My guess right now is that Amelia and Oliver are working together.
This is the weird dynamic Iām seeing in the Fairchild family. Vivienne is a narcissist. Marcus might be some kind of psychopath. Lily was the scapegoat of the family. Amelia was the lost child. While Lily was constantly berated by her parents (bad attention is better than no attention), Amelia was completely ignored. Riley, on the other hand, was the golden child. For some reason, Marcus and Vivienne decided that Riley was the perfect extension of them despite her not being their child at all. We know Lily was jealous of Riley. But what about Amelia?
Can you imagine being the ignored daughter, then your sister diesā¦ and your parents still ignore you for someone who isnāt even their daughter? She has a motive, right?
She couldāve roped Oliver into helping her frame Riley for Lilyās death. Mrs. Romano has already insinuated that Riley is benefiting from Lilyās death. Weāve also seen a different handwriting on the note that was written to Slater. So Oliver could be the other person writing the note.
Then Riley caught Oliver in the guesthouse. There were two fishy things found in that guesthouse. The first is the notebook with Lilyās handwritten copies of Rileyās poems. It was sticking out, so it had been accessed recently. Then the urn of white powder. Where else did we see white powder? At Slaterās front porch.
Whoever paid Slater the diamond necklace to burn Fabianās bike and leave the note had access to the familyās locked room. The only people with that kind of access are Marcus, Vivienne, Amelia, and Oliver. If Amelia could sneak into that room, she could sneak into the locked bathroom. No one pays attention to her. She knows how to be invisible.
Amelia could be the one mimicking Lilyās handwriting. She could be using the notebook to practice mirroring Lilyās handwriting. She and Oliver couldāve loaded the photo into Rileyās camera beforehand since they were the ones who gifted it to her. Their goal might be to ruin the lives of everyone in that picture, possibly to make it look like they were all plotting to kill Lily, but Amelia especially has a grudge against Riley.
Declan & Fabian
Why Fabianās bike? If Ameliaās read Rileyās poems, then she probably figured out that they were about him. Not only that, Fabian also had history with Lily. (Not sure about the wlw route though.)
Amelia also took courses with Declan at university. She probably picked up on Declanās way of speaking, then used that to write the note to Fabian to make it sound like it was from Declan. The rivalry between the two is being used to triangulate them. To compete, blame the other, tear each other apart, and possibly to pin it all back on Riley.
Amelia is also the one who asked Declan to stay at their estate to watch over Riley. Now Declan has been seen in the guesthouse twice. So L is currently framing Declan for the notes and probably for paying off Slater.
Emma and Xavier are also staying at the estate. Thereās probably a plot to take them down somehow too. We just havenāt seen it yet.
Luna smartly chose to stay at The Hollow Inn.
Tiffany
Riley caught Tiffany and Amelia sneaking around together. My guess is that Amelia is āhelpingā Tiffany.
Tiffany and Amelia both have something in common. They are both the child their mother doesnāt love. Tiffany is her familyās scapegoat. She gets pushed around and shoved aside by her mom and by Declan. She acts like a bitch because sheās trying to be like her mom so she will love her.
Lily was supposed to marry Julian. Now Tiffanyās mom wants Tiffany to marry him. Tiffany will do it because she wants her motherās love and approval. Amelia probably knows exactly how Tiffany feels and since her mom is trying to set Riley up with Julian, she can now use this to her advantage. She āhelpsā Tiffany win over Julian or she sabotages Riley in front of Julian somehow. Tiffany and Julian get engaged. Now it looks like Tiffany had something to do with removing Lily from the picture to get to Julian. Tiffany and Riley become fixated with each other and their rivalry, which distracts them so Amelia and Oliver can carry out their devious plan without being detected.
The surveillance
My guess is that there have always been hidden cameras and bugs all over that house. I bet Vivienne uses it to watch Riley. Probably why Vivienne had no problem adding a lock to the bathroom. I bet Amelia now uses it to sneak around to plant those notes. Sheās the ghost.
