#not sure if it's totally anit but just in case

[shewholovesall]

I need to vent about something that has been bothering me each time I watch bones

I want to rpeface with two things. One this might get a little anti Angela Montenegro Hodgins I personally am just annoyed by what I"m going to vent about but just in case don't read if you don't want to read something that may be anti Angela

The other thing is 98% of the show I fucking love Angela Montenegro Okay I have warned you now I'm going to get into my frustrations.

One of the things that gets me about Angela is that she wants to be in other people's business but then when it's her business it's her business. Now I can't think of an example. But like when Booth is doing the charity for the kids with cancer and she kind of berates Brennan for not being able to tell her that. Brennan is being a good partner to her husband/mate (can't remember if they were married at that point) I know Angela is concerned but she makes comments that it's her tight to know things.

I also don't like how when Booth could not marry bones because of pelant that she basically accused him of getting a last hurrah but also when booth gets brennan to go on the bachorlette party somehow angela gets away with not actually apologizing to booth for that comment. She is brennan's best friend and she was protecting her friend as a best friend should do but accusing booth of wanting to cheat on Brennan was low and its not the Angela I love.

Also kissing that artist guy and her ex-husband even though he was her husband at the time and she was dating/engaged /married to Hodgins. I mean sure Hodgins says cool with it for the kiss for the artist but don't do it again but when he locked the bomb lady it was "Jack I don't care what goes on in your pants as long as it stays in your pants."

So her comments in the later seasons bother me. Becaus in one of the first seasons eh tells Zach she encourages people to do themselves in whatever way it makes them comfortable.

And I think what bothers me the most is when Booth kind of apologize or acknowledge that Angela is Bones' best friend and Angla puts her first. That he knows that about angela and I don't tink forgot that. But I think she forgot that he always has been protective of Bones even before they started dating, before they even liked each other.

Another thing as i"m writing this that bothered me is when she askes Bones if she's not in the top 5. Bones says she has to go home and that they can have a barbecue with their husband and kids. Family which is what Bone's has been looking for ever since her parents abandoned her at 15. And Angela says I guess Both is top person now. Brennan says it's Christine first as it should be and then booth. And then angela says am I even int he top 5. I don't know what they were doing with Angela but I felt it was out of character. I"m sure Michale Vincent and Hodgins are above Brennan in those importance lists.

If you all read to the end thank you. Rant over.

[rosalind-of-arden]

Sword and Pen Reread, chapter 20 (continued) and epilogue

This is it. The last chapter. The end. Done. Wow.

This totally should have been in yesterday’s post, but it occurs to me that the Oxford baby incident very much foreshadowed Wolfe’s response to Morgan’s sacrifice. Both times, he’s told a child has to be sacrificed for the Library, whether it’s the Library’s treaties or the Archives. Both times, he just can’t go along with it. He was more torn in Oxford, with his students’ and Nic’s lives on the line. He might have left the baby there if a third option hadn’t presented itself, who knows. He seemed paralyzed by the choice. In the Archives, though, it’s just Morgan or the books. And he picks Morgan. Even after Khalila gives the order, Wolfe picks Morgan over the books.

An unspecified number of days and three doses of the antidote for Jess between him passing out in the Archives and waking up again.

If I wanted to do a Morgan Lives AU, the way this is written, it would be relatively easy to rewrite this scene to have Jess wake up and see Morgan sleeping in a bed next to him or something like that.

Wolfe-Jess parallel. Jess learning for sure that Morgan is dead: “His eyes burned, but it felt angry, not sad.” Almost the exact same language used to describe Wolfe’s reaction to being named Archivist.

Thomas, apparently, as already 100% adapted to calling Khalila the Archivist within a matter of days. I’m reading this as a display of support - there will be people who challenge and disrespect Khalila, so Thomas will be very sure to always call her by her title.

Khalila is wearing all black. We haven’t seen her in black since the beginning of Ink and Bone, where she had a black hijab, I think. Interesting way to come full circle - there it might have been in deference to her conservative-seeming uncle. Here, it’s mourning for Morgan.

No gold Archivist’s robe for Khalila. Just a crown, which seems like a fairly plain one (I’d imagine the old Archivist had much fancier ones).

Talking to Jess, Thomas and Khalila both emphasize that it was Morgan’s choice to sacrifice herself. I do think they’re right. But in Khalila’s case, is that a little guilt I sense? She’s going out of her way to make sure Morgan is honored. Name on the Scholar Steps, being treated as a hero, freedom for the Obscurists (really, Khalila, wouldn’t you have done that anyway?), mini-Serapeum tomb.

