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acourtesanofedgewater · 3 years

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Open Heart 3 Ch. 8 SPOILERS for Bryce/Raf/Jackie Stans

I know I'm one day late. Blame PB for releasing the scripts so late. Why they even did that? Idk. It's not like this chapter is good.

Oh, here we are again. Honestly guys? I'm pissed off lmao. And you will be too when you're done reading this. But enough talking, let's begin. Beware, spoilers below the cut

Let's start with Bryce

•He DOES make an appearance this chapter AND has a diamond scene. Should we celebrate? Nah. It seems the only options with characters who-are-not-Ethan in this book are not having appearances at all or having mediocre little plots when they do appear. He makes his cameo at the begging. He's in the lobby with a friend of his, who's sick and wants Bryce to operate on him but Bryce seems reluctant to do so because it's a dangerous surgery. Does it have anything to do with his failed surgery? We won't find out, because instead of his premium scene being about... idk, having a coffee while he tells us about the consequences of his mistakes (not only at work, but also mentally), it is about... visiting a Escape Room with him and his friend? Um, ok. Should I mention that Bryce's pal call MC his 'friend' twice? Yep, PB still refuses to acknowledge MC's relationship with Bryce, even though they've been together for two years and shared a tender moment when MC was about to die. When I was reading the scene, I was like "uuugh, let me guess? we get this corny funny scene and near the ending Bryce and MC find a hideout to make out". Turns out I was wrong lmao. I expect nothing and I'm still let down. They just share a little kiss I front of Bryce's friend when they are leaving the Escape Room. It is mentioned they all are gonna have dinner after this, but we don't get to see that because that would mean PB has to actually write interesting dialogue and develop Bryce and that's sacrilege.

Ok, Jackie's turn.

•She doesn't show up in this chapter. She's not even mentioned. Silly us, Jackie already had her crumbs of development last chapter, there's no need to give her more screentime this chapter lmao. Not when that screentime can be used developing Ethan.

And lastly, Raf.

•He turns up too, but it's a situation similar to Bryce's. He's rehabilitating a little boy who's sad because he will miss his birthday, so enter the bonus scene where MC has the idea of recruiting Sienna too and organizing a surprise party for the kid in the Pediatric Ward. It's actually a cute scene, and spending time with Sienna is always good, but that's the problem. The scene is about the little boy, zero Raf development or plot, and I even feel he wasn't even needed here. We know Sienna visits the PW every once in a while so they could've made her be the one who came to us with the little kid situation and everything would have turned out to be the same, except for some dialogues. Then, near the end, Raf and MC share some flirting words and a little kiss, but everything is in front of the kids, so it's over pretty quick.

And... that's it for our LIs. It sucks, but it's not the worst thing abour this chapter. I'm gonna leave some spoilers of the general plot here below so you can be as angry as me.

•MC confronts Ethan about the trial thing. You can choose to go soft on him or be outraged and point out he's a piece of shit. I recommend the second option. Anyway, if you end up agreeing with him about his decision, he says something like: "I knew you'd understand me, you care about these patients as much as I do" which, for me, given the fact he's older than MC and their boss (and being a victim of grooming myself by someone older than me and that was kinda in a position of power above me too) IS FUCKING GROOMING. If you had any doubts the lead of this book is a creep.

•Yadda yadda, we get Bryce and Raf's mediocre scenes, and back to the main plot, MC and Tobias have to diagnose a patient together. The patient is the most annoying character on this series, only below Ethan. Seriously, she's worse than that Nigel guy from Book 1 who called Bryce "Ken doll". Tobias is kinda shady with her (but... light and funny shady. He's never mean or anything) and we're supposed to be like "ugh, Tobias is the worst" but the patient is annoying so yeah, I loved Tobias' actitude.

•There were lots of Tobias moments this chapter, and he's honestly really nice. I hope we can keep him in Edenbrook. We could even kick Ethan's ass out in order to raise his salary❤.

•Ok, and now the cherry on top of a shitty chapter. Do y'all remember how we were afraid PB was gonna make Harper MC's rival? It seemed like they had dropped that plot and we were safe... but it turns out they haven't. Harper finds out our patient has cheated their way into the trial and while Tobias and MC are bonding in the DT' office, she comes in furious as hell, and starts blaming the MC and insulting them, assuming they're the one who did the trial thing. Harper' screams are so loud that Ramsey, who was in the hall, listens and comes in running. Harper explains what "MC" did and we have three options: blame Ethan, insist we're not guilty but not blame Ethan, and ignore the accusations. Either way, Harper keeps on with the accusations (she's even more enraged if you blame Ethan)

•Ethan lets her mop the floor with MC a bit more before stopping her and admitting he's the one who cheated. Harper is shocked and Ramsey HAS THE AUDACITY of angrily leave the office. He really thinks he's the one who should be outraged in this situation. He's the most childish character PB has ever created. (Props to Tobias for being the only decent character in this situation, asking Harper to calm down because she couldn't know for sure it MC was to blame in this situation).

•MC runs after him. And sure, irl I'd run after him too, but to confront him and complain about all the mess his shitty behavior has caused (or, how we say in my country, putearlo. I wanna clarify to my fellow Latinoamericans, "putear" has a different meaning in Ecuador than in the rest of Latam lmao for us is similar to "mandar a la verga" JAJSJAJAJSK). But no, MC fucking goes to see if he's alright. And cue to the most ridiculous scene in this series:

•Okay, I know we all made fun of the BDSM outfits when the assets came out, and yeah, they're cringey af, but I was curious to see how the story would develop towards these outfits. Everyone guessed they meant kinky time with out LIs. Wrong again. Ethan is so mad about... well, idk why he's so mad, he's just facing the consequences of his actions, but anyway, he needs to release that frustration and that's when we're offered the kinky outfit. Yep, the kinky scene is Ethan-exclusive. It was so fucking easy to include the other LIs in this. Bryce could be frustrated because he's not the same after his failed surgery, Jackie because she has to lead the interns and Jade keeps screwing up, and Raf... well, he should be mad because PB tried to kill him and then decided not to but kept sidelining him and can't even give him a decent storyline could be frustrated because it's exhausting to try to help the patients when they make little progress and become disappointed. PB just was lazy and didn't care.

•Don't ask me about the BDSM scene, nothing in this world will make me read a sex scene with Ethan. I kept scrolling until I was sure that abomination was over. Although I caught the word "safe word" somewhere there so... yeah.

•The next day after that heated discussion, MC enters the DT' office. Harper doesn't even offer an apology for treating MC like shit, she acts like nothing happened. MC notices there's this peace in the air and there's no whining, so they ask where's Ethan

•Turns out, Harper reported MC to their superiors when she thought it was them who messed up the trial and now Ethan had to turn himself in and is meeting with the board. Then, she blatantly admits that if she knew Ethan was the one who did it, she would have talked to him first. She says she regrets telling the board, although, as she doesn't offer MC an apology, it seems she only regrets getting Ethan in trouble, not her awful attitude. Tobias is named the new leader of the DT, and that's the only highlight in this mess of a chapter.

I have more thoughts about everything, but I'll post them tomorrow, when they can reach more people. And I'll catch up with this shitt book just so I can join the mob law tomorrow lmao. See you then.

#playchoices #choices #choices stories you play #open heart #open heart 3 #open heart third year #oh 3 #choices oh #bryce lahela #jackie varma #rafael aveiro

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 3 years

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i just met Cedric in my game. it’s really weird to see all these 16-17 year olds crowding him and losing their minds over how apparently cool he is lmao. i mean he’s literally 11 so it’s kinda creepy too. Diego getting jealous over a literal preteen when he’s at least 16 is just sad though, ngl, like he really feels like his popularity’s threatened by a little boy in 1st year? ppl’s reactions to Cedric were just kinda bizarre overall imo. also i’ve heard that MC can be passive aggressive to him and challenge him if you choose to which just adds to it

This is definitely a case of Jam City trying to recapture the canon character’s atmosphere from the books, but completely messing it up because they missed the point. Everyone thought Cedric was cool in GOF because he was handsome, a Quidditch Captain, a Prefect, generally popular, and just a really nice guy. This is probably how the background characters all see Penny, come to think of it. The same way everyone sees Cedric once he’s in sixth year. Particularly in GOF, he was popular because he was a School Champion, from the “underdog” house Hufflepuff. He was the “real” Hogwarts Champion, and was still being overall humble about the whole two champions thing when lesser people might have made a stink about it. He’s just an overall great guy, and the general opinion of him reflects that. The average is also brought up by Amos aggressively drinking Proud Dad juice every chance he gets.

The problem is that there’s just no reason for people to have this attitude toward Cedric yet. He only just got to school, he shouldn’t really know anyone in MC’s year, or people outside his classes. He’s not on the Quidditch team, he’s not a Prefect yet...and sure, maybe he’s a cute kid and his classmates have crushes on him...but I don’t think his good looks would come into play for people in MC’s year. At least I hope they wouldn’t. Diego likely wants to be the center of attention more than anything else, and so Cedric’s age wouldn’t necessarily be a factor in his jealousy...but it still feels weird. And it just serves as a reminder of how illogical all of this is. I guess Penny being so crazy about him makes sense, because it’s pretty clear that he’s just her replacement goldfish for Beatrice in that scene...but why does everyone else start acting like Amos?

As for MC’s ability to challenge Cedric, this is probably a case of the game wanting to give the player some agency in who their MC likes and dislikes. We see this with characters like Ben, Merula, and the Quidditch cast. And it’s pretty cool if they let us give input about a canon character. But again, they kind of screw it up because of the context: MC is (usually) a Prefect. Y’know, meant to welcome the first years and set a good example. They’ve also literally never met Cedric before this scene. They may or may not have heard of him based on whether they’ve met Amos, but they would have only heard good things from him. Sure, maybe MC is an attention hog like Diego and feels like their “Hogwarts Hero” spotlight is threatened, but with the way it’s written, they go from 0 to 100 in nothing flat. “Challenge Cedric” is the dialogue option, and let me tell you, that doesn’t do justice to how hostile MC gets toward Cedric for no real reason. That could mean a lot of things, and I’m willing to bet a fair few players were blindsided.

#Cedric Diggory #HPHM Jacob's Sibling #Penny Haywood #Diego Caplan #Amos Diggory #Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

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galassyalex · 4 years

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AGENT 606

mystic messenger au

THIS AU HAS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE GAME AND HAS MENTIONS OF DEATH AND OTHER TRIGGERING OR BOTHERSOME SUBJECTS

“Welcome to Mystic Messenger! Please select your route.”

beep.

“Casual route selected! Enjoy the game.”

It wasn’t the first time it had happened, she had seen this menu select screen a dozen times already. She watched as the prologue played, pressing the options that would gain more hourglasses and hearts. Her target this time was the A.I Yoosung Kim ★, thanks to some dialogue with seven on past playthroughs she already knew what to expect, she only had to press the right buttons. Due to some quick research, she knew which ones they were.

Character File: Yoosung Kim★ Information: The college student gamer, obsessed with his “dead” cousin Rika Goal: Yandere

ᴅᴀʏ 1:

8:00: ᴊᴜᴍɪɴ’ꜱ ʟᴏᴠᴇʟʏ ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ

ᴊᴜᴍɪɴ ʜᴀɴ, ᴢᴇɴ, ᴍᴄ

𝗠𝗰: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘆𝗲𝘁?

Z̷̡̫̳̹̯̯̫̭̄͆̀̋̓̒̈́̂͜͝͝È̸̹̎N̷̨͖̫̒̍̅̀̓̎̊̚͘:̷̬͍͕̪̙̣͚̜͐̈́̐̽̔̇̓̚͜ ̶̨̹̤̜̖̜͓͖̹̂̎͆̓̊G̶̬̠͚̥̮̬̏̐́̍͂̍̅ǫ̶̭̯̾̿o̸̳͕̓́͌d̸̮̖̫̯̜͕͝ ̷̣͍̤̖͆ŝ̸̗̜̦́̈́́̕͜͝ė̵̩̩̲͕̰̳̟̈́̀͝͝ͅe̶̢̛̬̖̳̼̩̓̉̽̑̿̍̀̍į̷̞͙͍̪͓̩̫͚̓̓̍n̸̛̤̟̬̭̖̏̋͆̂̈́̃̀͌͜͠g̶̳̦͈̰͍̖̬̈́͑͊͜͜ͅ ̵̨͙̤͌̍̑̕͜ͅỳ̴̨͇͓̣͊͐̕o̵̞͇̞̗̲̾̒̇̔̀u̶̡͍̘͗̑͘~̸͍̺̭͔̮̼̠͈̩͂̊̓͛̐͛͛̊ͅ!̶͎̝̘̭͉͔͖̩̐̏̐̾ ̶̹̖̩̱̉̿̏̔I̸̥̖̐̊̉̿ ̷̲̘̟̘̩̭͓͚̄̾͒́̃̊̈́͑͆͠ͅd̸͇̲͓̝̲̫̮̈͊̍̄̽̾̚͘ͅo̸̤͔̫̝̪͓͈̟̽͂͊̚͜ņ̴̯̞̩̖̬̱͔̜̑’̵̢̢̢̯̺̈̎̏́͂̈́̈́̃͒̔t̸̢̝̻̲͎̲͍̿̊͑̈́̈̍̌̋͜͠ ̸͙͙̰͔̙͉̦̒ͅh̶̡̨͙̹͊̕͘͜ͅa̷̟̯̠̼̜͉̜͓̻͆́̐̈́̉̉̕͝v̴̭͈͖̙̱͈̝̈́ẹ̵̣͕̋́̓̀͂ ̷̲̱͎̰̭̪̂a̶̝̦̽̒͂̈́̒͋̆́ ̵̧͔̹̞̹̥̻̫̫͐̑͒̔́̌̿͌͝s̷̨̨͍̲̣̣͖͙̰͆́͌̑̈̓̕ĕ̶̟̮͖͛͗t̵͙̟̼̔̆̽͂̈́̀͝ ̵͔̞̣̠̤̂̏͑̀̀w̴͔̩̭̦̣͍͌ò̵̘̼̪̭͚̜̦̘͙͑r̵̬̜͕͚͕͚̙̖͚̰̍̀̉͑́͗͒̕k̸̞̲̘̰͚͛̓̈́͐̍̈́͋̀ ̷̪̮͔͚̓̅̀̋͘ͅt̷̡̲͙̲̪̓͑̎͑͐̽͘͠͝i̶͈̙̍̐̊m̴̛̞̯̫͉͎̃̆̐͒̋͐͑̚͝e̴̥͈̱̹̐͋̎̓͗͝.̷̥͗́̆͊͝ ̴̼͍͙̪̯̜̖̀̄̏̈̀̑̊͝Ŵ̷̡̠̪̰̼̹͕͒͌͠ḥ̸̰̩͍̭̗͎͔̿̀̈́y̴̧̮͕̮͉͈̗̮͇̋̀̈́̒͊͝ ̶͚̮͎̟̗͒̈́h̶̢̧̹̭͕̟̰̖̺̽͒̇̋̓̕͠a̷̗̹͇̻̲̣͗̊̊̐͜s̶̜͚̺̥͍̘̹͈͚͑n̶͉͔̬͎̖͂̓’̶̨̥̫͕͈͇̪̟̅̄͜͝t̷̞̔͛͝ ̴͓͙̩̺̣̞͈̀̂̔D̸̢̨̬̣͈̩͕͉͖̞̓͐į̷̫̲̪̘̲̣͐̊̿͆̄̈́͘͝͝r̶͖̬̽̍̓͘͠e̷̢̡̲̫̥͕͇̞͎͛c̵̰̖̙̫̲̻̤̜̑́ţ̴͎̤̲̩̰̥̻͑̐o̸͚̲̯̲͐̏̏̓̀̒̏͠r̸̝̗̟̔͋̐̊́͛̕͝ ̸̻̥͚̙̰͈͕̫̈́͛̄̋̈́̓̀͘d̶̡̨̲̫̗͚̻͙̞̻͊̍̉͘ų̵̓̌̄̋d̸͕̘̯̓͛́͋̈́̌̊é̴͇ ̵̺̤̳͇̘̀̒̋̅͐l̶̝͙̹̱̮͕̩͈͒͐̃̒̀̏̽̓̀̕ë̴̟̞̮͈͈͈̫̜͓́̇͛͐͘f̴̮̮̬̣͕͎̔́́̌ţ̷̨̭̮̜͈̣͇̀͌͌̂͒̈́̐̓͋͝ ̶̧̛͍̟͎̘̥̳̇̾́̿͐̂͠f̸̛͇͂͂́̅́̿̑̕o̶͓͈̘̘̯̾̑̿͝r̶̢̨͎̤͉͈̙̱͚͂̀͂̓͗̆̓͑͜͝ ̷̱͇͍͍͎̞̘͔̒̒͆̔̒͠ͅw̴̛͈̔o̴̢̳̫͍͕̙̻͋̉͒͊̀r̴̙̆k̶͔͖̮͈̘͎͋͘ ̷̳͚͇̅̋͑̆̍͗̍y̴͇̞̺̽͆̑̈́͊̎e̵͈̻̞̖̗͓͋̀̋̆̇̐t̵͓̰́̏̇̒̎̌̑̌̈́̆͜?̸̞͈̭̗̤̟̗̺͍͔́̂̈́̐̃͗͂͋͛̅

𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻: 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗠𝗖. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿, 𝗠𝗖?

𝗠𝗖: 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗹

𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻: 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲. 𝗜 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 Ź̴̡̛̮͉̻̳̰̇̄̔̇̀̿̄͘͜ͅͅĕ̷̙̜̘͒̅̇̿͒̀͒n̶̲͒̍͗

606 zoned out, it’s not like she had a ton of options, she had already seen this chat, the only difference was that every thing regarding zen was glitched out. The two men continued to bicker about cats and how much of a douche Jumin was, it was rather entertaining the first time but it had started to get old.

Saving...

Incoming call from Jumin Han

call declined

She moved onto her computer, the only task was to get Yoosung’s bad ending and not die, right?

oh yeah the not die part, thats what was bothersome. Sure, she didn’t know what would happen if Yoosung unlocked his yandere side but death would be somewhere considering he’s a yandere.

The previous playthrough, ZEN’s route, didn’t kill off ZEN, just brainwashed him. 606 was able to not follow unknown’s lead by breaking through the code and creating a new option:

“ɴᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄʀᴇᴇᴘ. (ʀᴜɴ ᴀᴡᴀʏ)”

The next chatroom wouldn’t open until 10:04, she had enough time to work on some coding and focus on what’s in front of her. An error notification that read:

𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗘𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝟳𝟬𝟳

𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯|𝘖𝘒

It was the second time it had happened, the memory error 707 caused by the A.I 707, a fitting name for someone so troublesome. it drove her nuts, why couldn’t he just forget and move on like every other A.I? He just had to remember and take every opportunity to break from the script and taunt her with comments about her breaking Jaehee and brainwashing Zen.

𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝟕𝟎𝟕 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭:

𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝 𝕚 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕣𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕦𝕟, 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕖𝕖𝕥! 𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕝

- 𝔾𝕠𝕕 𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟

Another prank report, she figured she would save the message into her 707 files to check later for…

research purposes.

She truly hated that A.I’s digital guts.

9̴:̴3̴0̴ ̴A̴M̴ ł₦₵Ø₥ł₦₲ ₵₳ⱠⱠ ₣ⱤØ₥ 707

“Speak of the devil”

Sure, this call wasn’t part of the games schedule but calls like this were her favorites, she could speak her mind just like that red-headed A.I who had no idea how much she liked his little pranks.

Call accepted

“Hello! This is your captain speaking seven-zero-seven, bringing you your morning news! On this morning’s chatroom ZEN just couldn’t speak properly, he’s gotta cut out on those beers! hehe”

“Morning, 707. You seem as happy as ever, a little too cheerful there talking about your friend. Aren’t you mad?”

“Mad? You think I can’t fix this? Me? God seven?”

“Then why don’t you?”

“It’s fun seeing you frustrated over me remembering and screwing over your little plan, think that’s enough.”

“Wow you’re soooooooooo nice. Did you only call to taunt me?”

“...What? No! I-I’m! That’s not what I meant! Six-!”

“See you in the chatroom.”

Call ended

She looked around her room made up by binary code, sometimes she would see zero’s and one’s flash, an error. She thought she was an error which made her fit right in. Her existence bothered her, she pretended to be the MC, the player. Sometimes she wondered if she messed with the code enough it would erase her, that frightened her. She was always cautious tho and never dared to touch the character files corresponding to MC in fear.

“A new chatroom has opened!”

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟭:

𝟭𝟬:𝟬𝟰: 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲'𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘁'𝘀

𝟳𝟬𝟳, 𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻

𝗠𝗖: 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼, 𝟳𝟬𝟳

𝟳𝟬𝟳: 𝗪𝗼𝘄! 𝗜𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝟲𝟬𝟲! 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲!

𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻: 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗿 "𝟲𝟬𝟲", 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗹? 𝗜 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

- 𝘌𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 606 -

Quickly deleting the chatroom window would reset it, and seeing the mistake 707 made, she thought it would be the best to do this, truth is he hated when she did it so it served him right.

𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟭:

𝟭𝟬:𝟬𝟰: 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲'𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘁'𝘀

𝟳𝟬𝟳, 𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻

𝗠𝗖: 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼, 𝟳𝟬𝟳

𝟳𝟬𝟳: 𝗪𝗼𝘄! 𝗜𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 MC! 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲!

𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻: 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.𝗠𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

𝟳𝟬𝟳: 𝗹𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘄𝗮𝘆.

𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻: 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵.

𝟳𝟬𝟳: 𝗞𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗹. 𝗢𝗵. 𝗠𝗖, 𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝘁, 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁? 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿

𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻: [𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼]

𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻: 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗜'𝗺 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱..

The two kept talking about Jumin’s cat, how 707 is a dangerous man because he never listens and 707′s religion, it was a weird chatroom. Every time 606 had an option to take sides she always took seven’s, mainly because she heavily disliked the “rich man” personality. Jumin left the chatroom once his driver arrived leaving 707 and 606 alone for a little bit. In the program, he was supposed to talk about work but the conversation quickly changed topic.

𝟳𝟬𝟳: 𝗦𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰. 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁.

𝗠𝗖: 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗱~!

𝟳𝟬𝟳: 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁. 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁?

𝗠𝗖: 𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝗔.𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱'𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹

𝟳𝟬𝟳: 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿? 𝗹𝗼𝗹

- 𝗠𝗖 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 -

- 𝟱 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 -

- 𝟳𝟬𝟳 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 -

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

words: 1,067

Oh god I didn’t think I’d ever write this. I’m not gonna write every chatroom bc they rlly do b long. i want to implement images for the chatrooms as well but my laptop started glitching out when i tried to do that but probably next time! Also! Wanted to make clear that i’m probably not the first one to do something involving 606 and stuff

feedback is MUCH appreciated but yeah! bye bye!

#mystic messenger #707 #saeyoung choi #saeyoung #luciel choi #mystic messenger 707 #mystic messenger yoosung #yoosung #luciel #jumin #jumin han #this isn't rlly an x reader i think idk let's see where this goes #i made this kinda like a 707x606 accidentally but like 707 loves u in every route so ykno #zen #hyun ryu #606 #agent 606 au

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the-passenger-if · 5 years

Note

because you’re the first (and my favorite) cog blog i follow, i was wondering if you had any tips on how to get into the coding and writing for my own story? any direction would be greatly appreciated! and of course sorry to bother you if you get a lot of these asks!

No problem at all :) This one will be a long answer, so I'll break it into two. Also, this is sort of a short break for me, I'll answer the other asks later.

Alright, I'll assume you have no idea about choicescript so sorry if I sound condescending or anything.

What you need:

- Notepad++

First the easy (ha!) part: coding.

Go to this page and read everything, DON'T download anything yet. That's the introduction to choicescript and it's pretty easy to follow (I mean, I could follow it and I have zero coding experience and half of my neurons might as well be mashed potatoes).

This page contains explanations to what each command does (it's shorter than it looks, I promise).

Once you have some idea of what does what it's time to talk about the pain in the butt that's been mozilla firefox latest update. You see, mozilla was the only browser that played nice with choicescript, any other will show you an error page if you try to run your game outside of dashingdon.com (the page that hosts the forum WIPs) and you need to test your game in private before uploading it for everyone to see. Then update 68 happened and it screwed us all (they could've waited until update 69, opportunity lost there, mozilla guys) so Dan (one of the creators of choicescript) found a workaround and I'm sure it's awesome for people whose brain cells aren't half brain cells, half mashed potatoes but for me it's like fifth grade math: impossible.

So here's the branching part of my explanation (how very interactive-fictiony of me) you can either go with Dan's way (best way) or you can go with mine ("easy" way). If you choose Dan's, you can read his posts, try to make sense of everything, then go back to the tutorial page and download node.js, and the choicescript source from github.

If you want to try it my way download an older version of mozilla, install it somewhere where it can't auto upgrade like some freaking skynet creep—I have mine in a USB stick. [NOTE: never ever use this downgraded version to browse the web unless you want an orgy of trojans all over your PC] Go here and download the file. It's a RAR of my own choicescript folder (hopefully I'm not doing something I shouldn't, but it's for educational purposes and I'm not getting anything out of this so idk). Extract it, go to your neutered mozilla and drag index.HTML (it's inside the 'web' foder) into it. The test "game" should run without problems.

There are 2 other HTML files that will be your best friends—if pretty dense sometimes; quicktest and randomtest. Just drag them in the same way you do with index. Here is where Notepad++ comes in handy since quicktest says stuff like: QUICKTEST FAILED LINE 1408 SHOULD BE A REPTILE BUT IT'S A TURTLE (quicktest you dumb dramatic bitch). Then you open the troubling scene in Notepad++ and look for the specific line that's making quicktest cry.

And that's all for the basics, then there's stuff like multireplace (awesome when your npcs can be either non-binary or binary and it looks something like this "Roach blows you a kiss" vs. "${r_they} @{r_plural wink|winks} at you") but all that is extra stuff that you learn as you realize you need some specific piece of coding for your game.

Now go out there and practice practice practice. Go to the forum and try different WIPs and every time one does something that has you like "how did they do this?" take a look at the code, try to figure it out, learn from what other people do. [To see a game's code you need to add /scenes after mygame/ so, for example, The Passenger's would look something like this https://dashingdon.com/play/pime/the-passenger/mygame/scenes/]

Also, always ask the author if you can use their code before adding it into your game (imho the way Malin coded Ortega's and Mortum's genders is the best way to go, so I sent him a pm asking if he was ok with me stealing his code and he said there was no problem, and now you can pick between three options for Roach and Horizon thanks to Malin. Malin deserves all the love).

Part dos. The fun/stressing/i'll-kill-everyone-and-myself part: writing.

Read, read a lot, find whatever you fancy and suck the marrow out of it. Read books, comic books, manga, whatever. Watch movies, watch documentaries about those movies. Find what you like about them—a scene, a style, a tone, a piece of dialogue—and think about why it resonates with you. Listen to sad music, listen to upbeat music, feel things. Talk to your friends, see people interact. Think about why you love them. The awesome thing about being an artist is we are lucky to be always learning, improving our craft, even when we're at the cinema or getting drunk with friends; everything can be used in a story later on. A mathematician only improves when they are doing stuff with numbers (also known as magic), a fisher only improves when they are fishing; we improve just by living and going through experiences (there's also a lot of work involved in writing, but you get my drift).

Write, write, write, and when you aren't writing think about writing [here's a bunch of cool people that know what they're talking about]

Don't stop if your first attempt ends up in nothing; I started two different stories on this format before The Passenger. The first one was about a hacker and I wrote 10k words before realizing I knew nothing about hackers; the second was a story about a soldier getting killed off in the first chapter, then coming back from the dead thanks to some otherwordly being and looking to get revenge on the ones that killed them—so creative very original. This time around I managed to finish one chapter (20k words). Then The Passenger happened and it was love at first keystroke. Writing MC's inner monologue always brought a smile to my face and so I thought, Hey if this makes me happy, then maybe there's someone out there that will enjoy it too. And now here we are, who would've thunk it?

Once you're happy with your story, upload it to dashingdon.com, then create a new topic on the forum. The cog forum is super chill and 99% of people there are super chill too.

I think that's it, good luck and happy coding/writing :3

#ask #writing stuff #iotacarbine

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lizzybeth1986 · 5 years

Text

Very Slow Thoughts on TRH Book 1 Chapter 8

• This chapter is meh. It's basically a full chapter of the writers taking the Walker ranch portion of the story, and stretching it like chewing gum at this point. I was pretty much sleepwalking through this one tbh.

• The only interesting bit in this was the Drake childhood scene, but because the initial scenes will always be slight buildup to the actual meat of the backstory - rather than the story itself - its placement in a chapter as dull as this one doesn't exactly do it any favours.

• To avoid seeing these posts on your dash, you can block the following tags: #trh quick thoughts, #trh qts, #trh qt reblogs, #long post

• Screenshot Credits:

Drake: @thefirstcourtesan and the HIMEME YouTube channel

Hana: The Abhirio YouTube channel

I'm sorry I don't have any Maxwell screenshots this time around, since I couldn't find it on YouTube, and I wasn't able to ask permission for screenshots on time. As soon as a video of his route is up on YouTube, I'll try adding the collages with his screenshots up. But I do have a tiny gist of what happens in certain portions of his playthrough, thanks to Tumblr, so I'll put those up as quotes.

