don’t we see Nami drawing the map of the world? Her endeavours could easily become catalyst of conflict especially in secretive territory, such as drawing a map and realising the blank space between Wano and its height and figuring out that there was something underneath. Why did Usopp not get any meaningful fight scenes in Wano to show him becoming a brave warrior of the sea? Like for instance when Kaido called Luffy’s “death”, we could have gotten Usopp’s courage to inspire the rest to live with their dreams. Showing the characters being characters, through their successes and failures is better than telling us about them. Even my man Chopper, whose dream is to cure every disease, isn’t shown to be making an active effort to cure the adverse effects of the Smile Fruit? Perhaps, he discovers something crazy which causes the tides to turn in the conflict against the Beast Pirates, rather than Tama who is more useful in Wano that the coward trio, members of the Straw Hats themselves.

Fight Scenes: I love LOVE love One Piece for its fights. It’s so exciting, but I think they excel when there’s this simplicity to it. Luffy beats Crocodile because he coats his fist with his own blood, Enel because he’s made of rubber, Lucci because his friends are on the line and it was SO close, Oars he beats because he has his crew fighting alongside him. Yet the most memorable moments aren’t the entire fight sequence but only one moment. From stopping Doflamingo kicking Law with his own foot, an action to protect a friend, and the best the BEST is when he rocks up to the celestial dragon and punching his face so hard it turns it back into the manga, out of revenge. Thus when there is no pivotal simple moment, the fight scene blurs together. Beating Kaido, my favourite scene is when Luffy reaches down and fucking grabs this dude. Yet it continues for way too long. There are too many cool simple scenes that they reduce their overall impact due to their frequency. Less is more, in my opinion. For all the time dedicated to Nine Scabbards talking about bringing Kaido down, they didn’t succeed or fail. If they succeeded, to bring him to his knees but failed in the end it would make Luffy carrying Wano on his back much more devastating, rather than living. If they failed in the beginning and died, it would have the same devastating impact. I know the scene of their return from the Onigashima was cool, but they could have still fooled the capital by maybe sending the nine strawhats disguised as the nine scabbards. Perhaps some of them live.

Death: This brings me to next point, of how the complexity and gymnastic involved with avoiding death cheapens the plot and its characters. I thought Orochi died like four times before he actually died, making his eventual death less impactful. It also cheapens the nine scabbards competency as samurai that they couldn’t bring Kaido down, it threatens Kaido’s presence as the villain if he couldn’t kill someone. It also raises the stakes of Wano as an arc. Kaido should have killed Kinemon, who we as readers spent several arcs with. Even Zoro, who faces the grim reaper (possibly Enma or death itself), there are no repercussions of his closeness to death or his inability to control his sword. Like with Thriller Bark, Zoro was put out of commission due to taking so much pain, unable to awake in the celebration and rendering him unable to fight in Saboady yet he awoke seven days after in Wano? Why not keep him unconscious, perhaps in a state of continued haki to stay alive or to appease his sword? Perhaps his deal with Enma or death is that when he completes goal he dies on the spot, it’s only his Haki keeping him alive, conquering death and/or conquering Enma? It would show us a fantastic setup for his eventual duel with Mihawk. Rather than show us the flashback, give us the worrying and the concern, the anxiety of reading the manga each time he lies his life on the line, of knowing why he collapses after winning. The grief rather than the celebration of the bittersweet moment.

Visuals: They are too cluttered and difficult to read most of the time, compared to earlier scenes.

I think One Piece still does the simplicity of these elements extremely really well at times, from set-up of SMILES and their failure resulting in the laughter of Ebisu, the aftereffects of Sanji’s character due to Whole Cake Island, Nico Robin going full demon mode, Momo growing old due to Shinobu’s ripe-ripe fruit, enabling him to be an adult dragon, even the fanservice bath scenes confirming Yamato and Kiku as a transgender man and woman respectively. I still love One Piece, but I really really hope it keeps the simplicity and its perfect execution, which makes it what made fifteen year old me go crazy for it.

Thanks for reading my take!

[enigma-im]

Kindle Unlimited Recommendation

Dark Planet Warriors Series

Warning: Gore, violence, some situation of wrongful touching

Summary:

8 stories. The series begins with a bug infestation on the mining station outside of earth. A species called Kordolians are there to be the exterminators. After a meeting with a strange human our primary story kicks off while the bug story plays in background in some stories while being the main focus for several books. The consistent story for the other 8 books is a romance between the aliens and humans that results in a war for purity.

Person thoughts:

Great fuckin series. Almost every book has a different couple with only the very first couple being the focus several other times. First book is fantastic, especially the first sex scene. Its so good. The next few focus on the bug infestation till its dealt with then it gets back to the war. Don't skip them though, Riker is a treat that deserves to be acknowledged. My favorite one of this amazing series is Infinity's Embrace. That book has some dope characters. Electric Heart is my least favorite because it's like a real bad Watch Dogs (video game).

Rating: 9/10

Books:

Dark Planet Warriors

Dark planet Falling

Into the Light

Out of Darkness

Forged in Shadow

Infinity's Embrace

Electric Heart

Brilliant Starlight

Office Alien Series

Warning: Awkwardness, drug use, kidnapping (kind of)

Summary:

Three books about an office relationship with three different aliens. Each alien goes through the venture of courting a human woman. All of them succeed on confusing then educating these people on their culture. All the aliens come from the same planet that has been ravaged by a tough alien species that try to wipe them out with their superior technology. That isn't a plot point, its just an explanation. Each story shows the struggles of cultural differences and how education and understanding can help make the world a better place.

Person thoughts:

I adore this series. One book in this series actually got a perfect score from me, which is strange cause I'm a tough grader. The first book has a super awkward lad who just seems to hate everyone. Its really cute and I like them both though their relationship is filled with cringe. The second book I didn't much care for. The main love dude was kind of an idiot and was too blinded by acceptance to be a reasonable thinking alien. Still decent but Its not my cup of tea. The last one- sweet jesus- was amazing. It has a ‘my cousin Vinny’ vibe with their relationship where they fight often but its like their form of foreplay. So good. There is another series that’s super short that takes place 1 year later for each story. Totally worth a read after you read the series.

Rating: 8/10

Books:

The E.T. Guy

The New Guy

The Security Guy

(Christmas special)

Kraving Khiva

Warning: Sex workers, forced prostitution, abuse

Summary:

Eve is a virgin who is fed up with it. After her father's death she has been ghosting by in life with her best friend. After said friend points out a brothel of some interesting aliens she decides to give the place a try to finally rid herself of her virginity. After just one night she keeps coming back, falling for the sex worker. Romance ensues with lots of strife and abuse to keep the two from their HEA.

Personal Thoughts:

Man, this story represents everything I love in a story. Tons of fluff. It was a really good slow burn that I didn’t expect from a story about a prostitute. The cover gives the illusion of a typical middle aged mother romance - which I guess it is- but it has so much more. I only had one problem with the story, the ending. I felt they could have given more information but they just glossed over it. Besides that, hot book. The second one is really boring, just a slice of life that I couldn't get into.

