#solid chance I finish and enjoy All the Pretty Horses and read the rest of the series

[cultivating-wildflowers]

Potential July Reads

Getting into multiple acknowledged classics this month, quite by accident (and one that an old coworker recommended to me several years ago).

Currently Reading:

The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett - currently at ~10%

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy - currently at ~20% (audio)

TBR:

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - ~12 hours

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - 370 pages

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner - 335 pages

Other Potential Reads:

A nonfic I picked up last week with the hope of finishing at least one nonfic in June. Still haven't touched it.

Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card (one day I'll finish this series).

Reread A Swiftly Tilting Planet, AKA one of my comfort reads.

[aion-rsa]

To Sleep In A Sea of Stars and the Importance of Optimism in Sci-Fi

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article is sponsored by:

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is Christopher Paolini’s first foray into science-fiction, and the first of potentially many stories in the Fractalverse. The story follows xenobiologist Kira Navárez as a chance encounter with an ancient, alien artifact propels her into an epic space adventure across the vast expanse of the galaxy, in a fight for the fate of humanity. We talk to the author about the writing process, his sci-fi influences, favorite shared universes, and writing hopeful science fiction.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Den of Geek: What is it about science fiction that made you want to create within that framework?

Christopher Paolini: I grew up reading as much science fiction as fantasy. So for me, it was a very natural transition. My dad was and is a huge science fiction fan. My mom was a fantasy reader, so I kind of got both genres from them. And I just love the possibilities of science fiction, and I love how a lot of science fiction talks about the future of humanity, especially as we may be moving off this planet and exploring the rest of the universe. And I was also wanting a change from fantasy after working on The Inheritance Cycle for about 12 years, from 15 to 26/27. That’s a large chunk of one’s life to be put into one project. So yeah, science fiction felt like a very natural fit.

Which came first for you, did you already have an idea that you wanted to write in science-fiction? Or did you have the idea of a whole story in one book, then decide that science fiction would fit with that idea in mind?

I had the idea for the story first and the idea first came about in 2006, 2007. At the time, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a self contained story or series, but very early on, I decided that yes, it was going to be a one book story. That became increasingly important to me the longer I worked on The Inheritance Cycle, because I didn’t finish that series until the end of 2011, and then I was touring for it mid to late 2012. So when thinking about what I wanted to do next, was like, “Well, I’d rather write a self contained story and then move onto something new.” And also I wanted to get that experience for readers of not having to wait for years and years for the next volume. The ironic thing is that it actually didn’t really take me any less time to write To Sleep than if I had broken it up and just done two or three novels.

Were there any things that you maybe didn’t want to get rid of or cut to make the story fit into one tome that you had to get rid of? If so, how did you deal with that?

No, I told the story of what I wanted to tell. I actually had a unique experience with editing with this book where my editors at Tor, along with the other changes I was making, general revisions and copy edits… They actually had me add about 30,000 words of material to the book as I was revising, which I’ve never had that experience before. So no, everything I wanted to put in the story is in the story. It’s a book that is stuffed to the gills with stuff, and hopefully readers will enjoy all of that stuff. With that said, there is lots of material within the universe and within that setting that I want to write about and have plans for that isn’t in this book. But this book itself has what it needs to have.

Do you have plans for, not necessarily a sequel, but other stories that take place within the same connected universe?

Absolutely. I mean, if people… At least in the hardcover edition of the book, they’ll see there’s the logo for the Fractalverse, not only embossed the cover, but also printed on an inside page and the Fractalverse is a setting that I’ve been working on for quite a long time. The idea is that any stories that I want to tell that aren’t explicitly fantasy can fit within the Fractalverse. So it includes the real world, the far future, the distant past. And even though some of those stories might seem a little disconnected, they will all tie together in the end.

What do you think makes a really good connected or extended shared universe?

Part of it would be theme and tone. I think about Star Wars or Star Trek or Babylon 5 or any of these big franchises, and usually there’s a certain feel associated with that franchise. You know that when you’re going to go watch a James Bond film, for example, or you’re going to go watch a Star Trek film or show, you’re going to get a certain something. So I think theme and tone is a big thing. I’m kind of in the same camp as Sanderson for this one, finding ways to tie in characters, or thematic things, or world events so that things really are interconnected on a deep level. It may not make much of a difference for any one individual story, but when you step back and look at the whole edit sets, you can see how all the pieces fit together.

What are some of your favorite extended universes, across all mediums?

The Cosmere by Sanderson would certainly be up there. Also the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, and how that ties into his other works. I’m not actually a fan of horror. I think that there are enough difficult things in the world already, without putting more of that in my head, but I really appreciate how the Dark Tower sort of ties together his other books, characters cross pollinate between his various stories. I think that’s pretty cool.

If you could choose any character from To Sleep in a Sea of Stars to put into another universe that you didn’t create, which character would you put into that universe and why?

My answer probably won’t surprise you. Gregorovich.

And what universe would you put him in?

Oh geez. Almost anything, almost anything. I would love to see him in… Actually, this would make him deeply unhappy, but the way it tickles my storytelling brain, I would love to see him in Battlestar Galactica and see him grappling with divisions between the humans and the Cylons, and him being sort of an inter median between human and cyborg or even full on Android.

Were there any tropes or things you wanted to explicitly avoid in your writing for To Sleep in a Sea of Stars?

My general approach was to try to treat every character with dignity and respect the same way I would want to be treated or anyone else would want to be treated, to not make a big deal about people being the other, even if sometimes they feel like they’re the other. And also, the thing is, I’m sure there’s still going to be prejudice and discrimination and all sorts of other issues in the future. I mean, humans are humans, that’s unfortunately not going to go away. But there’s no reason to highlight that or make it a major point of your main story or character, unless that’s something you want to grapple with in a deep examination of “how can we do better?”

I wanted to know about the rules you set for To Sleep in a Sea of Stars where: you wanted it to be realistic science, you wanted it to not completely break physics, and you wanted to disallow time travel. What was the reason and the thought process behind that?

The main point for me was that I didn’t want my spaceships to be time machines. Because if you look at the physics of a lot of faster than light travel in a lot of popular franchises, the math says that the spaceships really should be capable of time travel, which, if your story’s not about time travel, having your most popular transportation method allowing for that kind of wrecks your story. So I really, really wanted to avoid that. I really wanted a technical answer that I could wrap my brain around, which would give me a really solid footing for whatever I want to write in the Fractalverse.

What was the process of figuring out how to both be very technical, but also making it where a lay person could just read To Sleep in a A Sea of Stars and actually be able to follow along?

Well, that was very important to me. Having written fantasy, I definitely ran into challenges of info dumping and, and not wanting to info dump, and how do you convey large amounts of information to your readers in a palatable fashion? I definitely learned things when working on The Inheritance Cycle and I tried to apply them in this book. So the goal was to naturally introduce readers to this universe without overloading them with technical information. If readers want that technical information it’s in the appendices at the back of the book. So in some ways it’s almost like science is to science fiction is what magic is to fantasy, it defines the rules of what is possible in that universe. And it’s important for me as the author to know all those rules, but I don’t have to dump out those on the reader all at once.

Were there any habits that you had to break in the transition from writing a fantasy series, then going into a completely different genre and a different world?

Absolutely tons. First of all, I had an established approach style in a society that I had been working with for so long that it was really second nature. So I had to work very hard to come up with a cleaner, more modern style for To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, which I enjoyed. It actually gave me a lot more freedom in terms of the tools I had to write the book. And then also just the pacing of the book is different because To Sleep is a complete story from start to finish. That was actually a little surprising to me, because when you write a series, you really get to know the characters in a way that you just can’t in one book, because you have thousands of pages to live with them. So the pacing was different and that was also a challenge to get used to. On top of that, the fact that a spaceship does not go in faster in an emergency, unlike horses or people, where if you need to get from point A to point B faster, you can just sort of spur the horses on a little more. You can run, you can push yourself harder. Spaceships don’t really do that. Machines don’t really do that. So that put some restrictions on the logistics of moving my characters around, it was a fun restriction.

Are there any common threads between your other series and this new one?

There is a fairly significant easter egg from The Inheritance Cycle in this book that I’ll leave for readers to discover. And then there are my usual obsessions as a writer on display. For example, I find myself continually drawn towards stories of personal transformation, both physical and mental, and that’s on full display here. And a lot of questions of how the individual relates to society. What is your responsibility to people in general if society stopped caring about you as a person? Despite the fact that it’s science fiction, there is a very real ethic and physics to the story, as it proceeds, that people who are fans of that in my fantasy novels will find the same here and will enjoy that also.

If you had to choose for To Sleep in a Sea of Stars to be respectfully adapted into either of the following, a TV mini series, a standalone film, or a AAA game title, which would you choose and why?

