#the interpersonal character relationships and interactions are solid and well done for the most part

[cameleonvermillon]

While I do think the setup and payoff of Koujaku's route is a successful and good use of subversion (big supporting character throughout the common route, then just gone for most of his own route so, you, the player can experience the strain on his and Aoba's relationship in real-time, mmm, delicious) it does still make me laugh that when you get to Platinum Jail with him he just fucks off immediately.

In hindsight and with all the information after you finish playing it, yes, it makes more sense, but at the time???

BRO?? we have an evil corporation to stop?? BRO?? WHERE ARE YOU GOING?? HELLO??

[curedeity]

for the bingo ask: what do you think of Sophie and also Kyoya from mfb? oh and if you want more characters, what do you think of Flora or Aisha from winx club?

THANKS FOR THE ASK!

So for Sophie I really like her design and the like, and I do think in canon she works better as a part of team excalibur, but i found the entire team excalibur plot in the show a bit tedious and didnt really connect to any of the characters in it, and she suffered from that. I like a lot of headcanons about her trying to further explore her interest in archeology and relation to her teammates! I just wish she got to show off more in show, but otherwise, shes a solid side character.

I am so unpopular with this opinion i am likely the only person in this fandom that is like, meh about kyoya. I honestly just kinda laugh whenever hes overdramatically on screen, and i never got super invested in his rivalry with Gingka. It sometimes felt like the show was trying to justify him too much or make us respect him for some reason. I love him in season 3 though, legitemately his episodes with Yu are my favorite in the series. He really does have a lot of good dynamics, but my favorites are him with Tsubasa and Yu. I just wish the show explored those dynamics more rather than always returning to Kyoya and Gingkas rivalry.

Idk i guess i just like him better when hes being bullied.

FLORA!!!! Gosh talking about winx characters is hard, because there are so many iterations of them every season. Also bc theyre designs are hard to comment on because aesthetically they look nice but uhhh... wow they really wanted to show off that one body type huh? But yeah i think Flora is a bit underutilized. Shes a really important addition to the cast, smoothing out all the boisterous personalities of the winx and really fits into the dynamic. Shes also very fun to headcanon as absolutely merciless like making giant maneating plants. Shes a super important character to the cast and i wish she actually had more dynamic relationships and the like.

Whenever i think of winx after not watching it for years, the episode that comes to mind is always, always Aisha's introduction episode. She fits right into the winx dynamic immediately, perfectly rounding out the cast. Her strong will and personality are apparent throughout all of season 2. She shines in combat and in interpersonal relationships (i like her interacting with stella and musa best though). I feel like sometimes with her character they were tossing around a few concepts that didnt stick like ive forgotten her fear of the dark and the like. But really shes the most memorable winx character. Watching her willing to scale the underworld palace for those pixies and then return cemented her in the cast, all the while as she was learning to be a part of the winx. Aisha deserved so much better treatment then she got (yknow, nabu). If winx is ever well adapted i hope they keep aishas introduction the same, but done better.

[benmparks]

Six of Crows (series) Review

patreon | kofi

Last night I picked up Six of Crows again, pretending I was just going to peruse it for the purpose of this review but who am I kidding? I am fully obsessed with these books, I just wanted to read it again. With that being said, welcome to my review of the Six of Crows duology, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo.

Review

The duology follows six members of this gang, the Dregs, that Kaz Brekker basically runs as they try to outwit some big players. Somehow Leigh Bardugo manages to jump from six POVs and not only make it work, but also use it to her advantage. The plot is crazy heist after heist, a lot of violence and darkness and yet every character and scene feels so endearing. The character work is crazy in these books, and at the end of the day the focus isn’t the crazy stunts they pull but the dynamic and connections between these six very different characters and how in the end they do care about each other despite the odds.

In the big picture of things, both of the books get a 4/5 Goodreads stars from me. I could not put either of the books down, and to be honest it felt like one long book if only because I read them back to back. Six of Crows is the “introduction” to the characters, but the book jumps right into it. The writing is very dense with character and world building, in a way that I found entrancing instead of boring somehow. I think I can credit that to the richness of the characters, and my immediate love for each and everyone of them. Admittedly, if I didn’t already know them from the show, I don’t know if I would have made it past the first page which is why it only gets 4 out of 5 stars. It was a thick book, and sometimes my eyes did just glaze over the words to try to get it moving.

The ending of Six of Crows was almost cruel, and I had to wait a day before I could get Crooked Kingdom. Reading Crooked Kingdom was like running a marathon and I have to admit, I’m not sure it was because it was very interesting or I just really wanted to get to the good parts. The plot in Crooked Kingdom gets a little repetitive, and I just really wanted Kaz to get some rest near the end, but the writing and some scenes really saved the whole book. I have reread some scenes multiple times already, Ms. Bardugo does have a solid grasp on writing emotion and dynamics in a way that feels so authentic like I am watching it play in front of me.

