#The Feud Trilogy

[probablygayattorneys]

[csmelody]

Have u ever considered doing a collab fic w another Bart author?? Someone linked me ur recommended fics and now TLA and love is colder then death are my two favorite works it would be so cool if you and author were friends 😭😭😭

Well, the truth is that izzy and I hate each other's guts. I'll even tag that loser so she says her piece (@the-savagedetectives). We've never got along, we loathe each other's writing, and even more the other's opinion. We don't know each other in real life at all, and in no way did we spend a weekend in November eating our way through a fab city until we had to take turns rolling each other down avenues, and it's simply foul rumours that she's my cat's fave aunt. (Thank you for reading TLA, you're the sweetest. 💙)

[whencyclopedia]

Atreus was the mythical Greek king of Mycenae. He is perhaps best known for being the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, two heroes of the Trojan War, as well as for the terrible curse placed upon his family. This was a hereditary curse, plaguing the family for five generations with a vicious cycle of murder and revenge. The curse of the House of Atreus began when its founder, Tantalus, offended the gods by serving them a feast made of the dismembered remains of his own son, Pelops, in an attempt to test their omniscience. It continued with the rivalry between Atreus and his brother Thyestes that blossomed into a bloody feud, and it afflicted the next generation as well, with the murder of Agamemnon by his own wife. The curse did not end until Atreus' grandson Orestes avenged Agamemnon's murder and was absolved from all guilt by the gods. The story of Atreus and his heirs made excellent dramatic material for ancient Greek and Roman literature, as seen in the trilogy known as the Oresteia written by Greek tragedy playwright Aeschylus (c. 525 to c. 456 BCE) and the tragedy Thyestes written by Seneca (4 BCE to 65 CE). The members of the House of Atreus are referenced in many different sources of Greek mythology, with Atreus' descendants being collectively known as Atreidai, the plural form of the patronymic name Atreides.

[twinsunstars]

What if the Imperials Were the Rebels?

So I was thinking about if Star Wars had a “What If?” series like Marvel does, and I starting thinking about how some characters part of the Empire would be the rebels in another universe. I found it pretty interesting (and Star Wars should really do a “What If?” series), so here are my own versions of what roles I think the Imperials would play if they were the ones fighting in the Rebellion (and Palpatine is still Palpatine). (I didn’t include Kallus because he did defect to be a rebel in canon, so in my AU he would possibly remain an Imperial, as this focuses more on people who never defected and stayed loyal in the canon universe.) I’ll discuss just a few characters below and my thoughts on them.

Feel free to let me know your own thoughts and ask about any Imperial characters I didn’t discuss! I'll write small fics for them one day!!

Darth Vader: He would remain Anakin Skywalker in my AU, helping to lead the rebellion. Also being one of the Jedi part of the Rebellion, he helps to fight against the Inquisitors and lead the Rebellion towards the right path. The Empire had taken his master, padawan, son, and daughter away from him years ago and had assassinated the love of his life; he would do anything to bring them down. Is also one of the strongest pilot fighters the rebellion has.

Wilhuff Tarkin: I imagined Tarkin as like an individual similar to Commander Sato from Rebels and General Dodonna from the original trilogy/Rebels. He leads one of the main rebellion fleets and is highly respected as a commander. Was offered a position in the Empire but had immediately refused in its early days, not wishing to serve under this new regime. Has led many of the rebel attacks against the Empire with many success rates.

Thrawn: As a general and a pilot fighter in the rebellion, Thrawn leads one of the powerful squadrons in the rebellion. Often comes up with many of the attack strategies when preparing for an ambush, and is ready to command and attack when the Empire gets a level up on them. Often feuds with Hera Syndulla, one of the most powerful admirals and TIE fighter pilot in the Empire.

Orson Krennic: An engineer and a rebel commander, Krennic has helped design many of the weapons and starfighters the rebellion uses against the Empire. Has led many rebel fleet attacks while stationed in the base, helping to direct the fleet to their target.

Inquisitors: I viewed them as the Jedi of the Rebellion, as characters like Ezra, Kanan, Cal, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and other Jedi alive during this time would be the Inquisitors. They would be spread around in the galaxy, continuing to help keep up the fight against the Empire and protect young Force-sensitives from the hands of the Inquisitors. Have all met Anakin Skywalker and would follow him into battle any day.

Morgan Elsbeth: I felt like thinking about her and how she would potentially fit into this AU, as she did basically design those TIE fighters that Thrawn adores so much while she worked inside the Empire, as seen in Tales of the Empire. Morgan would be an engineer like Krennic, focusing her designs primarily on the starfighters for the rebellion to help them succeed. Has worked with Thrawn and designed the fighters for his squadron, watching the fight from the ground. The Republic was responsible for the execution of her native people, and now that it had become the tyrannical Empire, her only wish was to destroy it.

Edmon Rampart: I based this off some of the theories I would read about Rampart potentially becoming like Kallus and turning around to become a rebel, but we saw where that went lol. I see Rampart as one of the rebels part of the Alliance who had escaped the Empire after being caught by Hera Syndulla, conveying a lot of important information to the rebellion while remaining in an Imperial position. He has helped lead many rebel attacks and add successful strategies in the fight.

Royce Hemlock: You may be thinking, how does someone like Hemlock become a rebel? When I was thinking about this AU based off his skills and use to the Empire, I thought of him as being a lead medical doctor in the rebellion and partly an engineer, using his skills for healing and designing useful assets and weapons for the rebellion to take advantage of. Had not gotten expelled from the Republic Science Corps in this AU, but was forcefully kept in a secret facility for Palpatine’s wants after the fall of the Republic, and managed to escape. Not much of a direct fighter but knows how to handle a blaster, would rather stick to the base instead of being up with the pilots, but would do anything to make sure the Empire meets its demise.

Eli Vanto: A commander of another rebel fleet, and Thrawn’s partner in many of the rebel attacks and strategy meetings, Eli is respected for being the one to find out many of the Empire’s secrets through his spies scattered around the galaxy and his own aspirations to perform deep research into the Empire’s hidden goals. Used to only be a minor commander in the rebellion until Thrawn took note of his skills and Tarkin found him worthy of promotion to do more for the rebellion’s military.

let me know your thoughts and hopefully you found this interesting!

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #70 – Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer

New additions to a series a decade after it concluded don’t have a particularly good track record at living up to the quality of the originals – far too often they just read as commentaries on the series’ fanbase or pop culture reception, and that’s if they escape being a transparent case of giving the fans slop for a quick paycheck. This is even more the case when the originals are a tightly interconnected trilogy with an extremely definitive conclusion.

