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richincolor · 4 years

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We have six books on our release calendar this week! Are any of them on your TBR list?

More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Danyal Jilani doesn’t lack confidence. He may not be the smartest guy in the room, but he’s funny, gorgeous, and going to make a great chef one day. His father doesn’t approve of his career choice, but that hardly matters. What does matter is the opinion of Danyal’s longtime crush, the perfect-in-all-ways Kaval, and her family, who consider him a less than ideal arranged marriage prospect.

When Danyal gets selected for Renaissance Man–a school-wide academic championship–it’s the perfect opportunity to show everyone he’s smarter than they think. He recruits the brilliant, totally-uninterested-in-him Bisma to help with the competition, but the more time Danyal spends with her…the more he learns from her…the more he cooks for her…the more he realizes that happiness may be staring him right in his pretty face.

Lobizona (Wolves of No World #1) by Romina Garber Wednesday Books

Some people ARE illegal.

Lobizonas do NOT exist.

Both of these statements are false.

Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who’s on the run from her father’s Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida.

Until Manu’s protective bubble is shattered.

Her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past–a mysterious “Z” emblem—which leads her to a secret world buried within our own. A world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong.

As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal. . . .it’s her entire existence.

Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon Simon Schuster

Fifteen-year-old Liliana is fine, thank you very much. It’s fine that her best friend, Jade, is all caught up in her new boyfriend lately. It’s fine that her inner-city high school is disorganized and underfunded. It’s fine that her father took off again—okay, maybe that isn’t fine, but what is Liliana supposed to do? She’s fifteen! Being left with her increasingly crazy mom? Fine. Her heathen little brothers? Fine, fine, fine. But it turns out Dad did leave one thing behind besides her crazy family. Before he left, he signed Liliana up for a school desegregation program called METCO. And she’s been accepted.

Being accepted into METCO, however, isn’t the same as being accepted at her new school. In her old school, Liliana—half-Guatemalan and half-Salvadorian—was part of the majority where almost everyone was a person of color. But now at Westburg, where almost everyone is white, the struggles of being a minority are unavoidable. It becomes clear that the only way to survive is to lighten up—whiten up. And if Dad signed her up for this program, he wouldn’t have just wanted Liliana to survive, he would have wanted her to thrive. So what if Liliana is now going by Lili? So what if she’s acting like she thinks she’s better than her old friends? It’s not a big deal. It’s fine.

But then she discovers the gutting truth about her father: He’s not on one of his side trips. And it isn’t that he doesn’t want to come home…he can’t. He’s undocumented and he’s been deported back to Guatemala. Soon, nothing is fine, and Lili has to make a choice: She’s done trying to make her white classmates and teachers feel more comfortable. Done changing who she is, denying her culture and where she came from. They want to know where she’s from, what she’s about? Liliana is ready to tell them.

Illegal (Disappeared #2) by Francisco X. Stork Scholastic Press

What does it mean to be illegal in the United States? Life in Mexico is a death sentence for Emiliano and his sister Sara.

To escape the violent cartel that is after them, they flee across the border, seeking a better life in the United States and hoping that they can find a way to bring their pursuers to justice.

Sara turns herself over to the authorities to apply for asylum.

Emiliano enters the country illegally, planning to live with their father.

But now Sara is being held indefinitely in a detention facility, awaiting an asylum hearing that may never come, finding it harder every day to hold on to her faith and hope. Life for Emiliano is not easy either. Everywhere he goes, it’s clear that he doesn’t belong. And all the while, the cartel is closing in on them…

Emiliano sets off on a tense and dangerous race to find justice, but can he expose the web of crimes from his place in the shadows?

Court of Lions (Mirage #2) by Somaiya Daud Flatiron Books

Two identical girls, one a princess, the other a rebel. Who will rule the empire?

After being swept up into the brutal Vathek court, Amani, the ordinary girl forced to serve as the half-Vathek princess’s body double, has been forced into complete isolation. The cruel but complex princess, Maram, with whom Amani had cultivated a tenuous friendship, discovered Amani’s connection to the rebellion and has forced her into silence, and if Amani crosses Maram once more, her identity – and her betrayal – will be revealed to everyone in the court.

