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linklethehistorian · 2 years ago

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Linkle, I must know, what are your thoughts on Mori as a character? His actions and motivations?? Id love to hear your opinion, btw that last chapter of cherish was great!! I loved it so much!!!

Ahhh hello there, anon, thank you so much! 🥺😭💕💖🥰 It’s such an honor to get a message like this from someone who is reading the fic. 💕🥺💖🥰💕🥺💖🥰 I’m so glad you liked Chapter 12; it definitely has one of my own personal favorite scenes, tbh (but I won’t take up your time talking about that right now lol). Having a fan base for Cherish is truly lovely; I’m so blessed by each and every one of you. 🥺💖

As for your question, I’m always happy to share!

Before I say anything at all on my opinion, though, I’m first going to make it clear that I am completely setting aside that one…particular matter that has been discussed to death by the fandom for the moment, because I fear far too many people tend to forget that it is entirely possible to make any remotely positive commentary on a fictional character without that actually somehow meaning you condone his alleged…preferences. For the people in the back that need to hear this out loud to be set at ease: I in absolutely no way do.

Now with that out of the way for a bit, let’s talk about the rest of Mori. I’ll throw it under the cut, though, both for length and for potential spoilers of multiple light novels (Dark Era, Fifteen, Storm Bringer, etc.) and obviously the manga up to his last appearance in current arc. Oh and obviously the typical Mori-related trigger subjects. Yeah.

Honestly, on a general note, these days I think Mori as a character is super cool; I’m not sure where precisely I’d rate him on the list of characters because I honestly like nearly every character in BSD and think they’re pretty awesomely written, but on a general scale of 1 to 10, he’s a very solid 8 or 9 for me.

My first introduction to him was…admittedly not at all the best possible representation of him.

When I first joined the fandom, I began my journey through the series by watching the anime adaption of Dark Era, at the behest of a dear friend who said I would be best off doing so before I watched the rest of the show (of which there were only two seasons at the time) and then reading the manga, in order to get the best and most meaningful experience; it is not something I remotely regret, and in honesty, I would probably wholeheartedly recommend any new people to do the same, if they intended to start with the anime. Regardless, though, this decision did have the impact of making me immediately strongly dislike Mori as a person from the very start, given what he did to the orphans, Oda, and Dazai by extension.

Really, I wouldn’t say that I came to see him in any particular shades of grey motivation-wise until I watched the episode titled Double Black, in which there was the first reference of what would have become of the Port Mafia and Yokohama as a whole had he not usurped the throne to the organization so many years ago.

After that, I began to look at him with a bit more understanding and curiosity, horrible and ruthless though his nature may still mostly have been. Fifteen (specifically the light novel, NOT the anime) — which it should be said, I think is the best existing canon representation of Mori in terms of giving us a good look at his thoughts and motivations — only amplified that outlook and interest for me, and I think it alone is largely to thank for why I enjoy him as a character as much as I do in current time.

Although he’s definitely not someone I’d feel particularly comfortable writing an entire story solely around — as I don’t believe I’m expert nor absurdly passionate enough to do so compared to some genuine Mori fans that I know are out there out there — I nevertheless really, really do enjoy writing him, especially in Cherish (which is only the second time I’ve written him, if I’m honest — at least, in anything I’d consider publishing, anyway).

There’s just so much potential in him plot and personality-wise; he is incredibly flexible of a person in terms of his thoughts, mannerisms, motivations, and actions, which makes it super fun to explore and play around with when telling a story. I’d say he easily has one of the most fun personalities among the BSD ensemble, purely because of utterly unpredictable it can be; on one hand, he has moments where (at least outwardly) is capable of being extremely friendly, outgoing, generous and unassuming, and yet on the other, he is very much always inwardly observant of all that is going on around him and capable of quickly switching to being cold, calculating, and openly cruel at the drop of a hat. But even then, usually, his cruelty doesn’t come in the form of physical violence; it’s often emotional manipulation, intimidation, taking your fears and weaknesses and using them against you to get him whatever he feels he needs in the present moment. Sometimes, it isn’t even outwardly visible that the switch of gears happened; he knows how to poison you in the sweetest and most unassuming yet effective way possible — whether that poison is literal or metaphorical. He’s definitely the kind of person who could sing you to sing to sleep every night and kiss your cheek every morning even as he’s secretly plotting your demise. lol

That being said, I think a lot of the fandom, in their hatred for him as a person, tends to mischaracterize him a lot, rather than looking at it objectively. I’ve seen a lot of fics and general fandom takes that portray him as a sadistic person who is cruel simply for the sake of being cruel and does terrible things to others purely for the enjoyment factor, but that is 100% not who Mori is; canonically, Mori does what he does mostly, if not entirely, out of what he feels is necessity as the leader of the organization. Now, I’m not saying there may not be parts of him that enjoy certain things he does — it’s certainly more than possible, and even highly probable — but his actions as godfather are driven by achieving what he feels is the optimal solution, not by personal pleasure and amusement; as a matter of fact, in Fifteen, he even made it clear when speaking to Chuuya that he fully acknowledges a lot of what he does is morally reprehensible — he just feels that it is his duty to commit these atrocities for the ‘greater good’ of the organization, and that the end therefore justifies the means.

The thing is, there is a character in BSD who is exactly the way this portion of the fandom characterizes Mori, and he was even a member of the Port Mafia, so if people really wanted to canonically explore this dynamic of a character who wholly gets off on tormenting people, causing suffering and probing others’ heads rather than doing it as just a business practice, they absolutely could still do it and be true to canon by writing about said other character; it’s just that it’s not a convenient truth that a lot of the fandom wants or likes to face — because that would mean acknowledging that it was everyone’s beloved Dazai and not the oh-so-despised Mori who used to think in such a sick and twisted way during his days in the criminal underworld.

Granted, some people do write both characters very well and very accurately, and I applaud them, but I do find it frustrating when the fandom reduces either Mori to this purely evil, sadistic villain who is bad just for the sake of being bad, because he is so much more interesting as he truly is in canon.

It’s this dichotomy where his dedication to the overall well-being of his people and company is admirable and even understandable, yet at the same time his individual actions when you look at them from a moral perspective are pretty much all morally reprehensible in some way, shape, or form — if not in every way. The same is true of his time in the army; as a general concept, his desire to protect Japan during the Great War was on the whole admirable and understandable, we know that he was well-meaning about it, but at the same time, no matter how desperate the situation was, what he did to Yosano and his entire army was absolutely disgusting and unacceptable — especially because it came so easily to him to do it and he made no apologies for it nor expressed any guilt over the suffering he caused later on.

Do I think Mori is, on the whole, a good person? Absolutely not. Do I think that he sometimes has the best of intentions in mind with his schemes? In the grander scheme of things, yes; it’s just that he mostly doesn’t care who or how many he has to hurt to achieve that so long as it’s slightly less than his net gain from doing it, which in turn cancels out things enough to prevent him from ever being labeled as being or acting as a “good person” at any moment.

I think the best, most objective description of him is to say that he’s pragmatic and ruthless.

…And then obviously there’s the part that everyone in the fandom discusses to death — about the main universe version of him being into little girls. Not a whole lot to say about that; it’s gross, it’s wrong, it’s unforgivable, it’s morally reprehensible, and it’s chilling and disturbing and it definitely completely disqualifies him from being labeled a good person even if he had been able to earn that title from something he did somewhere along the way.

That being said — and I know this is probably going to be controversial to a lot of the fandom, so let me say upfront that I’m not saying that that isn’t 100% a valid and understandable reading of who he is and the way he feels based on all the evidence throughout the series, nor am I trying to convince anyone otherwise — purely because it is fiction and therefore all made up to begin with, at least for my own personal comfort, I typically choose in my own personal readings to just look at him as someone with a particular weakness for little girls because he’s fatherly — although I make no effort to claim that to be the objective truth, nor does such interpretation affect or influence any of my writings in any way; it’s simply the way I prefer to engage with BSD on my own personal time — outside of my writings.

As a matter of fact, in my one fic, Bittersweet Belief, he was intentionally written with the intention of being portrayed as a groomer, and in Cherish, his ‘tastes’ will be portrayed no less nor more suspicious than how they are in canon, and therefore it will never be fully, directly addressed, but may be interpreted however you wish.

I do not need people coming to me providing evidence of why they believe there is no way to look at it differently, as again, I am not arguing that it is objectively untrue in any way that Mori is written to be a pedo in BSD, and when in public spaces among other people talking about it I don’t even try to say otherwise, much less convince anyone of it. I understand fandom etiquette and I am not trying to erase anything about him from others’ perceptions in order to make him more “likable”. I am just engaging with BSD, whenever I am personally reading it and watching it, in the way that is more comfortable for me. Nothing more, nothing less.

Anyway, yeah, Mori’s a super fun character to write and observe in the BSD world! I think there’s a lot of depth to him and he’s very well-written — probably among my top past antagonists purely for the super interesting personality and the purely pragmatic outlook to life and business.

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carriagelamp · 4 days ago

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Guys. The February Doldrums have been hitting me hard. I have been hanging on by my fingernails. I am so desperate for spring...

Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch // The Wee Free Men // Hat Full of Sky // Wintersmith

I got Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch as a gift last Christmas but just now finally got around to reading it. I’m always a sucker for “in-universe guides”, especially guides where the characters are writing silly little margin notes and this was a delightful example of that. Really genuinely brought me joy. This probably doesn’t really deserve a queer marker but then I was given an entire section on Geoffrey, officially confirmed to be a he/they witch, and like. My heart. Thank you Rhianna Pratchett. I owe you my heart and happiness in this moment. She saw people trying to claim her father would be transphobic and beating them over the head with this

And then after reading that I naturally had to go back and reread Wee Free Men which meant I had to reread Hat Full of Sky because I wanted to read about the other apprentice witches and then I had to reread Wintersmith because I loved Miss Treason’s plot… currently working my way through I Shall Wear Midnight.

