#i probably should have expected this since percy was in the theme song

[percyjacksonblog]

I just finished the first Trials of Apollo book and I got to say, I actually enjoyed it.

I read the original 5 PJOs from 2007-9. 6th grade to 7th grade. Then starting in 2010 (?) when The Lost Hero came out I read each of the HoO books as they came out. I think I was a freshman in college (2014?) when the last one came out, so I can honestly say I grew up with these characters and this world.

I don’t remember why I didn’t read any of the Trials of Apollo books before but it was nice to come back to this world. I read PJO 6 when it came out last fall and it sparked my love of reading these stories again, so I read The Hidden Oracle to continue this story to keep up to date in this world.

Spoilers ahead

So as I mentioned before I did like this book.

It’s been literal years since I read any of TLF, but I did get some major TLF vibes from it. The set up for the rest of the series is pretty good.

Haikus for chapter titles A+

Showing that the mythic world is always growing and there is a new generation of Demigods (Clarisse, and Travis going to college, Percy and Annabeth in their senior year)

Cameos from og characters like Connor, Percy, Malcolm, Nico, and Will

Interesting take that once Apollo and Meg arrived at camp they technically never left. I think except for BotL and TLO this book and the most limited outside of camp action. Not a bad thing, just a different experience.

Peaches!

I’m not going to lie I genuinely did not expect that twist! I was legitimately shocked. Looking back I feel like I could have picked up on some of the clues. I mean imperial gold swords…come on. That should have been a dead giveaway.

Apollo really did grow as a character this book. I’m very interested to see how else he grows.

My biggest question is, if Apollo is supposed to be Lester, why don’t the other demigods refer to him as Lester? Like what is the point of an entirely different identity if it’s really not used? Apollo only refers to himself as Lester when he’s complaining about mortality or feeling useless. Maybe it’s more important later but I feel like making an entirely new identity, one that Nero and probably the rest of the Triumvirate can see through, is kind of pointless. One of the themes of this book is acceptance, so maybe when Apollo totally accepts “Lester” that’s the end.

So much of this was too easily accomplished by Apollo or Apollo/Meg. They were met with a problem and it was almost solved too easily. The thugs in the beginning, Meg beat them up. Attacked by plague spirits, Meg summons Peaches, trapped in the cocoon made by ants and almost about to be eaten, flower seeds that your 1/2 sister gave you before your quest. Trying to fight off ants, just sing a song and they’ll be mesmerized. Don’t get me wrong I loved all those scenes, but the only time that any of the characters actually struggled was fighting Nero. Even when they’re fighting the giant statue, Apollo’s arrow magically gets helped by the wind.

I really hope Apollo finds Meg. I have the second book ready to go and will start reading it. I need her to come back to camp. That poor girl had been emotionally and mentally abused by Nero. She was also manipulated by him and I feel so sorry for her.

Leo coming back to camp and Nico setting up a queue to allow the campers to punch him was legitimately one of the funniest things I’ve read in the entire Percy Jackson world.

Calypso giving up immortality is huge. Her reunion with Percy was also funny.

Apollo’s reaction to Calypso was also amazing (juicy gossip. Don’t ask me later.) If Percy is the god of sass, Apollo is literally the god of gossip. I love it.

I’m excited to keep going with this series. It’s nice to that I don’t have to wait until the next book gets published because it’s already out.

[zecoritheweirdone]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—

[fbfh]

here’s to always finding each other

pairing: percy x gn child of calliope reader

wc: 1.6k

warnings: percy kisses reader following a prior agreement that they don’t remember but it’s 100% consentual, you work retail, a hell yeah, memory loss, I think that’s it

summary: You didn’t really expect to have to spend your entire eight hour shift organizing shoe wax any more than you expected your fictional crush from middle school to be real and your boyfriend. Only one of those happened (and the shoe wax was still very disorganized when you left).

song rec: this lofi mix, boba manifesto - chris flemming (mostly as a joke but it slaps)

a/n: i am wOrKiNg oN tHiNgS!!!!!! It’s going well!!! expect some fun surprises soon!!!!!!!!!

Crouched down on the ground, rearranging an end cap of shoe wax in the men’s department wasn’t really what you thought being a grownup would be like as a kid. You can’t complain too much, the pay is pretty good and working conditions are decent - as much as they can be in retail. You stand up to check your progress (and stretch your legs) and notice that guy is still there. He’s been hovering around the athletic shirts and pants for a while, and he keeps checking his phone and looking around. You’re sure he’s probably just waiting for someone, but you’re considering asking if you can help him find anything. 

He has a vaguely familiar energy, and your stomach drops for a moment, hoping you don’t know him from school or something. God, that would be a nightmare. That’s happened to you once or twice, bumping into someone you went to school with, and it’s always as bad as you expect. 

‘You know what,’ you think, trying to see if you can fit the last few containers of wax on the shelf without making them topple over, ‘he’s probably fine. If he needs help he’ll ask for it.’ 

You go back to scanning and adjusting the prices of the clearance shoe polish - the company had changed their packaging recently, so it’s out with the old and in with the identical - but you still can’t shake the feeling of familiarity. 

He turns around, holding up an orange shirt that says ‘go for it’ in a ridiculous font, and you get a glimpse of his face. 

You crouch back down so he won’t catch you staring, and the realization dawns on you. He looks a lot like Percy Jackson from the books you read in middle school. Or was it high school? Everything between 6th grade and high school graduation is kind of blurry and confusing in your memory. Man, you should really re-read those, you heard there was a TV series in the works and you want to remember all the details for when it comes out. You’re a little surprised at how nervous that revelation makes you, like the feeling when you’re a kid going to a theme park and you can see the roller coasters as you pull into the parking lot. Weird. Anyway, it’s not the first time you’ve seen a customer who looks like a character from something. One time you saw someone who you swore looked just like Pidge from the Voltron reboot that came out a few years ago, and a coworker saw a girl who looked like an anime character she loves… Raka something? Her name sounded like gravity, but that wasn’t it. You shrug, making a mental note to ask her about it later. 

You stand up once again to take one final look before you move onto the next end cap, and see that the guy is standing next to you. You look up at him, and all those weird feelings of excitement and something close to anticipation amplify, as you get a closer look at him. He really, really looks like Percy Jackson. Like if the Viria art was a real person. 

“Uh… hi, can I help you find anything today?” You ask, snapping out of your daze and into your customer service voice. He takes a second before answering, and you’re a little unnerved by the way he’s looking at you; warm and intimately, like he’s known you for years. 

“No,” he replies, a dreamy tone to his voice, “I’ve got everything I need.” You’re pleasantly surprised and a little freaked out that he even has the accent. Seriously, if he’s not already, this guy should really get into cosplay. Also, is he flirting with you? He seems to realize what he just said, and backtracks slightly. 

“Actually, um, I was wondering if you could help me out with something over here,” he says, and you agree, in your signature chipper tone. He guides you to a table covered in various sweatpants behind a mirror. 

He glances around again, and you have to ask. 

“You know, if you’re having trouble finding someone we can-”

“Walkie customer service to have my group meet me at the front desk.” He finishes seamlessly. 

“It’s not my first time at the rodeo,” he chuckles, and you get the feeling there’s more meaning behind what he’s saying, like an inside joke you’re not a part of. 

“Oh… yeah.” you say, and he can sense your surprise, “How did you…” you trail off, and he can sense the silent question in your voice. He lets out a breathy chuckle, cheeks flushed pink.

“Like this.” 

He catches your face in his hands, and presses his lips to yours. Your eyes widen in shock, mostly at the fact that you don’t feel threatened by his presence at all. You’re shocked at how comfortable you feel around him, how you feel in your bones that you’ve known him for years when the logical side of your brain is telling you that you first saw him ten minutes ago. He pulls away, searching your eyes for… something. 

“Uh…” you glance away, brow slightly furrowed, then back up at him, “what the fuck?” 

His expression softens, and he says gently, “Give it a minute.” 

You’re about to ask him to give what a minute, when a barrage of memories, feelings, people you don’t think you’ve ever met but seemed to be best friends with knocks you off your feet. You try to take in a breath, but the air in the room seems to have taken a temporary vacation from your lungs. 

You look up at him, eyes flared in understanding and shock. He mutters something in confirmation. Someone yells nearby, and you both look over to an adolescent boy asking his mom why he can’t wear neon basketball shorts to school. Percy looks back over at you.

“Is there somewhere a little more-” the mom starts arguing back and forth with her son at a louder volume, and he continues, “private… where we could talk?”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll… I’ll get somewhere.”

A few minutes later, you’re sitting across from each other on two step stools in one of the stock rooms. You’re still surprised at how easily you had lied to your boss that your long distance boyfriend showed up a few weeks early after over a year of not being able to see each other, and you needed a moment to catch up. She had agreed readily, asking that you tell her when you’re ready to get back to your tasks. 

“I’m sorry about that,” he starts, snapping you out of your train of thought, and you look up at him, “I never would have kissed you without asking, but you made me promise last time that the next time you lose your memories I would get them back to you as fast as I can.” 

“Uh, it’s okay, I feel like I remember talking about that.” Your memories are still fuzzy, but coming back sporadically.

“It can take a few days for them to come back fully.” He adds. 

The most surreal part of this is you remember vividly what happened in the books - because you lived through it. You hold back a giddy laugh bubbling up.

“So…” you begin, and he looks at you, his gaze warm, “it’s all real?” you breathe the words, almost afraid of an answer. 

“Yeah,” he chuckles, looking away briefly, overwhelmed that you’re with him once again.

“The short version is, since your godly parent is Calliope, you sometimes get sent to other worlds. You kind of have to hop scotch from one place to another, like getting a goldfish used to a new bowl of water. The mist - or sometimes,” he glances up, pointedly and irritable, “other factors - usually take away a lot of your memories. They say it’s to make the transition easier, but who knows. Anyway, there are these waypoints, kind of like a time loop that you hang out in until you’re either ready to leave or one of us finds you first.”

“So this…” you motion around to the rows of cardboard boxes filled with plastic cups and paper towels. He nods and you let out a laugh of relief that you really won’t have to work here long term. 

“As soon as you’re ready we should probably head out to camp. It’s gonna be a bit of a drive.” 

“Wait, it’s all like… here? Like in this world?”

“Yeah,” he smiles again, once more sending butterflies through your chest. 

You let out a disbelieving, excited laugh.

“Alright. Yeah, okay. Let’s do it.” 

Before you can get up, he takes your hand in his. He watches his fingers skim back and forth for a minute before looking up at you. 

“You know that I’ll always find you, right?” there’s an overwhelming torrent of emotions he’s somehow managing to convey through his eyes. 

“It doesn’t matter where you go, or how long you’re gone, or if we even remember each other. I will always find you.” His hand comes up to your cheek for the second time today, and your head tilts into his embrace automatically. You somehow trust him more than anyone or anything else right now. You nod gently.

“I do.”

He glances away again, cheeks flushing red, and he sighs, kissing your forehead. 

You get up and head towards the exit together, and he wraps his arm around your shoulder.

“How about we get some bubble tea once we’re in the city?”

“Oh hell yeah!” 

You don’t remember the last time you had bubble tea, but it sounds really, really good right now. 

[btxtreads]

ANOTHER TAG ASHJHJASD

extra long tag game (aka a tmi that no one particularly cares for)

tagged by @txthearteu​

tagging @markhyucknorenminchenji​ @qtsoobin​ @beomberry​ @txtdiaries​ and other people who wanna do it idk

ONE

tell me the first song that made you stan your current fave group and why did your faves attract you so much?

of course, none other than king943 hSJADJSAJHAS. He’s a little secret I’ll let you all in on: the first person I actually noticed in TXT was,,,,,,, Kang Taehyun hSDHJAHJSDAHSA but he wasn’t my bias. I just thought he was cute (also amused me bc my BTS bias was Taehyung and I found a guy named Taehyun cute), but I didn’t stan them then. I started stanning when I saw ONE DREAM.TXT where they talked to BTS and found them really cute and endearing. Looking into them, they were wild, and chaotic and so fun and also i got rEAAAALLY attached to Soobin. So here I am. There u go, my stanning story.

TWO

rule: answer the ten questions and write your own!

what’s your unrealistic goal for life?

becoming a famous actress or singer hJSHADJSA

if you had known that we would be in a global pandemic, what’s one thing that you would’ve done before things shut down (if they have for you)?

Went to a theme park. I miss going to theme parks 🥺

what’s an unconventional thing that you carry around with you when you go out?

hmmm most of the time i just go out with just my phone and money unless I need to bring a bag due to safety concerns/more items needed. So I’d say nothing unconventional.

favourite type of plushies and why?