Every book is a gift from Morgan *cries*

Morgan had no family other than her father, according to Jess. I don’t think that’s actually been confirmed before. Well, confirmed to the extent that we can trust Jess to know what he’s talking about and Morgan to have told him the truth. (Obscurist-talented Hault family members in hiding who Morgan didn’t want to talk about with even Jess, anyone?)

Morgan’s tomb as a site of ancestor worship/some kind of religious movement post-canon, perhaps?

Khalila’s dress has pockets, and I continue to be envious of this alternate reality in which dresses with pockets are a normal thing.

“I’ve already got Anit; you don’t need to adopt me, too.” Jess. Baby. Accept that you have a family and they love you, omg.

Liberius. New Curia position for publishing. Thomas’s idea, which apparently Khalila is pushing through. Wonder what the rest of the Curia thinks of this.

Fuck Callum Brightwell. That just needs saying again.

Celia says there was a hill on the castle grounds where Brendan liked to “read and watch the sea.” Brendan didn’t like reading. The whole family can’t have even spent that much time in the castle - they got it after Jess left for the Library (no idea exactly when, somewhere after Jess left London and before the pack got to England in Ash and Quill). So... either Brendan took up reading when he moved to the castle with his parents or Celia is remembering something Brendan did while he was pretending to be Jess. Or Celia is taking Callum’s word for his choice of burial spots. Shows how little Celia understands her own children. Of course, also, London got invaded by the Welsh, so any potential burial spots there might have been destroyed.

Celia standing up to Callum makes me happy, but I also share Jess’s incredulity at the moment. It took losing two of her three children to get her to this point. Another factor, though, might be that they’re on Library turf now. In England, Callum held more power. He had henchmen around to enforce compliance. In Alexandria, Callum is just a criminal, and he has no backup. For the first time, Celia can confront him on equal footing.

Wolfe! Waiting just outside the door. Dad Wolfe does not trust Callum Brightwell. Dad Wolfe was just waiting for the excuse to do this, I suspect.

“Scholar Wolfe stood over him, smoldering like the coals in a barely covered fire.” “You’re lucky you’re not in chains, but I promise you, it can still happen.” Peak Wolfe right here.

“I’m more his son than I ever was yours.” Jess adopts Wolfe. Yesss!

Wolfe. Kissing Celia’s hand. Prickly as he is, Wolfe is capable of being very charming. This fits into a larger pattern: we repeatedly see him being nice to people who are stressed and/or vulnerable. Izumi. Naomi. Glain and Jess’s squadmate. His fellow prisoners.

But, ok, also, yes, @thegreatlibraryfangirl, give me Wolfe/Celia

Celia doesn’t feel she’s been “properly” introduced to Wolfe. We didn’t really see introductions between the Brightwells and the pack in Ash and Quill; guessing things were rather tense there.

“Wolfe and Santi, standing together with clasped hands.” Dads being a couple in public! This makes me happy. It’s also a sign of how much safer they both feel under the new regime. Their love isn’t being turned against them to manipulate them anymore.

They’re all a family now and I just have so many feelings. I particularly adore that every single one of them, in their own way, tells Jess that they know he needs support and they’re offering it. Yes, even Dario. We all know what you really mean with that teasing, Dario.

Thomas gives Jess a job, but seems unsure about whether it’s a paid position. Is this because of how Library contracts work (Jess is still under High Garda contact when Thomas says this)? Thomas already knows Khalila and Santi have arranged for Jess to get lifetime pay? A sign that the new publishing division hasn’t gotten the respect and resources it needs yet? Thomas leaving this job open to be on Jess’s terms, whether that means it’s a paid full-time job or a fun side thing?

Christopher “I’m fine, really” Wolfe saying to Jess “of course I’m ok” Brightwell, basically, “Look, we both know we’re dumbasses who deny when we need help, but you’ve seen me when I was a mess so you don’t have to be embarrassed about asking me for help.” It’s so sweet and so specific to who they both are.

A hug. From Santi. And “You’re not just Wolfe’s son, you know. I love you, too.” Reluctant dad has officially adopted the kid.

