#god I have so many spoilers for this stupid novel

[sagee-sketches]

BACK WITH A NEW FIXATION LETS GOOO

[makethosenarratorsfight]

UNRELIABLE NARRATORS; SEMI FINALS

*NOTE; propaganda is out of order due to the post length!

Eugenides Propaganda:

the entire plot hinges on a detail he lets the reader (and every other character) assume is true. I don't want to spoil it because it's a really fun reveal but he is lying from the first second he appears on the page and you can't trust him to tell the full truth about ANYTHING related to himself and his goals. he mostly does it to keep his advantage and not have other characters be suspicious of him but it's just so fun when you realise he's been lying the whole time

Kim Dokja Propaganda:

I haven't read orv but he's fucking gotta be from what I've osmosised

He tries to remove his emotions out of the narrative soooo much, literally the most repressed guy ever. Okay so for context orv is about how this guy, Kim Dokja, has been the only reader of an obscure post-apocalyptic webnovel for years and the novel suddenly becomes reality. And at first you'll probably get the weird impression that his behavior is pretty strange for, you know, a literal apocalypse happening in his world - like yes, he is concerned with survival but he doesn't seem all that scared and he kinda treats it like a video game where he has to grind to make himself stronger and he also treats his companions like a party in an rpg. Then there's also the way he approaches the protagonist of the webnovel, from the start he just kind of describes him as a ruthless psychopath and jerk that is unfortunately a pretty useful ally. And also there's the fact that he carefully omits any mention of his past and when somebody asks if he's worried about his family when the apocalypse starts he just kinda... brushes it off? Anyway so yeah, this bastard is definitely traumatized, although I don't know how much of spoiler territory that would be, considering the fact that literally when he first reveals his trauma he's also unreliable about it. And turns out he does indeed, care A LOT about this world and the people around him. Because well, he kinda didn't care to mention that this webnovel that has become reality was like... literally his whole world before it literally became his whole world. Like, it was the only thing keeping him going for 10+ years and the protagonist that he likes to call a stupid jerk was his comfort character who he pretended to be when he felt like he couldn't handle something in his life by being himself. The protagonist is also canonically the person he loves the most according to a prophecy and he literally can't fathom the thought of him dying, even the timeline versions of him that directly oppose him. And I haven't even mentioned the Fourth Wall yet but I feel like this propaganda is a little long already

misreading the intentions of his companion (yoo joonghyuk) so many time.

YOU DON'T UNDERSTANDDD DOKJA IS SUCH A UNRELIABLE NARRATORRRRRR GOD I COULD WRITE AN ESSAY BUT I KNOW YOU LOVE DOKJA TOO BUT OMG HE'S JUST SO AAAAAAAAAAAH

Rest of Propaganda under cut!

he is the worst like actually. he starts the story talking about how normal and average he is. he is not. he is constantly mischaracterizing his friends and he's so good at lying to the readers that you don't even realize it at first. almost every single time he cries we have to be told by other characters because he never says it himself. there is literally a scene where his narration says "i wasn't crying" and then the in-universe entity that narrates the actions of people (orv is really weird and meta) says that he was, in fact, crying. honestly genuinely anything he says about himself (or doesn't say) cannot be trusted. he is just so frustrating. he drives me mad. i love him dearly. but he drives me so mad.

Dictionary definition of unreliable narrator. Does not tell the reader anything and then things happen and he's like oh yeah btw there was also this and this earlier but i just didn't feel like mentioning it. There's even a thing called the "Fourth Wall" that is able to see through kdj's bs so occasionally you get gems like,

Kim Dokja: I didn't cry

The Fourth Wall: [Kim Dokja was crying]

Imagine being so unreliable as a narrator you need a more powerful narrator to call out the actual narrator.

^ same submission, just spacing it out

This goes into spoiler territory, but; Kim Dokja is in possession of a skill called the Fourth Wall, which on the surface seems like it appears because he read the book that reverse-isekai’d into his own. However, as the story goes on it becomes clear that it’s pretty much a souped up version of his pre-existing dissociation. You cannot trust him to be honest about his feelings, his past traumas or his feelings about his past traumas, not to mention his tendency to just outright omit information that only gets revealed later on either when it becomes relevant or when an outsider POV reveals what’s actually happening.

Exhibit A: he says (in 1st person POV) that he’s not crying. The Fourth Wall immediately contradicts this (as it is literally words of the novel) by saying (in 3rd person POV) ‘Kim Dokja was crying’.

Exhibit B: Fails to mention entire actions when it shows him emotionally honest even in the slightest; we had to read from another character entirely when Kim Dokja was being physically affectionate with his companion. It’s so bad that there’s this entire paragraph about Kim Dokja describing himself hiding his eyes in his hands in jerky, weirdly specific detail and just AVOIDING EVERY WORD THAT MIGHT SHOW HE’S CRYING. The brilliance of ORV is that when you re-read the entire thing you get hints that ‘yes, this WAS hinted at the entire time’ but you have to dig it out of Kim Dokja’s repressed, depressed self-hating internal dialogue with your own two hands.

^ same submission, spacing it out (i really should've done this earlier.)

i am a simple man (not a man). i see a tumblr text post with the words “unreliable narrator in it”. i read nothing else. i reblog & tag #kim dokja okay but in all seriousness i’m just going with the musty basic example: so there’s this moment where he sacrifices himself to save this guy. as he lays on the ground bleeding out, he says “hey, you don’t like me, right? you should kill me to get some money” the guy says “no kim dokja i cant do that (going through the five stages of grief except there’s only one and it’s anger)” the constellations (twitch viewers irl) are like omg he (the guy) doesn’t want to kill his companion (kim dokja) and shower him (the guy) with money kim dokja: oh, he’s not killing me for the money. smart!

as i quote a brilliant youtube video (all of omniscient reader’s viewpoint in 6 minutes) “yoo joonghyuk sees kim dokja as a c_____”

yoo joonghyuk: companion

kim dokja: cunt

^ same submission, once again. spacing it out.

Hides his true feelings, tells the readers what he thinks is convenient for the plot and that his own personal feelings don’t matter or are not so significant. Has unreliable thoughts abt his companion and is a liar. And is also an omniscient reader.

Kim Dokja always perceived his companions in this like nonchalant way like “oh yeah we get along but really we’re just fighting to survive (apocalypse setting) it doesn’t run that deep” when they all do genuinely care for him and he does in turn. He just, doesn’t think of it as an equal relationship? Dokja’ll sacrifice a lot for them but will get seriously flabbergasted if they do the same thing, so fricking problematic. Not to mention Yoo Joonghyuk, his “Life and Death Companion” (read: husband). Kim Dokja always seems to think that Joonghyuk has it out for him, which is kinda true, but he is literally blind to the fact that he’s attached to him. Like, it’s so obvious??? Also they have hella sexual tension but that’s another thing entirely

se get some many pov changes where kdj in his pov just assumed things based on what he knew the characters would do. however because of his interference the characters have changed and he wouldn’t know that if it hit him in the face

He's an unreliable narrator because he lies to himself and thus the audience. He literally rewrote his own childhood core memory. If someone says, "this guy is my friend!" He will go through so many hoola hoops in his mind just to rationalize it. Because he fundamentally believe that no one could love him and even if they did they couldn't know him and he's just gonna hurt them. He cries sometimes in canon but a lot of those times it's not even mentioned as crying he's that unreliable of a narrator. No joke, one time this guys he has a gay thing with called him his "companion" to someone who had just killed him (long story) and this bitch thought "oh wow he's doing it for the coins (another long story) he's so smart i wish I'd thought to that. He's terrible. He literally has an exchange with something called the Fourth Wall (an even longer story) where it said "you're crying" and he said "no I'm not" but he was crying. He makes me insane because the reader is supposed to project onto him. He made me see how much of an unreliable narrator I WAS. ORV is just like that tho.

[mechanismslorearchive]

hi i have a question because i'm uh stupid and ur my last hope for an answer since yk ur an lore archive for mecha, WHO IS DR CARMILLA? HOW DO I FIND ANY INFORMATION ABOUT HER??

