#this character's inner monologue doesn't sound like I imagine it would?

[jonsnoodlearms]

I have such a limited taste when it comes to fanfic and it's making life difficult

[cosmicatta]

One Piece Novel: Law — a short analysis

So, after a long time trying to get my hands on the Law light novel, I was finally able to read it recently! And, because I'm an obnoxiously intense person who can't just be normal about things, I found myself taking notes about everything I judged interesting.

And I thought I could share! So here's a mostly improvised essay about the Law novel, how it portrays Law and what it reveals about him as a character.

Some notes before I start:

The edition I've read of this novel is the official Spanish translation by Planeta. When quoting and mentioning numbered pages, I'm referencing that edition.

I originally posted this on Twitter as a thread! If it sounds familiar, that might be why.

For those who haven't read the novel and might want to: be mindful of some trigger warnings, including gruesome medical descriptions, suicidal thoughts, mentions of abuse, and violence in general (I won't be touching on these subjects here though).

These are just my personal impressions, I'm not trying to tell anyone how they should interpret the novel or Law's character. I'm just doing this for fun!

The story takes place right after Cora dies, following young Law's journey as he makes it to Swallow Island and desperately tries to survive. There, he will meet Bepo, Penguin and Shachi, as well as Wolf, a novel-exclusive character that welcomes Law and the boys into his home as a family.

Overall, it's a very short read, agile and straightforward. The style is very juvenile, but that was to be expected, and I'd say it does a pretty good job at capturing the feeling of watching a One Piece episode. The novel does kinda feel like a mini arc.

I'm unsure if light novels can be considered 100% canon in general, but since the contents don't contradict anything from what we've already seen in the manga/anime, I'm going to assume we can at least take the events described in this one as canon.

But I'll leave the plot aside a little bit to focus more on Law's psyche, analyzing everything in the novel as material that helps us further understand him.

The entire book (save from a few specific passages) is written from Law's point of view and in first person, so it offers a more in-depth look at his way of thinking, motivations and ideals.

What I find most interesting in this sense is that the whole story is very centered around Law's kindness. Though he does admit several times that he had wanted to see the world burn when he was under Doflamingo's care (as we already know from the source material), the novel makes it very obvious that Law's true nature is compassionate. His inner voice even explicitly states that he enjoys helping and making others happy. (Quotes roughly translated from Spanish):

P. 27: "And I felt very comfortable collaborating with the task of helping others."

P. 92: "Knowing that I was going to free a person from their pain [...] gave me a joy I had never experienced before."

P. 136: "Just imagining the surprised faces of the Old Man, Bepo and the others brought a smile to my face" [when planning on getting fresh fish for dinner as a surprise].

And, despite living under Wolf's motto of "give to take," Law never expects anything in return for any of his good actions. In fact, he gets furious at Wolf himself when, after saving his life, the old man insists on giving Law anything he demands as compensation.

P. 120: "I didn't save you because I wanted a reward!" [...] They [Bepo, Shachi and Penguin] burst into tears of happiness when they realized that you had survived. That's more than enough for me! [...]" I won't let you belittle their tears!"

But even then, Law keeps arguing that he only saved Wolf "on a whim," much like he would say years later when asked why he chose to save Luffy's life. This is a common theme throughout the whole book (which is also pretty obvious in the manga)—Law doesn't recognize his own kindness.

It's not modesty or shyness, his inner monologue makes it very clear that he doesn't see himself as good-natured, and is often confused at his own motivations.

In their first meeting, when Bepo asks him why he is so nice to him, Law doesn't know what to answer; and after that, when Law finds himself wondering why he's trying so hard to save Shachi and Penguin despite their past history, he blames it all on "doctor's pride."

P. 48: "I wasn't even a good person."

Still, regardless of what Law might think of himself, living in Swallow Island seems to be making him progressively gentler. He was wary and hostile towards Wolf at first, but eventually lets himself trust people again, trying to honor Cora's memory and what he taught Law.

In Swallow Island he builds his new found family little by little, though never letting go of Cora and what he meant to Law.

P. 39: "Cora and I were family, that's what I felt at heart, I had no doubts. We had loved each other without saying it out loud [...] Would I feel the same for the Old Man and Bepo eventually?"

Slowly, he starts finding comfort and joy in community. He lets himself be carefree around his new friends, treating them with open affection, laughing and being surprisingly enthusiastic (although he quickly starts taking his role as a leader very seriously, and sometimes avoids showing weakness around them so as not to worry them.)

Law even gets to become an active part of life in Pleasure Town, where he and the other boys are cherished after 3 years living and working there. He's comfortable with his role in the community and appreciates the people in town. His sense of duty towards them shines especially when the pirates arrive to attack the town.

Again, this contrasts with how Law sees himself even in the manga/anime, where he insists that he acts mostly out of selfishness and only seeking his own benefit (or, in the best of cases "on a whim.")

But the truth is that Law's decisions are almost always related to other people's desires.

In this sense, the concept of guilt is also key to understand Law's motivations and his relationship with the world as a whole. This is especially obvious when it comes to Cora—Law even briefly wishes that they had never met, so that Cora would still be alive (p. 128-129.)

