#and you could still give them interesting relevant character arcs for the book

[aroaceleovaldez]

I still do really like photokinetic Will I just. Don't like the book lmfao... even if they're leaning into the sun stuff for him (which isn't inherently bad)... there's definitely bad aspects to the sun; we saw it firsthand in TBM. Helios is called the "lifegiver" and "bringer of joy to mortals" but also "the destroyer". Apollo is the god of plague as well as healing, and sudden deaths/people dropping dead were attributed to him. So even if Will's portrayal here DIDN'T contradict all of the previous series? It still just wouldn't make sense, as an Apollo kid.

Exactly! I write photokinesis!Will too! But just like you said - the sun has so many elements to it and Apollo himself is the god of so much that it feels ridiculous that Will feels so unaware of it. He literally watched his dad cast a minor plague during a fight at Camp Half-Blood within like, the last year! What do you mean he's going "Even I... have a darkness within of me? :0????"

And he's a medic!!!! For demigods! And survived the Battle for Manhattan! What do you mean you're trying to tell me Will doesn't understand death?! Will's probably the guy to understand death the best at camp besides the literal chthonic demigods!! The book even mentions Michael Yew, local asshole Apollo kid, implying that Michael was very much a prominent big-brother figure to Will (maybe that explains why Will is characterized as such an ass randomly in this book). With that alone Will should be plenty aware that even his own divine heritage is not all sunshine and happiness.

The book did Will so dirty it's physically painful 😭

#pjo #riordanverse #will solace #tsats #tsats spoilers #the sun and the star spoilers #the sun and the star #AALV TSATS liveblogging #Anonymous #ask #the only good thing to come from TSATS!Will so far is him being a mama's boy that part is cute #they messed up his personality they messed up his timeline/backstory they messed up everything #this isn't even close to Will. its just a completely different character #and it's annoying cause like! you could have totally done some really good themes in this book! #i keep going on about how unity would be SUCH a perfect theme for this book #and it'd work for both Nico and Will as being like relevant to their godly parents too even #and it wouldnt have to change any of their characterizations at all #and you could still give them interesting relevant character arcs for the book #but NO we picked the most ill-fitting option ever and are forcing everything else to fit it #the real reason the theme of the book is ''change'' is because they *changed* literally everything about the series #/j /j /j

[clarrissanewt]

CHARACTER BACKSTORIES

what are character backstories?

character backstories is anything that happened to your character before the main story begun. it a crucial part of character development and creation and can help you have a strong sense of the character’s background (and probably one of the reasons why the character does something in the present!)

ways to add backstories:

flashbacks:

flashbacks can be a powerful way to make a promise to a reader. any cataclysmic event might trigger the protagonist into getting a flashback. flashbacks don't only provide an insight to the character's past but also intrigue readers.

Use verb tense shifts to move between the flashback and main narrative. Whenever your narrative or characters recall a memory from a time before the story began, you have two choices. If the memory is short, you can describe it briefly. If it’s longer, you may want to pull the reader back into a full scene describing a past event. It important to mark the beginning and end of a flashback to make your time jumps clear to the reader.

Keep them relevant. Flashbacks help fill in the characters’ motives and history, but if they are too long or tedious, the reader will get bored. If you use flashbacks, always be aware that time is still moving in the front story, and make sure that your reader can hear the clock in that front story ticking.

Sometimes the whole book is the flashback. it can start with a character narrating the story to someone else. Framing the events of the storyline this way, with a dual point-of-view into a character’s life over the passage of time, can bring more nuance to the storytelling. Before using this technique, ask yourself whether the character’s arc is dramatic enough to make for interesting retrospection.

Tell the present story first. Sometimes it may not be clear where a flashback belongs until you’ve completed your first draft and have a complete view of the storyline.

dialogues:

sometimes a simple conversation might let the character reveal few of the past events to the person they trust or look forward to. it can be a good way to hide the backstory all the while giving it to the readers.

reflection:

let the character 'reflect' on how far they have come. introspection or reflection is one of the ways in which your character can reveal their backstories in the present narrative.

+ bonus! - prologues

Prologues come before chapter one and could be expository/introductory prose, a poem, diary letter, news clipping, or anything in between.

Prologue Don'ts:

1. Using a prologue as a place for a massive dump… information dump.

Information dumps are one of the easiest ways to make readers’ eyes glaze over. Paragraphs of text that provide dense (albeit important) background information are tough to digest. Without strategically trickling this information throughout a scene or throughout the chapters/book, readers can be immediately turned off to a story.

2. A prologue that has nothing to do with the main story.

Prologues need to somehow propel or impact your main plot. Period. If your prologue is filled with action, offers bite-sized pieces of background information, and weaves a compelling scene but is not relevant to your main plot, you probably need to re-think your strategy.

It doesn’t matter if your writing is solid if the scenes aren’t strategically moving toward that pretty plot arc—depicting an emotional journey for your character and exhibiting the stakes for your protagonist and the world at large.

3. Prologues that are too long.

The modern reader (often) prefers shorter chapters—prologues included. If your prologue is longer than most of your chapters (or if both your prologue and chapters are longer), it might be time to reevaluate the structure and pacing of your chapters.

4. Using the prologue to hook the reader as the sole purpose.

think of the prologues that throw the reader into the action—and I mean the middle of the action. Maybe it’s the center of a bloody battlefield or twisted in the sheets of a love affair. Whatever it is, the reader is unceremoniously plunked into the action in a world they’re unfamiliar with and whose characters they don’t yet know (and love).

While action scenes are a gripping way to begin a story, consider whether or not this action is important to the central plot and if this beginning isn’t too overwhelming/confusing for the reader to acclimate to.

5. Using the prologue strictly to provide atmosphere or to do some early-on world building.

World building is one of the things readers love most about fantasy and science fiction. These delicious details are… well… delicious! The setting is described with enough detail to have the readers visualizing the character’s surroundings but not too much to bog down the pace of the scene.

Types of Prologues

Background/History: This type of prologue provides background to the history of the world and events that previously transpired—such as a major battle or betrayal. These events typically took place before the beginning of your story and somehow significantly impact the events going forward.

Different Point of View (POV): This type of prologue could be advantageous when diving into another character’s perspective—particularly when that character’s insight is only needed once and provides a foundation for the story.

Protagonist (Past or Future): These prologues are great for showing a pivotal moment for the protagonist—either in the past or in the future (such as a defining moment years ago or after the main plot has taken place).

Strengths of a Prologue

Fear not, writers. Prologues aren’t all bad. In fact, they come in handy in a number of scenarios:

To provide a “quick-and-dirty” glimpse of important background information without the need of flashbacks, dialogue, or memories that interrupt the action later on in the book.

Hook the reader into the action right away while having the readers asking questions relevant to the central plot—and therefore eager to learn those answers in the opening chapters.

Offer information the reader couldn’t otherwise glean from the plot (such as a break from the point-of-view narration or from a different character’s perspective).

Introduce the antagonist—providing background motives that either humanizes the character or exhibits his/her evil intentions. This angle can be handy if the protagonist doesn’t meet the antagonist until later on in the book.

Introduce a philosophy or religious belief important to the plot/setting.

Foreshadow future events, thereby creating suspense for the reader and get them asking questions (and eagerly reading on).

Do I Need a Prologue?

Consider the following questions:

What information am I providing in the prologue? Why is it important to reveal it up front? Can it be revealed throughout the story in smaller trickles and still be as impactful (or more)?

Does this character’s POV come up again later in the story? If so, would this work as a first chapter instead?

#writing #creative writing #writblr #writing community #writers of tumblr #writing tips #writing characters #writing advice #writing resources #writer #writing backstories #character development

[acourtofthought]

Have you read HOFAS (and any bonus chapters)? If so, what did you think about our ACOTAR characters and what it might say about their future books? If not, when are you planning on reading it?

I have!!

I have a few more detailed posts on why I believe what I believe but to summarize it, these are my predictions for SJMs future books:

It's interesting that 3 - 4 months after her HEA with Cassian, where she found her home in the HOW, her friends, her purpose with the Valkyrie, where she realized Rhys is her brother and had offered her kindness, where she ended her book visiting their fathers grave with her sisters who were smiling and beckoning at her to join them, that she's suddenly struggling to find her way (as evidenced by the exchange when she and Ember say their goodbyes).

To me, the biggest part of Nesta's life has always been her acting as Elain's protector and if Elain is no longer in the NC, having set off on her own journey with Lucien, I think that could be a big part of her sudden identity crisis. Possibly contributing to why she was so willing to part with the Mask, a bit of a reckless action. She could no longer help Elain so she turned and helped Bryce instead.

