#how they present and then defuse their stakes

[fellhellion]

also. to be clear when i write posts like that, it doesn't come from a place of doomposting for me, i more just like to argue for what elements i think you have to conscious of when you're simultaneously tackling the kinds of conflicts you are.

[megankoumori]

The perfect Tiny Tim:

It is so easy for "Christmas Carol" adaptations to reduce Tiny Tim to little more than a prop. "God bless us, Everyone!" He squeaks, and suddenly Scrooge, the original Grinch, falls to pieces over this kid he's known about for all of three minutes. This is the character that finally starts to cut through Scrooge's icy heart. Why? Because he's cute? Benjamin Bunny is cute...

"Catch!"

Because he's disabled? This is 19th century London. I'm sure Scrooge has seen a kid with rickets before. So why Tiny Tim? Well thanks to the masterful direction in "Muppet Christmas Carol", we can see the impact Tiny Tim has on Scrooge, his family, and the entire story.

Scrooge first sees Tim perched atop Bob's shoulder as they make their way home from church Christmas Eve. It's clear that they're as close as father and son can be. However, while the Ghost of Christmas Present is charmed, Tim doesn't make much of an impression on Scrooge. Not until Bob says a line straight from the original text:

"He told me that he hoped the people saw him in church because it might be pleasant for them to remember upon Christmas Day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see."

Scrooge is astonished. Despite his young age, Tim is spiritually mature and wise. And despite his disability, he keeps an upbeat, cheerful demeanor, giddy for Christmas and everything it brings. When his parents start to squabble, he defuses the situation with a positive attitude.

Scrooge is moved to tears as Tim leads his family in prayer. Because yes, "Bless Us All" isn't just a song, it's a prayer that God will bless this family and that they will always follow in His ways. Their goose is small, their house is a shack, but they consider themselves blessed. Scrooge has everything, but he's alone and miserable. The Crachits have little, but they have love. And Tim, through his joy and optimism, is a constant reminder of that.

When Scrooge inquires of Tiny Tim's future, the Ghost of Christmas Present answers, "I see a vacant seat by the chimney corner and a crutch without an owner. If these shadows remain unaltered, I believe the child will die."

"If these shadows remain unaltered..." For the first time, Scrooge is forced to confront how his own actions, his miserliness toward his fellow man, affect those around him.

HE is Bob's employer. HE has been keeping this family in poverty.

Scrooge could have paid Bob enough to buy a warmer house, more coal, better food. He could have paid him enough to buy medicine or a better doctor for Tim. Their fates rest in his pocket book. And yet Bob and Tim still toast him at the dinner table. Scrooge might not have done much, but for the little he has done, they're still grateful.

The Crachit house is a home of love. And Tiny Tim is its heart. If Scrooge doesn't change, they may lose him.

That's why "Muppet Christmas Carol's" Tiny Tim is the perfect version of the character. It allows us to see Tim not just as a guilt trip for Scrooge, but as a person who's important to his family. There are stakes to him dying. There are stakes to Scrooge not changing, aside from an eternity dragging chains.

At least he won't be lonely.

What else is there to say, except...

[ddrqoyote]

How I'd Rewrite DBZ's Fusion Saga

I like the rest of the Buu Arc, but the Fusion Saga's a hot mess (the part with Super Buu). This is how I wish the story had gone.

Buildup

Gotenks is hyped a little less. He's still presented as stronger than Goku and their best chance to beat Buu, but he's not stronger than Super Saiyan 3 as a regular Super Saiyan or anything. Piccolo figures if he can reach Super Saiyan 2, he'll be able to beat Buu. This adds some tension to his training and to the part of the fight where he screws around in weaker forms. Is he really on Buu's level or not? And the emphasis on Super Saiyan 2 makes it more shocking when he blows right past that to 3.

The scene from the anime where Krillin buys time for everyone and Buu turns them into candy anyway is here, cause that isn't actually in the manga. Goku and Gohan are watching through the crystal ball hoping they can revive them with the Dragon Balls, but Supreme Kai says no. If any power in the universe could bring the Kais or all of Buu's victims back "from the outside", he would have done it millennia ago, but once Buu eats someone they're absorbed into him. Even killing him wouldn't separate anyone.

Goku's horrified and demands to go back to Earth, and Supreme Kai wishes there was a way… then Elder Kai says just give him your life force if you want it that bad. Facepalming at everyone's blank stares, he explains Supreme Kais can trade their life for someone else's. Supreme Kai does it, Goku's returned to life, and we get the gag where Supreme Kai is still there cause this is the afterlife. However, Elder Kai tells Goku not to go back to Earth yet because his Super Saiyan 3 power is limited and he needs to save it for the right moment. (He really wants his champion Gohan to get all the glory, but he doesn't say so till later.)

Once Gotenks goes Super Saiyan 3 he's stronger than Buu, but it's immediately clear it won't last. His ki is erratic, burning up inside. Super Saiyan 3 isn't supposed to exist. There's a reason it looks so ridiculous, shortens fusion time and Goku can't use it right with a living body. It's pushing things too far, past Saiyan limits, past any mortal's limit (and it's Toriyama taking the piss on his own powerscaling, just like Goten and Trunks being Super Saiyans). The point is it wouldn't last a whole episode. Just like canon he defuses just as he's about to land a big blow.

Gohan arrives. Unlike canon, he doesn't play with his food. First, we just saw that with Gotenks. Second, that was the mistake that got his dad killed with Cell. Third, the stakes are even higher: all his friends and family are either killed by Buu or about to be. Lastly, Gohan's supposed to be all grown up in this scene, so why is he acting like a child? It's insulting to his character to have him do the same thing again. The outcome is similar, but the mood is different. Eventually Buu explodes, baits Gotenks into fusing, and absorbs him and Piccolo like in canon.

But this time, it's part of the plan.

The Better Buu Fight

We get a flashback. Piccolo's been talking to everyone telepathically. Gohan told him about Buu's absorption ability, and Piccolo figures he'll try to absorb them if he's losing. Piccolo's absorbed people himself, so he understands how it works, and he has a little of that Dragon Clan magic in him. He can put a spell on Gotenks so he'll be able to move around inside Buu when he gets absorbed, and hopefully get everyone out. Then Gohan and Gotenks can kill him and save the world.

Unfortunately, there are two snags in the plan. First, Buu's magic is more powerful than Piccolo's. Gotenks gets defused and Buu takes most of his power, leaving Goten and Trunks alone inside. Second, Piccolo underestimated Buu's appetite; he's absorbed too. Gohan is all alone to fight a hyper-powered eater of worlds.

Here's where we get into how Buu's absorption works. He doesn't change outfits or faces or personalities, he doesn't get smarter. Erratic, impatient predator Buu is way more interesting than Cell 2.0. What he can do is read memories. He taunts Gohan with these like a deep-sea fish dangling a lure, not fully understanding them but knowing they get a reaction. Stolen techniques, voice impressions, callbacks to previous moments. He's got Chi-Chi, Piccolo, Krillin and Goten in there. There's a LOT to work with.

This is the big centerpiece fight of the Fusion Saga, Gohan's first even fight ever, a grieving son vs a cornered animal, both using every trick in their arsenal. There are no Potaras in this version. Gohan is the world's last hope. Their powers are equal, but combine the emotional warfare with all Buu's broken abilities and Gohan has no chance at winning. He doesn't have to, though. He just has to survive long enough for Goten and Trunks to pull everyone out of him… however long that takes.

The whole time Goku's watching from the Kai world. Now he knows how all his friends feel when he fights. He was sidelined against the androids, sure, but he knew he had a way to get stronger. This time there's nothing he can do but watch. But he's amazed at how strong and brave his son's gotten. Even Goten's doing his part. He regrets not being there to watch them grow. The story doesn't dwell on it but it's there.

Meanwhile Goten and Trunks are inside Buu, having similar adventure hijinks Goku and Vegeta did in canon, complete with Trunks' fear of worms. There's underlying tension in the silliness, though, cause instead of seasoned veteran heroes it's these two little kids in the world's strangest place. Occasionally there's booming noises from the battle outside. They both put on brave faces for each other. Still, this is mostly a break from the Gohan vs Buu nonstop action, and a last bit of adventure before the series ends.

Eventually, just as Gohan uses up the last of his strength, they make it to where all the pods are stored. Before they can blast anyone down, though, Buu appears inside and defends them. There's nothing the boys can do… until Piccolo bursts out of his pod and grabs him from behind. He used his spell on himself to stay conscious and waited for the right moment. Buu shakes him off fast, but not fast enough to stop the boys from freeing everyone. As Buu howls in anger and confusion, they childishly decide to free Good Buu to see what will happen.

As everyone escapes, Buu's roars shake the Earth. Everyone congratulates themselves on saving everybody and their friends… except Buu's reforming. He's weaker, yes, and less intelligent, no match for Gohan or Gotenks at full power… but they're not. Everyone's completely drained. Panting and bent, they stare up at Kid Buu charging up his Planet Burst and know there's nothing they can do about it. As the ball comes down they feel Goku's faint ki. He's back on Earth after Elder Kai finally admitted he was just making things more dramatic, but Super Saiyan 3 would take too long. He only has time to save Dende and Mr. Satan. Gohan thinks to himself, "We softened him up for you, Dad. Do what you do best." The Earth is no more.

Supreme Kai teleports Vegeta to his planet, and the Kid Buu fight plays out like canon, except Goku never says he could've killed Fat Buu at any time in their last fight. That was dumb. He tried his best, he just couldn't do it alone. And yes, the god sacrificing himself to bring the main character back to life does nothing on Earth (Supreme Kai could've gone to Earth to save people like he did in the anime) and makes the Kid Buu fight harder. One last gag for the road.

What's the point of this?

Goku was right to give the next generation a chance and trust them in a real battle. They can't live their whole lives in his shadow. But just because his sons are ready doesn't mean he needs to disappear. Different generations have to live together and work with each other. That's what happens here. The Fusion Saga and Kid Buu Saga feel more like two halves of an extended final battle. With Piccolo's help, Gohan and Gotenks finish the first leg of the fight so Goku and Vegeta can take it home. Neither group can beat Buu alone. It'd also explain why Goku's fine coming back at the end, because he's learned that lesson too.

P.S. I wish I could've put Vegito in somehow, I love the fanservice, but I think it's worth it not having him. I also like the idea that no one actually beats Buu at full power one-on-one. He's the god-killing final villain, he should feel intimidating. And I'm sure the Toei movie makers would've loved being the only ones to have a Goku/Vegeta fusion. They made some good stuff at the end of the Buu Arc, throw them a bone lol.

[firespirited]

Renfield is an odd film, I feel like that's probably going to be an issue with all Nic Cage comedies.

Camp has to be 100% sincere and Cage is 100% sincerely channeling various classic Draculas. However, the script, gore effects, choices to have Akwafina and naughty Jean Ralphio are self-aware and wink at the audience every five minutes.

It keeps you from ever getting too emotionally attached and honestly felt like someone saying "no homo!" to defuse a situation that wasn't loaded with any tension. I wish they'd played it straight with just a few wisecracks from Renfield's narration or the framing (Starship Troopers style).

There is a fantastic film underneath the nods and winks, there is real pathos between Cage and Hoult.

Then we switch to Hoult doing a breathy Hugh Grant impression when playing off Nora Lum and non-gory painless gore set pieces.

And the wildest part is that at times, Lum, Schwartz and others get to show their serious acting chops! They'd be really good with another script with another tone.

I really want to like this film, I certainly LOVE pieces of it but it needed to chose a lane and with Cage's choice to embody his roles, it needed to be a film that leaned into realness to the point of cringe to make the comedy moments feel grown up and well earned.

Would love to see a recut with the mood breaking jokes cut out and different special effects and foley because almost everyone can act their butts off and rise to match and enhance Cage's Dracula with a touch of Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Oldman and occasional Max Schrek.

The special effects gore and fight staging really don't have any stakes or escalation in violence and that would bring down even a light comedy with a non serious Dracula. I think just a redub of the foley and screams could change the tone from cartoony to something like Blade's comedic moments.

There are things you can forgive in a film that's stuck in PG-13 territory but not an R rated film: lean in to that R and let the horror of your horror-comedy properly add the sour to the lemon meringue cake it should have been!

How to rate it? Like with other Cage comedies there are two films with two tones mashed into one: working around his style and presence requires a clever balance. I can only rate what is presented, not what the actors were intending before the edit and not the movie about codependence that you have to dig for so... It's a very fun watch if you can put aside the movie it could have been if it had the courage to be earnest (and potentially cringey and awkward to many viewers who'd want full horror or full comedy). If you go in with the understanding that it's a silly film that doesn't want you to linger on any of the emotional or physical damage it evokes, it's a playful take on the Dracula story and I do mean Dracula, not Renfield who was already eclipsed by casting Dracula's number one fan and scene stealer Nic Cage.

7/10 - you'll fast forward the cop and fight scenes on the rewatch.

[literaticat]

Hi Jennifer,

When an editor says they’re presenting a book at “sales conference,” what does that mean and how high stakes is it?

Thanks for answering all of our questions!

Bearing in mind I have never BEEN to a sales conference, and it may differ by publisher, and I'm sure there are nuances, etc etc -- here's the basics:

Large publishers have teams of sales reps. These reps may focus on certain accounts and/or regions; for example, there may be a person or group whose job it is to take care of B&N or Amazon as a whole, there are reps for indie bookstores in New England, the South-East, the West Coast, etc etc, who visit all the bookstore buyers in their region. There will be a School and Library sales team that attends all the conferences and has relationships with educators and librarians across the country. You get the picture?

