#lace reviews

[lacependragon]

2024 Book #1: The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg

Intended Audience: Adult Genre: Romantasy (Romance-focused fantasy) Length: 335 pages Finished: February 17th, 2024

Narration: single narrator, first person pov

Summary: In a fantasy world consumed by an endless drought, a young woman on the run from her father has arrived at the last place that might take her in: the troll city under the greatest bridge ever built. But in order to get in, she must tell the leaders of her strange magic ability - she can push fear onto others, though she'll feel it too. As Lark, our MC, tries to fit into trollis (their preferred term) society, she finds herself struggling to fit in when kindness and compassion don't get you far in a society of strength. But some trollis soften to her, especially a handsome one named Azmar that Lark can't stop thinking about, no matter how dangerous it is.

Review: This is a very good book. Lark is a fun, compassionate, and quick thinking main character whose mistakes are understandable and who uses all the information at her disposal in clever ways. I loved how her compassion and struggle to fit in led to so much of the conflict in the story, and I loved how it also was a huge part of her success in the story, too. Lark's relationships with other characters, including Azmar and Unach, who she lives with, are just so, so good. I loved the job that Lark ended up with - monster hunting - and I really appreciate how it never stops being relevant to the story, both in activity and in social situations. In fact, this is just a very tightly written little book and everything circles around in some very fantastic ways.

The writing is lovely, too. I really enjoy the way this author writes books - I own a few of them - and I find there's a nice cadence to the words. It's smooth to read. And that spreads into how information is given to the reader, as well. Everything feels very smooth and easy flowing.

And, just to come back around, I really, really love compassionate protagonists. I love when characters want to help others, no matter the cost, and sometimes make stupid decisions because of that. Lark is such a fantastic protagonist who works around everything she is given. I love her. I love Azmar, too.

I think my biggest problem is that this is a seriously closed door romance. A few on-screen kisses and that's about it. Some light references. I would have loved to see more - I prefer my romances a little smuttier - but YMMV.

Just a fantastic book, seriously. So glad it was my first of the year.

Things I liked, specifically:

The romance was good. I understood why Lark was attracted to Azmar, and even though we never get Azmar's point of view, it was clear to me why he liked her. Watching them fall for each other was just adorable. Also, I love when a romance doesn't rely on badly done miscommunication for its third act drama. This does something SO GOOD that has nothing to do with that!

The worldbuilding was really neat. This is a standalone, so there's a lot of questions left unanswered, but the answers we got were fun. I also loved how it tied into the plot, as well as the culture of the trollis. You really get a sense for what their people value when the architecture is described. It's very evocative. And the cultural bits we get, the government and tax and law systems, the currency and caste stuff. God it's all so good and intriguing. Layered in just enough, in my opinion.

The friendships. There are so many good supporting characters in this story, including Unach, the trollis woman originally assigned to look over Lark. She's Azmar's sister and she's basically my fave. She's so gruff and short-tempered but also fantastic. Love her. I loved all of the supporting characters. All of them were well-written, well-rounded, and had motivations that were clear to me.

LARK. Again, emphasizing that Lark is just a fantastic, compassionate and kind protagonist. She is tired of fighting. Tired of having to hurt others. She wants a family, friends, and peace, and it is beautiful to watch her strive for her.

The themes. Sometimes you can't change a place, only you can change. Family isn't what your born into, but the people who will accept you no matter what you are. It is always right to try and save others. What is a monster? What is a man? Just to name a few that I personally pulled out of the story that I just adored the execution of. It's so good. And the trollis society embodies both good and bad, and you get to see the way it echoes into the themes and guh.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars.

Recommended for: Fans of romance who enjoy good worldbuilding, fans of Holes, fans of Gentle Giant men.

[adelle-ein]

lace's oc2path review

Disclaimer: I am deeply critical of this game and of Octopath 1, and I very much loathe COTC, so there will be a lot of negativity in this post. Don't like don't read!!!111 Also explicit spoilers for everything duh, and game typical content warnings.

Octopath and I have a…complicated relationship. It was my first Switch game. I had fond memories of it, even if it was never my favorite, I found it very hard, I really only cared about Primrose and Cyrus as characters, and I never even got all the secret jobs, let alone beat Galdera. Then the mobile game COTC came along, bringing with it a clusterfuck of horrific misogyny, racism, and frankly terrible grimdark story writing, severely souring my relationship with the franchise. I tried to replay it in 2022 and couldn’t even get to a chapter 2 — the grind was awful, the world was bland, the stories were just insufferably boring at best and misogynistic at worst. The lack of relationships or even acknowledgement between the characters made the whole thing feel stilted. Therion works alone, don’t mind the seven other people walking behind him! Now let’s explain the ways all the stories connect in a diary info dump locked behind a boss rush! 

Octopath 1 has staggering design flaws and, as more and more JRPGS come to the Switch, those flaws become strikingly pronounced. Party dynamics are important to me, and without them, most of 1’s cast remained stubbornly boring. The game was hard, but not fun enough for me to want to grind OR learn advanced strats. Every chapter of every story follows the same basic plot beats and the layout of the world is boring and predictable, with even the scenery getting old eventually.

So I had mixed feelings when Octopath 2 was announced, especially when I saw they hadn't changed a single one of the main 8 classes and that the Crossed Paths would only be between four duos of characters. Still, the game went on sale for $40 in mid-April. Split the price with a sibling and here we are.