Rating: 9/10

Books:

Kraving Khiva

Prince of Firestone

The Queen's Ransom

Warning: Near death situations, a lot of near death situations, gore

Summary:

432 pages. Long book. Jalia enters into a competition to win a great prize. The interest of great fortune is too much for her to pass up. Little does she know the treachery the competition hides or the actual prize. The king of Minotaurs is hosting an event to test the strength, endurance, and intelligence of potential wives. In a culture that values strength they refuse to accept a queen who hasn't been tried. Genius Jalia goes through challenge after challenge, nearly dying about every chapter while catching the attention of a charming king.

Personal Thoughts:

I generally don't have the patience for long books but this one never dragged on. Every chapter was captivating and riveting. The challenges were interesting and Jalia's solutions were pretty genius. The relationship between the king and her is pretty grand, I adore them greatly. My only problem with the book is all the potty humor and insults. She was a genius but her insults left much to be desired. Once her biggest annoyance is no longer in the picture does that kind of stuff end.

Rating: 9/10

Book:

The Queen's Ransom

The Kraken

Warning: Gore, racism, attempts of suicide(only 1 book), sassy AI

Summary:

A mysterious creature has lived in the ocean long ago, since the beginning of the settlement on this planet. After a nearly drowning woman is saved a series kicks off. Each book has a different relationship of humans and Krakens. Every book tells the story of how the krakens go from living in isolation at the bottom of the ocean to breeding with humans.

Personal thoughts:

When I first read this story I was just getting into monster romance. The love interests have fairly human tops but hella tentacle bottoms. So I was a little off-put by it but as I read on I didn’t care. The first one is pretty good for a start. The second one was decent, I didn’t really care for it. I actually skipped the 3rd one my first go around. Which is fine, it doesn't add too much and its short. Its still worth a read. The 4th one, fucking grand. 5th one? My all time favorite of the series! If you don't want to read them all at least read the 5th one. Like ask me for story details and I'll give you a cliff note for what's mentioned in that story then you can read in peace. 6th was ok, love the sassy AI. I didn't read the 7th one. Its two old people and I just can't

Rating: 8/10

Books:

Treasure Abyss

Jewel of the Sea

Hunter of the Tide

Heart of the Deep

Rising from the Depth

Fallen from the Stars

Lover from the Waves

Escaping Wonderland

Warning: Sexual assault, gore, lots of sexual stuff

Summary:

Alice is wrongfully placed in a psych ward that specializes in simulation therapy. She is placed in a pod then taken to the world of wonderland. This twisted version of the children's classic introduces a rapey mad hater and manipulative Red King. The main love interest is a playful lad who has more control of the simulation than most. The two run from the clutches of the Red King while trying to escape the simulation.

Personal thoughts:

I had very low hopes for this story. I didn't expect it to be as good as it was. It was a twist on the beloved movie and book. Everything was rapey and creepy and I weirdly loved it. Of course nothing too terrible happened to the main lady so it made those situations more tolerable but only just. I adore the main dude, shadow. He was a playful little mischief maker and I would die for him. What made this book better for me was when everything hit the fan they didn't rid him of his sassy personality. Most books make the cocky, silly, playful personality as something that is bad and needs to change. This one they didn’t and kept it. So good.

Rating: 9/10

Books:

Escaping Wonderland

Infinity City

Warning: Abuse, gore, sexual assault, dope ass fighting

Summary:

A city where criminals are more in control than most people think. Each book takes the reader through different adventure of different people. All having the similarity of protecting the ones they love. The first is of an assassin protecting the only woman who has made him feel so strongly. The second is with a mob boss hacker who grows fond of a shy human. The third is the second in command of the mob boss hacker who finds a pregnant woman in a menagerie and discovers she is his mate. Fourth is one of the workers of the mob boss's security team who gets taken by some slavers along with a woman he was entertaining for the night.

Personal thoughts:

First book sucked. He was obsessives and pretty much took all her choices. It wasn't till the end that he was like "my bad, you can leave if you want". Bleh. Second book was fan-fucking-tastic. Arc is a charming idiot with an amazing backstory. I didn't like the girl in the beginning but she grew on me. I love that he focuses on her but still pays attention to work and his 'family'. The third was surprisingly good. I generally don't like stories where someone is pregnant because they get boring. This one was not that. She was never a hindrance or weak, she was a badass. With her big kitty man they made an amazing duo. Also any scenes with her man and the baby made me tear up. He was so sweet. Fourth was boring, it reminds me too much of a lot of other stories.

Rating: 8/10

Books:

Silent lucidity

Shielded hearts

Untamed Hunger

Savage Desire

------------------------------------------

While people watch TV or Youtube in their free time, I read. I have such a weird organization with everything i read because i tend to reread stories and forget i read them. the entire time i read it im like “have i read this before?”. so for books i write them down, rate them, then review them. i didn’t post the reviews here because it would be so many spoilers. Also i sort my favorite fanfics by fandom then relationship. i read so fucking much, its a problem at this point.

If you liked this recommendation drop a like, reblog, or reply. i will perhaps do another if you all like this. i have read so many books and i can post some decent ones and some god awful ones. perhaps you all can tell me how wrong my thoughts are on the ones i deem terrible. i think we will probably agree, ‘free’ books tend to have lower standards.

[softcoregamer]

DRAGON QUEST XI S: ECHOES OF AN ELUSIVE AGE - DEFINITIVE EDITION

I've never played a Dragon Quest game before, so all I had to go on with this game was the pretty looking graphics and charming character art by the Dragonball guy, which- combined with having a hankering for a JRPG, a genre I haven't played since probably the Digital Devil Saga games (minus an abandoned most-of-the-way-done playthrough of SMT3 and a partial of one of the Megadimension Neptunias) was enough to sell me on it. I'm having a tough time determining if it was worth it.

(spoilers)

