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redclercs · 11 months

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DELICATE✰ CHARLES LECLERC.

INTERLUDE: this is why we can't have nice things.

— the one where everybody's waiting to see the fall out.

warnings: this is basically like the INTRO chapter with all media, we're going to pretend publications and broadcast timings are not mistaken or fake, okay? ok. am i myself if i don't mention taylor swift in every chapter? no. foul language.

masterlist ✢ next

By Tom Gill // June 23rd

Vic Presley confirms y/n hasn't reached out to her even after Vic called asked her to in a publication a few days ago.

"I think she has blocked my number by now," Presley said, "I am devastated by this. I didn't think it was like her to discard relationships so easily."

Presley and y/ln have been friends since 2020, when they met at the opening of the SENSE Club in downtown Los Angeles and quickly became inseparable.

"y/n really was— is my best friend. I miss her and I want her to come back to me."

Vic Presley also commented on y/n's split from Aidan Kim in her own way: "I hate that she hurt Aidan. I was not aware they had so many problems, that's definitely the kind of stuff you tell your best friend."

y/n was spotted just a week ago with alleged (and constantly denied) boyfriend, Charles Leclerc on a stroll around Central Park. Victoria Presley couldn't help but speak her mind on this.

"y/n has changed so much since she met that guy. I met him in Miami and Monaco, he's not one of the good ones. He's managing to isolate her from everyone who loves her."

Once again, Victoria urges y/n to contact her so they can rekindle their friendship. "I am not angry at her, disappointed maybe. But I will always have my arms open for her."

SEE ALSO:

→ Mia Kim, the talented sister of Aidan Kim, set to make big screen debut.

→ Were Mia Kim and Victoria Presley mocking y/n y/ln in new Youtube Video?

→ Mia Kim: "y/n should have kept her mouth shut, there's still shit to be exposed about her."

FROM THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW — JULY 6TH

[Y/N]: ❝(...) What matters to me right now, is that people now I am nothing of what they're calling me. I am not perfect, nobody is. But I have never cheated on a partner or used someone else as a 'toy' and most importantly, I built my own career.❞

[Y/N]: ❝It gets exhausting, you hear things about yourself you never even thought possible. It could be laughable if it wasn't so cruel❞

[Y/N]: ❝My relationship ended in February, but I believe it was over way before that. I acted in a way that was not fair to my ex-partner nor to myself, and I expressed my regrets about it. He had the right to not accept my apology, but not to make stuff up about the whole situation.❞

[Y/N]: ❝He's feeding his ego, he's a man, after all. But doing it at the expense of my work and my reputation is disgusting. I want one producer or casting agent to come forward and say they gave me a role thanks to my ex-boyfriend's input, just one.❞

[Y/N]: ❝I have surrounded myself with different people. They have been a great support system, always motivating me, and holding me back when I'm about to do something stupid. This also means I have left some people out of what's going on with me, and it's for the best.❞

[Y/N]: ❝Taylor Swift, bless her soul, has given me a lot of advice. She's the sweetest person ever and since the same guy that is trying to drag me has gone after her in a few interviews, she wants this to be over as much as I do. I think he made a mistake by messing with Taylor too.❞

[Y/N]: ❝Rumors will keep running, but I am finally at peace with knowing who I am and who I can trust. But those 'sources' should know my patience is running out.❞

By Jenny Highland // July 20th

Mia Kim and Victoria Presley are the hottest topic right now, but not for the reasons both influencers wish, as they are in trouble!

Both Los Angeles locals have received a 'Cease and Desist' letter from recovering actress y/n y/ln this week, per her team's advice. This was confirmed by both Presley and Kim on Twitter, saying they are 'flabbergasted' that y/n is accusing them of defamation.

While y/n is far from gaining her place back in the public's heart, we are not blind to what Victoria and Mia have done for the past month, riding the wave to get views and followers talking about their shared time with y/n. Who has every right to ask them to stop, as she has done in several interviews throughout the month.

For many people, this makes it more evident that it was either Presley or Kim who contacted tabloids to get their five minutes of fame and sink y/n deeper.

Actions have consequences for everyone, and if y/n decided to pick this fight at this point in her downfall/rerise/wherever it is that we are with her, it's because she knows she can win, right?

─── team principal radio: ❝thank you for reading! please let me know your thoughts! I know I'm ending your patience with this slow burn thing but I promise you we're getting there! Charles is back next chapter and you'll see haha. again, your interactions mean the world to me and i'm sorry if sometimes i don't reply to your comments, i'm just awkward but i love you all♡❞

✰ paddock club members: @sassyheroneckgiant @flowerchild-96 @fangirlika @shegotboreddsoo @roseamongthorns13 @cissyp @chimchimjiminie16 @saturnsrinqs @roni-midnights @gayyvodka6 @studioreader @its-ash-not-grey @lu-morningstar @ferraribabe @reidsworld @feelslikestrawberries @celestialams @kosmosgalore @heeseung-baby @missenclod @buendiabebeta @mycenterfold @aces-tattooartist @burningrred @you-bleed-just-toknowyouarealive@rainybabe25 @ru-kru @lazybot @teenagedreams-cl @cool-ultra-nerd @kuskumu @formulakay3 @bisexual-desi @somanyfandomsbruh @icarus-nex @haziefairy @xjval @xoxoloverb @sainzleclercs @headinthecloudssblog @incoherenciass @bookophiliac @torrie421 @nooshytushie @azxulaa @steephanie07 @anonymous8462 @tbisloneely @pukklv @bn7921 @be-your-coffee-pot @fdl305 @lovely-blackinnon @landonorizzz @ruleroftheuniverse @ivegotparticulartaste

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#charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x female reader #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic #f1 imagines #f1 x reader #formula 1 imagines #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 x reader #cl16 fanfic #cl16 x reader #cl16 imagine

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heretherebedork · 4 months

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Okay, Twins, you really didn't need this whole 'there's a secret spy on the team' drama at the very end. At all. This is unneeded and taking away from time needed for the actual drama that we care about in the damn show which is not this.

I don't care about Koh as the spy! He drugged Zee and his plot can be over!

What I care about is Zee and Sprite and their fucked up twin relationship and whatever's happening with First between them and the entire romance which is supposed to be central to this story, damnit.

But also, like, the twin relationship was interesting but now we've also pushed that to the side. Like... why am I supposed to care about this part when the stuff I have been caring about no longer matters?

Pacing is so hard and this show tripped on the first goalpost of pacing and then dragged their face across the ground for the rest of the series and now it's bad because they never got their footing or their priorities.

Like, sure, Sprite is deeply insecure and feels like Zee is always better than him and cannot handle his own feelings towards First without that fear that First loves Zee and not him... but why doesn't he understand that Zee taking his place half the time means that he can't have a relationship with First? Why is he so determined to keep this secret that is literally tearing their relationship apart?

And why is Zee being such an ass to First after Sprite admitted he loved him and Zee could at least pretend to be nice to anyone? But, also, why is Zee back to volleyball when he originally said he never even liked it and only played for his mom?

But mostly

Why is this lie about Zee and Sprite still floating ion the air unsolved and unrevealed and undisclosed?

It no longer makes any sense!

And it's entirely because they had to introduce this spy plot at the end and take up most of the time with it. If they hadn't done that, we would have the space for the boys to be talking and romancing but because we're focused on Koh The Spy now and have to balance that... we're not getting what we want from the show.

Sprite also looks like an idiot just in general because he never seems to take into account that Zee, you know, also exists.

Zee is an ass and Sprite is a dumbass and First deserves better overall.

And that's the hardest part of this being the penultimate episode of the series. The show is skipping all the important parts that we actually want and giving us this plot none of us wanted and then wants us to feel bad for Koh somehow? I don't care about Koh! I never have! I'm not going to start now! I don't give a shit about him! I don't need his redemption! No one does!!! NO ONE CARES.

I cared about Jack and Mike but their story went nowhere and I'm very disappointed in that for them. They had so much interesting conflict that could have been.

I want to love this show so much but the pacing really is just mocking us at this point.

#twins the series #twins series #twins bl #thai bl #thai drama #thai series #thaibl #asianlgbtqdramas #bl series #asian lgbtq dramas #thai bl drama #bl drama #thai bl series

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lost-semicolon · 1 year

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how do procedural animations workj in games? stuff like slugcat animations in rain world for example

Nearly all procedural animations are based upon one mathematical process known as Inverse Kinematics and the use of common game physics.

Now what is kinematics? Kinematics in this case refers to kinematic chains, a subset of kinematics. A Kinematic Chain is a series of connected rigid objects (objects with no flex or give), these objects are connected by series of joints. For reference, you can imagine the human body as a kinematic chain, our bones connected by joints

A kinematic chain is branching, where there usually is one central bone, from where all other bones branch out. The branching results in kinematic relationships between the bones, where a bone can have a parent and several children. It's important to note that a bone can only ever have 1 parent but can have multiple children. Parenting in bones like functions with a few rules:

Children always copies the parent rotation

Parents never copy a child rotation

You'll find that these rules also apply in real life. Moving your upper arm moves your lower arm, but moving your lower arm doesn't move your upper arm. That's the basics of kinematics, move a parent and the children have to move as well. But this comes with a unique challenge, if you want to move your hand to a certain position, your whole arm needs to move along. This is where Inverse Kinematics come in. Inverse Kinematics, are quite simply, kinematics in reverse. IK Mathematics are quite complex, so I'll spare you the details, but simply put, IK figures out how your upper arm should rotate if you want your hand at a certain position, instead of attempting to calculate how to rotate your upper arm to get there.

The advantage of IK is that it greatly simplifies the process of animating a character at runtime (Runtime means while a program is running).

In Rain World, IK is used heavily for character animation, like the little feet of the titular Slug Cat character. This way, the developer just needs to give their animations system the position of the next footstep, and the animation system will take care of moving the character bones.

If used correctly this makes the character animation look more alive, fluid and dynamic rather than hand animated walk cycles and attack animations.

Furthermore, Rain World features a lot of secondary motion, like tail flopping and messy fur. This is not using IK, rather just using ordinary kinematics with some basic physics, this is because the secondary motion doesn't need to hit a specific position, allowing for much simpler math.

This simpler math is also seen in the popular game Celeste, where the main character features long hair that moves around as you play.

This is utilizing the very same technique as the secondary motion in Rain World.

The only drawback with using IK and procedural animation is the risk of "weirdness". Such is life with any procedurally generated content at runtime.

Sometimes bones have to stretch a bit to reach a goal, this will cause things to look a little weird, and on occasion the math just can't figure out what to do, making some bone flip out totally. This can mostly be mitigated by setting reasonable bone rotation limits and accounting for a little bone stretch.

Thank you for the super interesting ask Anon! Hope this'll be an interesting read :)

#rain world #game dev #slug cat #development #mathematics #answered #celeste game #madeline celeste

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violeteyebeams · 6 months

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The Rebuild of Scott Pilgrim

It's been ages since I used this page to give my wider thoughts on a thing, but I just finished Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and... hoo boy, holy shit, do I have Thoughts™ that I'm not sure where I can put elsewhere for now.

Spoiler free verdict tho? It's good. Damn good. Especially if you're aware of an enjoy the previous source material. It's got great character-writing, spectacular animation, and some very nice music, to name a few things.

And that's basically all I can talk about without dipping into spoilers, do without further ado...

The show starts off with a pretty faithful adaptation of the first issue of the original comic. We meet Scott, Wallace, Kim, Stephen, Knives, and everyone else and the story plays out as you might be familiar with. Although you do notice some slight differences from that original. Ramona working for Netflix instead of Amazon, an extended scene with the Evil Exes, and Scott talking about Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons during his first conversation with Ramona instead of Pac Man. Some changes you might see and go "Huh, neat" and then move on, simply thinking they were fun, if not inconsequential changes made during the adaptation.

But no. Those are just a small taster as to what's to come later.

As stated, the first episode adapts the first issue of the comic, right up until the fight with Matthew Patel. It goes as you expect, beat for beat almost, but then... Scott is seemingly killed off. Patel wins the fight, and not Scott.

As the title says, Scott Pilgrim has quite literally Taken Off. He is GONE for a majority of this series! Instead, the series chooses to focus on Ramona as the central protagonist.

And that's far from the only wild deviation the story takes too. If you're expecting a simple animated adaptation of the comic, this is very much not that. Bryan Lee O'Malley said that this was going to be a different take, and boy was he not kidding.

As Ramona tries to figure out what happened to her would-be suitor, we see her and the other characters in Scott's life take the spotlight, and even the Evil Exes get more of a shine this time around. Ramona getting a chance to talk with them and go deeper into their past and why she left them to begin with. They actually feel like characters and get actual characterization rather than simply being one-note (if not still entertaining) antagonists for Scott to beat and move on from. Not only that, characters like Kim, Neil, and even Knives get whole new story beats and arcs to explore. Even JULIE POWERS gets an interesting new wrinkle about her. The only downside there tho, due to the character/story reshuffling, is that folks like Envy Adams are relegated to the sidelines, unfortunately.

Not that Scott himself is left out entirely. He's still very much there. But they do something very interesting with him. Having him be the crux of a side plot surrounding the concept of age and what holding onto toxic feelings can do to us in the long term, even after the events of a happy ending, like the one he gained at the end of the original comic.

And if the post credits teaser at the end of the eighth episode is any indicator... we MIGHT be getting more of this? Maybe? We see a budding relationship between Gideon and Julie, with Julie seeming to have some more villainous intentions aside from just finding Scott to be an obnoxious loser. Especially as she seems to have aligned herself with Gideon for whatever reason.

All of this is of course, backed up by a fantastic performance from all of the returning movie actors and some killer animation from Science Saru. These have to be some of my favorite animated fight scenes in a good while. The one between Ramona and Roxy is an especially stellar standout I can see myself coming back to every now and then.

It's a wild series, I had one hell of a time with it, and I can't recommend it enough. Definitely give it a watch.