For starters: The graphics in this game are fantastic. I’m still not in love with HD-2D, mostly because of the lack of expressiveness in the tiny character pixels. Watching them flop over dead in a pile of blood in Triangle Strategy was only ever hilarious, and most emotional scenes fall flat. Strangely, Asano continues insisting on using this style for really drama-heavy, emotional games. Luckily, they’ve made some strides forward with OT2. The bigger human sprites are drastically more dynamic and expressive, move more fluidly than ever before, and have ample opportunity to demonstrate both emotion and personality. Everyone’s unique walk cycles and Bewildering Grace dances really bring character to the game. We can get a clearer look at job outfits and have animations for all kinds of things like dancing and character interactions. And HD-2D, as always, continues to shine in the backgrounds, special effects, and enemy sprites. The game is very pretty, and while I still don’t think HD-2D is the best choice for any character-driven game, the sprites don’t feel nearly as rough and awkward as they do in their predecessors. I hope Team Asano retains this style in future HD-2D installments, especially interpersonal ones.

The world is huge, sprawling, and genuinely FUN to explore this time, with various nooks and crannies to dig into. The day/night cycle and added path actions really add a lot of fun and variety to gameplay. The world not being a perfect circle moving outwards really makes things more exciting and less tedious, and the towns, cities, and dungeons had so much variety. I genuinely had fun on the journey this time, while in 1 i was just dragging myself from town to town. The bonus bosses, latent powers, hidden classes, sidequests, and various new game mechanics all felt like upgrades from the first game to me.

The music is banging, no criticisms here. I’ve gotten the impression before that Revo and Nishiki have been influenced by and learning from each other and I think this really shows it. Super fun, loved that we have more theme variants now. VA work was solid, with some very fun moments but nothing I was super amazed by. That's not a problem, though, it's really all I ask for in a game. Loved the added voice lines, the unique voice lines for certain bosses (I don't wanna fight no doggy-dog…), and how the characters interact with each other in battle as the game proceeds.

I’ll continue with my thoughts on the eight characters/stories one by one and then give some overall opinions on the “main plot” and game itself.

Ochette:

The constant food talk gets old fast. Seriously, every conversation this girl has ends up being about food or similar. I also think her voice acting may have been mixed oddly, sometimes it's quiet and sometimes at too high a volume, she ends up sounding REALLY loud and grating a lot of the time. Overall, she really doesn't feel as fleshed out as every other character, and it's a shame. That being said, she does have some very fun travel banters and brings a fun "kid of the group" energy, it's just…she's twenty goddamn years old.

Story-wise, had a lot of potential but constant food talk and the weird fantasy racism (why do they all speak broken English) were huge drags. I thought the stuff with the unchosen starter was a really good idea, but there just wasn't enough time lent to it, and overall the first and last chapters felt completely disconnected from the middle ones. Oh well.

Castti:

No mercy, only pain. She's just a great character who ended up with so much depth and felt like a twist on the kindly, maternal healer. "Do harm when necessary to save lives" is a great archetype for doctor characters and Castti plays the role fantastically. She has been through so much and still chooses to be gentle when she can, but if she has to she'll bring the axe down. She has a talent for making do. She has so many fantastic scenes and lines and flips the "mom friend" character around on its head. I really love her, she's great, she's up there with Primrose for me forever.

Her story was also my favorite, and her boss the toughest to beat by a comfortable margin (what worked in the end was no strategy just hikari, throne, and their knives). Sure, some beats are always predictable in Octopathland, but chapter 3 was beautifully done, and the use of game mechanics and the interface to play with the effects of Castti's amnesia were really enjoyable. Nothing groundbreaking, but a strong and solid story that felt emotional and meaningful as well as unique and independent from the stuff all three games have done and rehashed. Castti herself is of course a huge part of that, but this is one of the rare Octopath stories that didn't feel like it was being fully carried by the strength of the MC.

Throne:

Throne herself, I adore. She's fun, she's determined, she's witty, she's like Primrose in some ways but firmly different in others. She doesn't want to kill, but it's all she knows. She has some fantastic travel banters. I laughed out loud at her first "Bravo, Temenos." And the little "tada…" when she uses Disguise. She's great, she has endless potential, and boy does she have fun path actions.

Warning for discussion of incest, abuse, and rape in the following paragraph :(

Unfortunately, her story is the classic edgy Octopath misogyny fest. What was with that random sex slave and what the hell happened to her??? We don't care, she only exists to show that Bad Guys Evil and that Throne Can't Be A Hero Because She Is Tainted. Everyone wants to rape Throne and that is made way too clear. Some of those people are her fucking brothers, because why the fuck not. And the ending with the "but was it worth it?" tone was phenomenally stupid. Octopath asking the quintessential question: is it okay to escape slavery even if you have to kill your slavers? What if your slavers love you (even though they keep you in a collar and whip you and offer you up as a rape victim and force you to kill people?) What if your slavers are your parents or siblings? Also not loving any of the Marietta story, anything that involves "she killed our baby" is going to set my hair on end in this day and age and I just did not like the way any of that was portrayed and handled. Even if Claude didn't rape Marietta, it's clear he raped several of the other mothers including a few of the ones we meet, and they're all forcibly separated from their babies and left to die — it's just too much. It's too disgusting. The huge conspiracy itself fell flat due to the general creep factor and tried way too hard to be edgy. Throne cannot be happy within her story for even a second and it's way overdone. I'm sick, absolutely sick, of this type of story and COTC trying to play with "but she loves her abuser" stuff and doing a frankly disgusting and often fetishizing job. Overall, it felt like a COTC plotline, and that is very much a bad thing for me! I'm glad that the postgame sidequest cleared up the Mira plotline and actually had some "breaking the cycle" themes, but the fact that we've just apparently left the residents of Lostseed to suffer and die instead of even attempting to bring them to the Garden or somewhere they can get help is pretty gross.

