#mb reviews books

[remnantglow]

so normal about the gender fuckery of the Polish murderbot translation (lie i am on the verge of tears)

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

Watching book reviews is great because I can experience all the craziness of a book about *checks notes* having a lot of sex with an octopus monster/man that's your soulmate (complete with accurate octopus biology) without actually having to read it

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

storygraph user m4tr1m0ny is the only bitch here who understands me

[separatist-apologist]

It’s me, hi, I’m the Ana Huang hater anon it’s me. I totally agree with your King of Wrath thoughts. And your Twisted thoughts. I found the premise a real stretch, which I’m fine with as long as the author really commits to the ridiculousness? And my issue with Twisted and King series is that AH really doesn’t commit to it - she almost seems like she’s embarrassed by her own far fetched plots? So her MMCs come across as like, garden variety abusers instead of sexy crazy mafiosos.

YES!! I agree with this!! I LOVE a silly plot that would never happen in real life- I ate up Love, Theoretically with glee because you could tell Hazelwood was having the time of her life writing it and she committed to the bit, weaving the real with the fantastical so it felt both fun and escapist, while letting you root for, frankly, a bit of dick.

Huang won't do that, though- it's like she knows it's absurd and she's apologizing to you for it, so what should be a fun time falls like spaghetti in the floor. Like okay, Dante is an Italian, hard-working billionaire who also murders people and has unlimited ability to get whatever he wants- committ to it, then. And she won't. She keeps walking it back, which makes everyone feel one dimensional and makes it impossible to suspend your disbelief to make her plot work.

And I feel insane because everyone loves these books but God if I wanted to read a domestic abuser bullying a woman into marriage I'd just go to work, you know? What did Dante even love about Vivian outside of her soft skin and her 🐱??? And for that matter, what did VIVIAN love?? His big dick?? Like. The actual romancing just never really happened, and Dante was a massive asshole 9/10ths of the way through.

I agree with your assessment 100%. There is a way to make that man insane but someone you're rooting for and I know I say this a lot, but fuck me romance books should have actual romance, not a dark haired loser who takes himself way too seriously and a spineless heroine who gets off on emotional abuse

[islerouxsims]

DIZZY ISY SAVE FILE VERSION 8

Hello Dizzy Isy fans! I'm absolutely thrilled to announce the release of Version 8!

The save file is now updated for the FOR RENT pack and Tomarang.

I hope you find a lot of joy in this new version of the save!

♥ What do you get? ♥

VERSION 1 OF DIZZY ISY (STILL AVAILABLE HERE)

VERSION 2 OF DIZZY ISY (STILL AVAILABLE HERE)

VERSION 3 OF DIZZY ISY (STILL AVAILABLE HERE)

VERSION 4 OF DIZZY ISY (STILL AVAILABLE HERE)

VERSION 5 OF DIZZY ISY (STILL AVAILABLE HERE)

VERSION 6 OF DIZZY ISY (STILL AVAILABLE HERE)

VERSION 7 OF DIZZY ISY (STILL AVAILABLE HERE)

…PLUS…

220 custom clubs and icons (+11 than v.7) with points/rivalries and custom activities.

Lots of details of custom books to find, interesting tombstones, photos with past histories and mysteries etc.

♥ When you enter the save♥

There are 4 empty lots.

There are 20 empty houses (13 starters, 6 under 100k, 1 under 120k). (I have now labelled the starters so it is clearer.)

There are 18 rentals in holiday destinations.

3 new rentals in Tomarang with fleshed out family landlords.

There are now 3 free apartments.

Secret lots in Mt. Komerebi renovated.

Selvadorada and Strangerville adventure/mystery unplayed.

Conservation efforts not completed in Sulani.

Evergreen Harbor has many community project opportunities.

Neighbourhood Stories disactivated.

Voting and Eco Footprints also disactivated.

___________________________________________________________

It is a busy save file with many lots filled to stop random spawning of townies but the empty lots will soon quickly fill up with townie families if you don’t use them. The townies are clearly marked in the unplayed tab with the #townies so you know who is meant to have a lot and who isn’t.

___________________________________________________________

♥ What do you need? ♥

❥  ALL THE PACKS apart from Journey to Batuu

❥  Kits used: Fashion Street kit, Incheon Arrivals kit, Desert Luxe and Carnival Streetwear kit

-You can still download this save file without all these packs or kits but some items might be replaced by substitutes, and we all know how those pan out.

❥ 186 MB of free space for this save file.

❥  Zerbu’s More Club Icons Mod (PLEASE DOWNLOAD FIRST!)

(If unavailable to you please download from here)

❥  Rex’s Custom Club Activities Mod (PLEASE ALSO DOWNLOAD BEFORE THE SAVE!)

♥ Recommendations ♥

❥ MC Command Center by Deaderpool.  

❥ No Random Townies by Zero.    

❥ No Random Hats Acessories and Makeup by Bienchens.    

(Anything by Bienshens is amazing and safe to use in my opinion)

♥ How to install? ♥

Make a backup of your Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Saves folder

Download the file, unzip, and place files in Electronic Arts/The Sims4/Saves.

