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daisymylove · 7 months

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Sword catcher spoilers, speculations and theories about "Ragpicker King" and some ramblings ahead, proceed at your own discretion.

So I'm 90% sure Vienne is alive and we will find it out when lin comes to the palace to treat her

She has an official art and there was a whole snippet about her, I don't see the point of making all that fuss about a character that was going to have three interactions with Kel (speaking of which, I kind of shipped them even tho I know ana will be his end game 👉🏻👈🏻 am I the only one?), kill some random guys and bite the dust. On top of that her arc was about to get so interesting. She is a trained assassin, oath bound to protect this little girl, whom she loves deeply, until she dies, but then her charge was murdered, and her life's mission came crashing down on her. The angst, the potential.Her dying would be a huge waste.

I don't question Jolivet's loyalty, at least not now, but Markus is not a mentally stable person (btw whats up with him? does anyone have a theory?).I think he lied she was dead bc markus may have killed her otherwise and, as dangerous as she is, Vienne may be more useful to them alive than dead with the possibility of a war looming over.I also don't discard the possibility that he may have personal ties to vienne and/or her family. The whole covering her with his cape could have been a show of respect for the black guard if she's really dead, like kel thought, but compounding with the fact that, even tho she charged on conor, jolivet did nothing to either stop or harm her, it struck me as oddly affectionate. Anyone can correct me if im wrong, but I dont remember kel mentioning anything about an accent, which makes me assume she speaks their language on a native level, so there's that

One thing I didn't like was that this trained bad ass assassin was completely unarmed during such an important event.Kel is always armed, even when impersonating conor he had a dagger on his person. Granted, it's easier to conceal weapons on male attire, but it would've been more realistic if she'd had at least one dagger, had been forced to use it and thus was left unarmed. Its not enough to tackle all those guys, as kel himself thought, but she wouldn't have been helpless.

I'm also 90% sure Lin and conor are going to have sex on a beach, I'm willing to bet money on it.I've read way too many books by Cc to not recognize her foreshadowing. Besides, she's fond of writing sex scenes on peculiar locations.

The "yes I'm the goddess come back" may have been scheming on Lin's part (loved that btw) but I'm sure she actually is the goddess come back. She will also be queen, as the prophecy foretells. Charlon saying to luisa "dance for your future court", but Lin ending up being the one to actually dance also reeks of foreshadow.

Now to the ragpicker king, we know almost nothing about andreyen and I have a lot of speculations. First I thought he was the Makabi, what about the ragpicker being a figure that has always existed in Castellane, his symbol being a bird and his having a bowl that allegedly belongs to makabi's lineage. But when he said ragpicker king is a title, which he inherited from another, I put it in the back burner (it hasn't been discarded tho, im not discarding anything for now and he would hardly tell kel "yo I'm this immortal entity and have been forging my death over and over for centuries" if that were the case) in favour of thinking he's the Maharam's exiled son. He's the right age and it makes sense for a boy that has been shunned by everyone and left to fend for himself to turn to crime.

What has been nagging at me, on the other hand, is that he matches Lin's vision of Suleman from her dreams. Pale, tall, handsome, long black hair and when his eyes were going to be described the dream was conveniently interrupted. I'm not saying he is suleman for sure, idk how that would work in practical terms -- is he an immortal and suleman never actually died at the sundering? unlikely, considering Lins dream and how vivid it was. Is he a reincarnation? Under that line of thinking he could be both the exiled boy AND suleman on a single person -- and he could have no relation to him whatsoever, the physical resemblance being just a coincidence (but really?) and I'm just crazy.His interest in the stone and magic in general checks out for both suleman and exiled son, so it isn't really an indicator.

I rather liked andreyen, merren and Ji an, tho, I really don't want him to be the bad guy, but as previously said I'm not discarding anything.It seems pretty obvious to me that he wants to use lin and her abilities in some way, much like he has a use for kel, but that doesn't necessarily mean he has nefarious goals or anything

I think Anjelica, Aimada, the malgasi princess whose name I don't remember now and the prince with the huge bank account will make appearances, they have been mentioned way too much to not feature at all

and what was that dream kel had with fire and phoenixes? There's something there, I can feel it

anyway, that's what I have so far

as a side note, I'm a bit drunk and haven't proofread this properly (i never do when writing on this blog tho, sorry lol), hope its coherent enough

#sword catcher spoilers #sword catcher #kel saren #lin carter #the ragpicker king #conor aurelian #kang ji an #merren asper #vienne d'este

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halevren · 3 months

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FHJY Spoilers || my live thoughts as I watch episode 6

I had to pause Taskmaster NZ for this. Did you guys know that the episodes are on YouTube for FREE?!?!?!?!!?!!

Love the intro as usual, Sarah Barrios goes so hard

HELLO ONE AND ALL!!!!!!!

Hiii intrepid heroes!

AYDA AGUEFORT PLEASE COME BACK I MISS YOU

I wonder if adaine will get a new job this episode

rest in peace Conor Counterspell

I forgot how much happened last episode

"Buttered to perfection"

IT'S ALWAYS HAPPY HOUR AT APPLEBEE'S

RAGHHHHHHHHH

SHE OWES OODLE OF STOODLE?!!??!? SHE LOST HER JOB AND SHE HAS TO PAY THEM?

MILK WITH VODKA...??

"I don't do this to you" I can tell this will be a giggly episode

OH NO. OH NO. THE HELIO RAT GRINDER CLERIC. OH NO

"It's filled with water!"

SPIKED MILK

"Who's a bad baby?" FABIAN I LOVE YOU

CAN YOU FILL THIS RED SOLO CUP WITH BAD BABY MILK

"I'm self sabotaging" I feel you Kristen. I feel you.

"I know in my heart that in his final moments he must have repented and gone—" "No.... No..."

"You should go to hell sometime"

ANOTHER SHRIMP JUMP

HELL HOUND FORM ART OH MY GOD LOOK AT HANGMAN!!!!!

"Smells good"

"Whatever you didn't like about your old self, you feel like, oh, it's present in this kid who is also drinking water out of a beer can." Brennan why must you be so good at pulling heartstrings

Double Kristen 🔥🔥

MOLMAN HOLDEN

SOIL CLUB

AVIATION CLUB

We got like 18 votes 🔥🔥

With disadvantage? oh no.

omg ivy has the same accent as garthy

"Your family is from Fallinel" her mom is gone and she killed her they can't help pay for the diamond

"Hot dragonborn is about to know your shit"

oh adaine... I understand you so well

Adaine and Fabian duo is so under appreciated I need more of them

"Everyone can suck a nut, fuck off"

There is so much sexual tension between Gorgug and Ragh rn

"If you push me too hard, I'm going to shit"

CARBO LOAD ON MILK?

"I think I ate some glass— there was vodka in it???" Oh Ragh my beloved....

Riz rambling is so real

Oh Ragh I love you, you're trying so hard to help I love you you are perfect

LYDIA'S MESSAGE BACK I LOVE HER

CRUSTACEAN NATION

ohhhh Fabian.....

The High 5 Heroes...

OISIN AND IVY... ARE THEY PART OF THE RAT GRINDERS????

"It's not the library, you can't rip the pages out!"

This is a very duo episode. Fig / Kristen, Fabian / Adaine, Gorgug / Riz

I'm starting to think Kristen is trying to be the president of the steelworker union at this rate

FETTY WAP AT HOMECOMING

"I'm gonna be kick flipping the system"

Fantasy High Senior Year main objective is going to be getting Fetty Wap to homecoming

"It's gonna be weird to not be you. I feel home here."

ohhh Emily what are you strategizing rn

oh no.. I think Ivy noticed her change

Fabian is struggling rn

ADAINE, PARTY WIZARD!!!!!!

"I can impersonate the dead when I want"

So much destruction of Fabian's property this episode

ivy isn't very nice. don't go for our girl mazey

THE ICE MUFFETS

oh is Brennan about to make Fabian choose between Ivy and Mazey? I swear to GOD

oh no..... Fabian.....

