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lunar-wandering · 1 year

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what's boboiboy

ive had three people ask me this and im so sorry for the long ass ramble you’re about to get hit by (for the sake of being Understandable for a specific part of this im gonna be using the Eng Dub names; but will be putting the OG names in quotes)

Okay so Boboiboy is a Malaysian 3d animated cartoon that you can watch for free on youtube (either in the original Malay with eng subs or the eng dub). There’s 4 seasons and 2 movies- albeit, the 4th season is technically a soft reboot, despite the first 3 seasons + first movie still being canon to it, the MC’s powers get reset to the beginning, basically.

Said 4th season is called Galaxy, and currently, Galaxy season 2 is being published in the form of a comic (to make things easier for the animation team, as they’re also working on other projects). Each comic volume is equal to one episode, basically. There’s one more comic to come out (vol. 26) and then they’ll do a season 3 in comic form. Supposedly the animated version of season 2 is set to drop sometime this year, but I don’t know the specifics of it. I’ve only read up to vol 12 of the comics- webtoons has an official english version thats up to vol.8, and there’s a fandub of the comics up to vol.12 on youtube that has english subtitles. (There’s also an official comic dub that’s up to vol. 3).

Anyways; the plot, so, like.

Okay.

The initial plot at the start of our show are these Team Rocket-esque (in terms of vibes and how incompetent they are) aliens are trying to steal cocoa powder from earth because it’s a powerful energy source. Eventually this plotline gets left behind in favour of other ones, and in Galaxy it switches to protecting Power Spheres.

Our MC is named Boboiboy, and to simplify things as much as possible, this Power Sphere Robot named Ochobot gives him and his friends power watches that give them different powers. Gopal can turn inanimate objects into food, Ying has super speed and can slow down time, and Yaya can control gravity. There’s also Fang, who is an alien, and he’s kinda like... the Red Son or Macaque of the show at first?? Redeemed villain kinda. His main goal was wanting to be more popular than Boboiboy, I think. (Its been a WHILE).

And as for Boboiboy, he gets the ability to control up to 7 elements, as well as the ability to split into 7 (albeit, he does so only once or twice in the actual canon, his normal split is into three). The NOTABLE thing is that each element develops their own personality, they’re all still Boboiboy and share traits with him (main ones i can think of are being a Dumbass and Forgetfulness- albeit the forgetfulness is actually a side-effect that happens if he remains split for too long, he slowly becomes more amnesiac the longer he’s split). The elements also have a second tier, with different names, that are far more powerful (and apparently theres a THIRD tier too albeit only one of them has unlocked that as far as im aware). The elements (and their personalities + how they manifested/unlocked tier 2) are as follows;

Lightning (Petir) | Thunderstorm (Halilintar) - was one of the first three elements Boboiboy got, achieved tier 2 after being. Effectively tortured by his phobia and getting pissed about it. Serious and cool/aggressive. Is basically the Emo of the group?? definitely the one that would be called “Shadow the Hedgehog” jokingly. I can think of no other way to describe him. Arguably the fan fave.

Wind (Angin) | Cyclone (Taufan) (i’ve also seen him be called Hurricane) - was one of the first three elements, achieved tier 2 by... basically getting high on poisoned cookies. no i am not joking. Cheerful and carefree. He has a hoverboard in tier 2. Kinda gives off skaterboy vibes???

Earth (Tanah) | Earthquake (Gempa) - was one of the first three elements, achieved tier 2 via protecting the others. Composed, protective, and reliable. Is jokingly referred to as the Mom friend by people in the fandom and they’re honestly not wrong.

Fire (Api) | Blaze - manifested as a result of Boboiboy being overly stressed, achieved tier 2 in battle. Spontaneous, instinctual, and mischievous. Swings back and forth between being a kinda innocent kid and being the hot-head of the group, from what I remember his whole thing was just wanting to relieve some stress.

Water (Air) | Ice (Ais) - was forcibly manifested, manifests when Boboiboy is relaxed, achieved tier 2 in battle. Calm and relaxed. He’s honestly kinda a bit lazy?? But he gets more serious later on. Effectively the polar opposite of Fire (Api), which makes sense since they’re basically twins due to manifesting at around the same time.

Leaf (Daun) | Thorn (Duri) - manifested during battle in tier 2 first, but didn’t truly manifest on his own outside of that until Galaxy, where he manifested via Boboiboy falling into a tree and hitting his head. Naive and a jokester. Acts the most childlike out of all the elements, which is funny since he’s not the last one to manifest.

Light (Cahaya) | Solar - manifested during battle in tier 2 first, didn’t truly manifest on his own until the season finale of Galaxy, where he manifested in the middle of a battle (albeit it is said that this element is summoned via increasing one’s knowledge, which Boboiboy actively did before this battle). He achieved tier 2 again after getting knocked out into space and getting charged up by actual solar beams. Confident and focused. Very overconfident and kinda cocky- an “I can do this by myself!!” kinda guy who thinks he’s the smartest one in the room.

So, those are the elements. The way the elements interact with each other is RIDICULOUSLY funny, by the way, they basically treat each other like siblings, it’s great.

Anyways I... think that’s about as much of the plot that I can give without frying my own brain right now hnsdlfksjlfkjsdfs.

Oh wait!!! also there’s fusions!!!!!! Frostfire (Blaze and Ice), Glacier (Earthquake and Ice), Supra (Solar and Thunderstorm), Sori (Solar and Thorn), Sopan (Solar and Cyclone), and Gentar (Earthquake and Thunderstorm). Admittedly I don’t know enough about them to make statements on their personalities- for some of them it’s fusions of both of the element’s personalities, and for some of them it’s just the complete opposite of both element’s personalities.

There’s also a tier 3, which only Cyclone has managed to achieve (becoming Tempest), but that’s also a comic event, one that I haven’t reached yet, so I don’t really know what’s happening there either hsdklfjslkfjslk.

Anyways thats,, it. I think.

#Boboiboy

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bandomfandombeyond · 4 months

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just watched that anime Belle movie... gorgeous graphics

incoherent plot, like my disbelief would not stay suspended because they stretched it in too many different places:

1) there's tech that can hijack your senses with earbuds into VR but everything else about the world is the same?

2) the beginning makes it seem like people can only log in while sleeping, but by the end they're fully logged in and still running around irl????

2) WHY was she so fixated on the beast and his identity from the very beginning? HOW DID SHE TRACK HIM DOWN IN A DIGITAL WORLD WITH 5 BILLION PEOPLE? also it's NEVER explained how in the world the game was coded to allow an AS to damage the core data of other users, when the moderators couldn't even look his account registration up??

3) the themes are incoherent. truly baffling. maybe it's cultural differences but like. the police violence theme is poorly executed and unresolved, as is the fucking child abuse plotline that comes out of nowhere???? I thought this movie was about emotional damage??????

sidebar: I do actually approve the fanfic-esque approach to only taking what they need from the canon (Disney) story of beauty & the beast with the aesthetics of the roses/outfits and the little helpers in the castle

4) the Voices don't believe in police but gave Moderators that power to unveil people but they can't... see user account info as admins????

5) said moderators could find the "suburb" where the beast's castle was, well enough to harass Belle for being there, but not the actual location?

6) AND SPEAKING OF, how does a digital world have slums????? how is data breakdown not quarantined to prevent like, major errors WITH PEOPLE'S BRAINWAVES?

but here's the one I really don't believe:

7) Suzu goes to a huge school and is in a group chat with 200 of her classmates??? but only the girls??? no one is worried about shinobu finding out about them being weird as fuck about him being friends with Suzu????? TWO HUNDRED?!?!?

I will say the visuals were great tho. excellent animation, really enjoyed the scene where the tactical game overlay was used to show the rumor mill. I'm only just now realizing that maybe Suzu was in a bunch of smaller groups chats but the way they had the phone screen showing all the message bubbles in one thread still makes that unlikely

*after looking at the wiki it is clarified that the "justices" were vigilantes not sanctioned cops (but... "woooow look at all his sponsors" is just so on the nose, and they didn't get shut down by the Voices either, so I'm???)

too many threads, not enough knots holding it all together

also why was the only other technological difference that YouTube had 2 way video calling 😭

#belle #anime belle #belle (2021)#studio chizu #gkids #anime #the dragon and the freckled princess #Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime #if i had to pick a word id say incoherent #if i had to pick two id say incoherent and frantic #if i had to pick three id say incoherent frantic and pretty #there wasnt much else of substance

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imaginewriting1 · 1 year

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Ariana Grande x youtuber!reader

Part 8 of "positions"

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5.5 (1) | 5.5 (2) | 5.5.5 | 6 | 7 | 7.5

Everything went back to normal, in a sense. Of course, there was a shift, from staging a relationship to rendezvousing in secret but ultimately you felt like you were her friend again. You thought that the warnings from her PR manager would deter Ariana from meeting you, but the ever-growing things taking up space in your house - soap bottles with names you can't pronounce, cosmetic products littered around your bathroom sink, a small bag filled with clothes on top of the washing machine, told you otherwise. While her things are piling up in your home, they replaced some of your clothes that she "stole".

The familiar ping from your phone alerted you of incoming text, and you didn't have to read it to know who it was from and what they had sent. There was only one person currently who would text you at 5 PM on a Wednesday.

Princess

wanna come over?

no one's home

You

Why would I do that if there isn't anyone home?

Princess

smartass

i'm bored

and lonely

You

And horny?

We just saw each other three days ago

Princess

...no

just wanted to watch a movie with you

You

Alright then, I would never say no to movies.

I'll be there in an hour.

Princess

too long, i'll sent a car

In less than twenty-five minutes, you found yourself sitting on a recliner very similar to the type found in cinemas but far comfier and roomier. In fact, the entire room could be described as such; a premium movie theater.

"I didn't know you had a home theater, didn't see it during the house tour you gave."

"That's because this was a recent addition to this house."

Ariana had gone all out for it, finding the perfect combination of mimicking a movie theater and keeping its interior design the same as the rest of the house. This resulted in the room being similarly tasteful and cozy while providing an authentic movie-watching experience. It's something you dreamed of having in your own home.

"It turned out beautiful, great decision made on your part." Besides the renovation for the room, Ariana had also put in great effort to prepare everything you could want while watching a movie - including popcorn and various snacks on an extendable table from the armrest, drinks in the cupholder, and blankets. "So what will we be watching in this incredible space?"

"Anything you like," Ariana replied. "What are your other favorite films, besides the ones you had framed posters of."

"Well, I like queer films like 'The Handmaiden' and 'A Portrait of a Lady on Fire' and 'Carol' to name a few."

"We should watch them then."

"Uh..." You scratched the back of your neck, heat rising to your cheeks as you recalled certain scenes they had. "I just realized that they all have love scenes so perhaps you should watch them alone."

"Or with someone to reenact those scenes with."

You couldn't argue with that logic. "I supposed. Though there are some tragic plotlines where it could be a turn-off."

"We'll write our own happy endings then."

That was the best proposal if you ever heard of one.

"Alright, which one do you want to watch?"

"I've heard of Carol, so let's watch that."

It was a different experience for sure, watching Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara's performances on a big screen, as compared to your laptop. You could catch every subtle gesture and every lingering gaze. The surround sound worked wonders, amplifying emotion in every word exchanged between the lovers. It was as though you were in that very diner, eavesdropping on their conversation.

You get absorbed into the film, as you usually do despite watching it before, unblinking as the plot unravels, refreshing your memory of the movie. Being so engrossed, you almost forget that you weren't alone, reciting along the line Carol was whispering to Rooney - "My Angel, flung out of space."

A scuffle caught your attention and you turned toward the sound. Illuminated by the brightness of the screen, you observed the way Ariana fixed her gaze on anything but the screen, her thighs pressed tightly together.

"Ariana," You whispered. Despite the softness, she still jumped at your voice before fixing her attention on you. "Are you... aroused?"

In the dim glow, you saw the blush spreading across her cheeks. As imperceptible as it was, you caught the nod of her head. At that moment, you felt like one of those teenagers who makes out in the back of theaters. However, it was Ariana you were with and you weren't going to fumble around in the dark with her.

Instead, you placed your arms - one under her knees and one on her back - and lifted her up. "Let's take you to bed."

You weren't sure how you found the way to Ariana's room, with how your eyes were kept on hers the entire time. Must be the muscle memory.

You only broke eye contact when you heard a squeal and felt a sharp pain in your leg. Instinctively, you stood right back up and opened your mouth to let out a silent exclamation of pain, turning to investigate the cause of it.