Open your game, enter the save. It is named “Dizzy Isy Save File By Isleroux and you should see the Koh Saphas as the last played household.

"The Koh Saphas are heirs to the Sungai Point estate but face a whirlwind of challenges. Kasarinlan manages their property portfolio, while chef Kahilom embarks on managing a restaurant plagued by terrible reviews after a tragic incident involving artist Indigo Ivyloop. With twin girls on the horizon, Indigo's ashes in their posession and the daunting task of salvaging Kahilom's culinary reputation. Will their ambition prove their downfall, or can they turn the tide and savour success?"

___________________________________________________________

DOWNLOAD (SFS) or 

DOWNLOAD (MediaFire)

(REMEMBER TO DOWNLOAD THE CUSTOM CLUB MODS FIRST!!)

**Lastly, if you find joy in the save file and wish to support me, perhaps you could consider buying me a coffee ☕ to help make future updates possible.

It's worth mentioning that despite the immense effort poured into Dizzy Isy over four years, I've chosen not to restrict access to my save files behind any paywall.

To those of you who have already extended your support, your kindness truly means the world to me. I want you to know that I see you, I appreciate you, and I'm grateful for your unwavering dedication, especially to those who have read this far down.**

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Happy simming!  ~isy~ ツ  

@maxismatchccworld

[tiktaalic]

what are the 3 good books u have read this year.......i'm nosy 🧐 mb if u have said them before also. peace and love

so im going thru my storygraph and i have a lot more 4/5 star reviews than i thought. ie more than 3. my fives:

freshwater by akwaeke emezi! first book i read this year and liked ... beautiful prose i just liked it. nothing really happens in it it just puts you somewhere for a minute.

rabbit hole by kate brody. very gillian flynn. imo. which is awesome because i've already worked my way thru all of gillian's books so i get another one for free.

just like home by sarah gailey. only horror novel i've read this year and liked! i almost didn't read it bc of the cover but i really really enjoyed it.

cloud cuckoo land. it's so lovely. i enjoyed all the threads individually and i enjoyed trying to piece them together and puzzle them out.

my fours:

the god of endings jacqueline holland. i liked it! first vamp book i've read in awhile and it's definitely earned that.

a separate peace by john knowles. im soooo glad i didnt read this in school im so glad i got to read this on my own as an adult and enjoy it.

the overstory by richard powers: v much reminds me of cloud cuckoo land. if i'd read it before cloud cuckoo land it would be the 5 and cuckoo land the 4.

the wave by susan casey: nonfiction, about giant waves. mostly about surfers which is interesting but also tangents into tsunamis and climate change.

[needlesandnilbogs]

To Show Patience With: The Character of Overse in Martha Wells's Murderbot

Overse is not a name. As it's spelled, it's a Norwegian or Danish verb that means "overlook," or it can be spelled "överse" and be a Swedish word meaning "overlook" as well. My friend, a fluent Swedish speaker, said she'd understand the meaning if she saw the word "överse" used, but she wouldn't pick that word to translate from English to Swedish.

However, the language authority for Sweden, the Swedish Academy, gives an alternate meaning to the verb "överse"; it can mean to overlook, to critically go through/to review, or to show patience with. Their example of that last meaning is "han över­såg med barnens slarv," which my friend and Google Translate both say means something along the lines of "he overlooked the carelessness of the children."

I feel at this point I should quote this friend: "The funky thing about Swedish is that it's a very word-poor language, so one word can mean a lot of different things depending on context."

Martha Wells is a pantser, she's admitted to it. I'm sure she didn't intend that last meaning. But what if she did?

Our first introduction to Overse is on page 14 of All Systems Red (all page numbers are from hardback editions), where we get "I carried Bharadwaj up the ramp into the cabin, where Overse and Ratthi were frantically unclipping seats [...] their horrified expressions when they took in what was left of my upper body through my torn suit" (All Systems Red 14). Not very patient yet, given the description that the words "frantically" and "horrified" imply. But a few pages later, Overse and Arada have stabilized Bharadwaj by the end of the ride, and in the end of the chapter she's presumably among the group worrying in the mess. Soon after, when MB announces that there's a deleted part of the hazard report, it notes that "The reaction to that in general was pretty pissed off. There were some loud complaints from Pin-Lee and Overse and dramatic throwing-hands-in-the-air from Ratthi" (ASR 29). In a traumatic situation, it's understandable that everyone is a little panicked and nobody's being patient, but Overse seems to be able to work, even when she's upset by the situation.

By the time they're thinking about going to DeltFall, we have a little more info about Overse. Arada asks about recharging at DeltFall and "Overse put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder" before explaining (ASR 47). MB even notes that "As a couple, they were always so nice to each other" (ASR 47). Arada is a little naive about the Corporate Rim, as evidenced by her questions here, the "terminal optimist" line in Network Effect, and just everything else. Overse, however, knows what's going on, and moreover, the combination of action and words, plus MB's statement that they are "nice" to each other, combines to create a patient tone when she's explaining.