Mazey being straight laced (?) But still being the absolute life of the party is so good

"(Murph Sobs)"

Fuck the record labels

"Just trying to decide if I want to be bard any more..." OH?

Rough day for Fabian. So rough.

Murph rollin' better.

At least none of them actually did drugs. Just. The bad baby milk. What is the drinking age of Spyre? I don't know

Bad Kids Apicology Arc

OHHHH I LOVE GERTIE THAT'S SO CUTE THE BEE

oh no Fabian vs Gertie

actually it's more like Fabian vs everyone

NEW NEMESIS DETECTED???? OH MY GOD

Riz panic is so real, them getting kicked out of school would be awful

Tracker and Kristen call...........

oh no....

"I'm gonna be President, bitch."

I relate to Kristen too much, this is painful for me to listen to because it's too real

"Maybe she had a shrimp allergy, you don't fuckin' know"

"I hope your new partner is really fucking hot." Oh Kristen

"Riz you're the only one who is honest with me"

OH THE POTENTIAL OVERLAP........

"Tough but fair. Have a great life" KRISTEN.....

Drunk texting Aelwyn.

I MISS AYDA.

Murph is going full investigator rn

The egg slurry

"Fuck!"

I was NOT expecting Fig to be the one to do a full class switch but honestly it's understandable

"We're having to destroy ourselves to pass these classes." As someone who was severely depressed in high school, I resonate with that statement a little too much.

I want to go to a Lydia lunch

"So what's up" Kristen's god is dead.

"took an orb to the chest"

Oh Lydia.... I want to hug her so tightly.

"God baby hospital"

Now I'm hungry for chicken parm

downtime

STRESS TOKENS?????

looks like next episode is dice rolling

#fhjy spoilers #fantasy high spoilers #fantasy high junior year spoilers #dimension 20 #fantasy high #d20 fantasy high #d20 #dimension 20 fantasy high #fantasy high junior year

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shieldedbythunder · 1 month

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Thinking about Thor picking pre-serum Steve up when he needs to reach things on the top shelf.

Barely even takes any effort for him, he just wraps those big hands right around Steve's waist and hoists him up into the air. Steve will swat him and tell him to cut it out, but secretly loves it.

They also find it's also a very handy skill in the bedroom 👀

#steve rogers #thor odinson #thundershield #stevethor #thorsteve #conor rambles #text post

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thatbrightblueshine · 2 months

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that one time leicester are playing us again and coady isn't starting ... but he is here !!! it's like when we played preston and will keane came to visit 🕊️ also the last time coady was at the bridge was when he still played for everton ... this will have been a year ago tomorrow x

#rambles #conor coady literally my favourite human being to ever exist

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stuckasmain · 1 year

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Rewatch notes Act 1-

I like to do this whenever I rewatch something I seriously enjoy, I take notes of all the little things. I couldn’t when I saw the tour but can now.

Anyways, I’ve been given a vid of Conor Ryan’s Christian and most of the old/og(?) tour cast. A few members have changed when I went to see but I believe satine and Santiago are the same. Connor has got to be one of my favorites now. It’s a serious tie between him and John.

Christian is a absolute delight. He looks like a child in a candy store. Wide eyed, mystified, he’s in a place he’s only dreamed of until now and he can’t stop smiling . Toulouse has to drag him around like a toddler

Satine is introduced and he mouths/says her name alongside Zidler I AM UNWELL. This transition to his narration every time is seamless, it’s someone telling a personal story and getting caught up with the emotions they had felt and it’s my heart—

Christian instantly takes to bohemian life and even slips his coat off his shoulder (Santiago looses his mind at this) I love how hard he tries to blend in while also effortlessly impressing everyone he comes across

WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT THEIR HANDSHAKE? Christian, Toulouse and Santiago have a secret little handshake and they do it all the time

Santiago swipes a bottle off a random table and gives it to Christian to calm him down, he chugs and makes a face. Santi takes it back and chugs - only to finally read the label. He hides it in his vest whenever a server walks past. This moment is a small thing in the background but it’s so good.

“She’s a little out of my league, pal!”

“Your genius has no league! Now go fourth and triumph!”

Satine mocks Christian’s American accent “LiMa oHiO”

Christian holds the bottle while Santiago makes his shot at Nini. It does not go well. There’s implications they’re all drinking from it just Santi the most

I love Zidler and Satines dynamic. They knew each other for a long time and it’s nearly paternal - except the Zidler here gets a bit more worked up then others I’ve seen.

Courtney’s facial expressions are top tier the entire show but particularly during the mixup in the elephant.

“My entire future may depend on it”

“…Oh, I hope not!”

You can see the gears in her head turn. She goes to her table completely distraught because- oh no this dork is everything. She fell just as hard for him and I like how it’s especially visible here.

SHE GRABS A FIST FULL OF HIS HAIR WHEN THEY MAKE OUT. MA’AM?!

Santiago might have a thing for the duke. He holds his thigh, leans into his shoulder and makes some glances during the pitch. He also plays with one of satines stuffed tours

“And death!” Santiago pretends to hang and sticks out his tounge moving from side to side. The duke just stares at him for a solid minute. (I hope he knows how fucking funny he is)

Toulouse insists on the lover being a vantrilocist and during a brief portion he and Christian pose as such

Toulouse said “Pocket glitter!!” And he’s so valid

Satine being tired/annoyed in her “come in” she even huffs. Girls not even trying to hide it

Satines Sleepwear/nightwear going from black and rinestones to soft pinks/reds when she meets with the Duke v with Christian.

“I want every moment I can have with you, stolen or not!” Ahghhhhhhhhh!

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alrightbuckaroo · 29 days

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ada!!! i was thinking about your post with poems you think the lone star characters would love, and for nice ask week i was wondering if you have any others you’d add to that list? or if there’s any you really love that you think capture certain characters/relationships on the show? always love to see your recs :’) <3 —maddie/reyesstrand

Maddie!! I love this question so much so thank you for asking it!! <3

I actually planned to make a part two, especially since it's National Poetry Month, but it got a bit away from me so I'm taking this opportunity to just ramble (godspeed to whoever reads this):

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver is one of the most Carlos-coded poems you'll ever have the pleasure of reading. Or maybe it's not, but after using it as basically a thesis for tender eyes that shine, I've decided that it was written for him. Especially:

You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

Hello?? That's Carlos Tomás Reyes in his purest form!

Oh TK, our hopeless romantic self deprecating boy. I think I'm going to give him Molly Brodak by Molly Brodak, one of my favorite poems that makes me want to burst into tears each and every time I read it. When I think of him, I specifically think of the ending, but I think the whole thing could ring true to him:

I am a good man. The amount of fear I am ok with is insane. I love many people who don't love me. I don't actually know if that is true. This is love. It is a mass of ice melting. I can't hold it and I have nowhere to put it down.

Nancy is absolutely getting Aileen Wuornos Takes A Lover Home by Olivia Gatwood because it's one of my favorites and Nancy's one of my favorites, it only makes sense! I think the ending would really get to her in a way she didn't expect, and I don't blame her, because this is the ending:

In a phone call tapped by police, Aileen called Tyria her right arm, her left arm, her breath, how all Tyria could say back was Please tell them, please say it out loud. But Aileen didn’t want to talk about it. She wanted to talk about love. So Tyria would hang up, unsuccessful, and the officer would tell her to Say it like this, tell her she’ll get off, tell her it won’t be so bad. But how, each time, for three days straight, the police listened to Aileen talk about love. About her right arm. Her left arm. Her breath. Her breath. Her breath.

Actually going to tag @sznofthesticks because I feel like you would love this poem as well, and you'll agree that Nancy would love it too.