"Piggy! I thought you were in your crib."

You placed Ariana down when she tapped on your arm. She squatted to find the site of your injury. You looked down and saw Ariana pouting as she ghosted her fingers over the bite marks. "You keep getting hurt when you're with me."

"Now that you mentioned it, it seems like biting runs in the family." You managed to smile to deliver the joke. "Though it's only karma when a pig bites me."

"Oh my god!" Her pursed lips melted into a beautiful smile as she threw her head back to laugh. Perhaps there was some truth to laughter being the best medicine when the pain disappeared temporarily.

"We have to treat the bite," Ariana said after stifling her laughter. The injury, thankfully, was nothing serious. Just a light nip by Piggy that didn't break any skin. So all you had to do was disinfect the area.

Ariana guided you to her bathroom, where you found yourself positioned in the middle of the bathtub. "You have to remove your pants so they don't get wet."

"Right." You acknowledged, turning around hesitantly to unbuckle your belt. It was the second time you were undressing in front of her. Even after you slid your pants off, you couldn't bring yourself to face her, choosing to sit on the edge of the tub instead.

You heard the sound of running water and moved your leg towards it. A hand stopped you. "Wait, the water's still cold," Ariana said from behind your shoulder. You sat patiently as you observed Ariana checking the water temperature with a finger before placing it on your inner thigh, pushing you towards the tap.

An involuntary shiver ran down your back under her touch. It shouldn't have shocked you, not with all the countless times she had grappled it - the feeling of her skin on yours should be familiar and soothing like the warm water on your leg, not like being out at sea during a thunderstorm.

You were only brought back to your senses with a gentle press of a dry cloth. "Let me do it myself." You said, after clearing your throat. You shifted to grab the towel from her grasp but she moved out of reach.

"I want to do it." Her tone told you that her decision was final. "You have to move out of the bathtub so I can dry you off properly."

You do so as instructed, swinging your legs out of the tub and landing on solid ground. You followed Ariana out of the bathroom. She sat you back on the bed before crouching down to pat your leg with the towel. You observed as she inched it upwards, moving closer to the hem of your boxer briefs. Before you could react, she stood up and positioned herself in between your legs.

Looking up at her with confusion, she placed her hands on your shoulder as she stared into your eyes. "Now that there's no interruption, I want to finish what we had started." Subconsciously, you intertwined your feet and nudged her closer to you. However, with her elbows locked, she didn't lay across your chest as intended. You decided to use your hands to finish the job, settling them on the small of her back. The shake of her head stopped you from applying any sort of pressure. "I want to take care of you this time. For once."

"Oh." The thing was, you were often the giver because you find liked pleasing your partner. That's why you're rarely on the receiving end. Though if you're being completely honest, your insecurities about your body also play a part in declining any returning of favors.

"Tell me what's going on in that pretty head of yours," Ariana broke the silence. She had taken the initiative to untangle herself out of your arms, settling for sitting beside you on the bed. You felt her lightly tugging your fingers, hijacking your attention to focus on her.

She let you take your time, brushing her thumb over the back of your hand as encouragement. "I don't like to be touched. Not sexually at least. Unless, you know, they're someone I've known and been with for a long time."

"Okay," Ariana nodded, shifting closer carefully. "How do you find pleasure then?"

"Well, in my partner's pleasure." You continued after she arched a perfect eyebrow at you. "So as long as she liked it, I would too."

"But what do you like?" She relented, staring into your eyes inquisitively as though they held the answers. "Out of all the things you've done before."

You knew you couldn't beat around the bush any longer, not when she was staring into your soul. "Well, I don't mind using...toys." The sentence gradually softened as you mumbled the words, but it seemed like she heard every bit.

"Give me a minute." She said, hurrying off the bed. She returned a few minutes later with a laptop on hand. The side of your knees touched Ariana's when the both of you repositioned yourself at the center of the bed, with the laptop placed in front of you.

With a few clicks, Ariana opened up a website of a sex toy shop. You repressed the urge to blush when she navigated expertly - clearly knowing her way around. "See anything you like?" She diverted her attention to you, placing her hands on your knee as she peered at you over the rim of her glasses. Her gaze was piercing, emphasized by the frame on her face like she was trying to figure you out.

"Uh- well..." Instead of stammering in embarrassment, you decided that it was much easier if you just showed her. While the website she had brought up had an extensive collection, they didn't have anything you were looking for. So you swiped across the touchpad and searched for the site you were more familiar with. "Probably something like this." You tilted the screen towards her when you found what you wanted.

You knew that this would be something Ariana hadn't tried before unless her exes were into pegging. So you explained to her that she could select whatever size or material she wanted while you would pick the harness.

Ariana flashed you a smile that can only be described as sinful, "You seemed to know quite a bit."

"I've researched extensively." You cleared your throat, changing the subject quickly. "Did you find one that you like?"

"Definitely." She affirmed as she proceeded to add a few items to the cart, much to your sheepish amusement. You settled on a harness you were comfortable with that was also compatible with everything Ariana was getting and a small bottle of lube.

You shouldn't be surprised at how Ariana remained unblinking as she typed in her payment details after seeing the total amount, but you could only laugh in shock internally. Were the toys diamond-studded? You could only wait to find out when they arrive in two to three business days.

In the meantime, your fingers worked fine.

AN: early access to later chapters on my ko-fi page. Also feel free to buy me a drink if you like my work!

#ariana grande #ariana grande imagine #ariana grande imagines #ariana x female reader #ariana x reader #female celebrity x reader #female celebrity

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smilesobrien · 1 year

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i know nothing about anime girls but i LOVE your matching of anime girls to weird little scifi freaks please keep up the good work

this is such a lovely ask anon! as your reward, i present you with an image and an infodump:

So my go-to anime gorls are the characters of the love live! (exclamation mark necessary) franchise. there are 4 series- school idol project, sunshine, nijigasaki school idol club, and superstar. sumire up there (on the left) is from superstar- she's obsessed with becoming famous, hence why i felt she goes well with power-hungry kai winn.

you may stop reading here if you are not interested in my anime sales pitch. but if you are- READ ON!

the love live! franchise is about school idols; essentially, high school girls who become pop stars, for various reasons. as a whole the love live! franchise is refreshingly optimistic, much like star trek. the plot lines and characterization get deeper with each series, but at the end of the day it's still optimistic fun with nice music, so it's always enjoyable. each series features a different group of girls, so you don't need to watch all of them to understand the most recent ones. my personal favourite is superstar (the most recent one)- however, i do think they're all worth the time... mostly. you definitely do not need to watch the diet episode in school idol project LOL.

also, believe it or not, it has themes, besides music. broadly they're all about community; pulling together to make something greater than the sum of your parts. sunshine & superstar also have themes of overcoming failure, and nijigasaki goes further into depth about growing and changing as a person. it's compelling tv! i don't want to spoil series plotlines publicly, but i can absolutely give folks the lowdown in dms if anybody is interested and wants more details!

if length is a factor for you (and it definitely is for me), you may be relieved to hear that episodes are only half an hour long. pretty standard for anime but if you're coming from trek (likely anyone reading this is) that's pretty short! seasons are also shorter, at 13eps each, and each series thus far only has 2 seasons, so it's a walk in the park to anyone who's waded thru seven seasons of their preferred trek.

also it's regrettable that i even have to say this, but most of the time the franchise is pretty good about not sexualizing its high school age cast. school idol project is the worst offender- i found it bearable, but if you're sensitive to the (sigh) boob grabbing gags that were inescapable in the anime of the time, you may not enjoy it. it doesn't happen in every episode, but i still want to give a heads up to anyone in the audience who finds it triggering or even just cringe (because it is).

another note- if you recall riamu with scorpius from the other day, you should be aware that she's from idolmaster, not love live!- i am not nearly as into idolmaster as i am love live, but i highly recommend viewing otahen anthem on youtube, preferably with lyric translation subtitles. you will understand my vision that way...

if you are a love live! enjoyer. 🧍🏼‍♂️. well umm. i don't rly expect any of u guys. but if u are interested in the opposite direction- if you want to know about these sci-fi people i keep drawing with ll! girls- let me know and i will whip up a post just for u...

#once again. PLEASE excuse my dope ass SWAG #star trek #kai winn #deep space nine #love live superstar #sumire heanna #art tag #i admit i phoned it in a bit on winn's clothes... rip... its late in my defense #also why aren't there 1 billion pics of bajoran characters with a wormhole halo. my execution was bad someone else needs to do it good

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sillypix · 6 months

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looks at you w my big eyes. top 5 cookies

ohhh. ohhh atticus this is like asking about favorite children

this list will change tomorrow and then change again the day after that and also this isn't in any particular order buuuuutttt

ok so im a big fan of Electric Eel. the underwater plotlines have eluded me a little bit in ovenbreak but Wandercrab genuinely is like. one of my favorite cr locations ever now its SUCH a fun little concept and EE is such a charming leader for this little city. friendly problem solver who doesn't hold dark pasts against people (even if this fact bit him in the ass a little bit) who just wants somewhere where people can feel free and empowered :] also his skill is very fun to play around with

2. PUMPKIN PIEEEE i love her so much what a DARLING design. her whole haunted doll gimmick is silly and fun and the fact that it balloons into a GIANT haunted doll is super silly and super fun. the randomly dropped crumbs of lore we get around her doll is a little. bonkers and gets even more bonkers the more we learn about it. its fun. weird little thing

3. timekeeper is kind of a placeholder for any TBD character because its all a little. insane and I'm such a huge fan of all of it. Timekeeper is genuinely the first time I remember CR pulling a genuine 'twist' with a character that wasn't blatantly obvious or played for randomness humor-- I'm such a fan of how dearly the staff seems to love the TBD too... like that one tbd video they had on their youtube channel was just entirely unnnesesary but it was awesome. AND it teased new guys which is always a net positive. also TK's costumes also always rule. girlboss

4. not really that huge of a fave anymore but this list would feel entirely incomplete w/o dinosour-- this little guy was my absolutely my favorite when getting into the fandom in (long exasperated sigh) TWENTY SEVENTEEN and I assumed he was just gonna be stuck in LINE cookie run prison forever when that game shut down so. imagine MY surprise when he jumped back into the fray in 2019. I don't entirely care for how he was integrated into the story which has decreased my love for this character but still very fond of his general existence :] baby's first fave!

5. THIS cunt. could not tell you why but this fucker has stayed soundly within my top 5s/10s of the series since the VERY beginning. he contributes nothing to storylines. he only has like 1 or 2 real bonds with other characters. his design isn't great. but still.... STILL.... he STAYS as one of my all-time faves. very fitting for this loser ironically. vampire wins by doing absolutely nothing. fuck this guy

also i found this tierlist i did nearly 2 years ago for a general idea on my thoughts on different guys. starfruit would be higher now I know better now

#hocus.txt #text #OOPS THIS IS LONG.... HI

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tomesandtombstones · 2 years

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I Finished the Caraval Trilogy & I Get it Now

*Be warned, this post is dark and full of spoilers.

It was about 2018 that a YouTuber I used to watched mentioned how Caraval by Stephanie Garber is her favorite book in the entire freaking world. It was a video about makeup, I'm pretty sure, but I remember that moment because I was excited to have just finished the first book of the trilogy myself. That said, it was a while yet before the second book was to come out, so I'd moved on from that wild ride of fantastical locations, imaginative characters, and an unpredictably intense plotline. In the months afterward I'd read more fantasy, and a lot of books I'd consider in the same vein, like The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, but I hadn't realized 2/3's of the story had played out and ended in the years since that first novel was published.

Cut to the last month and I have finished Legendary and Finale and I forgot how much I liked the way Garber could weave a complex plot, really difficult relationships built on the rules and workings of the world she's built, and wildly vivid environments. The fantasy is well-built within a world that's big enough to believe on its own, but the action is contained within locations enough to keep the story at a fast-moving pace. The city of Valenda is where books two and three take place, on an island among others in this like, city state where Donatella Dragna and her sister Scarlett have to live and navigate.

Garber has a way of creating circumstances within the story as it moves along, that pull the plot into interesting places, utilizing a variety of characters that all interact simultaneously. It gives the pace a nice slow build that always gets furiously intense by the last 1/4, making all three books page-turners to the end. I literally got to the last third of both Legendary and Finale and the story kicks up such a notch that I had-to-finish-them-right-then.