I still don’t feel like the Smoke and Iron strangulation incident is fully resolved between Santi and Jess, though. Santi did apologize when it happened, but that’s not the kind of thing that’s easily swept away, especially not for a kid who’s been abused. Jess might be inclined to dismiss it - Santi hurting him only once is better than Callum abusing him regularly, after all. But Santi owes Jess more than that.

Epilogue time! In a parallel with the prologue of Ink and Bone, it’s a father-son scene. The series both opens and closes with moments between a father and son, but neither deals with the central father-son relationship between Wolfe and Jess. Instead, we opened with Jess and Callum and close with Wolfe and Eskander.

More parallels. We have a father giving his son something valuable without explaining exactly what it is. The son experiences something surprising and gains greater understanding of himself. The son rejects the path his father has taken in life.

Now, differences. Callum’s abuse of Jess compared to Eskander’s awkward welcome. Wolfe and Eskander barely know each other, but they’re so much more comfortable around each other than Jess was with Callum. In the prologue, we saw the relationship between Jess and Callum breaking. In the epilogue, we see the relationship between Wolfe and Eskander mending.

Both the prologue and the epilogue also feature another family relationship along with the father-son one. Jess and Brendan in the prologue, Wolfe and Morgan in the epilogue.

We don’t know how long after chapter 20 this is, but I’m assuming not long. The Iron Tower still has burn marks on the floor.

On Alexandria changing: “Nic thought that would be a very good thing [...] Wolfe reserved his judgment.” Oh, you prickly bastard, let yourself be happy for fuck’s sake.

Wolfe, worrying about his sanity because he’s sensing Morgan, chooses to go to Eskander before talking to Nic. A sign things aren’t fully right between Wolfe and Santi after everything, perhaps. Wolfe is still worried about how Santi will react to a sign of declining mental health. Or maybe this is back to normal for them: Wolfe is handling this on his own, going to someone who can potentially diagnose the problem, and he’ll talk to Santi about it once he actually knows what’s going on.

“You never had talent.” “Thanks.” “Obscurist talent, Christopher.” These two are fun.

I don’t think Eskander quite understands how real of a concern it is for Wolfe that he might be imagining Morgan. Wolfe has struggled with hallucinations. They’re both a coping strategy in bad situations and a PTSD symptom for him. It’s entirely plausible that he could be hallucinating after everything that’s just happened.

Eskander, still pressing people to put on the ring without explaining it. You really need to learn about the concept of informed consent, Eskander.

Morgan in the ring seems to have gotten herself the Library-verse equivalent of a nice, big sandbox-type video game, and she’s having a great time with it. Actually, Morgan’s experience with Apeiron seems an awful lot like having access to the current internet: lots of stuff to play with! Tools to invade people’s privacy! The ability to see and know all of the things! Compare that with everyone else, who are stuck with the Codex, which is basically 1990s tech with email, ebooks, and instant messaging. There’s something very cyberpunk about Morgan’s situation, really.

Wolfe: oh fuck no I am not telling Jess about the talking ring with his dead girlfriend in it. Really, though, I wonder if Wolfe would eventually tell Jess. I can see Jess finding it comforting, especially once he’s had time to process things and move on.

“If he didn’t know storms were coming, it was easier to enjoy the sunshine.” I do like When Wolfe gets all emotional and his language gets more figurative. Anyway, here he is for the first time in the epilogue tempted to ask for something that isn’t really good for him, but having the restraint not to.

Having Obscurist powers switched on is a very physical experience for Wolfe. He’s not just seeing the world differently, he’s feeling it. Morgan doesn’t seem to quite grasp how big of a change this is for Wolfe. To her, it’s like flipping a switch. To him, it’s a complete change in how he perceives the world around him.

Here’s Wolfe’s childhood trauma coming back to him. Another parallel with the prologue, he and Jess both having a formative experience at 10. Wolfe and Jess both felt like they disappointed their parents. And Wolfe, like Jess, turns down the chance to be what his parents wanted him to be.

Wolfe’s reaction to being offered Obscurist power is a lot like Wolfe’s reaction to being offered the position of Archivist. Both things he thought he wanted in the past. But he’s not the kid who wanted to be like his parents or the ambitious young man climbing the Library ranks anymore. He knows who he is and who he wants to be, and he rejects these offers to become something “better” that isn’t him. Being himself is better than having power.

Eskander listening in on the conversation is both irritating and comforting. Prickly, prickly Wolfe.