Amani is desperate to continue helping the rebellion, to fight for her people’s freedom. But she must make a devastating decision: will she step aside, and watch her people suffer, or continue to aid them, and put herself and her family in mortal danger? And whatever she chooses, can she bear to remain separated, forever, from Maram’s fiancé, Idris?

A Map to the Sun by Sloane Leong First Second

One summer day, Ren meets Luna at a beachside basketball court and a friendship is born. But when Luna moves to back to Oahu, Ren’s messages to her friend go unanswered.

Years go by. Then Luna returns, hoping to rekindle their friendship. Ren is hesitant. She’s dealing with a lot, including family troubles, dropping grades, and the newly formed women’s basketball team at their highschool. With Ren’s new friends and Luna all on the basketball team, the lines between their lives on and off the court begin to blur. During their first season, this diverse and endearing group of teens are challenged in ways that make them reevaluate just who and how they trust.

Sloane Leong’s evocative storytelling about the lives of these young women is an ode to the dynamic nature of friendship.

#more than just a pretty face #lobizona #don't ask me where i'm from #court of lions #a map to the sun #illegal #WeNeedDiverseBooks

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vorthosjay · 6 years

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Let’s Talk About Return to Dominaria Episode 6

Sorry for the delay, Episode 6 of Return to Dominaria by Martha Wells is here and TEFERI IS BACK. And he is exactly who I wanted him to be after sixty years of living as a mortal. Not a whole lot of plot progressions happens, but that’s a good thing because we get to spend the entire episode getting reacquainted.

Teferi's Protection by Chase Stone

Slogging through the Tivan desert toward the monument plateau, Teferi said, "Mark my words, this time I'll have the answer."

The Tivan Desert is that giant patch of land making up southeast Jamuraa. There’s basically nothing there, and this is the first story to ever go there, AFAIK.

Not far ahead was the monument, a giant block of stone partially concealed by a natural plateau. Travelers from Femeref who passed by on the nearby trade road always assumed it was an ancient ruin. It was ancient, but younger than Teferi. It was also a puzzle he had been trying to solve for years.

Okay, number one, Femeref is in northwest Jamuraa. The Tivan Desert is in the southwest. It’s THE WORST POSSIBLE ROUTE TO GO ANYWHERE.

Art by Jared Blando

I don’t understand why there would be a trading road there. I guess there are pockets of civilization out that way? But why travel past two deserts and two mountain ranges rather than just take a boat?

Also, this is a great set-up for Teferi. I like the line “It was ancient, but younger than Teferi.” a lot, it sets up a lot about him.

At fifty, his daughter was still strong and capable, but this wasn't a good age to take a fall. He should know; he aged so slowly, he had been fifty for more than a few decades now.

So Teferi had his daughter about ten years after the Mending?

Also, in Time Spiral Teferi is noted as having kept his body at about twenty-five as an oldwalker, he’s not just aging slowly, he’s aging at a weird pace. I wonder if as he got older, his time magic began to affect him, so that the older he gets the slower he ages.

The automaton was a good eight feet high, made of silver and copper metals, shaped like a bulky warrior with a block for a head. Its parts had separated and hung in midair: limbs, the cogs and wheels that drove it, the crystals that supplied its power. It wasn't quite still; all the pieces were vibrating faintly, caught in a timestream where the explosion that had blasted them apart was ever so slowly occurring.

This is mean, Teferi. This is literally what happened to you, getting caught in a slow-time bubble on fire.

He smiled fondly and said, "Do you remember the mechanical spiders?"

One of Urza’s first real innovations as a planeswalker were mechanical spiders to fight Phyrexia. They would emit a frequency that would hurt anything with glistening oil.

"Why would he make it so hard?" Niambi said, frustrated. "He must have known you would need it someday."

Teferi gave the stock answer. "He's protecting it from Phyrexians, and the demons and their mages, and everyone else who might want it for the raw power locked inside."

Niambi snorted. "You don't believe that."

She knew him too well. "I don't, but it's the answer everyone wants."

I like this exchange a lot. It plays into the history theme of these, what people want a historical figure to have been rather than what they actually were. It also plays into Teferi’s character, which is a man who knows way more than he ever lets on and enjoys playing games.

"I know, I just . . ." Niambi gestured in exasperation. "You were his friend! Why would he do this to you?"

Teferi shook his head. "Urza didn't have friends, not like you and I have friends. He had experimental subjects, and those just powerful enough that he considered them sentient beings, if not actually people. But he was what we had at the time."