I don’t know if it’s one film, but my gut says, a film. Simply because I would love for people to experience the story in one go, that was my whole reason for putting it into one book. I mean, a miniseries or TV show could do a wonderful job of it. But the pacing is different in a TV show and the beats and the emotions are different. So yeah, my gut reaction would be a film.

What are some of your favorite stories specifically set in space across all mediums— book, TV, film, comics, video games?

Well, video games. It would be the Mass Effect series, specifically if you’re playing with Commander Shepard, who is voiced by the amazing Jennifer Hale, who we were fortunate to get to read the audiobook. And she did an absolutely fantastic job with that. The Halo series, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, old school Star Trek, the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons. Dune by Frank Herbert, including the David Lynch film, which I have a soft spot in my heart for. Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. I know that’s science fiction, that’s not in space. I think those would be some of the big ones. Oh, a lot of Iain Banks’ sci-fi novels.

What job do you think you would have, in the To Sleep in a Sea of Stars universe?

Well, given that the To Sleep in a Sea of Stars universe includes the real universe, I have a feeling I’d have the exact job I have now, writing epic stories that people would hopefully enjoy.

If you could bring one thing from the To Sleep in a Sea of Stars universe into our real modern day, present day, what would it be and why?

If I had to pick one piece of human technology to bring, it would actually be the fusion drives from the spaceship, because that would allow us to access the rest of the solar system in a way that we can’t, and really start spreading. I mean, the solar system we have is huge. So that alone would really provide an enormous boost for us as a species.

If you had to convey what To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is about to someone or something that doesn’t communicate with language as we understand it, what vibes would you want to give off or what feeling would you try to express?

I love this question. Oh, I’m so glad you asked that. I would want to convey the same feeling that inspired me to write this book in the first place. And it would be a feeling of… A tingle down your spine, of awe and wonder, both horrible and beautiful at our place within the universe. At the fact that the universe even exists and that we exist, in a bittersweet ache, that things are never perfect, but we still have accomplished all we can. And there’s hope for the future.

That’s a really hard thing to combine into one word or one sentence. But I literally wrote this entire book to try and convey that feeling and hopefully to convey it in the very last scene, in the very last line of the book.

This is a really good time for this book, I was surprised at how delicate and hopeful it was.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

I want to write optimistic fiction, ultimately. I never wanted to leave my readers depressed when they finish one of my books. I’ve heard so many people over the years where Eragon got them into reading, or one of the books helped them, helped a person through a difficult time in their life. And it makes me think that, well, if they’d read the wrong book and the wrong time, it might’ve made life a lot harder for them. So I think it will be unlikely that you’ll ever catch me writing a grim dark fantasy or science fiction.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is out now.

The post To Sleep In A Sea of Stars and the Importance of Optimism in Sci-Fi appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3c5gh1e

[amazildoessomethingstupid]

Chapter 89: Guest of Honor (finished)

Hey guys...I..I did it...I read it.  I don’t think I properly explained how I’m doing these rants.  I’m not just reading this page by page and listing off all my points as I go on, on this blog.  I’m reading these chapters all at once, really quick giving a few remarks on the discord, and then afterwards going back and doing typing these rants and going over every beat.  I do this so that I can be able to not only present my initial reactions, but also my reactions and feelings about the chapter overall.

Now you might be asking, “Amazil?  Who gives a shit?  Why are you telling us this?  Get the part where Abbey fist bumps Paulo’s jugular!” Well I’m telling you this, because it turns out my reasoning for splitting this chapter review in two was valid.  Because this chapter has a lot of cute shit, it’s got some really nice character building, it’s really cute, it really warmed me up.  

WHICH IS WHY THIS FUCKING SCENE IS SO FUCKING BULLSHIT!

LOOK AT THIS!

So we start off, everything’s fine.  Paulo’s being Paulo, that’s cool.  And hey look, everyone’s all dressed up that’s nice.  Even Stacey’s here! How great! Paulo doesn’t even get a chance to poke that much fun at them before

Oh hey, Daisy’s back!  and oh hey how awkward~ But awww look at how sappy they are, it’s actually sickeningly sweet.  

Luckily Paulo balances this out, with his personality and I like this.

He’s not being an ass, he’s not trying to be rude or anything.  He’s just saying how he feels, and he’s honest about it.  It’s refreshing y’know? and

oh no...

Are we seriously doing this RIGHT NOW?

Are you serious?!

HE LITERALLY HASN’T DONE ANYTHING YET!

YOU’RE NOT GONNA BUILD UP TO THIS OR ANYTHING?! YOU’RE JUST GONNA-

WHELP!  ALRIGHT THEN!  YOU WANTED IT, HERE IT IS!  HERE IT FUCKING IS!  I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!

I’m right there with you, Paulo.  What the fuck is going on?!

OH THAT’S WHAT WE’RE DOING NOW?! IS THIS WHERE YOU’RE GOING?

well first of all...

That’s right, you don’t deserve the actual EVA version, you get the simpson’s version.  But I’m with you, Abbey because I too now know the kind of person you are! You know at first when people called you a white-knight character, I didn’t see a problem with that, your character was pretty alright.  In fact I was a solid Abbey X Daisy shipper, because I felt the two of you could work through each other’s problems and insecurities, and better each other.  And even when you became more self-righteous and jaded, I gave it a pass because y’know what?  You’ve been through a lot and you’re just trying to do what’s right. BUT THIS?!

THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT!  What. The. Fuck?!  Coming from the guy who took advantage of attacking someone when they were unprepared and defenseless.  How the fuck can you stoop so low, while still grand standing on your high horse?  

You judgy, self-righteous, grand standing, holier than thou, cowardly piece of shit.  What the fuck are you talking about?!  First of all Paulo’s only been in three relationships so far.  and he didn’t have sex or do anything like that until Rachel!  And HIM taking advantage of girls?!  Which girl are you talking about?  Are you talking about his relationship with Tess where he was kind of being lead on?  Or do you mean his relationship with Jasmine!  Where he was bending over backwards for her, making as much time as possible for her, and trying his hardest to make it work, did all he could, and never tried to bang her; is that where he was taking advantage of a girl?!  Or are you talking about when he want on his sexcapades, where he only banged a total of TWO girls.  You might think he was taking advantage of them, until you remember THEY WERE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HIM TO GET REVENGE ON TESS!  

(except Rachel, because Rachel actually just loves Paulo and wanted to fuck him)

But wait!  Maybe you’re talking about him taking advantage of Lucy!  Are you arguing that Paulo was taking advantage of Lucy in her distressed state to make a relationship?

BECAUSE IF THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE SAYING

WELL I’M SORRY BUT I’VE SEEN THE FUTURE

AND   WE   WILL   GET   TO   THAT   LATER

Fuck you!  He literally didn’t do anything at all!  When I was going through this chapter, I was anxious to see what lead to this!  I was spoiled into knowing that this scene happens, but I was interested in diving into and picking apart what lead to this scene, and how we got here.  BUT NO!  WE DON’T GET THAT!  PAULO DIDN’T DO ANYTHING IN THIS CHAPTER TO WARRANT THIS SHIT!  THIS IS LITERALLY JUST ABBEY BEING A JEALOUS CONTROLLING LITTLE BITCH, WHO DOESN’T HAVE THE FUCKING DECENCY TO FACE SOMEONE IN A FAIR FUCKING FIGHT!  

HEY ABBEY!

HEY ABBEY I GOT A QUESTION FOR YA?

HOW MUCH ARE YOU PAYING YOUR THERAPIST?

CAUSE WHATEVER YOU’RE PAYING THEM IS TOO FUCKING MUCH!  

*sigh* this is the exact reason I stopped reading BCB years ago...Because when I was making January, I wanted to be true to the characters.  I wanted to give respect to the canon by trying to be as faithful as I could to these characters.  But I knew I had to stop reading, or else shit like this would happen.  Shit like December, that completely bastardizes the characters, magnifies an aspect of their personality until it consumes them and they become something else.  Something unforgivable.  These characters change their stances so often, I knew if I stayed true to the canon as it went on, that I’d just be adapting their characters and changing them again and again because of the canon.  

People can say what they want about me, but I don’t want this.  I don’t want to see these characters that inspired me, that I loved, and grew attached to become bastardized versions of themselves.  I made January, not because I wanted to make a better BCB, not because I thought I could do a better job, not to spit on everything BCB did wit December, but because I want to see these characters get out of this okay.  I want to see them grow, and fix themselves, be happy, and work through their problems.  I want everything to be okay.  But it’s not.  And it won’t be.

Anyway, after this Mike comes into the bathroom to check on Paulo. He realizes Paulo’s hurt and is concerned about him, but Paulo...

Paulo covers for Abbey, and believes that Abbey was right, and he’s just...

This isn’t fun anymore...

Boy Abbey, look at you.  It’s great seeing how much you care about your girlfriend’s interest.  

TFW the guy you choked out in the bathroom is more enthused about your girlfriend’s interests than you are.  Boy that’s...I can’t even laugh at this.