Hello! This is a fantastic question, actually, because it gives me a chance to infodump about my beloved Carmilla.

I don’t know how much information you have, so I’m going to start at the very beginning.

In-character: Dr. Carmilla was the scientist who invented the mechanization process and created (some of!) the Mechanisms. She traveled with them for a while before departing under mysterious circumstances, which the crew claims was a tragic accident involving her falling out of (read: one of the crew shoved her out of*) an airlock. She is loosely inspired by the titular character of the 1872 vampire novel Carmilla by J Sheridan Le Fanu.

Since her time with the mechs, she’s been up to vague and mysterious shenanigans, and last I heard was working with a forthcoming band called Dr. Carmilla and the Void Quartet.

Out-of-character: she’s another musical artist named Maki Yamazaki who originally formed the band as Dr. Carmilla and the Mechanisms, before they decided to go their separate ways. She still makes music, both as Dr. Carmilla and as herself!

It’s worth noting that while the Mechanisms don’t discuss her in a flattering light, they do canonically lie to the audience (source with spoilers to Death to the Mechanisms), and that there are two sides to every story. Carmilla has been a… let’s say, a controversial figure to the fandom, in the past, but, if I can editorialize a bit, she is no more evil or violent than any of the Mechanisms (which is to say, she’s done many terrible things, but no worse than they have).

If you want more information about her, the two starting points I’d recommend are this fantastic and extremely thorough post by lucky-sevens, and checking out her music, which you can find on her Bandcamp here or on YouTube here! There’s also Lashings, which is the only live show we have a full recording of where she appears with the Mechs, and is well worth a watch!

(*The crew canonically shoved her out an airlock on at least three occasions, but according to word-of-god canon from Maki her final departure was not via the airlock! Still, I’m including these sources for informational purposes)

[booktomoviebrawl]

We are not judging how bad the movie is, we are judging which adapted the book the worst. There are good movies that are bad adaptions.

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers may apply)

The Giver:

Completely changed the book making a story with great characters and subtle themes into a generic ya dystopia with stupid teen characters and no themes

They turned it into like this teen angst dystopia that missed all the nuance and love that poured into the original book. They were clearly trying to capitalize off of Hunger Games/Divergent and failed miserably. The original book was a message on totalitarian governments and how history repeats itself. It's so frustrating to see movies strip away messages like that and just make it a cash grab.

Shallow interpretation, tried to please everyone, also Taylor Swift was there?

Persuasion:

They massacred my girl!! That is not Anne Elliot!! The whole point is that she's beaten down and thinks she's missed her chance at happiness and is bullied by her family, not making mean and snarky nods to the camera :( They completely missed the whole point of the dynamic and it's SICKENING! They also cut Mrs Smith who is arguably one of the most important characters as she highlights Anne's lack of focus on title and rank and her family's comparative obsession with it + it's only through her that Anne learns about Mr Elliot's true nasty nature. Also they cut the 'I am half agony, half hope' line from Wentworth's letter at the end so what's even the POINT of adapting it if you don't have that!! Oh my god!! My poor favourite Austen novel :( (I do want to make it very very clear that my issues with the movie come from the writing and adaptation and not in any way from the race blind casting. The casting is superb and I'm genuinely so disappointed that they got such a bad adaptation bc so many of the cast are literally perfect)

Where do I even start? They tried to 'modernize' both the protagonist and the love story and managed to take out everything that made it good in the first place. Anne Elliot in the novel is quiet and good and helpful, full of regret. In the movie, she constantly turns to the audience to mock everyone around her, feeling so much better than everyone, to the point where nobody understands why Captain Wentworth would still be in love with her, or have fallen in love with her in the first place. Eight years before the plot starts, she broker her engagement to him because she was persuaded by a family friend that it was a bad idea. No way would movie!Anne have let herself be persuaded. They just tried to do a Fleabag/Emma type of thing without understanding what made either the novel or those two things work and thereby ruined it completely

Whoever made this didn't understand the point of the novel at all. They completely screwed up the character of Anne Elliot (the protagonist), which in turn screws the rest of the movie, as the original story only works because Anne is the way she is. Also, it's a period piece but the characters are talking in modern slang the entire time. And not in a clever way but in a very cringey one. If Jane Austen knew, she'd probably turn in her grave, and rightfully so.

Maximum Ride:

The storyline makes absolutely no sense, and the movie is nothing like the book. You could've given the movie an entirely different name and and keep the plot I wouldn't bat an eye

the movie's just bad mate

Horrendous low budget netflix movie with effects so bad they make me feel physically ill and acting so wooden the cast is in danger of being attacked by lumberjacks. The story already wasn't the best and the film somehow made it worst. I came in with nostalgia for my dear kids with bird wings and left never to be the same again.

[hollowfaith]

1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

QUESTIONS FOR MUN

1. Who has been your favorite muse to play?

ughhhh this is hard...im gonna cheat and go for nostalgia ok

although i think i missed the mark with her muse in some places i have a special fondness for dahlia hawthorne and her specific brand of caustic sarcasm.

i don't think i've ever come up with so many different creative insults during her runtime...also she had the neatest mix of relationships with random muses, not just in AA cast (tho i remember her tormenting at least 3 different feenies??) but beyond, notably izaya and edward cullen comes to mind.

i also really liked my run as kasen kanesada because he's a very lyrical sword (or at least works hard to cultivate that image) so i had to express that in writing and ended up having a lot of fun doing flowery replies and making up poetry and generally going big ham. (it did take a lot of mental energy though so i started losing steam later on.)

i remember he had a thread with FGO Shakespeare that was pretty nice cause we got to be nerdy and talk about eastern/western literature lolololol, then for his challenge he had to kill like 5 ppl in 24 hours so i actually got 5 volunteers to get decapitated and RP'd mini threads with them all, which was wild (and again a very, very random mix of muses including X-Files Fox Mulder)

i didn't RP OCs back then but i like them a lot now too! the lack of art is an unfortunate reality but the amount of customization you get in exchange...so powerful.

5. What is the most difficult thing about writing your current muse?

stupid guy won't just kiss klaus and marry him that would solve 99% of their problems hey klaus are u listening u need to seduce this idiot or something so his brain has nothing but u all day to keep him out of mischief hey hey klaus

ahem

also his unspoken obligation to be lawful good (in his POV) really limits his ability to "act out," so sometimes i need to find different ways to de-escalate situations before he hits moral event horizon. you know, flattery and adoration goes a long way in wrapping him around your finger, i'm surprised more people don't try (i guess they can't stand him long enough to get there lol)

7. Who was the very first muse you ever wrote?

i remember answering this question on another meme maybe...?

there's a more accurate answer now: pre-tumblr, i remember RPing a Lopmon on some digimon forum once upon a time. also remember the mod that was RPing with me called me out for "slight godmodding" because i was describing how my digimon was crossing a bridge and apparently that was taking things too much into my own hands LOLOL

8. Have you ever written a novel? If not, does it interest you?

i've started written novels but i haven't finished any except for like, a couple of original oneshots. technically Veoc is a supporting character/love interest (spoilers: he's not the canon pairing) in a sci-fi story where i have the general plot laid out but y'know, actually writing it is... *flops down*

9. Do you write fanfiction, or have you in the past?

i definitely wrote more in the past but i've slowed down to a trickle since then. uhhhh i want to start up again, maybe with drabbles/oneshots, but i need to catch up on canon first before i try to do the characters justice

10. Do you like stylized icons and formatted text or do you prefer to keep things simple?

god a part of me regrets giving Aury his fancy brackets b/c i have to copy/paste that thing in every reply

so yeah i am never doing that again i just wanna open up a post and type my reply and be done with it, bless.

same with icons as long as they show a face and expression (or even body part) im happy wheee i've got plots to write

11. When did you start roleplaying?

i can't remember...gotta be probably early to mid high school cause i didn't know RP existed back then

12. Have you roleplayed anywhere other than tumblr?

forums, emails, tried a LJ group but my app got rejected so i didn't even get in (ROFL), tumblr has been the most stable medium with most long-term interactions though

[manuscripts-dontburn]

The Morning Gift

Author: Eva Ibbotson

First published: 1993

Rating:  ★★★★☆

I adored this story! A romance born on the eve of WW2, that holds the foreboding but still shows you that people still lived their lives and had their hopes. I was happy to note that for once the main female character of Ibbotson´s is not a sheer perfection (this girl has actually some issues to go through), though I admit I could still do without the comically evil rival (it would have been so much more interesting if there actually at least appeared a possibility the other girl might succeed). But all in all, especially because of the last third of the book, I thought this was a well-crafted romance with some, perhaps cheesy, but well-used tropes. Just, for the love of god, DO NOT listen to this as an audiobook recorded by Kate Lock, who insisted on using a fake German accent and squeaky voice for the main character, making her sound like a stupid child of 10. (And that is not the only horrible thing she does to the selected characters).