Some Thoughts

To be fully transparent, I read these books so quickly and in a haze of hyper fixation, so my review is probably biased but the books really did deliver on the character building that I wanted after what I had seen of the crows in the show. The writing was truly captivating, and the plot had me stoked to see how they managed to pull it off. By the end of Crooked Kingdom, I had managed to figure out the pattern though, which made the final resolution a little lackluster to me.

I really liked how casually diverse the cast was, with people of color with their own fantasy cultures, diverse romances, and even some disability representation. Kaz, my favorite character, has a limp and PTSD induced touch aversion like........ That spoke to me on a personal level. (I don’t have PTSD, but I also can be averse to touch at times.) The way that all of this works together, the diverse character with their diverse traits and flaws, was a masterpiece.

I keep going on and on about the characters, but I am truly amazed at how well they were built throughout the series both personally and their interpersonal connections. You get the sense that they are a dysfunctional family that deeply cares for each other. I said it already, but it is really endearing despite all the violence and thievery. So much so, that the rest of my review will be about that.

Let’s talk about the relationships

Kaz and Everyone Else

Everytime I write this review it devolves into me going on and on about how much I love Kaz and here we are again... but really. He carries the story, okay?

As I said, Kaz is the cold and calculating “leader” of the Dregs. He is known in the Barrel (where they live) as a ruthless killer who cares about furthering his gang than anything else, which is sort of true but not the whole story. By the end of Crooked Kingdom, I think what Kaz cares about the most is getting everyone else out safely. He had dragged them all into the mess they were in, where chances of getting out alive were slim, and he felt personally responsible for making sure it worked for everyone else. This was the part where I was reading just so maybe he would go to sleep, because I was so worried about him.

There were other moments throughout the books that showed his “soft side” for his gang, but in ways that they wouldn’t read as friendliness. He acts very careful to continue his persona around everyone except...... Inej. Which we’ll get to in a moment.

Kaz and Jesper

Jesper is sort of Kaz’s right hand man, he is introduced to us in that context anyway. It is not made clear, as I remember, their relationship much further than this but Jesper clearly looks up to him. Impressing Kaz, or proving his loyalty to him, seems to be a main driver in Jesper’s actions. He clearly wants a more personal relationship with him, and is constantly disappointed.

I liked how they portrayed these two, switching POVs to show that they are very clearly close personally but neither of them really knows. Near the end, in a dramatic and emotionally charged scene, Kaz accidentally calls Jesper his dead brother’s name and I think that says it all. That was one of my favorite scenes because after two books of this sort of tense relationship between them, it kind of ties it all up in a bow. Kaz does care about Jesper, maybe too much in his opinion.

Jesper and Wylan

Wylan is the estranged son of the merchant that they were up against, so the crew originally sees him as a bit of an outsider. He had a rich upbringing, so they think of him as soft and he’s only originally used as something to hold against the merchant. I loved him, he was the voice of reason in the group. A look into what a normal person might see when interacting with this band of thieves.

Jesper is a flirtatious character, he flirts with everyone, but you can see the slow way his flirting with Wylan changes into something a little deeper. Their relationship was masterfully done, it was like I stumbled into it. It was like, halfway through Crooked Kingdom, I suddenly cared a lot about them which made the twists and turns of their relationship so much more fulfilling.

One side note, I personally didn’t care for their final resolution. I’m not big on sappy endings, so there’s that.

Nina and Inej

I love a female friendship, okay? Nina’s entire story seemed to focus on Matthius and her being a grisha (someone who can use magic), so her interactions with Inej were refreshing. Nina was like the heart of this troupe, trying to keep the focus on a righteous goal instead of the money that Kaz seemed to only care about. (Seemed being the operative word). Inej was a perfect counterpart to that, as her religious and cultural background kept her on the softer side of things despite integration to the Dregs.

I think it was those parts of their story that made them care so much about each other, they were two girls trying to keep a part of themselves in this crazy world of the Barrel. In the midst of all the darkness and scheming, their softer bond was a welcome addition.

Nina and Matthius

I said this in my Shadow and Bone review, I just don't care for these two. Nina, as I mentioned, is a grisha and Matthius was a grisha hunter who did try to kill her. Maybe a little too enemies to lovers for me, and too fast. While I think their dynamic was better portrayed in the books, I still didn't really like Matthius as a character and I didn't feel a strong enough reason for Nina to care so much for him. I think their story is a little too insta-love for me. (I also had a major spoiler about the two of them which I don't think helped, let's just say I knew not to get too attached.)

Kaz and Inej

Alright. I’m writing this.

Kaz wears gloves all the time, except with Inej.

I mean, that’s the dynamic. He is that cold blooded guy from the Barrel, except with Inej. He doesn’t want to admit that he feels anything besides professional feelings for her, but god does he pretty much from the start. When he’s losing his mind, it’s Inej that brings him back. When Inej is attacked, oh my god the writing for that part. He lost it, and it was dark and scary because he was scared he was going to lose her.