Marcus and Vivienne
Marcus and Vivienne have been secretly estranged since Lily was still alive. I think Marcus is tired and embarrassed by Vivienne. At the dinner, his eyes stare at the ceiling while everyone else is giving Riley a standing ovation, while Vivienneās dabbing fake tears from her eyes. He knows she planned it all and he probably knows how it makes them lookāpathetic and mentally unwell.
There are weird scenes, like Lily asking Riley if sheās into her dad, the option to drop her towel in front of him, etc. I think there might be a chance to have a fling with him. Heās sick and tired of Vivienne. Rileyās beautiful. Itās also a great way to humiliate Vivienne and ruin her plans to make Riley their surrogate daughter. It also ruins his reputation and Rileyās.
I donāt think this is a ploy by L. I donāt think Vivienne or Marcus are involved with L. But they might be pawns. Thereās a good chance Amelia would wanna take down both her parents as well.
The big finale will probably be at Amelia and Oliverās wedding, when they pull down the curtain and say, āLook at how ugly all you people truly are!ā And there will be a fire. Because thereās always a fire. š„
I thought that Rainaās story would be about her discovering the truth for herself, reclaiming her true identity, and finishing whatever unfinished business she had left in the past.
Well, now Raina knows the truth. Not because she figured it out for herself. No, that would require too much thinking. No, it was because Octavian told her. š¦š¦
So the protagonist of this story is this godlike being and Queen of Atlantis. Yet, she is the last person to know everything! She spends the ENTIRE story running around clueless, being used like a pawn left and right by these men who were actually her subordinates, and she makes absolutely NO decisions for herself. Zero. She is a mindless slave. And sheās totally fine with it!
Youād think that once she realized the truth sheād start demanding more respect and assuming her authority. But no. Octavian continues to order her around like a toy soldier, pins a dinky little pin to her uniform, and she continues to scream out, āI serve the Chancellor and Ark!ā
Um, no. Are you kidding me right now? You, Octavian, are a fisherman. I am QUEEN, bitch!
Octavianās got the Golden Fleece. He can pilot that evangelion Prometheus himself!
Now that Sunborn has come out with yet another strong woman with zero agency, this has become really grating. RC needs to find new tropes. They need writers who know how to write for women. Itās gross and stupid and so predictable at this point. Itās boring!
And then thereās herā¦ā¬ļø
Lt. Col. LIAR!! She lied to us for three seasons! Acting all nice and sweet and meek while experimenting on humans, killing them, wiping living creatures of their consciousness to turn them into actual giant pawns. Ughā¦ You know, Xander is a despicable person, but at least heās honest about it. He knows heās an asshole, we know heās an asshole. This woman acts like sheās just innocently doing her jobā¦
The Golden Fleeceās origin
Iāve def seen this before. š„±
And that scene with Irisās Tears?
Three rings for the Elven-kings under the skyā¦
Did anybody else get the feeling this was straight out of The Lord of the Rings? It didnāt bother me this much when the AOT and NGE ripoffs became obvious, but thisāeven though it was such a brief momentāfeels despicable. Maybe because Tolkien was against everything this story is about.
The end..?
Reason tells me this isnāt going to get any better, to just drop this book already. But then Iāve already gotten through 2.75 seasons, itās almost at the end. I might as well stick around for those 100 š.
It couldnāt have been more obvious that it was written by a man. I canāt recall any other love scene Iāve read that made me more aware of a manās body parts than this scene. And not in a good way. The whole time, the feeling I got out of the scene was, āMax is enjoying this.ā Rainaās experience was like a brief summary of a to-do checklist. š
It felt so hollow. I mean, the words were there, but it was completely unconvincing. I felt nothing. The focus was more on Max doing a good job in bed than Rainaās actual pleasure. If this were an honest and realistic depiction of sex, Raina wouldāve faked her orgasm. I canāt imagine Raina actually climaxing from that. It wasā¦ meh. Soā¦ meh.