Before starting the second book, I had to do a quick skim of the first to reacquaint myself with the wild ride and characters that made it so colorful and imaginative. You know how you recall the visual elements and scenes your mind builds when you read a book? I had to google up some reviews of Caraval to retrieve those mental images. Legendary takes off right where Caraval ended, and Finale begins two months after Legendary's events. The largest reveal comes in Legendary, when we get the full identity of one of our mysterious mains.

This series stands out for me as far as imaginative world-building and plotlines go. The descriptions of the city and what the different areas are, how they look and how people travel to them; it's a very creative design that stretches into medieval vibes, a little steampunk, and high fantasy magic and magical, inhuman beings. There's just such a wide encompassing of elements that build the story and provide an easy believability. When it comes to a story as complex and bound by the rules of magic in Garber's world, there's ways the story can and can't go and the author keeps those boundaries intact and consistent. No reader is off in left field wondering how and why a scene played out as it did, the tie-ins of each sequence of events pull together seamlessly with the pacing.

I liked that the books take place over short periods of time, and how fast the action happens as well. Sometimes placing entire novels into a week's timespan seems like even more of a feat or accomplishment of an author. There's a balance of too much at once and a dull ride, and Garber has that pacing down well for each novel. I also enjoyed how the second and third books didn't have to rely entirely on the concept of the game of Caraval like the first one. we do see a second round of the game, but that's where things deviate as Legend is revealed. I love the way a lot of young adult authors describe their dark and mysterious main characters in similar ways. That jet black hair and tattoos really sells a sexy main, I can't lie. I can't be the only one who thinks that either, book sales don't lie.

There was quite a bit more brutality and violence in Finale, like the intensity and the characters matured into more dire circumstances. There were some characters brought into and out of the story so swiftly, it was heart-wrenching to learn their contributions were done so quickly. Most notably was Donatella and Scarlett's mother. She spent the entirety of the first book trapped in a deck of cards, and the moments we get with her physically in the story are so brief it's almost unfair that her character didn't get a more memorialized final moment. Her life is revisited in an exciting way at the end of Finale, though, so the tying up of her storyline does get a neat bow, albeit in a round-about, time-travelly way.

The ending is neatly wrapped as well, despite the death and some of the ambiguity of the final characters who go out into the world to "hide" - indicating sure enough, Garber's Caraval world is on-going. Enough times has passed since this trilogy ended in 2019 that we now have a new book coming out by Garber that gives Jacks, a magical character known as the Prince of Hearts, a much more in-depth breadth of story. Have I pre-ordered it? Yup. Ran out the end of my Barnes & Noble birthday gift card on that one on a whim. I want it. And any book that offers extra chapters and epilogues gives me joy.

The Caraval trilogy is one that can probably speak to more of an audience under 39, than over, and with the younger side of Young Adult readers, but it can suck anyone in. The magical elements give a beautifully descriptive aspect to the details around the characters, painting scenes with so much splendor and romanticism. The world-building didn't need to be vast to really paint a vivid picture as the story unfolded. With this wide umbrella of fantasy, light romance, loss and sacrifice, Caraval, Legendary and Finale are a really uncommon trilogy that leaves rich visuals throughout each read that linger on the mind long after. It's lovely, I'd suggest picking up this box set or ebooks and getting them in your brain before too much more time goes by. Play the game.

-Leigh

#caraval #fantasy #fiction #book review #book blog #series review #fantasy series #stephanie garber #legendary #finale #caraval trilogy

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codename-adler · 3 years

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Dear Tumblr toxicity,

Hi. Adler here. We need to talk.

- TW: mental health issues, depression, bipolar disorder, self-harm, homophobia, transphobia, coming out, xenophobia, islamophobia, racism, implied sexual content, rape, non-con, addictions, abuse, parental negligence, depictions of violence, swearing (please message me kindly if I forget anything)

- What prompted this message: The release of Skam France S7 teaser (emphasis on teaser, will get into that below)

- Where I’m coming from: I will talk from the pov of a white, cis and queer 22-years-old woman (she/her); this is the pov that affects my experiences and the opinions I will share below; but my message comes from a place of deep hurt, and love

- What this is about: My goal is to share a recurring experience that has hurt me in order to spread a message of awareness, maturity, peace and love

- Central content: Skam France, Skam Wtfock, and Skam/remakes in general

From now on I will assume people have enough information for me to talk about the topics without explaining every plotline/character. There are plenty of wiki pages to help you out and I will gladly answer any (respectful) questions asked if a plothole bothers your comprehension of my message. I’m only making these assumptions in order to alleviate the text.

January 9th, 2021.

The francetv slash YouTube channel releases an unexpected teaser video for an equally unexpected seventh season Skam France. The video features Tiffany, a white, cis female teenager, going into labour from denial pregnancy just after winning what appears to be a gymnastics championship. Overall, the video and its release are very dramatic.

The character of Tiffany, also called Tiff, was previously seen on season 6 of Skam France as a bully who persecuted the main character, Lola, both at school and on social media. Outside of this characterization, nothing is known about her. It is majorly accepted that Tiff is not a liked character; she rather poses as one of the antagonists of Lola’s arc.

Now you know the details of what happened, in the most objectively possible way.

Now I’ll speak for myself.

Before I went digging around for people’s reaction, here is what I initially thought of this video.

1) Shock: I thought Skam France was over, so... Big, big shock.

2) Excitement: I hold this web series very close to my heart. It has gotten me through depressive episodes, anxiety attacks, coming out to my best friend. To see this new development? It couldn’t bring me more joy.

3) Curiosity: I recognized Tiff immediately. I was intrigued as to what would happen to her to set off a new season in true Skam Fr fashion. As soon as she started gripping her stomach, I knew she was pregnant and wasn’t aware of it. Big, big surprise here again.

4) Numbness/Overthinking: As I stared at my screen, motionless, my mind went off. What did it mean? How did she not know? Who is the father? Do we know him? Will the baby survive? Where are the other characters? Will Lamifex be present? What? How? When? Why? Who?

5) Disappointment: No, I did not like Tiff one bit in S6. Yes, I sincerely wished for a season on either Jo (ambiguous and funny teenage girl, cis + white), Sekou (seemingly neurodivergent teenage boy, cis + black), and my favorite, Max (mysterious and grave teenage boy, trans + white) So why Tiff? It felt to me like a missed opportunity, but I did not lose hope.

So, these were the five stages of my emotional process. And then I made the terrible mistake to go look for the fans’ reaction. I didn’t even look at the YT comments, I didn’t go on Instagram, I went directly here on Tumblr. Why? I’m still asking myself that. From S1 to S6 of Skam Fr, I kept my love for the show to myself and only looked at ig and video edits. I tried once, and only once, to look it up on Tumblr, and was greeted by fervent agressivity, disrespect and hate. Why did I ever forget that after watching the S7 teaser? I still don’t know.

The reactions on this platform were wild. People are furious (I get that). People are disappointed (I get that). People are anxious (I get that). People are also verbally agressive, insensitive, hateful, disrespectful and bullies. I don’t get that.

Comments along the lines of “What she gonna do with a fucking baby?”, “Are we gonna watch the baby do nothing all fucking season?”, “Wowwww, teenage pregnancy, so new and relatable!” (note the sarcasm made in the comment here), “Who gives a shit about Tiff?”, etc.

And then all the mistakes Skam Fr ever made flooded back onto the feed. The wlw misrepresentation, the whitewashing, the overdramatization, the dubious sex scenes between minors, all of it.

Let’s take a break here. Do I condone these mistakes? Nope. Am I a white-bully apologist? Nope. Did I forget every horrible action Tiff has made in the past? Nope. She manipulated a whole school against Lola, she profited from Lola’s mother’s death, she bullied her, harrassed her, pushed her deeper into mental distress. Tiff was a despicable character that I never once liked. The way she was played by the actress made it clear that Tiff was not intended to be a good guy. If I could replace her as the main of S7, I would, in a heartbeat. I’d choose, as I said, Jo, Sekou or Max.

Skam France deeply lacks diversity and made mistakes when attempting to diverse the issues represented. This is not an opinion, it’s a fact.

Poc representation is very, very low. Only one season has a woc of Islam beliefs as mc (Imane, S4) with poc entourage/family. Only 2 other characters not related to Imane were poc (Sekou and Sarah, S1-S2). These 2 characters were very in the background and served to further the mc’s plotline, they had no real content. (I am not a poc, and so my opinion does not matter here. If you are not poc, your “opinions” don’t matter here, this point is not for you to debate. These are facts.)

While I do not particularly find the wlw representation bad, I do understand how it hurts/bothers other queer women. From my perspective, the bar was very low regarding my expectations of the Lola/Maya pair (none of them died *yay* they had a happy ending *yay* they were not typically overfeminized or overmasculinized *yay* Lola and Maya were respectful of each other, understood each other, accepted each other with all their flaws and their beauty *yay* I truly believed in their love and it gave me confidence and hope *yay* I ould really go on but this is not my main point so I’ll stop here) Regardless of my opinion on Mayla, I understand that to some queer women, it was bothering/hurtful. (If you are anything other than a woman / wlw, this point is not for you to debate. Keep your “opinions” to yourself, it does not matter here. These are facts.)

Like every remake of the original Skam where the S4 was given to Sana/Imane, the Muslim community was not represented at its best, at its most beautiful and respectfully. The character of Imane, although she is my favorite girl of the series, was not portrayed in a way that respected the majority of the Muslim community. (If you are anything other than Muslim, this point is not for you to debate. Our opinions do not matter here. These are facts.)

And so the same goes for the portrayal of sexual assault and child pronography in S2, of mental illness and homophobia in S3, of disabilities in S5, of addiction, transphobia, self-harm and neurodivergence in S6. Again, if you are not part of these communities, your opinions do not matter on these issues. These are facts that are not up for debate.

In other words, Skam France, as well as the original Skam, Skam Wtfock, Skam España, and probably all the others I haven’t watched in their entirety, are NOT perfect shows. They (maybe) tried their best to portray issues of the younger generations that are ugly, shameful, taboo, hard-to-swallow-pills. Of course they made mistakes. Of course they have to be held accountable. Of course they can and should do better. Of course it must be spoken about.

Here is my problem.

The so-called “fans” shamelessly SHITTING on the WHOLE show because of ONE TEASER TRAILER. (btw, this is where I get angry)

I am not talking about the fans making fun of the show and this season’s premise like “Better MCs than Tiff for S7: a romance between the car that almost hit Lucas S3 and the car that hit Arthur S5, or the school’s nurse, or Imane’s dad, or Elu’s rabbit” (that shit’s funny and I’d watch all of these).Or the joke about Wtfock and Skam Fr shaking hands while signing the same contract to disappoint the fans with white MCs (it’s funny cuz it’s trueeeee).

I am not talking about the fans criticizing the producers’ choice of Tiff as MC. There is a difference between shitting on issues and adressing/discussing them. I WANT to talk about how this season’s issue would have been so much better if a woc, specifically a black woman, had been the MC, because black women and doctors are a whole different level of issue than white women and doctors. Add on top of that an unplanned teenage pregnancy? It would have been IMMACULATE. I WANT to talk which wlw couple was better represented, Mayla or Croana/Crisana, and why is that. I WANT to talk about disabilities in black and poc communities. I WANT to talk about headcanons, AUs, to rectify the missed marks. I WANT to talk about our takes on seasons about Max, Sekou and Jo, instead of Tiff’s.

I DO NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR SHITTY, NEGATIVE, UNHELPFUL, HURTFUL COMMENTS.

Just because the protagonist is white, doesn’t give you ANY right to dismiss the issue that is unplanned teenage pregnancy. This is a problem that affects countries WORLDWIDE. Do you know how many deaths are related to minors giving birth? Do you know how many babies die at birth from these pregnancies? Do you have any idea the trauma it puts you through, to go into labor without even knowing you were pregnant in the first place, and then giving birth, and then having to care for a defensless human being? The dilemma of keeping it, or giving it away? The fear that lives in every person able to give birth, that one day they’ll become pregnant, because society turns sych a shameful look to that? No matter your ethnicity, your gender identity, your sexuality, your political stance or whatever shit you bring up to justify your disgraceful and downright degrading comments, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT A MINOR GIVING BIRTH IS NOT AN ISSUE.

You think the topic has been covered plenty before? Yeah, because shows like “16 and pregnant” and “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant!” are such good examples and show the reality with such an objective point of view!

Bullshit. Teenage pregnancy is still a taboo, it still kills, and people are still morons about it.