When a rep meets with a buyer, around 6-8 months before the books will go on sale, they are going through the catalogue for the season under discussion. The rep may have already marked up the catalogue (this author is local to you! this author's books sell well in a neighboring town, but you have never brought their books in, you should try it!) -- and the buyer may have marked up the catalogue with their initial thoughts (we love this author! we need a dozen of this book! these kinds of books have never done well for us, we might skip this one.) Then the two will go through the whole thing and compare notes, and the rep will talk the books up and give them extra info. (I saw this one, it is SO GORGEOUS, you need more copies. This guy is going on a media blitz, will a dozen be enough? OMG, the editor talked about this book and it made me cry, you need to read this one! This one will be GREAT on a Summer Reading table!) etc etc. You know, the sales person is SELLING things, the buyer is BUYING them.

So you can see, it is quite important for each of the sales reps to have, not only a grasp of what each of their accounts specializes in, their needs, the neighborhood demographics, etc, (which might vary quite a bit from store to store even within the same region) -- but ALSO, they need a good handle on all the books in the catalogue. Though I am confident they do read a lot, it would likely be impossible for them to read every single book, that's potentially hundreds of books per season, they are one person. But they DO need to be able to talk about all of them.

THAT'S WHERE SALES CONFERENCE COMES IN!

During sales conference, I have no idea what they get up to exactly -- (Team building exercises? Icebreaker questions? Cocktails on the beach?) -- but I do know that PART of it is, the editors from each imprint pitch their coming season's list to the sales teams. They will share the cover, and tip sheets or art or excerpts from the book (or ARCS or F&Gs if they are available) -- they'll explain why they are passionate about each book, what the comps are for the book, all the accolades the book or author has received, anything that might make the book stand out.

How high-stakes is it? IDK about "high stakes" -- that makes it sound like they are defusing bombs or something, it's not THAT high stakes. But, I mean, it's IMPORTANT! You definitely want the sales team to be out there hustling for your book, and for them to have any and all info they might need in order to sell more copies. :-)

[detectivenyx]

Kiyotaka's just trying to find the culprit - he's pressuring people for it.

You wave your hands to try and settle everyone back down, doing your best to defuse the situation. There'll be ways to determine the true culprit later, right?

"I'm a little concerned at how little we did get to investigate. We determined multiple possibilities, but no way to narrow them down at present."

"With that said, you seem pretty convinced Byakuya wasn't the culprit all of a sudden, Kiyotaka."

"But- he was executed!"

"... He was staked through the heart. But as the rules themselves say, that would kill anybody."

"Ah, but I have a reason to believe in his innocence! Makoto, too, had a dream of his execution that likely proves his innocence!"

"... Are you feeling alright?"

"It's not just me and Makoto! Our friend here had one, too, that proves Makoto's innocence!"

You feel your heart sink into your stomach as Kyouko looks at you expectantly - but also with a sincere and severe glint in her eyes.

[positivelyapunovexponent-good]

By far the most interesting stress dream I’ve gotten was after staying up until 6AM debugging a very frustrating project for my AI class. I was getting nowhere and decided that if I fell asleep thinking very hard about the problem and got just one sleep cycle in, maybe my unconscious mind would make some sort of breakthrough.

I dreamt I was presented with a brain, laced through with wires and valves, and the brain was also a bomb. I was given to understand I had to defuse this brain before it was too late. But as soon as I touched it the brain started to melt

I realised I had made a mistake, and a very costly mistake at that because the brain was simulating the entire universe. I had introduced a bug into the fundamental laws of logic according to which the universe organised itself. I tried to fix it but at that point my own brain was melting. I, after all, existed within that same universe which I had so carelessly gutted and rearranged, thus rendering myself incapable of the logic needed to repair the damage. I felt physically ill as my ability to parse rational thought liquefied and dribbled out of my ears, viscous and sticky, and while the brain in front of me bubbled and sparked and imploded-

and then I woke up at 7:30AM, almost exactly one sleep cycle’s worth of time later. I was deeply relieved that my stupid project didn’t have universe destroying stakes but was no closer to solving the bug, and also disconcerted at the memory of how existentially painful my dream had decided a logic error would feel to my algorithm if it was actually conscious.

so yeah. I am really proud to report I have since massively reformed my study habits and sleep schedule, so I no longer pull stunts like that. But I gotta admit I miss the luridly rendered science fiction vignettes that my profound REM debt was able to wring out of my dreaming brain

everyone has dreams about being lost at school, late to work, cant find bathroom etc but whats yalls most common Uncommon stress dream. ill always have dreams about having various problems with my fish tank

[dankusner]

How to negotiate with a bully

Use self-control:

You can train yourself to approach the conversation calmly

Negotiations can be stressful enough, but when the person on the other side of the table or phone is a bully, you might feel like you’re already on the losing side of the equation.

However, negotiating with a bully doesn’t have to be harder.

It also doesn’t have to be a me-versus-you battle, says S. Lucia Kanter St. Amour, author of “For the Forces of Good: The Superpower of Everyday Negotiation.”

“We’re so polarized today — you’re wrong, I’m right — because it’s easier,” she says.

“It is more confusing to the brain to understand the nuance. When the brain is confused, it lights up the amygdala, the fear center, like a Christmas tree.”

To negotiate with a bully, you must train your brain to approach the conversation calmly.

Here’s what to do.

Start small

Negotiating doesn’t have to be only for high-stakes situations.

Whether it’s settling on a theme for a presentation or struggling with a toddler, it’s a skill you can use and practice every day, says St. Amour, who taught negotiation at University of California Berkeley and UC San Francisco law schools.

“Everyday negotiations help set the stage for bigger deals,” she says. “When you start to internalize your voice as a competent and confident everyday negotiator, you are going to be much better equipped down the line when those higher-stakes contexts for negotiation arise.”

Skillful negotiation takes rapport, which you can practice everywhere, like with neighbors or people at the gym.

St. Amour likens it to getting fit.

“If you want washboard abs, you do not get them by sitting on the sofa and scarfing Haagen-Dazs while watching an exercise video,” she says. “Actually get on the floor and do the plank exercises for six minutes a day. You can also practice negotiation for six minutes a day. Instill it as a habit, so when the salary negotiation comes up, you’re ahead of the curve.”

Listen first

When you enter a negotiation with anyone, remember that you have two ears and one mouth, and use them in that proportion, St. Amour says:

“Listening is the Number One most stealth and powerful negotiation tool. Listen more than you talk.”

Resist the urge to fire back right away.

Instead of taking the bait in the heat of the moment, stay in the refractory state.

This is where you are feeling kind of worked up, someone’s pushing your buttons, and you’re getting triggered, St. Amour says, and it lasts an average of 20 minutes.

“During this time, you cannot take in any disconfirming information, any information that disagrees with your emotions, even an apology,” she says. “If you’re feeling triggered, pause, recognize it, and wait for the refractory state to pass when possible.”

Demonstrating listening also helps defuse a bully.

“That person who’s being a tyrant needs you to give them some pushback so that they have something to push against,” St. Amour says. “Don’t need to supply it.”

Watch for tactics

A bully may also say things that don’t make sense.

“This is a classic, toxic move,” St. Amour says. “It’s when you can be criticized no matter what you do. If you find yourself confused, it’s because something is confusing. And that other person might be intentionally trying to make it (confusing), so get clarity.”

If the person uses this tactic, ask questions.

For example,

“What do you mean by that? How would that play out?

Who would you need to make that happen?”

“It’s a little counterintuitive, but keep them talking,” St. Amour says.

“Listen for content and emotions. Not just what the speaker is saying, but what makes it important to them. It’s the meta message under the superficial message, treating emotions as another category of facts.”

Let them get it all out

Wait to speak until the other person has exhausted their side.

Keep your focus on them, genuine listening with curiosity.

“Set aside your own story,” St. Amour says. “Your story will still be there. Waiting and listening is different from waiting patiently and quietly for your turn to talk. Curiosity is different from being quiet and nodding your head and then saying something with superficial empathy, like ‘Wow, that sounds frustrating.’ That is not listening.”

Once the person exhausts themselves and you’ve learned everything you can, ask “Is there anything else?”

“Usually that gets you the most important information,” St. Amour says. “Only then, when you finally get a ‘no’ to the ‘Is there anything else’ question, is it your turn.”

The great thing about being the first one to listen — and listen meaningfully for as long as it takes that person to get it all out — is that they are more likely to hear your story.

“They probably de-escalated,” St. Amour says.

They feel seen in the way they want to be seen — seen the way they see themselves.

That triggers reciprocity, so they now listen to you.”

Demonstrate empathy

You demonstrate genuine empathy when you listen to the other person and make it about them first.

“Empathy is not a nice-to-have in everyday negotiation, it’s an imperative,” St. Amour says. “What makes it so powerful when done well is that, in expressing genuine understanding, it does not require concessions or agreeing with the other person. … The other side is not expecting a response of empathy. So it flips the script, keeps you from taking the bait and helps you manage the one thing you actually can control with practice: yourself.”

Empathy for the other person will likely affect your story.

“The truth is, we are not fully in charge of our own stories,” St. Amour says. Our stories are all interwoven with one another. Their story is going to inform your story. When they spoke, what did you learn? People like to say there are two sides to every story. There are actually two different stories. How are they woven together?”

During negotiation, the best you can hope for is to build rapport that opens the other person to your side.

Instead of being focused on winning or being right, share your story.

“You’re unlikely to take someone else’s mind, but by sharing your story, they might change their own mind,” St. Amour says. “And that’s the best end to a negotiation.”

[bestworstcase]

#I'm so happy to see someone articulate #why Raps pulling rank in RatGT was so damaging and hurtful #b/c I often see that scene framed as a#''she's coming into her authority and role as queen!''#but it never sat right w/ me and I couldn't pin why

so these are some of @pnumbra-rbs​’s tags on this post and while it’s a bit tangential to the point of that post i do have sOmE tHoUgHtS about that framing of the scene in the great tree, bc i also see that take floating around now and then and it always makes me go hrm.

broadly speaking, rapunzel’s character arc in rta does indeed involve coming into her authority. she enters the story as a socially-stunted, naive person struggling to grasp basic social norms like “don’t touch people without permission,” and she exits it as a competent, compassionate ruler who is comfortable and content in her role as the leader of her country.

but narrowing our focus down to just the argument in the great tree, it just... is not correct to say that this is the moment when rapunzel steps into her power or begins to come into her own as a princess and future queen. it is Rapunzel Making A Big Mistake, and the narrative intends for it to be taken as such. 

let’s break this down. first, why is it a mistake? well.

is publicly yelling at a subordinate good leadership? is it a healthy, productive use of authority?

consider the argument in RATGT from this perspective for a moment. strip out all the emotional context surrounding the argument, and at the core of it what we have here is a disagreement over the safety of the group. adira’s position is that the group is exhausted and must rest, regardless of the fact that they are in enemy territory. cassandra’s position is that the great tree is too dangerous to make the benefits of stopping to rest worthwhile, and they must press on until they find a safer location.

both are somewhat valid perspectives. hector is likely to catch up to them regardless of what they do, and it’s better to fight well-rested on chosen ground than to be caught off guard when you’re tired. adira doesn’t spell it out, but her plan is basically to get some rest, then stand and fight at the top of the tree when, not if, hector catches up. meanwhile, cassandra’s plan is to get out of the tree as fast as they can and hope that hector doesn’t catch up with them until after they escape. who’s right? it depends on your estimation of the threats posed by hector and by the great tree itself.

(personally, i’m with cass on this one. a high ledge in enemy territory that has already proven to be very dangerous in its own right is not ground i would ever choose as a battlefield unless i had absolutely no other choice. and while everyone is tired after a long day, i like the benefit-to-risk ratio of taking a few minutes to stretch, drink some water, and eat some food before pressing on a lot better than the benefit-to-risk ratio of stopping here for the night and staking everything on a battle in this location.)

now... cass doesn’t handle herself well in this argument. at all. i think she, unlike the rest of the group, is picking up the subtext of adira’s proposal (that they will fight hector here), but rather than rationally express her concerns, she goes off on a paranoia-fueled rant accusing adira of wanting to get them all killed. she comes off as hysterical and unhinged because she’s speaking out of frustration, stress, and exhaustion. her behavior is absolutely inappropriate. 

for rapunzel, as the leader, what is the correct way to handle this situation? 

good leadership is not just about making choices. it’s not just about the judgment calls. it is about management. which means that as a leader, if a member of your team is having an emotional outburst like cass, you cannot respond in kind. it sucks and it’s kind of unfair, but them’s the breaks.

in this situation, an Ideal Good Leader would a) perceive that this paranoid outburst is coming from a place of real concern, and b) respond to it with the intention of pulling out the underlying meaning. eg: “i see that you’re upset, and i’m trying to understand. what’s going on? / where’s your head at? / where is this coming from?”

in canon, rapunzel’s actual response is “come on, cass, listen to yourself,” which is an invalidating (and somewhat condescending) statement that makes cass feel unheard, so cass gets more upset. the situation escalates. by comparison, Ideal Good Leader’s statement directly acknowledges cassandra’s distress and invites her to explain her reasoning. this would help to lower cassandra’s anxiety (by showing her that her concerns are being heard), which would enable her to better articulate her real point.

thus, the emotional side of the argument is defused, and a productive conversation becomes possible. perhaps a compromise (such as stopping for a few minutes to recharge and have a quick meal) could be reached, or else rapunzel can do her own cost-benefit analysis of adira’s proposal versus cass’s and make a reasoned decision about what they should do. cass feels heard, no one’s feelings get hurt, and rapunzel makes her choice based on what she thinks the safest course of action is, instead of angrily defaulting to the opposite of what cassandra thinks they should do.