The story starts off very weak. Your glowing hand marks you as the chosen one, you have to collect glowing orbs to defeat the dark lord. It's like the story of a generic videogame you'd see in the background of a movie. They do throw in a little novelty to keep you on your toes- you present yourself to the king and he throws you in the dungeon, you go back to your hometown and travel back in time for some reason- but I really never warmed to the setting. It's just a collection of cliches and cute gimmicks, like the town of people who speak in haikus, the town of people who speak in rhyming couplets (you're stuck with these people for the bulk of the exposition at the start of act 2, which is a nightmare) and the town of- ugh- Italians. There's no sense of these places being places. It's just a nice pleasant fairytale kingdom of the kind that's normally mentioned in Snow White or whatever as the place the handsome prince comes from, except here you spend dozens of hours trudging through it looking for glowing tree roots and orbs. The big problem in Gallopolis is that the sultan's son isn't brave enough for god's sake. Acts 2 and 3 pick things up, and there's some neat reveals- I like that the lil red star you've been seeing in the sky right from the start was the stain of the original hero's failure to slay the villain, literally hanging over the entire setting all this time. Also the annoying act 1 scene where you get handed the name of the villain and an orb quest in an exposition dump is retroactively improved by the fact that the exposition isn't quite correct. Act 3 reintroducing time travel and actually being thoughtful about it was welcome as well, but sadly that has the effect of making you redo story points you already did since, logically, you're back in time to where you haven't done them yet. Sometimes this comes across as getting a do-over to get a more positive outcome for something that previously ended more tragically, in keeping with the way time travel is explained in-universe as essentially reloading an earlier save (and, as revealed in the end, continuing in a separate save slot). The 8th party member's act 3 quest is a standout here. In reading discussion of the game I've seen people insist on referring to this character as 8, presumably to preserve the plot twist of his existence, so I guess I'll do it too. But more often than not, act 3 quests consist of just doing the same stuff as act 2 again, in a somewhat more curt manner. This sticks in the craw after so much of act 2 already consisted of just doing the same stuff as act 1 again. The party members aren't much better, for the most part. The first three people you meet all say "ah, you're the Luminary, I was sent to help you" and there isn't much to them beyond that for a long time. Sylvando has a lot of personality, which is probably partly why he's become the game's big meme character, but it gets grating and he is insanely trite. The Dark Lord takes over the world and purges the unclean, and Sylvando's overriding concern is that he wants people to laugh and smile more. It's like he takes advantage of the fact that I need him for his boat to get my goat by acting like a fucking teletubby. Things pick way up when you meet Rab, and the 8th party member is genuinely really good. Even the early-game party members end up having their moments (Erik's backstory was pretty fun) but the game really doesn't put its best foot forward with these characters. Not that it needs to; for the first few I was just glad to be getting some help in combat. The combat is excellent in this game, when it gets going. I played with the "draconian quest" tougher enemies mode on, and I turned it off right at the act 2 end boss. The difficulty curve flowed really well this way, with act 3 enemies not feeling noticeably less tough than "draconian" act 2 enemies. The abilities and spells you get are carefully balanced so that it's very difficult to put together a perfect 4-person party, you're always missing something. This means the fact that you can change your line-up midfight isn't just a nice quality of life feature, it's a potentially vital mechanic. They tread a fine line where sometimes needing to swap people out during the battle doesn't mean the characters themselves feel useless; everyone is capable of some extremely tough stuff. And on the other end of the scale, enemy damage is heavy enough that buffing your attack and using big-damage abilities vs healing or defending can be a properly difficult choice; a heavy hit or a big heal at the right time can turn the tide of an entire battle, as can your big hitter suddenly getting put to sleep or your healer getting knocked out. Again, this is all with the caveat that I had "draconian quest" on for the first 2/3 of the game, from what I've heard combat without it is insanely easy. My big gripe with the combat is that there's very little in the way of tooltips. What's this enemy's magic resistance? Does my Sap have a better chance of landing if I up my Magical Might, or does that just increase spell damage? Does Oomphle affect Quadraslash? If I increase my agility will it go up by enough that I can take my turn ahead of these enemies? Does agility even do that? Does using abilities and spells mean I go later in the turn order vs generic attacks and defending? You just have to guess at all this; the wiki has some info on enemy stats but I don't know where they're getting it from other than datamining. There's an entire bestiary with almost no useful information which is functionally just a model viewer for all 700+ enemies. The only way to know anything is to experiment, which I guess at least adds some purpose to combat when you've filled out the bestiary for an area but still have to grid encounters- which will be required at some point, because fighting is the only way you get xp and money. There is also too much RNG. Critical hits being rare and certain attacks having a chance to cause Confusion or whatever is fine (although I'd prefer for attacks which are labelled as having a chance to inflict status effects to actually inflict the status effect way more often than they do) but why the fuck does the resurrection spell have a 50% success rate? Under what possible circumstances would I be using that spell other than needing my dead teammate back right now? Same for all the abilities on the skill tree that say "doesn't connect very often, but when it does it can cause a critical hit" OK that "CAN" is telling me that this ability which doesn't often connect won't even necessarily crit if it does. Why would I choose this ability? To handicap myself? How is this going to help me defeat the Timewyrm? All that said, when the combat is good it's really good, and whenever I lose a fight I'm thinking "I can win that next time if I do XYZ". The 2D battles are much less fun because the pace is much slower and there are no cute animations to liven it up, but it's always satisfying when the "flash" of an enemy taking damage becomes the "flash" of them disappearing, and you know you have slayed yet another blob. Non-combat gameplay is a mixed bag. The early-game fun of running around looking for new enemies to fight and fill out the bestiary wears off hard once act 2 begins and everything is either a reskin or a glowing-eyes "vicious" version of something you've already fought, and many maps are fairly sparse with just the odd treasure chest and locked door to liven up your path to the next area. That said, there are also several areas and dungeons which make a minigame out of traversing them; the Eerie Eyrie and the Battleground were standouts for me. Especially the remixed version of Eerie Eyrie you go to later on, where you get a flying mount to ride around. Crafting is surprisingly involved, with a whole minigame around it and hundreds of recipes to find all over the place. In most cases you can just use money in lieu of ingredients, which means minimal farming is required to get a lot out of the system, and the recipes with ingredients that can't be bought feel special instead of bullshit. In terms of items and recipes there really is a deluge of content- there are recipe books all over the place, with new ones available even in the last couple of maps that open up in the entire game, and there's an undeniable cookie-clicker rush you get from getting better at crafting and taking something you could barely get to +1 all the way to +3. I play games like this as a magpie, accumulating items with nice pictures and effects that make me do a 😲 face, and DQ11 certainly delivers. This even extends to character advancement, with Hidden Goodies incentivizing picking skills you might not want otherwise, and entire new skill trees opening up as quest rewards.

Overall, DQ11 is a good combat system with loot and progression systems that are well-executed enough to feel rewarding after 100 hours, all wrapped up in a style and tone that is not up my alley at all. A good litmus test for how much you'd like the game is probably: watch this scene and if you think it's the most epic thing you've ever seen then Dragon Quest 11 is for you.

[violaswimmer]

Hopes for TDP Season 4

Yo! For those of you who don’t know I love the Dragon Prince on Netflix, I’m a huge fan of the show especially of this past season! There was so much that happened (Spoilers btw) and I have so much I want to see in season 4/future seasons! So here we go, some things I hope to see in season 4!

1. Rayla trying to understand and overcome taking a life. Whether we want to admit it or not, Rayla did kill Viren (even if he was brought back to life later). It was somewhat indirect, since Rayla tossed both of them over the tower’s edge. But she probably knew that it would be very unlike for either of them to survive, no matter how powerful Viren had become. I don’t think she will regret her actions, but I think she still feel the guilt of ending someone’s life. Especially knowing that Viren is Soren (now an ally, yay!) and Claudia’s father. 

Also that introduces a new dynamic between Soren and Rayla, who now that they are allies, will probably begin to develop some sort of friendship (hopefully). Soren would have taken his father’s life to stop him, and killed his illusion in front of Claudia without hesitation. Rayla however, actually did kill him. It will be interesting to see how that may help or hinder whatever relationship they will form. It could be that Soren will learn to respect her greatly, knowing that she will do the right thing no matter what (killing Viren to save Zym, knowing that her own life would be in danger). But he could also still view her as his father’s murderer as he deals with his own guilt at attacking his illusion. 

2. Our heroes meet the real threat, Aaravos. Everyone will know that something is up when they can’t locate Viren’s body at the bottom of the tower. I think the search for him will be spearheaded by Amaya who never trusted him and knows the danger he posses and Rayla who would want to retrieve the bag filled with coins, knowing that the bag somehow contains a collection of Moonshadow elves. Something big will definitely happen when Aaravos breaks free of his cocoon. I’m also sure that the Dragon Queen will grow concerned when she hears of the battle and someone describes to her the giant purple worm hanging onto Viren. I’m sure that will begin to jog her memory and our heroes will be introduced to the true villain of the series. 

