#hero and it makes him dislike the goverment more

[crypt2niite]

i think this recent chapter of one piece really made it click in alot of peoples minds that coby is a marine. a true, dedicated marine who believes wholeheartedly in the marine cause.

mild spoilers for one piece 1122.

this chapter and specifically yhis panel

really solidifies that coby is a marine. coby is wholeheartedly a marine who wholeheartedly believes being a marine is the right thing, and that makes him one of three things.

1.) a cruel facist wannabe who idiolizes what the marines are right now and everything they represent

2.) a complacent idiot who, in blind and naive stupidity has allowed himself to be used by facists to enforce their regime unknowingly

3.) a even more naive idiot who genuinely believes one person has the ability to tear down a hundreds of years old dictatorship and the instutional police planet that has been built apoj those foundations from the inside without piggybacking off of the work, blood, death and tears of the rioters, revolutionaries and inssurectionists who are ripping down and fighting against the marines and world goverment in a immediately impactful way

coby is a true marine and what that means is blind faith in the marines no matter what that means for you, blind faith in your version of the marines, in the pipe dream that ‘you’re helping!’ that ‘its not perfect but i can make it better! i can change it from the inside im a true hero!!! i can do this thr right way. no awful unrulyness or law breaking. because the system itself is good, its just the bad people in charge 🥺’

coby is a true marine in the way garp is a true marine because they both are so close to being good people but will never be one and never had the potential to be ones, because of them being marines to their very core. no matter what.

coby is garps apprentice and it shows. garp is willing to throw away any attatchments he has, to watch young boys he promised to care for die because they contridict his belief in the marines, just as coby is willing to discard the one person who gave him a chance to be *anything* because that person contradicts his belief in the marines

the ‘good marines’. coby, garp, smoker, fujitora, ectect are some of my absolute favorite flavour of characters in one piece, they all have some way of burying their head in the sand, either via naivete, willful ignorance or what may be. theyre all absolutely awful, so easy to love and so hard to hate but so easy to dislike, its so easy to want them to just. fix it. become a pirate or fix the marines or do something to make them compatable with luffy, with freedom but they wont be. they never will be unless they can cast aside some of the very fundamentals of their psyche becase in the end, they are using their abilities to defend and aid the goals and wishes of a dictatorship, to defend the proprieters of slavery and cruelty.

also please dont take this as me hating coby or garp or saying u cant love them! i really like coby and think garp is funny atleast, and fujitora, one of the aformentioned so called ‘good’ marines is one of my favourite characters, period! he is so facinating in how he balances believing himself to be a good person while also actively supporting atrocities i love him sooo much

[soul-dwelling]

Man imagine if in MHA, the business course had a student with an OP quirk, and during the sports festival he said "yeah, I dont care for heroics, but winning this shit will look good for my CV when I'm a CEO of a corupt company" - perfect opportunity to explore the dychothomy between super powers and heroism - hell the charachter could then develop and realise that using his powers for less selfish reasons is better

And then just finish it with a double subversion, him not becoming a "super hero", but using his quirk in a unique but really necessary way, like idunno, give them heat control, to use for clean energy to solve both polution and lack of it or something, while using his business skils to manage corporate and goverment redtape and beauracry

Like even if one dislikes my example, its just a placeholder to express that, we really missed out for a social satire as quirks as a metaphor - cause everything had to be reduced to supercops...

This submission has given me ideas about how much better, with hindsight, My Hero Academia could have done more worldbuilding on how Business and Support Courses work, and give far more compelling stories and character progression to Mei Hatsume and Re-Destro. 

I’ll get to the Re-Destro stuff below, as I have a lot to say. But I want to address something you wrote first: 

And then just finish it with a double subversion, him not becoming a "super hero", but using his quirk in a unique but really necessary way, like idunno, give them heat control, to use for clean energy to solve both polution and lack of it or something, while using his business skils to manage corporate and goverment redtape and beauracry

I really wish we had shown more of the UA students using their skills for something other than superpowers. The final arc even had that opportunity: I know people are pissed Denki and others didn’t get some big flashy superhero fight, but the manga did a good job of showing that Denki, Momo, and others are also valuable for what they can do to alleviate resource problems we have in our real world, as well as the threat that persists that maybe we then are just dependent on the resources instead of letting go of them. 

Think about Book 1 of The Legend of Korra: Mako can generate electricity, but that makes him a raw resource of power, hence keeping him in a lower economic class where it’s not just his labor as a raw product to trade for cash but his literal superpower and the way his body creates it is now separated from him and made into a product, like selling your blood and plasma. 

There are so many opportunities to give this idealistic image you show of Pro Heroes figuring out that maybe they are more useful to create clean energy, and the dark side that maybe this perpetuates the same problems Pro Hero society has had for so long--but Horikoshi never tried to take this approach. 

And yes, it would help navigate gray areas: ���Maybe big business does do some good things,” “Maybe corporations can be used for good.”

Stan Lee helped co-create Iron Man in order to take the worst kind of person in that time period--a corporate leader creating weapons that were perpetuating a damn foolish war that never should have been started--to see whether the creative team could make a character that even young anti-war activists would sympathize with, cheer on, and see progress into a better person.

Horikoshi keeps doing this: there are so many cliches and notable moments in comic book history, and he just doesn’t tap into them to say something new. I am so not going to cheer on libertarian bullshit, but you can’t talk about comics if you’re not going to talk about Iron Man, the Question, Spider-Man, and Blue Beetle as objectivist Ayn Rand / Steve Ditko dream projects and how later creators have perpetuated, celebrated, agreed with, ironized, criticized, satirized, or condemned those characters and the politics they hold. 

Okay, now onto my rambling. This is going to be another long response, so let’s again put up some headings to outline the answer better. 

Let Mei Hatsume flirt with villainy

Your submission has big Mei Hatsume energy--and it’s not as if I haven’t toyed with the idea about whether Mei would become a villain, or an inadvertent one. 

Granted, that idea seems a little too close to what they did with Entrapta in the She-Ra reboot--but if it worked there, it’d work here. 

I’m kind of surprised the manga never said, “Oh, by the way, after the Pro Heroes failed to stop Shigaraki and ended up letting the PLF get stronger, some of Mei’s inventions got stolen by Villains and that’s why the Cider House Gang was able to get their hands on those Support Items.” 

It felt like a missed opportunity to show how Mei’s work could be corrupted, it’d give her something more to do to the story, maybe give her an arc, maybe show other dimensions to her, how Power Loader or someone else gets her confidence back, reassures her it’s not her fault--and it’d pay off that potential villainy that she showed (but which we are definitely not actualizing here because she is a good person) way back in the Sports Festival by using Tenya as her glorified mannequin to show off her inventions, the kind of behavior you describe in your submission.

Make Re-Destro a UA alumnus and donor

Let’s go back to how you started this submission, about how the Business Course could end up giving rise to a potential corporate villain: yeah, it’s another missed opportunity.

I am going to go in another direction, to suggest, what if that potential corporate villain just flat-out did become a corporate villain.

If we are really going to have this many problems with this story, where everything has to be connected when really they should not have been (maybe Shigaraki should not have been Nana’s grandchild; maybe Geten should not be related to the Todorokis), why not just say: 

“Screw it, Re-Destro went to UA in the Business Course”?

Horikoshi weirdly avoids taking the path of certain comic book cliches that could have been deconstructed or at least fun references: what is Lex Luthor if not the corrupt businessman who also happened to have gotten his start because he grew up with Clark Kent in Smallville? (Granted, I am mixing together the original origin story, Smallville, and John Byrne’s reboot…Sidebar: Fuck John Byrne, what a bigoted sack of shit.) 

I know we have far too many of these characters having been alumni of UA: All Might (how did no one recognize All Might and Toshinori Yagi were the same person if he was in the UA Sports Festival?), Endeavor, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Midnight, Oboro, Present Mic, Aizawa. 

But we never showed a Business Course graduate. Why not let it be Re-Destro? 

It was so boring that All For One was scouting UA like a raccoon digging through his own personal dumpster in order to try to steal Aizawa’s Quirk and settle for Oboro’s corpse. And I hated how All For One just happened to have numerous moles, not just Aoyama but also all those other no-names in the final arc. All For One’s power (his literal superpowers, not just his political power) is so massive that it stretches believability, mostly because he has been set up as a villain so powerful that you can’t think of any way to defeat him--which is why the ending fails to actually give a satisfying way of stopping his physical might. He is a symbol of fascism, and defeating fascism, while requiring a ton of force, also depends on beating a bad idea with a much better idea--and it is difficult to boil down that fight of ideas to just two super-powered individuals punching each other. 

All For One is not the person who would be able to infiltrate UA, and he is not a great option for storytelling and symbolism purposes to have him be the one to infiltrate UA. 

But Re-Destro would be. 

It’d make sense that Re-Destro would use UA to scout for new talent for the MLA. It’d be sadly realistic: corrupt corporate mogul funding schools to get the kind of lackeys and resources he needs for future conquest. It would fit with comic book cliches. It would finally let us do some worldbuilding as to how the Business Course, and likely also the Support Course, works, see more of the teachers, maybe some of them are with the MLA inside of UA, and maybe some of the teachers and students actually hate Re-Destro, whether because they know he’s corrupt, or they have an inkling, or (speaking as someone who has learned and taught in the university system) you just know the corporate funders are aiming those resources towards helping their business and could not care about improving education in languages, ethics, civics, and critical thinking skills. 

As you said, “the character could then develop and realize that using his powers for less selfish reasons is better”: what if Re-Destro is that motivation for certain characters to realize that altruism would be better? A student gets brought into Re-Destro's orbit, doesn't know about the MLA yet, but works alongside him and slowly realizes something is wrong. Maybe this character learns about the MLA and helps inform Hawks; maybe this character never learns about the MLA but manages to extricate themselves away just in time, giving the audience a sigh of relief, and they instead get recruited for another business (to show "not all businesses are bad") or a Pro Hero agency (have Centipeder and Bubble Girl recruit them, give them something to do after Nighteye's death).

Or, what if it is a character we already know? What if Ochaco went to work for Re-Destro? What if Re-Destro’s fixation on wealth and advancement made Ochaco temper her desire for money, no matter how good her intentions are? Or, what if Re-Destro's vibe unsettles one of our more wealthy students like Shoto, Tenya, and Momo, and it shows us "not all rich people are bad"? I know this risks saying, “Don’t eat the rich, some of them are good people,” but it would keep asking the question Stain offered, when is there too much fame and wealth being given to glorified super-cops? 

And this change to the story would serve Re-Destro better given how little presence he had after his defeat, and how empty he was as an antagonist once he just gives up to Shigaraki, and how little foreshadowing or build-up we had for him.

Re-Destro is to My Hero Academia what Fukuchi is to Bungo Stray Dogs: if this person is such a puppet master, then he should have been present in the background since Chapter 1--show us Detnerat products since Chapter 1, just as Bungo Stray Dogs should have shown movie posters, books, and military recruitment ads with Fukuchi since Chapter 1. Or, if Re-Destro and Fukuchi were such late additions to their stories, the anime adaptation should have fixed that. Granted, they didn’t have the same amount of time between first appearance of the character in the manga and first produced episode of the anime, but think how well this worked in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: “Here’s Father, yes we are introducing him early so that the Sins, the Ling stuff, the Alkahestry stuff, and the Xerxes stuff does not come off as such an ass-pull especially for those only familiar with the first anime, not the manga.” 

