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Subvisual Haze posted:As long as this thread is rehashing the extremely enlightening spoiler debate for the millionth time does anyone have any opinions theyd like to share regarding circumcision or restaurant tipping? I think both should be done in the parking lot
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Jun 18, 2020 19:59
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Subvisual Haze posted:As long as this thread is rehashing the extremely enlightening spoiler debate for the millionth time does anyone have any opinions theyd like to share regarding circumcision or restaurant tipping? The restaurant where the bris was being held was on fire and it wasn't my fault.
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Jun 18, 2020 20:31
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Consider this: if you spoil me on something I didn't ask to be spoiled on, I will be really angry at you. Even if it "improves" my experience later. So don't do it. Thank you.
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Jun 18, 2020 21:33
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In urban fantasy news I learned that Tad Williams wrote a UF series about angels on the beat. Has anyone in here read it?
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Jun 18, 2020 21:35
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StrixNebulosa posted:In urban fantasy news I learned that Tad Williams wrote a UF series about angels on the beat. Has anyone in here read it? It’s been a while since I’ve read it, so I don’t really remember any specifics. I do know I was disappointed that the series ended after the third book and kinda felt anti-climactic. Also, how has no one mentioned the most important part of the Dresden preview chapters - Harry calls someone besides Murphy “good people”.
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Jun 18, 2020 21:43
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StrixNebulosa posted:In urban fantasy news I learned that Tad Williams wrote a UF series about angels on the beat. Has anyone in here read it? I liked it well enough.
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Jun 18, 2020 21:46
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StrixNebulosa posted:In urban fantasy news I learned that Tad Williams wrote a UF series about angels on the beat. Has anyone in here read it? It was fine more than anything. Like I don't remember disliking it but I do remember almost nothing about it which is weird because I can usually remember stuff from books forever.
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Jun 18, 2020 21:52
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I quite liked the first one, but the second was convoluted and grimdark as gently caress (imo not in a good noir way but just in a dumb way), and I haven't read the third
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Jun 18, 2020 22:00
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Subvisual Haze posted:As long as this thread is rehashing the extremely enlightening spoiler debate for the millionth time does anyone have any opinions theyd like to share regarding circumcision or restaurant tipping? You really shouldn't tip over restaurants. It can injure the restaurant and is just needlessly cruel.
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Jun 19, 2020 00:10
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Proteus Jones posted:You really shouldn't tip over restaurants. It can injure the restaurant and is just needlessly cruel. Absolutely. Tipping over restaurants is just wrong and mean. Over-tipping waiters and waitresses, meanwhile, is a decent thing to do because how the gently caress else are they going to pay their bills - especially in the time of the COVID DEATH PLAGUE!!@! Yeah, it's serious. Yeah, I (reluctantly) wear a mask, but dear God am I ready for this poo poo to be done with already. I haven't eaten in an actual sit-down restaurant for something like five months now. Plenty of take-out/take-home, but nothing else. I do wonder how anachronistic DF16 will be with talk of eating out, going to something called... the movies or watching an athletic competition live where it's being played.
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Jun 19, 2020 00:23
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StrixNebulosa posted:In urban fantasy news I learned that Tad Williams wrote a UF series about angels on the beat. Has anyone in here read it? I bailed on it because his style of meandering prose that wanders endlessly with no point felt like it got in the way of the story and tropes he was using or vice versa. I enjoyed memory sorrow and thorn because the wandering was always interesting with a giant fantasy world to cover, but the entire gimmick of urban fantasy as overly sarcastic rightly points out elsewhere is letting readers be familiar with a big chunk of the world from the word go. Thus spending 500 words describing a mundane vending machine undercut the genre.
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Jun 19, 2020 01:04
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Tad Williams is weird, because as a teenager I read two entire trilogies (actually, I think they were quadrilogies) by Tad Williams because he was one of the few fantasy authors, along with Robert Jordan, that the local library had full sets of books for, but to this day I could not tell you a single thing that happened in them, or anything about them, except that they had very pretty covers. He is the least memorable fiction author I have ever encountered who wasn't writing Star Trek tie-in novels.