Jane, the Fox & Me

Author: Fanny Britt

First published: 2012

Rating: ★★★★☆

A beautifully executed graphic novel in which the story somewhat fizzles out and feels unfinished, definitely could have been longer and yet I rate it quite high simply because it hit me like a train. I was not a fat kid but all my life I felt I was, even if in my case there was no bullying. I felt this little girl´s pain deeply.

The Witches: Salem, 1692

Author: Stacy Schiff

First published: 2015

Rating: ★★★☆☆

I think Stacy Schiff is an excellent historian and has an extremely readable style of writing. I also think she has done a stupendous job putting this mammoth project together, but I need to agree with those who complain about the density and slowness of the text. It is next to impossible to keep track of the names and the accusations/descriptions of the alleged witchcraft are so similar (or completely the same) that it is very taxing to keep up. I am not sure whether I should be complaining though, because, after all, I DID want a book about these events and I got it. I would recommend an audiobook though, makes it easier to get through.

The Clockmaker's Daughter

Author: Kate Morton

First published: 2018

Rating: ★★★★☆

This is a story of a house and people connected to it in an intriguing web of connections. It spans from the 1860s to the modern day, not always in chronological order, and I must say that Kate Morton managed to jump through the timelines quite effortlessly. There is a great number of characters but I had no problems following who was who, though admittedly some of the timelines were less interesting than the others (notably and predictably for me I enjoyed the modern one the least). I also had trouble when some things, already revealed to the reader, were "revealed" again. The main voice is that of a ghost (trust me, this is not a spoiler), and while I did not mind it, I also believe the book would have been stronger had that been completely committed and we only got to know that particular character from the other stories it touches. Even after all that I have to say I was surprised at how easy this was to read (it IS a chunker) and how much I enjoyed it.

A Face Like Glass

Author: Frances Hardinge

First published: 2012

Rating: ★★★☆☆

I adore the fact that Frances Hardinge does not talk down to children, because this is undeniably a middle-grade book, but does not shy from some pretty heavy stuff. However perhaps I have read too much Frances Hardinge at this point because I tend to really like/be intrigued by the start of her books, her world-building and her unique ideas, but then it all became too much with this one and I was impatient for the story to be over.

Brigid of Kildare

Author: Heather Terrell

First published: 2009

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I am sad to report that this book was kind of a mess. The historical bits would have been just fine on their own, even if I had wanted a little more depth, many a time I felt like we were merely dipping our toes into the fascinating story of Brigid. But then the author decided to weave in a "mystery" set in modern times and those chapters, apart from being unnecessary to the story, felt just tedious to the point I was considering skipping them altogether. A bummer.

When Women Were Dragons

Author: Kelly Barnhill

First published: 2022

Rating: ★★★☆☆

As long as it was a family tragedy infused with the elusive and unexplained, I was enjoying this book quite a lot. But then, in its second half, it becomes too wordy, too idealistic, too uninteresting.

The Silent Unseen

Author: Amanda McCrina

First published: 2022

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The good thing: the topic, even if you have read loads of WW2 books, is an unusual one. The bad thing: the story is extremely weak (walking and talking do not an intriguing narrative make), the characters shallow, the motivations extremely basic, the romance needless and not particularly well done. No matter how many betrayals posing as shocking twists you cram into the last third, you cannot make me invested in this.

Charlotte's Web

Author: E.B.White

First published: 1952

Rating: ★★★★☆

As a non-UK and non-US child, I have never read this book when I was its target audience. I picked it up now more for the super cute edition than anything else. And indeed throughout I kept thinking: sure, it´s cute. But is it that great? And then I got kicked in the guts by that friggin ending.

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands

Author: Heather Fawcett

First published: 2024

Rating: ★★★★★

Just as enjoyable and delightful as the first volume! I love the tone, the language, and the romance (I am SHIPPING Emily and Wendell so hard), it can be both touching and humorous at the same time. Cannot wait for the conclusion of this series which so far I find to be one of the most joyous literary events in years.

The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time

Author: John Kelly

First published: 2005

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Black Death epidemic of the 14th century remains one of the most gruesomely fascinating events in European history and I dare say this book is a very accessible, informative and well-organized study of it. It is strictly chronological, leading you in the steps of the disease, and adding stories and explanations that make it all less clinical and more humanly tragic. Just perhaps the ending sounds way too much like "but in the end it was a good thing" felt like a very, very weird conclusion.

Psyche and Eros

Author: Luna McNamara

First published: 2023

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I finished this book out of spite more than anything else. The myth of Psyche and Reos may just be my favourite of all the Greek myths, unfortunately instead of crafting it into something fresh and memorable Luna McNamara tried her hand at mixing every Greek myth you have ever heard of and made Psyche insufferable during the process for good measure. It is not even subtle mixing, instead, she goes full Marvel Universe of Greek gods on you, twisting the story to incredible lengths just to cram more of the mythology into her book. I would also say that the original myth takes quite a beating in this reimagining, being stripped of much that made it so appealing to me as a reader. Sometimes less is more.

A Middle-Earth Traveller: Sketches from Bag End to Mordor

Author: John Howe

First published: 2018

Rating: ★★★★★

Beautifully executed "sketchbook". It would seem that while Alan Lee was more concerned with the Elven stuff, John Howe focused on Dwarves, Orcs and the more gritty parts we saw in the movies. There are, however, also illustrations from the Silmarillion included. I would imagine this is a perfect book to take with you outside, where you can sit under a tree and just leaf through, dreaming of Middle-Earth.

[coolfire333]

Oh! Did you have any thoughts you'd like to share on TLHOD?

Yeah, it's been a few years since I've read it but yes I have so many thoughts!!! Major spoilers ahead (this book is very old but warning just in case)

Ok so a little bit of backstory: it was 2019 or 2020, sophomore year of college and I was around 19-20 years old (can't remember if it was spring or fall). I was in the honors program and had to take this mandatory honors class called "great works" where we attempted (key word: attempted) to read what the professor considered classic or otherwise noteworthy pieces of literature

Only problems being my professor was as dull as all get out during lectures and we also had to read an obscene amount of books in a short period of time (my adhd struggles hadn't quite hit that year yet so it was a stupid amount of books in a short timeframe even for me to read) so overall despite the interest I had for literature it was an agonizing experience to be in that class

I skimmed through most of our assigned books because it was the only way to be able to comprehend enough about the plot of things to be able to participate and follow along in lecture

However with The Left Hand of Darkness I soon found myself enraptured by the worldbuilding and premise. A scifi book from the 60s, one written by a woman, at that? Color me intrigued. I love scifi and have an interest for older books, that and the 60s are one of my favorite time periods in history so I was immediately interested in actually sitting down to read this book instead of skimming through it

By god I wasted so much time that I probably should have used for doing other homework reading every square inch of this novel. I really need to read it more carefully again if I can because I did rush a bit and it has been like 5 years since I've read it but holy mackerel what a story

The Left Hand of Darkness is so important to me for several reasons, the first being that I think it's a good story, but also and perhaps most importantly because it expanded my knowledge of gender. I wasn't the most open minded about gender and nonbinary identity when I first started reading and I genuinely feel like I came out of the other end of the story with not only an appreciation for gender diversity that I didn't have before but also a better understanding of it.

