rocky41_7: (Default)
[personal profile] rocky41_7
Today I finished the latest book in the Baru Cormorant series (fourth book remains to-be-released), The Tyrant Baru Cormorant. Y'all, Baru is so back.

! Spoilers for books 1 & 2 below !
 
If you've looked at other reviews for the series, you may have seen book 2, The Monster Baru Cormorant, referred to as the series' "sophomore slump." I disagree, but I understand where the feeling comes from. The Monster feels like a prelude, a setting of the board, for The Tyrant. The Monster puts all the pieces in place for the cascade of schemes and plays that come in The Tyrant. They almost feel like one book split into two (which is fair—taken together, they represent about a thousand pages and would make for one mammoth novel).
 
If you felt like Baru was too passive in The Monster and that there wasn't enough scheming going on, I can happily report those things are wholly rectified in The Tyrant. Having located the infamous and quasi-mythological Cancrioth at the end of The Monster, Baru wastes no time in whipping into full savant plotting mode.
 
The book starts off strong, with a clever framing: Baru is recollecting her encounter with the Cancrioth and what came after to a troublingly gentle Farrier, who is probing her for certain specifics.  (And by the way, Dickinson takes the cake for the most creative use of cancer I've ever seen in a fantasy novel.) This, combined with the occasional flashback continuing the story of Prince Hill, make for a beautifully chronologically 3D  look at our story, as past, present, and future all orbit around each other until they finally connect fully. 
 
Here we really see Baru and Yawa's rivalry take off, and it's delightful to watch these two go at it: the young upstart savant and the time-tested, battle-scarred old schemer. Even when they're aiming for the same goal they can't help but be at odds! And Dickinson never lets either of them slouch to give the other an easy win: he continues to excel at making sure the players around Baru are working actively towards their own goals, presenting reasonable challenges even to Baru's quick mind.
 
Tau-indi continues to be a standout character for me, and I'm not convinced their take on the world won't win out in the end. As they continue to press the importance of personal connection, and Baru questions who she's helping (or hurting) with her plans, and what the real victory will be, everyone around can't seem to stop themselves from wondering if Tau has a valid point about trim. This is perhaps nowhere truer than in the final reveals that bring the full story of Farrier, Cosgrad, and the Prince Hill trio into the present timeline. These interpersonal relationships formed when all these people were much younger are still echoing around Falcrest, the Mbo, and the Ashen Sea as a whole. 
 
The Tyrant perhaps more directly than the other two novels asks Baru what she is willing to sacrifice to destroy Falcrest. Already she has given up Tain Hu, her first love, to wield power as an unbound cryptarch. But in The Tyrant, Baru is confronted head-on with the civilian cost of taking Falcest out at the knees. Not of members of Falcrest's ruling class, but the everyday people both of Falcrest and of the other parts of the empire—of Aurdwynn, of Taranoki, of the Occupation. The Tyrant makes Baru confront whether she considers those lives a necessary loss to ensure Falcrest's downfall. In this way, the story never loses sight of the stakes, which Baru is constantly weighing—on one hand, the suffering and death caused by Falcrest itself, and on the other, the suffering and death which may result from knocking Falcrest out of play entirely. Dickinson balances them well. 
 
Baru underwent a lot of change in The Traitor, but remained largely static throughout The Monster. Her character is much more dynamic in The Tyrant, and she undergoes a lot of character growth both within and in how she relates to others, and even in how she processes the memory of Hu. She's forced to confront parts of her past that drive her reckoning towards the above question about sacrifice, and I got the feeling by the end that Baru had finally truly positioned herself, clear and steeled, for the fight with the empire. 
 
Also, we finally get a masquerade party—and really, how could we have a series called "The Masquerade" without having at least one masque? It goes just as well as you might imagine.
 
Based on the author's note, I'm not expecting to see book four anytime soon, but I will eagerly await it nonetheless—I absolutely must see this conclusion.

Crossposted to [community profile] books , [community profile] booknook and [community profile] fffriday 

Check-In Post - July 10th 2025

Jul. 10th, 2025 07:19 pm
badly_knitted: (Get Knitted)
[personal profile] badly_knitted posting in [community profile] get_knitted

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.


This Week's Question: What do you like to listen to / watch while crafting?


If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!



Another inheritance

Jul. 10th, 2025 10:42 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
Myrna was my puzzle buddy. If the puzzle was too hard, she's busy herself organizing the pieces by color and/or by shape. She was always on the project. Bonny does some puzzle and more lately, I think to fill in.