During the rest of the book, Overse mostly shows up in the group scenes, in which she's a voice for reason, if just as worried as the rest of them. She appears briefly at the end of Exit Strategy, but not for long. When she really becomes a force of patience is in Network Effect.

In the first chapter, she "would be upset if I let her marital partner get killed" and "had shouted" at MB on the comm before that (Network Effect 11-12). However, she remains calm enough to warn Ratthi to get off the comm with the raiders and prepare the facility for launch, even through her worry. Shortly after, she notes to MB that it's been really supportive of Arada and how helpful that's been, and it notes that "[Arada] and Overse had always been firmly in the 'least likely to abandon a SecUnit to a lonely horrible fate' category, which was always the category I was most interested in" (NE 40). From it, that's an impressive compliment and a sign of Overse's ability to remain calm enough to make kind decisions while under immense stress.

This is born out a few pages later when Overse and Ratthi are in the control deck during the attack on the baseship and facility. "Both looked frantic," MB says, but it also notes that "frantic was the right reaction" and that there's no comm or feed (NE 43). Immediately afterward, Arada arrives, and "Overse's face twisted with relief and she bit her lip hard" (NE 44). After knowing that her wife is safe, Overse is more able to handle the situation. She gets comm partially active another page later, handles evacuation and separation well (though she and Arada both let their protectiveness for each other and the rest of the crew override their self-preservation instincts), and comes up with the idea of getting MB and Amena into EVAC suits as well as helping "cannibalize four of the EVAC suits aboard" to stabilize the safepod (NE 135).

Once removed from the immediate stress of almost dying, Overse demonstrates the ability to control her initial reactions (she "grimaced and rubbed her eyes" at ART's declaration that it won't leave till it gets what it wants, then communicates silently with Arada) and handles ART's demands with patience (NE 140). For instance, ART says it didn't plan to attack the facility, and she responds, "But it was your idea," with narrowed eyes (NE 141). I hate to make a personal anecdote in an analytical essay, but this is exactly the attitude my mother takes when I do something and she's trying to be patient but also communicate that I did a stupid. Same thing with their next group conversation with ART, where MB notes that she has a "'let's get this over with' expression," and when they first discuss the colony, where "Her expression had that grimly frustrated quality that was common when my humans talked about the corporates" (NE 149, 155). (What I'm saying is Overse is the mom friend lol)

There are two scenes later in NE that are especially telling. The first is in chapter 10, when Overse and Arada are on the way to check out engineering.

Arada and Overse had stopped in the corridor that went toward the engineering module. Arada hugged Overse, and Overse kissed her and said into her ear, "You can do this, babe. You're a bulkhead." "I'm a wibbly bulkhead," Arada muttered. (The wibbliness was why I trusted Arada. Overconfident humans who don't listen to anybody else scare the hell out of me.) Arada stepped back and smiled at Overse. "Got to get to work." (NE 164)

In this scene, Arada is worried; she's finally letting down the mask of command and letting Overse see how worried she is in a situation that is close to private. Overse responds in a manner consistent with the mention in ASR that they were always nice to each other, but she's more than just nice. Arada is upset in a way that's likely troubling to Overse, and Overse is able to calm her, be patient with her, and make sure that she's okay despite being worried about her.

The other scene in question is the infamous bunkroom scene, which deserves a whole separate meta about what's been told and what's left missing, but the simple summary is thus: in chapter 11, Arada agrees to go over to the Barish-Estranza ship, without consulting anyone else or making an informed decision. From then on, Overse is upset. Her initial response to the idea is "Fuck no," then "there was a big human argument" and "Overse said through gritted teeth, 'Rescuing you–or trying to recover your body–will not save us time'"(NE 202-03). A few minutes later, "Overse was still mad," and apparently needs "a chance to vent and calm down," which she gets by venting to Ratthi (NE 204). MB paraphrases, so we'll never know her exact words, but she apparently ends up "being angry at herself for getting angry at Arada during a crisis" (NE 205). She's able to calm herself down and be patient long enough to work with Arada, but it takes until the next chapter for MB to notice their relationship improving. The infamous bunkroom scene is really only a few lines:

Arada and Overse were back to getting along after spending time together in an unused bunkroom while we were traveling to the dock. I hadn't bothered to monitor them on ART's cameras or try to slip a drone in; the chances that they were having sex and/or a relationship discussion (either of which I would prefer to stab myself in the face than see) were far higher than the chance that they were saying anything I needed to know about. (I mean they might have been plotting against me, but you know, probably not.) (NE 230)

What's amazing is how much is communicated in the absence of any detail on what actually happened. Overse isn't mad anymore, not necessarily because there's a way to go back or to make it better (though they do seem to have negotiated a compromise about the next stressful situation), but because she's able to look past the situation and recognize that the best way to get back to a normal relationship with her marital partner is to overlook what happened.

To overlook. It can be a very easy thing to do, to overlook and ignore someone with a smaller role, such as Overse. To oversee something, to manage a whole bunch of things and ensure all of it goes correctly. But "överse" is also to be patient with, or to overlook flaws. And that is the core of Overse's character: she is the Patient One.