God do I seem boring hsahsajjsa but i wasn’t too big on plushies. I had a gigantic teddy bear named Justin when I was a kid (it’s a bear with shades that my brother gave me) and I used to buy plushies whenever I’m in disneyland, it’s all in my sister’s reading lounge. The only plushie in my room now is a Mollang doll wearing like a blue shirt/dress, it’s my favorite rn It’s squishyyyy

favourite song right now?

right now, it’s Work It by Sabrina Carpenter.

something that you’ve always wanted to learn?

Dancing (i literally suck. i have no idea how. no joke), Vocal Lessons (had some lessons briefly for like a year but i stopped and want to take some again), music production, acting, hosting

tell a funny story about yourself (or just something that you’ve witnessed)

ok okok so one time in our class groupchat we were talking about class elections for officers. There were muse votes and some people were saying they want me to be the muse but i didnt want to bc i was busy with work. Then they started saying that they want me to be the muse and this guy that i rejected be the escort. while this is happening, i was simping hard for soobin in another chat. anyways, i got everything mixed up and accidentally sent the soobin simp stuff to the class chat and everyone thought i was simping for the classmate i rejected i was so asHAMED.

headphones or speakers? why?

speakers! idk i just like blastic the music loud.

craving any food right now? what are you craving?

anything with cheese

which music streaming platform do you prefer? why?

spotify since its free for me askjjksad someone pays for my subscription lmaooo

😌✌️

questions from cj to me:

android or apple? why?

APPLE because im loyal 😌 and i guess im just used to it so its easier to use for me + all my gadgets at home are mac

words of affirmation or physical affection? why?

I think there should be a good balance of both. The words will have the ability to give you this sense of comfort and satisfaction and you know just overall a peace of mind when you hear the right words??? and physical affection bc sometimes it’s just better to get a hug or a kiss isntead of talking yk? actions speak louder than words sometimes

bean bag or rocking chair? why?

Honestly, this would depend. If I’m reading a book and feeling very vintage with a hot cup of coffee, definitely a rocking chair. If I’m watching TV and basically just chilling I’d go for Bean Bag. I like maintaining the atmosphere.

do you view a half-filled glass as half-full or half-empty or an in-between? why? (go as deep as you can)

I view it as in-between, because there’s always room for improvement. There’s always things to change, and consider, and make better. There’s no such thing as perfect.

If someone were to grant your wish right now, what would it be and why?

Please stop corona right now and let everyone go back to their daily lives and please let me attend a TXT concert bls im begging on my kNEES

if someone were to give you anything you want right now, what would it be and why? (something that can be held)

Give me Soobin I just want to give him a hug. this is valid i can hold him

favorite season and why

Winter! Even if I’ve never experienced snow or winter before, the whole idea of snow is just really fun and endearing to me. One of my bucketlists is to see snow in real life. I think it has to do with the fact that I’ve always been this person to prefer the cold over heat.

what made you enter tumblr?

I’ve always been here! Just not in kpop tumblr. I’ve since deleted my old accounts and shame  but i came back to write. It’s always been so stress-relieving to me, to write without any expectations on my back because I’m thinking about grades or a competition. Also Soobin simping is a daily thing and I gotta release it somewhere man

are you happy with where you are in life right now? why or why not?

Yes. I may not be the richest or the prettiest, or smartest or whatever, but I have a good family that loves me. I have good friends that support me and I have TXT and BTS to help me cope when things get overwhelming. I have a job that gives me a little bit of income (it’s not too common for college students here to get jobs like in the US, most of them just focus on acads) and all the means to continue my education amidst the pandemic. So really, I’m grateful for where I am now.

to see the boys in real life but for it to happen only once in your lifetime, or to meet the boys via online fan meeting as many times as you can in your lifetime? why?

Why do you have to do me dirty cj,,,,, prolly online. I may not get to hug them or anything but I get to talk to them still. As may times as I want to. And as a girl whose sanity literally just depends on Soobin giggles rn it’ll be very therapeutic to me to see them and talk to them as much as I could, even just through a screen.

QUESTIONS FROM ME TO YOU:

Cinema or Netflix? Why?

Fire or Rain? Why?

What’s the worst experience you’ve had as a KPOP stan?

How do you handle stress?

Favorite Disney Princess and why?

Which fictional character do you say you relate the most to?

How did you get into KPOP?

What kind of merch you got 👀

Would you date a KPOP idol? What would you do if you do date one? (doesnt have to be your bias, just wanna see what y’all would do)

Would you rather be with someone you love but doesn’t love you back or be with someone that loves yu but you don’t love them back? (Or, as the Filipinos would say, Mahal ko o Mahal Ako)

THREE

rule: bold the statements that apply to you, italicize your aspirations, then tag nine people.

AIR ༉⋆͙̈

i have small hands / i love the night sky / i watch animals and birds when i pass them by / i drink herbal tea / i wake to see the dawn / the smell of dust is comforting / i’m valued for being wise / i prefer books to music / i meditate / i find joy in learning new truths from the world around me

FIRE ༉⋆͙̈

i don’t have straight hair / i like to wear ripped jeans and overalls / i play an organized sport / i love dogs / i am not afraid of adventure / i love to talk to strangers / i always try new foods / i enjoy road trips / summer is my favorite season / my radio is always playing

WATER ༉⋆͙̈

i wear bracelets on my wrists / i love the bustle of the city / i have more than one set of piercings / i read poetry / i love the sound of a thunderstorm / i want to travel the world / i sleep past midday most days / i love simply lit dinners and fluorescent signs / i rewatch kids shows out of nostalgia / i see emotions in colors not words

EARTH ༉⋆͙̈

i wear glasses or contacts / i enjoy doing the laundry / i am a vegetarian or vegan / i have an excellent sense of time / my humor is very cheerful / i am a valued advisor to my friends / i believe in true love / i love this chill of mountain air / i’m always listening to music / i am highly trusted by the people in my life

AETHER ༉⋆͙̈

i go without makeup in my daily life / i make my own artwork / i keep on track of my tasks and time / i always know true north / i see beauty in everything / i can always smell flowers / i smile at everyone i pass by / i always fear history repeating itself / i have recovered from a mental disorder / i can love unconditionally

FOUR

PERSONAL

name: -

nickname: rina

birthday: - 

zodiac: gemini

nationality: filipino

languages: english, filipino 

gender: female

sexuality: straight

height: 5′2 like 2 years ago, i probably grew like an inch or two 

BLOG STUFF

inspiration for muse: --

meaning behind my url: bts and txt fanfics to read hasjhsahj

blog established: ,,,,, i cant remember askjjksdjkdsa but the blog is only a few months old!

followers: 384!!! love yall 

FAVORITES

favourite animals: b u n n y y y y y

favourite books: CAMP HALF BLOOD SERIES BY RICK RIORDAN IM ZEUS’ DAUGHTER YALL

favourite colour: black, blue, purple

favourite fictional characters: Percy Jackson, Jaron from Ascendance Trilogy, Chimmy!!! hihi

favourite flower: white roses

favourite scent: coffee

favourite season: winter

RANDOM

average hours of sleep: 3-5 or 8-10.

cats or dogs: dogs because cats scare me

coffee, tea or hot chocolate: coffee!!! especially if it’s iced and sweet

current time: 12:21 AM

dream trip: California. Look I have the visa, pls miss rona. just leave so cali can just let me IN

dream job: actress or singer

hobbies: writing, reading, watching crackvids

hogwarts house: gryffindor

last movie watched: Work It (bc it has sabrina carpenter ahshsahsa i have low standards when we talk about Sabrina)

last song listened to: Helpless - Hamilton OBC

no. of blankets you sleep with: 1

random fact(s): if given the chance again, I would go on a date in high school. Also try to exert more effort in my appearance back then i looked like an honest to god M E S S (tbh i still do but now i have eyebrow liner on) hsajhsajhh

FIVE

10 things I can’t stop listening to (at the moment)

Run Away - TXT

Work It - Sabrina Carpenter

Euphoria - BTS

Song Cry - Yeonjun

Helpless - Hamilton OBC

Satisfied - Hamilton OBC

Journey to the past - Anastasia OBC

Lost in the Woods - Frozen OST

Perfect Song - Sabrina Carpenter

Friends - BTS

[fivegoldpieces]

Talks Machina at Gen-Con Q&A Highlights

Note: This only has the audience q&a portion. Cast answers are transcribed, side-comments and banter are only included if they are relevant to/answer the question posed. Apologies in advance to mobile-users if the read-more doesn't work - this is tagged as #long post if you want to blacklist it.

[[MORE]]

Q: For Matt; might we expect any possible homebrew releases coming out in the next year or so, like dunamancy?

Matt: I have plans. I can't say anything because I want things to be cool and surprising. But I have plans don't worry. It's not that I don't care, it's that I don't have time, but I'm working on it.

Q: For Taliesin; what would make Caduceus really angry?

Taliesin: I will say that he can get angry. It does happen. Juvenile disrespect does eventually get to him. Not a fan of pranking. I mean, you know, everybody's got some layer - there's some stuff. No one's that serene all the time. No one.

Q: For Taliesin; at the end of the Call of Cthulhu oneshot, you mentioned that you had a lot of mouse traps set up. I was just wondering, were the shadow people the most dangerous thing they could've released, or was there a more dangerous horror waiting that they managed to avoid?

Taliesin: I mean, if the cats had been released first, that would have definitely been an interesting thing. The cats would have been a problem. Also, if somebody had died really early, I was setting up a series of rules for dead players to continue to interact, which would have been really really unhappy and bad. And terrible rules for the things that were living behind the glass, and if you were stuck behind the glass, you were right there with them and they could really mess with you. Thankfully none of that happened.

Q: For Matt; you have the Tal'dorei Campaign Setting - I was wondering if you were going to do one for The Mighty Nein campaign?

Matt: I don't have a lot of time. Campaign settings are extensive. I'd like to eventually do something like that. I have materials, it's just assembling them in a way that can be legible by a non-crazy human being that I am. Hopefully! We'll see as time goes on. At the moment, we're consumed with this animated series that you guys helped make happen. Super excited about that. Keep an eye out as time goes on, because hopefully I'd like to get around to that. That'd be awesome.

Q: For Matt; what the hell was up with the undead vibe on Jamedi Cosko?

Matt: Yeah, that's crazy huh? That's a pretty weird thing. Yeah, there was something about him that gives off an undead vibe. Wonder what that means? I appreciate the question, but I don't know if that'll come back into play in some time. Let's see if it gets explored at some point, and if not at least I could tell you at the campaign wrap-up.

Q: For Travis; for the animated series, a lot of the characters have iconic catchphrases so I was wondering how you're going to translate "I would like to rage"?

Travis: Are we going to "translate" that? I think he's just going to say "I would like to rage". Yeah, we are definitely keeping iconic lines, moments, interactions, all those things will be there just as they were.

Taliesin: I'll also add to that - if you want to see somebody doing that and taking things that shouldn't actually work in-game and making them work in-game, Jody Houser is doing a great job in the comic book series of making you feel like somehow Matt is intertwined in everything that happens, it's kind of cool. Check it out!

Q: For Taliesin; a lot of comparisons have been thrown around between Fjord and Percy, and something that I noticed was Uk'otoa is being much more insistent than Orthax was - do you think if Orthax was as insistent and as keen on punishment, Percy might've gone a similar direction as Fjord?

Taliesin: Honest to God, and this is just from watching, I don't think Percy had nearly as strong a will as Fjord does. Watching Travis play Fjord was definitely like, "I did not have the balls to pull that off, oh my God." Percy was never about the hard choice, it was always about "what's the option C that I haven't figured out yet, there's a way to game my way out of this, if I just keep talking I can get everything to work" until the very end. Like chicken? Percy doesn't play chicken.

Laura (using Vex's voice): From firsthand knowledge, Percy does curtail very easily.

Matt: If you actually recall, Percy didn't even make the choice. Scanlan did for him.

Q: For Laura; when can we get a Caduceus tea set?

Laura: Oh, I heard a lot of "ooh's". Who would buy a Caduceus tea set? [audience applause] Well, shit, maybe I should look into it.

Sam: That's so many more people than who voted for me.

Brian: Not to be That Guy, lets just see how long his character lives, before we start making merchandise around him.

Q: For Sam; you are kind of the king of over-the-top and ostentatious whether it be with your character design, or your flasks, or things like that, and especially your outfits at the live events - how do you come up with these over-the-top creations and also how on earth do you plan on topping last night?

