#first time reader

[hailtothebeans]

When I read this panel for the first time I had to take a pause...

[agardenandlibrary]

oh, we're so back, baby

[er-the-surgeon]

Started reading Death Note for the first time and man, I gotta give it up for my guy Ryuk. Man showed up blinged out and seems to barely have a clue what’s going on. He has no dog in this fight. Just gonna watch this teenager try to become god and look cool as hell while doing it

[psycheofaphaggot]

trying to get into the swing of using this for brainrotting again, so may start chronicling my adventures.

currently i’m remaking my way through some fandoms: rereading old series (now that SOTR has come out i’m reading all THG books over again in order), finishing new ones (experiencing PJO for the first time).

so i’ve been trying to get through PJO in the best way that makes sense chronologically. just finished The Last Olympian, and have now started the Heroes of Olympus series. apparently it’s recommended to basically get through alllllll of the other series books to get all the context before finishing the last two percy jackson-centric books.

for one, seeing Percy through other people’s perspectives is already really interesting i can tell (mind you, i’m still at the very beginning of TLH, at the second Leo chapter). its really funny seeing leo’s perspective and he’s like “wow this percy guy was into everything around here huh”

like YEAH lmao. thinking about it from not percy’s perspective is so funny cause he really was running with everyone 😭 and becoming a defacto leader both in general and in the war is unfortunate.

now i’m going to ask a lot of rhetorical questions that i know i will get no answers to (i don’t want spoilers). and i also KNOW they will be answered by either the end of this book or by the end of the others. quite honestly i’ll probably make this a damn thread every time one of my predictions or questions was correct. but this is SOOO interesting.

it’s already made obvious that Jason is another child of Zeus. i thought it from the very beginning because of the way stormclouds rolled in when he spoke about gods, and of course the lightning strike not killing him etc etc. BUT it only confirmed it for me when they reminded us of Thalia’s last name. my outside knowledge of the fandom (which isn’t much, but its enough) plus the fact that i started the chalice of the gods before realizing i was definitely missing some context. anyways i know that his full name is Jason Grace.

but the one thing i AM interested in is it seems like he was almost some kind of prisoner? of sorts? like you would think his amnesia was some event that happened and he does actually know piper and leo, but it seems like he DOESNT. and considering the tattoo? plus the fact that percy also comes back later (based on the VERY beginning of COTG, do not crucify me) with amnesia of that time. it feels like they came back from the same place?? also hera definitely has something to do with it

anyways, next thing. pipers parentage. i’m SO interested but she’s so vague even in her own thoughts. pipers story like this in general is very interesting to me, it feels as if we’re getting another (in basics) Silena situation, but we actually get to see it from the inside. i’m very curious about it

leo is interesting but its mostly the situations around him that are interesting i’d say. the curse on cabin 9, and the fact that he seems to have a running theme of ghosts and dead people. that is what im curious most about.

now, aside from things about the main 3. there are two things i’m VERY curious about. so the one thing i’ve seen consistently as an outsider to the PJO fandom is Percebeth (of course) and Solangelo. and i only have two thoughts about this (solangelo)

Nico is a very extremely beloved character, and understandably. He’s an angsty kid, who is actually sweet at heart, and has a lot on his shoulders. he’s both easy to like and easy to hate, which makes him a big target for fandoms. but as far as i’ve seen, he has not been…a big character? like i expected him to be so much more pivotal than he was? i know that the former great prophecy stuff was very important and it was surrounding him especially because percy worked hard so that he DIDN’T have to bear the burden of the prophecy. but outside of that i was so surprised to have seen him so little!! i was expecting him to end up in the group of 7 heroes of olympus and yes i know i’m still at the beginning of this but in terms of both age range, and characters i’ve seen and heard of, i’m not sure he is?? there’s gonna be Jason, Leo, Piper, (i assume) Percy and Annabeth, Hazel (whom i will know nothing about till next book) and then just one more slot is left. of course there is still possibility for it to be him— house of hades and all. but i’ve seen more talk about percebeth is HOH than anything else. sooo, my question is (and i actually do want this one answered) does nico actually get more spotlight in this story or did he just become a popular character in the fandom because people love him? like is he such a big face just because a lot of people latched onto him? it’s fine if that’s the case! i’m just curious