In a way, guilt is what moves Law forward, and what slowly starts transforming into a thirst for revenge, into rage and hatred towards Doflamingo and possibly towards himself too. It's a kind of tragic guilt born out of love.

His love for Cora still haunts him, his last wish for Law is the big enigma that he tries to solve during his 3 years in Swallow Island: be free. What is freedom to Law? How can he fulfill Cora's request? This is the question that gives meaning to the novel.

We know that Law wouldn't feel free until finally taking down Doflamingo and avenging Cora's death many years later, but he hasn't reached that point of determination in the novel yet. Maybe that's what gives the narration that hopeful and optimistic tone, with a young Law that's still finding himself, experiencing wonder in loving again, and learning what it means for him to be true to his values. It's the start of an adventure, and its core theme is love.

The ending illustrates this very well; I especially like the moment where Law names the crew as they're setting sail:

P. 243: "Cora's love that he showed me, Wolf's affection, the trust I had in my companions. One word embodied it all: Heart."

It is love that gives Law a reason to keep going. And I'm so glad that the novel doesn't shy away from this fact and isn't afraid of sounding "sappy" or "corny," because I do believe emotion is a very important part of Law's character.

The epilogue closes with a very interesting quote in the last page:

"You hear that, Cora? This is my... This is our pirate crew."

It is unclear if by "our" he is referring to himself and Cora, as if dedicating this new beginning to him, or if he means him and his crew. I'd personally like to think he means it both ways. But in any case, it's interesting that he openly shares the honor of "owning" his crew with someone else. He is the captain, but not the owner. It's another little way in which his generosity is evidenced.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable read, and it left me wanting more. Obviously, it's not a literature masterpiece, but it gives a lot of interesting material for character analysis, which is super fun.

Finally, here’s a few fun facts for those who can’t/don’t want to read the novel but enjoy the little trivia:

The Polar Tang was built and designed by Wolf.

Law’s first tattoo was "DEATH," and he got it at a local tattoo shop in Pleasure Town at around 15 years old.

Shachi and Penguin are childhood friends and likely met through their parents.

Shachi had always wanted to be a hair stylist.

Law is bad at cooking.

Both Shachi and Penguin are good at cooking, especially Penguin, who worked as a waiter in Pleasure Town.

The Hearts’ jolly roger was collectively designed by Law, Bepo, Shachi and Penguin days before leaving Swallow Island.

Law decided the name of their crew upon setting sail for the first time.

And I think that's all! ♥ I hope my rambling was enjoyable at least!

Edit: I've now posted an analysis of the Ace novels too!

[what-eats-owls]

Show vs Tell, Or: Please Stop Making Things Difficult for Yourself

I said a while ago that I'd write a brief essay about the most misused craft advice in writing once I wrote 10k words, and for once I actually held myself to that! So now, I'm here to tell you about Show vs Tell, or why people make it more complicated than it needs to be.

First, a basic primer for anyone who hasn't heard this term before: "Show vs Tell"/"Showing vs Telling" refers to "showing" the audience information instead of "telling" it to them. You may be thinking, gosh, that sounds unspecific to the point of being readily misapplied, and you would certainly be right! Lots of folks throw it around without fully grasping what it means, how to use it, or when it doesn't actually apply. And I'd really like everyone to stop making it harder on themselves when there's a very straightforward way to conceptualize it.

So for starters, Chuck Palahniuk has an old but good essay about eliminating "thought" verbs from prose that holds the hell up. But I'm going to tell you an even simpler way to conceptualize the difference between showing and telling:

Eliminate the inner thoughts entirely.

Ask yourself, if my narrator's interior monologue was inaccessible to the audience, how would I convey the same information—literally showing it?

Forget for a moment that your medium is the word, and imagine you only have dialogue and visuals. If this was taking place on the screen or in a graphic novel, how would you convey that this character has a crush on someone in their class? That they're hotheaded? That they're struggling with a decision?

Here's a perfect example of this from the opening scene of Howl's Moving Castle.

Devoid of context, we have a girl trying on a hat in a mirror, and also trying on a fake smile. Then her expression sours and she pulls the hat down over her face until we can only see her frown. She's wearing a plain dress and the hat is simple, despite the elaborate hats and ornaments on display around her.

You don't have to know anything about this character to understand what's being conveyed in this moment: This girl is deeply uncomfortable with trying to be pretty and flirty, but in the safety of privacy she wants that, even though she feels inept and self-conscious about it. She's in this world, but she's not part of it. Even brushing up against it for a moment makes her shut down and reject it with hostility.

More importantly, it's all communicated with a simple gesture and design choices. Not by Sophie thinking to herself, I wish someone would take me dancing—no I don't! I work too hard to have time for dancing!

That's showing. And it's more resonant, because we've all felt silly trying something on in a mirror! Or, say, if you want to show a character has a crush, having them get flustered and laughing too loud. Or showing that they're a hothead by having them snap at a simple disagreement, etc. etc.

This also extends to worldbuilding, dialogue, and stakes.