#Vee's Ramblings #Scott Pilgrim #Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

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blueiight · 10 months

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Sometimes I wonder as a non-book reader who has no interest in that racist woman's work why I usually just have complete 180 different takes on the show's characters & relationships than people who read the books (not even like about what's to come in s2 and on but just like what's literally presented on screen to us in s1). I kinda agree with anons about the whole Claudia/Louis thing like it just sounds like the show went in a whole other direction with them from the books (which I only know of from the 94' movie but from what I hear its pretty accurate in that aspect?) but now I'm like... What am I missing here? I don't wanna read these books cause i can't with daughter of the confederacy white lady but I also feel like I (and a lot of other show-only people) just do not get what book fans are talking about half the time re: what's been presented on the show. I'd read the wiki summaries but they don't really give you much lmao

i wish i could tell u why u seem to think differently lool. i have no idea what some of these anons seem to think im saying about l+c tbh i think my central point/s was clear i just used the wrong word or two to articulate a wider point.. literally anytime i say an opinion about this series i get the most bad faith anons or downright hate speech sent my way? idk. i think some headscratchers u may see is that its been so long since diehard fans actually read the first book of the series that they forgot how dark it rly was + the decisions the show made in changing the nature of certain scenes& dynamics but weaving wider themes into that change is a bit . difficult for ppl to wrap their head around whether theyre a book or show only fan. everybodys problematic fiction fans until the fiction successfully invokes the horror in u ig?

#yn.#yn answers #Yall see that shitshow on hbo w the dragons it couldve been so much worse..

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thescrapbookingscientist · 9 months

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Bimonthly Media Roundup

- Gurdians of the Galaxy 3 (Movie) - Family movie night for the last Marvel movie I'm willing to watch for a long while, I did enjoy the film although I think it's largely the weakest of the Gurdians trilogy, though in fairness that's in large part due to things outside of the writers control given what happened to the characters in the unrelated Marvel films. For the good parts I'm glad the characters still felt like they cared about eachother, with Nebula and Rocket in particular getting to show a lot of emotional growth, I loved to see more Mantis overall, it had a pretty good sense of humor, and I'm glad that the central cast all got narratively satisfying endings. For the not so good parts I really didn't enjoy alternate Gamora even if I do think they did the best they could with her in the sense of not pairing her off with Peter and letting her do her own thing - I just don't think she should have existed in general as it takes up such a weird space in the film. It's especially a bummer given how big of a role her and Nebulas sibling relationship played in the prior film only to have that all erased with very little interaction between the two here. Rockets backstory is appropriately tragic and the villain being a CEO playing god mad scientist is good but to be honest I didn't really buy his friendship with the other experiments given how generic their "we are friends who love each other" dialogue was. A lot of the big emotional beats just didn't hit like I felt they should, and the ending in particular had a lot of "they are doing this to set up cameos for future movies" moments that felt really in-organic. I don't know, the film is pretty well received so maybe it'll hit differently for me on repeated viewings but for now it kinda feels like the franchise that started with a bang and rose even higher in the sequel ended with a "eh, it was alright'.

- I'm in Love with the Villainess (Manga) - Caught up with the recent releases and uh hmm. I do like the central couple, the gimmick of a bully being unintentionally bullied by their victim being really into the bullying thing is quite funny and beyond that the two of them have heart and interesting personality traits, so that's cool. When the story is just them interacting it's great, particularly later on when the two become more familiar with each others eccentricates. Beyond that though the plot is kinda losing me with it's not exactly supportive portrayal of a class revolution. While the narrative doesn't seem to think the commoners are 'wrong' per say for wanting a more equal society, it does seem to be pretty wishy washy on how they should behave as 'violence isn't the answer' and 'can't we all get along' messages with a largely nice noble cast of characters and not particularly sympathetic commoners leads to a sorta pro nobility message overall which. you know. not great. Not that I particularly expected the lesbian medieval escapist series to be pro revolution, I just assumed they would stay away from politically relevant topics. I guess time will tell to see if they have something more nuanced and interesting to say than I'm giving them credit for given how early we are into the series.

- ENNEAD (Webcomic) - Twitter tells me that the most recent chapters feature a Horus face reveal which I'm hyped about, but the pages haven't been translated yet to my misfortune.

- Trash of the Count's Family (Webcomic) - Second season updates have arrived and I've missed Cale, nice to see him. The art style has changed a little so that the backgrounds and clothing are more detailed which is cool but I do have to say I miss the larger eyes of the old style that made the characters a bit cuter overall, even if the comic as a whole looks fantastic either way. Anyway Toonka's cool I like seeing him too.

- The Locked Tomb Series (Books) - Finished up Nona and man do I immediately want to go reread the whole series with all my gained context now. I've really enjoyed each novel in a totally different way, and truly love all the weird and interesting characters with the dramatic and yet very difficult to describe in a serious way plot points. I do so hope the books get a TV adaptation if for no other reason than to see so many of the actors pull double and triple duty in portraying all the body sharing antics going on. I need to highlight my favorite quotes on the second readthrough given the series has the nerve to be both hilariously clever and stunningly profound. For favorites I'd say Camilla and Gideon have my heart but really everyone is a joy in their own way, and I'm desperately hoping that Alecto has a happy end for at least most of them.

- Lego Monkie Kid (Cartoon) - Welp I binged through the rest of the series and I will say that seasons 3 and 4 addressed a lot of my issues with it in terms of narrative progression and introducing individual character backstories and arcs. Season 4 in particular was pretty great with the demon brotherhood plot introducing Azure as a competent and sympathetic villain and showing how flawed of a mentor figure Sun really is, as well as featuring some nice character (and design) growth for MK. I like pretty much everything about Macaque and his bitter divorcee vibes with Sun, Red Son and Mei teaming up was a surprisingly cute development, Pigsy and Tang remain as solid and adorable father figures, and I feel like the settings and overall animation looked stellar overall. I do have complaints that I don't really feel like voicing, but as a whole I quite enjoyed this show and will be looking forward to the fifth season - It is really excellent to see a Journey to the West successor actually utilize the series format as opposed to the attempts to cram it into a movie.

- Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Miles Edgeworth (Video Game) - Completed! I do think I liked this one more than the last one, largely because Sebastian was a fun and interesting little shit, though I'd still say it's on the lower end of the Ace Attorney games as a whole - There was just a lot of time wasting and unnecessary appearances of unlikable characters. I also liked a few of the new side characters and the overall look of the designs, though the actual villain motives were very questionable overall, even for the insane universe that is Ace Attorney.

- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Video Game) - Getting a little worn out with the sheer amount of content this has to be honest, I liked exploring the castle and fighting the ganon clones as well as the temples in general but theres still so much to do. That's not a bad thing exactly, but the burnout is hitting and I might have to pick it up later and do more of the final quest and post game content. I did like the physical appearance of the sages helping you in the castle though, that was nice.

- Project Runway All Stars (TV) - As a general rule I don't tend to like All Star as much as it'd predecessor, but this season has been pretty solid actually. The challenges have been fun and creative with solid looks across the board, and while I don't usually agree with the judges favorites we've at least been on the same page when it comes to the worst looks, so my faves have been mostly spared.

Listening to: Sway Cover and Eat Your Young Cover by Reinaeiry, Insane by Black Gryph0n, Wrecking Ball by Mother Mother, Comfort Zone by Fukase, Two Princes by Spin Doctors, World's Smallest Violin by AJR, Never Love an Anchor by The Crane Wives, Bad as the Boys by Tove Lo, Adore by Jasmine Thompson, Undress Rehearsal by Timeflies, Self Esteem by The Offspring, Lent by Autoheart.

#weekly roundup #my post

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dgcatanisiri · 10 months

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A part of me kinda wants to get back all the way on board the Supernatural bullshit and do like a full autopsy on it. Like, the particular point I'd want to be looking at with it would be:

A) How the show turned from being Sam Winchester's hero's journey to Dean's, in that when the show started, Sam was basically the narrative Chosen One, but, in introducing the angels and saying that Dean was important enough for them to resurrect, he ALSO becomes the Chosen One, and narratively speaking, you can only really have ONE Chosen One, so as Dean's plot relevance became more central, Sam's faded.

Like come to think of it, way back in season five, when like one of the last episodes before the finale, they had one of Sam's old Stanford friends show up, possessed by a demon, saying he'd been the one to kill Jessica, and... I feel like my response even then was how out of place that story felt at that point in the narrative. Looking at it now, it almost comes across like a desperate plea for Sam's storyline and motivation to have major plot relevance again, given so much time over the rest of the season was spent on Dean and the choice to say yes to Michael.

And that would lead to B) Why were so many people involved in the upper levels of the show so DISDAINFUL of the idea of Dean taking the lead in the plot. Like, sure, there's the part where they didn't want to infect the show with the gay and make Dean and Cas a canonical thing, just queerbait the shit out of them, but... That really can't be it, because it goes down to the very attitudes towards the character, a sense of "how DARE he take the spotlight from Sam!"

Like the finale could have been done in a variety of different ways, even on the basis of achieving the conclusion they did, Dean dead on a hunt, Sam retiring, no mention of Cas beyond the cursory... It was doable. And instead it was this almost targeted insult at the character and his fans - not even the Destiel shippers, Dean's death was actively resistant to all the changes he'd undergone since the show started.

Sure, you could also blame the whole "we're advertising Jared and Walker" aspect, but I still stand by that being achievable with something that at least felt more respectful of the character growth.

Again, they could have gotten where they did even without addressing Cas. Instead, it was a choice by SOMEONE to give the series at Season 15 the ending of the series no further than Season 2. Like that finale really could have been pulled together as a script from the early days, written on the basis of "we got cancelled, quick, here's something thrown together to act as a conclusion!" and then dug out of Eric Kripke's desk instead of the actual conclusion written by the current staff.

It seems like certain executive heads did not care for Dean and didn't want to accept that he'd become the show's lead, in a way that goes beyond not wanting to give in and acknowledge that the gay angel was important to the series' survival, and specifically his relationship with Dean - while I'm a believer that there was an element of "we wanted a story of two brothers hunting things, we don't care about the extended cast," the way Dean was killed in specific just feels like this went beyond all that, because it had to be a choice to ignore fifteen years of character development, even if you want to no homo the shit out that character.

It'd be an interesting dive and examination to do. But I ain't even about to try and add that to my list of things I'd like to put my time and effort in to. I've got enough spinning on my plates as is.

#dg rambles

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that-terrible-writer · 3 years

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Not Like This

I’m over trying to add this through Safari.

Part 3

Part 1 2

“You call yourself terrible but this, this is beautifully written and I need more.”

“This has got me on the edge!!!! I dont usually like reading series or even multiple parts but dude I wanna read more of it!!!!!!! Are you planning on writing more??? This is so fucking AMAZING”

Warning: Over 3.3k to make up for me sucking.

You felt you had an out-of-body experience. You could see everyone in the control room at STAR Labs, but you were only watching their lips move. No noise was coming out. It was pure silence. You were utterly dazed; you couldn't get the image of Iris crying out of your head. She seemed so helpless, not getting the answers that she wanted. What were you supposed to do? Confess to her that you were the other woman?

A yell snapped you out of your thoughts. Turning your head slightly, you saw Ralph getting closer to you, "Y/N!" Ralph yelled. You covered your ear, wincing at the volume of his voice. You swatted Ralph away from your space, taking a few steps back.

"What is your problem, Dibny?" You mumbled, taking another sip of your coffee. It missed your lips, spilling the hot liquid onto your sweater. You let out a groan, patting the stain in, slamming your coffee cup down on the desk. The group looked at you, not wanting to say the wrong thing; though, Ralph took one for the team.

"I didn't mean to annoy you, Y/N," He explained. Ralph cautioned himself, taking a step towards you, "It's just, now's not the time to be spacing out. You know, with Cicada still out there." You lightly nodded your head, understanding Ralph's point. You rubbed your eyes, letting out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry, Ralph. I didn't mean to take it out on you," You clarified. You glanced over at Barry, reading his worried look at you. Your heart ached when you locked eyes with him. A flash of Iris appeared, causing you to look away from him quickly. "Iris was over at my apartment last night, talking to me until 4 in the morning, so I didn't get much sleep last night."

You quickly saw Ralph's mood turned from concerned to being unsettled. You waved Ralph away from you, walking towards the doorway. You lifted your hand before letting anyone interject on what Iris was doing at your place. You looked over at them, "She's upset about the whole Nora thing. If you don't mind, I'm going to draft some weapon ideas and run them through Cisco." Cisco gave you a thumbs up, bringing the attention back to the Team, discussing ways to stop the biggest threat to Central City.

You walked by the weapon's room, heading straight to the lounge. You observed the room, seeing some things that Nora had left behind. You slowly made your way to the couch, plopping your heavy body onto it. You leaned your head back, letting out another frustrated sigh. You rethought your night with Iris when you knew you could no longer call yourself a friend anymore.

You brought over a cup of tea, sitting across from Iris. You thought that Iris would be out of tears, crying for an hour, and she still could go on for longer. You bit your thumb, trying to find the right words to say. Not to show concern for her, but to make sure you didn't let anything slip. Iris leaned over, cupping her drink close to her. She looked up at you, her face stained, her eyes puffy.

You grabbed a nearby box of tissues, handing them over to her. You watched as she blew her nose, sniffling the last bit. She collected herself, taking in a deep breath, "I'm sorry you had to watch that," She softly said.

You waved your hand, relaxing your shoulder, "Iris, it's okay. I would do the same if I were in your position." You waited until Iris took some time to drink her tea. You paused at first, not wanting to press on a sensitive matter. The curiosity was eating you alive, taking over, "Iris, why do you think Barry is cheating on you? Have you seen each other? You're the definition of couple goals." You clasped your hand over your mouth, not believing that you just asked her something so personal. Even if it did have to deal with you: you had to act like you didn't know.

Iris lightly laughed. You noticed the cup you gave Iris. It was the exact cup you were going to hand Barry when he interrupted you that night. You grew uneasy, rubbing your mouth and constantly moving your legs. You had to keep reminding yourself to calm down. You couldn't give away any tells.