Sam: That last part will be hard. I think next year, I'll either come out totally naked or I'll just be so basic - pleated khakis, a polo shirt, I don't know. That outfit last night, it was pieced together from several different stores, I'm sure CritRoleCloset will figure it out at some point. But it was a challenge putting that together. And then, my fellow cast members, like two weeks after I bought all that weird stuff I wore, they were like, "hey let's go goth". So. Fuck you guys.

Q: For Travis; with Fjord's recent decision, do you see him changing outfits to fit his new or old persona?

Travis: I don't think so. Most of Fjord's armor was very piece-mail stuff that he got either from working on the docks, or stuff that he got from Vandren, or items that he was given just as he sort of accrued time and responsibility where he worked. I think that stuff's very dear to him, especially coming from an orphanage where he didn't have any possessions, so all those things that are actually his are very dear to him. He might add to those things, but I think underneath they'll stay there. He might augment them or change them a little bit, in the same way you would draw on your jeans in school or whatever, but that stuff's his so it means a lot to him.

Q: For Travis; after Fjord severed his pact with Uk'otoa, was there a larger fear in telling Beau and Jester what had happened, since he had been traveling with them the longest out of the Nein, or did his journeys with the Nein make that fear equal across all of the party?

Travis: I think actually he was worried about telling Beau and Jester the least, and maybe Caduceus in there as well. He knew he would hear about it from Nott, and Caleb had already sort of started to call him on his shit and saw through a lot of that stuff. He also regards the group as very powerful, so I think a lot of it is turning to his very powerful and talented friends and saying, "I don't have any of that anymore, I hope I can still play with you guys." Legit though, the response was amazing. It was absolutely incredible. Jester is so gregarious and loving and joyful and exuberant that I don't think he was worried about that, I think he was actually looking forward to telling her as one of the first people to know. And Beau is second-mate, so like ride-or-die or right?

Q: For Taliesin; I can totally be wrong for this, but just reading body language and facial features, there do seem to be moments where you're kind of just like, "I'm done with this" - I just kind of want advice, like how do you keep playing when your energy level might be low or you don't like where the story is going?

Taliesin: Oh, that is never "I'm done with this", what you're seeing is the "I'm trying to make sure no one notices that I'm reading my backstory notes". That's me reading, frantically. I'm a big believer in terror, terror is a great way to keep me up. "Oh God, I don't remember anybody's name, oh God how many siblings do I have oh God."

Marisha: Well, also you write your backstories like the Silmarillion, it's like, so intense. I'm like "my dad was mean to me" like that's my backstory.

Q: For Sam; based on the amazing reaction we've had to your DnDBeyond theme and the Critical Role theme, when can we expect a parody version of the 2010 hit "Like a G6" by Far East Movement as "Like a d6"?

Sam: Oh wow, that's good.

Marisha: Not to be that person, it already exists. The Library Bards did it. So, you should check it out. I mean, do a cover, Sam, I don't know.

Sam: There are more songs incoming, just so you know.

Q: For Matt; you say dunamancy can alter the reality and the fate of the person that wields it - is this an affront to the Raven Queen?

Matt: I would say, given the fact that elements of dunamancy deal with the manipulation of probability, destiny, things like that, the Raven Queen is probably not that cool with dunamancy. Just throwing that out there. One of the few things she's probably like, "Really, guys?" So yeah, I'd say you're on the right track.

Q: For Laura and Travis; do you talk to Ronin about your campaign?

Laura: So, Ronin, every Thursday night he stays with a babysitter at home, but he watches the opening of the show. Like, he loves the theme song so much. I sing it every time I change his diaper.

Travis: Same, like I know there's songs that parents sing to their kids - he's heard the damn theme song every day of his life.

Brian: But do you guys change the lyrics though, like "You shit your pants, I'm cleaning it up now", you know what I mean?

Liam: My kids bust into that song constantly. We cannot play a board game or anything. Someone goes "it's your turn" "TO ROLL" every time.

Q: For Marisha; I'm a huge fan of Jocks Machina and hopefully we'll get to see them on the channel one day - will Beau ever join Jocks Machina?

Marisha: What are the requirements, are there prerequisites for joining Jocks Machina? You're kind of the authority on this.

Travis: Guns. Abs. Likes to lift heavy things. Likes to break a sweat. Likes to whoop that ass.

Marisha: Check. Check. ...Check? Check. Hell yeah.

Q: For Matt; this is a rather involved conspiracy theory question, so excuse me - last year when the party was in Shady Creek Run at the Landlocked Lady Inn, they first arrived and there was a doorman named Champ who Keg knew. The next morning, they went down and there was a new doorman who said he'd been working for the Marduns for a few months and had bright red curly hair and vibrant green eyes and acted rather enigmatic and shady and shifty and was saying they should listen more and that he hoped that whatever they were after, they were on the right path. Later, once they recover everyone, Jester is asking the Traveler where he was, and he says he was always there. So my question is this: was that character the Traveler in disguise?

Matt: [several moments of silence]

Matt: That'd be pretty interesting, huh? That's a unique observation. I will confirm nor deny.

Q: For Matt; now that Fjord has effectively broken up with Uk'otoa, what do you think would be a more compelling storyline, or what are you most interested to see: him continue to take levels in warlock, possibly with an Archfey patron, or paladin...?

Matt: Part of what I really enjoy about this game is how the players continuously surprise me. I'm down to see what journey Travis wants to take. I'm curious to see how he takes this next path in his journey and which elements he wants to maintain, what direction he wants to go - he seems to be really finding interest in the Wildmother and talking to Caduceus about that, and that's kind of been an element of breaking that pact at the time, so I'm curious if he's going to continue down that path or see this as a blank slate to continue to grow. I'm interested to see the different decisions that Fjord takes, and Travis does through Fjord, and kind of adjust and build the narrative for that character around that. I can't say I have a specific path that I'm hoping for, because I have no idea what Travis's direct interest is, beyond just the actions he's taken in the game. Yeah, I'm just excited to see where it goes. I really love the idea of not knowing that as the Dungeon Master. As much as it's me building and world-planning, many of you out there who run games as GM know the most exciting part of the game is after all that prep, coming to the table and the players completely surprise you, and you kind of have to think on your feet and go with it. That's the best part of the game for me.

Q: For Marisha; what inspired you to play Beau a bit more shaken about her near-death than some of the other characters?

Marisha: Well, I was at 2 hit points the whole time - Liam can attest to that. So you know, I was kind of role-playing that. Shit's crazy man.

Q: For Liam; so you play your characters, both Vax and Caleb, very emotionally without any hesitation, and you're an experienced actor. What I wanted to ask was, something that people who try to emulate Critical Role don't realize that can happen when you try to put yourself into the character and get emotionally invested is character bleed. I was wondering how you deal with that, if you do at all. Like, if something really emotionally devastating happens to Vax or to Caleb, how does it affect you and how do you deal with it?

Liam: These feel like synthetic memories, so any time the superimposed fantasy friend gets killed or has to leave or whatever happens - that shit we carry around and get upset about. Every time we leave on a cliffhanger and someone's gonna die, we think about it constantly. Vax helped me sort through things, but made me more loyal and determined and willing to take chances - which in life I generally try to avoid conflict. Caleb, I still kind of drive around and think about him and still go, like "why did you do that?" He's really messed up, if I just think like, fireballs and cats like it's fun, and we can make dick jokes and it's fun. But if I really take a minute, I just go "Oh". I feel bad for him, I feel really bad for him. I have fun playing the game, and I love these guys, and I feel bad for my character.

Follow-up Q: Do you have ways that you learned to process that, like if you're at home feeling bummed about something that happened on a Thursday night, and you're like "man I need to get out of this funk"?

Liam: Yeah, I pull my head out of the game. I'll play a game with my kid, or watch a movie with my wife, or go running. Running is great. Not for your knees, but everything else. Or spend time with these guys out of the game. There's lots of ways. We're really invested in their stories, so it sort of drags along like coattails wherever we go.

Matt: To give you examples too, when he says "hanging out with friends", the group that's there, your friends that are in this game that you trust enough? You should all also support each other when those dark moments happen outside of the game. Whenever we lose a character in the game, we have like a wake. We go to an Irish pub that we go to often in Burbank, and we all get drinks and we have a wake for that character. And it's part of that process too. Even though it's imaginary, there's a part of that experience and journey that's come to an end and that deserves its respect as well, and we're all there to support the player. As a playing group, be there for your friends who may be going through that experience, because even though it is make-believe and it's a game, that is still a loss. And that's not a bad thing either. Loss is an important thing to process, because life comes with loss. Part of the wonderful experiences of role-playing games is that it allows us a safe space to explore very positive and very negative emotions in a healthy way and make us better people for it. So just be there for them, be supportive, and be the best friends and co-players you can be.

Liam: Part of the reason, I think, that we get upset when these fictional characters are killed is because we're playing this game of imagination together, and we form a chemistry together where we're like "we get to do this together, and it's always like this, and you're always funny like that, and you're always intense like this" and we really love that chemistry. Then somebody gets killed and they're gone, and that chemistry, which is something that we're like addicted to and love, that chemistry is gone. Like, when Molly was gone. Beau and Molly had this great "fuck you" "fuck you" butting heads thing - that's gone. We're actors, but anyone who plays this game extensively, you love the sort-of second life that you create for yourself and then when the character is gone, you don't have that unique mix anymore.

Q: For Laura; I really love how you play Vex and Jester, even though as two characters, they're pretty different from each other. But sometimes, you have an instance where like, your Laura shows. So I actually just wanted to ask, what was the biggest disconnect you've ever experienced between player versus character? If you've ever felt like, you as a person, as a player, would never ever make a choice in a situation versus what your character would do in that same situation.

Laura: I feel like everything my characters do, I wouldn't do in real life. Like, especially Jester. Travis and I have had these conversations: the joy of playing a character like Jester or like Grog, where you don't have to filter yourself - everybody, I assume, has these random really stupid things that pop up in your brain and you don't say them because everyone would judge you, and they're weird - and as these characters, you just embrace it, and it is so much fun. Talk about character bleed - it is an issue that I deal with now, because Jester has had that effect on me, and so I tend to say stupider things in real life now. No, but I would never deface anything in public, I would never steal anything.

Travis: You're not gonna attach any dicks on the walls.

Laura: I would not attach a dick to a wall in public. Or anywhere. I do eat a lot of donuts though, that's on me.

Q: For Matt; we've explored several places in the multiverse in your games, like the City of Brass, the Feywild, places like that - are there any places in the multiverse like the Astral Sea or somewhere that you, either as a player or as a GM, would have liked to have gone but have never had the time or resources to do?

Matt: Interesting. I do have some places that I really would like to explore, whether in this campaign or campaigns down the road. Astral Sea is interesting, it's a really weird amorphous plane, and I just love the prospect of one day throwing an Astral Dreadnought at these poor guys. He's my second to the Tarrasque. Oh they're fun, they're a good time. I've always loved Planescape. The City of Sigil would be great for obvious reasons of course. So I can be like, "no guys, this is where I learned my wrong pronunciation". But the City of Doors is awesome. Lady of Pain is a great element. Those who watched the Search for Bob oneshot, there was a Lady of Pain reference dropped in there. If you missed it, you can go back and look. Maybe there's a few doors in Sigil that lead to Exandria, who knows. Think about that for your home campaigns, huh? I want to go into some deep Abyssal planes too. We've been to the City of Dis, we've seen a little bit of the Nine Hells of Baator, though maybe not the harsher places. There's so many to explore!

Q: For Sam; Matt has said on Twitter that one of the ways you guys handle the pressures of the Kickstarter and the intense dramatic moments in the campaign is by checking in with each other and checking in on each other's mental health. I know you take on a lot of responsibilities with doing the DnDBeyond ads and the songs that you write and also your characters are often joking around with other characters and giving them a hard time so I was wondering, from your perspective, if you could give some details, without giving away anything too personal, on how to properly mentally check-in with your fellow players and just help everybody and check that everybody is doing okay.

Sam: Well, I'm learning from these guys, as we go, how best to do that. I'm weird in that, as weird as I am on-screen, I don't really talk very much when we're off-screen, or I keep my stuff to myself, more than some of these guys do. But they have, in the last few years, helped me sort of connect more with my best friends here. You know, we do check in a lot with each other, thanks to Matt and thanks to all of us. For instance, yesterday morning we all had breakfast together. It was really nice - we just talked about stuff, and it was just great to just sort of reconnect with everybody. I'm not an expert at this in any way, and in fact, on this stage, I am the least good at it, but I have endeavoured to become better at it. Opening yourself up to your friends and feeling comfortable enough to share your past or your worries for the future with your friends and not getting any judgement back is like, the greatest gift. If you have that with one person, it's amazing. If you have that with all of these people? Holy moly, it's the greatest thing in the world. I've tried to be better at sharing my stuff with them and being there for them. That's all I can do.