Considering I'm bigender and genderqueer now, coming to terms with this book was probably my first step in starting to unravel my own gender identity, even if I didn't know it at the time. Funny sidenote but I'm pretty sure I was also grappling with my bisexuality (thanks to also being demiaroace and not knowing it, figuring yourself out orientation-wise is a lot harder) at the time and I had a bit of a crush on Estraven (and Genly for that matter although I already knew I liked men) and a deep fascination with the "gay but not exactly gay" relationship that Genly and Estraven have but I kinda went "don't have time to unpack what that means for my own sexuality" and shelved that part of myself for later analysis lol

Anyways, onto the story. It's been a while but Genly and Estraven's weird nebulous relationship throughout the story had me in a chokehold the entire time. What if I was in heat and we were both starving and freezing to death in a tent together and forced to share body heat to stay alive (and your telepathic voice is the same as the telepathic voice of my dead brother who killed himself after we were prohibited from continuing our incestuous relationship as a life bond)....surely this doesn't mean anything about how I feel about you...haha, jk....unless.......

Like for real the two of them hate and misunderstand each other at the start of the book and by the end of it there's this weird unspoken bond they have that clearly teeters on the romantic (which is interesting for both of them since Estraven sees Genly as obscenely sexual for his male-only gender and meanwhile Genly is confused by Estraven's lack of gender)

But then Estraven literally sacrifices himself to allow Genly to live...he dies in his arms and his last thought is just telepathically shouting his dead brother's name as if professing some kind of love for Genly while also being reminiscent of an "I'm going to join my dead former partner in the afterlife" type thing. Good lird...

Literally the last passage in the book (iirc) is Genly being like "well ok this sucks so bad but mission technically accomplished, time to go back to earth I guess" and then he is confronted with Estraven and Arek's son who's just like "was my dad (referring to Estraven) a hero? Did he die nobly?" and the book just ends there with the faint implication that Genly is going to tell him all about Estraven...like oh my goddddddddd the pain is eternal

I could go on and on about the interesting way Le Guin explores gender throughout the book but one thing that stood out to me was that the king had to have birthed a son himself (versus being the father of someone else's son) for that son to be considered a true heir. Idk it just was a really interesting take on gender and heritage imo, you'd expect it to be the other way around (like the birthed son doesn't count towards the king's lineage because patriarchal commentary) so seeing the opposite imo emphasized the alienness of their society really well in contrast to our own preconceptions of human gender roles

Also I see the critique of he/him and male terms being used for Estraven throughout the story but also the book is from Genly's perspective and iirc he has a touch of Earth Sexism so using he/him for everyone regardless of their genderlessness is actually a good choice in explaining Genly's perspective I think. I will say I'm partial to the idea that Estraven and others use they/them normally and then she/her or he/him if in heat depending on if they're feminine or masculine during but idk I think using he/him for everyone throughout is fine too because it's just one of those "this doesn't translate well to human society" moments

Another interesting point of conversation that was actually brought up by my professor at the time was that Genly is a black human from future earth and yet his race and relationship with racial identity as a black human specifically is never fully explored like his gender is in relation to the inhabitants of Gethen. I have no idea what to do with this information but it certainly is interesting considering the book was written in 1969

I get that Le Guin was white and probably didn't feel like she should comment on race (and maybe she just didn't have many thoughts on it) but she also made a clear choice to make Genly, the protagonist and pov character, a black intergalactic ambassador of Earth in a book written during the civil rights era...yeah I would certainly have liked to also see how Genly's race (as a black man not as a human because his humanity is clearly detailed) factored into the plot but idk it's just something I think about sometimes

[julianplum]

The vesperia light novel translations are giving me life because we are seeing SOOOOO much of Flynn's little baby personality and I have so many feelings, I am going to cut this post so all the folks who followed me for frogs and flowers don't have to hear how normal I am about flynn scifo

anyway hi welcome to the normal about flynn space where we're all very normal about Flynn. spoilers for the light novels if you aren't caught up yet.

THE THING IS: in the latest chapter, where we see Flynn getting his ass sort-of-but-not-really lost in a scary section of the Lower Quarter, is so illuminating. Obviously we're getting only hints of Flynn because this is all coming through Yuri and Yuri's narration (just like the game!!) but the picture being painted is such a fascinating one when you look at who Flynn becomes.

Because like— okay, yes, Flynn is very proper and upright, follows the rules, etc etc. This take is fine. It's very face-value. It's the Flynn that Sodia sees, basically! The perfect knight, polite to a fault and brave and strong in the face of danger. This is the Flynn who makes inspiring speeches to his knights and eventually stands up to Alexei and gathers world leaders to avert a crisis with grace. This is also who we think Flynn is, or who we're led to think he is, for the first bit of the game.

If you peel away the armor, you get layer 2: a very sweet, charming-but-awkward young man doing his best to do his best. This is the Flynn we see trying frantically to process aloud in Baction, and the Flynn who's gonna fight that mold in the hot springs and win, and the Flynn who stammers under attention in Dahngrest while drinking juice. Flynn-the-person, who is honestly just... sweet! He's a very kind person with a lot of worries about how he's coming off, trying to mold himself into this ideal knight because he thinks he has to be for many reasons. He's very sincere and earnest, he's willing to tease Yuri and get into stupid flirty fights with him.

AND THEN

if you peel away even that layer, I think, you get to child-Flynn. First Strike is, ehhhhhh, nominally canon in my eyes, the inconsistencies in terms of plot and worldbuilding and fluri's relationship are. mm. that is a different post!! But we are introduced to a very sincere and very angry Flynn in First Strike, and I can see echoes of that Flynn in the light novel so far. Child-Flynn, who has just had his dad and his life ripped away from him and who, I AM PRETTY SURE, we are going to find out either implicitly or explicitly feels that he's responsible for taking care of his mother, is weird. He's intense and kind of off-putting, he has this already clearly-burning sense of wrong and right, and he hasn't put on any of the sweet layers that characterize Flynn when he's older.

That isn't to say that sweet-Flynn is another mask! I think that sincere kindness is a very fundamental part of Flynn (see: him saving the boy who stole his Important Mom Hat), but where we are in the novels right now, it's not really at the forefront. Instead we get this closed-off angry little kid who's trying to find his footing in a new world with absolutely no support. He's not getting it from his mom. It's the other way around, pretty clearly: he's putting on an act already so he doesn't worry her, pretending everything's fine. We aren't seeing what he's doing all day every day (god I want to see that so badly though) so we get these snippets where he's also being rejected by the kids his age in the Lower Quarter, which brings me to the thing I can't stop thinking about: that we are seeing soooo clearly how uncomfortable Flynn is when he doesn't understand the social norms he's supposed to fit into.

I don't wanna get all symbolic but it's hard to see him memorizing the exact path into and out of that maze of alleyways and NOT compare it to him memorizing and observing every single code of conduct and behavior he thinks people are expecting of him and then holding himself to that standard. By the time he's an adult, Flynn's become really good and twisting and molding himself to fit the expectations he thinks the people around him have. I think what we're seeing in kid-Flynn is the fact that this is a fundamental part of his personality, that he feels unsafe enough in the world to have to do this, and that it's definitely a skill that he learns as he ages. I can't WAIT to see how they characterize him as he gets closer to Yuri. I have a feeling a lot of this closed-off Flynn is because he's having a really hard time but also because he thinks he has to be Tough and Brave and Strong because his dad told him that he had to be!!! Because Flynn's story is ultimately one about a lot of things but it's very much about masculinity and the expectations of masculinity that he places on himself, gleaned from other people and from stories! It's what's so compelling about him. He's got sweetness and he's got anger, and I think at CORE he is a sweet and soft boy who is constantly trying to fit into the boundaries of masculinity that does not suit him

and that's why Flynn is so inherently queer the end I guess, god that got long. rant just for me!!! about my boy!!!!! very normal about him!!!

[varreslittlestlambkin]

Thoughts on Dune Messiah

I just finished the audiobook during my work shift and have come away with mixed feelings on this novel. Spoiler warning

One the one hand the rich lore and character arcs of Dune and it's greater universe have expanded greatly and introduced very unique concepts that make my brain spin in funny ways of fascination. (its the Bene Tleilaxu)

On the other some revealed factions felt like strange retcons to have existed and be so important considering how important they are to the narrative as the main mover. (its the Bene Tleilaxu, its mostly them that vex me).

