#i don't pretend to be an authority and my thoughts are incomplete. but yeah

[fallen-knight]

Hello! The portrayal of the Gerudo is something I've also thought a lot about - as someone who dearly loves BotW, but also values sensible character design/worldbuilding and respect to real-life cultures, it's one of my few real problems with the game. So far, the core issues I've gathered from the conversation are:

the out-of-universe design and writing choices uncritically perpetuate orientalist tropes and sexualization of women and people of color, and

the designs (in particular clothing and armor) make little sense in-universe for a group of desert-dwelling warriors.

Both points can be resolved by researching and thoughtfully implementing designs inspired by the real-life desert cultures whom the Gerudo were based on - broadly speaking, various peoples of North Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. I can offer a limited perspective on this kind of design process from an in-universe standpoint; far more qualified people have explored the real-life angles in depth. I'd recommend blackautmedia's analysis video for one, if you haven't encountered it already.

So, to break it down further, the problematic and impractical aspects of Gerudo outfit design, and potential solutions for them, include:

high heels that would realistically be terrible on sand (solution: for characters who travel outside of cities, their footwear can be changed to flat or low-heeled slippers or sand boots - of which we do have ingame examples that are said to be worn by Gerudo, though they aren't actually modeled on anyone besides Link iirc),

warriors having armor that exposes vital organs and limbs (solution: extending the breastplate to protect the abdomen, and perhaps adding metal or padded cloth/leather armor to protect the limbs), and

not enough outer layers of light, flowing fabric to help protect from sun and heat (solution: adding cloaks, robes, or other loose garments, patterned after the actual clothes that people living in deserts traditionally wear day-to-day - even magical sapphire jewelry can only go so far against sunstroke, after all.)

Here are some very old, very rough Urbosa redesign concepts from my own drafts that took these ideas into account, while trying to stay close to her ingame appearance. First one went for an OoT Ganondorf-inspired layer of leather armor, second changed it for a Grecian-style muscle cuirass (taking the Gerudo's mythical Amazon inspiration into account), and both versions have sand boots and a cloak for traveling. These are just a few ideas, I'm still figuring it out - and of course, there are many other ways you could alter her design.

And under the cut are some of my favorite Gerudo redesigns by various artists, to give examples of different ways the original designs can be changed for the better, while staying recognizable and true to the characters.

Hope this is helpful in some way! It's been awesome to see your art progress so far, and I'm excited to see how the animatic turns out.

Hello,

I’m trying to draw Urbosa (botw) for my animatic, she’s only in one panel, but I’m unsure of how to draw her in a way that isn’t orientalist or racist in the way Nintendo keeps pushing. I want to try to modify her outfit to be more respectful but I’m unsure where to start, if anyone has ideas or resources I’d be eternally grateful. Thank you so much, I just want to do this character justice in a way the game refuses to do for her.

[ac-liveblogs]

Munchen Bastard vs Manshine City: The Finale

This panel is inexplicably hilarious to me. Isagi reflects so calmly on that batshit match like he and Kaiser were being completely normal and reasonable. That was an average match. Nothing to see or comment on there.

Is it still a technical foul if the one you're assaulting is on your own team? Anyway.

...god, I want to see what Blue Lock TV has to say about that one. You know it's wild when Nagi and Reo go full uh... Nagi and Reo, and they're still not the biggest trainwreck ('most interesting') of a duo on the field.

Ego talking about Nagi's goal as a one-hit wonder is interesting, because I think he's right that Nagi will never be able to replicate it. Nagi could barely keep that same energy going for the match he was already in, let alone another one. Nagi, whose only real faults read as 'just less experienced than everyone else', seems to finally be getting a real flaw he'll have to work on - motivation. Which is interesting, right, given his motivation is supposed to be getting the world cup with Reo - but that's not a big enough driver to keep him really going? Episode Nagi's reframing of events seems mildly contradictory in that way. Guess we'll see how it goes.

Suddenly, Yukimiya. You know a guy is screwed when he starts saying shit like "god never gives you more than you can handle!" He can pretend he's gonna be a player all he wants, I don't think he's coming back in any major capacity.

Oh yeah, speaking of Isagi blasting past people regardless of their sad backstories, Sae is inevitably going to be Isagi's midfielder later, right? Because screw Rin, right? That's awesome, I can't wait.