I think the next ACOTAR book will be Eluciens and we'll see resolution to the Vassa / Spring / Beron / Koschei / Peace Treaty plotlines. I don't think it will turn into a major battle, I think Elucien's arc will be that of stopping the threats and securing peace between the fae on the continent, the humans, and the fae in Prythian. I think that also closes out the ACOTAR series as we know it now, the one that revolves around the journey of Feyre and her sisters.

I think the book SJM has planned after that, the secret project she's excited to work on but won't say what world it's set in, will be the story of Miryam and Drakon and the Seraphim but set 500 years back. SJM said she imagines she'll feel emotional writing it because of who might show up and I'm wondering if that means we'll get glimpses of a younger Rhys, Cassian and Az, but also a look at Rhys's sister before her murder (I think it meant something that Az brought her up in HOFAS).

I think that story could also be relevant to future ACOTAR books because Miryam and Drakon are now in possession of the Cauldron. HOFAS did put the spotlight on the Cauldron in Prythian and in SF, a shudder runs down Cassian's spine as he thinks what might happen if it's awoken again. Giving us the backstory on the land where Miryam and Drakon reside with their people ties in nicely to possible future storylines.

After that I think SJM will move forward with her new series, one that is set the ACOTAR world but is no longer focused on Feyre's story. I think the new series will heavily involve Gwynriel, Mor / Emerie, and more of Nesta's journey and will further connect SJMS worlds with new crossover content.

I think we'll see the Prison lands being turned into Valkyrie territory with them gaining more female warriors as they work towards becoming an elite fighting unit of hundreds / thousands. I think Mor and Emerie might be the ones to oversee the land, with Mor ending up as a female descendent of Theia who can wield Gwydion and Az giving TT to Emerie (Nesta would be the general of the Valkryie but still remain living in the HOW).

I think the Valkyrie will be the defenders of the portal that exists there, protecting their world from outside threats, threats that I think will be drawn to Prythian because of the Cauldron and Merrill. I think Az will end up overseeing the Illyrian (the way Devlon currently does) and the Illyrian will remain the defenders of the portal that exists on Ramiel, with he and Gwyn either living in the townhouse or the cabin in Illyria.

And I also think we'll see a major battle at the end of that new series, with members of the IC / the Illyrians / the Valkyrie world walking and defending a threat outside their world, possibly teaming up with Bryce and Aelin. I feel there's a reason we were told that Nesta can move through time and space and that she'd use the mask to call thousands of the dead (with the added, "but not yet" in SF).

I think that Lucien and Elain will take up the High King role during these times, where they're not necessarily in charge of leading the battle so much as ensuring the peace remains across their own world between the different lands. I could also see Lucien helping Nesta destroy the mask at the end of it all. I think HOFAS makes it clear that Nesta will always be at risk for losing herself to it and as Helion has a connection to it, I think Lucien as his son does too. I also like the idea of Lucien and Nesta having a brother / sister bonding moment where she truly embraces him if he were the one to help her get rid of it once and for all.

Thank you for the ask, if you want you'll have to send an anon and tell me if you have any predictions yourself!

#elucien #pro elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #pro lucien vanserra #pro elain archeron #nesta acosf #crossover acotar #emerie acosf #emorie #illyrian #azriel acosf #acotar theory #gwynriel #morrigan acotar #rhysand acotar #miryam #valkyrie #sarah j mass

[positivelybeastly]

Did you see Gillen and Brevoort said Beast (used to be/could have been) was the most romantic x man? Veeeeery interesting. Gillen seemingly wanted to redeem beast in SWORD through his love for Abigail but feels that’s been taken off the table at this point. If only there were some other person he held near and dear to his heart who might be able to give him both love and time to grow past this unfortunate moment

"I'm through with love hangovers,

It's best that I stay sober.

No rolling in the clover,

No Gretna Green trip over.

No honeymoon in Paris,

I only feel embarrassed for the,

Cool cats,

The charmed kittens,

Both smitten by the love songs

That he's written.

Caught in the sights of a,

Deadly sniper:

The magic piper of love.

The magic piper of love.

Of love, of love!"

Anon, you beat me to this - the instant I saw that thread on Reddit, I was just besides myself with jimmy legs because I wanted to get back home and post about it immediately.

SO. CONTEXT.

Over at AIPT Comics, they have this segment called X-Men Mondays, where they'll send out various themed questions to people at the X-office to answer, usually as just kind of a fun, fuckabout sort of thing.

Today's was Valentine's Day themed, because, well, it's the 12th of February, there's not a ton else to talk about.

The question naturally came up.

AIPT: Who, in your opinion, is the most romantic X-character? (And why?)

Everyone gets a look in, from Xavier to Wolverine to Havok to Mystique, but. Okay, so, like. Kieron Gillen answered four times in this thread, and most of it was just funny answers, but in response to THIS question, he said this in response:

Kieron Gillen: You know, Beast in the timeline where my S.W.O.R.D. got past issue 5 would have been good for this, but the timeline we ended up in had (er) somewhat less romance interested Beast. Perhaps someone could go back in time and try and do something about it. “We have to time travel to save Beast!” “Why? Is it all his genocides?” “No, he has to carry on devotedly making blueberry muffins.”

. . . . . . . .

Ladies, gentleman, non-binary individuals. S.W.O.R.D was cancelled 14 years ago. It died in 2009. But Kieron Gillen refuses to stop being salty about it, and you know what? You know what? Fucking good for him, because I'm fucking salty about it too!!!

But, like, this is such a wild answer to me! Just, unprompted, one of the premier comic book talents of the day just being like, hey, fuck you all, I really liked my little Beast-Brand OTP book. This man is one of my people, I know this. Well. I already knew this, to be fair, I got him to sign my trade paperback copy of that exact series, but that was over a decade ago, and he's STILL flying that flag???

HE REMEMBERS THE MUFFINS.

LOOK AT MY FUCKING OOC TAG.

IT'S OUTOFMUFFINS.

Then Brevoort, who, by the way, is the incoming editor for the X-Men books, said this:

Tom Brevoort: Back in the day, it was the Beast, before he threw over human needs and desires in favor of science. Nightcrawler also had some moves, but he doesn’t really use them as often anymore. So these days, Gambit is the clear winner. Angel wants to be, but he’s mostly all talk. But Gambit thinks about this stuff.

These are.

Interesting comments.

Beast literally could not be less relevant to the wider Krakoan story arc. X-Force exists in its own little bubble of black ops and body horror, and yet, unprompted, both one of the headline members of the talent (who has made sure to put Hank and Abigail in books for no real reason other than he likes them) and the incoming editor are both like, y'know, Hank was a real romantic back in the day. There's some affection there. It gives me hope. It makes me smile.

Now, I hasten to point out, this is not #WonderbeastConfirmed. We have no idea how these last two issues of X-Force are going to play out. But it is.

Interesting.

Oh, I also want to take a moment to call out Anthony Oliveira, who said this:

Anthony Oliveira: If you want the truth, you go to Emma. But nobody wants the truth. So they go to Jean, who can throw you a reality TV and ice cream pity party like you wouldn’t believe. She has those top-of-the-line flowy pajama pants that facilitate conversation, you know? Worst is Hank McCoy, who has been giving bad advice for decades before his war criminal era. One time he took Angelo Espinosa on a car trip that bummed me out so bad I’m still thinking about it 30 years later.

THAT bummed you out, bro?

Pssh, okay, dude.

Anyway.

Kieron Gillen remains my guy.

#Anonymous #outofmuffins #verse: earth's mightiest!

[neversetyoufree]

While I absolutely don't condone Vanitas's early treatment of Jeanne (especially not that first kiss), I do think the power dynamic of their early relationship fits in a really interesting way with Jeanne's arc as a whole. Jeanne is a woman slowly rediscovering how to want things, and Vanitas's pressuring and manipulation forces her very earliest instances of acting on that want.

In particular, I'm talking about the blood drinking scenes at the bal masqué and in the alley in chapter 12. Vanitas doesn't force himself on Jeanne in either case, but you could make a good argument that he gets uncomfortably close. He can tell that Jeanne isn't in good control of herself at the Bal Masqué, and he spends a lot of effort wearing her down and convincing her that she should bite him.

Spending a long time wearing somebody down as you convince them to do a sexual act with you is. not great. Absolutely not a thing that you should do in real life.

And later, in the alley, Vanitas straight up blackmails Jeanne into continuing their blood drinking relationship. If she doesn't bite him and only him, he tells Luca about how/why Jeanne Marked him, which she refuses to let happen.

However, though the first non-consensual kiss is pretty clearly framed as Vanitas doing something Bad, these two blood drinking scenes aren't. So what gives? Well, I once saw a review say that first awful kiss was like something out of a bodice ripper, and the comparison has been haunting me ever since.