"He's been more distant lately. He hasn't been relying on me as much. He used to come to me for emotional support; it's what a husband and wife do for each other, but when it came to Nora, he didn't want to discuss her." Iris explained. Her voice cracked, on the verge of crying again. Iris inhaled, calming herself down, trying to force a smile, "He came home this morning, and I don't know how to put it; he just seemed happy."

"Happy?'' You repeated. You furrowed your eyebrows together, shifting yourself on the chair. "How could he be happy? He sent Nora back; I would imagine happy is the last thing he would be feeling."

Iris shook her head, "I thought the same. Granted, I didn't know about Nora until he told me. He came home, all happy, then he informed me that he took her back to the future. I just can't figure him out anymore, Y/N." Iris placed her cup on the table to be able to put her head into her hands.

"I don't know what's going on, Iris. I'm in no place to tell you how to feel, but we need to remember Barry is going through a lot. Not only do we all have Cicada on our hands, but Barry also has to try and figure out Crisis. Then he learned that his daughter is working with the man that killed his mother. It's a lot to take in. We can't predict how someone could handle this type of thing." You tried your best to find a way to excuse Barry's behavior. You cursed under your breath, annoyed at how careless Barry was. You knew you had to speak with him, but you didn't need to grow any more suspicion.

"You're right; we don't know how Barry is handling all of this. Maybe I'm reading too much into this. It's just caught me thinking of so many things because he didn't come home last night. I've been just letting the worst come to mind." Iris confessed. You went over, sitting next to Iris, wrapping your arm around her. You took in a deep breath, having been heartbroken when you heard Iris let out her cries again.

Your stomach turned, remembering last night. Rubbing your face, you couldn't shake the feeling away. You noticed something at the table. A fresh cup of mocha had appeared, from Jitters, with Barry Allen staring down at you. His eyes lit up when they instantly locked with yours, a smile tugging on his lips; you could feel the spark that you both shared.

"Barry, we shouldn't be seen together." You mumbled, reaching over for the drink. You saw Barry shift his weight, but you stop before he could speak, "Iris came over: worried about you. I don't particularly appreciate lying to her, Bear. It would help if you fixed this with her. That's final."

In a blink of an eye, Barry had used his powers on you again. The room reminded you of an insane asylum. White covered every inch of the space. "It's Thawne's hideout," Barry explained.

"That makes sense," You joked, "Only a psycho would have a place like this." You looked around, seeing a stand against the wall, "Is it safe to talk in here?'

"It is," Barry confirmed. He walked over to the stand, hovering his hand over to reveal an artificial face. Barry saw you stiffen up, reaching out a hand towards you, "It's alright. This is Gideon. I created her in the future, and Thawne was using her while he was stuck here."

"Hello, Mr. Allen," The AI spoke, "Hello, Ms. Y/L/N." Your face didn't move. It was still showing the same puzzle expression.

"Gideon, can you pull up the article?" Barry requestion. Gideon pulled up the article that had you all worried.

THE FLASH VANISHES

"Barry, why do I need to see this?" You complained, "We are doing our best to find a way to avoid the crisis." Barry walked over to you, standing behind you. He placed his hands on your shoulder, turning you to face the article. He lowers his head to be close to your ear, trying to have you focus. Focusing: that was the last thing on your mind.

"Look who wrote the article," Barry whispered. You looked up at the name. Gideon zoomed in for you to make no mistake.

"Iris West?" You barely got out. You shook your head, pulling yourself from Barry. You turned to face him, crossing your arms, still in disbelief. "So, what does this mean?"

"That article used to say Iris West-Allen," Barry pointed out. He took steps closer to you while you did nothing to step away. Barry cups your face, rubbing his thumbs along your cheek, "It's now just West. Don't you see Y/N? We get to be together.

"The timeline is changing, just like Thawne explained. We can't stop the way that we feel. We can have a life together." Barry smiled.

"I don't know, Bear. I don't want to start a relationship based on what we did. Based on a lie." You confessed.

"Let me handle it then," Barry assured, "I will tell Iris everything. I will make sure that everything falls on me and that you can still have a friendship in the end." Barry kissed you. A soft and gentle kiss, telling you that everything was going to be okay. You stared at Barry, about to interject. Yet, a familiar flash came into view.

You gripped onto Barry's arm, seeing Nora at the other end of the room. Her eyes flashed red; she was panting, having red lighting come out of every part of her body. You should see the anger flowing through her. You turned Barry around, having him stare at his daughter. Barry reached out behind him, grabbing onto you.

"Nora, I need you to calm down," Barry instructed, stretching a hand out toward his daughter, motioning her to stop in her steps. Barry knew what was happening with Nora. She returned to the present using the negative speed force, rejecting everything he instructed her not to do.

"She's ruining our family," Nora yelled, causing you to wince. Nora looked at her father; disappointment came across her face. "Are we not enough? Was I not what you wanted?" Nora's voice cracked, causing you to have tears form.

"Nora, I didn't mean for it to happen," You plead. Your voice also cracked, feeling the heavy amount of guilt you had with Iris, just growing when Nora had to be the one to find out. You didn't mean for this to happen. You never meant for any of this to happen.

"She has to go, Dad," Nora ordered. She took a step closer, balling her fists, ready to take flight.

"Nora, we can talk about this." Barry tried to calm her. You felt the wind go through your hair. You thought it was Barry thinking quick on his feet, but he could only run for so long until Nora caught up. When you stopped, the figure placed you to your feet, helping you stand.

You quickly spun around, making sure Nora wasn't anywhere near you. "Don't worry. You're safe." The voice answered. You turned to see a young man in front of you, wearing a purple and white suit. "I'll always make sure you're safe." He had appeared to be in his 20s, wearing his hair like a certain Speedster.

"Barry?" You let out softly, confused at what you were seeing.

The young man laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. He showed certain traits on how nervous he was before you: his hands were restless, flicking his fingers at the tip, rubbing his mouth, and biting at the end of his thumb. "You always tell me how much I look like him," He told you. You didn't know what to say; no words were coming out of your mouth. You looked around you, seeing that nothing looked familiar, "You don't know where we are?" He asked you. You slowly look over at him, shaking your head softly.

The young man rubbed his chin, muttering to himself, "Maybe it will happen later." That is what you were able to catch.

"I'm sorry, what?" You rebutted, "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Don't worry! You're still in Central City!" He assured you. You waved your hands as a disagreement.

"That's the last thing I am worried about, as I have an absolute stranger pick me up and take me away from my friends!" You yelled.

The boy placed his hands on his hip, and that instant: you knew where the dots connected.

Your phone rang; seeing it was Barry on the other line, you picked it up, "Y/N! Thank God you're okay!" Barry's voice sent a wave of safety through you. "Where did you go? Who took you?" You closed your eyes, focusing on Barry's voice, taking in deep breaths.

You looked over at the boy, seeing his ears perk. He stared at you, waving his finger at you, "Is that—is that really—" The kid couldn't finish a sentence. His excitement had taken over him.

"We got Nora into the Pipeline. We were able to knock her out with some anesthesia." Barry informed you, "You can come back if the speedster lets you."

You glanced over at the boy, "I don't think he's bad, Bear." You assured him, "I think—I think we know him from the future." You hung up the phone, walking your way over to the eager boy. "Do you think you could take me back to STAR Labs?" You questioned him.

"You serious?" He said. His voice showed the excitement he held, in a flash, taking you back to your previous location.

Your hair was a mess, standing in front of your friends: back in the control room of STAR Labs. Barry didn't think; he went over to you, pulling you into a loving embrace. You lightly tapped Barry's back, whispering to him so that only he could hear, "I'm okay."

Barry pulled himself away, turning to the boy. His face mimicked yours. He scrunched his brows, confused at the sight before him, "Why does he look so much like—"

"You." Cisco finished. Cisco walked over, taking a good look at the boy. He walked around him, examining his outfit and facial features. Cisco placed a hand under his chin, "The resemblance is uncanny."

"A little bit too uncanny," Ralph grumbled, looking over to your direction. You felt your stomach drop as you knew Ralph would quickly catch on to what you figured out.

"Are you here because of your sister?" Caitlyn mentioned, grabbing the boy's attention from you and Barry. He looked a bit confused and shook his head.

"No, Dawn doesn't know that I'm here. If she did, she would have my head," He joked. His smile grew wide, showing more of the Allen gene running through him.

"Dawn?" Caitlyn caught, tilting her head at the thought. "Don't you mean Nora?"

The boy shook his head again, "I think I would know the name of my sister."

You saw Ralph make his way over to you, pulling you to the side, "You need to take that kid away." He ordered you. You continued to stare at Ralph, your sight going over to the kid once and a while, "They may not see it, but it's only a matter of time until they catch on."

The boy wipes his hands on his pants, trying to straighten himself out. The smile he wore was the same smile Barry had. "Where are my manners. My parents did teach them to me," He chuckled, flashing his eyes over to Barry. "I'm Don Allen. I come from the future."

You and Ralph let out an annoyed sigh, quickly covering it up when the rest of the team looked at you. You make your way to Barry, tugging on his arm. Barry looks down at you, raising his eyebrows.

"Bear, we need to get this kid out of here. We need to speak to him alone." You informed him. It took Barry a while, realizing what was happening.

"Hey, Don," Barry spoke up, "How about we don't say anything about the future. We already have Nora in the Vault; we don't need any more future business involved." Don grew confused by Barry's remarks. He was able to read Barry's expression, understanding that nothing else needed to be said.

"Are you here to help us with Cicada? Like Nora was?" Cisco asked. Don looked over at the two of you, reading your worried expressions.

"Yes," Don said slowly; he turned to Cisco, pointing at him with a bit of a chuckle, "That is why I'm here. To help out with your bug problem. Me. Cicada. Yes." He was as awkward as Barry was; it wasn't helping.

Cisco let out a sigh of relief, having a smile on his face, "Great. The more help, the better. I'm close to the cure; we learned that Cicada's powers don't affect Killer Frost. I hope that enough recap for you because we can't waste any more time with this. We are a woman down, so we need all hands on deck!" Cisco clapped, getting everyone's attention. It was a signal to look busy.

Cisco left the room with Caitlyn to continue their efforts in completing the cure. Ralph followed behind. When Ralph was almost out of the room, you could see him mouth you some words: "Fix this!"

Barry waited a few moments, placing his hand along your lower back to guide you out of the control room. Don caught up, but the moment he tried to say anything, Barry placed an index finger to his lips to silence the kid. Barry put his hand on the wall, opening up a door to go back into Thawne's room.

"What are you doing here, Don?" Barry demanded the moment the wall sealed up. Don rubbed his hands, looking at his angry father. His mouth twitched, from going into a frown to just a thin line. "Don, you can tell me."

Don was pacing the room, "I don't understand," Don muttered, looking over his shoulder where the door was. He pointed towards the door, "They don't know?" Don asked both of you. You looked up at Barry, who had the same action, looking back at you. Don went over to you, grabbing your left hand to examine it.

"You're not married?" Don questioned you. You shook your head. Don ran his hands through his hair, getting more and more restless. "This can't be happening," He grunted. He turned to Barry, pointing his finger at the Red Speedster, "Why aren't you married to her?"

"Because he's married to Iris," You informed Don. Don looked over at you, the look of disappointment he had shown. "They've been married for a few years now. We're just friends." You felt Barry's hand resting on your side, his grip tightening. You took a moment, knowing what Don was going to say.

"Mom, you can't be serious," Don finally told you. The moment you knew the truth, you felt your breath leave your body. You felt faint, but with Barry holding onto you, you were able to stand. "You and dad need to be together! My being, Dawn's being, everything is disappearing in the future. You two not being together is destroying the future!"

You turned to look up at Barry. Barry looked at you, still calm over the revelation. Barry had to decide which future he wanted to have and had to choose which one had to go; the very thought made you sick to your stomach.

Tagged: @randomfanders-blog @ibe-anne @my-soul-is-the-moon

Permanent Tagged: @sxturn-stars

Some of the tags aren’t working and I’m sorry 😢

#Barry Allen #barry allen imagine #barry allen x reader #DC imagines #dc imagine #arrowverse imagine #The Flash #the flash imagines #the flash imagine #the flash x reader #grant gustin #grant gustin imagine #grant gustin x reader #the cw flash

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veliseraptor · 3 years

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Hi, Lise......I can't help but want to ask (if you don't mind), what are your favorite (that you personally like) books or movies/ tv series that contains lesbias and gays? Thanks if you want to answer.....

wow I completely forgot this ask was sitting in my inbox and has been for a long while. and uhhhh the thing is here that I actually...feel like I don't have a separate category in my head, so much, for "media that has queer people in it" and "media that doesn't"? which like. feels weird to say, but when I get questions like this, or requests for recommendations, I always...struggle to parse these things out. and also to parse out, for instance, "books that read as having queer elements" from "books with explicitly queer characters."

but I guess if I'm gonna try...most of these are going to be books, with a few exceptions.

BOOKS

Doctrine of Labyrinths is a four book series that comes stamped with a whole list of content warnings (rape and child abuse chief among them, probably) but is also one of my favorite series of all time, so, you know.

The Masquerade series by Seth Dickinson also comes with a big "IT'S SAD. IT'S SAD AND DARK" warning, along with content warnings for serious societal homophobia, but is another one of my favorite series of all time. it's not that I hate happy queer stories or anything, I just tend to like stories that aren't happy

The Locked Tomb Trilogy by Tasmyn Muir which you've probably heard about by now, but honestly I think the common tagline of "lesbian necromancers in space" really doesn't...cover it? It's funny, it's weird, it's unique in terms of setting, story, and magic system, it's doing some very interesting things and I can't wait to find out where Muir is going with it. it's very much stylistically not something that's going to work for everyone, but I would recommend giving it a go and finding out if it works for you.

I loved the series by Lara Elena Donnelly that starts with Amberlough, but that one's definitely Rise of a Fascist State and therefore might not be everyone's cuppa right at the moment.