Yet, still, he won’t admit it.

Inej wants to believe he is that cold blooded guy from the Barrel, she wants to believe there is something else in him but whenever she tries to find it, he pushes her away. Still, she stays and tries again until she gives up but Kaz doesn't give up on her. Kaz never gives up on her, everything he does is for her in the end. He wants her to get everything she dreams for, even if he thinks dreams and hopes are stupid distractions.

And, in the end, he does that for her. And they hold hands.

(Which is a big deal because, as I said, he’s touch averse but he wants to touch her...............................................)

Anyway.

That’s my review.

The characters carried the story which got long and repetitive at some points, but I really did devour these books in a matter of days and I’m still rereading parts just to relive them again. 4/5 stars.

Thanks for reading.

[petracore101]

The Conflicting Narratives in RWBY V7

We’ve officially reached the end of the volume, so I’d like to share my take on why the final episodes were so controversial, and how the wild variety of reactions to them is rooted in the conflicting narratives of the volume. (And, to close a very long post, a hopeful note).

Part 1: What Drives a Narrative?

Before we can dig in, we’ve got to talk about how narrative arcs progress. Typically, stories are driven either by their plot (and thus focus on an external goal or enemy) or by their characters (and thus focus on internal struggles and growth). Though almost every story has a bit of both plot and characters driving the narrative, they’ll usually fall primarily on one side or the other.

At first glance, RWBY seems to fall into the plot-driven category. The characters are essentially working to stop Salem and save the world. But I would argue that it is actually a far more character driven show. The first 3 volumes are devoted to establishing our main characters, their internal struggles, and their motivations for what they do. Only after all that buildup are we told the true ‘mission’, but even then our characters do not revolve solely around that goal. We spend v4-5 exploring the personal trauma of each character, and only return to pursuing the plot goals in v6. That volume, too, was largely character driven, with our heroes confronting the potential futility of their mission and how to overcome that internal conflict. But, ultimately, these character-driven arcs are all set within one overarching plot-driven story. And that makes RWBY a complicated show to write.

It is in this inherent complexity that I think the conflict around V7 resides. The first 3/4 of the volume is almost exclusively character driven- with interpersonal relationships and internal struggles taking the vast majority of screen time. The team’s reactions to Mantle and Robyn, Ironwood’s development, the Ace Ops’ views on teamwork and friendship, the Schnee family dynamics, and Penny’s return/emotional conflict are all deeply personal character-driven arcs. But, like all of RWBY, this is set against the backdrop of a plot-driven main conflict. The goal is ultimately to keep Salem & co from doing to Atlas and Remnant what they did to Beacon. And though we focus on the character driven story elements at first, the end of the volume must wrap up the plot. And so the must narrative become more plot-driven.

Part 2: Satisfying Character Arcs

The (arguably) biggest challenge when balancing character and plot-driven narratives is to ensure that the choices the plot needs characters to make are set up or explained by their internal and interpersonal characterization. If you start with a plot-driven story, you need the resulting character reactions to satisfy the plot lines you set up. If you start with a character-driven story, you need the concluding plot elements to satisfy the character arcs you’ve established. Basically, character motivations must naturally lead into what the plot requires. Otherwise the story you tell just isn’t satisfying, and you leave your audience feeling confused or cheated. Weaving those elements together can be incredibly challenging, hence why most stories let one or the other drive the narrative.

In v7, RWBY failed to adequately show how the character arcs in the first part of the volume would motivate their plot-required actions in the final few episodes. While the plot’s direction was somewhat clear from the start, the character-driven narrative simply did not organically tie into the plot-driven one. So, while the final episodes make perfect sense from an external, plot-grounded perspective, they do not make sense from an internal, character-grounded one. How well this goes over with an audience is really perception based, but I’ll get there in a bit. For, now, let’s look at some examples of what I mean:

Ironwood’s plot-driven narrative is that of a general willing to do whatever it takes to stop the greatest threat to mankind. Despite authoritarian tendencies, he tries to work with RWBY&co, and eventually learns to trust his fellow leaders and work with them in a last ditch effort to save his cities. But he is pushed past his breaking point when Salem uses his compassion against him to threaten everything he’s charged with protecting. In a final bid to keep from losing on every front, he betrays his new allies and abandons many of his people to protect the relics and those he thinks he can still save. Now, that progression makes sense. The plot works, it seems like a solid arc. The problem is that his character-driven narrative does not set that ending up. In the early volume, we see him repeatedly face down impossible odds, choose to trust those around him rather than silence them, and refuse to give in to fear even when confronted with his biggest PTSD trigger. We are never shown a moment where he gives into fear, or sacrifices lives to save others, or even acts on some suspicion towards RWBY & co. We are told about past actions, and we can thus infer what the plot implies about him, yes, but the character narrative does not establish the conditions for his final plot plot choices.

