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senespera-ffxiv · 11 months

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//endwalker level 90 dungeon spoilers

I have like. mixed feelings about The Dead Ends and it's largely tied to my mixed feelings about how they used Close the Distance in Ultima Thule. For starters, though, I do have to mention that Ultima Thule is straight up my favorite thing they've done plot-wise. Literally no competition, this thing made me cry so fucking hard and fit in with the thematic content of Endwalker so well that even though it does the easily messed up trope of "killing everyone off at the end" it makes every single death have purpose to it so it works in the end. It works so goddamn well. Ough.

The music, especially, works really well in Ultima Thule. I especially liked the way that it built up with every sacrifice, like your allies are the one weaving the song together. It was a really cool way of portraying the power of teamwork, collective action, and friendship in a way that was a little more abstract. And it fits thematically with the final boss too, being the "Endsinger" because "Close the Distance" is now recontextualized as a counter to the Endsinger. A song of hope to counter the song of the end, The Answer/Response to the Endsinger's Call, etc.

So why. Why. Did they decide to make a completely separate track for The Dead Ends. That dungeon can essentially be considered the perfect manifestation of Meteion's lament over the inevitable heat death of the universe and it would make *so* much fucking sense to have Close the Distance in its original form playing the entire time, like a victory parade as you beat back her suicidal nihilism with a song of bittersweet hope for an uncertain future. That arrangement doesn't count, it doesn't have any of the impact of the original song and it would've been so cool to have that song smoothly transition from the field of Ultima Thule and into the dungeon.

To me at least, it kind of feels like they were trying to recapture the magic of Amaurot with that last dungeon, what with the sweeping orchestral remix of the final area's music. But the reason why it worked with Amaurot is because that song hits the tone of that dungeon perfectly. It's desperate, it's epic, it is filled with the overwhelming sadness and longing for the old Amaurot and it makes me emotional every time I manage to get that dungeon in roulette. With the Dead Ends, I don't get any of that. I just get "oh it's an orchestral remix of Close the Distance." It's hopeful, yes, it's filled with a sense of purpose, but it doesn't hit the same notes as the original.

And so imagine how much more annoyed I was when I found out that the music persisted after clearing the main quest. Because to me, at least, the music staying there even after everyone's back and safe and sound and everything's done with just sort of cheapens the impact of the song. It no longer feels special, it just becomes "the overworld theme of Ultima Thule" not "the song that you and your allies sacrificed so much to create." I would've much preferred if it reverted to that first, quiet, muffled version that plays when you first land. The base echoes that Thancred gives you are now recontextualized as the last remaining echoes of Your Song as it slowly fades, having fulfilled its purpose. The painful memories of what happened there are slowly dulling as you celebrate your victory. On a certain level, they'll always stay with you, but they won't stay at the forefront of your memory. The pain of losing Thancred, Estinien, Y'shtola and Urianger, G'raha, and Alphinaud and Alisaie, even for a few moments, will forever stay but only as echoes, reminding you how important it is to cherish your friends and allies.

And if you ever feel like listening to the entire song again, just queue up for The Dead Ends. Refute the song of the end with a song of bittersweet hope. As many times as it takes to keep those lingering thoughts that "nothing matters" at bay.

Anyways, that's enough rambling from me. The thematic content of Endwalker is very special to me because I constantly and consistently have small bouts of existential terror and angst, and I can't even begin to express how gratifying it is to see the philosophy that I had developed to counteract it presented in such a manner in the game. Fighting those kinds of thoughts and any other sort of hardships and challenges that come your way are, I think, a never-ending battle and I think that the game could've just made a few adjustments to better reflect that. I am still very pleased with how it's currently presented.

I get the depression but also the serotonin lol. The best combo.

#ffxiv #ff14 #endwalker #ffxiv endwalker

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drublaccthorn · 5 years

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Meanwhile in Thule

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supercalime · 4 years

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Ghosts of the Shadow Market Commentary pt. 10

Forever Fallen:

- last one folks! Let’s see what this story brings

- Oh! Remember that episode of shadowhunters with that same quote? The one Magnus and Alec break up the first time? Me neither

- Kit! Jem already loves you! Let him be your dad!

- Jem’s gaydar is on point. Good for him

- Oh no! Is that Thule!Jace ? Turn around! No one wants you here! Get out! The power of Christ compels you!

- Janus? JANUS? You know what that rhymes with, right? Cassie, you just created a meme

- Wait a second. How did he get here?

- I already don’t like Jace. Do I really have to endure two of him?

- What the hell. Janus is a fucking creep. Leave clary’s illusion alone

- Mina is the luckiest baby in the world!

- It’s cute that Mina looks like Tessa, but if I see a single fanart that she looks white, someone will die by my sword

- Jem and Tessa are the only straight couple with rights

- If he hurts Lily...

- Lily, my queen! She’s so smart!

- Raphael is amazing in any dimension, huh

- Oh no. Don’t mess up with dimensions. It doesn’t end well. It will become a Rick and morty episode and everything will go to shit

- Kit being cute with his baby sister? Can he be any more precious?

- Putting a hand inside your beloved’s pocket is something that can be so personal

- These cherry blossom festivals are so cool! I miss going outside!

- Alec was like: have you met my husband Magnus? Magnus. My husband. We are married. I married Magnus. Husband? Magnus

- Don’t mess up with these nothing characters! I could have liked them

- What the fuck? He murdered them? Like that? Fuck you Anus!

- Yeah, let’s go back to the Carstairs-Gray being domestic. I need some time

- Oh yeah. I forgot Tessa is a psychopath. Who doesn’t like chocolate?

- I need more Kit and Tessa interactions! These two are gold!

- Kit just “okay boomered” Jem and Tessa! 😂

- Stop reminding me of Malec in Thule! It was traumatizing enough the first time!

- Max? Stranger danger? Did your wonderful dads not teach you that?

- Oh thank god!

- Yep. Jem and Tessa are the only ones with rights. Kit is so loved! It’s good to know he’s gonna be okay

- I feel so best for the real Sebastian Verlac. His name still got associated with the worst person. I hope he at least got a proper Shadowhunter funeral

- I have a feeling real Clace will adopt Ash in the future. He’s not evil yet. He can get a kilo ren redemption and just not die

- Simon!

- No non no no. No no non no! Clary! Leave! Run! It’s not the real Jace!

- Alexa! Play “Creep” by Radiohead!

- Clary! C’mon! You’re dating the guy! You should be able to notice his bullshit!

- Rant time: this is one of the things that bother me about Clary. Everybody SAYS how great, intelligent, strong she is, but when it’s time to SHOW it, her character is dumbed down to the “not like other girls” trope or she’s just plain stupid

- Ew. Did he really kiss the floor?

- Rosemary’s baby! They are funny!

- I love the read the book/saw the movie bit!

- Abandonment issues: the musical

- I know Janus is an alternate version of Jace, but can he like, die a very painful death? Thanks

- That entire scene with kit wanting to be in a movie montage! What a relatable boy

- Someone hug Kit! Please!

- Jem being poetic part 274663829151

- Jem hugged him! I’m so happy

- Will...

- Jem! Call kit your son challenge!

- Ooooooh! Shpookey.

That’s it folks! I hope you enjoyed this ten part journey! See you on the next book!

#lety rambles #tmi #tsc #book commentary #tda #tid #twp #tlh #kitty #kit herondale #tessa gray #herongraystairs #malec #jem carstairs #mina carstairs #gotsm #gotsm spoilers #janus

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found--family · 4 years

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a summary of 15x14:

Dean wearing an apron :3

what Angel contacts?? they're all dead (re:lazy writing)

Mario Brothers reference! but *go Luigi*??

Dean's problem solving = taking shortcuts/not working through the solution

meatman!Dean comin' to town!

Dean's Scoobydoo underthings / multiple pairs of novelty trunks

the Dean Deluxe Burger™ has 2 salad elements + no bacon

Dean is not a slob who wears stinky clothes wth

Wood Nymph Magic = BUNKER OOMPH!!

The Telescope!!

Monster Radar™!!

i appreciate Sam's skepticism, ie. they only sensible writing to be seen

IGNORING YOUR TRAUMA DOESN'T MAKE YOU HEALTHY thankyou Sam

no way they'd leave Jack alone with a supernatural stranger atm

those vamps were drinking bagged blood + their activity hadn't warranted a case.. Monster Radar™ is cool but no questions asked is /not/ how Sam and Dean hunt these days *it's called Growth* and ignoring that is peak OOC writing. they would've at least googled first..

the Bunker halls decked with Christmas lights! + smiley!Dean

DEAN SAYING JACK IS A GOOD KID my hearttt TuT

so Mrs. Butters gifted Dean the Scoobynatural sleeping robe? she probably gleamed the idea from his Scooby trunks

cholesterol added to the list of things Dean can't just ignore

another hunt with zero investigation?? OOC (love the klaxon tho)

Mrs. Butters waxed the Impala?? how do you say *torture + death* in Wood Nymph tongue?

Jack not clarifying that Castiel is his chosen father?? OOC for shame

are smoothies the new comfort drink?? (they laced w smth right?..)

oh so hunting without cause is the new normal?? WTF

the boys hurrying off with a packed lunch = adorabubble

looking forward to the codas of Dean leaving Cas voicemails about Butters and all the holidays he's missing :(

Thanksgiving!Dean is a green-beans walrus cutie patootie

pumpkin carving!!

the boys have their own merry Ghostbusters themesong

GRANADE LAUNCHER!! + MJÖLNIR!! (gratuitous but i love it)

Happy Bday Sammy! + party hats + horns + headboppers

another jab at Dean's age - he's only 4 years older than Sam!

Dean not getting to celebrate his *next* birthday = foreshadowing?

Dean being denied (birthday) CAKE, i see what they did there..

..oh wait! just a bad joke. huh.

Dean being a big happy kid all episode: novelty underthings, all smiles for the holiday festiveness, Scoobynatural sleeping robe, loving being taken care of.. he is a beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves all the love

HOW MANY WEEKS HAS CAS BEEN MIA ON THAT BS SIDE QUEST??

she leaves to make the smoothie?? what happened to *POOF! here you go*?? inconsistent writing over the seasons due is understandable but.. within one episode? that's lazy writing (edit:oh, i see.)

in the absence of the boys doing casework for their hunts i appreciate Jack, who is left behind in the bunker, investigating the case of Mrs. Butters

the boys are hunting monsters without first investigating - ie. All Monsters = Hunt Worthy atm, meanwhile a monster stranger makes herself at home in the bunker and they don't think twice about it

as much as i like seeing Cuthbert again i roll my eyes at the Thule

SONUVABITCH!! like papa like son :3

Sam dressing up for date night with Eileen + driving one of the vintage cars from the garage (someone please art that)

the Dean Cave™ tv was broke which means movie nights have been laptop-bound recently ie. Cas and Dean on Dean's bed

CALLED IT ie. the smoothies were to adversely affect Jack

Dean choosing not to ignore the problem but instead trying to explain it to Jack, thankyou

DA FUQ MRS. BUTTERS?? YOU LEAVE SAM ALONE!!

*pain is just weakness leaving the body* wtf

why smash button with hammer??

happy ending achieved by talking through the problem

re:Mrs. Butters, amazing performance by Megan Fay

INTERDIMENSIONAL GEOSCOPE™ sees into other dimensions ie. the Multiverse

conflicting end message: the MOL used her yet she'll treasure their photograph always??

why the repeated jabs at Dean's apron?? it's not even novelty or worn at full-height

Dean makes a sad but spirited mess of a birthday cake for Jack - while adorable, that's not the Dean we know in this corner of the Multiverse

i need to submit at least 1 fixit: Cas is on video call for Jack's birthday cake moment :3

Jack wishes for safety, happiness and peace for his family

#spn 15x14 #watchnotes #dean #summary #thoughts #s15 #15x14 #somewhat salty #it was hit and miss but i enjoyed its fairly light-heartedness for SPN's return

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elencelebrindal · 4 years

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Honest Opinion - Athena

General Overall score: 5/10

Part 1 - Saori Kido

Called Lady Isabel di Thule in the Italian dub, a name that I quite like. It’s cool. It’s in Pegasus Fantasy too, click here if you want to listen!