And I feel icky that I was aware of his thing afterwards.
Itās really irritating. I was cockblocked three times to get to this point, and this is what I get.
Itās DR right now and I have no desire to play through it. Not even for the outfits or pretty CGs.
I donāt care about the one-eyed bartender or the yet to be revealed Asian LI. I managed to get through Garden of Eden, but this is just misery in nice clothing. And very rude people.
RC is really hurting this book by not giving it the proper amount of resources. If they actually put more investment into it, itād rank a lot higher.
The fashion and hairstyles is one of the biggest draws of a 1920ās era story. Just look at The Great Gatsby, Chicago, The Aviator, Downton Abbey, even The Princess and The Frog. Celebrities like Lana Del Ray, Dita von Teese, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Sabrina Carpenter have all capitalized on it. This could be such a visually rich story. Only allowing it 15 hairstyles and outfits per update is terrible. We canāt even give our MC a consistent hair color!
To make it even worse, they tack on the subscription lock. That leaves only 2 options each for non-subscribers, unless itās a Shopping Day. That means itās more worth it to play on a Shopping Day when all the outfits are available. Which means people are going to spend even less diamonds on it.
Imo, with the branching options (stealth, violence, deception) and The Count of Monte Cristo backbone, this is a solid story. If Langley were able to give it the Baz Luhrmann treatment and create beautiful, lavish backgrounds, more outfits and hairstyles, sprites for additional side characters that are always off screen, actual CGs (I canāt believe there was no CG for Mercy and Montclareās first kiss!), it could be as popular as Vying for Versailles was. Just think of how much went into Vying for Versailles. And then compare TSTCFV to other books like TTS, Waterlily, Averris, SOCN, Shakespeareās Code, AN3. Imo, Langley is a better writer than Anastasia, Anton, and Amy. She should get the same amount of hairstyles and outfits as them. I get that 7 Brothers didnāt do well, but if RC wants this book to succeed, they need to give it more than what theyāve been giving. And if not because of Langleyās work, then at least for the players who do actually play the story.
Mission Fortune on SHS is what 7 Brothers shouldāve beenā¦
Seven Hearts Stories just released the first 2 episodes of Mission Fortune and so far, itās what I wanted 7 Brothers to be.
The MC is an undercover agent assigned to protect an heiress at an elite university. She gets entangled in the school drama, which includes the smug rich playboy, the hot jock, the klutzy nerd, an overly strict professor, and a fellow undercover agent whose feelings MC is completely unaware of.
Day One on campus and sheās already got all the LIs yearning for her. One of them is outspokenly polyamorous. Of course, everyone is very attractive (unlike in 7B š). I can definitely see this going in that open direction. Iām hoping that it does.
The secret agent stuff gives it its legs. The MC being a professional really helps. Sheās strong, yet awkwardly out of her element socially. Whereas Jaynie was just cluelessly yanked around left and right.
I think 7B took itself too seriously. The whole premise is ridiculous so it shouldāve been more fun than it was.
Mission Fortune makes a lot of references to k-pop and k-dramas, and it very much feels like an Asian drama series. Thereās a lot of love triangles (erā¦ square, pentagons?), itās a little ridiculous, but thatās the charm. Itās lighthearted and fun.
Again, only 2 episodes have been released, but itās already more entertaining than 7B was.
That felt like an eternity. I canāt believe we spent 15 episodes in the Duat. 15!!
I swear, whenever I reach a point in the story I like, it becomes bogged down by how long it takes the episode to end. Normally I like long episodes. More bang for our teacups. But we still have one more full season! It feels like this story will never endā¦
Titian & Herse
Iām so happy to be reunited with Titian. Heās one of my favorite side characters in RC. His open dislike of torture feels like a sweet, merciful relief. (What exactly does that say about this story?) He def inherited his fatherās positive traits. But heās also funny, especially when heās frustrated, and we need more humor.
