#okay there might be some hidden easter eggs in this for any plots

[xxreader-writerxx]

OMG ur requests are open! Okay...so can u do a Harry Potter×fem!reader where Harry is readers best friend. She is maintaining a secret diary and Harry once finds it hidden *u put the place*. He thinks to tease u and flips the pages finding his name over pages to Find out u have been in love with him. HE ISNT SURE WHAT HE FEELS THO. He kinda likes u as well but maybe he wants to keep u safe or something. Or maybe he fancies Ginny and prefers u as his best friend.

I would keep it ur amazing imagination and ur talented writing.

PLEAAAASEEE CAN U DO THIS ONE!?

Also.. stay safe,stay happy!

Don't Read Diaries- Or Do.

Word count: 1k

Harry Potter x Fem Reader

Warnings: Angsty, Manipulation (Ginny's doing), Miscommunication, (Happy Ending), mini food fight. (tell me if I missed anything)

A/n: Omg first Request! This was pretty fun to write... I might've slipped an Easter Egg of myself in it- What I'm a narcissist/j I love Ginny to death I just made her mean to add plot convenience

Y/N= Your Name L/N= Your Last Name Y/H= Your House

Requests! Open!

(I'll write about anyone from Harry Potter! I'm desperate for ideas lol)

I walk out to the school courtyard, bag in hand searching for a place to sit. I see Harry, Hermione, and Ron laughing on one of the benches. Hermione sees me and waves me over. "Hey guys!" I greet and Harry pulls me in for a side hug. "Your out of Snape's class finally." He laughs and I feel my face warm from how close we are.

***

We spent the day roaming the castle and now, here I am, in the library writing in my diary. I'm doodling Harry's name like some sappy teen romcom but for some reason its therapeutic after a long day. I hear rustling behind me and I shove the diary into the hidden compartment quickly.

"Oh hey Y/n/n." Ginny greets smiling. "Hey Gin." I laugh out, flustered from the fear of getting caught. "Watcha up to?" She asks and I grab a book quickly. "Looking for a book to study. Luckily I just found it." I lie and she looks at the book I'm holding. "What does 'The History of Pygmy Puffs' have to do with any of your classes?" She asks and I start packing it in my bag quickly. "Pop quiz ya know how those go." I breathe.

Harry's POV:

I'm doing homework in my dorm when I hear someone banging on the door. I open it to find Ginny holding a book looking like she's about to burst. "What?" I ask and she giggles. "You won't believe... what I found." She coughs out. She hands me the book and I flip through it. "T-this is Y/n's handwriting..." I stutter and she nods looking like she heard the funniest joke. "A-And this is her writing my name all over the pages..." I continue, a blush forming on my cheeks.

"Well it might not be your name." She says quickly. "Well who else has a H in their name that she knows? That's age appropriate of course." I ask and she thinks. "Well it doesn't have to be a name.... It could be Hufflepuff! Like that one guy Perri in Hufflepuff!" She states and I look at it confused. "Who would do that?" I ask and she shrugs. "I did hear her talking about a guy named Perri a few days ago!" She states and I look at the book upset.

"Take this back. You shouldn't take her things." I tell her angrily. "What's wrong?" She asks and I shrug. "Dunno. Can you bring it back now? I don't want her to get scared that her stuffs gone." I say and she shrugs leaving.

Y/n's POV:

I go to breakfast and see my friend group. I go to sit next to Harry but he moves in the way. "Can you sit with someone else today? I'm saving this seat for someone." He mutters and Hermione hits his arm. "Harry!" She gasps. He shrugs it off, staring at his plate. I nod slowly, backing away. "Yeah no problem. See you in class..." I mumble, walking over to another part of the table.

"Hey Y/n!" I hear Ginny chirp. I wave sadly. "What's wrong?" She asks and I groan, plucking my food sadly. "I think Harry's mad at me..." I whisper and she puts her hand on mine. "No! No... He's just processing." She tells me and I perk up confused. "Processing what?" I ask and her eyes widen. "Y-You don't know? I'd think he'd talk to you about it." She tells me and I cock my head. "He... Found your diary..." She says, looking bashful. "Oh..." I say quietly, holding back my tears.

For some reason I get angry. Why didn't he talk to me? Is it so bad I might fancy him? I get up, walking over angrily. "HEY POTTER." I half-yell, getting a small group of peoples attention. "Yes?" He asks annoyed and I grab his goblet of pumpkin juice. "Next time reject the girl instead of acting as if she did something wrong." I say after pouring juice over his head. He gets up angrily and grabs Ron's juice, having Ron whine with his mouth full. "Excuse me?" He asks. "You heard me." I answer defiantly.

"Aren't you going to stop this!?" Ron asks the three older years nearby, two being his older twin brothers. "Nope." Becca, Fred, and George respond. "This is too entertaining Ronniekins." Becca states, leaning back as the twins nod.

He pours his glass over my head and I gasp. "Well you shouldn't write in your diary so confusing and reject you? That's not my job! It's Perri's from Hufflepuff. Who writes like that?!" He spits back and I furrow my eyebrows. I grab a hard boiled egg and crack it over his head. "Well you shouldn't have read my diary! And who the bloody hell is Perri!?" I yell back.

He looks over at Ginny who looks horrified. "Your crush in Hufflepuff! The one I confused for myself." He replies, pouring his now cold oatmeal on my head. "What the bloody hell do you mean?! You're my crush Harry fricking Potter!" I yell back, pouring an unwilling Ron's applesauce on his head. "You like me!?" He asks and I nod angrily. "You like me?" He asks and I nod again. "Well why didn't you bloody say that?!" He asks, pulling me in for a messy kiss, I could taste the applesauce dripping from his hair that seeped down to his lips in the kiss. His hands tangled in my oatmeal-covered hair as I hold his face lightly.

We finally separate and I giggle. "What?" He asks smiling a goofy smile. "Perri from Hufflepuff? Are you an idiot Harry Potter?" I ask and he chuckles, placing his forehead against mine. "Only for you." He whispers and I feel my face heat up. He wipes his finger across my cheek and tastes the oatmeal. "I think you owe me a breakfast.... I think there's a good place at Hogsmeade." He tells me and I bite my lip. "Can I invite my friend Perri?" I ask and he laughs, throwing his head back.

"You owe me a breakfast too ya know." A very sad Ron states, Hermione smacking his arm in response. "Sorry Ronnie..." I giggle.

#HarryPotter #canon #Harry Potter Fanfiction #Harry Potter Fic #Harry Potter x Y/n #Harry Potter Story #hogwarts #gryffindor #hufflepuff #ravenclaw #slytherin #smut x reader #harry potter x reader #love #fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #ChosenOne

[zeldauniverse]

Yoshi’s Crafted World is a curious game. I mean; it’s a standard Mario (or technically Yoshi) game, so you kind of know what you’re getting into. It starts out as being your standard side-scrolling platformer with the major quirk being that the world is “made” of common everyday materials you’d find at your local craft store. There’s felt, paper, cardboard, tin cans, magnets, and cloth; you name it, it’s probably somewhere in there. But once you peel back the covers and start trying to collect all the things there are to find, the game takes a radical shift and becomes something else entirely. The platforming is generally much less important, and you’re required to stop and smell the roses while you observe the game’s crafted scenery.

Because of this, what your perspective on Yoshi’s Crafted World and its menagerie of materials will likely be about whether you prefer a game to be about form or function.

Full disclosure Nintendo of America graciously provided us with a review code for Yoshi’s Crafted World.

An egg-cellent adventure

The plot isn’t important, but Kamek and Baby Bowser do make good villains.