Overall score (character, not looks): 3/10

She’s definitely not my favorite character of the whole series. As a matter of fact, Saori is one of the female characters I dislike the most.

As a child, she was insufferable, spoiled, with no sense of respect for other people. If little Saori wanted something, she didn’t care about how people would feel about it. The fact she had to be reprimanded by Mitsumasa, when Jabu ended up injured because of her antics, told everything about her.

And then, she grew up to be... that. Initially, I genuinely hated her. I don’t like Seiya, but when he faced her about his sister, and about the promise she clearly didn’t intend to keep, I was totally with him. Saori only cared about Mitsumasa’s ambition, back at the beginning, she wanted every Saint to fight in the Galaxian Wars to realize his dream. Without knowing the real reason behind it yet, not until she was told about being Athena.

But even then, things didn’t change so much. I appreciate how keen she is for business, and how straightforward they depicted her in dealing with the whole mess of problems following Ikki’s appearance and the theft of the Sagittarius Cloth. That’s it. I don’t like her personality, because it’s completely up to what the plot needs and not consistent.

Also, how stupid do you have to be to send you enemy a letter informing him you’re coming?! I get the symbolic gesture, but that was so dumb. No wonder she almost got killed in the process, that’s what she literally asked for.

There are moments where Saori comes up as forgiving and smart, don’t get me wrong. But there’s also the fact she’s in love with Seiya, and most of the time she doesn’t care about everyone else because he’s important and they’re not, in her eyes. This is just worse when she finally takes on Athena’s role, and almost nothing changes about this behavior.

And to end it, why is Saori even still around? It only made sense during the Poseidon Arc, when she attended an event as head of the Foundation, but in any other circumstance? She’s Athena, she’s supposed to stay in Greece, at her Sanctuary. Not strolling around as Saori, in her mansion, while her Saints struggle in the aftermath of a devastating battle. Her constantly keeping up the whole “I’m Saori, and Athena when I want to” it’s honestly infuriating. It doesn’t make sense, and I’m so happy in Hades she finally got some sense knocked into her brain.

Part 2 - Athena

Just the translation. Atena. We’ve been amazing with her name.

Overall score (character, not looks): 2/10

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is not how to be a goddess. I know some of you might think I’m being too harsh with her, I know there are people who love her. But I said I was going to be honest, and honest I will be. Because this Athena is the worst thing I’ve ever seen. (She does get better in the Hades Chapter, I like her there, but bear with me here).

Listen, I’m not saying a goddess shouldn’t care for one Saint over every other, refuse to be where she needs to be because her human side is too appealing, and be so useless she doesn’t do anything for 90% of the series... who am I kidding, I’m totally saying it.

I will be fair. She did useful things. She healed the Bronze Saints and aided them (if only just a little bit) during the Twelve Temples Arc. She tried to be of help during the Asgard Arc. She was willing to sacrifice herself during the Poseidon Arc. Those happened. She took on her role as a goddess, and fulfilled it. Even if kind on unsuccessfully.

But, and this is a huge but, she doesn’t care for all her Saints equally. You can tell she cares more about Seiya, she constantly helps him more than anyone else, she legit ignored other Saints in favor of him. She also didn’t care for the Gold Saints, after the battle against evil Saga (listen, I’m still not sure about the whole Arles thing being international, don’t @ me); Athena, being Athena, should have stayed in Greece. With the Gold Saints who die every damn generation for her. She didn’t. Everything ended, and back to Saori she went, in her million dollar mansion, with five Bronze Saints who were not as shocked and devastated by what happened at the Sanctuary as the Golds.

Also, what about the Silver Saints? The one time she showed any kind of interest towards them was with Babel. It’s like she doesn’t give a damn about all the ones who died, the majority of which under evil Saga’s spell. What gives, Athena?

And don’t get me started on how many times she gets kidnapped, it’s so ridiculous. Though, she did get a (sort of) fair treatment in Legend of Crimson Youth, where she actually tried to conjure up a plan against Abel (she failed, because of course an Olympian gets defeated by someone who isn’t even a real god, but fine, te effort counted), and Warriors of the Final Holy Battle. This, actually, is the movie that actually gave her the best justice. Athena acted like a real goddess here, willing to do whatever it takes to be of help, trying to save her Saints before letting them intervene. Sure, she lost herself at the end, but this is what really gave her the only points she has.

Part 3 - Comparison with the mythological Athena

This is mostly because I love Greek Mythology, and I wanted to give my opinion on how Athena has been represented in general, without taking into consideration Saint Seiya’s plot. I only have one word: BAD. Athena is not a perfect goddess, with a pure heart, obsessed with world peace and safety. She’s the goddess of strategic war, not of peace and justice. She did her fair share of awful things, alongside the good deeds. Kurumada representing her as this flawless, spotless deity never met my full approval. If anything, she should be a warrior just as much as her Saints. It’s not like she cannot fight (her Kamui, anyone?), but it’s more like she is not supposed to fight. Also, I want to point out how stupid is that Kurumada’s Athena is literally everywhere, included Lucifer’s story. What a bunch of bullshit.

Part 4 - Legend of Sanctuary

Lady Isabel and Atena again. Consistency is the key.

Overall score (character, not looks): 8/10

A little bit better, compared to the classic version of her, especially considering her backstory. She’s been represented as a kind person, as a child, and I appreciated that. I don’t like how different that was from the main show, but it was definitely better. More fitting for a character like her. Even though, I still think it’s ridiculous she was able to use her cosmo like that as a child, whilst not knowing about the whole Athena thing.

Now, she did have those classic moments of “it’s time to be awkward with Seiya, even though now I know I am a goddess and should not be doing this”, but honestly? She was better. This movie had a whole deal of hilarious scenes with her, and a lot of sad and difficult ones, but they all made sense. Her not knowing how to react at suddenly being told “hey, you’re Athena!”, her laughing and being amazed, everything was fitting for a human character trying to understand something bigger. This didn’t happen in the classic series, Saori just switched back and fort without a care in the world in there.

Saori, in this movie, doesn’t become Athena until the very end, but while being Saori, she also had a deeper understanding of her being a goddess and having the power to help her Saints.

I loved the scene with Aiolia, where her human side didn’t know why her godly cosmo kept her from fleeing, and instead wanted to protect the Bronze Saints and save Leo from his ignorance. And I loved how Saori scolded the Gold Saints, went out of her way to save who almost died for her, despite being weakened by Saga’s doing. She cared for all of them, without choosing a favorite, and made it until the end with a reason for her Saints to still follow and defend her.

And even though Seiya stole everyone’s spotlight, she didn’t side with him and with him only, like what happens time and time again in the classic series. But she didn’t stay with the Gold Saints, and that’s the worst thing Athena could do; the Bronzes don’t need her. the Golds? Yeah, they do. They lost companions and friends, and their houses received a beating. Athena being merciful towards Saga doesn’t save her from all the critiques I’m going to throw in her direction for going back on Earth.

#saint seiya #i cavalieri dello zodiaco #los caballeros del zodiaco #os cavaleiros do zodiaco #knights of the zodiac #legend of sanctuary #athena #saori kido #lady isabel #deities #my opinion #honest opinion

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paganqueer · 3 years

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[REVIEW] Cassandra Clare’s “Queen of Air and Darkness”

RATE: ☆ ☆ ☆

The book, for me, started slow. After I started reading it, I forgot about it for almost two years (though I, too, am one to blame, for... reading slump issues). It took a few chapters for me to get the rhythm of the book, even though I've been reading Cassandra Clare's works for a while now. But my favorite thing about the book was the construction of the characters: Cassandra Clare is exceptional at it. The book has more than five main characters and many others who, despite secondary, also have complex storylines, and most of those had good development, which is a master work. Julian's character is almost flawless: the way his empathy and apathy are described throughout the book are just phenomenal. I really liked Diego and Kieran's character arcs/developments; they were genuine and apologized for their wrongdoings and made up for it, which is not an usual trope in fiction (usually, a character's death is used as a redemption arc, which I personally find lazy). Helen and Aline were just perfect, I'd read a whole series just about them being domestic. And the different portrayals of grief in the book were just... perfect. The message that each person experiences grief differently is powerful and very clear with the Blackthorns. Dru's character in special particularly touched me, because of how much I saw myself in her: the body image struggles and all her insecurities about not being mature enough are things I have personally struggled with and they were portrayed adequatedly.

There were characters and aspects of some characters I disliked and think that could've done better, though: I love Ty's character. He's one of my favorites in the series, but we don't have a chance to see his point of view. Most of what we see are Kit's impressions of Ty. That's something I feel the book lacks. His arc involving grief related to the loss of Livvy, his twin sister, is an important aspect and plot point of the book and we never get to see ourselves how he feels about it, we're only told. Also, Emma Carstairs. I had high expectations about her during "Lady Midnight" (Book 1 of the series). She seemed cool and badass and as a chaotic lesbian, I'm all for it. But! Her character started to feel flat throughout the series. As a reader, I forgot about the fact that she'd lost her parents at some point in "Queen of Air and Darkness", and at some point in the book it feels like she remembers that 'fun fact' out of sudden, and we (I, at least) get "Oh, yeah, there was that". Her comments with Cristina during their conversations about their love lives, especially about Mark and Kieran, they just don't feel... genuine? It feels like bad, cringeworthy Wattpad fanfiction from 2013, and I know Cassandra Clare could do better than that. I just couldn't get myself to relate to the descriptions of Emma's feelings, she just felt distant, as though her real personality was hidden from me and I had to unlock level 10 of reader to be able to access it. There was Ash, who I know is supposed to be the focus of another saga, but his character felt kind of flat. When he was still young, pre-Thule Ash, it was reasonable for him to be flat, as a way to show he's still in development. But I think that an Ash point of view chapter where he's in Thule, talking to Sebastian, to Jace, about Annabelle and how he feels about Julian, Emma and the others... that would help making his character slightly less... well. Boring. He has potential to be interesting, but isn't yet. I also missed more about Cristina: we get plenty of how she feels about Mark and Kieran, Emma and the Blackthorn's in general, but her past is also important to understand her character. Of course, many of those criticisms can be excused due to the fact that there were too many characters and the final version of the book was about 900 pages long. Now, about the pace of the narrative... Everything happened very quickly, and I'm assuming part of the reasoning for that is the amount of time spent in narrating the events that happened in Thule. Although that alternative universe's events become important later on, all those pages about it just weren't needed. With so many character arcs, some of the pages spent on Thule could've been used to make the stories of some characters feel more natural: a chapter on Ty's point of view, a conversation between Cristina and Emma about their childhoods and griefs etc. As to the conclusion... It was a mess. The book was messy in general, but the ending was... just straight-up weird. I'll start with the fact that there was no significant loss in the final battle. No important characters died or had explicitly stated trauma. At some point, we thought Emma had killed Jace, but instead of building up the characters' feelings about that, them considering taking Emma and Julian down because they were dangerous but suffering because of that, tension because of the fear of Jace being dead... All of that could've been used! Something that also could've been nice was seeing one of the Blackthorn's talking to Tavvy, talking to him about how the things he'd seen in the battle affected him. Having to save his older brother who was basically a father figure for him from dying, it surely impacted him somehow. Also... Emma and Julian turning into freaking giant angels? That just felt like Cassandra Clare didn't know how to resolve the conflict and threw that there as a lazy resource. It felt lazy. That was never hinted as a possibility and I don't even remember foreshadowing. She could've included a hint about the possibility of that happening in Emma and Julian's research on the parabatai bond, but that just... appeared out of nowhere. It was just messy. And I won't even comment on the Cohort conclusion (yes, I will. I'm MAD). Starting with, Horace and Zara should've died. Or, at least, Zara should've been punished too in a similar way: becoming mad because of her decay would be an interesting way out. Also, leaving all of the Cohort together was dumb. The whole power of the Cohort was manipulating the people, using the number of blind followers as their advantage. Leaving Zara with fellow Cohort members was an opportunity for her manipulating them and planning something, that much is obvious. They should've been held each in separated prisons, unable to contact each other. It would've been interesting, though, to see the Cohort rising up without Zara and Horace. Them separating Zara from the rest and Horace being dead, assuming they were all just manipulated, but being surprised that the Cohort wasn't only Horace, Zara and Manuel, which could be an introduction of them as villains for the next series. But Zara was one of the main antagonists in the series, being Emma's direct rival. Emma giving up revenge was a good message, but a victory was introduced without the decay of one of the main antagonists. That just feels weird! Anyways! I had to give it three stars, because, regardless of how messy it was, I care about those characters and Cassandra Clare is amazing at developing (most of) them. Plus, there are some plot points I genuinely enjoyed such as Ty's entire character arc, Julian's character arc that was just perfect, and Dru. I loved the way Dru's feelings were portrayed: Though she isn’t the protagonist of that saga, she’s still relevant, her feelings were shown and her interactions with the actual protagonists. Her character had depth, it was just enough to create antecipation for the next series without giving too much away, which I just loved.