secondly, will is almost in a similar position to nico in my head. Almost. they only specifically started to mention him (at least enough for me to notice) around the war in the last book. which i was actually very excited about!! however i noticed he seemed to have a reputation of being like this complete embodiment of sunshine and someone who is always positive and i’ve seen…none of that in his personality so far. nothing wrong with that, considering what’s going on. i’m just curious, is that actually how he is or how he becomes eventually or is that just a fanon thing? especially considering he’s a child of apollo, would make sense for that to be a trait pushed into him to get the sun/moon dynamic, especially if he’s just a happy guy for the most part later on

i dunno, these are just my thoughts so far. if you actually read all of it i commend you. i have commentary CONSTANTLY. so i’ll probably dump again when my questions have been answered or when more pop up. don’t be surprised if you see me again

took me past my childhood to finally sit down and get through PJO as it was constantly around and recommended and yet i never picked it up. but i’m excited, i’ve enjoyed it a lot so far.

[kingdom-of-sins]

Xaden and Violet being hot sexy animals and destroying and burning Violet's room....meanwhile Dain "Will Violet love me if I underestimate her even more and tell her to not use her powers or give up her dragon? Yeah she would"

[catsdrinkmocha]

Mo Ran talks about killing and fucking Chu Wanning so much this man seriously needs professional help

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

A couple more thoughts/takes from my 14 year old niece who is a first time LOTR reader. These were shared while we peeled potatoes for Christmas dinner!

1. She was intrigued by the possibility that when Gandalf says that Gollum deserves death, he doesn’t mean it as a punishment but as a release from torment and a fulfillment of his natural mortal condition. Her objective brain agrees with that notion, but her emotional brain thinks endless torment is a perfectly appropriate consequence for having been mean to Sam.

2. Though she is disinclined to cut Gollum too much slack, she’s got a surprising amount of mercy in her heart for the orcs. She was fascinated by the glimpses of orcs’ interior lives (that some of them don’t actually like Sauron and dream of running away to do their own thing instead of always taking orders) and the idea that they have their own thoughts, hopes, dreams, etc. made her feel a little uncomfortable with our heroes’ unabashed orc bloodlust because orcs apparently aren’t just mindless evil automatons but thinking, feeling beings. I told her JRR struggled for the rest of his life with the question of orc morality and whether they are redeemable, and she was proud to have picked up on something that was also very much on his mind.

3. She was disappointed that Arwen doesn’t rescue Frodo in the flight to the ford as she does in the movie. I told her a little more backstory about Glorfindel, and she grudgingly agrees that he’s cool but “not any cooler than anyone else who also killed a balrog” in the first age (she asked, so she knows there were others). So she wants it on the record that the Valar’s decision to choose Glorfindel as the only re-bodied elf lord to get sent back to Middle Earth was arbitrary (!) and poorly justified (!!). My Ecthelion-loving heart kind of agrees!

[redplaidjacket]

This little bit about having an imaginary garden made me smile.

It reminded me of this entry in Maud's journals, where she details all the essentials to an old-fashioned garden.

I had a little fun once and researched all the flowers and plants she mentions.

I wonder what Jane and Jody's garden will look like, and if it will ever be mentioned again.

[samhatch]

ACOMAF Chapter 1 - 5 Thoughts

First time reader here!

The algorithm has fed me down the pro-Tamlin pipeline, and while I'm not mad about that, I will try to be objective when giving my thoughts!

Chapter 1-5

So, I really feel bad for Feyre. She was so resilient in the first book, and now she is like a broken bird, and you just want to scoop her up and nurse her back to health. She seems to want to be useful, but with a simple human background, she doesn't know how to use her title or power to help with anything.

She still has an utter disdain for any faerie traditions or festivals. She finds the winter solstice a "rather odious ceremony" (page 10) and can't be bothered to remember ANY of the names of Tamlin's friends (page 37). It seems like the progress she made in the first book to accept fae culture still has a way to go. I wonder if she hates that she became fae and has some internalized feelings about that.