I only wish we got more of Herse! Sheās too underutilized! That woman is so beautiful and has a personality like the sun. Why arenāt we seeing more of her? Iād love little moments of her and Titian interacting together. Theyāre a perfect grumpy/sunshine couple. It could be really cute and funny.
Amen & Agniaās final test
I donāt know how I feel about this one. I was really surprised that it addressed Amenās āmonstrousā thirst for revenge against the shesmu. Him finally letting go of that rage to choose love was a great moment of growth for him. Then he returned to living world and continued to torture shesmu with pleasure. š Maybe he needs a second trip to the Duat. (Just donāt take us with you.)
Then there was Agniaā¦ Iāve always hated SA being used as ācharacter developmentā and the implication that it made her stronger. If a monstrous form of her rapist is attacking her on a boat and sheās reliving the most horrifying moment in her life, is she really supposed to just lie there as if fighting back meant she hadnāt learned her lesson yet? Seeing things from Gaiaās perspective was fine, learning to feel her grief was fine, but what exactly did she need to overcome with Eusebius? Anyone would hate their rapist. Itās not like she killed him just for fun. She needed to do it to survive. Iām not saying this excuses becoming a murderer. Only that her choices were slave or mercenary. Obviously, mercenary is the better option.
I also didnāt get the feeling that Agnia was living within her rage the way Amen was. Yes, she killed without remorse. Yes, she liked the adrenaline. But she didnāt go around killing every man she saw. She didnāt delight in torture and cruelty. She killed when she had to. When she didnāt, she drank, told stories, joked around with people. I think a better angle with Eusebius wouldāve been for her to forgive herself for ābeing weak.ā That lie is what feeds her need to be invulnerable. By doing that, she wouldāve then learned to see strength in different forms other than just violence. It also validates victims of SA who blame themselves for ānot being stronger,ā ānot being more careful,ā etc.
I really liked this
This CG was really beautiful. I loved how each characterās face changed very slightly throughout the conversation. A small smirk, a furrowed brow. I hope more stories start doing this for more scenes with multiple characters.
It really bothers me that the colors of this rainbow bridge are not in order. Iām sure the artists already know about color theory, maybe they were trying to prevent it from looking like My Little Pony, but this still just does not look good to me.
But Hapy, he definitely looks good. Please, more hot dark LIs!!
Treatment of Ramesses
Iām glad he was given some closure with Remmao. However, itās pretty rude and annoying the way he keeps getting pushed aside. We shouldāve seen more of his perspective while they were in the Duat. Now that heās finally reunited with the main 4, heās immediately sent away again. Titian gets more screen time than him and heās not even a LI.
It just feels lazy to me. With creativity, there is a way to weave Rame into the plot so he can remain in the actual playthrough. Plus, itās kind of obvious that Remy has no interest in writing scenes for him. She just doesnāt want him in the story! I canāt help but wonder if this would be different if Rame had lighter skinā¦
Riley and Lunaās friendship is the best relationship in this whole story. (Though, I wonder if romantic feelings and Lilyās shenanigans would change that.) Sheās the best friend Riley shouldāve had from the beginning. Maybe Lily realized that and thatās why she backstabbed her.
It reminds me of the Ava-Vyxaria relationship from Soulless. The way Luna tries to protect Riley, provide relief, accompany her for support, and allows her to be vulnerable with her is amazing. That and the fact that sheās also able to reciprocate with her own vulnerability is something that I canāt picture happening with Declan, Fabian, Tiffany, and possibly even Emma.
I wonder if sheās actually the greenest flag in this storyā¦
Even as a romancer of men, itās really great and refreshing to have a strong female friend. A real friend. Not just a token female LI to take up space. We REALLY need more friendship paths in RC! It might even be worth it to just pursue Luna on a friendship path without an endgame LI.
It is SO ANNOYING how š„š„š„ this man is! UGHHHH!!