Worldbuilding: If your story is set in a town run by a crooked sheriff, you could have the narrator say "everyone knows Sheriff Smith is squeezing the shops for bribes." Or the sheriff can stop the narrator for "smelling like weed" while the sheriff's drunken son speeds by, about to total his third BMW.

Dialogue: If your character is angry, they can say "I'm furious." Or they can slam dishes in the sink and insist "I'm not angry" while openly crying. They can snap "I'm not discussing this again." They can demand "What is he doing here?"

Stakes: You can have an all-seeing oracle say "If you do not return the Mystic Orb to the Sunlight Altar by the solstice, the world will plunge forever into darkness." (And as we'll get into it below, sometimes you actually need that.) You can also have intermittent but increasing periods of total darkness occurring as the party travels to the Sunlight Altar. You can have the Mystic Orb start cracking the longer it takes, and the sun getting a little dimmer with every fracture. You can have people's shadows growing bigger and bigger and acting autonomously.

But showing isn't the end-all-be-all; telling absolutely has a place. Sometimes it's better to quickly and plainly state information and move on, such as a little earlier in the scene, when the other hat shop girls have spotted Howl's castle:

"Look, it's Howl's castle!"

"I've never seen it so close!"

“Do you think Howl will go into town?”

“He’s gone!”

“No, he’s just hiding in the fog from those planes.”

“Did you hear what happened to that girl, Martha, in South Haven? They say Howl has torn her heart out.”

“Now I’m too scared to go out!”

“Don’t worry. He only preys on pretty girls.”

This tells us some stuff directly: Who owns the castle we see in the first few seconds, that he's hiding from soldiers, that he has a reputation for preying on beautiful girls. We can infer also that he's a bit of a coward, he stays away from civilization, and that his reputation for cruelty has spread over multiple regions.

This happens so quickly, and it's couched in enough character between the teasing and the gossip, that it doesn't stand out as capital-t-Telling. That's exactly what expository dialogue should do. "Showing" us all that information would take a lot of screen time that can be saved in ten seconds of dialogue.

It's also not just about saving time; it's setting up an image that Howl initially fulfills when he helps Sophie escape the soldiers... only to be punctured when she actually goes to his castle and sees the real Howl. Telling is good for setting expectations that you know will be subverted later.

So yeah, tl;dr: If you're tied up in knots about "am I showing?? am I telling??" just ask yourself how you'd convey the same information in a movie or graphic novel, without access to interior monologue, and evaluate if that'd be better. Most of the time the answer is yes, but not always!

[emmym1]

My thoughts on... (Part 1) Spider-Gwen 2015B (#24-29) "Gwenom"

So i have finished the Spider-Gwen Gwenom arc. And MAN is there a lot to talk about. So much stuff happened and the finale they're setting up for this storyline is so good. So it starts where it left off at the end of the predators arc. Harry is cured and Venom has been created. Interestingly Venom does not go for Gwen but for Wolverine first, which kind of surprises Gwen because it was initially believed only she could bond with the symbiote & survive it. But due to Wolverine being near immortal he is able to withstand the radioactivity from the symbiote, however he can't control it causing him to turn into all the darkness he tried so hard to fight off. It really shocks Gwen & Kitty seeing how powerful the symbiote can be. They quickly realize sound is what weakens its connection with the host and try that at first but it doesn't seem to do the full job. So instead they go for Kitty phasing Wolverine through the symbiote to get him out of it which works. After that Gwen tries to defeat it using sound but that's when Murdock shows up and explains that it's only weak to sound when it's bonded with someone. Venom latches onto Gwen as she slowly turns into Gwenom but not before catching Murdock's phone and using the music on it to actually control the symbiote. Murdock also seems to be somewhat surprised by this but it doesn't get in the way of his plan. Murdock points out how Gwen has been focussing on the wrong fight and realizes Murdock must've done something with her dad upon which Murdock opens a portal to the hospital room where a very defeated Captain Stacy is lying (yup, murdock stole Gwen's interdimentional portal watch). Gwen immediatly goes through and absolutely loses it, turning into Gwenom and being super fed up with all the cops who were unable to protect her dad. She decides to go after who did it, Rhino and leaves. We see her turn into a very agressive vigilante who is not stopping at any cost before she gets to Rhino. Interrogating people in ways we haven't seen her do before. It's really interesting to see that despite being able to control Venom, she still gives in. Why? because she has nothing left and no one else to talk her out of it. Usually her dad was her voice of reason that would tell her to do the right thing when things go tough, to remind her of her morals and who she is. Without that her fears, anxieties & anger is getting louder and louder with no one to turn to or to talk to. She's really lost and Venom leans in to that. You slowly see Venom join in as a second inner monologue, the only other voice in her life that's telling her what she should or shouldn't do. And it turns her into this very agressive angsty vigilante known as Gwenom. Her tirade in the hospital with the cops has also caused the public opinion on her to decline even further. She's finally giving them reasons and something substantial to question her as a hero beyond what the police was putting out. The way MJ reacts all to this is super interesting and kinda a big character moment for her. For anyone who knows Gwen but not her Spider-Woman side it looks like as if she's been missing, Gwen has completely shut herself off from anyone out of her life as Gwen to try and track down Rhino. Despite almost 100% being sure Gwen is Spider-Woman MJ decides to put up posters asking if anyone has seen Gwen. Some guy also points out to her that Gwen is probably Spider-Woman and she gets like super defensive about it. The mary Janes are also really shocked about it because MJ has been saying that Gwen is Spider-Woman for weeks now, so they ask that why all of a sudden she gets so mad when someone else thinks the same. She points out that a lot of people hated Spider-Woman back when she was all clean and bright and trying to do right thing. So now, when they start thinking that's she's this Venom thing she can't imagine what would happen. It's a super big moment for MJ as she realizes the weight Gwen is carrying and why her identity should be protected.