But again, I adore Throne herself. Get her out of this game. Put her in Animal Crossing or something.

Osvald:

And now we flip around! Talk about pleasant surprises! I was not expecting to like him or his story at all, it felt so Octopath edgy and woman-in-fridges-y. And to an extent, it is, but the game is actually self-aware of this and gently pokes fun at it to a degree that makes it more bearable. Osvald is an Edgy Man and the other travelers can and will be confused by it. That's really fun. Being able to save Elena flips everything about the story on its head in a good way, and The Answer being The Power Of Love is both so funny and so sweet and fitting. Just a genuinely heartfelt and optimistic story in the end despite where it begins, I really liked it despite another dead wife on the pile. The antithesis to Throne's story.

My main complaint is that the story pacing ends up really off due to two out of five chapters being at the very start and about the prison escape. I really think he could have benefited from another chapter between his 3 and 4. I wish the ending was more emotionally satisfying, but it does feel in character and leave on a hopeful note. Would have enjoyed, if not a reunion scene between him and Elena, something more significant about them and their relationship than the tiny nod we got at the end. All that being said, liked both him and his story a lot!

Partitio:

He really is very funny. Those voice lines are a hoot, every Scent of Commerce is just ridiculous, and his determination to stop That Devil Called Poverty by having a polite meeting with the CEO of capitalism and giving him some $$$ is just absurd. As a character, I can’t say I find him as interesting as Castti, Throne, or Osvald, but he’s entertaining if nothing else, and his first chapter pacing is creative. He was my MC and spent tons of time running Arcanist Sidestepper or Latent Power Catapult Inventor, so of course I got pretty attached. Yeehaw let's do it catapult go-go-go

But let’s be real here. Any story about a merchant “helping the poor” by doing more capitalism is going to be kind of a mess. It wasn’t a harmful mess, but it felt like the story was deliberately skirting around making any meaningful commentary. None of this is surprising, but I spent a lot of chapter 4 rolling my eyes. Roque illegally modifying a contract after signature on multiple occasions is just completely brushed aside, and Partitio happily SIGNS a contract with him KNOWING Roque has a habit of violating and editing them. It’s all just very…dumb. Seize the means of production Partitio! Don’t just give The Man eighty billion leaves! Also, Roque apparently KEEPS all that money in the postgame even though he’s allegedly reformed, soooooo (I know he's using it on the railroads but like….Yeah)

But yeah, while it was a silly story, it wasn’t much else. He's a fun guy though. I wonder if octopath 3 will bring us our first edgy merchant MC.

Agnea:

She’s sweet and fun. I don’t really feel like I have a lot to say about her, which isn’t a negative? I enjoy her theme, I love all her dance animations, I think her constantly-slipping accent is pretty funny (I’m genuinely not sure if the premise is that Agnea hides her accent and occasionally slips into it by mistake, or if the VA keeps forgetting that Agnea is supposed to sound Southern and only remembers when Agnea says “oh my stars” or something lol. It’s funny though.) But like I said, I enjoy her, she’s not as grating as some of the other “goodhearted, happy go lucky” characters from 1. 

Similarly, while I don’t have much to say about her story, that’s not to say I disliked it. I thought it was sweet. Dolcinea and her gf are some of my favorite NPCs in the game, the final battle kicked my ass in a fun way, and most of all I love how ¾ of Agnea’s bosses are just her going “I want to speak to the manager!!” and it actually working. I liked it a LOT better than tressa’s, which it’s constantly compared to, since it felt like an actual coherent story. She’s a star!

Temenos:

Fandom made me dislike Temenos before I set foot in the Crestlands. In those early days especially, every woman in this game was ignored in favor of an AVALANCHE of fanart of him and crick. People say weird shit about Temenos being a twink, some of which is frankly homophobic and/or creepy. I pretty strongly disliked his predecessor Fandom Favorite Man, Therion. Man had a lot riding against him. All that being said, once I got to know him I liked Temenos just fine! He's a priest who can't remember the Lord's Prayer and calls the scripture boring at every given opportunity. Also enjoys beating the shit out of people for information and can barely be contained by those around him. It's a fun character type.

His story, though, is honestly just blah. I guessed the big murderer about as soon as they appeared on screen, and by the time I finished the story I was pretty confident I knew who was manipulating them too…and I was right. As funny as it is that Temenos can use his "special powers" to just, like, see something lying on the floor, the investigation/mystery is really lacking and dull, which is disappointing. Particularly since his story is the "main" one that reveals the ultimate final boss, and the only one that gets a full follow-up cutscene in the extra chapters — it ended up just being a big pile of text dumping, which is not a fun way to do a mystery/whodunit!

Also Crick is boring. 

Hikari:

Hikari is Just Fine. He's sometimes fun, largely unremarkable, just another member of the crowd. The same is pretty much true of his story as well — it's just Fine. Has a pretty hilarious mom-fridging as horses whinny loudly in the background, which I think was iconic. Dunban levels of "bad at making friends" (and while it's not "Therion works alone" levels of stupid by any means, does feel a little awkward that he keeps talking about needing his Allies and True Friends while seven people he camps with are standing right there…) I really just don't have a lot to say about him or his story, which isn't a bad thing! It was fine, he's fine. My only real complaint is that I don't love that his overcoming his Evil Blood was tied to him also having Good Blood on his mother's side — that detail seems irrelevant to everything, and I would have preferred his overcoming the Shadow and taking back his Hidden Power just be framed as him having willpower and a good, kind heart. But I am nitpicking here, since I think that was the intention — just wish blood hadn't been brought into it, y'know? Anyway yeah Hikari's fine.