• Title: Ride Like The Wind

Alternate Title: There Are Other Things My MC Could Be Riding...But Okay

• We begin with the sisters (yeah Leona and Bianca are back to being sisters now), worrying over how they'll get their cattle to the upcoming auction on time since every ranch hand they'd reached out for help pretty much declined.

• Not only is stubbornness a family trait, but so is the tendency to judge people at face value (I'm looking at you, Leona).

• There are a bunch of parallels between the Walker Ranch situation and the Beaumont house one in Book 1: both for the Regatta and the Beaumont Bash. Only difference is, the writers won't bother to expand much on Beaumont History but throw around every minute detail they can imagine for Drake's family (IIRC, even the mystery in Beaumont House in Book 1 was mostly Savannah related).

• Even in moments of dire need, Leona HAS to slip in snide remarks about people she barely knows.

Slight variation on the third option, if you're married to Drake. The other two highlight either the fact that the MC spent most of her life as a commoner and could think on her feet, and the second establishes that she has at least some riding experience. Leona pokes fun at you for both, but has the sense to not deliver much of her unwanted opinion for the third (besides stating they don't have much of a choice).

• The MC also highlights the benefit of bringing the others along: Hana and Liam have a lot of riding experience, Drake is 'capable' and 'outdoorsy' and for some reason Maxwell is known only for his enthusiasm (even though Beaumont House HAS horses and a stable and the Brothers Beaumont would have had SOME experience at the very least 🤷🏽‍♀ [Didn't the Beaumont Bash involve letting in a couple horses into the house? I doubt those horses would even be there if those two didn't know how to ride and manage them]).

Hands down my favourite line in this chapter (Liam's king voice one comes a close second). I really love this because in stories like TRR/D&D, there's always that divide between nobility vs commoner, aesthetics vs utility...and in dialogues like these you can really see that difference. It reminds me a little of one of my favourite scenes from D&D Book 1, where Briar looks at the MC's embroidery and wonders aloud how a pretty piece like this would be of any use to anyone.

• The suede is fine but there's too much going on with the rest of the outfit for me to really admire it. Our LIs obviously don't agree with me:

Drake and Liam have the same dialogue, Hana and Maxwell have different ones. (in Maxwell's he tells her he is ready to "serenade my amazingly dressed, darlin' wife").

• Everyone gets their horses (Bianca gives King Liam a gentler horse so she doesn't end up indirectly harming a king, and Leona gives Bertrand a rough horse on purpose. Because Bertrand has to be on his best behaviour he agrees despite his initial fears).

• Hmm. Chuck finds out about the lack of help via a rumour. Hmmmm. Bertrand gets as skittish as his horse until the MC and Bianca remind him that they might as well take all the help they need.

• So the task is to ensure that the group reaches the big fair on time (or before) so that the sisters have enough time to prepare for their auction. Since they're short of staff and have a lot of cattle, every minute counts.

• There are roughly 3 tests that can ensure we get there on time if we pass:

- help move a group of stubborn cows from the six dozen we're taking to the auction (you can either say giddyup or scream out silly idioms that they won't understand). If you don't say giddyup, Drake will say it for you.

- Move the herd of cows away from a mud patch on the way. Drake suggests a move he and Savannah used to do as kids called The Cyclone, where 1-2 people get in the way of the herd and the riders come from another side to steer them away. This ensures that they get the cows away from the mud patch. This one is the most time-sensitive of the three, because if we fail this one a lot of time gets spent in getting the cows that fell into the mud patch out of the muck and onto the path again.

- Get a cow wandering through the stream out of it safely using a lasso. The problem arises when the cow starts fidgeting while you're taking them back. Here is where your suede outfit has an advantage, because if you choose "grip the pommel with your hands" and almost fall off the horse, the sturdy outfit will ensure you're safe.

All of this results either in you getting the cattle to the auction way before time with an hour to spare, or so late that they reach after the auction itself has begun. In the second option, Leona is nervous about their chances but Bianca insists that they did better than they could have done alone.

• Some stuff that you learn/that happens on the way:

- Chuck calls Leona Miss Walker, so is Walker really Bianca's surname rather than Jackson's? Jackson is also referred to as Jackson Walker. So whose nickname was it initially?

- Wild West Nicknames:

* Maxwell can either be Mad Maxwell or Maxwell 'Calamity' Beaumont. Both nicknames from the MC speak of his tendency to veer towards chaos, or his boundless energy.

* Liam is simply called King Liam because PB is fucking lazy.

* Drake is called The Lone Ranger by Hana, and Hana is called Lucky Lee by Drake.

* The MC can choose her nickname - Cow Boss, Jewel of the Prairie and Wild [Surname]. The second is a nice callback to both one of Valtoria's House mottos (Jewel of the Earth) and a name that Maxwell gives to a caviar dish for the Beaumont Bash (Jewels of the Sea). Personally I think the second one is a better parallel since the Beaumont House situation was already a precursor to what is going on with the Walker Ranch.

Well yes Liam, on people.

That aside...Jesus Christ is this man adorable.

- Alright, so much as I can't stand Leona? At least she has a legitimate ax to grind with Cordonian monarchy. Why the hell is CHUCK being like her and acting all condescending?? The closest thing to a 'noble' he's been around was Savannah and they barely even had anything together if we go by what Savannah says. What is he, the shit stirrer of Walker Ranch?

I have two points to make about this:

1. Constantine...is a fucking asshole. Most of us knew that. I think TRH just seems to be expanding more on that.

2. Sooo...exactly what was Constantine like before the Nevrakis ppl did what they did coz at this point he sounds like an utter failure in every way imaginable. His wife seems to have serious issues with him at this point, he's too busy fighting to spend any time with his kids (well. at least the one the writers remember), has neglected his friend Hakim, doesn't have good political relations with anyone, screws over the King Guard who he gave a Guardian of the Realm honour to earlier, for saving his life...after the man has died.

3. Leona pretty much doesn't seem to care about anything else besides the money Bianca could have been bringing in. It's the main thing she mentions when we first meet her, and it's the front and center of what she's telling us now. What Bianca was going through, the fact that her kids were left behind in an environment that was seemingly not a good one for them - she hasn't mentioned this so far in any of her more obvious complaints towards the nobility. I mean, is that the first thing you think about when your sister returns to her maternal home after such a devastating tragedy? Really??

4. The other funny thing is...she complains about not getting compensation from the royalty yet forgets that for a whole year or more when Bianca and Leona were not there for her (not their fault obviously, since she likely never told them)...it was a noble family's money that supported Savannah and Bartie. The money of the same Bertrand Leona is now enjoying lording over. I guess she would only know this if she were actually giving her sister's children the time of day, and I have hardly seen her do so, so far.

• Once we reach the fair and the sisters have moved forward to where the auction is happening, we are allowed to check out the rest of the fair. Cue diamond scene!

• I kinda think of this as a Group-LI kind of diamond scene - one where you spend time with the characters, but not separately. In a usual group scene they interact and do stuff together before you get time alone with them, but here, the group interactions are minimal and you get time with each LI in different situations. If you are married to said LI, the dialogues are obviously more romantic.

Drake: Opts for bull riding. He's shocked at the number of waivers he has to sign before participating, has a tough time atop the bull BUT manages to stay on longer than the rest. The rest of the group cheers him on as he comes out victorious, and the MC can either be baffled at his daring, or try it out herself.

The MC who is Drake's wife can opt to kiss him just before he participates and tell him to be safe.

Maxwell: Asks us to join in a tandem pie eating competition with him. The MC and Maxwell can either easily win, or be disqualified for starting a pie fight. Either way, the experience is a blast.

As Maxwell's wife, you get to kiss him after you've won/gotten disqualified, and tell him how his ability to make you laugh and have fun is exactly why your marriage is so amazing. (as Maxwell puts it: "never a dull day and more pie eating contests than you'd expect").

Hana: Has found a dressage-trained horse, and is happily getting the horse to do a perfect figure-eight. What follows is a heartfelt conversation about what home means to her, all the possibilities she can now freely explore, and the changes she has experienced. You can either tell her about her tendency to be competitive (something she apparently did not know herself...uh, yeah, sure), or her love and loyalty towards her friends.

As Hana's wife, you can kiss her, tell her you're falling more and more in love with her each day, and Hana gets to tell you that for her, home is where you are.

Liam: Has learned how to make a lasso from a local at the fair. He speaks of how places like these make him feel like he perhaps may understand his own people better, even if these activities are not what the court would expect or approve of from a king. He can show a few rope tricks to the MC, like catching a chair with a lasso, or be 'captured' by the MC.

As Liam's wife, there's the opportunity to flirt either by using the lasso on Liam, or asking him to tie you up.

• Savannah gives an update from Bertrand on how the cattle drive has gone, and Drake brings along some Texas barbeque. The group love it, but the MC finds it a little too much on the spicier side (bold of you, team TRH, to think I can't handle the seasoning in Texas when I have numbed my tongue on bird's-eye chilis!).

• Gah. The paps again. But this time, we're prepared and able to put a positive spin on our trip to Texas (this is either a romantic getaway to ensure we conceive a child, supporting a local business, attending the wedding of a noble) and the paparazzo runs with it. Chuck comes to our 'rescue' a minute later and Savannah is very appreciative.

• Tensions continue brewing beneath the surface between Bertrand and Chuck. Chuck tries to bond with Bartie, who is naturally a friendly child, and Bertrand isn't able to hide how he feels about this. You get to either deflect the situation by telling Bertrand to show Bartie how a "Beaumont high-five" works, or by telling Chuck not to cut into Bartie's animal petting time.

• Savannah complains. Only improvement is that at least this time she mentions that she's spoken to Bertrand and even then he feels he has something to prove (gee, Savannah, I wonder why. It's not like your AUNT has anything to do with that, for sure!)

• "Whatever's going on with Bertrand, I hope he figures it out before our wedding". 'Because I sure as hell don't care', Savannah forgot to add. Like...the root of his current insecurities is right in front of her. Right in her family. Leona has been rubbing it in that he is a 'useless noble' ever since he's been here (even giving him a skittish horse on purpose) and not once has Savannah ever said a thing - either in front of Bertrand, or secretly to us in all the times she's been complaining about him. That's a...surprisingly cavalier attitude for someone getting married to this guy in a couple days.

• Seeing Bertrand, Savannah and Bartie as a family leads the MC and LI to talk about their own search for a family. Nowadays I generally tap over a scene like this because I personally find the MC having the option to be upset and sorry for herself about not being pregnant, a little annoying. I wouldn't under normal circumstances, considering what this book is about (in fact I would be quite happy) - but I think I'm allowed to feel sore over the fact that the MC unfairly gets the space to feel about this the way others can't. So yeah, for me scenes like these are not worth talking about.

• We're back at the ranch, where the group laughs and reminisces over the last trip some of them (Liam, Drake, Savannah) took to the ranch, and the strongest memory we here about is of Jackson, Drake's father who was once Constantine and Eleanor's security detail.

• In our second childhood diamond scene, we are taken back to their last visit to the ranch, where a rather unwell Eleanor is protected by Jackson, and where the children witness a fight between the king and queen. Drake and Jackson have a conversation in the stables later, where the father evades questions about Constantine and Eleanor from a very worried son, and instead chooses to ask him questions about his future. Here are the things I could glean from the scenes:

- Bianca doesn't get a younger sprite here even though she is present in the scene, and there's a chance that they're maybe saving that for a flashback scene for her (?)

- Eleanor's meant to appear unwell, tired and very unlike herself in this sequence - and even if we've just met her it's quite clear that something is off with her. She is shown looking weary a couple of times, and Jackson says "easy does it" at one point. She shows a lot more frustration towards Constantine than in the last scene, calling him out for his paranoia and asking him if his questions (about her wanting an alliance with Auvernal) are an order from the king rather than a request from her husband. Even Constantine points out that she is not herself.

- Other than Auvernal being her maternal home, what else do we know about her connections there? (besides that telling quote by Bradshaw about Eleanor always graciously welcoming them - which interestingly seems to leave out Constantine). I feel like the upcoming trip there next chapter is going to give us an insight into that.

- There is a heavy emphasis on Liam and Drake's friendship, and Drake's feeling of 'responsibility' towards Liam...which I think is kind of a pointer to the whole question of him returning to court after the assassination and staying with Liam when they're older. Even his conversation with Jackson has the latter mentioning that he would be of the most help if he keeps Liam and his parents happy during their time in the ranch.

- The ending itself shows a significant shift from Drake's attitude towards Liam in the first half (playful, friendly, wants Liam to be safe around his mother's home) to the last (protective, determined to cheer Liam up and more reflective). This scene is clearly a Drake scene through and through and the approach is very different from the first set of childhood scenes. This might be how childhood solo scenes will be dealt with from now on.

- Jackson also mentions not being able to speak openly about the problems between Constantine and Eleanor, and Liam tells us later on that he was kind of a confidant to both of them. Jackson also mentions in the stable scenes that he is responsible for keeping them alive but not for their personal problems. The perfect King Guard. Constantine is an ass for denying his family compensation (but also I wonder if there is more to that story the way they frame it. I hope they don't try to force another of those "it was for the good of Cordoniaaaaa" excuses the writers always keep ready for Constantine.

- If Olivia was so suspicious, why were they leaving her behind?

- There are significant differences between the Drake playthrough and other playthroughs in terms of certain scenes. One lies in the options little Drake can make with regards to his future. The third options in both playthroughs show indicators of his future. If present-day Drake is single in your playthrough, it will focus on his desire for a simpler life. If he is married now, then the flashback will include this:

The other two options are Drake speaking about wanting to be a King Guard like his dad, and wanting to stay Liam's best friend. The King Guard thing obviously doesn't happen, the second one happens because Liam almost died. The third one is more clearly a pointer to Drake's future.

- Another significant variation if you are married to Drake is that you have a conversation with him after the scene is over, about his thoughts on his child becoming an heir to the throne:

Reminds me of the conversation we had at the American bar. On the one hand, I like this because as an outsider in the court and someone close to the security detail at the time, he would think of Liam's life very differently. Kids are impressionable, and ostentatious shows of wealth in front of a kid who cannot afford that much can definitely sting.