Viren and Claudia will also be in trouble, the tide has turned and when the cocoon breaks, it’s likely that Viren will not be in control anymore. Aaravos will become the master and promise Viren (and by extension Claudia) what they want, the destruction of Xadia. Claudia may also turn towards the dark side even further, at the loss of her brother choosing Xadia over their family and at Rayla if she is to find out that Rayla was the one who sent Viren to his death. Rayla can also be blamed (at least by Claudia) for the reason that Ezran and Callum no longer trust her, and honestly being the source of the beginning to all of this. Rayla could easily become the object of her anger. 

3. Ezran becoming king, for real this time. Ezran came back to his thrown too early, being a bit naive in his attempts to be king of Katolis. I think he had good intentions which will translate to his true rule and I hope he maintains his ideals for peace having quite literally been the one (along with Callum and Rayla) to forge it. The new threat of Aaravos’s return will shake the unstable foundation of that peace, as a human (Viren) was the one to bring him back. With his new allies, and the battle solidifying his intent as king to maintain peace, Ezran will be the great child-king of Katolis. 

4. Callum and Rayla going on another journey. The Aaravos threat means that the world is going to need all the help it can get! As Ezran sits on the thrown, these two go on a journey to find answers while Callum learns more magic and Rayla helps him while maintain his safety as well as finding out what they can about Aaravos. We think that Callum is the only human to ever understand an arcanum, but perhaps he isn’t the only one. We will also hopefully see what exactly Aaravos did to deserve his imprisonment aside from using dark magic. 

5. Soren and Claudia solidifying sides. We saw Soren and Claudia make some pretty big decisions this past season. Soren knowing what wrong looks like and deciding to join the fight against his father and Claudia trying to please choosing to stay with Viren. Though this one fight did cause some big decisions it doesn’t mean that either of them won’t choose different sides later on. I think eventually everyone will be on the same side (at least briefly) when Aaravos comes into full power. He may try to manipulate Claudia and Viren into following him for a time, but I would find it hard to believe that either of them would allow themselves to be subjugated to him for too long. 

Although I love Claudia’s character, I think she’s going down a road that she can’t come back from (especially bringing her father back, presumably by sacrificing another life, and it probably isn’t another deer). She has consistently shown that she can’t adapt to the idea of elves not being monsters, and that her father may not be the person she thinks he is. He has seemed to treat her kindly (not always but better than he treated Soren) but manipulates her constantly. Making her believe that Soren is a fool (he can be but that doesn’t mean he is a fool, he has his great moments). She also seems to take his word as gospel, never challenging him even when Soren whom she cares for deeply, tried to tell her about the order to assassinate the princes. 

Soren on the other hand has to deal with losing both his sister and his father. Also he has to sit with the fact that when the moment counted, he chose to protect his king and was willing to kill (or severely injure) his father in order to do it. This is something that he will feel guilty over but I don’t think he will regret his actions. He gave every warning to illusion Viren that he wouldn’t stand by as Ezran was killed. That scene is pretty spot on in terms of Soren and Viren’s relationship. Viren has had every chance to be a better father to Soren and for some reason refuses to. He constantly demeans him and underestimates him, favoring Claudia much more. It’s hard to tell when Viren started treating Soren this way, since when their parents split it seemed like Soren liked his father a great deal, enough to want to stay with him instead of going with his mother. I also hope we get to hear about Claudia and Soren’s mother, what is her name and where did she go? It would be neat if Soren met with her again, and we got to see the opposite of the divorce. Soren with his mother and Claudia with her father. 

I’d also like to see Soren begin to learn his true value with his new group. Instead of having his ideas dismissed or mocked I’d like to see him become a really force of good will, seeing that he truly made the right decision by leaving his father. I want to see him develop more into a warrior and leader. 

6. Continuation of relationships development both romantic and platonic. Rayllum anyone? Yes, thank you for this blessing. Janai and Amaya? Beautiful, amazing, love it! Runaan and Ethari, so so good! I hope to see these relationship develop along with new friendships! Soren and Rayla, Soren and Ezran, Amaya and Rayla, so on and so forth! I hope we also get to learn even more about these character pasts, and see them grow as they encounter new challenges!

I think that might be it? For now at least! Let me know your thoughts on the season and what you hope to see next! 

[backtothestart02]

Fallen Star - Chapter 2

For anyone who doesn’t remember the general premise of the story...

S3 - Iris ignoring the threat of danger in pursuit of her stories drives Barry to his limit. Can the two acknowledge their stubborn streaks and forge a compromise? Or is their relationship not strong enough to resolve the tension rising between them?

This presumably takes place sometime after Barry and Iris have become a couple, ignoring any specific timeframe of end-of-the-world crossovers, moving in, or impending ILYs and first time sex spoilers that have been floating around (or a future where Iris’s death has been seen). It is inspired solely from the speculation of this type of struggle arising at some point, which was inspired in and of itself by Zack Stentz (a writer from the show, if anyone is unaware) vaguely alluding to it happening later in the season.

*Many thanks to my wonderful, patient, extremely helpful beta, @valeriemperez. She’s a lifesaver. <3

Christmas 2016.

They were supposed to be together this year.

Last year he’d been with Patty. The year before Iris had been with Eddie.

This year it was supposed to be them.

He’d waited all his life to be with Iris West. To be with her until they were both old and gray. To have it end just shy of their seven-month anniversary, and on Christmas Eve no less, felt like a cruel and unusual punishment.

But Barry had chosen it. He had chosen Iris’s safety over his panic and her happiness. Now he was going to spend Christmas alone.

“No, Joe,” he told him over the phone, not bothering to hide the weariness in his voice. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to come over this year.”

“It’s Christmas, Bear,” the older man insisted. “You guys can stop fighting for one evening, can’t you?”

“We’re not just fighting. We broke up.”

Silence hung in the air.

“Look, Joe, you and Iris didn’t speak for what - six months at least? Now, I don’t know, but I assume that means you didn’t spend Christmas together last year. You should have that chance.”

“Bear-”

“No, Joe.” He sighed. “I know you want both of us there and you want us to be happy, but…I really think this is the best way to do things for right now. You can always stop by later if you want to say hey. I’m sure Cisco will too.”

Joe’s shallow breathing could be heard, but that was it.

“Look, I gotta go…do stuff.” He didn’t know what. He’d planned to spend the whole morning being lazy and affectionate and generous with Iris. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said. “Merry Christmas.”

Joe still didn’t say anything, but Barry hung up anyway. It was getting too painful.

He tossed his phone to the side and looked up at the lit up Christmas tree that was only half-decorated with ornaments. (Iris had insisted he let her do those. “You can’t rush Christmas decorations!” she’d said & he’d let her be with a good-natured chuckle.)

He didn’t know if he’d even bother himself with finishing putting them on the tree. It’d feel like ignoring the fact that Iris was gone. Yet leaving it undone was a reminder of what had happened.

He and Iris were through.

…

 Laughter could be heard from down the hall. Two voices. A man and a woman’s. The woman’s definitely belonged to Iris, but Barry couldn’t make out who the man she was laughing with was. For some reason his need to know who it was overpowered any and all logic that tried to thwart him.

He tossed aside the light blanket onto the couch and started down the hall. The laughter ceased at some points, causing him to stall, but it always started up again; and with it, Barry’s unquenchable thirst to see what was so funny and what kind of man could make his girlfriend laugh like that.

Every step seemed to take him farther away from where they were. It was at that moment it dawned on him he might be dreaming.