As is the case in practically every Mario or Yoshi game to date, the story is essentially window dressing, so let’s get it out of the way. A troupe of eight Yoshis is protecting the Sundream Stone, a semi-sentient hunk of rock with five gems attached to it with the power to grant wishes. Kamek the Magikoopa is taking Baby Bowser out for a daytime stroll, and they hatch a plan to steal it. In the ensuing tussle, the five Dream Gems get scattered, and it’s up to Yoshi to get them back. After selecting your favorite colored Yoshi, you immediately begin your adventure.

Yoshi’s Crafted World is by and large broken up into three acts plus an epilogue. In the first act, you set out on a linear path that will take you — through eight stages and a boss — to the first Dream Gem. Once completed, you jump into the second act, where you can “choose” your own path to acquire the next three Dream Gems in whichever order you like. I say “choose” here because you still will end up going through practically (if not actually) every stage to get all three, and there’s no advantage to picking one path first over another, but I suppose getting a choice of order is something. Finally, the last act progresses linearly once more towards the last Dream Gem and the inevitable final battle with Kamek and Baby Bowser. As for the epilogue, we’ll cover that later.

The mechanics of the game will feel familiar if you’ve ever played any Yoshi game before. You basically have four main actions you can do. The first is to flutter jump. After jumping, holding the jump button will allow you to hover in the air for a brief bit; what’s more is that you can flutter jump pretty much indefinitely, practically holding altitude with successive flutters. Secondly, you can eat most of the enemies in the game, and most of them will cause you to lay eggs. Thirdly, you can ground pound, slamming down posts and squashing enemies below. And lastly, you can hurl your eggs at practically whatever you want.

I came into the Yoshi franchise via Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island from way back on the SNES. So by and large, all of the controls felt extremely intuitive to me… all of them, that is, except for the egg tossing, one of the fundamentals of the franchise. Throughout the franchise, egg tossing was essentially a timing game; once you pressed (or held) the button to throw an egg, a reticle appeared and started moving up and down, forcing you to time your shot according to what angle you wanted to throw your egg. However, in Crafted World, the reticle doesn’t move. Instead, you have to manually aim the reticle onto the target you want to hit.

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Egg targeting is a manual process in this game as you need to hit things in both the foreground and background.

The reason for this change is largely by design. In Crafted World, items in both the foreground and background — even though they’re blurred out — can be targeted and hit. The timing game from previous games would make hitting those things, well, impossible. So the developers changed the mechanics of egg tossing to accommodate this. Personally, I think this makes the game worse for the wear. Firstly, eggs ricochet off of angles, allowing for trick shots. However, there aren’t any trick shots that need to be made in Crafted World, making the original mechanic rather useless. Secondly, because you use the left stick to aim, you can’t move while you’re aiming a shot. One of the things I loved about Yoshi’s Island was being forced to toss an egg while under pressure from enemies or the environment; there were instances in the game where you’d need to aim an egg while running or precariously flutter jumping in mid-air. While you can aim a shot in mid-air, jumping while targeting cancels the reticle. In general, this makes a lot of the moment-to-moment gameplay much less difficult. Finally, to finish it off, the fact that items are hidden in the background and foreground make Yoshi’s Crafted World something of a glorified scavenger hunt.

It’s like finding all the Easter eggs

Why do I call Crafted World a scavenger hunt? Well, the Yoshi games have always had some element of collectibles, dating all the way back to Yoshi’s Island. Historically, in each stage in the previous games are hidden a set of flowers and several secret red coins inside them. To truly 100% the game, you needed to find every single one. Crafted World has this concept as well (although it exists for a slightly different reason than it did in previous games). What makes this game so much like a scavenger hunt is that many of the red coins or triggers to make flowers appear are hidden in the foreground, in the background, or, worst of all, behind objects in the background.

Do you want to get every last reward in the game? Then you need to get every item in every stage. That means you’ll need to collect a ton of eggs and start hitting everything in sight to see if there’s a secret behind it. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it’s not too far off the mark. It might sound fun at first, but I got bored of it quickly; I started to feel that the “challenge” was because I needn’t be so much skilled as I needed to be observant. After a while, I more or less stopped going out of my way for the collectibles.

There are many ways to get flowers. The most annoying is finding that last Red Coin you missed.

Unfortunately, the collectibles aren’t just pointless completionism. Instead of being like their Yoshi’s Island and Yoshi’s Woolly World counterparts, where getting 100% on a set of levels unlocks a super difficult bonus stage, Crafted World instead gates progression based on the number of flowers you have. In each stage, there are a number of flowers to collect, and you can get bonus flowers for collecting 100 coins in a level, finding all 20 red coins, completing the stage with full health, locating Poochy’s lost pups, or going on a literal scavenger hunt to find so many random objects in a level. After every two or three stages, you’ll be required to part of your stockpile of flowers, usually 10 to 20, to unlock the next two or three levels. Thankfully during my playthrough, I never needed to go back to previous stages to farm for more flowers to unlock these gates; there’s more than plenty to find to play all the levels in the main acts.

The levels are over easy, not hard-boiled

And while finding enough flowers is easy enough a task, it’s also a fairly easy task to not die. Yoshi’s life is measured in hearts. Hit an enemy, and Yoshi will lose some of them. You can pick up more as you play each level, of course, and getting to the end with a full 20 should be hard, you might think.

However, in order to tone down the difficulty, you can have Yoshi don a costume after winning one from a gumball machine. Each costume grants you an extra three to five free hits without touching your heart total, and so long as you don’t run out costume hit points (i.e., break the costume), these costume hit points refresh at every level midpoint. Even falling into a bottomless pit will just reset you with one costume point worse for the wear. I suppose these costumes are there for the younger generation to make the game more compatible for them, so if you want to ramp up the challenge factor, make sure not to wear any.

If you want to ramp up the challenge factor, make sure not to wear costumes. Each costume grants you three to five free hits.

Unlocking each set of stages requires flowers, and the required flowers increase as the game progresses.

So I haven’t talked about the epilogue yet. In previous Yoshi games, there are more difficult bonus stages that can be unlocked by collecting all the things within a world. In Crafted World, these special stages exist as post-game content. To unlock them, you’ll need to beat the game and then have collected enough leftover flowers to unlock each stage one at a time. The unlock cost for each stage is fairly hefty though. The challenge stages are, I’ll be honest, actually challenging. Falling into a pit will outright kill you instead of simply resetting you, so there’s that.

While the special stages are difficult, they’re also short — much shorter than the levels in the main game. As a result, much of the actual challenge of the stages isn’t in the process of actually clearing it but instead clearing it with all of the flowers and coins in tow. These stages are about attrition, giving you just the number of eggs you need to get your flowers and coins and not many more. The game only provides three bonus stages and one bonus boss, so it’s not much, but you’ll definitely spend a bit more time if you’re going for full completion.

Yoshi’s Crafted World is form over function

Graphically though, the game is really charming. I have to admit that I smiled a lot in this game, often simply by realizing that, “Oh, that monkey is actually just drawn on a tin can.” It sounds absolutely silly, but the graphical style has a lot going for it. Even in handheld mode, which is how I played most of the game, the game is beautiful and plays fluidly. I actually can’t find any real faults with the graphical presentation.

The music, however, I can’t say the same thing about. I honestly didn’t like much of it, especially most of the recurring themes. The music I believe is intended to have this hokey, ragtag sort of vibe to it. However, to me it just feels overly cute and occasionally off-pitch, so I found that I was frequently turning down the volume to give my ears a break. Maybe you’ll feel differently when you play it, but I found it all fairly unmemorable.

Yoshi’s Crafted World actually makes good use of what it’s got; it’s just never very difficult.