Q: For Marisha; in campaign one with Vox Machina, there's a lot of powerful badass lady NPCs, so if by chance, it all worked out timewise, who do you think Beau would be most likely to have a crush on?

Marisha: Kima. Yeah. Keyleth very much emulated Allura, and really looked up to her and kind of looked at her as a powerful female figurehead and took notes for leadership through her. Beau would just wanna fuck.

Q: For Liam; what do characters do in the campaign that you find funny no matter how old it gets?

Liam: Everybody throw in on this one. I'll never get over Laura waggling her eyebrow every third word in the game.

Taliesin: Slow snicker every time there's even vaguely a possibility of a dick joke.

Travis: I'd say every time there's a pain reaction out of Nott. It is hysterical to me.

Liam: I like any time, just the concept of death comes up or Molly - anywhere, in the game, out of the game - one of these people would be like, "Like you, you're dead!"

Laura: Uk'otoa.

Q: For Laura; do you think the volcano would be a good spot for Traveler on?

Laura (using Jester's voice): Okay here's the thing. Like, I totally did at first and I need to talk to him, because I think that now it's probably not, because it wasn't very expansive really, as big as I thought it would be, and there wasn't like a lot of beds, and like, no real good food. So, I don't know how many people are coming, but like, even just getting to the nearest hotel was really difficult, you know?

Matt: I love the idea that half of your sketchbook is Jester's tiny Yelp reviews of locations in Wildemount.

Q: For Laura; with all of the throwback to Vox Machina and Whitestone in the week before, how are you feeling with all of it?

Laura: I'm feeling very nostalgic.

Laura (using Vex's voice): Also, I would love for everyone to come visit.

Marisha (using Keyleth's voice): Me as well.

Laura (using Jester's voice): And also, if we did, I think we would cause a lot of problems.

Marisha: New pitch - Travelercon at Whitestone. We know the food is good, lots of lodging and room and board, no dead people in trees anymore.

Laura: All of the residuum that you could ever hope for.

Brian: And endless booze.

[Panel end]

[latter-day-saint-nick]

Here‘s a list of all the books with queer protagonists I’ve read this year. While I do actively seek those out, there are several books on here that I didn’t know had queer themes when I picked them up from the library and then I was pleasantly surprised by lesbians. I‘ll avoid spoilers except when discussing trigger warnings.

 Kaleidoscope Song by Fox Benwell

Neo, a South African teenager, is obsessed with music of any kind. Her love of music brings her together with the singer of a local band and they have a passionate relationship that they must keep secret. The descriptions of Neo‘s life and her tendency to hear music in everything are beautiful and dynamic. The author included a list of the songs Neo is listening to throughout the book, so I was introduced to a lot of cool music from South Africa and other places. TW: Corrective rape and Bury Your Gays. This is a book by a queer (albeit white British, rather than black South African) author writing about a very real problem that exists within our communities, so it feels different to when a cishet author kills off a queer character just for shock value. I still can‘t help feeling that he could have made the same point without having the character die – just have her be injured. Still, I loved pretty much everything else about the book, so it gets a tentative recommendation from me.

The Mermaid’s Daughter by Ann Claycomb

25-year-old opera student Kathleen tries to cope with the constant pain in her feet, nightmares about having her tongue cut out, and desperate yearning for the sea. With the help of her girlfriend Harry she delves into her family history to uncover the secret of a curse spanning generations of women. What’s nice about this book is that Kathleen and Harry’s relationship is accepted by all their family and friends without question, so if you want to read a nice wlw fantasy story with no homophobia, this one’s for you. TW: Some discussion of suicide, but nothing too graphic.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

A teenage lesbian is sent to conversion therapy by her religious aunt. This is basically a coming-of-age story as the title character comes to terms with her identity and the death of her parents. It’s considered an important work of LGBT YA literature, so I really wanted to like it more than I did. Most of the first half of the novel deals with Cameron’s everyday life in her small town in Montana, which was, to be honest, rather boring to me. The pace of the story picks up a bit once she gets sent to conversion therapy, but even then it’s slower and less eventful than I would have liked. But since it is a popular book, that’s probably just me. I did like that the two best friends she makes at the therapy camp are a disabled girl and an indigenous boy, two types of people that are not often represented in queer fiction, so that’s something. TW: Conversion therapy and self-harm.

Proud by Juno Dawson

This is a collection of poems and stories about queerness aimed at a YA audience, and each one is a pure delight! These stories detail moments of joy and pride that make you feel happy and hopeful about being queer. They include a high school retelling of Pride and Prejudice with lesbians, a nonbinary kid and his D&D group on a quest to disrupt the gender binary at their school, a magical phoenix leading a Chinese girl to find love, and gay penguins. All stories, poems and illustrations are by queer writers and artists. Seriously, I cannot recommend this collection enough!

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

An Irish magical realist story about three girls who perform a spell to find things that they have lost. The spell appears to have wider consequences than they expected, bringing to light things that should have stayed lost. This book has three narrators, two of whom are wlw. It treads a nice line between fantasy and reality, and has some pretty good plot twists. Also, there’s a crossword at the end, which is awesome. More books should come with crosswords.

Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

A space opera trilogy set in the distant future about the embodiment of a ship’s AI who seeks revenge against the ruler of a colonialist empire who destroyed her ship and killed her beloved captain. This is not beginner’s sci-fi, as it is very complex and intricate, but if you’re fine with a bit of a heavier read, you’ll be rewarded with some very interesting concepts. What makes this series queer is that the Raadch empire has no concept of gender and uses female pronouns for everyone. This makes every romantic relationship queer by default, whether we are aware of the characters’ sexes or not. I found it particularly enjoyable when Breq, the protagonist, tried to communicate in different languages that have gendered pronouns, which she had to navigate carefully in order not to offend people. She tries to look for outward clues of gender, such as hairstyles, chest size, facial hair or Adam’s apples, but even then often gets it wrong, because these things are not always consistent. That is just a great depiction of how arbitrary ideas of binary sexual characteristics tend to be. Also, I guess technically Breq is aroace, but since she’s not human, I’m not sure if she can be considered the best representation, though she is a very likeable character that I enjoyed following.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

These books are a lot of fun! They’re historical adventure stories with a bit of fantasy thrown in, featuring disaster bisexual Henry Montague, his snarky aroace sister Felicity and his best friend Percy whom he is secretly in love with. In the first book, the three teenagers are sent on a tour of Europe for various reasons, but they quickly abandon the planned route when they get embroiled in a plot involving theft and alchemy. The second book details Felicity’s further attempts to become a doctor, which leads her to reunite with an old friend and chase a tale of fantastical creatures.

The Spy with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

Technically I read this one late last year, but whatever. I just wanted to put it on the list to have an excuse to talk about it. It’s about two Jewish siblings with magic powers who are recruited during World War II to take part in a secret project to fight the Nazis. Both siblings turn out to be queer: the brother is gay and demisexual, while the sister is bisexual, and they each have a love interest. This book is an independent prequel to The Girl with the Red Balloon, which takes place in East Berlin during the time of the Wall, and is just as good, albeit not as gay.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

This book tends to be classified as fantasy, because it takes place in an alternate, Latin-American-inspired world, with a distinct history, culture and religion, but there’s no magic at all, so I’m not sure it counts. But I digress. The country of Medio is built on classism and acute xenophobia. But by hiding her status as an illegal immigrant, Daniela, a girl from a poor background, manages to rise to the top of her class at her elite finishing school and become the first wife of one of the most powerful young men in the country. But her new comfortable status is threatened when she is pressured to join a group of rebels who fight for equality. At the same time, she also finds herself falling for her husband’s second wife. Obviously, this book’s political message is very topical, but beyond that, it’s just a very good story, with a well fleshed-out fictional world and great characters. This is the first in a series, with the sequel, We Unleash the Merciless Storm, coming out in February.

All Out: The No Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell

A very nice collection of short stories about various queer teenagers in different historical settings, from a medieval monastery to an American suburb on New Year’s Eve in 1999. Most of the stories are realist, but there are a few ghosts and witches to be found in-between. What I found particularly notable about this book is that it featured several asexual characters, which you don’t often see in collections like this. I definitely recommend it.

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

This is a thoughtful, heart-warming life story about a woman growing up during the civil war in Nigeria. After Ijeoma, a Christian Igbo girl, is sent away from home, she finds her first love in Amina, a Muslim Hausa. Even after they are found out and separated, Ijeoma doesn’t quite understand what’s so shameful about their love. Still, as she grows older, she attempts to fit into a heteronormative society while also connecting with the things and people that make her happy. TW: Homophobic violence, including an attack on a gay nightclub. The novel makes up for this by having a remarkably happy ending.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

A young man in Victorian London finds a mysterious watch on his pillow, with no idea how it got there. This sets into motion a strange series of events, which leads him to a lonely Japanese watchmaker, to whom he finds himself increasingly drawn. This is an unusual novel that treads the line between historical fiction, fantasy and sci-fi. Most of the characters are morally grey and have complex motivations, but are still likable. I just really enjoy stories that take place in this time period, particularly when they are this thoughtfully written and don’t just take the prejudices of the past for granted.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

A YA book about a transgender teenager, written by a transgender author. After her mother decides that she is not safe in her hometown anymore, high school senior Amanda moves in with her dad in a town where nobody knows her and she can try to go stealth. But even as she is making friends and experiencing romance for the first time, she constantly worries about what will happen if her secret comes out. It’s a fairly standard story about being transgender, really, but as it comes from a trans author, it feels a lot more personal and less voyeuristic than these stories tend to be when coming from a cisgender perspective. Amanda is a sympathetic and compelling character. TW: This book deals with a number of upsetting themes, including transphobic violence, being forcibly outed and suicide. There is a flashback to Amanda’s pre-transition suicide attempt, which I found particularly triggering. I also wish she could have come out on her own terms, instead of being outed in front of the whole school by someone she thought she could trust. It is still a pretty good book, but it can be very upsetting at times.

As I Descended by Robin Talley

A loose retelling of Macbeth that takes place in a boarding school in Virginia and involves two queer couples. The supernatural elements of the play are amplified in a wonderfully creepy way, and the characters are complex and realistic, so you understand their motivations, even when they do bad things. TW: Out of the five queer characters in the novel, three die, two of them by suicide.

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss and EG Keller

A charming picture book about the Vice President’s pet bunny who falls in love with another boy bunny and wants to hop around at his side for the rest of his life. This book was written as a screw you to Mike Pence, but even so it is a genuinely nice kid’s book that deals with homosexuality and marriage equality in a way that is appropriate for young children. The illustrations are incredibly cute as well.

Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente

A very strange, surreal tale about four people (most of whom are queer in some way) exploring a magical city that you can enter in your dreams by sleeping with someone who has been there before. I wanted to like this one more than I did, because I really love Catherynne Valente’s Fairyland books for children. But while some of the dreamlike imagery is cool and pretty, I found a lot of it weirdly uncomfortable, along with the frequent sex scenes.

The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

15-year-old Julia is home for the summer at her parents’ ancestral mansion in Scotland and gets involved with a plot about theft, disappearance and possibly murder. She also has her first crushes – on a man working at her parents’ estate and a young Traveller girl, respectively. This is a prequel to Code Name Verity, which has the same protagonist, though her bisexuality isn’t really alluded to in that, which is why I’ve kept it off the list, even though it is an excellent book. The Pearl Thief is pretty good as well, though it is a bit strange to read after you’ve already read Verity and know that this carefree teenage character is going to grow up to be a spy in World War II and be tortured in a Nazi prison. Do read both books, though. They are great.

Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson

A young scientist falls in love with the wife of the man she’s having an affair with. There’s speculation about quantum mechanics and interconnectedness, all wrapped in very poetic language. To be perfectly honest, I really didn’t get it, so I have no idea what any of it means. But at least the main character is bisexual and polyamorous (and possibly genderfluid – I’m not sure).

Queer Africa by Makhosazana Xaba and Karen Martin

A collection of short stories by queer African writers, discussing themes like love, sex, marriage, family and homophobia. The attitudes towards queerness in these different countries varies. In many of them, homosexuality is illegal, even though same-sex relationships used to be respected before the interference of Western colonialism. In any case, these stories are an interesting and oftentimes beautiful examination of queerness from a non-Western point of view, some joyous and some tragic. TW: The second to last story is about incest.