Though tbh I don't know why they messed around with the original cover art for these books. Discworld books are often a bit of a miss for me with cover art but man the original art of the Feegles? Absolutely peak for the series in general imho but it's surprisingly hard to find large versions of them in a standard google image search

Baba Yaga’s Assistant

A fun little graphic novel about a girl who is dissatisfied with her father’s new wife and her new sister-in-law and decides to run away to become Baba Yaga’s assistant. I’m always a sucker for Baba Yaga stories, and this one gives it a fun twist while still getting to be tricksy and cunning and little dark.

Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish v3

Li Yu continues to do his best to help (and romance!!) his prince as best he can as a fish with the occasional chance to turn into a human! He is trying to be so sneaky and not freak Prince Jing out by making him think he's a yao or something! Prince Jing is trying to very respectfully not show that he is totally aware of what's going on and would also really like to be seduced by his fish yao please and thank you. They begin to sort some things out in this volume which is an exciting development!

(Wasn’t prepared for the fish-based mpreg! That was a fun shock in an actual published novel! But you know what, I still am loving this series and I love their little fish babies who are suffering, SUFFERING over needing to adapt to being human, and I can’t wait for book 4. This anticipation is one of the few things getting me through February...)

The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decade Before Roe v. Wade

A nonfiction account of girls and women who experienced unwanted/unplanned pregnancies Roe v. Wade and who were sent away to homes to have their children and surrender them to adoption. I’ve heard stories about children were were adopted before, but this is my first time really reading about the mothers’ side of things. This entire book is made primarily out of interviews, and it was very interesting, really highlighting the trauma involved. These women were often given little to know sexual education, and forced into positions where they really felt they had no choice but to surrender their child. The book got a little long in the tooth and felt repetitive after a while, but I’m glad to have read it.

Lackadaisy v1

This is a comic series I’ve been meaning to read forever, the art is absolutely stunning! Set during the American Prohibition, the stories follows a group of characters all connected to / employed by the Lackadaisy speakeasy and their bumbling efforts to keep the floundering business open and running. The violence place cheerifully on the fluctuating line of Looney Tunes slapstick and oh-yikes-there-are-actual-repercussions-here. Looking forward to reading volume 2.

My Boyfriend is a Dog v1

This one I picked up on impulse and was rather disappointed in. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. This was very… meh. It was Fine. Little slice-of-life comedy sketches. It’s charming enough, but had basically no substance.

My Dress-Up Darling v 5, 6, 7

I’m no longer buying volumes of this, but I have kept reading it through my libby account and My Dress-Up Darling continues to be charming. It’s about two classmates, Marin and Wakana, who have become friends over a mutual interest in creating cosplay costumes (Marin’s interest coming from a passionate love for the characters and a desire to dress up, and Wakana’s coming from an interest in costume creation) and it’s fun to see both the costume creation, technical side of things as well as how their silly relationship is slowly growing closer and closer. It sometimes comes across as rather stagnant and meh, but sometimes really managing to reach some delightful peaks.

Scum Villain Self-Saving System v1

But CarriageLamp, I hear you say, didn’t you just finish reading this series? Like didn't you read the final book in November? Didn’t you read this actual book less than a year ago? To which I say, what are you a cop??

February has been. such a February. I need this.

Anyway, yes, I have reread the first book of Scum Villain because I, much like Shen Qingqiu, am very stressed and desperately needed cute, fluffy, white lotus Binghe to feel better...

The Times I Knew I Was Gay

A graphic novel autobiography of the author coming to terms with her sexuality and gradually coming out. It was well-done and authentic, I appreciated both the art and the humour in it, though it also didn’t really stick with me in any meaningful way. I was glad to have read it, and I’m sure to some people it would be a very impactful read, but I mostly just found it a reasonably enjoyable comic to have checked out of the library and now that I’ve returned it I don’t have much to say about it.

#book review #terry pratchett #discworld #tiffany aching #svsss #mxtx #disabled tyrant's beloved pet fish #dtbpf #my dress up darling #lackadaisy #rhianna pratchett #baba yaga #canadian #canlit #queer lit #chatter

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hopevalley · 4 years ago

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Season 8, Episode 7: Before My Very Eyes

This episode sure was a rollercoaster, wasn’t it?

Let’s dive right on in. :)

Plotlines:

The Love Triangle & Allie’s Adoption

Ned & The Canfields

Christopher’s Performance

Clara and Jesse

I guess you could say the plotlines were better written together/integrated in this episode than in previous ones. There’s a lot going on but most of the filming and plots just...rolled together?

For example, the saloon as the “gathering place” where multiple plot points take place simultaneously was really cool IMO. It helps the town feel livelier.

The Love Triangle & Allie’s Adoption

The love triangle is...an enigma. I’m probably in the minority of not really being that invested in who Elizabeth ends up with, but I doubt I’m in the minority regarding my general feelings on the love triangle: I want it to end.

I think we’re at a point where it’s just super frustrating for everyone involved, and we’re stretching the limits of suspension of disbelief when it comes to the audience.

I don’t think we’d be as harsh on the triangle if we had double the episodes a season. We get a whopping 12 this season, more than we’ve gotten in a long time, so space is limited, and time is limited, and we know she’ll reach a decision toward the end of this season, so there’s that...I don’t know...pressure I guess, on the characters and the episodes to showcase things in a manner that feels natural and moves well.

For what it’s worth I’m fine with Elizabeth’s turtle-pace, but with only 6 episodes left (5 after this episode aired), knowing she’ll pick someone soon (and it will probably be Nathan)... It makes it really difficult to stomach the Lucas scenes—not because I don’t want to see her with Lucas if she won’t end up with him, but because I feel really bad for Lucas!

Especially with the intense fourth-wall-breaking level of awareness Lucas seems to have regarding the situation. Yes, I’m talking about the line he quoted.

“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not.”

That’s only half the quote. This is the full quote:

“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.”

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sure, it’s applied to Henry, but it seems almost...too knowledgeable to me?

So, the quote is from the novel Hyperion: A Romance, published in 1839. Longfellow’s wife Mary died in 1836 after a miscarriage. Overwhelmed by grief Longfellow took trips to Europe and spent seven years trying to woo Frances Appleton. She eventually agreed to marry him.

Hyperion was inspired by this. Paul is the main character. He travels through Germany after the death of a friend, and falls in love with an Englishwoman named Mary Ashburton. She rejects him.

To say this was a thinly-veiled autobiography of sorts is, uh, an understatement. To have Lucas quoting it in When Calls the Heart feels...odd. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was an omen of sorts, but...we can’t forget Lucas’s parents’ history: his mother refused to marry his father for years, just like Frances refused to marry Longfellow.

It’s not a bad quote or anything...it’s just...frustratingly on the nose.

I did appreciate Elizabeth’s admission of not wanting to be one of Lucas’s “secret sorrows.” They’re courting publicly anyway, everyone knows it. It’s time for them to be a little more open about it, at least in little ways. Him squeezing her hand on the saloon table shouldn’t be a big deal at this point.

If this was the storyline we were getting for Elizabeth (her slowly working her way toward something with Lucas) I’d be happy with it. I’m still Team Nathan but I like Lucas a lot this season and would be content with a storyline for him.

THE THING IS...I don’t think that is going to happen, and it makes me feel terrible to see him getting strung along like this. Elizabeth doesn’t come off as “has feelings for Lucas and is just nervous about showcasing it” for multiple reasons. First, she was very PDA-like with Jack, and secondly, that’s just...not how the scenes seem to be written. You can assume her reasoning but she never once is the one initiating and then backing off. He always initiates. She always backs off. It’s unbalanced and makes me feel bad for Lucas.

I really hope we get to sit inside his head a bit longer/more seriously at some point. Maybe he’s aware of her feelings for Nathan and is willing to try anyway because he believes that to some extent love is a choice? That would be really interesting tbh.

As it is, I just feel sorry for Lucas. Not that I think Elizabeth wouldn’t have hangups with Nathan, too, but I just feel like Elizabeth’s hangups with Nathan are more fear of what she is feeling/fear of what could happen to him in the future/fear of her heart being broken again, whereas with Lucas it’s almost like she’s not feeling it and trying to force that kind of affection with him makes her feel weird/gross/bad.

I definitely think she has a good friendship base with Lucas, but if the feelings aren’t there, they aren’t there.

Sorry, my thoughts are muddled. There wasn’t a lot going on with the triangle in this episode in terms of...triangley things. I just wish Elizabeth would choose so that the plotline could go away. I’m tired of seeing people strung along.

Nathan was pretty good in this episode. I appreciated his talk with Allie a lot; choosing to be kind and want good things for someone you like is a good example to set. I feel like in the café Allie’s dialogue about Elizabeth smiling at him was off; she probably should have said something more like, “If she doesn’t like you like that, then why does she smile at you that way?” might have sounded better. (He could have said “what way?” and she could have batted her eyes at him lmao.) Allie already knows Elizabeth is courting Lucas...and if we’re to believe the smile directed at Nathan is what tips Allie’s invite consideration to her adoption ceremony, then that would have been a better way to approach it (instead of “Did you see the way she smiled at you?!”).

I really loved that Lucas got Nathan and Allie a little gift. Honestly I just want Lucas and Nathan to be friends or something because the actors have good chemistry together and there’s a shortage of good male friendships in the show that feel Good. I wonder if we’ll find out what the gift was at any point?