I don't know much about soccer, but as a 'playmaker' who is very good at strategic passing, would Isagi be better off as a midfielder like Sae? Is that a criminal thing to say. I'm sorry. Isagi's just really bad at actually scoring goals lately. Maybe he should refocus. Since he apparently thinks he doesn't need any special moves to get one over on Kaiser, he might want to build the skillset he definitely already has. (amazed at Isagi's hyper-confident bullshit).

Kaiser just like. Ruined a goal. For his own teammate. Is that legal? Should it be illegal? Obviously this shit can only happen in Blue Lock but is it REALLY something sponsors are gonna like like. 'oh yeah that's a good team player that guy he'll work really well in a team', REALLY?

I guess teams only seem to consist of like max. four relevant people at any one time so what does it matter... the author only sometimes remembers Chigiri and Kunigami are around... particularly insulting for Kunigami all things considered.

Actually, it'd be so cool if Kira reappears after Wild Card as a final joker card boss or something. I'd love that. Please do that. I'll be sad if that doesn't happen now.

Just once, I want to see these jackasses go up against a really competent goalie. I want Kaiser Impact stopped dead. Just once. Please.

For real though, it does make their soccer feel pretty 'incomplete' that other players like that aren't really accounted for. These guys don't feel like they're training to go up against really competent defense or anything. Maybe the author just doesn't think it exists. I don't know.

Backstory: I played soccer for two years in primary school, and the first year I was defense. Our forwards were so competent the ball very rarely came anywhere near us, so I didn't have to be good or anything. It's not like I could do much if it did. So my soccer experience is entirely consistent with Blue Lock, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! Why are these pro athletes on the same level as me at age 10!

Ness is so funny. I want to see his Kaiser stan account's deranged blogging of the entire Blue Lock experience.

I love that Isagi thought so hard he passed out. "Metavision" is so funny.

One, why is Noa's bedroom some sci-fi alien ship. Two, why was Isagi taken THERE when he passed out. Did Ego just like. Not fund an infirmary? Is that where Blue Lock cut costs? I'd buy it.

Noa's just watching his team burn with a completely impassive face. Man he does not give a SHIT, I bet he's loving Kaiser getting assaulted by some random high schooler.

The idea that Ego ever actually played soccer is bonkers to me. Like, it makes perfect sense. But I don't buy it. Seeing that guy in soccer shorts will actually make my brain melt out my ears.

But of course Blue Lock, designed to attract/produce guys that are not even remotely normal about each other, was founded by a guy that is also not normal about another dude. Phenomenal stuff.

Bastard Munchen's sponsors watching Isagi and Kaiser brutalise each other on the field like "yeah we want that all the time actually"

I expected Shidou to rank much higher given his U-20 showing. How is he so much lower than Rin? Does Rin just knock him unconscious before every match?

If I were told I had the same worth as Ness I think I'd kill myself.

LET'S GO BAROUUUUUU

[gayerthanthee]

Hearts and Halos|| The Privacy-Snooper

Chapter Two: The Privacy-Snooper

Previous Chapter: Hearts and Halos|| Pale White Feathers

Summary: From years of walking the Earth, James Buchanan Barnes hasn't been successful in his love life. Despite his looks, skills, charming personality and his sex/non-sex appeal, he couldn't find the right one. But when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he meets the unthinkable; an Angel. Not just any Angel, a Cupid that God sent Himself.

And so, he's in for a long, long ride, and the hunt for Bucky's Significant Other finally begins.

Named/Mentioned Character/s:

Bucky Barnes

(y/n) (l/n)

God

Steve Rogers

Natasha Romanoff(mentioned)

Tony Stark(mentioned)

Clint Barton(mentioned)

Warning/s:

Just a little Bucky breakdown, not a full one. But still kinda stings.

Word Count:

1819

Author's note/s:

If you're a religious person or not, it doesn't change how I can treat you. It's based on your attitude to me. But bringing that up, here, you are an Angel of God. You lived your life as a human on Earth and died and became an Angel and chose to be an Angel of Love, a Cupid. So no matter what belief you have, this is simply fictional and I hope to not make things heavy. This, all about God and Heaven, is for the sake of this AU. With that out, I hope you at least liked the last and like this as much as you did.:)

---

'Is that an angel snooping my diary?'