Anyway, Sue bitches at the group to get a move on, cause they’re part of a panel for something.  And Paulo decides that he’s gonna split, to avoid further confrontation or making a scene.  Daisy takes notice, and

I used to really like this character...

Anyway, look at that!  Mike’s actually taking this seriously, makes sense given his own dealing with abuse.  HOLY SHIT THIS CHAPTER JUST MADE ME LIKE MIKE FOR A SECOND.  JESUS ABBEY, YOU MUST’VE FUCKED UP REAL BAD!

but wait a second...

is that?

*gasp*

IT’S MAH BOY!  McCAIN IS IN THE HOUSE!  WHAT IS THIS CHAPTER!?  IS THIS THE CURSE OF THE MONKEY’S PAW?!

Fuck you, Abbey no one gives a shit.

Anyway, Daisy does the right thing and takes Paulo home. And y’know...

This shit’s still cute...

This part is pretty nice, but....

it feels so hollow...

This is why I split this rant in half.  Because just as I thought, that scene destroys this chapter.  It’s not even that everything before it is great, the stuff after it is also pretty good. But that scene is just so fucking enfuriating that it taints everything around it.  When I heard about this scene, it was all I heard about.  No one talked about the rest of this chapter, no one brought up how fucking adorable Paulo and Daisy are in this chapter.  No one brings up how well they actually play off each other here.  No.  The only thing that matters is that Abbey strangles Paulo in the bathroom.  That’s all there is.  And I don’t blame them.  This is the exact reason I hate BCB.  That scene was not set up properly, there was no build up to that.  And it’s not like I don’t enjoy myself a good gut wrenching emotional scene.  But if I’ve learned anything from reading so many webcomics, it’s that a scene like this should feel like a knife in the gut.

specifically a knife to the gut.  Because it’s from the front.  You see it coming.  You know it’s coming, and you can look into the eyes of the author as they tell you why this is happening.  And you accept it.  You know that this sadness, this bitter taste in your mouth was done with purpose, and it had to happen this way.  

BCB doesn’t do that.  It stabs you in the back.  It lulls you into a false sense of security before pulling the rug out from under you.  It’s predictable now.  Every time something nice happens, when the characters are finally in a pretty good place, that’s when shit hits the fan.  That’s when this shit happens.  And I’m sick of it.  This chapter is a sugary sweet delicious donut with a razor blade inside it.  And it’s clear that all this sweet cute shit was just to butter you up, but no amount of sugar will make that blade go down any easier.  

This is the chapter that killed Abbey.  And I think the worst part is...there are still people who will defend this character, defend his actions, all because of what happened to him in the past.  And to those, I say...

I get it.  Trauma in all its shapes and forms can severely affect a person.  It can change the way we think, the way we behave, the way we perceive the things around us.  It can make us do reprehensible things, and act out against those we love, or those just trying to help.  It’s a terrible thing, what it does.  

But no matter what.  Do not let your trauma, or instability control you.  Don’t let it define you.  And most importantly.  Don’t let it excuse you.  I have hesitated to make rants like this, for years.  Because of my history with Veronica Vera.  I had been told so many times that I shouldn’t speak out about this shit, even if I softened my words because her BPD would make her take this in a way I don’t want her to.  But there was a valuable lesson I learned over these years.  When I was taking care of my older brother who attempted suicide and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  

As a part-time college student, with a credit card my mom let me use I was in charge of buying his medication.  I took him to his appointments, I took him where he wanted to go, I did everything to support him.  And in return, I’d find the pills outside their bottles uneaten and lying on counters.  I’d find him drinking instead of taking his medication, he’d be screaming and yelling at an empty house while I hid in my room to escape.  I’d buy locks for my door and constantly keep them locked even when I was at home, because I found he’d use and steal my things when I was gone or he thought I wouldn’t notice.  From that I learned a lesson that I hold today.  That was probably what gave me the strength to start January and make my own fan comics for BCB.

I learned that when you find yourself suffering, dragged down, and going insane yourself because of someone else’s mental illness.  

Then that person’s mental illness, shouldn’t be your problem.  

Maybe I’m just projecting here.  Maybe I’m taking this too far, and reading into things too much, applying my own experiences to this character and using that to excuse my opinions on their behavior.

Maybe that’s what you’re doing too, when you excuse Abbey’s behavior.

The difference is, I want to see these characters be better than this.  And I don’t want to see these other characters have to break because of someone else’s trauma.  I want these characters to make it out okay.  

But I know that’s not the case.

Fuck this scene.

[rawrienstein]

Careful Zap. You shouldn’t touch things that you don’t understand.

More after the break! (Sorry Mobile)

( Support: Ko-Fi | Cool Stuff: Blog )

@adgerelli told me to make a next gen and make her fall in love with it.

YOU BETTER LIKE THIS.

So meet Zap Apple (very original name, don’t care though, it’s the most obvious name). The son of Rainbow Dash and Applejack (and Big Mac). He’s the type of kid that has an unfortunate combination of wanderlust and no respect for property boundaries. Applejack’s sure that curiosity’s gonna get’m killed, but Dash can’t help fostering his appetite for adventure (ie: Lots of Daring Doo before bed).

Summary of the AU (Yes, this is Summary)

This is an AU where Equestrian magic continued to leak into the Mirror World and brought a terrible apple blight to AJ’s farm. Big Mac’s a smart guy and planned for years of bad harvests, but no one could have planned for the majority of their orchards to transform into terrible tree monsters. After literally burning their futures away, the Apple family needed to find a new way of life. 

Marble Pie (Big Mac’s wife) offered a chance to join the Pie Family Rock Farm in Rockville. Rainbow Dash objected due to not enjoying sleeping on rock trees, which don’t actually exist. But if there were, she wouldn’t sleep on them.

Big Mac and Fluttershy (also Big Mac’s wife, though not under law) adjust quickly enough to life on the rock farm, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash just cannot do it. Rocks are boring and not apples (and rock cider is possibly the worst thing to happen to cider and rocks).

They receive a call from Twilight Sparkle (SciTwi) and Sunset Shimmer about the abrupt appearances of equestrian locations in their world. Twilight and Sunset are unsure of the reason for this, but suspect that their parallel worlds may be merging together. Could it be possible that the over abundance of Equestrian magic is dragging Equestria across the mirror? 

Dash, AJ and Fluttershy meetup with the rest of the gang to investigate a temple that replaced their old high-school, Canterlot High. Sunset recognizes it as an ancient lost library of forbidden tomes and cursed relics and possibly filled with knowledge that could help them. Together they navigate dangerous traps, solve ancient riddles and defeat a very, cranky golem to reach the deepest depths in hopes of answers.

They finally reach the Gilded Hall. A long and tall stretch of artifacts and books that hopefully contain answers to reversing their situation. They also find a very bearded horse scrambling and jingling from shelf to shelf.

Sunset recognizes him immediately as Starswirl the Bearded and can’t believe that he’s alive...and a pony? He should be over a thousand years old and at least human shaped! Starswirl ignores Sunset as he finds a solution and begins carving strange sigils and runes into the ground with telekinetic beams from his horn.

Sunset and Twilight attempt to question Starswirl, but he only responds with sparse quips about how he can’t believe how bad it’s gotten and he should have destroyed the mirror years ago. This concerns Sunset and Twi greatly. When he’s finished he throws the tome he was reading from at Sunset. “Unicorn! I have marked the pages you’ll need. You must banish these places back to Equestria. A mere band-aid I know, but you must go now before it becomes any worse! I’ll fix this. I always do!”

Recognizing “Banish back to Equestria”, Sunset urges everyone to leave the library immediately as it’s slowly drawn back from whence it came. Though some sticky fingers of Dash discovers that anything not within the banishing radius seems to stay with them, like the 20 solid gold bits she has.

They all visit Princess Twilight Sparkle to further decode the old book and learn how to optimize the spell into a simple flammable sheet of paper. Simply place it near the center of the building and watch it return to where it belongs...oh and escape. Can’t seem to get a proper time delay spell to work. It’s all just so very complicated.

Dash convinces AJ that this is their chance to have some real deal adventuring fun together! It’ll be awesome! And it’ll pay for itself as long as they don’t mind pilfering some gold and artifacts. The other girls agree that it might be a good idea to split up into smaller teams as reports pile in of other lost Equestrian cities appearing in their world.

3 years of explore new place, try not to die, banish it back, make some cash pass. AJ thought she wanted to finally settle down with the huge score Dash and her got on their last adventure. So they tried to make a family happen. Their lifestyle made it impossible for them to adopt (neither of them were particularly child friendly at the time, but it was something they were working on!). So Fluttershy actually offers the idea of maybe Big Mac could get Dash pregnant and not because she selfishly thinks it would be really hot.

