#quoting the fantasy book of revelations and telling me my whole family is going to fantasy hell 😳😳😳

[eviclair]

why the abyss heralds gotta be so hot

[munchies-for-thought]

The reason your favorite character is flawed and how it changed how I saw my life

Jun 18, 2020

Context: I’m a huge fan of the anime “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”. (Reading Part 6 pls don’t spoil kthx bai). Don’t worry. You don’t even have to know about anime to get my message. It’s just the example closest to me.

The revelation behind each flaw

Rohan Kishibe is a character that is incredibly talented as a manga artist. He is so obsessed in his craft that he goes to terrifying and ethically questionable extents to get inspiration for his stories. Sometimes a villain, sometimes a hero. His art is everything for him. Well worth risking his or someone else’s life. He is generally a good guy, and wishes good upon the world. He just won’t go out of his way to make it happen. He is also defeated almost immediately after we meet him.

Rohan Kishibe is indeed one of my favorite characters of all times for a multitude of reasons, yet when describing him, he clearly is a flawed character. Yet this is NOT about him. While you read this blog, please think on the coolest fictional character you can think of. Do you have one in mind? Can you answer the following about your favorite character?

Has your favorite character failed?

Has he been hurt badly?

Are some things out of his control?

Do most people in his world generally understand the struggle they go through?

You’ll see when comparing with friends that we mostly agree on these answers even when thinking on different characters. The interesting truth lies in the common factor behind these answers, and learning a bit from the power of good storytelling.

One of the most precious things that I have gained from playing videogames, watching anime and playing Dungeons & Dragons all my life, is the first-hand knowledge of the power of a good story. Although it is in the HOW you make a good story, where I found this revelation that helped me so much.

What I am trying to say might be simple and even obvious when read, but not truly understood. If you bear with me a bit longer, I will attempt not to say, but to explain. I’ll show you the building blocks of how I learned so you truly understand as I did.

Dungeon and Dragons’ Character Backgrounds

The first time I made a new character in Dungeons and Dragons (Drow Elf Bard btw) I was blown away when I found out that whereas you get to pick from options that greatly impact your likelihood of winning, you also had to pick background and personality options that held no significant impact on your success.

You could choose to be a triumphant noble, a devote acolyte, a successful guild merchant or even a lying charlatan. Hell, if you wanted to you could even pick an orphan who had lost it all in the edgiest way known to man!

The book was also quite good at giving you specific quirks that brought that character to life. All of this happened because D&D is focused on group storytelling. Everyone wants your character to be interesting so their adventure gets 10x cooler when their complex characters interact with yours in intriguing and unexpected ways.

For example:

The secret beauty behind flaws

I was just a tad... confused. I had to chose a flaw? Why would I want to do this? All of these options look just like ugly parts of your character’s personality and could easily affect them negatively within the story.

Was this a balancing feature? A rule simply put there to make you less awesome, so no one is too overpowered? I just could NOT wrap my head around it. I couldn’t understand how this could make things fun. They were ruining my character.

It was until I started maturing as an individual and learned more about game design and storytelling that I started to appreciate how genius that was. No one cares for the story of perfect, bland, basic individuals who always succeed and have never made mistakes before. Because that is not real, it doesn’t work for an interesting story if there’s no sadness. If there’s no pain, you can just simply look away.

It was to be expected of the game designers of the best roleplaying game in the world to know that having flaws, failures, challenges, weaknesses, mistakes, all of them are ESSENTIAL for a great story to be told!

Was there a moment in your favorite character’s story where his failures and his pain made you love them on a whole new level? Aren’t those failures what drives your characters to become who they are? Would it be a better story if they had always succeeded?

So who is this Rohan Kishibe and, as an artist, what is his take on good storytelling?

Rohan’s Philosophy

Not only is Rohan a good example of a flawed character, but he also has a very interesting philosophy. He is a famous and wealthy manga artist. You’ve got to understand that, to Rohan, his craft is EVERYTHING. It is the thing he does best and what defines him.

Let me just show you one quote of his, so you understand his artistic philosophy:

“Reality is the energy that breathes life into a piece of work, and reality itself is entertainment. People often think that manga are drawn from imagination and fantasy, but that’s not actually true! For me, drawing something that i’ve experienced, or something that has moved me, is what makes it interesting!”

His pursuit for inspiration is so great, that he constantly goes to insane lengths to gain inspiration. This unrelenting desire is why he was originally a villain. Yet even when the protagonist defeated him, all Rohan could think of was of how this set of unfortunate and unlucky events was within itself a hell of a REAL story to use as inspiration. He saw value even in his misfortune as long as it was honest, untapped, unadulterated and pure reality.  That’s his trade secret as a famous and successful storyteller.

Understanding reality, storytelling and our identity

Warning: We’re about to get metaphysical. You might wanna take that bong hit right now. You’ve been warned.

Talking about reality is like opening Pandora’s box. It is such a massively complex topic that before we can even get to the nitty-gritty of it, let’s just agree on the following for the sake of this conversation:

Depending on how skeptic you are, reality could be mostly subjective or arbitrarily objective. So just follow my lead on this one and match your understanding with mine at least while you read this blog.

NO ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSES OR REALITIES

Fate is merely the belief that there is a predestined way things will happen no matter what. Since its only requirement is also its only consequence, (which is also impossible to prove) then even thinking on fate is pointless or even harmful to an individual as it removes agency from himself and turns him into a bystander in his own life.

Facts are limited to the provable physical world. If you can’t prove it, you don’t KNOW it is real, but you could still believe it to be real.

Our understanding of ourselves, comes partly from how others perceive us and their own subjective view of reality.

As mere humans we don’t completely control reality, but we control how it affects us.

Your own experiences and passions have a gargantuan influence on your interpretation of reality.

Storytelling could be simplified as “the way in which reality is described”.

Changing how you tell a story doesn’t change the facts.

That last one sounds a bit anticlimactic doesn’t it? Specially since we’ve talked so much about storytelling just to find out it can’t change reality. You might even wonder if its uses are only limited to art?

Fret not! This is where it all starts coming together.

My story

Before you disregard storytelling as just an art form, or an overglorified logbook, let’s think outside of the box and take a few leaps with me. Let me show you when was it that it clicked for me:

“Just when the COVID-19 lockdown was about to begin, I was at one of my lowest. I’ve always been someone very adamant on living life as he sees best. Even when friends or family wouldn’t understand my decision, I would still pursue my own path. I was proud of this and felt it made me immune to what other people thought. Yet, years of failed relationships were starting to make me doubt myself.

After an emotional breakdown at Denny’s after being stood-up (Great story for another day) I started worrying that the problem might be me. I’ve always been open to feedback as long as it makes sense to me in a logical way, but I had built so much thought behind who I was, that I didn’t even consider that maybe, I was more flawed than what I had originally assessed.

Maybe if all these bad things kept happening to me, there was a constant behind it all. Judging by the fact that these happened throughout the span of years and with different people, it was only reasonable to assume I was the only constant. Maybe my relationships, both in love and in friendship, were failing not because of individual and complex reasons, but because I was involved in all of them.

Maybe I just won’t build close friends or a family, but I guess I can still find a way to enjoy life. It’s just a lonely life, a very lonely life, but it’s best to face reality head on. That’s what I have always taught myself, right? It would be foolish not to do so when the answer is an inconvenient one. It’s still reality. Better get used to it I guess.”

Wow, that went to a very dark place didn’t it? It’s crazy looking at it in retrospective, but while it happened, it really felt like that was just the facts. I sucked at friends and love. That was just the cold hard reality to me. I mused:

“It’s like if I was a D&D character with low charisma doomed to suck at social encounters... “

and then a sudden realization froze me to the core...

Even if by mere accident, I ended up thinking of myself as a D&D character. Remember all that talk about flawed characters? Well, what if I would see myself as a flawed character? We already agreed that the best characters fail, struggle, suffer, cry, rage, and they make mistakes!

