#it's fine. there will be more chances etc.

[realitys-ex]

A Mediocre review of 'Fourth Wing' by Rebecca Yarros

I'm going to be up front: It was awful, if you loved the book and don't want to be frustrated by someone who 'doesn't get it', all the power to you, and stop reading!

My review will only aggravate you to no purpose.

Also, I will be fully spoiling the book, so fair warning.

That aside...This book was bad. It checked off every trope on the list of 'shitty generic fantasy book with smut tropes' and wasn't even well written.

But hey, why don't we delve into why it sucked?

The writing itself was poor. I could barely make through the first 10 pages, and though it was better for the majority, it is some of the worst I've ever read for the back 10-20.

Next, the setting. Your M.C. is the daughter of the general of the Dragon portion of the Army, and though she was training to be a scribe, last minute her mother forces her to attempt to become a Dragon rider which is terribly physically difficult.

Oh, also like....50%+ of dragon rider trainees die.

Why? To prove that they will be tough enough to ride dragons. Would it work just as well if at every occasion they would 'die' they just... got drummed out instead? Probably! Would that save your best and brightest for other rolls in the military? Sure! Will they do that? No! Why? BECAUSE! (like, obv. there is the in world explanation that this way only the most dedicated apply, but.... that is clearly post fact. An excuse to allow there to be stakes rather than a true reason)

Next our fearless (or rather, fearful) lead runs into her romantic interests: The law abiding dude from her youth, and the edgy, sexy son of a rebel who has a tattoo marking him as such! (all the rebels children have these marks)

Why do they have these marks, and why are so many of them in the Dragon Riding School? Because they were allowed to live only if they watched their parents die, got these marks, and entered the school, which if they survived would turn them into some of the most powerful and dangerous people in the country.

WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT ANY PART OF THAT PLAN WAS A GOOD IDEA?

But, w/e, she will stay away from this sexy bad boy because he is 'toxic' and she doesn't do 'toxic'. the implication should be that she was in a terrible relationship before, which would give some fun character building.... but nope never addressed.

Against all odds she survives to dragon selection day, dodging classmates who are attempting to kill, which is more or less fine with everyone!

And she gets selected by the mythical Feather Tail! Now, dragons are divided along to axis: Colour and Tail type. Colour gives you your standard mixes, which says certain things about the dragons temperament (how to aproach it, intelligence, etc.). Tail type says.... also something about fight type? I'll be honest I was slightly zoned out there. But like there are club tails, sword tails, etc.

Now feather tails are crazy rare, and don't do combat, so she saves it from some of her classmates who were going to kill it b/c it was so weak, and b/c of this she gets selected by a Black Dragon (one of the best ones!) and also the feather tail!

Bonding two dragons, unheard of!

(TBH, this bit I was ok with, she isn't super special or anything, the black dragon was just 'oh, you saved a weak dragon, I like you. Lets bond' and the feathertail was 'oh, you saved me. Lets bond')

Now it turns out that Feathertails aren't rare! They are just children/babies. So aren't allowed to bond (also their magic works funky, but I'll get to that later).

Why aren't the dragons open about this? Fuck if I know!

Anyway, she continues to dodge murderous colleges who think there is a chance if she dies the dragon will bond with them instead (which apparently happens? wtf?).

And because her dragon is the mate of the dragon bonded to dark and sexy, they are bonded also!

So when their dragons are fucking, they both get super horny, but dark and sexy turns her down b/c she can't really consent.

UhHuh.

Oh, and now DarkandSexy needs her to stay alive b/c there is a chance if she dies her dragon dies, if her dragon dies his dragon will die (b/c mated pair), and if his dragon dies, he dies.

Don't worry everyone, they fuck and it is awesome for everyone!

Anyway. That is the book, there is actual plot of world politics, but eh. As shitty as that was, I am sure the sequels make it less stupid then it appears from the get go.

But yeah, 1, maybe 2 redeeming features from the whole book.

(The dragon bonds overall are actually kinda interesting, it's just with relation to everything else they become dumb. Like, ok. If you are unbonded and look at a dragon the wrong way, your'e dead. Fair enough. But... that still applies once you bond? Like Dragons see the bonded of other dragons as fair play? It seems that after a month it is pretty emotionally devistating for their humans to die. Why wouldn't there be social rules about that?