Together Now:

The Crossed Paths are SO short (other than waiting for that insanely long lute performance to be over) and that's a shame. I wish there were more of them, between more characters, that they were longer…I hope any future Octopath games play with these concepts. Overall, I mean, it's a huge meaty game and it's not that I wanted to be playing it longer, I was satisfied by the length. I just really would have appreciated more character interaction. I'm glad that you can view the travel banters freely and easily from the menus now, and that there are more of them. But I do wish that the characters emoted during them instead of just standing there staring blankly at each other. Huge improvement over one, just not quite there yet!

I will say the Extra Chapters/final boss were also huge improvement over 1's, with actual cutscenes, some character interaction, more consistent foreshadowing, and finally, a boss with no boss rush leadup whose level of challenge is more "difficult but doable" than "haha fuck you." My hopes for this game had been that they would lower the final boss difficulty and make a bigger, harder bonus boss for hardcore players to enjoy, and I'm really happy that they did so! I beat Vide :)

That being said, most of the Extra Chapter reveals were entirely contained in heaps of diary entries again. You guys expect me to remember who Tanzy was or care?? Other than the Arcanette cutscene/battle, things never got that emotional or exciting. A few travel banters tried to fill in the blanks, but there just wasn't enough emotion or stakes put into the scenes. That being said, I enjoyed the Vide battle and it was the perfect difficulty level for me, and I enjoyed the ending and epilogue a lot! It just didn't quite do everything I want from a JRPG ending (which…has been my tune with almost every newly released JRPG I've played in the last couple years :( we need better endings in these things.)

Will also say that the Osterra nods don't really make sense, but I'm personally subscribing to Osterra and Solistia straight up being parallel worlds (I suspect COTC will be confirming this one way or another in the JP version shortly, but like, eh).

Overall, it was a good game, I liked it, it's hands down my favorite Octopath and probably my second favorite Asano game after BD2. Despite my complaints, wishes things had diverged further from the original game, and generally feeling like this series is a bit overrated in JRPG circles, Oct2path is solid, fun, and a big upgrade from its predecessors. Stan Castti

[bixels]

Very recent tag on my last post, but all credit goes to my partner again. They were sitting next to me while I cycled through Google image search "1920s flapper dress," going 'no. no. no. god no. no. absolutely not'.

[genericpuff]

yeah i don't think this is the kind of advertising rachel needs right now-

[lacewise]

The Lace Guild Books, review:

Let’s start with “Basic Technical Instruction”. It is very good at making the basics comprehensible for first time needle lacemakers, and it (very fortunately for me) will stop you from making the worst and easiest possible mistakes. I always like to revisit the first part of the pamphlet when I’m tacking down a new cordonnet… Mostly because from experience, I know if I don’t, it will be disastrous. This is because it’s one of the slowest possible things to do, so it can be several months between projects, even if I’m working every day and have multiple ongoing projects at different stages. The diagrams are VERY easy for beginners to understand, the instructions are well-written, in-depth, and build upon each other, the stitches are named so you can research them further, and there are a bunch of patterns with different motifs that get more complex and in-depth as you progress.

It also does assume you’re working with thinner thread (dentelle 80 from DMC, I think) but… like… don’t do that if you don’t have oversight from a professional? I know some people recommend size 3 crochet cotton but size 10 or 12 is fine (and is where I started). As a little tip (and sidenote): don’t use knitting thread. I’ll demonstrate in a video later but if you use knitting thread you are asking for trouble. Knitting thread (and some embroidery thread, I promise I will get threads and film it to show you exactly why) can’t really stand the constant rubbing against paper and metal you’re going to be doing. It’s asking for knots and other problems. Use crochet thread! Or really, really thick sewing thread! Stuff that is made for weirdness and rough handling!!!

Back to the review: the main problem (and the reason people try to skip it or might choose to buy a Doreen Holmes book on the subject instead) is the basic instruction manual is very easy to outgrow. Because it’s for the absolute fundamentals, there’s very, very little talk about stylistic choices and lace traditions.

That’s where the “Intermediate Technical Instruction” comes in. Sort of. It’s not really fully intermediate, but it assumes you’re comfortable making stitches and know basic terminology and are ready for more. It transitions you into intermediate but adding new skills and showing off different traditions a new (but not novice!) lacemaker can theoretically accomplish. I highly recommend doing several patterns from “Basic Technical Instruction” before starting this, but please at least complete the first one before starting on a more advanced pattern!

Speaking of patterns, all of the patterns in these books are basically decorative samplers. It’s more interesting and teaches more skills than simple squares, but it’s not meant to make *make* anything (which you can absolutely ignore). Pat Earnshaw, Margaret Stephens, and Catherine Barley’s books all do have patterns you can put to use, but only Catherine Barley and Margaret Stephens’s teaches how to make traditional lace in the way you think to use traditional lace.

[pookiethebloodsucker]

Happy new years!!!!!!!!! Hoping yall a kind year.

[graceful-not]

UHHH LOVECORE INVIZ @starlo-official @officialinvisibleanon I MADE THIS YESTERDAY AND THEN PROCRASTINATED POSTING IT BC IVE BEEN KIND OF A BITCH LATELY AND HAVENT BEEN RESPONDING TO UR DISCORD DMS BC I AM VERY LOW ON SPOONS TO DO SO TAKE THIS AS A KIND OF APOLOGY ILY YOURE COOL AND GREAT AND AN AWESOME FRIEND HAPPY LATE VALENTINES???

[angelamontoo]

Do you guys think Peter Lorre also exists in the aaol universe?