“Well I guess everybody is secretly pregnant now!” No, Jessica, but you wouldn’t know about it, would you? Because I wouldn’t tell you shit if you were my “friend” and I was going through it. The whole message of all the Skams is not that it presents super relatable issues of teenagers, although it is a big topic of the show. They present some issues that affect the youth in an authentic light, but that’s not it.

Tous les gens que tu rencontres mènent un combat dont tu ignores tout.

Sois indulgente. Toujours. x x x

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

Be kind. Always. x x x

THAT’S THE MESSAGE. THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE SHOW.

And you all missed it.

All of you making dead baby jokes and death threats, degrading people who give birth, shaming teenagers for their pregnancies... Listen to yourselves.

“Well she deserves it, she was such a bitch!” No, Michael, you shit stick. Let’s rewind a bit for you, yeah? It was a GOD DAMN TEASER. We literally know nothing! Nothing at all! Why are y’all getting mad when we saw 3:25 minutes representing a whole ass season! Listen to yourselves. Y’all judge so fast for people pretending to love Skam and its authenticity and its motto.

You say Tiff is irredeemable?

Emma cheated on her boyfriend.

Manon lied and manipulated her friends.

Lucas was homophobic and prejudiced agaisnt mentally ill people.

Imane was homophobic too and went behind her friends’ back to get what she wanted.

Arthur cheated on his girlfriend too.

Lola dragged Elliot down with her in her addiction, lied, was verbally abusive, etc.

ALL THE MAINS ARE PROBLEMATIC.

Any guess why?

BECAUSE THEY ARE TEENAGERS. THEY ARE STILL GROWING AND LEARNING.

Yet we still loved them all.

So don’t you dare tell me that Tiff deserves this, that her baby deserves to die, that teenage motherhood is irrelevant. Motherhood is not a curse in the first place, nor is it something to wish to inflict upon anyone. Motherhood is different for every single person and nobody except the person living with it can have an opinion on that. We don’t even know if the baby survived, for God’s sake!

There is no excuse for this kind of behavior..

It makes me so angry. Women are discriminated against in a fandom I thought was safe, again and again and again.

I have to stop here because, well, this is just too much. There is much wrong with Skam (the original AND all the remakes), but there is even more wrong with the fans. I’m done.

You don’t support the show anymore? Fine, then don’t watch it! If I really am wrong, the number of viewers will go down and the show will die, just like you wished. There is no need to be vicious about it.

I hope y’all are proud of your misogyny.

Sincerely,

Adler.

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djemsostylist · 3 years

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What Turkish shows have you watched?

Oh golly, ain’t this a question.

Let’s see, I started with Kurt Seyit ve Şura sort of accidentally about 3 years ago, because I saw gifs and I thought Kivanç was the most beautiful man I had ever seen. Never actually finished it because I found out how it ended and I rage quit.

Fast forward to this summer, saw a few gifs of SCK, and fell hard. Got obsessed fast, and I’ve been live watching since November. It’s a complete dumpster fire and I hate it now, but we are in a toxic relationship so I can’t leave, even if I stopped watching the episodes with subs over a month ago.

Since getting into SCK, I’ve watched:

Şeref Meselesi: Absolutely stunning. A true masterpiece. Heartbreaking and beautiful and overwhelming, and I will never truly get over it. Yiğit Kılıç is one of those characters who will stay with me for a long time. Compelling characters, beautifully shot and told, super tight narrative. It was art. Cannot recommend enough.

Meryem: Absolutely adored it. Tight narrative, satisfying story, and surprising characters--it has the best foursome of any show and my current favorite family. It was predictable but also surprising, it has arguably the best male dizi character, and the main couple is just stunning together. It was one of those shows that you finish and immediately want to watch again. I’d put it up there as one of my favorite shows period, not just favorite dizi.

Bu Şehir Arkandan Gelecek: I loved Kerem in this (Ali is a ray of sunshine) and I really enjoyed his story with with his family and the arc his character took, but the two girls drove me up the wall. I can still hear Derin whining if I close my eyes. Still, he’s beautiful in it (he boxes, so there are many shirtless scenes and lovely workout moments) so I’d recommend it on that alone. Not one I’d rewatch tbh. Good for a one time through.

Kiralık Aşk: I did not finish this one. Got about 24ish episodes in, and just wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t really care for the drawn out secret plotline, and while I liked the main couple, it wasn’t enough to keep my attention. Good, but I didn’t have the patience to last through another 40 episodes tbh. When @lolo-deli rewatched, she sent me screencaps and gifs and YouTube videos of the highlights from the bits I missed, bc she’s the best lol.

Erkenci Kuş: Much like KA, I did not finish this one. Wasn’t a huge fan of the main couple to start, didn’t really love any of the side characters, and after reading about where it went, noped out by the 20th episode or so. (This is likely a sign I should stop watching romcoms on episode 20).

Ariza: I really like this one initially, but then I sort of forgot I was watching it? Like, it wasn’t bad, but just wasn’t enough to keep me coming back week after week. I adore Ayça Aysin Turan though, she’s flawless.

Maraşlı: Just started this one (only 3 episodes in). I like it so far--different sort of genre and feel, but really well done, and definitely draws you in. You really have to pay attention, so I’m moving slower with this one because I don’t want to miss stuff. So far, so good!

Her Yerde Sen: Also just started this one. I’m 4 episodes in on this one, and I’m really liking it so far! Definitely a better female lead for me than EK (I liked Defne in KA but she got on my nerves after a while with the mess) and I really like the main couple--they are cute and quirky together, but they feel more like equals, which I really appreciate (it’s what drew me to SCK initially too). Furkan Andiç is dreamy, and while it does mostly make me miss his character in Meryem (Savaş, the love of my life) I’m enjoying him in this too. And since it’s only 20 episodes, I’m thinking this is a romcom I might actually finish!

So, that’s all for now. There was one I watched one episode of and stopped bc I googled the end (good rule of thumb with dizis is to know how they end--see my poor SCK) but yeah. I’m sure this list will just keep growing--these shows are addicting, and since Western media has let me down lately, it’s where I’ll be for the foreseeable. Only flaw in the ointment is my inability to speak Turkish, but it’s hardly gonna stop me 🤣

Aren’t you glad you asked?

(None of this is my fault btw. Technically all of this can be blamed on @sweetrupturedlight since I saw gifs for both KSvS and SCK on her blog and she told me about them. and then @lolo-deli has impeccable dizi taste so she gave me Meryem and SM and BSAG and HYS...)

#anonymous #turkish dizi #dizis #I'm a baby when it comes to turkish shows too #like literally started in like november watching hardcore #and i've barely touched the iceberg

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riceball1759 · 3 years

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Reading Tips from your Hyper Librarian

"So many books, so little time", right? If anyone understands this, it's us bibliophiles and librarians (and publishers) -especially someone like me! My interests are super varied and many times, I'll start reading a few chapters in a book that REALLY REALLY interests me...but then, I have that ADHD SHINY moment and the poor thing is forgotten. Seriously, this is a constant struggle. Being a librarian makes this even more important that I know what I'm recommending. And I do! I just can't get the focus to actually read them>< I'm part of a committee that is assigned reading every year for 3 months (give or take) and -you guessed it- I get that done. Why? It's got a deadline and I churn through them like nobody's business. It also helps that I didn't choose them and they aren't always what I normally like to read. It gives me an edge when helping certain patrons look for something I normally don't read. Not that I don't have an idea already -it's just more cemented than usual since I actually read that particular book. Though I kinda gave you one of my tips in this blurb, I'll rehash later!

A little more on my SHINY moments and then we'll get to my tips! Like I said before, SHINY really takes a toll sometimes on my goals, but it also helps. How? Situation: I hear all this buzz about this upcoming book (debut author/fresh voice/intriguing plotline/etc.). I either miraculously get an ARC or I'm waiting with bated breath, for the dang thing to get shipped to my library so that I can "steal" it for the weekend before it gets catalogued (I tell everyone I'm borrowing it, so don't judge me!). If all goes according to plan, I DEVOUR it within a day and come back exclaiming all the virtues of reading said book. I might even write a glowing review (if I had the capacity at the time). This has happened with a few books in the past years: Stay Gold, Wicked Fox & Vicious Spirits, Ember in the Ashes, Invisible Differences, and a few others, but I can't remember right now. Point: it's super hard for me to get the reading I want done, actually done.

AND NOW, for the star of our show: The Hyper Librarian's Reading Tips!

Please remember, these are things I remind myself of when I'm having a hard time getting through my TBR (the library-books-out-that-are-due TBR). Some lead into or are extensions of others, but being specific is necessary for me. You can adapt them to your needs or or just copy/paste them into your life :)

1) It's ok to DNF. So you gave this book the 'old college try' and just can't do it -it's becoming torturous and you're at risk of going into the dreaded slump... Just stop already and save yourself more grief. Another reason is that you're just not in the mood to finish, so don't. Why torture yourself (again -I seem to like using this word, but it's so accurate at times!) by seeing a book lying close by that you wish was anywhere but? Some of us (incl. moi) have a shelf on Goodreads just for those pesky things. Let's cut the drama and move on! I find it therapeutic as well as final.

2) You are your own censorship committee. We all have that verbal content line where ~once toed/crossed~ our tolerance, belief, comfort level, etc., is compromised to the point where there's no enjoyment because of that one or more 'tidbits' giving you grief. Sometimes, I'll scan several reviews before starting because I want to make sure I don't get any 'surprises'. Most times, I get to that proverbial part that has me slamming the book closed, never to be opened again (dramatic, yes, but sometimes very true!). {{Point}}: you are the only person keeping you from reading something you don't like!

3) Be picky! You are as unique as your fingerprint. Why wouldn't your reading habits follow? If you get a rec that is absolutely not your thing, say no (thank you). It's not fair to you if you're just going to trudge through it anyway for the sake of being polite to friends/family/librarians/coworkers/etc (publishers, I'm sorry). If you like vampires, werewolves, and all things paranormal (like me) don't despair of the current books coming out -look back to the '90s and '00s! Reading is one of the most personal things we experience in our lives. {{Please, for the sake of your sanity}}: read reviews, look for trigger warnings (if that applies to you), verify that historically under-represented voices are portrayed correctly (misinformation is our greatest threat). For example: I won't buy a book about LGBT+ characters without verifying the plot as authentic (i.e. all fluff and no real problems vs real problems with a happy ending). I need to know that the book about that Transgender girl is written by someone who is either also Transgender or very well-informed.

4) Own your reading preferences. Just own it. I read somewhere in a journal interview that the concept of "guilty pleasure" shouldn't exist. So you like SJM's ACOTAR and are all about that fan community life, but are afraid to talk about it even though it's basically a mainstream subculture now? {{Point}}: Stop feeling guilty for what makes you happy! If people judge, that's their problem. I read romance for stress relief and because I just happen to like happy endings. Seriously, people need to stop shaming romance readers and self-shame is a huge part! Don't shame yourself, "SHUN THE NON-BELIEVERS"! (Charlie the Unicorn, RIP in Youtube history)

5) It's ok to read more than one book at a time. If you're anything like me (the Attention Deficit part), you probably have up to 5 books going at the same time: that paperback at home, the ebook on your phone, audiobook in the car, hardcover in your office, etc. (I know that's not 5 -I ran out of ideas!). Point: it's only natural you're in the mood for something different at certain periods of the day, week, or whatever. They'll get finished eventually. Just spare a thought for the 1 or 2 that are a little extra "dusty" cuz that might mean you need to DNF...just a thought.

6) Book clubs are your friend! They can be your enemy, too; but here's what you do: choose one that reads almost everything you want to in a specific genre. I'm not talking the next bestseller (unless that's you). I'm talking genre-specific and something you researched before joining. Online or in-person, this is has the potential for changing your reading habits for the better because you'll actually want to interact and read the books! I decided to join a book club so I could finally talk about a niche genre that is one of my favorites: Christian fiction. No one around me reads this (anymore) and I have no one to talk to (regularly) and trade recs with, so I joined a Facebook group and it's really nice to chat about all these great books and authors I've recently read with others who do the same:)

7) Book journaling. Yes, you may have heard of these things. There are so many ways to journal about your reading: bullet journals, the blank ones where you can let loose your creativity, the ones like from Moleskin where you just fill in the pre-determined spaces (aka: reading log), lined journals for writing your heart out, themed reading planners and TBR journals... Just look it up, the interwebs has you covered. The key is to use them as a tool for expanding and enriching your enjoyment or education (nonfic). I don't journal for everything, but I do like to do it for the ones I know I'm going to review later or for general reflections as I read. I started doing it by chapters, but that doesn't cut it when something jumps out at me from a random page and I NEED to write about it immediately. So, I make note of the page # and we good! I'm very personal in my writing (if you can't tell) and it can turn into tangents, but that's how I roll. I don't do that artsy stuff because that takes away from the reason I'm doing this in the first place. I write about anything regarding my reading -incl my reading slumps. I love it.