BUT, Myrna's good friend, Dick (of Dick and Jan who moved into Myrna's apartment) LOVES puzzles!!! More than Myrna. More than me! He also suffers from One More Piece-itis. They came back from their doctor's appointment and Jan went in to pack and Dick said "I'll be in after I find a piece or two."

I have a new puzzle buddy.

Tech neck - I haz it

Jul. 10th, 2025 08:49 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
Phone, tablets, laptops, knitting... my neck and shoulders are killing me. Probably the only thing saving me is volleyball, where my head is aimed upward for 2 solid hours 3 times a week. But, that's not enough. I need to concentrate on posture and my neck.

But, speaking of laptops. A while back, I spent a whole $30 on an Android tablet that was on sale. It was a generic one that has good specs but it's really a $30 piece of shit. Then Amazon cut off Google from their software. Google apps won't install on Fire tablets and Fire tablets won't install anything Google. I have one good but really ancient Lenovo tablet and I wanted to make sure it has an in house backup so I've been waiting for Prime Days for a decent price. I bought an 8 inch because they don't make 7 inchers any more. It was $60 and arrived yesterday. Especially after fucking with/fighting the $30 noname one, the Fire tablet is really excellent. It's fast and sharp with great graphics. I got it loaded up with everything I wanted and am delighted. It's very weird not to have Chrome but it's doable. I mostly use it for games and videos anyway.

It's another wonderful cloudy day. The last one for a while I think. It would be a perfect day to go out - make my latest Amazon return and stop in at Safeway. I might. I might not.

My car is getting near it's annual checkup time. I got a text from the repair place this morning. But, I think I'll wait until the 'repair time' light comes on. Or at least not get all fretty about it until then. It's so easy to do here in Issaquah that it's also easy to not do.

20250709_201330-COLLAGE
garryowen: (trek Kirk Spock TOS)
[personal profile] garryowen posting in [community profile] fancake
Fandom: Star Trek TOS
Pairings/Characters: Kirk/Spock
Rating: G
Length: 1 min 41 sec
Creator Links: [archiveofourown.org profile] indeedcaptain
Theme: Working together, outsider POV

Summary: the flagship may not be all it's cracked up to be

Reccer's Notes: Have you ever wondered what it's like to work with a commanding officer who has zero judgment when it comes to the captain and who does shit like almost kill him while under the influence of Vulcan mating hormones? Or how about working under a captain who has zero judgment when it comes to his first, and is always doing shit like risking his life and the ship to save his first's life? This short song captures what that must be like. It's the little things like trying to get your damn performance review submitted to Starfleet.

I'm not super into filk, but this one is well-written, with fun rhymes and nice progression from beginning to end. It'll put a smile on your face.

Fanwork Links: HR Violations on the USS Enterprise

Check-In Post - July 9th 2025

Jul. 9th, 2025 08:04 pm
badly_knitted: (Get Knitted)
[personal profile] badly_knitted posting in [community profile] get_knitted

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.


This Week's Question: What do you like to listen to / watch while crafting?


If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!



Cloudy morning

Jul. 9th, 2025 08:01 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
It's rare to get a cloudy morning this time of year so I'm wallowing in this one. I can have the shades up and watch the world go by or watch my little tiny bit of it anyway.

Night before last, I slept like crap. I made up for it last night. When I woke up this morning, most of my quilt was just as it was when I crawled in. I not only slept but, apparently, didn't move.

Today I have nothing on the agenda at all. Nothing. Which is luxurious.

I had to call Key Bank today. The aim of their 800 number is to ensure no one ever ever ever calls it twice. They are, I'm sure, extremely successful. I know I won't be doing that again. I have a CD which matures in two weeks. I got a notice telling me to call with instructions unless I wanted it to roll over. I do not. So I called. I had to enter the last four of my social. Then I had to enter my 10 digit account number (which took me 3 tries) then I got a woman who wanted to know my name and what I wanted. She put me on hold twice. The hold music is volume 25 and includes a chipper voice telling me shit I do not care one single bit about. I got it twice. Then she transferred me to some dude who had the same chipper voice and I had to go through the whole thing again - name, what I wanted. Then he, in 3 paragraphs of words that were not at all needed and included his personal vacation plans(????), told me I had to call back after the maturation date. Yeah, no.

Key Bank is my backup bank. They have two physical branches here and have actual money at the branches. I figure some day that might come in handy so I keep the account open. When the CD matures, I will go into one of those branches and close the CD and find out exactly how much they want on deposit to starve off account fees and then move the rest to my main account at BECU which also has a branch here in town but that branch has no $.