Not to say that I believe in nominative determinism, the idea that people gravitate towards work that match their name (Wikipedia). Martha Wells is a known pantser, and I doubt that this was a deliberate choice on her part. But she had to have a reason to choose the name Overse, even if that was just that it was on a list of words she liked. I want to imagine that the reason is that she knew she'd made a patient character and picked a name that secretly describes a patient person.

Sources:

"Nominative Determinism." Wikipedia, 25 Apr. 2024. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nominative_determinism&oldid=1220754650. Accessed May 31, 2024.

överse | SAOL | svenska.se. https://svenska.se/saol/?hv=lnr114060. Accessed May 14, 2024.

Wells, Martha, and Martha Wells. All Systems Red. First edition, Tom Doherty Associates, 2017.

---. Network Effect. First edition, Tom Doherty Associates, 2020.

[fuck-customers]

I hate agreeing with customers, because 99.99% of them are braindead wastes of oxygen, but I have to agree with them every now an then. Specifically on the removal of price scanners. Why? They were functioning perfectly before. Now you gotta chase down an employee just to find the price of something? (Surprise: there's only 3-4 employees on shift at a time, die about it)

And nothing is priced or labeled, because my manager actively discourages us tagging items and will take the time to remove the sticker tags if someone (me) sneaks around and takes the time to tag some items.

Oh, but you can scan an item on the app to get the price? Woww....cool. Totally gonna download a whole ass (68 MB as of current update) app that forces you to install an update every month that's exactly the same as the previous version or you lose functionality of the app.

Ok, but there's sale signs, right? Sometimes. Remember that there's only 3-4 employees scheduled at a time and 2 of them cannot leave their scheduled area, so odds are the current sale signs are not posted yet + expired sale signs are still up.

Or you can haul your whole ass cart of shit to the one (1) cashier and have them individually scan all 182 items in your cart, 80% of which you don't actually want to pay that much for and now you've created a giant pile of go-backs that will not get done because there's only 1 person scheduled per department and only the departments that must be manned at all times, such a registers, no one is scheduled for recovery.

The one upside is that if you are a GFH customer, you can just steal and no one will even notice. (Who said that? Not me, I would never.)

The stores probably force updates that do nothing for the same reason the book of faces and the tubey video viewer does.

They update the version number only so the negative reviews are harder to fine as they are associated with "older" versions but the positive ones don't

[rjschoicesstuff]

what do you think of the werewolf Choices books 👀

Rubs mi hands, thank u for da ask hehe >:)

Also putting it out there I love werewolves the most in horror settings but also urban fantasy settings. But werewolf romance specifically doesn't rly interest me like BDSGS idk how 2 describe this one, I'm not aversed to werewolf LI's obviously, but I don't see myself reading a novel or comic that's centered around that? And if u put me in control over the next werewolf book it would revolve around hunters or a mc who got bitten and slowly turns into a monster. I don't think that'd work for Choices though LOL.

Between ages 6 - 12 I was the most into werewolves, after that I haven't rly been reading as much anymore and it stayed a more lowkey interest. But bc of Ripley I feel the obsession slowly coming back n I rly want to start reading novels again so maybe in a few months I'll do these reviews again because I'll have more to compare it to hahah.

Nightbound isn't a werewolf book TO ME like they advertised it like that but imo it's just a book that has werewolves in it. Like they kinda tricked me with tht one imo but I do love Nightbound tho. And that said I do like the nightbound werewolves the most, like I haven't played NB in years but just from what I remember they come closest to the kinda werewolves I like! Like they felt the most monstrous I guess? And like the wolf is separate from the person iirc?? Mb im talking out of my ass rn, I'm rly due for a replay lol.

+ Cal is my fave werewolf love interest out of all the werewolf LI's we have! Like I think especially now that there's other LI's to compare him to he feels rly refreshing to me + I like that he's not a pack alpha or whatever.

Bitten also feels less like a werewolf book to me bc it doesn'tvrevolve around werewolves, I do like Bitten but I also feel like they could've done smmmm more with it, like sometimes it just feels kinda empty or I want More but never get it lol. I think I love the concept of Bitten but am a bit disappointed by the execution? I skipped some diamond choices with ID 3 coming up so I prob missed some lore bbut like I mostly like the werewolves though! I like the approach of the fated mate thing in Bitten more than in Wolf Bride bc it never feels like it's being forced on mc or Skyler intends to force it on mc ig? I kinda wish they'd used the same wolf sprites as in Alpha though, bbut thts just bc I think they look bigger n better.

Umm Skyler is annoying but in a way that doesn't bother me much. In general I think they're a fun LI.

I rly like Alpha but at th same time I just don't have tht much to say about it regarding th werewolf stuff ig? I rllyyyy like the mc and I like Channing and I like the side characters a lot. The werewolf lore doesnt rly make me go like wooooow I love this or whatever. I did love the like whole struggle with rage that mc goes thru after turning though. And like the concept of like turning being a risk and some people opting out of that because u might lose urself.