I know this is very “me”: “Oh, you just want the story to be like this because you’re familiar with school politics!” Um, yeah? This manga has “academia” in the title--I’m a lifelong superhero fan, I enjoy poring over comics for how their stories and paneling are structured, but this series started so well because it took such well-worn genres, the superhero story and the school life manga story, and combined them to get something new, then fumbled the project by not getting back to the school stuff and using the superhero stuff to pull apart the school life story cliches and respond to the ongoing problems in education. I want a story that flat-out makes the donor to the big school into a bad guy--I want us to interrogate how much harm is done to education when the quality of the education depends on a handful of donors. 

Make Re-Destro the arch enemy of Nezu

And this would also go a long way to give Nezu his own arch enemy. The story waits a long time before revealing, in trivia or in the text, that Nezu is rich and funds UA mostly on his own. Cool--but let’s show that Nezu still needs help from others, and maybe he is that big brain to know to keep his enemies closer, where he’s playing chess against Re-Destro, who is so ignorant that he thinks he’s the one pulling the fast one on, if we allow him to say this line, “some highfalutin lab rat.”

It’d be even funnier with the MLA having its rat symbol that it’s Nezu, so animalistic, being the one to screw over Re-Destro.

Think of how this would improve upon what, say, DuckTales 2017 tried to do and didn’t pull off as well: Scrooge is now a businessman in the 21st century, corporations no longer typically run on the whims of just one owner, there can be shareholders and managers and accountants like Bentley and his brothers getting in the way.

Same idea here: Nezu may be in charge of UA, but even he has to answer to the donors and, ahem, “customers”--if he screws up, he risks losing money. And when UA has villains robbing their paperwork, attacking students at USJ, attacking a student at the mall, and kidnapping and injuring more students, of course Re-Destro now can use this as a power play against Nezu. Come on, what is the point of having Re-Destro’s partner in crime be a politician like Trumpet if we’re going to chicken out and not get political about this story? 

[mermaidsirennikita]

Do you have recs for couples that have a dynamic like Nellie and Lockwood/where the hero realises and admits to his feelings first and is 1000% in? I love them a lot ❤️

For sure!

Historical romance:

A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman. Hero and heroine grew up together, their families were enemies, and they kind of had an uneasy friendship but not really. He goes off to the navy, and when he comes back after years of imprisonment he's resolved to marry her. She's less certain, but she promised him three kisses (anywhere he wants) if he came back alive...

Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley. Kind of a twist in that the hero and heroine are married but have been separated for three years. They had a very impetuous elopement situation, where he basically met her and swept her off her feet. Now he's resolved to get her back, whereas she's much more resistant. He's ALL in.

The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. I think this one is similar, it's been a while since I've read it (and it comes before Lady Isabella). Hero is super straightforward and he's on the autism spectrum. I know he just like, immediately pursues the heroine, who's about to get engaged to another man.

The Countess by Sophie Jordan (out in March, if you wanna pre-order) has a twist on this. The heroine is married and has an eighteen year old daughter, and her husband wants her daughter to marry this rich businessman. Businessman is more interested in the mom, and while she's understandably like no fucking way, he basically pretends to court the daughter with the ultimate goal of getting close to her. It's real good.

Forbidden by Elizabeth Lowell is an old school medieval that has this in spades. The hero is found by the heroine, and he actually has amnesia so he has no idea who he is, but he knows he's really into her. She's resistant, in part because she knows some things that will change everything between them--it's high drama, high angst, and I fucking adore it. (Also has a sex scene with light femdom vibes, which is never a bad thing.)

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian. This book actually kicks off with the heroine killing the hero's dad, lol--her husband. The hero was the husband's bastard son, and he and the heroine know each other because he's been trying to blackmail her. They end up on this kind of rollicking adventure together, and he's a little subby and she's a bit of a domme. Notable: both of them are bi, and she also has trauma/a dislike of penetration, so they get more creative with sex. He.... is not afraid of being penetrated, lol.

Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean. A big thing from this book is that she's a thief and excels by going unnoticed, but he has ALWAYS noticed her and is kind of obsessed with her. I think there's a moment where she's next to him when he's driving a carriage thing, and her hair comes undone and he's so distracted by it that he like, crashes. Lockwood and Calyborn are SIMPS.

A Lady for A Duke by Alexis Hall. Notable in that the heroine is trans and was friends with the hero pre-transition, and doesn't want him to like, sacrifice anything for her. Once he realizes he wants her, though, he WANTS her and pursues her.

Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas. These two had an enemies to lovers deal in previous books, but in this one he's like "LET'S JUST GIVE UP THE GAME". He has a bit of a dominant streak in the bedroom, too--she's his sisters' governess. He does make her ask him to touch her pussy and specifically say it out loud.

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt. Once Winter realizes he loves Isabel, he's SUPER all in while she's in denial. Lol I'll never forget the proposal where she's like "Winter, I can't marry you" and he's very calmly like "actually you can".

Contemporary:

Her Halloween Treat by Tiffany Reisz. This is a GREAT category romance, super hot--they were kind of childhood sweethearts, he was her brother's best friend, she goes home after finding out that her boyfriend is married. The hero gives her a good time, bu he's actually in looove with her. Halloween actually isn't a huge part of the book, lol.

[glitchyartz]

WIP- having a hero dream brainrot

[timeagainreviews]

Reappraising Companions

Years after having watched every available episode of Doctor Who, I've had plenty of opportunities to rewatch episodes time and time again. As with most movies and television, I've found revisiting certain stories and eras has caused me to see them in a different light. A story I may have once reviled is suddenly more interesting. I even came to appreciate Peter Davison's performance as the Fifth Doctor for its subtle nature. But what about companions? Are there any companions I didn't care for at first, which I've softened toward over time? That is the question I wish to explore.

Below I've chosen a selection of companions of whom I had initially disliked for various reasons. They span across multiple eras and both the classic and modern versions of the show. With each companion, I have endeavoured to be fair in my reappraisal, but this doesn't mean I've changed my mind. I would also like to state that none of these appraisals are about the actors. My goal is to evaluate companions by the way they were written. The performance will come secondary.

1. Danny Pink

I chose Danny Pink to kick this list off because he is the reason I am writing this article in the first place. Recently, I took to rewatching a selection of Danny Pink episodes, in hopes that I may find something I didn't initially see. When Samuel Anderson was cast as Danny, I was excited. I've always been a big fan of male companions. They offer a different dynamic to the TARDIS that we don't often get to experience. However, in the wrong hands, they can be exhausting. Enter Steven Moffat.

When Steven Moffat took the reins of Doctor Who, he introduced us to Rory Williams. A smart, loyal, and combative male companion, not at all enamoured with the Doctor's mystique. At his worst, Rory was made to compete with the Doctor for Amy's affection. At his best, Rory held the Doctor accountable for the lives he brought aboard the TARDIS. With Danny, I felt like this is what Moffat was trying to do again, but this time, it wasn't as successful.

When we're introduced to Danny, we watch him and Clara fumble over their words like teenagers. It's meant to be cute, but their chemistry is non-existent. It feels like watching an episode of Coupling, in that it's painful and causes me to scan the room for exits. Their adorkable awkwardness is supposed to endear us to their relationship, but it seems forced. This is compounded when the Doctor enters the equation. Forcing Danny to fight for something very few of us in the audience believe in the first place.

Once again we find the male companion being forced to compete with the Doctor for the affection of a woman. But in this instance, instead of holding the Doctor accountable, Danny seems to hold the Doctor in contempt. Coming from his own history of military training and PTSD, Danny projects all of his inner struggles onto the Doctor. Which is unfortunate, as Danny's inner turmoil is his most humanistic trait. This wouldn't be the first time in Moffat's era where the Doctor's nature as a hero was called into play. The problem with Danny's appraisal of the Doctor as a general, barking orders, is that he's wrong. And we as an audience know it.

Not only do we know it, but so does the Doctor. The Doctor even gets a character arc over the identity crisis Danny gives him, wherein he realises Danny is wrong about him. Danny, however, never comes around to the Doctor's side. Even in his final moments on screen, he remains combative with the Doctor, in an exhausting refusal to grow as a character. We're supposed to believe he's come to some sort of character growth of self-acceptance by sacrificing his chance at a new life, for the life of a boy he mistakenly killed. Instead, he carries the same chip on his shoulder to his grave.

Danny is a companion wholly failed by writing. Even at his most heroic, it seems in service of making the Doctor look like a buffoon. His mimicking a soldier while yelling in the Doctor's face is embarrassing for everyone involved. Imagine this is your boyfriend meeting your friends. You would be mortified by his behaviour. Now imagine you have to lie about hanging out with your friends because it might make your boyfriend upset. Now imagine this friend is a very dashing person who constantly puts the lives of others before him. Danny and Clara's courtship is a romance by gaslight.

2. Clara Oswald

Clara is a whole other can of worms. I could probably dedicate an entire article to her character. I should clarify that my initial dislike for her character is somewhat mired in personal disappointment. By the time Clara was introduced, we had seen a string of modern human companions. We got the occasional tertiary companions from the future, such as Captain Jack or River Song. But we hadn't had a main companion from the past, future, or another planet. So when Jenna Coleman was introduced as Oswin Oswald, Junior Entertainment Manager of the starliner Alaska, I was very excited. Finally, a companion from the future! I was so ready for the Doctor to go on a quest to save Oswin from the cruel fate of becoming a Dalek. What an exciting storyline that was going to be.

And then we see her as governess Clara Oswin Oswald. Ok... Well at least she's still from a different era, right? Oh, she's dead now too? Oh. Much like Moffat's Dracula, all of this great promise was suddenly dashed against the rocks of a contemporary setting. Sigh. I was so excited. What we're given in “The Bells of St. John,” is a new character with less direction than either Oswin or the governess before her. So much that Moffat had taken to literally modulating her brain with an app. Maybe she's really good with computers now? Sorry friends, much like Rose Tyler's gymnastics and Peri Brown's botany, it's never going to come up again.

And this is the biggest issue I have had with Clara Oswald. She spends most of her screen time fluctuating between what character they're writing her as this week. The writers simply didn't know what to do with her while the Doctor tried to figure out why she's so "impossible." One week she's wacky, one week she's stern, another week she's bisexual queer bait. Her characterisation is all over the charts, which sadly, tracks with her entire storyline. She's a woman, fragmented across time, and so is her personality. And don't even get me started on that impossible girl nonsense.

Steven Moffat once said in an interview that one or two people usually guess his big reveal ahead of time, but that no one had guessed Clara's. Perhaps that's because nobody's fan theory was "It's going to be absolute shite." Instead of just being a woman who gets to be her own person, she has to become the most importantest companion. She has to save the Doctor by being planted throughout his timeline, saving him from the Great Intelligence. You know, by sometimes being born as herself, and other times being born as a Time Lord. Sometimes knowing who the Doctor is, other times having no idea whatsoever. Sometimes having a name that is a play on of Oswald, or Oswin, or Clara. And at no times did it make any kind of sense.

The funny thing is, that for me at least, Clara's character doesn't really become interesting until all of that nonsense is behind her. The Clara I find most compelling is the Clara in mourning. Clara post-Danny Pink is a Clara with focus. Her mood swings seem more from a place of destructive behaviour in the wake of great loss. Watching her hold the TARDIS keys hostage above a volcano was some seriously gripping stuff. Aside from the gross digs at her appearance, I found the Twelfth Doctor's relationship with Clara far more endearing than that of the Eleventh Doctor. It may have taken them until her final moments as a companion, but they did get her right, in the end.