Clover has a similar issue. The plot tells us that he’s a top special operative, wholly devoted to Ironwood and willing to follow his orders into anything. He tries to reach out to Qrow, to form a working relationship, but typically does not see professional partnerships as personally meaningful. When given an order to arrest Qrow, he does so without question, certain his general has due cause. And when Qrow won’t go quietly, he does everything in his power to take him in by force. Again, all that makes sense, from a plot perspective. But that does not match the character that the early volume developed. Instead, almost all of Clover’s characterization centers on Qrow. He is kind and flirtatious with him, has virtually no interactions with anyone else, and Ironwood is rarely even mentioned. Clover’s relationship with Qrow characterizes him as easy going and reasonable, and they do not show any focus on his devotion to Ironwood or even to following orders. Because he’s only ever developed on screen by his interactions with Qrow, that’s the only character driven narrative we have for him. So while his plot arc makes sense for the character concept and plot beats, it isn’t supported by his characterization.

The same could even be said of Qrow, who chooses to work with Tyrian to stop Clover when he can’t get Clover to stop attacking him. The plot essentially tells us that he thinks it always comes to this with his friends, that Qrow will always choose to do what he must to survive and keep fighting. But Qrow’s v7 characterization has been about fear of hurting those he cares for, and relief at being around someone he might not inherently endanger. Even with Raven, he never aimed to truly hurt her, even when she sided with Salem. The past several volumes, his journey has been about learning to let those he loves be near him- which he has done with RWBYJNOR. There were no character moments in v7 indicating that he still had massive doubts about that choice. And he’s certainly shown no indication that he would ever work with someone he despised, especially not against someone he cared for. While his plot makes sense for a tired older man who’s used to being alone and has already lost so much, his previous characterization in this volume simply does not match the decisions the plot demands he make.

Likewise, Robyn’s willingness to square off with Clover on the airship makes sense for her plot. She’s the rebellious hometown vigilante hero, passionate and willing to fight for what she believes in. But her characterization has repeatedly shown that she knows when to back down and live to fight another day, when to manipulate those around her to get what she needs, and when to run so she can do more good elsewhere. We’ve never previously seen her turn to useless violence out of anger, even when pressed (as with the cargo blockade or election night). Her primary concern has always been show to be the people of Mantle, and she’s always smart about placing herself in the optimal position to help them. And she’s very good at finding another way when faced with horrid choices. So choosing to fight Clover in a tiny airship (while a completely justified response), doesn’t match the character we’ve seen established. That character might have ditched the plane to go help Mantle, might have convinced Clover to let her get to Ironwood, might even have convinced Qrow to fight back against Clover. But trying to take Clover out when the odds are entirely against her, and Tyrian’s still a threat? That choice only matches her plot.

In some ways, the Ace Ops as a whole have a similar problem. Though, for them, it is more that we got very little initial characterization, and not much screen time showing their relationship with team RWBY. This doesn’t bother me as much, because they are truly just side characters, but it does make the personal stake they seem to have in their battle with RWBY seem odd. Again, the character narrative did not adequately set up relationships between them, so when the plot demands they feel personally betrayed by RWBY’s dissension, it falls a little flat.

While none of these choices are really out of character when taken in the context of the plot, they are not actions that would naturally arise from the character narrative. And so, regardless of how many plot points there are telling us that the character will act this way, it still feels inorganic because we’ve never seen them act this way. The arc might make sense in the plot, but it’s not satisfying.

Part 3: Perception of Narrative

How a moment feels to the audience is dependent on how they’re engaging with the material. There are lots of ways for a viewer to engage with a show, but they are generally focused on what lens the audience member is using to view the narrative. For the purpose of this discussion, we’ll compare people who see stories through the eyes of a character(s) and those who see them through the context of the plot. Neither is inherently better, but both offer distinct perspectives on the narrative.

When viewed through the lens of plot, v7 is a coherent and well executed story arc. But because the plot-driven and character-driven parts of the narrative in v7 often don’t match up, people who view the story through the context of plot see a very different story than those who are viewing it through the eyes of the characters. This is particularly true if the characters an audience member engages with have been characterized differently by their internal struggles than by the plot. Some characters (like team RWBY, for example) have had plot actions which are largely consistent with their characterization and internal motivations. So viewers who see the story through their eyes may not see any major discontinuity in the narrative. But other characters (like those in part 2), made some choices in the last few episodes that do not follow naturally from their previous behavior. Though there is plot justification for these inconsistencies, viewers seeing the story through their eyes will still find the discontinuity jarring. And that impacts the perceived validity of the narrative.

And thus we get some parts of the FNDM furious over inconsistent or poorly written character arcs, while others see them as perfectly in character and well written. And again, neither perspective is better. They are simply viewing the story with entirely different context. And because v7’s final episodes did not smoothly transition from a character-driven to plot-driven narrative, that different context creates conflicting perceived narratives.