I mostly disliked Wolf Bride like a lot of it I've just kinda forgotten about atp, but I'm not a fan of like the kidnapping and generally how Bastien treats the mc lol 💀. And like the stuff with abandoning disabled babies and stuff ughh.. And Bastien and Morgan turning out to be siblings hahahaha 😭😭 I also rlyyyy didn't like the bipedal wolf sprites which is FUNNY bc bipedal werewolves r my faves but like they looked rly silly 2 me and like they had 2 make it rly clear which wolves were GIRLS!!

I did like the powers u could collect n stuff tho, I didn't buy any bc I was diamond mining bbut I do always love collectibles like that lol.

[celestialcass]

Finished system collapse! I put tags on some moments I’ll need to reference for fan art as well as the best, funniest dialogue moments.

I really loved it! I still think Network Effect may be slightly higher in my preference but every Murderbot Diaries book makes my ♡ happy so!!

ART continues to be my favourite non-Murderbot character and there is an extremely funny dynamic that ART has with another ship that I won’t spoil, as it’s only really shown at the very end.

Ratthi and Iris get a lot of focus, which is just wonderful because they’re delightful in every scene. We also get a new character Tarik who is charmingly awkward and probably the human most similar to Murderbot, which is funny and the contrast of how the humans razz Tarik constantly but are so gentle with MB… it makes me feel things. Ouch. But yay!

MB’s trauma is NOT minimized at all and is developed realistically and with the characteristic charm you might expect. There is no instant cure but we find MB looking more optimistic at the end than it starts out as.

The action and plot are similarly fast paced as the other books in the series! I would absolutely recommend this book and shall be rereading it shortly.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk book review!

[sleepy-vix]

i just finished "everything i know about love" by dolly alderton

overall i rate it hmm 4/5 (may change, idk)

4/5 is usually what i rate my books when i think the book itself is a brilliant work of art, but it isn't one of my favourite books of all time.

okay so when i read this book i wasn't sure what i was expecting. i've heard that people found it insightful, but really i only bought it because it was $3 at the thrift store and it reminds me of laufey's (one of my favourite singers)album 'everything i know about love' :,)

i was really swept up by this story. it was unexpected, but i learnt so so much from it. at the start, i found that me and dolly could not be any more different (at my age, she had probably messaged and talked to more guys than i have been in a room with. she was loud, chaotic, impulsive and unapologetically wild). So, i didn't expect the book to be of much help to me, as i didn't see myself going down the same life path and making the same mistakes or choices as Dolly did, but boy was i wrong.

i don't know how to explain it, but i am so thankful for her story and her sharing her experiences. they were bright and they were baffling but it's always so interesting to me to read about another person's behaviours and why they are the way they are.

i also did not expect there to be so much emphasis on platonic love. i'm already hugely into platonic love, but dolly showed me that i can really bring it to the next level. idk how to explain. you just have to read the book. please read this book. (well, only if you're interested in confronting and insightful stories... i suppose it wouldn't be that interesting to you if you're a strictly fantasy or action or fiction YA person iykwim).

ok i'm gonna end this "review" here, since i'm not actually saying anything substantial- i'm really just blabbering. mb. see u around

[milflewis]

Can u give me a spoiler free review of the hg movie?

oh for sure! ok so everyone was v hot and gay and batshit crazy it was wonderful. the capitol was brilliantly romanesque as per usual and it was v v interesting to see it before we came to know it in katniss' time! there was a lot of scaffolding and building going on in the bg and it wasn't as glitzy and glamorous as we would be used to! it was a lot more raw and threadbare and less jazz hands. (how lucky flickerman was portrayed really showed this i think) i had already expected this from the games pov bc its only the 10th one but hadn't considered how the capitol itself would look like in this same light!! idk i just thought it was neat i'm a bit of a slut for when the setting is its own character in itself. the acting was superb and ur one who plays lucy gray has a stunning voice omg. once again v obsessed and fascinated by the costume choices that the hg movies go with. it was lacking a little smth smth i won't lie but i'm not completely sure what it is or mb just there were parts that were more heavy handed than i would've liked (apart from the pieces that to me i do think didn't play as strongly as they could've but those are spoilery!) i do think care and time and thought and fun went into the making of it which tbh is all i ask for. i also really liked (in both the movie and the book) how intentional so many threads and pieces there were which imo is one of susanne collins' strengths. snow's arc and storyline is one of my favorite villian narratives i've heard in a long time

[book--brackets]

So How Does It Work?

Since this competition started, I’ve seen a lot of stuff about the different match-ups. Some are all in good fun, but some do seem genuinely frustrated, so here’s a more in-depth look at how I created the bracket.

First, I looked up the number of reviews on Storygraph for each book or the first book in each series. Granted, this was a while ago, so some of the numbers may have changed over time. The only exception to this was Pixie Hollow since there are a lot of starting points for the series (I pulled the first Levine book and then added the most popular of the Tales series to it). Then, I ordered them all from highest to lowest.