All to say, I received the news that Jeff Vandermeer was writing a new Southern Reach book with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Excitement, because Annihilation might actually be one of my favorite works of the 21st century and the whole trilogy holds a deeply and irrationally precious space in my heart. Trepidation because – well everything I just said. Thankfully, this was far more good than bad – not Annihilation, and it didn’t need to be basically as long as the entire original trilogy combined, but absolutely met my expectations of beautifully described cosmic and psychological horror and indecipherable mindfucks in gorgeously uncanny locales.

The book’s a hard one to describe – the plot is twisting and opaque, the narrators thoroughly unreliable – but it’s (not exactly but nearly) a prequel to the original Southern Reach Trilogy, following first events in the Forgotten Coast in the lead-up to the Border falling, and then the very first expedition sent across it into the newly-named Area X in the months after. Though it’s really divided into three-ish parts rather than two – first we get a vivid picture of Old Jim (our first POV) recovering from his life collapsing into a gutter and researching the confused and redacted records of a very Cold War CIA science experiment on the Coast years prior and how it all went horribly wrong, before journeying to the Coast himself in the weeks and days before it becomes Area X to try and discover what happened. Exactly one character from this section also shows up on page in part 3, though the neither the reader nor the new POV is aware of her continuity until quite late in the game. Which is funny, given that despite neither protagonist ever really understanding her, Cass has the most complete character arc of anyone in the whole book.

This is a book very concerned with language and perception – how you can’t trust them, how they can control you, how the right words whispered in your ear can shatter everything you ever were. Language is a parasite that needs a host; the song stuck in your head reinforces the compulsions you don’t even realize you’re obeying. The theme runs thick through the entire book, and shows up more ways than I can count. I did particularly like how it’s specifically the beautiful things – the poetry, music and cryptic little koans, the fields of wildflowers and the awe-inspiring autumn storm – that are the dangers, that might entrap and break you. Even the protagonists’ internal monologues shift as their minds become more and more captured by whatever motive force drives Area X, their descriptions and use of imagery more elevated and poetic as they get further from whatever humanity is.

Not that Area X is the sole source of identity-rupturing and mind-stealing horror, here. Old Jim and Lowry are both agents of Central, the opaque intelligence agency that control the Southern Reach in the original trilogy. Both have been broken and remade by it, their minds stuffed to bursting with hypnotic conditioning and trigger words in case they ever get distracted or prove to be unreliable. Not that anyone seems clear on who they would even be reliable to – the whole agency is addicted to secrecy, its internal factions feuding and sabotaging each other in the shadows, the chain of command a complete mystery to anyone not sitting at the top of it. Just like Area X, it’s never even close to clear whether the things encountered are the outwards signs of some grand and intricate conspiracy, or just the random flailing of a blind idiot god.

Vandermeer has at this point made a very specific aesthetic of horror almost his brand, and it shows up here in spades – the uncanny intersection and overlap of nature and civilization, overgrown ruins and artificial facsimiles or animals, the overwhelming of ordered systems and bureaucratic rationality with the bizarre and inexplicable, the usurpation of body, mind and world by something foreign to it. This is a book whose acknowledgements section is at least half different specific sorts of ecologist or similar experts being thanks for things like ‘detailed information on how a gar would feel in the hands like a rifle,’ and ‘how it would feel to have an alligator gush through the mud around you if you were lying mud-bound in a blackened meadow.’ Which I always find just incredibly endearing (along with the acknowledgement for an idea as being from a literary critique essay of the themes in the original trilogy – which is getting a bit incestuous, but it was a good bit of imagery.)

As always, some parts of this is going to work much better than others – the rabbits with the odd cameras around their necks, placidly digging for and eating crab meat while a flamethrower is unloading on them particularly stuck with me, whereas given the sheer wordcount spent on it I don’t think the Tyrant (or any of the alligators tbh) had nearly the effect on me the book hoped they would.

Overall though, it worked. Vandermeer’s prose is laid on more than a little thick at points, but there are several different bits of imagery or turns of phrase that have stuck with me – that feel downright inspirational to try and make something that can achieve the same effect, even. I do feel like the impact of Area X is weakened by the fact the total absence of really normal seeming people – even before the border falls, we only barely meet a single person not already captured in the whole labyrinth of conspiracies, hypnotism and psychosis – but that is in fact kind of a plot point here, so.

As far as recommendations go – this book is totally incomprehensible if you haven’t read the original trilogy. Also not as good as Annihilation. Go read that and then decide if you want to continue – but the series remains one of the leading examples of 21st century cosmic horror that’s trying to be something besides a riff on Lovecraft.

[popular-girls-charactourney]

Popular Girls CharacTourney - Ace Attorney Trilogy Edition

Finals!!

[foyle-writes-things]

So hi! The name is Foyle! Or you can call me D.M. or Dez if you prefer, doesn't really matter to me lol.

As far as writing goes- I've been doing this for a hot minute (sent my first query letter at 15 f'in years old what pluck i had as a child lol), and among my works I can include:

A high fantasy novel

An Urban Fantasy YA Novel Based on Them Thar Greek Gods

And a few other Urban Fantasy Style Novels (because they are fun sue me)

However, more recently I've stepped into a space where sci-fi, hacking, technology, and crime/psychological-thriller all intersect.

Shoot me a note if you want to be on my tag list 🫡

You can follow me elsewhere:

And feel free to check out mywebsite:

-Tags-

TangledWires (for snippets)

foylefumbles (for my commentary and more)

tangledwires/Tanged Wires (for book update news and general TW ramblings)

WIPS UNDER THE CUT....

Tangled Wires Book 1 (STATUS UPDATE: PREORDER LINK LIVE-- Release Date 1/11/25!!!!!!!)

Raz knows two things, computers - and that people can't be trusted. However on the run, and with the head of the Russian mob seeking to put her back in a cage Raz must quickly decide if Emet Shultz of the FBI can be trusted, and if he can help her unlock the treacherous secrets of her past. As the past reveals itself, one thing becomes clear- nothing is as it seems, and sometimes lies are easier to stomach than the truth.

-WIPS-

Tangled Wires: Book 2 (Currently in Progress, 20k words)

*cackling*

Ethereal Mischief: Book one of the EM Trilogy (complete)

Summary: Okay, really. Who expects to be murdered on their birthday? Definitely not Althea; and especially not by a god straight out of mythology. Hades however, is real and hell bent on using Althea as a tool to fulfill his own desires. From her own identity to her mother’s death, Hades reveals that her entire life has been a carefully constructed lie. In a world where a broken promise can lead to a lifetime of debt, Althea must fight against those who seek to control her.