[skarabrae-stone]

Writing Epilogues

So I’ve been thinking about epilogues, and why they do or don’t work for me, and I thought I’d write a little bit about what (in my view) makes a good epilogue vs a bad one.

1. Is the epilogue “earned”?

In my opinion, an epilogue should be a natural extension of the story it follows-- generally, there shouldn’t be any huge narrative leaps between the end of the main story and the epilogue. A lot of epilogues feel like “cheating”, because the main story hasn’t done enough work to make the epilogue feel natural.

For example, I think it’s safe to say that most of the Harry Potter fandom hates the epilogue at the end of Deathly Hallows, and I think a lot of that is because it doesn’t feel earned. At the end of the last chapter of DH, Hogwarts is in a shambles, most of the country’s in disarray, a whole lot of people are dead, and Harry has barely talked to Ginny since he went on the run. Voldemort is dead, but everything is very much in chaos. Then we get the epilogue-- nineteen years later, and suddenly everyone’s happily married, with kids and jobs and the Hogwarts Express.

It’s jarring because it’s too big of a leap. Harry and Ginny have been separated for a year, while both went through some incredibly hard trials-- it’s not implausible that they could get married, but it’s weird to see them as a long-established couple without seeing any of the work they’d need to do to get there. Same with Ron and Hermione-- at the end of the book, their relationship dynamic is not anywhere near stable enough that we can instantly make the mental leap to them being married with children.

Basically, there is so much uncertainty at the end of the main story that skipping all the work it would take to get to stability in favor of the end result feels like cheating. It feels like there’s a chunk of the story missing-- because there is. Ultimately, it doesn’t work because too much time has passed, and there’s too little work done to show us how the end of DH could transition to the epilogue.

2. Is there too much change/ has too much time passed?

This is closely tied into the idea of doing the work. I think authors should be very wary of using an epilogue that jumps too far forward in time, mostly because it becomes much harder to connect the threads from the end of the main storyline to the epilogue when you’re also dealing with a lot of time passing. (The exception to this is if the story deals with some kind of heirloom or ancestry-type themes. For example, in the epilogue at the end of the Beka Cooper series, by Tamora Pierce, we see Beka’s descendant, George Cooper, at the beginning of his own story, reflecting on Beka’s. This works because we already know what happens to George, via the Song of the Lioness series, so he’s not a new character, and the epilogue helps to tie George and his ancestress closer together.)

When there’s too much change between the end of the story and the epilogue, it feels, again, like there’s a cognitive leap that has to be made. The author hasn’t put in the work to tell us how the change occurred, and that can be really unsatisfying and/or unbelievable.

This is also true of epilogues where there’s a major twist-- a character being revealed to be totally different from what we thought, or a new threat or circumstance coming out of nowhere to turn the resolution of the main story on its head. This can work if the author has given enough hints of the character’s true nature, or foreshadowed the changing circumstance, but it needs to be done thoughtfully. I’m a bit prejudiced about twist endings-- if I have a nice, tidy resolution, I generally want to keep it. And if the book isn’t part of a series, or it’s meant to be the end of a series, the twist ending often just feels like a gimmick. Which brings me to my next point.

3. Is it necessary?

If the book has a solid resolution, an epilogue is usually unnecessary. Even if it’s well-written, it can feel like putting icing on a cake that’s already been frosted-- it’s just too much, and it doesn’t add anything meaningful.

4. Is there too little change?

This is another issue I have with the DH epilogue. While making a huge leap forward without doing the work, the epilogue, at the same time, suggests that the (extremely flawed) status quo from the previous books has pretty much been reinstated. Hogwarts still has Houses, and House rivalry, despite how destructive that rivalry was shown to be. Slytherins are still isolated from the other Houses, and probably ostracized as well. Ron still hates Malfoy, and is still weirdly fixated on their old rivalry, telling his daughter not to get too close with Scorpius. Harry is still “the famous one” and Ron is still a sidekick (he says, “it’s me, I’m extremely famous”, clearly joking, even though, as someone instrumental in defeating Voldemort, he ought to be almost, if not just as, famous as Harry). Percy Weasley is still obnoxious. Couples who got together at sixteen or seventeen are all still together.

Basically, we’re given the impression that, rather than really moving forward, everything has gone back to the way it was before Voldemort took over the Ministry-- which is incredibly irritating, since we spent six books learning how flawed the wizarding world was even before Voldemort took over. I, at least, would have expected there to be more change-- especially regarding the Houses at Hogwarts.

5. So what should an epilogue do?

I’ll be honest: it’s kind of rare for me to read an epilogue that I feel really does its job well. To me, the point of an epilogue is to show the reader what direction the characters might head in after the main narrative is done.

For DH, I would have been happy to see an epilogue set a few months or weeks after the main story, maybe with Harry and Ginny (and maybe others) discussing the future, with some hints of the ongoing recovery work in the background. That would give us the understanding that things were going to work out in the future, and hint at what future relationships/changes might take place, without skipping too much.

Lady Knight, by Tamora Pierce, does an excellent job of this. At the end of the main story, Kel has rescued the people from the refugee camp she was in charge of, and is told by her superior that she will be in charge of a new town to house them and other refugees. The epilogue, set a couple of months later, shows her at the new town, the refugees having settled in. She’s about to go to her best friend’s wedding, an event that has been foreshadowed for most of the book. Basically, the epilogue shows us that the hopeful ending of the main story is being fulfilled-- everyone is pretty much safe and happy, although they still bear the scars of what happened earlier in the narrative, with the promise of better times to come. It doesn’t tell us anything we couldn’t have guessed based on the main story, but it does offer us a little more resolution than we would have had otherwise. The epilogue confirms what was hinted in the main story, without taking any giant leaps.

When done correctly, an epilogue can offer readers a sense of completeness and resolution that might have otherwise been lacking. It shouldn’t, however, be an excuse to skip over a big chunk of narrative. It should “do the work.”

[seedserotiny]

Pyrohydriscence

Rating: Mature

Pairings: Lapidot, past Jaspis

Summary: Human AU. Lapis loses everything. Her car, her apartment, her sense of control over her own life… and then she gains a roommate.

Warnings for this chapter: none

Chapter 5

Peridot was still at work when she got home. Today was Friday, though, so the next two days would be her time off. Lapis wondered if she was going to get anything done with her roommate home. So far she hadn't had any callbacks on her applications. It was really too early to worry about that, but since she was starting to like Peridot, she felt like she should probably definitely get some money coming in sooner rather than later. She had savings still, which would cover the first month, but she didn't have much after that. The responsible part of her wanted to keep on the hunt for a job every day until she landed one.

She wondered how long it would take. Lapis had a decent resume: some college, some job experience, and, thankfully, her DUI didn't count as a felony, so she didn't have to put it on her applications. Of course, she couldn't work anywhere that served alcohol, so her options were limited. Pretty much any kind of restaurant job was off the table, for example.

She half-heartedly submitted her resume to another coffee shop. Lapis was definitely not just sitting around waiting for Peridot to get home. Nope.

The sound of keys in the lock brought her back to attention. Pumpkin scrambled off the beanbag chair and waited by the door. Lapis tried not to think too hard about the fact that she and Peridot's pet seemed to share the same level of excitement about Peridot's impending presence.

She entered behind a stack of pizzas. What a splendid human being. "I hope you like mushrooms," she called out, plopping the boxes on a kitchen counter. Lapis loved mushrooms. Now that her hands were free, she gave Pumpkin a good ear scritch, went to the fridge, and popped open a soda. "Happy Friday!" She announced, making a 'cheers' gesture and heading off for her daily post-grimey-job shower. "By the way, you owe me for one of the pizzas, free-loader!" She shouted through the door before the sound of running water kicked on.

Lapis groaned dramatically. She thought she almost heard her roommates signature nasally snicker through the walls.

When Peridot returned, Lapis was ready on the couch with Pumpkin and two plates of several slices of pizza. "Season 1 finale!!" She yodeled when Peridot joined her on the couch. She was surprised that her vertically challenged roommate had changed right into some comfy pajamas, rather than her usual post-work attire. Her pants had little aliens on them. Lapis coveted them.

"Prepare yourself. Not everyone can survive exposure to the sheer amount of talent that went into this episode," Peridot said ominously.

Lapis clenched her fists and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes for a moment as if she was centering herself. "I think I'm ready."

Peridot nodded solemnly and started the show.

Approximately 44 minutes later, Lapis sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, enraptured, shaken. "What. You mean… this whole time? And that part with Paulette, and Pierre, oh my God."

"I knoooow!"

"We must start season 2 immediately." She began to rummage for the second disc set. She smiled. This was much better therapy than… actual therapy.

"Hey Lapis?"

Oh, maybe not. Peridot's voice sounded serious, and not in the usual hammy way that meant she was playing it up for the effect. Lapis turned around. Her roommates brows were furrowed, and she looked right into Lapis's eyes. "Yeah?"

"Who's your favorite character?"

Lapis punched her in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for!"

"For being such a damn nerd. And hm…" Lapis pondered a moment. "Paulette, I think."

"What!!"

"What."

"Paulette is by far the weakest character. I don't know what Percy sees in that… sobbing magnet of misfortune."

"Well, she is kind of hot."

"Well, yeah, but they have no TRUE compatibility. It's like the writers are forcing the relationship at every turn. Percy wastes SO much of his time protecting Paulette and performing these romantic gestures. I don't think she even comprehends how much he does for her. Take, for example, season 1 episode 4, when they have the archery competition-"

Lapis tried to look like she was absorbing anything Peridot said after that. These speeches tended to have momentum; it was easier to let her finish than it was to try to stop her. Besides, Peridot looked so sad and embarrassed when she realized she'd been ranting. Lapis occupied herself by getting up and putting in the next disc. She found herself enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. Yeah, she sincerely doubted she'd get a lot done this weekend.

By the time Lapis tried to return to the couch, Peridot had worked herself into a lather. She gesticulated, lying on her back, sprawled across the couch. "And then, in episode 7! Blurgh blurgha blurrgh," she said. Or something like that.

The tiny woman was somehow taking up the whole couch.

Lapis responded like a rational adult and flopped backwards onto the middle seat, crushing Peridot underneath her back in a surprisingly comfortable lounging position. Peridot gurgled and sputtered. "Hey, don't let me interrupt. Episode 7, right?" Said Lapis. She grinned as Peridot "Tiny Hands" Pumpkinmom struggled in vain to escape.

"Behemoth!" Peridot screamed, managing to wiggle her torso free and beginning to push on the side of Lapis's head and arm.

"I am 5 foot 3, you hobbit."

Peridot's wriggling and slapping was starting to disturb her lounging. Lapis grabbed both of Peridot's wrist and held them in one hand. This was the first time Lapis had ever had size as an advantage in a tussle. The power was going to her head.

Some of the noises that Peridot made in response were not quite human, but they were quite entertaining. Lapis didn't realize she was laughing gleefully until she snorted. Oh no. She just gave the enemy ammunition.

Peridot inhaled a breath, no doubt locking and loading a sick burn.

"I'll let you go if you don't say whatever it is you're about to say," interrupted Lapis.

Peridot calculated the costs and benefits of that proposal for a moment. "I accept your terms."

Lapis released her, just in time for the theme song to end and the show proper to start. Peridot settled into her usual sitting position with a huff.

Lapis pretended not to notice that they were still technically touching.

----

Yep, Lapis got absolutely nothing productive done that weekend. And she had plans for this one. The fish tank Peridot had given her was all set up now. They were definitely going to have to go to the pet store to pick up some aquatic residents. And Steven wanted to hang out too.

But for now, it was still Friday afternoon, and she still had to finish out her second session with Dr. Garnet.

"It was my fault, really, I initiated casual physical contact first. Now, between Steven, Peridot, and Pumpkin, I get no moments of peace. My space is no longer sacred. Yesterday I was reading in a one person bean bag chair and suddenly I had a rabbit and a house elf reading over my shoulder. Reading is not a team sport. She made me wait to turn the page until she caught up. Who does this?!" Lapis ranted.

Garnet chucked, "I understand completely. But, I have to ask, does this contact really bother you? Communicating boundaries is very important in close relationships."

Close relationship was a little strong. I mean, she'd known this group of people for what… 4 weeks now? Way too soon for close relationship status. For sure. "Well, I don't know, it's different than I'm used to." Honestly, Lapis was more familiar with being touched in a much different context.

"Forgive me if I assume too much, but I think it's possible you're enjoying the affection. Based on what you've shared with me, you're overdue for some healthy friendships."