Part 4: Writing and Sacrifices

So how did we end up its such a big difference in how the narrative was perceived? Well, I think it has a lot to do with RWBY getting a new writing team.

Don’t get me wrong- I’m SO glad they’ve brought on some new writers. They absolutely needed more hands on deck, and some of my favorite moments this volume have come from the new folks at the writing desk. But learning to work with a new team is a hard process. Balancing this many characters and story arcs is hard even when you only have to communicate with yourself, and the more people you add, the harder it gets. Weaving together character and plot driven narratives is never easy, but trying to do so with a writing team that is still learning how they work together? That’s damn near impossible.

Overall, I think the team did an incredible job, especially since it was their first volume together, and they were taking on a massive amount of material. But I do think that they bit off more story than they had time to chew. Limited runtime makes it challenging to fit in enough connecting tissue without sacrificing other aspects of the story they wanted to tell, and honestly I’m not sure it would even have been possible if they’d been working together for decades. This was a somewhat short volume, without many long episodes. We started with a lot of characters- RWBY, JNOR, Qrow and Maria- and then added Pietro, Penny, Ironwood, Winter, the Ace Ops, the Happy Huntresses, the Schnee family, the Council... Not to mention juggling Watts, Tyrian, Cinder, and Neo. There just wasn’t time to establish all of them, let alone weave all their motivations and identities into a coherent plot.

I don’t think there was any way for the writers to give everything the screen time it needed to develop. We didn’t even have time to introduce everyone to each other, even with most character growth postponed to allow time to show us a few key dynamics. Already established dynamics (like those among RWBY and JNOR) aren’t given a lot of focus, because they can just be inferred. So we got a volume where most of the main cast has a flat or nonexistent character arc, and side characters whose brief moments of characterization have to focus on humanizing them and getting the audience interested, rather than establishing a precedent for their future decisions. And all the rest gets told to us outside the on-screen events of the volume, or through rapid/fire exposition. Which works well for some people, and is still good from a plot-focused perspective, but throws others entirely out of the narrative because it doesn’t allow for a character-driven one.

I get the feeling that the writers were faced with limited time and a lot of story to tell. And so they chose to sacrifice some continuity in character development in order to fit more of the plot they wanted, rather than lose any plot points or spread out the arcs. And while I understand the reasoning behind that choice, I’m not sure that the sacrifice was worth it.

Part 5: A Personal Note

For me, the most interesting and uplifting thing about RWBY is how much the character’s choices are their own. Despite living in a world that seems built to force them on a certain path, they stubbornly continue to choose their own destinies. Even in the face of destruction, their choices always matter. I love that in a story so focused on destiny, choice is ultimately the greatest power the characters have. It’s such a beautiful message, and it’s a big part of why I love the show. So to have their internal motivations overlooked for the sake of plot feels, well, wrong to me. As if it contradicts the very core of the story’s meaning.

This volume’s conclusion has left me feeling... disappointed. The message of the plot still matches the story I fell in love with, but, for me at least, that message is undermined by the way we got there. The journey will always hold more meaning to me than the destination, and the characters more importance than the plot. That said, RWBY is still one of my favorite stories, and a journey I am glad to be on. I hope that the writers will learn from the criticism of this volume’s end, as they have from criticism in the past. I’ll keep loving and supporting this show, it’s characters, and it’s creative team. And I’ll keep hoping that the next chapter in this story will be better than the last.

Because, ultimately, that’s what RWBY means to me. That it’s worth it to keep on hoping, to keep on loving, to keep on opening your heart to the world. To just... live.

[sapphireorison]

Hokay. So. ACOTAR, ACOMAF, and ACOWAR. I finished them. A bit ago. And then I forgot to actual finish this write-up.

I enjoyed them! I have a great many thoughts and it will take a while to unpack them. Fair warning: I’m an editor and some of this is critique. These books hit a good number of my buttons and I legit cried in several different places, so they receive a rec from me. Just--I love to interrogate what I read as well as enjoy it. 

Spoilers to follow. :) 

:rubs hands together: 

Just in case my readers have read some but not all of the books, I’m going to be trying to split thinguses all up. This is difficult b/c I read them mostly back to back and I have a hard time splicing out storylines when I do that. Thank goodness for book summaries. 

Book 1: A Court of Thorns and Roses.

I loved the concept of eternal Spring at the Court, and I love the fact that Feyre is so driven. She makes shit happen, throws herself head-first into...not the best plans, let’s be real, but she’s sympathetic and we get a really deep glimpse into her head with the first person PoV. Her crap plans are also very interesting from a character growth standpoint, because she’s flailing around trying to figure out how things work and still willing to dive into the shit half-prepared because she thinks she needs to. I respect that in a protagonist. The supporting characters, Lucien and Alis, are also a lot of fun. I also thought the worldbuilding was fun in that the fae actually use their glamour for pretty much everything, and that there are festivals and rhythms to life. The estate feels very empty on purpose, but the life of the characters seems to extend beyond the page and I quite like that. 