Divine Intervention: Book two of the EM Trilogy (also complete but first draft)

Summary: Dealing with the reality that mythology is NOT in fact myth was one thing. Dealing with the fact that her dead mother was NOT in fact dead- but a goddess, and very much alive was another. Now Althea has new problem. As real as the Greek God of pantheons has become, she is suddenly dragged into a deep feud between the Greek and Norse pantheon, when twin girls show up on her doorstep half dead and desperate to get home. Will Althea be able to help them? Or will helping them only push her further down the path to madness? 

Angels of Requiem (in progress, just a bby WIP)

;)

A World Apart (in progress) 

Summary: Ya Fantasy novel split between the lives of two young women in parallel dimensions (urban fantasy YA).

Legends of Taelaec (completed)

Summary: High fantasy story about young girls discovering who they truly are after the tragic and sudden death of their mother (high fantasy).

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

here is a little introduction to the original fantasy world i came up with for the eflorr trilogy.

series masterlist | pinterest board | playlist | masterlist

Welcome to the world of Tyhmalaa. Our stories take place on the continent of Aton where the two major kingdoms (Eflorr and Obelón) have had a feud spanning decades. 

here is a little list of facts to give you a sense of what kind of realm this is:

currency: platinum, gold, silver and copper 

monsters: yes

magic: no

calendar: the year is just divided by the four seasons (each with 90 days in them) with 7 days in a week (Moonsday, Tidesday, Windsday, Thundersday, Fogsday, Stormsday and Solarsday) and the year shift is on the longest night of the year on the 30th day of winter

year the first story begins: 856 PR (post-rimesunder, an ancient white dragon that once froze the entire continent of Efira for 2 centuries till he was slain)

climate: the weather in Aton goes through all four of the standard seasons (sping, summer, autumn and winter), though most of the stories take place on the northern side of the continent, so it is on the colder side.

religions: there are multiple gods people worship (some notable ones are: Apa – goddess of wilderness and the sea, Kotris – goddess of knowledge, Cicero – god of war and peace, Zondür – god of atonement and love, Sona – goddess of life and death)

kingdoms on the continent: Eflorr (capital: Borün) and Obelón (capital: Ingorn)

maps and doodles:

it took me around 30 hours of work to draw all of these, but it was super meditative.

map of the continent of Aton.

⊠ squares = capitals

⊗ circles = smaller towns

△ triangles = speciality locations

the continent of Efira is located to the north east of Aton.

Fort Borün. The ivy-covered stone castle on the top of the cliff is home of the royal family of Eflorr.

Elm Square. The beating heart of Borün, it is not only a central meeting place for all, but also the district where the majority of the city's shops, taverns, etc are. The town square gets especially sparkly during the seasonal festivals with booths are stalls crowding the market.

Willow Grove Cemetery. As the name would suggest, a large weeping willow tree grounds this cemetery that it is built around. Although Eflorr as a whole commonly isn't very religious, this graveyard does house a few alters and shrines to various deities.

The Valerian Ward. You'll find all manner of schools, museums, as well as Borün's beautiful aquarium in this part of town.

The Port of Borün. The city's docks are always bustling with excitement and possibilities.

The Western Farms. Up on the hill that swiftly blossoms into The Noll Woods, are a plethora of rolling fields and cosy cottages.

The Beach. Down the little steps on the northern side of the docks is not the only way to access this cove. Though the steep path some way further north is no secret, not everyone is privileged to the knowledge that the castle's cellar opens up into a cave system that leads out onto the beach. Created as a safety measure and a last resort for the royals to escape, the tunnels most commonly got used by the young royals as a daring playground.

The Tulip Neighbourhood. The homes in this part of town have generous courtyards that bring the households together.

The Dandelion Quarter. Part residential, this neighbourhood also houses a grand park (The Riverview Public Park), where combat courses/training are held every weekend, as well as The Water Lily Orphanage.

The Snowdrop Sector. For those not inclined for the bustle of the city's centre but still want to live close enough to the action often settle down in a little cottage out in this district. Many also chose to retire out here, living out the rest of their days in a cabin by the sea.

The Barracks. Through the main gate lies a grand courtyard to welcome you to the castle. The surrounding buildings are designated mainly for the wardens. There are living quarters for them, training areas, armoury, small stables that also house the royal horses, as well as the city's small garrison.

The Western Wing. In here lies many of the more public spaces: throne room, ballroom, banquet hall, servants quarters, the kitchen, war room, the meeting room that's utilised mostly for gatherings with the town council.

The Conservatory. This secluded greenhouse was built as a memorial to King Edward III. who apparently had quite the green thumb.

The Topiary Garden. A private courtyard separating the two main buildings is a serene space where one can come sit on a small bench and listen to the trickling water of the fountain in the centre.

The Eastern Wing. This part of the castle is home to the royal's private chambers as well as numerous other spaces such as the library.

The castle also has a basement that's not only utilised for storage (both of common items as well as the most precious that's kept safe in the grand vault) it also connects to a tunnel system that leads all the way out onto the beach.

© 2024 thyme-in-a-bubble 

[mask131]

About the "Tolkienesque renaissance"

The term "Tolkienesque renaissance" is of my own invention and creation, but it is a name I use to designate a very specific wave of fantasy fiction, or rather a specific phenomenon in the evolution of fantasy in the English-speaking literature.

As we all know, Tolkien's shadow cannot be escaped when doing fantasy. Tolkien's works being published began the modern fantasy genre as we know it today. D&D, the other big "influencer" of fantasy, would not have existed without Tolkien. The Peter Jackson trilogy began the fantasy renewal of the 21st century. Epic fantasy is a sub-genre explicitely designed after Tolkien's work.

And the massive influence of Tolkien over fantasy is the most felt in the second half of the 20th century, in English-speaking literature, through something I would call the "Tolkien cold-war". When you take a look at the fantasy books of the second half of the 20th century, you notice a fundamental clash and divide splitting it all in some sort of silent feud or discreet conflict. On one side, you have the "Tolkien followers" - as in, the authors who walk in Tolkien's footsteps ; on the other side, you have the "counter-Tolkien" offering what is essentially a counter-culture in a Tolkien-dominated fantasy.