and thus, there’s no need for an “i’m going to be queen, i’ll make choices you don’t like, and i need you to be okay with that” conversation—because, in this scenario where rapunzel makes good, healthy use of her authority, cassandra wouldn’t leave this conflict feeling hurt. she isn’t upset, in canon, because raps didn’t do exactly what she said to do; she’s upset because she got shot down pretty brutally and she feels like rapunzel doesn’t value her insight, advice, or judgment. if rapunzel had given her the space to calm down, feel heard, and feel like she was allowed to contribute to the conversation re: what to do, i think cass would’ve truly been okay with whatever rapunzel ultimately decided to do.

but of course, rapunzel isn’t an Ideal Good Leader, she’s rapunzel, and she’s still in a place where she doesn’t grasp the full reality of her own authority, and she’s thinking of cassandra as her friend, not as her subordinate. so she escalates the situation by mistake and we get... what we get, in canon. cass ends up demoralized, their friendship is permanently damaged, and the battle with hector goes predictably badly, with cassandra sustaining a horrific, debilitating injury in the process. (this, btw, is fundamentally why rapunzel is at fault for cassandra’s injury. it’s not about the spear vs incantation decision; it’s about this decision, this disagreement, the way she handles this fight.)

and second... how is this framed by the narrative?

well... our first clear signal that we are not meant to see this as anything but rapunzel making a big mistake is that the show explicitly draws a parallel between her behavior here to gothel’s behavior at the beginning of tangled. in tangled, gothel screams “Enough with the lights, Rapunzel!” with the intention of shutting rapunzel down and browbeating her into submission. in RATGT, rapunzel screams “Enough, Cassandra!” because she’s frustrated and upset and cass is acting irrational—but the emotional effect this has on cassandra is the same as the emotional effect gothel’s calculated outburst had on rapunzel in tangled. it’s an abuse of authority in both cases. 

and on top of that, look at how the group reacts—not to cassandra’s outburst, but to rapunzel’s: 

they’re all shocked, unhappy, and uncomfortable, because this is... a shocking, upsetting, uncomfortable thing to witness. (have you ever been on the sidelines while your boss or a teacher singled out a coworker/fellow student to yell at them? yeah.) and when cassandra looks to them for support, none of them say anything... because rapunzel is the princess and if this is how she wants to handle this conflict then, well, that’s her prerogative and they’re just going to cringe and grimace on cassandra’s behalf instead of sticking up for her. 

and of course, no punches are pulled in illustrating how deeply this harms cassandra herself. we see how upset she is in the moment, we see how subdued she becomes when rapunzel comes to talk to her, we see the smile she forces when rapunzel signals that she isn’t interested in hearing cassandra’s feelings, and of course, this is what triggers “waiting in the wings,” which is a song all about cassandra’s pain—how she feels overlooked, neglected, unvalued, and unheard.

logistically speaking, this argument is a lot more complex than “cassandra right, rapunzel and adira wrong.” and emotionally, rapunzel’s reasons for reacting the way she does are perfectly understandable; it’s her first time ever dealing with a situation like this, she’s still muddling through leadership with no idea what she’s doing, and hearing cassandra call her “obliviously naive” was probably legitimately triggering because, hey, what did gothel always call her!

(though i tend to think that the point cass intended to make before raps cut her off was “what do you mean you can’t do that? are you so naive that you can’t see that you’re in charge? of course you can do that!” vs what i think rapunzel and a lot of the fandom took it as, ie cass saying rapunzel is naive for trusting adira. i like interpreting it that way because it dovetails so neatly with everything else happening in this argument re: rapunzel’s authority.)

but... despite this, the narrative expects us to sympathize with cass here. not because she’s right (her underlying concern is legitimate, but her argument as she presents it is... not right), not because her behavior is appropriate (it’s not), but rather because rapunzel’s leadership in this situation is terrible, exacerbates the conflict, and harms cassandra emotionally. 

and as for rapunzel’s growth into her role as leader, this... is kind of another queen for a day moment. in QFAD, rapunzel experiences a difficult choice for the first time: she is forced to weigh the plea of one person she has a personal relationship with against hundreds or thousands of people who are looking to her for leadership in a time of crisis. and in QFAD, she makes the hard, but right, choice by prioritizing the needs of the many. 

and in RATGT, rapunzel is introduced to another common type of crisis that leaders must be able to handle: an emotionally-fraught interpersonal conflict between two of her advisors which she, as the leader, must mediate. and unlike in QFAD, this time, rapunzel bungles it—and sees the consequences play out in vivid detail. RATGT is a vital learning experience for rapunzel. she couldn’t grow into the kind of leader she becomes over the course of s3 without making the mistake she makes in RATGT. and that’s why it just doesn’t make sense to say that this incident is rapunzel “coming into her authority”—because she’s not, she’s making a mess of things and then dealing with the messy, confusing, hurtful fallout of having done so.

[signofwolf]

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas – book review

Series: Throne of Glass #7 Genre: YA, Fantasy Theme: Fae, magic users, war Warnings: mentions of torture, imprisonment Star rating: 0,5/10

Why did I pick this up?: I wanted to end this horrible series once and for all.

[Heavy spoilers ahead]

To make myself clear, before this book I quite liked this series. It wouldn’t place in my top 100 books, not even close, but it was a pleasant pageturner to listen to in audiobooks when working.

Language

Let’s start slow. I lack the words to express how much I hate the words ‘male’, ‘female’ and ‘mate’ after this series. Not even gonna try to express my trauma. But these 3 gems aside, Sarah J. Maas needs a dictionary. Or compress her work to a manageable size. Everything sang, Everyone melted, Every man roared, Every woman trembled, Everyone was unleashing themselves at least once a chapter (number of chapters: 122) ). And now I know definitely too much about Yrene’s ‘womb’. I know so much…

Dynamism

I thought that was a book about a war with heavy action content. Oh boy, I was wrong. This 984-pages monstrosity has maybe 5 pages of action. If you squint.

Every sequence, where by design action should take place was followed by one of two scripts:

Few sentences of action and then a few pages long internal monologue. Often repeated with the same character after the next few sentences of action, or with the next character and then the next (sometimes the first character made a second appearance and then everything would go all over again). And the word ‘character’ used in these sentences is not because I’m rambling. This book is written that way!

Few sentences of action and then action stops, and we are graced by a few pages long conversation. In the middle of a battle. Or spying. Or in Erawan’s chambers, when his castle is going down, and he is running up the stairs...

Time

Leaving alone the fact that apparently all series took less than a year (till this book I estimated the plot for about 3 years, Wiki told me it was 2, but Maas knows best), because that is a can of worms in itself. Time in this one? I honestly have no idea. There were many ‘few weeks of travel’ parts with two main groups of POVs. Personally my only time indicator was ‘Orynth won’t fall till Aelin gets here’. But nothing just fit. And I saw Lost Song when in the last episode we as the audience realized that our two POVs parallel storylines are in reality millennia apart. Lost Song made sense.

Emotional loading

… there wasn’t any. Really, it was like reading a milk label. Every time the scene was potentially emotionally impactful, Maas went ahead to overexplaining EVERY. GOD. DAMMED. THING. And it was abso-fucking-lutely everything. ‘Emotional dilemma? Let’s current POV explain it! 2 pages should be enough… Damn maybe it wasn’t enough. I know! I’ll switch POVs and explain it through the other character!’ <= My impression of Maas’ thought process. I’m fairly sure that the record was 7 POVs explaining the same thing in the row, but I was blacking out a little, so I cannot be sure.

And if that wasn’t enough, this book had a second way to defuse tension: random-plastic-repetitive-badly_written-smut. Really badly written and really repetitive. How could you not feel the spicy bits, when Manon (cruel, self assured 100+years old witch-queen) reacts the same in bed as Elide (20years old, virgin, ex-slave). And the rest of them were the same, there weren’t ANY distinctions.Just copy-paste.

The next point in current case: Someone died, it was impactful, I really liked the character, so I got sad. But then 2 of our characters came out of the room with a body, and after a paragraph of grieving they started making out, and then I was regaled with 2-pages-long description of melting cores. That was the place then this book stopped being badly written, and started being distasteful.

Characters

Remember when I was writing about switching POVs (which is 15(!!!) In the whole book. Oh and an omniscient narrator in places when our current POV was grieving too much to overthink something, but Maas still wanted to inform us about something)? They were all savagely murdered in the worst way: character mutilation. Somewhere between books our maybe-not-that-original but colorful and interesting characters became carbon copies of each other. I have no idea how many times I didn’t realise there was a POV switch. The only indicator was a change of pronoun, or when Maas was telling us the name of a current narrator. These were the only ways. And if you can't distinguish if you are in Dorian’s head or in Manon’s, that is the sign of a really BAD writing.

Romance

…there wasn't any. In all this book there wasn't any naturally progressing romantic scene. There were Maas’ endgame pairings which were sexing or pinning. As the author Maas loves to write about soulmates. And it’s not a bad thing itself. When I want some fluffy story I often tag ‘soulmates’ in AO3 and voila, +10 to good mood. But God above, it is not cute when every pair you write about are ‘true mates’ just BECAUSE. It is the only way Maas sees a relationship, as a fated pairing, written in the wake of the universe by the God himself. There is no choice, nor the work to put in it. They are the author's OTP and that means that they are perfect and they should have children right now. Point in case:

Guy was treating a girl like a shit on his sole, including throwing her naked out of tent, on a snow, with their friends present, all the while abusing her verbally in a worst way. But it’s okay, because when she almost died he realised his mistakes and apologised. Two scenes later, he was forgiven, because... fated mates?

The pathos

I know that many people don't like this type of scenes, but it's not my case. I’m reading by picturing images and not repeating words. I like sequences that I can imagine to be grand and glorious, even if they are a little corny. That said, the pathos scenes were the most disappointing ones for me. Maas likes to write parts that are more picturesquely exalted than logically possible [point in case: meeting of 5 armies/forces in the random patch of sand in Empire of Storms, and it being painted as ‘an Aelin’s great plan’. I laughed myself silly at that. But not taking logic and all the plot holes into consideration that was a nicely looking scene. In Kingdom of Ash that wasn’t the case. I would say that the author wanted to paint us a renaissance painting every 20 pages or so. In my opinion, every time she failed miserably. Each and every of those scenes was or to farfetched to be even remotely realistic, and evidently written only for a sake of the picture, or just plainly stupid.

Example, and it’s so priceless a scene, that I just need to share it: Battle of Orynth, 25th day or so (time in this book doesn’t exist), the 13. sacrificed themselves (like thousands before them but hush). And then, time stops: grieving Manon is going through the city, they open the gates for her (yes, the siege is still on), she goes to the place where they died, after her come out all of our main heroes, and half the city itself with ‘flowers, rocks and precious possessions’ and they lay it there in a tribute to these brave (evil till 2 months ago) witches. I honestly can’t remember when was the last time I saw such an abstract scene. It’s a material for an essay in itself. No, I could not take it seriously.

Additionally, it's hard to make an impact as every damn sentence is grand and lofty. In the end it became truly pathetic, Aelin vs Maeve was unreadable.

Character deaths:

Let's make a quick count: main characters in a series at the start of KoA: 12 secondary characters in a series at the start of KoA: 20ish minor and total background: a lot more

Death count: main: 0 secondary: 3 minor: 2 (11 if we try very hard)

Resurrections: 1 (possibly 3, but not gonna analyze it)

Did you feel emotions of this impossible war against this all-encompassing, all-powerful, invincible, immortal, cunning Evil with armies from 3 continents and 2 worlds? No? Me neither.

Oh well, but there were a lot of deaths of ordinary soldiers. I’m quite certain that all of Terrasen’s army was at least twice brought back to life for them to die in these numbers.

Logic or lack thereof

Oh, and let’s not forget about the Deus ex machina army of unbeatable, magical elves on wolves, from legends, living for the past thousands of years in the unreachable lands of the north, because they managed to run from the surprise attack 10 years earlier. Did I mention that they came from portals, which the whole book was telling us were impossible to make in this scenario? After the previous saviour army was already fighting there for a day? And that Aelin didn’t know they would come for sure (how did she contact them again?)? Even though they were waiting in the full armours for these portals? Ah, and also: that army didn’t do anything. They just came and fought for maybe 4 minutes. And there were just so many things like that!

And if we’re on the topic of armies I present you: ‘My favourite absurd-list in the series: allied armies’.

(As a comparison, in A Song of Ice and Fire by J.R.R Martin, in 7 kingdoms of Westeros, at the peak of war there were 7 forces present, but not all were even engaged in a war.)

First the ones that made sense:

Armies of Terrasen’s Lords (counted as one, not gonna nitpick)

The Khaganate army (also counted as one)

Galan Ashryver’s armada

Whitethorn fraction

Rebel Ironteeth witches

…should Dorian be counted as an ‘army’?

And there were some that did not:

Ansel of Briarcliff’s army

The Silent Assassins

Mycenians

Wild Men of the Fangs

Army of magical elves on wolves

And the ‘I don’t even know’ category:

Crochan witches

Overpowering and overreaching

Section title tells it all. The stakes were too high. I was honestly waiting for Aelin to become Super Saiyan and start to throw planets at Maeve and Erawan. I won’t spoil if this happened.

In my opinion it could be a really great series, if our list of villains ended with Arobynn and King of Adarlan, and the list of Aelin titles with an assassin and a princess. We could have had two main fight plots: one emotional with Arobynn, when Aelin would have to face a damage he had done to her, and overcome it. And the second one, with freeing Terrasen from Adarlan’s rule. That’s it. There was an asshole, power hungry king, who feared magic and wanted to rule the East part of a continent. A lot of plot, but not so much that we stopped to care, or didn’t have time to cover everything. We could really get to know what Terrasen and his people were like and not JUST GET TOLD that it was ‘the greatest place in the world’ every damn 20 pages.