One thing I found very interesting was that, as the book goes on, Maas slowly finds her stride. The end of the book is better than the beginning (and the second book better than the first, but that’s getting ahead of myself). Maas’ strength is in interaction person v. person and person v. environment, but until the environment is established, her people can’t properly interact with it. We’re missing too much and the clues aren’t actually clues that a reader can put together--or even recognizes as clues. ‘Ah yes this is a mystery’ isn’t...isn’t helpful. The world doesn’t *quite* exist before it’s explained, which is a bit rough when it’s explained at the rate of ‘clueless newbie in an information-averse environment.’ I speculate that a reason why her series are so popular is that she does very well with cumulative worldbuilding. Or, rather, working within established worldbuilding. When she’s establishing it herself, it’s a little wonky until it takes hold.

I mean, I enjoyed the whole ‘masque masks stuck to everyone’s faces’ thing but it wasn’t incorporated emotionally and then they just pop off. The resolution of that arc factored into the climax but the focus had shifted away almost completely at that point. That’s partially because we get three or four character anchors, and not a lot of secondary and tertiary characters to populate the emotional background of the story, so there are precisely two people she knows/interacts with from Spring Court there Under the Mountain and they’re narratively busy. Plus, masks are a major, ridiculously romantic imagery thing. The decadence. The finery. The masks hiding everyone’s true intentions. But without keeping them important, they don’t have the impact I think was intended.

When Maas DOES incorporate something emotionally, she’s good, imho. See anything she does with tattoos. It’s personal, a body transgression with a dab of body horror, it’s visible and has a major impact on her day-to-day attitudes and the images she strikes in this book and for the rest of the series. I ended up caring very much about that damned tattoo. 

On another note, I was /deeply confused/ at the totally blasé attitude the Spring Court had most of the book towards the fact that Feyre had murdered the fuck out of that fae. Like. I didn’t get the vibe that 'something must be going on for everyone to not be beyond pissed off at me.’ I got the the ‘wow, things are moving really fast and everyone’s reactions are a little weird because the main characters need to be together’ vibe. Which turned out not to be the case in, like, any sense, but it was still very distracting. Also, I’m just like, “There is a lot of emphasis on love in this book, but I’m not actually feelin’ it anywhere.” Maybe it’s my aromantic ass talking, but there was a lot of emphasis on the sustaining power of love that didn’t really...okay. I think it’s fair to say that I don’t *get* why love was a driving force for most of the tail end of the book when there were other perfectly valid reasons to take action and/or survive. The main character spent most of the end of the book in an altered state of mind and fixated on an emotion that wasn’t being actionably reciprocated, so that when she won things I was very excited, but when she was floundering in between I stopped being able to quite access the character.

It’s a bit of a left turn at the end into sexy villainess territory, and the altered state of mind thing--like I get why it was done on a narrative level (tho I consider it a bit of a narrative cheat), but it’s also sort of extremely iffy on a ‘future romantic interest’ level.  

Overall, though, I liked a lot of the interpersonal play between characters and how the edges don’t always meet. And I like the sense of ‘no, don’t do it! why are you doing this?!’ and ‘yes, do the thing!’ that I as a reader felt depending on the decision that Feyre had to make, and most of the time those character choices were nicely in character. 

Book 2: A Court of Mist and Fury

Well. I was spoiled by tumblr for this one, so I knew it was coming, but EVEN SO I was still a little ??? that Tamlin was straight-up the villain. On the one hand, the first book WAS a riff on a Beauty and the Beast narrative, so this is the ‘Beast’ subversion book that digs into the abuse and depression narrative. Which--I actually didn’t mind. The oddest thing was Tamlin going from a very poor fit for a boyfriend to legitimately abusive, which I take to mean (as is alluded to in later bits) that his experience Under The Mountain just...broke him. I was actually watching in the first book for ‘abusive’ cues, and they were little red flags that seemed to have been incorporated into the fabric of the story in the traditional-love-story sense that only in contrast and context analysis appear as big red flags. 

So...that’s interesting. Because it was very much a sense of exacerbated personality, without necessarily the seeds of the abusive relationship being developed as such. Even though :waves vaguely at Rhys: that dude’s presence was at least planned, and the mating bond was present at the end of the first book. So yes, it seems abrupt, and I can’t decide if it’s an abrupt that fits or not.

And just as an addendum, I’m not actually interesting in redemption stories (as I know there’s all sorts of discourse surrounding Talmin on tumblr), so I didn’t mind him being the villain and staying that way. 