[simplegenius042]

Far Cry El Industrial's Reign AU Post #6

[NOTE: I wish I could have made a more refined version of this, but this is the best I'm gonna post]

You know, the relationship between the Seeds and the Tumultite Distraction Team (Silva (kind of?), Azriel, Alexander Khaos and Nadi Sinclair) is something that gets me chuckling.

Mostly because by how much an outside-context foe the Tumultite inner circle is to the Seeds. Like, really, who could have guessed that this reserved group of business owners who run a diner are kind of unhinged and scary tactical?

At first the Seeds have to deal with Silva, the leader of the Tumultites (arguably, the most important and powerful member, like Joseph), strategically disrupting each regions' operations, with a "controlled chaos" if you will. Converting her to the cause would mean an assured victory against the Resistance after all (since the Tumultites would follow her to Hell and back). Besides, they've had their first meetings by this point (John's been personally tasked by Joseph to ensure she reaches Atonement, Jacob has just begun conditioning her, and Faith just got her to do the Leap). After their first kidnappings meetings with each other, the next time an attack occurs on their regions their automatic thought is "ah she's back for more".

But nope! It's not her at all. In fact, John, Jacob and Faith's regions are getting attacked by Nadi, Alexander and Azriel respectively and simultaneously, throwing the Seeds off with the level of destruction and skill these guys are capable of/have acquired.

And where's Silva at? Well, if Alexander, Azriel or Nadi are captured by the aforementioned Seed siblings, they'll answer along the lines of "she's at an important meeting with the Barons down in the Underworld, don't worry, she'll be back in a few days."

Now, if you think about it, Jacob would probably be the most miffed about it, as he just began conditioning Silva. Now he has to deal with an entirely different person. And unlike Silva, Alexander is almost impossible for Jacob and his Chosen to catch (perks of being a Ranger in the Whitetails and witnessing how the Chosen work). In fact, the only reason Jacob managed to even meet Alexander in the first place wasn't because he finally captured him, but only because Alexander got caught in his own trap that was meant for Jacob while practicing his monologue for the older Seed. Jacob having to deal with this grinning idiot who has the audacity to call him "Jake" and/or "Jakey", somehow breaking into the Veteran's Centre whenever he pleases, eating their rations, leaving notes to let Jacob and his Chosen know it is him eating the rations (I can imagine at one point one of the Chosen, John or even Pratt try leaving a note for Alexander to stop eating the rations, only to get a reply note the next day with that crudely drawn picture of the cartoon character Goofy saying "I'll f***ing do it again"), changing the sound of the Wolf Beacons into the playlist from Shrek (it's Alexander's favourite franchise), hiding so well that Eli "I've got eyes everywhere in the Whitetails" Palmer doesn't even know where the hell he is, leading Chosen onto wild goose chases and just overall testing Jacob's reserved calm and patience. All the while Alexander happily engages in conversation whenever Jacob makes the mistake to call Alexander on the radio. And Alexander is completely genuine, not even bothered by Jacob's curt attitude, just happy he gets to talk to someone from a more decent cult.

[Context: Alexander came from an isolated cult that were severely traumatised by some events during WW2 and enslaved themselves to a pill called "Joy", with the trauma passing down to the next few generations as it got taken advantaged of by Klaus Crawford into becoming a free testing ground for many pharmaceutical companies. Once Alexander left that cult (after being subjected to trauma and a new drug called "Glee" that never makes him stop smiling/looking happy because of the mass dopamine/serotonin production/overload), he was shortly found by Silva who happily gave him a place amongst the Tumultites. By comparison, Alexander believes Eden's Gate is far tamer than Wellington ever was (at the very least Eden's Gate doesn't kill their children or pregnant women)]