Oh, Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie is very queer, not in terms of, like, "these characters are explicitly gay" but more in terms of what she's doing with gender. I don't know that I'd say it's a central part of the book but it's an important enough piece of the worldbuilding at least that I'd put it here. I don't actually remember, textually, but Machineries of Empire also feels very queer to me in a similar sort of way. A queer theory sort of way, maybe? idk.

this one's a sort of...not for me exactly but it was cool rec, but The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon was very classic fantasy in a lot of ways, but gay, and with some fresh twists on old tropes.

COMICS

The Wicked and the Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. look, it's just really good and not just for the queer. I need to do a reread from the top.

I am really enjoying Motherland: Fort Salem actually, which I feel like people either aren't aware of or watch the first couple episodes and get turned off, but. one of the three main characters is lesbian, and sticks her hand down another girl's pants in like. the second episode? maybe even the first one, I don't remember.

Person of Interest doesn't introduce its gay until later in the series, but if you're anything like me as far as what you want in relationship dynamics you're in for a treat.

Yes, it is an animated children's show, but She-Ra and the Princesses of Power gave me such a gift it still makes me emotional because I'm going like. is this what it feels like to get what I want, canonically, in a piece of media? wow.

look, I'm putting The Untamed on here because (a) it is based on a gay webnovel and is pretty fucking gay considering the limits of censorship, everybody in the cast knows it and is playing it, and (b) some of the secondary relationships come off, I would argue, even gayer in the live action, probably because there are actor people putting them right in front of your face. (because the discourse is what it is: censorship isn't progressive, etc., but this is my list and I'm putting MDZS on here too.)

THOSE CHINESE WEBNOVELS I WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT

like, seriously. I mean, look, they take some work getting into because reading works in translation that come from a culture that you (general Anglophone you) may or may not be familiar with on one level or another actually does come with having to learn some shit and get used to some new things about genre and style, and reading webnovels maybe even more so, but as far as I'm concerned it's worth it.

so far the ones I've read are (titles in English, with common abbreviation, mostly from the Chinese) Heaven Official's Blessing (TGCF), Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS), Scum Villain's Self Saving System (SVSSS), The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (erha or 2HA), and (still finishing but at this point feel pretty comfy recommending) Clear and Muddy Loss of Love (JWQS).

there are several others on my list that I've had recommended and just haven't gotten to yet. my favorites personally are probably TGCF and 2HA, but I'm pending a reread of MDZS with a different translation to do my final assessment there and JWQS is giving me a lot of very good shit.

(I feel like I have to mention, because I'd be remiss if I didn't while I'm talking about ~personal preferences~, that the Coldfire Trilogy is astonishingly queer in my memory for one of the central relationships although it's been years since I read it, admittedly, and the Lymond Chronicles which is a series I love dearly is also incredibly queer, particularly for a series written in the 60s, and is like. juuuuust barely shy of having a canonically bisexual protagonist. and does have an explicitly lesbian secondary character, though fair warning, she, uh, does have it pretty rough.)

there's also some books that didn't make it on here even though they have queer characters because I felt like the queerness of those characters was not really key to the story, for instance the Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, which is fantastic in its own right and I would recommend to everyone, but didn't quite feel like it fit this post.

I'm almost certainly forgetting stuff, but I did my best.

#sometimes i read things #god making recs lists is always sort of stressful #conversating #anonymous

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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

Text

What I Thought About "Eda's Requiem" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

...

...HOW IS SEASON TWO SO GOOD?! WE'VE HAD SEVEN EPISODES SO FAR, AND EACH ONE OF THEM WAS A HIT!

Take "Eda's Requiem," for example. It's yet another episode where I have NOTHING bad to say about it! That's two weeks in a row where that happened! HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!

HOW!

...But anyways, "Eda's Requiem." It's another fantastic episode, and I'm about to dive into explaining how and why. Just keep in mind, it's gonna require spoilers to do so, so be wary of that as you keep reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Eda’s Checklist and Grom Photo: Within the first second, "Eda's Requiem" perfectly sets up Eda's central conflict in the episode. Despite spending years being on her own and looking after herself, she now has two kids that she's constantly caring over. Eda can try all she wants to say that she doesn't care, and I bet she has in the past. But given the hard work she's putting into getting King and Luz what they need and having a grom photo of the three of them together pinned in her mirror, it's pretty clear that those two knuckleheads wormed their way into her heart and are never getting out.

Eda’s Worried About King and Luz Leaving: And thus, that's precisely why something like this bothers her so much. Eda inadvertently adopted two rambunctious rapscallions (Yeah, I know. I'll get to it), so the idea of them not being around her anymore is going to be terrifying. That is a situation most parents, especially mothers, can identify with. It’s called empty nest syndrome and it proves just how much Eda loves Luz and King that she can't stand the thought of her babies leaving the nest. It's yet another well-made, wholesome, found-family moment that this series continues to excel at each week, making me extra excited for more like it to come...while also readying myself for heartbreak when one of them eventually does leave Eda.

Eda and Raine’s Music: Ok, I don't know the exact instruments that were played during this episode, but I also don't care because it was all (for lack of a better term) music to my ears. Every time Eda and Raine played resulted in melodies that are so beautiful and filled with so much emotion and feeling that I'm honestly tempted to listen to them again, multiple times, on repeat. Shows rarely do that for me, as background music doesn't always draw me in as much as lyrical songs do. Usually, it takes something so extraordinarily composed to give me the desire to listen again, and that's the case here. So huge congrats to Brad Breek for doing so. Seriously, the man's been killing it this season.

Eda’s Bard Magic Causing Things to Turn to Ash: This was assuredly a surprise side-effect of the curse. The fact that Eda can sort of do magic at all was its own shock. To then reveal that a specific type can do dangerous things to people and environments is...Well, it definitely brings up its own fair share of questions. Like, how can she do this? Will she do it again, one day? And are there other types of spells that can be negatively affected by Eda's curse? We don't get answers for any of these questions, and odds are, we never will. But that's alright with me. Because if a show makes me consider these many possibilities after a brief amount of time, it is a show that has to be doing something right. Even if I don't get the answers I want, the fact that it caused such a reaction makes me less willing to care.

Raine Whispers: Hey, would you look at that. Another fun, interesting, and compelling character added to the list of this shows' other fun, interesting, and compelling characters...how is this series so good at this!?

Joking aside, Raine's pretty good. I like Raine. They could have been this super serious leader who lost all their fun after years apart from Eda, but I'm glad that they're not. There are moments when Raine takes their job as leader of the BATs seriously, as one would, but I still prefer the fact that they kept a jovial nature despite how grim their situation is. It's an admirable trait to have, and it avoids the trope of making leader characters boring just because they're the ones who have to take things seriously.

Oh, and also, Raine's Disney's first non-binary character who has a stake in the plot. This is a tremendous deal, as you don't usually see that many non-binary characters in children's animation, let alone ones that hold importance to the story. So it's pretty cool for the writers to feature Raine, as it helps several kids feel as though they're finally seen and respected. And the fact that Disney of all companies gave the thumbs up is even more impressive. I hear people say that Dana Terrace should have pitched The Owl House to more progressive networks to avoid pushback, and while I absolutely see your point, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Disney is the largest entertainment industry of all time, so if you want to make LGBTQA+ representation normalized, you gotta stop making splashes and start making waves. Because if the same company that made three racist cats in the span of a few years manages to say that being gay is a-ok, then you know there's something wrong with you. Yes, Disney ended up screwing over the show anyway. But for that one moment, when kids felt pride after seeing a character like Raine, then, in the end, it's kind of worth it.

Also, if you're still having issues with more representation like this popping up in kids' shows, then allow me to redirect you to the complaint department.

...I made that post earlier today for this bit. YOU HAVE BETTER APPRECIATED IT!

Day of Unity is meant to be a Secret: At least, that's what I got when Raine stumbled over their own words. So if it's true, then I wonder why? Why does Belos want to keep the most critical change in the Boiling Isles a secret? Does he want to make it a surprise for his grateful subjects, or does he not want to spread worry and fear amongst the wild witches? It has to be something big if he doesn't want his followers to even say the words "Day of Unity." Whatever reason he has, we most likely won't know until the future. A future that I grow more and more afraid of each week.

Hooty Eating Echo Mouse: My heart sank in that brief moment when I thought that Hooty intensely screwed Luz over in getting back home. But looking back...it is pretty funny.

Just the suddenness of Hooty eating the poor creature that Luz desperately tried to earn its trust is priceless in how shocking it was. And also, Luz's expression.

That was the look of a young girl who immediately shoved her hand down an owl demon's throat the second the scene cut away. The Owl House may not always be a hit in the comedy department, but scenes like this prove that when it's funny, it is hilarious.

Luz and King Entering the Grand Prix: Not much to discuss here. It's just a cute subplot that adds frivolity to the intensity of what's going on through Eda and Raine's story. But I will say that I love how both stories occasionally interconnect with each other through the many moments of Eda being worried about King wanting to leave to find his father and avoiding any conversation about it. It helps both plotlines feel like they belong together, without being something like "Through the Looking Glass Ruins," whereas both stories could have been in their own episode. Which is neat.

How Bard Magic Works: I really love how this season is diving into how the other magic types work. More specifically, the ones that seem a little vague. I mean, stuff like healing, potions, and plants are easy to figure out, but what does it mean when a witch's talents are construction, beast keeping, and bard magic? We've been getting a lot of clearing up lately, with bard magic looking like a witch can control their environments and enemies through the power of music. Which is fair. Music is pretty powerful in the metaphorical sense, and I actually love that it's powerful in the literal sense when in the Boiling Isles.

The BATs: Not much to comment on these three either. The BATs have the potential to have an entertaining dynamic, but they do very little in this episode that I can't say much other than I hope they make a return in the future. But I will make this claim: Amber is my favorite. I'm sorry, but her screaming "You're not our mom!" to then go, "Bye, mommy Eda" is just too precious for me not to love.

I'm a simple man who falls for cute s**t. Leave me alone.

Raeda (RainexEda): Well, EdaxCamila, you were a fun crack ship while it lasted, but I'm afraid that this is now goodbye. The current canon has provided an incredibly adorable and believable relationship that I would be a monster not to support with my whole bi-heart. It's been real.

Ok, back in serious mode: I love these two together. Eda and Raine are grown-ups, and they still act all flustered near each other as if they were still Luz and Amity's age. It's definitive proof that you're never too old to get flustered near a crush, and seeing them interact adds a sense of wholesomeness when seeing them together as well as heartbreak when they're forced apart. Plus, we get confirmation that Eda's LGBTQA+! Whether she's bi, pan, or whatever, now that we know Eda can catch feelings for someone like Raine, it's yet another case that The Owl House is the most important series to the community. Because having the main character be queer is fantastic in its own right. But having the same apply to the motherly mentor figure? That's is an extra bit of normalization that anybody would be willing to appreciate.

Unique Guard Designs: Not many fans are going to appreciate this, primarily compared to everything else this episode does perfectly. For me, I actually like that you see a few Coven Guards looking differently from the others, as it helps make them less like clones and makes it seem like anybody of any body type could be a part of the coven.

Gus Looking Uninterested when Presenting Grand Prix with his Dad: I am positive that you didn't notice this (I didn't even notice it until someone else pointed it out), but there's something to dissect here. It hints that perhaps Gus isn't as interested in his father's field of work as one might think. If he did, he would look a lot less bored and much more excited to be helping Perry Porter present the race. It could just be the race itself, but judging from Gus' expression, it really seems like the kid would prefer to be anywhere but there. And why would he have that reaction to a race that his best friend is competing in? To me, this seems like an inkling of what Gus' relationship with Perry could be, which may not actually get time to shine, what with how little wiggle room the series has now (Thanks Disney). Regardless, it is interesting to notice, and it will certainly have fans thinking for a while.

Bump Being Smug of Luz Being in the Lead: That's it. Principal Bump looking smug as his human student is beating the students of his rivals is yet another moment that proves why Bump is easily the best cartoon principal.

Darius: First of all, this guy is f**king fabulous, and I love him. *Snaps*

Second, he is definitive proof that you do NOT want to f**k around with Coven Leaders. Lilith may have had her intimidating moments, but none of them compare to the guy who can turn himself into an abomination monster where only magic that hasn't existed before can take him down. It's genuinely scary to see Darius lose control, and I fear for the day when Luz inevitably ends up in his crosshairs.

With that said, Darius' still a ton of fun! He may be threatening, but he's just a flamboyant guy that hates the idea of getting his outfit the tiniest bit dirty. And I love that. I love that these Coven Heads have actual personalities instead of being generically evil. I consider it preferable to make villains entertaining rather than blatantly scary as I'll remember the personalities first and the villainous acts last.

Eberwolf: But this one's my favorite. I told you: I'm a simple man who gets easily swayed by cute s**t. And Eber? I mean, just look at her:

She's just a cute widdle rascal! I just want to pinch her cheeks, give her a belly rub, and--

...Eberwolf is not a cute widdle rascal. She is a strong, independent woman, and I will respect her as such from this moment forward...lest I feel her wrath.

That is all. Let's move on.

Eda and Raine Attempting a Final Performance: This was the best scene of the episode. It looked gorgeous, it shows the dedication Eda and Raine have for stopping Belos, and it says so much through so little. Go back and look at how Eda and Raine regard one another when performing Eda's requiem. Through their expressions and a few short words, you know they understand that if they complete the song/spell, they probably won't make it in the end. And yet, they don't care. They both know bad stuff will happen if Belos wins, so Eda and Raine put everything to the side, both their feelings for one another and the people they leave behind if it means putting an end to a tyrant. That level of dedication...Words can't fully describe how powerful that is.

Raine Sacrificing Themselves Instead: But in the end, Raine can't do it. Not when they know the life that Eda has and the people she'll be leaving behind. It's an extra bit of nobleness to the character seeing that Raine refuses to take away a woman from two kids who need her the most. A tad bit selfish, sure, knowing what Belos has planned. But when it comes to love, the romantic, familial, or platonic, the best decisions aren't always the logical ones.