Then, just like how it works in sports, the series with the highest number of reviews was matched against the one with the lowest number of reviews. This method may seem unfair to the less popular books, but it’s to ensure we don’t have a matchup between two books early on that could’ve potentially made it all the way if they were on opposite sides. For example, right now Percy Jackson is a favorite to win, and I’d say probably Howl or MBS. If they got pitted against each other too early, it wouldn’t be very interesting. Still, there have been some significant upsets so far, even if we are only a day or so in. If you’re interested in the details, the numbers are below the read more.

Thanks for all the support so far with this competition! It blew up way more than I ever expected and has been supremely entertaining!

1. Harry Potter (266,149)

2. Percy Jackson (125,793)

3. Narnia (82,652)

4. A Wrinkle in Time (48,609)

5. Matilda (39,384)

6. Howl’s Moving Castle (32,597)

7. Artemis Fowl (25,265)

8. Ella Enchanted (22,108)

9. Oz (20,967)

10. City of Ember (14,671)

11. Mysterious Benedict Society (11,333)

12. The School for Good and Evil (9,589)

13. Land of Stories (6,928)

14. Ranger’s Apprentice (6,200)

15. Redwall (6,074)

16. Enchanted Forest Chronicles (6,006)

17. Gregor the Overlander (5,410)

18. Warriors (5,115)

19. Keeper of the Lost Cities (4,975)

20. 39 Clues (4,353)

21. Sisters Grimm (3,473)

22. Charlie Bone (2,904)

23. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2,846)

24. Keys to the Kingdom (2,645)

25. Young Wizards (2,429)

26. Wings of Fire (2,124)

27. Tales of the Frog Princess (2,019)

28. The Unwanteds (1,989)

29. Dragon Slippers (1,645)

30. Disney Fairies (1,577)

31. The Guardians of Ga’Hoole (1,328)

32. Pegasus (715)

[iviarellereads]

Artificial Condition, Chapter 5

(Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Murderbot Diaries, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

In which Murderbot has to trust.

MB meets the humans at the embarkation zone, with its mostly superfluous knapsack. The main thing it needs is the comm interface from Art installed in a compartment inside its ribs, which will maintain contact even from down on RaviHyral proper, to take the place of the HubSystem and SecSystem it's used to.

The three humans we met are all being seen off by their collective, which is registered as a group marriage. Once the others leave, MB approaches the trio. Rami is optimistic that Tlacey bought them passage on a public shuttle, but MB knows it's a terrible sign. It has Art scan the shuttle, but it detects no anomalies, which just means any explosive is inert for now.

The only human crew is an augment(1) who just checks for shuttle passes, the transport is driven by a bot. MB immediately wrestles for control of the security system, which isn't directly linked to the driver, despite that being the norm.(2) The augment says there are only three registered, but when MB doesn't respond, Tapan says it's their security consultant, and the augment checks the voucher again, but doesn't argue the point.

MB gets control of the ShuttleSecSys, and refuses to let it notify the driver or human that it's compromised. None of the passengers look like threats, but MB wonders if they plan to shoot the shuttle down from the moon once it's underway. Art acts suspiciously, and on questioning, admits it has a debris deflection system. MB knows the only way to deflect debris like that is using weapons, but Art is still cagey about it.(3)

MB has the ShuttleSecSys inform the driver bot that it's authorized by transport ring security, and the driver pings MB happily. The augment is in the cockpit, but not as a pilot, just reviewing her social feeds and doing admin tasks. MB would love to sit back and watch a serial, but it has a hunch, and keeps monitoring the bot pilot.

Then twenty-four minutes forty-seven seconds into the flight, as we were on approach, the bot pilot screamed and died as killware flooded its system. It was gone before ShuttleSecSys or I could react; I flung up a wall around us both and the killware bounced off. I saw it register task complete and then destroy itself.(4)

This leaves about seven seconds until the shuttle crashes. MB calls for Art, and nudges ShuttleSecSys, which sets off the cabin alarms. Art asks for MB to let it in. It's not sure it wants to give Art full control of its brain, but with just three seconds left to save the shuttle, it has no other choice.

It was like the sensation humans describe in books as having their heads shoved underwater. Then it was gone and ART was in the shuttle, using my connection with ShuttleSecSys to leap into the void left by the erased bot.

Art manages the controls and guides the shuttle into the RaviHyral main port. The augment hails the Port Authority, who could upload emergency landing protocols, but none of the humans could have saved the shuttle in time.

Rami touches MB's shoulder and asks if it's okay. MB replies with a terse yes, then thinks better, and says it's got sensitive hearing. Rami nods sympathetically. Nobody else notices anything unusual except the alarms.

Still in the cockpit, the augment explains to Port Authority that the pilot bot is gone, and she has no idea why the shuttle is following its route and not crashing. When ShuttleSecSys starts trying to scan Art, MB quietly takes it over, turns off the alarms, and deletes the whole trip from its memory. The passengers murmur with relief.