3. Melanie Bush

Back in 2015, I had the opportunity to meet Louise Jameson, who played Leela, my all-time favourite Doctor Who companion. I also got to meet Colin Baker, who was all charm. Also in attendance was Bonnie Langford, aka, Doctor Who's Mel. After having gotten autographs from Louise and Colin, and having circled the convention hall a few times, I decided "Sure, why not. Let's meet Bonnie Langford. It's only 10 quid for an autograph." Upon meeting her, she was a very kind woman, and even still, I was racking my brain for something nice to say about Mel. To save face, I lied a very simple lie. I said, "I really liked you in Doctor Who." She smiled, said thank you, and signed my picture. And I walked away, taking my shitty liar mouth with me.

Because the fact is, I didn't like her in Doctor Who. I found every moment she was onscreen excruciating. From her poodle haircuts, to her 80's disaster attire, to her fat-shaming the Sixth Doctor, to her constant screaming at every little thing, she depressed me. I spoke in my review of "Terror of the Vervoids," just how weird it was that we're never actually introduced to her as a character. Instead, Peri is written off, and suddenly, Mel is there, already chummy with the Doctor. You guys know Mel, she's the Doctor's friend, because we told you she was! Instead of getting to know Mel slowly, we're thrown into the deep end, forced to sink or swim within the curls of red hair piled high. Mel doesn't just come out of nowhere, she comes on strong. Fitness expert Mel here to get your fat Doctor Who loving asses into shape. Drink this carrot juice you geek pig!

Not even in Big Finish audios was I finding myself warming up to Mel. When Ace was introduced, they couldn't have pushed Mel out quicker. I found everything about Ace immediately refreshing. Here was a calm and collected badass rebel that I could get behind. It's ironic then; that it was in the Seventh Doctor era that I have begun to find something likeable in Mel. Much like Clara Oswald,  a changing of Doctors enriched my appreciation for her character. This appreciation didn't come immediately, mind you, it came about around my third or fourth watch-through of "Paradise Towers."

Perhaps it's the influence of Andrew Cartmel, but with the Seventh Doctor, I have begun to appreciate Mel in the snarkiest manner. Mel is best utilised as a commentary on the Doctor/Companion relationship. She's precocious to a fault, she chews scenery, she screams at the drop of a hat, and she is oftentimes a naive idiot. Yet in "Paradise Towers," it becomes hilarious. Like much of the 80's era of Doctor Who, there is a very "2000 AD," atmosphere to the stories, and I could easily see this as a setting for Judge Dredd to drudge through, busting skulls and filling bodies with bullets. Setting the sunshiny persona of Mel against this backdrop is so brilliant that I can't imagine another companion in this story. Where she would usually grate against me, her sharp contrast from the things happening around her is exactly why I began to soften toward her.

Not even the ire from the Kangs could shake Mel's confidence, which is oddly what makes her cool. Or "ice-hot," as they would say. For the first time, Mel's headstrong sense of self makes her a rebel. She doesn't need to follow a crowd to feel accepted. Sadly, very few writers were able to find this core to Mel, but it was enough for me to be able to look at her in a different light. I could finally look at Mel and say I did like her in Doctor Who. Even if it was just for a moment, and even if it was somewhat at her expense. From a very cynical perspective, Mel can actually be pretty fun.

4. River Song

I know a lot of you are probably aghast to see River Song on this list, but I assure you, I have my reasons, and they are not without consideration. I should begin by saying some good things about River. She's smart, she's competent, she's got a healthy grasp on her sexuality, and she's cool. Why then did I not like her very much the first few times I watched her? Well, if you hadn't noticed, the bulk of this list are characters written by Steven Moffat, and once again, it all comes down to writing.

We're first introduced to River in the Tenth Doctor two-parter "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead." At first, she's just one of a team of forgettable space scientists on an expedition. However, as she finds out the Doctor is who he is, her entire demeanour changes. Like Mel on steroids, we're given a heaping dose of "Who does this bitch think she is, being all familiar with the Doctor?" Only, instead of it lasting one episode, it's every interaction we have with her character beyond this point. Instead of getting to watch River and the Doctor grow as a couple, we're forced to watch them meet in opposite directions. It is the antithesis of "show, don't tell." Everything about the Doctor and River's relationship is implied. "You're going to love me someday," she promises. Couldn't we just see it play out naturally? Spoilers.

This idea is one that can only really be done on a show like Doctor Who, where things are wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. The problem is, this doesn't mean that the idea is worth exploring, or even successful. It's made even worse when the relationship implied is one deeper than friendship. The Doctor is famously chaste, married only to his TARDIS and what lies ahead. Because of this, the idea of a person the Doctor will someday trust enough to share his real name and eventually marry carries with it a sizeable amount of convincing. Such a huge shift in the show's dynamic requires a lot of character development. Sadly none of that is to be seen onscreen. Who is Jim the Fish? Who cares? Steven Moffat's joke of "I'll explain later," became painfully prophetic of his time as showrunner.

I've got no complaints about River being a Time Lord, or even her being the child of Amy and Rory. Those elements are fine, really. It's the way in which she is presented which I find most detrimental to her character. I never did buy into the idea that the Doctor loved her as a wife. Their wedding seemed necessary to save the universe, as opposed to a union made out of love. Any kind of enjoyment I've ever gotten out of River stems mostly out of my love for Alex Kingston's performance. Where the show fails to establish her, she more than makes up for in style and substance. I grew to like River Song, despite the show's failure to ground her properly. River grew on me as she always said she would, but by no effort on the part of the writers. River is cool because River is cool, not because it was inferred that she was.

5. Susan

If you’ve followed this blog long enough, you’ll know I’ve already mellowed on Susan. In my reviews of the First Doctor era, I’ve had mostly good things to say about her character. This doesn’t change the fact that I found her utterly irritating at first, and it feels appropriate to talk about it here.

My initial dislike for Susan is a lot like my intial dislike for Clara. A lot of it was wrapped up in my own expectations of the character. Susan is the Doctor’s granddaughter. She is a Time Lord, therefore she should also be brilliant. And we get a lot of that in her first episode. She is mysterious, she’s enigmatic, and she is brilliant. Even her teachers at school found her perplexing. But the show doesn’t continue down that line. In fact, there are times when they make Susan borderline stupid. But how much of this is clouded by my own preconceptions?

For starters, Susan wasn’t a Time Lord. At least, not then. She was just a young girl. She may have been smarter than her fellow students, but this played more into how she was raised. So when the show depicts Susan screaming at every little thing, grabbing her hair dramatically, it smashed apart my mental image of a Time Lord. I couldn’t appreciate that they had her act this way to help sell a bad effect. Oftentimes Susan, like many Doctor Who companions, had her character sacrificed to make the baddies scarier. It was a product of her time, and even still I feel her character suffers for it.

However, one of the things I have discovered through repeat viewings of the First Doctor era is the surprising amount of character development among the TARDIS crew. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan all go through deep character development that was sadly often secondary in classic Doctor Who. Before the nature of the Doctor and companions was transient, there was a feeling of a family bond forming. Through this, I have come to find Susan to be a rather deep and sensitive person.

When it comes time to say goodbye to Susan, I can’t say I exactly agreed with the method. The Doctor locking her out and deciding she was mature enough to set out on her own felt hasty. But I would be lying if I didn’t agree that Susan had gone from a little girl to a young woman at that point. When you stop expecting Susan to be the Doctor, and allow her to be a kid, she grows on you instantly.

6. Adric

Let's be honest; it's not really original to hate on Adric. It's nothing new to point out what a bad companion he is, but here we are. Something I constantly endeavour to do on this blog is to be fair. One of my biggest complaints about the Doctor Who fandom is the proprietary attitude people take toward the fandom. The "I don't like it; therefore you shouldn't like it," attitude spat with such vitriol is one of the worst parts about being in the Doctor Who fandom. So when you say "Adric is my favourite companion," I'm not devising an argument for how wrong you are, it's fine. Like who you like. This doesn't mean I'm not also thinking in my head "What? Why?" Because I honestly, without malice, do not understand.

The most I ever enjoyed Adric, was in his introductory story "Full Circle." Setting him against a group of fellow Alzarians dilutes his lesser qualities. In fact, when paired with Varsh, he almost seems likeable. Sadly, we have to say goodbye to Varsh, and it's downhill from there. We're forced to watch a contrarian boy genius butt heads with the Doctor while he waddles around in a toddler's outfit while showing off his pound shop sheriffs badge for "mathematical excellence," to anyone who will listen. Adric is so obnoxious that he makes Wesley Crusher seem likeable in contrast.

However, it's not just his contrarian nature that makes me despise Adric, he's also disloyal to the Doctor and his friends. He's so susceptible to bad ideas as long as they a presented logically, that I've dubbed him the Ben Shapiro of the TARDIS. He's a smarmy little shit who believes himself superior to women, and he's really got no justification for his ill-placed self-confidence. Constantly demanding respect while giving very little reason to deserve it, he's like a poster child for incels. To make matters worse, he's oftentimes wrong and easily duped into taking the side of evil, turning him into more of a liability than an asset.

Recently, the idea that the Thirteenth Doctor could save someone from sacrificing themselves by using the TARDIS at the last moment to save them came under fire. "Why didn't the Doctor do this for Adric?" they said, forgetting conveniently when the Twelfth Doctor did the exact same thing in "Into the Dalek." But yes, why indeed? Why would the Doctor ever let a duplicitous, argumentative braggart die by their own stupid need to solve a math problem? My headcanon is that the Doctor got better at flying the TARDIS. The real reason is that people hated his character. The silence over the credits after Adric dies isn't out of respect for the character. The real reason is that the BBC couldn't secure the rights to Kool and the Gang's "Celebrate Good Times," before it aired.

Listen, I am not unsympathetic toward Matthew Waterhouse. He never should have been given such a big role, considering his utter lack of ability at the time. I imagine it was his own insecurity that fuelled his on-set antics. Giving unsolicited advice to veteran actors is cringey, but also the actions of a young and naive boy, in over his head. I know I said I was going to try and treat the performance as secondary, but in this case, it goes hand in hand. He has the stage presence of a fake. Every moment he's onscreen is disingenuous. The fact that he is present at the death of my favourite Doctor, stinking up the scene is genuine pain to me. If he has been made better in Big Finish, I've not yet heard it. As of now, there is nothing I've seen of Adric that has changed my opinion. But I'm glad if he makes you happy.

[evilelitest2]

('history as fandom' anon here) Sorry but I wasn't talking about the confederates, I was talking about people that actually DID do good things and people refuse to accept them as complex, like the idiot discourse about how Gandhi=Satan or the legacy of the Founding Fathers being worthless because they kept slaves(despite the fact they created a democratic constitution that endures to this day, despite the american right's best efforts to destroy it)

Ah ok.  Then yes, I agree with you, though with a caveat, I think that a lot of this a well intended response to the over glorification of these historical figures as semi gods.  Like lets take Winston Churchill, in most Anglo-American histories, the man is basically the protagonist of World War II, the heroic dogged stubborn defender of Democracy who spent most of his life being misunderstood only to become the greatest Prime Minister the UK had ever seen and defeating the Nazis.  When you look at his larger career, there is a LOT of things to dislike about him, including being complicit in a mass famine that killed between 2-5 million people, being super racist, an advocate of colonialism, and being responsible for a lot of the problems Africa is dealing with today. His second stint as Prime Minister is actually pretty disastrous world wide and in many ways we are still dealing with the consequences of it today.  Or how the Founding Fathers are basically so deified that we don’t want to remove their actively bad ideas, like the Electoral College.  So in many ways I get the desire to want to push back against this propaganda version of these figures that present them as inherently correct.  