It’s like I had opened a whole new dimension that brought new light into who I was. Those weren’t horrible memories of things that broke me down and I wish no one would ever find out anymore. Those were just wild chapters on the bizarre adventure that is my life. These are badges of honor of what my very own story is!

Storytellers are already influencing your reality

I won’t stand here and tell you that everything bad happens for a good reason. Please be careful not to take the wrong message out of this. That wasn’t what I realized at that moment. I finally was able to see that there were two storytellers that had been affecting me all my life, and I hadn’t really seen their influence before!

Let me unmask these two powerful beings that through their storytelling, had changed my reality.

Powerful Storyteller #1 - Those close to you

Did you notice how the story that I was listening from my friends and love interests was sounding aggressively negative towards my self-value? I thought I didn’t care but I was indeed interpreting my life through their stories.

Since we already understand that we each have our own interpretation of life, good and wrong, then it’s not that hard for us to understand that we will never fully agree on what’s cool. Some of us love things that most people don’t even understand. So when they talk to you, they are inadvertently telling you a story about how you’re weird, instead of fascinating.

If only you could have friends or people who DID understand you, then maybe the stories about you would be seen in a much more positive light. It’s not your friends fault for not understanding, you were just asking something unreasonable from them.

Get yourself surrounded by those who are weird like you. You’ll notice that for the right crowd, you’re just the coolest person just for being who you are. That feeling is just invigorating in every sense.

Powerful Storyteller #2 - Yourself

Back in my story, you can see how I took a lot of my own “interpretations” as “facts” or even “reality” when I told myself my own story. You could have just as well told my same story but in a different way with a much more positive light:

“My relationships did fail, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect on my self-worth. I can continuously fail but love the fact that I’m the type of character that is still hopeful and positive even after repeatedly failing and suffering pain each time.”

It’s important you understand what makes you cool as a character. Because it is your job to tell yourself the story of who you are, what you’ve done, and who you will be. You have already been doing so for as long as you can remember, so you don’t even notice it anymore. You are STILL, to this day, re-telling yourself your story and changing how you feel about some parts of it.

What can we do about it?

So if you already are in charge of such a crucial and delicate task, why don’t you apply what we’ve learned so far? Can’t you see how you as the audience (from your own storytelling) would feel when seeing your main character in emotional pain? Don’t you feel empathy and love towards it because of all it has struggled?

You have the power to choose whether or not you will tell your story as the sad log of things you suck at, or as the crazy adventures of someone who’s just trying to do their best. Someone who is AWESOME because you do understand why he gets so excited when talking about that thing, and why he is so disappointed that that other thing didn’t work out again.

Those dark painful memories are beautiful crystallizations of true art! You already have what Rohan Kishibe is willing to kill to get. You already have an amazing REAL story, you now just have to use your storytelling skills to make yourself some justice, and talk about yourself like the amazing character you are when you tell that story to yourself next time you go to sleep.

At least when it comes to my story, well, the only reason why I would ever even think of writing a blog this long, is because I’ve changed the way I tell my story. I firmly believe that most people will never even have the opportunity to read this, but I have also seen value in these thoughts even if there’s no one besides myself who will listen to my story. If anything, at least I hope my story helps you love your character a bit more, just how I have learned to truly appreciate mine.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening to my story. I would always love to hear yours.

[randomnoteforfuturereference]

Part of Your World

A little gift for @kleeklutch, who also inadvertently gave me a quote prompt to work from.

Note that this fic is directly connected to, and is an elaboration on, this AU concept for Dex.

And if you want to see what Nursey’s wearing... check out this awesome piece by @gouachemole.

Also it’s now on AO3.

Being out on the water in the Gulf of Maine can present you with quite a spectacle.  

The rising sun just beginning to cast its light. Clouds in the horizon concentrating that dawning light into golden shafts that slash across the sky and reflect upon the calm water. A light fog giving an aura of stillness over gently rolling waves. And little white terns flitting around and calling to one another in sharp tones.

It’s a beautiful sight.

Or it would be if I didn’t feel like upchucking over the side of the lobster boat… and in front of a judgmental William Poindexter, who stares at me with that now-predictable mixture of crankiness and concern. Refusing to buckle before Dex is probably the only thing that’s keeping me upright.

“I thought you told me that you've already been at sea.”

“Yachts,” I correct him. “I was on yachts.” Ones that were a bit bigger than this vessel and didn’t rock uncontrollably whenever a damn cruise ship would pass by.

“Well that explains everything…” Dex emphasizes that by doing an obvious once-over of me with his eyes.

“Take it all in, Poindexter.” I emphasize my own statement with a weak gin and by gesticulating over my pink lobster-embroidered shirt, pastel lobster-print chino shorts, and… regular boat shoes. “You know you like it.”

Dex found the whole get-up horrifying. To Dex’s increased horror, the uncle — I call him “Boatdexter” — running this boat and cousins helping along found it hilarious, and they encouraged me to wear it out to sea. Besides, at least for this first trip, they fully forbade me to haul traps — though that may change if I go out with them again — so I might as well be comfortable.  

Well… as comfortable as I can get. Because right now, chirps are the only thing keeping me from wigging out, and I’m not sure how long that can last.  

And of course Dex just has to make things harder by hovering around me — when he isn’t hauling traps — to make sure I’m inventorying correctly.

Before long… after Dex asks for an obscure tool… then asks if I know what I’m doing and want to take a break… that last fraying thread snaps.  

“Dude like I don’t even know bc this whole mermy Dexy thing kinda came out of nowhere and I don’t know why you’re down there or what you need and you think I know these things but I don’t Nemo!”

Fuck that feels good!

It really does, even if I have to take a deep breath to make up for the lack of pause in that rant. As my breathing slows back down, I plop down on a pile of ropes to stare at Dex, who just scowls back at me with the usual reddening of his ears.

A couple minutes of silent staredown passes before a cousin takes pity on us, grabs the requested tool, and hands it to Dex… who mutters curt thanks, puts the tool in one of his utility pouches, and dives back into the depths. Though not before soaking me with a flick of his tail.

Oh, did I mention that Dex is a merman? Well Dex is a fucking merman.

Now did he warn me in advance about that little tidbit? Did he warn me in advance that he was a figure of myth and fantasy? Of course not.

Though to be fair, I think he was trying to tell me but, in true Dexy fashion, was shit at communication. It certainly explained why he kept second-guessing my decision to come along in the trip… or looked like he was about to say something but kept stopping himself. But I didn’t want to assume or pressure him.

Still, I should have been suspicious when I first saw that Dex wasn’t dressed in the rubber overalls like his relatives but rather his regular clothes.

Then we reached the first trap. Then he proceeded to strip down to his swimsuit before gearing up with something that looked like a utility-belt-and-small-backpack combo. Then he dove out into the water… and didn’t surface.

I was already caught off-guard by him getting into the water. When a minute passed without him surfacing, I didn’t pay attention to how unbothered the rest of my companions were. Instead I frantically rushed over to the side of the boat to peer into the aquamarine depths.

“Dex? DEX? DE—”

“WHAT?”

Dex’s irate exclamation from the other side of the boat made me turn around… right in time to have his speedos — his claim is that they’re easier than trunks or jammers to carry in a pouch and wear clothes over; which… whatever…  — slap me in the face.

As I peeled that… garment off, I heard Dex berating me for running around the deck recklessly. Then I saw him, and anything else he was jabbering about faded into a muted drone. Nothing else mattered more than the sight before me.

Overall, if you look at him from the waist up, Dex looks like he normally does at first glance. That is until you notice his eyes and how those gold irises have not only gotten more reflective but twice the size, with the sclerae that’s visible having gone from white to pitch black. Or how his canines are noticeably larger and sharper than you’d expect from a human. Or how his coppery hair really does look like fire in how it pulses with light bright enough to be noticeable even with the morning sun.