Morgan sees watching over the Library as something she’s supposed to do that will keep her out of trouble. Wonder how she’s reaching these decisions. Gargi’s influence?

Morgan is watching over the Library, but she’s trying to stay out of her family’s lives. She offers Wolfe his Obscurist power, but at the end of the conversation, she tells him they won’t talk again. She agrees Jess doesn’t need to know about her. She doesn’t want to hold them back now that she isn’t part of their lives anymore.

“Be kinder to yourself. And to Commander Santi, too. I loved you both, and in here, I always will.” Awwwww. *cries* Hmm, but also, she’s telling Wolfe to be nicer to Santi. Probably, she’s referring to Wolfe’s usual prickles. “Stop being cranky and hug each other more, dad.”

But add this to Wolfe not telling Santi he was going to ask Eskander about sensing Morgan, and it’s possible to conclude they’re going through some relationship problems (fallout from, well, all of fucking canon, perhaps?)

Wolfe glaring at Eskander and being all “wtf did you do that for” after giving the ring back is just glorious. That, right there, is the proper response to being given a magic ring without informed consent.

Eskander and Wolfe, two people have been terribly hurt by the Library, are now scheming together to protect it. We don’t see whether Khalila invites Wolfe to be involved in shaping the new Library, but Eskander is making sure Wolfe gets a say in things.

Having Wolfe working with Eskander is potentially interesting post-canon. He’s possibly stepping into a role of helping to undo the oppression of the Obscurists and move the Library toward a sustainable future that doesn’t depend on alchemy. And that, right there, is what Wolfe really wanted. It’s why he invented his press in the first place. Wolfe’s been offered two old dreams that aren’t right for him anymore, and he’s rejected them. Now he gets back the dream that was taken from him, and that one is right for his current self.

Tea and plotting. Good way to end the series, really.

[ibuprofendiplomacy]

Reliable Modern Dip

Playing as Poland

Ukraine: CLRJames

Spain: Syrcellus

(Original) Egypt: Duaner02

England: Jefe

I joined this game in its early stages as Poland in what I found to be a solid position for a chance at survival. An alliance with Ukraine was clearly already underway, and I made sure to showcase my desire to continue this arrangement with them. While I offered Germany the same proposal, as to branch out as many options as possible, I did not receive a response. This, combined with Ukraine’s open suggestion, prompted me to make a swift stab on Germany as my opening move, as well as continuing the campaign into the remainder of Russia with Ukrainian support. 

The war against Germany was quick and efficient. I constructed fleets with the first year’s builds, allowing for an assault on Scandinavia as well as providing some deterrence for the quickly approaching navies of England. It was obvious Germany was to be defeated totally in the next couple of turns, forcing me to choose a new target. England and I had at this point engaged in communication and neither party desired conflict, which began a heavily guarded borderline between the two of us with mutual neutrality. Also here can be seen the beginnings of the annoyance the last remaining Russian unit became, as it took quite some time to kill it off. 

Italy and I had also made a similar neutrality agreement, even though they were currently at war with my two allies- Ukraine by positive communication & support and Egypt by association with Ukraine. Although I did get the impression they were a fine player and good person, I saw it probable that Italy could spell doom for both of my allies. Thinking the time of their reckoning nigh and my defenses solid enough, I made a more or less blind stab at Italian Austria, taking the province, and surprising the hell out of Italy.

Here begins an odd dynamic to this game involving the relationship between Ukraine, Egypt and I. After stabbing Italy, I got this horrible feeling about Egypt, having just saved them from Italian annihilation, they were less than grateful. This caused me to rethink my entire stab on Italy, which I had already been so uncertain about. I saw a vision for the future- Italy, myself, and one other vital player. I messaged them about making peace, which they were enthusiastic about. For this third player, I had England in mind. We had our little line of defenses and they were in my mind now without a direction to attack- I suggested they go after Spain, which would be perfect for the alliance, as it was becoming clear Spain had Italy in its sights. England game me no answer whatsoever. It didn’t do wonders for my opinion and intentions with England in the long term, and in the short term, this threw a nice wrench in my “repairing the Italian alliance” plan. I proceeded with the agreed upon move of moving of moving Venice back towards my territory through Austria, with Italy meant to move back into Venice after me. Still no word from England, and on top of that Italy didn’t take back Venice as planned. Ukraine, who I had luckily not yet stabbed, had also begun to seemingly reverse Italy’s advance on their Balkan territory. Sensing I had made an obvious mistake, I decided to take immediate action to return to the previous plan of an alliance with Ukraine. Italy had sealed their fate...Munich was taken and I built an army in Venice. 