We all know that Tolkien's success was huge in the early second half of the 20th century. The success of "The Lord of the Rings" and the "Hobbit" and the "Silmarillion" was especially important during the 60s and 70s - Gandalf for president and all that... People loved Tolkien's fantasy, people WANTED Tolkien's fantasy, and so publishers and others were happy to oblige. This began the "Tolkien followers" movement - but this beginning was a very unfortunate one, because it was one that relied on not just homage, imitation or pastiche... But in pure copy-cat and sometimes complete rip-off. Since people wanted some Tolkien, people were given LITERAL Tolkienesque fantasy. The most famous (or unfamous example of this would be the 1977 's "The Sword of Shannara" novel. This novel was designed to literaly be a simplified "The Lord of the Rings" with only a few details changed here and there. In fact, this is most of what people recall about this book - how blatant of a Tolkien rip-off it is. And yet, this book was a BEST-SELLER of the 70s fantasy, and it was a huge success, and everybody loved it, precisely because it did the same thing Tolkien did, and so you got to enjoy your favorite series all other again. Afterward, Terry Brooks, the author of the novel, expanded it into a complete series moving into much more original and personal directions, as he admitted himself that doing a Tolkien copy-paste was more of a publishing and editorial decision to make sure he would sell and settle himself in the literary landscape rather than an actual artistic project or personal desire. "The Sword of Shannara" got its own sequels, and became its own thing (though VERY reflective of what the 80s American fantasy was in terms of style, tone and content), but nowadays everybody remembers it for being the "Tolkien rip-off" in its first novel.

And yet being a Tolkien rip-off can sell well, and if the "Shannara" series hadn't proved it, "Dungeons and Dragons" did, since its first edition in the late 70s went as far as to just take Tolkien's inventions such as orcs, Balrogs and hobbits, and include it in its game. The same way the Shannara series then found its own tone and content, through the successive editions Dungeons and Dragons then began to build a world of its own... But it confirms what I said: it was the era of the Tolkien rip-offs.

In front of these "Tolkien followers", which were back then "Tolkien imitators", there was another movement that drove fantasy forward - and it was the "counter-Tolkien movement" so to speak. Works of fantasy that willingly chose to depart from Tolkien's formulas and archetypes and tropes, to do their own thing. Sometimes they did it out of an actual dislike of Tolkien's books: for example the "Elric Saga" was created because Moorcock hated the paternalist, moralist tone of The Lord of the Rings, and so he countered Tolkien's world with a protagonist serving the Lords of Chaos, using a soul-sucking evil sword, last remnant of an empire of cruel, decadent and demonic elves, in a tragic world doomed to endless falls and oblivions... (Though, ironically, Moorcock would end up initiating a genre of dark fantasy that Tolkien himself had explored in his unpublished texts...). Others did it not because they disliked Tolkien but wanted to prove you could do something else: for example Ursula Le Guin admired and appreciated Tolkien's works, but she was fed up with all the imitators and pastiches, and so she created her "Earthsea" world. No European setting dominated by white people, but an archepilago of islands with dark-skinned characters. No big war or political manipulations, the stories being about about the life, journeys and evolution of individual people. No sword-wielding hero or horse-riding paladin, but wizards and priestesses as the protagonists. No big prophecy about the end of the world, flashy magical sword or evil overlord ready to destroy the universe (well... almost), but rather philosophical and existential battles doubling as a fight against oneself and one's very existence...

This counter-Tolkien genre definitively peaked with the other big name of "dark fantasy" and what would annonce the "grimdark fantasy" a la Game of Thrones: Glen Cook's The Black Company.

But what about the titular "Tolkienesque renaissance" I speak of?

Well, if the "Tolkien followers" had only done bad rip-offs, it would have never lasted, ad the "counter-Tolkien" movement would have won. In fact in the 80s, it almost did! Tolkienesque fantasy was thought of as cliched and stereotyped and overdone and dead. People had enough of these blatant-rip offs, as the hype of the 60s and 70s had died out, and the 80s folks turned to other forms of fantasy - such as The Black Company (Dark Fantasy), or Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (Sword and Sorcery), or various parodies and humoristic fantasies, but all far from the "epic fantasy". And yet, something happened... The "Tolkien imitators" became "Tolkien followers" or rather "Tolkien reinventors", and began the "Tolkienesque renaissance".

The Tolkienesque renaissance is this group of fantasy authors, most predominant in the 90s though they began their work by the late 80s, that decided they would make the Tolkienesque fantasy live on. Not just by copying it as their predecessors did, a la Shannara, no. But by reinventing it, freshening up the old ways for a modern audience and new times. They took back all the key ingredients, and the famed archetypes and the usual tropes of the epic fantasy a la Tolkien, and they reused them without shame... But in new ways, with twists and turns, playing on the codes of the genre, while carefully avoiding the cliches and stereotypes of the time. Giving what people liked about epic fantasy, while also producing new works that felt fresh and went into opposite directions - taking lessons from the counter-Tolkien movement.

It is commonly agreed that the series that began this renaissance was David Eddings' The Belgariad, published between 1982 and 1984. Just a look at the Wikipedia article mentions this best-selling, very influential fantasy series was the "last gasp of traditional fantasy, and the founding megasaga of modern fantasy"... Now, I actually have to disagree with Wikipedia's words. I do not consider it a "last gasp of traditional fantasy" since it already began the Tolkienesque renaissance and thus a new generation of fantasy ; and the other qualificative is ridiculous since modern fantasy already began with Tolkien, and the Belgariad is not a mega-saga, but just five average-sized books. But the idea of it being a link between an older and a newer generation of fantasy books is very true.

While The Belgariad has to be put first, second comes Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, which probably is the most famous of the Tolkienesque renaissance works of the 90s and became this behemoth of fantasy literature. And to make a trilogy of iconic works, I will add another 90s success: Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn". Another iconic work of the Tolkienesque renaissance, though lesser known today than the Belgariad or The Wheel of Time - which is a shame, because Williams' work as a huge and heavy influence on a famous fantasy story of today... "A Song of Ice and Fire", which takes a LOT from "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" (I even call this trilogy the "missing link" between LotR and ASoIaF).

The thing with these Tolkienesque renaissance series is that today, to an audience that was nourished by Tolkien and D&D and Pratchett and other things of the sort, a superficial glance might make them seem like "yet other rip-offs, yet other stereotyped, yet other clichéed" fantasy series. You just have to see the reception of the first season of "The Wheel of Time" tv series - here there was a clash between two generatons of fantasy.