This is cheating but this song is so poetic I'm going to call it a poem. Owen would listen to You Are Your Mother's Child by Conor Oberst and he would want to sob but then he'd get cry lines. I think the whole thing is so Owen-coded but this part especially:

Out on the diamond, and you're up to bat Chewing your Big League, adjusting your hat Taking a swing and hearing it crack Look at that apple fly Tears will dry if you give them time Life's a roller coaster, keep your arms inside Fear, that's a big emotion But you are your mother's child And she'll have you for a while But someday, you'll be grown Then you'll be on your own

You could tell me Judd wrote I Am Offering this Poem under the pseudonym Jimmy Santiago Baca and I'd believe you. I'd believe he wrote while looking at Grace when she wasn't even looking at him because it has Judd all over it like:

Keep it, treasure this as you would if you were lost, needing direction, in the wilderness life becomes when mature; and in the corner of your drawer, tucked away like a cabin or hogan in dense trees, come knocking, and I will answer, give you directions, and let you warm yourself by this fire, rest by this fire, and make you feel safe I love you,

That's Judd!

Tommy would adore Every Job Has A First Day by Rebecca Gayle Howell. There's a cozy feeling to it, but the final words hold such a heavy weight that I think Tommy would appreciate and carry with her:

I listened as he taught me to relax the hand just enough. They can smell, he said, the oils our pores release when we tense to catch. You have to believe it, he said. You don’t mean any harm.

Speaking of Rebecca's, Marjan is giving me You Are the Penultimate Love of My Life by Rebecca Hazelton vibes in the best way. Maybe it's the romanticizing of something that has an inevitable ending but I feel like this would be Marjan's approach to a break-up, especially this part:

The garden you plant and I plant is tunneled through by voles, the vowels we speak aren’t vows, but there’s something holding me here, for now,

I feel like Paul, like me, would love the work of Cameron Awkward Rich, but specifically The Child Formerly Known As____ and even more specifically, the ending:

& in the end, isn’t that what we all want? To not feel so split? To carry an image of ourselves inside ourselves & know exactly what we mean when we say I— . I— . I— ?

I think Mate would love getting the chance to read Prayer for Werewolves by Stephanie Burt because I think he would see so much of himself in it. Stumbling and tumbling trying to find himself somewhere and eventually finding the place where he belongs. I also feel like he loves the supernatural and the first part of this poem would feel like a gut punch:

Someone will probably love you for who you are. If not, you’ll still find friends, friends who, given time, or given warning, will probably gather around you, hold your hands, and wrap you in soft coats and blankets till the violence inside your body ends.

Finally, my beloved Grace, is things i want to ask you by Helga Flores because I feel like the poem is just a list of things running through Grace's mind when she only knew Judd by voice, but that first one in particular:

i want to ask you what god feels like.

You've reached the end of my exhaustive essay that would probably keep going if I didn't reign myself in. I hope you liked these, they're some of my favorites <3

#“i can't hold it and i have nowhere to put it down” will never not make me short circuit UGH!#anyways this was such an amazing question thank you so much for asking it! <3 #do you have a favorite poem???#asked and answered

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novastories · 11 months

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By Your Side

Title and chapter loosely inspired by the song “By Your Side” by Conor Maynard.

Summary: A beach day is just what Aurora needed, especially surrounded by family and friends.

Warnings: None, mostly fluff.

Word Count: 4k

A/N: I’m sorry I’ve been a bit MIA lately! I’ve been prepping for new upcoming works and writing when I feel inspired. Please enjoy the beach scene chapter!

Also thank you so much for the recent love on “I’ll Be Waiting.” It means the world to me that people love my story and are invested in it like I am! Enjoy the fluff because the next chapters…well let’s just say, it’s not going to be as fluffy after this one…🫣

Thank you Jenn, for doing the text messages! 💖 And shoutout to my best friend, beta reader, and editor @reginleight 💜

As always, likes are great and all, but comments, reblogs, and feedback are highly appreciated and loved! 🤭

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Lucille → Aurora

—

“Wait, so you two almost kissed?!” Lucille shouted, almost spilling her coffee on the couch.

Aurora blushes and nods as she continues eating her donut while her friend gasped in shock.

“Wow, didn’t know Chicken Little had it in him.”

“Lucille,” Aurora groans.

“Sorry. But holy crap. Didn’t know he had it in him.”

Aurora sighs, as she finishes her donut and takes a swig of her tea that she had on the coffee table. She couldn’t stop thinking about it and had wished so badly that Peyton hadn't interrupted them that night.

But was she ready to be with Bradley? She wasn’t sure. She had so much to still work on, the nightmares were slowly getting less and less frequent, but the anxiety still hovered over her.

Lucille was rambling on about how she was going to talk to Peyton about the cockblock until noticing Aurora was tapping her fingers against her bracelet.

“Hey, you alright?”

Aurora shakes out of her thoughts. “Huh?”

“You only play with your bracelet when you’re overthinking shit.” Lucille gestures to the bracelet.

She was worried about her best friend and while maybe they didn’t see each other much, Aurora was still Lucille’s best friend. Despite the distance.

Aurora smiles slightly. “I’m fine. Just work stuff,” she lies through her teeth.

She didn’t want to lie to her best friend, but she would tell her when the time was right. Lucille just nods, and takes a sip of her coffee when they both hear a ping from Aurora’s phone.

Penny → Aurora

“Got a bathing suit?” Aurora asks Lucille to which she received a smirk in return.

“What do you have in mind?”

—

Aurora knew as soon as her mom texted her, that she was up to something. She, Lucille, and CJ arrived at the beach seeing her mom sitting on a table behind the Hard Deck.

What she didn’t expect to see were a bunch of the same pilots she had met about a week ago to be playing what seemed to be dogfight football, something her dad, Uncle Goose, and Uncle Ice came up with during Aurora’s childhood years.

“Helping with balancing sheets?” Aurora looks at her mom, incredulously.

Penny chuckles. “You came, didn't you?”

Sighing, she shakes her head. Aurora soon spots Amelia, Aunt Carole, Aunt Sarah, and Uncle Ice sitting under a big pop up beach canopy they most likely had set up a few ways from the water, but in prime viewing spot of the San Diego view, and the pilots as well.

“So this is what dad meant by a surprise for the naval aviators?”

“Well, apparently he needed them to become a team and bond a bit. So I guess this was his way of getting them out of the cockpit and to have fun,” Penny answers her.

“I’m having fun just watching them,” Lucille muses.

Aurora nudges Lucille, while Penny laughs, agreeing with the entertainment of the game and the view. She notices that Maverick had also dragged Peyton along as well.

Despite the fact that he’s a mechanic, he recognized Peyton as still part of the team and that he got along with mostly everyone on the squadron.

Amelia spots them, waving for her and Lucille to come over.

“Are you going to actually hangout on the beach though?” Aurora asks her mom.

“Yeah, I’m just going to finish this paperwork first. You go on ahead.”

Aurora’s feet soon touch the sand, and she releases CJ from his leash. He happily runs over to Amelia as Amelia chuckles claiming that CJ liked her better.

Aurora and Lucille all say their hellos, while Aurora puts her towel next to Amelia, Lucille doing the same. She soon realizes the person sitting next to her Uncle Ice.

“Hey, Slider! You’re here too!”

“Hey kiddo! Heard about the mission, I had to come see these new pilots. Can’t be better than us Ice, right?” Slider smiles at the man beside him.

Ice just shakes his head and chuckles. He was not ready to get into that.

“What’s up, burger man?” Lucille waves at him. Aurora chuckles as Slider rolls his eyes at the girl.

“That’s not what my callsign means.”

“So what does it mean then?” Lucille wonders.

“Ignore her. Jet lag is getting to her,” Aurora interrupts her best friend.

“Bitch, I drove here.”

“Shush! I’m trying to concentrate,” Amelia shakes her book that she was holding.

“Melia, you’re not even looking at the book,” Carole points out, as neither of the girls were not even listening to her anymore.