MB asks Art to send an error code to Port Authority, who assign a new berth on the emergency dock. MB figures better safe than sorry, if there was a backup plan for the killware not working. Maro eyes MB suspiciously, asking if it knows what happened, but MB remembers it can hedge now, with this persona, and says they'll discuss it off the shuttle.

Art lands in the emergency dock, and erases all traces of its presence.(5) Emergency services personnel are present, though thankfully unnecessary. MB herds its clients out before anyone can think to stop them.

MB tests the security as it finds an open area with no recording devices it can detect, and tells the team Tlacey just tried to kill them, and MB's friend loading a new pilot module is the only reason they're alive. MB suggests they could go back to the transit ring, a public shuttle leaves in eleven minutes that Tlacey shouldn't have time to trace them to and hijack, but all three decide to stay.

MB tells them they can't go to the meeting. Tapan says it's their only chance, but Maro hushes her. Rami asks what else they should do.

MB thinks how they don't have to be its problem anymore… but they're its clients. It couldn't bring itself to abandon the clients it didn't choose, when it was still company property with its hacked governor module, it's certainly not going to leave the clients it chose to sign on with.(6)

It suggests they pick a spot and make Tlacey come to them. It's at least a tiny bit safer than the original plan. They pick a fast food place, notify Tlacey of the change, and wait. MB infiltrates the public area's security, which isn't much more difficult than the shuttle was, and focuses on the area around it.

In the mean time, it's going over the publicly available maps, looking for potential Ganaka Pit locations in the missing and misleadingly cut off areas. It also notes that Art was correct, and SecUnits are available for contract here. They wouldn't come through the human areas, but the people would have seen them. And, worse, if a SecUnit saw MB, it would absolutely recognize it, even with the alterations, and be obligated to report it by their governor modules.

That's about when MB feels the ping. If its governor module weren't hacked, it would have been compelled to answer. Something is looking for SecUnits, specifically, nearby.

Three humans approach the table. Rami remarks in the feed that Tlacey herself came. One of the men comes closer, and MB stops him, noticing that he's armed. He asks who it is, and Rami says it's their security consultant. The man looks back at the others, uncertain. MB doesn't move, thinking it has clear shots at all three, but not even augments have energy weapons in their arms, so using them would be a dead giveaway.

MB takes the moment of diverted attention to look in the security cameras for what's pinging it, and finds… a sexbot, officially ComfortUnit but essentially sexbot. Walking around in human areas, where it shouldn't be any more than MB should, if working properly.(7)

Art pokes MB out of its reverie about the sexbot, to catch the discussion. Tlacey asks the team why they need security, MB tells them in the feed to not answer that, stick to business, on another hunch that Tlacey's expecting an angry confrontation after the murder attempts. The team has an advantage they should press it.

The team acknowledges, and says they want the files back, as their deletion wasn't part of the contract, but they will agree to returning the signing bonus as requested.

MB keeps one part of its attention on the negotiation, and the other on scanning the local public feeds' archives from around the time of its incident here. With Art's help, it also notices two more augments, in addition to three other people at different tables around the facility, showing calculated disinterest in the negotiations.

In the feed archives, MB finds a hint at the route to Ganaka Pit because of a transport line that had closed abruptly, without the usual bankruptcy filings of such events.

The conversation concludes, and Tlacey leaves. The team is upset. Tlacey promised to come back tomorrow, but Maro says there's no reason she couldn't hand over the files immediately. MB suggests they go talk about it somewhere more private. As it guides the team, one of the potential threats follows them.

MB sets up a trap for the threat while the humans go into the lobby of a hotel they can't afford, but that promises high security. Two more humans have joined the threat, and MB now reframes them all as targets.(8)

MB waits, unobtrusively, until the targets get close to the team, then strikes when their guard is down, as they think they've accomplished their mission. All simple humans, even armed they stand little chance. The team is lowkey horrified at the targets, and the violence MB inflicts on them. MB nudges them to go wait for it in the lobby. Tapan asks if they should notify security, but MB says the targets told someone to cut the camera feeds, they have an insider, which is why the team needs to go, and not look panicked.

MB deletes the temporary storage on the cameras adjacent to the one that got cut, to help obscure the record for anyone trying to investigate the issue. But it knows Tlacey and her two guards saw it.

MB heads to the hotel, where the team finally believe that it's right about Tlacey never giving them back the files. Rami asks what they do now, and MB suggests they let it get them out of here.

=====

(1) I run in too many video game communities to not want to just shorten this down in my head, so I'm just gonna start rolling with it since it's coming up more often and "augmented human" is so many extra syllables. (2) The second terrible sign. (3) Let Art have a few of its illusions, Murderbot! Its brain is so big it can only maintain a few. (4) I think we're supposed to take it for granted that this is 100% effective at covering the kill switch's tracks, but so little is ever guaranteed in technology, data storage especially, without care. (5) Can you imagine what explanations the authorities are going to come up with for this one? (6) MB has so much empathy, so much conscience. I don't think any reader really thinks it chose to attack the humans four years ago, by this point. The only question is what really happened. But, the fact that it knows that these humans are only its responsibility by choice, and still keeps helping… It just gives me the feels, you know? (7) Just what is a sexbot doing, acting like a human, and looking for SecUnits? (8) I love the way this is done so casually. Threat, threat, threat… then, when MB knows it has advantage and its clients are safe, target.