Dubious or nonexistent consent is a pretty old and common trope in romances, especially bodice ripper type ones, and there are a couple common explanations that float around as to why women would enjoy reading something like that. One of those explanations is the idea that non/dubcon is a good fantasy for people who feel like they aren't allowed to have agency over their own sexual desires. Women are made to feel like they shouldn't want sex, and so even if they wouldn't want a "no" to be ignored in real life, it's kind of an exciting fantasy. The heroines in books can play chaste as they're meant to, pretending they don't want the things they aren't supposed to want, and the man will give them what they secretly desire anyway.

That isn't a universally applicable explanation for why people like dub/noncon, not by a long shot, but I do think it's an interesting idea. And given that Jeanne's story is so very much about agency and learning to want things, it feels relevant to early VaniJeanne. The actual kiss, the part that that review compared to a bodice ripper, is just straight-up assault. I don't think there was any secret desire involved there on Jeanne's end. But what about the scenes at the bal masqué and in the alley?

It's made pretty clear that, for reasons of both chemistry and whatever secret thing is wrong with her, Jeanne wants Vanitas's blood. She doesn't want to want Vanitas's blood, and she doesn't want to act on the desire, but she desires it anyway. And Vanitas, through dubcon-level coercion and threats of blackmail, cajoles her into acting on that desire.

It's a classic romance novel setup of the heroine saying "no, I shouldn't" while secretly filled with want, only for the love interest to force her to "give in to her desires." She wants to drink his blood, and Vanitas gives her no choice but to do so.

Jeanne, in becoming a Bourreau, was meant to shed everything that made her a person. She was a tool. She was not meant to want anything. And that makes her the perfect character to act out that romance novel trope on. She's the ultimate example of a woman that isn't supposed to want what she wants, because it's not just sex that she isn't supposed to want. It's everything.

But, by casting Vanitas in the mold of a bodice ripper-style love interest, Jeanne is given an out. Gévaudan is her breakthrough—the moment when she goes directly against her orders to do something for the sake of her own heart. Before that point, when she still struggles to admit to wanting things, the only possible way she can act on a desire (including a sexual or blood desire) is to be cajoled and coerced.

And at the bal masqué, her biting Vanitas is the first time we see her carry out an act not in service of Luca.

#vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #I don't wanna get this post hidden from tag search with an sa tag #so instead for blacklist purposes: #dubcon #sa #(hopefully that should be sufficient *and* not get this hidden) #vanijeanne #english major hours

[meimi-haneoka]

Do you really think Clamp left too many “loose ends” in Clear Card? I mean, it's true that we don't know where Momo is, but I don't think there are as many unsolved mysteries as a lot of people say. What do you think?

No, that's true, anon! For the most part, all the main mysteries were solved. If people perceive there are still unsolved mysteries it's either:

because they haven't re-read the story and the answer is already in the story itself, it's just that in full CLAMP-style, it isn't spoon-fed to the readers (CLAMP want us to use our brain a lot, in Clear Card)

it is meant to stay a secret, to make things interesting and stimulate the fan's imagination, like what Yukito gave as a price when he made the pact with the Tsukimine Shrine. But at the end of the day, does it change anything, to know what he paid with? If it was anything relevant to the plot, we would know. The important thing is that thanks to this pact, he was able to help in a very critical situation. Or like Momo's true name. While the revelation of Akiho and Kaito's true names is used inside the story as a way to convey other things (feelings, most of all), Momo didn't really need to reveal her true name to us, as an ethereal and ageless being. It is a mystery on the level of "Yuuko Ichihara"'s mystery.

My opinion is that there were parts that deserved to be explored better, especially about the new characters since we learn to know them in this arc, to reconnect things better.

The first thing I really wish they reconnected better was the whole synchronization between Sakura and Akiho. We're completely left on our own to tie the threads on how that worked. Who started it? We have to assume it's part of Kaito's plan, since he's not surprised when it first happens. Though he doesn't really say clearly that it was his (or Momo's book's) job. Akiho seems to be tuning into Sakura's dreams sometimes. But not all of them might be because of the synchronization. That one time Akiho says that she dreamt of being in a high place, wishing for something someone had, might have been a normal dream, and CLAMP framed it in a way that made it seem like she was dreaming of being the Mysterious Cloaked Figure. What was the purpose of the synchro? To "prepare" them for their life as twins in the future? They do say that twins have such a connection that they end up thinking the same things.... Why Akiho needed to read about Sakura's adventures in the Alice in Clockland book? There are some elements we can use to give ourselves some answers, but they're very vague. Admittedly, this is the ONE part I really wish CLAMP executed better.

Then, we have a sort of "gap" in the period when Kaito decided to accompany Akiho in her journey. It is completely left up to us to imagine what went through his mind when he raised his hand and said "I'll go", that day. (Truth to be told, we have few elements we can work with, and I'd say that his journey started for a reason, and turned quickly into something else the more he spent time with Akiho). Like, he was always wearing that "dead" expression before meeting Akiho, what made him think to learn to smile in light of their first meeting? Was Momo the one teaching him? We only have a couple of lines between him and Momo thrown around in the Drama CD to go by: "And laugh more properly, even if it's a fake laugh!" "Hm, I'm trying my best though...". We could infer that Kaito still had a hard time learning how to express his emotions. Thankfully, all the smiles he gave Akiho were portrayed as absolutely genuine. But knowing "how it started" I think would've outlined Kaito's character and motivations better. Or the whole "how Akiho parents died" matter that I've already mentioned somewhere else (and at this point the non-mention makes me think it was a reason too harsh to mention in Nakayoshi).

It's also to be noted that some things were portrayed in a certain way to give us a sense of danger and make us fall into the trap of prejudice towards newcomers (another theme of this arc), for example in Sakura's dreams there's a scene of the Dragon (Kaito) that opens its mouth and "shoots an attack" at her. That scene never happened in reality. It was definitely meant to "scare us", but now that we know that the Dragon was absolutely inoffensive, we must elaborate that as a byproduct of Sakura's anxiety. After all, it is a foretelling dream, but still a dream influenced by subconscious.

Yeah, stuff like that. However, when I talk about "open ending", I'm not talking about those "issues", I can make peace with those...after all, it's a story that lasted 80 chapters and 7 years and half, one of the longest in CLAMP's catalogue. It's difficult to hold the reins tight on a story so full of foreshadowings and complex matters. Moreover, the series has been criticized both in Japan and abroad for "not being Sakura's story" (that's not true at all), because fans couldn't stand how in this arc Sakura shared the storyline and spotlight with other characters. People wanted the mysteries connected to Akiho and Kaito to be revealed, but at the same time didn't want CLAMP to talk about them, to focus a chapter on them. Like??? How does that make sense?? So it makes me think that what we got is already a lot, in the situation we were in.

When I say "open ending" I'm actually talking about all the new stuff they added in the last chapter, that really is giving everyone the feeling of "there's going to be more, right?" Cause it's weird that you end a story like that. While you finish explaining the last details of what happened to the Clear Cards and Sakura Cards, and the aftermath of Sakura's huge spell, you introduce the travel of two characters, you give a very detailed explanation of what they're going to do, you leave up in the air the "will they actually find a way to heal Kaito and make his time start again?", and you don't make one of the most important characters appear?? Momo?? The one who was basically a backbone of this arc, without her intervention in the finale Sakura would've never known that her world was rewritten? That also seemed to me like such an out-of-character move, for how caring and maternal they portrayed Momo to be. Leaving her kids like that. I can't imagine that we'll be left forever out there without knowing what happened to Momo. Even if her choice was to move on, they should've mentioned it clearly. And needless to say, Kaito offering to teach Syaoran about time magic (surely as a way to thank him) was another seemingly "additional" plot thread one could grasp onto, in case they wanted to resume this one day.

That's why I feel CLAMP have left so many opportunities to talk about these characters again, in any possible way (another arc, a spin off, a cameo in another manga), and created an "open ending", as opposed to how "closed" felt the original ending.

#reply #cardcaptor sakura #card captor sakura #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #anonymous

[growling]

please give us the tea on the warrior cats ships!!!

I'll go first by saying Mothpool is overhyped and Leafpool had more chemestry with Cinderpelt. (in my opinion, ship what you like!)