Plus…should Dorian be counted as an ‘army’? It's a REALLY valid question.

Climaxes

IIf I have to write a list of things that disappointed me in this book, this review would be thrice its current size, but one of the worst grievances I have is the complete lack of acknowledging the plotlines that had been started. This book series has overall 4 372 pages (not counting novellas) and 12 main characters (still not gonna address this). All of them had their storylines and arcs but if they weren't tied up in the previous instalments they wouldn’t be in this one. I get it, Maeve and Erawan got beaten (in an extremely unsatisfactory way) but they were only a background in this series' plots.

Aelin Well, Aelin was one of 3 people (+2 paragraf-long insertion from Nesryn and Chaol) who got their own POV’s after the battle (second was technically Rowan, who was ‘Aelin’s POV outside of Aelin’.The third Dorian, who got almost a full two pages). And from this we got that: she got crowned, Aedion got his bond and that Maas have no idea how the city looks after weeks of siege. In her case what angered me the most was ‘Terrasen is my home’ subplot. Only in this tome we read at least 3 times that Aelin will be okay with dying, if only she gets to see Terrasen one last time, or if she get to die on Terrassen soil. But you know what? Maas forgot to write the scene where Aelin actually ‘comes in’.

Mannon Didn't get her own POV after the battle, but here’s what we’ve got: She is going to the Wastes with Croachans and Ironteeth. Whait. What? Yes, that was the ending of this 500+ years of feud. They fought together and they decided to unite their two species, completely forgetting more than half a millenia of slaughter. I can only hope that there were at least some talks behind the scenes… NO! F*** NO! This isn’t how it works!

Rowan, Dorian, Chaol, Yrene, Lysandra, Aedion, Lorcan, Elide, Nesryn, Sartaq Lived happily ever after

Secondary minor and total background characters Survived (I acknowledge that they would be ignored in most books’ epilogues, but this abomination is almost 1000 pages of nothing!!).

Good Scenes

That saying, this book actually had 4 good scenes:

Crochan witches go to war - gathering-forces-to-fight trope, which is my *love-always trope* so I’m not even sure if it was relatively good, or if I’m just a slut for this trope. It was still only a paragraph long though.

[recurring] The children’s tale Aelin repeated to herself to remember who she is.

‘Lorcan Lochan’ - the only marginally funny scene in the whole book

I actually found Darrel making Evangeline his heir charming. Even if circumstances were far-fetched at least.

But the words crime of this book? It was agonisingly, mind-numbingly boring. If the overexplaining and repetitions were to be taken out I highly doubt that there would be 300 pages left.

For these 33 hours of audiobook I suffered through I give it half a star. Because Abraxos exist.

Please see my garishly accurate cover on my instagram! You can also like it there :D

instagram | goodreads

[possiblyimbiassed]

The Lost Special?

Musings over possible implications of BBC Dracula

After obsessively watching all three episodes of BBC Dracula, I can’t help feeling I’ve got one of my suspicions, if not exactly confirmed, at least enhanced: that this Victorian old story, finally adapted into present time, might in fact be relevant to Mofftiss’ version of ACD’s short story The Lost Special. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but since I can’t deny I do like ‘tin-hatting’, for now I choose to believe it is. ;)

(Continued under the cut)

As some of you guys already have expressed, I think BBC Dracula has BBC Sherlock written all over it. I believe this was obvious already from the setup; same authors, same producers, same broadcasters, same set designer, same format, three of the same actors including one of the writers, and even the same airing slot as BBC Sherlock. The Sherlock hints are sprinkled all over the two first episodes, which occur in the same Victorian time frame as ACD’s original Sherlock Holmes stories. This for example:

But the bringing of Bram Stoker’s old narrative into present time in the third episode (The Dark Compass) kind of sealed the deal for me. 

Suddenly we have Count Dracula sending text messages by smart phone to his victims:

 We have Dracula vomiting on the rug of a crime scene:

We have him storing body parts in the fridge! (X)

And this fridge scene is taking place while Dracula is watching a TV program with elephants on the Savannah, exclaiming “Look at her - so beautiful!”: 

Who is beautiful - the ‘Elephant in the Room’? It certainly feels like Mofftiss are stringing us along here, doesn’t it? ;)) But no; it’s the sun that Dracula admires as beautiful, we learn that in the show. The shining from the sun is a thing he thought he could never endure, but ultimately he learns that he actually can.

Same thing as Sherlock says about John Watson the distant suns in the sky in TGG:

Or about Sister Sentiment’s music in TFP:

Taking Dracula to modern time is something that the authors had expressly denied they would do. But they were lying of course, as is their usual MO. Exactly the same deception as they did with TAB, isn’t it? And as if this wouldn’t be enough, there’s a whole list of other modern Sherlock references, summarized by @gosherlocked​ (X). I’m sure there’s more, we just need some more time to find them. 

As I mentioned in this comment recently (X): The Lost Special (X) is a short story about a derailed, disappeared train that ACD wrote during the Great Hiatus (1898). It bears some typical Holmes-case mystery characteristics. And the anonymous person who in this story sends a letter to the train company, suggesting a way of solving the case, seems very much to be Holmes himself:

“It is one of the elementary principles of practical reasoning, that when the impossible has been eliminated the residuum, HOWEVER IMPROBABLE, must contain the truth. It is certain that the train left Kenyon Junction. It is certain that it did not reach Barton Moss. It is in the highest degree unlikely, but still possible, that it may have taken one of the seven available side lines. It is obviously impossible for a train to run where there are no rails, and, therefore, we may reduce our improbables to the three open lines, namely the Carnstock Iron Works, the Big Ben, and the Perseverance.”

(X). So this short story indeed looks like a Holmes story in disguise. But Sherlock Holmes’ name is never mentioned in The Lost Special and the storyteller is not John Watson. In this story the police did not act on this anonymous person’s advice. The truth wasn’t revealed until one of the perpetrators - a hired murderer who was threatened with execution years later - admitted that he had participated in derailing the train in question (X): “A conspiracy of men had temporarily re-attached the side track leading to the abandoned mine Heartsease just long enough for the train to go down to the mine, then pulled the tracks back up before they could be discovered.” To the broader audience, however - the Holmes readers - the character of Sherlock Holmes remained ‘dead’.

The wrapping up

One could say that The Lost Special both had and had not a satisfactory ending. Satisfactory because the truth was finally told and the mystery thus solved, but unsatisfactory because in spite of all the hints, the readers didn’t get to know anything more from Holmes. Not until years later (1903) when ACD actually did ‘resurrect’ him and continued the narrative of Sherlock Holmes with 33 more short stories. 

When Dracula finally ‘dies’ at the end of the BBC Dracula series, it’s not by being ‘staked’ or burnt to ashes with the sunlight as one would expect for a ‘monster’ like him. It’s by embracing the criticism of his most resilient but dying opponent: Zoe/Agatha Van Helsing (Mofftiss call her ‘Zagatha’ in an interview). She is dying from cancer, not from vampire bites. Dracula drinks her (to him) mortal blood and then ‘dies’ in her arms, basking in the sunlight (without burning) in a tender lovers’ embrace. 

Zagatha in BBC Dracula is criticizing the vampire for skulking in the shadows, being afraid of facing death. She says it will be his punishment to live on for eternity, while she is mortal and dying:

Seriously, this is so much ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I can’t just... But Count Dracula re-writes Bram Stoker’s original story and opts for another solution: to ‘die’ willingly in the sunlight, together with Zagatha. And if dying is a metaphor for falling in love - as I believe it is in BBC Sherlock - this might have some important implications. I think Dracula and Zagatha here represent two sides of Sherlock that are finally allowed to merge; his Sentiment and his (Homo)sexuality.

Like The Lost Special, BBC Dracula is nicely wrapped up and ‘solved’. But we still don’t really know what happened with Count Dracula, because we don’t actually see him crumble into ashes like he did in Stoker’s canon, and like the other vampire who was ‘staked’ in the show - Lucy Westenra. But the episode is packed with Sherlock references, so...

But I can’t say for the life of me that S4 of BBC Sherlock brought a satisfactory ending for the Holmes narrative either; it’s not ‘wrapped up’ at all! John and Sherlock seem to live on for eternity as ‘best friends’, solving crimes in the heteronormative ‘legends’ preferred by Ghost!Mary’s voiceover. They are simply immortal, Un-Dead for ever - like a punishment? Wouldn’t it be far more satisfying if Sherlock Holmes and John Watson’s characters would come out and appear ‘human’ and ‘mortal’ and not have to remain just ‘best friends’ forever?

The (lack of) train references

One might argue, of course, that there are no specific train references in BBC Dracula, so how could we think it has anything to do with The Lost Special? Because, like The Lost Special, BBC Dracula is a Sherlock story in disguise! And because in the BBC Sherlock narrative itself there are already several episodes with train references; the most prominent of them is TEH and the last one - TFP. So there’s really no need for more references. But the train theme isn’t explained; it’s not ‘wrapped up’ at all, and neither is Sherlock’s story. I’ve tried to argue before that the detective is actually dying in S4, and so have others (X). And making him immortal will not save his credibility as a human.

I do hope he’ll wake up again, though - preferably with help of modern medicine rather than superstition - to a more credible and realistic story than both TFP and Dracula. ;) 

In TEH, apart from scenes with John Watson traveling alone through the Underground network of London, we have a derailed Underground train carriage near Sumatra road, where no-one would care to look. Like a Lost Special. It’s not carrying a bomb; the whole carriage is the bomb, which is threatening to overthrow the Parliament. Which very much makes me think that Mofftiss still have a metaphoric ‘bomb’ stored for us, a ‘rug-pull’ of sorts. But John and Sherlock (and the world) were not ready in TEH, so they switched it off. The ‘bomb’ never went off in S3 (2014). In TEH John was urging Sherlock to ”use your Mind Palace” to defuse the bomb, and I think he did - for the rest of the show up until TFP. Because in TEH, Instead of the big explosion, we got a truly weird, staged scene with Anderson (who didn’t quite believe Sherlock’s explanation anyway). 

And then the plot carried on in its heteronormative tracks with John’s wedding and Mary taking over the narrative. But in TST we learned that Sherlock, as a child, had re-written an old tale about someone encountering Death in ‘Samarra’ into a story where the hero ends up in Sumatra instead, and lives. In TFP the plot derailed completely into an absurd horror story, and we got Moriarty as train driver, going “Choo-choo!” like a train whistle: 

But the only 'explanation’ related to trains that we learn about Moriarty in TFP is rather lame: that Jim’s brother supposedly was a station master (not from canon, though). And then he goes “tick-tock, tick-tock” like a ticking bomb:

(Also similar to Mycroft’s ‘tick-tock’ countdown until he’ll die from obesity in TAB). But no bomb went off at that point in TFP either (I’m not counting the Patience Grenade here, because that happened before the ‘tick-tock’). So what was all that tick-tocking about? And how long will it keep ticking asdf?

The Sussex Vampire etc.

After reading some interesting metas from @yeah-oh-shit​ (X, X) and @ebaeschnbliah​ (X) I feel more and more convinced that legal issues with the ACD Estate might be very relevant for what Mofftiss are doing with BBC Sherlock and BBC Dracula. Three important ACD stories have now entered the public domain on January 1st this year: The Sussex Vampire (SUSS), The Illustrious Client (ILLU, where Holmes and Watson visit a turkish bath ;) ) and The Three Garridebs (3GAR; known for a scene where Holmes shows a glimpse of his true feelings for Watson). in SUSS there’s a quote about Sumatra which I find really interesting in the context described above:

“Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson,” said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. “It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared. 

As I said in this comment (X), there’s a lot of subtext to draw from this. And I do hope the world is prepared now. ;)

@raggedyblue​ @ebaeschnbliah​ @gosherlocked​

[sixth-light]

I have been thinking a bit about the end of Lies Sleeping as that post about audience expectations is still taking up most of my notifications (I am experiencing sudden and deep empathy for people who have seriously viral posts). Two things happen at the end of that book that I don’t think anybody in fandom seriously expected: Lesley shot Chorley, and Beverley told Peter she was pregnant. 

And the reason they both work for me (regardless of whether they’re what people ‘wanted’ - a much more nebulous concept) is that they both come out of longstanding character development and logical consequences of the worldbuilding. Lesley has been presented as cavalier about hurting people since at least Broken Homes, earlier in the book she shoots Stephanopoulos (in the leg), and one of the underlying questions of the series since she defected has been ‘why should she feel loyal to Martin Chorley, who is a murderous white supremacist asshole?’ and, surprise, she doesn’t. It has also been made abundantly clear throughout the series that even highly-trained practitioners are not invulnerable to guns. 

It feels unexpected because it crosses a line the books have previously avoided (a main character deliberately killing someone on-page) and because it subverts the expectations of the characters that the only person who can stop Chorley is Nightingale, and that the alternative to that is Peter finding a way to arrest him, because of Peter’s strong principles. The gun thing also functions as a call back to Nightingale getting shot in the first book, so it’s not obviously direct foreshadowing. There’s even special cells in Belgravia now...but, boom, that’s not the way it goes. And, as good twists should, it ratchets up the stakes: Chorley is no longer a problem, but Peter is (for the moment) out of a job, and Lesley is not just a fugitive but a murderer. Nothing has really been solved. 

As for Peter and Beverley’s baby - this has been pretty clearly foreshadowed for several books now, in the ritual in the Lugg, in Peter and Ty’s conversation at the end of THT, and in Peter and Bev’s interactions in LS. The reason it’s unexpected is less about set-up and more about, uh, how do I say this, audience expectations about on-page characterisation let Bev and Peter talk about important things 2k19 . But, again, it’s changing the stakes for future work: it’s not an end but a new stage. 