He shook his head, pinched himself, tried to speed away – but couldn’t. Terror gripped him. He could feel sweat dripping down his neck. And right at that moment, the laughter turned unbearably loud and he was suddenly standing outside the room of its origin.

He pushed open the door that was cracked open and stepped inside. First, all he saw was an old record player. Relief washed over him briefly when it became clear that’s where the sound had been coming from. It also explained why it might have occasionally stopped. But only if someone had stopped it, or if it had been listened to so many times that it skipped.

But who would do that?

Barry lifted the tone arm up slightly and to the side, so the record would stop playing. There was silence for a moment, and he thought maybe he would get lucky enough to wake up.

But then another sound reached his ear from the opposite side of the room. He sensed movement and followed it with a turn.

There, suddenly before him, was a king-sized bed. And intertwined in each other beneath the sheets was Iris and her dearly departed, Eddie Thawne.

Barry caught his breath.

“I’m dreaming. I have to be dreaming.”

The vision of Iris before him caught his gaze and he couldn’t look away.

“Oh, but you’re not.”

She peeled back the silk sheet she’d been twisting beneath and walked toward him. Barry was aware of Eddie staring after her hungrily and felt a tide of nausea sweep over him.

“I am,” Barry repeated, as if it would help trying to convince the dream versions of Iris and Eddie to believe anything his subconscious didn’t want them to. “I’m, he’s—”

He started to look towards the bed, but Eddie was no longer there. His brows furrowed, wanting to find logic in the confusing scene before him, but then Iris’s hand was on his face, turning him gently to look at her.

“Kiss me, Barry,” she whispered.

Her voice was a siren’s song. It beckoned him and washed all reason from its shaky place in the mind of his dream world.

He hesitated a little, but when her hand curled around his neck, sifting through the hairs at the base of it, his lips descended on hers. He kissed her, urgently, passionately, desperately, and with tears because it wasn’t real yet he needed it. He needed one last kiss from Iris West.

Without warning, the pressure of her lips was gone. The feeling of her arms wrapped around his was gone. Her body flush up tightly against his was gone.

He opened his eyes and saw her near the head of the bed. Eddie was back under the covers again, waiting for Iris to return to him.

“Iris?” Barry breathed.

She put her hand in Eddie’s and set one knee on the edge of the bed.

“You ended things, Barry. You did this.”

Barry swallowed hard and watched as the love of his life crawled into bed with her former lover. He watched as she kissed him and wrapped herself around him.

“Eddie’s dead,” he managed, though he could barely force the word out. “This isn’t real.”

Iris broke away from the kiss and turned to look at him over her shoulder.

“He’s just a stand-in,” she said simply with a shrug.

Before the words left her mouth the vision of Eddie turned to Cisco. Barry coughed and tears welled in his eyes.

“Cisco?” he asked incredulously. He could hardly breathe.

The vision changed again, this time to Julian.

“Julian?” Barry’s eyes widened, horrified as Iris stroked Julian’s hair. He saw her dip her hand beneath the sheets and golower. The look of ecstasy on Julian’s face was enough to tell him what was happening.

“No.” Barry shut his eyes tightly and turned away from the scene. “No, no, no. This isn’t real. Cisco wouldn’t do that to me. Julian has a girlfriend. And he wouldn’t be that petty. I don’t think. I don’t know. You wouldn’t. I-”

Her presence appeared before him again, making his eyes flash open.

“Wouldn’t I? You asked for this when you broke up with me, when you had no objection to seeing me move on with someone else. It may not be your best friend or your nemesis, but there are plenty of fish in the sea. I will scoop up one of them.”

He felt the air being sucked from his lungs at that statement, but before he could respond she faded away again. He turned around and found the room empty and cold. No Iris, no Eddie, no Cisco, no bed, no sheets, no record player, no record. Just emptiness.

Then he woke up.

Barry blinked and looked around the room, looked down his body and found the light blanket still laying haphazardly over his too long frame. He saw the Christmas tree half-decorated, only the colored strand of lights completed because Iris was too tall to reach to the top of the tree, so she insisted he should do it right away.

Still hazy, Barry heard a sharp rap of knocks at the door, which startled him so much that he fell onto the floor.

“Barry?” came Cisco’s voice from behind the wooden door. A chill settled in his gut as the vision from his dream flashed before him. Another set of knocks jolted him back into reality. “Barry Allen, open this door.” A pause. “I know you’re in there.”

With a sigh and a groan, Barry managed to get to his feet and fling open the door, repeating the mantra to himself that Cisco would never betray him by dating Iris.

A disgruntled, disappointed, impatient Cisco stood before him. Much to Barry’s relief, he was alone.

Without asking permission, Cisco marched past his best friend, stopped at the Christmas tree and was turned around with one eyebrow raised by the time Barry had closed the door and returned to him.

“This tree looks pathetic, Allen.”

Barry searched for explanations, both truthful and otherwise. Iris was going to finish it. Iris wanted to wait. I was going to get around to it. I was working on it right before you got here. I was… I was… She was… She was… But none of them reached his lips.

Cisco slumped in on himself before Barry had come up with something believable to say or registered anything outside of his own present miserable state of mind.

“Joe told me what happened,” he said gently.

Barry blinked and looked up at him.

“Joe told you?” he asked, confused.

“Yeah, at the party you didn’t show up to. It would’ve been nice if you had told me, of course. You know, me, your best friend, the guy you tell everything to? I did not really appreciate being so blindsided that I—”

“The party…” Barry’s eyebrows furrowed, not hearing the rest. “The party…”

“The annual West Christmas party? The one you told Joe you were refusing to go to because things would be too awkward with you and Iris in the same room?” Cisco expounded, exasperated.

Barry ran a hand through his hair, landing on the back of his head, his mind spinning.

How long had he been asleep?

He dug through the couch cushions, found his phone, and gaped at the time blinking back at him.

9:45 p.m.

“Jesus,” he muttered under his breath.

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s not overly thrilled you missed the party either,” Cisco snickered with arms folded across his chest.

Barry spun around and looked at his best friend, at a loss for words again.

“Was anyone trying to get a hold of me?”

Cisco raised his eyebrows. “Check your phone.”

Barry did. Three missed calls. Five texts. Two missed calls. One from Iris.

A lump formed in his throat, one he couldn’t get rid of.

“Don’t-” Cisco warned when Barry’s finger hovered over the delete button for Iris’s message.

Barry turned to look at him, eyes alight with surprise.

“Don’t what?”

Cisco scoffed and closed the distance between them.

“You know what. You were going to delete Iris’s message without even listening to it.”

Barry swallowed and looked back at the phone, his finger still frozen in mid-air above it.

“It’s probably angry,” he explained. “Or she’s crying. Or she’s numb and neutral and hating me. That might be the worst.”

“Or she might want to pick up some of her stuff,” Cisco suggested.

“On Christmas?” Barry asked.

Cisco shrugged. “Why not? You ditched the one event you’ve been to without fail since you were eleven. She’s allowed some petty revenge too.”

Barry’s brows narrowed. “It wasn’t petty revenge. Joe and Iris were at odds last year. They didn’t get Christmas. I was trying to give it to them without having the big elephant in the room staring at them.”

“Got news for you, bro.” He reached up and put a hand on Barry’s shoulder. “Christmas isn’t Christmas for them unless you’re there.”

Barry shook him off and started to pace.