   That being said, still not very useful to make them just villains because history is more complicated than that.  George Washington was a slave owner, and we need to stop worshiping him as the Father of the nation, but we should also acknowledge that he was one of the very few military commanders who willingly stepped down from power after holding the presidency and allowing a democracy to survive.  Washington could have possibly destroyed the US if he had wanted too, but he deserves a lot of respect for not doing so. 

Gandhi is sometimes presented as literally the most good human being in the world which is just...not true if you look at his opinions on women or Africans, and there is a lot to critique about his role as a leader of India.  but he played a major part in decolonization, he managed to successfully run a nonviolent movement and critically, was an indian national leader who opposed Hindu Nationalism, which looking at the current goverment of India, I can appreciate (Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu Nationalist, whose organization is currently the dominate party of India).   

Winston Churchill, as I mentioned earlier, was a pretty shitty imperialist all around and we really need to talk about his record in his second stint as prime minister, but I do appreciate that despite being a conservative, he fought against fascism, which also gets points from me.  

I think a lot of the rejection of historical heroes (by which I mean the people actually viewed as Heroes not the fucking Confederates) often comes off as reverse hero worship, like people are feeling betrayed that people they looked up to turned out to be flaws and this is sort of a reversal, rather than seeming them as having flaws and good qualities, its making them into villains which is equally useless.  

People are inherently flawed and you can’t really understanding them according to basic moral binaries, because that will inevitably turn on your own beliefs as well 

Like Malcom X was a great man in many ways, but he was also an antisemitic nationalist and conspiracy theorist, at least until the end of his life.  Marx was an antisemite  (despite being ethnically jewish) and didn’t treat his maid very well.  Everybody was a bastard, which just happens  

[ladyemberswrites]

“A Touch Is All I Ask”

- 

Summary: Allura and Company haul the Stranger to the Castle Ship.

Rating: T and Up 

Words: 3k 

Chapters: 2/? 

-

Can read here on my Ao3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20626235/chapters/49759931#workskin

- 

“This guy is huge!” understatement of the millennium. This man, this stranger, must be at least around 7 feet tall and weighs a bloody ton being all hard, thick muscle and equally hefty armor. Despite her altean strength and Keith’s galra it took everyone to fly him back to Blue, only for them to rinse and repeat as they had to haul him to the castle’s infirmary. Even with the aid of the hanger room’s emergency gurney, he’s still far too heavy for one person to carry.

However, that’s the least of her issues at the moment, as his sudden arrival causes a massive commotion among the rebels and the castle staff going about their day. Both morbidly curious and confused everyone wants to know what in Altea's name is going on. But, a bark from a very disgruntled Nanny has them all fleeing back to their stations.

“What in ancient’s name is going-” her hard eyes flicker to the Stranger’s unconscious body, her mouth clamping shut and her face scrunches in displeasure. Allura braces herself for a full-on scolding, but luckily, her governess held her tongue and left without a fuss to ensure that the staff isn’t lazing off on their duties in spite of the chaos. Doubtful, Allura thought, annoyed; by the time lunch comes around gossip and rumors would’ve been spread to every cranny of the ship, probably to every rebel base and colony, if she’s being generous. But, she can bet on it. Another headache down the line for her to deal with.

Yet, she'll just have to worry about it later as her patient upon moving seems to be agitated. His brows and lips twisting in agony and pitiful groans pour from his mouth as sweat billows down his temples.

"Allura!" Coran came scampering down the hall "Princess, your back! I-oh, dear" he halts eyeing the Stranger with a quiet wariness.

"-and whose this fellow?" he twirls his mustache in contemplation, inching a little closer.  

"Don't know" Matt offers, huffing "the Princess found him out in the middle of nowhere-she thinks he might've been spat out the rift."

"The rift!" Coran gapes "that's impossible-"

"Hey, um yeah can we like save the questions for later" Hunk butts in his tone straining, sweating profusely.

"Even with a gurney this guy weighs like a ton, and I think my arms are going numb" Pidge grits her teeth.

"Right, right"

"Coran, can you have the nursing staff prepare the examination room, please"

"Right on it, Princess!" He salutes and takes off down the hall.

"Here's an idea" Keith mutters through clenched teeth "can't we just have the cow tow him to the infirmary" he grunts.

"She has a name!"

"I am not getting into an argument with you about a cow, so do everyone a favor and shut up!"

"Straight from the O-so gracious hero's mouth everyone!" He retorts snidely "I'd clap sarcastically, but I'm afraid my hands are occupied at the moment"

“.....And here we go again….” Matt exhales. Hunk sends Pidge a pointed glance marred with annoyance, the young tech can only shake her head and roll her eyes into the back of her skull in exasperation.

"Oh, come on you two" Shiro chides his face falling flat “it’s way too early for this” but his pleas were dead to the wind "guys, come on…"

"Don't bother, Shiro" Pidge grumbles "you're just wasting your breath..."

"-you know what Keith you can kiss my-"

"Enough!" Allura barks her voice echoing off the walls, causing both men to freeze "if you two blockheads don't knock it off I will freeze your lips shut until they fall off your stupid faces! Now, shut it and help me get this man to the infirmary!" She hisses. Their egos wilt under her cold, boring stare.

Swallowing, they nod meekly in her direction "Yes, Ma'am" they murmur in unison. Regardless of their cooled fury, both men cast each other a poisonous glance before readjusting their grip on the gurney.

"Thank you." she spat dryly. The last thing she needs is in their petty squabbling they drop her new charge onto the floor. She had no idea what kind of shape he's in and didn't need these two buffoons making an already tense situation worse. If he is a high-ranking warlord and they accidentally kill him because of ineptitude, she could only imagine how lethal the ramifications might be.

~

It took another 30 minutes to haul him to the examination room. Thankfully, Keith and Lance kept to themselves to lick their own wounds and outright refuse to meet her line of sight, or one another's for the matter. She dislikes the tense air, but better them quiet than wasting time bickering with each other.

“Took you long enough” Fi taps her fingers against her clipboard, the lavender paint of her nails immaculate underneath the bright lighting of the exam room "the nursing staff has everything you need prepared. Although" a lilac brow arches, her head tilting downwards to eye their new guest with a dull glance.

"Nevermind" she sighs, placing a hand on her hip.

"Fi."

"I didn't say anything"

"Ah-huh" she chunters under her breath. Fi didn't need to say anything to make her point; Allura knew how the woman felt about the galra. Her cool yet taunt facade only emphasized her distaste for the situation. However, her gaze never returns to the stranger as her eyes kept on the Princess.

"In any case, Allura, you should probably inform Head Commander Hira of-this" she gestures with a wave of her clipboard.

Oh, right….

"I will. Later"

Fi simply sighs "your funeral then" she mumbles.

"Yeah, yeah" she turns her attention back to her patient "alright, let's get him on the table" she commands the others. They maneuver him through the door, huffing and panting, careful not to clip any part of his body against the threshold.

"We can use a little help here…." Lance grouses in Fi's direction, the woman only crosses her arms around her waist and moves out their way.

"What's the matter lover man? Can't handle the weight"

A vein pops alongside his forehead "I can handle the weight!"

"Lance…" Allura growls.

"Dude, you're making us wobble this guy"

"If that's the case you could carry this man yourself, hm"

"You really just love sucking the life out of everything, witch,  tell me how many gallons of children's tears did you drink to be this refreshed this morning?" Of course, Lance decides, no has to push it because he somehow feels the need to make a comment about everything anything.

Fi's face hardens but only for a minute "Well, aren't you just fine and dandy this morning as well,  lover man? Tell me how's that dry spell coming along?" A smirk curls her lips upon seeing his flushing, sputtering face “I mean we all know women just can’t help themselves around such a stud like you? OR” she taps her lilac lips “am I wrong?”

"I'll have you know, wench, I have dates lined up for the whole week! So suck on that!"

"Lance, shut up" Pidge smacks his shoulder.

“OW!”

"Knock it off the both of you" Allura grumbles "or at least can't you guys wait until we get him on top the table first before biting each others heads off."

"Yeah, yeah"

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, I seem to have lost sight of myself.” Fi curtses“I’ll go and retrieve fresh clothing for the patient and prepare him a room.”

“Thank you, Fi”

“No need for thanks, I am, but your humble servant”

“Oh!” Allura stops her just before she strides out the room “Summon, Lau for me as well. I need her assistance”

“As you wish” she bows again before pivoting on her heel.

"I can't stand that woman…" Lance gripes. Pidge just sighs.

“Dude, you started it…”

“Yeah, well-”

“Can we please put this guy on the table!?” Keith barks “Now. Today. My arms are about to fall off!”

Speaking of headaches….

It took a lot of awkward stirring, a lot more shouting before the Stranger’s fully and finally placed on the table. His groans of pain subside partially due to the fact that everyone isn’t carelessly swinging his unconscious body around.

“Boy, all that haulings got me starving”

“You had two helpings for breakfast”

“You ate just as much as I did, Lance!”

“I’m not the one with the gut….”

“At least I have a girlfriend…”

“Low blow dude, low blow”

“I thought you had piles of girls lined up literally thirsting for your body?” Pidge asks with an arch brow., her voice low and mocking.

"Y'know this isn't how I'd imagine I'd spend my morning" Matt sighs leaning against the wall in exhaustion.

"I think I have a crick in my back" Shiro mutters, massaging his neck.

“You’re way too young to be having back problems, Takashi” Matt heaves.

"-all I know is that I never want to carry another galra ever again, he’s got to be at least 3,000 thousand pounds, yeesh ” Hunk wipes his forehead.

"Speaking of which-" Lance starts "if this guy is some uppity, pompous rich warlord, like Allura said, do you think he'll compensate us for saving his life?"

"Way to keep it, classy, Lance" Keith scowls at him.

"Look I'm just saying we can do with some new perks-"

"Alright, out." Allura snaps her fingers, gesturing towards the door "out all of you I have work to do and I can't do it with you guys in the way.”

“I’m going to take a bath…” Matt stumbles out the room.

“All of yo-" the hiss of the door cuts her off and much to her annoyance the last person she wants to see comes drifting in with his trusty data-pad in hand with the look of utter delight written in his angular face.

Doctor Alibhe smiles, ear to ear "Princess" he nods. She squints at him.

"Ah, good morning, Paladins." The atmosphere darkens and the temperature of the room slowly chills as shivers run up everyone's spines. Keith visibly sweats up a storm and Shiro slowly turns as white as the tuff of hair that sat upon his head.

"Oh, Kogane. Shirogane" his voice is deep. Smooth, polite, but his tone elicits no warmth, just cold dread. The silence before the storm. Hunk's teeth chatters and Pidge’s spine curls, Lance tries to find shelter behind Shiro’s massive frame to avoid the Doctor’s line of sight. If it were possible, it seems that his smile grew wider, his teeth sparkling, startling against the backdrop of his dark skin.