If he does, I think Mortimers the kind of critic who'd watch him in a play or film where he plays a pretty normal dude, who doesn't do anything particularly evil or even weird and go on to write something about it to the effect of "Peter Lorre gives a perfectly grotesque, reprehensible-yet pitiful performance as usual"

[parfumieren]

Garden Lace (Princess Livia)

I found it in a display case at a local ladies' consignment shop: a slender tablet of transparent pale-green glass surmounted by a milky celadon cap.  Though unfamiliar with the brand, I could tell from the white Madonna lily imprinted on its face that it was grade-A bridal material.

I prepared to be bored off my tits.

"Lily white florals envelop you like a veil of delicate lace..."  So runs the descriptive text offered by Princess Livia's parent company, the Chicago-based beauty corporation Cosmetíque.  I'm sure the symbolic import of the color white carried a different weight back when brides actually were virgins, their innocence enforced by the twin authorities of God and Good Breeding.  But these are obsolete standards to which few modern women subscribe.  What does "lily white" mean today?

In Garden Lace, it means green, green, green.  Green is the color of growth and fertility, and I admire the makers of Garden Lace for choosing the spectrum's most fecund hue over the predictable purity of white.  A woman is not a pillar of cloud, after all; rather, she's far better off emulating the primitive Eve described by Stella Gibbons in Cold Comfort Farm: "as close to the earth as a bloomy greengage". In a similar spirit, Garden Lace's green is fresh, sappy, and slightly bittersweet, like the sticky juice produced by broken flower stalks.  I'm not certain it's bona fide galbanum -- there's something a little too tinny and synthetic about it -- but it acquits itself honorably as the dark, shady background against which this sweet spring floral can pop.

Speaking of flowers, I'd say there's more lilac than lily in Garden Lace-- but again, this is not a drawback.  Lilac plays well with others, particularly muguet. Here, the two friends mingle with a subtle spice dimension that further erodes the vision of bridal purity.  I only wish they'd been given more playmates, in the form of one or two anchoring resins.  (Styrax or benzoin leap to mind-- lighter than amber or labdanum, and powdery enough to counterbalance that sticky sap element.)  The drydown is a mild, lactonic thing as opaquely milky-minty as that plastic cap.

Not bad for an Avon wannabe priced at $1.50!

Scent Elements: Lily, muguet, violet, lilac, peony, jasmine, rose

[lacependragon]

I've read 14 books so far this year. And like, the reason I think about this is because I wanna read more stories. I always wanna know more, read more, absorb more, be more, y'know? So I wish it was more. But they've mostly been amazing so.

(My library stacks are so big because I am a picky and persnickety person and I will read a chapter, go "not right now" and take it back to the library and make note what mood I need to be in for it. Works well! Gotta be in the right mood.)

I've given 9 books 5 stars this year. I'm good with that.

Five Star Reads So Far This Year:

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. I loved the magic. Loved the intrigue. Loved the slow build of horror as you realize what the secrets are, and the excitement as you pull into the story. Definitely continuing.

Jade City by Fonda Lee. God the longer I sit on this book the more I love it. The magic, the fighting, the expertise clear in the action scenes, the characters and their relationships, the gut punch twists that you realize were hinted at but you didn't see them anyway... Yeah, it's good shit.

New Worlds: Year One by Marie Brennan is a non-fiction essay collection based on her worldbuilding essays she posts because of Patreon. I love these so much and I think they're one of the best ways to get help with world building.

Beginnings, Middles, & Ends by Nancy Kress is a non-fiction book on writing. This one gave me some great ideas on how to plot as well as how to express the "promises, progress, payoff" concept that Brandon Sanderson is so fond of talking about.

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury. God. I love this. It was fun, it was dark, it was deep, it was action-packed, it was filled with twists and intrigue. And the reveals all work fantastically without ever feeling cheap or telegraphed. Absolutely phenomenal.

The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport. This is basically my perfect book. It's gritty, it's full of revenge, it's got dark decisions and grim characters but they are trying and they are loyal and they care about each other. Each step toward anger is a step made in love. I cannot wait to read the second one when it comes out.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. God this is just fantastic. Two very morally grey, very driven women in bad situations team up in order to save themselves and each other and fall in love along the way. But this isn't a romance, this is a story of rebellion, revenge, and war, and it comes through so well. The magic is fascinating and the overall grim but hopeful tone is just so good.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. A very short, whimsical feeling book that uses a lot of repetition and slow flashback reveals to build an almost heartbeat into the book. It's such a kind, warm story that brings with it this beautiful amount of love. It's a deeply spiritual book but not in any religious way I can find. It's about the way you feel intimately connected to the world when you read it. Every plant. Every bit of water.

To Be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers. Talk about books that reduce you to tears. This was emotional, insightful, and brilliant. It's a story about the very nature of humanity, and the ways we connect, and the pain of isolation and the unknown, while also the hope and love that comes from the unknown. 130 pages and worth your time.

[adelle-ein]

engage plot thoughts

Finished Engage, here's my plot thoughts, full spoilers for entire game (my spoiler-light "full review" will be along shortlyish)

So tbh I don't think this is as bad and weak a plot as people were hyping it up to be. In theory the basic idea is actually really good! The issue is like…pacing and how the screentime was divided up. We spend wayyy too long wandering from country to country fighting bandits and then everything of significance is crammed into five chapters.