Dash and AJ are both kinda grossed out by the idea, but AJ kinda likes the idea of their child being a biological apple...So a lot of cider and foot rubs later Dash becomes Cool Mom Dash (and Fluttershy watches, because of course she does).

(Warning link is kinda NSFW, not explicit, just baby havin’ stuff and naughty words)

Well, angry mom first, but then she cool moms after.

As much as they try, they were bit by the adventuring bug and just can’t resist getting back into the game. 12 years later this is where we’re at.

They try to leave Zap back home where the school is great and house is cozy, but this boy seems to find trouble one way or another.

FINALLY TALKING ABOUT ZAP APPLE!

He wants to be a hero like her Moms. So he always tries to sneak into their adventures. He’s unusually prepared with all sorts of scenarios dreamed out in his head when he should be paying attention in class and a pretty good improviser like his Moms. Though he’s a bit too young to brute strength any problems like they can. They really don’t like it, but damn it Zap Apple has saved their bacon a couple times.

As he grew he continued looking around everywhere. Wanderlust striking deep as he kept going further and further into the wilderness hopes of finding amazing places like the Daring Doo books Dash read to him before bed.

He’s very impatient like his Cool Mom and very stubborn like his Strong Mom, combined with his need for exploration, he tends to get into a lot trouble. Exploring abandoned/condemned property, touching things when he knows he shouldn’t, occasionally gets into fights because the other kids at school don’t think his moms are the coolest/don’t believe him when he talks about what they’ve done.

Zap Apple is NOT a liar.

Equestrian magic has just made these things worse, as new magical items are being created randomly, and he’s decided to task himself with finding them and sending the magic back to Equestria. Which occasionally leads to breaking and entering and actual theft. Not a liar, but maybe a little bit of a thief.

Okay, I’m gonna stop now. This is too much as is. If you actually made it this far. Damn, I appreciate you. Is this a cool AU worth exploring?

[ash-travels-peru]

Day 5: Miraflores and Larcomar Mall

Today was a much slower paced day! We certainly didn’t rush anywhere. Bella woke around 5am and Dad accidentally rang me at 6:30am...I was certainly awake after that! We didn’t end up heading to breakfast until about 9:30am and after enjoying the awesome brekky, we sat and chatted. We didn’t end up leaving the breakfast table until 11:45!! I then spent a solid 30mins on the phone in order to change my flight on Sunday to Cuzco, so I arrived in the morning rather than the afternoon. 

Our rumbling tummies encouraged us to leave the hotel, and we did so at about 1pm. Bella had done extensive instagram research and found an awesome restaurant called ‘Tanta’ at the Larcomar Mall (about a 10min walk from our accommodation). The walk took us about 20mins because we tried to scout for a good coffee shop en route and ended up ducking into an optometrist to try on some funky, bright electric blue glasses! There was about a 20min waiting time at Tanta, so we put our name down and explored the shopping centre for that time. Neither of us could believe the strong asian influence on cuisine. Most restaurants were Chinese, Japanese or a mix with Peruvian cuisine. The shops were also very western...but there was an Ugg shop! I think the shop assistants were a little confused at why I was so excited to tell them that I was Australian. 

Lunch at Tanta was pretty tasty, I now understand why Lima is renown for its food!! Bella and I both ordered Pisco Sours and I got Lomo Saltado with rice and Bella ordered a sandwhich. The food was so flavoursome and certainly an improvement on the shitty soy pasta I had the night before. The two of us shared a desert. I loved how when we asked to see the menu, like in Europe, the waiter brought us a tray with one of each desert on it. We chose a chocolate tart with some yellow looking wedges on it. We picked the tart because apparently it was indicative of ‘Peruvian Cuisine, but I’m still a little confused as to what that cuisine actually entails. I had no idea what to expect, but the orange things turned out to be a dense moose and it turned into a competition to see which of us could eat more of the tart without the other noticing (it was that good!). 

The other two girls from uni, Rosie and Jo joined us during lunch. Poor Rosie ordered a cappuccino and all hope of finding decent coffee in Lima was dashed. We decided to walk off lunch and headed along the boardwalk that went over the bridge and led to the Parque del Amor. The scenery and foreshore was breathtaking, although the sky made it seem a little moody. There were lots of para-gliders flying overhead and although I was keen to go paragliding, I don’t think it was covered by my insurance. Neither is horse riding! Although it was my second time at the Parque del Amor, it was even more beautiful the second time I went. There were more couples getting into their PDA’s (public display of affection) this time, and I almost felt as though my presence interrupted their intimacy. Oh well, their displays of affections turned out to be good subjects for some of my photos.  

We had intended to do the free walking tour of Barranco, the boho district of Lima at 4pm. It was already 3:35pm by the time we had finished at the Parque del Amor. According to google maps, it was a 1hr 36min walk or a 35min taxi ride to the meeting point. We decided that instead of rushing and completely missing the tour, that instead we would do it tomorrow (Saturday afternoon). To pass the rest of the afternoon, the four of us walked back along the board walk and visited the craftsman markets above Larcomar mall that I visited earlier. On the walk back, we tried some ‘Inca Cola’. Its a bright yellow (looks like urine to be precise) and smells and tastes like creaming soda. I’m not a fan of soft dirnk to begin with...so a tiny sip was more than enough for me! I felt like I had to finish a bottle of water to get the sickly sweet taste out of my mouth. At that markets, we all bought some stuff! I bought some funky, geometric silver earrings because the shape reminded me of all the ‘trapezoids’ I saw at the Nazca Lines. I also bought a little inca figure for my charm bracelet - my parents, friends and family purchase me a charm from everywhere I have been and the bracelet is full of some of my very happy memories! Jo and Rosie bought some crocheted bags...and Bella bought apples. 

It was about 5:30pm and we were all knackered! Jo had walked more than 14,000 steps and therefore, physical exercise was over for the day (hahaha). The four of us split into our pairs and headed back to our accommodation. Bella napped for a few hours and I used the time to catch up on my journal and read some books. I finished the Handmaid’s Tale...would recommend! It reminded me of 1984, but this time was a mysogynist dystopia rather than a political one. It was the first book I had read on my new kindle and it finished unexpectedly because my kindle was saying I still had 7% to read. I didn’t realise that it counted all the author’s notes that followed the text! 

Bella woke from her nap at about 9pm and we were both starving! We did some more research, but all the top 50 restaurants in the world, and top 50 restaurants in South America were either closed or booked out. Bella, and her amazing research skills, discovered a super nice restaurant that was only a two block walk from our accommodation. We rang and the restaurant, Amaz, had free bookings at 10:10pm!!! We were dressed within minutes and on our way to food!! The restaurant was brightly coloured, with aqua coloured walls and a stretched canvas with hot pink hummingbirds on it! The bar was lit by lights with what looked like tissue paper lampshades and matching bright green tissue paper frogs!! The menu had an amazon theme/inspiration and we tried some pretty interesting, but awesome flavours! We each ordered a cocktail. I can’t remember what mine was called because the menu was in Spanish and I ordered whatever the waiter recommended. Our drinks had ice in it, and Bella remembered after we started drinking that we weren’t allowed to drink the local water! The waiters did not even try to hide their laughter when we asked for a separate glass in which we scooped the ice from our drinks. My cocktail dramatically decreased in size when the ice was out. 

For entree, Bella and I shared ceviche. I’m not the biggest fan of fish but I was dying to try this local dish. As the fish is raw (and cooked in the acid of the lime juice), Bella and I decided that if we had it at a more upmarket restaurant, there was less chance of dying or feeling sick (which proved to be correct)! There was slightly candied banana, chilli, coriander, red onion and spring onion and lime juice! It was light and tangy and all round, pretty snazzy. For main, we shared a duck curry with rice and different species of mushroom that had been baked in some lead (perhaps a banana leaf)? The meal was the most delicious I had had all trip and my opinion of Lima dramatically increased!! We did not have dessert because we already felt ready to roll out of the restaurant!! We did not eat at a top award winning restaurant, but it was certainly an up market place! Our bill totalled 208soles, which converted to something like $42 each. It was so cheap!!! So much for avocado being the only food to prevent me from ever owning property in Sydney (hahahah).

We made our way leisurely back to the hotel, very satisfied and very pleased with the world! It was bed and lights out not long after!! 

[crystalized-dreams]

So after 180+ hours, my husband and I finally bothered to beat Ganon and finish the main story of Breath of the Wild. I have been wanting to talk about my various likes and dislikes for a while, but I wanted to at least wait until this point. We still have plans to keep playing (need to get all those Koroks and also working on a World Boss-related thing), but at the very least, most of our goals are done.

This WILL contain spoilers so if you do not want spoilers, you may not want to read this just yet. This also will not be a proper review–if you’re looking for that, reviews will be up on my husband’s website.