What all of this is illustrating for me is something that I left out of that original post but that came in during reblogs/discussion: there’s nothing wrong with subverting audience expectations per se as long as 1) it still builds on the story to date and 2) it’s used to up the stakes, not defuse them. By the time you hit the end of a story, it should be obvious where it’s going. It’s while the story is ongoing that there’s room to change its (anticipated) direction. 

[uncommon-etc]

5 Ways in which bad writing was the real villain of GOT 8x05

I know tempers are running high right now but after lying awake for hours being angry about the way this season is going I’ve decided to try and rationalize just what it was about this episode that left such a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths. Did I think there were obvious elements of misogyny and racism at play? Definitely. But pointing that out without concrete proof isn’t going to win any arguments and none of it would have happened if it weren’t for a total disregard for the basic principles of good storytelling so let’s dig in: 

1. Hitchcock’s Law of Suspense? What’s that? 

In creating his high-intensity thrillers (on very limited budgets and with minimal special effects compared to today’s media) Alfred Hitchcock often referenced a scene in which a bomb goes off under a table while two characters are talking. He said it was better to get 15 minutes of suspense rather than 15 seconds of surprise so rather than simply let the bomb explode for shock value why not show the bomb being planted, allow the characters to carry on with their conversation as the audience is literally yelling at them that a bomb is about to go off then you could have someone defuse it at the last minute. 

8x05 threw this out of the window in multiple ways but if you want an example of a time when Game of thrones used it to amazing effect look no further than season 6 and the blowing up of the great sept of Baelor. The music was textbook suspense building, the reactions of the characters to Cersei not being present at her trial are a genius way of building tension, the futility of lancel’s attempt to stop the wildfire exploding and then the actual climax of the scene make it one of the most memorable uses of suspense in modern television. Did we get that in this episode? Nope, we got lots of people being burned alive needlessly, several huge anti-climaxes and an over-use if CGI. 

On a lesser not Jaime’s decision to return to King’s Landing was a major wasted opportunity in the suspense stakes, had he made his motives less clear and allowed the audience to wonder whether he was returning to King’s Landing to kill Cersei or save her his final scenes would have been much more compelling. 

2. Show, don’t tell.  

Part of the reason everyone seemed so out-of-character this episode was because the writers seem to have forgotten the basic principle that instead of going round telling everyone that a character has certain qualities/motivations you should demonstrate said qualities to the viewer to win them around to to that character’s perspective here are a few examples:

When Tyrion is initially named hand of the king the writers want you to think he’s the cleverest character so rather than have other characters be like “he’s the cleverest character” they have him outsmart the likes of varys, littlefinger and maester pycelle to find out which one of them was informing on him to Cersei, it was a brilliantly well-executed scene and set him up as one of the smartest characters on the show. A+ 

When Tyrion is named hand of the queen he makes a lot of stupid decisions, we’re told that a lot of this stems from underestimating his own family yet previous seasons establish he and Cersei as having one of the most intriguing complex sibling relationships on the show by allowing the events of the plot to foster constant mistrust between them. We’re constantly told Tyrion is still one of the cleverest characters but without a hidden agenda none of his current actions make any sense in relation to those qualities. D- 

3. Proper Characterization is a marathon, not  a sprint. 

The last thing viewers/readers who have spent years with a character, understanding their motivations, qualities and back-story should feel is that the writer’s weren’t sure what to do with that character half way through the episode but that’s exactly how many viewers felt upon watching Jon and Danaerys’ arcs unfold in 8x05. Neither were given any build-up or foreshadowing to the decisions they made and it  Simultaneously ruined the 7-season character arcs of two fan-favorites. 

Jon’s been stripped of many of his more interesting qualities as a leader this season and in attempts to make him look like a loyal, brave hero all the writers have done is make him look weak. If they were setting him up to have to kill Danaerys and save the realm next episode they did an extremely poor job of it, mainly because the one scene they shared together this episode was such a confused mess. 

If the writers’ wanted Jon to be a cold and calculating political leader he occasionally appears in the books they could have made him work a lot harder at convincing Danaerys that he loves her and would do anything for her, probably going a lot further than one kind of awkward kiss.  

And if they wanted to show him genuinely being in love with her and retaining some semblance of humanity his response should have been more like “Yes I love you but we’re related and it’s weird and I’m still coming to terms with the fact my entire identity for 7 seasons has been a lie so could you maybe give me some space to process that.”

Somehow the destruction of Danaerys entire arc managed to be even worse as they’ve spent all this time building her up as a protector of the innocent and a fair ruler. They abandoned the kind of nuanced and considered writing that found her struggling to rule in Mereen (which happened to be one of her most interesting story-lines) in favor of pure shock-tactics. 

There were many better ways in which the destruction of king’s landing could have played out with very similar consequences. The bell-ringing could have been a ploy to put her armies at ease before more Lannister soldiers appeared from out of nowhere and start slaughtering them so she has no choice but to attack, the wildfire could have been a major plot-device rather than an afterthought and the burning of the red-keep could have triggered much larger explosions all over the city. So it wasn’t only out-of-character, it was badly timed and made no actual sense in relation to the plot.  

4. Don’t invalidate your own work

As a writer the last thing you should to is completely go back on your own plot developments but when a lot of viewers are asking “So why didn’t Danaerys just take Olenna’s advice and burn King’s Landing in season 7, then she’d still have three dragons and most of her army” then you’ve messed up big-time. 

Killing off fan-favorites, sending characters down dark paths, regressing on certain aspects of character-development and reminding people of the horrors of being a civilian caught up in a conflict are all valid means of storytelling and can be used very effectively given the proper time and foreshadowing to see it through but when writing one scene badly makes almost everything else you’ve written seem futile and pointless not only are you failing as a writer your failing those who have invested considerable time and energy into those characters and their story-lines/redemption arcs/perspectives.   

Which brings us onto my final point

5. Look at your story in a wider context 

Like it or not, no narrative exists in isolation and no matter how fantastical a setting it will always be the characters, their emotions and the way they relate to each other that viewers and readers are captivated by. Many of a character’s actions may become horribly dated as times (and attitudes) change, one need only watch any film about a young working class man made between 1960 and 1987 to see that treating female characters like crap used to be the norm even for well-liked protagonists but with this in mind writers still need to be conscious of the way their story will be received.

If Game of Thrones was ever supposed to be about disrupting an oppressive feudal order, giving voice to those who were robbed of it and dismantling the power structures that allowed might and ruthlessness to triumph over intelligence and common decency then it failed miserably. 

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t read a lot into these things but it seemed pretty obvious that the message was one of utter futility; never try to escape a toxic relationship, you’ll just end up going back and it’ll be the death of you, never try to be better than your insane family, you’ll just end up turning into them and if you’re born a slave don’t try to be anything else because you’ll probably still die in chains. And that’s before you even dig into how much the show is wrecking Sansa’s character arc by implying that she should be grateful for all the horrible things which happened to her rather having her consciously decide to do things differently to those who tormented her. 

So those were the biggies. There were countless other examples of sloppy writing (Qyburns scorpions being able to take down a dragon from behind and island on a boat but not being able to hit one and point blank range, yara being robbed of the chance to kill her uncle, Varys not even knowing Jon but being determined that even though all Targaryans have the potential to be nuts he’d be the better ruler) but I digress, if I’ve missed anything major message me or leave me a comment, I’m sorry that this has been such a long post but I’ve invested too much of my life into both the show and the books to allow this mess to pass for acceptable writing.   

[agleadersclass49]

Leadership and the Fog of War

The fog of war. One of the most difficult challenges a leader faces is making difficult choices in uncertain times. Never are the stakes higher than during wartime. When to escalate and when to turn down the pressure cooker. Class, now known as “Company” 49, got a lesson today in dealing in uncertainty from Bruce Rice, a licensed battlefield guide and the unofficial “Gettysburg Guru”.

It’s said that the first casualty of war is your plan. Rarely do we jump into situations without an idea of how to get to a result. What’s important is to keep the end goal in mind, and live in the moment, don’t get bogged down with the minutia.

We heard today about two contrasts in leadership – from the Union side, Maj.-Gen. Winfield Hancock and Maj.-Gen. Oliver Howard. Hancock is ordered into Gettysburg to relieve Howard, even though Howard outranks him. Hancock is concerned, rightly, about Howard’s ego being bruised by this situation. Rather than creating a public confrontation, Hancock takes Howard aside, compliments him on the defensive position his men have created and defuses the situation. They kept the end goal, winning the battle, and war, in mind. In today’s world, the notion of the “compliment sandwich” was put into motion.

Contrast that with the Confederate example – Maj. Gen. Isaac Trimble and Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell. Ewell has received unclear orders from his superior and is overwhelmed. Trimble comes into the battle without a command and has a great suggestion, pressing the Confederate advantage to take Culp’s Hill. The fog is overwhelming Ewell. Instead of surveying the moment and coming in calmly with a tangible solution, Trimble is in Ewell’s face, escalating a fraught situation. The hill remained with the Union and an opportunity was lost.

After the teachings on the battlefield, we ventured back to discuss the different styles of leadership of Presidents throughout the years during times of turmoil. The staggering differences of the leaders of the free world rang true in these essential speeches throughout the years with the underlying theme of unifying the country for the greater good.

The Civil War was such a pivotal point in American history and without the leadership capabilities and perseverance of these men, we would not be where we are today!

Company 49 galloped away with some great lessons for life and leadership: 

Be focused on the result 

Press your advantage 

Be present 

 Listen to understand, not to respond

Yours Truly, 

Steve Dodge (not pictured: Taylor Serres and Daniel Hartwig) 

[comicteaparty]

August 23rd, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on August 23rd, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Pathways: Chronicles of Tuvana by Elaine Tipping.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY START!

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning~! Today we are discussing Pathways: Chronicles of Tuvana by Elaine Tipping~! (http://pathways.smackjeeves.com/) For those new or in need of a reminder, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question for participants to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer! If you miss out on any though, they’ll be pinned for the duration of the chat once they’re posted~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comic~! All that being said, let’s get started and have a great discussion!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

snuffysam

the most recent couple pages are my favorite

"help me!" hides under cape

Kabocha

Ufufufu. Actually I'm really enjoying the current scene and chapter with Atawn trying to escape. Both he and this guard are in for an adventure... Also, the guard is such a good egg. I hope we find out their name soon.

Respheal

The guard is a good friend

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i loved the cape thing. mostly cause i appreciate any cape that is big enough to hide a whole person

Respheal

I liked finding the people in the cave because that was the first bit where I was really like "Go on....-scoots forward in seat-"

Kabocha

The stakes are super high, too. Like, I'm already super into the adorable scholar character type, so I want to protect him. I'm a little bit surprised how quickly things escalated. (Well, not really)

YES

I wonder what the deal is

http://pathways.smackjeeves.com/comics/2595217/pathways-58/ We know they're considered Gods now, but it's like. ........ All right, so....... how doomed is everyone, and how many survivors are there going to be out of the researchers, not counting Atawn

snuffysam

doomed from the gods or doomed from getting their camps burned?

Kabocha

It's DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM Does it really matter? I mean, Zealots are gonna zealot....

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

unless the zealots arent zealoting and just know more and are trying to save everyone from the scourge that is their spooky gods

TriaElf9

Eee I'm glad people like the cape bit, I'm so happy we hit it before this chat happened ^_^

🎵Tenor🎶

IDK if ill be back in time but wanted to say I love the story and art and I have so many speculations. Love its presentation and eager 4 more

Kabocha

@✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨ ...Good point. That would be a twist XD

"OUR GODS ARE AWFUL, WE WANTED THEM TO REMAIN BURIED AND DEAD"

snuffysam

"nobody leaves" sounds like a fun way to save people

as does setting their tents on fire

Respheal

My first impression is that the Akarna aren't awful? I didn't get that sorta vibe from them.....in what little we've seen

But yeah, zealots gonna zealot

Kabocha

What types of gods command you to light things on fire?!

The best ones

.......or the worst ones, if they're living things

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well tbf they couldve lit the tents on fire while the scholars were inside

legit that is what i expected when atawn turned the corner

to just have on fire ppl everywhere

>_>

Respheal

Hahaha kinda x'D

That woulda been baaaaaaaaaaad

As if the situation isn't bad enough as it is

Kabocha

you mean they're not planning to do that now?

I mean, they realized Atawn escaped, if he gets caught, he's SUPER dead

and so is the guard, I'm sure

Respheal

.....probably

They certainly don't want this info leaving

Kabocha

Yeahhhhhhh

Respheal

Makes me wonder if they have some more "humane" way of not letting the information leave

Since clearly the books aren't leaving this camp

(Mind wiping? I dunno lol)

Kabocha

What is the magic like in this world, I wonder :3

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i think they mentioned they were gonna lock them up

so just eternal prison

forever

Respheal

Oh

Kabocha

They're going to get tired of feeding them at some point

TriaElf9

Yeah I will note, that big tent was the main research tent, so essentially they burnt all the information that'd been collected

And yeah, they have indeed started the clock on that, where it leads, we'll have to see ^_-

Kabocha

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

TriaElf9

TELL ME ABOUT IT it's very hard to not just blurt it all out AHHHH

Respheal

x'D

It was smart to tell Atawn to just memorize everything though

Kabocha

I'm not at the point in the comic where I can start spouting conspiracy theories. I MUST KNOW MORE

Respheal

Good bit of foresight there

Kabocha

or am I

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

plot twist: everyone just goes home and lives happily ever after, no deaths. and the bad guys pay for the damages.