HEAVEN

A luminous beam of light was conjured in the  extravagant palace of Heaven. Yes, Heaven existed, like how Earth did. It was where the good and the pardoned resided after death. The after life of the deceased creations by the Almighty. Where souls and Angels lived. You might ask, don't the dead become Angels too once they get to Heaven? It's a little like that, you're right. But to be specific, yes, they become Angels, with halos and white wings. But not all of them are the same.

Once you get to the Gates of Heaven, you will be an Angel once you're deemed good throughout your life as a human, and you're officially welcomed in the haven. There, you may live peacefully and serene, with a home inside or out the main palace of Heaven. And, if you want to have responcibilities, you may talk to God in his place in the palace. He can give you what he can give. It's either being a Guardian Angel, an Archangel, and assistant or others. In (y/n)'s case, she chose to be a Cupid.

When the light dispersed, it showed (y/n) in her form as a Cupid. In white robes that embraced her body perfectly. Gladiator sandals that reached her knees, and a mystical bag that could carry almost anything. And last but not the least, a golden halo that was suspended ontop of her head, her pale white wings folded on her back.

As she walked towards God's office she looked for her love journal in her bag, pulling it out when she sees it. When she arrived on front of God's door she twisted the knob when she saw the rectangular green light on top.

"Oh, (y/n). Good to see you, my child." He greeted when he sees one of his hard-working Cupids.

"Hi Boss, good to see you too." She greeted too after shutting the door with a smile. "Er, I have a question, something about my job."

She neared his desk and laid the book before him. Opening it and turning to the last pages, it showed information about Bucky. His biography, the arcs of his life, how he is as a person, but his Significant Other was empty and his future was incomplete. And the other page, that was supposed to show about the person for him was complete empty. Except for the gender, though. "Why is it like this? Why doesn't it tell about Barnes' Significant Other?"

God raised his brows and smiled. "But it does tell about his Other," He paused and pointed down at the only information it had and this time, smiled cheekily. "it's a female."

(y/n) knew about that. She looked down at where he pointed and her brow furrows, before looking at her boss. "What is this all about, Boss?"

God had started to chuckle. "I thought you'd never ask. This whole mystery," He circled the pages, continuing. "is for me to know and for you to find out."

"What?" She cried. "Did you just get that out of a human' T.V. show?"

"Hmm, maybe?" "Come on Boss, what is this about, please?"

God saw the plead in her eyes, and was almost convinced to tell him who the Other was.

He sighed. "Think of it as a puzzle. A last challenge before stepping down from your title. But I'm telling you, you'll be thanking me after you fulfil this last mission. So you can't back out now."

"Can I at least have any hints, and clues?"

"Of course, you can. I can't resist one of my children, now can I?"

《♡》

SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA, EARTH

Bucky loved his best friend like his own brother, but you know how brothers can be sometimes. They can be a little bit..much.

Since Bucky told Steve of his little semi-episode earlier, he started to overreact a bit. Again, a bit...much.

"So I talked to Tony and told him to have security heightened around you just to make sure you're safe and I advice you not to get out much and make sure you don't lock yourself up and-"

"Steve," "-I don't want to hear you getting chased by-" "Steve." "-some goons and-"

"Jesus Christ Steve I know you care so much but you're getting a bit too much and it isn't helping the freaking situation much."

Bucky's chest was heaving as he chased his breath from the short outburst, but his eyes softened up at his pal when his mood seemed to droop.

"Look, I'm sorry for--I dunno, raising my voice at you? Yeah. But Steve, you gotta keep in mind that panicking like-" He gestured towards Steve from beside him. "-that doesn't really help. You're more worried than the person who's already a little jumpy."

The other man sighed. "I know." And he sighed again, by inhaling longer and letting it all out. "Yeah I know and I'm sorry. You know I can't-I can't help it." With that, he stared into his best friend's eyes with such emotion. "I just can't afford to lose my pal. Again."

Bucky nodded with an understanding smile, and pats Steve's back to try and pat away his worries somehow. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, bud."

Steve smiled back, albeit a little unsure, but nodded nonetheless.

"Mr. Rogers, Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Barton are waiting for you in the quinjet."

Steve raised his brows and looked up at the ceiling, a habit everytime he heard FRIDAY. Don't worry though, I assure you he's starting to get used to the A.I. He's improving.

"Welp, there's my cue," He stands and shifts his uniform properly. "stay safe. And keep an eye out, too."

Seeing Bucky nod carefully at his request, he attaches his shield to his back and turns away, leaving the compound. Leaving Bucky all on his own.