"My favorite patients"

"Actually" he gazes back down to his pad,  pressing a curled fist against his lips "you two have been past due for a checkup-" Keith bolts, shoving himself right pass the doctor in a mad frenzy, while Shiro tries to skid away as calm as possible leaving Lance unguarded.

“Look at the time.” he grins awkwardly, the smile not quite reaching his eyes as his teeth clench together “Got things to do and-um-things to do” he slid away doing everything in his power not to brush against Alibhe on the way out before making a run for it. Allura never saw the former-gladiator run so fast.

"Yeah, I um got things to do. Date with Shay and all. Bye" Hunk took off along with Pidge and Lance following close behind. Alihbe watches them all go his expression never changing.

"They're in a rush," he says after a moment of silence.

"...Gee, I wonder why?" she whispers dryly.

“Hm, what was that?”

“Nothing-nevermind, what exactly are you doing here? You're supposed to be quarantining the Phos Colony”

“Oh, yes. That’s why I'm here. The epidemic has been contained and neuralized and the colony immunized. My work there is done, the doctors of Phos should be able to handle what’s left without extra aid.”

“Oh.”

“I placed the report in your study for review”

“O-oh, well good work than” creepy or not Alibhe is more than efficient in his work.

“Who’s this fellow?” Allura instinctively looks over her shoulder back at her masked patient.

“A new guest.” she snaps her head back around “and I’m treating him, so keep you slimy, shady hands off him,” she orders with a stringent glare.

“I was merely asking a question, nothing more”

“Yeah, right” she whispers walking over to the sink “but, the least you can do since your back is take some samples from him back to the lab. I need to make sure he isn’t carrying anything, we don’t need an epidemic on our hands”

“As you wish” he dips his head. After, she washes and disinfects her hands and wiggles on her gloves Allura approaches her new patient with bated breath. His sheer size overwhelming her, he completely dwarfed her tiny body, to think working alongside of the Mamora she would’ve grown use to their immense size and stature. Afraid not...shaking her head she brings herself back to reality.

“Get a grip, Allura” she murmurs to herself.  First things first, the helmet's gotta go.

Here goes nothing.

It's all or nothing.

She steers around to the head of the examination table, his helmet cold to the touch even with the biodegradable gloves. She cautiously searches for the latch. It took a few minutes of fumbling, but she finds it, her stomach clenches as she presses down on them. It hisses low, and strangely ominous as if she were unlocking some sort dangerous truth. It pops and she slowly slides it off-her breath stills-

-to be greeted by a rather handsome face. A pretty face.

Angular in shape, aristocratic nose, chiseled jaw, long snowy hair, long pretty lashes. Instantly, he reminds her of one of her favorite storybooks, the one about the sleeping princess silent to the world as she slumbers centuries away. Only it's a prince, with tense brows, smooth lilac skin and a face smothered with painful-looking bruises. Upon inspection, they look fresh and swollen, he'll need some ointment to soothe the inflammation. Briefly, she applies the lightest of pressure, his lips tighten in response, teeth click together. However, she can’t figure how the bruises were inflicted. It didn’t look like he was punched or struck, or anything and the skin isn’t scraped or scratched. Did he hit something-

The examination room door whirls open like a whip to the air.

“Princess!” the livid bark of Head Commander Hira has her reeling, her body jerking violently as the severe woman came crashing in unannounced with a cringing, sputtering Coran floundering behind her.

“Hira, please calm yourself this is a hospital! People are resting here!” he hisses at her harshly, holding a finger to his lips.

She shoves him away in irritation “What have you’ve done this time!?”

Allura frowns at the tone “I haven’t done anything other than rescue someone whose life was-is in danger” she replies defensively, folding her arms over chest. Hira's eyes flicker from her to the body of the man lying upon the table. At first nothing, a passive glance that quickly hardens, her thin lips pulling into a sneer.

“He’s galra!” she gestures at him, the disdain in her voice is not hard to miss.

“Wow, so you do have eyes, wanna medal?!"Allura mockingly rose both her brows and the pitch of her voice. She knew she's risking a smack, but she can't seem to help herself.

“If you have enough time to string together sarcastic quips you have enough sense in that head of yours to inform me about unauthorized passengers. Or has being knocked around in that lion of yours slapped the sanity out of you"

"I beg your pardon!?"

“Ladies, please” Coran begs.

“Oh, hush Coran. You're not my heeler”  

“Afraid I don’t have a leash short enough to reel you in” the man mutters readjusting the buttons of his summer coat.

“Let me reiterate, Princess" the commander folds her arms behind her back "you have not only endangered the citizens aboard the ship, but yourself as well by dragging in, not just a galra, but a galra soldier on deck without considering safety procedures. I know it's in your nature to try and nurture those you deem less fortunate, but you cannot keep doing this"

Allura opens and closes her mouth before pressing them together in a tight line; Hira's in tip-top shape today. She didn't know whether she wants to break something over the woman's head or snap, petulant she knew, it's bad enough that Hira and everyone else treats as though she's a child, a dumb, stupid child that needs to be reprimanded and guided or else she'll end up getting her hand stuck in the proverbial cookie jar. But, she knew, she knew that throwing anything at her whether justified in frustration at the condescension would just be used against her, and pretty much proving their point.

Breaking things.

The urge to break burns under her skin along with the quake of her fists. Doing so would at least abate the rage, but Allura knew better, most times, giving into her base emotions isn't going to get her anywhere. Steeling away the instinct to inflame conflict she takes a calming breath and casts Hira a frigid stare.

"I'm not a child, I know that." She's only half-correct, she didn't wake up this morning expecting to rummage an injured man off an asteroid, as did most things, trouble usually came crashing through her door unannounced and most times unwelcomed.

Her cold gaze falls back to the Stranger, well, most times they come in uninvited.  Maybe this time it might be different.

In any case, she rebuffs Hira, ignoring her protests,

"Enemy or not he’s in need of medical aid."

“I should have immediately been informed of this”

"It's not like I wasn't going to" she argues.

"Really?" The woman arches a brow her face and stature impervious, impregnable and to imagine Freya's much worse that Hira could ever hope to be. But, the Valkyrie general is a concern for another day.

"Maybe-Okay!" She relents, throwing her hands up,  her cold shell wavering in the heat of scrutiny "I forgot! Alright, I should have informed you, but it still doesn't mean you can't just barge into my examination room and talk down to me like a baby!" A second hangs and passes before the Head Commander, marginally, deflates. Her shoulders lower, her sneer less prominent and the harsh edge of her eyes soften.

She still isn't happy.

"He'll need to be guarded. No, buts"

"I've already summoned Lau"

"Lau?" The displeasure snaps right back onto her face.

"Yes, Lau. She's more than capable"

"Fine." Irritated the commander rubs the bridge of her nose in tandem "be stubborn if you will, but the moment the slightest thing goes wrong. This castle is under lockdown and he'll, whatever his name is, will be under my jurisdiction. Understood. Princess or not my duty first and foremost is your safety and the safety of Altean citizens. I will not go back on my oaths"

"Right…"

"Also, I want all his belongings confiscated. They'll need to be investigated, I will not budge on the matter"

"Very well"

"Thank you for being cooperative for a change"

Oh, those were fighting words, back to the condescension again. Squeezing her lips together, Allura refrains, it's not a battle worth dying for.

'Just let it go, Allura, just let it go'

'It's not worth it, it's not worth it'

"Rrrrighhttt…." She breathes out trying to reign in her temper. Hira is none the wiser as the woman just bled condescension.

"I'm returning to my station-" she pauses scanning her face for a long, long minute "....and there is nothing else I need to know?"

"Nope."

"Hm. In any case, I'll take my leave" with a bow the commander dismisses herself, the clatter of her heels is like a funeral march beating in her ear.

"Coran?" She snaps her head in his direction.

The man made a face before frantically shaking his head "Don't look at me, Princess, I said not a thing! It was Nanny who blew the whistle."

"Good grief…" she sighs. Truly, unbelievable.

"Nevermind" she pushes a strand behind her ear "As long as she doesn't put the Castle on totalitarian lockdown." Allura mutters under her breath "Coran, just make sure nothing else gets out. Issue a formal report that we have an Empire Soldier in Altean custody."

"Can do, Princess" he salutes "anything else."

"Just keep it vague enough that people don't start causing a fuss"

"This shall be done. No worries" he slips out the room leaving her to the silence. Which she appreciates, however she can't say the same for her pounding migraine. But, she'll worry about it later, returning back to her work. Luckily, the Stranger hardly stirs from his slumber. He's either in a coma or a pretty heavy sleeper; upon that thought, she gently checks his head to find an abrasion centered on the back of his skull. The hair there is tangled and crusted over with old blood, which is odd. The wound here is old while the bruises are fresh.

Frowning, she moves to his side to check his pulse. He's cold to the touch as she presses her fingers to his throat; his pulse is steady but shallow. Allura leans over the table to put her ear to his chest; his heartbeat is the same, steady, but shallow.

He might need a scan, she reaches over to unclasp his cape, the ornament that held it together is blank. She turns it over but nothing gave any hints about his identity. She places them aside to find her flashlight to check his eyes.

Amethyst. His pupils dilate without fail. She checked his ears to find dried blood caked in them, and down his jaw. Strange enough, she didn't find any damage to his eardrums. Infection maybe, she scraped a few samples from both ears.

Now the hard part came-just how did she get his armor off? She stood there albeit aimless as she eyes it with an arduous stare. Scanning him, her eyes fell upon his satchel. The one wrapped around his hip, the one she had forgotten about until this moment. Carefully, she's able to unlatch it. It barely weighs a thing and other than being woven out a material that she isn't quite sure is leather, there's nothing about it that's particularly fascinating, it looks like any old bag to her.

Or maybe it's not the outside that matters, but the inside. Curious, she unbuckles it to discover-

A pencil used to the very nub. An eraser that's seen better days, a rusted canister, and a sketchbook….a leather-bound sketchbook. Placing the rest down, she flips the book around. Nothing's written on the surface or cover, so she pops it open-The the first page nearly punches the breath right out of her, a gorgeous detailed image of a botanical garden all captured in black and white.

"...Amazing" seems her slumbering 'Prince' has some talent under his sleeves. She flips another page, the next being small in scale, various sketchings of planets, flowers, fruit, trees. They were no less impressive, but that isn't what starts to bug her, for whatever reason, there's an old familiarity about them that she can't quite place a finger on. She flips another page and here she finds renderings of people.

A mother and child, some children playing in what she believes is a town square, men of various shapes and sizes, and an old woman by a well.

She's absolutely gentle about turning the pages, but the next turn causes her to freeze. It-

It can't be?

She blinks for a moment unsure, for a moment she believes she's seeing things, that her mind's playing tricks on her again. She blinks and blinks yet the image stays the same.

There's no mistaken that sly smile. The white hair, the clothing, it's Honerva? One of Altea's greatest alchemists rendered so perfectly, so beautifully, drawn so...so real that Allura felt she could practically jump right out the page and transform into flesh and blood right there and then.

But-

Why does this man-why did this man-how could he have drawn her? Honerva's dead, she's been gone for years now, so how? Allura places the book down to squint at him.

"Just how old are you?" She leans over him, bracing all her weight on the table to loom and stare and stare until she realizes how futile the endeavor is "who am I kidding there's no way to know, not like this" she chides herself.