The plot tries to love its drama but fails to build things up well enough. Veyle only cameos in the early game as a generic Sweet Young Girl, so the big reveal — while it would have been predictable no matter what — just doesn't hit emotionally. Veyle in general just needed more time as a proper deuteragonist. Maybe have Veyle and Alear do a couple solo maps together? They get cornered by Corrupted and fight them off together (with Veyle using a different class and weapons of course), trying to get the player actually attached? Have Veyle hang out with the whole gang in a few longer cutscenes so she feels like part of the team and not a random aside? Maybe have Alear open up to her about Lumera so they have a special connection with her? I just wish they'd done something here. As it is, the only reason to pity Veyle is because she's a young kid being abused, and while of course that's something, she plays such a big plot role and we don't even get to know her as a person. There were definitely better ways, imo, to pull this off. Letting her join your army and leave again intermittently pre-reveal (a la Ninian, maybe) would have improved things.

Getting to the meat of the plot…I very much like that Alear is an adopted Divine Dragon and that this is treated like a good and legitimate thing, to the point of them even gaining physical characteristics of one. If we go through with a real world metaphor, then Lumera loved them enough that they became her "true" family, and that works very well. FE only really ever does found family stuff with its side characters, preferring to focus on Divine True Sacred Bloodlines, and having Alear as a Fell Dragon who became Divine through the power of love and wanting to be "a good dragon" is actually quite nice and helps them feel a little less like a Robin retread. The issue that is unfortunately there is effectively zero buildup to this revelation. Other than Veyle's sibling obviously being Alear, we see no connection between them and Sombron. Alear has a single flashback to 1000 years ago in an early chapter and never again until the reveals start being dropped…in the last handful of chapters. While the single time travel chapter is kinda bizarre, it's a good step from a character perspective, and I wish there was more of that. Why not show more of how they became close to Lumera and how she adopted them? When did they defect, how did that go for then, how did they start calling her their mother? Interspersing flashbacks or hell, even more time travel (as silly as it would have been) throughout the story would have fixed so much of this game's lacking emotional core and let the plot actually work. As it is, it's a good concept that we see barely anything of.

I do disagree with the people insisting that Alear shouldn't have been so upset when Lumera died because they barely know her — they barely know anyone, Lumera has been kind to them and they know she's their mother, they're mourning the possibility of what they lost as much as the actual loss. I dunno, obviously I've never been in that situation, but even if I barely remembered my mother due to total amnesia I think I would still be really upset if she was murdered in front of me and especially if she had died due to using up all her health and strength to protect me. Personally. Feels a bit silly to be defending something like this but yeah. Now I do think her death scene was a bit long and dramatic when a quick sudden death is pretty much always more emotionally effecting, but that's a separate issue. Regardless, the plot hinges so much on Lumera and her relationship with Alear, and we see hardly any of it for some reason. Lumera simply needed a lot more screentime, even posthumously. Hell, let her live for the first half or so of the game, THEN get killed off. It still would have been predictable, but at least we would have gotten to know her.

Alear as the thirteenth Emblem makes sense in a meta way, but it does make me wish that they provided SOME kind of lore as to why and how the Emblems exist. The implication seems to be that the Emblems were created in death separate from their bodies, or when their bodies were already gone? And that all of their worlds exist out there, with Sombron intending to invade them? At the very last minute Marth drops a "btw Emblems are not the same as the actual heroes" but that's pretty much all we get. Idk I'm not looking for a Zelda timeline for all the FE games, I would just like…some kind of lore explanation as to what is up with Emblems and creating new ones. As well as the idea of the new protagonist joining the old ones as an Emblem works on a meta level, we just kinda needed more lore and buildup to make it work. My usual refrain. Personally liked the idea that Elyos was created *by* the rings or is somehow linked to them, because of the way its lore feels like a mashup and homage to so many previous games but…that probably wasn't the intention. Who knows. Fire Emblem. I like that our protagonist *is* the literal Fire Emblem though. Last time it was their *waves hand* blood power, now it's just straight up them.

The Four Hounds show up way too often and only do things in their last few appearances, which is tiring. Constructing them to be semi-likeable from the beginning, and maybe not fighting them and having them easily walk away just fine over and over, would have really improved everything with that subplot. I see what the writers were going for. But they whiffed it.

Alear is fine. They are kinda forgettable and a total dumbass for the first half of the plot, but they do change and grow and become more assertive, which works. They are an actual character, unlike Byleth. And they don't do stupid awful sometimes-evil things and get patted on the back for them a la Corrin. That is all I ask really.

Basically, a mess, but better pacing with more screentime for Veyle and Lumera and more flashbacks on Alear's end could have made it a really nice mess. Alas. I do think, overall, this was a simple but good and heartfelt concept for a plot. The execution was just poor, as usual for FE, and because the plot is so simple it can't hide what a mess it is the way other FE games often do. But I like it better than SOV (I like cat food commercials better than SOV…)

[dykeredhood]

Some highlights from this past year

[leatherbookmark]

i simply Do Not Think exaggeration to the point of lying for the sake of Haha Funny is. well. funny

[foxspit]

my hands have touched more than just you

[lacewise]

Alright… Pat Earnshaw’s book Needlelace!

This is an incredible book for people interested in making advanced lace or researching lace but you have to know how to use it! It’s not for beginners though. At all. Every single lace book, even the ones DEFINITELY not for beginners, has an introduction where they tell you how to make the lay down what Earnshaw calls the ‘outline thread’ (and from here forward, I will be doing the same because that’s genuinely helpful, why do I keep forgetting words and phrases I definitely know?), complete the filling stitches (another phrase I forgot!), and finish the cordonnet, which you’d THINK is all you need to get started. Anyway, you would be wrong. Which is why I continually recommend classes or books written for beginners.

Why is that? As a beginner, you have no idea what you’re looking for. Should you stumble across it, you have no idea what you’re looking *at*.