Eda Crying: Luz crying tears me up, but seeing Eda cry is a whole different level of heartbreak. Like Lilith, Eda has her emotions locked up tight, with the closest she came to weeping were those two tears in "Young Blood, Old Souls." In "Eda's Requiem," she cries but almost quickly stops herself. As if she knows that doing so isn't going to save Raine. That is...even worse than seeing Luz break down after losing Eda. The fact that Eda refuses to give herself time to mourn losing someone she loved is tragic because crying is the most natural way of showing grief. Turning that off isn't healthy, and seeing her do it with little resistance is sad to me. It's sad to see a character I love can easily shut off all emotions despite how badly she may want to embrace them. It's one of those moments that, again, by doing so little, it shows so much.

“No one watches Crystal Balls anymore. It’s all about streaming.”: Oof. Even I felt that burn towards cable.

King’s Message: King's message was the pick-me-up I needed after the heart-wrenching sadness this episode put me through a few minutes ago. Seeing King say who he is and listing all the things he loves is nothing short of adorable. On top of that, I adore that Eda willingly recorded the whole thing. She may not want King to leave, but that doesn't mean she'll sabotage the one thing he wants. Especially not after Raine gave up everything so Eda could be with her kids. The opening scene may prove how much Eda cares about a rascal like King, but this heartwarmingly sweet moment reveals just how far she'll go to make him happy.

King’s Dad Reveal: ...ok, I'll be honest, I did not think we'd get that reveal this soon. Dumb of me to say, considering the number of times I've said that these writers don't waste time getting to the s**t, I know. But still, it's pretty cool knowing that King's dad is alive and well, added with the fact that we've got a fair idea of what he looks like. At this point, it's only a matter of time before we see him figure out where the Clawthorne residence is and witness the tear-jerking moments that will follow.

King Changing his Name to King Clawthorne: Not the official adoption I was expecting Eda to make...but DANG IT, is it still diabetes-inducing levels of sweetness!

Personally, I feel like the main reason why Eda breaks down this time is not only because she shouldn't be worried about King leaving her life, but also because Raine's sacrifice wasn't in vain. Her kids really do need Eda because no matter how far apart they'll be, she will always be a part of their life...dang it, I'm going to cry too!

What those Coven patches really do: Well...that was horrifying to see.

...Writers, if you kill off the best non-binary character in animation (it's a short list, I know), we are going to have PROBLEMS!

IN CONCLUSION

"Eda's Requiem" is--surprise surprise--another A+. The emotions hit hard, the representation hits harder, Raine is a fantastic addition to the cast, and it was all surprisingly cute at times. Season Two is currently on a hot streak, constantly winning with every episode that's come out so far. When a bad episode does eventually show up (IT'S GONNA HAPPEN!), I'll be sure to sing my requiem then. For now, I'm just gonna enjoy the ride.

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #the owl house reviews #eda clawthorne #raine whispers #raeda #king of demons #toh darius #toh eberwolf #what i thought about

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

Text

National Enquirer, April 5

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Meghan Markle's secret psych analysis

Page 2: Heather Locklear has put on a lot of weight since she got out of rehab last fall -- she looks to be carrying 170 pounds on her five-foot-five frame and she looks to have gained 35 pounds

Page 3: Miranda Lambert has taken another swipe at ex Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani by dissing their upcoming nuptials -- Miranda has been urging mutual friends to skip the wedding and she's got everyone in Nashville and beyond all riled up and either you're Team Miranda or you're Team Blake, and if you're with him you can forget about being friends with her and she's forcing people to choose sides and she'll have no qualms cutting off anyone who attends Blake's wedding

Page 4: Alex Rodriguez struck out with fiancee Jennifer Lopez after she discovered his hot-and-heavy direct messages to a long string of women -- their four-year romance went foul after Southern Charm's Madison LeCroy publicly admitted she'd been in touch with A-Rod and Jennifer found out he'd reached out to other beauties through social media and Jennifer had had enough

* Concerned mom Jennifer Garner is struggling to cement her relationship with daughter Violet now that the 15-year-old is barreling through the turbulent teens -- Jennifer said the heartbreak is just that she's growing up at all and it's heartbreaking for the mom and for the teenager, needing to have that kind of severing of this baby-mama tie

Page 5: Chris Brown's spacey social media posts about aliens have close pals concerned about the R&B crooner, including his once-battered ex Rihanna -- Chris is obsessed with conspiracy theories and all things supernatural

Page 6: Disgraced Felicity Huffman is fuming about scuffling for plum parts while rumors swirl fellow felon Lori Loughlin has already been invited back into her old TV series and Felicity can't understand why she is being forced to go through the whole audition process while Lori seems to be welcomed back with open arms -- though she hates to do it, Felicity feels the only way she can get attention is to do a tell-all interview about her humiliating part in the scandal -- Felicity has scored a part in the ABC pilot Sacramento River Cats, though there is no guarantee the project will make it onto the air, but insiders and fans of the hit Hallmark series When Calls the Heart have all been filling the internet with talk of Lori's rumored return -- Felicity believes the only way to get public sympathy is to spill her guts, even though all she wants is put the scandal far behind her

Page 8: Stressed Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon has been packing on the pounds as his talk show continues to battle with Stephen Colbert's Late Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live in the late-night ratings and Jimmy has been partying and pigging out to find any comfort he can as Tonight continues to trail the field in total viewers and Jimmy is over 200 pounds for the first time in his life and it's because he's overindulging to compensate for the show's struggles and Jimmy and the gym do not mix even though he had a full fitness center installed at his New York apartment years ago

* Debilitated diva Liza Minnelli's 75th birthday party turned into a disaster when her frail physical condition alarmed friends -- celebrity pals also joined a virtual bash for the legend, even though Liza insisted she didn't want a big fuss and Liza's manager threw the small dinner party on her birthday and about eight people, including Joan Collins, attended in person and several other friends, including Barbra Streisand, recorded video messages and performances for Liza but before the party, Liza was in such bad shape she told friends that she didn't want to participate or be seen on camera -- in the end, Liza, who's undergone multiple surgeries and struggled with substance abuse for years, agreed to join the gathering at the L.A. home of her longtime protege Michael Feinstein and Liza sang but she didn't look well and her voice is shot to pieces and she was propped up in a chair and barely moved from it because she can't walk well anymore and during a live chat during the party the hashtag #FreeLiza started to pop up and not everyone meant it as a joke and there's a feeling certain people have taken over her life and longtime friends have been frozen out and they fear she'll never appear in public again and they won't see her again before she dies -- when friends saw the videos the next day they were upset and very worried, saying Liza really appears to have declined

Page 9: Angelina Jolie has fired a shocking new salvo against ex Brad Pitt over custody of their five youngest children and her latest court documents allege domestic violence and even worse, some of the nearly dozen papers Angie just filed offer up a few of the kids to testify against their dad and Angie is now claiming she can offer proof and authority of domestic violence but Brad's lawyers are expected to respond with a vehement denial -- with the newest court filings, all of which are sealed, Angie is determined to get full custody of the kids and Angelina has fought tooth and nail to get what she wants in this divorce and when it comes to her kids she won't back down

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Farrah Abraham in a bikini, 50 Cent chased away his thirst with a drink at an Atlanta eatery, Natasha Lyonne of Russian Doll was on her game while playing chess on the NYC set, Selma Blair met up with a pal in Studio City, Reggie Bush showed he's still in fine form during a Mexican vacay

Page 11: Gwyneth Paltrow isn't above using a little goop to smooth out the age lines -- the lifestyle guru recently admitted to resorting to a teeny drop of Xeomin, which claims to be a uniquely purified choice for frown lines, to help her look less pissed off but she also admitted her history with fillers hasn't always been happy and she had a midlife crisis when she turned 40 and she went to see this doctor and it was a disaster and she was bruised and her forehead was completely frozen and she didn't look like herself at all -- she also admitted she believes there is still a lot of shame around surgery or injectables or fillers and it's like admitting a vulnerability -- she said she thinks aging is hard and when you see your face start to change, you don't necessarily feel your most beautiful, externally, but the irony is it's that time in your life when you actually really like yourself and love yourself

* Wendy Williams' handpicked hunk Mike Esterman has better buckle up because the daytime diva has already mapped out their future, and he's in for a wild ride -- Wendy boasted she chose her Maryland-based beau after receiving hundreds of submissions to her Date Wendy segment, but she's aiming to renovate the contractor and it's all about image, stylists and bodyguards for Wendy right now and she's already got a reality show in the works for them, a TV crew and photographers trailing them everywhere and his-and-her makeovers too -- she's gone from zero to 60 with this guy in a matter of days

Page 12: Straight Shuter gossip column -- Miley Cyrus is going country after her last two albums tanked -- Miley offended her core audience with her outrageous behavior and punk sound and she's signed with a new record label and the plan is to reintroduce her to the country audience that loved her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, and once loved her -- Miley's behavior has overshadowed her talent for years and her new team will guide Miley back to her roots in the world of country and finding the right sound should be easy but can Miley find the right behavior

* Gayle King owes her glow on CBS This Morning to a new makeup artist and after being tended to by a fill-in makeup artist and told she looked better than ever, Gayle quietly dismissed her longtime makeup man but there's an unspoken code of ethics in the pro makeup world that if you're asked to replace a longtime client's makeup person, the appropriate answer is no

* The Sex and the City reboot isn't all cosmos and roses -- Sarah Jessica Parker was the show's executive producer, giving her much more power than her co-stars, but Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis will also executive produce the reboot and there's already tension -- sharing power is hard for anyone who's been the boss for years and it isn't one big happy family

* Rachel Brosnahan gets some puppy love on the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (picture)

Page 13: The knives are out for self-appointed queen bee of The Talk Sharon Osbourne after she was exposed as TV's meanest host -- the salty motormouth has been accused of a barrage of racist and anti-gay zingers, forcing the gabfest to go on hiatus while CBS investigates the claims -- former host Leah Remini claimed Sharon would frequently refer to then-co-host Julie Chen, who is Chinese American, as 'wonton' and 'slanty eyes' and Sharon also reportedly referred to her out lesbian co-host Sara Gilbert as 'p--sy licker' and 'fish eater' -- in a tweet, Holly Robinson Peete implied Sharon's racist comments led to her leaving the show -- Sharon also chased Marie Osmond on the show last fall and tried to take it over after Julie Chen quit in 2018 -- Sharon has denied all claims against her -- Sharon's big personality is central to The Talk, but some of these allegations, although none have yet been proven, are the kind of remarks that could be career-ending

Page 14: Crime

Page 16: Demi Lovato's shocking admission that she continues to puff pot and swill booze after multiple rehab stints and a near-fatal drug overdose has pals and addiction experts convinced the singer is courting disaster -- she dropped the bombshell in a recent interview and claimed indulging in those vices has helped her fend off more serious addictions and the chronic depression that has dogged her entire life -- Demi came very close to dying three years ago after she overdosed on opioids and it triggered three stokes and a heart attack, and a lot of people were terrified she would never recover and her friends are convinced she's put herself right back on the same self-destructive path -- Demi claimed she was sexually assaulted by her dealer on the day of her almost-fatal OD and when her assistant found her unconscious and surrounded by vomit following the wild binge, she was naked and she was blue and she was left for dead and she had unknowingly taken heroin that was laced with the powerful drug fentanyl

Page 17: Devastated Lisa Marie Presley is finding comfort in the arms of her first husband, Danny Keough, after their son Benjamin Keough's suicide -- Danny has given her a shoulder to cry on and he's the only one who can understand the despair she feels after losing Benjamin -- Lisa Marie has been inconsolable since Benjamin died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and she's moved in with Danny in Woodland Hills, California and she's also struggled with substance abuse and the stress of an ongoing divorce battle from fourth husband Michael Lockwood -- although her marriage to Danny ended in 1994, he's remained close to the family, working as a driver and handyman for their actress daughter, Riley Keough and Riley couldn't be happier that her dad has been so helpful to her mother and it's taking a full team to keep Lisa Marie together and Danny was definitely proven he's still on her team

* The sudden death of Bobby Brown Jr. remains shrouded in mystery as the 28-year-old's autopsy report was placed on a security hold following a request from the LAPD -- the namesake son of Bobby Brown and his ex-girlfriend Kim Ward lived with his famous father in Encino, California, where the singer found him responsive -- Bobby Jr. has been doing drugs with pals and insiders suspected he was deliberately dosed with a fatal cocktail of booze, cocaine and painkillers

Page 18: American Life

Page 19: Tina Turner is using a new documentary about her life as a final farewell to fans after the R&B icon was rocked by a string of physical and mental health woes including the crippling effects of a 2013 stroke -- the eye-opening documentary Tina is a love letter to her millions of supporters and the punctuation mark to a life defined by startling professional success and heartbreaking personal catastrophes -- Tina admitted she's had an abusive life but at a certain stage forgiveness takes over -- in the documentary Tina confessed she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has frightening flashbacks of being savagely beaten throughout her hellish 16-year marriage to the late Ike Turner and Tina's current husband, German music producer Erwin Bach, even compared his spouse to a shell-shocked soldier -- more recently, Tina has been battered by health crises after suffering a stroke in 2013 and being diagnosed with intestinal cancer three years later, mere months before her kidneys failed and Erwin donated one of his own to save her life -- Tina knows the end is near and this film is truly her last encore

Page 20: Match Game -- a round up of male and female celebs who look astonishingly similar, despite their opposite genders -- Sophie Turner and Boy George, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, Timothee Chalamet and Natalia Dyer, Tom Cruise and Tig Notaro

Page 21: Melissa McCarthy and Ricky Gervais, Eva Marcille and Terrence Howard, Bret Michaels and Fergie, Josh Hartnett and Clea DuVall

Page 22: Katy Perry sparked rumors she had finally taken the plunge with longtime love Orlando Bloom after she was seen sporting a suspicious gold band on her left ring finger while vacationing in Hawaii