Their wide range of abilities of raising the freakin dead, complete shapeshifting, and robot eyes feel incongruent with how the setting was built in the first Dune novel. Makes me wonder where they were during all that, how no one ever commented on these space freaks while talking about all the other space freaks.

Overall I didn't much care for Scytale themself either, but most of my problems with him stem from Paul's inaction and how his reasoning is under explored so I'll focus on that later.

The opening of the novel with the secret torture from the inquisition that Paul either doesn't know about because he has no reason to foresee it, or the implication that it is so ubiquitous he sees it everywhere and can't stop, mixed with the choking rasp of a tortured historian, writers love writers, and the fervent hatred of the interrogator is I think the best scene in the entire book. It is a shame there was not more like it throughout, herein at the beginning is the perfect showcase of the failure of the empire under Paul, the horrors of the jihad, and a massive wealth of implications said with very few words.

But then we switch to Irulan and the main problems reared very immediately. The narrative feels downright mean to Irulan, and all the female characters in general feel shafted. While she is somewhat of an evil space witch, everyone in the story seems intensely bent on hating her despite her not really doing anything to deserve it. Also its unpleasant how every time the narrative talks about Bene Gesserit control it has it fail every time its a woman doing it, making all woman in the book feel like weak failures. No idea how she comes up with always loving Paul at the end, if I was her I'd knife those kids out of spite for all the shit I had to put up with.

The reverend mother out and out calling her a bitch feels very jarring to her characterization, while she did seem like someone abusive to her subordinates there was always the previous implication of some regard for her students. Jessica both loved and hates her, but I don't know how Irulan didn't ever try to comeuppance her for her constant insults and demeanment with no reinforcement. These reactions are how you lose spies, why would she act like such an idiot.

Chani remains a complete cardboard cutout with no character beyond I love you Paul sure would suck if I were to tragically die, very disappointing. Thank god for Zendaya

Alia despite being an awakened one with generations of knowldge , mental prowess, and Gesserit training is subject to a wealth of failure. Failure to predict the enemies plans, failure to control her emotions, failure to resist temptations. And unnecessary nude scenes where the author talked about her boobs and how she needs married soon. Yay thanks for writing this about a teenage girl Frank. Maybe the teenagedness presents the answer to my questions about here weird characterization, maybe its just hard to balance centuries of knowledge and being young and stupid, or maybe a character like that is just really hard to write.

Her "love interest" Hayt, aka the first of many Duncan Idahos apparently sucks how overspoiled that it is, existed. His chapters provided nothing to me but eastern koans and constant mentions of Mentat computations. Easily the most boring part of the book, he did literally nothing of importance. Then he fucks a kid at the end. I really hope he gets more interesting in future books since he's coming back.

The conspiracy needed more scenes showing the planning and execution of attacks and characters thinking in my opinion. Far too much happens off screen with no forewarning, which is frustrating in a book about the trap of prescience, it feels like a missed opportunity to not have Paul/Reader see stuff coming but being unable to stop it. Could have added to the crushing feeling of the avalanche of fate.

In particular the betrayal of the rogue Fremen and the stealing of a sandworm feel like things that needed scenes. I need the planning, logistics, and mindsets of everything involved, it sounds so much more interesting than Paul deliberately walking into a trap and talking to an annoying Dwarf with big feet.

I especially wanted far more of the guild, as the ones with more limited prescience, with them not being able to see paul and paul not being able to see them there could have been a fun element of cat and mouse baiting each other. But Edric and by extension the guild are the backbone of the conspiracy is treated as joke in favor the Bene Tleilaxu which is all kinds of disappointing. I want more drugged out their gourd mutant fishmen. The horror of the spice is too cool, I want space cocaine dammit.

Paul's not blindness was very cool, seems like Frank Herbert focused on that section of the book the most, we all love the implied blind seer joke. That and it actually shows horrible brutality, which feels too glossed over in this series so far. I don't know about others, but it's hard to feel like the Jihad was so terrible when the scope of horror is confined to maybe barely 4 scenes in Messiah, and like 2 in book 1.

The stone burner scene while drawn out and under foreshadowed is still a great highlight, a bomb made to melt eyes and crack planets violating the established code of conduct feels so uniquely Dune. A horrible cruelty for crueltys sake on massive scale. It's great :]

Chani dying made me feel little. The tykebombs are interesting little guys, wonder how they'll turn out in Children and beyond.

the confrontation with Scytale felt very stilted, between being able to just zip up to the babies because Duncan/Hayt swooned at his own memories for the third time felt silly, though not as silly as magic baby vision. Although that was admittedly kind of cool

Hard to really believe all that conspiracy bothering wound up being the Bene Tleilaxu just wanting a shitload of money, and maybe something else. The awakened Ghola plan just on the timescale within the plot made very little sense, since they didn't know how to awaken Gholas until Duncan did, so why would they plot around being able to Ghola Chani and awaken her, why did they try to get her with Paul at the Stone Burner trap, or even what did the other factions even really needed them for. The Bene Gesserit already had the spy and the Spacing Guild already had the capital and unfindable base. Feels like they should have been more important to the climax.

The Bene Gesserit of course wanted the yummy cummies, but there is a new patch rule about no Turkey Bastering it so that plotline drops, that and several scenes wondering about incest that I cant tell if they were fetishy or just a reference to old nobility inbreeding. Probably the second considering the original Harkonnen x Harkonnen plan.

Perhaps what made it hard to really appreciate was the lack of a unifying fun antagonist like the Harkonnens, no remnant remained apparently to seek revenge. We don't even ever see a Corino plot for revenge that has a scene. No personal intriuge or hatred drives anything like in the first book, takes some of the vim out of it. I miss the evil flying fat man.

As for Paul, it feels like Frank was no longer sure how to write in his prescience and doom, the weight of inevitably from the first book is mostly gone now. The jihad was skipped and his ascension to the throne is done. The only fate left is death and avoiding it but Paul is playing a game of survival only for Chani. Which is an interesting idea, but there is much less implication and foreshadowing of doom in this plotline so Paul just kind of meanders about doing nothing but being talked at and taking few actions. Which makes sense but I would have proffered having him grapple with or justify it.

Hands down the best scenes are the ones of common soldiers and people. The implications of the mass pilgrimages eating up resources causing havoc, the soldiers being disillusioned, Faraok's falling out of the jihad mindset when he was taken under ocean waves for the first time, the secret inquisition, the prayers at Alia's church. These scenes better than any other encapsulate the horror of Paul achieving his Godhead and dominion, about how he broke the galaxy. I am desperately hungry for more of this.

Overall I thought the book was ok. I'm still quite excited to read Children of Dune. I know Jessica shows up in it which is hopefully good because I missed her in this one.

[agentleem]

