#i rated it 4.5 stars originally

[libertyreads]

Today I start my reread of The Inheritance Games before the final book comes out at the end of August.

#the inheritance games trilogy #the inheritance games #jennifer lynn barnes #booklr #books #bookish #book #favorites #favorite reads #i rated it 4.5 stars originally #but i would have given it 5 stars if I didnt relate so much to a side character #it kept taking me out of the story during the first read through #can't wait to meet the absolute lunatic brothers again #the Hawthornes

[dedalvs]

Hey! I'm David Peterson, and a few years ago, I wrote a book called Create Your Own Secret Language. It's a book that introduces middle grade readers to codes, ciphers, and elementary language creation. The age range is like 10-14, but skews a little bit older, as the work gets pretty complicated pretty quick. I think 12-13 is the best age range.

Anyway, I decided to look at the Amazon page for it a bit ago, and it's rated fairly well (4.5 at the moment), but there are some 1 star reviews, and I'm always curious about those. Usually they're way off, or thought the book was going to be something different (e.g. "This book doesn't teach you a thing about computer coding!"), but every so often there's some truth in there. (Oh, one not 1 star but lower rated review said they gave it to their 2nd grader, but they found it too complicated. I appreciate a review like that, because I am not at all surprised—I think it is too complicated for a 2nd grader—and I think a review like that is much more effective than a simple 10+ age range on the book.) The first 1 star rating I came to, though, was this:

Now calling a completely mild description of a teenage girl who has a crush on another girl controversial is something I take exception to, but I don't want to pile on this person. Instead I wanted to share how this section came to be in the book.

The book is essentially divided into four parts. The first three parts deal with different ciphers or codes that become more complicated, while the last part describes elementary language creation. The first three sections are each built around a message that the reader can decode, but with language creation, the possibilities are too numerous and too complicated, so there isn't an example to decode, or anything. It would've been too difficult.

For what the messages to decode are about, though, I could do, potentially, anything, so at first I thought to tie them into a world of anthropomorphic animals (an ongoing series of battles between cats and mice), with messages that are being intercepted and decoded. My editor rejected that. Then I redid it so that each section had an individual story that had to do with some famous work of literature. My editor rejected that as well. He explained that it needed to be something that was relevant to kids of the target age range. I was kind of at a loss, for a bit, but then I thought of a story of kids sending secret messages about their uncle who eats too many onions. I shared that, my editor loved it, and I was like, all right. I can do this.

The tough part for me in coming up with mini-stories to plan these coded messages around was coming up with a reason for them to be secret. That's the whole point of a code/cipher: A message you want to be sure no one else but the intended recipient can read in case the message is intercepted. With the first one, two kids are poking gentle fun at a family member, so they want to be sure no one else can read what they're writing. For the last one, a boy is confessing to a diary, because he feels bad that he allowed his cat to escape, but no one knows he did it (he does find the cat again). For the other, I was trying to think of plausible message-sending scenarios for a preteen/teen, and I thought of how we used to write notes in, honestly, 4th and 5th grade, but I aged it up a bit, and decided to have a story about a girl writing a note to her friend because she has a crush on another girl, and wants her friend's opinion/help.

Here's where the point of sharing this comes in. As I had originally written it, the girl's note to her friend was not just telling her friend about her crush, it was also a coming out note, and she was concerned what her parents would react poorly.

Anyway, I sent that off with the rest of my draft, and I got a bunch of comments back on the whole draft (as expected), but my editor also commented on that story, in particular. Specifically, he noted that not every LGBTQ+ story has to be a coming out story, the part about potential friction between her and her parents because of it was a little heavy for the book, and, in general, not every coming out story has to be traumatic.

That was all he said, but I immediately recognized the, in hindsight, obvious truth of all three points, and I was completely embarrassed. I changed it immediately, so that the story beats are that it's a crush, she's not sure if it'll be reciprocated, and she's also very busy with school and band and feels like this will be adding even more busy-ness to her daily life as a student/teen. Then I apologized for making such a blunder. My editor was very good about it—after all, that's what drafts and editors are for—and that was a relief, but I'm still embarrassed that I didn't think of it first.

But, of course, this is not my lived experience, not being a member of the LGBTQ+ community. This is the very reason why you have sensitivity readers—to provide a vantage point you're blind to. In this case, I was very fortunate to have an editor who was thinking ahead, and I'm very grateful that he was there to catch it. That editor, by the way, is Justin Krasner.

One reason I wanted to share this, though, is that while it always is a bit of a difficult thing to speak up, because there might be a negative reaction, sometimes there is no pushback at all. Indeed, sometimes the one being called out is grateful, because we all have blindspots due to our own lived experiences. You can't live every life. For that reason, your own experience will end up being valuable to someone at some point in time for no other reason than that you lived it and they didn't. And, by the by, this is also true for the present, because the lives we've lived cause us to see what's going on right before our eyes in different lights.

Anyway, this is a story that wouldn't have come out otherwise, so I wanted to be sure to let everyone know that Justin Krasner ensured that my book was a better book. An editor's job is often silent and thankless, so on Thanksgiving, I wanted to say thank you, Justin. <3

#conlang #language #code #codes #cipher #ciphers #thanksgiving #thank you

[stormingfrost]

Reviewing all Rise Of The Guardians related media

I found as much media in this franchise that I could (I know there’s some more that aren’t available anymore, like the apps) and I’m here to give my opinion on all of them. Even if I gave something a low rating, I still love and cherish it as a part of my collection! 

There’s four sections: movie tie-in books, online comics, Guardians Of Childhood, and miscellaneous pieces of media I can’t sort easily 

Movie tie-in books

The Art Of Rise Of The Guardians

        Setting - 4 stars

    Plot - 3 stars

        Engagement - 5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 5 stars

        Enjoyment - 5 stars

        Overall rating - 5 stars

        Recommendation - 5 stars

I love the concept art book so much. I find it very interesting to see how movies are made, especially animated ones. All of the different details and story elements and decisions are so cool. I had to do a double take on them calling Jack a 'hunk' that's so funny. And the art is just so gorgeous!

Guide To The Guardians

        Setting - 3 stars

        Plot - 2.5 stars

        Engagement - 4.5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 3.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 5 stars

        Overall rating - 3.5 stars

        Recommendation - 4 stars

I love fun facts so much! Each guardian gets a section w/ information, and an activity to do. I really like it! It's my second favorite of the movie-tie in books! Has trading cards with even more fun facts! (I found high quality pictures of the cards from GoldenDragon on DeviantArt, if you wanna take a peek at them.)

Hidden Truths and Other Stories

        Setting - 3.5 stars

        Plot - 5 stars

        Engagement - 5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 4.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 5 stars

        Overall rating - 5 stars

        Recommendation - 5 stars

It has two original stories:

Monty and Jamie discussing their experiences with the Guardians before the events of the movie

How the elves came to work for North!

Getting something from this world that I haven't seen before was so fun and exciting! My favorite of the movie tie-in books!

Hidden Truths: 

   The story of Jamie and Monty is really cute. Jamie keeps a book to keep track of the magical things that he sees. Monty shares a time when he was at a boys scout camp and got attacked by a stray dog, only to see ice appear out of nowhere.

With Friends Like These: 

    The elves are funny, and North and the yetis reaction to them is hilarious. They help North, and he decides to let them stay.

Worlds Of Wonder

        Setting - 2.5 stars

        Plot - 1.5 stars

        Engagement - 4 stars

        Characters - 3 stars 

        Style - 3.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 4 stars

        Overall rating - 3.5 stars

        Recommendation - 3 stars

I actually really like this. The play-set is cute and the little booklet gives some information about all the characters. It's something that I would've adored as a kid. It’s got a mixed rating bc it’s a pop-up play-set with mini paper cutouts of the characters, not a story. It’s a bit hard to rate with all the others. 

Rise Of The Guardians: Movie Novelization

        Setting - 3.5 stars

        Plot - 3 stars

        Engagement - 3.5 stars

        Characters - 4 stars 

        Style - 3 stars

        Enjoyment - 3 stars

        Overall rating - 3.5 stars

        Recommendation - 3.5 stars

It's not as well written as I hoped it would've been, but it isn't a terrible read. Overall, I like it, but it does change, add, and exclude lines that were in the movie. Some changes I like, some I don't. It's not bad, not good.

Just meh. If you're a fan of rotg, you'll enjoy it well enough.

Jamie To The Rescue!

        Setting - 3 stars

        Plot - 3.5 stars

        Engagement - 3 stars

        Characters - 3 stars 

        Style - 3.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 3 stars

        Overall rating - 3 stars

        Recommendation - 3 stars

It's a cute illustrated version of Jamie's view of the events of the movie. It’s a picture book for children, I can’t really enjoy this in the way it was intended to be read, because I’m not a kid. I like it, but it's not my favorite by a long shot. 

The Story Of Jack Frost

        Setting - 3 stars

        Plot - 3.5 stars

        Engagement - 3 stars

        Characters - 3 stars 

        Style - 3.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 3 stars

        Overall rating - 3 stars

        Recommendation - 3 stars

It's another cute illustrated version of Jack's view of the events of the movie. I like it, but it's in the same category as Jamie To The Rescue! in terms of kid books that an adult is reading. 

Rise of the Guardians: A Deluxe Pop-Up Book

        Setting - 4.5 stars

        Plot - 3 stars

        Engagement - 3.5 stars

        Characters - 3 stars 

        Style - 2.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 3 stars

        Overall rating - 3 stars

        Recommendation - 3 stars

It's fun to see the events of the movie in an interactive book! But some of the art is... just not very good? It's fine for the most part, but then Jack's eyes are suddenly in two different places and the characters look uncanny. Overall, I like it but the art leaves much to be desired.

Made In The North Pole

        Setting - 2.5 stars

        Plot - 2 stars

        Engagement - 3 stars

        Characters - 3 stars 

        Style - 2.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 2.5 stars

        Overall rating - 2.5 stars

        Recommendation - 2 stars

It's fun, but it's just screenshots from the movie and pngs with related text

Not a lot of effort was put into this as other books and it shows. It's cute tho, definitely a kids book meant for children. 

Rise Of The Guardians: Mix & Match

        Setting - 2 stars

        Plot - 2 stars

        Engagement - 3 stars

        Characters - 3 stars 

        Style - 4 stars

        Enjoyment - 2 stars

        Overall rating - 2.5 stars

        Recommendation - 2.5 stars

Not my favorite but I can recognize that I am not the target audience for this kids book. Probably my least favorite personality.  It would be fun for a kid though, the interactive element is good but overall it's not the best. It's just not for me.

Online comics

Learning To Fly

        Setting - 4.5 stars

        Plot - 5 stars

        Engagement - 5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 5 stars

        Enjoyment - 5 stars

        Overall rating - 5 stars

        Recommendation - 5 stars

I like how he sees how the world works and learns from it. It shows how smart he actually is, and how much he had to learn in those 300 years. I also really like the panel where he is looking up at the birds. Very cool. Just Jack flying with a flock of birds is really cool.

Spring 1968

        Setting - 4 stars

        Plot - 4.5 stars

        Engagement - 5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 5 stars

        Enjoyment - 5 stars

        Overall rating - 5 stars

        Recommendation - 5 stars

This art is just GORGEOUS. Short and sweet, although I do wish we got to see more about the blizzard of '68. You just know Jack is laughing in the background somewhere. I seriously cannot get over how pretty this comic is. I want this art tattooed on my SOUL

Cat Nap

        Setting - 4 stars

        Plot - 5 stars

        Engagement - 5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 5 stars

        Enjoyment - 5 stars

        Overall rating - 5 stars

        Recommendation - 5 stars

This is so adorable I can't even. Sandy's attempts to entertain the cat and the cat just not having it. Short and sweet and it's Sandy and a cat. What's not there to love?

The art is gorgeous. So cute!

Winter Spirit

        Setting - 3.5 stars

        Plot - 5 stars

        Engagement - 5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 5 stars

        Enjoyment - 5 stars

        Overall rating - 5 stars

        Recommendation - 5 stars

Jack making snowmen for a group of kids. Adorable. Also, new Jack outfit besides his colonial one and modern one. I love how the snowmen glow with Jack's magic it's such a cool detail. Jack making things fun for a group of bored kids is so on brand. Very cute and fun!

Pitch Black

        Setting - 5 stars

        Plot - 5 stars

        Engagement - 5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 5 stars

        Enjoyment - 5 stars

        Overall rating - 5 stars

        Recommendation - 5 stars

Pitch gets offered to be a Guardian, but he refuses and takes offense to it. It's so interesting to see Pitch being more friendly to the Guardians, especially because this is the moment that started their fight. I love the different lore here. The books by William Joyce would've never had this happen. (Also ties in super well with Johane Matte's unofficial comics. I recommend reading those as well. This is her tumblr and this her deviantart) 

Guardians of Childhood

The Man In The Moon

        Setting - 4 stars

        Plot - 4 stars

        Engagement - 4 stars

        Characters - 4 stars 

        Style - 5 stars

        Enjoyment - 4 stars

        Overall rating - 4 stars

        Recommendation - 4 stars

Very cute. The drawings are amazing. The story is obviously simple, but it's a bit awkward trying to fit Pitch and the lore in there when the story is mostly about MiM making a smile on the moon’s surface and balloons. 