:3c !!! Didn't think anybody would actually ask I am gonna gonna ramble now.. Separating this into pos and neg opinions

Positive:

I did think of leafcinder before and thought it was cute but not really something I'll get passionate about (i tend to be very picky on these kinda age gap/mentor x apprentice ships), now that I'm reminded of it I can really see it! They would have a great dynamic (taking tnp cinderpelt personality into account here. tbh her in tpb and her in tnp are almost different characters to me... where's your whimsy girl...), and honestly, there are almost endless options for Leafpool ships (she interacts with so many cats woagh that's crazy for this series she actually has friends??) that have more chemistry than crowpool. I mean it's fine I guess from a strictly plot perspective (and even that's well. bendable) but why is Leafpool, 30 cat years after their breakup, dead, in cat heaven, STILL deeply in love with cat Clay Puppington. I know they will get back together in StarClan because the authors absolutely love them and think they popped off writing their romance subplot they think they created a banger. Sorry this veered off into negative can't help being a hater.

hollyjaylion, leafsquirrel and bramblehawk are the three shipcest pairings I will never be able to be normal about. Canon to me. I say this as if I'm joking but I'm serious oughhh the goddamn dynamics. On a joking note though, graysky. there is no healthy nothing to see here just bro supporting his bro explanation for whatever the hell gray wing's problem was this entire arc

spottedtiger is cool it's interesting it's mindblowing it saves lives and it's haters are sooo silly I am sorry... "but spotted is his aunt according to the family tree!!!!" ok. and is this made relevant in the books at all? do they ever even acknowledge these two as kin. It's so pointless.. draw them making out

why's the fandom turning on darktiger suddenly now because they're still related (which is not even relevant or explicitly pointed out in the books and them being related was only decided way after both of their arcs together were done I. ughhhh.) wasn't this your favourite little henchman x fascist dictator toxic yaoi ship just a few years ago?? cowards. draw them making ou- ah wait that's just dark being obsessed with tiger, who on the other hand would RATHER NOT he wants that useless lickspittle OBLITERATED he doesn't CARE

ivyhawk good she could fix him. or he can make her worse. once again the fandom are major cowards for turning on it just like they did with darktiger, but much, much more aggresively so. like you people need to calm tf down just take deep breaths it's just a warrior cat ship...

people complaining about dovetiger's age gap (which are commonplace in the wc series tiger is not alone in dating apprentices) are so boring. they actually have the most wholesome dynamic in the current era/arcs I'd argue. they're in love and I love them. as a ship and both as characters.

fallenholly had the option to be one of THE best dubiously-canon wc pairings to come out of this series had they just went the direction of making fallen actually somewhat more messed up after being trapped as a ghost in the torment tunnels for cat centuries like. I remember someone else wording this really well earlier but I'm not really gonna search so just. Yeah. fallen leaves ships.

leopardtiger is hilarious I don't care. she thinks he's sooo correct and intelligent and truly the enlightened sigma worthy of the tigerclan podcast throne while also poisoning his food because he's fucking pissing her off in their side twitter dms and plotting his demise every night while he's snork mimimi'ing next to her in their kitty political marriage cuddle pile. ben shapiro x pragerU fucking ship I hope they kill each other

mudhawk... funny... seriously WHY is the fandom picking the most interesting goddamn ships to get pissed off at and call "problematic"??????? "age gap" THEY WERE BOTH ADULTS WHEN THEY MET WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ON LET HAWK MANSPLAIN MANIPULATE MANFUCK THAT OLD MAN

I didn't read AVoS in it's entirety (and don't want to. it's... boring for the most part. I mean I love violet but is she enough to make me keep reading all that.) and don't remember if they even had any notable interactions but violetpuddle is very cute and my favourite (and, honestly, only) option for their ships. puddle's mother suckled violet but they don't consider each other "real" siblings just like how their mother doesn't consider violet as her daughter but try telling that to the fandom who can't distinguish between wet nurse arrangement, foster siblings and adopted siblings. Proud only resident of violetpuddle nation...... literally nobody else is here...

Negative: (gonna start censoring the cat/ship names now)

so correct moth.pool overhyped and their fans annoying. and also because I headcanon moth as aroace like there is not a single romantic thought in her body I cannot ever imagine her in a relationship moth don't care.

*takes a deep breath* mouse.fur is not aroace. tall.star, raven.paw and barley aren't gay. authorial statements made 10 years ago at some con ARE NOT CANON. IF IT'S NOT IN THE TEXT IT'S NOT CONFIRMED CANON. Also the latter examples also reek of biphobia lol. you can ship any of these characters with anyone forever, what is any of you people's problem.

long.fire, shadow.root, holly.cinder, bright.cloud, jay.kestrel are boring yaaawn I am falling asleep and do not see it. same with sandfire; these two did not have the groundbreaking dynamic (nor was sand that uh, well-rounded as character) you think they did you're just nostalgic. I actually prefer spottedfire and cinderfire over sandfire. anything over sandfire.

hawk.ash pisses me off because their shippers are always "hahahaha toxic yaoi sooo fucked up they make each other worse!!" but show them an actual toxic pairing and they immediately shit themselves and call you an abuse fetishizer. COWARDS you lot are COWARDS and this is why I cannot get behind hawk.ash at all like I associate them with the most annoying people so much I cannot sorry. I'm sure it's a cool ship or whatever

I actually got tired and now am too sleepy to articulate myself properly anymore but still here are the other ships that I either dislike or just plain out hate seeing: fern.ivy, alder.needle, crow.squirrel, bristle.root, bramble.squirrel (but that's a very popular one lol), lion.cinder.

thanks for the ask! :3

#ask #mine #seweryn's wc tag

[onaperduamedee]

Hello! I watched the wot show and liked it but I’ve been really curious about all the complaints that people made about how the plots don’t fit with what happens later on in the books. My assumption is that it’s not that major a thing but is just the critique people latched onto and repeat. But as you’re now a way through the series and I appreciate the thought you put in, would you say this might be a problem or is it overblown that some later plots can’t be salvaged already? Is part of it true

Hello, that's a really interesting question!

I’m trying to keep this vaguely spoiler-free with the exception of elements from The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt covered on the show, but this still got long.

I do think it is overblown, but I also liked the changes made, so I might not be the best judge here. I'm trying to approach your question from the angle of what is there and how it affects the story.

From where I stand in my reading, the majority of the changes in the show can be categorized in:

moving forward some arcs (dagger theft, visit to Tar Valon),

new material introducing important groups and dynamics early (Aes Sedai, warders),

plainly streamlining those THICK books (cutting the 14578 villages Mat and Rand visit, merging certain elements)

To me, those changes will serve the story going forward, both in terms of pacing and clarity, and do not affect the core of later arcs. The plot points still happen, just differently or later. The complaints about some changes are honestly hair-splitting, like making the girls ta'veren or Lan not being stony enough: it’s POV adjustment, not plot-damaging.

Some important discarded encounters will obviously come up later when there is more time. I get the frustration of fans who wanted to see those relationships play out now instead of new material (Nynaeve/Moiraine dance battle, how I mourn you), but I disagree shifting them around altered the story. The Eye of The World consists of A Lot of traveling and encounters, with a clear focus on Rand, despite the established five main characters. I think these changes allowed the show to lay the groundwork more evenly, particularly for the girls. 

Now, the biggest change that could affect storylines soon is Moiraine being cut from the source. It could change her arc significantly, short and long-term, but I don't see it as a major hurdle since Moiraine gets a meatier arc that is thematically relevant to book 2. I have qualms about how it could make later arcs redundant, but the execution will do a lot of work here. Mirroring is good in a narrative. 

Another aspect is Siuan/Moiraine potentially affecting their respective story. It may require some reshuffling/cutting characters, which will happen anyway with so many side characters gallivanting. But I'd absolutely argue their love life is not the most important element on their gripping journey in the books. Also, although I loathe admitting it, being together now does not necessarily entail being together always: there's wiggle room here, even if I don't want it.

Giving Perrin a wife only to kill her is dumb, but does not really change his later arc, come on. It will certainly add a certain weight to the story, like with Siuan and Moiraine.

Overall, I find the criticism all the more unfair that fans admit the first book is not representative of the rest of the series (it’s mainly Lord of the Rings references with more innkeepers and jugglers). To me, there's a fair margin of improvement in the books, pace-wise and story-wise. If fans come from the books thinking not one line should be rewritten, of course they're not going to enjoy the show doing away with dated or slower elements. I do. Ultimately, we don’t know how the story will be told: even if certain plots seem barred to them now, it may not be always so.

I hope I answered your question and I profoundly thank you for asking it because I could talk about these books/this show for hours.

#remblai #rescribo #wheel of time #not really meta but hey #I'm not kidding everyone in my family and among my friends and at work knows I am reading these books because I cannot shut up #obviously it's got something to do with the length of the series but also I have many thoughts and no one here has read those books #also shoot me but I don't think damaging certain storylines would be such a bad choice #and certain things in the books don't even fit with other later things because the writing process is like that #lore will shift #it's no big deal #I wonder if my perception will change now that I've read the books #it didn't bother me that much with Rings of Power and His Dark Materials

[redheadedbrunette]

Cool so I reread the series and I noticed a lot more than I did the first two times I read it which is fun. The relationship between Ben and Erica is more explored than I remembered which is good and I can definitely see her character arc a lot clearer.