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Jun 19, 2020 02:52
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StrixNebulosa posted:In urban fantasy news I learned that Tad Williams wrote a UF series about angels on the beat. Has anyone in here read it? I remember it being miserable. Like it wasn't badly written, but the setting gets super miserable and everything is described horribly and it didn't let up.
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Jun 19, 2020 02:58
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Old Kentucky Shark posted:Tad Williams is weird, because as a teenager I read two entire trilogies (actually, I think they were quadrilogies) by Tad Williams because he was one of the few fantasy authors, along with Robert Jordan, that the local library had full sets of books for, but to this day I could not tell you a single thing that happened in them, or anything about them, except that they had very pretty covers. "Tailchaser's Song" breaks this trend.
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Jun 19, 2020 03:05
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Old Kentucky Shark posted:Tad Williams is weird, because as a teenager I read two entire trilogies (actually, I think they were quadrilogies) by Tad Williams because he was one of the few fantasy authors, along with Robert Jordan, that the local library had full sets of books for, but to this day I could not tell you a single thing that happened in them, or anything about them, except that they had very pretty covers. https://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/113077-being-influeced-by-or-ripping-off-memory-sorrow-and-thorn-spoilers/. (First google result, but there are other lists). See also older works that inspired Williams.
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Jun 19, 2020 04:04
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Scorchy posted:I remember it being miserable. Like it wasn't badly written, but the setting gets super miserable and everything is described horribly and it didn't let up. Yeah, it was like Angle-Noir with a heavy emphasis on the "Noir". I also remember angel politics and backstabbing and betrayals. Like you say, it wasn't badly written but it was just kind of bleak. And for being celestial beings, they sure came across as "human but with incredible and weird powers". I got through the first two. Have no idea if there are any more.
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Jun 19, 2020 04:10
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Subvisual Haze posted:As long as this thread is rehashing the extremely enlightening spoiler debate for the millionth time does anyone have any opinions theyd like to share regarding circumcision or restaurant tipping? No more than 10% of the total for either.
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Jun 19, 2020 05:53
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Always circumcise your wait staff.
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Jun 19, 2020 06:46
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Consider a job circumcising elephants - the pay is pretty poor, but the tips are enormous
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Jun 19, 2020 13:41
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ookiimarukochan posted:Consider a job circumcising elephants - the pay is pretty poor, but the tips are enormous 
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Jun 19, 2020 13:52
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Is there an established reason in universe for Dresden not just telling Thomas and Ebeneezer the truth already, or is that to set up drama and tragedy later on in the laziest way possible?
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Jun 19, 2020 19:39
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AppropriateUser posted:Is there an established reason in universe for Dresden not just telling Thomas and Ebeneezer the truth already, or is that to set up drama and tragedy later on in the laziest way possible? "Harry's a bit of a dumbass when it comes to important conversations he should have had years ago" is pretty well-established at this point.
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Jun 19, 2020 20:03
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AppropriateUser posted:Is there an established reason in universe for Dresden not just telling Thomas and Ebeneezer the truth already, or is that to set up drama and tragedy later on in the laziest way possible? Ebenezar is an incredibly knowledgeable and powerful mentor figure. In most stories he would have been killed off early to give the Protagonist room to struggle and grow. Since he wasnt killed off instead he is only allowed minimal time to speak with Harry or even be vaguely present in the story. Also Harry keeps secrets from his allies in general to keep the plot going and generate easily avoided conflict.
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Jun 19, 2020 20:29
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AppropriateUser posted:Is there an established reason in universe for Dresden not just telling Thomas and Ebeneezer the truth already, or is that to set up drama and tragedy later on in the laziest way possible? Chapter 3 that's posted does mention they haven't actually met/spoken since Chichén Itzá. And during this meeting Ebenezar is all no time for small talk. It's a bit convoluted yea but I assume Butcher just didn't want something like that to have happened off screen.