Pat Earnshaw’s diagrams are incredible, but as a novice, they were far, far too detailed for me to understand. And a lot of them don’t have detailed instructions or labels, just companion information to the diagrams. So, if you want to read this book, you have to know how read needle lace diagrams. And… you have to be willing to experiment (but we’ll get to that in the cons section).

What separates this from the transition-into-intermediate Intermediate Technical Instruction is it isn’t confined to *just* technical instruction. She gives the formal names of different laces (only needle laces with grounds, mind you, and only covers French and Belgian laces at that, except Reseau Venise, although she does provide a basic description of the Burano setup).

Pros: You will know more about different methods to work lace, basic details about different kinds of lace (which are named explicitly throughout), and the stitch guide is extensive. Her diagrams (once you learn to read them) are incredible. They will take you from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence. Or even conscious competence. There are really helpful tips throughout, and a lot of them will prevent you from making the mistakes that people often make in their transition to intermediates. The really frustrating ones you have no idea how to handle or prevent. That it seems like only you are doing!!! It is an excellent introduction to which stitches are used in which traditional (French and Belgian) laces and gives explanation and diagrams for very advanced stitches (like the one I adapted for the center of my lily; the stamens were from Catherine Barley’s book, however). Sometimes I keep it by my bed so I can read about the lace or look at the stitches for inspiration. The explanation of things like flat needle laces is very detailed and informative. That kind of specialized knowledge (often taken as a given when you get to a certain level) can help you understand the ideas behind the choices better. It’s useful as a reference, when you want to do your own research, and when you want more information to do your own thing in general. She also spotlights needle lace contemporary artists (from the 80s) and their art in the last chapter.

I personally want to make traditional lace in Alencon, Argentan, and Argentella, and point de gaze and that covers the stitches in all four was a huge selling point for me. (Btw, I will always refer to my own work that uses Alencon stitches or similar design elements by either point de gaze or point de gaze inspired for Reasons, most of which are summarized as ‘I Hate The French’)

Sorry for the terrible picture quality and description, but I wasn’t getting out of bed for this. Maybe I’ll fix it later, maybe I won’t.

Cons: Not all the information is accurate and it’s focused on these specific lace traditions. There are easier ways to make some stitches, although no one has yet tried to replace it with a more up-to-date guide (in English, anyway). The book is Very 80s. While it describes, in great detail, how to make traditional lace, as well as compares with antique patterns, all of the patterns and samples made for the readers are done in contemporary art fashion (as was the way in the 80s). The samples are worked in bright colours, which can make the working method a bit difficult to parse. She also works the lace away from her (I work it towards) so I end up turning the book around a lot (I turn it back to read it and to examine the diagrams). If you work towards then you will probably have to turn it around often as well. Additionally, because there are So Many samples, the tension in a lot of them is Not Ideal and that’s why I have to refer to the diagrams. Sometimes I will have this out with another book (even if no other book addresses the stitch in question, which is fairly common, so I understand the reasoning correctly)

Who is this for: people who want a stitch guide, especially if they want to make more complex pieces or you’re interested in making traditional lace, and extra if you want to design your own patterns.

Overall: this is a reference book (and an out-of-date one). Pat Earnshaw was a researcher as well as a lacemaker (I want several other books she wrote, covering identification and the history of lace) and this book is not meant to be a standalone. Not in the least bit. You know those specialized companion books you see at craft fairs for advanced crafters? That’s what this is. A sort of extremely niche encyclopaedia. As far as I know, she was not a specialist in any of these laces. So, this would also maybe not be a good fit for an expert in their specialty (as most needle lacemakers specialize). It is possible to outgrow this book, it is just very, very difficult. (As you can see because I am several years in and still singing its praises.)

[romanarose]

I posted 1,966 times in 2022

That's 1,966 more posts than 2021!

554 posts created (28%)

1,412 posts reblogged (72%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@dameronscopilot

@my-secret-shame

@welcometostayingawake

@howaboutcastiel

@my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction

I tagged 686 of my posts in 2022

#moon knight - 196 posts

#marc spector - 167 posts

#steven grant - 135 posts

#moon knight fanfiction - 86 posts

#oscar isaac - 77 posts

#jake lockley - 75 posts

#triple frontier - 63 posts

#star wars - 59 posts

#romana personal posts - 55 posts

#moon knight fluff - 49 posts

Longest Tag: 96 characters

#i watched it for oscar isaac and now i have an ongoing santiago garcia fic that consumes my life

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Fucker Notices Everything

Marc X Reader

Masterlist

Drabble Summary: A sound triggers you in a small way, but Marc still noticed.

This was supposed to be like, 2 paragraphs, but I'm incapable of sticking to lengths I initially intent to write. Oh well. Just wanted to write a short lil something with my baby boy Marc.

********************************

You lay in Marc’s arms, listening to the sounds of the outside lulling you to sleep. The night was cool, but you liked the windows open. The two of you had taken a little trip, just out of the city, to a simple hotel in the suburbs. Just to do something different. He held you close, fingers training your body in your warm PJ’s. You had packed sexier lingerie, but the night was so peaceful, you wanted to keep the windows open. This, of course, meant it was too cold to dress like that. Luckily, Marc thought you were sexy in your Star Wars themed pajamas, and anything else you wore. He couldn't keep his eyes off you, and he wouldn't take his hands off you if you’d let him. 

You wondered how you possibly found someone like his, someone who was so in love… your whole life you were taught to settle. That men were something you were supposed to chase, that you should be so lucky if they looked at you. But Marc? Marc chased you. You never even considered him someone that was possible outside your fantasies, well, look at him! And yet, somehow, you found yourself the object of his interest. Slowly but surely, you allowed yourself to believe it, and he proved his love to you again, and again, and again. 