X is still my least favorite book and there’s absolutely a corner that Gibbs wrote himself into on that one unless he’s entirely giving up on the idea of having Ben and co. be secret agents.

Ben’s a lot more of a competent spy than I remember too, which is refreshing.

I also completely forgot that all 10 of these books happen in the span of like a year and a half which is hilarious.

Oh and the age gap seems like something that would be a lot more of an issue if there weren’t only like 300 people in the world they could have contact with. Even Erica and Josh had a bit of a gap since she had to have been 14/15 or so while he was 17/18. A gap of 2.5 years would be problematic for normal kids but I think different rules would apply.

I'm so glad it was clearer on a second go around! Honestly, I didn't even really see it all that clearly until I reread the series a couple years ago (SSAS came out my first week of college) and had a lot more experience with how stories work on a fundamental idea. Erica's development is very much in the background, but when you're looking for it (excluding SSPX, but that's a different rant) it's so clear and interesting and I love it.

SSPX bothers me for SO MANY REASONS the biggest of which is that Mr. Gibbs puts the message before the overarching plot of everything, and then! It's not even a relevant message! Like, what twelve year old is hardcore believing QAnon (it's pretty obviously meant to be that or something similar). I feel like something could have been achieved and a message about privacy, like Murray makes getting a video of Ben part of some TikTok knockoff challenge, because that seems like a much more likely thing kids would do, but gotta make fun of people who remember what the news said two years ago and comparing it to what they say now! Can't have people with good memories! But yeah, it does shoot the series in the foot kind of, and I understand the reasoning behind why things were done the way they were! I just don't agree with it most of the time.

It's even funnier when you realize that it's not a year and a half evenly spread out, it's one mission his first year with five months before summer, one that summer, and seven his second year. Eight if you want to count SSGS and SSBI as different missions (I go back and forth as to whether or not I do). It's so funny. Please give poor Ben a break.

And yes! Ben is actually so much more competent than people seem to give him credit for sometimes. It's just that his skill set tends to be less flashy and useful in battle scenes, but he's very much the chess master of the group. He's the one planning and strategizing, and all the karate moves in the world aren't going to do you any good if you can't actually foil the plans.

My reasoning for why I'm okay with the age gap is because the narrative treats them as equals who are more or less in the same place in life. Like, yes she's two classes ahead of him, but for all intents and purposes, they're teamed up together constantly with others in Ben's class and I think Erica is the only one we really know about in her class (can't remember Chip's age, but he might be? idk, doesn't really matter). It's never dwelt on, and it bothers me when people try to make a deal about it! Like, they're not going to be in the same place in their lives forever. It's high school. Almost no one marries the person they dated in high school. I've long held that they'd break up sometimes after Erica graduates and starts her adult life while Ben is still in school (or something similar depending on how Mr. Gibbs decides to do things moving forward).

#anyway my own personal conspiracy theory #is that between SSAS and SSPX the CIA contacted mr. gibbs #and told him to stop writing stories where the government was covering things up #and also to make conspiracy theorists seem crazy #because whether or not you believe in actual conspiracy theories #you *cannot* deny that in the context of the Spy School universe #they are correct that the government is lying to them #because that's the only reason i could come up with why someone who's invested so much time writing a series #would mess it up so royally #and there's an out of universe reason why the school got blown up #(it's because it's hard to market a middle grade series where the characters are in high school) #(and don't say Harry Potter middle grade didn't exist as a marketing demographic back then so JK had more freedom in a lot of regards) #so i don't see why there couldn't be an out of universe explanation for the other stuff #especially because several authors *have* gotten contacted by the government when they guessed something a little too close to the truth #but anyway #enough of my crazy #it's how i cope with the book being *so bad* #and that's the stuff i can explain away #unlike Erica's characterization in that book #spy school #ginger answers #erica hale #ben ripley #anyway if you want to send me more asks i would absolutely love that #i've been missing talking about it and the tag has been *so dead* and hardly anyone comments on my ao3 stuff

[spaceangst]

if you could give Sophie two love interests to replace Keefe and Fitz, who would they be and why (existing characters only)

honestly, i don't think sophie's really set up for any other love interests in terms of canon? i'd argue even the whole sophitz arc is to juxtapose sokeefe, but at the same time, it also serves as a representation of the head vs. heart thing that lord cassius talks about and it is pretty relevant to the storyline somehow, so i'd be interested to see that expanded upon.

i digress lol. in terms of the books, i can't really see her ending up with anyone else. i'm personally biased towards keefe, so i wouldn't necessarily want to replace him because he's such a strong character, but idk! i don't think anyone comes to mind off the top of my head because the most we get about the other characters (barring dex) is vague hints at them having crushes on each other (i.e. biana on keefe, linh hinting that tam's type is brunettes, etc.)

here's 3 alternatives i can give you (although i did cheat a little bit bc they included fitz and keefe, but i really do think those 2 boys are a big part of her story so whoops?)

sophitz actually happened and was healthy and communicative and the cognate power couple fitz dreamed of them being. keefe becomes a councillor and later replaces emory when emory steps down. biana and tam get together as it's hinted at in the books. the rest of them find someone outside of their main cast, whatever gender/ability is up to them lol i don't think we know enough about their preferences to say it there.

sokeefe get together - then pull a kenric and oralie and join the council. when emory resigns to go find love, oralie replaces him. when they think they've made enough of a change, they step down and get back together. fitz meets someone on his match list and he's happy with that because he still has his friends and he's able to restore the vacker name.

sophie meets someone else in her elite levels and it's refreshing that they don't have that traumatic backstory with her. she gets a fresh start with this person and they end up getting together.

no matter who she ends up with, sophitz are all powerful cognates, sokeefe radiate major queerplatonic energy, and sodex are the best friends everyone wishes they could be.

idk if that answers your question entirely, but idk, out of the existing characters, i honestly don't see the chemistry between any of them. i would consider biana if it wasn't for the fact that her brother literally brought sophie into their world, so idk if that would really work considering biana knew about sophie's crush on fitz.

since you asked though, did you have anyone in mind? i'd be curious to hear your reasoning too!

#kotlc #kotlc discourse #k-uestions #keeper of the lost cities #sokeefe #sophitz #sodex #thanks for the ask!

[epickiya722]

You know what, I think some of you never actually read a book or watched a movie before because...

BNHA isn't the only story where there are other side stories to fill in the gap. Yes, we get other character arcs since hello, we do have other characters. That's how storytelling works sometimes. There is multiple characters.

However! The whole plot of BNHA is about Midoriya 'Deku' Izuku. The other characters are accessories.

People complaining about villains not getting enough screentime or hating on Deku and other hero characters forgot that this story is called My HERO Academia. It's not about the villains. They get their stories and character details to make the story engaging. Villains are needed for there to even be a hero. They have backstories to show why they even became villains to give reason, to give some depth to them. Honestly, villain stans get fed just a little more than other fans. Promo art, merch, the trailers, actual backstories! A whole arc!!

Seriously, you lot need to zip your lips and stop with your nonsense. Chill out. Yes, we know the hero characters aren't perfect, whoopie fucking doo. That's one of the points made about this series. Everyone is flawed. Just because a villain has a sad backstory doesn't mean everyone is going to feel sorry for them. Let alone, in series, not everyone knows that villain's childhood trauma. Again, you do really think Miruko knows Shigaraki's childhood? No. So of course, she's going to attack him. Remember, he is still a bad guy.

Honestly, it's hard being a Miruko fan for the fact she gets hate for DOING HER JOB. Not all villain fans are like this, but some of you really need to humble your fucking selves.

Hell, that's more than... imagine being a fan of Ojiro, a kid who is in a HERO COURSE WITH A TAIL! I personally feel like he deserves a lot more love because of that reason alone.

And on that note, hero fans, same thing for you! I get wanting to see more Shoto or Iida or more Hawks or whatever other hero character, but you shut up, too if you're not understanding and complaining that Midoriya is still the protagonist. For goodness sakes he was gone for so long! All that time we did get some more of other characters! Disrespected or whatever else, at least there's a glimpse. Sucks, yeah I understand. But...

At this point, it's getting sad that some of you really don't know how storytelling works. We got a protagonist and then other characters to give the story some depth, some interesting bits. Those extra characters will probably get extra details to give even more depth or maybe some relevance. But at the end of the day, the protagonist is who the story is about. With and without flaws.

In this case, Midoriya 'Deku' Izuku, the damn 9th ninth holder of OFA with the green hair and freckles is that protagonist. He is going to do protagonist things. Powerups, extra powers, saving the day.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY!! HELLO!!!

Just know I'm also quick to block and give you memes as a respond for any disrespect. I could care less how any of you are feeling because some of you need to chill out. If you got in your feelings, tough.