- Hmm. Hmm. So Liam's sacrifices only become important to Drake when his own kid might face the same challenges? Until then he will yap about how much luckier Liam is and how everything revolves around Liam? How girls were after Liam and not him (yet the one girl who did like him, he eventually treated like trash)? How he thought of Liam as "leading the MC on" by spending time with her when they first met/during the social season? (that's an actual dialogue he says, in Book 3 Chapter 16). Added to this is the fact that Drake stayed in the palace for free, as Liam's friend, and hardly had to do much (he freely roams around the cities Liam has to visit for diplomatic reasons, he can opt out of court events when he wants, he doesn't even have to dress the way others do - even the MC that doesn't buy outfits has to wear a gown that represents her sponsors/duchy for official events). Now when it's convenient for Drake he chooses to think about the flip side? When that flip side should have been the most obvious to him, the Prince/King's best friend??

• The setup for the next chapter comes in the form of a letter from Auvernal, asking the MC to meet them. Well. It's not Texas, so I'll take it.

General Thoughts:

- I don't have a lot to say about this chapter. There's not much really. It's boring and bland and even the nice Drake childhood scene at the end can't save it.

- Bianca's little line about not wanting to harm a King on her ranch...I feel like part of it may be concern because Liam was after all her son's best friend, and part of it may be wariness because of Constantine? But a lot of this is definitely me reading too much into this one little line 😅

- It does have some decent callbacks though:

* Team TRH FINALLY remembers that Hana has done dressage, which was shown to us as far back as TRR Book 1 Chapter 13. Brava!

* The whole premise of a family struggling with money problems and us offering help and getting the job done, is very reminiscent of the pre-Beaumont Bash sequences where we were scrambling together appetizers, helping with cleaning and setting up the ballroom for the big event. It's kind of ironic because the Beaumonts were in this position once, and now at least 3 books later they are involved in helping the sisters get the cattle drive going.

* The pie fight in Maxwell's section of the diamond scene has some similarities to the food fight in the fondue party scene in Book 2.

* Hana's response to eating barbeque strongly resembles how she approaches eating sloppy joes in Book 1, at the beach party. Back there, she is nervous about sampling the food because it is messy, and here she initially asks about utensils to eat it with, to which Maxwell says "you have ten of them!" referring to her fingers.

* The Jewel nickname for the MC, which we've seen versions of before in Book 1 and Book 3.

* A lighter version of the MC-Drake conversation in the Drake x MC playthrough can be found in the American bar scene in Book 1, where he speaks about how his parents always tried to get him things for his birthday but Liam's parents always went many steps ahead simply because they could afford it.

* Drake being called the Lone Wolf by Hana, which was something the MC could opt to dub herself in her interview at the Derby in Book 1? (a bit of a stretch I know but I'm having fun with this okay 😂)

- Could a kind anon (or not-anon) tell me if there is a reference behind 'Lucky Lee'? In fact behind all the names except maybe the Lone Wolf one for Drake. I couldn't find any hehehe.

- Now that we're going to Auvernal, I think we'll find (paywalled) clues there that might tell us more about Eleanor. Those clues about her changed behaviour and physical condition must have been placed exactly here for a reason.

- Usually Chapters 9 or 10 have been chapters that dealt with some aspect of Constantine and his family (his abdication + news of his impending death in Book 1, discovery of his involvement in the conspiracy in Book 2, and his death in Book 3). So now would be the perfect time to discover the truth about Eleanor and her relationship with Constantine, and what was troubling her.

- One theory I have is that Eleanor's being slow-poisoned, and these may be symptoms of what she is having. @thefirstcourtesan mentioned that pregnancy could be a reason too, and it would be another connecting factor with the MC. One thing that I do feel a little certain about is that this trip to Texas may have been a little while before she died.

- How is it that the narrative has absolutely no memory of the fact that Leo was once heir to the throne? I can imagine him not being very close to Liam-Drake-Maxwell or being a teenager who didn't want to be around his father (esp if that father is acting the way Constantine does in these scenes)...but not even a reference? A mention? You have the time to draw an entire sprite of little Savannah who pretty much has very little to do with this part of the story (or any part of the overall story) but Leo isn't even mentioned? Sounds a little fishy to me.

- I possibly wouldn't have minded Savannah's complaining and lack of proactiveness with the Bertrand situation, if their entire storyline didn't revolve around her being this "perfect angel" Bertrand has to be worthy of, and Bertrand's mistakes repeatedly being pulled up while Savannah doesn't have to answer much for the occasions where she is irrational or hasn't made good decisions. What we're seeing now is just an extension of this particular storyline.

- You can tell that the original epilogue series was meant to revolve around the Walker Ranch coz whatever we're seeing here is probably way way more than we have seen of Cordonia so far. There are frantic attempts to tie this to the overall plotline, but within the larger picture it makes very little sense.

Like I hate the paparazzi in the series and even then I found myself agreeing when he pointed out that it was weird that half the Royal Council was roaming around Texas.

- Speaking of the Council I wonder what the other court ladies were doing while we were at the fair. Sleeping off those hangovers?

- There could be other childhood/flashback scenes coming up. We will need an adult perspective, so Bianca might get one. Olivia needs to be seen as important and relevant to the plot (plus Constantine was shitty to her too), so she will get one.

- I wonder why Bastien had such a loyalty and attachment to Queen Eleanor (as stated in Book 2 by Regina) if he actually wasn't that close to the royal couple then (Jackson seems to fulfill that role here). I'm pretty sure they're probably going to ignore/forget that little detail.

- Will Hana and Maxwell get flashback scenes? They should, and there are ways you could incorporate that even if they weren't involved as much. Maxwell's could (FINALLY) focus on what happened to his family fortunes and you could slip in a little something about the palace there. Hana's could focus on her family and also have Lorelai catch up on Cordonian news/talk to her Cordonian relatives. Liam needs a solo scene of his own too, because after this I'm pretty sure his life takes a turn for the worse. If Hana and Maxwell (but esp Hana) don't get one...that's going to be extremely disheartening because they deserve way more attention than what they're getting now. I'm sincerely hoping we see more of their childhood memories too.

- You know what I'm REALLY looking forward to? Writing TRR 1's Chapter 8 QT. I'm very fond of that chapter and have a whole bunch of points to make about it 😀

- Until the next chapter, everyone!

#long post #trh quick thoughts #trh qts #the royal heir #king liam #hana lee #maxwell beaumont #drake walker #bertrand beaumont #savannah walker

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fluffy-marshmallow-heart · 5 years

Text

Drake's Diary ch.30 -Return To Cordonia

The Royal Romance from Drake's POV

Drake x MC (Emma Rose)

Words: 5370

Master List (Catch up here)

This one is a bit dialogue heavy...sorry. Only a couple chapters left probably!

The next morning, everyone is gathered around the breakfast table on the royal train.

“I’m glad we’re finally going back to Cordonia. New York was fun, but it’ll be nice to stop sleeping in hotels.” Emma said excitedly.

Olivia scoffed. “Not to mention on trains.”

“Yeah, it’s too bad we couldn’t fly straight home. You said there was some kind of security issue with the last leg of our flight, Liam?” Drake looks at his friend.

He nodded. “Probably nothing to worry about, but when the Royal Guard voices concerns, I find it best to listen to them. Taking the train was mostly a precaution. I promise we’ll all be home in Cordonia soon enough.”

While everyone else tucks into their food, Emma catches Drake’s eye across the table. As the train speeds toward Cordonia, he can hardly take his eyes off her.

I can’t believe she’s mine. I am such a lucky bastard.

He sets his plate aside as everyone finishes their breakfast. Olivia is the only one not touching her food, and finally, she set her fork down hard with a clatter.

“If no one else is going to ask about the elephant in the room, then I will. Emma. Your reputation has been restored, and with Madeleine out of the picture…I assume Liam asked you to marry him.”

Liam’s mouth fell open. “Olivia, I…”

“Judging from that face and that neither of you have mentioned it, I also assume you said no.” She interrupted.

Emma kept her tone even. “Actually…you’re right. I said no.”

This time is was Olivia’s jaw that dropped. “You…Why would you…”

Liam held up a hand. “Olivia, please. This was a personal matter between Emma and me. She doesn’t need to explain her reasons to you, or to anyone.”

“I…I’m sorry, Liam.” She glances quickly at Drake, then just as quickly looks away. “My…apologies…Emma.”

Alright, well, I guess there’s no question about why she turned down his proposal anymore.

“It’s alright. But I’m afraid I must take my leave of you all. The press will be waiting when we arrive at the palace and I have a few notes to prepare.” Liam stood up quickly, giving a slight nod to the table, avoiding both Drake and Emma’s gaze.

“They’ll probably want to hear from Emma too, after what happened at the wedding shower.” Hana pointed out.

Oh yeah. Practically all of Cordonia wants her to be Queen. Guess they’re all in for a rude awakening. Not everyone wants a kingdom. She said it herself.

Emma nodded. “I’d better get ready.” She gives Drake a brief, warm smile before heading off, Hana and Maxwell trailing behind her.

Guess I better pack my bags. We’re almost home.

The train whistle blows as it pulls to a stop, and the entourage exits into a swarm of paparazzi. Cameras flash all around and there’s a motorcade waiting for the court.

Emma immediately puts on a dignified smile.

“An elegant entrance by Lady Emma and King Liam”

“Welcome back to Cordonia, your majesty. How does it feel to be home?”

Drake tunes out as he walks unnoticed to the motorcade, getting into a vehicle and sitting down. Don’t need to be where I’m not needed.

Several minutes later, the car door opened, revealing Bastien. “Drake, we’re heading to the palace now. Lady Emma and King Liam are scheduled for lunch with Constantine and Regina. They’ll be in a different vehicle.”

“Oh…” Drake knew he wasn’t hiding his disappointment that Emma wouldn’t be able to go anywhere with him, and that he’d have to grab lunch alone. Not a minute after he resigned himself to that fact, Maxwell, Hana, and Olivia joined him in the car.

“Drake! Buddy! Guess what I discovered??”

Drake sighed. “What’s that” What is he going to drag us to now?

“There’s a beer garden not too far from the palace! It’ll be so much fun, we have to go!” Maxwell told him excitedly.

Hmm. Guess I could drink some beer for a change.

“Only if Emma goes.” He blurts out.

Olivia snorts in amusement, rolling her eyes. “Oh yes, if Emma goes, Drake will certainly be there right beside her as usual.”

“Drake’s not the only one. Where Emma goes, I go” Maxwell chimed in, unaware of the sarcasm.

Hana nodded. “It will be fun, and you know Emma’s going to agree. It’s back to courtly protocol as soon as we stepped foot into Cordonia. The press even asked if she and Liam were engaged already.”

Oh shit. I hope that went decent enough.

“So where can we find her and Liam? Maybe Liam can go?” Maxwell thought, scratching his chin.

“They’re having lunch at the palace with the former King and Queen.” Drake informed.

Hana’s eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, she’s definitely going to need a break after that. They both will.”

Olivia sighed. “Fine, fine. Let’s go get them.”

As they rode to the palace, Drake’s phone began buzzing. Fishing it out of his pocket, he grinned at the screen.

“Hey, Savannah.”

“Drake! I have good news! Maxwell did an awful lot of talking, and…he convinced me to come back to court! I’ll be there soon, I just have to pack up!”

Drake’s breath hitched. “…What? You’re coming back here? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Of course, I’m sure! Drake, I have missed you so incredibly much. I am beyond happy that you found me and were able to meet your nephew…being around you again made me realize…I still have a home in Cordonia. There are still people there I love. And, well, now that everyone knows Bertrand and I have a child together, there’s really no need to keep it a secret any longer.”

Slowly he felt his smile return to his face. “Sav, that…that sounds amazing! This really is great news! I’ll let Maxwell know he succeeded in his plan to get you back here.”

“And Emma. Emma did too.”

“What?”

“Emma! The way you two look at each other…you two are so in love and I need to make sure you don’t screw it up! I’m just so excited for you! You still have our grandma’s ring, right? You should definitely give it to her.”

“Sav!” Drake blushed furiously. “We’re not exactly there yet.”

“That’s because you’re a lovesick fool who can’t put two sentences together when it comes to this kind of thing. Don’t worry, I’ll help.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“Are you saying you don’t want to marry her?”

“Of course, I do.” He muttered. He glanced around at his friends, the only one paying attention to him was Olivia. She rose an eyebrow ad he narrowed his eyes, glaring at her.

“I gotta go Savannah, we’re heading to a beer garden.”

“Okay, have fun!! I’ll be there soon, and don’t forget to keep that ring handy! You never know when the right moment may pop up.”

He blew out a breath and said his goodbye before telling everyone that Savannah is coming home.s

“Well, well, well. The prodigal daughter returns. I have to admit, I didn’t think she had the backbone.”

“Shut up, Olivia.” Honestly, why the fuck does she care? Anyone’s business she can possibly butt into, she does. I have no idea why Rose likes her.

She shrugged. “Hear that Maxwell? Savannah’s returning.”

“Yes!!” Maxwell fist pumped the air. “I knew it!”

By this time, they finally rolled into the palace. As they stepped out, they ran right into Liam and Emma, having a low octave conversation.

I wonder how lunch went. There’s no guards or ambulances, so I guess no one died. That’s always a good sign.

“Told you we’d find them here.” Drake announced, startling Emma and Liam out of their conversation.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“Oh, not much. We just came to invite you to the best beer garden in Cordonia!” Maxwell squealed.

Drake nodded cheerfully. “Emma’s in the clear, we’re home in Cordonia…that calls for drinks if you ask me.”

Holy…I’m in a damn good mood. I forgot what this even felt like!

“Hana’s been reading this place’s menu for the last hour.” Maxwell pointed out.

“Don’t judge. They have a lot of options!” She smacked his arm playfully.

Emma turns back to Liam. “Think you can get away for a little while, Liam?”

Liam frowns thoughtfully. “I have at least a dozen meetings this afternoon, but if you’re willing to wait until the evening…”

Of course, we need to wait for him. Some things never change.

Emma smiled at him. “I’ll be there. Someone has to keep an eye on these two.”

“Meaning…Maxwell and Hana?” Drake clarified.

“I don’t think Emma was talking about me.” Hana told him lightly.

That doesn’t even make sense. I don’t get drunk. Ever. I can certainly handle my booze, and I’m offended anyone thinks I can’t. I’ll show ‘em.

As they all parted for a few hours, Drake went up to his room, turning and locking the door behind him. Walking over to his dresser, he opened the top drawer and dug through the clothing until he found the small green satin box. His hands shook as he slowly opened the lid, revealing the diamonds inside.

I forgot how beautiful it is. It’s so…sparkly. I really hope she likes it. It can’t possibly be better than the one Liam…

He shook his head, ridding himself of the thoughts. It doesn’t even matter. Because it’s from me…she’s going to love it.

He smiled softly at the gold band and the three diamonds. One larger one and two smaller on its sides. He took a shuddery breath…and put the box in his pants pocket.

Okay, Sav. I have it. Just in case.

Later, as the sun starts to set, they ride through the streets of Cordonia. Chatter and music are already spilling over the garden’s walls then they arrive.