* Scott Disick has confessed baby mama Kourtney Kardashian is the reason his relationships fail -- the reality TV slacker revealed his now ex-girlfriend Sofia Richie felt neglected because he spent more time with Kourtney and their three kids, saying it's definitely not easy that they see each other, work together and are friends but he's always been clear that his priority has been his kids and he even put it out there that taking care of Kourtney is one of his priorities

Page 26: Reality star fixer-uppers Jonathan and Drew Scott are sweating bullets over a lawsuit filed against their Property Brothers show by unhappy clients and the stress over the scandal is wreaking havoc with their personal lives -- Las Vegas couple Mindy and Paul King filed suit against Cineflix, the company that producers Property Brothers, and Villa Construction, a local contracting company, alleging they did a shoddy job repairing their home after the couple forked over $193,000 for renovations -- though the twin brothers aren't named in the lawsuit, they were concerned it could smear their reputations and upset their ladyloves -- Jonathan is close to marriage with actress Zooey Deschanel and Drew is wed to Linda Phan, who is the creative director for their company, Scott Brothers Entertainment -- they're both mortified by these allegations and they don't know what to tell Zooey and Linda, other than they will be cleared when the truth comes out but they're terrified that the bad press could derail the show -- Paul and Mindy answered a 2018 casting call and said they were assured all the work would be HGTV quality but Paul said that the place looks good from afar, but it's far from good and the Kings griped to the Nevada State Contractors Board, citing more than 90 complaints with the work ranging from unmatched baseboards to potential hazards -- as the case plays out, the brothers have been rattled by the controversy and they are stressed that this very public case is calling their work into question and there's a fear more people will come forward with similar charges

Page 28: Cover Story -- a top-secret psychological profile of Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle paints the former actress as a mentally unstable ticking time bomb who couldn't cope with playing second fiddle to senior royals -- the explosive evaluation unmasks Meghan as a pathological liar and bipolar narcissist with histrionic personality disorder but the jaw-dropping findings about Meghan, who's pregnant with a sister for son Archie, don't surprise palace sources as Meghan's tears, tantrums and extreme mood swings had staffers terrified what she could do or say next and she was consumed with ambition and jealousy -- she married Harry expecting to be the royal superstar, but instead learned she'd always be second to his brother Prince William's wife, Duchess Kate and Meghan couldn't stand that she and Harry would always be in their shadow and wanted to destroy her in-laws but no one expected her to lob a nuclear grenade into her husband's family in a no-holds-barred TV special

Page 32: Health Watch

Page 34: Cara Delevingne confessed she used to be disgusted by same-sex relationships and was suicidal before coming to terms with her sexuality -- the model, who has dated actresses Michelle Rodriguez and Ashley Benson and singer St. Vincent, said she was trapped in a dark place and afraid before she publicly admitted to liking members of the same sex -- she said she grew up in an old-fashioned household and she didn't know anyone who was gay and she didn't know that was a thing and growing up she wasn't knowledgeable of the fact she was homophobic and she continued that the idea of being with same-sex partners, she was disgusted by that, in herself -- Cara, who identifies as pansexual, explained her sexual orientation is constantly changing and added she was so unhappy and she wasn't following her truth, that whole thing of having to fit into the box, she's an androgynous person

* Don McLean wants his decades-younger girlfriend to have the wedding of her dreams and he's set aside $1 million for the big day -- the American Pie singer has been dating model Paris Dylan for five years after an ugly divorce from second wife Patrisha Shnier -- Paris is totally unconcerned by the enormous age gap between the 75-year-old singer and 27-year-old model and wants to spend the rest of their lives together -- Don's going all out making sure she has the wedding that's fit for a princess and he's spending an absolute fortune, giving Paris the best of the best in terms of the venue and the food and the one-of-a-kind dress and Don's given her carte blanche to plan it however she wants, and people are expecting a seriously over-the-top affair

Page 36: Singer Andra Day turned to method acting to play jazz icon Billie Holiday, and it's paid off with an Oscar nomination -- Andra revealed she dropped 39 pounds and took up drinking and smoking to prep for the title role in the biopic The United States vs. Billie Holiday -- Andra doesn't recommend smoking and drinking, but she did it because she was just desperate for her first role -- Andra, famed for writing and performing the song Rise Up, also sings in the movie as Holiday, and changed her singing voice to reflect the music legend's pain

* Hollywood Hookups -- MTV reality stars Jenna Compono and Zach Nichols secretly tied the knot and their first child is due in August, Larsa Pippen is dating Myles Kronman, Ashley Jacobs and Mike Appel engaged

Page 38: Cindy Crawford said posing for Playboy was a snap compared to acting in movies -- Cindy said she really regrets starring in the 1995 bomb Fair Game, where she played a lawyer fighting a former KGB spy -- she said she never wanted to be an actor, but a producer begged her and he kept upping the price until she thought she'd be an idiot to say no, but she should have said no, or prepared herself better -- the experience taught her she's very comfortable in front of a camera, but only when she's being herself

* Former American Idol judge Randy Jackson is half the man he used to be and he couldn't be happier about it -- Randy has dropped a whopping 130 pounds to head off potentially deadly effects of his type 2 diabetes and did it in the healthiest ways -- he wrote in his book Body with Soul, it's a curse to be saddled with a disease that's life-threatening, but it's a blessing to get that huge wake-up call -- Randy admitted to crushing the scale at 358 pounds before getting gastric bypass in 2003 but now exercises and eats right and he's ditched sugar and gluten and he wants to be an example for other obese folks and show them they can get healthy and stay that way

Page 40: Tom Brady did an end run around fuming wife Gisele Bundchen by signing a four-year contract extension with his new Tampa Bay Buccaneers team after winning the Super Bowl -- the 43-year-old quarterback promised Gisele he would hang up his cleats after the upcoming season since winning last year's championship but changed his mind after snagging his record seventh NFL title with the Bucs -- Gisele is both angry and astonished because they had spoken about him finally settling down to be a full-time father and husband, but he can't stop chasing glory on the field and Gisele was stunned by his decision to re-up for another four years while the two were discussing expanding their brood and they had planned to have another child after buying their dream house on Indian Creek Island in Miami and they were even drawing plans for a nursery, and now that Tom's done a complete turnaround, everything is up in the air; it's caused some serious tension in their marriage

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Grammy Awards -- Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, Dua Lipa, Noah Cyrus, Lizzo, Taylor Swift

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vidalinav · 3 years

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I always enjoyed reading your blog, but I have to say that I feel like a lot of us Nesta fans are going to leave the fandom after this book. Not necessarily because of disappointment, but because a bunch of us only stayed with the series to finally get to her story. And to be honest, I think BB and SJM themselves know that. I can't think of any other reason why they kept postponing the books and basically tricked us into purchasing acofas, since they marketed it as a 'bridge' that seemed important to not leave out. I personally will only keep up with fanfics about Nessian, but not really with the fandom as a whole, as there's constant fighting and victim-blaming going on. I'm sure a lot of us are still going to check on your fics

**** POTENTIAL SPOILERS, but I don’t think so. Everything is vague. (Just in case)

Oh my god thank you! I appreciate it though I’m not going to lie I am also only in this fandom for nessian/nesta and I’m like if Nestas story is over... and the next book will probably be in two years. I’m not sure how much I’ll be writing fanfiction or even participating in this fandom. Unless I choose to finish the fics I’ve already started and maybe a couple of one-shots here and there.

It’s not the book that I have problems with itself (though I will have some problems that I will save to discuss later when I’ve read the book thoroughly and others have read it). Lies! It’s the book I have a problem with, but not for the reasons of disliking or liking it.

Maybe I jinxed it. People overhyped it. I set out unrealistic expectations. But those do have to come to an end eventually and quite honestly this whole experience was a lot that I don’t aim to repeat. So I either have to detach myself or decide that I don’t care too much and go on. I’m not sure. I have to read the book. No character fascinates me that much outside of Nesta. Nesta to me was a character that no one had written before. Because she was ugly and good. Like she has such disliked traits that make her so hard to deal with but she stands up and overcomes and rages and storms and loves her sisters and the common good. Which was already proven in the whole series. So I don’t know why that was a plot point in here. Sigh. I feel like a lot of the plot is fixing or forming relationships. Which is okay (if they needed to be fixed). But it’s not what I wanted to read. I thought too much about this book and her character that I set it up for failure Bc my expectations would never be reached. I’m sure I will like the book. But I know I will not extremely love the book. And that’s my own opinion. I’ve read spoilers (MASSIVE AMOUNTS) before of books that I liked less and I loved the book and knew it immediately. This is... ehh not was what I was expecting. Which is okay. That happens. No hate to people who absolutely love it. Different books for different people. Styles change and all and this continuing series was a style change. But to me personally, It’s not really my thing.

But also I hate, hate, hate endings. I didn’t read the last book of TOG for three years, because I could not handle it. It made me want to cry. And Nesta’s and Cassian’s story, their main story ends, and it’s set up to end. I wanted to see their relationship develop of course, but honest to god I wanted plot. I wanted to see and feel and know Illyria like I know Crescent City, and I wanted to see other places and learn other cultures, and I really really wanted to see magical, scheming plot. Because this is the girl who stole from the f*** cauldron. I wanted her to heal, but I also wanted to her to discover more power than fighting (brute force). I wanted her to learn how to scheme like a politician or to really let everyone know that she gave no fucks and to be powerful and a liar or a cheat or show her wits and wiles, because this girl seemed smart and she to me was the antithesis to Rhysand, who was all of these things. And honestly, I wanted the Inner Circle to accept her because they understood her and she understood them, not because of what she does. Because they learn each other, because all of them suck so bad. And that’s perfectly fine if you admit that you all suck and love each other anyways. But that requires more than one book and this book is supposed to be a standalone. It also requires this to be less romance affiliated, like TOG or even ACOTAR, where romance is there and central but not the center, and that wouldn’t have happened. So all in all, unfortunately I might have to take an L on this. Seems horrible to me to thinks it’s so disappointing, but I know what I like and I know what’s in the book and how it’s written. And I don’t mean to say this to discourage anyone from liking/loving the book. I’m just trying to explain my own rationality about whether or not I continue with this fanfiction and this blogging stuff. I already don’t feel as obsessed with nessian anymore. I honestly want to read another book. I don’t read SJM for the smut, I think honestly she adds too much, so unfortunately L on that too.

But I’ll always have my imagination. I just don’t know how much effort I want to put into this series that I don’t feel is satisfying to me anymore when I was so obsessed with it for the longest. I always knew I would reach this point. I did for so many books. I think maybe we grow out of them, and sometimes they grow out of us. I’m not sure which one this will be. But it’s bittersweet I think. I feel like this was my emotional support book/OTP/character and now I need therapy. I don’t mean to make light of that, but that’s literally how important this character was to me, and it feels horrible. I feel like I’m breaking up from a three year relationship and unfortunately, I don’t handle change so well. But I’m sorry for breaking down in a post that was very nice! I really appreciate you reading my fics and wanting to keep up with them in the case that you leave also the fandom. I don’t know if I officially will, I change my mind every few seconds. But thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk, this made me feel better :)

#acosf spoilers #I think #just in case #nessian

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theficplug · 4 years

Text

{My Boyfriend Does My Makeup with Trevante}

{The YouTube Series}

Warnings: none , fluff

Trevante finally had some time off after his latest film had wrapped and although you were both private about your relationship. You decided to give your boos (your viewers) something special for 307k.

"Welcome to or back to my channel my boos. I have a special guest today. Everybody say hello to my boo bear. Who agreed to do the My Boyfriend Does My Makeup Challenge with me. Say hey baby." You say to him as he flashes his pearly whites at the camera and you can already tell you're going to have to filter the thirst comments.

"Hey , I'm uh Trevante y'all probably have seen me in a few things. If I seem like that familiar face that you can't put a name to. That's why. Also looking forward to playing some characters that don't die halfways through." He says jokingly at the end before giving a shy awkward little nod to the camera.

You take his hand in yours and nuzzle closer into his side to get him to relax a little.

"What I think a lot of people don't know is that even though he's always in front of the camera. He's also kinda shy and doesn't like a lot of attention on him, but unfortunately for you baby is that BOI WE FINNA BE ON YOUR ASS IF YOU MESS IT UP." You say jokingly as you set out all of the makeup and a little cheat sheet to tell him where everything goes.

You watch him break into a smile and throw his hands up.

"Ye of little faith. That hurts bae." He says pretending to be hurt with his hand over his heart dramatically.

"I'm only joking. I believe in you. Gimme kiss?" you ask before he pokes his lips out for you to press a soft kiss to his lips.

"Alright , I'm ready. Today we're gonna use the Fenty foundation? We're just gonna take Miss Riri's stuff and rub it in, all over the face. You don't really need a sponge or brush or any of that. That's all to get you to spend more money." He says to the camera as if he knows what he's doing.

You try to hold in your laughter while looking at the camera and shaking your head.

"You're doing good Tre. I feel prettier already. What's the next step?" You ask him as you watch him work. His tongue slightly poking out as he's concentrated on getting your face to look "right".

Sometimes you just get caught up in how beautiful and kind he is. He always takes care of you and tries his hardest to be involved in anything you're interested in.

"I feel you eyeing me while I work and lemme just say it's highly distracting ma'am. I'm a professional." He says jokingly before giving you a quick kiss. You tug at his bottom lip before kissing him again.

"SHE GETTING DEMONETIZED Y'ALL. We gotta keep it pg." He says before working his way down the little cheat sheet you've left him.

"If you poke me in my eye. I'm swinging." You say to Trevante as he grips your chin gently while trying to apply eyeliner.

"Y'all see how she be treating me? Gon beat my ass in front of all of y'all like that. Lemme stop before that's all over Twitter. Shhh, stop fidgeting let me get it right. " He says and you can feel the felt tip going past where the little flick needed to stop.

"How do I look baby?" You ask as you batting your eyelashes at him and watch his face scrunch slightly at messing it up.

