Enchanter Sporking: Part Four
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theepistler wrote in antishurtugal, 2018-04-20 12:31:00
MOOD:
angryEnchanter Sporking: Part Four
WARNING: This installment contains sexual assault. Also, prepare to loathe a certain character like you've never loathed anyone before.
The next chapter has the truly absurd title “Dark Man, Dear Man”. Really?
It opens with the SkraeBolds grovelling to Gorgrael like a bunch of whipped Spaniels, and Gorgrael enjoys their “misery”. Because he is evil. He thinks about how the attack on the Earth Tree Grove was a total failure because they didn’t kill the Earth Tree and SkraeFear done fucked up by almost killing StarDrifter when Gorgrael wanted the jackass alive. Gorgrael goes “Sssss!” at them, which the author helpfully informs us in a hiss, and shows off his tusks, which his underlings are apparently afraid of. Oooh, scary.
I’m bored.
Gorgrael is still pissy because Axis got away and now his invasion has been stalled. Typical Evil Overlord, he yells at the SkraeBolds for being incompetent and gets a string of lame excuses in return. He tells them that their failure “tells me that you do not love me!”. Wow, the dude really is obsessed with being loved. Unfortunately this isn’t scary; it’s just lame and vaguely creepy.
Again, typical Evil Overlord, Gorgrael assaults SkraeFear by wrenching on the arrow Azhure stuck in him… which is still there for some reason. Dude, the SkraeBolds have hands. Why is he walking around with an arrow stuck in him? Did it not occur to him to pull the damn thing out?
Gorgrael thinks about how he needs a halfway decent lieutenant, but he can’t use Timozel until his vow to Faraday doesn’t apply any more, so for now he sends the SkraeBolds packing and then prowls around his “chamber”, which of course is gloomy and has “dark” furniture “ensorcelled into strange and tormented shapes”.
Because he is evil.
There’s also a fireplace, which lights itself when he snaps his fingers. So he’s about as impressive as your average entry-level wizard from Harry Potter. Gorgrael pours himself some wine from a “crystal decanter”, and thinks about how he’s as “civilised’ as Axis. Axis is civilised now?
Then he opens up a parcel which contains Faraday’s wedding dress. He has a good sniff and this makes him “feel merciful”, which he doesn’t like. Errr…
Then the Dark Man shows up, apparently via teleportation, and says something about how Faraday is “a very beautiful woman”. Really? After the 15,000 repetitions of that in the last book I’d forgotten all about it.
Gorgrael is happy to see him and asks if he’s met Faraday. The Dark Man (couldn’t this guy have come up with a better pseudonym for himself?) says he’s exchanged a few words with her. Gorgrael asks if the Dark Man has the hots for her as well, and he says maybe but it doesn’t matter. Apparently Gorgrael’s entire motivation is getting Faraday. Wow, what a loser.
He thinks about how when he was small he had “a miserable life among the silly wraiths” until the Dark Man showed up. Yup, the author just called her own allegedly scary monsters “silly”. So in other words, the author has openly admitted to wasting our time with all that fake suspense in the last book and the Skraelings really are just pathetic and stupid. Wow, that’s… some serious balls right there.
The Dark Man taught Gorgrael “songs of power and enchantment” (what’s the difference?). In all that time Gorgrael has never seen the guy’s face or learned who he actually is. All he really does know is that the Dark Man knows Axis (in other words, he also taught the guy as a kid. So much for that mystery), and lives “A dark and crafty life, using his disguises to fool many who loved him”. He’s also supposedly “a manipulator of considerable skill”, and Gorgrael doesn’t know what the guy really wants.
I know I sound like a broken record, but dude – show it, don’t tell it!
Blah blah, Gorgrael says he wants Timozel as his second in command and asks if the Dark Man has any comments on the situation. The Dark Man says yeah, he’ll have the guy in the end, and yes, Gorgrael will also get Faraday; “Axis’ Lover” (why is that Capitalised?), “the only one whose pain can break his concentration enough for me to kill him”. Yeah, about that…
Then the Dark Man has a go at Gorgrael for screwing up, telling him he’s now stuck here until next winter, and “your precipitate action has flushed out all the major actors in this little drama”. Ms Douglass should have been banned from writing dialogue a looong time ago.
Gorgrael then proceeds to “sulk” (really) and spits that he’s gonna gonna win anyway, and the Dark Man is all like “oh sure you will, trust me”. And I’m sure he means that too.
The next chapter returns to Jayme – no, not that Jaime – who we haven’t seen in a while. He’s busy plotting with Gilbert, aka the eeevil pimply guy we met in the early parts of the last book. He asks Gilbert for a report on Axis, and Gilbert tells him he was last seen “whooping and screaming as he led his depleted AW to the north”. The dialogue! It burns!
Apparently Jayme is “sick at heart” since the news of “Axis’ appalling betrayal of the Seneschal’s cause”. What betrayal is that again, and how does he know about it?
Oh wait, apparently leading the Skraelings away from Gherkinfort is the “betrayal”. Um, what?
Jayme rants about how he raised and loved Axis and didn’t want to lose him, and yells about how he’s betrayed him and the Seneschal. Gilbert spits that it’s Rivkah’s fault for “bedding with one of those damn lizards”. Since when did the Icarii look remotely reptilian? He adds that “Women were ever the weaker vessel!” See, we’re not supposed to like him because he just said something misogynistic. But when Axis or StarDrifter is a misogynistic creep, that’s totally fine.
The third guy present, Moryson, thinks about how Jayme nearly had “a fatal apoplexy”, whatever that is, when the news came that Axis has defected to the Forbidden.
Again, how does he know about this? Apparently Jayme is hurt not just because Axis has betrayed “his god and everything Jayme believed in”, but also Jayme himself, who thinks of the guy as a son.
Yeah, well, it wasn’t easy. Axis agonised over the idea of betraying the only father he ever knew and- oh wait, he flat-out told Faraday he was gonna murder the guy in cold blood. Never mind.
After some more blah-blah recapping stuff from the last book, we’re informed that King Priam has become obsessed with the stupid Prophecy and “believes its advice more than he believes the advice of the Brother-Leader”. Uh, why? And how exactly does one get “advice” from that thing? He’s also apparently “disappointed with Borneheld” and considering an alliance with the Forbidden. Because again, lifelong prejudices are just that easy to shed.
Jayme flies into a rage (maybe that’s where Axis gets it from), and then just barely implies that they would be better off with someone else as King, ie. Borneheld. Accordingly, he sends Gilbert off to treat with Borneheld. I’d say things aren’t looking too good for Priam, King of the Afro.
The next chapter returns to Axis, who’s practicing hand-to-hand combat with SpikeFeather. Just in case we were at risk of liking him, he “casually” kicks the guy in the leg and knocks him over. Because that doesn’t make him look smug at all. We’re informed that he’s spent the last couple of weeks working with the Strike Force, making them awesome instead of good for nothing but parades and such. He now lectures SpikeFeather about how he could have won if he’d just used his wings to distract Axis or knock him over. Because he’s seriously that incompetent and stupid that he’s never thought to hit people with his wings?! Come on.
Axis then lectures the reader about how “surprise and skill would always win over brawn and superior weaponry”. There speaks an author who knows absolutely nothing about fighting.
EvenSong, who lest we forget is Jealous Of Axis, bitches about how they don’t need to know this stuff because they’re archers who attack from the air. Apparently like Sloan she’s been trying to annoy him with “jibes”. Is it wrong that this word pisses me off purely because Paolini used it? FarSight thinks she’s got a point, and Axis does this thing where he smiles but with cold eyes (...we’re meant to like him, remember?) and blah-blahs about how you have to be prepared for every eventuality, etc. etc., and that when they train with “Belial’s battle-hardened men” (author’s italics, not mine), they’ll learn “instinctive aggression”, ending with “learn it… or die”. Shut
up, Axis. Seriously. You sound like a villain.
The author then tries to make Axis look smart by saying the Icarii are “visibly shocked” and “had to think again” about being impossible to attack in the air. Yes, that’s all it took. One short, painfully arrogant lecture from some asshole and they’re all making like Fagin and reviewing the situation. Axis goes on to give even more stupidly obvious advice as he tells them it’s a good idea to carry a knife. ORLY? And it’s important to learn how to kill at close quarters. NOWAI!