“Wow, this place is happening!” Hana gasped.

Drake looked around in appreciation. “I guess we weren’t the only ones who wanted to unwind.”

“Who wants drinks?” Emma asked

“Ooh, can I try their Raspberry Lambic?”

Emma shrugged. “If you get a table, I’ll see what I can do.”

While Hana and Liam search for a table. Drake leads Emma and Maxwell over to the bar.

“This round’s on me.” Drake stated, pulling out his wallet.

Emma’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re buying us drinks?”

Maxwell grasps her arm. “Emma, you should check if he has a fever.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Ha ha. Can’t I be in a giving mood once in a while?”

“Not without explaining yourself.” Emma joked.

He rolled his eyes and attempted to frown…but instead he found himself grinning from ear to ear.

“Fine, if you must know…I got a call from Savannah today. She’s coming back to Cordonia.”

“That is fantastic! You two can finally spend time together again!” Emma exclaimed.

He nodded vigorously. “Yeah. Yeah, we can. It’ll be good to catch up with her. Get to really know Bartie.”

“I’m guessing you aren’t the only person she and Bartie are coming to see.” Emma points to the far wall of the garden, where Bertrand is sitting alone, staring into a pint of beer.

“Oh, no.” Maxwell groaned.

Fucking Bertrand. “I’ll, er, let you two handle this.” Drake hurries off to a different section of the bar to grab the drinks, watching Emma and Maxwell walk over to Bertrand.

Fucker better not mess with my sister again, or I swear to god…

After receiving the tray of drinks, Drake walks over to the table Hana reserved for them. To his great disappointment, Olivia was also there. A moment later, Emma and Maxwell came over as well.

“Ah. So, Emma’s deigned to join us.” Olivia sighed.

Emma grinned. “Olivia. I missed you.”

Olivia shrugged, a hint of a smile on her face. “I admit, this gathering was growing dull without your senseless antics.”

“Hey, our antics are of the highest quality.” Hana argued.

“Come on, Olivia. Have a drink with us.” Emma told her.

“I already have a drink, Emma, are you blind? You can’t see I’m holding it?”

“Ugh, shut up Olivia.” Drake raised his glass to the center of the table, and everyone clinks their glasses together and takes a sip of the cool, crisp lager.

“Mmm. This is perfect.” Hana sighed happily.

Liam agreed. “It’ good to be home among friends.”

Drake chuckled. “Mostly among friends.” He pointedly looks over at Olivia.

“For your sake, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Drake shrugged. Whatever you need to do. I certainly don’t need saving from you.

As they all enjoy their drinks, a few patrons begin saying their goodbyes. Guests wander out of the garden in twos and threes, some more wobbly than others.

Liam glanced at his watch. “It’s even later than I thought.”

Drake looked at him in surprise. “Don’t tell me you need to head back to the palace. We just got here.”

“Need to? Not necessarily, but I probably should…”

“Come on, Liam.” Maxwell groaned.

“We haven’t even gone dancing yet!” Hana complained.

Maxwell turned back to Emma. “What about you, Emma? Do you want the party to stop here?”

Drake couldn’t stop his smile from returning. Guess we’re definitely not headed back yet.

“Let the party continue!” She announced with a laugh.

Damn, I love her.

“You heard her!” Maxwell races over to the music controller in the beer garden. He fiddles with it until a danceable, upbeat song begins to play.

“That’s more like it! I propose a toast! To us! There’s no one else I’d rather be here with.” Emma looked around at her friends proudly, and everyone raises their glasses except for Olivia. After a pointed pause, she lifts hers and sighs.

“You are all…a decent source of entertainment.”

“We try.” Emma beamed.

“Music, check. Audience, check. We have almost everything we need for a dance party…except more drinks!”

“I’m on it!” Emma jumps up, walking to the bar. About ten minutes later, she returns.

“Drinks achieved. Where am I supposed to dance my heart out in this place?”

Maxwell looked around. “There’s plenty of space if you know where to look.” He hops up on a small table and begins dancing to the beat. Each step brings him just short of the table’s edge as he shimmies across its surface.

“Maxwell, let me show you how it’s done.” Emma hope on her own table, steps, slides, and shimmies to the music.

“I think she’s got you beat.” Drake laughs, downing his drink. Before he knows it, there’s another in his hand.

“We’ll call it a tie.” Maxwell mumbled.

She climbs down from her personal table as Drake helps Liam put several tables end-to-end into a long ‘dance table.’

Rashad glares at Drake. “We might have been using that table, you know.”

Seriously? “It wasn’t even touching yours.”

Neville scoffed. “That’s not the point. A gentleman would have asked.”

Gentleman my ass.

Drake pointedly drags the table away with a smirk on his face. Rashad turns back to his drink, sighing. “Remind me why you brought me here instead of to a quiet bar?”

“After a long royal tour, I find it refreshing to unlance one’s boots and fraternize among the commoners.” Neville waved his hand dismissively at Drake.

Oh that mother f…

“Ugh. His name should be in the dictionary under ‘pompous.’” Emma grimaced.

Hana suddenly stood tall. “Everyone…wait here. There’s something I need to do.” She strides over to Neville and Rashad’s table.

Neville immediately plasters a smile on his face. “Lady Hana! What a delight to find such a radiant flower in so base a setting. I told you she’d be back, Rashad. A woman in her situation simply can’t resist my charmi…”

“I’m not interested.” Hana interrupted loudly.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You’re self-absorbed and stuck up and…and boring! I will never be interested in you. And that blazer will never be your color.”

Neville’s jaw drops and before he can respond, Hana spins around and walks back to their group’s table. Neville stares after her, dumbfounded, while Rashad clutches his beer, looking torn between amusement and horror.

“That…felt…amazing!” Hana was beaming, and her smile was infectious.

Maxwell gives her a high five. “Damn! Overly-honest Hana is my new hero!”

Even Olivia was chuckling. “That blazer line was particularly cutting.”

Hana’s smile turned to worry. “I didn’t even know what I was going to say until I was standing in front of him. Do you think it was too much?”

Emma slung an arm around her friend. “Honestly, I have never been prouder of you. If I had a trophy I’d give you one.”

“I’ll contact the royal smithy.” Liam agreed.

Hana blushed. “You guys…”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Don’t try to be modest, Hana. You stood up to him with courage. You should be proud.”

“This calls for celebration.”

“Hold my drink!” Hana climbs onto the combined tables and begins a series of elegant steps, her arms tracing careful arcs through the air.

Liam watches in amazement. “When did you learn the Cordonia harvest dance?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure which traditional dances were still in fashion at court…so my parents had me learn all twenty-six of them.”

Twenty-six? Wow. That. Is. About the worst thing I’ve ever heard. This poor girl really never got out.

Maxwell turns to Olivia. “Olivia, what about you? I bet you secretly now how to cut loose.”

She rose her glass in response. “I’m quite content with my drink. It’ll give me a better view when one of you falls of that table.”

“Hey, we’re a coordinated bunch.” Drake drinks the last of his beer and climbs onto the table with Hana and Maxwell. He nearly tumbles off in the process, until Maxwell catches him.

Olivia smirked. “My money’s on Drake falling first.”

“Mock me if you want, Olivia, but I’m still going to have a good time!” Literally no one can take my good mood away from me. My life is good. For the first time…I love where I’m heading.

He looks down and sees Emma and Liam deep in a conversation and for a split second, his smile droops. I have no reason to be insecure. Damn. This is such a different feeling for me. I wonder if I’ll ever get used to it? I hope so. Maybe when we’re married…

Drake pats his pants and feels the edges of the box. He looks back over at Emma and tries to picture her wearing the ring.

“Emma! What are you still doing down there?” Hana called.

“I’m coming, I’m coming” She climbs onto the table as a lively folk dance begins to play through the speakers. “Drake. Over here”

Drake dances his way over to her. “We’re doing what now?”

She links her arm through his and begin to trace the steps of a circle. He concentrates on her footwork, and after a few steps, he catches on, circling her in turn. As their momentum carries them both through the rest of the song, Drake can’t stop smiling at her, enjoying a rare feeling of unbridled joy. “That was…fun, Rose”

She smiles softly. “Yeah. Yeah, it was.”

Everyone climbs down from the table to catch their breath once the song ends. Drake, Liam, and Hana then start putting the tables back together while Maxwell turns down the speakers.

Liam looks around in satisfaction. “It’s nearly midnight. This time we really should end the evening’s festivities.”

“Let’s go home.” Emma winked at Drake, his heart surging with love and warmth. They all walk home to the palace, enjoying the peaceful evening, and Drake strolls along at the back of the group, humming faintly to himself.

My sister’s coming home…Emma Rose loves me; my friends are fun…life is so good. I love life. Why don’t I feel this way all the time? Life is soooooo great. So many beautiful and wonderful things and people to do and see…er…people to see and things to do…

“Drake are you…drunk?”

He snaps his eyes up and sees only he and Emma are outside of the palace. Everyone else must have already gone inside for the night. “Noooooo way, Rose. I don’t get drunk. Maybe you’re drunk.

An amused look crosses her face. “Uh huh”

“I’m just…happy. We’re home, Savannah’s coming home…you like me for some reason…”

“Okay, you’ve definitely had more drinks than I thought.”

Drake chuckles. “My point is, things are going good. For everyone.”

“It’s about time.” She agreed.

Oh my god. I have the most brilliant idea ever. Oh, she’s going to LOVE this!!!!

He looks at her in excitement. “Hey, how about a palace tour tonight? Just you, me, and old portraits of stuffy people?”

Emma blinked. “We’re all staying in the palace. I’ve seen it.”

He shakes his head vigorously, before feeling a tad dizzy. “Nah, Rose. You’ve seen the palace the way the royal family wants you to see it.” He leans in conspiratorially. “I can show you the palace…like you’ve never seen it before.”

“Are we talking secret rooms?” She asks in a hushed tone.

His eyes widen. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore.”

“Good point.” She laughs.

“So? You coming or what?”

“Oh I’m definitely in. Where does this tour start?”

Yessssssssss

“Just keep up with me, Rose.” He grabs her hand and pulls her along, leading them to the grand ballroom. He looks around the space with interest.

“So, you brought me here to show me…tables?” She asked, skeptically.

He feigns offense. “Come on, Rose, you’ve gotta look deeper than that. Really take in the scenery.”

“Such as…?”

He starts pointing. “See how that part of the chandelier is shinier than the rest? And those flower petals in the…the…”

“The molding?” She supplied

She’s so smart. So, so smart. “Yeah, that stuff! See where a couple of them got replaced?” He walks over and points out both repairs. They would be almost impossible to spot without a guide, and he’s feeling very proud of himself for knowing the real history of the palace.

“Where do you think those came from?”

“They’re from you and Liam.” She said without hesitation.

He stared at her a moment, caught off guard. “Damn, Rose. How’d you know?”

She laughed. “You looked way too proud of it. What happened?”

“Well. There was this super rainy winter one year. I’m talking cats and dogs for days. So, after a while, me and Liam decided to play some indoor soccer.”

“That can only end well.”

“Pssh. I’m great at soccer. Best defense in the palace. So, when Liam got frustrated and tried a shot from across the room…” He mimes the trajectory of a ball bouncing from chandelier to wall to floor, complete with crashing sound effects.

“Did you get in trouble?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “…nothing your old pal Drake Walker couldn’t handle.”

“Wow. To think, this top-secret palace history has been in front of my eyes this whole time.”

That sounds like sarcasm…but she has a straight face…Ha, I’m blowing her away right now with all my knowledge.

Grinning, he goes to lean against the wall and nearly misses. He catches himself just in time. “Whoa. H-Hey. D’you want to know another secret?”

She shrugged. “Sure.”

Give yourself a pat on the back later. This is the best tour of her life!!

“…This way!” Drake leads her to a familiar hallway. He stops halfway down it and frowns at the wall.

“Uh, Drake? I’ve walked down this hallway dozens of times.”

He looks around in confusion. “No, no, this isn’t it. You’ve gotta look…Out here!” He wanders over to one of the windows and gestures outside. “This is my faaaavorie view of the hic…the whole…palace. I like how you can see through it, even though you can’t move through it.”

Drake puts his hand against the solid glass. “And there’s so much…stuff…out there.” He looks out in awe.

That is just. So beautiful.

“It sure is something.”

He looks back and sees her smothering a laugh, and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I wanted to show it to you ‘cause it’s pretty. And Emma…I mean, Rose…You’re pretty, so you and this view belong together.”

She touched his arm lightly. “I never knew drunk Drake could be so poetic.”

Whaaaaaaaaat? Again she’s calling me drunk. I’m definitely not drunk. “I’m not drunk. You’re just rrreeeaally sober.”

“Thank you…For taking me to such a romantic spot.” He can hear the sheer amusement in her voice.

“I’ve wanted to take you to this window for a long time.” He informed, smiling down on her.

“That’s…very sweet.”

“I was hoping you’d think so.” He glances back out the window and instantly realizes his mistake. “Oh, wait. This isn’t the spot. It’s this window over here. C’mon!” He leads her to another window.

“So pretty.” He murmured.

She rose an eyebrow. “…Riight. So, was this the secret you promised me?”

“Secret?” He frowns in concentration, scrunching up his nose until finally his eyes light up and he snaps his fingers. “I remember the other funny thing about this hallway.”

“What about…”

“Kiara’s room is over here.” He leads Emma a few doors down to one with an embossed sign beside it, bearing Kiara’s name. Drake knocks, but there’s no response. “No one’s home.”

“Why do you want to talk to Kiara in the middle of the night?”

He frowned, hearing the disdain in her voice. Why would I…ohhh I get it. No, that’s…no.

“I don’t.” He assured. “I want to prank her.”

Emma’s laugh rang out and she presses her lips to his cheek. “You are like a whole new person right now.”

“You still love me, right? Come on, Rose. Are we doing this or not?”

She looks around mischievously. “Let’s prank her!”

“Yeah!” He bumps her fist, then pats his shirt pocket, then pats down his jeans, feeling the ring box again.

Shit. Why did I listen to Savannah? That was stupid, it’s such a waste of pocket space.

He looks at her nervously. “Oh. I didn’t actually plan for this part. You got any ideas?”

“We should put shampoo in her bed.”

Drake looks at her in awe. God damn, she is the smarted, most brilliant woman alive. “You didn’t tell me you were an evil genius.”

She just shrugged. “Pranking people is one of my many talents.”

“Don’t let me get on your bad side.” They find an array of shampoos and conditioners in Kiara’s bathroom and lather them all over under the sheets. Drake carefully sprays hair spray onto her pillow.

“Uhh, Drake?”

Why is she looking at me like I have three heads? He looks back at the bottle in his hand. “This stuff belongs on her hair!”