“It would’ve only made Iris more upset. I don’t want that.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem making her upset by breaking up with her.”

Barry turned around suddenly, his eyes wide with understanding.

“You’re here on Iris’s behalf. To yell at me.”

“Someone has to. Caitlin’s not going to. She’s too forgiving and understanding. And you’re like a son to Joe. There’s no way he would.”

“And Wally’s not qualified?” he pushed. “As her brother, I would think he’d feel more justified than you would.”

“Because I’m your best friend and not hers?” he asked icily.

“Because he’s her brother,” Barry spat, then sighed, annoyed at how the conversation had escalated and in what direction. “Look, I don’t know what you expect me to do. I’m already suffering enough.” He didn’t tell him about the dream; didn’t want that to become any more real.

“Unbreak-up with her!” Cisco said. “Then we can all go back to the way things were. I guarantee you if you grovel and make some promises that you mean to follow through on, Iris will come running back into your arms.”

“But I wouldn’t mean them, Cisco.”

Cisco slumped in on himself.

“I thought you loved her, Barry.”

“I do.”

“More than anyone. Enough to get past all this.”

Barry didn’t respond to that.

Cisco sighed and headed for the door, evidently concluding that nothing he could say would change Barry’s mind.

“Do me one favor,” he said just before leaving.

Warily, Barry turned to face him, only barely managing to make eye contact.

“What?”

“Finish decorating your damn Christmas tree.”

Half-hearted smiles appeared on both of their faces, but they were gone only seconds later. So was Cisco. So was any other social interaction Barry would have for the rest of the night.

Barry turned to look at the Christmas tree, glittering with lights, star-less, adorned with only half the intended ornaments. He shook his head, tears filling his eyes.

“Merry Christmas, Iris,” he whispered.

Then he took down the decorations.

In a flash.

*Also available on AO3 & FFnet.

[wearetakingthehobbitstogallifrey]

Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 16 Part 1 (Spoilers)

I don’t want to watch this episode. I really don’t. BECAUSE I JUST KNOW SOME OF MY CHILDREN ARE GONNA DIE AND I CAN’T DEAL

AHH SO FINDS OUT WHERE EUN IS AND GOES OFF AND NOW THE GENERAL FINDS OUT HIS DAUGHTER SOON DEOK IS IN TROUBLE AND RUNS OFF AND JI MONG IS LIKE THIS AIN’T COOL YO IS WATCHING THE FIGHTING LIKE A JERK AND SOON DEOK IS BEING AWESOME AND FIGHTING FOR HER HUSBAND AND TEARING THEM APART AND EUN IS SUPPORTING UGH HE RUNS TO HELP AND PROTECT HER AND PLEADS WITH YO

NONONONONONONONOOOOOOOOOOO THEY KILLED DEOK AND EUN IS FALLING APART “NOT YET” AND “LET’S GO TOGETHER” UGH WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

YO PUT THAT DAMN BOW AND ARROW DOWN I SWEAR

GRRRRRRRAAAAGGGHHHH YO SHOOTS EUN NOOOO WHYYYYYYYY AND THEN HE GOES TO SHOOT HIM AGAIN AND SO JUMPS IN LIKE THE HEROIC BROTHER HE IS AND LOWERS HIS SWORD IN FRONT OF EUN TO PROTECT HIM AND ASKS YO TO STOP AND FOR SOME REASON YO DOESN’T SHOOT HIM JUST TRIES TO GET HIM TO MOVE AND SO WON’T BUT THEN

THEN JUNG SHOWS UP AND TRIES TO HELP TOO AND THEY START FIGHTING AND EVIL YO I HATE HIM SO MUCH SHOOTS MY PRECIOUS DORKY SON EUN AGAIN HOW dARE I AM SCREAMING AND WEEPING THEY ARE PLAYING WINDCHIMES IN THE BACKGROUND LIKE WHAT NO

AND EUN IS IN SHOCK AND PAIN AND LOOKS AT YO WITH SO MUCH HURT AND BETRAYAL IN HIS EYES AND SO IS FREAKING DEVASTATED HE KNEELS AND GRABS EUN AND EUN ASKS IF SO REMEMBERS EUN’S BIRTHDAY AND KIND OF APOLOGIZES FOR WHAT YO MANIPULATED HIM INTO DOING

LIKE IN THESE LAST MOMENTS OF HIS LIFE EUN HAS BEEN FULLY AWAKENED INTO HARSH REALITY WHERE HIS BELOVED BROTHER IS THE EVIL AND MURDEROUS BEAST AND THE FEARED BROTHER IS ACTUALLY THE LOVING AND LOYAL MAN AND OMG COULDN’T HE HAVE FIGURES THIS OUT IN A LESS PAINFUL WAY?? FOR ME AND FOR HIM AND EVERYONE ELSE??? GOSH

UGH I HAVEN’T CRIED THIS HARD IN AGES

LOOK AT EUN GRIPPING SO’S ARM AND SLEEVE AND EUN IS CRYING AND GASPING BECAUSE HE HAS TWO ARROWS IN HIM BUT ALSO BECAUSE HIS WIFE JUST GOT MURDERED IN FRONT OF HIM AND HE DOES NOT W A N T HER TO GO ALONE AAAAHHHHHHHHHH

AND YO DRAWS A FREAKING ARROW YET AGAIN LIKE GOSH DUDE HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL TO YOUR SIBLINGS AND EUN WAIT HEEEEECK NO! HE KNOWS HE IS DYING AND WANTS TO BE WITH SOON DEOK AND HE FREAKING ASKS SO TO KILL HIM INSTEAD OF LETTING YO MAKE HIM A PINCUSHION AND MAKE HIM SUFFER ALL DAY AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY HEART I HATE THIS SHOW

NO

CAN WE NOT

CAN WE NOT MAKE SO KILL HIS LITTLE BROTHER?

AWWWWWWWW SO COVERS EUN’S HAND IN HIS IN A STRONG AND GENTLE AND REASSURING GRASP AND LIKE THIS WHOLE TIME THEY HAVE BEEN STARING INTO EACH OTHER’S EYES AND UNDERSTANDING THE OTHER IN SOME DEGREE AND LIKE SHARING THIS UNSPOKEN CONNECTION OF BROTHERHOOD THAT WAS NOT REALLY THERE BEFORE

GOSH DRAT IT ALL SO IS JUST NOBLE AND STRONG AND LOVING AND SELFLESS AND HE IS GONNA DO IT LIKE NOOOO CAN FATE PLEASE LEAVE MY MURDER ANGST CUPCAKE ALONE CAN’T HE BE HAPPY AND LIVE IN PEACE WITH HIS BROS WHAT THE HECK

NOOOOOOOOO SO STANDS AND YO IS LIKE ??? AND EUN JUST LOOKS AT HIS WIFE AND JUNG IS LIKE HELL NO AND SOO JUST LOOKS SHELLSHOCKED LIKE THIS IS KIND OF TAT PROPHECY COMING THROUGH AND SO RAISES HIS SWORD EVEN THOUGH HE LOOKS LIKE HE WOULD RATHER GUT HIMSELF

THIS!! IS!! THE!!! WORST!!!! SHOW!!!! EVER!!!!!!