《♢》

Chewing at his gum, the (h/c)-headed man walked through the aisles of the grocery shop, making sure the man he's after doesn't lose his sight. He looks at the round mirror on the corner of the store, and saw the brunette take the canned food from the shelf and put it in his cart; turned his back and pushed the full trolley before pausing at his steps, slowly darting his eyes around and continuing his way to the counter.

The (h/c)head walked carefully as he pretended to examine the dairy products on the aisle he was at, placing a carton of milk on his basket. Watching the man from the corner of his eye.

He watched as the brunette man checked out his items and walked out of the shop, so he puts back the carton of milk and drops the basket carefully on the ground; walking briskly to follow the man he's pursuing and chucking out his gum to the garbage bin without batting an eye.

Bucky had gotten out after lunch to buy the groceries. He felt like he wanted to go out at the moment, but still, he had a reason why. Hmph, all this despite Steve's light request. Mean.

Without a doubt, he was being followed again. No, he didn't just have a hunch, he was sure. He saw the man looking at him as Bucky took a glance on the round mirror above the entrance of the small shop. And after checking out, he immediately left and tested if he was definitely the follower.

Bucky, with the plastic bags, went to the ice cream vendor who had his stand near the park. He thought of stopping for a while to see if the familiar man was still there, but at the same time he really did want to have ice cream, though. Nothing bad with that.

After purchasing his cone he sat on a bench and rested, giving his legs a break. He takes a harmless lick on the dairy and carefully devours it, savoring the sweetness of the ice cream, and as he does so, his eyes shoot from one direction to another. He's not here. The man's not anywhere. He lost sight of his follower.

Was he being followed, or was he not? He was very sure he was. Even I was, whoops.

And so, our man here sighs and walks the pavement under the now darkening evening. Clouds and clouds seeming to embrace the stars from above, accompanied by the moon who replaced the sun's place in the sky.

Then he makes a sharp turn and walks into the darkness of an alley.

He leans his back into the concrete wall and anticipated for the other sound of footsteps to continue and inch closer. He waited for seconds. And seconds turned to minutes, until it felt like forever, which makes him finally decide to sneak a peak out the alley.

No sight of the man.

He felt stupid. But Bucky felt it. Again. And when he thought he could get the chance to finally confront him, that's just what it was. A thought.

《♧》

From his kneeling position by his bed, he stood, and wiped his tired face wih his hands, pulling at his hair when he held it.

He pulled his hair harshly, as if he waited for scalp to tear from his head. His teeth were bared as he grinded them. His head shaking the slightest.

Bucky was frustrated. He was frustrated at the man who he couldn't grasp. He was frustrated at the situation. He was frustrated at himself. At how he was weak and helpless.

He could feel the gaping hole in his chest. The way it was empty as if something was torn from inside him. He was panting. Hoping that each and every breath he took would feel the vacancy inside his empty but beating heart.

Eventually, his actions started to cease. His face was untensed and he calmed his breath. He wiped away the tears that made their way down his cheeks and wiped what was left from his eyes.

He dropped his bottom to his bed and inched towards the middle, enveloping his comforter around his defeated form as he forced himself to rest. For his emotions to cease.

He blindly reached for the lamp as his eyes were shut. When he felt the little rope, he pulls it down gently, turning out the light before he slept.

He didn't know how long he was asleep and what time he did, but he definitely knew it wasn't long.

But where did the sudden and gentle luminosity before his screwed eyelids come from?

Then he heard it. The sound of paper scraping lightly against paper. The silent mumbling out loud from behind him.

When he peaked through his eyelids, he saw the dark abyss of a sky from the gap of his curtains. And when he looked from the corner of his eye, the ceiling's light was off. Even the lamp was off, being in that side of his room. The intense light on his walls must be coming from this intruder's torch.

Slowly, he turned his body to the other side and his eyes flew wide at what he was witnessing, before narrowing to observe better.

'Is that an angel snooping my diary?'

----

I'm back! Sorry for being gone. I actually got this done since last week but I didn't get to put it in Tumblr. But now I got it though:))

Be safe!