Her refusal to confide in Tamlin is a little frustrating, and even Lucien begs her to just talk to him (page 29). But Tamlin seems to be bottling things up as well. But he clearly loves her so much, and says "you are everything to me" (page 23) and Lucien points out that Tamlin has had to watch his family die, which is why he's so protective (page 29).

I'm also shocked that she hasn't contacted her family. Like, Nesta sent her off in the first book to save her faerie Lord, and still hasn't heard from her. She probably thinks Feyre is dead! I'm shocked Feyre would assume her family would hate her now that she's fae, even though Nesta was super supportive of her rescuing the fae realm.

Back to the conversation with Lucien, when he talks about watching Jesminda die, my heart really broke for him. He has had to endure so much pain, and it must infuriate him to see Feyre bottle up her feelings instead of talking to Tamlin, when Lucien would give a thing to talk to Jesminda again.

I was very confused by the village they went to, and Lucien says the villagers had spent 49 years under the mountain, but I thought it was established that all the Spring Court faeries were allowed to stay in Spring? It was just the other courts that had to go UTM? Someone help me make sense of this lol.

Lastly, Iantha. This lady is up to something 100%. Super suspicious. She definitely seems like the type to manipulate a fragile court and try to be a de facto leader. It was Iantha's idea not to let Feyre train her new powers (page 15) and Tamlin was just following her advice. She also convinced the other 11 priestesses not to attend the wedding (page 39), and I'm convinced she put red roses in the wedding on purpose to mess with Feyre.

That's the end of my thoughts so far! If you read all of this you're the best! How is my interpretation? Am I picking up on any foreshadowing? I hope so!

[acourtofquestions]

Reading Reference Kingdom of Ash Pt. 2

Damaris: Heat for truth; cold for lies.

[sessakag]

I’m hearing a lot of good things about prey😩 I think I’m gonna give it a try 😊

Honnnneeeyyyyy, you are in for a wild ride lemme tell ya🤭 "Good things" is highly subjective terminology😂but please do joined the unhinged coalition😘we welcome you!

Can't wait to hear what you think!😂

[elijah-loyal]

"I seek a prophet.” Before I could speak, she added, “He's my favorite prophet.” Almost, she smiled at me."

WHOMST

WHOMST?!?!?!?

ARE WE GONNA SEE MY BELOVED FOOL!??!?!!?!?!!?

[agardenandlibrary]

"Look at this! A letter from Lord Vorkosigan—he's free!"

The second man looked over his shoulder, and echoed, "Thank God! But why didn't he call in?" Then, after a moment more, "What? What?"

The lieutenant turned the letter over and they both read on. "Is he insane?"

Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold

I've read 15 of these books and I still laugh when new people are confronted with Miles' particular brand of shenanigans.

[alexzenderborn]

Firs time reading House of Leaves.

Pls no spoilers thnx

I'm uhhh.

This far in.

I've just gotten to a passage about the first signs of irregularities in the house. I knew it was coming because I had consumed a lot of inspired works.

My first thoughts so far:

The narrative voice of both Zampano and Truant are strong and telling. It reminds me a lot of Slaughterhouse.

I went into this sort of expecting it to either be fantastically tragic or out the gate weird. Which, in a lot of ways, it is. But it's also incredibly real. There isn't a weirdness for weirdness sakes in the roles of the characters, but rather a charming realness of people trying to write an essay while also never writing anything like this before.

The characters in the house, especially the insight the footnotes include, are interesting in that these could be real people too. I've rubbed elbows with these types of achedemics many times. Especially because I am a "squishy" science major.

[psycheofaphaggot]

i’ve officially finished SON

great book. GOD did i miss having percy as a narrator again. and i honestly thought all the bonds were great to see, and this plan for the prophecy of 7 is veryy interesting. however, i only have one thing to say:

God do i love tyson

not even joking, he is like my favorite side character in this entire series. i adore him. seeing him show up in this book i could literally feel myself perk up like actually. every time he spoke it made me happy, i missed him reaall bad.

that’s it. that’s my entire opinion

[kingdom-of-sins]

I don't know who I love more Xaden, Liam, Tairn, or precious baby Andarna

And why do I hate Dain more than I hate Jack? Jack has been the worst but Dain is fucking insufferable