All in all, Yoshi’s Crafted World is a good game. It’s not the best Yoshi game on the block, but it’s also not the worst either. It’s competent at everything it does, and it has an accessibility which means it can be played by children and adults alike. However, if you’re seeking challenge, you’ll need to either find another game or add some “house rules” to yourself to spice the game up to your liking. It’s cute and charming, but it’s not the cleverest Yoshi or Mario title. How much you’ll like it depends upon what exactly you want from the game.

Score Similarity to other YOSHIS 8/10 Yoshi’s Woolly World – ★★★★☆ Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island – ★★★☆☆ Yoshi’s Island DS – ★★☆☆☆

Review: Yoshi’s Crafted World is cute and charming but relatively easy Yoshi’s Crafted World is a curious game. I mean; it's a standard Mario (or technically Yoshi…

[wahbegan]

Okay Non-Spoiler Review

So I am gonna put this under a cut because it might get a bit long but yeah i’ll keep it spoiler-free and if you’ve been following my liveblogging of it i am gonna just re-iterate bits of old text posts during this so ye

So The Haunting of Hill House was fucking amazing. Let’s get this out of the way first though: If you come in looking for an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel or the ‘63 film, you’re going to be disappointed. Or the ‘99 film, but if you want an adaptation of that, you’re a monster and may God have mercy on your soul.

Characters share names, very famous scenes are referenced, the opening line of the book is quoted almost verbatim and re-visited at the end with a twist like the film (although not the same twist but i shan’t spoil), and it involves psychic characters in a haunted house. That’s about it, though.

This story focuses on the Crain family, who were the spooky background story family in the OG, and completely changes their mythos as well. So the characters are all related, they live there as kids and don’t actually go back as adults until just about the end, and it’s dealing with their grief and trauma and dysfunction that drives them, not any kind of experiment in the supernatural.

No, what this show has much more in common with is Oculus. I know I’ve said this repeatedly but I can’t stress it enough. The Haunting of Hill House literally has more in common with Oculus than it does with the novel it takes inspiration from. Similar cinematography, similar style ghosts, same flipping between past and present, similar eldritch abomination disguised as inanimate thing villain fucking with perceptions of time and reality...The Haunting of Hill House really is more a re-imagining of Oculus than a re-imagining of The Haunting of Hill House.

Now that’s all just to address people’s expectations, though. Once again, if I had expected a re-imagining of Oculus, I wouldn’t have said no, because Oculus was the big dog’s biscuit. For those not in the know, it’s about a brother and sister whose parents went crazy when they were kids, their dad killed their mom, and then the little brother had to kill the dad in self-defense. He’s spent years in a mental hospital and chalked everything up to mental illness and an evil father, while his older sister is convinced the mirror they had just purchased was evil and drove their parents to do what they did. Zombie ghosts with glowing white eyes and mind-fuckery ensue. If you’re reading this after starting or even finishing THOHH, you may perhaps notice that sounds awfully familiar. 

Oculus was actually an expansion of/improvement on a short film Mike Flanagan made, which you can find on youtube. I’d argue THOHH is an analogous expansion of/improvement on Oculus.

The thing with Oculus is it had problems. Because of the power of the mirror, basically from the moment they enter their old house until the end of the movie, the thing’s illusions are so strong that there is no way of knowing what’s really happening. Audiences complained that it’s hard to get invested in a plot when you’re not sure how much of the plot is actually happening or when it’s happening, in the past or present. Flashbacks and the present narrative blended together in very artistic and jarring ways, but some people found it too jarring, hard to keep track of, nonsensical. Additionally, things were a bit rushed, and there wasn’t enough room for Flanagan to really let some of his more complex concepts for the plot and the scares breathe. 

Thankfully, in THOHH, Flanagan seems to have really actually taken those critiques to heart. There are characters largely unaffected by what’s going on, and the sequence of events never truly gets cluster-fucked. It’s a much more coherent narrative. In Oculus, a big complaint was things were too muddled to tell if the rug was actually being pulled out from under you and where the rug was to begin with and whether there was a rug in the first place. There is no fucking question in Hill House. 

Additionally, the 10-episode set-up means that he can go absolutely wild with everything he wants to do, and it fucking shows.

In Oculus, one of the most disturbing scares was a brief flicker on the TV. A split instant that showed the adult sister, mouth open and dripping blood, dead and vacant stare in her eyes, for less than a second. On the TV the younger brother was watching as a child in the past. It was truly unnerving. Something similar happens when they pass the cameras at one point that they’re using to record the mirror, just showing creepy pictures of her face. But those are the only two really good easter egg background scares that could fit in that movie. There was much more right up in your face.

Not so in Hill House. Hidden ghosts and unsettling details are EVERYWHERE. Not even just the now-famous easter egg ghosts. There are also obvious ghosts in the background that seem like jump scares waiting to happen....that don’t. There are small details that change, people walking past in the background of a hallway silently, statues that turn their heads to face a character without anyone noticing it in-show. The tension is masterfully built. There are scenes that you don’t even fucking realize are scary until you see something later that completely re-contextualizes it.

It also expands on the driving concept behind Oculus, family trauma and the repeating cycle of mental illness, which wasn’t as well explored there as Flanagan clearly wanted to. But here? In all its 10 episode glory, with each child’s trauma and resulting psychological issues getting full spotlight for an hour? 

It hits you hard. Flanagan’s concepts are fully realized. You get to intimately see what their childhoods have done to these characters, how history repeats itself (sometimes literally), how the ghosts-if you’ll pardon the pun-of the past drag the living of the present down. Not only that, he expands the themes he worked with in Oculus to include some downright Pet Sematary-style shit about loss, grief, and what meaning can be gleaned from death. It’s oppressively heavy, and the scares and the sadness interweave in beautiful ways. The end of one episode, which sees a maimed, anguished, silently screaming ghost standing by her own corpse, completely invisible to the assembled mourners, is both an absolutely haunting visual and an existential punch to the gut. A lot of the show is like that.

Of course this wouldn’t work if you weren’t invested in the people, but they managed to hit another home run on the characterization front. Every single character of any importance in this show is sympathetic to some degree, and even if you don’t like them, you understand why they are the way that they are. The actors are mainly relative unknowns, but i’ll be god damned if they don’t breathe life into these people. There’s also Carla Gugino who....you know. Is Carla fucking Gugino.

You can tell love and care has been put into this show. Small details almost always become important, I’m sure if I went back through with a fine-toothed comb for a second viewing, I would find a downright Edgar Wright level of foreshadowing in the earlier episodes. 

There were some questions I think I still have, maybe they’d be cleared up with a second viewing, and I do want to watch this show again. I had some issues with the ending which I won’t get into here, and the show absolutely isn’t above a jump scare or six. They’re never cheap though, either coming at the end of a truly tense scene or so insanely unconventional and out-of-left-field (Anyone who’s seen Episode 8 knows what i’m talking about) that it’s noteworthy in and of itself.

Overall, it plays out like a very intense and emotionally effective family drama about trauma, grief, sickness, death, dysfunction, and love with heavy horror elements. You’ll go half an episode without any horror sometimes, making it all the more jarring when it does rear its zombified, dead-white eyed head again. This isn’t to say that the tone isn’t cohesive, like i said before, it absolutely makes it mesh together. 

And yes, I did say love up there. I want to pause for a moment to tell you that all hope is not lost in this show. There are genuine moments of humor, heartwarming, and love. Yes, most of them are at best bittersweet and at worst setting you up for a cold, black sucker-punch to the heart, but it’s not all darkness and fear and death. This show has heart.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about The Haunting of Hill House. The family dynamic was realistic as hell, the characters were complex, the scares and tension were masterfully executed, the themes were intelligent, the cinematography beautiful, I cannot recommend this show enough to anyone with even a passing interest in horror.