Oh and.... no one invented harnesess for dragons yet. You need to stay on your dragon via thigh grip. Sure makes for decent sex acrobatics... but wtf?)

Anyway....

Cons: -The first and last parts of the book(Arguablly the most important) are *terribly* written -The 'Constant risk of death' doesn't actually make sense -Everything done with 'children of the traitors' seems designed to set up a coup in like 10 years (which... if that was by design of someone who wanted a coup in world, 10/10, but I am not reading more to find out) -The secrecy around the young dragons makes no sense (like, there is a pseudo in world explanation to do with magic, but the dragons could said 'oh they are our young. no bonding.' and skipped the bit about magic) -NO ONE THOUGHT ABOUT HARNESSES? I was legit confused about that the entire book! -The 'romance' in its entirety was awful -The way dragons interact with bonded, and students interact with bonded was illogical at best

Pros: -The magic system (such as it was) was actually kinda cool -The bonding system was decent -'Why main character is so special' was actually good!

Overall.... there were about 100/450 pages I enjoyed it. So I'll give it a 4/10.

I will not pick up a book suggested by this friend ever again.

[textsfromthetva]

all right fine, another thing

behold, my roman empire:

the way we were introduced to him as a confident, smug asshole just minutes before, and now when he's scared because his entire worldview is being torn apart, he immediately goes to Dox and she comforts him. in the creepiest 'touch as a grounding technique' way ever. like, you're in public, babes, tone it down a little, you're freaking out B-15, and also the rest of us

same, girl. same.

actually, I'm just going to refer to Together, Always when it comes to the Dox/Brad relationship (with a sexual aspect to it), because I basically incorporated it into my soul from the moment I read it. my brain chemistry was altered, etc etc.

this fic has got it all: unhealthy dynamics, disturbing power imbalances, a mommy complex, Dom/sub undertones, Brad's praise kink ("canon", I scream on the top of my lungs, "that is canon!"), and a generally unsettling vibe that is just *mwa* perfect

the fact that he betrays her in particular on the off chance he can get his life on the Sacred Timeline back will never stop making me feel utterly insane. we should talk about that more. we should talk about the way she semi-tenderly calls him "Bradley" at the end. because when I tell you I howled at that... it's not an exaggeration

(on a more lighthearted note, I found the reference to a rumoured romantic relationship between Brad and Brigitte Bardot particularly funny, because she was in her mid-forties in 1977. he's not beating the mommy kink accusations any time soon)

(in my post-canon wip Bardot features briefly, and their relationship, while playfully flirty, is also distinctly maternal in nature. I use flower language to make that point. because I am a huge nerd)

add his defection to Renslayer's team to my train of thought and it's like... look, Brad just wants a female authority figure to tell him he's doing a good job, okay? okay

who wants to discuss Brad's vanity with me? because I have Thoughts™

[secretsimpleness]

I've got problems with whomever designed Thane's fingers. Thane, Shepard / Mass Effect 2 (c) Bioware

Anyone remember that poll I posted in July? I shall share the results:

I did manage to produce two comics during my summer holiday but both were for Dragon Age, haha ha.... So there were delays for our second winner. But here it is! Thanks to those who voted :)

[ruvviks]

PLEASE DO NOT TAG AS YOUR OWN OC OR PAIRING.

Nathan and Ruben share a bond more powerful than most; mutual understanding through past experiences no one should ever have to go through, and through past actions so horrible they cannot be spoken of. Their grief and the blood on their hands binds them to the STEM technology they created, which has alienated them from the rest of the world— but they give each other the comfort they have both longed for so desperately for years, and that is all they need. They are each other's counterpart; you cannot imagine one without the other, like two sides of the same coin. Through their pain, their grief, their desire, and their regret, they have become one.