A tactical strike. Lapis wasn't used to being read so easily either. "I mean, it's not… unpleasant, to be touched. I just. I don't want her to get any ideas or something."

"Hm." The head tilt.

"That just sounds like some awful drama, having to reject Peridot if she makes a move or something. We live in like… the same room."

"Hm-hm."

Lapis looked at the diploma behind Garnet's head. "Now that I say it out loud I feel silly, or like, vain. Like I expect anyone I'm around to want in my pants. God, what am I even talking about? I think Peridot would gnaw off her own arm before making me feel any negative emotion on purpose."

Garnet blinked. Maybe. The glasses made it hard to tell.

"I can't believe I actually wasted time sort of worrying about that. Why am I so uncomfortable with… comfortable situations? It's like I look for some hidden fucked up shit in everything. I mean, most of the time I'm right, but still. Steven trusts so much, and it seems to make him so happy. I kind of envy that."

"You shouldn't."

"Huh? Why?" Lapis was baffled, it didn't seem like a therapist to talk negatively about trusting people.

"You do trust."

Oh, she got it now. Well, kind of. "What do you mean?" Lapis was pretty damn sure that wasn't the case.

"You sincerely believe that Peridot wouldn't hurt you."

"Oh... Oh."

Garnet gave her a small smile.

"I don't know how to feel about that," Lapis admitted.

"Take as long as you need to process. Our session is almost over. We can continue this conversation next week, if that's something you'd like to do."

It was Lapis's turn to hm.

---

Lapis stood at the bus stop outside the clinic. For the first time in a while, she was really craving a drink. She dug her nails into her palms. She felt floaty, off balance, standing there, waiting for the bus. The shitty part of her started mapping out liquor stores that might not card her, bars she might be able to get into without flashing an ID. She wondered which bus lines would take her there. Her phone had a handy app for that sort of thing.

Her phone beeped. She thought of Jasper.

"Tell my baby angel Pumpkin I'm on my way home to him and I have baby spinach. Also hi Lapis, I guess." It was Peridot.

Lapis looked at her phone for a while. The bus pulled up. She got on and rode it home.

----

That stupid therapy session made Lapis start paying attention to her feelings. She didn't want to be caught off guard like that again. She would get so good at emotional self-awareness that that smug therapist wouldn't have anything to hm about. That's right, she would become a paragon of maturity out of pure spite.

But that whole process kind of sucked. If she hadn't been paying attention, she wouldn't have noticed things like the way she would feel a smile bubble up when something happened that she wanted to tell Peridot about later. She wouldn't have noticed how her body relaxed when she leaned into her on the couch, and how much fun she had during their many battles of wits. She wouldn't have noticed how her ridiculous outfits, the way she always spoke with her hands, and her nerdy ass hobbies were becoming sort of endearing despite everything Lapis stood for. When the interviews started coming in, despite the massive amounts of relief she felt every time she got a chance at a job, she felt agitated when they took place while Peridot was off work. Yeah, she would have much preferred to not have noticed any of those things.

She didn't know how she felt about those feelings. Periods of relaxed contentment were punctuated by periods of existential panic. Lapis felt like this all would have been better if it happened several years later, after she had time to untangle all her baggage. But she couldn't just ask Peridot to leave and come back later when she felt ready to interact with someone on a non-superficial level.

And besides, there was one feeling she could easily identify:

She didn't want any of it to change.

[0x1naevis]

You can tell a lot about someone from their favorite Marvel movie (includes: MCU, Fantastic Four reboot and original, all Spider-Man, and Deadpool)

Note: I did this at work last night, a few of my friends, and a few people I didn’t know and it was mostly accurate. I got a few people spot on though.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Not popular in High School

Had one good friend

Awkward or social phobia

Expects too much from themselves

Smart/failed gifted student

Went to a concert once and wondered when their concert was going to be

College isn’t/wasn’t their Plan A

Rock, Alternative, or Indie music

Thor

Use to do/does a sport

Gets drunk a lot

Parties all the time

Doesn’t actually know what this movie is about

Listens to Drake all of the time

Probably gets tutoring

Guardians of the Galaxy

Has a diverse group of friends

Not sure how they became friends

Hogs the aux cord

Dances in awkward situations

Has issues somewhere in their personal life

Popular amongst the outcasts

Doctor Strange

Doesn’t like politics but will debate like there’s no tomorrow

Probably a Libertarian

Has a weird collection

Introverted

Stupid smart

Either classical or mainstream

The Avengers

Hangs out with their friends once every two months

Cares about snapstreaks

Probably likes DC over Marvel

Has emojis in bio

Listens to whatever’s on the radio

Has a Nirvana shirt but has never listened to their music

Avengers: Age of Ultron

A Mess™

Probably killed someone

Still trying to hide the body

The body is bones now

Do Not Trust Them

Don’t.

Captain America: The First Avenger

40s aesthetic

Basic

Blonde

Cargo shorts

Somewhat Patriotic

Probably hooked up with Thor at a party

JROTC

“Haha then what? ;)”

“I’m just old fashioned”

Mumble rap

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Sad

Who hurt you

Had/going through their emo phase

Likes their best friend more than this movie

Screamo and/or kpop

Probably wants to go/has been to a Con

Mascara memes

Captain America: Civil War

Internal conflict

Hates rules

Likes their best friend more than their life

Their bff is Winter Soldier<3

Very political

Doesn’t have the best music taste

Ant-Man

Class Clown

Laughs when someone says ‘do-do’

Kinda annoying

“You love me anyway^_^”

Pls wear deodorant

Says “Deadpoop”

Rages to Journey

Deadpool

Overdramatic

Class clown that gets in trouble

Best friends with Ant-Man

Threatens everyone for no reason

Got held back a grade

East Side, Gang Rap

Linkin Park

Not sure where they go and if they’re still alive

Iron Man

THE Asshole

Richest kid in school

Always talks about money

Bullied in grade school

Hooked up with Thor and Captain America

Had a traumatic moment but wasn’t affected by it

Male R&B

Kevin Hart

Iron Man 2

Self-aware asshole

Jokes about death all of the time

Cries 25/8

Asks Hoco to do their homework

Smart enough to do homework

Old rock and Lana Del Rey

Bo Burnham

Thor: The Dark World

Hoco’s best friend

Whimsical

Multi-Fandom

Probably likes Percy Jackson

Tries to be funny

Too serious to be funny

Listens to Bag Raiders’ “Shooting Stars” on repeat and Blackbear

Iron Man 3

Loves calling Hoco 'son’

Goes to therapy

Sarcastic

Thinks IM2 jokes about death too much

Salutatorian and okay with it

Musicals

Plays piano and guitar

Vibes to Bohemian Rhapsody

Had a band in high school but it failed

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Not as popular as GotG

Friends with their middle school bullies

Go with the flow

Gets over problems fast

Likes their step-parent better than their blood parent

Puffy leather jacket from Goodwill

Arctic Monkeys or Enrique Iglesias

Got their friends into their music

The Incredible Hulk

Soft

Probably jokes about being the Hulk

“You won’t like me when I’m angry”

They’re actually the weak angry

They just cry

All they said was “dammit”

Retweets IM2’s emo tweets all the time but they never talk irl

NSYNC

Original Spider-Man Trilogy

Thinks 90s kids run the world

Thinks everyone is problematic

Popular quote tweets of them saying “omg wtf ”

Doesn’t have friends because nobody wants to be around them but they say it’s because their “awkward”

“Quirky”

Doesn’t care about offending people

Soundcloud rappers

“Y'all already know who it is”

“Haha”

“Been on this grind since the streets”

Says emojis out loud

Rip vine

The Amazing Spider-Man Movies

I’m sorry

Really soft

Everyone thinks they’re problematic

Not popular

Acquaintances with Hoco only because they’re scared of them

Use to be a little popular but there was a bad rumor and a situation blew up more than it should have and they look bad now

Pop princesses

Fantastic Four Reboot

New kid

Pathological liar

Not great at relationships

Everyone is their best friend but not really

Starts rumors

“I don’t know her”

You think they listen to rap but they actually have Swish Swish on an eternal loop

Don’t associate themselves with Original Fantastic Four for no reason

Original Fantastic Four

Actually kinda funny

Probably married now

Not memorable

Just want to be X-Men

You probably should have been friends with them but you were both different in high school and it’s weird now

You’re both so different

You’re Facebook friends though

They only listen to censored versions of songs

Goes to Theme Parks too much

[jflashandclash]

Attrition of Peace

Twenty-Two: Ajax

When Hugs are Too Much to Ask For

 Warning!

Contains sexual themes and some bluntness about mythological relationships. The latter half of the chapter is plot heavy though, so if you get uncomfortable and want to tap out and skip ahead, just F-search “vacuum of smoke” to run into some canon favorite characters!

  All Pax wanted when he woke up was to cuddle with someone that he would share a Reese’s Stick with.

He couldn’t bother Axel. Axel looked so peaceful for once. And he’d probably wake up screaming, in a few hours. Likely because he dreamed about stabbing Pax’s hand and going in for the kill. Plus, seeing Axel stab him didn’t really put Pax in a brotherly mood.

Pax wondered what made Axel snap. He liked to think it had something to do with sneaking a condom into Axel’s pocket on his date with Reyna—but it wasn’t Pax’s fault that he wanted Axel to be responsible when he knew his brother wouldn’t have forethought for it. It was the system’s fault for not teaching proper sex education.[1]

Sneaking into the girls’ room left Pax with a contusion on his calf. He should have known Merry would put Euna by the door. She was like an alarm system and a taser all in a tiny ball of Korean. And going to Alabaster’s room just left him enumerating all the things he’d done wrong in the last year and a half. Quite an impressive list, one that might outweigh how much of a jerk Odysseus was in the Odyssey. But only maybe.

When he walked downstairs to express the immensity of this list to Alabaster, apologize and explain that he really needed to talk about his nightmares, he found Kally and Alabaster on the porch, and Aphrodite’s prophecy rang like the worst commercial jingle in his head, the person you love will fall in love with your best friend. By now, the tune he’d devised for it was obnoxiously catchy.

His two best friends and ex-sort-of-not-lovers were falling in love. He would say it was hot—because seeing them together was hot—but he doubted they’d let him squeeze between them in that sleeping bag.

As he watched, Alabaster touched her shoulder, warping the Mist in front of them to look like some other forest, the way Alabaster used to warp the Mist to show Pax and Axel the jungles of Belize when they were homesick.

Pax was already shaking. Nausea made him woozy every time he thought about Hiro holding that gun near Percy’s baby sister. Sweat had soaked his brow from his first dream—seeing his blade jam through his palm and pin him to the ground so the one family member that cared about him could stab him to death.

As he watched his two friends, he recognized Kally’s painfully shy flirtation and Alabaster’s standard obliviousness to his own attraction to another, thinly covered by random muttering about science or magic. It was the weirdest way to pick up a person that Pax had ever seen, and he’d seen Axel and Reyna flirt.

Pax realized how little he could do for them. He couldn’t tutor Kally in chemistry. He couldn’t accelerate Alabaster’s emotional healing with song. Pax couldn’t go for a full day without severely screwing up everything for everyone.

He stepped backwards away from the back porch door. Pax didn’t notice the three weasels that watched him step through the living room to the front of the house.

All he could do was rub his palm, where his brother would inevitably pin him. Why couldn’t he make a joke about it? He’d been having the same nightmare for months and didn’t have any standup comedy prepared. Probably because he couldn’t stand up in the dream-prophecy. Well, if he couldn’t stand up, he could at least give a hand to swab the deck.[2]

That didn’t even make him crack a smile. He felt too nauseous and overwhelmed, like he’d ingested a squirrel’s winter reserve of tree nuts and left his EpiPen back in New Rome. Pax walked out the front porch, feeling the icy air blast his bare chest. Normally, Pax hated the cold, but he couldn’t tell if his shakes were from the temperature or from his nightmare.

He didn’t stop walking until the edge of the property line, cleanly distinguishable by how overgrown Alabaster’s lawn was compared to that of his neighbors. And the tiny gleam of rune barrier encircling the property.

Pax stopped there and did the manliest thing he could: he sank to his knees to cry.

And landed directly on a nail.

“Cho!” Pax cursed. Why was there a nail in the middle of the lawn?

Someone giggled.

That was when Pax realized he was in his boxers without any weapons. He sat up, attempting to compose himself to look like the scariest cute creature alive. Though, first, he plucked the nail out of his knee with dignity.