Amelia, Aurora, and Lucille all look at the pilots, and wow did Aurora realize how much of a view they were treated to. Everyone was pretty much shirtless, with the exception of the girls. Plus Bob and Uncle Goose.

It seemed that Bradley’s team made a touchdown, so Bradley was doing a little shimmy celebration dance, a move Aurora was not a stranger to. It was a move he pulled often whenever they danced together.

She couldn’t help but to stare shamelessly at her best friend, his abs on full display. She was wondering how he was even so tan since most of his days were spent on an aircraft carrier. Aurora wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that she was full on ogling at Bradley, not even caring.

Man, was she glad she had her sunglasses on, but it didn’t help that she was turning red from all the thoughts in her head.

“Girl, show him what he’s missing and get over there,” Lucille encourages Aurora, drawing her out of her thoughts.

“Yeah, Aurie. He doesn’t even know you’re here yet,” Amelia smirks, knowing Bradley would be ecstatic to see Aurora.

The pilots still had yet to even notice the newcomers, as they were focused on their game. Aurora took that as her sign to make her presence known.

With her Benjamin-Mitchell confidence, she stands up and removes her shirt to reveal her black one piece full coverage bathing suit. It covered her back and half her arm, so her scars weren’t on full display, yet she was able to show off her figure.

Lucille and Amelia wolf whistles as Aurora does this and walks over to the group playing.

The first to spot her was Uncle Goose, who was not shocked to see her there.

“Hey, little star!”

The naval aviators looked at him confused and turned to see what he was looking at. Aurora smiles and waves at her Uncle.

“Damn, is that Artemis?” Fanboy asks.

Bradley instantly spots Aurora and freezes.

Sure, the two of them grew up with each other and Aurora had worn bathing suits around him, but seeing her now was different.

She was grown, and she looked like a goddess to Bradley, he couldn’t help but stare at her and feel some sort of way. Aurora always had that effect on him.

Her dark brown hair with her faded blonde tips was tied up in a ponytail, and she had her sunglasses on covering her eyes, but Bradley knew she already was looking at him.

He smiles and is the first to run up to her a few feet away from the group, hoping to get a bit of time with her before she approaches everyone else.

“Her and Bradshaw?” Payback asks Peyton, as they all watched him run to the girl.

“Not yet, but soon.” Peyton smiles.

“If Rooster ever gets off his little perch,” Jake comes up behind Peyton.

“At least he can talk about his feelings,” Peyton snarks back at him.

He had refused to look Jake in the eyes after what had gone down in Jake’s apartment.

Of course he had his fair share looking at Hangman’s abs, but he refused to give into wanting to jump Jake’s bones and stuck to trying to avoid him.

“Princess, you didn’t tell me you were coming,” Bradley smirks at her.

“Didn’t even know you were here,” Aurora grins back.

“And looks like someone forgot their swimsuit,” she points out, seeing that he was wearing jean shorts. “You should have told me, I could have brought the ones with the little chickens on them.”

She glances at his sweaty chest, and notices not only his dog tags, but also the necklace that she had given to him for Christmas, a plane pendant.

She smiles at it remembering what was engraved on it, as well as the memory of giving it to him before her eyes found their way back to Bradley’s.

“Tsk, you’d love to see me in those, wouldn’t you?” Bradley rasps, while stepping closely to Aurora, and tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear.

She could practically feel his body heat from where she stood as they were flirting, her heart beating so fast wanting to just reach over and kiss the hell out of him.

“Heads up!” a voice calls out, and a few seconds later, a football hits Bradley’s head.

“Ow, what the fuck?” Bradley cries out as he and Aurora turn to see who threw the football.

Maverick stands with a “sorry, not sorry” look on his face, and Goose hits Maverick on the back of the head for interrupting their moment.

Aurora chuckles at her dad’s antics, her face still a bit red from her interaction with Bradley while he rubs the back of his head.

“C’mon, I want to kick your ass,” Aurora grins as she walks towards the group.

“Oh, you think you can beat me?”

“I’m pretty sure I proved I could when I beat you that one summer.”

“That was one time, and I had a broken wrist!”

“Excuses, excuses, Bradshaw!”

—

The football game definitely proved to help the team actually feel like a team. Soon everyone wasn’t keeping score and just having fun.

Aurora had joined the team that was against Bradley and Peyton and she bonded with Natasha enough to get her to take them down.

Peyton and Jake were still trying to avoid each other as much as they could, but at least they could look each other in the eyes.

Amelia had joined in on the fun by standing next to Hondo and helping call out penalties, she got so into her role she even had a whistle that Hondo gave as an extra he had.

Penny had opened the Hard Deck for the pilots and the rest of the family a few hours before the bar opened to the public so they could enjoy the cool, crisp, air conditioning.

Carole had brought a bunch of sandwiches, where Sarah had made sure to bring snacks and of course, Penny provided the drinks.

All the other pilots were a bit intimidated with having Admiral Kazansky in their presence, but soon got used to it as they saw how he was letting loose, just as Maverick and Goose were.

The jukebox was blasting out tunes of all kinds, creating a fun relaxing atmosphere in the bar for everyone to enjoy.

Aurora was in the corner, playing darts with her Uncle Goose, Jake, and Javy. She was laughing as Javy botched his shot.

“Dude, why’d I even pick you as my partner?” Jake shakes his head.

“Shut up,” Coyote hisses.

“And that’s how you do it!” Aurora smirks, making a bullseye.

“I taught you well, little star,” Goose proudly says.

Lucille happened to somehow get sucked into a heated discussion with Mickey and Bob.

“Okay, but Game of Thrones is so much better than Lord of the Rings!” Mickey proclaims.

“You take that back! Bob, back me up here!” Lucille turns to him.

“Uhh, I haven’t seen all of Game of Thrones–”

“HA!” Lucille smirks

“–Or all of Lord of the Rings.”

“What the hell?!” Both Lucille and Mickey look at Bob, as if he had committed treason.

CJ happily laid next to Carole’s feet, who was sitting on the bar stools with Sarah and Penny. All of them were sitting and talking, while Maverick, Iceman, and Slider sat in the corner of the bar observing the other pilots while drinking beer.

“We weren’t like this when we were their age, right?” Slider ponders. They were watching all the pilots in the bar, seeing them out of the cockpit was definitely a sight to see.

“I think we were so much worse,” Maverick chuckles, as he takes a swig of his beer.

Peyton, Natasha, Reuben, and Bradley were playing pool, but also trying to teach Amelia which wasn’t going so well.

“Amelia, you’re supposed to hit the balls with the stick, not try to stab it with the stick.” Bradley sighs.

“Why not stab, stabbing seems so much better and efficient?”

“I can’t tell if you’re more like your sister with the stabbing comment, or Peyton with that stupid comment,” Payback wonders.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Peyton looks at him offended.

Natasha sighs and mutters how she’s surrounded by too much testosterone.

Aurora and Goose high five, as they won the game of darts against Jake and Javy.

“How the hell did that just happen?”

“Don’t underestimate me, Javy. That’s why I always bring a knife to a gunfight,” Aurora smiles triumphantly.

“You do what now?” Goose looks at her concerned.

Aurora chuckles as Jake and Javy start to bicker about their loss and whose fault it was.

Goose pats her shoulder to head over to the men, while Aurora goes to the pool table to see how the game is going. Amelia sat on the bar stool, with a pout on her face.

“Why the long face, little sis?” Aurora questions her sister.

“They wouldn’t let me play.”

“She tried to stab the balls with the stick,” Peyton calls out as he takes his shot at the pool table.

“It’s much more effective that way to get the balls in the pocket!” Amelia reasons.

“No, it really isn’t,” Bradley comes up and ruffles Amelia’s hair. She hisses and swats his hands away from her. He chuckles before standing in front of Aurora.

“Finished up at darts?”

“Oh yeah, finally put Hangman in his place and pulled one over on him.”

He chuckles, and leans in toward Aurora’s ear.