Then Axis calls Azhure over and asks her to duel with him using staves, challenging her to find a way to knock him over. Hmm, Sue vs Sue… hard to know where to put my money on that one. But knowing how much the author has fallen in love with Azhure, I predict a Grrrl Power moment in which she defeats Axis despite the twenty year difference in practice, with some sexual tension thrown in. Let’s see if I’m right.
So they fight and – oh dear lord, it’s worse than I thought. Axis kicks Azhure in the back and knocks her forward, then grabs her hair “in the classic handhold needed to twist an enemy’s head until the spine snapped”. Any martial arts enthusiasts reading this – is it actually possible to snap a guy’s neck outside of the movies? Making this moment downright off-putting, the author makes it sound like he’s actually going to kill her, as his hands are about to “fatally tighten on her head and jaw”, before a knife jabs him in the gut. Azhure has “furious eyes” – she’s not furious, mind you, just her eyes – and Axis pulls away and says she “came closer to killing me than any member of the Strike Force has come to bruising me with a stave”, because “I hesitated with the kill”. Um, except you were supposed to be sparring, not actually trying to kill each other! What the fuck is going on here? Axis then goes on to say that Azhure has taught them all an important lesson about not hesitating, and blah blah, Azhure Is Awesome.
The training session breaks up, and we learn that Axis is planning to leave after Beltide to “complete his training elsewhere – as well as fulfill a vow”. What, the one he made to Faraday? I guess so?
Azhure stays behind, and Axis goes over and says sorry for “using you so poorly” but he had to in order to prove a point and she was the only one who would have reacted instinctively like that, etc., adding that she’s “added one more scar to my growing collection”. Why, because of a poke with a small knife which barely broke the skin? That’s not how scars work, author.
Idiot.
Also, this isn’t how fighting works.
Azhure says she had the “impulse to slide that knife all the way in”, and isn’t that just adorable, and they then move on to talking about the Wolven. She asks if she should give it back and Axis says no because he thinks it “chose you”, adding that SpikeFeather was only able to use it himself after nine years of practice, and he’s the only one to do so in four thousand years, and it only let the guy actually use it when Azhure was there so she’d be prepared to try it herself, and blah blah blah, Azhure is Special.
Axis then goes on about how the Wolven was made by WolfStar SunSoar, the most powerful of the Enchanter-Talons, who no-one really wants to talk about. He adds that WolfStar put all sorts of enchantments into the making of the bow and even he can’t see them properly. Finally he says he’s thinking of using Azhure for the aerial training phase of making the Strike Force awesome, and she’s like lol will StarDrifter give me wings like he promised to do for you, lol, whereupon we learn that Axis has “wing buds” and StarDrifter offered to make them grow into actual wings but he “vehemently refused”. Dude, you could fly! Do you have any idea how useful that would be? For one thing, no more riding around on horseback for months on end.
But nope, he’s not interested.
Idiot.
Finally, he asks Azhure if she can help out by… shooting arrows for the Icarii to dodge in the air. Wow, how insanely irresponsible. She whines that she can’t shoot to miss because the Wolven won’t let her, so Axis shrugs it off, saying she can just “wrap the arrow heads in cloth or dip them in wax”, thereby instantly rendering them harmless. Yeah, I’m not buying it. A bow that obscenely powerful, you’re gonna be doing people serious harm whether the arrowheads are sharp or not. Might I add, the Icarii don’t even wear armour. Or none that we’ve heard of.
Azhure is all like “I can’t wait to shoot some Skraelings”, and then pretends she’s still upset by the death of Pease. You know, the nonentity who got lunched in the last book. Yeah, I’m not buying that either. Throwing in a couple of token mentions like this doesn’t change the fact that Pease’s death was instantly forgotten by both Azhure and the narrator.
The interminable conversation finally comes to an end as Axis is about to leave, but Azhure calls him back and gives him “a bundle of dark golden silk”. It’s a new tunic for him, and it’s all shiny and amazing and special with “embroidered designs” and a “blood-red” sun emblem. I don’t know a single straight guy who would be caught dead in this thing, but Axis is all “omg it’s so beautiful thanks a bunch”.
So now he’s going to be prancing around wearing golden silk. Lovely.
WARNING: INCOMING SEXUAL ASSAULT. DO NOT CONTINUE IF THIS MAY UPSET YOU. Because it sure as shit upset me.
The next chapter goes to Azhure’s POV (oh goodie). She’s practising with the Wolven again and mentally rhapsodising about how amazing it is. For about the billionth time it’s referred to as “beautiful”, and we get redundant descriptions of what it looks like – redundant because it’s literally just the exact same details we got last time. Azhure wonders what WolfStar was like and what he would think about his bow being used by a lowly human. Then she realises she’s out of arrows and there’s no-one around to retrieve them from the “orb” she shot them into (what is this orb made out of, anyway?). Just as she’s wondering what to do next, StarDrifter shows up. Or rather he creeps up behind her, and everything about the way he acts in this scene just screams predator. (And for good reason, as we shall soon see).
He retrieves the arrows for her, and then – oh, it gets worse. It gets way worse. We go to his POV, and he’s thinking about her “lovely face” and how his “desire for her” has been growing for weeks, but she’s been (quite sensibly) keeping away. Then he checks out her hair. In case you care, Icarii women for some damn reason can’t grow their hair long, and StarDrifter apparently has a long hair fetish.
And then he sexually assaults her.
No I’m not kidding or exaggerating. He starts touching her hair without permission, and when Azhure is alarmed and tries to object he grabs her and forces a kiss on her. As in he shuts her up by kissing her without her consent.
Yeah, that’s sexual assault. No contest. He used physical force, and kissed her without consent or even asking. Isn’t this guy just charming?
Naturally we’re supposed to think this behaviour is okay because Azhure is kind of into it and stops struggling for a moment. So StarDrifter starts nibbling and smooching around her jaw and throat, and then starts taking her shirt off. (Again, without consent).
Azhure pushes him off – and we now learn that actually she was pushing back the whole time and he was completely ignoring such a blindingly obvious sign of discomfort. Apparently part of her wants to just give in and let him have his way, but she remembers Rivkah and tells him to stop.
StarDrifter realises he’s gone too far and backs off.
Oh wait, no he doesn’t. Instead he starts groping her boobs and tells her she doesn’t want him to stop.
Because women don’t really know what they want. Every rapist knows that.
Azhure tells him that if he keeps going that will be rape (when he’s already full-on assaulted her), then says she loves Rivkah too much to cheat with her husband, and StarDrifter lets her go.
Oh wait, no he doesn’t.
Instead he says – and I quote – “Rape? But do you not enjoy this, my beautiful woman?” while still feeling her up. He then goes on to say “I can feel you tremble. You do not want me to stop.”
Because trembling while a guy assaults you totally doesn’t indicate, y’know, fear or discomfort. Nope, if she’s shaking while you force yourself on her, that means she’s totally into it.
Finally Azhure slaps the predator across the face, tells him she doesn’t welcome his “advances”, and walks off.
Um, that wasn’t an advance, Azhure. That was an assault. To cap it off as she leaves she’s angry with herself and thinks about how she almost “put her scruples aside” and let him do what he liked. Giving into a rapist isn’t putting your scruples aside, Azhure. It’s allowing yourself to be assaulted.
StarDrifter watches her storm off, shocked that she would have reacted like that because “Rape – sexual force of any kind – was a concept almost totally alien to the Icarii people. All of them loved the chase and the seduction, but no Icarii ever pursued one who was unsure or unwilling”. Which is why he just assaulted someone who was VERY CLEARLY NOT INTERESTED IN HIM AND HAS BEEN ACTIVELY AVOIDING HIM. This is SUCH rape apologist bullshit.
He then thinks about how he’s going to apologise, but his desire for her his driving him “crazy”, and he feels “driven to possess her”.
Translation: it’s totally not his fault that he just sexually assaulted someone. Nah, it’s just his Manly Instincts of Manliness which can’t be resisted in any meaningful way, because men are just walking bundles of violent testosterone who have to force themselves not to assault people and have no self-control. So basically this scene is obscenely offensive to men, women, rape survivors, and anyone else with a brain.