And what these people who take a superficial glance will miss is how inventive and fresh and interesting these series felt back then because they played with or subverted the tropes and the codes of the traditional fantasy. They all played by the usual archetypes - you have an everyman young chosen one, a magical mentor who must "die" at one point, an evil overlord in an ominous half-disembodied state, evil black-clad horsemen going after the hero, elves and dwarves and trolls... And yet, these series twisted these same ingredients they used to bring new flavors.

Let us take the Belgariad briefly, to see how the whole Tolkienesque formula was subverted. Like in Tolkien you've got an order of wizards appeared as elderly, bearded men - but here, they are definitively human beings unlike the otherwordly Istari, and their appearance is explained by them being the disciples of a god that likes to take the appearance of a bearded old man, and who by divine influence made them look like him. You've got a dangerous, all-powerful item the big bad is seeking to destroy the world - but here it is no evil, or corrupting thing. It is rather an item dangerous because of the sheer scope and range of its power, and the temptation isn't becaue it is "evil" power, but just because it is a power so massive it can break the world. You've got a missing king with a stewart/regent holding the throne for him until the lost heir returns - but when said heir returns, the stewart/regent is no evil vizir or scheming usurper, and gladly offers back the throne to its legitimate owner. Belgarath, your Gandalf-stand-in, is far from being the dignified guide and noble mentor of Tolkien, as he is a half-werewolf drunkard that hates any kind of official ceremony or garb and prefers running through the woods or rolling under a table in taverns. And while everything is designed as a Tolkienesque setting, you've got no elves or dwarves or orcs - but humans. And that's a big change compared to more traditional 80s fantasy (like D&D or the Krondor series or Shannara). You have your Nazgûl stand-ins, but they're humans. You've got your Istari, but they're humans. You've got your dwarves equivalent, but they're humans. You've got your orcs equivalents, but human too. And it is shown that it is all a human vs human combat, despite being a world of magic and gods, placing some relativism into it all. (Though the fact they decided to subvert the Tolkienesque good vs evil wordlbuilding by having humans on both sides did cause other aspects of the series to age badly but that's another topic).

I can go on and on but I think you see my point - and this same subversion can be found in the other two series I talked about.

The Wheel of Time begins with the chosen one going on a quest... But which chosen one? That's the problem - there are multiple candidates, and so we begin with a guessing game. And the Aes Sedai are clearly an answer to Tolkien's Istari - but all women instead of all men, and much more numerous and pro-active. As for "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" we have benevolent trolls that are actually more akin to Tolkien's dwarves and have some Inuit-influence, while the Tolkienesque-elves turn out to either be the big bads of the series and the evil guys ; or to be sheltered, useless side-characters that are not helping anyone and cause more problems than anything (I'm exaggerating a bit here, but you get the subversion). Spoilers - but the Galadriel equivalent literaly gets murdered during her second actual appearance, to make it very clear what kind of subversion we are into.

Because this was the game of these books - and the reason they were such huge successes. It wasn't about avoiding or setting themselves free from the tropes and code and archetypes of the genre. Rather it was about reappropiating them, reusing them, twisting them and modernizing them in order to get rid of the stale cliches and frozen stereotypes. It was all a game of imitation yes, but also of derailing - a subtle, discreet, derailing so that everybody got on board of the same type of train, but said train took different tracks to another landscape and worked on a different fuel. (If it makes sense?). It is a game of subtle twists - but unfortunately it is often this subtlety that makes these series overlooked, as people just focus too much on what is identical/similar and not much on what is different... Despite the differences being key here in this effort of renewing what was a dying style. Placing back these books in their context highlights even more how "fresh" they felt back then.

I have one specific point that illustrates this, but I'll need to write a whole post for it...

[blowflyfag]

Inside Wrestling: Volume 26, 2009

wrestling timeline 

Samoa Joe

Inside Wrestling journeys back in time to examine the career of a superstar who has left a major imprint on the sport

MARCH 17, 1979: The future “Samoa Submission Machine,” Nuufolau Joel Seanoa, is born in Orange County, California.

DECEMBER 18, 1999: After only a few months of formal training, 20-year-old Joe competes in his first professional match for UIWA. 

MARCH 3, 2001: Under a developmental deal with WWF, Joe loses to Essa Rios on the company’s Jakked program.

MARCH 14, 2001: Joe wins first singles championship–the UPW heavyweight title–by defeating Christopher Daniels.

JUNE 14, 2001: Joe and Keiji Sakoda win the first-ever NWA Intercontinental tag team championship in Pro Wrestling ZERO1. 

OCTOBER 5, 2002: Joe returns to the United States and begins wrestling for Ring of Honor. He loses his first official match to Low Ki. 

JANUARY 11, 2003: In the first of what would be many epic battles, Joe defeats “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson.

MARCH 22, 2003: Joe captures the Ring of Honor heavyweight title by defeating Xavier.

NOVEMBER 29, 2003: One-time partners A.J. Styles and Joe square off with the ROH champion getting the best of the “Phenomenal One.”

FEBRUARY 14, 2004: At ROH’s second anniversary show, Joe retains the promotion’s championship by defeating Low KI. Dan Maff, and B.J. Whitmer in a “Fatal Four-Way” match.” 

APRIL 23, 2004: When he can’t defeat Joe in the ring during an ROH event, Homicide attempts to end the big Samoan’s career by hitting the champ with a fireball.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2004: In the final round of the IWA: Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational tournament, Joe and Bryan Danielson fall to A.J. Styles. 

DECEMBER 4, 2004: Joe finishes his trilogy of matches against C.M. Punk as the victor. These bouts would go down in ROH history as some of the best the promotion has ever seen. 

DECEMBER 26, 2004: The longest ROH title reign in the promotion’s history comes to an end as Austin Aries beats Joe to win the gold. 

JANUARY 15, 2005: A bitter Joe receives a chairshot to the head and a DDT for good measure from a visiting Mick Foley during a special appearance for ROH.

APRIL 1, 2005: Joe’s downward slide on the indy circuit continues when he loses a number-one contender’s match to A.J. Styles in Pro Wrestling Guerilla. 

MAY 7, 2005: In a fitting change of pace, Joe captures the ROH Pure title when he defeats Jay Lethal. 

JUNE 11, 2005: Joe is victorious in a fiercely intense and physically destructive match against Necro Butcher in IAW: Mid-South. 

JUNE 19, 2005: Only eight days after his match with Necro Butcher, Joe makes his TNA debut at Slammiversary, defeating Sonjay Dutt.