I'd guess John would be mildly pissed. Considering Joseph told him "ensure Silva atones, or the gates are shut to you", John would take it personally that Silva just up and left while leaving one of her lackeys to deal with him. So now he's got to focus on this new sinner causing him problems. However, how Nadi deals with his region isn't really... destructive. In fact, she's rather merciful to John and his region than Azriel and Silva had been. Instead of destroying the "YES" sign, she secretly painted on it, depicting some coral, incomplete jellyfish, and what is clearly underwater in the ocean. Then she starts filling the gaps between the words with blank canvases, until it's no longer a "YES" sign and is actually a painting of the ocean, jellyfish, coral and a whale's tail. And while breathtakingly beautiful to anyone else who sees it, it's doubtful that would be John's immediate reaction. Instead of destroying silos, Nadi and some other Tumultites decide to steal the fertiliser in the silos and transfer it to their own silo trucks, and any bliss canisters found are then driven out of the Valley and somehow disappear at the bridge to the Henbane, never actually confirmed to have entered that region (until Silva takes the Jessop Conservatory, which is a private affair that none of the Cougars nor Resistance know of, instead becoming a lab of sorts for Kamski Neon to do his experiments, especially with Bliss). When captured for Confession, Nadi doesn't tell John anything about her life nor her fears and secrets and sins and is rather unimpressed when he demands of it while pointing a sharp utensil at her, but vocally disapproves so casually whenever John tries to reach for one of the tools/knives/torture equipment in his tool kit and makes suggestions for which type is most effective or suitable for this type of torture and how to use those instruments in a way that doesn't kill the receiver but still leaves them uncomfortable and/or in enough pain to get the receiver to probably talk, both an indication to John that Nadi is intimately knowledgeable in the arts of torture, whether she's received it or inflicted it (likely both), and a subtle (heavily implied to be the case since Nadi has seen the dead bodies casted in funeral shrouds cast in the dark) nudge from Nadi in guiding John on how to shape out of his sloppy treatment of his confessors so he doesn't go too far and accidently kill them. Even if he does follow her advice, she still doesn't break a word but does encourage him to try this less risky (though still painful) technique on others to see how quickly they'll confess to him than before, while also giving him kudos for trying to use her own technique against her. Nadi mostly leaves John's ranch alone. Unless he's over there and its dinner time, then she sneaks in and strikes a sort of deal with him. On nights he's home, he allows her to join him for dinner without drugging, kidnapping or shooting her beforehand or afterwards and she'll let him ask his questions about her life, sins and secrets (with her being free to do the same, and their conversation must stay between them otherwise deal's off) until she's finished her plate, then questions are over, and John will have to wait another night till she freely confesses again. Whenever he calls her on the radio, she's as cheerful as she is in person, and still calm all the same, often engaging in some light-hearted banter with him. Always ending with a tender, "Talk to you later, John." Because she genuinely likes talking to him, and any threat he throws doesn't faze her, and never falls for his barbs that would cause her to stoop down to his level, while being patient when he wants to have a proper discussion without the unnecessary threats and wrath.

Faith, though? God bless her soul, because she'll need it. She's not dealing with an uncatchable chatterbox troll. Nor is she dealing with a reasonably mellow cheerful artist with a sniper rifle and a scary amount of knowledge on torture. No, Faith has to deal with Azriel. The daughter of the woman that Faith would rather be dealing with, since the worst Faith got from Silva was a suspicious glance/glare, and sarcasm, but often times the woman at least gave Faith the time of day. But Azriel really puts Faith's maternal role to the test. Azriel is the unruly chaotic demon-child to Faith's disciplinary, stern yet playful adult. Azriel is exactly like a game of Russian Roulette; you never know where the bullet is, and whether or not it's real or just a blank. Or in this case, Faith doesn't know what mood to expect from Azriel, whether her emotions are genuine or not, and the mood swings between "thinking Faith is the most badass woman ever (on par with her Mamá, Silva) and someone she kind of respects" to "a decent if annoying religious bother figure that she mostly ignores" and to most commonly "the worst person she's ever met in the county". To summarise: Azriel is kind of like Faith in a way; Faith is either a sweet, free-spirited loving figure who wants the best for you or she's a vindicative and terrifying goddess of spite with powers that will give those most tethered to reality a literal mind-screw, while Azriel can either be a cheeky, playfully rebellious teenager or the literal foulmouthed goddess of chaos incarnate. Difference is that Faith is keeping by Eden's Gate rules and her violence is a) carefully constructed in an orderly fashion, and b) benefits only the Project, while Azriel's is painfully (for the Peggies and Resistance) keeping by her own questionable morals, values and beliefs that directly tie to a romanticised and simplified version of the Tumultite ideals, and her violence is a) unpredictable and frequent, and b) does not benefit her enemies (Peggies) nor allies (Resistance) in the slightest, with Silva and the Tumultites generally being spared from harm (while gaining little benefit from it depending on what Azriel's task was in the first place). Azriel's focus on the present also hinders any effort Faith can try to attempt at converting Azriel with, since Azriel's so focused on the now that she honestly could not care less worrying about the future, and therefore, the Collapse as well. And the level of chaos and destruction she causes is also the bare minimum of what she is actually capable of doing. And if this small level of destructive power is as detrimental to the Resistance as it is to Eden's Gate, then it's really best not to think about if Azriel was given free reign to do as she pleases (and the only authority Azriel respects is Silva, Grandpa Paul and Gavin Turquoise, two currently aren't in the county and the other is in the county but is only focused on being lookout for any Adam's Guard activity). Another fun comparison between the two is that Faith and Azriel are both embodiments of certain concepts (faith and chaos/tumult in this case), loved by majority of Eden's Gate and the Tumultites respectively, adored by their groups leaders (Joseph and Silva) and are hated and feared by everyone outside of their respective communities (Faith by the Resistance, Azriel also by the Resistance and majority of the Peggies, as well as Omar's Guard. Strangely the Tumultites don't feel any contempt towards Faith, and by their standards, her methods and achievements are impressive to them, with Silva often lamenting that she would have made a great Chem Baroness in the Underworld if things were different).