The Sandman

        Setting - 4 stars

        Plot - 4 stars

        Engagement - 4 stars

        Characters - 4.5 stars 

        Style - 5 stars

        Enjoyment - 4 stars

        Overall rating - 4 stars

        Recommendation - 4 stars

Different from the novels, but still good. Very cute, and the art is gorgeous. Golden Age/Pitch stuff was less sudden and awkward. 

Jack Frost

        Setting - 4 stars

        Plot - 4 stars

        Engagement - 4 stars

        Characters - 4 stars 

        Style - 5 stars

        Enjoyment - 4 stars

        Overall rating - 4 stars

        Recommendation - 4 stars

Very cute! Pretty art. Less confusion about the Pitch/Golden Age stuff, mostly because it was at the beginning as set up rather than just shoved in the middle as a long paragraph on one page. 

Nicholas St. North And The Battle Of The Nightmare King

        Setting - 4.5 stars

        Plot - 5 stars

        Engagement - 3 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 3.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 3 stars

        Overall rating - 4 stars

        Recommendation - 4 stars

Cute, whimsical. We see the very beginning of the Guardians- hints at Santa and Mother Goose. Start of the relics, the macguffins of the series (more on that later.) 

E. Aster Bunnymund And The Warrior Eggs At The Earth's Core!

        Setting - 4.5 stars

        Plot - 5 stars

        Engagement - 3.5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 3.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 3.5 stars

        Overall rating - 4 stars

        Recommendation - 4 stars

I liked this book more than the first one. We set up Emily Jane, we get more characters, and the world is expanded on. I liked how Bunny is a dork, how Pitch's weapons absorb light, how Pitch touching Nightlight turned his hand human. I do wish there was more on Bunny's negative feelings towards Pitch, seeing as he did kill Bunny's people, rather than Bunny not really caring at all. 

Toothiana Queen Of The Tooth Fairy Armies

        Setting - 4.5 stars

        Plot - 5 stars

        Engagement - 3.5 stars

        Characters - 4.5 stars 

        Style - 3 stars

        Enjoyment - 3 stars

        Overall rating - 4 stars

        Recommendation - 4 stars

I wish we had more on Tooth's character. I love her so much. This book frustrates me because all of the other Guardians’ homes get exact locations, but Tooth's is just "Asia." Like where? Tooth's home is only implied, and it sucks. Plus, she's the only POC in this cast, and she's a bird. The book itself was okay (ignoring the orientalism). I liked some of Tooth's backstory and the build up to meeting Emily Jane. 

The Sandman And The War Of Dreams

        Setting - 4.5 stars

        Plot - 5 stars

        Engagement - 4.5 stars

        Characters - 5 stars 

        Style - 4.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 5 stars

        Overall rating - 4.5 stars

        Recommendation - 4.5 stars

I liked the full backstories and the pay off for Emily Jane, Nightlight, and the relics. It feels tied with the previous books. I don't like how rushed Sandy's parts are. Also the kiss thing is just weird. I love Emily Jane's character, wish we got more of her as Mother Nature. I liked how Sandy got blisters from the nightmare shield, it's reminiscent of his death in the movie. I liked it. Favorite book in the GOC series. 

Jack Frost The End Becomes The Beginning

        Setting - 4 stars

        Plot - 3 stars

        Engagement - 3.5 stars

        Characters - 3 stars 

        Style - 3 stars

        Enjoyment - 3 stars

        Overall rating - 3.5 stars

        Recommendation - 3.5 stars

This book is a WILD ride. But definitely a better read if you aren't expecting it to be like the movie at all. The ending was good. I liked Shadowbent. It's inconsistent with the other books, it retcons a bunch of things. Like the relics. They aren’t important anymore just because. This book has unnecessary details and tangents that could be cut out (or even just shown, rather than told) because they do not add anything to the story. Joyce should stop using real historical figures in this book. Jack's staff is alive, btw. I'm still not over that. Or that Tumblr sexyman Jack Frost, Elsa's boyfriend or whatever, is besties with Winston Churchill (????????????????)

Miscellaneous pieces of media I can’t sort easily 

 Rise Of The Guardians: The Video Game (3DS version)

        Setting - 3.5 stars

        Plot - 3.5 stars

        Engagement - 3 stars

        Characters - 2.5 stars 

        Style - 3 stars

        Enjoyment - 3.5 stars

        Overall rating - 3.5 stars

        Recommendation - 3.5 stars

I'm gonna be completely honest here: this game is a low effort cash grab. It’s a movie video game, my expectations are low and it met them. It's enjoyable if you like beating things up, but the gameplay gets repetitive quickly. I liked it well enough played it twice even but I wouldn't say it's the best. The game looks much better (better graphics, gameplay, voice acting, and multiplayer) on Wii/PS3/Xbox 360, I just don't have those consoles.

The Man in The Moon (2005 short film) 

        Setting - 3.5 stars

        Plot - 4 stars

        Engagement - 3 stars

        Characters - 3 stars 

        Style - 3.5 stars

        Enjoyment - 3 stars

        Overall rating - 3.5 stars

        Recommendation - 3.5 stars

The art style is a 3D version of William Joyce's art style (which is fine but gives me Coraline book cover vibes.) The bowler hat is apparently the boogeyman's, which is hilarious (because Joyce wrote the book that became Meet The Robinsons.) VERY early concept of this universe, used to pitch the idea to Dreamworks. It's funny how the core concept is there, but how different it is to both the movie and the books. It's alright, I do find it more interesting than entertaining, because of how much the concept changed. Can't have William Joyce without the robots. 

#rise of the guardians #rotg #jack frost #pitch black #sanderson mansnoozie #e. aster bunnymund #toothiana #nicholas st. north #guardians of childhood #Goc #rotgoc #william joyce #Peter Ramsey #Johane matte

[tavyliasin]

ATG 8 - Ally? Lover

In which two minds meet...

Pairing: Emperor/Tav (And Guardian/Tav) SPICE Rating: 4.5/5 if this is your jam Content Warnings:  Sex, TENTACLES, Mild Bondage, Mindreading, Mindflayer, 

Spoilers Act 3, Guardian/Emperor "Romance" Canon Compliance Canon Compliant - I took a basis from the game scene and expanded it to include the Guardian form along with the Emperor, even though in the game you only sleep with one or the other. Other Notes (From the original release) This chapter is very skippable if you're not down to go to monster town, and that's completely cool you aren't missing much story development beyond conversation that mirrors the one in-game. I tailored it a bit more to fit this Tav better and how I saw that they could believably connect. Yes I tried to make the Mindflayer-fucking chapter emotionally real. The game made it sound appealing. In its own way. I took this as a challenge, and also felt it would be weird to leave it out from the ATG story as a whole. Particularly I feel at this point Tav has been through so many unimaginable horrors she might as well indulge in some unimaginable pleasures too. This will be the *ONLY* Emperor chapter though, because I'll be honest whilst it was fun to write over 4,000 words somehow, I am somewhat more fond of our other pairings so they'll get priority, unless you make demands then I'll probably cave and do another. Oh and I forgot to find space for the line "your tadpole squirms in recognition" and I don't really want to try and edit it in awkwardly, so, here, and sorry!

Song/Mood Find Life by Amaranthe "And you cannot deny What I have sacrificed An unsuspecting side of you A blackened paradise Feel the corruption rise A billion souls adrift But life can save us. Come and you'll find The temptation of human desire Rise, high, Come, find life."

----- FULL CHAPTER BELOW THE CUT -----

Tav paused. She began to rewind and replay all of the events that had lead her to this moment, this choice, a hundred pathways all converging… They had fought intense battles, finally left the shadow cursed lands behind them to make the final march to Baldur’s Gate, and then everything was turned upside down again before they even made it to the outskirts of the city. A week ago a portal had opened in the middle of the night, angry gith fighters pouring into their camp. The insistent voice of the Guardian begging them to rush through the portal impossible to ignore… Everything had only become more overwhelmingly shocking since then. Before the dawn had broken that morning, they had discovered that the Guardians they had all seen within the prism were merely illusions . The one truly keeping them safe was a fucking mindflayer and an imprisoned Gith Prince of Legend. The very same Mindflayer who was sat beside her now, half dressed, and Gods, is he giving me bedroom eyes? His pale lilac skin glistened in the eerie light around them, not entirely unlike a thin sheen of sweat or oil on more humanoid skin.What he’d said moments ago was true. They had searched his old hideout beneath the city, found many of his belongings and she had spoken with him - such as she could, with his voice echoing in her mind - about the memories that were stored alongside them. Weapons and armour they were free to use, trinkets that he had kept as souvenirs of his time in the city, mementos from what sounded like a lover… Finally she had begun to feel they were on more equal footing. The Emperor, as he called himself, was far more interesting than she could have imagined. “Are you suggesting…?” She wasn’t even sure how to finish the question. “Only if you are willing,” the voice spoke without breath, as if a thought in her own head, “and there is no need to rush.”Tav could feel his mind reaching out in the space between them, a sense of lust sparking beneath the ethereal stars of his realm. “I’m…not sure.” She said, hesitating more. “It’s not a no , but…” “You forget, Tavylia, that I know you. I know your heart, your mind.” He tentatively pressed his mind a little further towards her, a warmth and kindness emanating from him now alongside the intoxicating undercurrent of desire. 

“Then you remember my past, too? I am…open to you looking closer, if you wish.” She willed her memories to open like a book, inviting him in.

“No need, dear one, I have seen it like a play on a stage before me. Your mother’s back, laden with weapons, the sad smile in her eyes as she walked out of the door to face some greater foe from her past. Your father’s tears as he read the letter, your hopelessness as you watched the illness overtake his broken heart. The emptiness of the small home, and your own face in the mirror, barely in your teens and completely alone. Why do you think of such things now? I did not intend to remind you of anything painful.”“In your disguise, you walked those same streets. You had your people working within them, trying to make things safer, trying to save everyone. Yet…some of us you could not save.” Aside from her own memories, another that had touched her mind sprang unbidden to her consciousness. Astarion, bleeding out in the street, and the false saviour who had arrived before him.

“It is…regretful, that not everyone can be saved. But you know this already, do you not? No matter how hard you fought there was always some tragedy that slipped through your fingers, a body you couldn’t find whilst it still drew breath, sometimes just a few seconds too late.” The voice in her mind softened. Sympathy. Empathy. “You see, we aren’t so different. I am relieved it was you who ended up with the prism, who found my home, you who I have grown…close to.” The Emperor sidled a little closer, studying her face for any sign of discomfort, and laying his large hand over hers.

“Chance, perhaps. It could have been anyone, really. It seems like half my life is decided by some random roll of the dice from someone else’s hand.” She almost laughed at the absurdity. “What else do you see in that? Maybe by now you know me better than myself.”

“Perhaps I could, but there is a small corner you keep locked away…”

“Some memories deserve to stay buried,” she lied, a half truth as she firmly locked away just a small part of her plans with a random dark moment from her past that didn’t hurt nearly as much as she needed him to believe. “Then it would be unkind of me to pry.” Tav felt his mind withdraw from that place, just slightly. “But as for what I see in you… Contradictions, hesitation, but above all there is a passion within you.” The heat of his own desire began to wash over her now, along with a comforting wave of compassion. “You are…not what I expected. Not what anyone expects, I should wager.” “Isn’t life more exciting with a little of the unexpected?” Tav grinned, beginning to make up her mind. The prospects were enticing, after all. Sleeping with a vampire, flirting with a fiend… Just what would it be like to be with someone who knows every one of my thoughts and desires?“Indeed.” The Emperor growled within her mind, moving a little closer still. “I’m well aware of your rules, your agreements with your vampire lover, and I do not think you can truly deny what is between us now. I even know those thoughts you have about the fiend, though I’d advise not indulging in that particular curiosity.”

“Just as you ask me to indulge in this one?” She kept him on edge, not quite allowing him sure footing. That was the plan buried in the last unexplored corner of her mind, a simple part of her rule of surviving. Always stay aware, trust is proven with time not words, and having the upper hand could often be reassuring even if it never needed to be used. She couldn’t deny that she felt the desire, the curiosity, and to be honest after everything she had survived she was at the point of throwing caution into whichever wind blew her way. Yet, still, if she could get him to drop his defenses, let her in entirely, then should their goals no longer align she might at least have a weakness to exploit. Tav would prefer not to have to be so underhanded, but she knew that some part of him would well understand the finely honed instinct, sharpened over decades on unkind streets, the whetstone of hardship leaving her with a keen blade of wit.