#The Haunting of Hill House #THOHH

[things-i-think-and-junk]

Storytelling Elements and Undercover Jon

 I’m going to preface this essay by quickly stating that I’m going to try to remain unbiased. This is neither pro-Jonerys or anti-Jonsa. I’m going to try to talk about this just using storytelling and film analysis. This theory that is floating around doesn’t work when contrasted to the usual methods of storytelling and plot twists that GRRM and D&D have employed throughout this series. Jon undercover doesn’t work and is a failed plot device.

So what is the basic idea of Undercover Jon? For those that don’t know, it’s that during the entirety of Season 7, Jon Snow was infiltrating Daenerys’ base camp and swaying her to his side, seeking to gain her aid, her armies and her dragons in the fight to come. He used any means necessary, one of them being the long con. He’s playing the game essentially, acting as a double agent. His loyalty is to the North and he is manipulating Dany, telling her what she wants to hear and influencing her emotions so she feels compelled to help him.

What it boils down to is that Jon is deceiving her and it will be revealed in some great plot twist in Season 8.

Okay, so now that we’ve established the idea, why doesn’t it work?

Let’s begin with the basic idea of suspense as outlined by Alfred Hitchcock, the master himself:

“There is a distinct difference between "suspense" and "surprise," and yet many pictures continually confuse the two. I'll explain what I mean.

We are now having a very innocent little chat. Let's suppose that there is a bomb underneath this table between us. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, "Boom!" There is an explosion. The public is surprised, but prior to this surprise, it has seen an absolutely ordinary scene, of no special consequence. Now, let us take a suspense situation. The bomb is underneath the table and the public knows it, probably because they have seen the anarchist place it there. The public is aware the bomb is going to explode at one o'clock and there is a clock in the decor. The public can see that it is a quarter to one. In these conditions, the same innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene. The audience is longing to warn the characters on the screen: "You shouldn't be talking about such trivial matters. There is a bomb beneath you and it is about to explode!"

In the first case we have given the public fifteen seconds of surprise at the moment of the explosion. In the second we have provided them with fifteen minutes of suspense. The conclusion is that whenever possible the public must be informed. Except when the surprise is a twist, that is, when the unexpected ending is, in itself, the highlight of the story.”

So why is this detailed quote important? Because this is something that is often employed by storytellers, specifically those in film based media. You can get away with shocking twists, but you need to let the audience in on the secret in someway. The most common means is foreshadowing, whether direct foreshadowing or indirect. We have two different examples of this in the show specifically.

Let’s start with direct foreshadowing for one of the more shocking moments to happen in the first seasons, Ned Stark being betrayed by Littlefinger. Since then, we’ve learned not to trust or believe Baelish in most everything he does, but there was a time when we were still uncertain about him, naive and innocent. However, we were given a direct warning from the start, around the time that Ned was investigating Jon Arryn’s death. Littlefinger told the audience what we needed to know:

We were informed that Baelish was someone we shouln’t believe and there was something about him that was dangerous and untrustworthy. A number of people didn’t (much like Ned) because we were lulled into thinking that Ned was the hero of the story rather than a false protagonist. So when this happened:

It was genuinely surprising.

Direct foreshadowing is letting the audience in on the secret, setting up a big reveal that will happen. It might be subtle, but it is there, something we can point to later. It’s a conversation that we were privy to, which is extremely important for any type of long con of this nature.

Let’s compare with indirect foreshadowing, which is symbolism and tiny clues that we, as detectives are to go over.

One of the biggest reveals in the show overall was R+L=J. Jon is the hidden prince, the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna and this bombshell was saved for the climax of the show, Season 7′s (technically Season 6′s) finale. It came out of nowhere and was such a shocking twist!

...Or was it?

There was no conversation with the audience in the same way we had with Littlefinger, but the evidence was there from the beginning: Ned never speaking of Jon’s mother, Ned’s defense of the Targaryens and the murder of children. My personal favorite evidence of indirect foreshadowing was this little easter egg:

Literally: RLJ (R+L=J).

We have had the evidence sprinkled from the start, it was clearly there, but it was a matter of recognizing it or piecing the clues together. It wasn’t so well hidden that no one saw it coming. In fact, GRRM said once in an interview:

“At least one or two readers had put together the extremely subtle and obscure clues that I’d planted in the books and came to the right solution… So what do I do then? Do I change it?! I wrestled with that issue and I came to the conclusion that changing it would be a disaster, because the clues were there. You can’t do that, so I’m just going to go ahead.”

Again, this was something that was supposed to be subtle, but we had the clues available to us. GRRM does not spring anything on the audience and neither do D&D, the character motives are pretty well spilled out from the beginning. If a major character makes plans to go through with some form of deception, then we are made privy to those plans, allowed in on the conversation.

There has been no direct foreshadowing for Jon to go undercover and manipulate Dany. We have not been given a conversation that discusses the idea. The last time Jon infiltrated a group to receive information, there was something to alert the audience that this was the direction he was going.

First, we have Halfhand’s advice to Jon shortly after they were captured:

Jon: “They died because of me.”

Halfhand: “See that it wasn’t for nothing.”

Then we are shown the setup for the plan:

Halfhand: Mance is gonna march on the Wall. When he does, one brother inside his army will be worth 1000 fighting against it.

Jon: They’ll never trust me.

Halfhand: They might, if you do what needs to be done.

We are directly told that Jon will begin infiltrating the Wildlings, which is followed closely by Halfhand building up Jon to be a traitor. It culminates in a fight where Halfhand sacrifices himself and instigates Jon to kill him. Only that way is the deception complete and Jon is given access to the Wildlings.

Even in the books, the set up for this is directly told to the reader with Halfhand giving this quote:

“Then hear me. If we are taken, you will go over to them, as the wildling girl you captured once urged you. They may demand that you cut your cloak to ribbons, that you swear them an oath on your father's grave, that you curse your brothers and your Lord Commander. You must not balk, whatever is asked of you. Do as they bid you ... but in your heart, remember who and what you are. Ride with them, eat with them, fight with them, for as long as it takes. And watch." - A Clash of Kings, Chapter 68, Jon VIII.

Let’s compare this to another situation and another big reveal, Roose Bolton’s betrayal of Robb in the Red Wedding. This didn’t come as a complete surprise because the audience was shown that Roose was beginning to turn, specifically during his scenes with Jaime. Rather than capture Jaime and return him to Robb, as he would be expected to, he releases Jaime and sends him back to the Lannisters. They are cordial (enough) with each other and we are given a glimpse into Roose’s desire to find the best deal for himself.

When he stabs Robb, we already knew that he was colluding with the Lannisters, even if we didn’t know the exact means he would betray Robb or what he would receive from them.

So now let’s look at Season 7 Jon. In the episodes before and after his arrival on Dragonstone, we were not told directly that he is infiltrating Daenerys’ camps or attempting to repeat his previous deception with the Wildlings. There is no conversation similar to what he shared with Halfhand and no moments that the audience were left to feel suspense for him in being discovered.

Remember, when Jon is with the Wildlings, there are several moments where they doubt his loyalty and the stakes are upped for him. In the books, Mance orders Jon to sleep with Ygritte to prove his loyalty. In the show, he’s questioned by almost every Wildling he comes across. Even Ygritte displays an awareness that Jon is playing her and we have another instance of direct foreshadowing.

Ygritte: “Don’t ever betray me.”