#qoaad #qoaad spoilers #cassandra clare #reviewer #book review

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high-warlock-of-brooklyn · 4 years

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002 - Malec

Malec

I’m gonna switch between the show and the books, sorry for the trouble...

When I started shipping them: “Well done”, “More like medium rare”. I still can’t believe it all started with a meat pun!!! As for the books, it was when Magnus was telling what happened when his parents found out about his mark and he said he hated himself, and Alec assured him that it wasn’t his fault.

My thoughts: My OTP of all OTPs. They gave me hope at a time I didn’t have any. They taught me that being myself isn’t such a bad idea. I love them. I would die for them. I’ll go to war for this ship, I swear!

What makes me happy about them: Them. Them falling in love against all odds. Them choosing each other over and over again. I mean, ‘I don’t want the world, I want you’? One of the most beautiful love declarations in the world. And that ‘I am and always will be your loving husband!!’ Bitch I’m dead from all the love between them!

What makes me sad about them: Thule!Malec. But I try not to think about them, I’d rather be in my happy place knowing that our world’s Malec are happy and safe.

Things done in fanfics that annoy me: People always assume that one of them is the soft one and the other one is the one who has everything sorted, but truth is, they’re both soft, gooey messes around each other, massive chaotic gay and chaotic bi energies got together to write this beautiful love story. Neither of them are ever all sorted around the other, they’re just massive ‘fake-it-till-your-husband-realizes-you’re-just-faking-your-coolness” kinda people.

Things I look for in a fanfic: If it is safe, sane and consensual, and not too much ooc, I’m down.

My wishlist: Just domestic Lightwood-Banes being happy. I want more of them with Max and Rafe, and them being the badass battle couple they are.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: No. Just no.

My happily ever after for them: Immortal HusbandsTM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY”RE GONNA BE TOGETHER FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you @marlsmckinnon47 for the ask!!!😘😘

#asks #malec

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chocolatecarstairs · 5 years

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i just finished qoaad and i have a lot to say!

buckle up kids, this is gonna be a long and bumpy ride!

finished reading as of 4:37 am 12/6/2018

1. I AM SO PISSED AT JAIME! like beyond pissed. i get it dru technically lied to you. (a lie by omission. and not even a huge one at that.) but there was literally no need for you to essentially abandon her. especially after all that “she’s like a little sister to me” and “no matter what age she is we’re friends” bullshit. did you even mean any of that? or were you just saying it to get her brother off your back? honestly, she did so much for you. she hid you in london, brought cristina to you even though cristina could’ve told her brothers and gotten her in trouble, she risked quite a bit of her own personal safety and that of her family to sneak into the gard prison and bust not just you but also your brother and his friends out. but at the end of the day you can’t even be bothered to come and visit her every once in a while? drop in, say hi, ask her about how her life is going? obviously, she should’ve told you how old she was, but she seriously made up for it time and time again after you found out. you also seemed to want to be near her in idris when the battle was going on. you said goodbye to her before you went to fight, you protected her when she had to go out to the field, and you were going to go with her to save jules and emma before you saw that diego was hurt. what the hell changed in between that and the wedding? you’re being a fake friend and i don’t like it.

2. I AM SO PISSED AT KIT! admittedly less pissed than i am at jaime. but pissed nonetheless. i get that ty didn’t respond to you telling him you loved him. he probably didn’t realize you meant it the way you did. for god’s sake, he’s autistic, kit! and obviously, he should never have been trying to raise livvy from the dead, but you should have told him as much! you should have gone to jules or mark or helen or literally anyone instead of letting it go as far as it did. i mean did you really think trying to stop him in the middle of the spell was going to work? honestly, kit! not to mention you leaving! tessa and jem are amazing people. they’re going to love you and nurture you and you’ll get to be around their baby! i would be happy for you. IF YOU’D GONE WITH THEM BECAUSE YOU REALLY WANTED TO. all it would’ve taken was a conversation with ty. just one. you could’ve told him how you felt. if he didn’t feel the same way then, sure, you could’ve gone with tessa and jem. but it’s entirely possible that he would have. not to mention you at least owed him and dru and explanation or a goodbye. and, no, staring creepily at them from a distance at the wedding does not count as a goodbye! neither does making jem explain it for you. ty lost his twin. he was going through so much. he was obviously not himself. you were someone who was supposed to get him through that and instead you abandoned him without so much as a goodbye or a see you later. hmph. and poor drusilla. she wanted friends, kit, that was it. her oldest brothers were too busy trying to save the world and take care of her to have a true sibling relationship with her. her older sisters were either dead, or had literally just come back from five years in exile. her younger brother was too young and innocent to be any kind of true friend to her yet. and ty, the only sibling she has left that is close enough to her age to be her friend, wouldn’t let her in. she thought she’d found that in you! you taught her how to pick locks, you were teaching her how to con, you were beginning to think of her as a younger sister! and suddenly, when you can’t imagine having a relationship with ty anymore, all thoughts of the relationship you were forming with dru go out the window? god, kit. even if you were going to leave. even if you didn’t want to see ty. you could have seen dru. you could have told her you had to leave and said goodbye to her. told her that you were sorry. asked her to pass the message along to ty. making jem do it was weak, and you know it. i want to be happy for you, but you’re making it really freaking hard.

3. can we talk about the parabatai curse for a second? first things first, the heavenly fire! i’m honestly pretty surprised i was right about that one. i was so, so, so worried that the curse would actually turn them into angels. i did not want that to happen. i obviously had no clue that it would make them grow into giant, fiery, death machines, but alas. i think the whole true nephilim thing was kind of cool, actually. it’s also kind of crazy that the parabatai bond is so strong that when one of the parabatai turned into a true nephilim the other one followed. i honestly still can’t really believe it. i had a pretty hard time picturing emma and julian the size of skyscrapers crushing the cohort, but i found it kind of entertaining. i also almost cried when helen, ty, dru, and tavvy talked to them to bring them back. even cristina, kieran, and aline had things to say to them. it was a really touching scene. i’m also super proud of dru for being able to lead her family and convince them that they needed to help emma and julian. she’s grown so much since lady midnight (but more on that later). the fact that becoming true nephilim broke their parabatai bond is one of the easiest conclusions of any plot in shadowhunter history. especially one that was one of the main plots of a series. i’m so happy for jules and emma. i wish we could see more of them on their travel year. and i hope in twp they’ll be like jace and clary were in tda.

4. kieran kingson to kieran king of the unseelie court. honestly, i expected this one. i didn’t think cassie was going to give us a full-blown polyamorous relationship in all its day-to-day glory. kieran is going to make an amazing king. i’ve loved his character development over the course of the series. we watched him turn from a jealous member of the wild hunt, to a disgraced and begrudgingly helpful prince, to a remorseful and loving faerie, and finally, to a proud and kind king. i’m glad he can still be with cristina and mark in adaon’s cottage, but i almost wish it hadn’t ended this way. i feel bad that he can’t be happy in faerie and that mark and cristina will feel like something is missing whenever they are together without him in the mortal world. it’s bittersweet but more sweet than bitter.

5. i love julian blackthorn. i genuinely did not even know there were people out there who didn’t love him with their entire hearts and souls. i didn’t even know that there was so much controversy around him until i got into the tda tumblr fandom. i am almost never mad at him. almost. the whole ‘no feelings’ thing got old fast. i was pissed at magnus for performing the spell in the first place and i was mega-pissed at jules for requesting it and asking magnus to do it even once he’d heard of the consequences. i hated no feelings julian. it was so sad for me to see the julian i know and love, specifically because he cares so hard and so deeply, lose all his love and compassion. he literally turned into the julian antis like to picture him as. manipulating emma using sex and her desire/love for him was not cool. killing dane was not cool. not to mention, ty needed him. ty was totally broken after livvy’s death. he was holding himself together with some crazy plan to raise her from the dead. he needed julian to tell him he would be okay and to help piece his world back together. obviously, there were times julian literally couldn’t be there for him like when he was in faerie or thule. but when he got back he had a few opportunities to help his brother that he missed because of the stupid spell. this is the only time i’ve ever been genuinely mad at or disappointed in jules. it was painful.

6. let’s talk about thule. crazy to see sebastian’s vision for the world come to a reality. even crazier that he was in this series at all. thule proved that tessa is the strongest warlock of all time and that church is significant to the plot after all. cameron turns out to be a nice dude. diana is openly trans. raphael is alive and kind of funny and lovable (”vampires excel at ispy”). julian was temporarily free of the spell and the parabatai bond didn’t exist. i kind of loved thule. but there were sad and hard parts too. everyone is basically dead. people who haven’t sworn loyalty to sebastian are chased around and hunted by demons for fun. tessa gave her life to finally defeat sebastian. and poor thule!livvy. having to live in a world all by herself. helen is presumably and almost certainly dead. same with dru. julian and emma were endarkened and now they’re dead (nice to see that julian would literally kill himself, in this case thule!julian for his family, though). tavvy was taken and for sure killed by a demon. that same demon slit ty’s throat and thule!livvy held him as he died. she had to make the hard a terrible decision to let cameron, her boyfriend and probably one of the only people she had left, die trapped in the silent city forever. and she couldn’t go with jules and emma back to earth. as much as i knew it was going to happen, it was still terrible and heart-wrenching to see them seperated again. her letter to ty was one of the few moments in the book that made me cry. the fact that ty didn’t even bother much with it really bothered me. ”i love you. i love you. i love you.” it will forever break my heart and also be one of my favorite lines from the entire series. i really do hope that thule!livvy and ty somehow meet in twp. i need them both to get some closure more than i can say.

7. ty. my poor, beautiful ty. he had a really amazing facade throughout pretty much the entire book. i genuinely believed he was okay for a while. but when kit kept mentioning the bruises on his hands, i knew something was up. when dru went into his room and found it a complete mess, with books and clothes everywhere and furniture destroyed, my heart literally cracked in my chest. my baby ty did not deserve the pain he was feeling. i wish he’d gotten more help from kit, or dru, or helen. i wish julian hadn’t been such an idiot with that spell, so he could’ve been there for ty like he deserved. seeing him so distraught made me almost happy that he brought back livvy’s ghost.