Just as she's about to pull away she sees his eyelids flicker, heard his claws clank against the table, she stills, pausing in her movements until she's met with amethyst again; only this time she's not prying his eyes open.

They open themselves, wide, dilated and centered completely on her.

"Eh….Hello?"

~ 

Comments and Reviews are much appreciated! 

[mikhailsbluecarnation-blog]

Us, Alone under this cherry blossom tree (Arthur's and Kiku's side)

(Arthur's side)

"Sorry, I walked too far! Both of you know how big my garden" Arthur made up some white lie, his shirt was soaked with sweat and storm from outside, "I know where you are heading, but anyway this will be your punishment" Ivan handed him a paper with KIKU HONDA written on it. "This is your punishment for fall in love, Arthur. Now, you are in charge for arranging your own military" Ivan sighed in deep disappointment, "You are so hopeless, you are lucky only us who are spying on you". "We are leaving now, you know who is your opponent, I am sorry but when you are looking for air, things were just made into final decision" Alfred made apologetic face and a tight hug, "Sorry Arthur, I promise that you will be on secure position" he let go and turned his body, "Now, get a rest ok? Lots of it!", he half-begged Arthur. Alfred was forced by will of his central goverment to fight in this battle, Alfred's heart refused to harm his ex-brother more and more, he care too much as a former brother.

"Yes, I will" Arthur answered him bitterly, he disliked when Alfred begged like that, he did not want to let Alfred in harm, and yet not for Kiku too.

Days passed, today was just a day before the day for him to attack his loved one, probably ended his life too. Arthur clasped his hands together on the top of mahogany table, his eyebrows furrowed together due not be able to contain unbearable worry and sorrow of a certain of unhappy rainy future. "Kiku, I wonder he will be okay. If only we, the Europe and also Alfred does not get overboard with things, I am sorry" he whispered to thin air, "This is all of my fault, Kiku don't deserve this, and yet if I rebel, I will got my existence erased by my own people and had death by others" his green eyes teared up a warm tear from his corner of his delicate sorrow eyes.

Ding! Suddenly, there was a bell ringing outside, "Package! Documents package!" A mailman shouted from outside, "All for you, England!" Howard with rosy cheeks looked so happy for serving his beloved country. "Oh my Lord! Are you crying?" They were a bit surprised looking at Arthur with wet eyes and eyebags walking to the door. "Ah it is just seasonal thing, not a problem" Arthur held his emotions and worry tight, unwilling to let them slipped and made people he cared got worried. Howard picked up the huge package, "Thanks for picking and taking thid package for us, Mailman!" Howard and Arthur waved their hand.

"It has scent of chinese ink and washi paper, is it from Japan?" Howard commented and smiled, "I saw you sending something in Post office, it was for him, was not it? I supported your deeds only, dear my beloved country" Howard put his hands behind his back and bowed, "I wish to serve you only". Arthur smiled and pat his head, "Thanks for not leaking it, you are really a human best friend of mine! Would you make some tea for me? I need it for thinking" Arthur rested his body on a chair. Howard smiled then leave the room, Arthur unpacked and saw many sketches and war strategies for lesser casualty on Kiku's land and Asia, also further plan for moving capital city and ensuring both race survival. Arthur smiled in delight and now he felt content for his decision, he made copies of them for entire day then mailed the 'effective attack' strategy to Ivan and Alfred with strong persistence and confidence of his strategy and falsely making statement of his changed his feelings toward Kiku.

A letter fell from the package, it was a pink colored and decorated beautifully

"Ah? A letter? The envelope said I can't open it until I arrived there? Also a flashdisk and a memo? Just put it in my weapon installation? I mean if it is from Kiku, then be it". He walked to underground lab underneath his house, he turned his computer on and connected the flashdisk, all of programs was written both in english and japanese, Arthur could not understand any of foreign language text, he just trust the broken English written on any messages written on that program that affect directly to weapon system. "I guess that's it? It was easier than I thought." Arthur blinked in amusement, then his phone rang, "Gah! Damn it that is surprising!" He picked it up, "What is it Al? Don't startle me like that!" He sighed.

Alfred was tearing up, "waahhh!! Sorry for forcing you to do things! Although your strategy is so far awesome!" He sniffled and threw tantrum on floor, Alfred could not help but chuckle, "It is okay, I have changed okay Al? Don't cry, hero won't cry. Now sleep okay?" He soothed his temper down very easy, like a slice of sugarful cake, Alfred stopped his tantrum and tears, "Really? You won't curse me at all? For real dude?! Thanks! Tony will assist you with everything onwards if you need it!". Tony pouted, "Fucking! Fucking blimey!" It shook head, Alfred laughed, "He said he does not want to! Okay hang up later!". Arthur sighed and shut down any electricity system in his house to prevent more spying from both of them.

(Kiku's side)

Kiku rested his head and whispered to himself, "It was tiring, to faked suicide attacks of me so he can give seemingly have 100% chance of winning strategy to Ivan. Little did both of them know that my country changed lots in this past year!" Kiku smirked in winning and decided to think of something more interesting.

"Oh I know! Hanami is nearing! Arthur will love this!"

@aquamoon33 @angel-of-the-impala @homoshima @piiess

[caitlynlynch]

I didn’t realize, when I picked this up for review, that it was published by an evangelical Christian publisher (Barbour Books). Their mission statement is ‘to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses’.

Now, there is a huge market out there for Christian romance. That audience… generally does not include me. While I was raised a Protestant, and I do still believe in God, organized religion isn’t something I care for.

Nonetheless, I’m no quitter and I resolved to give this anthology a go. There are many ways in which one can express faith without being heavy-handed and that’s what I was looking for here; a romance where two people who share a common faith find love and comfort in each other. Some of the stories did that much better than others, and consequently I’ve decided to write a quick individual review with star rating for each.

First Comes Marriage by Amanda Barratt

A hasty marriage between a young girl compromised by a rake and a young man ordered into it by his father is an inauspicious beginning, especially when the reluctant bridegroom immediately goes to sea with his Navy ship for three years. When he comes back, he has found God and is determined to make a go of his marriage.

To be honest, this was one of my least favourite stories in the book. We never did find out exactly how the hero ‘found God’ and at the first sign of a challenge to his authority, he reverted back to being extremely dislikable. I struggled to warm to him, and Charity was a little bit too good to be true. I’m rating this one three stars.

Masquerade Melody by Angela Bell

This was a gentle, heartwarming story about a young lady living in reduced circumstances after the death of her father forced her into service to her bossy cousin as a companion and chaperone. Adelaide reminded me of a caged bird, desperate to be free with her music, and Colonel Glenmire was a perfect hero for her even if the romance in the story didn’t really become apparent until the very end. Sweetly charming. Five stars.

Three Little Matchmakers by Susanne Dietze

Caroline Dempsey meets her childhood friend Henry, the Earl of Marsden, once again, but this time she is nothing more than the governess for three orphaned children placed into his care. There were hints at abuse in Henry’s past which have conditioned him to guard his emotions, and watching his walls come down as Caroline and the children determinedly loved him was rather charming. There were some hilarious escapades - one particular one involving a sheep in the ballroom had me laughing out loud. A hardened heart has no chance with three determined plot moppets on the case. Five stars.

The Gentleman Smuggler’s Lady by Michelle Griep

If you like Poldark, you’ll enjoy this one set on the rugged Cornish coast with smugglers and excise men aplenty. While nicely written, I quibbled with a few things such as Helen’s becoming engaged immediately after her father’s death with no mourning period, and the fact that there was no real resolution with the invisible antagonist of the plot. Enjoyable but probably needed to be about double the length. Four stars.

When I Saw His Face by Nancy Moser

A widow in her forties receives a proposal from an eligible bachelor once her stepdaughter marries and moves away, but meeting a handsome stranger makes her rethink her wishes for the future.

Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I’m not a fan of either insta-love OR love triangles, and this story featured both. Honestly I couldn’t get through it fast enough, and I had to go back to it to refresh my memory when writing this review. Two stars.

The Highwayman’s Bargain by MaryLu Tyndall

Kidnapped on the way to her own wedding, Sophia is shocked to find that the highwayman who took her is her childhood sweetheart, Nash, who tells her some unpalatable truths about her future husband.

Now, I liked Sophia well enough. She was doing what she felt she had to do for her family, and was truly caught between a rock and a hard place. Nash behaved like the worst kind of (censored) (bleeping) MAN, asking her to make the biggest call of her life without any information or reassurances from him whatsoever. I genuinely wanted her to push him off the cliff at the end. Two stars.

Jamie Ever After by Erica Vetsch

Absolutely my favourite story in the bunch, this was a really strong one to end on. William, the Earl of Beckenham, has returned from war with serious scars to a fiancee who immediately cried off their marriage. Convinced no woman would ever want him, when his sister asks him to offer marriage to her best friend, in danger from a determined rake, William does so… only to finally discover that the woman who can see past his scars has been right under his nose all along.

There’s nothing better than a scarred hero and the feisty heroine who sees the real man beneath. I adored this one. Five stars.

Overall I can only say that this was a very uneven collection. Depending on personal taste, you’ll probably find at least one story in here which hits the spot for you, but I honestly doubt that anyone would really enjoy all of them, even if Christian romance is your preferred genre. For an averaged rating, I’m giving it four stars.

The Regency Brides Collection is available now (but holy Batman, that price!!!)

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.

[taylorfennersbookishworld]

