#a point of reference for those changes

[kbookblurbs]

The Atlas Paradox - Olivie Blake

2/5 - better than I remember, no real character arcs to speak of, odd character decisions, weak worldbuilding, major second book syndrome

If I had been reviewing this after I read it the first time, this review would have been more harshly critical than this one is about to be. With that in mind, let's begin!

This book feels like it exists to fill time between the first and the third books of the trilogy. And while, in one sense, that's what all second books do, this is by no means a Catching Fire of second books if you catch my drift. A year goes by over the course of this book with an extremely questionable timeline and essentially nothing of note happening. It's not that there isn't plot happening, it's just that the plot is minimal in comparison to the amount of writing.

Some of this problem is due to the way the characters act. It feels as though every character is making decisions out of left field and none of them undergo any significant character arc, with the exception maybe of Reina, who begins to believe in her own divinity. Each character makes choices with no apparent justification or an incredibly overwrought emotional reaction. Reina storms out of a room or scene at least once every time she has a POV chapter. I also did not appreciate Nico and Parisa's hook-up, which appeared to happen just for the sake of something happening between them.

Each of the characters is in their own heads and not really interacting with each other, despite living in the same house, and, frankly, it makes it seems like six small novellas are taking place, rather than one cohesive plot. Characters are cryptic for the sake of being cryptic and wildly dismissive of everyone's abilities as though the entire first book hadn't been spent establishing that each of them are exceptional.

The biggest point of confusion for me was the worldbuilding. I was under the impression this was a magical realism story - a magic world within and alongside an ignorant mortal world. This idea is disproven in this book, with the knowledge of government contracts, but at no point is this every expanded upon. The sudden presence of characters and institutions beyond the Society also throws into sharp relief how little we actually know about the characters. We know them in a setting that places each of them under duress, emotional or physical, and as anyone who has ever functioned under extreme stress can tell you, that is not an accurate depiction of people's actual personalities and behaviors.

Overall, the novel is just lacking. The one character I did want to see more of was Libby, and we only got the barebones of her self-confidence arc. They also basically sacrificed Belen at the altar of ?? something, which to me was a disservice to her character,

[nattikay]

OC lineup! All the characters that currently exist in this "story"

[tommygotwrittenoff]

bobby says to eddie one shift where buck is home sick with chris. going home to see your boys? eddie smiles and says. yeah. and your boys just Sticks in eddies brain and when he gets home he sees chris and buck curled up on the couch asleep and the sight makes him pause cuz. yeah. those are his boys

[devilsskettle]

The X trilogy + "psycho-biddy" influences

[dxxtruction]

Louis being compared to as a saint. Saints, who find their salvation and then give intercession from beyond that veil to move others towards it. A guide for life, where they no longer fall into their sins and trajectories towards a certain hell. "Listen to me as if I am the voice of god, or an angel." Louis being that saintly catalyst for the vampires to confront themselves in that such a way. A saintly Louis is very dear to me.

[asquared-ohgodnotthehorrors]

Ya know, I have a setting I would love to run a D&D campaign in - specifically a D&D 5E campaign in. The setting specifically requires so many assumptions that are baked into the rules that were given, and without that anchor, that mechanical core, everything sorta falls apart.

The problem is two things however:

1. 5E has a lot of problems. Problems I can no longer overlook- because I’ve played other systems. I’ve seen how much more freeing and fun it is to run other systems, and I simply don’t feel like I can go back to 5E. I don’t want to go back to 5E, despite how crucial the class assumptions and species are to what I want to run. I don’t want the game to be as crunchy, and I don’t want to have to struggle to make my players feel like they’re challenged or forcing a narrative onto a system that isn’t designed to make the narrative I want to run.

2. 5E is dying. Not because of the fan base or anything- no, WotC is actively killing off the rules that were and replacing them with what will be. It’s changing the thing I want into something else rather than making something new. And it’s not like I can just ignore that either- if I somehow found players who wanted play in this system, they would inevitably use those resources, rely on them. And they would be stranded. Few of my friends want to go back to D&D- and I don’t feel comfortable reaching out to that community to play either. Because I don’t think they’d want to play in the world I want to run.

All in all, I just feel… a little lost on what I want to do. There are a few systems that are able to do what I want. And I just feel a little lost.

[book-casee]

Hiiii OP tell us about any underrated oneshot character you like. Give them some love.