I still donāt know what LI Iām going to choose. Everybody is so messed up. Earlier I mentioned not being sure about romancing Declan anymore due to how absurd he is. Xavier is really wonderful, but I cannot instigate a breakup between him and Emma. It would feel sooo wrong! Even if their relationship is petering out, I still wouldnāt be able to do it.
So that leaves Fabian.
Yes, heās mind numbingly sexy. Heās really good at flirting. When heās sweet, itās swoony and perfect. Plus, he plays the guitar which is my weakness. But then there are times when I want to bitchslap him. Hard.
His hot temper is an issue. He doesnāt think when heās angry and that means anything stupid and preventable could happen. I do not want to constantly save this man from the consequences of his own stupid actions. Sounds just like someone I married.
The biker gang seems fun at first glance, but itās starting to feel more like opening Pandoraās box. Itās dangerous, but not so much in a fun way.
So what/who should I do? There are all these loose diamond options to take scenes with Oliver and Julian, but I seriously doubt that could go anywhere good. Oliver is shady af (itās implied that heās the one who paid Slater, right? Could be a red herring tho) and Julian feels like a trap. Actually marry him and Vivienne will never go away!
Iām going to be a naive romantic and hope that romancing Fabian leads down a path where he wakes up, quits the biker gang, starts a band with Luna and Riley as the lyricist (or harpist?) and they all leave town for good.
My favorite thing about Waterlily is the way Declan is a constant joke.
The way he overreacts to every little thing Riley does.
The way no one takes him seriously.
The way Fabian provokes him because itās easy and fun.
The way Luna avoids wearing beige to prevent looking like him.
The way Xavier completely disregards his rants and chucks the box in the ocean to shut him up.
The way theyāre able to manipulate him through his obsessive need to follow Riley everywhere.
The way Lily used him to mislead Fabian/Luna/whoever away from Riley.
The way they all can see through him.
Itās comical. Almost to the point where heās the clown of the story. I donāt even know if I could romance him anymore. Heās too ridiculous. And maybe I like him better as the joke. Maybe itās more entertaining this way.
Riley assumes sheās the weak link in their friend groupā¦ but it might actually be Declan. Everyone knows how to toy with him. Heās probably already acting as an unwitting pawn in Lās schemesā¦
Mrs. Romanoās a bitch, but I gotta hand it to her for calling Vivienne out. Riley assumes sheās talking about her, but Iām not certain sheās not pointing the finger at Vivienne.
We get to choose who defends us. I wanted to see what Julian would say.
Didnāt expect him to start dishing out threats. I really like him the best out of all the guys in this story. And how much more does it hurt that Julian is defending Riley when Mrs. Romano has been trying to pitch her daughter at him likeā¦ hmm, an opportunist? š
Itās a shame that by defending Riley, they are also defending Vivienneās psychotic behavior. Realistically, would I have defended her? Because I totally think Mrs. Romano is right. She basically repeated my theory from last update. I canāt help but wonder how Declan wouldāve handled being at that brunch. Now that wouldāve really been interesting!
Then there was that whole Cecilia thing. I guess Declan girlies were upset about this. I donāt get why. If thereās anything there itās purely as a distraction and means nothing. That boy is so obsessed with Riley, sheās not even an issue imo.
I really felt sorry for this kid. To me, this is the guy that makes the story feel like high school. Heās the quintessential skater boy who doesnāt take anything too seriously. I feel like I knew about a dozen of these guys in high school who looked just like him.
Anyway, there are some weird, not so great crying sprites out there, but this one is really convincing. The detail about his favorite jeans made him feel like an actual young person, not just an expendable extra.
What happened to him?
Tom, the Owl who took Miranda into Old Saintfour, was found with a bullet in his head. No doubt from one of those agents. Skater Boy couldāve suffered the same fate. However, he did not go into Old Saintfour. He saw something that prob came out of Old Saintfour, or he couldāve been seeing things that werenāt there. But would they have killed him for that?