The end with Allie only inviting Elizabeth to the ceremony was hilarious. I wanted to actually see the ceremony (because Nathan promising not to leave her was SUCH a good line, I almost got emotional over that and I wanted to see it put into play again) but the imagery it left us with (it looks like a wedding...) was clear enough haha.

Poor Bill, stuck in the middle of that.

Speaking of Bill, the adoption being “on him” was really sweet. And then of course Bill can’t keep the moment tender because he’s always so Uncomfortable with Feelings, but it’s still very sweet.

Ned & The Canfields

I don’t have a whole lot to say here, but I really appreciated this storyline. It wasn’t the best-written surgery-medical-wise, but it felt heartfelt and that’s what matters.

Florence running around trying to do everything herself while also stressing out about Ned really felt...real. And then of course Rosemary getting appointed to the phones and gossiping forever...hahah.

I’m glad I saw the writing on the wall with Joseph; of course he’s a former pastor! I really am intrigued by what his “plans” are that are not church-related. I like that they tried not to make him exactly like Frank, but boy what I wouldn’t give to see them both pastoring in Hope Valley. Then Joseph could pursue his dream while also pastoring a bit, and so could Frank. It’d be nice, and they’d probably get along swell.

Seeing more faith/prayer in the show has been great. Also, Joseph and Minnie are so cute together... I adore them.

Christopher’s Performance

And here we are, talking about the man of the hour... Christopher. Henry’s “secret sorrow” or the product of Henry’s secret sorrow? It almost makes me think he got over Nora with Christopher’s mother and she cut off ties with him and married Jerry the banker.

Henry’s opinion of Jerry is obviously not great, but he’s respectful enough to not talk badly about him. It makes me wonder if Jerry is a worse man than Henry is, though. Maybe so? I wonder if we’ll get more information about it.

They really did a good casting job with Christopher; he manages to look similar enough to Henry and kind of...mimic his way of smiling and movement that’s almost uncanny.

Of course...as Rosemary says, she knows a performance when she sees one.

I’m wondering if Bill feels similarly...

But boy do we know how Lucas feels! Lee tells Lucas that his pocketwatch has been missing “about a week now.”

Lucas confronts Christopher and instead of Christopher being like, “Oh no! I’ll keep my eyes open in case he dropped it somewhere or maybe the chain broke!” he’s really sarcastic about it?

He then tries for the second time to control Lucas (treats him like...he can order him around/bully him) by asking if Lucas found him a bigger room yet. This dude has a serious ego. The sound of Lucas intentionally shutting the door after this was delicious, though.

“If I find that you’re picking pockets, I don’t care who you are or why you’re here. You’ll be on the next stage out of town.”

Christopher just...almost smiles and stands up. “I didn’t steal any watch.”

Lucas says, “And I should believe you?”

Christopher responds with, “That’s your choice.”

Lucas leaves, and then Christopher pulls the watch out of his pocket.

He seems to feel a little guilty when he reads the inscription...but still. He’s so skeevy.

And then he takes the flowers Jesse drops off the ground...to give to...Rachel... Honey, you got a big storm comin’... She knows he’s bad news but I guess she’s into it. Yikes.

And then we have the scene where Mike comes to Henry with a great idea he has, and is interrupted by the arrival of Christopher. Henry tells him he wants him to teach Christopher everything he knows. Mike’s enthusiasm dries up right away.

I think Mike also realizes Christopher is bad news.

And Henry’s just so excited to be “looked up to” and “seen as a father of sorts” that he can’t see what’s right in front of him. Normally he’d be attuned to bullshit just as clearly as Bill and Rosemary and the rest, but...his bias is in the way. He wants to fix his past so bad he doesn’t realize it might not be worth it...

I hope Mike keeps his idea to himself but I have a super bad awful feeling he’ll admit it to Christopher and then Christopher will pitch it to Henry as his own idea. I feel sick just thinking of it!

Clara and Jesse

Clara and Jesse were starting to repair things juuust every so slightly and then he gets mad that she’s shortening her skirt and...it all goes to hell.

It’s not that I don’t love a little drama but this is just...I don’t know. Maybe too much? I liked Clara’s discussion with Joseph because he tells her the honest truth (and he’s full of advice, for better or worse, just like me HAHA): you can’t repair your marriage if you’re not around one another to even begin to heal the wounds/talk about things.

I’m not very invested in these two as characters these days, and I’m not sure what would fix it, but this spat being dragged out for ages ain’t it right now. I’m keeping an open mind, though; it could go somewhere interesting...and at least it didn’t get resolved in one episode.

Also, I appreciated Clara venting to Bill in that “I still care about him very much way” while Bill tries (somewhat awkwardly) to support her choice(s). He’s in a bit of a tough spot; he can’t offer advice freely because not many people are going to take marriage advice from a divorced man who didn’t marry for love in the first place anyway. It’s just good to see him trying to act supportive for Clara.

Other thoughts:

I see we’re getting more of the plotline where Bill has to give up his uniform, but he actually made a really good point in this episode about that. He did earn it! And then insult to injury...trying to make him give up his horse, too?

It’s cute that his horse’s name is Hero; I feel like that was stated much earlier in the show (maybe S3 or S4?) but I’d forgotten it, tbh. How wholesome.

“Am I being prideful?” I think this was a good question for Bill to ask, and honestly it probably took a bit of courage for him to even ask Lee about it/admit that maybe he was being a bit prideful. But like, it’s okay to take pride in your work/the work you’ve done. He did earn all of it and it’s not really fair to ask for him to give it all up. The jacket is one thing (it’s a physical item; yes it shows all the hard work he put in but it’s just an object), but the horse? That’s an emotional bond and it’s rather cruel to break it.

Lee excited to try on the jacket was literally the cutest thing, and I loved that Bill folded and let him try it on. Honestly? Lee looked pretty good in it!

That scene was the definition of BOYS WILL BE BOYS, hahaha.

Also, Elizabeth’s line: “Haven’t you ever lost someone so close to your heart that it tears you apart?” was SO CRINGEY. I don’t know how that made it into the finished episode. Please, writers... read this shit aloud before you film the show. READ ALL YOUR WRITING ALOUD TO HEAR THE CADANCE. I’m literally begging you.

But also, the whole concept is still cringe. You don’t know Dylan, Elizabeth. You didn’t know Colleen. You don’t know if he loved Colleen or not. You don’t know why he ran out on Allie. You’re projecting? Maybe? But even if he did fall to pieces over Colleen’s death, that was no reason to hurt poor Allie who had nothing to do with it and did nothing wrong.

They should have edited the line to say something slightly different. “Tears you to pieces” would have sufficed. And not rhymed on accident.

Last thing for now...the lack of Carson and Faith in this episode was amazing. I know the surgery with Ned will push Carson to either take the fellowship and return to Hope Valley to be of more use there and/or push him to just stay where he is because there’s no one else in the area with his skill level.

I think I’ll be happy with it if he becomes an area surgeon more than a regular doctor... it would help him and Faith both feel necessary for different reasons. And also, he was a surgeon when he arrived in Hope Valley in S4, so it’s clearly his strongest point (and best training/experience).

So uh, how ‘bout that preview for next episode, though? WHOA.

Hopefully this isn’t too scattered; work has gotten a lot busier since the weather got nicer, so I have less time to write without interruption lmao.

#when calls the heart #season 8 spoilers #season 8 shenanigans #analysis and meta discussion #character studies and information

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yeahhiyellow · 4 years ago

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First Lines Meme

List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

Thank you so much @emiliaf25 for tagging me!!! I've seen a lot of fun writing tag games going around, but I haven't been tagged in any before now. This is probably due to the fact that while I write a lot, I don't publish most of my stories so like no one knows lol. I tried to put these in chronological order from newest to oldest, but they're not perfect, as I do not keep accurate time of when I write things (and probably should). Anyway, here are mine:

1. Blasting heavy metal so I can't think

"Heavy Metal": Detroit: Become Human (This one is in the form of a poem, so that's why it's a bit weird.)

2. Markus's head popped out of the last bedroom.

"Family": Detroit: Become Human (I still have to finish this one and publish it so I can't provide a link... yet)

3. I know I'm not enough.

"Enough": Detroit: Become Human (listen this is one of the angsty ones I never published so uhhhh)

4. CHRIS: Hank! Connor! What are you two doing here?

Unnamed: Detroit: Become Human (This one is formatted as a script soooo... yeah. It's also another one I am working on and have not and probably won't publish)

5. Crowley stood by the side of the road, his arms tightly coiled around his waist.

"Alone": Good Omens (aaaaand another really angsty one I never published, I have problems)

6. "What's wrong, angel?"

"It Started in 1957": Good Omens (currently not finished and has not been worked on for over half a year... probably should get on that at some point)

7. Every dystopian novel ever has some random teenage girl save the world. Unfortunately for the world, I don't think I can do that.

This was just an original story I started back in January that I wrote like a page of and never finished because I had way too many wips. Figured I'd put it in here anyway though

8. Finally, after 17 years of work, I had made it to the most prestigious school humanity had ever created.

This is another original story, however one that I have actually worked on for more than a page lol

9. RENATA: Oh, shit. This can't be good.

Function (Free Will): original. I have been working on this story for nearly 2 years now, and I'm still nowhere even close to done. It's formatted like a script and also has the same type of rpg choice-based storytelling as Detroit: Become Human. Add to that the fact that this story is meant to critique our current political and social society, systems, and structure and touches on a variety of incredibly heavy topics, and you have the recipe for writing a story that feels like it just. Never. Ends.

10. Demons aren't supposed to feel love.

"I Love You Too": Good Omens (I wrote this one a whiiiillleeee ago, as to why it's down here on the list. I only published it a few days ago, though, a little after I first saw you tagged me in this. So thanks for finally motivating me to do it lol)

11. "You obey or he's dead."