"Hollup it's whopped on that side. Give me a wipe from over there please. . . You said earlier that you wanted to ask me some questions." Tre says to you not bopping along to the soft music playing in the background.

"If you could not love me in this way anymore. Do you think you could love me in a different way? Because you know how when some people break-up. It's so traumatic for them that they can't bare being around the person that they were with because the love there is different." You ask the heavy hitting question that came from an insta sticker. This man was actually a giant teddy bear and pouting at your question.

"For the record I ain't going nowhere. This man put a ring on it." You say giggling and waiting for his response.

"I love you in all ways , always. You know that. But, I'm tryna think about what you're asking. You're saying if weren't together no more. Could I still love you? Absolutely, we were friends before even getting together. When we met in the makeup trailer. I knew that you were going to be important in my life. And that I was gonna love you in some way. But I am grateful that I get to love you this way. I get to love you romantically , emotionally, spiritually, and (cover your ears kids) physically. I'm in love with you." He says before giving the camera a wink and blowing a kiss at them.

Your jaw drops slightly at his response. You could not be more in love with this man if you tried. You thought to yourself before leaning in to kiss his nose and then all over his face and finally his lips.

"Damn, I mean I think I like you or whatever." You say to his as he smacks his teeth and shakes his head while laughing at your response.

"I'm in love with you too Nemour. I only had 3 questions picked out. So here's my second one. When is the wedding? Someone on Instagram asked." You say to him as he nods

"We have a date and it's in my fiancee's favorite season and that's about all I can tell you on that. But I'm sure when it's all said and done she'll put a cute little video package together for y'all." He says as he applies highlighter to your nose and you look at him before bursting into laughter.

"Of course. I promise my boos will be included into the wedding somehow, but Y'ALL lemme bring the camera in please look at how this man got my nose looking like a Christmas ornament. We're going on a lil date right after this. I'm finna be looking shhmmooking hot." You say sarcastically and he couldn't even stay pressed as he breaks out into laughter with you.

"Okay so you're on the last part of my routine which is lips. So before you start I'll ask one last question from Twitter. It says what was our first impression of each other." You smile at the question remembering exactly what he was wearing and everything.

"Well I met you while working on the set of Predator. I was like damn okay lil chocolate drop. Can I get your number? No, but really I thought you were beautiful and funny and just like full of light. There were some early morning call times where I was just grumpy as hell and had to wake up at like 4am and have to hang off fake plane for who knows how long. But there you were in the trailer already dancing around to this one throwback song and giving everybody positive morning affirmations.

Just getting shit done too. I was just standing there watching you in your element. Your lil fro bouncing side to side as you swayed around getting all of your supplies together. And I remembered you ordered everybody breakfast with like Uber Eats or something. Your energy had me hooked from the start. I think I'm more of a morning person now because of you." He says as he picks out the lipstick color.

"You never told me that! That's so sweet boo bear. I was just trying to make everybody feel better 'cause those were some long ass hours. Trying to add all the lil scars and makeup and everything so early in the morning was a lot. But I got to spend more time with you so I wasn't complaining. My first impression of you hmmm. I think I was shocked at how beautiful you are! Wait , wait lemme explain. I've seen you before on that one Tyler Perry show as Ramsey before you got killed off. And just like when I found out you were going to be in that film. I was nervous as hell. And when you walked into the trailer with your beanie almost over your eyes and your headphones on like you were too cool for school. I knew I had to play it cool. I just like sauntered over to you and offered you a breakfast plate. It worked though. Cause you was grooving to Brandy too. After that I realized how you have the driest humor, and yet you are the funniest person I know. I mean like dad joke central with him. He be slapping his knee and everything y'all. But he could've been a whole comedian." You say to the camera and he waits for you to finish before he starts applying the deep plum shade of lipstick.

"My humor may be dry but you still be doing the scatter run when I do the Norbit voice." He says laugh softly at you already about to start wheezing.

"Done?" You ask him as he sits back admiring his work.

"I don't think I did too bad. Look" he says handing you the mirror as you look closely

"My lashes barely hanging on and my eyeliner doing the Cha Cha Slide but other than that I think it looks good. You did a good job baby." You say giving him a kiss as he smirks into it. Already getting the big head.

"I'm coming for your brand baby. Multi-talented." He says to the camera.

"Alright and with that I'mma end this video before his head gets even more inflated. I seen some juicer questions earlier but y'all there ain't no tea. We sexy but our own type of sexy. I gotta show y'all the photos from Halloween when we dressed as Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowry from Bad Boys... We're that couple." You say chuckling softly.

"Alright my boos, y'all know what to do. Like , comment , and subscribe if you want. Turn on the notification bell so you can know when your faves fave post again. Who knows I might get him to do the No Hands Kissing Challenge for 400k. And an OnlyFans video for 1 million." You say half jokingly as it flies over his head for a moment before the lightbulb goes off.

"I don't know about all that maybe 5 milli. Alright y'all , be kinder to yourselves and stay blessed. Byyyeeeee" He says in your voice as he does your outro and you couldn't wait to just wrap your arms around him and love on him.

#Trevante Rhodes #Trevante Rhodes smut #Trevante Rhodes fic #Trevante Rhodes imagine

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preserving-ferretbrain · 5 years

Text

Can't Help Falling

by Dan H

Saturday, 22 January 2011Dan is embarrassingly into the works of Lauren Kate

Oooh! This is in the Axis of Awesome!~

This article probably makes most sense in the context of Shim's recent review of Fallen which itself probably makes most sense in the context of our TeXt Factor Halloween Special.

This article, from the outset, contains spoilers for Fallen, Torment and for that matter the TeXt Factor (I view it as something of a coming-of-age that I have now written an article which contains a spoiler warning for one of our own site features).

At the end of the event, Lauren Kate's Fallen beat out Rachel Caine's Glass Houses in what we (at the time) billed as the battle of Cam versus Daniel. There has been a vague feeling (in some circles) that the book didn't live up to its promise. Obviously I can't speak to the personal preferences of other people, but I can say that I absolutely heart heart heart Fallen with a big cartoon heart.

Summaries: Here Be Spoilers

So Fallen is about a girl named Luce, short for Lucinda, who is sent away to a reform school named Sword and Cross where she encounters a boy named Daniel to whom she develops an instant and profound attraction. This doesn't stop her also being interested in a boy called Cam who turns out to be totally evil although possibly in a cool sexy way rather than a just a shitbag way. Everybody in the entire school turns out to be a fallen angel, the cool librarian turns out to be some kind of whacked out cultist and everything kicks off in a great big angels-versus-demons battle that doesn't seem to conclude or resolve anything.

For more details on Fallen, see Shim's review and the TeXt Factor special.

Torment begins with Daniel (probably good angel eternally in love with Luce) and Cam (totally evil angel possibly in love with Luce) making an eighteen-day truce to protect Luce from the Outcasts (dastardly Neutral angels – they're the angels who sided with Lucifer, then bottled it and are now on neither side of the war in heaven) who want to kill her (or so it seems). For nebulous reasons to do with her personal protection, Luce is moved away from Sword and Cross to a new school called Shoreline. Where Sword and Cross was ramped-up-to-eleven Gothic, Shoreline is ramped-up-to-eleven Cal-ee-for-nai-aye. Everybody is bronzed and beautiful and, it turns out, Nephilim (that's half-human-half-angel for the benefit of anybody that hasn't seen any of the many, many bits of recent pop culture that included the concept). The book focuses largely on Luce adjusting to her new surroundings and dealing with being separated from Daniel having only just found him.

What's interesting about Torment is that it seems to be written with a sense of awareness which has been lacking in other areas of this subgenre. Sometimes this actually borders on self-reference – for example when the Nephilim students at Shoreline (who have spent their entire lives immersed in Angelic culture) discover who Luce is their first reaction is something along the lines of “OMG Your Story Is So Romantic!!!” There's even a bit later on where she suggests that two of her friends get “Team Daniel” and “Team Miles” teeshirts. Miles, by the way is the guy who actually is the guy who we thought Cam was in the first book – the nice safe guy who might be a better bet for the heroine than the mysterious supernatural guy. Miraculously, he actually comes across quite well. He's nice to Luce but without looking like a spineless prick, or trying to conceal the fact that he's attracted to her.

Torment isn't without its flaws. It's still not entirely clear what the whole “War In Heaven” thing has to do with anything other than providing an excuse to have angels everywhere (because wings are hot, period) and it's certainly not clear why Daniel is the angel everything hangs on – or why if it's all about Daniel people are so focused on Luce. I'm still holding out for her to actually turn out to be Satan. All in all though, Torment does well at being what it is – the second volume in a four-part supernatural romance series – and it's got enough going on that I kept reading and am eagerly awaiting the next volume.

Analysis: But Most of All It Is a Story About Love

The subgenre that we at Ferretbrain have taken to calling “Girl Books for Girls” often presents love as a vast, quasi-supernatural force over which neither party has control. Broadly speaking, people are only allowed to have two attitudes to this:

One: OMGBBQZOMG!!!THAT IS SO TRUE

Two: Grow the fuck up.

What I've found fascinating about the first two books in the Fallen saga is that it seems to be taking a more nuanced approach to the whole issue.

Luce's love for Daniel is, quite clearly, the big Twilight-esque inexplicable obsession. It's even explicitly supernatural in origin, Daniel is quite literally Luce's destiny. Unlike a lot of books in the genre, however, the Fallen series seems to be taking a step back and asking what all of that actually means.

Luce spends the vast majority of Torment dealing with the reality of everything she learns at the end of Fallen. Part of this involves realising that while (as the girls at Shoreline believe) being immortal doomed lovers seems cool, it actually involves a series of seventeen year old girls being burned to death, leaving behind devastated families to pick up the pieces. Part of it involves realising that Daniel knows that this is going to happen every single time and still makes the choice to pursue her anyway. Part of it involves realising that this is kind of a dick move. And part of it involves realising that she loves him anyway.

There's something about this I just found weirdly mature. More mature, in many ways, than the knee-jerk “don't be stupid, love doesn't work like that” response you get from a lot of people. The thing about the immortal, doomed lovers schtick is that it is really compelling, and when you think more closely about how it has to work it's kind of creepy but still really compelling. Luce is basically presented with what, for many people (including, crucially, the book's target audience) is the dream romance. It is, to quote the blurb on the back: “Forbidden, Eternal, a Love to Die For”. But the book recognises that being “Forbidden”, “Eternal” and “To Die For” does not make something uncomplicated or even right.

I don't actually think for one second that Luce is going to end up with anybody with Daniel, but I think the process by which she is going to wind up being with Daniel is going to be what makes the books worth reading. She has – as some readers have pointed out – very little actual contact with him in either Fallen or Torment, what attracts her to him is this vast, uncontrollable, unfounded passion and the central conflict of the series seems not to be whether their love can triumph over external obstacles, but whether it will be enough for Luce. There's something – for want of a better word – deconstructive about the series' attitude to love. We are never asked to question the reality or validity of Luce's feelings for Daniel, but we are asked to accept that she can have real, valid feelings for other people as well. What I find so interesting about the Fallen series is that Luce is allowed to genuinely question her feelings for Daniel without that act of questioning invalidating them.

I don't expect that she will end up with Cam or Miles or whichever hot guy she picks up in book three or four, but I do expect that when she inevitably winds up with Daniel it will be on her own terms. Perhaps I'm overinvesting in a minor element of the text, but one of the silly things that impressed me about Fallen is that Luce cuts her hair off. Her long black hair is the single most striking feature of Luce-the-romantic-heroine (it appears on the cover of the book, and it's a major component of every flashback and everything that evokes her past lives) but it's no longer past of Luce the real girl with the real life. In Torment she actually goes blonde. It might be silly to read too much into a haircut, but I think you can make a strong case that Luce's changing hairstyle goes a long way towards giving her an identity as a person which is distinct from her identity as Luce-from-Luce-and-Daniel.

The thing which I think a lot of people find creepy about the girls-and-vampires subgenre of fiction is that it is so often so self-erasing. The heroines, designed explicitly as placeholders for the audience, fade into nothingness outside the narrow confines of their relationships. Somehow Luce doesn't. It helps that Torment focuses almost entirely on what Luce does when she isn't around Daniel (or for that matter Cam), and therefore gives her space to be herself. It also helps that every time Daniel acts like a patronising dickwad she – well – calls him on it, and seems to be doing it genuinely rather than just protesting too much. To put it another way, although her blog does include the obligatory “Team Daniel or Team Cam” post I have a certain amount of faith that Lauren Kate is firmly on Team Luce.

Genre fiction is all, on some level, built around fantasies. People's responses to genre fiction often boil down to accepting those fantasies uncritically, or rejecting them unilaterally. Both of these responses can be equally unhelpful. What I find compelling about the Fallen series is that it seems to be saying both that it is okay to want the big overwhelming fairytale (or dark fairytale) kind of love, but that it's also okay to want other things, and that it's even okay to want several different things at once.

So yeah. That's kinda why I dig the series.

Addendum: Stuff I am Probably Wrong About

Of course the other reason I'm so into the series is that I'm still holding onto this failing hope that Luce is actually going to turn out to be Satan. Because that would be the most awesome twist ending to a Young Adult Novel ever in the entire history of the universe. Bar nothing.

So very briefly, the bits of for-want-of-a-better-term-evidence that Luce might in fact be Beelzebub (these make very little sense if you haven't read the books):

1.In the battle at the end of Torment, the Angels seem to believe that Luce is in danger from the Starshots, which we also see are ineffective against humans (admittedly, this might be a stake-through-the-heart issue: sure they're not instantly fatal to humans, but they're still freaking arrows).

2.Daniel is clearly as wet as a sack of kippers, but apparently there's still something that could make him side with Hell, and it's pretty much inconceivable that this doesn't have something to do with Luce.

3.Come on, her name's freaking Luce.

4.The Angels of Neutrality seem to feel they can use Luce as a bargaining chip to get back into Heaven. I just can't quite work out how Random Mortal Chick #5 is going to help you get back in the good graces of the almighty.