This... this is a really good explanation of who Urza was.

Jhoira explained, "Gideon and Liliana are Planeswalkers."

"Ah, I used to do that." Teferi smiled, as at ease as if they were discussing any other common interest.

Teferi is so great in this article I can’t stand it. He still has his best quality, his sense of humor, but he’s been tempered with wisdom and humility by mortality.

Gideon had been trying to get a sense of Teferi's character, and he thought the man might want to help them. Which meant the reason he was out here really was important. He said, "Perhaps a trade? We help you with your quest, you help us with ours?"

Teferi eyed him thoughtfully. "You assume you can help me."

With a sigh, Niambi said, "He doesn't want help; he's stubborn, and he wants to do it himself."

Well, maybe not that humble. He’s still Teferi, after all.

Teferi explained, "At the time of the invasion, Zhalfir was the most advanced nation on Dominaria. Its powerful magic, its technology, its military might meant it would take the brunt of the Phyrexian attack. Urza intended it to take the brunt of the attack. And the leaders of Zhalfir thought they would triumph. I knew better."

He looked out over the dark desert, where the wind blew drifts off the tops of the dunes, the crystalline sand catching the last of the light. "I wanted to spare my people and my homeland from a war I knew would destroy them. So I created a time rift and phased Zhalfir partially out of this plane. The Phyrexians couldn't reach it, but Zhalfirins couldn't reach the rest of Dominaria, either. They still can't."

Teferi never really gave much of an explanation in Invasion, or even in Time Spiral that I can remember. Put plainly, I can really see why Teferi might believe this was something he needed to do, and not just peacing out to screw Urza.

Into the silence, Shanna said gravely, "There were many Zhalfirins in Femeref and Suq'Ata and other places, who could never return, who lost all or part of their families, who lost their homes."

"Yes," Niambi told her. "It made Father very unpopular in our folklore, for some time."

Hence why he’s a small figure at the bottom of the memorial in The Mending of Dominaria.

Jhoira added, "He did the same to the land of Shiv. But later he was able to repair the rift and return Shiv to this plane. That's how he lost his Planeswalker spark."

Liliana lifted her brows, startled. "Really?"

"Yes. It left me unable to return Zhalfir." Teferi made a gesture, taking in the desert around them. "So here I sit."

"He hasn't been just sitting in the sand here the whole time, don't feel too sorry for him," Niambi put in.

"Stop mocking your father's existential pain," Teferi told her.

Niambi and Teferi’s characterization is great. While knowing you’ll outlive your child would be terrible, having them be your equal as an adult is something all (most? some?) parents dream of.

I love that she gives him no quarter.

"I have a plan, but it isn't going very well," Teferi admitted. "I discovered some time ago that my friend Urza had left behind a series of devices and magical artifacts that could be of some help in repairing a time rift. I've been searching a long time, but I've only found the location of one artifact. It's here, in that monument. I hope that if I can retrieve it and unlock its secrets, it will lead me to the other objects. But I've been inside the monument many times, uncovered its secrets and sprung its traps over and over again, and I still haven't been able to get to the artifact."

Gideon was glad to hear Teferi's mission was a good cause. If they could help him complete it, it would be all the better for Dominaria. "Who was Urza hiding the artifact from? The Phyrexians?"

"No. From me." Teferi's smile was dry.

So that was how it was. Gideon said grimly, "That's not very friendly."

Hmmm. I wonder, what is this artifact that Urza hid rather than use against the Phyrexians? Why hide it from Teferi - because Teferi was a rival planeswalker? And when did he hide it?

Raff explained, "They're helping us kill Belzenlok so then they can go kill Nicol Bolas. Everyone's helping each other." Liliana stared incredulously at him and he added, "It's not a secret, is it?"

Nicol Bolas literally cut Teferi to shreds (he got better, oldwalker powers and all), so I’m sure this name intrigued him, but there doesn’t seem to be much reaction to it from Teferi.

"Loose lips get skyships destroyed," Liliana said, darkly.

Nice riff on “Loose Lips Sink Ships”, but it doesn’t rhyme :/

Teferi lifted his brows, but said kindly, "Oh, believe me, I've had plenty of experience cleaning up past mistakes. And when you spend so much of your life as an immortal Planeswalker, the mistakes tend to be grand in scope. It isn't possible to erase them, but with effort you can eventually balance your account."

Gideon could see Teferi's words hit home. Disgruntled, Liliana frowned and looked away.

I would say, “with effort you can hopefully balance your account.”

I’ve talked about this some, but what is redemption for oldwalkers who do horrific things? I think that’s an interesting question, and applicable to the modern planeswalkers, too.

I also like that he recognizes that oldwalker mistakes were grand in scope. Overall this story has been great in terms of taking a hard look at pre-mending planeswalkers.

The young mage Raff crouched down to study the script carved into the walkway. "You think he tailored this place specifically to prevent Teferi from solving it?"

"Worse, I think he cheated," Jhoira said. "Liliana, do you see any ghosts here?"

HA! I love that Jhoira walks in and is like, yeah, Urza was a dick so he probably cheated to screw with Teferi.

AND SHE IS RIGHT.

Jhoira is so great.

Also: Who helped Urza with the ghosts? That’s not something he really does.

Teferi didn't want to be a spoilsport, but had to point out, "If there were things in this chamber out of phase, I'd see them."

"That's why I don't think they're out of phase, I think they're ghosts." Jhoira gestured around.

IMPORTANT!

This basically kills any fan theories about Kaya being from Zhalfir.

Spectral Grasp by Tyler Jacobson

What Kaya does is not Phasing, and the metaphysics of phasing and the ‘ghost dimension’ work differently.

Not really all that important in the long run, but a cool bit of metaphysics regardless.

Liliana said, "Imagine a drift of mist, very faint. Ghosts like these lose cohesion after time, and these are far too old to have forms. Oh, two more, second level floating down."

Another cool bit of metaphysics, ghosts lose cohesion.

"Restoring Zhalfir is not fun," Teferi corrected sternly. All right, it was a little bit fun, but he felt it was better to maintain decorum in such a dangerous place.

This is really giving you a great sense of Teferi.

Teferi held a delicate dark crystal orb nestled in a cage of silver vines. Lights glowed inside it like a captured starfield.

Here’s the first big question for this article: What is this? Is it something we should know? Or some new MacGuffin (or piece of the Legacy) cooked up for just this story? Will it even matter later?

It’s a vague match for three things of note: Heartstone, Juju Bubble, Power Matrix. Heartstones are Phyrexian powerstones that contained a Newt’s soul. The Juju Bubble and Power Matrix were random bits of the Legacy.

I’m going to have to search some novels and see if I can find what this is.

Urza had expected Teferi to be alone here, and had geared all his defenses that way. I'm not like you, Urza, Teferi thought. You never could see any other way but your own.

You were like that, too, Teferi. Jodah called you out on it. You were always better than Urza, but that’s a low bar. You got better and I’m proud of you.

A Serran angel dropped to land in the rising sand before them. Teferi pushed Niambi toward her and said, "Take my daughter!"

As Teferi shook the sand out of his clothes, Niambi gave him a hug and protested, "I could have climbed with everyone else, Father."

That wasn't a chance Teferi had been willing to take. He just turned with her to look down at the monument.

Non-parents will probably look at this as Teferi being overprotective. Parents will read this bit and say “You’re god damn right you can’t take that chance.”

Jhoira stood by while Teferi and Niambi said goodbye on the deck of the Weatherlight. As Niambi hugged him, she said, "Have a good time with your friends. Kill lots of demons."

He answered teasingly, "You aren't even going to pretend to miss your old father."

I love that his daughter is hilariously nonchalant about all this.

"I will miss you, but I know you too well." Niambi gave him a shake. "This is what you were born to do. And once you've found a way to return Zhalfir, I expect you to visit so you can give us all a tour. Or warn us, if they want to kill you."

I’m dead. Niambi has slain me.

She touched the amulet around her neck, then opened it. Inside lay a small Powerstone, glittering in the dim light. She had made this stone herself at the Thran Mana Rig. It held Teferi's Planeswalker spark.

The hard part, she told herself, is going to be convincing him to take this back . . .

Here is big question number two: how did Jhoira reclaim Teferi’s spark?

We knew this was happening, thanks to Opt.

Opt by Tyler Jacobson

The crystal pulsed with the power of Teferi’s planeswalker spark. Had Jhoira given him a blessing or a curse?

We just didn’t know how it was happening. Of note, the section of Shiv phased out included the main Mana Rig. We already know powerstones can hold planeswalker sparks - Glacian’s was in the Mightstone/Weakstone, and his and/or Urza’s water later in Karn when they were implanted in the silver golem.

But I think it’s very interesting that Ixalan introduced the Immortal Sun, which contained Azor’s spark, only for Dominaria to use that same plot device again. Almost like spark transfers are important around this point of time.

#vorthos #mtgdom

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romancereadingdiva · 3 years

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Born in Blood Collection: Volume 1 by Cora Reilly

Born in Blood Collection: Volume 1 by Cora Reilly 👑👑👑👑

This was a new to me author, and I was born to love, enjoy and recommend these intense, emotional and entertaining mafia love stories! I give this whole collection 4 crowns. Onto the individual reviews of each book in this collection...

Bound by Blood - 4 stars

I was immediately pulled into the story, then as the story progressed I was riveted to the pages. I will admit that the long descriptions slowed down the story for me, and that is one of the reasons I gave this book 4 stars. This author’s writing made me understand where Aria was coming from in terms of her decisions. She was stubborn, and I liked that! Getting to know a little bit about Luca’s past was fascinating, and his past broke my heart. He did do something at the beginning that disappointed me, but he redeemed himself throughout the rest of the book. I enjoyed the progression of their relationship, but I felt their actual falling in love could have had more depth (that is the other reason I gave this book 4 stars). But they were fire together! I enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to read the next one in the series!

Bound by Duty - 4 stars

I was intrigued where this story between Dante and Valentina would go since both were widowers. Valentina’s first marriage was for show (you will have to read to find out why), so she wanted to try for a real marriage this time. Dante loved his first wife, so can he let go of her and see the woman in front of him? My heart hurt for Valentina numerous times because of Dante’s attitude towards her. He was cold and aloof, and I would have relished having his POV. Not having his POV was why I gave this 4 stars. She was a strong, stubborn, sarcastic woman whom I liked, and I loved that she didn’t give up on Dante. There were some shocking turns in this book too, and the end made me smile! Again, I enjoyed this book just like I did Bound by Blood, and I can’t wait to see what happens between Gianna and Matteo in the next book!

Bound by Hatred - 4.5 stars

Gianna and Matteo were more alike that they thought, and I couldn’t wait to dive into their story! Oh my goodness, I loved Matteo in the other books, and he made me swoon in the prologue. I was looking forward to reading Matteo and Gianna’s story, and it did not disappoint. In fact, it was my favorite! My love for him grew even more throughout this book. He wanted her because she was a challenge and liked that was sassy. She hates that she actually liked him, was attracted to him, and I liked that she actually saw him. Even though I knew what was coming from reading Bound by Duty, it still made my heart hurt that Gianna did what she did. She did frustrate me, because she was so stubborn and fought he feelings for Matteo. That was why I gave this 4.5 stars instead of 5. He was arrogant, wild and funny, and I just adored him! Matteo would not give up on her that easily, but at what point does he realize he may need to let her go? What would make Gianna come to her senses and admit her feelings? You will have to read to find out, because I loved this book and definitely recommend it! On to the last book in this collection...

Bound by Temptation - 4 stars

Liliana crushed on Romero through the previous books, and I definitely related to her having a crush. I never knew how Romero felt, so I was glad to have his POV in this book; plus she was of age/older in this book. My heart hurt for what Lily went through with her mother especially since she had no support, but you will have to read to find out what that was. I understood, felt and related to her loneliness. Romero was only a soldier in the NY mafia and Lily the daughter of a consigliere from Chicago, so how could they be together? I love a good forbidden romance, and this one was! I had no idea how their love story would unfold, so I was riveted to the pages to find out; some of the events shocked me! Once I got to the end after the emotional ups and downs, I was smiling. I will definitely continue this series!

This includes the first four books in the Born in Blood Chronicles: *Bound by Honor *Bound by Duty *Bound by Hatred *Bound by Temptation

▪️Bound by Honor blurb:

Born into one of the leading Mob families in Chicago, Aria Scuderi struggles to find her own path in a world where no choices are given. Aria was only fifteen when her parents betrothed her to Luca – The Vice – Vitiello, the oldest son of the head of the New York Cosa Nostra to ensure peace between the two families. Now with eighteen, the day Aria has been dreading for years is looming dangerously: her wedding to Luca. Aria is terrified of marrying a man she hardly knows, especially someone like Luca who got his nickname ‘the Vice’ for crushing a man’s throat with his bare hands. Luca might be one of the most sought after men in New York thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma that radiates power, but the society girls throwing themselves at him don’t know what Aria does: that the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile. In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you. The only way to escape the marriage to Luca would be to run away and leave everything she’s ever known behind but Aria can’t bear the thought of never seeing her family again. Despite her fear, she decides to go through with the marriage; Aria has grown up among predators like Luca and knows that even most cold-hearted bastards have a heart and she has every intention of working her way into Luca’s. ▪️Bound by Duty blurb:

Dante Cavallaro’s wife died four years ago but her memory still haunts him. On the verge of becoming the youngest head in the history of the Chicago Outfit, Dante needs to remarry or risk appearing weak.

Valentina is chosen for the role. She, too, lost her husband, but her first marriage has always been for show. Even after her husband’s death, Valentina carries the weight of his secrets with her— to protect the honor of a dead man and herself. With her wedding to Dante, her castle of lies threatens to crash. Valentina fears the wedding night might reveal her secret, but her worries prove unfounded when Dante ignores her. Soon, her fear turns to confusion and anger. Valentina is tired of being ignored. She’s determined to get Dante’s attention and desire, even if she can’t get his heart that still belongs to his dead wife. ▪️Bound by Hatred blurb:

When Gianna watched her sister Aria getting married to a man she barely knew, she promised herself she wouldn’t let the same thing happen to her. Matteo – The Blade – Vitiello set his eyes on Gianna the moment he saw her on his brother Luca’s wedding, and Rocco Scuderi is more than willing to give his daughter to him, but Gianna has no intention of marrying for any other reason than love. A few months before the wedding, Gianna escapes her bodyguards and runs away. She has enough money to flee to Europe and begin a new life. But staying undetected when the mob is searching for her is a challenge that takes everything, especially as one of their best hunters and assassins is after her: Matteo Vitiello. After six months on the run, Gianna finally settles into a tentative routine in Munich, but then Matteo and a couple of her father’s soldiers find her with another man. Despite her pleads they kill her boyfriend, and Gianna is forced to marry Matteo. Her emotions alternating between guilt over having dragged an innocent into her world and hatred toward Matteo, Gianna is determined to make life hell for her husband. But Matteo is a master at mind games and their struggle for power soon turns into hate-fueled nights of passion. ▪️Bound by Temptation blurb:

Liliana Scuderi has been in love with Romero from the moment she first saw him. After her sisters were married off for tactical reasons, she hopes she might be allowed to choose a husband for herself, but when her father promises her to a man more than twice her age that hope is crushed. No begging can make him change his mind. Romero has always ignored Lily’s flirting. Her age and status made her off-limits but even someone as dutiful as him has only so much control. Wanting her when she’s supposed to marry another man could mean war between New York and the Chicago Outfit, and Romero has always put the Cosa Nostra first. Lily suspects her sisters and Romero would risk everything for her, but is her happiness worth that much? Is love worth a war between the Cosa Nostra and the Outfit?

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Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/baadZx

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utilitycaster · 5 days

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RE: Ruidusborn superstition - It's weird because Matt has had several opportunities to make it about persecution and hasn't. Laura could've made it a stronger point in her backstory with Gelvaan and didn't. This rounding up Ruidusborn and throwing them in jail is a theoretical crime that a bad guy in a cult told them might happen.

Dealing with the unfair persecution of non Vanguard Ruidusborn in the fallout of this could be interesting to explore, but a) it hasn’t happened yet and b) still entirely the fault of the Vanguard for, ya know, all the crime. I just don’t get why some folks aren’t exploring the actual interesting conflict in front of them (i.e. being tied to something inherently destructive, your parent using you as a justification for her crimes, etc.) and instead make it about some secret twist coming that will totally make Liliana and the Vanguard “correct” actually in order to (I assume?) justify Imogen’s brief consideration of them and dunk on Orym for having the audacity to not be objective about the organization that killed his family.

Hey anon,

This is a very good point re: the actual conflicts present. I know I've been guilty of going hard on Liliana and the thing is I do find her a profoundly compelling and sympathetic villain. I think she was placed in an impossible position by Predathos imbuing her with troubling and at times painful powers; that despite having good intentions with regards to the nature of Ruidus (there is a lot of value in both studying it and in concealing its nature, depending on your perspective) people other than Ludinus were unable to give her answers and so she was easy prey for his cult; and she has since been driven by these motivations so far down the road of the Ruby Vanguard that even when the daughter she has believed herself for so long to be protecting tries to give her an out and asks her why she's doing this, she can't answer but is terrified of leaving. She is very sympathetic. She is very much a villain. And yes, I'll cover Orym in a second.

The following is, by necessity due to the nature of what I want to discuss, going to touch on some real-world politics though mostly in the sense of abstract strategy with very few specific actual positions. I want to note that we are talking about a fictional work here, and while I do have some presumptions regarding the people advocating for the Vanguard, they are just that - presumptions. I will only say that if this is how the people advocating for the Vanguard engage with people in real-world activism (if they partake in that in the first place), this may be a revealing insight into why they are perhaps less than successful.

Every argument in favor of killing the gods ultimately presupposes killing the gods is correct. They are all, ultimately, either tautological (we should kill the gods because they are deserving of death) and assume that the only objective conclusion is "we should kill the gods", therefore anything other than "we should kill the gods" cannot be objective.

I may be repeating myself since I've said this a lot since the last episode but: there as a truly bone-chilling lack of empathy in thestatement that Orym needs to stop bringing up his dead family and get over it and be objective (read: agree with the premise that the gods should be killed). Actually, if you are a person capable of perceiving others as people, you will likely realize that it is cruel and absurd to expect someone to say "this group murdered my family, but because they did so with the correct motivations, I shall stop mentioning it." As you indicated, it's bizarre that Orym is expected to set the wholesale murder - deliberately set up with no hope of resurrection, just to twist the knife - aside, but Imogen is never expected to set aside the (let's face it, extremely tenuous, given that Liliana's been absent for over a quarter-century) feelings about her mother, a person who recruits child soldiers, turned Vax into an orb, and is a general in the death cult that murdered Orym's husband and father. Like, in a real-world scenario, someone in Orym's position very well might have just left over this. Your friends keep failing to consider your trauma? Perhaps it's time to, painful as it may be, find friends who will be sensitive. [I don't want to focus on the shipping or character dynamic aspects with that particularly argument against Orym, but this is a fictional work and I do think another running theme in all sorts of discourse is that you do not need to justify your ships as logical, and when you do, you really do sound like "why doesn't Ross, the largest friend, simply eat all the other friends." There are logical reasons why Orym might not want to talk with, for example, Fearne or Ashton; but also the heart wants what it wants, and again, if you aren't truly ignorant about the way human psychology works you have to acknowledge that.]

Before I move on to other items I want to note I've as of late seen attempts not just to discredit Orym but to pathologize his behavior as self-harming or moral OCD or a failure to get fully over grief (again, an expectation that is not just devoid of empathy but also sets the standard of 'get over grief' as "agrees with me") and not just "hey, this group killed my husband and father in front of me and I understandably will not budge on this particular front. So there's also a growing ableist push, here, because someone doesn't agree with you and will not agree with you and also might want to kiss someone different than whom you want them to kiss.

As of late, the banner of those wronged by the gods has shifted from any of Bells Hells to those of Aeor, and that is a bad sign in a D&D campaign. If you need to set aside the PCs in order to rely on NPCs who have not shown up in the current narrative? You are clinging to a melting iceberg, my man. (More so after invoking FCG as one of the victims of Aeor's demise, rather than someone created to be used for malicious purposes by Aeor; and even more so after they destroyed themself specifically in heroic sacrifice to save the rest of the party from a Vanguard general.). But more seriously, the focus on Aeor feels reminiscent of advocacy for the unborn; or, to take a page from my own personal experiences and move this back into a fandom realm, the way people will frequently more loudly decry antisemitism for depictions of goblins than for, say, the fact that I don't know of an American synagogue that hasn't experienced a bomb threat in the past 10 years. It's very easy to advocate for corpses or fetuses over the living, or for fictional characters over real people who might be less than perfect. Much easier to ensure they never do such inconvenient things as disagree with you or have their own suggestions or be complicated. It hearkens back to some of the conversations I and others had earlier this campaign about a denial of agency because by making characters victims "stripped of choice," (always that phrasing) suddenly they can't do wrong. They make for a shit story, but at least you can feel morally pure about your flavorless cardboard that ultimately means nothing in-world or out. (And if they don't have agency, that means your morality pet can't run away. Or blow themselves up in a stunning rejection of your argument.)