“Not anymore. When you pull a prank, you’ve gotta go big or go home!”

He thought a moment, then snapped his fingers. “Got it!” He sprays the bottle again, leaving at least a few ounces of hair spray on the foot of the bed. He stepped back to admire his work.

Hmm. Can’t really see it.

“Close enough.” Emma teased.

Why are we still here? There is something way better to still be seen by her eyes, and only her eyes.

“Let me take you to our last stop.” He says abruptly. Drake leads her through parts of the palace he knows she’s barely seen before, following only his known path through the maze of hallways. Finally, he holds open a heavy wooden door and ushers her into a deserted library.

She gasps in delight. “Whoa…I didn’t take you for a library kind of guy.”

“Oh, yeah, I love books. Sometimes I even read past their covers.” He replied, distracted.

“Did you bring me here to read to me?”

This time he doesn’t even bother to respond. He wanders along the shelves, frowning in concentration, and nearly walks into a carved pillar as he traces his hand along book spines. “Where did it…” His shoulder glances off the side of a pillar, and something behind it begins to rumble. Dust rises from the nearest shelves as a panel in the wall swings open. “Oh, I found it! C’mon Rose!”

He quickly ducks inside the dimly lit tunnel. “Welcome…to my secret passage.” He looks at her proudly.

“Where does it go?” She asks curiously.

He shrugged. “A dead end. That part’s no fun. The cool part is just…this passage. It’s like a…a special hideout. That’s what I used it for, growin’ up. Whenever I got too fed up with all the phony smiles and parties…I’d come here. Where nobody could find me. Even Liam doesn’t know about this place.”

“But…now I do. Why bring me here?” She steps closer to him.

A slight blush crept up his neck. “I thought, now that you’re gonna be duchess and all…if you ever get tired of dealin’ with the court…you can come hide out here too, Emma.”

“You just did it again.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Did what?”

“Called me Emma.”

“I…oh. I did, didn’t I.” He scratches his chin, thinking hard.

Called her Emma…Why did I do that? I know there’s a reason, just…

His eyes lit up in excitement. “That’s the secret I was gonna tell you! About your name. It’s not as awesome as this, though.” He waves his hands at the ancient stone walls surrounding them.

She steps even closer. “Well, I still want to hear it. You call Liam, Maxwell, and Hana…Liam, Maxwell, and Hana. Why are you always calling me Rose?”

Drake sits down on a stone step. He runs a hand through his hair as he searches for the words. “The truth is…I started calling you Rose ‘cause I didn’t want us to get close when you showed up. Didn’t want to get…used to you. But you kept sticking around, and being you, and after that…I didn’t want you to know how I felt. So now Rose’s just my thing. Our thing. I guess. I can’t believe I called you Emma. Felt kinda weird.”

He looks back into her eyes and sees softness.

“Thank you for telling me.” She murmured quietly.

“Thank you.”

“You mean, you’re welcome?”

“No, no, no. Thank you for going on this tour with me.”

“I’d give it five stars.”

He nods happily. “That’s the because I’m the best tour guide there is…and now my work here is done.” Drake closes the secret passage behind him as they leave the library. The two of them slowly make their way back to the hallway outside Emma’s room.

She turns to face him directly, just a breath away. She trails a finger down his stomach and he inhaled sharply. “So…Maybe I can give you a tour of my room another time.”

Oh my god, she’s talking about sex. She’s talking about sex! She wants to sleep with me!!! Damn it! Why am I so drunk??

His eyes focus on her with more clarity than he’d had all night. “I…I’d like that, Rose. I’d really like that. But tonight…I’m not exactly all here. If you’re talking about the kind of tour I think you’re talking about…I don’t want to miss a thing.”

She pouts, his eyes drawn to her lips. I wish I could sleep next to her tonight. Just literally sleep. That would be so nice.

“Another time, then.” She continues.” Maybe when you’re more…” Drake barely manages to stifle a yawn. “Awake?”

He nods. “Yeah. Another time. I won’t forget.”

As he turns to go, Emma leans in and kisses him on the cheek.

“Th-thanks, Rose.” He rubs his cheek, grinning.

“Goodnight, Drake.”

He heads off to his own room as she shuts the door behind her. He starts humming again sleepily. She’s the best. I’m the luckiest guy in the whole world. And maybe I should be a tour guide…I know all kinds of history and she was completely enthralled with our palace expedition…

He pats his pocket once more, making sure the ring is still there. Okay Walker. Just keep it with you. You’ll know when the time is right. Just make it soon. It’s gotta be soon. Nothing to worry about.

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#drake's diary #drake walker fanfiction #drake walker fanfic #drake walker #drake x mc #drake x emma #trr drake #the royal romance #the royal romance fanfic #choices the royal romance #playchoices #choices stories you play #playchoices fanfic #playchoices fanfiction #fluffy-marshmallow-heart

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katedrakeohd · 4 years

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TRR 2.0 - The Verdict - Rant

Pixelberry has really shot themselves in the foot with this Royal Romance reboot. They've enraged the fandom by only allowing changes to be seen by New players only. The Original TRR was already a cash cow, and a fan favorite. But plot holes existing within the story left some people scratching their heads.

I admit the opening chapters of the original story weren't exactly over the top exciting, but they kept focus on the MC and her attempts to fit into her new world. Only the Beaumont's were trying to encourage and help to improve her chances with Liam. Drake acted as her cautionary tale and quietly kept her out of trouble, as per liam's wishes.

Now Pixelberry is trying to force diamond scenes upon the MC to skew things in Liam's favour and fill up the holes too soon. Thus without allowing for character development to gradually happen. They've taken dialogue that used to be free and twisted it around to make them into diamond options. But the new options don't mesh into the other dialogue properly and make the story clunky and unbalanced.

In the new story they add an extra scene where the suitors do a photo op on the front lawn during the Masquerade Ball. Turning the event into more of a Hollywood event instead of a royal one. Olivia seeks to upstage the other women and does a flashy costume change, sparking the opportunity for the MC to do the same (cough cough cash grab). This whole thing is a waste of time though, because it doesn't affect the rest of the Masquerade Ball at all.

New Masquerade costumes and hairstyles were a real shot in the arm for the art department but that was the only upside to this whole reboot.

Out of the blue Liam shows up in MC's room after the Masquerade to offer her the corgi as a friend to keep her company as she tries to fit in at court. (and the stupid dog is wearing a mask) ... Shouldn't Liam be offering to be her friend instead?

Honestly I think Pixelberry has gone all crazy with these new animal companions in their stories. Oh my goodness they're adorable, but just as unnecessary as all the expensive clothing that every new situation apparently MUST have to be experienced to the fullest. The only benefit of the pets is that they follow you through the story, but the clothes in your closet affect one or two scenes at best.

Ok getting back to my point. What really shows that Pixelberry has really screwed the pooch on this reboot, is that The Royal Romance has already been fully released. There's nothing stopping new players from bingeing on these new chapters and then continuing onto the next ones that feature the old unchanged storyline. If Pixelberry was trying to patch up plot holes they've just created more.

They've altered Liam to act differently toward MC based on whether you buy the new diamond scenes or not. If this were a benefit to a romantic relationship there wouldn't be a problem, but they paint him with an ugly brush that taints his character right away. Liam has always been the proper gentleman, which is a huge part of his charm. Usually choosing a diamond scene improves your situation, but in the first chapter not choosing the diamond option is more beneficial.

#TRR Rant #long post #anti trr 2.0

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sillyfudgemonkeys · 5 years

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Curious, who's your favorite Persona MC?

(sorry for taking so long with this too ;w;) Including spinoffs, manga, and anime (not dramaCDs cause I haven’t listened to all of them tho I should note I do like the P3P one, both male and female side, nor novels cause....they haven’t been translated....tho that’d really only apply to P1MC’s novel form aka “Jihei”). I also don’t know where to put Anime!Ren, probably after P1MC if “Ren is kind of just their” fan’s testament is anything to go by.

Hamuko/P4MC/Souji/Maya>Naoya/Tatsuya/Moive!Makoto>Spinoff!Yu/Spinoff!Makoto>P3MC/Minato/Akira>Raito!Ren/Daybreakers!P5MC>P1MC>>>>Anime Golden!Yu>>>>>>Anime!Yu>>>>>>>>P5MC

Under the cut for explanation

I should note main games (P1-5), I like all MCs except for P5MC. And Hamuko includes P3P and PQ2 tbh. Btw I think Maya and Tatsuya are equally great, at that point it’s just preference I like playing as Maya more, but I still love Tatsuya.

For the first quadrant (P2 I’ll just say Maya/Tatsuya are both well written with clear character as both silent MCs and side characters, but their MC form allows a bit of choice....not a whole lot cause they are pretty solidified characters, but their characters are great regardless): The reason I like Hamuko and P4MC is....because....they have a lot of personality and a lot of choice. Like....you can really form them any which way you want, make them consistent or contradictory, a good person or an asshole. Each dialogue voice is clear, they are also the two MCs that can effect their story the most (at least with their SLs). It’s a joy playing as them. As for Souji, I just really like the manga a lot, like he starts off pretty there but slowly he opens up and we see his past and he uses it to relate to people around him (and what little establishing perspective in the early chapters show something similar to an Adachi mindset and it’s just really nice to see that his character really DOES show how Adachi’s life could’ve turned out if he had a support system, it really does a good job just.....establishing just that parallel). Is the P4 manga perfect? Nah, nothing is, but I think it’s the better of the two Sogabe works.

For the 2nd quadrant (already talked about P2 above): Naoya? Great, really good character, really gave him a lot of personality! P1 manga feels like it lacks in developing/completing arcs outside of Naoya and Maki, but Naoya and Maki? Great! Makoto Yuki? I really liked his character, while the movies can be a bit shaky in the middle (and I wish he was still a little more stoic in the 2nd one), I really like how he went from emotionless asshole to actually caring about his friends and his own well being!

3rd Quadrant: Spinoff Yu and Makoto, I think they are pretty solid, not super amazing (might put Makoto above Yu tbh but ehhhh I’m pretty even), but they are consistent. And when I mean spinoffs I mean where they talk not their silent forms in PQ1 (cause man they have two gears, nice and asshole....but then again PQ1 everyone is kind of an asshole for some reason 8U at least it’s consistent). Yu’s a bit of an airhead, but he feels like a capable leader and tbh feels very similar to Souji (not 100% Souji, but much closer to Souji than Anime!Yu is to Game!Yu, plus tbh Souji has some silly moments too so I can’t say he got it only from Anime!Yu).

4th Quadrant: So like I like Minato’s name more, but his manga is a bit all over the place. His personality is....hmmmm kinda just their? I mean I still believe him to be a capable leader, but he feels more just their (possibly commentary that...like....plot’s happening all around the P3MC off screen? which I’ll give some points for). That being said he does have some funny moments, and I do get a sense of “not really caring to caring about friends and his surroundings” journey from him (it’s not as apparent or drastic or interesting as Makoto Yuki but it’s there). As for Akira.....at least for the first two dungeons, I actually really like him? Like it took a bit to look past the.....expression....struggle art (it’s not great with facial expressions ok? I dunno what to call it), but after looking past it I saw something. He’s really a 100% just a giant freaking n00b. They all are! And.....I LOVE IT! I hate how P5 it feels like “oh yeah we’re so freaking cool! look at how freaking cool they are! gawd we just instantly get cool!” And like, P5 manga has it’s cool moments of course, but after the initial summoning it’s like “oh shit they actually are just winging it and they are owning the fact they don’t know what they are doing and aren’t really trying to act like they are hot shit” (cause PT aren’t hot shit but act like they are in every interpretation except for this one, and it’s endearing because of it). I mean I don’t like his name, I prefer Ren’s name, but I prefer Akira’s interpretation the most. As for P3MC, I do like him, and in all honesty I dunno if I should be putting Minato/Akira on the same level, nor P3MC/Minato on the same level. While I value P3MC, he is a bit boring to play as, mostly in part due to his SLs. He does have some funny moments, and I think while he might not be a total jokester, he def is a lot more fluid in interpretation than I feel a lot of people will allow him to be. I think he can be fairly open, maybe not as bombastic as FeMC might take it, or as extroverted as P4MC, but I don’t think he’s 100% grim dark emo boi everyone makes him out to be. But compared to FeMC/P4MC, he doesn’t have as much variety as them, on top of his lines being pretty generic (I mean he has a voice tho, but the dialogue isn’t all that crazy a lot of the times......well unless you went 100% asshole route, but you don’t want to go that route, you will screw yourself if you go that route cause of how his SLs work 8U)

5th Quadrant: Raito does a good job with Ren in both Mementos Missions and his anthology chapter in the first anthology book (tho he wasn’t called Ren or anything in that chapter I don’t think). Raito gives him character, gives us some background regarding his issues with adults (not canon, and mostly in the anthology comic, but it’s something), and tbh it’s just all around better than the game. That being said.....he’s.....I like Raito, and I’m having fun, and I like their art, but I still just don’t.....really care about Raito!Ren.....I’m just not super into him. As for Daybreakers!P5MC, he has a bit of a different personality, a bit more of a “I don’t really care” personality....which I’d probably wouldn’t like considering how I feel about P5MC proper, but his “I don’t care” is more of a “Rip to me, cross that burning bridge when I get to it I guess. XP” than “I’m confessing to you but I’m like super checked out and don’t really look like I care” feel the P5MC game gives me. We don’t really spend a whole lot of time with him sadly, but what we do see is fun (in a similar vein to Mementos’ Missions). Him and his team are.....weird in personality tho, I mean I can’t say I hate it, but it’s not like the game or any other adaptation, and I wish we could see more of it expanded on. It’s just a weird dynamic and personality that I can’t just outright say I dislike cause it’s not really developed enough.....

6th/7th Quadrant: P1MC.....nothing really bad about him tbh, but from what I’ve played and remember from P1.....he is the most true and 100% blank slate MC out there. I think that’s the point of him tho (cause even the ending is “you come up with what happens to him”). And I can’t/don’t hate on it, but it’s not exactly super duper fun to play as him cause he doesn’t have a variety of options like FeMC/P4MC (or even P3/5MC), but he also doesn’t have a super duper defined personality like Maya/Tatsuya. I don’t hate him tho! Just.....eh I’ll stick to the manga or any other adaptation. Golden Anime!Yu.....From what I remember and seen of the anime, he was generally a good guy, uber goofy but nice. That’s....all..... I mean I can’t hate on him too much, his anime doesn’t allow him to do a lot of things cause it’s just a string of OVAs tbh.