5.That note that Molly passes her in the first book: could it be … foreshadowing?

6.… actually that's pretty much it.

7.But P.S. It would be awesome.

So yeah. So far I'm still very much into the series, which I think manages to be at once turned-up-to-eleven-breathless romance and (arguably) a surprisingly subtle deconstruction of the assumptions of the genre.

Themes:

Books

Sci-fi / Fantasy

Young Adult / Children

Judging Books By Their Covers

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~Comments (

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)

Robinson L

at 15:02 on 2011-01-24

Where Sword and Cross was ramped-up-to-eleven Gothic, Shoreline is ramped-up-to-eleven Cal-ee-for-nai-aye.

That sounds … interesting.

Nephilim (that's half-human-half-angel for the benefit of anybody that hasn't seen any of the many, many bits of recent pop culture that included the concept)

Okay, what does it say about me that I give you a fairly explanation for what a dhampir is and how you get one, along with more modern variations—but I've never heard of “Nephilim,” nor was I at all aware of such creatures manifesting in recent pop culture?

… actually, that's pretty much it.

I'm glad you and Shimmin reviewed

Fallen

, because while

The TeXt Factor convinced me to read it, I know I won't get to it immediately, and for some reason an overview of the whole book provides more a sense of closure. Here's looking forward to the books themselves ...

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Dan H

at 23:22 on 2011-01-25

You might have missed it, since it went out early, but Nephilim were a feature in Hush, Hush. They've also appeared in a lot of pesudobiblical YA stuff as a bunch of apocalyptic movies.

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Wardog

at 23:52 on 2011-01-26Ooooh, and they're in the awesomely awful

Hex.

Ah Michael Fassbinder, I can't believe you are so beautiful and had to be in Fable...

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Shim

at 09:10 on 2011-01-27I just read the synopsis of that. Surely an evil plan for world domination that can be thwarted by

proper use of contraceptives

is a bit... flimsy? Unless the Buffy totally original protagonist is really really Catholic.

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Dan H

at 23:30 on 2011-01-30

I just read the synopsis of that. Surely an evil plan for world domination that can be thwarted by proper use of contraceptives is a bit... flimsy?

You could look at it that way. On the other hand, if I thought the only thing stopping evil from taking over the world was a bunch of horny teenagers remembering to practice safe sex, I'd be deeply worried.

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http://fishinginthemud.livejournal.com/

at 19:53 on 2012-03-24I just got through the first three Fallen books, which is not something I would admit in any other setting, but you're right, this stuff is distressingly compelling. I'm not especially interested in the love affairs of eternally self-absorbed kids, but there's a lot of other good, fairly original stuff here, and I'd love to see what Lauren Kate can do when she isn't writing a girly romance.

Nevertheless, I've gotten sucked into the silly story and want to see how it ends. Like you, I was holding out for Luce to turn out to be Satan, but that seems less and less likely, and I have a feeling the ending is going to disappoint me no matter what.

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Dan H

at 20:02 on 2012-03-24Yeah, the Luce-is-Satan interpretation is basically nixed by Passion in which Lucifer shows up as a character. I was a little bit unsure what to make of Passion, the world-hopping stuff was okay, but it felt that it undermined a lot of the interesting and vaguely deconstructive stuff that was in the first couple of books. I suspect I'll be disappointed by Rapture but you never know, it might surprise me.

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http://fishinginthemud.livejournal.com/

at 21:00 on 2012-03-24I'm holding out a tiny bit of hope there'll be another twist on the revelation that Lucifer/Satan is in fact a flying gargoyle. That's just a little too on-the-nose for me. But not much hope.

The most worthwhile part of Passion, to me, is the explicit revelation that the angel/demon division is *actually* completely meaningless and arbitrary. You're a demon if you didn't pick God's side fast enough, or if the meeting ended before you had a chance to pick sides at all. Of course that's what the story has been getting at all along, but it's nice to have it out there. Obviously the narrative voice has been quite clear that, for example, Roland is no more demonic than Arriane, or Daniel particularly more angelic than Cam, who's kind of a gleeful asshole but doesn't seem to be doing anyone any actual harm.

None of that really makes up for the endless time-hopping, though. The Luce-and-Daniel retrospective idea was nice in theory, but in the end it bored the crap out of me and I just wanted to get back to the story.

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Shim

at 22:05 on 2012-03-24I did in fact read both

Torment

and

Passion

, which were... honestly, I can only really say "okay" as far as I remember.

Partly this is my fault, since I'm far enough out of touch with pop culture that the Cal-ee-for-nai-aye stuff in

Torment

was recognisable rather than familiar, and I probably missed a lot of clever or interesting things that were going on there. The self-awareness was nice, though. I had my usual pernickity issue with Magical Schools but it came across as less preposterous than some others. Luce inevitably messes around with dangerous magic against everyone’s explicit advice but survives. There's at least one complete writing fail in

Torment

, where LK managed to confuse me enough with a bad description of angelic powers that I thought Miles was dead. That's a pretty big misunderstanding, to my mind. Otherwise, a reasonable read that I can’t remember too much about.

Passion

was more of a problem for me, partly because Luce is willing to risk causing all kinds of problems for her previous selves to learn more about herself, and partly because the time-hopping was a bit awkward. She visits some non-Western selves, which is a nice thing but gets me back to thinking about how the baptism business in

Fallen

didn’t make any blooming sense. She manages to pass herself off as a servant despite a complete lack of experience of the job, ignorance of appropriate social behaviour (servants being notoriously hung up on this), ignorance of current affairs, and very probably being much too tall, much too well-fed, much too finicky about hygiene and not talking proper.

Mostly though, it's because the War in Heaven stuff still fails to make any sense to me, and that's awkward when it's the main plot of the series. At some point it turns out all the angels did in fact bluff their way into Sword & Cross purely to hang around Luce and Daniel, so they do have some kind of limited future-telling ability, but don’t seem to do much of any particular use with it. The angel-demon division seems about as arbitrary as you say, and there’s the big playground team-picking scene. Then it turns out that Oh Noes! Lucifer has the tremendous awesome plan of going back in time to just after they fell and transporting them all forward in time again so he can have another go at enlisting them all or something like that anyway, which is an absolutely fantastic strategy for getting the better of his opponent, (vaguely Catholic version of) God, that famously non-omniscient non-omnipotent entity who is in no way outside time and space oh wait. There’s the weird subcultures hanging around as well, the Nephilim and the blind assassin types with magic angel-killing bows (bows? in this day and age?) and stuff.

At the same time, I don’t remember anything which would make the baptism business or supernatural loopholery make any sense, or anything that explains why Miss Sophia would sacrifice Luce (or to whom) or expect anyone at all to approve of it. I still don’t know why, if she’s not Lucifer, she has magical powers. I don’t know why forcing Luce to die repeatedly and horribly would seem like a cool way to deal with the Daniel business, especially since the war is none of her business. Part of the problem is that I still haven’t got a handle on the theological setup LK is working off and I’m not convinced it’ll be coherent if I do ever find out.

Sorry, it's months since I read them so memory is a bit hazy.

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http://fishinginthemud.livejournal.com/

at 22:31 on 2012-03-24

the Cal-ee-for-nai-aye stuff in Torment was recognisable rather than familiar, and I probably missed a lot of clever or interesting things that were going on there.

I enjoy the little details whenever I notice them. The high school teachers in California like being called by their first names with no honorifics, which few Southern teachers would tolerate. The angel-types have to go to crazy lockup reform school in Georgia, but in California it's all good, dude, and they even get treated better than everyone else because they're rich (or make everyone think they're rich, as far as I can tell), which is what really matters.

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Michal

at 04:16 on 2012-03-25

Nephilim (that's half-human-half-angel for the benefit of anybody that hasn't seen any of the many, many bits of recent pop culture that included the concept).

Or, y'know, possibly read the bit of the book of Genesis that mentioned them. I'm actually kind of surprised that Nephilim have become a Thing now, however, since I only

ever

associated them with that bit from the Bible, and never really saw the word used anyplace else.

Over a year late, I know...

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Wardog

at 09:23 on 2012-03-26Well, I don't think many of us are in the habit of casually dipping into The Bible for lulz - also I thought most of the Nephilim related stuff was in the Apocrypha?

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Arthur B

at 09:32 on 2012-03-26Yeah, my understanding is that the Nephilim are, like, minor background characters in the Bible but people fleshed them out a lot in their fanfic (Apocrypha, Zecharia Sitchin's nonsense, etc.).

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Wardog

at 09:44 on 2012-03-26Are you saying the Apocrypha are basically Bible fanfic? :D

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Arthur B

at 09:55 on 2012-03-26Well, by definition they aren't canon. ;)

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Shim

at 10:49 on 2012-03-26Must admit I'd never noticed the Nephilim before, but it's a fairly throwaway bit.

The Apocrypha are more like deleted scenes in the Protestant Director's Cut. As far as Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians are concerned they aren't any different from other bits of the Bible (although I believe the exact canon varies a bit).

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Arthur B

at 11:38 on 2012-03-26I think there's apocrypha and apocrypha. Like there's stuff which only stuffy Protestants think is apocrypha but most other denominations are cool with, then there's stuff which a few Coptic off-shoots assert is canon but the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and other Coptic factions think is too nutty (I think the Book of Enoch is in this category), and then there's totally wild stuff which isn't taken as canon by any significant denomination, either due to them being lost for ages (Gospel of Thomas) or due to the doctrinal councils proclaiming them to be completely dicked in the nob (the gnostic and Sethian stuff, more or less all the apocalypses aside from John's).

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Robinson L

at 20:16 on 2012-03-31I finished

Passion

the other week (man, I love audiobooks). Of the three, I think I liked

Torment

best, though I was ambivalent about the climax. The mythology in

Fallen

felt much too underdeveloped to me, and I felt like

Torment

went a long way towards correcting that.

Fallen

also gave me the impression that the battle between heaven and hell in these books is a straight-forward good vs. evil story.

Torment

, on the other hand, gave us two teachers, one aligned with heaven and the other aligned with hell, who despite their profound ideological differences are in a caring and loving relationship, which I find simply adorable. Furthermore, it hinted that both sides might actually have legitimate grievances with the other, rather than the angels aligned with hell just being evil. (On which note, the demon characters in

Passion

offering help and encouragement really tickled me as well.)

I think

Torment

was my favorite in terms of building non-romantic friendships. There was some good friendship stuff in

Fallen

, but I think Kate did much, much better with Shelby and Miles in

Torment

. Among other things, I felt it was neat how she had Shelby and Luce connecting over mutual frustrations regarding Daniel, thus subverting the romance cliché of two women fighting over a man—even though she did then go ahead and say “See? This is me subverting this romance cliché right here.”

And I really liked that they took the trouble to investigate the still-living relatives of Luce's past incarnations—it's the sort of logical extension of a premise which most authors don't really delve into.

I was mostly okay with the time-hopping structure of

Passion

, but it didn't particularly enthrall me. I liked that Kate eventually acknowledged that not all Luce's incarnations throughout time have been Caucasian, and that she managed to find a somewhat decent escape clause to the “Luce's features are always the same” problem.

On the other hand, I was disappointed we got so little of Luce's friends and the other fallen angels. I was also disappointed that it appears Lucifer is a separate character than Luce, and seems to be pure evil, which somewhat undermines the complexity I thought was in the second book. I think book four may still save the series' morality, but I'm very concerned.

There were also two points about

Torment

which really, really disturbed me. First, the character of Lilith and the information that

every single descendant of hers who carries her name

inevitably turns evil at some point. Free will? Screw that, predestined to be evil, baby.

The second was that time in the Mayan village when Daniel

killed off the entire village

in order to save Luce's contemporary incarnation. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen.

Overall, I'd concur with Shim's assessment of

Torment

and

Passion

as “okay” (it's also how I felt about

Fallen

). I fully expect

Rapture

to be about the same.

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Ibmiller

at 16:15 on 2012-10-09Interesting, I just finished Rapture, having given Passion and Fallen In Love a miss. And it was...pretty much of a piece with the other books. I keep finding myself skipping through the bits where Luce goes Bella Swan gazing at Edward - actually, I skipped most of the parts with Daniel - and found the worldbuilding...interesting. I think I'm just not sure why these books tend to have such wet protagonists and such interesting secondary characters.

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http://fishinginthemud.livejournal.com/

at 15:34 on 2012-10-10

I keep finding myself skipping through the bits where Luce goes Bella Swan gazing at Edward - actually, I skipped most of the parts with Daniel

Same here. That shit was cute for about half a book. I think I skimmed through most of the last volume purely for the sake of finishing the thing.

Overall, the whole experience was pretty unsatisfying. I think it might broaden the horizons of the occasional twelve-year-old Twilight fan.

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Shim

at 16:58 on 2012-10-10I feel so vindicated right now.

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Ibmiller

at 21:19 on 2012-10-10Somewhat hilariously, I actually enjoy Twilight (while mostly skipping the parts where Bella does the Luce gazing at Daniel thing). So...take my dislike as you will? But I do think it has a bit of an edge over the Fallen books...if only the edge one of those little foil strips on plastic scissors has over a completely plastic pair of scissors. :)

I'm glad you feel vindicated, Shim. That's what I live for, after all. :)

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Shim

at 21:42 on 2012-10-10

I'm glad you feel vindicated, Shim. That's what I live for, after all. :)

Ibmiller,

Vindicator

At some point I might borrow

Rapture

off Dan or someone for completeness' sake, but then again I'm not really invested in the story any more. Some interesting ideas, just didn't really pan out for me or go in a direction that worked for me. Tragically, I could say the same for

The Host

but I dunno if that's a fair comparison.

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Ibmiller

at 21:48 on 2012-10-10Welp...I liked The Host as well...so if I liked that, and disliked Rapture...you probably will really hate Rapture? I dunno.

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#Ferretbrain #Dan H #Fallen #Lauren Kate #Axis of Awesome

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