Plot relevant: Faith notices that Azriel's eyes are a familiar blue and that her voice has a mix of two accents; mostly Spanish (like her Mamá's) but with a subtle and familiar southern drawl. Not to mention, Azriel's gazes are as intense as Joseph's is.

Things get worse when the trio decide to switch regions regularly, with the siblings having to deal with what the other complained about.

(Nadi deals Jacob with more caution than she does with John, since John strangely enough (as she's freely admitted to him) feels far safer than Jacob and opts to take a far more militaristic approach with the eldest Seed, while with Faith, Nadi loses a bit of grip on reality often but bounces back rather quickly. Honestly tries to build a kind of 'gossip girl' dynamic with Faith. Alexander is still a chatterbox of useless information to John (Khaos tells John all about the Shrek franchise and how much John needs to just chill out, while at the same time eating the Baptist's snacks at Seed Ranch that Alexander snuck in because lets be honest, that place has the worst security) and Faith (Khaos talks to Faith about medicine and pharmaceutical properties... and Shrek), but he doesn't find them as endearing as Jacob is to him. John despises Azriel, who is a brat to him, and an absolute nightmare whose actions encourage John's worst impulses. Jacob on the other hand is increasingly weary around her, especially when, later on, she storms into the Veteran's Centre herself, leaving one-third of it on fire, numerous bodies left behind, just to only get Silva out, completely forgetting about Pratt).

And then when Silva makes a return, there's a collective sigh of relief from both the Resistance and Eden's Gate, and if captured, Silva would ask if they enjoyed the company of her companions.

[sxs-kav]

The School for Good and Evil: Thoughts

SPOILERS AHEAD, you’ve been warned. This is super long, longer than I meant it to be, and I know it sounds like I'm complaining but I actually enjoyed the ride of these books overall.

Alright, so I finally read through all 6 books in the last few weeks and I have been dying to make a post critiquing these books since I cracked open the first one.

First I want to mention what I think is the strongest aspect of these books: the world building. One of the biggest things I liked about the books was how the Endless Woods really did feel endless. During the school years not quite as much, but the Camelot years kept popping up new and unique kingdoms with really fun ideas of ‘magical technology’. It shows the author’s creativity off in spades. Not to mention the way familiar fairytales and kingdoms like Camelot or Oz are reimagined to fit into this extended fairytale universe, and questioning what happens after ‘The End’ is written.

Another aspect I really enjoyed was the action, and not just the fights. When the characters were actually DOING something, not just ruminating, those were the best scenes. That's where the pacing and story progress felt the best.

I also think the idea of the plot in the first three (breaking the rules of fairytales, what makes someone Good or Evil) was fun to explore. Soman is clearly very imaginative. He had a vision in his head that he wanted to share, I felt that in every book. I just don’t think his writing conveyed it in a satisfying way.

One of the biggest problems I had with his style is that it’s convoluted and sometimes circular. Especially in the first books, it felt like every time he tried to explain what it meant to be Evil, it was different. I don’t know if this was because he wanted to justify Sophie being Evil while also being a protagonist we shouldn’t be afraid to like? But to me, Sophie is not Evil in the understanding of the word I have from other media with a concept of good and evil, or even Soman’s own explanations. She has her moments, yes, but only in the first book and the tail end of the book 3 does she truly feel Evil. Otherwise, she’s more like ‘chaotic good’. (Btw, it would have been interesting if, instead of automatically being dropped in one school or the other, the students had to be tested first to see where they belonged).

But back to the explanations, I feel like every time a character discovered something or had an inner monologue trying to work out a puzzle that I came out more confused. It was only when we had walls of exposition text (ie, The Tale of Callis and Vanessa, Japeth’s secrets, etc) that you finally got a clear picture of what was going on. It shouldn't take the author spoon-feeding information to you to understand the story. The best stories with a mystery element lead you there with clues that maybe the character doesn't quite put together immediately, but you as the reader can catch onto, so it feels satisfying during the big reveal. The twists in this story were so out of left field sometimes they almost didn't make sense with the 'clues' we were given. Or they didn’t mesh with older ideas from the story. I'm no stranger to wild twists, but they have to also be logical. Perhaps the biggest example of this is Rhian and Japeth's parentage, which leads me to another point.