8. i’m a little confused about the whole livvy’s ghost thing. the way i read it, ty ripped a hole in the fabric between the world of the living and the world of the dead. but i literally read the entire last 300 pages in like two hours, so i don’t think i totally absorbed everything. (i’ll go back through it all on the reread). basically, if that’s the case, wouldn’t livvy be able to come and go between the worlds as she pleased? what about other ghosts? this is almost definitely tying into the plot of twp. the same way the emma and jules deciding to become parabatai tied into tda. i wish that he hadn’t raised her ghost, because livvy really deserved to rest peacefully. i just hope he has some nice times with livvy’s ghost before he probably has to get rid of her. hopefully, dru can learn to see her too. (also can we talk about her ghost coming to jules during the livia’s watch meeting? broke my heart)

9. dru really grew up right before our eyes, didn’t she? she went from a sort of shy, timid little girl who wanted nothing more than to join the fight to a strong young woman who knew her worth and learned that fighting in battle isn’t always what makes you brave. she went on her own and broke the prisoners out of the gard. and when everyone was going to battle, she stayed behind with tavvy to keep him safe and comfort him. when jaime was being an ass (still mad at him by the way) she didn’t make herself into someone she wasn’t to try to make him happy. i’m really proud of dru. i can’t wait for her to go to the new shadowhunter academy, make some new friends. kick jaime’s ass for being a dick, and more in the wicked powers.

10. diego becoming inquisitor was probably one of the things i least expected from queen, but i can’t say i’m mad about it. i honestly think its the perfect job for him. i’m happy to see he’s moved on from cristina and didn’t die like i thought he would. he’s really grown on me throughout the series. i went from not really liking him, to hating him, to pitying him, to loving and respecting him as a character. i can’t wait to see what he does as inquisitor and how he help’s move the new clave-in-exile forward. speaking of which, alec as consul. wow. i am so proud of my little baby. he really does deserve the world. he is going to do amazing things for the clave and bring them forward to be more a more caring, accepting, and diverse group of people. i’m so happy that he’s now in the position to make the changes he wants to see in the world. like downworlder-shadowhunter marriages. speaking of which, the malec wedding! i am so happy for the two of them! it is so incredibly cute that alec surpirsed magnus with a wedding ceremony. and that he was so nervous to propose (even though they were already basically married anyways). it was so beautiful. jace as alec’s suggenes. catarina as magnus’. the fireworks. ugh. goals right there. it was also so sweet that kieran came and the hot faerie threesome reunited. and that emma and julian got to be together for real, in public, happily. the whole thing about the blackthorn kids freaking out whenever they found them kissing in the institute hallways was the cutest thing. it made me all warm and fuzzy. i was kind of happy to see that livvy’s ghost was there with ty, but i just hope that she isn’t always there and that ty will eventually learn to live without her. kit staring at him from a distance was sad and creepy. and i’m lowkey pissed that jem and tessa weren’t at the wedding. wtf is that guys? so rude. otherwise super cute, super fun, super happy way to end the book. i approve. 10/10.

11. i can’t believe that alec offered mark and cristina positions on the downworlder-shadowhunter alliance. this is like a dream come true for cristina and i’m so happy for her. i also really hope it will help mark reconcile the differences he feels from other shadowhunters, including his own family, and hopefully, he will feel less torn between the worlds of faeries and mortals. i’m also glad mark and cristina will be staying together. when i heard cristina was going back to mexico, i was very disappointed. her travel year was nowhere near over and i’d hoped she would’ve stayed in los angeles or her and mark would’ve gone with emma and jules. i’m really glad that her and mark will at least be together and get to grow as a couple. it is bittersweet though because it means that the blackthorns are growing apart. jules and emma are going on a (well-deserved) travel year, mark is moving to new york, cristina is going with him. ty is heading to the sholomance, next time we see dru she’ll be at the academy in new york. they’re doing what a normal family does as it grows, and going their separate ways, but it's still so hard to watch it happen when part of what i love about them is that they’re such a tight-knit group. i’m just glad that they’ll all have the institute to return to whenever they want.

12. haline really tugged at my heartstrings this time around. i’ve gotta say, i was fully prepared to not totally like aline. she wasn’t much of an important or defining character to me in tmi and what i did see of her was just kind of eh to me. when cassie released that frittata snippet i was so ready not to like her. i have a major blind spot when it comes to my blackthorn babies, and if anyone even sort of messes with them i am 100% ready to rip their heads off. but i actually really loved aline. she was badass and sensitive and funny and independent and caring all at the same time. seeing her with helen was honestly so cute. their relationship was amazing. i’m so glad they had each other while they were on wrangel island and helped each other adjust to being back. ugh hope to see more of them in la soon. hope they have their baby and tavvy won’t be the baby of the family anymore. i hope they’re only happy for the rest of their lives.

13. i honestly wish the cohort had died. like i was lowkey cheering giant fiery jules and emma on as they slowly, brutally murdered them one by one. they’re awful, bigoted, terrible people and i can’t stand them. zara is one of the worst. i honestly wish emma had killed her. in front of the institute, in battle, i don’t care. i just wish she was dead. she actually deserved it. stabbing emma in the back was one of the lowest moves she ever could have pulled. and all because she was throwing a tantrum that the sword she stole from emma was taken back by emma. when cortana chose emma i was probably the happiest i could be reading the book. emma deserved it and cortana knew it. i do have to say i was in shock that the cohort threatened to kill themselves when alec was elected. and even more shocked that the entire clave left alicante and idris to the cohort. i am sad that the shadowhunters lost their beloved home country. i knew that the cohort was going to gain some kind of power and that they weren’t going anywhere, but this is something i did not expect at all. i have high hopes for the clave-in-exile. alec has already been so good and kind. he changed the laws to allow shadowhunters and downworlders to get married. he praised and accepted diana for being trans and strives to educate himself on transgender people and shadowhunters and what exactly being trans means. hopefully, this kind of open-mindedness and acceptance of others and their differences will stem into the whole of the neurodiverse shadowhunter community. people. like ty, who have autism, or adhd, or dyslexia, or depression and anxiety. the subtle mentions of these things without naming them throughout tda really showed how ignorant the clave is to these kinds of people. (speaking as someone who has add and was ignored for a long time) it isn’t an easy feat to know there is something wrong or different about you but not have anyone acknowledge it. hopefully, alec will learn about the mundane treatments and coping mechanisms for the many neurodivergent shadowhunters out there and allow them the tools thet need to suceed.

14. when annabel died i cheered. i know it seems awful, but the image of julian severing her spine and stabbing her through the heart made me warm and fuzzy inside. my baby avenged his baby livia. AND thule!livvy was there to watch. a truly beautiful moment. i do not feel bad for annabel in the slightest. at first, she was so tortured and sad that i felt for her. even, a little bit, after she killed livvy. i would think, well the cohort was what drove her over the edge or maybe she wouldn’t have done it if her mind wasn’t so destroyed from malcolm’s spells. but no. she proved that she was lucid and sane enough to manipulate and lie and deceive time and time again. in the unseelie court and in thule. when jules finally got to take of the rag with livvy’s blood on it and throw it onto her dying body i did a little dance. annabel deserved the death she got. and livvy deserved someone to avenge her. but what happened to the black volume? at first, i thought it would stay in thule forever, but if thule!jace and ash could make it into the seelie courts, then it stands to reason that there is another portal open somewhere and that the black volume can be brought back to the seelie queen. i have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of the black volume and necromantic magic in twp. also, can we talk about the fact that the black volume is the dark artifices? it makes sense considering the fact that it has been a major part and plot point of the entire series, but i felt like it was a little underhyped. the seelie king was like oh the black volume aka the dark artifices and then we never talked about it again. i don’t know is that just me?

15. clary is alive! i, for one, genuinely thought she was going to die. the fact that her dreams of herself dying were visions of what was happening in thule seemed kind of cheap. like there was a ton of build up for absolutely no reason. then again, her dreams really were only mentioned, like, once in the series before qoaad and really not much in queen. we really just hyped it all up a lot as a fandom, so i guess we shouldn’t have expected more. but i am glad she is alive because that means her and jace are getting married! when jace said he wanted six or eight kids because of the blackthorns, i cried a little inside. so cute! cassie better give us the clace wedding and not just fast forward to twp where they will already be married and chasing around a while expecting another baby (i am speaking this into existence). speaking of weddings that we need to see in writing, sizzy! my babies are happy! i have shipped sizzy since day one, guys. day one. if i am robbed of a sizzy wedding i will riot and it will not be pretty.

16. that epilogue though! i was not expecting it. i was confused for a littke while. in the back of my mind, i was wondering how ash would even tie into twp if he was in thule. now i know. thule!jace is crazy. i have a feeling there will be an epic showdown between him and normal jace which will be super interesting. i have a feeling thule!jace is a lot like what our jace was like when he was linked to sebastian. considering he basically has been for quite some time and apparently, there is no going back. hopefully someone kills the seelie queen in twp and someone better can take over the trone bc that bitch has been getting on my nerves since day one.

17. ty is going to the sholomance and i’m so happy for my little baby. the sholomance is going to have great teachers, like catarina and ragnor, and ty is going to learn so much. kit is with tessa and jem and, while i’m still super pissed at him and upset he isn;t with ty, i am so glad he’s going to have parents for once in his life. parents who are loving and kind and caring. and he’ll get to hang out with baby carstairs (hopefully a boy named will. i’m speaking that one into existence too.). dru is going to make new friends. tavvy is going to grow up. helen and aline are going to have a baby, so all our faves will be aunts/uncles. ugh, i cannot wait for the wicked powers you guys have no idea!

this is basically it! if you guys want to hear my opinions on anything else, or you have any questions for me about any part of the book my asks are always open! i seriously love when you guys send me asks, so please do!

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ourintertwiningstars · 5 years

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Queen of Air and Darkness (Spoilery) Thoughts

I read the whole damn book, and the entire shadowhunters saga before it. that’s the background i have before i go off below.

SPOILERS BELOW

1) I really, really like how, in this book, Julian *earned* the “ruthless” and “calculating” persona that the author and the narrative always seemed to apply to him in the trilogy. I’ve always loved the idea of portraying someone who could be fundamentally kind-hearted and sweet while capable of being cunning and duplicitous. The author in the past referenced how Emma’s more straight-forward character versus Julian’s reliance on schemes reflect the opposite traits their genders are usually associated with, but the books used to always put this on Emma’s shoulders to be the next “Jace” (alpha leader and warrior) rather than really show us a Julian who is sweet to his family, but more than willing to do insane things with trickery rather than flashy swords. This book changed that, and I’m glad although I wasn’t a fan of a lot of his decisions this book. I definitely felt like at the least, whatever I thought of him, he had *earned* the reputation the narrative and author placed on him. There aren’t many male characters in fiction with as sophisticated in role as Julian (Jace, as great as he is, is definitely a stereotype, as is Simon). The closest parallel I can come to is Peeta, but Julian is definitely distinct in his style as a character.

2) I did not see the AU thing coming. At all. It wasn’t a shocker so much as a “what?” I really liked the idea of the main characters wandering in and interacting with a fictional alternate universe, as well as the characters talking with alternate versions of the people they knew. I think it was 100% intentional that Clary died at the Battle of the Burren and not later in the narrative of the Mortal Instruments, because it is pretty clear in this book and in the TMI series that Sebastian would have forced Clary to be completely *his* if he won while she was alive. The author made the smart bet that Clary is better off dead without that happening to her than keeping her alive in the alternate universe, and putting her in that situation where she would have become Endarkened and/or Sebastian’s “queen.” Not just better off because of the plot persay, but better off because that would be sadistic as a writer to do upon the narrative, and the alternate universe is already plenty sadistic without adding that element in.

3) I’m really, really curious about Thule!Jace. If Sebastian is dead, is he himself again? How much of himself can he be after being a killer for many years, and an aid to the apocalypse? Also, Julian killing Thule!Julian to save Thule!Livia was...wow. It definitely mirrored Achilles killing Hector while Hector was wearing Achilles’ former armor, making it seem like Achilles was killing himself (and he was). I definitely wish that was played on, or used as a subtle hint of foreshadowing. It was just a metaphor, which is fine, but I would have liked to see the implications of it dissected more.