I've made all my Amazon Prime Day purchases except 1 and I'm still thinking about it. No more shopping needed. And I'm caught up on returns.

The Phillies play at noon and I'm having chicken teriyaki for lunch again.

I might cut my hair this morning. Or at least take a little off the top.

20250709_083003-COLLAGE

Hello

Jul. 9th, 2025 01:54 am
jayregee: (Warning Whine Alert)
[personal profile] jayregee posting in [community profile] addme
Name: Regis

Age: 46

I mostly post about: I am Bipolar. So, it varies. My mood, life and fandoms seem to be the main topics of conversation. Plus, my homosexuality is on topic so my post can get to be adults only. Since it's FRIENDS ONLY there are no warnings.

My hobbies are: making icons, video games, my movie collection. (PHYSICAL MEDIA RULES!)

My fandoms are: Doctor Who, various yaoi anime, Friday the 13th and other horror movies, mystery TV shows like Perry Mason and Columbo. I am also big on the MCU AND DCU.

I'm looking to meet people who: Other gay men and allies. I do not have much a support system at home. So being bipolar I tend to need someone to listen. Even if they do not comment. Also, if I get to be too much, just skip the post. LOL!

My posting schedule tends to be: daily/weekly/monthly/sporadic/etc I try to get at least 3 posts a week in unless we didn't pay the internet bill.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Homophobes, racists, MAGA and other Trump supporters.

Before adding me, you should know: I can be a whiner from time to time. It's my way of getting my feeling out. If that isn't for you, I understand.

Nice to Meet You ♥

Jul. 9th, 2025 01:07 am
melanindollxo: (melanindollxo - 6)
[personal profile] melanindollxo posting in [community profile] addme
Name: Jasmine ♥

Age: 30s



I mostly post about: my life, thoughts, my wins & lessons. I like to think deeply and analyze situations or people, and take time to reflect. I'm very much into self-growth, and focusing on a healthier lifestyle may include recipes, as well as currently watching and reading. Overall, it's a special place to connect with others.



My hobbies are: reading, dancing/listening to music, binge watching random shows, meditating, yoga, knitting, buying notebooks and not using them fully, researching vitamins, online shopping, baking, cooking and juicing.



My fandoms are:not really into fandoms too much anymore, however, if you enjoy it, I don't judge since I have moments.



I'm looking to meet people who: I'd love to make some new friends on here, as a LJ vet. I'm looking for anyone who wants to connect, enjoys commenting, and is active. I'm open-minded and pretty down-to-earth.



My posting schedule tends to be: Most likely weekly, and I'll be a pretty active commentor =)



When I add people, my dealbreakers are: not into the haters, homophobic, racists, politics-focused types - I spread love and that's what I appreciate in return.



Before adding me, you should know: I'm Canadian & pretty new to DW but definitely not new to journaling since I used to be on LJ for years. I comment and I am not shy. I'm looking to interact with anyone 21+. I spread love, I enjoy uplifting others, helping ppl through healing, and just being a genuine person. Feel free to add me ♥



Some of my posts may be nsfw, I'm raw & explicit sometimes, we're adults going through adult things lol.

(no subject)

Jul. 8th, 2025 03:03 pm
chromaskies: (Default)
[personal profile] chromaskies posting in [community profile] addme
Name: B or Bee (either is fine)

Age: 36

I mostly post about: Anything and everything, really. Questionnaires, creations (see hobbies :)), mind contents, articles,

My hobbies are: Sewing, jewelry making, self-care, fitness (beginner), cozy video games, photography (also very beginner), macrame, collecting stickers (I'm starting a sticker album!), restaurant/brewery adventures, Hello Kitty/Sanrio collecting (very minor hobby as I don't have money to go hard on it lol....or the space to) and finally researching/learning different topics is fun too.

My fandoms are: While I'm not super into fandom, I do like to make icons from games. A couple that I'm playing are Animal Crossing: New Horizons/Pocket Camp and Stardew, but I wouldn't say I'm into shipping or anything like that. I guess light fandom? I dunno lol.

I'm looking to meet people who:Hobby/creative friends who want a friendship and won't just quit on me when I go through a rough time. While I'm getting better, I do still deal with low mood, but having friends I can turn to when it get's heavy is wonderful. I will do the same for you.