"Exit": Detroit: Become Human

12. "Come closer. Don't be scared."

"First Kiss - The Traci's - DBH Rare Pairs Week": Detroit: Become Human

13. If I broke that shotglass, I bet it could hurt me.

"Help": Detroit: Become Human (Essentially, I published this one on Tumblr and then proceeded to take it down later the same day. It was another angsty one.)

14. "Shut up, dipshit."

"Expectations: Shut Up, Dipshit": Detroit: Become Human (This one was actually from a zine I took part in that fell apart before anything could really happen. I never finished it, so I probably won't publish it, but I guess if I finished it I could. Will that happen, however? I doubt it.)

15. "You're back."

"Hannor Week: Living Deviant Prologue Compilation": Detroit: Become Human (*sighs* Now we're getting into the old stuff. Hang on, for I have no idea what atrocities lie ahead. Or behind?)

16. System Instability. Deviancy Detected. Contact Cyberlife for a inexpensive replacement, only $2000 with your warranty!

"Living Deviant": Detroit: Become Human (I wrote this story years ago and as a result it is so cringeworthy and has so many grammar mistakes I hate to even link it so I'm not going to lol)

17. "I'm just so glad we're alive, personally."

"Who I Thought I Was": Detroit: Become Human (Surprisingly, this one isn't actually too bad. I mean, it's definitely not good, but I don't facepalm and curl up into a ball when reading it, so that has to be a good sign.)

18. I heard a gunshot from around the corner.

"Dbh Revolution Week ~ November 13 ~ Connor, Hank, and Sumo": Detroit: Become Human

19. RK900 visibly shook as he looked into the mirror.

"Scarred": Detroit: Become Human (Another one that I never published, surprise, surprise. Given how old this one is and subsequently how bad and also utterly angsty it is, I don't think I'll be publishing it unless I, like, rewrite the whole thing, so.)

20. LAUREN: 8:51, hmm? I've already been here for 11 minutes, and no one else has shown up.

"Choices": a horrible original romantic comedy I wrote as a script 5 years ago. Tbh the idea wasn't even that bad, it was the execution of it that just... really sucked. So it's a good thing we're stopping here, as if I went any farther back in my writing history, I think I might just cringe myself to death.

---

Woo, thank god we're done with that! XD In all seriousness though, this was quite a bit of fun and got me to revisit pieces I hadn't seen in years. Thank you again for the tag!!! :DDDD

Now for which one is my favorite... there are some that are definitely good, and others that are definitely bad. I like numbers 2 (cute opening line for a fluffy fic), 5 (wordplay with "coiled" and Crowley being a snake), 7 (twisting of an expected trope), 8 (brings in scifi element and introduces the character's personality while hooking the reader in), 9 (set up for the tone of the rest of the chapter and immediately introduces tension), 11 (same as previous), and 12 (also attention-grabbing), so we'll just let those make up for whatever atrocities 16 (horrible imitation of corporate writing), 20 (just plain boring), and the attempt of 18 (I had the right idea of it being a hook, the execution however was horrific) were. I start a lot of my pieces with dialogue, or at least I used to. I became aware of that within the past year and tried to work on introducing stories in other ways, which I think I've done a pretty good job on. If I had to pick a favorite, I'd probably go with 7. I just really like the subversion of expectations that you get right away from it. It announces the trope loud and clear, but plays with it instead of following it.

While I'd love to tag lots of other writers, I unfortunately don't know many at all (listen I would love to read more fics but also tiiimmmeee). I'll just tag @konami-code-ao3 for now. However, if you see this and want to hop in, feel free!

#yay it's another tag gameeeee #tag game #dbh #good omens #writing

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writing-wolf · 5 years ago

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I did it; I watched and read After by Anna Todd

Alright, I’m going on a rant, kinda.

I’m very single, very touch-starved and quarantine makes me pick up on my guilty pleasures: reading/watching crappy romance. So far I’ve read like 4 bad romance books besides the After series, and I’m thriving. We love a cheesy, cliché romance at 2 am, yes we do.

I read the whole series before watching the movie, and I’m kinda glad I did. The movie was, surprisingly, somewhat better than the books and I’ll tell you why.

The books were pretty much garbage. Like, I’m not talking about the garbage that romance books made for young adult women with a fantasy usually are (although I secretly kinda like em), I’m talking Wattpad Y/N garbage. I know that’s to be expected because it is a Harry Styles fanfic, buuut a part of me hoped that with it being published as a real book, the ignorant, horrible parts would be cut out. Yeah, nope.

Spoiler Alert: I’m going to discuss the story under the cut.

First book was kinda bad, pretty dramatic, but like, it was your kind of mindless ‘bad boy’ story. Red flags were starting to show in the relationship (they keep fighting, Hardin’s pretty much a horrible jealous jerk when he’s drunk, and kind of when he’s sober tbh), which kind of made me a bit unhappy. You can’t start off an entire series when it already seems like the main couple is toxic as all hell. The cute parts get overshadowed by the fighting and lies, secrets, violence, double standards, etc. The bet was disgusting and I just couldn’t get behind Hardin.

At this point, I’m kind of invested in the story though, and I want to see how the hell Hardin’s going to get back with Tessa (because of course they get back together) after this virginity bet, and I read After We Collided. It’s starts off with this Zed guy, and we see the whole aftermath of the bet, with Tessa swearing she’s over it before seamlessly transitioning back into this ‘non-relationship but actually pretty much a relationship’ (this will be an ongoing theme in the next books) when Hardin’s mum shows up. They get back together over a bracelet and some other stuff. Blah blah, book’s kind of forgettable at this point. Hardin’s a selfish dick who doesn’t want to marry, have kids or move to Seattle with his girlfriend, whilst she’s just doing really hurtful things to spite him and hanging out with a couple of random dudes. Somehow she catches feelings (only a lil, because we know she only loves Hardin) for Zed, which is incredibly illogical. But the latest thing we can hope for is character development. The cute moments are actually cute, and they give me feels, but then 5 pages later they’re fighting again, so idk why I even bother. At the end of the book, somehow Hardin gets a tattoo for Tessa, and they meet her estranged, alcoholic dad. Cliffhanger....I guess?

After We Fell is the longest book in the series and OH MY DAYS, IT’S HOT GARBAGE. I couldn’t wait for this book to be over. There’s Hardin asking her to marry him so she doesn’t go to Seattle (he’s drunk, surprise?). Well, shit gets weird, because Hardin, Tessa and Hardin’s family go to Seattle for the weekend or smth. There’s a lesbian couple that has to represent Hardin and Tessa, but better, and that was decently well-done. They have sex, she drinks underage again, he tried to get sober but fails because every time they break up it’s the same story: he drinks and trashes the place, she cries and hates his arse, vows to stay away, they get back together and he promises to do better. And then it starts again. Dysfunctional as shit, basically. There’s huge signs of a toxic, unhealthy, possessive relationship between both of them.

Hardin sabotages Tessa’s move to Seattle, she looks through his phone (something she’s done before). For the first time though, I end up disliking Hardin a little less than Tessa, because I kind of understand his point? The whole dysfunctional family thing did a part on him, and I get it. She’s also pretty toxic, pointing out his insecurities and being self-centred and wants him to change so badly. I just. By the end of this book, I maybe want them to end up together? Not really, because they’re almost (or maybe even actually) emotionally abusive to each other. But when they get their shit together, I’d like them to have a good, romance novel fuelled love story. Anyways, it was shit.

Last one, After Ever Happy (I didn’t read Before because I was tired of this shit and I don’t massively care). Starts off with this whole thing at Hardin’s mum’s wedding and whatever. He ends up leaving her and stays in London so she can return to Washington alone and he can get high with his ‘delinquent’ buddies from back in the day. She finds her father, overdosed, in their old apartment and that’s what it takes for him to come back to her. I know. Horseshit and I still hate them. He somehow tries to fix all of this, Zed’s a manipulative asshole, Hardin asks her to marry him but Tessa’s depressed, grieving and really not ready to get back into this tumultuous relationship (and honey, I really don’t blame you). I ended up liking this book the most because it felt human. It felt like Tessa was finally growing up and making choices that wouldn’t restart the fucking cycle again. She still drank too much, but I like the change when she left for NY. At that point, I could say I liked the story. Hardin changed a lot and became a capable man/boyfriend. They end up not dating until years later, and I have to say, good for them. Neither of them were ready for a relationship, so I think it was nice that they got the time apart to live first. Epilogue was wayy too rushes and kind of meh, but I was glad it was over.

The reason I liked the movie was because it was mindless romance and not despite, but because it was so different from the book. Not nearly as toxic and just a lot more calm. Sure, it wasn’t amazing cinema, but it was cute, and the actors weren’t that bad. The main couple looked mad cute together too. The bet got changed and you could see that Anna Todd had made decisions in her book that she probably regretted and tried to rectify. And it was decent. I’m glad Hardin isn’t as horrible, and I’m glad that it seems like they’re in a relationship I could root for, however bad it started. Because that’s romance. Encouraging the audience to love the couple is so important, and the books just forgot about that imo. I still don’t love the series, but I’d be lying if I wouldn’t watch the rest. As a break from good, meaningful cinema and literature, the movies will do just fine.

#after movie #after #hero fiennes tiffin #josephine langford #hardin scott #hardin #tessa #hessa #anti after #anna todd #wattpad

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atamascolily · 5 years ago

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The cover of Junior Jedi Knights #5: Vader's Fortress by Rebecca Moesta features Anakin and Artoo dodging blaster fire while Tahiri does a bad-ass leap and Darth Vader looms in the background. So I guess this next field trip is to wherever the hell Vader's fortress is located... and given that this book was published in 1997, I'm pretty sure it isn't Mustafar.