anna akhmatova, the guest // bones; equinox // 'i won't become' by kim jakobsson // agustín gómez-arcos, the carnivorous lamb // by oxy // achilles come down; gang of youths // czeslaw milosz, from 'new and collected poems: 1931-2001' // 'extended ambience portrait from a resonant biostructure' and 'migraine tenfold times ten' by daniel vega // a little death; the neighbourhood // marina tsvetaeva, from 'poem of the end' // by drummnist // katie maria, winter // 'nocturne in black and gold the falling rocket' by james abbott mcneill whistler // micah nemerever, these violent delights // body language; we are fury // 'the penitent' by emil melmoth // chelsea dingman, from 'of those who can't afford to be gentle'

taglist (opt in/out)

@shellibisshe, @florbelles, @ncytiri, @hibernationsuit, @stars-of-the-heart;

@lestatlioncunt, @katsigian, @radioactiveshitstorm, @estevnys, @adelaidedrubman;

@celticwoman, @rindemption, @carlosoliveiraa, @noirapocalypto, @dickytwister;

@killerspinal, @euryalex, @ri-a-rose, @velocitic, @thedeadthree

[abirddogmoment]

doing important socializing activities (looking at lights and eating snacks)

[rainingincale]

.

[faaun]

ok let's catch up quickly

[the-lark-ascending69]

> be a robin buckley fan

> be lesbian

> project on robin

> look up "internalized homophobia robin buckley" on tumblr because it's cathartic

> 3/4 of the posts are about st3ddie or just about steve

[constelationprize]

My main takeaway from TSC now being the second trilogy is that I'm gonna spend the next two books waiting for Stuart to do his routine of showing up out of nowhere, being an absolute cunt for no reason, and then leaving at least one more time. Do I think it will happen? No, I didn't even expect it the first time. But a girl can dream.

[galedekkarios]

is gale actually the worst guy alive or do people just have personal issues that give them a complex whenever someone else is a master of their craft and confident about it 🤔 hmmmmmmm

[kimmkitsuragi]

not my first reaction to this information as i learned it during the intermission of challengers (yes i finally went to see it) and i was having a lowkey breakdown through the intermission and the beginning of the second half a little bit but ummm: well of fucking course i literally dont deserve anything

[stateofgracetaylorsversion]

i’m absolutely not complaining about ttpd as an album, i love it even more than i thought i would, but i do kind of wish she would’ve waited to release it until after the eras tour was over so it could’ve gotten its own tour :/ like the visuals and the stage design and the outfits are just sooo good and not only is it being cut down into only seven songs so it can fit into an already massive setlist, but everyone who went to the shows in the us, mexico, south america, asia, and australia — aka a huge portion of the tour dates — didn’t get to see any of it live. like it’s so impressive that taylor was able to add the ttpd section into the existing setlist but i can't help but feel disappointed bc this means we likely won't get a ttpd tour, which is something i would kill to see </3

[warriorprincesstramp]

guy who didn't take their stop getting panicked and freaking out at everything and having unbearable heart palpitations and being unable to sleep pill voice guess who's feeling panicked and won't stop freaking out at everything and is having unbearable heart palpitations and can't sleep!! el oh el!

[skrunksthatwunk]

ok i swear this is completely lighthearted and this was said by a teenager so be nice im so serious but look at these tags from my starburst post gjfdjshsj

man i figured this out like YEARS ago. when i was a wee boy i already knew that. you're so behind on starburst opening strats like did you never figure that out? using the little flaps? cuz ive known about it for forever. while you were partying i was studying the burst. jfgskshsg probably the funniest most benign experience ive had of being misinterpreted on the internet godspeed small child. but i will be saying Like I Have Known This in such contexts from now on

[kavehater]

Bruh this is why I hate inviting ppl to my new blogs bc wth :/ literally so annoying isn’t it common courtesy to be like hey ! I was sad to see you deactivate bla bla bla im glad to see you’re back etc etc etc <- THATS WHAT EVERYONE DOES ?? And also ! The way ppl be like making whole ass posts when ppl deactivate but they did not even do that for me, and the ppl who DID have my socials, didn’t even ask shit abt why I deactivated etc like bro —

[leapinarmadillo]

why do people get so defensive about the 'mj was a virgin [until lmp]' topic. who care. and isn't the "embarrassing" thing about being a virgin that you can't get laid bc you're a loser or unattractive or whatever. he wasn't a virgin for those reasons