4) I’m not the author, but something I felt very strongly about was that Livia should not appear in the books after her death. Not as a ghost, not in an alternate universe. Thule!Livia was really cool, and I get the point that the author was trying to make-she got to be the chosen one in the alternate universe as recompense for being murdered in the real world-but I think it’s really problematic to be like “death can’t be messed with” and then have said dead character pop up every two minutes. Real death isn’t like that. Nobody is going to see their loved ones again until after death, not as a ghost, not as a alternate universe anything. Pulling that kind of move comes off as fan-service, and cheapens the death of Livia. If the point is to make Livia’s death heart-breaking and tragic-because it is-than the narrative needs to commit to the fact that she is dead. No pop-up visits, no alternate version of her, nothing. At best maybe, a vision of the past or what could have been but not this. Also, Ty was being stupid, and he was being so stupid that I think the narrative wanted to make him stupid more than I believed he actually was that stupid. If you’re going to have someone go the whole “i’m gonna bring my loved one back from the dead,” you gotta go all the way Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, or don’t bother. That manga *earned* the story it got out of that narrative, and this one was a weak echo.

5) A lot of this book felt like set-up for the Wicked Powers more than it felt like specifically part of this trilogy. This was true of City of Heavenly Fire, and this wasn’t as bad, but it was annoying. Annabelle, for all her glory on the cover and the namesake of the book, is barely a factor in the plot’s narrative. She gets killed off with little repercussion or discussion, and Horace is swiftly disposed of. Which, fine, but you have to earn that. That wasn’t earned in the narrative. Dane and Samantha Larkspears’ deaths were well-done and haunting in their own ways.

6) I think Zara and Manuel are gonna be the villains of the Wicked Powers, which I am very much looked forward to seeing that dynamic play out.

7) Christina’s polyamorous relationship felt...tacked in. The build-up for her and Kieran to have feelings for each other literally was only in this book. It’s not that such a dynamic is impossible to pull off, it just felt very apparent that this was shoe-horned in the last book instead of naturally developing. Mark and Kieran, I buy. Mark and Christina, I buy. Kieran and Christina? Eh. I will, but I’m not entirely sold if that was a natural progression of the narrative or a demand of the narrative on them.

8) I love Clary and Jace in this book. The roles felt clear and I could see them as themselves. Simon and Isabelle got drastically cut-they’re barely cameos-while Alec and Magnus are supporting characters throughout the trilogy.

9) Ash is interesting. I genuinely don’t know how that dynamic will play out. I really hope he’s not another Evil Morgenstern bc...we’ve got enough of those. I don’t mind mysterious/grey, but he better not be the Villain of the next trilogy. That said, I wanna see where his character goes because he clearly is not fitting into any boxes of savior/victim. Tbh, there’s no reason he should have wings at all.

10) Diego got a really hot scar across his face that screams “I watched the Force Awakens.” Which is fine, because I can appreciate dramatic scars across the face. Additionally, there are such strong Hamilton references in this book that as I read it, I literally thought to myself “and the author discovered Hamilton while writing this book.”

11) Horace got disposed of so quickly in the overall saga that it’s annoying that he got built up so high by the narrative. He barely lasted two books before getting neatly killed off.

12) I honestly feel like the author kinda moved on from doing a series on a supernatural universe with all sorta of creatures to fixating on faeries. The last 4 books in the Shadowhunters saga have focused primarily on the faeries, with background attention to other creatures.

13) I want the world for Dru. Really. She’s the character I’m the most excited to see in the Wicked Powers.

#qoaad spoilers #qoaad #tda #the dark artifices

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pandacommander24a · 6 years

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A brief summary of what has happened for the last month in my Rogue Trader game...

The ship pulls into Zlatan's Luster to refuel, rearm, and crew up. It's been a hellish three months, first trapped in the warp, attack by a demon, attack by dark mechanicus, and finally almost eaten alive on a plague planet filled with zombies controlled by a greater daemon. Its enough to make someone turn to drink.

So, Octavius goes for a drink, that's right, the crazy demon slaying Astropath goes for a drink. He thinks he can find a job, mostly he finds booze. He asks the sheltered Astropaths that he just got to replace the poor fellows who kind of mentally exploded, both literally and metaphysical, for cool places on the station.

So armed with shut in knowledge Octavius goes for drink, but he understands he is important, and important people don’t drive. No that’s plebe work. He requests a driver. He gets Veremund, the Petty officer sort of reassigned to help Command Staff when they set out several months ago. Well everyone seemed to forgot about him, so he has been doing whatever he wants on the ship which mostly has been taking levels in badass because of all the crazy shit that has been happening.

So Octavius goes to a snazzy bar to drink and a quiet evening with other Psykers. Meanwhile outside the snazzy bar Veremund has kicked the shit out of the Valet for daring to suggest he move the ship’s car. The Valet calls the Arbiters about the beating. They show up demanding papers and start telling Veremund to move the Car, because they are the law. Veremund kicks the shit out of them as a rebuttal. A group of riot squad shows up, Veremund demonstrates his point to them as well. Octavius finishes up inside comes out to the scene, saying nothing, they leave to go on further drinking adventures before the Arbiters can call for backup.

Normally this would have been it, but the ship’s marines, not the Astrates, were given shore leave only hours before, which leads Octavius to realize he could score free drinks since he is like the coolest person on the ship. So he has Veremund take him to the dive bar where the marines are drinking for fun and drinks. Well, while Octavius is retelling the story of how much of a badass he is, Veremund is outside with the car.

Now this seedy backwater of a port in the middle of the space lanes is a good criminal spot, lots of space, lots of ships coming and going, no one really does anything to mess shit up. However, that’s come to an end. See the signal the ship picked up that brought them to the Demon Zombie plague world was an Inquisitional Coded broadcast. While the crew never learned what it was, it was still important. It was a distress code and a dead man trigger that the world was compromised. So an Inquisitional Task force, namely a crusader fleet, assembled and is on their way to liberate the world. Good news, they don’t have to. Bad news, they don’t know that. The inquisition however is using a Crime Syndicate to take over the back channel methods of transportation and information spreading, in a way to keep everyone one on the down load and control the responses of world along the way to the planet.

This Syndicate’s local boss is a man named Merriweather. Now Merriweather thinks he is a badass because he’s the biggest dog in town, spoilers he isn’t. With the Inquisitional backing Merriweather can do no wrong, using this notion for inspiration he goes on the offensive and takes out the other gangs, either absorbing them or destroying them. A few months of brutal gang fighting and it’s clear that Merriweather is on top.

Merriweather goes out for a stroll this particular night. He wants to be seen as the biggest and baddest, so he goes out to peacock his way around town. People avoid him because he is kind of big deal. They get out of his way, except Veremund.

Merriweather and his goons cruise up, first because the car is snazzy, and it’s weird. Like foreign car from another planet weird, it is. They ask about he car, Veremund is a petty officer on a ship that literally went to hell, he does not care about these guys and ignore them. Merriweather gets upset. He touches the car. Veremund cares about the car and smacks Merriweather’s hand off car, and goes to wipe off the hand print. Merriweather’s goons are not going to stand for this disrespect. They get loud. The marines come out, because someone is shouting in a now mostly quiet street because everyone has gone quite after Vermeund hit Merriweather. Octavius comes out, drink in hand, wondering why he has to buy the next round, because that’s plebe work and Octavius is not a plebe. The marines shout at the goons. The goons shout at the marines, and Veremund. Veremund wipes the hand print off the car’s finish. Merriweather backs off, he can sense what’s going to happen. Octavius runs out of drink, the straw making a pitiful noise and the ice rattles. A Goon go to touch the car. Veremund breaks that idiot’s hand. That idiot screams. The goons go for their guns. The Marines go for the goons. The next few minutes are a literally curbed stomped as a bunch of drunk, pissed off combat vets that have been needing a good blow off event have a blow off event. The goons provided wonderful volunteers.

Anyway after the fight, a bunch of Crime boys are dead for picking a fight with a group that basically seen the bad side of the warp’s anus for the last few months. Everyone still alive fucks off. Our party of marines, the helper and the psyker go back to the ship after the fight because it soured the mood. Merriweather runs to the hills in the confusion.

Meanwhile Master Petty Office Konrad goes out for a night of fun as well. He sees the fight start and ignores that tall glass of Nope, but he wanders down the street. He too is looking to find a good information source for jobs. He wanders into an odd bar down the street and while pretending to just be getting information learns about the Syndicate however he is soon involved in the group he was dropping his ease on. So there is Konrad drinking, telling stories about the ship, drinking, talking about this and that, and drinking. Soon he has drank too much, and spoke too much and he is told to leave as it is morning and the bar really does need to turn out. Well Konrad shouts his opinion at the bar man and leaves wandering down the street.

Since the fight from what is now last night Merriweather gets some of his boys and goes back to the first bar. Well everyone has pissed off in the morning so Merriweather is mostly shaking down a poor bar owner for someone else’s social faux pas. Merriweather is a cruel, stupid man but he knows his position is only as strong as it is perceived.

Enter mostly drunk Konrad in the same style uniform as Veremund from last night. Merriweather stares, the goons stare, while Konrad looks around in confusion of a man who forgot where he parked because he doesn’t have a car. Merriweather tells the goons to grab that man, Konrad, for questioning. Konrad pulls his bolt pistol out, and shoots one of the goons. As that goon’s head explodes sending bits and pieces into the air and on everyone nearby. The goons pull their guns and return fire. Konrad is soon pin down by automatic fire in an alley with dwindling ammo.

He gets on the vox and demands/requests aid. A nearby Marine sleeping it off on the bar helps. Climbing up onto a nearby roof the marine throws a Molotov at the goons. Merriweather serves being set on fire but several of his men, and the car they came in do not.

While this plays out we cut to several hours earlier. Where Cassias Thule is visited by an old friend who pays off an older debt and tells Thule to get off the station. Thule use to belong to the Syndicate on a footfall station years ago, things went bad and Thule is lucky to be alive. Merriweather however feels it makes him look weak. Again see the poor fella whose bar is now on fire. So The Patriot’s Glory, who is taking one everyone with a simple question, can you read, join well it’s in the bag and a good idea to get off the station where the most powerful organization wants you dead for very stupid personal reasons.

Thule quickly gets himself hire and presents himself as a man to help with security on the ship. Thud is happy to have an ace in the hole following everything, makes arrangements. Thule is now the master of whispers and it pretending to be the Vox master so he can monitor all communication on the ship.

Well several hours later everyone is one this ship when a Messsager from the Syndatic shows up to talk to the head man. The captain is resting, so he’s out. The XO is mostly dead, so he isn’t going to work that leaves Konrad. As he goes down, Thule who is known as Holt on ship and to Konrad, tells Konrad not to trust these guys as they are lying cheats and are armed. Konrad thinking it’s a setup orders more Marines down to the gang plank. Konrad arrives moments later and tells the marines to be ready. The Marines already put onto high alert by the order of more bodies nod in understanding at this new order. Konrad goes out to talk with the messenger.

The messenger opens his mouth, shows his hands are empty and then a sharpshooter puts a bolter shell into his skull. The Marines swarm out of the ship firing their weapons. Before the massager bodyguards get a chance to react, they are gunned down by stubber rounds, las shots and bolter shells. One of the cars tries to make a break for it. The Marines shoot the driver. Tear open the doors and pull out two screaming women. One of them too loud and too much in shock of the rapid turn of event takes a rifle butt to her nose which breaks it and knocks the poor woman out. The Marine shoot everyone not a prisoner again to be sure. The two prisoners are dragged out of the station into the ship as the marines set demo charges and blow the cars before retreating back into the ship. Under the cover fire suppression systems and fire alarms no one notices the security cameras watching all of this silently.