Readers, I squealed with delight when I realized they were actually going to Bast Castle on Vjun.

[cut for length and discussion of Dark Empire]

Vjun's first appearance was in Dark Empire, but it's the main setting for Sean Stewart's Clone War-era novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (2004), which happens to be one of the best Legends books ever. Period. Drop everything and go read it now. Stewart's Vjun is a Dark side Gothic horror wonderland full of crumbling castles, crazed nobility, and flesh-eating moss. I love it, and you will, too.

Vjun also appears in various video games, with no less than Kyle Katarn describing it as "a big, dead, important rock". High praise, indeed.

Oh, and if you're curious, Wookiepeedia says Vjun is "pronounced as "VAH-JUHN" in Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, but in Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, it is pronounced as "VUHN"".... so anything goes, really.

Anyway, so having dealt with his heritage by going to Dagobah in the last book, the logical next step is for Anakin to actually go and visit Vader's castle in person. You know, exposure therapy. Right?

Okay, let's see what the text says.

Anakin, Tahiri and Uldir are hanging out on the landing pad on Yavin IV waiting for Tionne to show up. Tahiri loves Tionne so much, she doesn't mind waiting around, and she wishes she could have gone with Tionne on this latest trip to Borgo Prime and I just... I love their relationship, okay?

Tionne has a new ship - the Lore Seeker! Anakin uses the Force to determine it's in great shape despite its odd appearance. (It has sails to harness solar wind, lol!)

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” the Jedi instructor said with a smile. “I thought so, too. But because the ship was so old, I was able to buy it from a Randoni trader for a song.”

“How much did you really pay?” Uldir asked.

Tionne shrugged.

“Just a song. Really. While I was looking for Jedi legends, I came across an ancient song that told about the very firstRan - doni merchants and the vaults where they hid their wealth. The trader was so interested that she offered me the Lore Seeker in exchange for the song. Now come help me unload my cargo, and I’ll show you some of my other treasures.”

DID I MENTION I LOVE HER???

Also, Tionne got some other stuff, too:

“You may carry this Twi’lek story-chain, Tahiri-each link tells a different part of a story. Please be very careful with it. Uldir, here is a holodisk. It holds a recording of some very old Jedi songs. Anakin, would you please carry this scroll? I’ll take the tapestry.”’

AHHHHHH, I LOVE THIS.

But Tionne found out something else important "in an old fortress on a planet called Vjun" and this is where I started SCREAMING because I know exactly where this is going and this is such a great set-up - especially since none of the kids have a clue.

Of course, they want to go, and Tionne's trying to be diplomatic about it.

“Does anyone live in the fortress?” Anakin asked.

Tionne shook her head.

“Not anymore.”

“Well, if it’s really that important, don’t you think you ought to go find it?” Tahiri said. “And don’t forget that you promised to take me with you this time.”

“I’d like to go along, too,” Anakin added.

“Yeah, it sounds like fun,” Uldir said.

Tionne frowned.

“I’m not sure Master Skywalker will approve. It could be a bit dangerous."

LOLOLOLOL, since when has that ever stopped anybody in this series?? But according to Tionne, the danger isn't Sith ghosts or anything like that - it's other people trying to snag a certain treasure first.

And what is this special object? the kids want to know.

Tionne’s face lit with a wondering smile, and she gave a happy sigh.

“It’s Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber!”

ITS A MACGUFFIN! Also, given all of Vader’s issues with Obi-wan, the fact that he kept his old master’s lightsaber in his hidden Gothic Drama Castle is... something. But I digress.

Cut to Luke, being Luke.

Luke Skywalker, dressed in a comfortable black flightsuit, sat on the stone floor in the room where he meditated and did his office work. At the moment, though, Luke was not meditating. Before him in the center of the room stood his barrel-shaped blue and white droid, ArtooDetoo. It was time for Artoo’s routine cleaning. Anakin’s older sister Jaina often helped Luke with this chore, but the Jedi Master didn’t mind doing it himself. He actually found it relaxing. With his tools neatly laid out on the floor and fresh packets of lubricant beside him, Master Skywalker opened ArtooDetoo’s front panels and got to work.

After checking the droid’s numerous electrical connections, Luke added a few gadgets and upgrades Jaina had scrounged up for Artoo: a retractable mirror attachment, a power booster for the comm unit, and a new focusing lens for the hologram projector.

I'm sure NONE of these upgrades will come in handy later on in the book. Nope. Nope. Nope. Move along, nothing to see here, just a boy and his bro-bot.

Ikrit is hanging out on top of Artoo's head during all of this, when there's a knock at the door. Luke asks him to open the door and Ikrit DOES and I don't know why I find this so adorable, but I totally do. More of this, please.

Luke looked up from the packet of slippery lubricant he held in his hand, then smiled when he saw who his visitors were.

“Come in,” he said, “all of you.”

His words seemed to open an invisible dam, because people and noises instantly flooded into his quiet room. Luke laughed as everyone tried to talk to him at once.

“Master Skywalker, I have wonderful news,” Tionne said. “You’ll never guess in a million years,” Tahiri added.

“Can I go with them?” Anakin asked.

“Yeah, me too!” Uldir said.

News of Obi-wan's lightsaber makes Luke have all kinds of Feels (and a handy flashback for those who have forgotten the movies). Luke's like, Oh, yeah, Bast Castle, I've been there before back in Dark Empire when things got weird, and Anakin FREAKS OUT. Tionne's like, huh, maybe that's why my contact said only family had a right to claim the lightsaber then.

Tionne wants Luke to come with her, but Luke is meeting with Leia for pressing NR business, so Anakin volunteers to go as the family rep. I love that Luke looks at Ikrit first, and only says okay when Ikrit nods. Of course Uldir wants to come too, and Luke is about to say no, but Tionne's like "he's just going to stow away, so you might as well and the cargo hold on my ship is too small for him plus our stuff" so Luke caves. DID I MENTION HE'S A SOFTIE?? And with Artoo and Ikrit to help, Luke feels good about it, but again, he insists on the parental permission first.

[Oh, no, I just realized that Luke might not want to go back to Vjun after all the traumatic shit that went down in Dark Empire, and that's ALSO horrifying to contemplate. Like, it's not dangerous anymore, so he's okay with sending Anakin there with supervision, but he might not be eager to re-visit it? MY HEART.]

We skip that scene, though, and jump immediately to everyone in the Lore Seeker, and Tionne teaches them about lightsabers. Nomi Sunrider is namedropped (queen!) but overall lightsabers are reified, and I don't know how I feel about that tbh, even though they are admittedly SUPER COOL LASER SWORDS BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ.

Fortunately, Ikrit's there to say "Not All Jedi," since I am not, which catches Tionne off guard, since she didn't know he was a Jedi master. Tionne is apologetic about treating Ikrit like a pet, but Uldir continues to be a jerk, especially when Ikrit starts sharing his own personal trauma. And then Ikrit declaims about Anakin and Tahiri's powers, but graciously includes Uldir once Uldir pokes him about it.

The skies of Vjun are stormy, so it's a bumpy ride down. They land outside the castle instead of on the landing pad at the top because the weather is so awful. Anakin did his homework, and explains the situation (Dark Empire recap!):

“Did Uncle Luke tell you anything about the fortress itself?” Anakin asked.

“I don’t know much about it.”

“Well, I found out as much as I could before we left. Apparently Vader built Bast Castle as one of his private strongholds; he was a powerful man. After both he and Emperor Palpatine died, some of the Emperor’s followers brought a copy of Palpatine’s body here-a clone. This second Emperor was defeated too. Since then, the fortress has been abandoned, as far as we know.”

“I still don’t get it,” Uldir said to Anakin. “Why would your grandfather choose to build in such a desolate place?”

Oh, you sweet summer child.

They spy another shuttle, and Tahiri is forced to wear shoes again so they can climb up in the rain. It's basically the Stairs of Minas Morgul from LOTR, only the rain is turning to sleet. Artoo hates stairs and Ikrit rescues him when he falls off - but he can hack the door open, so that's good. The hall has a giant, larger-than-life statue of Darth Vader toppled over on the floor, because... drama.

Then the laser fire starts, and everybody ducks for cover. Artoo uses his newly-installed reviewed mirror to deflect the laster bolts, so they can disarm the automatic security system. Tionne steps in with her lightsaber when Artoo gets shot, and she and Ikrit start tossing random objects to block them while the kids race for the control panels and it's epic. The statue explodes and Artoo manages to hack the system right before he powers down.

Uldir clapped one hand down on Anakin’s shoulder. “Not half bad for a kid,” he said.

Quiet, you condescending fuck. Yes, I know, he's like 14, but he's still obnoxious as hell here.

Anyway, they repair Artoo, except he can't climb any more stairs (I'm so confused how he did it earlier, but okay), and they debate whether to split the party. The smart answer is always "No," but they eventually do anyway, because plot. Tahiri's just happy not to wear shoes. You'll be happy to know that the bathrooms still work. This whole thing feels like an RPG dungeon crawl and I'm HERE FOR IT.

Tahiri notices the floor's texture shifts and that turns out to be a clue and I LOVE THIS. There's a secret pit trap full of spkes, and then suddenly they're attacked by monsters. But eventually, the others find them and deduce that they're holograms. Anakin IDs himself to a door and it opens into a secret chamber... and then this happens:

At the same moment, a puff of smoke erupted in the doorway, and a dark-haired man with a neat beard, tawny eyes, and a deep purple cloak stood before them. The man threw back his head and laughed, although Anakin couldn’t see what was so funny.