And now you know why I fucking hate StarDrifter and have been ragging on him since the last book. It’s because I knew bullshit like this was coming down the pipeline.
Unfortunately for StarDrifter, he now realises that – uh-oh, Rivkah was watching the whole time. You are SO busted, asshole.
She opens with the dreaded line “we need to talk”. I don’t know about you, but whenever someone says or writes that to me, I get a horrible sinking feeling. No conversation that begins with “we need to talk” ever ends well.
To my immense disappointment Rivkah doesn’t scream in StarDrifter’s big stupid rapist face. Instead she’s just “sad”. StarDrifter responds with the following horribly written line of dialogue.
“I do not know what came over me, I will not do it again”.
That’s not even just bad dialogue – it’s bad grammar as well.
Rivkah, of course, doesn’t believe him and says it’s time to get a divorce “while we still respect each other”. You just saw him sexually assault your friend/substitute daughter and you respect him? Wow, fuck you too, Rivkah.
She then makes a little speech. It’s entirely devoid of emotion and gag-inducingly overwritten. Basically what it boils down to is “we had some good times but now we’re drifting apart and you’re a shallow as fuck piece of shit who’s so hung up on looks that you’re never going to respect me when I’m old and wrinkly”. I may have added the swearing and personal abuse, but by GOD it needs to be there. Finally she tells him that after Beltide she’s going back to Achar. StarDrifter embraces her and strokes her hair, and Rivkah thinks about how she still loves him “deeply” but wants to leave “while she knew StarDrifter still enjoyed their intimate relationship”.
In other words, as soon as he stops wanting to sleep with her their marriage is worthless.
This leads me to conclude that their oh-so-beautiful love affair was indeed based on nothing but looks and good sex, which it may surprise you to know is a terrible basis for a long-term relationship. Unfortunately, we’re apparently not supposed to see StarDrifter as a hormonal fuckhead who has no respect for women and just sees them as sex objects defined by their looks, their actual minds and wishes be damned. I think this guy may just be the most hateful excuse for a “heroic” male protagonist I’ve ever seen.
As for Rivkah, I’m firmly on her side here. Sure she fell for StarDrifter for equally stupid reasons, but she was a damn teenager with no life experience while he was the supposedly mature adult. And at least she has the common sense to see the whole thing was a bad idea from day one, even if she’s still convincing herself that she’s in love with this piece of filth.
StarDrifter has “tears of regret” in his eyes, but I maintain that they’re really just tears of pure self-pity, and Rivkah tells him not to do the same thing to Azhure, ie hump and dump her. Instead he should find himself an Icarii woman who won’t get old on him.
Because if your significant other gets old, you can’t possibly love them any more. That's why my parents divorced the moment they both turned 50. ...Oh, wait.
StarDrifter tells her what just happened wasn’t Azhure’s fault. Oh, ya think? And then Rivkah says she admires “her resistance”, because she herself caved after nothing but a smile.
So we’re still pretending that wasn’t assault, huh? Apparently so, and what depresses me is that the subtext here very strongly suggests that the author herself thought that forcibly kissing and groping a woman wasn’t assault. Which given the decade she grew up in is highly likely. This is what so-called “rape culture” does to people.
Rivkah says she wants to go see RavenCrest and get a divorce. Afterwards she’s going right back to her own kind to find a new home. Good for her – she needs to get the hell away from this asshole as fast as possible. And I really really wish StarDrifter would meet a horrible death in this series, but nope. The author must have really liked him for some unfathomable reason, because he’s due to outlive even Axis. (Yes, really. By the time I gave up reading this godsforsaken series seven books in the fucker was still alive and well).
And no, he’s never going to suffer any sort of meaningful punishment for his actions. And yes, I’m angry beyond belief about that too.
30 comments
[1]
Anonymous
April 20 2018, 13:36:40
Fuck that guy and fuck the author. She’s female and she writes these sort of crap??
It’s a bit depressing to think that if a dude did that to her, she won’t think of it as rape either :/
[1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 14:50:47
I wonder if something like this actually happened to the author once and this is her trying to rationalise it away (I really hope not).
Honestly, the absolute worst and most blatant misogyny I've seen has ALWAYS come from other women. Who was it who told me I was just imagining it that male authors always get more opportunities and publicity than myself, even when literally the only difference between us is gender? It was another woman. Not a man. A WOMAN tried to gaslight me into thinking favouritism toward male authors was all in my head. So much for the sisterhood.
And this is what people mean when they talk about "rape culture". It's this subtle, insinuating thing where people are fooled into thinking misogyny and violence against women is "normal" and that people who complain about it are just being melodramatic. Unfortunately once you've noticed it happening, you go on noticing.
[1A1]
syntinen_laulu
April 20 2018, 22:10:22
I wonder if something like this actually happened to the author once and this is her trying to rationalise it away (I really hope not).
I read in a newspaper review of a recent book (non-fiction, but not only can I not remember the title or author but even the main subject area - sorry) that experiments apparently show that the sexual organs of women reading about or watching filmed depictions of rape typically show signs normally associated with sexual arousal (engorgement, lubrication etc) - not because it turns them on, but as an involuntary damage-limitation mechanism; if rape is on the cards, better get some lubrication in there quick to minimise the pain and injury if it happens.
The review didn't give any clue who ran these studies or where or when. Nevertheless, it sounds plausible, and if true, you can see how in a rape culture it could easily luff women into believing 'it must be true that I was asking for it', et cetera.
[1A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 23:40:46
Ugh, now I'm depressed. :-(
I read that some rape victims orgasm during the assault, and afterwards become incredibly confused and guilty, because now they feel like maybe they were actually into it after all, etc. If true, which I suspect it is, that would also explain a lot. "Maybe it wasn't really an assault if I briefly enjoyed it on a physical level... maybe I actually wanted it..."
Much like Azhure here, who thinks about how she was tempted to have sex with StarDrifter, and only held off because he was married. But was she actually tempted, or just feeling the impulse to give in and let him have what he wanted in case the alternative was violence? I suspect the latter, even if the author was oblivious.
[2]
cmdrnemo
April 20 2018, 15:20:48 Edited: April 20 2018, 16:07:59
So I'm going to take a moment to talk about Star Wars. Because it's pretty relevant here. In particular Lando Calrissian has a certain importance. When you create a character there's certain combinations of things you can't have that character do and still be considered moral. For example: the character can invite the outlaw protagonists Han Solo and Leia Organa for dinner, or he can hand them over to Darth Vader. Either of these things can be presented as moral choices of a character trying to do the right thing. You can't do both. Have a character do both and the audience will instantly see him as at best morally grey, more likely as straight up evil.
These books have a bad habit of having the protagonists do both. They try to be both respectful of women and not. They try to be for and against planning. They'll turn a sparring match, by definition harmless, into a fight to the death. If feels like constant proclamations of do the thing and never do the thing. As a play to make us hate the characters it works perfectly. Except we aren't supposed to hate the characters. So it's not just that I can't say the name seriously is sexually assaulting someone. It's that he's also claiming to be against sexual assault.
The villains on the other hand only ever do the bad thing. Which, in this weird case, gives them the moral high ground. They at least have a view and stick to it. We can respect them for holding their principles even if we can't respect the principles they hold.
Except the big bad. Because Dark Man is a name that can never be respected or feared or taken seriously. That's the sort of name to mock a 13 year old fanfic writer for stopping at. Betty is more intimidating. I suppose that fits Axis and Stardrifter. Black Betty, the horse obviously, is far too potent and dangerous a foe for the likes of those two. Even with the aid of the combined armies of three peoples they could barely restrain the might of Black Betty's child. That damn thing gone wild.
[2A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 16:19:17
That's some very insightful thinking right there, and you're correct. This series has a really bad case of Protagonist Centered Morality. It makes everyone including the author look like a massive hypocrite.
[3]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 16:06:46
Welp, I think it's time to post the pic...
[3A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 16:29:29
YES.
[3A1]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 16:39:32
Besides the delicious teriyaki BBQ wings, I think his skull would make a lovely desk ornament.