#never watched any animes or nothing in your lives i swear #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #just kiya's thoughts #midoriya izuku #izuku midoriya #deku

[flambeaufelid]

Warrior Cats Chronological Liveblogging Part 1 - Dawn of the Clans - The Sun Trail - Prologue & Chapter 1

Prologue

Oh Warrior cat's prologues, how I hate thee. But that's not unique to Warriors. I find that prologues are often a huge turn-off. Starting a story with a bunch of vaguery is an easy way to disengage me. But maybe this one will exceed my expectations?

So far, yes, actually! It's doing a good enough job setting up a situation that'll be immediately relevant, and giving us some fanservice in the form of an appearance from Lion's Roar and Half-Moon! Fun.

Half-Moon gets our first divine intervention: a bright glowing sunlight that only she can see. This apparently means, according to her, that she needs to fracture her group, and send a bunch of people away, so that they won't starve. Amazing and coherent logic as always, Warriors...

Also she's still simping for Jay's Wing lmao. Bitch his fucking soul is time traveling or some shit.

...Okay, probably she gets to spend time in the afterlife with him in the time before he reincarnates, but I'm not sure they ever confirm that explicitly. So. Sad.

Chapter 1

Here we meet our POV character, Gray Wing. Lame name for a main character, honestly, compared to the others. Not to mention that we see his name RIGHT after seeing the name Jay's Wing, and I bet that caused someone out there to conflate the two.

...Unless he's another reincarnation of Jay's Wing, which would be hilarious, but also not make sense, so it's definitely not the case. It's such a stupid idea that I'm almost proud of it though.

First mention of Clear Sky! I remember him being the most interesting character of the part of the arc that I got through as a kid (first ~three books or so?), slipping in and out of a hyper-violent psychosis or something- though I feel like we don't see any of that this book.

Not a fan of how this initial scene characterizes them. It sets Grey Wing up as some kind of ahead-of-his-time good guy, by having him adhere to a standard of unselfishness that would become a formal rule in the decades to come. Meanwhile, Clear Sky gives us a hint of his dark side, being put out by his brother's insistence that they give away their catch.

Grey Wing insists that they'll be fine, because they're the best hunters in the tribe- but in that case, they could bring back whatever they catch next... I mean, I get that there are legitimately cats that need it more, starving kittens and all, but I don't think it's invalid for Clear Sky to want to eat the food he caught, and I'm annoyed that it's being used as a way of hinting at him being evil. I think that moral systems that villainize the absence of good actions rather than the presence of bad ones are prone to asking far too much of people.

...I mean, you could argue that it isn't actually hinting at any of that about these characters at all, and I'm reading into it too much, especially considering that Clear Sky relents easily, and that Grey Wing thinks that his brother knows this is the right thing to do. But then, this scene would be somewhat pointless. So.

And now this hawk that was described as scrawny is described as huge. Grey Wing says "it wont feed every cat". Implying that it comes anywhere close to doing so... maybe? I think??? Most of the cats in the clan proceed to get one bite. Top tier descriptions Erins! Not confusing at all. It's a minor problem, sure, but I fear this will be a reoccurring issue now that I'm old enough to notice such things while reading.

Bright Stream is introduced, and immediately shown to be a love interest for clear sky.

Followed... by... a sex joke...????? A really heavily veiled one, because these books are ostensibly for kids, but it's still slightly more risqué than usual.

Half-Moon tells everybody that they should leave because she's dreamed of a place full off sunlight. Grey Wing thinks that's stupid. Clear Sky thinks that sounds great. Bright stream is unsure, but immediately gets judgy over the idea that Clear Sky might go without her, rather than continuing to suffer the cold and starvation...

And that's the end of chapter one.

Back to masterpost.

#spoilers #warriors #warrior cats #liveblog #masterpost #warriors spoilers #warrior cats spoilers #Dawn of the Clans #The Sun Trail

[aquagustd]

Kudos to you for writing a story that stirs up such interesting dialogue and theories between readers!! I’ve been trying to come up with theories myself but as much as I want to pick a “team” to be on I have suspicions for both sides (tae/jk) and I can’t help but get a nagging feeling that the whole tae situation is a red herring?! Idk if that’s the right word but it feels like you know when a movie is 3/4 done and everything is suspiciously going well and then you’re like.. wait there’s 30 minutes left 😨 at this point I have no idea what to think hahahaha

On one hand from what we know tae has been a good partner for oc, but the fact that there’s a few more chapters left and you said there’s still lots of things that will happen makes me think something might change that? There’s still lots of secrets i feel like we don’t know and I don’t really think we can take anything anyone says at face value.. this especially applies to jk but unfortunately tae too I think!!

Yeah it’s boggling my mind 😩 the fact that she definitively will end up with one of the two is what’s got me ping ponging between her+jk which would not only subvert our expectations but it would satisfy a character arc that rivals Jamie from game of thrones lmao but then I bounce back to tae who’s sweet and seems good on the surface but literally has a PhD in dodging important questions oc asks, and that just doesn’t sit right with me!! I feel like a mouse reaching for a piece of delicious cheese in a mousetrap by rooting for tae+oc 🫣 and idk if I’m feeling this way because it’s quite common for books and films to do the whole red herring then shocking twist as plot devices and I’ve just been conditioned to expecting things to not be so easy you know?!

Girl idk I gotta end this ask my brain said chill the f out 😵‍💫

SHDJDSK i strive to write a character arc as good as jamie lannister 😩 totally get what you mean !! there’s still so much left, 4 parts and like you’re wondering what could happen??? there’s honestly a lot to unpack but it doesn’t only apply to tae. but the other characters as well. especially oc.

there won’t be a plot twist in hie. if you get what i mean. things will play out gradually. like some plot twists have already happened yk?

tae…well. there’s a lot to his character but he’s not bad. there’s no plot twist with him tbh. i won’t dismiss your theories but i will say towards the end the focus is more on jk + oc since the focus at the beginning was mostly tae + oc.

as much as oc doesn’t like to say it (from what we saw in her character asks) she will find herself torn between them. and like the other anons said a part of her is holding on to jk !! (i know this is not relevant to what you said lmao i just feel the need to put it out there because i’ve had anons complaining in my asks that the characters dialogues - from the ask game - doesn’t make sense. like obviously i’m not gonna spoil the whole fic and give away everything in their responses you get me?)

but anyway !! i hope your brain rests a bit 🥹 & ty for reading and dropping your theories <3

#turned off anon for a bit too bc goddamn #OBVIOUSLY i’m not gonna spoil the story in the character asks #fic: hie #squishies

[wondereads]

Books I Read In March

Reviews below the cut

Captive Prince by C. S. Pacat (DNF)

I was under the impression this book would be about a hostage prince. You know, the political move where a nation demands the spare heir of another nation to hold as hostage, to ensure they don't violate a treaty or anything. Imagine my surprise when I begin reading about sexual slavery. Yeah, I made it about 20% of the way through before I just couldn't do it anymore. The child (yes, child) was where I drew the line.

Evelina by Frances Burney (6/10)

A book I read for school, but fairly enjoyable for an eighteenth-century novel. I found the etiquette quite interesting, and Evelina and Lord Orville's relationship was sweet. However, it's filled with a lot of nothing as is expected from classics, and Evelina is the epitome of a passive protagonist. Burney's obsession with making her stay 'pure' really limited her development.

Damsel by Evelyn Skye (6/10) (ARC)

This book was just pretty average. The big picture of the book was quite good, I really liked Elodie as a main character, and the character relationships were interesting. However, this book falls short in a few different ways. The pacing was too slow in the beginning, and then too fast, not allowing for the characters or message to be explored enough. I must admit, my standards going in were high since I once another book called Damsel dissecting the same sort of story, so I was a little disappointed. A decent read, but really not anything special.

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (7/10) (reread)

A purely indulgent reread of the book that inspired one of my favorite movies. Looking back, it really isn't all that good of a book, focusing more on describing every little detail than any semblance of plot development. It's also very Christian and pushes it at every point. Still, I'm emotionally attached to Robin and Maria, so they'll always get a pass from me.

The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan (???)

I'll be honest. I read this book in an absolute fever dream that lasted three hours. I was assigned to read it, and I was trying to get through it as fast as possible, and now I can remember approximately 20% of it. I could give you a plot and character rundown, but any sort of deeper analysis or real opinions are going to be notoriously unreliable.

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker (8/10) (ARC)

I think this is a good book. The plot is interesting with a unique take on magical realism, the main characters are complex, and it addresses some important issues with magic as a stand-in for all kinds of cultural practices. I have my issues, mostly with the lack of urgency, narration, and unclear message, but they are by no means dealbreakers. The cliffhanger is attention-grabbing, definitely enough to get a reader to want to read the next book, and I just love Cristina so much. This book comes out on April 4th, so be sure to give it a shot!