TriaElf9

I want to know the theories!!

AHAHAH perfect, it's just festivals and parties until the end

Respheal

All I know is I'm in the "An Akarna person joins the party" party

Kabocha

Ahahahaha

The Guard's actually a spy

Respheal

Wakey, wakey, Akarna person, you've overslept by like a thousand years

Kabocha

He's infiltrated the Mikarna, and is looking to get information out about their gods, and the TRUTH about the Akarna's sudden disappearance

The truth being they have a secret magitek that was sealed away -- because they threatened the world. The other countries engaged in a war with them resulting in a pyrrhic victory... and forcing the Akarna underground for millenia...

.................................And they all had cake

TriaElf9

mmmm cake

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well at least cake denotes a happy ending O_O

Kabocha

That's the terrible Magitek secret the Akarna had. A killer cake recipe.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the one cake to rule them all

snuffysam

there's a reason they call it death by chocolate

Kabocha

GASP

TriaElf9

AHAH ^_^

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

aside from the guards since were still on favorite scene i want to mention i really enjoyed the festival montage. it was nice seeing all the activities, and i think the fireworks at the end really tied it all together with some beautiful imagery

Kabocha

A shame they're going to soon be embroiled in an international incident

TriaElf9

Aww, yay! ^_^

eheh

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well we have to have calm before the storm O_O so ill take what calm i can get

Kabocha

I'm sure there'll be plenty of nice, calm moments

TriaElf9

I actually drew all that after having gone through festival season here, as well as a fireworks festival, so I had a lot of places to draw from for inspiration ^_^

Kabocha

enough for us to get attached to all of the adorable characters

Awww

TriaElf9

OH yes, I want to show the world through down-time as well as the AHHH time ^_^ it can't all be AHHHH or we'd get tired

Kabocha

YES

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i also wanna say i really love that one doublepage where you see the crowd and the wall. i really love that huge sense of scale that makes you go "dang those walls are some marvel of architecture."

Kabocha

The color illustrations for pathways are a treat, too

http://pathways.smackjeeves.com/comics/2534068/chapter-2-the-dig/ Like, even though this is based in what could be a very brown landscape, the reds and greens add such a nice warmth to it, and the cool blues for shading are just pleasant

TriaElf9

Fun fact, that city is actually the smallest of the main cities in Tuvana ^_-

And I'm glad that page came out well, it took foreeeveerrrrrrr

Kabocha

http://pathways.smackjeeves.com/comics/2622607/chpt-3-attack-on-the-camp/ ...To be honest, it took everything in me not to start throwing fire puns when this page came out

Respheal

Do it

Unleash the puns

Kabocha

It's so serious in context, I can't help but make fire jokes

TriaElf9

I love how it was all "yeah, I'm gonna start this comic, it'll be great! I'll just start with....a massive festival... with thousands of people WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i demand fire puns

Respheal

They are both very nice cover pages

Ha! xD

TriaElf9

omh puns are the best

Kabocha

This cover page is HOT -- have you seen it yet?!

TriaElf9

HEHEH

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

beautiful

serious context is even more reason for puns

gotta defuse that tense situation

TriaElf9

so true

Kabocha

The Mikarna really brought the heat!

My passion for this comic cannot be extinguished!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

but puns aside i do think the chapter covers are really nice. its some immensely beautiful coloring.

TriaElf9

Ah, Miakarna ^_^

but yes, they did bring the heat eheh

aww, thank you! ^////^

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

masterpieces. kabo just gonna have to make a book of puns to story situations

Kabocha

Things are really heating up for the researchers... ....You could say it's... in tents...

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the holy head guy was like "you need to put the heat on." miakarna set the tents on fire. holy head guy like "I DIDNT MEAN LITERALLY"

Kabocha

PFFFF

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 2. After discovering the supposed Akarna, things go downhill for the scholars at the ruins rather quickly. Do you think that Atawn will manage to escape? If he does, will he actually manage to make it somewhere safe, or will he be pursued and captured eventually anyway? Where will Atawn even go? Why do you think that Miakarna guard is helping Atawn, and will the guard suffer consequences for helping later on? Will Atawn’s records be of use, and if so how? What do you think will happen to the other scholars that Atawn left behind? Lastly, what do you think will be the consequences for the Miakarna regarding their actions? Will they spark a potential war, or will their declaration of the scholars being profane be allowed to stand?

Kabocha

Someone told the Mikarna to light a fire under someone's ass to get all the research disposed of -- they probably weren't meaning literally

TriaElf9

Oh man, all great questions!!!

snuffysam

maybe this whole thing is a misunderstanding. maybe the miakarna are fine with discovering religious secrets, they just don't like holes in the ground.

Kabocha

@snuffysam -- like Trypophobia, just on a large scale?

where there's one hole with people in it, there might be another

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

holes are like graffiti of the earth

cant have hoodlums adding their graffiti

snuffysam

my hope is that atawn and the guard become best buddies and escape to visit taria and friends. and then the gang has a bunch of misadventures in an attempt to quell a brewing holy war.

Kabocha

http://pathways.smackjeeves.com/comics/2610497/pathways-62/ Well, Rykhana'i will probably not take this well. "Oh, yeah, we uh, lost one of your guys, and burnt all their research. No you can't visit them. NO. THEY'RE TOTALLY FINE"(edited)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

this is assuming they can get word out. which tbh i do think they can

i think atawn will make it

with the guards help

Kabocha

we can hope

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i believe O_O

although i dont think the guard is going to be safe in the long run

Kabocha

Is the guard already raising death flags for you?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yes

ankoart

Atawn's gonna escape, but probably be pursued as he tries to tell others about what he's seen. A man on the run! The guard is gonna join him cause he probably knows shady stuff is afoot and feels guilty just standing by and doing nothing. He seems like the thoughtful type, and he probably became a guard to protect and serve others, not deceive them.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

super death flags

the guard is a profaner O_O

Kabocha

To be honest, I think Atawn's more likely to be injured badly and have to adapt, the guard will be fine long-term.

ankoart

-hugs the guard- don't you touch him

TriaElf9

eats popcorn, grinning

Kabocha

oh no

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i do get the impression the guard has a kind soul at least and is becoming disillusioned

which good for the guard

Kabocha

I still think the guard's a spy

TriaElf9

WHY CAN'T I DRAW THE COMIC FASTERRRR so many parts to get toooo

Kabocha

AHAHAHAHAHAH

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

someone on the inside should be thinking "maybe its us who are the bad guys"

TriaElf9

"are we the baddies?"

ankoart

Maybe the real baddies are the friends we made along the way

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

LOL the plot twist of the century

Kabocha

http://pathways.smackjeeves.com/comics/2550453/pathways-43/ I dunno, Guard totally knows who the baddies are. They're very observant

OH NO ANKO

@TriaElf9 -- ....how long until we find out the Guard's name

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

in regards to the other scholars i also see death flags over them. like i think for now theyll be locked up. but then ya know, public executions of the profane and all that to set an example

im gonna burst out laughing if the guard's name is "Guard"

Kabocha

As soon as Atawn finds a place to stop and write a letter, there's going to be a newspaper or something: "SCHOLARS FIRED"

TriaElf9

AHAH

Respheal

> FIRED

Why

Why do you do this

TriaElf9

We'll learn more about the guard soon, I've drawn those pages already, it's just a matter of getting to them in the posting schedule ^_-

extra extra, read all about it! ^_^

Kabocha

@TriaElf9 appreciates my awful, awful jokes

ankoart

It's good to have things to look forward to reading soon!

Respheal

The guard seems smart, so I imagine they'll make it out of this alright I don't foresee them following the narrative much though? But that's just my guess

TriaElf9

I'm trying to build a buffer, so I'm like a bunch of pages ahead, so I keep getting surprised when I check the site and we're not there yet lol

Kabocha

Aaaaaaa I know this feeling. XD But that's okay

So, so far, I can group everyone in this comic into two distinct groups: "Adorable Characters I must protect" and "Flamethrowers"

Respheal

Yes xD

TriaElf9

EHEH

ankoart

I get the feeling they're gonna be joining the narrative to stay~

Kabocha

Actually, you know.... Could we call this event the start of a... flame war?

TriaElf9

I think the other question is, how is this all going to affect Atawn really ^_-

AHAHAHAH

Respheal

istg

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel the guard will be around for a while at least. the guard will rise to help again O_O

atawn will be fine. no years of therapy needed or anything

Kabocha

Yep

Respheal

Oh yeah I imagine the guard'll be back at some point if we do part ways with them now

TriaElf9

no survivor's guilt or anything NAH

Kabocha

definitely no therapy necessary never

Respheal

Ahahahaha poor Atawn x'D

Kabocha

Y'all should look at the vote incentive

snuffysam

atawn and the guard get captured. the rest of the comic is taria and gang doing something completely different.

Respheal

Wait

Waaaaaaaaaaaait

the person behind Atawn

TriaElf9

Oh yeah, my full cast art reveals a lot lol

Respheal

I rescind my remarks; Guardfriend joins the gang

Kabocha

GuardFriend is even more adorable without the helmet

TriaElf9

tho it takes the context of connecting faces and people eheheh

excelleennnttt ^_^

Kabocha

+10 want to protect score

Respheal

Also I do really love the umbrella idea with that art. So cute!

ankoart

I wanna know more about the dragons. Everyone deserves dragon cuddles.

Kabocha

YES OH GOODNESS

the dragons are freakin' CUTE

Respheal

Shvir is a good noodle friend

TriaElf9

I also wanted to do a pride yukata picture, but I just didn't have time that month, sadly

Kabocha

How large do the dragons grow?

TriaElf9

a full cast of 8 characters turned out to be murder on the hands lol

they vary in size

they can be tiny to massive

Kabocha

Oooh

ankoart

I need one

Alakotila

Just in time for the cute dragon talk!!

TriaElf9

I haven't much gotten into the dragon stuff yet, but a few people picked up on some of it during the first chapter

eyy, dragon talk! welcome! ^_^

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the dragons were cute but i was curious why all the royalty seemed to have them

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

pant pant pant

Sorry I'm late!

snuffysam

maybe just a popular pet

a popular, expensive pet

Respheal

I suspect there's more to it than that

TriaElf9

more popcorn and grinning

Kabocha

I imagine there's some sort of bonding

ankoart

Yeah they seem like more than just "pets." Companion seems a better word

TriaElf9

Companion is a very good word for it ^_^

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Heehee~

So i see you're the creative mind that made this comic, aren't ya Tria?

ankoart

I'd like to know how they find each other, dragons and their people.

TriaElf9

I am indeed ^_^

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Heehee, pleased to meet ya~

TriaElf9

and I'm having such a hard time not just like spilling all the beaannnssss

Kabocha

Are you cackling like mad?

ankoart

Oh no, all these beans!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe its both. maybe the dragons are companions...but also expensive pets O_O

TriaElf9

cackling ^_^

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

A 500 dollar pet?

Kabocha

Don't spill the beans, they're needed for setsubun

TriaElf9

very true, gotta keep those oni out

I will drop that size of dragons is actually a plot point, there is a reason to size ^_-(edited)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

oooh?

Kabocha

Ooooh

Interesting...

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Are you hiding something from us?

Kabocha

............................................................................ HMMMMMMM

Well, yes, that's the point of telling a story :'3

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Ye~

Kabocha

things are hidden from the reader and gradually revealed

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

And I like that there's dragons that are friendly to each other

TriaElf9

it's not a huge thing, really, but there are layers to it ^_^

Respheal

It's definitely just the royal people that have dragon companions, since a merchant recognized them as royalty for having dragon companions

A pact, mayhaps?

ankoart

The bigger the dragon the gayer you become

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hmm, Ice Candy

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel like it must be related to magic somehow. but thats all i got on that one. need to see the dragons more.

Kabocha

It's interesting that royalty is easily able to walk amongst their people. Must be a pretty peaceful country.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

As a food enthusiast I need to know exactly what kind fo treat it is

Is it like water ice but with bigger chunks of ice?

Kabocha

It'd be a shame if the Mikarna did something....

TriaElf9

Oh Ice Candy is similar to shaved Ice ^_^

snuffysam

might just be a funny way to say sno cone

yup got it in one

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Heehee

I was thinking of having a snow cone earlier lol

TriaElf9

they call it kakigori at festivals here

and it's one of my go to favs, so I had to include it of course eheheh

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

You live in Japan?

TriaElf9

I do! ^_^

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That's epic! I always wanted to see what living there was like but I'm too afraid to leave my own home XD It's got everything I could want, but I digress

Kabocha

http://i.imgur.com/sZQnzuA.jpg This, I feel, is an accurate representation of the Mikarna. But, y'know, with fire

Respheal

snrk

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

And I love that the dragons share the treats with their masters~

ankoart

Haha, cat reaction posts are always best

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

So many food vendors too at this fair in the first chapter

Respheal

A cat dragon

snuffysam

i feel like fairs generally have a lot of food vendors?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

though some just serve lots and lots of fast food

and it's usually the same stuff every time

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

tbf in the comic its the harvest festival

TriaElf9

the dragons are very cat for sure ^_^

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

and well

harvest

food is implied in the name O_O

snuffysam

you know what my favorite thing to harvest is?

ice

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

You have a good point there

TriaElf9

It's basically a matsuri

ankoart

lol

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

>harvesting ice

Kabocha

http://pathways.smackjeeves.com/comics/2521877/pathways-8/ EVERYONE MUST ATTEND AND HAVE FUN

TriaElf9

it's a festival to celebrate a time or a thing, but they also have staple foods at these things

Kabocha

actually, Shvir's expression is just Way too cute there

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

like the aforementioned candy ice?

wondering what flavors they have there too

TriaElf9

various Tuvana fruits flavors probably

also, I am that servant, and Taria is deffo people trying to get me to stop working and GO TO THE DARN MATSURI lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel like being told its a royal order is a gurantee to not have fun. too much pressure. starts running around forcefully laughing saying, "AM I HAVING FUN NOW!?"