[3A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 17:06:17
Yeah, I could keep pencils in his eyesockets!
[3A1A1]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 18:32:04
And every time you put them away, you could imagine that you were stabbing him right in the eye... ahhh, that would be quite nice.
[3A1A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 18:41:24
*wistful*
[3A1A1A1]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 21:11:07
Maybe we could donate his genitals to the penis museum in Iceland, to be displayed as "world's smallest penis". Heck, we could do that without killing him... he does deserve to be forcibly castrated with a rusty spork.
[4]
ghostwyvern
April 20 2018, 16:10:06
There's really not much I can add here that you haven't already said. The entire situation is disgusting. StarDrifter's actions are those of a villain, not a hero. If I were in Rivkah's shoes, I'd be asking someone to take me back to human lands where I'd be out of StarDrifter's reach.
I can't entirely agree with thinking Axis is foolish not to want wings. Maybe he thinks he couldn't wear armor that way--they'd get in the way and he couldn't fly wearing armor. Then they'd just be big bulky targets. Or maybe it's some other reason. Growing wings would be a pretty huge physical change, so I can't really blame him for not wanting that. While I'd be in agreement with you on wanting the wings, someone else might not. Goodness knows he's enough of a jerk and an idiot for other reasons. Not wanting wings is extremely minor and, again, even if he had the flimsiest of reasons for refusing, that's a major body modification.
As for Rivkah, I'm with you in wishing she'd call it assault, rather than "advances." StarDrifter is fortunate she didn't bite his tongue off.
[4A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 16:16:46
The book actually tells you why Axis says no to getting wings, and it's literally just "I've walked on the ground my whole life and dangit I ain't gonna change that now!", so his "reasoning" is actually pretty damn flimsy. It really ties back into how the author treats the wings like some sort of cool-looking accessory rather than anything that would be of any practical use, hence my irritation.
[4A1]
ghostwyvern
April 20 2018, 17:00:41 Edited: April 20 2018, 17:11:48
Well, to put it a bit more clearly, wings are a major modification to Axis's body. If he doesn't want them, no matter how flimsy or foolish or nonsensical or even nonexistent his reasoning is, then he has every right in the world to refuse. Even though he's a complete jackass, I can't frown at him for that. After all, it's his body. If you offered me the same chance I'd probably refuse because I still wouldn't be able to fly (humans lack the proper musculature for that) and the wings would just get in the way. Of course this is Fantasy Land, so... the circumstances are a bit different.
Probably, Axis refuses not because of his characterization but because for whatever reason, Douglass needed him to not want the wings. If he had wings, he'd be more or less just another Icarii, right? If he's supposed to be some kind of unifying force, then he might need to appear human.
It's still crappy writing. But, I am still going to shrug it off. After all, a much less extreme example of this is someone refusing piercings or a tattoo as an adult. They've been without them their entire life, so it doesn't matter if they don't even consider the option. You respect that choice and you move on with your life. After all, it's their body.
Edited to add: Also, I'm going to point out that as much of a Sue as Axis already is, he'd probably be worse with wings. Douglass would've had to have him be the best flyer, the bravest, and learn to balance and fly immediately and naturally. He'd be the fastest and the most acrobatic and the most daring and the most innovative with combat tactics. You know he would. So it's better that, no matter how flimsy the reason, Axis doesn't get wings.
[4A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 17:11:48 Edited: April 20 2018, 17:17:57
Yeah, that's fair enough. But as you say, in this case he only says no because the author wants him to, and there's no more thought put into it than that.
I guess I didn't think about it in terms of his bodily autonomy because, well, I just can't think of him as a person. He's far too poorly written for that. So I tend to forget about that sort of thing from time to time.
Edited to add: Also, I'm going to point out that as much of a Sue as Axis already is, he'd probably be worse with wings.
Ugh, yeah. Given how many Sue accessories and powers the author keeps handing him for free, it's honestly kind of baffling that he'd say no to getting another one, if only because the guy LOVES flaunting things. Just wait until you see the obscene levels of posturing next time he meets poor old Borneheld.
[4A1B]
theepistler
April 21 2018, 17:16:33 Edited: April 21 2018, 17:17:56
Having given it some further consideration, I think the real reason why this bit annoyed me is that Axis is supposed to be saving the world. That's literally his job. If he fails, the ENTIRE WORLD is destroyed and everybody dies. So one would think that someone in his position would take every possible advantage that was offered to him, even if it involved some personal sacrifice.
Instead, Axis sacrifices nothing. All the powers/abilities he gets, he gets for free and with absolutely no downsides. Accepting a pair of wings would have been far more interesting because while it would give him a new ability it would also have come with disadvantageous side-effects, such as having trouble getting through doorways and using chairs, and it would make people react differently to him.
If I were writing this I would still have him refuse... but I'd actually a) Show it on screen rather than handwaving it in a couple of throwaway lines, and b) Make his reasoning a lot more considered than "nah, I don't feel like it". Instead I would have him explain to StarDrifter that if he returns to his (human) army looking like an Icarii it would raise suspicions (as Eragon's elfification should have), and make other humans less inclined to trust him. So his reasons would be both personal and political.
Of course this would only work if people actually hated and feared the Icarii, rather than getting down on bended knee to lick their boots any time one shows up because they're Just So Beautiful.
Alternatively I'd have him accept, and then have him deal with the sudden realisation that oops - people don't trust him any more and he can't do a bunch of stuff now, which he didn't stop to consider in his eagerness to experience flight. Which would create some much-needed conflict, both internally and between him and other characters.
The author clearly didn't bother to consider any of these possibilities. Instead it's brought up once and then never mentioned again. It's so incredibly lazy.
[4B]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 16:23:50
The entire situation is disgusting. StarDrifter's actions are those of a villain, not a hero.
I really wish I didn't have to say this, but... it's going to get EVEN WORSE. Seriously. He's actually going to find a way to top what he did in this chapter. I shit you not.
It's not actually out and out rape, mind you.
...it's worse.
[4B1]
vorpal_tongue
April 20 2018, 18:15:59
... Cannabalism? Genocide? Mass-Castration? Gendercide? Terrible drunken singing?
Wait, no... it's... GROWING A BEARD!
[4B1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 18:37:04 Edited: April 20 2018, 18:37:34
One word: Incestuous pedophilia.
EDIT: ...wait, that's two words. Two horrible, horrible words that should never be written down consecutively EVER.
[4B1A1]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 19:02:35 Edited: April 20 2018, 19:03:27
Well... hypothetical incestuous pedophilia... he doesn't actually do it... *horrified expression* ...does he?
(Though really, even if he didn't actually do it, it's still beyond horrid that he would even think of such a thing.)
[4B1A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 22:09:56 Edited: April 20 2018, 22:10:24
He absolutely plans to do it, and even vows it to himself. The fact that he doesn't get the opportunity to actually do it (...as far as I recall, that is...) really doesn't make a lot of difference when all is said and done. He 100% no-hesitation wants to do it, and plans to act on it.
I swear, it's like Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote this fucking thing.
[4B1A1A1]
vorpal_tongue
April 21 2018, 00:15:05
... I... uh...
I've written some dodgy shit before, but... yeah, that's pretty fucked up.
I approve.
[4B1A1A2]
ghostwyvern
April 21 2018, 05:43:09
StarDrifter is officially a Lannister.
[5]
bewdtamer19
April 20 2018, 16:28:21
*reads through*
Well, I know what I will be doing tonight! *gets out a kitchen knife and a heated rod* Who likes to help me out with this bastard?
[5A]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 16:36:21
*slams down a wok, a bottle of BBQ sauce, and a bottle of teriyaki sauce* LET'S COOK THE FUCKER'S WINGS.
[5B]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 17:06:00
I'll come - I own an axe. *grabs whetstone*
[6]
Anonymous
April 20 2018, 21:48:53
Neck-snapping is really hard. Necks don’t like to be snapped and it’s hard to put in the kind of energy required to do damage to it with one’s bare hands. And it isn’t some kind of instant death button, either. In any case only a person with ridiculous strength could do it at all, and certainly not with one hand while grasping the hair of the opponent.