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (5/10)

I'll be frank. I don't like SJM, and I doubt I ever will. However, two of my friends love these books, and I've recommended so many books to them that I feel bad not reciprocating. Personally, I find Celaena (and most of SJM's protagonists) a Mary Sue, and this book in particular feels like the literary equivalent of a filler episode. Ultimately, the only plot-relevant developments were the discovery of the Wyrdkeys, Celaena getting sent to Wendlyn, and Nehemia's death. Which, by the way, is completely unnecessary and leaves a horrendous taste in my mouth considering she's the only character of color in the entire book. I will still be reading Heir of Fire, but I won't be happy about it.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann (7/10) (reread)

The Unwanteds, despite opening with a bunch of thirteen year olds about to be thrown into boiling oil, is a fun book that’s good for light reading. It’s really best for ages ten to thirteen, but it’s also lighthearted fantasy adults can read when they’re in the mood for something unique but not depressing. The plot and character development is rather good, although I wish more time had been devoted to it. For example, I still can't forgive Lani, and really everyone, for how they treated Alex, excluding and sometimes outright bullying him for months. I understand the complexity of the situation, but come on. He was miserable.

#books #wrap up #captive prince #evelina #damsel #crown of midnight #the little white horse #blood debts #the unwanteds #the buried and the bound

[magic-top-hat]

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES in JJK Part 3

3. Utahime's investigation for the traitor among the students

This beauty needs more screen time.

Background:

In the manga, they skip directly to the traitor reveal without prior build up and show little emotional effect it has on his teacher, Utahime. And I'm perfectly fine with how it was done. The only build up was when Utahime and Gojo were speaking in code:

Utahime: You're calling about arrangements for the drinking party, right? (Calling about the investigation for the traitor, right?)

Gojo: Well, find any candidates? (Find any suspects?)

Utahime: None. Everyone's busy, even myself. Should I try the students? (I found no suspects so far. Should I try investigating the students?)

Gojo: I'm a lightweight so I don't mind if the party's alcohol free. (I don't mind if you investigate the students.)

I love how Gege trusts us to figure this out on our own.

We also never see Utahime's Curse Technique —only from interviews and fan books we know that it's about singing. She almost demonstrated the ability during the end of the Shibuya arc. Being 60-70% done with JJK, Gege Akutami teases us, until the final moment I suppose.

Problem:

Critics of the series have often dubbed it a "Meat-Head Series", since all the characters allegedly do is fight. Moreover, there were a lot of complaints about the Kyoto students not doing anything relevant in the Shibuya Incident. I admit, JJK is in need of a little more downtime in between arcs to let the narrative breathe. If they did input more quiet moments, lucky for us, our characters are always endearing to watch in battle or slice of life humor.

Solution:

To slow down the pace, an entire episode follows Utahime who covertly stalks each student from the shadows, giving the audience an insight of what each of them do on their day off in Tokyo.

I do believe Gojo's statement that she's "weak", probably a hair under Kusukabe's (a Grade 1 sorcerer) power level. But not everyone has to be strong in the conventional sense of raw fighting prowess. This is the chance to shine a light on other skills like reconnaissance, sleuthing and subtlety.

Here's how I imagine it going down: Utahime was entrusted by Gojo to spearhead the investigation because she's the best at blending in, information gathering and controlling her curse energy to be undetectable. If Gojo were to do it, we know his massive curse energy makes him easily detectable.

In canon, this would take place right after the Baseball game, where the Kyoto students still have a few days before returning to Kyoto. She dismisses her students from the Jujutsu Headquarters' Inn they're staying at and lets them go sight-seeing.

As they disperse, she tails them. Of course, Todo goes to Takada-chan. I can see Momo and Mai shopping and bumping into Nobara for some goofy black-friday-like-competition on sales as they're shopping for the same item.

Miwa could be visiting her single mother and brothers who are studying in Tokyo. It would be interesting to see the boys practicing Kendo and Miwa breaking their sticks because she tearfully doesn't want them to join this dangerous line of work. I'm a closet KokichixMiwa shipper, so I'd be down for Mechamaru, disguised in cyborg hoodie and sweatpants in shame of his appearance, to kind of stalk Miwa? It's stalker-inception because their sensei is watching as well.

The Tokyo second years, Maki, Toge and Panda would be video calling Yuta who's in Africa. It just makes sense that they'd keep in touch, even if the connection is choppy. Yuta could show some clips of his overseas studies and glimpses to how Jujutsu works in other countries. Panda's infatuated by a lady-bear curse puppet apearing on Yuta's screen. As the connection dies, he promises to bring experimental cough medicine for Toge that could possibly allow him to talk normally without activating his curse speech, and for Maki, an African special grade curse tool.

Then, for Kamo, (his storyline was quite difficult to conceive but what made the most sense is if he) was invited to sit-in on an annual meeting of the Big 3 Sorcerer Clans since he's the next head. I think the clans are completely side-stepped when they offer important world-building to how the elite conduct themselves. We know there are 2 traitors —one is Mechamaru, the other is a very high, untouchable higher-up. So this traitor can cameo or be introduced here.

Gojo, being the head of his family, was naturally invited and would take one student, Kamo, off Utahime's watch. On the phone, Gojo invites Megumi as well. The Zenin clan actively try to reach out to Megumi after hearing his performance and growth in the Good Will Event. This could work as set-up since, in canon, he eventually becomes Zenin clan head. But Megumi declines in favor of visiting Tsumiki, his comatose sister in the hospital, then queue tear-jerking childhood flashback.

I have a personal headcanon that when Megumi once said, 'You chose to worry about me', refers back to when they were kids and before Gojo found them. Tsumiki was offered to be adopted by a rich family but the parents didn't want a son, but she chose to stay with her brother in their crappy living situation at the time.

Meanwhile, Yuji is approached by Todo with a spare concert ticket to Takada's concert.

While all these slice of life stuff going on, the single unifying thread besides Utahime's invisible presence in each scene is her commentary with Gojo earlier on the phone prior the start of the investigation. Their dialogue is playing over the scenes of each students, as they create sort of psychological profiles for each student and their likelihood of betraying them. I think the most gratifying detective stories are the ones where the clues were laid out and the audience can conclude for themselves whodunnit.

The episode catches up to realtime, with a reluctant Utahime talking to Gojo as they run through the facts and conclude Mechamaru is the traitor. But it's never verbally announced to us. The camera pans on a picture taken that day of Miwa, and behind her, it zooms on Mechamaru's looming figure.

Cut to Utahime treating her students to dinner at a sports themed restaurant —to their surprise, as they thought they disappointed their sensei for losing the tournament. She raises her glass, saying, "No matter the outcome, I will always be proud of you", an unnerving hidden message for how a mother-figure like her really feels towards Kokichi's betrayal. The students toast to that.

#jujutsu kaisen anime #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jjk anime #jjk fanfic #jjk manga #jujutsu kaisen manga #jujutsu sorcerer #jujutsu kaisen yuji #yuji itadori #itadori yuji #kugisaki nobara #nobara kugisaki #fushiguro megumi #megumi fushiguro #satoru gojo #gojo satoru #utahime iori #gojohime #gouta #jujutsu miwa #maki zenin #inumaki toge #yuta okkotsu #jujutsu kaisen okkotsu #todo aoi #jjk todo #jjk tsumiki #jjk panda #iori utahime

[yazthebookish]

Since I'm in the mood to write I thought I'll take the opportunity to debunk the floating titanic door theory known as the "Lightsinger Theory"

If you're trying to guess what I mean by the "floating titanic door" in case you haven't watched the film, just Google it. That's an accurate example.

I'm gonna have fun pointing out the flaws in this theory because oh boy there are plenty.

But first, let's imagine that the next book is an Azriel/Elain book with Gwyn featured in it as a Lightsinger. To quickly refresh your memory, Lightsingers are evil beings that live in the Bog.

• When an author creates an obstacle or a conflict for a character, it is done to have something to drive the plot and to add to the character's development. Since each ACOTAR book is a standalone, that personal obstacle/conflict will have to be resolved by the end of the book (as we have seen with Nesta). In this case, if Gwyn is a Lightsinger and her powers are the obstacle here, then this is considered self-conflict and it will have to be resolved by the end of the book.

When you think about a possible plotline dealing with a character you have to ask yourself these questions:

• If the purpose of the bonus chapter is to set up Gwyn's arc as a Lightsinger in the next book—and being a Lightsinger will be Gwyn's self-conflict, how does that serve the plot of a book centered around a couple (Azriel and Elain)?