“So much mythology and literature lingers on heroes being crushed and breaking down.” Someone poofed into existence on the neighbor’s lawn, a foot outside the rune barrier. “Is it for a noble cause? Like the excitement of watching them get back up? Or the sadistic pleasure of knowing someone extraordinary crumbles just like you.”

That cheerful sentiment only befit one person. Pax tried to say something clever and witty, but could only say, “Atë,” in greeting.

From what Pax could see in the brilliant moonlight and street lamps, Atë was curled in a blanket that was made from sewn newspaper articles. Since it didn’t crinkle with her movement, he assumed they were printed on fabric. There were pictures of beheadings, half-blown buildings, fire spewing out of the Twin Towers, starving children, and an Asian man standing in front of a tank. Oh, and what Pax recognized as a cancelation of Legend of Korra.

She wore an oversized white nightshirt with black script, a black choker, and multicolored ribbons along her arms. Her jagged black hair was longer, slightly curled, and had purple, red, and white streaks this time. She looked… less like she’d rolled in a dumpster, though dirt still streaked her face and arms.

Atë tossed something at Pax that clocked him in the face.

Whatever it was didn’t kill him. The material was soft, and shockingly didn’t smell like a fresh corpse. Very considerate. When Pax unraveled the folded piece, he found a sweatshirt with the image of monster-sized weasels eating tiny stick-figure humans.

Pax wasn’t sure if the gesture was meant to upset him. Weasels normally made him happy. Whatever the intention, he felt himself choke up. “You made me a homemade sweater?” he asked.

Atë stared at him with those unblinking red eyes. Her matching lips twitched down slightly.

Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them. Slowly, hoping there weren’t spiders bundled inside, he slipped the material on. Nothing. Either it was the world’s slowest reacting poison, or she needed to do something to set it off.

“Th—thank you,” Pax said, wrapping his arms around himself. He didn’t realize how cold he was until he felt the sweater’s warmth. He sniffled. He also didn’t realize how horrible he felt before the contrast of a kind act. He tried to talk again, but shuddered.

Atë nodded at the nail in his hand. “That was meant for someone else, but I’ll take two demigods with one nail… I thought you’d be happy to see your siblings and find out Mom’s plan.”

“Infanticide and traveling through the Underworld aren’t in the top ten ways I want my siblings to spend their free time,” Pax said. “Especially when they’re only doing it because they’re mad at me.”

Atë shrugged. “Hiro isn’t just mad at you. He’d kidnap everyone’s little sister if he could,” she assured him.

“Thanks, Atë. It’s comforting to know my little brother is an aspiring serial killer.”

She laughed. “Ajax, I like you. I don’t want Axel to be driven mad and cut you up.” She sat up and leaned closer to him. As her shirt collar hung away from her body, Pax became uncomfortably aware of the black lace of her bra. She had matched it to her choker.

“You really screwed up with Alabaster and Kalypso,” she said.

Pax wanted to laugh it off, but everything felt like it was tunneling, Alice in Wonderland style.  He looked away. “I can’t blame them,” he whispered, “It’s like you said. I’m reckless, clumsy, and especially prone to screwing up. Not great dating material. Or person material.” He could imagine someone building a Lego Pax out of baby panda images and mistakes.

“Improvising,” she corrected.

“What?”

“You’re phenomenal at improvising, not screwing up,” she said. From the deadpan expression, Pax couldn’t tell if she was mocking him or serious. Maybe both. “But, you did screw up. Of course you were going to screw up.”

Pax flinched at the way she said “you.” But, then she continued, “Everyone screws up: humans, gods, cute rodents… I know that better than anyone.” She glanced off to the side.

“Are you, the Goddess of Mischief and Ruin, trying to cheer me up?” Pax asked. The nail slipped from his fingers as he stared at her.

Atë sat back in her blanket.

“Ajax, do you know why I like you?”

“Because I’m as cute as a baby panda,” he guessed.

“The fact that you’re as cute as a dead panda is nice—”

“—I said baby—”

“—but, you’re always nice to me and you’re fun. Most people are really mean when I’m around.” She kicked her feet underneath the blanket, making an illustration of a mushroom cloud billow up like another bomb had gone off within the newspaper article. “Children of Strife are always outcasts and we always hurt the people we love. We’re designed to be bad guys—”

“We’re not bad guys!” Pax cried, “We’re j-just—”

“Clumsy…” she finished with a weird grin. Atë opened up her arms, letting all the colorful ribbons on her arms dangle. “Ajax, can I have a hug?”

That was all Pax had wanted since he woke up. He crawled into the neighbor’s yard. As soon as he touched Atë, she and the blanket poofed. When they reappeared, the blanket was tightly wrapped around the two of them and Atë nuzzled into his shoulder. Pax leaned onto his side, not expecting her to be so close.

Despite that, he relaxed, ecstatic to be curled up with someone. And warm. Now he fully realized how cold out it was.

She didn’t smell like blood for once, an afterthought Pax was thankful for. “Atë, I have a really important question, one that might change the entire situation,” he said, “What does your shirt say?”

He was hoping she might pull away a little. Instead, she giggled, “When all the truth does is make your heart ache… sometimes a lie is easier to take.”[3]

She bit his neck, hard.

“Aye! Knock it off, you little empousa,” Pax complained.

“Ajax, we’re young and reckless. Do you wanna take things way too far?”

“Did you just quote Taylor Swift at me—” She shifted to wrap her legs around him and Pax became very aware she wasn’t wearing PJ pants with her nightshirt. Her fingers felt like ice as they rolled down his back. Pax felt like his mouth had gone completely dry. “—Oh! Uh—Atë, aren’t you my half-sister? And Eris’s daughter? And my half-sister?”

Had he just stroked out or suffered from a major bout of amnesia? Very possible. Maybe he’d had all Greek mythology wrong this whole time. Maybe he was actually a child of Hera—somehow—and this was all just a joke—Yea, he thought Atë was hot, but—but—

“Mom says that’s like thirteenth cousin in the Greek world,” Atë said. She raised her head and fixated those cold, red eyes on him. Pax could feel her warm breathe on his face, how he’d imagine a gasmask might feel before you go under for dental work.

She slid one hand up to press a finger to the bottom of his chin, forcing him to maintain eye contact. “The gods all fucked their siblings. I’m a god and you’re mostly god. Besides, I have too low a self-esteem to care that I’m a rebound—sorry—a rebound off a rebound. A double rebound? And you’re too emotionally compromised to say no.”

The number of times Pax didn’t know what to say was rare, but steadily rising. This was one of those times. What?! sounded appropriate, but he couldn’t get the word out before Atë ran her tongue along his lower lip.

“Um—” was his second attempt when she nipped his upper lip.

A sense of panic made him tremble when she pressed her mouth to his. Everything felt clammy.

The sudden image of Flynn’s teary face flashed through his memory when Flynn had whispered, “Don’t talk.”

Pax shoved Atë back. “No!” he snapped. His mind stumbled over what to say—his voice had been too serious and too alarmed. “Only after dinner and a date.  By the gods, did Mom teach you any manners? You haven’t bought me flowers or chocolates or a chinchilla!” he babbled.

Atë’s eyes widened, then she gave him that unblinking smile. “This is why I like you Ajax. You’re so full of surprises.[4] You know how I said we always hurt the people we love?”

He nodded. He couldn’t decide if he was desperate enough for a hug to stay out here, or if he wanted to go inside and be alone. Where he’d think about Alabaster and Kally. And Hiro and Lapis. And Axel killing him. Man, tonight sucked. He wanted to shake a foam middle finger at the Fates, but he figured that would be like telling them… that they were uncreative… like he’d thought earlier.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

The comment didn’t sound like it was directed at kissing him.

Something light dropped on Pax from above.

Atë and her blanket poofed in a vacuum of smoke.

Pax scrambled to rip whatever was on him off, only to find his fingers caught in a tightly woven mesh net. The net constricted and he felt himself drag about a yard away from Alabaster’s house and his protective rune barrier. Had this not been a horrifying situation, he might have shouted, “Weee!”

“Got him!” a boy cheered. “The Silver Festus was right about their location.”

Had Pax known this was about to happen anyway, he wouldn’t have held off from flicking off the Fates. He would have stolen all of the money out of Camp Half-Blood’s store registers to buy the world’s biggest foam middle finger and slapped each Fate with it, dueling style.

As they were some distance away from the store, Pax resorted to a quick shout.

“It’s okay. Calm down. We’re not here to hurt you,” a girl said.

Although the night was going miserably, Pax felt some of his stress ease. She was telling the truth. Though… hearing what he readily identified as charmspeak threatened to twist his stomach back into a ball of heebie jeebies.

He didn’t have his headphones on him to cancel her out or any weapons. He was out of solution for his sleep darts anyway. Pax bit and tore at the net, but the fabric wouldn’t give.

In the street light, Pax could see three figures approaching from a hide out by the neighbor’s house. One was in a full, black camouflage outfit, except for a bright spike of blond bouncing from the boy’s head. From that and the bow, Pax could guess that was Will Solace.

He and Piper McLean flanked either side of Annabeth Chase as she walked towards Pax. The other two were more sensibly dressed in grey camo. Other than Solace, no one had a weapon drawn. If anything, Piper had her hands up to show that she was unarmed.

“Dude,” Pax said, “You have gotta start covering your hair when you’re in stealth operations.”

Will snorted. “You didn’t see me.”

Pax almost said he was distracted by his sister trying to make out with him, but he decided that was something best left quiet. Forever.[5]

“We come in peace,” Piper said. From the way she grinned over at Annabeth, Pax had the feeling she’d been waiting to say that all night.

Annabeth stopped a foot from Pax and stared down at him. Although Pax couldn’t see them directly, he could imagine the cold analysis of her grey eyes. She could be the first replaced human in a robot invasion and no one would know. She’s probably a robot right now…. “We’re a diplomacy party. The others are on standby if something goes wrong, but let’s try to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Pax wanted to cry from happiness at the robot. He could feel a tear freeze on his cheek. Maybe he shouldn’t slap the Fates with a foam flick off finger. Maybe this was exactly what they needed.

Excellent batch of ambassadors. No one with a short temper, and the best girl ever for crowd control. Pax just had to refrain from insulting Jason or Percy…. That could be difficult.

Best of all, no Romans.

Annabeth and Piper knelt beside him.

“Connor and Matthias said you’re skittish and very quick, so we’re going to leave you in the net for now, okay?” Annabeth said.

“But we’re not going to hurt you or arrest you,” Piper added, “So stay calm.”

Pax nodded, sniffling. “That’s fine. Can I have a hug? Or a lollypop?” he asked.

“No hugs,” Will said, “I’ve examined the people you’ve stunned in the past. You’re exceptionally good at finding people’s pressure points. But here is a lollypop.” He withdrew something from a medical fanny pack around his waist and tossed it to Pax.

Piper stared at Will. “Do you keep lollypops with you everywhere you go?”

Will shrugged. “I never know when I’ll need to treat a patient.”

Pax managed to squeeze the lollypop through the net and unwrap it. He sat up and popped it into his mouth. Cherry. Acceptable. Between that and Piper’s charmspeak, he felt his breath level out. Though his teeth started to chatter in the cold.

Now, he needed to clear up stuff—and fast. Hopefully before anyone other than Merry, Calex, or Kally heard any of this. Hopefully, no one heard his first yelp. “I wasn’t part of and didn’t know Hiro was going to kidnap Percy’s little sister—”

“Someone kidnapped her?” Annabeth snapped. Her fist tightened over her dragon bone sword hilt. Piper and Will exchanged glances.

Pax swallowed. “Okay, well, that sounded bad. I just got a dream vision that it happened. My brother and sister are working for my mom—” Pax paused. He hated admitting who his mother was. “And she’s been setting me, Axel, and the others up to look like nice, furry scapegoats, or scapesatyrs—oh, I like that—”

“Focus,” Piper requested gently.

“Right,” he said. “I mean, you know Calex could never betray you guys. If you weren’t dating Percy and he didn’t have his major thing for Merry, you know he’d marry you in a heartbeat—haha—Merry—”

Annabeth made a face.

“—and Merry’s just been trying to keep us from fighting. My mom has some big evil plan to attack Camp Half-Blood with Phobetor, Melinoe, Python, and—and Atë, and all we want to do is warn camp.”

“With Backbiter and the Golden Net?” Annabeth asked skeptically. “And Percy’s kidnapped baby sister?”

“We needed those to… to arrest my dad. He was a bad guy.” Pax glanced off to the side. “Mom took the net. And I don’t know where the tiny Jackson is.”

Annabeth frowned. “Did Euna kill your father?”