The strength of this book, imho, is its tight focus on healing from abuse. It’s a very specific narrative, very in-depth, and very personal. Feyre is such an emotionally-driven character, and it’s her emotions--conflicting a lot of the times--that are cracked open and chewed-upon. And, actually, it’s her emotions that, well, it’s not that they provide /continuity/ but they actually carry the book. Whatever she’s feeling at that particular moment is encompassing, and it eclipses a lot of the book’s continuity errors and world-building...holes. At least for me, it did, and that’s part of why I enjoyed the story as much as I did. Worldbuilding is my /jam/, so the emotional resonance has to be engaging for me to enjoy a book without a solid foundation.

But part of the recovery-from-abuse narrative is that there’s a lot of emphasis on consent--or at least there’s an attempt at it. Everything at Feyre’s pace as much as possible (a convention broken only for plot, if I recall correctly.) Even if, most practically, there is a lot of organizing Feyre’s life and she doesn’t have a lot of actual control over it, she feels like she does. She is able to accomplish things again and accomplishing those things isn’t a panacea for her depression, but it certainly helps. 

What boggles my mind, with respect to the consent thing, is that Feyre very much has no control over her emotions at the best of times, not when she’s vulnerable. But that Maas adds the mating bond/soulbond nonsense. 

Okay. FULL DISCLOSURE. I...read soulbond fic. I *enjoy* soulbond fic. But I’m very picky about my soulbond fic. For the most part, I consider it to be a good part manipulative drek where people are attracted to one another for no apparent reason with an automatic love that spans lifetimes. 

Which, you know, romantic. (Says the aro lady) But my point is, that the soulbond fics that I really enjoy are the ones that really grapple with the idea that, okay, you didn’t /pick/ the soulbond. You were destined, and that destiny means you had little-to-no free will, consent, or agency in that choice. You feel encompassing...something for a person. Is it love? Is it healthy? And I understand that some people really, deeply enjoy the idea of destiny and the idea that this bond to someone in your soul means you are inherently lovable no matter where you came from or what you’ve done. I, however, resent even the hint of fate, so exploring how people deal with that (beloved) + (fate) thing is simply deliciously fascinating. 

However, in context of a recovery-from-abuse narrative it’s, uh...wow. Feyre doesn’t have a choice but to fall in love with this man. For a healing narrative making an attempt to be about giving her choice once more, a soulbond inherently removes that consent *especially* because it’s kept a secret. Feyre doesn’t know what’s going on and can’t make an informed decision about. 

But I think what completely flummoxed me was the fact that Feyre’s emotional response to finding out that she had a soulbond was *relief*. ‘Oh, it’s not actually me moving on from the abuser I sacrificed so much for and forming this crazy-strong attachment to this man in what I consider a betrayal of my former love for my abuser.’ She’s happy it’s not her fault. With one soulbond, her conflict over moving on is wiped away and resolved, even when moving on and forming a strong emotional attachment/falling in love with another man is, uh, perfectly natural. especially for someone who runs so much on her emotions as Feyre, even if maybe there’s a bit of concern that Rhys might be a rebound because he’s helping her heal (as not everyone can handle both healing-phase relationships and then the transition to stable-established). I mean, it’s an understandable response for her to be like ‘oh, thank fuck,’ but, um, that’s the end of it. She’s done feeling any conflict because she has cosmic permission to move on. 

And tbh, that’s...not an issue with character responses imho. It’s an issue with how the world is built and what function the soulbond serves within a narrative that attempts to emphasize consent...by resolving part of the conflict by make it fate. 

So that’s a thing. XD

Anyways, I am definitely of the opinion that this second book was stronger than the first, both emotionally and world-buildingly. And just...the visuals are wonderful. I think out of everything, I loved the visuals the most. 

Book 3: A Court of Wings and Ruin

The most recent (last?) book in the series, a Court of Wings and Ruin is by far and away the most solidly established book with respect to the worldbuilding and pre-established character. At this point, the world has accumulated enough that there are repercussions, politics, and things moving and shaking. The narrative expands from tight-focus on specific relationships to an epic continent-spanning conflict with multiple cooperating factions. 

It’s, uh, quite a jump. 

But first let me just...bang my fists on the table and chant: High Lady Feyre. High Lady Feyre. High Lady Feyre. The simple fact that we get to see her be High Lady and that she embraces it. No matter how the execution of her being High Lady falters, it’s viscerally pleasing that the intent is for her to be a partner. She has a powerful position, a seat at the table, and (although her inexperience is, er, a liability, uh) the ability to change the tide of the epic shenanigans going on all over the place. 

Also. Nesta. My love. She shines in this book. I just. I think it says a lot about what your favorite character in any particular book is, and for me, it’s hands down 100-percent Nesta. She’s just so angry and complicated and she lashes out and hurts people and even in the previous books when she’s being stubborn or antagonistic-y and Freyre is pissed off and hurt by her...I just kept thinking to myself: is she supposed to be my favorite? Because she’s absolutely my favorite. 