The Saturday Review is a weekly meme hosted by me (Taylor Fenner's Bookish World) where fellow book bloggers and readers can share what books they've recently reviewed.  A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin Blurb: Published in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of George R. R. Martin s landmark series, this lavishly illustrated special edition of A Game of Thrones featuring gorgeous full-page artwork as well as black-and-white illustrations in every chapter revitalizes the fantasy masterpiece that became a cultural phenomenon. And now the mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure of this magnificent saga come to life as never before.  A GAME OF THRONES A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK ONE With a special foreword by John Hodgman  Winter is coming, and in the frozen wastes to the North, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a region of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale rife with plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, as each faction endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones." My Review: Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (I've seen a lot of different covers for this book, but since this is the illustrated edition, I think it really compliments the edition well.) Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (“When you play a game of thrones you win or you die” – George R.R. Marton, A Game of Thrones" So many lines in this book are quotable but this one is probably the most telling of the story. There will be death. There will be betrayal and intrigue.) Characters: 🌟🌟🌟 🌟🌟   (This book is told in multiple perspectives: Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Ned Stark, Bran Stark, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Caitlyn Stark, and more. There are some characters you hate straight off like Joffrey and Cersei, characters you love instantly like Dany, Khal Drogo, and Jon, but overall they're all really well developed.) Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (From Winterfell to the Eyrie, King's Landing to the Dothraki lands this book is gorgeously set, with diverse landscape and imposing castles, desert lands and haunting woods.) Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (I went into this book not expecting to like it. I've tried watching the show a couple times but never from the beginning and I thought, it's time. I need to start from the beginning, read all the currently published books if I can, and then watch the show. The first chapter in the woods beyond the wall dragged for me but everything after that was fantastic. I devoured this book in a week, fell in love with the characters, and now eagerly await the arrival of book two so I can return to this fantastic story. The only thing I did not care for in the plot was all the killing of the horses and direwolves. I'm an animal lover and while I don't care what humans get killed in battle scenes, I dislike the killing of animals and could barely stomach those parts. I suppose they are casualties of war, but I'd rather remain oblivious.) Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.8 of 5 Stars! My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟 🌟🌟 4.8 of 5 Stars! The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson Blurb: The classic supernatural thriller by an author who helped define the genre. First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting;' Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own. My Review: Cover: 🌟 (Like Game of Thrones, The Haunting of Hill House has many variations when it comes to cover. This is not one of my favorites. I much prefer the Penguin Horror Classics cover for a creepier vibe.) Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ("Makes your blood chill and your scalp prickle" - from a New York Times Review Blurb on a different cover. This tagline prepares you for a chilling read.) Characters: 🌟🌟 (Oh Eleanor, Eleanor how I hate you. You're weak, your gullible, you're.. annoying. The problem I had connecting with the characters in this book has entirely to do with the differences between the book and the 1999 movie adaptation, The Haunting [my personal favorite adaptation]. ) Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟 (I like the picture Ms. Jackson paints of Hill House and it's horrifying past, I'll give the book that.) Story: 🌟🌟(Again, I have the horrible problem of having seen The Haunting many, many times. It's one of my favorite movies. So I knew the basic premise of the story going in. It's a bit of a chicken before the egg dilemma for me. Did I love the movie more for the liberties the director took with the source material? Did I hate the book for being so different from the movie adaptation? Is it just because I dislike Eleanor Vance that much? I cannot say. All I can say is that I've heard popular horror novelists describe this book as truly frightening and for me it just... wasn't.) Overall: 🌟🌟🌟 2.6 of 5 Stars! My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟 2.6 of 5 stars!  Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell Blurb: A thief. An officer. A guardian.  Three strangers, one shared destiny . . . When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. A new life for a wealthy French family and their descendants. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing. Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes… Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spy on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet. Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a renowned traitor. In training to take command of the military, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when his father dies and leaves behind a cryptic message that only one person can read: a girl named Alouette. Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos. All three have a role to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet. Power, romance, and destiny collide in this sweeping reimagining of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, Les Misérables. My Review: Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (I love the cover of this book! It's what first made me notice this book when I saw it mentioned online, even before I read the blurb.) Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ("A thief, an officer, a guardian. Three Strangers, One Shared Destiny." - This tagline in the blurb really drew me in and made me want to learn more.) Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (You need to consider the characters as I did: Chatine, Marcellus, and Alouette are mainly the only characters that matter in this story. Sure, there are other characters in this story; Chatine's parents and sister, Marcellus's grandfather and former governess, Alouette's father and the sisters, and Inspectuer Limier - but they're mostly varying degrees of background noise. We have Chatine masquerading as a boy named Theo, Marcellus trying to become the man his grandfather wants him to be while having insecurities and fears that he could be like his father, and Alouette who wishes to explore the world above her underground refuge and has forgotten memories of her life before coming to the refuge. I liked Marcellus and Chatine but for some reason I really did not like Alouette.) Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (I loved discovering the world of Laterre. With its fabulous world of the elite in Ledome to the slums of the frets, the peace of the defector camps, and the vast nothingness of the land beyond the capital and the horror that is Montfer. I can't wait to see more in the second book!) Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟(This book grabbed me right away, from the 75 page readalong hosted by the authors to the rest of the book - I was hooked. I've never read Les Miserables, only once briefly watched a few minutes of the horrendous movie adaptation with Hugh Jackman (I like musicals okay? Just not when there's no dialogue and just singing) so I really am unfamiliar with the plot of it and can't tell you how closely this reimagining compares to the source material. There was a brief section in the middle where it felt like the story dragged (only about 50 pages) but the story quickly picked up again and the ending left me breathless! I can't stop thinking about this book and all I can say is: I WANT MORE!) Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.6 of 5 Stars! My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.6 of 5 stars!  Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan Blurb: A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself. A prince in danger must decide who to trust. A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.  Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war. In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy... My Review: Cover: 🌟🌟🌟 (The cover is pretty to be sure. It's vibrant and in person, sparkly which I love. It's not my favorite cover this year, but it's not bad.) Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ("Let them hear her." Oooh I love that tagline! It makes me think of fierce female leads.) Characters: 🌟 (I honestly could not connect with any of the characters in this book. I wanted to like them but I just ended up finding them lacking. It's infuriating with a tagline on the cover and the premise of a fierce female lead that I'm left with the impression that the female lead is more of a side note in someone else's story.) Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟(This book should have had amazing worldbuilding, the blurb sets you right up for it but in the end I found it unoriginal. Maybe I've read too many fantasy novels of late, but this setting just didn't stand out for me.) Story: 🌟(I really tried to like this book. The premise sounded good but this book fell flat for me. I often find that when a book is as hyped up as this book has been, described as "one of the biggest hits of the year," that I struggle to get through it. I found myself skimming this book more than actually reading it. I have peculiar reading tastes and this book just wasn't for me.) Overall: 🌟🌟 2.4 of 5 Stars! My Rating: 🌟🌟 2.4 of 5 stars!  You'd Be Mine by Erin Hahn Blurb: Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.  But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it happen.  Swayed by Clay’s undeniable charm and good looks, Annie and her band agree to join the tour. From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history. If only she could convince her heart that Clay, with his painful past and head over heels inducing tenor, isn’t worth the risk. My Review: Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟(This cover definitely grabbed my attention when I first saw it. I love the title font but I wish the tagline would be a little more visible and the author's name kind of blends in with the... is it wheat?) Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 ("Love on the line. Life on the open road." This tagline sounds interesting, but it's the blurb that really draws the reader in.) Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (Annie is country music royalty but she's reluctant to step into the spotlight. Clay is a rising star and the bad boy you can't help but fall for in this story.) Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟(I honestly think if you liked the show Nashville, you'll probably love this book because that is the vibe I got from it.) Story: 🌟🌟🌟(I liked this book well enough. I'm a big fan of books about musicians, opposites attract, hate-to-love that kind of thing. But this book lacked a little of the drama, sass, and bickering I've come to expect, but then I think - this is YA and most of the musician love stories I've read are aimed at a NA age group so perhaps that's where it deviates for me. If Kylie Scott's Stage Dive series could be compared to a sexy lifetime movie, You'd Be Mine is a cute Hallmark type book.) Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 3.8 of 5 Stars! My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 3.8 of 5 stars!  Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton Blurb: A sound awakens her. There's darkness all around. And then she's falling... She has no idea who or where she is. Or why she's dead. The only clue to her identity hangs around her neck: a single rusted key. This is how she and the others receive their names—from whatever belongings they had when they fell out of their graves. Under is a place of dirt and secrets, and Key is determined to discover the truth of her past in order to escape it. She needs help, but who can she trust? Ribbon seems content in Under, uninterested in finding answers. Doll’s silence hints at deep sorrow, which could be why she doesn't utter a word. There's Smoke, the boy with a fierceness that rivals even the living. And Journal, who stays apart from everyone else. Key's instincts tell her there is something remarkable about each of them, even if she can't remember why. Then the murders start; bodies that are burnt to a crisp. After being burned, the dead stay dead. Key is running out of time to discover who she was—and what secret someone is willing to kill to keep hidden—before she becomes the next victim… My Review: Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟(I love, love, love the cover of this book! It's dark, mysterious, and gorgeous!) Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ("The End is Only the Beginning." Hold for a minute while I think of the line from The Mummy, "death is only the beginning." I do love the tagline for this book, it makes me want to see what that cryptic line means.) Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (I like the unique names of the characters in this book. Instead of the names they had in life they are named by the objects with them when they come back from their graves. Key, Ribbon, Smoke... unusual, but kind of cool character names. I thought the characters were reasonably developed, I feel like I got a good handle on their personalities.) Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟(This book, above all things is creative, and that definitely extends to the worldbuilding. I enjoyed seeing the world through Key's eyes... The world of Under is dark and delightfully creepy which I absolutely loved!) Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟(This book is so unique and creative... there's just something so different about it. I was hooked from the beginning and the story did not let me down. It was a little confusing at times and dragged in a few places but overall, it was a good read! The writing is easy to get into which makes for a quick read that will keep you dying for answers alongside Key to the very end.) Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.4 of 5 Stars! My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.4 of 5 stars! 

http://taylorfenner.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-saturday-review-23-march-2019.html

[readbookywooks]