[separatist-apologist]

I always want to hear your unsolicited hater thoughts thought 👀🤡

Okay so here are my hater thoughts on King of Wrath. Please just scroll along if you liked this book, I am only speaking for myself.

First of all, when I bought this book, I knew better because I did not like the Twisted series by Ana Huang. I read three of them and quit 3/4ths of the way through with the book with the red head when [spoiler alert] the shitty romantic lead sexually assaulted the FMC for thin plot reasons I no longer care to remember.

But I am SUCH a sucker for an arranged marriage (as we all know), and I was in Kansas City in this three story Barnes and Noble and riding that Taylor Swift high that I let it cloud my better judgement.

My issues:

Dante is literally just two popular tropes in a trench coat. Dark haired and rich are his entirely personality. If you want to be charitable, you could tack on implausibly, compulsively violent. I'm sorry, but Dante is a BILLIONAIRE who was BORN into his wealth (strike one, but I'll let it go for the purposes of romance), in what world is he ACTUALLY killing people?? Be SO serious. This author wanted to give him an air of danger- baby just tell us what he pays his lowest skilled worker! You want me to believe this man is killing his enemies? LMAO I laughed out loud several times when Dante was making his threats.

Vivian is also personality-less. Oh, sure, she WANTS to have a personality but Huang absolutely REFUSES to do any showing. It's all telling. So I'm told Vivian is this badass working girl (not-like-other-girls because unlike all those OTHER heiresses, she WORKS god shut the fuck up- she spent 100k very casually in the course of a day, so like....which is it baby?) making her own way but then Dante shows up acting like the worlds biggest piece of shit and she's like, okay I guess I'll move in with you.

And I know someone is going to come in and say it was the cultural pressure that dragged her into this and I really wanted more of that. It gets touched on but like, so carefully like Huang was too afraid to really commit to her plot. Vivian is Asian-American, and we really dance around what that meant to her. There is a moment right at the end where her mother is discussing why their wealth will NEVER be enough for some people and I was like, oh finally here we go- but the mom is like, you know why. And Vivian is like, yeah, I know why. And that's the end of that! And of course, Dante is never asked to respect any of the cultural differences present, nor does he (threatening to take her dad down AGAIN was just like...oh so you learned NOTHING okay cool).

I think asking readers to believe a modern day arranged marriage was always going to be a tough sell and I wish Huang had really committed to it. She really doesn't, though- Dante is an asshole right up until the very end and one of the things I hate about Huangs MMC's is that they NEVER truly atone for their bad behavior. One of her MMC's stalks the love interest until she breaks down and then Dante is just like, "I miss you" "But I'm still threatening your dad" and Vivian folds like cardboard and ultimately, Dante got everything he wanted and only ever had to treat her well just long enough to get her down the aisle.

The closest this book every came to being self aware is when Vivian is like, we're bad for each other YEAH I AGREE. Like no chemistry AT ALL, the author really relies on Dante being hot (which we're told no less than 8 times a chapter) to do her heavy lifting. The smut is just mid, in my opinion- its not the worst thing, not the best thing, it just is.

Ultimately, Vivian and Dante have no personalities that we aren't told about, even if they directly contradict what we do see. This feels like a book written specifically to market the tropes/whats popular on booktok and so of course it's not good. It's got a few good lines I'll bet she used to market it, but everything in between reads like a first draft.

Would I recommend this? No. If you want to read it, should you? Sure. It's not going to harm you, I think you'll be like me and close it like, "well. thats done". Counts toward my reading goal.

[killerrobot-killingmatch]

I feel bad for my murderbot ask kickstarting that drama... I do not blame you (who, from what I understand, has not read the books) for getting the pronouns wrong when unfortunately a lot of people (who have read the book and should know better) use he or they for murderbot. Like there is a fairly known youtuber who made a review of the entire series and used he/him for MB throughout the review so I do not blame people for getting it wrong on first glance since that's the information given to them and you did say you would be using it from now on. I find it better to judge people on their vector rather than their position and your current vector seems good

This ask isn't necessarily for answering, I just wanted to send... understanding I guess? Apologies I am not good at putting things into words

No need to apologize. If not your ask, anyone really could have. Someone's discomfort with how I chose to move forward when I didn't ignore the situation and do better is not necessarily anyone's fault really. A matter of perspective I suppose.

Sources online should do better at being accurate, and there should be better assessment in fandom of the transphobia of neglecting it/it's pronouns on seemingly the main character. No wonder people are hurt if it is such an issue. I'm pretty annoyed finding out that it'll be something I'll have to wade though already.

But I stand by their (AS IN ANYONE'S) hurt not being a reason for me to over-police my response. I answered this situation in good faith and from the perspective of someone who's been exactly where that person has been

Thank you for your understanding and sharing your perspective.

I just hope no one used any of this as an excuse to harass or bother it for opening talk about it really.