My Favorite DND campaign I played in

We were a group called "The Leviathan Company," but I forgot how exactly we got that name (might've been the leviathan we fought). The players were -Zeta: Warforged Barbarian (my character). The very first thing he did in life was make a religion on their origins (Which involve Red vs Blue references, warforgeds, and gnomes). They then proceeded to absentmindedly harass the country side before joining the party. He has an absurd and nonsensical view of the world, and little thing like "common sense" isn't going to stop him from doing something ridiculous. He has handaxes installed in his hands and a crossbow in his mouth that he ate. While not confirmed, I often joked that Zeta's innard are rather lovecraftian and eldritch. After the campaign ended, he invented Mac n Cheese on accident. -Dar MakDerlad: Human Fighter, noble from a fictional country that his player wrote lots of lore about--including a language--which is Australia and Ireland combined, put in snow, and with the same general views of a warhammer city. He is quickly-angered, prone to graphic threats, heavily racist, but loyal to the point that he'd give his life if he betrayed his friends. He chills out at least a slight bit, don't worry. Also, he is both gay and homophobic, and half the campaign is about trying to revive his dead boyfriend (and other war buddies too). -Anakiir Mortis: Drow Sorceror, skilled in alchemy, a scholar, hails from beyond the lands. He is the smartest of the group and tries to expand his knowledge. Tied with Dar as the morally worst person in the party. He used to have a pet fish named Marvin that he would feed magic items to increase the strength of. However, he released Marvin to fight the Leviathan. He is also gay, but I'm pretty sure his player confirmed that to one-up Dar. His backstory is spoilers, and I might tell this story later (and Dar's player is trying to write a novel on it) -Lily: High Elf Rogue and Sorceress who works in an underground crime syndicate, stealing riches from nobles. Unsurprisingly, she hates nobles with a burning passion. She tries to live her best life. Racist against Dwarves and Gnomes for personal reasons. She joined the party because her syndicate had to lay low as there weren't many jobs at the moment. She is also a Lesbian, and bought a Tiefling slave girl to romance (Btw, her player probably made her for horny reasons, but he ended up giving her excellent development) -Sir Ivan, Human Paladin of Emotep, the God of Food, Money, Bitches. He is the moral compass and straight man of the group (due to being the only one who isn't gay--or asexual, in Zeta's case). He is the standard lawful good, except it's actually done in a good way instead of a stupid way. He also has a backstory that's spoilers, so I'll refrain from telling. Some NPCs that joined them: -Cyren Arafir: High Elf Bard originally hired as a one-night stand for Anakiir, ends up becoming an integral party member. -Doc: Human Cleric of Emotep the party yoinked one day. The DM accidentally gave him Dr Ned's voice from Borderlands. -Lila: Tiefling Rogue, mute slave girl that Lily bought. She got killed in the fight with the Fish King, but she got better. -Marvin: Fish-turned God, was fed magic items by Anakiir until he ascended in the fight against the Leviathan of Kua-Toa making. Current Wherabouts are unknown. -Child: I forgot his name but luckily it's spoilers, so I don't have to tell you right now.

I might detail some of the sessions that happened in this campaign.

[misano17]

For some reason y’all want to hear about the ankle fucker.

😔

I made him in middle school don’t look at me.

So his name is Arius Monarch Popov. (This name has a lot of meaning put into it which is fucking weird for middle school me, also Slavic mutuals please inform me if this name is bad or I used it wrong I know fuck all and I made him when I was thirteen)

He is a human man, about 22-23, and he has daddy issues and an unquenchable thirst for human connection- I mean violence.

This mfer is touch starved as all hell, so he has his weird little roommate boyfriend to help him with that.

anyways, he is a malewife. He cook, he cleans, he makes sure his roommate stays the hell out of the kitchen cuz he doesn’t want a repeat of last time, and he is a major hypochondriac. This mfer wears gloves around the house. He would probably faint if he touched something grimy with his bare hands.

His day job (the fake one) is being a caterer, and

spoilers for my wattpad novel for any of you that give a shit. (I’ll rewrite it when I’m not busy or just put an outline up here cuz there is so much to this damn story and he is one of the integral characters, not the main one tho)

He kills people that the head of state (his big sister Brigette) wants dead. These people are usually other people with super powers because she is collecting their powers for some nefarious scheme.

anyways lore for this stupid ass world, people with powers are called Raygun users, or Raygunners, or any other variation of that. This is because their powers manifest as ray guns when they first obtain them. The ray guns are physical objects that can be stolen if a person dies btw. I’m trying to explain without making it confusing.

k so ray gun facts:

Each one is named after a Greek god and their powers correspond to said god, ie Zeus equals zappy zappy, and Thanatos does the ol death bs

Ray guns are kind of like lamps that hold genies, when a user first gets their hands on one they have to make a deal with the god inside the gun

after the deal is made the ray gun fades into their body and kind of becomes part of it. It’s in there now, and it ain’t coming out till they die.

the god can also talk to this person now. So like, one of the main trio, Clair, has to deal with Zeus’s constant horny chatter and petty ex wife drama that he complains about. Also she’s Ace and dating the Hera Raygun user. So that’s fun for her 👍

anyways Raygun users can decide who will receive their gun next, if they make this decision the gun will appear next to their chosen person the very moment they die. So it can’t be stolen.

if they didn’t chose anyone it will materialize on their body and it can then be snatched.

cool, cool.

the society they’re in is largely unaware of Raygun users. They’re pretty secretive.

anyways Arius is a Raygun user. But he has two cuz he’s special and built different. Zagreus and Tartarus. He controls blood and had butterflies. So many goddamn butterflies. Too many. He can talk to them. When he appears there are butterflies around. His middle name is Monarch. This man is the butterfly boy. It’s also symbolism for his metamorphosis over the course of the story cuz this bitch changes drastically but I ain’t talking about that rn.

Anyways he cooks, he cleans, he kills, he gaslights, he manipulates, he mansplains, he simps for his roommate, and he has an ankle fetish.

Truly a well rounded individual

Also he’s motherless.

[touchstoneaf]

I did this once to survive a book. (Spoiler: it did not work.)

It was my first encounter with self-publishing on Amazon, and dear Gods... some ppl need fkkn editors, yo! The premise was rad and thus i was totes hyped abt it... until i opened the fkkn thing, and homg it was AWFUL. Not even at the height of my 20yo writing hubris was i ever that pretentious, nor have i ever in my most twisted nightmares used so many unnecessary epithets. Jhfc, it was tedious!

By the third page i had pulled out my proofing shit from my tutoring days, just to get thru the experience intact. By ch.2 i had to quit before i hunted up this egregious mfr and burned his house down for "publishing" such a disgusting assault variously on the English language, normal vernacular therein, and on the time-honored tenets of Not Completely Making Shit Up in a (supposedly) nonfiction piece.

There were entire fkkn CONVERSATIONS this man was not born or otherwise around to witness, just being invented out of whole cloth... and they were also, incidentally, straight up libel.

And that was just the beginning. Honest to god; on the first page of the second chapter, in the first fukkin paragraph alone, the guy already used the same stupid fkkn epithet for the person he was assaulting in literature... (guess!)

Nope, whatever you guessed, you were wrong. He did it FIFTY-SEVEN times.

57. In ONE (impossibly long even by my lenient standards) para. Whilst flat-out writing a fantasy-novel conversation in which said RL human (now deceased, but still) supposedly implicated himself in the capital and moral crime of kidnapping and murdering his own toddler son because he was mildly disabled.

Not saying that's not what happened. The premise was solid. It is a very workable theory for what happened in this real event. Just saying; you can't just make shit up because you think it's true. And if you're going to write something... first learn how to write words that ACTUALLY CONVEY MEANING. Like, above preschool level. I'm not asking much, here. Just the honing of bare-bones communicability (I mean, even viruses communicate better than this).

I. Just. Can't.

I'm still angry about that book, and I read it (or at least the first two chapters of it) like fifteen years ago. I didn't go past that page. I couldn't go on. I nearly vomited, it was so ridiculous. I had already been screaming at it for a solid several minutes, and my wife was a little worried, so I took it outside and burned it, because I couldn't deal with it. I wish like hell I could burn all of the copies this person somehow managed to get made into book form (such a waste of glue and paper and trees, and only because no one else would actually publish such a complete piece of crap). I have never been so affronted by something being technically a published work in my entire goddamn life. Shit like that simply should not exist. It managed to offend me on literally every level in me, and possibly found some new ones I didn't know existed inside me to offend me some more.

Clearly still FURIOUS about that damn book.