“I won’t ask any more of you than you are willing.” The Emperor pulled back now and stood up, offering a hand to help her to her feet. “You can move away at any time, should you wish, and if a word might make you feel safer then even the thought of the word Orpheus will halt us in a moment.”

“Isn’t that a little…close to home?” “No stranger than Angel for your beloved vampire.” “Touche.”

“Or perhaps, now, touch?” The illithids tentacles moved slightly, the shape of his eyes making the full expression look somewhat akin to a smile. Or at least whatever passed for a smile from a Mindflayer.  Stepping towards the Emperor, Tav soon realised her feet were no longer on the ground. True to his word, she could still will herself to move freely so she could still leave if she wanted. But where would the fun be in that? She drifted closer to him, tentatively laying a hand on his shoulder, caressing the ridges of muscle and skin. This was…not how she imagined things would ever go. But it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. It looked like he would be completely cold, but there was a warmth beneath his skin. She leaned in towards him naturally as the distance between them narrowed, until she realised - where the fuck am I supposed to kiss? She flipped quickly through her memories like an index, looking for a clue. Ah…that was it…his mouth was somewhere behind the tentacles. Shit. Plan B.

Tav was at a disadvantage. The Emperor had been able to see all of her romantic entanglements and desires, likely knew plenty of ways to entice and excite a humanoid body, but in all her adventures after dark she had not once been so close to a mindflayer. He did not reach forward to her, but instead allowed her the time to begin to know his form. He was lithe, tall, perhaps “gangly” would be an accurate, if unkind, word for his body. But she kept in mind, it was still a body. Nerves and sensations would not be so different, if she could find the right thing to do. That was the one advantage she was realising she had, as her hands felt along his arms, across his chest beneath the tentacles, and around his back. She was beginning to sense exactly how he was feeling. The shiver of pleasure passed between them like a thought as she found one sensitive point along…well, where a collarbone might be, if he were not an illithid. Floating above the ground was also freeing them to the experience completely. No hard rocks beneath them, no obstacles in the way, the only touch they could feel was each other. For now, they had stopped talking. Communication was coming purely from contact, as Tav gently began to take one of the tentacles into her hand, running her fingers along the appendage. The Emperor shuddered, the air almost sparkling with the feeling conveyed from his mind. That , it seemed, was good for him.

Emboldened by the discovery, along with realising that his skin - and indeed the tentacles - did not feel quite so…unusual, as she had expected. Every body had its quirks, after all, from pointed ears to ridged skin, shapes and sizes of all kinds, rainbows of colour and beautiful variety to indulge in. His body was smooth and taught, tense, textured, but not at all unpleasant. The tentacles themselves were clearly sensitive, a slight audible rumble coming for once from the Emperor’s throat rather than directly into Tav’s mind. His eyes closed briefly, exhaling a long and shuddering sigh, the blazing pink tones almost glowing brighter than before when he looked back at her again. The patience had paid off for him, Tav realised, but had now worn away. Still, he was remarkably gentle as he gradually slid one of the tentacles behind her neck. It didn’t feel so dissimilar to a hand or an arm, the flexible appendage caressing her hair and the pointed tips of her ears.

Tav sighed herself now, the touch was building the intensity between them, their minds melding ever closer. Another tentacle wrapped over her shoulder, the third around her waist pulling her tightly against him, leaving only the forth still in her hand where she could continue to trace shapes with her fingers, occasionally stroking or massaging the muscled limb. The Emperor’s own hands moved to her hips, sliding down a little to take a firm hold of her rear, long nails digging in just enough for her to feel as he pulled her body even closer against his own. The tender and careful touch of the Emperor was almost close to romantic, a sensation which Tav might have found surprising if their thoughts weren’t melting into each other just as much as their flesh wanted to. But this was where she began to feel at a loss again. Her own clothes were being gradually unfastened, skin exposed, every point she had ever wished to be touched entirely encompassed by the myriad of limbs. Fingers and tentacles alike dextrous in raising the desire within her, his own passionate feelings swimming through her mind. “Is something…wrong?” His voice resounded quietly in her thoughts now, almost a whisper. Of course he could sense her hesitation again. The touch that had been surrounding her fell away as he allowed them to drift apart, glowing eyes observing her carefully. “It is…this form. Too unfamiliar.”

“No…Yes… A little. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, I’m not used to…”

“I could, if you desire, take any form you wish.” Glowing eyes twinkled with promise.

“Isn’t this what you want, how you are now?” Tav pondered the possibilities… Any form at all, that wasn’t something you could experience every day, but then wouldn’t it be insulting? She knew what to do with a more humanoid body, though…

“Perhaps,” he suggested, “we could consider both to be an option. There might not be many nights left before we must face the final battle, but this single night has more than one hour in it.”“Then…” She paused again. “I have one rule. Never the form of any of my companions. Never anyone I know.”

“Maybe,” he took one of her hands in his, “you might like the form you knew me in before?”

His free hand gestured a slight motion, and his illithid form shimmered and transformed into the stunning Tiefling she remembered from when they first met. “How did you decide on this body? When you first came to my dreams.”

“It was simple,” the Emperor - or rather, the Guardian - spoke with an audible voice now that there was a tongue to form words and lips to express them, “I looked into your own mind just briefly. I chose a body you might find to be…appealing.”

“You…were not wrong.” Tav took a moment to appreciate them, peering at every inch of their barely dressed body still floating in the air. They were a Tiefling, rich purple toned skin, deep pink hue in their hair and eyes, skin with a few pale marks of vitiligo like a map of beauty to her eyes. Their voice was warm, soft, and though their form leaned more masculine they were beyond any concept of gender. Perhaps it was the same for the Emperor, after all Mindflayers had no concept of gender or genitalia though he had always claimed a masculine title and pronouns for himself, a way to be perhaps more like the people he wished to live amongst?...

“Come closer, dear one,” they spoke softly, but didn’t close the gap themselves, leaving it as an invitation when she was ready, “we can stay like this until you feel more comfortable.”

Tav willed her body towards theirs, the heat between them rising anew. This would be easier, for now, and their body was so very enticing. The curls of their hair fell like a waterfall from between the horns that rose from their forehead, they even had the appearance of wearing flawless makeup that almost shimmered.

When their lips met, she was reminded of all those dreams, the strange warrior promising protection yet holding so many secrets from her. There were no secrets now, their minds opening fully to each other - besides that small corner she locked away - absorbed in the connection. Floating higher above the ground they could move completely freely, the touch of more familiar hands was becoming intoxicating. It was relieving for Tav to be able to hear the soft moans from her strange partner, a more familiar reaction to her advances as she grew bolder, hotter, allowing the desire to flow through her like waves crashing against the shore. The Guardian, as it was easier to think of them in this moment, this form, had fully undressed her now, clothes fluttering to the ground below. All that remained of their own clothes was the thin silk wrap that only partially covered their chest and hips. Tav decided to leave this on, finding it in some way more enticing to see with her hands now than her eyes. Their lips barely parted, legs entwining, arms wrapped around each other as they tasted the heat of the kiss. When she had drawn close to the Emperor, Tav had noted the scent of vanilla and garlic - it wasn’t something she thought would ever be an appealing combination, but it was a flavour now that she decidedly wanted more of as it was still present from the Guardian… Her Guardian, as they were giving themselves fully to her in this moment. She moaned audibly as nimble fingers found their way between her legs, touching, stroking, a gentle but insistent lust behind every motion. Her own hand traversed their body, taking in every muscle and curve, seeking the same places to draw out their arousal with her own. There was an intensity with every motion they made, every exploration of each other’s most sensitive points bringing forth a fresh harmony from within, the sounds of their voices melding together as the line between where one ended and the other began became even thinner. It was a dizzying high as they reached a release, far from the ground below, far from anything as their consciousness blended in ecstasy wrapped in each others arms until, breathlessly, they began to descend in more ways than one.

“How do you feel?” The Guardian asked, though they hardly needed to. Perhaps it was more a courtesy, perhaps a little of their own hesitance.

“I want you ,” Tav replied, “all of you, as you truly are. I think I understand, now.” “If you are certain,” they drifted slightly back again, just as their feet touched the floor, “then you may have … all of me, as I shall have all of you.” Their form changed mid sentence, their voice shifting to the telepathic link once more, but this time it felt more…comfortable. Enticing. In the binding of their minds, Tav had experienced something entirely beyond explanation, but she could tell that if she were willing to truly be with him then the night with the Emperor would be unforgettable, unique- “There are…other things we can do, if I am not spending my energy on maintaining the other body.” His eyes sparkled with a fresh glow, one hand lazily weaving patterns through the air as if drawing magic itself to his slender fingers.

“You know my mind, Emperor,” she replied, allowing some of her more…interesting thoughts to surface, “I will allow you to decide from here. Lead me, show me what you want, too.” That was more than enough invitation, the air almost pulsing with anticipation and a pure passion, their minds drawing each other in once more. He closed the gap between them in a single step, tentacles wrapping around her in an embrace using his arms to break the fall as he pressed them to the ground together. “The tentacles…do not cause you concern?” he enquired, even as they caressed every part of her upper body, drawing yet quicker breaths from her lungs. “Different,” she managed to whisper, “is not bad.” “Then…relax.” Comfort laced with desire radiated in her mind, now accompanied by the feeling of the spell he wove around them. “Evard’s Black Tentacles, perhaps you might feel my use of this magic to be somewhat ironic, but I assure you that you will not be harmed. Merely…held.”The magical tentacles rose from the ground beneath them, transforming the stone floor into a living mass. Some wove themselves akin to a bed beneath Tav’s back, but a few others began to coil around her limbs. Were their minds not so wholly linked, she would’ve expected to feel danger, but instead there was only the pure intention filling her consciousness. The word, should she think or speak it, would melt them away in an instant, but the possibilities....

Some hours later, Tav would hesitate with her quill above the page, unsure how much of this particular story she was willing to tell, but in the moment…her entire being was carried away in a flood of sensation. The spell’s tentacles coiled around her arms first, a firm pressure holding her as the next snaked their way up her ankles, moving her legs apart. The Emperor knelt over her, his own tentacles caressing her face, breasts, taking his time to touch every inch of her body while glowing eyes watched her expression with a renewed hunger.

Her eyes closed naturally, giving herself over entirely to the almost overwhelming feeling of being so utterly touched. Her body was a mass of sensation, nerves alight with the contact that covered almost every inch of achingly oversensitive flesh, her mind awash with the flood of feelings from the Emperor’s own. There truly was no space left between them in body or in thought, nothing separating the ebb and flow of pure pleasure. It was hard for her even to tell which tentacles were from the spell and which were his own, as they caressed and massaged muscles she hadn’t realised were sorely in need of the careful release of tense knots.

And then there was the tentacle drifting up her thigh, and she found herself urging it to continue, to keep mapping the nerves towards her core. She felt a little amusement from the Emperor as he held back, teasing her to the brink of madness before pressing inside. Stars burst in her mind, the flexible appendage moving in all the right ways within her.

It was nothing like she could have imagined, being so utterly smothered by senses all around her, body completely and wholly held, taken, lifted to dizzying heights of pleasure. He knew everything she wanted, everything she desired, reading her mind like an open instruction manual on every thought that passed through willing him onwards. Wave after wave of orgasms cascaded through not just her body, but her entire sense of being. It was perhaps different for him, but she felt some similar shudders of pleasure, shivers vibrating through his tentacles as he gave neither of them pause to draw breath.

She pressed forward a simple wish, to let her have more of him, and he was more than happy to provide it, bringing the tip of a tentacle to caress her lips. Perhaps they could not kiss as they could with the Guardian’s welcoming lips, but she was familiar enough with how her own lips and tongue might express something similar.

Tav kissed the soft skin, tasting again that strange blend of vanilla and garlic, inviting the tip between parted lips. She felt his mind shudder within her own, as close as one might get to a moan of sheer desire, and began to work her lips and tongue around him to draw out yet more from within him.

It was…intoxicating. To be utterly surrounded, filled, a hundred nerves shooting lightning messages through her entire body with two simple words - fuck,yes.

Time dissolved away, every thought beyond the absolute desire banished to some other realm as they fully indulged in every sensation they could tease from one another. By the time they finally lay still, the tentacles receding beneath them as the spell faded away, their minds finally parted.

Tav had felt such a rush, the heat of the moment carrying her almost entirely out of her body yet keeping her rooted within it with the unending touch. Now they were parted, laying beside one another, she wasn’t quite sure what to do, how to feel. It was clear that what the Emperor felt for her was beyond the animal lust that had consumed her own soul, but her heart remained firmly with her lover.

Astarion, she thought to herself quietly, I’m not quite sure you’re ready to hear about this one.

“You should return soon and rest, dear one. The work must start anew come morning.” The Emperor was clearly more concerned about returning to business now, their shared goal in defeating the Absolute would not disappear in a single night of...sex? That was perhaps the closest word, though not entirely accurate. Either way, it wouldn’t buy them any more time, either. Their arrival in the city had already been filled with more unavoidable tasks, a new set of crises that she seemed destined to resolve with her strange group of allies.

“Ahem.” A voice sounded from several metres away. Wait, the Emperor speaks in my mind, and he’s laying right-Tav looked up. A shimmering portal crackled in the air, the silhouette of several figures against it.

“I am sorry, dear one, I promised I would protect you, but I cannot shield you from your connection to them. And I was…distracted.” The Emperor sounded apologetic, and Tav realised with growing horror exactly what this meant.

Gale’s voice cut between them again. “I’m not going to judge you, but can we all come to an agreement to never speak of this as long as we all shall live?”

The silhouettes beside him nodded silently and retreated through the portal, as Tav quickly gathered her clothes from where they had fallen across the area, feeling far more exposed than she had ever intended.

Fuck. She thought. That was… Fuck.

---Even as she tried to sleep back in her bedroll, the image of her companions standing there was burned into the backs of her eyes. Fucking tadpole. She rolled over again, pulling the blanket closer around her shoulders. Still…that was… She didn’t quite finish the thought, but she knew she didn’t entirely regret the experience. Though she did promise herself it would not be one to repeat. A willing audience was one thing, perhaps, and though she was fairly certain the others didn’t sense the details, they knew who she had been with that night. Even just catching them laying there naked in the afterglow was likely far more than any of them ever wished to witness.

Agreed, Gale, we shall never speak of this. She glanced at the diary. But I might as well write about it. For posterity.

Several times she would consider tearing out those pages, setting fire to them, and erasing the existence of the ashes that remained…but she never did, that lingering yet sated curiosity staying her hand every time.

----------- ----------- ENDING NOTES ----------- ----------- My original end note to this was "I see this chapter as a challenge. The game made the option sound appealing, and I can't deny either that it raised the idea of a bunch of possibilities, so join me as we explore a few of them, dear one, if you so desire~" I...sorry loves I can't deny it any longer, those were a lot of interesting possibilities. And honestly as I repost these I do have some regret to sharing a pseud with Tav's full name - at the time it seemed fun, but the more Tavylia has become part of my identity the stranger it is to use those mentions as ATG's Tav who has just been "Tav" to me for a long time now. I also wrote this prior to finishing the game and before I'd gone back to find Abdirak (I missed him the first time!) so I think "dear one" came either from the dialogue scene or just something that felt right at the time for his term of endearment, so I do apologise to Abdirak fans. I will make it up to all of you~

Oh, and this was my Guardian and I love them~

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 fanfiction #a tav's guide #emperor x tav #bg3 emperor #bg3 tav #fanfic #monster fucker #tentacles #tentacle kink #guardian #dream guardian #bg3 guardian

[knee-stockings]

So I’ve been listening to lots of podcasts at work lately to break up the monotony of my office job. Mainly they’re horror, suspense/thriller, drama, that kind of thing. Trying to give ratings without spoilers~

(Check out updated pod recs here)

The Left Right Game (a journalist investigating an urban legend that gets increasingly more dangerous as they go): 5/5, this being one of the first ones I listened to set the bar really high tbh, it was great, immersive sound design, genuinely suspenseful and creepy moments, interesting plot, my only gripe is that I didn’t love the ending but I couldn’t dock a star just for that, highly recommend, maybe I’ll retire to Wintry Bay someday 

Alice Isn’t Dead (delivery trucker goes searching for her believed dead wife, comes across supernatural towns and creatures and a conspiracy that goes way deeper than one missing woman): 5/5, so so good, enjoyed a lot, I loved learning the truth about the Thistle men, still don’t completely understand oracles but that’s okay, some delightfully creepy moments, this will be high on my recommendation list (also it’s by the Welcome to Night Vale people, which I actually haven’t listened to lmao)

Harley Quinn and the Joker: Sound Mind (it’s a Harley Quinn origin story basically): 5/5, very enjoyable, sound design great, plot was fun, I don’t know how accurate this story is to the original Harley Quinn origin story but I liked this a lot

The Burned Photo (two women try to fight a familial curse haunting their bloodlines): 4/5, not bad at all, I thought the sound design was great and immersive but I thought the monster’s voice was a bit goofy idk, the plot wasn’t bad though ofc it was pretty bittersweet and sad in the end, tho I think it was never going to be happy for everyone involved

Blackwood (group of teens investigate the town urban legend and uncover more than they bargained for): I can’t decide…3.5 maybe? It was okay. I didn’t love it or hate it, I’m pretty neutral about it. It was interesting enough

Gaslight (girl goes missing and then reappears to her best friend years later with little explanation): 3/5, feels like there should be another season, wasn’t as dramatic/suspenseful as I thought it would be (maybe that’s my own fault tho, from the description and stuff I thought there would be more to it)

Ice-Cream (teens suspect the friendly neighborhood ice cream man of abducting little kids and uncover a dark secret): 4.5/5, interesting and a lil creepy, there’s something oddly funny about hearing someone scream “fuck you Beelzebub” even in context, sound design is pretty good and voice acting is great, finale was also pretty good but I’m docking half a star bc of that very last bit and bc I said so, overall short n’ sweet, no pun intendo (I’m kinda glad that it’s only the one season and not super long, gives the feeling of not overstaying its welcome. Also in awe that they made it within like a month, gonna go listen to their other podcast Cascadia too)

Cascadia (submarine expedition to uncharted waters, gone wrong, we almost died!?): 5/5, by the Ice-Cream people so I expected great sound design and voice acting and said expectations were met tbh, yes god love the drama, ocean depths are inherently scary to me so this is top tier horror, season one was chef’s kiss beautiful and I heard season 2 is coming so I’ll be waiting eagerly for that

Listening now:

Within the Wires (season 1 is relaxation cassette tapes from another world, season 2 is a guided museum tour I think): also by the WTNV people, interesting so far, the plot that unfolded in the first season was cool to watch as it played out, but also I am so sad. I like it so far

Rabbits (girl goes searching for her friend who disappeared because of this mysterious Rabbits game): feels like a really slow start after a few episodes, I kinda wanna get to more action soon please

Wake of Corrosion (apocalypse where characters are trying to find other survivors and also answers): mild shrug, not sure what to make of it just yet. Only like 2 episodes in so I think I need to give it a bit

Ars Paradoxica (scientist accidentally invents time travel and is thrown back to the 1940s): pretty interesting so far, science is fun 

Spoiler comment for Cascadia under the cut bc it's the one I just finished and I have Thoughts

As much as I enjoyed Cascadia, when I think about the expedition for more than 2 seconds I get confused. Not the whole alien thing, that’s fine, it’s Badger and Maria and their ulterior motives. Why in the world did Badger spend millions of dollars to make a submarine that’s faulty on purpose? And there was so much media coverage around it so the second something went wrong reporters were practically beating him over the head with microphones, so why risk so much bad press? Plus sacrificing three other talented divers who trusted him with their lives??? That’s the most confusing to me. There’s no way Badger foresaw them getting attacked underwater and losing Declan alone, so he must have been fully prepared to lose captain AND crew. Holden said that he saw Badger as a father, and yet he chose Holden to die? He said he handpicked them, so what did Holden, Alia, or Iris ever do to him to deserve being sent on a suicide mission? Doing all this just to get rid of Declan and be with Maria doesn’t feel right. Feels like there should be something more there. Tldr: surely Badger had another reason for conducting the suicide mission, right? Also since season 2 starts with Lila all grown up, a diver just like her father, I wanna know her opinions of her mother and of Badger. Did she learn about her mother’s betrayal? Is Badger still involved in funding deep sea diving or did the FBI take him out of that? Omg who’s the father of her little sibling…I’m so curious…

#ignore me #mimi reviews #the left right game #alice isn't dead #harley quinn and the joker sound mind #the burned photo #blackwood #gaslight #ice-cream #cascadia #within the wires #rabbits #wake of corrosion #ars paradoxica #i can't believe i had the patience to tag all these...

[world-cinema-research]

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

By Carly Leavitt-Hullana (THE 112-SP '24)

The film I saw was The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, (see trailer below). This movie was released in July of 2012, 10 years after the original Spider-Man was released starring Tobey Maguire. I chose this movie as it was one of the first movies I remember fully and joyfully watching, as I was six years old at the time. My mom bought us the Blu-ray DVD when it came out in November, and my sister, my two cousins and I would watch it all of the time; so that another major impact of this movie was simply spending time with my family. 

Official Trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man (Youtube)

In regards to the box office numbers, this film was commercially successful as the budget was about 220-230 million dollars and made $262,030,633 domestically and $495,895,604 internationally, or $757,890,267 worldwide. Although the opening weekend only raked in 23.7% of total gross, $62,002,688 respectively, it still performed well and the DVD and Blu-ray sales also performed admirably with a total of $113,789,781 domestically, (The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Box Office Numbers via THE NUMBERS). Staying a little below trend with the commercial aspects, the movie was still critically successful with ratings of 6.9/10 for IMDb, a 71% for Rotten Tomatoes, and 66% for Metacritic. Regardless, the film is considered successful in both aspects as it made 2x the budget just from the domestic box office sales and received highly related reviews. One review is from Roger Ebert, who claims The Amazing Spider-Man is "...probably the second best [out of the Spider-Man franchise]." In the same article, "A remake that's also a reboot," he gives the film a 4.5/5 star rating. He also touches on an aspect that many of those who have watched the film appreciate; the screen time given to show Parker's story as well as an explanation why he decides to step into his newfound role, (A remake that’s also a reboot via Roger Ebert).

The movie begins with Parker as a child when he still lived with his parents, who soon dropped him off to board at his aunt and uncle's house and then mysteriously disappeared. Leaving behind a bag with his father's work that Parker finds at the beginning of the film, which then sends him on a hunt for answers that leads him to the "Tower," also known as the headquarters of Oscorp where his father's former research partner currently works, (The Amazing Spider-Man Summaries/Synopsis via IMDb).

The background story of Peter Parker is rather tragic, however, the producers used it to their advantage to bring in a larger audience in addition to the action scenes. Along with the star actors including Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Rhys Ifans and even Stan Lee's cameo where he plays the librarian in a fight scene. With the rating of the film being PG-13, that the directors represented the film to the proper audience of young teenagers and family, which also contributed to the high viewing and ratings. Even watching the Peter Parker Wake Up Scene (see below), you can see that this is a high-action, suspenseful movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat, pretty spot on with what I remembered.

The Amazing Spider-Man Wake Up Scene (Youtube)

On the other hand, a restraining factor that might have prevented more viewers from seeing this film is how recent the film came out in consideration to the original Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire. As I mentioned earlier, The Amazing Spider-Man only came out 10 years after the first Spider-Man, and 5 years after Spider-Man 3, so potential viewers who do not follow the Marvel-verse have a subsidiary probability of viewing the movie. Even so, looking at current reviews The Amazing Spider-Man (see promotional flier below) with Andrew Garfield is still loved, however recent adaptations starring Tom Holland are more favored. 

The Amazing Spider-Man Promotional Movie Poster

Although this movie is categorized as conventional, there are some unconventional themes that can be observed throughout the movie. Such as the controversial dispute Parker exchanges with Captain Stacy, where he claims the police are not doing their jobs effectively enough and that the "amateur in a suit" is only trying to help and do what the police are failing to do. Seeing as I was only six at the time I watched this movie, I cannot attest to society's views on the police in 2012, however it is a very controversial topic that is talked about more and more today. Another controversial topic that stood out to me is how the police and government try to downplay Lizard's sighting on the bridge. Which reflects the lack of information from government officials and framing of news coverage we experienced then and especially now in America. An example can be said about the death of the French photographer Remi Ochlik and war reporter Marie Colvin, who died from a Syrian attack in 2012. It is believed that they were targeted by Assad for speaking out, however the media framed them as being accidentally caught in the crossfire as they were suspected of being "rebel forces," Journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik die in Homs via BBC News).

Overall, there are a lot of new affairs I gathered after re-watching this film. Especially since the last time I saw this film I was about six or seven years old. Now, I can relate with Peter Parker's more introverted and shy side. I have also learned and experienced a lot about society and rhetorical and ironic messages in the media. However, aside from social commentary, the biggest difference I noticed was the spider bite scene as my memory of this scene was that he got bit in an office-like setting (?) whereas he actually got bit in the lab/building where the spiders and genetic testing took place (go figure!).

#Youtube #the amazing spider-man #andrew garfield #marvel

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged – Plan to Eradicate Christmas Review

Originally posted... today!

Instead of the true meaning of Christmas, we see the true meaning of an abridged series.

Over the course of Dragon Ball Z: Abridged, Team Four Star has established a lot of minute details about its characters. We saw in Christmas Tree of Might that Goku is earth’s most ardent defender of Christmas. We also learned that across the universe, very few people got to celebrate Christmas, as it was replaced by Freeza Day on any planet he conquered. And we learned that even before Freeza conquered Planet Vegeta, Santa was never able to visit them to spread love and good cheer, because the Saiyans tried to shoot him down.

Every single one of those details is capitalized on here in Plan to Eradicate Christmas. Through snippets of character interaction, we learn that Goku has been itching to defend Christmas yet again. We see Freeza’s ego displayed as he commands the Villains of Christmas past to referthemselves as the Villains of Freeza Day Past, despite them having agreed upon Christmas. Even Santa’s inability to deliver presents to Planet Vegeta is called back to, as Vegeta nostalgically recalls his favorite Christmas pastime of shooting energy blasts at Santa’s sleigh.

If these callbacks rested solely on referring back to things we already know, it’s possible that they could fall flat, but every single one is rooted in the nature of these characters we’ve come to know and love. Of course the violent egomaniac Vegeta would try to shoot down Santa’s sleigh. Of course Freeza would refuse to bow to the demands of Cooler, Turles, and King Picc…Lord Slug, who he all views as his lesser. And of course, the battle hungry, ever optimistic Goku would be salivating over another opportunity to save Christmas, his most wonderful time of the year.

The specificity of these characters is also what makes Santa work so well as a villain here. After our heroes defeat the Villains of Christmas Past, they are confronted by Santa, who reveals that all have been naughty and fallen short of the glory of Santa. Vegeta is, well Vegeta, we know what he’s done. Goku’s lust for battle endangers the entire universe, brought to the forefront with a perfectly timed ad for Dragon Ball Super, and Piccolo is held to account for his and his father’s past attempts at world domination.

Even Trunks is at fault, having time traveled so recklessly as to endanger the space-time continuum, brilliantly highlighted with a cut to what I believe is Dragon Ball GT footage. Only Gohan is without naughtiness, and is granted a present by Santa, but like every Christmas before, Santa gives him what he likes, and he likes books.

The jokes in this Christmas special all land so well because they draw on our understanding of these characters, who we’ve gotten to know over the course of the last decade Dragon Ball Z: Abridged has been produced. It’s genuinely delightful to see Team Four Star tackle a Christmas special once more as well, as they manage to turn a story from an uninteresting OVA with a generic villain into a hilarious Christmas romp.

Plan to Eradicate Christmas is a great example of what abridged series can do at their best. They can take weak ideas and repurpose them, giving them new life and meaning with a comedic edge. Team Four Star really did go and give us a gift in Christmas 2018, and showed us what abridging is really all about.

Rating: 4.5/5

Stray Observations

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fantastic music Cliff Weinstein composed for this special. Christmas Eve-olution / Carol of the Hells is the standout track in particular. It is wonderfully ominous and builds perfectly to the final confrontation and group Kamehameha.

Thanks for reading! You can support her continued film criticism addiction on Patreon.

#dragon ball z abridged #dragon ball z #team four star #tfs #dbz #dbza #dbza special #dbza eradicate christmas #the first piece of new writing on this blog in four years #it feels good to be back :) #can't help but wonder if there is going to be something new up here next week as well #who could possibly predict such a thing?

[anneapocalypse]

Rating my own recreations of my Hawkes in Inquisition

Why? Because I thought it would be fun. Please feel free to steal my idea and tag me so I can see your Hawkes.

Alessandra Hawke

World State: Elf Lovers

Difficulty: Easy

DAI's character creator offers a very similar hairstyle to to Alessandra's original. Her lovely hooked nose is a key feature and DAI fortunately had one similar enough, though it's a little more rounded at the end. She looks a lot more Tired in DAI, but all Hawkes do, and they probably should. It's tough to get a more rounded jawline in DAI, so her face looks a little more angular. Darker skin tints tend toward warmer in DA2 and cooler in DAI (and cool light severely washes out medium browns in DAI) but all told, she came out pretty darn good.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sabine Hawke

World State: For Love of the People

Difficulty: Easy

She changed her part to the other side, but otherwise Sabine came out pretty bang-on. All Dragon Age games need a better variety of Asian features now and forever. Nonetheless, I think her face shape, skin tint, and even her nose comes pretty close. Looking at these shots, I could have possibly made her chin a little longer and rounder. That's about the only quibble I can come up with.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cillian Hawke

World State: Love & Magic

Difficulty: Moderate

Cillian took a few outtakes to get right. The hair is acceptable, eyes and mouth look good. and after a lot of tweaking I think I got his face shape pretty bang-on. The nose, however, is a problem. The nostrils are sitting way too high relative to the point (as opposed to his original nose which is pretty straight across the bottom), which makes him look like he's sneering at all times, and this combined with DAI Hawke's tendency to have a pinched, worried brow makes him look Angry in a lot of shots--not exactly right for a gentle-hearted Blue Hawke. Nevertheless, I'm really proud of how I nailed those cheekbones.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Emilia Hawke

World State: Noble Hearts

Difficulty: Hard

Woof. Just woof. This did not go well. First off, DAI really doesn't have a true "dirty blonde," just this mustard color which makes the whole shot look overwhelmingly yellow, so much that DA2 Emilia looks washed-out by comparison. I thought the nose was fine, but looking at these shots side by side, something does seem a little off. The hairstyle is acceptable, but its makes her forehead look much larger than the original (modded) hairstyle, and I couldn't really find a way to fix that. Overall it's really the face shape that kills it. DAI does not like round faces. I did my best, and then left her in the Fade where she belongs. (Trust me. It what she deserves.)

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐

Mallory Hawke

World State: Rogues Gallery

Difficulty: Hard

We're starting from modded hair, so we have our work cut out for us here. (Curly hairstyles WHEN. Also modded freckles, but there DAI has us covered.) Unfortunately, I was not able to get a hair mod to work in DAI, so Mal was forced to wear her hair up, which she Would Not. But we make the sacrifices we must. Mallory also has a lot of soft curves to her face, but I'd say she survived the jawbonification a lot better than Emilia did, and where was this nose when I was trying to make Cil? DAI's neon teal eyes are a touch greener but I can let that slide. Overall, I'd say she's still recognizable, even without letting her hair down. That's still my girl.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Note: I put all the comparion pictures in side-by-side, but none except the first one will display that way on the dash, and I can't fix it. 🤷‍♀️Sorry.)

#hawke #dragon age inquisition #dragon age 2 #dragon age #alessandra hawke #sabine hawke #cillian hawke #emilia hawke #mallory hawke #world state: elf lovers #world state: for love of the people #world state: love and magic #world state: noble hearts #world state: rogues gallery

[aurorawest]

Reading update

The Restless Dark by Erica Waters - 4.25/5 stars

Genuinely good YA thriller.

The Stagsblood Prince by Gideon E Wood - 4.25/5 stars

This one ripped my heart out and I am going to be PISSED if there isn't a happy ending in the third book in the trilogy.

You First by JC Lillis - 4.25/5 stars

You'd think a book that is essentially an Incredibles AU would be lighthearted, right? You wouldn't think you'd practically be sobbing by the end? Haha! You thought wrong!

Wranglestone by Darren Charlton - 4.25/5 stars

I initially rated this 4.25 stars but honestly I might bump it up to 4.5. It's a zombie story but it was really well done, and I ordered the second book in the series the minute I finished this one.

The Falcon and the Foe by AJ Truman - 3.75/5 stars

Felix Silver, Teaspoons, & Witches by Harry Cook - DNF

This one was too Middle Grade for me.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers - 3.5/5 stars

So I won my local indie bookstore's trivia in March and the first place prize was a bunch of books that I never would have picked up on my own, including this one. I bumped it to the front of my TBR pile because I thought it would make a good comp for the manuscript I'm editing - it's about a woman who meets and drunkenly marries a stranger in Vegas, then falls in love with her afterwards. The book is really not a romance though, and is actually about burnout. I might have rated it higher if it didn't sell itself as a romance.

All the Better Part of Me by Molly Ringle - 4.25/5 stars

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley - 5/5 stars

"What if France won the Napoleonic Wars because of time travelers" shouldn't have shattered me the way this book did, but of course it's a Natasha Pulley novel so it absolutely did. There isn't a single one of her books that don't live in my mind rent free for apparently the rest of time after I read them, but man. I'm not sure if this one hurt as much as The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, but it's pretty close. Missouri Kite is the most Gay Little Man™. And Joe, poor Joe. The PINING. The YEARNING. When the reveal happens, I had to go back and read prior sections of the book and good god do they hit different. Different and SADDER. AKDJF;AKDJFKDAFJ;D JUST PLEASE READ IT PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

A Destiny of Dragons by TJ Klune - DNF

Not only did I DNF this, I removed the rest of the series from my TBR pile and will be offloading them at my local indie bookstore's next book buy-back. I think the worst part of this one was that he dedicated it to his eighth grade English teacher, who apparently told him his stories would never amount to anything. And like. What an awful thing for a teacher to tell a kid (sidebar, my eighth grade English teacher is one of the reasons I started to really take writing seriously, she was amazingly supportive - thank you, Mrs. Brzezinski!). But reading this series is like...you know, she might have had a point. I KID I KID WE ALL KNOW KLUNE ACTUALLY CAN WRITE but holy shit again, this series is so bad. The writing was a little better than The Lightning-Struck Heart but the characters are so fucking annoying. The term Mary Sue gets thrown around a lot and I'm generally not a fan of its application (since usually it's used to tear down teenage girls) but Sam of Wilds is such a fucking Mary Sue (or Gary Stu, I guess, but down with the gender binary, let's just have one word). Everyone wants to have sex with him and while it may have been sort of funny at first (it wasn't), by book 2, the joke has worn extremely thin. Also there's a prophecy about him, because of course there is. And he's the most powerful wizard ever. And yeah, I've read a lot of books where there's a prophecy about the MC and they're the Most Powerful Magic Person Ever, but they're usually not this annoying.

Chainbreaker by Tara Sim - 5/5 stars

This is book 2 of a really interesting and original fantasy/steampunk series. I really enjoyed the first one but this one was even better. It takes place in a world where time running correctly is controlled by clock towers. The main character is a clock mechanic (obviously an important job) who falls in love with the clock spirit of the town of Enfield (delightful, since my wife is from Enfield and it's not a place you often see mentioned in fiction). This book raises the stakes of the first one and takes place largely in India. Highly recommend.

Stormhaven by Jordan L Hawk - 4.25/5 stars

Game Changer by Rachel Reid - 4/5 stars

Is this the OG m/m hockey book? There was something very quaint about it haha.

The Best Man's Problem by Sera Taíno - DNF

I'm beginning to realize that I don't really like books where the family is given equal importance to the romance.

Arctic Wild by Annabeth Albert - 4/5 stars

Hummingbird Heartbreak by Max Walker - 2.75/5 stars

I found Dusty's reaction to the reveal of Brandon's past to be over-the-top and unreasonable (like, unreasonable within the context of the story - obviously characters can react unreasonably to things, but it still needs to make sense for them!). I probably would have rated this 3 stars if not for that, because it's a sweet enough love story.

The World We Make by NJ Jemisin - 2.5/5 stars

NK Jemisin, please do not read this. Jemisin has been open about how difficult this book was to write, and about the fact that she couldn't handle the trilogy she'd planned and took it down to a duology, and…unfortunately, it shows. I loved the first book but this one was a disappointing finale. The pacing was uneven and the character development stalled. Plot threads were introduced and either vanished (Bronca's new girlfriend) or were resolved in a way that felt unearned (the mayoral race, Manny's true identity, honestly the whole big conflict). Aislyn was an interesting character who ultimately felt underutilized. I actually, physically cringed at a couple points during this book—the coda was really just one long cringe, and the other moment was when Brooklyn calls...Beyonce. Who is an old friend. But then Beyonce is never brought up again and I couldn't tell you what the purpose of her inclusion in the book was. I'm sure some people love that kind of stuff but I can't stand it.

I did really love the other cities though! If Jemisin ever returned to this universe, I'd read a book about Faiyum in a heartbeat. His snark and his gay little crocodile earring were chef's kiss.

Jemisin is a fabulous writer and all my issues with this book feel like the result of an author forcing herself to write something she wasn't feeling and just wanted to be done with. Disappointing all the same since I had really been looking forward to this one.

The Sugared Game by KJ Charles - 5/5 stars

It is not possible to go wrong with an AJ Charles book and this one is no exception. I love Kim and Will so much, and I really really hope the third book builds on the trust they established in this one.

Sixteen Souls by Rose Talbot - 3.75/5 stars

I liked this book but I did find myself, at the climax, wondering why on earth living people would sacrifice themselves to save ghosts from...being more dead? Like. They're...already dead.

#natasha pulley #the kingdoms #kj charles #the sugared game #the restless dark #erica waters #the stagsblood prince #gideon e wood #you first #jc lillis #wranglestone #darren charlton #honey girl #morgan rogers #a destiny of dragons #tj klune #chainbreaker #tara sim #hummingbird heartbreak #max walker #the world we make #nk jemisin #sixteen souls #rosie talbot #reading tag

[mediaevalmusereads]

Civilizations. By Laurent Binet (trans. Sam Taylor). Picador, 2019 (English trans. 2021).

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Genre: alternate history

Series: N/A

Summary: Freydis is a woman warrior and leader of a band of Viking explorers setting out to the south. They meet local tribes, exchange skills, are taken prisoner, and get as far as Panama. But nobody ultimately knows what became of them.

Fast forward five hundred years to 1492 and we're reading the journals of Christopher Columbus, mid-Atlantic on his own famous voyage of exploration to the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. But he and his men are taken captive by Incas. Even as their suffering increases, his faith in his superiority, and in his mission, is unshaken.

Thirty years later, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in Europe in the ships stolen from Columbus. He finds a continent divided by religious and dynastic quarrels, the Spanish Inquisition, Luther's Reformation, capitalism, the miracle of the printing press, endless warmongering between the ruling monarchies, and constant threat from the Turks. But most of all he finds downtrodden populations ready for revolution. Fortunately, he has a recent bestseller as a guidebook to acquiring power—Machiavelli's The Prince. The stage is set for a Europe ruled by Incas and Aztecs, and for a great war that will change history forever.

***Full review below.***

Content Warnings: violence, child death, animal death, incest

Overview: My book club picked this novel as our subject for November, so here I am, writing a review. I didn't know what to expect going in, but the premise intrigued me; after the first few pages, however, I was fully immersed and impressed by the author's understanding of history. While I wouldn't recommend this book if you're not a history lover, I would absolutely recommend it to those who are interested in historical thought experiments, such as what would have happened if the European colonization of the Americas was unsuccessful.

Writing: I'm reading the English translation of this novel, and since I don't have the original, I can't comment on whether or not Taylor renders Binet's prose faithfully. But I do think Taylor did a great job of making the text feel like the historical sources it was imitating. The novel is written in a somewhat plain, unadorned style that is common to things like sagas and chronicles, and though there were some modern expressions here and there, I think that on the whole, Taylor and Binet succeeded in infusing the prose with historical flavor.

I also liked the repeating imagery that held the disparate parts of the text together. For example, the color red shows up a lot, as does vultures, condors, and other birds that seem to signal auspicious moments. It made the book as a whole feel more literary, and it created through-lines that helped sell the idea that we were reading a continuous "history."

Lastly, I appreciated the ways in which this book defamiliarized things like religion by presenting Christianity from the Inca's point of view. There were a few moments when Binet would be describing something about religious custom and I wouldn't quite understand what was going on until the Inca overheard a key term (like "inquisitor"). The practice of considering what Christianity might look like to other people was a valuable thought exercise, and I think it did a good job of exposing some of the inherent cruelty of the 15th-16th century religious conflicts (and politics).

Plot: There isn't a plot to this book so much as there is a narration of an alternate history, but I'm also the kind of reader that finds history fascinating, so this narrative was highly entertaining for me. I really appreciated the level of historical knowledge required to write this book; one can see through all the details that Binet has a pretty extensive understanding of 15th-16th century Europe, and I loved seeing how the author imagined all these pieces working differently had colonization not happened.

I'm not sure, however, if the author had an equal understanding of the Indigenous peoples that are featured in this book. On the one hand, I can understand the purpose of wanting to imagine what a history of Europe might have looked like if the Inca had sailed to Spain and created a new empire there; on the other, it seems like the Indigenous peoples are a little less nuanced than their European counterparts. Maybe that's due to the fact that a lot of these peoples and cultures (along with their histories) were wiped out, so I don't know how much I can fault the author.

Characters: There are a lot of characters in this book, so I'm only going to focus on a couple of key players and broad themes.

Part 1 of this novel follows Freydis, daughter of Erik the Red, and imagines what would have happened if she and her followers had reached as far south as Panama. I really enjoyed how Freydis was fashioned to be the leader of the Viking band, rather than a mere instigator as in the sagas. I also liked that her story contained several nods to the literary conventions of Norse-Icelandic sagas, and it imagined interactions with Indigenous peoples that were more complex than just open hostility.

Part 2 follows Christopher Columbus and his failed expedition, imaging him as becoming a captive of the Tainos and living his life as something akin to a court jester. I appreciated the way Binet wrote Columbus as something of a religious fanatic who doesn't quite give up his faith, even when it's clear he lost. Binet also succeeds in presenting the Tainos not as cruel, but as rightfully defending themselves from a group of would-be colonizers who believe in their own superiority.

Part 3 follows Inca ruler Atahualpa as he sails to Spain and establishes a new empire in Europe. This is by far the longest section of the book, and I enjoyed the way Atahualpa was presented as both ambitious and generous. His advisers, too, were varied in their personalities which made them feel like real people (and not stock characters), and the relationship between Atahualpa and Princes Higuénamota was complex and fascinating, portraying a deep level of love and respect that felt different from a romantic or king-adviser relationship.

Part 4 follows Miguel de Cervantes as he navigates Europe after Atahualpa's death. I personally didn't get a much out of this part, and Miguel wasn't as interesting as his companions, but it was a nice snapshot of the empire, so I can't complain.

TL;DR: Civilizations is an impressive reimagining of history and constructs a complex view of what Europe might have looked like if the colonization of the Americas failed. The level of historical knowledge required to write this book is sure to satisfy history lovers, as well as the prose style, which imitates real-life historical texts.

[layla-carstairs]

Honest question but why do you think CC should've stuck to the pre-TLH stories rather than treat them as broad strokes? I feel like that'd be incredibly limiting. I get that COT was disappointing but that's because it was messy in general. I don't think sticking to the short stories would fix its issues at all.

I mean, I don't see it as limiting?? because generally speaking if an author wrote something & then published it, you would expect anything written & published in that series/universe afterwards would follow that established canon. like you would expect a sequel to follow the canon of the original, and in my opinion its the same principle here.

I do understand that a lot of time has passed since the Midnight Heir, and some things change. but my issue is more that so much changed, characters started to become unrecognisable (James and Grace mostly). For example, Jesse's death is described differently in The Midnight Heir, and it's said he died at 16, not 17 like it is in TLH. I don't really have any strong opinions about that changing; it's relatively minor & doesn't really change much. Similarly, it's hinted James might be an alcoholic, and somewhere along the line that's obviously been changed to Matthew having problems with alcohol. Again, its minor & does still appear in some capacity in the main series. I'm okay with that.

My issue more arises from things like Grace explicitly being a warrior in TMH, a very good one at that and loyal to Tatiana. Or James' self destructive behaviours and general personality in TMH (very snarky and cruel for funnies). Both are very major things that TMH establishes, and probably two of the biggest takeaways from the short story. Yet, neither of these characterisations are followed through with in the main series. It feels more like James and Grace are two completely new characters then their TMH counterparts. (I am my mother's blade & my father was cursed whereas I? I'm damned are probably the two most well-known TMH quotes and they sum up Grace & James pretty well)

The Midnight Heir was also published as it's own book outside of the Bane Chronicles. It was written and presented as being important to The Last Hours... and then it wasn't.

Also there's definitely a difference between stuff CC published on tumblr/twitter/etc and actually published content. Stuff that she said would happen on tumblr in 2018 that didn't end up happening is disappointing, but I get that. Things change, and I can see trying to follow all of that as incredibly limiting for an author. But a fully published short story is a totally different matter. because they're canon! Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy is pretty much required reading after finishing TMI & before starting TDA, so many important things happen in it (like Simon becoming a shadowhunter & parabatai with Clary for example).

obviously a lot of freedom comes from writing a book/series from scratch with no expectations, but TLH was never going to have that freedom; it's the sequel series to a prequel series 😭. That presents certain challenges, sure, but sometimes the best art comes from limitations & working with them. at least in my experience lmao.

It might be hard to believe, but I actually enjoyed ChoT for what it was (I know I complain about it a lot 😭😭). Like I couldn't put it down, and ended up rating it 4.5 stars on storygraph. My issues are more about TLH as a whole, and missed opportunities/potential that could have made to series better. wistful thinking mostly.

#I hope this makes sense anon! #there's also things like Tessa doing magic in TMH. which isn't important but would've been cool to see 😔 #anon ask #chain of thorns #the last hours #chain of gold #chain of iron #the midnight heir #the bane chronicles #james herondale #grace blackthorn #bella talks #tsc #the shadowhunter chronicles

[words-after-midnight]

Mid-year TBR update 📚

See my original TBR list for 2023 here. More have since been added.

Note: I now have a Goodreads (under my pen name), but Goodreads doesn't do decimal ratings, so I round up. The below ratings are more accurate; I can count my five star books on one hand. Five stars for me means "there was nothing about this book that I would consider a 'con' or point of critique," which doesn't happen often (for me personally).

Read (in no particular order):

Sundial by Catriona Ward | 4.75/5

The Secret History by Donna Tartt | 4.5/5

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides | 2/5

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger | 4.5/5

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins | 4.75/5

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever | 4/5

The Long Walk by Stephen King | 4.5/5

Currently reading & current TBR below the cut! ⬇️

Currently reading:

Sunset by @sunset-a-story & @touloserlautrec [Beta reading]

To read:

[Note: I removed the series (for now) that were listed in my original TBR list because I don't have the bandwidth to read longer series right now. Maybe next year!]

Angels Before Man by Rafael Nicolás

ALiCE by Avalon Roselin

They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Violence Without Plot by Ellie Renae (@ellierenae)

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

November Breaks by Winter Simpson (@winterandwords)

Crime Scene by Cynthia Pelayo

Red X by David Demchuk

#tbr #bookblr #reading tag

[tavyliasin]

ATG 7 - Love? Lust.

In which the devil gets his due...

Pairing: Raphael/Haarlep  SPICE Rating: 4.5/5 I pulled it from my soul somehow (side note I should review this rating considering my later works, this was at the time of writing) Content Warnings:  Sex, rough sex, BDSM, Bondage, Anger, power play, mild choking,

Spoilers Act 3, House of Hope area and character appearance of Haarlep Canon Compliance Canon Level "Hahaha! NO." (Please read that as Haarlep in that scene.) - The only canon is in the backstory of Raphael and Haarlep's relationship and their dynamics. It is chaotic to me how we don't see them share the screen but I can feel their whole hate/lust dynamic.  Other Notes (From the original time of posting) Sometimes you just want an indulgent chapter to take off the brakes and let it roll right into the chaos because 2 fiends keep staring at you from the dark corner of your brain waiting to get laid while Tav indulges in the nice soft chapters. This one is dedicated to everyone else who went utterly hingeless when they met Haarlep, they are my favourite bitch and I love them forever. This is also a contrast to the previous chapter where our 2 mains choose love over lust together, there's absolutely no love here. That's not how these two like to play. And that's fine, it works for them like this.  ADDITIONAL NOTE - This was the first piece I wrote for Raphael and Haarlep, that solidified the brainrot for both. I found writing their interactions positively intoxicating and have not wanted to stop since. Song/Mood Phantom by NateWantsToBattle "Make no mistake, I'll break you down (Whoa-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh) Shout it around town I'm not what you want But I'm exactly what you need Take a bite and feed Your satisfaction guaranteed. I'm your sunshine, whoa I'm gonna burn down your parade I'm a shooting star That wish you wished you never made"

----- FULL CHAPTER BELOW THE CUT -----

Another impossible slam of an ethereal portal almost startled the demon reclining on silk sheets. They smirked. This was going to be an amusing evening.

The slammer of the door, however, had no such look on his face. His brows were lowered, that little vein on his forehead almost visibly throbbing beneath his skin, the physical heat of his rage warming the room by several degrees. An impressive feat given the mansion was in Avernus, one of the literal Nine Hells, with a…well, perhaps not beautiful but at least in some ways breathtaking view of fields of lava from the open balcony door.

With a gesture, Raphael dismissed the portal fully, the shimmering mist dissolving into nothing. He gazed at his likeness, looking at him over the top of a wine glass. No, not looking. Haarlep was judging him again.

"I'm in no mood for your insolence, Harlot ." He spat the insult from tight lips, yet still approached the bed and sat beside his devilish double. Even whilst still in his human form, the resemblance was remarkable, and if Raphael decided to transform into his true fiendish body then it would be almost like looking in a mirror. Almost . Somehow Haarlep made his own form just a little more alluring, a little too perfect, perhaps. He had no doubt this was all a part of the game the incubus liked to play, so he pictured the board and moved his pawns like always.

"I thought you'd be happy!" Haarlep laughed, offering a fresh glass to their cambion companion as they echoed his own voice. "Didn't you get exactly what you wanted?"

"Yes. No. Fuck you. "

"Hah! Now that's a good one." The incubus shifted their physical body to the form of the Archduchess, a twisted feminine version of Raphael, to give him an extra sultry gaze. "Fuck me yourself, if you dare."

"Insolent little… How easily you forget that I outrank you." Raphael took the wine and drained it in one gulp, throwing the empty vessel unceremoniously across the room.

"Temper, temper~" Haarlep purred, shifting their body back to the masculine form and leaning over Raphael. To make a point, he assumed. "You might outrank me out there , but that's not how things work in here and you know that." They pressed a clawed hand against Raphael's human chest, their weight bearing down for a moment with intense strength, before releasing the grip and drifting their hand to his chin instead. "Now, how about you tell me what happened, hmm? I've been dying to hear how it went."

"As if you weren't scrying the entire time." The human formed devil muttered darkly, shifting slightly where he lay, feeling uncomfortably warmer from being so close to his partner. "But if you must hear a bedtime story then so be it. She took the bait, almost too easily, and I gave them what they wanted."

"Naturally, you give them a taste," Haarlep punctuated the pause in their words with a tongue running up Raphael's ear before whispering the rest, "so now they'll crave more."

The demon ached as the incubus pulled away again, plucking a grape from the bunch and devouring it. Oh to be that grape- "Yes yes all according to plan. Whet their appetite, give them reason to trust, and reel them in with something much bigger."

"You're certain they can get what you want?" Haarlep raised an eyebrow, genuinely unsure this time. Something that didn't happen often with the cocky bastard.

"If they make it out of Moonrise and past Ketheric in one piece, then yes."

"And if they don't?" The incubus ran a clawed finger up the inside of his leg this time, trying to steal his ability to speak with the building desire, the achingly slow tease of everything they did. 

Fuck, even their slutty harness is too- He stopped the thought, realising the pause was giving his lover everything they wanted. Too easily. "If they don't then Korilla owes me 5 soul coins, so either way I win."

"Should I be praising how astute your gamble is?" Haarlep's tone grew more mocking.

"Should I be praising how lustful you are? I know I have them right where I want them." He growled.

Haarlep began to loosen his fine silk clothes, nimble fingers finding ways to tease even with this. "And yet here you are, absolutely furious. Why? Do you think the Little Mouse might bite?"

Raphael clenched his fists in an involuntary display of rage. "If she does," he hissed through gritted teeth, "she will meet her end at my claws."

"Ahh there it is. Finally. You want to have your cake and eat it too."

"She's almost as infuriating as you are."

"My, my, Archduke , do you finally have eyes for someone besides yourself?" Haarlep was sounding more amused by the second, clearly enjoying seeing the fiend so riled up.

"Obviously not," he lied, "I'd like to take her down a peg. Maybe three, come to think of it."

"Well you can't risk damaging your toy before you have what you want, can you~" Haarlep purred, discarding the ruffled shirts that had now been removed. "Oh, your real form, if you please."

Doing as he was bidden automatically, Raphael's body almost instantly shifted to his demonic form, horns rising in twisted shapes above fiery crimson skin, and his still neat and chestnut brown hair barely changing. "Of course I can't break her , but there has to be some way- You've heard how she speaks to me, haven't you? I know too well you sit there scrying like I'm putting on a play for your amusement."

"Well of course, I am your biggest fan ," Haarlep sneered, the subtle insult not unnoticed yet remaining unchallenged as the power balance continued to shift in their favour. It always did. "Perhaps you should try another co-star on your stage. I can't say I'm not curious either, it is so entertaining watching her sharp tongue match wits with yours."

"Careful, Harlot , you are here by my grace alone , remember?"

"Hah! Grace? That's what you call it? No." Haarlep snatched up his throat in their claws, almost cutting into the flesh with the pressure, eyes alight with more than the usual fire. "And you will call me by my name, now, Archduke ."

The title was a snub, and Raphael knew it, but the incubus had a hold on him in more ways than one. "Fine, Haarlep ," he gasped, the pressure finally relieving just slightly. "There's barely any difference anyway." He averted his eyes just for a moment. Wrong move.

"You will look at me when addressing me," their hand was now gripping Raphael's chin savagely, "and I am not beyond silencing that rude little tongue of yours either."

Barely a moment after letting go of his face, Haarlep had straddled the devil's chest, pressing his heated and leather bound underwear to the lips of his furious lover. The game had truly begun now.

Raphael's teeth sunk into the leather, piercing it just enough to elicit a wanton howl from Haarlep who grabbed the back of his head and pulled him away. "Only bite if you're prepared to be bitten."

The challenge stood heavy and pointed, as they released Raphael once more, one of their hands slipping behind them to start loosening his trousers. Their tail was already curling around his ankle, a further dare to drive him damn near insane. Without words, he pulled aside the lower parts of the leather harness, - hands gripping them slightly too perfect thighs - and pulling Haarlep into his mouth.

The incubus moaned, the usual performance, but oh how they did enjoy it more when they got what they wanted. Raphael could be so plain unless they really riled him up. Anger and lust, it seemed, were excellent bedfellows. Like pleasure and pain, they mused as teeth raked along their length eliciting another wanton moan, the perfect balanced meal.

Raphael had no intention of giving in to everything his reflection desired, but he couldn't deny how good it felt. The incubus had connected them by taking his form, a hellish contract binding them, so he could feel everything. Not only could he feel his own throat beginning to burn as Haarlep's hips pressed agonisingly forwards, he could feel the sensation of lips around himself. 

This was the caveat of the deal, naturally. Giving release to the incubus would also give him his own, but that meant the bastard would win, again , and that simply could not stand. Just as he felt the pressure begin to rise, he dug his teeth and claws in just enough to bring it back. 

"Oh so you want to play it that way, do you?" Haarlep hissed, dragging Raphael's head back and pressing his head firmly to the pillow. "Ironic, isn't it, that you insist on such plush silk comforts when what you really want-" the incubus raised their hand in the air, a thin whip-like vine appearing in their grip, "is far from comfort at all." 

The whip cracked in the air, thin red lightning dancing along the length, as Haarlep rose from above Raphael, already preparing the next spell. Thicker vines now curled up from beneath the bed. Before they found their mark, however, Haarlep unceremoniously flipped Raphael over with a deft movement, pressing his face into the pillow now as the vines wrapped and secured wrists and ankles.

The demon lay face down on his own bed, by all appearances utterly helpless, his legs spread apart and his arms crossed and bound behind his back. His wings were held apart to reveal parts of his bare back, bound very precisely to keep them where they were out of the way of the incubus' designs. Only his cambion tail remained free, until, of course, Haarlep grabbed hold of it and pulled.

"You look so much better like this, Archduke ," they laughed, bringing the whip down between his shoulder blades with practiced ease. Raphael moaned into the pillow, unable to form words to respond. "And you sound better, too."

Each sting of electric pain was not enough to do harm, no it would take far more than this to actually wound a Cambion of his rank, but still Raphael felt the exquisite agony. They had danced this dance for countless centuries, but even from the beginning the incubus knew exactly how to work his body. Of course they would , he thought between muffled groans as the whip struck true across his body whilst a clawed hand reached down between his legs, they're a fucking pleasure fiend. 

Haarlep grinned wickedly. This was a perfect evening, watching the powerful Raphael melt into silk sheets, building up the pleasure then leaving him wanting and squirming beneath them. They felt it all, and they felt so much more. Each little wanton whimper was like another plate at a buffet, a banquet of delicacies that they were cooking for themselves. A greedy chef, perhaps, but they had to feed. Might as well season it perfectly, they mused to themselves, licking their fingers in anticipation.

Some days Raphael wondered how the bed beneath him did not burst into flame, either with the anger or the lust. This was certainly one of those days. He was white hot, tense, when the incubus' finger entered. He damn near moaned the bitch's name in that instant, but he held on stubbornly forbidding them from taking everything quite so easily. Futile, in the end, but his pride kept the fight going.

Accepting the unspoken challenge, Haarlep cast the whip aside, plunging a second finger inside their partner and pulling hard on his tail, relishing the deepened groan it drew forth. "You will be calling my name soon enough, Archduke , but you can keep fighting if you must." 

Their fingers curled, finding their mark, removing his breath and turning his mind almost empty as he pressed against the sheets, writhing for any moment of friction, desperate for more. Fuck , was about the only thought that found purchase in his brain. 

Haarlep continued the torment, switching between pulling, biting, and occasionally kissing the Cambion's tail - though there was not a hint of affection from the touch of their lips - and raking their claws along his spine, gripping the back of his neck, and pulling at that oh so neat hair. Yes, they thought delightedly, this is the best view of him, wanton, struggling, desperately full of desire. They drank in the heat, prolonging every moment to savour the meal spread before them. Literally, spread, they grinned to themselves, whatever would the little mouse think to see the mighty predator brought to ruin.

Just as Raphael was at the edge of that daunting yet exhilarating cliff, the incubus pulled back once more, leaving him infuriatingly empty. "No." He hissed into the pillow, barely audible. "No stopping."

"My my, it seems someone has forgotten who is in charge again." The vines holding the cambion pulled wickedly, snaking now around his hips and forcing them up until he was on his knees. Haarlep had moved behind him now, leaning down over him until their chest pressed against his arms, voice hot near his ear. "You will call my name. You will beg before we are through." 

There was nothing gentle nor loving about the embrace of two fiends in the heat of pure lust. There never would be, never could be, it simply wasn't in their nature to do anything but this. The battle, the fight, wits and bodies pitted against each other in an endless back and forth until something broke.

Raphael's mind nearly did as the demon behind him thrust inside, chuckling darkly at the gasp that escaped before he could stop it. 

"Good," the incubus growled, biting down on the back of his neck before continuing, "feel it, all of it. Feel you , just like you wanted."

Savage teeth bore down on hot skin again, Haarlep's muscular chest crushing Raphael's wings and arms against his back. But fuck did it feel good. He bit down on the pillow himself, almost feeling it like it was his own neck in his mouth. Exactly what they intended , he might have thought, had a hand not found purchase between his legs. A savage grip began to work him harder now, timed perfectly to the brutal thrust of hips, the sound of skin on skin filling his ears as every muscle began to tense from the sheer overwhelming sensations. Fucking, being fucked, skilled fingers finding every extra nerve as lips and tongue and teeth caressed tender flesh. 

"Please, Haarlep- " the words left Raphael's lips unbidden and with infuriating ease. Just as promised he had been drawn to this, begging, writhing, desperately on the edge.

"I told you so." The echo of his own voice dark in his ear was swiftly followed by a harmony of exquisite moans as the final thrusts drove both of them into a mindsplitting climax. 

All control had been ceded, the incubus had snatched yet another victory from the pride of the so-called Master of the House , the satisfaction as overwhelming as the frustration was to be left both filled and entirely empty as the vines began to recede. 

"Now, doesn't that feel better? You played so well, I do hope you go and visit your Little Mouse again soon. Perhaps I should send her some flowers? A fruit basket?" Haarlep laughed, already strolling towards the huge open pool of a bath on the other side of the room.

"You are truly insufferable." Raphael resisted the urge to add the insulting nickname as he rubbed feeling back into aching limbs, working up the strength to use his legs again. "But I will have her, one way or another."

"Will you now?" The incubus called back, sinking into the luxurious waters scented with cinnamon and cherries. A little hint of the aromas that mingled from each when they were close. "I do hope you at least let me watch ."

Raphael tested his weight on his legs, before resigning himself to sit a little longer. "I have half a mind to hand her over to you, just to teach her a lesson."

"Hah! What's this now? Don't think you can handle a scary little mouse?" Haarlep's musical laugh echoed around the room, ever more infuriating.

"No, she's just not worth my effort."

"I suppose we shall see, then. If they ever make it to the city, of course." 

"I have a feeling they will…" Raphael's mind was beginning to wander again, half tempted to scry himself to keep an eye on that improbable group of misfits.

"Won't that mean you lose your money to the little bitch you have watching them?"

"It won't matter," Raphael replied, one clawed hand rubbing his aching neck, "the prize they can bring me will be worth far more than a handful of damned souls."

----------- ----------- ENDING NOTES ----------- -----------

From the original work: ---

I'll note here that usually in BDSM you would have aftercare following something intense, but the amount of time these 2 have been together and with their whole dynamic it feels like Raphael would find the idea insulting. However, when he eventually is able to walk straight, or perhaps fly across to the healing pool, Haarlep is ready and waiting to shampoo his hair and soothe any lingering aches and wounds.

Haarlep is a responsible Dom, is what I'm saying, Raph is just a brat sub-leaning switch vers to his core so he's not going to enjoy much softness unless it is very specifically on his terms.

I'm dying to write more of these 2 as well, and don't worry Tav will get her turn to truly dance with these devils. Oh the ideas I have, darlings, would make more than a blacksmith blush. Whether I find that power within my dark soul to put them to words remains to be seen, of course...we shall try. For you, loves. --- And I did exactly that! I do so love looking back on these notes from a mere few months past, where I was still stumbling through the new wilderness before finding I was always meant to be here~ Now, the new notes? I still adore this chapter, it's the perfect mirror opposite of the last one where Astarion and Tav explore the importance of Love while leaving Lust aside. Raphael and Haarlep have no need for Love when hedonistic Lust satisfies both of their needs. Which is not to say they shun all emotion, far from it, they just have a very different attitude to sex and relationships. It's a different world for fiends who live thousands of years~

Oh, and as a special treat...some LiArt~

Until next chapter - oh, and the next chapter for those who haven't read before on AO3? That's the Tav x Emperor chapter~

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #haarlep #bg3 raphael #bg3 fanfiction #fanfic #a tav's guide #act 3 spoilers #bg3 spoilers #LiArt #aka art by Lia that is really pushing the limits of what can be described as art #but people keep encouraging/enabling it so here we are...

[tobyfishenbock-blog]

Anime Review: Fruits Basket (2019)

Before I start this review, I want to preface that this is MY PERSONAL OPINION . If you disagree or like a certain show that I do not like, that is fine :)

TW: Suicide, trauma, abuse

Genre: Romance

Seasons: 2001 version (1 season)

2019 version (3 seasons)

Mangas: 23 volumes

Anime Info:

Fruits Basket was first released in 2001 and ran for one season. In 2019 it got a revamped version with a more vibrant style but stayed with the original character designs. They stayed true to the original show, even using the same jokes, characters, and scenes.

So you , might be thinking, if you watched the original version, why bother rewatching it in the 2019 version? Well the original ended pretty short, barley getting into the depth and backgrounds of the story. The reboot continues the story, staying true to the manga and lets you get to know all the unique characters better, even meeting some new ones they never showed in the first version.

This isn’t just a soppy romance either. It shows some dark and serious issues such as neglect, abuse, regret, suicide, trauma, etc. In your opinion, they go a great way about this as well without it being pushed too much or being used as shock factor.

Storyline: Tohru Honda is a young high school student who works part time while going to school. Honda’s mom passed away, and due to other living difficulties, she feels she has no choice but to live in a tent out in the woods. Little to her knowledge, she camped out on the Soma’s property.

The Soma’s were a wealthy and mysterious family. Tohru went to school with the most popular boy in school, Yuki Soma. He was a very handsome, smart and popular boy that many classmates fawned over. Yuki and his older cousin, Shigure, discover Tohru’s tent and offer her a place to stay with them while her grandpas place is renovated.

While living there she is introduced to more Somas such as Kyo Soma, another main character. While there she discovers that they are all part of the zodiacs. If hugged by the opposite sex, they transform to their assigned zodiac animal. With this knowledge, she must keep the secret of the family.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

I loved this anime so much. It is true to the mangas and it is very emotional and beautiful. they know how to tug at your heart strings. I am not a romance anime person, but I fell in love with this anime. I didn’t give it a full 5 stars because some of the side plots seemed very corny at times, but I think that comes with most romance anime’s. I highly recommend this anime and look forward to reading the manga in the future.

#anime #fruits basket #anime review

[claireelizabethsblog]

~May's Books Reviewed~

May saw some highs and lows in my enjoyment of books! I largely was still making my way through some old books I hadn't had the opportunity to read, but I also read a couple of newer ones. I was also on holiday for a week in May which meant that I had a couple of easier books thrown into the mix too. All in all, I've been enjoying my reading, especially as the weather has been nice and I'm able to read outside more!

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

(369 pages)

I actually started this book at the end of April, but I finished it at the start of May so in this post it goes! I really really enjoyed this book! I picked it up at the book shop because I have an unapologetic love for heist films, but had never actually read a proper heist book that I could think of. This fulfilled everything u wanted it to be as a heist book though. It was light and fun and a fairly easy read. It completely held my attention and remained believable (bizarrely!) while being compelling. It brought about the same feelings of investment and fun that I get while watching heist films and I would highly recommend it to people.

I gave this book 4.5 stars ⭐⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗

The MouseTrap (70th anniversary edition) by Agatha Christie (arranged and introduced by Sophie Hannah)

(245 pages)

This is a bit of an odd one to include, however I saw the play (finally!) and absolutely loved it so felt I had to locate the book now that I was part of the secret! Obviously seeing it was indescribably better, however it is still a fun story and I enjoyed all the behind the scenes bits and history that this book went in to. I cannot recommend going to see the play enough and would in fact not recommend reading this until after you already know the story so that you can enjoy the plot twists and mystery in real time with the rest of the audience.

I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗 (but as a play it was 5!)

The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

(546 pages - this was a hardback)

I had owned this book for several years, having got it when it first came out with every intention of reading it, only to never get around to it! I loved the His Dark Materials trilogy when I was younger which is why I was really wanting to read another book from the same universe. That being said, while I enjoyed this book, it did not quite live up to the original trilogy (at least not in my memory). This was probably mostly due to a lack of nostalgia and attachment to the characters considering it is set like a prequel to the original books. The world and the writing remains incredible so I would highly recommend all Philip Pullman books, including this one to anyone who is perhaps a younger reader and wanting to get into a good fantasy world.

I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarré

(367 pages)

So I read this primarily for its reputation as this incredible espionage book.... I have to admit, I do not get the hype. I honestly could not tell you anything that happened in this book, it kept my interest that little that I have already forgotten genuinely everything. I found that there were too many characters and the plot and language was long winded, meandering and unnecessarily complex. It's supposedly a classic, but unfortunately I'm still not sure what I even actually read. I therefore did not exactly enjoy it. It's definitely not the worst book I've ever read, but I doubt I'll find myself reaching for any more LeCarré.

I gave this book 2 stars ⭐️⭐️

The Help by Kathryn Stochett

(451 pages)

Very different from the other books that I rated this highly, but no less enjoyable. It took me a surprisingly long time to read for the number of pages it is, but this was in no correlation to the writing, which was simple and effective, but rather down to the content I think. The book deals with a lot of heavy themes around racism in particular, especially as it aims to by historically accurate and so it would have felt disrespectful almost to have read it much quicker. The writing and story were addictive and despite the heavy themes, I genuinely enjoyed reading this book and at no point felt weighed down by the responsibility of it. I would really recommend this book.

I gave this book 4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

(434 pages)

This was the start of my holiday reading and it was indeed a total "airport book", ironically enough about an airport book author! I did strangely enjoy this book and was definitely desperate to finish it and find out what was going on the whole time. Although, that being said, the ending was a little anticlimactic and sudden in my opinion which did drag the rating down a little. I would also say that there does need to be a bit of a content warning here for eating disorders and very casual references and descriptions of them at that. It is set at a wellness retreat so a lot of the characters internal monologue does end up focusing a fair amount on body image and dieting.

I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

(461 pages)

The second of my holiday books! I mean.... it's been read before, and it holds up as being exactly what it says on the tin - a classic teen coming of age book that while horribly cringy at points is still generally enjoyable. I loved this book when I first read it (almost 10 years ago!!) and I still loved it this time through, even if it was no longer quite as relatable! I have not much else to say about this one other than I would recommend it, but know that this is not the highbrow literature but simply fun and light and easy.

I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Icebreaker by R.L. Graziadei

(314 pages)

The last of my holiday reads. My kindle recommended this one to me based off other books I have read I suppose and I have to admit that unfortunately I was a little disappointed, especially by the end.it felt like it was just beginning to pick up and get interesting, only for all the resolutions etc to happen and feel kinda rushed and kinda unrealistically unsatisfactory. That being said, it was still a mindless holiday read and I really did enjoy the representation, both of multiple sexualities and relationship types; and more so perhaps of various mental health struggles.

I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

(382 pages)

I really really enjoyed this book, was definitely a high to finish the month on! I found it highly engaging as I was so desperate to find out what had happened through out. The protagonist/speaker was incredibly unique and well written, with her trauma and experiences clearly affecting her thought patterns. This made it really interesting and cool to be reading from such a clearly unreliable narrators perspective, but also to watch with front row view as she herself slowly unpacks what has happened to her and come to terms with what other people see and how she could be living her life. The ending was perhaps a tiny bit too abrupt for my liking, but I really would recommend this book to people.

I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#book review #book reccs #claireelizabethsblog #Grace D. Li #portrait of a thief #agatha christie #the mousetrap #philip pullman #the book of dust #john le carré #tinker tailor soldier spy #kathryn stockett #the help #liane moriarty #nine perfect strangers #rainbow rowell #fangirl #R.L. Graziadei #icebreaker #gail honeyman #eleanor oliphant is completely fine

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 59 Review

Originally posted September 13th, 2018

Awful parenting meets great storytelling.

Goku is an awful parent.

Up until now, that idea has been present in Dragonball Z: Abridged mostly as subtext, with it being most blatant in the way Gohan reacts whenever he has been forced to think about his relationship with his father, but here, in The Hard Cell, that subtext is made into explicit text, as Piccolo speaks out in righteous fury as Goku sends his son in to fight Cell, and then gives Cell a Senzu bean in order to give Gohan a fair fight.

I knew this was coming, as it’s one of the few moments in Dragonball that is so famous I couldn’t avoid having it spoiled, but even having it spoiled, the sheer shock of Goku’s recklessness and lack of care for his son was downright paralyzing when I first saw it, with the only relief being hearing Piccolo criticize Goku for his absolutely horrendous decision making and logic.

This is, without any doubt, an act of child abuse, and that reality is acknowledged here not only by Piccolo, who is even more furious with Goku in the abridged version than he was in the original (and he was downright pissed there), but also by the entire world around Goku, as Jimmy Firecracker publicly lambasts Goku for sending his son into a battle he himself was already losing, and Chi Chi madly picks up her TV and swings it around the room in a fit of blinding and justified rage.

That moment is pivotal, and thanks to Team Four Star’s stellar editing, voice-work, and writing, it feels exactly like the betrayal it is meant to be, with Goku’s decision to heal Cell using a Senzu bean coming off as particularly awful, since we hear Gohan’s thoughts just before as he realizes that he might have a chance against Cell. We even see that Goku’s plan is a complete failure, as Cell closes out the episode by wailing on Gohan, who lies caught by Cell’s attacks, being beaten to a pulp.

Without a doubt, Goku’s betrayal of Gohan here is the most important part of the episode, but the way it’s built to is equally compelling. This episode starts with Cell and Goku finally stepping up their game and beginning to actually fight each other, with Cell’s own obsession with Goku driving him to destroy his meticulously constructed arena, not realizing that Goku is far more interested in a casual fight than anything so grand and long-term as Cell dreamed.

It’s ironic, hilarious, and compelling to see their mutual attraction capped off like this, and it fits perfectly with Cell’s already obsessive behavior for him to want more than from this relationship than Goku, who has always been similarly non-committal, as we saw when he abandoned Freeza the moment he got bored.

There is a perfect balance maintained here that makes it absolutely satisfying to see Cell disappointed by Goku, while still feeling completely betrayed when Goku throws his son to the wolves, and yet even more compelling than that is the strange faith the Goku has in Gohan. As bad a parent as Goku is, he is about as far from being insincere about anything as you can get with a character, and for all the horror that throwing an 11-year old against a murderous monster is, you can’t deny that Goku genuinely believes in the capabilities of his son.

Goku’s actions here are objectively pretty horrendous, and the narrative does everything to reinforce that, but even with all of that going against him, the sheer faith Goku has in his son leaves us with a sense of hope that somehow, someway, Gohan is going to pull through against Cell.

A fool’s hope, to be sure, but a necessary bit of hope indeed.

Rating: 4.5/5

Stray Observations

As dark of a joke as it is, it feels entirely in character for Master Roshi to be in the sex-offender registry, and his reluctant acknowledgement of that throws a good bit of shade at Toriyama for unironically embracing Master Roshi’s perverted behavior, and by association, anime’s legitimately awful trend of normalizing pervy characters, especially old men.

Critical Eye Criticism is the work of Jacqueline Merritt, a trans woman, filmmaker, and critic. You can support her continued film criticism addiction on Patreon.

#dragon ball z abridged #dragon ball z #team four star #tfs #dbz #dbza #dbza ep59 #here we are #the last review of DBZA i wrote for this blog #it would seem as if something is missing though #i wonder if i am going to finish this review series #and finally close out this project i've been doing on and off for seven years