“The powerful Mage of Exis Station thanks you,” he said. “I would never have found the lightsaber without your help.” He snatched the weapon from Tionne’s hand. “But I’ll take it now.”

Tahiri starts pestering this guy with questions and he is startled enough to admit he's the Mighty Orloc. Tahiri realizes he's a stage magician, but even so, he manages to open a trapdoor, sending Tionne and Ikrit elsewhere. The kids rush him, but there's smoke and when it clears, Orloc has vanished.

Ikrit and Tionne are fine, and they start looking to rejoin the kids, who are searching for them and/or Orloc. Artoo and Uldir take a tunnel while Tahiri and Anakin go up stairs. Everyone keeps tossing the stale Imperial ration bars they picked up earlier to test for traps, and the RP gamer in me approves.

“What’s this?” Tahiri asked, pointing to a raised platform that held a huge tube made of black plasteel. Wires and hoses snaked out from the cylinder in all directions. She ran a hand along its smooth side and found some sort of control panel.

“This looks like the tubes they use to bury dead people in space,” Anakin said.

It's actually Vader's bedroom! They find a little hidden hologram of a young Luke and I just... can't even...

Anakin opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The little hologram of a young Luke Skywalker turned in a slow circle, so that they could see it from every angle.

...Anakin felt a lump form in his throat. “My mom keeps holograms of me and Jacen and Jaina on her desk at work, and Dad has one of me and the twins in the Millennium Falcon. I think Darth Vader was just doing the same thing.”

“So maybe he wasn’t all bad,” Tahiri said in a soft voice.

Anakin starts to feel better about coming to Bast Castle, which is good, because he has Deep-Seated Issues that need to be resolved.

Meanwhile, Uldir sees the lightsaber as a magical talisman that will help him become a Jedi. He abandons Artoo and confronts Orloc, who draws the blade on him. Orloc offers to teach Uldir his powers if he'll come with him. Orloc's looking for the Holocron in Vader's private quarters, and Uldir is tempted, but ultimately turns him down because he realizes Orloc is a fraud.

Anakin and Tahiri find Orloc and Uldir and Tahiri slides down a pole to confront him. Orloc attacks her with the lightsaber. Tionne and Ikrit show up, and Artoo uses a high-frequency blast to distract Orloc long enough for Ikrit to yank the lightsaber with the Force. Orloc disappears, and Uldir mentions the Holocron in Vader's private quarters. So Anakin and Tahiri take them back there.

Tionne's like, let's GTFO, but Uldir suggests they test it, which is a mistake, but Tionne agrees. OF COURSE Orloc comes back and snags it. They chase Orloc through the castle, and there's a lot of trap door shenanigans, but ultimately Artoo helps save the day and they get the holocron back, even though Orloc conveniently escapes.

(Maybe I've been watching too much Scooby-Doo, but I honestly expected Orloc to say "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids and your talking [lagomorph]!" ...maybe in the next book?)

Ikrit suggests they use the ships in the hangar to fly down to the Lore Seeker instead of walking. Anakin suggests Ikrit keeps the ship, since he seems to enjoy piloting, and I don't know how Ikrit is piloting this thing since he's a lagomorph, but it makes him happy, and they all make it back to Yavin in two ships without incident, which means it's time for the inspirational moral!

“It feels good to be back,” he said with a sigh. Tahiri giggled. “That was certainly more of an adventure than I had bargained for.”

Tionne looked at her two students.

“Are you sorry you came with me?”

Anakin shook his head.

“The trip was worth making. I learned some interesting things about Darth Vader.”

“I learned to trust the Force and not just my eyes and ears,” Tahiri said.

“And we did find a lightsaber and a Holocron,” Anakin said.

“And a new ship for Ikrit,” Tahiri added. “So I think we’re glad we came along, but it may be a while before we go looking for adventures again.”

HAHAHAHA, right, kids. You just keep thinking that.

Ikrit names his ship the Sunrider after Nomi Sunrider, because he, too, stans a legend. Anakin and Tahiri ask if they can take the turbolift up to the Great Temple when Luke starts walking up the outside stairs, and Luke has NO IDEA WHY THEY HATE STAIRS, and... on that note, the book ends, with Luke being VERY confused. [I like that Moesta remembers the Great Temple has outside stairs, but... THE LAYOUT STILL MAKES NO SENSE!!!]

So, I don't know how to feel about this book. PROS: I love the character details with Luke, Ikrit, Tionne and Tahiri, and I like how all of the adults continue to be responsible while still allowing opportunities for the children to be competent and show initiative. It's great to see Bast Castle, and the whole thing has the feel of a classic RPG dungeon crawl. Yay for Artoo saving the day ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, lol.

CONS: Uldir is annoying, and I wish he'd stop being such a jerk. None of the characters have ever played RPGs and it shows in their lack of genre-savvy. And I guess we'll see Orloc again in the next book, because... it feels like there wasn't much resolution of that particular plot in this book... no resolution to who Orloc actually is, or what or why. I feel like this book is part one of a two-episode plot, and I wasn't expecting that, but okay.

It's unclear if Obi-wan's lightsaber has any further plot significance or if it's just a macguffin. Ditto the holocron. But given the next book is Kenobi's Blade, I suspect Orloc's going to try and snag both, and Uldir is going to have a Not-So-Secret Test of Character about it. (To be fair, he passed the one in this book, so he's not all bad, but he's so obnoxious, it's challenging for me to give him credit where it's due.)

This book also kinda sorta falls into the "Jedi lightsaber fetish" trope, which I hate. Don't get me wrong, I love the laser swords and they are freaking awesome, but I hate how everybody latches onto "Jedi = laser sword" business as a symbol of identity. I know, I know, Star Wars is really ambivalent about whether the Jedi are Space!Samurai or Space!Monks, and I just... lean more towards the latter than the former, I guess?? But like I said, the lightsaber is more of a macguffin here, and Ikrit at least lampshades the issue a little bit, so I feel better about it.

Also, it just occurred to me it's unclear whether Tahiri hates shoes, sand, or stairs more, lol.

#star wars legends #junior jedi knights #book reviews #darth vader gothic drama castle

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inthroughthesunroof · 5 years ago

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The Bounds of Reason

So I finally got the next Witcher book from the library!

Or rather, I got the second collection of short stories, The Sword of Destiny. The reading order for the Witcher books is two collections of short stories and then into a series of novels. I accidentally got them out of order from the library, so I’ve already read the first of the full-length novels and I’m now backtracking.

Anyway, the first short story in this book is The Bounds of Reason, which is the one that Episode 6 of the Netflix show is based on. It’s the one with dragons.

I’d noted that there was a definite jump in the writing quality between The Last Wish and The Blood of Elves. The Last Wish was the author’s first published book, and like most first-time authors he smooths off the rough edges as he goes. This one definitely feels like it belongs right between those two, in terms of writing quality and story format. The stories in this one are longer than the first one, more like novella length. And the first of the “novels” still felt very episodic. So it’s fun to watch that develop.

Everyone’s still really prone to making speeches, though, which honestly I tend to start skimming pretty quickly. Even Geralt, who is canonically taciturn. I’m not sure how much of this is the author’s style and how much is due to translation, but everyone talks like the most formal bits of Lord of the Rings. Which is pretty darn formal, and sits oddly when characters are swearing at each other in complete paragraphs.

Minor gripe, though.

Discussion of this particular story after the cut!

So the Netflix show didn’t follow this one closely, unlike many of the others. Which is fine, I enjoyed both versions. The book version is probably much too long for a TV episode. They end up making mostly the same points in the end.

Tea and Vea are really, REALLY sexualized, which I read as a parody and I’m 85% sure the author meant as a parody too. I’m glad that the show decided to skip that, but I was delighted that the “he is the most beautiful” line is word for word.

This author definitely has a thing for sex in hot tubs. (Or the medieval equivalent thereof.) @fthgurdy pointed out that he was writing in the 1990s post-soviet Poland where hot tubs were the height of decadence, so, fair. :-D

As usual, the story is discussing what constitutes a monster. This one starts to get meta about it too. One government flunky complains to Geralt:

I’ve heard that it has recently become tiresome to negotiate with you witchers. The thing is that, whenever a witcher is shown a monster to be killed, the witcher, rather than take his sword and slaughter it, beings to ponder whether it is right, whether it is transgressing the limits of what is possible, whether it is not contrary to the code and whether the monster really is a monster, as though it wasn’t clear at first glance.

So that made me snicker.

One thing I didn’t enjoy is that some of the characters dislike Yennefer and basically sexually harass her through the entire story. I get it, they’re supposed to be sexist assholes, but is there really a point to making me read about it every five pages? Towards the end of the story they sexually assault her, and the book plays it off lightly. (Jaskier says he’s going to write a ballad about her tits.) Could definitely have done without that. Yennefer’s reaction is fury, rather than embarrassment or shame, which does make it easier for me to read.

Following that she has a moment of hilarious badassery, which I deeply hope makes it into the Netflix show at some point.

I thought the book did a better job with the end point about the significance of having children than the show did. It also nicely foreshadowed the child surprise, and was more nuanced about Yennefer’s desire to get pregnant.

Yennefer and Geralt go from ‘off again’ back to ‘on again’ in this story. I’m not sure why they started out at odds, but TBH that seems pretty on brand for their relationship. I’m not sure if either of them are sure either.

I rewatched the Netflix show... two weeks ago? (Time means nothing right now.) I’d forgotten a lot more than I realized, especially with Geralt’s wish and how its consequences play out. I’m probably getting things tangled, but it seems like in the books Yennefer is aware of his wish all along and goes back and forth between being good with this and being really annoyed about it? And in the TV show she doesn’t find out until later and it’s much more a straight-up ‘you betrayed me, I will never speak to you again’ thing. In either version, it seems like Geralt’s wish was pretty non-compulsory as such things go, and Yennefer is DEFINITELY capable of walking away any time she pleases. I’m rapidly developing headcanons on this topic and deciding to live in them, partly because the canon is a little hard to follow, partly because my memory is failing, and partly just because I like my version.