[6A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 22:06:34
Hah, I knew it. Clearly somebody watched too many cheesy action movies before writing this.
The next chapter has the truly absurd title “Dark Man, Dear Man”. Really?
It opens with the SkraeBolds grovelling to Gorgrael like a bunch of whipped Spaniels, and Gorgrael enjoys their “misery”. Because he is evil. He thinks about how the attack on the Earth Tree Grove was a total failure because they didn’t kill the Earth Tree and SkraeFear done fucked up by almost killing StarDrifter when Gorgrael wanted the jackass alive. Gorgrael goes “Sssss!” at them, which the author helpfully informs us in a hiss, and shows off his tusks, which his underlings are apparently afraid of. Oooh, scary.
I’m bored.
Gorgrael is still pissy because Axis got away and now his invasion has been stalled. Typical Evil Overlord, he yells at the SkraeBolds for being incompetent and gets a string of lame excuses in return. He tells them that their failure “tells me that you do not love me!”. Wow, the dude really is obsessed with being loved. Unfortunately this isn’t scary; it’s just lame and vaguely creepy.
Again, typical Evil Overlord, Gorgrael assaults SkraeFear by wrenching on the arrow Azhure stuck in him… which is still there for some reason. Dude, the SkraeBolds have hands. Why is he walking around with an arrow stuck in him? Did it not occur to him to pull the damn thing out?
Gorgrael thinks about how he needs a halfway decent lieutenant, but he can’t use Timozel until his vow to Faraday doesn’t apply any more, so for now he sends the SkraeBolds packing and then prowls around his “chamber”, which of course is gloomy and has “dark” furniture “ensorcelled into strange and tormented shapes”.
Because he is evil.
There’s also a fireplace, which lights itself when he snaps his fingers. So he’s about as impressive as your average entry-level wizard from Harry Potter. Gorgrael pours himself some wine from a “crystal decanter”, and thinks about how he’s as “civilised’ as Axis. Axis is civilised now?
Then he opens up a parcel which contains Faraday’s wedding dress. He has a good sniff and this makes him “feel merciful”, which he doesn’t like. Errr…
Then the Dark Man shows up, apparently via teleportation, and says something about how Faraday is “a very beautiful woman”. Really? After the 15,000 repetitions of that in the last book I’d forgotten all about it.
Gorgrael is happy to see him and asks if he’s met Faraday. The Dark Man (couldn’t this guy have come up with a better pseudonym for himself?) says he’s exchanged a few words with her. Gorgrael asks if the Dark Man has the hots for her as well, and he says maybe but it doesn’t matter. Apparently Gorgrael’s entire motivation is getting Faraday. Wow, what a loser.
He thinks about how when he was small he had “a miserable life among the silly wraiths” until the Dark Man showed up. Yup, the author just called her own allegedly scary monsters “silly”. So in other words, the author has openly admitted to wasting our time with all that fake suspense in the last book and the Skraelings really are just pathetic and stupid. Wow, that’s… some serious balls right there.
The Dark Man taught Gorgrael “songs of power and enchantment” (what’s the difference?). In all that time Gorgrael has never seen the guy’s face or learned who he actually is. All he really does know is that the Dark Man knows Axis (in other words, he also taught the guy as a kid. So much for that mystery), and lives “A dark and crafty life, using his disguises to fool many who loved him”. He’s also supposedly “a manipulator of considerable skill”, and Gorgrael doesn’t know what the guy really wants.
I know I sound like a broken record, but dude – show it, don’t tell it!
Blah blah, Gorgrael says he wants Timozel as his second in command and asks if the Dark Man has any comments on the situation. The Dark Man says yeah, he’ll have the guy in the end, and yes, Gorgrael will also get Faraday; “Axis’ Lover” (why is that Capitalised?), “the only one whose pain can break his concentration enough for me to kill him”. Yeah, about that…
Then the Dark Man has a go at Gorgrael for screwing up, telling him he’s now stuck here until next winter, and “your precipitate action has flushed out all the major actors in this little drama”. Ms Douglass should have been banned from writing dialogue a looong time ago.
Gorgrael then proceeds to “sulk” (really) and spits that he’s gonna gonna win anyway, and the Dark Man is all like “oh sure you will, trust me”. And I’m sure he means that too.
The next chapter returns to Jayme – no, not that Jaime – who we haven’t seen in a while. He’s busy plotting with Gilbert, aka the eeevil pimply guy we met in the early parts of the last book. He asks Gilbert for a report on Axis, and Gilbert tells him he was last seen “whooping and screaming as he led his depleted AW to the north”. The dialogue! It burns!
Apparently Jayme is “sick at heart” since the news of “Axis’ appalling betrayal of the Seneschal’s cause”. What betrayal is that again, and how does he know about it?
Oh wait, apparently leading the Skraelings away from Gherkinfort is the “betrayal”. Um, what?
Jayme rants about how he raised and loved Axis and didn’t want to lose him, and yells about how he’s betrayed him and the Seneschal. Gilbert spits that it’s Rivkah’s fault for “bedding with one of those damn lizards”. Since when did the Icarii look remotely reptilian? He adds that “Women were ever the weaker vessel!” See, we’re not supposed to like him because he just said something misogynistic. But when Axis or StarDrifter is a misogynistic creep, that’s totally fine.
The third guy present, Moryson, thinks about how Jayme nearly had “a fatal apoplexy”, whatever that is, when the news came that Axis has defected to the Forbidden.
Again, how does he know about this? Apparently Jayme is hurt not just because Axis has betrayed “his god and everything Jayme believed in”, but also Jayme himself, who thinks of the guy as a son.
Yeah, well, it wasn’t easy. Axis agonised over the idea of betraying the only father he ever knew and- oh wait, he flat-out told Faraday he was gonna murder the guy in cold blood. Never mind.
After some more blah-blah recapping stuff from the last book, we’re informed that King Priam has become obsessed with the stupid Prophecy and “believes its advice more than he believes the advice of the Brother-Leader”. Uh, why? And how exactly does one get “advice” from that thing? He’s also apparently “disappointed with Borneheld” and considering an alliance with the Forbidden. Because again, lifelong prejudices are just that easy to shed.
Jayme flies into a rage (maybe that’s where Axis gets it from), and then just barely implies that they would be better off with someone else as King, ie. Borneheld. Accordingly, he sends Gilbert off to treat with Borneheld. I’d say things aren’t looking too good for Priam, King of the Afro.
The next chapter returns to Axis, who’s practicing hand-to-hand combat with SpikeFeather. Just in case we were at risk of liking him, he “casually” kicks the guy in the leg and knocks him over. Because that doesn’t make him look smug at all. We’re informed that he’s spent the last couple of weeks working with the Strike Force, making them awesome instead of good for nothing but parades and such. He now lectures SpikeFeather about how he could have won if he’d just used his wings to distract Axis or knock him over. Because he’s seriously that incompetent and stupid that he’s never thought to hit people with his wings?! Come on.
Axis then lectures the reader about how “surprise and skill would always win over brawn and superior weaponry”. There speaks an author who knows absolutely nothing about fighting.
EvenSong, who lest we forget is Jealous Of Axis, bitches about how they don’t need to know this stuff because they’re archers who attack from the air. Apparently like Sloan she’s been trying to annoy him with “jibes”. Is it wrong that this word pisses me off purely because Paolini used it? FarSight thinks she’s got a point, and Axis does this thing where he smiles but with cold eyes (...we’re meant to like him, remember?) and blah-blahs about how you have to be prepared for every eventuality, etc. etc., and that when they train with “Belial’s battle-hardened men” (author’s italics, not mine), they’ll learn “instinctive aggression”, ending with “learn it… or die”. Shut
up, Axis. Seriously. You sound like a villain.
The author then tries to make Axis look smart by saying the Icarii are “visibly shocked” and “had to think again” about being impossible to attack in the air. Yes, that’s all it took. One short, painfully arrogant lecture from some asshole and they’re all making like Fagin and reviewing the situation. Axis goes on to give even more stupidly obvious advice as he tells them it’s a good idea to carry a knife. ORLY? And it’s important to learn how to kill at close quarters. NOWAI!