I had certainly made the right choice, as Italy put up little defense. The other large player that was now becoming obvious as the best choice for a third member of a draw was Spain. Our alliance started more as an assumed one as they and Ukraine had started friendly communications. Simply out of there not being a need, we had not spoken, but eventually I did ask for their assistance in killing off Egypt. As previously mentioned, I felt Egypt was being particularly dickish. As I had no route to take to attack them, I asked permission from my now good close ally Ukraine to move a single unit through Volga to Kazakhstan for an “attack” on Egypt- if not for any tactical reason then to simply pester them. Ukraine allowed me this privilege, and I did so. I had been for some time now encouraging Ukraine to backstab Egypt, as I thought it likely they could win the conflict (although not as likely as I told them I thought it was), and with Italy under control, they finally agreed. This allowance of my unit to enter Kazakhstan was rightfully considered a sign of war between Ukraine and Egypt also, so even with Ukraine’s insistence that I was acting without their previous knowledge and that they were still united together, Egypt sensed the backstab and countered as best they could. 

With my problem with Egypt now in the process of being settled and Italy in their final days, I had but one other area to take care of before a draw would be acceptable in my eyes. England had for three years now sent in the exact same moves for their 8 units. While a good strategy per say, as it was a relatively sturdy connection of supports against any attack I could envision, I saw it as nothing but cowardice and boring- definitely not something I would reward with a draw. As I had done with Ukraine and Egypt, I had now asked Spain a number of times to join me in an attack on England as they had access to the soft rear, but they were cautious to start a new front before taking remaining Italian centers I had promised them. Although England’s defenses were formidable, they were not without error, and as they had been sending the same moves each turn, I saw the chink in the armor to be Denmark. In the same Fall turn Ukraine generously supported me into Iran, I made a backstab on England, slamming into Denmark and building many a new Polish fleet. Spain saw the direction the war was headed right after the stab, and built the beginnings of their own anti-english force to come in from the south. 

Egypt quickly found a relative stalemate line against Ukraine and I that would only be broken with an extended fleet conflict in the Aegean. After many an option was considered, I saw the solution- a cheeky move out of Iran for a turn, and building a fleet- beautiful! The war with England was surprisingly quick, with good progress being made each turn. After just two years I already had three armies on mainland Britain. With the low countries taken by Spain and I, Italy dying off and Egypt appearing to crack, the game appeared to finally be wrapping up. 

Appearances can be deceiving though. On the last turn of Britain’s life, they messaged me, hoping that my intentions were to go for a solo. On the previous turn I had already taken Liverpool and Saudi Arabia as well as a saved build from previous year. I told Britain of course I had considered it but I gave my reasons why I didn’t think I could pull it off and didn’t want to- I truly did enjoy playing with both of my allies. That being said, in the depths of my mind, trying for the solo was the only thing that I wanted. Britain agreed to do the exact same turn as the last, which if I played it right would bring my total yearly gains to +5. My allies suspected nothing, with the assumed ending support chains already in place between us. The areas of automatic concern were Gorky and getting to Volga, holding Venice for as long as possible, and quickly beating Spain out of the Channel and France. In the Fall of 2004, with the correct lies of support given to Spain and with Britain graciously on my side, I advanced units to key spaces that would prove pivotal to the future war, and built the five new units in the previously occupied centers. Cheating Spain out of their British territory and Belgium, as well as a nice convoy to Lapland made it a very effective stab. While a gorgeous turn, for certain, here I also made perhaps my biggest mistake. In supporting Iran to Iraq, I effectively sealed that army off from any return to Kazakhstan, where it was so badly needed....still a beautiful turn though. 