JULY 8, 2005: A very active Joe chokes out Chris Sabin for fun and defeats Shark Boy and Elix Skipper in a three-way match in his Impact debut. 

JULY 17, 2005: Moving to 2-0 at TNA pay-per-views, Joe handily defeats Chris Sabin. 

AUGUST 12, 2005: In another shot at capturing the ROH title, a surprisingly opportunistic James Gibson defeats Joe, C.M. Punk, and Christopher Daniels. 

AUGUST 27, 2005: Two weeks after failing in his attempt to win the ROH title, Joe drops the Pure championship to Nigel McGuinness.

OCTOBER 1, 2005: In a critically acclaimed match, Joe is defeated by a visiting Kenta Kobashi during an ROH event. 

NOVEMBER 13, 2005: At TNAs Genesis pay-per-view, Joe breaks the code of the X division by attacking Christopher Daniels with a chair. He appears in the months that follow with a towel stained with Daniels’ blood. 

DECEMBER 11, 2005: Joe captures his first X division championship by defeating A.J Styles at TNA’s Turning Point pay-per-view, still carrying the blood-stained towel.

FEBRUARY 12, 2006: In a three-way match with A.J.. Styles and Christopher Daniels, Joe retained the X division championship at TNA’s Against All Odds pay-per-view.

MARCH 22, 2006: In the culmination to their long-running three-way feud, Joe loses the X division title to Christopher Daniels as A.J. Styles looks on in an Ultimate X match at Destination X.

APRIL 22, 2006: Joe takes part in the interpromotional feud between ROH and Combat Zone Wrestling. Joe’s ROH squad is defeated in a six-man match. 

OCTOBER 12, 2006: A no-decision is the result of an unsanctioned ladder match for the NWA World championship between Joe and Christian Cage on Impact. 

JANUARY 14, 2007: After struggling with TNA acquisition Kurt Angle for several weeks, Joe loses to the former Olympian at Final Resolution. 

JANUARY 31, 2007: Joe announces he will no longer work for ROH full-time and embarks on a “Samoa Joe Farewell Tour.”

MARCH 4, 2007: In his final appearance for ROH, Joe defeats long-time nemesis Homicide.

MARCH 11, 2007: Another shot at the NWA World championship proves to be in vain as Joe loses to CHristian Cage at TNA’s Destination X pay-per-view. 

JULY 15, 2007: Joe gains the pinfall at TNA’s Victory Road pay-per-view and becomes TNA World tag team champion while simultaneously holding the X division title as well. 

AUGUST 12, 2007: Putting up his X division and TNA World tag team titles against the TNA World title and IWGP championship, Joe loses to Kurt Angle at TNA’s Hard Justice. 

DECEMBER 2, 2007: When Scott Hall no-shows Turning Point, Joe delivers an intense promo aimed at TNA management and his would-be-partner.

FEBRUARY 14, 2008: An unlikely partnership forms on Impact when Joe teams with Christian Cage and Kevin Nash in an ongoing effort to eliminate Kurt Angle’s Alliance from TNA. 

APRIL 13, 2008: Upon eliminating the Angle Alliance, Joe captures his first TNA World Championship by defeating Kurt Angle at Lockdown in a “Six Sides of Steel” match.

OCTOBER 12, 2008: Sting defeats Joe for the TNA World championship at Bound For Glory IV.

OCTOBER 30, 2008: Along with A.J., Styles, The Motor City Machine Guns, Jay Lethal, and Consequences Creed, Joe helps lead the team of the Frontline against the Main Event Mafia.

NOVEMBER 9, 2008: In a grudge match against former mentor Kevin Nash, Joe loses in a controversial finish that sees his opponent use the ropes for leverage.

[queer-ragnelle]

So, regarding your novels, what made you write backwards? I'm so curious about it.

TL;DR I started writing in Mordred and Galahad perspective. I then became possessed by the "older" characters and went "back" in the timeline to write their origins (starting with parentified Agravaine). I did this several times until I ended up with Ragnelle/Gawain as book 1, "the beginning," of what turned into an Epic many books long.

Let me give you a timeline...

1900s: I am born and develop Arthurian brain worms.

21st century: The worms declare Ragnelle/Gawain are my favorites and I write their Wedding multiple times for fun based off what can be gleaned from Wikipedia and retellings as I have no medieval resources at my disposal.

February 2020: I think Mordred and Galahad would make neat narrative foils and write a short story about them playing chess.

March 2020: The plague. I'm furloughed from my job. Writing becomes my full-time focus. I write 60,000 words in Mordred and Galahad perspective, plotting their story to be a trilogy.

June 2020: I'm back to work but I'm still writing. With money and curiosity at my disposal, I begin hoarding Arthurian books. Local quirky secondhand bookstore owner had an Arthurian fixation in his youth—I clear his shelves. He asks if I'm a medievalist major and I have to break it to him I'm just a High School drop out at the mercy of the Tell-Tale knights chattering in my head. I learn more lore. I splurge to buy the Vulgate cycle. I'm forever changed.

Late 2020: Reading medlit and retellings and watching all the movies super charged the brain worms. The Vulgate especially. I develop an obsession with circumventing the Orkneys/Welshmen blood feud with the power of gay sex. (Joan Wolf did it first in her 1988 book The Road to Avalon with Agravaine/Lamorak.)

January 2021: Historical research shows that Islam didn't exist yet during the 5th/6th century I'd been writing in. I order Zoroastrianism by Mary Boyce to make sure I'm depicting Ragnelle and Gromer's religion properly. But it's nbd their page time is minimal as background characters right? ....right?

2021 continued: The Agravaine/Lamorak brain worms take on a life of their own as I'm hospitalized and bedridden. Chronic pain and isolation become my themes. I write endlessly on my phone from bed. 2/3 novels are completed and readable straight through with a third book in pieces. These are currently at a combined total of nearly 140,000 words. (Plus the notes file with scenes I haven't moved yet...whoa.)

Late 2021: I rediscover old Ragnelle/Gawain stuff and decide to write about their wedding. Again. But this time with legit sources. Except Ragnelle isn't some ambiguous character of color, she's now very specifically Persian [Iranian] Zoroastrian. So the whole thing takes place in Persia and research goes crazy. Someone gives me their college log in so I can download and hoard essays and textbook PDFs. I do beta-read trades with people in facebook groups (bad bad idea) and yet...