Anyway, I enjoyed it and am already diving into the next one!

#sunny reads the witcher #the witcher

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atopearth · 5 years ago

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Pub Encounter Part 1 - Yorihisa Hodo Route

Okay, so I bought this on the Switch since I don’t think I have the guts to play this on Steam for the whole world to see LOLL. (However, apparently I have the guts to publish my thoughts on a blog post for the whole world to see anyway LOL) I’ve always been curious about this game because it features LIs on the older spectrum, maybe a bit too old for others, but I’m cool with it if they’re interesting! Typical start with Shiori going to a random pub and meeting a bunch of random old men who are regulars there. I’m following a guide on Steam, so I’m gonna go for Yorihisa first~ He seems to be the type that’s kinda flirty and open but keeps that as a facade? We shall see~ All the guys didn’t really appeal to me in the prologue haha. But! Yorihisa is Shiori’s favourite author and he’s a literature professor too! He sounds cool! Lol! It’s funny how Ryuunosuke seemed pretty cold initially, but when he started talking about Yorihisa’s books (that he enjoys), he actually smiled quite sweetly haha. Guess he’s the cold on the outside CEO that’s actually really nice type?

Shiori is so cute though. After talking to Yorihisa and them about her favourite book of his, she stayed up all night and read the book again loll. Gotta say, him gently touching her cheek and expressing concern over her dark circles was prettyyyy cute hahaha. It was really heartfelt when Shiori thanked him for writing these books, it really seemed like he appreciated how genuinely she loved his books. Hahaha omg, they’re really planning to play a game to see who falls in love with the other first? Guess Shiori is going to have to try really hard to win and get him to write another romance novel! Lmao when she said she’d turn him into a lovesick little puppy🤣 Honestly, with how bold Yorihisa is by holding her hand, kissing her forehead etc, I can’t find any hope in her winning considering how innocent she is LOL. Initially, it seemed so awkward for Mamoru and Hideaki to help teach her how to grab a guy’s heart, but I think Hideaki was just so cuteeee for hugging her in excitement when she was able to do what they taught her properly haha. LOL, she ended up failing as expected, but him warning her that the way she tried to seduce him felt like an invitation for sex and not “love” was good, she should be a bit more aware of how guys might react if she does all this touching and gazing into their eyes! It’s so normal for someone of his age to have had a wife, but it just completely flew over my head and I didn’t expect him to talk about a late wife who died a few years ago. I was so surprised at how forward Shiori became after seeing how sad he looked thinking about his wife, she literally brought him back home and was ready to give herself to him! I’m glad he didn’t take her up on the offer and only kissed and cuddled her to sleep. It’s pretty crazy how smitten she is with Yorihisa though lol. OMG, I guess I can say the same for Yorihisa, he’s definitely smitten with her, like dang. It was so hot when she asked him how you’re supposed to drink Nikolaschka (his favourite drink), so he got Hideaki to demonstrate that you kinda mix the lemon, coffee and sugar in your mouth and then drink the liquor in the cup in one shot, which sounds very fascinating tbh. But omggg when he asked her if she still wanted to try it, and when she said yes, he literally put the drink in his mouth and then kissed her and gave her the drink that way omggg LOL, I feel sorry for the clueless LI guys watching that on the side hahaha. I guess he was kinda jealous of how Hideaki and them were talking about how they taught Shiori how to seduce a guy and she tried it on them loll.

I love Hideaki, he’s like a Dad, caring about her and watching out for her so she doesn’t get taken advantage of. Ryuunosuke on the other hand cares in a different way though, he acknowledges that she’s an adult but made sure to ask Soichiro about what happened and why he didn’t stop it haha. Love that even though it was done kinda in a teasing way, Yorihisa still made sure to ask for consent before doing anything. Oh wow, I didn’t expect him to have lost both his daughter and wife to illness. It’s kinda saddening and yet sweet that his wife bought him a cat (similar to the one they previously bought for their daughter) before she died. It was so nice to see how they were starting such a normal couple life with her cooking him food and making a bath for him etc, it was quite cute. Only problem is, for some reason he’s ghosted her for a month! I can see why she would cry at the pub with Soichiro over that, I mean, it seemed like her feelings finally got across to him and he was reciprocating, and yet now he’s just…gone. Okay, that was so hurtful and uncalled for! First, he avoids her, and then says it was all a game etc and then spites her by giving her a kiss like she “wants”. It seems like he’s afraid that being with her any longer would make him really fall for her and he thinks that would mean he’s forgetting about the family he once had. It’s an understandable thing to go through I admit, I mean, he probably feels really unfaithful and terrible towards his late family for thinking that he can enjoy such happiness without them BUT, he was still pretty slack to Shiori though, she’s just earnestly trying her best to be with the man she loves. Well, they made up fast! I’m glad Ryuunosuke confronted Yorihisa though, he was so cool! I’m just glad to see how unrelenting Shiori is though lol, but I guess that’s something she’ll need if she’s going to chase after Yorihisa, since he likes to run away lol. Honestly, it seems like Yorihisa probably spent that month writing his new book to be like a confession to her or something. So I guess he’s gonna surprise her~

I thought he would chase after her and say that initially, she was a replacement for his wife, but not now, not anymore, but he just let her assume that was it! That was honestly heartbreaking to hear for her, here is Shiori laying her whole heart out to him, telling him that she loves him and doesn’t care about the game anymore, and he can’t give her any words of reassurance? Even if his novel is a confession to her, I’d still be annoyed. You can’t just leave her and hurt her like that! Sigh. Well, that was a rollercoaster of a ride, he can really be so cold and warm at the same time lol. I didn’t expect him to publicly dedicate the book to her, that was nice. But I think I liked the good ending more, just because I thought it was really sweet when she said “I’m home” to her empty house, and he said welcome home to her walking in behind her. I think it’s always nice to hear that from another person.

Overall, Yorihisa was a playful guy, but maybe a bit too playful and hurt from his past so he hurts Shiori a lot by not communicating better with her. He hides good things and bad things alike so I feel sorry for her. She’s always so upfront and honest about her feelings and she tries her best to communicate that, but he always backs away. Until the end anyway, kinda!? At least in the end, he can finally frankly tell her his feelings and his thoughts, so I guess that was nice. He’s quite a frustrating guy, and he definitely has Shiori in the palm of his hands, so I guess it was pretty frustrating to see her so easily allow herself be so vulnerable and reliant on his manipulative ways? Loll. But yeah, it was cute sometimes, but otherwise, their relationship is so unbalanced.. Not sure why she had to quit her job in the sequel when we don’t even know much about her job in the main route but okay loll. The date was a nice sweet little addition to the story~ but yeah, as a whole, I couldn’t take Yorihisa for always hurting Shiori and yet never apologising for his actions.

#pub encounter

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ellewritesfiction · 6 years ago

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Writer Questions

I was tagged by @sallyidss thank youuuu I live for this junk lmfao.

1. How long have you been writing fanfic?

Feels like all my life lmfao. Wrote a lot as a teen but stopped and picked it back up an embarrassingly long seven years ago considering it was “just to practice” while working on the novel I never actually finished or really... wrote.

2. Who most influences your writing style?

TBH I.... try not to let anyone influence my style that much? I have gotten to this place where I’m working that out for myself and I like to think I’m pretty consistent. But I know that when I am actively reading, especially if I start going through a particular author’s anthology, I will start gleaning phrasing and such from there. I mean, it’s how you learn, so it makes sense. ;-)

3. Favourite type of scene to write?

ANGST. Haaaa. Really though, my favorite thing to write is the fight and the resolution. I will literally build an entire fic around the fight and the resolution if it’s a good fight and a good resolution. I actually also quite enjoy writing battle scenes, I just rarely give myself that opportunity. And in the event I write an epilogue, it’s because that epilogue is going to be dope to write.

4. What trope is your favourite to write and/or read?

I think we all know my favorite trope to write is strangers to immediate banging lmfao. Modern day AU. General first date romantic nonsense. The most boring stuff you can think of haha.

My favorite trope to read is SLOW BURN.

5. What is one trope that you dislike?

Is A/B/O considered a trope? I’m not a huge fan. There is one (1) author who has written it in a way that makes me want to tear of my skin and bathe myself in it lmfao but otherwise, it is not my thing.

6. What AU do you wish to write but feel like you won’t manage?

There is pretty much no AU I won’t try lmfao. Its the canon stuff that presents difficulty. I don’t usually write canon unless it’s a one shot because I don’t like straying too far from the established rules.

7. Do you outline, or write as you go?

WELP no one should ever try to listen to me or my process I’ll just say that. For longer fics I usually write the first couple chapters on the fly then I’ll have a vague list of bullet points for the following ones of stuff that needs to happen. A lot of my characters’ emotions occur organically though so it’s hard to try to pin them into too specific an outline. But I WISH I were better with outlines tbh.

8. Past tense or present tense? Why?

Past I guess. It’s rarely ever a conscientious choice but I will use present sometimes for the feel of it.

9. Do you prefer to write one-shots or multi-chapters? Why?

I prefer to write multi-parts. This hasn’t always been true but I feel like... either you can’t explore enough in a one-shot or I’ve explored everything there is and it becomes derivative drivel of stuff I’ve already written before.