That said, this is going to be a bit different than most of my other ramblings as I’m going to be talking from a standpoint of watching more than playing and thus, will focus more on the characters and story and music and things versus controls and gameplay. Zelda is a game I grew up always watching and so each one is like its own movie for me and thus, it’s something that I’ve always gotten more out of watching than playing (though, I still play sometimes). I will say, just to give an idea on what to expect, Ocarina of Time is my favorite Zelda followed by Skyward Sword. I also don’t think it’s possible to really rank Breath of the Wild due to just how different it is, but let’s get to it.

Starting from the top, I’m really glad they voiced the game for the most part. I actually do enjoy most of the English voices and some, I even prefer to the Japanese such as Impa’s, but others, like Mipha, go back and forth for me. Sometimes I think they sound fine in English and fit well compared to the Japanese while other times it just feels sort of off. The only voice I really found myself disliking is Zelda’s because it’s just… so different from the Japanese version and in general, I find I prefer when they at least try to get a voice that is a similar speech/tone in every language because otherwise it can give such a different feel to the character and it really does. Despite her saying the same things, it doesn’t feel the same and it’s just really odd and I don’t understand why they gave her such a dramatically different voice.

It may also just stand out to me because I relate to the Zelda in this game a lot. I don’t want to turn this into talking about myself and own experiences, but I empathize with her so incredibly much and she is definitely one of my favorite characters in the game and definitely one of my favorite Zelda’s. Besides Zelda’s voice, the main thing that bothered me is the fact that Link never speaks. We kind of get a reason for why this is in Zelda’s own diary in the castle, but the problem here is the fact that: 1. He doesn’t have his memories so this should no longer be an issue to begin with right now. 2. By the time he does have his memories, many moments are just… incredibly awkward because he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t even have to talk much, but the silence just doesn’t always work here and it genuinely removes part of the immersion of the moment, which, ironically the reason they probably wanted him not to speak is to not ruin it for the player. We’re rarely even in the first person though to ever actually feel like we’re Link. There are the moments where he looks down at the Sheikah Slate and one time towards the end and that’s really it. In general, considering we see all the memories in third person omniscient (which is weird in itself considering it is supposed to be Link remembering these things and not only are we seeing everything in third person, but we’re seeing and hearing things Link wouldn’t have been able to), it just makes everything all the weirder.

If they do continue with the voice acting in Zelda games, I really hope they will reconsider and actually give Link a voice, even if he doesn’t say too much.

Going into things more story-related, I really want to know what was with all the blue in this game. Hyrule Castle’s banners aren’t blue, yet the Champion’s clothes, Zelda’s Princess Gown and Scholar Outfit, and Link’s outfit in the game were all various shades of blue and I just… don’t understand why? I wish there was some explanation for why Link didn’t wear green in this (heck, you even get a “traditional” tunic for the game if you finish all the shrines…) or why Zelda’s dress was blue in this game instead of pink/purple. I feel like we were given changes for most things (such as Ganon’s appearance), but not really any information on this and I feel it’s something that will bug me for a long while. Despite my issues with Hyrule-related colors, I adore the Zora designs in this game. All the jewelry that Mipha wears is so pretty and I think she has an amazing character design–I really wish she was given more than just being another unrequited Zora love interest to Link.

I will say though, this story is… really depressing. Like no matter how I think about it, I think the story makes me feel more sad than happy. In general, I don’t think any Zelda game really has a 100% happy ending, but at least I feel like things are mostly positive as they continue to improve. Here, things will start to improve, but with all the loss weighing heavily on it. 100 years of destruction, Castle Town is gone, Link finally has his memories back, but his family is probably long gone. The fact that the only Champion that even got to see some of their family/a descendant is Daruk. I wish Mipha got a chance to see her brother and father. I wish Urbosa got to see her daughter. Revali is kind of a jerk, but I still wish he got a chance to see his home too. The fact that Zelda’s last meeting with her father was that fight on the bridge is absolutely heartbreaking. He finally wanted to properly comfort her and he died. She didn’t even get to see him before his soul finally rested.

It’s just… really heartbreaking in a lot of ways. Heck, the fact that as you go onto each Divine Beast talking to their spirits and then having to fight the enemy that murdered them 100 years ago. There’s such an overall heaviness that even upon saving Hyrule, it still feels a little empty–like it wasn’t enough. And Zelda blames herself where, even if maybe she could get her summoning power working (which is another thing–I’d love to know more on why it didn’t work sooner (besides her losing her teacher and mother), why it had to wait for that moment and what that specifically unlocked it), she never would have reached them. There’s just so much loss that even after saving Hyrule, I still don’t really feel satisfied.

One of the things I really hope the DLC adds, especially after the post-game scene if you have all the memories, is a post game with both Zelda and Link going around and trying to help build back up Hyrule and talk to everyone who suffered these 100 years and/or lost someone. Maybe someone can even play as one of the two and it’ll be a fun co-op journey. I don’t know how possible that actually is, but it’s what I really hope they do. Even if not a co-op thing, I just want a proper post-game. While I get why the whole “oh, you can go back and re-fight Ganon because we put you right before it!!” thing exists, I feel it’s really out of place with this kind of game. I feel like maybe they could’ve had an option if you go in the castle to ask if you’d like it set to before you fought Ganon, but it just looks kind of silly to be exploring this enormous map with the same evil castle and people worrying about it.

The world itself is quite amazing. There’s so much to explore and I’m not really sure if we’ve even seen all of it despite how much we’ve played and getting more than half the Koroks… speaking of Koroks, while I love them, I wish there weren’t so many. 900 is just way too much and while I can guess why they did (with such a big map, gives more people more chances to find them randomly upon their explorations), I still think it would have been better to just have a smaller amount. I mean, there’s 120 Shrines which is only ~13% of the amount of Koroks. They could’ve done a similar amount and been fine. Especially if it means we wouldn’t need to zoom in as far as possible to even see the ones we’ve found.

I also really love that every character has a name and personality. Everything is so dynamic and you learn so much about all the people in each place. It kind of reminds me of part of why I enjoyed a lot of the Side Quests in Majora’s Mask. Here are just some of my favorite side characters: #gallery-0-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Notts

Saki

Molli

Laruta

Laflat

Aster

Kohm

Ashai

Patricia

Included in favorites but not shown above as that would make this post even longer: Every single wild animal + dog + horse + donkey :P

I would say my biggest issue with the game is the item durability and limited weapon/shield/bow space. I just dislike those kind of systems and while I enjoy most of the changes in the game from traditional Zelda games, this isn’t one of them. I think I’d have at least been less annoyed if item limits weren’t an issue and you could repair everything, but it just was disheartening to use a lot of things I really liked only to end up losing them. At least my favorite weapon could always be replaced. Unfortunately, my favorite bow was forced to disappear and only be used in the final battle :P I wish you got to keep some version of it as it’s really pretty.

Going back to the world of the game, I will say I have… mostly good feelings on the music, but it’s a bit odd as well. I liked everything I heard, but because it’s all very atmospheric, there isn’t really much that is very iconic. Like Breath of the Wild’s main theme is definitely one of the most recognizable new pieces for the game. There are Battle-related ones as well, but I don’t care for those too much myself. The thing is, and what I feel a lot of people demanding for these forget, even if they had a few selections for bigger songs as you explore, the constant repetition when exploring such a vast world would get incredibly annoying. The game wants you to explore and a constant song playing over and over would just get tiring. This also means when certain songs like Kass’ Accordion or the big boss battle themes start playing as you explore, they’re THAT much more recognizable and it really helps them stand out.

I remember when my husband and I first ran into Kass. The Accordion started playing and his first thought was that the music changed for the area while mine went straight to there being an actual Accordion Player and urging him to find them. I was clearly right, but it made it such a standout event for our playthrough which I don’t think would’ve been as exciting if the music wasn’t the way it is. Or like wandering around and hearing the music change and seeing a giant Dragon fly by. That was so exciting to run into on our first exploration of Faron.

Even Hyrule Castle, despite being like this… dark, gritty, remix of various past songs, the fact that we don’t actually get to hear most of them outside that just makes it all the more of an experience. And I’ll be honest, I did get a little tired of it just from exploring the entire castle–I think if you’re just heading straight to Ganon, the music is perfect for the atmosphere, but if you’re exploring every single nook and cranny, it does kind of get to you after a while.