-Xandra

[bogkeep]

i was looking through goodreads reviews to see if anyone else had the same problems i did, and i DID find this after scrolling through multiple reviews praising jj abrams for his genius (insert the longest, deepest, groaniest sigh imaginable here):

It was almost entirely perfect were it not for the Obituary. Being Brazilian, one of my biggest pet peeves – in books, movies, TV series – is when they depict Brazilians speaking Spanish. We don’t. And Abrams/Dorst thankfully used Portuguese when Brazil was involved in the storyline. In all of it, but a little piece of the Obituary, which was all in Portuguese except for 12 little displaced Spanish words left unnoticed by the editors. I know it seems like nothing, but in a book like this, where every minor detail counts toward bringing the whole story together, it broke the magic a little bit.

truly this book was not intended to be read by bilinguals! which sucks because it was the multilingual aspect of it that drew me in, so i had foolishly hoped it would be like, accurate? i'm not expecting every cultural detail to be perfectly spot on, but they could at least had a couple consultants look over it before publishing. or as a friend pointed out - it didn't NEED to involve other languages! this project is plenty ambitious even without involving other languages for Fun International Flavour. the creators bit off more than they were willing to chew.

and yeah no my real problem isn't getting some words wrong, it's just the unwillingness to engage with its own premise in a way that feels true. why pretend it's a translation if you're not going to treat it as a translated text? i get that there's something about the Mysterious Tenth Chapter that the translator may or may not have completely made up, but it didn't have to be a translator. it could be a publisher or any other person who was handed the incomplete script.

also, i maybe i'm just poisoned from a decade on tumblr but i see literal teens write really thoughtful analysis of fiction and literature every single day. meanwhile, the characters of this book:

old pencil notes: "so is the monkey S.'s familiar or his rival? blue pen: "or both... which is funny, i think." black pen: "but dark, too - being at odd with another version of yourself..." blue pen: "isn't that pretty much the definition of *regret*, though? i mean, you don't have to be some tortured artist (or scholar) to feel that way."

like... there's a lot of stuff like this. it reads very fake deep to me, like instagram poetry that's just a Relatable Feeling that would've lived its best life as a tweet. a lot of "oh... this is so real... imagine feeling LONELY... waow..."

the thing about academia and analysis is that it builds on top of existing discourse. it means deconstructing the overarching themes of a story rather than pointing out lines that are relatable and pretend that they're deeply profound for it. i'm happy to discuss the blueness of the curtains but what these characters are doing is "my curtains are blue too" or "this person had blue curtains once; maybe he's the author". idk man it just doesn't feel that smart to me! on one hand i understand that the book needs to be accessible to people outside of academia, but it's also set itself up to be this super intricate ARG but it's all tell no show!!

MAYBE IT GETS BETTER WHO'S TO SAY

some time ago i watched This Video about ergodic literature and got inspired to get the book S. by jj abrams & doug dorst. i've finally started reading it and i have Thoughts

the video i linked shows and explains the premise of the book, but here's the tl;dr - two students(ish) are writing annotations in the margins of a novel called 'ship of theseus' by mysterious author V M Straka while passing it back and forth. they are getting to know each other as well as trying to solve the mystery of Straka. it's a non-linear epistolary story told through a footnotes, scribbled comments, and inserts such as postcards et cetera.

there's a couple reason this book caught my eye in particular:

- i love "two people getting to know each other through letters/accidental text messages/notes" trope. it may just be the internet denizen in me but i'm a sucker for characters who get to know each other through text.

- immediately intruiged by the mystery author's name, Straka - it means magpie in czech, so i feel like i'm getting a head start on the mystery because i'm the specialest little boy in the world!!!!

- it looks cool as hell

(i purchased a used copy that was apparently a library copy so it feels extra Authentic hehe)

ANYWAY i'm still very early in, but i have many impressions to chew on already. first off, i really love the whole premise/medium, and it looks Really Good. there's a lot of really cool details that make it look authentic (if we ignore the COMICALLY LARGE MARGINS) - the book absolutely looks like something i could find in my grandparents' bookshelf. the comments being written in different colours of pen to signal when in the chronology they were written is very good. everything is pointing to a Very Fun and Immersive reading experience.

howeverrrrrrrrrr

while i Am having fun so far, there's also a lot of details that keep shaking my suspension of disbelief. like i am trying my best to hold on to it - im accepting the Comically Large Margins and the silly premise that these two people absolutely had to pass the book back and forth to communicate. like i am fully on board with that. it's just... i feel like this book is trying to Appear more clever than it actually is?

i think maybe the main problem for Me Specifically is that it's pretending to be a book written by a Probably European author and translated to english, but S. was so obviously written/created by americans and not intended to be read by someone who knows any of the languages they're dragging into this.

i was correct in assuming Straka is meant to be czech, as ship of theseus was originally written in czech - but it's weird to me that the narrative is completely uninterested in like... the original? there is a foreword by the translator, who goes on and on about the mysterious circumstances under which v m straka died, but the fact that the original language is czech is mentioned in a *footnote*. i would think a foreword by a translator would, realistically, say more about their credentials or their actual process of translating. or is that weird??? i took a class in classical literature in uni where that's kind of a big deal so maybe i'm biased???