Then you notice the tail. Not a legs-replacing fishy tail like popular culture sells. Nope. This is a segmented exoskeleton-clad structure around ten times the length of his torso, patterned in an aquamarine hue similar to its surroundings, and terminating in a fan-like articulated fin. His actual legs are transformed into large fins, a multitude of mini fins are undulate along the underside and flank of the tail, and the top of each segment has a set of spiny siphons to shoot water out in a jet-like stream.

I must have been gaping at Dex long enough for him to finally remember that this was the first time I saw him like that; because he suddenly clammed up, got really red with that blush accompanied by a heightened intensity of his hair’s glow, and dove back into the water.

While Dex was down in the depths, Boatdexter took the time to explain things to me.

They don’t know how or when the ability first arose; just that it’s magic in the fullest sense — including the transformation, which happens at will and not just in the presence of water — and probably involves something akin to a Land of the Fae. It’s not guaranteed that someone in the family will have the ability, but everyone who has the ability has been born in the family. Some have used that ability in joining the Special Forces or working in underwater construction; others are just satisfied hauling traps.

In any case, by the time Dex brought that first trap up, I recovered from the revelation and was able to do my assigned job of recording the number of lobsters taken in or thrown back. I’d probably do better if not for the concerned glances he kept sending me.

Leading to this poi—

“Wait…”

That word, uttered right by my ear, does not cause me to jump up and yelp in an undignified high-pitched manner that would be a non-ending source of chirps if it ever reaches the team. Nope. Not at all.  

Dex ignores my not-reaction as he gingerlly drops a basketful of a sea cucumbers into the boat; the Chinese pay top dollar for those creatures, so he harvests a few on the side when he dives down. “Did you just use ‘beecee’ in place of ‘because’? Why… why am I not surprised?”

Despite everything… Despite my sluggish acclimatization to being at sea in a boat smaller than I’m used to… Despite this frustrating sense of uselessness… Despite my fellow D-man turning out to be a creature out of a fantasy book… I offer Dex a lazy grin.

Dex’s scowl deepens enough to allow one of those oversized canines to peek out, the glow of his hair increases in pulse and brightens to the point of casting mild flickering shadows, and a part of me ponders the veracity of those stories where pissed-off mermaids drag mariners to the depths.

Still…

I widen my grin and peck him on the nose before giving my answer:

“Hashtag linguistics.”

Memo to self: being beaned in the face with what's essentially a living dildo of the sea is not a pleasant experience. Boatdexter tells me that the white, sticky, rapidly-solidifying goop that had been squirted all over my face and hair — yes, I'm aware how this sounds, fuck you very much — are the innards the creature releases for self-defense; which… the fuck…

Still, as I peel away the nylon-like filaments, one thought crosses my mind:

#worthit

[joannalannister]

Samyria submitted:

Hey :) I don´t know if I´m asking the right person (and also it is kind of an old case) but what are your thoughts about Jon being a Targaryen?

I  personally don´t like it because it feels forced, obvious (to be honest: I´m not a fan of the Targaryen family - Daenerys included) and way too much like some kind of fanfiction where the Mary-Sue (aka Dany) finally finds her Gary-Stu (aka Jon). I mean…two families equipped with random super powers (in contrast to ALL the other families) and now there is this perfect link between them? That is a bit too much for my taste… Still I would love to hear your opinion. :D

Hi! I’m not exactly sure what you’re asking. 

Are you asking me whether I think Jon Snow is Rhaegar and Lyanna’s son? Because yeah, I believe that, I don’t think “R Plus L Equals J” is too obvious. The fact that so many people figure it out while reading doesn’t make it obvious or forced imo, it just makes me believe that GRRM builds a good foundation when he’s constructing his story, so that when Jon does find out about his true parentage in the books, it will feel very organic and a natural part of the story. I don’t think I have any original thoughts on this theory, but if you’d like to read about it in depth, I recommend the #R plus L equals J tag on @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly‘s blog. 

Or are you asking me whether I believe that Rhaegar and Lyanna got married in the books, making Jon their trueborn son rather than a bastard? 

I don’t believe the theory that Rhaegar and Lyanna got married in the books, because I don’t think Jon Snow’s bastardy is something that’s going to be “solved” so neatly. I don’t think illegitimacy is something to be “solved” at all tbh. The R+L=J reveal is going to be quite tumultuous for Jon, something that will shake him to his core imo, and I think a lot of Jon’s narrative is going to be dedicated to his emotional journey of coming to terms with the idea that he wasn’t Ned Stark’s bastard at all, but Rhaegar’s bastard, and that the woman Jon thought was his aunt is really his mother, and sure, I believe that Lyanna went willingly with Rhaegar, but I don’t think she stayed willingly at the end, because I think this medieval idea of “consent once given is given forever” is bullshit and I think (hope) that GRRM is ripping that idea to shreds, like he does with that idea in Cersei’s narrative. 

That tv show doesn’t have time for emotional journeys, hence the R/L marriage and the complete lack of a nuanced depiction of Rhaegar and Lyanna’s relationship. 

Like, the way that I see Jon’s narrative isn’t that his bastardy is a problem, it’s that he needs to come to terms with it emotionally. And imo Jon has come to terms with the idea that he’s Ned Stark’s bastard in ADWD, cuz Ned was good and honorable and everyone in the North affords Ned a certain respect that sort of counterbalances the stigma in Westeros that bastards are treacherous and awful. So he’s halfway toward accepting who he is. But how much is it going to shake him when he finds out he’s actually Rhaegar Targaryen’s bastard? we can debate Rhaegar’s character until we’re blue in the face, I’m not gonna do that here. Set Rhaegar aside for a moment. The Targaryens murdered Jon’s grandfather and Jon’s uncle. The Targs really fucked up House Stark. 

So when I talk about one of ASOIAF’s themes of the body as a battleground, GRRM is really gonna bring it home in Jon Snow, because he has to deal with such great internal conflict, Stark vs Targaryen, and how can Jon come to terms with what Rhaegar did, and how does that affect Jon’s decisions moving forward. 

Not to mention the whole “I don’t think Jon’s ever going to be fully 100% alive ever again cuz he’ll be a fire zombie” thing complicating this whole situation. 

So yeah, anyways, I think Jon Snow is staying a bastard throughout the series. (Although Robb may have tried to legitimize him, idk wtf is going on with that, idk if that counts, and frankly I don’t give a damn so *shrug emoji*.) 

Is it forced or obvious? I don’t think GRRM’s going to make it feel that way. 

Also, I think the point of Dany’s story is that she is the Targ claimant to the Throne, not Jon, but she gives it all up anyway to save the world. It’s a lot bigger and more meaningful sacrifice on her part if Jon remains a bastard.

In terms of a Mary Sue / Gary Sue … I don’t think I believe in those concepts tbh? Mary Sue is a term loaded with a lot of sexism and misogyny, and Gary Stu is derived from it, instead of the other way around as is typical, because people mostly use the “Mary Sue” concept to criticize female characters for being “too competent” / “too beautiful” / “too admirable” etc. We’ve seen numerous examples of Dany and Jon failing, so what exactly is too competent? What is too beautiful? What makes someone too admirable? 

I don’t believe in the concept of a Mary Sue. I believe in good stories. 

And I think GRRM is more than capable of making Jon and Dany into a damn good story: a compelling, emotionally-satisfying, well-written story with very flawed, very human characters. I think everything from AGOT to ADWD is proof of that. I would literally have to quote the whole book here. 

So, I think the opening argument falls to you here. I’m not gonna do it for you. You would need to make the argument that Jon and/or Dany is a Mary Sue in the books with specific textual examples of how you feel they fit the definition of a Mary Sue if you want me to rebut that idea. 