Pax nodded, puffing up his cheeks and popping them. “After he sacrificed her sister in a Mesoamerican ceremony and put a string of thorns through my tongue, but let’s not get into semantics.”

Piper winced.

Annabeth tapped her fingers on the hilt of her sword. “Pax… I think I have a hunch on your mother.” Pax tensed. “Is your mother someone petty enough to attack Camp Half-Blood purely to show off that she’s better than her siblings? That she’s ‘the darkest?’”

Pax coughed. As badly as his instinct was to talk in circles, time was of the essence, and there was only one answer to that question. “Um… yes. Yes, she is.”

Annabeth rubbed her temple. “Oh my gods. This is all because of a conversation Percy and I had with Nyx when we went through Tartarus. We got her children to argue over who was the darkest to distract them.”

“You’re joking,” Will said.

“No—no—that sounds exactly like something that would set my mom off to craft an elaborate scheme to cause a lot of chaos. Or no scheme. Mom’s not much of a full planner. S-She just sets things up and watches them f-fall apart,” Pax said. He shifted in the net. Now that he wasn’t curled up with Atë and distracted from his despair, he re-remembered the cold.

“If this is who I think it is, she started the Trojan War because she wasn’t invited to a party,” Annabeth said. “Pax, Matthias and Chris said you were once called the Silver Tongued Snake because of your skills in dodging the truth.”

“W-Way to sell a b-brother out,” Pax grumbled.

“But, they also said you’re well intentioned. I think you’re being honest. Something doesn’t add up here if this isn’t some kind of set up.”

“Awes-some,” Pax said. He puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “But—l-listen—I’m c-cool with this whole ‘being c-captured in a net th-thing’ but you g-guys need to get out of here. You can s-set up a secret s-surveillance team if you want, like a badass-s-s cop movie, but I need you out of s-sight of the—”

Somewhere behind Pax, he could hear a door thump shut and the soft strum of a guitar.

All the blood felt like it drained from Pax’s body.

“Enter! Jak-Jak the Plague Bringer, stage left!” came a horrific whisper.

Pax twisted to the right, his eyes wide. Striding across the yard was a twiggy redhead in flamboyantly pink pajamas with a five string base.

Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “No—no—you need to leave, n-now! Like, fly-l-like-the-wind-Bullseye kinda leave—”

“You’re going to want to release my friend,” Jack said.

Annabeth and Piper stood up.

“We came here in peace,” Piper said. She didn’t sound as calm as last time.

Jack paused, about a yard away and gave Annabeth a dashing grin. “Oh my! Luke’s pedophilic crush! Do you wanna know why the Leonis Caupt, Witch Boy and I wouldn’t let him see you unescorted when you were captured? You wouldn’t believe the things he wanted to do to the body of a tiny, innocent… what were you? Thirteen-year-old?”

Annabeth went rigid and paled. “Luke wouldn’t have—” She gritted her teeth. “Who are you?” she demanded.

Piper put her hands up again. “Hey—wait—”

Jack chuckled. “I already announced myself. Jak-Jak the Plague Bringer. Scourge of New Rome. At your service, my lovely ladies and gents. And you are a bunch of Ol’ Sissies.”

“Jack—I’m okay—just go inside,” Pax begged. Jack hadn’t yet noticed—

Jack did an excited jump. He clutched the neck of his base tightly. “That flaxen hair—that curvaceous bow—an athletic and lithe build—and a medical fanny pack,” he gasped and licked his lips, “I know you’re a child of that whore.”

Will clenched his bow. “That’s unwarranted to talk about my mom—”

“Sexist. I’m sure your mother is a lovely saint. I’m talking about the other half of our family.” Jack’s grin broadened. “Tell me… what’s your name?”

“Will Solace,” Will said, scowling.

“Well, Will Solace, tell me too… Have you ever danced with a devil in the pale moonlight?” Jack asked. “And would you rather dance alone? Or do you want your friends to join us?”

From the way Jack jittered with excitement, Pax could tell this wasn’t about Pax’s capture anymore. Jack’s mind had honed in on his sibling and wouldn’t hear anyone else. Pax didn’t know if it would make it better or worse to shout out for Axel and Alabaster. Alabaster might not stop the fight.  He might help Jack.

Maybe Piper could cut him off—or Annabeth would—

Jack laughed and strummed on his base.

“Submissive my body, tender and weak.

Closer to death, my body must be.

If I must attest, then it’s fluids at best.

Submissive my body, the pain and the rest.”[6]

As he sang, Will’s eyes went wide. He opened his mouth—likely to sing to counter Jack—but choked on a cough.

Piper went to speak, probably to say, Hey, you sound a little crazy, cool it down a few notches, but made a wrenching sound instead. She doubled over, vomiting onto the lawn. Annabeth stumbled to the side, clutching her head.  

“You know, I meant to give you acute laryngitis,” Jack hissed, strumming his strings. “But I’m a sloppy bard. Now that we made it so our two birdies can’t sing, let’s get this rock show started.”

Footnotes:

[1] Mel would like to point out that Pax and Axel were in the school system far too young for them to be teaching sex ed, so he has no right to blame the Belizean school system for his crassness.

[2] If Pax is making jokes like this now, and he’s 16, think about the Dad jokes he’ll be making if he gets old enough to be a dad.

[3] MLP, The Return of Harmony Part 1, Discord.

[4] Mel first read this as, “you’re so full of puppies.” Pax and I both prefer her interpretation of the text.

[5] False. Pax should tell someone about this, but uh—we’ve already solidly established that he makes bad decisions.

[6] Influenza in the Winter, Ryan A. Flourney. Feb 2014. Shit is about to get real! XD

[miragerules]

The 10 Best Films of 2017 so far, and the 10 Films to look forward to in the second half of the year

Well it is now July 6th, and we are now a little past the half way mark of 2017, so I will delve into what are the 10 Best Films of 2017 so far starting with number 10.

10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: What is it with Marvel and their villains and climaxes of their films?  Sure there are exceptions like Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron and Civil War, but in general Marvel has a real villain problem as well as finishing off their films in a fully satisfying way.  That being said Guardians of the Galaxy is perhaps the most light hearted and funnest of the Marvel films thanks to director James Gunn, the score, and the chemistry/acting of the cast.

3.75/5 Stars 

9. The Wall: The Wall is a short, but a pretty gritty and intense Iraq war film directed by Doug Liman.

4/5 Stars

8. Ghost in the Shell:  I will always give credit to the likes of Akira and Ghost in the Shell for helping to make Anime popular in America making it easier to for Anime series and films to be release here, but I as never that impressed with Ghost In the Shell outside of its stunning animation.

I have never liked the original Ghost in the Shell as much as the other anime films that I was introduced to in the 80’s through the mid 90’s with the likes of Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Patlabor The Movie and Robot Carnival among others, so I had no I high expectations with the remake except to get a good film that would hopefully do well box office wise, so studios will take more chances on live action anime films like in pre-production Robotech and the always talked about Cowboy Bebop film.

I think those reasons might have helped me enjoy Rupert Sanders Ghost in the Shell, and I really liked the film. I haven’t seen the original in probably over a decade, but from what I remember the film stays pretty close to the original with the biggest change coming to the Major’s backstory, which I loved.

I won’t get into what I believe are very overblown and unwarranted criticisms of whitewashing when it comes to Scarlett Johansson’s casting, and instead say Johansson was wonderful as The Major who effortlessly brings The Major to life.

The action and visuals/effects were really good. My criticism of the film is the lack of real character development outside The Major and maybe Batou. There were certain Section 9 characters I would have like to seen more of. Another criticism is that although I liked the story, themes and ideas in the film, the film doesn’t dive too deep, and instead spent more time on the visuals and action. I contribute both criticisms to the films short run time at only about an 1 hour and 45 minutes that includes both the opening and ending credits. I wish Sanders and the writers could have spend another ten minutes on the story and supporting characters, but that isn’t a huge criticism for me as it didn’t stop me from really enjoying Ghost in the Shell as much if not more than I did the original film.

I really hoped Ghost in the Shell would do well at the box office, and we could get more films, because Johansson deserves her own franchise. Scarlett certainly has proven to me with her role Black Widow along with starring in Lucy and now with Ghost in the Shell that she can solo lead a action film/franchise.  Unfortunately that most likely is not going to happen.  Ghost in the Shell broke even and made some money, but I doubt Paramount is going to green light a sequel.

4.25/5 Stars

7. The Exception: A great World War II drama/thriller film about the exiled German Emperor Wilhelm II played magnificently by Christopher Plummer and co-starring Jai Courtney, and Lily James.

4.5/5 Stars

6. The Red Turtle: All your should need to know about The Red Turtle to see the film is to watch the above trailer and know that it was made by Studio Ghibli the same company that made Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, and Kiki’s Delivery Service.  The Red Turtle is my third favorite Studio Ghibli film behind Grave of the Fireflies and Princess Mononoke.

4.5/5 Stars

5. John Wick Chapter 2: John Wick is the best action franchise since the first three Bourne films (I try to forget about two mediocre and bad sequels), and Keanu Reeves has found the role he was perfect for and meant for.

4.75/5

4. Logan: Logan might be classified as in the superhero genre, but to be Logan is a modern western with a small dose of sci-fi/fantasy elements.  Perhaps that is one of the reason Logan separates itsself from the rest of the X-Men films and the Marvel films along with its story, themes and tone help to make like Deadpool a breath of fresh air in the superhero genre.  Then there are Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart.  Logan is Jackman’s last film playing Logan whom he’s played since 2000’s X-Men, and Logan is most likely Patrick Stewart’s last film playing Charles Xavior who he’s also played since the first X-Men film.  Both actors give their best performances as Logan and Xavior as perhaps the last two X-Men alive in a world where mutants are all but extinct and being hunted down.  Logan truly is one of the best superhero/comic book films to go along with the likes of Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Dark Knight, and Wonder Woman.

4.75/5

3. Wonder Woman: Personally I don’t understand all the criticism of Man of Steel and Batman Vs. Superman, but whether you agree with the criticism of the first two films of the DC Extended Universe and the really bad Suicide Squad the DC Extended Universe needed a win more critic wise than box office wise, and WB/DC got both with the excellent Wonder Woman.

4.75/5 Stars

2. Baby Driver: Baby Driver is a masterpiece of film making and a prime example as film as art.  I have never been as much as a fan of Edgar Wright as critics and my friends have, but what Wright has film with Baby Driver is magnificent.  Baby Driver is a high octane action, drama, musical that combines the cult classic Streets of Fire with the classic Heat.  The level of detail Wright, cinematographer, and stunt coordinators went through to match every song to each scene perfectly is astonishing and wonderful experience in the theater.  The acting by Jamie Fox, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Eiza González, and even the relative new comer Ansel Elgort whom I had never seen before did an excellent job in the film.  Baby Driver is a film to be seen over and over again to fully appreciate the how great film Baby Driver is.

5/5 Stars

1.The Lost City of Z: It was hard for me to chose between Baby Driver and The Lost City of Z, but if there is one film that is better than Baby Driver than it is the Lost City of Z.  I am a sucker for historical films and especially ones about topics I know nothing or very little about.  Before seeing the trailer for The Lost City of Z I had never heard of Percy Fawcett (Played exceptionally well by Charlie Hunnam) the famous explorer and his disappearance in the Amazon.  The film is based on the non-fiction book of the same name and by David Grann which goes into Fawcett’s life and his disappearance as well as investigating the so called Lost city of Z.  The book is really good, and while Grann’s novel has garnered high praise, Grann has faced some criticism in his view of Fawcett and his exploits as an explorer.

Let us move onto the film itself directed by James Gray.  Gray’s The Lost City of Z has an old school Hollywood of the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s with the detailed story telling, themes, score, and cinematography.  As I said above Charlie Hunnam was fantastic as Fawcett bringing to life Fawcett’s love for adventure and his blinding obsession in finding his city of Zed.  Charlie Huunam is supported by Robert Pattinsion who in recent years has finally come into his own since leaving the bad Twilight franchise high praised performances in Cosmopolis and The Rover, and continues here in The Lost City of Z as Henry Costin, Fawcett’s right hand man and good friend.  Like Baby Driver the Lost Citye of Z is a film that should not be missed and seen more than once.

Films I have not seen yet, but want to: Beauty and the Beast, The Lego Batman Movie, Get Out, Life, Colossal, Alien: Covenant, and Megan Leavey.

The 10 Most Anticipated Films for the Second Half of 2017

1. Blade Runner 2049 2. Dunkirk 3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi 4. Wind River 5. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 6. The Snowman  7. Justice League  8. Goodbye Christopher Robin 9. American Assassin 10. Greatest Showman