UHHHHHHHHH MY FEELS THE MUSIC AND EUN REACHES FOR DEOK

AND THEN DIES

AND I AM DESTROYED MY HEART SHREDDED IT SHALL NEVER BEAT AGAIN AND JUNG LEAPS AND KNEELS AT HIS SIDE CALLING HIS NAME IN DISBELIEF AND GETS BLOOD IN HIS HANDS

AND UGH YO GIVES A WEIRD KIND OF SMIRK?? LIKE IS HE DESPISING JUNG FOR LOVING HIS BROTHER AND NOT WANTING HIM DEAD OR IS HE JUST KIND OF BEING AN EVIL MUAHAHAHA OR LIKE WHAT

AND JUNG AND SO ARE JUST DESTROYED LIKE ME AND SO GETS HYSTERICAL AND IS LAUGHING/CRYING/GASPING I GUESS BECAUSE HE HAS FINALLY ACTUALLY KILLED ONE OF HIS BROTHERS BUT HE WAS FORCED INTO IT AND WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE ONLY ONES WHO WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IT JUST BECAUSE OF HIS BACKGROUND AND I JUST. I HURT

ALSO SOO IS STANDING THERE LOOKING HORRIFIED AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT SHE IS THINKING I HOPE SHE DOESN’T BLAME SO OR ANYTHING BECAUSE HE LOOKS A LITTLE LIKE THE MAD KING IN HER VISIONS UGH UGH I HATE THIS SHOW

GOSH LEE GOON JI KILLS EVERY SCENE HE US IN ESPECIALLY THE ONES WHERE HE IS UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING HE KILLS ME TOO

*TAKES A DEEP BREATH* …*TAKES TEN DEEP BREATHS*

…ok now Yo kind of turns and slinks away. Is he satisfied with the evil he has done? If he has any brains he would kill So and probably Jung at this moment seeing as how they look a mite upset and ticked offf. Why doesn’t he? Because they are his full brothers? Because he kind of cares for them? Because he actually feels a modicum of shame? What

And So stumbles off and Jung just kneels their over his dead brother and Soo remembers all the sweetness and lifhtheartedness and fun of Eun. This hurts me, people. But in a removed kind of way…I am so upset right now that I have wept all my tears and my heart hash transported to some place out of my body where I can see it dying but not feel the throes of pain…

I hate this show

And now the general shows up too late and sees So with a bloody sword. Great…

Oh MY HEART IT IS STILL INSIDE OF ME! IT HURTS. SOO AND JUNG AND THE GENERAL JUST KNEEL AROUND THE BODIES :( JUNG STILL HAS BLOOD IN HIS HANDS

THE POOR GENERAL :(

HE ASKS IF HIS DAUGHTER GOT LOTS OF LOVE FROM THE PRINCE AND SOO SAYS YES THEY LOVED EACH OTHER I AM CRYING AGAIN OMG

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH HE IS HOLDING HIS DAUGHTER I CAN’T

NOOOOOOOOO JUNG SAYS HE WILL KILL WANG SO NOOOOO SOO SAYS NO TO GOOD JUNG DROPS HIS SWORD AND YELLS. ME TOO

OHHHHHHHHHHH MY GOSH SO TELLS JI MONG THAT HE MUST BECOME A DOG “A dog that bites it’s owner and takes over its owner’s home.” AHHHHHHHHHHHH HE IS GONNA FIGHT YO, GONNA REVOLT AAAAHHHHHHH. “I WILL BECOME A RABID WOLF DOG.” HE THINKS TO HIMSELF THAT HE WILL BECOME KING OF GORYEO

YO THIS IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU POKE AND PROUD AND KILL AND WHEN YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH BAITING AND USING YOUR BROTHER AS A WEAPON LIKE YOU CALL HIM A WOLF WELL THAT IS WHAT YOU WILL GET. WHICH IS AWESOME AND I AM DOWN FOR YO GOING DOWN BUT ALSO I AM A FEARED THAT THIS WILL ALL HURT SO EVEN MORE IN SOME WAYS AND IT KILLS ME

Wook looks happy. Not.

Baek Ah brings the sad tidings that Eun and Deok were denied a proper burial and we’re thrown into the woods to be food for crows, but that we (him and Woo Hee?) BAEK AH IS THE CARING WONDERFUL AMAZING BROTHER AS ALWAYS WHO ALWAYS KNOWS EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING ON AND USES HIS KNOWLEDGE TO DO THE RIGHT THING (seriously he is always finding out information, and I don’t know how…probably smiles and everyone is bewitched) oh wait Jung helped too

Ugggghhhhhh So is angsting about what he did noooo and also he forgot about the birthday incident? Like really? I love it! That means he actually did forgive Eun and wasn’t holding a grudge and had had enough good things happen to him that he could block that one day out

Ji Mong only now finds the letter Soo left for him. Great.

So goes to see Soo!! On the garden again!! And she runs to him!!!

Oh my HEART! So says she must think him a monster now but she says it was a hard choice. But he asks why she didn’t trust him :( she days she didn’t and that is why she left the letter?

WAIT WHAT THE HECK SO SAYS HE DOESN’T FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT HER ANYMORE??????!?!?!?! BECAUSE HE WILL ONLY REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED?! WTF DON’T DO THIS TO ME HE BLAMES HER FOR EVERYTHING WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY I HATE THIS SHOW

SHE SAYS LIES. YES PLEASE HE IS LYING PLEASE. BUT HE SAYS NO THEY PROMISED NOT TO LIE. UGH UGH UGH WHY

POOR SO LOOKS WRETCH RIGHT NOW AND IN SO MUCH PAIN AND I THINK HE WAS LYING A LITTLE BUT HE IS ALSO TREMENDOUSLY HURT AND LOST AND UNSURE OF WHAT TO DO

Yo is giving So land and responsibilities…dude do you know anything about love and the anger that arises from the loss of loved ones? Is everything about power to you?

Jung calls Yo out in private and says he will travel the borders and not visit the palace. Yo says cool, but be safe for mom’s sake. And Jung my HERO says nah, “I have lived loke a coward too manay times, I cannot do that.” He is beating himself up for not having done anything to stop Yo and their mom before… “I ought to pay for some of your crimes.” OH MY HEART HE LEAVES SOME OF THE ARROWS THAT PIERCED EUN

and…..now Yo is hearing things? Voices?

Ugh now everyone is hating on So for killing Eun…BUT SURPRISE FLASHBACK JI MONG AND BAEK AH AND SO WENT TO THE GENERAL TO PLOT THE OVERTHROW OF YO AND THE KING SHIP OF SO!!! OH YEAH!!! also the general calls Ji Mong a quack of a man lol but says that he has been predictions So’s ascendancy for years…and that the old king sent So to the general to learn martial arts for that reason!