Nothing like this exists in Season 7. We have Sansa urging Jon to be smarter than Robb and Ned, to listen to advice, but that was culminated in Jon placing Sansa in charge of Winterfell, showing his trust in her abilities and advice. This is when Jon and Sansa begin separate journeys in Season 7. Sansa’s journey is her ability to enter the game and come up against a more seasoned manipulator, Littlefinger.

Jon’s arc this season has been preparing for the coming war, something that Daenerys is clearly meant to be part of as Melisandre said herself:

Melisandre: “I believe you have a role to play, as does another.

We are even shown in the first episode the different threats that Jon and Sansa will be dealing with separately. Jon believes the greatest threat is the Night King, while Sansa believes it is the people who play the Game of Thrones. Throughout the series and novels, these two have been on these two separate arcs. Jon has nothing to do with King’s Landing, as his story has always tied in to the Others. Sansa’s has always had to do with the Lannisters and Baelish.

For Jon to suddenly become involved in the Game of Thrones, we would need some sort of foreshadowing, either indirect or direct that this is a method he would use.

So what evidence do we have about Jon’s character in Season 7?

Let’s start with the first episode. Jon is sitting in judgement on Alys Karstark and Ned Umber, deciding if he should punish them for their father’s treachery. With all of his men and sister telling him to take their lands away and give them to someone else, what does Jon do?

This is a use of direct foreshadowing because this is repeated in Ep. 3:

We the audience have been shown that Jon will not judge someone for the actions and cruelties of their parents, it doesn’t come as a surprise then that he is willing to extend a bit of faith and trust in Daenerys, as he did with Alys Karstark and Ned Umber. He will focus instead on the coming war rather than rewarding or punishing as leadership sometimes dictates.

The entire focus of his council is to begin preparations and training for the army he will need.

What about Jon asking the advice of others or taking council, something he is criticized for in the first episode?

Well, he has a moment of asking Sansa’s opinion about Tyrion and his character, a parallel to the moment in Season 6 when she pointed out that she was not asked about what sort of man Ramsay is. He learned his lesson in that and asked Sansa’s opinion.

However, we are shown that it doesn’t always relate to what he is going to do. Jon makes his own decisions and acts as he thinks is best. He makes the decision to go south and parlay with Daenerys, all without consulting his men before hand or even alerting Sansa to his decision. Even when they protest, it is clear he has made up his mind.

What can we take from this scene? Is he going south to manipulate Daenerys?

The evidence says no. There has been no buildup for it, no evident payoff and no clues left for the audience to glean that this is his intention. Jon is capable of deception, but deception without clues and foreshadowing? That’s not likely.

Let’s return to the idea of suspense. We are given no stakes to invest in. The only concrete plan we have is: Daenerys has an army and dragons, Jon needs to convince Daenerys to use army and dragons in the coming war. That’s it. Nothing else has been established or said beyond that. Instead, we have the characters directly telling us how that alliance will be achieved. Tyrion says it himself in Ep. 3:

Tyrion: Give him something by giving him nothing. Take a step toward a more productive relationship with a possible ally.

Compromise is the key for them to forge an alliance. The terms of that compromise are even clearer in Ep. 6. Convince Cersei to join the coming war rather than to continue fighting Daenerys at present, thus creating a truce and allowing everyone to face the greater threat. Daenerys temporarily gives up her claims on the throne, Jon bends the knee. Very simply spelled out and it even comes with a side of suspense, as our focus is now on whether or not they can convince Cersei.

The questions about Jon/Dany’s alliance or even winning her help are concluded in Ep. 6. We are told by Daenerys: “we will do it together, you have my word.” The filmmakers and show runners do not add anything in to clue us, the audience, that we have reason to doubt her in this or there is any reason Jon would need to keep convincing her. There is no look shared between Tyrion and Daenerys, no conversation with Jon worrying about if Dany can be trusted. These clues are important to storytelling because, as I stated a few times before, suspense is key.

The only twists that we have coming our way are Cersei’s treachery, Jon’s parentage and the revelation about Jon and Dany’s relationship. All you need to do is look at how each of these moments were set up, showing us that these would be important conflicts in the next season.

Jon’s Parentage:

Bran and Sam talk about Rhaegar and Lyanna’s marriage, while we are shown the flashbacks, allowing us to see that this is true. Just like Bran, we are part of the visions. Afterwards, it is directly stated: “He needs to know the truth.” There is no surprise in this, no twist that we can’t see coming. Jon will eventually be told the truth.

Jon/Dany’s Relationship:

As Jon enters Dany’s cabin, Tyrion comes from out of the shadows, revealing he has witnessed and guessed what is about to happen. As Jon and Dany make love, there is a closeup on Tyrion’s face, clear displeasure there as he returns to his rooms. Again, we are shown that there is conflict brewing. Tyrion doesn’t approve of what is happening and we are aware that it will likely come up in some way.

Cersei’s Betrayal:

This one is key, especially in contrasting Jon’s possible deception. We have Cersei come to the Dragonpit and declare that she agrees to the terms of the truce and that she is summoning her men to come and aid in the fight. Our heroes feel relief and leave, they are convinced that she will keep her word.

The next scene with Cersei has her coming in while Jaime plans on the army’s route to Winterfell. The following conversation allows us to see that Cersei has no intention of keeping her word. She ridicules Jaime for meaning to fight with them, she lays out her plan and spells it out for us. What’s more, none of this is a surprise when we compare it to her other moments this season, specifically when it comes to the insurmountable odds that she is up against.

When told she can’t beat Dany’s dragons and armies, Cersei doesn’t back down, saying that she will continue to fight. Underhanded methods have been shown to be Cersei’s M.O, as we saw in Season 6. Again, visual clues that she might act in a dishonorable, sneaky way.

She hears that she can’t beat Dany’s dragons and army? What does she do? She goes back on her word to let the army be dwindled down or wiped out by a separate threat. We had foreshadowing and clues that this would happen, it doesn’t come out of nowhere to surprise us. There is even a conversation that this is the plan and this is what she is doing.

So what can we take from all of this? What I hope you gather is that twists don’t come out of nowhere, that they are built upon and clues are left to alert us that something like this is a probability, whether direct or indirect. We, in some form, need to be told that this is something that is happening and conflict will come from that.

There is no evidence supporting Jon being undercover, not in filmmaking and not in storytelling. Whether you believe it or not is up to you, but the evidence is always right there in front of us and it isn’t present here.

#got #jon snow #daenerys targaryen #season 7

[spicynbachili1]

Call of Cthulhu review | Rock Paper Shotgun

I performed the primary three hours of Name of Cthulhu, and in my unconventional preview after the actual fact I mentioned that I appreciated exploring the docks and speaking to grizzled locals and detectoring my approach via issues. On the finish of the preview you attain the bit the place you discover the cult, and you completely know what’s up, however your character Edward Pierce has no concept. He simply will get chased out of a cave. And I mentioned:

“The fear could be that, having found the Cult Of Cthulhu is a factor, the sport turns into extra scripted chases than it’s grumbling round with the locals.”

Nicely, destiny makes fools of us all. As Edward Pierce would let you know.

Taking part in Name of Cthulhu made me offended, as a result of it didn’t must be this fashion, man. These first three hours have been promising! Darkwater is a cool, gloomy setting! Some fascinating characters have been launched! I actually appreciated Officer Bradley, the native policeman with a face like an beginner carver tried to make a bulldog out of a half used candle. Fitzroy, the harbourmaster, is a person made totally of the phrase ornery. You’re there to analyze a mysterious fireplace that killed a complete household, however there’s additionally a neighborhood gangster working a safety racket and bootlegging operation, a vandalised statue, and within the pub you possibly can hear two orderlies speaking about bizarre goings on at a hospital. Decaying bloodlines and insular communities. Huge ol’ fish monsters. “That’s loads of investigating Lovecraftian themes to do,” I assumed to myself, naively.