THE WORLD MACHINE!! The World Machine. Not the fandom version that's just Niko but Depressed™️, but the snarky, sassy, clever World Machine we see in the base game. Everyone makes it being depressed it's main trait and it pisses me off! It's so much more than that, and I love it. No one gives it any love for how damn sassy it is in the normal route, it's so funny and the delivery of it's dialogue is so monotone yet snarky and it creates such a lovable character! I wish people would stop just treating it like a Niko reskin when it is so much more. It only even appears like that because it don't have a body, it doesn't even treat the Niko mirror image it uses to communicate in Solstice as it's body, it treats it like a sort of projection or puppet! It's so underutilized despite being the WORLD ITSELF??? And all people do is treat it like Niko 2: Niko is Nik-pressed, and treat it like a child, when it is are ANYTHING BUT??? Don't get me wrong I understand why people are attached to Niko and wonder what they're doing now but they're OKAY. Their arc is finished. They are happy and content. Who KNOWS what The World Machine is still like??? I love it SO MUCH it is my favorite thing EVER

[wheucto]

object show characters being named as their own objects might strike you as odd, but is it really that strange? with humans, differentiating each other using names is necessary. we're all "humans," so there's not much to name off of. physical features, maybe, but people can often share those...

however, with objects, there's a clear distinction to name someone after. and, why do names exist? to distinguish people from one another. why would you make a name, when there's already a perfectly good one right there? and sure, there's people who are the same object, but there's people with the same name too. they'd probably get nicknames/slightly different names... besides, that's why surnames exist.

[dykedvonte]

If Ulysses has a million haters, then I'm one of them. If Ulysses has one hater, then I'm THAT ONE. If Ulysses has no haters, that means I'm dead. If the world is with Ulysses than I’m against the world.

[swiftcast-selene]

finally!! a fresh new ref for the boy!!! he's ready for artfight!!

[chronurgy]

It's been 10 years since the last game in the series, it isn't unreasonable to be planning for this game to be a soft reboot of the series. But they needed to be straight up about that from the beginning instead of trying to play it off like they have been. Keeping the NDA on the inquisition import specifically and the way they spoke about it in interviews were absolutely terrible choices. Bioware needed to be managing expectations and making this choice very clear from the beginning and they absolutely did not do that. I'm not sure the intensity of the response here can really be called surprising given how poorly they handled this. The "oh these other decisions could come back in a later game" thing also feels pretty ridiculous. They need to quit that shit and just be honest about their plans to reboot the series. Finally, bioware has to stop trying to have it both ways. They can't soft reboot the series and then also bring back characters from earlier installments. Either our decisions, especially our decisions that affect those characters, are relevant or they are not. Either those characters can be changed by past events, or they can't and there's no point in giving them diverging in game paths. They've gotta decide which one they want.

[crescentfool]

never in my life did i think i need to makeout with a piece of software so badly but here we are i guess

[zorkaya-moved]

“ what’s going on in that head of yours? ” from kaveh !

@avaere

By basking in the Heavenly light and warmth provided by Kaveh, Zarina forgot just how fun it was to watch someone of seemingly higher statue to have that subtle glimpse of gleam turning into submission in their eyes. The mind of hers circles around cruelty, malice, and intrigue that not many would wish to ever dive into. Abyss would look back at her and shudder, meeting the eyes of gold that lacked any compassion for anything and anyone who wasn't chosen. It's why the party today was such a blast to her, internally, even if they left early. The drama unfolding from several strings pulled previously, exploding into a gorgeous spectacle exposing the betrayal, the agony, and the fiery tempers. Humans nature can be so intriguing, everyone who was believed to be a saint suddenly was exposed with harsh truths of reality.

The confrontation between two older lovers, driven to confront each other in public because they received news. They doubted each other and hired informants, wishing to expose each other only to learn far crueler games they both played behind each other's backs. They were pathetic, pathetic but entertaining and she had to hold back laughter while witnessing them turn to her when Kaveh stepped away to get them drinks. All of the attention was on them both and Sokolova had to adopt a troubled expression, pretending to be someone who was not involved in the exposure at all (they didn't know, no one knew, she was simply aware and waited). Oh, the way they screamed at each other and exposed their deepest sins, baring their ugly sides in a way that was more entertaining than not. Naturally, she dealt with a situation carefully, leading them both to take it to their private headquarters before alleviating the tension at the party, apologizing on their behalf and receiving gratitude from the host of the party.

Now, as both of them were back, leaving earlier than expected, Zarina was humming while sitting in front of her vanity. It didn't seem that Kaveh enjoyed such showcases, but she understands. Not many would take sick satisfaction in seeing something like that without knowing the intricacies behind said explosive show. but it wasn't a show for those who cared, who was more empathetic, who remained with a heart instead of a glacier for soul.

So when Kaveh asks what's going on through her head, Sokolova begins to undo her brain. As she closes her eyes to hide away the darker gleam in them, her smile widens ever so lightly.