So doesn’t care about stars but he is done woth murder being the way of things andros wants to become king to stop bloodshed like this from happening…says he will fight to the death and gives them the chance to opt out…Baek Ah my BELOVED SON OF PURE WONDER AND LOYALTY IS LIKE BRO I AM YOUR YOUNGER BRO AND THIS IS MEANT TO BE YOU HAVE MY SWORD

BUT AWW DRAT IT THIS IS WHY SO BROKE UP WITH SOO!!! BECAUSE THE GENERAL WANTED TO SEE WHAT HE WOULD BE WILLING TO GIVE UP FOR HIS CAUSE. UGGGGHHHH MY HEART! And so I can’t really fault So anymore, not seriously. It is not what I want him to do but at least he is being selfless here. The power he seeks is not for his sole benefit but for the country and the kingdom, so what horrors just happened will not occur again :(

I AM EMOTIONALLY DESTROYED

[horror-movie-blog]

HMB: Creepshow 1 & 2 AND Tales From the Dark Side

Original Publishing Date: May 22nd, 2015 

So let's talk about horror anthology series. Whether it be mature like Twilight Zone and Amazing Stories, for children, like Goosebumps or Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, or even movies like the two we'll talk about today, there's just something so likable about a bundle of cheesy, campy horror movies. You're either going to get something absolutely terrible or something pure genius. So let's talk about two, or rather three, movies that fit this description, Creepshow 1 & 2, and Tales from the Darkside Movie. Tales from the Darkside was a horror anthology series like the examples I listed above. The reason why I'm talking about this movie along with the Creepshow francise is because many fans consider it the unofficial third installment. George A. Romero and Stephen King, the writer and director of the Creepshow series, had involvement in this movie when King's book Cat from Hell was turned into one of the shorts, and it was directed by Romero. So why the hell not include it? When am I ever going to talk about this movie again? So let's take a look at all the shorts from this movie series, starting with the first Creepshow movie, with the short, "Father's Day". It sucks. Plain and simple. It's just about some old fart who wants a birthday cake. He comes back to life and he kills a bunch of people, and places a woman's head on a birthday cake. Stephen King... the master of horror... sigh. The next skit is "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill". A hill-billy played by King himself, find a meteorite that seems to grow some strange alien plants. The plants take over his home and Verrill kills himself. Again... Stephen King, the master of horror. I'll admit it was fun seeing King act so silly in this short, but it doesn't distract from the lazy story. The third skit is where things get interesting. "Something to Tide you Over", which sounds stupid, is actually my favorite in the movie. Leslie Nelson, a man known mostly for parody, plays a rather sinister man who buries his wife and her lover neck deep in sand and leaves them to be drowned by the coming tides. Holy shit is that a scary concept, I mean, can you think of anything more scary then waiting to be slowly drowned. To make things even more creepy Nelson is watching them as they drown. The next one is probably the longest of the movie but it's okay, not as good as the third but better than one or two. It's called "The Crate", a man in a miserable marriage gets a create, and inside the create is a murderous Yeti. The man hatches a plan to try to get his wife to look inside the create. The majority of the short is just build up to the woman's destined death, and boy is it suspenseful. It's long, but it works. And finally we end on a weak note, "They're Creeping Up on You". A germophobe's house gets invaded by cockroaches. That's it. But it's okay, because he's a jerk! Stephen King, the master of... You know what, I've been picking on King too much. This was a great movie, I don't care if half of them were crap, for me, the middle two was enough for a watch. Okay, now let's move onto Creepshow 2. Keep in mind, King and Romero had nothing to do with this, although Romero did write. Instead of five skits, it's three. The first one is called Old Chief Wood'nhead. A giant wooden indian comes to life and kills a bunch of teens, but it's okay, because those teens killed an elderly couple. Make sure to throw in a naked lady to get that R rating, then pat yourself on the shoulder movie, you're a mature movie! Yeah, this skit sucks. The next one is called "The Raft". Side fact, there's a show called Lost Tapes on Animal Planet that completely stole this concept. Sadly I saw that first so the chills and suspense that came from this concept was gone when I saw this particular one. Although to be fair, Lost Tapes used an actual scary monster rather then what this movie used; a blob like piece of garbage. The plot centers around teens trapped on a raft in the middle of a lake. A blob monster circles around the raft so there's no way to escape. The teen are picked off one by one until one boy has the balls to swim to shore. This was a very suspenseful idea and is probably the best in the movie, too bad Lost Tapes ruined it. Lastly we have Hitch-hiker. A woman has an affair with her husband, and while driving home she strikes and kills a homeless man trying to Hitch-hike. She drives away but the man comes back as a zombie, only he doesn't seem to be attacking her, he just constantly says "Thanks for the ride, lady". That's it. The woman constantly tries to get away from the zombie, but it keeps poping up to say, "Thanks for the ride lady". I don't get it. So Creepshow 2 sucked. The middle part was good but the other two shorts didn't make it worth watching. Which I can unfortunately say the same thing about Tales from the Darkside. The first short from the unofficial sequel was "Lot 249", based on the Sir Conan Doyle's story of the same name. A man extracts his revenge on the people who wronged him by sending a mummy after them. If this sounds familiar to you, that's because this story is considered the first horror story to feature a mummy as the monster, so the Universal movies took inspiration from this when making The Mummy. Unfortunately this short doesn't try as hard as Universal. The acting is wooden, even with critically acclaimed actor Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore, the acting in this movie feels very bland. There's a scene where Buscemi is tied down to a chair and is about to be set on fire, and he looks like he doesn't care. There's a scene where Moore sees the killer mummy coming straight at her, and she doesn't seem to care. Basically this whole short felt like a simple Goosebumps episode with blood and gore to keep that R rating. The second short is called "Cat from Hell", adapted from Stephen King's story of the same name, and directed by George A. Romero. Even though the rest of the movie is directed by a different person, it's because of this short that people call Darkside the third Creepshow. And honestly, I can perfectly see why. This is by far the best in the movie, and if this was a franchise, I'd say this was the best in the franchise. It's about a dying old man hiring an assassin to kill a cat. Why? Because the old man is convinced the cat killed his sister, her friend and butler. I'll admit what ruins the short are the kills, the kills are just too goofy. The only death that was convincing was when the cat lied underneath the woman's legs, causing her to fall down the stairs. But besides that, the kills in this short really do ruin it. I mean, the cat jumps into the assassin's mouth and is shallowed alive. That's how the assassin dies. It's hilariously stupid. But the reason why I think this the best is because of how the story is told, up until the stupid deaths of coarse. Oh, and the cinematography. It feels like something straight from the 1940's, the muted colors, the amazing camera work, it feels like belongs in the golden age of horror. Romero did a great job in making King's work into a masterpiece. And finally we have "Lover's Vow". An artist sees a gargoyle kill his friend, but the gargoyle spares him if the man promises not to tell a soul. So the man keeps his promise, he marries, has children, his art career takes off, and it seems all is going right with his life. On their ten year anniversary, the man tells his wife the truth, feeling closer to her then ever and feeling she has the right to know. But... spoilers, SHE WAS THE GARGOYLE! And... OH NO, THE KIDS ARE GARGOYLES TOO! Oh the horror. So the gargoyle bites the man's neck, grabs the kids and flees. Okay, let's talk about everything else first. The short starts off with the gargoyle looking down at the artist's studio in stone form, giving us the idea that the gargoyle is always watching him, I thought that was pretty cool. But boy oh boy, is everything else dumb. The gargoyle effects are horrible, it looks like a broken puppet, and the twist doesn't make any sense. Why would she be so emotional over her husband telling her the truth? He did it out of love, shouldn't that tump her stupid rule? And she was a nice person, she could have understood. Or at the very least gave the man the choice of staying with her after discovering her true identity. You know what? That's what this short should have been about! A test of faith. Would you love me if you found out I was a murderous, friend killing gargoyle? But no... We have the horror equivalent of a kid breaking the friendship oath. So overall, check out Creepshow, try to only see the Raft part of Creepshow 2, and watch only the Cat from Hell from Darkside, but keep in mind some of the silly things.