The Confession of a Passionate Heart - In Anecdote

"I was leading a wild life then. Father said just now that I spent several thousand roubles in seducing young girls. That's a swinish invention, and there was nothing of the sort. And if there was, I didn't need money simply for that. With me money is an accessory, the overflow of my heart, the framework. To-day she would be my lady, to-morrow a wench out of the streets in her place. I entertained them both. I threw away money by the handful on music, rioting, and Gypsies. Sometimes I gave it to the ladies, too, for they'll take it greedily, that must be admitted, and be pleased and thankful for it. Ladies used to be fond of me: not all of them, but it happened, it happened. But I always liked side-paths, little dark back-alleys behind the main road - there one finds adventures and surprises, and precious metal in the dirt. I am speaking figuratively, brother. In the town I was in, there were no such back-alleys in the literal sense, but morally there were. If you were like me, you'd know what that means. I loved vice, I loved the ignominy of vice. I loved cruelty; am I not a bug, am I not a noxious insect? In fact a Karamazov! Once we went, a whole lot of us, for a picnic, in seven sledges. It was dark, it was winter, and I began squeezing a girl's hand, and forced her to kiss me. She was the daughter of an official, a sweet, gentle, submissive creature. She allowed me, she allowed me much in the dark. She thought, poor thing, that I should come next day to make her an offer (I was looked upon as a good match, too). But I didn't say a word to her for five months. I used to see her in a corner at dances (we were always having dances), her eyes watching me. I saw how they glowed with fire - a fire of gentle indignation. This game only tickled that insect lust I cherished in my soul. Five months later she married an official and left the town, still angry, and still, perhaps, in love with me. Now they live happily. Observe that I told no one. I didn't boast of it. Though I'm full of low desires, and love what's low, I'm not dishonourable. You're blushing; your eyes flashed. Enough of this filth with you. And all this was nothing much - wayside blossoms a la Paul de Kock- though the cruel insect had already grown strong in my soul. I've a perfect album of reminiscences, brother. God bless them, the darlings. I tried to break it off without quarrelling. And I never gave them away, I never bragged of one of them. But that's enough. You can't suppose I brought you here simply to talk of such nonsense. No, I'm going to tell you something more curious; and don't be surprised that I'm glad to tell you, instead of being ashamed." "You say that because I blushed," Alyosha said suddenly. "I wasn't blushing at what you were saying or at what you've done. I blushed because I am the same as you are." "You? Come, that's going a little too far!" "No, it's not too far," said Alyosha warmly (obviously the idea was not a new one). "The ladder's the same. I'm at the bottom step, and you're above, somewhere about the thirteenth. That's how I see it. But it's all the same. Absolutely the same in kind. Anyone on the bottom step is bound to go up to the top one." "Then one ought not to step on at all." "Anyone who can help it had better not." "But can you?" "I think not." "Hush, Alyosha, hush, darling! I could kiss your hand, you touch me so. That rogue Grushenka has an eye for men. She told me once that she'd devour you one day. There, there, I won't! From this field of corruption fouled by flies, let's pass to my tragedy, also befouled by flies, that is, by every sort of vileness. Although the old man told lies about my seducing innocence, there really was something of the sort in my tragedy, though it was only once, and then it did not come off. The old man who has reproached me with what never happened does not even know of this fact; I never told anyone about it. You're the first, except Ivan, of course - Ivan knows everything. He knew about it long before you. But Ivan's a tomb." "Ivan's a tomb?" Alyosha listened with great attention. "I was lieutenant in a line regiment, but still I was under supervision, like a kind of convict. Yet I was awfully well received in the little town. I spent money right and left. I was thought to be rich; I thought so myself. But I must have pleased them in other ways as well. Although they shook their heads over me, they liked me. My colonel, who was an old man, took a sudden dislike to me. He was always down upon me, but I had powerful friends, and, moreover, all the town was on my side, so he couldn't do me much harm. I was in fault myself for refusing to treat him with proper respect. I was proud. This obstinate old fellow, who was really a very good sort, kind-hearted and hospitable, had had two wives, both dead. His first wife, who was of a humble family, left a daughter as unpretentious as herself. She was a young woman of four and twenty when I was there, and was living with her father and an aunt, her mother's sister. The aunt was simple and illiterate; the niece was simple but lively. I like to say nice things about people. I never knew a woman of more charming character than Agafya - fancy, her name was Agafya Ivanovna! And she wasn't bad-looking either, in the Russian style: tall, stout, with a full figure, and beautiful eyes, though a rather coarse face. She had not married, although she had had two suitors. She refused them, but was as cheerful as ever. I was intimate with her, not in 'that' way, it was pure friendship. I have often been friendly with women quite innocently. I used to talk to her with shocking frankness, and she only laughed. Many woman like such freedom, and she was a girl too, which made it very amusing. Another thing, one could never think of her as a young lady. She and her aunt lived in her father's house with a sort of voluntary humility, not putting themselves on an equality with other people. She was a general favourite, and of use of everyone, for she was a clever dressmaker. She had a talent for it. She gave her services freely without asking for payment, but if anyone offered her payment, she didn't refuse. The colonel, of course, was a very different matter. He was one of the chief personages in the district. He kept open house, entertained the whole town, gave suppers and dances. At the time I arrived and joined the battalion, all the town was talking of the expected return of the colonel's second daughter, a great beauty, who had just left a fashionable school in the capital. This second daughter is Katerina Ivanovna, and she was the child of the second wife, who belonged to a distinguished general's family; although, as I learnt on good authority, she too brought the colonel no money. She had connections, and that was all. There may have been expectations, but they had come to nothing. "Yet, when the young lady came from boarding-school on a visit, the whole town revived. Our most distinguished ladies - two 'Excellencies' and a colonel's wife - and all the rest following their lead, at once took her up and gave entertainments in her honour. She was the belle of the balls and picnics, and they got up tableaux vivants in aid of distressed governesses. I took no notice, I went on as wildly as before, and one of my exploits at the time set all the town talking. I saw her eyes taking my measure one evening at the battery commander's, but I didn't go up to her, as though I disdained her acquaintance. I did go up and speak to her at an evening party not long after. She scarcely looked at me, and compressed her lips scornfully. 'Wait a bit. I'll have my revenge,' thought I. I behaved like an awful fool on many occasions at that time, and I was conscious of it myself. What made it worse was that I felt that 'Katenka' was not an innocent boarding-school miss, but a person of character, proud and really high-principled; above all, she had education and intellect, and I had neither. You think I meant to make her an offer? No, I simply wanted to revenge myself, because I was such a hero and she didn't seem to feel it. "Meanwhile, I spent my time in drink and riot, till the lieutenant-colonel put me under arrest for three days. Just at that time father sent me six thousand roubles in return for my sending him a deed giving up all claims upon him - settling our accounts, so to speak, and saying that I wouldn't expect anything more. I didn't understand a word of it at the time. Until I came here, Alyosha, till the last few days, indeed, perhaps even now, I haven't been able to make head or tail of my money affairs with father. But never mind that, we'll talk of it later. "Just as I received the money, I got a letter from a friend telling me something that interested me immensely. The authorities, I learnt, were dissatisfied with our lieutenant-colonel. He was suspected of irregularities; in fact, his enemies were preparing a surprise for him. And then the commander of the division arrived, and kicked up the devil of a shindy. Shortly afterwards he was ordered to retire. I won't tell you how it all happened. He had enemies certainly. Suddenly there was a marked coolness in the town towards him and all his family. His friends all turned their backs on him. Then I took my first step. I met Agafya Ivanovna, with whom I'd always kept up a friendship, and said, 'Do you know there's a deficit of 4500 roubles of government money in your father's accounts?' "'What do you mean? What makes you say so? The general was here not long ago, and everything was all right.' "'Then it was, but now it isn't.' "She was terribly scared. "'Don't frighten me!' she said. 'Who told you so?' "'Don't be uneasy,' I said, 'I won't tell anyone. You know I'm as silent as the tomb. I only wanted, in view of "possibilities," to add, that when they demand that 4500 roubles from your father, and he can't produce it, he'll be tried, and made to serve as a common soldier in his old age, unless you like to send me your young lady secretly. I've just had money paid me. I'll give her four thousand, if you like, and keep the secret religiously.' "'Ah, you scoundrel!' - that's what she said. 'You wicked scoundrel! How dare you!' "She went away furiously indignant, while I shouted after her once more that the secret should be kept sacred. Those two simple creatures, Agafya and her aunt, I may as well say at once, behaved like perfect angels all through this business. They genuinely adored their 'Katya,' thought her far above them, and waited on her, hand and foot. But Agafya told her of our conversation. I found that out afterwards. She didn't keep it back, and of course that was all I wanted. "Suddenly the new major arrived to take command of the battalion. The old lieutenant-colonel was taken ill at once, couldn't leave his room for two days, and didn't hand over the government money. Dr. Kravchenko declared that he really was ill. But I knew for a fact, and had known for a long time, that for the last four years the money had never been in his hands except when the Commander made his visits of inspection. He used to lend it to a trustworthy person, a merchant of our town called Trifonov, an old widower, with a big beard and gold-rimmed spectacles. He used to go to the fair, do a profitable business with the money, and return the whole sum to the colonel, bringing with it a present from the fair, as well as interest on the loan. But this time (I heard all about it quite by chance from Trifonov's son and heir, a drivelling youth and one of the most vicious in the world) - this time, I say, Trifonov brought nothing back from the fair. The lieutenant-colonel flew to him. 'I've never received any money from you, and couldn't possibly have received any.' That was all the answer he got. So now our lieutenant-colonel is confined to the house, with a towel round his head, while they're all three busy putting ice on it. All at once an orderly arrives on the scene with the book and the order to 'hand over the battalion money immediately, within two hours.' He signed the book (I saw the signature in the book afterwards), stood up, saying he would put on his uniform, ran to his bedroom, loaded his double-barrelled gun with a service bullet, took the boot off his right foot, fixed the gun against his chest, and began feeling for the trigger with his foot. But Agafya, remembering what I had told her, had her suspicions. She stole up and peeped into the room just in time. She rushed in, flung herself upon him from behind, threw her arms round him, and the gun went off, hit the ceiling, but hurt no one. The others ran in, took away the gun, and held him by the arms. I heard all about this afterwards. I was at home, it was getting dusk, and I was just preparing to go out. I had dressed, brushed my hair, scented my handkerchief, and taken up my cap, when suddenly the door opened, and facing me in the room stood Katerina Ivanovna. "It's strange how things happen sometimes. No one had seen her in the street, so that no one knew of it in the town. I lodged with two decrepit old ladies, who looked after me. They were most obliging old things, ready to do anything for me, and at my request were as silent afterwards as two cast-iron posts. Of course I grasped the position at once. She walked in and looked straight at me, her dark eyes determined, even defiant, but on her lips and round mouth I saw uncertainty. "'My sister told me,' she began, 'that you would give me 4500 roubles if I came to you for it - myself. I have come... give me the money!' "She couldn't keep it up. She was breathless, frightened, her voice failed her, and the corners of her mouth and the lines round it quivered. Alyosha, are you listening, or are you asleep?" "Mitya, I know you will tell the whole truth, said Alyosha in agitation. "I am telling it. If I tell the whole truth just as it happened I shan't spare myself. My first idea was a - Karamazov one. Once I was bitten by a centipede, brother, and laid up a fortnight with fever from it. Well, I felt a centipede biting at my heart then - a noxious insect, you understand? I looked her up and down. You've seen her? She's a beauty. But she was beautiful in another way then. At that moment she was beautiful because she was noble, and I was a scoundrel; she in all the grandeur of her generosity and sacrifice for her father, and I - a bug! And, scoundrel as I was, she was altogether at my mercy, body and soul. She was hemmed in. I tell you frankly, that thought, that venomous thought, so possessed my heart that it almost swooned with suspense. It seemed as if there could be no resisting it; as though I should act like a bug, like a venomous spider, without a spark of pity. I could scarcely breathe. Understand, I should have gone next day to ask for her hand, so that it might end honourably, so to speak, and that nobody would or could know. For though I'm a man of base desires, I'm honest. And at that very second some voice seemed to whisper in my ear, 'But when you come to-morrow to make your proposal, that girl won't even see you; she'll order her coachman to kick you out of the yard. "Publish it through all the town," she would say, "I'm not afraid of you." 'I looked at the young lady, my voice had not deceived me. That is how it would be, not a doubt of it. I could see from her face now that I should be turned out of the house. My spite was roused. I longed to play her the nastiest swinish cad's trick: to look at her with a sneer, and on the spot where she stood before me to stun her with a tone of voice that only a shopman could use. "'Four thousand! What do you mean? I was joking. You've been counting your chickens too easily, madam. Two hundred, if you like, with all my heart. But four thousand is not a sum to throw away on such frivolity. You've put yourself out to no purpose.' "I should have lost the game, of course. She'd have run away. But it would have been an infernal revenge. It would have been worth it all. I'd have howled with regret all the rest of my life, only to have played that trick. Would you believe it, it has never happened to me with any other woman, not one, to look at her at such a moment with hatred. But, on my oath, I looked at her for three seconds, or five perhaps, with fearful hatred - that hate which is only a hair's-breadth from love, from the maddest love! "I went to the window, put my forehead against the frozen pane, and I remember the ice burnt my forehead like fire. I did not keep her long, don't be afraid. I turned round, went up to the table, opened the drawer and took out a banknote for five thousand roubles (it was lying in a French dictionary). Then I showed it her in silence, folded it, handed it to her, opened the door into the passage, and, stepping back, made her a deep bow. a most respectful, a most impressive bow, believe me! She shuddered all over, gazed at me for a second, turned horribly pale-white as a sheet, in fact - and all at once, not impetuously but softly, gently, bowed down to my feet - not a boarding-school curtsey, but a Russian bow, with her forehead to the floor. She jumped up and ran away. I was wearing my sword. I drew it and nearly stabbed myself with it on the spot; why, I don't know. It would have been frightfully stupid, of course. I suppose it was from delight. Can you understand that one might kill oneself from delight? But I didn't stab myself. I only kissed my sword and put it back in the scabbard - which there was no need to have told you, by the way. And I fancy that in telling you about my inner conflict I have laid it on rather thick to glorify myself. But let it pass, and to hell with all who pry into the human heart! Well, so much for that 'adventure' with Katerina Ivanovna. So now Ivan knows of it, and you - no one else." Dmitri got up, took a step or two in his excitement, pulled out his handkerchief and mopped his forehead, then sat down again, not in the same place as before, but on the opposite side, so that Alyosha had to turn quite round to face him.