#its a constant cycle of 'i wouldnt have to worry about x if i just killed myself' and then reminding myself not to think like that

[milf-harrington]

at this point making it through the day without breaking down feels like a victory

[leafy-wings]

Finished tdg. Summary thoughts with spoilers below

Typical, bad, in an objective way. Pacing is weird as in snowfall doesnt really do anything. Theres like five events in this book; meet pantalans. Go to jerboa. Go to sanctuary. Have queen meeting. Go home. Everyone happens therein or to those ends, but there was a constant impression of.. theyre not doing anything. No real action with weight, and when we do get cool opportunities, it falls flat. Everything either happens too fast or too slow. The jerboa-sanctuary portion is really the worst for having snowfall awake in the morning going through the same cycle and repetitive actions of screaming at everyone in disbelief and then having dreams like 3 times over and snowfall goes through it all so gruelingly. Like, whatever to have a character in denial but she has the lesson fed to her in such simple terms and she still wakes up like "I HATE IT OUT OF SPITE". It doesnt feel like progression when its so forced in nor does it feel great to have a character learn sympathy with force, especially when again we've read all this before. It just feels like winters book but done 200% faster so they have room for human stuff.

The human stuff is, eh, fine. Broad criticism towards humans remain (how did dragons in the 5000 years never notice the entirely sapient humans who seem to have literally no trouble communicating where it takes only one generation for them to learn their language flawlessly? When both dragons and humans can build and gesture with their hands and do fine dextrous motions, indicating sapients? I suppose it wouldnt be so much of a problem if not for the characters arguing about if the other is sapient longer than they spend learning how to communicate with the other).

Its repetitive with the jokes, SCREAMING AND SILLY INSULTS ARE FUNNY, RIGHT! shoved right inbetween heavy moments with somber tones, not in the uplifting or funny way. "Its a childrens book series" youre really gonna say that about the book with jerboas torture in it? And again the repeated "(x) looked at (y) like, 'silly phrase!'" Said over and over again. The characters thoughts and feelings are forced to be communicated with us, not gleaned by actions or implications or even said with any interesting prose. The pacing is so weird- in the later half of the book especially, did anyone else notice that it started going "and then snowfall did (big thing)" glossing over it. Like "and then the queens finished their meeting and decided on these terms". Just fell flat on any details or drawing anything out to the extent it really needed

Snowfall i personally disliked because i dont like the shtick of "needs the moral of the story hammered into their head 20 times before they start yielding", and that part of her right distress was waved away with "IT WAS JUST AN ENCHANTMENT!! no politics talk here because the only reason tribes dislike each other is from MAGIC!!!". I did like her personally because i headcanon her w psychosis because i like it :)

Generally little happened in terms of.. plot, or changing things, aside from the human negotiations which again were wildly rushed (no arguing between queens? No discussion on how to enforce it like they worried over briefly? No disbelief, no actual speeches to the masses?) And sending the stealth team off which was just... ugh. Bullfrog and pineapple dont even get lines. Its just all exposition and the pacing is just... snowfall is in the ice kingdom whining. Snowfall is talking to the pantalans whining. Snowfall is at jerboas whining. Snowfall is at sanctuary whining. Skyhumansqueenssending-them-off. Snowfall goes home and has a fever dream. The end. EDIT; it just seemed shallow, unpolished, like she sat down and wrote everything as she thought of it. The prose was stilted and weird and esp in the second half the dialogue was so forced and strange

Where the fuck is turtle