8th/9th Quadrant: Sigh......oh.......Geez.....I really hate first anime!Yu....a lot, I mean the anime and Anime!Yu have....their good moments, they have some REALLY GOOD moments.....but they also have some REALLY BAD “this wasn’t in the game, this is totally conflicting with the game what are you doing????” Moments. The biggest is his personality, he’s an asshole. They have him choose a lot of asshole comments but instead of.....being treated as an asshole for saying it, everyone is like “Oh ok :P Lol you da best dude!” and moves on (and this is reflected in how they mishandle A LOT of the what should be serious moments in the anime, and I say should because they were serious in the game, sure characters might’ve been uncomfortable but they didn’t risk the lives of people to make jokes and such). I think he’s an asshole, I do not like him, I really hate this adaptation a lot. As for P5MC? I ranked him lower but tbh they could just be tied for all I care, the issue is I have to spend more time with this jerk than Anime!Yu (and at least Anime!Yu has a freaking voice and has some good moments). But I’ve already gone over my issues with P5MC.

I basically prioritize either freedom of a silent MC, or the quality of their personality if their personality is more solidified (both points are more aimed at the games, specifically silent MCs). And then how I like the character as a character in adaptations (aka if I think they are an asshole, and the context of that universe allows them to get away with it or they’re just really unlikeable.....then yeah I won’t like them....I bring up the extra explanation on this cause I DO like some asshole characters, but that’s usually cause they are 1) acknowledged as an asshole, and 2) there’s some other world building factor at play, maybe everyone in that world is an asshole ala MPGIS/Panty and thus equal and Stocking, or they get their just deserts for being an asshole ala Victoria in Life is Strange, still can’t explain why I’m fascinated with this jerk but I am, but Yu and P5MC don’t fit under those two exceptions and thus I do not like them), there can be other reasons I don’t like a character, it’s a case by case basis tbh. 8U

So there’s my essay, maybe it’ll change when I re-read the mangas or re-watch the animes.

Oh wait...I forgot Shin and Kazumi (PTS and P2 manga MCs)....uhhhh put them with Spinoff!Yu/Makoto, they’re solid from what I remember. Might move them later.

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icecreambat · 7 years

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Story time: Dating everyone in P5 turned Joker into a sociopath

The first time I ended up dating more than one girl in a Persona game, it was an honest accident. I’d already imprinted on Chie in Persona 4, and had no idea comforting Yukiko during her social link would turn me into a two-timing douche. A quick save-state reload rectified this mistake, but it taught me an important lesson: in Persona games, monogamy is not the limit of your teenage life.

As Persona 5 rolled around, I grew fond of Makoto on my first playthrough. With her on my side I experienced the Phantom Thief thrill ride, maxing my social links while gently turning other girls down. It wasn’t until the NewGame+ that I wondered: wouldn’t it be interesting to try the multi-dating thing? That way I could fast-forward all romance scenarios and not watch them on Youtube later like a loser, duh. If this game was intentionally giving me the opportunity to be Tokyo’s biggest Don Juan, then by Mona, I’d do it!

Little did I know, though, that as I embarked on a quest to bag all the single ladies* the whole atmosphere of the game changed. What had been a more or less generic adventure about truth and justice took on some… rather disturbing undertones, ones that went beyond the actual dating scenarios. In fact, the game turned out to be such an interesting social experiment that I wanted to write about it, so here I am. So, this is a recap of how dating multiple people in Persona 5 turned my Joker into a sociopath.

* except for Makoto, because a) I already romanced her before and b)…. it didn’t feel right, her being my first and all. SO SUE ME I’M A LOSER AFTER ALL

So. Here we are again, moving to Tokyo, whoop de doo. NewGame+ means not having to waste days on working out the ropes, so you can focus on the stuff that matters: getting as overpowered as you can in the least amount of time possible. For me, this meant maxing out Kawakami’s social link as fast as I could, because her bonuses are pretty swank – I really could have used the post-Mementos or post-palace massages during my first playthrough too, but kinda forgot about her right after Operation Maidwatch. Well, no more! I was bringing that teacher home left and right at every possible instance, so obviously I ended up maxing her link first. Ergo, we entered a relationship.

I’m not gonna lie: the Kawakami romance is some weird (and arguably illegal) shit. Maybe that kinda set the tone of this adventure from the start, giving me an mc who was 100% ok with romancing his homeroom teacher slash part time maid. Uh… huh. Given that my suspension of disbelief went out of the window right about there, it was easy to pick the “omg i totally like, care about you and stuff” dialogue options that went with it; I mean, I was doing this for science and stuff, no big deal.

That’s why it surprised me that when it was time to romance the next (un)lucky girl, I felt like shit about it. Not because of Kawakami, but because Ann wasn’t some ludicrous dating option pulled out of the “lol what if we let the players date everyone!!” shitpost book. Instead, Ann and the mc had already been through Some Shit together, best friend suicide attempts and sexually abusive PE teachers included, and she was a teenage girl looking for her place in the world. So when Ann confided in me about her feelings and told the mc she loved him, “returning” her feelings –while knowing I was already dating my…. uhh, homeroom teacher slash part time maid– genuinely made me feel like the absolute scum of the earth.

“I can’t do this,” I thought at this point, “Even if these are fictional characters in a fictional game, I feel like shit lying to these girls that I care about them, because obviously that’s not true if I’m so callously dating someone else behind their back. How can people do that in real life if I can’t even do it in a video game? Oh, naïve me! Because my lesson in the callousness of man had only just begun.

Anyway, so. Here I am, dating Kawakami and Ann. I think I figured that lying to my teammates didn’t Feel Very Good so headlining for randos seemed like the better choice to make next: Ohya the reporter ended up being the third girl I romanced, and it was relieving she seemed to understand the unlikely nature of our relationship. “I get that we probably won’t stay together forever,” she was telling me, almost like she knew she was only the third wheel in my extended trailer truck, headed to nowhere fast; the same kinda goes for Tae, the punk rock doctor, whose reservedness somehow made it easier to ignore the serial cheater vibes in the dynamic.

Chihaya, on the other hand, was different. Seemingly a little younger than the other grown-ups, she was already a lot more straightforward about her interest in the mc, and harbored all sorts of weird fantasies about them staying together forever. Which is exactly what I told her would happen. Not! Funny that for a fortune teller she couldn’t see I was also spouting this same shit to four other girls, huh? Chihaya reminded me of Ann, in a way, which is why the Bad Feels actually started to resurface here – it’s one thing to lie boldly in the face of girls (women) who aren’t really that invested in you to begin with, but when it’s people who actually believe said lies… well.

Now, I know, I know. There’s no actual reason to feel guilty, because these choices don’t affect the gameplay in any way. Whether or not the mc is an asshole in some ways will still result in everyone loving the shit out of him, and being sad when he leaves. Sure, there’s the scene after Valentine’s Day where you get beat up for being a cheater and the girls kind of call him out on it, but that’s about it; this isn’t Mass Effect, you can’t go full renegade, etc. etc. But even if the game barely acknowledges the clear disparity in the mc’s words and actions, it’s really hard to overlook as the player, and as I said, it kinda changes the tone of the whole game.

You see, during the course of the story the mc ends up establishing a whole bunch of social links: Ryuji, Yusuke, Mishima and even Sojiro are but few of the guys you end up making heartfelt bonds with too. Only problem is, once you go the Lie Route with the girls, the mc hardly comes across as any more honest with the guys – and this is what really puts a spin on his reliability. Everyone’s always going on about what a great guy he is, but none of them know what a quadruple-timing, lying asshole he is at the same time. And why would they? All he does is tell people what they want to hear!

Apparently the devs of Dream Daddy wanted to challenge the notion that this kind of behaviour automatically leads to “good endings” in visual novels, because it only makes the mc seem a little sociopathic. Sure enough, that’s exactly the word I would use to describe how my mc started to come across in all his social interactions in P5. Well, not all, actually; there was one character whose exchanges with the mc came across as genuine even when virtually nothing else did. Yeah, you guessed it: Akechi.

I’m taking a brief interlude here to talk about Akechi, because my social experiment with the mc’s romances actually ended up underlining how similar he and Akechi are as people. It’s what the game hints at continuously with the whole ~two sides of the same coin stuff anyway, but the point really gets hammered home when you repeatedly watch the mc fake his way through life just like Akechi puts on his own double persona (pun not intended). In that sense, it’s only natural that the two would recognize each other as equals, and that their interactions ring more sincere than any other discussion they have in the game.

But back to serial dating, if you will. After Chihaya, I started dating Hifumi the shogi girl, but to be completely honest I sort of mentally fazed her out; with every new girl I tricked into dating me, the initial unease seemed to diminish until I couldn’t remember what had made me feel so disgusted in the first place. I mean, I was already lying to so many people, what did it matter if I lied to one more, right? It’s not like I actually hung out with anyone ever again after I “entered a relationship” with them, and it’s not like my actions carried over to pre-scripted cutscenes, so who cares, right? Nobody (well, apart from a physical game engine) was forcing these girls to believe my bullshit, so really, the fault was theirs for being so gullible, right!!11

…Well, I might have been able to go along with that type of douchebag logic if I’d only kept dating randos. Since I skipped Makoto, the next girl I got cozy with was Futaba… and this is where the skeezy-ville started to nag on my consciousness again, because like with Ann, you know that Futaba’s been through A Lot: she basically spent the past couple of years as a hikikomori, convinced that her mother committed suicide because of her. Trust is a really big thing for her, so throwing a cheating mc into that equation gets really ugly when you think about how he gains that trust just to betray it. When you add in Sojiro, you’re essentially screwing both of them over while pretending to be a happy little family. If you take these events at face value, it kinda makes you wonder: seriously dude, what on earth is your damage?!

If that wasn’t disturbing enough, we finish with Haru. She is also running from one abuser but, if dating a cheating mc, kind of ends up in the arms of another. Although she enters the story fairly late in the game, it’s no less shitty to listen to her be so grateful for your “support”, knowing you’ve sat through variations of this scene with half a dozen other girls already. I just kind of kept staring at the mc’s poker face (pun not intended, again) while wondering how much worse it seems that none of these choices affect anything tangible in the game, even when the whole theme is helping other people (and shitty authority figures, sure, but mainly helping people).

And you know, it’s really that endless poker face that gives the whole thing such a weird ass vibe: this is a 17-year-old kid who’s moved to Tokyo for a year, and ends up constructing a meticulously crafted fake personality that has everyone treating him like the greatest guy on earth. If you perceive this as the intended story (as opposed to the mismatch of a fixed script and optional gameplay choices that it actually is), Persona 5 suddenly becomes a story much darker than its original premise. Who is the real mc, and why is he doing any of this? What is his actual sense of truth and justice, if he spins it so grotesquely to suit his given situation? How troubled does he have to be for this kind of behaviour to emerge, and what caused it?

I know getting busted on Valentine’s Day is played mainly for laughs, but when you put all this together it’s obvious just getting dumped doesn’t even begin to cover the actual consequences of the mc’s actions should have. For the 100% fake personality he’s clearly constructed up until this point, how anyone can still follow him into the depths of Mementos is beyond me. But hey, I know we’re not operating on earth logic here.

Still, as I mentioned, this levels the mc with Akechi a lot – suddenly it’s very hard to condemn Akechi, even in theory, for the route he ended up taking in life, because isn’t the mc basically doing the same thing? Taking advantage of as many people he can to advance his own ends, with the only difference that he ended up on the winning side? Not only that, but it makes it harder to root for the “good guys”, knowing that you’re not a good guy – you’re just some guy with a big enough charm stat to make people follow your fake ideals, whatever those might in reality be.

Personally, I was also surprised at how easy it was to go from “this is horrible I hate this I can’t lie to these girls” to the “eh whatever, I’ve done this long enough that I’ve distanced myself from giving a shit”, then back to “oh shit oh shit this is so wrong” over the course of a single game. I know this sounds like a hyperbole, but in that sense I’m… actually not that surprised at how people find themselves ignoring those same patterns in real life. Which is why it’s so disheartening there’s only one scene dedicated to the consequences; it would be so interesting if there was something more tangible to remind the player that yeah, you’re entitled to picking these options, but it does turn the mc into someone pretty damn messed up.

I mean, damn – by December I’d maxed out all my social links, and suddenly had shit all to do, and because I couldn’t sit through a single fake date with one of my fake ass girlfriends again, I ended up making my mc train every day and night just so I had something to occupy my time between going out and murdering things in Mementos and/or a palace. Watching him do shirtless pull-ups in his room I sorta realized: Oh my god, I turned my mc into a high school version of Patrick Bateman. This game sure took a turn.

So I suppose the point of this story time is that while dating anyone in P5 (and most Persona games, I’d assume) is ultimately only a gameplay element meant for the player’s extra entertainment, sometimes those seemingly superfluous gameplay elements can turn into unintentional story elements – in this case, an experiment of how easily lying to one person turns into lying to everyone, and how sometimes it’s not that easy to tell at what point you stop being genuine at all. Wow, them video games, huh? Always a source of profound inspiration.... or something.

#persona 5 #idk what to tag this #maybe i'll add a new category for my rantings #and call it #story time #ok for the sake of archiving i'll also add #meta

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sarcasticace · 7 years

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Why is my MC so thirsty for Becca?? I mean...'Screw the snow cones. Let's get steamy!' lmao 'I'll shut up if you give my mouth something better to do' that was smooth...I just...'do something or I'm going to kick your butt' what in the actual...??? I'm not complaining xD but most of her dialogue options with Becca have been a different variation of 'are you down for a fuck tho?' Their snappy bad pun flirting game is so bad. I love it

I kinda love it too. Like, on one hand, I’m rolling my eyes, but on the other, I’m smiling cause it’s really cute.

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 3 years

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Okay. I passed Y6CHR45, and... I want to say that this is very bad. I mean, that... This plot twist with Merula is very illogical and obvious. I'm not a fan of Merula, but. First, why it's obvious. Because in the storyline, Merula is our rival, not our friend. How many nasty things did she do MC, etc. Well, it's too obvious that in the future they will try to make her our enemy. Second, why it's illogical. Merula has very different goals. Don't be the same as your parents, take revenge on Rakepick and kill her, become stronger and more powerful. There is not a single point in being with 'R'. Why would she want to work with someone she wants to kill? I think it would be logical if Merula joined the Death Eaters. She and her aunt had been threatened by the Death Eaters. This is what Merula said in Y5CHR28. And Andre was talking about the mark on Merula's hand in year six, when Bill taught us the Barrier Spell. Still, I think Merula was framed by someone. Merula was still ready to drink the Truth Serum. And one more thing. Won't the MC say anything about it? Not to the professors, not to Ben, not to Jacob, not to anyone about what they saw in Knockturn Alley? Hey, JC, we have a Muggle Studies class on Y7, and there will be Merula. MC will just forget about it or what? It's just stupid. I apologize, I have nobody to express this misunderstanding of the JC logic. 🤨 And one more thing. I don't think Merula is a mole. In fact, I think the mole is Penny. Because it's very logical! 'R' could have threatening and blackmailed her, like... They could steal Beatrice, or threaten to kill her, if Penny didn't follow their instructions. Penny, in her fifth year, said she would work with anyone to save Beatrice. And if you add it up in this form... I mean, Penny is the most logical option. She's the most popular girl at Hogwarts. She knows every rumor, she knows the secrets of many students. No one will even think about it! How can you think of one who is very kind, helps everyone, understands Potions, etc? This is my theory, and honestly, I still stick to it. Knowing the character of penny, for the sake of Beatrice she would betray even MC.