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Jun 19, 2020 20:31
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Or in universe: Ebenezer has been constantly too busy with stuff to communicate with Harry.
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Jun 19, 2020 20:32
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Plus see McCoy's reaction to Thomas existing at all, or Kincaid. Harry's hot temper seems to run in the family, and I can understand just not wanting to set off granddad with sudden reveals
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Jun 19, 2020 21:33
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jivjov posted:Plus see McCoy's reaction to Thomas existing at all, or Kincaid. Harry's hot temper seems to run in the family, and I can understand just not wanting to set off granddad with sudden reveals That was the initial reason for withholding the knowledge from McCoy. Startling a member of the Senior Council can be bad for your neighborhood's health. And... secrets have a tendency to build their own inertia over time. One of those "I'll tell him when the time is right (which it never will be)" kind of things. One interesting thing to figure is that Lara Raith probably knows as well. As of Turn Coat she either became aware that Harry and Thomas were brothers or revealed that she already knew that. How absurdly sad is it that the head of the creepy, awful sex vampire family is probably, overall, a more trustworthy ally for Harry and co. than the large majority of the White Council? I'm going with very. Everyone fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Jun 20, 2020 |
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Jun 20, 2020 01:33
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I kinda assumed Lara knew or else years of Harry-Thomas interactions wouldn't make sense. She knows that secret but Harry knows about her and her daddy so they have a truce.
Xtanstic fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Jun 20, 2020 |
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Jun 20, 2020 02:12
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Xtanstic posted:I kinda assumed Lara knew or else years of Harry-Thomas interactions wouldn't make sense. She knows that secret but Harry knows about her and her daddy so they have a truce. I think they have a bit more than a truce. Lara Raith was the other signatory on allowing Marcone into the Unseelie Accords. Lara is one of Harry's allies. Now, granted it's very much a Roosevelt/Stalin in WWII kind of alliance, but it's still an alliance. It's kind of horrifying to consider that as bad as the White Court vamps generally are (and they are bad) there's just so much other poo poo out there that's worse on various levels to the point that these creatures are, on some level, effectively helping to defend humanity.
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Jun 20, 2020 02:44
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Xtanstic posted:I kinda assumed Lara knew or else years of Harry-Thomas interactions wouldn't make sense. She knows that secret but Harry knows about her and her daddy so they have a truce. They specifically called it out in Blood Rites; he and Lara mentioned her knowing his relation to Thomas in the ending (she was watching the whole final confrontation with Thomas's father and Harry after all) and they agreed to a truce to not share that fact in exchange for not revealing her control of the Raith house now.
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Jun 20, 2020 02:46
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Everyone posted:It's kind of horrifying to consider that as bad as the White Court vamps generally are (and they are bad) there's just so much other poo poo out there that's worse on various levels to the point that these creatures are, on some level, effectively helping to defend humanity. They're defenders of humanity in the same way that hunters are conservationists.
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Jun 20, 2020 03:14
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Khizan posted:They're defenders of humanity in the same way that hunters are conservationists. I know. That's what makes it so "great" (horrifying). It's like deer watching humans argue. One human wants to hunt on some land, the other one wants to build a factory there. So for the deet (us) the "choice" is between Person A who wants to shoot some of us and put our heads on his wall. Or Person B, who wants to destroy our food supply, living space and drinking water in the name of... cheap shoes or something. So a choice between occasional murders or wholesale extermination. Okay, occasional murders it is, then.
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Jun 20, 2020 07:36
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CainsDescendant posted:Plus, Ramirez has plenty of history questioning Harry's motives and allegiances. It comes up a couple of times in White Night. Between seeing Harry torture those ghouls and how Harry can suddenly speak Etruscan to deal in white court politics, he spoke up a couple times about how weird all that was. I think there's been a couple of other times where Harry blew him off or was a jerk to him since then, too. I could definitely believe that Ramirez has come to see Harry as a threat to the council or is otherwise compromised and needs to be taken out.