BUT ALSO the fact that straka's identity is So very mysterious and very possibly a pseudonym... if you're like, genuinely trying to untangle this mystery, wouldn't you make a note about the meaning of the name??? like wouldn't you put a picture of a magpie on your conspiracy board about it?? Straka is absolutely a valid czech surname because most czech surnames are seemingly random nouns or adjectives, but if you think it's a pseudonym then someone made a very deliberate choice!!!! HELLO!!!!!!

then they listed the names of people who are thought to possibly be v m straka (of varying nationalities), and like okay maybe i'm nitpicking but i has to take a pen and fix some of them. they used SOME special letters for some of the names but very sporadically - they wrote vaclav instead of václav, and ekstrom instead of ekström... like at least be consistent if you're going to ignore special letters!

the worst language offender by far is this:

if you want "the monkey dances" it's "opice tancuje". you could also do "opičí tanec" for "the monkey's dance". this particular abomination is causing me physical pain.

one of the first inserts i ran into was a letter written in swedish + a direct translation:

GUESS WHAT I CAN READ SWEDISH TOO... i can't tell if the "original" letter is supposed to be the swedish or the english one - while the swedish seems to be grammatically correct (I THINK), it extremely reads as Something Written In English And Getting As Directly Translated To Swedish As Possible. it reads very stilted and oddly phrased. i get the impression i'm not actually supposed to be able to understand it, it's just here for Flavour, and that's fine! this one i can easily justify as the swedish being the in universe translation.

here's another very small thing that made me sigh very deeply

"at what point does this book stop being straka's alone & become *theirs*?" THE BOOK IS CALLED SHIP OF THESEUS. AREN'T YOU GUYS DOING LITERARY ANALYSIS OVER HERE??? IT'S THE FIRST CHAPTER AND YOU'RE JUST SPELLING OUT THE PREMISE TO ME TO THE POINT OF CONDESCENSION.

like. okay. maybe not everyone knows what the ship of theseus refers to (also i want to point out it feels like a very english language phrase to me. it Does exist in czech but it doesn't sound like a good or catchy title i think) - but i really do feel like two university students doing a deep dive into this book + author would 100% analyse the meaning of the title, that's like 101 level stuff!! this comment would be so easy to save - just have Mr Black Pen add a quippy comment about this being a bit on the nose, or pointing out the aptness or irony of the title, Anything. it would add so much to the believability for me.

like i didn't study literature at a higher education level so maybe i'm completely off base, but i DID study art history, and it seems almost absurd to me that these characters are doing so much digging and mystery solving about the author's mysterious past and rereading all of his books to find out more... and not engage with the basicest basics such as, the original text(s) pre-translation, possible cultural contexts, tHE TITLE... why are they drawing connections from choices made BY THE TRANSLATOR that absolutely would not be there in the original czech!! !!???!!!????!!

anyway my biggest actual problem so far is that i'm really struggling to read the actual ship of theseus. i have fun reading the annotations, but the actual book... i am Struggling. i've never been any good at reading ~*The Classics*~ so it might just not be my vibe, but i'm not sure if TOS is even a Good Book? like in this universe it's Allegedly a classic and very iconic or whatever. and obviously it's a challenge to write A Classic that makes its mark on history. and gods know there's discourse about whether or not The Classics are actually good books and that's way above my paygrade. but idk i couldn't get through chapter 1 without skimming through it because it kept boring me so bad.

i suspect i might just, keep reading the annotations storyline and not bother too much with the 'book' part of the book. i genuinely wanna see where the story goes!! despite my complaints i Am sold on the emotional core of it.

i think the premise rules so hard but i really feel like the authors are too monolingual and american and maybe haven't read that many books????? i can't speak on the latter but the former.............. maybe im the one who's too european