“That’s my girl,” he whispers, before pecking her cheek and heading back to the pool table for his turn.

Aurora immediately turned red, feeling as if her heart was going to burst by how fast it was beating.

Holy crap, that was one of the hottest things she had heard from his mouth.

Lucille comes up with a drink in each hand, going to hand one over to Aurora before seeing her best friend stunned and blushing.

“What’s up with her?”

“Bradley whispered something into her ear and now she’s too stunned to speak,” Amelia responds, taking a drink of her respective non-alcoholic drink.

“Ahh.”

“Shut up, both of you please,” Aurora pleads, as Lucille hands her the drink before taking the seat beside her friend.

Aurora glances at Bradley who was standing behind Peyton taking his shot at the pool table. Noticing her eyes were on him he winks at her, to which she rolls her eyes and sips her drink.

He will be the death of her.

—

The Hard Deck was now lively as it was open to everyone and some of the naval aviators were still there, with the exception of the older ones.

Since it was Penny’s day off from the Hard Deck, she and Maverick went for a motorcycle ride where Sarah and Ice went to drop off Slider at the airport. Goose and Carole decided to head home for the night, as they were still a bit jet lagged from their trip.

Amelia was hanging out with the other pilots while Aurora was sitting outside on one of the tables, getting a bit of air as the Hard Deck was beginning to get a little claustrophobic. CJ sat next to her as she combs her hands through his fur.

“Wondered where you were, surprised you weren’t with Bradshaw in there.”

Aurora turns and sees Jake standing behind her. He held out a water bottle for her to take, which she does. She gestures on the other side of CJ for Jake to sit.

“Yeah, well you know me. I needed air.”

Jake hums, taking a swig from his beer. They both sat in silence before Aurora broke it.

“I’m still a bit mad after that whole shit you pulled you know.”

Jake sighs. “I know, and I’m so sorry, Rory. I even apologized to Rooster before the game today.”

“And I wish that was all I was mad about, Jake. I’m talking about you and Peyton,” Aurora admits and turns to Jake.

Jake puts his hand to his face. “Fuck, I really messed up, didin’t I?”

Aurora brings her arm out to pat Jake’s shoulder in comfort.

“A bit, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fix it.”

“Fix what? I screwed up Ro, he could barely look me in the eye. I don’t even know why he came today when he wasn’t even required to.”

“Don’t you see, Jake? Peyton cares so much about you, and if you could only hear him out, you’d understand that you also feel the same way about him.”

“But what happens if we break up, what happens if the love we feel for each other only leads to hate and destruction?”

Aurora looks at Jake. “Put your pride aside for once and just listen to what I have to say. Don’t keep pushing him away, or using him for sex because it makes you feel good. We don’t have a lot of time in this world. Sometimes love can hurt, but I think it’s better to love than not love at all.”

Jake removes his hand from his face and looks at Aurora.

“You’re not alone anymore, Jake. You have me now. And Coyote and Peyton. Maybe even Rooster and the rest of the squadron. Let us be here for you,” Aurora smiles at him.

There were tears forming in Jake’s eyes before he pulled Aurora into a brotherly hug. She pats him comfortingly on the back letting him hug it out before he releases her. CJ yaps at him, to which Jake gives him a few pets.

“Damn, who knew you had all those words in you, Artemis.”

Aurora chuckles and smiles. “Therapy will do that to you I guess.”

Jake studies her for a bit. “No more nightmares?”

“Not as often, it still lingers. I’m taking it day by day. But now that I’m home, I feel a lot better,” Aurora turns to see her brother, sister, best friend, and Bradley through the glass doors of Hard Deck. Jake was sure she meant home as in Bradley and her family, and not San Diego.

Bradley spots her, waving with a smile, before going back to listening to what Amelia was saying.

“You and Rooster talk yet?”

“Not yet, soon though. When the timing is right.”

—

“Hey, mom! We’re back home!” Amelia hollers inside the house.

“I thought you were staying at Aurora’s and Peyton’s?” Penny's muffled voice was heard.

“She was, but she said she wanted to come home, so we’ve come to drop her off,” Peyton calls out.

“Peyton, Aurora? Why are you both here?”

“Bradley and Lucille took CJ home in the Bronco. Peyton couldn’t drive because he drank quite a bit so I drove Amelia home,” Aurora explains.

“I only drank a little bit.”

“Peyton, you didn’t want to stay in the car because you thought that the neighbors were looking at you funny.”

“They were!” Peyton claims.

“That was their cat on the porch,” Amelia groans.

“Have you had dinner already?” Penny interrupts the conversation, while it sounds like she was fumbling with something upstairs.

“Not yet,” Amelia tells her.

“Grabbing takeout for us tonight, so don’t worry about us mom!” Aurora assures her.

“I’ll make something for us then, Amelia. I’ll be down in a second.” More bumping and shuffling was heard, which worried Aurora quite a bit.

“Does mom seem flustered to you?” Aurora wonders.

Amelia and Peyton shrug as Aurora grabs some water from the fridge. She closes the fridge door, only to see something drop outside from the window from her peripheral vision.

And then soon a person drops outside as well.

The person stands up, and soon Aurora, Amelia, and Peyton are faced to see Maverick staring right into the window, huffing from the fall he had just gone through.

“Am I still drunk, or did dad fall from the sky?”

Aurora elbows Peyton, to which he exaggerates and falls down from the gesture.

Amelia looks at him with a serious look. “Just don’t break her heart again.”

Maverick slightly nods and looks at Aurora and Peyton, who had stood back up.

Peyton gives his dad a thumbs up, still slightly drunk and not understanding what was happening. Aurora just sighs and smiles at him.

“Don’t screw it up this time, dad.”

Maverick nods, before silently and quickly waving goodbye to them and getting on his bike. Aurora lets out a breath and looks at her siblings.

“Damn, I owe Bradley $20.”

- - -

If you would like to be on the taglist or removed, please let me know!

Taglist:

@purplevortexx

@sqrlgrl22

@luckyladycreator2

@my-obsession-spn

@oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo

@shanimallina87

@hisredheadedgoddess28

@fandom-princess-forevermore

@a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby

@genius2050

@abaker74

—

Disclaimer: This story is fictitious. All works are written by me and only posted here. Please do not copy, repost, or plagiarize on any other platform without my permission!

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thiemrossi · 1 year

Text

INDYCAR 101 PART 3 RESOURCE MASTERPOST: a 2023 guide to indycar by @thiemrossi

hi, hello, happy race week! If you want to start watching indycar this season but don't know where to start, this is for you. I couldn't cover everything, so I tried to focus on the drivers because there are so many unrecognized great personalities in indycar. If you have questions about anything on here or other stuff I didn't mention, feel free to ask me, I'm happy to help! This will also be multiple parts, so I'll link them all below

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3

This info was originally on slides, but I am just going to share it as text here. So, part 3 is a "how to find out more" masterpost.