10. What is the kindest comment you’ve received on a fic? (Feel free to paraphrase or generalize!)

I have been extremely lucky in that I have gotten amazing comments pretty much since I came back to writing fan fiction. It would be impossible for me to pick out the kindest but I do often re-read comments when I need a boost. Even some of the ones with unasked for concrit have helped me grow as a writer and were kind in that way. The FUNNIEST comment I ever received wasn’t even on my own fic. Someone wrote on someone else’s that they were glad to see a happy fic since I was making them “cry into their cheerios” on that pairing and I will never forget that.

11. What is the most gratifying aspect of writing fanfic for you?

Knowing that I can do it, being able to log into my AO3 stats and see my word count rise to that sweet sweet 1 MIL words. When I came back to writing fan fiction seven years ago or whatever, I came back with the notion that I just couldn’t write a novel, the most I’d ever manage was a long short story. But since that time I have written several novel length words and novellas and just. Dealt with circular themes and experienced plotting and different story types and just so much I wasn’t expecting. Maybe I will never publish a novel in a traditional way, but I know I can write one -- more than one!! -- and that people have read it, and knowing that just makes me feel so validated and whole. It was a life goal of mine and here we are.

#tag meme #yup that's me #on writing #on fanfiction

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booksandtea · 6 years ago

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Author Interview | Rhiannon Frater For the month of October I’m hosting Spooks and Tea where we aim to consume as much horror, or spooky, books as possible.

I also wanted to do something a little different and fun this year so I reached out to a few authors to see if any would be interested in taking part, most of them agreed to do a Q&A with the Book Club! I have never felt more blessed.

If you’re a member of Books and Tea you’ll have been given the chance to ask these authors questions, as well as getting to see their answers early.

It is now time for me to share the second one which is the amazing Rhiannon Frater! I was introduced to her work in my early blogging years and I think she’s a staple to the horror world tbh, and I love the fact she’ll sell personalised signed copies of her work on her etsy which makes us international bookworms very happy! Keep reading to see what we asked her.

Rhiannon Frater

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor) as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog).

She was born and raised in Texas where she currently resides with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets).

She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes.

Find her at: Instagram | Twitter | GoodReads | Website | Pinterest

What are your hopes for Z Nation season 5? (I picked this series back up thanks to you and I screamed about it so much a few of my friends did too!) I’m thrilled you started watching because of me! SHARE THE ZOMBIE LOVE!

To answer your question, I would love to see the return of all our missing favs: Sun Mei, Red, 5k, and Addy. It looks like I’m getting my wish! Of course, Karl Schaeffer, the showrunner, has to evilly tease us by saying (paraphrasing) “They’re back, but how long until they die!” He loves his hashtag #donttrustznation.

I would also LOVE it if the show was able to book Steven Yuen or Chandler Riggs. The showrunners promised the actors they won’t kill them if they guest star.

Which character from Z Nation would you most want to be watching your back in a Zombie Apocalypse? Roberta Warren. She’s an amazing leader and I would follow her to the ends of the earth.

In a typical horror movie setting, how long do you see yourself surviving? I’m not certain what typical is anymore. If it’s World War Z, I’m toast instantly. I do know how to shoot and I drive like a stunt driver (so I’m told), so I could probably last a reasonable amount of time against a regular monster if I have a gun and fast car. If I don’t have those things, I’m probably dead meat.

What horror monsters could you see yourself beating a fight? Traditional vampires. I know better than to invite them into my house. I win automatically.

Which horror monsters do you fear the most? Slasher monsters like Jason and Freddie. I don’t watch slashers at all.

If you could write a horror book with any author, living or dead, who would you pick and why? Jane Austen. It would be so subversive and fun.

What media influenced you the most? (i.e movies, tv shows, books) I love books. I always have. But when it comes to my love of horror, definitely films. I follow in my grandfather’s love of the horror film genre.

What video games do you find yourself returning ot the most, and what aspect do you find most important? (For me its definitely character customisation, but also the ability to reload should I make the wrong decision) I play Guild Wars 2 religiously. Every damn day. I love it so much. The setting is just so imaginative and fun. Plus, I love the “fashion wars” aspect of the game, too. I’m a big fan of Fallout New Vegas and Mass Effect, too. I enjoy games that allow me to play women who kick ass.

What was your first main struggle on becoming a writer? The main struggle was figuring out how to get published. In 2008, my husband approached me with the idea of self-publishing. We self-published As The World Dies and it was later picked up by Tor. It was very rewarding to take things into my own hands and have the end result be a traditional publishing contract with a genre powerhouse like Tor.

You’re currently writing two serials on two different platforms (Patreon and Radish), what has your experience been like with these? It’s fun, but can be mentally exhausting when I have to keep switching back and forth between very different stories. I’ve grown as a writer by doing the serials, so I’m glad I’m doing them.

Can you tell new readers a bit more about your serials? The serial on Patreon was revised and published as The Unblessed Dead and The Accused Dead. It’s now a new post-apocalyptic book series. It’s origin was actually a short story called The Necromancer (you can read it here for free) originally published in Zombie Tales From Dead Worlds.

The Radish serial, The Impaled Bride, is a sequel/prequel to The Vampire Bride Dark Rebirth trilogy. By the time I’m done, it will be a whole new trilogy that I will most likely self-publish.

If you could be in any of your characters shoes, which would it by any why? That’s tough because all my characters are in really difficult situations and dealing with stuff I definitely don’t want to deal with. I think I’ll have to take a pass on this question!

Why Zombies, Vampires, and Necromancers of all creatures? What makes them so unique and compelling that you write about them? Well, zombies always make a great background for a post-apocalyptic tale. Their constant threat and the dread that comes with it really adds to any tale of survival. I have always loved vampires thanks to Bela Lugosi and Hammer Films. Necromancers are intriguing because they bridge the gap between the living and dead. They add a new dynamic to any story because of their abilities. I love all monsters, of course. I just haven’t written about all of them yet.

Oh and lastly this is more just for me than anything, I think you’re still blonde with a bit of very light pink? How difficult has it been for you to not return to a more intense bright colour? Im currently in the same position but a bit of very light blue and I feel like I lost a bit of me in this change. I’ve wanted to do rose gold for a while. It’s a very hard color to maintain. I’m trying to figure out how to make it work at least for a few more months before I switch it out again. The platinum blonde look before the rose gold has been tough to keep up, too, but it’s been fun to experiment.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, I had so much fun talking to Rhiannon and I’m super excited to dive back into Z Nation and seeing her tweets about it weekly! I have her As She Dies trilogy on my TBR for this month so *fingers crossed* I have time for that with all the travelling I have coming up.

Thank you so much for reading this! What did you think about Rhiannon’s answers?

If you enjoyed this post consider supporting Northern Plunder Ko-fi | Twitter | Book Club | RedBubble

Spooky Q+A: @RhiannonFrater #blogoween #BooksandTeaBC Author Interview | Rhiannon Frater For the month of October I'm hosting Spooks and Tea where we aim to consume as much horror, or spooky, books as possible.

#Author Interview #Author Q&A #Author: Rhiannon Frater #Blogoween #Blogoween 2018 #Books and Tea Book Club #Guest Post #Online Book Club #Q&A

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sceawere · 7 years ago

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Do you have any tips for first time fic writers? ☺️

i started writing fic when i was but a tiny wee babe tbh so i’ve been at this awhile haha oh the good old days of writing fic on a page ripped out the back of my science book and passing it around my little group of friends at break

i didn’t start ‘publishing’ fic until..not even a year ago i think maybe spring last year? so before that the only people who’d read my work were my best friends and my lit teacher who didn’t realise i was turning in what was basically fanfiction for writing projects....

so i’d just write for myself and save the file away and never do anything with it because i was scared people wouldn’t like it i guess? i was really nervous that people would think i was stupid or something? which was silly? bc even if they did why would that matter? so when you go to publish something and you get that voice in the back of your head telling you not to because it’s silly, tell it sceawere told it to be quiet and hit publish anyway

seriously, i’ve been putting fic out for nearly a year, written what maybe nearly 300? done pretty well i have an amazing audience who i love to death, and i still get the jitters before a new chapter/fic but keep going!! it’s worth it!! and if you just want to write for yourself for a while, not show anyone, just find your voice first, that’s fine! it’s great! i’m super glad i did it and i ended up cannibalising some of the unfinished brain dumps later on for fics that did really well so it’s not wasted time by any means - it’ll be good for your writing brain to get a little practice

the biggest thing you can do is just get something down - even if you end up starting over or editing it to hell or just never doing anything with that bit, there are entire novel length documents out there in space filled with all the dialogue i never used but i used the seven pages i wrote around it and they were good

i think it depends on the kind of writer you are but getting started on something just makes my brain get going and once i start writing it just...happens. don’t second guess things as you’re writing them - that’s what editing time is for. just get it all out and then go back and re-read it and then write all the stuff that pops up and you’ll know when it’s done

know your source material inside out, do your research, you don’t need to go full doctorial candidate on it if that’s not your thing (it’s totally mine but yh) but just spend time with the characters and the setting - creating aesthetic boards for my verses helps me inhabit them to no end so try that - i know weheartit is terrible for sourcing etc etc but it’s brain food for my writing so i use that and make playlists as well and oh DAYDREAM do it, even if you never end up writing the scenes you come up with, it’s like going to the gym for your muse brain gets all those synapses working, keeps ‘em limber

i’m bad at writing posts like this, surprisingly but the tl;dr of it is:

be brave and persevere

write, write, write, write, write

write first, edit later, brain dumps are useful

understand the source material/verse like you’ve lived it and it’ll just happen

keep a doc of like timelines, tidbits, headcanons etc - you’ll love yourself later when you can’t remember whether you made it canon that xyz prefered pink icing to green and by gosh if that isn’t just going to make or break this chapter!!!!

non-writing activities are good for writing sometimes

#anon #replies

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