[makethosenarratorsfight]

UNRELIABLE NARRATORS; SIDE B

Hamlet Propaganda:

Have you seen the man. Is he clinically insane or just putting on an antic disposition. Is the ghost real

Kim Dokja Propaganda:

I haven't read orv but he's fucking gotta be from what I've osmosised

He tries to remove his emotions out of the narrative soooo much, literally the most repressed guy ever. Okay so for context orv is about how this guy, Kim Dokja, has been the only reader of an obscure post-apocalyptic webnovel for years and the novel suddenly becomes reality. And at first you'll probably get the weird impression that his behavior is pretty strange for, you know, a literal apocalypse happening in his world - like yes, he is concerned with survival but he doesn't seem all that scared and he kinda treats it like a video game where he has to grind to make himself stronger and he also treats his companions like a party in an rpg. Then there's also the way he approaches the protagonist of the webnovel, from the start he just kind of describes him as a ruthless psychopath and jerk that is unfortunately a pretty useful ally. And also there's the fact that he carefully omits any mention of his past and when somebody asks if he's worried about his family when the apocalypse starts he just kinda... brushes it off? Anyway so yeah, this bastard is definitely traumatized, although I don't know how much of spoiler territory that would be, considering the fact that literally when he first reveals his trauma he's also unreliable about it. And turns out he does indeed, care A LOT about this world and the people around him. Because well, he kinda didn't care to mention that this webnovel that has become reality was like... literally his whole world before it literally became his whole world. Like, it was the only thing keeping him going for 10+ years and the protagonist that he likes to call a stupid jerk was his comfort character who he pretended to be when he felt like he couldn't handle something in his life by being himself. The protagonist is also canonically the person he loves the most according to a prophecy and he literally can't fathom the thought of him dying, even the timeline versions of him that directly oppose him. And I haven't even mentioned the Fourth Wall yet but I feel like this propaganda is a little long already

misreading the intentions of his companion (yoo joonghyuk) so many time.

YOU DON'T UNDERSTANDDD DOKJA IS SUCH A UNRELIABLE NARRATORRRRRR GOD I COULD WRITE AN ESSAY BUT I KNOW YOU LOVE DOKJA TOO BUT OMG HE'S JUST SO AAAAAAAAAAAH

Rest of Propaganda under cut!

he is the worst like actually. he starts the story talking about how normal and average he is. he is not. he is constantly mischaracterizing his friends and he's so good at lying to the readers that you don't even realize it at first. almost every single time he cries we have to be told by other characters because he never says it himself. there is literally a scene where his narration says "i wasn't crying" and then the in-universe entity that narrates the actions of people (orv is really weird and meta) says that he was, in fact, crying. honestly genuinely anything he says about himself (or doesn't say) cannot be trusted. he is just so frustrating. he drives me mad. i love him dearly. but he drives me so mad.

Dictionary definition of unreliable narrator. Does not tell the reader anything and then things happen and he's like oh yeah btw there was also this and this earlier but i just didn't feel like mentioning it. There's even a thing called the "Fourth Wall" that is able to see through kdj's bs so occasionally you get gems like,

Kim Dokja: I didn't cry

The Fourth Wall: [Kim Dokja was crying]

Imagine being so unreliable as a narrator you need a more powerful narrator to call out the actual narrator.

^ same submission, just spacing it out

This goes into spoiler territory, but; Kim Dokja is in possession of a skill called the Fourth Wall, which on the surface seems like it appears because he read the book that reverse-isekai’d into his own. However, as the story goes on it becomes clear that it’s pretty much a souped up version of his pre-existing dissociation. You cannot trust him to be honest about his feelings, his past traumas or his feelings about his past traumas, not to mention his tendency to just outright omit information that only gets revealed later on either when it becomes relevant or when an outsider POV reveals what’s actually happening.

Exhibit A: he says (in 1st person POV) that he’s not crying. The Fourth Wall immediately contradicts this (as it is literally words of the novel) by saying (in 3rd person POV) ‘Kim Dokja was crying’.

Exhibit B: Fails to mention entire actions when it shows him emotionally honest even in the slightest; we had to read from another character entirely when Kim Dokja was being physically affectionate with his companion. It’s so bad that there’s this entire paragraph about Kim Dokja describing himself hiding his eyes in his hands in jerky, weirdly specific detail and just AVOIDING EVERY WORD THAT MIGHT SHOW HE’S CRYING. The brilliance of ORV is that when you re-read the entire thing you get hints that ‘yes, this WAS hinted at the entire time’ but you have to dig it out of Kim Dokja’s repressed, depressed self-hating internal dialogue with your own two hands.

^ same submission, spacing it out (i really should've done this earlier.)

i am a simple man (not a man). i see a tumblr text post with the words “unreliable narrator in it”. i read nothing else. i reblog & tag #kim dokja okay but in all seriousness i’m just going with the musty basic example: so there’s this moment where he sacrifices himself to save this guy. as he lays on the ground bleeding out, he says “hey, you don’t like me, right? you should kill me to get some money” the guy says “no kim dokja i cant do that (going through the five stages of grief except there’s only one and it’s anger)” the constellations (twitch viewers irl) are like omg he (the guy) doesn’t want to kill his companion (kim dokja) and shower him (the guy) with money kim dokja: oh, he’s not killing me for the money. smart!

as i quote a brilliant youtube video (all of omniscient reader’s viewpoint in 6 minutes) “yoo joonghyuk sees kim dokja as a c_____”

yoo joonghyuk: companion

kim dokja: cunt

^ same submission, once again. spacing it out.

Hides his true feelings, tells the readers what he thinks is convenient for the plot and that his own personal feelings don’t matter or are not so significant. Has unreliable thoughts abt his companion and is a liar. And is also an omniscient reader.

Kim Dokja always perceived his companions in this like nonchalant way like “oh yeah we get along but really we’re just fighting to survive (apocalypse setting) it doesn’t run that deep” when they all do genuinely care for him and he does in turn. He just, doesn’t think of it as an equal relationship? Dokja’ll sacrifice a lot for them but will get seriously flabbergasted if they do the same thing, so fricking problematic. Not to mention Yoo Joonghyuk, his “Life and Death Companion” (read: husband). Kim Dokja always seems to think that Joonghyuk has it out for him, which is kinda true, but he is literally blind to the fact that he’s attached to him. Like, it’s so obvious??? Also they have hella sexual tension but that’s another thing entirely

se get some many pov changes where kdj in his pov just assumed things based on what he knew the characters would do. however because of his interference the characters have changed and he wouldn’t know that if it hit him in the face

He's an unreliable narrator because he lies to himself and thus the audience. He literally rewrote his own childhood core memory. If someone says, "this guy is my friend!" He will go through so many hoola hoops in his mind just to rationalize it. Because he fundamentally believe that no one could love him and even if they did they couldn't know him and he's just gonna hurt them. He cries sometimes in canon but a lot of those times it's not even mentioned as crying he's that unreliable of a narrator. No joke, one time this guys he has a gay thing with called him his "companion" to someone who had just killed him (long story) and this bitch thought "oh wow he's doing it for the coins (another long story) he's so smart i wish I'd thought to that. He's terrible. He literally has an exchange with something called the Fourth Wall (an even longer story) where it said "you're crying" and he said "no I'm not" but he was crying. He makes me insane because the reader is supposed to project onto him. He made me see how much of an unreliable narrator I WAS. ORV is just like that tho.

[craetor]

Another Death Note book, another Tumblr post of overanalyzing details within it

This is a literal reformatted Twitter thread that was collected as the book was read, so, in theory, one could just flip through the book & find the things addressed all in order. Enjoy my needlessly high IQ going to town on this damn legendary expansion pack AU spin-off novel...

This obviously contains spoilers to L Change The World

.

"I'm no good with girls" - L Lawliet, like 2004? (He probably had a real good time having Misa around)

L calls the kids of Wammy's House "letters" (*tries not to explode*)

It's verified that the orphans are entrusted with solving cases as grave as murders to prove & train themselves

Beyond Birthday is mentioned to crack his neck in LABB, which is oddly enough also a habit of Ryuk's. Shinigami urges, especially those of the rather unhinged kind

Suruga heard that L never even showed his face to Misora, meaning she kept quiet about their encounter to everyone until her very death. Which is pretty nice.

Tbh Beyond wasn't too far off about mocking L's behavior. He does tend to crawl when he's being frantic & is also a messy eater (from getting food on himself when not provided with utensils (even when he is...), to consuming excessive amounts of sweet toppings)

There's too many "god"s in DN names... ('Kagami' can be translated to 'nurse god' which is so stupid & uncreative /affectionately)

"L's back grew rounder as he sat on the sofa with his knees tucked tightly against his chest. [...] He seemed to be burdened by the weight of something very heavy that she could not see". L's slouch gets lower after Watari dies under his surveillance. Nothing new, just fantastic symbolism that I love about him.