Where can I learn more about drivers? (Long-Form Content)

Off Track with Hinch & Rossi Podcast & Bonus content on Youtube

The Vibe: Long-form, unstructured, casual, funny, feels like 3 friends hanging out & talking

Weekly podcast (Thursdays) with best friends Alexander Rossi (current IndyCar driver) and James Hinchcliffe (former driver, current NBC commentator) where they discuss their lives, IndyCar, & other racing with a healthy dose of banter that descends into wonderful absolute chaos in the off season

Fun for new fans & a great way to get to know two key personalities in the series especially if you listen after a race weekend

But you will miss inside jokes (which make it more fun) if you haven’t listened to the old episodes, so I highly recommend going back and listening to those if you have time

Speed Street Podcast with Conor Daly & Joey Mulinaro (full episodes also on Youtube)

The Vibe: Long-form, semi-structured, funny, honest, & casual but also journalistic

Weekly podcast (Wednesdays) with friends Conor Daly (IndyCar Driver) & Joey Mulinaro (Comedian, Journalist) with commentary and interviews from all racing series

Great way to get to know Conor & the drivers he interviews plus get great insider insight into race weekends

Conor also just talks in a very entertaining way that I find very funny

Dinner with Racers Podcast

The Vibe: VERY long-form, unstructured, casual, personal

Hosts Sean and Ryan get to know various figures in racing through long form unstructured conversations over dinner

These guys REALLY get drivers to open up & are very funny with it

All of the IndyCar driver/series figures episodes are great I highly recommend them

Trackside Podcast/Radio Show

The Vibe: structured, journalistic, informative

Weekly Indianapolis Radio Show with NBC commentator Kevin Lee and IndyCar VP Curt Cavin with series news and driver interviews (also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts)

They're probably the best series news podcast imo because they discuss things in an engaging way & give info we may not have heard yet

The Marshall Pruett Podcast: This Week in IndyCar

The Vibe: structured-ish, journalistic but can be casual

Weekly updates about the series, answering questions, driver interviews

Marshall has great insight but his podcasts can be hard to listen to because he rambles and talks slow, but the info is generally good & accurate

COMING SOON: 100 Days to Indy

IndyCar Docuseries produced by Vice and the CW following the lead up to the 107th Indianapolis 500 premieres April 27th at 9pm EST on the CW (will be available internationally as well)

Where can I learn more about drivers? (Short-Form Content)

Bus Bros with Josef Newgarden & Scott McLaughlin

The Vibe: Medium-form, structured but casual and fun, essentially a comedy show

IndyCar drivers Josef & Scott try local foods, interview fans, tour other drivers/fans motorhomes, read mean tweets etc.

Super fun for new fans so highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t already!

If you want to see drivers having fun & showing their personalities this one is for you

Romain Grosjean Youtube

The Vibe: Short-form, technical, comparative Has a couple driver interviews (Pato, Scott McLaughlin, Conor Daly) but a lot of videos demonstrating technical differences between IndyCar and F1 if that's something you're interested in

All of these are behind the scenes during race weekends

Admit1 with Josef Newgarden You Don’t Know Jack with Jack HarveyPato O’Ward YouTubeIndyCar Inside the RaceArrow McLaren YouTubeJuncos Hollinger YouTubeOutside the Line Andretti YouTube

How to watch IndyCar

United States

All practices, qualifying, & races available live & on replay with a Peacock subscription

All races (except Toronto which is Peacock exclusive) are also broadcast live on network TV on NBC or USA network

Canada

TSN & TSN+ (this is new I think)

Australia

Stan Sport *looks* to be similar to peacock they’ll carry practice, qualifying, races & replays this season

SkySportsF1 broadcasts most of the races but from what I understand they won’t cut to IndyCar if F1 post-race is still happening & have also heard they sometimes replay the F1 race over indycar :/

According to IndyCar, you can subscribe to IndyCar Live to watch practice and qualifying but no clue how much additional cost that would be or if it actually works

Latin America (except Belize and the Carribean Islands)

ESPN (unclear if they’ll carry all sessions)

Elsewhere:

Check here

if your country does not have a race broadcaster IndyCar live will probably be available & even if they do, it might still be available to watch practice and qualifying

Here's NBC's graphic with the race schedule but download the IndyCar app!!! it is the most helpful race weekend resource to have!! It has all the session times & driver radios are free to listen to during races if you make an account!! you can also listen to the radio feed of the whole race (at least in the US) & check championship standings live!! it's one thing this series does right!! download it!!

Thanks for reading I hope you found these posts helpful & if you have questions feel to ask me!

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dark-night-star-light · 1 year

Text

Spirit Animals: Fire and Ice (Reread pt. 4)

DISCLAIMER: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOOKS ONE THROUGH SEVEN IN FIRST SERIES AND BOOKS ONE TO FOUR IN SECOND SERIES (AND VERY, VERY MINOR SPOILERS FOR BOOK FIVE IN THE SECOND SERIES).

Masterpost

Chapter 1

I remember Gerathon’s chapter only because of the excessive use of the word life, which is of course the point.

Also, is the youngish guy the same guy that freed her? I think so . . .

A lot of adjectives in this first chapter.

She killed a Niloan woman for no reason??? But the motive for Kovo and Geratthon was to stop the Wyrm??? I don’t really remember them doing anything else?

Chapter 2

“ . . . relentless pace through Zhong and now Northern Eura . . . ” (4). Wow, they didn’t even stop by Greenhaven.

“The Great Crocodile . . . ” (4). Didn’t Dinesh specifically say the crocodile wasn’t a Great Beast??? Plot hole???

“‘And I only tell you this story as a warning because, you know, you do have that unfortunate habit of licking lampposts’” (5). This book is the real beginning of Rollan and Meilin’s ~more than friends~ relationship.

“ . . . certain the girl had been disappointed in her spirit animal, as Meilin had been with her panda” (7). Didn’t Meilin begin to accept Jhi’s talents in the last book, though??? She’s regressed?

“‘ . . . there was any town between here and Arctica’” (8). I genuinely thought Samis was on Arctica. Did Suka swim across the ocean?

Ironic that Rollan stopped a robbery. (Yes, I know he has a code.)

MAYA TALKING TO HER SALAMANDER IS TOO ICONIC.

“‘I’m sorry, Rollan,’ said Meilin. ‘You probably think I’m bossy and pushy, and you could have handled him yourself, and I shouldn’t interfere all the time and-’” (14). This is so out of character for Meilin??? She doesn’t ramble like that???

“Meilin had never been so aware of the beating of her heart” (15). The Rollan-Meilin book.

Chapter 3

“Not forgotten or forgiven” (16). But??? They did??? They literally had a moment in the third book where they forgave him??? I thought this was over???

“ . . . Conor went on about sheep, the different breeds, asking in-depth questions about caribou eating and sleeping habits” (18). He’s so awkward . . . I imagine the caribou herders just staring at him like What is with this guy and sheep?

“‘Look,’ Meilin whispered. ‘The stones have names but not dates’” (21). I didn’t know Chinese people had tombstones, so I searched it up and apparently Chinese gravestones do have dates and other inscriptions. Guess you learn something new everyday.

THE FOUR! SWAPPING SONGS!

“‘Could you perhaps explain the “other end” bit? I find it confusing’” (22). I love how, despite the fact that they speak so formally, they show how they are really just eleven/twelve-year-olds with potty humor.

“‘The emperor’s daughter had such toys . . . ’” (23). Song and Meilin were confirmed to have met as far back as the fourth book???

“Briggan sniffed the air and sneezed” (23). I love how they managed to make that sound ominous.

Chapter 4

“Abeke thought it was unforgivably stupid of these villagers to risk their children by refusing to allow a Greencloak in the village” (25). Just in the last book we were introduced to the rhino riders, who never bonded to spirit animals??? How come Abeke didn’t feel weird about them?

“Something in Abeke warned that she shouldn’t be quite so trusting, but she just didn’t believe bright smiles could hide dark hearts” (26). I talked in my very first post about how Abeke and Rollan had opposite character developments. This is a perfect example. In Hunted, Rollan mentions he doesn’t trust people that smiled brightly, because smiles could hide wicked thoughts. Here, Abeke has the opposite philosophy.

Abeke and Rollan have opposite philosophies when it comes to respecting elders as well . . .

ABEKE AND ROLLAN FOILS???

Why did it take me so long to realize . . . they are literally foils . . .

“Now she allowed herself to soak in that title, to feel community with the water before her . . . ” (29). It’s still strange how Uraza’s appearance makes Abeke a Rain Dancer. Leopards don’t have anything to do with water, and Uraza even hates ships and water, so how???

I like that each of the four played a part in figuring out Pia’s lie. It really cements the theme of teamwork.

“He surprised her by meeting her halfway, his arms open” (35). Shane’s so manipulative, he’s the perfect example of a toxic friendship.