I don’t know, I don’t think of it as being that illogical. I suppose it was rather obvious, but in a sense, those two ideas are in conflict with each other. If a plot twist is logical, it can be predicted. If it’s not, then it won’t be, but that’s a whole different problem. In any case, this got very long, so I’m putting it under a cut.

Was it obvious?

She has been our enemy from the start, but her character arc seemed to suggest that was changing. In a way, this actually made her a less obvious suspect. At least to me. She was the primary antagonist of Year 1, but we quickly got used to her nonsense. Stopped taking her seriously. Meanwhile, the story gave her depth. Many players grew to care for her, many pitied her, but even the ones who didn’t no longer saw her as a serious threat. At the same time, the scale was gradually increasing. By Year 5, Merula wasn’t the antagonist anymore, not just because she had been deconstructed, but because the story was darkening, and the times of a school bully being the villain were long over. Hell, by Year 2 we knew about R, and by Year 4 we had Rakepick to wonder about. Year 5 not only brought Merula’s character arc to the point where she became more of a friend (but no less prickly and combative) it also fleshed out the game’s Big Bad to the point where it became clear that this was much bigger than MC, or anyone in their year. Year 5 also exonerated Ben, and later unceremoniously killed the “Rowan is R” theory by having Rowan be imperius’d like Ben was.

No one took Merula seriously anymore, people felt sorry for her, and we felt as though we understood her completely. That nothing she did could surprise us. This was capped off by the betrayal of Rakepick, compounded with her using the Cruciatus Curse on Merula. Because MC was betrayed, but not by any of the students. But by their mentor, who was always shady in the first place. Merula was put in a horrible position where even her greatest Antis surely felt a twinge of pity for her. Anyone left who suspected her probably wouldn’t have after that night. What’s more, it played into the idea that we understood Merula perfectly. Because she reacted exactly as one would expect her to. She regressed. Year 6 depicted her as someone firmly on our side, but predictably not someone who would be nice about it. From her jabs about Rowan, to her fawning over Jacob, people were annoyed with her, but no one suspected her. The game practically taunts the player, in hindsight, with the veritaserum scene. Because that’s just it - no one thought she would betray MC. They were worried she would go rogue, but no one doubted her loyalty.

Why did she do it?

As for the logic of her decision, I likewise disagree. I believe Merula had every reason to join R. I don’t think that the Cabal and the Death Eaters are so different that one would make sense for her to join, and not the other, if that makes sense. She could have gone either way, but at a guess, Merula doesn’t think very highly of the Death Eaters. She refers to Voldemort by his name without a care in the world. If they really were threatening her, I feel like she wouldn’t want to cave in, but she might be attracted to joining a rival faction that could provide her (and her aunt?) with protection. If there’s one thing we know about R - it’s that they have a history of making enticing offers to children, provoking them to “prove” themselves to be accepted into the Cabal’s ranks. The description of them being her new “family” gives me cult vibes, and it really sheds some light on why Merula might have been drawn to them. She was lonely, she was angry, she wanted power...and R came along to offer her everything she wanted at the time. Whether she wants to leave now is uncertain, but if we assume that she’s been the mole since the very beginning, it’s probably way too late for her to just walk away. R would not allow that.

As to the sequence of Rakepick torturing her, we don’t yet know what was going on in that scene. Though I am feeling somewhat vindicated in the knowledge that there was more to that scene that meets the eye, just like I was sure there had to be. Perhaps Rakepick and Merula planned that whole thing, perhaps it was staged. Which would mean that Rakepick faked the spell, and Merula pretended to be tortured, and that her entire vendetta against Rakepick has been a facade. Or maybe the curse was real, but Merula agreed to it beforehand. Or maybe she knew the betrayal was coming, but Rakepick went off-script by turning her wand on Merula. Either way, if Merula’s vendetta was real, I don’t think it’s out of character for her to want revenge. Who cares if it’s someone on her side? This is Merula we’re talking about - I don’t think that would stop her. Now, if we assume she was not yet an R mole at the time (I think she was, but for the sake of argument) then perhaps R reached out to Merula, apologized for Rakepick’s torture and promised that they did not authorize it. Promised that there would be consequences, and Merula could be the one to inflict them, if she agreed to join them. It’s a longshot, but I guess it’s possible.

The Future.

The existence of this twist doesn’t really create any holes, I don’t think, and while it may put the writers in a tricky position moving forward, that’s not the same thing as them screwing up the continuity of the past. They’ll have to find a way to make this work, and until we see the ramifications, I’m willing to wait on judging how this arc plays out. MC will have a choice to make, certainly, in how they handle this. I can’t wait to see the dialogue. What they do next remains to be seen. Do they confront Merula? Turn her in? Or...if we want to be really sneaky, what we should do, in my opinion...is act as though nothing’s changed. Spread the word to people like Moody and Ben, but...do not let Merula catch on that we know. The way to salvage this situation, from a purely tactical perspective, is to let R believe they still have a spy at Hogwarts...but begin to feed her misinformation. Lead them astray. This is quite literally a war tactic, because hey...this is a war. Now, the issue with that is that Merula will likely face punishment once R figures out that she’s being misled...but hopefully we can save Merula before that point, and to the players who despise her - or even feel like she’d deserve it for her treachery...they probably wouldn’t care anyway.

I don’t think we can really judge based on the Muggles Studies classes, or anything that we know about Year 7. I also don’t expect Jam City to consider what we “know” and in all fairness...I mean, they don’t have to. That is unreleased content. Nothing in the data-mines is, strictly speaking, canon, or part the continuity. With the way that scene ended, it suggests that Merula won’t be returning for Year 7. Maybe. The data-mines contradict this, but data-mines don’t provide the full context. They aren’t released content, and anything could change. There were once data-mines that confirmed Skye as being in MC’s year, as well as suggesting that Murphy felt embittered about his disability. Both of these things were cut. So they’re not canon. In general, I think Jam City has a terrible approach to dealing with hackers, but one thing I will say in their defense is that they aren’t required to write their scenes based on what the fandom has discovered in the data-mines. If we’re confused, well, that’s kind of our own fault. But I’m sure everything will become clear eventually. I hope.

Penny.

For meta reasons, I don’t see them pulling a double twist and revealing a second character to be the “real” mole, but it’s not impossible. And I’ve said all along that the Year 1 characters were the real suspects. MC unknowingly being the mole was my theory, mostly because Moody is shady as all hell. But Ben is shady too, it’s just that he had a rock-solid alibi in the form of Rakepick trying to kill him, since she couldn’t have known that Rowan would intervene. Setting aside Merula, since I’ve also said from the start that she isn’t a good liar...that leaves Penny. I really don’t think Penny is shady. I’ve never thought that. I’ll admit that she does essentially approach MC out of the blue to befriend them, but I mean...so does Ben. This happens on a much larger scale later on with Alanza. I can believe Penny would go to the ends of the earth to protect Beatrice, and maybe when she was imprisoned in the Portrait, R contacted Penny and strong-armed her into this deal. The issue is, Beatrice is safe and sound as of sixth year. The Black Lake incident is still a bit spotty, and perhaps that was R going after her again...but I just don’t think there are enough hints for me to believe it, personally. If this were true, why was Ben the character who insisted on coming to the Portrait Vault instead of Penny? She could have demanded to come along too, and no one would have blamed her. Everyone would have understood. Not to mention, Penny has severe tells when she’s stressed. She does not act like herself. She’s mostly back to normal in Year 6, and her behavior reflects that Beatrice is safe now, just pulling away. If Beatrice was still on the hot-seat, I feel like Penny would not be keeping it together. Finally, that raises the question of how much Beatrice is aware of all this. Does she know about this deal? Because I find it hard to believe she wouldn’t tell anyone.

#Merula Snyde #HPHM Theory #HPHM Spoilers #Patricia Rakepick #HPHM Analysis #HPHM Cabal #Penny Haywood #HPHM R #Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery #HPHM Datamines

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justanotherdumpingground · 5 years

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Chapter Reviews: February 5-9, 2019

Desire & Decorum Chapter 8:

Okay, the part where I get to joke about Duke Richards and Gideon being closet lovers is funny. I know it's supposed to be a joke, but I have no problems entertaining the possibility. Imagine the scandal it could cause.

Playing nice with the duke while acting snarky at the same time has always been my favorite part of this story, and the hunting season is no exception.

The love declaration with Hamid was really sweet, and I can't wait to see what kinds of challenges await them. But first, I need Duke Richards taken care of. This duel is making me nervous because they're life and death situations, though I'm confident Hamid will make out alive.

The Heist: Monaco Chapter 10:

The MC's disguise is so paper-thin that it shouldn't be a surprise Ansel will catch up to him. I couldn't afford the option to talk to Ansel about our time together, so not sure what to say. And why didn't Ansel off the MC when given the opportunity he has here? That would've been easy, right.

What Ansel said about Rye betraying was supposed to shake the heist crew's confidence, but I'm confident Rye was tricked, just as Myra and Tucker were blackmailed. However, I still need time to recover from all this.

Shame hanging out with Eris costs diamonds, and I couldn't afford them. Thoguh given the misunderstanding around Rye, I'm glad this crew knows how to stick together.

So Ansel has a private army, eh? Well, two can play the game. I'll just use the cooperation in my crew to beat that army.

America's Most Eligible Chapter 4:

I kinda wish the premium outfit for male MC consists of a tank top and short shorts because I think my MC would look good at them. I guess I shouldn't expect everything I want to happen.

Anyway, I paid for the premium option to get Vince to open himself to me, and I find it worth it. He talks about how a ruthless mindset is needed to win at all costs, allowing me to learn about his perspective. On the other hand, I still think his motives are shallow because he doesn't talk about what he would do with the money. It could be possible I missed a dialogue choice that reveals this, but still.

Anyway, Vince and I won, and I love the sandcastle. Even better, I sent my MC to spend some private time with his boyfriend Adam. They need to spend some time together. However, I'm pissed off that Bianca's not an option for the private moment. I may not be pursuing her, but it seems that PB is treating her as a secondary love interest again, which is a disservice to her character.

Speaking of Bianca, I'm so ecstatic she's my ally. It's been a long time coming.

Eden and Kiana are enamored with each other? I am so helping them together.

As for the elimination announcement on Bianca, Yvette, Ronan, and Kiana, that was really suspicious on Slater's part. I first thought he was cool for backing me up for standing up to Ivy, but now with his quick accusations of Ivy, he's becoming too fishy to my liking. Of course I could be wrong, considering Ivy's shadowy collaboration with Vince, but there's still room for suspicion.

Anyway, can't wait for the snorkeling date.

A Courtesan of Rome Chapter 14:

Honestly, I find Cassius too idealistic to my liking. All his talk about saving the Republic despite the selfishness of his fellow senators comes across as willfully blind to the reality of government. At least Antony sees things pragmatically despite the fact that the real Antony was much crueler than this one.

The scene where Aquila was forcing himself on the MC made me nervous. I though she won't survive the ordeal, considering what he did to her tribe and wife. It was a relief Sabina showed up and stood up to him by threatening to tell all this to Marc Antony.

On a side note, I kinda want to see Victus and Delphinia again. However, how will Delphinia reunite with her family when she's in Macedonia instead of Rome?

The Elementalists Chapter 17:

Holy cow! This is an exciting chapter! The fight against Raife is highly brutal that he essentially beats Griffin, Shreya, Beckett, Zeph, and Tim with little effort after his shadow minions have been defeated. This guys shows how much of a threat he is. Fortunately, I have all spells mastered and fought him with barely a scratch, even though I didn't grab the mace. Now it's just a matter of bracing myself and Atlast against the blood moon.

As for Dean Goeffe being his accomplice in the last chapter, I did not expect that, though I expect Raife to not keep his end of the bargain with her by killing her.

Despite my excitement over this chapter, I'm still concerned over two things. One: Aster is sidelined again, though with a somewhat justified reason because of the significant amount of energy branching consumes. It still annoys me that the writers still find a way to sideline her just because they wasted a lot of resources on more unnecessary scenes with Beckett. Two: While I acknowledge the significant threat Raife poses, his motives are... lacking. I mean, what is his end goal aside from wanting attunement to all elements? That just makes him no better than Rourke, whom I openly despise for his short-sightedness and utter blandness.

Anyway, thank goodness this chapter is released because it just reignited my appreciation for The Elementalists again.

Ride or Die Chapter 4:

Honestly, Colt and Logan's argument comes across as way more immature than Seth and Teja's in RCD Book 2. The difference is that Seth and Teja aren't supposed to behave this way because the writers decided to mess them up as part of their blatant ploy to set up Thomas Hunt as a forced love interest. In the case of Colt and Logan, their argument is consistent with their personalities, which I don't like.

As for Mona, I actually find her eh. I wish I could consider her okay compared to Logan and Colt, but her lack of personality makes me accept her out of pity. As for Ximena and Toby, they should've been somewhere else instead of hanging out with those bunch of losers that's the Mercy Park Crew. And why are we helping them escape, especially that creepy stalker that is Logan?

For this book, I'm focusing on my MC's studies and staying away from Logan as much as possible. Seriously, screw him. I bet he's gonna overtake Nick Peralta's spot as worst Choices LI ever. Not to mention Logan's creepy attitude towards the MC puts him dangerously close to the cesspit that includes Rourke, Duke Richards, Mallory, Markus von Groot, Viktor Montmartre, Nick Peralta, Lester, Priya, the Baron, and the Crandalls minus Skye.

You know, if I were the MC, I would team up with her dad and Jason Shaw to take down MPC. All their talk of being screwed by the system only to screw it again with their street racing makes them dumber than bricks.

Thoughts on Open Heart: This book has slipped from my radar since it was first hinted at. Now that the trailer is released, I need to keep a cautious eye on it, especially with the deteriorating quality of some series as of late. Hopefully it'll be much better than Ride or Die, and the ability to pick the protagonist's gender is a start.

#choices stories you play #choices desire & decorum #choices d&d #choices the heist: monaco #choices thm #choices america's most eligible #choices ame #chocies a courtesan of rome #choices acor #choices the elementalists #choices te #choices ride or die #choices rod #chapter reviews

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