It’s not all unhealthy. Pierce’s expertise as an investigator could be customised by you. You possibly can prioritise your investigation, bodily thuggery, eloquence or psychological data to alter the kinds of questions Pierce can ask, and issues he notices about his atmosphere. The Spot Hidden talent specifically is a pleasant addition, and a direct name again to the tabletop roleplaying recreation Name of Cthulhu. Once you enter an space that has hidden objects, your Spot Hidden talent determines whether or not or not you discover them, so in case your talent is just too low the sport received’t even let you know there’s something to search for. It doesn’t gate off any of the primary story, it simply modifications how a lot supporting proof you discover. That’s cool! However there are solely two or three stable chunks, together with the primary three hours, the place Pierce is detecting stuff like a detective. These three hours are the bit that we’ve seen in all of the previews and streams. I think it’s because it’s the greatest bit.

After that the sport turns into a messy, sticky, freakshake of a factor, with so many disparate components it lacks any clear id. And I’m all of the extra cross at Name of Cthulhu as a result of if it had caught to what it established in the beginning, it might have been alright! I imply, certain, the facial animations are very a lot in want of the patch I’m informed the’re getting on day one, and also you generally get the impression that the voice actors solely received one or two takes at a line, however the fundamentals have been inside a tentacle’s attain! Then, all of the sudden, it’s like somebody in higher administration despatched a memo saying “They, as within the gamers of a recreation based mostly on an in depth and complicated TRPG, will get bored – put in incomplete variations of different online game stuff individuals like.”

So, all of the sudden, you get up in a grim and grubby asylum and it turns into a stealth horror recreation. There’s a monster working round that’s really a part of the Cthulhu mythos, however the hyperlink isn’t defined for those who don’t already know that, making it form of an easter egg that’s been expanded to suit two thirds of the sport. You run round with a lamp lots. One part is totally working round with lamps, however they’re completely different colors.

In the meantime, promising characters disappear with out closure to their arcs, and minor ones obtain blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos afterward that they didn’t want. You place collectively a Scooby Doo crew that’s nearly instantly disbanded. It Was All A Dream segments break up whole chapters the place you don’t even play as Pierce, but it surely’s okay as a result of the opposite individuals nonetheless have his capacity to imaginate their approach via investigations. The sanity metric (let’s not) seems to be nearly meaningless, as an unavoidable plot level within the recreation renders you ‘Psychotic’ anyway. Often you get requested to decide on to save lots of or kill a citizen, however you don’t see the ramifications of identical. These be a part of a number of plot factors which might be left unresolved, flapping round untethered just like the arms of a dying octopus. Then you definitely get given a gun for a bit. Then it will get taken away once more. The ultimate, pivotal alternative within the recreation wasn’t that tough for me, as a result of I’d run out of all causes to care.

Hear, for those who like crawling round at midnight in an asylum, play Outlast. For those who like detective video games with bizarre facial animation, play L.A. Noire. For those who just like the Name of Cthulhu TRPG, maintain enjoying that.

from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/call-of-cthulhu-review-rock-paper-shotgun/

[tessatechaitea]

Justice League #18

The Tempus on the bottom looks like he's whispering "I'm going to put my dick in your blowhole now" to Aquaman.

That's a handy excuse to get around writing a decent Superman!

Tempus cranks up the red sun thermostat to keep Superman manageable. How come Doctor Veritas hasn't created a red to yellow energy converter for Superman yet? She's an omniologist, after all. She could figure it out. It would probably be as simple as making a suit that acts like a prism, shifting the color of the light as it reaches his skin. I doubt that makes any real science sense but it makes absolute comic book science sense! Somebody get working on that! While Superman angrily throws fists and does nothing to help anybody but his own sense of self, Batman is working on solving the problem with the time travelers of the Infinity Corporation. They explain how they need to stop the timeline from being shifted and Batman is all, "And we probably need all the stock market reports of from 2017 to 2027, right? You might not see how that will help but I assure you, I've got a plan!" In the "present," Molly the Time Keeper says the dumbest thing you can say in a time travel story.

I guess the clock in San Dimas is always running!

Last issue, Bryan Hitch devoted a page or two to each of the other Justice League members scattered through time trying to disarm time bombs. But since they really don't matter that much to this story, he reduces their appearances to one panel each to their fight. Just enough so the reader remembers they're there and can't whine, "But I bought a Justice League comic book, not a Batman Loves Superman comic book!" Eventually they get another panel but it's just to show that their fights didn't matter because as soon as Superman and Batman knock out some of Tempus's computer equipment in the future, the Timeless fall unconscious all across time. Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg, and the Green Lanterns are all, "What happened?" Aquaman screams, "I did it! Hooray for Aquaman! Champeen of the Seven Seas and now All of Time!" Once all of the time bombs are defused, Molly the Time Keeper turns into Dark Phoenix, Keeper of Dark Time. She declares she will kill all of the super heroes now to keep Earth safe! So I guess Superman was right! The Justice League have to stop both Tempus and Molly! Who could have guessed? I mean, aside from everybody who has read every single Bryan Hitch story since he's been writing the Justice League for DC Comics. They all come down to a big cosmic fight with the Justice League caught up in the middle. And instead of choosing a side without any research or references like most heroes usually do, the Justice League just kick ass on both sides of the fight and shut it all down. And it's always the right choice! Because they're the Justice League! Of course this time, most of the Justice League was wrong and helped Molly. Although it isn't like they had much choice. If they didn't help Molly to stop Tempus, Tempus would have put Earth on timeout forever. But now that they helped Molly become Dark Phoenix, Keeper of Dark Time, they're just going to have to turn on her and stop her.

You can tell she's evil now because she's showing so much more skin.

The Ranking! No change! What a surprise twist! The person that was supposed to be good turned out to be bad! Just like Rao! And the World Singers! And that girl's AI program! Okay, maybe not so much that one. But kind of, if you squint hard enough! Bryan Hitch really only knows one story, doesn't he? "Somebody is here to save the world! No wait! They want to destroy the world! Oh no!"

#Justice League #DC Comics #Bryan Hitch #Fernando Pasarin #Matt Ryan #Brad Anderson

[lolareviews]

Book Review: Ready Player One

Side note: I’m also going to do a movie review for this and then compare them, but tbh, I think I’ll like the movie better.

GoodReads Synopsis: In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

My Synopsis: Wade Watts, teenage loner in a dystopian future, spends all his time living in the OASIS, a virtual reality safe haven. He also, like all gunters, obsesses over the 80s and James Halliday the inventor of the OASIS and The Hunt. In his will, Halliday offered anyone who could solve this Easter Egg Hunt, based on all his favorite 80s things, all of his vast fortune and control over the OASIS and his company. Naturally another company and a bunch of other people also want this prize so Wade must contend with them all to get it first.

Review: If my side note didn’t tell you, I did not enjoy reading this book. My issues can be broken down into a short list of specific issues, the over saturation of description around 80s things, the lack of side character development, the repetitive nature of the story and lack of any real struggle for the main character.

So, the actual premise of the story is pretty exciting. The world has gone to hell, fossil fuels are nonexistent, living in reality is depressing so the OASIS is the escape of pretty much every person in the world. I was excited about this book. And it certainly was hyped up. Unfortunately for me, it just didn’t live up to that hype. I started on a good note with the book. When we open up with the description of the world and the actual beginning of the hunt, I was intrigued. I liked the world building we got, though I know some people didn’t. I felt the exposition was necessary here, and well placed. Unfortunately, the exposition never stopped.