The going was slow and steady. As Ukraine didn’t build in Gorky as was expected, the armies in the north were able to take control relatively easily, luckily taking Volga early, and attempting to seal off Kazakhstan (wishing that Iran unit was still there). I saw Podolia as key, and with my first try at it thwarted, I employed a strategy I used several times on a different large Europe map with some friends- to take a tile you know you want hold, Croatia in this case, and and turn by turn, slide it through its adjacent enemy spaces like a battering ram, in this case Hungary, until it reaches its desired location- Podolia. In the Steppe, I felt I had now accumulated enough armies to make Kazakhstan less of a priority, so I cut Kharkov support with Volga and took Kiev. In the turn I took Podolia, I decided to instead take the more defendable Kharkov with Kiev, and with Ukraine forcing Volga to retreat to Donetsk, I found I had enough units around Kiev to take it in the coming year. In the other theater of war, I was doing unexpectedly well. I had predicted Spain to move more fleets towards the Atlantic, but I found my only naval competition to be the three original anit-british fleets. This naval superiority secured the win in the fact that my allowance into the South Atlantic Ocean opened up the necessary few additional centers I needed. I had also predicted the fall of Venice to happen very quickly, as Ukraine and Spain now had units in the Adriatic and Apulia, and although they attempted, they never cut the Austrian support. In France, it was more of a guessing game trying to poke at Spain’s few, yet well positioned armies. Eventually, a crack made in Lyon showed the beginnings of progress there as well. 

With Kharkov and Podolia taken, I saw a chance to take Kiev once and for all, as there was a nice stalemate line I had seen if you had Kharkov, Kiev and Volga all captured. With many units circling Volga, I made sure this was the case in the Spring. Ukraine didn’t submit orders this turn unfortunately, so these things went appropriately smoothly. I still held Venice, and exchanged Lyon for Marseilles. More importantly, I had an uncontested convoy into Gibraltar, allowing for the final centers I needed. In the Fall, the final turn of the game, I finally lost Venice, exchanging it in the best way for Hungary as I used it to cut Croatian support. With Marseilles and the newly captured Picardy, I snagged both Paris and Lyon, as well as grabbing Seville with support from the Gibraltar convoy. With Kiev and Kharkov solidly in my control, I ended the year with a total of 33 centers, winning the game. 250 points, finally boosting my total to over 1000!

[rosalind-of-arden]

Sword and Pen Spoilers: Gleeful Squealing Edition

There is a lot to scream about in this book, so I am breaking it down by category. This is the post of happy things. Spoilers beyond the link: beware!

So, first and foremost, the scene in which Khalila becomes archivist is worth the cost of the book all on its own. It is in Wolfe POV, which automatically makes everything better as far as I am concerned. It includes the new Curia trying to give Wolfe the job first, to his great irritation. These are the same people who did nothing when he was taken to Rome and his work was erased, and he’s fully aware that part of the reason they’re in favor of him getting the job is that he’s not likely to survive long with the Library under attack. And he gets to call them on that shit. And when they insist? He fucking accepts, then turns around and announces his immediate retirement, nominating Khalila to take his place. “If you want to fight an old man who wants to drag the Great Library into the past, appoint a young woman who looks to the future.” Loads of affirmation for Khalila follows. And then we get to see her step into the role brilliantly. “That was not the voice of his student. It was the voice of his queen.”

Speaking of Khalila awesomeness, we also get some truly excellent Khalila/Dario moments. There is a very sweet bit of hurt/comfort after Dario returns from his spy mission, including cuddles, affirmation of feelings, and further marriage planning. And then, later, after Khalila becomes Archivist, we have Dario getting all overprotective, Khalila shutting that the fuck down, and the two of them negotiating how their public and private roles can interact. And then Dario gets to be a big damn hero.

Also a big damn hero? Thomas. Accomplishments include putting a giant fucking Ray of Apollo on the Lighthouse, raising a giant automaton Poseidon to defend the harbor, getting that second dragon up and running, getting past the tests in the Tomb of Heron to retrieve technology and an antidote that saves Jess, and convincing Khalila to open a printing division in the Library, complete with new Curia position. I am particularly happy that the last ones are peaceful, showing that he’ll be able to transition away from building weapons as things settle down.

But our first big promotion goes to Santi, who is appointed as Lord Commander of the High Garda, which surprises absolutely none of us, I’m sure. And he is awesome at it. He runs both a successful military defense campaign and a few covert operations. In connection with one of those covert operations, there is a bit of Santi-Dario interaction that I suspect Maz will mine for Santi/Dario potential, and that is going to be lovely. There is a Santi in case of death letter in this book, with the expected amount of Wolfe/Santi sweetness. Even more squeal-worthy, though, is his adoptive dad moment with Jess. Santi hugs Jess, calls him his son, and says he loves him, and I am never going to be over it.

Again, Santi fucking hugs Jess and calls him his son, people. Jess is very officially adopted by the dads. AND he gets a reconciliation with his mother, so lots of family for Jess now.