Wishing you Happy Reading! Thank you for reading:)

#reading #reading tips #books #reading is life #booksarelife #happy reading #reading problems #reading slump #book journal #booklr #reading blog #book blog #book club #reading advice #bookblr #adhd

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rorodawnchorus · 3 years

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C-drama rec: 《我在他鄉挺好的》 or Remembrance of Things Past

The literal translation of the title is "I'm doing fine in this place away from home." But I think the English title was well chosen and quite relevant to the core of the series. It's only 12 episodes (which is too short when it's such a good one!). I'll try to give away as little spoilers as possible.

[TW: Suicide]

Before anything else though, I'd like to add a very big trigger warning of suicide because the series opens to the scene of a girl jumping off a bridge. This girl is one of the 4 main characters; her name is Jing Jing. The series then follows the story of these four characters with them often recalling memories of Jing Jing as they stumble through life in Beijing city. Their struggles are very relatable and perhaps all too realistic. If you're looking for a feel good, escapist story that will lift you up, maybe this isn't the one. But I can tell you it's a great drama with well-written characters and a realistic and sensible plotline. Also, I ditched every other series I was watching just to watch this.

(Where to watch: Links at the end of post)

If I were to liken this to any other story that I know of, this series does remind me a little bit of the book by Celeste Ng, 'Everything I Never Told You'. The 3 characters and also one of the male characters grapple with the trauma of Jing Jing's death. For the 3 female characters, they're Jing Jing's closest friends and also one of them is her older cousin sister. (In China, as I've observed, cousins tend to be addressed as their own siblings and some of them do share very close bonds.) The story follows these characters as they go on with life but also each episode reveals a little bit about what might have led to Jing Jing's death. They realise how much they do not know of Jing Jing and each episode, they discover something or someone they'd never known. It prompts its audience to think, you may know someone and you may think you know everything about them but things may just turn upside down when you least expect it. And you won't even know what went wrong, who this person that you love so much was, and how people left behind deal with the trauma.

One of our main characters, Qiao Xi Chen (Qiao), works in the marketing department of a coffee company. She works hard when she has to, is very competent and smart, and is very confident in her work. But office politics throws things off balance. She then gets into a series of unfortunate events. The first one being swindled of her half year rental fee which she gave to the agent. She was kicked out of her house and it's honestly the most horrible and terrifying thing to lose a place to live in overnight. For those who might have rented rooms or houses in cities, you might have had some experience that are bad or your worst living nightmare. I personally have had a series of those. Her story is also very relatable for young women who live alone and work in a big city.

Jing Jing's other best friend is Xu Yan and she works at a company's customer service department. All day, she deals with phone calls of grumbling customers complaining about the products. She sometimes have to deal with calls from customers who speak with a heavy accent or dialect but she does her job pretty well too. However, her story arc is less relatable to me personally. She has an unhealthy obsession with branded handbags and items. She and her boyfriend are the typical "Moonlight Clan/Generation" who barely manages to have any savings because they're spending on rent, bills and all the miscellaneous luxury goods that are trending. She struggles with her self image because of her work environment and feel pressured to keep up with fashion trends or a lifestyle that she can show online. I don't think it's inherently wrong to want to pursue such a life. Enjoyment and leisure can be very different to many people even if it doesn't appeal to all. She may appear a little childish but she isn't actually hateable.

Jing Jing's cousin is the oldest in the group and they all call her "Nan Jia jie" (older sister). She's an entrepreneur who started her own events management company in Beijing. She's 35 and she's pressured by her mother to quickly get married. Problem is, her mother thinks she should just get married to anyone (literally ANY MAN) who is willing to marry her. She also considers purchasing a house but property prices in Beijing are impossibly high and she barely manages to put together money for her first instalment. I think we're living in an era which has made property ownership impossible difficult. And capitalism may still want you to think that you must own a house, this may not necessarily be the case anymore.

I really like all the tiny details of this story. The way everyone finishes work late and each go their own way because sending your colleague home at 3 or 4am across the city would mean you basically do not get sleep (like you might as well just stay in the office), or how you live further away from your workplace because you can't afford a place nearer. The commute to and from work during rush hour. The list is endless. But this feels like a story that is close to the hearts of many, it tells the tale of the average salaryman living in a metropolitan city (especially in Asia).

It's the kind of drama that will leave a mark on me for life, and in a good way. I feel like part of it is already engraved in me. The cast is also doing great at stringing you along in sharing their emotions (I don't think I've cried this many times at the very beginning of a series). The writing and pacing are all great. Characters are also very well written. I do have some qualms with certain characters and their actions but... Not too big and they aren't grave sins.

I also don't think they're doing the best job at depicting trauma of witnessing a suicide and dealing with the aftermath of the suicide of a loved one but, to me, it's handling these issues quite well. At least the story is indeed about them coming to terms with the suicide of Jing Jing and them trying to make sense of what led her to this end.

Where to watch Episode 1:

Remembrance of Things Past - MangoTV

On their Official YouTube Channel

#cdrama #chinese drama #cdrama rec #cdrama review #Slice of life #TW suicide #Asian drama #Asian drama recommend

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inevitably-johnlocked · 4 years

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Weird q..but i really dont understand why most fans hate season 4, especially the last episode. Why? I think it gave us a deeper look on both sherlock and mycroft! I felt it tells a lot about mycroft how he had to step in and take control of things ever since he was a kid himself. Also he is not a robot or a killer. Also redbeard thing. It was an appropriate deep psychological trauma (cause most shows usually disappoint in that area). I am not trying to impose my opinion. Just want to understand

Hey Nonny!

It’s all good, and I totally respect your opinion and how you enjoyed S4! It’s totally okay! I know that there are quite a few who got a lot of of S4, and who genuinely enjoyed it.

Sadly, I am not one of those people, and I’ll try to be as diplomatic a possible in my response, but PLEASE know that I don’t think you’re “terrible” or “stupid” for liking S4 because I DO get passionate sometimes in my responses, and I’m just merely speaking as someone who studied the series very closely for quite a long time before S4 aired, and as someone who knows Day-One-ers (ie., people who watched Sherlock on its day one airdate) who also are a large majority of the people who did not like S4. This is just me simply stating why I didn’t like it, but it’s different for everyone.

Stating what I DO like: The acting and cinematography of the first two episodes were brilliant for what they had to work with, and I’ve never faulted any of the actors for the flaws of S4. And for TFP, they did the best with what they had to work with.

That’s… pretty much all I really liked about S4.

Now, here’s my problems with S4:

Nothing made a LICK of sense to the narrative that they were telling in Seasons prior.

This series was always based a bit in reality, and suddenly everything became comic-book rules: X-Men villains, shitty “redemption” arc, destroying favourite characters just for drama, ludicrous physics, explosions that only destroyed one small room in an apt where in previous episodes one explosion destroyed an entire block, etc.

Sherlock was OOC.

Mary was being built up to be a fantastic villain? Ah, nope, here’s the lacklustre twist where tee hee Mary’s just an assassin with a heart of gold that still emotionally abuses Sherlock and John and just won’t fucking stay dead.

And speaking of this, the DVD’s make NO LOGICAL SENSE unless she was planning to kill herself

AND she tries to make her death equatable to Sherlock’s??

Everyone was RIDICULOUSLY out of character in TFP, I’m so sorry: Mycroft is a bumbling coward for the most part, Sherlock disregards John when he gives the Vatican Cameos warning, the Holmes Parents are assholes because Mycroft COULDN’T SOLVE A PROBLEM WHEN HE WAS 12?? ARE YOU SERIOUS???? And that creepy Moriarty / Eurus thing, and LITERALLY they’re implying that EVERYTHING HAPPENED BECAUSE EURUS DIDN’T GET A HUG. Like, I’m so sorry, but that’s lazy writing.

And don’t even get me started on the ridiculousness of the entire character of Eurus. She LITERALLY had X-Men powers, and like… just nothing made sense. Her involvement in the entirety of S4 MADE NO SENSE. Why go back to prison if you can get out?? WHAT IS THE POINT?? AND I repeat: She did all this because she didn’t get a hug. Yes. I’m oversimplifying, but at the base level, that’s what it was, because she wanted Sherlock’s attention. Welcome to the club, kid, stand in line, everyone on the SHOW wants his attention.

The ENTIRE plot of the first 2 seasons got wiped out all because it wasn’t Moriarty who was interested in Sherlock, but Eurus?? What… What about Carl Powers?? Like…. the ENTIRETY of season one and TGG makes no sense now, because of that one 5 minute scene where Eurus “enlists” Moriarty. I… ugh.

The SUDDEN tonal switch from kind-of Sherlock to James Bond, for some fucking reason.

And on that note, how terribly lazy and cheap TFP looks in comparison to the other two episodes. The whole episode looks like it was filmed in a small house with 4 identical rooms.

EVERYTHING that was etablished in 2 episodes prior were COMPLETELY forgotten when Mary was “shot”.

The complete character assassination of one loyal blogger John H Watson in favour of Mary for some fucked up reason, even though AT HIS OWN WEDDING HE COULDN’T STAND BEING AROUND MARY. I’m sorry, but I don’t believe for one damned second that John would EVER forgive Mary for murdering his best friend after seeing what it did to him. That’s not love from her, and that’s NOT John’s character EVER in the ENTIRETY of the series.

And speaking of character assassinations, Molly’s character being devolved to S1E1 Molly, where instead of giving her agency like they were doing with her the ENTIRE series, so much so that Sherlock picked up on her dominance enough to give her a big role in his mind palace in HLV and TAB, only to make her a sad little self-insert Mary Sue pining for the main character, and in turn made Sherlock a TERRIBLE human being for MAKING HER say what she did. It’s gross.

AND speaking of Molly’s character, they’ve been setting up Mollstrade since as early as ASiB, but I guess that plot line got shafted. Look I LOVE Hopkins, and I am ANGRY they didn’t give her more than 3 fucking lines in the entirety of ONE episode after HEAVILY promoting her actress and character, but they essentially reduced her to a piece of ass for Lestrade to chase. AND THAT’S NOT HIS CHARACTER EITHER. EW GROSS.

The constant plot holes being gaped wide open, and the Chekov’s gun moments where they bring up shit but do nothing with it!!

TD-12? Nope, just a lame reference to a story we like.

John got shot at the end of TLD with a VERY REAL FUCKING GUN? Nope, it was a dart gun.

John not suddenly knowing how to be a doctor.

The TGG one I mentioned up above.

What was in the letter? And who was Anyone??

Moriarty essentially being erased as anything other than a hired thug and had no part whatsoever in Sherlock’s history.

Eurus… Just all of her character is asinine.

Everyone in T6T suddenly not knowing John’s the blogger, which is in direct contradiction to literally the entire series.

The AGRA plotline was ridiculous, in the end.

Baby? What baby? It was only there when convenient.

They dropped whatever plotline they were going to do for Mycroft: He was being set up as either dying, or the villain.

Redbeard. I’m sorry, I disagree with you on that. Mofftiss is trying to tell me that a little boy fell down a well and went missing, and that WASN’T the first place searchers / the police wouldn’t have looked? Sorry, no. And then. AND THEN his parents just… go along with this thing where Sherlock shuts down and they DON’T get him therapy? Yes, I agree the mind is a funny thing, and we can be traumatised into forgetting or dissociating from traumatic events. I GET IT. But… like I don’t believe the Holmes are so heartless as to just never grieve or have memories around about their supposedly dead daughter. It’s another OCC thing for me.

John’s cheating.

Disappearing and reappearing characters, like this scene, and the entirety of the aquarium scene.

Mary and John being terrible parents

OH GOD THIS FUCKING SCENE. That bomb SHOULD HAVE DESTROYED THE ENTIRE BUILDING.

What… who was this girl on the plane? What? Like I know WHO, but if she’s supposed to be Eurus talking to Sherlock, why don’t we see Eurus… talking to Sherlock? I … Ugh.

NORBURY.

The glass SUPER SECRET GOVERNMENT ROOM THAT NO ONE SHOULD SEE INTO in T6T.

Sloppy camera work that some believe was intentional, but if it wasn’t, jesus c’mon.

The RIDICULOUS amount of 4th Wall Breaking. Like… even the actors didn’t give a shit.