Dragged into a now unused shower the two women are looked after briefly while Konrad does his best interrogation and intimidation attempt on two brutalized and scared women. Octavius, using his psychic powers to mind probes the one that didn’t get assaulted to find out who she is. Her name is Maggie, she is the daughter of the boss of the whole crime syndicate, who is on his way with Inquisition Crusader Fleet. Why Merriweather has been the queen of the ball he knows he has an army to get his back never mind the Judge or the other organizations. The Syndicate has pack up everything and now every criminal under its umbrella is going to fight as soldiers in a holy war to buy indulgences for the organization's members. The massager that the marines vaporized? He was Donnie, the boss’s son. The woman the marines assaulted, his wife, and the Boss’s beloved Daughter-in-Law. Donnie was coming to talk peacefully about coexisting and hopefully sort out the disrespect the organization clearly showed to the Merritt Family’s crew. There is a moment of silence for peaceful respect being shot like Franz Ferdinand on parade.

Konrad only gets like half of this, Maggie is less than pleased and likely thinking that information or her worth is the only thing keeping her alive. Octavius tells Thule, because he mind probe him earlier and learns all his secrets, everything. However neither of them tells Konrad. Likely because Konrad is who everyone is letting be in charge and make decision, regrets are twenty/twenty. Konrad in the meantime goes off to think about all this, and figure out what he can do.

While the Crew was assaulting family members of a VIP Inquisitional Asset. Thurd was getting more soldiers for the ship, namely sanctioned Kroot Sell knives who were contracted to deal with the WAAAGH to the south but got stuck on the station. He reaches a good deal and recruits Cyrax the first Prime, and first amongst equals to the ship. As they are returning because it’s believed that the massager was kidnapped by the crew, the group is stopped by angry Goons, a fight breaks out and everyone leaves with a bloody nose. The Kroot settle into the ship without any other issues.

Well while everyone is trying to figure out what to do about Maggie and Margie. The Judge has figured out what to do.

Since the crew has assaulted Arbiter officers, started a bar fight that killed people, started a gun battle, not once but twice, set fire random buildings, again not once but twice, responding with overkill to pretty much everything including just ringing the doorbell, has aliens aboard their ship and now kidnapping VIP Nobles off the Station. The Judge has a clear understanding of how to approach the ship.

Namely with an army of soldiers. An army of Arbiters with any weapons he can get like tanks. So he does, with a subpoena for the Captain, and demands the captain show up so he can be arrested and charged for the crimes listed above. Konrad is informed of this several times as he comes down to the gangplank to find the army waiting and ready to try and take the ship. In any case the Judge is not taking come back later as an answer.

However, Thule has a cunning plan thanks to the memory mind probe he dresses up as Maggie and gets Octavius to sync his minds up to Maggie’s. For Thule is a Master of Disguise, it is how he made his living on the station. He leaves the ship escorted by one of his Agents to save the ship, unaware a of critical detail he has missed...

#I made this #Some kind of Words #Not apologizing for long post #Honestly one of my favorite story results thanks to bad decisions and crit fails at the right time #Tomorrow is going to be exciting

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thatcrochetfairy · 7 years

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Nevermore - Chapter 4

Master List

“Wake up sleepy head.” Jefferson gently shook the entrancing beauty sleeping soundly in his spare bed. “Time to introduce you to the modern world.” He smiled down to her as her dark blue eyes fluttered open with a soft sugary smile as she looked on the face of her kind host. But as the words registered the smile faded, shaking her head as she clutched the pendant around her neck. How could she be around people? People talk, people fear her, what she is. “Aww come on, there’s a Halloween party at Granny’s. I promise you’ll have fun.” She shook her head again, sinking herself deeper into the sheets, fear taking hold in her eyes. With a sigh he bent down to her level as she laid smoothing a hand over the side of her face to comfort her. “Hey...it’s alright. You don’t have to go. I won’t make you.” He paused watching the smile return to her lips brushing the dark strands from her face. “So what would you like to do instead?”

Thinking for a moment she sat up mimicking the act of shooting an arrow. “Hunting?” He asked with a chuckle nodding. He should have figured...you can take the girl from the wild but you can’t always take the wild from the girl. “Okay. While you do that I’m going to stop in town and see if I can find a way to help you.” As he spoke she looked up to him with questioning eyes. Even for a kind father there was no reason for him to help her. She didn’t understand. He explained to her about the book and how it held all the stories from their land, watching her eyes fill with hope and wonder. Could it be true? Could people really learn the horrible story of how all this came to be? Smiling brightly she flung her arms around him, hugging him grateful for the chance to finally be understood. His heart beat frantically as his nose filled with the scent of her hair, his skin feeling how soft hers was.

********

Jefferson stood in Rumple’s castle eyes wide with disbelief at the mad request he had been given. “I’m sorry. You want me to steal what? From who?” His hand came to rest on the hip of his leather pants as he waited for confirmation.

“It’s just a ball Dearie. I was told that you were the best in the land.” Rumple gave a twisted grin as he baited the thief before him.

“I mean, the slippers from Oz, no problem. But to steal from the Thulen Druids is insane. No one goes near them for good reason.”

“Yes yes I know the rumors.” Rumple waved a dismissive hand. “Wild people drawing magic from nature and the turn of the year. Magic with no cost… If you can commit to the lifestyle. Part of which is an annual celebration of the turning of the year. Hunting, dancing, ritual sacrifice.” He turned with a grin. “Good times for all! They won’t even notice you.. And of course you’ll be well compensated.”

Jefferson crossed his arms as his eyes narrowed, contemplating the dangers of the presented offer before giving a slight nod. “Fine.”

********

“Hey Henry.” Jefferson smiled down to the boy as he sat picking at a basket of fries. “Have you seen any mention of a girl named Lenore in your book?” He asked hopeful as he sat himself across the table.

“Umm, not that I can think of.” He dropped the fry he had been munching on, turning to pull out the book. Jefferson watched, scanning the pictures as Henry flipped through the pages, each of them looking for Jefferson’s mystery girl. “So the Raven Witch has a name?” He joked as they both looked. “How did you even get that?”

“I’m pretty disappointed in you kid. Of all people you should know not to judge someone based off a rumor.” He scolded, watching his face sink as he realized he was now disappointed in himself. But as the pages flipped he saw no sign of the name nor image of the girl.

“Sorry Jefferson, but she’s not in here.”

“So what does that mean?” He asked as his brow furrowed, the mystery of Lenore growing deeper.

“It means that She’s not from the Enchanted Forest. There are more books for other lands at the library. Maybe have Belle take a look?” Jefferson nodded, leaving just as quickly as he came.

********

Lenore’s heart pounded against her chest as she drew back her arrow, letting out a smooth exhale before releasing it. The wind whistled as the arrow missed the dear. Her face twisted with frustration as she hit the closest tree to her, the jagged bark leaving bloody scrapes on her knuckles. Her jaw clenched, teeth holding her lower lip in as she held a scream of pain inside, having become very well practiced over the past few months at keeping in her sounds.

“Hey, it’s alright. No one gets the stag on their first try.” Birog consoled her as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as the other glowed with a circle of symbols, closing the wounds. “Don’t want anything smelling that.” The two shared friendly smile as she felt the cool magic soothing the sting, new skin forming over the cuts. “Tonight after the fire burns down come to my hut. It is time to teach you something new.” Lenore beamed with excitement at the prospect of learning a new task, thirsting for all the knowledge the Druids had to offer her, thankful for all she has learned already. “Now let’s go get that stag.” She smiled before they both dashed off to bring down the beast.

********

Filled with a new vigor Lenore sprinted through the woods, one with the forest once more, as she used to be. Black feathers in her hair caught the wind bringing her hair to dance in the breeze. She drew in a breath, listening to the caws of her brothers flying overhead as she drew the arrow. It whistled through the air before embedding itself into a buck. She stood tall and proud as she pulled her bone made dagger digging into the deer’s flesh, separating ribs from meat, digging to the heart of the beast. Cutting it loose she held it up in the air, silently thanking the gods of nature as the blood pumped from the organ, spilling over her before digging it into the ground. Dagger and bow hanging at her side she proudly drug her kill back to the yard.

The front door opened quietly as Lenore hacked at the carcass, breaking it down into more workable pieces, sectioning them off into piles of what will be used tonight and what needs to be saved for later. Noting the time he could feel the excitement well in him knowing his daughter would be home soon, peering out the window to see the bloody mess of animal parts all color left his face as his jaw dropped, watching Lenore, blood covering her hair and staining her once porcelain skin he for the first time saw just why everyone seemed to fear her. She looked feral with each hack to the fallen beast, watching the cruel blade slicing through the muscles, hearing the crack of bones splintering beneath her force. Feeling eyes on her Lenore looked up, her heart heavy as she watched Jefferson’s face harden to her. She could taste the blood as she bit her lower lip nervously, her eyes lowering as her heart sank seeing the stern look everyone else gave her. Maybe he wasn’t so different after all. But she was losing light and a fire needed to be built. She didn’t have time to try to explain to him. He didn’t need it anyway...he’s seen this before.

********

As the sun set over Thule Jefferson made his way into the hidden village, not so hidden as they focused their attention on this ritual celebration. On the far side of all the huts he could hear the beating of drums, strumming of guitars and the hoots and hollers over singing of the heathanistic Druids as they danced around the flames. Curious as he ever was he moved silently, peering around a building to watch as the blood soaked figures twisted and turned in near unnatural movements. Off to the side huge chunks of meat hung from trees still dripping with blood as a select few prepared the parts for cooking or preservation. The Dark One was right, it looked like the whole community was there around the fire. Noticing a pair of midnight eyes lined in stag blood digging into him he quickly retreated behind the wall. His heart stopped as he held his breath, fearful of what they would do to him once she drew attention to his whereabouts. But not a breath of a word parted her lips.

Breathing a sigh of relief he ran through the huts on a hunt of his own until the crystal sphere was in his grasp. Not even taking the time to admire the treasure he had procured he ran as fast and as light as his feet would take him until the door that took him to this world was behind him and on to Oz he ventured for the slippers.

********

The full moon was just beginning to rise as Jefferson and Grace watch the silent girl perform a silent dance around a crackling fire. Twisting and bending in a way all too familiar to him. Jefferson’s arms were folded against his chest, frowning as his eyes darted from the girl down to his own daughter, fascinated by what she sees before her. He was beginning to have a pretty good understanding of just who has been residing in his home.

“What is she doing Papa?” She asked with a sense of wonderment in her eyes.

“Marking the turn of the year. It’s important to her people.” He answered in a flat tone, eyes hard as stone as he looked upon her, now understanding how he got away that night. He wasn’t shown mercy, he took advantage of a girl who couldn’t speak. And he’s heard what comes next. He wasn’t sure which thought made him more sick to his stomach. “Maybe you should go do your homework.”

“Oh Papa can I go dance too? Please?” Jefferson’s eyes widened at the request, looking down to his daughter with shock.

“To what?” He looked back up watching her move in the flickering light. “There isn’t even any music.”

Grace’s eyes narrowed as she looked up to her father. “Why are you being so mean to her? You said she wasn’t in the book, that means she’s not from our world. Think how alone she must be feeling now.” She scolded before letting herself out the backdoor to do as she pleased. All he could do was watch, knowing there was little he could do to stop her. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting” Lenore shook her head with a smile as she paused to communicate with her young friend. “I was just wondering, how do you dance with no music?” Lenore smiled, patting the girl’s hair before bringing fingers up to her ears then to her forehead conveying to her that the music was in her mind. Jefferson watched as Lenore showed her how to move to the dance, reminding himself that as much as he hated to admit it, she was getting old enough to chose her own paths.

As the dance came to a close Lenore pressed a kiss to the girl’s forehead as thanks for joining her in the dance...it was much more fun than doing it by herself. She so wished that she could sing the praises of nature for her...perhaps once the curse has been lifted. He breathed a sigh of relief as he watched her point Grace in the direction of the house, sending her in. She wouldn’t feel right teaching her much more of her people’s ways without her father giving permission.