My posting schedule tends to be: Coming back from a bit of a hiatus, I'll probably start posting weekly, until I get back in the swing of things, but I want to post every other day or every third day.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Mean people, those who are vicious with friend cuts, Trump supporters/the whole make America great movement,

Before adding me, you should know: See my "Looking to Meet People" please. Other than that, I can't really think of anything else.

Check-In Post - July 8th 2025

Jul. 8th, 2025 07:49 pm
badly_knitted: (Get Knitted)
[personal profile] badly_knitted posting in [community profile] get_knitted

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.


This Week's Question: What do you like to listen to / watch while crafting?


If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!



Tuesday

Jul. 8th, 2025 09:02 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
House cleaning day. And another trip to UPS for Amazon returns. But, I might hold off on that one as I have an order coming in today that might need to go back out. Hopefully not. But, no sense in making two trips if one will work.

I was out working on the puzzle yesterday when my neighbor Jim came by and showed me a photo. He has 2 full bathrooms, one of which only guests use and he hasn't had a guest in a month or so. Sunday night, he was watching TV and hear a very loud noise. Like a boom. He looked around the apartment and didn't see anything amiss. Then Monday, his house cleaning day, his cleaner said 'do you want me to clean up the mess in the bathroom?' He was quite perplexed so went to look. The glass shower door in his spare bathroom had shattered into a million pieces!!! Yikes on a stick.

Once word of this gets out, there will be repercussions and lots of discussions. I was telling my friend Steve about it and now he's REALLY looking forward to his Operations Committee Meeting this week. I'm going to keep using the showers in the gym. Nice, soft curtains there.

But it's early access to prime shit like this that keeps me working those puzzles.

I've been jonesin for some chicken teriyaki for a while. I've tried a couple of places around here that were ok but not fabulous. Then it popped up on the lunch menu this week so I tried it yesterday. Perfection!!! I may have it every day this week.

20250707_184120-COLLAGE

SGA: Nils Nisi Bonum by Dossier

Jul. 8th, 2025 12:46 pm
mific: John sheppard head and shoulders against gold orange sunset (Sheppard orange)
[personal profile] mific posting in [community profile] fancake
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Genfic. John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Elizabeth Weir, Rodney McKay, Aiden Ford, Steven Caldwell, Jack O'Neill, Cowen
Rating: G
Length: 27,574
Content Notes: Major character death. John has no special relationship with Atlantis and dislikes the city's voice in his head. Dossier's original Notes are here.
Creator Links: dossier on AO3
Themes: Working together, Character development, Teamwork, Action/adventure, Genfic

Summary: I had set the galaxy afire because she had given me her loyalty and trust.

Reccer's Notes: Yes, it's MCD, but hear me out. Dossier creates an AU story of Sheppard as Laurence of Arabia, eventually saving Pegasus from the Wraith. Like Laurence, he dies in a motor vehicle accident, which happens right at the start so you know what you're in for. The structure works well - a 3rd person account of his death, then the story itself from the expedition's arrival in Atlantis, told in John's first person POV like T. E. Laurence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom", then a last 3rd person section about his death and the birth of his legend. Sheppard doesn't mercy-kill Sumner in this - he remains ostracised and mistrusted by the mainstream military and carves out a role for himself by "going native" and working together with Teyla and the Athosians, and eventually other Pegasus peoples, finally masterminding an alliance that destroys the Wraith, but being wounded himself and losing 20 or so years from a Wraith feeding. As with Laurence, he's ultimately tormented by the deaths he feels responsible for along the way, especially the massive genocide of the Wraith, and he dies on Earth, alone and largely unrecognised. But in Pegasus, it's a very different story. Not a comfort read, but a powerful and well-told story that fits Sheppard's character.

Fanwork Links: Nils Nisi Bonum

Recent Playing: Disco Elysium

Jul. 7th, 2025 05:21 pm
rocky41_7: (bg3)
[personal profile] rocky41_7
This weekend I finished my first playthrough of Disco Elysium, a primarily text-based game which involves investigating a murder in a fictional world.
 
It's difficult to know what to say about Disco Elysium. The game has, as you may or may not have heard, a phenomenal amount of text in it, and you will only encounter a portion of it on any given playthrough. Having been through it only once, I've seen only a fraction of the game's full text. And it has a lot to say.
 
There's no political scheme that makes it out unscathed in Disco Elysium, from the equivocating and ineffective centrists to the racist fascists to the nostalgia-brained royalists to the flailing and failed communists to the selfish capitalists. Revachol, the country in which the game takes place, is a former monarchy-turned-violent-communist-revolution where other, wealthier nations eventually decided to intervene and now Revachol is ruled by a coalition government of outsiders. Given this situation (the revolution was roughly fifty years prior to the events in-game), everyone has an opinion on politics here. 
 