My favorite songs are probably Prince Sidon’s theme, the music for Zora’s Domain (which is one of my favorite places in the game along with Satori), the music after beating a Divine Beast Boss, Princess/Zora Champion Mipha’s theme, Gerudo Champion Urbosa’s theme, Rito Village, Rito Champion Revali’s theme, the Epilogue Theme, and Captured Memories. Captured Memories especially, while just being a remix of the original Zelda theme, is just so beautiful and I wish it was longer. And while not necessarily my favorites, I also really enjoy the Molduga Battle Phase 2 song, Kass’ theme, the Dragon theme, Attack on Vah Medoh, and The Divine Beasts Strike. Also Hestu’s theme is always amazing as is his dance:

Going into some minor things that I wish were changed up: 1. More spaces for more Horses (and it’d be fun if you could Board other things too). 5 isn’t enough when there are so many amazing horses in the game. As it is, because we didn’t realize one side quest required a horse we had boarded, we had to give up a horse we had already become attached to. Sure, it let us make room for the Giant Horse, but it’s not really an issue I liked running into. Similarly, I wish you got to pick which Horse you used at the end. If we knew the first horse you boarded was picked for the end battle, we would have boarded Epona first rather than me having a panic attack seeing Shortcake show up who, besides being my lovely pink horse, also had some of the lowest stats which made the battle a bit trickier than it should’ve been. 2. I wish we could get more houses. I love the house quest and how decorated it gets once you buy everything, but it just made me really want houses in some other places too. I feel like with how you help build up Tarrytown too, it was like setting up for a house there as well that never came. 3. The awful Blood Moon cutscene. Good for the first time to introduce it. Bad every other time. Like the moon is red and fire-y ash is practically floating down everywhere–we can kind of tell. I get that you can skip it, but it still felt frustrating to even see it come up? Even just the option to turn it off permanently. We once had the cutscene pop up 6 times in a row. I wish I was kidding. 4. Not being able to complete the 3rd stamina wheel or the 2nd Heart row :/ Even if you do everything, you’ll be 3 short. I hope maybe you can get more in the DLC. 5. I wish there was some gear to make rain not effect your climbing because wow, does that ruin things a lot. 6. Please stop making every Zora Princess/member of Zora royalty be in love with Link. It’s always unrequited and they deserve better characterization at this point. 7. I really disliked how the Fairies were done in this game. Ignoring the creepiness of some of the cutscenes, I just don’t like the whole “give us tons of rupees to let us help you” thing from it and I would’ve preferred some kind of puzzle or other aspects over paying them tons of money. The Horse God is really the only one I can understand the “money to open” thing, though, they also terrify me in a whole different way so… 8. More Rupees. I get that there is a reason for them to be so scarce in this game, but it still felt like too much. 9. The lack of Saria’s song in the Lost Woods or even by the lake named after her. Saria is one of my favorite side characters in the series and that is one of my all-time favorite songs (In fact, I used it as my town theme several times in Animal Crossing–the original, Wild World, and City Folk). 10. I REALLY WISH THE TRUE ENDING LET THEM HUG. They just walk off together and they both just need a hug, okay? 11. It’s silly that the Champion Powers/Gifts will only recharge once you fully use them. If I use up one of Daruk’s charges essentially, I shouldn’t have to wait until I use up all of them before it’ll start recharging any. It can be a longer charge when there’s at least one left, but it’s incredibly silly to be wandering around for hours on this last charge only to get somewhere I may need to use multiple, have just the one left, and then get stuck waiting. 12. Not an actual dislike, but I genuinely do want to know why the Gorons were let into Gerudo Town. The fact that you never get some kind of answer to this bugs me. 13. The Yiga Clan are just super annoying. The stealth mission was also kind of annoying–I wouldn’t have minded so much if it wasn’t for the fact that being caught made it an endless stream of them attacking you versus just the group of three that initially attack. 14. While I do love most of the tools in this game, I genuinely miss the Hook Shot/Grappling Hook.

Which, speaking of tools in the game, I know some people are mixed about getting everything at once and while I’m a bit mixed myself (mostly because I wouldn’t have minded if we got a few things later on similar to how we got the camera feature), I actually really liked that we did. I think it gave people a lot more freedom to experience the World in so many different ways versus having to do it in the same order every time and/or get certain things before being able to go back to properly solve a puzzle. There’s many things where I’m sure we didn’t solve it as intended, but I think that also makes it a lot more fun too.

So yes, overall I really enjoyed the game. I have a lot of feelings about it, clearly. I’m really anticipating the DLC and I hope they bring out more information soon. Despite being nearly done with the game, I think we’ll still be finding new things overtime, even once we 100% it. Also I really hope someone makes Sand Seal Plushies:

Ramblings about Breath of the Wild (Unsurprisingly, I had a lot to say :P) So after 180+ hours, my husband and I finally bothered to beat Ganon and finish the main story of Breath of the Wild.

[humanoid-lovers]

A soild adaptation of the original podcast, not a perfect word for word retelling, and that's a good thing! As a fan of the podcast that this is based off of, I can safely say I was both impressed and enjoyed every bit of this book. The one thing people need to understand before going into this is that the graphic novel is a adaptation of the original podcast, not a perfect word for word retelling. And I feel that the McElroys and Carey Pietsh did an excellent job doing just that. The podcast, when it started, was rougher around the edges, and the characters were not fully thought out at the time. With the graphic novel and the fact that the campaign it's based on is finished, it gave the McElroys and Pietsh a solid foundation to work from, knowing where the story is going to go; it was simply a matter of retelling it in a new format. Some small bits (or fluff I would call it) are cut, but did not take away from the plot or felt derailed to me. All the necessary bits are there, and that, to me, is what was important. Go to Amazon

Great adaptation! I wouldn't have thought a podcast could translate to a comic book, but somehow it happened - and really awesomely. The art is great, the writing is great, of course the story is great! Hits all the plot points (with maybe a name change or two) but it's still so funny. All of the McElroys' voices ring true, which is quite a feat considering that it went from comedic improv/voice acting to a primarily visual medium. The art and lettering only enhance the story, and manage some really great moments that take advantage of the fact that it IS a visual medium. Kudos to the artist and scriptwriter! Fans will not be disappointed! For newbies: it really stands up, and you need no previous experience with the McElroys to enjoy it. And whether you're a newbie or have been a fan for years, you'll be asking, "when can I pre-order the next in the series?!" Go to Amazon

Abra-ca-fu... Huge fan of the podcast, so I knew I’d love this, but it’s even higher quality than I was expecting. Print is bright and beautiful, Carey Pietsch’s artwork is amazing and perfectly captures all of the McElroys’ characters’ personalities. Carey and Clint’s translation from the podcast is just right. Buy this now and support these awesome, hilarious people. Perfect for DND nerds with a sense of humor! Go to Amazon

Lives Up to the Original Aaaaaa! I'm a huge TAZ fan, and I was anxious that this book wouldn't live up to my expectations. It didn't - it exceeded them! Dynamic, gorgeous art, beautifully bound, with an excellent story adaptation - I'm going to reread this one! It keeps the spirit of the original, while changing only what it needs to for a tight story (...and to avoid copyright infringement. Goodbye Klarg, hello G'nash!). Go to Amazon

Great Job If you haven't listened to The Adventure Zone as told through the comedic stylings of the McElroy family vis a vis the Maximum Fun podcasting network, you're missing out on one of the richest, most captivating tales ever woven through the use of Dungeons and Dragons role play. Griffin McElroy takes being a DM to a whole other level, weaving word pictures and creating characters and storylines that will delight and surprise you again and again. Clint, Travis, and Justin respectively bring so much joy and heart through their own characters. I find myself re-listening again and again and still being touched and moved to tears by the same incredible ups and downs of this story. I am so excited to see the rest of this magnificent tale transformed by Carey Pietsch in upcoming graphic novels and I hope you take a chance and delve into this world too! You will never regret it. Wonderful job, McElroys. Go to Amazon

Stay Away From the Kindle Version!! [1-Star only for Kindle Version] I have quite a few graphics novels from Amazon/Comixology, Dark Horse, Marvel and more on my iPad for ease of reading on the go as I travel a lot. So the implementation of this Kindle version was a huge disappointment and is almost unreadable and I returned it for a refund almost immediately. I should have read the reviews further about the Kindle Version as many others have said the same now that I got past all the other glowing reviews. The zoom function comes up blurry and near unreadable with little zoom. You are forced with a 2 page view even in portrait mode and even when trying to tap it just keeps bringing up the menu overlay - so much for immersion. I guess I should always try a sample beforehand even if it is an "insta-buy" like this. Go to Amazon

Thank you McElroys and Carey! Well done! Since listening to the Adventure Zone I was inspired to start my own campaign and have gotten my wife and daughter into both TAZ and D&D. I had very high expectations for this book and reading it makes me want to listen to the podcast all over again. The translation took a minute to get used to and I found myself having to reconcile between the two versions. There are some great changes that really made me laugh and I can always listen to the original for the moments that didn’t make it in the book. Carey’s art is FANTASTIC! I can’t wait for the next book!!! Come to Denver for the book tour! Go to Amazon

It would be hard for anything to be as good as The Adventure Zone podcast It would be hard for anything to be as good as The Adventure Zone podcast. The graphic novel adaptation comes very close. There are some pretty big changes from the original, most notably names of characters and places. But the spirit of the thing is definitely true to the original. For best enjoyment, listen to the podcast first, so you can really get an idea of how these characters are supposed to sound and what the tone of the podcast was, because I would argue such things do not translate will into a visual medium. Go to Amazon

Fantastic, canr Fantastic Read Fantastic Adaptation of Impressive Quality Love this podcast and love this book Perfect Execution! A great addition to this podcast! A dream come true Exceeded my expectations Tres Horny Boys!! Abraca-fuck-tastic!