End of 2021: I get sample edits from various editors including one guy who insulted my "lack of education" and said emulating J. R. R. Tolkien's old style didn't work anymore and I should take inspiration from The Hunger Games....for my queer romance in Persia. Right. Anyway I pay the $100 for the pages edited so he'll go away and continue searching for my unicorn editor....

2022: Ultimately facebook group scouting finally yields results as I stumble upon a fellow Ragnelle/Gawain enthusiast who would become my editor!! Editor says I have to cut the giant book into thirds, so what is now book 1 ends up chopped.

2023: I'm still revising book 1, now titled The Moonlit Knight, with my editor. All the while I'm drafting book 2, sporadically cheating to write in other books including an Elaine and Perceval book that appeared out of no where, and scouting out beta readers. One beta reader came via a tumblr mutual who connected me through instagram. A second beta reader discovered in a discord server. Another beta reader from a different discord server. So on and so forth.

Early 2024: Beta reading continues, until I have readers for every angle I require; queer people of all flavors, Zoroastrians, Arthurian enthusiasts, Jewish readers, people with DID knowledge etc! Slowly but surely I work through revising the book with all these wonderful people to a final 95,000 words!

Mid 2024: But now...it needed a cover. I commission a tumblr mutual and work for weeks with them on that, still editing/revising and having betas read book 2, Sunshine's Lady, which is currently almost 132,000 words long and half edited/beta read.

September 2024: I still haven't published. lol. But the process takes a long time and has a lot of moving parts!

So why do I actually recommend this method? Well, this has been hugely helpful to write foreshadowing. Forgetting for a second the blueprint drawn from Arthurian Legend itself, I know how my story with my version of the characters is going to go, so I can set all of that up way in advance. It's all well and good to know (spoiler) Arthur dies at the end, but it's never been about the conclusion so much as the journey there and the unique perspective of whichever character the author has chosen to focus on. I mean, Godfrey Turton's The Emperor Arthur is Pelleas point of view. He's instrumental at the battle of Camlann. It's the same with Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles and our one-handed friend Derfel, the reasoning for which isn't revealed until book 3. The world is your oyster! Fixate on your special character and set that shit up and pay it off!!!

Knowing what you're writing toward is extremely helpful during the drafting process. Even if it's only vaguely shaped it'll develop detail as you revise. Other than Derfel's missing hand, the best example of this I can think of is in Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb. It has a huge fanbase on tumblr for a reason, it's just an insane amount of set up you're not even aware of until the impact slams into you many books later and you're left going, "Whoa.....it was there the whole time." Mind blowing. I want have half as much narrative resonance as that.

Another thing that came of this is, since I wrote Agravaine/Lamorak first, and I'm obscenely Ragnelle obsessed, she pops up in their pov as a hag, only for them to not realize she's one and the same as Gawain's bombshell wife they "meet" later. I wrote this as the lads first, but it's extra funny now that, actually, the reader will experience Ragnelle's perspective first. Hottie uncursed Ragnelle does know she met them before, but feigns otherwise. So it's very fun to see the same encounters happen a second time a few books later. Agravaine is like, "Okay granny whatever. Bye... :^/" and Lamorak is like, "That granny was weird but I like her! :^)" meanwhile the reader is like, "AHHHHH! I KNOW HER!!! YOU FOOLS DON'T KNOW HOW IMPORTANT SHE'LL BE AHHH!!!" At least, that has been the beta reader reaction, which is gratifying. Even better, the books can be read out of order, so actually if you read Agravaine/Lamorak before Ragnelle/Gawain, it works in reverse, too. So if the reader knows who Agravaine is from reading his perspective, when Ragnelle or Gawain runs into him, the reader will realize who he is before it clicks for the point of view character. I had a lot of fun developing all of this across the series for multiple characters, it certainly happens more than once.

Wow that was long but I hope it makes sense and gives you an idea how it all went down. Thanks for taking an interest and I hope you enjoy my books when they're out. Take care! :^)

[rainmacaroni]

Feud of the Year

They've consistently told their story for about 10 months now - even while Punk was injured - without ever losing any momentum , getting stale and overstaying their welcome

Match of the Year

In retrospect , while they more than earned and deserved to have been the Main Event , I think it's great that they had went on first - fresh crowd of course , plus they didn't have to worry about repeating any similar spots from previous matches , or going way over their time limit Regardless , no match on that night after theirs ever even came close to being a fraction comparable

At this point , what else is there left now to say against CM Punk ? He's very quickly become a main face of the RAW brand His segments have consistently gotten the highest ratings - as he can still cut some of the best and believable promos out there He's one of if not the best storyteller in all of wrestling - I mean , which other wrestler out there can tell such a compelling and engaging story with a Taylor Swift friendship bracelet of all things ? His merch has consistently been top sellers and Number 1s He's been a great help to Shawn Michaels ; a locker room leader and exemplar for the young and upcoming talent over there at NXT He's famously said that he's not here to make any friends - he's here to make money Ha , and yet , he's unironically made a lot of friends - I would have never expected him to become such good friends with Rhea Ripley & Damien Priest , etc. - even Triple H And of course , he has made a ton of money as well And now , all he had to do was deliver an all-time classic with Drew - which they did and more - so much so that they even revitalized such a dead wrestling concept that for so many years heretofore was Hell in a Cell You couldn't have asked for a more genuinely , perfect ending to their trilogy CM Punk has yet again proven that he can still be truly called The Best in the World And I hope that he'll do it all once again when he finally , actually starts his feud with Seth Drew has set the bar pretty high though - I think Seth can reach it - and maybe even match it - if he of course keeps to being serious and drops his Joker like character - however , he can still be his flamboyant self in ways and moments that it would make sense to As Punk is rightfully taking some time off now - we'll just have to wait and see until then ~ And , ha , hopefully during his hiatus , I don't fully lose my interest in the WWE - since for me , it's at its very best when Punk is in the direct mix of things

[siena-sevenwits]

I'm attempting to assemble some "buffet" lists for my 2025 reading. I don't mean to get through any of the lists, but to use the lists as limited inspiration pools. It would be rather a long list to put in one post, so I'll do it by category.