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Jun 21, 2020 16:31
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gerg_861 posted:Ramirez does seem the obvious choice, but maybe too much so? I have been wondering if it might be Michael. I have been thinking that Michael will find out about Molly becoming the Winter Lady and lose his poo poo. The implication in previous books is that she will slowly lose her humanity a.k.a. her soul. Thus what wouldn't Michael do to help save his daughter's soul? Michael is a fanatic in his own way, and he would 100% set himself aglerainst Harry for his daughter's soul.. A much lower probability, but given how much Harry trusts him, even more of a knife in the back. My thing with that idea is that the set-up seemed to be that the betrayal would be in the context of coming from within the White Council, the way it's "always been done." Of course, Dresden has a wider sphere of allies/friends/enemies than most other wizards, so it could be somebody not a wizard
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Jun 21, 2020 18:13
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Jim Butcher was on the latest episode of Brandon Sanderson’s podcast, Writing Excuses. It was interesting. They discussed how to keep things fresh in a long running serial and some of the stuff Jim worked on but dropped over the years. I’d recommend it. I listened to the podcast on the Apple podcast app but I think it’s on the others as well. Edit: https://writingexcuses.com/2020/06/14/15-24-keeping-it-fresh-with-jim-butcher/ turns out it's also on their website.
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Jun 21, 2020 20:23
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gerg_861 posted:Ramirez does seem the obvious choice, but maybe too much so? I have been wondering if it might be Michael. I have been thinking that Michael will find out about Molly becoming the Winter Lady and lose his poo poo. The implication in previous books is that she will slowly lose her humanity a.k.a. her soul. Thus what wouldn't Michael do to help save his daughter's soul? Michael is a fanatic in his own way, and he would 100% set himself aglerainst Harry for his daughter's soul.. A much lower probability, but given how much Harry trusts him, even more of a knife in the back. Doubt it. All the speculation about Michael reacting that way assumes that Michael would actually believe the Winter Lady mantle is stronger than his Lord and Savior. No really. That's how Michael would think of it. He won't be happy, but Molly has said she thinks she's doing work that needs to be done and when all is said and done I think he'd trust her judgement and Jesus's saving grace to help her through it. We have it straight from Uriel that Mab can't change who Harry is. I expect Michael would believe the same thing about his daughter.
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Jun 22, 2020 00:26
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Nickaroni posted:Doubt it. All the speculation about Michael reacting that way assumes that Michael would actually believe the Winter Lady mantle is stronger than his Lord and Savior. Plus, granted that it's been awhile since I've read some of the series, but it seemed to me that Mab didn't want to change who Harry was. She kept offering the Winter Knight Mantle to him because of who he was. I suspect that something similar is true regarding Molly as well.
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Jun 22, 2020 00:41
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I used to think it was just about Harry not needing to give into the Winter Mantle to get the power to fight and so being more flexible than somebody who has to give into the mantle more, but now I sorta suspect that she wanted a starborn to be the Winter Knight, what with her giant neverending war against the Outsiders.
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Jun 22, 2020 07:13
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Everyone posted:Plus, granted that it's been awhile since I've read some of the series, but it seemed to me that Mab didn't want to change who Harry was. She kept offering the Winter Knight Mantle to him because of who he was. I suspect that something similar is true regarding Molly as well. The difference here is that Harry is a human who chose to take up power, Molly was a human who had even greater power thrust upon her accidentally. Just because Harry is a stubborn prick, and Mab planned for that, doesn't mean the same is true of Molly as the Lady.
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Jun 22, 2020 07:58
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QueenOfTheEvening posted:The difference here is that Harry is a human who chose to take up power, Molly was a human who had even greater power thrust upon her accidentally. Just because Harry is a stubborn prick, and Mab planned for that, doesn't mean the same is true of Molly as the Lady.
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Jun 22, 2020 09:04
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