Like, she’s reserved as fuck and ready to cut into people and eat their hearts, and was dragged into Feyre’s bullshit literally kicking and screaming and basically sinking into the Cauldron while flipping the world off. And then she rips part of the Cauldron’s power out with her teeth. Plus, she develops a thing for the one who is clearly the hottest boy character (sorry Rhys, I have a type). I mean, she couldn’t be set up any more perfectly as my favorite character. 

Like. I like Feyre, but to be quite honest, I don’t GET Feyre. (I don’t recall if I said that in part one, but whatever, this is part three and a whole different book.) I just...Feyre is emotional to the point where I lose hold of her, because I’m not the same personality type. I can feel what she feels because that’s Maas’ forte as a writer, but that’s about as far as my sympathy goes. I /feel/, but I don’t understand why she acts the way she does on those feelings. 

What I do find interesting is the trope evolution of the soulbond thing. It’s like Maas walks it back. It’s a mating bond and it’s physical. It’s not necessarily a ‘meeting of souls’ or ‘one true love’ thing, because there have been crap soulbonds in the past, but a signifier that elf-y genetics decicded they’d create good bebs. Which...holy het, batman, for one, the implication being that only reproducing couples will ever matebond. And two--that’s...a marked difference from the second book. There’s also some confusion as to whether the mating bond is destiny or a result of love. Because more than once it’s referred to wanting the mating bond to snap into place (implying that love can come first), and more often it’s shown that the mating bond is destiny. It’s never clarified if it’s both, or Feyre’s mistaken, or what. Or if it can actually be cancelled, or if it becomes only cancelled for one because it’s ventured by one? Or if there’s an attempt to snap it into place and...

Basically, book three just confuses the shit out of the issue of the soulbond from the straightforward trope-dancing of the second book to attempting to address edge cases without actually clarifying anything. 

There is one point, though, where I’m sort of...the series started as one thing and has morphed into somthing entirely different, and the style it’s written in can’t quite support it yet. Namely, there’s a scene where Feyre does a bit of psychic eavesdropping to relive a scene we would not otherwise have gotten to see and just...

That, my friend, is cheating the first-person narrative. It’s invasive, and debatably out of character, and is handle with a ‘sometimes we suck, and we just have to get over it’ conversation, and the invasion is never elsewise addressed. It’s just, like. An errant scene. It’s worked into things, but in such a way that the value of the scene is debatable for as much damage as it causes the narrative. 

Which flows into the fact that the narrative can’t sustain the epic battle thing. There’s a deus ex machina at the end, even though it’s not the thing that wins the day. Like, there’s an entirely character PoV and narrative thread that’s just...left out. For three books. Which is a limitation of first person without careful plotting. But the whole end with reinforcements and Lucien and the firebird Queen? Not out of the blue, but like...a whole different book. 

And the last thing that I think is interesting that *doesn’t* touch on the Black Jewels trilogy, is part of the inspiration for some of the fae mythology, namely the Black Cauldron. 

Or, more rather, the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, upon which the Disney movie the Black Cauldron was based. The Chronicles themselves are based on Welsh Mythology, notably the Mabinogion. But the Chronicles have the three witches in the swamp (the three death gods?), the fair folk, the land of death with its control of the Cauldron with the power to create an unstoppable army. Of a living sacrifice jumping into the cauldron of their own will being the only thing to shatter it.

(And, hilariously, I did a search for what Maas herself said about Prydain since I was gonna ramble on about it, and it really does seem like they were a major inspiration for her. I found a twitter thread where she laments that he used all the really cool antiquated names for all the places she wants to use. If you wanna see what she says about it, pairing the author names will give you direct quotes from her saying how much inspiration she drew from them.)

It’s just that even though Eyrian and Illyrian are very similar, Illyria is the name of a Baltic country back in antiquity. And her naming conventions for the races aren’t complicated. The angel-people are Seraphim. The falcon-people are Peregryn. She uses a lot of possibly-Greek-inspired words for her mythological faerie people. So while I wouldn’t say Illyrian is a coincidence, it does fit with her rampage through her favorite things, pulling in disparate (and sometimes clashing) elements and knitting them together as she slowly builds her world the best she can.

To me, this feels like a hodgepodge of inspiration, though I know that a lot of people knock the books for tasting very strongly of Bishop’s work. I’d argue that, Prydain and the aforementioned Welsh mythology and Greek references are as much an influence on Prythian as Kaeleer and Terrielle are, at least in the worldbuilding aspects. She even says in interviews that they’re her inspiration. She’s enthusiastic about them in a charming way (I say as an editor of new, baby authors who have this sort of love for their inspiration, too.)

But ‘what is inexpert but honest homage and what is are you sure this isn’t fic’ is a discussion for...later. That I’m half done with. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish and post it sometime soon. :)