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

In the end it's all about the matsuris

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 3. At the beginning of the comic we are introduced to Taria, Dhiren, and Quinel, royalty far detached from the current situation at the ruins. What do you think their overall roles in the story will be? Will they deal with the situation at the ruins personally, have heavy involvement in the political arena regarding the Miakarna, or will they be involved in some other way? Will Dhiren successfully have his ceremony to celebrate the promise of Cova’t with Jorah, or will the situation with Miakarna throw those plans into disarray? Will Quinel’s role at the House of Healing be significant, and do you consider it foreshadowing of something to come? What about Taria? Will her fighting skills come into play, her apparent charity, or something else?

snuffysam

i think they'll be among the first to find out about the tent-burning

TriaElf9

AHH EVEN MORE GOOD QUESTIONS

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That's our Rebel!

snuffysam

atawn manages to escape and gets word to them somehow

TriaElf9

Given that Taria and Atawn are from the same country, that's a good bet ^_-(edited)

snuffysam

and honestly quinel being a healer could factor in right then and there

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Maybe~

snuffysam

i doubt he'll escape without a scratch

Kabocha

Taria strikes me as an action princess, so she's going to want to be out there to check on things. I wonder if she knows Atawn though?

Yeah, Quinel's going to be very useful... ............."Yeah, we'll dispatch our best healers to help" ...."Everyone's dead."

TriaElf9

I wonder what the state of necromancy-like magic is in Tuvana? ^_-

Kabocha

.................

OH NO

TriaElf9

This could mean everything OR NOTHING

cackles more

Kabocha

They're going to end up pod people! and then there to wage war against their own peoples!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

quinel for resident necromancer

Kabocha

NO

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Finally, I binged all the way to the end so far!

Respheal

Just need a lot of diamonds.........#dnd(edited)

TriaElf9

We also have 3 more characters to meet ^_-

Kabocha

I object to this! Atawn strikes me as much more likely to approach Necromancy from a scholarly point of view.

TriaElf9

I can't wait for chapter 4 ahhhhhhhh

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

3 more to meet, you say? :3

TriaElf9

so many diamonds

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

quinel's healing will be useful tho. healers are always useful.

Alakotila

hohohoho

TriaElf9

need that revial spell lol

Alakotila

I guess I can't say anything there

Kabocha

OH DEAR

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Made it for the second hour. ^.^

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

hey math~!

Kabocha

ALAKOTILA KNOWS SPOILERS

TriaElf9

woo, welcome! ^_^

OH RIGHT

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I also like Atawn's water-generating ability

Alakotila

EDITOR IN THE HOUSE

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

also HEY MATH!

TriaElf9

MY EDITOR KNOWS THINGSS

Kabocha

:'3

Respheal

That was handy xD "Oh, no access to water....welp. -generates water-"

Alakotila

that was a whole ton of good questions up there Rebel!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

speaking of the water-generating ability i was super stoked to see magic used for something practical like that

thank you

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh, you're the editor of this here story?

Alakotila

yeah! that was awesome!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Hmm, so the royalty will probably have to try and calm down the populus when they see all the smoke from the fire.

snuffysam

how far away is the site?

Alakotila

just the copy editor! all fabulousness is created by @TriaElf9 !

Respheal

I imagine the camp is pretty far away

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

There is hydrogen and oxygen in the air, just need the magical bonds.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Sometimes mundane is all you need

And nice X3

Kabocha

If you really want it to explode, just break those bonds

TriaElf9

yes, they check me on my very over use of commas and my rambling ahah

Kabocha

and uh ....add a spark

ahahahah

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

lol

TriaElf9

Yeah the camp is pretty far and surrounded mostly by mountains

we'll see more of the land in the next upcoming bit

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh Tria, I have a small idea for the sit if you're the one that made/coded it(edited)

Kabocha

Rumors of the scholars' fate may spread like wildfire once Atawn escapes....

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

so i feel like war is for sure brewing and theyll have to try and stop it. cause at the very least i think this current discovery is gonna make the miakarna invade all the ruins which iirc are spread out on all four lands

TriaElf9

and I'm glad you're liking the magic! I'm really proud of the system and can't wait to share more ^_^

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea, it's really good magic~!

Kabocha

The Akarna ruled the world with their cake recipes!

Alakotila

CAKE

Kabocha

I mean, they were considered Gods... OF BAKING

TriaElf9

Oh and no, I have loads of help on the site, I'm useless at those things lol

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lol, alright then

ankoart

Now I wanna make cake

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Cause I thought of suggesting using the arrow keys to navigate through pages

instead of just clicking the page

also

DID SOMEONE SAY CAKE?

TriaElf9

I always want cake, I went out and got cake during last night's typhoon

Kabocha

Ooooh, what kind of cake though

ankoart

-stares at bag full of ingredients to make ace dessert- maybe I'll finally do that this weekend

Respheal

....-wants cake now-

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I got italian ices during a bad thunderstorm

Alakotila

that's pretty extreme cake getting lol

TriaElf9

I think the arrows do navigate?

snuffysam

this... this is the true power of the Akarna!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

They take the cake.

TriaElf9

I got strawberry shortcake b/c of course ^_^

Kabocha

I think Justin means using the arrow keys on the keyboard

TriaElf9

ooooh

ankoart

YOU BOUGHT CAKE DURING THE TYPHOON? (Haha I thought about stopping by a conbini actually but I was actually soaked)

Kabocha

That... might be doable...

TriaElf9

I have no idea if SJ has the ability to do that ^_^;;

Respheal

It does, I can link ya

Kabocha

throw it at me

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Back on fave scene, I just wanted to mention I liked the bit near the start where it looked like as the people were meeting back up, so were the dragons. That was just a nice little detail. Hadn't expected different breeds of dragon.

Alakotila

the dragons are wonderful

TriaElf9

oooh I love that bit!

Kabocha

Shvir is like... a noodle cat dragon

TriaElf9

and yes, I wanted to vary dragon types ^_^

Kabocha

also the meeps are great

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I wonder how many dragon species total exist

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

And in terms of theories, when they first found the door, I wondered if they'd open it and that high priest guy would just be sitting there with a TV. And he'd go, "Well damn, you found my tech man-cave. Now I have to kill you."

Did not expect the frozen gods.

TriaElf9

EHEH

Kabocha

Are they frozen or just... On ice?

TriaElf9

pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Ice see what you did there.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i expected religion breaking secrets but not frozen gods

Kabocha

It looks vaguely computerized. They need an IT person to come in and take a look before the whole system freezes up

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

for a sec I thought they were mummified

ankoart

They're taking a long nap. I relate to them.

TriaElf9

Also, dragon-wise, so far we've met Tova, Shvir and Var ^_^

snuffysam

the secret is that's where candy ice comes from!

the frozen gods!

ankoart

Ice candy, god flavor

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Interesting that the most important God was at the top, as opposed to at the bottom. Is it really safe up there? Is that also where the power is being generated? (And are they "on ice" in a magical way or a tech one?)

snuffysam

"And are they "on ice" in a magical way or a tech one?" is there really a significant difference?

Kabocha

The ice treats are like soylent green

Respheal

por que no los dos?(edited)

Magitek cryostasis

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Well, this is mostly a magical world, but that area was only recently getting magic, hence the desert. Maybe there's an incompaitiblity... or maybe all the magic was being absorbed by the stasis tubes. So could make a difference for plot.

TriaElf9

oh mannnn I'm loving this AND equally tortured that I can't say anything aHAHAH

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hmmmm

You're onto something Math

TriaElf9

I'll be dropping more in chapter 4, so look forward to that ^_-

snuffysam

yeah i'm just saying that in this world, it seems like magic has a big impact on technology, and vice versa

TriaElf9

I wish there was a plotting emoticon

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Gotcha.

Maybe the dragons are actually mechanical beings.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i feel like its significant that it looks like theyre being preserved by technology in a world where there isnt a lot of technology around or so it seems

TriaElf9

I will say some of the things people have said today are indeed on the right track

now the question is WHICH of the things muhahahah

Alakotila

hmmm yes

where did the tech come from?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I wonder that as well

Respheal

Aliens

Alakotila

ALIENS

Kabocha

They're gods because of the tech!

TriaElf9

that's another emoticon we need

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

"What solved the world crisis?" "Aliens."

Kabocha

any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

The shipping of Atawn and that Guard is the right track, yes? Surely someone already proposed that?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Always blame it on them

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

The Gods are actually aliens. They crash landed here and decided to seal themselves away from the cavemen until there was a decent enough civilization to rule over.

Alakotila

setting ships sailing is fun

snuffysam

actually i don't think anyone mentioned the atawn x guard ship

Kabocha

They gave people enough to get started, then went into stasis until they could take over

snuffysam

even though it's a pretty good one

TriaElf9

I've gotten some comments on the comic about it, but not here yet

Kabocha

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaah, your world isn't comfortable enough... we'll be back when you make it better..."

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

snuffy: Glad I corrected that oversight then.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel the atawn x guard ship is just obvious is all. they got all them googly eyes going.

Kabocha

Ahahaha, right?

Alakotila

LOL rebel

Kabocha

but more than anything, I want to protect them both

Alakotila

do they

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel: Maybe the Guard has a nice sister he wants to marry off, who knows.

Alakotila

I gotta look closer for the googly eyes

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

"I want a smart guy, but not a guy who's TOO smart. The scholar who dehydrates himself will do nicely."

TriaElf9

AHAHAH

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

no the lol part is to the fact i now cant unpicture them with googly craft eyes glued to their eye lids.

http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/supplyimages/564756_1000_1_800.jpg

ya know those kind

TriaElf9

dehydration is definitely something to look for in an SO

Alakotila

oh so those kinds

yeah

I can see how that would give the ship away

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

"Stay hydrated!!"

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

"You know where there's some moisture? In mah mouth..."

TriaElf9

PFFT

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

"I have a spell though." "Oh, well fine."

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

thats gonna be the guard's best selling pick up line book

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

In terms of the fact that there's new characters we haven't met - there's four kingdoms who can lay claim to that one area, right? And we've seen two of them...? Maybe there will be counterpoints to Taria. (Or is Dhiren already one?)

Like, they'll have a Summit.

TriaElf9

Dhiren and Quinel are from another kingdom yeah

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

dhiren and quinel are both from kuvar

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I really want to see the other kingdoms now that you mention it

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

I am SO bad with names.

TriaElf9

The only one we've yet to see is Durhan

lol me too, and I wrote them ahah

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

this is why notes exist

especially when you got a billion fantasy names

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

"There's these four kingdoms, uh... A B C and D."

TriaElf9

I changed the spelling on a few, and I keep getting confused eheh

yuup, I have so many lore notes ehehe

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Do they speak different languages in the different kingdoms, I wonder?

Or is magic the universal langauge?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

thats a good question

about languages

Kabocha

We can probably safely assume the characters all are fairly well educated

Alakotila

Is there a common tongue?

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

When magic's involved, spelling counts.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yes

snuffysam

to be fair, we don't know if the guard is well educated

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Who knows what can happen if you mis-pronounce a certain spell

snuffysam

he may have just been hired to stand there

Kabocha

I dunno, I'm still going with spy theory

TriaElf9

there is at least a common tongue, yes

so far we've seen that and magic

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

snuffy: True, but they probably don't want people who are too dense walking over the scholars.

"This is actually a recipe for biscuits, yes."

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 4. The comic quickly makes it apparent that there are many mysteries afoot regarding the past. In regards to the ruins, what do you think the Miakarna are hiding and why? Did they know about the supposed Akarna there? Are they protecting the land simply because they believe it’s holy? Alternatively, is something else going on? What lengths do you think the Miakarna are willing to go to protect the ruins? Atawn also briefly mentions that magic had not returned to the area the ruins are in. What do you think that means for the past and present day of the story’s world? Of a last note, do you believe the people under the ruins are the Akarna, and if so, what are they doing there?

TriaElf9

SO MANY GOOD QUESTIONS

Kabocha

Qualifications for being a Mikarna guard: -The ability to yell "PROFANER" in at least 3 different languages -Looks good in helmets -OK with bringing the heat(edited)

TriaElf9

EHEHEH

snuffysam

the way the miakarna were acting was like there was a specific thing they didn't want the scholars to find. so i think this was that thing.

TriaElf9

and an almost fanatical devotion to the Akarna

snuffysam

like each day they seemed more worried that the archaeologists were going to find something

Kabocha

The Miakarna probably knew, or had an inkling of what they'd find, just not WHERE and when. And they're hoping to harvest that sweet, sweet cake technology

TriaElf9

hey, cool cake in a desert? priceless

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

snuffy: I got the impression that they didn't know what it was they were even protecting though. Like, they didn't want them to find... something... this is probably it, burn it all.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Of course

use fire at first resort

Great idea

TriaElf9

people knowing things and straying from their control is BAD

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yes(edited)

snuffysam

i'd hate to see what the miakarna will use after fire fails to get atawn

Kabocha

OH GOSH

THE AKARNA KNEW... how to make ice cream cake

like the perfect ice cream cake

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Unless the Miakarna are actually under the mental control of the Akarna. Subconsciously or not.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

im gonna be honest i think its a mix. like the miakarna were told something vague like "this is the final resting place of the akarna" cause there has to be a reason they already considered the land sacred. so they knew theyd find something they either proved that right or wrong. and then ya know, they found pods.