Essentially, everything on this list here and in this blog tag here.

And everything mentioned on these three posts:

T6T: 10 Revealing Things That Haunt You Late at Night

TLD: 10 Revealing Things That Haunt You Late at Night

TFP: 10 Revealing Things That Haunt You Late at Night

There’s SO much more I can go into, but please go through my “something’s fucky” tag in that last link.

Notice how probably 90% of that has NOTHING to do with “johnlock not becoming canon” because the Johnlockers get MONSTROUS accusations as to THAT being why we didn’t like S4, even though it was, like critically panned by the GENERAL AUDIENCE who have NO investment in the series other than “I liked it in the past”.

Two of my fave YouTubers have interesting (not perfect, but still good) takes coming at the series as casual viewers:

‘The Day Sherlock Died’ by The Closer Look

‘Sherlock is Garbage, and Here’s Why’ by hbomberguy

So it’s NOT just Johnlockers. I’ve talked to Sher1011ies at 221B con who didn’t like S4 either, because most of them realized how shitty Molly was treated in the last episode. So yeah, a big middle finger to those who think I dislike S4 because of “no Johnlock”. No, I disliked it because I need my stories to make logical narrative sense. I disliked it because I love John and they ruined his character all for the sake of drama and because Moffat has a “hurting Ben” kink. I disliked it because Mary should NOT have been “redeemed” because she was an abuser. I disliked it because Moriarty was turned into a cartoon villain, even though he was already overused in the series. I disliked it because the core of the show – the FRIENDSHIP of Sherlock and John, and their solving mysteries together – did not exist at all. I disliked it because John got sidelined. I disliked it because TFP was a ridiculous episode that, if you replace ANY of the characters, it wouldn’t make a difference, because it didn’t feel like an episode of Sherlock. I disliked it because everyone was OOC.

Anyway. Sorry. One too many accusations my way over the past 1100+ days LOL.

As for your assessment of TFP, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you. There was no growth and actually it implies something far more sinister: That the Holmes are and were terrible parents that gave no shits about their daughter, their traumatized son, and expected their eldest to essentially be a parent. It implies that Mycroft, at 12 years old, orchestrated the ENTIRE Sherrinford thing… Look I can suspend my disbelief, but there’s limits, and this is one of them. A LITERAL CHILD. Perhaps Uncle Rudy had a hand in it somehow, but then why not shit on Uncle Rudy? Why is Mycroft blamed for it all?

Look, I don’t doubt Sherlock had a traumatic experience regarding “Redbeard”. But then why play into the fact that he was a dog? Why bring another character into the series just to have a gotcha moment? Because Mofftiss wanted a “Shyamalan twist”, that’s why. They threw EVERYTHING away for a twist ending either because they GENUINELY thought it was good, or they got tired of doing Sherlock. ALL of TFP is LITERALLY a really bad plot twist because reasons. TFP makes no sense to the ENTIRE narrative structure of the previous 12 episodes. It erased EVERYTHING from the previous episodes, and coated it with a gross closing by a character no one wanted in the series, and then tried to convince us that it’s a new beginning – “a journey they had to go through” – but it SOLVED NOTHING.

Anyway. I have big feels about S4, and the only way I can enjoy it is to watch it subtextually, but even then, I cannot sit through TFP without cringing.

That said, Lovelies, please do not attack Nonny for enjoying S4! I know you guys won’t, but Nonny came out with an olive branch and they just want to understand why the fandom is passionate about S4′s… whatever it was. We can have a civil discussion about it, and point out – without attacking – why S4 is universally panned. It’s okay to like things no one else does, and Nonny was respectful to me in this ask!

So with that, feel free, lovelies, to express why YOU didn’t enjoy the series, or why you did! I’m interested in both “sides” / pov’s whatever :)

#steph replies #long post #sherlock s4 #s4 shitposting #mofftiss #something's fucky #the mary problem #my thoughts #my meta #shitposting steph #sorry gang if you like the season #it's easier for me to enjoy it if i tinhat

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lanonima · 3 years

Photo

First review of the new year! I also decided that once I hit twenty, I'll start a new graph because this one is getting pretty crowded. There's plenty of open space, but I'm not likely to read stuff in that open space so…

Anyway, my review of Copper Coins:

Romantic - Fucky is not how risque a work is but rather my opinion of the attitude/quality of the main relationship, the way the characters interact with respect to one another. I like a lot of stuff in fiction but if you’re easily made uncomfortable, stay towards the top half.

Easy reading - Plot-heavy is how I personally consider the plot’s intricacy and successful implementation, regardless of the author’s intention.

Copper Coins

Author: Mu Su Li

Quality: 5

Enjoyment: 4

Comments: Oof. I hate, absolutely hate, saying the phrase "show don't tell" about novels because it has to do with screenwriting and doesn't really apply to novels all that much but damn. This book was so surface level. I did not feel a single emotion the entire time. It actually reminded me a little bit of Nan Chan, and retroactively made me like that book better because I would definitely rather reread that than this. Not saying it's a bad book, I'm sure it's fine, and if you liked Nan Chan and want a relationship with a similar dynamic and are less of a bitch than I am, you will probably like this one too. It just doesn't have enough emotional depth to be entertaining to me.

Would I read it again: No, and I won't read anything else by this author either.

The reviews of things I previously read are below the cut.

Mo Dao Zu Shi

Author: MXTX

Quality: 9.5

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: I have a huge emotional connection to this novel. There are some weak parts, the tension isn’t quite even, she’s pretty terrible at erotic scenes and not great at fight scenes…but that being said, I love the characters and some of the plot points really ripped my heart out. This is a novel that’s really driven by the characters so if you’re a character-focused person like me, definitely look into it (as if we all don’t already know it lmao). I really, really love this story. Every single adaptation of it has also been great, but the novel is still my favorite. It was my introduction to xianxia novels too, so you can say it changed my life!

Would I read it again: I’ve already read it twice, and consumed every adaptation (sometimes also multiple times)

Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Author: MXTX

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 5

Comments: I’m not much of one for comedy and, as I discovered, not really into system novels either. Clearly weaker than MXTX’s later work, many of the characters are somewhat bland, she hasn’t quite found her groove yet. It’s not my style but the fandom is hilarious and the fans constantly produce content that I actually do find entertaining so overall I still have some fond feelings for this one, even if not for the source material.

Would I read it again: I found a different translation and am willing to try again in the future, I’m also willing to watch the donghua. But I can’t guarantee I’ll like it any more than previously.

Tian Guan Ci Fu

Author: MXTX

Quality: 10

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: I love this book…but not as much as I love Mo Dao Zu Shi. I think the plot is somewhat typical, however the characters are great once again (though maybe slightly less deep than MDZS), and her use of thematic repetition and foreshadowing are killer. Actually, I liked this book more the second time around because it just hits differently. Definitely the best of MXTX’s couples, they are so soft and sweet. Very long, but worth it.

Would I read it again: I already have, was personally translating the manhua before I hurt my arms, and am eagerly awaiting the donghua this fall!

The Villain’s White Lotus Halo

Author: A Big Roll of Toilet Paper

Quality: 10

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: Fuck, I love this one so much…..even though it’s also a system novel. But that part is in it so rarely that it reads more like pure fantasy. I love the characters, I love the plot, I love the way the relationship is developing. Oh yeah, the translation isn’t even complete but I already purchased not only the original from JJWXC but also the print edition. I’ve even drawn fanart for it, which is so unlike me. Every time a chapter comes out, I’m ruined for the rest of the day, I can’t think about anything else. Good fight scenes, which is uncommon. My favorite danmei novel so far.

Would I read it again: I fully intend to once the translation is complete, and also plan to read it in Chinese later (I’ve already read certain parts in Chinese hahaha but not the whole thing)

2Ha (Husky and his White Cat Shizun)

Author: Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat

Quality: 8

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: 2Ha is not for the faint of heart, it’s very horny, and violent, and has a lot of questionable content. However I love it so much. The story and characters are great, Meatbun really has me by the heart. The writing is a little more on the casual side but it hardly matters because the story is so great. Good fight scenes. Chu Wanning is like, the ultimate Me™ character, I hate how much I adore him. If you read this, just go into it knowing that it’s a long emotional journey, the characters are very dynamic and there’s a lot of character development.

Would I read it again: Same as the above, I plan a reread when the translation is done and have read parts in Chinese and might read the whole thing again later. Cautiously eager about the up-coming live action and donghua.

Di Wang Gong Lue

Author: Yu Xiao Lanshan

Quality: 2

Enjoyment: 9

Comments: This is one of the most terribly written things I’ve ever read, but I’m a character girl and the characters and ways they interact fucking kill me. I’m constantly entertained….although I don’t think this is actually supposed to be a comedy. If I were going to treat myself and like, take a bubble bath and read something that made me laugh, this is exactly the sort of trashy romance I would want to read. Technically a political intrigue story but it’s so abrupt and full of holes, are any of us reading it for the actual plot? The donghua is on Youtube, I watched it first and recommend others to do the same. If you can handle that, you can handle the book because it’s exactly the same in quality, just gayer. I do love the main couple a lot, the set-up surrounding the relationship is great, and the side characters are also really fun.

Would I read it again: Probably not, but I’m still having fun with it. I watched the donghua and read a bit of the manhua as well, which has very cute art and is probably my favorite version of the story.

Liu Yao

Author: Priest

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 7.5

Comments: I really struggled getting into this one, it took me about 25 chapters to get invested. Initially I had rated it a 6 in enjoyment but after careful thought, I realized that even though it was so hard for me, it probably is my favorite Priest novel and I really do love the main couple so much. Her side characters also seem to be slightly stronger than usual in this one. Decent plot, not too much or too little. It seems really chill to me, doesn’t provoke much of an emotional reaction but I do think it’s very sweet, which is nice sometimes too.

Would I read it again: No, but I think (?) it’s supposed to get some kind of tv adaptation (drama or donghua, not sure), and if that happens, I’ll watch it.

Didn’t Know the General was Female

Author: Rong Qing

Quality: 4

Enjoyment: 6

Comments: Not the greatest thing I’ve ever read, but cute. It’s short, and a little lesbian fluff is never a bad thing. Writing is a bit weak and the plot is basic, but the characters are enjoyable and I liked it overall.

Would I read it again: No.

Wrong Way to a Demon Sect Leader

Author: Yi Zhi Dayan

Quality: 4

Enjoyment: 7

Comments: Again, not the greatest in writing or plot, it’s a bit shallow. But I found the idea of it to be entertaining, and actually liked it more than I would have assumed. It’s fairly short and cute, like a good summer beach read.

Would I read it again: Probably not, but possibly, if the stars align.

Female General and Eldest Princess

Author: Please Don’t Laugh

Quality: 7

Enjoyment: 6

Comments: A very good first effort, but the writing is a bit weak. It’s slow to start and I don’t think the political plotline is spectacularly strong. Some things were left unexplained, and her sense of battle tactics and fight-writing were very confusing, definitely room for improvement. I don’t think it’s as good as people say, but she writes with the air of someone who will continue to improve. And also, a lesbian author writing lesbian stories so that’s a plus. Overall I enjoyed the experience, this story is definitely worth a read.

Would I read it again: Maybe, but probably not.

Sha Po Lang

Author: Priest

Quality: 7

Enjoyment: 7

Comments: Originally I rated this one higher, but on later thought I realized that I actually enjoyed Liu Yao more. I personally have issues with the way Priest writes, and this book showed a lot of them. Characters were okay, I did like the main couple, but side characters were weak as usual. The plot is pretty good, though not great, and I think some of the pacing is off. Some descriptions were confusing, but that could be a translation issue. Overall, still a pretty good political drama, but I would say that of the three I read, this was the Priest novel with the least impact on me.

Would I read it again: No. But I will watch the live action if it ever gets made.

Guardian

Author: Priest

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 5

Comments: I love Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, thought the plot was interesting, and there were some enjoyable moments. But it has all the problems I usually have with Priest in addition to some choices that offend me as a queer reader. I spent about 75% of the time reading while pissed off. And actually the fact that it had a happy ending kinda bummed me out because I love a good tragedy. Overall, I can only give it an average score. If you like Priest, you’ll like this one too. I’m not a tv person but I binged the hell out of the live action, I really loved it, so I was sort of disappointed that the source material didn’t seem as strong as I had assumed.

Would I read it again: No, but I will happily watch the live action again some day.