Then Axis calls Azhure over and asks her to duel with him using staves, challenging her to find a way to knock him over. Hmm, Sue vs Sue… hard to know where to put my money on that one. But knowing how much the author has fallen in love with Azhure, I predict a Grrrl Power moment in which she defeats Axis despite the twenty year difference in practice, with some sexual tension thrown in. Let’s see if I’m right.
So they fight and – oh dear lord, it’s worse than I thought. Axis kicks Azhure in the back and knocks her forward, then grabs her hair “in the classic handhold needed to twist an enemy’s head until the spine snapped”. Any martial arts enthusiasts reading this – is it actually possible to snap a guy’s neck outside of the movies? Making this moment downright off-putting, the author makes it sound like he’s actually going to kill her, as his hands are about to “fatally tighten on her head and jaw”, before a knife jabs him in the gut. Azhure has “furious eyes” – she’s not furious, mind you, just her eyes – and Axis pulls away and says she “came closer to killing me than any member of the Strike Force has come to bruising me with a stave”, because “I hesitated with the kill”. Um, except you were supposed to be sparring, not actually trying to kill each other! What the fuck is going on here? Axis then goes on to say that Azhure has taught them all an important lesson about not hesitating, and blah blah, Azhure Is Awesome.
The training session breaks up, and we learn that Axis is planning to leave after Beltide to “complete his training elsewhere – as well as fulfill a vow”. What, the one he made to Faraday? I guess so?
Azhure stays behind, and Axis goes over and says sorry for “using you so poorly” but he had to in order to prove a point and she was the only one who would have reacted instinctively like that, etc., adding that she’s “added one more scar to my growing collection”. Why, because of a poke with a small knife which barely broke the skin? That’s not how scars work, author.
Idiot.
Also, this isn’t how fighting works.
Azhure says she had the “impulse to slide that knife all the way in”, and isn’t that just adorable, and they then move on to talking about the Wolven. She asks if she should give it back and Axis says no because he thinks it “chose you”, adding that SpikeFeather was only able to use it himself after nine years of practice, and he’s the only one to do so in four thousand years, and it only let the guy actually use it when Azhure was there so she’d be prepared to try it herself, and blah blah blah, Azhure is Special.
Axis then goes on about how the Wolven was made by WolfStar SunSoar, the most powerful of the Enchanter-Talons, who no-one really wants to talk about. He adds that WolfStar put all sorts of enchantments into the making of the bow and even he can’t see them properly. Finally he says he’s thinking of using Azhure for the aerial training phase of making the Strike Force awesome, and she’s like lol will StarDrifter give me wings like he promised to do for you, lol, whereupon we learn that Axis has “wing buds” and StarDrifter offered to make them grow into actual wings but he “vehemently refused”. Dude, you could fly! Do you have any idea how useful that would be? For one thing, no more riding around on horseback for months on end.
But nope, he’s not interested.
Idiot.
Finally, he asks Azhure if she can help out by… shooting arrows for the Icarii to dodge in the air. Wow, how insanely irresponsible. She whines that she can’t shoot to miss because the Wolven won’t let her, so Axis shrugs it off, saying she can just “wrap the arrow heads in cloth or dip them in wax”, thereby instantly rendering them harmless. Yeah, I’m not buying it. A bow that obscenely powerful, you’re gonna be doing people serious harm whether the arrowheads are sharp or not. Might I add, the Icarii don’t even wear armour. Or none that we’ve heard of.
Azhure is all like “I can’t wait to shoot some Skraelings”, and then pretends she’s still upset by the death of Pease. You know, the nonentity who got lunched in the last book. Yeah, I’m not buying that either. Throwing in a couple of token mentions like this doesn’t change the fact that Pease’s death was instantly forgotten by both Azhure and the narrator.
The interminable conversation finally comes to an end as Axis is about to leave, but Azhure calls him back and gives him “a bundle of dark golden silk”. It’s a new tunic for him, and it’s all shiny and amazing and special with “embroidered designs” and a “blood-red” sun emblem. I don’t know a single straight guy who would be caught dead in this thing, but Axis is all “omg it’s so beautiful thanks a bunch”.
So now he’s going to be prancing around wearing golden silk. Lovely.
WARNING: INCOMING SEXUAL ASSAULT. DO NOT CONTINUE IF THIS MAY UPSET YOU. Because it sure as shit upset me.
The next chapter goes to Azhure’s POV (oh goodie). She’s practising with the Wolven again and mentally rhapsodising about how amazing it is. For about the billionth time it’s referred to as “beautiful”, and we get redundant descriptions of what it looks like – redundant because it’s literally just the exact same details we got last time. Azhure wonders what WolfStar was like and what he would think about his bow being used by a lowly human. Then she realises she’s out of arrows and there’s no-one around to retrieve them from the “orb” she shot them into (what is this orb made out of, anyway?). Just as she’s wondering what to do next, StarDrifter shows up. Or rather he creeps up behind her, and everything about the way he acts in this scene just screams predator. (And for good reason, as we shall soon see).
He retrieves the arrows for her, and then – oh, it gets worse. It gets way worse. We go to his POV, and he’s thinking about her “lovely face” and how his “desire for her” has been growing for weeks, but she’s been (quite sensibly) keeping away. Then he checks out her hair. In case you care, Icarii women for some damn reason can’t grow their hair long, and StarDrifter apparently has a long hair fetish.
And then he sexually assaults her.
No I’m not kidding or exaggerating. He starts touching her hair without permission, and when Azhure is alarmed and tries to object he grabs her and forces a kiss on her. As in he shuts her up by kissing her without her consent.
Yeah, that’s sexual assault. No contest. He used physical force, and kissed her without consent or even asking. Isn’t this guy just charming?
Naturally we’re supposed to think this behaviour is okay because Azhure is kind of into it and stops struggling for a moment. So StarDrifter starts nibbling and smooching around her jaw and throat, and then starts taking her shirt off. (Again, without consent).
Azhure pushes him off – and we now learn that actually she was pushing back the whole time and he was completely ignoring such a blindingly obvious sign of discomfort. Apparently part of her wants to just give in and let him have his way, but she remembers Rivkah and tells him to stop.
StarDrifter realises he’s gone too far and backs off.
Oh wait, no he doesn’t. Instead he starts groping her boobs and tells her she doesn’t want him to stop.
Because women don’t really know what they want. Every rapist knows that.
Azhure tells him that if he keeps going that will be rape (when he’s already full-on assaulted her), then says she loves Rivkah too much to cheat with her husband, and StarDrifter lets her go.
Oh wait, no he doesn’t.
Instead he says – and I quote – “Rape? But do you not enjoy this, my beautiful woman?” while still feeling her up. He then goes on to say “I can feel you tremble. You do not want me to stop.”
Because trembling while a guy assaults you totally doesn’t indicate, y’know, fear or discomfort. Nope, if she’s shaking while you force yourself on her, that means she’s totally into it.
Finally Azhure slaps the predator across the face, tells him she doesn’t welcome his “advances”, and walks off.
Um, that wasn’t an advance, Azhure. That was an assault. To cap it off as she leaves she’s angry with herself and thinks about how she almost “put her scruples aside” and let him do what he liked. Giving into a rapist isn’t putting your scruples aside, Azhure. It’s allowing yourself to be assaulted.
StarDrifter watches her storm off, shocked that she would have reacted like that because “Rape – sexual force of any kind – was a concept almost totally alien to the Icarii people. All of them loved the chase and the seduction, but no Icarii ever pursued one who was unsure or unwilling”. Which is why he just assaulted someone who was VERY CLEARLY NOT INTERESTED IN HIM AND HAS BEEN ACTIVELY AVOIDING HIM. This is SUCH rape apologist bullshit.
He then thinks about how he’s going to apologise, but his desire for her his driving him “crazy”, and he feels “driven to possess her”.
Translation: it’s totally not his fault that he just sexually assaulted someone. Nah, it’s just his Manly Instincts of Manliness which can’t be resisted in any meaningful way, because men are just walking bundles of violent testosterone who have to force themselves not to assault people and have no self-control. So basically this scene is obscenely offensive to men, women, rape survivors, and anyone else with a brain.