“‘Touch Abeke again and I’ll knock you flat on your stink-stained Conqueror behind!’” (35). I love how you can tell this line was said by Conor because of the awkwardness of the words. It’s not, like, smooth like Rollan? I’m not doing a very good job of explaining this-

“The panda sat calmly behind her, investigating the grass, looking entirely unthreatening, but Meilin smiled, lifted her fists . . . ” (36). Not even thirty pages ago, Meilin was complaining about how useless Jhi was? Meilin’s opinion of Jhi is so inconsistent in this book already.

“‘You imagined punching [Shane’s] face in over and over again.’ ‘Pretty much,’ said Conor” (38). Where exactly is Conor’s hatred for Shane coming from? I know that he’s a Conqueror and whatnot, but Conor’s anger seems almost . . . targeted toward him in particular? Like they’ve also seen Tahlia and Ana, but Conor’s anger doesn’t seem to be as much for them as it does for Shane. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t like that Abeke still trusts him?

“‘[Shane] almost always keeps his spirit animal in passive state when he meets us’” (38). When have they ever met before this??? In the first book, they met during battle. “Shane’s” wolverine was out. Second book, Shane wasn’t even there. Third book, they meet during battle again? They have never met in a peaceful way before? Another plot hole?

“‘He. Is. The. Enemy’” (38). She’s . . . not wrong.

“Abeke began to question the sincerity of the smile” (40). Development.

Chapter 5

“‘I had no father, no family besides a mother who lived with a bottle in her hand . . . ’” (45). Aidana’s mother was an alcoholic???

“He thumbed a clash of old scars on his wrist and wondered if Wikerus had caused those as well” (47). Would’ve been cool if these scars had been mentioned before now as foreshadowing. Like if Rollan had a habit of tracing over them while he was worried or something, while he mentioned that he had no memory of how he had gotten them.

Aidana genuinely thought Rollan had grown up with a nice family? Huh . . .

“Something in her face made him think she was about to lie to him” (51). Rollan literally sniffed out the fake compass before she even gave it to him or mentioned it???

Oof, Rollan was literally so close to finding out Pia’s lie.

Rollan hugging his mom and Abeke hugging Shane parallels? More fodder for the foil theory.

Chapter 6

“The idea of a family - his own family, his mother - was a greater draw than any talisman in the world” (57). This is pretty much the equivalent of Rollan admitting he would do what Conor did at the end of Hunted, isn’t it? He values his mother over a talisman. Conor valued his family over a talisman, and Rollan judged him over it.

Oop, it was in fact foreshadowing: Rollan apologizes to Conor the very next paragraph.

“‘And that sheep joke you tell to everyone new we meet . . . ’” (57). I wonder if Conor told the sheep joke to the caribou herders.

“Certainly [the spy] wasn’t Rollan himself” (59). This feels like foreshadowing . . . the use of the words “certainly” and “himself”.

“ . . . only a narrow channel of the sea separated Eura from Arctica” (59). That’s not what it looks like on the map??? This is the second time the map has seemed inaccurate.

I’ll bet anyone that the creature that just tried to capsize the boat was a- *lowers voice* -walrus.

Huh, only Marked people can live up North? That’s a detail I don’t remember.

THEM THINKING A REGULAR POLAR BEAR WAS SUKA, I CAN’T-

“He turned, feeling surprisingly hurt . . . ” (66) and “He tended to keep Meilin in the corner of his eye a lot lately” (67). *obnoxiously* Ooooooooh.

Aw, Rollan-Essix brother-sister relationship! (Though that is somewhat creepy.)

With the way the four are describing food, they honestly could be writers.

“This was not a street crew, ready to abandon him at the first sign of trouble” (73). This book is very much a Rollan book, just like Hunted was a Conor book.

“Essix stayed on his shoulder for the rest of the day” (74). SLAY.

Rollan witnesses Aurora Borealis!

Chapter 7

“To Abeke, family meant a father and a sister who lived in the same house, ate with her, scolded her, wished her different” (77). Abeke’s clearly unreciprocated love for her family is so sob-worthy.

“In one way, a boy her own age was rubbing her foot and that made her want to dig a hole to crawl in and die” (78). Not one page ago, Abeke referred to Conor as like a “brother”.

Also, I still believe in Conor-Abeke queerplatonic supremacy.

“‘What camp? How?’ Rollan said. ‘We’re on the side of an ice mountain!’ Tarik handed him what looked like a nail used to build a house for a giant” (79). I think Conor should have been the one to suggest this, just like he was the one to suggest doing something similar during the first book.

“‘Rollan, use the Slate Elephant!’ . . . ‘It’s in my pack’” (81). That seems incredibly stupid, when you consider that during a crevasse fall, Meilin lost her pack. They could easily lose the talisman. Instead they should do what Abeke did in Blood Ties and knot it tightly around their necks.

I didn’t realize how treacherous the icy cliffs and crevasses were during my first read-through. It does make the compass reveal even more excruciating.

Chapter 8

Conor has the energy to sing a whole-ass song while he’s literally starving and freezing? Respect.

“And the morning they ate the last rations of food, someone began to cry” (87). This is actually so heartbreaking.

It’s funny how fast Conor thinks of the fox as food, then as a destination.

“So the four of them followed the hunters . . . ” (91). Four? Seems like a mistake. There should be six.

“‘Mine could take yours,’ Abeke whispered. ‘No way. Dog beats cat,’ said Conor” (91). Good to see them acting their age again.

“It might have sounded to her like he hated the task, but he really just didn’t want her to get frostbite again. He cringed behind his fur collar and waited” (92). Awkward Conor superiority.

“ . . . the violence of the hunting bothered him” (93). Didn’t he kill sheep as a shepherd, though?

LMFAO the seal-eating woman’s seal spirit animal.

Okay, so only four of them went? Meilin and Maya stayed back? Why?

Tarik singing about the seal brains makes me wonder if this is the first time that the authors had thought about a second series. We’ve already had two references to events that take place in the second series, which are Meilin’s reference to Song, and Tarik’s songs. Both appear in this book, which makes me think that the authors were hammering out their final plan for the second series while writing this book.

Chapter 9

This book definitely has longer chapters than the others.

Abeke using her wits to find the location of the hidden Ice City based on the location of the villages is honestly so cool of her.

“Besides, it would feel really great to be a hero for once, to run back to camp and let everyone know she’d found Suka!” (101). I usually hate characters that try to be the hero and take on a bigger burden than they can handle when no prior experience shows that they have any skill to back up their cockiness. But Abeke’s ability to find the location of the Ice City is test enough, so I feel this is an okay action.

“Abeke let the corner of her mouth rise a little. Meilin’s smile twitched in response” (103). Abeke and Meilin bonding without even a word is actually so slay of them.

The frozen city has frozen people??? I don’t remember this-

Chapter 10

“She believed in their mission” (113). Meilin has gone through so much development already. At the beginning she didn’t believe in the talisman hunt at all.

“‘I’ll carry your pack for three days if you lick it.’ ‘Boys,’ Meilin muttered” (114). Hey, that’s actually a solid deal. Also Rollan and Conor's relationship! Mended! Also also, they’re acting their age again!

Chapter 11

Great Beast Essix! Slay!

“Essix’s talons seized him again, this time by the coat on his shoulders” (120). Why doesn’t Essix just toss Rollan onto her back? That’s so much more stable and leaves her with two free talons.

“‘Jhi’s a panda!’ Meilin yelled. ‘A panda bear! . . . ’” (123). Honestly, the logic fits the age group.

“They ran in lockstep, side by side the whole way, her hand in his” (125). Awwwwwww.

Chapter 12

“My father’s death weakened me, she thought vaguely” (126). Not according to Abeke: “ . . . since her father’s death, Meilin seemed to be pure, quivering energy” (106).

Jhi-Suka bear bonding!

“‘When a healer joins a war, all should take notice . . . ’” (129). So true.