“Okay now it’s time to get to that homework.” He reminded Grace as she came back into the house, reluctantly she agreed. After watching her retreat to her room Jefferson made his way out to her. “You’re a Druid, aren’t you?” She tilted her head from side to side, not exactly sure how to answer, on the one hand yes...but on the other, she never did learn all she needed to, there was much training she was unable to attain. “No, no. Don’t try playing the innocent can’t talk act with me right now. I’ve been to many lands in my time. Seen many ways many people honor the passing of the year and nothing comes close to that dance.” She just stood there, waiting for the backlash of following a life most deemed wrong, though she never understood why. The Druid way made more sense to her than normal civilization ever had. “And I know what comes next...Thank you for sending her in. She doesn’t need to see something like that.” Lenore simply tilted her head in confusion. “The sacrifice...I assume it is some sort of animal.” Lenore shook her head holding back a chuckle before pulling one feather out of her cloak, mentally saying a Druidic prayer over it, blessing it as a gift given to sacrifice back to the Raven Goddess before tossing it into the fire. His eyes grew wide, as he watched the sacrifice, feeling pretty disappointed in himself for being such a hypocrite. “You worship nature...why would you needlessly destroy it.” He looked up to her, midnight eyes digging into him just as they did long ago as he realized that he’s been pretty prejudiced.

His eyes softened, lowering with regret for his thoughts and actions as of late. “I’m sorry.” He glanced up to her all the sorrow for his actions past and present riding in the creases of his brow. “I…” He exhaled, not sure how to say what he knew he needed to. But if anyone knew the importance of words unspoken it was her. She didn’t need to hear what he had to say, she understood just fine. Her lips parted, the white of her teeth an eerie contrast to the blood stained skin sending excited shivers down his spine. Now he understood why he was never able to get her off his mind, even covered in blood under the full moon he still saw the gorgeous woman underneath, the woman who cared for three ravens like a mother, who showed Grace nothing but kindness...the woman who was stealing his heart. But after all of this, after showing her such malice for the ways that she obviously held dear did he really deserve hers?

“They couldn’t find your story...But there’s more books at the library. Would you be willing to go with me?” She stood there contemplating the idea as she wiped the drying blood from her face, in the end nodding, the idea of having something fresh to read too tempting for her to pass up.

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#nevermore #ouat #once upon a time #jefferson #jefferson x oc #mad hatter #mad hatter x oc

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iksathrob · 4 years

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Could the hands of fate guide psychics to reveal your perfect home style? Stuck at home in lockdown 2.0 and feel like your living room just isn’t vibing with your star sign? Does your colour scheme clash with your seductive Scorpio spirit, or are your bathroom tiles putting a damper on your fiery Aries impulses? Maybe modern minimalism is killing the mood for your romance loving inner Gemini. RELATED: The best time to sell your house, according to the universe Caulfield South Art Deco pad has business upfront, party out back Australian housing: How JobKeeper can help stop property ‘falling off a cliff’ // // Fear not. The clairvoyants, tarot readers and psychic mediums of PsychicWorld (not an endorsement) have joined forces in a survey that reveals the perfect home style for your part of the zodiac. And if you’re really serious about aligning your digs with the universe, we’ve reviewed their divinations to find a few homes for sale that are perfect for a Pisces, awesome for Aquarians and that Librans should love. Oh, and before you mention it – no they don’t have any tips for Ophiuchus, like most of what you hear about star signs that was fake news. Aries: March 21 to April 29 44A Carnoustie Grove, Mornington is perfect for an Aries to add their own touch of colour. It will come as no surprise that you only truly feel at home when you are surrounded by a contemporary style. PsychicWorld have revealed your fiery, impulsive nature will have room to shine in a home that’s designed for fluid changes between trends. They recommend the rams of the stars embrace shades of black, beige and white for the fundamentals, and a variety of materials for a “sleek and fresh” look. That sense of sleek and fresh starts from the front door. Which is what’s on offer at 44A Carnoustie Grove, Mornington, where a super-sized townhouse listed with McEwing Partners’ Stephen Bannister blends black, white and pale timber tones for a blank canvas awaiting your latest whim. Taurus: April 20 to May 20 10 Stewart Rd, Emerald has the kind of rustic charm a Taurus could charge into. When most people think of bulls, they think of regional climes. Or Spain, but international travel is off at the moment. The psychics believe rustic decor is key to helping you grab life by the horns. They advise you to think timber floors, fireplaces and raw, unfinished materials when redecorating. But if you really want to charge into life as a Taurus, homes don’t come much more rustic than 10 Stewart Rd, Emerald. Share the rustic vibe with friends and family, or rent it out — the choice is yours. From the attic-style main bedroom to the character-filled chunky interior rendering, exposed cathedral ceilings, timber highlights and brick-bound fireplace, it could be the perfect match. And, there’s five abodes on the title — so there’s room for all your Taurean friends, or to rent a few out so others can embrace the style too. Gemini: May 21 to June 20 2 Ingleside Crescent, Glen Waverley shouts French provincial. You’re a romantic. Or, at least you are according to the psychics. And if they’ve got your back, who cares what your partner (or your ex) thinks? For lovers of love, there is only one style that suits: French country — French provincial in real estate speak. Farmhouse inspired, it takes rustic to elegant new levels. PsychicWorld recommends round furniture. Geminis love romance, and a big bedroom leaves plenty of room for pillow talk. Jellis Craig’s Stephen Huang recommends 2 Ingleside Cres, Glen Waverley. And while it might cost $4.38m, the price includes five bedrooms and bathrooms, a home theatre and a gazebo. There’s even a Juliette balcony. Cancer: June 21 to July 22 6 Thule Court, Brighton has the old-school cool to make Cancerians drool. // // Underneath that hard, crustacean shell, you’re really all about family. With an instinct for classic, yet elaborate decor, the tarot readers reckon you’d only be happy if you drew a traditional home out of the deck. That means a dark colour palette and plenty of influences from the 18th or 19th century. Given modern Melbourne wasn’t around for the 1700s, your best bet might be a classic Victorian-era abode. They also think you’ll need a fair bit of space for all your heavy, royal-inspired furniture. Designed by the man who created Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, the four-bedroom Thule is a Brighton icon that predates electricity in this city. Classic with elaborate flourishes, this home takes family living to the next level. Victorian-era architect Joseph Reed instilled the 6 Thule Court home with the dark timber ceilings, panelling, and lavish flourishes that will either have you loving it or, well, crabby. Although, with Kay & Burton listing the property at $5.3-$5.8 you might have to put your family second while you get on top of the mortgage. Leo: July 23 to August 22 145 Dalgetty Road, Beaumaris mixes opulence with functionality. The psychics warn that if you show a Leo false modesty, they’ll show you their fangs. But show them a mid-century modern pad and everything is cool for cats, according to the survey. Bring on opulence, heaps of glass, metal and even plastic, but don’t do so at the expense of functionality. Few parts of Melbourne offer an extensive list of mid-century homes, but Beaumaris is famous for it. Seriously. They have their own website. Simple, but attractive: could this be your lion’s den? Sam Hartrick with Eview Group has one listed for sale at 145 Dalgetty Road complete with timber interior walls, big windows and a refined architectural feel throughout. But the $1.55-$1.65m price tag is a long way removed from the 1960s. Virgo: August 23 to September 22 27 Lahinch Drive, Fingal is modern meets brutalist — and possibly a Virgo’s dream home. Ask the stars, and they’ll tell Virgos they’re shameless neat freaks with an abiding hatred of mess. If you want a home that matches up with your penchant for organisation and clean lines, you want modern styling. “I’m no Leo” you say? And you’re not. You like the kind of modern that predates that enjoyed by the big cats of the universe. Your style goes back to the ‘40s, when it was still about the crisp lines and light colour schemes. It’s less Brady Bunch, more Scandi-chic. And according to the psychics, it’s just what you need to feel at peace. Even non-Virgos would dig this sumptuous living space. The YPA Mornington Peninsula listing at 27 Lahinch Street, Fingal doesn’t have a 1940s pedigree — despite the $1.35-$1.4m million price guide. But it does have the kind of modern meets brutalist architecture and pale polished concrete floors and walls where even the smallest thing out of place would be an affront. Only you would never let that happen, would you? Libra: September 23 to October 22 119/555 St Kilda Road, Melbourne has many features that could suit a Libra. The balance point of the universe is a no-fuss position, according to PsychicWorld. And after weighing things carefully they’ve determined that means Librans love harmony and good vibes. Their advice: skip anything flamboyant and think minimalist if you’re serious about your happiness. Monochromatic palettes, simple design and clean lines should dominate your living spaces, with a pop of colour to accentuate things. A one-bedroom apartment is about as minimalist as things come. Clean lines and a simple colour palette — the perfect balance. The single-sleeping residence at 119/555 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, comes with minimal cleaning, minimal furniture requirements and a minimal price tag at $430,000-$485,000. Core Realty’s Thomas Chan has the listing which comes with a blend of white, grey and a few black accents. Scorpio: October 23 to November 21 4/23 Franklin Place, West Melbourne could be a Scorpio’s warehouse dream. Passionate, seductive, forthright: that’s how Scorpios face the world. And the psychics have revealed those three things combine to mean just one thing for most people under this sign: industrial. So make a statement, and your life complete, by embracing warehouse living. Find your place in the universe by exposing yourself to raw brickwork and metal elements. And remember, black is your friend. Don’t assume this means you’ll have to develop a caffeine addiction and join the hipsters in Collingwood or Fitzroy. There’s also great coffee and a surprising number of neck beards in West Melbourne. Even the bedrooms have industrial appeal. Which is also home to 4/23 Franklin Place, where exposed brickwork is on show in the bedroom, exposed timber beams hangs out in the kitchen and exposed insulation adds character in all the living spaces. Jayson Watts at Nelson Alexander is auctioning it online at 12.30pm on July 25. Sagittarius: November 22 to December 21 1/14 Wilsons Road, Mornington embraces its coastal location. The hunters among the stars are known for their love of travel. Which is why Sagittarians should heed the sage advice of their peers collated by PsychicWorld and set sail for coastal comfort. Colour is key here, so you’ll want to make the white of breaking waves your go to backdrop and highlight it with light blue or grey and the odd splash of green. In short, decorate your home so it feels like you’re close to the beach. Or, break out your chequebook and move there. A serious indoor-outdoor connection helps bring fresh sea breezes into the home, too. Stone Real Estate’s Malcolm Parkinson is taking inquiries on 1/14 Wilsons Road, Mornington, which is two doors and a roundabout from the waterfront. With a sand-coloured facade and plenty of white and grey on display inside, it embraces coastal cool. Capricorn: December 22 to January 19 1 Lever Avenue, Blairgowrie could be a Capricorn’s dream. The universe has a message for you. You’re a workaholic. And while that means Capricorns might struggle to find the time to consult a psychic adviser, they’re still confident they can help you live better. You just need to deck your home out Scandinavian style. Clean aesthetics, natural light, simple design and functionality are all important. Playing ABBA’s greatest hits is optional. But with an A-BUS multizone speaker system built into 1 Lever Avenue, Blairgowrie, the Swedish pop supergroup’s could be the perfect backing track for this blend of cutting edge architecture and Scandinavian design. The Scandi-chic look is on display inside and out. Kay & Burton’s Liz Jensen describes it as efficient and aesthetic, and there’s even a studio office set at the rear of the block to make life easier when you bring work home with you. And who cares about the $2.8-$3.08m asking price, you like working anyway — why not have a good excuse? Aquarius: January 20 to February 18 24 Albert Street, Upper Ferntree Gully has a colour scheme with bohemian flair. Aquarians don’t like putting labels on things. So PsychicWorld’s survey has put one on you. According to the zodiac, you’re destined to love a bohemian vibe. More common in artistic circles than architectural ones, this style has a focus on bold colours, patterns and wall art. And plants. Lots of plants. Living spaces so full of quirky additions, that most Librans would think you’re a hoarder, should suit you. And there’s plenty of space to bring your own sense of style to the home. And so should 24 Albert Street, Upper Ferntree Gully. Rebecca Halit at Property Partners is expecting $745,000-$815,000 for the four-bedroom home that welcomes you home with a mix of aged timber and coloured glass. It then works its way through the colour chart with bedrooms ranging from lavender to orange. Pisces: February 19 to March 20 20 Heaton Avenue, Elwood has traditional California bungalow appeal at the front. Settle on just the one thing that floats your boat? Not if you’re a Pisces. While the rest of the zodiac is embracing one thing or another, you’re content to just keep swimming. Which is why the psychics think you’ll be hooked on transitional decor. A blend between traditional and modern, it’s the best of both worlds and it puts mixed textures at the top of your mood board. Wood, glass, fabric and metal could all find their way into your perfect living space, but keep the colours neutral if you want to keep the universe on your side. But it’s all about modern charm at the rear. Happily, Melbourne is home to one of the best types of property for people who can’t decide what they want: the mullet. All business and traditional period style at the front, these homes have been renovated and extended to gradually shift into modern party pads at the rear. Like 20 Heaton Avenue, Elwood, which comes with a $5.25 million asking price and the kind of cache that comes from once being home to a member of Crowded House. McGrath’s Nicole Prime has the listing. MORE: Jane Turner: Kath & Kim star pulls Elwood mansion from market Thornbury: Designer sells art gallery house before auction Crossways Historic Country Inn, Marysville lolly shop site for sale The post Interior design based on your star sign: Style tips from the stars appeared first on realestate.com.au. from news – realestate.com.au https://ift.tt/2CHBRvz