And now you know why I fucking hate StarDrifter and have been ragging on him since the last book. It’s because I knew bullshit like this was coming down the pipeline.
Unfortunately for StarDrifter, he now realises that – uh-oh, Rivkah was watching the whole time. You are SO busted, asshole.
She opens with the dreaded line “we need to talk”. I don’t know about you, but whenever someone says or writes that to me, I get a horrible sinking feeling. No conversation that begins with “we need to talk” ever ends well.
To my immense disappointment Rivkah doesn’t scream in StarDrifter’s big stupid rapist face. Instead she’s just “sad”. StarDrifter responds with the following horribly written line of dialogue.
“I do not know what came over me, I will not do it again”.
That’s not even just bad dialogue – it’s bad grammar as well.
Rivkah, of course, doesn’t believe him and says it’s time to get a divorce “while we still respect each other”. You just saw him sexually assault your friend/substitute daughter and you respect him? Wow, fuck you too, Rivkah.
She then makes a little speech. It’s entirely devoid of emotion and gag-inducingly overwritten. Basically what it boils down to is “we had some good times but now we’re drifting apart and you’re a shallow as fuck piece of shit who’s so hung up on looks that you’re never going to respect me when I’m old and wrinkly”. I may have added the swearing and personal abuse, but by GOD it needs to be there. Finally she tells him that after Beltide she’s going back to Achar. StarDrifter embraces her and strokes her hair, and Rivkah thinks about how she still loves him “deeply” but wants to leave “while she knew StarDrifter still enjoyed their intimate relationship”.
In other words, as soon as he stops wanting to sleep with her their marriage is worthless.
This leads me to conclude that their oh-so-beautiful love affair was indeed based on nothing but looks and good sex, which it may surprise you to know is a terrible basis for a long-term relationship. Unfortunately, we’re apparently not supposed to see StarDrifter as a hormonal fuckhead who has no respect for women and just sees them as sex objects defined by their looks, their actual minds and wishes be damned. I think this guy may just be the most hateful excuse for a “heroic” male protagonist I’ve ever seen.
As for Rivkah, I’m firmly on her side here. Sure she fell for StarDrifter for equally stupid reasons, but she was a damn teenager with no life experience while he was the supposedly mature adult. And at least she has the common sense to see the whole thing was a bad idea from day one, even if she’s still convincing herself that she’s in love with this piece of filth.
StarDrifter has “tears of regret” in his eyes, but I maintain that they’re really just tears of pure self-pity, and Rivkah tells him not to do the same thing to Azhure, ie hump and dump her. Instead he should find himself an Icarii woman who won’t get old on him.
Because if your significant other gets old, you can’t possibly love them any more. That's why my parents divorced the moment they both turned 50. ...Oh, wait.
StarDrifter tells her what just happened wasn’t Azhure’s fault. Oh, ya think? And then Rivkah says she admires “her resistance”, because she herself caved after nothing but a smile.
So we’re still pretending that wasn’t assault, huh? Apparently so, and what depresses me is that the subtext here very strongly suggests that the author herself thought that forcibly kissing and groping a woman wasn’t assault. Which given the decade she grew up in is highly likely. This is what so-called “rape culture” does to people.
Rivkah says she wants to go see RavenCrest and get a divorce. Afterwards she’s going right back to her own kind to find a new home. Good for her – she needs to get the hell away from this asshole as fast as possible. And I really really wish StarDrifter would meet a horrible death in this series, but nope. The author must have really liked him for some unfathomable reason, because he’s due to outlive even Axis. (Yes, really. By the time I gave up reading this godsforsaken series seven books in the fucker was still alive and well).
And no, he’s never going to suffer any sort of meaningful punishment for his actions. And yes, I’m angry beyond belief about that too.
30 comments
[1]
Anonymous
April 20 2018, 13:36:40
Fuck that guy and fuck the author. She’s female and she writes these sort of crap??
It’s a bit depressing to think that if a dude did that to her, she won’t think of it as rape either :/
[1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 14:50:47
I wonder if something like this actually happened to the author once and this is her trying to rationalise it away (I really hope not).
Honestly, the absolute worst and most blatant misogyny I've seen has ALWAYS come from other women. Who was it who told me I was just imagining it that male authors always get more opportunities and publicity than myself, even when literally the only difference between us is gender? It was another woman. Not a man. A WOMAN tried to gaslight me into thinking favouritism toward male authors was all in my head. So much for the sisterhood.
And this is what people mean when they talk about "rape culture". It's this subtle, insinuating thing where people are fooled into thinking misogyny and violence against women is "normal" and that people who complain about it are just being melodramatic. Unfortunately once you've noticed it happening, you go on noticing.
[1A1]
syntinen_laulu
April 20 2018, 22:10:22
I wonder if something like this actually happened to the author once and this is her trying to rationalise it away (I really hope not).
I read in a newspaper review of a recent book (non-fiction, but not only can I not remember the title or author but even the main subject area - sorry) that experiments apparently show that the sexual organs of women reading about or watching filmed depictions of rape typically show signs normally associated with sexual arousal (engorgement, lubrication etc) - not because it turns them on, but as an involuntary damage-limitation mechanism; if rape is on the cards, better get some lubrication in there quick to minimise the pain and injury if it happens.
The review didn't give any clue who ran these studies or where or when. Nevertheless, it sounds plausible, and if true, you can see how in a rape culture it could easily luff women into believing 'it must be true that I was asking for it', et cetera.
[1A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 23:40:46
Ugh, now I'm depressed. :-(
I read that some rape victims orgasm during the assault, and afterwards become incredibly confused and guilty, because now they feel like maybe they were actually into it after all, etc. If true, which I suspect it is, that would also explain a lot. "Maybe it wasn't really an assault if I briefly enjoyed it on a physical level... maybe I actually wanted it..."
Much like Azhure here, who thinks about how she was tempted to have sex with StarDrifter, and only held off because he was married. But was she actually tempted, or just feeling the impulse to give in and let him have what he wanted in case the alternative was violence? I suspect the latter, even if the author was oblivious.
[2]
cmdrnemo
April 20 2018, 15:20:48 Edited: April 20 2018, 16:07:59
So I'm going to take a moment to talk about Star Wars. Because it's pretty relevant here. In particular Lando Calrissian has a certain importance. When you create a character there's certain combinations of things you can't have that character do and still be considered moral. For example: the character can invite the outlaw protagonists Han Solo and Leia Organa for dinner, or he can hand them over to Darth Vader. Either of these things can be presented as moral choices of a character trying to do the right thing. You can't do both. Have a character do both and the audience will instantly see him as at best morally grey, more likely as straight up evil.
These books have a bad habit of having the protagonists do both. They try to be both respectful of women and not. They try to be for and against planning. They'll turn a sparring match, by definition harmless, into a fight to the death. If feels like constant proclamations of do the thing and never do the thing. As a play to make us hate the characters it works perfectly. Except we aren't supposed to hate the characters. So it's not just that I can't say the name seriously is sexually assaulting someone. It's that he's also claiming to be against sexual assault.
The villains on the other hand only ever do the bad thing. Which, in this weird case, gives them the moral high ground. They at least have a view and stick to it. We can respect them for holding their principles even if we can't respect the principles they hold.
Except the big bad. Because Dark Man is a name that can never be respected or feared or taken seriously. That's the sort of name to mock a 13 year old fanfic writer for stopping at. Betty is more intimidating. I suppose that fits Axis and Stardrifter. Black Betty, the horse obviously, is far too potent and dangerous a foe for the likes of those two. Even with the aid of the combined armies of three peoples they could barely restrain the might of Black Betty's child. That damn thing gone wild.
[2A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 16:19:17
That's some very insightful thinking right there, and you're correct. This series has a really bad case of Protagonist Centered Morality. It makes everyone including the author look like a massive hypocrite.
[3]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 16:06:46
Welp, I think it's time to post the pic...
[3A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 16:29:29
YES.
[3A1]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 16:39:32
Besides the delicious teriyaki BBQ wings, I think his skull would make a lovely desk ornament.
[3A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 17:06:17
Yeah, I could keep pencils in his eyesockets!