Regarding the idea that the Starks and the Targaryens have super powers while the other families don’t … idk what to tell you. ASOIAF is an epic fantasy series; people who do magical stuff is par for the course. If the fantasy genre isn’t your thing, idk what to say. 

But what do the Starks have in terms of super powers? Bran has magical powers, Arya can commune with wolves, and Jon is … possibly vacationing in Ghost until a woman from Essos resurrects him. Sansa and Rickon don’t seem to have any magic, or at least nothing that’s manifested itself. (Nor did it seem like Robb did.) 

idk, this doesn’t bother me. The Starks are the heroes. I want to see them do fantastic things, as much as I want to see Wonder Woman go up and over the top. It doesn’t bother me that magical powers aren’t distributed equally among Westerosi society because these powers are supposed to be special. They’re not ordinary. The magic isn’t a mundane part of everyone’s life. The people who use it are not ordinary. Someone like Arya is … exceptional. There could be a hundred Lancels, or a thousand Randylls, but there’s only one person like Arya. Only one person like Bran. Only one Jon. Because I think we’re supposed to realize that being the hero is hard. Stepping up and being the true knight in a world as dark and twisted as Westeros is something very out of the ordinary, something very rare. And the cool thing is that they would do this true knighthood thing even without the magical powers; the magical powers are just author signposts to say, “pay attention to this person” and painting it so much larger than life.  

And idk if the Targaryens really have super powers? Dany has dragons. She has magical creatures, but does she have powers? A miracle happened to her, where she survived Drogo’s pyre, but she’s not fireproof, nor are any other Targs. idk, I read fantasy because I want the miracles, so again idk what to tell you. 

Why does it bother you that the Starks have direwolves and Dany has dragons? 

(If it makes you feel any better, I like to imagine that the prehistoric lions in the Westerlands (basically direlions) – I like to imagine that after the Clegane kennelmaster killed the lioness, Tytos found two cubs and they took them home and he gave them to his kids as pets, but cats being cats, the lion cubs just caused a bunch of problems like knocking down expensive shit and gnawing on people and stuff, until Tytos was like, OK we gotta lock em up, and that’s why they were tame and why they didn’t bite Cersei’s hand off many years later.) 

For me, it always felt like Tyrion has his own superpower: “My mind is my weapon,” and this is why GRRM wrote Tyrion as he did, making him a dwarf to give him a head disproportionately bigger than his body, like he’s someone from a comic book. 

And iif you’re asking me about Jon being in a relationship with Dany, but it being incestuous … eh, it’s fantasy, it’s not real. The incest just adds to the heightened emotions, like some Greek Drama or s/t. If we were reading about the Greek gods on Olympus or s/t with all their incest, would everyone cringe so much? 

Truly, I’m a lot more bothered by all the 13 year old girls being forced to get married in ASOIAF, and the way GRRM writes about how a woman’s “childlike smile” and “girlish body” is “so sexy”. <.<

For Jon/Dany … as I’ve said before, I think ASOIAF is about love, and I think it’s about loving even in the Lovecraftian landscape of the Others, about finding and reveling in our humanity even when it’s under siege in a twisted world of cold and ice. Some people think that’s corny or cheesy or cliche. I think it’s beautiful. If you don’t like it, tho, then you don’t like it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Finally, if you were asking me about Jon/Dany on the show, I’m sorry but I don’t like that show, so the question of whether Jon/Dany are forced or obvious on the show is irrelevant to me. 

[unt2017]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis Genre: Fantasy  Image:“Chronicles of Narnia” [image]. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11129.The_Chronicles_of_Narnia

First, I have to admit I have not read all the books in this series. In fact, I wasn’t sure what the correct order of the books are. The book I started using has all seven books in one volume and according to it the order is as follows:  The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and finally The Last Battle. However, if someone were to Google the order of the books, most might come across the fact that the publication order is not the same as the one in the book volume I used.  According to Goodreads.com, the publication order is as follows: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew, and The Last Battle (The Chronicles of Narnia Publication Order, 2019).  So, because of this debate, I wasn’t sure if it mattered where I started.  I realized that what I thought I knew or remembered about what I had read in years past was very little, so I decided to read again and I started with the story everyone has either read or knows enough to be able to talk about with any sense of interest: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.   The aspects of the story I want to follow up on are: tension, setting, and pacing. The more I think about it the more I believe it makes sense to flesh out these parts of the story because they would be the most interesting.

 Evaluation

According to Tunnell, Jacobs, Young & Bryan (2016): “Fiction without tension is bland. Tension makes the reader want to read on to see how the conflict is resolved and what happens to the people involved in the problem” (19).   In the case of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the main characters Lucy, Edmund, Peter, and Susan stumble on a world that cannot be readily explained other than a child’s wild imagination (or so adults like to believe) and they end up in a world that is run by a villain named The White Witch.  She uses Edmund to try and further her plan of getting rid of Aslan, one of the many protagonists and heroes of this series. However, she underestimates the power of family and friends.  The proof of this shows itself in the following:

Edmund shook hands with each of the others and said to each of them in turn, “I’m sorry,” and everyone said “That’s all right”. And everyone wanted very hard to say something which would make it quite clear that they were all friends with him again ---something ordinary and natural—and of course no one could think of anything in the world to say (174).  

Everyone knows that dealing with family can be beyond difficult. They make you angry, sad, happy, and everything in between, but what others also know is that family forgives family. This particular quote proves how true that is and that tension of any kind can make for a good story. Tension either makes the story blow up like a fire cracker with pretty colors or fizzle out faster than the bubbles on a soft drink and that can be the catalyst that either makes the reader continue to read or they put the book down and do not pick it back up.

           Another aspect that determines whether or not a reader continues reading a particular book is the pacing. According to Tunnell et al., (2016): “Pacing is how quickly or slowly a story moves” (18).   In the case of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, the pacing switches back and forth between fast and slow.  For example, in chapter fifteen one of the first quote on the page is as follows: “Now! Follow me all and we will set about what remains of this war! It will not take us long to crush the human vermin and the traitors now that the great Fool, the great Cat, lies dead” (182).  To me, this shows that the pace and action will soon pick up from here. I know that every book has its high and low points, but the low points seem to dictate whether or not the reader makes it to the best parts of the story.  A reader can find the characters interesting. They can feel every emotion for main characters, but without solid pacing of the story, it is difficult to want to keep up because caring for the characters is only part of the experience.

           The final aspect I want to focus on is the setting. The reason for this being I like reading stories that take me outside of the real world and the regular time sphere. I enjoy being able to lose hours in a book then when I come back it feels like I’ve gone on a mini vacation.   According to Tunnell et al., (2016): “The setting is where and when the book takes place. …The place can be as vast as a planet or as small as one room. The time may be in the past, the present, or the future, or it may be an unspecified in imaginary worlds” (18).  To this end, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe doesn’t seem to have a specified time period, but Narnia is an imaginary world that seems so well written that if they didn’t have talking animals, I would believe it was of our world and our time.  However, I am glad that it isn’t of our world because I find stories similar to now a bit boring. Sure, I don’t mind stories having elements of reality in them, but that’s not why I read the genres I do. I read them to escape real life not get bogged down in it while reading.  Speaking of the reasons why I read, the questions from the Williamson (n.d) article had me thinking.  The following questions are the ones I want to delve deeper into: How much does the text agree with your views of the world, and what you consider right or wrong? How well does it address things you care about and consider important to the world? Finally, how well did you enjoy the text as entertainment or work of art? (Williamson, n.d).

 Response

           Whenever I am reading, these questions don’t really come to mind because I usually read for enjoyment and try not to get too bogged down. However, in the case of how much does the text agree with the views I have of the world and what I consider right or wrong and how well does it address things you care about and consider important to the world, I am not sure I have a good answer for that.  Very rarely could one answer be the same or similar for two different questions.  It has been said that the Chronicles of Narnia has Christianity undertones to it and that for example, Aslan might be the character that is supposed to represent Christ. Being a Christian myself I could see how this might be based off just reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. In fact, according to the following article from CBN/ Movieguide Magazine (2019) the author says that Lewis had explained things using the following quote:

…Read the earlier book in this series called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and you will find the full story of how he was killed by the White Witch and came to life again. When you have read that, I think you will probably see that there is a deeper meaning behind it. The whole Narnian story is about Christ. That is to say, I asked myself ‘Supposing that there really was a world like Narnia and supposing it had (like our world) gone wrong and supposing Christ wanted to go into that world and save it (as He did ours), what might have happened?’ The stories are my answers (Movieguide, 2019).

 Whether or not C.S Lewis said this or not could be up for debate, but I could see it being true based on what I read from the book.    A quote from the book may further this line of thinking. Lewis (1982) wrote the following: “He knows the Deep Magic better than that. He knows that unless I have blood as the Law says, all Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water” (176).  The best way to help readers understand why this is important is to go to the book that is part of the Christian faith: The Bible.   Genesis 6:17 states: “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die” (KJV online, 2019). That tells the parallel of the water, but what about the fire?  Revelation 8:7 states: “…The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” (KJV online, 2019).  Now granted I understand that these verses are parts of a bigger  aspect of the Bible so these verses to many might not seem as much; however, I can’t help but feel they further my connection that Lewis wrote The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe as part of a way to help others understand certain things about the Bible.   The children in the book represent human nature and the values and lessons we receive by learning how to navigate the world and the mistakes we make while doing so. The book also talks about how important forgiveness is when a wrong has been committed.  I would like to add that I find this lesson important because we all need it. No one is perfect. That is why Lucy, Susan, and Peter forgiving Edmund for his betrayal of them and being happy to see him again is important.  It reminds me that humans need to be kind to one another or the world would go up in flames faster than we can stop it.

 Conclusion

           Overall, I enjoyed reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. It made me feel like a child again and let me use my imagination in a way I haven’t done in a while. I see why C.S Lewis is a popular author, and I like the fact that he uses his faith to reach others in a way they understand.  I really want to see how the rest of the stories compare and fit in with the overall picture. I believe this was the one book I did not regret reading to review (out of the ones on the list that I had marked to read at some point in time).  The characters were real, powerful, but not overwhelming in such a way that overshadowed the point.  Narnia, as a place, lets me escape the real world for a while, and I always like books that take me on a mini vacation.  So, do me a favor if you will, let everyone know I give The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe a 10 out of 10 and recommend it highly.

 References:

“Chronicles of Narnia Publication Order Series” (2019). Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/series/49073-chronicles-of-narnia

 “The Deeper Truth Behind ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’”. (2019). Retrieved from https://www1.cbn.com/books/deeper-truth-behind-chronicles-narnia

 “Genesis 6:17” (2019). Retrieved from https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Genesis-Chapter-6/#17

 Lewis, C.S. (1982). Chronicles of Narnia. New York: HarperCollins

 “Revelation 8:7” (2019). Retrieved from https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-Chapter-8/

 Tunnell M.O., Jacobs, J.S., Young T.A. & Bryan, G.  (2016). What is a good book? in Children’s Literature Briefly, (pp. 15-23.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

  Williamson, O.M.  (n.d). “Reader Response”. Retrieved from http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl0310link/readerresponse.htm

[drink-n-watch]

  Genre : Action, comedy, supernatural, urban fantasy, science fiction.

Episodes: 13

Studio: Bones

  You know what’s tricky? Navigating that confusing time between childhood and adulthood. Especially if you grew up as a bit of a loner. Feeling outcast and different all the time. And that type of isolation can cut deep. Loneliness can get to you and turn you into someone you don’t want to be. Luckily for Mob, he’s always had a loving family by his side. And master Reigen has always supported him best he can. And now, without even realizing it, Mob is surrounded by friends. But what would have happened if he wasn’t? What would a powerful psychic like that turn out to be without others to keep him grounded?

The first season of Mob Psycho came as a long-delayed delightful surprise to me. I had been putting off the series for reasons that are obscure even to me, and when I finally got around to watching the first season a month or so ago, I wanted to kick myself for waiting so long. Mob Psycho made me happy. Eager to learn from my mistakes I watched a few palette cleanser shows and dove right into the second season. Let’s see if I’m kicking myself again.

  is the suspense killing you?

  Production-wise, there isn’t much change between the two seasons. Mostly because it was a really solid production, to begin with. I was slightly more taken with Itou, Setsuo voice acting this season but only because a few scenes allowed him to tap into this calm and melancholy tone that he does very well. Mob Psycho has always been a visually distinctive show and the aesthetic is once again rigidly upheld. If you didn’t like the look of the show before, you still won’t. If like me you really liked it, well you can figure out the rest.

All of this said there were two notable improvements in my opinion. One is expanded colour palettes. There are dusk and early morning scenes that bathe everything onscreen in a wash of colours. Environments get plunged in sudden ominous darkness as superpowered character shine. It really gave a lot of dimension to the series and made Mob Psycho 100 II look lush compared to its predecessor.

The second visible improvement was the animation. Not that it was bad in season 1, to the contrary , but there is a whole lot more this time around and it’s awesome. The action is exaggerated and quick-paced with insane ragdoll physics and skewed perspectives that are frankly just plain fun to watch. I found myself completely engrossed in fight scenes no matter how obviously unrealistic they were, unable to turn away and biting at my thumbnail.

  I’m telling you, it looks great!

  Sadly I have a feeling that if you don’t like the art style, no matter how much praise I heap on the animation, it won’t sway you. So let’s talk story!

I recently wrote a post on 100 Word Anime discussing the pitfalls of comparing one anime to another so let me do it again right now… Mob Psycho season 2 reminded me of Natsume’s Book of Friends.

Some of you may know that I compared Mob Psycho 100 to Neon Genesis Evangelion. The first season did in fact bring that show to mind for me. This second season, however, has matured and tweaked its themes and no longer brought to mind the classic series for me. Now you may think I’m just using another excuse to mention Natsume yet again, I don’t blame you. I do that. But there is a reason. When I say Mob Psycho II reminds me of Natsume I mean specifically season 3.

The second season of Mob Psycho is a wild ride. The action is geared way up and the stakes have been raised considerably. Yet for all the heart-pounding adventures what I took away from the season was just how much Mob and the show itself had grown. I actually wrote it in my notes after the first episode and couldn’t help but grin like a Cheshire when the characters on screen started to echo that exact thought throughout the season. It’s great when you can feel like part of the team.

  well…most of the time

  The second thing I wrote is just how beautiful Mob’s personal evolution was. The young boy isolated and bound by anxiety and fear had come out of his shell. Without even realizing it, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by friends and for the first time even something akin to peers. And because he finally has that support system available to him, he can finally find the strength to confront his own power. He actually starts using it to help others in mundane situations instead of only having it as a last resort. His emotional gauge actually gets filled by positive feelings just as often as negative ones if not more so. He no longer sees himself merely as a burden to others and therefore he no longer is.

I wrote all these notes down happily then went over them. When that early feeling of deja vu hit me. As I leafed through my past notebooks I realized that I had written almost word for word the exact same thing for the third season of Natsume. Clearly, I need to get a bit more varied in my note-taking but it also shows that I know what I like. And make no mistake I loved this second season of Mob Psycho.

Reigen is my favourite character in the series. I generally love tricksters but beyond that, I think that one of the main reasons Mob didn’t fall apart in his younger years was because he always had Reigen by his side. I doubt I’m the only one with a soft spot for the 2-part midseason mini-arc that developed Reigen and Mob’s relationship specifically.

  these are some great episodes

  I always thought that Reigen genuinely cares about the boy beyond what use he could make of him. Fact is, Reigen is scripted to ooze shifty sleeve but when push comes to shove he’s actually an extremely capable guy. Ok, not as a psychic obviously but as a con artist, definitely. More often than not his advice is pretty good, he has impressive observations skills and is a wonderful huge of character and he is protective and caring of Mob. He trusts and believes in the boy even when the boy does not believe in himself.

But it’s the flashback that got to me. The fact that Reigen had grown bored with his psychic gig and was considering moving on. With his social skills, he could easily have found some other way to make a decent living. But a young boy clearly in need of someone walks into his office and he just couldn’t turn him away. Sure, if he could make a buck in the process, all the better, but that wasn’t the main motivation. And he’s still like that. When someone is truly in need of help, he doesn’t turn them away, ever.

Combine this with a Mob that has become self-assured enough to think for himself and even say no! A young man that has gained the maturity to accept his mentor’s limits and failings and still appreciate him. And you have a tremendous character arc in two short episodes. Not only did they develop both characters without resorting to exposition dumps but they also did so without sanitizing or retconing either. I said this a lot in the first season review, but Mob Psycho is a smart show. And it continues to be so.

Mob’s been through a lot this season

This season also brought some conflict that was way more nuanced. In the last episodes, we even see Mob gleefully revel in his powers and the destruction they wrought. He immediately stops himself and is filled with guilt but there’s something else going on. There’s a great attention given to Mob’s expressions. By default, he’s a bit of a blank canvass, largely expressionless. This season, as he’s opening up more his feelings are starting to show on his face. Small shy smiles, tiny barely there scowls… But when he goes to 100% then it’s the complete opposite. He is deliberately drawn to be terrifying, almost demonic. Dishevelled unnatural hair, impossibly intense eyes, an uncontrollable aura escaping from him. But in that one moment, that minute that he let himself enjoy his power, he looked….great. I mean he looked like a healthy happy young man. The spiked hair flowing lazily about him like a pretty anime boy, no visible aura at all, a relaxed smile reaching all the way to joyful eyes.

In another anime, I would have called this an odd design choice but not in Mob Psycho. For two seasons this show has been very precise with its imagery and particularly with Mob’ expressions. This was thought out and selected for a reason. The visual language of the anime is telling a completely different story from the script. It’s subtly showing us a boy that has been at war with his own nature for his whole life and the one moment of release came as a huge relief. A boy that could still go down a dark path. This is a moral ambiguity the first season stayed very far away from and a noted shift in narrative vision. One I am excited for.

I feel you Ritsu, it was quite a moment

I want to see more of Mob Psycho 100 and I hope I can do so soon!

Favourite character: still Reigen

What this anime taught me: Sequels are fantastic

Come, we’ll get drunk, quote movies and talk about how awesome we are

Suggested drink: Brown Sugar Manhattan

Every time Mob’s in street clothes – take a sip

Every time the show turns into a video game – take a sip

Every time we see a tomato – get a snack

Every time we see the super awesome Body Improvement club – Cheers!

Every time anyone is pantless – gasp

Every time Reigen seem kind of cool – put the drink down

Every time Mob gets a call – take a sip

Every time we see Mezato-san – take a sip

Every time other psychics are watching tv – take a sip

Every time Ritsu doesn’t get along with Reigen – take a sip

Every time you’re surprised by how touching this show is – check if season 3 has been announced

I love Bones’ visuals. They really speak to me. So once again I uploaded a whole bunch of screencaps to Pinterest and Imgur.

      Mob Psycho 100 s2 – Growing Up Genre : Action, comedy, supernatural, urban fantasy, science fiction. Episodes: 13 Studio: Bones You know what's tricky?

[thebookishgoddess]

CLOCKWORK PRINCESS BY CASSANDRA CLARE - 🌟🌟🌟

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army? Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Reviewers’ note: It’s a long one, so hold on to your seats!

Review type: Plot + Character breakdowns + Overall (spoilers are noted as SPOILERS and you can hover the word to read the spoiler if you wish!)

I had every intention of writing a review for the whole trilogy instead of just for Clockwork Princess. But as it turns out, ya gurl can’t even remember half of what happened to Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince, due to the huge week gaps I threaded through this trilogy. So, I’m just rolling with what I’ve recently finished with this book.

Clockwork Princess picks up very quickly from the last book. The pacing was, I have to say, quite intense. We pick right off from where Cecily enters the London Institution to declare herself a Shadowhunter, and it goes from there. The plot just thickens as you go on, and I got to see more of Gideon and Gabriel Lightwood, who are characters that I found most interesting, aside from my faves, Charlotte and Henry (I’ll get into them later). The twist and turns and the real story of how Tessa came to be really was a shocking revelation. Who knew Mortmain could be so evil? (that was sarcasm, by the way xD)

I think for this story, the reason why I docked one star is because of the part where Will traveled to Cadair Idris. The whole point, I believe, was to intensify our anticipation into wondering: Will he get to Tessa on time? But I personally feel as though those parts were practically fillers. Trust me, I enjoyed reading the first two-ish parts of it, but it kept dragging the story on more than I expected. Cassandra Clare is very well-known for her descriptive stride, but in this case, it dragged on too far that I had to skim-read the rest of that part of the story instead.

But now, onto the characters! Tessa Gray is very well-rounded and dynamic. Yes, she can be a bit annoying sometimes because everyone is just like “just choose between Will and Jem, for crying out loud!” because I hate to see this woman tear Jem and Will apart. But I have to remember that this girl is a teenager in the 1800′s, and I can’t really hate her much for being so indecisive. But aside from that little conundrum, it does not  dilute the fact that Tessa is such a strong character. She’s been to hell and back with the Black Sisters, lost the only brother she’s ever known and suffered through that transformation she did in Cadair Idris, and she’s still standing on her own two feet. That takes some guts, and I admire her for it.

Jem Carstairs is probably the book boyfriend you have always wanted. He’s smart, so kind-hearted and loves music. I personally don’t ship him with Tessa (and admittedly skipped some parts where they interacted), but that does not mean I’m going to be biased with his character. He was such a breath of fresh air, a contrast to so many others that kept popping out in this story. Whenever I needed a break from Tessa’s indecisiveness or Will’s intensity, I look to Jem’s POV and it just makes me feel better. I suppose the only part that made me kind of iffy with how his character was handled was how he survived his illness. This is Cassandra Clare’s world building, and maybe there’s more to it, but I don’t see much of it making sense. I think the whole point was for SPOILERS but I felt the whole way Cassandra tried to “revive” his character kind of felt almost... desperate, if there was a word to describe it. It didn’t feel natural to me, for something that is supposed to be a little more supernatural for a fantasy story. But it just kind of set me off, hence the second dock of another star in the story. I think his story’s end could have been executed a lot better.

Will Herondale is also your dream book boyfriend, if you’re into brooding, sarcastic little shites like him. I personally enjoy his character because he’s pretty witty, although he can be quite awful sometimes. He loves books and quotes them to Tessa, which is just, ya know, romantic. But his “curse” really tore his entire person apart and I feel for him so bad. I will not excuse his actions of being a terrible human being back then because Jem was sick and knowing he’d die soon and he still ended up having such an empathetic and kind heart. But I can understand--not excuse--why Will was terrible in the first place. He had it really rough, and I suppose I’m just really one of the fair few that sympathize with him. I think in Clockwork Princess, he developed even more as a character. We got to see so much of his well-roundedness whenever he’s not being a huge prat, and he is my favorite developed character in this story. SPOILERS

For minor characters, I do love Henry and Charlotte Branwell. I think aside from shipping Will and Tessa hardcore, they’re my second favorite couple of all time. I love how they came about their feelings for each other in Clockwork Prince and how in the end, they actually really do love each other. Like, this is the purest form of a ship anyone could possibly ask for. (I’m already searching fanfics for them as I switch between writing this review) 

Some of the others I did enjoy reading about too was Sophie Collins and Gideon Lightwood. Can we just take a moment to step back and admire how Gideon presented these words to Sophie? 

“I see it,” Gideon said in a low voice. “I am not blind, and we are a people of many scars. I see it, but it is not ugly. It is just another beautiful part of the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.”

Like, if Will isn’t already my book boyfriend, Gideon Lightwood would be number 2 because who could even resist such beautiful words? I’m just so happy for Sophie, who has been through some real tough situations before her life in the Institute, and now she’s found this amazing and loving family of Shadowhunters and have come to find the man she loves. 

Now, for my last character breakdown, let’s talk about Jessamine Lovelace. This girl, oh my goodness. I have loved her the moment her character was introduced (she was my fave in Clockwork Angel) and I have hated her the moment I found out she was a traitor. I had a fair few words for her on my Goodreads update on Clockwork Prince, and let me tell you, they’re not very nice. I had actually wished this character dies. And I regret that I did because SPOILERS. 

I think some part of her has just always wanted to be part of something bigger than the life that was chosen for her, and I can empathize with her on that. It just kinda sucked that she chose the wrong path into doing that, but then again, she did try to make things better for herself after being imprisoned in the Silent City. But she came at the wrong time, and didn’t get the better chance to. Although she did help Will figure out where Mortmain really is, so she had a bit of redemption in the end. At this point, I just want to read more about Jessamine. 

Overall, this took me forever to finish, I’m not gonna lie. Some parts dragged on, some didn’t, but I’m glad I am through with it. There was a lot of action, and amazing interactions between all the characters in the book. It was a very interesting and compelling end to a trilogy, and though it’s not my favorite ending, it was a  pretty good one. Will I be reading more Shadowhunter books? Probably not. But I will be proud to say that I actually finished a series Cassandra Clare wrote, and that’s fine enough with me. This book gets a final rating of 3 stars.

[graceivers]

Review #98 - The Contract

The Contract Author: Melanie Moreland Genre: Billionaires & CEOs, Contemporary Romance Rating: ★★★★ Recommendation: give it a shot; once was enough Summary: Richard VanRyan is in need of a wife to turn his image around. Katharine Elliott is in need of a secure, paying job. The two had a rather antagonistic work relationship. How, then, can they possibly pull off being in a fake relationship with each other?

Female Lead: Katharine was very cool. She was too forgiving in my opinion, but I guess that was made this character. The best part of this character was surely her resilience and strength. Given that she witnessed her parents’ tragic deaths, her injuries, her less than stellar time in foster care, and then having to put up with Richard’s cruelty for a year, Katharine was undoubtedly a tough and brave woman who deserved a lot after all she had gone through and sacrificed for others. And even with all that adversity, all she was was kind. She was kind and patient and knew which battles to fight. Katharine never asked for much—certainly not for herself. Moreland struck an excellent balance between reserved, cautious, self-sacrificing Katharine and “Go fuck yourself, VanRyan” Katharine. I liked this character very much. Male Lead: There was something wrong with Richard. I mean that both seriously and not seriously. On the serious side, I found his logic perplexing. His timetable to persuade the Gavins that he was a changed man made little sense to me. His attitude and behavior with Katharine seemed all over the place at times. And maybe part of that was just his thought process and him trying to gauge his feelings for her as they changed. But at some points, his behavior—kissing Katharine in private when there was no show to put on—contrasted with his attitude—not interested in love and relationships. Did he want in her pants? Yes. Was that an adequate reason as to why he was being tenderly affectionate with her in private? No. However, Moreland did in the end show development and progression in this character albeit slowly and perhaps not completely. Did I expect him to suddenly not be a jerk anymore? Probably not. But geez, he was so snippy sometimes. Katharine was a saint for putting up with him and finding it in herself to love him even if the sweet parts of him were hidden somewhere in there. Plot & Writing: The Contract was an enjoyable book, I swear. But this is going to be another one of those reviews where I might have more questions and critical things to say instead of squealing and heaping it with praise. Again, I repeat and maintain that this was a good book, one that I liked. Let me just explore some of the parts that made me think a bit more than perhaps intended.

First, while I sympathized with Richard’s reluctance to talk about his past given his parents’ neglect, I was honestly expecting something more dramatic and traumatic. That past certainly explained why he was so cold as a grown man, but he made it sound so horrendous like something grossly horrible had happened to him. Yes, the neglect was terrible. But his story in comparison to Katharine’s background? I thought the latter won out, which unfortunately made Richard look a little more like a jerk than he already was. A side note regarding this, it was actually not my favorite that Katharine pestered Richard so much for his story. Did I believe he needed to talk about it? Yes. Did I appreciate Katharine’s compassion in response to Richard’s revelation? Yes. But she was kind of pushy about extracting his past from him. She told him what happened to him freely of her own volition. Her badgering Richard for his story was not my favorite.

Let’s move on to the actual relationship between Richard and Katharine. Yes, I liked this true enemies-to-lovers trope going on. I particularly enjoyed the fact that Moreland didn’t overdo the whole sexual tension thing. Were there aspects of it? Absolutely. But I think what helped the author’s cause was that Katharine and Richard were true enemies at the beginning. There was zero antagonistic sexual tension going on, and I was grateful because that is one trope I could probably do without. And while I did like the growth of the relationship and watching them move from enemies to allies to lovers, I had a difficult time deciphering when those shifts actually happened. Are they ever truly clear cut in real life? No. But there were just some times I couldn’t wrap my head around the direction of the relationship. How was Katharine comfortable kissing and being affectionate with Richard in private before she knew she was in love with him? How did Richard go from being a cruel boss to her to then someone so desperately in love with her? One thing that particularly bothered me was the fact that Richard only started talking to Katharine in a civilized manner and even remotely noticed her when she got a makeover. That was a little… sad to read. Surely just about any girl would look infinitely more beautiful with a swanky new haircut, expensive clothes, and makeup on her face. And sure, yes, Richard got to know Katharine as a person, so that helped his cause, but really… Katharine was only worthy of Richard’s time and attention after she got a makeover on his dime? Pardon my language, but to quote Katharine, go fuck yourself, VanRyan.

And briefly, again, some of the logic of the events in the book did not make sense to me. As I mentioned before, Richard’s timetable to dupe the Gavins did not compute. If he was trying to avoid suspicion, why did he rush the engagement and then marriage? If anything, finding out a guy like Richard with his playboy past rushing into marriage so quickly would only increase my suspicion rather than subdue it. And normally pragmatic Katharine went along with it? No sense, I tell you. Also, what was with that part where Richard’s boss was like, ‘I know where Katharine is, but I’m not gonna tell you because you have to figure it out yourself or else you’re not worthy’ when Katharine left Richard? What was that? Seriously. Yes, it kind of made sense that Richard should have figured it out on his own, but the inadvertently and yet wholly sinister way his boss’ intentions there came out was very strange. Richard getting his job back also seemed illogical; okay, maybe less illogical and more undeserving but still odd nonetheless. The Gavins were like, ‘Richard, we think you’re lying and you haven’t changed, but we still want to give you a chance anyway; we have a strong feeling about it!’ What? Seriously? Not much sense there either.

And on a side note, how unfortunate it also was that Moreland didn’t really give Katharine any long-term aspirations. So, what did this woman honestly do after all this drama was settled? She became a part-time assistant to her extended ‘family’, volunteered more than she worked a legitimate job, and had babies for Richard? Katharine had so much drive throughout the first half of the book; she was someone that had essentially been working all her life. And now she more or less lounged around because she married a rich dude? That was pure fantasy stuff right there, and this time, it did not sit right with me. Moreland reducing Katharine to essentially a housewife ‘because she deserved time off after all the drama in her life’ did not cut it for me. At all. Favorite Part(s): Richard asking for consent from Katharine before initiating sex! I did a mental fist pump the two times I saw it occur, especially when Katharine had explicitly said no sex during their arrangement and neither had fully come to terms with their feelings for the other yet. Good stuff right there, I’m telling you.

