#reading a YA novel as an adult i cant connect with the characters like i can do with even a middle grade novel

[fastepp]

i need YA to be better written and I need full grown adults to stop recommending me YA. these two things are related.

[dylanobrienisbatman]

His Dark Materials!

my all-time ultimate fave character: 

So far, i’d say my favourite character is probably Lyra! she has that sort of YA novel heroine spunk to her, and she has that feral teenage girl energy that feels perfectly mastered here. 

a character I didn’t used to like but now do:

So, since its only series 1, i don’t think my opinion of anyone has changed too drastically across the span of the series, but if we consider the books as well, i’d say maybe... lord asriel? a combination of the fact that the show makes him MUCH more of a likeable character than the books (shout out to that James McAvoy charm) and also that his mission and his goal are so interesting to me. 

a character I used to like but now don’t:

There isn’t one really in the show, as far as the show goes all the ‘bad guys’ have been particularly well written and performed so as to make you not like them but also not hate them, and good guys haven’t fallen from grace.

a character I’m indifferent about:

I’m not really very interested in these magesterium croney types, like Father MacPhail and all of that, i think the choice to make them sort of greasy white men who are seaking power was an inspired choice for what the magesterium is meant to be, but they are also sort of like... not overly important, and easily manipulated by Coulter, so they dont come off as very threatening, and therefore i just sort of barely care about them. 

a character who deserved better:

ROGER. PARSLOW. AND. SALCILLIA. I am so sad. 

a ship I’ve never been able to get into:

So far, the show doesn’t really have that many ships? and the books aren’t exactly romance heavy either. However, i have been seeing some people ‘shipping’ lee and iorek and... please say sike yall. 

a ship I’ve never been able to get over:

Okay but i am absolutely obsessed with the idea of Young Masriel. Neither of them are particularly good people, obviously, and they get to a point where they have done unspeakable, unforgivable things, so as much as i do enjoy adult, sort of biting, fighting, fiery Masriel, the idea of two younger people, both brilliant and driven and laced with some level of darkness, meeting at just the right moment where Marisa was willing to risk her entire life just to be with him, because he was her equal in all the ways that mattered... oh man. phillip pullman write me a masriel prequel challenge. 

Also, if we’re talking books, Lyra and Will are wonderful.

a cute, low-key ship:

In this HDM podcast i listen too, Daemoncast, Sarah has been sort of talking lately about how, in another world essentially, Lyra and Roger might have grown up and fallen in love? Like in that sort of childhood best friend until one day you realise its more, and i sort of love that idea, that in another timeline, where Lyra had stayed in Jordan and Roger never got gobbled, they would grow up and maybe, one day, fall in love. 

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it:

What even are the unpopular ships in this fandom? someone tell me. i love an unpopular ship i flock to those suckers. 

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened:

again... someone fill me in. 

my favourite storyline/moment:

So far in the season, my favourite storyline was Lyra travelling with the gyptians, including her time in trollosund, meeting lee and iorek, etc. It was the sort of LotR style adventure through epic scenery, including tons of fascinating exposition and plot points throughout, including her really learning to read the aletheiometer, finding Billy, bonding with Iorek and Lee, meeting Serafine, etc. All in all, a great storyline. 

My favourite moment was probably the final moment of the season, where Will and Lyra both walk through the portals. 

a storyline that never should have been written:

my first thoughts on the show:

Exciting, BEAUTIFUL to watch, well acted, very promising. it made me want to read the books so bad i bought the whole triology and read it in like a week. 

my thoughts now:

a phenomenal adaptations, thought obviously not without fault. still BEAUTIFUL, and also very well adapted, if that makes sense. tying in the plot with will that we get at the very start of The Subtle Knife, so as to make us feel more connected to him before we start season 2, was inspired, and they really shaped the story SO well. Loved it, cant wait for season 2 and three, and im now reading the book of dust series.