The main problem with the exposition in this story is that it was used over showing us things that would have been more interesting if we were experiencing it with Wade instead of hearing him tell us afterwards. Not only that but, there were moments when the over explaining of something was completely unnecessary. I had to listen to Wade, and in essence Ernest Cline, explaining to me very non obscure 80s references because I guess I couldn't be trusted to know what he was talking about. Some of the things explained had even transcended both geek and 80s culture. There is a line that so painfully sums up the clunky, unnecessary nature of 80% of the book. Wade is talking to his friend Aech and they see this house and Aech says, "It looks just like Rivendell." To which Wade replies, "It looks exactly like Rivendell in the Lord of the Rings movies." This line feels forced, and is obviously meant to tell you exactly where the reference is from, in case you don't know. And there are people who don't know, I acknowledge, but this was an uncomfortable explanation. It felt lazy and obvious.

There are a few side characters that are important to the Wade's life at certain points in the book. I'm warning now, this will start getting spoliery from here on. Aech is an interesting character, and (this goes into the telling not showing thing) at the very beginning of the book you get the sense for how close Wade and Aech are. However, as the story goes on, everything else you hear about their relationship is told to us as if it happened a while ago, but we don't see it. This has a lot to do with the fact that Wade becomes obsessed the Art3mis who continually tells him they aren’t dating, but then, of course leads him on because the only female gunter in existence, as far as we as readers know, must be a love interest. I had hope for her when she first appeared and made her lack of interest in a relationship very clear (I even ignored the fact that she was basically the manic pixie dream girl trope but if that was a gamer). I was also intrigued by her continued reminder that Wade doesn’t know what she looks like. I hoped for some big, I’m not stick thin or able bodied sort of reveal that would force him to put his money where his mouth was and prove on some meaningful level that he did love her for her mind and not her generically pretty body and face...spoiler alert, Cline never bothers to give us anything so deep. Daito and Shoto get the Aech treatment. Wade calls them his friends but you only hear after the fact about them spending time together, and they only talk like twice...maybe?? Ironically enough all of them are more compelling characters than Wade our MC and any character development about them that could’ve been expanded upon is tossed by the wayside. So when stuff goes down involving them, you just don’t care.

The next two points can be covered together because Wade is constantly in these situations that are supposed to be difficult and possibly dangerous. The problem is he never really struggles through any of these situations so you never feel like he’s in any real danger. Every time he has to play some old arcade or Atari game, he tells us that he played it hundreds of times or has people around him to help him so there’s never any real danger. Every gate is like, “Oh I’ve watched this hundreds of time and memorized every line. I only mess up once” or “I used to play this game with Aech all the time, I struggle to get in my zone for 2 minutes and then beat the test on the first try.” Which makes his struggles repetitive, and makes his “random knowledge” too “what a lucky coincidence” for it to be interesting or nerve wracking. It doesn’t help that the moments he plays these games with Aech could’ve been shown to help us be more invested in Aech and their friendship, but no. He’ll just tell us this was a thing they did and we should accept this exposition and be invested based on it.

So, as surprising as it sounds, I was less interested in how the OASIS works (because I understand it’s just a giant impressive VR system), and more interested in what the world looked like after everything went wrong. It was weird to me how things like the vending machine area full of vending machines for everything, including weapons, was brushed over but Blade Runner, Monty Python, and Rush were extensively covered. I think Cline suffered from assuming people would just except these interesting tidbits about the actual world by the time of his novel, but would need him to over explain all his references. I can look up the references if I want, but the Vend All place is something he created for this world. The raise of indentured servants is something he decided happens as a result of this fall of society as we know it, but he decided these were not things he should expand upon.

There were things that were good. Like I said earlier, the plot was good in theory. I loved when that’s what we were actually focused on. I loved the real world world building, it was really interesting to hear what might happen in this situation to the real world, not just the VR system. I did like a lot of the side characters. Wade had moments where he was okay. The book did give enough for me to keep going and it’s not a crazy long book, despite how long it felt in places.

I honestly think I suffered from experiencing this in the worst medium. Everyone who listens to the audio book says it’s amazing. I imagine the movie will actually be really good. Things that I have a problem with, the bogged down references especially if you don’t get them all, and the ocean of exposition, would be easier if being listened to, and the movie won’t have those problems because references will be seen instead of explained and things like the haptic suit and computer situation will be shown. So honestly, I just think it’s unfortunate I read this instead of listening to it (something you’ll probably never hear me say again).

Final Verdict: 2.5/5

#ready player one #book review #wade watts #aech #art3mis #daito #shoto #ready player one book

[rubiaryutheroyal]

Phoenix and Maya are watching a movie. She tries to grab some extra popcorn but he stops him. She begins to plan her revenge.

Maya: Hey, Nick. Problem.

Phoenix: What problem?

Maya: I’m out of popcorn. Can I take some from yours?

Phoenix: Already? The movie’s just begun!

Maya: I know, but I got really impatient sitting through all the commercials. Come on, it’s just this time! I’ll pay you back!

Phoenix: That’s what you said last time we were here. I’m still waiting on it.

Maya: Okay, okay. I’ll pay you in full later, but just put it on my tab for now, please?

Phoenix: No. If you really want more, go get some yourself.

Maya: But I can’t just skip out on this!

Phoenix: Eh, the start of monster movies are usually pretty dull.

Maya: But what if there’s something important that I might miss!?

Phoenix: If it’s that important, I’ll tell you about it when you get back.

Maya: Would you even know what you’re looking for?

Phoenix: Am I supposed to look for something?

Maya: Oh, you’re useless!

Phoenix: What?

[She hurries out as swiftly as she can manage, grumbling under her breath as she exits the room. He shrugs, thinking little else of it.

Prior to its release, Maya had contacted the production staff regarding the involvement of Gourdy, and was rather pleased to hear that there would be hidden Easter eggs from a certain case that took place there a few years ago. She then began to plan for the premiere date. She had told Nick, but he didn’t seem nearly as ecstatic about it.]

Maya: (It’s not my fault he doesn’t have his priorities straight! And who does he think he is, making a long-time fan run off in the middle of it!?)

[And thus, she begins plotting.]

--

[Some other day...]

Maya: Hey, Nick! Did you hear about the incident at Gourd Lake last night?

Phoenix: Gourd Lake? Uh, no.

Maya: Seemed like a couple were down by the beach when they said they witnessed something float up to the surface for just a moment, and then it sank back down.

Phoenix: *rolls eyes* After all this time, the rumors are still circulating?

Maya: I know, right? I thought it was weird too. But they’re saying it’s the real deal this time.

Phoenix: Lots of people have said as much, but no one’s ever seen it. It’s probably another hoax story.

Maya: Well, you know what I think? There’s no time like the present to investigate!

Phoenix: What? Maya.

Maya: Come on, Nick! We’ve solved the mystery once before, and we can do it again!

Phoenix: We only did it that time because we had a case to investigate. What reason could there be now?

Maya: Oh, I dunno. Fame? Glory? A nice vacation for once?

Phoenix: Sounds more trouble than it’s worth.

Maya: Just come along! Or would you rather I tell you on Pearly?

Phoenix: Ugh. Fine. When are we leaving?

Maya: Tonight. The monster won’t show in broad daylight.

Phoenix: Of course...

--

Maya: Doesn’t this feel exciting? It’s like we’re really on the hunt for a monster!

Phoenix: Sure. Just keep your eyes peeled for something totally unlike an actual monster.

Maya: Geez, Nick... You already ruined my movie time and now this too? You’re starting to get on my nerves.

Phoenix: You’re still stuck on that time I told you to get popcorn for yourself? You could have refused and stuck it out without.