You were deep in thought, and pretty sure Marc was asleep, when you heard it. A motorcycle outside. You briefly, and ever-so slightly tensed and then relaxed as it continued on down the road. You still your heart rate back down, and continue falling asleep. No big deal, it happens sometimes. You usually don’t notice, with all the sounds of the city surrounding you, but it was quieter here. Nevertheless, it comes and it goes.

“What was that?”

You wince. Marc. Of course he noticed. Fucker notices everything.

You play dumb. “What was what?”

He’s spooning you, arms wrapped around your chest, face in your neck. “You tensed.” He’s sleepy, but painfully aware. As always.

“I was just stretching my back…” A bad lie.

“Sweetheart, please. I felt your heart rate pick up.” Fucker really notices everything… You turn over, letting him hold you as you look into his eyes. They were big, brown, and compelling, even half asleep. “Talk to me, please?”

You sigh. It was hard to deny him. It wasn’t that you were hiding it, necessarily, but Marc was a fixer, and this couldn’t be fixed. This… wasn’t a big deal. But he wanted to know, and you couldn't say no to those eyes, not for something as small as this. “My dad rode a motorcycle.” His concerned look softened in understanding. But he kept giving you that face, so you continued “Since he worked evenings, he’d come home when I was usually in bed. I was almost always up.” Marc knew that you slept painfully little as a kid. “We’d have our windows open any chance we had to save money, and my town was so fucking quiet, I could hear him from miles out. And I just pile listen to him come on 9th, turn onto our street, come up the drive and shut the bike off, hear him open the the door and then it just depended on the day whether he’d go watch TV or start slamming things or yelling…” You bury your face in his chest as he holds you tighter. Marc knew of your chaotic and tense home life, this wasn’t new. And likewise, you knew of his abuse. “So when I hear a motorcycle go by at night, it just… I don’t want to say triggers me… but it does. But it’s silly and it just comes and passes super fast. I promise…” You look at him again, wanting to reassure him.  “It’s not a big deal, and I promise to tell you if it ever is, okay?”

He studies your face for a while, seeing if you were hiding yourself from him or downplaying something upsetting. He nods. “Okay. If you’re sure.. and I don’t think it’s silly, baby.”

You smile and kiss him, happy he believes your truth, and you settle into his arms. He lays on his back to allow you to rest your head on him. You were starting to learn that not only was honesty best with Marc, but you were safe in your honesty. If you had a bad day for the 4th time this week, you could tell him and he wouldn't say you were dramatic or ask if you were on your period. You could tell him to slow down or stop during sex at any time, for any reason, and he would never show the slightest sign of being annoyed. You could be honest about your past, and in return, he was honest with you. There weren't secrets. And when two people come from the background you and Marc have, openness is key. There is a comfortable silence, happy and in love.

“Wine bottle cork.” A sleepy, soft voice speaks above you. You look up to face him, but his eyes are closed. You watch his beautiful mouth, lit by the moon, as he continues, spurred on by your silence. He was muttering, voice slightly slurred by the sleep that pulled at him. “When the corks in wine bottles get popped off, it startles me. Makes me think of my mom. She drank about everything, but wine had a distinct sound.”

You carefully touch his face, the start of stubble on his pretty, perfect, brown skin. Your heart hurt, and you wished you had paid better attention. You wished you had noticed. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

He shrugged, eyes still closed, chest steadily rising and falling under you. “You like wine.”

“Oh honey…” You swore to yourself, no more wine with corks. Twist off wine only. Fine by you, Stella Rosa is great.

“The point is, I get it. It’ll startle me for a moment, then I’ll be fine.” A smaller shrug this time. “I guess we’ll always be this way, to a certain extent.”

“Yeah.” You kiss between his pecs. “But if I ever need help, I got you. So I’ll be okay.”

He gives your arms where his hand was resting a squeeze “And I’ll be okay, as long as I got you, babe.” He sounded far off, drifting off into sleep. “You alright? Do I need to go break every motorcycle in the the city or anything?”

Despite the fact he was clearly almost asleep, you could hear the little bit of play in his voice and you didn’t doubt he’d do it if you asked. He’d do anything, if you asked. “I’m better than okay”

“Arighty.” He mumbles. Now you knew he was tired. He wouldn’t say ‘alrighty’ without a gun to his head. As always, he reassures you that you are safe. “You can sleep now. I got you.” You were pretty sure he fell asleep right then, a soft snore escaping his perfect nose that you loved.

And you didn’t doubt him. Even fast asleep, you knew you he would protect you. His senses were always going, always aware. It’s why he was always so tired, he never really, truly rested. You would gladly take the ‘super high risk’ of him turning his brain off, just to let him get a full night's rest…. But he would never. Not right now, anyway. Maybe someday. 

You hug him, a quick, innocent hug you might give your friend in college as you left a party. “I love you, Marc Spector.” you say quietly into his skin.

A whisper. “I love you too.” Fucker notices everything.

See the full post

396 notes - Posted September 18, 2022

#4

Always blows my mind when fanfics call Oscar Isaac characters tall

Baby did we watch the same movie/show bc that is a short king right there

404 notes - Posted October 25, 2022

#3

Girls on tumblr be like “baby boy. Baby.”

And it’s a murderer

514 notes - Posted September 12, 2022

#2

Jake Lockley when Marc and Steven leave him in the sarcophagus

607 notes - Posted September 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Oh yeah, I watch triple frontier for the plot

633 notes - Posted October 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →