#tog reading marathon
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Throne of Glass - Series Review
tl:dr - A true-to-genre series that delivers no ground breaking concepts but provides a marathon of enjoyable mental cardio
I recently finished reading the Throne of Glass series per a recommendation from a friend. I listened to the first 4 books and then read the remaining 4. Tower of Dawn was my favorite book from the series purely for Hasar’s line in how “she needed a fatter ass for her lover to grab at night.” I will not expand. My favorite character was probably Lysandra because she was so viciously competent and felt like the most well-rounded “human” character.
The story felt well paced with enough intrigue to keep me reading (even in the face of great irritation at the audio-book cadence*). It continuously delivered on action and visceral drama and climaxed with a satisfying conclusion to the epic 5000 page tale. The characters and world were robust and communicated effectively, albeit not entirely original.
This is probably my greatest criticism of the series. Throne of Glass digs its heels hard into almost every trope YA fantasy has to offer. A few of the author’s personal favorites became very apparent simply by their frequency (enemies-to-lovers in some form or another applied to well over 70% of the main romances in this series).
There was everything starting with the impossibly beautiful, dark, mysterious and deadly main characters, who: everyone falls in love with, is near-never outsmarted, and always has a lifetime of trauma before the age of 17 (including murdered parents and abuse by whipping [why is it always whipping?]). Relatively generic magic systems of bursting elements; main characters “discovering” their magic then becoming immediately competent and disproportionately powerful; larger-than-life dark lords; threats of worlds plunging into darkness; prophecies; a pantheon of (revealed to be false) gods; and a generic Christmas reskin, are just a few of the tropes ToG features. Most importantly however, we mustn’t leave out how almost every character of significance is beautiful beyond reason, hot, sexy, incredibly competent, and always outfitted with either the most alluring curves, or hardest muscle known to the genre. Oh, and why is that fantasy heroines are always sluts for chocolate? What is that?
The heavy presence and soon-forged expectation of these tropes allowed me to skim guiltlessly over large swaths of the story. I could tell I already knew the gist of most plot points without actually having to read them.
Now I don’t have anything truly against tropes however, or the use of them in storytelling. Nor do I think the absence of them guarantees a good narrative. However their overuse can make it difficult for a work to really “stand apart” from any others in the same genre. This is the case for ToG. It is a very engaging world but there is nothing truly original in it. I think a reader’s steadfast allegiance to this series will largely depend on if it was the first of its kind they read.
Besides suffering additionally from little YA genre stylings, such as the overuse of the word “shit,” (specifically in this case the phrase “all went to shit,”) and a variance of dramatic transitions loosely summarized as “all faded to black,” ToG delivers an excellent, cohesive, and engaging story worth the time of any reader looking for a YA fantasy book.
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*Now let’s talk about the audiobooks. My opinions on the audiobook performance does not impact my overall sentiment to the content, as laid out above. BUT! To put it bluntly, I could not stand the audiobooks. The inflection, cadence, and overall delivery dripped with an arrogance and haughtiness (which, to be fair, were all very fitting for the main character) that ultimately oozed an unpleasant “pick-me”/”middle-school cringe” energy. (Look at me! I’m so dark and mysterious and cool. I’m an ASsAsInnnnNNNN *fweu* *fweu* [as I toss imaginary knives at my friends on the playground, promptly run up the steps 3 at a time and lift an entire chair over my head because, I’m so agile, and strong])
Okay, that’s all. Bye bye.
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Hello, People Who Read My Resident Evil Fanfics, I'm back!!!! (May be back even more over the next few months, tbh. I don't want to make any promises, but Dracula Daily is hyperfixation-adjacent and getting back into RE4 Remake is up next on my content roster, so who knows?) AO3 link will be in a reblog, but here's the next chapter of catch me floating circles in my fish bowl!
catch me floating circles in my fish bowl - part three:
May 2, 2021:
“Zoe’s fine. She’s shopping at the grocery store like normal, at least.” Carlos showed him a picture on his phone. It took Ethan a second to recognize her. Her hair was all white, and she looked less desperately thin than he remembered. She was buying chips and standing next to a brick wall of a man with a serious case of resting bitch face. He looked familiar, but not quite familiar.
“Joe Baker?” Ethan guessed. “Glad to see she’s still got some family left.” Especially family like Joe Baker. If Chris was right, the guy had punched his way through the site to get to Zoe. He’s probably the only person in this mess more unhinged than I am. And he meant that as a compliment. “Thank you again for this. I know it’s probably paranoid, but with everything going on…”
How was he to know that the BSAA hadn’t gone after her? She could be just as valuable a resource as Ethan.
Speaking of…
“Still nothing from the BSAA?”
“Not that I’ve heard. I feel like that’s not gonna change until you leave. They don’t have a cause to investigate Blue openly and I don’t think they’d suspect Chris of bringing you here, so…” Carlos shrugged. “They’re probably keeping a closer eye on Terra Save. You have physical therapy today?”
Ethan’s mood soured instantly. “No,” he admitted. “I mean, I was supposed to, but I fell last time and they’re worried I fucked up my ankle, so we didn’t do much.” He hoped he didn’t look too petulant. “I know, if I hurt myself it could slow my healing down, I need to be careful…”
“Don’t forget it’s a miracle you’re walking at all,” Carlos pointed out. “You should still be bedridden.”
“Technically, I should be dead, but I get your point. Still, it’s just…”
Frustrating. It was all so damn frustrating. His self-appointed deadline was this month. He didn’t need to run a marathon or anything. He just wanted to walk on his own. Any patience he might’ve had for his body and its shortcomings had gone out the window now that the novelty of being alive had worn off.
“...to be clear, I’m asked this as a concerned friend, not as the guy responsible for you, but…they’ve got you seeing a therapist, right?” Carlos said. “Like…for your brain.”
“Yeah, they have,” Ethan said. “We’re still working on Dulvey. Turns out, almost being murdered under extreme bullshit circumstances is even more traumatic than just almost being murdered. Who would’ve thought?”
Carlos wince-laughed in a way that said he knew exactly what Ethan meant. “At least your guy has probably heard it all by now,” he said. “We didn’t have that when I was going.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think the chainsaw scissors threw him off.”
“...the fucking what?”
Ethan probably shouldn’t have found that funny, but honestly? It was a little hilarious that he could one-up Carlos in the weirdness department.
Just a little.
.
Mia had been avoiding her therapist.
She knew, objectively, that avoiding her therapist probably looked worse than anything she could have actually said in therapy. She knew that whatever she said would stay in that room, that even her criminal past was safe to talk about. She knew this could be helpful, that it might let her sort out her thought spirals and fears and her increasing discomfort with being around Ethan.
But she couldn’t bring herself to go. Going meant actually admitting to everything–to all these dark thoughts, to all the shit she’d done. The thought of saying it out loud and having another person hear made her physically sick.
But she couldn’t stay away forever, so she finally went, with the intention of appearing as put-together and fine as possible.
She failed within five minutes.
“So, you’re concerned that Ethan is pushing himself too hard,” her therapist said. Doctor Reid was a no-nonsense sort of woman, the kind who cut right to the chase. It probably made her a great therapist, but these days, it mostly made Mia want to kill her.
“Ethan’s…” Mia tried to think of how best to phrase it. “...selfless to a fault. I don’t want him thinking about me right now. He should be focused on himself.”
Dr. Reid nodded and wrote something down. “Am I correct in assuming you’ve had this argument before?”
Mia tried to stay calm. It was difficult when visions of every argument they had since Mia learned she was pregnant started dancing through her mind.
We matter, Ethan! You matter! He’d been so caught up in protecting Rose, even before she was born. She’d known the lengths Ethan had gone to protect her. Known that he would go just as far for Rose, if not further. It was part of the reason she’d been so afraid to tell him what the mold had done to them. If he’d come to the same conclusions they had–that the BSAA had been deliberately negligent to unknown ends–who knew what he might have done?
The sound of pen against paper drew her out of her racing thoughts. Dr. Reid must have taken her silence as an answer. “Have you discussed this with him at all?”
Mia forced her voice to stay flat. “I’ve told him it’s okay to recover at his own pace,” she said. “He knows that we’re safe.”
“Maybe, but there’s more to the conversation than that, I think.” Dr. Reid put her pen down. “Are you frightened of what your husband might do?”
Damn this woman. “Why would I be? He protects us.”
“And he nearly died doing so, twice. That’s difficult to discuss. Objectively, he’s not wrong. Protecting those you care about is noble. But the survivor’s guilt you would’ve felt…” She picked back up her pen. “...and the guilt I’m sure you feel now are still very real. It could be easy for him to forget that.”
Mia felt her jaw go tense. “It’s not about that.”
“What is it about?’
“It’s my fault…”
Damn it. Damn it. Doctor Reid knew about the Connections, of course she did, but that didn’t mean Mia had to bring it up.
Doctor Reid glanced up. “You blame yourself,” she said finally, “because you think your time with the Connections is the reason Ethan ended up the way he did?”
The plan was not to reply, but Doctor Reid just sat there, waiting for an answer. Screw it. If this woman wanted an answer, she’d get her damn answer.
“I don’t think. I know. If I hadn’t been working for the Connections, I never would’ve ended up in Dulvey and he wouldn’t have had to save me. That’s where he got infected. That’s where the Rose got infected.”
“And if the BSAA had been honest, Ethan would’ve been cured, or his condition would have been managed,” Doctor Reid pointed out. “Maybe if they’d been honest, you two would have chosen not to have children. If Mirand had left you alone, or never learned about you, Ethan wouldn’t have had to save you a second time. Yes, your actions were one of the dominoes, but they were also just that. One of the dominoes. Why do you think you should shoulder all the blame?” Doctor Reid paused. “Why do you think Ethan thinks you should shoulder all the blame?”
“I don’t think that. I…”
She didn’t know. And that was really the worst part. So much of her was convinced that he wouldn’t blame her, which was bad in its own way. But the anxiety, the guilt, had her convinced that he would. There was no version of the story where this ended well.
“If I may,” Doctor Reid said. “You worry about Ethan pushing himself too hard and you worry about him getting into danger again. I assume this worry is compounded by the fact that you blame yourself for everything that’s happened, which in turn makes you feel that you’re not worthy of that protection. These are very strong emotions that are going to impact your interactions with Ethan, especially since you’ve had these disagreements before. Do you think I’m wrong?”
“...no.” It was a miracle it hadn’t impacted things already–or, at least, that it hadn’t in such a strong way that Ethan had noticed and started asking questions.
“Have you tried communicating with him about what’s been bothering you? You said Ethan had been keen to talk in the past. Perhaps if you had some mediation…”
“You offer couple’s counseling, too?”
“Actually, I’d find a third party, but we do have those.”
Of course they did. Nothing like a viral outbreak to put a strain on a marriage, right? Mia nearly burst out laughing at the thought, but managed to keep it together. Barely.
“I’ll think about it,” Mia said.
And she would. She just had a feeling she already knew what her answer was going to be.
.
May 5, 2021:
“You’ve got to be absolutely shitting me.”
Credit to everyone in the room: they were really doing their best not to laugh, or were treating it just as seriously as Ethan felt. Because he was taking this seriously. Because it was bullshit.
“Everything I’ve been through,” he said, staring down the cold compress on his arm, “all of that bullshit. And I’m still…” The only thing that kept him from swearing was Rose being in the room, staring him down with a slightly concerned look. “...I’m still allergic to bees?!”
“It would seem so, yes,” Doctor Marshall said calmly. “Do you want to hear something reassuring?”
“There’s something reassuring about this situation?”
“Your body is having a normal reaction to the sting. Not an exaggerated one, and it hasn’t triggered anything else in your healing. That’s a good sign.”
Damn it, he had a point. “I guess,” Ethan grumbled. Then, “Bees?!”
Jill finally broke the no-laughing rule with a barely muffled snort. “Sorry…” Her pale blue eyes were lit up with amusement as she tried not to make eye contact. “...no, it sucks, it really does…”
That probably should’ve pissed him off more, but…okay, yeah, it was funny-not-funny now that someone was laughing. Ethan deflated a bit, a bemused sigh escaping past his lips. “Just please don’t tell my wife,” he said. “She worries about me enough as it is. You’re telling her I’m fine, right?”
“I’m giving Mia medically accurate information,” Doctor Marshall said. “Unless you want to withdraw her as your-”
“No, no, it’s…” Great, that just means that either she’s misreading the information Marshall’s giving her or the results are worse than I realized. He wasn’t sure he liked either option. “It’s fine,” Ethan said. He peeked under the cold compress again. “Does the medically accurate information include that this bee sting isn’t gonna kill me?”
Ethan thought he felt a shift in Jill’s mood after that comment. That feeling was confirmed as she wheeled him out. “Everything okay with you two?” she asked. “I don’t want to be nosy, I just know this kind of thing puts a strain on…everything.”
“It’s…” Ethan sighed. “Complicated. Conflicting support needs, I think.” That was what his therapist had said when Ethan tried to describe the disconnect between how they’d handled Dulvey. Ethan wanted to talk. Mia wanted to forget. Neither was wrong, necessarily, but it did contribute to why they’d been butting heads on and off before the village. They hadn’t started couples therapy yet. Ethan wondered sometimes if they should move that up the list.
I basically died on her. That can’t be good for her mental health.
“That’s always tough,” Jill said. She had that tone, the one that said she and Carlos had been through the same thing. That was so weird to think about. They seemed rock solid, the two of them. Then again, they’d been together for a while, and lived through a lot during that time. Nothing like practice to improve your communication skills. “The give and take of it all. You’ve got to be supportive without giving up your own needs.”
“And hers,” Ethan added, tilting his head towards Rose as she grabbed at his coat collar. That was definitely a complicating factor. “I keep trying to tell myself that all couples have these problems, but…they don’t. You can say it’s the same thing, but it’s not.” Maybe that wasn’t fair, maybe he was playing the trauma Olympics, but he’d kill for regular problems. He’d kill for so many of their problems to not be tied up in dumbass crime syndicates and undead werewolves and potentially world-ending bullshit. If he could swap places with the Ethan who’d lost an arm to a car accident, he’d do it in a heartbeat. Zero hesitation.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Jill said. “I think that’s why I was never able to make normal friends. Almost everything feels minor compared to…” She gestured vaguely. “...everything.”
Everything was a pretty good summary of things. And that really summed up how shitty things were for the both of them. “How did you two make it through things?” Ethan asked. “I mean, if you’re okay with sharing.”
“Couples’ therapy,” Jill said without hesitation. “It helped with everything. Even the mundane stuff. And we talk to each other, as much as we can. It used to be a monthly thing when we were active duty. There was a lot happening and we wanted to make sure we had the time.”
That made sense, but it didn’t make Ethan feel any better. How were they supposed to do this when Mia still didn’t want to talk? He couldn’t force her. He’d tried, if he was being honest. It had only made things worse.
How much longer could they just let things stew again?
.
May 15, 2021:
Apparently, at least another week and a half.
Maybe the mounting anxiety had been a warning.
She’d known from the second she opened her eyes that today was going to test her. Mia hated to blame Ethan, because it wasn’t entirely him. She’d been slipping towards a shitty day for a long time.
But opening her eyes to see Ethan standing upright didn’t help.
“What are you doing?” Mia yelped.
Ethan nearly fell over. Fortunately, he’d been clinging to a chair to support him; it was the only thing that kept him falling down. “Shit!” he yelped back. Then, quietly, “Shh!”
Mia’s gaze darted guiltily to Rose. Fortunately, she was still fast asleep. “What are you doing?!” Mia hissed once she was sure her baby hadn’t woken up.
“I was cold,” Ethan replied. “I wanted a sweater.”
“I could have gotten one for you.”
“You were finally sleeping, I didn’t want to wake you up.”
“What do you -” Mia took a deep breath. “Please sit down. I will get you a sweater.”
Ethan nearly protested. She could see it in the way that his shoulders went tense and his eyes met hers directly. But just as suddenly, he looked away, his shoulders slumping, as he sat down. Crisis averted, she allowed herself to think as she got up to get him a sweater.
That was stupid of her to think. She knew Ethan better than that. She should’ve known. Ethan only stayed quiet for as long as it took to get him the sweater. But once he was holding it…
“I don’t want to do this again,” he said.
Oh, no. “Do…what…?”
“It’s just…” Ethan sighed and rubbed his eyes. His fingers seemed to linger over the scar tissue across his nose. “Back in Europe, it felt like every little thing was an argument. But we never really got at why we were fighting. I don’t want to keep doing that.” He met her eyes again. “It doesn’t feel like you’ve been sleeping well. I haven’t always, either, and sometimes when I wake up in the night or when Rose wakes up, I can hear you…moving around, talking in your sleep. Like how you did after Dulvey. I can walk short distances and you looked peaceful, so I didn’t want to disturb you. You’re dealing with enough without adding sleep deprivation on top of that. I’m worried about you.”
She’d heard those four words so many times. She was starting to get sick of them. “I get that, I do, but you have…” Mia took a deep breath. “You have to start worrying about yourself. Ethan, you died a few months ago. If you get hurt again, if you’d fallen and hit your head…I have enough to worry about without worrying about you doing something stupid, okay?”
She knew, immediately, how harsh she’d sounded. It was starting to remind her too much of the argument they’d had that day in Europe…the one that had nearly been their last argument. Mia rubbed her eyes, hoping that she wasn’t about to start crying. “Please.”
“Okay, okay. No more walking without someone watching me,” Ethan said soothingly. His one hand reached out to rest on her knee. Even with the sweater sleeve covering it, she could vividly see the scar on his forearm. “Stressed about what, honey?”
About the fact that I almost got you killed. That they have to run tests on our daughter and it’s my fault. That you’ll find out the truth and nothing will be the same ever again. That nothing is the same already.
“Don’t do that,” Mia said out loud instead. “Please. You can’t fix everything, Ethan.”
“I’m not…you can talk to me, Mia. I’ll listen. No problem-solving, promise.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him. And even if she did, she couldn’t make herself say the words. “It’s…this whole situation,” she said finally. Not a lie, but nowhere near the truth. “It’s this whole situation.”
She was dodging. From the way Ethan looked at her, he knew she was dodging. She expected him to call her out on it. He always had before. Instead, he just looked sad. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, baby, I know.”
He hugged her carefully. Mia was able to embrace him back, but she hesitated at first, the surge of guilt getting the better of her.
She knew Ethan had felt that, too, but he still didn’t say anything.
.
If his problems had a face, Ethan would have shot them by now.
He guessed Ethan could say his problems had some physical form: his bones, his muscles, the injuries and scar tissue that had hobbled him, the mold that had merged with his cells and turned him into something not quite human. But he couldn’t exactly punch himself in the face. Multiple BOWs had already done that for him, and look where that had gotten him.
He could still be mad at himself, though. Either his body had betrayed him forever and this was just his life now, or he wasn’t trying hard enough. One of those answers was easier to accept than the other one.
Unfortunately, accepting the latter only made the moment that he ended up face-down on the floor in the middle of PT all the more painful.
“FUCK!” Ethan shouted as he flopped onto his back. He wasn’t bleeding, but he’d hit his face pretty hard. “Son of a bitch!”
“Easy…” His therapist helped him carefully sit upright. Tom was usually a pretty chill guy, and usually had the decency to not visibly worry so much when things went wrong. This time he looked worried. “Did you hit the bar on the way down?”
“I didn’t hit the fucking bar. Shit.” Ethan looked around instinctively. He knew Rose wasn’t there, but he couldn’t help double checking. He tried really hard not to swear in front of her. He was just so…
Ethan carefully touched under his nose, checking for blood. There wasn’t anything that he noticed, but he knew what was coming next. “Let me guess, this is the part where we take a break for the day? We’re done?”
The words came out in a snap. Tom didn’t take it personally; the worst part was, Ethan was so pissed, he only felt a little guilty for being a dick about it. He felt even less guilty when he was informed that this was, in fact, it for the day.
At least he could wheel himself around the facility now. It meant he didn’t have an audience for his frustration.
Ethan probably should’ve gone back to his room and lay down. The session had been draining as it was, and he was kind of sore from that landing. But he went down to the ground level and right out the front door. No one tried to stop him, thank God. They probably figured he couldn’t go very far.
He went further than he had before, right out the front door and out into the parking lot, all the way to the far edge. There was just a field out there, and a barbed-wire topped fence. Somewhere on the other side of that was the rest of the world.
A world that he might never get to be a part of again.
Ethan took a deep breath and screamed. It was wordless at first, but quickly devolved into a rapid-fire barrage of every swear word he knew. They could probably hear him inside, but he didn’t care. What were they gonna do? Force him back inside? Revoke his wheelchair privileges? It wasn’t like his day could get any worse.
Eventually his voice gave out. He sat in silence, just him, the midday sun, and the random cars. The sound of approaching boots broke that silence eventually. Ethan didn’t have to glance over his shoulder to guess who it was. There were only three people he knew who wore boots regularly, and one of them was out of the country again. “I can’t go back in there,” he said dully.
“Wasn’t going to make you,” said Jill. “So, how’s a parking lot for a mental breakdown space? I haven’t tried that one yet.”
Points to her, the comment did get a laugh out of him. It wasn’t the sanest sounding laugh, but it was something. “It’s, uhm…” Ethan tried to wipe some of the tears off his face. “...better than a bathroom, I guess. Air quality’s nicer.”
“Yeah, bathrooms are like a bottom three pick.” She sat down in the grass, in his line of sight but off to the left. Her white-blond hair caught the sunlight, contrasting it more sharply against the black hoodie she was wearing. It looked a few sizes too big–one of Carlos’s, maybe. “You want to talk about it?”
He did. Keeping it bottled up was killing him, and maybe Jill would actually understand what was going on here. But for a long time, the words didn’t come. He just stared down at his one remaining hand. It had been working fine lately–grip strength almost back to normal, no more freezing up at random, sensation much better. Why couldn’t everything go that smoothly? Why did this have to be so hard?
Hadn’t they all been through enough?
“...Mia and I’s anniversary is this month,” he said. “Ten years.”
“Ten years? With two disasters in the middle of that? Shit, that’s not bad.” Jill sounded genuinely impressed. “I’m guessing you wanted to get out of here before that?”
“No, not even that. I can handle being here if we really have to.” They were safe here, at least, and safe was all he could really hope for. “I just…I was just hoping I’d be walking more by then. I wanted her to see that I’m okay. And don’t give me the whole oh, you should be dead, who cares if you’re not walking yet speech. I care. I can’t…” He rubbed at his eyes desperately. “It’s not enough. I thought even a few steps would do it, but I can just feel her pulling away and she’s so focused on being worried about me that she’s not thinking about anything else and I can’t…I can’t see her like that. I can’t live through that again.”
He was bracing himself for more questions; what he got instead was a slightly bitter, huffing laugh. A sound of recognition. “Fuck, yeah. Been there.”
Ethan lifted his head. “Seriously?”
“Chris didn’t tell you? I was MIA presumed dead for three years.”
Chris had definitely not mentioned that. “Chris doesn’t really talk much about his BSAA days. Was this before you left?”
“Yeah. One of my last missions with the old crew, actually. It’s a long story, but Carlos was…” She sighed. “...he kept it together for me. And I appreciated that, I really did, but I knew it wasn’t going to last forever. It was just a matter of when.” She started rubbing her sternum as she spoke. Ethan saw her do that sometimes. “Worst part was, I knew that. I just had no way of knowing what would finally do it. It was just the one time, thank God. We were able to talk about it after that.”
“So what you’re saying is that she might have to break more before we can fix it?”
“No.” Jill hesitated. “I mean, that’s not wrong, but that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that what you’re going through isn’t abnormal. I don’t know if I can fix what’s going on with Mia, and I don’t think you can, either. She has to figure that out for herself, like Carlos did. But you know what kept me sane when everything went to shit?” She made direct eye contact with him then. She had such an intense gaze, her pale blue eyes seeming to stare right through Ethan’s skull. “You’ve gotta lower your expectations, man. I know that you want everything back to normal, trust me, I get that, but that went out the window three years ago. I’ve lived it twice. It sucks, every time, but if you try to force it, you’re just going to hurt yourself worse. Physically and mentally.”
Ethan forced his gaze away from her. It was stupid, all things considered, but he didn’t want her to see the tears starting to form in his eyes. “This sucks,” he said finally.
“Yeah, I know. It’s not fair. I wish it were. But you can make it work. It’s possible. And believe me when I say…she’s just happy you’re still here.”
Ethan didn’t doubt that. He just wasn’t always sure it was enough.
Maybe he was wrong about that.
.
“Mrs. Winters?”
Mia’s head snapped back up. Doctor Marshal was staring at her with a worried look. “Sorry,” she said. She rubbed her eyes. “I just missed that last part…were we talking about skin samples?”
“Yes, but they’re optional, and more for Ethan’s benefit. How is he, by the way?”
Mia wasn’t sure how to answer that. The conversation from that morning was still dancing through her head. The wounded look on Ethan’s face was burned into her eyelids. “He’s…still a little stir-crazy,” she admitted. “Nothing we can’t handle, I don’t think.”
“That’s understandable. How about you? How are you doing?”
Mia wasn’t sure how to answer that. She wasn’t sure she could lie, not when she had zoned out in the middle of the conversation. There was so much going on, so many things she didn’t have a handle on. “...can I ask you something personal?” Mia said finally.
“Go ahead.”
“How did you get past your old job? How do you…ever make up for something like that? After everything that happened…” Doctor Marshal’s face changed quickly, growing more closed-off than she’d ever seen the doctor. Damn it. “...I mean, I don’t know how much you were involved…”
“Bioweapons development and research,” Marshal said. “So, yes, I was involved. Not directly in Racoon City, I was never assigned there, but…only a few degrees of separation between my department and theirs. I’m sure members of the Nemesis team used my research.”
Oh. They had more in common than she’d realized. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Don’t be. It’s a valid question.” Marshal sighed heavily. “Honestly, it took a lot of time. Joining Blue Umbrella helped. Actions feel more like atonement than words. But I had to accept at some point that I could be as sorry as I wanted, but I couldn’t change the past. Even trying to act like the past didn’t happen kept me stuck there. I wasted so much time trying to figure out how to dance around it that I may as well have been stuck in my room, blaming myself. I had to face it, admit it, figure out what I could do instead now, and move on. I still feel guilty now, but I’m not drowning in it anymore. It’s just a feeling. Usually a productive one.”
The difference between guilt and shame. Her therapist had brought it up. Mia was really starting to hate how much the woman was right about things.
“Not everyone is going to forgive us,” Marshall added. “That’s within their rights. That shouldn’t stop us from trying.”
“...yeah.”
They dropped the subject after that, but it stayed with her. It took up so much of her mental space that she almost forgot…
“You’re doing really good,” Carlos said suddenly.
…she’d had an extra set of ears in the hallway the whole time, looking after Rose.
“What?”
“At…all of this. Considering.” Carlos cleared his throat awkwardly. “Just in case no one’s told you that.”
Carlos was an easy man to read. He reminded her of Ethan that way. She could tell he meant it. That didn’t do enough to ease the sudden dread in her chest. “How much did you…?”
“Nothing I won’t have forgotten by the end of the day,” Carlos said. “I’m great at keeping secrets. I can’t retain shit.”
That sounded sincere, too, and just self-mocking enough to get her guard back down. “That’s…”
Goot to know was what she wanted to say. It got stuck in her throat. She was barely able to hold back the alternative response.
I’m scared.
But Carlos seemed to understand anyway. He reached out carefully, only resting his hand on her shoulder when she didn’t move away. He had a reassuring grip, what she’d imagine a touch from a cool older brother or a non-shitty father would feel like. “Is there anything I can help with?” he asked.
“...no,” Mia whispered. The dread was back, joined by a heavier sense of resignation. “No. I have to do this myself.”
Deep down, she’d known it was inevitable. In fact, it was long past overdue. No matter what the outcome…
She owed Ethan the truth.
She wouldn’t be able to fix this until she’d told him.
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I’m gonna try and marathon read all 8 throne of glass books again before January so if you don’t want spoilers or to hear me talk about it I’d suggest blacklisting #key reads tog
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Also the narrator for these books gives Ansel a really twangy southern accent and I MUST know if someone has drawn her in a cowboy hat.
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Shackles and bridges: SJM and the mating bond
I know there are a lot of posts about this, but I wanted to do one myself, so here we go.
DISCLAIMER: This is my interpretation as someone who is a very new member of this fandom and has more contact with “common readers”, since I was one myself until a couple of months ago. Everything here is based on textual evidence and my experience as an avid reader, so take a step back from any ship. But I will talk about the probability of a rejected mating bond, so if that's not your cup of tea, be warned. English is not my first language, so forgive me for any mistakes.
Be kind!
Also, minor spoiler for CC.
The mating bond is the most important element in SJM’s books and it's present in most of the main endgame couples. Aelin and Rowan, Feyre and Rhys, Nesta and Cassian, for example.
It’s described as this precious, sacred bridge between souls - or is it?
SJM is a very formulaic writer. We can draw several parallels with her writing, due to the way she structures her scenes and chooses her words.
We saw this explicitly with Nesta and Cassian in the Solstice scene, which is very similar to the one between Feyre and Rhysand: an emotional discussion, kissing tears away, lovemaking with “say it” and “you’re mine”, mating bond glowing between them, on and on.
Different characters, but same scenario, same process, same wording, almost the same scene.
However, considering that every mated couple until now ends up together HEA, I have the feeling that SJM is starting to explore the mating bond in different ways, otherwise every one of her books would be too… similar? In a way that the reader wouldn’t be surprised anymore, it would be the same story over and over.
To the ones who are faithful to those characters and to her books (her fans), this isn’t exactly a problem, but we have to consider the other readers as well, the bigger audience (SJM sold millions of copies, so not everyone who reads her books is engaged online).
For that exact reason, to approach a narrative element in a different way is very common among writers.
I’ll give you an example with Cassandra Clare and the parabatai bond (SPOILERS from TDA): the parabatai bond is an oath between friends who swear to protect each other. In TMI and TID, we have this bond between friends (Jace and Alec/ Will and Jem) that are almost brothers. However, in TDA, we have two parabatai (Julian and Emma) falling in love with each other, which is extremely forbidden.
The different ways a writer can approach the same elements are important to keep the readers engaged - not the reader who is a fan, but especially the occasional reader. Otherwise, it would be the “if you’ve read one, you’ve read them all” kind of thing, which is no bueno.
With that in mind, I really think SJM is starting to explore/ approach different sides of the mating bond.
Mate—not husband. The Fae had mates: an unbreakable bond, deeper than marriage, that lasted beyond death. (Heir of Fire/ ToG)
“But if they’re blessed, they’ll find their mate—their equal, their match in every way. High Fae wed without the mating bond, but if you find your mate, the bond is so deep that marriage is … insignificant in comparison.”
Another proof that SJM is formulaic: in both ToG and ACOTAR, the bond is presented for the first time in comparison to marriage, as something deeper and sacred.
However, Bryce, main character of CC (SJM book published before ACOSF), looks at it very differently:
“And at least he’s not some psychotic alphahole who will demand a three- day sex marathon and then call me his mate, lock me in his house, and never let me out again.” Which was why Reid—human, okay-at-sex Reid—was perfect.
This is such a contrast. To Bryce, the mating bond would take her freedom away (keep that in mind).
I’m not saying Bryce won’t have a mate or anything like that, but we don’t start reading CC with the same vision about the mating bond presented in the other books: a sacred bond, deeper than marriage. Bryce couldn’t care less about that, not once she wondered if Hunt is her mate.
Therefore, I don’t think SJM finally writing a different story about the mating bond so unthinkable. On the contrary, we see writers doing that all the time.
Also, I’m not saying Elain will reject it, but SJM is not only approaching the mating bond in different ways now, but she already structured a very solid base for a mating bond rejection to happen if she wants to:
ACOWAR
“You said your mother and father were wrong for each other; Tamlin said his own parents were wrong for each other.” I peeled off my dressing robe. “So it can’t be a perfect system of matching. What if”—I jerked my chin toward the window, to my sister and the shadowsinger in the garden—“that is what she needs? Is there no free will? What if Lucien wishes the union but she doesn’t?”
“A mating bond can be rejected”.
SJM already wrote a whole scene to explain the mating bond and how, for some people, is not this sacred thing and it can be rejected. Not only that, she directly approached that Elain could reject it if she wanted to, and that scene involved Lucien and Azriel.
“You are his mate. Do you even know what that means?”
“It means nothing,” Elain said, her voice breaking. “It means nothing. I don’t care who decided it or why they did—”
“You belong to him.”
“I belong to no one. But my heart belongs to you.“
Also in ACOWAR, Elain makes herself very clear: she would have ignored/ rejected the mating bond right there if Graysen still wanted a future with her, because she loved him. She would have chosen to follow her heart without hesitation.
The funny thing is that Azriel - Elain's current love interest - never saw that scene, never saw how Elain vigorously rejected Lucien for someone she loved or the way Graysen rejected her (I’ll leave this information to you).
ACOFAS
Those doe-brown eyes turned toward me. Sharper than I’d ever seen them.
“And that entitles him to my time, my affections?”
“No.” I blinked.
Her mouth tightened, the only sign of anger in her graceful countenance. “I don’t want a mate. I don’t want a male.”
Months go by and Elain is still uncomfortable with the bond.
ACOSF
“I am not always in this city to see my mate.” The last two words dripped with discomfort.
Her brown eyes were wary. Usually, that look was reserved for Lucien.
Elain only shrank further into herself, no trace of that newfound boldness to be seen.
At this point, it’s clear: the question "what if the Cauldron was wrong?" didn’t come out of nowhere, not only for Azriel, but in the narrative as well.
SJM had been slowly hinted at for three books now. I know she can change her mind, but if she wants to write about it, she made sure to write the perfect opportunity:
SJM already wrote a scene about the possibility of Elain rejecting the bond, that involved Elain, Lucien and Azriel, so it’s not coming from nowhere;
Lucien compared how different Elain is from the female who he had really loved;
They are both uncomfortable around each other;
Elain is romantically interested in someone else, who was part of that scene back in ACOWAR when we were presented to the possibility;
This someone else (Azriel) is interested in her;
SJM made sure to tie the romantic plot (Elain’s mating bond) with a political plot (Blood Duel);
The political plot is connected to the overarching plot (Autumn Court, Beron and Eris/ Koschei);
Mostly important: Elain is showing for three books that she doesn't want the bond;
"I don't want a mate. I don't want a male."
She literally said that with all the letters.
We can see this dichotomy between shackles (no freedom) x bridge (a connection) regarding Lucien as well.
"(Jesminda) She had chosen him. Elain had been … thrown at him."
He said that Elain had been thrown at him and also that they were shackled.
“Give her time to accept it.”
“To accept a life shackled to me?” (ACOFAS)
And then right in the next book (ACOSF) we have this:
“Well, I didn’t have a choice in being shackled to you, either.”
The declaration slammed into her. Shackled.(…)
Shackled.
Words beckoned, sharp as knives, begging for her to grab one and plunge it into his chest. Make him hurt as much as that one word hurt her.
SJM emphasized what that one word meant by repeating it and using italics. It’s another side of a mating bond: not a bridge of connection, but shackles with no freedom, no choice.
If Nesta was that hurt when Cassian (someone she loves) said that he didn’t get a choice in being "shackled” to her, can you imagine how is it for Elain and to actually have this bond with someone she don't love? And to Lucien as well?
The thing is in terms of storytelling, and by that I mean the plot, it’s undeniable that we already have everything that’s necessary to approach the matter of the mating bond in a way the reader has never seen before.
It’s a huge possibility, one that would make the regular readers interested (we have to remember that, not everyone who reads those books is engaged. They read them when it’s appealing).
If you want to look deeper, we can see little clues that point to that narrative path, too:
Elain shall wed for love and beauty.
The bond Elain had chosen.
Elain cut in sharply, “I am not a child to be fought over.”
Now, why hasn't Elain rejected the bond?
Because a writer doesn’t waist a good plot like that. Simple as that.
Let me tell you: SJM won’t waist that plot because a part of the fandom doesn’t like Elain, because 1) the online fandom itself is just a part of the readers; 2) inside the online fandom there are people who dislike Elain, who are neutral about her and people who like her; 3) SJM already know some people hate Elain, otherwise she wouldn’t have wrote this:
You think Elain is boring?
I think she’s kind, I’ll take kindness over nastiness any day. But I also think we haven’t seen all she has to offer yet.
SJM already told us she likes to write about disliked characters. She will write the story she wants to write and ACOSF is the major proof of that. If it’s a rejection or not, only she knows, everything could happen.
But SJM has been writing about mating bonds for years, do you really think the first time we get to see a rejection it would be for someone else’s POV? Or in a minor plot as if it isn’t a big deal? Especially when this rejection is directly related to a political plot and to the overarching plot?
No, not when SJM has enough material to write 700 pages and more, not when she has the opportunity to make a whole book out of this, one that is something entirely new for the reader, not when SJM built the perfect opportunity herself.
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so i was looking over random notes of mine for other ideas in other fandoms and it hit me, Booker gets his shit together, maybe starts seeing a therapist, and he realizes he thrives on homemaking, he accidentally befriends his neighbors or his neighbor's kids, at some point they have a crisis where the kids need watching but there's no one to watch and insert Booker, yada yada, kids love him, parents can relate, he accidentally becomes the go-to baby sitter, blablablah Accidental Daycare Booker
and this daycare nonsense is of course going on during The Exile™ so TOG doesn't know shit until something happens and they worry somehow Booker's gonna End Up In It Too but what they find is a smiling, happy, thriving man, sitting in a pile of small children reading aloud, & those kids LOVE him alright, & the parents ADORE him, & of course they know a sanitized version of him losing his own kids so they EMPATHIZE with the poor man with no family, ,,,until of course TOG stumble in like "waht?"
also (sorry for not numbering these i literally didn't mean to keep coming up w/ more ideas so this is #3) since you ruined my brain for it, ot3 so of course Joe sees this glowing happy Booker doting on these amazing small babies & just-- collapses because cuteness & overload, his poor poetic soft heart can't take it, but Nicky's not doing much better he forgot how to language halfway through a word & is trying to catch Joe but poor Nicky, he can't tear his eyes away & only one arm is working
AHHHHHH JORDGE I AM SOFT AND FERAL FOR THIS
I can already see how he goes to his knees to speak to the kids at their eye level and treats them with the utmost respect and gravitas. And those kids love him. Like, love the absolute cotton socks off of him.
Anita attempts to run away when her little brother was born and thinks her parents love her less and goes right to Booker because his house is right at the end of the street and that’s the furthest she’s ever walked alone, who makes her hot chocolate and puts on Inside Out and calls her parents to tell them that he will talk to her and get her back by bedtime. Phillipe and James who are adopting but worry about whether they’d be good parents and Booker becomes their confidante and helps them make sense of the red tapes and bureaucracies - which is easy coz governmental firewalls are nothing to the man who helped set them in place in the first place.
The Martin children who were new to the neighbourhood with parents who were clearly trying to save their marriage to very little success, so they hang out in Booker’s backyard when the fighting gets too loud and he always keeps a key under the frog-shaped pot in case he is at his weekly therapy sessions and they need a glass of water or something. Juliette who was leaving for uni next year but feels overwhelmed about leaving her family comes over for a chat and soon enough some of the older kids in the neighbourhood come by too.
Booker keeps his pantry stock with snack and food options because he can never know who’ll show up - whether it was one of the parents or the kids - so he is always prepared. In turn, the community rapidly weaves him into their lives; he takes summer holidays with his neighbours and everyone plans their Christmas parties so that he can attend each and every one.
And then one day, he manages to pull one of the younger Martin children from a tree but not before the boy sprains a wrist on the fall. Booker brings the neighbourhood brood along with him to the hospital and it’s nothing big and the child was none the worse for wear, but somehow his name pings in the hospital’s system and it brings his family to Paris because hey, his name pinged in a hospital’s system. Andy is worried because she’s mortal now, so what if Booker is too and what if this is a catalyst for him to try yeeting himself off this mortal coil. Joe and Nicky are on tenterhooks the whole time because Booker was and is their lover and while they still need time to heal from the hurt, the idea that Booker is hurting and they’re not there by his side is something they can’t abide by. Nile is just resisting the urge to bang her head on a table because this worry and stress could have been avoided if they’d just listened to her and talked to the man.
Booker isn’t in the hospital obviously but he is at the address he leaves at the hospital. They arrive, ready to spirit him away if they need to, only to find the house filled to the brim with people and laughter and happiness. A teenage girl opens the door and asks if they’re Basti’s friends because they’re out of ice and could they go get some, please? There’s a game on where the clear team supporters are religiously gathered around. In the kitchen, there is something like a cooking marathon happening and the dining table is bowing under the food piled on it. It is simultaneously chaotic and homely and Joe stops a man with a baby to ask where ‘Basti’ is.
They’re all directed to the backyard where Booker is seated on the grass with a small gathering of children and teenagers who are lounging with their books and phones while Booker is reading out loud to the youngest members of this group. The child on his lap has a cast on his arm and sucking on a thumb but seems to be transfixed and calm as Booker does the voices to Beauty and the Beast.
Booker looks radiant and content and healthy and hale and he smiles easily when the children cuddle closer to him and demand for his attention. Joe is struck breathless by the almost unrecognisable way Booker looks in that he is so soft and content and so very alive, while Nicky is speechless at how much his heart spills with love at the kindness he sees in the way Booker treats the children around him and how his home is so filled with people who clearly care and are comfortable with Booker in their lives.
Andy is confused as hell and Nile is ready to drag them all out because Booker seems to be doing well but they do not need to have their reunion right here and now because there are too many strangers around them right now. And that is when Booker looks up to see, oh, it’s them and his face changes from relaxed and calm to tense and guarded. Which doesn’t go unnoticed by the children.
Who all move to put themselves in front of Booker. The Immortals are highly befuddled.
#i think there's enough here for a full length story that i will never write lol#booker loving hours are never off at Chez Gab#joe x booker x nicky#booker x joe x nicky#joe x nicky x booker
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I was just reading your asks and I love the idea of a Paris x Doyle x Rory friendship moodboard! I think they had a cute and underrated friendship! It’s an unusual idea but they would’ve been a cute gang just chilling and obsessing over the paper tog
listen, one of the scenes I absolutely adore is that one in which paris has received the many acceptance letters and she waited for her support group (aka rory and doyle) to open the envelopes and they both are just so supportive and ready to handle the meltdown they well know is coming.
as I've said before, I'm not the biggest doyle fan but the three of them do sorta work, together, and had (and could have had more) some very funny moments together.
---
can you imagine an exhausted paris coming back late, after class, to find rory and doyle on the couch, some tvshow marathon playing on tv, cartons of chinese food all over the coffee table.
''hey paris," doyle greets the woman as she steps through the door. "come join us."
"is that from the mayflower?"
snorting, rory replies, "what do you think we are? newbies?"
taking a seat to the brunette's left, paris leans forward to grab the first container in reach-- just to have her hand swatted away. "what the heck?"
stretching to grab a small white box placed farther away, rory offers it to the other girl, along with chopsticks. "your favorite," she tells her, sneaking a small peck on the lips in.
"braised tofu and veggies?"
"why, of course." rory replies, feigning offence.
a hand on his chest, doyle adds, "it's almost as if you don't know us, woman!" then, "your girlfriend has been so protective of that box; you're lucky you even have any tofu to claim."
trying to conceal the small smile spreading on her lips -as always-, paris plucks a bite from the carton and leans back, comfortably, while chewing. "what are we watching?"
---
[i am too onboard the 'paris and doyle were each other's respective beards and we all know gellmore is endgame' ship to consider any other headcanon in which they aren't together]
#the mayflower is this one delicious restaurant in the bay area whose braised tofu and veggies i regularly dream of#rory x paris x doyle#humansofstarshollow#humansofstarshollow personal#humansofstarshollow asks#humansofstarshollow anon#humansofstarshollow headcanons
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Ok i just finished the entire tog series in like a week (the craziest and best reading marathon ive done ever i think:) ) and i had just finished KoA when i had the devastating thought of Sam waiting for Aelin (Celaena, i guess??) in the afterlife for so long, and now I'm sobbing.
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I feel so lost now that I have finished all of SJM's books. What do I read next? How do I continue living? Why did I think it would be healthy to marathon read the ToG and ACOTAR series for three weeks? I am lost and alone.
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Best Comenity Bank Credit Cards for 2018
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It’s also a good option if you tend to carry a small balance from time to time because you won’t be charged interest for the first year. Just be sure to pay off your debt in its entirety before your introductory period is up; otherwise, your balance will be subject to a potentially high interest rate.
Is a Comenity Bank credit card right for you?
Clearly, there are countless options available when it comes to Comenity Bank credit cards. Whether one (or more) is right for you depends on your credit history and your financial goals. If you’re primarily motivated by lucrative rewards programs, explore all of your options before settling on one.
If you plan on making an expensive one-time purchase, you may benefit from opening a store card to get that big discount. But don’t do it just because a sales associate is pressuring you in the checkout line.
If you have less than perfect credit, you may want to get a Comenity Bank card because it’s possible to get approved with no credit check. Before you do, though, think about what you hope to get out of the card.
Are you trying to rebuild your credit by lowering your credit utilization ratio and making on-time payments? Then a new credit card may be helpful to your personal situation. But if you struggle with debt and aren’t very good about paying off your credit cards each month, then it may be best to hold off on getting a Comenity Bank credit card.
You also might want to avoid opening a new card if you’re gearing up for a major loan application like a mortgage. Too many credit inquiries might make it look like you’re tight on cash. Also, never feel like you need to get a credit card before you’re ready simply because of a “time-sensitive” promotion.
Comenity Bank and other issuers regularly offer perks, bonuses, and other benefits for new cardmembers. You can always either wait or try a different card to find the best deals available when you’re actually ready.
Bottom Line
Comenity Bank is in the business of attracting consumers to very specific store credit cards. The key takeaway is to maximize your rewards by consistently paying off your balances. By doing so, you get to take advantage of your rewards programs while simultaneously building your credit. It’s a great way to take baby steps back into the world of credit cards by creating good financial habits.
Once you’ve cemented a repayment routine, you can bump up to a more general credit card that might offer even better incentives. At the same time, you’ll qualify for better rates since you’ve strengthened your credit with a Comenity Bank card.
from Credit And Credit Repair https://aaacreditguide.com/comenity-bank-credit-cards/
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Update time, I finished my Sarah J. Maas marathon...and if I have to read about one more “male” smile I think I might hurl. That being said, the series were fun to read, in the same way junk food is fun to eat, good for a moment but leaves you with indigestion. There are some wonderful characters, and the plots aren't terrible, that being said don’t look to this author and her two series for anything revolutionary, white feminism, lack of diversity, hyper masculinity and half assed lgbtqa representation are what’s on the menu. The first person narrator of the “Courts” series wasn’t as painful as I initially thought. Of the two series “Courts” seems to have more thought out world building, and the characters aren't as cringerific, Rhysand is a treat, and Feyre is a far more likable protagonist then Caelena/Aelin, imo. I will be tuning in to the upcoming sequels of the Throne of Glass series, only because I am invested in the fates of Chaol, Manon, Elide, Lysandra, Fenrys, Aedeon and Dorian, ToG strengths are in it’s secondary characters. I’m also curious on how this author finishes a story/series. Both series are still ongoing, is everyone going to die? We have seen her kill off 2/3 known WoC in the ToG books, so who knows if the white main cast is going to be spared or not. The PoC in “Courts”, while charming, are minor characters and appear to be limited to the Summer court which evoked a very Caribbean vibe, they are, however, still black skinned and white haired “magical black elves.” Tarquin (High Lord of the Summer Court) is a soft spoken, gentle and sensitive leader which was nice to see from a black character, especially a man when toxic masculinity is so prevalent in her books (give me more Tarquin plz!!!) I would love to learn more about the rest of the courts and who populates them, I did enjoy the species diversity of the Fae, and the jokes and memes about the Suriel have legit made me laugh.
Overall I was entertained, but I understand and agree with the well deserved criticism it’s detractors have given the author and her novels.
If anything SJM has reinforced a lot of what not to do for me and which overplayed tropes to stay away from in my own writing, I’m also quite done with the YA genre for a good long while.
On the writing front, I’d given myself until the 15th to be scared and avoid getting started on my own original novel, and I managed to stay true to my word. Since the 15th I’ve written just under 3000 words, and believe I’m nearly done with chapter 1. It’s still early days, but I’m committing to a minimum of 13 hours a week towards writing, I’m not at a point where I will be tracking word count, my goal is to get the story down, and finish it. I’ll worry about word count and editing later. I’m still firmly planted in the honeymoon phase of my writing where I’m confident in my characters and plots, and excited about writing. The pulling teeth, self doubt and despair parade has yet to make an appearance, but I know it will, and I’m determined to push through it when it does.
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Jan 11, 2017 Representing Hufflepuff colors even though I am a Ravenclaw. Just spreading the love! What house are you in? . I am ready for the last book of ToG. I still haven't read EoS. I think I might wait for the last book to come out to marathon the series. It's been so long since I read this series I have forgotten which book is my favorite. 💛🖤 #lajbchallenge - Chapter 12 #quoththenewyearbookchallenge - books & funko #january2017bookchallenge - black books #insidethepagesnewyear - yellow & black 💛🖤 #bookstagram #funko #yellow #black #books #chapter12 #tog #primitive #read #openbook #evilqueen #snowhite #fantasy #bookworm #booklover #bookish #bookaddict #bookaholic
#primitive#bookaddict#yellow#fantasy#books#evilqueen#booklover#black#openbook#bookworm#tog#january2017bookchallenge#read#bookstagram#lajbchallenge#snowhite#funko#insidethepagesnewyear#quoththenewyearbookchallenge#chapter12#bookaholic#bookish
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This whole scene with Nehemia is leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
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I cannot believe it's already March! I would ask where all the time has gone, but if you're anything like me, the time has been spent in the same place for the last year (eesh).
Anyway, I thought I would share my March TBR with you all here. I have around 10 books on it, but honestly I would be thrilled to read 5 of them. I feel a tiny bit of a reading slump coming on, especially after the marathon month of February.
On the list I have a few ARCs I received from NetGalley, a couple books from the Throne of Glass series, and several from my never-ending TBR backlog. My birthday was a few days ago and while I would have loved some books, my shelves are sighing in relief lol.
What books would you like to read this month?
To Love and To Loathe by Martha Waters (ARC, coming out April 6th, 2021). A Regency-era romance about a woman who loves her independence making a wager with her friend that he won't marry within the year. Romance and hijinks ensue.
A Coat of Yellow Paint by Naomi Davis (ARC, coming out April 6th, 2021). A collection of essays about motherhood, life, and remaining balanced in a world that pulls you into 1000 different directions. Written by the creative mind behind the blog Love, Taza.
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint (ARC, coming out May 4th, 2021). A retelling of Theseus, Ariadne and the Minotaur. One of my most anticipated books of 2021. Also the first Goodreads giveaway I've ever won!
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas. The fifth installment of the Throne of Glass series.
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas. The sixth installment of the Throne of Glass series (SJM/ToG fans out there- can I buddy read this with the fifth book? Or should I read it afterwards? I know it doesn't necessarily follow the events of the fifth book)
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. A puzzle book following the house of Piranesi and all the twists and turns it contains, as well as Piranesi's exploration of the house and its inhabitants.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. Addie LaRue sells her soul to the devil in exchange for immortality, but as soon as she moves out of someone's line of sight they forget about her forever.
Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane (ARC, coming out May 4th, 2021). Four friends in their thirties have their trust and friendship tested after one event threatens to undo everything they thought they had and known.
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Septys. Historical fiction detailing the tragedies of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustoff through four fictional yet historically-accurate voices.
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. A non-fiction book detailing the rise of segregation in the United States based off of housing laws.
#rose is reading#rose will be reading#march tbr#to be read#march#to love and to loathe#Martha waters#arc#a coat of yellow paint#Naomi davis#atria#flatiron books#ariadne#Jennifer saint#April releases#may releases#empire of storms#tower of dawn#Sarah j maas#throne of glass#piranesi#Susanna clarke#the invisible life of Addie larue#ve schwab#just last night#mhairi mcfarlane#salt to the sea#ruta sepetys#the color of law#Richard rothstein
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RESUMEN DI ANJA 2018 di 297sports PARTI 7: Deporte di Resistencia, Massa y Extremo tambe a briya den 2018
RESUMEN DI ANJA 2018 di 297sports PARTI 7: Deporte di Resistencia, Massa y Extremo tambe a briya den 2018
E deportenan di Resistencia, Massa y Extremo tambe e briya den 2018 unda mas y mas persona a dicidi di tuma e reto pa wak con bon realmente nan condicion fisico ta. Cada prueba riba su mes tabata pisa pero e statisfacion mas grandi ta ora e met wordo logra.
Total Trail Challenge powered by Total Services Aruba
E Total Trail Challenge powered by Total Services Aruba tabata un careda di 5km cu a pasa den e areanan pisa di Rooi Taki y Cunucu 297. Esaki sin duda tabata un careda cu a exigi hopi resistencia ficiso unda cada coredor a wordo getest riba nan condicion fisico. E careda aki tabata exitoso unda varios coredor elite di Aruba a bay pa e reto.
1st Annual Indian Enduro Race den Mountain bike
E 1st Annual Indian Enduro Race den mountain bike a tuma lugar den e propio Rooi Taki y becindario. Mas cu claro e recorido aki di 5km no tabata nada facil y tabata uno hopi heavy mes. Tipo di caredanan ta exigi cierto preparacion si kier logra resultado satisfactorio. Den e careda aki tambe hopi amante di MTB a challenge nan mes riba un pacour sumamente dificil.
Ambos evento a wordo organisa pa ViperStrong
Ronde van Aruba 2018
E 26 edicion di e Ronde van Aruba – MSK Savanetatabata magistral.
Cada aña e careda aki ta uno mas grandi y mas mihor cu un bon organisacion su tras. Tur anja nos ta experencia momentonan sigur inolvidabel den e Ronde van Aruba organisa pa OS&O MSK Savaneta. Momentonan bunita unda hopi grupo, duo y atletanan individual ta haci un sacrificio grandi pa logra un bon resultado. E anja aki nos por a mira e coredorJoatham Kock y tambe Alwyn Lanoy cu ta momentonan cu a acapara nos atencion.
KLM Aruba Marathon
Den luna di juni e KLM Aruba Marathon a haci su debut na Aruba. Mester bisa cu un grupo grandi di canador y coredor a participa na e 5, 10, 21 y 42 kilometer den e area di Marriot, Malmok, Arashi y besindario. Team Sport Caribe Aruba a arasa den e KLM Aruba Marathon 2018. E grupo di atleta patrosina pa Sport Caribe Aruba, cas di e famoso marca mundial Adidas y Reebok a hasi un tremendo papel den e KLM ARUBA MARATHON 2018.
E 42km Full Marathon a wordo gana pa e coredor Jesus Galea(Galea Galea Galea), mientras e 21km Half Marathon a wordo gana pa e atletanan Amadee Nicolaas den e categoria femenino mientras Veronique Veronique ta keda na un di tres lugar. E atleta Romar Arendsz ta keda na di dos lugar den e categoria masculino y Al Kock den e top 8. E 10km a wordo gana pa Kelvin Gama GonzalezGonzales di Viper Strong den e categoria masculino. E 5km a wordo gana pa Zhyon Geerman tambe di Viper Strong. Tambe nos a haya un bon prestacion di henter e grupo di ViperStrong.
Urban Sport Caribe 5k Run
Jonathan Busby y Lana Golbert ta triunfa den e prome Urban Sport Caribe 5k Run.
Bou di un publica grandi di mirones, e prome edicion di e Urban Sport Caribe 5k Run a tuma lugar den Centro di Oranjestad. Alrededor di 450 participante a yega den oranan di atardi Sport Caribe pa asina participa na e Urban Run aki. A inicia cu e 1 Kids Mile Run unda varios mucha muher y homber a race 1.6km den Caya Grandi.
Despues a sigui cu e Urban Run and Walk recreativo y competitivo unda e core un total di 5 kilometer den e area di Oranjestad bou di un dushi ambiente. Aki e conocido coredor Jonathan Busby a logra gana e careda net dilanti Giannon Eights y Kelvin Gonzalez. Den e categoria femenino, e prome premio a bay pa Lana Gobert na di dos lugar a keda Kirah Regales mientras na di tres lugar a termina Pauline Vackier.
King of The Hill
King of the Hill hopi exitoso
Den un solo palabra pabien!!! E organisadornan di e magno evento King of the Hill por mira tras di un evento super exitoso. Na nos yegada por a ripara cu e King of the Hill lo bay haya su acohida mirando cu tanto e publico y e participantenan a responde den forma masal riba e invitacion. Tabata busca un doño di Hooiberg pero pa bira esaki mester a subi e sero mas liher posibel. Esun mas liher por a yama su mes King of the Hill.
E hoben triatleta Giannon Eights a lo largo ta e persona cu a subi e sero di Hooiberg mas rapido marcando un tempo di 3.33 cual sigur ta hopi liher mes. No obstante di e awacero cu a basha un rato bastante duro y e trapinan di Hooiberg cu por slip un poco, esaki no a descurasha y stroba e competidornan di registra un bon tempo. Tur tabata determina pa e premio gordo cu tabata warda nan.
E fastest stair man, e Finlandes Mårten Boström a pone un show inolvidabel ora cu e la clock un tempo di 2 minuut y 59 seconde cual ta hopi liher mes. Mester bisa cu Jordy Vinck(3.46), Jorman Munos(3.52) y Romar Arendsz(3.54) ta esnan cu a finalisa tras di e hoben Giannon Eights.
Caminata di 4 dia di Aruba Bank
“E Caminata di Aruba” esaki ta e apodo pa e evento annual di Aruba Bank cu ta organisa nan caminata di 4 dia cu cada dia ta sali for di diferente area rond di nos isla. Un caminata cu ta hala mas cu 2500 persona tur anja y cu den un tempo record, kizas 4ora of menos ya ta Sold Out den inscripcion. Mirando e exito y cada bes improvisando con pa haci esaki cada bes mas mihor no tin duda cu den 2019 Aruba Bank su caminata lo bira The Bomb.
Urataka Run 2018 presenta pa i-Run Aruba
E di dos Urataka Run cu i-Run Aruba a organisa sin duda tabata uno grandisimo. Riba e fecha di Januari 13 tabata e 5K “URATAKA RUN & WALK”. Esaki originalmente tabata e di 20 edicion di “URATAKA RUN & WALK” cu a cuminsa y caba na Urataka Center/ Best Pizza. E “URATAKA RUN & WALK” a hasi uso di professional timing system mientras tur participante a ricibi su medaya
Fitville 2018 tabata un reto grandi pa mayoria crossfitters den 2018
E Fitville 2018 sin duda tabata uno pisa cu hopi reto. For di e prome dia caba e participantenan mester a inicia cu nan prome ehercicionan mientras pa 10or di anochi tur cos a finalisa. Tur e dianan no tabata nada facil. E diferente ehecicionan a bira un berdadero pesadiya pa hopi participante. Cada buelta tabata manera un e reto nobo. E mayoria participante a tog purba finalisa den e tempo prescribi. E bataya contra holishi no tabata nada facil. E organisadornan di e Fitville a scohe e ehercicionan conciente y apto pa tur cu ta praktica Crossfit na tur nivel. Den 2019 ta premira un otro exitoso Fitville.
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We Cannot See Behind Us
I was trudging along on the steepest hill portion of the Lilac Day race in Spokane, Washington. ^This annual run/walk is a big event around here. By now, I was an estimated half way on the course, and the slowest runners had finished. My family was already at the hotel changing out of their sweaty running togs, showering and getting ready for the celebratory brunch. (They would have downed the free Mimosas, and stood in line, heaped their plates and would just be finishing and starting their coffee, when I would trudge in. This was the fourth year of our attendance so I knew the drill) Just ahead of me was a sturdy, if white haired woman, pushing a wheel chair, and wearing a T-shirt that read “I hope to God someone is back here reading this!” I still applaud her sentiments. Sometimes, just Not Being Last is a victory.
I remember a New York Marathon covered on TV. One of the participants was a young person on crutches, with metal braces on their legs. As they racers ran, people lined the streets to cheer them on. but the streets were long returned to Business as Usual, as the gallant “Last Man”, struggled, stumbled and drag past. The camera was following this attempt, and they would give accurate street names, two blocks ahead. New Yorkers, (at this point untried by 911, and having a reputation for stepping over the unconscious person laying on the ground to get where they were going) poured out of everywhere to line the streets and cheer themselves hoarse. The gallant “Runner” finished to as many cheers as had the gallant winner, hours before.
Neither the wheel chair pushing woman, nor that runner, looked back to see if anyone was really behind them.Each performed a mini-miracle by just finishing. (I stayed behind the lady, altho I could have passed her, which meant the others actually were leaving when I arrived! And I didn’t care a fig) My heart was aching at the amazing act of courage, and the warmth of heart showed every step of the way in what is often the loneliest city in America. Many years have gone by since these events. I never knew the people involved. But they still affect my Life. Still appear to me when times get Hard, and urge me forward, altho no cheering crowd await my arrival, and no T-shirt marks the event. You never know how your passing along will affect someone else. Never look back, that way slows one down, look forward, throw your shoulders back, and lean into the wind. Your train may be more glorious than you ever dared to ream.
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