Jing Wei Qing Shang

Author: Please Don’t Laugh

Quality: 9.8

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: I have to start off by saying: damn girl. The improvement evident in this book is absolutely insane. A few minor issues prevent me from giving it a 10 out of 10 – her transitions are still extremely abrupt, the ending is slightly weak and some plot points remain unresolved, and her use of narrative repetition is too heavy-handed for my taste. Other than that, this book leaves me almost speechless. Very similar to Female General and Eldest Princess, there are many similar themes and events. But while I thought FGEP was fairly cute, I like this one way better. If you like angst, political intrigue, and lesbians, you should definitely read this book. I have no doubt that Please Don’t Laugh will continue to improve in the future, and I really look forward to following her career.

Would I read it again: 100%, I absolutely intend to read this again sometime in the future. It’s very long and very dense but delightful and ultimately worth it.

Fox Demon Cultivation Manual

Author: Feng Ge Qie Xing

Quality: 8

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: This was a delightful romp. I had expected it to be somewhat silly and was pleasantly surprised. It was heavy enough to be engaging but light enough to be an easy read, with multiple spots that made me literally laugh out loud which does not happen often. This is apparently just one book in a series of same universe novels, and a lighter-hearted one at that. I would be interested to read the others because I found the world pretty engaging, and I do want to know what became of the other characters. Overall I found it very fun and very cute, I read it in four days so that says something. On the downside, the link for chapter 9 is broken. But skipping a chapter doesn’t seem to have affected the experience of the novel as a whole.

Would I read it again: Yeah I think I would be willing to read this again someday. If it gets adapted I would also consume adaptations, in addition to being interested in the other connected works.

Golden Stage

Author: Cang Wu Bin Bai

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 7

Comments: This one has some Sha Po Lang vibes, but the characters have more depth and chemistry. The word ‘more’ here is extremely relative because it’s still pretty shallow. I honestly liked them both, I liked the relationship and the psuedo-rude way that they flirt entertained me. As for the plot…ehhhh. It tried. There were things that worked, but in general the plot seemed disjointed from the characters and there were a few things that had no business being there and just muddied the waters. It’s not bad necessarily, it’s just not very smooth. There are better political intrigues to read if that’s what you want. But if you just want some sugar-sweet fluff with a backdrop of drama, then this one is perfect. My favorite scene was probably the flashback to the first few times they met, absolutely fantastic.

Would I read it again: Nah.

Nan Chan

Author: Tang Jiuqing

Quality: 8

Enjoyment: 6

Comments: This one is kind of weird because it’s definitely competent, it’s well-written and has a fairly in-depth plot, but I just didn’t really enjoy it all that much? I never got emotionally attached to any of the characters, and I didn’t even really get the relationship buildup. I understand what the author is going for with it of course, but it didn’t necessarily make a lot of sense… Or rather it seems like some bits in the middle were just missing, there’s good buildup in the beginning and in the end but how they got from point A to point B was kind of not explored to my satisfaction. I did really like the flashback to the past, I thought that storyline was all pretty interesting. The big bad was kind of disappointing to me as well though. In general, I think this is a really good book with a lot of skill behind it but it’s just not really my thing.

Would I read it again: No.

#book reviews #Copper Coins #lano reads danmei #lano reads baihe

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dannypuro · 3 years

Note

So I just binged Something Telling and it’s just, so amazing? Like, your characterization is so on point and I just have nothing but nice things to say about it. Can I make a list? I’m gonna make one cause I have Emotions™️ about every one of these dweebs.

1. Grantaire is just, so nice and kind and smart, and not an alcoholic! Like, I love the fics where he deals with that, but it’s nice to see him being a semi-functional adult person. (Was he an alcoholic in this universe at one point?) Plus, he’s still enough of an emotional disaster otherwise. Love him ❤️

2. ENJ VS TECHNOLOGY. I could read about that forever. Swearing in an elevator? Iconic. Never using the space bar? Perfect. Also now I refer to movies as “movings” in my head so there’s that.

3. Combeferre is the sane man of this family and I love it so much. Also I never thought of vaccines for time travel AUs and I genuinely cackled when Ferre brought it up. Like, yeah, that’s a good point.

4. Jehan is always chaotic and I love them for it. Also, I know R doesn’t want to hear about it, but I absolutely want to know what their sex talk consisted of. I’m curious.

5. Baz and Feuilly. Yes. Good. Lovely boys. So glad they got their shit together.

6. “I am wanted by the government for high treason.” Honestly Enj has so many golden moments/lines. He is trying his best and I love him.

7. The PTSD our boy has and how he’ll have to work through it, but he has Friends and Boyfriend to help. (Side note: I live in the US, so I don’t know how much of a thing it might be in Paris, but do they set off a lot of fireworks on New Years? Cause I feel like that would be a thing that Enj would have to deal with, especially if no one tells him about it beforehand)

8. The research you would have had to do for this is just, incredible. And I think you captured how someone would really be if they just got yeeted into the future with no tech experience whatsoever. Like, I’ve been living here since 1994 and I’m overwhelmed by stuff sometimes.

9. Slightly unrelated but I also saw that you did the AU where Grantaire is a baker and Enj is totally not in the mafia (the name escapes me) and I also love that fic.

Hopefully that was somewhat coherent! Seriously though your work is great and I can’t wait for more!

(Also, if you want and it’s not a plot point of the next one, what is Enjolras’s reaction to musicals? I know the boy loves his opera, but someone had to have shown him something on YouTube and I just crave knowledge about this universe) Thanks! 🥰

GUH thank you!!!!!!! thank you thank you!!! and thank you for taking the time to make a list because i thrive off of validation alone and it made my day 🥺. SO.

grantaire is a total sweetheart. like, genuinely a nice person who is trying his best despite the fact that he has a hard time. baby. of course, the funniest part about him is the fact that he has NO idea that he’s actually just like... nice. he’s like... oh man it sure sucks that i’m the worst person possible to help someone in need... sucks that i’m the only one here... sorry dude i’m sorry i’m not combeferre... and then he proceeds to just like. make beef stew and be so careful and kind and thoughtful and try his very best and let enjolras go to sleep on his shoulder during a moving. like... sir. ok. also, yes, i tend to write him a little more... with his shit together, especially in this fic. you mentioned that you read And If I See You In The Daylight (the bakery fic)--i kind of wrote this assuming a similar character arc (minus the bakery, of course. like, grantaire used to be much, much more of a mess in a lot of ways, and drinking too much was a part of that, and he’s slowly been working on it. and now he’s 29, and he’s doing his best, and his friends love him. he’s doing a little better in this fic than in the bakery fic--maybe he’s a little older? maybe because combeferre is a little harsher than jbm and gets on his case when he starts to slip back into old habits? yeah.

ENJ VS TECHNOLOGY. sweetie. baby. the first time combeferre vacuums his apartment when enj is around he’s like “hey man, do you mind if i do the vacuuming?” and enj (has NO idea what that word is, is falling asleep while reading on the couch in the sun) is like “do what you will” and then ferre turns the vacuum on and enjy does that thing when a cat is startled and it jumps like three feet up in the air and puffs up like a squirrel. he’s awake now.

combeferre. baby. he’s genuinely, genuinely trying his best, but it’s fucking hard when you’re tired and overworked and also none of your friends use their brains more than 30% of the time and also your new best friend is a spiky little revolutionary from EIGHTEEN THIRTY TWO. so. um. he’s a little stressed. but he loves enjy so much and doesn’t even mind when he’s dramatic and annoying because he’s such a sweet dude and they’re FRIENDS. sometimes he comes home from a long day of work and enj has come over and washed all of his dishes and brought over takeout but also rearranged all of his books and also eaten like three mangoes. listen. friendship is about gently tormenting your BFF because you are COMFORTABLE AROUND EACH OTHER.

jehan. baby. instagram influencer supreme. i’ve gotten like a bazillion asks about their sex talk--i SWEAR i will write it eventually because the concept of it just cracks me up. jehan is like. “ok. enjy. tell me what you know about sex” and enj is like... “i understand that..... it occurs?” and jehan is like :^/ and enj is like “one must be careful not to contract syphilis from unseemly sources?” and jehan is like “TIme For A Conversation Before Grantaire Messes This Up”

baz and feuilly. babies. they’re just such a sweet, casual couple and they like each other so much. also, first date 3 am kebabs? after they FINALLY communicated? and then baz gets railed like he deserves? they deserve it.

enj has a secret little sense of humor and it’s just a little hidden by the fact that he is 1) repressed 2) awkward. but it’s there! he’s just so smart and secretly funny and grantaire thinks he’s fucking hilarious. except when he jokes about the fact that he’s technically dead. it makes grantaire sad. he’s like YOU’RE NOT DEAD THOUGH BABE YOU’RE EATING JAPCHAE RIGHT NOW and enj is like. “i believe that if you observe my wicky encyclopaedia you shall learn otherwise 🤷” and grantaire is like 😰BABE

yeah. yeah. listen. he’s got a lot of shit to deal with. it’s gonna take a while. like... that is some SERIOUS trauma, and he didn’t even have any time in his own century to process it. he went straight from a very violent event--LITERALLY about to be executed 😰--to being zapped to a time where he recognizes NOTHING. that... didn’t help. and he can’t really go to a therapist (which causes combeferre no shortage of distress) since like... he wouldn’t be able to explain anything about the barricades or the source of his trauma to begin with. so... yeah. but yes! he has friends and a boyfriend who love and support him so much! and it’s the framework he needs to begin to work through stuff at his own pace 🥺 (also, yes, fireworks are a big thing. they’re also big for the 14 juillet, which i... kind of forgot to address. i might go back and write a scene somewhere around ch. 5 for it and post it on here. we’ll see.)

i’m so glad you appreciated the research! 🥺🥺🥺 legit i... kind of spent a stupid amount of time on it. i really tried to make it as realistic as possible (barring, like, the whole time-zap thing, and also the whole “characters from les mis” thing) since the whole POINT is the differences between their two times, so... i’m glad it paid off. it means a lot to hear that u vibed with it.

thank you thank you! again-- And If I See You In The Daylight is the name of the bakery fic, and i also love it 🥺🥺🥺 . to everyone else... READ IT!

enjolras does not like musicals. like... yes, there was a natural progression from 20th century opera to early musicals, but enjolras missed all of that. and 21st century musicals are pretty fucking different from 1820s/30s opera. he can’t quite understand the music. the plotlines don’t make sense. the plots aren’t stupid enough for his taste. they take themselves too seriously. not enough miscommunication. orchestral parts not nice enough. cosette tries to show him a musical on youtube and enjy is like. who is that. why are they all dressed the same. what is going on. why do they not use their Pocket Fones? why does it sound like this. hellp. (she gives up and shows him a Puccini opera instead.)

anyways. THANK YOU! and to everyone else--send me asks! send me prompts! send me questions! i WILL respond to them and i treasure them all i just tend to be kind of slow! but i love to receive them! thank you!!!

#something telling #wholockiantabs

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reapersman · 3 years

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ACTUALLY here’s my super short and sweet guide to getting into discworld.

books: there’s a lot of them. you can read in any order, really, but there are larger plotlines you can follow. for example, Death makes minor appearances in a lot of books, but if you want to follow his main story, then you’d read mort > reaper man > soul music > hogfather > thief of time. there are a lot of ways you can read the discworld novels, and this page helps a lot! right now i’m reading through things thematically!

i highly recommend mort, because Death is featured in it and i’m biased, but also because it does work nicely as a stand-alone novel if you’re wary of getting into a series.

live-action! there’s been a few adaptations of discworld books. folks over at sky one created 3 different mini-series adapting the books: the hogfather (2006), the colour of magic (2008) and going postal (2010). these are all live-action 2-part mini series! i highly recommend the hogfather because, again, Death is in it and i’m biased. but also, i’ve seen it about a dozen times as well as i’ve read the book a dozen times, and it’s a very faithful adaptation imo. i’ve yet to watch TCM or GP, but they’re on my list, and since they’re made by the same folks who made the hogfather i’m inclined to believe they’re pretty good too! i know the hogfather is on youtube but i think maybe the rest are too??

there’s a tv show airing rn called the watch. it’s based on / inspired by the ankh morpork city watch books, and features death iirc, but i haven’t seen it yet. i want to get around to reading the books first before watching it, but from what i’ve heard it’s only loosely based on the original books and ... i don’t think it’s widely loved by dedicated fans. it looks like a fun show though, just not faithful to the Lore!

cartoons! channel 4 adapted two books into animated mini series’: soul music & weird sisters. it’s very 90s. the animation is a little janky and they aren’t perfect, but i think they’re so charming in their own right and christopher lee voices death! they’re both up on youtube.

graphic novels! idk how hard these are to find online bc i bought my copy of mort like a simp but basically: mort, the colour of magic / the light fantastic, guards! guards! and small gods got adapted into graphic novels/comics.