[3A1A1]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 18:32:04
And every time you put them away, you could imagine that you were stabbing him right in the eye... ahhh, that would be quite nice.
[3A1A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 18:41:24
*wistful*
[3A1A1A1]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 21:11:07
Maybe we could donate his genitals to the penis museum in Iceland, to be displayed as "world's smallest penis". Heck, we could do that without killing him... he does deserve to be forcibly castrated with a rusty spork.
[4]
ghostwyvern
April 20 2018, 16:10:06
There's really not much I can add here that you haven't already said. The entire situation is disgusting. StarDrifter's actions are those of a villain, not a hero. If I were in Rivkah's shoes, I'd be asking someone to take me back to human lands where I'd be out of StarDrifter's reach.
I can't entirely agree with thinking Axis is foolish not to want wings. Maybe he thinks he couldn't wear armor that way--they'd get in the way and he couldn't fly wearing armor. Then they'd just be big bulky targets. Or maybe it's some other reason. Growing wings would be a pretty huge physical change, so I can't really blame him for not wanting that. While I'd be in agreement with you on wanting the wings, someone else might not. Goodness knows he's enough of a jerk and an idiot for other reasons. Not wanting wings is extremely minor and, again, even if he had the flimsiest of reasons for refusing, that's a major body modification.
As for Rivkah, I'm with you in wishing she'd call it assault, rather than "advances." StarDrifter is fortunate she didn't bite his tongue off.
[4A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 16:16:46
The book actually tells you why Axis says no to getting wings, and it's literally just "I've walked on the ground my whole life and dangit I ain't gonna change that now!", so his "reasoning" is actually pretty damn flimsy. It really ties back into how the author treats the wings like some sort of cool-looking accessory rather than anything that would be of any practical use, hence my irritation.
[4A1]
ghostwyvern
April 20 2018, 17:00:41 Edited: April 20 2018, 17:11:48
Well, to put it a bit more clearly, wings are a major modification to Axis's body. If he doesn't want them, no matter how flimsy or foolish or nonsensical or even nonexistent his reasoning is, then he has every right in the world to refuse. Even though he's a complete jackass, I can't frown at him for that. After all, it's his body. If you offered me the same chance I'd probably refuse because I still wouldn't be able to fly (humans lack the proper musculature for that) and the wings would just get in the way. Of course this is Fantasy Land, so... the circumstances are a bit different.
Probably, Axis refuses not because of his characterization but because for whatever reason, Douglass needed him to not want the wings. If he had wings, he'd be more or less just another Icarii, right? If he's supposed to be some kind of unifying force, then he might need to appear human.
It's still crappy writing. But, I am still going to shrug it off. After all, a much less extreme example of this is someone refusing piercings or a tattoo as an adult. They've been without them their entire life, so it doesn't matter if they don't even consider the option. You respect that choice and you move on with your life. After all, it's their body.
Edited to add: Also, I'm going to point out that as much of a Sue as Axis already is, he'd probably be worse with wings. Douglass would've had to have him be the best flyer, the bravest, and learn to balance and fly immediately and naturally. He'd be the fastest and the most acrobatic and the most daring and the most innovative with combat tactics. You know he would. So it's better that, no matter how flimsy the reason, Axis doesn't get wings.
[4A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 17:11:48 Edited: April 20 2018, 17:17:57
Yeah, that's fair enough. But as you say, in this case he only says no because the author wants him to, and there's no more thought put into it than that.
I guess I didn't think about it in terms of his bodily autonomy because, well, I just can't think of him as a person. He's far too poorly written for that. So I tend to forget about that sort of thing from time to time.
Edited to add: Also, I'm going to point out that as much of a Sue as Axis already is, he'd probably be worse with wings.
Ugh, yeah. Given how many Sue accessories and powers the author keeps handing him for free, it's honestly kind of baffling that he'd say no to getting another one, if only because the guy LOVES flaunting things. Just wait until you see the obscene levels of posturing next time he meets poor old Borneheld.
[4A1B]
theepistler
April 21 2018, 17:16:33 Edited: April 21 2018, 17:17:56
Having given it some further consideration, I think the real reason why this bit annoyed me is that Axis is supposed to be saving the world. That's literally his job. If he fails, the ENTIRE WORLD is destroyed and everybody dies. So one would think that someone in his position would take every possible advantage that was offered to him, even if it involved some personal sacrifice.
Instead, Axis sacrifices nothing. All the powers/abilities he gets, he gets for free and with absolutely no downsides. Accepting a pair of wings would have been far more interesting because while it would give him a new ability it would also have come with disadvantageous side-effects, such as having trouble getting through doorways and using chairs, and it would make people react differently to him.
If I were writing this I would still have him refuse... but I'd actually a) Show it on screen rather than handwaving it in a couple of throwaway lines, and b) Make his reasoning a lot more considered than "nah, I don't feel like it". Instead I would have him explain to StarDrifter that if he returns to his (human) army looking like an Icarii it would raise suspicions (as Eragon's elfification should have), and make other humans less inclined to trust him. So his reasons would be both personal and political.
Of course this would only work if people actually hated and feared the Icarii, rather than getting down on bended knee to lick their boots any time one shows up because they're Just So Beautiful.
Alternatively I'd have him accept, and then have him deal with the sudden realisation that oops - people don't trust him any more and he can't do a bunch of stuff now, which he didn't stop to consider in his eagerness to experience flight. Which would create some much-needed conflict, both internally and between him and other characters.
The author clearly didn't bother to consider any of these possibilities. Instead it's brought up once and then never mentioned again. It's so incredibly lazy.
[4B]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 16:23:50
The entire situation is disgusting. StarDrifter's actions are those of a villain, not a hero.
I really wish I didn't have to say this, but... it's going to get EVEN WORSE. Seriously. He's actually going to find a way to top what he did in this chapter. I shit you not.
It's not actually out and out rape, mind you.
...it's worse.
[4B1]
vorpal_tongue
April 20 2018, 18:15:59
... Cannabalism? Genocide? Mass-Castration? Gendercide? Terrible drunken singing?
Wait, no... it's... GROWING A BEARD!
[4B1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 18:37:04 Edited: April 20 2018, 18:37:34
One word: Incestuous pedophilia.
EDIT: ...wait, that's two words. Two horrible, horrible words that should never be written down consecutively EVER.
[4B1A1]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 19:02:35 Edited: April 20 2018, 19:03:27
Well... hypothetical incestuous pedophilia... he doesn't actually do it... *horrified expression* ...does he?
(Though really, even if he didn't actually do it, it's still beyond horrid that he would even think of such a thing.)
[4B1A1A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 22:09:56 Edited: April 20 2018, 22:10:24
He absolutely plans to do it, and even vows it to himself. The fact that he doesn't get the opportunity to actually do it (...as far as I recall, that is...) really doesn't make a lot of difference when all is said and done. He 100% no-hesitation wants to do it, and plans to act on it.
I swear, it's like Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote this fucking thing.
[4B1A1A1]
vorpal_tongue
April 21 2018, 00:15:05
... I... uh...
I've written some dodgy shit before, but... yeah, that's pretty fucked up.
I approve.
[4B1A1A2]
ghostwyvern
April 21 2018, 05:43:09
StarDrifter is officially a Lannister.
[5]
bewdtamer19
April 20 2018, 16:28:21
*reads through*
Well, I know what I will be doing tonight! *gets out a kitchen knife and a heated rod* Who likes to help me out with this bastard?
[5A]
snarkbotanya
April 20 2018, 16:36:21
*slams down a wok, a bottle of BBQ sauce, and a bottle of teriyaki sauce* LET'S COOK THE FUCKER'S WINGS.
[5B]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 17:06:00
I'll come - I own an axe. *grabs whetstone*
[6]
Anonymous
April 20 2018, 21:48:53
Neck-snapping is really hard. Necks don’t like to be snapped and it’s hard to put in the kind of energy required to do damage to it with one’s bare hands. And it isn’t some kind of instant death button, either. In any case only a person with ridiculous strength could do it at all, and certainly not with one hand while grasping the hair of the opponent.
[6A]
theepistler
April 20 2018, 22:06:34
Hah, I knew it. Clearly somebody watched too many cheesy action movies before writing this.