You had Nesta and Cassian deal with an external character's conflict (Feysand baby) and most of us can agree how much it took from their own story. However, that conflict does have an immediate impact on the main couple, it wasn't personal, and it's resolution was important to both of them (especially Nesta) because it had consequences on everyone if it was not resolved.

Gwyn being a Lightsinger does... not? We could argue for Azriel it would likely have an impact but not on Elain who did not even meet or has any sort of relationship with Gwyn. The resolution of Gwyn being a Lightsinger does not impact or benefit Elain because it's Gwyn's personal conflict and part of her arc. Azriel, yes, since he has formed a bond with her and the Valkyries by the end of ACOSF. That's basically having another female character take away the attention from the main character and have the MC's love interest deal with another character's self-conflict.

If Gwyn's purpose in the bonus chapter is to hint at her Lightsinger powers because it'll be part of the next book, then Gwyn is not just a side character because one of the plotlines of the next book will have to deal with her own conflict and resolve it since it was set up. This sort of conflict requires her POV.

But if people will argue Gwyn is just a redherring, or she is in the bonus chapter to give us a hint about her powers but she would still be a side character because Sarah wants to distract everyone from Elr*el, and it won't be relevant in the next book but maybe the future books.

Story-telling wise? That doesn't make sense and it's a very weak statement because why waste page time on something that won't be dealt with in the next book?

• Another question is, how do we connect Gwyn's powers to Lightsingers? Where did Sarah hint at it? What is Gwyn's background?

When we met Gwyn and saw that she glows when she sings, it is something that we took note of because we haven't met a High Fae that glows aside from Feyre and Helion. We see her glow for the first time on page 153, we got our answer to that on page 316 when we find out her heritage.

Gwyn is 1/4 River Nymph. River Nymphs are considered lesser Fae. We have seen that in this world there are lesser Fae that glow.

High Fae and various lesser faeries I’d never encountered and didn’t know the names of wandered the streets. It was the latter that I noticed more than the others: some long-limbed, hairless, and glowing as if an inner moon dwelled beneath their night-dark skin[...]

This is where the readers make the connection between Gwyn's glow and large eyes to her quarter nymph bloodline. Also in mythology, nymphs and sirens are often associated with singing so it comes at no surprise she would glow while she sings.

Another argument is Nesta's powers sensing and reacting to Gwyn's powers. Until now, we have not seen Gwyn showcase any powers. When that power was sensed it was described as crackling energy. We could tie that to her Autumn Court bloodline since Beron's powers we described as crackling. She might as well have fire powers like the Autumn Court High Fae. Didn't she also sense an ornery energy around Merrill?

The language used for Gwyn's singing is often through Nesta's POV. Of course a lover of music like Nesta would be poetic when she hears a beautiful singing. It's a natural reaction to be drawn to someone's beautiful singing. Throughout the book we have seen Nesta love and appreciate music and singing.

It is said that Gwyn is the one that triggered Nesta's vision of the harp without taking into consideration that:

- Before the service, Gwyn tells Nesta they dug out lyrics under Level Seven and the lyrics are so ancient they predate the written word. Notice how we are told this before the service/vision scene?

- Nesta said even deep into her misery, she frequented pleasure halls and taverns because she loved the music so much.

- When Gwyn and the priestesses begin to sing, there is no menacing language, it's Nesta's poetic descriptions of the music and the singing she is luxuriating in. Gwyn's voice is the most beautiful among them and of course she will appreciate her friend's singing.

- “The music took form behind Nesta's eyes as the priestesses sang lyrics in languages so old, no one voiced them anymore. She saw what the song spoke of: [...]” the text reminds us that the song that pulled Nesta to that vision are the ancient lyrics the priestesses are singing. We are told twice that the priestesses will be singing ancient lyrics that were found under Level 7.

Also, one ridiculous point I once read was that Gwyn's Lightsinger powers is hinted in the glowing charms of the bracelets. I definitely would call it ridiculous since it taints the beautiful symbolism behind the friendship bracelets, and people choose to forget the charms were glowing when Nesta held them to her to make a wish. It wasn't Gwyn's doing. It was Nesta's powers.

• What connection do Lightsingers have to the Cauldron-made items of the Dread Trove?

“There are lightsingers: lovely, ethereal beings who will lure you, appearing as friendly faces when you are lost. Only when you’re in their arms will you see their true faces, and they aren’t fair at all. The horror of it is the last thing you see before they drown you in the bog. But they kill for sport, not food.”

“The Middle is full of primal magic. It has its own rules and laws. Hunt the kelpies or lightsingers without provocation and you might find yourself trapped here.”

First, the Lightsingers were mentioned only twice in one chapter and were never brought up again. The context of it was because Nesta, Cassian, and Azriel were leaving to the Bog to find the Mask. The only reason they were ever brought up was because they are evil creatures that dwell in the Bog.

Where does the "Lightsingers can trigger vision lw of the trove" "they can manipulate and lure others" "plant images in someone's head" "they can manipulate the shadows" comes from?

- If Gwyn's "Lightsinger" powers can trigger a vision related to the Dread Trove, doesn't that mean her powers can be used to find the Fourth Trove?

- The only way Lightsingers lure their victim is by showing up to them as friendly faces until their victims are within arm's reach and then they show their true horrific faces.

- I think if Lightsingers can plant an image in someone's head, that can make their job easier for them no? They wouldn't need to transform into a friendly face, they can lure their victims by planting images.

- Azriel's shadows can sense and hear things others can't. They can sense the Cauldron'a singing they cringed from it. They can sense Koschei's powers that they even hid behind Azriel's wings. What makes Lightsingers ability to deceive his shadows more powerful than the damn Cauldron and a Death God?

• Gwyn's Lightsinger powers affected both Nesta and Azriel!

- I've already spoke about Nesta above but I'd also like to add that Nesta had joined Gwyn and the priestesses every evening to sing in the services. If Gwyn's singing triggers dread trove visions, Nesta would've had about hundreds of dread trove visions by the end of ACOSF.

- "Azriel found himself in the library at 7 o'clock in the evening" jokes on you he also found himself downstairs before Elain showed up earlier and 7 is a holy number in Judaism.

- "She put something in Azriel" Azriel feeling settled by the end of his scene with Gwyn was because he wanted to let out the rage in the ring. Since he did not, one conversation with Gwyn settled down that rage and his shadows have calmed down and were content to just watch her. He left the ring without needing to let out that rage because he calmed down.

- "The shadows sang and danced, she is definitely influencing them" the fact that Sarah called the mating bond the music between souls and the song of the soul is a strong evidence, because one of the shadows danced with her breath as if it heard some silent music (she wasn't even singing, what could it be??) and they sang back to the distant beautiful singing. The spark in the chest is a good hint as well. I've already highlighted before about the similar mates language/musical language here.

- "She made him give her the necklace and put her image in his head" Gwyn had no clue about the necklace, she never leaves the library it's not like she followed him when he went shopping. If Gwyn was affecting Azriel in any way, that would have been shown earlier because he was already giving her private dagger-handling lessons before Solstice. Of course, the whole Gwyn planting her image in Azriel's head is ridiculous because he was aware and conscious of his thoughts: “But Azriel tucked away the thought, consciously erasing the slight smile it brought to his face. Buried the image down deep, where it glowed quietly. A thing of secret, lovely beauty.”

- “But for whatever reason, he could see it! She forced the image into his head” no shit... didn't that image come up when Clotho thanked him for the joy it will bring to Gwyn? We might as well say Clotho planted that image. He is the one that kept picturing her joy, you know? mates thing and all. While it's true that the mates theory is only theory, but it has canon backing based on the mates language Sarah often uses.

• So, Gwyn can't be a Lightsinger AT ALL?

Based on current canon info, I don't believe she is. In the future? I can't say for sure since I'm not the author. I don't think even if she was that it's going to be about changing the belief that they're all not evil because Gwyn is only 1/4 River nymph if people assume that's where her Lightsinger lineage comes from. It won't have an impact on Lightsingers' reputation since she is 3/4 High Fae.

It is interesting that Sarah created beings that are the opposite of Shadowsingers. There is no way no one made the immediate connection between Lightsingers/Shadowsingers, but of course Lightsingers are more sinister. I do see people liking the Lightsinger/Shadowsinger dynamic because they compliment each other.

If it's something that will be dealt with, it's going to be part of Gwyn's arc and requires her POV. I doubt if it happened it will play out the way some people are claiming Gwyn is already luring others or others are manipulating her. If that was the case, that's going to devastating for her since she will doubt every friendship and bond she had formed especially with Nesta and Emerie.

To conclude my debunk of titanic's floating door, there are many flaws in this theory and it's obvious that certain canon scenes are twisted to backup fanon facts and theories.

#anti e/riel #gwynriel #gwyneth berdara #azriel #it's been in the drafts but finally posted ooppss