“‘We Great Beasts have a stewardship over Erdas . . . ’” (131). So Great Beasts are supposed to protect Erdas, not just be godlike figures? I badly want a fic of the Four Fallen returning to their original states and talking about their time being bonded to humans.

Meilin had a panda stuffed animal??? Why? First book Meilin seems like she’d have a tiger or ox stuffed animal instead?

“But when Rollan said ‘us,’ she heard ‘you and me’” (134). Rollan and Meilin are going strong without even being official.

“She bowed to him . . . ” (134). Something, something, this is symbolism for how Meilin sees Rollan as an equal instead of as underneath her now, something, something.

Chapter 13

ROLLAN THOUGHT A WALRUS WAS A DOG . . . *sounds of laughter* *sounds of choking* *sounds of heavy breathing*

“‘And how are we going to get supplies for our journey out of here?’” (139). I was literally thinking the same thing.

“‘If you two are done playing kissy-face’” (141). Real. Also, I imagine an eyebrow wiggle to accompany the statement.

Chapter 14

Chapters are getting shorter again.

“Maya flushed. ‘Thank you, but to me, what you do, what all of you do, is magic’” (142). I lowkey forgot Maya existed up until this point? Is that bad? She doesn’t contribute too much to conversations and I only remembered she existed during the fight with Suka.

This last minute attempt to build a connection with Maya feels like the writer is intentionally trying to prepare us for what happens to her next. I think a better way to execute this would’ve been to have Maya joke with them here and there during their journey, maybe save their lives a couple times and think of some ideas to get them out of tough situations as the four did. Spread out through the book, it would’ve felt more natural and emotional when Maya’s injuries take place. But it feels rushed trying to build a practically brand-new relationship just before the climax.

“‘I never really get too cold anymore . . . ’” (143). An example of this is how we’re just finding out more about Maya’s powers more than 80% into the book.

I wonder if Meilin could’ve sleepwalked out of the Great Bamboo Maze. Gerathon wouldn’t’ve let her spy die, would she? It would’ve been interesting, except for the fact that Gerathon probably had no idea how to navigate the maze, either.

“‘ . . . the sun rises everywhere on Erdas . . . ’” (145). Conor has two kinds of lines: awkward lines and banger lines.

CONOR’S DREAM. HA.

Chapter 15

“ . . . for fear of losing a finger to the thing’s inevitable teeth” (149). LOL. This book is definitely a relationship building one. There are so many silly scenes, like the otter attack and Conor’s dream.

“‘I’m sorry to take your life, friend. My . . . my family here needs your meat to survive. I took a shot I knew was true and would give the least amount of pain. Thank you; in your death you have saved our lives’” (152). THE PARALLELS. The parallels to first book-first chapter Abeke.

Huh. They successfully get off Arctica and make it to Northern Eura??? I don’t remember that . . .

“‘This is a bad idea,’ Conor growled. ‘That guy is a weasel’” (156). He’s not wrong . . . Shane is ridiculously manipulative.

“‘I want to punch that guy in the face’” (156). This is the second time Conor has expressed a specific desire to punch Shane in the face. I think he should go for it. It would be pretty satisfying. (Yes, Shane is still my favorite character, but I do think Conor deserves a chance to punch him in the face.)

“‘We will return Uraza, after we have cut her from the Niloan’s flesh. Perhaps the Greencloaks can bind the wound and make the union fresh, if you are quick about it’” (158). This is possible??? Also this talk of breaking and reunifying Abeke and Uraza . . . seems like foreshadowing. This is the third reference we’ve had to possible events in the second series.

“ . . . [Conor] rammed his shoulder into Shane’s middle, knocking him away from Abeke” (158). It’s not a punch in the face, but I guess it’ll do.

Rollan accidentally possibly killing Tahlia’s frog is hilarious. Like he didn’t even mean to, he just stepped on it and it went splat.

Chapter 16

“Shane had promised he could get the Conquerors to leave in peace if they traded him the Crystal Polar Bear for the Iron Boar” (161). It’s still unclear whether Shane truly meant to do this. Did he send Ana and Tahlia to receive the talisman to distract them? Was he actually holding Abeke’s arm to cut Uraza out of her? He did yell “Wait!” but it was unclear which side he was talking to. I don’t think Shane would’ve willingly hurt Abeke . . .

“‘Are you okay? You’re bleeding,’ he said, pointing to her right temple with a finger that looked like it had been bitten by a crocodile” (162). Realistically, I know Shane would never release his thirty-foot long crocodile in an open battle like this . . . but that seems to be what this is hinting at?

It’s unclear to me whether Shane is trying to stop the arrows . . . or giving the order to shoot them. Obviously, Abeke thinks he’s trying to stop them, but she sees him as good and pure, always.

“A great maned lion pounced” (165). So with Bile, you can bond to animals the same species as a Great Beast?

“The Zhongian . . . ” (166). The Zhonigan??? Thought it was Zhongese? Is this a typo?

“‘Louder!’ Tahlia spat” (166). Does Tahlia enjoy war or something?

“‘STOP IT!’ the voice shrieked . . . ” (168). I’m pretty sure it’s Maya, but I’m not sure?

Chapter 17

“‘FORM UP!’ [Shane] shouted” (171). So it is possible that Shane was giving orders to shoot arrows, not trying to stop them? (Still not sure, though.)

“‘Someone in your party told the Devourer you had Suka’s talisman and where you would cross back into Eura . . . ’” (172). She referred to the Devourer as the Devourer, not the Reptile King. Does that mean she left the Conquerors?

“‘Not with Shane, not with the Greencloaks, let’s just go somewhere and be a family . . . ’” (172). So she did leave the Conquerors. I wonder what she saw to make her leave?

Wow, Rollan actually goes with her? He actually abandons his friends for a hot minute?

I forgot Gerathon’s control turned the controlled’s eyes yellow.

Aidana asks Rollan to kill her??? I don’t remember this in the slightest.

The way the whole section after Aidana is written makes it so obvious Rollan is in shock. The style changes??? I don’t know how to describe it but it was great.

I kind of want a single Tarik perspective chapter. Just one.

Rollan and Meilin are kind of foils, too, in how they dealt with loss. Rollan just shut down, while Meilin let it fuel her.

Passive state Essix . . . yayyyyy . . .

Final thoughts and rating:

I think this is the best book yet. It’s definitely a relationship-building book, which are set up so perfectly to be torn apart in the next book with the knowledge that someone is working against them. Set in the middle, it’s also a turning point for the direction of the series. Rollan’s relationship to his mom being explored and almost convincing him to abandon the Greencloaks was a good choice, showing that everyone has a weak spot. The Bile’s healing power and consequences being revealed in the same book was also a good choice. The way the trek through Arctica is written to be this long, impossible, treacherous nightmare felt like it enhanced the story and the betrayal that came with it. Rollan’s shock after almost getting killed by his mother was written so well. Conor’s hatred for Shane almost reads like jealousy? I don’t know how else to describe it. He seems to hate Shane more than the other Conquerors and appears to want him dead more than the others. The kids acting their age was also a nice touch, which I enjoyed a lot.

I thought Maya was a good addition, but the way they used her was a waste, in my opinion. As I mentioned, I think it would’ve been better to have her try to form a bond with the team over several small moments rather than one long conversation with just Abeke right before the climax. That was definitely a cop-out and I didn’t like the way it was done. Meilin’s thoughts about Jhi are wildly inconsistent and feel manufactured, almost? I’d also thought that Rollan had forgiven Conor during Blood Ties when the four had their moment, but apparently they decided to scrap that for a whole other plotline, which was . . . questionable, in my opinion.

Rating: 9/10

P. S. Rollan and Abeke foils may be something I explore in a later post.

P. P. S. I think I'm getting better at this! Personally, I think I see an improvement in quality between my Blood Ties reread and this one.

#draeyem rereads spirit animals #fire and ice #spirit animals series #spirit animals books #sa spoiler #abeke #conor #meilin #rollan #shane #tarik #maya

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