#''super short'' I COULD HAVE MADE IT LONGER. I DIDNT EVEN LIST THE VIDEO GAMES.#* ooc.#please please talk to me about these books they mean the world to me

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michelles-garden-of-evil · 3 years

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Episode 41 Review: 78 Pick-Up

{ Youtube: 1 | 2 | 3 }

{ Full Synopses/Recaps: Debby Graham | Bryan Gruszka }

Hello and welcome back to my Garden of Evil, where today we begin an especially weird week of Strange Paradise. This is Ian Martin’s final week writing the show, albeit with heavy executive meddling at this point. In previous weeks, some of the things mentioned in the Lost Episode summaries still happened, or certain plot points still appeared with a different outcome, but that mostly stopped last episode and will only happen once more with one more plot point. For reference, here is the Lost Episode summary for this episode:

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer (November 7, 1969), p. 84.

That doesn’t happen in this episode. Actually, not much does compared to a typical Monday episode--or does it? Usually, Martin reserves the most important events or revelations for Mondays and Fridays and uses Tuesday through Thursday for less important plot points, recap, and building suspense, but this time we get a Monday episode that’s mostly focused on the latter. This breaks with the previous weekly structure of the show and underscores how hasty his rewrite of Episode 41 must have been.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a list of the most important events that occurred on previous Monday episodes:

1: Jean Paul releases Jacques 6: Jacques gives Alison her first dream about him 11: Alison writes to Dan for help 16: Matt arrives on Maljardin 21: Dan suspects Jean Paul of murder 26: Alison uncovers her first clues about Dr. Menkin’s experiments 31: The cryonics tank leaks 36: The 1st séance

And on Fridays:

5: Dr. Menkin dies 10: Tim and Holly arrive on Maljardin 15: Jacques fires Dan 20: Alison's second dream about Jacques 25: Raxl and Vangie learn that Elizabeth is a witch [didn’t amount to much in the aired version, but foreshadows her original plotline] 30: Jean Paul decides to arrange first séance 35: Vangie foresees her death on Maljardin 40: Jean Paul's emergency meeting

For comparison, here are the biggest events from Tuesday-Thursday episodes: (brackets indicate events that I believe were originally intended to be more significant)

Week 1: Holly escapes Westley House (3), Jacques signs his name on Dan's documents (4), Alison arrives on Maljardin (4) Week 2: Holly flees to Caribbean (7), Dan shows Vangie Jacques' signature (8) Week 3: Elizabeth arrives on Maljardin (12), Tim begins Portrait of Doom (13) Week 4: Conjure Man dies and makes Vangie Conjure Woman (17), Jacques brings Dan to Maljardin (18), [Holly discusses her nightmare about Tarasca (19)], Erica's funeral (19) Week 5: Raxl and Quito show Matt the temple (23), Jean Paul steals the bottle of cyanide (23) Week 6: [Jacques cements his relationship with Elizabeth (28)], [Raxl predicts the possession of other characters with her cards (29)] Week 7: Jean Paul brings Vangie to Maljardin (32), the guests learn that Quito is a zombie (33), [the Holly portrait is damaged (33)] Week 8: [Holly starts searching for the secret passage (37)], [Jacques gives Alison more notes (38)]

So what happens in Episode 41, which feels more like a mid-week episode? Let’s explore it together and see what took the place of the beginning of Elizabeth’s mental descent into the 17th century.

When Dan enters the Great Hall and tells the other guests where he’s been, both Matt and Vangie give him the side-eye.

Dressed in a dirty black turtleneck, Dan returns from his exploration of the eponymous garden of Maljardin, where he was searching for the missing cyanide and/or the way out (I don't care about either subplot--give me Jacques, dammit!). "What are you all planning?" he asks as Vangie, Matt, and Tim eye him with suspicion. "Another séance, Vangie? Or a prayer meeting, Reverend, to save us all by communication with the infinite?"

Matt asks him where he was and he says that he was searching for the way off the island. "Like Holly," Tim comments, which is the only reason why he's even in this scene. Cue recap, although surprisingly little from Mr. Boring Artist, whom Martin seems not to know what to do with anymore. Considering how bland Tim is, I don’t blame him.

Vangie making her favorite facial expression.

Uh-oh!

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is upstage right, and the gorgeous but volatile Jean Paul has arrived to bitch out Dan for wanting to leave Maljardin! “Have you been on a journey, Dan?” he asks. “Here on Maljardin, they all meet the same end.”

“And some end in death,” adds Matt, which further angers the master.

“Is that a prediction or a predilection, or perhaps a threat?” Jean Paul asks, because he’s the only one allowed to make death threats on Maljardin. God Jean Paul forbid the Reverend return the favor.

“A fact, Mr. Desmond.” Too bad Jean Paul doesn’t care much for facts.

Holly is safe for now!

Both Alison and Holly(!) follow him upstairs. Holly says she feels fine now, which she attributes to Alison’s arrival just in time to show Jean Paul Dr. Menkin’s notes at the end of last episode. And then Jacques torments Jean Paul in front of all the detained guests:

Jacques: “Yes, be discreet. If I make you seem mad, they will betray you...”

“...and your sleeping Erica in her vulnerable cryocapsule.”

Holly: “Look at him. It’s like he’s in another world! Just like he seemed to be another man down there in that creepy crypt.”

He reminds everyone that visits to the crypt are off-limits and marches off, ignoring Elizabeth’s attempt to calm him down. Alison shows the notes to her increasingly estranged fiancé Dan and recaps to him about how she now only has five weeks of notes left. Meanwhile, in the dining room...

In a trance, Vangie solemnly lays a spread of Tarot cards on the dining room table, when suddenly she crushes one within the palm of her hand:

Matt notices that she is in a trance and Alison rushes over to get her out of it. When she does, Vangie is confused:

As is the tradition on this blog, I will attempt to interpret the Tarot cards that Vangie has drawn to determine the message. I suspect that Ian Martin deliberately chose specific Tarot spreads to subtly foreshadow planned events (see also my Episode 29 review where I analyze one such spread) in addition to all of the other Tarot symbolism he uses. Let’s start with the cards on the table:

And their possible meanings, taken (mostly) from Tarot.com and The Tarot Guide:

The Devil can also refer to the id, chaos, sexuality, obsession, or abuse, but I believe that it’s more likely meant literally here. Death may be meant literally (which is not how it’s normally used in the Tarot), but change would make just as much sense in the context of Jacques’ plans for Maljardin. I had trouble identifying the card at the top, but I think that most likely it’s the Ace of Cups in reverse. Ace of Cups RX can mean (among other things) sadness, unrequited love, or pessimism, but it could also mean a shadow version of Alison, whom Vangie’s previous readings represented as the upright Ace of Cups. Sounds like Rahua, although that’s doubtful because the show has all but forgotten about her. More likely, it foreshadows Alison’s death or another form of undoing.

As for the card crumpled in Vangie’s hand,

The Eight of Wands seems a very odd choice in combination with the others, because of its positive meaning:

Success--but for whom? I’m guessing Jacques, which would explain her reaction. The spread implies that Jacques’ plans to steal Jean Paul’s body for good (the change), followed by discontent, sadness, and loss, will succeed.

In the Great Hall, we hear Dan tell Tim and Matt about how, while searching Jean Paul’s bedroom, he found a map drawn by Jacques of the only escape route through the channel. “They’re probably false and intended to lure sailors to their watery grave,” the Reverend speculates, given the cartographer in question. Unfortunately for them, Jean Paul overhears their conversation. “The Reverend knows the Requiem,” he threatens passive-aggressively.

Jean Paul must have contact with his Erica, even if it kills him as Vangie predicts it will.

Then Jean Paul visits Vangie in the dining room to insist once again upon another séance. She reluctantly agrees, although she feels very uneasy about it. By now the Conjure Woman has laid another Tarot spread, consisting of a different combination of cards:

And my interpretation:

The King of Swords--which we know represents Jacques--is reversed, and so is the Knight of Pentacles. As with the reversed Ace of Cups from the first spread, the reversed Knight could either mean the revival of Dan’s 17th-century counterpart d’Anton or (more likely) Dan’s demise. Whether the reversed King of Swords still means Jacques or instead refers to his reversal Jean Paul is unclear, but I think the latter is more likely. The King’s characterization on The Tarot Guide is very negative, but “power-crazed,” “controlling,” and “ruthless” do describe the man Jean Paul has become, and Vangie does predict in this scene that he may soon die. The Queen of Cups, which has previously represented both Elizabeth and Holly, appears upright, as do the Knight of Cups and the Queen of Swords. The Tarot Guide’s description for the Knight of Cups mentions an “artistic, creative” man, which sounds like Tim: the only male guest in Maljardin to not have previously been associated with a Tarot card. The identity of the Queen of Swords is unclear, but I have a feeling that she is meant to represent Erica. The Nine and Ten of Swords indicate that at least some of these characters will die, and there will be no way of preventing it.

Later in the episode, she lays a third spread while talking to Elizabeth:

My interpretation:

Elizabeth asks what the cards means, and Vangie gives this curious explanation: “That a woman who seeks love will receive what she gives...Nothing else.” Evidently, that includes burnout (Ten of Wands reversed) and regret/missed opportunities (Four of Cups). But which woman could these cards be about? Is it Elizabeth, Holly, or someone else? Could it even be...Erica?

Elizabeth suggests that Vangie invite her to tomorrow’s séance, then leaves when she sees Matt. They discuss the upcoming séance and Matt tells her, “I will certainly not consent to take part in the circle a second time.” But the Tarot cards say otherwise:

“What we say is one thing,” says Vangie. “What takes place is another. The Fool. The cards say you will. They cannot change it, and neither can you. The cards do not lie. Forces join the battle. Which is good, which is evil, who knows? You can’t change it, in spite of yourself!”

Vangie lays two spreads of Tarot cards in this scene. The first is too blurry to interpret, but appears to include either the Nine or the Ten of Swords:

The second--which Vangie implies relates to the events at tomorrow’s séance and which includes the Fool as its fifth card--is interesting:

My interpretation:

I did not expect to see the Hierophant--which represents tradition and conformity when upright--in any of her spreads. It just doesn’t seem relevant to any of the themes of the Maljardin arc, unless we count the generational gap between Holly and the establishment. The Tarot Guide gives “reversed roles” as one suggested meaning for the Hierophant reversed, which fits neatly with Ian Martin’s original (now scrapped) plans for at least one additional possession (but probably more). Five of Cups reversed is pretty straightforward: Jean Paul is trying to move on from his wife’s death by contacting her spirit. Likewise for the Hanged Man, whose trapped state could represent anyone on the island except for Jacques. The Ace of Cups here could represent idealism or compassion, but it has always meant Alison in previous episodes, so I’m sticking with her as my interpretation.

As I’ve written above, I don’t actually know if any of these cards (save the Fool) were mentioned in this episode’s script. There’s no way of knowing if any of these arrangements were deliberate or if Angela Roland was actually just drawing random cards in her scenes. Mostly, I’m interpreting these cards because there isn’t much else to do in February in the middle of a pandemic. It keeps my mind busy and it gives me something to talk about re: this episode other than weekly plot structure.

There’s one more scene of her pulling cards. The three cards in this spread appear to be the Five of Cups RX again, the Ten of Swords RX (either a total disaster or one narrowly averted), and the King of Wands RX (most likely Jacques). She has just pulled another when she lets the rest of the deck slide out of her hand onto the table. She has a nervous breakdown:

The combination of the Tarot spreads full of omens of doom lead Vangie to a nervous breakdown the day before the séance.

This episode serves the function of building suspense to the second séance, which we know will happen soon. Vangie does not want to hold it because of the danger that the cards have foretold, but she knows that there’s no way out of it and (according to her) the cards don’t lie. What doom awaits Maljardin in the coming weeks? Only time will tell. It won’t be Tarasca, but it will be something seriously strange.

Coming up next: A mysterious black rabbit appears in the Garden that has not known wild animal life in three hundred years.

{<- Previous: Episode 40 || Next: Episode 42 ->}

#strange paradise #review #ian martin #maljardin arc #week 9 #episode 41 #analysis #lost episode summaries #passive aggressive jean paul #plot structure #speculation on ian martin's original story #suspense building #tarot

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