Also how actually well L suppresses his emotions while working on cases is really outlined in this book. It gets to a point where he seems apathetic, as people who've seemingly gone through trauma reunite over tears in front of him, while minutes beforehand, he's exuded real sadness over Watari's passing. (this is not inherently negative or positive)

His reputation with the FBI really sticks to him like a tick, yet it's suppressing his humanity that gets L to do what's needed & initiate measures necessary (which earned him the ill-willed reputation of kinky bizarre murder-loving detective. Whereby I still can't quite locate the origin of the "murder-loving" part..)

"Nobody would think anything important to be in a bag of potato chips, don't you think?" Honey, first of all, how did you fit an entire notebook into a bag of potato chips without it looking like it's your 1 pound hershey's chocolate stash... Oh, and L has a pattern of emulating tricks that people have used to try and fool him

It seems that L wasn't lying when he said that he's a fan of Misa's work, though idrk what to make of that... Not everything in the half-canon is canon, kids. M went a bit too hard on that 'L is weird & creepy' at times. Until it's not even goofy and ridiculous anymore, I'm just.. concerned?

L seems fulfilled and glad when he's stressed about saving the world. Nothing like a superiority complex, just very INTJ.

L will know to evaluate people so much as to accept food from the ones trying to deceive him, if he knows they're pacifists. Having them vacuum his room & stuff, letting them think they're earning his trust. A side of him we haven't seen thus far, just thought it to be important to share.

Watari, now officially L's mentor and father figure (we knew this but i love it)

The fact that L prones to share sweets with anyone compatible to himself or whoever he wants to tempt is not just a quirky gesture of respect, but actually seems to write out, more than anything, 'let's put us on the same level here. Have this thing that indicates gross luxury within societal hierarchy while also being the thing that keeps me going on an everyday-basis'

Fem-disguise flirty L. He's enjoying the vibe & living vicariously. That's it that's the jot

And then there's page 151. And i wonder, am I needed here at all?

The "L-organization" Blue Ship made up is comically the truest hypothesis that has existed as a theory about L. After all, Wammy's House is the founding ground of 26 Ls each generation to come

Watari seems to be involved with the Wammy's kids more than initially thought. But this could also be Kujo's illusion, as having any contact with the one closest to L at all would be a big deal and in her mind more prominently

And finally, the relationship that was created between L & Light is closer to love and worship than friendship. Even best friends. L's reliance on the thought of Light even exists as comfort in heavily emotionally distressing situations. Your definitely romantically touched soulmate-other-half-comfort-human can be your best friend too is what I'm trying to say. Like, you don't have to choose. Just add it to the list.

Verdict: I assume the main point of the book is literally to clear up misunderstandings about L, hence information about him is being blatantly pointed out and aggressively reinforced around every corner. But I'm here anyways because page 151 exists for me and me only (and everybody else who's done their thing correctly before having read this thing) as a pat on the back and a hearty 'good job'. It was fun to have found a couple more hidden details along the way too though. L called Light his 'best friend' like he called Misora 'some guy in the US who told me about capoeira'

[popopretty]

BSD Chapter 102

Chapter’s name is Jingaimakyou – The first part (roughly translated to “mysterious place out of the human world”). Not sure if it is done on purpose but author Oguri Mushitarou wrote a novel of the same name.

We have a change of pov this month, so we will have to wait at least another month to know what happened in the prison, but instead we get to learn a lot about Bram in this new chapter, and also Bram and Aya interactions are the cutest <3

Please note that neither English nor Japanese is my mother tongue, and Bram’s speech is so hard to understand so I may make mistakes. Please let me know if there is anything you want to correct.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Aya takes Bram to a parking lot and both of them get into a truck of a laundry service. (Bram is like oh this wagon doesn’t have any horses XD). Aya explains to him that besides passengers, there are many other people working in airport service who go in and out of the airport every day. And the securities will not have enough time to check through everything here, so if they get in one of these vehicles and wait, they will be able to get out of the airport once someone drives it out. Bram praises her and Aya is like of course I am the ally of justice.

Aya looks at the sword piercing into Bram and tells him they can look for a way to pull it out together if it hurts. Bram says that it is stupid because once the sword is pulled out, it will release the devil inside him and bring and darkness to earth blah blah blah. Aya then asks him what exactly that sword is, and Bram tells her that the sword used to be human. Hundreds of years ago, when a skill user died, his physical body was turned into metal by the skill, from which this Holy Sword was made. That skill that remains even after the user’s death was the skill to fuse a “physical body” with an “ability”.

We get a quick change of scene here, where Atsushi hears Dazai’s voice calling out for him, telling him to wake up because there is no time. Then he opens his eyes to find himself being tied up in a (supposedly) torture room with Teruko staring at him.

Back to Bram and Aya, Bram continues to explain that the sword has the power to connect the “physical/material” and the “mental” aspect of things, granting the power to control “skills” like a part of the “body”, a skill that goes against the law of this world. When stabbed by the sword, it will take its roots into your brain, and it will craves a holy mark on the person holding the sword. Right now, the mark is on Fukuchi’s hand, which means only Fukuchi can use his power.

Aya says that Bram seems to know about the sword very well, to which Bram tells her that is because he has been stabbed by this sword not once, but twice. There is a flashback of Bram from long ago when he and his kins’ heads were hanged on stakes, in front of a big army who are cheering to “kill the enemy of God”. And Bram was asking the soldiers to have mercy and spare the members of his fief, when one of them called him a demon and slashed his head with the sword.

Back to present, Aya asks why Bram is making such a sad face, Bram says that it’s the worry of the lord that the underlings can never understand. Aya stops him there, asking him if he is calling her an underling, and Bram tells her she is more like a horse because she carries him on his back and takes him around (xD). Aya says she would drown him in a bathtub and Bram somehow acknowledges that it is the way people nowadays worship their lord. Aya says no one can beat him at being a natural airhead.

Suddenly the top of the truck they are sitting are cut off and vampire!Akutagawa appears in front of them. Bram urges Aya to run away as quickly as she can.

The chapter ends here. Next chapter will be out on July 4 (JST). Thank you for reading till the end ^^

[theygotlost]

ok i have finished raising steam. oh god i ended up writing more than i thought I would hold on (spoilers)

my general thoughts are that it was fine, but like i said before, it fails to capture what I liked so much about going postal and making money.

in the first two books, moist is the catalyst of the main events and the advancement of ankh morpork as a whole. he's the one who resurrects the post office and outsmarts the grand trunk company. he's the one who singlehandedly conceives the ideas of postal stamps and paper banknotes and brings them into reality.

but moist does not invent the steam locomotive or make many meaningful contributions to its development. he just becomes the spokesman for other people's ideas, and while his entire essence is that he is a great spokesman, it's a lot more satisfying to me when he's advocating his own ideas.

and while the dwarf insurrection would probably make a fine discworld novel on its own, it kind of struck me as out of place here. it doesnt really have anything to do with moist or ankh morpork or anything. I also thought the ending to this one was decidedly the corniest, I guess cause there needed to be a greater sense of finality but I still thought it was a little stupid.

to be honest, raising steam doesn't feel like the third book in the moist von lipwig trilogy, it's just a random discworld book that moist happens to be in.

while there were definitely funny parts that gave me a sensible chuckle, it's overall a lot less silly and I was missing that. theres significantly more blood and gore, which is a bit jarring after reading a book whos climax was a courtroom proceeding interrupted by a little dog being propelled across the floor by the vibrator it was carrying in its mouth, an insane clown attacking everyone with custard pies and getting several people stuck in a ladder, and a man's gangrenous finger exploding off his hand. not a day goes by since finishing making money that I haven't thought about that entire sequence of events. I can't say the same for anything that happened in raising steam.

now onto the stuff I liked since I dont want to be all negative. I liked the glimpses into moist and adora belle's married life. :) though its frustrating how much they get cockblocked by having to spend so much time apart for their jobs. ☹ this book also makes me more excited than I already was to start guards guards since vimes makes a prominent appearance in the second half and im very much looking forward to seeing more of him. also dick simnel and harry king are good and fun characters, and I loved how drumknott became utterly obsessed with trains. the goblins were also funny little guys. so yeah theres my review