And the writing is remarkable! Incredibly descriptive, willing to make dark jokes which fit the characters at play while also creating moments of beautiful poignancy and pretty brutal commentary on the state of Revachol and what's been done to it and its people. There are truly lovely moments in Disco Elysium, but this is by no means a light-hearted or cozy game. Revachol, and the neighborhood in which the PC works in particular, is a pit. It's been made that way by the events of the last century, but a pit it is, and one that is teetering on the outbreak of further violence.
 
Furthermore, the PC, whose name I will not share for story reasons, is an absolute wreck of a man. Whatever you are picturing, it's worse. At least a dozen times I looked over my dialogue options and cringed at having to choose one of those. This guy undoubtedly should have been kicked off the force years ago, and muses at one point about whether or not he was sent on this case as a way to clown a rival police department (because he's such a loser). But the writers certainly have created a memorable character, and the PC certainly stands apart from stereotypes of competent lone wolf detectives. This guy wakes up in the opening scene of the game and can't remember his name or what the case is he's supposed to be investigating. 
 
I really enjoyed getting the glimpses into the lives of the NPCs, which felt rich and varied, and you could really believe they had their own stuff going on when the PC wasn't around. Disco Elysium presents a colorful and believable cast of characters hanging around this struggling neighborhood in a struggling country trying to overcome both its past and its present. And it's hard to advance anywhere in the main story if you aren't helping some of these folks out; it's the connections with the people around him that help the PC succeed for the most part, and offering a helping hand to people who've long grown accustomed to being kicked while they're down is the only real way to start breaking down the mistrust and tension in the city.
 
Complimenting this triumph of writing is the artwork! Absolutely gorgeous; vivid, detailed, and full of so much character, both in the designs of the characters themselves as well as the captivating scenery. I was in love with the look of this game from the start and I'm still in awe.
 
Similarly, the voice acting here was great. Since the game is largely text-based, it really relies on the art and the actors to bring it to life, and they do not shirk. Each character voice is unique and appropriate to the given character; I can't think of any who stood out to me as weak links. A superb job by the whole cast.
 
My only complaint is that I was not in love with the gameplay. Advancing the plot, either in main quests or side quests, often relies on passing skill checks. Many can be re-tried ad nauseum, but will become locked once you've failed it, and can only be unlocked by investing XP in the necessary skill. The area you can explore is relatively limited, which means it's unfortunately easy to end up in the position of not being able to advance the plot because the checks are locked, and not being able to unlock the checks because you're out of ways to gain XP. It made parts of the game a very dull slog for me and I had to convince myself to keep going, at some points brute forcing my way through plot-necessary skill checks just to get things moving again.

The "thought cabinet" mechanic is also lacking. While it's an interesting concept and a great idea for story/gameplay integration (various events in-game can trigger thoughts which you can internalize for various benefits or drawbacks), it just doesn't work very well. It takes hours of in-game time to internalize a thought into the network--and time only passes when you're in conversation, so you can spent thirty minutes running around Revachol and not have passed a minute of in-game time--and you can't see before engaging with it what the benefits or drawbacks of a thought might be. So you may spend an XP and hours to internalize a thought only to realize it's useless, or worse, detrimental to your play style. Then you have to spend another XP to remove that thought. It's unnecessarily clunky. 
 
However, having played it once and being more aware of the constraints of the gameplay, I probably will play it again, and hopefully avoid that issue, because the writing and characters in the game really do make it worth additional playthroughs I think. On the whole it's a very well-done game and deserves the attention its received. 

Crossposted to [community profile] gaming 

NFW

Jul. 7th, 2025 03:15 pm
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
When I asked the podiatrist what kind of shoes I should wear, he pulled out a piece of paper that listed all kinds of shoes and marked 3. All were barely under $200. The least offensive, looks wise, was Brooks and I ordered them. They are horrible huge clunky trainer type shoes. I sent the first pair back because they were too short. Well, guess, what the second pair are too short, too. Fuck. It. I'm not spending that kind of money on shoes that I hate. So these go back. He also told me about a store he recommends. I know where it is and it's not a horrible ride from here and relatively easy to get to. Maybe I'll go there.

I picked up the IRS letter. yep. They are taking another 90 days. This will probably go on for years.

Aqua yoga with the new guy was ok. Not fabulous but ok.

Style Credit

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