[vicandsade]

1941-11-20 - A Miserable Object of Public Ridicule (Rush Humiliated On Thanksgiving)

[See additional commentary at The Crazy World of Vic and Sade]

File too big for tumblr – get the episode at the above link or HERE.

Nicer Scott is at it again. He has discovered a dirty secret about Rush and is spreading it all over town.

I love what this episode says about families, and the way that each family has its own unique quirks that no one ever mentions because they’ve always done something a certain way. It can be either eye-opening or embarrassing to have the outside world come into your private family sphere and look with fresh eyes at the way you do things. It never even occurred to Rush that his little knife and fork were unusual, until someone else called attention to it.

What did you find out was weird about your family later in life? I learned that most families don’t put weird-tasting dead bacteria on their popcorn, that animal skulls are not as widely-used in home decor as I thought, and that cars that don’t work anymore usually go to the junkyard, not just the backyard.  

Transcript

———–

ANNOUNCER: Well sir, it's a few minutes past eight o'clock as we enter the small house halfway up in the next block now, and here in the living room we find Mr. and Mrs. Victor Gook spending a quiet evening at home. Vic lounges in the davenport and gazes dreamily at his shoes. Sade is seated in her husband's easy chair beneath the floor lamp, reading aloud from the newspaper. Listen.

SADE: "The bride, leaning heavily upon the arm of her father, was radiant in a goin'-away costume of off-apricot, with stockings and pumps to match, with burnt-caramel accessories and a small cloche hat. She carried a bouquet of mixed garden flowers. Out-of-town guests were Cyrus L. Freech of Kansas City, Missouri, a former employer of the groom; Ed and Will Fulper, Lexington, Illinois; Mr. and Mrs. U.O. Dimp and son Walrab of Red Wing, Minnesota; Harry K. Montgomery of West Pittston, Pennsylvania; Mr. and Mrs. Clark Dunlap of Cleveland, Ohio; Mr. and Mrs. Bill Lacey of Toronto, Ontario; Cadwalder--"

[telephone rings]

VIC: Uh, telephone is ringin'.

SADE: Wanna answer it?

VIC: Prob'ly Ruthie Stembottom.

SADE: No, I'm sure not.

VIC: Then let me hazard a guess it's good old, dependable, down-at-the-heels, solid concrete foundation trustworthy Bluetooth Johnson!

SADE: [laughs] Yes.

VIC: [answers phone] Hello? [pause] Yes. [pause] Why, no, he isn't. Who is this? [pause] Oh. Uh-huh. [to SADE] Sadie...

SADE: Yeah?

VIC: [joyously] Bluetooth Johnson!

SADE: [giggles] Oh, really.

VIC: Good old, sweeter than the flowers of May, it matters not who won or lost but how you played the game, reliable Bluetooth Johnson!

SADE: You'd better talk to him, hadn't ya? Otherwise, he'll hang up.

VIC: [on phone] Uh, Bluetooth? [pause] How are ya, Bluetooth? [pause] Glad to hear it. [pause] No, Rush ducked out someplace right after supper. Any message I can give him? [pause] Oh? [pause] Vernon Peggles is out in the lead? [pause] Okay. [pause] I see. Tomorrow he's gonna buy his second United States Defense Bond, huh? And that puts him way ahead of the rest of you guys. [pause] Uh-huh. Okay, Bluetooth. [pause] You bet. Goodbye. [hangs up] Where is Buttonhook, by the way?

SADE: I haven't any idea. He walked out the kitchen door as soon as he finished wipin' the dishes. He can't have gone very far or planned to stay away very long; otherwise he'd have said something.

VIC: Mmm.

SADE: [continuing to read] Uh, "Cadwallder J. Urquhart of Twillman, Oklahoma--"

VIC: What's this?

SADE: Still readin' what the paper states about the wedding.

VIC: Oh.

SADE: [reading] Uh, "Cadwallder J. Urquhart of Twillman, Oklahoma; Mazda, Esther, James, Donald, Arnold, and Eugene Yeeble of Indianapolis, Ohio; Mr. and Mrs. R.E. Greep of Cincinnati, Indiana; Mrs. William Yonker and infant daughter Rudolfina Margaret Annabelle Beulah of Fishley, Michigan; and J.U. Ebsen of O'Brian, Texas, a college classmate of the groom." Quite a turnout! Hmm?

VIC: Yeah.

SADE: "Immediately after the ceremony, the guests--"

VIC: Oh, here's Stone Bruise. [calls] Hi!

RUSH: [off] Hi.

SADE: "Immediately after the ceremony, the guests were served dainty refreshments at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Wheeper, 917 South Center Street. Fun-lovin' friends of the happy couple painted humorous signs on their motorcycle and decorated the handlebars with old shoes. Since the motorcycle has no sidecar, the newlyweds rode away one seated behind the other."

RUSH: 'Scuse me, people.

VIC: Hey, hey.

RUSH: Kindly forgive the intrusion.

VIC: Think no more about it. You live here in the house and are entitled to come and go as you please.

RUSH: Uh.

VIC: Good old true-blue, heart bigger than all outdoors, reliable old Bluetooth Johnson just phoned.

RUSH: Yeah?

VIC: He said Vernon Peggles is gonna buy his second United States Defense Bond tomorrow.

RUSH: Oh? That puts him out ahead of everybody.

VIC: So Bluetooth allowed.

RUSH: I thought I'd better drop in and tell you somethin', Mom.

SADE: What's that?

RUSH: Nicer Scott is sittin' on his front porch steps.

SADE: Pretty cold to be doin' that, isn't it?

RUSH: I'm goin' over and paste him one upside the snoot.

SADE: [sternly] What's this, now?

RUSH: [dramatically] Once more, Nicer has goaded the human body to the point where civilized flesh and blood can't stand it!

SADE: Has he?

RUSH: He has. And I'm goin' over next door and wang him one upside the bean. Thought I'd better notify you first.

SADE: Maybe you'd better sit down.

RUSH: I can't spare the time! Can't take any chances on lettin' him escape! Any second he might go in the house!

SADE: Sit down.

RUSH: Human flesh and blood refuses--

SADE: Listen, Willie, I'm good and tired of every little while havin' to go over this business with you and--

RUSH: Remember tonight at supper? Nicer comin' in our kitchen and bein' nice as pie and obligin' as a horse?

SADE: I remember--

RUSH: Axlegrease wouldn't melt in his mouth, would it?  He was the fine gentleman with the slick manners, wasn't he?  

SADE: He was certainly poli--

RUSH: Well, every second he was in our house, he was castin' around his eyes.

SADE: What do you mean by that?

RUSH: He was lookin' for stuff!

SADE: [perplexed] Lookin' for stuff?!

RUSH: Lookin' for stuff to pin on me!

SADE: I haven't the slightest notion what--

RUSH: Well...he found some stuff to pin on me. What time did we eat supper?

SADE: Rush, would you kindly--

RUSH: Six o'clock, wasn't it? Six o'clock or a few minutes past? Okay. Well, by seven thirty, he'd been all over town with his meanness.

SADE: I think maybe--

RUSH: Strolled up to the corner of Kelsey and Virginia. Smelly Clark, Willis Rohrback, and Leland Richards were sittin' under the street light. When they saw me, they let out a screech! Mom, in less than an hour and a half, Nicer Scott had made me an object of ridicule before the human race.

SADE: [to VIC] You ask him what he's talkin' about.

VIC: Whatcha talkin' about?

RUSH: [sighs] It's my knife and fork.

VIC: [confused] Knife and fork?!

RUSH: Yeah.

SADE: I think the weather's done something to the child.

VIC: What ABOUT your knife and fork?

RUSH: When Nicer was in the kitchen tonight during supper he SPOTTED my knife and fork.

VIC: Vinegar Cruet, old Saddle Soap, papa's completely in the dark--

SADE: [realization dawning] Oh! Your little knife and fork?

RUSH: My little knife and fork.

VIC: You have the key to this mystery?

SADE: [laughing] You know his little knife and fork he eats with!

RUSH: I eat with 'em because you put 'em beside my plate!

SADE: I always put 'em beside your plate. Never heard ya complain.

RUSH: I never complained because it never occurred to me a snake-in-the-grass like Nicer Scott'd use 'em against me.

SADE: What did Nicer tell the boys?

RUSH: He told 'em, "Rush Gook eats with a knife and fork a third the size of regular knives and forks. Rush Gook eats with a knife and fork where there's angels engraved all over and 'Darlin' Baby' printed on the back."

SADE: [laughing] Why, that little dickens!