Iām not so sure heās dead. The agent shot him in the leg when he was already down. If he wanted to kill him, why not just shoot him in the head? I think he could still be alive.
Maybe they just abducted him. Or maybe he wonāt show up again. Idk. I just think itās weird that they shot him in the legā¦ It was left without a definite outcome. It just feels like there must be a reason for that. The openendedness of that scene has me uncertain. It just seemed odd.
I shouldāve known a kiss this early in the story (first half of S1) was too good to be true.
I expected the romance to move along quicker than usual, just based on the pacing of the story and the fact that the characters are teenagers.
As it was happening I thought, āFinally! I donāt have to wait until S2 for things to get rolling!ā But towards the end of the kiss I thought this is too easy. Too soon.
And I was right. Rudy and Nadine kissed and now their relationship is unbearably uncomfortable. Why? Because theyāre teenagers and now they donāt know how to act around each other anymore. Their easy friendship is now complicated with intense, frightening, uncontrollable emotions.
Ugghhhā¦ The friends to lovers trope is usually one of my favorites. The appeal for me is starting from a place of already established trust and (platonic) intimacy. Then itās the āwill they, wonāt theyā anticipation, followed by realization that āthey were in front of my eyes this whole time!ā A good example of this is Lale and Aslan in Dracula: A Love Story.
Okay, so now weāve bypassed the āwill they, wonāt theyā part. But instead of that release of secret yearning and passion, we get these kids who just shrug each other off. Like, Yeah, you know, it was nothing. Sorry, not sorry.
Iāve been seeing a lot of anti-Waterlily comments lately. I feel like this isnāt even about the book. It just sounds like people are annoyed by how much fans are raving about it, especially Declan. I just hope this isnāt becoming a case of hating something simply because itās popular. Imo Waterlily doesnāt deserve that.
Iām not a Declan girl. I havenāt made any decisions on what LI I like the best yet. But I like Waterlily and I think the intense positive reaction is warranted.
Why?
Because itās not a dark, supernatural, post-apocalyptic thriller with mutilations and endless misery. Because itās pink. Itās pink and pretty. The LIs are all pretty. The outfits are pretty. Sometimes we just want nice things! And we all waited a long time for it. No one is trying to kill us or sexually assault us. We donāt have to save the world or fight an undead creature. We just get to put on nice clothes and have ridiculously gorgeous people fight over us. Itās GREAT! On top of that, the characters are messy and complicated and fun. Is it a perfect book? Definitely not. But it doesnāt have to be. It just has to be enjoyable. And for a lot of people it is.
Iām not a HSU fan. When HS3 came out, it was all anyone talked about. I couldnāt really participate because Iām not into those stories. I just took a break from the RC community for a few weeks until people were ready to talk about something else. I have nothing against those fans or the stories themselves. Itās just not my thing.
There are certain stories Iāve been critical about due to things like racism and misogyny. But Iām not gonna bash anybody who enjoys those stories. Imo, every story has something positive about it and Iām not gonna argue with people for liking those things.
But you know, if people donāt like Waterlily thatās perfectly fine. Just be kind to each other, dammit!
Most of my favorites have ended, a few Iāve already dropped, and I feel like some are really starting to go downhill. So now hereās my new order of favorites.
1. The Thunderstorms Saga
2. Code Blue
3. Waterlily
4. Shadows of Saintfour 2
5. The Sins That Cry For Vengeance
6. Where Love Burns Eternal
ā¦
7. Sunborn
ā¦
8. Advent No. 3
9. Song of the Crimson Nile
10. Averris: The Riftborn
11. Shakespeareās Code (dropped)
12. Heavenās Secret 3 (dropped)
13. Kali: Flame of Samsara (dropped)
Still undecided about Sunborn. I put it after WLBE, because I donāt like or dislike it yet. Everything after that has more negatives.