Why couldn't we just leave Rafal in his grave? Like, yeah, he didn't come back to life in the Camelot books, but why did we need him to be the father of the twins? It would have made more sense for it to be The Green Knight, with his plot to take revenge, his connections to Arthur and Merlin, the fact that he saved Evelyn. Everything could have been the same as far as how they tricked Excalibur and the Lady with Chaddick's blood, having the dress leave a message for the boys, the Mistrals getting involved. Just the fact that they insist how Rafal believes in the Storian goes against him being in favor of the boys doing this One True King plot. Plus he rejected Evelyn anyway, so why would he have had sex with her??? Then all of the sudden, with barely a hint at all for 6 books, Chaddick is the true heir of Arthur. Nothing in the first three books led to that possibility. Which leads me to another problem with the series: poor planning.

Obviously Soman didn't probably plan on writing a second trilogy while in the midst of writing the first, but to retcon stuff from the first book trilogy to satisfy the second is poor writing in my opinion. But there's a general sense of inconsistency with a lot of elements in the books. There were blatant contradictions that had me looking back to make sure I read correctly. Plot holes drive me nuts in my own writing, so when I read them I can only keep think about how I want to fix them. Honestly, these books would do well with an entire revision, and if I had the time and dedication I would love to do it. All the puzzle pieces were there for a fantastic plot, but it's like they were forced together with glue rather than the right parts being slotted together. I will say, there was definitely a more obvious grand plan for Camelot Years, but it still felt like a wild goose chase sometimes.

Another huge issue I had with the books as a whole was the relationships. Not the chosen pairings/friendships, but how they were developed. The relationships that were established before the story started were usually better than those that had to grow in the course of the story. I felt this the most with the love triangle of the first trilogy. Sophie and Agatha didn't seem like they truly did care about each other most of the time. We're just supposed to accept that yes, Sophie treats Agatha like crap and thinks she's weird and gross, but she loves her. Agatha hanging onto her like a lost puppy makes sense because she was lonely, but it felt like most of the time we just had to be told Sophie loved her. I didn't feel Sophie truly loving Agatha until much later in the series, mostly in Camleot. Then Agatha and Tedros went instantly from hate to love with hardly any build up. Yes, Tedros could sense her Goodness and kept picking Agatha without realizing, but that to me was more proof Agatha belonged in Good rather than proof of their love. And Agatha hated his guts until she smiled at him that one time, and all of the sudden she changed her mind? It would have been better if she reluctantly found him attractive and as she was helping Sophie, she started to wish it was her (maybe those elements were there, but I feel like they weren't until far too late in the first book). Then there's Hort and Sophie's relationship which had so much potential, but which also had no development on Sophie's side until the last minute. I would have loved to see her more jealous of Nicola. That's the route I thought we were going down at first, but it just fizzled out. I would like to make a separate post on Hophie and how it could have been, so I won't go into extreme details here. But I think a lot of these relationship problems come from characterization inconsistencies.

It seems like the characters are always second guessing their feelings and that's maddening. Even when it seems like something finally clicks, the next chapter has them going backwards. They're always as confused as I feel reading the books. Maybe that's the point, because they're young and finding themselves, but it's overkill. Agatha is one of the worst with this, because even when she finally is okay with being queen, she's not okay with it. Even when she trusts Tedros, she doesn't. Even when she believes in him, she doesn't. It's so tiring. And every time there's a doubt we get a page or two of text on why. I just want her to come to a realization and have it STICK. But I think this is part of a larger issue that Soman has as a writer. He needs to show, not tell, the most basic rule of writing. He's in the characters' heads too much, rather than letting their actions speak for them. And yes, you have to have inner monologue from your main characters, but it's just too much. It slows the story down.

Also, one very specific grievance is Rhian's character. He was Good all along but it was only obvious in the last chapter (no pun intended) of his life. It would have been nice if his plan to wipe out Evil had been brought up earlier, to add some moral grayness to his character while he still had time to live and we the audience had time to wonder if maybe he is a better king. Instead it was like, 'oh, maybe he's not so Evil after all. Guess he has to die'. It was kind of pointless. Also, how was he even Good when Evelyn and Rafal are his parents...

Honestly, I think the film is going to fix a lot of these issues. We can see rather than be told about relationships, doubts, etc. Any necessary exposition can be trimmed back instead of having to slog through. I think Soman was meant to be a screenwriter rather than a regular author, because it’s so obvious he has an entire storyboard in his head and the world is so grand, but it would be so much easier to understand the characters by watching them come to life rather than being in their heads.

Overall, I don’t think it’s a bad series. I like the concept, which is why it frustrates when the writing style struggles to capture the story the way it deserves. It's not even to say Soman is a bad author, but he could be better. There was definite improvement over time but he hasn't quite reached his potential yet either. If he writes more to the series or a totally different series, I hope to see him get even better.

[minhyunluvr]

look | vacillation

"I think the best player in that match was Iida." All Might led off as he walked back into the room, Uraraka, Iida, and Bakugou trailing in behind him. "Anyone know why?"

  A tall, busty girl rose her hand. "I do. Iida was able to adapt to the situation the best, and he kept his focus the entire time, contrary to Uraraka. Bakugou and Midoriya were clearly motivated by personal grudges."