RUSH: He spread it all over town! I'm the miserable object of public ridicule.

SADE: [laughing] Why -- Bess give him that knife and fork. When he was three years old.

VIC: Mmm.

SADE: They aren't REALLY baby things. They're smaller than regular knives and forks, but not any two-thirds smaller. Person'd hafta look twice to tell the difference.

RUSH: Nicer Scott looked twice. In fact, he musta stood there STUDYIN' the halfwit knife and fork. He told the guys about the angels engraved all over. Told 'em about "Darlin' Baby" printed on the back.

SADE: [giggles] Well, I expect he did make it sound funny to the kids. A monstrous great big grown-up high school gentleman fourteen years old usin' sweet dainty little knives and forks...

RUSH: He's made it sound funny, and he's had his fun. Now I'm goin' over and smash his head.

SADE: Oh, no you're not.

RUSH: You suggest I leave him get away with this?!

SADE: I suggest you sit still.

RUSH: Right this minute he's seated on his bottom front porch step. Wouldn't take me four seconds to step over and paste him one upside the snoot.

SADE: Well, you're not gonna do it.

RUSH: Imagine! Come over to our house this evenin' while we were eatin' supper. Was all friendship and soft talk and high-class manners. "Been a warm day, Mis' Gook! You're lookin' well, Mr. Gook! I see ya enjoy jelly on your bread, Rush!" And all the time, his eye was rovin' around. He spotted my little knife and fork with the angels on it and "Darlin' Baby" printed on the back. He got the details well in mind, then he excused himself and went outdoors and run like the dickens all over town to spread the news. You shoulda heard the screamin' and yellin' when I showed up at the corner of Kelsey and Virginia. On account of Nicer Scott's polite visit this evenin', I am now a miserable object of public ridicule.

SADE: Oh, I doubt it's that bad.

RUSH: It IS that bad. I'm goin' over and punch his dimwitted jaw.

SADE: I say you're not. Now, listen, Rush, we've been through this business again and again and again and you oughta understand by now I don't intend--

[telephone rings]

VIC: Telephone is ringin'.

SADE: --to take chances on bein' on the outs with next-door neighbors. Kids' quarrels is one thing and grown-up quarrels is another and I--

VIC: Telephone is ringin', telephone is ringin'.

SADE: Answer it, Rush.

RUSH: Probably somebody callin' up to josh me.

SADE: Well, answer it; you're right there.

VIC: Gee, wouldn't it be wonderful if it was good old, trustworthy, "love me love my dog," Mary is a grand old name, reliable Bluetooth Johnson again?

RUSH: [answers phone] Hello? [pause] Oh, hello, LeRoy. [to VIC and SADE] LeRoy Snow.

VIC & SADE: Hmm.

RUSH: [on phone] What is your business, LeRoy? [pause] Will you repeat your question, please? [pause] No, LeRoy, I do not wear a baby bonnet when I go to bed. No, and I don't wear bibs or booties, either. [pause] Was that all, LeRoy? [pause] Very well, LeRoy. [pause] Not at all, LeRoy. Anytime, LeRoy. [pause] Only too happy, LeRoy. [pause] Certainly, LeRoy. [pause] Depend upon it, LeRoy. [pause] Now allow me to bid you goodbye, LeRoy. [pause] Goodbye, LeRoy. [hangs up] See?!

VIC: [chuckling] They're just havin' a little fun at your expense.

RUSH: I'll smash Nicer Scott's chin.

SADE: Of course you'll do nothin' of the kind.

VIC: Pete, allow me to tell ya a little story about Benjamin Franklin and what he said to his manservant while flyin' a kite near the city of Philadelphia early in the year 1820. It just so happened this manservant's name was Charlie, and there was nothin' he liked better than bread with sugar on it. Well sir, accordin' to history, Benjamin Franklin --

[telephone rings]

RUSH: Telephone is ringin'.

VIC: Oh, so it is, by George! If it could only be good old, brown as a berry, even steven, dependable Bluetooth Johnson!

RUSH: [answers phone] Hello? [pause] Oh yes, Milton. [to VIC and SADE] Milton Welch.

SADE: Ah.

VIC: Hm.

RUSH: [on phone] What brings you to the telephone, Milton? [pause] Hope you didn't disturb me while I was sittin' on my father's knee while he sung me to sleep, huh? [pause] Not at all, Milton. I assure you I wasn't sittin' on my father's knee bein' sung sleep. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. [pause] You bet. [pause] Well, just AWFUL nice of ya to call. [pause] Yes, indeed. [pause] Uh, call again sometime, won't ya? [pause] Okay, Milton. You bet. Sure thing, Milton. Goodbye, Milton. [hangs up] Wonderful stuff, huh?!

SADE & VIC: [chuckle sympathetically]

RUSH: I will step next door and fix Nicer Scott good!

SADE: No, you won't! Goodness, talk about makin' a camel's back out of a molehill. Now, what do you care? It IS kinda halfway comical, a big fourteen-year-old high school gentleman usin' a dainty little knife and fork with "Darlin' Baby" on it to eat his supper with.

RUSH: Is it kinda halfway comical that a BABOON like Nicer Scott'd enter my private home like a wolf in sheep's clothing--

SADE: Why, sure! You'd probably have done the same thing. I bet if you caught Heinie Call across the street eatin' his supper with a little knife and fork like yours you'd--

[telephone rings]

VIC: The telephone is ringin'.

RUSH: I'll get it.

SADE: [low voice] Always something, huh?

VIC: [chuckles] Yeah.

RUSH: [on phone] Hello? [pause] Yes. [pause] Who? [pause] I seem to recognize the voice, but I can't quite place it. [pause] Mildred? Mildred who, please? [pause] Risdel? [pause] Fizdel? [pause] Bisdel? [pause] T like in 'Tomahaw--' Oh, Tisdel! Oh, sure, I recollect ya now.  Uh, Mildred Tisdel, isn't it?

VIC: Hey, hey.

SADE: Hey, hey is right.

RUSH: What is your business, Hildred? I mean, Mildred? [pause] Do I feed myself with my little knife and fork or do my parents do it? Uh-huh. Why, I feed myself, Mildred! [pause] Yes! [pause] Not at all, and thanks for calling. [pause] Certainly. [pause] Certainly...goodbye, Mis'...Risedale, or whatever it is. [pause] Ah, yes, Gisdel! Goodbye, Mis' Gisdel. [hangs up] See?! Even the girls!

SADE: Oh, you lead a miserable life.

RUSH: I'll go next door and lop Nicer Scott's ears down around his chin.

SADE: I don't think you will. Listen, you can explain to your friends it was your mother's fault. [giggles] It is, too.

VIC: Uh?

SADE: I've always thought of that little engraved knife and fork just bein' what Rush uses to eat with. Year after year, ever since he started eatin' with knives and forks, I've put 'em beside his plate. And like I say, they're not actually baby things. They're almost as big as regular knives and forks. When I set the table I invariably get 'em outta the drawer and put 'em beside Willie's plate. Never crossed my mind I had a grown-up fourteen-year-old man for a son, and was givin' him knives and forks covered over with angels and marked "Darlin' Baby."

VIC: [chuckles]

SADE: [chuckles] Silly, huh?

VIC: [chuckles] Yeah.

SADE: Oh, forgive me, ashtray.

[pause]

RUSH: Oh...it's okay, I guess.

SADE: Is it?

RUSH: [chuckle] Sure.

SADE: Begin to see the comical side, huh?

RUSH: [chuckles] Yeah.

SADE: Where ya goin'?

RUSH: Upstairs.

SADE: Read a nice book?

RUSH: [down] Uh-huh.

SADE: Well, that's fine.

RUSH: [down] Uh.

SADE: I'll put your little knife and fork away in the buffet someplace.

RUSH: [off] Okay.

SADE: Stuff happens, don't it?

VIC: [chuckles] Yeah.

SADE: Stuff happens. [pause] Where was I here in my newspaper piece?

VIC: Uhhh.

SADE: Why, say, I left out a whole paragraph!

VIC: Did you?

SADE: List of names.

VIC: Hm.

SADE: Out-of-towners.

VIC: Hm.

SADE: "Mr. and Mrs. David Yasher and sons Chauncey and Beef of Pittsburgh, Iowa; Ed K. Frapp, Junior, Mulish, Vermont; Sidney, Lila, Hobert, Gus, Vivian, Grace, Howard, and Stungle Houch, Dismal Seepage, Ohio; and Miller Y. Miller of Itcher, Montana." A real turnout, hmm?

VIC: Uhh.

SADE: "Immediately after the ceremony, the guests were served dainty refreshments at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Wheeper, 917 South Center Street. Fun-lovin' friends of the happy couple painted humorous signs on their motorcycle and decorated the handlebars with old shoes. Since the motorcycle has no sidecar, the newlyweds rode away one seated behind the other."