But also, Richard desperately seeking the approval of his new boss and the Gavins. I thought that relationship was written the most beautifully. We really saw Richard vulnerable, and though never stated explicitly, it was so obvious why he craved their approval—that after the absolute neglect from his own family and just about everyone else, there was finally someone in his life that seemed to care about him. Of course, then, Richard wouldn’t want to disappoint them in fear of someone leaving his life again when he so desperately wanted them to stay in it. I could maybe even argue that his relationship with his new boss was equally as important to cultivate as much as his relationship with Katharine (if not more?). Final Thoughts: Oh, The Contract played at my heartstrings. As a romance about true enemies-to-lovers, yes, I enjoyed the book. But there were a number of details that struck me as odd as mentioned above. Did those things detract from the experience of reading this story? No, not if my rating means anything. But certainly had those specific issues been addressed, the book would’ve gotten an even higher rating. In the end, I would still recommend reading The Contract if enemies-to-lovers is a favorite trope of yours, or fake relationships, or billionaire romances with a Cinderella effect. I think there’s something here for everyone to at least give the book a shot.

[flickdirect]

Season Seven means only seven episodes of the highly acclaimed and much-anticipated Game of Thrones and with only one more season announced, Season Seven is one to revel in and absorb every single detail because as the catchphrase of this protolithic series has changed, so has changed the Game for the Iron Throne. "Winter is here" and the audience should get their warm clothes on because it's going to be a cold one.

As mentioned in the review of Season Six, Game of Thrones costs $10 million dollars per episode to film. Still, in my opinion, it is one of the most electrifying, intense, and suspenseful, fantasy dramas ever made so every minute of the hour episode is worth every penny spent. The cast is amazing, the scenery and settings real, and the clothing spectacularly fitting. There is no detail left to chance and it clearly shows how much effort goes into Game of Thrones.

Seasons 1-6 is based on the book series A Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. Martin, however there are actually only 5 books written. Like the prior season, this current season is written by several different writers. The story of the fight for the Iron Throne remains consistent with Martin's book series and the prior seasons. The writing is beyond exemplary- the dialogue and storytelling are captivating and the audience will hang on every word. In fact, the mystery written into Season Seven surrounding the question "Who is Jon Snow?" is so well written that even when the information is researched, revealed and provided to the audience through the script, it is still shocking. The consequences of actions between Jon Snow (Kit Harrington; Seventh Son) and Daeneyrs Targaryen (Emilia Clark; You Before Me) throughout the season play such an important part of the conclusion, that one can tell there was much thought from the very beginning as to just exactly how this season was going to end.

One of the best features of the Game of Thrones storylines is that the writers do not miss a step. As the prior seasons did, Season Seven begins as Season Six ends. There is no lag in the storyline, no missing time in the sequences- the story flows as Jon Snow organizes the defense of the North and is recognized as King of the North. As Daeneyrs arrives home with her Unsullied Army, Jon must make a decision to go to her and request her help and leave his people or to fight the White Walkers alone. His true leadership comes through as he leaves his people under the leadership of his sister, Lady Sansa (Sophie Turner; X-Men: Apocalypse) and makes the journey South to beg Daeneyrs' assistance. In the meantime, Cersei (Lena Hedley; The Purge) is trying to hold onto her crown with her brother Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau; Black Hawk Down) at her side. Tyrian Lannister (Peter Dinklage;X-Men: Days of Future Past), Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright; The Boxtrolls), and Arya Stark (Maudie Williams; Doctor Who) make their way to their respective homes, bringing both answers and questions, as well as conflict to their families. Facing battle, negotiations, and love, Season Seven has all the aspects of a great season. Constant movement in the story never keeps for a dull moment, yet the writing flows, allowing the audience to easily follow the storyline. The conclusion of Season Seven is an anticipated conclusion, but one that is no less a jaw-dropping moment.

The Blu-ray is presented in HD with 1080p resolution and aspect ratio of 1.78.1. The picture is crisp and clear. The special effects, such as the dragons in battle, are amazing and in death – breathtakingly beautiful. The drawings on the cave wall found by Jon Snow and Daeneyrs are clear without any blurriness present. As in prior seasons, the setting is either colorful or bleak and dreary, as it should be, so in that respect, the colors are brilliantly contrasted without being overdone. The contrast between the whiteness of snow beyond the wall and the actual wall itself sets the scene and you can almost feel the cold emanating from the screen.

Audio is presented in the melodic 5.1 Dolby Atmos and TrueHD 7.1. Again, consistent with prior seasons, there is not one thing amiss with the sound quality. All dialogue is clear and the background music is even and enhances rather than distracts from the storyline.

I normally don't mention packaging but the whole presentation of Season Seven, from the actual writing to the scenery to the actors up and including the Blu-ray packaging is impressive. The Blu-ray set contains 3 discs but the actual packaging must be mentioned. It is a fold out into four sections and the inside Blu-ray holders are a scene from the battle beyond the wall. The outside covers feature black and blue-tinged half faces of four main characters, with their eyes blue like the White Walkers. Fold the case back up and it slides into a black outside box that says "Winter is Here" on the back side with a picture of the Night King on the front, again with those crisp and piercing blue eyes. This all sits inside a clear cover with the title on one side and what appears to be snow on the other side.

Special features on the Blu-ray include commentaries presented after each episode, so there is no having to switch discs to watch the bonus features. You watch the episode and then watch and listen to the corresponding commentaries by the actors, directors, writers, special effects crew, and more. I am so impressed as to how Game of Thrones switches up the presenters of the commentaries- you don't have to listen to the same person explaining and providing their opinions about everything- this gives the audience a chance to hear what everyone has to say. In addition, while there are only seven episodes, the studio has provided the audience with eleven commentaries.

Besides each episode commentary, additional bonus features are provided, such as an In-episode Guide (providing information on characters, settings, and histories); Histories and Lore (learn about the mythology of Westeros and Essos); From Imagination to Reality: Inside the Art Department (two-part featurette); and Fire & Steel: Creating the Invasion of Westeros (behind-the-scenes featurette with cast and crew interviews).

In addition, this version comes with an additional Blu-ray: Game of Thrones Conquest and Rebellion. Provided in its own case, this Blu-ray is an animated history of the Seven Kingdoms. Only available with pre-orders, the bonus Blu-ray contains 45 minutes of what could be rightfully called a prequel to the Game of Thrones, as it gives a history of all the Houses and ends just before Season One begins.

Jon Snow is King of the North- at least in the beginning of Season Seven. Will the North still be there for him when he returns or will Sansa Stark take his place? Will Cersai continue on her path to self-destruction as she has been the entire series and when will we see her fall? Will Daeneyrs finally get what she wants in Season Eight or will such a secret that has been discovered, be revealed to thwart her plans? Winter is here and with only one season left, this past season has brought a culmination to the storyline and plot that cannot be missed.

Game of Thrones is an unequivocally amazing series. Season Seven, even though it is only seven episodes, does not disappoint fans. The entire season continues to enthrall and captivate the audience. As my recommendation for last season, this season gets the same rating, 5/5, but I wish I could award more.

Grade: A+

About Jennifer Broderick A graduate of The George Washington University and Nova Southeastern Law School Jennifer Fischer Broderick’s fascination with the movie world started when she first saw Snow White on the big screen as a young child. When the producers of the movie Annie held auditions in NYC, Jennifer stood on line in the cold to try out for a part and actually made it past the first few try-outs. A vivacious reader, she is fascinated watching books and stories brought to life on the big screen. Jennifer has passed her love of movies onto her children and they are often found planning their weekends around opening premieres.

Read more reviews and content by Jennifer Broderick.

via FlickDirect Entertainment News and Film Reviews