Children's Literature

The Gawgon and the Boy by Lloyd Alexander (Great Depression)

The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes (the high seas)

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry (modern day)

Greenglass House by Kate Milford (1930's fantasy)

The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope (New York State with visits from Revolutionary era ghosts)

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (re-read) (Edwardian England)

The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski (fantasy)

The Guests of War Trilogy by Kit Pearson (WWII Canada)

St. Winifred's by Frederic W. Farrar (Victorian English public school)

The Box of Delights by John Masefield (1930's England)

The Feud at Fennell's by John Mowbray (1930's English public school)

I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (Renaissance Madrid)

Twilight Robbery by Frances Hardinge (re-read) (fantasy)

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (14th century England)

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E. L. Konigsburg (Twelfth Century England)

A Circle of Silver by Maxine Trottier (War of 1812 Canada)

The Ramsay Scallop by Frances Temple (14th Century Europe)

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (18th century America and the seas)

Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones (fantasy England)

The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit (Edwardian English fantasy)

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill (fantasy)

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright (Interbellum NYC)

Race to the Bottom of the Sea by Lindsay Eagar (fantasy)

The Girl Who Kept the Castle by Ryan Gaudin (fantasy)

The History of the Hobbit edited by John D. Rateliff (soooort of children's literature) (Fantasy sort of)

[artsyjesseblue]

Jesse's Blog Masterpost

Hey people of Tumblr! I've created a lot of art, fics and metas in the past few years. Although I dab into other fandoms too, VLD remains the focus of this blog - in the form of illustrations, fanfics and metas (some artworks are still available as prints in my Ko-fi shop). This is an updated masterpost of links to the most representative artworks and fanfics, as well as every meta I've written. Yup, a lot of Lotura. :)

VLD art (#jesseblue draws) Here are some of my favorite artworks created in the past few years: Dancing Allura Here's Some Alchemy Lotor gets a massage Bedtime Lotura Allura on the Moon Halloween Lotura New Year Lotura Lotura's Alchemy Lasts Forever - my most popular artwork Plance Dance Wardrobe Updates - Lotura Week 2023 entry Beach Day - Lotura Week 2023 entry Wardrobe Updates - Lotor - Lotura Week 2023 entry Wardrobe Updates - Allura - Lotura Week 2023 entry Lotura's Celestial Wedding Lilac Love - Lotura Week 2024 entry Drawings inspired by other writers' fics: "Quiet!" - a Pidge and Keith drawing Lotor clawing his way out of a muddy situation DotU Lotor chopping wood Some art was created for my fanfic "Nothing Ever Truly Goes Extinct": Story banner "Allura, please..." Lotor's Pirouette Space Mouse in Pilot Suit Melancholy Angry Romelle Don't Mess With Acxa She Is Beauty... We Will Win "Though She Be But Little" Acxa and Jesse VLD-TDP cross-art Aaravos and Lotor Find my VLD fanfiction on AO3 here (#jesseblue writes) All my VLD metas (#jesseblue writes) The Two Alluras: An analysis of some potential post-animation edits and errors in several scenes during the last episode, when the Paladins face Honerva in the Connected Consciousness.

Oh No, Lotor: Why Lotor should not be among the Paladins of Old in the final scenes of VLD.

Sleeping Allura: Some logical deductions based on basic rules of cinematography, regarding the very last scene in S8E10 - Knights of Light Part 2.

Decoding Voltron’s Rosetta Stone: My biggest meta (seriously, it’s really long), an interpretative analysis of numerous symbols in the official VLD comics - which, at a first glance look absolutely innocent, yet oftentimes eerily cryptic, especially the Yalexian Pearl book.

Lion vs. Wolf: An extension of the previous meta, focused on a comparison between the White Lion - Guardian of Oriande and Gantomor - Warden of the Sacred Hunting Grounds (comics).

So Safe and Warm: Why “Luxia’s Kingdom” actually reads “Altea” in the last commercial scene of “The Feud”.

Petrulius - What Happened to You?: Questioning the purpose of Lotor’s pods on the moon colony, by comparing the images of Petrulius and the original (doctor) Haggar.

Allura Drawn over Lotor (with gifs): Mostly a visual meta with gifs, showing Allura was drawn over Lotor in the last episode, as part of the post-animation edits.

I Have Beezer Questions: Several observations regarding animation inconsistencies during the Allura and Lance first kiss scene, most notably their flipped placement on the screen and Beezer’s trajectory.

A Noble Cause: An interpretation of Allura’s vision in Clear Day, if we were to start from the premise that Lotor was infusing his moon Alteans with the Entity. The Zarkon-Honerva-Lotor meta trilogy - an in-depth analysis of the profound reasons that led to the tragic descent into madness of these three antagonist characters. Prepare for reading some long metas, especially Lotor's: Slowly Going Mad - Part I - Zarkon Slowly Going Mad - Part II - Honerva Slowly Going Mad - Part III - Lotor I also wrote one short meta about Aaravos, from The Dragon Prince (my speculation turned out to be true, heh).

[aleksanderscult]

What do you think are fundamental differences between Aleksander and Kaz? On an even playing field i.e. comparing a young Aleksander to a young Kaz and the very old Aleksander to your interpretation of what a very old Kaz would be like.

I haven't read the SoC duology but from the few things I know about Kaz, the most important difference between them is the matter of selfishness. Aleksander is selfless in comparison to Kaz and has a more important goal than gaining money. He tried to save a group of people and a country from various enemies for hundreds of years while Kaz always is on the look out for the next job that will fill his wallet.

Both of them had a childhood that shaped them to the men that they eventually became. Kaz lost the only family he got while Aleksander was living on the run with his mother (and Baghra was not a pleasant, immortal companion to have). The environment they grew up in formed their future plans but in different ways:

- Kaz grew up among thieves, street magicians and crookers and ever since his brother died he had nothing left to lose. His feud with Pekka Rollins gave him a lifelong grudge that became an essential part of his character.

- Aleksander grew up with his mother travelling from place to place, never safe because of their powers. Just like Kaz, his incident with Annika shaped him to the man we came to know in the trilogy but unlike the former, he decided to act on a larger scale because he was a witness to the Grisha persecution.

So even though both were scarred because of their childhood they decided to take different actions in the future.

Now, as we've seen with Aleksander in his later years, he was still fixed on his goal but he had grown bitter with life and more apathetic in comparison to his younger self. He was a pragmatic and action-oriented person that craved companionship and when he had his chance to have that he behaved with panic at first and then with gestures that showed that he no longer had an idea how to go for it in a normal way.

With Kaz we see the opposite. In the beginning he's distant and cold with his friends, behaving in a business-like manner but as his own story progresses he tries to become more open, especially with Inej. He tries to find his footing in being more empathetic for her sake and I believe in the future he will succeed. He won't be as closed off as he was the first time he was introduced to us. But he has a long way until then (it's the trauma he has to get past you know).