Returning to the Vanguard: an ongoing discussion in activist spaces (and internet ones as well) is that there's a weird ignorance of optics as an important factor in activism. I know it seems frustrating - why can't people just see that this cause is just - but optics have always been a crucial part of any successful movement. I mean, even if you do believe that we need to do more to combat climate change - and I do - my, and most people's response to the environmental activists who keep throwing soup or paint on artwork is "ugh, this again?" I mean, functionally, while the cause is far more just, it's not terribly distinct from the weird-ass He Gets Us ad campaign; most people are going to say "and you're doing this instead of anything helpful...why?" The Vanguard's optics SUCK. Sure, they've fomented some unrest, but it is an unfortunate truth that the vast majority of people will prefer the inherent violence of a stable system that they are used to over violent unrest. For a successful coup or radical change, either you need to strike at the seat of power extremely quickly or you need to show that you are the more, for lack of a better term, civilized option, and the Vanguard has failed utterly in both these. You're going to get a few places like Hearthdell (though, really, how long will that last given that they got rid of the temple without a scrap of help from Ludinus) but you're going to get a lot of places where city dwellers say "ugh, these stupid crystals are so fucking loud, could this motherfucker shut up" and you're also going to get no shortage of places that say "my family member was taken in by this cult" or "these guys murdered my professor". The rightness or wrongness of the Vanguard's politics aside, a lot of people in-world are likely to side with Orym - these people are murderers who disturb the peace and we should stop them. The cause is lost. Is it, in some absolute sense, fair that people will judge you more for how you convey a message than what the message is? No, although if you convey it in rivers of blood, then, perhaps, yes. But it is, fair or not, often true.

Which brings me back to Orym. I think the reason people are stooping so low specifically to malign and discredit Orym is because he brings all of the above uncomfortably to light. He's aligned with Keyleth, who quite frankly until pretty recently was, within the fandom, partly as (understandable) backlash to the hate she received, and partly because she was, if nothing else, always portrayed as someone deeply attuned to the human costs, treated as a morally infallible authority; and she is no friend to the gods yet still believes their demise is far too great a risk to take. Again, thinking of yourself as Exandria's equivalent of the man on the street (Imahara Joe the Plumber?), are you going to listen to "those people killed my husband and father to prove a hypothesis so that they could tether the moon?" or "my mom, who left me when I was two years old and never came back or sent a letter, is one of those people?" And that's assuming Imogen's even going to make that argument, which, as her actions indicate, she's probably not going to. But most of all I think they really don't like that Orym isn't backing down from "That is the blade that killed my father and husband. She is not right." He's kept to this story the entire time, while the positions of others have evolved. And he's telling the truth. Every time he says this, I think anyone who isn't actually a complete black hole of empathy must confront how much of their humanity they are supressing just to make a poorly-argued point about a D&D show and I'd imagine that can't make one feel very good.

I think people are terrified of Orym's conviction, because he has shown, time and time again, that he is not going to be swayed. I don't think, in fact, that he's going to be swayed by seeing Aeor, should that happen, since Aeor was destroyed a thousand years before he, Will, or Derrig were born, and their murders failed to undo that harm in any way. A really good way to turn people away from your cause, even if it's a good one, is killing those they love. And again, it's fine if you see that position as unfair, or ignorant, or even amoral. It's also extremely true. And I think people realize it's true, given that the only defenses I've seen for Liliana have been "well, but she's Imogen's mother" and "well, it's shockingly easy for people to fall into a cult, because this has happened to my family members." Clearly, we agree that people will place personal connections and the pain of those close to them over ideology. Orym's is just really inconvenient for some people, and so he must be discredited.

In the end: the people in the story who at every turn choose manipulation, indoctrination, violence, subjugation, and conquest are saying "This is the way; you just have to trust me." Is it any surprise most people watching the show are saying "No, I don't think I will"?

#answered #Anonymous #long post #critical role

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