Kabocha

GO HOME EVERYONE WE'VE SOLVED THE CONSPIRACY

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

BY BURNING IT ALL \o/

Kabocha

.............

darnit

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the miakarna being under the control of the akarna sounds interesting though

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel: Or maybe they were just told that where the magic was weakest was the final resting place or something. Way vague, which is why they don't want anyone until they figure it out themselves.

Alakotila

it does make sense they'd have been told something vague AT LEAST in order to consider it sacred

I wonder if they expected to find what they did

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Arkarna are all telepaths.

Kabocha

The Akarna were the ones who made the desert

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

swings pendulum "You are getting... creeeepy."

snuffysam

*dessert, kabo

TriaElf9

PFFT

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

as a general semi crack, semi serious theory, i think theres gonna be war as the miakarna block the others from the ruins. but then theyll wake up an akarna. and then the akarna will yawn and wage an even bigger war and everyone will have to come together to scream oh shit oh shit the gods want to murder us.

Respheal

Ahahaha I can get behind this theory x'D

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

never trust the pod ppl

Respheal

The pod gods

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

better, even more specific

Kabocha

An ancient empire awakens, bent on reclaiming the world they once dominated. A small group of people, drawn together by a common cause, are determined to stop them. However, they face more than threats from the outside.... I mean, the synopsis of the comic is this....

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

dont trust pod gods

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

^

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel, I can totally see that. Suddenly the Miakarna wave the white flags, "Stop shooting at us, we're under attack from within too."

Respheal

Yuuuuuuuuuuuppppp r.i.p. everyone when the pod gods wake up

TriaElf9

author cackling continuessss

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Unless the Gods decide to use the Miakarna as the instruments to wipe out the other kingdoms.

Kabocha

Does "Mi" have a meaning

because Mi-Akarna

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Mama Mia.

Kabocha

are we following hi-fu-mi here

bc if so, this means they're the third iteration of the Akarna's people... potentially

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

mi actually used to be my because the miakarna are the descendants of their slaves O_O

Kabocha

GASP

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

They're also probably great at dodging magic, if they're spending a lot of time defending a region that doesn't use it.

Kabocha

Bwahahahahahaha

So, basically, we can sum this up as: "They're all doomed"

The Akarna join with their faithful servants,and..............................

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

R.I.P. everyone

Kabocha

TAKE OVER THE WORLD

snuffysam

unless a rag-tag group of friends can stop them!

Respheal

Well if the Miakarna consider the Akarna to be gods, I can't imagine it'll take much to convince them to join in on the conquest

ankoart

Everybody wants to rule the world

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe this will be a technology vs magic war. cause the akarna could be technology wizards instead of regular magic wizards. and the akarna are the reason magic went away.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

oooh

That'd be epic

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Leaves it up to the cat dragons to save the day.

ankoart

Cat dragons save the day! That would be the best

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

The smallest and cutest fighters

Kabocha

The akarna are all sudo rm -rf /

snuffysam

the entire story is just the akarna trying to remember the admin password

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

"As soon as we thaw out our army, you'll be in trouble."

(Wasn't there an episode of Star Trek Voyager like that?)

(Dragons Teeth or something.)

snuffysam

use a blow drier to thaw out the army

have to go to the store for extension cords because of the size of the room

it's a whole thing

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Unless blow drier runs on magic. Also, they'll have fabulous hair.

Kabocha

Sam -- you know, they probably just have to boot into single user mode

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

"Aim for the heads." "Why aren't they wearing helmets?" "Would you cover up that hair?"

Kabocha

http://pathways.smackjeeves.com/comics/2595215/pathways-56/ "What, you must be mistaken" Clearly they know what's up

Gaslighting before they torch the place

Respheal

I dunno, might be legitimate surprise

TriaElf9

which one which oneeeee ~dances~

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i read it as legit surprise too

Kabocha

....you missed the joke T_T

TriaElf9

OH

OHHHHH YOU

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i saw it O_O i just dont have a witty response to it XD

Kabocha

ahahahaha

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

TriaElf9

sorry I'm getting prepped for critical role lol

Kabocha

It's ok XD

I'm being awful

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Seeing that panel reminds me, did all characters have slightly pointy ears, or no...?

TriaElf9

I HAVE FAILED YOU

it's mixed

Kabocha

IT'S OK, THIS COMIC IS WONDEFUL

TriaElf9

Dhiren and Quinel both have rounded ears

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Gotcha, thanks. I wondered about races at some point there, then forgot.

TriaElf9

so does Vala

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

I guess it's connected to Kingdoms.

TriaElf9

yup, it's just a little detail ^_^

it's actually not a spoiler or anything, it's just a genetic variation in this world

like connected earlobes or detached earlobes

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Nice detail. Actually, really good artwork, given the large setting too.

Kabocha

I'm 100% here for the pointy ears

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

interesting.

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

There's also, like, foreground-background in places.

Kabocha

@TriaElf9 -- now, I have to ask one question before it gets to the end... Is ther ea character we'll get to shout "YOU HAD ONE JOB" at

and will they have a ribbon

TriaElf9

it's more of a "this isn't Earth" tidbits ^_^

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

is there any sort of discrimination caused by the difference in ears or is everyone shrugging about it?

TriaElf9

also I like pointed ears ahaha(edited)

Alakotila

me too

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

The person who made the large cloak, when it fails and Atawn is seen. Had one job.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Mind of I say one last thing before this chat ends?

TriaElf9

for sure!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Because this is an incredible read so far with lots of cool (and sometimes cute!) ideas and I love everything about it thus far

TriaElf9

eeee ^////^

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hope it continues on and we experience a lot more about this world you created

(and long live candy ices!)

TriaElf9

I've been working on this comic for a few years now, building the world, I'm so glad people are liking ittt ^_^

oh it'll keep going for sure ^_^

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Glad to hear!

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Is Tuvana the land or the planet?

TriaElf9

and if we hit the next goal on my patreon, it'll reliably update twice a week

ankoart

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Sweet!

TriaElf9

instead of my 1-2-1-2 pattern I have now

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah the effort put into the world really shows through. its got a lot of those necessary details that really bring the foreignness to fruition.

TriaElf9

it's both

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Gotcha.

TriaElf9

the world is the land is the planet

TriaElf9

Tuvana is what they call the whole thing, and then there are 4 distinct countries

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Helps the aliens out that way.

TriaElf9

heheheheh

hey it does have a dash of sci fi ^_-

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That's cool~

TriaElf9

I've only had one panel with it I think, but keep an eye on the sky, there are a few cool things there ^_-

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, definitely didn't expect the pods... I wonder if they're all actually functioning? Oooh, what if they're all just holograms?

"Thank you for opening my pod, this is a recorded message..."

TriaElf9

EHEHE

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

"...to build the thermonuclear device, insert tab A..."

Respheal

Now I'm going back through, looking at all the sky shots lmao

Divulge your secreeeeets(edited)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel like some of the pods must of failed maybe. at the very least i can hear them waking up and being like "General Lod is okay but General Joe Bob kicked the bucket I'm afraid."

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Always nice to have reasons to go back. Like, even hair has tufts and strands.

Kabocha

AHAHAHAHAHAHHA

TriaElf9

it'll show up more in coming pages

Kabocha

I can't wait to read more

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Same here~

TriaElf9

but the night sky has a little fun thing ^_-

MathTans the super Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel: Hope they took out life insurance.

snuffysam

looking forward to more world building!

Kabocha

I want to see more cuties

TriaElf9

oh there will be more cuties for SURE

also more world building

Kabocha

EVERYONE IS ADORABLE NEED ALL OF THEM ALL THE TIME

TriaElf9

chapter 4 we get some world lore AND some cuties

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY END!

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party time is now up~! Thank you everyone so much for reading and joining this week’s chat~! We want to give a special thank you to Elaine Tipping, as well, for making Pathways: Chronicles of Tuvana and volunteering it for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Elaine Tipping’s efforts however you’re able to. All that being said, if you would like to continue discussing this week’s comic, we highly encourage you to do so~!

For next week, Comic Tea Party will focus on The J-Man by Jonny Aleksey. As always, please use the next several days to read as much of the comic as you would like. We hope to see you next Thursday on August 30th from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat~! Until then, happy reading~! @The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey Comic: http://jonnyalekseydrawscomics.com/thelatestpage/

[dailynewswebsite]

Scotland could vote to separate in 2021, testing Canada’s independence formula

A Scottish Saltire flag hangs within the window of an house in Edinburgh, Scotland, subsequent to the EU flag in August 2020. Scottish might vote to separate from the U.Okay. in 2021. (AP Picture/David Cheskin)

If the Scottish Nationwide Social gathering wins Scotland’s parliamentary election in 5 months, it will likely be with a mandate to carry a second independence referendum.

Scotland took the concept a lawful path to independence exists from the Québec expertise, extra particularly from a Canadian ruling on Québec secession. If it involves a constitutional disaster in the UK, nevertheless, the British steadiness of powers might make a Canadian-style compromise not possible.

With Brexit negotiations lastly full, a strategy of nationwide reckoning will quickly start which will determine whether or not the British union survives with its political and constitutional traditions intact.

Canada confronted an analogous reckoning within the 1990s after a punishing sequence of failed constitutional negotiations mixed with an in depth referendum in Québec to make the independence query unavoidable.

Canada’s Supreme Court docket performed a job

Confronted with the prospect of a profitable vote in Québec, the Canadian authorities turned to the Supreme Court docket for recommendation. The 1998 Québec Secession Reference case established referendums as a lawful means to professional independence, acknowledged Québec’s proper to secede and obliged all events to barter an exit in good religion.

Canada was introduced up to now as a result of Québec held the ability to ballot its personal voters. Whether or not Scotland has the identical proper is disputed, so Scottish plans to carry an independence vote as early as 2021 units up a messy confrontation.

The Canadian judgment held that as long as a referendum returned a “clear majority on a transparent query,” the democratic implications of an independence vote couldn’t be ignored. The choice was hailed on the time as even-handed; in actuality it was a combined blessing.

It promised to manage the method of political divorce and supplied the worldwide group a yardstick for recognizing new states, however the query of what constitutes readability was by no means resolved, merely assigned to the Canadian authorities to determine. But if a referendum delivers credibility and an obligation to barter, the motivation for nationwide governments to impede session amongst minorities soars.

Think about, as an illustration, the spectacle of riot police seizing poll packing containers in a 2017 Catalan referendum after the Spanish Supreme Court docket declared it unlawful to ballot voters on independence.

A person holds a poll field throughout a protest in help of Catalonian politicians jailed on expenses of sedition and condemning the arrest of Catalonia’s former president, Carles Puigdemont in Germany, throughout a protest in Barcelona in March 2018. (AP Picture/Santi Palacios)

Shut Scottish vote in 2014

An unexpectedly shut Scottish independence vote in 2014, adopted by an unequivocal Scottish “no” to Brexit within the 2016 referendum, made divergent views inside the U.Okay. extra urgent.

The 2014 “indyref,” because it grew to become identified, was performed beneath a joint Edinburgh-London settlement and used a co-negotiated query meant to settle the matter for a era.

Scotland by no means conceded it wanted the settlement, nevertheless it was in everybody’s curiosity to keep away from testing the query constitutionally. Nonetheless, Scotland made Canadian-style readability a watchword of its referendum train, and when the outcomes turned out nearer than anticipated, stakes had been raised.

Fifty-five per cent voted towards independence however solely after an 11th-hour pledge to increase new powers to Scotland.

College students on the College of Montréal watch on their laptops as polls shut within the Scottish referendum in September 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

That was when EU membership was nonetheless a perk of union. Now, independence presents one of the best probability for Scotland to rejoin the EU. The Scottish authorities maintains Brexit makes a brand new vote crucial. The British authorities insists the matter is closed.

If help for independence continues to climb, Scotland’s demand can be arduous to refuse with out transparently muzzling in style voice. If the Scottish authorities presses forward with plans for what London considers an illegal vote, it might plunge the nation into constitutional disaster.

Classes from Canada?

How did Canada keep away from the deadlock looming within the U.Okay.?

In some ways it didn’t; the tensions of the 1990s practically tore the nation aside. The Canadian Structure is not any extra enlightened than the British relating to secession. Because the saying goes “the structure shouldn’t be a suicide pact,” and specifying phrases for its expiry appears perverse.

However whereas some constitutions, like Spain’s, declare nationwide union “indissoluble,” Canada’s is silent on the query. Canada largely inherited its constitutional construction from the British, though not fully, and it crafted a unprecedented system for reconstitution out of that legacy.

Montréal riot police watch a fireplace burn beneath a Oui signal after the No aspect gained the Québec referendum in October 1995. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tom Hansen

The Supreme Court docket judgment labored like oil on troubled waters, establishing rights for Québec and Canada alike. However it was the steadiness of energy within the Canadian federation that in the end proved the actual saviour of Canada.

As a result of there was no stopping a Québec referendum, there was no silencing the independence query. The ruling defused the standoff by insisting an unwilling Québec couldn’t be held hostage to union, and {that a} democratic federation meant heeding democratic voice.

Québec has declined to make use of its new proper of democratically chosen exit. Merely having it acknowledged has up to now confirmed ample. For democratic voice to be heeded although, it should first be heard.

By elevating the stakes on independence votes, the judgment that saved the Canadian union might have made it harder to achieve an answer in areas the place nationwide co-operation is required to ballot an voters. In that case, it’s not the readability of a referendum that issues — it’s the capability to carry one in any respect.

Catherine Frost receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/scotland-could-vote-to-separate-in-2021-testing-canadas-independence-formula/ via https://growthnews.in