Maya: You had most of your bucket left! What was I supposed to do, starve myself?

Phoenix: It’s just popcorn, sheesh.

Maya: No movie experience is complete without snacks.

Phoenix: (I’m more surprised you’re still as thin as you are with that appetite.)

Maya: Huh? Nick, wait.

Phoenix: What?

Maya: Stop here.

[They stop walking, now within the woods. It’s a silent and cool night tonight, accompanied by the tunes of the crickets. However, the waves on the lake that at first were gentle are beginning to undulate.]

Maya: There! Did you see that?

Phoenix: ...It could have just been a fish, Maya. There are fish in here.

Maya: I don’t think a little fish could make that much of a disturbance.

Phoenix: ...

Maya: Wanna check it out?

Phoenix: I don’t think you’re giving me much of a choice, so alright.

[They peek over, and sure enough, there seems to be some dark shadow floating just underneath the surface. It’s too large for a fish, but there aren’t exactly eels that live in this lake. Yet, it’s a lot smaller than what he’d expect for a sea monster. When Phoenix leans over for a closer look...]

*splash*

Phoenix: Aaagh!

[The murky water splashes onto his face. Fortunately, it didn’t get into his eyes and he wipes it off.]

Phoenix: Argh... What the heck was that?

[He turns to Maya, but she’s gone.]

Phoenix: Huh? Maya? Maya!

[He looks around, but she’s nowhere to be found.]

Phoenix: Maya! What’s the big idea!? Where'd you go!?

[Still no response. Now feeling a bit worried, he hurries back out the way they came, but she’s not out there either.]

Phoenix: (Not here... Is she still wandering in the woods?)

[He turns back, but the woods are pretty thick and it’s plenty dark on this cloudy night. She doesn’t seem to be anywhere.]

Phoenix: Maya! (What’s going on here...!?) Where are you!?

[His frantic search brings him back to the beach, where the shadowy figure had been. However, there in the water, instead of the mysterious shadow, he sees something that sends shivers down his spine.

That red ribbon floating in the water is part of Maya’s outfit.]

Phoenix: (No...!)

[He drops the flashlight and takes off his coat, hurrying down into the cold waters to fetch it. As soon as he snatches it up, though, he feels something latch onto his leg. He tries shaking it off, but it pulls him down under.

As dark as it is, he spots what that shadowy figure was: a person in a wetsuit. As soon as they’re spotted, they let him go and swim off. As strange as that was, he needs his air, so he swims back up to the surface.

As he struggles to climb back out from what feels like freezing water, he gets a hand of that helps pull him back on land.]

Maya: Geez, Nick. Who told you to go for a swim?

Phoenix: Maya! What... what’s going on?

Maya: Oh, hey! There’s my ribbon! Thanks! It’s all soggy, though.

Phoenix: Uh... I-I found it in the water...

Maya: Oh, that explains it.

Phoenix: ...

[Gradually, a hint of frustration comes to replace his confusion.]

Phoenix: Maya, where were you? I kept calling, but you didn’t answer.

Maya: In the woods. Where else?

Phoenix: What? Were you hiding from me?

Maya: Oh, why would I do that? I was just taking a walk and when I came back, I found you took a dive! Geez, Nick, I didn’t know you were that excited to meet Gourdy. Don’t you know he’s just a movie character?

Phoenix: ...

[He points back to the lake.]

Phoenix: I jumped in there because I saw your ribbon floating there! And then I got pulled down under by someone in a wetsuit. I couldn’t see their face, but when I looked at them, they fled. Did you not see that!?

Maya: Nope. But that sounds wild! Who knew this little hunt would get any real results?

Phoenix: ...Maya, I don’t need my Magatama to tell you’re lying.

Maya: Er... so what do you think I’m lying about?

Phoenix: You know what? I think you knew what would happen.

Maya: W-what? W-why would you say that?

Phoenix: For one, you say you were “wandering the woods” but I definitely found your ribbon in the water. You didn’t have it until I got it back for you.

Maya: Oh, right...

Phoenix: How could it have gotten there if you didn’t drop it in the lake earlier?

Maya: Um, but why would I drop it there?

Phoenix: You were trying to lead me down in there, where I would get pulled down.

Maya: Oh, come on, Nick! How could I know you were going to get pulled down? If you can’t tell, I’m all dry. It couldn’t have been me!

Phoenix: Yes, so it’s clear you had an accomplice.

Maya: W-what? W-who would that be...?

Phoenix: I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling that it would have to be someone who’d be dumb enough to go diving in a lake where people aren’t allowed to go swimming, all just to help you with this little prank of yours...

Maya: So...?

Phoenix: ...It’s Larry, isn’t it?

Maya: !

Phoenix: (Bulls-eye.)

Maya: ...Okay, Nick. You win. Geez, that didn’t take you long at all. I was so sure you wouldn’t have guessed him...

[She returns to the water’s edge and drips the wet ribbon down, jiggling it around. That’s the signal, and the figure underwater pops back out, with something slung on his back.]

???: Boo!

Maya: Drop it, Larry. He’s found us out.

[The guy pulls off his mask.]

Larry: Aw! Are you serious!? And I made sure not to show myself! How’d he know?

Phoenix: I had a strong hunch... By the way, Larry, what was that you used that looked like a snake?

Larry: Oh, this? It’s a paper lantern I colored black. It’s just flattened now since it’s wet.

Phoenix: Of course it was... Of course it would be you two!

[Now he’s angry and pointing fingers.]

Phoenix: I can’t believe you guys tricked me! It’s your fault I’m soaking wet now!

Larry: Well... yeah.

Maya: Aw, Nick. Can’t we let bygones be bygones? It’s not like we really wanted to drown you.

Phoenix: And I didn’t want to come out here, but you dragged me along anyway! What the heck was this about, Maya!? Don’t tell me it was payback for that time in the theaters...

Maya: Hmm... maybe.

Larry: Come on, dude. You should know how sensitive Maya would be about food.

Maya: That missing ten minutes has hung on my mind for a while, you know.

Phoenix: It was just ten minutes!

Maya: I wouldn’t have missed a thing if you just shared!

Phoenix: How is it my fault you ate it too fast!?

Larry: Alright, guys. Let’s take things back to home base so Nick doesn’t catch anything.

Maya: If you ask me, he’s already caught a bad case of delirium.

Phoenix: I’m the delirious one!? You two tricked me into jumping into a lake!

Maya: Well, I think tonight was a success. Don’t you, Larry?

Larry: Hehe. It was pretty fun seeing his reaction.

Phoenix: I will sue you two for property damages and mental anguish!

Maya: Now, now. Relax, you just got a little wet. We’re sorry for pranking you, Nick.

Larry: Yeah, what she said.

Phoenix: Grr... (I should have never agreed to come out here at all...)

[And so the three friends gather their stuff and head for home. And it’s once again a quiet night at the lake.

Maybe it’s just the wind, but there’s just a little bit of movement under the water...]

#ask meme #phoenix wright #maya fey #larry butz

[ileneca7]

KEEP CALM AND WATCH MORE TELEVISION

Thaddeus Howze is a science fiction and fantasy writer, technology consultant, polymath, autistic, creator of worlds, iconoclast, humanist and occasional bastard (nobody’s perfect). Read more about Thaddeus here.  KEEP CALM AND WATCH MORE TELEVISION Courtesy of Thaddeus Howze New phrases to describe your television watching habits. #bingewatching #cringewatching #hingewatching #singewatching #fringewatching ASYNCHRONOUS, DELIVERED ACROSS THE AIRWAVES In the beginning, there was…

KEEP CALM AND WATCH MORE TELEVISION was originally published on MarketShadows