  A cackle left your lips at her response. "Bullshit. It took twelve seconds for it to register in Iida's mind that Uraraka, who was likely the second worst in this entire ordeal, was in the room with him. In the case that she had a more offensive quirk, he would have been taken down in that time frame. His attention was on getting into character, which should have been completed before he entered the building. Everyone who was in this room during the trial knows my stance on Uraraka's sub-par performance... I actually believe that Midoriya did the best in this, because he was focused the entire time and held his own after the first blow done by Bakugou. Speaking of Bakugou, you need to chill."

  "Don't tell me what to do!" The blond male took a step forward, eyes gleaming once more.

  "I will literally annihilate your sor-"

  "Hey! That's enough." All Might cut in, resting a hand on your shoulder. You looked up at him and stepped away, a sour look morphing your features as he chose the next groups to participate. "Both of you made good arguments, but we don't have all day, so teams B and I, go out and get ready!"

  As the four students left the room, you slipped back to the far corner of the room to ponder your life choices. What was the point in going to a hero school if the administrators didn't care about the student's well-being? One could argue that no one can improve unless faced with hardship, but the hardship doesn't necessarily need to be a near-death experience...!

  During your inner monologue, a cold draft slipped into the room, small frost particles soon coating the floor. 'Fucking Shouto...' You thought, a harsh, algid-induced tremor shaking through your body. A look at the front screens confirmed your suspicions about the cause of the temperature drop, and another look around the room showed that you weren't the only one affected by his haphazard quirk usage. Uncomfortable faces and arms wrapped around bodies was a common visual factor around the room as the floor began to mirror the ones in the other building, ice getting thicker by the second.

  The dual-quirked male trudged effortlessly through the building, boots clicking slightly against the hardened water as he stepped into the bomb room. The boy you identified as Ojirou Mashirou stood frozen, feet enclosed in ice, as Shouto stepped past him to touch the faux bomb.

  "Wow... He didn't cause damage to his teammate or the weapon, and adding to that, he weakened his opponent. Truly a model student..."All Might mumbled to himself, shivers racking through his large form as the rest of the class crowded toward him for warmth. Pressing the page button, he announced the winners of the match and called them back up to the classroom.

  "Alright, another match complete... So this time it'll be Teams F and C." Pausing, the large man looked at the opposing students. "Choi, you can join Team F. It seems like they'll need a bit of extra guns to have a chance."

  "Uh, excuse me?" The shorter of the two males in Team F blurted out, clearly offended.

  "Sato literally looks like my foreskin..." Kaminari snorted under his breath.

  You rolled your eyes, starting to make your way out of the room and outside. Sato Rikido and Koda Koji begrudgingly followed, introducing themselves and their quirks along the way.

  "So... what is yours, if you don't mind me asking?" Koda muttered shyly.

  "I usually don't give details on this since it never does any good, but since you seem passive, I suppose I can make an exception. Essentially, I can make any specific person in my visual range see an illusion. If they believe that it's real, it becomes real and I can control it as long as it isn't living." The three of you entered the villain's hideout and started to strategize. Sighing, you walk out of the room and imagine concrete walls coming up to cover every entrance to the bomb's location. Surely enough, they manifest into physical form and you begin to do laps around the floor.

  'They'll just have to stay put, I guess. Maybe I could have informed them first? No, Team C won't be able to break down those walls.' You thought to yourself.

  A few minutes later, a not-so-quiet padding of footsteps sounded behind you, the first sign of the opposing team's presence in the building. Your heartbeat quickened ever-so-slightly at the realization that your quirk would essentially be useless in this setting. 'I should have brought one of them with me... Might as well put my physical training to use.' Turning around, you saw a blob of purple come at your chest. Fortunately for you, it only stuck to your cloak, an easily removable item.

  The small, unattractive boy on the opposing team gawked at your body as your outer layer fell to the floor. 'Great, he's a disgusting pervert. This should be easy.'

  And easy, it was. You kicked him right in the nose, sending him sprawling across the floor, unconscious.

  Yaoyorozu, if you recalled her name correctly, stepped out of the shadowed end of the hallway. A katana was held above her head in a traditional battle stance as she slowly attempted to close the distance between the two of you.

  You chuckled at her cheesy posture, standing calmly as you considered how to handle this. Since you were unarmed and generally unwilling to physically exert yourself, the methods that went through your mind were slightly questionable. Some included walking away from the situation and having her chase you around the building for the remainder of the exercise, others lead to gruesome results including the katana. Deciding to deal with the repercussions later you latched your claws into her mind and began your dirty work.

  A deafening scream tore from Yaoyorozu's throat as a throwing knife went through her arm. The girl collapsed to the ground, blood dripping down the blade. The sight of her impaled appendage was gruesome, to say the least. Tears streamed down her face and sobs racked her body as she held her arm.

  "Stop! The match is over and Recovery Girl is on her way. The villain team won." All Might frantically instructed over the loud speaker. Hurriedly, you picked up your cloak and ran over to help ease the bleeding.

  "Don't pull it out until Recovery Girl gets here. It hurts, but you'll be fine." You gave an awkward smile, knowing that you were probably the last person she wanted to see at the moment. At least you won the match.

[m.list]