http://realestateiksa.blogspot.com/2020/07/interior-design-based-on-your-star-sign.html

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reverseskydives · 6 years

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11 Ways to Increase Conversions for Your Ecommerce Store

Ecommerce platforms rely on sales to survive. If you operate one of these websites, you know how important sales are for your business.

Whether you sell products exclusively online or have an ecommerce site in addition to your brick and mortar store, you need high conversion rates to be successful.

What do you do when your sales plateau and your conversions drop?

You need to analyze your website. What you’ve been doing in the past may have worked, but it’s imperative for you to constantly optimize and improve your ecommerce store.

After reviewing your site, you might realize certain elements are killing your conversions.

Fortunately, you’re in luck. If you want to improve your conversion rates and generate more sales, all you need to do is make some changes.

Through research and my personal experience consulting businesses, I’ve identified and outlined the top ways to increase ecommerce conversions.

Here’s what you need to do.

1. Simplify your website

Websites with simple designs have higher conversion rates.

Depending on your company, you might have hundreds or even thousands of products for sale on your website. But trying to cram all of those products onto one page is ineffective, and it’s crushing your conversions.

Clutter overwhelms the customers. Instead, focus on your top selling products or items with the highest profit margins.

Let’s look at a globally recognized brand as an example. Here’s Apple’s homepage:

When in doubt, it’s always a great idea to look at successful companies as examples. Apple is an industry leader, and their website is about as simple as it gets.

Think about the number of different products they offer. They have all kinds of different desktop computers, laptops, phones, and other electric accessories, not to mention the digital products like software and music.

If they tried to fit everything they sell on their homepage, it would be an absolute mess.

Instead, they promote one product and have a navigation bar at the top of the screen that lists different categories.

This makes it really easy for shoppers to find exactly what they’re looking for.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, Apple reported $52.6 billion in revenue— a 12% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2016. It’s safe to say they don’t have a problem with conversion rates.

2. Use high quality images

One of the most difficult parts of online shopping is the lack of direct access to the products shoppers consider buying. They rely on photos to get an accurate idea of their options.

It’s up to you to make sure you have lots of high quality pictures for every product.

You should have a photograph from every angle. Zoom in on features. Have pictures of models using or wearing what you’re selling.

This will make it much easier for shoppers to make a decision.

Here’s a great example of what I’m talking about from the Nike website:

They’ve got six different pictures of just one white hoodie. If you click on the other colors for this product, you’ll see even more photos.

I realize this takes time. It’s not necessarily the easiest process to take half a dozen photos of everything you’re selling.

But in the long run, it’s well worth it. Now shoppers know exactly what this product looks like from every angle. They’re more likely to buy it if it fits their needs.

3. Include a detailed product description

In addition to photos, you’ll want to thoroughly describe what you’re selling. With items like clothing, it’s usually self-explanatory.

However, if you’re selling electronics or something that has a bit of a learning curve, an accurate and detailed product description could help you close the sale.

Think of it like this. If a customer were to walk into a physical store, there would be employees to answer questions and help explain how different products work.

Shoppers don’t have that luxury when they browse online. It’s your job to make sure they aren’t confused about a product.

Even if you’re selling something simple, such as a t-shirt, point out how it differs from others. Does it keep you cool when it’s hot? Does it keep you warm when it’s cold?

These are things that can’t be determined from a photo alone.

Check out how Amazon accomplishes this with one of their TV wall mounts:

Just like companies in our previous two examples, Amazon is another industry leader across the globe. They know how to sell products online.

While the photos are helpful, the description really helps the consumers.

It explains which kinds of TVs this mount is compatible with as far as size and weight are concerned. The description also covers the various mounting patterns based on what kind of TV you have.

Without the description, you wouldn’t know how far off the wall the mount comes or how close to the wall you can push it.

Not everyone is an expert in mounting televisions. The majority of people probably never have to do this. And unless you install home theater equipment for a living, it’s probably not something you’ll do more than a few times in your life.

For a unique and somewhat niche product like this, accurate descriptions can really help drive the sale.

4. Show video demonstrations

This element takes our last point a step further. Instead of telling the consumer what your product does and how it works, show them.

If you haven’t been using video content to increase sales, you need to start right away.

Why?

Well, for starters, 64% of people are more likely to complete an online purchase after watching a video about a product. Furthermore, 90% of consumers say that videos help them make a buying decision.

Consumers want videos, so give them what they want. Thule recognizes this. That’s why they include videos with all their products on their website.

The video is super helpful. It gives the consumer way more information than they could get from just a photo and a description.

In this example, the customers learn how to properly fold and assemble the stroller for transportation and easy storage. The video also shows how to safely secure a child in the seat.

It’s an effective way to give your website visitors a more accurate description of the product. They can see it being used instead of just reading about it and looking at pictures.

5. Offer easily accessible customer service

As I briefly mentioned earlier, there’s nobody there to assist the consumer when they’re shopping online, unlike in a physical store.

Do your best to replicate that customer service experience. You may have photos, videos, and a great description, but customers will still have questions.

Make sure you give them several options to reach a customer service representative:

phone

live chat

Offer as many options as possible so each customer can contact your company based on their personal preference.

You also need to have support ready at all hours. As an ecommerce platform, I know you’re aware that customers all over the world have access to your website 24 hours a day.

Let’s play out a scenario. A customer is interested in one of your products but has a few simple questions. They try to contact customer support but don’t get an answer.

They won’t complete the purchase process. But if their questions get answered right away, your conversion rates will improve.

6. Don’t surprise your customers with extra fees

Consumers are sensitive to price. You have to be upfront and totally transparent with the prices on your website.

The customer expects to see the same price for the same product on all pages, including in their shopping cart.

Adding hidden charges, taxes, and shipping fees will crush your conversions.

Look at the top reasons for shopping cart abandonment:

Extra costs are the number one reason why consumers abandon their shopping carts.

Look, I realize you’ve got to pay sales tax and shipping isn’t free. But rather than surprising the customer when they check out, include those costs in the original price.

You’ll still get paid enough to make a profit, and the customer won’t be surprised with extra fees. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone.

Plus, it will reduce cart abandonment and improve your conversion rates.

7. Send shopping cart abandonment emails

Let’s continue with our last point. While you can certainly do things to improve your shopping cart abandonment rates, some customers still won’t always complete their purchases.

You can’t ignore this.

Someone was just a click or two away from buying something on your website. They identified what they wanted and added it to their cart.

It’s going to be much easier to try to get this customer to convert than to find a new customer.

This person is already familiar with your brand and obviously interested in at least one of your products. Sometimes they just need a bit of extra motivation to complete the sale.

Send out a shopping cart abandonment email to remind the consumer of your products. Here’s an example from Oakley:

This product will still be fresh in the customer’s mind—they just left it in their shopping cart. They wanted it, but for one reason or another, it just didn’t happen.

Receiving this email could be enough to trigger an impulse buy.

8. Include all your contact information

On top of providing customer service, you should have as much information as possible about your company available on your website.

Clearly display your:

address

phone numbers

fax

If this information isn’t on your site, it could appear sketchy. Customers may think you’re not a reputable company.

What if they have a problem with their order? If your contact information isn’t available, how will they get their issue resolved?

That uncertainty could prevent people from buying things on your website.

9. Run promotions

As I said earlier when talking about extra fees and costs, consumers are price-sensitive. It’s important to be aware of this.

One way to get people to convert more on your ecommerce site is by running promotions. Offer sales, discounts, or other special offers that sound enticing.

It just needs to be worth it. For example, if you’re offering a 5% discount on orders over $200, it’s not going to make anybody rush to make a purchase.

But on the other hand, if you’re offering 25% off everything on your website, it will boost your conversions.

Just make sure you have all your numbers worked out. You don’t want to slash prices so low that you’re not turning a profit with each sale.

The best way to go about this is by jacking up your prices initially, then constantly running sales.

Check out all of these different promotions on the Macy’s website:

They have some discounts as high as 50% off. This is a great way to drive sales.

Just make sure you’re careful with this strategy. Once you start offering discounts and promotions, customers may be less likely to buy things at full price. They’ll just wait until the next time you run a sale.

If you’re going to incorporate discounts, markdowns, and other promotional offers into your ecommerce marketing campaign, be prepared to do it often.

10. Accept as many payment options as possible

I realize some credit card companies charge you higher fees than others. But that’s no reason to exclude those payment options from your website.

You can’t assume every customer visiting your website has a Visa card. You need to accept all major credit cards, including Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.

Even if they have a card you accept, it doesn’t mean they want to use it. They might have better benefits or a lower balance on a different card.

You should also take alternative forms of payment, such as PayPal, Venmo, or Apple Pay.

Offering more options increases the chances of the customer being able to pay with their preferred card or method.

It’s also important that the checkout process is completely secure. That way your customers feel safe about entering their credit card information.

11. Recommend products to enhance the shopping experience

If your site is using cookies to track browsing behavior, you can recommend products to your customers based on what they like. Use their previous order history as well to personalize recommendations.

This shows the consumer you care. Their browsing experience is different from everyone else’s.

Here’s an example from Bed Bath & Beyond:

You can also try to upsell to your customers when they add something to their shopping carts. For example, if they buy a pair of headphones, you can recommend a carrying case for them.

Again, it reflects their personal experience. This strategy works.

Research shows that 49% of consumers said they bought something they weren’t initially planning on purchasing after seeing a personalized recommendation.

Conclusion

Whether your business is brand new or has been around for a while, there is always room for improvement.

You can make simple modifications to your ecommerce website to get more conversions.

These 11 tips are the best place for you to start. Refer back to the examples and the data I showed you for guidance.

I’m not saying you need to implement all of these strategies overnight. In fact, you may even have a couple of these in place already.

But over time, you need to optimize your ecommerce website if you want to get as many sales as possible.

Follow these tips, and I’m sure you’ll see an improvement.

What elements of your ecommerce website have you changed to increase your conversion rates?

from Social Media Marketing http://ift.tt/2EwVjee via Social Media Marketing

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filipeteimuraz · 6 years