"I enjoyed the party. The food was great, the music was wonderful, and the show was fantastic," the magic show, huh. "Though, it's sad that it was interrupted." By the screams or the resolution? "But we got to dance and it made me happy."

Fingers finally let her hair fall free on her back, feeling relief in her scalp from the accessories takes out and braids undone. Her hair seems fluffier than usual, creating silver waves. But her eyes are now open, glancing at Kaveh through the reflection in the mirror. If he knew what was going on through ehr head, he would've been upset. Or so she thinks based on his personality and what she's seen, heard, and felt. He could've caught a glance of light in her eyes if he looked at her when the argument was unleashed in public, but she acted surprised and shocked just as much because a good actor will never break their character.

However, she lets Kaveh hear some of her more... honest words next. She turns around so her back faces the mirror and her front faces the architect, hands resting on the the pillowy surface of her seat.

"But I'm more annoyed at the fact that they had to come to me," Zarina sighs, looking to the side while thinking over the incident. "Those people used to call me a nuisance, but now they sought me out to help them." She doesn't hold back a snort from escaping, not right now when a bitter taste coats her tongue and her lips curl into a similarly bitter smirk. "Human nature is ever-changing, malleable even when you give them what they want. There aren't many people like you, Kaveh."

Now, she pushes against the soft surface to get up and look at Kaveh, stepping closer. She takes her rightful place next to him, standing between his legs and looking at him sitting on the bed. Her hands gently take out his own hair accessories, gently and carefully while studying his expression. Hers now lacks the usual bitterness, but showcases a subtle hollowness while she continues to talk about the aftermath.

"It reminded me of how some people treat you," her thumb slides across his cheek, caressing gently. Eyes of gold stare into the maroon, wishing to catch every gleam and every light and every shadow in those beautiful eyes of his. It makes her happy when his hands find their place on her waist, the warmth radiating from his touch slowly erases the darker void and replaces it with a gentler softness. "There are so many people who probably took advantage of your warmth, your kindness, and your heart. Those two reminded me of how cruel the world outside is, how easily people change in the worst ways."

How that cold, cruel world exists to ruin such priceless souls like him. Oh, how she wishes to find the one who broke him so roughly. Can she make her life a living nightmare and then watch her come undone with time, wondering if she'd crawl back or stubbornly erases her own existence. Ah, no, she shouldn't think of that when Kaveh is right here. The way he worriedly calls her name makes her snap out of that thoughtful moment.

"Ah, yes, sorry," she absent-mindedly states, shaking her head to seemingly get rid off those thoughts for a moment. It's - sadly - another play, she can easily repress those thoughts but doesn't exactly want to when she sees the worry in Kaveh's eyes but remembers the pain on his face from weeks ago. "I guess, maybe the party wasn't that great."

No, she loved it. The only thing she didn't like was the concern on Kaveh's face... No, she's lying about that as well. The concern and worry on his face was also something she enjoyed at that moment. Because he held her hand, he asked how she was feeling, and he proposed to leave early since it should've been exhausting to deal with. It makes her almost want to hold him closer, to not let him go, to keep him all to herself so no one can make hurt him. But he is an adult, he's smart and he's capable, he's intelligent and skilled. Those are only her dark desire she won't turn into reality, because she values his happiness and his autonomy. His independence is essential and his life should be lived as he wishes, not as she desires. After all, she loves him. She loves him but does not possess him; he is his own person and she fell in love with Kaveh, with someone who shined the brightest when he did what he loved and what he was passionate about.

Before the architect can ask her another question, she suddenly cups his face and...

"Smoosh," she squishes his face a bit before letting go. "I'm alright. I'm more worried about how you are. It must've been a pretty nasty sight. It's the first time we ever witnessed such a... large scandal." A scandal she was secretly a part of.

[idkhowtopickausername]

It’s true and important to point out that landback is about a return to Indigenous sovereignty and doesn’t mean that everyone else has to leave but it’s also true that land back + the fall of the American empire will probably not happen without significantly jeopardizing the safety of the average North American, and the American government/empire will be to blame for that because it won’t give up power peacefully

[butchshepherd]

instagram is wacky i just saw someone comment that banning ear cropping would just lead to ppl importing dogs instead, or doing it "in their kitchen with scissors and baking soda".. i dont think everyone is as out of their minds as you are dear social media user. also as if several countries didnt already make that change years, if not decades ago in a lot of cases. its literally fine.

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Reading over a talk script and realizing the structure is so clunky that there’s absolutely nothing to sink your teeth into

[sad amateur actor sounds]