Wolfe gets good dad moments as well. From comforting Jess in the beginning, to protecting him while he’s sick, to handing Callum Brightwell his ass in the end, we see Wolfe fully embracing his dad role. He gets nice dad moments with the others as well: promoting Khalila, telling Glain how valuable she is, worrying about Thomas, mourning Morgan. That final confrontation with Callum is just amazing. Callum starts his abusive dad shit and first Jess, then Jess’s mother, then Wolfe all tell Callum to go fuck himself. And Wolfe then acknowledges how much it had to take for Celia to finally stand up to Callum.

On a much smaller scale, it is officially canon that Wolfe and Santi play chess on a regular basis. It’s mentioned immediately after sex and reading together in bed when Wolfe is thinking of things he misses doing with Santi in more peaceful times. I think you all know why I’m happy about that.

Also: Santi has gotten his protectiveness of Wolfe under control. At one point, he thinks of sending Wolfe a worried message and decides against it, knowing Wolfe won’t like it. At another point, Wolfe responds to Jess’s worry that Santi will be mad about him running off into danger by saying “he’s quite used to me doing as I please, thank you.” I get the feeling there has been an off-page conversation on this topic.

We also get confirmation that Wolfe has limited Obscurist-sense. He can tell when Morgan is trying to draw on his power. He can tell when Morgan is killing herself by overusing her power. And, in the end, Ascended Morgan informs him that he has a lot of power, but cannot use it because “something went slightly wrong in your body, but only just slightly.” She offers to fix this and give him access to his power. He doesn’t want that much more than he wants to be Archivist. Wolfe, in this book, has accepted himself as he is and not what he might have wanted to be in the past.

And then there is Dario. We get Dario POV, and that alone is amazing. Another chapter well worth the cost of the book all on its own. It is a glorious chapter of Dario showing that he really can be a successful schemer, and also a bucket of Dario angst. We get so many delicious little Dario details. He has excellent handwriting and knows a very obscure code. He likes his room in the Lighthouse. He has a spare Codex purchased just for sneaky-sneaky purposes. He somehow managed to read Wolfe and Santi’s journals during Ink and Bone, and found out interesting but unspecified things in the process. I really, really want to see that last point explored in fic.

Anyone who likes Jess whump will be pleased to learn that this is the big book of Jess whump. On top of the grief over Brendan, he spends most of the book poisoned and trying unsuccessfully to push through it. This gives us some very sweet moments of others taking care of him, especially Thomas, Anit, Wolfe, and Glain. Yes, that’s right, we get some excellent Jess-Glain bonding. And Jess and Anit declaring themselves siblings.

There is, in fact, just so much friendship and found family in this book. Everyone moved past the awkward “I don’t really like you” stage, and we see them all openly admitting to caring about each other. There are declarations of brotherhood/sisterhood/parenthood/friendship all over the place. There are hugs. There are non-romantic kisses. Glain is involved in both, and does not respond violently.

Speaking of Glain, guess who else gets a promotion? She’s up to lieutenant now, and as Wolfe points out to Jess, she’s on track to rise even higher. Her chapter this time is longer than last time, and showcases both her leadership and her combat skill. I am still squealing about how affectionate she and Jess are with each other, though. And it is in no way treated as a potential ship. It’s pure adopted sibling love.

And then there’s Morgan. This is not the post for crying over her death. This is the post for squealing over how fucking awesome she is before it. She develops her power to even greater heights. Eskander is trying to prepare her for the Obscurist Magnus job, and when he’s injured, she basically steps in to fill it, just without an official promotion. Even her death, sad as it is, is totally badass. She single-handedly prevents the Archives from burning. And she ascends to become something like a guardian spirit of the Library. After her death, she still looks out for the others. We see her communicate with Wolfe and offer to give him his Obscurist power, though he refuses.

This book also handles Jess’s grief very well. He is devastated by losing Brendan, and we see constant evidence of how it impacts him. There’s a lot going on, but he can’t forget his brother. It even leads to him breaking up with Morgan. He’s just not capable of managing feelings for her along with grief, and precious child that he is, he interprets this emotional confusion as evidence that they don’t really love each other and would never be able to work as a couple. That breakup hurts, but it fits where his character is at that moment, and because of her death, he never gets the chance to reconsider. And he grieves that loss as well.

That’s all I can think of for the moment. I’m sure there is more I will remember as I reread.